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THE 2./^

CANADIAJN^

Itatmilist an^ (itologist,

AND PROCEEDINGS OF THE

NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY

OF MONTREAL.

CONDUCTED BY A COMMITTEE OF THE NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY.

YOLUxAIE y.

PUBLISHED BY B DAWSON & SOX, 23 GREAT ST. JAMES STREET.

^■'"1860.

CANADIAN NATURALIST.

This Magazine will appear bi-monthly, and be conducted by the
following Committee, appointed by the Natural History Society of
Montreal :

J. W. Dawson, LL.D., F.G.S., Principal of Mc Gill CoVege.

T. Stbrry Hunt, A.M., F.R.S., Chemist to Geological Survey of Canada,

E. Billings, F.G.S. Palceontologist. "

David Allan Poe, Rev. A. F. Kemp.

W. H. HiNGSTON, M.D., Correspondonding Secretary Nat. Hist. Society.
John Leeming, Recording Secretary "

Entered, according to the Act of the Provincial Parliament, in the year
One Thousand Eight Hundred and Sixty-one, by Benjamin Dawson &
Son, in the Office of the Registrar of the Province of Canada.

CONTENTS.

PAGl!.
Article I.— On Fossil Plants from the Devonian Rocks of Canada. 1
II. — List of Plants found growing as indigenous in the

neighbourhood of Prescott ; by B. Billings, 14

III.— On the Tubicolous Marine Worms of the Gulf of St.

Lawrence ; by J. W. Dawson, LL.D., &c., 24

IV. — A Classified List of Marine Algae from the Lower St.

Lawrence ; by the Rev. Alex. F. Kemp, 30

V. — Unusual modes of Gestation in Batrachians and Fishes. 42
VI. — Description of some new species of Fossils from the

Silurian Rocks of Canada ; by E.Billings, F.G.S.. 49
VII. — Description of a new Paleozoic Starfish of the genus

Falceaster, from Nova Scotia ; by E. Billings, F.G.S. 69
VIII. — Observations on the Natural History of the valley of

the River Rouge ; by W. S. M. D'Urban, 81

IX. — Review of " Darwin on the Origin of Species by means

of Natural Selection," 100

X. — Abridged Sketch of the life of Mr, David Douglas,. . . 120
XI. — On the Silurian and Devonian Rocks of Nova Scotia. 132
XII. — Description of New Species of Fossils from the Silu-
rian Rocks of Nova Scotia ; by James Hall, 144

XIII. — New Species of Fossils from the Lower Silurian Rocks

of Canada ; by E. Billings, F.G.S 161

XIV. — Notices of the Life of the late Professor George Wilson

of Edinburgh, 177

XV. — Notice of Tertiary Fossils from Labrador, Maine, &c ;

by J. W. Dawson, LL.D., F.G.S., 188

XVI.— Abridged Sketch of the life of Mr. David Douglas, 200

XVIL — A Systematic List of Lepidoptera collected in the

vicinity of Montreal ; by W. S. M. D'Urban, 241

XVIII.— Abridged Sketch of the life of Mr. David Douglas,. . . 267
XIX. — On the Track of an Animal lately found in the Pots-
dam Formation ; by Sir W. E. Logan, F.R.S., 279

XX. — Notes on the Coal Fields of Pictou ; by H. Poole, Esq., 285
XXI. — On new Lo3alities of Fossiliferous Silurian Rocks in

Eastern Nova Scotia ; by Rev. D. Honeyman, 293

XXII. — Note on a specimen of Menobranchus lateralis^ taken

at London, C. W. ; by W. Saunders, Esq., 299

XXIII. — On some new species of Fossils from the Limestone

near Point Levi ; by E. Billings, F.G.S 301

XLIV.— Abridged Sketch of the life of Mr. David Douglas 329

XLV. — A Holiday Visit to the Acton Copper Mines 349

XLVI.— Notes on the Earthquake of October, 1860 363

XLVII.— The Meteor of July 20, I860 ; by C. S. Lyman 372

XLVllL— La Verrier's Report on the Solar Eclipse of July, 1860. 376
XLIX. — On certain Theories of the formation of Mountains, . . 409
L. — Description of a new Trilobite from the Potsdam Sand-
stone ; by Frank H. Bradley 420

LI. — Notes on Birds wintering in and around Montreal ; by

H, G. Vennor, junr., 425

LII. — Notes on Aboriginal Antiquities recently discovered

in the Island of Montreal, 430

IV CONTENTS.

Eeviews and Notices of Books.

Handbook of Geological Terms ; by David Page, F.G.S., 77

Evenings at the Microscope ; by P. H. Gosse, F.R.S 78

Dura Den ; a Monograph of the Yellow Sandstone ; by the Rev.

John Anderson, D.D., F.G.S., &c., VS

Nuggets from the oldest Diggings ; or Researches in the Mosaic

Creation; by R. W. Vandyk, 79

On the Origin of Species by means of Natural Selections ; by

Charles Darwin, M. A., 80

Notes of a Clerical Furlough; by Robert Buchanan, D.D.,... 159
The Life, Travels, and Books of Alexander von Humboldt.

With an introduction by Bayard Taylor, 209

A first lesson in Natural History ; by Actoea. (Mrs. Agassiz.) 209
A Manual of Scientific and Practical Agriculture for the School

and the Farm ; by J, L. Campbell, A.M., 210

The British Tortrices ; by S. J. Wilkinson, 211

The Rudiments of Botany ; by Christopher Dresser, 212

Professor Hall's Report on the Geology of Iowa, 213

Report of the Geological Survey of Canada for the year 1858, 326

The Zoologist, June, 1860. — Van Voorst, London, 328

Specimens of Marine Algae : presented to the Natural History

Society ; by Dr. Durkee, Boston, 328

Acadian Geology, and a Supplementary Chapter thereto, 450

Elements of Chemical Physics ; by J. P. Cooke, jr., 455

Salmon Fishing in Canada ; by a Resident, 457

The Glaciers of the Alps ; by J. Tyndall, F.R.S., 458

What may be Learned from a Tree ; by Harland Coultas, 459

Unity in Variety ; by Christopher Dresser, 460

Miscellaneous.

British Association for the advancement of Science, 70

The late Professor George Wilson of Edinburgh, 75

Communication by Dr. Dawson to the Geological Society of

London, 222

Distribution of Forests in North America, 223

Catalogue of Coleoptera from the H. B. Territories, 227

The Oil Wells of Mecca, 325

British Association 382

Proceedings of the Natural History Society, 408

On an undescribed Fossil Fern from the Lower Coal-measures

of Nova Scotia ; by Dr. J. W. Dawson, 460

Note on a specimen of Neaera, collected by Mr. R. S. Fowler, 461
Notes on Relics of the Red Indians of Newfoundland, collected

by xMr. Smith McKay, 462

Kingston Botanical Society, 462

The Liverpool Naturalists Field Club, 468

Correspondence.

Letter from Mr. D. W. Beadle, St. Catherines, C.W., 215

Remarks on the Fauna of the Quebec Group of Rocks, and the
Primordial Zone of Canada ; by Sir Wm. E. Logan, 472

British Association.

Report of meeting at Aberdeen, 216

Annual Report op the Natural History Society, 230

Donations to the Natural History Society of Montreal, 477

Errata, 240

Index, 480

THE

CANADIAN

MTUEALIST AID GEOLOGIST.

Vol. Y. FEBRUAEY, 1860. No. 1.

ARTICLE I. — On Fossil Plants from the Devonian Rocks
0/ Canada. By J. W. Dawson, LL.D., F.G.S., Principal of
McGill College, Montreal. (From the Prcceedings of the
Geological Society of London.)

In 1843-44, Sir W. E. Logan ascertained, and published in his
Report* for the latter year, the occurrence of a series of beds of
Devonian age in the Peninsula of Gaspe, Lower Canada, contain-
ing fossil plants, apparently of the land, and some of them
evidently in situ. Nothing was done toward the precise determin-
ation and description of these remains until 1856, when Sir
William kindly permitted the writer of this paper to examine his
collection, and to describe before the American Association for the
Advancement of Science the most interesting specimen contained
in it — a fossil trunk exhibiting a very remarkable and previously
undescribed coniferous structuref . The other specimens in the
collection were so fragmentary or obscure, that it was not deemed
expedient to attempt their description before studying them (as
all fossil plants should, when practicable, be studied) in the rocks
in which they occur. With this view I visited Gaspe in the past

* Report of Progress of Canadian Geological Survey, 1844, p. 36, and
Appendix.
t Proceedings of American Association, 1856, p. 1T4.

Canadian Nat. 1 Vol. V. No*

2 Devonian Plants,

summer, and examined the localities indicated on the plans and
sections of the Geological Survey. The facts and specimens thus
obtained will probably be fully described and illustrated in one of
the forthcoming Decades of Canadian Fossils ; and in the mean-
time I propose to notice some of the species observed, which
appear to be of especial interest in the present state of our gen-
eral knowled^'C of the Devonian flora.

Before proceeding to these descriptions, it may be necessary to
state that the deposit in "which the fossils occur consists of sand-
stone and shale, of various colours and textures, with some con-
glomerate and thin-bedded coarse limestone, and a seam of bitu-
minous coal, one inch in thickness. The whole series is estimated
by Sir W. E. Logan at VOOO feet of vertical thickness. It rests
on Upper Silurian rocks, and underlies unconformably the con-
glomerates which here form the base of the Carboniferous system.
Some of the beds, especially in the lower part of the series,
contain marine fossils of Lower Devonian forms, which are now
in process of examination by Mr. Billings of the Geological
Survey. The greater part of the beds are, however, destitute of
marine fossils, and present appearances indicative of shallow water
and even of land-surfaces. Some of the species of plants occur
throughout the whole thickness; but the bed of coal and most of
the plants in situ are found in the lower and middle portions of
the series. Detailed sections and descriptions of the beds will be
found in the Report above referred to.

1. PsiLOPHYTON, gen. nov. (Figs. 1 & 2.)

Lycopodiaceous plants^ hrancTiing dicJiotomousli/, and covered with
interrupted ridges or closely oppressed minute leaves ; the stems
springing from a rhizoma having circular areoles^ sending forth
cylindrical rootlets. Internal structure : an axis of scalari-
form vessels, surrounded hy a cylinder of parenchymatous cells
and hy an outer cortical cylinder of elongated wcody cells (pros-
enchynui). Fructif cation probably in lateral masses, protect-
ed by leafy bracts.

The most remarkable and interesting plant of the formation is
one which, I believe, has frequently been observed and described
elsewhere from fragmentary specimens, but which occurs in the

Devonian Plants,

Fig. 1 a

Fig. 1 /

Fig. 1 d

Fig. 1 c

Fig. 1 6

Fig; 1 e

Fig. l.^Psilophyton princeps. a, rhizome ; 6, stem ; c, termination of
branches ; d, vernation e, fructification ; /J restoration.

4 Devonian Flants^

Gasp6 sections in a state of perfection unusual with palseozoie
plants. It is characterized by slender, bifurcating, ridged sterns^
proceeding from a horizontal rhizoma, which sends forth numerous
rootlets. The rhizomata, evidently in situ, clothe some beds of
indurated clay with a mat of creeping and occasionally bifurcat-
ino- cylindrical stems, filling the beds below with their vertical
rootlets. They attain a diameter of an inch or more, though
usually smaller, and a length of at least three feet. They are irre-
gularly dotted with minute linear punctures, the marks probably
of ramenta ; and at intervals there are circular areoles with central
pits, like those of Stigmaria, but irregularly disposed, and giving
origin to the roots, which, however, unlike those of Stigmaria,
subdivide in descending into the soil. Apart from the stems,
these rhizomata might be included in the genus Karstenia or
Halonia, or even as abnormal species in Stigmaria (iig. 1 a,).
The aerial stems vary from a fourth to a tenth of an inch in
diameter at their origin, rise obliquely from the rhizoma, and
bifurcate very regularly. The extreme points divide nearly at
rit"^ht angles, and in some, probably young, branches the ultimate
branchlets bend into a spiral curve with a somewhat unilateral
arrangement of the leaflets. In the shale overlying the small
coal-seam above-mentioned, there are immense numbers of these
little branchlets, rolled so closely as to resemble spiral shells
Thev probably indicate a circinate vernation like that of ferns.
(See figs. 1 h, c, d) The surface of the stems is very smooth and
glossy, quite destitute of scars, but marked with numerous inter-
rupted ridges spirally arranged, and sometimes seen to project a
little at the upper ends, as if rudimentary leaves. This leaf-like
character is more distinct toward the extremities of the branches;
but the leaves are not sufficiently well preserved to show anything
more than that they are slender and acicular.

The greater part of the specimens are flattened, with the epider-
mis alone preserved in a coaly state ; but a few fragments were
found with the internal structure remaining. It consists of a
slender axis of scalariform vessels, surrounded by a space now
occupied by calcspar, but showing in parts the remains of a loose
cellular tissue. Externally to this is a cylinder of well-preservedy
elongated, woody cells, without distinguishable pores, but with
traces of very delicate spiral fibres. (Fig. 2 g, h^ i, k.)

The structure and external appearance above described indicate
affinities with the Lycopodiacem^ and especially with the genus

Devonian Plants*

Fsilotum*y witb which these plants very closely correspond in all
except their rhizomes and the circinate terminations of the
branchlets. The name proposed above is intended to express this
relation, as well as the most apparent distinction between these
plants and those of the genera Lyco2Jodites and Selaginites\. To
the species above described I would give the name of Psilophy-
ion princeps. I have attempted a restoration of its general ap-
pearance in fig. 1 /.

in

Fig. 2

S

Fig. 2 h Fig. 2 i Fig. 2 k

Fig. 2 g", longitudinal section of stem, nat. size ; h, cortical cells (300
diams.) ; i, parenchyma (300 diams.) ; fc, scalariform tissue
of axis (300 diams.)

Some of my specimens appear to indicate a second species,
characterized by more robust stems, more finely ridged, and
having slender alternate branches, which bifurcate frequently and
usually bend downward. The specimens are not well preserved,
but are very distinct from P, princeps^ while probably generically
related to it. I would name this species P. rohustius.

* See Brongniart, V^g. Fos. vol. ii. pis. 6 & 11. I have been favour-
ed by Prof. Gray, of Harvard College, with specimens of P. flavidum
from Tahiti and P. triquetrum from Australia, which closely resemble
the fossils in structure and surface-markings.

t I should have preferred the term " Psilotites ; " but this has been
preoccupied by a Jurassic plant, of which, however, I cannot find any
detailed description. See linger, Gen. et Spec, &c. p. 279 ; Brongniart*
Tableau des Genres, p. 41.

5 Devo7iian Plants.

Neither of the species exhibit distinct fructification. Certain
obscurely cuneate carbon aceous"spots attached to the sides of the
branches of P. princeps are, perhaps, of this character ; and the
object represented in fig. 1 e, which appears to be thus attach edr
may be an example in better preservation than usual. It consists,
of four thick lanceolate leaves or bracts with single midrib, arising
from a flattened carbonaceous patch, which shows traces of similar
leaves on its surface. These leaves or bracts have evidently
enclosed the fructification of some lycopodiaceous plant ; and
from their association with PsilopTiyton princepSj I regard it as
highly probable, though by no means certain, that they belong to
that species.

The rhizomata of PsilopTiyton princeps occur in situ in a
number of argillaceous beds, in a manner which shows that they
crept in immense numbers over flats of sandy clay, on which their
graceful stems must have formed a thick, but delicate, herbage,
rising to the height of from two to four feet. The rhizomes and
the bases of the stems may possibly have been submerged ; but I
should infer, from the appearance and structure of the latter, that
they were rigid, woody, and perhaps brittle. In many beds in
which the rhizomes have not been distinctly preserved, the
vertical rootlets remain, producing an appearance very similar to
that of the Stigmarian under-clays of the coal-measures. Sir W,
E. Logan has noted in his detailed sections numerous cases of this
kind.

When broken into fragments and imperfectly preserved, Psilo-
pTiyton princeps presents a variety of deceptive appearances. When
perfectly compressed in such a manner as to obliterate the mark-
ings^ it might be regarded as a dichotoraous fucoid or a flattened
root. When decorticated and exhibiting faint longitudinal striae^
it presents, especially when the more slender branchlets are
broken off, the aspect of a frond of ScTiizopteris or TricTiomanites,
When rendered hollow by decay, it forms bifurcating tubules,
which might be regarded as twigs of some tree with the pith
removed. Lastly, the young plants might be mistaken for ferns
in a state of vernation. In all conditions of preservation, the
stems, rhizomes, androotlets, if separated, might be referred to dis-
tinct genera. I have little doubt therefore that many imperfectly
preserved Devonian plants of this general form, noticed under
various names by authors, may belong to this genus, and some of
them to the species above described. In particular I may refer

Devonian Plants, 7

to certain dichotomous fucoids in the genera Fucoides and Chon-
drifes ; to a plant from the Hamilton Group of New York, figured
by Vanuxem in his Report, p. 161 ; to the dichotomous roots from
Orkney and Caithness described by Mr. Salter in the ' Proceedings'
of this Society for last year; and to the bifurcating plants with
curved tendril-like brancblets figured by Hugh Miller, ' Old Red
Sandstone,' plate 7, and 'Testimony of the Rocks, p. 434. From
the description in the former work, Chap. 5, it would appear that
the author had observed not only the stems but the rhizomes with
their Stigraaria-like areoles, though without suspecting them to
belong to the same plant. I have little doubt therefore that
materials exist in the Old Red Sandstone of Scotland for the
reconstruction of at least one species of this genus. Various
fragments which I have collected induce me to believe that it may
be found also in the Lower Coal-measures.

I have noticed above the resemblance of flattened specimens of
Psilopliyton to ferns of the genus Trichomanites (Goeppert.) To
this genus, indeed, I was disposed to refer the specimens, until I
found that the internal structure was lycopodiaceous, and that the
branching filaments are true branchlets covered with minute
leaves, A comparison of the plants above described with Tricho-
manites Beinertii of Goeppert, and SpJienopliyllum {T.) hijidum
of Lindley and Hutton, will show at a glance the strong resem-
blance that subsists ; and, since the specimens on which these spe-
cies are founded do not appear to have exhibited internal structure
or venation, I think it still admits of a doubt whether they are really
ferns. By way of further caution on this point, I may remark
that in flattened stems, either of Psilotum or of its ancient
relative, the slender woody axis may leave a mark resembling the
nervure of a leaf, and thus complete the resemblance to a frond of
Trichomanes.

Since writing the above. Professor G. S. Newberry has kindly
pointed out to me the close resemblance between the first species
above described and Haliserites Dechenianus of Goeppert ('Flora
der Uebergangpgebirges,' p. 88). I can scarcely doubt that this
so-called fucoid is in reality a plant of the genus above described,
but in such a state of compression that the stem appears like a
narrow frond, and the woody axis as a midrib. As this plant is
said to occur very abundantly at certain levels in the Devonian
Series of the Rhine, if my suspicions as to its nature are correct

8

Devonian Plants*

further examination might disclose its rhizomes, leaves, or fruc-
tification.*

2. LEPIDODENDROlir. (Fig. 3.)

A single species of this genus is found rather plentifully in the
beds containing the plants just described, and is distinct from any
that I have observed in the Coal-formation. The specimens
observed were all of small size and fragmentary, nor was their
state of preservation very good, though most of them were

Fig. 3 a Fig. 3 h Fig. 3 c

Fig. 3. Lepidodendron Gaspianum. a, decorticated stem and leaves ; bj
areoles ; c, small branch and leaves.

accompanied by the leaves. In specimens about two inches in
diameter, the areoles are two lines in length and one in breadth,
and placed closely together. They are elliptical, acuminate, with
central leaf scar, the form and markings of which could not be
perceived. The leaves are thick at the base and short, slightly
ascending, and then curving downward. The branches are
slender, straight, and very uniform in thickness in the portions
observed. This plant may be identical with the L. Chemungense
of Hall, from the Devonian rocks of New York ; but I am not
aware that any specimens of that species hitherto observed show
the leaf-scars or leaves; and, when these are obtained, should the
present species prove distinct, I would name it L. Gaspianurrv\,
Its characters, as above stated, are represented in figs. 3 a-c,

* It is possible that some of the fragments, from the Devonian of the
Thiiringerwald, included by Prof. Unger in his order RhachiopteridecB
may be allied to Psilopkyton. (See Denkschr. Kais. Akad. Wissen.
Wien, vol. xi. p. 139.)

f L. (Sagenaria) Veltheimianum, another ancient and widely distri-
buted species, resembles the above in the form of the areoles and position
of the scars ; but the leaves and young branches diflFer, and my speci-
mens show no median furrow in the areoles. L. nothum (Unger) also
seems closely allied.

Devonian Plants. 9

3. Prototaxites, gen. nov. (Fig. 4.)

Woody trunks with concentric rings of growth and medullary
rays. Cells of pleurenchyma scarcely in regular series^ thich-
walled, and cylindrical^ with a double series of spiral fibres.
Disc-structure indistinct in the specimens observed.

I propose the above generic appellation for a tree having the
spirally marked cells characteristic of the genera Taxites and
Spiropitys of Goeppert, but differing from any conifer known to
me in the cylindrical form and loose aggregation of the wood-
cells, as seen in the cross-section, in which particular it more

Fig. 4 a

C

OJD

OO^

gO0

O..Qytf

[i:iii'^ri%

Fig. 5 b

Fig. 5 c

Fig. 4. Prototaxites Logani. a, cross-section, magnified 40 diams.,
showing growth-line and medullary ray ; 6, longitudinal
section (300 diams.) ; c, transverse section (300 diams.)

nearly resembles the young succulent twigs of some modern
conifers than their mature wood. A fine silicified trunk of this tree
was brought from Gaspe by Sir W. E. Logan, and was shortly
described in the ' Proceedings of the American Association ' for
1856.

10 Devonian Plants.

The specimen is nine inches in diameter, and presents through-
out a series of rings of growth, rather more than one-tenth of an
inch in average thickness. Under the microscope, the cross-
section exibits cells perfectly circular in outline, not crowded, but
becoming much smaller at the margins of the rings of growth,
where some large irregular openings perhaps represent resin-
ducts. The medullary rays are marked by clear structureless
spaces. In the longitudinal section, parallel to the medullary
rays, the wood-cells are seen to be much elongated, and to
terminate in conical points ; and their sides are covered with the
remains of a double series of spiral fibres, among which are a few
scattered roundish spots, which perhaps indicate a single row of
discs*. The cells of the medullary rays have been entirely
disorganized ; but the space which represents them in a tangential
slice, shows that they must have consisted of several rows of cells.
(Figs. 4 a—c.)

In my late visit to Gaspe, I was so fortunate as to find a second
tree of this species imbedded in the strata, though having its
structure in a less perfect state of preservation than the specimen
above described. It was in a prostrate position, the trunk lying
S. W. and N. E., in a thinly bedded, crumbling, pyritous sand-
stone. The trunk is silicified, one foot five inches in its greatest
diameter, and eleven inches in its least, the difi'erence being due
to compression ; a branch five inches in diameter sprang from its
side. On the external surface was a thin layer of crumbling coal,
probably representing the bark. No pith was perceptible ; but
there was a channel or depression along the upper surface, as if a
pith-cavity had existed and, when the wood became softened by
decay, had given way to pressure. The age of this tree, as in-
dicated by its rings of growth, would be about one hundred and
fifty years ; so that, though the tissue appears lax, it was not of
more rapid growth than in modern conifers. The growth-rings
also in the specimen previously described, as well as in this, are
well marked, indicating a decided difi'erence of temperature in
the seasons of the Devonian year. I cannot propose for this
monarch of the old Devonian forests of Gaspe a better or more
appropriate name than that of its discoverer, and shall therefore
name it Prototaxites Logani.

* This disc-like structure was first pointed out to me by Mr. Poe, of
Montreal, a very zealous and successful microscopist.

Devonian Plants, 11

With respect to the affinities of the genus, I can only say that
the markings on its wood-cells most nearly resemble those of the
two genera of fossil Taxine trees above-mentioned, which are,
however, found in much more modern geological formations.
Among recent trees known to me by specimens or figures of their
tissues, Taxus haccata and Torreya taxifolia most nearly resemble
the Gaspe fossil. In the meantime, therefore, it may be included
in the subfamily Taxinece.

I could detect no leaves or fruit likely to belong to the species ;
but this is not wonderful, since in the Coal-formation the wood of
conifers is very abundant, while their foliage is extremely rare.
Before leaving this ancient taxine conifer, it may be useful to
notice the deceptive appearances which its wood presents when,
imperfectly preserved. In some parts of my second specimen the
woody tissue has been entirely obliterated, and is replaced by a
kind of oolitic concretionary structure, apparently connected with
the presence of iron-pyrites. In other portions the wood seems
to have been resolved into a homogeneous paste before silicifica-
tion ; and this, being moulded on minute granular crystals of
quartz, assumes the aspect of a tissue of fine parenchymatous
cells — a deceptive appearance very common in badly preserved
fossils penetrated by calcareous or silicious matter. In other parts
of the specimen the cell-walls remain, but in an opaque coaly
condition, which conceals their spiral fibres and discs. I am not
quite certain that this last form may not represent the natural
state of the heart-wood of the tree. In the first specimen, ob-
tained by Sir W. E. Logan, the whole trunk appears to be well
preserved, with the exception of the medullary rays-,

4. PoACiTES, Knorria (fig. 5), Carbonized Wood (fig. 6), etc.

In addition to the plants above described, the Gaspe sections
contain, especially in the beds near the coal-seam, abundance of
what seem to be long parallel-sided leaves, with
delicate longitudinal striae, and varying from a
Fig. 5 a fourth of an inch to an inch, in breadth. Thev
may be placed provisionally in the genus Poocites,
but are perhaps leaves of Nceggerathia or Cor-
daites.

There is also in the Collection of the Geological
Fiff 5 6 Survey of Canada a remarkable fragment, covered
Fig. 5. Knorria ? with sharp, flat, angular scales. Were it not for
b, magnified. ^^^ carbonaceous character, I should be inclined

12 Devonian Plants,

to regard it as of animal rather than vegetable origin. If a plant,
it must, I presume, be referred to the genus Knorria (see fig. 5).
In the same collection is a flattened and obscurely marked stem,
from rocks of the same age at Kettle Point, Lake Huron. Its
markings are scarcely sufficiently distinct for description, but can-
not be distinguished from those of some of the varieties of
Knorria imbricata.

Another suite of specimens in the Museum of the Geological
Survey indicates the existence of a large plant, the precise nature
of which it is perhaps at present impossible to determine.
One of the specimens from Gaspe has the aspect of a long flat-
tened trunk, having in a few places the remains of a carbonaceous
coating, presenting longitudinal ribs like those of Calamites, It is
crossed at intervals by markings not quite at right angles to the
sides of the stem, each of which consists of a sharp ridge with a
furrow at either side. The specimen is four inches in breadth and
about four feet in length. Other specimens from Kettle Point vary
from five inches to one inch in breadth ; and some of them show
traces of longitudinal ribs, but others are quite smooth, or marked
only by the rhombic structure-lines of the coaly matter. All show
transverse or diagonal ridges, though some of these seem to be
merely cracks filled with mineral matter. Crushed Calamites,
in a very bad state of preservation, might assume these ap-
pearances; but, until better specimens occur, the true nature of
these plants must remain doubtful. They are very possibly of
the same nature with the Calamite-like stems described by Miller
in his 'Testimony of the Rocks,' p. 439.

In every part of the Gaspd sections, beds occur having their
surfaces thickly covered with fragments of carbonized vegetable
matter, evidently drifted by the currents which deposited the sand

composing the beds. A large proportion
of these comminuted plants belong to the
genus Psiloijhyton ; but many are frag-
ments of the wood of larger vegetables.
Nearly all are in a very imperfect state of
preservation ; and most of those that retain
the'.r structure show a scalariform tissue

similar to that represented in fio;. 6, and
Pig- 6. '' . .

probably belong to the a^lso^ Lepidoden-

Fig. 6. Scalariform tissue dron. Others exhibit elongated woody
(magnified 300 diams.) ^^^j^^ ^.^j^^^^ ^^^^^^ markings, perhaps

Devonian Plants. 13

from the cortical portion of the same genns, or possibly conifer-
ous*. Another form of carbonaceous matter, abundant in some
of the sandstones, consists of scaly fragments resembhng the
remains of decayed cones, probably Lepidvstrohi.

The great abundance of vegetable fragments throughout an
immense thickness of rock^ indicates the existence of extensive
land surfaces clothed with vegetation, though this apparently con-
sisted of but a few species. The small bed of coal occurring in the
lower p;5rt of the section, is composed entirely of irregularly lamin-
ated shining coaly matter without mineral charcoal. From its
appearance and the vegetable remains in its underclay, I infer that
it consists principally of the accumulated rhizomata of Psilophy-
to7i, in situ. Its roof-shale is filled with the Poacites-like leaves
before mentioned, and with stems of Psiloj^hyton ; and it is remar-
kable that these last are in great part coiled up in the state of
vernation, as if overwhelmed by a succession of spring floods.

5. Animal Remains, Rain-marks, etc.

The animal remains found in the plant-beds were Entomostraca
(Beyrichia), Spirorhh (resembling that of the coal-measures),
Worm-tracks, and Ichthyodorulites [Onchus and Machceracan-
thus\). In one of the beds above the coal Sir W. E. Logan found
a few brachiopodous shells, apparently identical with those at the
base of the series, and also some remarkable transversely marked
furrows, which may have been produced by worms or by marine
gasteropods.

Near the upper part of the section, where the plants become
more rare, and the rocks are more abundantly tinged with the red
peroxide of iron, the beds are plentifully and often very grotes-
quely marked with ripple-furrows, shrinkage-cracks, and current-
lines. In one or two beds there are surfaces covered with round-
ed projections resembling casts of rain-marks; and in proof that
this is their true character, the surface being irregular, we have
not only the rain-marks themselves, but the little rills formed by
the gathering drops as they rolled along, in this one of the most
ancient showers of which we have as yet any geological record.

The general character of the conditions indicated by the Dev-
onian rocks and flora of Gaspe does not differ materially from that

* Aporoxylon (Unger).

t Prof. Newberry regards one of these as identical with his MachcBra'
eanthus sulcatus from the Devonian of Ohio.

14 Catalogue of Plants.

of the Carboniferous period, though the vegetation would appear
to have been poorer in species and more exclusively Lycopodia-
ceous ; in which respects it more nearly resembles that of the
Lower than of the Middle or Upper Coal-measures. The general
history is that of a sea-bottom elevated or filled up in such a
manner as to afford sandy or muddy flats, on poi tions of which
plants grew, and on other portions vegetable fragments were
drifted, or bare surfaces were exposed to the alternate influences
of aqueous deposition and aerial desiccation, — these various con-
ditions being more or less prevalent throughout a long period,
during which the area may have been gradually sinking, to be
again disturbed and elevated at the commencement of the Carbo-
niferous period.

In explanation of the siliceous and plant-bearing character of
the Gaspe beds, as compared with their more calcareous and
marine character in some other parts of America, I may point to
their vicinity to the old Laurentian land on the north side of the
Gulf of St. Lawrence, and to the possible existence of a nearer belt
of Lower Silurian land, indicated by the unconformability, in this
part of Canada, of the Lower and Upper Silurian rocks.

In the collection of Sir W. E. Logan there are some vegetable
remains from the limestones of Cape Gaspe and its vicinity, which
perhaps indicate a still older terrestrial flora than that above de-
scribed. They afford, I think, evidence of the existence of at least
one species oi Psilophyton and one oi Nceggerathia or Poacites;
but whether identical or not with those above described, I cannot
determine from the specimens. The beds in which they occur
certainly underlie the Gaspe sandstones, and are probably Upper
Silurian.

ARTICLE II. — List of Plants found growing as indigenous in
the neighbourhood of Prescott, C. W. ; for the most part,
collected in 1859, by W. E. Billings. (Supplementary to
Article 6, "Canadian Naturalist," February, 1858.)

Ranunculace(B.
Anemone cylindrica, (Gray). Thickets; westward; common.
Hepatica triloba, (Chaix). Exposed rocky places ; rare.
Ranunculus aquatilis (L.), var. divaricatus. Ponds, &c. ; common.
" Pursbii, (Richards;. Railroad Bay j rare, but common

northward.

Catalogue of Plants, 15

Ranunculus flammula (L.), var. reptans. Ordnance lots, near Fort
Wellington ; on heavy soil, in exsiccated places ; not
frequent.
" Pennsylvanicus (L.) Flowering, August and November.

Everywhere common in moist places.

Actsea spicata (L.), var. rubra. (Michx), Woods and thickets,

affecting more exposed localities than var. alba.
Nympk(Eace(B.

Nuphar advena, (Ait.) Everywhere common in still water.

" Kalmiana, (Pursh). Nation River, and common northward.
Fumariace(B.

Corydalis glauca, (Pursh). Gneiss rocks, near Brockville ; rare.
CrucifercB.

Nasturtium lacustre, (Gray). Growing in crevices of rocks in shal-
low, running water ; rare.

Cardamine hirsuta, (L.) Wet places; common, especially in shady
swamps.

Sinapis nigra, (L.) In places where it was formerly cultivated.

Lepidium Virginicum, (L.) Waste, exposed, hard soil ; very common.

Thlaspi arvense, (L.) West end of Dibble Street; rare.
Yiolaceos.

Viola Canadensis, (L.) Rich woods, westward.
CistacecB.

Lechea minor, (Lam.) Banks of the St. Lawrence, westward.
Droseracece.

Drosera rotundifolia, (L.) Marsh near Prescott Junction ; rare.
HypericacecB.

Hypericum mutilum, (L.) In wet, sandy places ; common.
Caryophyllacece.

Arenaria serpyllifolia, (L.) A weed, in gardens and elsewhere ;
common.

Stellaria borealis, (Bigelow). Swamps northward.
Geraniacece.

Geranium Robertianum, (L.) Banks of Conway's Creeks, among
loose rocks.
Rutacets.

Zanthoxylum Americanum, (Mill.) Woods westward ; not frequent,

but abundant northward and southward.
jlnacardiace(B.

Rhus Toxicodendron, (L.) In swamps and thickets ; common.
" glabra, (L.) Northward in woods, and not often met with.
Leguminos<B,

Trifolium arvense, (L.) Conway's; not seen elsewhere.
Desmodium Canadense, (D. C.) Banks of the St. Lawrence, in

thickets ; rare.
Astragalus Canadensis, (L.) Wastes near Grand Trunk Railway
gravel pit. Common on the rocky banks of the St.
Lawrence near Brockville.

16 Catalogue of Plants,

Lespedeza capitata, (Michx). Same localities as last, and more abun-
dant.
Yicia sativa, (L.) Waste places; rare.
Lathyrus palustris, (L.), variety myrtifolius. Shaded banks along

streams ; rare.
Apios tuberosa, (Moench). Marsh near Blue Church, and common on

the banks of streams inland.
Amphicarpaea, (Nutt.) Wood and thickets ; abundant.
Rosacece.
Potentilla Canadensis, (L.) Dry, grassy places, but not common.
Eubus hispidus, (L.) Low woods ; rare, but common northward.
Eosa blanda, (Ait.) Waste places ; common, especially among rocks.
Crataegus Oxycantha, (L.) Rocky banks of the St. Lawrence, near

Brockville.
Pyrus Americana, (D. 0.) Wet woods, four miles north of Prescott.
Onagracea.
Epilobium palustre, (L.), var. lineare. Swamps and bogs ; common.
Proserpinaca palustris, (L.) Swamps northward.
Hippuris vulgaris, (L.) In shallow water, near the banks of the St.

Lawrence, Johnstown.
Grossulace<B.

Eibes hirtellum, (Michx). Common in moist places.)

" lacustre, (Poir). Close, moist woods ; common.

CrassulacecB.

Sedum Telephium, (L.) Waste places ; rare.

Saxifragacece.

Saxifraga Virginiensis, (Michx). Eocky banks of the St. Lawrence,

westward ; abundant.

" Pennsylvanica? (L.) Bog near Graveyard; not in flower.
UmbellifercE.

Hydrocotyle Americana, (L.) Moist places ; abundant.

Heracleum lanatum, (Michx). Waste places; banks of St. Lawrence

westward.
Zizia integerrima, (D. C.) Sandy banks facing southward.
Araliacece.

Aralia hispida, (Michx). Sandy hill-sides ; not common.
Cornacece.
Cornus circinata, (L'Her.) Eocky banks of the St. Lawrence, west-
ward.
" sericea, (L.) Same locality as last.

" paniculata, (L'Her.) Grand Trunk Eailway enclosures ; west-
ward.
CaprifoliacecB.

Symphoricarpus occidentalis, (R. Br.) Eocky woods, near G. T. R.

gravel-pit.
Viburnum opulus, (L.) Eare, but common on banks of streams

northward.
Triosteum perfoliatum, (L.) May be looked for here, as it occurs on

the banks of the Oswegatchie, three miles south of

Pres cott.

Catalogue of Plants,'' 17

Ruhiacecs.

Galium lanceolatum, (Torr.), G. latifolium of former Art. Common
in rich woods.
Dipsacecs.
Scabiosa atropurpurea, (L.) Grassy bank of Railroad Bay, probably
escaped from cultivation.
Composites.
Diplopappus umbellatus, (Torr. & Gr.) Thickets westward ; rare.
Solidago squarrosa, (Muhl). Rocks, banks of the St. Lawrence,
westward ; rare.
" latifolia, (L.), S. Muhlenbergii of former Art. Common in
shady places.
Rudbeckia laciniata, (L.) Grove near the Blue Church, and west-
ward on the banks of the St. Lawrence ; rather rare.
Bidens frondosa, (L.) Everywhere ; common.

" Beckii, (L.) Railroad Bay, and streams northward, but rare.
Tanacetum vulgare, (L.) Waste places near dwellings.
Loheliacece.
Lobelia syphilitica, (L.) Low grounds; not common.

" Kalmii, (L.) Banks of St. Lawrence westward, in damp soil
Mricacece.
Vaccinium Pennsylvanicum, (Lam.) Dry thickets and woods ; fre-
quent.
" Canadense, (Kalm). Moist woods and thickets ; frequent.

" Corymbosum, (L.) Swamps northward ; common.

Arctostaphylos Uva-ursi, (Spreng). Rocky banks of the St. Lawrence

near Brockville.
Ledum latifolium, (L.) Marsh near the Junction.
Plant aginacecR.

Plantago lanceolata, (L.) Fields ; rare.
LentihutacecB.

Urticularia vulgaris, (L.) Abundant in Conway's Creek.
ScrophulariacecB.
Ilysanthes gratioloides, (Benth). Marsh near the Junction.
Melampyrum Americanum, (Michx). Rocks, woods westward ; abun-
dant.
Lahiat(B.
Mentha viridis, (L.) Wet places ; not common.
Hedeoma pulegioides, (Pers.) Road-sides ; very rare.
Monarda fistulosa, (L.) Banks of St. Lawrence westward.
Borraginacece .

Lithospermum arvense, (L.) Cultivated fields ; rare.
Hydrophyllacece,

Hydrophyllum Yirginicum, (L.) Rich woods, westward ; rare.
Convolvulacece.

Convolvulus arvensis, (L.) Banks of the St. Lawrence, westward,-
rare.

Can. Nat. 2 Yol. V. No. 1.

18 Catalogue of Plants,

Gentianacece.
Gentiana Andrewsii, (Griset). Moist thickets, northward ; rare.
Menyanthes trifoliata, (L.) Marshes and swamps, northward ; abun-
dant.
jipocynacea.

Apocynum cannabinum, (L.) Sandy hill-sides, northward; rare.
ChenopodiacecB.
Chenopodium hybridum, (L.) Very common.

" Botrys, (L.) Near Grand Trunk Station ; rare.

PolygonacecB.
Polygonum Pennsylvanicum, (L.) Exposed, waste places ; common.
" hydropiperoides, (Michx). Nation river, in water; com-

mon.
" tenne, (Michx). Banks of the St. Lawrence, westward.

Fagopyrum esculentum, (Moench). "Woods and fields, frequent.
El(BagnacecB.
Shepherdia Canadensis, (Nutt.) Rocky banks of the St. Lawrence
westward.
CeratophyllacecB.
Ceratophyllum demersum, (L.) St. Lawrence River, and Conway's
Bay ; very common.
Calliirichace<2.
Callitriche verna, (L.) Ponds and small streams ; rare.

" autumnalis, (L.) St. Lawrence, in shallow water; abun-

dant.
Euphorhiace<2.

Euphorbia maculata, (L.) Railway tracks, and hard soil in open
places ; rare.
" obtusata, (Pursh). Road-sides and waste places ; very

common.
Acalyphya Caroliniana, (Walt.) Similar situations as last, but rare.

MyricacecB.
Myrica Gale, (L.) Rocky banks of the St. Lawrence, near Brockville ;

rare.
Comptonia asplenifolia, (Ait.) Woods and wastes near G. T. R'way

gravel-pit ; abundant.
Betulace<2.
Betula alba, var. populifolia, (Spach). Rocky banks of the St. Law-
rence, near Brockville.
SalicacecB.
Salix Candida (Willd). Marshes, and moist open places ; common.
" longifolia, (Muhl). Very common.

" nigra, (Marshall). Rare, but large; one tree, about half a mile
west of the town, in a swamp, measures seven feet at

five feet from the roots.
Conifer (2.

Pinus rigida, (Miller). Rocky banks of the St. Lawrence, near

Brockville.
Juniperus communis, (L.) Abundant, on the banks of the St. Law-

r'^nce, near Brockville.

Catalogue of Flaiits, 19

jlracecB.

Arissema triphyllum, (Torr.) Moist woods ; very common.

Acorus Calamus, (L.) Margin of streams, in slow-running water

common.
Typhacets.

Sparganum angustifolium ? (Micbx). Marshy places ; common.

Lemnacece.

Lemna trisulca, (L.) Conway's Creek, and in ponds and streams in

sluggish water, northward ; abundant.

" minor, (L.) Upon the surface of stagnant water, in great

abundance.
Naidacets.

Naias flexilis, (Rostk). Slow-running water of rivulets, northward.

Zannichella, palustris, (L.) Railroad Bay; not seen elsewhere.

Potamogeton pectinatus, (L.) St. Lawrence; very common.

" pusillus, (L.) Ponds, in clear water ; common.

" compressus, (Lex Pries). Grows with the last.

" perfoliatus, (L.) St. Lawrence River, and in ponds,

common.

" lucens, (L.) Nation River, in great abundance.

" natans, (L.) Railroad Bays.

" heterophyllus, (L.) "

Scheuchzeria palustris, (L.) Close swamps and bogs northward,
rather rare.
Hydrocharidace^.

Anacharis Canadensis, (Planchon). Ponds and sheltered bays of the

St. Lawrence ; very common.

Valisneria spiralis, (L.) In similar situations as last, but deeper

water, and not as common.
Orchidace<2.

Platanthera bracteata, (Torr.) Close, damp woods ; not common.

" hyperborea, (Lindl.) " " a

" psycodes, (Gray). Open, moist places.

Calopogon pulchellus, (R. Brown). Bogs northward; rare.

Liparis Loeselii, (Richard). Open places ; rare.

Aplectrum hyemale, (Nutt.) Rich, moist woods, westward ; rare.

LiliacecB.

Smilacina stellata, (Desf.) Rich, moist woods ; rather rare.

Melanthacece.

Uvularia sessilifolia, (L.) Low, moist places, in woods.
JuncacecB.
Luzula pilosa, (Willd). Pine grove, near Blue Church; not found

elsewhere.
Pontederiacecs.

Schollera graminea, ("Wild). Railroad Bay, growing with Potomogeton.
CyperacecB.
Cyperus diandrus, (Torr.) Low grounds ; common. C. inflexus of
former list,
strigosus, (L.) Banks of the St. Lawrence, westward ; rare.

20 Catalogue of Plants,

Eleocharis compressa, (Sullivant). Wet places; common.,

" acicularis, (R. Brown). " "

Scirpus pungens, (Vahl). St. La-wrence, westward ; rare.

" sylraticus, (L.) "Wet places ; common.
Eriophorum polystrachyonj (L.) In bogs, and everywhere common

arex polytrichoides, (Muhl.) Bogs ; common.

" Sartwellii, (Dew.) Grassy, wet places, northward ; rare.

" teretiuscula, (Good.) Moist places ; very common.

" stipata, (Muhl.) Common.

" sparganioides, (Muhl.) Woods and fields, in moist places;
common.

« rosea, (Schk.) " " " common,

*« chordorhiza, (Ehrh.) Grassy marshes ; common.

" trisperma, (Dew.) Woods and swamps ; "

« tenuiflora, (Wahl.) " ^ « "

" canescens, (L.) Wet, open places.

<' Deweyana, (Schw.) Copses ; rare.

" stellulata, (Good). Abundant in wet places, presenting a
variety of forms.

" sychnocephala, (Carey). The few plants I have seen of this
species were growing in somewhat dry localities.

" scoparia, (Schk.) Wet places ; very common.

" lagopoioides, (Schk.) With the last, and equally common.

" adusta, (Boott). Wastes, and along fences ; "

" festucacea, (Schk.) With the last; common.

" stricta, (Lam.) Swamps and ditches ; "

" aquatilis, (Wahl.j Conway's Creek, growing in water.

" crinita, (Lam.) Swamps and ditches ; common.

" aurea, (Nutt.) Grassy fields ; rare.

" Crawei, (Dew.) Field near Fort Wellington ; not seen else-
where.

« granularis, (Muhl.) Fields and waste places ; very common.

" gracillima, (Schw.) Fields and woods, in moist places ; common,

" plantaginea, (Lam.) Moist woods ; rare.

" laxiflora, (lasiflora). Woods and fields, in moist places ; common,

" pedunculata, (Muhl.) Rich, rocky woods, westward ; abun-
dant ; flowering in April.

" Pennsylvanica, (Lam.) Same locality as last, and in full
flower 8th May. Abundant.

" varia, (Muhl.) Dry wood ; not so common as last.

" pubescens, (Muhl.) Woods ; rather rare.

" arctata, (Boott). Woods and thickets ; common.

" (Ederi, (Ehrh.) Barren field near Fort Wellington; not common.

*' filiformis, (L.) Marshes, northward ; not frequent.

" lanuginosa, (Michx). Growing with the last, but not common.

" aristata, (Michx). Ponds, and along ditches holding water ;
common.

" comosa, (R. Brown). " " " " common,

" Pseudo-Cyperus, (L.) « « " "

Catalogue of Plants, 21

Oarex lupulina, (Muhl.) "Wet places ; common. About the latest
flowering of the Carices.
" retrorsa, (Schw.) Conway's^ Creek. Spikes sometimes pro-
fusely branched.
GrammecB.

Alopecurus aristulatus, (Michx). "Wet places, growing in water ;
common.

Agrostis scabra, (Willd). Exsiccated places ; very common.

Cinna arundinacea, (L.) Damp woods and thickets ; common north-
ward.

Muhlenbergia glomerata, (Trin.) Marsh near the Junction ; rare.
" Mexicana, (Trin.) Wastes near the Junction ; rare.

Brachyelytrum aristatum, (Beauv.) "Woods ; common.

Calamagrostis Canadensis, (Beauv.) Swamps and marshes generally,
growing in water ; common.

Poa annua, (L.) Roadside and waste places ; frequent, and flower-
ing from May to November.

Festuca nutans, (Willd). Rich woods, westward.

Bromus ciliatus, (L.) Banks of the St. Lawrence, westward ; father
rare.

Phragmites communis, (Trin.) Swamp north of Junction ; rare.

Elymus Yirginicus, (L.) Banks of streams ; rare.

" Canadensis, (L.) With the last, or in similar localities.

Aira flexuosa, (L.) Grove north of Capt. Miller's ; rare.

Millium eflfusum, (L.) Close, damp woods; common.

Panicum glabrum, (Gandin). Sandy fields, eastward ; common.
" clandestinum, (Muhl.) Waste places ; common.
" xanthophysum, (G-ray). Dry, sandy soil ; common.

Andropogon furcatus, (Muhl.) Banks of the St. Lawrence, westward-
Sorghum nutans, (Gray). Banks of the St. Lawrence, near BrockvilLe.
EquisetacecB.

Equisetum limosum, (L.) Conway's Creek and elsewhere, growing

in water ; common.
Filices.

Polypodium vulgare, (L.) Rocky woods, westward; rare, but abun-
dant on gneiss rocks, near Brockville.
" hexagonopterum, (Michx). Rich woods, westward ; rare.

" Phegopteris, (L.) "Woods, northward ; rare.

Struthiopteris Germanica, (Willd.) Damp, rich soil, in shades ;

common.
"Woodsia Ilvensis, (R. Brown). Rocks, near Brockvile.
Botryehium lunarioides, (Swartz). Mossy banks, in woods and fields ;

rare.
LycoyodiacecB.

Lycopodium complanatum, (L.) Banks of the St. Lawrence, west-
ward, and in an exposed situation.

Selaginella rupestris, (Spreng). Pine grove, westward, upon rocks;
abundant upon rocks near Brockville.

22 Catalogue of Plants,

Musci.
Sphagnum cymbifolinm, rDill.) Bogs and swamps ; common.

" cjclophyllum, (Sulliy. & Lesqx.) Moist, open places ; rather
rare.
Dicranium rarium, (Hedw.) Banks ; very common.

" heteromallumy (Hedw.) On the ground, in most places

very common.
" scoparium, (L.), var. pallidum. On the ground and de-

cayed wood ; common.
Ceratodon purpureus, (Brid.) On the ground ; very common.
Fissidens polypodioides, (Hedw.) Woods, westward ; growing on

thin stratum of veegtabie mould on boulders.
Trichostomum pallidum, (Hedw.) On the ground ; common.
Barbula unguiculata, (Hedw.) Near Railroad Bay, and clay soils ;

frequent.
Orthotrichum strangulatum, (Beauv.) Bark of Ash and other trees ;
common.
" affine, (Schwart.) Rocks, and sometimes trees ; common.

" leiocarpum, (Br. & Sch.) Trees ; rare.

" Ludwigii, (Schwaegr.) " "

" crispum, (Hedw.) Trees, very common, especially on

the Beech.
Schistidium apocarpum, (Br. & Sch.) On boulders ; common.
Hedgwigia ciliata, (Ehrh.) " "

Diphyscium foliosum, (Web. & Mohr.) On the ground, in woods.
Atrichum angustatum, (Beauv.) In woods ; very common.
Polytrichum commune, (L.) Shady, moist places; very common.
Bryum argenteum, (L.) Exposed, hard soil, rocks, &c. ; common.
Mnium cuspidatum, (Hedw.) Woods ; common.
Anomodon obtusifolius, (Br. & Sch.) Trunks of trees, in moist woods j

common.
Leskea rostrata, (Hedw.) Base of trees; common.
Neckera pennata, " Trees ; very common.

Hypnum scitum, (Beauv.) Base of trees ; common.

'^ splendens, (Hedw.) On the ground, in woods ; abundant.
" deplanatum, (W. P. Sch.) Dry woods, at the base of trees ;

rare.
" albulum, (0. Mull.) Moist woods, on logs, &c. ; common.
" Schreberi, (Willd). On the ground, in woods ; common.
" fluitans, (L.) Swamps, in water ; common.
" Crista-Castrensis, (L.) On the ground, and much-decayed

wood ; common.
" imponens, (Hedw.) On the ground, and decayed logs ; very

common.
" salebrosum, (Hoflfm.) « « " "

JhpaticcB.
Fegatella conica, (Corda). Damp woods, on the ground and decayed
logs; common.

Catalogue of Plants, 23

Scapania nemorosa, (Nees). "With moss, in moist places, on banks ;

rare.
Frullania Virginia, (Lehm.) On trees ; very common.
Radula complanata, (Dumortier). On trees; "
Philidium ciliare, (Nees). On rotten wood, in swamps ; common.

Tricliocolea Tomentella, " On the ground, in moist places ; rare.
Mastigobryum trilobatum, " " " " common.

Lichenes.

Usnea barbata, (Fr.), [Beard Moss]. Trees, rails, &c. ; common.
Evernea jubata, " " Rails, stones and trees, espe-

cially the Pine ; common.
Ramalina calicaris, (Fr.), [Beard Moss]. Trees, rails, &c. ; common.
Cetraria ciliaris, (Ach.) Trees and rails ; rare.
Peltigera aphthosa,(Hoffm.) Moist places, on the earth, among mosses

common.
" rufescens, " Moist place s, on the earth, decayed wood
common.
Stricta scrobiculata, (Ach.) Trees ; not common.

" pulmonaria, " Trees, especially the Maple ; very com.

Parmelia crinita, " Trees ; common.

" tiliacea, " " "

" leevigata, " « "

" colpodes, " " «

" conspersa, " Rocks and stones ; common,

parietina, (Fr.) Trees, &c. ; common,
stellaris, (Wallr.) Trees and stones ; common,
pallescens, (Fr.) Trees, &c. ; very common.
« subfusca, « " " "

" varia, " « " "

Stereocaulon tomentosum, " On the earth and stones, in fields ; com.
Cladonia pyxidata, " On the earth, rotten wood, &c. ; "

" gracilis, " " " common.

" cornucopioides, " " " "

" Floerkiana, " On the earth, decayed logs, &c. ; rare.

" rangiferina, (Hoffm.) On the earth, and much-decayed
wood ; common.
Biatora ocrophaea, (Tuckerm.) Trees ; common.
Lecidea enterolenca, (Fr.) " "

Opegrapha scripta, (Ach. Schagr.) Bark of trees ; common.
Pertusaria purtusa, (Ach.) " " very common.

" faginea, " Trees, rocks, &c. ; common.

Verrucaria epidermidisj (Fr.) Bark of trees, especially the Beech;
common.

Charace(B.
Ohara vulgaris. Common in bays and shoals of the St. Lawrence, in
slow or stagnant water.

<(

24 Tuhicolous Marine Worms,

In this and the article above referred to, nearly all the Plien-
ogamoiis plants in the neighborhood are enumerated, with the
exception of a few Salices and Carices, the characters of which
are too variable or obscure for me to determine them with confi-
dence. No attempt has been made to give anything like a complete
list of our Cryptogamia ; and, little else than the more common
forms are noticed.

ARTICLE III. — On the Tuhicolous Marine Worms of the Gulf
of St. Lawrence^ hy J. W. Dawson, LL.D., F.G.S.

Eead before the Natural History Society of Montreal.

The legions of marine worms that haunt the borders of the
sea are not usually very attractive to amateurs, nor have they
received the attention that they merit from naturalists, yet there
are few of the humbler animals that are more remarkable or
interesting in their structure and habits. They constitute two
orders, the errantia or vagrant sea worms, and the tubicol?e or
tube dwellers. The former are the sea centipedes, sea mice, lob-
worms, mud worms, &c. ; and though some of them are hideous
in general aspect, they are all remarkable for the singular struc-
ture of their locomotive and respiratory apparatus, as well as for
many curious points in their modes of life and reproduction.
The report presented by Dr. Williamson to the British Association
in 1851, on these creatures, is one of the most interesting
zoological monographs that we possess.

The tube dwellers are simpler in the structure of their external
appendages, though these are still very curious, and they are
more sedentary in their habits; but their colour is often brilliant,
and their shells, though generally inferior in beauty to those of
the mollusks, are elegant in form, and have the advantage of
being capable of easy preservation as permanent specimens.

The tuhicolous worms constitute several well marked genera.
Some, the Amphitrites and Sabellce, construct fragile tubes of
agglutinated grains of sand, others, the Terehelloe^ are more select,
and gather around them a tube of minute shells and shelly frag-
ments cemented together, so that each of them is in his way
a sort of little concholo2:ist. Others secrete hard calcareous
tubes, which may, as in the Serjmlce, be straight or irregularly
curved, or, as in the Spirorhes, rolled into a regular spiral.

Tubicolom Marine Worms, 25

Genus Spirorhis.

A stroller by tlie sea side, searching for shells or algae, is sure
to meet with Sea weeds more or less thickly covered with little
white shells, coiled up and attached firmly by one side to the
weed. Sometimes they are so abundant that large fronds may
have as many as a hundred on a square inch. If taken out of
the sea while alive, and examined under a microscope, there may
be seen to extend from the mouths of their tubes little conical
buttons mounted on stalks, which are the stoppers or lids that
close the orifices of their dwellings. These are followed by
a group of little filaments, the gills of the animal, and amidst
them is the simple suctorial mouth. These organs are slowly ex-
tended, but very rapidly withdrawn when the animal is alarmed by
any agitation of the water or the vessel in which it is contained. If
the animal is extracted from its tube it will be found to be a little
jointed worm terminating in a point, and having at its sides
minute hooks and bristles for enabling it to hold fast by the sides
of its habitation and to ascend and descend at pleasure.

The species most commonly found on the shores of the gulf of
St. Lawrence is the Sinrorhis spirillum — Serpula spirillum
of Linnaeus. It is regularly spiral, with smooth rounded whorls,
not enlarging rapidly nor much flattened at the lower side, but
sometimes rising nearly into an erect position toward the mouth.
Its favourite residence is on the fuci in shallow water. It is
found on both sides of the Atlantic and as far north as Greenland.

On sea weeds and zoophytes from somewhat deeper water, we
may often observe another species, smaller and more delicate in
texture than >S^. spirillum, coiled less closely, and in the opposite
way, or from right to left when the aperture of the shell is held
from the observer. This is the Spirorhis sinistrorsa. It is not
noted by Fabricius as a Greenland shell, but is found on zoophytes
at Gaspe, and abounds on sea weed in deep water off" the coast of
Maine. This and the previous species are the only ones that an
observer'who confines his attention to the sea weeds of the shore

tj (At

may chance to meet with; but dredging in deep water will
procure the following species.

Sp)irorhis nautiloides, the Serjnila spirorhis of Linnaeus, is of
the same size with S. Spirillum, but is thicker, less smooth, trans-
versely wrinkled, and more flattened at the base, so that when
removed from its attachment it appears like a shell split into two
equal halves. Its whorls also are more closely united and increase

26 Tuhicolous Marine Worms.

in diameter more rapidly, so that there is a deep and narrow
umbilical cavity in the centre. It is found both on stones and
sea weeds in deep water. This is at least what I take to be the
true Seiyula spirorUs of Linnae us and Fabricius, though more
recently some confusion between this shell and S, spirillum seems
to have arisen. It was found by Fabricius in Greenland. I have it
in a collection made in Labrador by Mr. Carpenter, missionary
of the Canada Foreign Missionary Society, and Dr. Gould has ob-
tained it on the American coast. I have it also on stones from
the Banks of Newfoundland.

When old, this shell forms a few semi-erect turns, so as to cover
up the previous whorls and the umbilicus, and terminates in a
thick and slightly expanded mouth, sometimes as much as half a
line in width. So completely does the shell in this condition
differ from its immature state, that but for the appearances seen
in sliced or broken specimens, I should have regarded it as a
distinct species. A change of a somewhat similar character,
though less marked, occurs in S. cancellata, and is represented
in the figure of that species given below. Similar changes,
though with diflferences in details, occur in S. vitrea and S,
por recta.

Spirorhis carinata (Mont.) is a deep water species, closely allied
to >S^. nautiloides, if not a variety of it. It is distinguished by
a keel or ridge running along the whorls, nearer the inner than
the outer edge. In some old shells a second ridge appears, and
then the shell very closely resembles S. quadrangularis of Stimp-
son. Young shells, on the other hand, are not distinguishable from
those of the S. nautiloides. This species is not noted by Fabricius
as a Greenland shell. It abounds in the collections of Mr. Bell
of the Geological Survey, and in my own from Gaspe, where it
occurred in deep water, attached to dead shells and stones. It
was found at Labrador by Mr. Carpenter. I also have it on a
stone taken up from the Banks of Newfoundland by a fishei man's
hook, and presented to me by A. Dickson, Esq.

Sp>irorhis vitrea is like S. sinistrorsa^ a reversed species, but is
thick, semi-transparent, and has the whorls closely crowded, and
in adult shells turned up and somewhat narrowed and thickened
at the mouth. A group of these shells looks like a number of
small drops of glass that had fallen on a stone and cooled there.
Fabricius discovered this species in Greenland. It occurs in Mr.
Bell's Gaspd collection, on the Banks of Newfoundland, and fossil

Tubicolom Marine Worms.

21

in the Pleistocene beds at Montreal and Beauport. It is noted bj
Stimpson as found in the Bay of Fundy.

a.

G

Fig. 1. — Spirorhis cancellata. a nat. size ; b magnified ; c older shell
less magnified ; d, e side views.

Spirorhis cancellata is in point of ornament the prince of our
Spirorbes. It is thick, regularly spiral when young, but with the
mouth tending upward when old. Above, it has two, or, in old
shells, three strong ridges revolving with the whorls, and giving it
an elegant fluted appearance, and the outer side presents a furrow
crossed by strong transverse bars, or in other shells appears as a
regular slope wilh a series of depressed spaces at regular intervals.
The whole appearance of this shell in a perfect specimen is very
elegant, and as I have not been able to find a good figure of it in
any work that I have consulted, I have attempted to represent it in
the figures on this page. It is a reversed species. S. cancellata
abounds in Mr. Bell's Gasp^ collection. It is one of the species
found by Fabricius in Greenland and named by him, but I am
not aware that it has been met with since, until dredged by Mr.
Bell in about 60 fathoms on the Gaspe coast, where it lives
attached to the valves of dead shells. It is also in Mr. Carpen-
ter's collection from Labrador.

Sinrorhis granulata^ (Muller) resembles that last described, but
wants the ornament around the margin, having only two furrow
and three sharp elevated ridges on the upper side, and it is not
reversed. Fabricius, who found it in Greenland, states that its
animal is yellow, with a white stopper on a short stalk, and sis
respiratory filaments. It occurs, though rarely, in Mr. Carpenter's

28

Tubicolous Marine Worms,

collection from Labrador, on stones and bryozoa, and was found
by Stimpson at Grand Manan.

Spirorbis porrecta differs from the others in having only a few
spiral turns and then boldly standing erect. It is thin, shining?
and round in its tube, and from its habit of growth resembles a
serpula ; but the animal is that of a spirorbis. Fabricius very
clearly describes it as follows. It occupies when contracted only a
third part of the length of the shell, is smooth, flattened on the
abdomen and attenuated posteriorly. Its stopper is extended on
a stem and at its base are six soft, short, white, conical respiratory
processes. At the base of these the body is white, plicated, and
armed with golden setae or bristles, extending forward. The rest
of the body is blood red above, lighter on the sides and below, and
its colour can be seen through the semi-transparent shell. This
species occurs at Gaspe on Zoophytes, and is recorded by Stimp-
son as found at Grand Manan.

It thus appears that of these curious little spiral worm shells,
the precise use of which in nature it would perhaps be difficult
to point out, but which no doubt enjoy life after their fashion,
and afford food to other animals, we have no less than seven or
eight species in the gulf of St. Lawrence.

Fig. 2. — Serpula (Vermilia) serrula? a nat. size; b anterior part
magnified ; c aperture magnified.

Genus Serpula.

The true serpulse are neither abundant nor large in the Gulf of
St. Lawrence, in so far as my observation extends. The most
common species, found both in Labrador and Gasp^, is of small
size, about ^%th of an inch in diameter, wrinkled transversely and
with a distinct and strongly denticulate keel on the back. It is
adherent in its whole length, sometimes much and irregularly

Tuhicoloiis Marine Worms, 29

bent, sometimes nearly straight. It corresponds exactly with
the description of >S^. (Vermilia') serrula of Stimpson, from the
Bay of Fundy. It also corresponds with the S. triquetra of
Linnaeus and Fabricius, except in its smaller size, and more
delicate structure. In some specimens there is a structure
which, so far as I am aware, has not been noticed in either of
the above species. It consists of two lateral lobes, somewhat
more than one-twentieth of an inch in length, attached to the sides
of the anterior portion of the tube, and opening by narrow labiate
mouths on each side of the princijDal orifice, so that there ap-
pear to be three orifices close together, the central one round,
the lateral ones narrow and lunate. If the animal inhabiting
this shell has the structure of protula, one may suppose that
these lobes accommodate the lateral disk or expansion of the
thorax. As they appear only in certain specimens, they may
perhaps be connected with the function of reproduction, and be
of the nature of ovi-capsules, or they may serve to enable a
certain amount of respiration to proceed when the gills are
retracted. It would be interesting to study the living animal
with reference to these curious additions to its tube.

Serpula vermicularis is one of the shells which I have described
in a former paper as found in the Pleistocene clay at Logan's Farm,
but I have not seen it from the Gulf, nor is it noted by Fabricius.
It is round, smooth, and tortuous.

Genus Pectinaria.

A shell, probably of this genus, made up of a single layer of
grains of sand, is frequent on sandy shores. It is perhaps P.
Groenlandica Grube, P. Belgica Lam., but I have not seen the
animal.

The Serpula seminulum of Fabricius is a foraminiferous shelly
the 31iUolina seminulum described in my previous papers on
the Pleistocene deposits. The S. stellaris of Fabricius is the
Truncatulina lohaia, also a foraminiferous shell, parasitic on
shells and zoophytes, found in the Gulf of St. Lawrence and in
the Pleistocene beds. Serpula contortuplicata^ a common Atlantic
species, is also noted by Fabricius, but has not been found in the
Gulf. This industrious observer has also, under the genera Sahellaj
Nereis^ and Tuhularia, several species of tube-dwelling worms^
which are perhaps identical with species of Sahella^ Amp)hitrite^
&c., described by the naturalists of the "^"^nited States, but which
have not been observed in the Gulf of St. Lawrence.

o

0 List oj tJ.e St, Lawrence Algce.

The investigations recorded in the foregoing pages originated
partly in the researches necessary to the study of the Pleistocene
fossils of the St. Lawrence valley, and partly in the interest of the
collections placed in the hands of the author by Mr. Bell and Mr.
Carpenter. The most useful guide to the study of these collec-
tions has proved to be the old work of Otho Fabricius — the
Fauna Groenlandica, a wonderful monument of painstaking and
accurate research, to which I hope ere long to direct the attention
of Canadian naturalists in a comparative sketch of the marine
fauna of Greenland, as described by Fabricius and others, and
that of the Gulf of St. Lawrence and the tertiary beds on its
margin. For access to this and some other scarce books, and for
aid in the comparison of some doubtful species, I have to thank
Dr. Gould of Boston and Mr. Stimpson.

ARTICLE lY. — A Classified List of 3Iarine AlgcE from the
Lower St. Lawrence^ with an Litroduction for Amateur
Collectors. By the Be v. Alex. F. Ke3ip.
This large and beautiful collection of Algte, which we have
here catalogued according to the most recent order of classi-
fication, has been put into our hands, for the most part, by a dili-
gent and skillful collector (whose name we are not permitted to
give), for the purpose of illustrating an interesting department of
our Canadian Botany. The Lower St. Lawrence is, we believe, a
field for research which has not yet been sufficiently explored.
It has all the characteristics to render it the favorite habitat of a
very wide range of genera and species. In the colder waters of
the north shore, we may expect to find plants peculiar to the
Arctic and Sub-Arctic zones, together with those that belong to the
temperate shores of the world. Again, the somewhat warmer
waters of the southern coast, as far east as Gasp^, with their
peculiar shores and bays, will undoubtedly aff'ord forms and species
of marine plants, whose limits of geographical distribution reach far
into the warmer regions of the south. Further, the junction of
the fresh waters of the river with the salt waters of the gulf, will
be found a favorite resort for some of the more beautiful and deli-
cate species of Algae. We have as yet seen no specimens from
this middle region of our waters ; but we have no doubt that
somewhere about Grosse Isle, or on the shores of the counties
L'Islet and Saguenay, a fine and as yet unexplored field lies open
to some enthusiastic collector.

List of the St. Lawrence AIg(B. 31.

An idea is we fear somewliat prevalent that the collection and
classification of sea-weeds is an employment only for children and
idle people — that to give anything like earnest attention to this
beautiful but comparatively useless class of plants, is to mis-spend
one's valuable time. Now, we do not deny that this class of plantsj
from their rare beauty of form and colour and from the facility
with which they may be prepared as articles of ornament, has
become of late years a favourite source of amusement to young
persons, and especially to young ladies. It is, however, certain
that while they find amusement in collecting and preparing speci-
mens, they also bring their minds into contact, in a most instruc-
tive way, with some of the most interesting and beautiful forms
of Creative Wisdom. They, for example, become familiar with
colours of gem-like lustre and with varieties of form and structure,
which, for delicacy and beauty, far surpass the conceptions of
human imagination or the skill of human hands. Especially this
is the case if collectors examine and classify their specimens by
the aid of a microscope, with powers ranging from 100 to 400 diame-
ters. This will open up to them a world of wonders, and impart a
deep and delicious pleasure to all their researches. Now that good
microscopes are so cheap and so easily attainable, every collector
of plants should have one, and should make it his constant com-
panion. There is a large number of the Algae, and these too the
most beautiful and interesting, which can only be determined by
a, microscopic examination of their tissues and their modes of
reproduction.

Let not any one imagine that these plants are of no use. They
may, it is true, be of little use to us ; but it is taking a low view
of the utility of things to judge of it simply by our personal
advantage. It is admitted that we can get very little to eat or to
sell from the Algae. We would not advise any one to attempt
to make a living by collecting and preparing specimens. They
are, nevertheless, not without their use. We get iodine, one of
the most valuable of medicines, from the Fucaceae ; and the vast
quantities of sea-weeds which are cast upon our shores are used
extensively as a most excellent manure for our fields.

If we judge of the use of the Algae, not by the direct benefits
which we receive from them, but from the place which they occupy?
and the work wliich they perform in the grand system of the
organic kingdom, we shall see that these humble plants are entitled
to most honorable consideration. If antiquity is any honor in

32 List of the Si, Lawrence AlgcB,

these days, the Algas may say to their more lordly brethren of the
woods and gardens, " Our forefathers lived many ages before the
first of your tribe was born. We inhabited the shallow waters and
the shores of the most ancient Silurian seas, and, in every subse-
quent age, for millions of years, we have borne silent testimony to
the wisdom of the great Creator." Consider too, that if sea-weeds
cannot to any great extent be eaten by us, that yet the tiny
molluscs, the radiates and the smaller vertebrate fishes need food
as well as we. These plants are the sources from which very many
of them are sustained in life. Without them there would be
famine in many families of the animal kingdom.

The marine plants perform, besides, the same sanitary work in
the sea which the land plants perform on the land. Both are
most important agents in purifying the atmosphere and preserving
it in a healthy state for animal use. These apparently insignifi-
cant Alg^e are indeed most busy and benevolent creatures. They
swallow up much that is poisonous in the water, and labour hard
to keep it pure and sweet. It is well known that the carbon arising
from decaying vegetable or animal substances in water or on land,
by combining with oxygen, forms carbonic acid gas, which is both
very disagreeable to the organs of smell and very injurious to health.
Were it not then for the provision which the good Creator has
made, by means of land and sea-plants, to counteract this noxious
vapour, many parts of the sea and land would be entirely unfit
for the residence of animals. These marine plants have the pe-
culiar faculty of absorbing from the carbonic acid gas all the
noxious carbon, and setting free the healthy oxygen. They thus
decompose that injurious compound, and render the waters suita-
ble for animal life. In proof of this, we would adduce the fact,
which those who are familiar with the sea-shore may have observed,
that the Algae are constantly covered with globules of air, which,
like studs of brilliants, sparkle with great beauty, and sometimes
shine like stars. These globules are the emancipated portions of
oxygen, which, having been attracted into the bad society of carbon,
are now set free by the benevolent action of the weeds ; the result
is, that, grateful for their liberty, they shine with evident joy.

We have said enough to show that the lowly Algge are not so
useless a class of plants as some people suppose, but that they fill
an important place in the grand circle of creation ; they, too, are
evidences of that Divine wisdom which it is one of the employ-
ments of intelligent and good people to enquire into and admire. To

List of the St. Lawrence AlgcB, 33

know their character and habits is to know the wisdom and good-
ness of our Father in Heaven.

Many young collectors, and admirers of these plants more
mature in y^ars, wish to obtain a more full acquaintance with them
than that which their own unaided observations afford ; but they are
often at a loss to find out how this may be accomplished. Very few
people in this country know anything about the scientific structure
and classification of the x^lgae. It is, therefore, a rare thing to find
a personal instructor and guide. The next best thing is to pro-
cure good books ; but then, where shall we find them ? and what do
they cost ? are questions frequently put.

For the benefit of those who desire to cultivate, in a scientific way,
this interesting department of botany, we beg to say that the books
which will be of most service to them are neither difficult to obtain
nor yet very costly. The best book for this country is a work by
Dr. Harvey, of Dublin, recently published by the Smithsonian
Institution of Washington. It can be had through any bookseller
from the Messrs. Appleton, of New York, at the cost of $6. It
is a large quarto size. The plates are most beautiful, and the
classification most recent and complete. For a book of its kind
it is remarkably cheap. It is entitled ''^ Nereis Boreali-Ameri-
cana," The next best book is Harvey's "Atlas of British Sea-
Weeds,^' with the little book which accompanies it. This work
contains figures of almost every species found in the British
waters, and comprises a great part of our American plants. Its
cost is three guineas sterling in England, and though somewhat
expensive, is really a most delightful and valuable book. " Jlar-
vefs Manual of British Marine AlgcB " is a less costly book and
one better adapted for beginners, the last edition of which can
be procured for about four dollars. A smaller and more ele-
mentary work, entitled "Landshorough's Marine Algcje^'' very o-ood
and useful for beginners, may be obtained by any bookseller in this
country, from Routledge the publisher, at a cost of two dollars.
There are other books of a more expensive kind, which mio-ht be
named ; but these will enable any one to prosecute, with pleasure
and profit, the study of the genera and species of the laro-e sub-
kingdom of the Marine Algse.

The writer of this article will gladly determine any specimens
for young collectors that they may find difficult or obscure. He
will also be glad to receive for publication, in the Naturalist any

Can. Nat. 3 Vol. V. No. 1.

34 List of the St. Laiurence AlgcB.

new species that may be found in the St. Lawrence, or specimens
of Algae from the region at which the fresh and salt waters of the
river and gulf come into contact.

Having made these few observations in a popular form, for the
benefit of young readers, we shall now proceed with our detailed
catalogue of the specimens referred to : —

The references to pages and plates are all, except when otherwise
mentioned, to Harvey's " Nereis Boreali- Americana."

Sub-Class. — I. Melanosperme^ or Olive-Colored Alg^e,

Order /.— FuCACE^.

'Fucus fastigiatus, J. Ag. P. 68, pi. Ill A. North Shore of

the St. Lawrence.
Fucus nodosiis, Linn. P. 68. Abundant on all the shores of

the North Atlantic.
Fucus furcatus, Ag. P. 70. St. Nicholas, in rock pools,

within reach of the spray of high tides. This species is

obtained in Newfoundland, and is apparently rare on

our shores. Harvey says he is not acquainted with it.
Fucus vesicuhsus, Linn. P. 71. Very abundant on all the

North Atlantic shores; remarkable for its air-vessels,

which are, however, often absent.

Order III. — LAMiNARlACEiE.

Alaria Pi/laii, Grev. P. 89. On rocks near low water mark.
This species was first described from a Newfoundland
specimen, and no other locality is given by Harvey.

Laminaria Fascia, Ag. P. 91. On rocks near low water
mark. " This species is widely distributed, being found
on the Atlantic and Mediterranean shores of Europe,
and at the Falkland Islands in the Southern Atlantic."
— Harv.

Laminaria dermatodea, De la Pyl. P. 92. St Nicholas and
Point des Monts, North Shore. Newfoundland is the
only habitat given by Harvey. On rocks at and below
low-water mark.

Laminaria longicruris, De la Pyl. P. 93. Metis— a fragment
from the collection of Mr. D. A. Poe.

List of tic St. Lawrence Algcc. 35

Laminaria Fht/Uitis, Stack. Harvey's Manual. P. 31. On
rocks near low water. This plant is not found in the
Ner. Bor.-Am. Our specimen exactly corresponds with
the description of the Manual ; but Dr. Greville, Mrs.
Griffiths, and Dr. Harvey doubt whether this beautiful
plant may claim to rank as a species distinct from L.
saccharina. " The more lanceolate form, deHcate sub-
stance, and pale yellowish-green colour, constitute the
chief marks of distinction."

Laminaria digitata, Lam. P. 94. Abundant as far south
as Cape Cod.

Agarum Turneri, Post. & Rupr. P. 95, pi. V. On rocks below
low water mark, Rimouski, South Shore. This plant
is peculiar to the Atlantic and Pacific Shores of America.
Its common name is Sea-Colander.

Chorda Jilum, Stack. P. 98. Murray Bay. A young speci-
men clothed with beautiful pellucid grass-green hairs —
common on the Northern Shores of America.

Chorda lomentaria, Lyngb. P. 98. On rocks at mid-tide.
This plant is not easily distinguishable from Asperoco-
ccus echinatus. " In habit it has more resemblance to
it than to O. filum ; but the structure of the walls is
more in accordance with the latter, and it may always be
known by its constricted joints."

Order IV. — DiCTYOTACEiE.

Dictyosiphon fceniculaceus, Grev. P. 114. On rocks at low
water mark. "In a growing state every branch is
clothed with long slender pellucid-jointed hairs, which
give the plant, when seen under water, a beautiful
feathery character." — Harv.

Punctaria tenuissima^ Grev. P. 115. Parasitic on other

Algae.
Punctaria plantac/inea, Grev. P. 115. On rocks and stones.

Asperococcus echinatus, Grev. P. 117. A plant nearly allied

in appearance to C. lomentaria.
Asperococcus compressiis, Grifi". Harvey's Manual, p. 42.

Murray Bay. This plant is not included in Harvey's

36 List of the St. Lawrence Algce,

Ner. Bor.-Am. ; but it exactly corresponds with tlie
description in the Manual, and does not very much
resemble A. echinatus. After careful consideration, we
are disposed to add it to the American species.

Order V. — CnORDARIACEiE.

Chordaria JlageUiformis, Ag. P. 123. In rock pools mid-
tide, Murray Bay. This is a remarkably prolific and
robust specimen. Its branches are from 6 to 8 inches
long.

Chordaria divarlcata, Ag. P. 124, pi. XI A. In rock pools
mid-tide, Murray Bay. This is also a remarkably fine
specimen. It has shrunk greatly in drying.

Elachista fiicicola, Fries. P. 131, pi. XI B. Parasitic on
Fuci and Chordarias. Metis,

Order VI. — Ectocarpace^.

Ectocarpus hracJiiatiis, Harv. P. 138. Parasitic on Fucus
vesicidosus. Murray Bay. Also in the collection of
Mr. D. A. Poe from Metis.

Ectocarpus littoralis, Lyngb., p. 139. Abundant on Fucus
vesiculosus. Murray Bay and St. Nicholas.

Ectocarpus siUculosus, Lyngb. P. 139. On stones and other
Algae at low water mark. Murray Bay ; very abundant
and the specimens are very fine.

Ectocarpus fasciculatus, Harv. P. 141. Parasitic on Chor-
daria. We are doubtful about this species. The speci-
men is so infested with Diatomaceae, that it is very diffi-
cult to discover the fructification ; but so far as it is
discoverable, it has all the appearance of this species.

Sub-Class. — II. RnoDOSPERMEiE OR Red Alg^.
Order I. — Rhodomelace^.

Odonthalia dentata Lyngb. P. 14. In great abundance at
Bernaby Island, Rimouski, and frequently found at
Murray Bay.

Odonthalia angustifoUa, Suhr. P. 14. Abundant at Mur-
ray Bay. This is a very beautiful plant. It is not
described in the Ner. Bor.-Am. Harvey only says of it

List of the St. Laurence Algce. 37

that seemingly it is the same as 0. Kamtchatica Rupr.
In appearance it is very distinct from the previous
species. It may, we think, be added without hesitation
to the North American Algae.

Ehodomela subfusca, Ag. P. 26. On stones in sandy bays
and on Jother Algae. Point des Monts, North Shore,
Rimouski and Metis. This is an exceedingly variable
plant, the young fronds spring from the terminations of
the old, and in summer give it a very bushy appearance.
In its winter garb and in its old state, it is very scrubby
and rigid in its branches

Bhodomela lycopodioides^ Linn. Harv. Man. p. 78. The col-
lector notes regarding this plant that " though common
every where it is found in greatest beauty and size — in
large bushy fronds of more than a foot and a half in
length — at Murray Bay. Some pieces of iron removed
from a wreck at Caribou Island were perfectly covered
with this Alga." Although Harvey does not include
this species in his Ner. Bor.-Am., we cannot doubt its
identity with the British species of the name. Its pe-
culiarly graceful branches and the monoliform character
of its ultimate pinnae, which are covered with tetraspores,
distinguish it sufficiently from L. subfusca. It has no
conceptacles.

Ehodomela gracilis, Kutz. P. 26, pi. XIII. C. This plant
is remarkable for its fine pedicellate conceptacles. There
is also an entire absence of tetraspores or stichidia. The
branching is exceedingly graceful, approaching in ap-
pearance to that of R. li/cojjodioides.

Polysiphonia urceolata, Grev. P. 32. On stones and other
Algae below low water mark. Murray Bay and Metis.

Polysiphonia formosa, Suhr. P. 33. Murray Bay, Rimouski
and Metis.

Polysiphonia fibrillosa, Grev. P. 43. On stones below low
water mark, Point des Monts.

Polysiphonia violacea, Grev. P. 44. On other Algae below
low water mark, Murray Bay.

Polysiphonia fastigiata, Grev. P. 54. Parasitical on F.
nodosus. Metis and Point des Monts. The collector
remarks, "This plant makes its appearance first at Metis.

38 List of the St. Lawrence Algce.

I have seen it in sucli abundance at Nahant tliat the

sight of it here made me feel as if at the ocean side.

The plant here is smaller."
Polysiphonia variegata, Ag. ^P. 45. Metis. In the collection

of Mr. D. A. Poe.
Polysiphonia nigrescens, Grev. P. 49. In shallow rock pools^.

Metis.
Polysiphonia mgrescens, var. fucoides, Grev. On stones and

other Algas, Point des Monts.
Polysiphonia oiigrescens, var. affinis, Grev. Parasitical on Lami-

naria, Rimouski.

Order IIL — CoRALLlNACE^.
Corallina officinalis, Linn. P. 83. On stones and shells abundant^

Order IV. — SPHCEROCOCCOIDEiE.

Delesseria sinuosa, Lam. P. 93. On rocks, Murray Bay.
An exceedingly variable plant. " In deep waters th&
frond often becomes very narrow with filiform lobes
produced into long tendrils. The margin of the frond
which in most cases is merely denticulate, is occasionally
bordered with slender simple or fimbricated lacinulae,
or fringed with great numbers of minute accessory
frondlets." Harv. The fringed and narrow varieties
are very common in the St. Lawrence. The collector
notes regarding this plant, that "it is the only species
of this genus I have found elsewhere than at Murray
Bay. This place is the garden of the St. Lawrence. "

Delesseria/m&riaia, De la Pyl. P. 94. Parasitical on Chcetomor-
pha. Murray Bay. Newfoundland is the only other
locality noted by Harvey who does not appear to have
seen the plant. It is one of the most beautiful and
curious of the genus. The laciniae are densely fringed
with delicate twisted leaflets.

DoiessQrisidenficulataj'Mont. P. 94. Parasitical on (7Ace^omor^jAa»
Murray Bay, Shores of Labrador and Brandy Pot
Island. The fronds are alternately branched.

Delesseria a Za to, Lam. P. 95. North shore of the St. Lawrence,
collected by Mr. D. A. Poe. This seems a doubtful
specimen, very like D. fimhi'iata, but its leaflets are
shorter and entire on the margin. A narrower and
more distinct specimen from Kakoona is in my collection.

List of the St. Lawrence AlgCB, 39

Delesseria angustisswia, Griff. P. 95. It is doubtful whether
this be not a very extreme variety of the preceeding.

Delesseria i??//)oy?ossMm, Lam. P. 96. Murray Bay. Collected
by Miss Taylor.

Nitophyllum punctatum, Grev. P. 104. Mingan Islands. Col-
lected by George Barnston, Esq.

Nitophyllum Bomiemaisoni, Ag. Harv. Man. p. 117. Mingan
Islands. Collected by George Barnston, Esq. This
species is not in the Ner. Bor.-Am., and is new to the
American shores.

Order V. — GelidiacEuE.
Hypnea musci/ormis, Lam. P. 123. Point des Monts.

Order X. — Rhodymeniace^.

Rhodymenia ^er^wsa, J. Ag. P. 147. North shore. Harvey gives
also the Straits of St. Juan de Fuca and Greenland.
Our specimens are not more than 4-6 inches long. In
the more northern seas this plant attains the size of from
1-3 feet.

B.]iodymem?i pahnata, Grev. P. 148. Regarding this fine plant
the collector notes that it is " common on the south shore
and Murray Bay, but not a trace of it is to be found so
far north as St. Nicholas and Point des Monts."

Cordylecladia irregularis, Harv. P. 156. This plant seems to be
very abundant on both shores of the St. Lawrence, but
we are somewhat doubtful as to our determination.
Both in structure and external appearance it approxi-
mates to the description of this species by Harvey. It
is a pretty red plant and is remarkable for the secund
character of its ultimate ramuli.

Order XL — Cryptonemiace^.

Phyllophora Brodlcei, J. Ag. P. 164. In rock pools near low

water mark, Murray Bay.
Phyllophora mem?>?'a?ii/b/ia, J. Ag. P. 165. Murray Bay.

Cysiochnium purpurascejis,Kutz. P. 170. Collected at Gasp^ by
Mr. Bell, of the Canada Geological Survey. Found
also at Murray Bay. This plant is readily recognized
by the nodose swellings in the ramuli. " It is common

40 List of the St, Lawrence Alga.

throughout the north Atlantic extending on the Euro-
pean side from the glacial ocean to the southern shores
of France." Harv.
Iridaea edulis, Stack. Harv. Man. p. 150. Not described among
the American species in the Ner. Bor.-Ain., the speci-
men before us is small, but the characters are well
marked.

Halosaccion ramejitaceum, J. Ag. P. 194. Common on every
shore. Murray Bay, Point des Monts.

¥-aice\\scrm fastigiafa, Lyngb. P. 195. In rock pools near low^
water mark. Murray Bay and Metis. A robust speci-
men was collected by Mr. Bell,Can. Geo. Sur. at Gaspe.

Furcellaria divaricata, Harv. MS. Deep water, Murray Bay.
This plant is neither in the Manual nor the Ner. Bor.-
Am. of Harvey, but is so named by him in MS.

Order XIIL — Ceramiace^.

Ceramium ruhrum, Ag. P. 213. Abundant on stones and other
Algae, Point des Monts. A most Protean plant.

CevB.m.i\im fastigiatum, Harv. P. 217. Metis.

Ceramium Hooperi, Harv. MS. On perpendicular sides of
rocks. Murray Bay and St. Nicholas. Not Common.

Ceramium ^raci7Zimwm, Kutz. Harv. Man. p. 163. Collected
by Mr. D. A. Poe at Metis.

Ptilota serrata^ Kutz. P. 222. Very abundant at Murray Bay.
Ptilota elegans, Bonnem. P. 224. In the collection of Mr. D.
A. Poe. North shore.

Callithamnion Pi/laiscei, Mont. P. 239. A most beautiful and
delicate plant. Murray Bay. Our specimens are in
fine fruit.

Suh-Class III. — Chlorosperme^ or green Alg^.

Order IV. — Ulvace^.

Porphyra vulgaris, Ag. P. 53. Very abundant on the rocks of
both shores. P. laciniata is nothing more than a cleft
variety of this plant, both are used in England in the
preparation of Marine Sauce, or laver.

List of the St. Lawrence Algce. 41

Bangia /wscopwrpwrea, Lyngb. P. 54. On top and within the
seams of rocks near high water mark, Point des Monts.

Enteromorpha coinpressa, Grev. P. 57. Extremely common and
variable. Under one or other of its many forms this
species is found on all parts of our American coasts.

Enteromorpha intestinalis, Link. P. 57. In rills of fresh water
covered at high tide. Murray Bay.

Enteromorpha clathrata var., erecta, Lyngb. Harv. Man. p. 214.
In rock pools near low water. Murray Bay.

Enteromorpha clathrata, var., ramulosa, Grev. P. 57. Harv.
Man. p. 215. In rock pools. In the Ner. Bor.-Am.
Harvey agrees with Greville in considering E. erecta and
ramulosa of authors as varieties, if not also synonyms of
E. clathrata.

Ulva Linza, Linn. P. 59. Common on all the shores ; easily

known by its tapering base and linear lanceolate form.
TJlva latissima, Linn. P. 59. Verycommon. Form polymorphous;

Order VI. — CoNFERVACEiE.

Cladophora arcta Billw. P. 75. On rocks near low water mark.

Bimouski and St, Nicholas.
Cladophora ^raciZis, Griff. P. 81. Murray Bay.
Cladophora Icetevirens Dillw. P. 82. In rock pools at low tide.

Metis.

Chaetomorpha melagonium, Web. & Mohr. P. 85. In rook pools
near low water mark, North shore. This plant was for-
merly called Conferva melagonium, but Harv. in the
latest of his publications thus designates the genus.

Cha3tomorpha longiarticulata, Harv. P. 86. Parasitical on
Halosaccion. North shore.

Hormotrichum Younganum, Dillw. P. 89. From the iron bar of
a buoy, Bimouski. The plants under this genus have
hitherto been placed either in Conferva or Lynghya.

Hormotrichum CarmichwUi, Harv. P. 90. On top of stones near
high water mark, Murray Bay.

Rhizoclonium rijmrium, Both. P. 92. In seams of rocks, Murray
Bay. Also found in Greenland.

Order IX. — OSCILLATORIACE^.

Lyngbya/errz/^{?iea, Ag. P. 102. On top of rooks near low water
mark, Bic.

42 Umisual Modes of

RivuLARi^, Hass.

Raphidia viridis, Hass. Britisli Fresh-water Algae, p. 265, pi
64, fig. 3. In rock pools, Point des Monts. This
plant bears some resemblance to the Rivularia nitida
of Harvey's Man. p. 222 ; but although a salt-water
species it is yet more like the R. viridis of Hass. which
abounds in the fresh-water of the St. Lawrence.

ARTICLE V. — Unusual modes of Gestation in Batradiians and
Fishes.

[Prof. Wyman of Harvard has lately returned from an excur-
sion across North America, in the course of which he has collected
many curious facts in natural history ; among others, the follow-
ing, which we extract from a communication to the Boston Society
of Natural History.]

" Among Batrachians the circumstances under which the young
are developed, though less varied than in some of the other classes
of vertebrates, still present a considerable range. By most species
the eggs are deposited in the water either upon aquatic plants or
on the bottoms ; by others, as in Salamandra eri/thronota, they
are laid in damp places under logs or stones ; with some the
evolution of the embryo commences a short time previous to the
laying of the egg and is completed subsequently, while there are
species which are wholly viviparous.

"The most remarkable deviations from the ordinary modes are
to be found in those instances in which the eggs, after being laid,,
are ajrain brouo^ht into a more or less intimate relation with the
parent, as in the "Swamp toads " (^Pipa Americana^ of Guiana,
where each ovum is developed in a sac by itself on the back of
the female, in Notoddphys of Venezuela, where all the eggs are
lodged in one large sac, also on the back, and is analogous to the
pouch of the Marsupials, and in Alytes, the " Obstetric toad " of
Europe, where the eggs are wound in strings around the legs of
the male, who takes care of them until they hatch. •

" The species, the habits of which are noticed below, and which,
in so far as I have been able to learn, have not attracted the
attention of naturalists, adds another to the series just mentioned,

Gestation in Batrachians and Fishes, 43

though the relation of the foetus to the parent becomes less inti-
mate than in any of the preceding cases.

^'' Hylodes lineaius (Dum. and Bib.) is vejy common in Dutch
Guiana, and its peculiar habits are well known to the colonists.
The first specimen with young which came to my notice had
been preserved in alcohol, and was presented to me by Mr. G. O.
Wacker, residing at Osembo, on the Para Creek, Surinam, and
had been captured at some distance from the water. The young,
ten or twelve in number, though separated from the parent, he
assured me, when found, were attached to the back.

"In the month of May, 1857, during an excursion to the coun-^
try inhabited by the Bush negroes, above Sara Creek on the upper
Surinam River, I had an opportunity for the first time of seeing
these animals carrying their young. The grass and bushes were
quite wet from a recent fall of rain, and this seemed the induce-
ment that led them from their hiding places, for when the ground
was dry none had been seen. They were very quick in their
movements, and when alarmed went at once into the grass and
thick bushes. One of my companions, Mr. John Green, and
myself succeeded in capturing some specimens, which, as we were
just leaving the village, were placed at once in alcohol. In one
instance the larvae were retained permanently adherent to the
back of the parent, in consequence of the coagulation of the mucus
covering the surface of the body, and are still preserved in the
Museum of Comparative Anatomy at Cambridge. The young,
from twelve to twenty in number, were collected upon the back
of the mother, their heads directed towards the middle line. They
were about three-fourths of an inch in length. No limbs were
developed, though in some of them the rudiments of a leg existed
in the form of a small papilla on either side of the base of the tail.
No especial organ was found to aid them in adhering to the back
of the parent. The adhesion may have been effected by the mouth.
This is rendered probable by the fact that all of them had the
mouth in contact either with the skin of the parent or with that
of another larva. A. viscid mucus covering the integuments un-
doubtedly assisted in some measure to bring about the same re-
sults. However this may be, they retained their places perfectly
well, and were not displaced when their mother, closely pursued,
carried them through the grass.

" On dissection of the young nothing was found materially dif-
ferent to conditions of the larvae of other Anoura. The external

44 Unusual Modes of

gills had disappeared, but were replaced by internal ones, which
were arranged as. usual on three hyoid arches. The development
of the lungs had commenced, and these were represented by a
slender conical mass of cells, but not permeable to air. The
mouth was provided with finely denticulated horny jaws, and the
intestinal canal was shorter and less spirally convoluted than in
ordinary larvae of frogs and toads. The stomach was not so much
developed as to be distinguished from the rest of the intestine ;
but this last, after passing the liver, was somewhat dilated, and
contained, as was shown by the microscope, large quantities of
yolk cells which had not been absorbed and which were adherent
to its walls.

We have here then a larva, in all of the details of its structure,
especially in the existence of gills and o f a flattened tail, adapted
to aquatic locomotion and respiration, yet passing a portion of its
time at least on the back of its parent and at a distance from the
water.

I was not able to ascertain whether the eggs were primarily de-
posited in the water or not, but it is well known to some of the
colonists that after the larvae have reached a certain degree of de-
velopment they are carried about in the manner just described
and they do not know them under any other circumstances. The
existence of yolk cells in the intestine, shows that for a period at
least they may have from these a supply of nutriment. Bat after
this is exhausted, and it appeared to be nearly so in those which
I have dissected, how do tbey obtain their food ? In the absence
of limbs adapted to terrestrial locomotion can they leave the body
of the parent ? and if they cannot, do they, as in the case of Pipa
and probably in Notodelphys, depend upon a secretion from her ?

Among Fishes, as far as at present known, the external condi-
tions under which the eggs are developed are more varied than
in any other class of Vertebrates. There are scarce any known
conditions of the higher classes to which there are not analogies
at least in the class of fishes. Besides the ordinary mode of de-
positing eggs upon the bottoms, some of the Salmonidse, like the
turtles, bury their eggs, the Lampreys (Petromxjzon)^ the Breams,
(Fomotis), the Hassars (Callicthys), the Stickle-backs, [Gaster-
ostei), &c., build more or less complete nests. Among some of
the Pipe Fishes, (Syngnathidce), the eggs and subsequently the
young, are carried in a pouch analogous to that of the opossums
and other marsupial animals, and among some of the Sharks

Gestation in Batrachians and Fishes, 45

there is a vitelline placenta analogous to the Allantoidian one of
the Mammalia.*

To those species enumerated above where the eggs become
more or less intimately connected with the body of the parent
after they are laid may be added the Aspredos and some species
of Bagrus, from Guiana.

Aspredo Icevis (Cuv. and Val.), the "Trompetti" of the colonists,
is about fifteen inches in length, and belongs to a remarkable ge-
nus of Siluroid fishes, which, in addition to several peculiarities
of anatomical structure, are remarkable for carrying the eggs and
young attached to the under surface of the body. These fishes
are very abundant in the waters of the Surinam where they are
taken in the nets with other kinds. They are not used as articles
of food except by the negroes, who have a fancy for Siluroids
generally, and in consequence these are known among the colo-
nists as Ningrefisi or "nigger fish." A general account of the
internal structure of Aspredo, is given in the Hist. Nat. des Pois-
sons, by Cuvier and Valenciennes, t. xv, p. 35.

In the month of June the eggs are found adhering to the un-
derside of the body, to the ventral and pectoral fins, and extend
as far forward as the under lip, and as far backwards as the mid-
dle of the tail. In some however the distribution is much more
limited. I was unable to learn anything with regard to the transfer
of the ova from the genital orifice to the point of their attachment.
The only organ which seems in any way adapted to such a purpose
is the slender and flexible tail terminated by a delicate caudal fin.
It is possible that the eggs may be deposited on the bottom of the
river, and subsequently attached by pressing the underside of the
body upon them.

In those individuals where the ova were still in the ovary, but
approaching maturity, the integuments of the underside of the

* Prof. Owen (in Philos. Transactions, 1834,) has pointed out the vas-
cular relations of the foetal Kangaroo to the parent. The chorion is not
rascular, but the umbilical vesicle is largely provided with blood ves-
sels, and, as far as his investigations go, affords the principal vascular
surface by means of which an interchange takes place between the foetus
and the parent. The vitelline circulation then, as in sharks, is the res-
piratory circulation. The allantois of the Marsupials appears to remain
in a rudimentary condition, and does not form a connection with the
parent. Thus the vascular relation of the foetus of some of the sharks,
as Carcharias, with the parent is identical with that of the Marsupials.

46 Unusual Modes of

body gave no other indications of the changes about to take place
than of being quite vascular ; the skin was perfectly smooth, no
" pores " were visible, but a large vessel w^as seen emerging from
the region of the liver, and descending along the median line gave
oflf branches quite freely to the integuments. This may have some
relation to the future development of the pedicles which support
the eggs and perhaps to the nutrition ot the embryo as will be
adverted to hereafter.

In all the specimens which I have had an opportunity of exa-
mining, the eggs were either somewhat advanced or quite mature ;
so that no observations could be made on the earlier conditions
of the Qgg and the formation of its pedicle. The pedicle is a flex-
ible outgrowth from the common integuments, is about two lines
in length, is attached to the skin by a slightly expanded base, and
spreads out at its summit into a shallow cup or " cupule," for the
support of the Qgg* It is composed almost entirely of fibrous
tissue, invested with a layer of tesselated epithelium. In some
instances when the eggs were but little advanced, numerous fusi-
form cells were detected among the fibres. It is vascular, two or
three vessels reaching to the cup, where they ramify and form a
somewhat extended capillary plexus.

The eggs vary according to the degree of development from
the 0.09 to 0.15 of an inch in diameter, and are covered with an
external homogeneous membrane, containing minute punctiform
depressions — within this is a second, of a brownish color and com-
posed of epithelium. The embryos which were the most advanced
and just ready to hatch, had not as yet completely absorbed the
yolk, and were coiled up within the membranes, which in conse-
quence of the irregularities of the mass formed by the embryo,
had no longer a spherical form.

The eggs are retained in connection with the cup apparently
by adhesion alone, for as soon as the foetus escapes, the Qgg mem-
branes become very easily detached from the pedicle, and this
last as shown by some of the specimens undergoes absorption.

The relation of the embryo to the parent in this singular mode
of gestation cannot be determined very accurately, but the vascu-
lar plexus in the cup, seems to be more than is necessary for the
mere nutrition of the part. The Qgg increases in size during incu-
bation, those ova in which the development had but slightly ad-
vanced measuring from 0.09 to 0.11 of an inch in diameter, while
those nearly mature measured from 0.14 to 0.16 of an inch.

Gestation in Batracaians and Fishes. 47

How this increase of size of the embryo over the original size of
the egg is actually obtained I have no facts to show^, but either of
two suppositions are probable ; it may be by absorption of mate-
rials from the water which surrounds it, or from the capillary
plexus of the pedicles, and in this case in a manner analogous to
that of Pipa.

Among the Siluroid fishes of Guiana there are several species,
which at certain seasons of the year have their mouths and branch-
ial cavities filled either with eggs or young, and as is believed for
the purpose of incubation. My attention was first called to this
singular habit by the late Dr. Francis W. Cragin, formerly U. S.
Consul at Paramaribo, Surinam. In a letter dated August 1854,
he says, " the eggs you will receive are from another fish. The
different fishermen have repeatedly assured me, that these eggs
in their nearly mature state are carried in the mouths of the pa-
rent, till the young are relieved by the bursting of the sac. Do
you either know or believe this to be so, and if possible, where
are the eggs conceived and how do they get into the mouth ?"

In the month of April, 185*7, on visiting the market of Para-
maribo, I found that this statement, which at first seemed to be
very improbable, was correct as to the existence of eggs in the
mouths of several species of fish. In a tray of fish which a negro
woman ofiered for sale, I found the mouths of several filled with
either eggs or young, and subsequently an abundance of opportu-
nities occurred for repeating the observation. The kinds most
commonly known to the colonists, especially to the negroes, are
Jara-hakJca^ Njinge-njinge^ Koepira^ Makrede and one or two
others, all belonging either to the genus Bagrus or one nearly
allied to it. The first two are quite common in the market and
I have seen many specimens of them ; for the last two I have the
authorithy of negro fishermen but have never seen them myself.
The eggs in my collection are of three diff"erent sizes, indicating
so many species ; one of the three having been brought to me
without the fish from which they were taken.

The eggs become quite large before they leave the ovaries, and
-are arranged in three zones corresponding to three successive
broods, and probably to be discharged in three successive years ;
the mature eggs of a Jara-bakka eighteen inches long, measure
three-fourths of an inch in diameter, those of the second zone one
fourth ; and those of the third or very minute, about one sixteenth
of an inch.

48 Unusual Modes of

A careful examination of eiglit specimens of Njinge-njinge
about nine inches long, gave the following results:

The eo'ors in all instances were carried in the mouths of the
males. This protection, or gestation of the eggs by the males,
corresponds wnth what has been lona^ noticed with reo;ard to other
fishes, as for example, Syngnathus where the marsupial pouch for
the eggs or young is found in the males only, and Gasterosteus
where the male constructs the nest and protects the eggs during
incubation, from the voracity of the females.

In some individuals the eggs had been recently laid, in others
they were hatched, and the foetus had grown at the expense of
some other food than that derived from the yolk, as this last was
Dot proportionally diminished in size, and the foetus weighed more
than the undeveloped egg. The number of eggs contained in the
mouth was between twenty and thirty. The mouth and branchial
cavities were very much distended, rounding out and distorting
the whole hyoid and branchiostegal region. Some of the eggs
even partially protruded from the mouth.

The ova were not bruised or torn as if they had been bitten, or
forcibly held by the teeth. In many instances the foetuses were
still alive, though the parent had been dead for many hours.

No young or eggs were found in the stomach, although the
mouth was crammed to its fullest capacity.

The above observations apply to Njinge-njinge. With regard
to Jarra-bakka, I had but few opportunities for dissection, but in
several instances the same conditions of the e^^s, were noticed as
stated above ; and in one instance, besides some nearly mature
foetuses contained in the mouth, two or three were squeezed ap-
parently from the stomach; but not bearing any marks of violence
or of the action of the gastric fluid. It is probable that these
found their way into that last cavity after death, in consequence
of the relaxation of the sphincter which separates the cavities of
the mouth and the stomach. These facts lead to a conclusion that
this is a mouth gestation, as the eggs are found there in all stages
of development, and even for some time after they are hatched.

The question will be very naturally asked, how under such cir-
cumstances, these fishes are able to secure and swallow their food.
I have made no observations bearing upon such a question.
Unless the food consists of very minute particles, it would seem
necessary that during the time of feeding the eggs should be dis-
gorged. If this supposition be correct, it would give a very pro-

Gestation in Batrachians and Fishes, 49

bable explanation of the only fact which might be considered at
variance with the conclusion stated above, viz., that we have in
these fishes a mouth gestation. In the ma?s of eggs with which
the mouth is filled, I have occasionally found the eggs, rarely
more than one or two, of another species. The only way in
which their presence may be accounted for, it seems to me, is by
the supposition that while feeding, the eggs are disgorged, and as
these fishes are gregarious in their habits, when the ova are re-
covered, the stray egg of another species may be introduced into
the mouth among those which naturally belong there.

ARTICLE VI. — Description of some new species of Fossils from
the Lower and Middle Silurian Rocks of Canada. By E.
Billino^s.

(From the Report of the Geological Survey for 1860.)

In the Silurian Rocks of Canada and the neighbouring coun-
tries there are maiiy species or varieties of that group of the
genus Strophomena of which S. alternata may be regarded
as the typical form. These are all closely related and yet exhi-
bit such differences that only those naturalists who entertain
wide views upon the subject of the value and significance of
specific distinctions, would feel inclined to unite them under one
common name. The forms of this group most common in the
Lower and Middle Silurian Rocks are S. alternata^ S, incrassata,
S, deltoidea^ S. camerata, S. tenuistriata and some others to be
described hereafter in this paper. The first of these ranges
from the Chazy limestone upwards perhaps to the Niagara rocks
but is most abundant in the Trenton limestone and Hudson River
group. It is also very widely distributed, as it occurs in all
parts of the Continent, where the last two formations have been
recognized and is also found in the Lower Silurian in England
and Ireland. S. incrassata has exactly the same form as some of
the varieties of aS'. alternata but is never, as far as I have been
able to ascertain, more than half the average size of this latter
species. It seems to be confined to the Chazy and the Black River
limestone or the lower part of the Trenton, and has therefore, a
geological distribution diff'erent from that of S. alternata^ a fact
which would appear to constitute an additional ground for classi-
fying it as a distinct species. S. deltoidea is a Trenton lime-

Canadian Nat. 4 Vol. V. No. y

50 Silurian Fossils of Canada,

stone form abundant in certain localities, but not generally
distributed. Thus in the State of New York, accordino- to Pro-
fessor Hall "it abounds at Trenton Falls and at Suo-ar River in
Lewis County," but "is scarcely known as occuring in the
Chaniplaim valley."* In Canada it is found at Lachine and at
several other places, but there are hundreds of good exposures
of the rock in the Province that have been carefully examined,
where not a single specimen has been seen, although in all the
localities ;S^. alternata is more or less common. S. camerata
occurs at one spot in the vicinity of Ottawa, but I have never
met with it elsewhere. ^S'. ienuistriata may be collected in the
hard black limestone around the base of the mountain of Montreal,
particularly in the neighbourhood of the McTavish monument
and also at Ottawa and two or three other places, but does not
occur at all in the majority of the localities of the Trenton lime-
stone. These three species, therefore, must have been capable of
existing in certain places only, on the bottom of the ocean during
the period of the accumulation of this rock, while >S'. alternata^
flourished everywhere. Whether or not, therefore, they are to
be regarded as distinct species, this much at least seems prob-
able, that they were by some peculiarity in their habits or in
their organization, unfitted for so wide a range through the seas
as that enjoyed by S. alternata.

The question, whether or not these supposed species are really
distinct, cannot be answered until naturalists shall have discovered
some general law of life by an appeal to which they may in all
cases determine what is a species as distinguished from a mere
variety. It is scarcely necessary to state that such a law if it
do exist at all may remain unknown to man for ages, and in the
meantime nearly all determinations of species from varieties where
the forms are very closely related may be regarded as not
positively established. The physical geologist is more inter-
ested in the results of investigations which show that certain
forms are confined to particular geological horizons than in those,
whose sole object is to determine the exact zoological rela-
tions of such forms. If it be true, for instance, that that parti-
cular form of the genus called Strophomena incrassata is con-
fined to the limestones lying next under the Trenton in the fossil-
iferous series, it makes no difference to the geologist, whether it

* Palaeontology of New York, vol. 1, page 107.

Silurian Fossils of Canada* 51

be in reality a distinct species of itself or only a variety of some
other species. Its value to liim as a guide, while tracing out
the geographical distribution of these Rocks, is not at all affected
by the zoological question. In demonstrating the physical
structure of the country, he can reason upon varieties with as
much safety as upon true species, provided that such varieties
are confined to and consequently characteristic of particular por-
tions of the geological edifice. It is therefore, of great impor-
tance, not only to ascertain to what particular level each variety
is confined, but also to determine whether or not such species as
range through several formations exhibit any and what change
in form on passing from one group of rocks to another. Should
it be hereafter, proved that the supposed species above quoted,
constitute on purely zoological grounds, but one extensive and
variable species still it would be convenient for geological pur-
poses to have a separate name for each variety that can be shewn
to be characteristic of a particular geological horizon.

Before entering upon the description of the new species, I shall
give a general account of such characters as are common to all
the forms of the group typified by S. alternata,

Strophomena alternata, (Conrad.)

In all the forms of this important type, the convexity of the-
ventral valve has a peculiar contour which may be seen not
only in the Lower Silurian but also in the Upper Silurian and
even in such Devonian species as S. Pattersoni, S. inequii-adiataj
S. demissa, S. concava and others. That part of the valve which
is usually called the visceral disc occupies all the central region
of the shell and terminates in a point at the beak. Just in front
of the beak it forms a more or less well defined low rounded
umbo on each side of which there is a flattened or sub-concave
depression extending obliquely outwards to the margin just in
front of the cardinal angles. These latter are usually reflected
or a little curved upwards from the plane of the lateral margins.
The visceral disc is somewhat flattened, gently convex or only
slightly elevated throughout the greater part of its extent. In
tbe upper half of the shell it is bounded by the depressions that
have been mentioned as existing between the umbo and cardinal
angles, but in front and at the sides it terminates where the shell

52 Silurian Fossils of Canada*

begins to be bent down to form the deflected margin which rims
all round the edge and becomes obsolete on approaching the car-
dinal angles. This margin varies in width from one-twelfth to
two-thirds the whole length of the shell and therefore the disc
in some of the varieties occupies nearly the whole superficies of
the valve, but in others, less than half. In the very young shells
in most of the specimens that I have seen, there is no deflected
margin and occasionally adult individuals maybe found, which on
a side view give the outline of an uniform flattened arch from
beak to front. In by far the greater number of the specimens
however the deflected margin is well defined. The contour of
the front of the visceral disc varies according to the form of the
deflected margin and is thus either broadly rounded or more or
less pointed. In S. depressa, which also belongs to this group,
the front of the disc, and its sides also, are often nearly straight.

The dorsal valve is flat or only gently concave beneath the
visceral disc of the ventral valve, but all round, its curvature con-
forms to that of the deflected margin.

In the t'^ue S. alternata the areas of the ventral and dorsal
valves are inclined towards each o her at an angle varying from
75° to 80°, but this angle never amounts to 90°. It will be ob-
served that in some of the new species hereinafter described it is
greater than 90°.

The surface in most of the species exhibits two sets of radiating
strise, the larger of which are about one-twelfth of a line wide in
large specimens, and the smaller half that size, from one to ten of
the smaller between each two of the larger, the more common
numbers being from three to five. Sometimes also the shell is
marked with a series of concentric wrinkles.

Of the above characters, those which are confined to the upper
half of the shell such as the form of the beak, the umbo, the
concave depressions or hollows on each side of the umbo, and the
reflected cardinal extremities, are common to all the species and
in order to avoid repetition will not be particularly dwelt upon
in the following descriptions. The radiating striae are also very
constant in the aspect they present. The only parts which appear
to afford permanent variations of much value are the front of
the visceral disc the deflected margin and the hinge line. The
proportional length and breadth of the shell seems also to be of
much importance especially if accompanied by a variation in two
or three of the other characters.

Silurian Fossils of Canada, 53

Strophomena nitens. N. s.

Fig. 1. — Strophomena nitens. a is a section shewing the curvature and
obtuse angles formed by the inclination of the areas.

Description. — Transversely semi-oval, sides somewhat straight
for one third or a little more of the length from the cardinal
angles, and slightly converging towards each other; front angles
broadly rounded; front margin gently convex or nearly straight
for about one third the width in the middle portion. Wid h on
hinge-line from nine to twelve lines. Length from six to eight
lines.

The beak, umbo, depressions on each side of the umbo and
the cardinal angles of the ventral valve the same as in S. al-
ternata. The deflected margin forms an angle of between 100^
and 110^ with the general plane of the visceral disc, and occu-
pies on the median line (in all the specimens I have seen) from
one third to nearly one half the whole length of the shell.

The dorsal valve is quite flat, or even a little concave, just in
front of the beak, but elsewhere curved to correspond with the
ventral valve.

The area of the ventral valve lies nearly in the plane of the
lateral margin^, and the area of the dorsal valve forms with it an
angle of about 95^. The height of the area of the ventral valve
at the foramen is three fourths of a hne in a specimen nine lines
wide, and of the dorsal valve about one third of a line. Foramen
of ventral valve partly closed by a V-shaped deltidium, the lower
open part of which is closed by the strongly projecting deltidium
of the dorsal valve.

The width of the foramen is about equal to its height.

The surface is the same as in S. alternata, and, when a little
worn, presents a smooth shining silken lustre.

When compared with S. incrassata, S' alternata, S. deltoidea ,
S. camerata, or *S^. teniiistriata^ it will be seen that this species is
shorter in proportion to the width than any of theni, and also
that the inclination of the areas towards each other differs in
forming an obtuse instead of an acute angle.

54 Silurian Fossils of Canada,

Locality and Formation. — This species occurs at Charleton
Point, Anticosti, in the upper part of the Hudson River group.
Collector. — J. Richardson.

Strophomena Ceres. N. s.

Description. — Semi-oval, sides rather straight and a little con-
verging for one third their length ; front angles and margins
broadly rounded. Width on hinge-line twelve to fifteen lines ;
length ten to twelve lines.

The ventral valve varies greatly in the amount of its convex-
ity. In some specimens it is depressed convex, and these have
almost precisely the aspect of the more flattened forms of S. al-
ternata. Others are strongly convex, nearly hemispherical, uni-
formly arched from beak to front, no deflected margin distinct from
the visceral disc, the latter occupying the whole of the shell except
a small triangular space at the hinge-angles. Between these two
extremes there are individuals which present all the intermediate
degrees of convexity, and some in which the deflected margin
can be detected with a width equal to half the whole length of
the shell.

The surface is the same as that of >S^. alternata.

The area of the ventral valve is one line high in a specimen
fourteen lines wide, and lies very nearly in the plane of the late-
ral margin. The foramen is as wide as high, and closed by a
strongly convex deltidium, the lower margin of which is concave
to admit the equally convex deltidium of the dorsal valve, whose
area is almost half a line wide and forms au obtuse angle of
between 90^ and 100° with that of the ventral valve. The beak
of the ventral valve exhibits in some specimens a small round
perforation.

This species difl"ers from S. nitens ia being in general a little
longer proportionally, larger, and more uniformly convex, with
scarcely a distinct deflected margin. In S. nitens the length is
in general only two thirds of the width, but in this species it is
.-always over five sixths.

The angle formed by the inclination of the areas being obtuse
instead of acute furnishes the only character as far as I can ascer-
tain by which it can be separated from S. alternata.

Locality and Formation. — Charleton Point, Hudson River
group, and also at East Point in the Middle Silurian, Anticosti.

Collector. — J. Richardson.

Silurian Fossils of Canada, 55

Strophomena Leda. N. s.

Fig. 2. Fig. 3.

Fig. 2.—Stropho7nena Leda with a portion of the hinge area of the ven-
tral valve enlarged to shew the striated teeth.
3. — A specimen without ears supposed to be of the same species.

Description, — Shell rather small and thin, semi-oval, the front
and front angles regularly rounded, sometimes a little narrower
at the base of the ears than at one third the length from the
hinge line, the latter usually exceeding the greatest width of the
shell, and forming projecting spiniform ears. Width excluding
the ears, five to nine lines ; length five-sixths of the width ; ears
one line and a half in length each, in a well preserved specimen
five lines wide.

The ventral valve is in the small specimens, depressed convex
and nearly uniformly arched from beak to front ; the umbo well
defined, but the concave depressions on each side rather obscure ;
no deflected margin. The large specimens (nine lines wide) are
sometimes strongly convex. Dorsal valve concave, its curvature
corresponding to that of the ventral valve. Surface as in S. alter-
nata.

Area of ventral valve half a in line height in a specimen seven
lines wide, lying nearly in the plane of the margin, apparently a
little sloping outwards, forming an angle of about 100° with that
of the dorsal valve, which latter is scarcely one-fourth of a line
wide. Foramen not distinctly observed but apparently wider than
high.

The detached and empty ventral valves exhibit two rather
large triangular hinge teeth, one on each side of the foramen,
covered with stri£e on the outside in a manner similar to that of
the area of those species to which Professor Hall has given the
generic name of Strophodonta.

The spiniform ears are often either broken or worn away.

Varieties. — Several specimens nine lines wide without ears,
and others of the same size strongly convex, and with an indis-

56

Silurian Fossils of Ca?iada,

tinct deflected margin, occupying from one-third to one-half tlie
length of the shell, appear to belong to this species.

This species when the ears are broken away has exactly the
appearance of S. alternata, only that it is never more than half
the size. The characters of the hinge areas and teeth taken
together with the small size, and hinge ears are abundantly suffi-
cient to show that it is distinct from S. alternata. It is a longer
shell than S. nitens^ and is in general destitute of a deflected mar-
gin. It is smaller, thinner and less convex than S, Ceres,

Locality and Formation. — Anticosti, in strata situated from
800 to 1000 feet above the base of the Middle Silurian, and 250
feet below the rocks containing Pentamerus oblongus.

Collector, — J. Richardson.

Stropiiomena Philomela. N. s.

Tig. 4.

Fig. 4.
5.

Fig. 5.

■Strophomena Philomela.
■The same with a mesial fold.

Description. — Shell rather large ; hinge line exceeding the
greatest width, forming short rounded ears ; sides gently convex,
converging towards each othier; front margin and angles regu-
larly rounded, sometimes with a projecting lobe in the middle.
Width on hinge line from eighteen to twenty four lines. Length
from two-thirds to four-fifths the width.

In the ventral valve the umbo and depressions on each side are
well defined and exactly like those of the convex form of S. al-
ternaia. The visceral disc is moderately and broadly convex y
the deflected margin from one-fourth to one-third the whole
length of the shell, passing into the disc with a short rounded
curve. Dorsal valve with the curvature corresponding to that of
the ventral valve.

The area of the ventral valve is a little more than half a line in
height at the foramen in a specimen two inches wide, and it in-

Silurian Fossils of Canada. 57

clines a little outwards apparently forming an angle of from 160°
to I'JO^, with the plane of the lateral margins. The foramen ap-
pears to be almost completely closed, but this character has not
been ascertained with certainty owing to the imperfection of the
specimens examined. The hinge teeth are striated as in S.Leda,
The area of the dorsal valve is almost linear, or at the most not
half the width of that of the ventral valve.

The surface does not difter from that of S. alternata, so far as
I have been able to ascertain.

Varieties. — One sj>ecimen has been found associated with the
others of this species in which the length and breadth are almost
equal. It has no ears, although it is longer in proportion to the
■width, and yet it does not appear to differ sufficiently to constitute
a distinct species. Another specinaen has a rounded fold in the
front margin which becomes obsolete at one third the length of
the shell.

This species by its projeciing ears, narrow areas and striated
hinge teeth is most closely related to >S^. Leda^ from which it dif-
fers in being four times the size. It has so much of the aspect of
S. alternata, that at present we have no means of distinguishing it
from that species wiihout an examination of the hinge area and
teeth.

Locality and formation. — Middle Silurian Anticosti, associated
■with Pentamerus ohlongiis.

Collector. — J. Richardson.

The above four species, S, nitens^ S. Ceres^ S. Leda, and S,
Philomela are closely allied to S. alternata. The three following
have the ventral valve concave, and belong to a very dilferent
group, of which S.filitexta (Hall) may be regarded as a typical

form.

Strophomena fluctuosa. N. s.

Description. — Triangular, or semi-oval, usually widest at the
hinge-line, and more or less narrowly rounded, pointed, trilobed,
or nasute in front.

Dorsal valve convex, the visceral disc being in general equal
to one third the superfices of the whole valve, nearly flat, the
remainder abruptly curved down all round so that the lower
half of the length of the shell is sometimes at right angles
■with the upper half. The cardinal angles more or less com-
pressed and often a little reflected, usually forming angular or

58 Silurian Fossils of Canada,

narrowly rounded ears. Ventral valve concave, the curvature
corresponding to that of the dorsal valve.

Area of dorsal valve lying in the plane of the lateral margin,
about one third of a line high. Area of ventral valve forming a
right angle with the marginal plane, in large specimens one line
or a little more in height at the beak, and gradually decreasing
towards the extremities of the hino-e-line.

Foramen of ventral valve triangular ; the width at the base
somewhat exceeding the height, completely closed by a convex
deltidium, the basal margin of which is rendered a little concave
by the convex margin of the similar deltidium which closes the
foramen of the dorsal valve.

Pig. 6.-—Strophom.ena fluctuosa. a, section, the dotted line represents
the plane of the lateral margin, and it is drawn to shew that
the area of the concave or ventral valve is at a right angle
to it.

Surface with a set of fine rounded elevated radiating striae dis-
tant from each other usually about half a line, sometimes a little
less and occasionally one line. Between each two of these there
are from two to ten much finer striae ; the whole crossed by fine
crowded concentric lines. In most of the specimens the whole of
the upper half of the shell is covered with short undulating
wrinkles, which sometimes have a concentric arrangement and
often form concentric rows converging from the hinge-line to-
wards the centre of the shell, crossing each other. The speci-
mens from the Trenton limestone are usually without these undu-
lations, but in those from the Hudson River group this character
is prominently exhibited.

This shell is somewhat variable in its characters. The visceral
disc of the dorsal valve is sometimes confined to a small area
around and in front of the beak and along the hinge-hne, and in
such cases the deflection takes place at one fifth or one fourth the
length from the beak. Occasionally a broad rounded elevated

Sihirian Fossils of Canada. 59

mesial fold extended into a linguiform projection of the middle
of the front margin gives to the dorsal valve a trilobate character.
The area of the ventral valve is in general at right angles to the
plane of the lateral margins, but sometimes it slopes a little for-
ward. In some the hinge-line is greatly extended, the cardinal
extremities forming projecting triangular ears.

Width on hinge-line from one inch to one inch and a half-
Length variable, from two thirds of the width to four fifths or a
little more.

Stro'phomena deltoidea (Conrad) has the ventral valve convex
and may be always distinguished from this even when the hinge"
line cannot be seen by the small rounded umbo close to the beak.
>S'. camerata and S. tenuistriata (Conrad) have also the ventral
valve convex. (See Plate 31 A, Vol. I. Pal. N. Y.)

Locality and Formation. — ^Trenton limestone, City of Ottawa,
rare ; more common in the Hudson River group, Anticosti.

Collectors. — E. Billings, F. Richardson.

Strophomena Thalia. N. s.

Description. — Semi-oval or sub- triangular, often narrowly
rounded or somewhat pointed in front, hinge-line usually greatly
exceeding the width of the shell, and forming with the sides an
angle of from YO^ to 80°. Width at hinge-line from one to two
inches, length about five eighths the width.

Dorsal valve moderately convex, depressed towards the cardi-
nal angles, which are a little recurved ; umbo flat. On a side-
view the outline forms a gentle and nearly uniform curve from
the front for about four fifths the length, when it descends with
a flat slope to the beak, which it reaches at an angle of from 459
to 60O.

Ventral valve concave, the greatest depth about the middle or
a little nearer the beak.

Area of ventral valve moderate, forming an angle of about
100^ with the plane of the margin, its height in a specimen two
inches wide, one line ; foramen triangular, closed by a convex
deltidium, its width at the base about one fifth greater than the
height. The beak is not perforated in any specimen that I have
seen. Area of dorsal valve nearly in the plane of the margin, its
width about one third of that of the ventral valve.

Surface with moderately coarse radiating striae, which in-
crease both by bifurcation and interstitial addition, usually un-

60

Silurian Fossils of Canada.

equal but sometimes uniform in size, from ten to fifteen in the
width of two lines, crossed by excessively fine crowded concen-
tric lines.

This species is allied to S.fluctuosa, but diff'ers in having the
areas of the ventral and dorsal valves inclined, at an angle which
is rather less than a right angle. In its outline it forms nearly an
uniform arch instead of being abruptly bent like S. fiactuom.

The dorsal valve of S. recta (Conrad) is said to have a slight
mesial depression, while the ventral valve is flat. >S^. piano-con*
vexa (Hall) has also a slight mesial depression in the dorsal
valve, and is flat or even a little convex in front of the beak of
the ventral valve, where this species is concave. It has also a
perforated beak, and an area more approximated to the plane of
the lateral margins that it is in S. Thalia. The three species
are, however, notwithstanding these difl'erences, closely related.

Locality and Formation. — Trenton limestone, City of Ottawa.

Collector. — E. Billings.

Strophomena Hecuba. N. s.

Fig. Y. — Strophomena Hecuba^ dorsal valve.

Description. — Subtriangular with usually a linguiform projec-
tion in front. Width on hinge-line about two inches ; length
varying from a little less to a little more than the width.

Dorsal valve very convex, nearly regularly arched from beak
to front, only a small space at the hinge extremities compressed,
the whole of the remainder of the shell exceedingly ventricose,
usually a rounded fold in front which becomes obsolete at one
fourth the length, area sublinear, scarcely half a line in width in
the largest specimens.

Silurian Fossils of Canada, 61

Ventral valve depressed convex near the beak, and concave all
round near the maro^in, area about one line wide and forming an
angle of about 115^ with the plane of the lateral margins. For-
amen not observed.

Suiface marked with fine radiating striae, ten or twelve in the
width of one line, every third, fourth or fifth one of which is
twice the size of the intermediate fine ones. The whole surface
is besides (in most specimens) ornamented with indistinct con-
centric wrinkles from one fourth of a line to two hues in width.
There are probably fine concentratic striso, although I have not,
(owing to the partially exfoliated state of the specimens examined)
been able to detect them.

This species varies considerably in the amount of the convexity
of the dorsal valve and in the size of the mesial fold in front
Some have a wide flat space in the umbonial region, and in such
on a side-view, the outline of the shell rises from the beak at an
angle of about 45^ onh', while in others, which are more ventri-
cose this angle is full 60^ with the plane of the margin.

Sometimes the sides are strongly compressed, so that the shell
becomes subcylindrical and greatly produced in front, the length,
exceeding the width. In some specimens the striae are nearly all
of the same size, but in general they alternate as in the finest
marked specimens of aS^. alternata.

Resembles S. Thalia, but that species has the ventral valve
concave nearly to the beak. It is more uniformly gibbous than
S. Jlactuosa,

Locality and Formation. — Anticosti, Hudson River group.

Collector. — J. Richardson.

Dalmanites Bebrtx. N. s.

Description. — Elongate-oval, tapering from the head to the
somewhat pointed tail. Length of the two specimens examined
Ij inches each, lengih of head 5 lines, of thorax about 8 lines,
of pygidium 6^ lines.

The head is broadly rounded in front and appears to terminate
in short spines at the posterior angles. The glabella is broad in
front, narrowed behind and covered with small but prominent
rounded tubercles about \ or j\ of a line in diameter and of
which there are from 10 to 15 in an area of one line square. The
anterior lobe of the glabella is transversely sub-oval and its width
about equal to the whole length of the head. It is separated from

62

Silurian Fossils of Canada^

the posterior portion of the glabella by strong deep furrows
directed obliquely forward and outward. The distance between
the inner extremities of these furrows is about 1^ lines in a speci-
men 1 J inches in length. The second and third lobes are united
into one large obliquely triangular lobe with a small transverse
pit at the inner margin representing the second furrow. The
fourth or posterior pair of lobes are obscurely preserved in the
specimens, but they appear to be small. The neck furrow seems
to be strongly marked quite across the base of the glabella and
the neck segment rather prominent. The eyes as partly exhibited
in one of the specimens are rather small, their diameter being
one line or perhaps rather more. They appear to be distant a
little more than their own length from the posterior margin of
the head.

Fig-. 8. — Dalmanites Behryx.

The segments of the thorax are not well preserved in the spe-
cimens, but there appear to be eleven. The axis when crushed
flat four lines wide at the fifth segment and three lines at the last.

The pygidium is triangular ; the middle lobe convex, elongate
conical, and with from fifteen to twenty segments becoming
gradually more numerous in a given space as they approach the
posterior extremity. The side lobes have each about ten pleurss
all of which are distinctly grooved along the middle. The pygi-
dium appears to terminate in a rounded point a little turned
upwards. I have not seen the margin of the pygidium and have
not therefore ascertained its characters.

From the appearance of the specimens I think it almost certain
that the posterior angles of the head are produced into short
spines.

Silurian Fossils of Canada, 63

Several specimens of tlie pygidium of this rare species and one
individual nearly entire but flattened by pressure have been found
at Ottawa and are now in the collection of the Survey. I am
indebted to Col. Jewett, of Albany, for the loan of the specimen
figured. It is more perfect than any of ours.

Locality and formation. — City of Ottawa, Trenton limestone.
Occurs also in the State of New York in the same Rock.

Collector. — E. Billings.

Dalmanites Achates. N. s.

Fig. 9. — Dalmanites Achates^

Description. — Elongate-oval, posterior angles of head produced
into short spines, proportional length of head thorax and pygi-
dium apparently 5, YJ-, 5, total length about one inch and a half.

Head, excluding the spines, very nearly a perfect semi- circle,
■with a shallow concave marginal groove all round the front and
sides, and a strongly defined neck-furrow extending across at less
than one line from the posterior margin ; glabella equal to the
whole length of the head, moderately convex in front, the anterior
lobe transversely oval, twice the width of the neck-segment, not
defined at the sides in front, but confluent with the surface of the
cheeks. The anterior furrows have their inner extremities separated
by a space equal to their own length, extending obliquely out-
wards to points situated a little forward of the inner front angles
of the eyes. The middle furrows have their outer extremities
opposite the mid-length of the eyes and extend inward in a direc-
tion gently inclined forward until their inner extremities are a
little within one third the width of the glabella at mid-length
from each other. The third furrows are opposite the posterior
angles of the eyes, parallel or nearly so with the middle pair and
about the same length. The neck furrow is well defined quite

64 Silurian Fossils of Canada.

across tbe glabella. The sides of the glabella are curved a little
inward at the posterior lobes and then outwards to the outer
extremities of the anterior furrows. The neck segment is large
and has its posterior margin rather stronnjly elevated. The cheeks
are moderately tumid. The eyes are semicircular, prominent,
one fourth the whole length of the head, about their own length
from the posterior and a little more than their length from the
anterior margin ; the distance between their centres appears to
be aoout one twelfth or one fifteenth greater than the length of the
head. The surface of the glabella is ornamented with small rounded
tubercles of various sizes, the largest being about one fifth of a
line in diameter at the base and, in general, distant once or twice
their own width from each other. Surface of cheeks not yet
distinctly observed but appears to be smooth. In none of the
specimens are the lenses of the eyes preserved.

Thorax with eleven segments; axis well defined and appa-
rently as wide as the side lobes, but this character cannot be suffi-
ciently determined, as all the specimens are crushed. Length of
the thorax once and a half the length of the head.

The pygidium in the only specimen that I have seen in which
any considerable portion of it remains attached to the body, has
the posterior extremity broken away. Judging however from
the curves of the posterior margin I think it probable that there
is no terminal spine as there is in most of the species of this
genus. There are about ten segments in the axis and apparently
ten in the side lobes. If the pygidium have no terminal spine
the proportional lengths of the specimen figured would be very
nearly as follows :

Head, ...... 5 lines.

Thorax, .... TJ lines.

Pygidium,. . . 5 lines.

Total 17 J lines.

On comparison it w'll be seen that this species diff'ers from D
Behryx in the form of the glabella and in the number of seg-
ments in the central lobe of the pygidium.

Locality and Formation. — City of Ottawa, Trenton limestone,
very rare. Collector, — E. Billings.

Silurian Fossils of Canada. Q6

Phacops Orestes, N, s.

Fig. 10. — Phacops Orestes, a the eye enlarged.

Description. — Oval, about one inch and a quarter in length.
Head somewhat semicircular or sub-crescentiform, the front con-
vex and the posterior margin concave, the angles rather pointed
but not produced into spines. Glabella moderately tumid, de-
pressed convex on the top abruptly descending to the front margin,
separated from the eyes by a narrow deep furrow, the anterior
angles spreading out and becoming obsolete in front of the centres
of the eves, an indistinct maro-jnal o-roove round the front which
does not extend to the cheeks beyond the anterior angles of the
glabella. The neck segment is strongly elevated, connected with
the main body of the glabella by a narrow convex neck-like
rido-e with a small rounded tubercle on each side. All of the
glabellar furrows are but slightly impressed ; the two anterior are
situated close to the inner front angles of the eyes, their direction
forming with the longitudinal axis of the body an angle of 45° ;
they slope forward and outward and are short, a little curved and
so faintly impressed that they can be seen on very perfect speci-
mens only. The middle furrows lie in a line drawn across the
head cutting the eyes at points a little less than one fourth of
their length from their front angles; in some specimens these
two furrows appear to be straight but in others a little curved
the Convex side towards the front. The posterior furrows lie a
little behind a line drawn throuo-h the centres of the eves. The
sides of the glabella are straight or nearly fo from the tv/o neck
tubercles to the inner front angles of the eyes when they curve a
little outwards and become obsolete on approaching the ill-defined
anterior angles (of the glabella) which are situated midway be-
tween the eyes and the anterior margin.

The eyes are very large, sub-semicircular, the lens-bearing sur-
face not vertical but above sloping a little inwards, more elevated
at the anterior than at the posterior extremity ; lenses about seventy
five arranged in vertical rows in general five in each row. Length

Can. Nat. 5 Vol. V. No. 1.

6G Silurian Fomis of Canada*

of the eye lialf the length of the ghihella including the neck seg-
ment. There is a "svide concave groove around the base of the
eye outside and a narrow one behind. The cheeks outside of
the groove are smooth sh'ghlly convex and with no marginal
furrow.

The thorax consists of eleven segments, the axis semi-cylindri-
cal gently tapering backwards, about one third the wdiole width
of the thorax when the pleuiss are curved in their natural posi-
tion but one fourth less than the length of a pleuron straightened
out. The fulcrum or bend of the pleurae is distant from the
axis about one half the width of latter.

The pygidium is broadly rounded behind with six or seven
ribs on the prominent conical axis and four or five broad flat
indistinct ones each divided a'ong tlie middle in the lateral lobes.
The ribs on the axis become more and more indistinct back-
wards and those on the sides extend scarcely two thirds from it
thus leavinsf a broad smooth maroin all round.

The posterior extremity of the axis is not well preseryed in any
of the specimens that I have seen and I have not therefore ascer-
tained whether or not it is well defined or confluent with the gene-
ral surface. The surface appears to be smooth but as the best
specimens seem to have been a little worn it may be that the
glabella is tubercular. It is difiicult to get accurate measure-
ments from rolled up specimens, but the following appear to be
early the proportions as shewn in two individuals.

No. 1. No. 2.

Length of head 3 4 lines.

" of thorax 6 ? 8 ? Hues.

" of pygidium . . 2-^ 3 lines.

Total Hi 15

The width of the head measured between the posterior angles
is about twice the leno^th.

This species somewhat resembles P. SloJcesli (Milne Edwards)
but that species has the lens-bearing surface of the eye broadest
behind while in ours it is broadest in front. There are from six
to nine lenses in the vertical rows of P. Stohesii but in Phacops
Orestes only five at the most.

Locality and formation. — Middle Silurian Anticosti and Gasp©.

Collectors, — J. Richardson, Sir W. E. Losran.

Silurian Fossils of Canada, 67

Cheirurus Icarus. N". s.

Fig. 11. — Cheirurus Icarus,

Description. — Oblong oval, proportional lengths of head, tho-
rax, and p3'gidium about as 3-^-, 6, 2.

Head transversely sub-semicircular or sub-triangular, posterior
angles terminating in short spines. Glabella oblong, sides paral-
lel, obtusely rounded in front, neck segment elevated at the pos-
terior margin, neck furrow in its middle third narrow deep and
parallel with the posterior margin ; at each end for one third 'die
length sloping backwards. The posterior lobes of the glabella
transversely oval, completely isolated ; the median furrows lying
nearly in a line drawn across the glabella at mid-length, nearly
straight, at right angles to the longitudinal axis of the body, their
inner extremities separated by about one third the width of llie
glabella ; the anterior pair at a little more than one fourth the
length from the front, a litlle curved backwards and inwards.
The glabella extends the whole length of the head, being separ-
ated from the front margin by a very narrow groove only.
Cheeks depressed convex ; eyes rather small, nearly semicir-
cular at the base, situated their own lenglh from the posterior
margin and half their length from the sides of the glabella. The
neck furrow is extended in a sharp groove on the cheeks near
to and sub-parallel with the posterior margin, and appears also
to run round the sides of the head.

Thorax nearly twice the length of the glabella, of eleven seg-
ments ; the axis less than one third the whole width, gently
tapering backwards ; the pleural groove short, in length about
one half the width of the axis, crossing the pleura) obliquely out-
wards and dow-nwards at an ansfle of about 45 o.

The pygidium is about half the length of the glabella, com-
posed of three articulations, the backward curving extremities of^
which form six short obtuse points.

Surface not well preserved, but apparently somewhat smooth.

This species apparently resembles C. himucronaius (Murchison),.

68 Silurian Fossils of Canada,

but differs by having the glabella parallel-sided instead of broad-
est in front, the terminal points of the tail obtusely instead of
sharply pointed, and the eyes further forward, being opposite the
second instead of the third pair of glabellar lobes.

The largest specimen I have seen is about eleven lines in length.

Locality and Formation. — Anticosti, Iludson River group.

Collector. — J. Richardson.

Proetus Alaricus. N. s.

Fig. 12. — Froetus Alaricus, enlarged 2\ diameters.

Description. — Oval, proportional lengths of head, thorax, and
pygidium about as 2, 2, 1.

Head excluding the spines semicircular with a broad shallow
marginal groove all round ; spines extending backwards to the
sixth pleura. Glabella obtusely conical, about three fourths
the leno-th of the head, width at neck seofment four fifths the
length (of the glabella), sides parallel or very slightly inclining
towards each other for five sixths of the length, then curving
round to form the obtusely rounded front, neck furrow deep and
narrow. Eyes large, obtusely conical, half the length of the gla-
bella, their posterior angles on a line with the neck farrow, a little
more than their own length from the front margin, their bases
on the inside only separated from the glabella by an angular
furrow.

Thorax with the axis prominent, semicylindrical, gradually
tapering backwards, about one third the whole width of the
body. There appear to be ten segments in the thorax.

Pygidium semicircular with a prominent conical axis, which is
well defined at its posterior extremity and exhibits five or six seg-
ments. The side lobes of the pygidium appear to have five or
six ribs.

The only specimen I have seen is five lines in leng^i but perfect.

About the size and shape of P* latifrons (McCoy), but in that

New PdloBozoic Starfish* 69

species there is a row of tubercles along the dorsal furrows, and a
very strong one at each end of the neck segment, and, besides,
the P'labella is more narroweu towards the front than it is in our
species.

The surface appears to be smooth.

Locality and Formation. — Anticosti, Hudson River group.

Collector. — J. Richardson.

ARTICLE VII. — Description 0/ a new Palaeozoic Starfish
of ths genus Paljeaster, from JSFova Scotia. By E.

BiLLIKGS.

Pal^easter parviusculus. N. s.

Description. — The specimen is about six lines in diameter*
The ravs are two lines in lentjth and one line and a half in width
at the base, tapering at an angle of a little less than 45°. The
five oral plates are sub-pentagonal about half a line in width.
The first adambulacral plates of each pair of adjacent rays are in
contact with each other outside of the oral plates, and not com-
pletely separated as they are in P. Niagarensis, There are six
or seven adambulacral plates on each side of the ambulacral
groove in each ray, and they gradually decrease in size from the
oral plate outwards to the point of the ray. The width of the
ambulacral groove is equal to one-third the width of the ray and
consequently the adambulacral rows of plates are also each equal
to one-third the whole width of the rav. In each groove there
are two rows of small and apparently nearly square ambulacral
plates, twelve or fourteen in each row, and they seem to be con-
tinued round on the inner margin of the oral plates ; the mouth
is about one line wide.

This species differs from P. Niagarensis, (Hall), (Pal. N. Y.,
Vol. 2, page 24Y, pi. 51, figs. 21, 22, 23,) in being smaller, the
rays not so slender, and more importantly in the junction of the
adambulacral plates outside of the oral plates.

In the 3rd Decade of the Geological Survey I have defined the
genus Stenaster as difi'ering from Paheaster, by the possession of

70 Antiqidty of the Human Race,

ten oral plates instead of five. The discovery of a second species
with only five oral plates confirms the opinion there expressed
that Palceasteris a genus quite distinct from Stenaster.

For the privilege of describing this highly interesting fossil I
am indebted to Dr. J. W. Dawson, LL.D., to whose cabinet it be-
longs. It was found by the Rev. D. Honeyman, at Arisaig, in
Nova Scotia.

Locality and Formation. — Arisaig, Nova Scotia, — ^The speci-
men is a nearly perfect impression of the underside of the fossil
in a small water worn frao'ment of slate, of the lower Arisaio'
series, supposed to be of middle Silurian age.

ffliscdhiiits*

^

BRITISH ASSOCIATION FOR THE ADVANCEMENT

OF SCIENCE.

\ C— GEOLOGY.

President. — Sir Charles Lyell, L. L. D. ; D. C. L. ; F. R. S.

The Prince Consort having entered the Section Room, Sir C.
Lyell spoke as follows : —

ANTIQUITY OF THE HUMAN RACE.

No subject has lately exited more curiosity and general interest
among geologists and the public than the question of the antiquity
of the human race ; whether or no we have sufficient evidence to
prove the former co-existence of Man with certain extinct mam-
malia in caves or in the superficial deposits commonly called drift
or " diluvium." For the last quarter of a century, the occasional
occurence in various parts of Europe, of the bones of man or the
works of his hands, in cave-breccias and stalactites associated with
the remains of the extinct hygena, hear, elephant, or rhinoceros,
have given rise to a suspicion that the date of man must be carried
further back than we had heretofore imagined. On the other hand^
extreme reluctance was naturally felt on the part of scientific rea-
soners, to admit the validity of such evidence, seeing that so many
caves have been inhabited by a succession of tenants, and have been
selected by man, as a place not only of domicile, but of sepulture,

^±ntiquity of the Human Race. 71

while some caves have also served as the channels through which
the waters of flooded rivers have flowed, so that the remains of
living beings which have peopled the district at more than one era
may have subsequently been mingled in such caverns and confound-
ed together in one and the same deposit. The facts, however
recently brought to light during the systematic investigation, as
reported on by Falconer, of the Brixham Cave, must, I think,
have prepared you to admit that scepticism in regard to the cave,
evidence in :^xvor of the antiquity of man had previously been
pushed to an extreme. To escape from what I now consider was
a legitimate deduction from the facts already accumulated, we were
obliged to resort to hypotheses requiring great changes in the rela_
tive levels and drainage of valle3'S, and, in short, the whole physi_
cal geography of the respective regions where the caves are situated
— changes that would alone imply a remote antiquity for the
human fossil remains, and makes it probable that man was old
enouo;h to have coexisted, at least, with the Siberian mammoth
But, in the course of the last fifteen years, another class of proofg
have been advanced, in France, in confirmation of man's antiquity
into two of which I have personally examined in the course of the
present summer, and to which I shall now briefly advert. First,
so long ago as the year 1844, M. Aymard, an eminent palasontolo-
gist and antiquary, published an account of the discovery in the
volcanic district of Central France, of portions of two human skele-
tons (the skulls, teeth, and bones), embedded in a volcanic breccia
found in the mountain of Denise, in the environs of Le Puy en
Velay, a breccia anterior in date to one at least, of the latest erup-
tions of that volcanic mountain. On the opposite side of the same
hill, the remains of a large number of mammalia, most of them of
extinct species, have been detected in tufaceous strata believed, and,
I think, correctly, to be of the same age. The authenticity of the
human fossils was from the first disputed by several geologists, but
admitted by the majority of those who visited Le Puy and saw,
with their own eyes, the original specimen now in the museum of
that town. Among others, M. Pictet, so well known to you by
his excellent work on palaeontology, declared after his visit to the
spot, his adhesion to the opinions previously expressed by Aymard,
My friend, Mr. Scrope, in the second edition of his volcanoes of
Central France, lately published, also adopted the same conclusion
although after accompanying me this year to Le Puy, he has seen
reason to modify his views. The result of our joint examination,

72 Antiquity of the Htiman Race*

a result which, I believe essentially coincides with that arrived at
by M. M. Hebert and Lartet, names well known to Science, who
have also this year gone into this enquiry on the spot, may thus
be stated. We are by no means prepared to maintain that the
specimen in the museum at Le Puy, (which unfortunately was
never seen in situ by any scientific observer), is a fabrication. On
the contrary we incline to believe that the human fossils in this
and some other specimens from the same hill, were really imbedded
by natural causes in their present matrix. But the rock in which
they are entombed consists of two parts, one of which is a compact^
and for the most part thinly laminated stone, into which none of
the human bones penetrate ; the other containing bones, is a lighter,
and much more porous stone, without lamination, to which we
could find nothing similar in the Mountain of Benise, although
both M. Hebert and I, made several excavations on the alleged
site of the fossils. M. Hebert therefore su2ro;ested to me that this
more porous stone which resembles in colour and mineral compo-
sition, though not in structure, parts of the genuine old breccia of
Denise, may be made up of the older rock broken up and after-
wards re-deposited, or as the French say ' remane,' and therefore
of much newer date. — An hypothesis which well deserves conside-
ration but I feel that we are at present so ignorant of the precise
circumstances and position under which these celebrated human
fossils were found, that I ought not to waste time in speculating
on their probable mode of interment, but simply declare that in
my opinion they afibrd no demonstration of Man having witnessed
the last volcanic eruptions of Central France. The skulls, accord-
ing to the judgment of the most competent osteologists who have
yet seen them, do not seem to depart in a marked manner from the
modern European, or Caucasian type, and the human bones are
in a fresher state than those of the Elepkas meridionalis and other
quadrupeds found in any breccia of Denise which can be referred
to the period even of the latest volcanic eruptions.

But while I have thus failed to obtain satisfactory evidence in
favour of the remote origin assigned to the human fossils of Le
Puy, I am fully prepared to corroborate the conclusions which have
been recently laid before the Royal Society by Mr Prestwich, in
regard to the age of the flint implements associated in undisturbed
gravel, in the north of France, with the bones of Elephants, at
Abbeville, and Amiens. These were first noticed at Abbeville,
and their true geological position assigned to them by M. Boucher

Antiquity of the Human Race. 73

de Perthes, in 1849, in his ' Antiquities Celtiques,' while those of
Amiens were afterwards described in 1855, by the late Dr. Rigol-.
et. For a clear statement of the facts, I may refer you to the
abstract of Mr. Prestwich's Memoir, in the Proceedings of the Royal
Society for 1859, and have only to add that I have myself obtained
abundance of Flint Implements (some of which are laid upon the
table) during a short visit to Amiens and Abbeville. Two of the
worked Flints of Amiens were discovered in the gravel-pits of St,
Acheul — one at the deph of 10, and the other of 17 feet below the
surface, at the time of my visit; and M. Georges Poucht, of Rouen,
author of a work on the ' Races of Man,' who has since visited the
spot, has extracted with his own hands one of these implements,
as Messrs Prestwich and Flower had done before him. The stra-
tified gravel resting immediately on the chalk in which these rudely
fashioned instruments are buried, belongs to the post-pliocent
period, all the fresh water and land shells which accompany them
being of existing species. The great number of the fossil instru-
ments which have been likened to hatchets, spearheads, and wedges,
is truly wonderful. More than a thousand of them have already
been met with in the last ten years, in the valley of the Somme,
in an area 15 miles in length. I infer that a tribe of savages, to
whom the use of iron was unknown, made a long sojourn in this
region ; and I am reminded of a large Indian Mound, which I
saw in St. Simond's Island, in G-eorgia — a mound 10 acres in area,
and having an average height of five feet, cliiefly composed of cast-
away oyster shells, throughout which arrow-heads, stone-axes, and
Indian pottery are dispersed. If the neighbouring river, the Ala_
tamaha, or the sea which is at hand, should invade, sweep away,
and stratify the contents of this mound, it might produce a very
analogous accumulation of human implements, unmixed perhaps
with human bones. Although the accompanying shells are of
living species, I believe the antiquity of the Abbeville and Amiens
flint instruments to be great indeed if compared to the times of
history or tradition. I consider the gravel to be of fluviatile ori-
gin, but I could detect nothing in the structure of its several parts
indicating cataclysmal action, nothing that might not be due to
such river-floods as we have witnessed in Scotland during the last
half century. It must have required a long period for the wear-
ing down of the chalk which supplied the broken flints for the
formation of so much gravel at various heights, sometimes 100 feet
above the present level of the Somme, for the deposition of fine

/4 Antiqidty uf the Human Race.

sediment including entire shells, both terrestrical and aquatic, and
also for the denudation which the entire mass of stratified drift has
undergone, portions having been swept away, so that what remains
of it often terminates abruptly in old river cliffs, besides being
covered by a newer unstratified drift. To explain these changes I
should infer considerable oscillations of the land in that part of
France — slow movements of upheaval and subsidence, deranging
but not wholly displacing the course of the ancient rivers. Lastly,
the disappearance of the Elephant, Khinoceros, and other genera
of quadrupeds now foreign to Europe implies, in like manner, a
vast lapse of ages, separating the era in which the fossil implements
were frame i and that of the invasion of Gaul by the Romans.

Among the problems of high theoretical interest which the recent
prograss of Geology and Natural History has brought into notice,
no one is more prominant, and, at the same time, more obscure,
than that relating to the origin of species. On this difficult and
mysterious subjects a work will ^-^ery shortly appear, by Mr. Charles
Darwin, the result of twenty years of observation and experiment
in Zoology, Botany and Geology, by which he has been led to the
conclusion that those powers of nature which give rise to races and
permanent varieties in animals and plants, are the same as those
which in much longer periods, produce species, and. in a still longer
series of ages, give rise to differences of generic rank. He appears
to me to have succeeded, by his in^'^estigations and reasonings, to
have thrown a flood light on many classes of phenomena, connected
with the aifinitie?, geographical distribution, and geological suc-
cession of organic beings, for which no other hypothesis has been
able, or has even attempted, to account.

Among the communications sent in to this Section, I have re-
ceived from Dr. Dawson, of 3Iontreal, one confirming the discovery
which he and I formsrly announced, of a land shell, or pupa, in
the coal formation of Nova Scotia. When we contemplate the vast
series of formations intervening between the Tertiary and Carbo-
niferous Strata, all destitute of air-breathing mollusca, at least
of the terrestrial class, such a discovery affords an important illus-
tration of the extreme defectiveness of the o-eolosrical records. It
has always appeared to me that the advocates of progressive deve-
lopment have too much overlooked the imperfection of these records,
and that, consequ3ntly a large part of the generalization in which
they have indulged in regard to the first appearance of the different
classes of animals, especially of air-breathers, will have to be modi-

Professor George Wilson, 75

fied or abandoned. Nevertlieless, that the doctrine of progressive
development may contain in it the germs of a true theory, I am
far from denying. The consideration of this question will came
before you when the age of the White Sandstone of Elgin is dis-
cussed— a rock hitherto referred to the Old Red, or Devonian for-
mation, but now ascertained to contain several reptilian forms, o^
so high an organisation as to raise a doubt in the minds of many
geologists whether so old a place in the series can correctly be
assigned to it.

The Late Professor George WiIso7i of Edinhurgli.

"We observe with deep regret the announcement of the decease
of this excellent and able man. In the great work of wedding
science to the useful arts, and in the power of making its hardest
truths intelligible and acceptable to the common mind he has left
few equals and no superior. We copy the following notice from
the "Scottish Press":

The death of Professor George Wilson is an event with cannot
but be deeply and widely felt. By many amongst us it will be
deplored as a grievous personal loss, to the interests of science
generally, it is great indeed, but to the University of Edinburgh
it may almost be said to be irreparable. We have no wish to
magnify the acquirements of the dead at the expense of those of
the living, nor would we wish it to be thought that we write under
a sense of despondency occasioned by the removal of one who was
ao wise and kind a counsellor; but Dr. George Wilson's connec-
tion with the University and the department of science in which
he laboured so ardently until the close of his life was in one sense
so peculiar as to justify the remark we have made. The Chair
of Technology which he was destined to fill for so short a time,
was not so much created for him as by him. The foundation of
his Professorship was, so to speak, only the recognition of his
untiring efforts for the advancement of truth and the application
of science to the industrial arts. It was felt not only that he was
the best man who could be selected, but that he was the only man
who fulfilled all the conditions necessary to render such a profes-
sorship as that of Technology permanently efiective. The saying
that thoroughly original men not only make their own instru-

76 Trofessor George Wilson*

ments, but, humanly speaking, create occasion for the use of
them, was never more clearly illustrated than in the case of Dr.
George Wilson. And it is because we know that everything, or
nearly everything, connected with the position from which death
has just called him, owed its existence to his wisdom, his zeal,
and his never flagging energy that we feel his death to be so
great a public loss. It will never be possible to estimate with
anything like correctness the amount of physical and mental
labour which he endured in order to fulfil the objects contemplat-
ed in the foundation of his Professorship, and to carry out the
projected Industrial Museum of which he was appointed curator.
His duties in the class-room, arduous as they were, did not
represent a tithe of that labour. The clearness of his mind, the
warmth of his heart, the graces of his style, and the natural
buoyancy of his temperament, made his duties as a teacher seem
as light as they were pleasant. No man better knew how to
make the portals of the temple of knowledge inviting, and in a
secular as well as a sacred sense, wisdom's ways were ways of
pleasantness to him and all whom he sought to teach. Duty,
" the stern lawgiver," ever were a smile for him, and his works
abundantly prove that while he laboured as comparatively few are
capable of labouring to extend the boundaries of knowledge, he
never ceased to look forward, with the eye of steady faith, to that
state of things in which we shall no longer see darkly as through
a glass. It was his delight to think that those who reverently
sought to know something of the Creator's work here, had begun
studies that would never end, and he was wont to say that '' the
shortest lesson in heaven will teach more than the longest upon
earth.

A brief notice like this affords us no opportunity of saying
anything satisfactory as to the position to which Dr. George
Wilson attained as a man of science and of letters. But it is
scarcely necessary that anything should be said, for the sense of
his loss attests the value of his scientific labours, and his books
afford abundant evidence of the fine tone of his mind. His
" Chemistry of the Electric Telegraph," and " Chemistry of the
Stars" though scientific treatises in the best sense of the word?
are felt by those who read them to be something more than this >
they are the products of a highly poetical, as well as an accurate
and well-balanced mind. His fertile imagination, and lively
fancy, enabled him to impart not only lucidity, but attractiveness

Reviews, Sfc, 77

to themes wliicli by others have been rendered obscure and
uninviting. His delicate and often subtle humour, too, played
around such themes relaxing their gravity and lighting them up.
Above all these characteristics of his literary works, is the stead-
fast faith and deep religious feeling which pervades them. In
none is this so manifest, as in his Life of Dr. John Reid, one of
the most delightful examples of biography within our knowledge.
To Dr. George Wilson, religion was not only not a gloomy thing,
but it was the brightness of existence. It not only cheered him
in many days of prostration from severe bodily affliction, but it
was an element in almost all his studies, and a thing of his daily
laborious life. And we have reason to know, that during his last
days on earth, he felt it to be indeed the peace of God, and the
firm anchor of his soul.

KEVIEWS AND NOTICES OF BOOKS.

Handbook op Geological Terms and Geology, bj David Page, E.G.S.,
Author of the Advanced Text Book of Geologj. Edinburgh and
London : "W. Blackwood & Sons. Montreal : B. Dawson & Son.
pp. 416, $2.

Such a Handbook as this is has long been a great desideratum
to the reading public. The " hard words and forbidding techni-
calities" of science which appear to beginners of so difficult ac-
quirement, are here explained and made intelligible in brief and
simple language. The ordinary reader will find the information
he requires, generally in the first and second sentences of a defi-
nition, while^what follows is more especially addressed to students
and other professional enquirers. This book is just the thing for
students, and for those who attend geological lectures, or read
geological books. As the first book of the kind that has yet ap-
peared, it is a most meritorious production. Although far from
complete it yet contains nearly every term to be met with in
ordinary books on geology. In no other single work can the
same information be obtained. The defintions may be received
with perfect confidence. The author is well known as a most
painstaking and careful practical geologist.

78 Reviews f ^'c.

Evenings at the Microscope ; or Researches among the Minuter Organs
and Forms of Animal Life. By P. H. Gosse, F.R.S. Neio York :
D. Appleton & Co. Montreal: B. Dawson & Son. pp. 480.

Little need be said in commendation of this new work by Mr-
Gosse. His popular writings in the department of Zoology are
so well known and highly valued by Students of Natural History,
that any thing on his favorite science, which he may now publish,
is sure to meet with a favorable reception. To open the path to
the myriad wonders of creation which, altogether unseen by the
unassisted eye, are made cognisable to sight by the aid of the
microscope is the aim and scope of this volume. The revelations
of the microscope in the department of the organic world are of
the most wonderful and interesting kind, and may well attract
the attention of all intelligent and educated persons. The staple
of this book consists of original observations by the author. He
has set down simply what he himself has seen and what may be
seen by any one with the aid of a microscope of ordinary power.
He has relieved the dryness of technical description by a. colloqi-
al and familiar style in a series of imaginary microscopical con-
versaziones. The precision essential to science has, however, never
been sacrificed. Throu2;hout the work considerable information
is given on the selecting, securing and preparing objects for ex-
amination under the microscope, which cannot fail to be highly
useful to those who have not books at hand containing special
directions on these points. In almost every instance the objects
selected for illustration are common things, such as any one with.
access to the sea-shore or country-side may easily obtain. The
book contains one hundred and thirteen illustrations, all of which,
with tbe exception of eighteen, are from the author s own pencil
They are also, even in this American edition of the work, en-
graved with much accuracy and beauty. To the young we can-
not too highly commend this book. With the aid of a microscope
its interest will be greatly increased, but with or without such a
companion it cannot fail to prove highly instructive.

Dura Den ; a Monograph of the Yellow Sandstone and its remarkable
Fossil remains. By the Rev. John Anderson, D.D., F.G.S., &c.
With illustrations. Edinburgh : Thos. Constable & Co. Montreal :
B. Dawson & Son. — imp. 8 vo. pp. 96, $3-50.

This is a truly sumptuous book which any geologist will regard
as a real luxury. The illustrations are in the highest style of

Reviews, ^'c« 79

lltliograpliic art and artistic beauty. The two finest and
largest are drawn by the f\iir hand of Lady Kinnaird, and are of
unquestionable excellence. The writer is well known as a distin-
guished amateur geologist. His name is associated with some im-
portant discoveries in this department of Science. Lately the
remarkably well preserved fossils of a district in Fifeshire, Scot-
land, called Dura Den, has attracted the attention of geologists
and led to an interesting determination of the position of the
rocks in which they are embedded. The fossils are now regarded,
on almost unquestionable evidence, to belong to the Devonian
or old red Sandstone formation. At first, from their contiguity
to the coal fields of Fifeshire^ these rocks were supposed to
have some relation to the lower members of the Carboniferous
system, but the careful examination of their fossils and the relat-
ed strata have led the chiefs of geological science to regard the
Yellow Sandstone of Dura Den, as a curious and most interesting
section of the great Devonian System. We cordially reconi.
mend this book to those interested in the progress of Geological
Science.

Nuggets from the oldest Diggings or Researches in the Mosaic Crea-
tion. By R. "W. Yandyk. Edinburgh: Thos. Constable & Co.
Montreal : B. Dawson & Son.

This is another book on the great question of the reconciliation of
the Mosaic Narrative of Creation, with the facts of physical science.
Notwithstanding the uncouth title, the book is written with much
vigour and eloquence. There is no pretension to a critical examina-
tion of the text with this branch of the subject our author does not
intermeddle. Nor does he claim any higher acquaintance with
science than that which may be obtained from a careful study of good
books. The author persuades himself that he has made a grand
discovery which removes all the difficulties which have hitherto
perplexed the wisest of men, and sheds a perfect flood of light
upon the scripture narrative. He is evidently in a very Lappy frame
of mind, and writes in a style of delightful enthusiasm. " Happy
is he who knoweth the causes of things." Our authors' idea is
that, with the exception of the very first act, which was the creation
of the substance of the universe, the whole events narrated in
Genesis i. were truly effects of the laws given to the created mass,
showing themselves gradually and in succession, and by a process

80 Reviews, Sfc.

which, if witnessed, would have appeared to be exactly the same
natural and unmiraeulous operation of cause and effect with which
we are familiar. After the first creative act, what is described is
the formation of earth and its tenants out of a disorderly mass of
matter ; and this is represented as having been accomplished by
movements within the mass itself, that is to say, by means of
second causes," This is the theory which the book works out
with some ability and ingenuity. If it is not altogether new, it is
at least modern. We cannot say we are convinced of its truth.
We have no faith in unscientific treatments of the physical phen-
omena of the universe, or in unlearned criticisms of the sacred
text. No man should attempt the discussions of the topics con-
tained in this book who has not had practical acquaintance with
the subjects which it involves. The idea of all pervading law in
the production of physical phenomena is that which Baden Powell
attempts to demonstrate with rare ability in his recent works.
We do not recognise any special feature in the " Nuggets from
the oldest Diggins" that entitles it to a very high rank in the litera-
ture of the subject on which it treats. It may be read with in-
terest by the curious, and be regarded as another addition to the
unsuccessful attempts to settle the disputed interpretation of the
Mosaic cosmogony.

Ox THE Origin of Species by means op Natural Selections, or thk

PRESERVATION OP FAVOURED RaCES IN THE STRUGGLE FOR LiFE. By

Ch. Darwin, M.A., &c., «fec. New York: D. Appleton & Co. Mon^
treal : B. Dawson & Son.

This is an abstract of a larger work in course of preparation.
It is entitled to most careful perusal. The author is a well known
and distinguished Naturalist. He has given much attention to and
spent now twenty years of his life in the prosecution of the sub-
ject of this book. The title is a good description of its contents.
It deals with questions of Natural History in a way most masterly
and profound. That its views will meet with much opposition is
to be expected. Few will be disposed to go the sweeping length
to which our author is disposed to go in the logical issue of his
theory. We merely call attention to this able work in the mean
time. It promises to create quite a furor in the minds of scien-
tific enquirers. We hope to present our readers with a thorough
review of the work either from the pen of one of the Editors, or
from the pages of one of tlie earliest scientific magazines of Europe
or America.

MONTHLY METEOEOLOGICAL REGISTER, ST. MARTINS, ISLE JESUS, CANADA EAST, (NINE MILES WEST OF MONTREAL,) FOR THE MONTK OK DECEMMER, 1859.

Latitude, 46 degrees 3] mlDutes North. Longitude, 73 degrees 36 minutes West. Height above the level of the Sea, 118 feet.

BY CHARLES SMALLWOOD, M.D., LL.D.

Barometer, corrected and
reduced to 32* F.

(English inches.)

! p. m. 10 p. m.

6 a. m.

2il. 6Sl
30. Ill
023
575
323
09a

29. 605

30. 108
177

29. 937
845
500

33.118

u

318

15

29. 930

IB

30. 138

17

233

IS

29.923

19

712

•ill

710

il

500

ti

850

43

681

M

692

25

890

2(i

628

27

30. 076

iS

460

29

JS2

ItO

29. 781

31

907

29. 520

30. 002

601

686

220

29. 934
616

30. 201
29. 950
30. 136
29. 788
603

30. 228
100

29. 937

30. 103
214

29. 782
701
6110
627
800
580
803
816 j
520

30. 270
410
269

29.710
823

I 29.568

30. 096

721

361

232

29.782

930

30.214

29. 823

30. 186

29 406

810

30. 337

201

1.39

223

lis

29.763
693
410
796
808
673
893
838
700

30. 397
633
038

29. 700
965

Temporaturo of the
Air.-F.

6 a. m.

20.2

22.3

—13.0

—3.0

H.O

26.1

35.0

—0.9

1,1

17.1

1.0

—2.0

-13.9

—2.5

11.0

18.1

13.6

18.9

21.1

30.0

20.1

6.0

6.0

-10.0

-20. 1

—6.*

—9,1

-29.2

-32.6

— 1.0

3.2

2 p. m. 10 p.m.

35.0

17.6

10.0

13.4

23.7

30 4

32.6

12,2

19.1

9.2

0.0

—6.6

6.9

8.5

19.7

23.8

20.2

20.1

38.4

341

21.1

20.1

22.8

—7.8

—0.5

5.6

— l.S

—0.5

—9.9

8.0

9.0

42.1

9.0

—3.0

10.9

24.2

39.2

37.4

3.2

19.0

1.0

13,2

-10.6

-10.0

2.8

14.3

16.1

19.1

20.1

31. 9

38.3

10.9

-0.2

19.0

-16. S

—4.0

6,6

-16,5

-23.5

-14.6

Tension of Aqueous
Vapour.

6 a. m.

.091
.084
.019
.032
.062
.140
.197
.036
.040
.084
,040
,034
,120
.032
,062
,084
.063

.154
.097
.041
.011
.024
.012
.028
.019
.007
.008
.031

p. m. 10 p. m.

.199
072
.054
.080
.117
.191
.176
.0*5
.077
.050
.051
.028
.OtS
.037
.081
100
.074
.096
.129
.155
.100
.085
.095
.021
.023
.049
.034
.034
.017
.056
.046

.261
.051
.033
.054
.123
.233
.129
.013
.081
.040
.066
.031
. 032
.041
.073
.074
.037
.093
.162
.224
.058
.031
.090
.015
.032
.018
.016
.010
.015
.051
.042

Humidity of tlie
Atmosphere.

.71
.56
83
89
98
95
84
85
91
85
84
76
S3
89
90
80
85
86
91
92
71
76
79
67
81
60
53
52

2 p. m. 10 p. m.

Direction of Wind,

2 p. m.

W. bv N.
N. hi E,
13, bv -\,
N. H. bv E.
N. E. by E,
B. a. E.
S, W.
W. by S
S. E. by E.
VV. by S.
N. E; b.y E.
W. bvS
S. by W.
N. E. bv E.
S. bv W.
N.E.

N. E.bvE.
N, B. by E.
S W.

N. E, bv E.
W. by S,
S. S.E.
S, E,
W.
S. E.

N. E. by B.
N W.
S.W.
B.S. E.
B. by N,
W.

10 p. m.

S, S. W.
E. by S.
N.E.

N. E. by E.
N. E. Ijy E.
.S. E. hv V.
W. by S.
S. B. by E.
.S. R. bv E.
S. S. W.
N. E. bv E.
.S. S. W.
N. N. W.
S. E. by E.
S.W,

N. E, by E.
N. E, by R.
N, E. by B.
S. by W.
N. E. bv E.
S.

S. S. E,
S. by E.
W..S W.
N. E. by E.
N.E.
W.

N.W.byW.
E. by S.
S.W.
W. by S,

Mean Velocity in Miles
per hour.

a. m. 2 p. m. 10 p. m

3,00
16,27
16,21
15,17
11,93
0,71
14,42
18,42
1,41
9,92
1,22
21,48
8,41
10,95
26, 96
1.00
0.00
11.41
17.20
7.40
3.30
6.99
0.33
25. 56
0.50
21.36
19 60
0.42
0.01
17.37
15.16

O.GO
4.30
4.01

12.43
8.12
3.42
4.41
2,65
4,46
1,51
2,43

15, 42
1,48
2,92
7,30
0,01
3,50

15,62
0,83
0.21

11.72
1.62
0.45
0.10
11.01
0.70

11.05
0.00
1.00
3.67
7.01

14.12
4.46
0,71

28 30
4.02
6.94

14.70
2.41
8.22

16.75
2.65
7.82
0.80
6.27
4.60
0.08

12.08

15,06
1.85
5.41

23.07
1.40
7 79
4.50
6.17
6.20
7.32
0.00
2.22
1.30
4.10

Amount
of. in
nchcs.

Inapp.

0.360
0.946

Amount
of, in

inches.

1.90

0.70
2.60
1.10

4.40
0.20
0.90
1.70

1.40

0.75
1.06

WEATHER, CLOUDS. EEMARK8, Ac, &c.
[A cloudy sky is represented by 10, a cloudless one by 0.]

Cu.Str.

Clear.
Snow.
" Verglas,"
Bain.

Clear.
Cu. Str.
Snow.
Cu. Str.
Clear.

Cu. Str,

10.
10.

Clear,
Cu, Str.
Snow.
Cu. Str.

Snow.
Clear.

10,
10.
10.

10.
10.

i.
10.

2,
10.

Snow.

Cu. F ir. 10,

Clear.
.Snow,
Kain.

Clear,
Snow.
On. Str,

Clear.

Cu, Str.
Clear.
C. Str.
Clear.
Snow.

Cu. Str.

Clear.

Cu. Str.

Clear.

Cu. Str.

Snow.

Clear.

Snow.
Clear.

10 p. m.

10, Lunar Halo.

Rain.
Snow.
0, C. Str.
Snow.
Rain.

Cu Str,

Snow.
Clear.
Snow.
Clear.

Snow.
Clear.
Clear.
Clear.
Cu,_Str.

Snow.

Cu. Str. 2. [Zodiacal Light.

Clear. Faint Aui-.Borealis. Bright

Snow.

Clear. Zodiaeal Light, bright

Snow,

Clear. Aurora Borealis.

Clear. Zodiacal Light visible.

Clear. Faint Aurora Borealis.

Clear.

Cu. Str, 10.

Cu. Str. 2.

10
10.

REPORT FOR THE MONTH OF JANUARY, 1860.

Barometer — corrected
and reduced to

32" F.
(English inches.)

0 a.m. 1 2 p.m. 10 p.m

29, 912

30, 210

439

29, 930

30,313

236

29, 874

697

30, 165

29, 851

649

30, 107

458

177

29, 436

304

694

805

642

560

330

691

976

970

280

914

979

775

30. 0.57

29. 320

942

30. 001
278
241

29. 926

30.298
067

29.681
630

30.049

29.V46
754

30.158
406

29. 916
220
276
710
791
710
510
311
497
918
464
314
974
709
594
880
437

30, 067

30. 09*

337

105

135

298

29. 893

583

733

30. 073

29. 750

30. 103

29.813

30. 342

29,691

319

460

785

708

756

454

680

614

,30, 029

29, 301

639

981

791

904

615

421 !

30, 239

Temperature of the
Air.-F.

6 a.m.

-12,0

-21.9

-25.4

—2.0

-14.6

8.4

19.2

32.4

21.0

31.4

33.7

—6.8

-24.6

—8.4

6.1

32.0

10.1

-12.2

2.4

24.6

28,4

21,2

18,4

20,9

33,2

20,0

—2,0

1,0

-7,4

28,4

2.0

2 p.m. ,10 p.m.

—2,1
—1,0
—14,2
10,0
8.0
24 4
33 4
38.8
28.9
36.6
19.8
15 I
-3.2
2.0
25.5
40.1
12.0
6.0
14.2
33.4
38.3
31.9
33.3
36.4
32.2
16.2
13.0
12.2
23 3
28.2
0.0

-16.9

-13.0

-6.8

—2.0

0.0

21.0

36.9

67.0

20,9

35 0

8.0

21,0

-8,7

7.0

32.1

33.8

0.0

3.0

17.1

29.0

31.3

29.1

20.3

35.6

22.1

6.1

7.0

0.6

22,9

28,7

-4,0

Tension of Aqueous
Vapour.

6 a.m.

.020
.009
.008
.036
,017
,057
.087
.168
.085
068
.182
.028
.009
.025
.041
.108
.034
.016
.010
.105
.129
.106
.072
.097
.179
.091
.034
.0,32
.024
.li9
.034

3 p.m.

.0,34
,028
,013
.067
,018

,123
,200
,092
,070
,02,5
,036
,111
.225
,051
,013
,007
,163
,201
,148
,162
,191
,167
.008
.054
.015
.078
.117
.032

10 p.m.

.015
.019
.02S
,02i
.031
.083
.199
.178
.085
.197
.OM
.085
.021
.019
.162
.162
.038
.OH
.078
.142
.190
.142
.0*4
.197
.081
.048
.OaJ
.0311
.09!
.129
.031

Humidity of the
Atmosphere.

6 a. m.

2 p.m.

.76

.83

.40

.68

.58

.61

84

68

70

77

88

67

83

84

92

85

78

77

93

03

91

92

81

81

60

61

80

72

74

81

89

90

78

70

70

73

86

80

SO

84

83

86

83

80

82

84

85

90

93

98

65

76

81

71

70

60

79

69

82

75

71

70

10 p. m.

.70
.70
.80
68
55
78
90
81
78
91
85
78
62
86
89
84
85

98
88
80
93
71
75

79
82
83

Ilirection of Wind.

6 a. m.

W. N. W.
W. by S.
W. by S.
N.E.
W.
S.W.

s.

S. W. by S.
W. N. W.
S.bvE.
W.byS.
N. bv W.

N. N. \y.

N. E. by E.
M. B. bv E.

w. s. w.

w.
s. s. w.

N. E. byE.

W.

W. .S. W.

N. E. by E.

W.

S. S. B.

W. by S.

W. by N,

S. S. J3.

W.

W. S. w.
W. N. W.
W. by S.

2 p. m.

10 p. m.

w. bv S.

W. by S.

N. E.bv E.

W. N. W.

S. S. W.

S.

W. s. w.

W. N. W.

N. B. by E.

S, by E.

W. N. W,

S. W. by W.

N. E. by E.

N.E.

N, W. bv N,

W.

W.

N, E. by B.

W. s. w,

S. E.
W. by S.
S. S. B.
S. by W.
N. E. bv E.
W. N. W.
S, W.
N.N. W.
W. by S.
S. by W.
S. S. W.
N. W.

Horizontal

OZONE.

RAIN.

SNOW.

Movement in
24 hours.

(In Miles,)

Mean

amount

of.

Amount
of, in
inches.

Amount
of, in
inches.

6,30

0,6
1,0
1,0
1,3
16
2,6
3,3
4,3
0,6
3,3
4,3
1,0
0,6
1.0
3.0
4.6
2.6
1.0
1.3
1.3
4.3
2,3
3,0
3,6
6,0
13
2,0
1,0
2,0
6,0
3,0

172, 60

1.30
1.51

101 70

152 SO

8,50
220, 00

0.110

Inapp.

69,10
65,90

loapp.
0,210

2,11
0.75

262 70

114 40

0,75
0.46

106 70

169 50

61 30

0,60
1,00
0.70

172 20

122 30

116 10

197 50

166, 10

19,00

0.60

0,140
0,014

132,00

0.62

84 80

291 50

0.70
1.00

453 30

WEATHER, CLOUDS, REMAREB, Ac. &C.

[A cloudy sliy is represented by 10, a cloudless oue by 0.]

Cu. Str.
Snow.
Cu. Str.

Clear.
Cu. Str.
Rain.
Clear.

Cu. Str.

Rain.

Clear.

Snow.
Clear.
C. Str.

10.
10.
10.

10.
10.

4.
10.
10,

4,
10.

4,
10.

2. p. m.

Clear.
Cu.Str.

Snow.
Clear.
Cu. Str.
Cu. Str.
Cu. Str.
Clear.
Rain.
Snow.
Cu. Str.
Clear.
Clear.
Cu. Str.
Cu, Str.
Clear.
Ou. Str.
Clear.
Ou. Str.
Cu. Str.
Cu. Str.
0. Cu.Str.
Cu. Str.
Cu. Str.
Cu. Str.
Clear.
C. C. Str.
Clear.
Snow.
On. Str.

7.
10.

10 p. m.

Clear.

Clear.

Snow.

Cu, Str.

4.

Cu. Str.

10.

Cu. Str.

10.

Rain.

Cu, Str.

ID.

Cu. Str.

10.

Cu. Str.

10.

Cu. Str.

10.

Cu. Str.

9.

Ou. Str.

10.

Clear.

Ou Str.

10.

Clear.

Clear.

Snow.

Cu. Str.

10.

Ou. Str.

2. Aurora Borealis.

Ou. Str.

4.

Clear.

Clear.

Cu. Str.

10.

Cu, Str.

8.

Clear.

Ou, Str.

10.

Clear. Solar Halo.

Cu. Str.

10.

Cu. Str.

10.

Cirri

4. Lunar Halo.

REMARKS FOR DECEMBER, 1859.

fHighcst, the 3rd day, 30'726 inches.
) Lowest, the 20th dav, 29.410
■ ) Monthly Mean, 29.971
C. " Range, 1.316
CHighest, the 1st day, 42°1.
) Lowest, the 29th day, — 32*= 6.

■ J Monthly Mean, 8 ofllj.

Thermometer .

^Monthly Range, 74 o 7.
Greatest intensity of the Sun's ra;?8, 38 °0
Lowest point of terrestrial radiation, — 36 ^G.
Mean of humidity, .808.

Rain fell on 3 days, amounting to 1,480 inches; it waa raining
S6 hours and 20 minutes.

Snow fell on 14 days, amounting to 23.87 inches; it was snow-
ing 150 hours and 30 minutes.

Most prevalent wind, the N. B. by E.

Least prevalent wind, the S.

Most windy day, the 4th day ; mean miles per hour, 15.30.

I^east windy day. the 2Sth day ; mean miles per hour, 0.14.

Aurora Borealis visible on 3 nights.

Lunar Halo visible on 1 night.

Zodiacal Light visible and bright.

The Electrical state of the atmosphere has indicated high
tension.

Ozone was present in large quantity.

REMARKS FOR JANUARY, 1860

f Highest, the 13th day, 30.455 inches.
R-irnmPfPT J Lowest, the 21st day, 29.314

barometer ^Monthly Mean, 29.H61

(Monthly Range. 1.141

(Highest, the IHth day, iG°4.
Thermnmfif pr -3 Lowest, the 3rd day. —25 ° 4.
Ihermometer. Sjionthlv Mf-an, 13^15.

(Monthly Range, 71'=' 8.
Greatest intensity of the Sun's rays, 66 °4.
Lowest point of terrestrial radiution, — 27 °1.
Mean or humidity, .78(i.

Rain fell on 5 days, amounting to 0.474 inches ; it was raining
24 hours 40 minutes.

Snow fell on H days, amounting to 11.90 inches ; it waa snow-
ing 74 hours 40 minutes.

Most prevalent wind, the W. by S,

Least prevalent wind, the E.

Most windy day, the 25th day ; mean miles per hour, 22.88.

Least windy day. the 1st day ; mean miles per hour, 0.31.

Aurora Borealis visible on 1 night.

Solar Halo visible on 1 day.

Lunar Halo visible on 1 night.

The Electrical state of the atmosphere has indicated modt-
rate intensity.

80

nal

we

the

ma

mc

sec

wil

at

W>

om

tes

tai

the

tli(

att

W

tb

tU]

tei
un
M

On

It

an
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jet
It

an

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to

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til

til

re

fr<

or

THE

CANADIAN

MTUEALIST AID GEOLOGIST.

Vol. V. APRIL, 1860. No. 2.

ARTICLE YIII. Observations on the Natural History of the
Valley of the River Rouge^ and the surrounding Townshij^s
in the Counties of Argenteuil and Ottawa. By W. S. M.
D' Urban.

(^Continued from page 276, Vol. IV)

INVERTEBRATA.

INSECTA.

COLEOPTERA.

Nearly all of the 114 species in the following Catalogue -were obligingly
determined for me by Dr. J. L. Leconte of Philadelphia. Besides those
enumerated, many others were collected, but were unfortunately lost
by the accidental fracture of the bottle which contained them.

I have added a list of 34 species, not observed in this district by
myself, but brought by Mr. Robert Bell from the Augmentation of
Grenville, and the neighbourhood of L'Orignal, on the south bank of
the Ottawa.

Cicindela longilabris^ Say. — Hamilton's Farm on the River Rouge, 2nd

September.
" vulgaris. Say. — Very abundant on sand-banks, River Rouge,

August.

* " Baltimorensis, Herbst, (repanda, Say.) — Common on sand-
banks, River Rouge, July and August.

* The larvae of this species were numerous in their burrows in the sand, by the
side of the Rouge, five miles below Hamilton's Farm, 13th August.

Canadian Nat. 1 Vol. V. No. 2.

82 Natural History of the

Lebia viridis 7 Say. — Huckleberry Rapids, River Rouge, DeSalabeTry,.

30th July.
Patrobus longicornis, Say. — Sixteen-Island Lake, &c., Montcalm, May

and June.
Platynus sinuatus, Dej. — Under dead logs, Sixteen Island Lake, Scc.j

Township of Montcalm, May and June.
" retractus, Lee. — With the last species.
" obsoletus, Say. — With the last two species.
P(Bcilus lucublandus, Say. — Under stones near the town of Grenrille,

13th May.
Pterostichus fastiditus, Dej. — Under bark of decaying logs, Sixteen Is-
land Lake, Montcalm, end of May ; Lake
of Three Mountains, end of September.
" patruelis, Dej. — River Rouge.

" caudicalis, Say. — Under stones near Grenville, 13th May.
" orinomum, Leach (vitresis, Esch.) — Township of Montcalm,

June.
Luczotii, Dej. (var. prsec?) — Sixteen Island Lake, Montcalm^

May and June.
Lc]:hoglossus 'mutator Lee. — Under stones near Grenville, 13th May.
Rembus major, Lee. — " " " "

Chlanius impunctifrons, Sar — " " " "

Cychrus (SphcBroderus) Brevoortii, Lee. — Under dead logs, Bevin'sLake,

Montcalm, 4th July.
Notiophilus punctatus, Lee. — On rocks, Huckleberry Rapids, River

Rouge, DeSalaberry, 2lrth July.
Bembidium impressum, Fabr. — On wet sand, River Rouge, 13th August.
" punctatostriatum, Say. — Very abundant on wet sand, River

Rouge, July and August.
" patruelis, Dej. — Abundant on wet sand, River Rouge, 13th

August.
" lucidum, Lee. — Under stones near Grenville^ 13th May.
jlgabus striatusi Say. — In Sixteen Island Lake, Montcalm, end of May.
Coptotomus interrogatusj Fabr. — In Sugar-bush Lake, Montcalm, 23rd

June.
Hydroporus proximus, Aub6. — With the last species.
Haliplus immaculaticollis, Harris. — With the last two species.

'' cribariusj Lee. — Very abundant in Sugar-bush Lake, Mont-
calm, 23rd June.
Gyrinus (several species not determined) — In various Lakes.
Dineutes (not named)— Very abundant, Sugar-bush Lake, Montcalm,

23rd June.
Philhydrus ductus, Say.— In a small stream crossing the portage be-
tween Gate and Gut Lakes, Wentworth,
and in Sugar-bush Lake, Montcalm.
Necrovhorus lunatus, Lee. — Huckle-berry Rapids, River Rouge, De-
Salaberry, 2'7th July.
" pygmceus, Kirby. — Township of Montcalm, 20th June.

Valley of the River Rouge, Sfc* 83

Silpha marginata, Fabr. — Abundant under putrid fish, Sixteen Island

Lake, Montcalm, 1st June.

Homalota, (not determined) — Township of Montcalm, June.

TachyporuSj (not determined) " " "

Tachinus fumipennis,Sia.y, — In bear's dung, Chain Lake, Montcalm, 17th

June.
" conformisj Dej. — Township of Montcalm, June.

Philonthus cyanipennis, Fabr. — In a fungus on a rotten tree. River Rouge,

13th August.
" (not determined) — Under stones near Grenville, 13th May.

Stenus (not determined) — Numerous on wet sand. River Rouge, Arun-
del, July.
" (not determined) — Numerous on wet sand, River Rouge, near

Hamilton's Farm, 13th August.

Oxytelus PennsylvanicuSj Er. — Common in our tents throughout the dis-
trict.

Anthohium dimidiatuin, Mels. — Township of Montcalm, June.

Platy soma par allelum, Say. — " '• "

Carpophilus rdger, Er. — " " "

EpurceOj (not determined) " " "

Cucujus clavipes, Oliv. — One specimen taken as it pitched on the mane

of a horse. Township of Harrington, loth
May.

Pediacus planus^ Lee. — Very abundant in the tents, Huckle-berry

Rapids, end of July.

Dermestes lardarius, Linn. — Observed about the provisions. Sixteen Is-
land Lake, Montcalm.

Anthrenus castanece, Mels. — Township of Montcalm, June.

Platycerus depressuSj Lee. — Near Huckleberry Rapids, River Rouge,

DeSalaberry, July.

Onthophagus Hecate^ Pz. — Near Huckleberry Rapids, River Rouge,

DeSalaberry, 2nd August.

Geotrupes Egeriei, Germ, (microphagus, Say.) Woods near Hamilton's

Farm, 31st August.

Aphodius Jimetarius, Fabr. — Abundant in cow-dung, Hamilton's Farm,

August.

Dichelonycha subvittatOj Lee. — Abundant throughout the district, June to

August.

Osmoderma scahra, Beauv. — River Rouge, July and August.

Nichius piger, Fabr. — On blossoms of Viburnum opulus, Sugar-bush

Lake, and on white clover blossoms, and
bleeding stumps of yellow birch. Bevin's
Lake, Montcalm, end of June and begin-
ning of July.

Ancylocheiramaculiventris, Say.— Near Silver Mountain, River Rouge,

12th August.

Cryptohypnus silaceipesj Germ.— Under stones near Grenville, ISth

May.

84 Natural History of the

Dolopius fucosus, Lee. — Township of Montcalm, June.
" stahilis, Lee— " « «

Corymhites triundulatus, RandalL — Township of Montcalm, end of May.

Pyractomenaangulata, ^a,y. — Common, Sugar-bush Lake, Montcalm, 23d

to 26th June.

Ellychnia corrusca, Linn. — Under stones near Grenville, 13th May.

* " lacustris, Lee. — Abundant in the woods of Harrington, mid-
dle of May ; Hamilton's Farm, and Lake
of Three Mountains, August and Septem-
ber.

DigraphaterminaliSj Say. — Bevin's Lake, 29th June, and 5th July, and

Hamilton's Farm, 31st August.

Eros coccinatus, Say. — Sixteen-Island Lake, &e., Montcalm, end of May.
" molis, Lee. — Huckleberry Rapids, River Rouge, DeSala-

berry, 2nd August.

Podabrus modestus, Say. — About clearings, Bevin's Lake, Montcalm, 2nd

July.

Telephorus rotundicollis, Say. — Abundant " " "

" carolinusj Fabr. — '' '• " "

" fi-axini, Say. — Township of Montcalm, June.

Anohium foveatum^ Kirby. — Abundant in a rotten tree, Bevin's Lake, 4th

July.

Cis. (not determined) — Township of Montcalm, June.

Pedilus collaris, Say. — " " "

Mordella nigricans, Mels. — " *' "

Meloe rugipennis, Lee. — Hamilton's Farm, 31st August, and Grenville,

14th October.

\Cistela (not determined) — Very abundant on leaves of Bass-wood,

Sugar-bush Lake, Montcalm, 26th June.
•' (not determined) — River Rouge.

Nyctobates (not determined) — Under logs on grass-land, Hamilton's

Farm, August.

Upis reticulatus, Say. — (ceramhoides, Linn.) — With the last species.

XBolitophagus cornutus, Pz. — Larvge and Pupa in a boletus, Huckle-
berry Rapids, DeSalaberry, 3rd August.

jipion, (not determined) — Township of Montcalm.

Sitona lepidus, Sch. — Near Hamilton's Farm.

Hylobius, (ja.Qa.T pineti) — Sixteen Island Lake, 1st June.
" pales, Herbst. — Township of Montcalm, June.

Tomicus, (not named) " " "

Saperda tridentata, Oliv. — Base of Silver Mountain, Rouge, 10th Aug.

Monohammus confusor, Kirby, — " " " "

* No Fire-flies were seen at night after the 19th of July. The Pupa of Ellydinia
lacustris is as luminous as the perfect insect.

t This Cistela has a very rank scent.

% These larvae were very active, wriggling about and jerking their abdominal seg-
ments with great force. One changed to Pupa, August 9 ; and a Pupa to Imago the
same day. Another was evolved 13th August.

Valley of the River Roifge, Sfc. 85

Monohammus scutcllatus, Say. — Numerous, Bevin's Lake, Yth July ; and

abundant the whole way up the Rouge, to
the eud of August.
Encyclops cceruleus, Say. — One specimen taken on blossoms of Viburnum

opulus, Sugar-bush Lake, Montcalm, 26th
June.
AcmcBops proteus, Kirby. — Township of Montcalm, June.
Evodinus monticola, Randall. — Sixteen-Island Lake, 30th May ; and

abundant on blossoms of Viburnum opulus,
Sugar-bush Lake, end of June.
Leptura canadensis, Oliv. — Abundant on blossoms of Spiraa salicifolia,

River Rouge, July and August.
" vittata, Oliv. — Near Huckle-berry Rapids, DeSalaberry,

15th Julv.
" pubera, Say. — Abundant on blossoms of Viburnum opulus,

Sugar-bush Lake, Montcalm, 25th June.
" proxima, Say. — Near Huckleberry Rapids, DeSalaberry,

26th July.
" mutabilis, Lee. — On blossoms of Viburnum opulus, Sugar-bush

Lake, end of June.
Donacia palmata, Oliv. — In blossoms of Nwphar advena, (Yellow Water-
lily), Sugar-bush Lake, end of June.
" subtilis, Kuuze, — In a small Lake near Lake of Three Moun-
tains, 14th September.
" pusilla. Say. — Sugar-bush Lake, Montcalm, end of June.
" flavipes, Kirby. — " " "

Syneta tripla, Say. — Township of Montcalm.

Chrysomela scalaris, Lee. — Abundant on alders throughout the district,

from the end of June to the end of Sep-
tember.
" spircece, Say. — Very abundant. Sugar-bush Lake, 25th June.
" interrupta, Fabr. — Abundant on alders, Sixteen-Island and

Sugar-bush Lakes, Montcalm, May and
June. Larva abundant on alder leaves,
June 25.
" VitellincE, Linn. — Abundant on oak and poplar leaves. Six-
teen Island and Sugar-bush Lakes, May
and June.
Systena pontalis, Fabr. — Township af Montcalm, June.
Phyllobrotica decorata, Say. — (Olivieri, Kirby,) — Very abundant on

Scutellaria galericulata and lateripolia.
River Rouge, July and August.
Adoxus vitis, Fabr. — Amongst dead leaves. Gate Lake, "Wentworth, 16th

May.
Chrysochus auratus, Fabr. — Abundant on Apocynum androscemifolium

and cannabinum, Bevin's Lake, Huckle-
berry Rapids, &c., July.
Galleruca sagittarice, Kirby. — Township of Montcalm, June.
Coccinella picta, Randall. — " " "

86

Natural History of the

LIST OP SPECIES FROM L'ORIGNAL AND THE AUGMENTA-
TION OF GRENVILLE.

Hister perplezus ? Lee.

Cymindis reflexa, Lee.
Calathus gregai ius, Say.
Platynus capripennis, Say.
Pterostichus erythropus^ Dej.

" adjunctusy Lee.
Amara angustata, Say.

" impuncticolliSf Say.
Anisodactylus Baltimorensis, Say.

" Harrisiij Lee.

'' rusticuSy Say.
Harpalus Pennsylv aniens y Geer.

" herbivagus, Say,
Chlcenius sericeuSy Forst.

" tricolor, Dej.
Acilius f rat emus y Harris.
Silpha Surinamensis, Latr.
Paderus littorariusj Grav.

ips quadrisignatuSy Say.
Cytilus variusy Fabr.
Lachnosterna fusctty Frolich.
Osmoderma eremicolay Enoch.
Photuris Pennsylvanica, Geer.
TrichodeSy Nuttaliiy Kirby.
Thanasimus dubius, Fabr.
Tenebris molitor, Lirrn.
Jpthinus Pennsylv aniens y Geer.
Orthosoma unicolory Drury.
Saperda vestitay Say.
Chelymorphacribariay Fabr.
Haltica collar is, Fabr.
Chrysomela trimaculatay Fabr.
Helodes trivittattty Say.
Hippndamia IZ-punctata, Linn.

LEPIDOPTERA.

With the exception of the Rhopalocera (Butterflies), the greater
portion of the Lepidoptera collected are stiU undetermined. Some
of the Heterocera (Moths) enumerated below, were named for me,
at the British Museum, by Mr. Francis Walker, to whom I am
much indebted. I obtained a great number of beautiful larvae in
October, but from the difficulty of transporting them from place
to place, when travelling, I failed to rear any of them. From the
end of May till August, Nbctuidce and Geometndce swarmed at
dusk in the woods, the light of our camp-fire often attracting them
in great numbers into our tents, and the numerous delicate Micro-
lepidoptera would have delighted Mr. Stainton.

Rhopalocera.

1. Papilio iumus, Linn., (Tiger Swallow-tail). Figured and
described in the " Canadian Nat. and Geol.," Vol. 2, pi. 3, p. 223.
Abundant throughout the whole of the district traversed. First
observed 30th May, at Sixteen Island Lake, Montcalm, and became
very numerous by the middle of June^ continuing so until the
beginning of July, at which time most of them were much worn, and
they disappeared altogether by the end of the month. The beautiful
apple-green larvae were very abundant at the end of August and
during the first week of September, at Hamilton's Farm on the Biver

Valley of the River Rouge f ^'c, 87

Bouge. At that time we were camped on the grass of the clear-
ino", under some scattered elm and ash trees, and the larvae, which
were numerous in the tents, appeared to have been blown out of
these trees by the high winds, and were rapidly crawling about in
search of a suitable place to spin their suspending girths, and un-
dergo their transformations. Just before assuming the pupa state,
they became dark brown in colour, with some lilac stripes and
spots. On the 31st August, I met with a larva on an alder bush,
across a leaf of which it had spun a bed of silk, and was repos-
ing upon it in its usual manner, with the anterior segments
drawn in and swollen out, so as to render the ocellated spots on
the third segment very conspicuous. When in this position, these
larvae, if disturbed, rock themselves slowly from side to side,
throwing out the forked orange tentacle, which is usually concealed
from view in the segment behind the head, emitting at the same
time a very acrid odour. The pupa is whitish-brown on the back
and abdomen, with a darker line down the sides, and the wing-cases
are dark brown, or black. This splendid butterfly frequently as-
sembles in great numbers about wounds on the roots of trees from
which sap exudes, and also about decaying fish and animal matter.
On the shores of Sugar-bush Lake in the Township of Montcalm,
on the 25th June, I counted fifty- six individuals crowded together
in a space, not exceeding six square inches, where a dead cat-fish
had lain for some time, and others were constantly ariving, flying
straight to the spot against the wind, as though they had scented
it from afar. On several occasions more than a dozen specimens
-were captured at a single grasp of the hand, having become so
gorged and drowsy with their disgusting repast, as to be unable
to fly.

2. F. asterias^ Fab. (Black Swallow-tail.) — Figured and des-
cribed in the "Canadian Nat. and Geol." vol. 2, pi. 3, p. 220. A large
black butterfly seen by myself, as it sailed rapidly through the
woods, on the borders of Chain Lake, Montcalm, 17th June, I
supposed to be this species. It was not, however, again met with,
which is not surprising, considering the scarcity of Umbelliferous
plants in this district.

3. CoUas phUodice, Godt. (Clouded Sulphur.) — Figured and
described in the " Canadian Nat. and Geol." vol. 2, pi. 4, p. 313.
Numerous at Grenville on the 5th June, but I did not observe it
again till the 30th of that month, after which it was not uncommon
:along the banks of the Kouge. At Hamilton's farm^ 50 miles up

88 Natural History of the

the river, it was quite numerous, especially in August and Sep-
tember. The last date at which I observed it there, was the 13th
September, when it was still abundant, and I then captured a
specimen apparently just evolved. I saw several individuals at
Grenville, October 14th and 18th, and on my return to Montreal on
the 19th of that month it was still rather numerous there. As the
larva of this butterfly feeds on various species of Trifolium it is
not to be looked for in uncleared districts, and in fact it is only
to be seen around clearings and open places, where the clovers have
been introduced either by accident or design.

4. PieWs oZeracea, Harris (Grey-veined White). Described in
the " Canadian Nat. and Geol." vol. 2, p. 347. Abundant through-
out the whole district. First observed near Grenville, 14th May,
and was then numerous in the woods of that township. It con-
tinued abundant up to the end of June, but was not seen after-
wards till the end of August, when I observed a few worn indivi-
duals at Hamilton's Farm. This species also, had the habit of
pitching upon the dead fish and offal lying round our camps, but
never assembled in any great numbers.

5. Danais Arcliippus, Fab. (Storm Fritillary.) — Figured and
described in the Canadian Nat. and Geol. vol. 2, pi. 6, p. 350.
A single specimen, which appeared to have been recently evolved,
was seen by myself, flying across the Rouge, a little above Silver
Mountain, on the 12th August. The different species of J.rc?e-
pias^ which constitute the food-plants of the larva, are sparingly
distributed in this district, and accordingly this butterfly is seldom
met with.

6. Satyrus^ Portlandia, Boisd. (Pearly Eye.) First seen about
the camp on the south side of Bevin's Lake, Montcalm, on the
2nd July, after which it was met with abundantly in the woods
along the Bouge as far as Silver Mountain, near which on the
6th August, those seen were much wasted, and they soon afte
entirely disappeared. The specimens collected agree tolerably ac-
curately with Boisduval's figures and descriptions of Satyrus
Portlandia. It is figured under the name of Hipparchia An-
dromacha, Hiibner, in Say's "American Entomology," vol. 2,
pi. 36, and in Gosse's " Canadian Naturalist" p. 246. In the
latter work it is spoken of as very rare in the Eastern Townships,
and Prof. T. P. Kirtland, says it is among the most rare of the
butterflies of Ohio. Being generally supposed to be a southern
species, it is not little remarkable that it should be so abundant

* (DeMs.)

Valley of the River Rovge, c^e. 89

to tlie north of the Ottawa. I have also met with it near Mon-
treal.

7. HipparcMa nephcle ? Kirby. Abundant amongst grass
on Hamilton's Farm, from the 22nd August to the beginning of
September, but all seen were much worn. It is a common species
in hay-fields at Montreal and Sorel, and is described in " Fauna
Boreali-Americana," p. 297.

8. Limenitis Arthemis, Drury. (Banded Purple). Figured in
Gosse's " Canadian Naturalist" p. 220. First seen at Sugar-bush
Lake, Montcalm, on the 26th June, after which it became the
most abundant species and continued so until the end of July, when
all observed were much worn, but linsjered on till the middle of
August. It frequently assembles in astonishing numbers round
old lumbering camps, &c., congregating about the tea-leaves
and other refuse lying about such places. On the 15th
July, on the site of a lumbering camp and timber roll-
way, on the banks of the Rouge, about three miles above the In-
dian Village in the Township of Arundel, I saw the most extra-
ordinary assemblage of butterflies I ever beheld, several hundreds
of this species being congregated together in groups consisting of
from twenty to fifty individuals in each, whilst many others flew
around and rendered it difiicult to arrive at an accurate estimate
of their numbers ; nevertheless I am convinced that I am within the
mark, when I state that there were more than three hundred as-
sembled within a space of a few square yards. This species is
very restless and active when on the ground, constantly opening
and shutting its wings, unrolling its tongue, and running to and
fro very rapidly, and even when feeding is not easily surprised.
It flies freely in cloudy weather and quite late in the afternoon.
According to Prof. Kirtland it is a rare species in Ohio.

9. Cynthia cardici, Linn. (Painted Lady). Described in the
" Canadian Nat. and Geol." vol. 3, p. 346. But one specimen was
met with, which was on the 21st August, at Hamilton's Farm,
where the common thistle (^Clrsium lanceolatum) , the food-plant
of its larva, is plentiful about the fields.

10. Vanessa Atahnta, Linn. (Pied Admiral). I observed a
butterfly which appeared to be of this species, on the 24th June,
at Sugar-bush Lake, Montcalm.

11. V. Antiopa, Linn. (Camberwell Beauty). Figured and
described in the " Canadian Nat. and Geol.," vol. 2, p. 93. Rather
common at Grenville on the 13th May ; a few specimens were seen

90 Natural History of the

in the Township of Montcalm in June, and near Silver Moun-
tain on the Rouge, on the 12th of August.

12. V. Milberti, Grodt. furcillata, Say. (Forked). Common
at Grenville, 14th May, not seen again until July 10th, on the
Rouge, after which it was observed occasionally at Hamilton s
Farm, up to the 31st August.

13. F. J. album, Boisd. (Compton Tortoise). A common
species throughout the district, from the l9th May to the end of
September. I observed one near Grenville on the 18th Octo-
ber.

14. Grapta Prog lie. Fab. (Green Comma). Abundant every-
where from the 14th May to the middle of September. On one
occasion an individual of this species pitched on my hand and I
caught it between my fingers.

15. G. C. album, Godt. (Orange Comma). The species of
the genus Grapta (popularly termed Commas, from the silver
spots in the centre of the hind-wings on the under side, which
resemble an inverted comma) are so subject to variation, that it is
extremely difficult to determine them, unless they are reared from
the larvse. I, however, took several specimens of a species which
I believe to be G. C. album along the Rouge in July and
August.

16. Argi/nnisDapJmis? CvsLmer (Small Silver-spot Fritillary).
First seen at Bevin's Lake, Montcalm, 2nd July, andfrom that date
it was abundant all the way up the Rouge as far as Hamilton's Farm,
at which place, on the 25th of August, I saw a specimen perfectly
fresh, whilst many others were flying about in a worn condition.
It was very numerous on the flowers of Asdepias incamata, near
the Indian Village on the 18th July. The last date at which it
was observed by me was 12th September. I am of opinion that
Boisduval was in error in considering A. Aphrodite, Fab., and A.
Cybele, Fab. as one and the same species. There are at least
three closely allied species of Argynnis inhabiting Canada, but
nothing short of breeding each from the larvae will satisfactorily
separate them. Two of my specimens agree best with Cramer's
figure of A. Daphiis, but a third diff'ers considerably and may be
another species. They are all too small for A. Cybele, Fab.

17. A. Myrina, Cramer. (Pearl-border Fritillary). First seen
at Grenville 5th June. Common at Bevin's Lake, Montcalm, at
the beginning of July, and at Hamilton's Farm up to the 31st
August.

Valley of the River Rouge ^ ^c. 91

18. A. Bellona, Fab. One specimen taken near Mr. Thomp-
son's clearing on the Kouge, in the Township of Arundel, on the
30th June. It was not again met with,

19. Melitcea Thaws, Cramer, Oocyta, Hiibner, (Pearl-crescent
Fritillary). First observed at Sugar-bush Lake, Montcalm, 29th
June. In copula and rather worn 2nd July about Bevin's Lake.
A few seen a few miles up the DcTil's River, 14th July.

20. Thecla (?) A large ThecJa was seen by me at the Huckle-
berry Rapids on the Rouge, 2nd Range of De Salaberry, on the
30th July, but I failed in my attempts to secure it, and could
not recognise the species, nor did I meet with any other of this
genus.

21. Lyccena Americana, Harris (American Copper). Numer-
ous from the 21st to the 31st August, on grass-land at Hamilton's
Farm, where its food-plant, the sorrel {Rumex acetosella),
abounds.

22. Polyommatns pseudargiolus, Boisd. (Spring Azure). Nu-
merous on the 14th May, in the woods of the Township of Gren-
ville. The males were extremely abundant, congregating round
putrid fish on the shores of Sixteen-Island Lake, at the end of
May ; I saw worn specimens as late as the 2nd July, about Bevin's
Lake. When in a canoe on Sixteen-Island Lake, one of these
beautiful little butterflies pitched on my hand and remained there
for some time,

23. Pamphila (?) Two specimens of a dingy grey species of
Shipper were captured, one at Sugar-bush Lake, June 26th, and
the other at Bevin's Lake, 2nd July,

24. Pamphila (?) One specimen of a Pamphila, resembling
P.paniscus (Chequered Shipper) of Europe, was taken near Bevin's
Lake, Montcalm, 2nd July.

Two or three other species of Pamphila were taken in the
Townships of Montcalm and Arundel, and at Hamilton's Farm,
in June, July and August, which I have been unable to deter-
mine, and which are probably undescribed species.

Heterocera,

SPmNGINA.

Sphinx. I captured two species of Sphinx on the Rouge, in
the Townships of Arundel and DeSalaberry, in July, allied to S.
halmioe., Abbot and Smith, and S. gord'ms, Cramer, but not agreeing
satisfactorily with the descriptions of those species as given by
Dr. Harris in his Catalogue of American Sphinges, (Amer. Jour.

92 Natural History of the

Sci. vol. xxxvi). According to Mr. Walker, neither of tliem
is in the collection of the British Museum. Dead fish appear to
be very attractive bait for Sphinges as well as other Lepidoptera,
one of the species above mentioned having been taken whilst
hovering over a dead carp lying by the water side, and many others
were seen under similar circumstances. On the 11th August,
when camped on a low flat at the base of Silver Mountain on
the Rouge, I obtained a Sphinx larva, which from my notes, ap-
pears to have resembled that of S. Kalonice, as described by Harris
(vide Amer. Journ, Sci. vol. xxxvi, p. 295). It was light green,
with seven obHque yellow stripes edged above with dark purple,
on each side ; head yellow, with a vertical band of dark brown on
either side ; caudal horn, blue, covered with small black tubercles,
and tipped with black. It appeared to have been washed by
the heavy rain which had just fallen during a violent thunder
storm, from the soft maples [Acer ruhrimi), which almost exclu-
sively surrounded the tents, and on one of which it was crawling.
Another splendid larva was found on the 19th September, feeding
on a bush of Myrica gale, growing on the shores of Green
Lake, adjoining the Lake of Three Mountains, in the county of
Ottawa, about five miles from Hamilton's Farm. The following
is the description of it which I made at the time : '' Deep olive-
green, covered with minute spots of white, edged with black ;
seven oblique pink stripes, edged above with black and below with
pale yellow, on either side ; caudal horn, black ; spiracles, orange ;
pro-legs, yellow ; a stripe of light green on each side of the head."
The minute white spots surrounded by black, thickly covering the
whole upper surface, gave it a striking and most interesting re-
semblance to the scurfy resinous dotted leaves of its food-plant,
the Bog Myrtle or Sweet Gale. This beautiful larva changed to
a pupa which unfortunately perished during the following winter.

Smerinthus. I obtained two larvae, belonging to this genus,
under elm trees at Hamilton's Farm, on the 3rd and 4th Septem-
ber, of which the following are descriptions: No. 1, pale green,
whitish on the back, with oblique stripes of white and dark green
on the sides. No. 2, green, with oblique tuberculated stripes on
the sides, and two tubercles on each of the second and third seg-
ments,

Trochilium. On the 25th June, at Sugar-bush Lake, I cap-
tured a beautiful and apparently undescribed species of Trochi-
lium, sitting on the blossoms of Viburnum ojmlus which were

Valley of the River Rouge, S^c. 9'3

much frequented by insects of all orders. The anal tuft is deep
orange; antennae, black; expansion of thewings 11 lines; length
of the body 5 lines.

BOMBYCINA.

1. Ctenuclia Latreillana, Kirby. (Ccerulean). Described in
" Fauna Boreali- Americana," p. 305. One specimen taken on
the 16th July, near the Indian Village on the Rouge, Township
of Arundel.

2. Crocofa hrevicornis, Walker. Described in " British
Museum Catalogue Lepid. Het." part II, p. 535. Observed in
open places at Huckleberry Rapids, DeSalaberry, and numer-
ous amongst grass at Hamilton's Farm, end of July and
August.

3. Medaria Mendica, Walker. (Buff Muslin). Described in
"British Museum Cat. Lepid. Het." Part II, p. 576. Not abund-
ant in this district, but occurred near Bevin's Lake, Montcalm,
in July.

4. Arctia PartJienos, Harris (Great Northern Tiger). On the
19th July, five miles up the Devil's River, a tributary of the
Rouge, I took a fine Arctia agreeing in every respect with the
figure and description of A. Parthenos, given by Dr. Harris in
Agassiz's " Lake Superior," p. 390, pi. 7, fig. 4, with the excep-
tion that it hsiafive, instead of tJu^ee cream-coloured spots on the
costal edge of the anterior wings.

5. Hypercompa Lecontei, Boisd. (White Tiger). Occurred
at various places in the Townships of Montcalm, Arundel and
DeSalaberry, during the month of July. H. confinis and contigua,
Walker, (" Brit. Mus. Cat. Lepid. Het." part III, p. 651), appear
to be merely varieties of this very variable species.

6. Hales ido ta annuUfascia, Walker. Described in Brit. Mus.
Cat. Lepid. Het. part III, p. 733. I found cocoons of a Muff
Moth under stones, 22nd May, near Sixteen Island Lake, Went-
worth, most probably belonging to this species, which abounds
near Montreal. Mr. Walker's H. annulifascia appears to me to
be identical with SojyJiocanipa Co.ryce (Hickory Jussock Moth) of
Harris, (vide Fitch's "Noxious Insects of New York," p.
163).

7. Orgyia leucostigma, Abbot and Smith (American Yapourer).
Vide Fitch's " Noxious Insects of New York," p. 213. The
males were numerous flying in the sunshine at Hamilton's Farm,
at the end of AugTist and beginning of September.

94 Natural History of the

8. Telea Pohjpliemus, Hiibner, (Eyed Emperor). Abundant
at the end of June and beginning of July, about Bevin's Lake,
Township of Montcalm. I also found numerous empty cocoons,
near Sixteen Island Lake, "Wentworth, and at Huckleberry
Rapids, DeSalaberry, and the beautiful larva, (vide the excellent
figure in Gosse's '' Canadian Naturalist," p. 309,) was common
on elm trees at Hamilton's Farm, being full grown and spinning
up at the end of August. This fine species is therefore distributed
over the whole district traversed. These gigantic Emperor Moths
have a very strange appearance when seen against the clear sky of
a fine summer evening, as they fly over the lakes.

NOCTUINA.

1. Thi/atira scripta, Gosse. (Pink Arches). Figured in Gosse's
" Canadian Naturalist," p. 249. This most beautiful species was
abundant in the Townships of Montcalm and Arundel, at the end
of June and the beginning of July.

2. T. cymatophor aides ^ Guen. Common at Sugar-bush and
Bevin's Lakes, Montcalm, and mouth of Devil's River, Arundel,
at the end of June and July ; also at Trembling Mountain Lake,
Grandison, 7th September.

3. GrapTiipliora C> nigrum^ Linn. One specimen taken at
Huckleberry Rapids, DeSalaberry, 24th July; and another
worn one at Hamilton's Farm, 28th August.

4. G. JDahlii, Hiibner. One specimen taken near Gate Lake,
Wentworth, 17th May.

5. JEJuplexia lucipara, Linn. (Small Angleshades) — Common
in the Township of Montcalm in June.

6. Plusia mortuorum. Abundant flying by day at Hamilton's
Farm in the end of August.

GEOMBTRINA.

1. Angerona crocataria, Fab. (Lemon beauty). Common in
the Townships of Montcalm and Arundel, frequently flying by
day in July. The female of this species is much larger, and
paler in colour than the male.

2. Sicga solfataria, Guen. This lovely little moth was not
uncommon at the end of July, in the Township of DeSalaberry.
It bears a great resemblance in colour, markings, and form to
Ennonios macularia^ Harris. (Vide Agassiz's " Lake Superior,"
p. 392, pi, 7, fig. 3.)

Valley of ihe River Rouge, ^c. 95

3. Ellopia ccqualiaria. Township of Montcalm, June.

4. Nematocampa filamentaria, Gu^n. Huckleberry RapidS;
2ncl Range, DeSalaberry, 27th July.

5. Endropia tigrinaria^ Guen. Very abundant in the Town-
ship of Montcalm at the end of June.

6. Melanippe gothicata, Guen. Extremely numerous, especial-
ly in rocky woods, in the Township of Montcalm, during the
month of June. It flies in such a manner that the white bands
across the wings appear to form a complete circle in the air. It
is closely allied to M. hastata of Europe.

7. Scotosia undulata, Linn. (Scallop Shell). Common in the
end of June and the beginning of July in the Township of Mont-
calm. Those collected are exactly similar to English specimens.

PYRALIDINA.

1. Pyralis^ n. sp? Huckleberry Rapids, DeSalaberry, 27th
July. Mr. Walker supposes this to be a new species, and the fol-
lowing is a description of it : — Anterior wings, dull pink, crossed
by two black transverse lines, the first of which, situated near the
base, is straight, and has a yellow spot on the inner side, occupy-
ing the angle which it forms with the costa ; the second, situated
beyond the middle, is bent, forming an obtuse angle before it
reaches the costal margin, where it has a yellow crescent-shaped
spot on the outer side. Posterior wings, dusky- white at the base,
with a broad, pale black, sub-marginal band and crossed by two
black transverse lines. Expansion of the wings \2\ lines; length
of body 4 lines.

2. Bleptina surrectalisj Gu^n. Huckleberry Rapids, DeSala-
berry, 4th August.

3. Anania octomaculata, Linn. (White spot). One specimen
taken on the 2nd July, near Bevin's Lake, Montcalm. It occurs
also on the northern shores of Lake Superior and in Europe.

4. Hydrocampa. A species of Hydrocampa was abundant,
flying over aquatic plants in a small lake near Hamilton's Farm,
15th August.

5. Botys verticalisy Linn. (Mother of Pearl). Not uncommon
at Huckleberry Rapids, DeSalaberry, about the 1st of August.
Those collected have been compared with British specimens and
appear to be identical.

6. Euhulea. A small species apparently closely allied to the
European E. samhercalisj Sehiff., was very numerous on the bloa-

96 • Natural History of the

soms of the Easpberry, (Rubus strigosus) near Bevin's Lake,
Montcalm, at tlie beginning of July.

TORTRICINA.

Tortrix. On the 19tli July, five miles up the Devil's Eiver, I
found a mass of web, spun by larvae, over the leaves and branches
of the Indian Hemp (^Apocyniim cannahinum') , which was
full of pupge of a Tortrix, and at the end of the month, those I
collected, produced the perfect insect, but I have been unable to
determine either this or any other of my 3Eero-Lepidoj)tera.

MOLLUSOA.

Some of the Terrestrial Gasteropoda, enumerated below, were deter-
mined by W. G. Binney,Esq., of Burlington, New Jersey, and a portion
of the Fresh Water species, and the Naiades, by Dr. Isaac Lea, of Phila-
delphia. It is not a little remarkable that Unio radiatus, which, as I am
informed by Messrs Billings and Bell, is very abundant in the Ottawa
at L'Original, and at the mouth of the Rouge, is not found higher up the
latter river. Shells of the genera LimncBa, Physa and Planorbis, were
remarkably scarce in every lake except Sugar-bush Lake, Montcalm, and
a small lake one mile west of the Indian Village on the Rouge in the
Township of Arundel, and in fact ;it was only in places where the
water was shallow and the bottom soft that they occurred at all. The
valves of the Unio and AnodontcB were very much eroded in most of

the lakes.

G-ASTEROPOD A. ( Terrestria I.)

1. Tebennopkorus caroliniensis, Bosc. (Great grey Slug) — Common

under bark of decaying logs, &c., throughout the
district.

2. Succinea obliqua, Say. — Abundant under decaying logs on grass-

land at Hamilton's Farm, in August. It occurred
very sparingly on the leaves of bushes, in other
parts of the district.

3. Helix albolabris, Say (White-lipped Snail). — Not very common;

Township of Wentworth, Montcalm and Harring-
ton.

4. " exoleta, Binney. — Not uncommon under dead logs in the

Townships of Wentworth,Harrington and DeSala-
berry.

5. " monodon, Rackett. (One-toothed Snail.) — Sparingly met

with ; portage from the Indian Village to Bark
Lake, Arundel ; Hamilton's Farm and near the
Lake of Three Mountains.

6. " concava, Say. — Abundant under dead logs ; Townships of

Wentworth, Montcalm and Arundel. On one
occasion I found an individual of this species
devouring the animal of Achatina lubrica, having
made a hole through the spire of its shell

Valley of the River Rouge, ^c, 97

T. Helix pulchella, Miill. — Occurred under stones at Carillon, but

was not elsewhere met with.

8. " Sayii, Binnej. — Several specimens were found by myself

under dead logs in the woods near Doran's Lake,
in the 10th Range of Grenville.

9. " labyrinthica, Say. — Common under dead logs, bark of

stumps, in moss on the trunks of trees, &c. ;
Townships of "Wentworth, Montcalm and Arun-
del.
10 " alternataj Say. — Abundant throughout the district, under

dead logs and ascending the trunks of trees after
rain.

11. " s^ria^eZ/a, Anthony. — Very abundant under stones and dead

logs everywhere throughout the district.

12. " arborea, Say. — Plentiful under bark of decaying trees, &c.,

throughout the district,

13. " chersina, Say. — Common under dead logs, &c., over the

whole district.

14. " lineata, Ssij. — Abundant throughout the district.

15. Bulimus marginatus, Say. — Near Gate Lake, "Wentworth, and Sugar-

bush Lake, Montcalm.

16. Jlchatmaluhrica, Miill. — Common under dead logs near Gate Lake,

Wentworth, and Bevin's Lake, Montcalm.

17. Vertigo Gouldii, Binney. — In moss (^Neckera pennata) on tree trunks ;

Sixteen Island Lake, Montcalm.

18. Pupa (undetermined) — With the last species.

19. CarychiuM exiguum, Say. — One specimen found near Sixteen Island

Lake.

(^Fresh Water.')

20. Physa heterostropha, Say. — Pools on grass near Grenville, and Sugar-

bush Lake, Montcalm.

21. " aurea^ Lea. — Sparingly in a small lake near Hamilton's

farm.

22. " elliptica, Lea. — In a small lake one mile west of the Indian

Village, Arundel ; collected by Mr. J. Lowe.

23. " elongata, Say. — In great numbers copulating- in pools on

grass, near Grenville, May 13th.

24. Limncea reflexaj Say. — Abundant in pools of water on grass land

near the Village of Grenvile, May 13th.

25. " umhilicata, Say. — With the last species.

26. " galbauns, Say.— Abundant in shell marl from the bottom

of Eagle Nest Lake, Wentworth.

27. " plicata, Lea. — This small species was numerous on dead

leaves in Sugar-bush Lake, Montcalm, June 26th.

28. " exigua. Lea. (young) — In a small lake near Hamilton's

farm.
Can. Nat. 2 Vol. V. No. 2.

98 Natural History of the

29. Planorbis frivolvis, Say. — Collected by Mr. J. Lowe, in a small lake

one mile west of the Indian Village on the Rouge,
Township of Arundel.

30. " bicarinatus, Say. — In shell marl, and living in Eagle Nest

Lake, Went worth, and in a small lake near Hamil-
ton's farm.

31. " companulatus, Say. — Pools near Grenville ; Eagle Nest

Lake, Wentworth ; a small lake west of Chain
Lake (a few dead specimens full of minute holes) ;
Sugar-bush and Bevin's Lakes, Montcalm ; the
lake one mile west of the Indian Village, Arun-
del ; and in a small lake near Hamilton's farm.

32. " parvus, Say. — Abundant in shell marl. Eagle Nest Lake,

Wentworth ; living in the lake one mile west
of the Indian Village, and in one near Hamilton's
farm.

33. " deflectus, Say. — Abundant amongst decaying leaves in

shallow and muddy parts of Sixteen Island and
Sugar-bush Lakes, Montcalm.

34. Paludina decisa. Say. — Very abundant the whole way up the Rouge

and its tributary the Devil's River. Those col-
lected are of a reddish brown colour, very unlike
the light green of specimens from L'Orignal op-
posite the mouth of the Rouge, or those from the
St. Lawrence near Montreal. They were encrusted
with a rusty-red sponge-like substance.

35. Valvata tricarinata, Say. — A few specimens found in shell marl from

the bottom of Eagle Nest Lake, Wentworth.

CoNCHiFERA (Fresh Water.')

1. Unio complanatus, Lea.— This was the only species of Unio met with.

It inhabits nearly every lake in the district and
was abundant the whole way up the Rouge as
far as we ascended. In shallow and muddy parts
of Sixteen Island Lake it attains a considerable
size and weight, but in the other lakes and in the
Rouge the specimens were generally rather small.
It was most numerous in the stream through
which the waters of Bevin's and Bark Lakes are
discharged into the Rouge, where, in shallow
places, thousands might be seen buried in the mud
with only the tips of their valves sticking out, and
as thick as they could lie together. The speci-
mens collected vary much in shape, and in the
colour of the interior of the valves, which, ex-
cept those from Bevin's Lake, have hardly any of
the beautiful purple colour generally possessed

Valley of the River Rouge, 8fc, 99

by this species as it occurs in the St. Lawrence
and Ottavra. The muskrats devour vast numbers
both of this species and of the ^nodontce, deposi-
ting their empty valves in large heaps on the
shores of the lakes and streams.

2. Alasmodon rugosus, Barnes. — One specimen obtained in the fourth

small lake* west of Balsam or Chain Lake, Lot
11, Range 3, Montcalm.

3. Anodonta cygnea ? Linn. — This species was found in almost every

lake we visited. The largest specimen met with
was obtained from a small lake occupying part
of an ancient channel of the Rouge, near Hamil-
ton's farm, and measured 41 inches in length and
2^ inches in height.

4. " edentula, Say. — One specimen obtained by Mr. J. Murray,

at the same time with the specimen of Masinodon
rugosus in the lake situated in the 11th Lot, 3rd
Range, Montcalm.

5. " fragilis, Linn. — Eagle Nest Lake, Wentworth ; Sixteen

Island and Bevin's Lakes, Montcalm.

6. " FootianOj Lea. — With the last species.

7. Cyclas siinilis^ Say. — Living in Sixteen Island and Sugar-bush Lakes,

Montcalm ; in a small lake one mile west of the
Indian Village, Arundel ; and in shell marl in
Eagle Nest Lake, Wentworth.

8. " partumeia ?^Say. — Young specimens amongst dead leaves

in ponds near Eagle Nest Lake, Wentworth ; in
Sugar-bush Lake, Montcalm ; and the small lake
near Hamilton's farm.

9. " dw&ia? Say. — In shell marl. Eagle Nest Lake, and living in

the small lake near Hamilton's farm.

ExETEB, Devonshire, January 30, 1860.

* This lake communicates by a rapid stream with Sugar-bush Lake, which is con-
nected with Bevin's Lake, aiid the latter is in direct communication with the
Rouge by a large creek about two miles in length. The difference in level between
these lakes and the Rouge is only a few feet, but there is a verj' considerable rise
between them and Chain and Sixteen Island Lakes, which also empty their waters
into Bevin's Lake, but by a very circuitous route. Bevin's Lake rises about 12 feet
in spring when the snow disappears.

100 Review of Dandn

ARTICLE IX. — Review of " Darioin on the Origin of Slides
hj means of Natural Selection^^

Nothing is more humbling to the scientific enquirer than to find
that he has arrived in the progress of his investigations at a point
beyond which inductive science fails to carry him. The physicist
finds himself in this position when required to explain the nature
of matter, or the cause of gravitation or cohesion, or the essence
of the mysterious influences of light, heat, and electricity. The
chemist is equally bafiled in the presence of those mysterious atoms
which are in all his processes, yet are not perceptible to his senses
The physiologist stands awe-stricken in the presence of a micro,
scopic cell whose structure he knows, but whose origin and won
derful vital endowments he fails to comprehend. The geologist
and the systematic zoologist are haunted in their dreams by those
multifarious species that appear and disappear, like phantoms on
the stage of geological time, yet seem so fixed and unchangeable
in existing nature. True science is always humble, for it knows
itself to be surrounded by mysteries — mysteries which only widen
as the sphere of its knowledge extends. Yet it is the ambition of
science to solve mysteries, to add one domain after another to its
conquests, though certain to find new and greater difficulties be-
yond. Hence we find every difficult problem assailed by a con-
stant succession of adventurers, some of them content cautiously
to explore the ground and prudently to retreat where to advance
is no longer safe ; others gathering all their strength for a rush
and a leap into an unknown and fathomless abyss. Both classes
do good to science. The first show us the real nature of the
difficulties to be overcome or to be abandoned as hopeless. The
second we follow to the last crumbling margin of sound fact and
deduction on which their feet have rested before their final plunge,
and thus gain an experience that otherwise we should not have
had the courage to seek.

The question of the origin of species yields in difficulty to none
of the problems to which we have referred above, and Mr. Dar-
win's book is a noted instance of the second of the methods of

* On the Origin of Species by means of Natural Selection, or the Pre-
servation of Favoured Races in the Struggle for Life ; by Charles Dar-
win, M.A. 1 vol. post 8vo. pp. 502. London : John Murray. New
York: Appletons. Montreal: Dawson. 1860.

On the Origin of Species, 101

treatment which we have indicated. We do not however value
him the less on account of his boldness and rash self-sacrifice in
the cause of science. We follow him with pleasure over many-
agreeable and instructive paths not previously explored, and we
shrink back only when he leads us to the brink of a precipice,
and we fail to perceive the good land which he says lies beyond,
or to place confidence in the bridge, thinner than gossamer, which
he has woven to bear our feet over the gulf that separates the
proved ground of specific variability from the mystery of specific
difference. We regard this as the most accurate and concise
statement that can be made respecting the character of this book.
It elaborately investigates the question of variation of species, and
illustrates its laws in a very full and satisfactory manner, though
giving to some of these laws an undue prominence as compared
with others. It then attempts to apply the laws of variation to
an entirely different series of phenomena, those of specific diver-
sity, and finding some analogies between the characters that dis-
tinguish species and varieties, seeks on this ground to break down
all specific distinction in respect to origin, and to reduce all species
to mere varieties of ancient and perhaps perished prototypes.

The work thus divides itself naturally into two distinct and
quite dissimilar portions: 1st. The careful induction of facts
bearing on the nature and laws of variation, in which the author
appears in all his strength as a patient and reliable zoologist ;
and, 2nd, The wild and fanciful application of the results thus
attained to another class of phenomena with which they have no
connection except that of mere analogy. We shall endeavor to
distinguish these two portions of the work, but cannot avoid
treating of them together.

Variation occurs under two very different conditions. It takes
place in domesticated animals and plants, and in animals and
plants in a wild state. Very properly our author first examines
its conditions under domestication, in which state variation is
much more extensive and also more easily observed. The great
variations that occur in a state of domestication are no doubt due
to changed and unnatural conditions of life ; but farther than this
we know nothing of their precise causes. On this subject our
author indulges in some preliminary speculations, and tries to
rid the subject of what he terms misconceptions, some of which
are, however, only facts too stubborn to be bent to his theory.
For example, in speaking of the prevalent idea, that domesticated

1 02 Review of Darwin

animals have been chosen by man on account, among other things,
of their capacity for variation, he says : — "I do not dispute that
these capacities have added largely to the value of some of our
domesticated productions ; but how could a savage possibly know-
when he first tamed an animal whether it would vary in succeed-
ing generations, and whether it would endure other climates?
Has the little variability of the ass or the guinea-fowl, or the small
power of endurance of warmth of the reindeer or of cold by the
common camel, prevented their domestication? I cannot doubt that
if other animals and plants equal in number to our domesticated
productions, and belonging to equally diverse classes and coun-
tries, were taken from a state of nature, and could be made to
breed for an equal number of generations under domestication,
they would vary on the av^erage as largely as the parent species of
our existing domesticated productions have varied." On reading
these sentences it must occur to any reflective reader, 1st. That
savages very rarely tame animals. 2d. That if savages or others
attempted to tame animals indiscriminately, they would fail in
many cases, and these in the very cases in w^hich species could
endure little change. 3d. Animals little variable, like the rein-
deer and the camel, have little geographical range, and this just
because of the fixity or tenderness of their constitution. 4th. Even
the capacity of breeding at all under the changed conditions o^
domestication, is wanting in some species. In short, there is no
reason whatever to believe that species are equally variable ; but,
on the contrary, that they differ very much in this respect, — as
naturalists have always maintained. In the same loose way he
treats the doctrine of the tendency of varieties to revert to the
original types of the species. This, our author admits, if estab-
lished, would overthrow his whole hypothesis, and he gets rid of
it by denying the evidence of reversion afforded by so many of
our domestic animals and cultivated plants, and by farther affirm-
ing that such, reversion, if it does occur, amounts to nothing,
because produced by external causes. Certain species, by the
external causes applied in domestication, are caused to vary.
These causes being removed, as every one knows, they gradually
lose their acquired and unnatural characteristics ; but, according-
to Mr. Darwin, this gives no evidence of an original type, but only
of the operation of other causes of change, tending in some other
direction. The argument would be good if we could have
species destitute of all distinctive characters to begin with ; in

On the Origin of Species* 103

other words, if we could create species. But as the case stands,
it is a mere petitio principii.

In this way our author, in the opening paragraphs of his first
chapter, quietly ignores a number of facts essential to the validity
of the received views of species, and so leads the unwary reader
to enter on the consideration of variation with an impression
already formed that varieties and species are not distinguishable.
We take the liberty of entering on the enquiry in another spirit,
and of beginning with the fact that we have species which have
remained distinct in the whole period of human experience, and
also as far back in geological time as we can trace any of them.
This being premised, we may enquire what variations man has
been able to eflfect in those species which he has domesticated,
and by what processes ?ind under what laws these changes have
occurred.

These changes have been very great. Mr. Darwin has studied
the domestic pigeon as a convenient instance, and his investiga-
tions on this animal are worthy of all praise, and establish most
clearly the great amount of variation of which some species are
susceptible. We quote this in full, as the most valuable portion
of the book : —

"Believing that it is always best to study some special group, I
have, after deliberation, taken up domestic pigeons. I have kept
every breed which I could purchase or obtain, and have been most
kindly favoured with skins from several quarters of the world,
more especially by the Hon. W. Elliot from India, and by the
Hon. C. Murray from Persia. Many trei.tises in different langu-
ages have been published on pigeons, and some of them are very
important, as being of considerable antiquity. I have associated
with several eminent fanciers, and have been permitted to join
two of the London Pigeon Clubs. The diversity of the breeds is
something astonishing. Compare the English carrier and the
short -faced tumbler, and see the wonderful diflference in their
beaks, entailing corresponding diflferences in their skulls. The
carrier, more especially the male bird, is also remarkable from
the wonderful development of the carunculated skin above the
head, and this is accompanied by greatly elongated eyelids, very
large external orifices to the nostrils, and a wide gape of mouth.
The short-faced tumbler has a beak in outline almost like that of
a finch ; and the common tumbler has the singular and strictly
inherited habit of flying at a great height in a compact flock, and

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tumbling in the air head over heels. The runt is a bird of great
size, with long massive beak, and large feet ; some of the sub-
breeds of runts have very long necks, others very long wings and
tails, others singularly short tails. The barb is allied to the car-
rier, but, instead of a very long beak, has a very short and very
broad one. The pouter has a much elongated body, wings, and
legs ; and its enormously developed crop, which it glories in in-
flating, may well excite astonishment and even laughter. The
turbit has a very short and conical beak, with a line of reversed
feather down the breast ; and it has the habit of continually ex-
panding slightly the upper part of the oesophagus. The Jacobin
has the feathers so much reversed along the back of the neck
that they form a hood, and it has, proportionally to its size, much
elongated wing and tailfeathers. The trumpeter and laugher, as
their names express, utter a very different coo from the other
breeds. The fantail has thirty or even forty tailfeathers, instead
of twelve or fourteen, the normal number in all members of the
great pigeon family; and these feathers are kept expanded, and
are carried so erect that in good birds the head and tail touch ;
the oil-gland is quite aborted. Several other less distinct breeds
might have been specified."

" In the skeletons of the several breeds, the development of the
bones of the face in length and breadth and curvature differs en-
ormously. The shape, as well as the breadth and length of the
ramus of the lower jaw, varies in a highly remarkable manner.
The number of the caudal and sacral vertebrae vary ; as does the
number of the ribs, together with their relative breadth and the
presence of processes. The size and shape of the apertures in
the sternum are highly variable ; so is the degree of divergence
and relative size of the two arms of the furcula. The proportional
width of the gape of mouth, the proportional length of the eye-
lids, of the orifice of the nostrils, of the tongue (not always in
strict correlation with the length of beak), the size of the crop
and of the upper part of the oesophagus : the development and
abortion of the oil-gland ; the number of the primary wing and
caudal feathers; the relative length of wing and tail to each
other and to the body ; the relative length of leg and of the feet ;
the number of scutellae on the toes, the development of skin
between the toes, are all points of structure which are variable**
The period at which the perfect plumage is acquired varies, as
does the state of the down with which the nestling birds are

On the Origin of Sjpecies, 105

clothed -when hatched. The shape and size of the eggs vary. The
manner of flight difl'ers remarkably ; as does in some breeds the
voice and disposition. Lastly, in certain breeds, the males and
females have come to differ to a slight degree from each other."

" Altogether at least a score of pigeons might be chosen, which
if shown to an ornithologist, and he were told that they were wild
birds, would certainly, I think, be ranked by him as well-defined
species. Moreover, I do not believe that any ornithologist would
place the English carrier, the short-faced tumbler, the runt, the
barb, pouter, and fantail in the same genus ; more especially as
in each of these breeds several truly-inherited sub-breeds, or
species as he might have called them, could be shown him."

" Great as the differences are between the breeds of pigeons, I am
fully convinced that the common opinion of naturalists is correct,
namely, that all have descended from the rock-pigeon (Columba
livia), including under this term several geographical races or
sub-species, which differ from each other in the most trifling re-
spects. As several of the reasons which have led me to this be-
lief are in some degree applicable in other cases, I will here
briefly give them. If the several breeds are not varieties, and
have not proceeded from the rock-pigeon, they must have des-
cended from at least seven or eight aboriginal stocks ; for it is
impossible to make the present domestic breeds by the crossing of
any lesser number : how, for instance, could a pouter be produc-
ed by crossing two breeds unless one of the parent-stock possessed
the characteristic enormous crop? The supposed aboriginal
stocks must all have been rock-pigeons, that is, not breeding or
willingly perching on trees. But besides C. livia, with its geo-
graphical sub-species, only two or three other species of rock-
pigeons are known ; and these have not any of the characters of
the domestic breeds. Hence the supposed aboriginal stocks must
either still exist in the countries where they were originally do-
mesticated, and yet be unknown to ornithologists ; and this, con-
sidering their size, habits, and remarkable characters, seems very
improbable; or they must have become extinct in the wild state.
But birds breeding on precipices, and good fliers, are unlikely to
be exterminated ; and the common rock-pigeon, which has the
same habits with the domestic breeds, has not been exterminated
even on several of the smaller British islets, or on the shores of
the Mediterranean. Hence the supposed extermination of so
many species having similar habits with the rock-pigeon seems to

106 Review of Darwin

me a very rash assumption. Moreover, the several above-named
domesticated breeds have been transported to all parts of the
world, and, therefore, some of them must have been carried back
again into their native country ; but not one has ever become
wild or feral, though the dovecot-pigeon, which is the rock-pigeon
in a very slightly altered state, has become feral in several places.
Again, all recent experience shows that it is most diflficult to get
any wild animal to breed freely under domestication ; yet on the
hypothesis of the multiple origin of our pigeons, it must be as-
sumed that at least seven or eight species were so thoroughly do-
mesticated in ancient times by half-civilized man, as to be quite
prolific under confinement."

" An argument, as it seems to me, of great weight, and applicable
jn several other cases, is, that the above-specified breeds, though
agreeing generally in constitution, habits, voice, colouring, and in
most parts of their structure, with the wild rock-pigeon, yet are
certainly highly abnormal in other parts of their structure : we
may look in vain throughout the whole great family of Colum-
bidse for a beak like that of the English carrier, or that of the
short-faced tumbler, or barb ; for reversed feathers like those of
the jacobin ; for a crop like that of the pouter; for tail-feathers
like those of the fan-tail. Hence it must be assumed not only
that half-civilized man succeeded in thoroughly domesticating seve-
ral species, but that he intentionally or by chance picked out ex-
traordinarily abnormal species ; and further, that these very
species have since all become extinct or unknown. So many
strange contingencies seem to me improbable in the highest de-
gree."

" Some facts in regard to the colouring of pigeons well deserve
consideration. The rock-pigeon is of a slaty-blue, and has a
white rump (the Indian sub-species, C. intermedia of Strickland,
having it bluish) ; the tail has a terminal dark bar, with the bases
of the outer feathers externally edged with white ; the wings
have two black bars ; some semi-domestic breeds and some ap-
parently truly wild breeds have, besides the two black bars, the
wings chequered with black. These several marks do not occur
together in any other species of the whole family."

" Now, in every one of the domestic breeds, taking thoroughly
well-bred birds, all the above marks, even to the white edging
of the outer tail-feathers, sometimes concur perfectly developed*
Moreover, when two birds belonging to two distinct breeds are

On the Origin of Species, 107

crossed, neither of which is blue or has any of the above-specified
marks, the mongrel offspring are very apt suddenly to acquire
these characters ; for instance, I crossed some uniformly white
fantails with some uniformly black barbs, and they produced
mottled brown and black birds ; these I again crossed together,
and one grandchild of the pure white fantail and pure black barb
was of as beautiful a blue colour, with the white rump, double
black wing-bar, and barred with white-edged tail-feathers, as any
wild rock-pigeon. We can understand these facts, on the well-
known principle of reversion to ancestral characters, if all the
domestic breeds have descended from the rock- pigeon. But if we
deny this, we must make one of the two following highly impro-
bable suppositions. Either, firstly, that all the several imagined
aboriginal stocks were coloured, and marked like the rock-pigeon,
although no other existing species is thus coloured and marked,
so that in each separate breed there might be a tendency to re-
vert to the very same colours and markings. Or, secondly, that
each breed, even the purest, has within a dozen or, at most, with-
in a score of generations, been crossed by the rock pigeon : I say
within a dozen or twenty generations, for we know of no fact
countenancing the belief that the child ever reverts to some one an-
cestor, removed by a greater number of generations. In a breed
which has been crossed only once with some distinct breed, the
tendency to reversion to any character derived from such cross
will naturally become less and less, as in each succeeding genera-
tion there will be less of the foreign blood ; but when there has
been no cross within a distinct breed, and there is a tendency in
both parents to revert to a character, which has been lost during
some former generation, this tendency, for all that we can see to
the contrary, may be transmitted undiminished for an indefinite
number of generations. These two distinct cases are often con-
founded in treatises on inheritance."

" Lastly, the hybrids or mongrels from between all the domestic
breeds of pigeons are perfectly fertile. I can state this from my
own observations, purposely made on the most distinct breeds.
Now, it is difficult, perhaps impossible, to bring forward one case
of the hybrid offspring of two animals clearly/ distinct being
themselves perfectly fertile. Some authors believe that long-con-
tinued domestication eliminates this strong tendency to sterility:
from the history of the dog I think there is some probability in
this hypothesis if applied to species closely related together,

1 08 Review of Darwin

though it is unsupported by a single experiment. But to extend
the hypothesis so far as to suppose that species, aboriginally as
distinct as carriers, tumblers, pouters, and fantails now are, should
yield offspring perfectly fertile, inter se, seems to me rash in the
extreme."

*^ From these several reasons, namel}^, the improbability of man
having formerly got seven or eight supposed species of pigeons
to breed freely under domestication ; these supposed species being
quite unknown in a wild state, and their becoming nowhere feral ;
these species having very abnormal characters in certain respects
as compared with all other Columbidse, though so like in most
other respects to the rock-pigeon ; the blue colour and various
marks occasionally appearing in all the breeds, both when kept
pure and when crossed ; the mongrel offspring being perfectly
fertile ; — from these several reasons, taken together, I can feel no
doubt that all our domestic breeds have descended from the
Ooluinha livia with its geographical sub-species."

"In favour of this view, I may add, firstly, that C. livia, or the
rock-pigeon, has been found capable of domestication in Europe
and in India ; and that it agrees in habits and in a great number
of points of structure with all the domestic breeds. Secondly,
although an English carrier or short-faced tumbler differs im-
mensely in certain characters from the rock-pigeon, yet by com-
paring the several sub-breeds of these breeds, more especially
those brought from distant countries, we can make an almost per-
fect series between the extremes of structure. Thirdly, those
characters which are mainly distinctive of each breed, for in-
stance the wattle and length of beak of the carrier, the shortness
of that of the tumbler, and the number of tail-feathers in the fan-
tail, are in each breed eminently variable ; and the explanation
of this fact will be obvious when we come to treat of selection.
Fourthly, pigeons have been watched, and tended with the utmost
care, and loved by many people. They have been domesticated
for thousands of years in several quarters of the world ; the ear-
liest known record of pigeons is in the fifth ^Egyptian dynasty
about 3000 b. c. as was pointed out to me by Professor Lepsius ;
but Mr. Birch informs me that pigeons are given in a bill of fare
in the previous dynasty. In the time of the Romans, as we hear
from Pliny, immense prices were given for pigeons ; " nay, they
are come to this pass, that they can reckon up their pedigree and
race." Pigeons were much valued by Akber Kban in India*

On the Origin of Sjjecies, 109

about the year 1600 ; never less than 20,000 pigeons were taken
with the court. " The inonarchs of Iran aad Turan sent him
some very rare birds ;" and, continues the courtly historian, '' His
Majesty, by crossing the breeds, which method was never prac-
tised before, has improved them astonishingly." About this same
period the Dutch were as eager about pigeons as were the old
Romans. The paramount importance of these considerations in
explaining the immense amount of variation which pigeons have
undergone, will be obvious when we treat of Selection. "We shall
then, also, see how it is that the breeds so often have a somewhat
monstrous character. It is also a most favourable circumstance
for the production of distinct breeds, that male and female pigeons
can be easily mated for life ; and thus different breeds can be
kept together in the same aviary."

The common rock-pigeon is thus proved to be highly variable
in a state of domestication, so much so that naturalists not aware
of all the facts, might well be excused for concluding, as some of
them have done in the similar instances of the ox, the domestic
fowl, and man himself, that the varieties represent several distinct
species. To what then do these diflerences amount ? (1) They
are mainly in non-essential points, as colour, development o^
feather, etc., and they do not consequently interfere, to any impor-
tant extent, with the food and habits of the animal ; or if we
were to represent the matter from the opposite point of view to
that taken by Mr. Darwin, the constitution and instincts of the
species being fixed by the law of its creation, it cannot vary be-
yond these. The author is clearly wrong in stating that any of
them could amount to generic distinctions; that is, if genera are
to be based on structural differences, for of these there is compa-
ratively little, except in the one point of proportion of parts, difter-
ence in which is of specific value only, and often occurs in near
varieties. (2) Many of the differences are abnormal ; that is,
they are of the character of monstrosities, and this separates them
widely from true specific diflerences. (3) The varieties are per-
fectly fertile, which is not the case with hybrids between clearly
distinct species. (4) The cross breeds revert to the characters
of the rock-pigeon, showing that the specific type still remains
uneradicated, or that each variety is, so to speak, a hemitropic
form, which, when united with an opposite one, tends to reproduce
the original form. It follows from these results, that, however

110 Review of Darwin

likely to be mistaken for species, the varieties of the pigeon are
really something essentially different from true species, and the
same conclusion would hold with any animal that could be
selected.

We now come to the causes of variation in a state of domesti-
cation ; and here, already, in the twenty-ninth page of his volume,
we find our author leaving the basis of fact and losing himself in
the mazes in which he henceforth continues to wander. He
attributes the varieties of domestic animals to "Man's power of
accumulative selection ; nature gives successive variations ; man
adds them up in certain directions useful to him." We object to
this, as altogether a partial and imperfect statement. It is not
nature that gives the variations, but external circumstances;
while nature only gives a certain capacity to vary, the extent of
which is the point in question. Man places animals in abnormal
conditions into which their instincts and natural powers would
not permit them of themselves to enter. They vary in conse-
quence of these, sometimes suddenly, sometimes gradually, some-
times from premeditated treatment, sometimes unaccountably,
sometimes in directions useful to man, sometimes the reverse.
Out of all the diversities thus produced, man no doubt selects
Avhat suits him, and keeps it, as far as he can, in the conditions
favorable to its permanence and improvement ; but such selection
is a comparatively small part of the actual cause of the pheno-
mena observed, which result really from unnatural conditions of
life compelled by man. Who selected, for example, the niata
cattle of South America, the hairless dogs of Chili, the tail-less
cats of the Isle of Man, and many other forms ?

Selection is no doubt an important cause of the continuation
and improvement of varieties, and has also, as our author main-
tains, been practised from a very remote antiquity in the case of
the more valuable domesticated animals. He might have referred
to a more ancient case than any of those he has noticed. Laban
selected all the speckled cattle from Jacob's flock, understanding
very well the principle of selection ; but Jacob was better informed
than Laban or Mr. Darwin, and not trusting to selection, but
knowing the effect of external influences and their special impor-
tance in the embryonic state, he set up peeled twigs before the
pregnant cattle, and so acting on the embryo through the senses
of the mother, produced the':variety he desired. The undue pro-
minence given to selection by our author is the main basis on
which he subsequently proceeds.

Oil the Origin of Species, lit

His next step is to establish analogies between variation and
specific difference, as observed in nature. Many species are
doubtful ; that is, naturalists are not quite decided that they may
not be varieties. This is true ; but such species are the excep-
tions, and the differences of view have arisen as much from defec-
tive observation or reasoning as from any real difficulty. Again,
in large genera the species approach each other very nearly.
This is inevitable^from the nature of the case, and though it may
cause difficulties in distinguishing them, it proves nothing as to
their not being true species. Species which range "widely also are
prone to vary, and this also follows from the nature of the case,
great range and much variability being really cause and effect,
and reacting on each other. Farther, it is stated that species
belonging to large genera are more prone to vary than species
belonging to small genera. This has not been established as a
general principle, nor, if it should be, would it necessarily bear
the interpretation put upon it. To reach the facts we must be
certain that we are comparing natural genera consisting of species
having true affinities of structure, and that all our generic dis-
tinctions are based on the same grades of difference. Further, we
must make separate lists of the genera small now but large if we
take all geological time, as for instance the genus Lingular of
genera small in any particular country, but large if the whole
world be taken ; and lastly, of genera large in some particular
region or country. This last is the only case which can fairly
test Mr. Darwin's principle, and we must say that in our limited
experience there appear to be quite as many exceptions as agree-
ments with the rule. Take, for instance, the genera SoUdago and
Aster among American plants, which, thoi^gh growing together
in numerous species, are not remarkably variable. Further, when
a generic type has proved suitable to occupy many places in a
particular country, it may well be that many of its species will
be capable of a wide range, and so variable. For such reasons
we hold that the attempt made on the ground of analogies be-
tween the species and the variety to break down the distinction
between them signally fails.

But if the reader is willing to take this for granted, Mr. Darwin
will carry him a step further. He next proceeds to maintain that in
nature there is a power of selection similar to that which the breeder
exercises — a power of " Natural Selection " not heretofore recog-
nised, and by virtue of which varieties are produced and developed

112 Review of Darwin

into species. There is here a huge hiatus in the reasoning of
our author. We have already shown that an excessive import-
ance is attributed to artijScial or human selection ; but with all
the exaggeration of its powers, it has proved insufficient to change
one species into another. The pigeon, with all its varieties, is
still a pigeon, and, according to our author's own conclusive argu-
mentation, a rock-pigeon. It is not a wood-pigeon, or turtledove,
still less a partridge or a rook. But now we are asked to believe
that those same natural courses which break down all th« breeder's
elaborate distinctions so soon as his^breeds are allowed to intermix
and live in a natural way, are themselves able to take up the work
and do still greater marvels in the way of selection. Such a doc-
trine is self-contradictory, and, we believe wholly incapable of
proof; but let us see how this is attempted :

As might have been anticipated, natural selection being either
creation or nothing, a new power is evoked as B,^primum mobile.
This is the " struggle for existence," a fancied warfare in nature, in
which the race is always to the swift and the battle to the strong,
and in which the struggle makes the strong stronger. In a pre-
vious chapter we have been told very truly that the reason why
the wealthy and skilful breeder succeeds in producing marked
races is that his animals are cared for and pampered, while the
savage and the poor man fail because their animals must struggle
for subsistence. Nature it appears takes the opposite way, and
improves her breeds by putting them through a course of toil and
starvation, a struggle not for happiness or subsistence, but for bare
existence. We can understand how this should deteriorate and
degrade species, as we know it has done in every case of the kind
that we have observed ; but how it should elevate or improve is
past comprehension. But does nature deserve to be charged with
such niggardliness, and with so concealing it that all the world
seems to be full of happiness and plenty, except where poor man
toils on in his poverty ? In looking for the proof of this strange
doctrine, we find stated in support of it only a number of isolated
and exceptional facts, many of them cases in which man inter-
feres with the equilibrium of nature ; and we have to fall back on
the general statement that the struggle for existence inevitably fol
lows from the high rate at which organic beings tend to increase
but this Malthusian doctrine, though good for a single species
viewed by itself, is false for the whole in the aggregate. Vege-
table life and the lower forms of animal life support the higher,

0)1 the Origin of Species. 113

and these supporting forms increase far more rapidly tlian those that
subsist on them. So much so, that vast quantities of organic food
go to waste, or would do so but for the hordes of scavengers of
low organization that seem specially created to gather up the
frao^ments of nature's bounteous feast. Plant life thrives on the
exhaustless stores of inorganic food provided for it by the soil and
the atmosphere. Plant life supports animal life ; but who ever
saw the floor of the ocean denuded of its algae, or the landscape
bared of its verdure by the struggle of feeders for existence, except
in a rare and exceptional case, as in a flight of locusts ? There is
always enough and to spare. Again, do the insects fail or become
scarce under the ceaseless attacks of the insectivorous birds ? Do
not Clios and Salpas and coral polyps abound almost as much as if
not preyed on by countless fishes and other animals ? The beautiful
harmony of nature provides that the feeders shall multiply more
slowly than the food, and that the food shall be kept under by the
feeders. When any form does locally multiply too far, the checks
appear, usually in the form of a diminished reproduction or in the
more rapid removal of the infirm, the sickly and the aged. When
through the slow operation of physical causes or the introduction
of new species, certain forms of life can no longer find the means of
subsistence, all the facts we know indicate their disappearance, not
their change into new forms. Nay, species verging to extinction
or struggling for existence, like the red deer of Scotland, degene-
rate rather than improve, and must necessarily do so, so long as
the laws of organic being remain what they are. In short, the
struggle for existence is a myth, and its employment as a means of
improvement still more mythical.

Were we bound to argue for such a thesis as that proposed by
Mr. Darwin, we should much rather take up our ground on the
improvement of the physical conditions of the earth, and maintain
that each species finding its means of subsistence and happiness
constantly extending, exerted itself for their occupancy, and so
developed new powers. This would have the advantage of giving
a more agreeable view of nature, and of accounting for elevation ;
as if nature, like a skilful breeder, were giving constantly better
food or pasture, instead of imitating the luckless experimenter who
strove to reduce the daUy food of the horse to a single straw.

The remarks that we have made on natural selection, and the
struggle for existence, afford a key to the whole of Mr. Darwin's
argument, which amounts to little else than a wholesale appropria

Can. Nat. 3 Vol . V. N o

114 Review of Darwin

tion of all the effects of external conditions of existence to these
supposed causes of change. We could fill pages with evidence of
the entire confusion of ideas which pervades his mind on this point,
but one extract must suffice, both as an indication of this confusion,
and as a fair example of the argument :

" How much direct effect difference of climate, food, &c., pro-
duces on any being is extremely doubtful. My impression is that
the effect is extremely small in the case of animals, but perhaps
rather more in that of plants. We may, at least, safely conclude
that such influences cannot have produced the many striking and
complex co-adaptations of structure between one organic being
and another, which we see everywhere throughout nature. Some
little influence may be attributed to climate, food, &c. : thus, E.
Forbes speaks confidently that shells at their southern limit, and
when living in shallow water, are more brightly coloured than
those of the same species further north or from greater depths.
Gould believes that birds of the same species are more brightly
coloured under a clear atmosphere, than vs^hen living on islands
or near the coast. So with insects^ Wollaston is convinced that
residence near the sea affects their colours. Moquin-Tandon gives
a list of plants which when gTowing near the sea-shore have their
leaves in some degree fleshy, though not elsewhere fleshy. Se-
veral other such cases could be given."

" The fact of varieties of one species, when they range into the
zone of habitation of other species, often acquiring in a very slight
degree some of the characters of such species, accords with our
view that species of all kinds are only well-marked and perma-
nent varieties. Thus the species of shells which are confined to
tropical and shallow seas are generally brighter coloured than
those confined to cold and deeper seas. The birds which are con-
fined to continents are according to Mr. Gould, brighter coloured
than those of islands. The insect species confined to &ea-coast&,
as every collector knows, are often brassy or lurid. Plants which
live exclusively on the sea-side are very apt to have fleshy leaves.
He who believes in the creation of each species, will have to say
that this shell, for instance, was created with bright colours for a
warm sea ; but that this other shell became bright coloured by
variation when it rano^ed into warmer or shallower waters,"

" When a variation is of the slightest use to a being, we cannot
tell how much of it to attribute to the accumulative action of
natural selection, and how much to the conditions of life. Thus,

On the Origin of Species* 115

it is well known to furriers that animals of the same species have
thicker and better fur the more severe the climate is under which
they have lived ; but who can tell how much of this difference
may be due to the warmest-clad individuals having been favoured
and preserved during many generations, and how much to the
direct action of the severe climate ? for it would appear that cli-
mate has some direct action on the hair of our domestic qua-
drupeds."

"Instances could be given of the same variety being produced
under conditions of life as different as can well be conceived ;
and, on the other hand, of different varieties being produced from
the same species under the same conditions. Such facts show
kow indirectly the conditions of life must act. Again, innume-
rable instances are known to every naturalist of species keeping
true, or not varying at all, although living under the most opposite
climates. Such considerations as these incline me to lay very
little wei2:ht on the direct action of the conditions of life. In-
directly, as already remarked, they seem to play an important
part in affecting the reproductive system, and in thus inducing
variability ; and natural selection will then accumulate all profi-
table variations, however slight, until they become plainly deve-
loped and appreciable by us."

It would be possible to fill up the remainder of our space with
the objections we have to the statements in these few paragraphs.
The scepticism as to the effects of food, climate, &c., in producing
variation, and the effects attributable to a supposed selecting power
which can merely act on such changes when previously induced ;
the failure to perceive that the adaptation of certain species to
certain conditions of life necessarily implies that if other species not
so adapted migrate within the influence of the conditions, they
must, so far as their natures permit, be influenced by them ; that
in short such variation vindicates the wisdom of the Creator while
showing that the plasticity of species may simulate in a humble
way specific distinctness ; the feeble attempt to attribute the warm
fur of northern varieties to selection, while manifestly unable to
deny that climatic influence is the main cause ; these are specimens
of a style of thought which pervades the whole book, and which
leaves the task of a reviewer hopeless, for it would require a book
as large as the original to expose the fallacies which appear in
every paragraph.

In one respect Mr. Darwin vindicates fully his well-earned

116 Review of Darwin

reputation as a scientific naturalist. He fairly and ably states the
many objections to his view that must occur to the minds of zool-
ogists, botanists and geologists, and manfully, though unsuccess-
fully, attempts to cope with them.

Such objections are, the geographical distribution of the crea-
tures supposed in Mr. Darwin's view to be nearly related by
descent, the want of the innumerable transitional forms that should
exist, the difficulty of accounting for the peculiar instincts of many
animals, the sterility of first crosses and hybrids compared with
the fertility of crosses of varieties, the want of any trace of unlimi-
ted variation in the geological succession of animals.

We shall only refer to the last of these, the geological objec-
tion. Geology he admits shews no trace of the " finely graduated
organic chain " which in his theory should connect man with the
extinct kangaroo-rat-like marsupials of the oolite and trias, and
all our existing animals and plants with the perished creatures
supposed to be their progenitors. He has but one explanation of
this, the "extreme imperfection of the ■ geological records." To
illustrate this imperfection, he refers to the immense lapse of time
involved in the geological record, to the small number of species
known compared with this great lapse of time, to the breaks caused
by the absence of fossiliferous deposits at certain periods. All
these are fair abatements from the completeness of the geological
series, and many of the remarks made on them are very valuable ;
but they do not mitigate the condemnation of the selection theory
pronounced by geology. Breaks in the geological record are usually
only local, and if general, might indicate actual destruction and
renewal of species. Though it is true that estuary and land deposits
have in most cases been preserved only in times of subsidence ;
this is not true of marine deposits, some of the most perfect of
which mark times of elevation. Moreover, in those parts of the
geological scale which are the most perfect and unbroken, there
is no graduated transition of forms. Take for instance the great
Silurian limestones of America, or the plant-bearing beds of the
coal formation. In both we find some species perseveringly
unchanged through many great deposits, and others suddenly
appearing and disappearing, and this in cases where the profusion
of specimens and continuity of formations preclude any supposition
of much imperfection in the evidence. Nothing is more conclusive
on this subject than the last of the fossiliferous deposits, next to
the modern period ; as, for instance, the Post-Pliocene clays and

071 the Origin of SjJecies, 117

sands of Canada. These belong to a period of elevation proceed-
ing gradually from tlie time of the boulder formation up to the
modern era. In these deposits we have more than stxty species of
invertebrate animals, all except one or two known to be now living
in the Gulf of St. Lawrence. Yet in all thia lapse of time not one
of the species has, by natural selection or any other cause, varied
more than its living relatives now do. Still further, one or two
species, as the Leda truncata and Triclwtropis arctlca, now found
only in the Arctic seas, are quite like their modern representatives
in those distant waters. They had plenty of time to vary, in
order to suit the new circumstances, but they could not. Further,
at the same time when these shells lived in the plains of Canada,
Arctic plants, conveyed probably by ice, became settled on the
White Mountains, the descendants of which still remain isolated
but unchanged. Such facts as these are conclusive, notwithstand-
ing the imperfection of the geological record on other points.

In one point our author endeavors to find support to his
views from geological evidence, in the resemblance of successive
faunas of the same locality to each other. The extinct ter-
tiary animals of South America, New Zealand and Australia,
for example, are like in type to those now inhabiting the same
regions. But then we have no connecting links, and hence it seems
more probable that successive creations were conformed to the
same generic types, because the physical conditions remained
unchanged, than that the modern sloths, for example, are degene-
rate descendants of the Megatheria. Farther, it does not seem
to have occurred to Mr. Darwin that these resemblances are
confined to the southern hemisphere. They do not obtain at all
in North America, in Northern Asia, in Europe. In these coun-
tries new types have replaced the old, and certain old species,
like the musk ox, the megaceros, the beaver, the aurochs,
have become locally or wholly extinct, instead of undergoing
change. All this has happened no doubt because the modern
conditions are too dissimilar from the ancient to permit the con-
tinuance of old forms under any variety of them, and thus new
forms have been introduced.

In his closing chapters the author endeavours to shew that his
theory accounts in a satisfactory manner for the typical likeness
of species to each other, for the curious embryological relations
of animals, and for the existence of rudimentary organs ; but all
these things are equally intelligible on the opposite view. If spe-

118 Review of Darwin

cies are parts of a plan devised by an intelligent Creator, that
plan must appear in their structures. If the plan embraces more
general and more specialised contrivances, the latter must, in
their earlier stages of growth, simulate the former. All organs,
if there is a plan at all, must appear in its different parts in
different degrees of relative perfection and complexity, and what
we call rudimentary organs are merely the lowest of these de-
grees ; not useless, for in many cases we know their uses, but of
less relative importance than in other cases.

We have in the foregoing remarks dwelt chiefly on the points
in which we believe the author to be mistaken ; but we do not
wish to undervalue the work. In many respects it is eminently
useful. It shews, in opposition to many views maintained with
much vigour on this side of the Atlantic, the great variability of
species. It imposes a salutary caution on those naturalists who
too readily admit geographical distribution as an evidence of
specific distinctness. It illustrates by a vast fund of curious fact
the obscure laws of variation and hybridity. All these pearls are
not the less valuable to the judicious reader, that the author has
seen fit to string them upon a thread of loose and faulty argu-
ment, and to employ them to deck the faded form of the trans-
mutation theory of Lamarck.

In conclusion, it is but fair to state in his own words the ulti-
mate deductions of the author, and then the opposite view, as
maintained by the greater number of naturalists : — -

*' It may be asked how far I extend the doctrine of the modi-
fication of species. The question is difficult to answer, because
the more distinct the forms are which we may consider, by so
much the arguments fall away in force. But some arguments of
the greatest weight extend very far. All the members of whole
classes can be connected together by chains of affinities, and all
can be classified on the same principle, in groups subordinate to
groups. Fossil remains sometimes tend to fill up very wide inter-
vals between existing orders. Organs in a rudimentary condition
plainly show that an early progenitor had the organ in a fully
developed state ; and this in some instances necessarily implies an
enormous amount of modification in the descendants. Through-
out whole classes various structures are formed on the same pat-
tern, and at an embryonic age the species closely resemble each
other. Therefore I cannot -^'doubt that the theory of descent
with modification embraces all the members of the same class.

On the Origin of Species, 119

I believe tliat animals have descended from at most only four or
five progenitors, and plants from an equal or lesser number.

" Analogy would lead me one step further, namely, to the
belief that all animals and plants have descended from some one
prototype. But analogy may be a deceitful guide. Neverthe-
less all living things have much in common, in their chemical
composition, their germinal vesicles, their cellular structure, and
their laws of growth and reproduction. We see this even in so
trifling a circumstance as that the same poison often similarly
affects plants and animals ; or that the poison secreted by the
gall-fly produces monstrous growths on the wild rose or oak-tree.
Therefore I should infer from analogy that probably all the or-
ganic beings which have ever lived on this earth have descended
from some one primordial form, into which life was first
breathed."

We may well ask what is gained by such a result, even if
established. The origin of species, as we now have them, it is
true is mysterious, but what is gained by reducing them all to
one primitive form ? That would be an equal mystery, more
especially if it included within itself the germs of all the varied
developments of animal and plant life. By such a doctrine also
we involve ourselves in a host of geological and other difiiculties,
and so break down the distinction between species and varieties
as to deprive our classifications of any real value. On the con-
trary, if we are content to take species as direct products of a
creative power, without troubling ourselves with supposed secon-
dary causes, we may examine, free of any trammelling hypothesis,
the law of their succession in time, the guards placed upon their
intermixture, the limits set to their variation in each case, the
remarkable arrangements for diminishing variations by the natural
crossing of varieties, the laws of geographical distribution from
centres of origin, and the physical causes of variation, of degene-
racy, of extinction.

All these are questions to be investigated apart from any hypo-
thesis of the common origin of different species on the one hand,
or of the diverse origin of individuals apparently identical on the
other ; and we cannot doubt that the results will approach to the
following conclusions. (1) That the origin of specific distinctness
lies beyond the domain of any natural law known to us. (2) That the
variations of the species are the effects of the combined influences
of its natural endowments and of external circumstances. (3) That

120 Sketch of the Life of Mr. David Douglas,

in nature specific force and causes of variation constitute antago-
nist powers, acting and reacting on each other, and thus produc-
ing an equilibrium which is disturbed only by the artificial contri-
vance of man. We are quite certain that the belief of naturalists
in these great doctrines will eventually be confirmed by Mr. Dar-
win's book, and that his failure, with all the immense mass of
facts at his disposal, to maintain the theory of transmutation, will
give an eternal quietus to the Lamarckian hypothesis ; though we
shall be quite prepared to find that for a time it may gain a wide
acceptance with young naturalists, and with those who are willing
to adopt any amount of error rather than appear not to be on
a level with the latest scientific novelties. For this signal
service to science we sincerely thank him, though we are sorry
that it has been rendered by a man whose sincerity and honesty
of purpose all who know him respect and love, and to whom
.natural science is under so many eminent obligations.

Since writinir the above, we have seen able reviews of Mr. Dar-
win's work by Prof. Gray and Prof. Huxley. Both naturalists
dissent from his ultimate conclusions as not satisfactorily proved,,
though neither, in our view, insists sufficiently on the fundamen-
tal unsoundness of the argument.

J. W. D.

ARTICLE ^.—Abridged Sketch of the life of 3Ir. David
Douglas, Botanist, with a few details of his travels and
discoveries.

The inducement for collecting the few scattered fragments that
are to be found in the following pages, is the desire to prolong
somewhat, the public remembrance of one who was warmly at-
tached to Natural History, and who also in his own short day^
largely contributed by his enterprise and unwearied spirit of re-
search, to swell the list of novelties in some of its principal de-
partments. Cut down in the prime of life, and in the midst of
his usefulness, his memory is still fondly cherished by his friends,
and his successful exertions in his sphere of labour have pro-
cured him among botanists, an undying fame. Had he lived, he
would have attained to the highest celebrity as a traveller, for
his diligence in investigating, and accuracy in observing, would"
have tended to elucidate much that is of ereat interest in the?
physical geography of the earth.

Slietch of the Life of Mr. David Douglas. 121

David Douglas, of humble but respectable parentage, was born
at Scoone in Perthshire in the last year of the last century. He
received his early education at the parish school of Kinnoul, in
the neighbourhood. He was somewhat wayward, and therefore
frequently the mark for the master's ire. Trout-fishing and
bird-nesting held out temptations too strong for the lively boy,
and such occupations often lengthened his road, if they did not
entirely prevent his march to school. His love of nature soon
displayed itself in the rearing of birds, collecting of plants, and
other such amusements. Following up these early intuitions,
employment was found) for him, first in the nursery ground and
then in the gardens of the Earl of Mansfield, at Stowe.

Here his zeal and industry were so conspicuous, that they gained
him the esteem and affection of the superintendent. After a
seven years apprenticeship in these gardens, where he acquired a
thorough knowledge of the practical part of gardening, the friend-
ship of the superintendent Mr. Beatty, procured him a situa-
tion under Mr. Alexander Stewart, who had charge of the gardens
at Valleyfield, the seat of Sir Kobert Preston near Culross. There
being at this place a very choice collection of plants, the attrac-
tions of the kitchen-garden and of out-door work, soon lost their
weight with young Douglas, who now began to study botany,
and to attach himself to the care of the exotics, of which Valley-
field could boast a magnificent display. Being very careful of the
plants committed to his care, Mr. Stewart showed him much kind-
ness, and allowed him the privilege and advantage of Sir Robert's
botanical library. Such an opportunity was not lost by the youth-
ful naturalist. The second year he became foreman to Mr. Stewart,
when upon application, he gained admission to the Botanical gar-
dens at Glasgow. This nursery of botanists was still in its in-
fancy, but advancing rapidly to high reputation under the know-
ledge, skill, and fostering influence of Professor Hooker, since
whose time, a succession of able and indefatigable Botanists have
well preserved its celebrity. The energetic working qualities of
Douglas, and his vivacity of disposition, speedily procured him
the esteem and regard of all connected with the gardens ; and the
valuable friendship of the professor, which he at this time acquired,
may be looked upon as the reward of his sterling merits. For the
Professor, now Sir W. Jackson Hooker, I have heard him express
such sentiments as a son mis-ht hold for a revered and beloved
parent. First a diligent attendant at the botanical lectures,

122 Sketch of the Life of Mr, David Douglas.

next a favourite companion of the professor during his periodi-
eal excursions through the Highlands of Scotland, his capacity
was quickly recognised hy the keen judgment of Hooker, and the
noble qualities of his mind pointed him out as one from whom
much might be expected.

Douglas was afterwards recommended as botanical collector to
the London Horticultural Society, for which he was indebted to Sir
William, as well as to Mr. Stewart, Nursery Curator of the Glasgow
Botanic Grardens, who always took a lively interest in his welfare.
The recommendation was attended to, and the first appointment
made out for the young botanist was to the United States. In
the summer of 1823, he there procured many fine plants for the
Society and added greatly to its collection of fruit trees. Pleased
with his exertions, the Horticultural Society, thought of a
wider field for their new collector, and the interior of North West
America being a region yet unexplored by any naturalist, they
wisely determined upon availing themselves of Douglas's youthful
vigour and talents in that quarter. Joseph Sabine Esquire, then
Honorary Secretary to the Society, took the most friendly notice of
Douglas, and was also highly interested in the success of his mis-
sion, and the then Governor or Deputy-Governor of the Hudson's
Bay Company, afibrded every kind assistance, and such valuable
information towards the prosecution of his labors, as to insure
liappy results.

The 25th of July 1824, found our scientific adventurer on
board the Hudson Bay Company's ship William and Anne,
fortunate in having the companionship of Dr. Scouler of Glasgow,
a younger man than himself, but ardently devoted to everything
pertaining to natural history. An extract from the sketch of his
life taken from a London botanical periodical, will give some idea
of the style in which Douglas recorded his observations on living
nature. After crossing the tropics, he wi'ites thus of the Albatross.

" While within the paralells of 50° and 60^^, I caught sixty-nine
^' specimens of JDiomeda, consisting of D. exulaus^fulginosa, and
'' chlororynclios. The last, though a smaller bird than the first,
" reigns lord paramount over the rest, and compels them all to flee
" at his approach. It is stated by most authors that these birds
'* are taken with the greatest ease during warm weather ; it was
" only during the driving gusts of a storm that I could secure them,
" and on such occasions they fight voraciously about the bait, the
" hook often being received into the stomach. The appearance of

STcetch of the Life oj Mr* David Douglas, 123

" these birds is grand and majestic ; the largest which I ever saw,
" measured twelve feet four inches from tip to tip of the extended
" wings, and four feet from the point of the beak to the end of the
" tail. As respects their flight, the same renarks apply to all the
" species. When sitting on the water their wings are raised ex-
" actly like a swan's ; when feeding they are somewhat higher, with
" a constant tremulous motion like those of the hawk tribe ; and
" when elevating themselves in the water to soar in the air, they
" first walk the water, skimming the surface with the points of
" their pinions for the distance of several hundred yards, before
" they seem able to raise themselves, which they generally do with
" the utmost grace, and with scarcely any apparent movement of
" their wings. They are of a bold and savage disposition, which
*' is especially displayed when they are captured."

At the island of Juan Fernandez he fell in with a poor sailor,
named William Clarke, who had employment from the Spaniards
who visit this place for the purpose of killing seals and wild cattle,
which were plentiful. Near the remains of an old church once built
there, Douglas writes " there is a circular oven, built of London
" fire-brick, seven feet in diameter within, bearing the date 1741,
'' and therefore probably built by Anson during his residence."

" Some pigeons of a small blue species, now occupy it as their
" cote. There were eggs in it but no young ones. I pointed it out
" to Clarke, and advised him to make use of this colony."

In the old gardens were found peaches of three or four sorts,
quinces, apples, and pears ; figs and vines were also in a thriving
state. Before leavins:, Dousrlas left with Clarke, the seeds of some
culinary vegetables, radishes being the only article of that kind
that appeared to be on the island. Douglas's eye was alive to
all that is picturesque, and his glowing description of that en-
chanting spot, is thus given with the spirit of a botanist.

^' No pen, indeed, can correctly describe the charming and rural
" appearance of this island ; the numerous rills descending through
" valleys overshadowed by luxuriant verdure, and terminating in
" dark recesses and rocky dells, where wave the fronds of Xoma^ia,
" Aspidia and Polypodia, several species of which are new and of
" princely form and growth. On the hills grow several kinds of
*' JEscallonia, BerheriSj Lobelia^ Hordeum, and Avena. During
" my short stay, I gathered seventy distinct and highly interesting
" plants. The species of birds were few and not beautiful."

Arrived at the Gallipagos, Mr. Douglas was on shore on one of

124 Sketch of the Life of Mr. David Douglas,

that group, named James island, from which he drew a fair collec-
tion of both birds and plants, nearly all of which were lost to him
in consequence of the dampness of the vessel below, and the inces- .
sant rains upon deck. Of one hundred and seventy-five species of
plants gathered, he saved but fifty, and of birds, one only remained
to him of the forty-five he had killed. This was but an earnest of
the still heavier losses he afterwards sustained in his collections.
He says of the Gallipagos : — " Their verdure is scanty as com-
' pared with most tropical countries, owing apparently to the
' parched nature of the soil, and the absence of springs of fresh
' water. The only spring I saw, was flowing from a crevice of one
' of the craters. Some of the trees attain a considerable size in the
' valleys, but they are not numerous, and with little variety of
' species. The birds, however, are abundant, and some of them
' exceedingly handsome, but so ignorant were they of man's de-
' vices, that they sufiered themselves to be killed with a stick, so
' that a gun was only needed when they sat high on the top of a
' tree or rock. Many of the small birds perched on my hat, and
' even unconsciously settled upon the gun (the instrument of
' their destruction,) which I carried on my shoulder."

One may form an idea of the difficulty of entering the Colum-
bia river in the winter season, from the fact that the AVilliam
and Anne was obliged to lay to in a tremendously heavy sea,
from the 12 th of February until the 7th of April ere she dared
to attempt crossing the bar. On the latter date, Douglas
had the happiness of passing Cape Disappointment and of
viewing from the vessel's deck the luxuriant growth of vegetation
on the banks of the Columbia, which he regarded with anxiety
as the scene of his future labors, but also with the highest satis-
faction, for there was laid before him all that mortal could desire
of beauty of landscape, and all that science might covet from any
single portion of the habitable globe.

Mr. Douglas's first excursions were made in the neighbourhood
of Fort Vancouver, and he was there at once introduced to the
modes of travelling that have to be adopted in a wild Indian country.
Of a robust constitution and merry heart, he would with the
greatest complacency wrap his blanket round him and stretch him-
self out on the beach or under a bush as if he were lying down in
a comfortable bed. In a few months he had collected a number
of plants, many of them rare and new, and had besides dried the
seeds he had 2;athered for sendinsr toEndand.

SJcetch of the Life of Mr, David Douglas. 125

In the month of October, he had the pleasure of making his
first shipment of plants and seeds for England by the same vessel
in which he had sailed from London, and the Horticultural
Society made the most of this collection.

By the skill and care applied to the raising of the seeds, the gar-
dens of England both public and private were quickly supplied
with a share of the newly introduced plants, and the finest flowers
of North-west America soon became generally distributed.

Of the mode of life which had frequently to be adopted by our
indefatigable collector, extracts from his own narrative will give the
best explanation.

" Early in the morning of the 19th July, I descended the river
" in an Indian canoe for the purpose of prosecuting my researches
" on the coast, a design which was in a great measure frustrated
" by the tribe among whom I lived going to war with the nations
*' residing to the northward, in that very direction which I in-
" tended to follow. During my stay several persons were killed, and
" some wounded in a quarrel. The principal chief in the village,
" Cockqua, treated me with the utmost fidelity, and even built me
" a small cabin in his own lodge, but the immense number of fleas
" occasioned me to remove to within a few yards of the river : still
" my friend was so much interested in my safety that he watched
" himself a whole night, at the time that he expected the war party,
^' In the morning about three hundred men, in their war garments.
" danced the war dance, and sang several death-songs, which
" caused in me certainly, a most uncomfortable sensation, and the
" following morning brought us seventeen canoes carrying nearly
" four hundred men, when after several harangues, it was mutually
" agreed to suspend hostilities for the present."

'•' A sturgeon was caught by one of my companions, which
" measured twelve feet nine inches, from the snout to the tip of
" the tail, and seven feet round the thickest part, and its weight
" exceeded five hundred pounds. Among the plants which I found
" on this occasion, were, Lupinus Uttoralis, Carex 3Ienziesiiy
*' Juncus Menziesil tind glohosus,Vaccinium ovatum, parvi/oUum
" and ovaUfoUum. I also obtained seeds of the beautiful Sjnroea
" ariafoUa, of Gicaltheria, Shallon, Rlhes sanguineus, Berheris,
" and other valuable and interesting plants."

" Before taking leave of my Indian friends, I purchased several
" articles of wearing apparel, and things used in their domestic eco-
*' nomy for which I paid in trinkets and tobacco. I arrived at Fort

1 26 Sketch of the Life of Mr, David Douglas,

" Vancouver again on the 5tli of August,and employed myself until
" the 18th in drying the specimens I had collected, and making
" short journeys in quest of seeds and other plants, my labours being
" materially retarded by the rainy weather. As there were no
" houses yet built on this new station, I first occupied a tent
" which was kindly offered me, and then removed to a lodge
" of deerskin, which soon, however, became too small for me, in
" consequence of the augmentation of my collections, and where
" also I found some difficulty in drying my plants and seeds. A
" hut constructed of the bark of the Thuja occidentalis was my
^' next habitation, and there I shall probably take up my winter
'' quarters. I have only been in a house three nights since my
^' arrival in North-west America, and these were the first after my
" debarkation. On my journeys I occupy a tent, wherever it is
" practicable to carry one ; which, however, is not often, so that
" a canoe turned upside down, is my occasional shelter ; but more
" frequently I lie under the boughs of a pine tree, without any-
" thing further."

About the end of August, while on an excursion up the
Multuomak or Willamette river, he became aware of the exis-
tence of an enormous kind of pine, by finding very large pine
seeds in the tobacco pouches of the Calapooeah Indians. When
informed by these people that the tree was very large, and that its
seeds were eaten as an article of food, he at once set about veri-
fying this information, and gave the species the name of Lam-
hertiana, so that this mighty tenant of the forest, second in size
only to the gigantic Sequoia, (the Wellingtonia of Lindley,) now
received its baptism or specific name, although, it was sometime
afterwards, before Douglas saw it in all its magnificent propor-
tions. In the month of September he visited the Cascades,
heavy rapids of the Columbia, the first from the sea, and where
the river breaks through the rocky barrier of the great volcanic
range of Mounts Rainier and St. Helen's to the north, and their
partners Hood and Jefferson to the south. After an unsuccess-
ful attempt to scale the wooded summits on the north side, he
returned, being short of food, and had two days repose ; when he oc-
cupied his time with shooting seals as they descended the surging
rapids, in quest of salmon. Starting then for an exploration of
the other side, his wishes were gratified, and he gained the up-
per wooded regions, where he was rewarded with many new plants,
and discovered the Pinus nohilis and F, amaUUsj the former a

Sketch of the Life of Mr. David Douglas. 127

spruce of much grandeur and straightness in growth, the latter
the most elegant, perhaps, of all the Silver Firs. His exertions
being thus crowned with success, the fatigued botanist turned his
steps downwards towards Fort Vancouver, in order to look after
his packages for England, of which we have already spoken.

In the end of October, although much impeded in his move-
ments, by a hurt which he had received in his knee, he was again
afloat in a small canoe proceeding towards the mouth of the Co-
lumbia. Leaving Cape Disappointment, he took the coast to the
northward, sometimes making portages, and at others keeping
with his Indian guide, in the tiny craft on rivulets skirting the
shore. At Cape Foulweather, the canoe was abandoned and a
march of sixteen miles made to gain Whitby Harbour, where the
Chiheelis empties itself into the Pacific. Here we shall take up
his own words.

"On arriving there, when we found the village deserted, I can
" hardly describe the state I was in. While my guide and the
" Indians were collecting some drift-wood, I made a small booth of
" pine branches, straw, and old mats My blanket having been
" drenched all day, and the heavy rain affording no opportunity of
'' drying it, I deemed it imprudent to lie down to sleep, and ac-
" cordingly spent the night sitting over the fire. The following day
'• found me so broken down with fatigue and starvation, and my
" knee so much worse, that I could not stir out. We fared most
" scantily on the roots of Sagittaria sagittifolia and Lupinus
" UttoraUsjCQlhdi in the Chenook language, Somuchtau, till crawl-
" ing out a few steps with my gun, I providentially saw some
" wild birds, and killed five ducks at one shot. These were
" soon cooked, though one of the Indians ate his share raw. To
" save time in plucking the fowl, I singed off the feathers, and
" with a basin of tea made a good supper on one of them. I had
'' certainly been very hungry, yet strange to say, as soon as I saw
" the birds fall, my appetite fled, and I could hardly persuade
" myself that I had been in such want."

Having procured assistance at a village on the opposite side of
the bay, he turned up the Chiheelis river, but after being three
days on this stream, he found the weather still continuing so
rainy, that he discharged his guide, and hired another Indian
with a horse to carry his luggage across to the Cowlidsk river.
This distance, though only forty miles, occupied two days, all the
low grounds being flooded with water j and the roads in the woods

128 SJcetch of the Life of Mr, David Douglas.

marsliy with incessant rain. At the Cowlidsk, lie lighted upon
a small boat, belonging to the Hudsons' Bay Company, which had
been lent to an Indian chief. In this, by using his cloak and
blanket for sail, he got back to Fort Vancouver at midnight on
the 15th of November, completely worn out, and in nearly a
famished state. The weather had done its worst, and his knee
was in a still more painful condition from the fatigue and cold to
which he had been exposed. He was now, therefore, compelled
to lay himself up in winter quarters to recruit. The months of De-
cember, January and February, were passed by him with his Van-
couver friends, his time usefully occupied in collecting subjects
of zoological interest, and working out in full the short notes he
had taken on his various journeys.

In March of 1826 the enterprising subject of our sketch being
bent on a still more extensive tour than he had hitherto made, left
his wintering station with the boats that were proceeding for the
upper Columbia. At the Chutes, or first great falls of the river,
six miles above the Dalles, the party, as was frequently the case
there, had difficulties with the Indians in passing the portage,
Douglas in his own lively manner describes the scene.

" After taking a hurried and anxious breakfast on the rocks,
" we proceeded several miles up the river, and in the afternoon
" made the portage over the Great Falls, where Mr. McLeod was
" apprized that the Indians were lying in wait with the intention
^' of attacking us, and pillaging the boats. This warning proved
" too correct, no sooner had they received the customary present of
" of tobacco, than they became desirous of compelling us to en-
" camp for the night, that they might the better efiect their pur-
" pose. The first symptom of hostile intentions which we ob-
" served, was their cunning trick of sprinkling water on the gun-
" barrels of our party, and when the boats were ordered to be put
" into the water, they would not allow it to be done. As Mr
" McLeod was laying his hand on the shoulders of one native to
" push him back, another fellow immediately drew from his
" quiver a bow and a handful of arrows, and presented it at Mr.
" McLeod. My position at the time, at the outside of the crowd
" enabling me to perceive this manoeuvre, and no time being to be
" lost, I instantly slipped the cover of my gun, which was
" fortunately loaded with buck-shot, and presenting it at him, I
" invited him to discharge his arrow, when I would return it
" with my own weapon. Just at this moment a chief of the Ky-

Sketch of the Life of Mr, David Do7igIas, 129

** ouse tribe, and three of his young men, who are the terror of
^' all the other tribes west of the mountains, and the staunch
*' friends of the whites, (as they call us), stepped in among the
" party, and settled the af&air without any further trouble. This
*' very friendly Indian, who is one of the finest figures of a man
" I have ever seen, six feet six inches high, then accompanied
*' us several miles up the river to the spot where we intended
" to encamp for the night, and was liberally renumerated by
" Mr. McLeod for his courageous and timely interference, and
*' friendship. I being King George's chief, or the " Grassman,"
*' bored a hole through the only shilling which I possessed, and
" which had been in, my pocket ever since I left London, and
*' observing that the septum of his nose was perforated, I suspended
" the coin to it by a bit of brass wire, a ceremony which after-
" wards proved a seal of lasting friendship between us."

When he had reached Fort Colville, a short distance from the
Kettle Falls, he was busily occupied for three weeks, when the lock
of his gun having been broken, he determined on wending his
way to the old, and then abandoned establishment at Spokan.
Here resided old Jacquo Finlay, a remnant of the first Rocky
Mountain Trappers, and once interpreter for the North-West
Company among the Flat-head Indians. Jacquo was also the only
craftsman who could work in good steel, within a distance of 800
miles. Starting with two youths to guide him, the traveller comes
to the Barrier river, which has to be forded in passing from Col-
ville to Spokan, and here we again take up his own description of
the journey.

" No natives being near to help us across in their canoes, my
" two young companions and I had the alternative of making a
" raft or swimming, and being all well accustomed to the water,
" we chose the latter. Unsaddling the horses, we drove them in,
" and they all crossed with safety and ease, except one poor animal
" which getting entangled by its hind legs among some brushwood
" at the bottom, struggled a long time till the impediment giving
" way he finally relieved our anxiety by gaining the other side.
*' I myself made two trips across, carrying my paper and gun the
" first time and my blanket and clothes the second ; — the latter
" articles I was obliged to hold above water in both my hands,
" a difficult and tedious process, during which, as if to render my
*' labour fruitless, it rained heavily. "When I landed, my whole
" frame was so completely benumbed, that we were under the neces-

Can. Nat. 4 Vol. V. No. 2.

130 Sketch of the Life of Mr, David Douglas.

" sity of stopping to kindle a fire, and to indulge my gnides witli
" a smoke, after which we proceeded. At night a severe pain be-
" tween my shoulders, and general chillness kept me from sleep-
" ing. I rose, boiled my kettle, and made some tea ; then dried my
^' blanket, and substituted for my damp shirt a spare one in
*' which I had rolled my plants ; but feeling no better, and being
" unfortunately without medicine, I started ou foot at a little be-
'' fore four, and driving the horses before me, got into a profuse
" perspiration which considerably relieved my sufferings.

" Near this spot was an Indian burying ground, certainly the
" most curious I had yet seen. All the property of the deceased
*' was here deposited near their graves; their implements, garments,
" and gambling articles. Even the favorite horse of the deceased
" is not spared ; it is customary to shoot the animal with a bow
*' and arrow, and suspend the skin, with the hoofs and skull, just
*' above the remains of his master. On the trees which are round
" the burying place, small bundles may be seen, tied up in the
" same manner as the provisions which they carry when travelling.
" I could not learn whether this was intended as food for the dead
'' or propitiatory offerings to the divinities. Within the grave the
" body is placed in a sitting posture, with the knees touching
" the chin, and the arms folded across the chest. It is difficult to
" obtain any information on these subjects, as nothing seems to
" hurt the feelings of these people so much as alluding to their
" departed friends."

The gun having received thorough repair, and many new
plants having been collected in this interesting locality, Mr.
Douglas returned to Fort Colville, having passed in the same
mode as before the Barrier river ; for this, however, he suf-
fered : he was two days confined to bed by fever and bodily pains,
caused no doubt by having walked so much in wet clothes. Dur-
ing the rest of the month of May he made many excursions
round Colville, and met with considerable success in collecting. He
had since his arrival discovered a new Pinus ponderosa, on which
he found the Arcenthohium xycedric, a parasitical plant exist-
ing also in southern Europe. The beautiful genus Fentstemon
was also enriched by three new species, P. scoulevj P. vetustus,
and P. speciosus.

On the 5th of June he left Colville and descended with the
boats to "Wallander, an establishment just below Lewis and Clarke's
Fork, then considered the key to the navigation of the upper Co-

SJcetch of the Life of Mr, David Douglas, 131

lumbia. On the IGth when nearly ready for his journey to the
Blue mountains we have a very amusing account of a nocturnal
visit of rats (probably the Neotoma occidentalism) to his tent.

" During the night I was annoyed by the visit of a herd of rats
" which devoured every particle of seed I had collected, ate clean
*' through a bundle of dried plants, and carried off my soap-brush,
" and razor ! As one was taking away my inkstand, which I had
" been using shortly before, and which lay close to my pillow,
" I raised my gun, which with my faithful dog, is always placed
" under my blanket by my side, with the muzzle to my feet, and
" hastily gave him the contents. When I saw how large and
" strong a creature this rat was, I ceased to wonder at the
" exploits of the herd in depriving me of my property. The
" body and tail together measured a foot and a half ; the back is
" brown, the belly white ; while the enormous ears are each three
" quarters of an inch long, with whiskers thi'ee inches in length,
" and jet black.

His journey to the Blue Mountains, occupying nine or ten days,
did not turn out so productive as he had expected. He encoun-
tered tremendous thunder-storms, his guide refused to descend the
southern slopes, declaring that their horses would be stolen, and
that they themselves would fall victims to the hatred of the Shosh-
onies, or the Snake tribe, who are always on bad terms with the
Columbia Indians. Before retracing his steps, however, he had
the pleasure of plucking specimens of that magnificent plant, the
LiLpinaster macrocephalus of Pursh, and of adding many new-
species to the genera Liipinus^ Pedicidaris^ "^ Pentstemon and
Eriogonum. The TrifoUum altisshnum and T. plumosum were
also gathered, and last, though not least, the Pceonia Brownii now
adorned his Herbarium.

On the 10th of July Mr. Douglas left Wallawalla, proceeding
down stream in a small canoe with Indians, Being unable to
procure any salmon from the natives, and his stock of provisions
entirely failing, he was for the first time reduced to the necessity
of trying Tartar fare, and had supped and breakfasted on horse-
steaks and Columbia water, when to his inexpressible joy he met,
below the Chutes, the loaded boats that were so far on their way for
the interior posts. The meeting is thus noticed.

" Having halted at night below the Great Falls of the Columbia,

" I saw smoke rising behind some rocks, and thinking it might be

* Indians fishing, walked thither in quest of sabnon. Instead of

132 Silurian and Devonian Rocks

" their savage countenances, I found, however, to my great delight,
" that it was the camp of the brigade from the sea. I cannot des-
" cribe the feeling which seizes me, when after travelling some
" weeks together with Indians, I meet a person whom I have known
'' before, or if even they are strangers, yet the countenance of a
" Christian is at such times most delightful. In the present in-
" stance I had the additional happiness of finding myself in the
•' society of those who had ever treated me with cordiality, and
'' who now seemed to vie with one another in acts of kindness to-
" wards me. Observing my dejected and travel-worn plight, one
" fetched me some water to wash with, another handed me a clean
'' shirt, and a third busied himself in making ready something
" more palatable than carrion for my supper ; while my old friends,
" Messrs. McDonald and Work, handed me those best of cordials,
'' my letters from England !

(Tb he continued.)

ARTICLE XI. — On the Silurian and Devonian Eochs of
Nova Scotia. By J. W. Dawson, LL.D., F.G.S.

[Communicated to the Natural History Society of Montreal.]

In the peninsula of Nova Scotia, the formations older than the
carboniferous system, which is there so largely developed, are re-
presented by disturbed and partially metamorphosed beds, occupy-
ing a broad belt of country on the south-eastern or Atlantic coast,
and certain irregular hilly tracts in the interior. These beds
were described by me in a paper communicated to the Geo-
loo-ical Society of London in 1849, and subsequently in my
"Acadian Geology;" in which work will be found references to
the labours of previous observers. These notices were confessedly
very imperfect, owing to the difficulties of the formations them
selves, the deficiency or bad state of preservation of the fossils,
and the absence of sufficient suits of these for comparison. With
the view of remedying these deficiencies, I have embraced such
opportunities as have occurred to me since the publication of
" Acadian Geology," to study these rocks in those parts of the
country which appeared to promise the most satisfactory results.
My collections of fossils have also been increased by contributions
received from Dr. Webster of Kentville, who has long directed his
attention to the New Canaan and Nictaux districts, which I have
had the advantage of exploring under his guidance j from the Rev.

of Nova Scotia,

133

D. Honeyman,* who has carefully collected the fossils of the Ari.
saig section, and from Mr. C. F. Hart of Wolfville. Prof. Hall
of Albany, has also kindly consented to apply his unrivalled
knowledge of the palaeozoic fauna of America to the determi-
nation of the fossils, and has enabled me to publish with this
paper, his descriptions of the more important new species.

With these aids, though aware that the complete solution of
all the difl&culties of these deposits must await a systematic
and detailed survey, I hope to fix with certainty the geological
position of several important series of beds, and thus to afibrd
some data for comparison with the formations of similar age in
other countries.

Fig. 1. — Explanation of the Map and Section.

(1) Secondary Trap.

(2) New Red Sandstone (Permian or Triassic.)

(3) Carboniferous.

(4) Devonian.

(5) Middle and Upper Silurian.

(6) Metamorphosed Lower Silurian.

(7) Granite.

The numbers refer to the section and to the accompanying shades of
the map.

In my paper of 1849, 1 attempted to arrange the whole of these
infra-carboniferous rocks of Nova Scotia, in two great divisions :
(1.) The slate and quartzite formation of the Atlantic coast.
(2.) The slaty, calcareous, and ferruginous formation of the in-
land hills. The second of these groups will be found in the
sequel to include beds ranging from the Middle Silurian to
the lower Devonian. The first is certainly older, and probably of
Lower Silurian age.

* See also a paper by Mr. Honeyman, in the Transactions of the N. S.
Lit. & Sci. Society.

134- Silurian and Devonian Rocks

I. — Lower Silurian.

The Atlantic coast series, which I regard as probably of this
age, has afforded little that is new since my former publication on
the subject. It extends continously, with prevailing east and
west strike and northerly dip, from Cape Canso to the middle of
the peninsula at Halifax Harbour. Thence it continues with pre-
vailing north-east and south-west strike to the western extremity
of the province. Its most abundant rocks are coarse clay slate
and quartzite in thick beds. In some districts the slates are re-
presented by mica-schist and gneiss, and interrupted by consider-
able masses and transverse bands of intrusive granite. It has
afforded no fossils ; but it appears to be the continuation of the
older slate series of Mr. Jukes* in Newfoundland, which has
afforded trilobites of the genus Paradoxides.-f These fossils
would indicate a position in the lower part of the Lower Silurian
series, possibly on the horizon of the Potsdam sandstone or Lingu-
la Flags. If so, the Lower Silurian limestones are either absent
or buried by the unconformable superposition of the next series,
or of the carboniferous beds which in some places immediately
adjoin these older rocks.

It is however proper to state that on a comparison of these
rocks with the series of altered deposits from Eastern Canada,
collected by the Canadian Survey, and elaborately examined by
Mr. Sterry Hunt, they appear more nearly to resemble those of the
Hudson River group than any other of the series. It seems also,
that chiastolite and staurotide, which occur abundantly in some
parts of the Nova Scotia coast series, as for example, at Cape
Canseau and in Shelburne, are characteristic in Canada and New
England of altered Upper Silurian and Devonian rocks. It is
possible that this last fact may be accounted for by the local oc-
curence of some beds newer than the others ; and the characters
of the Silurian and Devonian series, as seen elsewhere in Nova
Scotia, seem at least to exclude the mass of these coast rocks from
any formation newer than the Middle Silurian.

II. — Middle akd Upper Silurian.

The inland group of metamorphic rocks is more variable in its
character, presenting many varieties of shales and slates some-

*Survey of Newfoundland.

t Salter, Proceedings Geological Society of London, 1859.

of Nova Scotia, 135

times talcose and chloritic, often coarse and arenaceous, and asso-
ciated with beds of sandstone and quartzite, and with calcareous
layers. In some districts there are also extensive beds which have
the appearaneo of interstratified igneous products both of horn-
blendie and felspathic composition. The associated igneous rocks
are granite (which appears to be continuous with that of the coast
series and intrusive), syenite, diorite, porphyry and compact fel-
spars. The more highly altered portions are penetrated by num-
erous veins of peroxide and carbonate of iron, with copper and iron
pyrites.

These beds, as well as the overlying Devonian series, have been
thrown into folds, varying in direction from east and west to
north-east and south-west, and have been at the same time
much altered and disturbed by plutonic rocks. They afterwards
suffered extensive denudation, forming both anticlinal and syn-
clinal valleys, in which were deposited beds of the carboniferous
system, and of the New Red Sandstone of Nova Scotia, a
deposit still of uncertain age.* This denudation has appar-
ently been so complete as to remove from view nearly all the softer
and least altered beds, the remains of which appear principally at
the margins of the valleys now filled by the carboniferous series.
Even in these exceptional spots they have in some instances been
farther obscured by trappean eruptions of carboniferous or later
date. The following are the principal localities in which I have
been able to obtain determinable fossils. The geographical posi-
tion of these points is noticed in the accompanying map. (Fig. 1,

p. 132.)

Arisaig.

Near this place, at the extreme northern limit of the Silurian
system on the eastern coast of Nova Scotia, is one of the most in-
structive sections of these rocks in the province. At the eastern
end of the section, where they are unconformably overlaid by
lower carboniferous conglomerate and interstratified trap,f the
Silurian rocks consist of gray and reddish sandy shales and coarse
limestone bands dipping south at an angle of 44°. The direction
of the coast is nearly east and west, and in proceeding to the east-
ward, the dip of the beds turns to south 30^ west, dipping 45°,

* See Journal Geol. Society, Vol. 4, and Acadian Geology.
fSee papers by the author in Proceedings Geological Society,
1843-4.

136 Silurian and Devonian Roch

so that the series, though with some faults and flexures, is on the
whole descending, and exhibits in succession to the rocks just
mentioned, gray and dark shales, with bands and lenticular patches
of coarse limestone, some of which appear to consist principally
of brachiopodous shells in situ, while others present a confused
mass of drifted fossils. Below these the beds become more argil-
laceous, and in places have assumed a slaty structure, and occasion-
ally a red colour. The thickness of the whole series to this point
was estimated at 500 feet. The dip then returns to the south, and
the beds run nearly in the strike of the shore for some distance,
when they become discoloured and ochraceous, and then red and
hardened ; and finally, at Arisaig pier, are changed into a coarse
reddish banded jasper, where they come into contact with a great
dyke of augitic trap of carboniferous date. Beyond this place they
are much disturbed, and so far as I could ascertain, destitute of
fossils. The alteration of the beds extends to a distance of 300
yards from the trap, and beyond this in some places slaty cleav-
age and reddish colours have been produced ; the latter change
appearing to be connected with vertical fissures traversing the
beds.

In the lower or shaly portion of the Arisaig series, the charao-
terstic fossils are GraptoUthus not distinguishable from G. clinto-
nensis, Leptoccelia (Atri/pa) intermedia, (Hall,) a new species
closely allied to L. hemispherica of the Clinton group of New
York, Atrypa emacerata, Orthis testudinaria, Strophomena
profunda, S. rugosa, Rhynconella equiradiata, Avicula ema-
cerata, TentacuUtes, allied to or identical with T. distans, Helo-
j^ora allied to H. fragills. There are also abundant joints and
stems of crinoids, and a Palceaster, the only one as yet found in
Nova Scotia, which was presented to me by Mr. Honeyman, and
has been described by Mr. Billings in the Canadian Naturalist un-
der the name of P. parviusculus. These and other fossils associat-
ed with them, in the opinion of Prof. Hall, fix the Geological
position of these rocks as that of the Clinton group, the upper
Llandovery of Murchison, at the base of the upper Silurian or
top of the middle Silurian.

In the upper and more calcareous part of the series, fossils are
very abundant, and include species of Calymene, Dalmanites,
Homalonotus, Orthoceras, Murchisonia, CUdopliorus, TelUnomya,
and several brachiopods, among which are Discina tenuilamellata^
Lingula ohlongaj Rhynconella quadricosta, R. Saffordij (Hall,)

of Nova Scotia* 137

allied to R. Wilsoni, R. neglecta, Atrypa reticularis,^ all
found in the upper part of the Middle Silurian or in the Upper
Silurian elsewhere in America. Most of the other forms are new
species, descriptions of which will be found in Prof. Hall's paper
appended to these notes. The general assemblage is on the whole
like that of the Clinton, but is of such a character as to warrant
the belief that we may have in these beds a series somewhat
higher in position, and probably of Upper Silurian age. The new
species Chonetes Nova-Scotlca is very characteristic of the
upper member.

On the whole we must regard the Arisaig series as representing
the upper part of the Middle Silurian, probably with a part
of the Upper Silurian, a position much lower than that assigned
to it in my Acadian Geology, which was, however, at the time,
based on the opinions of the best palaeontologists who had examined
specimens from these rocks. Unfortunately the Arisaig series
stands alone, wedged between carboniferous and plutonic rocks, so
that no opportunity occurs on the coast of verifying these conclu-
sions derived from fossils, by the evidence of stratigraphical con-
nection with newer or older Silurian deposits, and I have been un-
able to devote sufficient time to this object to attempt to trace the
beds in their succession or continuation inland.

V

East River of Pictotj.

The next example of fossiliferous Silurian rocks known to me
is on the east branch of the East River of Pictou, and its vicinity,
where these deposits rise from beneath the lower carboniferous
series, forming the high ground on the eastern side of the river.
The beds are here much altered and penetrated by igneous dykes,
and are vertical, with very high southerly dips and N. E. and S.
W. strike. They consist of coarse slates and calcareous bands
resembling those of the upper Arisaig series in mineral character,
and holding many of the same species, especially Chonetes Nova-
Scotica ; but we have here in addition a great bed of fossiliferous
peroxide of iron, in some parts forty feet in thickness, and with ooli-
tic structure ; but passing into a ferruginous sandstone, and associ-
ated with slate and quartz rock. The age of these rocks relatively
to the Arisaig series, it is not easy to determine. The stratigraphi-
cal evidence, though obscure, would place them in a higher position.
The fossils are in a bad state of preservation ; but in so far as

* Also Strophomena corru§ata.

138 Silurian and Devonian Rocks

they give any information, it coincides with the apparent relation
of the beds. Similar ferruginous beds occur in the Clinton series,
(the Surgent of Rogers) in New York and Canada ; and as we
shall find in the sequel, in a much higher position in the western
part of Nova Scotia. On the whole I regard the beds seen at the
East River of Pictou as belonging to the same line of outcrop
with the Arisaig series, but as containing in addition to the
upper member of that series, beds higher in the Silurian system,
or perhaps Lower Devonian.

CoBEQUED Mountains.

At the eastern end of this chain, in Earlton and New Annan,
though the rocks are generally in a highly metamorphosed con-
dition, fossils are found in a few places ; and in so far as I have
been able to determine from very small suites of specimens, are
those of the upper Arisaig series. From the apparent continuity
of strike along this long salient line of outcrop, it seems probable
that these fossils indicate the true age of the greater part of the
sedimentary rocks of the Cobequid hills ; a conclusion confirmed by
their similarity in mineral character to the altered equivalents of
the Arisaig and East River series as seen elsewhere. The
arrangement of the beds and their mineral contents in the central
part of the chain, will be found noticed in my paper of 1849,
already referred to. They are not known to contain beds of iron
ore ; but have enormous vein-like deposits of spathic and specular
iron associated with the carbonates of lime and magnesia, and run-
ning with the strike of the beds.

New Canaan.

Between the East River of Pictou, and New Canaan in King's
county, 100 miles distant, I know no Silurian beds with fossils ;
and in the central part of the province these rocks disappear
under the carboniferous deposits. In the hills of Horton
and New Canaan they reappear, and constitute the northern
margin of a broad belt of metamorphic and plutonic country,
occupying here nearly the whole breadth of the peninsula. The
oldest fossiliferous beds seen are the fine fawn-coloured and gray
clay slates of Beech Hill, in which Dr. Webster, many years since,
found a beautiful Dictyonema^ the only fossil they have hitherto
afforded. It is a new species, closely allied to D. retiformis and
D. gracilis of Hall, and will be described by that palaeontologist
under the name of D, Websteri, in honour of its discoverer. In

of Nova Scotia, 139

the mean time I may merely state that it is most readily charac-
terised by the form of the celkiles, -which are very distinctly
marked in the manner of Grajptolithus, A portion of a frond is
represented in Fig. 2.

Fig. 2. — Part of frond of Dictyonema Websterij Hall, a, portion magnified.
The Dictyonema slates of Beech Hill are of great thickness, but
have in their upper part some hard and coarse beds. They are
succeeded to the south by a great series of dark coloured coarse
slates, often micaceous, and in some places constituting a slate
conglomerate, containing small fragments of older slates, and
occasionally pebbles of a gray vesicular rock, apparently a
trachyte. In some parts of this series there are bands of a coarse
laminated magnesian and ferruginous limestone, containing fossils
which, though much distorted, are in parts still distinguishable.
They consist of joints of crinoids, casts of brachiopodous shells,
trilobites and corals. Among the latter are two species of As-
trocerium, not distinguishable for A. pyriforme and venustum of
the Niagara group, and a Heliolites allied to H. elegans, if not
a variety of this species. On the evidence of these fossils and
the more obscure remains associated with them. Prof. Ilall
regards these beds as equivalents of the Niagara formation of the
New York geologists, the Wenlock of Murchison. Their general
strike is N. E. and S. W. ; and to the southward, or in the pro-
bable direction of the dip, they are succeeded, about six miles from
Beech Hill, by granite. They have in general a slaty structure
coinciding with the strike but not with the dip of the beds, and
this condition is very prevalent throughout this inland metamor-
phic district, where also the principal mineral veins usually run
with the strike. The beds just described run with S. W. strike
for a considerable distance, and are succeeded in ascending order
by those next to be described.

ni. — Devonian.
It is probable that Devonian rocks, in a metamorphosed state

140 Silurian and Devonian Rocks

are extensively distributed througliout the districts now under
consideration ; but the only localities in which they have been
clearly recognised, are along a line of outcrop on the northern
margin of the hilly region westward of New Canaan. The first
and most important of these exposures is at

NiCTAUX.

At this place, 20 miles westward of New Canaan, the first old
rocks that are seen to emerge from beneath the New Red Sand
stone of the low country, are fine-grained slates, which I believe
to be a continuation of the Dictyonema slates of Beech Hill.
Their strike is N. 30 to 60 E., and their dip to the S. E. at an
anMe of 72^. Interstratified with these are hard and coarse
beds, some of them having a trappean aspect. In following these
rocks to the S. E , or in ascending order, they assume the aspect
of the New Canaan beds ; but I could find no fossils except in
loose pieces of coarse limestone, and these have the aspect
rather of the Arisaig series than of that of New Canaan.
In these, and in some specimens recently obtained by Mr. Hart,
I observe Orthoceras elegantulmn, Bucania trilohita, Cornulites
Jiexuosus, Spirifer rugcecosta f and apparently CJionetes NbvaSco-
tica^ with a large Orthoceras^ and several other shells not as yet
seen elsewhere. These fossils appear to indicate that there is in
this region a continuance of some of the upper Arisaig species
nearly to the base of the Devonian rocks next to be noticed.

After a space of nearly a mile, which may represent a great
thickness of unseen beds, we reach a band of highly fossiliferous
peroxide of iron, with dark coloured coarse slates, dipping S. 30° E.
at a very high angle. The iron ore is from 3 to 4j feet in thick-
ness and resembles that of the East River of Pictou, except in
containing less silicious matter. The fossils of this ironstone and
the accompanying beds, as far as they can be identified, are
Spirifer arenosus^ St7'ophodonta magmjim^ Atrypa unguiformis,

* There is in the iron ore and associated beds another and smaller
Spirifer as yet not identified with any described species, but eminently
characteristic of the Nictaux deposits. It is usually seen only in the
state of casts, and often strangely distorted by the slaty structure of
the beds. The specimens least distorted may be described as follows :
General form, semi-circular tending to semi-oval, convexity moderate ;
hinge line about equal to width of shell ; a rounded mesial sinus and
elevation with about ten sub-angular plications on each side ; a few
sharp growth ridges at the margin of the larger valves. Average dia-
meter about one inch ; mesial sinus equal in width to about three plica-
tions. I shall call this species, in the meantime, S, Nictavensis.

of Nova Scotia. 141

Stro]jTiomena depressa^ and species of Avicula, Belleroplion^ Favo-
sites, Zaphrentis, &c. These Prof. Hall compares with the
fauna of the Oriskany sandstone ; and they seem to give indubita-
ble testimony that theNictaux iron ore is of Lower Devonian age.

To the southward of the ore the country exhibits a succession
of ridges of slate holding similar fossils, and probably represent-
ing a thick series of Devonian beds, though it is quite possible
that some of them may be repeated by faults or folds. Farther
to the south these slates are associated with bands of crystalline
greenstone and quartz rock, and are then interrupted by a great
mass of white granite, which extends far into the interior and
separates these beds from the similar, but non-fossiliferous rocks
on the inner side of the metamorphic band of the Atlantic coast.
The Devonian beds appear to dip into the granite, which is in-
trusive and alters the slates near the junction into gneissoid rock
holding garnets. The granite sends veins into the slates, and near
the junction contains numerous angular fragments of altered
slate.

Westward of the Nictaux River, the granite abruptly crosses
the line of strike of the slates, and extends quite to their northern
border, cutting them off in the manner of a huge dyke, from their
continuation about ten miles further westward. The beds of slate
in running against this great dyke of granite, change in strike
from south-west to west, near the junction, and become slightly
contorted and altered into gneiss, and filled with granite veins ;
but in some places they retain traces of their fossils to within 200
yards of the granite. The intrusion of this great mass of granite
without material disturbance of the strike of the slates, conveys
the impression that it has melted quietly through the stratified
deposits, or that these have been locally crystallised into granite
in situ.

Moose River.

At this place the iron ore and its associated beds recur on the
western side of the granite before mentioned, but in a state of
greater metamorphism than at Nictaux. The iron is here in
the state of magnetic ore, but still holds fossil shells of the same
species with those of Nictaux.

Bear River.

On this stream, near the bridge by which the main road crosses
it, beds equivalent to those of Nictaux occur with a profusion

142 Silurian and Devonian Rocks

of fossils. The iron ore is not seen, but tliere are highly fossil-
iferous slates and coarse arenaceous limestone, and a bed of gray
sandstone with numerous indistinct impressions apparently of
plants. In addition to several of the fossils found at Nictaux,
these beds afford Tentaculites^ an Atrypa, apparently identical
with an undescribed species very characteristic of the Devonian
sandstones of Gaspe, and a coral which Mr. Billings identifies
with the Pleurodictyum p'ohlematicum^ Goldfuss, a form which
occurs in the Lower Devonian in England, and on the continent
of Europe.

Westward of Bear Eiver, rocks resembling in mineral charac-
ter those previously described, extend with similar strike, but in
an altered condition, and in so far as T have been able to ascertain,
destitute of fossils, quite to the western extremity of the peninsula,
where they turn more to the southward, and are as I suppose,
repeated by a sharp synclinal fold, after which they are succeeded
by the Atlantic coast series, consisting of quartzite and clay
slate, with chlorite and hornblende slates at Yarmouth and its
vicinity, and further to the S. E. of mica slate and gneiss.

General Remarks.

The above facts show that we can recognise among the partially
metamorphosed sub-carboniferous rocks of Nova Scotia, forma-
tions ranging from the Middle Silurian to the Lower Devonian
inclusive ; but of a more argillaceous and less calcareous charac-
ter than the series occupying this position in the mainland of
America. The principal masses of plutonic rock associated with
these beds, and especially the granite, are of newer Devonian
date ; but there is evidence of igneous eruptions as far back as
the beginning of the Upper Silurian, and of the continuance or
recurrence of such action as late as the carboniferous period. In
and near the non-calcareous Lower Silurian series, granite prevails,
almost to the entire exclusion of other plutonic rocks. At a
greater distance from these, the plutonic rocks penetrating the
Upper Silurian and Devonian series, though apparently of nearly
the same age with the granite, are principally syenite and green-
stone.

With respect to the general arrangement of the formations,
though I cannot venture to speak with confidence on this point,
with reference to a district so much disturbed, and which 1 have
been able only very imperfectly to explore, I may suggest, as at

of Nova Scotia. 143

presenr the most probable arrangement, that represented in the
little section attached to the map. The coast series would thus
belong to an anticlinal, bringing up Lower Silurian rocks. On
these, in proceeding to the north-west, rest middle and upper
Silurian and perhaps Devonian beds in a metamorphosed condi-
tion, which along the northern margin of the metamorphic dis-
trict rise again with an opposite dip, at Arisaig, East River, New
Canaan, &c., forming a trough, the middle of which, in the east,
is divided by a secondary anticlinal and filled with carboniferous
rocks, but in the west is occupied with a great mass of granite
into which the beds appear to have sunk in the direction of their
dip. Beyond the northwestern edge of this trough, the Silurian
beds probably again dip to the northward, but are hidden by
carboniferous deposits, and reappear in another anticlinal with
east and west strike in the Cobequid Mountains.

Rocks similar in character and relations to those above described
are extensively distributed in the Island of Cape Breton and also
in New Brunswick, but I have no detailed knowledge of their
distribution. The formations described in this paper, represent
in age, and resemble in their state of alteration, many portions of
the metamorphosed Silurian and Devonian rocks of New England
and Eastern Canada. In the latter, the relations of the intrusive
granite and the middle and upper Silurian rocks as described by
Sir William Logan, and as I have observed them in a few locali-
ties, strikingly resemble the phenomena observed in Nova Scotia.

I have no doubt that a detailed survey of these rocks in Nova
Scotia and Cape Breton, would develop many curious and intri-
cate disturbances, and might also ascertain the presence of mem-
bers of the Silurian series, now supposed to be absent, but which
may be only obscured by denudation. In the mean time local
observers can do much to increase our knowledge of these rocks
by carefully collecting the few fossils that remain unobliterated in
the semi-metamorphic beds, and the above remarks may serve to
guide such explorations, and to enable geologists to speak with
more confidence than heretofore of the older palaeozoic rocks of
an important region of eastern America.

144

Silurian Fossils of Nova Scotia,

ARTICLE XII. — Descriptions of New Species of Fossils from
the Silurian Rocks of Nova Scotia. By James Hall.

1. Crania acadiensis. N. sp. Fig. 1.

Circular or broadly sub-oval, moderately convex, the greatest
convexity near the apex ; apex obtuse.

Several casts show a central elevated area, with strong muscu-
lar impressions ; the more elevated portion being surrounded by
a flattened border, which is radiatingly striate.

These specimens are casts which appear to be of the ventral
valve; and the form of the nmscular impressions is so character-
istic of the genus that I can have little hesitation in thus referring

them.

2. DisciNA tenuilamellata. Var. suhplana.

Shell broadly elliptical, or suborbicular, externally depressed,
apex subcentral ; surface marked by thin sharply elevated lamellae.

This closely resembles the Niagara species of New York, but
may be distinct. Should further examination prove it a distinct
species, the name D. suhplana may be adopted.

Fig. 2.

Fig. 3.

Fig. 1.

Fig. 5.

Fig. 4.

3. Chonetes Nova-Scotica. N. sp. Fig. 2.

Shell semielliptical, width varying from once and a half to
nearly twice the length. The ventral valve variably convex, and
often showing a flattened or slightly concave space down the
middle of the shell ; cardinal margin ornamented by four or five
minute spines on each side of the beak ; cardino-lateral margins
often a little wrinkled ; surface finely striated, strise flexuous,
dichotomising and increasing by interstitial addition, so that
there are more than one hundred on the margin of the shell ;
strise increasing in size below the umbo ; concentric strise fine,
close, rounded and slightly undulating.

Dorsal valve moderately concave ; strise much stronger below
the middle of the shell and sometimes bifurcating toward the
margin.

Silurian Fossils of Nova Scotia, 145

This species resembles in form the Chonetes cornuta of the
Clinton group of !N'ew York, but is a much larger and more ven-
tricose shell ; the striae are proportionally less numerous and
more closely arranged, the interstices being less than the striae,
while in the C. cornuta the interstices are wider than the striae,
and the latter increase only by interstitial additions below the
middle of the sheU. A stronijer and more elevated stria often
marks the median line from beak to base of the ventral valve.

4. Chonetes tenuistriata. N. sp. Fig. 3.

Shell semi-oval, twice as wide as long ; ventral valve moderately
convex, hinge line equalling the width of the shell ; surface
marked by fine, even, closely arranged striae, which apparently
increase only by interstitial additions, and are not flexuous.
The number of striae on the margin of the shell is nearly one
hundred.

This species is more finely striated than the preceding, the

striae not flexuous, more even, and in shells of equal size much

more numerous. This species is somewhat larger and more

closely striated than the C. cornuta of the Clinton group of New

York.

5. Spirifer rug^gosta. InT. sp.

Shell somewhat semi-elliptical ; dorsal valve very convex, with
the mesial fold depressed along the centre ; ventral valve with a
wide deep mesial sinus ; plications six or seven on each side of the
mesial fold and sinus, strong, and much elevated, subangular,
crossed by numerous strongly elevated, lamellose, imbricating
concentric striae.

The specimens examined are almost all imperfect casts, some
of which preserve the impression of the strong concentric striae,
and in one or two specimens an impression of the shell reveals the
streno^th of the surface markings.

In many respects this species resembles the S. perlamellosa of
the lower Helderberg group in New York, but the mesial elevation
of this species is flattened or depressed, a character never observed
in New York specimens.

6. Spirifer subsulcatus. N. sp.

Shell semi-elliptical, hinge line equalling or greater than the

length of the shell below ; plications five or six on each side of the

Can. Nat. 5 Vol. Y. No. 2.

146 Silurian Fossils of Nova Scotia,

mesial fold ; mesial fold somewhat flattened or very slightly roimd-
ed on the summit ; plications rounded ; surface concentrically

lamellose.

The specimens are all casts, or impressions of the shells.

They bear some resemblance to S. sulcatus of the Niagara
group, and are intermediate between that species and the S. cyclop-
iera of the Lower Helderberg group.

1, Tremastospira Acadia. N. sp. Fig. 4.

i ■

Shell wider than long ; beak of the ventral valve produced and
incurved ; mesial depression marked by a small fold on each side^
which originates about one-third of the length below the beak and
continues to the margin ; sinus bounded on each side by a more
strongly elevated plication, beyond which are six other plications
on each side.

Surface marked by fine concentric stri?e.

This shell is referred to the genus Trematospira from external
characters alone, which are unlike Bhynchonella proper, and the
shell is not a Spirifer.

8. Rhynohospira sinuata. N. sp.

Shell ovoid, ventricose beak of the ventral valve incurved ; a
mesial sinus beginning a little below the beak ; surface marked
by about eight or nine simple scarcely subangular plications on
each side the mesial sinus.

Surface marked by concentric lines of growth.

This species differs from the R. formosa of the Lower Helder-
berg rocks of New York in the plications being more slender, in
the more defined sinus of the ventral valve, and the continuation
of the two small folds in the sinus nearly to the beak.

9. Rhynchoneila Saffordi.

Shell varying in form from ovoid to globose. Full grown spe-
cimens usually wider than long, and sometimes becoming ex-
tremely ventricose, so that the diameter across the two valves
much exceeds the length. Ventral valve depressed convex, with
the beak minute, closely incurved ; dorsal valve very ventricosey
most prominent toward the front. Cardinal slope a little de-
pressed, sides rounded, and the front in direct line flattened but
not depressed. Surface finely plicated, plications little elevated^

Silurian Fossils of Nova Scotia, 147

rounded or scarcely subangular, about five or six depressed in the
flattened sinus of tlie ventral valve and a corresponding number
raised on the flattened mesial elevation, which rises abruptly
though usually but slightly above the lateral portions of the
shell. From ten to fourteen plications mark the surface on each
side of the mesial fold and sinus. Plications in front marked by a
sharp groove along the centre, and those of each valve deeply
interlocking.

This species resembles the i?. nucleolata of the Lower Helder-
berg rocks of New York, and in some specimens it approaches to
H.ventricosa, but is always much more finely plicated than either.
It closely resembles the E. Wilsoni of Europe in its general form,
but the plications are more rounded and somewhat coarser, and
while in that species the sinus causes no depression in the ventral
valve below the general surface of the shell, in ours there is an
abrupt depression as well as a slightly abrupt elevation on the
dorsal valve, while there is no similar feature in the R. Wilsoni*

The Nova Scotia specimens are in all respects identical with
those from Tennessee.

The geological position of the specimen from Tennessee is in
rocks of the age of the Lower Helderberg group, associated with
Pentamerits galeaius, P. Verneuili, Spirifer macropleura^ Spiri-
fer perlamellosay Spirifer cyclopteray and others.

10. Leptocelia intermedia. Fig. 5, N. sp.

Shell concavo-convex ; outline semi-elliptical, cardinal extremi-
ties rounded, and the hinge-line a little shorter than the greatest
width of the shell ; ventral valve moderately convex, carinate in
the middle by a strong plication, with six or seven smaller ones
on each side, the lateral ones slightly curved towards the outer
extremity. Dorsal valve concave, with a broad shallow mesial
sinus, the margins on either side being bent a little upward, giving
a sinuous outline to the margin of the shell ; surface marked by
fine concentric striae.

This species resembles the L. hemispherica of the Clinton group
in New York, in general form, but the hingeyine is shorter and
the extremities rounded ; the mesial elevation consists of a single
strong plication, while in L. hemispherica the surface is regularly
plicated, with the central one sometimes a little stronger than
the others.

♦Sowerby, M. C, vol. ii., page 38, says : The " sinus at the front, al-
though deep, does not alter the evenness of the surface."

148 Silurian Fossils of Nova Scotia.

11. MODIOLOPSIS ? RHOMBOIDEA. N. Sp. Fig. 6.

Shell sub-rhomboid, rounded in front, wider and obliquely trun-
cate behind, hinge-line slightly ascending from the anterior end ;
beaks subterminal, posterior umbonial slope obtusely subangular
below, anterior to which the shell is flattened ; basal margin nearly
straight, the shell gradually widening behind and the posterior
basal extremity abruptly rounded. Surface evenly striated con-
centrically.

Anterior muscular impression very strong, posterior muscular
impression less strongly defined, but still very conspicuous and
sub-duplicate ; palleal line simple, nearly parallel to the basal
margin, strongly and almost equally defined in all parts of its
length between the two muscular imprints.

This shell bears some resemblance to M . primiffenius, but is less
ventricose in tlie middle, and the sub-angular umbonial slope ia
not so well defined in that species.

12. MODIOLOPSIS SUB-NASUTUS. N. Sp.

Shell elongate sub-spatulate, tlie length being more than twice
"the greatest width hinge-line ; sliglitly ascending posteriorly ;
beaks sub-anterior, the anterior end very narrow, gibbous on the
umbones, with a sub-angular ridge on the umbonial slope which
extends to the postero-basal angle ; basal margin nearly straight,
the posterior end somewhat flattened and obliquely sub-truncate
at the extremity ; surface marked by concentric lines of growth.

This shell bears a close general resemblance to M. nasutus of
the Trenton limestone, but a careful comparison shows it to be
wider and more abrupt at its posterior termination, while the
direction of the striae of growth is very distinctive, these marks
being regularly curving toward the posterior end in M. nasutus,
while in this species they are abruptly bent at the postero-basal
angle, and again on the cardinal side, corresponding with the
truncate posterior extremity of the shell.

13. Clidophorus cuneatus. N. sp.

Shell ovoid, gibbous in the middle and on the umbones, gra-
dually declining behind ; beaks anterior, sub-terminal ; anterior
•end broadly rounded, the posterior end narrower and sub-acute,
posterior umbonial slope marked by an obtuse rounded ridge,
(which extends to the posterior extremity, and below this an unde-

Silurian Fossils of Nova Scotia.

149

fined sinus which, expanding, extends to the postcro-basal extre-
mity, while a less defined ridge bounds this sinuosity on its
anterior side ; surface marked by fine irregular concentric striae.
In the casts of this shell there is a strong linear straight clavi-
cle, extending from a point just anterior to the beak two-thirds
across the valve.

Fig. 6. Fig. 1. Fig. 8.

14. Clidophorus concentricus. N. sp. Fig. 7.

Shell sub-equilateral, very broadly oval-ovate, the anterior end
the broader ; height nearly four-fifths the greatest length ; anterior
side a little shorter and more broadly rounded at the extremity ;
a slight depressed sinus on the posterior umbonial slope, which is
more anterior than in the preceding species. Surface marked by
even band-like concentric striae ; shell thin ; a linear curving cla-
vicle extends from the cardinal line just anterior to the beak
more than half way to the base.

The prominent points of distinction between this and the pre-
ceding shell are the nearly central beaks, the band-like striae, and
the curving clavicle with the broad and nearly equal extremities
of the valve.

15. Clidophorus erectus. N". sp. Fig. 8.

Shell somewhat rhomboid-ovate, the height and length about
equal ; umbones prominent, beaks nearer the anterior end, some-
what curved and elevated ; posterior cardinal line curving, with a
scarcely defined ridge along the umbonial slope ; basal margin
strongly rounded, sinuate on the postero-basal margin and regu-
larly rounded, with a scarcely defined ridge extending down the
slope just anterior to the clavicle. Surface finely striated concen-
trically, a slightly curving clavicle extending from the cardinal
line nearly two-thirds the distance to the anterior basal margin.

This species differs from the preceding in the equal length and
breadth and consequent greater proportional height, in the sinu-
osity of the postero-basal margin, and more abruptly-rounded
basal outline, and the curving forward of the beaks.

150 Silurian Fossils of Nova Scotia*

16. Clidophorus elongatus. N. sp. Fig. 9.

Shell sub-elliptical, length about twice the height, beaks much
nearer to the anterior end, which is narrowly rounded ; umbones
rounded, prominent ; a defined gradually widening depression
extends from the umbo to the posterior basal margin, causing a
straightening or slight sinuosity in the edge of the shell ; a defined
ridge along the posterior slope between the sinus and the cardinal
margin. Surface very finely striated. A slender clavicle extends
from the anterior cardinal margin a little more than half-way to
the base, and curving slightly forward.

This species differs externally from all the others in the greater
proportional length and in the rounded umbones.

The C. cuneatus of the same size is a stronger and proportionally
higher shell, having a less defined sinus on the posterior slope, and
a much stronger clavicle.

Fig. 9.
1*7. Clidophorus semiradiatus. N. sp.

Shell somewhat oval-ovate, length about one third greater than
the height.

Surface marked by fine concentric band-like strife, and the
posterior slope by flattened dichotomized radiating striae, the two
sets of striae gradually dying out at their junction. A faint line
anterior to the beak marks the place of the clavicle.

18. Clidophorus nuculiformis. N. sp.

Shell nearly equilateral, subventricose, height and length as
seven to nine. Anterior end rounded, basal margin regularly
curved ; posterior end sub-acute, a slight flattening or depression
along the posterior umbonial slope, and between this and the car-
dinal line a narrow ridge. On the anterior slope there is a de-
pressed line almost parallel to the cardinal line, marking apparently
the course of the clavicle. Surface marked by fine concentric
striae.

This species resembles in form the 0. concentricus in its equila-
teral form, but the fine unequal concentric striae and the difference
in direction of the clavicle are sufficient to distinguish it.

Silurian Fossils of Nova Scotia. 151

19. Clidophorus subovatus. N. sp.

Shell, broadly oval or ovate, moderately and evenly convex ;
beaks near the anterior end ; umbones moderately elevated ; a
scarcely defined depression extending from the umbo towards the
postero-basal extremity ; anterior extremity rounded, posterior
extremity unknown (? regularly rounded) ; clavicle extending half
way from the anterior cardinal margin to the base of the shell.
Surface marked by fine unequal sub-lamellose striae.

This shell is larger and more regularly convex than any of the
others here described, and more inequilateral than any except the
C, cuneaius.

20. NucuLiTEs [Orthonota] carinata. N. sp. Fig. 10.

Shell extremely elongate, nearly three times as long as wide ;
sides sub-parallel ; hinge line straight, beaks appressed, sub-an-
terior, the anterior extremity rounded ; posterior extremity obli-
quely truncate, longer on the hinge line than on the basal margin.
Surface marked by a sharp carina which extends from the umbo
obliquely to the postero-basal angle, the space anterior to this car-
ina marked by distinct elevated lamellose striae, and intermediate
finer ones. The space between this and the cardinal line smooth
and slightly depressed. Cardinal line anterior to the beak show-
ing six or seven crenulations. A strong clavicle extends from the
anterior cardinal line with a gentle curve nearly to the base of
the shell.

Fig. 10. Fig. II. Fig. 12.

This shell presents characters not before observed combined in
one species. It has the general form of Ortkonta, while the
crenulated cardinal line and the anterior clavicle are characters of
Nuculites. The shell is readily distinguished from species of either
genus heretofore described. The Orthonotae, yet known, have
the surface marking much less sharply defined.

21. Tellinomya Attentjata. N. sp. Fig. 11.

Shell elongate, narrow, more than twice as long as high, an-
terior end short and rounded, beak elevated, situated a little in

152 Silurian Fossils of Nova Scotia,

advance of the anterior third, posterior end narrow and abruptly
rounded; basal margin slightly curved, and impressed posterior
to the centre ; posterior cardinal line straight but gradually de-
clining ; contour evenly convex. Surface concentrically striated,
shell thick.

This shell resembles the T. machceriformisj bnt the anterior
end is proportionally longer and more regularly round, the pos-
terior narrower and more attenuated, and the convexity of the
shell much greater. It is much smaller and proportionally more
elongated than the T. nasuta of the Trenton Limestone.

22. Tellinomya angustata. N. sp.

Shell elongate, narrow elliptical, more than twice as long a&
wide, beaks fully one third from the anterior end. The anterior
and posterior ends similar and equally rounded ; basal margin
regularly curved without indentation or sinuosity. Surface even-
ly convex and very finely concentrically striated.

23. Leptodomus, (Sanguinolites,) aratus. N. sp.

Shell rhomboid-ovate, ventricose, beaks at the anterior third of
the valve, incurved and pointed forward, umbones gibbous, a
slight depression from the umbo directly to the base of the shell
leaving a slight impression in the central margin ; posterior slope
sub-angular, the angle not defined ; anterior slope with a defined
angular ridge which borders a large cordiform liinette ; anterior
sharply rounded ; basal margin nearly parallel with the hinge
line, curving upwards at the posterior extremity, and somewhat
obliquely truncated from the cardinal line. Cardinal line straight
posteriorly, with a wide and deep ligamental area. Surface
marked by strong unequal ridges and furrows parallel to the
basal margin, which become obsolescent on the posterior cardinal
slope.

It is scarcely possible to refer any fossil with satisfaction to the
genera Sanguinolites or Leptodomus of McCoy, since the group-
ing of species under these names appears to us to comprise a
heterogeneous assemblage in either case. Our shell corresponds
in its external features with Leptodomus costellatus of McCoy, so
far as the general form, surface markings, ligamental area, etc.
and is doubtless generically identical with that shell.

Silurian Fossils of Nova Scotia, 153

24. MfiaAMBONlA (?) CANCELLATA. N. Sp. Fig. 12.

Shell sub-ovate, widening posteriorly ; beak anterior incurved,
umbo gibbous, with a gibbous umbonial slope on the posterior
side, which is scarcely diverging from the cardinal line ; posterior
extremity rounded, the basal margin arcuate, with a slight im-
pression anterior to the middle, the anterior end a little gibbous.
Surface cancellated by concentric and radiating elevated striae.

It is not possible from the specimen before me to refer this
species satisfactorily to any known genus.

25. Megambonia striata. N. sp.

Shell somewhat oval, the basal and cardinal lines nearly parallel ;
beak sub- anterior, small ; umbones convex, scarcely gibbous ;
umbonial slope regularly convex, below which is a slight depres-
sion reaching to the postero-basal margin ; posterior end rounded,
fthe longer part of the curve on the basal side. Anterior end
short and narrow, somewhat abruptly rounded. Surface marked
by regularly radiating rounded striae with faint concentric lines
of growth.

This diflfers from the preceding species in being less gibbous,
in the more nearly parallel cardinal and basal lines, in the direc-
tion of the umbonial ridge, and in the stronger radiating strise.

24. AvicuLA HoNEYMANi. N. sp. Fig. 13.

Left valve : body of the shell obliquely ovate, convex and
somewhat gibbous towards the umbo, anterior wing small round-
ed, posterior wing large triangular, obtuse at the extremity, ex-
tending two-thirds the length of the shell. The line between the
wing and body of the shell well defined by a slight abrupt de-
presssion along the junction. Surface marked by rounded radiat-
ing strise which are interrupted by fainter concentric undulations
or lines of growth ; the wing is marked only by concentric
striae.

This species bears some resemblance to A. emacerata of the
Niagara and Clinton groups of New York ; but its form is slightly
more oblique, and the wing is marked only by concentric striae,
■while in the New York species the radiating lines on this part
are stronger than the concentric ones.

154 Silurian Fossils of Nova Scotia.

25. MuRCHisoNiA Arisaigensis. N. sp.

Shell teretely conical, volutions about five, gradually increasing
from the apex, rounded with a slight angulation or carina in the
middle. The surface is unknown and the angular band on the
volution is the only means of determining its generic rela-
tions.

This differs from any of the described species of Murchisonia
from American localities.

26. Murchisonia aciCulata. N. sp.

Shell slender, very gradually tapering, volutions about six or
seven, the last ones moderately ventricose, aperture elongate-oval
or ovate, rounded at the anterior margin, columella plain ; volu-
tions marked by a distinct band along the centre, and a sub-sutu-
ral carina marking the upper side of the volutions; surface

striated.

Fig. 13. Fig. 15.

Fig. U.

ii

2?. HoLOPEA REVERSA. N. sp. Fig. 14.

Shell small, sinistral ; spire depressed, volutions about three ;
the two first small and gradually expanding, the last one rapidly
expanding and ventricose ; aperture wide expanded ; suture im-
pressed. Surface unknown.

This shell has the general form of Holopea, but I have seen
only a single specimen, which is a cast. It is remarkable and
readily recognised from the sinistral spire.

28. Orthoceras punctostriatum. N. sp. Fig. 15.

Shell slender, very gradually tapering, almost cylindrical;
Septa distant about one third the diameter. Siph uncle central;
section circular. Surface very finely striated with unequal undu-
lating strisG, the interstices between which, are punctse which are
oblong indentations often becoming confluent.

Silurian Fossils of Nova Scotia, 155

This species is remarkable for its extremely gently tapering
form ; the fragment of more than an inch long, showing scarcely
a perceptible diminution in diameter. There are twelve and a
half chambers in the space of one inch. The surface markings
are peculiar, and among the species of the genus known to us
constitute a distinctive character.*

Fig. 16.

29. CoRNULiTES rLEXUosus. var. gracilis.

This fossil resembles the one in the Clinton group of New
York, but is somewhat more slender, and the annulations a little
more closely arranged. The specimens from the rocks of New
York present some variation in form, and the comparative dis-
tance of the annulations. None of them, however, are so slender
as the Nova Scotia specimens.

30. HoMALONOTus Dawsoni. N. sp. Fig. 17.

Caudal shield somewhat parabolic, obtuse at the extremity, very
convex, width at the anterior side greater than the length of the

* The Arisaig beds afford at least three other species of Orthoceras.
Cne, the largest of the three, has a marginal inflated siphuncle, and the
septa about one-eighth of an inch apart, for a specimen two inches in
diameter. It tapers very gently, and in all the specimens found is ellipti-
cal in its cross section. It occurs in the upper series. A second, found in
the lower series, is marked with strong annulations placed closely to-
gether. A third, occurring in the upper series, and discovered since
the specimens were submitted to Professor Hall, is a very beautiful
species, apparently new, but closely resembling O. perelegans, Salter,
of the Lower Ludlow formation. It is cylindrical, but slightly flattened ;
septa very convex and one-twentieth of an inch apart in a specimen half
an inch in diameter ; siphuncle central. Surface with slight rounded
annulations from one-eighth to one-fourth of an inch apart, and covered
with delicate transverse stria, scarcely visible to the naked eye, and
about sixteen in a line. Under the microscope the striae appear as thin
sharp parallel curved ridges, the spaces between being finely granulated
and wider than the ridges. I would name this species 0. elegantulum. —
J. W. D.

156 Silurian Fossils of Nova Scotia.

axis. Axis wider than the lateral lobes, distinguishable (in casts)
from the lobes by a bending of the ribs and a scarcely perceptible
depression along that line ; annulations abruptly prominent ; seven
on the lateral lobes and nine on the axis, the anterior ones bend-
ing slightly backward at the line of division between the axis
and the lateral lobe ; each successive one bending more and more
abruptly till the last one approaches a rectangular turn ; the whole
curving gently forward at their extremities, and all terminating
abruptly before reaching the margin. Behind the seventh annula-
tion the axis is marked by two more annulations, leaving nearly
one-fourth of its length smooth.

This species is described from the casts and impressions of the
caudal shield, so that the crustaceous covering is unknown. It is
readily distinguished by the broad not prominent axis, the rect-
angular direction of the annulations on the axis, and their abrupt
bending at the lateral furrow. An impression of a few imperfect
annulations of the body shows that they are strongly elevated,
much more so than in any known American species.

31. Calymene Bltjmenbachii. var.

Caudal shield somewhat semicircular, axis very prominent,
marked by about seven annulations, lateral lobes marked by five
ribs the four anterior ones bifurcating. Surface granulose. The
specimens are not sufficient to make any satisfactory determina-
tions regarding specific difierences.

Fig. IT. Fig. 18.

32. Dalmania Logani. N. sp. Fig. 18.

The specimens are two or three imperfect cephalic shields, one
preserving the palpebral lobes, and others consisting principally of
the glabella, with two or three parts of caudal shields. There is
a fragment of a cheek which may be of this species. Cephalic
shield somewhat semicircular. Glabella ovate, wider in front and
truncate behind, depressed convex ; occipital ring narrow, pro-
minent ; occipital furrow bending a little forward in the middle
and curving gently backward in the middle of each side, and

Silurian Fossils of Nova Scotia. 157

again turning forward ; posterior furrows narrow and sliarply im-
pressed, each one extending about one third across the glabella
and curving forward at their outer extremities ; central furrow
linear, obscure, having a direction transverse to the axis ; anterior
furrow obscure oblique to the axis, linear, extending to the margin
of the glabella a little forward of the eye ; frontal lobe regularly
rounded anteriorly. A fragment of a cheek in the same associa-
tion is broad, produced posteriorly in a short strong spine, and
marked by a broad sub-marginal groove. Caudal shield somewhat
semi-elliptical, convex, acute behind, axis very prominent, rounded
and marked by about eight annulations, which are gently curved
backward at the extremities ; lateral lobes with six simple flat-
tened ribs which terminate in a thickened border, and separated
from the axis by a strongly defined furrow ; extremity abruptly
pointed.

The glabella of this species more nearly resembles Phacops in
the general form and faintly impressed furrows, of which the pos-
terior one is conspicuous. The form of the palpebral lobe, and
the absence of tubercles at the base of the glabella, together with
the form of the caudal shield, ally it with Dalmania, and it may be
compared with D. Phillipsi of Barrande, but has a more pointed
caudal shield, and the cheek, if correctly referred, is prolonged in
a posterior spine.*

33. Beyrichia pustulosa. N. sp. Fig. 19.

Yalves unequally semi-oval, a little more than once and a half
as long as wide ; surface marked by three prominent ridges ; cen-
tral, anterior, and posterior. The central one is' a single oblong
oval tubercle which is directly transverse to the dorsal margin and
a little nearer the anterior side. The anterior ridge consists of a
single highly elevated, rounded or papillose tubercle near the dor-
sal margin, and an elongated elliptical tubercle placed obliquely
near the antero-ventral margin, and in older specimens sometimes
swelling and spreading over the margin. The posterior ridge
rises near the dorsal margin, and making a slightly broader curve
than the posterior end of the valve approaches the ventral margin
at the centre : the ridge is high and angular with a small prominent

• Attached to a fragment of one of these trilobites is a small Spirorbis.
It is dextral, with two to three turns, and rounded concentric wrinkles
on the last whorl. — J. W. D.

158 Silurian Fossils of Nova Scotia.

tubercle at the dorsal extremity, and from four to six smaller
spine-like tubercles along its curve. The central ridge or tuber-
cle is separated from the lateral ridge by a distinct furrow, and
its continuation from the base of the tubercle passes between the
lower ends of the two lateral ridges. Ventral and lateral mar-
gins with a narrow thickened rim.

This species resembles very nearly the l^. tuherculata of Klo-
den, as described and figured by Mr. T. Rupert Jones. In our
specimens the dorsal angles are more rounded ; the posterior ridge
at its base is never extended beyond the middle of the valve, and
is marked on its crest by several small spine-like tubercles. The
anterior ridge is usually more extended along the ventral margin
in our specimens, aud the furrow is better defined, while the
tubercles are never flattened above or overhanging the base as
shown in the European specimens. Smaller specimens, which ap-
pear to be the young of this species, present some slight variations
of surface markings, but show less difiference than the young of
B. tuherculata.

Fig. 19. Fig. 20.

34. Beyrichia eqilatera. N. sp. Fig. 20.

Nearly equilateral, very convex, marked by three smooth or
nearly smooth ridges. The central ridge is an oblong tubercle
reaching from near the dorsal margin a little more than half way
to the ventral margin. The posterior ridge is a little larger, but
scarcely differing in form from the anterior one, its ventral ex-
tremity terminating beneath or a little in advance of the middle
of the central tubercle. The furrow is narrow but well defined
on the two sides of the central tubercle, and becoming shallow in
its passage to the marginal furrow ; ventral and lateral margins
thickened.

35. Leperdita sinuata. N. sp.

Minute sub-ovate, anterior end narrow, dorsal line one-third
shorter than the length of the valve ; an extremely minute tuber-
cle near the anterior end. Centre extremely convex or ventricose ;
ventral margin near the posterior end a little sinuous, or indented
from the inner-side. Surface smooth under an ordinary lens.

Silurian Fossils of Nova Scotia, 159

Two specimens only of this species have been observed, both of
them having the same dimensions.

36. Tentaculites distans. var.

The specimens under examination do not present any important
points of difference from those of the Clinton group in New York,
In the Nova Scotia specimens there are numerous annulations
near the apex, which are not observable in the New York speci-
mens.

37. Helopora feagilis, var. acadiensis.

The specimens under examination offer no very important dif-
ference from those in New York, and as the Nova Scotia examples
have been more or less compressed and worn, they are scarcely in
a satisfactory condition for nice discrimination.

All the above fossils belong to the Arisaig series of Mr. Daw-
son's paper. Nos. 4, 10, 30, 36 and 37 appear characteristic of
the dark and olive shales of the lower member, in which are also
StropTiomena profunda^ S. ruffosa, Orthis testudinaria, Atrypa
emacerata, Khynconella equiradiata, Graptolithus Clintonensis,
and crinoidal columns ; also a Modiolipsis allied to 31. subcari.
natus. The remaining species are in the coarse limestone and
reddish shale of the upper member, in which are also StropTio-
mena corrugata, Atrypa reticularis , Rhynconella neglecta^ Lin-
gula ohlongaj Bucania trilohita, and a Chmtetes or Steiwpora
similar to that of the Clinton formation. Cornulites flexuosus is
almost the only species which occurs equally in both groups of
beds. Some of the CUdophori are also found in both groups.

REVIEW.

Notes of a Clerical Furlough, chiefly spent in the Holy Land, with a
sketch of the voyage out in the Yacht "St. Ursula." By Robert
Buchanan, D.D. Third thousand. Glasgow, Blackie & Sons:
Montreal, B. Dawson & Son. pp. 437, with illustrative maps.

This book is written by one of the most esteemed and accom-
plished ministers of Glasgow, Scotland. It is the fruits of a
voyage in the private yacht of Mr. Tennant, a wealthy manufao-

160 Review,

turer of tliat city. The incidents of the voyage are most agree-
ably related. The party landed at Alexandria in Egypt, and
visited Cairo and the Pyramids, of which places the author gives
most graphic descriptions. Returning to Alexandria, they went
on to Jaffa — the ancient Joppa, the port of Palestine. From that
place they journeyed to Jerusalem, At every prominent place,
vivid and most interesting descriptive accounts are given of the
physical appearances of the country, together with interesting
notices of the historical events associated with the localites. In-
stead of entering Jerusalem by the Jaffa Gate, the travellers took
a detour to the Mount of Olives, which after much fatigue, they
reached at night-fall, and spent a cold and comfortless night in
an upper room in the Mohammedan Mosque. This, however, was
the finest point for viewing the city and its environs. In the
morning they descended the Mount, and wended their way along
the road which the Saviour frequently traversed on His journeys
to and from Jerusalem. The remarkable spots on this route, and
the language of Scripture which they illustrate, are carefully
noted. We have read nothing more artistic and eloquent than
the descriptive parts of this entrance into Jerusalem, Having
spent some time in the sacred city, and having visited the Dead
Sea and the River Jordan, our travellers extended their journey
northward through the classic ground of Samaria, on to the
sacred Sea of Galilee. Here, with loving reverence and deep
emotion, they linger among the scenes in which so many of the
Lord's wonderful miracles w^ere wrought. They went on to Lake
Merom and the sources of the Jordan ; and visiting Damascus,
they then crossed the range of Lebanon, and examining the ruins
of Baalbec, passed on to Tripoli, where they embarked again
for home. "While this book aims only at a familiar narrative of
•what was seen and experienced in Palestine, it yet exhibits an ex-
tensive and accurate erudition. If not so elaborate, it is as
accurate and critical as Stanley's. In his powers of impresssing
the prominent features of a scene, with its most interesting
accessories, vividly upon the mind of the reader, Dr. Buchanan
excels any of the late writers on the Holy Land. We know of
no more fascinating or delightful book of travels than this is, and
would specially recommend it as most suitable for the family
library.

A. F. K.

MONTHLY METEOEOLOGICAL REGISTER, ST. MARTINS, ISLE JESUS, CANADA EAST, (NINE MILES WEST OF MONTREAL,) FOR THE MONTH OF FEBRUARY, I860.

Latitude, 45 degrees 32 minutes North. Longitude, 73 degrees 36 minutes West. Height above the level of the Sea, 118 feet.

BY CHARLES SMALLWOOD, M.D., LL.D.

Barometer— corrected
and reduced to

(English iiichcfl.)

6 a. m. I 2 p. m. 10 p. m.'

30.143
130
470
141
014

29.380
600
860
667
604

30. 102
005

29.642

30. 017
252

29.424

894

801

874

076

f.76

1)G1

30.2+1

29. 979

30. 321

157

30. 205
280
300
197
003
29. 320
629
874
109
897
914
729
680
864
041
422
799
614
340
650
754
462
028
682
827
30. 164
29. 960
30.300
030

SO. 173

260

201

053

20.840

375

860

899

068

30. 131

29. 862

974

701

142

846

689

876

374

771

664

950

297

320

779

971

30. 090

29. 901

30. 260

29. 054

Temperature of the
Air.-F.

25.0

-11.6

1.0

1.0

—5.6

33.0

30.1

20.6

18.2

4.6

—13.3

—1.1

15.1

—1.1

—8.1

20.0

—13.0

-19.2

8.9

1.0

26.0

17.2

35.4

16.0

10.4

3.7

15 0

20.1

21.7

—5.2
12.1
16.8
17.9
28.7
40.9
33.2
26.8
38.9

1.0
—4.1
18.0
31.9
16.9

7.0
25.8
12.6

4.0
12.9
25.3
49.5
42 4
38.1
21.1
25.0
22.7
46.1
28.4
32 0

10 p. m.

-11.1

2.1

3.2

10.9

30.8

37.0

23.4

18.6

37.7

—5.0

—1.0

11.0

23.1

1.0

6.5

10.3

-7.2

3.1

6.4

28.3

31.0

39.9

34.2

15.1

13.2

19.0

39.0

21.1

31.6

Tension of Aqueous
Vapour.

.010
.116
.032
.041
.029
.168
.118
.091
.088
.038
.012
.023
.070
.028
.018
.091
.019
.008
.051
.030
.111
.076
.183
.059
.052
.030
.072
.091
.106

2 p. ui. LO p. m.

.026
.039
.053
.068
.129
.212
.170
.105
.195
.031
.035
.082
.148
.065
.036
.123
.039
.038
.054
.111
.272
.261
.223
.064
.094
.079

.015
.038
.0.12
.057
.161
.199
.100
.093
.209
.022
.036
.051
.106
. 0.33
.037
.051
.019
.036
.037
.135
.113
.231
.191
.061
.059
.087
.301
.111
.180

Humidit.v of the
Atmosphere.

6 a. m.

2 p. m.

.64

.70

.66

.67

.70

.68

.85

.67

.81

.80

.88

.83

.88

.87

.84

.75

.90

.80

.73

.71

.49

.66

.68

.83

.81

.80

.66

.62

.68

.66

.84

.88

.74

.51

.40

.73

.78

.71

.69

.81

.81

.78

.80

.96

.91

.95

.65

.66

.71

.63

.69

.65

.82

.84

.85

.82

.86

.88

.55
.73
.80
.79
.90
.90
.60
.60
.90
.63
.84
.70
.85
.70

.97
.73
.74

.84

Direction of "Wind.

6 a, m. 2 p. ni. 10 p. ra.

N. E. by E.
N. 13. b.v E.
N. E. bv E.
N. E. bv E.
S. E. by E.
S.byli.
W.

s.w.
s. w.

W. by N.
W. S W.

N. E. by E.
S. S. E.

w. s. \v.

N. N. E.
E. by S.
W.
S.W.

N. E. by E.
S.byE.
S. W. bv S.
N. E. by E.
S. S. W.

w. s. w.

S. V. by S.
W. by N.
N. E. by E.
N.E.
N. E. by B.

.s. s. w.

E. by E.
N. E. by E.
N. B. by E.
E. by S.
S. by B.
W. by S.
W. S. W.
S. W. bv S.
W. N. W.
W. S. W.
S.W.
S. by W.
W. S. W.
N.B.by E.
S, by E.
W.

N. E. by E.
W.

S. by E.
S. by W.
S.lyE.

s. s. w.
w. s. w.

S.W.
S.W.

S. E.
N.N. E.
N. E. by E.

N. E. byE.

N. B. by E.

S.E. bvE.

E. by S.

S.W.

S.W.

W. S. W.

S.W.

N. N. W.

N. E. by E.

S.W.

W. N. W.

W.

N. N. B.

W.

W.

N.E. byE.

W. by N.

S. W. by S.

S. 8. W.

S.E.

W. S. W.

W. S. W.

W.

S. S. B.

S. by W.

N. E. by E.

N. E. by E.

jSd

0.52

1.90

42.60

100. 10

136. 20

261.00

67.70

17,90

655. 10

117.70

146.90

6.90

106.70

151.40

223. 00

67.00

110. 60

639. 60

12:S. 20

103.10

69.80

111.60

397.40

91.80

87.00

26.10

201. 00

127.30

OZONE.

Mean
amount

of, in
inches.

0 5
0.5
1.5
2.5
2.6
6.3
4.0
3.0
2.0
2.0
2.0
3.3
4.0
3.3
3.3
6.0
(1.6
3.0
3.3
1.6
1.3
7.6
6.6
4.0
3.3
4.6
8.0
6.0
10.0

Amount
of, in
inches.

Inapp.

liiapp.

Inapp.

0.295
0.147

Inapp,

"o'.iii

Amount
of, in
inches.

WEATHEB, CLOUDS, EEUARKB, &C.&C.

[A cloudy sky is represented by 10, a cloudless one by 0.]

Inapp.
Inapp.

0.60

Inapp.
Inapp.

7.90

Clear.
Uazv.
Cu. Str.

loo

6.10
1.10

10.
10.

10.
10.

Clear.
Snow.
Clear.
Cu._Str.

Clear.

Snow.
Clear.

Snow.
Cu. Str.
Cir. Cum.
Cu. Str.
Clear.
Cu.Str.

Clear.
Cu. Str.

2 p. m.

10 p. m.

Clear.
Cirri
Cu. Str.
Clear.
Cu. Str.

Clear.

Cu. Str. 10.

Clear.

Cu. Str. 4,

SliRht snow

Clear.

C. C. Str. i.

Snow.

Clear.

Cu. Str. 10

Clear.
Cu. Str.
Cirr. Cum.
Clear.
CuStr.

Lunar Halo.

2.
4.
10.

10.
10.

10.
4.
10.

Clejir.
Clear.

Slight Rain.
Clear.
Snow.

Cu. Str. 10.
10.

Clear.
Clear.
Clear.
Clear.
Snow.
Clear.

Clear.
Bain.

Cirri 2

Clear.

Cu. Cu. 4.
Cu. Str. 10.
4.
Bain.

Zodiacal Light.
Imperfect Lunar Halo-

Aurora Borcalis.

Aurora Borealis.
Cu. Str. 10.
Clear. Splendid Aurora Borealis.
Cu. Str. 2. Aurora Borealis.
Cu. St. 10.
Clear.

Cu. Str.

10.

4.

10.

10.

REPORT FOR THE MONTH OF MARCH, 1800.

Barometer— corrected
and reduced to

sail F.
(English inches.)

6 a.m.

2 p.m.

29.715

29.583

125

610

30.102

431

29.300

434

768

500

856

722

8M

600

353

256

452

462

348

301

517

440

669

625

976

850

971

797

30.017

662

130

747

050

994

169

939

29. 920

492

351

012

479

627

327

318

541

321

126

080

211

231

679

632

767

617

361

350

601

400

671

183

162

28.714

29. 533
30.043
29. 087
7.59
612
901
420
620
479
451
601
870
914
790
911
942
949
932
479
309
621
500
329
210
600
829
610
471
514
161

Temperature of the
Air.- P.

32.1
32.3
21.3
31.0
11.1
8.3
19.1

16.0
20.0
18.9
11.4
13.4
24.4
29.0
31.1
30.1
30.0
39.0
BO.O
10.1
6.4
21.1
19.0
23.6
13.1
34.6
17.0
21.2
33.0

2 p.m.

35.0

41.3

32.4

34.0

26.8

27.0

38.2

42.8

32.1

28.4

33.0

26.9

35.9

41.0

49.6

57.9

64.1

62.0

60.0

39 0

24.0

20.9

31.0

62.0

34.0

36.2

40.0

36.1

33.7

52.6

61.1

34.8
32.2
39.2
31.1
10.9
20.9
34.4
36.7
21.6
21.1
38.3
37.0
22.7
31.0
36.1
46.0
39.4
37.6
49.0
37.0
17.0
17.3
23.6
26.1
31.6
26.3
33.0
26.9
27.6
40.0
45.0

Tension of Aqueous
Vapour.

6 a.m. 2 p.m. 10 p.m.

.168
.175
.090
.155
.007
.057
.077
.136
.123
.070
.090
.087
.056
.052
.105
.129
.155
.148
.148
.201
.106
.048
.049
.080
.081
.100
.060
.14«
.078
.100
.182

.201
.328
.156
.170
.123
.099
.201
.230
.143
.129
.113
.112
.170
.190
.290
.313
.362
.331
.317
.233
.094
.096
.141
.131
.155
.149
.182
.170
.162
.382
.383

.196
.165
.301
.080
.018
.085
.190
.181
.090
.080
.138
.129
.079
.112
.177
.311
.190
.178
. 223
.199
.068
.078
.100
.117
.119
.117
.156
.115
.123
.221
.251

Humidity of the
Atmosphere.

6 a.m. 3 p.m.

1.00
.87

.87
.69
.86
.85
.79
.82
.79
.76
.80
.71

.87

.95

.7S
.85
.75
.70
.79
.71
.73
.80
.M
.73
.71

Du-ection of Wind.

N. B. by E,

W. S. \1

N. E. by B.

8. by V>.

S. W. by S.

S.E.

N. N. E.

8. B. by E.

N. W.

E.

W.

N. B. by E.

S.W. bvS.

S. W. by W,

S. W. by S.

S. by W.

8. by E.

E.

E. by N.

S. S. E.

W. bv S.

W. by N.

S.W.

s. s. w.
w. s. w.
w.

S. W. by S.
S.

s. s. w.

KS.S

64.00

251. 30

118.80

147. 60

165.00

121.70

157.70

146.60

137.10

654.40

451.80

211.80

172.20

9.70

2.20

0.80

1.00

0.00

0.00

1.00

,133.90

306.30

65.90

220. 80

161.90

176. 10

90.80

194. 00

21.60

2.10

152. 00

Mean

amount

of.

10.0
7.0
13
1.3
3.0
3.0
3.0
l.t
1.0
1.0
1.0
0.6
0.5
10
1.5
1.5
1.3
3.3
3.0
4 3
2.0
2.3
1.0
2.3
3.3
3.8
1.0
1.0
1.3
4.0
2.0

Amount,
of, in
inches.

Inapp.

Amount
of, in
inches,

Inapp.

0.11
Inapp.

1.00

Inapp.

Inapp,

0.61
1.38

Inapp.
1.10

"WEATHER, CLOUDS, REMAEKS, &-C. &C.

[A cloudy sky is represented by 10, a cloudless one by 0.]

10.
10.

Cu.Str.

Clear.

Cu. Str.
Clear.
C. Str.
Clear.

Snow.

Clear.

Cu. Str. 10.

Clear.

Cu. Str.

Snow,
Clear.
Cu. Str.
Snow.
Cu. Str.
Clear.

Cu. Str.
Clear.
C. C. Str.

10.
10.

2. p. m.

10 p. ui.

Slight raic

Rain.

3u. Str.

C.

:lear.

"

9.

:u. Str. 10.

Snow.

Clear.

Cu. Str. 10.

31 ear.

Dlear.

Snow.

Rain.

3u. Str.

9.

Su. Cir. 4.

"

10.

CuStr. 10.

"

10.

Cu. Str. 10.

31ear.

Clear.

Cu. Str.

10.

Clear. Faint Aurora Borealis.

Clear.

Clear. Aurora Borealis.

Clear. Aurora Borealis.

Clear.

Clear. Aurora Borealis.

Clear. Aurora Bor. Solar Halo.

Clear. Aurora Borealis.

Clear. Axirora Boreahs.

Bain.

Cu. Str. 9.

Snow.

Cu. Str. 10.

Cu. Str.

10.

Cear.

Clear.

C ear. Aurora Borealis.

C. C. Str.

S

Cu. Str. 10.

Snow.

Cu. Str. 10.

Cu. Str.

4.

Cu. Str. 10.

Clear.

Clear.

Cu. Str.

4.

C. C. Str. 9.

10.

Clear.

Clear.

Clear.
Clear.

REMARKS FOR FEBRUARY, 1859,

("Higliest, the 3rd day, 30-470 inches.

Barometer \ iv"^"!?*,' Hi® 23r^ ^^' 29-028 "

-J Monthly Mean, 29.813

Rantre, 1.412

C Highest, the 21 st day. 49 ° 5.
1 Lowest, the l8t clay, —25= u
■ 1 Monthly Mean, 15 o 70.

Thermometer,,

LMontiiiy Eange, 74o b!
Greatest intensity of the Sun's rays, 68 ° 1.
Lowest point of Terrestrial radiation, —27 ° 4.
Mean of Humidity, .751,

Rain fell on 7 days, amountinR to 0.610 inches; it was raininK
S9 hours and 65 minutes. "*

Snow fell on 8 days, amounting to 15.60 inches ; it was snow-
ing 48 hours and 25 minutes.

Most prevalent mud. the N. E. by E.

Least prevalent wind, the S.

Most windy day, the 10th day ; mean miles per hour, 28.30,

Least windy day, the 2nd day ; mean miles per hour, 0.18.

Aurora Borealis visihle on 4 nights.

Lunar Haloes visible on 2 nights.

The Electrical state of the Atmosphere has indicated mode-
rate intensity.

Zodiacal Light visible. Venus prevents an early or well
denned view.

(Highest, the I8th day. 30.159 inches.

Barometer ■<5v'*"'^fV ^!?P ^^^^ **ay, 28.714 "

IMonlhly Mean, 29.662 "

( Monthly Kange, 1.445 "
f Highest, the 31st day, 61=*1.

Thermometer. -^fefV ^fe ^***o^.*^V^,°3-
J Monthly Mean, 30° 53.

I Monthly Range, 52 o 8.
Greatest intensity of the Sun's rays, 83 °0.
Lowest point of terrestrial radiation, 8*0.
Mean of humidity, -813.

Rain fell on 3 days, amounting to 0.378 inches ; it \vzs raining
23 hours 10 mmutes.

REMARKS FOR MARCH, 1860.

Snow fell on 10 days, amounting to 4.10 inches ; it was snow-
ing 43 hours 1 minute.
Most prevalent wind, the \V.
Least prevalent wind, the E.

Most windr day, the lOth day ; mean miles per hour, 27.26.
Least windy day, the 10th day ; calm.

Crows first seen on the 1st day.
Song Sparrow {Frangilla melodia) first heard on 10th day.
Distant Lightning on the 5th day.
"Wild Geese {Anser Canadensis) first seen on 27th day.
Aurora Borealis visible on 8 nights.
Solar Halo visible on 1 day.

Tho Electrical stato of the atmosphere has indicated rather
feeble intensity.

THE

CANADIAN

MTUEALIST AND GEOLOGIST.

Vol. YI. JUNE, 1860. No. 3.

ARTICLE. XllL—JSrew Species of Fossils from the Lower Si-
lurian Rocks of Canada. By E. Billings.

(From the Re-port of the Geological Survey for 1860.)

Straparollus Circe. N. s.

Fig. 1. Fig. 2. Fig. 3.

Fig. 1. — Straparollus Circe. Front view.
2. — Vertical view of the spire.
3. — View of the umbilicus.

Description. — Depressed conical, heiglit a little more than half
the width, apical angle about 125*^; apex rounded, not acute;
whorls four or five, with a nearly circular section ; umbilicus
deep, conical, extending quite to the apex, about one third the
width of the shell. Aperture nearly circular, the height slightly
exceeding the width, scarcely indented by the preceding whorl
Surface nearly smooth. Suture distinct.
Can. Nat. 1 Vol. VI.

162 Silurian Fossils of Canada.

Width of the only specimen examined eight lines ; height fire
lines ; width of aperture three lines.

This species closely resembles the original Straparollus
Dionysii upon which Montfort established the genus. It also
approaches Euomphalus cT/clostomus, (Hall). Geology of Iowa PL
VI. fig., 6 (Hamilton Group Iowa).

Locality and Formation. — Pauquettes Rapids, Ottawa River,
Black River, and Birdseye. (very rare).

Collector. — Sir W. E. Logan.

Straparollus Eurydice. N. s.

"\ ;^;lV^^, |ft||;f

Fig. 4. Fig. 5.

Fig. 4. — Straparollus Eurydice. Front view.
5. — Side view.

Description. — Conical, apical angle about 60°, rounded not
acute ; height and width about equal ; whorls five, with a nearly
circular section, uniformly ventricose ; suture distinct ; umbilicus
small, deep, one sixth the width of the base of the shell ; the body
whorl obtusely carinated close to the edge of the umbilicus ; the
aperture nearly circular, its height slightly exceeding the width.
Surface with obscure lines of growth, which cross the whorl a
little obliquely from the suture downwards and backwards ; a few
wide shallow undulations parallel with the lines of growth.

Height seven lines ; width the same ; width of aperture three
lines, height three and a half.

Locality and Formation. — Pauquettes Rapids, River Ottawa,
Black River, and Birdseye.

Collector. — Sir W. E. Logan.

Straparollus asperostriatus. N. s.

Description. — Shell small, depressed-conical ; apical angle be-
tween 80° and 90° ; whorls about three with a nearly circular
section, regularly ventricose above ; obscurely carinated along the
middle on the underside, suture distinct, umbilicus about one
fourth the width of the shell, penetrating to the apex ; aperture
circular. Surface with strong sharply elevated lines of growth,

Silurian Fossils of Canada. 163

wliich on crossing the wliorl are deflected gently backwards until
on approaching the base of the body whorl, they turn a little for-
ward and pass vertically into the umbilicus. There are six strias
in the width of one line. Width of only specimen seen five lines,
height four lines ; width of aperture two and a half lines.

This species differs from S. Circe in being much smaller, and in
having the surface so strongly striated as to present a pecu-
liarly rough file-like appearance ; only one specimen has been col-
lected, but as it exhibits the aspect of a mature shell, I am in-
clined to think the species is small.

Locality and Formation. — Pauquettes Rapids, Ottawa River,
Black River, and Birdseye, (apparently rare).

Collector. — Sir W. E. Logan.

The following species of Pleurotomaria have been usually
referred to P. lenficularis, (Sowerby) but they all appear to be
distinct from that species.

Pleurotomaria Progne. N. s.

Fig. 6.
Fig. 6. — Pleurotomaria Progne.

Decription. — Lenticular ; about one inch and a half in width ;
spire depressed conical, apical angle about 140°, seldom more but
often a little less ; surface of spire presenting an uniform nearly
flat, smooth slope from the apex to the margin, the sutures in
perfect specimens being scarcely distinguishable although in casts
of the interior they are somewhat strong and deep. The margin
is narrowly rounded and does not exhibit the acute edge possessed
by such species as P. qualteriatus. On the under side the whorls
are uniformly depressed convex and the base, or all that portion
of the shell which lies below the margin, is usually nearly double
the bulk of the spire. When perfect the umbilicus is completely
closed, but in the casts of the interior, there is a small perforation.
The aperture is transversely sub-oval, scarcely sub-rhomboidal

164 Silurian Fossils of Canada.

and in perfect specimens the width must be nearly twice the
height. There are about four whorls. The surface appears to be
nearly smooth, but as the only specimens with the shell preserved,
that I have seen are silicified, they do not exhibit it perfectly.

This species differs from all those described by Hall in the
Palseontology of New York in having the umbilicus closed and
from the P. lenticularis and P. qualteriatus of the European
authors, not only in the same respect, but also in having the mar-
gin rounded instead of acute.

Locality and Formation. — City of Ottawa; near Montreal;
Belleville ; Trenton, and numerous other localities in Trenton
Limestone ; good specimens extremely rare.

Collectors.— ^iv W. E. L. ; A.M. ; J. R. ; E. B.

Pleurotomaria Americana.

P. lenticularis ?— Hall, Pal. N. Y., p. 172.
Not P. lenticularis. — Of European Authors.

Fig. 7.

Fig. Y. — Phurotoraaria Americana. A section through the umbilicus.
General form same as P. Progne, (see fig. 6) from which
species it only differs in having an open umbilicus.

Description. — Lenticular, one or two inches wide ; whorls four
or five, nearly fiat above, elevated into a depressed conical spire
with a nearly smooth continuous slope from the apex to the mar-
gin ; the latter obtusely rounded. On the under side the whorls
are moderately convex, forming a depressed conical base, the bulk
of which is always somewhat greater than that of the spire. The
umbilicus penetrates to the apex, and is in general somewhat less
than one third of the whole width of the shell. The aperture is
transversely sub-rhomboidal, the width about one third greater
than the height.

The surface is rarely preserved, but from such fragments of the
shell as I have seen it must be nearly smooth or at least very
finely striated.

Silurian Fossils of Canada, 165

This is the most common species of Pleurotomaria in the
Trenton Limestone, and is I have no doubt the same as that
figured by Prof. Hall in the work above cited, but surely it can-
not be the European species P. lenticularis to which it has been
referred. That species has a sharp edged margin. There are several
European species under the name P. lenticularis^ but it is the
Silurian form to which I refer.

P. rotuloides. — (Hall) has not the smooth spire, and concealed
suture of P. Americana^ and there is no other in the Palaeonto-
logy of New York, to which this species can be compared. It
may be that P. Progne and P. Americana should be classified as
one species, but at present I think the great difference in the um-
bilicus is sufficient to separate them.

Locality and Formation. — Trenton Limestone at Ottawa,
Montreal, Beauport, Trenton, Belleville, and St. Joseph's Island,
Lake Huron. Good specimens exceedingly rare.

Collectors,— ^ir W. E. L.; A.M.; J. R.; E. B.; R. B.

Pleurotomaria Helena. N. s.

Fig. 8.
Fig. 8. — Pleurotomaria Helena.

Description. — Sub-lenticular, with an elevated narrowly round-
ed margin ; spire depressed conical ; apical angle varying from 110°
to 125°, apex rounded not acute ; whorls about four, the last one
rather strongly concave on the upper side, the others only slightly
so. On the underside of the shell the whorls are moderately con-
vex, and the umbilicus closed. The aperture is a little wider than
high, the upper part of the inner lip slightly indented by the
body whorl, the lower half somewhat vertical, but rounded, the
lower part of the outer lip from the umbilicus to the margin of
the whorl gently convex, the portion above the margin concave.
In most specimens the suture is enamelled, the shell appearing to
be continuous from the apex to the margin, but in some, especially

166 Silurian Fossils of Canada

those which are a little worn, it can be more rr less distinctly-
seen ; the last whorl usually drops a little below the margin of the
next preceding, but even in such instances the suture is not very
distinct. In the specimens from shaly rocks no surface markings
are visible, but in those from the sandstone of Anticosti, the
striae are distinctly visible curving backwards from the suture to
the margin. They are very fine in general, but there are occasion-
ally a few coarse ones at distances of half a line or thereabouts
from each other. Width from ten to fifteen lines ; height a little
variable; usually about three fourths of the width.

This species is evidently allied to P. calcifera, but differs there-
from in having no umbilicus.

Variety. — Associated with the specimens upon which the above
description is founded are several others which have the last whorl
on the underside obtusely angulated at about two thirds the width
from the outside, this angulation forming the edge of a shallow
concave umbilicus, about one third of the whole width of the shell
but which does not appear to penetrate the spire more than half
the depth of the last whorl.

One of these specimens is nearly two inches wide, with the
strongly elevated margin forming a spiral ridge quite to the apex,
this character giving to the spire a more distinctly turretted aspect
than is exhibited by the specimen above figured. It may be that
these should constitute distinct species, but the fact of their hav-
ing been found associated together both at Lake Huron and Anti-
costi induces me to regard them as only varieties.

Locality and Formation. — Cape Smith, Lake Huron ; Hudson
Eiver Group ; and also in the same formation at Anticosti.

Collectors. — J. Richardson and R. Bell.

Ophileta Ottawaensis. N, s.

Description. — About one inch wide ; whorls four or five ; an
elevated sharp margin all round ; spire concave more or less de-
pressed below the plane of the margin ; underside of whorls regu-
larly ventricose; umbilicus wide, shallow, concave, exposing all
the whorls, occupying all the space within the outer whorl. Sur-
face not observed.

Width of largest specimen seen fourteen lines ; width of last
whorl at the aperture five lines ; depth of same four lines ; depth
of concavity of spire in the centre nearly one line ; of umbilicus
rather more than one line. The depth of the concavity of the

Silurian Fossils of Canada, 167

spire varies greatly. A small specimen eiglit lines wide consisting
of three wliorls lias the spire full two lines depressed below the
margin the lower side being nearly flat.

Fig. 9. Fig. 10.

Fig 9. — Ophileta Ottawaensis. Front view partly shewing the depres-
sed spire.
10. — View of the base. The specimen figured has the whorl more
slender than they are in the majority of the individuals.

In the geology of Kussia plate 23 Figs. 2a 2h De Verneuil and
De Keyserling have figured a species almost identical with this,
but they regard it as only a variety of Fleurotomaria qualteriatus.
It appears to me however to be a distinct species. We have in
the Trenton Limestone a number of species oi Pleurotomaria and
in some localities the individuals (although rarely perfect) are not
uncommon. Yet I have never seen any specimens that could be
considered as intermediate forms between the one here described
and those which belong to the group of P. qualteriatus.

This species differs from 0. compacta Salter principally in having
the umbilicus concave instead of flat.

Locality and Formation. — City of Ottawa, Trenton; not com-
mon.

Collector. — E. B.

Bellerophon Argo. (N. s.)
Description. — Lenticular ; from half an inch to an inch and a-half
in diameter, (usually about one inch) ; the dorsum with a rounded
edge and the sides rather strongly and uniformly convex. Whorls
three or four, each concealing about two-thirds of the one next
preceding it. Umbilicus small, exposing all the whorls in a series
of rectangular steps. Aperture not expanded, triangular, indented
on the ventral side to about one-third its height by the dorsum of
the penultimate whorl, the two sides gently convex uniting at
the dorsal angle at about 80^ or 90^. Surface apparently not
striated but often exhibiting some rough transverse undulations.

168

Silurian Fossils of Canada*

Diameter of a specimen of the ordinary size fifteen lines ; thick-
ness in the centre seven lines ; width of that portion of the umbi-
licus which is formed of the last whorl three lines ; of the portion
included in the penultimate whorl one line and one fourth ; width
of aperture at the base eight lines ; height about the same. A
small specimen nine lines in diameter is four lines and a-half in
thickness at the centre ; umbilicus two lines wide ; aperture five
lines wide at base and the same in height.

Locality and Formation. — This species occurs at Pauquettes
Rapids in the Black River and Birdseye Limestone and also at
Lake St. John at the same level.

Collectors. — Sir W. E. Logan. T. Richardson.

Bellerophon disculus. N. s.

Fig. 11. Fig. 12. Fig. 13.

Fig. 11. — Bellerophon disculus. Front view.
12. — Bellerophon Argo. Front view.
13. — Side view of the latter.

Description. — Lenticular ; compressed ; greatest thickness at the
umbilicus about one fourth the diameter ; the dorsum acutely ?
angular ; the sides gently convex next to the umbilicus, becoming
somewhat flat or very slightly concave towards the circumference.
Whorls two or three each concealing rather more than half
of the one next preceding it. Umbilicus small exposing all the
whorls in a series of rectangular steps. Aperture triangular, not
expanded, indented on the ventral side to about one third its height
by the preceding whorl ; the two sides gently convex uniting at
the dorsal angle at an angle of about 50°. Surface apparently
nearly smooth.

Diameter of the only specimen examined one inch ; thickness at
the umbilicus three lines ; width of umbilicus four lines.

S'lhirian Fossils of Canada.

169

This species agrees exactly with B. Argo in all respects ex-
cept in being only one half the thickness and in having the umbi-
licus a little larger. It is also closely allied to B. acutus Sowerby
but that species is, according to Sowerby and McCoy only six or
seven lines in diameter and nearly half as much in thickness.

Locality and Formation. — Blue Point Lake St. John's. Black
River and Birdseye Limestone.

Collector. — J. Bichardson.

Bellerophon Charon. N. s.

Fig. 14.

Fisr. 15.

Fig. 14. — Bellerophon Charon, Side view.
15. — Front view.

Description. — Sub-globular with a widely expanded aperture;
diameter about an inch. Whorls about three each concealing
half of the one next preceding it. Dorsum broadly rounded ; a
scarcely perceptible angulation along the median line, on each side
of which, especially towards the aperture the shell is in some speci-
mens very slightly flattened. The umbilicus is deep, penetrating
to the centre, exposing all the whorls, the inner ones only obscurely
seen, owing to their being imbedded in those preceding them. The
sides encircling the umbilicus narrowly rounded, not angular. The
aperture is very much expanded transversely, widely auriculated
on each side, the width being about three times the height ; the
ventral side indented by half the thickness of the preceding whorl
and the dorsal border apparently with a wide though not very deep
emargination. The surface apparently nearly smooth or only
very finely striated.

Diameter of a nearly perfect specimen, measured from the mid-
dle of the dorsal lip through the aperture to the opposite side, one
inch ; width of aperture at base sixteen lines ; height of aperture,
five lines ; width of last whorl at the entrance of the aperture, five
lines ; diameter of umbilicus, three lines. A cross section of the

170 Silurian Fossils of Canada*

wliorl would be elongate sub-oval (or owing to the indentation
caused by tlie preceding wliorl, reniform) in the proportion of
about two and a half to five.

Allied to B. rotundatiis, (Hall) but that species according to the
figures has the umbilicus full half the whole diameter, and the
whorl angulated at the sides. In this species the umbilicus is
about one fourth the whole diameter, and the whorls rounded at
the sides. The aperture also in B. Charon must be proportionally
much wider.

There appears to be some variation in the proportions of dif-
ferent individuals of this species, but as most of the specimens are
mere fragments, the amount cannot be determined at present.

Locality and Formation. — Pauquettes Rapids, Black River,
and Birdseye Limestone.

Collector, — Sir W. E. Logan.

Genus Piloceras (Salter.)
PiLOCERAS (Salter) Quart. Jour. Geo. Soc. vol. 15, p. 376. 1859.

This genus consists of short, thick, curved Orthoceratites, with
a very large siphuncle, the smaller extremity of which is, for a
short distance, filled with a solid secretion so organised as to exhi-
bit the appearance of several hollow cones inserted one within
another.

The specimens upon which Mr. Salter founded the genus were
imperfect and did not exhibit the true septa, but there are now
in the collection of the Greological Survey of Canada two frag-
ments of difibrent individuals of a species of this genus, with
several of the septa well preserved, so that there can be no doubt
of their existence. The discovery of these fossils, and also of
Maclurea Atlantica in Canada, furnish an interesting additional
proof of the value of organic remains in establishing the equiva-
lency of widely separated deposits of rock. When Sir R. I. Mur-
chison, in 1857, announced that certain beds of limestone in
Scotland were of the age of the Calciferous Sandrock and Chazy
formations of Canada and New York, the only evidence consisted
of a few imperfect fossils, among which were an Ophileta, consi-
dered by Mr. Salter to be either identical with or closely allied to
the Canadian 0. compacta, together with a Maclurea of a new
species and several Orthocerites, resembling in aspect those asso-

Silurian Fossils of Canada*

171

ciated with the genera Opliihta and Maclurea in this country.
Their Maclurea PeacJiii has a long spiral operculum, very unlike
anything then known on this side of the Atlantic, and it was not
suspected that the genus Plloceras would ever be found here at all.
But we have now not only a species of Piloceras (from the Cal-
ciferous Sandrock) but also Maclurea Atlantica (from the
Chazy) which latter species has an operculum almost identical
with that of 0. PeachiL When it is considered that evidence of
this kind as it accumulates increases in its demonstrative power in
a much higher ratio than do the mere number of the species (or
the facts which constitute the data) the correctness of the view
that the Scottish and Canadian rocks above referred to are of the
same age, cannot fail to be perceived.

Piloceras Canadense. N. s.

Fig. 16.

Fig. 16. — Side view of the solid portion of the siphuncle shewing distance
of tlie septa.

Description. — Of this species we have, besides several detached
siphuncles, two fragments, each exhibiting some of the septa. The
form, as nearly as it can be determined is that of a short thick
curved Orthoceratite. The length of the largest specimen
appears to have been about ten inches, and the diameter at the
aperture four or five inches. The transverse section is oval, the
narrowest side being that of the concave curvature. The siphun-
cle of one specimen is, at two inches and three-fourths from the
apex, seventeen Hues in diameter in the dorso-ventral direction,
and fourteen lines in the transverse direction. On the surface of
this specimen there are, on an average, six septal rings in the
length of one inch. Judging from the appearance of another spe-

172 Silurian Fossils of Canada.

cimen, the position of this siphuncle would be close to the ventral
side of the shell. Another siphuncle about the same size shows
seven septal rings to the inch. In a third, consisting of a portion
of the larger extremity of an individual which, when perfect, must
have been at least nine inches in length, there are six septa partly
preserved apparently those next the aperture. They are dis-
tant from each other about five lines, the whole being com-
prised within a length of thirty lines. The shell where these
septa are situated is at least four inches in diameter in the
transverse direction, and the siphuncle about two inches. The
edges of the septa, in crossing the ventral or concave side, make
at the surface a short curve towards the apex, but on the siphun-
cle the septal ridges cross from the dorsal to the ventral side ob-
liquely, so that on the ventral side they are somewhat nearer the
aperture than they are on the dorsal side.

The above are all the details of this species of any importance
furnished by our specimens. On comparison with Salter's P. in-
vaginatum, it will be seen that the septal rings do not cross the
siphuncle in the same direction as they do in ours, and further,
that that species is more broadly curved.

Locality and Formation. — Mingan Islands, Calciferous Sand-
rock.

Collectors. — Sir W. E. Logan. J. Richardson.

Cyrtoceras exiguum. N. s.

Fig IT. Fig. 18.

Fig. It. — Cyrtoceras exiguum. Outline of a specimen. The dotted
lines represents the supposed outline of the smaller extre-
mity.
18. — A specimen shewing the depth of the chamber of habitation
and five of the air chambers.

Description. — Small, slender, slightly curved ; section circular.
One of the specimens examined is three lines in diameter at the
aperture and apparently a little less at one line and a half above.
The shell then expands to a diameter of four lines at the distance
of five lines from the aperture. It then tapers to two lines at a

Silurian Fossils of Canada,

173

length of thirteen lines ; thence to the apex unknown, but proba-
bly terminated at a length of eighteen or twenty lines. One side of
the fragment is nearly straight. No septa or siphuncle observed
in this specimen, but the form alone is sufficient to distinguish
the species from any other known in the Lower Silurian of this
country. Associated with the one above described was found an-
other fragment ten lines and a half in length. Width at aperture
three lines ; diameter at five lines from aperture four lines ; length
of chamber of habitation five lines and a half Next to the cham-
ber of habitation five of the septa are preserved and they occupy
a length of exactly five lines ; the siphuncle not visible.

Locality and Formation. — Near L'Orignal, Trenton limestone.

Collector. — R. Bell.

Pragmoceras pr^maturum. N. s.

Pig. 19.

Ficr. 20.

Fig. 19. — Phragmoceras prcBmaturum. Aperture of a specimen.
20.*-Side view of a different individual.

Description. — Ventral aspect with the convex curvature ; dor-
sal aspect concave ; section oval narrowly rounded on the ventral
aspect; depressed convex on the sides and broadly rounded on the
dorsum. In the first inch and a half of the length the ventral
side forms a curve of which the radius is about one inch ; the re-
mainder of the curve to the apex unknown. The aperture is
broadly rounded on the dorsal side; at about one third the dor-<
so-ventral diameter it begins to contract ; at two thirds its diame-
ter its transverse width is about half its greatest width ; thence to
the ventral margin the sides are sub-parallel, gradually approach-
ing each other ; the ventral margin narrowly rounded. On a side
view the dorsal two thirds of the aperture is obliquely truncatedi

174 Silurian Fossils of Canada,

towards tlie apex wliile the ventral tliird slopes so as to form an
obtusely rounded right angle with the dorsal two thirds. The
aperture is thus obscurely trilobed, the ventral lobe being the smal-
lest and forming a deep narrow sinus in the ventral margin. At
the aperture the greatest transverse width is six lines in the spe-
cimen on which the species is founded ; the dorso-ventral diameter
eight lines. At seven lines (from the most prominent point of
the aperture on the side) we find the greatest transverse diameter
which is here seven lines and a half and the dorso-ventral diame-
ter nine lines. At the length of one inch and a fourth the
dorso-ventral diameter is reduced to between five and six lines.
The remainder of the specimen is not preserved. The depth of
the chamber of habitation is ten lines. The first five septa occupy
six lines of the ventral margin, but at the middle of the lateral
aspect four lines and a half, Siphuncle about one line in diame-
ter and apparently in contact with the shell along the median line
of the ventral side. The surface of the shell is covered with fine
stride or rather small smooth continuous wrinkles which encircle
the tube following the curves of the aperture. These wrinkles
vary in size, but in general there are five or six in the width of
one line.

The majority of the species of this genus have the siphuncle on
the inside or close to the shell on the side of the concave curva-
ture. M. Barrande, however, has one species P. perversum in
which it lies close to the outer curve,* The aperture is not so
strongly trilobed as it is in Upper Silurian and Devonian species.

I believe this is the only Phragmoceras known in the Lower
Silurian Rocks.

Locality and Formation, — The specimen figured was found on
Le Cloche Island, Lake Huron, in the Black Eiver Limestone.
Two other fragments have been collected, one at La Petite Chau-
diere Bapids and the other at Pauquettes Bapids, Ottawa Biver,
in the same formation

Collectors. — Sir "VV. E. Logan, B. Bell, E, Billings.

Orthoceras tener. N. s.

Descrij^fion. — Small, section sub-oval ; broadly rounded on the
•dorsal and very gently convex on the ventral aspect ; sides nar-

* See translation of Barrande's note on the Silurian Cephalopoda of
Bohemia, Jour. Geo. Soc. Vol. X. Translations p. 21.

Silurian Fossils of Canada, 176

rowly rounded. Siplmncle very small, close to the ventral margin
sliglitly dilated between the septa ; of these latter there are six in
three lines where the transverse diameter of the shell is five lines.

The dimensions of the best preserved specimen that I have seen
are as follows. Length of specimen twenty-two lines ; transverse
diameter of aperture seven lines ; dorso-ventral diameter of aper-
ture five lines ; depth of chamber of habitation, twelve lines ;
transverse diameter at smaller extremity of specimen four lines
nearly ; dorso-ventral diameter three lines nearly. In the length
of twenty-two lines measuring from the aperture this specimen
tapers three lines in the tranverse diameter and one line in the
dorso-ventral diameters. The width of the siphuncle between the
septa is about three-fourths of a line ; its passage through the
septa is a small circular aperture scarcely one third of a line in
diameter. At the smaller end of this specimen the greatest trans-
verse width is about one fourth the dorso-ventral diameter from
the ventral margin. The aperture is more nearly a regular oval.
The siphuncle is in the middle of the ventral aspect. The shell
is gently curved towards the dorsal side.

This species is related to both 0. xijjMas and 0. Jiastatum,
(Report for 1856, p. 318 and 333) but the proportions are very
difierent. In 0. xipkias the two diameters of the aperture are
to each other as 7 to 3, but in 0. tener they are as 7 to 5. 0.
hastatum tapers at the rate of about 4 lines to the inch, while in
0. tener the rate is scarcely two lines.

Locality and Formation. — Black River limestone. Pauquettes
Rapids.

Collectors. — Sir W. E. Logan, E. Billings.

Orthoceras pertinax. N. s.

Description. — The specimen on which this species is founded
is two inches and five lines in length ; nine lines in diameter at
the larger and seven lines at the smaller extremity ; section cir-
cular ; septa distant three lines at the large end and two lines and
a-half at the small end. The siphuncle is moniliform its centre
distant two lines from the marsrin where the diameter is seven
lines ; the expansions are sub-globular and about two lines or a
little more in their greatest diameter. The septa have a convex-
ity equal to about half their distance from each other and they
cross the tube obliquely so that their edges at the surface on the

176 Silurian Fossils of Canada.

dorsal side are full half the distance between them nearer the
aperture than they are on the ventral side.

The probable length of this Orthoceras judging from seve-
ral imperfect specimens which I believe to belong to the species is
from one foot and a half to two feet.

The surface exhibits some indistinct flat longitudinal ridges,
each about one third of a line wide and half a line distant from
each other.

Locality and Formation. — Pauquettes Kapids, Ottawa River,
Black River limestone.

Collector. — Sir W. E. Logan.

Orthoceras rapax. N. s.

Description. — Large, section circular, septa distant a little less
than one fourth of an inch where the diameter is between five and
six inches. Siphuncle large, marginal very nearly in contact with
the shell on the ventral side. The rate of tapering appears to be
about one inch and a half to the foot. The depth of the chamber
of habitation is about one half greater than the width of the aper-
ture.

Of this species we have portions of two individuals. One is a
fragment of the oral extremity entirely deprived of the shell, and
exhibiting a good cast of the interior of the chamber of habitation.
The following are the dimensions. Length fourteen inches;
diameter at aperture six and a half inches ; at fourteen inches from
aperture, four and three fourths inches ; diameter of siphuncle one
inch and three fourths at the broken or smaller end of the speci-
men ; the first twenty one septa occupy a length of four inches
and seven eighths.

The second specimen is fifteen inches and a half in length,
and tapers from six inches to four as nearly as can be determined.
In the first five inches of the smaller extremity there are twenty
septa ; in the next inch five ; in the next inch and a half twelve,
and in the remainder from four to seven in the inch.

The distance of the septa is thus variable in the same specimen,
but judging from the general appearance of the two examined, my
present impression is that the average distance must be from two
and a half lines to three lines, or a little less than one fourth of an
inch at a diameter of from four to six inches. The proportional
distance of the septa to the diameter of the shell therefore
would be about as twenty to one.

Notices of the Life of Professor Wilson, 177

This species clearly belongs to the same group with those which
Professor Hall has figured under the name of Endoceras protei-
forme, in the 1st Vol. of the Palaeontology of New York. But on
measuring the figures in that work it will be seen that the pro-
portional distance of the septa to the diameter of the shell in that
species is between four and eight to one or six to one on an ave-
rage while in this species it is twenty to one.

Locality and Formation. — The specimens were procured at
Kingston in the Black Biver Limestone.

Collector. — The specimens were collected by Col. Gordon, B.A.
and by him presented to the Geological Survey.

ARTICLE XIV. — Notices of the Life of the late Professor George
Wilson of Edinburgh.

The University of Edinburgh has lately sufifered severely by the
death of several of its most distinguished teachers. The depart-
ment of science has been specially unfortunate. Since the death
of the venerable Jamieson, Professor Forbes, whose fine genius and
extensive erudition gave promise of an illustrious life, has been
laid in the sepulchre of his fathers ; and ere yet his country, and
we may say the world of science, had ceased to mourn for this
most gifted of her children, another equally honorable and beloved
has been laid in the dust. The name of Professor George Wilson,
whose recent appointment as Regius Director of the Industrial
Museum of Scotland and to the professorship of Technology in
the University of Edinburgh was hailed with so much satisfaction
by all who had any acquaintance either with his personal char-
acter or numerous contributions to literature and science, will we
are sure be held in lasting and affectionate remembrance.

The most complete notice of his life and works which we have
yet seen is that contained in the February number of the North
British Review. The article is preceded by a list of no less than
sixty eight of his writings. They comprise original papers on
chemistry, biographical sketches of men eminent in science, seve-
ral contributions to popular and scientific literature with four
poems published in Blackwood's Magazine. The ability, research,

Can. Nat. 2 Vol. V.

178 Notices of the Life of Professor Wilson,

and true genius which all those writings display, will ever give
the name of George Wilson a high place among the illustrious
dead We are sure it will be grateful to those of our readers
who may not have access to other sources of information to be
ut in possession of the following particulars of his history.

Dr. Wilson was born in Edinburgh, on 21st February 1818;
and was thus, at his death, in the forty-first year of his age.
" His parents were highly respectal>le, though not in such an
elevated station as to diminish the credit due to his own exertions
in attaining the position which he ultimately reached ; but it
deserves to be noticed, that he may be included in the number of
distinguished men who have been in a great degree indebted for
the development of their talents to the maternal character and
influence."

His father, Mr. Archibald Wilson, was a wine merchant in
Edinburgh, and died about sixteen years ago. His mother, Janet
Aitken, who is still living, was the youngest daughter of a land-
surveyor in Greenock. She was a lady of great intelligence and
piety, and she devoted much attention to the education of her
children. There were eleven of the family; but of these only
three now remain, — a son, Dr. Daniel Wilson, the well-known
author of "The Prehistoric Annals of Scotland," at present Pro-
fessor of English Literature and History in the University of
Toronto, — and two daughters. From his childhood, George was
distinguished by many noble qualities — great truthfulness, self-
sacrifice, delicate sense of honour, and generous feelings.
Studious, and with a marked love for books, he gave early promise
of great mental ability.

In 1822 he commenced his studies in a private school, and in
1828 he entered as a pupil of the High School, under Mr. Ben-
jamin Mackay, an able classical teacher. He was always among
the first five in the class, and was remarkable for his general
hnowledge — a quality which was exhibited during life, and which
seemed afterwards to fit him specially for the situation he occu-
pied in the University. So warm were his aff"ections, and such
his power of attracting others, that from his boyhood onwards no
one was more generally beloved. While at school, in 1828-29,
he and his brothers formed among their companions a " Juvenile
Society for the Advancement of Knowledge." They met once a
week in his father's house, when papers were read on natural

Notices of the Life of Professor Wilson, 179

history, meclianics, astronomy, etc. Minutes of their proceedings
were kept by his brother Daniel. His mother presided over th^
youthful assembly, and usually wound up the evening by giving a
verse from Proverbs.

Wilson remained at the High School until he was fifteen. On
leaving it he selected Medicine as his object of study, and com-
menced by becoming an apprentice in the laboratory of the Royal
Infirmary, where he remained for four years. The suffering and
distress which he witnessed during this period, made an indelible
impression on his very sensitive nature, and had a saddening effect
on his mind. Many are the stories which might be told illustra-
tive of his sympathy with the patients, and his eager desire to-
relieve them.

He entered the University of Edinburgh in 1834, passed as
surgeon in 1838, took his degree of Doctor of Medicine in 1839,
and wrote a thesis " On the Certain Existence of Haloid Salts of
the Electro Negative Metals in Solution." After taking his degree,
chemistry became his favourite pursuit. He had studied the sub-
ject assiduously under Dr. Hope and Mr. Kenneth Kemp; and in
1836-37 he had been engaged for eighteen months as chemical
assistant in Dr. Christison's laboratory, which was at that time
the best school of analytical chemistry in the University. His
first lectures on chemistry were given to private audiences, in the
drawing-room of his father's house, in 1837. In a MS. journal
kept by hira, we find the following entries : — "September 20thj^
1838" — " I meet with scarcely one lady in ten or fifty, who has
sufficiently cultivated her natural intellectual powers." . . . "This
winter shall see me do my utmost to suggest an improvement
among my own small circle."

" May 1 839. Following out the proposal to amend the subjects
of ladies' conversation and study, I assembled some of them in
my father's house, and delivered a course of prelections on che-
mistry, especially the chemistry of nature. This was in the win-
ter of 1837-38, so that I was then not nineteen. The majority of
my audience were older than myself by a year or two. I was
greatly praised and encouraged, most kindly listened to, and
assisted in many ways, especially by J. M'G., a generous, unselfish,
happy fellow, without whose aid I should have come on very
poorly. This course, which began in October, was first interrupted
by the illness of my sister, and afterwards by the mournful indis-

180 Notices of the Life of Professor Wilson,

position of my cousin C. ; so tliat only ten or twelve lectures were
given.

Subsequently to this Dr. Wilson went to London, and entered
the laboratory of University College, under the superintendence
of Professor Graham, now Master of the Mint. There, with Dr.
Lyon Playfair, Mr. James Young of Glasgow, Dr. Livingstone, the
African traveller, and other zealous students, he carried on his
chemical pursuits for a period of six months.

He began to lecture publicly on chemistry in Edinburgh in
1840. About this time, however, his health began to suffer, appa-
rently in consequence of excessive exertion during a pedestrian
excursion in the Highlands with a cousin. His first course of
lectures was arranged when he was confined to bed, and he was
scarcely convalescent when he commenced the session of Novem-
ber, 1840. His health continued broken after this. An attack
of rheumatism was followed by disease of the ankle-joint, which
ultimately called for amputation. This was performed in January
1843, by his friend, and afterwards his colleague, Professor Syme.
Amputation seemed to offer the only hope of relief, and Mr. Syme
proposed disarticulation. Accordingly, he performed this oper-
ation ; and as the articulating surfaces of the joint were everywhere
divested of cartilage, rough and carious, instead of removing the
malleolar projections separately, he exposed the bone suflBciently
to saw off both together, with a thin lamina of the tibia connect-
ing them. This was the first instance in which Professor Syme
amputated through the ankle-joint for disease of the joint. It is
therefore interesting in the annals of surgery. The case proceeded
favourably. The feelings which Dr. Wilson experienced previous
to the operation, and during its performance, are graphically por-
trayed by him in a letter on " the Anaesthetics of Surgery," which
he addressed to Professor Simpson, and which is published in
Simpson's Obstetric Works, edited by Drs. Priestley and Storrer,
Vol. H., p. '796. He contrasts the condition of patients in his day,
before the use of chloroform, with their state at the present
time : —

" Several years ago," he says, " I was required to prepare, on
very short warning, for the loss of a limb by amputation. A
painful disease, which for a time had seemed likely to yield to the
remedies employed, suddenly became greatly aggravated, and I

Notices of the Life of Professor Wilson, 181

was informed by two surgeons of the higliest skill, who were con-
sulted on my case, that I must choose between death and the
sacrifice of a limb, — and that my choice must be promptly made,
for my strength was fast sinking under pain, sleeplessness, and
exhaustion. I at once agreed to submit to the operation, but
asked a week to prepare for it, not with the slightest expectation
that my disease would take a favourable turn in the interval, or
that the anticipated horrors of the operation would become less
appalling by reflection upon them ; but simply because it was so
probable that the operation would be followed by a fatal issue,
that I wished to prepare for death, and what lies beyond it, whilst
my faculties were clear and my emotions were comparatively
undisturbed. For I knew well that if the operation was speedily
followed by death, 1 should be in a condition, during the interval,
in the last degree unfavourable to making preparation for the
o;reat chano^e."

During the interval, he diligently and prayerfully studied the
Bible, and at the end of a week the operation was performed.
There were no anaesthetics in those days, and the operation was a
very painful and somewhat tedious one. Not being gifted with
great physical courage, he was one of those to whom cutting,
bruising, burning, or any similar physical injury, eren to a small
extent, was a source of suffering never willingly endured, and
always anticipated with more or less apprehension. He states
that he could never forget the black whirlwind of emotion, the
horror of great darkness, and the sense of desertion by God and
man, bordering almost upon despair, which swept through his
mind and overwhelmed his heart. Chloroform would have been
the greatest boon to him. From his relations he concealed the
impending operation, fearing that the expression of their grief
would shake his resolution. They were not aware of what had
happened until the surgeons made it known to them. " During
the operation," he continues, "in spite of the pain it occasioned,
my senses were preternaturally acute ; I watched all that the sur-
geons did with fascinated intensity. I still recall with unwelcome
vividness the spreading out of the instruments, the twisting of the
tourniquet, the first incision, the fingering of the sawed bone, the
sponge pressed on the flap, the tying of the blood-vessels, the
stitching of the skin, and the bloody dismembered limb lying on
the floor." He then dwells on the value of ancesthetics, and con-

182 Notices of the Life of Professor Wilson.

clades tbus : — " The sum, you will perceive, of what I have been
urging is, that the unconsciousness of the patient secured by
anaesthetics, is scarcely less important than the painlessness with
which they permit injuries to be inflicted on him."

Forbes was an older student than Wilson, and had attained
eminence as a rising naturalist before their acquaintance began.
He was a genius in science who had the wonderful power of
attracting followers, and of stimulating to exertion. Forbes' influ-
ence told in no small degree on the mind of Wilson, who afterwards
undertook to write his Biography. This work occupied his leisure
hours ever since the lamented death of his friend ; but we fear
that little more than half the task has been completed. In a MS.
note-book, the chapters of the Life of Forbes are sketched out
thus : —

1. Isle of Man. 2. Boyhood and School Life. 3. London
Artist Life. 4. The University of Edinburgh. 5. The Student
Life of E. F. 6. The Sea Naturalist. 7. The Mediterranean
Cruise. 8. The London Chair of Botany. 9. The Geological
Survey. 10. The Edinburgh Class of Natural History. 11. The
Artist and Litterateur. 12. The End. 13. Epilogue. — Of these
the first five chapters are ready for the printer, and the sixth seems
also to be finished, though not copied out. As the materials have
all been accumulated, it is earnestly hoped that the work may be
completed by other hands.

Up to manhood the vigour and elasticity of his health was
unusual ; but from the year 1842 to the end of his career, a thorn
in the flesh never ceased to buftet him. It was during this illness
that his attention was specially directed to matters of eternal mo-
ment. The bed of affliction was made to him a blessing. The
chastening of the Lord was for his profit. There happened at
that time to be a student at the Divinity Hall who became
acquainted with Dr. Wilson, and was a constant visitor at his
house. This was the present Rev. Dr. Cairns of Berwick. The
friendship which sprung up between Dr. Cairns and himself was
of the warmest kind, and continued throughout the remainder of
life. Their fellowship was cemented by holier ties than any of a
mere earthly nature. Dr. Wilson always regarded Dr. Cairns as
his spiritual father, whose counsels encouraged him, and whose
ministrations at the hour of death helped to cheer his spirit.
What he owed to God's discipline during his life was ever grate-
fully present to his mind.

Notices of the Life of Projessor Wilson, 183

His recovery from his severe illness was tedious, and lie was
rendered unfit for public duty for some time. His father died very
suddenly in April 1843, and this added not a little to his sufferings.

The commencement of Dr. Wilson's career as a lecturer was
thus also that of his ill health. His weak body seemed often to
be sinking into the dust, while his noble spirit ignored its fetters,
and seemed to rise above the feebleness of the flesh. For fifteen
years he continued to teach as a private lecturer, and he acquired
eminence and celebrity. In 1844 he was appointed by the Direc-
tors of the School of Arts their lecturer on chemistry ; and in the
same year, with the sanction of the Highland and Agricultural
Society, he became lecturer in the Veterinary College of Edin-
burgh. Between 1844 and 1852 he continued to deliver regularly
nine lectures on chemistry every week during the six winter
months, and at a later period of his history he even delivered
thirteen.

Dr. Wilson had a peculiar power of making science- popular,
and describing intricate subjects in such a way as to make them
plain to a common audience. His inventive powers in illustrating
his lectures were remarkable. His graceful diction and aesthetic
taste, combined with his play of fancy and of genial wit, gave
peculiar attractions to hisprelections, and crowded audiences hung
on his lips whenever he appeared in public. In the Academic
Hall, the Philosophical Institution, the learned society, and in the
miserable lecture-room in the Cowgate or the Canongate, he was
equally at home and equally successful.

The attention which he devoted to economical science, and to
the applications of chemistry, pointed him out as the man best
qualified to occupy the situation of Director of the Industrial
Museum of Scotland. In the autumn of the same year he was
chosen by the Crown to fill the newly-insLituted chair of Techno-
logy in the University of Edinburgh.

The duties of this unendowed chair he fulfilled with the greatest
ability and success. Although the class was not demanded for
any academic honours, and was not included in any curriculum of
study (except that of the Highland Society), still the talents of
the Professor secured a large attendance. At the time of his
death (although the entrance was not completed) the number of
pupils was eighty-four, embracing students from all the Faculties
and many amateurs. Nothing could more plainly indicate the

184 Notices of the Life oj Professor Wilson,

value put on liis lectures. In his inaugural lecture be considere
tte subject, What is Technology ? and he thus writes : "Techno-
logy is the sum or complement of all the sciences which either
are or may be made applicable to the industrial labours or utilit-
arian necessities of man. While the subject has a connection with
various subjects already taught in the University, it steers a course
distinct from all, has a province of its own, and will not, when
properly handled, interfere with the duties of any other professor."

The full course of technology embraced three sessions, in each
of which certain of the industrial arts were made the subject of
lecture, which were not discussed in the other two. The course
was divided into Mineral, Vegetable, and Animal Technology.
Under the first were included the relation of the atmosphere, the
ocean and tributary waters, and the earth, to technology; and
among special subjects, fuel, building material, glass and glass-
making, pottery, earthenware, stoneware, and porcelain, metallo-
techny, electrotechny, and magnetotechny. Under the second or
Vegetable Technology, were considered : saccharoamylaceous sub-
stances, sugar-making, albuminous substances and fermentations,
distillation, wood and wood-fibres, textile tissues, bleaching, dyeing
calico-printing, paper-making, scriptorial or graphic industrial arts,
caoutchouc, gutta-percha, and the resins, fats and oils. Under
the third section, or Animal Technology, were included the me-
chanical application and chemical products of bones, ivory, horns,
hoofs, tortoise-shell, shells, and corals; skins, tanning, fish- scales ;
hair, fur, wool, bristles, quills and feathers, animal refuse.

The lectures were fully illustrated by experiments and drawings,
and by specimens from the natural history collections and the
Industrial Museum. Occasion was taken throughout the course
to visit various manufactures.

Besides occupying these important positions in the University
and in the Museum, Wilson was also an active member of many
societies, and contributed papers to their Transactions, as will be
seen by referring to the list of his publications. He was twice
elected a member of Council of the Royal Society of Edinburgh ;
he was a member of the Council of the Chemical Society of Lon-
don ; a member of the Chemical Committee of the Highland and
Agricultural Society, and one of the examiners for the Agricul-
tural Diploma ; an honorary member of the Pharmaceutical
Society of Great Britain ; and he had been twice president of the

Notices of the Life of Frofessor Wtlson, 185

Royal Scottisli Society of Arts, and for some time editor of its
*' Transactions."

A growing holiness, sweetness, and patience, bad been marked-
ly visible in Dr. Wilson of late years. In times of sickness and
dangerous illness, there was ever a serene calmness and cheerful-
ness, that seemed greatly to aid recovery. His patient endurance
of suffering was remarkable. Patience wrought experience, and
experience hope — even that hope which maketh not ashamed.
He was always ready for his great change. About six months
ago, when saying good bye on a morning visit to a friend, he said,
" I am trying to live every day, so that I may be ready to go on
an hour's notice." To another he used the remarkable expression,
" I am resigned to live."

His feeble health at the commencement of the Session 1859
was ill calculated to fit him for the arduous duties he had under-
taken, and there seemed to be in his own mind a feeling that he
was not likely to survive long.

In the last few days of his life his serenity was more obvious
than at any previous time. So well was it known that, living or
dying, he was the Lord's, that the anxieties of a death-bed season
were as much lightened as is possible in this life. His death was
more like a child going to sleep than anything else.

He commenced his lectures in November 1859 with high pros-
pects of success. His introductory lecture was characterised by
his usual felicitous illustrations, and the class-room was crowded
to the door.

His last illness began from exposure to cold and wet in a ma-
nufactory in the west, on the morning of Friday, 4th November.
He had gone there to acquaint himself with the particulars of a
Court of Session case relating to the dyeing mauve-coloured silk.
On the morning of Friday, 18th November, he complained of a
pain in his side, but he treated it as a pleurodynic attack, and
went to lecture as usual. He was, however, much exhausted ;
and in spite of this he continued to write letters, receive visitors
and make business calls, and he even ventured to give a second,
lecture in the afternoon. This seemed to prostrate him complete-
ly, and he had to apologise to the class for taking a seat in place
of standing during the lecture as usual. When he reached home
he was scarcely able to get up stairs to bed, from whence he never
rose.

186 Notices of the Life of Professor Wilson.

On the morning of Tuesday, 22d November, there appeared to
be a slight alleviation of symptoms, but it was a temporary rally.
Ere long it was evident that he was sinking. He was peaceful
and happy, when he breathed his last.

The respect and affection with which he was regarded were
well shown in the public funeral, which was attended by Professors
of the University, the Lord Provost, Magistrates, and Council, the
Colleges of Physicians and Surgeons, members of the Royal So-
ciety, Royal Scottish Society of Arts, Royal Physical Society,
Botanical Society, Philosophical Institution, School of Arts, Mer-
chant Company, Chamber of Commerce. His friends, the Rev.
Dr. Alexander and the Rev. Dr. Cairns, officiated on the occasion.
His remains were interred in the Old Calton Burying-ground on
28th November, and his funeral sermon was preached by Dr.
Alexander, in the Music Hall, to an overwhelming audience, on
4th December — the text being, " Blessed are the dead that die in
the Lord," Rev. xiv. 13.

While Wilson's lectures threw a genial light on the facts of
science, his writings contributed not less to extend and popularise
them. Everything he touched became instinct with life, and was
impressed upon the mind of the hearer or reader by associations
of the most pleasing and lasting nature. His collected writings
will undoubtedly be an important contribution to literature.

" The effort of his life." Dr. Cairns remarks, " was to render
science at once more human and more divine. His heart was
strung throughout in sympathy with the touching prayer of the
Novum Organon^ that all science may become a healing art ; and
his last public office was regarded by hitn with special affection,
as ministering to industrial progress and happiness. No scientific
writer of our day has so habitually and lovingly quoted the Bible,
from his essay on Dalton, whom he represents as proving that
God literally ' weighs the mountains in scales, and the hills in a
balance,' down to his last paper, which closes with marking the
identity of Professor Thomson's astronomical proof of the evanes-
cence of the heavens with the words of the 102d Psalm. He
hoped to live to write a 'Religio Chemici,' corresponding to Sir
Thomas Browne's ' Religio Medici,' and embracing amongst other
topics of discussion the doctrine of the resurrection."

" To have moved, amidst the altitudes and solitudes of science
with a humble and loving heart ; to have spoken out words on

Notices oj the Life of Professor Wilson. 1 87

the sacredaess of medicine as a profession and scientific life in
general, more lofty than have alraost been heard even from the
pulpit, and to have illustrated them in practice ; to have enforced
the subjection of all knowledge to one Name, the highest in earth
and heaven ; to have conquered by faith in a life-long struggle
with pain and suffering ; and to have wrought out the work of the
day placidly and devoutly till the night came; — these, in any, and
especially in the leaders of science, are processes and results
greater than can be described in the transactions of any society,
or preserved in any museum."

AVc conclude these notices from the North British Review with
a beautiful tribute of affection from the pen of his brother Dr. D.
Wilson of Toronto, published in the *' Canadian Journal," for
March.

" Death has been busy of late among Edinburgh men whom I
counted my personal friends. Dr. Samuel Brown, Professor Ed-
ward Forbes, and Hugh Miller, have followed one another to the
grave within a brief period, and ere the past year drew to a close.
Dr. George "Wilson was added to the number of those who live
only in honored memory. Dying at the early age of forty-one,
when a career full of rich promise appeared only opening before
him, and his mind seemed to be ripening in many ways for a great
life-work : those who knew his capacity and his genius regard all
that he had accomplished as insignificant indeed when compared
with what he would have done if spared to those years in which
men chiefly fulfil the promises of youth. Yet what he did accom-
plish, amid many and sore impediments to progress, is neither poor
nor of small amount. Nor is it a light thing now to remember
that one whose years of public life have been so few, and even
these encroached on by the ever increasing impeiiments of failing
health, has been laid in his grave amid demonstrations of public
sorrow such as have rarely indeed been accorded, in that native
city of his, to Edinburgh's greatest men. This was due even
more to the genial kindliness and worth of a noble Christian man,
than to the unwearied zeal of a popular public teacher, and an
enthusiastic student of science. His loss to his university is great,
but to his friends it is irreparable. In him the faith of science,
and the nobler faith of the Christian, were blended into perfect
harmony : for no doubt springing from half-revealed truths of
science ever marred the serene joy of his faith while looking at

188 Tertiary Fossils of Canada, ^r.

tlie things which are not seen. Prejudice and falsehood, ignorance
and vice, were felt by him to be the common foes of both ; and
pardon me, if I add, that no man I have ever known carried more
genially and unobtrusively, yet more thoroughly, his earnest
Christian faith into all the daily business and the duties of life.

When a man of such genuine kindliness and worth is suddenly
called away in his prime, with still so much of his life-work
seemingly waiting its accomplishment, it is as when a brave vessel
founders in mid-ocean. The wild eddy of the troubled waters
gathers around the fatal gulf, and a cry of sympathetic sorrow
rises up as the news is borne along to distant shores. But the
ocean settles back to its wonted flow where that gallant bark went
down, and the busy world soon returns to its old absorbing occu-
pations. But there are those to whom that foundered bark has
been the shipwreck of a life's hopes ; and to me the loss of my
life-long friend and brother will make life's future years wear a
shadow they could never wear before."

ARTICLE XV. — Notice of Tertiary Fossils from Labrador ^
Maine, <£'c., and Remarks on the Climate of Canada in
the Newer Pliocene or Pleistocene Period. By J. W.
Dawson, LL.D., F.G.S.

{Read before the Natural History Society.)

I am indebted to Capt. Orlebar, R.N., for a small collection of
fossils from the vicinity of Tertiary Bay on the coast of Labrador
a locality in which similar collections were made several years
since by Adm^ Bayfield. They occur in clay a little above high
water mark ; but the species present indicate a considerable
depth at the time of the deposition of the bed in which they are
contained, so that it cannot properly be regarded as merely a
raised beach. The species contained in the collection are as
follows; those found in the newer Pliocene of Canada bein^
marked with asterisks.

Balanus porcatus.^

Spirorhis vitrea, attached to shells.*

Sp. carinata.

Buccinum undatum.^

Tertiary Fossils of Canada, Sfc. 189

Aporrhais occidentalis.

Natica, (fragment probably oi N. Clausa.)*

Saxicava rugosa, var. Arctica.^

TelUna proximaj (calcarea) ^^

Astarte elliptica, •

Rliynconella psittacea.^

Echinus granulatus.

Hippotlioa catenularia, (attached to shells) *

Lepralia pertusa.^

L. (not determined.)

Cytliere.

The greater number of the above species have already been
recognised in the tertiary clays of Canada ; * but the following
exceptions are deserving of notice.

Spirorbis vitrea^ has not been named in my previous papers ;
but I now find, on comparison with the specimens from Labrador
and recent examples from Gaspe, that it is this and not Spirorbis
sinistrorsa as previously stated, that occurs in the tertiary beds at
Montreal and Quebec. It is at present a deep water species in
the Gulf of St. Lawrence and on the banks of Newfoundland.
Spirorhis carinata has not previously been observed in the ter-
tiary beds ; but is common on the coast of Labrador and Gaspe.f

Aporrhais occidentalis, the American representative of the
^* Pelican's-foot Spout-shell" of Britain, and remarkable in the
adult state for its singularly expanded outer lip, is a deep water
shell somewhat widely though not very abundantly distributed
on the American coast. I have specimens from Labrador, Sable
Island, and Portland, where a very fine living specimen was
dredged for me last summer by Mr. Ferrier.

Saxicava rugosa, occurs in the Labrador collection under the
form described as S. Arcticahj Forbes and Hanley. This form
is not prevalent though sometimes seen among the Saxicavoe of
the St. Lawrence valley deposits, and at present is I think found
only in deep water. The intermediate specimens prove it to be
merely a variety of the common species.

Astarte elliptica is the common Astarte of the Gulf of St.

* See papers by the author in Canadian Naturalist, Vols. 2 and 4.
t See paper on Spirorbes of the Gulf of St. Lawrence in last number
of this Journal,

190 Tertiary Fossils of Canada, ^c,

Lawrence at present. Great numbers have been dredged by Mr
Bell on the coast of Gaspe in about 60 fathoms. Along with
them are found a few specimens having the characters of the
typical Astarte sulcata of Great Britain, and others having the
charactei's of A. compressa^ a species much more nearly related
than the others to the fossil A. Laurentiana, though quite
distinct. I can recognise in the collections made by Mr. Bell and
myself all the above species or varieties, and in addition the A»
Arctica, which I have found only in the pleistocene beds near Port-
land. A. Laurentiana and A. Arctica are without doubt distinct
species from Sulcata, but different views have been entertained
as to the others. The distinction based by some authors on the
crenulated or smooth margin, and on which the species A. Scotica
and A. Danmoniensis have been founded, is evidently worthless,
depending as it does on age ; but the distinctions of external form
and marking are apparently constant at all ages, and do not shade
into each other. Althouoh therefore Dr. Gould and Mr.
Stimpson retain the name sulcata for all our American forms, I
think it admits of a doubt whether the same distinctions made by
Forbes and Hanley in Britain do not hold here. Mr. P. P. Car-
penter when in Montreal very kindly went over my collections
with me, and expressed himself satisfied that we have the forms
recognised in Britain as elliptica, sulcata, and compressa^ what-
ever their specific value. My impression at present is that com,'
jpressa is a good species, but that sulcata and elliptica as we have
them may be varieties of one. It is curious that while A. Lau-
rentiana prevails exclusively in the St. Lawrence deposits, the
modern species is found at Labrador ; and very possibly, especially
when we regard the more inland position and greater elevation of
the former, this indicates a difference of age in the deposits.

The clay attached to and in the interior of Capt. Orlebar's spe-
cimens is very rich in the minute Foraminifera. It contains
specimens of all the forms found in the clays of Montreal and
described in my former papers, and in addition the following:

Fotnlina ohlonga, Fig. 1.
Bulimina pupoideSy Fig. 2.
B. auriculata f

OrhuUna universa,
Textularia variahilis, Fig. 3.
Nonionina Lahradorica, N. sp. Fig. 4.
Truncatulina lohata Fig. 5.

Tertiary Fossils of Canada, Sfc,

191

All of these except one are well known living species, and all
except Textularia variahiUs have been found in the Gulf of St.
Lawrence. This last statement however could not have been
made but for specimens obtained from clay taken up by the
sounding lead off the coast of Anticosti, from depths varying
from 144 to 313 fathoms, and for which also I am indebted to
Capt. Orlebar. In these soundings there also occur Globigerina
hulloidesa species world-wide in its distribution, and Nodosaria
pyrula, neither of which have as yet been found in the tertiary
beds of Canada. AVith these recent shells there is a Cythere like
C. angulata of the British seas, and numerous spicules of spon-
ges; there are also immense numbers of the round perforated
silicious shields of Cosa'/iocZisci apparently the C. lineatus &T\d C.
radiatus of Ehrenberg. It is a remarkable and at present unac-
countable fact that while in the pleistocene beds there is a
great abundance of foraminifera, sporge spicules, and valves of
cythere, imbedded in calcareous clays like those of the deep sound-
ings of the Gulf, the Coscinodisci and other diatoms are absent
or at least have not been recognised.

Fig. 1. Fig. 2.

Fig. 1. — Rotalina ohlonga.
2. — Bulimina pupoides.
3. — Textularia variabiltis.

Fig. 3

Truncaiulina lohata. The last species in the list is a little
parasitic foraminiferous shell adhermg to shells, stones, and
zoophytes. It abounds in Mr. Bell's and Mr. Richardson's recent
collections from Gaspe, and since I observed it in Capt. Orlebar's
collection, I have found it also at Montreal. It is the Nautilus
stellaris of Fabricius.

The Nonionina which I name N, Labradorica^ and which is
found both recent and fossil, is a very beautiful species. It is
pel fectly equilateral, smooth and remarkably white and lustrous^
It is most readily characterised by the great expansion of the last
chamber, which spreads laterally and extends in two lobes on

192

Tertiary Fossils of Canada, Sfc,

either side of the earlier whorls. When seen from one side it
resembles Rotalina turgida, for which indeed I mistook it at
first ; but when viewed in front it is seen to be equilateral and to
have the characteristic septal aperture of Nonionina. It is about
^qual in size to iV. umhilicatula, and has the last chamber
inflated even in young shells.

Fig. 4. Fig. 5.

Fig. 4. — Nonionina Labradorica, N. sp.
5. — Truncatulina lobata.

The Foraminifera from the deeper parts of the Gulf are usually
of small size, and this applies also to those from the pleistocene
of Labrador.

In the past summer another deposit of pleistocene shells was
discovered by Sir W. E. Logan at the Mingan Islands, Labrador.
The specimens obtained from it consist of 3Iya arenaria and
Tellina proxima in hard sand, and have the aspect of a littoral
deposit corresponding to the " saxicava sand" of the vicinity of
Montreal.

2. Portland, Maine.

In last August I enjoyed some opportunities of examining
the tertiary deposits at and near Portland, and also at Pond Cove,
Cape Elizabeth, where a small patch of this deposit occurs nearly
at the level of the sea. At the south end of the city of Portland,
in a deep railway cutting, the tertiary beds are well seen, and
consist, in ascending order, of boulder clay, fossiliferous stratified
clay and sand, and stratified sand and gravel. These beds appear
to be very irregular, being entangled in ledges of metamorphic
rock, which sometimes rise through them. The distinction between
the deeper water and shallow water parts of the deposits is in

Tertiary Fossils of Canada, ^c, 193

consequence less strongly marked than at Montreal, but is indi-
cated by beds containing Mytilus edulis alone, overlying those
which contain shells characteristic of the open sea. At Cape
Elizabeth the pleistocene clays occupy depressions between ridges
of slate. At the only place where I observed fossils, the deposit
is a hard gray stony clay containing a mixture of deep sea and
littoral shells. The bivalves are mostly in detached valves and
often on edge, as if the bed had been subjected to the pressure of
ice after its deposition.

The fossils observed in the above mentioned beds are as fol-
lows,— those common to Portland and the St. Lawrence valley
being marked with asterisks :

Balanus crenatus,^

Fusus decemcostatus, (var. horealis,)

Buccinum undatum^^

Fusus scalar i/or mis J

Natica clausa,^

Mytilus edulisj^

Mactra ovalisj

JSaxicava rugosa^

Astarte elliptica,

A, corwpressa^

As arctica,

Tellina proxima^'^

Fecten Islandicus,^

Mya truncata^

Nucula Jacksoni,

Aphrodite Groenlandicay

Lepralia variolosa^

L. Belliij^

Memhranipora, (undetermined.)

The assemblag^e of shells in the above list cannot be said to
indicate any very great change of climate, though more like that
of the Gulf of St. Lawrence than of Portland at present. With
the exception of Astarte arctica not now found on the Ameri-
can coast, and Nucula Jacksoni which is possibly extinct, they are

* A new species, now living in the Gulf of St. Lawrence, and de-
cribed in the Report of the Geological Survey of Canada for 1858.

Can. Nat. 3 Vol. V.

194 Tertiary Fossils oj Canadat Sfc,

all common American species. It is curious that in the collections
of the Canadian Geological Survey, the group of shells obtained
by Mr. Bell and Mr. Richardson in dredging on the north coast
of Gaspe in about 60 fathoms, is almost precisely that of these
Portland beds.

On comparison with the St. Lawrence teitiaries, it will be seen
that 8 out of 19 species are distinct. It is further to be observed
that Fusus decemcostatus replaces the closely sWied F. tor natus.
that Saxicava rugosa is much less abundant, that modern
Astartes appear instead of A. Laurentiana, and that Mytitus
edulis isof large size and of the ordinary form. These differences
are however probably nothing more than the effects of the more
oceanic position of the Portland beds, as compared with the
old inland sea of the St. Lawrence valley, and it will be observed
that in respect to the Astartes the Portland beds correspond
with those of Labrador. The less elevation of the Portland beds
however renders it probable that they are somewhat newer than
those of the St. Lawrence valley and of Lake Champlain.

In the cabinet of Dr. Jackson of Boston, I had an opportunity
of examining a collection of about 14 species obtained by him
from the beds on the Pressumpset River, described many years
ago by Professor Hitchcock and Dr. Jackson. In this collection
while several of the shells found at Portland are absent, I found Leda
Portlandica, ^ Nucula proxima, Terehratula septentrionalis^
My a arenaria, and the carapace of a crab.

3. OCCURRENCE OF FRESH WATER SHELLS IN THE PLEIS-
TOCENE BEDS.

I owe to the kindness of A. Dickson, Esq., additional collections
of the fresh water shells and the sands containing them from Paken-
ham,f together with a communication from a gentlemen of that
place giving a section of the deposits as seen in a deep road
cutting. The arrangement is as follows in descending order :

Sand and surface soil, about, 10 feet

Clay, 10 «

* Dr. Gould informs me that he is now satisfied of the correctness of
the identification of this shell by Mr. Wood with the species L. truncata
of the British Pleistocene and of the artic seas, where it has been found
living.

t See my paper, Canadian Naturalist, Vol. IV.

Tertiary Fossils oj Canada^ ^'c» 195

Fine gray sand (shells of Valvata, (fee.) 2 inclies

Clay, 1 foot

Gray sand, laminated {Tellina Greenlandica),.. 3 "

Clay, 8 "

Light gray sand (Valvata, Cyclas, Paludlna^

Planorhis and Tellina)^ 10 "

Clay, 1 foot 2 "

Brown sand and layers of clay, [Planorhis and

Cyclas), 4 "

The species were the same with those described in my previous
papers, and the only marine shell is Tellina Greenlandica^ a
species now found farther up in our estuaries than most others.

Mr. Dickson informs me that a similar case occurs near Clar-
enceville, about four miles from the United States frontier, and
at an elevation of about ten feet above Lake Charaplain. Speci-
mens from this place contain large shells of Unio rectus and U.
venfricosus, the latter with the valves cohering, and a Lymnea.
Intimately mixed with these in sandy clay are valves of Tellina
Groenlandica and 3fya arenaria.

I record these facts, without pledging myself to the conclusion
that these deposits really mark the margins or river estuaries of
the old Pleistocene sea of Canada ; though they will certainly bear
that interpretation. In farther connection with these facts, and
in relation also to the question why marine fossils have not been
found west of Kingston, Mr. Dickson informs me that fossil capelin
are found on the Chaudiere Lake, 183 feet above Lake St. Peters,
on the Madawaska 206 feet, and at Fort Colonge Lake 365 feet
above the same level, a very interesting indication of the gradual
recession of the capelin spawning grounds, from this last high
elevation to the level of the more celebrated locality of these fossils
at Green's Creek. Farther, throughout the Counties of Renfrew,
Lanark, Carlton and Leeds, the marine deposits rise to an ele-
vation of 425 feet, or nearly the same with that which they reach
on Montreal Mountain ; but while this elevation would with the
present levels of the country carry a deep sea to the head of Lake
Ontario, no marine fossils appear to have been found on the banks
of that lake. Was the depression of the later pleistocene period
limited to the country east of Lake Ontario, or have the marine
deposits of the upper St. Lawrence hitherto escap??d observation

196 Tertiary Fossils of Canada, ^c.

or been removed by denuding agencies. The question awaits
further explorations for a satisfactory answer.

In the mean time it is certain that the boulder clay and
deposits corresponding in arrangement and mechanical character
to the Leda clay and Saxicava sand of the Lower St. Lawrence
exist in these more western regions, though they have not been
found to contain marine fossils.

4. CLIMATE OF CANADA IN THE PLEISTOCENE PERIOD.

The climate of this period and the causes of its difference from
that which now obtains in the northern hemisphere, have been
fertile subjects of discussions and controversies, which I have no
wish here to re-open. I merely propose to state in a manner
level to the comprehension of the ordinary reader, the facts of
the case in so far as relates to Canada, and an important infe-
ence to which they appear to me to lead, and which if sustained
vvill very much simplify our views of this question.

Every one knows that the means and extremes of annual tem-
perature differ much on the opposite sides of the Atlantic. The
isothermal line of 40° for example passes from the south side of
the gulf of St. Lawrence, skirts Iceland and reaches Europe near
Drontheim in Norway. This fact, apparent as the result of obser-
vations on the temperature of the land, is equally evidenced by
the inhabitants and physical phenomena of the sea. A large pro-
portion of the shell fish inhabiting the gulf of St. Lawrence and the
coast thence to Cape Cod, occur on both sides of the Atlantic,
but not in the same latitudes. The marine fauna of Cape Cod
is parallel in its prevalence of boreal forms with that of the south
of Norway. In like manner the descent of icebergs from the
north, the freezing of bays and estuaries, the drifting and pushing
of stones and boulders by ice, are witnessed on the American coast
in a manner not parallelled in corresponding latitudes in Europe. It
follows from this that a collection of shells from any given latitude
on the coasts of Europe or America, would bear testimony to the
existing difference of climate. The geologist appeals to the same
kind of evidence with reference to the climate of the later tertiary
period, and let us enquire what is its testimony.

The first and most general answer usually given, is that the
pleistocene climate was colder than the modern. The proof of
this in Western Europe is very strong. The marine fossils of this

Tertiary Fossils of Canada, Sfc, 197

period in Britain are more like the existing fauna of Norway or
of Labrador tlian the present fauna of Britain. Great evidences
exist of driftage of boulders by ice, and traces of glaciers on the
higher hills. In North America the proofs of a rigorous climate
and especially of the transport of boulders and other materials
by ice are equally good, and the marine fauna all over Canada
and New England is of boreal type. In evidence of these facts
I may appeal to the papers and other publications of Sir C. LyeU
and Professor Ramsay on the formations of the so called glacial
period in Europe and America,* and to my own previous papers
on the tertiaries of Canada.

Admitting however that a rigorous climate prevailed in the
pleistocene period, it by no means follows that the change has
been equally great in different localities. On the contrary while
a great and marked revolution has occurred in Europe, the evi-
dences of such change are very much more slight in America.
In short, the causes of the coldness of the pleistocene seas to
some extent still remain in America, while they must have dis-
appeared or been modified in Europe.

If we enquire as io these causes as at present existing, we find
them in the distribution of ocean currents, and especially ;n the
great warm current of the gulf stream, thrown across from Ame-
rica to Europe, and in the Arctic currents bathing the coasts of
America. In connection with these we have the prevailing wes-
terly winds of the temperate zone, and the great extent of land and
shallow seas in Northern America. Some of these causes are
absolutely constant. Of this kind is the distribution of the winds
depending on the earth's temperature and rotation. The courses
of the currents are also constant, except in so iar as modified by
coasts and banks; and the direction of the drift-scratches and
transport of boulders in the pleistocene both of Europe and Ame-
rica, show that the arctic currents at least have remained un-
changed. But the distribution of land and water is a variable
element, since we know that in the period in question nearly all
northern Europe, Asia and America were at one time or another
under the waters of the sea, and it is consequently to this cause
that we must mainly look for the changes which have occurred.

* Lyell's travels in North America, Ramsay on tlie glaciers of Wales,
and on the glacial phenomena of Canada. See also Forbes on the fauna
and flora in the British Islands, in Memoirs of geological surrey.

198 Tertiary Fossils of Ca?iadaf ^c.

Siicli changes of level must, as has been long since shown by
Sir Charles Lyell, modify and change climate. Every diminu»
tion of the land in arctic America must tend to render its climate
less severe. Every diminution of land in the temperate regions
must tend to reduce the mean temperature. Every diminution
of land any where must tend to diminish the extremes of annual
temperature ; and the condition of the southern hemisphere at pre-
sent shows that the disappearance of the great continental masses
under the water would lower the mean temperature but render
the climate much less extreme. Glaciers might then exist in
latitudes where now the summer heat would suffice to melt them?
as Darwin has shown that in South America glaciers extend to
the sea level in latitude 46° 50' ; and at the same time the ice
would melt more slowly and be drifted farther to the southward.
Any change that tended to divert the arctic currents from our
coasts would raise the temperature of their waters. Any change
that would allow the equatorial current to pursue its course through
to the Pacific or along the great inland valley of North America,
would reduce the British seas to a boreal condition.

The boulder formation and its overlying fossiliferoiis beds
prove, as I have in a previous paper endeavoured to explain with
regard to Canada, and as has been shown by other geologists in
the case of other regions, that the land of the northern hem-
isphere underwent in the later tertiary period a great and gra-
dual depression and then an equally gradual elevation. Every
step of this process would bring its modifications of climate, and
when the depression had attained its maximum there probably
was as little land in the temperate regions of the northern hemis-
phere as in the southern now. This would give a low mean tem-
perature and an extension to the south of glaciers, more espe-
cially if at the same time a considerable arctic continent remained
above the waters, as seems to be indicated by the effects of ex-
treme marine glacial action on the rocks under the boulder clay*
These conditions, tactually indicated by the phenomena them-
selves, appear quite sufficient to account for the coldness of the
seas of the period, and the wide diffusion of the gulf stream caus-
ed by the subsidence of American land, or its entire diversion into
the Pacific basin*, would give that assimilation of the American

* This is often excluded fi-om consideration, owing to the fact that
the marine fauna of the gulf of Mexico differs almost entirely from that
of the Pacific coast ; but the question still remains whether this diffe-
rence existed in the later tertiary period, or has been established in the
modern epoch, as a consequence of changed physical conditions.

Tertiary Fossils of Canada, ^c. 199

and European climates so characteristic of the time. The climate
of western Europe in short, would under such a state of things be
greatly reduced in mean temperature, the climate of America
would suflfer a less reduction of its mean temperature, but would
be much less extreme than at present ; the general effect being
the establishment of a more equable but lower temperature
throughout the northern hemisphere. It is perhaps necessary to
add that the existence on the land, during this period of depres-
sion, of large elephantine mammals in northern latitudes, as for
instance the Mammoth and Mastodon, does not contradict this con-
clusion. We know that these creatures were clothed in a manner to
fit them for a cool climate, and an equable rather than a high tem-
perature was probably most conducive to their welfare, while the
more extreme climate consequent on the present elevation and dis-
tribution of the land may have led to their extinction.

The establishment of the present distribution of land and water,
giving to America its extreme climate, leaving its seas cool and
throwing on the coasts of Europe the heated water of the tropics,
would thus affect but slightly the marine life of the American
coast, but very materially that of Europe, producing the result so
often referred to in these papers, that our Canadian Pleistocene
fauna differs comparatively little from that now existing in the
gulf of St. Lawrence, though in so far as any difference subsists
it is in the direction of an arctic character. The changes that
have occurred are perhaps all the less that so soon as the Lau-
rentide hills to the north of the St. Lawrence valley emerged from
the sea, the coasts to the south of these hills would be effectually
protected from the heavy northern ice drifts and from the arctic
currents, and would have the banefit of the full action of the
summer heat, advantages which must have existed to a less extent
in western Europe.

It is farther to be observed that such subsidence and elevation
would necessarily afford great facilities for the migration of arctic
marine animals, and that the difference between the modern and
newer pliocene faunas must be greatest in those localities to which
the animals of temperate regions could most readily migrate after
the change of temperature had occurred.

It has been fully shown by many previous writers on this sub-
ject, that the causes above referred to are sufficient to account for
all the local and minor phenomena of the stratified and unstra

200 STietch of the Life of Mr, David Douglas,

tified drifts, and for the driftage of boulders and other materials,
and the erosion that accompanied its deposition. Into these
subjects I do not propose to enter; my object in these remarks
being merely to give the reasons for my belief stated in previous
papers on this subject, that the differencG of climate between
pleistocene and modern Canada, and the less amount of that diffe-
rence relatively to that which has occurred in western Europe,
may be explained by a consideration of the changes of level which
the structure and distribution of the boulder clay and the over-
lying fossihferous beds prove to have occurred.

ARTICLE 'X.Yl.— Abridged Sketch of the life of Mr. David
Douglas J Botanist ^ with a few details of his travels and
discoveries,

{Continued from last Number.')

Turning with the boats as far back as Wallawalla, Douglas
proceeded on horseback to the Fourches de I'Eau claire, up the
south branch of the Columbia about 150 miles. The party
which he accompanied thither came this length for the purpose of
trading horses, but getting into difficulties with the Shohoptins,
or Nez-perces Indians, and Mr. Douglas finding that little new
could be obtained in that quarter, his steps were bent right north
to Spokan House, where he was again kindly welcomed by the
old hunter Jacquo Finlay. After parting with Jacquo, in crossing
the Cedar river lying between Spokan and the Columbia, his
horse stuck in the mud, and in the struggle to get extricated the rider
was struck a sharp blow that threw him headlong into the water.
This misfortune cost him his knapsack, which contained all the
seeds he had collected, and his note-book, which were lost in the
stream. In this trim he pursued his route, reaching Fort Colvile
on the 5th of August, where he found Mr. John Dease in charge.
An account of a fray between the natives, viz, the Kettle Falls
Indians, and a portion of the Cootanies Tribe, who had come to
this quarter for the purpose of fishing, is thus given by Douglas. —

" The parties met to day stark naked, at our camp, painted
" some red, some black, others white and yellow, all with their bows

Sketch of the Life of Mr. David Doiiglas. 201

" strung, while those who had guns and ammunition, brought their
" weapons charged and cocked. War caps, made of the Calumet
'' Eagle's feathers, were the only particle of clothing they had on.
" Just as one of these savages was discharging an arrow from his
" bow, aimed at a chief of the other party, Mr. Dease hit him
" such a blow on the nose as stunned him, aad the arrow fortunately
" only grazed the skin of his adversary, passing along the rib op-
"■ posite to his heart, without doing him much injury. The
'' whole day was spent in clamour and haranguing, and unable to
" foresee what the issue might be, we were prepared for the worst.
" Mr. Dease, however, succeeded in persuading them to make
" arrangements for peace, and begged this might be done without
" delay on the morrow, representing to them how little they had
^' ever gained by their former wars, in which they had mutually
'' butchered one another like dogs. Unluckily for me, my guide,
" the Wolfe, is equally wanted by his party, whether to make war
" or peace, therefore, I am obliged to wait for him.

On the 19th he bade adieu to Mr. Dease, taking horse
to Okawyan, where he procured a guide and small canoe. Soon
after embarking, in descending a rapid, he took the precaution
of walking along shore, carrying with him his papers, plants, seeds,
and blanket. While thus occupied, the canoe in descending was
struck by a surge in the rapid, and emptied of all its contents ex-
cept a little dried meat which had been fixed in hard, in the nar-
row part of the bow. Deprived thus of cooking utensils, or any
of the slightest comfort or convenience in the shape of travelling-
appointment, he pursued his course to Wallawalla, where finding
a fresh guide, he continued onward and, after some trouble, as well
as assistance from Indians, landed on the first day of August on
the Beach above Fort Vancouver. This journey is thus closed
very expressively in his own words. —

" In poor plight, weary and travel-soiled, glad at heart, though
" possessing nothing but a shirt, leather trousers, and old hat, hav-
" ing lost my jacket and neck-kerchief, and worn out my shoes, I
" made my way to the fort, having traversed eight hundred miles
" of the Columbia valley in twelve days, unattended by a single
" person except my Indian guides."

His collections were now shipped for England, consisting of a
great mass of dried specimens of plants besides Zoological subjects.
The seeds which he had forwarded these two first years on the

202 SJcetch of the Life of Mr. David Douglas.

Columbia, to the Horticultural Society, were the means of intro-
ducing to the knowledge of gardeners above 160 new flowers and
plants, all interesting, many of utility, others of uncommon splen-
dor and beauty. Among these were 14 species of currant, 5 of
Raspberry and 2 of Berterry, while the flower garden bloomed
with 2 new species of Brodicea, 2 of CalocJiortiis, 3 of Caprifo-
lium, 3 of ClarJda, 2 of CUntonia, 5 of CoUonia, 3 of Collin-
sia, 3 of Eutoca, 5 GiUas, 24 Lupines, 5 of 3Iinculus, 10 of
(EnotJiera, 13 of Penstemon, 6 of Potentilla, and 3 of Spirea,
besides many single species of other genera — altogether an acces-
sion to the shrubbery and flower-garden which must ever be highly
appreciated. On the 15th of September Mr. Douglas accom-
panied a trapping party to the southward or the Umptqua coun-
try, with the view principally of procuring cones and seeds of the
large pines there growing in the greatest perfectioUc At this time
the Umptqua river was but little known, and only occasionally visit-
ed by interpreters or clerks of the Fur trade, for the purpose of bar-
tering with the natives. The mode of travelling suited the bo-
tanist well. He had time to look about him, and gather much in the
Willamette valley. A month elapsed, but on the 16th of October
he arrived on the heights overlooking the Umptqua, the last days
having been occupied in passing amongst timber of enormous
growth and through thickly wooded forests where the path was
frequently obstructed by fallen trees, measuring from 200 to 250
feet in length. Here first commences the district of the Califor-
nian laurel, the Oreodapnue Calif ornica, which perfumes the air
in every direction with its odours. Our Adventurer did not
reach the wished for groves of Pinus Lamhertiana without risk
and danger. Having obtained a guide in the person of a youth
who had been brought from the southward as a slave, he started
from the trapping camp on the 18th, next day, however, having
fallen into a gully in pursuit of a wounded deer, he was so much
stunned and hurt as to be obliged to return to camp. Whence he
again sallies on the 23rd, in pursuit of the great Pine. Proceed-
ing due south, we find him on the 25th of the month not far from
the object of his search, but very disagreeably lodged as his
journal thus shows. —

'' Wednesday the 25th. Last night was one of the most dread-
'' ful I ever witnessed ; the rain falling in torrents, was accom-
" panied by so much wind as made it impossible to keep in a fire ;

SJcetch of the Life of Mr, David Douglas, 203

" and to add to my miseries the tent was blown down about my
'' ears, so that I lay till daylight, rolled in my wet blanket on
*' Pteris aqidlina, with the drenched tent piled above me. Sleep
" was of course not to be procured ; every few minutes the falling
*' trees came down with a crash which seemed as if the earth
" was cleaving asunder, while the peals of thunder and vivid
" flashes of forky lightening produced such a sensation of terror
" as had never filled my mind before, for I had at no time exper-
" ienced a storm under similar circumstances of lonliness and un-
" protectedness of situation. Even my poor horses were unable to
" endure it without craving, as it were, protection from their master
'' which they did by cowering close to my side, hanging their heads
^' upon me and neighing. Towards daylight the storm abated,
" and before sunrise the weather was clear, though very cold. I
" could not stir without making a fire, and drying some of my
" clothes, every thing being soaked through ; and I indulged
" myself with a pipe of tobacco, which was all I could afibrd.
" At ten o'clock I started, still shivering with cold, though I had
" rubbed myself so hard with a handkerchief that I could no
" longer endure the pain. Shortly after I was seized with intense
" headache, pain in the stomach, giddiness and dimness of sight.
" All the medicine I had being reduced to a few grains of calomel,
'' I felt un wiling, without absolute necessity, to take to this last
" resource, and therefore threw myself into a violent perspiration
" by strong exercise, and felt somewhat relieved towards evening,
" before which time I arrived at three lodges of Indians, who
" gave me some fish,. The food was such as I could hardly have
" eaten if my destitution were less. Still I was thankful for it,
" especially as the poor people had nothing else to ofier me ; the
" night being dry, I camped early in order to dry the remaining
" part of my clothing."

" Thursday the 25th. Weather dull, cold, and cloudy. When
" my friends in England are made acquainted with my travels, I
" fear they will think that I have told them nothing, but my
" miseries, This may be true, but I now know as they may do
•• also, if they choose to come here on such an expedition,
" that the objects of which I am in quest, cannot be obtained
" without labour and anxiety of mind, and no small risk of
" personal safety, of which latter statement my this day's adven-
" tures are an instance. I quitted my camp early in the morning

204 Sketch of the Life of Mr. David Douglas*

" to survey the neighbouring country, leaving my guide to take
" charge of the horses until my return in the evening, when I
" found that he had done as I wished, and in the interval dried
" some wet paper which I had desired him to put in order.
" About an hour's walk from my camp, I met an Indian, who on
" perceiving me instantly strung his bow, placed on his left arm a
" sleeve of Racoon skin, and stood on the defensive. Being quite
" satisfied that this conduct was prompted by fear, and not by
'' hostile intentions^ the poor fellow having probably never seen
" such a being as myself before, I laid my gun at my feet, on the
'' ground and waved my hand for him to come to me, which he
" did slowly and with great caution. I then made him place his
" bow and quiver beside my gun, and striking a light gave him a
" smoke out of my own pipe, and a present of a few beads.
" With my pencil I made a rough sketch of the cone and pine
" tree which I wanted to obtain, and drew his attention to it?
" when he instantly pointed with his hand to the hills fifteen or
" twenty miles distant, towards the south ; and when I expressed
" my intention of going thither, cheerfully set about accompany-
" ing me. At midnight I reached my long-wished-for pines, and
" lost no time in examining them, and in endeavoring to collect
" specimens and seeds. New and strange things seldom fail to
" make strong impressions and are therefore, frequently over-rated ;
" so that lest I should never again see my friends in England to
'' inform them verbally of this most beautiful and immensely
" grand tree, I shall here state the dimensions of the largest I
" could find among several that had been blown down by the
'' wind. At three feet from the ground its circumference is 57 ft*
" 9 inches ; at 134 ft,, 17 ft. 5 inches ; the extreme length 245 ft.
" The trunks are uncommonly straight, and the bark, remarkably
" smooth for such large timber, of a whitish or light brown colour,
" and yielding a great quantity of bright amber gum. The tallest
" stems are generally unbranched for two thirds of the height
" of the tree ; the branches rather pendulous with cones
'' hanging from their points like sugar loaves in a grocer's
'^ shop. These cones, are however, only seen on the loftiest trees,
" and the putting myself in possession of three of these, (all I
" could obtain) nearly brought my life to a close. As it was im-
" posible either to climb the tree or hew it down, I endeavoured
" to knock of the cones by firing at them with ball, when the re-

Sketch of the Life of Mr, David Douglas, 205'

" port of my gun brought eight Indians, all of them painted with
" red earth, armed with bows, arrows, bone tipped spears and flint
'^ knives. They appeared anything but friendly. I endeavoured
" to explain to them what I wanted, and they seemed satisfied
" and sat down to smoke, but presently I perceived one of them
" string his bow, and another sharpen his flint knife with a pair of
" wooden pincers, and suspend it on the wrist of the right hand.
" Further testimony of their intentions was unnecessary. To save
'' myself by flight was impossible, so without hesitation I stepped
*' back about five paces, cocked my gun drew one of the pistols
'' out of my belt, and holding it in my left hand, and the gun in
" my right, showed myself determined to fight for my life. As
" much as possible, I endeavoured to preserve my coolness, and
" thus we stood looking at one another, without making any move-
" ment or uttering a word, for, perhaps, ten minutes, when one,
" at last, who seemed the leader, gave a sign that they wished
" for some tobacco : this I signified that they should have, if they
'' fetched me a quantity of cones. They went off immediately
" in search of them, and no sooner were they all out of sight, than
'' I picked up my three cones and some twigs of the trees, and
" made the quickest posssible retreat, hurrying back to my camp,
^' which I reached before dusk, the Indian who last undertook to
" be my guide to the trees I sent off before gaining my encamp-
" ment, lest he should betray me. How irksome is the darkness
" of night to one under my present circumstances ! I cannot
" speak a word to my guide, nor have I a book to divert my
" thoughts, which are continually occupied with the dread lest the
" hostile Indians should trace me hither and make an attack ; I
" now write lying on the grass, with my gun cocked beside me,
" and penning these lines by the light of a Columbian candle,
*' namely, an ignited piece of rosiny wood. — To return to the
" tree which nearly cost me so dear, the wood is remarkably fine
" grained and heavy ; the leaves short and bright green, inserted
" five together, in a very short sheath ; of my three cones, one
" measured fourteen inches and a half, and the two others are
" respectively half an inch and an inch shorter, all full of fine
'' seed. A little before this time of year, the Indians gather the
'' cones and roast them on the embers, then quarter] them and
' shake out the seeds, which are afterwards thoroughly dried and
pounded into a sort of flour, or else eaten whole.

206 Sketch of the Life of Mr. David Douglas,

" Friday the 27tli. My last guide went out at midnight in
" search of trout, and brought me home a small one, which served
" for breakfast. Two hours before daylight he rushed in with
" great marks of terror uttering a shriek which made me spring
" to my feet, as I concluded that my enemies of yesterday had
" tracked out my retreat. • He, however, gave me to understand,
" by gesture that he had been attacked by a grizly bear. I
" signed to him to wait till daylight, when I would go out and
" look for, and perhaps, kill the creature. A little before sunrise,
" Bruin had the boldness to pay us a visit, accompanied by two
" cubs, one of last year's brood, and one of this ; but as I could
'' not consistently with safety receive these guests before daylight,
" I had all my articles deposited in the saddle-bags, and driven
" upon one horse to a mile distant from the camp, when I returned
" mounted upon the animal, Mr. McLoughlin had given me, and
" which stands fire remarkably well, and found the bear and her
" two young ones feeding on acorns under the shade of a large oak.
" I allowed the horse to walk within twenty yards, when all three
" stood up and growled at me. I levelled my gun at the heart of
" the old one, but as she was protecting her young by keeping
" them right under her, the shot entered the palate of one of
" these, coming out at the back of the head, when it instantly fell.
" A second shot hit the mother on the chest as she stood up with
*' the remaining cub under her belly, on which abandoning it, she
" fled to an adjoining hummock of wood. The wound must have
" been mortal, as these animals never leave their cubs until they
'' themselves are on the point of sinking. With the carcase of
" the young bear I paid my last guide, who seemed highly to prize
" the reward, and then abandoned the chase, deeming it only pru-
" dent, after what happened yesterday, to retrace my steps towards
" the camp of my friends. So I returned crossing the river two
" miles lower down than formerly, and halted at night in a low
" point of wood near a small stream.

" Saturday and Sunday, the 28th, and 29th. Both these days
" being very rainy, as the day before also was, and having very
" little clothing, I made all the exertion in my power to reach
" Mr. McLeod's encampment near the sea. It was impossible to
" keep myself dry, and the poor horses were so fatigued that I
" was obliged to walk all the way and lead my own by the bridle,
" the road becoming continually worse and worse from the floods

Sketch of the Life of Mr. David Douglas, 207

" of rain. On Saturday niglit I halted at my second crossing
" place, but could procure no food from the Indians, the bad
" weather having so swollen the rivers, as to prevent their fishing,
" I boiled the last of my rice for supper, which gave but a scanty
" meal, and resuming my march, the next day, proceeded pretty
^' well till, reaching the wooded top of the lofty river bank, my
'•' jaded horse stumbled and rolling down, descended the whole
'' depth over dead wood, and large stones, and would infal-
" libly have been dashed to pieces in the river below, had he not
" been arrested by getting himself wedged fast between two large
" trees that were lying across one another near the bottom. I
'' hurried down after him, and tying his legs and head close down
" to prevent his struggling, cut with my hatchet through one of
" the trees, and set the poor beast at liberty. I felt a great deal
" on this occasion, as the horse had been Mr McLoughlin'spres-
" ent to me, and was his own favourite animal. Reached the camp
'' at dusk, where I found only Michel La Framboise, our Chenook
" interpreter, and an Indian boy, who told me that the savages
" had been very troublesome ever since our brigade of hunters
" left him some days before. The former kindly assisted me
" to pitch my tent, and gave me some weak spirits and water, with
" a basin of tea, made from a little that he had brought from Fort
" Vancouver, and which greatly refreshed me."

Soon after this, messengers having to be dispatched to Fort Van-
couver, Mr. Douglas took advantage of the opportunity and ac-
companied them homewards. After twelve days travelling under
the disadvantage of hunger cold and rain, he reached Fort Vancou-
ver, on the 20th of November, although, not without losing
the greater part of his collection in crossing the river Sandiam,
a tributary of the Willamette, then swollen with rain. Fortu-
nately, with other rarities, the pine cones were saved.

It was at this period I had the pleasure of making the acquain-
tance of Mr. Douglas. Having crossed the Columbia, I arrived
in this month of November at head quarters, and soon found the
man of science to be one of the heartiest, happiest mortals in our
little society. He now received letters from England, consolotary
to him in every respect, and the sense of inward satisfaction, as
well as the bright gleams cast on his spirit, by the cheering words
of those he loved and respected in his native country, brought out
in full glow the warm effusions of a pure and honest heart.

208 STcctch of the Life of Mr. David Douglas.

The Spring of 1827 was severe, and mucli snow had fallen.
The consequence was that many horses died at Fort Vancouver,
and we were visited by the various species of beasts and birds of
prey that abound in that country. Most conspicuous among
these were the California vulture. This magnate of the air
was ever hovering around, wheeling in successive circles for
a time, then changing the wing as if wishing to describe
the figure 8 ; the ends of the pinions, when near enough
to be seen, having a bend waving upwards, all his move-
ments, whether of soaring or floating ascending or descending, were
lines of beauty. In flight he is the most majestic bird I have seen.
One morning a large specimen was brought into our square, and
we had all a hearty laugh at the eagerness with which the Bo-
tanist pounced upon it. In a very short time he had it almost in
his embraces fathoming its stretch of wings, which not being able
to compass, a measure was brought, and he found it full nine fee*
from tip to tip. This satisfied him, and the bird was carefully
transferred to his studio for the purpose of being stufi"ed. In all
that pertained to nature and science he was a perfect enthusiast.
It has been frequently matter of surprise how quickly these
birds collect when a large animal dies. None may be seen in any
direction, but in a few minutes after a horse or other large animal
gives up the ghost they may be descried like specks in the aether,
nearing by circles to the prey, when as yet one would not suppose
the effluvia from the carcase had reached above a hundred yards.
This renders it probable that their sight as well as sense of smell-
ing is very acute, bnt that the latter can guide them entirely with-
out aid from the other, I am certain, as I have started them from
carrion within the edge of a forest under bushes which must have
precluded the possibility of their seeing the carcase before they
alighted on it.

March of 1827 arrived, and we were obliged to part with our
agreeable companion. On the 20th of that month he left us to
proceed to England by traversing the Rocky mountains in Lat. 54o
in company with the Hudson's Bay party, which was accustomed
to cross annually to York factory with Spring despatches.

(jTo he Continued,^

Reviews and Notices of BooJcs, 209

REVIEWS AND NOTICES OF BOOKS.

The Life, Travels, and Books of Alexander von Humboldt. "With an in-
troduction by Bayard Taylor. New York, Rudd & Carleton ;
Montreal, B. Dawson & Son, pp. 482.

This is a very able and interesting account of the life and
labours of Humboldt. The author's signature is R. H. S., why
the full name is concealed, we cannot tell. The task undertaken
by him or her, is ably executed. Those who wish to know what
Humboldt did, and the foundation upon which his great fame
rests, will find the information desired in this volume. It does
not profess to be a biography of the great naturalist and philos-
opher, but it is a sketch taken from the most authentic sources of
the course of his life, from the cradle to the grave. It tells us
how and where his youth was spent, at what universities he stud-
ied, who were his teachers, what his favorite pursuits, his early
employments and thirst for foreign travel. A brief notice is given
of his travels and researches, in company with the botanist
Bonpland, in the regions of South America, during the early part
of the nineteenth century. It traces the course of Humboldt's
travels through Russia to the Ural Mountains, and through
northern Asia to the mines of the Altai. Finally, the author gives
a brief account of the character and cost of the great works
prepared and edited by Humboldt ; and concludes with agreeable
notices of his last days. The name of Humboldt has become a
household word in Europe and America. He is everywhere
known and acknowledged to be the prince of Modern Science.
For those who have not much leisure to peruse the works and to
make themselves familiar with the scientific researches of the late
Baron von Hu;nboldt, we would recommend the perusal of this
volume. It is agreeably written, and is worthy of a place in the
study or the family library. A. f. k.

A first lesson in Natural History. By Actcea. (Mrs. Agassiz.) Boston,
Little, Brown, & Co. Montreal, B. Dawson «fc Son. Illustrated,
pp. 82.

This little book has been prepared by its amiable and accom-
plished Authoress in the hope that it may be interesting to
Can. Nat. 4 Vol. V.

210 Reviews and Notices of Boohs.

children. Its aim is to make them acquainted with some of the
curious aud wonderful forms of animal life which are to be found
on the sea shore. Having been revised by Agassiz himself, there
is the best guarantee that its facts may be im^^licitly relied upon.
Children may, therefore, be assured that strange as these stories
are, they are all perfectly true. The four chapters into which the
book is divided treat in succession most pleasantly of sea-Anem-
ones and Corals ; Coral Keefs ; Hydroids and Jelly-fishes ; Star-
fishes and Sea Urchins. They are addressed in the form of
stories to two children, and are so plain aud clear, and yet elegant
in their language, that they may easily be understood and appre-
ciated by very young persons. "We are sure that this will be a
favourite childrens book. Although intended for the young, it
may yet be read with profit by fathers and mothers. It is beau-
tifully printed and the illustrations are good. We trust that the
authoress may be induced to continue these stories, as they seem
to us well-fitted to turn the attention of the young from frivolous
and hurtful tales to the healthy and delightful pursuit of Natural
Science. a. f. k.

A Manual of Scientific and Practical Agriculture for the School and
the Farm. By J. L. Campbell, A.M., Professor of Phys. Science,
Washington College, Va., with numerous illustratiors. pp. 442.
Philadelphia, Lindsay & Blakiston. Montreal, B. Dawson & Son.

This book has been written to supply the rapidly increasing
demand for scientific information applicable to the daily business
of agriculture. The chief purpose kept in view in its several
chapters has been the preparation of a Manual which might serve
as a guide to the young in the acquisition of the sciences per-
tainining to agriculture. None of the systematic books hitherto
published on this subject were adapted to the necessities of the
Southern and Western States of America. This unoccupied place
the present publication is intended to fill. The plan is both sim-
ple and complete. It embraces in well digested and clearly
expressed paragraphs all the subjects which pertain to the science
of farming. The first chapter contains definitions and illustrations
of terms, and the twenty-five following embrace the leading facts
and principles of chemistry, geology, vegetable physiology, prac-
tical treatment of all kinds of soils, and the various cereals, root^

Reviews and Notices of Booh. 211

and plants, with which farming on this continent is conversant.
The history and property of manures, and the application of fer-
tilizers is carefully treated. The planting and culture of com,
wheat, oats, potatoes, hay, beans and peas, tobacco and cotton,
are the topics of successive chaptors. And finally root-crops, to-
gether with the leading facts of animal physiology, and the
selection and care of stock, receive careful attention. The Ap-
pendix contains a list of chemicals and apparatus, with tables of
money and weights and measures. The wood-cut illustrations
are worthy of all praise. The style is highly finished, clear, and
forcible. We regard this book as one of a high order of excel-
elnce, and which might wnth advantage be in the hands of the
young farmers of Canada. a. f. k.

The British Tortrices. By S. J. Wilkinson. (Van Voorst.) —
The great barrier to an exhaustive study of the animals of the
British Islands is its insects. Hence we find naturalists who are
tolerably conversant with our Vertebrate animals, our MoUusca
and Radiata, who scarcely know a single insect. On the other
hand, the naturalist who ventures on the insect kingdom is irre-
deemably committed to its study. A lifetime is quite insufficient
to get through its various groups. He begins with the beetles,
and there he sticks : he does not even become an entomologist ;
he is the student of a group, and is dubbed a coleopterist. Thus
we have works devoted to his use, and a ' Coleopterist's Manual '
to guide him in his studies. If betakes up butterflies and moths,
the same affluence obstructs his progress. He becomes a lepidop-
terist, or a micro -lepidopterist; and only by this exclusive atten-
tion to a branch can he expect to aid in the development of the
science of Entomology. The same is true of the other great
groups of insects, of Diptera, Hymenoptera, Neuroptera, and the
rest. Thus it is that the reputation of men who have spent a
lifetime in the study of animal habits and forms, and made for
themselves an undying fame, is scarcely known to the public at
all. The amount of accurate observation, logical generalization,
and scientific thought, expended on insects alone, is probably as
great as that in all other departments of Zoology. Although its
practical value may be thought less, it is, nevertheless, in this
group of animals that some of the great laws of animal morpho-

212 Reviews and Notices of BooJcs,

logy have been most successfull}'^ worked out, whilst the hosts of
those little creatures that dwell in our forests, live in our fields
become the pests of our houses, our beds, and our food, give a
practical value to the knowledge of their habits, which cfinnot be
claimed by animals of greater size, and which are more easily
observed. The work before us is an illustration of the generally
unappreciated labours of the entomologist. There is a little group
of moths whose caterpillars swarm in our gardens, attack our
beans and peas, and twist themselves curious homes in the leaves
of our limes, laburnams, and other trees. These are the larvae of
the " British Tortrices." Many of them have been figured and
named, but no complete work descriptive of them existed, and
Mr. Wilkinson has in this volume supplied the want. He has
described, with great accuracy, from original specimens, three
hundred species of these insects. As this has been done with the
skill of a master, the work must take its place beside the great
descriptive works devoted to other families of insects. To the
reading public such a work presents no attractions. In passing
from page to page it looks like a wearisome repetition of nearly
the same forms ; but let no one despise who cannot understand,
for in these descriptions lies the very soul of zoological science.
Without an accurate apprehension of individual forms, there could
be no general law of form, and the great science of Morphology
would cease to advance. Every now and then, however, amid the
dreary waste of description, we get a pleasant peep into the
entomologist's way of life. We find his favorite caterpillars
feeding on the ferns of Wimbledon Common, the oaks of New
Forest, the hawthorns of Epping Forest, the birches of the banks
of Dee, or the heather of Scotch mountains. These "habitats"
are suggestive of pleasant rambles amongst the forests, rivers and
mountains of our island ; and we cannot but feel that such pur-
suits must have an invigorating influence on the mind and body,
in addition to their importance in contributing to the advance-
ment of human knowledge. — Athenceum.

The Rudiments of Botany, Structural and Pkysiological. By
Christopher Dresser. (Virtue.) — This very modest title intro-
duces in many respects one of the most complete works on struc-
tural botany in our language. Mr. Dresser is Lecturer on

Reviews and Notices of Books?^ 213

BotaFij, and Master of the Botanical Drawing Classes in the
Department of Science and Art ol the Privy Council for Educa-
tion. In this capacity he has frit the want of more copious illus-
trations than ordinary botanical manuals supj)ly. lie has accord-
ingly endeavoured to supply this want, and lias produced a work
which, f >r completeness and beauty of illustiation, has certainly
no rival. The work is more particularly devoted to structure,
and the physiological remarks are everywhere only secondary and
incidental. It is written in the form of simple propositions easily
comprehended by the student, and every detail of the structure of
plants is copiously illustrated by oiiginal drawings, or by wood-
cuts from works of acknowledged excellence. As the work is
written for Art students, it has been evidently the object of the
author to divest his illustrations of the mere diaivrammatic form
which they assume in most works on botany, and in this, we
think, he has to a large extent succeeded. To say that all the
drawings are of equal excellence would be doing injustice to those
which are executed with gieat truth and excellence; but the
work, as a whole, stands alone in point of illustration, and must
henceforth be the text-book of Art students. We strongly recom-
mend this book to artists, as the want of a knowledge of the real
structure of plants is an acknowledged desideratum in the produc-
tions of many of our first artists. If they attended more to the
laws of plant-life, we should not see their paintings so often dis-
figured by monstrous, and impossible plants. They would learn
here that the general effect of particular groups of plants is pro-
duced by their special forms, and that nothing but a knowledge of
these forms can enable them to give a true expression to the
wondeiful variety of foliage to be formed in nature. — Athenceum.

Professor HalVs Report on the Geology of Iowa. Vol. I. Parta
1 &2.

We should have noticed some time since these elegant volumes,
admirably illustrated, and replete with the results of the applica-
tion of Prof. Hall's talent and matured skill to the new res-ions of
the west. Iowa is a rectangle of 300 miles by 200, its north line
being the parallel of 43^ 30', and its eastern and western bound-
aries the two great rivers of the west, the Mississippi and Missouri.
It is nearly level and consists principally of prairie land with belts
of timber in the river valleys.

214 Reviews and Notices of Books*

The greater part of tlie State rests on the palaeozoic formations,
the wliole of which from the Permian to the Lower Silurian in-
clusive are represented. The points of difference between these
formations in Iowa and in the Eastern States and British
America are such as the following. The Permian system, wanting
in the East, makes its appearance in Iowa and the neighbouring
region of Kansas where it was first recognised. The coal meas-
ures thin out, while the carboniferous limestone, largely developed
in Nova Scotia, but nearly absent in the region of the Appalachians?
re-appears in great force in the west, and with very remarkable
differences in its fauna. The various members of the Devonian
and Silurian systems are represented, but with the exception of
the Niagara limestone and Potsdam sandstone, with diminished
thickness. The only formation newer than the Permian as yet
recognized in Iowa, is the Cretaceous which has not as yet been
fully examined.

All there formations are spread out in an undisturbed and
slighly inclined position, and their principal useful minerals are
coal, galena, and gypsum. The coal measures have an aggregate
thickness of only about 100 feet, and appear to include only two
beds of coal, the most important of which sometimes attains a
thickness of four feet. The coal seams are by no means regular,
but have probably been affected in their original deposition by
many local disturbances ; a remark which applies to these old fossi-
lized bogs much more generally than persons who have not studied
the coal measures in detail are aware of. The coal of Iowa is
bituminous, and of various qualities in reference to the quantity of
earthy matter contained in it.

The lead region of Iowa is a continuation of that of Upper
Missouri. The mineral occurs in vertical fissures widening into
large cavities or caverns, filled with clay and ore, or with compact
ore, and sometimes communicating with flat tabular expansions
or beds. These deposits occur principally in the " Galena Lime-
stone," but are also found in diminished extent in the Trenton
limestone which immediately underlies it. They appear to be quite
wanting in the overlying formations.

The Gypsum occurs in rocks probably of Permian age, but their
detailed examination is not included in this portion of the report.

The second part is devoted entirely to the fossil remains of the

Correspondence, 215

Devonian and Carboniferous rocks, and a great many new species
are described. The fossil plants are not noticed.

Professor Hall has been assisted in the survey by Mr. Worthen
and Mr. Whitney ; the latter of whom acts as chemist and miner-
alogist to the survey. j. w. D.

CORRESPONDENCE.

Extract of a letter to the Editors of the Canadian Naturalist
from Mr, D. W. Beadle, dated St. Catherines, C. W..
February 23, 1860.

Believing- that the larva oi Argynnis Aphroditehas never
been described I send you the following description.

I found the larvse as early as the 8th. of June 1859, of nearly
all sizes from a few days old up to the full grown specimen. They
feed on plants of the genus Viola indiscriminately, not hesitating
in confinement to use our gadren varieties when the native species
are not supplied.

The full grown larva is an inch and a quarter in length, of a
black color and ornamented with parallel rows of black spines, set
with minute branches. The head is bi-mucronate, black anteriorly,
posteriorly reddish-brown. The second segment has two dorsal
spines that are entirely black, the other spines have all a reddish-
brown base and are arranged as follows : between the second and
third segments are two lateral spines, (one on each side,) on the
third segment are two dorsal spices, between the third and fourth
two lateral and on the fourth two dorsal spines; the fifth to the
twelfth segments both inclusive, have six spines, between the
twelfth and thirteenth segments are two dorsal spines, and on the
thirteenth two lateral. The spines are so arranged as to form
rows both lengthwise and across. The underside of the larva is
a little lighter colored than the upper, and the legs are the same
color as the underside. The prolegs are black.

The chrysalis is brown, in shape much like that of Vanessa
Antiopa^ suspended, and without any gilded spots.

216 Meeting of the British Association,

MEETING OF THE BRITISH ASSOCIATION FOR THE
ADVANCEMENT OF SCIENCE,

Meetings op Sections.

A— MATHEMATICAL AND PHYSICAL SCIENCE.

President— ThQ Earl of RossE, F. R. S., &c.

This Section met in a class-room of Marischal College, which
was quite crowded. His Royal Highness the Prince Consort, in
visiting the Sections, entered this room a few minutes after eleven.
His entrance was received with loud cheers, the audience rising to
their feet. He took his seat on the left of the President.

Lord Rosse then said : — Ladies and Gentlemen, — It has recently
been usual at opening the proceedings, to give, as far as may be
practicable, a general outline of the business to be brought before
the Section, and some kind of notice of the order in which
it is likely to be taken. As, however, many papers usually come
in after the meeting of the Section, and as circumstances often
arise rendering it necessary to alter the order of proceeding, any
notice which can be given must necessarily be very imperfect.
The daily notice will, however, in some degree, remove the diffi-
culty. It has also, I believe, been usual to give some slight
account of the general character of the business to be transacted,
so that new members may be enabled better to decide whether to
attend this Section or some other. I have just looked over the
papers that have been sent in. I find that there are papers on
pure mathematics and on applied mathematics : papers more espe-
cially on light and electricity ; on magnetism, on meteorology, and
on the construction of mathematical instruments. Also, papers
in several other minor departments of physics. But, up to the
present time, there are some branches of science in this Section in
which the papers have not been given in and are yet to come.
However, by this account you will be enabled to form some idea
of the character of the business to be transacted. Now first, with
respect to the mathematical papers, I need perhaps hardly say that
essays on so abstruse a subject, can scarcely be of very much gene-
ral interest ; they can scarcely be of interest except to mathema-
ticians. And the subject of mathematics is so extensive, that even
they — unless the papers happen to be on branches related to those

Meeting of the British Association, 217

they have specially studied — may sometimes be unable to do more
than trace the leading principle and general s ope of the papers.
However, without any special mathematical knowledge, a well in-
formed man may, often in the results announced, and I may add
from the observations elicited, obtain very interesting glimpses of
the nature of mathematical processes and some general idea as to
the progress making in that direction. In applied mathematics
there is much more of general interest, and the results are often
perfectly intelligible without special education. I recollect that
at the meeting of the British Association at Oxford, the general
results of a very abstruse investigation in applied mathematics in
physical astronomy were made very interesting. The subject was
so brought forward as to rivet the attention of the whole section,
and there were many ladies present. The paper was given in by
M. Leverrier, and the subject was the identification of a comet.
Discoveries in electricity, light, heat, and magnetism, cannot fail
to be of great general interest. To the human mind nothing is
so fascinating as progress. It is not what we have long had that
we most prize. We highly prize new accessions, but we enjoy
almost unconsciously gifts of far more value, we have long been
in possession of. This is our nature ; thus we are constituted.
It is not surprising, therefore, that we should have a peculiar relish
for new discoveries. (Applause.) The interest of discovery,
however, is not permanent. For a time we are dazzled by its bril-
liancy, but gradually the impression fades away, and at last is lost
entirely in the splendour of some fresh discovery which carries
with it the charm of novelty. When we reflect upon this we
cannot help perceiving in how very different a state the world
would be from what it is if mankind in the beginning had been
in the possession of all the knowledge we now have, and there had
been no progress ever since. We naturally ask why were all those
objects which have been laid before us so hidden — veiled — only to
be brought to light by the vigorous use of our faculties ? How
wonderful from its origin has been the progress of mathematical
science. Beginning perhaps 3000 years ago almost from nothing
— one simple relation from magnitude suggesting another, and
those relations gradually becoming more complicated, more inter-
esting, I may add more important, till at length in our day it
has expanded into a Science which enables us to weigh the plan-
ets, and more wonderful still, to calculate the course they will

218 Meeting of the British Association*

take when acted continually upon by forces varying in magnitude
and direction. When we ask ourselves such questions as these
naturally suggest and thoughtfully work out the answers as far
as we can do to their full depth, we become in some degree con-
scious of the immense moral benefits which the human race has
derived from the gradual progress of knowledge. The discoveries,
however, in Physical Science are ever giving man new powers,
enabling him to supply his many wants. I am sure the mention
of the subject has suggested to you some of the wonderful discov-
eries of later times. For instance, the production of force and
power, almost without limit, by heat, and its application to loco-
motion by land and water, the transmission of thought not slowly
by letter, not short distances by sound, but to immense distances
and instantaneously by electricity. When we look around and
see how man has appropriated to his use the properties of light,
of heat, the powers of wind and water, the materials which have
been placed before him in endless variety on the surface of the
globe which he inhabits, that he has effected all this by knowledge
accumulated by what we call science, it is surely not surprising
that we should look upon discoveries in applied science with sur-
passing interest. The mere utilitarian, however, has been often
reminded that discoveries the most important, and most fruitful
in practical results have frequently in the beginning been appa-
rently the most barren, and therefore that the discoveries of abstract
science are not without interest even for him. I confess, however,
that the gradual development of scientific discoveries ; in fact, in
other words, the steady flow of knowledge into the world — which
like a stream as it proceeds increasing in depth and breadth, points
to its own source, its own origin, which is the origin of man. — I
confess that these powers appear to me to serve far more noble
purposes than merely ministering to the corporeal wants of man,
as they increase, or are supposed to increase, with the progress of
civilization. (Applause). What those purposes are, I think, to
some extent, we can clearly see, though to fathom the full depths
of such an inquiry, would be beyond our powers. Looking merely
on the surface, we perceive that the continual springing up of new
facts, new discoveries, in endless procession, the rewards of indus-
try must tend to make man industrious, to inspire him with hope,
quicken his faculties, and entice him to labour — to labour with
his mind — the hardest of all labour. It forces him to look behind

Meeting of the British Association, 219

and before, to the past and to the future, and it promotes in him
a moral training by the influence it exercises over his thoughts and
habits. (Cheers). Many, no doubt, will feel anxious to see
principles immediately appHed to practice ; in common language,
to see principles made useful. They, I have no doubt, will be
highly gratified in the Mechanical Section. Here they may, per-
haps, occasionally see the same thing ; but more frequently they
will find that the results are but stepping stones, which prepare
the way for further progress — (Applause).

B— CHEMICAL SCIENCE.
President. — Dr Lyon Playfair, C. B. ; F. R. S.

ADDRESS OP DR. LYON PLAYFAIR, F. R. S.

This section was quite crowded. Precisely at half-past 11
o'clock. Dr. Lyon Playfair took the chair, and intimated that the
section would not open until the arrival of H. R. H. the Prince
Consort. At 12 o'clock Prince Albert arrived, and was received
by the company standing. Immediately on the Prince being
seated, the President began to read his opening address. Its chief
topic was the combining proportions of the elements of bodies,
and was as follows : —

My predecessor in this chair, Sir John Herschel, drew our at-
tention to the great importance of studying with increased accu-
racy, the combining proportions of bodies in the hope of deter-
mining the exact numerical relations which prevail between the
elements. He justly regarded it as a subject worthy of the most
accurate experiment, to ascertain whether the combining propor-
tion of the elements or multiples of the combining of Hydrogen,
be as suggested by Prout, cautioning chemists at the sametime
not to accept mere approximative accordances as evidence of this
relation.

I have now to congratulate the Section on the publication of
the laborious investigations of Dumas on this important enquiry.
It required a chemist of great manipulative skill as well as of fer-
tile experiment, to obtain combining numbers for the elements
upon which a greater reliance could be placed, than upon those
determined with such admirable precision by Berzelius that great
master of analysis. The atomic weights found by that chemist did
not, for many of the simple bodies, confirm the suggestion of Prout

220 Meeting of the British Association,

as to the multiple relations of these numbers to the equivalent of
hydrogen. At the same time, the more recent determinations for
the atomic weights of carbon, silver, and some other elements, so
closely coincided with this view, that it was very desirable to ex-
tend new experiments to the bodies which had fractional atomic
weights assigned to them.

In M. Dumas' Memoirs there are the results, thousrh not the
details, of a large series of experiments, on many of the elements.
He obtained numbers of precisely the same value as that by the
method of the Swedish philosopher — numbers which are not the
multiple of the equivalent of hydrogen. But when he pursued
his experiments upon these same elements, with the methods of
discovery and his own inventiveness, then atomic weights were
obtained which corrected themselves from the error inherent in
former methods of analysis, and resulted in being multiples of
the combining proportions of hydrogen, or in standing in a very
simple relation to that number. There is on this point evidence
so clear that there is scarcely a chance of deception. The labours
of Dumas, Pierre, Peligot, and others, have established the relation
by recent determinations of clorine, iodine, bromine, silver, tita-
nium. &c. Elements differing so much in chemical character as
well as in atomic weight, that it is difficult to conceive any fortui-
tous combinations which could have produced such uniformities in
the results of analysis. Hence the general view of Prout, that
the equivalents of the elements, compared with certain unities,
are represented by whole numbers, seems to be established by
recent experiment, although it would be premature to declare that
there are no exceptions to the law.

In this country we are familiar with many ingenious discussions
on the natural grouping of the elements, and the relations of their
equivalent numbers to each other. I allude to the paper of Glad-
stone, Odeling, and Mercer, and to the views of Cork, in America.
Altho' these efforts point to important dependencies of the elements
on each other, yet we cannot adopt them as parts of our scientific
system. Another question of a different character, as regards
equivalents, has recently received attention. I refer to the pro-
posal, to double the equivalents of Carbon and Oxygen, that is to
raise them from 6, and 8, to 10, and 16 respectively. As these
two elements are essentially connected with the whole system of
chemistry, the right determination of their equivalents is a matter
of extreme importance.

Meeting of the British Association, 221

Undoubtedly there are cogent reasons wliicli induce many of
our able chemists to double the equivalents of carbon and oxygen,
and they are well worthy of the calm and deliberate consideration
of a meeting like this. Such an alteration would produce an im-
mense change on the literature of the science, and should only
be adopted if the benefit to be derived from it is proved to be so
great as to justify the inconvenience. This subject will be brought
before the Section on more than one occasion. The change pro-
posed has, in a great measure resulted from the new views of the
classification of organic compounds introduced by Gerhardt. The
recent brilliant progress in organic chemistry has resulted in the
discovery of a vast number of new compounds. A scheme of
classification became urgently necessary for them, and the genius
of that great French Chemist produced a system which has exert-
ed a most important influence on the advancement of science.
The comprehensive system planted by Gerhardt has been carefully
watered and tended by our countrymen, Williamson, Hunt, Ode-
ling, and Brodie — watered until the young plant has attained a
most vigorous growth. In a report upon the state of organic che-
mistry, by one of these gentlemen, we shall have the advantage of
tracing its effect on the advance of science. Another of our
members who admires the beauty of the plant, and the excellence
of the fruit it has borne, fears that it is growing too wildly, and
that the pruning knife might be adopted with advantage. He,
therefore, proposes for our consideration in a paper which will be
laid before you some modifications of the system of classifying
compounds now so prevalent. With the array of talent in our
sections, enlisted in favour of Gerhardt's system, there will be full
justice rendered to the merits of that lamented philosopher in any
discussion which may follow the reading of the paper to which I
allude. In conclusion, I have to congratulate the meeting upon
the important muster of English Chemists in our Section; al-
though we have at the same time to regret that our cold northern
position has prevented our foreign colleagues from joining us and
enjoying that welcome which the warm hearts of our countrymen
would assuredly have accorded to them. — Cited from the London
Athenceum.

222 Miscellaneous,

MISCELLANEOUS.

Abstract of the proceedings of the Geological Society of Loadon.

Session 1859-60.

December, 14, 1859. — Prof. J. Phillips, President, in the
Chair.
The following communication among others was read : —

" On a Terrestrial Mollusc, a Chilognathous Myriapod, and
some new species of Reptiles, from the Coal-formation of Nova
Scotia." By J. W. Dawson, LL.D., F.G.S. &c.

Oq revisiting the South Joggins in the past summer. Dr. Daw-
son had the opportunity of examining the interior of another erect
tree in the same bed which had afforded the fossil stump from
which the remains of Dendrerpeton Acadianum and other terres-
trial animals were obtained in 1851 by Sir C. Lyell and himself.
This second trunk was pointed out to him by Mr. Boggs, the
Superintendent of the Mine. It was about 15 inches in diameter,
and was much more richly stored with animal remains than that
previously met with. There were here numerous specimens of
the land-shell found in the tree previously discovered in this bed,
— several individuals of an articulated animal, probably a Myria-
pod,— portions of two skeletons of Dendrerpeton^ — and seven
small skeletons belonging to another Reptilian genus, and probably
to three species.

The bottom of the trunk was floored with a thin layer of car.
bonized bark. On this was a bed of fragments of mineral char-
coal (having Sigillaroid cell-structure), an inch thick, with a few
Reptilian bones and a Sternbergia-ca&t. Above this, the trunk
was occupied, to a height of about 6 inches, with a hard black
laminated material, consisting of fine sand and carbonized vegeta-
ble matter, cemented by carbonate of lime. In this occurred
most of the animal remains, with coprolites, and with leaves of
Noeggerathia {Poacites'), CarpoUthes, and Calami fesj also many
small pieces of mineral charcoal showing the structures of Lepi-
dodendron, Stigmariay and the leaf-stalks of Ferns, The upper

Mlsccllaiieous, 223

part of this carbonaceous mass alternated with fine grey sand-
stone, which filled the remainder of the trunk as far as seen. The
author remarked that this tree, like other erect Sigillarioe in this
section, became hollow by decay, after having been more or less
buried in sediment ; but that, unlike most others, it remained
hollow for some time in the soil of a forest, receiving small
quantities of earthy and vegetable matter, falling into it, or wash-
ed in by raius. In this state it was probably a place of residence
for the snails and myriapods and a trap and tomb for the reptiles ;
though the presence of coprolitic matter would seem to show that
in some instances at least the latter could exist for a time in their
underground prison. The occurrence of so many skeletons, with
a hundred or more specimens of land-snails and myriapods, in a
cylinder only 15 inches in diameter, proves that these creatures
were by no means rare in the coal-forests ; and the conditions of
the tree with its air-breathing inhabitants imply that the Sigilla-
rian forests w^ere not so low and wet as we are apt to imagine.

The little land shell, specimens of which with the mouth entire
have now occurred to the author, is named by him Pupa vetusta.
Dr. Dawson has found entire shells of Physa Jieterostroplia in the
stomach of Menobranchus lateralis^ and hence he supposes that
the PupcB may have been the food of the little reptiles the remains
of which are associated with them.

Two examples of Spirorhis carhonarius also occurred ; these
may have been drifted into the hollow trunk whilst they were
adherent to vegetable fragments. The Myriapod is named Xylo-
hius Sigillarice^ and regarded as being allied to lulns.

The reptilian bones, scutes, and teeth referable to Dendrerpeton
Acadianum bear out the supposition of its Labyrinthodont afiini-
ties. Those of the new genus, Hylonomus, established by Dr.
Dawson on the other reptilian remains, indicate a type remote
from Archegosaurus and LahyrintJiodon^ but in many respects
approaching the Lacertians. The three species determined by the
author are named by him H. Lyelliij H. aciedentatus, and PC.
Wymani.

Distribution of Forests in North America. — (The subject ot
geographical botany is now exciting much attention, and very
deservedly, for independently of its interest in itself, it is capable
of throwing much light on the vexed questions of the nature and

224 Miscellaneous,

origin of species, and on the changes of climate which the earth
has experienced in past periods. The Smithsonian Institution
has just issued a very interesting pamphlet on this subject
relating to the Trees of North America, from which we make the
following extracts. The first relates to the mode of collecting
specimens for purposes of accurate comparison.)

" Collections of the leaves, fruits, bark, and wood of our native
trees are particularly desirable, and from as many localities as
possible, in order to determine both their range and abundance,
and also to decide those knotty points as to true specific distinc-
tions, which still perplex the most skilful botanists. The speci-
mens from each tree should be kept carefully together, and the
name of the locality and collector given in full. Without such
collections no information as to the large genera of oaks, hickories,
magnolias, and, in fact, most others, can be at all depended on or
made use of. Collections from the extreme corners of the United
States, and from any part of the western mountains, will be par-
ticularly useful in determining all these questions. A good way
of preserving a complete set from each species of tree is to obtain
two pieces of the thick bark of the trunk about a foot square,
taking care not to rub off the mosses or lichens, which are often
very characteristic of the tree. Other specimens of bark from the
branches, sufficient to show all its changes in appearance, and
twigs with leaves, flowers and fruits, may be pressed between the
trunk bark, with sufficient paper of any kind intervening, to
absorb all moisture. One change of this paper will usually be
sufficient, (especially if the bark is dry;) and fruits, if large and
hard, may be so fixed as to hang outside, wrapped in paper.
Particular care is necessary to prevent mixture of specimens.
Blocks of wood from the trunk and branches at various seasons
are also desirable for experimenting upon.

Observations as to the relative abundance of each tree at the
various stations may be expressed numerically, thus : very rare, 1 ;
occasionally met with, 2; not uncommon, 3; common, 4; very
common, 5 ; abundant, 6, &c. ; using numbers up to 10, and
explaining them. Frequently several trees will be found so nearly
• alike in abundance as to require the same number. Notice should
also be made of the nature of the country and soil — whether
mountainous, rocky, gravelly, sandy, or swampy, which will help
to determine the limits of the natural regions. The geological
structure of the district is, however, of secondary importance.

Miscellaneous, 225

The columns of range may be used by observers filling the
blanks or adding to the recorded range in either direction ; but
this must be done carefully and with a perfect knowledge of the
species noted. The name of the county should be given as well
as of the town, and is preferable if only one is stated. Such
blanks, filled up, may be cut out and sent to the Smithsonian
Institution, addressed to the Commissioner of Patents, with the
writer's name. Meteorological observers will take a special in-
terest in the subject, and in most cases can make the best notes
from their habit of observing the connexions of peculiarity of
climate and forest growth."

A second extract is furnished by the general conclusions as to
the causes of the peculiar characteristics of the " Campestrian "
region of the western prairies :

" Now coming to the Campestrian Province we find, as
already stated, that no new forms of trees appear, while those
found rapidly diminish and disappear towards the west. Thirteen
species have not been traced west of its eastern border ; about
ninety extend pretty far into the Texan and Illinois regions, but
only five or six get across the eastern limit of the Camanche and
Dacotah regions, which, however, receive nine or ten more from
the west and north.

The Saskatchewan region, bordering close upon the well- wooded
Lacustrian Province, may have a few more eastern species, and
possibly more from the west, as there is evidence that it is better
watered and approaches in character to the Illinois region.

It will be observed that the southeast and northeast borders of
this province form nearly a right angle with each other,and extending
east into Michigan cause a wide separation of the Lacustrian and
Apalachian provinces. This is one of the most well defined facts
in the distribution of trees. A careful examination of the minute
land office surveys has shown that the line is exceedingly distinct
in Wisconsin and Minnesota, prairies prevailing to the south of
it interspersed with oak-openings and groves of deciduous trees
along the streams, while to the north pine and spruce forests with
tamarack swamps cover the whole country, having the other
Canadian trees with them. This is doubtless in great part due to the
change in the character of soil and of the underlying rocks, which
retain the moisture, while it is completely drained off to the south.
Thus we have here a distinct division of the two eastern forest

Can. Nat. 5 Vol. 7,

i^'26 Miscellaneous,

provinces, assisting to determine where it would be eastward were
it not disguised by local irregularities of surface.

The cause of the disappearance of trees in the Campestrian
Province is, in a word, the deficient and irregular supply of mois-
ture. I need not enter into the proofs of this, but refer to the
records of meteorologists. It is true that this does not materially
affect agriculture in the more eastern regions ; in fact, most crops
will succeed better with less rain than is necessary for most trees
to thrive, and in some years there is even a greater supply ot rain
in the Texan and Illinois regions than eastward. But there are
years and series of years of drought, when in their natural con-
dition the forests take fire from the slightest cause and burn over
large tracts. This was made even more general by the Indians
but since the white settlement has in great degree ceased and
forests have been re-established. In the Apalachian region
droughts have never been sufficient to keep trees from extending
themselves as soon as a forest might be partially destroyed by fire,
and thus the formation of prairies has been prevented. A consi-
deration of the source of the rains will explain why the limit of
prairies has its present direction. Coming north from the Gulf
they are continually carried more and more eastward by the west-
erly winds ; and as the greater part of the moisture is precipitated
before reaching the Ohio river, the Illinois region is deprived /or
man^ years of its due share of rains.

The Texan region lying quite west of the line of travel of those
Gulf streams has to depend on less abundant sources for its rains.
Now, as we go westward the supply rapidly diminishes until in
the Camanche and Dacotah regions it is entirely inadequate to
the growth of trees as well as of most cultivated products ; and in
some parts even grass and other herbage entirely disappear over
vast tracts. From the great bend of the Missouri north, however,
there seems to be an improvement in the country. On the banks
of that river, above Fort Union, there is no long interval without
trees as there is farther south on nearly all the streams, and on
the Saskatchewan there is even less.

The very porous character of the soil and underlying rockg
assists much in this aridity of the country, and we therefore find
that the line marking the junction of the carboniferous rocks of
the Illinois region with the cretaceous and tertiary is a distinct
limitation of many trees.

Miscellaneoiis, 227

Wlien better known the geological character will help much in
dej&ning the physical geography of the surface of this province-
In Texas the border of the Llano Estacado coincides with that
of the Camanche region for a long distance. It is evidently more
the retentiveness of the soil than its mineral composition that
affects the growth of trees, for all soils contain more or less of their
essential ingredients.

Even the saline substances, which are supposed by some to
make deserts of poi tions of the Great Plains, are rather the se-
condary effects of the climate ; for if rains were abundant these
salts would become diffused, and in their proper proportions enter
into the structure of trees and other plants."

Catalogue of Coleoptera collected by George Barnston^ Esq., of
the Hon. Hudsoii^s Bay Company, in the Hudsoii's Bay
Territories.

Dr. Leconte having expressed a wish to examine any Coleop-
tera from the Hudson's Bay Company's Territories which could
be obtained in Montreal, Mr. G. Barnston most obligingly placed
his collection in my hands for transmission to Philadelphia ; and
as Dr. Leconte has kindly furnished me with a list of the species,
I have drawn up the following catalogue of them for publication
in the " Canadian Naturalist." W. s. d'u.

Montreal, June 2nd, 1859.

Coleoptera.

Cincidela longilabris, Say. North end of Lake Winnipeg.

" duodecim-guttata, Dej. " " "

" hirticollis, Say. " « «

Cymnidis reflexa, Lee. Locality not recorded.
Calathus confusus, Lee. Carlton House.

Platynus erythropus, Kirby. (obcordatus, Lee.) Lat. 54° N., long, of
Lake Winnipeg.

" obsoletus, Lee. North end of Lake Winnipeg, and lat. 54<* N.

" sinuatus, Dej. " " "

" (not determined.) " " "

Pterostichus orinomum, Leach. Carlton House ; north end of Lake
Winnipeg ; and lat. 54° N., long, of Lake Winnipeg.

" punctatissimus, Randall. Carlton House.

Amara confusa, Lee. Lat. 54° N., long, of Lake Winnipeg.
" fallax, Lee. North end of Lake Winnipeg, and lat. 54* N.

228 Miscellaneous,

V

Amara lacustris, Lee. North end of Lake Winnipeg, and lat. 54^ N.
" interstitialis, Lee. Carlton House, and north end of Lake Win-
nipeg.
" " Var. North end of Lake Winnipeg.

" carinata, Lee. Mackenzie River and Great Slave Lake.
" obesa. Say. Locality not recorded.
Agonoderus pallipes, Fabr. " "

Harpalus amputatus, Say. Carlton House.

" pleuriticus, Kirhy. North end of Lake Winnipeg, and lat.
540 N.
Chlsenius niger, Randall. North end of Lake Winnipeg.
Carabus serratus. Say. " " "

" Agassii, Lee. " " "

" Lapilayi, Lap. " " " and lat. 54 N.

Nebria Mannerheimii, Fiseh. Carlton House.

Elaphrus Californicus, Maun. var. punctatissimus, Lee. Mackenzie

River and Great Slave Lake.

Bembidium impressum, Fabr. North end of Lake Winnipeg.

" transversale, Dej. " " " and lat. 54? N^

Dytiscus confluens, Say. Lat. 54" N., long, of Lake Winnipeg.

" Harrisii, Kirby. " '' "

Helopborus lineatus, Say. North end of Lake Winnipeg.
Necrophorus pygmasus, Kirby. Lat. 54P N., long, of Lake Winnipeg.
Silpha lapponica, Herbst. Carlton House ; north end of Lake Win
nipeg ; and lat. 54*' N.
" trituberculata, Kirby. North end of Lake Winnipeg.
Staphylinus villosus, Grav. North end of Lake Winnipeg, and lat

540 N.
Hister depurator, Say. " " " " "

Pediacus planus, Lee. Lat. 54« N., long, of Lake Winnipeg.
Dermestes lardarius, Linn. North end of Lake Winnipeg.
Attagenus megatoma, Fabr. Mackenzie River and Great Slave Lake.
Byrrhus Americanus, Lee. North end of Lake Winnipeg.
Cytilus varius, Fabr. " " " "

Platycerus depressus, Lee. " " " "

Lachnosterna fusca, Frolich. Carlton House and north end of Lake

Winnipeg.
Dichelonycha subvittata, Lee. North end of Lake Winnipeg.
Trichius piger, Fabr. North end of Lake Winnipeg, and lat. 54° N.
Chrysobothris scabripennis, Lap. North end of Lake Winnipeg.
Melanophila longipes, Say. Mackenzie River, Great Slave Lake, and

north end of Lake Winnipeg.
Dicerca tenebrosa, Kirby. Locality not recorded.

" prolongata, Lee. Carlton House, and north end of Lake
Winnipeg.
Ancylocheira Nuttalii, Kirby. North end of Kake Winnipeg, and

lat. 540 N.

Miscellaneous, 22 9

Limonius vagus, Sec. Locality not recorded.

Corymbites Kendali, Kirhy. Lat. 54° N., long, of Lake Winnipeg.

" aeripennis, Kirby. North end of Lake Winnipeg.

Campylus denticomis, Kirhy. " " "

Collops vittatus, Say. " " "

Clerus (Thanasimus) undulatus, Say. Mackenzie River and Great

Slave Lake.
Corynetes violaceus, Fabr. Carlton House and north end of Lake

Winnipeg.
Anobium foveatum, Kirby. Locality not recorded.
Mordella pustulata, Mels. North end of Lake Winnipeg.
Meloe rugipennis, Lee. " " "

Serropalpus substriatus, Hald. " " " and lat. 54 N.

Upis reticulatus, Say. Abundant, Carlton House and north end of

Lake Winnipeg.
Pitho niger, Kirby. North end of Lake Winnipeg.
Pissodes affinis, Randall. " " "

Lepyrus colon, Zinw. (Jide Kirby.) " "

Alophus (not determined). Locality not recorded.
Cleonus (not determined). " " "

Bostrichus pini, Say. North end of Lake Winnipeg.
Criocephalus ag-restis, Kirby. " " " and lat. 54° N.

Phymatodes proteus, Kirby. North end of Lake Winnipeg ; lat. 54° N.

and long, of Lake Winnipeg ; Great Slave Lake ; and Mackenzie

River.
Clytus undulatus. Say. Mackenzie River, Great Slave Lake, and north
end of Lake Winnipeg.
" longipes, Kirby. North end of Lake Winnipeg.
Monohammus scutellatus, Say. Mackenzie River, Great Slave Lake

and lat. 54° N.
Rhagium lineatum, Oliv. Mackenzie River and Great Slave Lake.
Acmaeops proteus, Kirby. North end of Lake Winnipeg, lat. 54 N.

and Great Slave Lake,
*Leptura Chrysocoma, Kirby. " " " "

Chrysoraela multipunctata. Say. Abundant, Carlton House.

" scripta, Fabr. Mackenzie River and Great Slave Lake.

" interrupta, Fabr. North end of Lake Winnipeg.

" Adonidis, Fabr. Mackenzie River and Great Slave Lake.

" Polygoni, Linn. North end of Lake Winnipeg.

" cyanea, Mels. " " "

Bromius vitis, Fabr. Mackenzie River and Great Slave Lake.
Hippodamia quinquesignata, Kirby. Lat. 54° N,, long, of Lake Win-
nipeg.
Coccinella 12-maculata, Gebler. North end of Lake Winnipeg.

" transversoguttata, Falderm. " " "

" lacustris, Lee. " " "

Mysia 15-punctata, Oliv. " " "

* This species occurs at Quebec in July.

230 Rejjort of the

ANNUAL REPORT OF THE COUNCIL OF THE NATURAL

HISTORY.

Presented to the Society^ May^ 1860.

la presenting the customary annual Report, the Council have
to congratulate the Society on the marked increase in its useful-
ness and prosperity in the past year, consequent, in part, on the
present commodious and well-placed Building, and in part on
the increased numbers and activity of its members.

In the past year the internal arrangements, and furniture of
the building, have been completed ; large additions have been
made to the Museum; many important original investigations
have been undertaken by members of the Society, and the results
have been published in its proceedings. The annual Somerville
course of free lectures has been successfully delivered. These
lectures, as well as the ordinary meetings, have been even more
largely attended than in former years.

The publication of the Naturalist has been carried on with its
usual success ; and the number of members has steadily increased,
while the meetings have been occupied much more fully than
formerly, by discussions of a scientific character. These successes
have not been attained without much labor and expense ;
but we have the satisfaction of announcing that the Government
and Legislature have, at length, adequately acknowledged the
claims and Provincial utility of the Society, by a grant in aid of
its funds.

Of the points above briefly noticed, some require a more
detailed mention, which may be given under the following
heads : —

ORIGINAL PAPERS BEAD.

Of the different departments in which this Sooiety endeavors
to promote the cause of Canadian science this must be regarded
as the chief. We do not desire to undervalue the important
work of collecting specimens for our Museum ; but it is to be re-
garded as, in some respects, merely amassing the material on
which f^killed labor must be expended. The popular exposition
of scientific principles in our public lectures is also a valuable
means of cultivating the love and pursuit of science. The original

Natural History Society. 231

investigations, carried on by members of the Society and published
by it, must, however, give it its standing among other scientific
bodies, and it is by these that the value of its operations will be
estimated abroad.

In this important department much has been done in the past
year, and the Society has now connected with itself a zealous
and constantly increasinor band of laborers, who are daily extend-
ing the limits of our knowledge of Canadian Natural history and
allied subjects.

In the department of Ethnology and social statistics, several
valuable communications have been presented to the Society.
One, by Principal Dawson, had reference to the art of Pottery,
as practised by the aborigines of Canada, and evidenced by an
ancient Indian vase in the collection of the Society. Another
fr^m an anynomous correspondent, is a very interesting notice of
the manners and present condition of the Indian tribes of the
M'^Kenzie River, and the Arctic coast of America. Another,
prepared by a committee of the Society, relates to certain points
of interest connected with the Egyptian antiquities, presented by
Mr. Ferrier, and especially to the antiquity and mode of prepara-
tion of the mummied remains contained in the collection. A
fourth, the most important of the whole, is an elaborate investi-
gation of the vital statistics of Canada, by Mr. P. P. Carpenter, a
paper which, it is hoped, will not be merely a contribution to
knowledge, but will give a practical stimulus to the sanitary im-
provement, so much needed for the comfort and health of the
laboring classes in our towns.

In Botany the Society has received a number of catalogues,
which must be regarded as important contributions to our know-
ledge of the geographical distribution of American plants. The
principal are, that of the Holmes Herbarium of the University
of McGill College, prep ired by the late Prof. Barnston, that of
Prescott plants, by Mr. B. Billings, that of the plants of the river
Ronge, by Mr. D'Urban, and of the AlgaB of the St. Lawrence,
by the Rev. Mr. Kemp. In addition to these, we have had very
interesting- papers on the Reproductive system of Vaucheria, and
on the mode of studying the Algse, by Mr. Kemp ; on the genus
Allium^ as found in Canada, by Mr. G. Barnston ; and we may
properly add here an interesting biographical sketch of the Great
Western explorer, Douglas, by the same author.

232 Rqyort of the

In Zoology Mr. Bell has given us the most complete list hitherto
published of the marine and fresh- water mollusks and radiates of
the St. Lawrence, beside a number of other facts, bearing on the
Zoology of that region. Mr. D'Urban has done a similar service
for the previously unexplored valley of the River Rouge. Both,
gentlemen, it is proper to state, are proteges of the head of the
Canadian Geological Survey, and have done these services to
science under his auspices. Dr. Gibb, of London, an old and
valued friend of the Societv, has contributed some curious notes
on the sounds produced by American insects; and Dr. Dawson
has presented to us a complete summary of the natural history of
the tubicolous marine worms of the Gulf of St. Lawrence, ani
the description of a new Canadian fish, the Gasterosteus gymnetes.

Geology is a department always bkely to take an importaat
place in the labours of this Society, more especially as the officers
of the Geological Survey of Canada are among our most valued
and active contributors. In this sulject we have to notice three
papers by Prof. Dawson, one on the microscopic structures of
our Canadian limestones, and on the origin of these great sheets
of calcareous matter in the deposition of the comminuted frag-
ments of shells and corals, another in continuation of the Geology
of the tertiary deposits of the lower St. Lawrence, and a third
which for the first time brings the Silurian rocks of the peninsula
of Nova Scotia into comparison with those ot other parts of Ame-
rica. To this last paper. Prof. Hall, of Albany, has added des-
criptions of the new species of fossils, characteristic of these rocks.
Mr. Billings is, as usual, one of our most important contributors.
His papers on American Trilobites, on new genera of Brachiopo-
da, on the fossils of the Chazy Limestone, and on new species of
fossils from the middle and lower Silurian rocks of Canada, are
all steps in advance in Canadian palaeontology, of which any So-
ciety might be proud to be the medium. We have also to thank
Mr. Hunt for contributions to chemical Geology, which if not
first published by this society, have at least through its means
been more widely made known in Canada. Lastly, the series of
original papers for this session has been fitly closed by the very
interesting paper read by Sir W. E. Logan, at the April meeting
of the Society, on the extiaoidinary impressions recently found in
the Potsdam sandstone at Peith, C.W., constituting with the sin-
gular Protichnites, previously discovered by the same geologist,
some of the oldest and most wonderful traces of life preserved in
our Canadian rocks.

Natural History Societij, 2o6

In addition to the original contributions above referred to,
many abstracts and reviews of papers and other publications im-
portant to Canadian science, have been prepared by members of
the Society and published in the Naturalist.

It was deemed proper by the Council to prssent to His Royal
Highness the Prince Consort, on Uie occasion of his presiding at
the meeting of the British Association in Aberdeen, a copy of the
Naturalist from the commencement. This duty was performed by
the President; and the volumes bound in the best style by Mr.
Lovell, were presented and graciously received. The correspon-
dence on this subject is appended to the Report.

PUBLICATION OP THE NATURALIST.

The editing committee report that since last annual meeting
Vol. IV. has been completed. It consists of 504 pages, 8vo.,
being 24 pages larger than Vol. HI., and contains twenty-two
original articles presented to, or read before the Society, and

written expressly for the Magazine, occupying Pages 217

Fourteen selected articles — many of which, though written

for other purposes, were first published in its pages ;

and others of which were revised and amended by the

autliors — occupying 191

Miscelhineous Matter, nearly all original, as Reviews of Books,

Correspondence, and the Societies' Reports 96

504

Wood engravings have been as usual, freely furnished by the
publishers, who still continue with great liberality to publish the
Magazine at some loss to themselves. The Editing Committee
regret that the proceedings of the Society have not been so regu-
larly reported in the Naturalist as is desirable, and recommend
that, in future, this duty be assigned to the Committee.

The circulation of ih.Q, Naturalist has not materially increased :
nor do the Committee anticipate any great im()rovement in this
respect, until the Society shall be in such a position as to procure
a copy for each of its members, and to distribute the work more
extensively in Great Britain, and in foreign countries. The Na-
turalist is doing a most important work in Canada, in stimulating
the taste for natural science, and in giving the means of publica-
tion to observers ; but its value as a medium of publication and

234 Report of the

as a means of extending the knowledge of Canada and of en-
larging its scientific reputation, is much diminished by the re-
stricted circulation abroad, necessitated by the narrow pecuniary
circumstances of the Society. A vigorous effort should be made
to remove this evil in the coming year, and to secure for the
Naturalist, now by far the most important representative of the
state of Natural Science in Canada, the circulation v^hich its
merits demand.

In thanking the Editing Committee for its services, the Coun-
cil regard it as nothing more than an act of justice to make espe-
cial mention of the services of Mr. D. Allan Poe, on whom
the immediate editorial superintendence of the Naturalist has
devolved, and to whose skill and unwearied attention much of the
success of the publication is due.

MUSEUM AND LIBRARY.

The arrangement and improvement of the Society's collection,
have been steadily advancing, and the cabinet-keeper, Mr. Hunter,
deserves great credit for the zeal which he has displayed in this,
as 'well as in adding to the collection by preparing and setting up
numerous specimens of animals presented to the Society. The
report of the Curator, Dr. Fenwick, shows that the number of
donations has been very large. The most important of the whole
is the Ferrier collection of Egyptian antiquities, which is one of
the most attractive features of the collection. As at present ar-
ranged, the Society's collection of Canadian birds is remarkably
complete and available for reference. The collection of Mam-
mals, though containing a number of good specimens, is still
very defective. It is much to be desired that members interested
in these subjects, would bring up to the same degree of perfection
with the birds, the collection of Canadian Invertebrate Animals,
Plants, Fossils and Minerals. In all of these departments there
is a great amount of material of little comparative value in con-
sequence of the want of modern scientific arrangement. The
aquaria, which we owe to the exertions of Mr. Leeming and Mr.
Ferrier, now constitute a portion of our Museum of much inter-
est and some scientific value.

The donations to the Library have been comparatively few, and
the state of the Society's funds has not permitted the purchase of
books. It is hoped, however, that something may ere long be
done in this direction, as the library is now much in want of

Natural History Society. 235

many of the more modern works on Natural History. There is
also a prospect that the Committee appointed to organize a sys-
tem of exchanges for the Naturalist^ may be able in this way to
procure for us some of the scientific periodicals, not now received
by the Society.

It would be of much service to the students of Natural science
in Montreal, were there a mutual understanding between the in-
stitutions having libraries of reference on science, as, for instance,
the McGill College, the Board of Arts and Manufactures, the
Geological survey, and th is Society, that in ordering books the one
should endeavor, as far as possible, to supplement the deficiencies
of the others. The subject is worthy of the attention of the Li-
brary Committee in the coming year.

PUBLIC LECTURES.

The Somerville course for the past year consisted of the follow-
ing Lectures : —

1. — On the uses and advantages of Foreign Travel, by the Pre-
sident, the Lord Bishop of Montreal.

2. — On Crystallization as a force in Nature, by Principal Daw-
son.

3. — On the History of Astronomy, by Prof. Johnson.

4.' — On the Microscope, by T. D. King, Esq.

5. — On the Oyster, by J. Leeming, Esq.

6. — On Mountains and Volcanoes, by Prof. Hunt.

In addition to the ordinary Course, the exhibition of the Ferrier
collection furnished the occasion of two interesting lectures on
the present and ancient state of Egypt, for which we have to
thank the Rev. Prof. Cornish and Mr. R. W. Ferrier.

FINANCIAL POSITION.

The Treasurer's accounts for the past year still exhibit the efi"ects
of the increased expenditure attendant on the removal of the So-
ciety to its new building, on which there also remains a debt,
secured by mortgage and note, of £850. The Society is now,
however, owing to its improved accommodation, in a position
much more efliciently to carry out its objects, to increase its
membership, and to merit that support from the public and the
Legislature, which there is now good reason to expect.

In the coming year the Legislative aid and members' fees will
suffice to meet all the unpaid accounts and interest of the debt,

236 Report of the

and to provide for the current expenses ; and it is hoped that in
subsequent years, by economical management, some reduction of
the debt may be effected, and means reserved for additions to the
Library, and for more extensively promoting the circulation of
the proceedings of the Society abroad.

GENERAL RECOMMENDATIONS.

Toward the close of the last Session two important branches of
the operations of the Society were initiated, in the organization of
a Microscopical Section, and in the appointment of a Committee on
adulterations of articles of food. They have not as yet reported to
the Council, but they are warmly commended to the fostering
care of our successors.

It is the practice in most Societies similar to this, that an
address on the progress of science in coni,ection with the So-
ciety should be prepared and delivered by the President at
the Annual Meeting. This has usually been done by us in
an imperfect manner in the report of the Council ; but the
operations ot the Society are now so important that this can
scarcely any longer suffice, and your Council, therefore, re-
commend that in future it shall be considered as a part of the
duty of the retiring President, and, in his absence, of the 1st Vice-
President, to prepare an address for the Annual Meeting, including
notices of the papers read and of the other operations of the Society.
The report of the Council will then be confined to the business
affairs of the Society.

The approaching visit of His R. H. the Prince of Wales will
demand on the part of our successors an effort to represent as
effectually as possible those departments of Canadian science
which specially belong to the Province of this Society. This es-
pecially merits attention, inasmuch as the Board of Arts and
Manufactures has selected for its exhibition building the ground
adjoining that occupied by the Society. Our collections will thus
be brought under the notice of a much larger number of visitors
than usual, and it is possible that some arrangement might be
made for rendering our museum still more useful by opening it
as a part of the Great Exhibition to be held on that occasion.

'Natural Hlstonj Society, 237

Presentation of the '' Naturalist " to H. K. H.

Prince Albert.

See House, Montreal, May 6, 1859.

Sir, — At a recent meeting of the Incorporated Montreal Naturaj
History Society, I was requested to forward to you the accompa-
nying volumes of a bi-monthly periodical issued by that Society,
entitled the " Canadian Naturalist," which they desire, through
you, to ha allowed respectfully to oflfer to H.R.H. the Prince Con-
sort. The (liflferent articles in the magazine are written by the
members of the Montreal Natural History Society, and the plates
are executed and the work printed and bound in this city. It
may, therefore, be considered as a specimen of the progress that
is makino- here in Natural Science and in the Arts. And from
the interest which His Royal Highness takes in receiving things
connected with these matters, and as he is himself to be President
at the ensuing meeting of the British Association for the advance-
ment of Science, we are led to believe that these volumes will
meet with a favourable reception.
I have the honor to be, Sir,

Very respectfully.

Your faithful Servant,
(Signed) F. Montreal

Vice President of the Montreal Natural History Society.

To the Right Hon.

Sir E. BuLWER Lttton, Bart., M.P.,

Secretary of State for the Colonies.

Governor's Secretary's Office,
Toronto, July 23, 1859.

My Lord, — I am directed by His Excellency the Governor

General to transmit herewith a copy of a despatch from the

Secretary of State for the Colonies, acknowledging the receipt of

your Lordship's letter of the 6th of May.

I have the honor to be, my Lord,

Your Lordship's obedient Servant,

(Signed) R. T. Pennefather .

The Right Rev.

The Lord Bishop of Montreal.

23S Report of the

[Copy, Canada, No. 4.]

Downing Street,

27111 June, 1859.
Sir, — My predecessor in this Department received from the
Bishop of Montreal, as Vice-President of the Natural History
Society of Montreal, a letter dated the 6th of May last, accom-
panied by volumes of a periodical issued by the Society, entitled
the "Canadian Naturalist," which they desired to offer to his
Royal Highness the Prince Consort.

His Royal Highness has requested that the expression of His
Royal Highness's best thanks may be conveyed to the Bishop of
Montreal, and to the Society over which he presides, for the
valuable work which they have sent to him, and the assurance of
the high value which he shall attach to these volumes as the sign
of the cultivation of the Sciences and Arts in the important North
American Colonies of Her Majesty.

I have, (fee,
(Signed) Newcastle.

STATEMENT OF LIABILITIES OP THE NATURAL
HISTORY SOCIETY.

\st May, 1890.

Sundry open accounts, % 673 9*7

Interest due on Mortgages, 257 50

Balance due Treasurer, 126 28

The Society's note due July 11, 1860, 1000 00

Mortgage favor of Wm. Watson, Esq., 400 00

Do. Do. Wm. Nivin, Esq., 2000 00

$4457 75

JAMES FERRIER, Jr|

Treasurer,
Montreal, 1st May, 1860.

{^To he continued in next number.')

Natural History Society.

239

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240 Errata*

NATURAL HISTORY OF THE VALLEY OF THE RIVER ROUGE.

ERRATA.

1st Part. Vertebrataj Vol. IV.

Page 254, line 10 from bottom, for " he " and " his," read it and its.
" 268, " 8 " top, " " 40th " read zmh.

" 269, " 18 '' bottom, " "879" " 379.
" 271, " 14 " top, " " congregating " read cowg-rg^aimg.

271, " 17 " top, " "2" read 3.

273, " 3 " bottom, " "causes "read cause.

2nd Part. Invertebrata. Vol. V.
" 82, " 16 from top, for " vitresis " read vitreus.
82, " 20 " top, for " rutator " read scrutator.

n
u

n

" 83, " 9 " bottom, for " Nichius " read Trichius.

" 83, " 16 " " " " microphagus " read miarophagus.

" 84, " 31 " top, after Nyctobates, for " not determined" read

not described.

(<

84, (note), line 6 from bottom, for " Ellydina " read Ellychnia.

85, line 9 from bottom, for " lateripolia" read laterifolia.

"■ 85, " 11 " " " "pontatis" read /roniah's.

" 86, " 5 " top, for " cappripennis " read cupripennis.

« 86, " 11 " " " " Tenebris " read Teneftno.

" 88, " 18 " bottom, for " Ardepias " read Asclepias.

" 91, " 26 and 29 from top, for " Shipper" read Skipper*

" 93, " 14 from top, for " Medaria " read Mudaria.

" 93, " 7 " bottom, for " Sophocanipa " read Lophocampa.

" 93, " 7 " " " " Jussock " read rwssocA;.

*' 94, " 12 " " insert Guen after " Plusia mortuorum."

" 95, " 1 " top, insert Walker a.fter "EUopium aquallaria."

95, " Bleptina surrectalis " should precede " Pyralis n. sp.

95, line 1 from bottom, for " Samhercalis " read Samhucalis.

96, " 9 " top, for "Miero-Lepidoptera" read Micro-Lepidoptera.
" 97, " 4 " " " " Doran " read Dolan.

" 97, " 6 " bottom, for " galhauns " read galhanus.

98, " 8 " top, for " companulatus " read campanulatus.

MONTHLY METEOBOLOGICAL REGISTER, ST. MARTINS, ISLE JESUS, CANADA EAST, (NINE MILES WEST OF MONTREAL,) FOR THE MONTI

Latitude, 4.i degrees :!2 miuutca Nortb. Longitude, 73 degrees 30 minutes West. Heigbt .ibove tlie level of tlie Sea, 118 feel.

BY CHARLES SMALLWOOD, M.D., LL.D.

I OK Al'lUL, 18f>n.

fl

o

Temporaturo

of tbl!

s

32» F.

Air.-F

•o

(English iiiclien.)

a

C'i.m.

2 p.m.

10 p. ni.

Ga. m.

2 p.m.

10 p. m.

29. 371

29. 307

29. 521

34 0

40.0

27.1

78S

650

700

10.0

20.0

17.0

»

071

3*7

851

20.1

32 1

31.9

4

•»-;o

307

291

29.0

42.0

30.0

n

227

250

451

31.1

38.2

31.2

n

(1711

C02

801

30.1

46.7

341

(158

(M

722

30.1

66.8

M.l

H

Jiol

441

CIO

38.1

40.2

41.0

o.-,t

747

972

38.0

68,0

■38.0

10

901)

054

201

28.6

12.0

40.1

570

.ISl

M7

S3. 4

49.6

37.7

r?

801

402

317

30.1

65.3

42.2

IS

sti

479

015

31.2

41.0

40.2

14

in

6-17

712

24.2

26.1

18.9

TS

RO. 000

911

980

12.1

32.0

27.8

l<t

COi

971

SOO

32.0

36.1

34 6

17

20.301

204

ilOO

•W.l

66.1

36.1

IS

SO. SSI

30.221

30. 200

25.0

43.2

29.2

ID

272

29.014

29. 800

SO.O

60.1

43.1

29. »i2

311

417

SC.7

64 9

50.2'

■>!

4)7

347

4«

13.0

03.7

48.0

f>,

CSI

314

114

30.7

01.7

50.5

n

500

414

571

34 2

61.0

39.0

°-l

030

4.51

Clio

Sl.O

39.8

311.0

W

U71

710

714

25.4

46.2

38. 3

n

657

not

811

37.2

63.0

42.7

n

911

901

9.54

35.2

65.2

40. 3

■«

no. 001

912

847

32.7

67.4

46.3

?ti

952

000

917

3,5.4

72.1

65.2

.-10

970

1

912

871

43.0

76.2

67.0

Tension of Aqueous
Vapour.

2 p. 111. to p. m.

.175

. 051

.081

.112

.180

.M8

.136

.211

.203

.129

.182

.VIS

.170

.083

.015

.113

.225

.110

.130

.161

.251

.177

.155

.136

.100

.178

.162

.137

.127

.209

.182
.0S5
.1«
.199
.201
. 2.12
.329
.225
.305
.181
.200
.321
. 169
. 082
.112
.136
.336
.186
.398
.151
.416
.406

.218
.271
.270
.305

.117
.008
.156
.170
. 149
.175
.208
.235
.151
.225
.193
.237
.203
.061
.117
.169
.170
.130
.221
.303
.285
.283
.107
.130
.182
.215
.203
.192
.209
.230

Humidity of tbo
Atmosphere.

.90
.89

10 p. m.

.73
.62
.79
.74
.85
.73
.72
.91
.76
.79

.65
.57
.03
.63
.75
.67
.75
.73
.72
.74
.67
.65
.88
.67
.60

.75
.89
.SO
.86
.89
.80
.91
.70
.90
.87
.89
.82
.60
.78
.81
.80
.81
.79
.88
.85
.78
.68
.70
.79
.78
.82
.02

Ilircetion of "Wiiul.

6 a.m.

E.S. E.
N. hy W.
S. by E.
N. E. by E.
N. K. by E.
N. W.
S. S. W.
S. S.. E.

N. :<. E.

N. E. by E.
W. by N.
E.

W. S. W.
W. N. W.
W. N. W.
S. S. E.
R. S. K.
N. N. W.
W. by S.
S. S. E.
E.

A.E. by E.
\V. N. W.
W. N. W.

s. s. w.
w. s w.

S. W. by \V.

s. s. vr.

N. E. by E.
E. S. E.

2 p.m.

N.W.

W.

S. S. E.
N. E. by E.
N. E.
N. N. E.
S S. \V.
S. S. E.

w. s w.

S. S. E.
N. N. W.
S by E.
W.
W. N.W.

w. s. \v.

S.S. E.
W. S. W.
S. W. by S.
S.W.
S. S. E.
E. by E.
E. S: E.
W. S. \V.
W.S.W.
S. E.
W.

W. by N.
S. Vy E.
S. ]■;. by B.
\E.

10 p.m.

N.N.E.
S. W.

N. 1. bv E.
N. E. bv E.
N. E.
S. S. W.
S. E.
S. by W.
N. N. E.
S. S.E.
N. by W.
S.E.
S. W.
W. N. W.

s. w.

S. S. E.
\V. N. W.

s. s. w.
s.
s. s. w.

N. E. by E.

S.

W. N. W.

W. N. \V.

S. S. W.

W. N. \V.

W. S. W.

S.E.

S.E.byE.

E.S.E.

Amount
of, in
inches.

0.600

"o.'iiss

9.160

"o.'iin

Amount
of, in
inches.

0.75
"l.6o"

luapp.

WEATHEH, CLOrrS, REMAKKS, &C. &C.

[A cloudy sky is represented by 10, a cloudless one by 0.]

Cu. Str.
Clear.
0. C. .Str.
Cu. Str.
Rain.
Snow.
Clear.
Rain.
Cu. Sir.

Clear.

Rain Mith Thunder.
Clear.

Cu. Sir.
C. C. Str.

Clear.
Cu. Str.

19 p. ni.

Cu. Str.
Clear.
Cu. Str.
Clear.
Cu. Str.
Cleai-.

Rain.
Cu. Str.
St.

Cu. Str.
Cir. Str.
C. C. Sti-.
Clear.

Cu. Str.
Clear.

C. C. Str.
Clear.

Cu. Str.
C. 0. Sir.
Clear.

Cirr. 1. Lunar Halo.

Clear.

Snow.

Clear.

C. C. Sir s.

Clear.

Cu. Str. 10.

Clear. Aurora llurcilii*.

ICu. Str. 10.

Rain.

Cu. Str. 10.

" ■ -1. Aurora IJurcaliit.
Clear.

.\iirora Korealis

Cu. St. 10.
10.
Clear.

C. 0. SI f . 4.
Snow.

Cu- Str. 1.
Clear.

REPORT FOE THE MONTH OF MAY, 1860.

X

1

1

1

1

Sols

OZOSE.

BAIN.

SNOW.

MTEATHEE, CLOITDS, ItEMiims, &C

4c.

s

and

reduced to
32" V.

Temperature of the 1
Air.-E.

Tension of A((Ucous 1
Vapour. ]

Humidity of the 1
Atmosphere. |

direction of \Mnd. 1

f A cloudy sky is represented by 10, a cloitdl

a

o

(EnBlish inches.)

6 a.m.

1

Mean

amount

of

Amonnl
of, in
inches.

Amoimt
of, in
inches.

6 a. 111.

2 p.m.

10 p.m.

2 p.m.

10 p. m.

6 a. in.

2 p.m.

19 p.m.

6 a.m.

2 p.m.

10 p. m.

6 a. m.

2 p. m.

10 p. m.

Ga. m.

2. p. m.

10 p. in.

29. 900

29. 930

19.9

79.5

23.8

.228

.217

.209

.61

.26

.67

S. E.

S.E.

S.E.

125.39

0.0

Clear.

Clear.

Clear.

890

920

41.9

60.9

53.2

.275

.360

.288

.92

.60

.70

S.E.

E.byS.

N. E.

11.60

0.6

Hazy.

"

■t

29 990

812

725

47.3

71.5

59.0

.291

.270

.318

.89

.32

.63

E.

S. W. by \V.

S. S. E.

8.50

0.6

Clear.

"

««

711

621

50.0

71.1

69.1

.256

.263

.352

.71

.31

.70

E. S. li.

N. E. by E.

N. E. bv E.

131.10

1.6

Cu. Sir. 10.

"

860

9.54

981

67.0

73.2

68.4

.262

.315

.357

.65

.12

.70

N. N.E.

S. S. E.

S. by E.

9.10

1.0

Clear.

"

"

30 017

997

SO 001

47.0

84 2

62.2

.267

.640

.317

.81

.47

.61

S.E.

S.

S.

12.20

1.0

"

••

7

29.920

002

OW

61. 3

72.1

67.9

.383

.489

.385

.90

.62

.81

S. by E.

S.E.

N. N. i:.

87.70

1.6

Hazv.

"

Cu. Sir.

Ift.

8

990

911

001

47.0

74 3

69.9

.267

.532

.419

.80

.63

.85

N. (i. E.

S. S.W.

s. s. w.

153.10

1.5

Cu.Str. 1.

Ou. Str. 1.

Clear.

.113

.87

.91

.99

S.E.

S.E.

S.E.

109.10

3.0

Inapp.
0.160

Clear.

10

29. 947

29.811

29.879

62.2

63.4

67. 1

.368

.543

.152

96

.91

.91

S.E.

E. S. E.

S.S.E.

219.10

5.0

Cu. Str. 1.

*' I.

Slight Rain.

11

611

846

30. 050

00.3

70.1

63.6

.480

.011

.510

.91

.60

.88

S. S. E.

.S. S E.

S. S. E.

11.16

5.S-

4.

" 1.

C. C. Str.

8.

1",

9118

30. 001

110

64.2

81.6

69.2

.629

.617

.635

.89

.58

.90

S. S. E.

S. by W.

S. S. E.

2.70

0.0

Clear.

Clear.

Clear. Aurora Borcalis.

980

20.691

29.911

69.6

83.1

65.6

.403

.697

.337

.79

.63

69

S.S. E.

E. by S.
N. £ by E.

S.E.byE.

81.60

1.3

Cu. Str.

1. Solar Halo, dint. It.

H

811

717

797

63.8

70.1

61.0

.311

.390

270

.83

.39

.72

E. by N.

N. ]#. by E.

311. 70

0.0

"

"

Clear.

Solar H3J0.

15

800

831

811

41.1

72.2

56.7

.218

.327

.359

.70

.12

.78

N.by E.

S. S. E.

W. S. W.

199.79

. 0.0

"

16

771

SO. (ItO

GO. 090

46.0

60. 2

47.1

.263

.216

.256

.81

.43

.81

N. B. by E.
N.byl'^

E.N.E.

B.byS.

222. 89

0.9

«'

"

17

30. 140

001

119

45.5

72.1

.53.0

.198

.621

.321

.65

.66

.80

S.S.E.

S. S. E.

14.64

0.9

"

«

20.917

489

. 360

29. 900
279
639

29. 799
187
817

60.1
61.1
32.1

61 6
»i.O
38.7

60.3
55.0
31.1

.826
.180
.162

.285
.491
. 123

.126
.375
.155

.93
.90
.89

.Vi
.88
.61

.82
.93
.79

S. S. E.
S. S. E.
W.

S.byE.
S. S. E.
W. N. W.

N. by W.

113.62
100. 10
255. 20

6.6
5.6
4.0

Inapp.
2.670
0.712

Cu. Sir. 10.
Snow.

Cu. Str. 10.

Rain.

Cu. Str. 6.

Cu. Str.

Rain.

Clear.

10

20

0.70

SI

997

911

874

35.1

55.6

46.3

.127

.218

.238

.62

.09

,78

w.

S.S.E.

S.

21.80

1.6

Clear Frost.

C. C. Str. 8

Cu. Sir.

8.

■'«

738
997

819

982

910

30. 901

17.0
412

51.9
71.3

18.1
66.9

.298
.211

..315

.317

.310
.413

.92
.83

.83
.46

.92
.90

s. s. w.

N. \V.

N.W.
W. by S.

N.W.

S.E.

20.89
21.20

3.0
2.6

Cu. Str. 10.
Clear, Slight Frost.

Cu.Str. 19.
Clear.

23

8.

21

30. 052

30. OU

0112

49.5

71.6

50. 0

.297

.603

. 419

.85

.66

.82

E. S. E.

s. \v.

S. E. by E.

39. 10

1.0

Cu. Str. 8.

"

4.

25

29. 901

29. 879

29.891

62.6

85. 7

67.1

.351

.610

.420

.90

.00

.63

S. by W.

s.

E. S.E.

8.80

2.0

Clear.

Clear.

Cirr. Str.

4.

26

802

800

697

67.2

78.0

03.0

.372

.323

.416

.78

.35

.72

E. by S.

E.by N.

S. W.

2»8. 50

1 IS

Cu. Str. 9.

9. Distant .lightning

27

617
710

682
771

711
871

63.3

63.7

66.1
65.7

.348
.856

.471
.409

.390
.870

.86
.81

.81
.70

.86
.81

S. E. by E.
S.

S. S. E.
N. B. by K.

S. S. E.
S.E.

217.20
39.40

2.0
2.6

0.732

Rain, thunder.

i.

Cirr. Str.

s.

28

51.0

03.9

4.

211

927

991

917

51.2

78.2

65.7

.245

.591

.609

.65

.63

.81

s. s. w.

W.

W. by S.

113. 80

1 2.6

Cu. Str. 10.

Oir. Str. K.

C. C. Str.

4.

30

957

719

C97

61.0

73.2

61.7

.419

.015

.883

.80

.67

.71

s. s. w.

S.W.

S. S. W.

29.60

1.0

Inapp.

C.C. Str. 8.

1.

1.

31

612

571

600

63.0

76.8

62.1

.478

.677

.160

.83

.61

.83

s.w.

W. by N.

S.W.byW.

206.70

2.5

0.907

" 8.

C. C. str. 1.

"

8.

riligliust, tlio IStli day, ;I0"3S1 iiiclips.
HarftmPlcr ) l-owPst, tlie 5th day. 29.227

Haromettr < Monthly Mean, 29.6«9

(. '■ Itange, 1.154

CHighcst, the Sutli day, 7fi<=T.

i Lowest, the 2iid day, 10 = 0.

REMARKS FOR APRIL, 1860.

Thfrmomctcv .

■J Monthly Mean, 40o2fl.
l^Montldy Ranpc, Olio 7.

he Sun's rays, 9
■strial raJialion,

)°&.

Greatest intensity of thi

Lowest point of 'iVn-cst

Mean of Humidity, .753.

Itaiu foil on 5 days, amountiiip: to 1.733 inches; it was raining
26 hours and m mniutos, and was accompanied hv ihundor on
one day.

Snow fell on ■!■ days, amounting to2tr» inclu's; il was sn(W-
ing 14 hours and 4fl minnt«is.
Most prevalent wind, tlio ^A^ N. W.
Least iirevalent wind, the E.

Most windy day, tho 15th day ; moan miles per hour, 17.UI.
T,east wiudy day, tlio 7th day. moan iniii'S ps-r hmir, ri.2tt.
Aurora Uorealis visihlw on i niehts.

liUiiar Halo vij^ible ou 1 night."

I'arhulia visible on 1 day.

Swallows (Hirundi Bicolor) first seen on aith din .

Frogs (Rmia Ptpicns) first heard on 20tli day.

Tlic KIcctrical state of the Atmosphere ha.'< indicated IiIkIi
and rotistaut teninon of a neg^^ti^'e character.

Itaromfiter.

REMARKS

f Highest, the (ith day, 30.M6 inches.

iLowest, the lEith dav. 2H.lfs7 "
■ VMoriflilv Mrati. 29.8(11

(.MniitliiV UailL'.', ii.UG'J

niigheat, the l2lh day,H7 Fi!L

jLowest, the 2lst dav, jr.«ji.

iMonthlv Mean, 59 085.

(Monthly Uange. 61 °li.
Greatest intensity of tho Sun's rays, 99*2.
Lowest point of terrestrial radiation, l.^'*! .
Mean of lumiicHty, .695.
Amonnt ftf lA-aporation, 2'Sll inches.

Thermomcler,

FOR MAY, I860.

Rain fell ou 7 days, amounting to 4.310 inches; it was rainintr
28 hours 52 minutes, and was accompanied by thunder on two
days.

Snow fell ou 1 day amouuting to 0.007 inches, it was miow-
ing 1 hour IC minutes.

Most prevalent wind, the S. S. I'.

Least prevalent wind, the E.

Most windy day, the 11th day ; mean miles per hour, 13.i)0,

Least windy day, the 5th day ; mean niilcs per hour inappre-
ciahle.

Aurora Borealis visihle on 1 night.

Slight frost on th.- mornings of the 17th, 31st and 23rd dayn.

THB

CANADIAN

MTUEALIST AID GEOLOGIST.

Vol. Y. august, 1860. No. 4.

ARTICLE XXXVII.— ^ Systematic List of Lepidoptera col-
lected in the vicinity of Montreal. By W. S. M. D'Urban.

On my arrival in England, in the autumn of 1859, 1 placed the
whole of the Canadian Lepidoptera I brought home with me, in
the hands of Mr. Francis Walker, so well known for his attention
to this order of Insects, and the author of the British Museum
Catalogues of Lepidoptera Heterocera. He has lately returned
my specimens to me carefully named, and has generously placed
at my disposal his valuable descriptions of the new species for
publication in the " Canadian Naturalist and Geologist."

Being persuaded that local lists are indispensable for a right
understanding of the geographical distribution of the animals
and plants of every country, I have drawn up a catalogue of
those Lepidoptera which were taken in the neighbourhood of
Montreal. The number of species (162) is, I am aware, but small,
and the greater portion of them were taken during the first few
months of my residence in Canada. I trust that others may be
induced to turn their attention to this interesting order, and to
form longer lists than the present, which, however, may be useful
as the first step towards the much to be desired result of a com-
plete catalogue of Canadian Lepidoptera. I think it is Agassiz,
who says somewhere, that " a hitherto unrecorded locality for a
Can. Nat. 1 Vql. V. No. 4

242 A Systematic List of Lepidoptera,

species accurately determined, is as great an addition to science
as the discovery of a new species."

In June and July thousands of Noctuidse may be taken by
treacle spread on tree-trunks at night, and all the families of
Heterocera swarm in lighted rooms when the windows are opened.
If any one would take the trouble to catch and pin these or any
other insects, and send them home to the British Museum, they
would be thankfully received and acknowledged, and the new
species would be described at length in the Catalogues, a large num-
ber of which have been already published. The late lamented Dr.
Barnston presented numerous specimens from the Hudson's Bay
Territories to that national institution, and it is greatly to be
wished that others would follow his example. These specimens
were collected by George Barnston, Esq., the father of Dr. Barns-
ton.

A very large proportion of the Canadian genera are identical
with the European, many of the species being also exactly similar,
and to such I have affixed the mark (Eu).

The present Catalogue is carried as far only as the conclusion
of the Pyralideous Pyralidina. I have handed over to Mr.
Stainton the few Micro-Lepidoptera I collected, and he informs
me that there are some interesting species amongst them, and
that others are very similar to English forms. Several fine
Sjyhinges captured near Montreal are in the collection of the
Natural History Society, but their names are unknown to me.

Wishing to give an idea of the distribution of the species through-
out America, I have added the localities where they have been
recorded as occurring, as far as I have been able to ascertain from
various sources, but principally from the British Museum Cata-
logues of Lepid. Het., to the end of the Noctuina^ and in a few
instances amongst the Geometrina and Pyralidina. Having had
access to but few works, and but limited time in which to accom-
plish my undertaking, being just about to sail for the Cape of
Good Hope, it is necessarily very incomplete, and I must claim
indulgence for any errors of omission and commission of which I
have been guilty.

Exeter, Devonshire, May 1860.

A Systematic List of Lepidoptera, 243

RHOPALOCERA, Boisd.

Family I. Papilionid^, Leach.

Sub-Family L Papilionidi, Stepk.

Genus 1, Papilio, Linn.

1. P. Asterias, Fab.^ (Black Swallow- tail). — Abundant, June to Sep-

tember.
Distribution. — "West Indies, S. America, Georgia, Virginia,

(Boisd.) ; Massachusetts, (Harris) ; New
York, (Emmons) ; Ohio, (Kirtland) ; New-
foundland, (Gosse) ; does not occur in the
Eastern Townships, at Sorel or Quebec (?)

2. P. Turnus, Xtnn., (Tiger Swallow-tail). — Common, May to end of

July.
Distribution.— ViTgima., Georgia, Carolina, (Boisd.); Newfoundland

to Mexico, (Gosse) ; Massachusetts, (Harris) ;
New York and Maine, (Emmons) ; Ohio, (Kirt-
land) ; Eastern Townships, Sorel, Rouge Dis-
trict, Quebec and Southern shores of the Gulf.

Sub-Family II. Piebidi, Steph.

Genus 2, Colias, Fab.

1. C. edusa. Fab., (Clouded Yellow). — One specimen, September 10th

1856.
Distribution. — New York, (Boisd.) ; (Eu).

2. C. Philodice, Godt., (Clouded Sulphur). — Very abundant, June to

October.
Distribution. — Throughout North America.
Genus 3, Pieris, Schranh ; Pontia, Fab.

1. P. oleracea. Harris, (Grey-veined White). — Not very numerous. May

and June, August and September.
Distribution. — Lake Superior, (Agassiz) ; Wisconsin and Ohio,

(Kirtland) ; Massachusetts, (Harris) ; East-
ern Townships, (Gosse) ; Upper Canada,
Rouge District, Quebec and Southern shores
of the Gulf. P. Casta, Kirby, a variety of
this species occurs in the Hudson's Bay Ter-
ritories.

2. P. Protodice, Boisd.^ (see C. N. and G. vol. II, p. 347, pi. VI, figs. 3,

4, 5). — Lachine, (Dr. Barnston).
Distribution. — New York, (Boisd.) ; Rochport, Ohio, (Kirtland) ;

Connecticut.

Family II. HsLicoNiDiE, Swainson.

Genus 1, Danais, Boisd. ; Euploea, Fab.
I. D. Archippus, Fab., Plexippus, Cramer, (Storm Fritillary) ; Common,

June to August.

244 A Systematic List of Lepidoptera.

Distribution. — West Indies and Middle States, (Boisd.) ; South

Carolina, (Abbot) ; Massachusetts, (Harris) ;
Philadelphia, (Say) ; New York, (Emmons) ;
Ohio, (Kirtland) ; Lake Superior, (Agassiz) ;
Eastern Townships, (Gosse) ; Upper Canada,
Eouge District, and Sorel.

Family III. Nymphalid^, Swainson.

Sub-Family I. Satyridi, Steph.

Genus 1, Debis, Doubledayl
1. D. Portlandia, Boisd., Oreas-marmorea Andromacha, Hubner, (Pearly

eyes). — Not common, July.
Distribution. — Western Prairies of Ohio, (Kirtland) ; Arkansas,

but not in Pennsylvania, (Say) ; Massachu-
setts, (Harris) ; Eastern Townships, (Gosse)
Rouge District.
Genus 2, Hipparchia, Fab, ; Satyrus, Boisd.
1. H. Nephele? Kirby. — Common in grass-fields, July and August.

Sub'Family II. Nymph alidi, Steph.

Genus 3, Limenitis, Fab.
1. L. Arthemis, Drury, (Banded Purple). — Common, July and August.
Distribution. — Eastern Townships, (Gosse) ; Massachusetts, (Har-
ris) ; Poland, Ohio, (Kirtland) ; Lake Supe-
rior, (Agassiz) ; North- West Territory, Lake
Winipeg, Lake of the Woods, Upper Canada
and Arkansas, (Say) ; Sorel, Rouge Dis-
trict, and South side of the Gulf.
Genus 4, Nymphalis, Boisd.
1. N. disippus, Godt. ; Missippus, Linn and Fab. — Common, August.

Distribution. — New York, (Environs) ; Massachusetts, (Harris) ;

Ohio, (Kirtland) ; L'Orignal, on the Ottawa,
(Bell).

Sub'Family III. Vanessidi, Steph,

Genus 5, Cynthia, Fab.

1. C. cardui, Linn, (Painted Lady). — Abundant in some years, Septem-

ber and October.
Distribution. — Massachusetts, (Harris) ; New York, (Emmons) ;

Rochport, Ohio, (Kirtland) ; South shores of
the Gulf and New Brunswick, (R. Bell) ;
Sorel, (Eu.)

2. C. Huntera, Fab., (Hunter's Cynthia). — Abundant on the Mountain,

October 1850, (Billings).
J)isfri6wfton.— Massachusetts, (Harris) ; Rochport, Ohio, (Kirt-

1 and).

A Systematic List of Lepidoptera, 245

Genus 6, Vanessa, Fab.

1. V. Atalanta, Linn, (Red Admiral). — Rare, though abundant at Sorel.

Distribution. — Massachusetts, (Harris) ; Ohio, (Kirtland), (Eu.)

2. V. Antiopa, Linn, (Camberwell Beauty). — Extremely abundant, March

to October.
Distribution. — Massachusetts, (Harris) ; Ohio, (Kirtland) ; South-
ern shores of the Gulf; (Bell) ; Eastern Town-
ships, (Gosse) ; (Eu.)

3. V. Milberti, Godt. ; furcillata. Say, (Forked). — Common, May to

September.
Distribution. — Massachusetts, (Harris) ; Rockport, Ohio, (Kirt-
land) ; Eastern Townships, (Gosse) ; North-
West-Territory, (Say) ; Rouge District.

4. V. J. album, Boisd., (Compton Tortoise). — Common, Spring and

Autumn.
Distribution. — Rockport, Poland, Ohio, (Kirtland) ; Lake Supe-
rior, (Agassiz) ; Eastern Townships, (Gosse) ;
Gaspd District, (R. Bell) ; Rouge District and
Sorel.
Genus Y, Grapta, Kirby.

1. G. Progne, Fab., (Green Comma). — Abundant, May to September.

Distribution, — Rockport, Ohio, (Kirtland) ; Massachusetts, (Har-
ris) ; Eastern Townships, (Gosse) ; Southern
shores of the Gulf, (R. Bell) ; Rouge District

2. G. C. album, Godt., (Orange Comma). — Not common.

Distribution. — Eastern Townships, (Gosse) ; Rouge District.

Sub-Family IV. Argynnidi, Steph.

Genus 8, Argynnis, Fab.

1. A. Aphrodite, Fab., (Silver-spot Fritillary). — Common, July to Sep-

tember.
Distribution. — New York, (Emmons) ; Massachusetts, (Harris) ;

Ohio, (Kirtland) ; Lake Superior, (Agassiz)
Eastern Townships, (Gosse) ; South shores
of the Gulf, (R. Bell) ; Niagara and Sorel.

2. A. Cybele, Fab., (Great spangled Fritillary). — Not so common, Aug.

Distribution. — Eastern Townships, (Gosse).
Genus 9, Melitoea, Fab.

1. M. Myrina, Cramer, (American Pearl-border Fritillary). — Not very

common, June to August.
Distribution. — As far South as Florida, and North as Massachu-
setts, (Say) ; Ohio, Wisconsin and Connec-
ticut, (Kirtland) ; Lake Superior, (Agassiz) ;
Eastern Townships, (Gosse) ; South side of
the Gulf, (R. Bell) ; Rouge District.

2. M. Tharos, Cramer; Cocyta, Hiibner, (Pearl-crescent Fritillarj). —

Very abundant, June to August.

246 A Systematic List of Lepidoptera,

Distribution. — Massachusetts, (Harris) ; Ohio, (Kirtland) ; L&kd

Superior, (Agassiz) ; Eastern Townships,
(Gosse) ; South side of the Gulf, (R. Bell) ;
Rouge District.

Family IV. LYC^NiDiE Leach.

Genus 1, Thecla, Fab.
1. T. Niphon? Hiibner. — Sore! and perhaps Montreal, May: (several

other species undetermined.)
Genus 2, Chrysophanus, Hiibner ; Lycasna, Fab. ; Polyommatus, Boisd, ;

1. C. Americana, Harris, (American Copper). — Common, August.

Distribution. — Massachusetts, (Harris) ; Ohio, (Kirtland) ; East-
ern Townships, (Gosse) ; Rouge District and
Sorel.

2. C. Thoe? Boisd. — Lachine, (Barnston).

Distribution. — Rockport, Ohio, (Kirtland).
Genus 3, Polyommatus, Latr. ; Lyc^na, Boisd.

1. P. pseudargiolus, Boisd. ; Lucia, Kirby, (Spring Azure). — Not very

common. May and June.
Distribution. — Massachusetts, (Harris) ; Rockport, Ohio, (Kirt-
land) ; Eastern Townships, (Gosse) ; Lati-
tude, 54° North, (Kirby) ; South side of the
Gulf, (R. Bell) ; Rouge District.

2. P. Comyntas, God^.— Lachine, (Barnston).

Distribution.-^'Rock.T^orty Ohio, (Kirtland).

Family V. Hesperid^, Leach.

Genus 1, Eudamus, Swains.
1. E. Tityrus, Fab. ; Clarus, Cramer. — Numerous, 1858, (Mr. Fowler).
Distribution. — Massachusetts, (Harris) ; Ohio, (Kirtland).
Genus 2, Pamphila, Fab.
1. P. cernes, Boisd., (Tawuy- edged Skipper). — Not uncommon.

Distribution. — Eastern Townships, (Gosse) ; and several unde-
termined species.

Heterocera, Boisd,

Group I. Sphingina, Stainton.

Family I. Sphingid^, Leach.
Genus 1, Smerinthus, Latr.

1. S. geminatus, iSay ; ceris'u, Kirby, (Twin-eyed Hawkmoth). — Not un-

common.
Distribution. — Massachusetts, (Harris) ; Orillia, C.W., (Bush.) j

Eastern Townships (Gosse) ; Sorel.

2. S. myops. Abbot <Sr Smith. — Rare.

Distribution. — United States, (Doubleday).
Genus 2, Sphinx, Linn.
1. S. drupiferarum, Jbbot and Smith. — Common, June and July.
Distribution. — United States.

A Systematic List of Lepidoj^tera, 247

Genus 3, Deilephila, Och.
1. D. GalUj Fab.] C hamaenerii, JTarns; Intermedia, iTtrfty, var. ; Sphinx

Epilobii, Harris. — Abundant on Lilac Blos-
soms, June.
Distribution. — New Hampshire, (B. M. C.) ; Lake Superior, (Agas-

siz) ; Massachusetts, (Harris) ; Orillia, C.W.,
(Bush) ; York Factory, Hudson's Bay Terri-
tories, (Dr. Rae) ; Sorel, (Eu.)

Family Sesul^ Steph.
Genus 1, Sesia, Fab.

1. S. Thisbe, Fab.] Pelasgus, Cramer 4" Harris ; ruficaudis, Kirby, var.

— Not uncommon, July and August ; flies
by day.
Distribution. — New York, (Doubleday) ; Massachusetts (Harris) ;

New Jersey, (Kirby) ; Orillia, C.W., (Bush.) ;
Eastern Townships, (Gosse) ; Sorel.

2. S. diffinis, Boisd. — Not uncommon in gardens on hot days in July.

Distribution. — United States, (Doubleday) ; Orillia, C.W., (Bush.) ;

St. Martin's Falls, Albany River, Hudson's
Bay, (G. Barnston) ; Sorel.

Family Castniid^, Swains ; Agaristiad-^, Harris.

Genus 1, Alypia, Hiibner.
1. A. octomaculata, Fab. — Not very common, June, (August, Gosse).

"The Canada^. 8-maculata diflfers generally
from those of the United States, in having
smaller spots and less distinct blue streaks
in the fore-wings, and it has no trace of the
basal spot in the hinder wings." — Walker^
Brit. Mus. Cat. Lepid. Het., Part I, p. 60.
Distribution. — Georgia, United States, and Nova Scotia, (B.M.

C. at); Eastern Townships, (Gosse).

Group 2. BoMBYCiNA, Stainton.

Family. Hepialid^, Steph.

Genus 1, Hepialus, Fab.
1. H. argenteomaculatus, Harris. — Not common, July.

Distribution. — Massachusetts, (Harris) ; Lake Superior, (Agassiz)

Eastern Townships, (Gosse) : Sorel.

Family. ZEUZBRiD-fi, Boisd.

Genus 1, Cossus, Fab.
1. C. plagiatus. Walker. — Rare, July.

In 1857, Mr. T. R. Peale, of the United States Patent office, named

this species Cossus McMurtrici, and informed
me that it was common South of Pennsylva-
nia, but rare in the Middle States."

248 A Systematic List of Lepidojptera,

Family. Notodontid^, Steph.
Genus 1, Datana, Walker ; Eumetopona, Fitch.
1. D. minis tra, Drury. — Larvae abundant in camps on trees, August and

September.
Distribution. — ^New York, (Fitch) ; Georgia, (B.M.C. at.) ; Massa-
chusetts, Harris).

Family. Liparid^, Walker.

Genus 1, Orgyia, Steph.
1. 0. leucostigma, Abbot ^ Smith. — Common ; end of August to October.
Distribution. — Georgia, (Abbot & Smith) ; Massachusetts, (Har-
ris) ; New York, (Fitch) ; Nova Scotia, (Lt.
Redman) ; Eastern Townships, (Gosse) ;
Rouge District.

Family Lithosiid^, Steph.

Genus 1, Ctenucha, Kirby.
1. C. Latreillana, Kirby. — Numerous, flying by day, in July.

Distribution. — New Hampshire, Maine, Nova Scotia, (B.M.C. at.) ;

Eastern Townships, (Gosse) ; L'Orignal and
South side of the Gulf, (R. Bell) ; Sorel and
Rouge District.
Genus 2, Lycomorpha, Harris ; Glaucopus, Wester.
1. L. Pholus, Fab. — Abundant on flowers of Solidago in the day time,

August.
Distribution. — New York (Emmons) ; Massachusetts, (Harris) ;

Nova Scotia, (Redman).
Genus 3, Hypoprepia, Hubner.
1. H. fucosa, Hubner. — Rare, August.

Distribution. — Georgia, (E. Doubleday).
Genus 4, Crocota, Hiibner.
1. C. brevicornis. Walker. — Abundant amongst ferns, and in open

grassy places, on the Mountain, in July.
Distribution. — United States, (B.M.C at.) ; Rouge District.
Genus 5, Nudaria, Haworth.
1. N. mendica, Walker. — Common amongst Ferns, &c., on the Moun-
tain, July.
Distribution. — Trenton's Falls, N.Y., (E. Doubleday) ; Nova

Scotia, (Redman) ; Rouge District.

Family. Chblonid^, Guen. (?)
Genus 1, Hypercompa, Steph ; Callimorpha, Latr., p.
1. H. Lecontei, Boisd. ; Confinis and Contiqua, Walker ; and Calli-
morpha militaris, Harris^ are probably only
varieties of this species. — Very numerous, on
the Mountain, in July.
Distribution. — New York, (E. Doubleday) ; New England, (Har-
ris) ; Rouge District.

A Systematic List of Lepidoptera, 249

Genus 2, Arctia, Schr. ; Chelonia, Lair.

A. Yirgo, Hiibner ] Callimorpha Parthenice, iTirfti/, a variety ? — Com-
mon, August.
Distribution. — New York and Nova Scotia, (B.M.C.) ; Massachu-
setts, (Harris) ; Eastern Townships (Gosse) ;
Sorel.

A. Isabella, Abbot ^ Smith. — Larvae very numerous, Autumn and

Spring, May, June, and July.
Distribution. — Georgia, (B. M. C.) ; New York, (Emmons) ; Mas-
sachusetts, (Harris) ; Eastern Townships,
(Gosse) ; L'Orignal, (R. Bell) ; Sorel.

Genus 3, Spilosoma, Stepk.

1. S. acrea, Drury. — Abundant in June, Larvae in August.

Distribution. — New York, (B.M.C); Massachusetts, (Harris);

Eastern Townships, (Gosse) ; Sorel.

2. S. Virginica, Fab. — Common, June and July.

Distribution. — Georgia, New York, and Nova Scotia, (B. M. C.) ;

Hudson's Bay Territories, (Barnston) ; Mas-
sachusetts, (Harris) . Eastern Townships,
(Gosse) ; Sorel.
Genus 4, Halesidota, Hiibner ; Lophocampa, Harris.

1. H. tesselaris, Mbot ^ Smith, (Muff-Moth or Hickory Tussock).— Not

very common, June.
Distribution. — Mexico, Venezuela, United States, (B.M.C.) ; Mas-
sachusetts, (Harris) ; Eastern Townships,
(Gosse) ; Sorel.

2. H. caryae, Harris, Annulifascia, Walker. — Common, larvae very nu-

merous, August and September.
Distribution. — Massachusetts, (Harris) ; New York, (Fitch) ; Sorely

Family. BoMBYciDiE, Dap.
Genus 1, Clisiocampa, Curtis.
1. C. Americana, Fab. ; Sylvatica, Harris. — The larvae, which are ex-
tremely destructive to the foliage of the trees
about Montreal in some years, are known as the
" Montreal Blight." The Moth appears in
July.
Distribution. — Virginia, (Abbot) ; New York, (Fitch).

Note. — C. Americana, Harris, is Phalaena Castrensis, Abbot 4r Smith,
=■ Clisiocampa decipiens. Walker, (B.M.C. Lepid. Het. Part vi, p. 1448.)
The latter name must stand, Americana having been applied to the fore-
going species by Fabricius.

Family. Saturniid^, Walker.
Genus 1, Samia, Hiibner ; Hyalophora, Duncan,
1. S. Cecropia, Linn. — Not very common ; much less numerous than

formerly, June and July.
Distribution. — Massachusetts, (Harris) ; New York, (Emmons) ;

Niagara, Toronto, Sorel, &c.

25 0 A Systematic List of Lepidoptera,

Genus 2, Telea, Hubner.
1. T. Polyphemus, Fah. — Abundant, June and July.

Distribution.^Bv&z\\ (B.M.O.) ; Massachusetts, (Harris); New

York, (Emmons) ; Eastern Township
(Gosse) ; Rouge District.
Genus 3, Tropoea, Hubner.
1. T. Luna, Linn. — Rare, June.

Distribution.— 'Mexicoj (B.M.C.) ; Massachusetts, (Harris) ; New

York, (Emmons) ; Niagara, Sorel, &c.

Group 3. NocTUiNA, Stainton.

Division 1. TRiFiDiE, Guenee.
Sub-Division 1. Bombtcipormes, Guenee,
Family. Cymatophorid^, Hen.-Schceff.
Genus 1, Gonophora, Bruand ; Thyatira, Ochs., &c., p.
1. G. scripta, Gosse. — Not very common, June and July.

Distribution. — New York, (E. Doubleday) ; Eastern Townships,

(Gosse) ; Orillia, C.W., (Bush) ; Rouge Dis-
trict.
Genus 2, Thyatira, Ochs.
1. T. cymatophoroides, Guin. — Common, June and July.

Distribution.— ^Q^ York, (E. Doubleday) ; Orilla, C.W., (Bush) ;

Rouge District.
Genus 3, Leptina, Guen.
1. L. Doubledayi, Guin. — Rare.

Distribution. — Northern States, (E. Doubleday).

Family, Bombycoidje, Guen,

Genus, 1. Balsa, Walker M.S.S.

" Balsa, N.G. 3fas. Corpus gracile. Proboscis distincta. Palpi
graciles, recti, subpilosi, oblique ascendentes ; articulus 2 us. lon-
gus; 3 us. parvus, lanceolatus. Antennae glabrae. Abdomen
subcarinatum, apice compressupo, alas posticas non superans.
Pedes graciles, glabri ; calcaria longa. Alae latiusculse, apice
subrectangulatse, costa vix convexa, margine exteriore subconvexa
subobliquo."

*' Male. Body slender. Proboscis distinct. Palpi slender,
straight, slightly pilose, obliquely ascending a little higher than
the head : second joint long : third minute, lanceolate. Antennae
simple, smooth. Abdomen slightly keeled not extending beyond
the hinder wings ; tip compressed, with a small apical tuft. Legs
slender, smooth ; hind tibiae with four long spurs. Wings rather
broad. Forewings nearly rectangular at the tips ; exterior hor-
de slightly convex and oblique ; costa very slightly convex/'

A Systematic List of Lepidoptera, 251

1. "B. obliquifera, 3fas. Cinerea, asneo subtincta; thorax
albidus, nigro fasciatus; alae antic?e apud costam albida^ striga
obliqua guttaque exteriore trigona costalibus nigris, lineis non-
nullis indistinctis deviis nigricantibus dentatis aut denticulatis
albido submarginatis, punctis ruarginalibiis nigris."

Male. Cinereous, slightly tinged with asneous. Head, thorax
and forewings along the costa whitish. Thorax with a narrow
black angular band. Forewings with a black streak extending
obliquely from the costa to the disk, and accompanied by a black
costal triangular dot ; three or four irregular indistinct dentate
or denticulated blackish lines which are slightly whitish bordered ;
a row of black marginal points. Hindwings without marks
above ; underside with the discal point and the exterior line
slightly brownish. Length of the body 4 lines ; of the wings 12
lines." Walker, M.S.S.

Montreal, not common, July.

Genus 2. Acronycta, Ochs.

1. A. leporina, Linn. Not common.

Distribution. St. Martins' Falls, Albany River, Hudson's Bay,

(Barnston). (Eu.)

2. A. innotata, Gu^n. — August.

Distribution. Trenton FallS; New York, (E. Doubleday).

3. A. fasciata, ^arnsfon. — One specimen bred from a larva found eating

the red cones of the sumach {Rhus typh-
ina), October, 2nd 1856.
Distribution. — St. Martin's Falls, Albany River, Hudson's Bay,

(Barnston.)

4. A. psi, Linn. — Taken ootreacle in July.

Distribution. — New York (E, Doubleday). (Eu.)

Subdivision 2. GENUINE, Guen.

Family, Leucanid^, Guen.

Genus 1. Leucania, Ochs.

1. L. extranea, Guen. — Numerous on sumach blossoms, &c., beginning

of July.
Distribution. — South America (Darwin) ; Venezuela, West coast

of America, Georgia and Florida (B.M.C.) ;
Orillia, C. W. (Bush) ; occurs also in Nepaul,
Java, Australia and New Zealand, (B.M.C.)
(Eu.)

2. L. diffusa, Walker. — Abundant, beginning of August. i „ _j

Distribution. — Nova Scotia (Redman).

252 A Systematic hist of Lepidoptera,

3. L. insueta, Guen. — Abundant on treacle and sumach blossoms, in

July.
Distribution. — Florida and New York, (E. Doubleday) ; Nova

Scotia, (Redman.)

4. L. straminea, Weit. — On treacle, beginning of July.

Distribution. — New York, (E. Doubleday), (Eu.)

Genus 2. Nonagria, Ochs.

1. N? intractabilis, Walker, M.S.S., N. Sp. " Foem. Albida
cinerea, gracilis ; palpi porrecti, extus nigricantes ; caput sat
superantes, avticulo 3o. longo lanceolato ; pedes breves, validi,
sub testacei ; alae latiusculae, non longse, fusco nigroque consper-
sae, lunulis raarginalibus fuscis ; anticae testaceo subvarije, lineis
duabus albidis undulatis, valde indistinctis, orbiculari et reniforrai
albido margiuatis."

** Female. Whitish cinereous, slender. Palpi porrect, extend-
ing rather far beyond the head, blackish exteriorly ; 3rd joint
lanceolate, full half the length of the 2nd. Abdomen testaceous
at the tip. Legs slightly testaceous, short, robust; spurs short
stout. Wings rather broad, not long, minutely brown-and -black
speckled ; a marginal line of brown lunules. Forewings partly
and indistinctly testaceous, somewhat rounded at the tips, with
two very indistinct undulating whitish lines ; orbicular and reni-
form marks whitish bordered, the former oblong the latter trans-
verse and rather narrow. Length of the body 3^ lines; of the
wings 9 lines." Walker M.S.S.

Family, GLOTTULID^, Gu6n.

Genus 1. Eudryas, Boisd.
1. E. grata, Fab., Notodonta ? grata Harris. (Animals and Plants of

Massa). — Not common.
Distribution. — New York (Emmons) \ Massachusetts (Harris) ;

Sorel.

Family, APAMID^, Guin.

Sub-Family, Goktynides, Duponck.

Genus 1. Hydraecia, Guen.

1. H. nictitans, Linn. — Common end of July and beginning of August.

Distribution. — New York, (Doubleday) ; Mass., (Sheppard) ; Al-
bany River, Hudson's Bay, (G. Barnston) ;
Nova Scotia, (Redman) : (Eu.)

2. H. lorea, Guen. — Abundant especially on blossoms of Asclepias cor"

nuii in July.
Distribution. — New York, (E. Doubleday.)

A Systematic List of Lepidopera, 263

3. H. stramentosa, Gwen.— On treacle beginning of October (but worn).

Distribution. — New York, (E. Doubledaj.)

4. H. ligata, Walker M.S.S. N. Sp. — Attracted by light, beginning of

July.

'-'• Fozm. Cinerea; palpi verticem pauUo superantes ; abdomen
alas posticas superans ; alse linea subtus exteriore nigricante;
anticae roseo, suffusae, fusco conspersse et trilineatse, lineata du-
plicata, 3 a flexa, orbiculari et reniformi distinctis albido niargi-
natis, linea marginali venis que nigricantibus."

" Female. Cinereous. Palpi rising a little higher than the
vertex ; third joint lanceolate, not more than one fourth the length
of the second. Abdomen extending rather beyond the hind
wings. Wings slightly aeneous-tinged, with an exterior blackish
line beneath. Fore wings mostly rose-tinged minutely brown-
speckled, with three brown lines, basal line double, undulating,
interior line undulating ; exterior line oblique, bent in front ; or-
bicular and reniform marks distinct, whitish-bordered, the former
large and round, the latter of the usual form ; marginal line and
veins blackish. Length of the body 6 lines; of the wings 12
lines." Walker, M.S.S.

Genus 2. Nephelodes, Guen,

1. N. signata, Walker M.S.S., N. Sp. — Attracted by light, beginning

of August.

" Mas. Rufescente cinerea, crassa; palpi caput vix superantes :
antennae subpectinatae ; abdomen alas posticas superans ; tibiae
posticae pilosissime ; alae anticae lineis quinque undulatis nigris,
litura reniformi magna alba ferrugineo varia ; posticae aBneo-cine-
reae, litura discali lineaque exteriore subtus nigris."

Male. Reddish cinereous, very robust. Palpi vertical, hardly
rising higher than the head ; 3rd joint lanceolate, minute. An-
tennae slightly pectinated. Abdomen extending rather beyond
the hind-wings ; apical tuft rosy, large, quadrate. Legs stout ;
hind tibiae very pilose; spurs moderately long. Forewings
with five slight undulating black lines, and with a large white
ferruginous, varied reniform mark; underside with a distinct
exterior black line. Hind wings aeneous-cinereous ; underside
with the discal mark and the exterior line black and very dis-
tinct. Length of the body 8 lines; of the wings 14 lines."
Walker M.S.S.

254 A Systemotic List of Lepidoptera,

2. N. minians, Guin. — On the Mountain, beginning of September.

Distribution. — New York, (Doubleday) ; Nova Scotia, (Red-
man) ; Orillia, C.W. (Bush.)

Sub-Family, Xylophasides, Chiin,

Genus 3. Xylophasia, Steph.

1. X. lignicolora, Guen. — Very abundant, July and beginning of

August.
Distribution. — New York, (Doubleday) ; Nova Scotia, (Redman).

2. X. lateritia, Esp. — Very abundant, July.

Distribution. — Nova Scotia, (Redman) ; Newfoundland, (B.M.C.)

(Eu).

3. X. indocilis. Walker. — July.

Distribution. — New York, (Doubleday) ; Massachusetts, (Prof.

Sheppard.)

Sub-Family, Ap amides, Guin.

Genus 4. Crymodes, Guen.
1. C. gelida? Guen. — End of August.

Distribution. — Arctic America? (B.M.C.)

Genus 5. Mamestra, Ochs.

1. M. Arctica, Boisd., Hadena Amica, Steph, (Vide Emmons, Agri., N.

Y., M. plate 45, fig. 2.) — Very abundant,
Julv.
Distribution. — New York, (Doubleday) ; Mass., (Sheppard) ; Lake

Superior, (Agassiz) ; Nova Scotia, (Red-
man) ; Orillia, C.W., (Bush.)

2. M. brassicae, Linn. — Common, June and July.

Distribution. — Orillia, C. W., (Bush ; (Eu).

3. M. dubitans. Walker. — July and August.

Distribution. — Trenton Falls, New York, (E. Doubleday) ; Nova

Scotia, (Lt. Redman).

4. M. ordinaria, Walker. — Very abundant, July and August.

Distribution. — Trenton Falls, New York, (E. Doubleday.)

5. M. unicolor. Walker. — July.

Distribution. — Trenton Falls, New York, (E. Doubleday) ; St.

Martin's Falls, Albany River, Hudson's Bay,
(G. Barnston) ; Nova Scotia, (Redman).
Genus 6. Apamea, Ochs.

1. A. finitima, Guen. — Beginning of June and July.

Distribution. — New York, (E. Doubleday).

2. A. insignata. Walker M.S.S., N. Sp. — Beginning of July.

" Foem. Fusca ; palpi oblique ascendentes ; abdomen subcris-
tatura, alas posticas superans ; alae lineis pallidis indistinctis un-
dulatis, orbiculari et reniformi distinctis albido marginatis, hujus
disco albido striga ochracea intersecto."

A Systematic List of Lepidojptera, 255

" Female, Brown, cinereous beneath. Palpi obliquely ascend-
ing; third joint conical, less than one-fourth of the length of the
second, abdomen slightly crested, extending beyond the hind
wings; tip tawny. Forewings with indistinct undulating pale
lines, and with whitish-bordered distinct orbicular and renitorm
marks ; orbicular mark oblique ; reniform mark incomplete,
bordered, its disk mostly whitish and traversed by an ochraceous
streak which extends far beyond it ; three whitish costal subapi-
cal points. Length of the body 8 lines ; of the wings 20 lines."

3. A. glaucovaria, Walker M.S.S., N. Sp.

" Mas. Cinerea ; palpi oblique ascendentes ; abdomen crista-
tum; aire anticge cervino subtinctse, glauco notatse, lineis nigri-
cantibus deviis undulatis, linea submarginali cuneata, lunulis mar-
ginal ibus guttisque costalibus nigris ; posticse pisco late margin-
natse."

" Male. Cinereous. Palpi obliquely ascending ; third joint
very short, not more than one-sixth of the length of the second.
Abdomen crested. Forewings slightly tinged with fawn-colour,
marked here and there with glaucous, which hue most prevalent
on the large reniform mark ; lines blackish, irregular, undulating;
submarginal line with uniform angles ; marginal lunules and
costal dots black ; orbicular mark large, oblique, short-oval.
Hind-wings with a broad brown border ; fringe whitish ; under-
side with the discal mark and the submarginal line brownish.
Length of the body 7 lines ; of the wings 14 lines." Walker
M.S,S.

3. A. modica, Guin. — July.

Distribution. — New York, (Doubleday).

Genus 7. Miana, Steph.

4. M. undulifera, Walker. — Rare, July.

Distribution. — St. John's Bluffs, East Florida, (Doubleday).
Genus 8. Celsena, Steph.
1. C? contrahens, Walker M.S. S.jN.Bp. — Common, July.

" Mas. Pallide cinereo-cervina ; abdomen albidum ; alse lunulis
marginalibus fuscis ; anticse lineis tribus pallidis nigricante mar-
ginatis, 1 a 2 a que undulatis, 3 a flexa, orbicular! et reniformi
pallido marginatis; postice albidse, margine cinereo diffuso."

" Male. Pale cinereous fawn-colour. Palpi obliquely ascend-
ing ; third joint lanceolate, less than half the length of the Becond.

256 A Systematic List of Lepidoptera*

Abdomen and underside whitish. Wings with a marginal line
of brown lunules. Forewings with ths basal, interior and exte-
rior lines pale, blackish bordered ; first and second undulating ;
third bent ; orbicular and reniforra marks partly pale-bordered,
not distinct ; costa with three pale points towards the tip ; under-
side with a blackish discal mark and a blackish exterior line.
Hindwings white, diffusedly cinereous-bordered ; underside like
that of the forewings. Length of the body 5 lines; of the wings
12 lines." Walker M.S.S,

2. C ? velata, Walker M.S.S., N. Sp.— July.

" F(Bm, Ferruginea ; abdomen subcarinatum ; alse cupreo sub-
tinctse ; anticse lineis quatuor indistinctis nigricantibus, 1 a 2 a
que undulatis, 3 a 4 a que denticulatis, orbicular! et reniformi
parvis, hac alba ; posticae cinerese."

" Female. Ferruginous, cinereous beneath. Palpi obliquely
ascending rising a little higher than the vertex ; third joint lan-
ceolate, less than half the length of the second. Abdomen
slightly keeled. Wings with a slight cupreous tinge. Forewings
with four indistinct blackish lines ; first and second lines undu-
lating ; third and fourth denticulated ; marginal line very indis-
tinct ; orbicular and reniform marks small, the former cinereous
and indistinct, the latter white ; underside with the usual discal
mark and exterior line blackish. Hindwings cinereous. Length
of the body 5 lines, of the wings 12 hues." Walker M.S.S.

Family, NOCTUIDiE, GuSn.

{Cut-worms are larvae of moths of this family.)
Genus 1. Agrotis, Ochs.
1. A. suffusa, W. Verz. — On treacle, beginning of October.

Distribution. — Philadelphia (E. Doubleday) ; Orillia, C. W.,

(Bush) ; St. Martin's Palls, Albany River,
Hudson's Bay, (D. Barnston) ; Nova Scotia,
(Redman), (Eu. and every part of the
world).
2. A. spissa, Guln. — Common, July to September.

Distribution. — United States, (Doubleday) ; Nova Scotia, (Red-
man.)
3. A. jaculifera, Guln. — Common, July and August.

Distribution. — New York, (B.M.C.)
. A. venerabilis, PTa^Aier. — Common, sitting on blossoms of the Golden-
rod by day in September.
Distribution. — Nova Scotia, (Redman.)

A Systematic List of Lepidoptera. 257

5. A. illata, Walker.

Distribution. — Unknown.

6. A. obelisca, Wien. Verz. — End of July.

Distribution. — Nova Scotia, (Redman). (Eu.)
Genus 2. Graphiphora, Ochs.

1. G. AuguT, Fabr. — End of July.

Distribution. — New York, (Doubleday) ; St. Martin's Falls

Albany River, Hudson's Bay, (Barnston).
(Eu.)

2. G. Baja, Wien. Verz. — August.

Distribution.— Rio Janeiro, (B. M. C.) ; New York, (Doubleday) ;

Orillia, C.W., (Bush.) (Eu.)
Genus 3. Ochropleura, Hiibn.
1. 0. plecta, Linn. — Not uncommon.

Distribution.— 'New York, (Doubleday) ; Nova Scotia, (Redman).

(Eu.)

Family, Orthosid^, Guen.

Genus 1. Xanthia, Ochs.
1. X. ferruginea, Wien. Verz. — Common, September and beginning of

October.
Distribution. — Unknown to me. (Eu.)
Genus 2. Cirrcedia, Guen.
1. C. pampina, Guen. — Not common, beginning of September.

Distribution. — New York, (B. M. C.) ; Nova Scotia, (Redman.)

Family, Hadenidce, Guen.

Genus 1. Euplexia, Steph.
1. E. lucipara, Linn. — June and July.

Distribution. — New York, (Doubleday) ; Rouge District, (Eu.)
Genus 2. Eurois, Hiibn.
1. E. imbrifera, Guen. — July.

Distribution. — New York, (Doubleday); Orillia, CW., (Bush.)

Family, Xylinidce, Guen.

Genus 1. Calocampa, Steph.
1. C. vetusta, Hiibn. — Taken on Treacle, beginning of October.

Distribution. — Mass.: (Prof. Shepard) ; Orillia, O.W., (Bush.);

St. Martin's Falls, Albany River, Hudson's
Bay, (Dr. Barnston). (Eu.)
Genus 2. Cucullia, Ochs.

1. C. chamomillae, Men. Verz. — June.

Distribution. — New York, (E. Doubleday); St. Martin's Falls,

Albany River, Hudson's Bay, (Dr. Barnston)
(Eu.)

2. C. florea, Guen.

Distribution. — New York, (E. Doubleday).

Can. Nat. 2 Vol. V. No. 4

258 A Systematic Jjisc of Leyidajyteya,

Qub-division 3. MINORES, Guen.
Family, Erastbid^, Guen.

Genus 1. Erastria, Ochs.
1. E. carneola, Guen. — Rare, beginning of August.
Distribution. — United States, (E. Doubleday).

Division 2.— QUADRIFIDEA, Guen.

Tribe, VARIEGATE, Guen.

Family, Plusid^, Boisd.

Genus 1. Plusia, Ochs.

1. P. aerea, Hiibn. — July and August.

Distribution. — New York and Florida, (Doubleday) ; Nora Sco-
tia, (Redman) ; Orillia, C.W., (Bush).

2. P. precationis, Guen. — Common, August.

Distribution. — New York and Philadelphia, (Doubleday) ; Mass. ;

(Prof. Shepard) ; Orillia, C.W., (Bush).

3. P. mortuorum, Guen. — Common, August.

Distribution. — New York, (Doubleday); Orillia, C.W., (Bush) ;

Sorel and Rouge District.

Tribe, Intrust, Gum,

Family, Amphipyrid^, Guen.

Genus 1, Amphiptra, Ochs.

1. A. pyramidoides, Guen. — Common in August on the Mountain.

Distribution. — Massachusetts. (Harris) .

2. A. tragogoponis, Linn. — Abundant, beginning of August.

Distribution. — L Orignal on the Ottawa, (R. Bell). (Eu).

Tribe, Extensa, Guen.

Family, Homopierid.^, Guen.

Genus 1, Homoptera, Boisd.

1. H. lunata, Drury. — Taken on Treacle in May.

i)^s^^^■6M^^o?^.— Massachusetts, (Harris) ; St. Domingo, (B.M.C.)

2. H. contracta, Walker, M.S.S. N. Sp. — Middle of July.

" Foem. FeiTugineo fusca ; palpi arcuati, graciles, ascendentes ;
alae lineis nigris imdulatis, lineainteriore duplicata strigam iiigram
includente, linea media dentata apud costam dilatata, linea exte-
riore pallido marginata; anticae lineis duabus basalibus."

" Female. Ferruginous brown, cinereous beneath. Palpi
curved, slender, obliquely ascending, rising higher than the head;
third joint lanceoate, about half the length of the second. Wings
with black undulating lines ; interior line double, the intervening
space partly black ; middle line dentate, much dilated on the

A Systematic List of Lcpidoptera. 259

costa; exterior line pale-bordered ; marginal points black. Fore-
wings with two basal lines. Length of the body 4 lines ; of the
wings, 11 lines." Walker M.S.S.

3. H. Herminioides, Walker^ M.S.S. N. sp.. — July.

" Fcem. Albido cinerea, gracilis; palpi gracillimi ; alos lineis
quatuor angulosis, duabiis nigris bene determinatis duabusqiie
cinereis indistinctis, fimbria nigricante punctata; anticjB orbicu-
lari et reniformi nigris."

Female. AYhitish cinereous, slender. Palpi very slender, rising
higher than the vertex ; third joint lanceolate, full half the leno-th
of the second. Wings with four zigzig lines ; interior and exte-
rior hnes black, much more distinct than the other two which are
cinereous ; fringe with blackish points. Forewings with black
orbicular and reniform marks, the former small, the latter large,
full. Length of the body 4 lines; of the wings 10 lines."
Walker, 3LS.S.

Tribe, Limbat^, Gven.
Family, Catocalid.e, Boisd.

Genus 1. Catocala, Schr.

1. C. amatrix Uilbn. — Abundant in Poplar trees, beginning of October.

Distribution. — United States (Doubleday) ; Nova Scotia (Red-
man) ; Orillia, C. W., (Bush) ; Sorel.

2. C. concumbens, Walker. — Not common, August.

Distribution. — Orillia, C. W. (Bush) ; Sorel.

3. C. cerogama, Guen. — Flying from tree to tree in September, by day

on the Mountain.
Distribution. — Trenton Falls, New York, (Doubleday) ; Orillia,

C.W., (Bush).

4. C. polygama, Guen. — Attracted by light in July.

Distribution. — Orillia, C.W., (Bush); Sorel.

Tribe, Serpentina, Guen.
Family, Euclidid.^, Guen,
Genus 1. Drasteria, Hilbn.
1. D. Erechtea, Hiibn. — Very abundant in grass fields, July to Septem-
ber.
Distribution. — New York and Illinois (Doubleday) ; Massa:

(Harris) ; Nova Scotia (Redman) ; St. Mar-
tins' Falls, Albany River, Hudson's Bay (Dr.
Barnston).

" The Hudson's Bay specimens are hardly more than half the
size of those from New York " Walker, Brit. Mus. Cat. Lepid.
Het. XIV, p. 1457.

260 A Systematic List of Lepidoptera.

Group 4. Geometrina, Stainton.

Family, Ourapteryd^, Guen.

Genus 1. CliEerodes, Guen. Crociphora, Harris.

1. C. transposita, Walker. — End of August.

2. C. transversata, Drury. — Beginning of August.

Distribution. — Massachusetts (Harris) ; Lake Superior (Agassiz).

Family, Ennomid.e, Guen.

Genus 1. Angerona, Dup.
1. A. crocataria, Fab. — Common beginning of July.
Distribution. — Sorel and Rouge District.

Genus 2. Endropia, Guen.

1. E. eflfecta, Walker ^ M.S. S. N. sp. — Beginning of July.

" 3fas. Ferruginea, cinereo varia ; alas lineis interiore et exte-
riore obliquis subdenticulatis obscure ferrugineis, ilia costam versus
flexa, liuea media diffusa indistincta ; anticse subfalcatge, margine
exteriore fiexo subexcavato ; posticse gatta discali nigra, margine
exteriore valde inciso."

" Male. Ferruginous varied with pale cinereous, the latter hue
most prevalent towards the base of the wings and along the costa
of the forewings. Wings with the interior and exterior lines
dark ferruginous, oblique, slightly denticulate ; interior line bent
towards the costa ; middle line diffuse indistinct ; underside with
the middle and exterior lines verv distinct. Forewino's subfulcate*
exterior border distinctly bent, slightly excavated. Hind wings
with a black discal dot, exterior border much notched. Length
of the body 9 lines; of the wings 20 lines." Walker., M.S.S.

2. E. refractaria, Guen. — August and September.

Distribution. — Rouge District.

Genus 3. Ellopia, Treit.

1. E. floridaria, Guen. — Common in long grass, sides of the Mountain,

July.

2. E. annisaria, Walker, M.S.S. N. sp. — Yery abundant in July.

3Ias. et Fcem. Pallide citrina; alae subtus macula discali;
linea submarginali maculari strigisque paucis fuscis ; anticse gutta
discali macuhsque duabus submarginalibus fuscis."

'"'' Male and Female. Pale lemon colour. Head and forepait
of the thorax brighter. Wings beneath with a few transverse
brown speckles, with a brown discal spot, and a submarginal
line composed of brown spots ; this line very incomplete in the
forewings. Forewings with a brown discal dot which is much

A Systematic List of LepidojHera, 261

smaller tlian that on tlie under side, and with two brown spots
which indicate the submaro-ina! line. Hind winirs not marked
above. Length of the body 6 lines ; of the wings, 15 lines."
Walker, 3I.S.S. Larva supposed to feed on the species of cur-
rant [Hibes). Pupa under the bark of dead stumps, &c.

Genus 4. Ennomos, Treit.
1. E. subsignaria, Hiibner. — Isle Jesus, July.

Family, Amphidasid^, Guen.

Genus 1. Biston, Leach.
1. B. ursaria, Walker, 3f.S.S. N. sp. — Common near and ia the city,

end of April.

"Mas. Obscure cinerea, crassa pilosissima, nigro conspersa;
antennas latissime pectinatse ; pedes dense fasciculati ; alee anticaj
lineis quatuor obliquis nigris, 1 a llexa, 2 a, 3 a que approximatis
subundulatis, 4 a diffusa ; posticse linea 1 a, obsoleta, 4 a e striga
brevi lata postica."

*^ Male. Dark cinerous, speckled with black, very robust and
pilose. Antennas very broadly pectinated. Thorax with three
black bands. Legs densely tufted. Forewings with four black
oblique lines; first line bent; second and third approximate,
slightly undulating, diverging towards the costa ; fourth difi'use.
Hindwings with the first line obsolete ; second and third apparent ;
fourth indicated by a short broad streak near the interior angle.
Length of the bod}-, 8-9 lines, of the wings, 22-24 lines." Walker,
M.S.S.

Family, Boarmid^, Guen.

Genus 1. Boarmia, Steph.
1. B. cunearia, Walker. — Woods on the Mountain, May.
Distribution. — Rouge District.

Family, Geometrid.e, Guen.

Genus 1. Aplodes, Guen.
1. A. mimosaria, Guen. — Not uncommon on the Mountain in May.

Family, Acidalid^, Steph.

Genus 1. Acidalia, Treit.

1. A. inductata Guen. — Middle of July,

2. A. similaria, Walker^ M.S.S. N. sp.

" Mas» Alba; caput, thorax et abdomen basi subtestacea ; alas
lineis duabus testaceis punctularibus indeterminatis : anticas basi
testaccas."

262 A Systematic hist of Lepidoptera,

" Male. White head, thorax and base of abdomen somewhat
testaceous. Wings speckled with testaceous, which hue forms
two incomplete and very slight lines. Forewings with the speckles
more numerous than those of the hindwings ; the base wholly
testaceous. Length of the body, 5 lines; of the wings, 12 lines.'
Walker, 3LS.S.

3. A. anticaria, Walker, M.S. S. N. sp. — Common, August.

" Mas. Testaceo-cinerea ; caput albido fasciatum, antice nigrum.
Antennae pubescentes; alse nigro subconspersse, puncto discali
nigro, lineis tribus vix undulatis valde indistinctis, linea tenui ni-
gricante, linea marginali nigra perangusta."

Male. Testaceous-cinereous. Head black imfront : vertex with
a whitish band. Antennae whitish, pubescent. Wings very mi-
nutely black speckled, discal point black ; three very indistinct
hardly undulating lines which are very little darker than the
ground hue ; a slight blackish line between the second and third
lines ; marginal line biack, very slender, interrupted by the veins.
Length of the body Splines; of the wings, 9 lines. Walker^
M.S.S.

Genus 2. Pellonia, Dup.
1. P. successaria, Walker, M.S.S. N. sp. — Common, end of July.

" Mas. et Foem. Pallide lutea ; palpi porrecti, brevissimi, gra-
cillimi ; alaj subconspersae, fasciis duabus margineque exteriore
purpurascente roseis ; anticse acutae, litura discali purpurascente
rosea sat masfna."

" Male and Female. Pale luteous. Palpi porrect, very short and
slender, hardly extending beyond the head. Wings slightly
speckled, with two bands and the exterior border purplish rosy.
Forewings acute ; the two bands more or less confluent, discal
mark purplish rosy, rather large. Male, Antennae minutely pu-
bescent. Length of the body 4 lines ; of the wings 11 to 12 lines."
Walker, M.S.S.

Family, Fidonid.e, Gum.

Genus 1. Lozogramma, Steph.
1. L. subffiquaria, Walker, M.S.S. N. sp. — Abundant in May.
Distribution. — Sorel, St. Hilaire and Laprairie.

'■'' Fcem. Albido-cinerea, ochraceo subtincta, nigricante cons-
persa; tibiae postice subincrassatae ; alag linea marginali tenui
fusca, fimbria fusco interlineata; anticse acutae, lineis duabus
obliquis albidis intus fusco marginatis.

A Systematic List of Lepldoptera, 263

*' Female. Whitish cinereous, minutely blackish-speckled, slight-
ly ocliraceous tinged. Hind tibia slightly incrassated. Wings
with a slender brown marginal line ; fringe interlined with brown.
Forewings acute, with two oblique whitish lines which are diffa-
sediy brown-bordered on the inner side ; interior line straight ;
exterior line very slightly undulating. Length of the body 5^
lines; of the wings, 16 lines." Walker, M.S.S.

Genus 2. Numeria, Dmjs.
1. N. inceptaria, Walker. 3LS.S, N. sp.

" Mas. Cinerea, gracilis, fusco conspersa ; antennse pectinatae ;
aloe linea marginali tenui nigricante ; anticse vix acute lineis dua-
bus nigricantibus undulatis subobliquis, linea submarginali fusca
diffusa indistincta, lunula discali parva nigricante."

'"'■Male. Cinereous, slender, minutely brown speckled. Antenna?
rather broadly pectinated. Wings with a slender blackish mar-
ginal line. Forewings hardly acute, with two slight oblique un-
dulating blackish lines and with a diffuse and indistinct submar-
ginal brown line ; discal lunule small, blackish. Hindwings with
two somewhat diffuse brown lines. Length of the body, 5 lines ;
of the wings, 12 lines." Walker, M.JS.S.

Family, HrBERNiDiE, Guen.

Genus 1. Hybernia, Latr.
1. H. defoliaria, Linn. — Very abundant on the Mountain at the end of

October, and beginning of November, on
mild evenings. (Eu).
Genus 2. Anisopteryx, Steph.
1. A. restituens, Walker, M.S.S. N. sp . — Abundant in woods near

Montreal at the end of October.

" Mas. obscure cinerea ; antennae vix pectinatse ; abdomen sub-
flavescens ; aloe cinereae, litura, discali tenui nigricante, punctis
marginalibus nigiis ; antica lineis duabus obscure cinereis indis-
tiuctis undulatis albido-marginafis, costa obscure cinerea."

" Male. Dark cinereous. Antennae very slightly pectinated.
Abdomen with a yellowish tinge. Wings cinereous with a slight
blackish discal mark and with black marginal points. Forewings
with two indistinct undulating dark cinereous whitish-bordered
lines ; costa dark cinereous. Length of the body 5 lines ; of the
wings, 14 lines." Walker, M.S.S.

Family, Larentid^, Guen.
Genus 1. Cheiraatobia, Steph.
1. C. boreata, Hilbn. — Very numerous in woods at St. Hilaire and

Beloeil Mountain, in November. (Eu).

264 A Systematic List of Leindo])tera,

Genus 2. Melanippe, Dup.

1. M. Gothicata, Guen. — Common, June.

Distribution. — Rouge District, Sorel and Southern shores of the

gulf.

2. M. lacustrata, Guen. — Abundant, May and August.

3. M. intermediata, Guen. — Common, May, July and August.
Genus 3. Coremia, Guen.

]. 0. propugnata, Meir. Verz. — August. (Eu).
Genus 4. Scotosia, Steph.

1. S. undulata, Linn. — Common, June and July. (Eu).

Distribution. — Massachusetts, (Harris) ; Rouge District.

2. S. afiirmaria. Walker j 3LS.S. N. sp. — Abundant in August,

^^ Mas. Rufo-cinerea; thorax Bigro fasciatus ; alae aiiticse lineis
pluiimis rufescentibus subimdulatis, lineis tribus distinctis dentatis
nigris, linea subinarginali elunulis albidis, litura discali nigra obli-
qua minima."

" Male. Cinereous. Body above and forewings much tinged
with red. Thorax with a black band. Wings with a black mar-
ginal festoon. Forewings with many slight undulating reddish
lines, with three distinct dentated black lines, and with a whitish
submarginal line which is composed of lunules ; discal maik
black, oblique, very small. Hindwings pale cinereous, with several
indistinct darker lines and with a reddish tinge about the interior
border and the exterior border. Length of the body, 8 lines ;
of the wings, 18 lines." Walker^ M.S.S.

Group 5. PYRALIDINA, Stainton.

Sub. group 1. Pyralides, Guen.

Section 1. Deltoides, Guen,

Family, Hypenid^, Guen.

Genus 1. Hypena, Schr.

1. H. i\r. sp. — Abundant flying by day on the Mountain, May to July.

2. H. caecalis, Walker. — May.
Genus 2. Hormissa.

1. H. effusalis, Walker^ M.S. S. — Common in July.

" Mas. Cerrino-cinerea ; palpi decumbeutes, longi^^simi arliculo
2o. apicera versus arcuato, 3o. lanceolato; antennae pectinatge;
alse anticse lineis tribus fuscescentibus subundulatis, linea mavgi-
nali fusca tenui, reniformi e striga angusta arcuata ; posticre striga
latissima, lineis indistinctis."

" Male. Cinereous, with a slight fawn coloured tinge. Palpi
decumbent, very long ; 2d. joint much curved towards the tip;

A Systematic List of Lejjidoptera. 265

3i'd. lanceolate, full half the length of the second. Antennae
rather broadly pectinated. L('gs smooth; spurs very long. Fore-
wings with three slightly undulating brownish lines, the middle
one somewhat bent ; marginal line brown slender ; reniformmark
indicated by a curved slender streak. Ilindvvings much paler
than the forewings, with the exception of a very broad streak ;
lines much less distinct. Length of the body Splines; of the
wings 9 lines." Walker, M.S.S.

Family, Hehminid^e, Gum.

Genus 1. Bleptina, Guen. (?)
3. B, surrectalis, Walker. — Common in August.
Distribution. — Rouge District.

Genus 2. Herminia, Latr.

1. H. cruralis, Guen. — Abundant in grassj places, July.

2. H. concisa, Walker, 3I.S.S. N. sp. — Common, July.

'^ 3Ias. et Foem. Cinerea ; palpi arcuati, glabri, erecti articulo
3o. lanceolato ; antennae maris pubescentes ; pedes simplices ;
alae lineis tribus denticulatis nigricantibus, liuea submarginali al-
bida denticulata, lunulis marginalibus nigris ; antic?e orbiculari et
reniformi pallide flavescentibus, hac interlineata."

" Male and Female. Cinereous. Pulpi curved, smooth vertical ;
third joint lanceolate, more than half the length of the second.
Antennae of the male pubescent. Legs simple. Wings with
three denticulated blackish lines and with one denticulated sub-
marginal whitish line ; marginal lunules black. Forewings with
the orbicular and reniform marks pale yellowish and of the usual
form, the latter traversed by a black line. Hindwings much paler
than the forewings and with the lines less distinct. Length of the
body 4 lines ; of the wings 10 lines." Walker, M.S.S.

3. H, clitosalis. Walker, (H. cloniosalis, Walker). — Abundant amongst

ferns, &c., on the Mountain in July.
Genus 3, Epizeuxis, Hiibner.
1. E. gaosalis, Walker. — Abundant in grassy places, in July.

Section 2. Pyralites, Guen.
Tribe, Pulvurulent^, Guen.

Family, Pyralid^, Guen.

Genus 1. Pyralis, Linn.
1. P. farinulis, Linn, (Meal Moth). — Common in houses, June an

July.
Distribution. — Massachusetts, (Harris). (Eu).

266 A Systematic List of Lejndoptera,

Tribe, Lurid^, Guen.

Family, Ennychid^, Guen.

Genus 1. Ennychia, Treit. Anania, Hiibn.
1. E. octomaculata, Li?in. — June and July.

Distribution. — Lake Superior, (Agassiz) ; Rouge District. (Eu.)

Family, Hydrocampid^, Guen.

Genus 1. Cataclysta, Hiibn.
1. 0. laminalis, Walker. — Very abundant, flying in the afternoon over

flowers in gardens &c., beginning of August.

Family, Botyd^, Guen.

Genus 1. Botys, Latr.
1. B. verticalis, Linn. — Common July.

Distribution. — Rouge District. (Eu).

The following new species of Geometrina taken at Sorel, probably
occurs also at Montreal.

Family, Macarid^, Guen,

Genus 1. — Macaria, Curtis.
1. M. spilosaria, Walker, M.S.S. — In firwoods, May.

*' F(Em. Fusca ; palpi brevissimi ; thorax nigro fasciatus ; ab-
dominis segmenta albido marginata : pedes nigricantes, tarsis
albido fasciatis ; alse anticae cinerese, extus fuscascentes, fasciis
duabus fuscis, subundnlatus nigro marginatis,linea exteriore nigra
denticLilata subundulata, linea submarginali, o lanulis albis, linea
marginali e punctis elongatis nigris."

^'•Female. Brown. Palpi very short. Thorax with a black
band in front. Abdomen with the hind borders of the seo-ments
whitish. Legs blackish ; tarsi with whitish bands. Forewings
cinereous, -with the exterior part brownish ; two brown slightly un-
dulating black-bordered bands; first band basal ; second interior;
a denticulated slightly undulating exterior black line, followed by
an incomplete line of white lunules: marginal line composed of
elongated black points. Hind wings cinereous, with the lines very
slightly marked. Length of the body 5 lines ; of the wings 14
lines." Walker, M.S.S,

June 4th, 1860. Exeter, Devonshire.

Sketch of the Life of Mr* David Douglas, 267

ARTICLE XKXYlll.— Abridged Shetcli of the life of Mr.
David Douglas, Botanist, with a fev: details of his travels
and discoveries.

(^Continued from last Number.)

On his arrival in London late in autumn, his welcome among
his friends was of the warmest and most gratifying description.
The exhibition of his discoveries at the meetings of the Horticul-
tural Society, and the notices of his new contributions in the
various branches of Natural History, in the respective scientific
periodicals, raised his name, and soothed his feelings on the steep
and thorny ascent to high reputation. In time these flattering
sensations, as is usual with ardent dispositions, lost their glow, and
he felt that he could not rest on his laurels ; the only benefit reaped
from them was an extensive acquaintance and the thorough con-
viction in his own mind that his field of duty lay not at home, but
amongst the unexplored riches of the soil, in foreign lands. His
most attached and valuable friends were of the same opinion.
Amongst these might be reckoned Capt., afterwards Col. Sabine,
who kindly took Douglas under his own particular instructions
and patronage, so that the latter was soon taught the use of
astronomical instruments and became a most accurate observer.

Looking forward with sanguine expectation to a brilliant
course now opening up before him, the comforts of home and
pleasures of london society were abandoned, and Douglas again
embarked for the Columbia, refreshed and strensthened for a still
brighter career. During the interval he had benefited greatly by
the society of his inestimable friend Hooker, and both Mr. Sabine
and his brother Capt. Sabine had shewn him special marks of
regard. At the suggestion of the latter the Colonial Ofiice supplied
him with an excellent set of instruments of various descriptions,
so that the result of his investigations might be rendered important
and useful, and his time be profitably occupied. His endowments
of disposition and mind fully enabled him to make the most of
these advantages and to bring into play the knowledge he had
acquired, as opportunities might ofier themselves to him. After
an eight month's voyage he again set foot on the shores of the
Columbia, where he had many a warm greeting. We were glad
to see again amongst us an old friend, with his noble counten-
ance, and agreeable hearty manner unchanged, and pleased to
find that his stature as a disciple of science had greatly increased.

268 Sketch of the Life of Mr. David Douglas.

From the 3rd of June 1 830, tlie date of his arrival, until the period
of the leaving of the loaded boats for the interior, his time was
occupied in unpacking his boxes, in the adjustment and trial of his
instruments, and the determination of the position of Fort Yan-
couver, but during his leisure hours we had the enjoyment of his
enlivening society.

Lewis and Clarke's Fork being a place of some note as the
point of confluence of the two great branches of the Columbia,the
North and the South, Mr. D. desired to adopt it as one of his principal
stations for astronomical and magnetical observations. I there-
fore had the pleasure of his company up to Wallawalla, to the
charge of which post I had been appointed. On the route, when-
ever an opportunity offered we were on shore together, and I was
much surprised to remark the quickness of sight he displayed in
the discovery of any small object or plant on the ground over which
we passed. When in the boats, as they proceeded along, he
would frequently spring up abruptly in an excited manner, and
with extended arms keep his finger pointed at a particular spot
on the beach or the shelving and precipitous rocks, where some
new or desirable plant had attracted his notice. This was the
signal to put on shore, and we would then be amused with the
agility of his leap to the land, and the scramble like that of a cat
upon the rocks to the object he wished to obtain, happy if he
achieved this without slipping, and falling into the deep water along-
side the boat.

The boats being got rid of at Wallawalla he was immediately
busied in taking observations, and in that portion of the Columbia^
there being scarcely ever a cloud or speck upon the sky his astro-
nomical work advanced surely and rapidly. The regularity of
barometrical and magnetical figurings v/as conspicuous, and the
diurnal variations of temperature remarkably equal, the humidity
of the atmosphere generally a mere trifle. The apparatus employ-
ed was of the most select kind of that day. Even the famous
Arago had furnished approved asbestus thread for suspending the
magnetic bars, and the zealous and persevering observer applied
to every operation the utmost of his care and skill. To enable
him again to visit the Blue Mountains, the heights of which range
he wished to ascertain and the distribution of plants at various
altitudes along its slopes, I furnished him with five horses, and
our interpreter with a sturdy boy. After a few days absence on
this excursion he returned, having accomplished all that he had

Skelch of the Life of M-r. David Douglas, 269

expected, yet regretting- that the wild disposition of the Shoshonccs,
and our slender acquaintance with them, prevented his penetrating
further to the southward within their bounds. To have attempted
that would have been attended with great risk and danger. At
this time we adopted a very successful mode of catching lizards ;
Indian boys were employed to beat about for the game armed with
single horse-hair lassos, tied to the end of a wand. It was laugh-
able to see the little urchins, naked as they were born, scouring
about, and when they discovered a hole, throwing themselves flat
on the heated sand, and extending the small noose over the entry
to the reptile's apartment. Where their victim shewed his head,
they would then quickly suspend him with one jerk, and bring
him like a culprit to our sides : a slight reward would put them
in ecstasies, and they would again scamper ofi'for renewed captures."
The most common species obtained was an Agama, the Tajjciya
Douglasii, and a very beautiful long tailed little lizard of a light
pavonine iridescent hue. It measured about six inches or more,
was particularly agile and appeared to great advantage, as it flitted
rapidly before the sun from knoll to knoll. It was probably a
Cnemidophorus. The habitations of all creatures of this class can
be quickly found in the sand of that arid region, collected often
in heaps around the interlacing roots of Pursliia tridentata and
a few Artemisias, and stinted grasses growing there.

On the 23rd July Mr. Douglas left Wallawalla and I felt his
absence as a sad blank, only to be recompensed by a future meeting,
a hope which however was never to be realized in this life. His
thoughts were turned towards California, and he availed himself
of the occasion of a return boat to Fort Vancouver to return to
the coast. It was this year, in the beginning of August, that
fever and ague first shewed itself on the Lower Columbia. Its
ravages among the natives were fearful. Ignorant of the complaint,
and accustomed to daily bathing, when the hot stage arrived, they
would plunge themselves into the cold waters of the river and drag
themselves out again merely to breathe their last upon the sand.
The beeches in front of the crowded villages were strewed with
dead. The aged and the young and mothers with their babes
remained in the huts to perish ; only the more robust flying to the
mountains arrested the progress of the malady, and prevented it
from entirely extirpating the river tribes ; small pox could not
have made a more destructive sweep. It remains a question for
physicians to solve, how this intermittent, until then quiescent in

270 Sketch of the Life of M?\ David Douglas.

that quarter, should have at once broken out with such violence
without any apparent reason. The banks of the river were un-
changed, with the exception of about 100 acres of land, which had
been only gradually brought into cultivation at the farm of Fort
Vancouver. What possible eJBfect could this cultivation have had
on points thirty and fifty miles distant, where the complaint was
equally prevalent ? The disease has taken permanent root in that
district of country. All at the establishment were sufferers by the
unwelcome visitation, and Douglas was ill like others, but being
something of a leech, had an early recovery, and recruited per-
fectly by following up his wonted healthful perambulations. He
this season had added nearly one hundred new species of plants
to his former discoveries.

I have a letter from him dated Fort Vancouver, August 4th,
part of which I shall transcribe, as it partakes much of his lively
style.

" Ere sundown on the day I left you, we encamped on the
small gravelly island three-fourths of a mile below Day's River.
The latitude of that stream, that is its junction with the Colum-
bia, from two meridional observations of stars, and one observa-
tion of the polar star near the meridian, gave me 45^, 43', 12" N,

" Tuesday evening took us to the Cascades, the land of my
little vain Indian Chumtalia. It was Hyass '^ Sunday with him.
The whole earth from the east and from the west, from the most
distant parts, had congregated to make mirth with him, and to
Patchatch j on the never-to-be-forgotten occasion of the perfora-
ting the septum of his young daughter's nose, and piercing her
ears. It would have been very ungallant to the young lady, as
well as ungracious towards the father, to have pressed him or any
of his band, to go with me to the mountain at such a time. I
therefore deprived myself of that pleasure and proceeded to Fort
Vancouver, where I arrived on Wednesday at kail time. Chum-
talia in six days more, comes for me in his large canoe. You may
look upon 121^ 07' 07" W., as a very close approximation to truth,
for the longitude of the upper throat of the dalles. Latitude 45°
37', 47", as ascending with you, verified to my entire satisfaction
on my return. The centre of the portage of the Cascades, lati-
tude 45'^, 39', 30", the mean of several observations. Longitude
121°, 58', 00'

\'f

Hyass, great, f Patchatch, supposed to mean feast.

Sketch of the Life of Mr. David Douglas. 271

" I have arranged my barometer every way to please me, but I
wish you had been with me to have lent me a hand, for I had
some trouble boiling the mercury in the tube. Fortunately I can
find only '004 of an inch of index error, from the comparison I
made with it and my others at Greenwich. I could have done no
more, had I been in Dolland's shop. I shall give you the altitude
of the mountains in my next, which I hope will be numerous, on
the Willamette Ridge."

In fulfillment of this promise he wrote me again on the 29th
November from Fort George (Astoria).

" By Mr. Ogden I was favored with your kind letter, relating
to the crop on the Wallawalla River, together with other good
things it contained. I hold myself greatly in your debt, and sin-
cerely thank you for the same. I had an extensive journey in the
Willamette with Mr. McLeod, and benefited myself, besides being
greatly gratified by it. The valley is by no means of that extent
generally ascribed to it; where we apply the test of measurement
it indeed falls far short. The basin of the Multnamah, that is the
country bounded on the east by the woody ridge of mountains
that skirt the coast and generally keep parallel to it, and that
ridge of the cascades which forms the platform of Mount
Hood, (and of the culminant points of land to the south, which
preserve a nearly south-west direction until they dip into the sea,)
the termination of which is Cape Orford, is from the Columbia
Valley to the most remote high lands that divide it from the
Umptqua, only 127 miles, the breadth being about 70 from east
to west, forming nearly a triangle. The soil is not so well calcu-
lative for tillage as represented. It is parched in summer, and
its herbage destroyed by crickets. In winter it is deluged by rain,
all its depressed parts, called plains, being covered with water.
The highest land on which I was on that Willamette Ridge is
1043 feet elevated above the apparent base. This is barometrical
but observe I should not adopt it, only as a very close aj^proxima-
tion to its real height, for want of simultaneous observation at the
base, when at the peak myself. I was obliged to take the mean of
a series of observations before starting, and after my return, as
true for the lower station. With all these disadvantages, I am
truly gratified to state to you that my geometrical measurement
was 1013 feet. All and more than ordinary care was taken as to
the base line ; and to do away with errors of eccentricity of the
instrument and the like, generally found in the most perfect

272 Slcetcli of the Life of Mr. David Douglas.

sextants, I employed a reflecting circle. As I used it, all errors
of the kind were insensible. By the same operation, I find 11,320
feet for Mount Jefferson. The day however was not so good as I
could have wished, the snow capped summit was obscurely defined
by reason of flaky and stray milky, clouds, that adhered to it
with great obstinacy. This does not affect greatly the general
result. I would have had much reason to rejoice, had I not had
a misfortune on my return. On one of the rapid tributaries of
the Mattnomah, I lost all my zoological collections, a dreadful loss,
as it contained good things. It is curious ; on the 17th Novem-
ber 1826, / lost every tiling Iliad at the same place ^ when return-
ing from my southern journey ! A kelpie, or elf is the charm of
that stream,* so unfortunate to me. Since that time I have
made my intended trip to the cascades with my friend Chumtalia.
I accomplished all I wished. Poor Chumtalia is since dead.
He was blown up by his powder horn which was on his person,
and falling on his side, his knife entered about the fifth rib
so that he died. He is now laid with his fathers. Your friends
will have told you of the ravages a fatal intermittent fever has made
among the red men in the lower parts of the river. I was ten
days in that state, between hope and fear, but never was laid down.
I am now thus far on my way to California. It will depend en-
tirely on the country, and the facilities I meet with from the men
in power there, whether my st^y will be long or short ; I shall feel gra-
tified by being remembered by you, thought of and written to, if
you can make it convenient."

He reached Montery at the winter solstice, the season when
vesretation there ao-ain recovers from the autumn drought. The
roots that have been parched by the summer's heat, again have
imbibed humidity and send up their juices, and seeds that have
been preserved sound by the dryness of the atmosphere, now swell
under the rains, and shoot up with a rapidity unknown in northern
climates. The beautiful Ribes speciosum there adorns the bush,
and the Nemophila insignis with its delicate blue carpets the
sandy lawn. Douglas now botanized among the ranges along the
coast to the southward as far as Ste. Barbara, and then returning
leisurely reached San Francisco in June. Thence he continued
his route as far north as latitude 38® 45', hoping to reach the
spot where in October 1826, he had visited the great pine trees

♦ River Sandiam,

Sketch of the Life of Mr. David Douglas, 21 Z

beyond tlie Umptqua, but in this he was disappointed. To have
made the attempt with any degree of safety would have required
the company of a gi'eater party than he had the means of com-
manding. Thus he was constrained unwillingly to return.

So little intercourse was there in those days with San Francisco
that he was detained all winter and spring there without finding
an opportunity of shipping himself oflP, but his time was comfort-
ably spent at the prajsidias, where the hospitality of the i^'^dres
was extended to him in so kind a manner that he ever warmly re-
membered it. The collections he made during all this long period
were worthy of his high reputation. Above 400 species of the mass
of plants which he sent to England were yet undescribed. Of
these some were superbly flowering kinds, forming new genera,
giving to botanists an enlarged idea of the productive vegetating
powers of the soil and climate of Upper California. In August of
1832 a passage was at last obtained to the Sandwich Islands,
where he was attacked by rheumatic fever, the consequence of too
much exposure to the vicissitudes of the weather. Upon recovery
he left for the Columbia, which he entered towards the end of
October.

In March of 1833, he made a short tour by the Cowlidsk river
to Puget Sound, where he took a rapid survey of the bays and
headlands, determining their latitude and longitude, and obtain-
ing the altitudes, bearings and distances of the snowy peaks that
rear themselves up from the pine clad mountains, which swell out
in increasingly formidable proportions as they retire from the sea.
A number of mosses and algge were collected in this quarter,
classes which hitherto he had had but small opportunity of noti-
cing. Immediately on his return from the Sound he favoured me
with a letter of some length, which it may not be uninteresting
here to insert, as it gives a description of California in some points
as it then stood :

" Fort Vancouver, March 17th, 1833.

" Last August at the Sandwich Islands I had the pleasure to
receive a letter from you, and in October on my arrival here a
second, accompanied by a beautiful sample of cyanitc, and fine
specimens of my Pceonia from the Blue Mountains of Wallawalla.
I am exceedingly obliged by this, and request to lay before you my
best thanks for this mark of your goodness. Such allow me to say
was bestowed where it is felt, and will be remembered. An hour
Can. Nai-. 3 Vol. V. No. 4

274 Sketch of the Life of Mr. David Douglas,

or two's conversation witli you to renew the pleasant moments we
passed in 1830, would at this time and distance of place, afford me
the utmost gratification, the more especially to one so ill qualified
for writing as I am. Indeed writing is out of my line of life. I
spent 19 months in California and amassed a collection, of such
an extent, as can only be equalled by its novelty and beauty.
California is a most beautiful and highly diversified country.
Snowy mountains, low hills clothed w?th wood, extensive plains,
undulating grounds, in fact all except the Great River, which
certainly sometimes makes but a cold feature in American
scenery. The climate, though warm is healthy, and were it
not for the intense drought of July and August, the soil would
be very productive. In no part of the world have I experienced
such a dryness in the atmosphere, nor can I call to my memory
having read of greater. Even the deserts of Arabia and Egypt,
the plains of Sin and Ispahan in Persia, I mean the driest places
on the globe, when satisfactory observations have been made,
are more humid than California. Often when the thermometer
Fahr., stands at 80° or 100°, 30° or 40° of dryness is by no means
unfrequent. On some occasions I have sunk the thermometer
below zero, and after repeated trials, with all the care I am ca-
pable of bestowing on such a delicate operation, not the least
particle of moisture could be detected. But nature ever kind
and varied in her operations, compensates for this extreme dry-
ness of the daytime by copious dews during the night, at all times
proportionate to the dryness of the preceding day. Otherwise
animals or vegetables could not live ; the most would only be exis-
tence, and that for but a short period. In 1831, the rain was
only '700 of an inch, the 39th part of the mean of the English
climate. Notwithstanding these great drawbacks to this beauti-
ful country, it is the land of the vine, the olive, the fig, the ba-
nana, and in the southern parts, of the sugar cane, and a variety
of the usual fruits seen in semi-tropical climates. The vine is
cultivated to a large extent, from 10,000 to 100,000 in one vi-
neyard. The wine is excellent, indeed, that word is too small for
it ; it is very excellent. I lived almost exclusively with the fathers
who without an exception, afforded me the most essential assis-
tance, hospitality to excess, with a thousand little courtesies
which we feel and cannot express. I had no bickerings about su-
perstition, no attempts at conversion or the like, the usual com-
plaints of travellers, indeed so much to the contrary, that on no

SJcelch of the Life of Mr. David Douglas. 275

occasion was an uncharitable word directed to me. Wlien there
I was under no restraint ; my time was entirely my own, feast
day and fast all the same, the good men of God gave me always
a good bed, and plenty to eat and drink of the best of the land.
A more upright and highly honorable class of men I never knew.
They are well educated ; I had no difficulty from the beginning
with them, for saving one or two exceptions, they all talk Latin
fluently, and though there be a great difference in the pronunciation
between one from Auld Reekie, and Madrid, yet it gave us but
little trouble. They know and love the sciences too well to think
it curious to see one go so far in quest of grass."

'^ The Mexican territorial government as applied to California
is abominable, and that is the mildest word I can use. The
secular part of the community is sot so, some good and many bad.
The ladies are handsome, of a dark olive brunette, with good teeth,
and the dark fine eyes, which bespeaks the descendant of Castillo,
Catalan or Leon. They (sweet creatures) have a greater recom-
mendation than personal attractions. They are very amiable*
On this head I must say. Finis, otherwise you will be apt to think,
if ever I had a kind feeling for man's better half, I left it in
(Calida Fornax,) California."

" What a fine country for geology, finer than for botany.
Perhaps I may at a future time discuss this matter, as well as
give a treatise on the geographical distribution of plants indi-
genous to North America generally. This will occupy a consider-
able time, if ever I complete it ; at all events much material in
many departments is now in my possession as a ground work.
But, great as is certainly this field for the naturalist, the Sandwich
Islands, are, from their position on the earth's surface, their
origin, and their great altitudes, still more interesting ; and this
interest is not diminished, from their having been the theatre of
the tragic death of the illustrious Cook, and by the now well
known good disposition of the natives.

" You may be aware that on Owyhee, on the lateral banks
of Mouna Roa, or the Big, there is the largest volcano in the
world, the mouth of which is nine miles in diameter, at this moment
throwing out rivers of liquid fire. I cannot attempt to describe
the sensations felt, the even fearful excitement experienced during
my visit to this place. We have the trees of the world, the
orange, lemon, coffee, banana, and tropical tree ferns, which cha-
racterize the features of warm countries, about the level of the

• 276 Sketch of tlie Life of Mr. David Douglas.

sea, farther up, those of more temperate climes, until we arrive
at similar verdure to that found on the Scottish Alps, and lastly
we reach the region of snow and ice, where nature forever denies
to the wearied visitant the refreshing relief to the fatigued eye,
of a blade of grass or even a ilioss. But to behold even verdure
clinging to the craggy land perpetually bathed in vapours, com-
posed of hydrosulphurous gas and other combinations, which to
all other kind of vegetables would be utter, nay almost instant
annihilation is a fact that claims attention. Thus, we behold
apparent discordance in the great operations of nature, which ma-
nifest an infinite intelligence and power in the Almighty hand ;
in each being the life of the Eternal \ in each climate, His unity ;
in every distant planet His ubiquity ; in every provision the ful-
ness of His mercy ; and in the constancy of their action, His truth.
The geological world knows nothing yet of the origin of volcanic
forces, but we do know that they are the irregular secondary
results of great masses of matter, obeying the primary laws of
atomic action, that they differ in their intensity, are interrupted
in their periods, and are aggravated, or restrained by an endless
number of causes, external and purely mechanical. Of all modes
of material combinations, this is perhaps the most complicated.
To assume then that volcanic forces have not only been called into
action at all times in the natural history of the earth, but also,
that in each period they have acted with equal intensity, seems to
be merely a gratuitous hypothesis, not formed on any of the great
analogies of nature, and I believe unsupported by the direct evi-
dence of fact. This theory confounds the immutable and pri-
mary laws of matter with the mutable results arising from their
irregular combination. It assumes that in the laboratory of nature
no elements have ever been brought together, which we ourselves
have not seen combined ; that no forces have been developed by
their combinations, of which we have not witnessed the effects.
And what is this but to limit the riches of nature by the poverty
of our own knowledge, and to surrender ourselves to a mischievous
but common scepticism, which forces us to deny the reality of
what we have not seen, and even to doubt the truth of what we
do not perfectly comprehend ? In no place on the globe can the
geologist better devote his time to reconcile and render harmo-
nious this obscure but beautiful part of this exalted science, than
at these islands. Ail that my feeble capacity can do is but
a bubble.

Sketch of the Life of Mr, David Doiiglas. 211

" To console myself for the want of friends of a kindred feeling
in this distant land, for an exchange of sympathy or advice, I
vary my amusements ; by day it is a barren place that does not
afford me a blade of grass; a bird, or a rock, before unnoticed, from
which I derive inexpressible delight, while during the stillness of
a cloudless night their localities are determined, altitudes mea-
sured, the climate they breathe analyzed. Thank God my heart
feels gladness in these operations ; without such to pass away an
hour, my time would be blank. I willingly admit however, there
is one way, and one only way in which a man's powers may be
cramped by the pursuit of natural truth, and that is by too ardent
devotion to it. In the pursuit of any subject, however lofty, a
man may become narrow minded, and in a condition little better
than moral servitude, but by embracing different subjects, we
need not fear on this head. Every department of science offers
its spoils for our decoration. We can be carried into regions
where we contemplate the most glorious workmanship of nature,
and where the dullest imagination becomes excited. We can tra-
vel through distant lands and become acquainted with the com-
plexions and the feelings and the characters of mankind, under
every form of life ; and in doing this, if we be not most indocile
pupils we must learn many lessons of kindness, and freedom of
thought along with appropriate knowledge of our immediate voca-
tion."

" I shall have left the Columbia before you receive this hasty
note, which I regret the more, as T shall not have the pleasure of
hearing from you ; however though far apart you are with me in
recollection. Whether I return through the Russian Empire, or
the islands of the south seas, I have not yet determined. My
arrival in England is uncertain. May you enjoy all and every
happiness this world affords, and may God direct your steps."

The Frazer's River County had not yet been seen by the inde-
fatigable traveller. He therefore took a passage in the boats that
were leaving Fort Vancouver on the 20th March, with the party
preceeding across the Rocky Mountains, and quitted them at
Okanagan in about latitude 48° 5' 0", striking north on horseback
as far as Kamloops Fort on Thompson's River. Thence by adopt-
ing the same means of conveyance and keeping a northerly course
he reached Alexandria on Frazer's River, in latitude nearly 5 2°
25' 0, longitude 122° 30'. Embarking now on this river he con
tinned up stream, taking the western Fork as far as Stuart's Lake

278 SJcetch of the Life of Mr, David Douglas.

say latitude 54° 30' N., longitude 124° 10' W. Upon his retura
from this lake, he met with another of those unfortunate accidents,
that cannot always be avoided in small canoes, and which had
already so often occurred to him on the waters of the Columbia
and its tributaries. He was wrecked in a dangerous part of the
river, and again lost all the fruits of the toil of the present
journey and the plants he had collected on the way. His relation
of this disaster, which occurred on the 13th June 1833, is con-
veyed in a letter to his friend Sir W. J. Hooker."

" On that morning at the stony islands of Eraser's Kiver, my
canoe was dashed to atoms, when I lost every article in my posses-
sion, saving an astronomical journal, book of rough notes, charts,
and barometrical observations, with my instruments. My botani-
cal notes are gone, and what give me most concern, my journal
of occurrences also, as this is what can never be replaced, even by
myself. All the articles needful for pursuing my journey were
destroyed, so that my voyage for this season was frustrated. I
cannot detail to you the labor and anxiety this occasioned me both
in body and mind, to say nothing of the hardships and sufferings
I endured. Still I reflect with pleasure that no lives were sacrificed.
I passed over the cataract and gained the shore in a whirlpool
below, not however by swimming, for I was rendered helpless and
the waves washed me on the rocks. The collection of plants con-
sisted of about four hundred species, two hundred and fifty of
these were mosses, and a few of them new. This disastrous
occurrence has much broken my health and spirits. The country
over which I passed was all mountainous, but most so towards the
western ocean. Still it will ere long be inhabited."

To this last remark of the gifted Douglas we may safely attach
the epithet prophetic. No one but a person of the highest intel-
ligence and foresight would at that time have made it. The coun-
try was accessible only by the circuitous routes followed by the
fur traders through hilly mountainous districts, and was roamed
over solely by wild Indian tribes. Now it is traversed in every
direction by those of the white race who search for gold, and
who will establish themselves, whereever the yellow dust may be
found, or whereever the soil and climate may render the cultiva-
tion of the earth, or a pastoral life, agreeable."

On the Track of an Animal, Sfc. 279

AKT. XXXIX. — On the Track of an Animal lately found in the
Potsdam Formation, By 8ir W. E. Logan, F.R.S.

{Read before the Natural History Society of Montreal, June, 1860.)

The Potsdam sandstone is recoornised in Canada and New
York as the base of the Lower Silurian series. As far as we are
certain of the formation in the province it rests unconformably up-
on the Laurentian series ; but on the north shore of Lake Huron,
the Huronian series supports unconformably a sandstone which
has been supposed to be Potsdam ; as no fossils, however, have
been met with in it there, its equivalence is somewhat doubtful,
particularly as the superior fossiliferous rock into which it passes
appears to be of the Bird's-eye and Black River group.

Mr.Barrandein a paper communicated to the Geological Society
of France about a year ago, compares the Potsdam formation
■vsdth the Primordial Zone, and appears disposed to unite it
with the strata marked by Paradoxides near Boston in Massa-
chusets, and Placentia Bay in Newfoundland, the first locality
yielding Paradoxides Harlani which he identifies with his
P. spinosus^ and the latter Mr. Salter's P. Bennetii, and proba-
bly other allied genera and species. But while no well ascertained
Primordial species have been met with in the Potsdam of Canada
and New York, the formation appears in Canada to be rather
allied to the strata above than those below it.*

In the Potsdam of Canada and New York, independent of
fucoids, the number of species of which the forms have been
either wholly or partially preserved is only three. Two of them
are Lingulce, named by Hall L. prima^ and L. antiqua ; and
while these so far resemble one another that they might by some
palaeontologists be considered varieties of one species, we in Cana-
da have a Lingula [L. Belli of Billings,) in the Chazy, which might
almost be considered another variety of the same species, the peculi-
arity of them all being the length and sharpness of the beak. In Can-
ada there is also found in the Potsdam, the impression of the spire of
a large flat Pleurotoniaria^ which so strongly resembles the spire of
P . Laureniiana (Billings) of the Calciferous, that they can scarcely

* Since this paper was read, it has been ascertained by Mr. Billings,
that the trilobites found in the Potsdam at Keesville, New York, and
presented by Mr. Dana at the meeting of the American Association at
Montreal in 1857, belong to Conocephalus, one of the genera character-
izing the Primordial Zone in Bohemia.

280 On the Track of an Animal lately found

be distinguished. In addition to these upward affinities in the
only preserved forms, there are beds of passage between the Pots-
dam and Calciferous formations, in which the strongly marked
distinctive lithological characters of the two are well preserved,
and at St. Timothy on the Beauharnois Canal those beds of the
inter-stratification which are allied to the lower rock are occasion-
ally marked by Scolithus lineai'is (Hall), supposed to be ancient
worm-holes, by which the Potsdam is characterised in many parts.

Immediately beneath these beds of passage are the celebrated
foot prints of Beauharnois, to which Professor Owen has given
the name of Protichnites. Since these were described by Owen,
nothing has been discovered to throw farther light upon the
forms of the animals which made these impressions ; but in thin-
ning a large specimen with some of the tracks on it, for the purpose
of placing it in the museum of the Geological Surv^ey, it was
ascertained that the surface on which the traces were impressed
must have been subject to the ebb and flow of a tide. The
surface on which the tracks are impressed and the one immedi-
ately beneath, shew ripple-mark ; the next in succession which is
about an eighth of an inch below, shews wind-mark, in a number
of sharp and straight parallel ridges from two to four inches long
and an eighth or a quarter of an inch wide. These characterize a
considerable surface, and are precisely similar to the marks so famil-
iar to every person who has examined blown sand. The surface
must thus have been alternately wet and dry, and the organic
remains of the formation being marine, we have thus pretty clear
evidence of a tide.

Pi'overbially unstable as water is, the mean level of the sea,
that is the point which is half-way between high and low water,
is supposed to be the least changeable level on the face of the
globe, and taking it to be now pretty much as it was during the
Lower Silurian period, we establish the means of knowing approx-
imately how much the position where the tracks are found, is
higher than it was when these were impressed, the limit of
error being the number of feet which would represent the diflfer-
ence between the ebb and flow of the sea in the locality, or per-
haps not more than fifty feet. "We have thus a bench-mark to test
the rise not only of these strata at Beauharnois, but of their equi-
valents, wherever else they may be met with.

Finding that this ancient sand bank was exposed at the ebb of
tide we naturally look out for some coast to which it was related.

in the Potsdam Formation,

281

The Potsdam sandstone terminates some twenty miles to the north
at a very low angle against the foot of the Laurentide hills, which
rapidly rise up 500 or 600 feet above the Silurian plain*
There is little doubt that we have in the flank of those hills the
ancient limit of the Lower Silurian sea, the shore of which is thus
traceable from Labrador by the north-west, to the Arc'dc Ocean,
a distance of 3,000 miles. But though we have thus evidence
of a Lower Silurian dry land and can scarcely suppose that it
was wholly destitute of vegetation, we have not yet discovered
any certain drifted vestige of its plants along many hundred miles
of its coast.

Fig. 1, One-thirtieth nat. size.
The crustacean which impressed the tracks at Beauharnois must
have been a litoral animal, tracks of which have now been found
in several places nearer than Beauharnois to the marginal limit of

282 On the Track of an Animal lately found

the sea to which it belonged. These localities are St. Ann, Yau-
dreuil, Presqu'ile, Lachute, and St. Elizabeth, and they were
last year observed in the neighbourhood of Perth. In the last
locality they are associated with a new and remarkable description
of track for the discovery of which we are indebted to my friend
Dr. James Wilson of Perth, who sent me specimens of it in the
month of November last.

The largest of the specimens was between two and three feet
long by a foot wide, and the track upon it so singular that I
became desirous of obtaining a greater extent of the trail. For this
purpose, in the beginning of Deccember, I sent Mr. Richardson
to Perth, where he was guided to the quarry by Dr. Wilson, and
shewn the bed in which the tracks occur. The quarry, of which the
strata are nearly horizontal, is about a mile from the town, and with
the aid of Mr. Glyn, the proprietor, Mr. Richardson obtained in
fragments, a surface which measures about seventy-six square feet.
To obtain this required a good deal of patience, for there was half
a foot of snow on the ground, and from under this it was necessary
to remove between two and three feet of rock in order to reach the
bed The rock is a fine grained white sandstone similar to that
in which the Protichnites occurs at Beauharnois, and of that pure
silicious character which is so well known to belong to the Pots-
dam formation wherever it is met with. The tracks are impres-
sed on a bed which varies in thickness in different parts from
one eighth of an inch to three inches. When the upper bed

was removed large portions
of the track-bearino; bed
came away with it, and it
was necessaryto separate the
layers. This was done by
heating the surface with
burning wood placed upon it,
and then suddenly cooling it
by the application of snow.
This of course cracked and
destroyed the thin bed with
the impressed tracks, but it
left the mould of them on
the underside of the upper
bed, and by plaster casts
Pig. 2, One-fifth nat. size. ivom this we have obtain-

ed the true form of the original racks.

in the Potsdam Formation.

283

These tracks consist of a number of parallel ridges and furrows
something like ripple marks, which are arranged betw^een two nar-
row continuous parallel ridges, giving to the whole impression a
form very like that of a ladder, and as the whole form is usually
gently sinuous it looks like a ladder of rope. The surface obtain-
ed shews six different trails, (Fig. 1,) the longest of which is about
thirteen feet, but they are all of the same breadth, and they may all

have been impressed by one
and the same animal. The
breadth of the trails is about
six inches and three-quarters to
the outer sides of them.

The transverse ridges and
furrows are sometimes straight
(Fig. 2,) and sometimes curved
(Figs. 3-4-5.) When straight
and regular they measure about
an inch and three-quarters
from the middle of one furrow
to that of the next. The height
of the ridge is usually from one
and a half to two lines, and
from the highest part the dis-
tance to the middle of the
furrows is about an inch and
a quarter on one side and half
an inch on the other, thus
giving to the ridge a sharper
slope on the shorter side. The
i tops of the ridges, and the
|| bottoms of the furrows are
II somewhat rounded.

ThouQ-h the transverse ridges
are occasionally straight (Fig.
Fig.3,0ne.fifthnat.size. 2) they are in general either

slightly or considerably curved (Figs. 3-4-5), and when so,
the chord of the curve is seldom quite at right angles to the
direction of the parallel side ridges, one end of the chord
in the greatest obliquity observed being as much as two inches and
a half in advance of the other (Fig. 3). The height of the curve

284 On the Track of an Animal lately found

above the chord is sometimes as mucli as an inch and three quar-
ters. It is often somewhat pointed, and the highest part is not always
in the middle between the parallel side ridges (Fig. 4). The concave
side of the curve is always on the steeper side of the tranverse
ridges.

There runs along the track a ridge intermediate between the two
parallel side ridges, (Figs. 3-4-5), and though it is not so conspi-
cuous as these, it is seldom altogether wanting, but appears to be,
most obscure when the transverse ridges, or rounds of the lad-
der, are straight. This intermediate ridge does not koep parallel
with the side ridges, but occasionally runs in sinuous sweeps from
within an inch and a half of one side (Fig. 5) to the same distance

from the other ; sometimes
however, it runs nearly
parallel wdth the sides for
a considerable distance,
either in the middle or some-
what on either side of it. In
one of the tracks there is
in the course of the inter-
mediate ridge a sudden dis-
location of an inch and a
quarter (Fig. 3 towards the
top,) on the opposite sides
Fig. 4, One-uftli nat. size. of one of the transverse rid-

ges. The course of the intermediate ridge appears in general to
coincide with the successive most salient parts of the transverse rid-
ges when these are curved, but this is not ahvays the case (Fig. 4).
The intermediate ri.'ge appears most conspicuous where it crosses
the transverse furrows, yet its crest or line of summit seems to
undulate with the ridges and furrows, though not to so great a
degree.

The inner flanks of the side ridges appear to be continuously
even surfaces, making an angle of 155° with the plane of the inter-
mediate spaces, and against these sloping flanks the surface of the
transverse undulations forms a decided, though very obtuse set of
angles, just like waves rolling along an inclined plane in the direc-
tion of its strike. The side ridges are rounded at the top, and
while their exterior flanks are more precipitous than the interior

in the Totsdam Formation,

2S5

ones, they swell out opposite
to each transverse furrow,
thus giving to the side ridges
a beaded or knotted aspect,
each bead of the series
standing opposite a fur-
row. The highest part of
these lumps is about three
lines above the bottom of
the furrows, and about a
line and a half above the
surface on which the track
is impressed.

Fig. 5, Uue-ntth nat. size

My naturalist friends to whom T have exhibited the specimens,
appear disposed to consider the tracks those of some species of
gigantic mollusc, and I am given to understand there is now
living some small mollusc, whose track presents a series of
transverse ridges and furrows, without, however, the longitudinal
ones. From the resemblance of the track to a ladder, the name
proposed for it is Climactichnites Wilsoni^ the specific designa-
tion being given in compliment to its discoverer, Dr. Wilson.

ARTICLE Xli.— Notes on the Coal Field of Pictou. By H.
PooLE, Esq., Superintendent of the Eraser Mine.

(^Communicated to the Natural History Society by Principal Dawson.)

[The facts contained in the following communication, may be
regarded as supplementary to those noticed in my Acadian Geo-
logy, and in a paper by Mr. Poole and myself, published in the
proceedings of the Geological Society. The coal measures of the
Albion mines, dipping to the N. E., at an angle of about 18^,
contain the great main seam, 36 feet in thickness, and 157
feet below this the deep seam, a bed of inferior but still great
thickness. To the north-west these coal measures are apparently
cut off by a great bed of conglomerate dipping north, beyond which
occur other coal measures, also with northerly dip. For rea-

286 Notes on the Coal Field of Pictou.

sons stated in the publications above mentioned, I regard the great
conglomerate of New Glasgow above referred to, not as a recur-
rence of the Lower Carboniferous conglomerate, but as a bed of the
date of the coal formation, a contemporaneous shingle beach, which
shut off the Albion Mines coal area, and occasioned its excep-
tional character. In connection with these facts and views, Mr.
Poole's observations bear on the following points ; (1). The
character of the coal measures below the deep seam, previously
little known. (2). The sudden bending of the outcrops of the coal
seams to the southward, west of the Albion Mines, so that they
assume northerly dips for some distance, though they appear to
return to a N, E. dip further to the westward. (3). The occur-
rence of a narrow and abrupt synclinal immediately to the N.
E. of the Albion Mines, succeeded by an anticlinal, near the
axis of which in this locality is the outcrop of the great con-
glomerate. (4.) The results of explorations made in the mea-
sures north of the conglomerate, confirming apparently the dif-
ference of these in character, from the great coal measures south
of the conglomerate. (5.) The frequent occurrence, as at the
Joggins, of scales of fishes, bivalve shells, Cypris and Spirorhis
in connection with the beds of " Oil Shale," and coal. I have added
a notice of these fossils to Mr. Poole's paper, j. w. d.]

The operations of the Eraser Oil Coal Company were carried
on during the past year in a seam of coal and bituminous shale
situated upon the Coal Brook, and underlying the seams of bi-
tuminous coal worked by the General Mining Association.

The respective out crops of the deep seam and the Eraser oil
coal being 528 yards apart on the surface, and the general dip
N. 42° E., at an angle of 18 degrees, or 1 to 3, the oil coal
will underlie the deep seam 528 feet in perpendicular section.

Tt is situated about 60 feet below the tabulated section given in
Haliburton's History of Nova Scotia, which distance is chiefly
occupied by strong bands of sandstone, whose actual thickness is not
yet proved, thin soft shales with bands of ironstone, Stigmaria
with Sigillaria and a few detached fern leaves (N^euroj^teris),
in such soft shale that I have not been able to preserve
any good specimens. Immediately above the oil coal are fourteen
inches of bituminous coal, but only the lower four inches are of good
quality, the upper part being of a soft friable nature, producing
a great deal of ash.

The oil coal has a smooth regular parting at top, next to the

Notes on the Coal Field of Pictou. 287

coal, as well as at the bottom, next to the oil shale, but varies in
its thickness from a few inches up to twenty. Throughout its
entire thickness it has a curled and twisted structure, many of its
fractures look like the casts of shells, and the sharp edges are
polished and stickensided. No fossils that I am aware of, have
hitherto been found in the "curly" oil coal, but scales of calcareous
spar are often met with in the joints. The oil shale next below is
nearly two feet thick, of a homogeneous character with a
shaly cleavage of various thicknesses. In this band a few scattered
ganoid scales have been found, and two or three varieties of lepi-
dodendron beautifully preserved, also leaves of Cordaites of vari-
ous lengths and breadths, which have undergone so little change,
that pieces from four to six inches long, and in breadth about a quar-
ter of an inch, could be removed when the shales were first split,
and were so elastic that they could be bent considerably without
breaking. In the argillaceous shales below are bands containing
innumerable Cypris and Spirorhis shells. The crop of a small
seam of coal which must underlie the oil coal about thirty feet is
seen in the brook. There are surface indications of the coal mea-
sures continuinor for a considerable distance towards the south-west
and this has been proved to be the case by Robert Culton, who is
opening up a seam of coal upon his farm upwards of one mile and
a quarter distant, to the rise of our mine, which will be alluded
to hereafter.

There are numerous small faults running across the measures
in the Fraser Mine, which are uniformly downthrows to the west :
and I may here mention that I observed some years ago in the deep
seam several faults of from four to ten feet each, which could not be
found in the main coal workings above (the distance between the
two seams is 157^ iQQi\ which shows that the disturbances must
have taken place previous to the formation of the main coal seam ;
a fact which should not be lost sight of in investigating this ex-
tensive coal-field.

The oil coal has been traced from the Fraser Mine eastward as
far as the main road, but from thence down to the East river
there is a great thickness of drift which appears to have cut off
the crop. It has not been traced on the east side of the East
river, and, although a l^ed of oil coal has been found and worked
by A. Patrick on the McLellan Brook, I am inclined to
think it is not a continuation of the same seam, but — from the fos-
sil— sof one much lower down in the coal formation.

288 Notes on the Coal Field of Pictou,

To the west the oil coal has been traced for half a mile, with a
line of strike parallel to the deep and main seams, or a com'se
about N. 50^ W. to the top of the hill, where there is evidently
some disturbance, the sandstone appearing on edge and dipping
in diflferent directions. It was next found in the McCulloch Brook
at a considerable distance up the brook, or to the south of the
general line of strike, where it was found to dip 13 degrees,
N. 67° W. The oil coal is here of a much richer quality than at the
Eraser mine, and from the free way in which it burns, throwing
off stars or sparks of light, it has been named Stellar coal to
distinguish it, and an adit is now being driven in it back
towards the Fraser mine. It also varies in thickness from two to
twenty inches, and as the coal roof is regular, I should infer from
the twisted appearance of the oil coal that it has been in a pasty
state and subjected to great and unequal pressure.

1600 tons of two qualities were shipped to Boston, in 18o9,
from the Fraser mine, the top seam of curled coal yielded in the
D retorts 63 gallons per ton, and the second quality of shale, 45
gallons per ton of crude oil. A small sample of the stellar coal
gave '77 gallons per ton of crude oil. I am told that the rotating
retorts produce 30 per cent more oil from the same material
than the D retorts. Some picked samples from Duncan McKay's
adit tried in Boston gave 199 gallons per ton. Torbane Hill
mineral yields 125 gallons; the Albertine coal of New Bruns-
wick gives 100 gallons, and the Lesraahago Cannel of Scotland
gives 40 gallons per ton of crude oil.

Professor How of Windsor has sent me the following analyses
of these coals.*

Fraser Mine No. 1. Stellar Coal McCuUocli Brook.

Moisture 0.39 Moisture 0.23

Volatile Matter 33.43 Volatile Matter 66.33

Fixed Carbon 110.78 Fixed Carbon 25.23

Ash 55.40 Ash 8.21

100.00 100.00

The ultimate analysis of the Stellar Coal yielded ;—

Carbon 80.96

Hydrogen 10.15

Two small trial holes have been made by Mr. R. Culton in the
bank of the McCulloch Brook at 124^ chains distance from the

* Professor How has since published these and other analyses in a
paper in the Ed. New Phil. Journal, and Silliman's Journal.

Notes on the Coal Field oj Pictou. ,189

soiitii division line of the Fraser mine. The coal measures dip
N. 40° E. 22°, but as there is the appearance of a fault which has
thrown up the measures, they will no doubt be found lying flatter
when sunk upon to the deep.

There is here a confusion of seams, consisting of bright bitumin-
ous coal, and cannel-like curled oil coal with bituminous shales ;
in the latter is an abundance of fossils. I obtained Lepidodendron^
Cordaites, and other markings which I have regarded as similar to
the Cardiocarpon acutum of Mantell ; also a stalk, with a head
like ryegrass.* One band or more of the shales contains innu-
merable Spirorhis and Cyprides, and accompanying them are
ganiod fish scales, teeth and spines. Thick plates or scales are
also found on the same slab with the Cardiocarpon. Similar
plates are found at J. McKay's mine south of New Glasgow,
as well as in the bituminous shales near Smelt Brook, and
at the basin ; both of the latter places being to the north of
the conglomerate ridge. There are appearances of crops of
coal and shales in several places on the McCulloch Brook
between Robert Culton's farm and the Fraser mine, but they
have not yet been examined.

Proceedinor down the McCulloch Brook to the adit worked in
the stellar coal, and at about 200 yards distance south, un-
derlying the stellar coal, is the crop of a coal seam about five feet
thick, dipping 21° N. 25° W. of inferior quality, with a band of
ca|c spar running through it (the same thing was observed in a
trial pit sunk to the rise of the oil coal on Duncan McKay's
farm) with Sigillaria, Stigmaria and Cordaites in the soft crumb-
ing coal, so that specimens could not be preserved ; a thin seam
of coal with shales lies about 30 feet below the stellar coal dip"
ping IS'^ N. 55°W.

The stellar coal seam has a black friable clay above the coal,
with ironstone balls in the shale above. Lepidodendron and
Stigmaria have been found in the coaly bands, and Cordaites in
small fragments and one Cardiocarpon? (similar to those at R.
Culton's seam), have been found in the clay ironstone ; also a few
ganoid scales and nodules full of soft ochreous matter, ot no decided
form. The measures here are much disturbed : in the adit on the
east side of the McCulloch brook the dip is 13° N. 67° W. ; while
on the west side of the brook the stellar coal dips 12*^ N. 45° E.

* Antholithes P
Can. Nat. 4 Vol. V. No. 4

V

190 Notes on the Coal Field of Piciou,

We have not been able to trace the strike of the stellar coal
farther west, owing to the covering of drift, which ranges from 40
to 50 feet in thickness between the two brooks. At 220 feet
from the entrance to the adit we have cut a fault running north-west
and south-east, which is a downthrow to the east, and is the
first of that kind that has been met with in the Albion coal field.
Its size has not yet been accurately determined, nor whether it is the
main fault, or only a branch that has thrown all the coal meas-
ures round, and made their outcrops so much farther south
than the general strike at the Albion Mines indicated *.

Descending the McCulIoch Brook, but in ascending order for
the measures, some trial pits and boreholes have been sunk,
but only thick beds of fire-clay and black shales discovered ; at 15
chains distance from the stellar coal is the crop of a coal seam,
thickness not satisfactorily proved, with a band of shale full of
Cypris, dipping N. 20° W. At the next bend of the brook three
chains distant is the outcrop of beds of sandstone dip N. 22^ E. 15° ;
and three chains further on is a coal seam five feet or more in
thickness, with bands of shale intermixed dip N. 26° E. '7^°; thence
the distance is five chains to the old Middle River Telegraph road,
where there is another crop of a coal seam,which I believe to be the
continuation of the deep seam of the Albion Mines ; dip 12^ due
north, Here also the measures are disturbed by small faults,
and the pit is sunk on the crop, so that we cannot judge very
correctly of the actual thickness, or quality of the seam. Nineteen
feet 5 inches of coal have been sunk through, of which Mr. Eraser is
working the lower 7 feet 3 inches ; I have made the following
analyses.

Vol.

Fixed

Deep Seam

Sp. Gr.

Mat

Coke

Carbon

Asli Color of Ash.

No. 5 Baud l"i

r 1.355

22.50

77.50

67.00

10.50 Cokes Grey white.

1}

2.9 -{ 1.383

22.25

77.75

60.50

17.25 do Dun.

11.342

21.50

78.50

70.25

8.25 do Dun white.

No. 6 Baud

2.0 1.440

20.00

80.00

57.00

23.00 do Grey white.

No. 7 Band

2.6 1.335

20.00

80.00

68.00

12.00 do Dun white.

"Worked 7.3 Lepidodendron got in No. 6. Band.

Eight chains further north is the crop of another coal seam
which shows in the brook for a breadth of two chains, and there-
fore corresponds with the main seam. Stigmarla was got in the

* While I am writing wc have struck another fault bearing N. 8° W.,
S. 8° E., dipping S. 82» W. 45^, being an upthrow to the east, and
of which the first fault is a branch. It is eight feet up as far as we
have gone, and we are not yet through it.

Notes of the Coal Field of Fictou, 191

underclay at a small trial pit. The shales and sandstones
dip south on the old Glebe and Duff's farm to the north of the
Association's reservation ; and at the Burial ground I found by
the bank of the East river the measures dipping S.20° E.63°; show-
ing ripple marked sandstone, Catamites and Stigmaria : the shales
contained Cypris. At the Gondola wharf the shales dip S. 45° E.
50°; and by the side of the old quarry road (Eraser Ogg) we sank a
pit 15 feet and got one foot of the curly oil coal, dip S. 20° W. 50,
but it thinned out in going down and was close on the conglom-
erate.

At the Basin there are several thin seams of bituminous shale.
An inch of coal shows about fifteen feet above the shale at the
dam, containing fish remains, but it did not appear in the trial pit.
The position and thickness of the bed containing the fish remains
and Cyiyris corresponds with the upper seam of bituminous shales
on the opposite side of the East river. They yield upwards of 60
gallons of crude oil of superior quality to the ton ; but are too
thin to be worked profitably.

We are now boring to prove the measures at Mathieson's farm
opposite to the Loading ground, and have sunk a pit down 14
feet on drift gravel and clay, then 5 feet of soft blue sandy clay
with no regular cleavage, full of fossils. I obtained Lepidodeyidron,
Lepidostrohus, Calamites, Pecopteris, Neurojjteris, and fragments
of other plants, but the clay was soft and crumbled immediately on
exposure to the atmosphere so that I could not preserve good
specimens : then followed three inches of black friable clay ; then
1.3 of good coal yielding water, dip 5° N. 25® E. ; succeeded by
strong grey sandstone, through which we are now boring. At
Forbes's Point a borehole was put down '75 feet but nothing obtained
but red and white sandstone in thick beds.

At low water an inch of coal and fire-clay is seen to crop out
upon Skinner's point but nothing else has been observed along the
shore of the Middle River.

Returning up the East river to Smelt Brook, several seams of
bituminous shale and sandstone appear in the bank, also one
small seam of an inch of coal, with sandstone bands of different
thicknesses and qualities ; the No. 1 and 3 seams of shale are par-
ticularly full offish remains and coprolites near the roof, and the
large plates appear like Glyptolepis figured in Miller's Testi-
mony of the Rocks, page 229 : I also found one or two grooved
plates which correspond with the Osteolejns, The roof of No. 1

a.

192 Notes on the Coal Field oj Pictou,

seam is one mass of Cypris shells ; No. 2 contains principally
small ganoid scales; No. 3 seam has small fish jaws and small
Lepidodendron and Poacites on the roof.

The sandstone bands contain Calamites, and large roots of Stiff-
onaria with their accompanying rootlets. Here the inch seam of
coal appears below the bands of bituminous shale succeeded by
the JJnio shells, unless fault has caused the outcrop of these
bands to be repeated.

Ascending the East river and to the south of Smelt Brook, is a
thick band of coarse sandstone full of hard flattened red concre-
tionary balls and ripple marked ; then comes a four inch band,
of honey-combed, concretionary limestone, in which I have
detected a piece of shell in the fresh fracture, and which
looks like the metamorphic rock near Churchville. . I could not
find any fossils in the pit sunk at Sinclair's cove.

The adits driven in upon the coal to the south of New Glas-
gow, by the side of the road to Antigonish, are upon the anti-
clinal axis ; both mines have the same fish remains in the roof
and limestone pavement, and cannot be worked far to the north-
west before they will be cut off by the conglomerate. The fish
teeth are abundant in the roof. In one slab four by six inches,
I counted fifteen large Diplodus teeth. Higher up the brook and
road, I am told, the crop of the coal shows a dip to the N. W.,
but I have not vet seen it.

The shales and coal up the McLellan Brook, dip from E. by
the bridge at George Eraser's farm, to S. 15° E. at Turnbull's farm,
then the measures are reversed, and at A. Patrick's adit, they dip
N. 45° E. 30^; where the oil shales have been worked for about
100 feet, and having struck a fault have been cut oft' by the
other shales dipping S. 20° E. 25^. Mr. Patrick has proved a seam
of bituminous coal about three feet thick, dipping to the N. E.
underlying his oil shales near the foot of the mill dam, in addi-
tion to the small seam which shows in the bank of the mill pond.
I am told that the high conical hill just verging to the south^
contains iron ore, and that it is succeeded by limestone.

[Among the fossils sent by Mr. Poole, the most interesting are
the following :

Of placoid fishes there are, 1. Diplodus penetrans, N. S. This
is smaller than the species D. acinaces, found commonly in the
upper part of the Albion Main Seam, and described by me in a
supplementary chapter to my Acadian Geology, now in presa

2^

FossUiferous RocJcs in Nova Scotia. 193

The height of the tooth is 2j lines, and almost equal to the
breadth. The lateral denticles half as broad as high, flattened
and serrated, especially at the outer margin and near the base ;
cross section of the denticles rhomboid. They diverge at an angle
of 35^ to 40<^. The central denticle is minute and conical. 2.
Ctenoptychius, a small species indicated by a tooth with eight
denticles. The specimen is an imperfect impression.

Of ganoid fishes there are numerous scales of small species be-
longing to Palaeoniscus or allied genera, broad flat scales punc-
tured and lined after the manner of Osteoplax of McCoy, and
others marked with fine wavy lines, as in Holoptychius or Rhizo-
dus. There is also a curved conical tooth belonging to one of
these latter fishes, and difl'ering from others that I have seen in
having the concave side marked with fine spiral ridges nearly to
the point. There are also certain flat sabre-like spines of small
size, but much resembling in form those of the Devonian Macli-
ceracanthi.

The above are chiefly in the coals and shales overlying or near
the great conglomerate. In the lower measures at McLellan's
Brook, are bivalve shells of thatmodiok or unio-like form, charac-
teristic of the fresh and brackish water portion of the coal mea-
sures, and which I have elsewhere designated by the generic
name Naiadites. They are all thin, inequilateral, toothless, and
marked by concentric lines of growth. A new species in the
present collection, iV, ohtusa^ is characterized by the broad and
truncate outline of the anterior extremity, giving it a somewhat
quadrilateral form.

The Spirorhis found abundantly in several of the beds noticed,
is the ordinary Sp. {Microconchus) carhonarlus common to the
American and European coal fields.]

ARTICLE XLI. — On new Localities of FossUiferous Silu-
rian Rocks in Eastern JSfova Scotia, By Rev. D. Honeyman.

(Read before the Natural History Society.)

This subject has already been very fully discussed in Dr,
Dawson's Acadian Geology and in his recent paper read to this
Society, with Professor Hall's elaborate and valuable Memoir on
th« Fossils of Arisaig.

i1

194 Fossiliferous RocJcs in Nova Scotia,

A few notes by aiiotlier observer wlio is doav labouring in the
same interesting field may not be unnecessary and unacceptable.
A catalogue of the most interesting Silurian Sections in Nova
Scotia is already given in the paper referred to. To this I
would now add two altogether new and equally interesting local-
ities, -which I shall endeavour to describe, adding some observa-
tions upon a supposed extension of the Arisaig Section.

The first of these localities is to the S. W. of Merigomish in the
county of Pictou and on the north of the Metamorphic hills that
extend between Barney's River and East Kiver, vide Dawson's
Geological map of Nova Scotia. The first and lowest part of
the section, as yet observed, occurs at a place where the Antigo-
nishe and New Glasgow new road crosses a small brook about
3 J miles west of Barney's River and to the east of French River
and about 5 or 6 miles from the Gulf of St. Lawrence. Here there is
a quantity of shale which is apparently very little altered, having
fossils in good preservation. At the side of another small brook
to the westward, we have similar shale with correspondeng fossils.
This appears to be equivalent to the Arisaig group of Clinton age,
as we have here the Graptolitkus Clintonensis, Strophomena
corrugata and a species of Orthis which is characteristic of the
Graptolite shale of Arisaig ; we also found a trilobite which is
however different from any that has been met with at Arisaig.
We have also fossils like those of the upper Silurian group of
Arisaig, abounding in the drift from French River, till near
Sutherland's River, where there is a small brook which is crossed
by the road already referred to, and which has on the one side
drift with Silurian fossils and on the other or northern side the
lower carboniferous Conglomerate.

Among these fossils we find Homalonotus Daiosoni, Dalmania
Logani^ BeyricMa pustulosa^ Chonetes A^. Scotica. Chonetes tenui-
striata, Crania Acadiensis and other organisms characteristic of
the Arisaig series.

There is thus every reason to suppose that we have here dis-
covered a section exactly parallel to that of Arisaig. On account
of its inland position we cannot have the aid of old Neptune in
disentombing its ancient inhabitants, so that its fauna cannot be
collected and studied w^ith equal advantage. It is nevertheless
to*be regarded as interesting on account of its similarity ; and as col-
lections of its organisms even under existing circumstances are by
no means insignificant, either in number or variety, it is possi-

if

Fossili/cro'us RocJcs in Nova Scotia. 195

ble that a detailed examination of this new locality may aid in
unravelling some of the Arisaig mysteries.

The second new section to which we would refer is situate at
the head of Lochaber Lake in the county of Sidney, and on the
east of the Ohio Kiver. It appears to extend about 2 miles from
N. to S. on the west side of the lake. The strata consist of grey
slate which has been very much hardened and thrown into a ver-
tical position. The fossiliferous strata appear only on one side
of the lake, except where it bends in a westerly direction, and the
highest of the Lochaber hills approaches the lake, and then a
patch of the grey slate appears on the opposite side. A small
lake to the west of the great lake, and from which a stream flows
into the Ohio River, bounds a considerable part of the western
side of the section. Where the strata are exposed on the highest or
S. W. side and in the beds of two or three small brooks, fos-
sils are found in situ. Their number is considerable but their
variety does not yet appear to be great.

In consequence of the highly altered state of the strata, casts
only are found, but these are often very beautiful. In this state
we have abundance of Pentamerus, Orthis, Cornulites and corals.
These all appear to be characteristic of this section. A conical or
turbinated species of coral is peculiarly so and is of very frequent
occurence and often very perfectly preserved.* It is truly beauti-
ful, and appears to the common observer as the most striking of
the Nova Scotia silurian fossils in my collection.

I have also found here, but not in situ, a cast of a large Ortho-
ceras. Its length is 8 inches — it tapers very little — the siphuncle
is central — cross section is elliptical having a transverse diameter of
li inches and a conjugate diameter of 1 inch. The fossils of this-
section are generally found like our elegant coral and Orthoceras
in the cairns piled up by the farmers in the overlying fields. In
the cairns of the northern part of the section the fossils appear
chiefly to correspond with those of the upper group of Arisaig,
Here we have the Dalmania Logani the Calymene Blamenhachii
the Bellerophon trilobatus, and a tuberculated criniod, so that
it is possible we have here an equivalent of the upper Arisaig
groups as well as a lower group probably the equivalent of the
Wenlock limestone of Murchison.

I hope yet to have opportunities of examining these sections

* A ZaphrenitiSj see note.

196 Fossiliferous Rocks in Nova Scotia.

more in detail, and of submitting full collections of their fossils to
the proper authorities, in order that their true age and the cha-
racter of their organisms may be determined.

I would refer also to a subsection, which althouofh not so
interesting to the collector may be of equal interest to the geolo-
gist, as it is possibly to be regarded as a descending continuation
of the Airsaig section. It occurs at Doctor's Brook about 24-
miles east of Arisaig Pier. This will make the whole Arisaig
section extend about 5 or 6 miles S.E. and N.W.

The Silurian strata are here very much altered and distorted,
arising, as Dr. Dawson has already observed, from volcanic action
of the carboniferous era. Of this there are obvious remains exist-
ing at various points along the sea shore from the conglomerate
on the east to the conglomerate on the west of the Arisaig Silu-
rian strata, or from Malignant Brook till beyond McCara's Brook,
a distance of at least ten miles. In Malignant Brook and a little
brook to the eastward, we find subcrystalline trap in immediate
contact with the lower carboniferous conglomerate, and the latter
has consequently become very much hardened ; to the west of
this the section is obscure and depressed till wc reach a small
brook having elevated ground on its western side, and there is no
appearance of rock of any kind until we meet the subcrystalline
trap and altered Silurian strata of Doctor's Brook. From this
point to Arisaig Pier we find the same kind of trap in contact
with the Silurian strata, and converting these into a red jaspida-
ceous rock or otherwise hardening and altering them in proportion
to their proximity to the point of contact. The results are the
conspicuous red and oblong rock locally known as the " French-
man's Barn," the breakwater of Arisaig pier, the hardening and
tilting of the slate and shale near the Frenchman's Barn and
the prevailing disorder of the Arisaig Section.

When we again meet with volcanic rock, it assumes the form
of beds of amygdaloid associated with the lower carboniferous
conglomerate at McCara's Brook.* This rock has suffered much
from denudation as is evident from the horizontal section on the
beach; a large mass has been dislodged by the frosts of last win-
ter and it is evident that after a number of years it will entirely

* For a detailed notice of this place see Journal of Geological Society
Vol. 1. p. 239.

Fossilifcrous RocJcs in Nova Scotia, 197

disappear and the present picturesque appearance of this part of the
section be materially affected or destroj^ed.

The distorted shale at Doctor's Brook contains fossils, but these
are by no means abundant or of a superior grade. After a strict
search I have found a bed of Lingula of two or three varieties,
associated with a group of a small species of Orthis. In another
!)Jace, I got the casts of a delicately striated shell resembling a
compressed Chonetes^Rn impression of the aster of a small crinoid
joint, and at some distance to the south I met with one or two
Lingula cuneata f one specimen of which measures from the umbo
to the base 9 lines, and a shell of a different kind, resembling in
shape CUdophorus concentricus, but having the surface mark-
ing reticulated. I will take an early opportunity of transmiting
the cast of this and duplicates of the others for determination.
These fossils were found in situ, and they lie at right angles to the
slaty fracture.

The masses of trap, the Frenchman's barn and the rugged
crags at the mouth of Doctor's Brook, shew that in this region
the volcanic action has been very violent and the fossilifcrous strata
have been so distorted that there is for a considerable distance
southward no appearance of stratification remaining. The lofty
banks of shale present this aspect until we reach a point in the
brook where a Plutonic rock again appears, there is then an inter-
val and the shale then appears to dip at a certain angle and in
a uniform direction. This igneous rock appears to indicate the
reason why the preceding strata have been so much shattered
and distorted, — to shew that they have been subjected to the
violent action of igneous forces before, beneath, and behind.

(Note hy Dr. Daivson.^

[The observations recorded in the above paper by Rev. Mr.
Honeyman are of much interest. They establish the continua-
tion of the Arisaig line of outcrop to the East Kiver, as suggested
by me in my paper lately published in this Journal. They make
known for the first time the occurrence of fossils at Lochaber
Lake, in rocks supposed from their mineral character to be of
the age of those of Arisaig and N. Canaan. The fossils found
by Mr. Honeyman confirm this view, and probably also indicate
the occurrence there of another and perhaps newer group, simi-
lar to that of Nictaux. The position of this place accords with
the idea of a succession of anticlinal and synclinal folds pro-

/

98 Fossiliferous RocTcs in Nova Scotia.

posed in my paper. Mr. Honeyman has also apparently extended
the Arisaig series downward by the discovery of fossils in the
slates of Doctor's Brook, in which I have often searched in vain
for such remains. I shall look with much interest for specimens
from this place.

Among the fossils kindly sent to me with the paper, are some
throwing new light on species previously imperfectly known, and
others that are new to Nova Scotian Geology. The following
especially deserve notice.

Fig. 1. mm ^^mm H. Dawsoni.

1. Homcdonotus Dawsoni, — (Hall.) The caudal shield and
portions of the articulations of the body, were the only parts
known when the species was described by Prof. Hall. Mr.
Honeyman now sends nearly perfect specimens of the head.
It has the posterior border nearly straight, the glabella
moderately prominent and slightly wider behind than be-
fore. It descends abruptly in front, and the frontal margin,
which is absent in the specimen figured, appears to have risen
in front of the glabella and eyes, with equal abruptness. The eyes
are large and prominent, and advance into a line with the front
of the glabella. Some of Mr. Honeyman's specimens shew that
the species attained to a considerable size, at least three times
that indicated by the head now figured. (Fig. 1 above.)

2. Phaco2)S StoJcesii, — (Edwards.) A cast of a head referable
to this species, for notice of which and the closely allied P'
Orestes, (Billings.) see Mr Billing's paper in Canad. Nat. vol. 5,
pp. 65 and 66.

Of two other trilobites, fragments of which have been sent by
Mr. Honeyman, one is according to Mr. Billings, a Proetus, the other
a Dalmania, allied to D. socialis.

3. OrtJwceras exornatum, N. s. This very prettily marked
species is circular in its cross section, moderately tapering and
straight, with siphuncle slightly eccentric, and septa half a line to
a line apart, in a specimen two to four lines in diameter. The
surface is slightly annulated and ornamented with about twenty-
four flat longitudinal flutings in the manner of a Doric column.
The whole surface is also delicately striated transversely. In

-7-
Note on a Specimen oj Menohranchus. 199

some respects it closely resembles 0. canal iculatuni, (Sow.) of the
English Wenlock.

4. Theca Forhesii, — (Sharpe.) A little Ptcropod ia Mr,
Honeyman's collection, appears perfectly identical with this
species which is found in the Ludlow of England, and which
resembles the T. triangularis, (Hall) of New York.

5. Pleurotomaria, — A flattish species with four turns, and inter"
esting as being apparently the same with one common in the
supposed equivalent of the Upper Arisaig group at Nictaux.

6. Plafyostoma, — A species allied to P, Niagarensis of Hall.
T. BelleropTion, — Diameter, J inch, carina prominent and broad,

outer and umbilical slope of whorls steep and straightish, so as to
give a somewhat rhomboidal cross section, surface with strong
sharply waved transverse strire, crossed by finer longitudinal striae,
cast of interior nearly smooth, with traces of transverse striae.
This shell much resembles Hall's B^ stigmosa from the Clinton.

8. BelleropTion. — Two imperfect casts representing forms simi-
lar to B. expansus and dilatatus.

9. Zaphrenitis, — A cast not sufficiently perfect for specific deter-
mination, but not unlike imperfect specimens from the Devonian
of Nictaux. This specimen is from Lochaber Lake.]

ARTICLE XLH. — JVote on a specimen of Menobranchus lateralis,
taken at London, C. W. By "W. Saunders, Esq.

Total length 4| inches ; body 3 inches ; tail 1 J inches. Dull
olive on the upper surface, the under of a dull, pinkish colour.
A dark (not well defined) stripe, mottled olive and black, run-
ning from the head (where it is wide) to the tail, where it
tapers off to a point. Broad stripes of the same character from
the mouth along each side to the tail. The legs are very short,
not quite half an inch long. On each foot there are four toes
The legs are olive with black spots, but the tips of the toes are
of a light colour. The eyes are very small and not readily seen.
The head is flat and almost triangular on its upper surface. The
branchial plumes are six, three on each side, about an eighth o
an inch long, and of a bright red colour which can only be seen
when they are extended in the act of breathing.

The anin[7al was found in the river Thames, close to this city
between two and three months since, in a half torpid state, under
a large stone. It was immediately transferred to my aquarium

^00 Note on a Specimen of Menobranchus,

where it has since been constantly under my eye. When first
placed there, it at all times sought places of concealment, where
it would remain for davs without beinoj seen, unless when forced,
for a time from its hiding place. But several times at night
when a light has been suddenly thrown upon the aquarium, I
have observed it swimming about very actively. Within the last
month its habits have somewhat changed. Up to that time I
had never seen it eat anything. One day, however, while feed-
ing the fish with some water insects, one came very near his
mouth. The wave-like motion produced by the numerous legs
of the insect attracted the attention of the Proteus. A newt
standing very near, was also attracted by the movements of the
insect. The sight was now truly interesting, both animals were
just ready to seize upon the prey. The newt being the more
active made the first movement and caught it by the tail, just at
the moment when the Proteus was ready to seize it by the head.
The Menobranchus not observing that the insect was already
captured, opened its capacious mouth, and in attempting to seize
it took the head of the newt as well as the little creature, into
it. There they stood in mute astonishment. The Proteus
evidently thought his eyes had much deceived him with regard
to the size of the object of his attack, for he found his ample
mouth well filled by the head of his companion. After the lapse of
about half a minute, the newt showed symptoms of uneasiness, and
began to wriggle about, when the Proteus let loose his hold, allow-
ing the newt to escape unhurt, still holding the insect firmly in its
mouth. This I concluded was his first attempt at feeding by day
and rather a clumsy attempt it appeared to me to be. I imme-
diately gave him a chance at another insect at the same time
keeping his companions at a distance, which he succeeded in cap-
turing. Since that time he has repeatedly eaten pieces of
worms and young tadpoles, and although he grows more expert,
his movements by day are still slow and awkward. Of late he
seems to be gradually growing out of his retired habits, and al-
though he sometimes now hides himself from view, still he may
be frequently seen perambulating slowly up and down the bot-
tom of the aquarium, as if in search of food. Before this change
took place it was a rare thing to see him come to the surface for
air, but now he rises many times a day.

About a month or six weeks since, I caught another animal of
the same class, but of a diff'erent species or variety. I caught it
while dredging a small muddy pond, (left by the subsidence of

Point Levi Fossils, 201

the river) for the larvfc of dragonflies, and at the time I supposed
it to be a newt. This animal was not more than an inch and a
half, or two inches long, with the stripes on the body well de-
fined, and of a purple or dark red colour. The branchial plumes^
legs, and other parts of the body were proportioned, in about
the same manner as in that last described, but it was a verv much
prettier animal. Unfortunately it died, and was partly eaten (I
suppose by the cray fish) when I discovered it, otherwise I would
have preserved it. I have made repeated attempts to procure
another specimen but without success.

ARTICLE XLIII. — On some new sjyecies of Fossils from the Lime-
stone near Point Levi opposite Quchec. By E. Billings.

On examining the specimens recently collected at this locality
I find some evidence of several groups of species, each occurring
in a rock somewhat difi'erent in appearance from that which con-
tains the others. It does not seem improbable, judging from the
fact that all the three varieties of limestone occur in close proximity
to each other ,that these species may yet be found more or less inter-
mingled in the same beds, but for the present it is best to keep
them separate. I shall designate the rocks simply as limestones
Nos. 1, 2, 3, and 4. The genera collected in each are as fol-
lows.

No. 1. Lingula, 2 species. Piscina, 1. Agnostus^ 3. Cono
cepJialites, 1. Arionellus, 4. Pikelocephaliis, 6. Bathyurus,
4. Total 21.

No. 2. Pictyonema, 1. Lingula, 1. Orthis, 2. Stropho-
mena, 1. Camerella, 1. Cyrtodonta, 1. llurchisonia, 3. Pleu-
rotomaria, 7. Helicotoma, 2. Straparollus, 2. Patella, 2.
Fcculiomphalus, 2. Orthoceras, 5. Cyrtoceras, 4. Agnostus, 1.
Bathyurus, 4. Cheirurus, 2. Total 41.

No. 3. Asaphus, 2.

No. 4. In a fourth mass of limestone imbedded in the clifi",
near the ferry, a coral which resembles a Tetradium with very fine
tubes and an Orthis of the type of 0 perveta were found.

One of the species of Lingula and apparently Agnostus OrioUy
are common to Nos. 1 and 2.

*^ $02 Point Levi Fossils,

. 1

The following list gives the total uumber of species discovered
in the several limestones above designated at this locality up to
the present date.

No. 1 21 species.

2 41

3 2

4 2

66

Deduct common to 1 and 2 2

Total 64.

The formation of slate and shale in which these limestones are
imbedded, contains as I am informed, about thirty species of grap-
tolites and other allied fossils ; and besides these, two species of
Lingula^ an Orthis, sl Discina, and a minute trilobite which will
probably constitute a new genus.

The slates and limestones, according to the above, hold about 100
species, and it is more than probable that this number will be
much increased by future discoveries.

In this paper I shall notice only the trilobites found in the lime-
stones.

The other fossils appear to be nearly all new species and must
remain over for another paper.

All the specimens described in this article were found in the con-
glomerate limestones near Point Levi opposite Quebec, and to
save space I shall not repeat the locality after each description.
It is not yet decided whether the fossils occur in the boulders of
the conglomerate or in matrix.

Agnostus Americanus. N. s.
Fig. I.— a. b.

Description. — Head oblong semi-oval, rather strongly convex,
most elevated at the posterior one-fourth of the length, thence de-
scending with a depressed convex slope in all directions to the sides
and front ; margin with a very narrow projecting border. The
glabella is elongate oval ; width, one-third that of the whole
head ; length, rather more than two-thirds the length of the head.
It has two transverse furrows which completely or partially divide
it into three segments. The anterior furrow extends all across at

Point Levi Fossils. ,203

one-third, or a little more, of the length from the front. The
posterior furrow is interrupted in the middle and is only distinct-
ly seen on each side, penetrating one-third the width, while its po-
sition is a little in advance of the posterior third of the length of
the glabella. The space between the two inner extremities of the
posterior furrows is occupied by a low conical tubercle, with the
apex directed backwards. At each side of the glabella at the
posterior extremity there is a small triangular lobe. The glabella
is defined all round by a very narrow groove, just distinctly visi-
ble to the naked eye, and from the apex a similar groove runs
straiirht to the middle of the front majojin. The surface is orna-
mented by from fifteen to twenty irregular, slightly impressed,
radiating rugose striae.

Fig. 1. Fig. 2. Fig. 3.

Fig. 1. — Jgnostus Americanus ; a, the tail ; 6, the head ? Both a little
magnified.

Fig. 2. — jlgnostus Orion. Natural size.

Fig. 3. — jlgnostus Canadensis ; «, the tail ; h, the head ? Both mag-
nified.

Note. — All the figures in this article are of the natural size^ unless
otherwise specified.

In the pygidium the posterior segment of the median lobe is
equal to the two anterior in size ; and there are no triangular
lobes at the anterior margin. The tubercle is well developed,
and its backward sloping apex reaches nearly to the posterior
furrow. It seems to divide the two anterior seofments so that each
has a sub-quadrate lobe on each side. The surface is striated like
the head. Two heads and one tail have been found.

Length of the tail three lines and one-fourth ; of the largest
head, three lines, and of the other two lines and three-fourths.
The width is about equal to, or a little less than the length.

The contour appears to be not a regular semi-oval ; the sides and
terminal margins being only gently convex, and the angles broadly
rounded.

204 Point Levi Fossils,

The structure of the tail is similar to that of both A, tardus
(Barrande) and A. glabratus (Angelin) but in these species the
median lobe of the head is smooth and consists of one plate only,
without furrows.

It may be that the tail above figured belongs to a different
species, but even if that should be the case it is specially
distinct from A. tardus and A. glabratus, for these are both
smooth, while ours is striated like A. exsculptus (Angelin), and
besides the proportions of the parts are suflSciently different to
be of specific value, especially when the character of the surface
is taken into account. A. tardus and A. glabratus, both belong
to the upper part of the lower Silurian. A. exsculptus to An-
gelin's Region B, which is the upper division of the Primordial
Zone in Sweden.

In Limestone, No. 1.

Agnostus Orion. N. s.
Fig. 2.

Description. — Length and breadth about equal, sub-circular,
convex a very narrow margin all round, glabella not quite two
thirds the whole length, very convex, a transverse furrow at one
third the length from the apex, a small triangular tubercle at
each side next the posterior edge; no tubercle visible on the top
of the 2;labella. A fissure from the apex of the glabella to the
anterior margin. Length two lines.

This species only differs from A. 2)isifo7-mis as figured by Salter
in the 3rd Edition of Siluria by having the glabella proportion"
ally shorter.

Limestone, No. 1. In No. 2 there are two specimens of an
Agnostus which resemble this species but more are required
to decide whether they are identical or not.

Agnostus Canadensis. N. s.
Fig. 3.— a. b.

Description. — Head, obtusely oblong, semi-oval ; width, a little
greater than the length ;, a concave border nearly as wide as the
glabella all round. Glabella in width, less than half the width
of the head, and in length, a little more than two-thirds the
length of the head ; a triangular tubercle on each side at the
neck, and a transverse furrow a little in advance of the raid-

Point Levi Fossils. 305

length; tlie tubercle is obscure and appears to indicated by the
small indentation forward in the middle of the transverse furrow.

The specimen represented by Fig. 3, a, is provided with a tuber-
cle, but I cannot see in which direction the apex is directed, and
consequently am unable to say whether it is a head or a tail. It
has the broad margin of Fig. 3, 6, and I think therefore it belongs
to the same species. The segment next the thoracic extremity is a
little less than one-third the whole length, and about one-third the
whole width. The anterior segment is large and convex, extending
quite to the concave border, where it is full one-half wider than
it is at the suture between it and the smaller segment. The tu-
bercle is situated in the transverse suture, and makes a small in-
dentation in the edge of the larger segment.

Length of the specimens, about two lines.

Limestone, No. 1.

CONOCEPHALITES ZeNKERI. K. S.

Fig. 4.

Fig. 4. Conocephalites Zenkeri.

Description. — Length apparently about two inches. Head very
convex, nearly semi-circular with a strongly elevated thin sharp
margin all round the front and sides, and just within this a wide
deep uniformly concave furrow, the width of which is equal to
about one third the length of the glabella. The posterior margin
is strengthened by the neck segment which extends the whole
width of the head, and becomes much elevated on approaching the
outer angles. Glabella conical, very convex^ most elevated at
about the mid-length, with a well defined neck furrow, the pos-
terior lateral furrows directed obliquely forwards at an angle of
45° with the longitudinal axis of the body, their inner extremities
separated from each other by full one third the width of the
glabella; the posterior lobes sub-triangular, their anterior angles
situated at nearly one third the length^ of the glabella forward
excluding the neck furrow and segment ; the middle lateral fur-
rows represented by a small depression or indentation on each
Can. Nat. 6 Vol. V. No. 4

306 Point Levi Fossils.

side situated on a line drawn across the head passing through the
posterior half of the eyes ; in front of these a much smaller inden-
tation on each side representing the anterior furrows. The eyes
are small and conical, situated on a line crossing the glabella at
one half the whole length of the head, their distance from the
glabella equal to one-third the width of the neck segment ; ocular
ridge extending from the eye forward to a point situated a little
in advance of the anterior lateral indentation or furrow of the .
glabella. From the eye a strong ridge runs outwards to the
margin of the head in two of the specimens, but in another it is
not seen. Between the eye and the posterior margin and situated
near the posterior lobe, on each side is a large sub-semicircular
tubercle. This elevation is very slight in the small specimens.
The surface of the glabella and cheeks adjacent thereto are appar-
ently smooth but the whole of the concave border around the
head is ornamented with fine rugose striae distinctly visible to the
naked eye.

Length of head in largest specimen seen eight lines ; length of
glabella six lines ; width of head fifteen lines; width of glabella
four lines ; distance between the eyes six lines.

Thorax and pygidium unknown. I have not ascertained whe-
ther the posterior angles of the head are rounded or produced
into spines.

Limestone No. 1.

Genus Dikelocephalus. Owen.

In the species which I have referred to this genus, the general
form and aspect of the glabella and pygidium and the course of
the facial suture are the same as in D. Minnesotensis the type of
the genus specimens of which I have before me from the sandstone
of the Western States. From numerous fragments of D. Oweni
exhibiting the underside of the head, I have ascertained that the
facial suture does not separate the cheeks from each other by cut-
ing the fold of the margin. The head is therefore composed of
three pieces only, — the glabella, hypostoma and united cheeks.
This separates the gtnus from Proetus, some species of which, such
as P. striatus (Barrande) have an expanded front margin and a
spinose pygidium very like those of D. magnijicus. The head of
Proetus consists of five pieces. The hypostoma found associated
with our specimens is much like that of Proetus^ and it is also
not unlike that of Ogygia. According to the figure given in

Foi7it Levi Fossils.

307

SiLURiA, plate 3, fig\ 2, representing the sub-marginal fold of the
cephalic shield, and the hypostoma attached thereto of Ogygia
Buchii, the structure of the head of Ogygia must be the same as
that of Dikelocepkalus. The affinities of the two genera are
still further indicated by the form of the glabella.

DiKELOCEPHALUS MAGNIFICUS.

Figure 5.
Fig. 5. — Glabella and pygidiutn of D. magnificus.

Description. — Eight or nine inches in length. Head large
with a short broad obstusely conical depressed convex glabella
in front of which there is a broad flat margin with from five to
eight obscure radiating ridges. The neck furrow is represented
by an obscure shallow groove which is visible in the middle two

308 Foint Levi Fossils,

thirds of tlie width but dies out before reaching the sides of the
glabella. In front of this there are from one to three shallow
pits or faint depressions on each side of the median line repre-
senting the glabella furrows. A line drawn across the head at
one third the length from the posterior margin would pass
through the centres of the eyes nearly. The eyes are annular about
one sixth the whole length of the head, situated their own length
from the posterior margin and with their centres about the same
distance from the side of the glabella. The facial suture runs
from the inner anterior corner of the eye forwards and outwards
at an angle of about 45° to the longitudinal axis of the body
until it crosses a line drawn through the eye parallel with the
axis of the body and having gained a point situated outside of
this line at a distance from it equal to the length of the eye or
thereabout it curves inward and reaches the front margin at a
point somewhere near the line. It then appears to run round
the margin. Behind the eye its course is, after a short inward
and backward curve, directly outwards nearly parallel with the
posterior furrow apparently one half the width of the cheek when
it curves back and cuts the posterior margin before reaching the
angle. On each side of the glabella nearly opposite but a little
behind the position of the eye there is an obscure rounded elon-
gated prominence.

Judging from several detached cheeks the posterior front of the
head must be very wide and the angles produced into moderately
long triangular spines.

The pygidiura is somewhat fan shaped, the posterior margin
terminating in six triangular points or spines, the outer ones of
which are the longest and the inner ones diminishing in length so
as to produce a semicircular emargination for the posterior out-
line. The greatest width of the pygidium is at about one third
its total length from the front measuring to the extremity of the
longest spine. In front of a line drawn across at this place
the contour is nearly semicircular but behind the line the sides
are straight or only gently convex and somewhat parallel slightly
converging towards each other. The main body of the axis is
about one fourth the total length, convex conical and with four
shallow concave transverse grooves. Four ribs in each of the
side lobes besides a rudimentary ridge along the middle being a
continuation of the axis. The surface is marked by fine fissure-
like undulating lines.

Point Levi Fossils,

309

The pleurae which seem to belong to this species are broad,
flat, falcate and with a moderately strong groove running obliquely
nearly their whole length.

Judging from the form of the three pygidia figured by Angelin
on Plate 41 of the Palaeontologia Scandinavica, it appears pro-
bable that this species connects Dikelocephalus with Centropleura
a genus which occurs in the base of the Lower Silurian of Swed-
en, in Regio B and C of Angelin. It is perhaps an extreme form
but the course of the facial suture and characters of the
glabella are the same as they are in Dikelocephalus, The py-
gidium differs from D. Minnesotensis in having fewer ribs and a
greater number of spines, but this difference is not of itself I
think of generic value.

Limestone, No. 1.

Dikelocephalus planifrons. N . s.
Fig. 6.

Description, — Head with a broad smooth margin in front, the
width of which is about equal to the width of the glabella : the
latter oblong conical rather flat most elevated along the median
line, broadly rounded in front, its sides nearly straight and sub
parallel slightly converging from behind forwards. On each side
of the median line there are three or four obscure depressions

Fig. 6. Fig. 7. Fig. 8.

Fig. 6 — .D. planifrons.
Fig. 7.— D. Belli.
Fig. 8. — D. Oweni.

which represent the glabellar furrows. The length of the gla-
bella appears to be about once and a half its width at the neck
segment. Eyes, cheeks, thorax and pygidium unknown. Length
of largest head seen, twelve lines ; length of glabella, seven lines ;
width of glabella at base five lines, at front margin four lines and
a half.

310 Point Levi Fossils*

The head of this species differs from D magnificus in having
a more elongated and depressed glabella with the wide border
in front smooth instead of ornamented with radiating ridges.

Limestone, No. 1.

DlKELOCEPHALUS OwEKI. N. S.

Fig. 8.

Description. — Head with a broad punctured and striated margin
in front of the glabella; the latter oblong conical depressed,
most elevated along the median line and with from two to four
obscure depressions on each side representing the glabellar fur-
rows. The front of the glabella is broadly rounded, the sides
straight or nearly so, sub-parallel or slightly converging from
behind forwards ; the posterior margin straight in the middle,
turned forward at the sides. At the base of the glabella
there is an obscure transverse furrow and I am not sure whether
this should be regarded as the posterior glabellar groove or the
neck furrow. The front of the head is strengthened by a de-
pressed convex rim just within which there is a curved row of
punctures, four or five in one line. From these punctures fine
somewhat flexuous strise converge towards the front of the gla-
bella. Eyes, cheeks, thorax and pygidium unknown.

Length of head of a specimen which appears to be of the
average size ten lines ; length of glabella, seven lines ; width of
glabella at neck segment, five lines and a half and at front mar-
gin four lines and a half; width of the marginal rim, one line
and a half.

The depressions representing the glabellar furrows are some-
times obsolete and sometimes only one or two are visible on
each side.

One of the specimens has the anterior striated margin propor.
tionally one fourth narrower than the above and only five punc-
tures in the width of one line. The glabella is smooth and not
narrowed in front. I do not at present think, however, that
these difl'erences are of specific importance.

In another specimen where the crust is preserved the punctures
are scarcely visible but where it is removed they are distinct.

Dedicated to Dr. D. D. Owen, whose extensive geological
researches in the Western States have been of such great service
to science.

Limestone, No, 1.

Foint Levi Fossils.

311

DiKELOCEPHALUS BeLLI. N, S.

Fig. 7.

Description, — Head semi-circular, the width apparently twice
the length or a little more. Front margin surrounded by a nar-
row convex rim, distant about its own width from the front of
the glabella. The latter is obtusely oblong, conical rather convex
well defined all round by the narrow groove of the dorsal furrows
the sides nearly parallel, straight or nearly so, the front rounded. The
neck furrow extends entirely across, nearly straight in the middle
third and directed obliquely forward at an angle of about 45^ at
the outer third on each side. In front of this, two oblique glabel-
lar furrows on each side, their inner extremities separated bv
about one third the width of the glabella, forming three lobes of
nearly equal size. The eyes appear to be situated opposite the
second pair of furrows from the front, and to be distant from the
glabella about one third the width of the neck segment.

Length of head of medium size, six lines and a half; length of
glabella five lines and a half; width of the same at base four
lines; a little narrower towards the front; width of marginal rim
half a line ; width of space between the marginal rim and the
front of the glabella, half a line. Surface smooth.

Cheeks, eyes, thorax and pygidium unknown. Dedicated to
Mr. Robert Bell, the discoverer of the genus in the Canadian rocks

Limestone, No. 1.

DiKELOCEPHALUS MEGALOFS. N. S.

Fig. 9.

Fig. 9.

€^^

Fig. 12.

Fig. 11. Fig. 10.

Fig. 9. — D. megalops.
Fig. 10, — D. cristatus.

Fig. 11. and 12. — Pygidia common in Limestone No. 1.
Description. — Head appearently semicircular ; anterior margin

312 Point Levi Fossils,

strengthened by a narrow convex rim a little more than its own
width from the front of the glabella, just within which is a curved
row of punctures with fine striae as in D. Oweni. Glabella
elongate conical, depressed convex, front rounded, sides nearly
straight, slightly converging from behind forward. Neck furrow
straight in the middle, turned slightly forward towards the ends.
In front of this two other short furrows on each side dividinof the
glabella into three lobes of which the anterior is the largest ; the
posterior furrows sometimes obscurely connected on the median line
their outer extremities directed forwards at an angle of 45 '^ with
the longitudinal axis of the body ; the anterior pair nearly at
right angles but sloping a little forwards, their inner extremities
not connected. On the front lobe there appear to be indications
of a third pair of furrows on one of the specimens. The eyes are
semi-annular, nearly half the whole length of the head, their
anterior corners a little in advance of the outer extremities of the
anterior glabellar furrow ; their centres distant from the sides of
the glabella, one third the width of the neck segment, their upper
and lower angles, half that distance. Surface except the striated
front margin apparently smooth.

Cheeks, thorax and pygidium unknown

Length of largest head seen five lines and a half; of glabella
four lines and a half ; width of glabella at neck segment three
lines and a half nearly and at front furrows three lines.

Limestone, No. 1.

DiKELLOCEPHALUS CRISTATUS. N. S.

Fig. 10.
Descri2)tion, — Small, head apparently semicircular ; front
margin with a strong rim abruptly elevated on its posterior edge
and thence descending with a flat slope to the anterior edge, dis-
tant about its own width from the front of the glabella, with a
row of punctures as in J). Oweni, Glabella oblong, front and
sides somewhat straight, anterior angles rounded, neck segment
and furrow well defined, no glabellar furrows. The glabella just
in front of the neck furrow is abruptly elevated into a sharp
rounded roof-shaped ridge from which it descends with a flat or
gently concave slope to the front and lateral margins. Eyes very
large, full one half the whole length of the head, their posterior
angles close to the glabella at the neck furrow, thence they curve
outwards so that their centres are distant from the sides of the

Point Levi Fossils, 313

glabella rather more tban one third the width cf the neck segment,
thence more gradually curving inwards they reach the sides of
the glabella (nearly) at a point a little in advance of its length.

Length of head in largest specimen seen four lines ; of glabella
about three lines ; width of glabella at base two lines, a little
narrower in front. Surface with the exception of the striated and
punctured front, apparently smooth.

Limestone, No. I.

Fig. 13.

Fig. 13. — The pygidium represented by Fig. 13, appears to belong to a
species of Dikelocephalus, but the small fragment of stone in
which it occurs resembles Limestone No. 2, in which no recognis-
able fragments of that genus have been found.

Genera. — x\rionellus (Barrande) and Menocephalus (Owen),

These two genera seem to be closely related and I shall there-
fore notice them collectively. In Arionellus the glabella is cylin-
drical or sub conical with three or four lateral furrows. The
facial suture proceeds from the eye forward with a slight
inward inclination to the front margin which it cuts on a line
draw^n between the eye and the glabella parallel with the axis of
the body. Behind the eye it cuts the posterior margin at a point
situated on a line drawn between that organ and the outer angle
of the head. In the thorax of A. ceticepkalus there are from 7
to 16 segments according to the age of the individual. The py-
gidium is small.

The head (all that is known) of Menocephalus only differs from
Arionellus in having the glabella exceedingly convex. Owen
discovered the glabella and a portion of the cheek plate but none
of the other parts. He describes the former as being circular,
highly arched hemispherical and pustulated. Judging from this
description and the figure given by the author and also from the
aspect of the associated fossils it appears to me highly probable
that the species which I have called Af. glohosus is not only con-
generic with Owen's M. minnesotensis but that it is closely allied
thereto, if. Sedgexoichi cannot be separated generically from

314 Point Levi Fossik,

M, glohosus and this latter leads us through A. suhclavatus to A,
cylindricus*

This latter appears to me to be an Arionellus, The speci-
mens are too imperfect to enable me to prove whether or not
our four species belong to two distinct genera or one only. I
shall place the two most convex forms in Menocepkalus and the
other two in Arionellus.

Arionellus cylindricus. N. s.

Fig. 14. Fig. 15.

Fig. 14. — Arionellus cylindricus.

Fig. 15. — Arionellus suhclavatus : a, side view of the glabella.

Description, — Glabella sub-cylindrical slightly narrowed from
behind forwards, the sides nearly straight and separated from the
very prominent cheeks by a deep furrow ; the front obtusely
rounded or nearly straight. The neck furrow is deep and rounded
and the neck segment well defined but apparently not very pro-
minent. The posterior glabellar furrow is well defined all across,
parallel with the neck furrow for half the width of the glabella
and then directed obliquely forward on each side at an angle of
45"; it is about its own width distant from the neck furrow.
The next furrows forward are situated a little in advance of the
mid-length of the glabella ; they are slightly oblique and their
inner extremities are separated by about one third the width of
the glabella. In front of these are two other furrows on each
side very inconspicuous and not always visible. The anterior
margin of the head consists of a narrow elevated ridge separated
from the front of the glabella by an angular groove of about its
own width. From the summit of the terminal ridge the margin
descends with an abrupt slope so that on a front view the head
appears to be bounded by a flat nearly vertical band, the width
of which is equal to rather more than one half the elevation of
the glabella. The surface appears to be smooth or finely granular.
Eyes, fixed cheeks, thorax and pygidium unknown. Length of
longest head seen three and a half lines ; width of glabella about
two lines at neck segment and a little less at the anterior ex-
tremity. The form of the glabella of this species is almost exactly

Poi7it Levi Fossils, 315

like that of Dilcelocepkalns granulosus. (Owen). [See Geo.
Rep. Wisconsin, PI. 1, Fig. 7.]
Limestone No. 1, not common.

Arionellus subclavatus. N. s.
Fig. 15, — a.

Description. — Glabella as long as the head, separated from the
front margin by a narrow groove only, strongly convex, and ele-
vated in the anterior two-thirds, less convex, more depressed, and
somewhat narrower in the posterior third ; sides gently convex,
nearly straight, siib-parrallel, slightly more distant from each
other towards the front than behind, front obtusely rounded. The
neck segment and furrow are rounded and well defined all across;
the posterior glabellar furrows are rather strong, directed for-
wards at an angle somewhat less than 45°, their inner extremi-
ties separated by one-third the width of the glabella, and distant
from the neck furrow about the width of the neck segment. In
front of these are two obscure, nearly vertical furrows on
each side, at about equal distances from each other. The fixed
cheeks are strongly elevated, and separated from the glabella by
the deep, narrow dorsal furrows. The eyes are small, and situa-
ted on a line drawn across the head, passing about midway be-
tween the two posterior glabellar furrows. They are connected
with the front lobes of the glabella, by slender ocular ridges, as
in the genus Conocephalites. The distance of the eye from the gla-
bella, is a little more than half the width of the neck segment*
The facial suture cuts the front margin, a little inside of a line
drawn through the eye, parallel with the length of the body.
Behind the eye it runs obliquely outward with a gentle curve,
and cuts the posterior margin at a point between the line pass-
ing through the eye, and the posterior angles of the head. The
surface in the large specimens is finely tubercular, but in the
small ones apparently smooth. Length of largest head seen five
lines and a half; the width of the glabella at one-third the length
from the front, is about three-fourths of its own length, exclud-
ing the neck segment and furrow. Moveable cheeks, thorax and
pygidium unknown.

Limestone No. 1.

316 Point Levi Fossils,

Menocephalus Sedgewicki. N. s.

Fig. 16
Fig. 16. — Menocephalus Sedgewicki.

Fig. 11. Fig. 18. Fig. 19.

Fig. 17. — Side view of the head of ilf. globosus.
Fig. 18 — Upper surface of the head of M. globosus.
Fig. 19. — Menocephalus globosus front view of the head.

Description. — Glabella very convex, conical gradually taper-
ing from the neck segment to the front, which is obtusely round-
ed. Neck segment and neck furrow-well defined all across.
Two glabellar furrows on each side, which divide the glabella
into three pair of lobes, the anterior pairs a little the largest, the
other two nearly equal to each other. The posterior furrows
sometimes curve so far backwards as to isolate the lobes from
the body of the glabella ; their depth, however, is inconsider-
able. The glabella is separated from the cheeks and front mar-
gin, by the deep, narrow dorsal furrow which runs all round.
The eyes are situated opposite the anterior glabellar furrows, and
distant from the glabella about ono-fourth the width of the neck
segment. The front margin slopes from the front of the glabella
downwards, and is then turned up to form a slightly elevated but
well defined wire-like rim, which probably runs all round. Sur-
face covered with small tubercles. Cheeks, thorax and pygidi-
um unknown. Length of largest specimen collected four lines,
length of glabella, including neck segment, three lines ; width of,
at neck furrow, two lines.

In some specimens a third glabellar furrow is represented by
an obscure indentation close to the front.

The facial suture is evidently the same as in A. cylindricus
and-4. subclavatus.

Limestone No. 1.

Point Levi Fossils* 317

Menocephalus globosus. N. s.
Fig. 17, 18, 19.

Description. — Head globose, the posterior angles produced in-
to small slender spines directed outwards, at an angle of about
45°, with the axis of the body. Glabella exceedingly convex,
almost hemispherical, its length slightly exceeding its width ;
either totally destitute of lateral furrows, or with two inconspic-
uous indentations on eaeh side. Keck furrow and segment well
defined ; the margin of the head with a narrow, wire-like border
all round, which turns up in front of the glabella, and forms an
obtusely pointed rostrum ; cheeks moderately tumid, but droop-
ing on each side, so as to give a great depth to the outline of the
head. Eyes about one-fifth the total length of the head, situa-
ted opposite the mid-length of the glabella, and about their own
width from it. Facial suture as in A, suhclavatus. Surface
covered with small tubercles. Width of head in the specimen
figured five lines ; length, three lines ; length of glabella, two
lines and one-fourth.

Associated with these are very numerous glabellae of a larger
size, in general four lines in length, which probably belong to
this species.

Limestone No. I.

Genus Bathturus. Billings.

This genus was described in the "Canadian Naturalist and
Geologist," vol. 4, p. 364, in the article on the fossils of the Cal-
ciferous Sandrock. Tt differs from Asaphus by having nine seg-
ments in the thorax, the front of the hypostoma not forked, and
the glabella well defined by the dorsal furrows. It somewhat re-
sembles both 31egalaspis and JSliohe (^ngelin), in the form of the
glabella, but the hypostoma is precisely like that of Ogygia. I
have some evidence to shew that the head is composed of three
pieces only, as in Dikelocephalus. The species heretofore de-
scribed are, B. amjylimarginatus, B. conicus, and B. Cyhele^
from the Cnlciferous Sandrock : — B. Angelini, Chazy : — B. extans,
(^Asaphus extansy Hall,) as yet known only in the Black River
limestone, and B. spiniger, {Acidaspis spiniger, Hall.) This
latter species occurs both in the Black River and Trenton, in
Canada.

The following species are referred to this genus provisionally.
I am not at all satisfied that they belong to the genus, but I know
of no other to which they bear so near a resemblance.

31S

Point Levi Fossils,

Bathyurus capax. N. s.

Fig. 20.

Description. — Head, convex, forming a depressed quarter of a
sphere. Glabella oblong, separated from the flat, sloping rim of
the front margin by a narrow angular groove ; sides gently con-
cave, nearly straight, with a short obscure outward curve oppo-
site the eye, slightly converging towards each other from behind,
forwards. The neck furrow is represented by an obscure trans-
verse impression, which occupies the middle third of the width
of the glabella, but does not reach all across. The anterior and
posterior angles are rounded, and although distinctly defined all
round, by the dorsal furrows, (which, however, are only slightly
impressed), the glabella in the anterior half, is scarcely at al!
elevated above the general convexity of the head ; it is moder-
ately prominent behind. The eye is situated at mid-length of
the head, semi-annular, its centre distant from the side of the
glabella, two lines, when the length of the head is thirteen lines.

Fig. 21.

Fig. 20. Fig. 22.

Fig. 20. — BcLthyurus capax. The lower figure is a longitudinal sec-
tion, shewing the convexity of the glabella and the flat sloping rim of
the front margin at a.

Fig. 21. — Bathyurus dubius.

Fig. 22. — Bathyurus bituberculatus.

The anterior margin of the head to front of the glabella is
strengthened by a fiat rim, which slopes downwards and for-
wards at an angle of about 60°, with the horizontal plane of the
body. This character is constant in heads specimens of all sizes,
from a leno-th of six lines to thirteen. The width of this rim in

Point Levi Fossils, 319

the largest specimens, is one line and one-third. Cheeks, tho-
rax and pygidium, unknown. Surface apparently smooth.

Length of large head, thirteen lines ; width of glabella, at
base, nine lines, and at two lines from the front margin, eight
lines.

Limestone, No, 1.

Bathturus dubius. N. s.
Fig. 21.

Description. — This species differs from B. capax in having the
glabella raore pointed, and narrowly rounded in front, and the
marginal rim not flat but of a sub-cylindrical wire-like form.

Length of head in largest specimen seen, nine lines ; width of
glabella at neck furrow, six lines and a half, and at two lines from
front margin, five lines.

Limestone, No. 1.

Bathyurus bituberculatus. N. s .
Fig. 22.

Description. — Glabella the same as in B. dubius, but more
pointed in front, and with an elongate-oval tubercle or lobe on
each side of the posterior half. These tubercles are of an elon-
gate oval form, pointed at both ends, bounded on the outside
by the dorsal furrow which runs all round the glabella, and on the
inside by a shallow, rather obscure groove, but which seems to
separate them completely from the main body of the glabella.
The lower pointed extremity of each, terminates a little below
the level of the neck furrow, and the upper, a little behind the
mid-length of the head.

Length of largest head seen, eight lines and a half; width of
glabella just behind the neck furrow six lines ; length
of each tubercle two linees and a half; width of same in the
middle one line. Surface smooth.

Limestone, No. 1.

Bathyurus armatus. N. s.

Fig. 23.

Description. — Head very convex, with a strong broad-based
spine projecting backwards from the neck segment. The contour
of the glabella is obscurely indicated by two faint grooves which

S20

Poi?U Levi Fossih,

appear to die out before reaching the front margin. It appears
to be regularly conical, but scarcely at all elevated above the
general convex surface of the head. Length of head in the spe-
cimen figured excluding the marginal rim, which is unknown,
nine lines. Width of glabella at base, six lines; at about the
middle of the head, five lines ; the length of the spine is un-
known. Surface smooth.
Limestone, No. 1^

Fig. 23.

Fig. 24.

Fig. 25.

Fig. 26.

Fig. 27.

Fig. 23. — Bathyurus armatus.
Fig. 24. — Bathyurus Saffordu
Fig. 25. — Bathyurus ohlongus.
Fig. 26. — Bathyurus Cordai.
Fig. 21 ."^Bathyufus quadratus,

Bathyurus Saffordi. N. s.

Fig. 24.

Description. — Glabella conical convex, much elevated above
the general surface of the head, front angles rounded, sides some-
what straight in the anterior half, below which they curve a
little outwards, and become paralled for a short distance next the
posterior margin. The neck furrow in the cast of the interior
is well defined all across, but when the crust is preserved it dies
out on approaching the sides. The rim which forms the front
margin has a flat slope inwards to the anterior edge of the
glabella.

Point Levi Fossils. 32 1

Length of largest head seeu, eight lines and a half; width of
glabella at neck segment, six lines, and at two lines from the
front, three lines and a half. Surface smooth.

Dedicated to Professor J. M. SafFord, State Geologist of Ten-
nessee.

In Limestone No. 2.

Bathyurus oblong us. N. s.
Fig. 25.

Description. — The glabella of this species is oblong, convex
with nearly parallel sides, well separated from the cheeks by the
deep dorsal furrow, the front rounded, and the neck furrow rather
deep all across. The eyes are small, situated a little behind the
mid-length of the glabella, and distant from the dorsal groove a
little less than one half the wfdth of the neck segment. The
marginal rim of the head is the same as in B. Saffordi. Sur-
ffice smooth. Length of glabella four lines ; width three lines.

Limestone, No. 2.

Bathyurus Cordai. N. s.
Fig. 26.

Description. — Glabella conical, with a deep sulcus all round ;
in front an elevated rim apparently forming a rostrum similar to
that of some species of Calymene\ just within the rim a deep
groove, between which and the furrow that surrounds the gla-
bella, there is a rounded ridge. Neck furrow well defined all
across. Eyes apparently about opposite the middle of the gla-
bella. Surface smooth.

The glabella in some of the specimens is more narrowed to-
wards the front than it is in the specimen figured.

Length of largest head seen, seven lines ; length of glabella,
five lines ; width just in front of the neck furrow, three lines and
two-thirds ; at one line from the front, three lines.

Limestone, No. 2.

Bathyurus quadratus, N. s.
Fig. 27.

Description. — Glabella oblong, convex, only slightly rounded
in front, well defined all round by the dorsal furrows, the sides
straight and parallel, the eyes are small, and situated as in B.
Can. Nat. 6 Vol. V. No. 4

322 Point Levi Fossils.

ohlonc/us, an ocular ridge obscurely visible in one specimen.
Neck furrow well defined all across.

Length of glabella four lines ; width three lines and a half.

Limestone, No. 2.

Cheirurus Apollo. N. s.
Fig. 28.

Description. — Head convex, semicircular, width about twice
the length or a little more. Glabella depressed, convex, some-
what circular or very broadly conical, the posterior margin con-
vex, the sides and front rounded, the width at the posterior third
equal to the length, the neck furrow in the cast defined all across
three glabellar furrows directed obliquely forwards and outwards
at an angle of about 30°, with the longitudinal axis, their inner
extremities turned backwards, and distant from each other about
one-fourth the whole width. The four side lobes of the glabella

Fig. 28. Fig. 29. Fig. 30.

Fig. 28. — Cj^eirurus Apollo.

Fig. 29 Pygidium. Limestone No. 2. This may be the tail of

aii Amphion.

Fig. 30. — Cheirurus Eryx.

are sub-equal, the posterior pair a little larger than the others.
Eyes small, opposite the second lobe from behind, distant from it
about the width of the lobe or a little less. Cheeks in the cast
punctured. I have not ascertained whether or not the posterior
angles terminate in spines. Length of head, five lines ; length
and width of glabella, a little less than five lines.

There are many European species of this type, and they range
from the Landeilo Flags upwards to the Devonian.

Limestone, No. 2.

Cheieurus Eryx. N. s.
Fig. 30.
Description. — Head semicircular, depressed convex, width
twice the length or a little more, the posterior angles produced
into short spines. Glabella elongate conical, moderately convex,

Poi7it Levi Fossils. 323

rounded in front, sides nearly straight or gently convex, neck
furrow well defined all across, and continued on the cheeks to
the outer angles of the head, four lobes on each side of which
the anterior is largest, the posterior smallest, and the other two
almost equal to each other, the furrows directed obliquely for-
wards at an angle of about 30°, to the longitudinal axis, their
inner extremites distant from each other a little less than one-
third the width of the glabella. Cheeks moderately convex,
punctured. Eye opposite the second lobe from the front, and
distant from the glabella apparently about the width of the lobe.

Length of head nearly four lines ; of glabella, about three lines
and a half; width of glabella two lines and a half.

Limestone, No. 2.

Closely allied to a small species which occurs in the Chazy
limestone at Caughnawaga, Another of the same size and type
occurs at Phillipsburgh.

AsAPHUS Illaenoides. N. s.

Description. — Head very convex, in shape like that of an 7Z-
laenus, equal to about one-fourth of a sphere, posterior angles
rounded ; width a little less than twice the length. Glabella ob-
scurely defined, oblong, slightly narrowed just behind the eyes,
thence a little widened both forwards and backwards. Eyes sub-
globular, of a medium size, close to the glabella, the distance
between their centres about equal to the length of the head.
The facial suture runs from the inner anterior angle of the eye,
with a scarcely perceptible curve outwards, directly forward to
the front margin, being in this part almost parallel with the lon-
gitudinal axis of the body. From the inner posterior angle it
runs outwards aud backwards, and cuts the margin at a point
in a line drawn parallel with the axis of the body, passing out-
side of the eye at a distance therefrom equal to one-half the
width of that organ. The cheeks from the eye to the posterior
angle of the head, descend with a flat slope of about 45° to the
horizontal plane of the body. The surface appears to be smooth.

The pygidium is depressed, convex, semicircular, the posterior
margin regularly rounded ; the axis depressed, semi-cylindrical,
sub-conical, sides a little concave rather prominent, the extremity
very obtusely rounded, the length varying from a little more
than one-half to two-thirds the total length ; its width a little
less than that of the side lobes, five very obscure segments of

324 Foint Levi Fossils,

which the last two are sometimes blended into one. The an-
terior margins of the side lobes are almost at right angles to the
axis for one-half or thereabouts of the width, then sloping back-
wards to the outer corners, which they reach at an angle of about
SO*^ to the transverse diameter of the body.

Just behind the margin there is a single groove, obscure to-
wards the axis but more distinct outwards. There are in some
specimens, several faintly marked ribs, but in general the side
lobes, with the exception of the anterior furrow, are smooth.

Length of head of a specimen of medium size, seven lines
width, twelve lines ; distance between centres of eyes, seven
lines.

Length of a pygidium of medium size, six lines ; width, twelve
lines ; length of axis, four lines and a-half ; width of same at
front margin, three lines and a half, and at half a line from the
posterior extremity, three lines.

I have seen the underside of the head of this species and the
sub-rostral fold is distinctly divided as in A. platycephalus
Had not this character been observed, I would have, without much
hesitation, referred the head to the genus Ulcenus.

In Limestone No. 3.

ASAPHUS GONIURUS. N. s.

The above name is proposed for a small triangular pygidium
found in No. 3. It is evidently distinct from any described Si-
lurian species of this country, but allied to one that occurs in
the Chazy Limestone at Mingan. The form is triangular, the
length three-fifths, or thereabouts, of the width, the axis scarcely
at all elevated above the surface, and indistinctly divided into seg-
ments in the anterior half, but towards the extremity becoming
strongly elevated, smooth and pointed. The largest specimen
seen is about lialf an inch in length. It resembles t e tail of a
small Homalonotus,

Limestone No, 3.

Miscellaneous. 325

MISCELLANEOUS.

THE OIL WELLS OP MECCA.
by Dr. J. S Newberry.

Within the past week I have made a pilgrimage to Mecca,
somewhat to my edification, and now perhaps you would be in-
terrested in a very brief description of this newly found " city of
the profit.^''

This modern Mecca is, as you are perhaps aware, situated near
the centre of Trumbull countv, ten miles north-east of "Warren.
Till recently — like so many towns on the Reserve, and their pro-
totypes, the farming towns of New England — simply the pleasant
and very quiet home of a peaceful and thrifty rural population,
' In March last, however, the Oil Springs, which had been well
known to the inhabitants for fifty years, and from their contami-
nating influence on the water, regarded as anything but a bless-
ing— attracted the attention of some Pennsylvanians, whose eyes
had been opened by the wonders of Oil Creek. These parties
leased from the proprietors most of the lands in the vicinity of
the springs and wells containing oil. In the face of general in-
credulity and much ridicule, a well was bored at Powers' Corners
by Messrs. Burnell, Jordan & Woods, and a pump set in it some
six weeks since. This has continued to discharge three or four
barrels of oil daily, from that time to the present, silencing ridi-
cule but producing little excitement.

Many were encouraged to bore on their lots, and two weeks
ago to-day the second pump was put in operation. This was
owned by two Germans who were quite poor, and who had strug-
gled on, nearly discouraged, until their somewhat rude machinery
could be put in motion. With the first stroke of the pump the
oil began to flow, as it has done steadily since, at the rate of about
twenty -five gallons per hour, or from 12 to 16 barrels per day.
The proprietors are raised from their poverty and despondence to a
point far above their^wildest hopes. After seeing the oil flowing
in a copious and steady stream, and the triumphant success of the
experiment demonstrated, one of them turned to the crowd, and
carried away by his feelings, said, "I tell you now, gentlemen, if

326 Miscellaneous,

a poor man comes and asks me for a thaler, I gifs him a tausend"
— a generosity to which his newly found affluence will doubtless
prove a complete antidote.

A few days later, one of our citizens, who was there, asked him
in mere curiosity if he would sell the well for $15,000, but he
was not to be dazzled by any such trifling sum, and said that four
times that amount was the least offer worth considering. When
it is remembered that his well is daily paying over |150 profit,
his valuation will scarcely seem extravagant.

These two are the only wells in which pumps have as yet been
placed, but at least fifty others have been bored in their vicinity
in which oil has been found in considerable quantity — sometimes
more than five barrels having been raised in the sand pump, and
saved during the process of sinking the auger fifty feet — a fact
which certainly augurs well for the richness of the district.

This oil is dark, thick, tarry looking stuff", very much like that
from the Titusville wells, but has almost no unpleasant odour, and
has proved on trial to be readily refined, and to be fully equal
both as a lubricator and illuminator to the best samples from
Pennsylvania. It is perhaps yet too early to make a just compari-
son between the Mecca and Titusville oil regions,*as the former
is not yet fully explored, nor has the productiveness or perman-
ance of its oil springs been fairly tested. The quality of the oil is
however, not inferior, and the present indications of its quantity
are quite as promising as they were on Oil Creek, at a similar pe-
riod in the developement of the wealth of that region.

In one respect the proprietors of the wells in Mecca have a de-
cided advantage over those of Pennsylvania — in the greater ac-
cessibility of their oil. The most copious flow has been found
within fifty feet of the surface, and the rock is so easily penetrat-
ed that a well may generally be sunk to that depth within a week
and at a cost of fifty dollars. To fit it for the reception of a pump
something more is necessary, but the entire expense is compara-
tively trifling. — Cleaveland Paper,

REVIEWS AND NOTICES OF BOOKS.

Report of the Geological Survey of Canada for the year 1858.

We should have noticed this Report some time ago, but for

a press of otherjmatter ; and now we can but give a summary of its

Reviews and Notices of BooJcs, 327

contents, referring the reader to the publication itself, wliich has
been very properly placed in the book-stores for sale.

First, we have the continuation of Sir W. E. Logan's exploration
of the beds of Laurentian limestone ; from which it appears that
four important bands of crystalline limestone have now been
traced for considerable distances through this contorted and
altered series of strata. The aggregate thickness of all these
limestones appears to be no less than 4000 feet, and so far no
certain indications of fossils have been discovered in them.*

Another portion of Sir William's Report, very valuable at pre-
sent, is a summary of the latest facts relative to the metalliferous
deposits of Canada, and especially the copper deposits of the
Eastern Townships. This part of the Report, as well as the tabular
view of the localities in the Appendix, should be studied by every
one interested in these deposits.

Mr. Murray's portion of the Report, more fully unravels the
intricacies of another cupriferous region, that of Georgian Bay.
Mr. Richardson describes the relations of the deposits in the
peninsula of Gaspe and the neighbouring shores of the St. Law-
rence. Mr. Sterry Hunt contributes a series of examinations of
the mineral and chemical constituents of the igneous and altered
rocks which penetrate the Silurian series in Lower Canada, and
form the mountains of Montreal, Bel ceil, Rougemont, Mount John-
son, (fee, with similar observations on the intrusive masses which
have pierced the Laurentian rocks of Grenville and Chatham.
We have also a series of examinations of the minerals of the
altered sediments of the various series, including the gneissose
epidotic and chloritoid rocks. His researches on the formation
of gypsum and magnesian rocks, commenced in a previous report,
are here brought to a close, and put us for the first time in pos-
session of a simple and satisfactory explanation of the origin and
formation of these deposits.

In the appendix to the report is a very valuable catalogue of
the animals and plants collected by Mr. D'Urban in the coun-
ties of Argenteuil and Ottawa. This, and the catalogue of Lepi-

* In a limestone probably of this age from Madoc, the carbonaceous
matter present is arranged in a manner which conveys the impression
on microscopic examination that it must have formed part of organic
tissues, and in slates associated with this limestone we have observed
cylindrical perforations resembling the Scolithus of the Potsdam sand-
atone.

328 Reviews and Notices of BooJcs,

doptera in the present number, are the last services Mr. D'Urban
is likely to render for the present to Canadian science. He is now
on his way to another field at the Cape of Good Hope, we wish
we could say soon to return to us.

Mr. Bell contributes a long and useful catalogue of the ani-
mals and plants of the Lower St. Lawrence ; and he, we are glad
to say, is this summer in his old field.

The Zoologist J June, 1860. — Fan Voorst, London.
We have to thank the editor of this Journal for his kindly
reo-ard to our wish for an exchano^e, and his favourable notice.
The Zoologist is a popular magazine of Natural History and a
Journal for recording facts and anecdotes relating to animals. The
present number contains among other matters very interesting
notices of the labors of M. Monhet, a collector at work in Siam ;
papers on the habits of the Aye-aye, on the Fauna of Mull,
and on beetles of the family Trichopterygidse, with a great
variety of interesting notices of new discoveries and incidents in
Natural History.

Specimens of Marine Alg^ : chiefly from England. Presented to the
Natural History Society of Montreal. By Dr. Durkee, Boston.

This volume contains a large number of specimens neatly pre-
pared and carefully named. Many of them are from the her-
barium of Dr. Harvey of Dublin, than whom there is no higher
authority in this department of Botany. The collection afi'ords
a ready means for the determination of species to those few stu~
dents of Natural History in this Province, who take an interest
in this humble but exceedingly beautiful and interesting sub-
kingdom, — the sea-weeds. Some fine specimens of the more ob-
scure plants are embraced in this book ; many of which are not
to be found in ordinary collections. There are some good ex-
amples of the less common Fuci ; but the largest number pertains
to the class of Rhodosperms, Polysephonise, and Calithamnia
which are finely illustrated. Interspersed among the prevailing
English species, we find some plants from Australia, and a few-
natives of America. Altogether this is a valuable gift by one
of the corresponding members of our Society. We trust that it
will form the nucleus of a complete collection of this beautiful
class of plants. The Lower St. Lawrence is particularly rich in
its genera and species of Algje, and it may be hoped that some
careful collector will supplement Dr. Durkee's gift by a corres-
ponding book of our native sea and river flora.

MONTHLY METEOHOLOGICAL REGISTIE, ST. MAKTINS, ISLE JESUS, CANADA EAST, (NINE MILES WEST OF MONTREAL,) FOR THE MONTH OF JUNE, 1860.

Latitude 45 degrees 32 minutes North. Longitude, 73 degrees 36 minutes West. Height above the level of the Sea, 118 feet.

BY CHARLES SMALLWOOD, M.D., LL.D.

Barometer— corrected
aiiU rciluced to

32»P.
(English iiichcu.)

6 a. m. I 2 p. m. 10 p. m.

29, 671
75S
679
420
242
460

saa

322
419
■199
CH
752
870
SOI
730
614
884
8S0
604
891
914
974
9114
30. 114
059
29. 847
30, 021
29,807
470
550

29,603
580
523
301
271
398
301
314
417
637
62j
85)
748
763
700
821
914
738
601
614
924
957
90U
30, 101
001
29, 899
940
745
367
697

29, 722
009
628
281
406
438
.312
384
471
624
721
783
800
770
707
900
986
728
614
717
911
914
30, 000
101
29. 910
897
601
513
538
754

Temperature of the
Air.-P.

6 a. m.

68,5

44,9

51,0

64,1

C6,4

60,0

62,9

60,0

55,0

63.1

51.1

60,4

62,0

69,0

65,4

63,0

61, 0

70,0

66, 0

58,2

62,7

62,0

61,5

61,1

60,3

69,3

60,3

64,2

76 3

70,3

2 p. m. 10 p. m.

67,1
70,7
79,6
84,7
69,3
79,2
78,9
63,6
69 9
89,6

8o!l
90,9
91,0
85,0
82,1
89,4
84,5
78,4
53,1
73,9
83,6
77,3
85,5
83,0
79,7
79,7
73,8
77,0
78,1

66,1

69,9

69,4

69,1

63,2

67.0

63,0

89,1

67.0

66.0

62,4

65,4

71,0

71,0

81,3

65,6

61,3

71,0

69.1

61.3

00,1

65.0

6,1.0

661

73.1

68,0

61,6

71,1

73,1

65.0

Tension of Aqueous
Vapour.

.323
,373
.451
,156
,179

,no

,SJ0

,%

,316
,28
,M!1
,19«
,483
,423
,4S3
,586
,543
,446
,328
.406
,419
.464
.536
.635
.126
.464
.652
,638

3 p. ni. LO p. u\

,470
,402
, .105
.507
,457
,450
,433
,338
,567
.714
,530
,577
,610
,891
,584
,604
,100
,390
,001
,597
,570
.558
.600
.644
.355
.799
.1.13

. 279
,358
,430
.430
.478
.463
.478
,■110
.359
,357
.453
,609
.■413
.503
.897
.613
.464
.573
,4;i9
,390
,307
.400
.517
.602
.631
.483
.390
.573
.771
.307

Humidity of the
Atmosphere.

3 p. m. 10 p. m.

.64
.62
.61
.42
.65
.47
.63
.69
.63
.85
.41
.57
.53
.37
.49
.66

,50
.54
.63
.47
.50
.60
.64
.32
.86

.61
.83
.71
.83
.83
.73
.79
.80
.81

Direction of "Wind.

6 a. m.

N.
S.E.
E.S. E.
.S. by E.
S. E. by E.
N. E. by E.
N. E. by E.
S. S. W.
S. by W.
N. W.
N. byW.
]■;. by S.
E. by S.
S. W. by S.
S. S. W.
S.E.

N. E. by E.
S.E.

S. B. by E.
N. N. E.
N. B. by E.
S. S. E.
W. S. W.
S. S. E.
S. S. W.
W. S, W.
N. E.

s. w.

S. W. by S.
S. W.

N. E. by jr.

S. W.
S.tyE.
S. S.E.
S. S. E.
N. E. by E.
>.E.by E.

byW.
W. by N.
N. W.
N. by E.

s! E. by E.
S. W.
S.W.

N. E. bv E.
S. E. by S.
S.E.
S. S. E.
N. E. by E.
N. N. E.
N. N. E.
E. S. E.
S. S. W.
W. S. W.
W. S. W.
\V.

W. S. \V.
W. by N.
W. by S.

10 p. m.

B. by N.
E. by E.
S. by E.
S. S. E.
S. by E.
N. E. by E.
W. by .s.
S.

N. W.
N. by W.
N.

E. S: E.
S.E.

S. W. by E.
W. S, W.
N. E.byB.
S. E.byE.
S. E.by E.
N. E.

N. E. by E.
S. E. by E.
N.W.byW,
S. W. by W,
S. S. W.
VV. S. ^V.
N. by W.
W. S. W.
S. S. W.
S. S. W.
W. N. W.

153, 60

10,88

02,80

114,10

191,50

02,80

120, 00

215. 70

119, 90

124, CO

134, 10

15.10

123,20

37,00

10.50

84,90

105, 10

28,70

0,50

249,90

167,10

33,10

28,00

13, 80

60,00

70.35

90. 60

103, 10

149.90

158.30

OZONE,

Mean

'amount

of, in

inches.

2,0
2,0
1.0
1.0
3.0
2.5
2,0
2,0
1,5
4,0
1,0
1,5
2,5
1,0
1,5
2,5
2,6
2,0
2,0
3,0
3,5
2,0
1,6
1,5
1,6
3,0
1.5
1.9
3.5
2,0

Amount
of, in !
inclies.

0.562
inapp.

Inapp.

0,403
0,271
0,000

inapp.

Inapp.
0.110

WEATHER, CLOCDS, nEM.lBKS, &C. ic.

[A cloudy sky is represented by 10, a cloudless one by 0.]

Cu. Str. 8.

Pog.

Heavy Dew Clear.

C. C. Str. 0
Clear.

Cu. Str. 10.

10.

■1.
Clear,

Cu, Str.
Clear.

Cu. Str. 10
8.
Clear.

0. C. Str. 10.
Clear.

Cu. Str. 10.
Clear.

Cu. Str. 4.
Clear.

Cu. Str.

Cum,

Clear.

Hazy.

C, C. Str.

Clear.

St.

Cu. Str.
Nimb.
Clear.

C. C. Str.
Clear,

Cu. Str.

Clear.

Nim.

Clear.

Cu.Str.

C. Str.
C. C. Str.

Cu. St.

Solar Halo.
Oir. 4. Solar Halo.
Cu. Str. 4.
C. C. Str. 2.
Cu. Str. 4.
C. Str. 2. dist. thunder

10.
Clear.

C. C. Str. 4.
C. Str. 10. dist. Ifing. Cu.St.
Clear. j ••

IClear.

ICu. St

10p.m.

Clear.

Rain.
Clear.

distant lightnuii;.

4. comet vLsiblu.

C.C. Str.
Clear.
Cu. Str.

REPORT FOR THE

MONTH OF JULY

, 1860.

==

Barometer — corrected
and reduced to

Ili'i

OZONE.

RAIN.

s.vow.

WEATHEB, CLOUDS, RESIABEB, &C, &C

N

Temperature
Air.-E

of the

Tension of Aqueous
Vapour,

Humidity of the
Atmosphere.

Direction of M ind.

fA cloudy sky is represented by 10, a cloudless o

S

ue by 0.]

■s

{English inches.)

1

xsa"

Mean

amount

of

Amount
of, in
inches.

Amount
of, in
iuclies.

a

6a,m.

2 p.m.

10 p. m.

6 a. m.

3 p,ni.

10 p, m.

6 a. ni.

3 p.m.

10 p. in. 1

0 a.m.

3 p.m.

10 p. m.

0 a.m.

2 p. m.

10 p. m.

6 a. ni. 2. p. m.

10

p.m.

39 817

29 806

61,0

71,1

00,0

.333

,569

.338

.61

.67

.63

S.W.

W. by N.

W. by S.

31,61

1.0

Clear. Cir. 4.

Clear.

2
3

4

822

811

52 0

91 6

63,2

,351

,638

.380

.90

.83

.67

22.20

1,6

Cu. Str. 4.

791

693

635

65 0

80,3

71,0

,S89

.418

, 692

.63

.30

.70

S. by W.

S.byW.

253. 00

1,0

"

3. C. Str. S

Cirr. Str. 8.

Comet seen. .

76,1

59, 0

,413

.273

.317

,77

.30

.03

E. S. E.

S. S. E.

83. 40

1,0

Olear.

C. C. Str. 10.

Hazy.

619

075

797

57 3

75,9

63,3

,322

.477

.391

,69

.54

.83

N. E. by E.

S.E.byS.

W. S. W.

20,00

1,0

Cu. Str. . 10.

B. C. Str. 4.

Str. , 2.

6

7
8

83,3

03,7

,300

.370

.410

.60

.33

.72

S. E. by S.

S.E.

97, 00

1,5

Clear.

Clear.

Cloai-.

819

818

67 <l

85,8

66,0

,489

,497

.431

.75

.40

.66

S.E.

S. S. W.

S. S. E.

45,00

1,6

Thunder.

Cirr. 1.

81,6

60,9

,423

,363

.496

.88

.34

.77

S. S. E.

S. S. B.

S. by E.

169, 60

2,0

" heavy dew.

Cu. Str. 6.

390

353

531

09, B

77,6
61,1

67,7
57,0

.665
,350

,009
, 404

.550
.429

.92
.75

.67

.77

.84
,91

S. S. E.

S. W. bv W.

S.W.
W. by N.

N. W.

W. S.W.

W. by S.

231,20

224,70

3,0
3,0

0.330

Rain.

Cu. Str. 8.

Co. Str. 10.
0.0. Str. 10.

8.
2.

53,1

68,9

67,8

,308

.313

.282

.79

.45

,83

W. N. \l.

N. N. W.

233,60

1,6

Heavy dew, clear.

Cu. Str. 3.

8.

917

91-1

60,0

77,1

63,7

,370

,.132

.471

.84

.46

,81

N. W. by N.

S.W.

W.

46,80

1,5

Clear.

Clear.

2.

64,1

83,3

60.1

,376

,435

.496

.89

.39

.70

S. S. W.

.V. by W.

S. W.

38,01

2,0

"

Sir. 1.

Clear.

819

838

832

07,5

87,9

70.1

,489

, 513

,482

.73

.43

.60

v. S.W.

S. S. w.

96,10

2,0

"

;Jirr. St. 4.

■'

06,9

89,0

73,5

,438

, 669

,525

.68

.42

.61

S.W.

S.W.

65,60

3,0

C.C. Str. 4.

Clear.

On. Str. 9.

776

517

604

69.0

84 3

63, 0

,809

,645

,6S6

.81

.47

.93

s. w.

W. S. w.

W. N. VV.

79,50

1,5

1,880

Cu. Str. 4.

Cu. Str. C.

9.

thunder.

17

833

837

914

60,0

73,9

05,0

.338

.393

,4,18

.65

.48

.75

W. N. W.

W. by Ti.
S. S.V.

W.byN.

125,99

3,5

Clear,

C. C. Str. 4.

Clear.

63,3

84,3

09,2

.399

.170

,503

.72

.40

.66

s. s. w.

S.W.

53,20

2,0

C. C. Str. 6.

Clear.

6S8

694

690

70,2

88,4

74,0

.621

. 6,50

,497

.85

.49

,69

S.W,

W. by S.

S. S. W.

17,90

2,0

Cu. Str. 8.

C. C. Str. 8.

Cu. Str. 6.

Distant Lightn'g.

01,7

81,0

68,9

.458

.510

.536

.75

.•48

,77

s. s, w.

W. by S.

S. W.

78,80

2,5

Clear.

Clear.

4.

419

748

371

777

.573
676

63,4
50, 9

07,9
71,4

65,0
60,3

.530
,302

,581
,503

.328
.343

.93
.83

.87
.60

,77
,63

s. s. w.

W. N. W.

W.

W. by N.

W. by W.
W. by N.

60, 30
220,40

3,0
1,5

0.440

Bain.
Clear.

0. Str. 1.
Clear.

8.
9.

flO

323

653

61,0

08,6

41.9

,413

,413

.275

.77

.66

.93

S. by W.

W.

232, 30

2,0

1,055

C. C. Str. 6.

Cu. Str. 0.

Clear.

61,3

65,8

,290

,403

,365

.79

.68

.76

S. W.

S.W.

S.W.

1.51,70

3,0

1,250

Clear.

" 8.

"

Vi

861

824

856

61,3

78,0

02,0

,321

,C14

.429

- .86

1 .64

.77

S.W.

s. s. w.

31,20

3,0

Fog.

4.

Clear.

''f!

509

on

703

63,1

71,3

61,0

,517

,403

.536

.91

.54

,93

S. S. E.

s. s. w.

90, 40

2,6

0,706

Cu. Str. 4.

Nim. 10.

Cu. Str. 10.

thunder.

**?

879

810

30,0117

53,7

08,2

60,6

,223

,332

.336

.64

.31

,75

N. by W.

N.by W.
S.W.

125,40

1,5

Clear.

C. C. Str. 6.

2.

29,970

47,5

74,3

03,0

,291

,563

.388

.89

.07

,69

18,30

1,0

" heavy dew.

Clear.

Clear.

"<*

779

665

613

65, 0

70,0

69,1

,483

,493

.477

.78

.06

.95

S. S. W.

S.S E.

99, 90

2.0

Inapp.

Cu. Str. 8.

On. Str. 10.

Nim. 10.

64 2

80,3

62,4

,401

,699

.399

.77

.69

..73

W. S. W.

VV.

78,80

1,0

Clear.

4.

Clear.

31

701

608

741

66,0 73,1

68,3

,413

,621

.329

.90

.66

.77

s. s. w.

w. s. w.

W.

131,10

3.0

0.071

Cu. Str. 8.

10. •

Cu. St. 6.

REM

A,RKS FOR jnNE, 1860.

REMARKS FOR JULY, 1860.

Cmglicst, tIio2Uh day, 30

114 inehc

3.

Rain fell on 10 days, amonntinK to 2,819 inclies; it was raining

(Highest, the 27tli day, 30.007 inches.

Hain fell on 8 days, amounting to 5.732 inches

it was ramiug

■Un-ftm^trt,. 3 I'Owest, the 4th day. -29.23
Barometer ^Monthly Mean, 29.683

I

18 hours and 15 minutes, and was accompanied by thunder on

r.,,.,.mnt«v. ILowest, the 23rd day, 29.323
'^"°""=''=' JMouthly Mean, 29.733

25 hours 15 minutes, and was accompanied by thunder on two

*♦

one day.

days.

Range, 0.88J

JVIost prevalent wind, the S. E. by E.

(.Monthly Range, 0.681

Most prevalent wind, the S. S. W.

(-llighcst. theUthday, 91

= 0.

Lea.st prevalent wmd, the N.

1 ■ Highest, the lltli day, 80 = 1 ,

Least prevalent wind, the N. by W.

Tlmmrometcr.,, ■■SS.;'».>f,,^y^*'=

8,

Most Aviiidy day, the 20th d.ay ; mean miles per hour, 10.41.
Least windy day, the 19th day ; mean miles per hour, Inapp,

Thermometer. V^^^I^^^^^S^f"' '■

Most windv day, the 3rd day ; mean miles per

hour, 16.52.

Least windy day, the 5tli day; mean miles pel

hour 0.83.

Aurora Borealis visible on 1 night.

..^lonthly Range, 45 03,

Aurora Borealis visible on 3 nights.

Solar Halo visible on 2 da,vs.

Greatest nitcnsity of ttio Sun's ray.s, 100 ®3.

Meteor in N. W. at 8.30 p. m. 21st day.

The Electrical state of the Atmosphere has in

Lowest point of Terrestrial radiation, 34 °»

The Electrical state of the Atmosphere indicated moderate

Lowest ponit of terrestrial radiation, 37 °1.
Mean of humidity, .679.

Mean of Humidity, ,715,

and constant tension.

and moderate intensity.

Amount of Evaporation, 3,72 inches.

Ozone was present in moderate quantity.

Amount of Evaporation, 3*78 inches.

Ozone was in moderate quantity.

Echp.se

ofthe Sun visible on thel9 day.

THE

CANADIAN

MTURALIST AID GEOLOGIST.

VoL.y. OCTOBER, 1860. No. 5.

ARTICLE ^lAY.— Abridged Sketch of the Life of 3Ir.
David Douglas, Botanist, with a few details of his travels
and discoveries.

(^Continued from last Number.)

After the misfortune recorded in our last, Douglas pursued his
way to Fort Vancouver by the same route by which he had come,
botanizing still more sedulously than ever, in order to make up as far
as possible for his recent heavy loss. In October, he left the Colum-
bia, as it afterwards unfortunately proved, for the last time. A land
where his discoveries had furnished him frequently with the bright-
est moments of the purest joy, and where also his losses had caused
him days of the most poignant sorrow and regret. He arrived at
Waohoo on the 23rd December. On the 31st he was at Hawaii,
on which stand the great volcanic peaks. His account of the
ascent of these is most interesting and we angle from his journal
as much as our limits and the patience of readers may be supposed
to render admissible.

After all preliminary preparations, and passing two days with
his party drenched with rain on the skirts of Mouna Kuah, we
find him on the 9th January 1834, recovering from the effects
of the weather, and partaking of a young wild bull, shot by a
person who had joined them. The weather on the following day
Cak. Nat. 7 Vol. V. No. 5.

330 Sketch of the Life of Mr, David Douglas,

still improving, he cleared the wooded region, but night coming on
quickly returned to its edge and encamped. All were on foot
early on the 11th. After passing the last plants to be seen on
the ascent, viz : a gigantic composite {^Argyrojiliyion Douglasii)
and a small Juncus he begins his scientific remarks.

" The great difference produced on vegetation by the agitated
and volcanic state of the mountain is very distinctly marked.
Here there is no line betwen the phenogamous and cryptogamous
plants, but the limits of vegetation itself are defined with the
greatest exactness, and the species do not gradually diminish in
number and stature, as is generally the case on such high eleva-
tions."

" The line of what may be called the woody-country, at the upper
verge of which the barometer expresses 21-450 inches, thermo-
meter 46° at 2 P. M., is where we immediately enter on a region
of broken and uneven ground, with here and there lumps of lava
rising above the general declivity to a height of three hundred
to four hundred feet, intersected by deep chasms, which shew the
course of the lava when in a state of fluidity. This portion of the
mountain is highly picturesque and sublime. Three kinds of
timber of small growth are scattered over the low knolls, with
one species ofRuhus and Vaccinium, the genus Frag aria, and a few
Graminia, Filices, and some alpine species. This region extends
to bar. 20.020 in., air 40°, dew point 30°. There is a third
region, which reaches to the place where we encamped yesterday,
and seems to be the great rise or spring of the lava, the upper
part of which at the foot of the first extinct peak is bar. 20.010
in., air 39°."

" 12th. At six o'clock, accompanied by three Islanders, and
two Americans, I started for the summit of the mountains ; bar.
at that hour indicated 20.000 inches, therm. 24° ; hygr. 20° ; and
a keen west wind was blowing off the mountain, which was felt
severely by us all, and especially by the natives, whom it was
necessary to protect with additional blankets and great coats. We
passed over about five miles of gentle ascent, consisting of large
blocks of lava, sand, scoriae, and ashes, of every size, shape and
color, demonstrating all the gradations of calcination, from the
mildest to the most intense. This may be termed the table land
or platform, where spring the great rent holes of the subterranean
fire or numerous volcanoes. The general appearance is that of the
channel of an immense river heaved up. In some places the

SJcetch of the Life of Mr, David Douglas. 331

round boulders of lava are so regularly placed, and the sand is
so washed in around them, as to give the appearance of a cause-
way, while in others, the lava seems to have run like a stream.
We commenced the ascent of the great peak at nine o'clock, on
the N. E. side, over a ridge of tremendously rugged lava, four
hundred and seventy feet high, preferring this course to the very
steep ascent of the south side, which consists entirely of lava,
ashes, and scoriae, and we gained the summit soon after ten. Though
exhausted with fatigue before leaving the table land, and much
tried by the increasing cold, yet such was my ardent desire to
reach the top, that the last portion of the way seemed the easiest.
This is the loftiest of the chimneys : a lengthened ridge of two
hundred and twenty one yards two feet running nearly straight
N. W. To the north, four feet below the extreme summit of the
peak, the barometer was instantly suspended, the cistern being
exactly below, and when the mercury had acquired the tempera-
ture of the circumambient air, the following register was entered
at 11 h. 20 m.; bar. 18.362 in.; air 33° ; hygr. 0" 5. At 12
o'clock the horizon displayed some snowy clouds ; until this period
the view was sublime to the greatest degree, but now every ap-
pearance of a mountain storm come on. The whole of the low
S. E. point of the island was throughout the day covered like a
vast plain of snow with clouds. The same thermometer laid on
the bare lava, and exposed to the wind at an angle of 27° ex-
pressed at first 37^ and afterwards at 12 o'clock 41°, thou^-h
when held in the hand, exposed to the sun, it did not rise at all.
It may well be conjectured that such an immense mass of heatino-
material, combined with the influence of internal fire, and taken
in connexion with the insular position of Mouna Kuah, surroun-
ded by an immense ocean of water, will have the effect of raising
the snow line considerably : except on the northern declivity, or
where sheltered by large blocks of lava, there was no snow to be
seen : even on the top of the cairn where the barometer was fixed,
there were only a few handsful. One thing struck me as curious,
the apparent non-diminution of sound, not as respects the rapidity
of its transmission, which is, of course, subject to a well known
law. Certain it is, that on mountains of inferior elevation, whose
summits are clothed with perpetual snow and ice, we find it need-
ful to roar into one another's ears, and the firing of a gun, at a
short distance, does not disturb the timid antelope on the high
snowy peaks of N, W. America. Snow is doubtless a non-con-

332 STcetch of the Life of Mr. David Douglas,

due tor of sound, but there may be also something in tbe mineral
substance of Mouna Kuab which would effect this,"

'' Were the traveller permitted to express the emotions he feels-
when placed on such an astonishing part of the earth's surface,
cold indeed must his heart be, to the great operations of nature^
and still colder towards nature's God, by whose wisdom and power
such wonderful scenes were created, if he could behold them
without deep humility and reverential awe. Man feels himself as
nothing, as if standing on the verge of another world. The death
like stillness of the place, not an animal nor an insect to be seen^
far removed from the din and bustle of the world, the whole im-
presses on his mind with double force, the extreme helplessness of
his condition ; an object of pity and compassion, he feels utterly
unworthy to stand in the presence of a great and good, and wise
and holy God, and to contemplate the diversified works of his
hands !"

We find the description of the visit to the great crater of
Mouna Roa, undertaken a few days afterwards possessed of even
still greater interest, while some amusing traits of the natives are
touched upon. We shall therefore draw more largely from this, the
last it may be called, of the written work of the lamented Douglas,

" On the 22nd of January, the air being pleasant, and the sun
occasionally visible, I had all my packages assorted by nine A. M.
and engaged my old guide Honori, and nine men to accompany
me to the volcano and to Mouna Roa. As usual there was a for-
midable display of luggage, consisting of papas, calahasheSj
poe, tar a &c., while each individual provided himself with the
solace of a staff of sugar cane, which shortens with the distance,
for the pedestrian when tired and thirsty sits down and bites off an
inch or two from the end of his staff. A friend accompanied me
as far as his house on the road, where there is a large church, his
kind intention being to give me some provision for the excursion,
but as he was a stout person I soon out-stripped him. On leaving
the bay, we passed through a fertile spot, consisting of pare
patches in ponds, where the ground is purposely overflowed and
afterwards covered with a deep layer of fern leaves to keep it
damp. Here were fine groves of bread fruits, and ponds of mullet
and ava-fish. The scenery is beautiful, being studded with dwel-
lings, and better plantations of vegetables, and of Monis papyAfera
of which there are two kinds, one much whiter than the other.
The most striking feature in the vegetation consists in the tree-

SJcetch of the Life of Mr* David Douglas. 333

fern, same smaller species of the same tribe, and a curious kind
of composite, like an Eupatorium. At about four miles and a
half from the bay, we entered the wood, through which there is
a tolerably cleared path, the muddy spot being rendered passable
by the stems or trunks of tree fems, laid close together crosswise.
They seemed to be the same species I had observed on the ascent
to Mouna Kuah. About an hours walk brought us throuGrh the
wood, and we then crossed another open plain of three miles and a
half at the upper end of which, in a most beautiful situation, stand
the church, and close to it, the chief's house. Some heavy showers
had drenched us through ; still, as soon as our friend arrived, and
the needful arrangements were made, I started, and continued
the ascent, over a very gently rising ground, in a southerly direc-
tion, passing through some delightful country, interspersed with low
timber. At night we halted at a house, of which the owner was a
very civil person^ though remarkably talkative. Four old women
were inmates of the same dwelling, one of whom, eighty years of
age, with hair white as snow, was engaged in feeding two favorite
cats with fish. My little terrier disputed the fare with them, to
the no small annoyance of their mistress. A well looking young
female amused me with sino;ino', while she was ensrao-ed in the
process of cooking a dog on heated stones. I also observed a
handsome young man whose very strong stiff black hair was allow-
ed to grow to a great length on the top of his head, while it was
cut close over the ears, and falling down on the back of his head
and neck had all the appearance of a Roman helmet."

'' January the 23rd. This morning the old lady was engaged in
feeding a dog with fox-like-ears, instead of her cats. She compelled
the poor animal to swallow poe, by cramming it into his
mouth, and what he put out at the sides, she took up and ate
herself ; this she did as she informed me by way of fattening the
dog for food. A little while before day break my host went to the
door of the lodge, and after calling over some extraordinary words
which would seem to set orthography at defiance a loud grunt
in response from under the thick shade of some adjoining tree
ferns was followed by the appearance of a fine large black pig, which
coming at his master's call was forthwith caught and killed for
the use of myself and my attendants. The meet was cooked on
heated stones, and three men were kindly sent to carry it to the

* HidsBay.

334 Sketch of the Life of Mr. David Douglas,

volcano, a distance of twenty-three miles, tied up in the large
leaves of Banana and Ti-tree. The morning was deliciously cool
and clear with a light breeze. Immediately on passing through
a narrow belt of wood, where the timber was large and its
trunks matted with parasitic ferns, I arrived at a tract of ground,
over which there was but a scanty covering of soil above the
lava, interspersed with low bushes and ferns. Here I beheld
one of the grandest scenes imaginable; Mouna Roa reared his
bold front, covered with snow, far above the region of verdure
while Mouna Roa was similarly clothed, to the timber region
on the south side, while the summit was cleared of the snow that
had fallen on the nights of the 12th and two following days.
The district of Hido, " Byron's Bay," which I had quitted the
previous day, presented, from its great moisture, a truly lovely
appearance, contrasting in a striking manner with the country
where I then stood, and which extended to the sea, whose surface
bore evident signs of having been repeatedly ravaged by volcanic
fires. In the distance, to the south-west, the dense black clqud
which overhangs the volcano, attests, amid the otherwise un-
sullied purity of the sky, the mighty operations at present going
on in that immense laboratory. The lava, throughout the whole
district, appeared to be of every colour and shape, compact,
bluish and black, porous, or vesicular, heavy and light. In some
places it lies in regular lines and masses, resembling narrow ho-
rizontal basaltic columns ; in others, in tortuous forms, or ga-
thered into rugged humps of small elevation ; while, scattered
over the whole plain, are numerous extinct, abrupt, generally cir-
cular craters, varying in height from one hundred to three hun-
dred feet, and with about an equal diameter at their tops. At
the distance of five miles from the volcano, the country is more
rugged, the fissures in the ground being both larger and more
numerous, and the whole tract covered with gravel and lava, &c.,
ejected at various periods from the crater. The steam that now
arose from the cracks bespoke our near approach to the summit
and at two p- m., I arrived at its northern extremity, where find-
ing it nearly level, and observing that water was not far distant,
I chose that spot for my encampment. As however the people
were not likely to arrive before the evening, I took a walk round
the west side, now the most active part of the volcano, and sat
down there, not correctly, speaking, to enjoy, but to gaze with
wonder and amazement on this terrific sight, which inspired the

Sketch of the Life of Mr, David Douglas, 335

beholder with a fearful pleasure. From the descriptions of for-
mer visitors, I judge that Mouna Roa must now be in a state of
comparative tranquillity. A lake of liquid fire, in extent about a
thirteenth part of the whole crater, was boiling with furious agi-
tation ; not constantly, however, for at one time it appeared calm
and level, the numerous fiery red streaks on its surface alone
attesting its state of ebullition, when again, the red hot lava
would dart upwards and boil with terrific grandeur, spouting to a
heiglit wdiich from the distance at which I stood I calculated to
be from forty to seventy feet, when it would dash violently
against the black ledge, and then subside again for a few mo-
ments. Close by the fire was a chimney above forty feet high,
which occasionally discharges its steam, as if all the steam-engines
in the world were concentrated in it. This preceded the tranquil
state of the lake which is situated near the south-west or smaller
end of the crater. In the centre of the great crater, a second
lake of fire, of circular form, but smaller dimensions, was boil-
ing W'ith equal intensity : the noise was dreadful beyond all des-
cription. The people having arrived, Honori last, my tent was
pitched twenty yards back from the perpendicular wall of the
crater ; and as there was an old hut of Ti leaves on the interme-
diate bank, only six feet from the extreme verge, my people
soon repaired it for their own use. As the sun sunk behind the
western flank of Mouna Roa, the splendour of the scene increas-
ed ; but when the nearly full moon rose in a cloudless sky, and
shed her silvery brightness on the fiery lake, roaring and boiling
in fearful majesty, the spectacle became so commanding, that I
lost a fine night for making astronomical observations by gazing
on the volcano, the illumination of which was but little diminish
ed by a thick haze that set in at midnight. On Friday, January
the 24th, the air was delightfully clear and I was enabled to
take the bearings of the volcano and adjoining o*bjects with great
exactness. To the north of the crater are numerous cracks and
fissures in the ground, varying in size, form and depth, some
long, some straight, round or twisted, from whence steam con-
stantly issued, which in two of them is rapidly condensed, and
collects in small basins or wells one of which is situated at the
immediate edge of the crater, and the other four hundred and
eighty yards to the north of it. The latter fifteen inches deep,
and three feet in diameter, about thirteen feet north of a very
large fissure, according to my thermometer, compared with that

336 Sketch of the Life of Mr, David Doiiglas,

at Greenwicli and at the Royal Society, and found without error,
maintains a temperature of 65°. The same instrument, sus-
pended freely in the above mentioned fissure, ten feet from the
surface, expressed, by repeated trials 158°; and an equal tempe-
rature was maintained when it was nearly level ^vith the surface.
When the Islanders visit this mountain they invariably carry on
their cooking operations at this place. Some pork and a fowl
that T had brought, together with taro-root and sweet potatoes,
were steamed here to a nicety in twenty seven minutes, having
been tied up in leaves of Banana. On the sulphur bank are
many fissures which continnally exhale sulphurous vapours and
form beautiful prisms, those deposited in the inside being the
most delicate and varied in figure, encrusting the hollows in
masses, both large and small resembling swallows' nests on the
wall of a building. When severed from the rock or group they
emit a crakling noise by the contraction of the parts in the pro-
cess of cooling. The great thermometer placed in the holes,
showed the temperature to be 195^.5', after repeated trials, which
all agreed together, the air being then Yl®."

" I had furnished shoes for those persons who should descend
into the crater, with me but none of them could walk when so
equipped, preferring a mat sole made of tough leaves, and
fastened round the heel and between the toes, which seemed
indeed to answer the purpose entirely well. Accompanied by
three individuals, I proceeded at one p. m., along the north side,
and descended the first ledge over such rugged ground as be-
spoke a long state of repose, the fissures and flanks being clothed
with verdure of considerable size; thence we ascended two hun-
dred feet to the level platform that divides the great and small
volcanoes."

" On the left, a perpendicular rock three hundred feet above
the level, shows the extent of the volcano to have been originally
much greater than it is at present. The small crater appears to
have enjoyed a long period of tranquillity, for down to the very
crust of the lava, particularly on the east side, there are trees of
considerable size, on which I counted from sixty to one hundred
and twenty four annual rings or concentric layers. The lava at
the bottom flowed from a spot, nearly equidistant from the great
and small craters, both uniting into a river from forty to seventy
yards in breadth and which appears comparatively recent. A
little south of this stream, over a dreadfully rugged bank I des-

Sketch of the Life of Mr, David Douglas. 337

cended the first ledge of the crater, and proceeded for tliree hun-
dred yards over a level space, composed of ashes, scorise, and
large stones that have been ejected from the mouth of the vol-
cano. The stream formerly described is the only fluid lava here.
Hence to arrive at the black ledge, is another descent of about
two hundred and forty feet, more diflScult to be passed than any
other, and this brings the traveller to the brink of the black
ledge, where a scene of all that is terrific to behold presents it-
self before his eyes. He sees a vast basin, recently in a state of
igneous fusion, now, in cooling, broken up, somewhat in the
manner of the great American lades, when the ice gives way, in
some places level in large sheets, elsewhere rolled in tremendous
masses, and twisted into a thousand different shapes, sometimes
even being filamentose, like fine hair, but all displaying the
mighty agency still existing in this immense depository of sub-
terraneous firei A most uncomfortable feeling is experienced
when then traveller becomes aware that the lava is hollow and
faithless beneath his tread. Of all sensations in nature, that pro-
duced by earthquakes or volcanic agency, is the most alarming :
the strongest nerves are unstrung, and the most courageous mind
feels weakened and unhinged, when exposed to either. How in-
significant are the operations of man's hands, taken in their vastest
extent, when compared with the magnitude of the works of God ! "

" On the black ledge, the thermometer held in the hand, five
feet from the ground, indicated a temperature of 89°, and when
laid on the Lava, in the sun's rays, 115°, and 112° in the shade ;
on the bank of the burning Lake, at the south end, it rose to
124°. Over some fissures in the Lava, where the smoke was of
a greyish rather than a blue tinge, the thermometer stood at 94°.
I remained for upwards of two hours in the crater, suffering all
the time an intense headache, with my pulse strong and irregular,
and my tongue parched, together with other symptoms of fever.
The intense heat and sulphurous nature of the ground had corro-
ded my shoes so much, that they barely protected my feet from
the hot lava. I ascended out of the crater at the south-west or
small end, over two steep banks of scoriae, and two ledges of rock,
and returned by the west side to my tent, having thus walked
quite round this mighty crater."

"Saturday, Jan. 25th. I slept soundly until 2, a.m., when, as
not a speck could be seen on the horizon, and the moon was un-
usually bright, I rose with the intention of making some lunar

338 Sketch of the Life of Mr. David Douglas,

observations ; but though the thermometer stood at 41°, still the
keen mountain breeze affected me so much, of course mainly
owing to the fatigue and heat I had suffered the day before, that
I was reluctantly obliged to relinquish the attempt, and being un-
able to settle again to sleep, I replenished my blazing stock of
fuel, and sat gazing on the roaring and agitated state of the cra-
ter, where three new fires had burst out since ten o'clock the pre-
ceding evening. Poor Honori, my guide, who is a martyr to
asthma, was so much affected by their exhalations (for they were
on the north bank, just below my tent) that he coughed inces-
santly the whole night, and complained of cold, though he was
wrapt in my best blanket, besides his own tapas, and some other
articles that he had borrowed from my Woakee man. The latter
slept with his head towards the fire, coiled up most luxuriously,
and neither cold, heat, nor the roaring of the volcano, at all dis-
turbed his repose."

On his descent from the Yolcano Mr. Douglas describes some
extensive caves.

"Among the grassy undulating ground are numerous caves,
some of great magnitude from forty to sixty-five feet high, and
from thirty to forty feet broad, many of them of great length
like gigantic arches, and very rugged. These generally run at
right angles with the dome of Mouna Roa and the sea. Some of
those natural tunnels may be traced for several miles in length
with occasional holes of different sizes in the roofs, screened
sometimes with an overgrowth of large trees and ferns, which ren-
ders walking highly dangerous. At other places the vaults have
fallen in for the space of one hundred or even three hundred yards,
an occurrence which is attributable to the violent earthquakes
that sometimes visit this district. The inhabitants convert these
caverns to use in various ways ; employing them occasionally as
permanent dwellings, but more frequently as cool retreats, where
they carry on the process of making native cloth, from the bark
of the mulberry tree, or where they fabricate and shelter their
canoes from the violent rays of the sun."

" They are also used fcr goat-folds and pig-styes, and the fallen
in places, where there is a greater depth of decomposed vegeta-
ble matter, are frequently planted with tobacco, Indian corn,
melons, and other choice plants. At a distance of ten miles north
of Kapupala, and near the edge of the path, are some fine caverns
above sixty feet deep. The water dropping from the top of the

/

Sketch of the Life of Mr. David Donglas, 339

vault collected into small pools below, indicated a temperature of
50^, the air of the cave being 51°, while in the shade on the out-
side the thermometer stood at 82*^. The interior of the moist
caverns are of most beautiful appearance; not only from the sin-
gularity of their structure, but because they are delightfully
fringed with ferns, mosses, and jungermannise, thus holding out to
the Botanist a most inviting retreat from the overpowering rays
of a tropical sun."

At Kapupala the traveller having apologized to the worthy
chief for declining an invitation to abide in a nice dwelling pre-
pared for him, preferring a spot retired from the disagreeables of
the village, he is presented with a fowl cooked on heated stones
underground, some baked tara, and sweet potatoes, together with
a calabash full of delicious goat's-milk, poured through the husk of
a cocoa nut, in lieu of a sieve. On the morrow of the 2Gth, it
being Sunday, Honori, the guide, ofiSciates as preacher. In the
interval between services the school house was visited.

" I visited the school in the interval, when Honori had retired
to compose his second sermon, and found the assemblage under
the direction of the chief, who appears to be a good man, though
far from an apt scholar ; they were reading the second chapter of
the Epistle to the Galatians. The females were by far the most
attentive, and proved themselves the readiest learners. It is most
gratifying to see far beyond what is called the pale of civilization,
this proper sanctification of the Lord's day, not only consisting in
a cessation from the ordinary duties, but in reading and reflecting
upon the purifying and consolatory doctrines of Christianity. The
women were all neatly dressed in the native fashion, except the
chief's wife and some few others, who wore very clean garments
of calico. The hair was either arranged in curls, or braided on
the temples, and adorned with tortoise-shell combs of their own
making, and chaplets of balsamic flowers, the peaflowering racemes
of the maurarii tree, and feathers, &c. The men were all in the
national attire, and looked tolerably well dressed, except a few of
the old gentlemen."

" The schoolmaster, a litttle hump- backed man, about thirty
years old, little more than three feet high, with disproportionately
long legs, and having a most peculiar cast in his right eye, failed
not to prompt and reprove his scholars, when necessity required,
in remarkably powerful tones of voice, which, when he read, pro-
duced a trumpet-like sound, resembling the voice of a person
bawling into a cask."

340 Sketch of the Life of Mr, David Douglas,

" Honori had tlie people called together, by the sound of a
conch shell, blown by a little imp of a lad, perched on a block of
lava in front of the school house, when, as in the morning, he
*' lectured" on the third chapter of St. John."

On Tuesday, the 28th January he again moves from Kapupala
upwards, for a sight of the highest peak of Mouna Roa.

" Among my attendants was one singular looking personage, a
stripling, who carried a small packet of instruments, and trotted
away in a " cutty sark," of scanty longitude, the upper portion of
which had been once of white, and the lower of red flannel.
Honori brought up the rear, with a small telescope slung over his
shoulder, and an umbrella, which owing perhaps to his asthmatic
complaint, he never fails to carry with him, both in fair and foul
weather."

" At eleven, a.m., we came to a small pool of fresh water, col-
lected in the lava, the temperature of which was 55° ; here my
people halted for a few minutes to smoke. The barometer stood
at 26 inches, the air 62°, and the dew point at SS*^. The wind
was from the south, with a gentle fanninp- breeze and a clear skv.
Hence the path turns north-west for a mile and a half, be-
coming a little steeper, till it leads to a beautiful circular
well, three feet deep, flowing in the lava, its banks fringed
with Strawberry vines, and shaded by an Acacia Tree
Grove. Here we ao-ain rested for half an hour. I would re-
commend to any Naturalists who may in future visit this
mountain, to have their canteens filled at the well just mentioned,
for my guide, trusting to one which existed in a cave further up,
and which he was unable to find, declined to provide himself
with this indispensable article at the lower well, and we were con-
sequently put to the greatest inconvenience. Among the brush
wood was a strong kind of raspberry bush, destitute of leaves ;
the fruit I am told is white. At 4 p. m. we arrived at a place
where the lava suddenly became rugged, and the brushwood low,
where we rested and chewed Sugar Cane, (of which we carried
a large supply), and where the guides were anxious to remain all
night. As this was not very desirable, since we had no water, I
proceeded for an hour longer, to what might be called the line of
Shrubs, and at two miles and a half further on, encamped for the
night. We collected some small stems of a heath-like plant, which
with the dried stalks of the same species of composite which I
observed on Mouna Kuah, afi'orded a tolerably good fire. The

Sketch of the Life of Mr. David Douglas, 341

man who carded the provisions, did not make his appearance —
indeed it is very difficult except by literally driving them before
you, to make the natives keep up with an active traveller. Thus
I had to sup upon Taro Roots. Honori as I expected, did not
come up. I had no view of the surrounding country for the
region below, especially over the land, was covered with a thick
layer of fleecy mist, and the cloud which always hovers above
the great volcano, overhung the horizon, and rose into the air like
a great -tow^er. Sunset gave a totally different aspect to the
whole, the fleecy clouds changed their hue to a vapoury tint, and
the volume of mist above the volcanoes, which is silvery bright
during the prevalence of sunshine, assumed a fiery aspect, and
illumined the sky for many miles around. A strong north-west
mountain breeze sprung up, and the stars, especially Canopus and
Sirius, shone with unusual brilliancy. Never even under a tro-
pical sky did I behold so many stars. Sheltered by a little brush-
wood, I lay down on the lava beside the fire, and enjoyed a good
night's rest, while my attendants, swarmed together in a small
cave, which they literally converted into an oven by the immense
fire they kindled in it."

" Wednesday, January 29th. — The morning rose bright and clear,
but cold, from the influence of a keen mountain breeze. As the man
who carried the provisions was still missing, the preparation of
breakfast occupied but little time, so that accompanied by the Bird
Catcher and " Cutty Sark," I started at half past six for the sum-
mit of the mountain, leaving the others to collect fuel, and to
look for water. Shortly before day-break the sky was exceeding-
ly clear and beautiful, especially that part of the horizon where
the sun rose, and above which the upper rim of his Disc was visi-
ble like a thread of gold, soon to be quenched in a thick haze,
which was extended over the horizon. It were difficult, nay
almost impossible to describe the beauty of the sky, and the glo-
rious scenes of this day. The lava is terrible beyond description
and our track lay over ledges of the roughest kind, in some places
glassy and smooth like slag from the furnace, compact and heavy
like basalt ; in others tumbled into enormous mounds, or sunk in
deep valleys, or rent into fissures, ridges, and clefts. This was at
the verge of the snow — not twenty yards of the whole space
could be called level or even. In every direction vast holes or
mouths are seen, varying in size, form, and color, from ten to
seventy feet high. The lava that has been vomited forth from

342 Sketch of the Life of Mr, David Douglas,

these openings presents a truly novel spectacle. From some, and
occasionally indeed from the same mouth, the streams may be
seen pressed forward transversely, or in curved segments, while
other channels present a floating appearance ; occasionally the
circular tortuous masses resemble gigantic cables, or are drawn
into cords, or even capillary threads, finer than any silken thread,
and carried to a great distance by the wind. The activity of these
funnels may be inferred from the quantity of slag lying round
them, its size, and the distance to which it has been thrown.
Walking was rendered dangerous by the multitude of fissures,
many of which are but slightly covered by a thin crust, and every
where our progress was exceedingly laborious and fatiguing. As
we continued to ascend, the cold and fatigue disheartened the
Islanders, who required all the encouragement I could give, to
induce them to proceed. As I took the lead, it was needful for me
to look behind me continually, for when once out of sight, they
would pop themselves down, and neither rise nor answer to my
call. After resting for a few minutes at the last station, I pro-
ceeded about seven miles further, over a similar kind of forma-
tion, till I came to a sort of low ridge, the top of which I gained
soon after eleven p.m., the thermometer indicating 37°, and the
sky very clear. This part was of gradual ascent, and its summit
might be considered the southern part of the dome. The snow
became very deep, and the influence of the sun melting its crust,
which concealed the sharp points of the lava, was very unfavora-
ble to my progress. From this place to the north, towards the
centre of the dome, the hill is more flattened. Rested a short
time, and a few minutes before noon, halted near the highest black
shaggy chimney, to observe the sun's passage. In recording the
following observations, I particularly note the places, in order
that future visitors may be able to verify them. To the S. W. of
this chimney, at the distance of one hundred and seventy yards
stands a knoll of lava, about seventy feet above the gradual rise
of the place. The altitude was 104°. 52'. 45'^ This observation
was made under highly favorable circumstances, on a horizon of
Mercury without a roof, it being protected from the wind by a
small oil cloth — bar. 18°. 953". therm. 51° ; in the sun s rays
43*=*. 5', and where buried in the snow 31°., the dew point at 7°. ! !
Wind, S. W. The summit of this extraordinary mountain is so
flat, that from this point no part of the Island can be seen, not
even the high peaks of Mouna Kuah, nor the distant horizon of

Sketch of the Life of Mr. David Douglas. 343

the sea, though the sky was remarkably clear. It is a horizon of
itself, and about seven miles in diameter. I ought, ere now, to
have said that the Bird Catcher's knowledge of the volcanoes did
not rise above the woody region, and now he and my two other
followers were unable to proceed further. Leaving these three
behind, and accompanied by only Calipso, I went on about two
miles and a half, when the great terminal volcano or cone of
Mouna Roa burst on my view : all my attempts to scale the black
ledge here were ineffectual, as the fissures in the lava were so
much concealed, though not protected, by the snow, that the un-
dertaking was accompanied with great danger. Most reluctantly
was I obliged to return, without being able to measure accurately
its extraordinary depth. From this point I walked along upon
the brink of the high ledge, along the east side, to the hump, so
to speak, of the mountain, the point, which, as seen from Mouna
Kuah, appears the highest. As I stood on the brink of the ledge
the wind whirled up from the cavity with such furious violence
that I could scarcely keep my footing within twenty paces of it.
The circumference of the black ledge of the nearly circular cra-
ter, described as nearly as my circumstances would allow me to
ascertain, is six miles and a quarter. The ancient crater has an
extent of about 24 miles. The depth of the ledge from the high-
est part (perpendicular station on the east side) by an accurate
measurement with a line and plummet, is twelve hundred and
seventy feet. It appears to have filled up considerably all round ;
that part to the north of the circle seeming to have, at no very
remote period, undergone the most violent activity, not by boiling
and overflowing, nor by discharging under ground, but by throw-
ing out stones of immense size to the distance of miles around its
opening, together with ashes and sand. Terrible chasms exist at
the bottom, appearing, in some places, as if the mountain had
been rent to its very roots; no termination can be seen to their
depth, even when the eye is aided with a good glass, and the sky
is clear of smoke, and the sun shining brightly. Fearful indeed
must the spectacle have been, when this volcano was in a state of
activity. The part to the south of the circle, where the outlet
of lava has evidently been, must have enjoyed a long period of
repose. Were it not for the dykes on the west end, which shew
the extent of the ancient cauldron, and the direction of the lava,
together with its proximity to the existing volcano, there is little
to arrest the eye of the naturalist over the greater portion of

344 STcetch of the Ijife of Mr, David Douglas,

this huge dome, which is a gigantic mass of slag, scoriae, and
ashes. The barometer remained stationary during the whole pe-
riod spent on the summit, nor was there any change in the tem-
perature or in the dew point to-day. While passing, from
eight to nine o'clock, over the ledges of lava of a more
compact texture, with small but numerous vesicles, the tem-
perature of the air being 3 6°. -3 7°., and the sun shining
powerfully, a sweet musical sound was heard, proceeding from
the cracks and small fissures, like the faint sound of musical
glasses, but having at the same time a kind of hissing sound
like a swarm of bees. This may perhaps be owing to some great
internal fire escaping. Or is it rather attributable to the heated
air on the surface of the rocks, rarified by the sun's rays ? In a
lower region, this sound might be overlooked, and considered to
proceed by possibility, from the sweet harmony of insects, but in
this high attitude it is too powerful and remarkable, not to
attract attention. Though this day was more tranquil than the
12th, when I ascended Mouna Kuah, I could perceive a great
difi'erence in sound : I could not now hear half so far as I did on
that day, when the wind was blowing strong. This might be,
owing to this mountain being covered with snow, whereas on the
12th, Mouna Kuah was clear of it. Near the top I saw one small
bird, about the size of a common sparrow, of a light grey mixed
colour, with a faintly yellow beak — no other living creature met
my view above the woody region. This little creature, which
was perched on a block of lava, was so tame as to permic me to
catch it with my hand, when I instantly restored it its liberty. I
also saw a dead hawk in one of the caves. On the east side of
the black ledge of the Great Terminal Crater, is a small conical
funnel of scoriae, the only vent-hole of that substance, that I
observed in the Crater. This mountain appears to be difi'erently
formed from Mouna Kuah, it seems to be an endless number of
layers of lava, from dififerent overflowings of the great crater.
In the deep caves at Kapupala, two thousand feet above the level
of the sea, the several strata are well defined, and may be accu-
rately traced, varying in thickness with the intensity^of the action,
and of the discharge that has taken place. Between many of
these strata are layers of earth, containing vegetable substances,
some from two feet to two feet seven inches in thickness, which
bespeak a long state of repose between the periods of activity in
the volcano. It is worthy of notice, that the thickest strata are

Slcetch of the Life of Mr, David Douglas. 34-5

generally the lowest, and they become thinner towards the sur-
face. In some places I counted twenty-seven of these layers,
horizontal, and preserving the declination of the mountain. In
the caves which I explored near my camp, which are from forty
to seventy feet deep, thin strata of earth intervene between suc-
cessive beds of lava, but none is found nearer the surface than
thirteen layers. No trace of animal, shell, or fish, could I detect
in any of the caverns or caves, either in this mountain or Mouna
Kuah. At four P. M. I returned to the centre of the dome, where
I found the three men whom 1 have left, all huddling together to
keep themselves warm. After collecting a few specimens of lava,
no time was to be lost in quitting this dreary and terrific scene.
The descent was even more fatiguing, dangerous, and distressing
than the ascent had proved, and required great caution to escape
unhurt : for the natives benumbed with cold, could not walk fast.
Darkness came on all too quickly, and though the twilight is of
considerable duration, I w^as obliged to halt, as I feared, for the
night, in a small cave. Here though sheltered from the N. W.
breeze, which set in more and more strongly, as the sun sunk
below the horizon, the thermometer fell to 19°, and I was yet
far above the line of vegetation, unable to obtain any materials
for fire, and destitute of clothing, except the thin garments soaked
in perspiration, in which I had travelled all day, and which ren-
dered the cold most intense to my feelings. I ventured, between
ten and eleven P. M. to make an effort to proceed to the camp.
Never shall I forget the joy I felt when the welcome moon, for
whose appearance I had long been watching, first shewed herself
above the volcano. The singular form which this luminary pre-
sented, was most striking. The darkened limb was uppermost,
and as I was sitting in darkness, eagerly looking for her appear-
ance on the horizon, I descried a narrow silvery belt 4° to 5<^
high, emerging from the lurid fiery cloud of the volcano. This I
conceived to be a portion of the hght from the fire, but a few
moments shewed me the lovely moon shining in splendour in a
cloudless sky, and casting a guiding beam over my rugged path.
Her pale face actually threw a glow of warmth into my whole
frame, and I joyfully and thankfully rose to scramble over the
rough way, in the solitude of the night, rather than await the
approach of day in this comfortless place. Not so thought my
followers. The bird-catcher and his two companions would not
stir ; so with my trusty man Calipso, who follows me like a
Can. Nat. 8 Vol. V. No. 5.

346 Sketch of the Life of Mr, David Do2iglas.

shadow, I proceeded in the descent. Of necessity we walked
slowly, stepping cautiously from ledge to ledge, but still having
exercise enough to excite a genial heat. The splendid constel-
lation of Orion, which had so often attracted my admiring gaze
in my own native land, and which had shortly passed the meri-
dian was my guide. I continued in a south-east direction till
two o'clock, when all at once I came to a low place, full of stunted
shrubs. Of more robust habit, however than those at the camp, I
instantly struck a light and found by an examination of my barom-
eter, that I was nearly five hundred feet below the camp. No
response was given to our repeated calls. It was evident that no
human being was near, so by the help of the moon's light we
shortly collected plenty of fuel, and kindled a fine fire. JSTo sooner
did its light and warmth begin to diftuse themselves over my
frame, than I found myself instantly seized with violent pain and
inflammation in my eyes, which had been rather painful on the
mountain, from the eftect of the sun's rays shining on the snow ;
a slight discharge of blood from both eyes followed, which gave
me some relief, and which proved that the attack was as much
attributable to violent fatigue as any other cause. Having tasted
neither food nor water since an early hour in the morning, I suf-
fered severely with thirst ; still I slept for a few hours, dreaming
the while of gurgling cascades, overhung with sparkhng rain-
bows, of which the dewy spray moistened my whole body, while
my lips were all the time glued together with thirst, and my
parched tongue almost rattled in my mouth. My poor man
Calipso was also attacked with inflammation in his eyes, and
gladly did we hail the approach of day."

" The sum rose brightly on the morning of Thursda}^, January
30th, and gilding the snow over which w^e had passed, showed
our way to have been infinitely more rugged and precarious, than
it had appeared by moonlight. I discovered that by keeping a
mile and a half too much to the east, we had left the camp nearly
five hundred feet above our present situation; and returning
thither over the rocks, we found Honori engaged in preparing
breakfast. He had himself reached the camp about noon on the
second day. He gave me a calabash full of water, with a large
piece of ice in it, which refreshed me greatly. A few drops of
Laudanum in the eyes afl'orded instant relief both to Calipso and
myself. The man with provision was here also, so we shortly
made a comfortable meal, and immediately after, leaving one man

Sketch of the Life of Mr, David Douglas, 347

behind with some food for the bird-catcher, and his two compa-
nions, we prepared to descend, and started at nine A. M. to
retrace the path by which we had come. Gratified though one
may be at witnessing the wonderful woks of God, such a pricalen
as the summit of this mountain presents, still it is with thankfulness
that we again approach a climate more congenial to our natures,
and welcome the habitations of our fellow men, where we are
refreshed with the scent of vegetation, and soothed by the melody
of birds. When about three miles below the camp, my three
companions of yesterday appeared like mawkins on the craggy
lava, just at the very spot where I had come down. A signal
was made them to proceed to the camp, which was seen and
obeyed, and we proceeded onwards, collecting a good many plants
by the way. Arriving at Strawberry Well, we made a short halt
to dine, and ascertained the barometer to be 25*^ 750' ; air 5*7^ ;
and the well 51°; dew 56°. There were vapouring light clouds
in the sky and a S. W. wind. We arrived at Kapupala at 4 P.M.
The three other men came up at seven, much fatigued, like my-
self. Barometer at Kapupala at 8 P. M. 2*7° 936', air 57° and
the sky clear."

Thus was described for the first time Mouna Roa, within whose
summit and flanks is contained one of the outlets of earth's inte-
rior fires, — an opening to that awful laboratory, of whose opera-
tions we may have a slight glimpse, standing fearfully at a distance,
while our comprehension quails at the attempt to investigate
their causes or origin. In the crater of Mouna Roa, are the deep
caverns, the profound unfathomable abysses, the ceaseless flow of
fiery molten matter, which sometimes glides like a rapid stream
into these abysses, till it is lost to the view, and in other places
surges and boils up into swelling lofty jets, as if impatient of
being pent in by those walls of lava, scoriae, and ashes, which
itself in its own former fury had formed. How vastly deep, ex-
panded, and powerful must be the interior movement that pro-
duces all this ! Well has it been surmised that the dreadful
earthquake originates in the same agency. AVcre the plastic
fluid masses of the active volcano solidified, and crusted over, we
should then have the hollow rumbling and onward wave of the
earthquake, overturning men's habitations like anthills, and no
exit being permitted, the solid granite would be upheaved, and the
foundations of the mountains laid.

Mr. Douglas continued on these Islands botanizing, and was at

348 Sketch of the Life of Mr. David Douglas.

Woalioo in May, from which place he communicated with his
friends in England ; having returned to Hawaii, he was again out
on the south side of Mouna Roa, on the 12th July, 1834, on the
road to Hido. Here he was cautioned to avoid the pits, dug
purposely by the natives, for the taking of wild cattle. Notwith-
standing this friendly warning, it appears he was not sufficiently
on his guard. Some islanders, on the same day, in pursuit of
cattle, perceived one of these pits broken, and on looking in, saw
Mr. Douglas' body at the bottom, with a bullock standing over
it. Assistance being soon had, the animal was shot, and the ill-
fated and amiable naturalist taken out without a sign of life. He
had been miserably bruised and gored to death. There had been
three pits at this spot, close to some water, two upon the line of
the path, and another to one side. On examination, it appeared
as if the unfortunate traveller had looked at the two on the road,
in one of which was a cow ; that he had afterwards proceeded
about thirty paces, and then leaving his bundle and little dog,,
had turned back to the third pit, in which there happened to be
another animal. He must have approached this too incautiously,
and either by the earth giving way, or by a false step have fallen
in, and came into the power of the enraged beast. Amid those
scenes which he loved so well, but far from human help, so per-
ished one devoted to science, and who in a few years, and with
slender means had accomplished much in her cause. He had
been successful to a high degree in gratifying the lovers of bo-
tany by his discoveries, and in adding to the pleasures of those
tender hearts who delight in the floral riches of the garden.
His contributions had been not so much of a kind to increase
largely the number of hot house plants, but rather of those that
with a little early warmth and protection, will flourish out of
doors in a temperate climate. On this account, therefore, he
may be considered to have contributed more abundantly to the
amount of amusement and to the benefits of social life. He
added to the enjoyment of all those who can aff'ord to have a
patch of soil, however small, around their humble dwellings. In
this manner has been encouraged the pursuit of a gentle art, the
study of which softens the heart and improves the mind, or in
the beautiful words of the poet, " Emollit mores, nee sinit esse
feros."

The remains of the deceased were conveyed to Woahoo, on
the 3rd August, examined by a medical gentleman, and next day

The Acton Coj^jfcr Mines. 349

consigned to tlie narrow house, the grave, in the presence of
Richard Charlton, Esq., British Consul, Captain Seymour, and
officers of the Challenger, and all the foreign residents at the
place. Lament may be allowed for David Douglas. Through
eleven years of toil and hardship, danger, difficulty, and loss, he
had strenuously worked his way, following his vocation with a
devoted spirit and undaunted courage. He feared God, was be-
loved by his friends, and esteemed by all who ever had the hap-
piness of knowing him. An inscrutable decree cut him down as
he grasped the laurel of wordly fame. Fleeting though that may
often be, still the noble qualities of his soul hold fresh impres-
sions on the memory of his friends, and his worth as a useful
member of society, and practical botanist, will live and be felt
while the study and cultivation of plants and flowers remain
pleasing and beneficial to mankind. G. B.

ARTICLE XLV. — A Holiday Visit to the Acton Copper Mines.
By one of the Editors.

Before entering upon the special subject of this paper, we shall
explain to our readers in what place within the Province of Cana-
da these mines may be found. If, then, we start from the termi-
nus of the Grand Trunk Railway at Montreal, and crossing the
far-famed Victoria Bridge take the road towards Portland, we get
upon the highway to the village of Acton. Travelling thus in a
direction a little north of east we pass over the beautiful plains
of the county of Chambly and the still more lovely valley of the
Yamaska, which, were they cultivated with any degree of skill,
or intelligence, would rival for productiveness the prairies of the
west, and yield immense wealth to their owners and the country.
As it is, the fields are for the most part miserably neglected — the
«oil is apparently wrought-out and impoverished by frequent crop-
ping— the grain crops are very scanty, and the herbage of the
pasture lands is little more than stunted Canada thistles. Lean
men and lean kine pick up a poor subsistence on these wasted
meadows of this fine county. So thoroughly has the land been
cleared that bush or tree of any kind is scarcely to be seen, and
even fences are few and far between. The old timber has long
ago been swept away, root and branch ; and the i lea of planting
trees for shelter, beauty or fuel, has not yet entered the rustic
minds of the happy /ia6ito?js. As we near the river Yamaska ,

350 The Acton Copyer Mines,

the scenery becomes certainly more picturesque. Clumps of wood
and fertile fields relieve the eyes, and to the right the Beloeil
Mountain rises in front almost sheer out of the plain. Its abrupt
and sloping sides are at this season luxuriantly clothed with softest
verdure. This great intrusive mass of trappean rock is an object
of striking beauty and one of the choicest retreats for the lovers
of Nature. Its geological structure and character indicate
without mistake the peculiar disturbances to which this
region of country was subjected during the ancient Silurian
period. Obtruded into the stratified deposits of the locality
in a pasty, if not also in a molten state, and assuming a crystalline
character, it has withstood for ages — an everlasting mountain —
the destructive forces to the action of which it has been exposed.
The bluff" and rugged appearance of its north-eastern side and its
gradual slope to the south-west indicate that during the tertiary
age it was washed by the waters of the northern ocean. As the
land gradually rose from the bed of the deep it stood as one of
a group of small islands amid a waste of waters bearing on their
bosom flows, and bergs oC ice. But many a change has passed
over the earth's surface since these very ancient days. For ages
Beloeil has stood as it now appears an outpost sentinel of the
Mountains of Vermont. It has lono; looked over the fertile
valley of the St. Lawrence. It has been the abode of the wolf,
the bear and concolor, and the camping ground of the wild Indian.
Civilization has for half a century at least driven these away from
its precincts and it is now a pleasant resort of the summer tourist.
For the botanist no place can be more delightful or richer of
results. Its flora comprises a great part of the plants that are
peculiar to the northern United States and to Canada. Were it
our purpose now to descant upon this inviting topic we might
say much that would be interesting but we must pass on, however
reluctantly, to our appointed destination. Leaving Beloeil we sight,
in the distance to the west, the conical peak of Mount Johnston
and the huge whale-like elevation of Rougemont. Around us the
land is dry and barren. Farms and clearances are not so com-
mon. Tangled bush and mossy swamp everywhere prevail. "We
pass the flourishing town of St. Hyacinthe and traverse a country
which for many miles has no features of interest, and little to
indicate that it can be of much value for permanent settlements
About seventy miles from Montreal we finally reach the village
of Acton, a station on the line of railway. Once it was a poor and

The Acton Copi^er Mines, ^ 351

little frequented place, but now, thanks to the copper mines, it is full
of vigorous life. There is no beauty about it at all. The country
around it has not to any great extent been cleared. Patches of
cultivated and pasture land here and there nestle in the woods.
Stumps and scrubby bush are on all sides conspicuous features.
The soil is not good ; for the most part it is barren sand and
scarcely worth the labour of cultivation. In some seasons it will
afford good pasturage for which purpose it is most likely to be
henceforth devoted.

The old houses of the hamlet are rapidly being put out of coun-
tenance by new and more pretentious erections. Large buildings
are springing up on every side for stores, work-shops and dwell-
ing-houses. Already wealth is beginning to flow into this hitherto
obscure and neglected place. Its population within the last
few months must have increased seven-fold at least. Signs of
prosperity are everywhere manifest. The barren fields whicb
formerly might have been purchased for an old song, are now
transformed into town-building lots, and rising enormously in
value. According to the course of things in this country the vil-
lage bids fair to become, ere long, a town and the town, in due
course, to be raised to the rank of an incorporated city.

The mines are about half a mile distant to the west from the vil-
lage. The road at first passes over low and swampy ground, part
of which has been cleared. A little way on the road becomes dry
and sandy. About half way there is a considerable ridge of
sand which lies in a direction to the west of south. Hemlock is
the prevailing timber ; sphagnum abounds in the swamps, in
which also there is an undergrowth of curious shrubs and plants.
The region is by no means picturesque but rather the very re-
verse. A lover of beautiful scenery would never think of seeking
it here. A botanist would scarcely think the labour of forcing
his way through swamps, charred stumps, fallen rotten timber, and
prickly branches, repaid even by the pretty and interesting plants
he would pick up. AVith compass in hand we attempted to ex-
plore the surrounding waste, and, except for the novelty of the
thing, it was rather weary work. We satisfied ourselves of this,
however, that the mound of sand runs through the bush in a line
parallel to the limestone rocky ridge, about half a mile to the
west, on the flank of which the mines are found, and may have
been formed, in the process of the elevation of the continent, on
the shores of an ancient estuary.

352 The Acton Copier Mines,

To a geologist this region is, however, very inviting. The
traces of copper which the surface affords are sufficient stimulants
to invite elaborate research. The elevations of the strata with
their curious contortions are themselves interesting. The pros-
pect of finding a fossil among such altered rock-masses by which
the position of the formation in the great Silurian series might
with accuracy be determined, would of itself be an inducement
for the expenditure of much time and labour. As we approach
the mines we are reminded by the traffic of vehicles laden with
kegs heavy with precious ore that we are in the precincts of a
place of unusual industry. The sound of the hammer too rings
pleasantly upon the ear, and the deep hollow noise of constant
blasts awaken interest in the scene. As we reach the termina-
tion of the road between the village and the mines a sight of much
interest opens up to our view. An open space of about a mile in
length and a quarter of a mile in breadth, entirely cleared of tim-
ber, lies before us. It is covered with temporary wooden build-
ings and heaps of broken rocks. Along its whole length it is cut
up by trenches and shafts and deep quarries. In the back ground
there rises a ridge of rock to the height of about 100 feet strewn
with broken masses of stones and crowned with a scanty growth
of bush.

But instead of describing these mines any further ourselves, we
shall take advantage of an exceedingly lucid and succint account
of the locality contained in the " Report of the Geological Survey
of Canada for 1858." We had the pleasure of tracing for our-
selves the topographical descriptions which it contains and verify-
ing their remarkable accuracy.

" The existence of the copper ore on the thirty-second
lot of the third range of Acton was I believe discovered by Mr.
H. P. Merrill, and at the request of Mr. Gushing, the proprietor
of the land, Mr. Hunt visited the locality in August last. As
then seen, before any excavation had been made, the surface
presented an accumulation of blocks of copper ore, evidently in
place, and covering an area of about sixteen paces in length by ten
paces in width. These masses consisted of variegated sulphuret of
copper, intermingled with limestone and a silicious matter,
without any thing like vein-stone, and evidently constituted a
bed subordinate to the limestone, whose strike was about N. E.,
with a dip to the north-west at an angle of about forty degrees.
In continuation of this bed for about seventy paces in either

The Acton Co2)pe7' Mines, 353

direction, the limestone was observed to hold little patches and
seams of variegated ore and yellow pyrites, Avith stains of the
blue or green carbonates of copper. The limestones in the im-
mediate vicinity presented several veins of quartz crossing the
strike, but containing only traces of copper.

"During Mr. Hunt's visit, a small amount of excavation was
made with pick and shovel, and a farther extent of work has been
done since, but though this has not added materially to the
information at first obtained, there can be no doubt, even should
the limits of the deposit extend no farther than those above indi-
cated, that there is here an unusually rich bunch of copper
ore.

" The mine is just half a mile to the south of the Acton station
of the Grand Trunk Railway. The road to it is over a marshy
piece of ground, and it is crossed by one or two low mounds of
yellow sand. At the end of the road, a hill rises to the height
of about 105 feet above the marsh, and descends to a marsh on
the other side. It stands on a base of a quarter of a mile in
width and for nearly one-half the distance is composed of
a sub-crystalline magnesian limestone dipping to the N. W.
with an inclination varying from thirty to forty degrees. The
limestone is light grey in fresh fractures, and weathers to a dull
pale yellowish tint on the exterior. It is in some parts studded
with concretionary nodules consisting of concentric layers of car-
bonate of lime with a transverse fibrous structure. The exterior
of these is of a botryoidal form, and the layers are in some places
partly replaced by chert preserving the fibrous structure. These
nodules very much resemble some concretionary forms of traver-
tine, and the occasional intercalation of magnesian layers in the
nodules makes it probable they are the latter. As stated
by Mr. Hunt the limestone of the hill is intersected by several
small veins of quartz, and one of them, more conspicuous than the
rest, carries traces of the yellow sulphuret of copper and of galena.
The mass of limestone visible, extending a short distance beyond
the summit of the hill, has a thickness of about 270 feet. It is
divided into heavy beds in which irregular masses of chert are
disseminated in unequal quantities in different places, being most
abundant towards the bottom.

" The summit of the limestone from the north-eastern corner
of the lot proceeds south-westward for about thirty chains, and in
the succeeding 300 yards turns gradually south and ultimately a

354 The Acton Copper Mines*

little to tlie east of south before becoming concealed. In the other
direction, after running some distance, it sinks beneath a marsh
on the thirty-first lot of the third range, and again makes its ap-
pearance on the rail road, which it crosses about three quarters
ofa mile to the east of the Acton station, meeting and crossing"
the Black River about 220 yards north of it.

" The rock underlying the hmestone is concealed, but that which
immediately overlies it at the mine, appears from partial exposures
to be a lavender-grey shale or slate with a cleavage independent
of the bedding. In this slate there appear to be irregularly dis-
tributed large masses of a harder rock, which is internally of a
light olive-green, uniformly and finally speckled with darker
green spots looking like serpentine, many of which are surrounded
with a bluish-grey fiilm. The rock under atmospheric influences
becomes light yellowish-brown on the surface, and in its weather-
ing strongly resembles some of the serpentines of the Eastern Town-
ships. Some of the masses measure fifty yards in length by
twenty in breadth, on the north side of the rail road there is one
of twice those dimensions, apparently sunk into the top of the
limestone. Thin layers of the rock occasionally appear to be inter-
stratified evenly among the slates. In thick masses spots of calc
spar are sometimes disseminated, giving the rock a cellular and
somewhat trappean aspect, but there is no evidence that it is in-
trusive and it occasionally assumes the character of a sandstone
with small quartz pebbles running in the direction of the beds.
In the speckled part of the rock very thin partitions of the same
colour and hardness as the darker green spots run in several
directions. These partitions on analysis prove to be a fer-
ruginous chlorite, and the whole rock may be described as a
hydrous silicate of alumina with much iron and magnesia.

" These slates and harder masses have a thickness of about
eighty-five feet. They are succeeded by isolated masses of lime-
stone of various sizes and somewhat rounded or lenticular forms,
some of them attaining magnitudes of thirty yards in length by
by twenty in breadth, and even eighty yards in length by ten in
breadth. As seen on the surface they present a succession of
protruding lumps, which run in a line parallel with the summit of
the limestone, turning with it to the southward at the south-west-
ern part of the exposures. These calcareous masses consist of
grey limestone made up of irregular and apparently broken beds
and rounded forms, and bold irregular ragged pieces of chert in

The Acton Copper Mines. 355

more or less abundance, with, strings and spots of calc spar.
The serpentine-like rock sometimes appears to surround these cal-
careous masses.

" The copper ore appears to occupy a position immediately near
the isolated masses of limestone, and very little of it to penetrate
into the serpentine-like rock or the slate. Indications of it occur
on both sides of the calcareous masses and in some places can be
traced as if surrounding them ; but the chief part appears to be be-
neath them and intermediate between them and the slates and ser-
pentine-like rock. The ore consists of the pyritous, variegated and
vitreous sulphurets of copper, the second species being the most
abundant and the third more abundant than the first. The
green carbonate also occurs, but it must be regarded as a second-
dary product formed at the surface and in cracks. The chief ex-
cavation has been made in a cross-cut running S. 45 E., which is
at right angles to the strike. The depth excavated is from four
to eight feet, and the following is the succession of masses met
with in the cross-cut, given in a descending order and reduced to
vertical thickness for horizontal measurement.

Feet.

1. Limestone ; this may be a boulder deeply sunk in the

soil but it is supposed to be in place and to belong to

one of the isolated masses of the stratification 3

Concealed &

Limestone in place, belonging to one of the isolated mas-
ses ; small irregular spots of the pyritous sulphuret of
copper occur in the rock ; this is probably part of the
same mass as the first three feet and the concealed three
feet would also be a part, making the whole 8 feet. ... 2"

2. Variegated sulphuret of copper enclosing numerous angu-

lar fragments of limestone in irregular aggregations ;
this mass dipped with the stratification, but thinned out
and terminated downwards 2

3. Limestone broken in various sized angular fragments by a

number of reticulating cracks of from one quarter of an
inch to three inches in width, and filled with variegated
sulphuret of copper, with spots of white crystalline calc
spar and occasional crystals of transparent quartz IS'

4. Breccia or conglomerate with a paste composed of variegat-

ed and vitrious sulphurets of copper mingled with fine
grained silicious matter, enclosing fragments of lime-

356 Tlte Acton Copjfer Mines,

stone, some angular and some rounded ; some of them
almost wholly calcareous and others largely silicious.
The sulphurets of copper run in parallel clouded streaks,
the clouded character being occasioned by the presence
of more or less silicious matter mingled with the steel-
grey and the purple of the two sulphurets 4

5. Limestone 2

6. Copper breccia or conglomerate of the same characters

as before 4

Y. Limestone 3

8. Slate with traces of copper (green carbonate on the

surface) , - 12

9. Serpentine-like rock 14

10. Slate with traces of copper (green carbonate on the

surface) ._ 4

11. Concealed to the limestone 25

93 ft.

" The thickness of fifteen feet given to the brecciated limestone
of JSTo. 3 is deduced from a horizontal measurement of ten yards
across the strike and a supposed slope of thirty degrees, which is
about the dip of the bed and of the strata where it can be made
out in the vicinity. But no clear indication of bedding is visible
in the body of the breccia, and as the excavation across it is yet
only two feet deep, it may hereafter be proved that by some ir-
regularity the slope is less than thirty degrees ; in that case the
thickness would have been reduced in proportion to the dim-
inution of the slope. If the slope should be eighteen degrees the
thickness will be ten feet.

" The two breccia or conglomerate beds numbered 4 and 6 con-
tain the great body of the copper ore. On the strike these beds
are exposed for about eight yards to the south-west. There is then
an interruption by the presence of a wall of the serpentine-like rock,
which crosses the strike in the shape of a slender wedge coming
to a point north-westwardly and gradually spreading out into the
strata in an opposite direction. A farther quantity of copper
conglomerate, however, exists on the opposite side of the wedge
shaped wall. The condition of the rock to the north-east of the
cross-cut has not yet been sufficiently ascertained to give any
description of it except from an excavation at the distanje of
about forty-five yards. Here a mass of ore has been mined for

The Acton Coppe?- Mines, 357

about two fathoms on the strike, commencing "with a breadth of
nine feet, and irregularly diminishing to the north-westward.
Beyond the excavation it appears to diminish farther and pro-
bably thin out. On the northwest side this mass was limited by
limestone belonging to the line of isolated masses and on the
south-east by a mass of serpentine-like rock, the face of which stands
in a nearly vertical attitude.

*' In costeening pits, which have been carried across the strike of
the upper part of the ore, at distances of about eighty yards on
one side of the cross-cut and 110 yards on the other, indications
of ore continue to exist in the stains of green carbonate and small
masses of the sulphurets, but the work done is not sufficient to
give facts that bear upon the mode on which the ore is connected
with the rock.

" In so far as the facts ascertained by the present condition of
the excavation enable an opinion to be formed, it appears to me
probable that the copper ore mingled wit! i silicious matter con-
stitutes the paste of a breccia or conglomerate, the fragments of
which have been accumulated in a depression in the surface of
the argillaceous and silico-magnesian sediments forming the slates
and their associated harder masses, while the sulphurets of copper
have been deposited from springs bringing the metal in solution
from some more ancient formation. The whole conditions of the
case appear to bear a striking resemblance to those of the
copper deposits of the Urals as described by Sir Roderick Mur-
chison, except that in Russia the ores are carbonates instead of
sulphurets.

" However this may be, there is no doubt the mass of ore is a
very important one ; already, after but nine weeks' work, not far
from three hundred tons have been housed, supposed to contain
about thirty per cent, of pure metal. The value of this quantity
would be about $45,000, while exclusive of lordship, the mining
expenses, and those necessary to carry the ore to a market, will
be comparatively small. The quantity of ore excavated appears
to have produced but a moderate impression on the total mass
insiorht.

" Whether such another bunch of copper ore will be met with
associated with the limestone it is impossible to say: but even
should one exist, it would perhaps be too much to expect that
it would be found immediately at the surface.

" Many of the facts connected with the mode in which the

358 The Acton Copper Mines,

copper ore of the conglomerate is related to the fragments, were
ascertained by slitting a slab of the rock by means of a lapidary's
wheel and polishing the surface. The same test has been applied
to a block of the Upton conglomerate, and it is found there is
some analogy in the two cases, except that the Upton ore is alto-
gether pyritous sulphuret and much more thinly distributed among
the fragments. While large blocks of the Acton conglomerate give
thirty per cent, and upwards, of pure metal, the best blocks obtain-
ed by me from the conglomerate of Upton do not yield more than
five per cent. But this if the quantity of rock with such a per
centage were larger and the masses not too widely scattered, would
constitute a valuable mine. It would, however, require a careful
crop trial to determine whether the quantity is available."

Since these observations have been made by Sir William Logan,
the cupriferous deposits have been much more exposed, and their
character more distinctly marked. In order to bring the matter
fully befo)"e our readers we would further avail ourselves of certain
geological notes which we found in the hands of the proprietors
of the mines, and which we are kindly permitted to use, the
descriptions and conclusions of which, after careful inspection of
the ground, we are disposed to accept.

1. A2o;pearances of Mr. Sleeper^ s Openings.

Eastern Opening. — Beds dip N. 40"" W. about 50°, and
consist of nodular limestone alternatino- with shale and over-
laid by it. Copper Pyrites in small, apparently not workable,
quantity, occur in both rocks, especially at their junction. The
shale is much tinged with carbonate of copper. Underlying the
limestone is a hard gray, irregularly bedded, earthy rock ( ? a
volcanic ash or tufa). This rock I regard as allied to Palagonite
tuff, and for convenience shall call it simply tufa or tufaceous
rock. The section at this place is nearly as follows : (Fig. 1).

(a) Shale, (h) Copper Limestone, (c) Tufaceous rock, (d) Limestone
of the hill or ridge south of the Mine.

Second Opening (Fig. 2). — This is connected with the
former by a trench in the strike, showing shale with copper stains.

The Acton Copjjei' Mines, 359

Beginning at tbe great hill limestone, we have 22 paces without
section, then 27 paces shale and tufa, the latter predominatino- iu
the upper part, then 4 yards limestone, nearly vertical, then shale
■extending about 30 paces. At the junction of the limestone and
upper shale are traces of copper pyrites, and black oxide of
copper. Section as follows : — the letters referring to the same
rocks as in Fig. 1.

Third Opening {Sleeper''s latest). — At this place there is a great
thickness of vertical and contorted shale, apparently underlaid by
tufa. The copper limestone is represented by a layer of highly
cupriferous material about one foot thick at the outcrop. This
was only imperfectly exposed : (Fig. 3). The ore here is purple
copper.

wmmmAmmmTmv'

abaca d

Fig. 3.

Fourth Opening i^Sleeperh shaft pit). — At this place the
copper limestone is highly developed, and presents an upper bed
about 5 feet thick, holding yellow pyrites and rapidly thinning out
toward the dip, a lower layer about 4 feet, very rich in purple
copper in laminai parallel to the bedding, and below this unproduc-
tive limestone and shale, which last also overlies the upper lime-
stone. The whole of these beds are thrown into a sharp anticli-
nal fold. The shaft has been sunk on the part dipping toward the
hill, say S. E., and the main pit exposes the crown of the arch
and its N. W. side. At the corner of the fold is a fissure or vein
running S. 20° W., underlying to the N. W., and containing
calc spar and quartz with yellow pyrites. The valuable portion of
the ore is, however, the 4 feet bed of cupriferous limestone. This
does not appear to run out so far as yet followed to the dip, but dis-
appears suddenly when followed to the east, where either a change
in the original deposition or a dislocation brings in a mass of the

360

The Acton Copper Mines.

tufaceous rock and shale, intervening between this and the last
mentioned opening : (Fig. 4.)

.i_#

Fig. 4.

Fifth Ofe-^is q [Sleepei-^s original 2nt). — Here the arrangement
has been similar to that at the last opening, but the crown of the
arch of copper limestone, now worked away, has been broader
and at the surface. There is also evidence here of transverse
dislocations bringing narrow belts of tufa and shale across the
limestone. As in the last mentioned place the copper limestone
still continues productive toward the dip.

Sixth Opening — Here the lower and unproductive part of
the copper limestone is exposed. It seems largely develop-
ed, but the upper cupriferous portion has either not been de-
posited or has been removed by denudation. It should be sought
toward the dip, and as the stratification seems arched here as at
the last mentioned places, it may be found on either side.

Otte's shaft is sunk on the shale underlying the copper lime-
stone, and which is here nearly vertical, so that it cannot reach
the deposits above referred to. Near the shaft, and to the rise of
the beds, there appears a cupriferous bed which deserves explora-
tion, more especially as it is evidently not the same with that
exposed in the other workings.

2. Western Extension of the Bed,

The copper limestone extends for some distance to the westward^
its outcrop bending to the southward. In several places it con-
tains traces of copper ores, and should be opened by trenches as
at Sleeper's pits.

3. Eastern Extension.

No opening occurs in the beds eastward of the first above men-
tioned ; but Mr. Sleeper reports good indications in the low land
to the east, and at the railway cutting still farther east the copper
limestone and tufa appear but are not known to be productive.
Benjamin's opening is ofi" the line of strike, on the Hill limestone
and shows nothing of value. This is also the case with Wright's

The Acton Copper Mines, ^ 361

opening, which is on the escarpment of the hill limestone, there
bending so as to dip nearly north.

4. Theory of the Deposit.

This may be stated as follows. Water holding sulphate of copper
in solution has been diffused, probably by submarinesprings, through
calcareous sediment, possibly containing organic matter, and the
salt of copper being deoxidised has been deposited in the beds
as sulphuret of the metal. The limestone itself holding this
deposit is an irregular nodular bed, the " copper limestone," of
the above description subordinate to the thick shale overlying the
great limestone of the Acton ridge. After deposition molecular
action has led to the formation of nodules and seofreojative veins
of the copper ore, and at a later period the beds have been contorted
and faulted, and in the fissures thus formed true veins, holding
copper pyrites in a matrix of calc spar and quartz, have been depo-
sited."

In regard the exposures at Upton it may be remarked that
they seem to be the equivalent of the Acton Hill limestone,
and show numerous veins holding yellow pyrites, and in some
places galena, with calc spar and quartz. Some of these veins
run parallel to the strike, which is N. E. and S. W., the dip
being S. E., but there is another set nearly at right angles to it.
The true equivalent of the Acton copper limestone may be found
running parallel to the great limestone at some little distance.

Since the above notes were written considerable progress has
been made in the work of excavation and there is still no apparent
diminution of the cupriferous rock — it does not appear to thin
out as it penetrates the strata in which it is embedded. That it
occurs in masses of irregular thickness along the strike of the
underlying limestone and thus has the character of nodular
matter rather than of a regular aqueous deposit is obvious. It is
not improbable that at the period of the infiltration of the copper,
disturbances and alteration of the associated strata took place to
a considerable extent, reducing them into their present abnormal
state. It is only therefore by actual experiment that the real
character of this cupriferous deposit can be ascertained. It may
underlie iu workable quantities, the whole of the space within
the synclinal of Acton and Upton and thus prove to be one
of the most extensive and valuable copper regions in the world.
Can. Nat. 9 No. 5, Vol. V.

362 The Acton Coj)per Mines,

But it may only be found in detached pockets of greater or less
extent, and irregularly distributed throughout the valley ; even
in this case it will be of great value and amply repay for many
years to come skilful and judicious labour.

The proprietors are about to open shafts and to erect suitable
machinery for working them to the north of the present mines.
These operations will determine in some measure the extent and
character of the deposits. Before another year closes we may
therefore hope to present to our readers a more definite account
of the geological character of the Acton mines. It is evident
that they are in the hands of enterprising men and are being worked
with intelligence and vigour. At present they present a busy scene
of active life. About 200 men, women and boys, are engaged at
good wages in the various departments of the works. The
strong men are busy boring and blasting and carrying off the
precious fragments from the mines. Others are breaking the
masses of rock into small pieces, and then a multitude of boys
and girls are washing, picking, and arranging the pieces according
to the quantity of copper they contain. Other workmen fill the
barrels with the broken washed and selected ore ; and from the
mines to the Railway station at the village, there is a constant
traffic of Canadian carts laden with the metallic spoils.

Several thousand tons have by this time been shipped to the
market at Boston. The assay of the best quality of the ore gives
from 25 to 30 per cent, of copper. This is a large percentage
and must prove highly remunerative to the fortunate owners.
When the requisite machinery is erected for mining, crushing,
washing and smelting the rock, much that cannot now be removed
from the locality on account of the cost of transit to Boston will
yield a workable profit, and the copper of the richest ores will
become more immediately available. The quality of the Acton
copper is already coming into notice and is reckoned only second
to that of Lake Superior.

By the enterprise of a few intelligent men, there has thus during
the past year been opened up to Canada a source of industry and
wealth that will not only benefit the parties immediately concerned
but also the country at large. "Whatever of value we can extract
from the earth js a real addition to our wealth, increases our avail-
able means for the employment of human labour, and for the
extension of our agriculture and commerce. The discovery of
the Acton mines will, we doubt not, become an important epoch
in the history of our national industry. a. f. k.

Notes on the Earthquake oj October, 1860. 363

ARTICLE XLYL—JVotes on the Earthquake of October, 1860.
Read before the Natural History Society of Montreal, Oct.
29, 1860.

On the l7th October, Canada and the Northern States of the
American Union, were visited by an earthquake vibration of a
more general and impressive character than any that has occurred
for many years, and we propose to present to our readers such
reports as have reached us with respect to its distribution, time,
and local intensity, and to add for comparison and future expe-
rience a summary of the earthquakes that have occurred in Canada
since its colonization, and some remarks on the laws of these
phenomena as far as they have been ascertained.

In Canada the earthquake of the l7th. was experienced in its
greatest intensity in the lower part of the river, and with dimin-
ished force as far west as Hamilton. In the United States, in
like manner, it was most violent on the Atlantic coast and ex-
tended westward apparently with less intensity as far as Troy.
Between Hamilton and Father Point it was felt throughout the
whole of Canada. At River Ouelle and other places in the lower
St. Lawrence it was so violent as to throw down chimnies and
damage walls, and several severe shocks were felt. In Upper
Canada there appears to have been but one shock and this
comparatively feeble. We have at present no information as to
the extension of the vibrations to the north of Canada and to the
south of the Northern States.*

The following list of places in which observations were made
of the time and intensity of the shocks has been compiled chiefly
from the newspapers, to which much credit is due for the careful
and intelligent manner in which they have collected and recorded
the facts.

The places have been arranged in the order of their longitudes,
from east to west, and it will be observed that the time is earlier
in eastern localities, but on comparing Bic and Belleville near-
ly nine degrees of longitude apart, it will be seen that the differ-
ence of time is only a little less than that due to the difference of
lono-itude. The Hamilton observat'on would g-'ivQ an earlier time,
but as the shock was slight and the testimony of only one observer
was recorded, there may bean error. The shock thus appears to
have been nearly simultaneous throughout Canada.

* It was felt in New Brunswick also.

364 ISotes on the Earthquake of October, 1860.

Bic, 6 a. m., Three shocks at intervals of some seconds, noise
continued for 10 minutes.

Green Island, 6 a. m.

Riviere du Loup, 6 a. m. A series of shocks lasting nearly five
minutes. A schooner off this place experienced a shock re-
sembling that of striking on a sand-bank, and the waters of
the Gulf were unusually agitated.

River Quelle, 6.15 a. m. Yerv violent, damaQfino; walls and
throwing down chimneys, especially in low grounds.

Eboulements, near Murray Bay, 5.30 a. m. Violent. Five other
feeble shocks in rapid succession, another at noon and another
at 5 p. m. This is the only place where these latter shocks are
mentioned, but the hour of the first is probably an error, as
Bay St. Paul, quite near Eboulements, agrees in this respect
more nearly with other places.

Bay St. Paul, 5.50 a. m. Violent shock ; chimneys fell,

St. Thomas (Montmagny) 6 a. m. Two shocks.

St. Joseph de la Beauce, 6.10 a. m.

Quebec, 5.50 a. m. Several shocks, severe, especially in lower
parts of the city and in the environs ; but less so than at
River Quelle, &c.

Leeds, Megantic, 6.10 to 6.15 a. m.

Richmond, 5.46, a. m.

Three Rivers, about 6 a. m. Shocks felt for two minutes.

Granby, about 6 a. m.

St. Hyacinth e, 5.45 a. m. Three shocks continuing more than a
minute, buildings reported damaged.

Maskinonge, 6 a. m. Shocks felt for more than a minute, sup-
posed to be from North to South.

Montreal, 5.50. Two or three perceptible shocks, felt less on
the Mountain than on lower ground.

St. Martin, Isle Jesus, 5.55. At Dr. Small wood's observatory, two
distinct and smart shocks. The wave passed from East to
West. Barometer 20.964 inches, temperature 40" 3, wind
N. E., cloudy.

Cornwall, 6 a. m.

Prescott, 5.30 a. m.

Belleville, 5.30 a. m. One shock.

Hamilton, 4.45, a. m.

In all or nearly all of the above places the earthquake was pre-

Note<i on the Earthquake of October, I860. 365

ceded by a rumbling noise which gradually decreased after the
vibrations had passed. The difference of duration ascribed to the
shocks appears to arise mainly from the circumstance that some
observers include the continuance of vibration in buildings, &c.,
as well as that of the subterranean sound ; and in this way it is
probable that by some persons two or more shocks have been re-
garded as one.

The following graphic account of the phenomena as observed
at River Quelle appeared anonymously in a Quebec paper, and is
the most detailed statement we have seen of the effects of the
earthquake in those localities in which it was most violent,

Riviere Quelle, lY octobre, 1860.

" Ce matin trois fortes secousses de tremblement de terre sent
venues jeter la frayeur au milieu de nos populations.

"Les batisses situees de chaque cote de notre riviere ont souf-
fert generalement. Une cheminee chez E. Chas. Tetu, deux chez
M. C. Casgrain, une chez M. Frenette, une chez Auguste Casgrain,
une chez madame Frs. Casgrain, et chez une dizaine d'autres per-
sonnes ont ete renversees. La croix de notre Eglise et le coq
sur qui lamontait sont a terre ; les mursdes notre belle Eglise sont
lezardes. Les secousses etaient effrayantes ; la premiere, la plus
violente, a commence a six heures et quart, et a dure quatre mi-
nutes et 40 secondes, tres violentes durant dix secondes et s'affai-
blissant graduellement ; la secousse la plus faible a six heures et
vingt minutes, a dure trois a quatre secondes, et la troisierae a
commence a six heures et demie, et n'a dure que deux a trois
secondes ; mais, comme la premiere, c'etait un choc saccad^ faisant
danser les meubles, d^crochant les cadres, les horloges, etc.

*' Les secousses ont 6te plus faibles sur les hauteurs, que dans
les plaines, de sorte que mes batisses se sont trouvees a I'abri des
accidents.

" Jamais de memoire de nos habitants, nous n'avons eu des
coups aussi forts. Je suis demeurd devant mon horloge tout le
temps pour m'assurer de sa duree, afin de pouvoir computer avec
d'autres endroits la marche de ce grand et terrible ph^nomene.

" Un bruit sourd et fort nous a d'abord averti et ensuite sont
venus les secousses et les craquements."

The observation of Dr. Sraallwood that the wave proceeded
from east to west accords with that of some other observers and
may be regarded as correct. At the same time the nearly simul-

366 Notes on the Earthquake of October, 1860.

laneous occurrence of the shock throughout Canada, perhaps in-
dicates that the wave did not move horizontally but reached the
surface from a great depth and at a high angle as Perrey seems
to suppose the earthquakes of Eastern America have usually done.
It must however be observed that at the rate of propagation given
by Mallet for earthquake waves through hard rock, which is not
less than 10,000 feet per second, it is quite possible that even a
horizontal wave may appear to be felt at the same instant at great
distances.*

All the observers agree that the sound preceded the shock and
continued after it, and that the first shock was the most violent ;
and it is also very generally noted that it was most severely felt on
low ground and least so on rocky eminences. This last character
which belongs to earthquakes generally, seems to arise from the
greater resistance opposed to the vibrations by loose materials as
compared with hard rocks.

It appears from the published lists that the late eaithquake is
the last of at least twenty-nine that have visited Canada since its
discovery by Europeans, and we now proceed to give some account
of these previous instances, availing ourselves mainly of the facts
and conclusions stated by Mallet and Perry, the two most exten-
sive and laborious collectors of earthquake statistics.

Mallet defines an earthquake as " the transit of a wave of elastic
impression in any direction from verticality upward to horizontality
in any azimuth through the crust of the earth, from any centre
of impulse, or from more than one, and which may be attended
with tidal and sound waves dependent upon the impulse and upon
the circumstances of position as to sea and land." Such " earth-
waves " travel outward from the centre of impulse with immense
velocity and appear as upward shocks or undulating rolls accord-
ing to the greater or less verticality of the motion. They may also
be complicated with indirect shocks arising from unequal or
circuitous transmission of the vibrations, and these complex
shocks usually occur in great and destructive earthquakes.

The causes of these vibratory waves are too deep-seated to be
directly known to us, but they must occur when any part of the
crust of the earth is subjected to tension, and when this is sudden-
ly reliev^ed by fracture or otherwise, and again when any part of
the earth's crust is left unsupported and collapses under the force

* See Mallet on the Dynamics of Earthquakes. — Transactions Royal
Irish Academy^ Vol. XXI.

Notes on the Earthquake of October, 1S60. 367

of gravity. Geology teaches us to refer sucli effects to the slow
expansion or contraction of great masses of rock under the influ-
ence of heat, to the disengagement of elastic gases under pres-
sure, to the removal of matter from the interior to the surface by
volcanoes, to the transference of sediment from the land to the
sea basins. Such causes are constant and secular, and of course
the precise time at which the tension or unsupported weight shall
give way can scarcely be calculated, and may occur with sudden-
ness and at irregular intervals; and so nice may be the balancing
of opposing forces, that observation shows us that the attraction
of the moon or an unusually low state of atmospheric pressure
may overset the equilibrium and induce an extensive vibration of
the solid crust of the earth, yet the actual causes of the pheno-
menon may have been for ages slowly preparing for it.

The fractured condition of the rocks of the earth shows that
earthquakes have been occurring throughout all geological time,
and they are by no means rare phenomena at present. For the
whole earth their rate of occurrence is stated to be nearly 3 per
month or 36 per annum ; and no doubt very many are unrecorded
and would considerably increase the average. But their distribu-
tion locally is very unequal. While in some spots slight earth-
quakes are of almost constant recurrence and in others great
agitations of the earth are not infrequent, in other extensive
regions no earthquakes are known to have occurred. Earthquakes
are manifestly connected with the'causes of volcanic action, and
follow the same law of distribution on the surface of the globe ;
though in volcanic regions earthquakes and volcanic eruptions
sometimes alternate, as if the suppression of the latter gave
increased energy to the former. Hence volcanic vents have been
regarded as safety valves to those pent-up Seismic agencies, as
they have been called, which shake the pillars of the solid land.

In Mallet's map of the distribution of eartliquakes, in the
Report of the British Association for 1858, a belt of intense
seismic activity runs from the Falkland Islands and Cape Horn
along the Andes and Rocky Mountains, giving otf a branch
through Columbia to the West India Islands. It crosses over to
Asia by the Peninsula of Alaska and the Aleutian Islands, and
runs down through Kamtschatka, the Kurile and Japan Islands,
from which it gives off a branch along the Ladrone Islands, but
the main body crosses over to the Philippines, an<i from these a
great crescent shaped patch stretches around Celebes, Java, and
Sumatra. This crescent of the East India Islands seems to be

368 Notes on the Earthquake of Octoher, I860*

the most intense seat of earthquake force in the world. It sends
off branches in dififerent directions. One of these passes eastward
and southwest through New Guinea and the New Hebrides to
New Zealand, and probably beyond it to the Antartic continent,
giving off a long branch through the Polynesian Islands. Another
goes northward and spreads itself in Central Asia. A third run-
ning up the Malayan Peninsula and through northern India, Persia,
and Asia Minor, passes along the south of Europe and extends
to the Azores, giving off a faint branch through France and the
British Islands to Iceland. The great earthquake band thus traced,
includes nearly all the active volcanoes, except a few apparently
isolated spots in the Ocean, like the Sandwich Islands.
There are however broad sheets of the earth's surface traversed
by the earthquake vibrations proceeding from this band of maxi-
mum action, and there are also subordinate bands of small inten-
sity which have not been noticed in the above sketch. To the
latter belongs the east coast of America, which seems to consti-
tute a continuation of the West Indian branch, extending upwards
along the Appalachian chain to Labrador, and perhaps completing
the circle of the North Atlantic by a submarine continuation to
Iceland.

We of course know nothing certainly of earthquakes in eastern
America until after its colonisation by Europeans, yet this does
not constitute a difference between America and the old continent
so great as might at first sight be supposed. We know compa-
ratively little of earthquakes even in the old world until the 16th
century. Nothing more strongly indicates the little attention
given to natural phenomena in the middle age of the earths
history, than the fact that while the recorded earthquakes even
in Europe and the neighbouring parts of Asia and Africa are only
from 10 to 68 per century in the first 15 centuries of our era, they
rise in the 18th century to 660 and in the 19th already amount
to- 925. No attention seems to have been given to earthquakes
in the periods of classical antiquity and the middle ages, except
when they proved very destructive or were supposed to be con-
nected with some historical event. The great and otherwisa
alarming increase of earthquakes in modern times is in truth to
be attributed principally to the revival of learninof, to the inven-
tion of printing, and to the progress of the natural and phy-
sical sciences. Hence between the loth and 17th centuries the
recorded earthquakes in Europe and its vicinity rise suddenly

Notes on the Earthquake of October, 1860. 369

from 41 to 180, and the increase seems onlj to have been arrested
in the 18th century, when these causes were in full activity. The
progress of navigation in the Pacific, and the discovery of Ame-
rica, have, when we regard the whole world, also enormously
increased the number of instances, so that the earthquakes for
the whole world were in the l7th and 18th century 35.3 per
annum and in the first half of the 18th century alone 3240 in
all, while the total number from the 10th to the 15th centuries
inclusive was only 532.

The earliest earthquake in Eastern North America, in the cata-
logue prepared by Mr. Mallet ior the British Association, is
that felt in New Endand in 1638. The earHest in Canada is
that of 1663. The following list taken from the Report above
referred to and other sources, includes all the subsequent earth-
quakes recorded as having affected Canada, or the neighbouring
parts of America.

1638, June 2, New England. — Violent, two shocks, direction N. W. & S.

E., houses thrown down.
1658, April 4, « Violent.

1660, January 31, " «

1662, January 26, " Violent, three shocks, chimneys thrown

down.
" Nov. 6, «

1663, February 5, Canada. — Very violent, succeeded by minor shocks

until July following, ice broken up,
rivers discoloured, cliffs and banks
thrown down, buildings injured : ex-
tended to Nova Scotia and New Eng-
land.
1665, February, 24, " At Tadoussac and Malbaie, violent.
" Oct. 15, " Violent, accompanied by loud noise.

1668, not dated, New England.

1669, " "

1727, Nov. 9, " Violent, followed by slight shocks, direction

N. E. to S. W., loud explosions, earth
opened at Newbury, and ejected sand,
&c.

1728, January 30, New England.

" Aug. 2, " Slight shocks continued from November

1727 to this date.

1729, March 25, « Repeated slight shocks from this date till

1741.

1732, September 5, Canada, New England and aafar as Maryland, build-
ings injured.

1737, February 6, New England. — At Boston, one shock.

370 Notes on the Earthquake of October , 1860.

" December 7, " and New York, three shocks, buildings

injured.
1738, Oct. or Nov., " At Boston.

1741, December 6, " Boston, &c., slight.

1744, May 16, Canada. — At Quebec a considerable vibration.

" June 3, New England. — At Cambridge, slight.
1746, Feb. 2, " At Boston.

1755, Oct., Canada. — No shocks, but unusual rise and fall of water

in Lake Ontario. On Nov. 1st of
this year occurred the great Lisbon
earthquake which was felt over the
Atlantic and inthe "West Indies, but I
find no record of its being felt in Can-
ada.

" Nov., New England and Eastern U. States to Maryland. Also

Nova Scotia. Three or four shocks,
two of them violent. Houses were
damaged.

" Nov. 21, « At Boston.

" Dec. 19, " Same region as on the 18th, but slightly.

1756, January 1, New England. — At Boston.
" November 16, " "

" December 4, " "

1757, July 8, « "

1758, February 2, " «
1760, " 3, «

" November 9, " At Boston, slight.

1861, February, « "

" March 12, North America. — Violent shocks.

" " 16, New England. — Boston.
1763, October 30, Philadelphia. — Violent.

1766, February 2, New England. — Especially Massachusetts and Rhode

Island.

" August 25, New England. — Newport, R. I.

" Dec. 17, " Portsmouth, N. H., a violent shock.

1776, February 2, " In Rhode Island.

1783, July 29, New ForA;.— Rather violent.

1785, January 2, New England. — At Cambridge, shocks at same time at

Baltimore.

1786, November 29, New England. — At Cambridge.

1787, February 25, '•' "

1791, May 16, " At Rast Haddam, Conn., which was

visited by a series of slight shocks,
continuing through aeveral years.

" April 18, New England. — To Pennsylvania, a severe shock followed

by slighter ones.

" December, Canada. — Severe shocks at St. Paul's Bay, walls crack-
ed, &c.

Notes on the EarthqiiaJce of October, 1860. 371

1796, February, Canada. — A violent shock, rocks fell from cliffs at

Niagara.

1799, March 17, Philadelphia. — One shock.

1800, November 29, " A severe shock.

" December 25, New England. — Various places.

1801, November 12, Philadelphia.
1804, May 18, New York.

1810, Nov. 9, New England. — Several places, a severe shock.

1811, December 16, At this date commenced the terrible earthquakes

which were felt extensively in the val-
ley of the Mississippi and in various
parts of the Eastern and Western States
until 1813. The great earthquake of
Caraccas occurred in March 1812.
1816, September 9, Canada. — A severe shock felt at Montreal.
" " 16, " A second shock, less violent.

1818, Oct. 11, « Felt near Quebec.

1819, August 15, '' At St. Andrews.

" November 10, " At Montreal, slight. Followed by an

awful storm with rain impregnated
with matter like soot.
1821, February, " At Quebec, a slight shock.

1823, May 30, " On shore of Lake Erie, slight but water of

" lake rose to height of 9 feet.

1824, July 9, New Brunswick. — A severe shock.

1827, August 23, New England. — At New London, Conn.

1828, August 20, Canada.

1829, January, New York. — At Portsmouth.

1831, July 14, Canada. — At Murray Bay, Beauport, &c. ; walls and chim-

nies were thrown down at the former
place.

1832, Nova Scotia.— Slight.

1833, March and April, Canada. — Several shocks at Murray Bay, &c.
1837, April 12, Hartford, Conn.— Very slight.

1840, August 9, New England. — Especially in Connecticut, several slight

shoks.
" September 10, Canada. — At Hamilton, a violent shock apparently

from W. to E.
'• November 11, Philadelphia. — A severe shock.
" " 14, New Haven. — In Connecticut.

1841, January 25,. New York. — Several shocks, W. to E.

" Spring, Canada. — Said to have been felt at Quebec, but regarded

as uncertain.

1842, November 8 and 9, Canada. — Montreal, Three Rivers, &c., severe

shocks and agitation of the River.
1844, « " At Montreal.

1847, " " Felt at Montreal.

372 Notes on the Earthquake of Octoher, 1860.

1855, February 8, Nova Scotia^ New Brunswick, and New England

slight.
" " 19, New England. — In Maine.

1856, May 1, Canada. — ^At Ottawa and its vicinity, (See Canadian Nat.

Vol. I).

1857, October, " In the Upper Province.

1858, January 15, Canada. — At Niagara, slight.

" May 10, " At Richmond, slight.

" June 27, New England. — At New Haven, slight.

1859, Canada. — At Metis.

On comparing the above table with the deductions of Mallet
and Perry for the entire globe, we perceive the applicability to
Canada of the law ascertained by them, that the greatest and most
frequent shocks occur a little after the middle and toward the close
of each century. Thus in Canada and New England the years
from 1658 to 1663, from 1756 to 1766, and from 1791 to 179C,
were periods of special seismic activity, and in the present cen-
tury our most severe shock has been in 1860, and judging from
the previous centuries will no doubt be followed by others.

With respect to seasons of the year, the published catalogues
show that January presents the maximum, and May and June
the minimum activity for the northern hemisphere, and that the
autumn and winter months are those in which earthquakes occur
most frequently. Nearly in accordance with this, in the above
list the earthquakes are distributed as follows: —

January

8

July

4

Spring 16

February

4

August

6

Summer 12

March

5

September

4

Autumn 25

April

4

October

7

Winter 30

May

6

November

14

June

3

December

8

We have only to add that the present article is to be regarded
only as an imperfect and hasty summary, and that we shall grate-
fully receive and publish, in a supplementary article, any informa-
tion which our correspondents may supply respecting either the
late earthquake or any of its predecessors. j. w. d.

ARTICLE XLVll.— The Meteor of July 20, 1860, by C. S.
Lyman. From Silliman's Journal, September, 1860.

This remarkable meteor was visible over a portion of the earth's
surface at least a thousand miles in length, (N. N. W. to S. S.E.)

The Meteor of My, 1860. 373

by seven or eight hundred in width ; or from Lake Michigan to
the Gulf Stream and from Maine to Virginia. The newspapers
have contained many notices of its appearance as seen at various
places within these limits, but most of these accounts are too
vague to be of any scientific value. We are not yet in possession
of a suflBcient number of good observations for a final discussion
of the phenomena presented, and can only at this time notice
briefly a few of the best that have come to hand, and state some
approximate results derived from them respecting the height of
the meteor above the earth, the direction of its path, &c.

At New Haven, it was seen, during a portion of its flight, by
several members of the Scientific Faculty at the house of Prof. J.
A. Porter, and pains were at once taken to fix its apparent path
by reference to parts of the building, tree-tops, stars, &c., near
which it had been seen, and also to determine its time of flight,
by noting the time required to repeat the various acts performed
while it was in sight. The bearings and altitudes of the points
noted for fixing the path were subsequently determined instru-
mentally. Independent data of the same kind were also obtained
by going with many different observers to the places occupied
by them at the time, and observing with compass and quadrant
the path in the sky pointed out by each, and noting the time for
each in the manner alreadv indicated.

By laying down these bearings and altitudes on a globe, a nor-
mal or average path was obtained, which cuts the horizon at N.
62° W. and S.. 62° E., and gives a maximum altitude of 53°, in
a direction S. 28° W.

The time of flight for the different observers, determined as
above stated, ranged from 10 to 20 seconds — giving an average
of fourteen or fifteen seconds, which agrees with the careful esti-
mate made at the time by the observers at Prof. Porter's.

Valuable observations have also been received from individuals
in different places, some items of which we proceed to state. They
will be given more fully hereafter.

Mr. J. D. Lawson, of New York, saw the meteor from the cor-
ner of Fourth street and Broad wav, and has furnished data which
gives for maximum altitude (N.) 56|°. Another independant
observation at the same spot, as published in the Journulof Com-
merce^ gives from data subsequently obtained by Prof. H. A. New-
ton, an altitude of about 55°. We use for N. Y. 56° as the
mean of the two.

374 The Meteor of July, 1860.

Mr. F. Huidekoper, of Meadville, Pa., makes the altitude at that
place 39° 30' from the northern horizon ; the point of disappear-
rance at altitude 3^ 30', and 10° 45' S. of east; time from cross-
ing meridian till disappearance, 10 to 12 seconds.

Mr. W. King, a surveyor, at Erie, Pa., makes the altitude 44*^,
and point of disappearance in a cloud due east at an altitude
of 22°.

Mr. S. B. McMillan, of E. Fairfield, Ohio, reports it as having been
seen, " moving from a point about 10° E. of N. to within as much
of a due east direction," attaining an altitude of 15°.

Eev. T. K. Beecher at Elmira, N. Y., saw it pass very nearly
through his zenith, and " so very close to " fx Lyrae " as to quench?
if not eclipse it." This star was then about 11° from his zenith
and in azimuth S. 76^° E. The meteor separated into two parts
wiih an explosion when near the zenith.

Other observations (not now at hand), which have been used
in obtaining our results, have been received from Mr. B. V. Marsh
of Philadelphia, and Prof. Hallowel, of Alexandria.

A comparison of these observations, and a few of the best that
have been published, give approximate results as follows :

(1.) The vertical plane in which the meteor moved cuts the
earth's surface in a line crossing the northern part of Lake Mich-
igan, passing through, or very near to, Goderich on Lake Huron
(C. W.), Buffalo, Elmira and Sing Sing, N, Y., Greenwich,
Con., and in the same direction across Long Island into the At-
lantic.

(2.) In this plane the path that best satisfies the observations
is sensibly a straight line approaching nearest to the earth (41
miles) at a point about south of Rhode Island, and having an ele-
vation of 42 miles above Long Island Sound, of 44 over the Hud-
son, 51 at Elmira, 62 at Buffalo, 85 over Lake Huron, and 120
over Lake Michigan. The western observations, however, which
are few and imperfect, seem to indicate a somewhat greater eleva-
tion than this for the western part of the path. Possibly, there-
fore its true form may have been a curve convex towards the earth,
resulting from the increasing resistance of the atmosphere as the
meteor descended into denser portions of it. The observations
made on this side of Buffalo, which are somewhat numerous and
many of them good, are very well satisfied by the straight path
already described. Further and more accurate observations beyond
Buftalo are greatly needed for determining the true form and po-

The Meteor of July, 1S60. 375

sition of the orbit, both in respect to the earth's surface and in
space.

(3.) The close approximation to parallelism to the earth's sur-
face of the eastern portion of the observed path leaves it a matter
of doubt, considering the imperfection of the observations, whether
the meteor finally passed out of the atmosphere and went on its
way in a disturbed orbit, or descended gradually into the Atlantic.
The former supposition is perhaps the more probable, especially if
the path was curved, as above suggested, instead of a straight
line.

(4.) The meteor exhibited different appearances in different
parts of its course. It seems to have been observed first as a
single body, more or less elongated, gradually increasing in bril-
liancy, throwing off occasionally sparks and flakes of light, until
it reached the neighbourhood of Elmira, N. Y. Here something
like an explosion occurred, and the meteor separated into two
principal portions with many subordinate fragments all continuing
on their course in a line behind each other, and still scattering
luminous sparks along their track, until a point was reached about
south of Nantucket, when a second considerable explosion took
place, and afterwards the principal fragments passed on till lost
to view in the distance. The most trustworthy observations
represent the meteor as disappearing while yet several degrees
above the horizon, (generally from 3° to 6° or 8°). Besides the
actual changes of form which the body successively underwent,
apparent changes would present themselves to each observer aris-
ing from chanQ:e of direction in which the meteor was seen.

(5.) It is not easy, from the observations in hand, to determine
with much accuracy the volocity of the meteor while passing
through our atmosphere. The time of flight is doubtless largely
over-estimated by most observers, especially those unaccustomed
to measure intervals of a few seconds. Timing with a watch, a
repetition of the acts performed during the flight of the meteor
usually reduces the interval to not more than one third, or even
one fifth, of the observer's own estimate. From 15 to 30 seconds
is a fair range for good observation?^, and probably to no observer
was the meteor in sight over 45 seconds or a minute, although a
minute and a half and two minutes are very common estimates
A comparison of the most probable estimatee of time with the
length of path observed, gives a velocity ranging from eight to
fifteen miles a second. Probably 12 or 13 miles is a tolerable

376 Solar Eclipse of July, 1860.

approximation. This, allowing for the earth's motion in its orbit,
gives 26 or 27 miles a second as the actual velocity of the meteor
in space. Its relative velocity may have been much greater when
just entering the atmospliere, than after encountering its accumu-
lated resistance.

(6.) The actual diameter of the luminous mass, taking its appa-
rent diameter as nearly equal to that of the moon, (the estimate
of many observers nearest its track) must have been from one fifth
to one-third of a mile. Many estimates would make it still larger.
The two principel heads when passing New Haven must have been
from one to three miles apart.

(7.) A report is mentioned by many observers as having been
heard from one and a half to five minutes after the meteor passed.
The least time in which such a report could have been heard,
taking the usual constant for the velocity of sound (1090*47 feet
a second) would be about three minutes and a half. This is a
point of much interest, and needs to be investigated.

The " rushing sound " spoken of by many as heard while the
meteor was passing, is of course to be attributed to imagination.

ARTICLE XLYIII.— Za Verrier's Report on the Solar Eclipse
of July ^ 18, 1860, at Tarazona. From Silliman's Journal?
September, 1860.

At the last moment, and after our notices of this phenomenon
were printed (see pp. 281, 285, 288) we have received LeYerrier's
Report of the Observations of the French Expedition to Spain,
made to the Minister of Public Instruction, which we hasten to
lay before our readers, slightly condensed, although other matters
which some of our correspondents will naturally look for here
are thereby displaced. The interest with which Le Verrier's new
views of the physical constitution of the Sun will be read is our
apology to all such.

Le Verrier was accompanied to Spain by Messrs. Yvon Yillar-
ceau, and Chacornac, who were occupied chiefly with determin-
ing the height and position of two or more of the luminous ap-
pendages. M. Foucault studied the corona, and made the photo-
metric and photographic experiments. M. Le Yerrier observed
the astronomical phases of the phenomenon, and was also charged
with the duty of obtaining an exact description of the whole
scene. Two telescopes on Foucault's plan were devoted to the

Solar Eclipse of July, 1860. 377

measurements, being provided with micrometers of peculiar con-
struction, devised by Yvon Villarceau for rapid and easy manipu-
lations in the dark. Two excellent telescopes of 6 inch aperture
(one tor the use of the Spanish observers) were also provided, to
which must be added the photographic apparatus, a meridian
circle, chronometers, barometers, seekers, and lastly the great
meridian instrument belonging to the War Department, and
with which the longitude was determined — forming a grand total
of scientific baggage which on the 28th of June, was dispatched
for Spain. The outfit of the English expedition was even yet
more considerable. Early in July, Mr. Yvon Villarceau joined
the instruments at Tudela in the centre of Spain, on the banks of
the Ebro, and immediately proceeded with them to Tarazonaand
to the chosen station called the Sanctuaire, 1,400 metres(=4592
feet) above the sea. M. Le Verrier and Foucault, fearing clouds,
descended on the morning of the 18th to a plateau near the ceme-
tery of Tarazona where the weather was magnificent during the
whole eclipse. Passing the description of the contacts and obser-
vations for time, &c., we note that at totality they found the ge-
neral illumination of the atmosphere much greater than the rela-
tion of former observers of total eclipses had led them to expect,
so that they could read and write easily without using their
lamps.

Says Le V. : " The first object which I saw in the field of the
telescope after the commencement of totality was an isolated
cloud separated from the moon's border by a space equal to its
own breadth, the whole about a minute and a half high by double
that length. Its colour was a beautiful rose mixed with shades
of violet, and its transparency seemed to increase even to brilliant
white in some parts. A little below on the right two clouds lay
superimposed on each other, the smaller above, and the two of
very unequal brilliancy. The rest of the western edge of the disc
and the lower part showed nothing more than the corona, the
light of which was perfectly white and of the greatest brilliancy.
But 30° below the horizontal diameter on the east I discovered
two lofty and adjoining peaks, the upper sides of both tinted with
rosy and violet light, while the lower sides were brilliant white. I
do not doubt that the toothed form I assign to these peaks is real,
which as it contrasted with that of the first appendages I have
described, I verified with great care ; moreover, in shifting the
telescope, whose high power permitted a sight of only a small
Can. Nat. 10 Vol. Y. No. 5.

378 Solor EcUjyse of July, 1S60.

part of the solar disc at one time, I saw a third peak a little high-
er also tooth-formed, and resembling the two others in colour and
form, differing only in its larger dimensions. The remainder of
the disc offered nothing remarkable, and on returning to the upper
region I found the two first described clouds unchanged. As the
moment of reappearance of the Sun approached, and while wait-
ing for the first rays, I made, during about 20', perhaps my most
important observation. The margin of the di«c which two minutes
before was entirely white was now tinged by a delicate fillet of un-
apreciable thickness of a purplish red — then as the seconds glided
by, this fillet enlarged by degrees and formed soon around the
black disc of the moon, over a breadth of about 30°, a red border
perfectly defined in thickness, crescent-formed and with an irregu-
lar outline above. At the same instant the brilliancy of the part
of the corona which during the last second emerged from behind
the moon's disc was exalted so rapidly that I was in doubt if the
sun's light was not returned. It was only on the reappearance
of the direct rays, the brightness of which obliterated in turn the
corona, that I was sure of the nature of three phenomena present
at the same time, which I thus sum up.

1. The visible parts of the emergent sun over its whole breadth
and up to the height of seven or eight seconds was covered by a
bed of rosy clouds, which appeared to gain in thickness as they
emerged from behind the disc of the moon. Must we believe that
the entire surface of the sun is ov^erspread at a small elevation, as
it is strewn with faculse, and that the roseate clouds are emana-
tions, appearing hke spots on the sun's disc ?

2. The intensity of the light in the corona which is always
white, varies with great rapidity in the immediate vicinity of the
sun's disc.

3. The reappearance of the direct sunlight was at 3*^ 0™ 49^-0.
Total obscuration continued 3°" 14^-3. The disc of the moon com-
pletely cleared the sun at 4*" 6"^ 20".

(M. Focault's interesting observations on the photographs, etc.,
are unavoidably postponed for want of room.)

Le Verrier goes on to state that the observation of his party au-
thorise, in his opinion, important modifications in the generally
received notions respecting the physical constitution of the sun.
Arago in his notice of solar eclipses, says — " where exist the red-
dish flames with well defined outlines which durino; the total
eclipse of the 8th of July, 1842, passed considerably beyond the

Solar Eclipse of July, 1860. 379

outlines of the lunar disc ? These flames were either in the moon
or in the sun, or in our atmosphere ; unless, indeed, denying their
actual existence, we regard them as an effect of light, for example
as phenomena of diffraction.

The two last snppositions have found few partizans. Before
adopting any hypothesis it is necessary to decide by observation a
certain feature of the phenomenon. During the eclipse, the disc
of the moon moves across the disc of the sun. But do these red-
dish clouds follow the moon in its movement ? or does each cloud
remain invariably above the same point on the solar disc? In
the first case the origin of the luminous clouds is to be sought in
the moou ; in the second case, these clouds belong to the sun.
For clearness sake, assume the latter supposition, and observe
what appearances should present themselves when the lunar disc
passes like a screen over the whole. Consider first a cloud situ-
ated on the east and adherent to the sun's limb. This object will
be visible at the instant when totality commences. The advanc-
ing moon will regularly, at the rate of a half second of arc in a
second of time, cover with its imb successively the lower, then the
middle and lastly the higher portions — thus constantly diminish-
ing the height of the cloud. For a cloud situated on the west
these appearances will be reversed, its magnitude increasing as
the moon gradually uncovers it. If then the roseate appendages
seen during a total eclipse, depend on the sun, the fact should ap-
pear by the variation in height between those which appear in the
east and the west. The phenomena will appear otherwise if the
clouds appertain to the moon.

In the absence of equatorial solar clouds, the question in dispute
can still be decided by observations on those seen on the south or
north of the disc. The height of these clouds ought not to vary
it is true, whether they belong to the moon or to the sun, but in
the latter case carried away by the sun they would be displaced
in the lunar disc with a certain velocity, while if they are adhe-
rent to the moon's disc, they would not be displaced. Hence
the study of the height of the luminous clouds, whether east and
west or north and south, has the highest interest. All the ele-
ments of the desired demonstration are found in the Spanish ob-
servations. In my first report, I mentioned the successive increase
in thickness of a band of rosy clouds visible from the east to the
end of the eclipse. Messrs. Yvon Villarceau and Chacornac have
carefully noted the motions of a cloud, situated on the north

380 Solar Eclipse of July, 1860.

This cloud according to M. Villarceau, in two minutes time was
displaced 3^° on the moon's disc, in moving to the west. The
measurement of M. Chacornac's cover over an interval of six min-
utes in time, in which the cloud moved ll^°.

Beautiful observation, and one which could not have been
hoped for ! We see that the duration of the motion studied by
Chacornac, much exceeds the time of total obscuration. The
last measure was made more than three minutes after sun-light
had reappeared ! It is important to note, among other points
that this was not done with a cloud vaguely seen after the return
of sun-light, but fortunately it was a measurement so carefully
made as to be a gurantee against the possibility of illusion. It
should be added that the displacement of the luminous cloud de-
termined by observations made at the Sanctuaire, is precisely,
equal to that required by calculation, assuming the cloud to belong
to the sun. There remains, then, no foundation for a doubt, as
to the nature of the rosy clouds which have been variously called
flames, mountains, protuberences, and clouds.

The observation on one of the appendages, perfectly isolated
from the disc of both sun and moon and of a sharply pronounced
character, and on the other the appearance of a rosy band on the
west at the moment of emersion, and the rate of motion of a second
appendage, fixed by Villarceau and Chacornac, prove that these
objects belong to the sun. Let us then hereafter give the name
of solar clouds to the rosy appendages which become visible when
the solar light is sufficiently dimmed.

A few words more will finish the description of the phenome-
non and of the observatians. Ismail EfFendi, a young Egyptian
attached to the Paiis observatory for three years past, a very ex-
pert astronomer, and who accompanied the French expedition to
Spain, has sent me a drawing which proves the appearance of lu-
minous clouds in the east immediately before the commencement
of the eclipse. The clouds in question form a slightly elevated but
continuous band embracing 95° of the outline of the sun. This
band w^as not long visible, but was eclipsed behind the lunar disc,
and it had in efi'ect ceased when I passed over this region in ex-
ploring the whole periphery with a power which allowed me to
see only portions successively.

The magnetic observations were made at Paris, the variations
being sensibly simultaneous for the whole of Europe, and M.
Desains, who took note of the magnetic observations, detected no
perturbations during the eclipse.

Solar Eclipse oj July, 1860. 381.

Physical constitution of the Sun. — A reconstraction or even a
complete abandonment of the tlieoiy hitherto prevalent as to the
physical constitution of the sun appears to me essential. It must
give place to one far more simple.

We have been hitherto assured that the sun was composed of
a central dark globe ; that above this globe existed an immense
atmosphere of sombre clouds, still higher was placed the pboto-
sphere, a self-luminous, gaseous envelope, and the source of the
light and heat of the sun. Where the clouds of the photosphere
are rent, says the old theory, the dark body of the sun is seen in
the spots which so frequently appear. To this complex constitu-
tion must be added a third envelope formed of the accumulation of
roseate clouds.

Now, I fear that the greater part of these envelopes are only
fictious — that the sun is a body, luminous, simply because of its

high temperature, and covered by an unbroken layer of roseate
matter whose existence is now proved. This luminary thus form-
ed of a central nucleus, liquid or solid, and covered by an atmos-
phere, falls within the law common to the constitution of celes-
tial bodies.

[M. Le Verrier goes on to discuss with some detail the
solar spots in the light of these new views, but this we must
defer for another occasion. It is certain that a subject of so
much interest will command much consideration from physicists
and astronomers and we will take care to give it the attention it
deserves.

Nor will the question be settled peaceably — already M. Faye
(Comptes Bend., Aug. 13) in presenting to the French Academy
a long letter from Baron Feilitzsch with an account of his obser-
vations (also in Spain), declares it to be his opinion as well as
tbat of Baron F. that the eclipse of 1860, furnishes the most de-
cisive evidence in favour of the opinion which refers the corona
and the luminous clouds to simple optical appearances, and not to
the essential constitution of the sun or of his atmosphere. M.
Faye adds that the opinion appears to be confirmed by a compar-
ison of the results of other observers— that the sun has no atmos-
phere and that the appearance are purely optical ! — Ed.]

382 British Association.

MISCELLANEOUS.

BRITISH ASSOCIATION.

OXFORD, JUNE 27.
(From the AthenxRum^ January Sfc, 1860.)

A day of sun and cloud, warm, soft, and sometimes bright,
ushered in the Meeting^ of the British Association for the
Advancement of Science. The Prince Consort came down
to Oxford to resign the Presidency of the Association, fle
was receiv^ed with the customary acclamations, by a large and
brilliant assembly, who filled the Sheldonian Theatre in almost
every part. The Chancellor, yice-Chancellor and all the heads of
the University were present, as well as the men of science from all
parts of Europe. After a few graceful words on the part he had
himself taken in watchino- and fosterinoj the proa'ress of Science
during the past year, and on the merits of his successor in the
Presidential Chair, the Prince Consort made way for Lord Wrot-
tesley, who rose and delivered the annual discourse.

The President's Address.

Gentleman of the British Association, — If, on taking this Chair
for the first time as your President, I do not enlarge upon my
deficiences for adequately filling the responsible office to which
you have done me the honour to elect me, I hope you will believe
that I am not tbe less sensible of them.

Science in Oxford University/.

We are now once more assembled in this ancient and vener-
able seat of learning ; and the first topic of interest which pres-
ents itself to me, who owes to Oxford what academic training I
have received, is the contrast pres'ented by the state of Science
and the teaching of Science in this University in the autumn of
the year 1814, when my residence here commenced, and for five
• years afterwards, with its present condition. As the private
pupil of the late Dr. Kidd, and within a few yards of the spot
from which I have now the honour to inauo-urate the Meetins^ of
this distinguished Association, I first imbibed that love of Science
from which some of the purest pleasures of my life have been

British Association. 383

derived ; and I cannot mention tlie name of my former Tutor
without acknowledging the deep debt of gratitude I owe to the
memory of that able, conscientious and single-hearted man.

It was at this period that a small knot of Geologists, headed by
Broderiph, Buckland, the two Conybeares and Kidd, had begun to
stimulate the curiosity of the Students and resident Graduates by
lectures and geological excursions in the neighbourhood of this town.
The lively illustrations of Buckland, combined with genuine talent,
by degrees attracted crowds to his teaching ; and the foundations
of that interesting science, already advancing under the illustrious
Cuvier in France, and destined soon to spread over Europe,
were at this time fairly laid in England within these classical'
Halls. Many a time in those days have ray studies been agree-
ably interrupted by the cheerful laugh which invariably accom-
panied the quaint and witty terms in which Buckland usually
announced to his brother geologists some new discovery, or il-
lustrated the facts and principles of his favourite science. At
the time, however, to which I refer, the study of physical science
was chiefly confined to a somewhat scanty attendance on the
Chemical Lectures of Dr. Kidd, and on those on Experimental
Philosophy by Rigaud; and in pure mathematics the Fluxional
Notation still kept its ground. In the year 1818, Vince's As-
tronomy, and in the following year the Differential Notation,
were first introduced in the mathematical examinations for hon-
ours. At that time, that fine foundation the Radcliffe Observa-
tory was wholly inactive ; the Observer was in declining health
and the establishment was neither useful to astronomical
students, nor did it contribute in any way to the advancement
of astronomical science. Even from the commencement of the
present century, and in proportion as the standard of acquirement
in classical learning was gradually raised by the emulation excited
by the examinations for honours, the attendance on the above-
mentioned Lectures gradually declined : but a similar cause en-
hanced the acquirements of students in pure and applied mathe-
matics, and the University began to number among its Graduates
and Professors men of great eminence in those departments of
knowledge. Nor were the other sciences neglected : and as
Chairs became vacant, or new Professorships were established,
men of European reputation were appointed to fill them. In
proof of all this, I need only direct attention tu the names on
the roll of Secretaries, Vice-Presidents, and Presidents of Sections,

384 Biitish Association,

to convince you that Oxford now contains among her resident Gra-
duates men amply qualified to establish and advance the scientific
fame of that University, of which they are the established orna-
ments.

Museum — Study of Nature.

I have already alluded to some particulars in which this great
University has advanced in the career of scientific improvement, but
everything else has been somewhat thrown into the shade by the
important event of this year, the opening of the new Museum.
The University could have given no more substantial proof of a
sincere interest in the diffusion of science than in the foundation of
this noble Institution ; and I am sure that among the distinguished
cultivators of science here assembled, there is not one who does not
entertain a hearty desire for the success of the various efforts now
in progress for the purpose of stimulating our University students
to a closer contemplation and more diligent study of the glorious
works of Nature, — a study which, if prosecuted earnestly, raises us
in the scale of human beings and improves every moral and in-
tellectual faculty. Towards the attainment of a result so much
to be desired, the Museum will most powerfully contribute ; and
those who frequent it will owe deep obligations to Mr. Hope and
the other benefactors who have generously added to its stores. But
there are other causes in operation which tend to the same end ;
and among them, in addition to such improvements as arise out
of the changes consequent on the recent Act of Parliament, may
be mentioned the alteration in the distribution of University
honours.

The institution of the School of Physical Science forms a most
important feature in the recent changes, and will doubtless be pro-
ductive of good results, provided that suflBcient encouragement by
way of reward be held out to those whose tastes lead them to devote
themselves to those departments of knowledge, and that the com-
pulsory arrangements in respect of other studies allow suflScient
time to the student to accomplish his object. The great ma-
jority of physical students must necessarily belong to that class
who have their subsistence to earn ; and however earnest may be
their zeal for mental improvement, there will be few candidates
for the honours of the Physical School unless due encouragement
be given to excellence in that department. It was therefore with sin-
cere pleasure that I learned that three Fellowships had been
founded at Magdalen College as prizes for proficiency in Natural

' British Association, 385

Science ; and tliat at the same College, and at Christ Church and
Queen's, scholarships and exhibitions had been provided for stu-
dents who evince during their examinations the greatest aptitude
for such studies. Moreover, the acquisition of a Radcliflfe travelling
Fellowship has been made to depend upon obtaining distinction
in the School of Natural Science. In addition to all this, that bene-
ficent and enlightened lady, Miss Burdett Coutts, has founded two
Scholarships, with the view of extending among the clergy educated
at the University a knowledge of Geology. Great hopes are justly
excited in the minds of all well-wishers to the University by these
events, and by reflection on the great change of opinion which
must have taken place since the period when Dr Kidd, with the
aid of Dr. Daubeny, Mr. Greswell and others, in vain attempted to
raise a small sum, by private subscription, for building a modest
receptacle for the various collections of Natural History. How little
could these public-spirited individuals have foreseen, that within
a few short years a sum approaching to 100,000?. would be appro-
priated to the building and furnishing that splendid monument of
Oxford's good will to science, the New Museum !

Astronomy,

At the beginning of the year 1820, when the Astronomical
Society was founded, the private Observatories in this country were
very few in number. The establishment of that Society gave a
most remarkable stimulus to the cultivation of the science which it
was intended to promote. I can give no better proof of this than
the fact that the Nautical Almanac now contains a list of no less
than twelve private Observatories in the United Kingdom, at
nearly all of which some good work has been done ; and in ad-
dition to this, Fome Observatories, which have been since discon-
tinued, have performed most important services — I may instance
that of the two Herschels at Slough, and that of Admiral Smyth
at Bedford.

It may not be uninteresting if I describe the nature and utility
of some of the results which these several establishments have
furnished to the world : I say the world advisedly, for scientific
facts are the common inheritance of all mankind.

But first a word as to the peculiar province of the observa-
tories which are properly called "public," such as the far-famed
Institution at Greenwich. Their task is now more peculiarly to
establish, with the last degree of accuracy, the places of the prin-

386 British Association* •

cipal heavenly bodies of our own system, and of the brighter or
fundamental fixed stars which are about 100 in number. But in
early stages of Astronomy, we were necessarily indebted to pub-
lic Observatories for all the data of the science. On the other
hand, their voluntary rivals occupy that portion of the great as-
tronomical field which is untilled by the professional observer, rov-
ing over it according to their own free will and pleasure, and
cultivating with industrious hand such plants as the more con-
tinuous and severe labours of the public astronomer leave no time
or opportunity to bring to maturity.

The observations of our private observers have been chiefly de-
voted to seven important objects : —

First. The observing and mapping of the smaller stars, under
which term I include all those which do not form the pecuhar
province of the public observer.

Secondly. The observations of the positions and distances of
double stars.

Thirdly. Observations delineations, and Catalogues of the
Nebulae.

Fourthly. Observations of the minor planets.

Fifthly. Cometary observations.

Sixthly. Observations of the solar spots and other phenomena on
the Sun's disc.

Seventhly. Occultations of stars by the Moon, eclipses of the
heavenly bodies and other occasional extra-meridional observa-
tions.

And first as to cataloguing and mapping the smaller stars.
This means, as you know, the accurate determination by astron-
omical observation of the places of those objects, as referred to
certain assumed fixed points in the heavens. The first Star Cat-
alogue worthy to be so called, is that which goes by the name of
Flamsteed's or the British Catalogue. It contains above 3,000
stars, and is the produce of the labours of the first Astronomer
Royal of Greenwich, — labours prosecuted under circumstances of
great difficulty, and the results of which were not given to the
world in a complete form till many years had elapsed from the
time the observations were made which was during the latter
half of the seventeenth century. About the middle of the eight-
teenth century, the celebrated Dr Bradly, who also filled the post of
Astronomer Royal, observed an almost equally extensive catalogue
of Stars,and the begining of the nineteenth century gave birth to that

British Association, 387

of Piazzi of Palermo. These three are the most celebrated of what
may be now termed the ancient Catalogues. About the year
1830, the attention of modern astronomeis was more particularly
directed to the expediency of re-observing the stars in these three
Catalogues, — a task which has much facilitated by the publication
of a very valuable work of the Astronomical Society, which ren-
dered the calculation of the observations to be made comparatively
easy, and, accordingly, observations were commenced and com-
pleted in several private and public Observatories, and from
which some curious results were deduced as, e. g, sundry stars
were found to be missinor, and others to have what is called
proper motion. And now a word as to the utility of this
cource of observation. It is well observed by Sir John Her-
schel, " that the stars are the landmarks of the universe ; every
well determined star is a point of departure which can
never deceive the astronomer, geographer, navigator, or surveyor."
We must have these fixed points in order to refer to them all the
observations of the wandering heavenly bodies, the planets and the
comets. By these fixed marks we determine the situation of places
on the earth's surface, and of ships on the ocean. When the places
of the stars have been registered celestial charts are constructed ;
and by comparing these with the heavens, we at once discover whe-
ther any new body be present in the particular locality under obser-
vation and thus have most of the fifty-seven small or minor planets
between Mars and Jupiter been discovered. The observations, how-
ever, of these smaller stars, and the registry of their places in Cata-
logues, and the comparisons of the results obtained at diiferent
and distant periods, have revealed another extrordinary fact no less
than that our own sun is not fixed in space, but that it is constantly
moving forwards towards a point in the constellation Hercules, at
the rate as it is supposed, of about 18,000 miles an hour carry-
ing with it the whole planetary and cometary system ; and if our
sun moves probably all the other stars or suns move also, and the
whole universe is in a pd^-petual state of motion through space.

The second subject to which the attention of private observers
has been more particularly directed, is that of double or multiple
stars, or those which, being situated very close to one another ap-
pear single to the naked eye ; but when viewed through powerful
teloscopes are seen to consist of two or more stars. The measuring
the angles and distances from one another of the two or more com-
ponent stars of these systems, has led to the discovery that many of

388 British Association,

these very close stars are,in fact acting as suns to one another and re-
volving round their common centre of gravity,each of them probably
carrying with it a whole system of planets and comets, and, per-
haps each carried forward through space like our own sun. It
became then a point of great interest to determine whether
bodies so far removed from us as these systems observed Newton's
law of gravity and to this end ,it was necessary to observe the
angles and distance's of a great number of these douluble stars scat
ered everywhere through the heavens, for the purpose of obtain-
ing data to compute their orbits. This has been done, and chiefly
by private observers ; and the result is that these distant bodies
are found to be obedient to the same laws that prevail in our own
system.

The Nebulae are as it were, systems or rings of stars scattered
through space at incredible distances from our star system, and
perhaps from one another ; and there are many of these myster-
ious clouds of light, and there may be endless invisible regions of
space similarly tenanted. Now, the nearest fixed star of our star
system whose distance has been measured, is the brightest in the
constellation Centaur, one of the Southern constellations, and this
nearest is yet so far removed, that it takes light, travelling at
the rate of about 192,000 miles per second, three years to arrive
at the earth from that si ar. When we gaze at it, therefore we
see it only as it existed three years ago ; some great convulsion
of nature may have since destroyed it. But there are many
bright stars in our own system, whose distance is so much great-
er than this, as a Cygni for example that astronomers have not
succeeded in measuring it. What, then must be the distance of
these nebulse, with which so much space is filled ; every compon-
ent star in which may be a sun, with its own system of planets
and comets revolving around it, each planet inhabited by myriads
of inhabitants ! What an overpowering view does this give us of
the extent of creation ! The component stars of these nebulae
are so faint, and, apparently, so close to'gether, that it is neces-
sary to use telescopes of great power and with apertures so large
as to admit a great amount of light for the observation. We owe
it more especially to four individuals that telescopes have been
constructed at a great cost and with great mechanical skill, suf-
ficiently powerful to penetrate these depths of space. Those four
individuals are the Herschels, father and son, Lord Rosse, and
Mr. W. Lassell. That praiseworthy nobleman, Lord Rosse began

British Association. 389

his meritorious career by obtaining a First Class at this University
and has, as you know, spent large sums of money and displayed
considerable mechanical genius in erecting, near his own castle
in Ireland, an instrument of far greater power than any other in
the world ; and with it he has observed these nebulae, and em-
ployed skilful artists to delineate their forms : and he has more-
over made the very curious discovery, that some of them are ar-
ranged in a spiral form, a fact which gives rise to much inter-
esting speculation on the kind of forces by which their parts are
held together. It were much to be wished that observations sim-
ilar to these, and with instruments of nearly the same power, should
be made of the Southern nebulae also ; that this generation might
be able to leave to posterity a record of their present configur-
ations. The distinguished Astronomer, Mr. W. Lassell, the dis-
coverer of Neptune's satellite, has just finished at his own cost,
an instrument equal to the task, mounted equatorial ly ; and I am
not without hope that it may, at perhaps no very distant
period, be devoted to its accomplishment. A recent communi-
cation from him to the Astronomical Society expresses satisfaction
with the mounting of his instrument, and after many trials its
great speculum has at last come forth nearly perfect from his la-
boratory.

Comets,

Of all the phenomena of the heavens, there are none which ex-
cite more general interest than comets — those vagrant strangers,
the gipsies as they have been termed of our solar system,
which often come we know not whence, and at periods when we
least expect them : and such is the eftect produced by the strange-
ness and suddenness of their appearance, and the mysterious nature
of some of the facts connected with them, that while in ignorant
times they excite alarm, they now sometimes seduce men to leave
other employments and become astronomers. Now, though
the larger and brighter comets naturally excite most general pub-
lic interest, and are really valuable to astronomers, as exhibiting
appearances which tend to throw light on the internal structure
of these bodies, and the nature of the forces which must be in
operation to produce the extraordinary phenomena observed, yet
some of the smaller telescopic comets are, perhaps, more interest-
ing in a physical point of view. Thus the six periodical comets,
the orbits of which have been determined with tolerable accuracy,

390 British Association.

and which return at stated intervals, are extremely useful, as be-
ing likely to disclose facts of which, but for them, we should pos-
sibly have ever remained ignorant. Thus, for example, when the
comet of Encke, which performs its revolution in a period of a
little more than three years, was observed at each return, it dis-
closed the important and unexpected fact, that its motion was
continually accelerated. At each successive approach to the sun
it arrives at its perihelion sooner and sooner ; and there is no
way of accounting for this so satisfactory as that of supposing
that the space, in which the planetary and cometary motions are
performed, is everywhere pervaded by a very rarefied atmosphere
or ether, so thin as to exercise no perceptible effect on the move-
ments of massive solid bodies like the planets, but substantial
enough to exert a very important influence on more attenuated
subt^tances moving with great velocity. The effect of the resist-
ance of the ether is to retard the tangential motion, and
allow the attractive force of gravity to draw the body nearer
1o the sun, by which the dimensions of the orbit are continually
contracted and the velocity in it augmented. The final result
will be that, after the lapse of ages, this comot will fall into the
sun ; this body, a mere hazy cloud, continually flickering as it
were like a celestial moth round the great luminary, is at some
distant period destined to be mercilessly consumed. Now the
discovery of this ether is deeply interesting as bearing on other
important physical questions, such as the undulatory theory of
light ; and the probability of the future absorption of comets by
the sun is important as connected with a very interesting specu-
lation by Prof. William Thomson, who has suggested that the
heat and light of the sun may be from time to time replenished
by the falling in and absorption of countless meteors which circu-
late round him ; and here we have a cause revealed which may
accelerate or produce such an event.

Luminous bodies in the Sun.

On the 1st of September last, at llh 18m a. m., a distinguished
astronomer, Mr. Carrington, had directed his telescope to the
sun, and was engaged in observing his spots, when suddenly two
intensely luminous bodies burst into view on its surface. They
moved side by side through a space of about 35,000 miles, first
increasing in brightness, then fading away ; in five minutes they
had vanished. They did not alter the shape of a group of large

British Assov'iation. 391

black spots wLich lay diiQctly in their paths. Momentary as
this remarkable phenomenon was, it was fortunately witnessed and
confirmed, as to one of the bright lights, by another observer, Mr.
Hodgson, at Highgate, who, by a happy coincidence, had also
his telescope directed to the great luminary at the same instant.
It may be, therefore, that these two gentlemen have actually wit-
nessed the process of feeding the Sun, by the fall of meteoric
matter ; but however this may be, it is a remarkable circum-
stance, that the observations at Kew show that on the very day,
and at the very hour and minute of this unexpected and curious
phenomenon, a moderate but marked magnetic disturbance took
place; and a storm or great disturbance of the magnetic elements
occurred four hours after midnifrht, extendinor to the southern
hemisphere. Thus is exhibited a seeming connection between
magnetic phenomena and certain actions taking place on the sun's
disc — a connection, which the observations of Schwabe, compared
with the magnetical records of our Colonial Observatories, had
already rendered nearly certain. The remarkable results derived
fi'om the comparison of the magnetical observations of Captain
Maguire on the shores of the Polar Sea, with the contemporaneous
records of these Observatories, have been described bv me on a
former occasion. The delay of the Government in re-establishing
the Colonial Observatories has hitherto retarded that further de-
velopment of the magnetic laws, which would doubtless have re-
suited from the prosecution of such researches.

We may derive an important lesson from the facts above al-
luded to. Here are striking instances in which independent ob-
servations of natural phenomena have been strangely and quite un-
expectedly connected together : this tends powerfully to prove, if
proof were necessary, that if we are really ever to attain to a
satisfactory knowledge of Nature's laws, it must be accomplished
by an assiduous watching of all her phenomena, in every depart-
ment into which Natural Science is divided. Experience shows
that such observations, if made with all those precautions which
long practice combined with natural acuteness teaches, often lead
to discoveries, which cannot be at all foreseen by the observers
though many years may elapse before the whole harvest is
reaped.

Moon^s Motion.
A curious controversy has lately arisen on the subject of the

392 British Association*

acceleration of the Moon's motion, which is now exciting great
interest among mathematicians and physical astronomers. Prof.
Adams and M. Delaunay take one view of the question; MM.
Plana, Pontecoulant, and Hansen the other. Mr. Airy, Mr. Main,
the President of the Astronomical Society, and Sir John Lubbock
support the conclusions at which Prof. Adams has arrived. The
question in dispute is strictly mathematical ; and it is a very re-
markable circumstance in the history of Astronomy, that such
great names should be ranged on opposite sides, seeing that
the point involved is really no other than whether certain ana-
lytical operations have been conducted on right principles ; and
it is a proof, therefore, if any were wanting, of the extraordinary
complexity and difficulty of these transcendental inquiries. The
controversy is of the following nature: — Tne Moon's motion round
the Earth, which would be otherwise uniform, is disturbed by
the Sun's attraction; any cause therefore which affects the
amount of that attraction affects also the Moon's motion : now,
as the excentricity of the Earth's orbit is gradually decreasing,
the average distance of the Sun is slightly increasing every year>
and his disturbing force becomes less ; hence the Moon is brought
nearer the Earth, but at the rate of less than one inch
yearly, her gravitation towards the Earth is greater, and her
motion proportionably accelerated. It is on the secular
acceleration of the Moon's mean motion, arising from this minute
yearly approach, that the dispute has arisen ; so injfinitesimally
small are the quantities within the reach of modern analysis. Mr.
Adams asserts that his predecessors have improperly omitted the
consideration of the effect produced by the action of that part
of the Sun's disturbing force which acts in the direction of a tan-
gent to the Moon's orbit, and which increases the velocity ; his
opponents deny that it is necessary to take this into account at all.
Had not M. Delaunay, an able French analyst, by a perfectly in-
dependent process, confirmed the results of Prof. Adams, we should
have had the English and Continential astronomers waging war on
an algebraical question. On the other hand, however, the com-
putations of the ancient lunar eclipses support the views of the
Continent ; but if Mr. Adams's mathematics are correct, this only
shows that there must be other causes in operation, as yet undis-
covered, which influence the result ; and it is not at all unlikely,
that this most curious and interesting controversy will even-
tually lead to some important discovery in Physical Astronomy-

British Association, 393

Chemistry.

In Chemistry I am informed that great activity has been dis-
played, especially in the organic department of the science. For
several years past processes of substitution (or displacment of one
element or organic group by another element or a group, more
or less analogous) have been the main agents employed
in investigation, and the results to which they have led have
been truly wonderful ; enabling the chemist to group together sev-
eral compounds of comparatively simple constitution into others
much more complex, and thus to imitate, up to a certain point,
the phenomena which take place within the growing plant or
animal. It is not indeed to be anticipated that the chemist should
ever be able to produce by the operations of the laboratory the
arrangement of the elements in the forms of the veofetable cell or
the animal fibre ; but he may hope to succeed in preparing some
of the complex results of secretion or of chemical changes pro-
duced within the living organism, — changes which furnish definite
crystallizable compounds, such as the forminates and the ace-
tates, and which he has actually obtained by operations indepen-
dent ot the plant or the animal.

JVeio Dyes.

Turning to the practical applications of chemistry, we may refer
to the beautiful dves now extracted from aniline, an oro-anic base
formerly obtained as a chemical curiosity from the products of the
distillation of coal-tar, but now manufactured by the hundred
weight in consequence of the extensive demand for the beautiful^
colours known as Mauve, Magenta, and Solferino, which are pre-
pared by the action of oxid'zing agents, such as bichromate of
potash, corrosive sublimate, and iodide of mercury upon aniline.

Nor has the inorganic department of chemistry been deprived of
of its due share of important advances, Schonbein has continued
his investigations upon ozone, and has added many new facts to
our knowledge of this interesting substance ; and Andrews and
Tait, by their elaborate investigations, have shown that ozone,
whether admitted to bean allotropic modification of oxygen or not,
is certainly much more dense than oxygen in its ordinary con-
dition.

Geology — Antiquity of man.

The bearing of some recent geological discoveries on the great
question of the high anti4uity of Man was brought before your
Can. Nat. 11 No. 5, Yol. V.

394 British Association,

notice at your last Meeting, at Aberdeen, by Sir Charles Lyell, in
his opening address to the Geological Section. Since that time
many French and English naturalists have visited the valley of the
Somme in Picardy, and confirmed the opinion originally publish-
ed by M. Boucher de Perthes, in 184*7, and afterwards confirm-
ed by Mr. Prestwich, Sir C. Lyell, and other geologists, from
personal examination of that region. It appears that the posi-
tion of the rude flint-implements, which are unequivocally of
human workmanship, is such, at Abbeville and Amiens, as to
show that they are as ancient as a great mass of gravel which
fills the lower parts of the valley between those two cities, extend-
ing above and below them. This gravel is an ancient fluviatile
alluvium by no means confined to the lowest depressions (where
extensive and deep peat-mosses now exist), but is sometimes also
seen covering the slopes of the boundary hills of chalk at eleva-
tions of 80 or 100 feet above the level of the Somme. Changes,
therefore, in the physical geography of the country, comprising
both the filling up with sediment and drift, and the partial re-
excavation of the valley, have happened since old river-beds were,
at some former period, the receptacles of the worked flints. The
number of these last, already computed at above 1,400 in an area of
fourteen miles in length, and half a mile in breadth, has aff"orded
to a succession of visitors abundant opportunities of verifying the
true geological position of the implements.

The old alluvium, whether at higher or lower levels, consists not,
only of the coarse gravel with worked flints above mentioned
but also of superimposed beds of sand and loam, in which are
many freshwater and land shells, for the most part entire, and of
species not living in the same part of France. With the shells
are found bones of the Mammoth and an extinct Rhinoceros, H,
tichorhinus, an extinct species of Deer, and fossil remains of the
Horse, Ox, and other animals. These are met with in the overlying
beds, and sometimes also in the gravel where the implements occur.
At Menchecourt, in the suburbs of Abbeville, a nearly entire skel-
eton of the Siberian Rhinoceros is said to have been taken out about
forty years ago, a fact afi'ording an answer to the question
often raised, as to whether the bones of the extinct mammalia
could have been washed out of an older alluvium into a newer
one, and so redeposited and mingled with the relics of human
workmanship. Far-fetched as was this hypothesis, I am informed
that it would not, if granted, have seriously shaken the proof of

British Association, 395

the higli antiquity of the human productions, for that proof is
independent of organic evidence or fossil remains, and is based on
physical data. A& was stated to us last year by Sir C. Lyell,
we should still have to allow time for great denudation of the
chalk, and the removal from place to place, and the spreading
out over the length and breadth of a large valley of heaps of chalk
flints in beds from 10 to 15 feet in thickness, covered by loams
and sands of equal thickness, these last often tranquilly deposited,
all of which operations would require the supposition of a great
lapse of time.

That the mammalia Fauna, preserved under such circumstances?
should be found to diverge from the type now established in
the same region, is consistent with experience ; but the fact of a
foreign and extinct Fauna was not needed to indicate the great
age of the gravel containing the worked flints.

Another independent proof of the age of the same gravel and its
associated fossiliferous loam is derived from the large deposits of
peat above alluded to, in the Valley of the Somme, which con-
tain not only monuments of the Roman, but also those of an
older stone period, usually called Celtic. Bones, also, of the bear
of the species still inhabiting the Pyrenees, and of the beaver, and
many large stumps of trees, not yet well examined by botanists,
are found in the same peat, the oldest portion of which belongs to
times far beyond those of tradition ; yet distinguished geologists
are of opinion that the growth of all the vegetable matter, and
even the original scooping out of the hollows containing it, are
events long posterior in date to the gravel with flint implements
nay, posterior even to the formation of the uppermost of the
layers of loam with freshwater shells overlying the gravel.

The exploration of caverns, both 'in the British Isles and other
parts of Europe, has in the last few years been prosecuted with
renewed ardour and success, although the theoretical explanation of
many of the phenomena brought to light seems as yet to baffle
the skill of the ablest geologists. Dr. Falconer has given us an
account of the remains of several hundred hippopotami, obtained
from one cavern,'''near Palermo, in a locality where there is now
no running water. The same palaeontologist, aided by Col. Wood,
of Glamorganshire, has recently extracted from a single cave in
the Gower peninsula of South Wales, a vast quantity of the an-
tlers of a reindeer (perhaps of two species of reindeer), both allied
to the livinor one. These fossils are most of them shed h orns;

396 British Association.

and there Lave been already no less tban 1,100 of tbem dug out
of the mud filling one cave.

In the cave of Brixham, in Devonshire in and another near
Palermo in Sicily, flint implements were observed by Dr. Falconer,
associated in such a manner with the bones of extinct mammalia, as
to lead him to infer that Man must have co-existed with several
lost species of quadrupeds ; and M. de Vibraye has also this spring
called attention to analogous conclusions, at which he has arrived
by studying the position of a human jaw with teeth, accompanied
by the remains of a mammoth, under the stalagmite of the Grotto
d'Arcis, near Troyes, in France.

Microscopy.

But I cannot takeleave of this department of knowledge without
likewise alluding to the progress made in scrutinizing the animal
and vegetable structure by mean sof the microscope — more parti-
cularly the intimate organization of the brain, spinal cord, and or-
gans of the senses ; also to the extension, through the means of vr ell-
directed experiment, of our knowledge of the functions of the ner-
vous system, the course followed by sensorical impressions and
motorial excitement in the spinal cord, and the influence exerted
by or through the nervous centres on the movements of the heart,
blood-vessels and viscera, and on the activity of the secreting or-
gans ; — subjects of inquiry, which, it may be observed, are closely
related to the question of the organic mechanism whereby our
. corporeal frame is influenced by various mental conditions.

Conclusion.

I may perhaps be permitted to express the hope that the examples
I have given of some of the researches and discoveries which occupy
the attention of the cultivators of science may have tended to illus-
trate the sublime nature, engrossing interest and paramount
utility of such pursuits, from which the beneficial influence in pro-
moting the intellectual progress and the happiness and well-being
of mankind may well be inferred. But let us assume that to any
of the classical writers of antiquity sacred or profane, a sudden re-
velation had been made of all the wonders involved in Creation
accessible to man ; that to them had been disclosed not only what
we now know, but what we are to know hereafter, in some future
age of improved knowledge ; would they not have delighted to
celebrate the marvels of the Creator's power ? They would have

British Association, 397

described the secret force by which the wandering orbs of light
are retained in their destined paths ; the boundless extent of cel-
estial spaces in which worlds on worlds are heaped ; the wonder-
ful mechanism by which heat and light are conveyed through
distances which to mortal minds seem quite unfathomable ; the
mysterious agency of electricity destined at one time to awaken
men's minds to an awful sense of a present Providence, but in
after-times to become a patient minister of man's will, and convey
his thoughts with the speed of light across the inhabited globe •
the beauties and prodigies of contrivance which the animal and
vegetable world display, from mankind downwards to the lowest
zoophyte, from the stately oak of the privaeval forest to the hum-
blest plant which the microscope unfolds to view ; the history of
every stone on the mountain brow, of every gi.y-coloured insect
which flutters in the sunbeam ; — all would have been described, and
all which the discoveriers of our more fortunate posterity will in
due time disclose, and in language such as none but they could
command. It is reserved for future ages to sing such a glorious
hymn to the Creator's praise. But is there not enough now seen
and heard to make indifference to the wonders around us a deep
reproach, nay, almost a crime. If we have neither leisure nor
inclination to track the course of the planet and comet through
boundless space ; to follow the wanderings of the subtle fluid in
the galvanic coil or the nicely-poised magnet ; to read the world's
history written on her ancient rocks, the sepulchres of stony
relics of ages long gone past ; to analyze with curious eye the won-
derful combination of the primitive elements, and the secret
mysteries of form and being in animal and plant ; discovering
everywhere connecting links, and startling analogies and proofs
of adaptation of means to ends — all tending to charm the senses, to
teach to reclaim a being who seems but a creeping worm in the
presence of this great creation — what, I repeat, if we will not, or
cannot, do these things or any of these things, — is that any reason
why these speaking marvels should be to us almost as they were
not? Marvels indeed they are : but thev are also mysteries the
unravelinof of some of which task to the utmost the hio-hest
order of human intelligence. Let us ever apply ourselves seriously
to the task, feeling assured that the more we thus exercise, and by
exercising improve our intellectual faculties, the more worthy
shall we be, the better shall we be fitted, to come nearer to our
God.

398 British Association*

Proceeding s. — S e c t i o n II.
Botany, — Darwin's Theory.

'On the Final Causes of the Sexuality of Plants, with particular
Eeference to Mr. Darwin's Work " On the Origin of Species by
Natural Selection,"' by Dr. Daubeny. — Dr. Daubeny began by
pointing out the identity betwen the two modes by which the
multiplication of plants is brought about, the very same proper-
ties being impart: d to the bud or t3 the graft as to the seed pro-
duced by the ordinary process of fecundation, and a new indivi-
dual being in either instance equally produced. We are, there-
fore, led to speculate as to the final cause of the existence of sexual
organs in plants, as well as in those lower animals which can be
propagated by cuttings. One use, no doubt, may be the dissemi-
nation of the species ; for many plants, if propagated by buds
alone, would be in a manner confined to a single spot. Another
secondary use is the production of fruits which afford the nourish-
ment to animals. A third may be to minister to the gratification
of the senses of man by the _ beauty of their forms and colours.
But as these ends are only answered in a small proportion of
cases, we must seek further for the uses of the organs in question ;
and hence the author suggested that they might have been pro-
vided, in order to prevent that uniformity in the aspect of Nature,
which would have prevailed if plants had been multiphed exclu-
sively by buds. It is well known that a bud is a mere counterpart
of the stock from whence it springs, so that we are always sure of
obtaining the very same description of fruit by merely grafting a
bud or cutting of a pear or apple tree upon another plant of the
same species. On the other hand, the seed never produces an
individual exactly like the plant from which it sprang ; and hence,
by the union of the sexes in plants, some variation from the pri-
mitive type is sure to result. Dr. Daubeny remarked that if we
adopt in any degree the views of Mr. Darwin with respect to the
origin of species by natural selection, the creation of sexual organs
in plants might be regarded as intended to promote this specific
object. Whilst, however, he gave his assent to the Darwinian
hypothesis, as likely to aid us in reducing the number of existing
species, he wished not to be considered as advocating it to the
extent to which the author seems disposed to carry it. He rather
desired to recommend to naturalists the necessity of further in-
quiries, in order to fix the limits within which the doctrine pro-

British Association, 399

posed by Mr. Darwin may assist us in distinguishing varieties from
species.

Prof. Huxley, having been called on by the Chairman, depre-
cated any discussion on the general question of the truth of Mr.
Darwin's theory. He felt that a general audience, in which sen-
timent would unduly interfere with intellect, was not the public
before which such a discussion should be carried on. Dr. Dau-
beny had brought forth nothing new to demand or require re-
marrk. — Mr. R. Dowden, of Cork, mentioned, first, two instances
in which plants had been disseminated by seeds, which could not
be effected by buds ; first, in the introduction of Senecio squalida,
by the late Rev. AV. Hincks ; and, second, in the diffusion of chi-
cory, ill the vicinity of Cork, by the agency of its winged seeds.
He related several anecdotes of a monkey, to show that however
highly organized the Quadrumana might be, they were very infe-
rior in intellectual qualities to the dog, the elephant and other
animals. He particularly referred to his monkey being fond of
playing with a hammer; but although he liked oysters as food,
he never could teach him to break the 03'sters with his hammer
as a means of indulging his appetite. — Dr. Wright stated that a
friend of his, who had gone out to report on the habits of the
gorilla — the highest form of monkey — had observed that the fe-
male gorilla took its young to the sea-shore for the purpose of
feeding them on oysters, which they broke with great facility. —
Prof. Owen wished to approach this subject in the spirit of the
philosopher, and expressed his conviction that there were facts by
which the public could come to some conclusion with regard to
the probabilities of the truth of Mr. Darwin's theory. Whilst
giving all praise to Mr. Darwin for the courage with which he
had put forth his theory, he felt it must be teste! by facts. As a
contribution to the facts by which the theory must be tested, he
would refer to the structure of the highest Quadrumana as com-
pared with man. Taking the brain of the gorilla, it presented
more differences, as compared with the brain of man, than it did
when compared with the brains of the very lowest and most pro-
blematical form of the Quadrumana. The deficiencies in cerebral
structure between the gorilla and man were immense. The pos-
terior lobes of the cerebrum in man presented parts which were
whoUv absent in the p'orilla. The same remarkable differences of
structure were seen in other parts of the body ; yet he would es-
pecially refer to the structure of the great toe in man, which was

400 British Association*

coiistructed to enable him to assume tlie upriglit position ; whilst
in the lower monkeys it was impossible, from the structm*e of
their feet, that they should do so. He concluded by urging on
the physiologist the necessity of experiment. The chemist, when
in doubt, decided his questions by experiment ; and this was what
was needed by the physiologist. — Prof. Huxley begged to be
permitted to rejdy to Prof. Owen. He denied altogether that the
difference between the brain of the gorilla and man was so great
as represented by Prof. Owen, and appealed to the published dis-
sections of Tiedemann and others. From the study of the struc-
ture of the brain of the Quadrumana, he maintained that the dif-
ference between man and the highest monkey was not so great as
between the highest and the lowest monkey. He maintained
also, with regard to the limbs, that there was more difference be-
tween the toeless monkeys and the gorilla than between the latter
and man. He believed that the great feature which distinguished
man from the monkey was the gift of speech.

On the Intellectual Development of Europe, considered with
Eeference to the Views of Mr. Darwin and others, that the Pro-
gression of Organisms is determined by Law, by Prof. Draper,
M.D., of New York. — The object of this paper was to show that
the advancement of man in civilization does not occur acciden-
tally or in a fortuitous manner, but is determined by immutable
law. The author introduced his subject by recaUing proofs of
the denomination of law in the three great lines of the manifes-
tation of life. First, in the successive stages of development of
every individual, from the earliest rudiment to maturity ; se-
condly, in the numberless organic forms now living contemporan-
eously with us, and constituting the animal series ; thirdly, in the
orderly appearance of that grand succession which in the slow
lapse of geological time has emerged, constituting the life of the
Earth, showing therefrom not only the evidences, but also proofs
of the dominion of law over the world of life. In these three
lines of life he established that the general principle is to differen-
tiate instinct from automatism, and then to differentiate intelli-
gence from instinct. In man himself three distinct instrumental
nervous mechanisms exist, and three distinct modes of life are
perceptible, the automatic, the instinctive, the intelligent. They
occur in an epochal order, from infancy through childhood to
tae more perfect state. Such holding good for the individual, it
was then aflSrmed that it is physiologically impossible to separate

British Association. 401

the individual from the race, and that what holds good for the
one holds good for the other too; and hence that man is the
archetype of society, and individual development the model of
social progress, and that both are under the control of immutable
law : that a parallel exists between individual and national life in
this, that the production, life, and death of an organic particle in
the person, answers to the production, life, and death of a person
in the nation. Turning from these purely physiological conside-
rations to historical proof, and selecting the only European nation
"which thus far has offered a complete and completed intellectual
life. Prof. Draper showed, that the characteristics of Greek mental
development answer perfectly to those of individual life, present-
ing philosophically five well-marked ages or periods, — the first
being closed by the opening of Egypt to the lonians ; the
second including the Ionian Pythagorean, and Eleatic phil-
osophies, was ended by the criticisms of the Sophists ; the
third, embracing the Socratic and Platonic philosophies, was
ended by the doubts of the Sceptics ; the fourth, ushered in
by the Macedonian expedition and adorned by the splendid
achievements of the Alexandrian school, degenerated into
Neoplatonism and imbecility in the fifth, to which the hand
of Rome put an end. From the solution of the four great pro-
blems of Greek philosophy, given in each of these five stages of
its life, he showed that it is possible to determine the law of the
variation of Greek opinion, and to establish its analogy with that
of the variations of opinion in individual life. Next, passing to
the consideration of Europe in the aggregate. Prof. Draper showed
that it has already in part repeated these phases in its intel-
lectual Hfe. Its first period closes with the spread of the power
of Republican Rome, the second with the foundation of Constan-
tinople, the third with the Turkish invasion of Europe : we are
living in the fourth. Detailed proofs of the correspondence of
these periods to those of Greek life, and through them to those
of individual life, are given in a work now printing on this sub-
ject, by the author, in America. Having established this conclu-
sion. Prof. Draper next briefly alluded to many collateral pro-
blems or inquiries. He showed that the advances of men are
due to external and not to interior influences, and that in this
respect a nation is like a seed, which can only develop when the
conditions are favourable, and then only in a definite way ; that
the time for psychical change corresponds with that for physical,

402 British Association,

and tbat a nation cannot advance except its material condition be
touched, — this having been the case throughout all Europe, as is
manifested by the diminution of the blue-eyed races thereof;
that all organisms and even man are dependent for their charac-
teristics, continuance, and life on the physical conditions under
which they live ; that the existing apparent invariability presented
by the world of organization is the direct consequence of the phy-
sical equilibrium, but that if that should suffer modification, in an
instant the fanciful doctrine of the immutability of species would
be brought to its proper value. The organic world appears to be
in repose because natural influences have reached an equilibrium.
, A marble may remain motionless for ever on a level table, but let
the table be a little inclined, and the marble will quickly run ofl ;
and so it is with oro-anisms in the world. From his work on
Physiology, published in 1856, he gave his views in support of
the doctrine of the transmutation of species; the transitional
forms of the animal and also the human type ; the production of
new ethnical elements, or nations ; and the laws of their origin,
duration, and death.

The announcement of this paper attracted an immense audience
to the Section, which met this morning in the Library of the New
Museum. The discussion was commenced by the Rev. Mr.
Cresswell, who denied that any parallel could be drawn between
the intellectual progress of man and the physical development of
the lower animals. So far from the author being correct with
regard to the history of Greece, its masterpieces in literature —
the Iliad and Odyssey — were produced during its national in-
fancy. The theory of intellectual development proposed was
directly opposed to the known facts of the history of man. — Sir
B. Brodie stated, he could not subscribe to the hypothesis of Mr,
Darwin. His primordial germ had not been demonstrated to
have existed. Man had a power of self-consciousness — a prin-
ciple differing from anything found in the material world, and
he did not see how this could originate in lower organisms
This power of man was identical with the Divine Intelligence ;
and to suppose that this could originate with matter, involved the
absurdity of supposing the source of Divine power dependent on
the arrano^ement of matter. The Bishop of Oxford stated that
the Darwinian theory, when tried by the principles of inductive
science, broke down. The facts brought forward did not warrant
the theory. The permanence of specific forms was a fact con-

British Association, 403

firmed by all observation. The remains of animals, plants, and
man found in those earliest records of the human race — the
Egyptian catacombs, all spoke of their identity with existing
forms, and of the irresistible tendency of organized beings to
assume an unalterable character. The line between man and
the lower animals was distinct: there was no tendency on the
part of the lower animals to become the self-conscious intelligent
being, man; or in man lo degenerate and lose the high charac-
teristics of his mind and intelligence. All experiments had
failed to show any tendency in one animal to assume the form of
the other. In the great case of the pigeons quoted by Mr. Dar-
win, he admitted that no sooner were these animals set free than
they returned to their primitive type. Everywhere sterility at-
tended hybridism, as was seen in the closely-allied forms of the
horse and the ass. Mr. Darwin's conclusions were an hypothesis,
raised most unphilosophically to the dignity of a causal theory.
He was glad to know that the greatest names in science were
opposed to this theory which he believed to be opposed to the
interests of science and humanity. — Prof. Huxley defended Mr.
Darwin's theory from the charge of its being merely an hypo-
thesis. He said, it was an explanation of phenomena in Natural
History, as the undulating theory was of the phenomena of light.
No one objected to that theory because an undulation of light
had never been arrestee! and measured. Darwin's theory was an
explanation of facts ; and his book was full of new facts, all bear-
ing on his theory. Without asserting that every part of the
theory had been confirmed, he maintained that it was the best
explanation of the origin of species which had yei been offered.
With regard to the psychological distinction between man and
animals ; man himself was once a monad — a mere atom, and no
body could say at what moment in the history of his develop-
ment he became consciously intelligent. The question was not
so much one of a transmutation or transition of species, as of the
production of forms which became ]>ermanent. Thus the short-
legged sheep of America were not produced gradually, but ori-
ginated in the birth of an original parent of the whole stock,
which had been kept up by a rigid system of artificial selection.
— Admiral FitzRoy regretted the publication of Mr. Darwin's
book, and denied Prof. Huxley's statement, that it was a logical
arrangement of facts. — Dr. Beale pointed out some of the diffi-
culties with which the Darwinian theory had to deal, more espe-

404 British Association.

cially those vital tendencies of allied agents. — Mr. Lubbock
expressed his willingness to accept tbe Darwinian hypothesis in
the absence of any better. He would, however, express his con-
viction, that time was not an essential element in these changes.
Time alone produce no change. — Dr. Hooker, being called upon
by the President to state his views of the botanical aspect of the
question, observed, that the Bishop of Oxford having asserted
that all men of science were hostile to Mr. Darwin's hypothesis,
— whereas he himself was favourable to it, — he could not pre-
sume to address the audience as a scientific authority. As, how-
ever, he had been asked for his opinion, he would briefly give it.
In the first place, his Lordship, in his eloquent address, had, as it
appeared to him, completely misunderstood Mr. Darwin's hypo-
thesis : his Lordship intimated that this maintained the doctrine
of the transmutation of existing species one into another, and had
confounded this with that of the successive development of pes-
cies by variation and natural selection. The first of these doc-
trines was so wholly opposed to the facts, reasonings, and results
of Mr. Darwin's work, that he could not conceive how any one
who had read it could make such a mistake, — the whole book,
indeed, being a protest against that doctrine. Then, again, with
regard to the general phenomena of species, he understood his
Lordship to affirm that these did not present characters that
should lead careful and philosophical naturalists to f?ivour Mr.
Darwin's views. To this assertion Dr. Hooker's experience of
the Vegetable Kingdom was diametrically opposed. He consi-
dered that at least one half of the known kinds of plants were
disposable in groups, of which the species were connected by
varying characters common to all in that group, and sensibly
differing in some individuals only of each species ; so much so
that, if each group be likened to a cobweb, and one species be
supposed to stand in the centre of that web, its varying charac-
ters might be compared to the radiating and concentric threads,
when the other species would be represented by the points of
union of these ; in short, that the general characteristic of orders^
genera, and species amongst plants differred in degrees only from
those of varieties, and afforded the strongest countenance to Mr.
Darwin's hypothesis. As regarded his own acceptation of Mr.
Darwin's views, he expressly disavowed having adopted them as
a ©reed. He knew no creeds in scientific matters. He had early
begun the study of natural science under the idea that species

British Association, 405

were original creations ; and it should be steadily kept in tiew
tliat tliis was merely another hypothesis, which in the abstract
was neither more nor less entitled to acceptance than Mr. Dar-
win's : neither was, in the present state of science, capable of
demonstration, and each must be tested by its power of explain-
ing the mutual dependence of the phenomena of life. For many
years he had held to the old hypothesis, having no better estab-
lished one to adopt, though the progress of botany had, in the
interim, developed no new facts that favoured it, but a host of
most suggestive objections to it. On the other hand, having
fifteen years ago been privately made acquainted with Mr. Dar-
win's views, he had during that period applied these to botanical
investigations of all kinds in the most distant parts of the globe,
as well as to the study of some of the largest and most different
Floras at home. Now, then, that Mr. Darwin had published it,
he had no hesitation in publicly adopting his hypothesis, as that
which offers by far the most probable explanation of all the phe-
nomena presented by the classification, distribution, structure,
and development of plants in a state of nature and under cultiva-
tion ; and he should, therefore, continue to use his hypothesis as
the best weapon for future research, holding himself ready to lay
it down should a better be forthcoming, or should the now aban-
doned doctrine of original creations regain all it had lost in his
experience.

Review of Proceedings.

Fairbairn President ! These two words announce the story of
the British Association for the year to come. Manchester being
the place selected for the meeting of 1861, it has been thought
both just and gracious that the honours of the chair should be
given to a representative man of that great city. How rapid
and how democratic is the movement of English life ! Mr. Fair-
bairn was a grown man at a time when Manchester was scarcely
known south of tiie Trent save as a town of cotton, just as Duns-
table may have been known as a town of straw ; when it had no
representative in the House of Commons, and scarcely any repre-
sentatives in the republic of science. Yet he has lived not only
to see its political representatives among the first in influence at
Westminster ; its scientific representatives seated among the
highest in all learned societies ; its social and commercial repre-
sentatives, its mayor and aldermen, received with distinction in

406 British Association,

the most exclusive and aristocratic city of the empire ; .mticI him-
self chosen by the most illustrious men of this nation, assembled
in the classic halls of Oxford, to succeed to a dignity vacated
within the past week by the august Consort of the Queen. How
different from the day when Dalton first intimated to the world
without, that Manchester was not a mere cotton ball ! The whole
world of science will ratify the choice of Mr. Fairbairn for the
Presidential chair.

The week which began with the Prince's speech, and which
has closed, under the auspices of Lord Wrottesley, with the no-
mination of Mr. Fairbairn, has been eminently useful, various and
agreeable. Since Friday, the air has been soft, the sky sunny.
A sense of sudden summer has been felt in the meadows of Christ
Church and in the gardens of St. John's ; many a dreamer of
dreams, tempted by the summer warmth, has followed the Cadiz
proverb, and stealing from section A or B, has consulted his ease
and taken a boat. To say that the meeting has been held in Ox-
ford, is to say that it has been held in the midst of objects of the
highest human interest and of the most delightful associations —
in a city of students and professors — within reach of libraries,
museums, philosophical instruments, observatories, collections of
natural history, such as no other provincial city in England, — or
in Europe, — can boast. The hospitality has been limitless. The
colleges, the private houses, have been full. The splendid and
piquant New Museum, has been open day and night. An un-
usual flutter of silk and muslin has warmed with a brighter glow
the old caves of the Bodleian. Groups that Watteau would have
loved to paint have been daily seen under the elms of the Broad
Walk or in the shades of Magdalen. Exeter chapel, which Mr.
Scott has transformed into the likeness of the Sainte Chapelle in
Paris, has had its hosts of pilgrims. Every morning has brought
its charming breakfast parties, every evening its charming early
dinners, closed by its no less charming receptions. A splendid
lecture has been given by Prof. Walker on the present state of onr
knowledge of the Sun ; two admirable sermons have been preached
at St. Mary's by Mr. Temple and Mr. Mansell, on the Religious
Aspects of Science ; and on Saturday night, when there was no
reception at the New Museum, Dr. Daubeny received a select
portion of the savans of both sexes in his tent at the Botanic
Gardens. A batch of new Doctors of Civil Law has been added
to the illustrious roll, amongst whom Prof. Sedgwick was the un

British Association. 407

questionable lion of the day. Talking of lions reminds us that
the Red Lions have had their annual feed ; this lime under the
presidency of Prof. Huxley. There have been excursions num.
berless ; the students of Geology riding chiefly to Shotover ; the
lovers of Art chiefly to Blenheim. The Duke of Marlborough
has paid the members of the British Association the delicate com-
pliment of throwing open his noble grounds and galleries at the
hours most convenient for their visits, and in cases where proper
applications have been made, of allowing the treasures of his pri-
vate apartments to be inspected in the most liberal manner. Hun-
dreds have accepted His Grace's generous invitation to Blenheim
where the grounds are in perfect beauty, and the glorious Rafi'a-
elles, Rubens', and Van Dycks have recently been arranged and
noted by the accomplished hand of Mr. Scharf.

Yet the main interest of the week has unquestionably centred
in the Sections, w^here the intellectual activities have sometimes
breathed over the courtesies of life like a sou'-wester, cresting the
. waves of conversation with white and brilliant foam. The flash,
and play, and colli^iious in these Sections have been as interesting
and amusino^ to the audiences as the Battle at Farnborouoh
or the Volunteer Review to the general British public. The
Bishop of Oxford has been famous in these intellectual contests,
but Dr. Whewell, Lord Talbot de Malahide, Prof. Sedgwick, Mr.
Crawford, and Prof. Huxley have each found foemen worthy of
their steel, and made their charges and countercharges very much
to their own satisfaction and the delight of their respective friends.
The chief cause of contention has been the new theory of the
Development of Species by Natural selection — a theory open — like
the Zoological Gardens (from a particular cage in which it draws so
many laughable illustrations) — to a good deal of personal quizzing,
"without, however, seriously crippling the usefulness of the physi-
ological investigations on which it rests. The Bishop of Oxford
came out strongly against a theory which holds it possible that
man may be descended from an ape, — in which protest he is sus-
tained by Prof. Owen, Sir Benjamin Brodie, Dr. Daubeny, and
the most eminent naturalists assembled at Oxford. But others
conspicuous among these. Prof. Huxley — have expressed their
willingness to accept, for themselves, as well as for their friends
and enemies, all actual truths, even the last humiliating truth of
a pedigree not registered in the Herald's College. The dispute
has at least made Oxford uncommonly lively during the week.

408 Proceedings of the Natural History Society,

NATURAL HISTORY SOCIfiTT's ROOMS.

Montreal, November 5th, 1860.

The Society held its usual monthly meeting. The President^
the Lord Bishop of Montreal, in the Chair.

The Minutes of last meeting and the report of the Council were
read and adopted, several new members were balloted for, and
others proposed.

The following donations were presented : —

From Geo. Barnston, Esq.^ Michipicoton.
A pair of Black Ducks. — (^Anas obscura).
An Eared Greek — [Podiceps auritus).
A Marsh Harrier. — (^Circus cyanus).
A Wilson's Snipe. — [Fringa Wilsonii).
A Falcon. — [Falco anatina.)

From Mr. Cunninghame.
Specimens of Copper Ore from Acton.

From Mr, Blackiuell.
A fine Bust of the late Dr. Buckland.

The thanks of the Society were voted to the donors.

Thereafter it was resolved, viz: That on occasion of the decease
of the late x\ndrew F. Holmes, M.D., L.L.D., this society desires to
record its high appreciation of his personal anJ scientific character,
and its gratitude for his services as a pioneer of Natural Science
in Canada, and more especially as one of the founders of this
Society, a zealous promoter of its interests in its earher years,
and an important contributor to its collections.

And that in testimony of respect for the deceased and sympathy
with his surviving relatives, a copy of this resolution be transmitted
by the corresponding secretary to Mrs. Holmes.

The ordinary business having been finished, and a large num-
ber of members being assembled in the Library, the President
called upon Principal Dawson to read a paper " On the recent
Earthquake with notices of previous Earthquakes in Canada."
This paper was of much interest, and will be found among the
articles of this number of the Naturalist ; it elicited an ani-
mated discussion.

From the report of the Committee on Lectures, and papers for
the monthly meetings, it appears that this winter there will be a
succession of scientific subjects of a novel and instructive kind
brought before the Society.

The next meeting will be held on Monday evening, December 3.

MONTHLY METEOROLOGICAL REGISTER, ST. MARTINS, ISLE JESUS, CANADA EAST, (NINE MILES WEST OF MONTREAL,) FOR THE MONTH OF AUGUST, 1860.

Latitude 45 degrees 33 minutes North. Longitude, 73 degrees 36 minutes West. Heiglit above the level of the Sea, 118 feet.

BY CHARLES SMALLWOOD, M.D., LL.D.

Barometer — corrected
and reduced to

32' P.
(English inches.)

6 a. m.

i p. ni.

Temperature of tho
Air.-F.

10 p. m. C a. m. I 2 p. m. 10 p. m.

907
717
809
904
705
720
SS9
699
851
821
Hi
9U
995
10. 018
19.867
761
614
826
799
857

334
0S2
634
733
755
468

859
7S3
741
811
So9
6S3
616
614
60S
907
7,'j6
146
911
30. 070
29.8S0
710
671
794
766
857
834
803
711
484
6011
621
669
715
563

29.9.H
990
851
705
900
7S5
604
594
708
701
957
811
735
952
30. 057
29. 960
711
719
830
851
861
918
824
735
626
711
646
692
809
459
514

50. 0
52.5
66.0
78.0
68.0
64.3
70.3
71.1
73.2
64.2
54.1
46.1
63. S
53.6
64.5
50.1
61.4
62.9
61.7
67.6

67.3

62.3

65.6

64,2

65.0

62.3

62.2

53.9

65.5

64.4

56.1

80.6
88.2
85.6
83.5
9.1.3
90.2
87,3
79.0
92.2
83.2
80.9
65.0
66,9
72,0
78,6
85.0
70.6
79.7
77.4
83.0
83.7

86.3

68.8

77.6

73.8

75.6

61.4

76.4

78.9

72.1

69.2

66,0

77.0

70.2

67.8

72.4

75.2

73,2

65,8

68,0

64,5

66,2

60.8

66.7

64.2

63.9

67.3

63.7

6S.4

68.9

67.0

67.3

72.3

66.1

62.1

63.0

57.3

57.3

69.2

66.0

60.2

Tension of Aqueous
Vapour.

6 a.m.

2 p. in.

.258

.319

,2S2

.415

.313

.630

.725

.603

.393

. .597

.461

.710

.551

.699

.572

.681

.393

.571

.461

.556

.3.35

.558

.262

.621

.643

.683

.376

.463

.328

.397

.617
.466
.626
.693
.523
.362
.676
.618
.530
.361
.396
.298
.390
.391

.413
.507
.651
.612
.705
.565
.614
.511
.643
.678
.590
.476
.583
.641
.664
.600

.352
. 407
.639
.323
.489
.559
.743
.723
.516
.4.37
.355
.502
.462
.120
.464
.603
.489
.636
.413
.671
.591
.571
.666
.601
.498
.■122
.407
.378
.439
.420
.456

Humidity of tho
Atmosphere.

6 a. m.

2 p. m.

.71

.47

.71

.43

.71

.40

.88

.49

.69

.63

.77

.46

.76

.64

.76

.63

.85

.58

.77

.57

.80

.60

.84

.59

.94

.94

.88

.71

.77

.52

.71

.46

.85

.43

.91

.83

.85

.62

.95

.61

.92

.57

.94

.45

.87

.41

93

.93

1.00

.73

.97

.68

.94

.59

.96

.71

.90

.60

.94

.61

.87

.78

.50
.74
.91
.91
.75
.87
.81

Direction of Wind.

\V.

s. w.

E. by S.

S. W. by Vf.

N. E.

S. bv W.

.S. by B.

W. by S.

S. S.V.

S. S. W.

N.

S. E. bv E.

S. lyE.

W.

W. by N.

w. s.w.
w. s w.
w. s. w.

E. by N.
S. S. E.
S. S. W.
S. by W.
S. S. W.
S. E. byB.
S.
W.

S. S. E.
S. S. W.
S.W.

s.w.
s. w.

i p. m.

W. S. W.
S.W,

S. S. E.
W. by S
W.
S. a. W.

w.
w.
s. s. w.

S. by W.

N. E. by E.

S.

N. E.

S.W.

N. byW.

S.W.

W. S. W.

S. S. W.

S. E.

S. S. E.

S.W.

S.W.

N. E. by E.

S. by E.

S. S. B.

N. W.

W.

S.W.

S.W.

W. by S

W.

by S.
N. W.

.^. W. by S.
S.W.
W. by S.
N. W.
W. by S.
S.W.
N. N. W.
S, by W.
S. by W.
W.

S. by E.
S. S. W.
W. N. W.
S.W.
W. by S.
S. S. W.
S. S, W.
W. N. W.
S. E. by E.
S. S. Vf.
S.

s. s. w.

N. N. M.
S. by E.
W. by S.
W.
S.W.
S.W.
S.W.
S.W.
W, by N .

;£»•

160.90
4.80
80.20
113.40
119. 00
13.80
41,70
S9,40
03,60
32, 60
59,30
60, 70
59. 10
36. 50
149. 40
82.30
116.90
55.10
131.39
174.71
101.20
64.20
90.60
136. 00
72. 80
251.60
71.80
199. 50
181,60
167,30
138, 10

OZONE,

Mean

amount

of. in

inches.

2.6
1.0
1.0
2.0
1.6
1.0
0.6
2.6
2.5
2.0
2.5
1.0
4.0
2.6
1.6
1.0
1.0
3.0
2.0
3.0
2.5
3.0
3.6
3.0
4.0
3.0
2.0
1.5
1.6
1.5
2.5

Amount
of, in
inches

Amount
of, in
inches.

O.300
iuapp.

0.929
O.OU

0.430
0.230

4.096
0.500

0.453

0.181

Inapp.

■WEATHEH, CLOUDS, EEMAEKS, &C.4c,

[A cloudy sky is represented by 10, a cloudless one by 0.]

Heavy Dew.
Cu. Str. 8.
Clear.

Cu. Str. 10.
Fo?.
Rain.

Cu. Str. 8.
6.
Clear Heavy Dew.

Nimb. 9.

Cu. Str. 8.
Rain.
Cu. Str. 8.
10.
Clear. Heavy Dew.
Rain. Dist. thunder.
Cu. 4.

" Str. 8.
Clear.

Cu. Str. 4.
6.
Clear.
Cu. Str. 10.

Clear.
Cumb.
Clear.
Cu. Str.
Clear.

Hazy.
Clear.
Cu. Str.

Clear.

Rain.

Cu. Str.

Clear.

St.

Clear.

Rain.

Cu. Str.

Cumb.
Clear.
Cu. Str.

Clear.

Cu. St. 8.

Slight Bain.

Showers.

Clear.

Cu. St. i.

Clear.

Cir.

Cu. Str.

Str.

Clear.

CUjStr.

Str.
Clear.
C. Str.
Clear.

Cu.St.

Clear.
Cu. St.
Clear.
C. Str.

Clear.

Rain.
Cu. Str.

Clear.
Cu. Str.

Clear.
Cin\ Str.

2. Aurora Borcalis.
Aurora Borealis.
6.

9. dist. th. vivid It'ng.
2. Aurora Borcalis.

9. Lightning.
Aurora Borcalis.

9.
0.

2. Atirora Borealis.

6. Lunar Rainbow

REPORT FOR THE MONTH OF SEPTEMBER, 1860.

/

-si"

OZOSE.

EAIJT.

SNOW.

WE.ITHBE, CLOUDS, EEMiaKS, lie. 4c.

o

and reduced to
320 P.

Temperature of the
Alr.-P.

Tension of Aqueous
Vapour.

Humidity of the
Atmosphere.

Direction of Wind.

!^

[A cloudy sky is represented by 10, a cloudless one by O.J

'o

(English iuches.)

SS.3

Mean

amount

of

Amonnt
of, in
inches.

Amonnt
of. in
inctes.

a

6 a.m.

2 p.m.

10 p.m.

6 a.m.

2 p.m.

10 p. m.

6 a.m.

3 p.m.

10 p.m.

6 a.m.

2 p.m.

10 p.m.

6 a. m.

2 p.m.

10 p. m.

6 a. ni.

2. p. m.

10 p.m.

29. 74S

29. 786

29. 833

63.0

70.1

50.5

..3S0

.397

.283

.94

.62

.78

N. N. W.

W. bv N.

N. W.

41.10

2.0

Clear.

Clear.

Cu. St. 2.

.»

916

911

30.073

45.6

64.6

53.9

.280

.243

,370

m

.42

.81 ■

W. by N.
W. N. W.

N. W.

W. by S.

0.00

2.0

C. C. Str. 4.

Clear.

3

30.213

30. 205

130

42.9

72.3

59.3

.237

.263

.358

S7

.31

.73

W. by N.

W.S. W.

98.60

2.0

Slight frost.

Clear.

111

29. 971

41.0

83.4

67.7

.258

.630

. 650

88

.54

.83

S.S E.

S.W.

S. W.

45.40

1.6

Clear.

Cir. Str. 4.

Cu. Str. 8.

5,
6

29. 916
839

29.804
815

843
957

66,2
63.3

82.3
80.3

70.2
69.7

91

69

84

W. by S.
W. S. W.

W. by S.
W.byS.

Rain.

Clear

Clear

.536

.599

.380

93

.69

.76

W. by S.
S. \V.

17.20

3.0

Cirr. Str. 4.

" Aurora BoreaUs.

918

812

752

63,6

81.4

69.9

.369

.585

.829

DO

.66

.76

S.W.

S.W.

102. 00

2.5

Clear.

'*

C. C. Str. 9.

8

935

941

917

51,3

58.0

14.2

.368

.336

.221

96

.73

.79

N. E. by E.

N. by E.

N. by W.

223. 10

2.5

Cu. Str. 8.

Cu. Str. 9.

Clear.

9

993

960

993

48,5

62.6

48.0

.285

.370

.251

85

.66

.71

N. E. bv E.

N. by E.

N; W.

123. 4<1

1.0

Clear.

6.

in

902

783

307

48.0

61.2

55.0

.211

.403

.328

9.5

.67

.77

W. by S.

W. by S.

W. by S.

103. 70

1.0

Slight frost.

8.

Cn. Str. 9. Aurora Borealis.

11

802
699

701
726

677
717

Clear heavy dew,.
Rain.

45 6

41 8

46.3

.297

373

.393

t8

.93

.93

N. E. by E.

tt. N. E.

N.

227. 10

3.S

2.466

Rain.

Cu. Str. 9.

13

800

839

770

47,3

71.1

55.0

.199

.371

.341

90

.49

.83

N.byW.

W. by N.

W.byS.

354. 30

1.6

Clear.

Clear.

Clear.

14

30.091

30. 099

30. 100

37,1

71.7

63.0

.398

.397

.185

m

.63

.86

W. t)y S.

W. by S.

W.byS.

104.30

2.0

"

"

15

107

017

39, 970

47,4

81.9

66.7

.273

.617

.493

85

.68

.77

W. by S.

W. by S.

S.W.

50.00

2.5

"

•'

16

29. 970

29. 916

876

42.0

70.1

65.1

.492

.516

.619

79

.70

.89

S.W.

S. S. W.

S. W.

1.00

2.0

Inapp.

C. Str. 6.

C. Str. 10.

C. Str. 10.

17

IS

697

6-' 8

72 3

62 3

519

489

4->9

97
S9

63

77

S S W

W.

166 20

1 5

0 300

" 8.

" 9. Aurora Borealis.
Clear.

919

946

962

67.0

80.1

65.0

.291

.638

.120

.63

.68

S.W.

s. s. w.

S.E.byE.

27.80

2.0

Fog.

Clear.

19

^0

S. E. by B.
S. S. E.

S. E. by B.
S. S. E.

S. S. E.

Inapp.
0.640

" Aurora Borealis.
Cu. Str. 4.

679

643

596

51.7

69.3

65.0

.321

.678

.849

87

.97

.89

W.

261.30

3.0

Cii. Str. 10.

Rain.

498
851

566
735

790
863

53.3
42.0

63.9
61.4

48.3
54.6

.331
.251

.422
.113

.336
.390

86
96

.75
.77

.70
.93

w. s. w.
s. w.

w. S. w.

S. E.

S.W.

w. s. w.

138.90
118.11

2.0
4.5

O.600
0.400

10.
Clear.

Cu. Str. 6.

fl«

Cu. Str. 9.

23

963

30.017

999

39.7

60.0

17.3

.225

.343

.356

91

.48

.81

S. W. by W.

S.S.W.

S.B.

46.00

2.0

Clear.

Clear.

f^4

742

29.609

651

54.8

76.3

61.3

.355

.518

.473

M

.63

.88

S. S. E.

S.B.

S.E.byE.

303. 40

2.0

1.300

C. Cu. Str. 6.

Cu. C. Str. 2.

Cu. Str. 10. Thunder.

35

4«7

376

4.3S

86.0

62.8

51.0

.413

.453

.341

90

.80

.89

S. S. E.

W. S. W.

W. s. w.

264. 80

3.5

3.613

C. Str. 9.

4.

;■ 8.

«6

581

738

889

49.0

52.9

11.8

.293

.302

.231

S-J

.76

.80

W. S.W.

w. s. w.

W.

397. 80

2.5

0.400

8.

C. Str. 2.

8.

?.7

30.045

975

979

33.7

49.7

41.8

.163

.233

.223

Al

.64

.87

w.

w. s. w.

S.W.

316, 04

2.0

Clear frost.

2.

C. C. Str. 6.

28

29.667

910

30. 225

39.7

47.0

31.3

.210

3.80

.170

811

.68

.87

N. by W.

N. W.

W. by N.

77.60

3.0

0.437

Cu. Str. 10.

8.

C. C. Str. 6. Thunder 4 lighfg.

29

30.106

30.155

221

31.6

41.3

31.3

.149

.196

.165

Rl

.68

.79

W. S. W.

W. by S.

N.W. by W.

225. 40

1.5

Clear frost.

" 10.

C. Str. 10.

30

317

321

335

31,0

48.1

31.0

.130

.336

.175

74

.70

.89

w. s. w.

W. S. W.

S.

48.00

2.0

" "

Clear.

Olear.

REMAI

rKS FO]

I AUGUST, 1860.

REMARKS FOR SEPTEMBER, 1860.

fHiKhest, the 15th day, 30*070 inch

s.

Meteor in E. 5th day at 8.15 p. m.

f Highest, the 30th day, 30.335 inches.

Solar Halo 14th day.

1}«1.,^,T,ntAv J Lowest, the 30lb day. 29.459 '*
Barometei < j^^^tm Mean, 29.760

Meteor in S. 12th day at 8'30 p. m.

n.™™ni„,. JLowest, the 25th day, 3:1.376
Barometer ^Montlily Mean, 29.8S5

Lunar Corona and imperfect Halo 27th day.

Solar Rainbow 19th day.

Very slight snow fell on the 29th day. Inappreciable the 1st

t. " Range, 0.611
CHighest.tbe 10th day, 92° 2.

Lunar Rainbow at 8 p.m. 25th day.

(Montllly Range, 0.450

of the season.

Most prevalent wind, tho 8. W.

rHigbest, the 1.5th day, 83° 9.

Sharp frost on the mornings of the 39th and 30th days.

Tl,»minm^t,.r . Lowest, the 12th day. 39= 3.
Thermometer ...< Monthly Mean, 69 o 29.

Least prevalent wind, the S.

Ti,„-,„„,„oi.... JLowest, the 30th day, 25° 5.
Thermometci. Kjio^ti.iv Mean,B6°40.

Morning Rainbow on the 20th day.

Most windy day, the 26th day ; mean mil(

s per hour, 10.70.

Most prevalent wind, tho W. S. W,

(.Monthly Range. 52 o 9.

per hour, 0.20.

(Monthly Range, 27 °5.

Least prevalent wind, the N.

Greatest iutenaitv of the Sun's ravs, 110 ° 6.

Aurora Borealis visible on 10 nights.

Greatest intensity of the Sun's rays, 106 °6.

Most windy day, the 26th day i mean miles per hour, 18.86.
Least windy day, the 2nd day; mean mUes per hour 0.00.

Lowest point of Terrestrial radiation, 31 =1.

Tho Electrical state of tho Atmosphere

has indicated high

Lowest point of terrestrial radiation, 20*1.

Amount of Evaporation, 3.02 iuches.
Mean of Humiditv, .740.

Amount of Evaporation, 2'90 iuches.

Aurora Borealis visible on 5 nights.

Mean of humidity, .777.

The Electrical state of tho Atmosphere has indicated moder*

Rain fell on 13 days, amounting to 9.361 inches; it w

IS raining
nder and

Rain fell on 13 days, amounting to 11.286 inches ; it was raining

ato intensity.

51 hours and 44 minutes, and was accompanied by thi

58 hours 36 minutes, and was accompanied by thuuder'and Ught-

1

ghtmng

)n 3 aa^'s

ning on twc

days.

THE

CANADIAN

MTUEALIST AID GEOLOGIST.

Vol. V. DECEMBER, 1860. No. 6.

ARTICLE XLIX. -On certain theories of the formation of moun-
tains.

No. 1.

The causes of the elevation of mountains above the general
contour of the earth whether in the shape of isolated peaks or
continuous chains have always been favourite subjects for specula-
tion among physical geologists. In Europe the Alps situated as
they are in the very centre of the cradle of civilisation have natu-
rally received the greatest amount of consideration, while in Amer-
ica the origin of the long ranges of the Appalachians has been
ever since the dawn of science upon this continent, the all impor-
tant problem to be solved. It is principally upon the theories of
the elevation of these last mentioned mountains that we shall in
this paper make a few observations.

The Appalachian system occupies a belt of mountainous country
extending from Cape Gaspe, at the mouth of the St. Lawrence,
south-westerly, through eastern Canada to the Province line near
Lake Champlain where it enters the State of Vermont and is then
continued in the same general direction to the State of Alabama.
The total length of the belt is more than one thousand miles and
its width from thirty to one hundred and fifty. It consists not o
a single line of peaks but of numerous long parallel ridges separ-
Can. Nat. 1 Vol. V. No. 6.

410 Theories oj the Formation of Mourdains,

ated from each other by valleys of variable width and depth. The
height of these hills may be stated in a general way as ranging
from five hundred to five thousand feet above the level of the sea.
They attain their greatest developement in the States of Pennsyl-
vania, Virginia, North Carolina and Tennessee where they have
been most successfully studied by the brothers Professors W. B.
and H. D. Rogers, The results of the observations of these two
eminent geologists are given in a masterly paper read before the
American Association for the Advancement of Science in 1842
and recently in a more matured form by H. D. Rogers in his
magnificent work on the geology of Pennsylvania.

According to Professor Rogers the Appalachians consist nearly
altogether of stratified rocks of palaeozoic age including all the
American formation from the base of the Silurian up to the top
of the carboniferous. These rocks were deposited in nearly hori-
zontal strata on a sea bottom, which in the region now occupied
by the mountains in question, kept constantly subsiding during
the whole period of their accumulation. South-east there existed
in the place of the present Atlantic Ocean a vast continent from
the waste of whose shores the material out of which the strata
were formed was derived. In consequence of their proximity to
the shore the formations on the south-east accumulated more
rapidly than they did towards the south-west. For this reason
there is now found a much greater thickness of the same rocks
in Pennsylvania, Virginia, and other north eastern States than in
those which lie further west such as Ohio, Indiana, Illinois and
Iowa. The strata remained in their nearly horizontal position,
perhaps sloping gently towards the south-west, until the close
of the Carboniferous era. Then by some great disturbance of the
eauinbrium of the forces of nature they were thrown into a series
of vast wave like undulations. The profile of these waves imme-
diately after their elevation must have been somewhat similar to
the following figure.

Fig. I.

Fig. 1. — Ideal section across the Appalachiang. The dotted space is
intended to represent the rock of the original bottom of the ocean. The
black undulated line represents the stratiiBed rocks after having beeu

TJieories of the Formation of Mountains, 411

plicated or folded by the force, whatever it may have been, which eleva-
ted the mountains. The three folds on the right, marked a, are of the
type of these that Prof. Rogers calls Folded Jiexures ; 6, is an example
of a Normal ^e.rwre— steeper on one side than on the other ; c, is a
Symmetrical Jiexure^ or one which slopes equally in both directions.
The hollows are generally called by geologists synclinal axes and the
ridges anticlinal axes.

Prof. Rogers shows tlaat on the south western side of that
part of the disturbed region 'now occupied by the western
States the flexures are broad, flat swells not sufficiently abrupt
or elevated to constitute mountain chains. But proceeding
south easterly or towards the present Atlantic ocean they become
more and more lofty and more closely crowded together. The
western undulations are symmetrical, that is to say, they exhibit
an equal slope on both sides but towards the east they gradually
become steeper on one side — then vertical and even overhanging
or overthrown. The steep sides are always towards the west
and the overthrows are also all in the same direction.

The question to be answered is : what caused this wonderful
folding up of the earth's crust ? But before proceeding to give an
account of the various solutions of the problem that have been
proposed, we may state for the benefit of the non-geological
reader that although at the present day these mountains consist
of long parallel ridges they are not always the original ones. In
the process of curvation the strata must have been fractured
along the crest of each wave, and the rocks being thus broken up
rendered more easily operated upon by atmospheric or aqueous
agencies or by the action of both combined than those which formed
the bottoms of the valleys. In many instances it can be shown
that in consequence of the enormous denudation to which they
have been subjected the original mountains have been completely
worn away down to their very bases ; and further that many of
the finest and most fruitful valleys of the South are scooped
out of the foundations of the ancient hills. On the other
hand the bottoms of the hollows not having been so much fissured
have been enabled to withstand the wear and tear of nature's
forces until at length they constitute the crests of the ridges of
the present day. We have thus mountains where once there
were valleys and we have also valleys where of old, the moun-
tains stood. The general aspect of the whole region has been so
much changed during the long ages that have passed away since

412 Theories of the Formation of Mountains,

its upheaval that the inexperienced observer may well fail to detect
many indications of the systematic regularity represented in the
above figure. Yet there remain sufficient of the original foldings
of the strata to enable the physical geologist to demonstrate that
Roger's elucidation of the structure is upon the whole correct.

The following are the principal theories of the origin of the
flexures of the Appalachian Mountains.

Prof. Roger's Theory.

"The wave-like structure of the Appalachians and other undulated
zones has been attributed by the author and his brother, Prof. W. B.
RogervS, in their communications to the American Association in
1842, and to the British Association in the same year, to an
actual undulation of the supposed flexible crust of the earth,
exerted in parallel lines, and propagated in the manner of a hori-
zontal pulsation from the liquid interior of the globe. We sup-
pose the strata of such a region to have been subjected to exces-
sive upward tension, arising from the expansion of molten matter
and gaseous vapours, the tension relieved by linear fissure*, through
which much elastic vapour escaped, the sudden release of pres-
sure adjacent to the lines of fracture producing violent pulsations
on the surface of the liquid below. This oscillating movement in
the fluid mass beneath would communicate a series of temporary
flexures to the overlying crust, and these flexures would be ren-
dered permanent (or keyed into the forms they present) by the
intrusion of molten matter. If during this oscill/ition we conceive
the whole heaving tract to have been shoved (or floated) bodily
forward in the direction of the advancing waves, the union of this
tangential with the vertical wave like movement will explain the
peculiar steepening of the front side of each flexure, while a repe-
tition of similar operations will account for the folding under or
inversion, visible in the more compressed districts. We think
that no purely upward or vertical forces exerted either simultan-
eously or successively along parallel lines, could produce a series
of symmetrical flexures, and that a tangential pressure, unac-
companied by a vertical force, would result only in an impercep-
tible bulging of the whole region, or an irregular plication depen-
dent on local inequalities in the amount of resistance. The
alternate upward and downward movement necessary to enable a
tangential force to bend the strata into a series of regular parallel
subsiding flexures has been we conceive, of the nature of a

Theories of the Formation of Mountains, 413

pulsation, such as would arise from a succession of actual waves
rolling in a given direction beneath the earth's crust. It is
difficult to account for the phenomena by any hypothesis of
a gradual prolonged pressure exerted either vertically or
horizontally. And, further, the formation of tbe grand yet simple
flexures so frequently met with cannot be explained by a repeti-
tion of feeble, tangential movements, since these could not succes-
sively accord either in their direction or in their amount; nor
can it by a repetition of merely vertical pressures, for it is impos-
sible to suppose that these could without some undulating action,
shift their positions through a seriesof symmetrically disposed par-
allel lines. We find it equally impossible to understand how, if
feeble and often repeated, these vertical pressures should always
return to the same lines to produce the conspicuous flexures we
behold. The oscillations of the crust to which the undulations
of the strata are attributed have been, we conceive, of the nature
of the earth :^uakes of the present day. Earthquakes consist, as
we think we have demonstrated, of a true pulsation of the flexible
crust of the globe, propelled in parallel low waves of great length
and amplitude with prodigious velocity, from lines of fracture,
either conspicuous volcanic axes or half-concealed deep-seated
fissures, in the outer envelope of the planet " (^H. D. Rogers^ in
the Geology of Pennsylvania. Vol. 2, Pt. 2, p. 911.)

2. Sir Charles Lyell's Theory.

Sir Charles Lyell in commenting upon the theory of Prof.
Rogers says: —

" That there were great lakes, or seas of lava, retained by volcanic
heat for ages, in a liquid state beneath the Alleghanies, is highly
probable, for the simultaneous eruptions of distant vents in the
Andes leave no doubt of the wide subterranean areas permanently
occupied by sheets of fluid lava in our own times. It is also con-
sistent with what we know of the laws governing volcanic action
to assume that the force operated in a linear direction, for we see
trains of volcanic vents breaking out for hundreds of miles along
a straight line, and we behold long parallel fissures, often filled
with trap or consolidated lava, holding a straight course for great
distances through rocks of all ages. The causes of this peculiar
mode of development are as yet obscure and unexplained ; but
the existence of long narrow ranges of mountains, and of great
faults and vertical shifts in the strata prolonged for great dis*

4J4 Theories of the Formation of Mountains*

tances in certain directions, may all be results of the same kind
of action. It also accords well with established facts to assume
that the solid crust overlying a region where the subterranean
heat is increasing in intensity, becomes gradually upheaved, frac-
tured, and distended, the lower part of the newly opened fissures
becoming filled with fused matter, which soon consolidates and
crystallizes. These uplifting movements may be propagated along
narrow belts, placed side by side, and may have been in progress
simultaneously, or in succession, in one narrow zone after another.
" When the expansive force has been locally in operation for a
long period, in a given district, there is a tendency in the subter-
ranean heat to diminish ; — the volcanic energy is spent, and its
position is transferred to some new region. Subsidence then
begins, in consequence of the cooling and shrinking of subterra-
nean seas of lava and gaseous matter : and the solid strata col-
lapse in obedience to gravity. If this contraction take place along
narrow and parallel zones of country, the incumbent flexible strata
would be forced, in proportion as they were let down, to pack
themselves into a smaller space, as they conformed to the circum-
ference of a smaller arc. The manner in which undulations may
be gradually produced in pliant strata by subsidence is illustrated
on a small scale by the creeps in coal-mines ; there both the over-
lying and underlying shales and clays sink down from the ceihng,
or rise up from the floor, and fill the galleries which have been
left vacant by the abstraction of the fuel. In like manner the
failure of support arising from subterranean causes may enable the
force of gravity, though originally exerted vertically, to bend and
squeeze the rocks as if they had been subjected to lateral pres-
sure.

" Earthquakes have raised to heaven the humble vale,
And gulphs the mountain's mighty mass entomb'd,
And where th' Atlantic rolls, wide continents have bloom'd."

"In applying these lines to the physical revolutions of the terri-
tory at present under consideration, we must remember that
the continent which bloomed to the eastward, or where the
Atlantic now rolls its waves was anterior to the origin of the
carboniferous strata which were derived from its ruins ; whereas
the elevation and subsidence supposed to have given rise to the
Appalachian ridges was subsequent to the deposition of the coal-
measures. But all these great movements of oscillat'on were

Theories of the Formation of Mountains. 415

again distinct from the last upheaval which brought up the whole
region above the level of the sea, laying dry the horizontal New
Red Sandstone, as well as a great part of, if not all, the Appala"
chian chain." {LyelVs Travels in North America^ \st Visit
Vol. 1, p. 78.)

Theory of the Contraction of the Sphere of the Earth.

This theory supposes that the earth was originally a fluid mass
of great dimensions — that in cooling down it contracted, and that
the plications of mountain chains have been produced by the
folding of the crust consequent on contraction. This theory
originated with Leibnitz and has been adopted by very many of
the great physicists who have lived since his day. In America it
has been investigated by Professor Dana and applied to the solu-
tion of tbe problem of the plication of the Appalachians. (See
SilHman's Journal, 2 series. Vol. 2,pageZ%b,and Vol, Zjpage^^:.

Buffon's Theory,

Buflfon was of opinion that mountains and mountain chains are
of submarine origin or that they are simply huge petrified mud
or sand banks originally accumulated on the bottom of the sea,
by the action of the waves and currents, and afterwards elevated,
along with the continents by subterranean forces. Buffon, it is
scarcely necessary to state, never applied this idea to the Appa-
lachians, but as it forms part of Professor Hall's theory, we quote
it here; we have published it in the 1st Volume of this Journal,
page 8.

Sir John Herschel's Theory.

Sir John Herschel is of opinion that the sediment as it accumn-
iates on the bottom of the Ocean must by its weight cause the
earth's crust immediately beneath to sink, while the fluid matters
below being thrust aside and forced under the adjacent parts ele-
vates tracts of land where there is no such accumulation in pro-
gress. In consequence of the swelling up of the surface in those
rising regions, the strata are sometimes strained beyond their
power of cohesion and cracked asunder, and thus fissures are pro-
duced through which the molten rock of the interior boils out
upon the surface. Thus volcanoes, great overflows of trap, and
mountains may have originated. The fact that nearly all volca-
aoes are found near the sea shore or near the margins of those

416 Theories of the Formation of Motmtains.

reo-ions where we know that beds of sediraent are beino; formed
seems to confirm this view. {See this Journal, Vol. 1, pp. 194?
195.

Professor Hall's Theory.

Professor Hall's Theory appears to us to be closely related to
those of Rogers, Lyell, Buffon and Herschel. The fundamental
fact in the greater accumulation of sediment along the south
eastern side of the Appalachians than on the south western, as
evidenced by the thinning out of the strata in a westerly direc-
tion. This was pointed out by Rogers in 1842 and has also been
described at greater length in his recent extensive work. Pro-
fessor Hall after noticing these accumulations in detail, says : —

''When these are spread along a belt of sea bottom, as origin-
ally is the line of the Appalachian chain, the first effect of this
great augmentation of matter would be to produce a yielding of
the earth's crust beneath, and a gradual subsidence will be the
consequence. We have evidence of this subsidence in the gra-
dual amount of material accumulated ; for we cannot suppose
that the sea has been originally as deep as the thickness of these
accumulations. On the contrary, the evidence from ripple-marks,
marine plants and other conditions, prove that the sea in which
these deposits have been successively made was at all times shal-
low, or of moderate depth. The accumulation, therefore, could
only have been made by a gradual or periodical subsidence of
the ocean bed ; and we may then inquire, what would be the re-
sult of such subsidence upon the accumulated stratified sediments
spread over the sea bottom ?

*' The line of greatest depression would be along the line of
greatest accumulation, and in the direction of the thinning mar-
gins of the deposit the depression would be less. By this pro-
cess of subsidence, as the lower side becomes gradually curved,
there must follow as a consequence, rents and fractures upon that
side ; or the diminished width of surface above, caused by this
curving below, will produce wrinkles and foldings of the strata.

" The sinking down of the mass produces a great synclinal axis,
and within this axis, whether on a large or small scale, will be
produced numerous smaller synclinal and anticlinal axes. And
the same is true of every synclinal axis, where the condition of
the beds is such as to admit of a careful examination. I hold,
therefore, that it is impossible to have any subsidence along a

Theories of the Formation of Mountains, 417

certain line of the earth's crust, from the accumulation of sedi-
ments, without producing the phenomena which we observed in
the Appalachian and other mountain ranges." — Introduction to
Pal. N. Y. Vol. 3.

Remarhs on the above several Theories.

The theory of Professor Rogers depends upon the action of
two forces, an upward pulsating force, and a lateral compressing
force. But it appears to us that he does not show how either of
these forces was generated. The cause of these forces yet re-
mains unknown, and is it not true that to explain natural
phenomena without tracing them to some known cause, is sim-
ply not to explain them at all ! If this deficiency were supplied
the theory might be good enough. The contraction of the mass
of the earth would undoubtedly produce plications of the surface
and although most physicists do believe in the former fluid con-
dition of the planet, and its contraction during the process of
consolidation, yet it remains to be demonstrated that any such
contraction has taken place during that period within which the
existing mountain chains were elevated. Sir Charles LyelPs the-
ory supposes the plications to have been formed by the subsidence
of the disturbed country. He thus refers the phenomena to a known
cause, for it is unquestionable that there has been subsidence in
the region of the Appalachians. But on the other hand, Rogers
contends that the cause assigned could not have produced a pli-
cation of any important dimensions, and we have been long since
convinced by his reasoning. We shall offer some mathematical
proofs on this point in connection with Professor Hall's views.

Sir John Herschel refers the phenomenon of subsidence
to a known cause, for we know that matter is constantly being
transferred from the land to the sea bottom, or in other words
that a force tending to depress the floor of the ocean is con-
stantly accumulating there. If the crust of the earth is only a
few miles in thickness, then if we could imao-ine the continent of
America to be taken up bodily to the depth of two miles, and
laid down upon Europe it is almost impossible that subsidence
should not immediately take place. The molten matter beneath
would be forced out and caused to flow under and elevate the
ocean's bottom, and perhaps form a ring of volcanic mountains all
round the margin of the depressed area. Although no such sud-
den transfer of matter has ever taken place, yet it can be proved
that sheets of matter now converted into solid rock equal in su-

418 Theories of the Formation of Mountains.

perficial extent to at least half the continent and averaging nearly
a mile in thickness, have been gradually thus transferred. The
total effect of the weight must be the same, whether accumulated
on the region acted upon, gradually during myriads of ages, or
during a single age.

Professor Hall's theory simply adds the plication suggested by
Sir Charles Lyell to the subsidence theory of Sir John Herschel.
We think however that although a minute plication would be the
result of subsidence, the grand waves of the Appalachians could
never have been formed in that way. In proof of this we shall
offer a very simple mathematical demonstration.

Fig. 2.

Let A. B. C. represent the section of the portion of the earth's
crust undergoing subsidence. The straight line A. C. is the chord
of the arc A. B. C , and therefore it is shorter than A. B. C.
In the process of subsiding towards A. C. the arc A. B. C«
must be compressed into a shorter space than it occupied
before the subsidence commenced, and to accommodate
itself to this diminished space it must become more or less undu-
lated. It can be easily shewn than the greatest amount of undula-
tion will take place when A. B. C. sinks to the level of A. C. It
must there exhibit one or more undulations. Below that level
the undulation will become gradually less in proportion to the
amount of subsidence. Ihe difference between the leno^th of
A. C. and A. B. C. will give us the measure of the greatest wave
that can be produced, and provided we have the diameter of the
sphere and the width of the belt undergoing subsidence, that dif-
ference can be found.

Let it be granted that the diameter of the earth is 41775500
feet ; then this sum multiplied by 3.14159265 would give
131241603.75007500 feet for the circumference and this again
divided by 360 would give 364560,01041687 feet as the arc o^
one degree.

Again multiplying 41775500 or the earth's diameter by

Theories of the Formation of Mountains. 419

.0087265 (or the sine of 30') we have 364553.900'7500 for the
lenojth of the chord of an arc of one deo^ree : Then

Arc of 1° 364560.01041687

Chord of 1^ 364553.90075000

Diflference 6.10966687

The difference between the lengths of the chord and the arc
of 1^ is thus only about 6 feet and one inch. Therefore if we
take any section across the Appalachians, of about 70 miles in
length the greatest amount of plication that could have resulted
from subsidence within it, would be a single fold, which at the
most could not be three feet in height.

But there is scarcely any section of that length across the dis-
turbed region, commencing from the eastern side, that does not
exhibit the remains of four or five folds which before they
were obliterated by denudation must have been a mile in height
each. Let it be granted that there were originally four of such
folds, and that each curve was equal to a semicircle. Then the
difference between the length of a line following the surface over
the four hills, and down into and across the bottoms of the four
valleys, and one drawn straight through their bases, would be
4.5660 miles, or about four miles and a half. In other words to
produce these four ridges of hills, the strata must have been
shoved or compressed laterally four miles and a half, while by
Professor Hall's process, the greatest possible distance could only
be six feet and one inch. And further, in addition to this en^
ormous deficiency there is a great deal more to be accounted for.
Between and on every one of the principal folds there are very
numerous smaller parallel ones. Taking all these together with
the principal flexures, the amount of the lateral thrust or com-
pression across the whole belt has been more probably eight or
ten miles.

Viewed in this way the theory of plication from subsidence
appears to fail altogether. Another objection to this theory is
founded on the fact admitted by all parties that at least with one
or two interruptions the subsidence has been gradual and the
whole amount sav 40000 feet distributed throu2jhout the enormous
period of time which elapsed during the Silurian Devonian and
Carboniferous epochs. No man can give the length of this
period, but it must have been very great. Let it be granted at

420

Description of a new Trilohite.

4000000 years, and the rate of subsidence would then be one
foot in 100 years. We know the levelling power of running
water. Any small fold that could have been produced by the
subsidence of ten feet in the first thousand vears would be cer-
tainly obliterated by the current of the next ten years. The
same would be the result for the second 1000 years and so on to
the end, at which time the bottom of the ocean would be quite
level. E. B.

ARTICLE L — Description of a new Trilohite f win the Potsdam
Sandstone ; by Frank H. Bradley, with a note by E.
Billings.

{Extracted from Silliman^s Journal, 2nd Series, Vol. 30, page 241, Sep-
tember, 1860.

[Read before the Am. Assoc, for the Advancement of Science, at Newport.]

CONOCEPHALITES MINUTUS, (u. Sp.)
1
"^ 2 o

Fig. 1. The head magnified. The dotted lines represent the supposed
outlines of the parts not preserved.
Fig, 2. The pygidium magnified.
Fig. 3. A detached cheek, magnified.

Cephalic shield apparently semi-circular, or nearly so ; anterior
margin as far as preserved with a narrow slightly elevated
rim, just within which there is a rather strong groove. Glabella
conical, slightly narrowed at the neck segment, three-fourths the
whole length of the head, very convex and obtusely carinated
along the median line. Neck segment rounded and prominent ^
neck farrow narrow, but well defined. There are two pairs o
deep glabellar furrows which are inclined inwards and backwards
at an angle of about 45° ; their inner extremities distant from
each other rather more than one-third the width of the glabella.
The anterior lobe is a little less than one-half the whole length of
the glabella, excluding the neck segment; the two posterior pairs

Description of a new Trilohite. 421

are nearly equal to eacli other. The glabella is distinctly sepa-
rated from the cheeks by a narrow, deep groove, which extends
all round. From the anterior lobe on each side a narrow filiform
ridsfe curves outwards and backwards on the fixed cheek to the
edge of the portion preserved. The eyes appear to be situated
just where these ridges terminate as represented in figure I.
Judging from the portion of the eye preserved in a detached
cheek-plate, its form is semi-annular, and its length at least one-
fourth that of the glabella. Caudal shield nearly as large as the
head, its width scarcely equal to half its length ; the lobes nearly
equal ; the middle lobe very convex with five sharp transverse
grooves ; the side lobes somewhat flat, and each with five
grooves.

The largest head discovered is exactly two lines in length.

The course of the facial suture has not been ascertained. The
surface of the glabella in one of the specimens appears to be
smooth, but in none of the others can it be distinguished.

The specimens are mostly in a clayey layer, which is full of
fragments of all degrees of perfection ; in one specimen I counted
ten heads and three tails, all in a fair state of preservation. In
two instances, I have found the casts of maxillary plates, show-
ing distinctly the elevated margin ; of one of which I give a
figure.

The original specimens were collected, (at High Bridge, near
Keeseville, N. Y.,) in August, 1856, while on a geological excur-
sion with Col. Jewett of Albanv, but were not recoo-nised until
July, 1857, when a second visit to the locaHty secured a few
casts in the solid sandstone, none of the clay layer being ob-
tained. By the kindness of Professor Dana, the specimens were
presented at the Am. Assoc, for Adv. of Sci. at Montreal, but
were not recognized as belonging to any kno^n species. Since
that time, I have looked for descriptions, but cannot find any to
correspond.

At the same locality, I also procured the cast, of a Pleurotomaria,
and one of what seems to have been a plate from the stem of a
crinoid.

New Haven, June 15th, 1860.

Note hy E. Billings. — Mr. Bradley having favored me with a
view of his very interesting specimens, I think there can be no
doubt but that they belong to the genus Conocephalites. If thi

422 Description of a new Trilohite,

reference be correct, then we have at least three, if not four spe-
cies in North America.

1. C. antiquatus (Salter,) described from "a cast in a brown
sandstone, said to be a bouldered fragment from Georgia." (See
Quart. Jour. Geol. Soc, vol. xv, p. 554.)

2. C. minutus (Bradley.) In this species, the form of the
glabella and its proportions in relation to the length of the head
are almost precisely the same as in G. antiquatus, and yet I think
the two are not identical, for the following reasons : In the first
place, all the specimens of C. minutus are of a nearly uniform
size, the length of the head being about two lines, and, therefore,
it seems probable that they are the remains of adult individuals.
The total length would thus be about half an inch, while Mr.
Salter's species is full one inch and three-fourths. In the second
place, the distance of the eye from the glabella, in G. antiquatus
is only one-third the width of the glabella, but in (7. minutus it
must be at least one-half the width. These are the only differ-
ences that can be well made out, from the imperfect specimens,
but they seemed to me sufficient to indicate two species. Mr.
Salter says further, that the lobes of the glabella in G. antiquatus
are very obscure, and that the ocular ridge, if any existed, must
have been very slight. His specimen was somewhat abraded*
In C. minutus the ocular ridge is, for so small a species, very
strongly defined, and the glabellar furrows are so deep that it
would require a very considerable amount of abrasion to obliter-
ate them.

3. G. Zenkeri, (n. sp.) This is a new species recently discov-
/ ered in the magnesian limestone near Quebec. It will probably

*^ be described in the next No. of the Canadian Naturalist and
Geologist.

4. There is in the collection of the Geological Survey of Canada,
a plaster cast of the surface of a fragment of rock which holds
four specimens of a trilobite, each about the size of G. antiquatus.
They appear to me to belong to the genus Gonocephalites. The
original specimen was collected in Newfoundland, in the same
slate that holds Pradxides Bennettii (Salter,) and I am informed
that it is in the possession of a gentleman who lives somewhere
in the United States, but whose name or place of residence, I have
not been able to ascertain.

Of the above four species, Mr. Bradley's is at present the most
important as it fixes indisputably, at least one point in the geolo-

Description of a new Trilobite, 423

gical range of the genus on this side of the Atlantic. In Europe
ConocepTialites has not been found out of the primordial zone of
Barrande, but the Quebec and Keeseville specimens show that
here it reaches the Lower Sikirian.
Montreal, July 22nd, 1860.

*• (Additional note in Silliman^s Journal^ Nov. 1860.)

Since my note to Mr. Bradley's paper was written, he has col-
lected quite a number of new specimens of C. minutus at the
same locality. At his request I have examined them and find
that they exhibit several of the parts not preserved in those upon
which the original description was found.

Fig. 4. — a, A detached cheek showing the small spine of the posterior
angle.
6, c, Two specimens of the glabella, showing the spine on
the neck segment.

1. The posterior angles of the head are produced into short
spines, as we supposed, but these spines, instead of being elon-
gate-triangular are sub-cylindrical or needle-shaped and projected
outwards at an angle of 45° or thereabouts, to the longitudinal
axis of the body. The cheek does not appear to be striated but
rather smooth. These two characters furnish additional grounds
for separating the species from C. antiquatus (Salter,) which has
the cheeks striated and the posterior angles of the head only
slightly produced into short broadly triangular terminations.

2. The neck segment bears a short broad-based spine. The
first specimens collected do not exhibit this, but on reexamining
them I think I can see traces of it. Some of the specimens of C
coronatus (Barrande) lately collected in the Primordial Zone of
Spain have a spine on the neck segment of the same form as
that of C. minutus^ while others (according to the figures) have
not; and it may be that individuals of our species will yet be
discovered in which the absence of the spine can be clearly
established. This remark is made here because on comparing
the figures of the Bohemian and Spanish specimens of C. coro-

424 Description of a new Trilohite,

natus it would appear that the presence or absence of a spine on
the neck segment is not always of specific importance and should
some of those from Keeseville turn out to have only a plain neck
segment we would not perhaps on that ground alone be author-
ized to constitute two species.*

3. Mr. Bradley's new specimens also show that there are three
pairs of glabellar furrows, the anterior being represented by two
small indentations just in advance of the points where the ocular
ridges reach the glabella ; and further that the course of the
facial suture is the same as it is in C. striatus, (Emerich). The
pygidium is more obtusely rounded than is represented in our
Figure 2.

As to the correctness of the generic reference of this species
it may be remarked that Barrande is of opinion that no less than
eleven of those which Angel in has figured under the genera
Solenopleura, Eryx^ Conocoryphe^ and Harpides should be placed
in Conocephalites. In this view of Barrande's, Angelin has con-
curred.f The genus has thus been greatly extended and judg-
ing from the form of the head (and more particularly of the
glabella) of Angelin's species G. hrachymetopus, C. liomelotopus
and C. canaliculatus I think we are perfectly justified in referring
this species to Conocephalites. The genus is most closely allied
to Calymene, having the same number of segments in the thorax
— the same number and arrangement of pieces in the head and
the same general form and lobation of the glabella, the differ-
ences between the genera consisting principally in certain char-
acters of the pleurae and hypostoma | to which may be added the
ocular ridge which although not a constant character in Cono-
cephalites may be regarded as of some generic value as it does
not occur at all in Calymene. I would also state that since ex-
amining Mr. Bradley's recent collection, I have been strongly

* Compare the article, Sur Vexistence de lafaune primordiale dans la
chaine cantahriquCj par M. Casiano de Prado ; suivie de la Description
des fossiles, par MM. de Verneuil et Barrande. Bulletin Geol. Soc.
France, 2o Series, vol. xvii, p. 516, (1860). And also Barrande's Sys-
teme Silurien, plate 13.

t See Barrande's " Parallele entre Us depots Siluriens de Boheme et de
Scandinavie, p. 19 ; and compare the tables on p. 17 and 35 of the same
work. See also Angelin's Palceontologia Scandinavica.

t See Barrande, " Systeme Silurien du centre de la Boheme," p, 417-
419.

Notes on Birds wintering around Montreal, 425

impressed by the resemblance between the form of tbe cheek
and small needle-shaped posterior spines of C. minutus and the
same parts of the head of the Quebec species which I have
called Menocephalus glohosus, and it appears to me that Menocepli-
alus must be regarded as another closely allied genus. If we
except those two genera, Calymene and Menocephalus^ there is
no other but Conocephalites to which our new trilobite bears any
near affinity.

Mr. Bradley has since the publication of the above received a
collection of Fossils from the Potsdam sandstone of the western
states among which are several specimens of C. minutus. They
were collected at a place called Black River Falls in Wisconsin
where they occur associated with several of the species described
by Dale Owen.

£• S.

ARTICLE LI. — Notes on Birds wintering in and around Mon-
treal, From observations taken during the winters of 1856-
57-58-59-60. By H. G. Vennor, junr.

Few of our birds can endure the severe winters we generally
have in this part of Canada. Soon as the icy breath of that
hoary season is felt, and often long before, our feathered song-
sters hasten to their southern feeding grounds. A few, how-
ever, that seem loath to leave their summer haunts, loiter about
until winter has come in reality, and then, as if aware that they
have been imprudent, haste away in the same direction. These
are our loiterers, and must not be confounded with our real winter
residents. Others again, bid defiance to the severity of winter,
and remain eagerly searching for their food, in the bare, and
now apparently lifeless trees. It is to this class of birds, that I
have, for the last foui* winters, turned my attention.

Again, there are a few birds which come from the North every
winter, and return thither as soon as the cold weather leaves us.
The Pine Grosbeak, Bohemian Wax-wing, and common Snow-bunt-
ing, are examples. For this reason, it is difficult to make out an
accurate list of the birds which remain here the whole year round,
and unless the observations extend over several winters, it is al-
most impossible. On comparing my notes of the last nve winters,
I find that the list of birds varies every winter, as the weather has

Can. Nat. 2 Vol. V. No. 6.

426 Notes on Birds wintering around Monti'eal,

been mild or severe. During severe winters, we always have a
good number of northern visitors, and very few loiterers ; on the
other hand when the winter is rather mild it is the reverse.

One of our smallest, and yet most active winter birds, is the Black"
cap Tit [Parus atricapillus). They may be seen nearly every-
where during the winter months ; sometimes in flocks, and again
in pairs. While feeding they utter a sharp chip, and when
flying and then suddenly alighting they pipe out their chick-a-
dee-dee, from which sound they derive their familiar name.

The Downy Woodpecker [Ficus pubescens). This little Wood-
pecker is also very common around Montreal during the winter
months. It may often be seen in company with the Black-caps.

The Hairy Woodpecker (^Picus villosus) is not often seen
here during the winter. I have not met with it myself, but have
obtained specimens shot in the vicinity.

The Pileated Woodpecker (Picus pileatus). This bird is rare
in this part of Canada, as it remains in the interior of the woods,
both in summer and winter. I have a specimen that was shot
a little below the town.

The Arctic Woodpecker (Picus arcticus) is seen here now and
again during the winter; and I am told by a friend, they often
visit our mountain during the summer. I have a specimen which
I obtained near the Mile-end quarries in 1858.

The Brown Creeper (Certhia familiaris) is not very abundant
during winter, yet it winters in Canada. During the month of
February, 1857, they were very numerous on Nun's Island, and
there have generally been some in a small pine grove on the top
of our mountain every winter.

The Brown-bellied Nuthatch (Sitla Canadensis') is not very
often seen during the winter months. On a mild day, one may see
several of them, and then they suddenly disappear for a time.
They frequent the same localities as the former bird.

The White-bellied Nuthatch (Sitta Carolinensis) is very com-
mon during February on Nun's Island ; they utter the same
note as the other, and are somewhat larger.

The Ptobin or Migratory Thrush [Turdus migratorius). This
bird is a loiterer, and often appears late in the winter, and
very early in the Spring. One was shot November 1856,
and another seen January 1857; and last winter, on the 19th
of February, I saw a large one in our garden. It is strange how
they manage to live at all, when they loiter here half the winter.
Their Spring arrival is in the month of April.

Notes on Birds winterins^ around Montreal, 427

Q

The Pine Grosbeak [Pyrrhula enucleator) arrives from the north
about December, and remains here until March ; they feed on the
Mountain Ash berries while here.

The Bohemian Wax-wing (^Bomhy cilia garrula). This bird only
visits us during the most severe weather, and then it arrives in
pretty large flocks, I first observed this bird at the commence-
ment of the winter of 1857. We had some very cold weather
at that time, and several large flocks of wax-wings, intermingled
with grosbeaks arrived, and frequented the small mountain, and
the gardens throughout the island, where there were any
berries to be found. The wax-wings remained until April when
they disappeared. I have not noted this bird since.*

The Lesser-red-Poll (^Linaria minor). These birds are numerous
throughout the winter, the greatest number may be seen about
the beginning of February.

The Blue Jay {Garrulas cristatus). One of these birds was
shot 25th November near Mile-end road quarries, several others
were seen during the winter behind our mountain. They winter
at Sorel.

The Canada Jay (^Garrulus Canadensis). This bird is not very
common here, but is often seen by hunters in the thick woods, be-
tween this and Ottawa. I obtained some specimens during 1859,
in the market: they were shot near the town ; last winter I saw
another specimen brought to the market. This bird is common
at Hudson's Bay.

Shrike [Lanius Borealis). This bird is not a winter resident,
but a loiterer. A few straggling ones may be seen as late as
January. During the cold weather it feeds on mice, and other
small animals. It is rare here, both in summer and winter.

Snow Bird {^Niphoea hyemalis). This bird stays as late as the
middle of November, but does not loiter longer.

Snow Bunting {Plectrophanes nivalis). Very abundant ; large
flocks always to be seen on the frozen rivers, and on Nun's Island,
and along the country roads.

The PbuO'ed Grouse {Teirao Umhellus). I have noticed the tracks
of this bird, over several places on our mountain during the winter

* Since writing the above, I have been told by Mr. Hunter (cabinet
keeper of the Museum of Natural History), that the Bohemian Chatterers
were noticed by him the two last winters, although not in such number
as during 1857.

428 Notes on Birds wiiitering aroujid Montreal.

I

and although I only saw one bird there during the winter of 1859,
yet, I am confident they are numerous on some parts of the moun-
tain. They are also found in a swamp near Mile-end road.

Ptarmigan or Arctic Partridge. (^Tetrao mutus), I bought a
fine specimen of this bird from a Canadian in the market ; it
was shot near Sorel.

Owls. The winter is the owls' summer, yet they stay with us
both winter and summer. During the hot weather they retire to
the depths of the forests. But in winter they roam over plains,
forests and villages, some even taking up their abode in barns to
prey upon the mice, &c. I have seen the great Horned Owl [Strix
Virginiana) sitting on a barn near Sherbrooke street. There are
of them more or less every winter for sale in the market.

To commence, we will take the Hawk Owl ( Strix funerea).
This bird is in some respects like an Hawk, and in others like the
Owl, but it is an Owl nevertheless. It becomes very abundant
in the fall, or rather beginning of December, and generally
stays all winter ; they fly about by day more than the other
species.

The Barred Owl [Strix nehulosa). I saw a specimen of
this Owl as early as September this year. They have been seen
during January and most of the winter on Nun's Island, and some-
times on our mountain. It is also seen on St. Helen's Island, one
being shot there January 1857. I have seen it exposed for sale
in the market for the last four winters.

The Little Owl [Strix passerina) is not very often seen ; I have
one specimen from our mountain shot several winters ago.

The Short Eared Owl. [Strix hrachyotus). I obtained a specimen
of this owl also from our mountain last winter.

The Long Eared Owl. (^Strix otus). This owl is very rare
here also, it is bometimes seen on the Mile-end race-course, and
at Logan's farm.

The Great Horned Owl [Strix Virginiana) is common about
Montreal during winter, specimens being for sale every winter in the
market, I kept one of these birds alive for some time ; he
ftte raw meat voraciously.

The Snowy Owl, [Strix nyctea) is rather rare about the
immediate neighbourhood of the city, but is generally brought into
the market every winter. I have noticed it at Nun's Island and on
our mountain. The winter of 1859 brought seven Snowy Owls
to the market, last winter (1860) there were only two in the same

Notes on Birds winterincr around Montreal, 429

o

market ; they were all young, none having the pure white plu-
mage of the old birds.

Hawks. The fall is the feasting time for the Hawks, rarely are
they to be seen during the winter. The winter Falcon is some-
times shot on our mountain.

The Goshawk {^Falco palumbarius) however, remains here
the whole winter, and is seen more frequently during that season.
He generally keeps himself pretty deep in the woods, and unless
driven by hunger, will rarely approach the habitation of man ;
when he is thus driven, woe to the farmers' sheep, ducks,
geese, &c !

The Snipe (Scolopax Wilsonii), Specimens of this bird have
been shot as late as Christmas day, but these are only loitering
long after the usual time of their departure.

The birds mentioned in the above are all that have come to
my notice, during the winters of 1856-57-58-59-60. Others
may have noticed some I have not seen, and by making them
known, would thus add to the list already commenced by Mr,
D'Urbain, in the Naturalist, vol. 2, p. 138. It was his article that
made me think of adding my contribution t3 the list.

I subjoin a list of all the birds I have noted these last few win-
ters, placing the letter L before the names of the loiterers.

List of birds observed during the winters of 1856-57-58-59-60.

Black-cap Tit (Parus atricapillus).

Downy "Woodpecker (Picus pubescens).

Arctic " (^Picus arcticus).

Pileated " (Picus pileatus).

Brown creeper (Certhia familiar is) .

L, — Robin ( Turdus migratorius).

Blue Jay ( Garrulus cristatus).

Canada Jay ( Garrulus Canadensis).

L.— Shrike (Lanius Borealis). "

L.— Snow bird (Niphcea hyemalis).

Snow bunting (Plectrophanes nivalis)

Pinegrosbeak (Pyrrhula enucleator).

Wax-wing (Bombycilla garrula).

Nuthatch (Sitta Canadensis).

Lesser red Linnet (Linaria minor).

Ruffed grouse ( Tetrao umbellus).

Ptarmigan ( Tetrao mutus).

Hawk Owl (Strixfunerea).

430 Notes on Aboriginal Antiquities.

Barred " (Strix nebulosa).

Screech " (Strix asio).

Short-eared Owl (Strix brachyotus).

Long " " (Strix virginiana).

Horned " (Strix bubo).

Snowj-daj " (Strix nyctea).

Winter Falcon (Falco lineatus).

Goshawk (Falco palumbarius).

L. — Snipe (Scolopax Wilsonii).

Making a total of 23 winter residents and 4 loiterers.

The American Crow {Corviis Americanus) has been seen here
sometimes during November and December.

The Blue Robin (Sialia Stalis) is also mentioned by some as
remaining here, but it must be very rarely. He arrives early
in spring, and his song is the first we hear, welcoming sum-
mer; he generally moves southward about November.

Montreal, Nov. loth, 1860.

ARTICLE LIT. — Notes on Ahoriginal Antiquities recently dis*
covered in the Island of Montreal,

(Read before the Natural History Society of Montreat.)

Toward the end of last month the writer was informed that
some workmen employed by Edmond Dorion, Esq., had discover-
ed what were supposed to be Indian remains, near Mansfield
street. On application to Mr. Dorion, he kindly gave the specimens
in his possession for presentation to the Natural History Society,
and instructed his labourers to preserve any other remains that
might occur. The specimens obtained from Mr. Dorion consisted
of a skull evidently of American type, fragments of a second skull,
and portions of earthen vessels similar to those made by the
aborigines before the colonization of the country.

The place in which the remains were found is immediately below
Sherbrooke street,between Mansfield and Metcalfe streets and in the
line of Burnside Place. It is a part of the dry sandy knoll or terrace,
between the College Brook and that running through Honorable
Judge Smith's properly, on the level of Sherbrooke street, and
sloping rapidly toward the flat in rear of St. Catherine street.
The ground has been ploughed, but is at present vacant and used
for the excavation of sand for building. The sand is of the Post-

Notes on Aboriginal Antiquities. 431

Pliocene deposit which I have elsewhere called the " Saxicava
sand,"* and is from two to six feet in thickness, resting on an
uneven surface of the "Leda clay."

On inquiry, I found that the workmen employed in removing
sand, have, at several times, found skeletons, and have buried them
in the clay below the sand bed, where perhaps at some future
time they may lead to the supposition that in Canada man
was contemporary with this historically very old though geolo-
gically very recent deposit. I record the fact of the transference
of these skeletons to the Leda clay, to prevent, if possible, the
occurrence of an error so serious.

The skeleton found by Mr. Dorion was in a sitting or crouch-
ing posture, but no note had been taken of the precise position.
A few days afterward the workmen uncovered another which
I saw in situ. Tt is that of a man perhaps 50 years of
age. The body lay in an inclined position, the head toward the
west, and the face toward the south or south-west. The knees
were bent up close to the chest, and the arms placed in such a
position that the hands were opposite the face. The bones were
perfect as to their form, but were stained yellow by the oxide of
iron in the sand, and had become brittle owing to loss of animal
matter. The hair and all the soft parts had entirely disappeared,
and the skeleton had evidently been reposing for centuries where
it was found. No wrappings of any kind enclosed it, nor could
any object of art be found in the surrounding sand. It was about
two feet below the surface of the ground. Another skeleton sub-
sequently found, lay with the head toward the east, in the same
crouching position. Fragments of an earthen vessel were found
near its hands. All the above were remains of aged persons ; but
the workmen also found the skeleton of a child perhaps 8 or 9
years of age, parts only of which were preserved.

On examining the ground in the vicinity of the excavations, I
found that the locality had been the site not merely of a cemetery
of the aborigines, but also of a village or encampment. Fragments
of pottery and other artificial objects and bones of wild animals
are scattered abundantly through the soil, especially in the neigh-
bourhood of spots where ashes and charcoal indicate the position
of domestic fires. Some of these fires had been made on the
surface, but others in pits about a foot in diameter and of the

* Canadian Naturalist II, p. 402, Fig. 1, E, f.

432 Notes on Aboriginal Antiquities.

same depth, and the remains of pottery and other objects were in
such quantity in their vicinity as to indicate a long residence of
the tribe which had inhabited the spot. These occur abundantly
on the S. "W. side of Metcalfe street, on the margin of the little
brook which separates this site from the similar platform on which
the building for the ball in honour of the Prince of Wales was
erected, and they extend thence to Mansfield street, and from the
margin of the terrace toward St. Catherine street more than
half way to Sherbrooke street, or in all a space of rather more
than 1.00 yards in diameter. The removal of a great part of the
sand has much changed the natural form of the ground, but it
seems to have been a slightly rounded sandy knoll with a
little depression running diagonally through it, and the habita-
tions indicated by the sites of fire places seem to have encircled
the most elevated part of the ground in which most of the skele-
tons occur. A considerable part of this space is not yet excavated
and may aS'ord many additional remains.

I shall now describe the objects found, beginning with the
human remains. Of these we have principally three skulls, one
female and two male, nearly perfect. The fragments of the
others are not in a condition to afford much information.

1. Skull of an aged female. — This is distinctly pyramidal at
the vertex, with prominent superciliary ridges, receding but
convex forehead and elongated occiput. Its dimensions are as
follows, column (1) :

(1) (2) (3)

Longitudinal diameter Q.^5 in. 7.50 in. 7.05 inches.

Parietal diameter* 5.25" 5.75 " 5.50 "

Frontal diameter 4.00 " 5.00 " 4.75 "

Vertical diameter 5.30" 5.50*' 5.50 "

Intermastoid arch 12.00 " 13.50 " 13.50 "

Occipito-frontal arch 13.75 " 14.40 " 14.50 "

Horizontal circumference 19.25" 21.00 " 20.75 "

The bones of the face and jaws are very small and delicate
compared with those of the male skulls. This skull is in the
Museum of the Natural History Society.

2. STcull of a man, perhaps aged 50 years. The vertex in
this skull is not pyramidal but rounded, the forehead full and
the superciliary ridges by no means prominent. The occiput

*

Greatest immediately above the squamous suture.

Notes on Aboriginal Antiquities,

433

less elongated than in No 1. The bones of the face are strong
with prominent zygoma, and the lower jaw is very massive.
The dimensions are as above, column (2).

This specimen also, with the rest of the skeleton, is in the
Museum of the Natural History Society.

3. Skull of an Off ed man. — This is in general aspect like No.
2. Its dimensions are as above, column (3).

This skull is in the Museum of McGill College. Its form is
illustrated in Figs. 1, 2 and 3.f

Fig. 1.

Fig. 3.

Fig. 2.
Figs. 1, 2, 3, Aboriginal Skull from site of an village at Montreal.

All of the above are dolichokephalic or elongated skulls, a form
which Prof. Wilson has shewn to prevail among the Huron tribes,
and which Retzius * maintains to be general in the Eastern Ame-
ricans as distinguished from those of the West coast.

* Smithsonian Report, 1859.

t The forehead in Fig. 2 is incorrectly shaded.

434. Notes on Aboriginal Antiquities,

They exhibit a very respectable development of brain, especially
in the male skulls, and they show the fallacy of the conclusions
hastily adopted by some ethnologists as to the supposed distinct-
ness in form of the American skull from that of the populations
of the old world, and its supposed general brachykephalic
type. Facts to be stated in the sequel show that these skulls
must have belonged to an ancient and unmixed American people,
and they are markedly characterised by the American type of
face ; but the brain case in form and dimensions differs little from
types prevalent among European races.

4. Remains of articles of food. — In and near the little hearths
or ovens above mentioned, are numerous bones of animals, some
in a condition sufficiently perfect to permit their determination.
Among them are remains of the Bear, Beaver, Deer, Dog, Fox ;
of several fishes ; especially the Cat-fish, Corvina and Sturgeon ; and
of birds. Shells of Unio gibbosa, the most common fresh water
mussel in the St. Lawrence near Montreal, charred grains of
Indian Corn and stones of the wild cherry, also occur.

5. Earthen Vessels. — These appear to have been of the usual
form of those made by the aborigines, rounded below and rising
with a graceful double curve toward the mouth, v/hich is either
round or square with prominent corners, the latter form giving a
very elegant outline. For the general form I may refer to the
figure and description of an Indian vase from the Ottawa in this
Journal, Vol. 4, p. 188. The sides and bottom of these vessels
are usually smooth, but in one or two instances are covered with
square indentations giving a sort of netted pattern. (Fig. 4). The

Fig. 4.

mouths and necks are ornam.ented with depressed lines and notches
variously arranged, with circles stamped on the clay, and with
prints made by the point of the finger. The patterns are various
and often very tasteful. A few of them are represented of half
the actual dimensions in figs. 5 to 10. The material is clay mixed

ISlotes on Aboriginal Antiquities.

435

witb sand, often well smoothed and finished, but without any glaz-
ino-. Some pieces are well burned, and most of the fragments are

Fig. 5. Fig. 6.

blackened by long use, though some others seem quite fresh, as if
not used at least for culinary purposes.

Fig. 7.

Fig. 8.

Fig. 10.

6. Tobacco Pipes. — Many fragments of these occur, all of
clay well baked and often of fine quality. The patterns are various
and some of them very elegant : one of the most perfect is repre-
sented in Fig. 11.

7. Other earthen objects. — One of these is a portion of a disk
of baked clay, ornamented on one side, and perhaps used in some

436

Notes on Aboriginal Antiquities,

game, (Fig. 12). Another is a fragment of earthenware ground
into a circular form and possibly used for a similar purpose.
Another is a conical body of unknown use, roughly shaped.

Ficf Ji

•^-...

•"•••#.,

Fig. 11, Clay Pipe, half actual size.

Another fragment is apparently the handle of a flat earthen
vessel. (Fig. 13.)

Fig. 13.

8. Bone Implements. — The most interesting of these is a coni-
cal bodkin with a circular stamp at the larger end, neatly made, and
which was evidently used in ornamenting the pottery found with it,
the circular stamp fitting into the circles on some of the vessels, and
the point being very suitable for making the lines or scratches
(Fig. 14). It is cut out of solid bone from the leg of some animal,
the thicker end being from the cancellated bone near the joint.
Other bone skewers or bodkins of ruder form were also found.

9. Stone implements. — Many oval and sharp edged stones, which

Notes on Aboriginal Antiquities,

437

may have been used for hammers and knives, were found, but
none of them artificially shaped. There are also numerous stones
showing marks of fire and probably used for supporting pots or
for heating water or for baking. One regularly oval piece of
t'-ap about five inches in its longest diameter, has evidently been
shaped by art and ground flat on one of its side^;. It may have
been used as a pestle for grinding, or perhaps may have been
heated in the fire for baking cakes in the manner described by
Cartier. Another of triangular form has been perforated by a
Saxicava in the tertiary period,as is the case with many of the loose
fragments of limestone near the mountain of Montreal, and has
perhaps been used by the Indians as a sinker. No arrow heads
or other weapons of stone have as yet been found ; but I have a
fragment of an arrow head of greenish jasper which was found in
my garden, at no great distance from the site in question.

10. Iron implements. — Two small pieces of iron were found
■with two bone bodkins near one of the fire places, and probably
belong to the Indian relics. One of them is apparently a small
knife or oblique edged chisel about three inches in length, and
such as the Indians themselves may have made from a scrap of
foreign iron obtained from some of their early European visitors
(Fig. 15). The other is a square piece of flat iron, perhaps a
portion of an iron hoop or of a large knife.

Fig. 15.

Fig. 14.
Fig. 14, Bodkin, half actual size. Fig. 14, Iron knive, half actual size

The historical importance of these relics depends to a great
extent on the answer to the question, whether they belong to the
aborigines who inhabited Hochelaga at the time of its discovery

43S Notes on Aboriginal Antiquities,

by Cartier, or to any previous or subsequent occupancy of the
Island of Montreal by Indians.

On the 3rd of October, 1535, Cartier landed on the Island of
Montreal, and visited an Indian village which he calls Hoche-
laga, a name apparently refemng rather to the district than to
the town itself. In 1540, in his third voyage, of which unfortun-
ately only imperfect records remain, he mentions apparently at the
same place a village which he calls Tutonaguy; and as he had
learned in the meantime to apply the name Hochelaga to a re-
gion or district of country, it is probable that this is the same
place previously named Hochelaga. In 1603, Cham plain appears
to have found that the village of Hochelaga had dwindled away
or disappeared, and we hear no more of its site until in 1642,
when Montreal was founded by the French under the Sieur Maison-
neuve. On this occasion some very interestinor statements are
made in the Jesuits' memoirs, respecting the fate of Hochelaga.
(1642, chap. 9.) We are informed that at this date no trace of
Cartier's Hochelaga was known, except a name which the Indians
had given to the island, importing that it had been the site of a
village or fort. Further two aged Indians who accompanied some
of the new colonists to the mountain top, stated that they were
descendants of the original inhabitants ; that their tribe had at
one time inhabited all the surrounding region, even to the south
of the river, possessing many populous villages ; that the Hurons
who at that time were hostile to them, had expelled them ; that
some of them had taken refuge among the Abenaquis, others
among the Iroquois, others among the Hurons themselves. One
of them farther stated that his grandfather had cultivated the
very place before them, and expatiated on the excellence of its
soil and climate for the cultivation of Indian corn ; but the incur-
sions of the Iroquois were too much dreaded to permit the re-
occupation of the island. The missionaries farther remark that
these people once sedentary and cultivators of the soil, had be-
come migratory, owing to the dangers to which they were ex-
posed, a very important fact as we shall perceive in the sequel.
One of the men above referred to was named Atcheast, and other
statements show that he was one of a band regarded as Alston-
quins by the missionaries. These people were invited by the
French to return to the Island of Montreal, and were promised
protection from the Iroquois, but their fears do not seem to have
been overcome until the conclusion of peace in 1646, when a

Notes on Aboriginal Antiquities, 439

number of families, includino' as we are informed some of the
descendants of the original inhabitants, formed a settlement,
which appears to have subsisted only for a short time, when re-
newed fears of the Iroquois took possession of them. Some
remained, however, sufficiently long to plant some Indian corn.
We have at this time the important statement that those who
regarded themselves as original Montrealcrs spoke the Algon-
quin tongue, and that their tribal name was Onontchataranons or
Iroquet. Their chief at this time was Taouichkaron. This is the
last historical notice I have found of this people, and they ap-
pear to have been dispersed and to have disappeared from Mont-
real on the renewal of the war with the Iroquois in the following
year.

It appears from the preceding statements that if, as seems al-
most certain, the remains recently found indicate the site of an
Indian village, they may have belonged either to the Hochelaga
of Cartier, or to the later settlement in 1646, unless indeed this
second settlement took place on the precise site of the old vil-
lage, in which case it mii^ht be difficult to distinguish the re-
mains of the later from those of the earlier. With respect to the
second and third of these alternatives, it seems probable that
after the French occupation of the island, and at a time when
the missionaries were labouring successfully among these people,
the site of their village would present more traces of European
intercour.-e than occur at the place in question. Afraid as they
were of the Iroquois, it also seems probable that they would
settle as near as possible to their allies, whose abodes were close
to the river. Farther it appears impossible that so much broken
pottery and other rejectamenta could result from the residence
of a few famihes for one year. The remains rather indicate a
place long occupied. For these reasons I am disposed to regard
it as the most probable alternative, that the site in question is
that of the original village seen by Cartier in 1535, unless on
consulting his narrative we should find reason to reject this view
also. That the reader may judge for himself, I reproduce here
the original statements of the observant old voyager, in
Hakluyt's excellent English version, with some emendations sug-
gested by Prof. Darey of McGill College, who has kindly com-
pared it with the French, as given in the edition of the Quebec
Natural History Society. Between these copies several differences
occur, which no doubt in part arise from Hakluyt's translation

4.iO Notes on Aboriginal Antiquities,

havino" been made from the earlier texts now lost, but some of
them are pretty evidently errors of translation. Our extracts re-
fer to the day following Cartier's arrival at the Island of Mont-
real, and his landing as is believed below the Current.

" The Captaine the next day very earely in the morning, having
attired hiraselfe, caused all his company to be set in order to go
to see the towne and habitation of those people, and a certaine
mountaine that is neere the citie ; with whom went also five gen-
tlemen, and twentie Mariners, leaving the rest to keepe and looke
to our boates : we tooke with us three men of Hochelaga to bring
us to the place. All along as we went we found the way as well
beaten and frequented as can be, the fairest and best country that
possibly can be scene, full of as goodly great okes as are in any
wood in France, under which the ground was all covered over
with faire akornes. After we had gone about foure or five miles,
we met by the way one of the chiefest lords of the citie, accom-
panied with many moe, who so soone as he sawe us beckned and
made signes upon us, that W3 must rest us in that place where
they had a great fire, and so we did. Then the said lord began
to make a long discourse, even as we have saide above, they are
accustomed to doe in signe of mirth and friendship, shewing our
Captaine and all his company a joyfull countenance, and good
will ; who gave him two hatchets, a paire of knives and a crucifix
which he made him to kisse, and then put it about his necke, for
which he gave our Captaine heartie thankes. This done, we went
along, and about a mile and a halfe farther, we began to finde
goodly and large cultivated fieldes, full of such corne as the coun-
trie yeeldeth. It is even as the Millet of Bresil, as great and some
what bigger then small peason, wherewith they live even as we
doe with our wheal. In the midst of those fields is the citie of
Hochelaga, placed neere, and as it were joyned to a great moun-
taine* that is tilled round about, very fertill, on the top of which
you may see very farre, we named it Mount Roiall. The citie of
Hochelaga is round, compassed about with timber, with three
course of Rampires, one within another framed like a sharpe
spire, or pyramid, but laid acrosse above. The middle most of
them is perpendicular. The Rampires are framed and fashioned
with pieces of timber, layd along very well and cunningly joyned
togither after their fashion. This enclosure is in height about
two rods.f It hath but one gate or entrie thereat, which is shut

* Literally — "which surrounds it, well cultivated and very fertile."
t French, — " deux lances." The drawing in Ramusio's translation
would give a height of about 16 feet.

Notes on Ahorlginal Aiitiquitits, 441

■with piles, stakes, and barres. Over it, and also in many places
of the wall, there is a kind of gallery to runne along, and ladders
to get up, all full of stones and pebbles for the defence of it
There are in the towne about fiftie houses, at the utmost about
fiftie paces long, and twelve or fifteen broad, built all of wood,
covered over with the barke of the wood as broad as any boord
very finely and cunningly joyned togither according to there
fashion. Within the said houses, there are many roomes.
In the midest of every one, there is a great hall, in the
middle whereof they make their fire. They live in common to-
gither : then doe the husbands, wives and children each one retire
themselves to their chambers. They have also on the top of their
houses certaiue granaries,* wherein they keepe their corne to
make their bread withall ; they call it Caracony, which they
make as hereafter shall follow. They have certaine peeces of
wood, like those whereon we beat our hempe, and with certain
beetles of wood they beat their corne to powder ; then they make
paste of it, and of the paste, cakes or wreathes, then they lay
them on a broad and bote stone, and then cover it with bote
pebbles and so they bake their bread instead of ovens. They
make also sundry sorts of pottage with the said corne and also
of pease and of beanes, whereof they have great store, as also
with other fruits, great cowcumbers and other fruits. They have
also in their houses certaine vessels as bigge as any But or Tun,
wherein they keepe their fish, causing the same in sommer to be
dried in the smoke and live therewith in winter, whereof they
make great provision, as we by experience have scene. All their
viands and meates are without any taste or savour of salt at all.
They sleepe upon barkes of trees laide all along upon the ground
being over-spread with the skinnes of certaine wilde Beastes,
wherewith they also clothe and cover themselves, namely of the
Dormouse,t Beaver, Martin, Fox, Wild Cat, Deer, Stag, and
other wild beasts, but the greater part of them go almost naked
(during the summer). The thing most precious that they have
in all the world they call Esurgny ; which is white and which
they take in the said river in Cornibots,J in the manner followino-

* Corn-cribs. f ? Musk-rat.

% This word seems to have puzzled the translators. It is probably a vul-
gar local name for some shell supposed to resemble that of which these
Indians made their wampum. I would suggest that it may be derived
Can. Nat. 3 No. 6, Vol. Y.

442 Notes on Aboriginal Antiquities.

When any one hath deserved death, or that they take any of their
enemies in warres, first they kill him, then with certain knives
they give great slashes and strokes upon their buttocks, flankes,
thighs and shoulders ; then they cast the same bodie so mangled
downe to the bottom e of the river, in a place where the said
Esurgny is, and there leave it ten or twelve houres, then they take
it up againe, and in the cuts find the said Esurgny or Cornibots.
Of them they make beads, and use them even as we doe gold
and silver, accounting it the preciousest thing in the world. They
have this vertue in them, they will stop or stanch bleeding at the
nose, for we prooved it. These people are given to no other
exercise, but onely to husbandrie and fishing for their sustenance :
they have no care of any other wealth or commoditie in this
world, for they have no knowledge of it, and never travell and go
out of their country, as those of Canada and Saguenay doe, albeit
the Canadians with eight or nine Villages more alongst that river
be subjects unto them.

So soone as we were come neere the towne, a great number of
the inhabitants thereof came to present themselves before us,
after their fashion, making very much of us: we were by our
guides brought into the middest of the towne. They have in the
middlemost part of their town a large square place, being from
side to side a good stone cast, whither we were brought, and
there with signes were commanded to stay and so we did : then
suddenly all the women and maidens of the towne gathered them-
selves together, part of which had their armes full of young
children, and as many as could came to kiss our faces, our armes,
and what part of the bodie soever they could touch, weeping for
very joy that they saw us, shewing us the best countenance that
possibly they could, desiring us with their signes, that it would
please us to touch their children. That done, the men caused
the women to withdraw themselves backe, then they every one

from cornet, which is used by old French writers as a name for the
shells of the genus Valuta, and is also a technical term in conchology
In this case it is likely that the Esurgny was made of the shells of some
of our species of Melania or Paludina, just as the Indians on the coast used
for beads and ornaments the shells of Purpura lapillus and of Denta-
lium, &c. It is just possible that Cartier may have misunderstood the
mode of procuring these shells, and that the statement may refer to
some practice of making criminals and prisoners dive for them in the
deeper parts of the river.

Notes on Aboriginal Antiquities. 443

sate downe on the ground round about us, as if we would have
shewen and rehearsed some comedie or other shew : then presen-
tly came the women againe, every one bringing a fouresquare
matte in manner of carpets, and spreading them abroad on the
ground in that place, they caused us to sit upon them. That done,
the Lord and King of the country was brought upon 9 or 10
men's shoulders, (whom in their tongue they call Agouhanna) sit-
ting upon a great stagges skinne, and they laidehim downe upon
the foresaid mats neere to the capitaine, every one beckning unto
us that hee was their Lord. This Agouhanna was a man about
fifde yeeres old : he was no whit belter apparelled then any of
the rest, onely excepted, that he had a certain thing around his
head made of the skinnes of Hedo-elioofs * like a red wreath. He
was full of the palsie and his members shronke together. After
he had with certaine signes saluted our captaine and all his com-
panie, and by manifest tokens bid all welcome, he shewed his
legges and armes to our capitaine, and with signes desired him
to touch them, and so he did, rubbing them with his owne hands :
then did Agouhanna take the wreath or crowne he had about
his head, and gave it unto our capitaine, that done they brought
before him diverse diseased men, some blinde, some criple, some
lame and impotent, and some so old that the haire of their eyelids
came downe and covered their cheekes, and layd them all along
before our capitaine, to the end they might of him be touched ;
for it seemed unto them that God was descended and come down
from heaven to heale them. Our capitaine seeing the misery and
devotion of this poore people, recited the Gospel of St. John,
that is to say, " In the beginning was the Word," making the
signof the cross upon the poor sick ones, praying to God that it
would please him to open the hearts of this poore people, and to
make them know our holy faith, and that they might receive
baptisme and christendome, that done, he tooke a service-booke
in his hand, and with a loud voice read all the passion of Christ,
word by word, that all the standers by might heare him, all which
while this poore people kept silence, and were marvellously atten-
tive, looking up to heaven, and imitating us in gestures. Then
he caused the men all orderly to be set on one side, the women
on another, and likewise the children on another, and to the
chiefest of them he gave hatchets, to the other knives, and to the

* Porcupines.

444 Notes on Aboriginal Antiquities,

women beads and such other small trifles. Then where y child-
ren were, he cast rings, counters, and broaches made of tin,
whereat they seemed to be very glad. That done, our capitaine
commanded trumpets and other musicall instruments to be sound-
ed, which when they heard, they were very merie. Then we
tooke our leave and went away ; the women seeing that, put them
selves before to stay us, and brought us out of their meates that
they had made readie for us, as fish, pottage, beanes, and such
other things, thinking to make us eate, and dine in that place ;
but because the meates were not to our taste we liked them not,
but thanked them, and with signes gave to understand that we
had no neede to eate. When we were out of the towne, diverse
of the men and women followed us, and brought us to the toppe
of the foresaid mountaine, which wee named Mount Roial, it is
about a quarter of a league from the towne. When as we were
on the toppe of it, we might discerne and plainly see thirtie leagues
about. On the north side of it there are many hilles to be
scene running west and east, and as many more on the south,
amongst and betweene the which the countrey is as faire and
as pleasant as possibly can be scene, being levell, smooth, and
very plaine, fit to be husbanded and tilled, and in the middest of
those fieldes we saw the river further up a great way then where
we had left our boates, where was the greatest and the swiftest
fall of water that any where hath beene scene which we oould
not pass, and the said river as great wide and large as our sight
might discerne, going southwest along three faire and round
mountaines th^t we sawe, as we judged about fifteene leagues
from us. Those which brought us thither tolde and shewed us,
that in the sayd river there were three such falles of water more,
as that was where we had left our boates ; but we could not
understand how farre they were one from another. Moreover they
shewed us with signes, that the said three fals being past, a man
might sayle the space of three monethes more alongst that river,
and that along the hilles that are on the north side there is a great
river, which (even as the other) cometh from the west, we thought
it to be the river that runneth through the countrey of Saguenay,
and without any signe or question mooved or asked of them, they
tooke the chayne of our capitaines w histle, which was of silver,
and the dagger-haft of one of our fellow mariners, hanging on his
side being of yellow copper guilt, and shewed us that such stuff'e
came from the said river, and that there be Agojudas, that is as

Notes on Aboriginal Antiquities. 445

much to say, an evill people, who goe all armed even to their
fingers' ends. Also they shewed us the manner of their armour,
they are made ofcordes and wood, finely and cunningly wrought
together. They gave us also to understande that those Ago-
judas doe continually warre one against another, but because we
did not understand them well, we could not perceive how farre
it was to that country. Our capitaine shewed them redde copper,
which in their language they call Caquedaze, and looking to-
warde that countrey, with signes asked them if any came from
thence, they shaking their heads answered no ; but they shewed
us that it came from Saguenay, and that lyeth cleane contrary to
the other. After we had heard and scene these things of them
we drewe to our boates accompanied with a great multitude of
those people ; some of them when as they sawe any of our fel-
lowes weary, would take them up on their shoulders, and carry
them as on horseback."

The oriirinal edition of Cartier's vovaQ-es seems to have been
illustrated with maps or plans, one of which, representing Hoche-
laga is extant in the Italian translation by Ramusio, published at
Venice, in 1560.* It is a sort of ideal birds-eye view, either
taken on the spot, or from subsequent recollection. A reduced
copy of the more important parts is given in Fig. 16. It shows
the construction of the wooden wall of defence and the form and
arrangement of the houses, and gives a rude representation of
the character of the surroundinof country. It enables us to un-
derstand the dimensions of the houses given by Cartier, which
evidently refer not to the individual dwellings, which are square,
but to rows or blocks of four or five houses. Further it gives
as the diameter of the circular enclosure, about 120 yards, and
for each side of the square in the centre, about 30 yards. It also
shows that the villaoe was situated near to the base of themoun-
tain, which, however, from the point of view being from the
south, does not appear in the sketch ; and that it had a small
stream to the west, and apparently another at a greater distance
to the east.

Taking these descriptions of Cartier in connection with the
subsequent statements of the Jesuit missionaries, we may I think
arrive at the following conclusions respecting the site of Hochelaga.

* For an opportunity of consulting this work I am indebted to Rev.
H. Verreau, Principal of the Jacques Cartier Normal School.

446

Notes on Aboriginal Antiquities.

It was not only distant four or five miles from the place at
the foot of the current where Cartier lauded, but was at some
distance from the river, and on the elevated sandy terrace at the
base of the mountain, which is more suitable both to the growth of

j:

Plan of Hocbelaga— (Reduced from Ramusio's translation of Cartier.)

a, Gate, h, Square, c, Chief's House, d, Wall of defence, c, Plan
of a single house, (a) doorway and fire-place. /, Section of part of the
wall of defence.

oaks, and to the culture of Indian corn as practised by the In-
dians, than any other part of the island. It was distant about a
quarter of a league from the brow of the mountain, and con-

Notes on Aboriginal Antiquities, 447

sisted of a dense cluster of cabins aboiit 120 yards in diameter,
situated near the eastern side of a small stream or rivulet flowing
from the mountain, and in sight of another similar stream lying
to the north-east.

All these indications correspond with the site to which these
remarks relate ; and if the village was destroyed before 1603, and
the wooden structures of which it consisted consumed by fire,
no trace of it might remain in 1642, and the ground would
probably at that time be overgrown with shrubs and young trees.
But the Indian tradition would preserve the memory of the
place, and if as there is no reason to doubt, the point of view to
which the statement of the Jesuit missionaries relates, was the
front of the escarpment of the mountain, their Indian informants
would have at their very feet the old residence of their fathers,
and their remarks as to the soil and exposure would be specially
appropriate, and almost necessaiily called forth by the view before
them.

I do not maintain that this evidence is sufficient certainly to
identify the site, but it is enough when taken in connection with
the remains actually found, to induce us to regard this as the
most probable site, until better evidence can be found in favour
of some other.

The only objection of any weight that occurs to me at present,
is the small number of skeletons exhumed. If this spot had
been long inhabited, and if the people were in the habit of bury-
ing their dead near their dwellings, we might expect to find a
more extensive cemetery. But we do not know how long Hoche-
laga had been in existence in Cartier's time, nor have the exca-
vations made been sufficient to ascertain the actual number of
burials. Further, these people may have practised the custom
ascribed by Charlevoix to other tribes, of disinterring their dead
at intervals of 8 or 10 years, and after a solemn feast for the
departed, transferring their remains to a general place of sepul-
ture, often at a distance from their habitations. It is also to be
observed that the bodies have been buried in the primitive Indian
manner, and are in a condition which would indicate an antiquity
quite sufficient to accord with the supposition that they were
interred as early as Cartier's visit.

I cannot conclude this article without noticing some general
conclusions as to the pre- historic anfuals of Montreal, which flow
from the facts above stated.

448 Notes on Aboriginal Antiquities.

1. The aborigines of Montreal were of the Algonquin race.*
Cartier evidently represents the languages spoken at Stadacona
or Quebec and Ilochelaga as identical. Many words which he
mentions incidentally are the same or only slightly varied, and
he gives one vocabulary for the language of both places. This
accords perfectly with the direct statement of the Jesuits' mem-
oirs, that the tribe whose tradition maintained that their an-
cestors had inhabited Montreal, spoke the Algonquin language
both in the time of Cartier and in 1642. These people were also
politically and socially connected with the Algonquins of the
lower St. Lawrence. Farther the people of Hochelaga informed
Cartier that the country to the south-west was inhabited by hos-
tile people, formidable to them in war. These must have been
the Hurons or Iroquois, or both. In agreement with this, the
Jesuits were informed in 1642, that the Hurons had destroyed
the village: that people having formerly been hostile to the Al-
gonquins though then at peace with them.

2. In the time of Cartier the Algonquins of Montreal and its
vicinity, were giving way before the Iroquois and Hurons, and
shortly after lost possession finally of the island of Montreal.
The statement of the two Indians in 1642, implies that at a more
ancient period the Algonquins had extended themselves far to the
south and west of Montreal. This tradition strikingly resembles
that of the Delawares,*!* that their ancestors allied with the Iro-
quois had driven before them the Alligewe, a people dwelling
like the Algonquins in wooden-walled villages, though the Iro-
quois had subsequently quarrelled with the Delawares as with
the Hurons. The two histories are strictly parallel, if not parts
of the same great movement of population. We further learn
from the Jesuit Missionaries, that portions of the displaced Algon-
quin population were absorbed by the Hurons and Iroquois, an
important fact to students of the relative physical and social traits
of these races.

3. The displacement of the Algonquins tended to reduce them
to a lower state of barbarism. Cartier evidently regards the
people of Hochelaga as more stationary and agricultural than
those farther to the east ; and it is natural that a semi-civilized

* They have usually been regarded as Hurons or Iroquois, apparently
for no other reason than their settled and agricultural habits.

t The Delawares are themselves regarded as allied to the Algonquin,
rather than to the Iroquois race.

Notes on Aboriginal Antiquities, 449

people when unable to live in security and driven into a less
favourable climate, should betake themselves to a ruder and more
migratory life, as the descendants of these people are recorded
by the Jesuits to have actually done. If Hoche'laga with its well
cultivated fields, and stationary and apparently unwarlike popu-
lation, was only a remnant of multitudes of similar villages once
scattered through the great plain of Lower Canada, but destroyed
long before the occupation of the country by the French, then
we have here an actual historical instance of that displacement of
settled and peaceful tribes, which is supposed to have taken place
so extensively in America. Our primitive Algonquins of Mon-
treal may thus claim to have been a remnant of one of those old
semi-civilized races, whose remains scattered over various parts
of North America, have excited so much speculation. Had Car-
tier arrived a few years later, he would have found no Hoche-
laga. Had he arrived a century earlier, he might have seen
many similar villages scattered over a country occupied in his
time by hostile races.

These views are perhaps little more than mere speculation, but
they open up paths of profitable inquiry. To what extent was
the civilization of the Iroquois and Hurons derived from the races
they displaced ? What are the actual differences between such
remains as those found at Montreal, and those of the Hurons in
Upper Canada? Are there any remains of villages in Lower
Canada, which might confirm the statements of the two old In-
dians in 1642 ?

Into these questions I do not purpose to enter, contenting my-
self with directing attention to the remains recently discovered
in my own vicinity, and which I trust will be collected and pre-
served with that care which their interest as historical memorials
demands. My belief of their importance in this respect, and the
desire to rescue from oblivion the last relics of an extinct tribe,
must be my excuse for entering on a subject not closely con-
nected with my ordinary studies, but which as an ethnological
inquiry, is quite within the sphere of this Journal. j. w. d.

Note. — With respect to the great cucumbers and beans mentioned by
Cartier, it may be remarked that in the opinion of the late Dr. Harris
and of Professor Gray, both of whom have given attention to this sub-
ject, the aborigines of Eastern America certainly possessed and cul-
tivated the common pumpkin, some species of squash, and probably two
species of beans (^Phaseolus communis and lunatus), though these plants
are not indigenous north of Mexico. Their culture like that of corn and
tobacco must have been transmitted to thenorthern regions from the south.

450 Reviews and Notices of BooJcs,

REVIEWS AND NOTICES OF BOOKS.

Acadian Geology and a SuppJementa/ry Chapter thereto^.

The first of the works mentioned in the note at the foot of this
j)age contains the only comprehensive account yet published of
the highly interesting and difficult geology of Nova Scotia, and
the neighbouring regions. This book is too widely known to the
geologists of all countries to need any critical examination at the
present time. Since its publication the author has removed from
the field of his former labours among the carboniferous and
New Red sandstone works of Nova Scotia, to the great Silurian
plain of Lower Canada. He still labours (as we hope he may
long continue to do) to " carry forward " to completion some of
the subjects left unfinished in 1855. The results, up to the pre-
sent time are now published is a neat pamphlet with the title of
" Supplementary Chapter to Acadian Geology." It contains a
series of condensed articles giving us the recent discoveries and
investigations of the author on various points connected with the
geology of the Acadian Provinces, such as the Modern and Post
Pliocene formations, — and the minerals and fossils of the carbo-
niferous, Devonian and Silurian rocks. We extract an account
of some investigations made by Professor How.

" Professor How's paper announces the discovery, in the great
bed of gypsum quarried at Windsor, of a rare boracic-acid mi-
neral hitherto found only in Peru.f Its formula, according to
Professor How, is —

Na O 2 B O3 + 2 Ca O, 3 B O3 + 15 H O.

" With respect to the geological conditions of its occurrence,
Professor How quotes from Professor Anderson of Glasgow the

* 1. Acadian Geology. — An account of the Geological Structure and
mineral resources of Nova Scotia and portions of the neighbouring Pro-
vinces of British North America. Edinburgh, 1855, 8vo., with a map
and illustrations.

2. Supplementary Chapter to Acadian Geology. — 12mo. pp. TO.
Wood engravings of fossils. By Dr. J. W. Dawson, LL.D., F.G.S. Prin-
cipal of McGill College, Montreal. Author of Archaia, &c. Edin-
burgh, 1860.

t Professor How has still more recently discovered a second boracic-
acid mineral in the gypsum. It consists of borate and sulphate of lime,
soda, and magnesia, and Professor H. proposes to name it Cryptomor-
phite.

Reviews and Notices of Booh. 451

statement that, at Tarapaca in Peru, the mineral is found in a
district supposed to be volcanic, and imbedded in the nitrate of
soda deposits. He then remarks that, with a very few excep-
tions, boracic acid is found ' either in directly volcanic regions,
most abundantly as such, or as borax : and a well-marked case
of actual sublimation of the acid from a volcano in the island of
Vulcano, near Sicily, has been studied by Warrington ; or in
smaller amount, in minerals the products of recent or extinct vol-
canoes, as Humboldtite from ejected blocks of Vesuvius, and zeo-
lites and datholite from trap of Salisbury Crags, New Jersey, and
other places ; or in minerals of purely plutonic or metamorphic
rocks, as tourmaline, the rhodozite of Roze, and axinite — the
species which contain it at all being few in number. It may be
noticed also, that traces of this acid have lately been met with in
the Kochbrunnen of Wiesbaden and in the waters of Aachen.

*' If we may reason from the character of the majority of its
situations, we may almost consider the volcanic or at least igne-
ous origin of boracic acid so well established as to lead us, by its
occurrence in the gypsiferous strata, to seek for some volcanic
agency as the cause of their production. Such an origin has I
find already been assigned to the gypsum of Nova Scotia by Mr.
Dawson. This formation has been shown to be a member of the
Lower Carboniferous series, Jind is assumed to have arisen from
the action of rivers of sulphuric acid more or less dilute, such as
are known to exist in various parts of the world, issuing from
then active volcanoes and flowing over the calcareous reefs and
bed of the sea." '

" This is an interesting confirmation of the views formerly ex-
pressed as to the origin of the gypsum ; and though Professor
Hunt has ably shown, in his recent papers on Chemical Geology,*
that gypsum may be produced in stratified masses in aqueous
deposits by other processes, I am still inclined, in consequence of
the great thickness and local character of the deposits, and the
apparent absence of magnesian limestone, as well as the presence
of boracic acid, to adhere to the view above stated, in so far as
the great gypsum beds of Nova Scotia are concerned."

The followinof are some of the results of Dr. Dawson's re-

* Report of Canadian Survey for 1858 ; Canadian Naturalist ; Silli-
man's Journal, &c.

452 Reviews and Notices oj Books,

searches into the origin and composition of the " mineral char-
coal," and "compact coal" of the carboniferous system.

"A consideration of the decay of vegetable matter in modern
swamps and forests shows that all kinds of tissues are not under
ordinary circumstances susceptible of the sort of carbonization
which we find in the mineral charcoal. Succulent and lax par-
enchymatous tissues decay too rapidly and completely. The bark
of trees very long resists decay, and, where any deposition is pro-
ceeding, is likely to be imbedded unchanged. It is the woody
structure, and especially the harder and more durable wood, that,
becoming carbonized and splitting along the medullary rays and
lines of growth, affords such fragments as those which we find
scattered over the surfaces of the coal. These facts would lead
us to infer that mineral charcoal represents the woody debris of
trees subjected to subaerial decay, and that the bark of these
trees should appear as compact coal along with such woody or
herbaceous matters as might be imbedded or submerged before
decay had time to take place.

" The method of preparing the mineral charcoal for examination
was an improvement on the " nitric-acid " process of previous
observers, and the results gave very perfect examples of the disc-
bearing tissue restricted in the modern world to conifers and
cycads, but which existed also in the Sigillariae of the coal period.
With this were scalariform vessels, like those of ferns and club
mosses, and several other kinds of woody tissue. On careful com-
parison it was found that all these tissues might be referred to the
following genera of plants common in the coal measures : Sigil-
laria including Stigmaria, Calamites, Dadoxylon and other coni-
fers, Lepidodendron, Ulodendron, ferns, and possibly some other
less known plants.

"Another form of tissue observed was a large spiral vessel, pos-
sibly belonging to some endogenous plant.

" The structures preserved in the layers of shining compact coal
are more obscure, and I therefore present a somewhat more full
summary of the facts known in respect to them : —

" The compact coal, constituting a far larger proportion of the
mass than the " mineral charcoal " does, consists either of lus-
trous conchoidal cherry or pitch coal, — of less lustrous slate coal^
with flat fracture, — or of coarse coal, containing much earthy mat-
ter. All of these are arranged in thin interrupted laminae. They
consist of vegetable matter which has not been altered by siibae-

Reviews and Notices of BooJcs. 453

rial decay, but which has undergone the bituminous putrefaction,
and has thereby been resolved into a nearly homogeneous mass,
•which still, however, retains traces of structure and of the forms
of the individual flattened plants composing it. As these last are
sometimes more distinct than the minute structures, and are ne-
cessary for their comprehension, I shall, under the following heads
notice botli as I have observed them in the coals in question.

" 1. The laminae of pitch or cherry coal, when carefully traced
over the surfaces of accumulation, are found to present the outline
af flattened trunks. This is also true, to a certain extent, of the
finer varieties of slate coal ; but the coarse coal appears to con-
sist of extensive laminae of disintes^rated veg^etable matter mixed
with mud.

" 2. When the coal (especially the more shaly varieties) is held
obliquely under a strong light, in the manner recommended by
Goeppert, the surfaces of the laminae present the forms of many
well-known coal-plants, as Sigillaria, Stigmaria, Poacites or Cor-
daites, Lepidodendron, Ulodendron, and rough bark, perhaps of
conifers.

"3. When the coal is traced upward into the roof-shales, we
often find the laminae of compact coal represented by flattened
coaly trunks and leaves, now rendered distinct by being separated
by clay.

*' 4. In these flattened trunks it is the outer cortical layer that
alone constitutes the coal. This is very manifest when the upper
and under bark are separated by a film of clay or of mineral char-
coal, occupying the place of the wood. In this condition the bark
of a large Sigillaria gives only one or two lines in thickness of
coal ; Stigmaria, Lepidodendron, and Ulodendron give still less.
In the shales these flattened trunks are often so crushed together
that it is difficult to separate them. In the coal they are, so to
speak, fused into a homogeneous mass.

" 5. The phenomena of erect forests explain, to some extent, the
manner in which layers of compact coal and mineral charcoal
may result from the accumulation of trunks of trees in situ. In
the sections at the south Joggins, the usual state of preservation
of erect Sigillariae is that of casts in sandstone, enclosed by a thin
layer of bark converted into compact, caking, bituminous coal^
while the remains of the woody matter may be found in the bot-
tom of the cast in the state of mineral charcoal. In other cases
the bark has fallen in, and all that remains to indicate the place

454 Reviews and Notices of Books.

of a tree is a little pile of mineral charcoal, with strips of bark
converted into compact coal. Lastly, a series of such remains of
tumps, with flattened bark of prostrate trunks, may constitute as
rudimentary bed of coal, many of which exists in the Jogg-ins
section. In short, a single trunk of Sigillaria in an erect forest
presents an epitome of a coal-seam. Its roots represent the Stig-
maria underclay ; its bark the compact coal ; its woody axis the
mineral charcoal; its fallen leaves, with remains of herbaceous
plants growing in its shade, mixed with a little earthy matter, the
layers of coarse coal. The condition the durable outer bark
of erect trees concurs with the chemical theory of coal, in show-
ing the especial suitableness of this kind of tissue for the produc-
tion of the purer compact coals. It is also probable that the
comparative impermeability of bark to mineral infiltration is of
importance in this respect, enabling this material to remain un-
affected by causes which have filled those layers consisting of
herbaceous materials and decayed wood, with earthy matter, py-
rites, &c.

" 6. The miscroscopic structure of the purer varieties of compact
coal accords with that of the bark of Sigillaria. The compact
coals are capable of affording very little true structure. Their
cell-walls have been pressed close together ; and pseudo-cellular
structures have arisen from molecular action and the seoreo'ation
of bituminous matter. Most of the structures which have been
figured by microscopists are of this last character, or at the ut-
most are cell-structures masked by concretionary action, pressure?
and decay. Hutton, however, appears to have ascertained a truly
cellular tissue in this kind of coal. Goeppert also has figured pa-
renchymatous and perhaps bast-tissues obtained from its incinera-
tion. By acting on it with nitric acid, I have fount! that the
structures remai^iing both in the lustrous compact coals and in
the bark of Sigillaria are parenchymatous cells and fibrous cells
probably bast-fibres.

*' 7. I by no means desire to maintain that all portions of the
coal-seams not in the state of mineral charcoal consist of cortical
tissues. Quantities of herbaceous plants, leaves, &c , are also
present, especially in the coarser coals ; and some small seams
appear to consist entirely of such material, — for instance, of the
leaves of Cordaites or Poacites. I would also observe that,
though in the roof-shales and other associated beds it is usually
only the cortical layer of trees that appears as compact bituminous

Reviews and Notices oj BooTcs, 455

coal, yet I have found specimens whicli show that in the coal,
seams themselves true woody tissues have sometimes been im
bedded unchanged, and converted into structureless coal, forming
like the coniferous trees converLed into jet in more modern for-
mations, thin bands of very pure bituminous material. The pro-
portion of woody matter in this state differs in different coals, and
is probably greatest in those whicli show the least mineral char-
coal ; but the alteration which it has undergone renders it almost
impossible to distinguish it from the flattened bark, which in all
ordinary cases is much more abundant."

Along the Atlantic coast there is a vast series of slates and
quartzites which Dr. Dawson thinks may be a continuation of
the Primordial zone of Newfoundland. We are strongly inclined
to the belief that this supposition will yet turn out to be well
founded. This tract being composed of intensely plicated rocks
will be difficult to work, but the discovery of a Paradoxides or a
Pulaeopyge would amply repay the observer for any amount of
search. Just now when Darwin's theory is attracting so much
attention, any organic thing, that can be exhumed from such a
vastly ancient resting place must possess an extraordinary interest.

Elements of Chemical Physics ; by J. P. Cooke, Jr., Irving Professor
of Chemistry and Mineralogy in Harvard University. Little, Brown
& Co., Boston. 1860.

This woik demands commendation for its superiority to the
generality of American text books on science. It does not come
up to our ideal of a scientific exposition of the subjects on which
it treats, and yet it is far in advance of any work upon the same
or kindred topics published on this side the Atlantic, and merits
and we trust will have large success. Its defects are so to speak
necessary. The author has not felt warranted in assuming any
more extended acquaintance with mathematics, on the part of
his readers, than is implied in a knowledge of the methods of
solving simple equations, and a familiarity with the rudiments of
geometry. It is obvious that many demonstrations in physics
are thereby rendered prolix, and some impossible, so that in this
work principles, the legitimate consequences of others previously
assumed or demonstrated, have to be established by an appeal to
experiment, the process of deduction being too tedious — if not

456 Reviews and Notices of Books.

altogether impracticable — without the aid of more abstruse
mathematical processes.

The present volume is the first of a promised series forming a
course on the Philosophy of Chemistry. In this volume the author
aims to give a complete development of the theory of weighing
and measuring. In the rough these operations are simple enough,
and intelligible enough ; but when as in many chemical investi-
gations, an error of a hundred thousandth is important, minute
sources of error have to be guarded against which demand for
their elimination a knowledge of physical laws not always pos-
sessed by the tyro. When it is remembered that the chemist
must correct his first approximation to the weight or volume ol
the substance with which he experiments for errors arising from
the buoyancy of the air, its ever varying pressure, its difi'erent de-
grees of humidity, from changes of temperature of the mass to be
computed, as well as of the vessel that contains it, and from many
other more refined and occult influences, it is easy to conceive
that an extended acquaintance w^ith the laws of motion, with the
nature of matter, with hydrostatics, with pneumatics, with ther-
motics and with other branches of Natural Philosophy is neces-
sary.

The author in the development of the subject has adopted a
simple natural arrangement. First he gives a chapter of intro-
ductory observations in which, by the waj'', he attempts with in-
different success to distinguish between chemical and physical
changes. The second chapter treats of the general properties of
matter and the laws of motion. The third chapter treating of
molecular forces, first between homogeneous, and then between
heterogeneous molecules, we consider to be the best chapter of
the work, giving most valuable information in a clear concise
style. The fourth chapter, on heat, contains a large amount of
well digested information ; we cannot however avoid expressing
our surprise that the author of a work like the present should
enumerate but " two theories " of the nature of heat as " current
among philosophers " — the material theory and the undula-
tory theory — making no reference to the remarkable dynamical
theory of heat that has deservedly attracted so much attention in
the last few years. If the fifteen or twenty pages devoted to a
description of the steam-engine were compressed into two, and
the space thus saved devoted to a discussion of the nature of
vapours and gases as illustrated by that theory, we think this por-

Reviews and Notices of BooTcs, 457

tion of the work would have been much better performed. The
fifth chapter is on weighing and measuring.

The individual portions of the whole are generally well ela-
borated. The author is everywhere clear but not always concise*
He is sometimes tempted to expatiate unduly on topics not imme-
diately connected with his subject, It must, however, be said
that his digressions are usually both pleasing and instructive,
and cannot be regretted except for their interference with the
unity of his design. The work is one that will well repay peru-
sal, and we trust will be studied and mastered by every student of
chemistry. We anticipate with pleasure the appearance of the
succeeding volume on Stoiehiometry and Chemical Classifica-
tion. S. P. R.

Salmon Fishing in Canada hy a Resident, Edited by Col. Sir
James E. Alexander, with Illustrations. London : Long-
man's. Montreal : B. Dawson & Son.

Those who delight in the pastime of Salmon Fishing in the
fine tributaries of the St. Lawrence will find in this Book much, both
to instruct and interest them. It is written in a very chaste and
pleasing style, and as it abounds in good stories it may be read
•with interest by all classes of persons. The author is evidently
an adept in the piscatory art, and knows how to go about and to
enjoy a vacation ramble in the solitary wilds of the Lower St.
Lawrence. His descriptions of the natural scenery of the country
are good and likely to awaken desires in the reader to escape
from the civilized and settled place in which he may live and
enjoy the freedom of the waters and the woods.

Were we disposed to be critical we should say that the Ser-
mon with which the Chaplain favours the tourists is rather long,
and would be improved by a reduction of its bulk. The latter
part might be judiciously left out both for the reputation of the
author's divinity, and the comfort of the reader. We quite agree
wdth the Baron in thinking this part to be rather " fishy."
The vignettes which are interspersed through the work are
sketched with remarkable spirit ; and although not very artistic
are yet very clever and amusing. The Appendix contains several
valuable papers on the natural history of the Salmon, and on its
peculiar habits in the Canadian waters and elsewhere. We trust
that the publication of this Book by its excellent and obliginaj
author, indicates the beginning of a new era in the treatment of

Can. Nat. 4 Vol. V

458 Reviews and Notices of Booh,

the a'ame Fishes of our Rivers and Lakes. A good Act has been
passed by the Provincial Parliament for their protection ; and the
Commissioner of Crown Lands is a zealous coadjutor in this praise-
worthy object. It is only now necessary that the provisions of
the Act be faithfully and vigorously enforced — that farmers and
others resident on our Salmon and Trouting Streams should both
discourage and denounce all poaching. The inspector of the Sal-
mon and Trout fisheries of the Province has wisely taken steps
during the past season to put an end to the wholesale distruction of
fish out of season at their spawning beds. It is for the interest of
the Province and for every dealer in and lover of these noble fish
that these valuable products of our waters should be conserved at
seasons where their flesh is really almost poisonous, and they are
engaged in multiplying their species at so immense a ratio, as, unless
hindered, they are known to do.

For a Winter evening or a Summer holiday this book will be
found a most pleasing companion, and we trust that it will meet
with many readers. A. f. k.

The Glaciers of the Alps : being a narrative of Excursions and
Ascents, an Account of the Origin and Phenomena of Glaciers,
and an Exposition of the Physical principles to which then
are related. By J. Tyndall, F.R.S., Professor of Natural
Philosophy, Royal Institution of Great Britain, with Illustra-
tions. Boston : Ticknor and Fields. Montreal : B. Dawson
& Son.

This Book is divided into two parts ; the j^rs^ chiefly narrative,
and the second chiefly scientific. In Part I. the author seeks to
convey some notion of the life of an Alpine explorer, and of the
means by which his knowledge is acquired. In Part II. an
attempt is made to classify such knowledge and to refer the ob-
served phenomena to their Physical causes. This part of the work
is written with an evident desire to interest intelligent persons who
may not possess any special scientific culture. For their sakes the
author dwells more fully on principles than he would have done
were he addressing purely scientific readers.

The learned author was led into the investigations which this
book contains from the study of slaty cleavage in the Silurian
Rocks of Wales. The crystalline theory of Sedgwick and others
did not appear to him adequately to account for the phenomena.

Reviews and Notices of Booh, 459

He was led in the course of his enquiries, to the study of Forbes's
famous work on the Alpine Glaciers. The phenomena observable
in these masses of moveable ice led him to suppose that possibly
they might afford a solution of the problem of slaty cleavage in
rocks. This he endeavours with singular clearness and force to
show. The conclusions to which he arrives are, that cleavao;e in
the glaciers at angles to the planes of their surfaces is due to the
immense latteral pressure to which they are subjected. This
ascertainable fact he applies to the cleavage of stratified rocks at
angles to the planes of stratification. The attention of other ob-
servers has been directed to'the same subject and from experiments
and observed facts we are in a fair way of arriving at certain con-
clusions regarding the nature and causes of slaty cleavage.

This book is written in a fine, frank, manly style. With great
simplicity and beauty it combines in a successful manner the pop-
ular and scientific in the treatment of its topics. To our youth,
and to those of riper years, furnished with the education which our
schools and colleges afford, we can recommend this book with
confidence that they will find it most interesting and profitable
reading. a. f. k.

What may he Learned from a Tree. By Harland Coultas.
New York : D. Appleton & Co. Montreal : B. Dawson &
Son.

This book is respectfully dedicated to all lovers and friends of
nature. The author's intention is to show what may be learned
from a tree physically and analogically. He traces its life-his-
tory from the first manifestations of vitality in the germinating
seed until the period of puberty when it puts forth flowers and fruit ;
he also considers its phenomena after it has passed its prime ; and
shows its appointed limits, in virtue of the physiological law
which governs the development of its organisms in common with
those of all other plants.

The author aims at writing a popular book ; he addresses him-
self to the people, — those who feel life to be one continued strug-
gle for existence. The style is rather popular and eloquent for
our taste, we would prefer greater clearness and simplicity and
less diffuseness of style and treatment. The object of the work is
creditable, the author's acquaintance with vegetable physiology
seems accurate and considerable, and his treatise may be read
with much interest and profit.

460 Miecellaneous,

Unity in Variety^ as deduced from the Vegetable Kingdom, being
an attempt at developing that oneness which is discoverable in
the habits, mode of growth, and principle of construction of
all plants. By Christopher Dresser, lecturer on botany
&c., South Kensington Museum. London : J. S. Virtue. Mon-
treal : B. Dawson & Son,

Tbis work is tbe result of a somewhat protracted study of the
modes in which vegetable structures increase themselves by
growth ; the external appearances of plants during their enlarge-
ment being carefully considered, as well as the principles upon
which their enlargement is dependent. The author's aim is to
trace out the oneness of principle which pervades all the works
of the floral creation. He deems that this view of the vegetable
kingdom greatly simplifies the study of scientific botany in all its
branches. The book is not intended for mere be2:inners but for
those who have acquired some knowledge of the elements of bo-
tany; and it is believed that the consideration of its contents will
conduce to the rapid progress of the student. The author very
justly says, that, in order to the prosecution of any branch of
botany, nature as well as, and even more than books, must be re-
sorted to. The botanist must live among plants, and daily study
their forms, and the principle upon which their growth depends.
The book is a fine specimen of typography, and is most copiously
ilkistrated, and that, too, with an artistic skill and beauty never
before attempted in an elementary work on botany. We have
seen no wood-cut representations of botanical subjects at all equal
to these. They are most pleasing to look upon and leave nothing
further, in their own department, to be desired. For artists and
those who wish to study flower-drawing this book will be invalu-
able, and to all students of botany, even although they may not
agree with the authors speculations, it will yet be of interest,

A. F. K.

MISCELLANEOUS.

<<

On an undescribed Fossil Fern from the Lower Coal-measures
of Nova Scotia."^' By Dr. J. W, Dawson, F.G.S. (Ab-
stract of a paper read at the meeting of the Geological Society
of London, Nov, Y, 1860.)

In a paper on the Lower Carboniferous rocks of British Ame-

Miscellaneom, 461

rica, published in the 15th volume of the Geological Society's
Journal, Dr. Dawson noticed some fragmentary plant-remains
which he referred with some doubt, the one to Schizopteris
(Brongn.) and the other to Sphcereda (L. and H.) With these
were also fragments of a fern resembling Sphenopteris [Cyclop-
teris) adiantoides of Lindley and Hutton. Since 1858 the author
has received a large series of better-preserved specimens from Mr.
C. F. Hart ; and from these he finds that what he doubtfully
termed the frond of Schizopteris is a flattened stipe, and that the
leaflets which he referred to Sphenopteris adiantoides really be-
longed to the same plant. Mr. Hart's specimens also show that
■what Dr. Dawson thought to be Sphceredce were attached to the
subdivisions of these stipes, and are the remains of fertile pinnse,
borne on the lower part of the stipe, as in some modern ferns.
This structure is somethino- like what obtains in the Cuban
Aneimia adiantifolia, as pointed out to the author by Professor
Eaton, of Yale College. No sporangia are seen in the fossil spe-
cimens.

Dr. Dawson ofl'ers some remarks on the difiSculties of arranging
this fern among the fossil Cyclopterides, Noeggerathice, and Adian-
iites ; and, placing it in the genus Cyclopteris, he suggests that it
be recognized as a subgenus (Aneimites^ with the specific name
Acadica,

The regularly striated and gracefully branching stipes, termi-
nated by groups of pinnules on slender petioles, must have given
to this fern a very elegant appearance. It attained a great si^e.
One stipe is 2 inches in diameter, where it expands to unite with
the stem ; and it attains a length of 21 inches before it branches.
The frond must have been at least 3 feet broad. The specimens
are extremely numerous at Horton.

The author then notices that the long slender leaves so common
in the Coal-measures of Nova Scotia, and hitherto called Poacites^
though sometimes like the stipes of Aneimites^ are probably leaves
of Cordaites.

On some specimens of Aneimites Acadica, markings like those
made by insects have been observed ; also a specimen of the
Spirorbis carhonarius.

Note on a specimen of Neaera, Collected hy Mr. R. S, Fowler^
and Exhibited to the Natural History Society,

This specimen was obtained from the stomach of a Flounder at

462 MisceUaneo2is,

Portland. It is of the size of the Neaera cuspidata of Great Bri-
tain and much resembles it in form, but is less gibbous and thin-
ner and has the teeth less developed. Still these diflferences are
hardly more than sufBcient to constitute a well marked variety-
The JV. pellucida obtained by Stimpson in 40 fathoms off Long
Island, is probably the young of the species to which Mr. F's
shell belongs ; and as Stimpson's specimen is the only one here-
tofore recorded as found on the American coast, the present

specimen is of much interest.^

J. W. D.

Note on Relics of the Red Indians of Newfoundland^ Collected hy
Mr. Smith McKay^ and Exhibited to the Natural History
Society.

These objects were found in a sepulchral cave in the southern
part of Newfoundland, with the remains of a body wrapped in
birch bark and stated by the modern Indians to have been pro-
bably a " Medicine Man." They consist of a portion of a walrus
tusk, cut across by a sharp instrument, three flat pendants of elon-
gated triangular form of the same material, and ornamented with
lines and dots forming various patterns, shell wampum finished
and in various stages of manufacture, with portions of the un-
formed shells, small univalve shells perforated so as to be
strung as beads or attached to wearing apparel, portions of an iron
knife or dagger and of a hatchet completely oxidised, and the
wooden stem of an arrow, with a stone head very rudely formed
These relics must belong to the earlier portion of the intercourse
of the Red Indians with Europeans. They resemble the objects
found in graves of other tribes, the principal peculiarities being
the use of the ivory of the walrus tusk, and the circumstance that
the wampum is made of the shell of a large Mactra probably M»

solidissima.

J. W. D.

KINGSTON BOTANICAL SOCIETY.

It is with much pleasure that we notice the formation of ^
vigorous Botanical Society in Kingston, in connection with

* Since the above was written, Mr. Stimpson has seen the specimen
and regards it as the adult of N. pellucida, and distinct from N. cuspidata.

Miscellaneous, 463

Queen's College under the auspices of the Principal and Profes-
sors. Professor Lawson, whose name as a botanist is already
widely known, has evidently been the initiator of this movement,
and will we doubt not prove the soul of the Society itself. His
practical knowledge of botanical subjects and his genuine scien-
tific enthusiasm, will we hope be the means of carrying on the
society's aflfairs with efficiency, and of infusing into the minds of
its younger members a zeal for the prosecution of this noble de-
partment of science. We hope from time to time to be able to
report good work done in the way of original research and dis-
covery in the fine region of country which lies around King-
son. Among other departments we trust that this Society
will draw attention to the fine array of forest trees which our coun-
try contains, not so much for purposes of commerce as for purposes
of preservation and economical use at home. The Canadian far-
mer has not yet learned the wisdom of planting as he has of cutting
down trees, and the time seems not far distant when in many of
the finest parts of the country the famous forestry of Canada will
have disappeared from our sight. This Society has much work
before it which we trust it will not only begin but carry out with
effect. Our readers will be interested in the following extracts from
Professor Lawson's admirable address.

" Dr. Lawson pointed out the peculiar sphere in which the botanist
is called to labour, the range of his studies, and the means acquired
for their pursuit. It is of great importance that at the outset the real
object of our proposed Society should be understood. The estab-
lishment of a Botanical Garden and other appliances must be re-
garded as secondary to the great object of the Society, the prosecu-
tion of scientific botany. Botany is at a low ebb in Canada, at a
lower ebb than in most civilized or half civilized countries on the
face of the earth. At the close of the eighteenth century, only five
dissertations, on botanical subjects had been published by the
whole medical graduates of the great Continent of America.
Since then the indefatigable labours of such men as Michaux,
Pursh, Torrey, Harvey, Curtis, Boott, Englemann, Tuckermann
Sullivant, Lesquereux, and especially of one whose name and
fame rise above all the rest, Asa Gray, have brought our know-
ledge, of the botany of the United States on a level with that of
the best botanized countries of Europe. The Flora of Canada
has also been elaborated since then by one who still presides
over the destinies of botanical science, not in England alone, for

464 Miscellaneons,

his authority is recognised wherever the science is pursued. But
during a period of nearly thirty years very little has been added
to our published knowledge of Canadian botany. Information
respecting our indigenous plants must still be sought in the
work of Sir William Hooker, issued from the Colonial office in
EnMand in 1833. That work founded as it necessarily was, on
dried specimens carried home by passing travellers, afforded to
the botanical world an admirable example of how much could be
made out of slender material when in good hands. Unimpeachable
as a work of science, unsurpassed in the whole range of botanical
literature in the accuracy and beauty of its illustrations, the Flora
Boreali' Americana afforded the means of developing still more
fully a knowledge of the Canadian Flora. The North American Flora
of Torrey and Gray and the Manual of the Botany of the Northern
States, offered additional temptations, to the pursuit; but ad-
vances have not been made commensurate with the advantages
that were offered ; we have still, therefore, the singular anomaly
of a country distinguished by its liberal patronage to science, depen-
dent for its information respecting its native plants on the des-
criptions of specimens culled by early travellers. What was
thirty years ago, and is now, of the highest value, can only in
a partial manner meet the wanis of the country in these days,
when new manufactures and new forms of industry, seeking
new products to work upon, are daily springing up around us.
We desire to place the science of Botany on a more satisfactory
footing in Canada than that which it now holds ; we desire to in-
crease the existing stock of knowledge ; we desire to diffuse a taste
for the study, so as to add to the number of laborers now in the
field ; and we desire to place on record new observations and dis-
coveries, as they arise. The Botanical Society is designed as a
means for carrying out purposes such as these. Extensive circu-
lation was given sometime ago by Canadian newspapers to a report
that Sir William Hooker was on his way to Canada with a staff of
assistants to explore the botany of the country. I have the best
authority for stating that that report was without foundation. It
probably originated in certain proposals that were made to the
Colonial office regarding the publication of a series of popular
Manuals of Colonial Botany ; but no expedition was ever contem-
plated by Sir Wm. Hooker, or any one else, at the instance of
the Government. On the contrary, recent communications from
the botanical advisers of the Home Government indicate that

Miscellaneous, 465

Canada must follow the salutary example of other old establish-
ed British Colonies, and conduct for herself investigations into the
nature and distribution of her indigenous productions. We
already possess in Canada several important scientific societies in
active operation. While the Canadian Institute is of a compre-
hensive character, embracing all branches of science, literature and
philosophy, the special department of geology is amply cultivated
by the Natural History Society of Montreal, which has also,
however, made vahiable contributions to zoology and botany. In
addition to such institutions as these, we have, of still more special
character, the Government Geological Survey, which has been
instrumental in carrying out investigations of the greatest impor-
tance to the country, whether their results be viewed as intel-
lectual achievements, or as contributions to material industry. It
is proposed that our Society shall have for its object the advance-
ment of Botanical Science in all its departments — Structural,
Physiological, Systematic and Geographical ; and the application
of Botany to the useful and ornamental arts of life. The means by
which this object may be accomplished are various, and will come
before us for discussion from time to time. In the meantime,
it is proposed that there shall be monthly evening meetings in
Kingston, during the winter for the reading of papers, receiving
botanical inteUigence, examining specimens, and discussing
matters of scientific interest in relation to the science ; also that
there shall be field meetings during the summer in distant local-
ities in Canada, as well as in the other British Provinces of North
America, and occasionally also in the adjoining States, whereby
our members may have an opportunity, of investigating the bot-
any of districts that have been imperfectly examined. By the
above and similar means, much important information may be
brought together. Such facts and results, new to science, as are
laid before the Society, from time to time, willaff'ord materials for
the publication of "Transactions," whereby our stores may be
rendered available to the public in Canada, and to botanists in
other parts of the world. In addition to such means, the Society
may greatly promote its objects by correspondence with botanists
in other countries, and especially with those who are located be-
side the extensive public herbaria, botanical libraries, and gardens,
in various parts of the United States and Europe. By corres-
pondence with such persons, many doubtful points on nomencla-
ture may be set at rest, while the existence of information relating

466 Miscellaneous.

to Canadian Botany, may be ascertained that might otherwise re-
main unknown. Botanists distinguished in certain branches of the
science may be called upon to furnish reports on their special
subjects, for which materials may be brought together by the
members. Such aid will be of the greatest value to the Society,
and I have, therefore, gratification in informing you that com-
munications, have already been received from some of the most
active Botanists, in the United States, England, Scotland, and Prus-
sia promising cordial co-operation. So soon as preliminary opera-
tions enable us to proceed to the discussion of scientific business you
will also have an opportunity of ascertaining that we already have
observers throughout the length and breadth of Canada, as well as
in the other North American Provinces, from the Red River in the far
west, to the Island of Prince Edward in the East. In common with
the botanists of other countries we must necessarily take cog-
nizance of those discoveries in structural and physiological botany
which are daily challenging a careful examination. But our po-
sition in a comparatively new country points out to us a special
path of research which it will be our duty to follow — that
which has for its object the investigation of the special bo-
tany of Canada, the geographical ard local distribution of
the plants. The indigenous plants whose products are now
used or are capable of being applied to the useful arts, will
deserve a large share of attention, and no doubt regard will
also be had to those, that are suited to our climate but have
not yet been introduced. Strewed around her path in the
woods and on the shores of our lakes are many plants capable of
yielding food and physic, dyeing and tanning materials, oils,
fibers for spinning, and paper making, &c. Even in the midst
of the city of Kingston, growing on vacant lots, and in court
yards, there are drug plants enough to stock a Liverpool ware-
house. Such will no doubt be brought into use when better
known, and thus an increase, will be efiected in the production
of the country.

" While leaving to other Societies the discussion of the more
general questions of science and to special Societies their pe-
culiar topics, we propose to employ the Botanical Society as an in-
strument for the collection of facts and the working out of details
which are of immediate interest to the botanist alone, but of the
greatest importance in leading to correct results in general
science. Scientific Societies on a broader basis have too often

Miscellaneous. 467

degenerated into popular institutions, calculated rather for the
amusement of the many than for the encouragement and aid of
the few who are engaged in the prosecution of original discovery.
We shall be guarded against such a result, in a great measure by
the special object of our Institution, but it will be needful, also,
while we attempt to spread a taste for Botany, and to diffuse cor-
rect information as to its objects, its discoveries and its useful appli-
cations, that we should seek rather to bring our members and the pub-
lic into scientific modes of thought and expression than to allow our
Society to yield up its scientific character to suit the popular taste.
There is much reason to believe that the want of an organization
of this kind, whose duty is to collect and record facts and dis-
coveries, has been the means of losing to science materials of
great value. There have been casual residents in Canada, at differ-
ent times, who have made collections of greater or less extent and
who have in some cases, carried out special investigations in Bo-
tany without leaving any printed record of their labours. Some of
these may still be rescued from oblivion ; but there are also
other observations, and discoveries made by present residents in
the country which, we may confidently hope, will be made avail-
able to the Society's purposes.

"The objects sought by the establishment ofa Botanical Society
in this country are of great importance, both in a scientific and
economical point of view. The field is broad and the soil is rich.
The extent to which we can cultivate will depend entirely upon
the number of the laborers, and the zeal and industry which they
display. Let us therefore not be disappointed with our first re-
sults. Let us lay a foundation and persevere in the work and
workers will gather around us as they have done before in the
Botanical Societies of other countries. To organizations of this
kind more than to any other means, are we indebted for the ad-
vanced state of botanical science, at this day ; and in a country
such as this, it is especially needful to have a wide spread organ-
ization in order to elicit satisfactory results. In an attempt to
organise a Society such as this, we may confidently appeal to
many classes of the community. The theologian, and moralist see
in the vegetable kingdom a display of the power and wisdom and
goodness of our Creator, and beautiful types of spiritual teaching ;
the medical man recognises in it, the source of his most potent
drugs ; the sanitary reformer knows, that the simpler forms of
vegetation are often the cause, and more frequently the index of

468 Miscellaneous,

more widely spread diseases ; the lawyer finds in the micros-
copical structure of vegetable products a ready means of detecting
frauds, adulterations and poisonings ; the commercial man recog-
izes the value of a science having such bearings, and directly de-
voted to the extension of the sphere of industry ; the spinner
and paper maker, must here obtain their knowledge of the
mechanical condition of vegetable fibres ; the farmer, the gardener
the orchardist, the vine-grower, the brewer, the dyer, the tan-
ner, and the lumberman, must all apply to botany for an explan-
ation of matters that daily come before them in their various
avocations. As an utilitarian institution then our Society is
worthy, and will no doubt receive warm support ; but it is
to be hoped that many zealous laborers will enter the field from
higher motives — a desire to promote the cause of science."

The Rev. Principal Leitch reviewed some of the leading points
brought forward in the addresses, and referred briefly to some of
the more important advantages that might accrue to the country
from an institution such as the one that had been proposed, al-
luding especially to the inducements which it would give to botan-
ical research. Dr. Lawson, he said, when enumerating the grounds
for the establishment of a Botanical Society, omitted the weighti-
estof all, viz, that we can count upon his services. Without his
large and valuable experience in the management of such
societies I fear we would have little heart to carry out the scheme.
He for a long period acted as Secretary to the Edinburgh Botan-
ical Society — one of the most active in the world ; and from his
accurate knowledge of the details of management, and his well
merited distinction in botanical science, he is qualified in no or-
dinary measure for organizing such a society as the one we con-
template. The labour will fall chiefly upon his shoulders, but
we must pledge ourselves to lend him every assistance in our
power.

Communications for the Society are to be addressed to Prof.
Lawson, Kingston, Canada West.

The Liverpool Naturlists Field-Club held their first meeting
on Saturday last under favourable and auspicious circumstances.
About uinety-five ladies and gentlemen met at the landing-stage
and proceeded thence to Bromborow, in Cheshire one of the most

Miscellaneous, 469

interesting localities about Liverpool for the study of Natural
History. Arrived there they divided into parties of about thirty
each, to explore the neighbourhood. One division vras lead
by a geologist qualified to explain the nature of the surrounding
strata ; another by two or three proficient botanists ; and the
third by a gentelman whose name is known to the students of
microscopical science. After rambling about and investigating
the natural curiosities of the neighbourhood (during which time
many curious specimens were obtained), the parties met at a
charming little spot in the vicinity called Raby Mere, and par-
took of a homely but plentiful tea in a garden attached to a farm-
house. At this stage of the proceedings a prize was awarded accord-
ing to previous arrangement, to a young lady, for the greatest
variety of wild flowers collected during the ramble ; and several
beautiful specimens of plants and insects, as well as a fine viper,
were examined by the excursionists with interest. A Commettee
meeting was then held in the open air, when it was determined to
ofler a prize on the occasion of each excursion ; the next field
meeting was fixed and a great many new members were proposed.
The Society already numbers nearly 200 members and promises
to be the most extensive of the kind in England. The eqcursion-
ists returned home delighted with their days ramble. We may
mention for the government of other clubs of this kind, that more
that the third of those present were ladies, who were deeply inte-
rested in all the proceedings. — Athenoeum.

New form of Microscope.

* On Microscopic Vision, and a New Form of Microscope,' by
Sir D. Brewster. — In studying the influence of aperture on the
images of bodies as formed in the camera, by lenses or mirrors, it
occurred to me that in microscopic vision it might exercise a still
more injurious influence. Opticians have recently exerted their
skill in producing achromatic object-glasses for the microscope
with large angles of aperture. Tn 1848 the late distinguished
optician, Mr. Andrew Ross, asserted "that 135° was the largest
angular pencil that could be passed through a microscopic object-
glass," and yet in 1855 he had increased it to 1*70° ! while some
observers speak of angular apertures of 1*75°. In considering the
influence of aperture, we shall suppose that an achromatic object-
glass with an angle of aperture of 1*70° is optically perfect, repre-

470 Miscellaneous.

senting every object without colour and without spherical aberra-
tion ; when the microscopic object is a cube, we shall see five of
its faces, and when it is a sphere or a cylinder, we shall see nine-
tenths or more of its circumference. How then does it happen
that large apertures exhibit objects which are not seen when
small apertures with the same focal length are employed ? This
superiority is particularly shown with test objects marked with
grooves or ridges and obliquely illuminated. The marginal part
of the lens will enlarge the grooves and ridges, and they will
thus be rendered visible, not because they are seen more distinctly,
but because they are expanded by the combination of their inco-
incident images. Hence we have an explanation of the fact —
well known to all who use the microscope, — that objects are seen
more distinctly with object-glasses of small angular aperture. In
the one case we have, with the same magnifying power, not only
an enlarged and indistinct image of objects, but a false represen-
tation of them, from which their true structure cannot be discov-
ered ; while in the other we have a smaller and distinct image,
and a more correct representation of the object. But these are
not the only objections to large angular apertures and short focal
lengths. 1. In the first place, it is extremely diflacult to illumi-
nate objects when so close to the object-glass. 2. There is a
great loss of light, from its oblique incidence on the surface of
the first lens. 3. The surface of glass, — with the most perfect
pohsh, — must be covered with minute pores, produced by the
attrition of the polishing powder ; and light, falling upon the
sides of these pores with extreme obliquity, must not only suSer
difi'raction, but be refracted less perfectly than when incident at a
less angle. 4. "When the object is almost in contact with the
anterior lens, the microscope is wholly unfit for researches in
which mechanical operations are required, and also for the exa-
minations of objects inclosed in minerals or other transparent
bodies. 5. In object-glasses now in use, the rays of light must
pass through a great thickness of glass of doubtful homogeneity.
It is a question yet to be solved whether or not a substance can
be truly transparent, in which the elements are not united in
definite proportion ; in which the substances combined have very
difl"erent refractive and dispersive powers ; and in which the par-
ticles are so loosely united that they separate from one another,
as in the various kinds of decomposition to which glass is liable.
If the best microscopes are efiected by these sources of error,
every exertion should be made to diminish or remove them.

Miscellaneous, 471

1. The first step, we conceive, is, to abandon large angular aper-
tures, and to use object-glasses of moderate focal length, obtain-
ing at the eye-glass any additional magnifying power that may
be required. 2. In order to obtain a better illumination, either
by light incident vertically or obliquely, a new form of the mi-
croscope would be advantageous. In place of directing the mi-
croscope to the object itself, placed as it now is almost touching
the object-glass, let it be directed to an image of the object,
formed by the thinnest achromatic lens, of such a focal length
that the object may be an inch or more from the lens, and its
image equal to, or greater, or less than the object. In this way
the observer will be able to illuminate the object, whether opaque
or transparent, and may subject it to any experiments he may
desire to make upon it. It may thus be studied without a cov-
ering of glass, and when its parts are developed by immersion in
a fluid. 3. The sources of error arising from the want of perfect
polish and perfect homogeneity of the glass of which the lenses
are composed, are, to some extent, hypothetical ; but there are
reasons for believing, — and these reasons corroborated by facts,
— that a body whose ingredients are united by fusion, and kept
in a state of constraint from which they are striving to get free,
cannot possess that homogeneity of structure, or that perfection
of polish, which will allow the rays of light to be refracted and
transmitted without injurious modification. If glass is to be
used for the lenses or microscopes, long and careful annealing
should be adopted, and the polishing process should be continued
long after it appears perfect to the optician. We believe, how-
ever, that the time is not distant when transparent minerals, in
which their elements are united in definite proportions, will be
substituted for glass. Diamond, topaz, and rock crystal are those
which appear best suited for lenses. The white topaz of New
Holland is particularly fitted for optical purposes, as its double
refractions may be removed by cutting it in plates perpendicular
to one of its optical axes. In rock crystal the structure is, gen-
erally speaking, less perfect along ths axis of double refraction
than in any other direction, but this imperfection does not exist
in topaz. — Prof. Stokes and Mr. Stoney suggested some modifi-
cations of Sir David Brewster's theoric views ; and a member of
the Section whose name we did not catch, stated that several
attempts had been made to form an image of objects more re-
moved from the first or object glass of the microscope than at
present, by using an additional lens, but hitherto without success.

472 CorrespoTidence,

CORKESPONDENCE.

Remarks on the Fauna of the Quebec Group of Rocks, and the
Primordial Zone of Canada, addressed to Mr. Joachim
Barrande. By Sir W. E. Logan, Director of the Geologi-
cal Survey of Canada.

Montreal, 31st Dec, 1860.
My dear Mr. Barrandi!,

I am much indebted to you for your letter of the 6th August,
which was accompanied by a copy of your communication to
Professor Bronn of Heidelberg, dated 16th July. Agreeably to
your request, I took an early opportunity of letting Mr. Hall have
a copy of your communication to Prof. Bro«in, and he received it
on the 11th or 12th September.

I am of course aware, from the coiTespondence you have had
with my friend Mr. Billings and myself, how far you are acquainted
with our discoveries at Quebec. On two occasions, just previous to
the receipt of your last letter to Mr. Billings (received the 8th
November), I devoted the short time I could spare from other
engagements connected with the Geological Survey, to farther
researches at Point Levi. I have satisfied myself, notwithstanding
the conglomerate aspect of the bands of rock which contain our
new fossils, that the fossils are of the age of the strata. Without
entering at present on minute details of structure, I may say
that the chief part of the specimens, found up to this time, are
from two parallel out-crops, which might be taken as representing
two distinct layers. If they are such, they are comprehended in
a thickness of about 150 feet ; but the circumstances of the case,
connected with the physical structure, make it probable that the
one band is a repetition of the other through the influence of an
anticlinal fold or a dislocation. Both outcrops dip to the south-
eastward.

From the more northern out-crop (which we shall call A^) we
have obtained Orthis 1, Leptcena 1, Camerella 1, Lingula 2,
Discina 1, Agnostus 3, Conocephalites\, Arionellus 4, Dikelocep-
halus 6, BatJiyurus 4. From the more southern out-crop (which
we shall call A') we have Dictyonema 1, Orthis 2, Leptcena 1,
Strophomena 1, Camerella 1, Cyrtodonta (f ) 1, Murchisonia 3,
Fleurotomaria 7, Helicotoma 2, Straparollus 2, Capulus 2,

Correspondence. 473

Agnosfus 1, Bathyums 4, Cheirurus 2, Amphion 2. From a third
out-crop, which is still farther southward, and supposed to be
another repetition of the same band (which we shall call A^), we
have Orthis 1, Camerella 1, Asaphus (^A. Illcenoides) 1, Bathyu-
rws 1. Tracing A^ or A^ round the extremity of a synclinal, and
finding occasional indications of the fossils of A^ and A^, we
arrive at a position on the south side of the synclinal. We shall
call the position P. Here the band A^ or A^ ends, but a bed
of sandstone a little above it is traceable over an anticlinal to a
junction with a conglomerate band lower than A^ or A^, shew-
ing that A2 or A^ must merge into it. Call this A^. In this
we have Asaphus (J.. Illcenoides) 1, Menocephalus (J/, glohosus)
1. These two species occur in the same fragment of rock. Of
all these fossils, 1 Orthis is common to A^, A^ and A"* ; 1 Leptcena,
1 Camerella, 1 Lingula, 1 Aynosfus, and 1 Bathyums, are com-
mon to A2 and A^ ; 1 Asaphus is common to A^ and A^.

The dip at P is to the south-eastward, and therefore an inverted
dip. North-west of this, and therefore above it, at such a dis-
tance as would give a thickness of between 200 or 300 feet, we
have a band of shale with nodules of limestone, the nodules made
Tip of other rounded masses in a matrix holding fossils, many of
them silicified. From a few of these compound nodules we
have obtained Orthis 11, Leptcena 1 ; this band we shall call B*.
A band like this occurs about half a mile or more to the south-
westward. It may be a higher band, or it may be the same
band, but we shall call it B^ . From this we obtain Crinoidcea
(columns) 3, Orthis 1, Camerella 1, Nautilus 1, Orthoceras 1,
Leper ditia 1, Trilohites (2 genera undetermined) 2. In another
position to the south-east, on the south-east of the same anticlinal
previously mentioned, we meet with a conglomerate band supposed
to be the same as B^ ; but, in case it should be different, we
shall call it B^. Here we have Orthis 3, Fleurotomaria 2,
MuTchisonia 1, Ophileta 1, Helicotoma 1, Nautilus 1, 3faclurea
1, Orthoceras 3 or 4, Cyrtoceras 1, Bathyums 1, lUwnus 2,
Asaphus 1. Of all these fossils. 1 Orthis and 1 Camerella are
common to B' and B^; the same Orthis and Camerella with 1
Leptcena are common to B^, A*, A' and A^.

To the north of all these exposures, and on the north-west side of

a synclinal running parallel with the synclinal already mentioned,

fossils have been obtained in a cliff of about 100 feet, composed

of limestone conglomerate, thin bedded limestones and shales.

Can. Nat. 6 No. 6,Yol. V.

474 Correspondence.

Their equivalence is not yet quite certain, but the strata are sup-
posed to be not far removed from A^ and A^. We shall call
this cHff A. The fossils from it are Tetradium 1, Or this 1
Lingula 2, Trilohites (genus undescribed) 1, with a great col-
lection of compound GraptoUdce, described and being described
by Mr. Hall under the genera GraptoUthus 25, Retiolites 1,
Reteograptus 2, Phyllograptus 5, Dendrograjptus 3, Thamnograp-
tus 3, Dictyonema, 3.

I have given you these details of localities, because as the
subject requires further investigation we do not yet wish to
commit ourselves entirely as to the equivalency of separate exposures.
But there is no doubt that the whole is one group of strata
deposited under one set of alternating circumstances. The whole
fauna, as known up to the present time, is composed of —

Articulata, 36 species.

Mollusca, 55 "

Graptolidae, . . ., 42 "

Radiata, 4 "

137

Of this fauna not one species is found in the Anticosti group,
whf! e we have a gradual passage from the fauna of the Hudson
River formation to that of the Clinton, and not one of any forma-
tion higher than the Chazy. Mr. Billings recognises one species,
Madurea Atlantica (Bilhngs) as belonging to the Chazy, and
six species as belonging to the Calciferous. They are Lingula
Mantelli (Billings), Camerella undescribed, Ecculiomphalus
undescribed, Helicotoma uniangulata (Hall), H. perstriata (Bil-
lings), and one remarkable species of an undetermined genus,
like a very convex Cyrtodonta^ which occurs both at Mingan and
Point Levi. All of the forms, particularly the trilobites, remind
the observer of those figured by Mr. Dale Owen from the oldest
fossiliferous rocks of the Mississippi valley, while independent of
the six species identical with Chazy and Calciferous forms, there
are many others closely allied to those found in the latter formation
in Canada.

From the physical structure alone no person would suspect the
break that must exist in the neighbourhood of Quebec, and without
the evidence of the fossils, every one would be authorized to deny it.
If there had been only one or two species of an ancient type,
your own doctrine of colonies might have explained the matter,

Correspondence. 475

but this I presume would scarcely be applicable to so many
identities in a fauna of such an aspect. Since there must be a
break, it will not be very difficult to point out its course and
its character. The whole Quebec group, from the base of the
magnesian conglomerates and their accompanying magnesian shales
to the summit of the Sillery sandstones, must have a thickness of
perhaps some 5000 or 7000 feet. It appears to be a great
development of strata about the horizon of the Chazy and
Calciferous, and it is brought to the surface by an overturn
anticlinal fold with a crack and a great dislocation running
along the summit, by which the Quebec group is ])i()aght to
overlap the Hudson River formation. Sometimes it may overlie
the overturned Utica formation, and in Vermont points of the
overturned Trenton appear occasionally to emerge from beneath
the overlap.

A series of such dislocations traverses eastern North America
from Alabama to Canada. They have been described by Mes-
sieurs Rogers, and by Mr. Safford. The one in question comes
upon the boundary of the Province not over a couple of miles
from Lake Champlain. From this it proceeds in a gently curving
line to Quebec, keeping just north of the fortress ; thence it coasts
the north side of the Island of Orleans, leaving a narrow margin
on the island for the Hudson River or Utica formation. From
near the east end of the island it keeps under the waters of
the St. Lawrence to within eighty miles of the extremity of
Gasp^. Here again it leaves a strip of the Hudson River or
Utica formation on the coast.

To the south-east of this line the Quebec group is arranged in long
narrow parallel synclinal forms with many overturn dips. These
synclinal forms are separated from one another on the main antic-
linals by dark grey and even black shales and limestones. These
have heretofore been taken by me for shales and limestones of the
Hudson River formation, which they strongly resemble, but as they
separate^the synclinals of the Quebec group must now be considered
older. I am not prepared to say that the Potsdam deposit in its
typical form of a sandstone is anywhere largely developed above
these shales, where the shales are in greatest force. Neither am I
prepared to assert its absence, as there are in some places masses ot
granular quartzite, not far removed from the magnesian rocks of
the Quebec group, which require farther investigation ; but, from
finding wind-mark and ripple-mark on closely succeeding layers

476 Correspondence,

of the Potsdam sandstone where it rests immediately upon the
Laurentian series, we know that this arenaceous portion of the
formation must have been deposited immediately contiguous to
the coast of the ancient Silurian sea, where part of it was even
exposed at the ebb of tide. Out in deep water the deposit may
have been a black partially calcareous mud, such as would give the
shales and limestones which come from beneath the Quebec group.

In Canada no fossils have yet been found in these shales,
but the shales resemble those in which Oleni have been found in
Georgia (Vermont). These shales appear to be interposed between
eastward dipping rocks equivalent to the magnesian strata of the
Quebec group, and they may be brought up by an overlapping
anticlinal or dislocation. We are thus led to believe that these
shales and limestones, which may be subordinate to the Potsdam
formation, will represent the true primordial zone in Canada.

Mr. Murray has this season ascertained that the lowest rock that
is well characterized by its fossils in the neighbourhood of Sault
Ste. Marie, near Lake Superior, really belongs to the Birdseye
and Black River group, and that it rests on the sandstones of Ste.
Marie and Lacloche, the fossiliferous beds at the latter place being
tinged with the red color of the sandstone immediately below them.
These underlying Lake Superior rocks may thus be Chazy, Calcife-
rous, and Potsdam, and may be equivalent to the Quebec group and
the black colored shales beneath. The Lake Superior group is the
upper copper-bearing series of that region, and rests uncomformably
upon the lower copper-bearing series, which is the Huronian system.
The upper copper-bearing series holds nearly all the metals, includ-
ing gold, and so does the Quebec group, each making an important
metalliferous region. Each when unmetamorphosed holds a vast
collection of red colored strata. The want of fossils in the Lake
Superior group makes it difficult to draw lines of division, but if
any part represents the primordial zone, I should hazard the con-
jecture that it is the dark colored slates of Kamanistiquia, which
underlie all the red rocks.

Professor Emmons has long maintained, on evidence that has
been much disputed, that rocks in Vermont, which in June 1859
I for the first time saw and recognized as equivalent to the mag-
nesian part of the Quebec group, are older than the Birdseye
formation ; the fossils which have this year been obtained at Que-
bec pretty clearly demonstrate that in this he is right. It is at the
same time satisfactory to find that the view which Mr. EiUings

Donations to the Natural History Society, 477

expressed to you in his letter of the 12th July, to the effect that
the Quebec trilobites appeared to him to be about the base of the
second fauna, should so well accord with your opinions ; and that
what we were last spring disposed to regard at Georgia as a
colony in the second fauna, should so soon be proved, by the
discoveries at Quebec, to be a constituent part of the primordial
zone.

I am, my dear Mr. Barrande,

Very truly yours,

W. E. LOGAN.
Mr. Joachim Barrande, Rue M^zi6re, No. 6, Paris.

List of Donations to the Library and Museum of the Natural
History Society of Montreal, from 1st June, 1859, to Zrd

October, 1860.

Continuation of Report from Page 230.

Donors' Names.

Mr. James Milne

G. D. Watson, Esq

Mrs. Ramsay

Geo. Molson, Esq

Lady Franklin

East India Company.. . .

Essex Institute

Society of Antiquaries,

of Copenhagen

Wm. Spink, Esq

The Authors

Donations.

The Annual of Scientific Discovery for 1851,
1852 and 1853.

Dictionnaire des Arbitrages des Changes. 2
vols.

Papers relating to the Nat. History Society.

Travels in Upper and L. Egypt, by Tourrens.

Fourth number of the Meteorological Papers
published by the Board of Trade.

Bombay Meteorological Register for 1859.

Series of their Historical Collections.

Transactions of the Society Royale des An-
tiquaries du Nord.

Geological Reports.

Statutes of Canada, 1860.

Exploration of Red River, by Professor Hind.

Appendices to the Journals of the Legisla-
ture. 5 vols.

The lower Coal Measures as developed in
British North America, by Dr. Dawson.

On the Silurian and Devonian Rocks of Nova
Scotia, by Dr. Dawson.

Descripxion of Canadian Fossils, by Prof.
James Hall, Albany.

Notes on the Coal Fields of Pictou, by Henry
Poole.

New localities of Silurian Fossils in Nova
Scotia, by Rev. Dr. Honeyman.

The Natural History of Washington Territory
from the Smithsonian contributions to
knowledge.

478 Donations to the Natural History Society,

List of Donations. — Continued.

Donors' Names.

Donations.

Lyceum of Natural His-
tory, New York

Boston Nat. Hist. Society
The Publisher

S. Jones Lyman

John Leeming, Esq

James Ferrier, jr , Esq.

John Leeming, Esq .
Thomas Keefer, Esq.

A. Wurtele, Esq.
Dr. Dawson

Dr. Fenwick

Dr. A. Nelson

Mr. A. G. Baynes...
Mr. Geo. Baynes.. . .
John Leeming, Esq.

Mr. Irons, Kingston.
Mr. F. Carlisle

E. Wurtele, Esq.
Mr. Date

J. A. Perkins, Esq..

Mr. Wm. Jail

W. S. D'Urban, Esq.

Mr. Donegani

Mr. Gough

Wm. Martin, Esq

Hugh Taylor, Esq

Eev. Mr. Robinson

Mr. Halliday

Mr. George Ross

Mr. C. C. Carpenter...

Dr. Dawson.

M. 0. Glen

Dr. Craik

Mr. Esdaile

Mr. Robert Wright

Their Annual Nos. 1, 3, 8, 9, 10 and 13.
Their proceedings.
British American Journal.
Journal of the Canadian Institute.
Specimen of Striped Bill-Fish. {Lepidosteus.)
Do. Spider Crab.

Do. Lepidosteus.

Do. the Peleated Woodpecker.
A live specimen of the Soft Shelled Turtle.

{Aspidonectes spinifer.)
A Sebright Bantam.
A Java Sparrow.
A Red-breasted Merganser.
Two Busts of Scott and Byron.
Three Silver Coins found in building the

Lock and Dam at St. Ours, in 1851.
Specimen of Wood gnawed by Beavers.
Specimens of Lepas and Balanus found in

dredging at Portland.
A Ground Squirrel.
Geological Specimen.
A Red-bellied Snake. {Coluber amvenus.)
A Male Goldfinch.
A large specimen of the American Panther.

(Felis concolor.)
A Limestone Concretion.
k. handsome Gilt Frame for the Portrait of

Sir J. Kempt.
A specimen of a Sea Urchin.
A Horse's Tooth taken up by the dredge in

the Harbour of Montreal.
A Brazilian Nut.

A large Hen's Egg weighing 4^ ounces.
A case of Coleoptera.
A Black Hare. (Lepus Americanus var.)
Specimen of a Hawk.
A very large Claw of a Lobster found at

Saco, Maine.
Specimen of a Hawk.

Specimen of the Summer Duck. (Anas sponsa.)
A great Horned Owl. (Bubo Virginianus.)
A Raven. (Corvus corax.)
Rough Legged Buzzard.
Specimen of Solaster Papposa, cribella oc-

ulata, and Uraster Polaris from Labrador.
Specimen of Uraster rubens from Gasp^.
Do. do. violacea from Portland

Maine.
Hoary Bat. ( Vespertilio subulatus.)
A Flying Squirrel.
A Hawk Owl.
Do.

Donations to the Natural History Society, 479
List op Donations. — Continued.

Donors' Names.

Mr. Joshua Bell.
Mr. H. Vennor...

Mr. J. Leslie

Joseph Martin, Esq.

James Martin, Esq..
Mr. A. G. Vennor. .
Dr. Durkee, Boston.

Mr. Massey.. .
Mr. Hilton . . .
Mr. Dickson. .
Mrs. Thomson

6. L. Rolland, Esq

Mr. J. Micheson, Phila. .

Mr. J. Jail

W. Robertson, Esq., M.D.
Duncan Robertson, Esq,
R. S. Fowler

George Buntin, Esq.

Mr. Marler

Mr. Cunningham

Thos. E. Blac.kwell, Esq,
Mr. W. Hunter

J. A. Perkins, Esq.
Anonymous

Donations.

A Pine Grosbeak.

An Indian Calumet found at "Woodstock, CW,

Specimen of the Teeth of a Seal.

Do. Petrified Wood from Bermuda.

The Antlers of a Caribou.

Female Sebright Bantam.

Male do. do.

The Nest of the Mason Wasp.

Three specimens of the Anodon Fluviatilis.

A cast of the head of a Flat-head Indian
from the Columbia River.

A piece of Mexican Gold Ore.

A specimen of a Tortoise.

Two live Tortoises.

Two pieces of Petrified Wood from Egypt.

A curious Spoon from Ceylon.

Specimen of Copper Ore from Acton, C. E.
Do. do. do. Lake Superior.

Do. Silver Ore do. do. do.

A pair of Canvas Back Ducks.

A pair of Ducks hatched from one Egg.

Two specimens of a Crustacean from Tahiti.

Specimens of Native Cloth from Tahiti.

Specimens of Shells from the Stomach of a
Flounder.

A pair of Black Ducks.

Specimen of the Eared Grebe.
Do. Wilson's Snipe.

A young Duck Hawk.

A Barred Owl.

Specimens of Copper Ore from Acton.

A large Bust of the late Dr. Buckland.

Specimens of the American Gold Fish.

French Notes and Coins.

A pair of Golden-crowned Thrushes.

A young Bittern caught near Lachine.

Specimen of the Jumping Mouse. Meriones
(jaculus) acadicus.

Specimen of Short Legged Pewitt Fly-
Catcher (Female).

Specimen of the Female Indigo Bird.

A large" specimen of Mica fromthe Ottawa.

Three Vials of small Shells.

INDEX.

PAGE.

Ackatina lubrica 97

Acton Copper Mines, visit to 349

jlgnostus, (species of described) 302

Alasmodon rugosus 99

Algae, Catalogue of species from the St. Lawrence 30

Anania octomaculata 95

Anderson's Dura Den noticed T8

Angerona crocataria 94

Animal remains in Devonian Rocks 13

Anodonta, (species of noted) 99

Aporrhais occidentalis 189

Arctia Parthenos 93

Argynnis Aphrodite 215

ArionelluSj (species of described) 314

Asaphus, (species of described) 323

Astarte, (species of from Labrador, &c.) 189

Avicula HoneymavA 153

Aneimites Acadica 460

Antiquities, aboriginal, found near Montreal 430

Acadian Geology reviewed. 450

Barnston, George, list of Coleoptera collected by 227

" " Sketch of the life of Douglas 120, 200, 267, 329

Bathyurus, (species of described) 317

Batrachians, unusual modes of gestation in 42

Beadle, Mr. D. W., on Argynnis Aphrodite 215

Bellerophon, (species of described) 167

Beyrichia, (species of described) 157

Billings, B., Catalogue of Plants 14

Billings, E., on a new Fossil star-fish 69

" on Fossils from Point Levi , 301

" on Fossils from the Silurian rocks 49

" on new species of Silurian fossils 161

" on the formation of mountains 409

" Note by 421

Bleptina surrectalis 95

Botys verticalis 95

Bradley, on a new trilobite 420

British Association, Meeting of , 70, 216, 382

Buchanan, Dr., Clerical Furlough of, reviewed 159

Bulimina pupoides, (figured) 191

Bulimus marginatus 97

Botanical Society of Kingston 462

Brewster, Sir David, on a new form of microscope 469

Barrande, J., Letter from Sir W. E. Logan to 472

Birds wintering around Montreal 425

Billings E., Review of Acadian Geology by 450

Canada, climate of in the Pleistocene period 196

Calymene Blumenbachii, var 156

Carychium exiguum 9T

INDEX. 481

CheiruruSj (species of described) 322

" Icarus 67

" " (species described) 420

Chonetes, (species of described) 144

Clidophorus, (species of described) 148

Climactichnites Wilsoni 2 79

Climate of Canada in the Pleistocene period 196

Coal field of Pictou, Poole on the 285

Coleoptera inhabiting the valley of the River Rouge 81

" from the Hudson Bay Territories 227

Colias philodice 87

Columba livia, (varieties of noticed) 105

Conocephalites Zenkeri 305

Cornulites Jlexuosus, var. gracilis 155

Crania Acadiensis 1 44

Crocota brevicornis 93

Ctenucha Latreillana 93

Cyclas, (species noted) 99

Cynthia cardui 89

Cyrtoceras exiguum 172

Coultas's " What may be learned from a tree." 459

Cooke's Elements of Chemical Physics, reviewed 455

Cyclopteris Acadica 460

Valmania Logani 156

Dalmanites, (species of figured and described) 61

Danais Archippus 88

Darwin's " Origin of Species " reviewed 80, 100

Dawson, Dr., Fossils from Nova Scotia 222

Dawson Dr., On the Earthquake of October, 1860 363

" Note to Paper on Nova Scotia fossils 297

" " " Pictou coal fields 285

" On Darwin's " Origin of Species" 100

" On Fossil Plants from the Devonian Rocks 1

" On the climate of Canada in the Pleistocene period. . 188

" On tertiary fossils from Labrador 188

" On the Silurian rocks of Nova Scotia 132

" On Tubicolous marine worms 24

" Review of Hall's Geology of Iowa 213

Devonian Rocks, — animal remains in 13

" " of Canada, Fossils in 1

" " of Nova Scotia 139

" " Rain marks in 13

Dictyonema Websteri 139

Dikelocephalus, (species of described) 306

Discina tenuilamellata .' 144

Douglas, David, Sketch of the life of 120, 200, 267, 329

D'Urban, Coleoptera from Hudson's Bay Territories 227

" Lepidoptera, collected by 241

" On the Nat, Hist, of the Valley of the River Rouge 81

Durkee, (Dr. of Boston), Algae presented to the N. H. Society 328

Dresser's rudiments of Botany noticed 212

Dresser's Vegetable Kingdom, noticed 460

Dawson, Dr., on an undescribed fossil fern 460

" on a specimen of Necera 461

" on relics of red Indians 462

Dawson on Indian antiquities 430

Dawson, Dr, J. W., Acadian Geology of, reviewed 450

Earthquake of October, 1860, notes on. 363

6

482 INDEX.

Eclipse of the Sun, July 18, 1860 376

Ellopia cequalaria 95

Mndropia tigrinaria 95

Euhulea (species of noted) 95

Euplexia iucipara 94

Fishes, unusual modes of gestation in 42

Forests, distribution of in North America 223

Fossil Track described by Sir Wm. Logan 2 '79

Fossils in the Devonian rocks of Nova Scotia 140

" " Silurian " " " 136,144,222,293

" from Labrador 188

" from Point Levi 301, 472

" from the Devonian rocks of Canada 1

" " Silurian " " 49

Ferns, (fossil) Dr. Dawson on , 460

Fossil fauna of the Point Levi rocks 472

Geological Society, proceedings of. 222, 460

" Survey of Canada, report noticed 326

Gestation unusual modes of, in fishes 42

Gosse's " Evenings with the microscope," noticed 78

Gi-aphiphoraj (species of noted) 94

Helix, (species of noted) 96

Eerschel on the formation of mountains 415

Halesidota annulifascia 93

Hall, James, description of fossils by 144

" Report on the Geology of Iowa 213

" on the formation of mountains 416

Helopora fragilis var. jlcadiensis , 159

Holopea reversa 154

Hoinalonotus Dawsoni 155

Honeyman (Rev. D.), on Nova Scotia fossils 293

Human race, Lyell on the antiquity of 70

Humboldt, Review of life of 209

Hydrocampa, (species of noted) 95

Hypercompa Lecontii 93

Hochelaga, supposed site of 446

Insects inhabiting the valley of the River Rouge 81

Iowa, Hall's Geology of, Reviewed 213

Indian antiquities found near Montreal 430

F., List of the marine algfe of the St. Lawrence. ... 30

A Holiday visit to the Acton Copper Mines 349

Notice of a first lesson in Natural History 209

" Campbell's practical agriculture 210

" Dr. Buchanan's clerical furlough .... 159

<' Humboldt's life 209

" Adamson's salmon fishing in Canada. 457

" Tyndall's glaciers of the Alps 458

" What may be learned from a tree .... 459

" Dresser's Vegetable Kingdom 460

Kingston Botanical Society 462

Labrador, Dawson on Tertiary Fossils from 188

Lepidodendron Gaspianum 8

Lepidoptera, inhabiting the Valley of the River Rouge 86

" List of collected by W. S. M. D'Urban 241

Leptocelia intermedia 147

Leptodomus aratus 1^2

Kemp,

Rev. A

11

(.

11

({

11

11

u

ti

11

It

It

ti

((

It

<{

tt

INDEX. 483

Leperdita sinuata 158

Limncea (species of noted) ^^

Logan, Sir Wm., on the track of an animal in sandstone 279

Lyell on the antiquity of the human race 70

" on the formation of mountains 413

Logan, Sir W. E., on the Primordial Zone of Canada 472

Maine, U.S., fossils found in 192

Medaria Mendica 93

Melanippe gothicata 95

Megainboniii, (species of described) 153

ModiolopsiSj (species described) 148

Murchisonia, (species of described) 154

MenocephaluSj (species of described) 316

Mountains, Theories of the formation of 409

Mya arenaria^ (from Mingan) 192

Mactra solidissiina 462

Microscope, Brewster on a new form of 469

Natural History Society, report of 239, 477

" " " proceedings of 408

Nematocampa filamentaria 95

Newberry on the Oil "Wells of Mecca 325

Nonionina, Labradorica 191

Nova Scotia, Dr. Dawson on the Silurian rocks of 132

" Fossils from 222

" Honeyman on Silurian rocks of 293

Ihiculites carinata 151

Naturalists' Field Club of Liverpool 468

Neaera pellucida , 461

Oil Wells of Mecca 325

Ophileta Ottawaensis 166

Orgyia leucostigma 93

Orthoceras punctostriatum , 154

" (Species of described) 174

Orthonota carinata 151

Page's Hand book of Geological terms noticed 77

PalcBOster parviusculus 69

Paludina decisa 98

Pamphila (?) (species noted) 91

Papilio (species described) 86

Pectinaria (species noted) 29

Phacops Orestes 65

Phragmoceras pramaturum 1 73

Physa (species noted) 97

Pictou, H. Poole on the coal field of 285

Pieris oleracea 88

Piloceras Canadense 1 71

Plants, catalogue of those found near Prescott 14

Planorbis (species of noted) , 98

Pleistocene beds, fresh water shells in 194

Plcurotomaria (species of described) 163

Plusia mortuorum 94

Poacites 11

Polyommatus pseudargiolus 91

Poole H. on the coal field of Pictou 285

Portland, Maine, fossils found near 192

Proetus jilaricus 68

484 INDEX.

Prototaxiies Logani 9

Psilophyton princeps 2

Pyralis n. sp. ? 95

Rain Marks in Devonian Rocks 13

Rhynchospira (species of described) 146

Rogers theory of the formation of mountains 409

Rotalina oblonga (figured) 191

Robbin's, Prof., Review of Cooke's Elements of Physics 455

Sanguinolites aratus 152

Saxicava rugosa 189

Satyrus Portlandia 88

Scotosia undulata 95

Serpula (species described) 29

Sicya solfataria 94

Silurian Rocks of Canada, fossils from 49

Silurian Rocks of Nova Scotia, Dr. Dawson on the 132

" " Honeyman on the 293

" " (fossils in) 161,293

Sinerinthus 92

Solar Eclipse of July 18, 1860 376

Species, Review of Darwin on the origin of 100

Sphinx (species of noted) 91

Spirifer (species of described) ....•••• 145

Spirorbis (fossil species of from Labrador) 189

Spirorbis (species of figured and described) 25

Straparollus (species of described) 161

Srophomena (species of figured and described) 51

Succinea obliqua 96

Salmon fishing in Canada, noticed 457

Tebennophorus Caroliniensis 96

Telea Polyphemus 94

Tellina Greenlandica (found in Pleistocene beds) 194

" proxima (from Mingan) 192

Tellinomya (species of described) 151

Tentaculites distans var 159

Texiularia variabilis (figured) 191

Thyatira (species of noted) 94

Tortix (species of noted) 96

Tremastospira Acadics 146

Trochilium (species of noted) 92

Truncatulina lobata 191

Tyndall's glaciers of the Alps, noticed 458

XJnio complanatus 98

" (species of found in Pleistocene beds) 195

Vertigo Gouldii 97

Vaivata tricarinata 98

Vennor, H. G., Notes on Winter Birds 425

Wilkinson's British Tortrices noticed 211

Wilson, Professor George, Notices of the life of 75, 177

Worms, Dawson on Tubicolous marine 24

Wyman on unusual modes of gestation 42

MONTHLY METEOEOLOGICAL REGISTER, ST. MARTINS, ISLE JESUS, CANADA EAST, (NINE MILES WEST OF MONTREiL,) FOR THE MONTH OF OCTOBER, 1860.

Latitude 45 degrees 32 minutes North. Longitude, T3 degrees 36 minutes West. Height above the level of the Sea, 118 feet.

BY CHARLES SMALLWOOD, M.D., LL.D.

Barometer— corrected
and reduced to

(English inches.)

6 a. ni.

2 p. m.

SO. 202

30.161

29.973

29. 992

30. 119

30. 188

0S4

29. 981

29.903

789

9S0

936

923

752

220

218

334

*4t

479

440

19S

633

820

786

950

900

30. 300

30.185

29.985

29. 894

863

730

964

30. 074

30.229

224

093

069

263

200

080

29. 989

29.919

934

9S6

814

660

657

800

814

673

756

30.103

30. 156

313

214

031

026

16S

122

080

003

29. 912

30. 026
140

29. 955
SOS

30. 105

29.564
333
467
434
765
898

30.100
124

29.«78
798

30. 184
216
140
274

29.930
978
7.56
752
t23
976

30.339
168
048
098
068

Temperature of the
Air.-F.

6 a.m.

3 p.m.

27.0

42.8

39."

49.0

43.1

63.9

45.6

46.8

46.5

53.7

36 0

48.7

36.4

60.3

41.4

49.3

37.9

47.7

37.6

53.0

62.0

51.2

32. 4

60.0

31. S

61.4

30.5

62.0

67.0

38.1

34.1

57.5

40.3

64.2

36. 2

58.2

36. 0

63.7

36.3

49.3

35.3

54.2

44.0

47.2

44.4

54.2

43.4

54.6

49.7

59,1

49.3

54.2

32.6

55.0

32.7

61.0

43.3

61.6

46.1

55.0

19.9

70.1

39.6
43.8
49.0
46.0
45.0
35.6
49.0
39.6
40.0
52.4
39.0
41.0
38.1
40.6
36.2
51.0
•41.0
43.0
47.0
39.2
40.6
45.6
48.7
60.0
61.2
40.3
37.0
46.8
60.6
50.6
62.0

Tension of Aqueous
Vapour.

.129
.232
.261
.293
. 305
.170
.184
.251
.193
.193
.321
.168
.149
.148
.164
.182
.210
.191
. 179
.170
.160
.289
.2S9
.254
.341
.341
.162
.162
.293
.305

p. in. 10 p. m.

.209
.297
.288
.305
.341
.253
.254
.247
.267
.251
.252
,258
.296
.208
.165
.3112
.308
.394
.416
.176
.308
.225
.335
.362
.317
.231
.349

.355
.469

.232
.269
.315
.286
.275
.156
.315
.188
.197
.294
.195
.212
.186
.197
.197
.302
.241
.264
.280
.180
.241
.290
.310
.335
.350
.203
.190
.256
.354
.35.4
.5-19

Humidit.v of the
Atmosphere.

.95
.95
.95
.96
.80
.85
.96

.76
.95
.86
.90
.87
.80
.78
1.00
1.00

2 p.m.

10 p. m,

.76
.84
.70

.74
.66
.71
.81
.63
.68
.71
.79
.63
.77
.66
.74
.82
.72
.60
.74
.70
.80
.87

:i

.81
.78
.96
.84
.67

.95
.93
.89
.92
.92
.76
.89
.77
.78
.79
.82
.82
.81
.78
.93
.82
.95
.92
.88
.77
.95
.99
.92
.93
.90
.82
.84
.81
.96
.96
.97

Direction of "^'ind.

6 a. m.

15.

w. s.w.
w.s w.

N. E. by E,
S. by E.
N.W.by W.
S.S.W.
N. E.
"W. by S.
S.W.
S. by E.

\v. s. w.

w.

\Y. S. W.

y.is.
w. s. \v.

E. N. E.
N.E.byE

N. E. by E.
N. E. by E.
N. E. by E.
N. E. by E.
S.W.
S. S. W.
S. E. by S.
W.

N. E. by E.
S.W.
E. by S.
E. by S.

I p.m.

S.

w. s. w.
vv.

N. E. by E.
W. S. W.
N.W. by W,
S.W.

w.

W. by N.

S.

W.

s. s. w.
w. s. w.

S.W.

N.E.

w. s. w.

N. E. by E.
N. E. by E.
S. W. by S.
N.E. byE.
N. E. by E.
N. E. by E.
N. E. liy E.
W. S. W,
S. S. W.
W. bv N.

s. s.\v.

N.E. byE.
S.W.

N. E. by E,
E. by S.

10 p. m.

S. S. E.

W. by N.

W. by W.

N. E. by E.

W. N.'tV.

W.

S.E.byE.

W.

N. by E.

S. l:y E.

W.tyN.

S.W.

S. W. by W,

S.

W. S.W.

W. by S.

N.E. byE.

S. by E.

N. fi.byN

N. E. by E.

N. E. by E.

N. E. by E.

N.byW.

S.W.

S. E. by S.

N. N. W.

S.E.byE.

S. S. E.

W. by N.

N. E. bv E.

E.S.E.

KH.S

67.70

14.42

8.30

333.20

158.70

345. 20

17.90

321.90

411.90

130.60

414.70

78.80

76.30

105. 70

50.70

164.40

156. 00

105,20

64.50

3.30. 60

232. 80

264. 80

138. 60

110.20

42. 00

14.50

69.60

191. 60

21s. 40

60.70

144.40

OZONE.

Mean

jamount

of, in

tenths.

2.6

2.6

1.0

1.6

2.0

1.6

2.0

3.0

1.5

1.5

1.0

1.0

1.0

1.0

2.B

3.5

2.0

1.5

1.0

1.6

2.6

4.0

4.5

2.5

1.5

2.0

1.0

1.6

4,0

3.0

1.5

Amount
of, in
inches.

0.480
0.051

0.010
0.800

inapp,

O.IQO
0.190

WEATHEE, CLOUDS, SEMABKB, &C. &C.

IX cloudy sliy is represented by 10, a cloudless'one by 0.3

0.843
"o.'74is

1.

10.

1st fros'i clear.
Cu. Str. 10.
9.
Rain.

Ou. Str. 4.
Cirr Str
Clear.
Rain.
Cu. Str,
C. C. St,
Cu. Str. 6.
Clear, \feite frost.

Cu. Str. 10. ■
Clear, \hite frost.
Cu. Str, 4.
C. C. St 8,
Clear, >hite frost.
C. C. S(.

10 p. m.

Rain.
Cu. Str.

Bain.
Cu. St.
Clear.
C. C. Str.

6.
10-

10.
00.

Cu. Str(
Haz.v.
Cu. Stll

Rain.

Clear, <hite frost.

Cu. StJ 4.

Rain,

Cu. St

C. C. S-.

Cu. Str.
Cir. Cum,
Cu. Str.
C. C. Str.
Clear.
Cu, Str.
Rain.
Cu.Str.

Clear.
Cu, St.

Rain,
Cu. Str.

C. C. Str.

Cu. Str.
Clear,
Cu, Str.
Cu. Str.

Rain.
Cu, Str.

Clear.

Cu. St.
Clear.
Cu. Str.

10.

Aurora Borcalis.

2. Aurora Borcalis.
J. Faint Aurora Borcalis.
Do. Do.
Cu. Str. 10.
10.
iRain.

Cu. Str. 2.
Clear.

2.
10.

6.
10.

S.
10.
10.

0.

Cir. Cum.

Cu. Str.

Clear.

Cu, Str, 10.

C. C. Str. 8.

IClear.

!

Cu. Str. 10.

' 6.

C. C. Str. 6.
Clear.

REPORT FOR THE MONTH OF NOVEMBER, 1860.

c

Barometer— corrected
and reduced to

si'=a

ozoseJ

nAix.

SNO^y.

WE.A.TnEB, CLOVDS, ItESIAKKS, &C

ic.

Temperature of the
Air.— P.

Tension of Aqueous
Vapour.

Humidity of the
Atmosphere.

Direction of Wind,

1 [A cloudy sky is represented by 10, a cloud

ess one by O.J

O

(English inches.)

SS^S

Mean

Amonnt
of in

Amount
of, in
inches.

Ca, ni.

2 p. m.

10 p.m.

0 a. 111. j 2 p. m.

10 p. m.

6 a. in.

2 p.m. 10 p.m.

6 a.m.

2 p.m.

10 p.m.

6 a. m.

2 p.m.

10 p. m.

KS.5

of !

inches.

6 a. m.

2. p. m.

10 p. m.

—

30,097
121

30.114
205

30.176
189

61.3
64.6

62 6

498

643

523

91

79

94

S. E. by E.

N. E, by E.

E. S. E.

E.

70 80

2 0 i

Inapp.

Cu SI? 10

Cu. Str. 10.

C. C. Str.

6.

54.3

48.2

.411

.362

.310

.97

.87

.91

i\. E. bv E.

N. E. by E.

268. 50

2.5

10.

" 10.

Cu. Str.

4.

3

168

29 901

29.871

46.0

66.1

55.3

.280

.536

.403

.80

.84

.93

N.E. byE,

N. E. by E.

E.N.E.

145.90

1.5

" 10.

4.

•'

10.

29 442

624

715

50.5

53.3

43.2 '

.354

.214

.231

.96

.60

.83

S. W. by W.

W.

W. S. W.

317.00

3.0

O.803

Niin. 10.

4.

Clear.

Aurora Borcalis.

699

617

721

.39.0

52.7

44.6

.201

.232

,241

.86

.60

.84

W.

W.

E. S. E.

178. 50

1.6

Clear.

C. C. Str. 6.

Cu. St.

10.

691

636

679

41.5

42.3

38.1

.235

.199

.208

.91

.74

.91

S. E.

E.N. E.

w. s. w.

48.70

3.0

0.546

Cu. Sir. 10.

Rain.

Rain.

770
30. 000

796
979

947
30. 000

36.0
31.3

38.6
45.6

33.3
40.0

.191
.156

.186
.218

.164
.201

.90
.89

.80
.66

.86
.86

W.

w. s. w.

W.N.W.
W. S.W.

W. by N.
N. E. by E.

S65. 70
106. 70

3.6

1.6

0.211

Rain.
Clpar,whitc frost.

Ou. Str. 10.
0. C. Str. 8.

Clear.
Cu. Str.

9.

886

29.846

37.1

47. 5.

33.3

.206

.242

.168

.95

.74

.90

w.

S.W.

S.W.

17.20

2.0

C. Cu.Str. 10.

Clear.

Clear.

784

661

600

34.0

44.6

39.1

.183

.189

.216

.90

.64

.91

N.E. byE.

N.E. byE.

N. E. by E.

251.76

3.6

" 6.

Cu. Str. 10.

Rain.

1
■1

46S
615

456
313

426
614

39.1
39.0

49.4
47.3

40.1
45.3

.216
.208

.297
,267

.254
.260

.91

.90

.85
.82

.92
.88

E.

W. by N.

N. N. E.
\V.

N.
N.W.byN.

296. 60
63.60

2.6
2.0

0.636

Cu. St'. 6.
C. C. Str. 8.

10.
" 4.

On. Str.

9.

795

812

SS7

42.1

46.2

37.3

.244

,285

.199

.91

.84

89

W. by N.

W. hy N.

N. \V.

115.70

1.5

" 6.

3.

Clear.

i,

950

950

991

30.1

47.0

34.2

.145

,232

.167

.89

.73

.88

W,

W. hy S.

W.N.W.

70.60

2.0

Clear, white frost.

Clear.

"

't

895

917

30. 006

33.1

41.2

38.9

.143

,240

.201

.70

.83

.86

N.W. by W,

S. W. by W.

S. S. W.

81.40

2.6

Cu. Sir. 4.

C. C. Str. 10.

Cu. Str.

10.

6

30. 046

30. 034

035

3S.4

41.0

31.8

.169

,154

.1,55

.84

.61

.89

N. E. hy E.

S. S. W.

S.

7.40

2.0

C. C. Str. 6.

Cu. Str. 6.

Str.

1.

7

29 900

29. 869

29.697

29.2

36.4

32.7

.142

.129

.162

.88

.61

.84

E. N. E.

N. N. W.

N. by W.

49.80

2.5

4.

6.

Cu. Str.

10.

280

218

323

31.1

36.9

33.4

.155

.177

.168

.89

.85

.89

N, B. by E.

N.hyE.

N. E. by E,

74.30

3.6

Inapp.

0.15

Snow.

10.

'•

10.

165
180

ono

174
320
621

230
422
801

34.5
36.0
27.0

38.9
89.3
30.9

36.2
33.8
28.7

.190
.186
.129

.201
.173
.124

.199
.162
.146

.95
.86
.88

.86
.73

.84

.96
.84
.90

N. E. by B.
S. S. E.
W. S. W.

N. E. by E.
«'. by N.
\V. s. W.

S. S. E.
W. N. W.
S. by W.

63.60
238. 40
130.40

3.5
4.0
2.6

0.372
0.140

Nim. 10.

Cu. Str 10.

4.

10.
10.
10.

;•

10.

'.I.

9.

■?

879

869

S68

22.4

35.0

32.0

.095

.162

.149

.79

.80

.84

W. S. W.

S. W.

S.W.

101.. 30

2.5

8.

10.

"

10.

867
907
465

797
135
059

004
232
972

35.0
39.1
20.4

40.4
27.6
21,1

37.5
22.1
23.2

,183
.227
.075

.203
.105
.076

.214
.179

.90
.99

.82
.70
.71

.95
.65
.86

S. by W.
W. S.W.
W. by N.

S. E. by E.
W. S. w.
W. by N.

S. E.bvE.
W. S. W.

w. s. w.

228. 50
720. 00
710.00

3.0
3.0
2.0

Inapp.

10.
Rain.
Cu.Str. 10.

10.
Sleet.
Cu.Str. 6.

„

3.190

6.

"i

.106

.70

10.

6

30.183

30.142

30. 054

13.4

24.7

26.3

.057

.120

.123

.72

.89

.87

w. s. w.

S. by W.

S.S E.

546.00

2.5

Clear.

6.

"

10.

7

29. 665
894

20. 680
890

29. 851
851

32.3
20.8

41.0
28.3

32.6
19.6

.162
.091

.212
.129

.162
.081

.89
.83

.82
.82

.89
.77

S. by W.
W.

W. S. W.
N.N.W.

w.
w. s. w.

314. 00
110. 00

2.6
2.5

3.(4

Snow.
Clear.

6.

S.

Clear.

8

9

671

694

602

20.4

34.4

32.0

.082

.169

.169

.74

.84

.88

S. W.

S.W.

w.

67.10

2.0

C. C. Str. 1.

Sleet.

Cu. Str.

10.

0

400

314

225

32.1

35.4

33.0

.143

.160

.168

.79

.87

.89

w.

w.

N. E. by E.

69.10

2.0

Inapp.

Inapp.

Cu. Str. 10.

Snow.

Sleet.

REMAR

KS FOR OCTOBER, 1860.

REMARKS FOR NOVEMBER, 1860.

f Highest, the 27th day, 80-339 inehc

s.

' Snow fell ou 2 days, amonuting to 1*27 inches ; it was snowing

(Highest, the 2nd day, 30.205 inches.

Snow fell on 4 days, amounting to 3.69 inches, it was snowing

„„„„„,„,. ) Lowest, the 11th day. 29.108 "
Baromctci < jio„thly Mean, 29.919

11 hours.

1. .„-(^„ JLowest, the 24th da.v, 28,950
1'"™'"'='" JMonthly Mean, 29.730

7 hours and 50 minutes.

Most prevalent wind, the N. E. by E.

Most windy dav, the •24th day ; mean mi

es per hour, 29.35.

L " Range, 1.141

Least prevalent wind, the E.

(Monthly Range, 2'255

Least windy day, the 16th day; mean miles per hour 0.33.

•Highest, the 31st day, 70= 1.

Most wmdy day, the llth day ; mean miles per hour, 16.88.
Least windy day, the 3rd day ; mean miles per hour, 0.23.
Aurora Borealis visible on 4 nights.

(Highest, the 1st day, 71 =4.

Most prevalent wind, the S. W.

„ _t„. li,owest, the 1st day, 26=1.
Thermometer,., < 5,„nthly Mean, 45o4S.

•

'm,„M,„/.,^„t„,. 3 Lowest, the 26th day, 12 ° 0.
rhormomctci . < 5,i„„thiv Mean, 37 = 59.

Least jirevalent wind, the E.

(.Monthly Range, 44 o 0.

The Electrical state of the Atmosphere has indicated high

(Monthly Range, 69 = 4.

The Electrical state of the Atmosphere has indicated con-

Greatest intensity of the Sun's rays. 85 ° 0.
Lowest point of Terrestrial radiation, 22 = 2.

tension.

Greatest intensity of the Sun's ravs, 82 ° 1.

stant and moderate intensity.

Two distinct and smart shocks of an earthquake were felt here

Lowest point of terrestrial radiation, 12 *=* 0.
Mean of humidity, .839.

The Symmetrical wave was well marked during the month.

Mean of Humidit.v, .839.

at 5'o.i a.m. on the morning of the 17th day, the wave i)assing

Snow birds (Plectrophanes NivalUJ 1st

Boeu on the 3rd day.

Amount of Evaporation, 1.32 inches.

from h. to W. The sound wave was distinctly perceptible after

Rain fell on 10 days, amounting to 5.808 inches; it was raining

Rain fell on 11 days, amounting to 4.787 inches; it w

s raining

the passage of the earth wave.

48 hours 29 minutes.

6

9 hours ai

ld4t mi

lutes.

5 --^^ilr-x*.-- A.V ir~.1- ■

'ff§k,

■*-

V

rr ^,

^-y ;<!»v^'>

-^^

"^y

,f

■ ,( v^

r^:

r

'K

■•/

.'^ r

^^

^^:

^-^

y-

1'

,K

V

/

I.

r

■*?

i^

^^

A

\'/*^:

_r

\

^.

r>'

fL

)SV

t<

:f^:

-^^

N,'

Lv

k\ •

,<

v>

X-

V

^

i i

■^

J

■^i

.-/

AA^

'i^

n

>M

N«0

^V

f^'i

%Z

,v

>

■^*rw.

■i w

i^^%

■^ ^mT^^^^^

Ad- -'

' .r\v -'

f .>. .^ \

K.: