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■ ■ ■ ■

PHILOSOPHICAL SOCIETY

, ; ' ■ i A Y, L'-’v.-

OF

WASHINGTON.

YOL. XL

WITH THE CONSTITUTION, RULES

AND LISTS OF

OFFICERmAND MEMBERS.

WASHINGTON:
PRINTED BY JUDl^ & DETWETLER.
i8oi

CONTENTS.

Page.

Constitution . vn

Standing Rules of the Society . vm

Standing Rules of the General Committee . . . xn

Standing Rules of the Mathematical Section . . xiv

Rules for the Publication of the Bulletin . xv

List of Presidents of the Society . . . xvi

List of Officers of the Society for 1892 . . xvn

List of Members . xviii

Philosophy and Specialties, Annual Presidential Address, 1888,

Garrick Mallery . 3

On the Observation of Sudden Phenomena, S. P. Langley . 41

On Some of the Greater Problems of Physical Geology, C. E. Dutton . . 51

On the Crystallization of Igneous Rocks, J. P. Iddings . 65

On the Reduction of Pendulum Observations, E. D. Preston . 115

The Relative Abundance of the Chemical Elements, F. W. Clarke . . . 131
Assumption and Fact in the Theories of Solar and Stellar Proper Mo¬
tions, Annual Presidential Address, 1889, J. R. Eastman. . . . 143

Plurricanes in the Bay of North America, Everett Hayden . 173

The Mineral Composition and Geological Occurrence of Certain Igne¬
ous Rocks in the Yellowstone National Park, J. P. Iddings . 191

The Evolution of Serials Published by Scientific Societies, W J

McGee . 221

On Certain Peculiar Structural Features in the Foot-Hill Region of

the Rocky Mountains near Denver, Colorado, G. H. Eldridge . 247

The Progress of Meteoric Astronomy in America, J. R. Eastman . 275

Money Fallacies, Annual Presidential Address, 1890, C. E. Dutton.. . . 359
Constitution and Origin of Spherulites in Acid Eruptive Rocks,

Whitman Cross . . 411

Spherulitic Crystallization, J. P. Iddings . 445

Obituary Notices . ’ . 465

Mohawk Lake Beds, H. W. Turner . 385

Minutes of Proceedings of the Society, 1888 . 499

Minutes of Proceedings of the Society, 1889 . . 528

Minutes of Proceedings of the Society, 1890 . 549

Minutes of Proceedings of the Society, 1891 . 563

Minutes of Proceedings of the Mathematical Section, 1888 . 579

Minutes of Proceedings of the Mathematical Section, 1889 . 604

Minutes of Proceedings of the Mathematical Section, 1890 . 606

Minutes of Proceedings of the Mathematical Section, 1891 . 608

Index . 611

* (in)'

THE PHILOSOPHICAL SOCIETY

OF

WASHINGTON.

CONSTITUTION, RULES,

C

UST OF

OFFICERS AND MEMBERS FOR 1892,

AND UST OF

PRESIDENTS OF THE SOCIETY.

i

(V)

CONSTITUTION

OP

THE PHILOSOPHICAL SOCIETY OF WASHINGTON.

Article I. The name of this Society shall be The Philosophi¬
cal Society of Washington.

Article II. The officers of the Society shall be a President,
four Vice-Presidents, a Treasurer, and two Secretaries.

Article III. There shall be a General Committee, consisting
of the ex-Presidents of the Society, the officers of the Society,
and nine other members.

Article IV. The officers of the Society and the nine other
members of the General Committee shall be elected annually by
ballot ; they shall hold office until their successors are elected,
and shall have power to fill vacancies.

Article V. It shall be the duty of the General Committee to
make rules for the government of the Society, and to transact all
its business.

Article VI. This constitution shall not be amended except
by a three-fourths vote of those present at an annual meeting
for the election of officers, and after notice of the proposed change
shall have been given in writing at a stated meeting of the So¬
ciety at least four weeks previously.

(vii)

STANDING RULES

FOR THE GOVERNMENT OF

THE PHILOSOPHICAL SOCIETY OF WASHINGTON.

1. The Stated Meetings of the Society shall be held at 8 o’clock
p. m. on every alternate Saturday; the place of meeting to be
designated by the General Committee.

2. Notice of the time and place of meeting "shall be sent to
each member by one of the Secretaries.

When necessary, Special Meetings may he called by the Presi¬
dent.

3. The Annual Meeting for the election of officers shall he the
last stated meeting in the month of December.

The order of proceedings (which shall he announced by the
Chair) shall he as follows :

First, the reading of the minutes of the last Annual Meeting.

Second, the presentation of the annual reports of the Secre¬
taries, including the announcement of the names of members
elected since the last annual meeting.

Third, the presentation of the annual report of the Treasurer.

Fourth, the announcement of the names of members who,
having complied with Section 14 of the Standing Rules, are en¬
titled to vote on the election of officers.

Fifth, the election of President.

Sixth, the election of four Vice-Presidents.

Seventh, the election of Treasurer.

Eighth, the election of two Secretaries.

Ninth, the election of nine members of the General Committee.

(viii)

STANDING RULES.

IX

Tenth, the consideration of Amendments to the Constitution
of the Society, if any such shall have been proposed in accord¬
ance with Article VI of the Constitution.

Eleventh, the reading of the rough minutes of the meeting.

4. Elections of officers are to be held as follows :

In each case nominations shall be made by means of an
informal ballot, the result of which shall be announced by the
Secretary ; after which the first formal ballot shall he taken.

In the ballot for Vice-Presidents, Secretaries, and Members of
the General Committee, each voter shall write on one ballot as
many names as there are officers to be elected, viz., four on the
first ballot for Vice-Presidents, two on the first for Secretaries,
and nine on the 'first for Members of the General Committee,
and on each subsequent ballot as many names as there are
persons yet to be elected ; and those persons who receive a
majority of the votes cast shall be declared elected : Provided ,
That the number of persons receiving a majority does not exceed
the number of persons to be elected, in which case the vacancies
shall be filled by the candidates receiving the highest majorities.

If in any case the informal ballot result in giving a majority
for any one, it may he declared formal by a majority vote.

5. The Stated Meetings, with the exception of the annual
meeting, shall he devoted to the consideration and discussion
of scientific subjects.

The Stated Meeting next preceding the Annual Meeting shall
be set apart for the delivery of the President’s Annual Address.

6. Sections representing special branches of science' may be
formed by the General Committee upon the written recom¬
mendation of twenty members of the Society.

7. Persons interested in science, who are not residents of the
District of Columbia, may be present at any meeting of the
Society, except the annual meeting, upon invitation of a
member.

8. On request of a member, the President or either of the
Secretaries may, at his discretion, issue to any person a card of
invitation to attend a specified meeting. Five cards of invitation

II— Bull. Phil. Soc., Wash., Vol. 11.

)

X

PHILOSOPHICAL SOCIETY OF WASHINGTON.

to attend a meeting may be issued in blank to the reader of a
paper at that meeting.

9. Invitations to attend during three months the meetings of
the Society and participate in the discussion of papers, may, by
a vote of nine members of the General Committee, be issued to
persons nominated by two members.

10. Communications intended for publication under the
auspices of the Society shall be submitted in writing to the
General Committee for approval.

11. Any paper read before a Section may be repeated, either
entire or by abstract, before a general meeting of the Societ}^, if
such repetition is recommended by the General Committee of
the Society.

12. It is not permitted to report the proceedings of the So¬
ciety or its Sections for publication, except by authority of the
General Committee.

13. New members may be proposed in writing by three mem¬
bers of the Society for election by the General Committee ; but
no person shall be admitted to the privileges of membership
unless he signifies his acceptance thereof in writing, and pays his
dues to the Treasurer, within two months after notification of
his election.

14. Each member shall pay annually to the Treasurer the sum
of five dollars, and no member whose dues are unpaid shall vote
at the annual meeting for the election of officers, or be entitled
to a copy of the Bulletin.

In the absence of the Treasurer, the Secretary is authorized to
receive the dues of members.

The names of those two years in arrears shall be dropped
from the list of members.

Notice of resignation of membership shall be given in writing
to the General Committee through the President or one of the
Secretaries. ^

15. The fiscal year shall terminate with the Annual Meeting.

STANDING RULES.

XI

16. Any member who is absent from the District of Colum¬
bia for more than twelve consecutive months may be excused
from payment of dues during the period of his absence, in
which case he will not be entitled to receive announcements of
meetings or current numbers of the Bulletin.

17. Any member not in arrears may, by the payment of one
hundred dollars at any one time, become a life member, and be
relieved from all further annual dues and other assessments.

All moneys received in payment of life membership shall be
invested as portions of a permanent fund, which shall be
directed solely to the furtherance of such special scientific work
as may be ordered by the General Committee.

STANDING RULES

OF

THE GENERAL COMMITTEE

OF

THE PHILOSOPHICAL SOCIETY OF WASHINGTON.

With Amendments Adopted April 14, 1888. (Records 1 : 218-220.)

1. The President, Vice-Presidents, and Secretaries of the So¬
ciety shall hold like offices in the General Committee.

2. The President shall have power to call special meetings of
the Committee, and to appoint Sub-Committees.

3. The Sub-Committees shall prepare business for the General
Committee, and perform such other duties as may be entrusted
to them.

4. There shall be two Standing Sub-Committees : one on Com¬
munications for the Stated Meetings of the Society, and another
on Publications.

5. The General Committee shall meet at half-past seven o’clock
on the evening of each Stated Meeting, and by adjournment at
other times.

6. Six members shall constitute a quorum for all purposes,
except for the amendment of the Standing Rules of the Com¬
mittee or of the Society, in which case a majority of the General
Committee shall constitute a quorum.

7. The names of proposed new members recommended in con¬
formity with Section 13 of the Standing Rules of the Society may
be presented at any meeting of the G eneral Committee, but shall

(xii)

STANDING HULKS.

XIII

lie over for at least four weeks before final action. At least fif¬
teen ballots shall be cast to determine an* election. Blanks shall
not be counted as ballots. Affirmative ballots to the number of
four-fifths of those cast shall be necessary to an election. No
rejected candidate shall be eligible to membership within twelve
months from the date of rejection. The Secretary of the General
Committee shall keep a chronological register of the elections
and acceptances of members.

8. These Standing Rules, and those for the government of the
Society, shall be modified only with the consent of a majority of
the members of the General Committee, but by unanimous con¬
sent of a quorum any rule except numbers 6 and 7 of the Stand¬
ing Rules of the General Committee may be temporarily sus¬
pended.

STANDING RULES

OF THE

MATHEMATICAL SECTION.

1. The object of this Section is the consideration and discus¬
sion of papers relating to pure or applied mathematics.

2. The special officers of the section shall be a Chairman and
a Secretary, who shall be elected at the first meeting of the Sec¬
tion in each year, and discharge the duties usually attaching to
those offices.

3. To bring a paper regularly before the Section it must be
submitted to the Standing Committee on Communications for
the stated meetings of the Society, with the statement that it is
for the Mathematical Section.

4. Meetings shall be called by the Standing Committee on
Communications whenever the extent or importance of the
papers submitted and approved appear to justify it.

5. All members of the Philosophical Society who wish to do
so may take part in the meetings of this Section.

6. To every member who shall have notified the Secretary of
the General Committee of his desire to receive them, announce¬
ments of the meetings of the Section shall be sent by mail.

7. The Section shall have power to adopt such rules of pro¬
cedure as it may find expedient.

RULES RESPECTING PUBLICATIONS

OF

THE PHILOSOPHICAL SOCIETY OF WASHINGTON.

Adopted December 22, 1888.

1. The regular publication of the Society shall have the form
of a series of completed papers or memoirs, to which the transac¬
tions of the Society shall be added. Publication shall not be
made at stated intervals, but whenever directed by the General
Committee.

2. Each paper read before the Society and offered for publica¬
tion shall be at once referred to a special committee of two
appointed by the President, which shall submit to the General
Committee at its next meeting a written report on the paper,
and the General Committee shall decide respecting its publica¬
tion. The annual address of the retiring President and the an¬
nual reports of the Treasurer and Secretaries shall be published
in full, without reference. The journal of the Society shall be
published in condensed form at the end of the volume.

3. Papers read before a Section of the Society and offered for
publication shall be referred to a committee appointed as the
Section may direct. The paper, accompanied by a written
report, shall be laid before the General Committee, which shall
decide respecting publication.

4. Papers approved by the General Committee for publication
shall be printed forthwith, and one hundred copies shall be
gratuitously furnished to the author.

5. The papers published from time to time shall be paged con¬
secutively, and when sufficient material has accumulated to form
a volume of convenient size, a title page, table of contents, and
index shall be prepared, and the whole issued as a volume of
the Bulletin of the Philosophical Society.

(xv)

PRESIDENTS OF THE SOCIETY.

JOSEPH HENRY . . . . .1871-78.

SIMON NEWCOMB . . .1879-’80.

J. J. WOODWARD . . 1881.

W. B. TAYLOR . . . 1882.

J. W. POWELL . ..1883.

J. C. WELLING . . 1884.

ASAPH HALL . 1885.

J. S. BILLINGS . 1886.

WM. IIARKNESS. . . 1887.

GARRICK MALLERY . 1888.

J. R. EASTMAN . 1889.

C. E. DUTTON . 1890.

T. C. MENDENHALL . 1891.

G. K. GILBERT.. . . 1892.

(xvi)

OFFIOEBS

OF THE

PHILOSOPHICAL SOCIETY OF WASHINGTON, 1892.

(Elected December 19, 1891.)

President . G. K. Gilbert.

Tr. _ . 7 ( G. Brown Goode. W. H. Dall.

Vice-Presidents . . . < „ T> o -nr

( Robert Fletcher. R. S. Woodw

Treasurer . W. A. De Caindry.

Secretaries . . . . . J. S. Diller. W. C. Winlock.

MEMBERS AT LARGE OF THE GENERAL COMMITTEE.

Marcus Baker.
Henry H. Bates.

. F. H. Bigelow'.

F. W. Clarke.

Lester

.G. W. Hill.

H. M. Paul.

C. V. Riley.

O. H. Tittmann.
F. Ward.

STANDING COMMITTEES.

On Communications :

R. S. Woodward, Chairman. J. S. Diller. F. H. Bigelow.
On Publications :

Robert Fletcher, Chairman. Marcus Baker. W. C. Winlock.

Members of the Joint Commission :

G. K. Gilbert. Marcus Baker. T. C. Mendenhall.

Ill-Bull. Phil. Soc., Wash., Vol. 11.

(xvii)

LIST OF MEMBERS

OF THE

PHILOSOPHICAL SOCIETY OF WASHINGTON;

TOGETHER WITH

YEAR OF ADMISSION TO THE SOCIETY, POST-OFFICE
ADDRESS, AND RESIDENCE.

Corrected to December 31, 1891.

1871. Abbe, Prof. Cleveland.

Weather Bureau.

1875. Abert, S. T. (Silvanus Thayer),

722 Seventeenth street.

1881. Adams, Henry,

1603 H street.

1871. Antisell, Dr. Thomas,

Patent Office.

1890. Atkinson, W. R. (William Russum),

Geological Survey.

1889. Atwater, Prof. W. 0. (Wilbur Olin),

Wesleyan University, Middletown, Conn.

1879. Avery, R. S. (Robert Stanton),

320 A street SE.

1881. Baker, Dr. Frank,

Smithsonian Institution. 1315 Corcoran street.

1876. Baker, Marcus,

Geological Survey. 1905 Sixteenth street.

1871. Bates, Dr. Henry H. (Henry Hobart),

Patent Office. The Portland.

1886. Bates, Dr. N. L. (Newton Lemuel), U. S. N.,

Navy Department. Mare Island, California.

(xviii)

2017 I street.
1738 I street.

1311 Q street.

LIST OF MEMBERS. XIX

1888. Bauer, Louis A. (Louis Agricola),

Coast and Geodetic Survey. 2151 L street.

1884. Bean, Dr. T. H. (Tarleton Hoffman),

Smithsonian Institution. 17*38 Q street.

1875. Beardslee, Cart. L. A. (Lester Anthony), U. S. N.,

Navy Department.

1879. Bell, A. Graham (Alexander Graham),

Volta Bureau, 3414 Q street.

1881. Bell, Dr. C. A. (Chichester Alexander),

The Richmond, Seventeenth and H streets.

1871. Benet, Gen. S. V. (Stephen Vincent), U. S. A.,

1717 I street.

1886. Beyer, Dr. H. G. (Henry Gustav), U. S. N.,

Navy Department.

1890. Bigelow, Prof. Frank H. (Frank Hagar),

Weather Bureau. 1416 K street.

1871. Billings, Dr. J. S. (John Shaw), U. S. A.,

Army Medical Museum. 3027 N street.

1876. Birnie, Capt. Rogers, U. S. A.,

Ordnance Office, War Dept. 1341 New Hampshire ave.

1883. Bodfish, Sumner H. (Sumner Homer),

58 B street NE.

1884. Bowles, Nav. Con’r. F. T. (Francis Tiffany), U. S. N.,

Navy Yard, Norfolk, Va.

1884. Brown, Prof. S. J. (Stimson Joseph), U. S. N.,

Washburn Observatory, Madison, Wisconsin.

1883. Browne, Dr. John Mills, U. S. N.,

Navy Department. The Portland.

1886. Bryan, Dr. J. H. (Joseph Hammond),

806 Seventeenth street. 1644 Connecticut ave.

1883. Burgess, Prof. E. S. (Edward Sandford),

High School. 1115 0 street.

1879. Burnett, Dr. Swan M. (Swan Moses),

1770 Massachusetts avenue.

1874. Busey, Dr. Samuel C. (Samuel Clagett),

1545 I street. 901 Sixteenth street.

1891. Carr, W. K. (William Kearney),

1008 F Street.

1413 K street.

XX

PHILOSOPHICAL SOCIETY OF WASHINGTON.

1871. Casey, Gen. Thomas Lincoln, U. S. A.

War Department. 1419 K street.

1882. Caziarc, Capt. Louis V. (Louis Vasmar), U. S. A.,

Fort Adams, Newport, R. I.

1883. Chamberlin, Pres. T. C. (Thomas Chrowder),

University of Wisconsin. Madison, Wis.

1888. Chapman, D. C. (Daniel Currier),

Coast and Geodetic Survey. 110 C street SE.

1885. Chatard, Dr. Thos. M. (Thomas Marean),

Geological Survey. The Portland.

1874. Chickering, Prof. J. W. (John White),

Deaf Mute College. Kendall Green.

1880. Christie, Alex. S. (Alexander Smyth),

Coast and Geodetic Survey.

1877. Clark, Edward,

Architect’s Office, Capitol. 417 Fourth street.

1874. Clarke, Prof. F. W. (Frank Wigglesworth),

Geological Survey. 1612 Riggs place.

1890. Colonna, B. A. (Benjamin Azariah),

Coast and Geodetic Survey.

1880. Comstock, Prof. J. IT. (.John Henry)

Cornell University.

1874. Coues, Dr. Elliott,

Smithsonian Institution.

1873. Craig, Capt. Robert, U. S. A.,

War Department.

1879. Craig, Dr. Thomas,

Johns Hopkins University.

1889. Cross, C. Whitman (Charles Whitman),

Geological Survey. 730 Seventeenth street

1886. Cummings, Prof. Geo. J. (George .Jotham),

Howard University.

1884. Curtis, George E. (George Edward),

Smithsonian Institution.

1871. Dall, Wm. H. (William Healey),

National Museum.

1886. Darton, N. IT. (Nelson Horatio),

Geological Survey.

138 B street NE.
Ithaca, N. Y.
17*26 N street.
1822 I street.
Baltimore, Md.

1227 M street.
1119 Twelfth street.

LIST OF MEMBERS.

XXI

1880. Davis, Comdr. C. H. (Charles Henry), U. S. N.,

Navy Department. 1705 Khode Island avenue.

1889. Dawson, Rev. J. F. (James Francis),

Georgetown College.

1872. Dean, Dr. R. C. (Richard Crain), U. S. N.,

Navy Department. 1736 I street.

1881. De Caindry, Wm. A. (William Augustin),

Commissary General’s Office, War Dept. 1909 H street.

1884. Dewey, Fred. P. (Frederic Perkins),

621 F street. Lanier Heights.

1884. Diller, J. S. (Joseph Silas),

Geological Survey. 1804 Sixteenth street.

1876. Doolittle, M. H. (Myrick Hascall),

Coast and Geodetic Survey. 1925 I street.

1873. Dunwoody, Maj. H. H. C. (Henry Harrison

War Department. [Chase), U. S. A.,

1872. Dutton, Maj. C. E. (Clarence Edward), U. S. A.,

San Antonio, Texas.

1890. E akins, L. G. (Lincoln Grant),

Geological Survey. 1721 G street.

1884. Earll, R. Edward (Robert Edward),

National Museum. 1441 Chapin street.

1871. Eastman, Prof. J. R. (John Robie), U. S. N.,

Naval Observatory. 1905 N street.

1888. Edes, Dr. R. T. (Robert Thaxter),

Adams Nervine Asylum, Jamaica Plain, Massachusetts.

1884. Eimbeck, William,

Coast and Geodetic Survey. 1014 Fourteenth street.
1887. Eldridge, G. H. (George Homans),

Geological Survey. The Shoreham.

1871. Eldridge, Dr. Stuart,

Yokohama, Japan.

1883. Emmons, S. F. (Samuel Franklin),

Geological Survey. 1725 H street.

1873. Endlich, Dr. F. M. (Frederic Miller),

Ouray, Colorado.

1874. Ewing, Gen. Hugh,

“ Idleside,” Lancaster, Ohio.

XXII

PHILOSOPHICAL SOCIETY OF WASHINGTON.

1876. Farquhar, Edward,

Patent Office Library.

1881. Farquhar, Henry,

Coast and Geodetic Survey.

1889. Fassig, 0. L. (Oliver Lanard),
Weather Bureau.

2008 F street.
Brookland, D. C.
1424 Eleventh street.

1887. Fernow, B. E. (Bernhard Eduard),
Department of Agriculture.

1890. Fischer, E. G. (Ernst George),

Coast and Geodetic Survey.

1873. Fletcher, Dr. Robert,

Army Medical Museum.

1843 R street.
436 N. Y. avenue.
The Portland.

1882. Flint, A. S. (Albert Stowell),

Washburn Observatory, Madison, Wisconsin.

1881. Flint, Dr. J. M. (James Milton), U. S. N.,

Navy Department. U. S. S. Miantonomah.

1873. Fristoe, Prof. E. T. (Edward T.),

Columbian University. 1109 Thirteenth street.

1875. Gallaudet, Pres. E. M. (Edward Miner),

Deaf Mute College, Kendall Green.

1874. Gannett, Henry,

Geological Survey. 1881 Harewood avenue.

1891. Gihon, Dr. Albert L. (Albert Leary), U. S. N.,

United States Naval Hospital, Brooklyn, New York.

1873. Gilbert, G. K. (Grove Karl),

Geological Survey. 1424 Corcoran street.

1879. Godding, Dr. W. W. (William Whitney),

Government Hospital for the Insane.

1885. Gooch, Prof. F. A. (Frank Austin),

Yale College, New Haven, Connecticut.

1874. Goode, Dr. G. Brown (George Brown),

Smithsonian Institution. Lanier Heights.

1875. Goodfellow, Edward,

Coast and Geodetic Survey. 7 Dupont Circle.

1886. Gordon, Prof. J. C. (Joseph Claybaugh),

Deaf Mute College, Kendall Green.

1880. Gore, Prof. J. Howard (James Howard),

Columbian University. 1517 Kingman place.

LIST OF MEMBERS.

XXIII

1878. Graves, W. H. (Walter Hayden),

Bureau of Indian Affairs.

1880. Greely, Gen. A. W. (Adolphus Washington), U. S. A.,

1415 G street. 1914 G street.

1879. Green, Bernard R. (Bernard Richardson;,

Building for Library of Congress. 1738 N street.

1875. Green, Comdr. F. M. (Francis Mathews), U. S. N.,

Navy Department.

1871. Greene, Prof. B. F. (Benjamin Franklin), U. S. N.,

West Lebanon, New Hampshire.

1875. Greene, Francis Vinton,

No. 1, Broadway, New York, N. Y.

1884. Gregory, Dr. John M. (John Milton),

Corner New Hampshire and Oregon avenues.

1879. Gunnell, Dr. F. M. (Francis M.), U. S. N.,

600 20th street.

1889. Hagen, Rev. J. G. (John George),

Georgetown College.

1879. Hains, Lt. Col. P. C. (Peter Conover), U. S. A.,

Portland, Maine.

1871. Hall, Prof. Asaph, U. S. N.,

Naval Observatory. 2715 N street.

1884. Hall, Asaph, Jr.,

Naval Observatory. 2715 N street.

1885. Hallock, Dr. William,

Smithsonian Institution. 1423 Florida avenue.

1871. Harkness, Prof. William, U. S. N.,

Naval Observatory. Cosmos Club, 1520 IL street.
1891. Harrington, Prof. Mark W. (Mark Walrod),

Weather Bureau.

1890. Harris, A. W. (Abram Winegardner),

Department of Agriculture. Brookland, D. C.

1891. Harris, R. A. (Rollin Arthur),

Coast and Geodetic Survey. 1740 R street.

1880. Hassler, Dr. F. A. (Ferdinand Augustus),

Santa Ana, Orange County, California.

1886. Hayden, Everett, U. S. N.,

Hydrographic Office. 1802 Sixteenth street.

XXIV

PHILOSOPHICAL SOCIETY OF WASHINGTON.

1888.

1889.

1882.

1874.

1879.

1886.

1886.

Hayes, Dr. C. Willard (Charles Willard),

Geological Survey. 1616 Riggs place.

Hayford, J. F. (John Fillmore),

Coast and Geodetic Survey.

Hazen, Prof. H. A. (Henry Allen),

P. O. Box 427. Weather Bureau. 1416 Corcoran street •

Hensiiaw, H. W. (Henry Wetherbee),

Bureau of Ethnology.

Hill, G. W. (George William),

Nautical Almanac Office.

Hill, Prof. R. T. (Robert Thomas),

910 Fifteenth street.

Hillebrand, Dr. W. F. (William Francis),

Geological Survey. 506 T street.

13 Iowa Circle.

314 Indiana avenue.

1884. Hitchcock, Romyn,

National Museum.

1885. Hodgkins, Prof. H. L. (Howard Lincoln),

Columbian University. 1830 T street.

1873. Holden, Prof. E. S. (Edward Singleton),

Lick Observatory, Mt. Hamilton, California.

1890. Hollerith, Herman,

501 F street.

1887. Holmes, Jesse H. (Jesse Herman),

1811 I street.

1879. Holmes, W. H. (William Henry),

Bureau of Ethnology.

1888. Howard, L. O. (Leland Ossian),

Department of Agriculture.

1874. Howell, Edwin E. (Edwin Eugene),

612 Seventeenth street. 1812 K street.

1885. Iddings, Joseph P. (Joseph Paxson),

Geological Survey. 730 Seventeenth street.

1891. James, J. N. (John Nelson),

Naval Observatory. 3035 O street.

1890. James, Joseph F. (Joseph Francis),

Department of Agriculture. 1443 Corcoran street.

1880. James, Rev. Owen,

Hatboro, Pennsylvania.

3112 Q street.
3006 P street.
1444 Stoughton street.
3023 P street.

LIST OF MEMBERS.

XXY

1871. Jenkins, Rr. Adl. T. A. (Thornton Alexander), U. S. N.,
2115 Pennsylvania avenue.

1890. Jenney, Dr. W. P. (Walter Proctor),

Geological Survey.

1879. Johnson, Dr. Joseph Taber,

1728 K street.

1884. Johnson, Willard D. (Willard Drake),

U. S. Geological Survey, Berkeley, California.

1884. Kauffmann, S. H. (Samuel Hay),

1101 Pennsylvania avenue. 1421 Massachusetts ave.

1887. Keith, Arthur,

Geological Survey. 1707 M street.

1886. Kenaston, Prof. C. A. (Carlos Albert),

Room 4, 26 Court street, Brooklyn, New York.

1884. Kerr, Mark B. (Mark Brickell),

402 Front street, San Francisco, California.

1880. Kilbourne, Capt. C. E. (Charles Evans), U. S. A.,

Signal Office, War Department. 1922 I street.

1875. King, Dr. A. F. A. (Albert Freeman Africanns),

1315 Massachusetts avenue.

1887. Knight, F. J. (Fred Jay),

Geological Survey.

1887. Knowlton, Prof. F. H. (Frank Hall),

National Museum.

1874. Knox, J. J. (John Jay),

19 E. 41st street, New York city.

1882. Kummell, C. H. (Charles Hugo),

Coast and Geodetic Survey.

1887. Langley, Mr. S. P. (Samuel Pierpont),

Smithsonian Institution.

1884. Lawrence, William,

Bellefontaine, Ohio.

1874. Lee, Dr. William,

2111 Pennsylvania avenue.

1871. Lincoln, Dr. N. S. (Nathan Smith),

1514 H street.

1890. Lindgren, Waldemar,

Geological Survey. 809 Thirteenth street.

IV— Bull. Phil. Soc., Wash., Vol. 11.

744 8th street.
Laurel, Maryland.

608 Q street.
Metropolitan Club.

1821 I street.

XXVI

PHILOSOPHICAL SOCIETY OF WASHINGTON.

1889. Littlehales, G. W. (George Washington),

Hydrographic Office. 928 Twenty-third street.

1880. Loomis, E. J. (Eben Jenks),

Nautical Almanac Office. 1443 Stoughton street.

1886. McAdie, A. G. (Alexander George),

Clark University, Worcester, Massachusetts.

1891. McCammon, Gen. Jos. K. (Joseph Kay),

1420 F street. 1324 Nineteenth street.

1886. McDonald, Col. M. (Marshall),

U. S. Fish Commission. 1514 R street.

1883. McGee, W J,

Geological Survey. 2410 Fourteenth street.

1879. McGuire, F. B. (Frederick Bauders),

1419 G street. 1333 Connecticut avenue.

1876. McMurtrie, Prof. William,

106 Wall street, New York, N. Y.

1884. Maher, James A. (James Arran),

Lock Box 35, Johnson City, Tennessee.

1875. Mallery, Col. Garrick, U. S. A.,

Bureau of Ethnology. 1323 N street.

1885. Mann, B : Pickman (Benjamin Pickman),

Patent Office. 1918 Sunderland place.

1886. Martin, Artemas,

Coast and Geodetic Survey. 55 C street SE.

1885. Marvin, Prof. C. F. (Charles Frederick),

Weather Bureau. 1736 Thirteenth street.

1878. Marvin, J. B. (Joseph Badger),

Patent Office. 1735 De Sales street.

1884. Matthews, Dr. Washington, U. S. A.,

Fort Wingate, New Mexico.

1885. Mendenhall, Prof. T. C. (Thomas Corwin),

Coast and Geodetic Survey. 8 B street NE.

1886. Merriam, Dr. C. Hart (Clinton Hart),

Department of Agriculture. 1919 Sixteenth street.

1884. Merrill, George P. (George Perkins),

National Museum. 1455 Florida avenue.

1889. Mindeleff, Cosmos,

Bureau of Ethnology.

LIST OF MEMBERS.

XXVII

1889. Mindeleff, Victor,

Ohio Bank Bldg., 12th and G sts. 1421 Florida ave.

1886. Mitchell, Prof. Henry,

18 Hawthorne Street, Roxbury, Massachusetts.

1891. Morton, Geo. L. (George L - ),

Patent Office. 1310 Q street.

1885. Moser, Lieut. J. F. (Jefferson Franklin), U. S. N.,

Navy Department.

1884. Murdoch, John,

Smithsonian Institution. 1429 Stoughton street.

1881. Mussey, Gen. R. D. (Reuben Delavan),

470 Louisiana avenue. 2145 K street.

1871. Newcomb, Prof. Simon, U. S. N.,

Navy Department. 1620 P street.

1871. Nicholson, W. L. (Walter Lamb),

1114 M street.

1879. Nordiioff, Charles,

Coronado, San Diego County, California.

1884. Norris, Dr. Basil, U. S. A.,

Occidental Hotel, San Francisco, California.

1885. Nott, Judge Charles C. (Charles Cooper),

Court of Claims. 826 Connecticut avenue.

1884. Ogden, H. G. (Herbert Gouverneur),

Coast and Geodetic Survey. The Woodmont, Iowa Circle.
1878. Osborne, J. W. (John Walter),

216 Delaware avenue NE.

1871. Parke, Gen. John G. (John Grubb), U. S. A.,

16 Lafayette square.

1877. Paul, H. M. (Henry Martyn),

Naval Observatory. 2006 F street.

1874. Peale, Dr. A. C. (Albert Charles),

Geological Survey. 1446 Stoughton street.

1873. Poe, Gen. O. M. (Orlando Metcalfe), U. S. A.,

34 West Congress street, Detroit, Michigan.

1890. Pohle, Dr. Joseph,

Catholic University of America, Brookland, D. C.
1884. Poindexter, W. M. (William Mundy),

1505 Pennsylvania avenue. 1634 Connecticut avenue.

XXVIII PHILOSOPHICAL SOCIETY OF WASHINGTON.

1882. Pope, Dr. B. P. (Benjamin Franklin), U. S. A.,

Whipple Barracks, Arizona Territory.

1874. Powell, Maj. J. W. (John Wesley),

Geological Survey. 910 M street.

1880. Prentiss, Dr. D. W. (Daniel Webster),

1101 Fourteenth street.

1888. Preston, E. D. (Erasmus Darwin),

Coast and Geodetic Survey.

1879. Pritchett, Prof. H. S. (Henry Smith).

Observatory, Washington University, St. Louis, Mo.
1882. Rathbun, Richard,

U. S. Fish Commission. 1622 Massachusetts avenue.

1884. Ray, Capt. P. H. (Patrick Henry), U. S. A.,

1822 Chicago street, Omaha, Nebraska.

1888. Renshawe, Jno. H. (John Henry),

Geological Survey.

1884. Ricksecker, Eugene,

P. 0. Box 289, Seattle, Washington.

1878. Riley, Prof. C. Y. (Charles Valentine),

Department of Agriculture. Sunbury, Wyoming ave.

1879. Ritter, W. F. McK. (William Francis McKnight),

P. 0. Box 450, Milton, Pennsylvania.

1884. Robinson, Thomas,

U. S. E. Office, Montgomery, Alabama. Vienna, Va.

1872. Rogers, Joseph A. (Joseph Addison),

Naval Observatory.

1882. Russell, Israel C. (Israel Cook),

Geological Survey. 1616 Riggs place.

1883. Russell, Thomas,

Weather Bureau. 1149 Twenty -first street.

1883. Salmon, Dr. D. E. (Daniel Elmer),

Department of Agriculture. 1716 Thirteenth street.

1883. Sampson, Capt. W. T. (William Thomas), U. S. N.,

Navy Department.

1871. Saville, J. H. (James Hamilton),

1419 F street. 825 Vermont avenue.

1871. Schott, C. A. (Charles Anthony),

Coast and Geodetic Survey. 212 First street SE.

LIST OF MEMBERS.

XXIX

1890. Searle, Rey. G. M. (George Mary),

Catholic University of America, Brookland, D. C.

1875. Shellabarger, Hon. Samuel,

Kellogg Building. 812 Seventeenth street.

1874. Sherman, Hon. John,

U. S. Senate. 1319 K street.

1881. Shufeldt, Dr. R. W. (Robert Wilson),

Smithsonian Institution. Takoma Park, D. C.

1879. Sigsbee, Comdr. C. D. (Charles Dwight), U. S. N.,

Naval Academy, Annapolis, Md.

1883. Skinner, Dr. J. 0. (John Oscar), U. S. A.,

Surgeon General’s Office.

1882, Smiley, Chas. W. (Charles Wesley),

P. 0. Box 630. 943 Massachusetts avenue.

1891. Smillie, Thos. W. (Thomas William),

National Museum. 618 G street SW.

1876. Smith, Chf. Eng. David, U. S. N.,

Navy Department. 1714 Connecticut avenue.

1880. Smith, Edwin,

Coast and Geodetic Survey. Rockville, Maryland.

1887. Smyth, H. L. (Henry Lloyd),

22 Brinley street, Newport, Rhode Island.

1886. Snell, Merwin-Marie (Merwin-Marie Fitzporter),

Catholic University of America, Brookland, D. C.

1872. Spofford, A. R. (Ainsworth Rand),

Library of Congress. 1621 Massachusetts avenue.

1890. Stanley-Brown, Joseph,

Geological Survey. 1318 Massachusetts avenue.

1884. Stearns, R. E. C. (Robert Edwards Carter),

Geological Survey. 1312 12th street.

1891. Stokes, Dr. H. N. (Henry Newlin),

Geological Survey. 2416 Fourteenth street.

1874. Stone, Prof. Ormond,

Leander McCormick Observatory, University of Va.

1881. Taylor, F. W. (Frederick William),

Care Smithsonian Institution.

1871. Taylor, Wm. B. (William Bower),

Smithsonian Institution. 306 C street.

XXX

PHILOSOPHICAL SOCIETY OF WASHINGTON.

1875. Thompson, Prof. A. H. (Almon Harris),

Geological Survey. 1729 Twelfth street.

1884. Thompson, Gilbert,

Geological Survey. 1763 P street.

1888. Tittmann, 0. H. (Otto Hilgard),

Coast and Geodetic Survey. 1019 Twentieth street.
1878. Todd, Prof. David P. (David Peck),

Amherst College Observatory, Amherst, Massachusetts.
1873. Toner, Dr. J. M. (Joseph Meredith),

615 Louisiana avenue.

1886. Trenholm, Wm. L. (William Lee),

160 Broadway, New York, N. Y.

1890. True, Dr. A. C. (Alfred Charles),

Department of Agriculture. 1604 Seventeenth street.
1882. True, Frederick W. (Frederick William),

National Museum. 1101 14th street.

1890. Turner, H. W. (Henry Ward),

Geological Survey. 1808 H street.

1882. Upton, Wm. W. (William Wirt),

Atlantic Building, 930 F street. 1746 M street.

1880. Upton, Prof. Winslow,

Brown University, Providence, Rhode Island.

1890. Van Hise, Prof. C. R. (Charles Richard),

U. S. Geological Survey, Madison, Wisconsin.

1883. Walcott, C. D. (Charles Doolittle),

National Museum. 1746 Q street.

1881. Waldo, Dr. Frank,

95 Mercer street, Princeton, New Jersey.

1872. Walker, Gen. F. A. (Francis Amasa),

Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Boston, Mass.

1876. Ward, Lester F. (Lester Frank),

National Museum. 1464 Rhode Island avenue.

1888. Warder, Prof. Robt. B. (Robert Bowne),

Howard University.

1889. Watkins, J. E. (John Elfreth),

Smithsonian Institution. 1801 Thirteenth street.

1882. Webster, Albert L. (Albert Lowry),

107 Drexel Building, corner Wall and Broad sts., N. Y.

LIST OF MEMBERS.

XXXI

1885. Weed, W. H. (Walter Harvey),

Geological Survey. 825 V ermont avenue.

1882. Welling, Dr. James C. (James Clarke),

Columbian University. 1302 Connecticut avenue.

1876. White, Dr. C. A. (Charles Abiathar),

National Museum. 312 Maple avenue, Le Droit Park.

1884. White, Dr. C. H. (Charles Henry), U. S. N.,

Navy Department.

1887. Whiting, H. L. (Henry Laurens),

Coast and Geodetic Survey.

1885. Willis, Bailey,

Geological Survey. 1006 Twenty-second street.

1887. Wilson, Dr. H. C. (Herbert Couper),

Carleton College Observatory, Northfield, Minnesota.
1880. Winlock, W. C. (William Crawford),

Smithsonian Institution. 2005 0 street.

1891. Winston, Isaac,

Coast and Geodetic Survey. 1325 Corcoran street.
1875. Wood, Joseph,

1003 Pennsylvania avenue, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
1871. Wood, Lt. W. M. (William Maxwell), U. S. N.,

89 State street, Boston, Massachusetts.

1883. Woodward, R. S. (Robert Simpson),

Coast and Geodetic Survey. 1804 Columbia road.
1885. Wright, Geo. M. (George Mitchell),

Akron, Ohio.

1887. Wurdemann, Dr. H. V. (Harry Vanderbilt),

805 Grand avenue, Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

1874. Yarrow, Dr. H. C. (Harry Crecy),

814 Seventeenth street.

1884. Yeates, W. S. (William Smith),

National Museum. 805 Eleventh street,

1885. Ziwet, Alexander,

University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan.

PHILOSOPHY AND SPECIALTIES

BY

GARRICK MALLERY

THE ANNUAL PRESIDENTIAL ADDRESS

DELIVERED

DECEMBER 8, 1888

PRINTED BY

JUDD & DETWEILER,

WASHINGTON, D. C.

PHILOSOPHY AND SPECIALTIES.

BY

Garrick Mallery.

ADDRESS AS RETIRING PRESIDENT.

Delivered December 8, 1888.

The time is past when one knight-errant could overcome
every antagonist at a tournament of all arms. This was
done in intellectual panoply when the chief seats of learning
could be successfully challenged to a dispute on any subject
and all subjects, or as the pretension was derisively para¬
phrased, de omnibus rebus et quibusdam aliis.” It was
actually done so late as the last quarter of the sixteenth
century, when a locally unknown youth posted a notice on
the gates of the University of Paris requesting “ all learned
persons to meet him in public disputation, when he would
be ready to answer to what should be propounded to him
concerning any science, liberal art, discipline, or faculty,
practical or theoretical.” After a disputation of nine hours
with the most eminent doctors, the foreign stripling was by
sound of trumpet declared victor, and presented with prizes
of diamonds and gold by the Rector of the great Sorbonne
which resounded with wild cheers from the students of the
Nations. More graceful applause by jewelled nobles of the
third Henry’s splendid court followed, and the bright glances
of Beauty’s flying squadron, commanded by the Medicean
Queen-Mother, were doubtless more esteemed by the cadet of
Scotland than all his other tributes.

In the days of the Admirable Crichton it was possible for
one mind to acquire and hold the total of existing knowl-

BulJ, Phil. Soc., Wash., Vol. XI, 1889.

4

MALLERY.

edge, and this was because science had not yet risen above
the misty horizon. The two most prominent schools de¬
pending severally upon revelation and intuition had not yet
been supplanted by the new school founded on observation.

Revelation means the withdrawal of a veil that conceals
the truth, and that withdrawal was once supposed to be
possible only by the graciousness of divinity, not by man’s
endeavor, which was impious. The very quality of such
revelation prohibited discussion upon itself even as an ex¬
planation of phenomena. It permitted discussion and reason¬
ing from itself — that is, from its own dogmas — only within the
usual bounds of orthodoxy, namely, those which were decided
and maintained by the physically, not mentally, strongest
battalions. Throughout all the ages, records of which exist,
it was fiercely proclaimed in every language, over all known
lands and seas, that blind belief was the noblest of human
virtues and reason was the most potent of Satan’s tempta¬
tions. Science, on the other hand, demands that the veil
hiding truth must be withdrawn by man. One of our
favorite living poets has been lauded for his determination
of the subject in the beautiful lines : —

Science was Faith once ; Faith were Science now,

Would she but lay her bow and arrows by

And arm her with the weapons of the time.

But this touching plaint is utterly false as a proposition of
fact — or, with greater courtesy to Mr. Lowell — it is founded
in illusion. The essence and attitude of science, ever since
its genesis, have been opposed to the essence and attitude of
religious faith and that antagonism must continue. St. Paul
pronounced a grand definition of faith that has been a text
for eighteen centuries. Last year a sarcastic definition was
circulated that “ Faith is belief in what you know is not
true.” Whether the reverent or the cynical definition be
adopted, the intrinsic antagonism between faith, however it
may be modified, and science, to whatever degree it may be
perfected, can never be annulled, not even by their coin¬
cidence in all averments, except that one on which agreement

PHILOSOPHY AND SPECIALTIES.

5

is impossible — that one which requires ascertained fact to
be the basis for any averment. The simple expression of
historic truth on the subject is — all that once claimed to be
science was mythology. An unconscious admission of its
atavistic recurrence in its grand division of daimonology
may be noticed in the recent adoption of the term theosophy
by the votaries of that sciolism. A similar recurrence, per¬
haps to be classed as a recrudescence, is to be observed in the
recent use of the term “ Christian Science ” with a thera¬
peutic sense.

An opposite scholastic system, which dominated its era,
was based on the tenet that intuitions should decide on the
nature of things and their perfect and creative type, which
was to be ascertained, not from observed data, but from
man’s own ideals. Since the examination of a sound mind
in a sound body was difficult, the greatest teacher was he
who had most enormously tumefied what now in Teutonic
fashion is called “ inner-consciousness ” and could exhibit
its morbidity with the most pretentious diagnosis. Subject
to this leadership in introspection every man was his own
universe. Though specimens of such fossil concepts are still
preserved in strongly bound folios they are curiosities not
found in the working libraries of science.

The first-mentioned school sought to understand this world
by hypnotic communion with another world; the second
taught that the best way for an observer to see was to shut
his eyes and think about sight.

When, therefore, no attention was paid to facts as such,
and all knowledge was either a commentary on revelation
or a ratiocination on self, it was not extremely difficult to
know everything. To-day the pretender to universal knowl¬
edge would be denounced as knowing naught. This judg¬
ment is carried to an extreme. Even the exceptional minds
whose multiplied facets scintillate brightness in diverse
angles, are denied glory as light-bringers on every line
successively by higher authorities on each of the lines of
light.

6

MALLERY.

And this must needs be so. Besides the search for, find¬
ing, and sifting particles of truth, the precious grains must
be retorted and analyzed with such care that no one human
life will suffice to explore more than a small field. Phe¬
nomena are infinite and science must deal with all as ob¬
served. In the derivation and formulation of its induced
laws no compromise is possible as in politics or in ethics.

Science is limitless, knowing no bonds of time or space.
But this infinite is composed of the infinitesimal — atoms,
molecules, protoplasms, or whatever name may be invented
to console our ignorance — and it is by the study of these
n^nutise that science exists. So this is the era of specialties.
Every freshly discovered fact has not merely its own signifi¬
cance, but by its relations to other facts may solve problems
yet most obscure. The original investigator must be not
only a specialist, but must be a specialist working in some
subdivision of a specialty.

This restriction with differentiation is not confined to
original research, but extends to works of compilation and
examination within each one of all the specialties. The
physical geologist must apply for help to the paleontologist,
to the lithologist, the chemist, and to many other specialists.
So, in addition to the specialization of the natural sciences,
the scientific professions are methodically resolved. In law,
besides the boundaries between the nisi prius advocate and
the jurist and between civil and criminal practice, there are
recognized monopolizers of common law, equity, realty, com¬
merce, admiralty, and many other aisles and corridors in
the temple of Themis, among which the circulation is in no
sense free. So also, after the demarcation between medicine
and surgery, there are specialists for age and sex, for brain,
eye, ear, throat, lungs, stomach, liver, nerves, skin — in short,
for each organ and region of the body. Nor is this mere
charlatanry. The whole profession is improved and many
human ills are relieved by this division of labor. Similar
specialization is found in art. The painter of a good portrait
is supposed to be unable to produce a good landscape, and

PHILOSOPHY AND SPECIALTIES. 7

vice versa. Though this supposition may be erroneous, its
practical effect is so strong that every artist must adopt and
adhere to a certain line of production.

But there is no need of examples from without to show
the progress of specialization. Nine years ago the Philo¬
sophical Society was the only scientific society in Washing¬
ton, and it embraced all branches of science. Now we are in
the midst of a centrifugal storm — an anticyclone, or perhaps
a volcanic eruption of societies. To be still more generous
in giving choice of metaphors, it seems that each season
brings forth a new organism from the parent stem, until
danger is apprehended that fissiparous growths may cumber
the field to the common injury.

A severe critic might carp at the definition by some of the
younger societies of their aims and scope as not being ex¬
plicitly in the line of specialization. He might suggest that
their several preempted claims were too broad, hut might
explain that tendency by the Washington endemic, the char¬
acteristic symptom of which is that every department and
bureau of the National Government considers every other
department and bureau to be properly its subordinate. It
is not easy for an anthropologic and a biologic society to
set forth their respective claims without mutually overlap¬
ping each other’s territory, and some debatable ground or
free zone must be allowed between them ; hut the youngest
of the societies, the Geographic, like some other young organ¬
isms, seems to be rapacious. It divides its functions into
“ Geography of the Land,” “ of the Air,” “ of the Sea,” and
“ of Life.” In this grasp would surely be included all geol¬
ogy, biology, and meteorology, and perhaps astronomy, his¬
tory, biography, and sociology — in fact, all topics relating
to this world, down to tariff for revenue or protection and
the fisheries imbroglio. Yet this comprehension is not with¬
out defense, since proper commercial relations and prosperous
food-supplies act markedly upon the changes and activities
of populations that modify the earth’s surface. The German
term for this branch of science is anthrop-geography, and

8

MALLERY.

perhaps it may more properly belong to a society entitled
Anthropological than to one entitled Geographical. Can¬
dor, however, requires the admission that the several socie¬
ties referred to, notwithstanding their redundant constitu¬
tions, all work on distinct and genuine lines.

It would ill become me personally to speak disparagingly
of these offshoots of the Philosophical stem, being one of the
three persons who founded the Anthropological, the first of
these societies which took independent form, and being also
naturally attracted to it as the specialty most closely con¬
nected with my own field of work. Yet the motive of my
action was “Not that I loved Csesar less” nor “that I loved
Pome more.” To pass from one to another of Shakspere’s
plays and from the Tiber to the Adriatic, if I shall ever be
forced, like Desdemona, to “ perceive here a divided duty,” I
shall at least refuse to elope from home, seduced by travel¬
ers’ tales about —

The Anthropophagi and men whose heads

Do grow beneath their shoulders.

That there was necessity as well as propriety in securing
greater facilities to the special students of Washington than
was afforded by the Society which had been entirely ade¬
quate to meet the earlier conditions, is demonstrated by the
fact that at least four other organizations (apart from the
still more specialized societies, such as the Microscopic and
the Entomologic) are now in active operation, each hold¬
ing about the same number of meetings and presenting
to good audiences papers not less in number than were
and still are recorded of the Philosophical Society. The
combined active membership of the five societies is five
hundred and fifty, no name being counted more than once,
though often appearing on several lists. The names on the
consolidated list show that they are there not for honor¬
ary or financial considerations, but from genuine interest. A
goodly proportion of the members are frequent attendants at
the meetings, and the two customary hours of the sessions
for one hundred meetings, being about the total of all the

PHILOSOPHY AND SPECIALTIES.

9

meetings of all the societies during each season, are so en¬
tirely occupied by the reading and discussion of original
papers that no moment is left for social intercourse, that
being provided for by the Cosmos Club, to which the work¬
ing members of the several societies belong. This exhibit
shows an amount of activity in Washington among learned
societies without parallel in any other city in the world,
notwithstanding the great superiority in population of most
of the cities in which such societies flourish.

As this remarkable action of divergence and differentiation
has proceeded according to natural methods, without seces¬
sion, quarrel, or catastrophe, it may seem at first sight to
have been wholly beneficial, but it has some results requir¬
ing consideration.

Certain practical disadvantages attending differentiation
appeal with special force only to the active officers of the
several bodies, who pay in full, if not dearly, for their hon¬
ors. The members generally have an impression that the
whole of the work done consists in attendance at the meet¬
ings, speaking as occasion arises, and listening — the latter
being, when the wrong specialty has the floor, not always the
easiest task. But there is much more besides. The prepa¬
ration, arrangement, publication, and, in general, the busi¬
ness management, without which the meetings would not
succeed or continue, constitute a heavy tax on time and
strength. The problem is to minimize this incidental work
and its attending expense, which certainly is not accom¬
plished by multiplication and complexity of machinery.

The force of inevitable sentiment must be recognized. If
all the residents in Washington who are interested in science
should belong to one great and powerful body, each could
hold it in pride and affection, but the glory and strength
shown in that concentration cannot, when in fragments, call
forth such enthusiasm or attachment. Indeed, baneful com¬
petition by individuals or cliques may be apprehended from
the conditions to be expected, if not already existing, and
weakness follows disintegration.

10

MALBERY.

But the course of thought most fitting for an occasion
like this is not in the line of details of economy, of sentiment,
or of local conditions. It should be broad and comprehensive
and be applicable not only to Washington but to New York,
to London, to Paris — in short, to any place and to all places
in wdiich associations are formed by scientific workers for
their common benefit.

A not unimportant though minor objection to the exclu¬
sive segregation of specialties is the tendency to exaggerate
what is nearest, or is most obvious. A body of isolated
•specialists is in danger of becoming a mutual admiration
society with all the attending faults positive and negative.
No man is a competent critic of his own profile or voice, and
no specialty can judge correctly upon its own features or
enunciations, yet will tend to dogmatism on the very points
on which its judgment is most fallible. The mere specialist
never thoroughly understands his own specialty because,
confined within its colored compartment, he cannot examine
it from the outside through the white light of generality.
While every scientist must work on a specialty he should
not imprison himself within it as in a barred cell.

However essential division of labor and specialization, the
work of which is by analysis, may be, they are, nevertheless,
only means to the ultimate aim of generalization and in¬
tegration, which constitute wisdom, and their construction
is by synthesis.

Within the most circumscribed of specialties there must
always be an attempt to reach law through details. The so¬
lution of a problem without application of it is like playing a
game of solitaire in which time and skill give no substantial
result. Mathematics, apart from their gymnastic training,
would be useless if their integrals should remain meaning¬
less. Each asserted fact must be tested by varied experiment
which often results in failure to establish the assertion. The
truth of to-day has sometimes been the paradox of yesterday
and may become the falsehood of to-morrow. Admitted facts
must be compared with all other facts related to them. Con-

PHILOSOPHY AND SPECIALTIES.

11

futation must be challenged. Without this process science
would be a jumble of inconsistent opinions. While such
testing and comparative discussion should exercise its func¬
tions in each specialized society it is yet more important that
the results as appearing to its members should be carefully
examined with the greatest freedom by specialists in other
lines, and this examination is not only for further verification
and comparison but to extend the area of acquired science.
Practically science is only the existing condition of human
knowledge, which of necessity is incomplete, though its form,
to be science, should not be a broken surface, but a series of
steps by which greater heights are gained. For these reasons
all specialties should be tried before a court of general juris¬
diction — an Amphictyonic Council. After delay, doubt¬
less, the press brings forth scattered judgments of such a uni¬
versal tribunal ; but a hand-to-hand contest is more active
and decisive than a protracted war conducted by the dis¬
charge of heavy books at long range or by the skirmishing
shots of pamphleteers. If scientific association is to do the
most good some time and place for trial by battle should be
provided, which cannot be done in any or in all of the spe¬
cialized societies working separately.

The propriety of scientific contest on a common plane is
readily illustrated by the yet undetermined controversy be¬
tween geologists and physicists respecting the age of our
earth. As neither side can yet speak without contradiction
by the other, neither should speak unless in the hearing of
the other with expectation of response. A more popular
illustration is in the historic fight between ordnance and
engineers — that is, scientific attack by artillery or its equiva¬
lent and material defense by fortifications or similar protec¬
tion. In no systematized war department can either the
officer of ordnance or of engineers be confided in except
when, after experiment satisfactory to his own corps, his
demonstration shall overcome the corps of his complement¬
ary antagonist.

Thus by the interrelation and counteraction of specialties

12

MALLERY.

there is mutual correction, ascertainment of truth, and pro¬
mulgation of law.

The scientific organization most widely known in the
United States is the American Association for the Advance¬
ment of Science, its prototype being the British Association
of corresponding title. It is questionable whether that title
is descriptive. The migratory meetings of the Society are
certainly of educational value, diffusing information about
science and exciting interest in it, but perhaps its constitu¬
tion, well adapted to the real aims, cannot directly advance
science considered as a generality. Its constitution origin¬
ally provided for sections, which have been multiplied from
time to time and have gained increased influence upon the
central governing body. But there is no provision for the
presentation of scientific papers to and their discussion by
the general session. The President’s annual address does
not fulfill that object. He is probably a specialist, and gen¬
erally adopts the convenient expedient of working off for the
occasion some of his unpublished notes. It is a matter of
taste and judgment whether this mode, which in a series of
years gives a variety of good specialistic addresses, is more
commendable than to present a discourse that aims to be
philosophic, leaving specialties to the sections and to the sev¬
eral Vice-Presidents having them in charge. It might well
be the ambition of the President to deliver an address which
could not bear the blazon of any specialty which he might
possess or which might possess him. But, apart from taste,
a good reason for his avoiding such specialty is that his paper
is not open to discussion and, so far as concerns the Asso¬
ciation, might as well have first appeared in the periodicals
devoted to science. The other addresses delivered in gen¬
eral meeting are almost always show-pieces professedly pop¬
ular and given to please the local subscribers to the expenses.
As regards interrelation, the meetings of the sections might
as well be a thousand miles apart as in the same building.

The Congress of American Physicians and Surgeons re¬
cently instituted recognized the disadvantage of leaving

PHILOSOPHY AND SPECIALTIES.

13

without interconnection the specialties which had grown
by natural selection, and inaugurated the excellent plan of
reading and discussing papers of general importance in gen¬
eral meeting. This new departure is in the true scientific
method.

Ten years ago the general committee of this Society was
urged to establish sections in recognition of the specialties
growing up within its membership as they were growing
up throughout the scientific world. While I refrain from
comment upon the controversies on this subject which still
continue, it is the historic fact that the request was denied
at the golden moment of projection, and in the Standing-
Rules of 1881 the judicious amendment for the first time
appears that “ Sections representing special branches of
science may be formed by the general committee upon the
written recommendation of twenty members of the Society.”
But this was too late for the exceptional advantage of stim¬
ulating the several specialties while preserving autonomy,
economy, and concentration. The Anthropological Society
had been established February 17, 1879, and the Biological
Society December 3, 1880. The children had become too
large and too many for the one room provided by their
mother and had started independent housekeeping. It may
be more respectful to compare them with the colonies from
Athens which sailed off to found the cities of Magna Grecia.
If that comparison be adopted, the storied ruin of the Violet
Crown may teach a lesson that the pure Attic stock in the
polity of science can only be preserved by a system of feder¬
ation.

What might have been accomplished on a large scale by
prompt action is shown by what actually was done in a
single instance. The Mathematical Section of the Philo¬
sophical Society was instituted March 29, 1883, in accord¬
ance with the amendment before mentioned.

The older members of the Society will appreciate the ad¬
vantages attained by the establishment of its Mathematical
Section. The formulae and demonstrations of its mathema-

14

MALLERY.

ticians had occupied every year many hours of the several
sessions to the half-concealed ennui of an audience a large
proportion of which could not appreciate their value or
novelty. Some, indeed, could not comprehend the language
used and might have repeated Scaliger’s exclamation on
hearing the Basques conversing in their vernacular : “ They
pretend to understand one another, but I don’t believe a word
of it.” It would scarcely be far fetched to liken the attitude
of the members generally in those weary hours to guests at
an entertainment where they were treated to extremely acid
wine, labeled in a long array of gothic gutturals, which they
must pretend to relish — both the sour wine and the gut¬
turals — as a proof of high education. On the other hand,
the mathematicians recognized this want of true touch and
appreciation and mangled their essays accordingly.

Now they are secluded to worship esoterically “the hard-
grained muses of the cube and square,” and rejoice in their
independence. When, presiding during the last year, I have
regularly announced the forthcoming meetings of the Mathe¬
matical Section to my brethren, I may have internally re¬
marked: “ Whither thou goest I certainly will not go.” Yet
I have not failed to notice that the members of the Mathe¬
matical Section are among the best, members of the Society,
and that some of the most valuable papers presented to the
general sessions are mathematical in form and in many de¬
tails, though as now presented they are of general, and not
of merely special, interest. This fact shows clearly what is
the proper relation between generalization and specialization
in a scientific society.

At this time, with all the loss of papers given to the four
new societies, there still remain active in the Philosophical
Society many specialists, notably in the fields of geology,
astronomy, meteorology, and general physics, who contribute
their papers to it exclusively. There are also many mem¬
bers of the special societies who furnish papers that from
their subjects might well be and are claimed by the junior
rivals, but which from reasons of attachment or judgment

PHILOSOPHY AND SPECIALTIES.

15

are presented to the Alma Mater ; and their leading members,
though they do not visit special societies other than their
own, regularly attend the meetings of this Society, by which
a true representative audience is preserved. The general
result has been that the Philosophical Society’s sessions
during the last year have been as agreeable, as useful, as
varied, and as well attended as ever before.

There is a good reason for this which, with its probable
consequences, merits careful consideration.

In entering upon this topic it is proper to dwell somewhat
more upon the term Philosophy. It once pretended to be
pansophy, but is now humble and receptive. It was once
used, not as the practical mode of explaining phenomena,
but as the converse — not to set forth what was understood,
but what was confused and obscure, yet must be treated as
fully knowm in scorn of the maxim “ Scire ignorare magna
sciential’ Not to be certain was infidelity, which was crimi¬
nal. An honest avowal of intelligent ignorance, now styled
agnosticism, wTas not permitted. The old philosophers ab¬
horred ignorance as they said nature abhorred a vacuum,
until the vacuum was actually found, and then of course it
was welcomed to a sphere of high utility. Perhaps value
may sometime be recognized in the agnostic vacuum to
measure the heights and depths of truth’s atmosphere.
Tennyson used a questionable word “ faith,” but he had the
right thought when he wrote —

There lives more faith in honest doubt,

Believe me, than in half the creeds.

The old philosophers, with rare exceptions, while profess¬
ing to seek the truth did not do so, but asserted that they
possessed it already, and their assumed office was to teach it
to others. As before indicated, this philosophy was axiom¬
atic and often connected with theology. Its history is un¬
derstood. Man did not know, was impatient to know, and,
when too lazy or stupid to learn in accordance with his
conditions, relied upon some shaman, priest, jossakeed, or
spiritualistic medium. The track of some variety of “ confi-

16

MALLERY.

clence man ” can be traced throughout the centuries, his
scath haying been more signal when it involved life and lib¬
erty than now when his ambition is limited to a swindle
in dollars, but now his notoriety is gained by advertising in
the public press.

The respective attitudes of science and philosophy to relig¬
ion (in the popular use of that term, which includes mythol¬
ogy and theology) afford an instructive test for their contradis¬
tinction. It has been mentioned before that science and
religion were necessarily in antagonism, but the phrase, now
trite, in which the word “conflict” is prominent, is both
more forcible and more descriptive. That religion should
be aggressive is essential. Religionists believe that their doc¬
trines are of supreme importance to all their fellow-beings,
and, so believing, their paramount duty is to force those
doctrines upon all. The denunciation against the “ Scribes
and Pharisees ” was not that they would “ compass sea and
land to make one proselyte,” but that they did or did not
do some other things. Such proselytizing would only be
the aggression of philanthropy. But another reason for the
activity' of religionists may be supposed to originate in a
suspicion of insecurity, and that activity strategists would
term aggressive-defensive. Any imputation that the belief
in question was false would be a most dangerous as well as
insulting blow, and such blows should be prevented by
attack. Hence the horror and hatred associated perforce
with the respectable words sceptic and heretic and the inno¬
cent term miscreant — all converted into obloquy — while
the word blasphemy, originally but disrespect expressed to
any of the orthodoxies, has been distorted to mean the crime
of crimes.

Science, too, is aggressive, and also, in practice may be
dogmatic, though not without protest. Many of the special¬
ized sciences are in contest with each other, and within
each of them there are contending schools. As regards the
scientific professions it is only needed for an illustration to
whisper the word homeopathy. So, science and religion

PHILOSOPHY AND SPECIALTIES.

17

being professed and trained combatants, it is to be expected
that when the latter applies injurious epithets to the former
there shall be a “ conflict.” This is not the case as regards
Philosophy. There cannot be a fight without two parties to
it, and Philosophy serenely ignores both attack and defense
in this quarrel. The old conditions are reversed. Philoso¬
phy was once a part of religion ; religion is now a part of
Philosophy. Religion is recognized among the forces and
phases of human development to be respected as of possibly
greater import than any other — it might not be too much to
say than all others — by reason of its duration and influ¬
ence. As religion claims to be true, yet must acknowledge
that there are more truths than are connected with itself,
while all truths belong to Philosophy, no objection should
be made on the side of religion to its inclusion in the scope
of Philosophy. Philosophy cheerfully accepts the truths —
whether classified in terms of psychology or grouped in the
special science of comparative mythology — that exist in all
religions and it is tender to the errors found in all religions.
It can indeed employ the many oblique lines of human
error to demonstrate the directness of truth, and therefore is
not harsh to forms of error which may have served their
hour in the great economy of nature. All of the sciences and
all of the religions are severally but the specialties in the
domain of Philosophy, hence there is no more conflict
between any of them and Philosophy than there is between
the ocean and the tidal streams that empty into it with
changing though regulated ripple. Tides during ages pro¬
duce modifications in Philosophy as in the ocean, but do not
cause storms.

That true philosophers have not been excited to combat
with the religionists is from no remissness of the latter, who
have pelted them with the worst names inventable by their
ingenuity, sometimes in ludicrous confusion of terms. But
since that is no more than the religionists did to one another
such behavior would not greatly trouble a proficient in
ecclesiastical history. The Greeks and Romans gave to the

2— Bull. Phil. Soc., Wash., XI, 1889.

18

MALLERY.

early Christians the title of atheists, which seems to have
struck them so favorably as a word of revilement that they
ever after used it indiscriminately in their own polemics,
sometimes with such adjuncts as to form what the old
rhetoric called catachresis but our modern speech calls Irish
bull. Athanasius stigmatized the Arians as “polytheists
and atheists ” and Servetus called Calvin a “ trinitarian and
an atheist.” So recently as 1696 the Parliament at Edin¬
burgh passed an act against “ the atheistical opinions of the
deists,” of course without understanding either term but in
an honest attempt to blacken all teachers who did not agree
with the Scotch Solons. Archbishop Tillotson was branded
as an Arian, a Socinian, a deist, and an atheist. This was
promiscuous denunciation raised to the highest power avail¬
able in Jacobite involution. The latest and mildest accusa¬
tion against Philosophy is that it is pococurantism and the
affectation of serene olympian composure which contemplates
the great cycles of Time as the hours of a passing day. In
briefer phrase, philosophers are denounced as contemplating
and not working.

A distinction which such accusers make between those
whom they call workers and those whom they stigmatize
as theorists and doctrinaires is found in their declaration
that all the greatness of men and the effectiveness of bodies
of men have been shown in their “beliefs,” meaning religious
beliefs. It is broadly asserted that the men who have believed
in some particular religion and have acted vigorously on
their belief are the only men who have done good in the
world. That part of the proposition referring to “ good ”
will generally be affected by prejudices. To illustrate from
modern history, it is certain that the Puritans and the Jesuits
were vehemently earnest in their beliefs and that they vigor¬
ously carried out their beliefs, but as they strove against each
other it would not be likely that either should regard the
work of the other as beneficial to the world. In our day
they would join in condemning the work of the Mormons
who believe as intensely and act on their belief as strongly

PHILOSOPHY AND SPECIALTIES.

19

as any known people. Indeed the Mormons show lines of
identity with both the Puritans and the Jesuits, to the
former in bibliolatry and in bold independence, to the latter
in employing all means to gain proselytes and in business
skill, to both in theocratic militancy, but the whole un-
philosophic world denies that they do good. The work of
the Inquisition, or Holy Office, was logically correct on the
principle advocated, which would also justify the massacre
on St. Bartholomew’s eve. Most historians have united
to censure Louis XIV., who refused to commission a noble¬
man who was reported to be a Jansenist, but who, on learn¬
ing that the nobleman did not have any religion whatever,
straightway ordered him on important duty. The Grand
Monarch knew his business as a ruler of men. The Jansen-
ists were perhaps the best people among the Catholics in
his kingdom, but they did not believe as he believed and
worked on lines which were necessarily opposed to his policy
and were therefore not to be trusted to command in his
armies, but no danger was to be apprehended from an officer
who cared only for his military orders. His action in re¬
voking the edict of Nantes, thereby driving away his most
useful subjects, was in a different category. It showed that
though a ruler he was not a philosopher, and that he could
only see good in those who agreed with him.

The good accomplished by belief, in its high activity, seems,
therefore, subject to difference of opinion. It is also to be con¬
sidered whether the great and effective work, whether good
or bad in result, of men and peoples has been done by and
through such active belief. It is to be admitted that history
is chiefly marked by convulsions and cataclysms which have
been closely connected with religious beliefs and their reforms
and revolutions, and that these alone are perceived by the
unphilosophic observer. But these, together with their re¬
sulting wars, famines, and pestilences, correspond to the
storms, earthquakes, and deluges of the material world.
The secular story of our earth is, however, not mainly com¬
posed of, though it has been written in, storms and cat-

20

MALLERY.

aclysms. These storms were but incidents in the grand
economy and were factors of little moment compared with
the ages of sunshine, of dew, and of gentle rain. So, like¬
wise, the mutual contentions of religions and of the men who
believed in them and fought for them, have not directly ad¬
vanced man’s culture, but have been incident to and neces¬
sary evils attending its advance. Whatever good has been
done by the champions of belief has been done for the most
part in their own despite. The crusaders inflicted a heavy
blow on the system which they sought to perpetuate, and
the Mormons had no intent to provide a mid-continental
station to benefit the Gentiles, whom they hated and sought
to escape from by an exodus which in heroic faith rivals
that of the Children of Israel.

The evolution from savagery to civilization has brought
forth many religions, and all of them have inflamed zealots
who have represented the fevers to which humanity seems
subject. But normal and lasting growth is by health, not
by disease, by slow accretion, not by the spasmodic violence
of insanity. The disturbances which are relied upon to sup¬
port the proposition in question were not causes, but some¬
times were symptoms, and more frequently were sequences
or, in medical language, sequelse.

When the actions of an individual make obvious his pos¬
session by a belief contrary to the reason of the majority, the
latter employs one of the designating terms craze, crank,
hobby, or fad, selected in proportion to the importance of
the contrariety. When large bodies of individuals have
been similarly affected and their numbers have gained such
success as to become conspicuous, history, which is the ver¬
dict of the majority after the fact, decides that their belief
was false and their action wrong. Philosophy always should
be and often has been able to give the same decision in ad¬
vance of the recorded result.

As regards the perficient work done by Philosophy, one of
the least important of the instances in which its teachings
do present good is that they discourage the activity of those

7 -4- S' ^

PHILOSOPHY AND SPECIALTIES. 21

earnest believers in nihilism and socialism who display the
energy of their beliefs by dynamite and flame. It happens
that in those particular instances the teachings of prevalent
religions are now in the same direction with those of Philos¬
ophy, but if the numerical relation of the believers should
be reversed in any country, religions of nihilism or of com¬
munism would there be recognized as orthodox. This rule
was established by the political Protestants of the sixteenth
century and gave rise to the motto “Cujus regio ejus religio.”
Its full meaning was that every realm, through its ruler, had
the sole right to determine the form of religion that should
exist within its boundaries. With the growth of the repub¬
lican spirit and greater recognition of the rights of majorities
the rule mentioned would be made still more operative.
Philosophy does not turn upon such relations of numbers.
It is not defined by the preponderance of classes in a census
nor metamorphosed by revolutions between the fanatics in
administration and in opposition.

Theology presented forces and factors in axioms and pos¬
tulates and permitted the study of logic and mathematics be¬
cause they do not detect errors in admitted axioms and pos¬
tulates. Verities by common consent were adopted a priori,
which verities, belonging to a low stage of culture, were
universal errors not belonging to nature, and therefore only
to be explained by the extra-natural, which necessarily was
supernatural. It is worthy of remark that all the super¬
natural instructions, whether Scandinavian, Hebrew, Hindu,
Egyptian, American Indian, Grecian, or the multitude of
others, about this world’s phenomena, have been found to
be erroneous when men have learned anything about those
phenomena, as, for instance, they have learned in the realms
of geology and astronomy. By the law of chances it would
seem that among the myriad guesses the truth might once
have been hit upon, but from the beginning an “ irrepressible
conflict ” between the natural and the supernatural has been
manifest at all points.

The teachers who ignored facts found it convenient to dis¬
course in sophistic terms from the species to the genus, and

22

MALLERY.

from the particular to the general. The crudity of their con¬
ceptions was masked by the stucco of mystic and magnilo¬
quent words, which the elasticity of languages permitted,
grammatic form and euphony being the only limitations.
The success of this trick was old when Lucretius wrote —

Omnia enim stolidi magis admirantur, amantque,

Inversis quae sub verbis latitantia cernunt ;

Yeraque constituunt quae belle tangere possunt
Aures et lepido quae sunt fucata sonore.

Which may be translated in lighter vein as —

Fools love to puzzle with amaze
On thoughts involved in mystic phrase;

Their ears rejoice in words that tickle
And take for gold the jingling nickel.

This superannuated scholasticism has been generally called
metaphysical from the order of Aristotle’s works, but is more
properly antiphysical. Its combined stupidity and pretense
have to some minds inflicted a stigma upon the title Philoso¬
phy, which. it arrogated.

Modern reaction from the fetichistic worship of this mon¬
strous phantasm may have been too violent. A working
hypothesis can be obtained a priori which, properly treated,
shall not be fanciful delusion. Deduction need not be pre¬
tentious didaction. The old mischievous error was that
deduction ascertained truth. Truths are supplied to the
reservoir only by induction, but their useful flow with regu¬
lation into the best channels is by deduction.

The terms science and knowledge are perhaps convert¬
ible in usage as in etymology, but neither of them is syno-
nomic with Philosophy. Professor Mach defines knowl¬
edge as “ an expression of organic nature,” but that is not
true unless, by his rather hazy term, he means the final and
perfect knowledge which no one now pretends to have ac¬
quired, though nature in the abstract doubtless does com¬
prehend it. Claude Bernard is partly right in stating that
Philosophy makes a specialty of generalizations. That, how¬
ever, is measurably true also, as before' stated, of each one of

PHILOSOPHY AND SPECIALTIES.

23

the sciences. Without proper synthesis they do not exist as
sciences, but are mere uncouth mosaics. Each special sci¬
ence must have a philosophic side, and the coordination- of
all those sides constitutes Philosophy in general. In this
sense it is not merely the specialty of generalizations, but the
generalization of generalizations. Without it the several
sciences rest with no common bond, and do not form a syn¬
thetic and organic whole. The method of science is to test
hypothesis by experimentation and continued observation.
From a sufficient number of results a proposition or law is
induced, the authority of which increases with the number
and weight of those results. It is not a valid objection that
generalizations, even obtained a posteriori, have often been
erroneous. So much the greater necessity for their trial by
a proper tribunal. For the end is to establish from particu¬
lar facts a general law or principal fact which thereupon ex¬
plains and shows the relations between the facts which it
governs. The collection of and proper deduction from, more
strictly the application of, such principal facts or induced
laws is the domain of Philosophy.

There is a German saying that three things are necessary
to fly a kite — the kite itself, a string, and some one on the
ground. One kite will not fly another, but both will tumble.
Philosophy provides not only Franklin’s conducting cord,
but the Trod (ttu) of Archimedes.

In recognition of these principles this Society was founded.
The title “ Philosophical ” was adopted, “ not to denote the
unbounded field of speculative thought which embraces the
possible as well as the actual of existence, but to be used to
indicate those branches of knowledge that relate to the posi¬
tive facts and laws of the physical and moral universe.”
These are the words of that great man, Joseph Henry, who,
during all the early years of the Society, as president, guided
its proceedings in this direction and so stamped the impress
of his character upon it that it nearly reached his ideal.

To sum up the suggestions thus far presented — differen-

24

MALLERY.

tiation is good and necessary, but integration is essential.
This is only a modernized form of Bacon’s quaint but pro¬
found sentence : “ Let none expect very great promotion of
the sciences, especially in their effective part, unless natural
philosophy be drawn out to particular sciences; and again,
unless these particular sciences be brought back again to
natural philosophy.”

There is another broad distinction between general and
specialized studies, which, though often neglected, practically
transcends in importance those derived from theory and
history. This consists in the appropriate and adequate
formulation of their respective results. The vocabulary
requisite for Philosophy differs from that proper for a spe¬
cialty. It should be such as may be understood by hearers
or readers of good general education. Doubtless the actual
operation and formulation of thought in many branches of
science, notably chemistry and botany, besides mathematics,
require the elaborate technical language and symbols in¬
vented for them, and in all lines of study condensation and
precision have demanded new terms, which must continue
to increase with the rise of new facts and thoughts. But
workers with these newly fashioned terminologic tools be¬
come too fond of and dependent on them, indeed sometimes
are taken captive by them.

A distinguished mathematician contends that if a man
cannot reduce his statement on any subject to an algebraic
equation his concept cannot be real or clear. It may be
true that there is a devotee of algebra who is unable to
think except in algebraic symbols, but if he cannot express
his thought on a non-math ematical subject in the vernacular
it will be of no benefit to others than those within the guild
of Euclid. Perhaps no full or grand concept would be con¬
veyed even to them. It might have only the relation that a
diagram has to a cyclorama. Surely to present ideas and
discoveries in cryptograms (and many cryptograms would
be required if individual whim should rule), even if the

PHILOSOPHY AND SPECIALTIES.

25

keys are considerately furnished, is not the most useful mode
of promulgation. This is even worse than volapuk, having
all the disadvantages of a jargon to be memorized, without
the designed universality.

In the use of specialistic and coined terminology not only
pedantry may be observed, but the old juggle with words in
which pretended novelty is mere mystification. Greek com¬
pounds are convenient as brands or labels, but do not make
thought less obscure and often leave it more so. Polysylla¬
bles and water are bad, but polysyllables and mud are worse.
Such obscuration of truth is a serious injury. Tolstoi makes
a good profession of faith in saying, “ No one can believe the
unintelligible. Incomprehensible knowledge is the same as
ignorance.”

From these views it must be admitted that Philosophy,
being broader than any science — than all the sciences to¬
gether — cannot be limited by the formulation peculiar to
any of them, and should not adopt the terminology of any,
but use a vocabulary that is generally understood and
accepted.

This admission brings up the subject of style in its broadest
scope. One of the most noted, by voluminous publication,
of American scientists, once sneeringly exclaimed, “ Style!
bah ! that is only the paint.” He was perfectly honest in
this depreciation, as is shown by his own productions, which,
probably not written by any one hand, but constructed by
cooperative clerical carpentry, are not read currently, but are
only used for reference, as pigeon-holes might be, with an
index catalogue. He was wrong in the very conception of
style, for all words and sentences are pictures, whether good
or bad, and the master-piece as well as the botch comes
from the paint as handled by the painter, the canvas of fact
being in common. He was still more fundamentally wrong
in regarding style as an artificial exterior or varnish over-
lying the descriptive catalogue which he regards as alone
valuable. His sneer shows not only that he would rank the
barn-dauber as equal to ftaffaelle, but that he is unconscious

26

MALLERY.

that words possess color and also substantive form wholly
distinct from their alphabetic notation. Word-blindness
among English-speaking patients is most frequently diag¬
nosed in those ignorant of the capacities of their vernacular,
and more specially ignorant of Latin (a topic which will be
dwelt upon in another connection), and then there is hope
for the patient through education. But when the knowl¬
edge of and about words is present without any real appre¬
ciation of their value, then the disease or deformity of word-
blindness is incurable.

The notion that the whole duty of science is to bring out
facts somehow would commend for its vehicle the slipshod
terms and unconnected paragraphs of newspapers, which are
never intended to endure and may be printed without ex¬
pectation of credence even for the day. Such a notion does
not accord with the history of scientific advance. Latent
facts and concepts have often been in a state ready for crys¬
tallization, to use the physical term, or for formulation, in
the proper linguistic phrase, yet lay amorphous, though sub¬
stantially known, waiting for the formative words which
should act on them as with an enchanter’s spell. The actual
sway of words is so momentous that they quickened myth
and magic as well as truth. The word, the Logos, has there¬
fore its power in Philosoj^hy as it had for similar reasons in
religion. It is the rightly chosen word that first brings the
fact into cosmic light. But such words are not found in the
slovenly makeshifts of writers who ignore or who despise
style.

A further assertion might be ventured that words not only
convey thought, but develop thought. Linguistically con¬
sidered, as in dictionaries, they are but signs for concepts
and things, but when existing in an author’s fervid brain, in
affinity with correlated ideas, one might almost imagine
them as charged with psychic electricity which arranges
them, apart from the author’s consciousness, into organic
and sympathetic sense. The imagined battery, thus magne¬
tizing thought to word instead of word to thought, requires,

PHILOSOPHY AND SPECIALTIES.

27

like other batteries, the expenditure of energy which must
do more than shovel out words as counters in a child’s
game. Treat words as mere counters and they will never be
more than counters. Culture them as factors and they may
become factors. Now that language has long been visual in
script and print its seemingly paradoxical relations to thought
can be examined. Even the dictionary definitions prove
that old words express new thoughts widely diverse from
those first connected with them. This fact is not always due
to blunders or to expedients to supplement the paucity of
the vocabulary, but may be imaged as an exhibition of
independent life in which the word, long since severed from
its parent germ, is fertilized by the attraction to it of new
thought to bring forth flower and fruit. When language is
defined as a vehicle there is too much supposition of a wheel¬
barrow by which ideas are trundled. Frequent experience
of the phenomena of expressed mentation decides that the
transport is often less mechanical, and may be likened to the
rush of a mettled steed bearing thoughts with the thinker to
their goal. It is true that the steed Language sometimes
runs away into verbosity, or plunges into the abyss of mys¬
ticism, but that is with the careless, stupid, or pompous rider
who does not believe in manege. Words, like other forces,
are beneficent or dangerous as they are servants or masters.
They are certainly not inert except when, treated as corpses,
their bones are articulated to serve as dry statements of
concrete facts.

The prime requisite of style in philosophic as distinguished
from specialistic writing is that it should be clear to all who
have sufficient culture for its apprehension, the second that
it should be attractive, or perhaps the proper term would
be — engaging.

Ben Jonson says : “ Whatever loseth the grace and clear¬
ness converts into a riddle : the obscurity is marked, but not
the value. Our style is like a skein of silk, to be carried and
found by the right thread, not ravelled and perplexed : then
all is a knot, a heap.”

28

MALLERY.

It is not so easy to be clear, and Sheridan’s phrase “ Easy
writing ’s curs’d hard reading ” is enforced by the confession
of so great a thinker and writer as Charles Darwin. “ I shall
always feel respect,” says he, “ for any one who has written
a book, be it what it may, for I had no idea of the trouble
which trying to write common English would cost one.”
Again: “Writing plain English grows with me more and
more difficult and never attainable.” “ No nigger with lash
over him could have worked harder at clearness than I have
done.”

Style is not confined to vocabulary or ornamentation. “ Le
style c’est l’homme,” Renan pronounces with the world’s as¬
sent. Style, besides being the man, is also his treatment —
that is, the spirit and method of presentation, by which
the author, putting himself in rapport with the reader, enters
into the substance of the thought and translates it from his
own mind to many minds. The facts must be distilled be¬
fore they can become spirited and effective. Style acts not
merely to state facts, but to transport the author’s full sense
of the facts, expressed with method and symmetry — that is,
with the intelligence that can be conveyed and the beauty
which enravishes to eager acceptance. It is therefore, apart
from its matter, the structural work of an architect. Ben
Jonson gives another admirable expression in point: “The
congruent and harmonious fitting of parts in a sentence hath
almost the fastening and force of knitting and connection as
in stones well squared, which will rise strong a great way
without mortar.”

Composition means far more than merely writing out
ideas, and unless the ideas are properly composited so as to
be understood by other minds it is doubtful if they are clear to
the writer. So the effort is as beneficial to the author as to
the public. When Bohme was on his death-bed a delega¬
tion of his pupils came to him begging to have an obscure
passage in his writings explained before it was too late.
“ My dear children,” said the mystic, “ when I wrote this I
understood its meaning and no doubt the omniscient God

PHILOSOPHY AND SPECIALTIES.

29

did. He may still remember it, but I have forgotten.” The
incredible part of this story is that Bohme ever did under¬
stand the passage that he had written so obscurely.

That the effort to write intelligibly, forcibly, and ele¬
gantly on science can be successful is shown by such recent
English writers as Spencer, Tyndall, Huxley, Lubbock, Tylor,
Sayce, Galton, Lockyer, and Proctor. I will not attempt to
offer a similar list of American writers, but cannot forego
the pleasure of mentioning a recent publication as a model
for attractive»beauty as well as for sound instruction. It is
frequently praised in the phrase “ as interesting as a novel,”
which at once recognizes its literary excellence and implies
surprise' that science can be entertaining. Its title is The
New Astronomy.

It is an open question whether a work is more useful
which clearly and adequately presents the condition of exist¬
ing thought and knowledge afterward found erroneous or a
work which, correct in its facts and conclusions, is so confused
and unintelligible as to require the labors of later com¬
mentators to make its truths apparent. The first writers,
though mistaken, are at least preserved as milestones to
show the march of evolution. Paley may be cited as an
example. His Evidences will still be read, even after the
doctrine of special creations shall have abandoned its hope¬
less fight. Mr. George now secures and will retain readers
by his wealth of illustration and fascinating rhetoric. More
accurate closet-thinkers but unattractive or slovenly writers
make no positive mark, their rough fragments being only
used or abused by antiquarian wreckers of later reputations,
as our patent-lawyers, by delving in dusty boxes of waste
papers, defeat the perficient inventor and introducer of im¬
portant originality.

The point involved in the question is more readily exam¬
ined when the power of style is directed not to the discus¬
sion of facts of nature, but to matters of judgment and reason.
The contemporary critics of Sir William Blackstone asserted,
perhaps with some truth, that on every page of his com-

30

MALLERY.

mentaries there was one false and two doubtful statements
of the law of England. Yet such was his perspicuous style
and fascinating treatment of the English corpus juris, which
before his authorship was hut a pile of dry bones, that his
vitalizing presentation was at once accepted and has re¬
mained the unapproached text-book for subsequent genera¬
tions of lawyers.

One of our best and most profound writers says that
he never reads a book twice, but from a single perusal gets
all he wants, preserves sufficient notes, and then closes the
volume forever. If he is right it is the fault of the book,
which may be useful only as providing more or less informa¬
tion in items, but if the work is good — a book to read and not
to read about — the contents are like sound teeth, which are
more valuable when left in the mouth than when extracted.
A great book should he read often if only for the pleasure it
gives. Innocent pleasures are not so many that we can
afford to throw one away. How can a man gaze on one
gorgeous sunset as a mere phenomenon and be satisfied
never to see another? Or how can he travel to the shore of
the ocean, verify the statement that there is an ocean, make
a note thereof, and close his eyes ? But wholly apart from
pleasure, there is new substantial gain on each reading of a
masterpiece. To dismiss it summarily may imply that you
consider yourself at least the author’s equal, if not his supe%
rior. The old maxim — “ Dread the man of one book ” — the
book being supposed to be a great work — means that its
frequent reader has become imbued with its spirit as well
as its lore. It would be well to say of many books as Avi¬
cenna did of Galen’s works — “Sexies legi et iterum vellem
legere,” and it would be a better employment of time than
to be a cormorant of professed novelty.

But if a book is to be read more than once, it must be
written more than once. Modern direct inspiration from a
foreign source is not a safe reliance. The communications
through spiritualistic mediums do not excel in grammar or
intelligence. What passes for genius is in fact very hard
labor. Even a work of imagination which is said to have

PHILOSOPHY AND SPECIALTIES.

31

written itself may also read itself, for it will have few other
readers. We have heard Darwin’s confession, and may go
beyond science to learn how to write. Wilkie Collins re¬
vised his works seven times before going to press. Black-
more, charming with his quaint and natural expressions,
explains that he secures them by often rewriting — “ I winnow
and harrow and pestle and pepper every particle of sen¬
tence.” A cursory examination shows that the most popu¬
lar writers of fiction remold and polish their work many
times. Now if this care is necessary to them how much
more difficult as well as important is the struggle for clear¬
ness and attractiveness in the presentation of scientific facts
and philosophic principles. If this struggle is made, it is
generally attended with so little success that obscurity and
repulsion seem to be sought for — as Hargrave, the commen¬
tator on English law, avowed — “Any lawyer who writes so
clearly as to be understood is an enemy to his profession.”
This avowal if made to-day would be a libel on a profession
distinguished for literary ability. The once accepted motto
“ Lady Law must lie alone ” is obsolete.

It is not proposed, however, to offer a disquisition on style.
But as Wesley once protested, in words rendered more pun¬
gent by Elder Knapp, against “ the devil having all the best
tunes,” I desire to enter a vigorous protest against fiction
having all the best English.

Three propositions are submitted bearing on the general
theme, all of which will be disputed, but probably not all by
the same forces, so that for want of union in opposition they
may escape demolition.

The first relates to the purist affectation of homage to
Anglo-Saxon words. The clear English before mentioned is
in no large proportion Anglo-Saxon. It is possible that
words of that derivation are best for the topics and the
hearers of a Sunday school, and so would the limited terms
of the Chinook jargon be for the hearers and topics where it
is necessarily used, but it is absolutely impossible to convey
modern thought in even so recent a vocabulary as that of

A

32 MALLERY.

Chaucer. Of late it has been the fashion to decry the study
of Latin, indeed newspaperdom has sentenced that classic
tongue to death, with more than the penalties of attainder,
all phrases, quotations, and derivatives from it being tabooed.
That sentence, however, is not a little ridiculous to those
who can appreciate the fact that of all writers in English the
editors and reporters of newspapers are the most addicted to
long Latin words, which they often use with ludicrous im¬
propriety. A decree not to use Latin words without under¬
standing them would be highly beneficial, because it would
have the result of stopping nearly all the writing in English
of people who object to the study of Latin. There is truth
in the assertion that either French or German gives com¬
mand of a more extensive and valuable literature than the
Latin, but as a propaedeutic for the specific purpose of writ¬
hing and understanding English no language can compare
with it. Certainly some other language besides English
should be studied by the student of English. The most
profound aphorism bearing on the subject is that “ he who
does not understand more than one language understands
no language.” For' broad philologic research several lan¬
guages, even such as the Klamath or the Dakota, may be
more fruitful than either the Latin or the Greek, but Latin,
on account of its incorporation, is the language most useful
for understanding English. Doubtless there should be an
aim to avoid long words when small words suffice, whatever
the derivation of either, but the criterion should be that the
words should be alive, which the healthy grafts of Latin on
the English stock surely are. This criterion permits the
use of new vivid terms for new ideas ; terms which when they
first appear are styled “slang,” but which, though taken
from the mud of the streets, are often recognized as jewels.
A live language grows and evolves novelty and the dic¬
tionary comes limping after. And thus it is that vocables
from suburban slums may enhance inscriptions on Roman
porticoes, and Mark Twain and Gavroche may supplement
Cicero and Sir Thomas Malory. The struggle should be to

PHILOSOPHY AND SPECIALTIES.

33

get the right word, but the scientific or the philosophic
writer who deals with modern concepts will seldom find
the right word in the Anglo-Saxon vocables for the sim¬
ple reason that these concepts had not been formulated
before the English tongue had become strengthened through
its assimilation of Latin and the natural selections of collo¬
quialism, patois, and “ slang.” Therefore let us be eclectics,
not purists, and fear neither Latin nor lingua franca. Let
us get the right word for the right use if we must dig for,
beg, borrow, or steal it, but be chary of coining it. Coinage
belongs to the sovereignty of the people and our private
stamps will seldom pass current.

The second suggestion is that poetry should be incorpo¬
rated, not merely injected, into a scientific production. This
does not renew the adjudicated claim of the imagination,
“ the vision and the faculty divine,” to scientific use, but re¬
fers to the manner of expression. Never let prose get into
your poetry, but put all the poetry you can invoke into your
prose. Mo-li&re’s hero was astonished to learn that he had
been talking prose all his life without knowing it, and con¬
versely our best prose writers on the heaviest subjects might
find that the poetry in their prose was the secret of their suc¬
cess. But they would admit the fact without surprise, for it
is markedly true that most of the great writers of prose have
been successful in verse, which has drilled them in the mar¬
shaling of vivid phrase and in the harmonies and discords
of thought. This conception of poetry does not mean the
evanescent, gaudy tints on the bubbles of a scientaster, but
the informing and vitalizing light which not only refracts
and reflects, but radiates from an original source. Prose, as
well as verse, may be profound or acute, intense or pictur¬
esque, elevated or simple, abstract or dramatic, severe or
sumptuous. Indeed the very form of prose can only be dis¬
tinguished from that of poetry by the absence of meter and
rhyme, rhythm being common to both. The spontaneous
characterization of the highest order of prose writings is that
they are full of light, fire, spirit, and life, and the term poet

3— Bull. Phil. Soc., Wash., XI, 1889.

34

MALLERY.

may rightly be applied to their authors in its true etymol¬
ogy — the maker.

My third plea is for the admission of wit and humor into
scientific writing. No one — not even Sydney Smith’s Scotch¬
man — is willing to confess himself incapable of perceiving
humor. Nevertheless nature has not given it to every one,
and to those to whom it is denied it is as the absence of a
sixth sense, by which want much happiness is lost. This
enumeration of humor with the senses is scarcely forced, for
man has been styled the “ laughing animal,” as best distin¬
guishing him from other genera in his zoologic order.
Neither the grin of some simians nor the cachinnation of
the hyena, or similar demonstrations by other animals rep¬
resent human smiles and laughter. Hence the man that
cannot laugh may be incomplete in evolution. The defi¬
ciency under consideration may be compared with unappre¬
ciation of the arts in general, but the most ready comparison
may be taken from the histrionic art because on it there is
least controversy. Every man who is in the normal posses¬
sion of his senses appreciates perfect acting. Dr. Johnson
suffered from defective vision and hearing and therefore (not¬
withstanding his famous obituary eulogy) never could recon¬
cile himself to the overwhelming success of his friend David
Garrick as an actor. Translate his physical imperfections,
while admitting his general judgment, into terms of humor
and it may be understood how many good and wise people
fail to enjoy it. They also fail to understand humanity, be¬
cause they are straight-line men, with no curves, so that they
cannot fit into those of their fellow-men. With them the
dogma is naturally cherished that a witty man is always
shallow. Sydney Smith, who knew whereof he spoke, says :
“ The moment an envious pedant sees anything written with
pleasantry he comforts himself that it must be superficial.”
Many people admire sententious monotony even if it be
stupidity and are shocked too much for their delicate nerves
at the sudden presentation of an intellectual surprise. Yet,
what is more forcible ? Is there any mode in which truth

PHILOSOPHY AND SPECIALTIES.

35

can be more strongly presented than by its humorous oppo¬
site? If the dry reductio ad absurdum is legitimate, how
much better is it when laughter brings an echo. Laughter
must be; therefore Philosophy cannot ignore it. We shall
not abolish painting and music because individuals are color¬
blind and note-deaf, or emasculate style to placate sporadic
cases of humor-ineptitude. But a yet stronger argument
can be made. Schiller and Heine say: “The gods fight
against Stupidity in vain.” Yes, by direct attack, but the
flank fire of ridicule can sometimes excite even stupidity
into an exhibition of life, though it be only in retreating
panic.

It is not proposed that this Society should usurp the func¬
tions of a literary society. Both science and Philosophy are
separated from literature by well-established boundaries.

For the moment passing by Philosophy, the distinction
between science and literature may be sharply drawn by
recognizing that science deals with facts regardless of the
vehicle of their expression. Literature, on the contrary, may
disregard all facts as such, and deal solely with reflection
and sentiment, and in it the form of expression is essential.
There is a literature of science and of all the sciences, but few
scientific works can be embraced in literature if only because
of their defective form.

The favorite though not the single province of literature
is esthetics in the true sense of the term, that which is per¬
ceived or apprehended by the senses, but limited to what
is desirable to be so apprehended, the beautiful, to xaXov.
The spirit of literature may rove from this elysian realm but
the body cannot abandon it and survive. Specimens of
literature may properly be stigmatized as bad — bad in
tendency and effect, as in their influence upon morals, re¬
ligion, politics, and the like, but literature cannot be bad in
form, because if its form is not esthetically good it is not
literature at all. The assertion has been made that in litera¬
ture the substance is of little moment, that the form alone
is essential ; the style and not the thought ; the words but

36

MALLERY.

not the theme ; the manner in which the things are written
and not the things themselves. Nor is this dictum without
support. Even the mere utilitarian must admit that the
labor for perfection in language, comprising vocabulary and
grammatic form, had it been undergone for that alone, has
been well repaid in that it has presented to both science and
philosophy their vehicle and has established for humanity
its imperial distinction over the rest of living beings. An
illustration of the value of form is in the continued cult of
Homer. There are few important facts in the Ilias or the
Odysseia except those discovered by philologists, and no
theories or principles as such are propounded in them, al¬
though the anthropologist can sometimes read them between
the lines. Only through the crystalline perfectness of their
form have they endured through the ages while myriads of
once asserted verities have become beacons of error and
“ vital ” principles have died in ignominy.

Some advocates of form versus substance might quote
favorite passages of Emerson or Browning which cannot be
understood, as is proved by so many diverse interpretations.
But while esthetic form is indispensable to constitute litera¬
ture, comprehensible thought is also indispensable. The
smoothest iambics and most stately hexameters which exer¬
cise in Latin prosody the scholars of Eton and Harrow, tech¬
nically styled nonsense verses, are not literature.

Even though a production be intelligible, be printed, and
be widely circulated, it is not necessarily literature. A dic¬
tionary is surely not a literary work, but a literary tool, and
an encyclopedia is not much more. Following in this line
of definition would be a bald statement of facts which is
really but an expanded encyclopedic article. At the oppo¬
site pole, as regards pretension without performance, but also
devoid of literary title, are the librettos of grand operas and
verses privately printed at the request of admiring friends.

It may seem bold to assert that literature should not med¬
dle with science when every novel lugs into its pages some
scientific statement or discussion, and as fast as each new dis-

PHILOSOPHY AND SPECIALTIES.

37

covery appears it is seized upon by the romancer for his plot
as a deus ex machina. But if this use is more than machin¬
ery or incident the novel becomes a dilute treatise and is
not proper literary work. It must also be ephemeral. Sci¬
ence advances, leaving its dross and errors to decay in and
with such novels which, if they had been founded on the
principles of human nature, might have lasted, as some other
novels may last, while humanity endures.

From the reasons before adduced, the wrriter in Philosophy
no less than in literature should be an artist in language,
strive for the melody of chosen words, for finish of style, for
grace, subtlety, or dignity as well as precision of expression,
in the well-ordered precession and marriage of form and
sense.

Has this Society fulfilled the promise of its title ?

It is certainly not a mutual admiration society. No one
of its members can arise and say anything marked or tangi¬
ble on any subject without provoking a discussion which at
least brings out supplementary thought and suggestion and
often sharp but useful criticism. Papers are not unfrequently
presented expressly to elicit such discussion and criticism
by which the Society, held as a good representative of the
world’s audience, may correct error and expression before the
litera imprimata fixes them in published form too late for
emendation.

The communications are generally prepared in writing
and with care in style, which care grows wTith legitimate
rivalry. It seems to be recognized that however ready and
bright and therefore interesting a talker may be, proper con¬
densation with judicious arrangement and balance cannot
attend the best oral discourse formulated at the moment of
delivery, though the discourse may be an imposing tour de
force. The extempore and spontaneous discussions upon the
papers by members, and by the author in reply, supply all
demand in the direction of vividness and suggestion by the
collision of several minds diversely equipped.

38

MALLERY.

As regards the scope of work, the ten published volumes
of its Bulletin are decisive. They comprise papers on Mathe¬
matics, Astronomy, Physics, Chemistry, Meteorology, Ge¬
ology, Geography, Biology, Anthropology, Technology, and
Philosophy in its general acceptation before defined. These
papers were all actually read at the meetings, nearly all by
members, when by visitors the fact being noted, and they
were all exposed to discussion. The volumes therefore are
not deceptive as to the amount of work done, as is the case
with some societies that publish writings not by members,
but by volunteers who have never been near their place of
meeting, and whose published papers were only read by title.
The analysis of these volumes shows no falling off in the
number of papers presented appropriate even to some special¬
ties for which other societies have been founded, though, as
before remarked, the character of such papers is broader
than before. While connected by common membership with
a congeries of special societies, this Society comprehends
their specialties without technicality. In this respect it
clearly fulfills its promises.

From long observation I believe that higher philosophic
discipline and more perfect philosophic expression are gained
by regular attendance on its exercises than could be gained
by attendance on all the specialized societies, if such con¬
sumption of time were possible.

Speaking in broad and general terms, Science deals
with facts, the thoughts being secondary ; Literature with
thoughts, the facts being secondary ; but Philosophy includes
equally the facts and the thoughts relative to them. Sci¬
ence supplies food, but neither savor nor digestion. Litera¬
ture pleases the appetite. Philosophy with appetite digests
the food. Again, to Science the language used is subordinate,
to Literature the language is paramount, to Philosophy the
language is essential but not paramount.

It remains to offer the suggestion that Philosophy should
also be regarded from the significance of its etymology —

PHILOSOPHY AND SPECIALTIES.

39

the love of wisdom. Lessing said that if it were necessary
to choose he would prefer to have the love of truth to the
possession of truth itself. By that paradox he emphasized
his earnest desire for wisdom, not for repletion by facts and
cold encyclopedic knowledge.

Knowledge and wisdom, far from being one,

Have ofttimes no connection. Knowledge dwells
In heads replete with thoughts of other men,

Wisdom in minds attentive to their own.

Knowledge, a rude unprofitable mass,

The mere materials with which wisdom builds,

Till smoothed and squared and fitted to its place,

Does but encumber whom it seems to enrich.

The knowledge, whether of good or evil or of both, works
no benefit to life and character. The mere possession of
truth, not strictly wisdom, may be that of a miser who
hoards wealth and does not circulate it to the common good,
but the love of wisdom brings wisdom. “ Be there a will
and wisdom finds a way.” “ Wisdom crieth aloud, she
uttereth her voice in the streets,” and it will be regarded.
“ So teach us to number our days that we may apply our
hearts unto wisdom ! ”

ON THE OBSERVATION OF SUDDEN PHENOMENA.

BY

S. P. Langley.

[Read before the Society, March 2, 1889.]

By a sudden phenomenon is here meant one of that large
class where the occurrence is awaited without the observer’s
previous knowledge of its exact instant, and of which familiar
examples may be found in the bursting of a rocket, the ap¬
pearance of a meteor, or the emergence of a star from behind
the moon. A great part of all the phenomena of daily life,
as well as of scientific observation, are of this kind, though
the importance of a special instance of another class (I refer
to the gradual and foreseen approach of a star to a wire) has
drawn to this latter such particular attention that we are
apt to think only of it when “ personal error ” is in question.

When in an observatory, we study the means taken to
record the precise time of the transit of a star, we find that
the precision of modern apparatus has reduced the error
which we may expect in almost any part of the mechanism
to an extremely minute amount, which may be calculated
to the fractional part of the one hundredth of a second. I
say “ almost,” for, as we are all aware, there is one notable
exception, at least until photography can be made to inter¬
vene. The human brain and nerves, and behind these the
inscrutable processes of the will, themselves form an inevit¬
able link in the chain of apparatus of observation, and here
an error may and does arise, enormously greater than that
of all the rest put together.

We all know that this error varies with the individual
and the occasion. It is most constant in the experienced

4— Bull. Phil. Soc., Wash., Vol. 11.

(41)

42

LANGLEY.

observer, but even in his case it varies with the daily acci¬
dents of the human organism, and even with him it is pre¬
sumably constant only for the particular observation to
which the experience applies. There is not even a pre¬
sumption, I think, that the personal equation belonging to
an experienced transit observer would apply to the same
person’s notation of the occultation or emergence of a star,
and still less, if possible, to any phenomenon outside his
ordinary professional experience; for we must, of course,
recognize that we carry this fallibility with us in every act
of life, and that it is just as present when we attempt to de¬
termine the instant at which a race-horse passes the winning
post as when we seek to note the particular hundredth of a
second at which a star passes the wire.

The very words “ personal equation ” imply that the errors
due to this fallibility can be ascertained and allowed for, and
may lead us to think (if we think carelessly) that there is a
personal equation always ascertainable ; whereas, as we in
fact know, it is only possible to apply the correction where
long habit has settled the amount of error to be expected
with regard to some one special phenomenon.

The number of devices for obtaining and correcting the
personal equation, even in the special case of meridian ob¬
servation, is, as those who have studied the subject know,
surprisingly great. I think I have myself examined more
than fifty such, and with hardly an exception they all ex¬
hibit variations on one idea — the idea, that is, that the error
must have been committed first ; the committing of the error
being assumed to be an inevitable necessity, for which sub¬
sequent correction is to be made.

I have thought, then, that it might be interesting if I were
to ask you to consider with me what may seem at first the
somewhat paradoxical suggestion, that means may be found
by which any individual, skilled or ignorant, may make,
not only meridian observations, but an observation of any
sudden visible event of whatever nature, so accurately that
we need apply no correction, because the precision may be,

OBSERVATION OF SUDDEN PHENOMENA. 43

if not absolute, at least such that no correction will in ordi¬
nary practice be needed. I may deceive myself in thinking
that what I have to suggest involves a novel idea, but I am
led to suppose so from the fact that I have met no applica¬
tion of it in a somewhat extended reading on this point.

Let me first remark that while such error as that in ques¬
tion doubtless belongs to all the senses in some degree, we
are at this moment considering it in connection with the
sense of sight only.

When we see anything in motion (let us suppose for in¬
stance a passing train on the railroad) we have the well-
known facts that —

First. An instantaneous photograph is made by the optic
lens upon the retina, there being a picture formed there,
which is perfectly distinct, but which fades out upon the
retinal plate in from one-tenth to one-quarter of a second,
while the perception of this image is under ordinary cir¬
cumstances * sensibly instantaneous ; (but) —

Second. Nerves convey the distinct impression of every
part of this picture to the brain, and it is here, if we have
to act on this impression, that a certain time is lost, not
only in the carrying of the message along one set of nerves
and the bringing back the answer on the other, but in the
decision that is being made by that unknown and inner
self, which appears to us to exert here a more or less con¬
scious act of will.

In the case of a sudden and startling event, the time
elapsed may be almost indefinitely great ; and in some cases,
probably several entire seconds may pass without the con¬
sciousness of the observer. A very imperfectly appreciated
interval must occur in all cases, for what we have just said
applies to every event of our daily lives, and the profes¬
sional observation is only a particular instance of it.

Now, I ask your attention to the practical instantaneity

*The writer’s observations (Am. Jour. Sc., Nov., 1888) show that appre¬
ciable time is required for perception of the retinal impression, with certain
excessively faint lights ; but these are not here in question.

44

LANGLEY.

of the formation of this visual picture, which is known to be
obtained where the duration of the phenomenon to be ob¬
served is much less than the one thousand-millionth of a
second, and where we have every reason to believe that the
actual formation of the image on the retina under known
ordinary conditions requires a time of like order.

We may say, then, that the casting of a picture on the
retina is instantaneous. It is its fading out that requires
time, and it is while this fading out takes place, and even
long after it, that the work of perception, decision, and action
is going on behind the retinal curtain in the chambers of the
brain. Notice, then, that while to determine when a phe¬
nomenon occurs may require, under some circumstances,
several seconds, and under all ordinary circumstances a
notable fraction of a second, to determine where it occurs
requires (sensibly) no time at all, for one single impression
remains on the retina long enough to obtain full recognition
and to be reproduced by processes of memory.

I can make my meaning clearer, perhaps, by using the
same specific instance as before. Let us suppose that an ac¬
cident to a passenger on the passing train is the phenome¬
non, the time of whose occurrence is to be noted, and that
this accident is seen from a room in which there are two
windows looking on the track. We must have seen the ac¬
cident, if it be instantaneous, either through the first win¬
dow or the second. If we had been led to anticipate that
we should be called upon to say through wdiich window we
saw it, I think wre may all admit that there would be no
discrepancy on this point between different observers, for in
this case we are considering only the element of position,
and the element of time does not directly enter at all, so that
observers in the same position who had been bidden to note
through which window7 they saw it would all agree on this
point.

Now a connection can here obviously be established be¬
tween the place and the time, from which to infer the latter,
if we are granted the knowledge of two facts : the time at

OBSERVATION OF SUDDEN PHENOMENA.

45

which the carriage could have first come into view from the
first window, and the time at which it must have passed out
of view behind the second ; for if we suppose the speed of the
train to have been uniform, we have the means of deciding
the fraction of the time when we know the fraction of space.
Here, then, as in the case of a common clock or chronograph,
or any device where time and space are proportional, we
can infer the former from the latter ; only let it be observed
that we here need no recording apparatus. What we use is
the memory of where the event occurred ; in other words,
we recall the impression on the retinal screen and have no
need to bring into use what we may call the time-perception
apparatus of the brain which lies behind it ; nor do we in
fact need that the object of our observation shall be really in-
motion , but only that it shall be made to appear to be so.

This last point is all important, and what I ask your at¬
tention to is an experiment heretofore, I think, untried, and
which is perhaps a novel application of the fundamental
horological idea that time and space must be made propor¬
tional, for it seems to me it must be theoretically possible,
not only in the case of the clock or the chronograph, but
always, to so connect the former with the latter that the es¬
sential task of the observer is to say where any visible event
apparently occurred, and then let some mechanism outside
of himself say when.

That at least is the idea, and if it has, as I hope, been
clearly apprehended by you, I will now ask your attention
to a working plan for carrying it out. Numerous different
devices have been under my consideration. I will take one
which is primarily designed for the observation of any ce¬
lestial phenomenon, though it could very well be adapted to
terrestrial ones ; and in order to fix our ideas I will suppose
that we have an event which we know the approximate
time of, but which may burst upon us at some fraction of a
second which we want to determine. I will assume (merely
to fix our thoughts) that we wish to note the time at which
a star emerges from behind the dark body of the moon

46

LANGLEY.

with an accuracy which ensures ns that we have not made
an error so great as one-twentieth of a second.

You see I hold in my hand a peculiar eye-piece, which
has been made to observe this or any other terrestrial or
celestial phenomenon of sudden occurrence. It can also
be used for meridian observation, but its special field seems
to lie in noting an event where no correction for personal
equation is applicable. This event may be anything celes¬
tial or terrestrial, from the entrance of Venus on the disc of
the sun to the explosion of a mine ; but, for the purpose of
illustration merely, let us take it to be the sudden appear¬
ance of the star.

On looking into the telescope we see, in the first place, two
prominent wires crossing each other at right angles, dividing
the field of view into four quadrants. Now, by a simple
mechanism, which I shall shortly explain, any object that
our telescope is directed on — any fixed star, for example —
seems to be revolving in the field, passing successively
through the first, second, third, and fourth quadrants. If
the star is hidden the mechanism is working just the same,
and when the star appears it must evidently first be seen in
some particular one of these four quadrants, and experience
shows that we shall have no difficulty in telling in which
one. The mechanism itself has recorded for us by an elec¬
tric contact the limiting instant between which it is possible
to see the beginning and the end of the cycle during which
revolution may be supposed to be made. It is not necessary
that this cycle should last just a second ; but, supposing it
(still for illustration only) to be a second, if it was seen in
the first quadrant, it was seen in the first quarter of the sec¬
ond ; if it was in the second quadrant, sometime in the sec¬
ond quarter of the second ; in the third, in the third quar¬
ter; in the fourth, in the final quarter. All that we have to
do in this case is to know in which second it occurred ; for
the quarter of a second we may say is noted for us by the
purely automatic action of the optic lens and retina, since

OBSERVATION OF SUDDEN PHENOMENA.

47

the first image on the retina must be that of the star as
seen in some particular one of the four quadrants.

Going a little farther, we will now suppose each of the four
quadrants, which in turn correspond to quarter seconds, to
be divided into five parts, so that the whole circle is divided
into twenty. All the observer has to say is in which quad¬
rant and in which subdivision of the quadrant the star ap¬
pears, to say in which twentieth of the second (or other
brief cycle) it emerged.

The reticule I have just described is fixed in the focus of
the eye-piece and does not revolve. What does revolve is a
minute double prism of total reflection just before the reti¬
cule, the middle of whose reflecting face lies in the optical
axis, and by whose means the optical axis is twice broken
at a right angle, so that when the telescope is directed at a
star the image of the star is not seen at the center of the field,
but on one side of it. If the prism is revolved, the star must
appear to revolve in a circle whose radius is nearly that of
the side of the prism.

The little prism is turned by a small piece of watch -work,
but it is not at all necessary that this should be exact, since
all we demand is that the rate shall be constant during a
second or so- — a condition easily secured with the most ordi¬
nary mechanism.

The sketch and the apparatus exhibited sufficiently indi¬
cate, I think, the simple means by which this is brought
about.

Figure 1 is a section one-half full size. A A A is the outer
tube, which can be fitted, if desired, into the eye end of a tele¬
scope. b b is the inner tube, resting on friction- wheels //,
revolved by the clock-work c about once a second, and
recording the time at which a key in the observer’s hand
may be pressed to indicate the particular second. This rec¬
ord may be made electrically by the wires w w on a chrono¬
graph, or more simply and directly on a little attached dial
like that of a recording stop-watch.

p is the prism of double total reflection, r r is the posi-

48

LANGLEY.

tion of the fixed reticule (shown independently as it appears
to the observer and of full size in figure 2.)

Full Size

S.P. Langley. snvt

e e are the lenses of a positive eye-piece. I is a lamp for
giving wire illumination, if desired, when a telescope is em¬
ployed.

Field illumination is readily obtained by making the dia¬
phragm in which the prism p is set of translucent material.

Finally it should be remarked that on removing the eye
piece, events may be observed without using any telescope.
In this, its simplest form, the chronograph may also be dis¬
pensed with, and the record of the second made on an at¬
tached stop-watch dial, and the instrument may thus carry

OBSERVATION OP SUDDEN PHENOMENA.

49

its own complete recording apparatus and be more portable
than an ordinary opera-glass.'

I have not found time to use this apparatus on the moon
or occultations, but I have, what is possibly more to the pur¬
pose now, tried it on an artificial star, the instant of whose
appearance and disappearance was independently recorded
on a chronograph by an electrical contact. Different ob¬
servers, entirely unskilled and ignorant in the use of the in-
.strument, were invited to look into it and to determine the
quadrant and section in which the star appeared and disap¬
peared.

I have momentarily mislaid my notes containing in full
detail the results of four observers, but I can summarize
them approximately in saying that after being simply told
what to note ; the average probable error — (that is, for any
single observation) — was rather less than one-twentieth of a
second. As far as I can judge from the limited number of
instances, the younger the observer the better the observa¬
tion. The worst of the observers (the oldest), however, had
a probable error considerably less than one-tenth of a second ;
the youngest, a probable error of something like one-fortieth
of a second, which implies, as you will observe, that he not
only readily noted the quadrant and the subdivisions of the
quadrant, but, also as a rule, even the part of the subdivision
in which the star was first seen. None of these observers
had so much as one hour’s practice.

The plan in question is easily adapted to meridian obser¬
vations, but for these we have numerous plans for correcting
personal equation, and the writer may also direct attention
to the fact of the existence of a distinct device (Am. Journal
of Science, July, 1877) which practically eliminates the per¬
sonal error in the very act of a transit observation. It is
more elaborate than the present one, which is so simple that
it may be useful even in longitude work with the transit,
though its proper field seems to be the observation of sudden
events ; but, to whatever purpose it is applied, I beg leave to

5— Bull. Phil. Soc., Wash., Vol. 11.

50

LANGLEY.

present it to your attention less for any interest that attaches
to the particular mechanism exhibited than as an illustration
of a principle which seems to me to have not been employed
before in this way, and which I trust may have useful appli¬
cations.

ON SOME OF THE GREATER PROBLEMS OF
PHYSICAL GEOLOGY.

BY

Clarence Edward Dutton.

[Read before the Society, April 27, 1889.]

The greatest problems of physical geology I esteem to be :
1st, What is the potential cause of volcanic action? 2d,
What is the cause of the elevation and subsidence of re¬
stricted areas of the earth’s surface ? 3d, What is the cause

of the foldings, distortions, and fractures of the strata ?

The volcanic problem is at present unsolved. Every
theory or hypothesis thus far offered to explain it goes to
pieces at the touch of criticism. For elevations and subsid¬
ences we are also without any satisfactory explanation.
But the third problem, the cause of distortions and fractures
in the strata, looks much more hopeful, and it is my inten¬
tion to propose this evening a solution of it, not a new one,
let me say, but an old one remodeled. Before proceeding
to discuss it, it is proper to advert to a hypothesis which has
long been in favor, and which is looked upon by some au¬
thorities as affording an explanation. This is sometimes
called the contractional hypothesis.

The earth is regarded as being hot within and undergoing
secular cooling by conduction of heat through its external
shell and its radiation into space. This loss of interior heat
is presumed to be accompanied by a corresponding loss of
interior volume, thus depriving the cold exterior shell of a
part of its support. In a body so large as the earth the tan¬
gential strain set up by this loss of interior support is demon¬
strably so great that the outer shell or crust, as it is usually
called, must be crushed or buckled by it and collapse upon

6— Bull. Phil. Soc., Wash., Vol. 11. (51)

52

DUTTON.

the shrinking nucleus. The objection to this explanation is
twofold : In the first place, we cannot, without resorting to
violent assumptions, find in this process a sufficient amount
of either linear or volume contraction to account for the effects
attributed to it. In the second place, the distortions of the
strata are not of the kind which could be produced by such
a process. As regards the first objection I will confine my¬
self here to a mere reference to the very able analysis of the
problem by Rev. Osmond Fisher. I see no satisfactory reply
to his argument. As regards the second objection, which, if
possible, is more cogent still, it may be remarked that the
most striking features in the facts to be explained are the
long, narrow tracts occupied by belts of plicated strata and
the approximate parallelism of the axes of their folds. These
call for the action of some great horizontal force thrusting in
one direction. Take, for example, the Appalachian system,
stretching from Maine to Georgia. Here is a great belt of
parallel synclinals and anticlinals with a persistent trend,
and no rational inquirer can doubt that they have been
puckered up by some vast force acting horizontally in a
northwest and southeast direction. Doubtless it is the most
wonderful example of systematic plication in the world. But
there are many others which indicate the operation of the
same forces with the same broad characteristics. The par¬
ticular characteristic with which we are here concerned is
that in each of these folded belts the horizontal force has
acted wholly or almost wholly in one direction. But the
forces which would arise from a collapsing crust would act
in every direction equally. There would be no determinate
direction. In short, the process could not form long, narrow
belts of parallel folds. As I have no time to discuss the
hypothesis further I dismiss it with the remark that it is
quantitatively insufficient and qualitatively inapplicable.
It is an explanation which explains nothing which we want
to explain.

In proposing another view of the problem we may first
turn our attention to those obvious and universally conceded

GREATER PROBLEMS OP PHYSICAL GEOLOGY.

53

forces which determine the figure of the earth. That figure
we know to be one which a liquid or viscous body of large
size will take when subject only to the forces arising from
rotation around an axis and to the mutual gravitation of its
own parts. This form is an oblate spheroid.

The spherical form, however, is only approximate. We
find large portions of its surface protruding into continents
and islands, while others are sunken to form oceanic basins.
How did these inequalities arise ? If the form of the earth
is nearly spheroidal why is it not exactly so ? It has always
been supposed that this nearly spheroidal form implies that
the earth, if not • liquid, is certainly not rigid enough to
maintain any other form against the forces of its own grav¬
itation. Even if the earth were a mass of unbroken steel no
great departure from this shape could be maintained for a
moment. It would straightway collapse and flow into a
spheroidal form. But if gravitation compels it to take a
nearly spheroidal shape why should it stop short of making
it perfectly so ? Perhaps it will be said that while the rigid¬
ity of rocks may be insufficient to permit a great deforma¬
tion of the normal spheroid it may be sufficient to permit a
small one. Before discussing this point it will be necessary
to introduce a consideration which has seldom been touched
upon by geographers or geologists.

If the earth were composed of homogeneous matter its
normal figure of equilibrium without strain would be a true
spheroid of revolution ; but if heterogeneous, if some parts
were denser or lighter than others, its normal figure would
no longer be spheroidal. Where the lighter matter was ac¬
cumulated there would be a tendency to bulge, and where
the denser matter existed there would be a tendency to flatten
or depress the surface. For this condition of equilibrium of
figure, to which gravitation tends to reduce a planetary body,
irrespective of whether it be homogeneous or not, I propose
the name isostasy. I would have preferred the word isobary,
but it is preoccupied. We may also use the corresponding
adjective, isostatic. An isostatic earth, composed of homoge-

54

DUTTON,

neous matter and without rotation, would be truly spherical.
If slowly rotating it would be a spheroid of two axes. If
rotating rapidly within a certain limit, it might be a spheroid
of three axes.

But if the earth he not homogeneous — if some portions
near the surface be lighter than others — then the isostatic
figure is no longer a sphere or spheroid of revolution, but a
deformed figure, bulged where the matter is light and de¬
pressed where it is heavy. The question which I propose is
How nearly does the earth’s figure approach to isostasy ?

Mathematical statics alone will not enable us to answer
this question with a sufficient degree of approximation. It
does, indeed, enable us to fix certain limits to the departure
from isostasy which cannot be exceeded. This very problem
has been treated with great skill by Prof. George Darwin.

But this problem may be approached from another direc¬
tion with more satisfactory results. Geology furnishes us
with certain facts which enable us to draw a much narrower
conclusion. There are several categories of fact to which we
may turn. One of the most remarkable is the general fact
that where great bodies of strata are deposited they progress¬
ively settle down or sink seemingly by reason of their gross
mechanical weight, just as a railway embankment across a
bog sinks into it. The attention of the earlier Appalachian
geologists was called, as soon as they had acquired a fair
knowledge of their field, to the surprising fact that the
paleozoic strata in that wonderful belt, though tens of thou¬
sands of feet in thickness, were all deposited in comparatively
shallow water. The paleozoic beds of the Appalachian re¬
gion have a thickness ranging from 15 000 to over 30 000 feet,
yet they abound in proofs that when they were deposited
their surfaces were the bottom of a shallow sea whose depth
could not probably have exceeded a few hundred feet. No
conclusion is left us but that sinking went on pari passu
with the accumulation of the strata. When the geology of
the Pacific coast was sufficiently disclosed, the same fact con¬
fronted us there. As 'investigation went on the same fact

GREATER PROBLEMS OF PHYSICAL GEOLOGY.

55

presented itself over the western mountain region of the
United States. One of the most striking cases is the Plateau
Country. This great region, nearly 100 000 square miles in
area, lying in the adjacent parts of Colorado, Utah, New
Mexico, and Arizona, discloses from 8 000 to 12 000 feet of
mesozoic and cenozoic strata. Here the proof is abundant
that the surface of the strata was throughout that vast stretch
of time never more than a few feet from sea level. Again
and again it emerged from the water a little way, only to be
submerged. At many horizons grew forests which are now
represented by those abundant and beautiful fossil woods
which of late have become celebrated. In the cretaceous we
find many seams and seamlets of coal or carbonaceous shale ;
but they are included between sandstones wdiich are cross-
bedded and ripple-marked, or between shales and limestones
which abound in the remains of marine mollusca. Here the
evidence seems conclusive that the whole subsidence went on
at about the same rate as the surface was built up by deposi¬
tion. In short, it may be laid down as a general rule that
where great bodies of sediment have been deposited over ex¬
tensive areas their deposition has been accompanied by a
subsidence of the whole mass.

The second class of facts is even more instructive, and
stands in a reciprocal relation to those just mentioned.
Wherever broad mountain platforms occur and have been
subjected to great erosion the loss of altitude by degradation
is made good by a rise of the platform. In the western por¬
tion of the United States there occur mountain ranges situ¬
ated upon broad and lofty platforms from 20 to 60 miles
wide and from 50 to 200 miles in length. Some of these
platforms contain several mountain ridges. All of them
have been enormously eroded, and if the matter removed
from them could be replaced it would suffice to build them
to heights of eight or ten miles; yet it is incredible that
these mountains were ever much loftier than now, and may
never have been so lofty. The flanks of these platforms,
with the upturned edges of the strata reposing against them

56

DUTTON.

or with gigantic faults measuring their immense uplifts,
plainly declare to us that they have been slowly pushed up-
. wards as fast as they were degraded by secular erosion.

It seems little doubtful that these subsidences of accumu¬
lated deposits and these progressive upward movements of
eroded mountain platforms are, in the main, results of grav¬
itation restoring the isostasy which has been disturbed by
denudation on the one hand and by sedimentation on the
other. The magnitudes of the masses which thus show the
isostatic tendency are in some cases no greater than a single
mountain platform, less than 100 miles in length, from 20
to 40 miles wide and from 2500 to 3500 feet mean altitude
above the surrounding lowlands. F rom this we may directly
infer that in those regions the effective rigidity of the earth
is insufficient to uphold a mass so great as one of those plat¬
forms if that mass constituted a real deformation of isostasy ;
and if an equal mass were to be suddenly removed the
earth would flow upward from below to fill the hiatus;
hence we must look to considerably smaller masses to find
a defect of isostasy. It is extremely probable that small or
narrow ridges are not isostatic with respect to the country
roundabout them. Some volcanic mountains may be ex¬
pected to be non-isostatic, especially isolated volcanic piles.

Thus the geologic changes which have taken place may
be regarded as experiments conducted by Nature herself on
a vast scale, and from her experiments we may by suitable
working hypotheses draw provisional conclusions, both as to
the degree in which the earth approximates to isostasy and
also as to the mean effective rigidity of large portions of the
subterranean mass. The approach to isostasy is thereby in¬
ferred to be very near, while the mean rigidity of the sub¬
terranean masses is also inferred to be far less than that of
ordinary surface rocks, and even approaching more nearly
the rigidity of lead than to that of copper. Pure physics
alohe would not have enabled us to reach such a conclusion,
for the equations employ constants of unknown value. But
geologic inquiry may, and I believe does, furnish us with

GREATER PROBLEMS OF PHYSICAL GEOLOGY.

57

narrow limits within which those values must be taken. Thus
the two sciences must work cooperatively and supplement
each other.

There is, however, one other branch of physical inquiry
which bears directly on the foregoing questions. This is the
investigation of terrestrial gravitation by means of the pen¬
dulum. I regret that I have never had time or opportunity
to acquaint myself thoroughly with the results thus far
reached by this branch of investigation, and can only speak
from general knowledge. Pendulum observations are far
too few for the wants of geographic or geologic science. So
far as they go they are highly suggestive in the present con¬
nection. The pendulum, as a rule, does not show any ap¬
preciable variation of gravity, such as would be expected if
the mean density of all the outer parts of the earth were
uniform. It indicates rather that the elevated regions and
continents are composed of lighter matter and the depressed
regions and ocean basins of denser matter. The exceptions
are of a character which prove the general rule, and occur
where we should look for them. The results obtained by the
India survey upon the Himalayan mass were regarded by
Archdeacon Pratt as indicating that the plateau was com¬
posed of lighter matter than the lowlands to the southward.
A similar result has been obtained in the great bulge which
forms the western half of the United States. In other words,
the pendulum indicates that those elevated regions are nearly
if not quite isostatic.

On the other 'hand, the observations of Mendenhall on
Fujiyama, in Japan, indicated a slight excess of mass, and a
similar result would seem to follow from Mr. Preston’s work
in the Hawaiian Islands. From the nature of the process
by which volcanoes are built these results are to be expected.

It would also -seem natural to expect that the plumb-line
would give some indications upon this subject ; but ex¬
perience has shown that most of the observed deflections of
the plumb-line are inexplicable. They occur where we would
least expect to find them — upon broad and level plains, where

58

DUTTON.

there is nothing to indicate any cause of deflection. They
are found on the tundras of Siberia and the monotonous ex¬
panse of British North America, where the surface of the
earth is but feebly diversified. In mountain regions they
are often conflicting and unintelligible, but along the sea
coast the indications are more systematic. On both the At¬
lantic and Pacific shores the deflection of the plummet is
almost invariably towards the ocean, and is often of consid¬
erable amount ; but it is along the shore that the- isostatic
theory would lead us to look for just this deflection, for it
is along the margins of the continents that great bodies of
sediment accumulate; and so long as the earth possesses any
noteworthy degree of rigidity, enabling it to sustain in part
the resulting deformation of isostasy, so long must we expect
to find these sediments constituting an excess of mass whose
attraction will make itself felt upon the plummet.

The theory of isostasy thus briefly sketched out is essen¬
tially the theory of Babbage and Herschel, propounded nearly
a century ago. It is, however, presented in a modified form,
in a new dress, and in greater detail. We may now proceed
to deduce some important consequences.

A little reflection must satisfy us that the secular erosion
of the land and the deposit of sediment along the shore lines
constitute a continuous disturbance of isostasy. The land
is ever impoverished of material — is continuously unloaded ;
the littoral is as continuously loaded up. The resultant forces
of gravitation tend to elevate the eroded land and to depress
the littoral to their respective isostatic levels. Whether these
forces shall become kinetic and produce actual movement or
flow will depend, first, upon their intensity ; second, upon the
rigidity of the earth by which such movement is resisted.
Let us consider, then, the intensity of the forces.

The littoral belts upon which sediments are thrown down
are coextensive in length with shores. Their widths are no
doubt variable, but must often reach a hundred miles or
more with considerable thickness, and are not wholly unim¬
portant at much greater distances. The thickness of the de-

GREATER PROBLEMS OF PHYSICAL GEOLOGY.

59

posits may vary much, but may be proportional to the time
of accumulation, and here the time is measured by the geo¬
logic standard. The gross weight of such masses of sediment
must be vast indeed. If there is any viscous yielding at all
the problem becomes essentially that of the flowing solid,*
which is in a large measure governed by hydrostatic laws.
The intensity of the force must have a maximum value pro¬
portional to the thickness which lies above the isostatic level
and also proportional to its specific gravity. The area cov¬
ered by the deposit enters as a quantity factor, but not as an
intensity factor. The greater the area, the greater is the total
potential energy of movement without any necessary increase
of the intensity of the force. This intensity, being propor¬
tional to the thickness of the sediments, may become almost
indefinitely great or it may be small. Indeed, it may, and
in fact does, become negative when we apply the same statical
theory to the movement or stress of the denuded land areas.

But whether these forces are sufficient to produce actual
flow is equally dependent upon the rigidity, or, as we may
here term it, the viscosity of the masses involved. We have
already seen reason to infer that the mean viscosity is not
great, being far less than that of the surface rocks alone.
Beyond this rather vague statement I perceive no way of as¬
signing a value to the resistance to be overcome.

It remains to inquire what is the resulting direction of
motion. The general answer is, towards the direction of
least resistance. The specific answer, which must express the
direction of least resistance, will, of course, turn upon the
configuration of the deposition on the one hand, and of de¬
nudation on the other, and also upon the manner in which
the rigidity or viscosity varies from place to place. Taking,
then, the case of a land area undergoing denudation, its de¬
tritus carried to the sea and deposited in a heavy littoral belt,
we may regard the weight of each elementary part of the
deposited mass as a statical force acting upon a viscous sup¬
port below. Assuming that we could find a differential ex¬
pression applicable to each and every element of the mass

60

DUTTON.

and a corresponding one for the resistance offered by the
viscosity, the integration for the entire mass might give ns
a series of equipotential surfaces within the mass. The re¬
sultant force at any point of any equipotential surface would
be normal to that surface. A similar construction may be
applied to the adjoining denuded area, in which the defect
of isostasy may be treated as so much mass with a negative
algebraic sign. The resultants normal to the equipotential
surfaces would, in this case, also have the negative sign. The
effective force tending to produce movement would be the
arithmetical sum of the normals or of a single resultant
compounded of the two normals. From this construction
we may derive a force which tends to push the loaded sea
bottoms inward upon the unloaded land horizontally.

This gives us a farce of the precise kind that is wanted to
explain the origin of systematic plications. Long reflection
and considerable analysis have satisfied me that it is sufficient
both in intensity and in amount unless we assume for the
mean viscosity of the superficial and subterranean masses
involved in the movement a much greater value than I am
disposed to concede. The result is a true viscous flow of the
loaded littoral inward upon the unloaded continent.

There may be in this proposition some degree of violence
to a certain mental prejudice against the idea that the rock-
ribbed earth, to which all our notions of stability and im¬
movableness are attached, can be made to flow. It may as¬
sist our efforts if we reflect upon the motion of the great ice
sheet which covers Greenland. Here the masses involved
are no greater than some masses of sediment. The specific
gravity of ice is only about one-third that of the rock masses.
The forces called into play to carry the glacier along hori¬
zontally do not seem to differ greatly in intensity or amount
from the described forces, and the rigidity of the ice itself
may not exceed the mean rigidity of the rock masses beneath
the littoral.

We may now proceed to inquire how this theory adjusts
itself to the actual facts. And, firstly, where do systematic
plications occur?

GREATER PROBLEMS OF PHYSICAL GEOLOGY. t61

(1.) It is a remarkable fact that they occur among sedi¬
mentary beds of great and variable thickness, which were
rather rapidly accumulated. They seldom, and, so far as I
now recall, never occur among strata which are of small
thickness, slowly accumulated with uniformity over large
areas; and the theory requires that they should occur in
the heavy deposits or along their margins, and should have
their greatest development there, for the forces called into
play must be proportional to the masses involved.

(2.) They occur in their systematic form along the ancient
shore lines. This is but another way of stating the preceding
proposition. It has its uses, however, for in so far as the con¬
tinents have preserved approximately their old shore lines
since the ages in which the plications were formed there is a
conspicuous parallelism of the axes of plication to the neigh¬
boring coast. This is true of the Pacific coast of the United
States. As regards the Appalachian plications, we have the
remarkable fact that in paleozoic time the ocean lay to the
west of those vast bodies of folded strata instead of to the
east of them, as now. We must look to a paleozoic Atlantis
for the origin of a great portion of those sediments. The
flow of the earth was from west northwest to east southeast.

(3.) The parallelism of the folds and their occurrence in
long, narrow belts formed by horizontal forces acting in one
direction become a consequence so obvious as to need no
comment. It is in strong contrast with the contractional
theory, which gives a force without any determinate direc¬
tion.

(4.) Another important fact is that these systematic flexures
were mainly formed at the times the sediments were depos¬
ited. This is a fact of geologic observation. The contrac¬
tional hypothesis gives no determinate time for the formation
of these flexures. It holds up to us a process continuous
through all geological time, proceeding at a rate which
diminishes but slowly as the ages roll by. These plications,
according to the isostatic theory, are the results of the dis¬
turbance of isostasy, and follow immediately upon that

62

DUTTON.

disturbance or after it has reached a sufficient amount, and
cease with it. These folds, however, have been subject since
their first formation to great erosion, which is also a disturb¬
ance of isostasy, and thus the original plication may have
been increased or modified thereby.

The theory may also be applied in a most satisfactory
manner to the explanation of subordinate features associated
with plication.

(5.) One of the features of plication which has attracted
great attention and occasioned great perplexity to geologists
is the so-called fan-structure. This is very striking in the
Alps, and has its counterpart in the inclined folds of the
Appalachians of Pennsylvania, where the northwestern
branches of the anticlines are steeper than the southeastern
branches. If we assume that as the rocks lie deeper in the
earth they are softened somewhat by the increasing heat, it
follows that in the flow of the mass the movement would be
easier and more rapid below than above. Thus a horizontal
force arising from this differential movement acts upon the
inverted arches of the synclines and carries their lower ver¬
tices forward in the direction of motion.

Thus the general theory here proposed gives an explana¬
tion of the origin of plications. It gives us a force acting in
the direction required, in the manner required, at the times
and places required, and one which has the intensity and
amount required and no more. The contractional theory
gives us a force having neither direction nor determinate
mode of action, nor definite epoch of action. It gives us a
force acting with a far greater intensity than we require, but
with far less quantity. To provide a place for its action it
must have recourse to an arbitrary postulate assuming for
no independent reason the existence of areas of weakness in
a supposed crust which would have no raison d’etre except
that they are necessary for the salvation of the hypothesis.

Before closing this discussion it will be necessary to advert
to another one of the great problems of physical geology, viz.,
the cause of general elevations and subsidences. I do so,

GREATER PROBLEMS OF PHYSICAL GEOLOGY.

63

not with the idea of throwing light upon it, but to guard
against a misapprehension which would otherwise be sure
to occur.

Geologic history discloses the fact that some great areas
of the earth’s surface which were in former ages below sea-
level are now thousands of feet above it. It also gives us
reason to believe that other areas now submerged were in
other ages terra firma. Our western mountain region at the
beginning of cenozoic time was at sea level. It is now, on
an average, 6000 feet above it. The great Himalayan plateau
contains early cenozoic beds full of marine fossils which now
lie at altitudes of 14000 feet or more. The whole North
American Continent has, since the close of the paleozoic,
gained in altitude. Now, it is sufficiently obvious that the
theory of isostasy offers no explanation of these permanent
changes of level. On the contrary, the very idea of isostasy
means the conservation of profiles against lowering by denu¬
dation on the land and by deposition on the sea bottom, pro¬
vided no other cause intervenes to change those levels. If,
then, that theory be true, we must look for some independent
principle of causation which can gradually and permanently
change the profiles of the land and sea bottom. And I hold
this cause to be an independent one. It has been much the
habit for geologists to attempt to explain the progressive
elevation of plateaus and mountain platforms, and also the
foldings of the strata by one and the same process. I hold
the two processes to be distinct and having no necessary re¬
lation to each other. There are plicated regions which are
little or not at all elevated, and there are elevated regions
which are not plicated. Plication may go on with little or no
elevation in one geologic age and the same region may be
elevated without much additional plication in a subsequent
age. This is in a large measure true of the Sierra Nevada
platform, which was intensely plicated during the paleozoic
and early mesozoic, but which received its present altitude
in the late cenozoic.

Whatever may have been the cause of these great regional

64

DUTTON.

uplifts it in no manner affects the law of isostasy. What
the real nature of the uplifting force may be is, to my mind,
an entire mystery ; but I think we may discern at least one
of its attributes, and that is a gradual expansion, or a dimi¬
nution of the density, of ‘the subterranean magmas. If the
isostatic force is operative at all, this expansion is a rigorous
consequence; for whenever a rise of the land has taken
place one of two things has happened : the region affected
has either gained an accession of mass or a mere increase of
volume without increase of mass. We know of no cause
which could either add to the mass or diminish the density,
yet one of the two must surely have happened. But the
difference of the two alternatives in respect to consequences
is immense. If the increase of volume of an elevated area
be due to an accession of matter, the plateau must be hoisted
against its own rigidity and also against the statical weight
of its entire mass lying above the isostatic level. But if the
increase of volume be due to a decrease of density there is
no resistance to be overcome in order to raise the surface.
Hence I infer that the cause which elevates the land involves
an expansion of the underlying magmas, and the cause
which depresses it is a shrinkage of the magmas. The na¬
ture of the process is, at present, a complete mystery.

Note. — The foregoing paper was written hastily to occupy a vacant half
hour of a meeting of the Philosophical Society without the thought of pub¬
lication. I have yielded however to the kind solicitation of friends to con¬
sent to its publication. It contains a rough outline of some thoughts which
have worked in my mind for the last fifteen years and which, from time to
time, I have discussed at length in unpublished manuscripts and in familiar
conversation with my esteemed colleagues.

ON

THE CRYSTALLIZATION

IGNEOUS ROCKS.

JOSEPH PAXSON IDDINGS.

7— Bull. Phil. Soc.; Wash., Vol. 11.

(65)

TABLE OF CONTENTS.

Page,

Introduction - — 71

Part I. Phenomena of Crystallization - 72

Rock structures in general terms - 72

(1.) Glassy rocks - - 72

— without porphyritical crystals - 73

— with “ “ _ - 73

(2.) Holocrystalline (completely crystallized) rocks - - 73

— with porphyritical crystals - 73

— without 11 11 - 74

(3.) One or more generations of crystals - 74

(4.) Special structures - 74

Component minerals _ 74

(1.) Their variety _ 74

(2.) Chemical character _ 75

(3.) Association in various kinds of rocks _ 75

Character of the minerals as crystals _ 76

(1.) External characters - 76

Form and relative age _ 77

— in glassy rocks _ 77

— in holocrystalline rocks _ 78

— intergrowths _ 78

(2.) Internal characters _ 79

Inclusions _ 79

— kinds: gaseous _ 79

fluid _ 79

glassy - . - 80

crystallized _ 80

— mode of occurrence _ _ 80

abundance _ 80

kind and association _ 81

arrangement _ 81

Zonal structure _ : _ 81

— isomorphous shells _ 81

Relations between the mineral crystals _ 82

(a.) Association as inclusions and inter growths _ 82

(1.) As inclusions _ 82

(2.) As intergrowths (synchronous growths) _ 82

(3.) As parallel growths (successive growths) _ 83

(b.) Order of crystallization _ 84

(1.) One period _ 84

(67)

68

CONTENTS.

Page.

(2.) Two or more periods _ _ 85

— interruption and repetition of the series _ 85

— essential differences between minerals of the 1st and 2d gen¬

eration _ 85

— essential identity of minerals of the 1st and 2d generation. 86

— extraneous differences between minerals of the 1st and 2d

generation, hut identity of mineral species _ 86

Relation of rock structures to geological occurrence _ _ 88

(1.) Geological occurrence of glassy rocks _ 88

— fine-grained porphyritical rocks _ 88

— coarsely crystalline rocks _ 88

(2.) Instances in which the geological location of the magma at the

time of crystallization can be determined _ _ _ • _ 88

Relation of rock structures to chemical composition _ 89

(1.) Degree or extent of the crystallization _ 89

(2.) Character of the structure _ 90

Relation of mineral composition to chemical composition _ 90

(1.) For rocks of similar geological occurrence _ 90

(2.) Exceptional relations _ 91

Relation of mineral composition to geological occurrence _ _ 92

Part II. Causes of Crystallization _ 93

Artificial production of rocks and minerals _ 93

Researches of Fouque and Levy and others _ ... 93

— minerals and rocks produced (basic) _ 93

— greater tendency of certain minerals to crystallize _ 94

— minerals and rocks not produced (acid) _ 1 _ _ _ 94

— certain minerals produced by the use of mineralizers _ 94

Conclusions based upon analogy _ _ _ 95

— Bunsen’s opinion that rock magmas behave like solutions

of salts _ _ _ _ _ _ 95

— Lagorio’s views on the same - 95

— supersaturated solutions _ 95

— uncertainty regarding the nature of solutions and fusions. 96

— Sorby’s law applied to rock magmas _ 96

— changes of temperature and pressure _ 96

— solubility and saturation _ 96

— Pelouze’s and others’ experiments on artificial glasses _ 97

— relative power of saturation possessed by the chemical

compounds existing in rock magmas _ 97

Application of the foregoing conclusions to rock magmas - 98

(a.) Saturation of rock magmas _ 98

Its degree dependent primarily on temperature and pressure. 98
Its character dependent primarily on chemical composition — 98

Cooling magmas _ 98

(1.) Order of crystallization and chemical composition _ 98

(2.) Crystallization under various physical conditions _ 99

(3.) Comparison with the phenomena of crystallization in rocks. 100

CONTENTS.

69

Page.

(b.) Consideration of magmas during their eruption _ 100

(1.) Changes of temperature and pressure _ 101

(2.) Temperature of the conduit _ ; - - 103

(3.) Size of the conduit _ 103

(4.) Changes in the velocity of eruption _ 104

— acceleration and retardation of crystallization _ 104

— resorption of crystals _ _ 104

— order of resorption _ 105

(c.) Rate of cooling and rock structures _ 105

Relative influence of the various causes of crystallization _ 106

(1.) Cooling and time (rate of cooling) _ _ _ 106

(2.) Chemical composition _ _ _ 107

(3.) Mineralizers _ 107

(4.) Pressure _ 108

— apparent lack of influence _ 108

— identity of minerals formed under different pressures-. 108

— identity of rocks at different altitudes _ _ 108

— absence of dimorphism among the rock-making min¬

erals, except tridymite (which may be due to miner¬
alizers) _ 108

— optical anomalies probably due to changes of tempera¬

ture _ 108

Condition of rock magmas previous to crystallization _ 109

— gas bubbles in glass inclusions _ _ 109

— molten, fluid condition of the magmas _ _ _ 109

Resume _ 109

I

ON THE CRYSTALLIZATION OF IGNEOUS ROCKS.

BY

Joseph Paxson Iddings.

[Read in abstract before the Society, May 25, 1889.]

INTRODUCTION.

In the search for evidences of the character and composi¬
tion of the interior of the earth attention has naturally been
turned to those rocks which, by their mode of occurrence on
the surface of the globe, give ample evidence of having come
from greater depths than those once occupied by the lowest
upturned sediments or by the great body of crystalline schists
and gneisses.

Volcanic lavas that reach the surface in a highly heated,
fluid condition, and other crystalline masses that traverse
the earth’s crust in dikes, sheets, and laccolites, which are of
similar origin and are classed with the former as igneous
rocks, have evidently been erupted from deep-seated sources
in a molten state, and appear to have been the same in the
earliest geological ages that we have records of, as now.

They may fairly be considered as the material evidence
concerning the greatest depths within our planet of which
we can hope to obtain direct knowledge.

How far the phenomena of igneous rocks may contribute
to the solution of the problem of the earth’s interior, or
whether they may, in fact, belong to the superficial portion
of the earth’s mass, is still an open question, an answer to
which will not be found in the present paper.

It is not the purpose of this paper to discuss all the varied
phenomena of igneous rocks ; nor is it considered that those
here treated of are the phenomena which may contribute

(71)

72

IDDINGS.

most to a conception of the interior of the earth, or even of
the possible source of igneous rocks. It is intended rather
to prepare the way for the discussion of such phenomena by
considering those which lie at the foundation of an under¬
standing of the true nature of the rocks themselves. It will,
therefore, attempt to present some of the most prominent and
general facts connected with the crystallization of igneous
rocks, and to show what conclusions as to the early condi¬
tion of these rocks may reasonably be drawn.

The student of crystalline rocks should never lose sight of
the fact that a great number of the rock-making minerals
crystallize from molten magmas and from aqueous solutions
without appreciable difference in their characters, and that
metamorphic processes set in action by aqueous solutions,
by heating, or by the pressure derived from great dynamical
movements, may in some instances lead to results easily con¬
founded with the products of the direct crystallization of
molten magmas. It is, therefore, necessary to be thoroughly
acquainted with the geological occurrence of all rock-bodies
concerning whose primary and unmetamorphosed condition
there is any doubt.

The present paper deals exclusively with the results of the
original crystallization of molten magmas, so far as the writer
is able to judge of them, and is, therefore, illustrated very
largely from the writer’s observations.

Part I. — The Phenomena of Crystallization.

j RocJc Structures in General Terms. — It would be impossible
in anything less than a treatise to do more than sketch as
briefly as possible some of the general features of rock-crys¬
tallization as they have been observed by all students of
microscopical petrography, dwelling, perhaps, at greater
length upon some points that have specially presented them¬
selves to the writer in the course of his regular work.

(1.) Lavas that reach the surface of the earth in a fluid
condition consolidate upon cooling rapidly to a more or less

CRYSTALLIZATION OF IGNEOUS ROCKS.

73

perfect glass. The glass in most cases contains crystals of
several minerals scattered uniformly through it. The crys¬
tals may be microscopic or they may be large enough to be
seen by the unaided eye. Usually both large and small
crystals occur in the same glass. The large ones that stand
out prominently from the mixture of glass and small crys¬
tals are said to be phenocrysts * ; the remainder of the rock is
called the groundmass. The glassy groundmass may be so
filled with minute crystals as to lose the appearance of glass
and resemble stone or porcelain, but an examination with
the microscope will reveal the presence of a small amount
of glass acting as a cement for the multitude of crystals.

(2.) Lavas may also cool in such a manner that the whole
mass becomes crystalline and no glass is left. When there
are porphyritical minerals {phenocrysts), they are scattered
through a groundmass wholly made up of crystals, which
may be of microscopic dimensions or may be large enough
to be recognized without the aid of a lens — that is, macro-
scopically. But surface lavas seldom attain so high a degree
of crystallization. It is oftener reached by those magmas
which have consolidated as intrusive bodies within the crust
of the earth. In these rocks the crystals composing the
groundmass may be so large that the porphyritical crystals

* These prominent crystals in porphyritic rocks are frequently termed
Einsprenglinge by the Germans, which is a convenient collective term with¬
out a good English equivalent. Realizing the advantages of such a word,
and the inconvenience of not having an equivalent in English, the writer,
after consultation with Prof. J. D. Dana and others, suggests the term pheno-
cryst , from <pav;to = conspicuous or eminent, and y.pvGTa\Xo§ = crystal.

Phenocrysts would, therefore, be all those crystals in a porphyritic rock
that stand out conspicuously from the surrounding crystals or glass com¬
posing the groundmass. They may be large or small ; thus the term can
be properly applied to very small crystals, like magnetite, which belong to
the category of the large crystals, having been crystallized in the same
period, but which are to be distinguished from the more minute crystals of
magnetite, which are genetically related to the groundmass. The term is
intended to be collective, like microlite, crystallite, spherulite. Its use is
indicated throughout the present paper.

8— Bull. Phil. Soc., Wash., Vol. 11.

74

IDDINGS.

(. phenocrysts ) cease to be prominent, and the whole rock ap¬
pears to be of uniform grain.

Completely crystallized or holocrystalline rocks, that carry no
porphyritical crystals ( phenocrysts ), always present an evenly
granular texture, which appears differently according to the
size of the component crystals. The finest-grained varieties
resemble porcelain ; the coarsest are like granite, diorite, etc.

(3.) Upon studying these various structures under the mi¬
croscope it is evident that in the case of porphyritic rocks
the porphyritical crystals (j phenocrysts ) in most instances were
formed before those composing the groundmass, and belong
to an earlier generation. This is especially true where the
same kind of mineral occurs in porphyritical crystals and in
microscopic ones ; but it does not hold true for all large cr}^s-
tals when compared with all microscopic ones. It is fre¬
quently observed that all the different minerals which occur
as porphyritical crystals ( phenocrysts ) in a rock may also
occur as microscopic crystals in the groundmass. There are,
then, two generations of the same minerals in the rock.

Where there are no porphyritical crystals ( phenocrysts ) and
the rock has a uniformly granular texture the crystals of the
different minerals composing the rock have a nearly uniform
size, and there is no evidence of more than one generation of
any one mineral. Professor Posenbusch has made this the
distinguishing characteristic between porphyritic and even¬
grained rocks.

(4.) There are other structures of widespread occurrence
which are specially characteristic of particular kinds of rocks
that have consolidated under particular conditions. They
will not be included in the present discussion. Among them
are the laminated and spherulitic structures of acid rocks.

Component Minerals. — (1.) The crystals that make up the
great body of igneous rocks, with all their manifold varieties,
belong to a comparatively few mineral species. The essential
minerals composing XW of these rocks are : quartz ; the feld-

CRYSTALLIZATION OF IGNEOUS ROCKS.

75

spars, and the allied species lencite and nepheline; the
micas, amphiboles, and pyroxenes; olivine, and the iron
oxides. With these are associated small amounts of apatite,
zircon, sphene, the spinels, and other minerals less regularly.

The great majority of igneous rocks are made up of three
or more of the essential minerals just named, the varying
proportions of which give rise to the different kinds of rocks,
which are generally classified according to their mineral
composition.

(2.) The essential minerals, with the exception of the iron
oxides, are silicates of a small number of chemical elements,
besides free silica. The chemical composition of the rocks
consists mainly of silica, alumina, iron oxides, lime, mag¬
nesia, soda, and potash, with small amounts of titanic and
phosphoric acids and traces of a few other compounds. The
relative proportions of these compounds vary within com¬
paratively narrow limits.

(3.) The igneous rocks may be arranged according to their
chemical composition in series that rauge from those rich in
bases and poor in silica to others rich in silica and poor in
bases. The mineral composition of the rocks necessarily
corresponds to the chemical composition. Thus basic rocks
are mostly composed of minerals low in silica, with more or
less iron oxide and little or no free silica or quartz. The
acid rocks are largely made up of minerals higher in silica,
with much quartz and little or no iron oxide.

But since the mineral constituents are largely composed of
the same chemical elements in different combinations, it is
possible to have a variety of different mineral combinations
that would possess the same chemical composition as a
whole — that is to say, it is possible to have a number of
different sets of multiples of the same factors that would sum
up alike. Hence there is no fixed proportion of certain min¬
erals to correspond to each phase of chemical composition of
the rock. Variations in mineral composition, therefore, occur
frequently.

76

IDDINGS.

Certain combinations of minerals, however, are character¬
istic of rocks with certain chemical characters, and are those
generally observed; but exceptional combinations occur.
Thus, of the basic rocks, basalt is almost universally com¬
posed of augite, olivine, basic plagioclase, and magnetite or
ilmenite, with no orthoclase, hornblende, biotite, or quartz ;
but instances are known where each of these minerals occurs
as a primary constituent. Gabbro is ordinarily composed of
diallage or augite, basic plagioclase, an orthorhombic pyrox¬
ene, titaniferous iron oxide, and often olivine, but in excep¬
tional cases it may contain hornblende, biotite, orthoclase,
and quartz.

With the acid rocks the reverse order obtains. They are,
in the great majority of cases, composed of quartz, orthoclase,
alkali-plagioclase, biotite, and hornblende, without the min¬
erals characteristic of the basic rocks, but in a comparatively
small number of cases the latter minerals also occur.

The various kinds of rocks, therefore, differ in the relative
amounts of the essential minerals, which may belong to a
few of the rock-making species or may represent a greater
number of them.

Character of the Minerals as Crystals. — The history of the
crystallization of each rock is written more or less completely
upon the mineral crystals composing it, and may be read
from their form, their internal or material character, and
also from their relations to one another.

(1.) The outward form or shape of a crystal indicates
something of the conditions undei* which it crystallized. In
glassy rocks the outlines of thin sections of crystals are
almost always straight-edged, and correspond to definite
crystal planes or faces. This is especially true of the larger
crystals. It indicates that the minerals crystallized freely
from a fluid or molten magma. Microscopic crystals often
exhibit irregular forms, which are not directly referable to
crystallographic planes. They assume fantastic shapes in

CRYSTALLIZATION OF IGNEOUS ROCKS.

77

many instances. These are generally found in rock glasses,
and appear to be the result of very rapid growth.

The porphyritical crystals sometimes occur in angular,
irregular fragments, which are parts of a once perfect crystal
that has been fractured while the magma was molten. This
is particularly characteristic of the quartz and sanidine of
many rhyolites. The outline of the porphyritical crystals
( phenocrysts ) is at times rounded, so that no vestige of a crys¬
tallographic form is visible. In most of these cases it is
evident that the rounding is not the original form of the
crystal, but is the result of a partial resorption of the crystal
by the magma.

Irregularities of form, however, occur with porphyritical
crystals ( phenocrysts ) in glassy rocks, which are undoubtedly
produced at the time of growth, so that they are not bounded
by crystallographic planes.

When the crystals have started close to one another they
have often grown together and have interfered with the de¬
velopment of perfect crystallographic form. Their line of
juncture is quite irregular in most cases. This indicates
that the two were growing at the same time. When one
individual crystal has its perfect crystallographic form along
the line of juncture of the two, and the second simply ter¬
minates against the faces of the first, it is evident that the
first crystal was completed before the second reached it. It
is therefore older than the second.

Porphyritical minerals in glassy rocks are frequently found
in juxtaposition. When they are, their relative age or time
of crystallization can be observed. But when they are not
found in contact with one another their relative age remains
in doubt. The younger mineral may entirely surround the
older one.

The relative size of minerals is no indication of their rela¬
tive age. Porphyritical minerals are larger than those of the
groundmass and are generally older. But there are instances
where certain porphyritical minerals are younger than the

78

IDDINGS.

small crystals in the groundmass, great quantities of which
are enclosed in the porphyritical ones.

In holocrystalline porphyritic rocks the outlines of the
porphyritical crystals ( phenocrysts ) are sometimes straight-
edged, usually when the groundmass is very fine-grained.
But in the coarser-grained varieties the sharp outline of the
porphyritical crystals ( phenocrysts ) disappears. The surface of
the crystals is then rough, and is bounded by the small crys¬
tals of the groundmass, which are more or less irregular.
This indicates that the crystallization of the large crystals
continued while the multitude of small ones were growing,
and continued until they interfered with one another.

In much coarser-grained rocks the form of the component
crystals is still more irregular, but generally differs for differ¬
ent mineral species. Some may possess their proper crys¬
tallographic form completely ; they are idiomorphic. Others
may have quite irregular forms, which have been imposed
upon them by adjacent minerals. These are said to be allotrio-
morphic. As already remarked, the mineral that possesses its
proper form when in conjunction with another that does not
is older than the second. Hence the idiomorphism of a min¬
eral is an indication of its age with respect to the minerals
contiguous with it. It indicates that the idiomorphic min¬
eral ceased to crystallize before the others reached it.

There are cases, however, where one mineral finished grow¬
ing before another came in contact with it, but where the
first one does not possess a sharp crystal form. The original
crystallization appears to have been irregular, as noted in the
fine-grained varieties. In these cases the relative age is rec¬
ognized by the partial enclosure of one of the minerals by
the other.

Two minerals that grow together at the same time often
penetrate each other irregularly, so that they mutually in¬
close portions of each other in such a manner that all the
scattered parts of one mineral have the same crystallographic
orientation, and all the parts of the other mineral have
another orientation, which may be parallel to that of the first
or not.

CRYSTALLIZATION OP IGNEOUS ROCKS.

79

(2.) The mineral substance of the crystals differs in differ¬
ent individuals ; sometimes in those of the same species in
one rock-section. Usually the internal character is the
same for all the individuals of the same species in one rock.
The substance of a mineral is seldom free from inclusions of
other substances. The foreign material may be in a gaseous,
fluid, or solid condition. Gases exist in minute cavities in
all the minerals to a greater or less extent. Sometimes they
appear to be entirely absent. Often they occur so uniformly
distributed through particular minerals in certain rocks as to
become characteristic of them. The cavities may be irregu¬
larly shaped or have the form of negative crystals. The
nature of the gases has seldom been investigated chemically.

Fluids exist in cavities similar to those occupied by gases.
They usually contain a gas-bubble, the size of which, as com¬
pared with the amount of fluid, varies greatly, even in the
same crystal. The liquid is generally water, which may
contain a variety of substances in solution, some of which
crystallize out. Besides water there is often liquid and gas¬
eous carbon-dioxide in the same cavity.

Gaseous and fluid inclusions are occasionally of secondary
origin and accompany the decomposition of the rock.

The solid inclusions may be amorphous — that is, glassy —
or they may be crystallized.

Glass inclusions are usually found in the minerals of glassy
rocks or in those whose groundmass is fine-grained. They
are evidently portions of the magma of the rock inclosed
during the crystallization of the mineral. They are usually
rounded or irregularly shaped, but may occupy negative
crystal cavities. This is especially the case in quartz, where
they generally have dihexahedral forms. They often con¬
tain a gas-bubble, and sometimes carry nine or ten in one
inclusion.

Inclusions resembling those of glass in form and manner
of occurrence, but consisting of crystalline grains, are evi¬
dently inclusions of magma, which, instead of solidifying as
glass, crystallized to an aggregate of minerals like those in

80

IDDINGS.

the groundmass of the rock. They are more frequent in
coarsely crystalline rocks than glass inclusions, and do not
occur in fresh glassy rocks. They are genetically the same
as glass inclusions, but have passed through different pro¬
cesses of consolidation.

Small crystals or grains of the associated minerals may
occur as inclusions in any mineral of younger growth.

The manner of occurrence of inclusions in a mineral throws
considerable light upon the history of its crystallization.
Abundant inclusions indicate the rapid growth of a crystal,
and their absence its slower growth ; but this cannot be con¬
sidered an infallible criterion, for it is evident that some
kinds of minerals have a greater tendency to inclose foreign
substances than others, and that minerals which crystallize
synchronously, and therefore under the same conditions, take
up different substances in different amounts. Thus the kind
of inclusions found in different minerals in the same rock
may not always be used as evidence that different conditions
attended the crystallization of these minerals.

For example, it is often observed that in the same rock
the quartzes carry numerous glass inclusions and the feld¬
spars few, if any, and more probably gas inclusions. In these
cases it would not be correct to assume that the quartzes
crystallized when the magma was in a different condition
from that in which the feldspars formed ; for it has been
observed that where quartz and orthoclase crystallized to¬
gether synchronously and formed a pegmatoid porphyritical
crystal, as in one instance in Eureka, Nev., the quartz sub¬
stance inclosed glass in dihexahedral cavities, and the feld¬
spar substance inclosed gas in irregularly shaped cavities.

Another instance is that of intergrown plagioclase and
hypersthene in a glassy andesite from Mt. Hood, Oregon.
The plagioclase, in common with other minerals in the rock,
carried abundant sharply defined glass inclusions, with some
apatite and an occasional grain of magnetite; while the
hypersthene carried very few glass inclusions, which were
poorly defined, but numerous grains of magnetite and some

CRYSTALLIZATION OF IGNEOUS ROCKS. 81

apatite. The plagioclase and hypersthene had crystallized
at the same time, and therefore under the same conditions ;
yet one was crowded with glass inclusions and the other
was nearly free from them.

When two individuals of the same mineral inclose dif¬
ferent kinds of substances or very different amounts of the
same substance it probably indicates that they have crystal¬
lized under somewhat different conditions.

The arrangement of the inclusions in a mineral also throws
light upon its crystallization. They may be scattered uni¬
formly or irregularly through it, or be accumulated in the
center, or located along planes parallel to crystal faces, or in
shells corresponding to the form of the crystal in some of
the early stages of its growth. Alternating zones of inclu¬
sions indicate successive periods of rapid and slow crystal¬
lization.

A concentric zonal structure is often noticed in minerals
free from inclusions. It may be expressed by changes of
color or by changes of optical properties. It indicates dif¬
ferences in the chemical composition of the mineral in suc¬
cessive shells of its substance, and is observed in those min¬
erals that are known to occur in rocks in isomorphous series,
particularly the feldspars.

Such minerals record the vicissitudes of their crystalliza¬
tion, when others, like quartz, that do not vary chemically
and optically, furnish no similar history of their growth.
Thus a zonally built feldspar may exhibit two or more
rounded zones that prove that the earlier crystallization
was checked at some time and the crystal partly resorbed.
Afterwards the growth continued in crystallographic zones
until it was again checked. This alternating process may
go on, and the crystal be finally left with crystallographic
boundaries. Such a series of events might happen to a
crystal of quartz without any evidence of it being visible,
for the chemical composition and optical properties of the
quartz would be uniform throughout the individual.

9— Bull. Phil. Soc., Wash., Vol. 11.

82

IDDINGS.

Relations between the Mineral Crystals, (a.) Association as
Inclusions and Inter growths. — (1.) The tendency of certain
minerals to inclose particular substances has already been
alluded to. It may be well to notice some of the commonest
of these associations in igneous rocks. It is to be remarked
in general that the nature of the inclusions in minerals
changes in different occurrences and with different kinds of
rocks. A few examples will be sufficient, to show the char¬
acter of the associations.

Glass inclusions are widely distributed in most all kinds
of the rock-making minerals, but are seldom observed in
mica and almost never in the iron ores. They often occur
in apatite and zircon, even when the latter mineral is found
in coarsely crystalline granite. It shows that these minerals,
which are among the oldest in igneous rocks, crystallized in
molten magmas.

In the greater number of rhyolites studied by the writer
glass inclusions are more numerous in the porphyritical
quartzes than in the sanidines, and in the majority of glassy
andesites glass inclusions occur more abundantly in the pla-
gioclases than in the ferro-magnesian silicates.

Fluid inclusions, which are specially characteristic of
coarsely crystalline rocks, are much more abundant in the
quartzes than in the feldspars, and occur still less frequently
in the ferro-magnesian silicates.

Zircon is very often associated with the micas, and mag¬
netite abounds in the ferro-magnesian silicates, but is rarely
met with in the alkali feldspars and quartzes. There are
instances, however, where iron oxides in minute particles or
in scales are abundant in certain lime-soda feldspars.

Augite microlites form characteristic inclusions in a great
majority of leucites.

(2.) In the matter of intergrowths it is observed that certain
minerals are frequently combined, and others almost never.
Thus quartz and orthoclase are more frequently intergrown

CRYSTALLIZATION OF IGNEOUS ROCKS.

83

than quartz and the plagioclases, while quartz has seldom,
if ever, been found intergrown with the ferro-magnesian sili¬
cates in igneous rocks.

Orthoclase is commonly interlaminated with albite and
other plagioclases.

Hornblende and the pyroxenes (hypersthene and augite)
are frequently intergrown both in glassy and in holocrystal-
line rocks.

Hornblende and biotite are often intergrown in the crys¬
talline rocks.

The intergrowth of the ferro-magnesian minerals with the
feldspars is of very rare occurrence.

The intergrowths of quartz and orthoclase with pegmatoid
and granophyre structures is particularly common in the
medium-grained acid rocks, where they are usually constitu¬
ents of the groundmass ; but they also occur in isolated and
porphyritical groups, as in the porphyries at Tryberg, in the
Schwarzwald,* and the single occurrence at Eureka, Nev., al¬
ready alluded to. They also occur in very small groups scat¬
tered through the glassy groundmass of many rhyolites in
the Western United States and in the obsidian of Obsidian
Cliff, Yellowstone National Park.t In these instances they
are nearly the oldest secretions from the molten magma.
Hence there may be in some magmas an initial tendency to
secrete crystals of two different minerals at the same time.

(3.) As already remarked, the intergrowth or interpenetra¬
tion of two minerals indicates their synchronous crystalli¬
zation ; but parallel growths often occur where one mineral
has acted as a nucleus for the other, and is evidently older.
In the majority of cases there is a regular order of succession.
Thus it is frequently observed that the basic plagioclases are
surrounded by a parallel growth of more alkaline species,

* George H. Williams. Inaugural Dissertation. “ Die Eruptivgesteine
derGegend von Tryberg im Schwarz wald.” Stuttgart, 1883, p. 23.

f J. P. Iddings. “Obsidian Cliff, Yellowstone National Park.” Sev¬
enth Ann. Rep’t U. S. Geol. Survey, 1888.

84

IDDINGS.

and plagioclase is sometimes surrounded by orthoclase,
This order is seldom, if ever, reversed.

Hypersthene is generally the older when it is associated
with augite or hornblende in parallel growths.

Augite is generally older than hornblende in the diorites.
and acts as the nucleus. It is quite frequently inclosed by
hornblende in the andesites, but it is oftener the younger
mineral in the glassy rocks.

(b.) Order of Crystallization of the Different Minerals.

(1.) Where there has been but one series of crystalliza¬
tions — that is, where each species of mineral belongs to one
uninterrupted act of crystallization — the phenomena are pre¬
sented in their simplest form. In this case it is generally
observed that the oldest minerals are the iron ores, with
zircon and apatite, followed in turn by one or more of the
ferro-magnesian silicates, and the feldspars, with a feldspar
and quartz as the last to crystallize. But when a number
of different rocks are studied the order is not found to be
the same in all of them ; however, it is generally constant
in all rocks of one kind.

In certain diorites the order is : iron ores, zircon and apa¬
tite, hypersthene, augite, labradorite, hornblende, biotite,
oligoclase, and lastly orthoclase with quartz.

In many granites biotite precedes hornblende. In most
diabases, and in many gabbros, the feldspars (anorthite or
labradorite) crystallize before the augite and diallage. When
olivine occurs in these rocks it is almost universally older
than the other ferro-magnesian silicates.

Apatite is generally considered one of the oldest, if not the
oldest, mineral crystallized in igneous rocks; but in an
oli vine-leu cite-phonolite from Ishawooa Canon, Wyoming
Territory,* this does not appear to be the case. The rock is
very rich in porphyritical crystals of olivine and augite in a

* Arnold Hague. “ Notes on the occurrence of a new leucite rock, from
Ishawooa Canon, Absaroka Range, Wyoming Territory.” To appear in the
Am. Journ, Sci., vol. xxxviii, Sept., 1889.

CRYSTALLIZATION OF IGNEOUS ROCKS.

85

crystalline groundmass of orthoclase and leucite ; long slen¬
der crystals of apatite occur in great abundance in the feld-
spathic minerals and are absent from the olivines and au-
gites. The comparatively great length of these apatite
needles, one being three hundred times longer than wide ;
their straightness, together with the total absence of fluidal
or other orderly arrangement, indicate that they did not
exist in the magma when the olivines and porphyritical au-
gites were formed, nor while the mass was in motion. They
must have crystallized after the olivine and augite, and after
the magma came to rest, prior to the crystallization of the
feldspar and leucite. The manner of occurrence of apatite
needles in certain diorites also indicates that they were
among the later crystallizations in these rocks.

(2.) In rocks where the same species of mineral occurs as
the result of more than one period of crystallization — that
is, where the crystallization has been interrupted — it is evi¬
dent that the interruption may happen when only one or
two of the mineral species have commenced to crystallize,
or when all have progressed to different extents. In the
second period of crystallization several or all of the minerals
of the first generation may crystallize again in the ground-
mass. This is particularly the case with the iron ores, ferro-
magnesian silicates, feldspars, and quartz.

It is sometimes observed that the minerals belonging to
the second generation differ from those of the first generation
when they belong to isomorphous series. Thus it frequently
happens that the feldspars composing the groundmass are
more alkaline than those occurring as porphyritical crystals
(. phenocrysts ). A difference is sometimes noticeable between
the porphyritical hornblendes or pyroxenes and those taking
part in the groundmass ; but it often happens that no differ¬
ence can be detected optically, and many minerals appear to
be identical in both modes of occurrence. This is particu¬
larly true of magnetite, biotite, leucite, nepheline, and quartz.
The porphyritical leucites and the microscopic ones of the

86

IDDINGS.

groundmass are often characterized by the same inclusions
and the same twin lamination.

The importance of the identity of the minerals of first and
second generation rests in the light it throws upon the influ¬
ence, or the apparent lack of influence, of certain physical
conditions on the crystallization of the rock-making miner¬
als. It may be assumed that the large porphyritical crystals
( phenocrysts ) were formed much earlier than the microscopic
individuals in the groundmass, and therefore that they were
formed at much greater depths and under far greater press¬
ure. But when it is observed that the small crystals in a
holocrystalline groundmass, which were probably formed at
or near the surface of the earth, possess exactly the same
characters as those of crystals assumed to have been formed
at very great depths, it becomes evident that in their case, at
least, extremely great pressure is not necessary to their crys¬
tallization. The point is illustrated by the following occur¬
rence : A holocrystalline dacite in the Yellowstone National
Park occurs as a surface flow of lava connected with breccias.
Its groundmass crystallized completely to a microcrystal¬
line aggregation of quartz and feldspar, which undoubtedly
formed after it came to rest at the surface of the earth. The
porphyritical crystals consist of hornblende, biotite, plagio-
clase, and quartz. Some of these quartzes are idiomorphic ;
others are rounded. They carry numerous glass inclusions.
The microscopic quartzes of the groundmass are nearly all
idiomorphic, and exhibit the characteristic dihexahedral
forms, interfered with slightly by the individuals of feldspar,
which must have crystallized at about the same time. These
minute quartzes carry dihexahedral glass inclusions like
those in the large quartzes. From this it is evident that
quartz with the same extraneous characteristics, such as out¬
line and inclusions, may crystallize under comparatively
slight pressure and also under very great pressure.

It oftener happens that the outline or shape of the min¬
erals of second generation differs from that of the porphy¬
ritical individuals of the same species. This is because the

CRYSTALLIZATION OF IGNEOUS ROCKS.

87

smaller ones continued their growth until they mutually
interfered and produced the same structure as that of evenly
granular rocks, which may be granitic, ophitic, or a combi¬
nation of the two. The character of the inclusions is some¬
times different in the minerals of first and second generation,
or in the porphyritical individuals and in the so-called gra¬
nitic ones of the groundmass. This indicates differences in the
manner of crystallization in the two cases ; but the identity
of the mineral species is not affected by these extraneous
differences. This is particularly well illustrated for so simple
a mineral as quartz, where the difference between its porphy¬
ritical occurrence and its so-called granitic occurrence is con¬
fined to its outward form and the nature of its inclusions.
For example, in a quartz-porphyrite occurring as an intru¬
sive body near the surface of the cretaceous strata at Electric
Peak, Yellowstone National Park, the finest-grained varieties
of the rock carry small porphyritical quartzes in an extremely
fine-grained groundmass. The quartzes are mostly idiomor-
phic and dihexahedral. Some are rounded. They carry
crystallized inclusions resembling the groundmass, which
also penetrates some of the individuals in pockets or bays.
In the coarser-grained varieties of the same rock the porphy¬
ritical quartzes are larger and their outline more irregular.
The inclusions of groundmass are coarser-grained. In the
coarsest-grained varieties of the rock the quartzes are still
larger. Many of them no longer exhibit even a rude dihexa¬
hedral form, but are quite irregularly shaped and inclose
grains of feldspar. Some quartzes still exhibit a rude idio-
morphic form. They have in many cases inclusions shaped
like those in the quartzes of the finest-grained varieties, but
the inclusions are coarser-grained and appear to be feldspar
for the most part. The outer portion of these quartzes may
be called granitic.

In this occurrence it is evident that the crystallization of
the porphyritical quartzes in the finest-grained varieties of
the rock was suddenly checked, and the groundmass formed
as a distinct act of crystallization ; but in the coarser-grained

88

IDDINGS.

varieties the crystallization of the porphyritical quartz con¬
tinued uninterruptedly into the period of the crystallization
of the groundmass, the substance of the quartz being the
same in the outer portions of the individual, which have a
granitic habit, and in the central portion, which corresponds
to the porphyritical individuals in those parts of the rock
where the early crystallization was suddenly checked. The
final crystallization of this rock took place beneath the sur¬
face of the earth, but still at no very great depth. From such
instances as this it is evident that the porphyritical crystals
in many rocks were crystallizing while the magma was
in motion, and did not cease their growth after it came to
rest until the whole magma had crystallized.

Relation of Rock Structures to Geological Occurrence. — (1.) The
degree of crystallization of igneous rocks is most intimately
related to their geological occurrence. Glassy rocks are found
where lavas have flowed out upon the surface of the earth,
and also where small bodies have penetrated other rocks, the
indications all leading to the conclusion that rock glasses are
the result of rapid cooling.

Porphyritic, fine-grained rocks occur in the central portions
of surface flows and in intrusive bodies, where the cooling was
evidently slower than that which produced the glasses.

Most of the coarsely crystalline rocks are found in large
intrusive bodies, or in those small bodies which appear to
have been intruded in rocks already heated, where the cool¬
ing must have been extremely slow.

(2.) When the variations in the crystallization of a large
body of rock are studied in connection with its geological
occurrence it is sometimes observed that the variations,
which are evidently due to local causes and can be traced to
the immediate surroundings, affect the crystallization of all
the minerals in the rock, proving that in these cases they
were all crystallized in the position now occupied by the
rock. Thus, in the case of a diorite that crystallized within
a few thousand feet of the surface of the earth in cretaceous

CRYSTALLIZATION OP IGNEOUS ROCKS.

89

strata, in that portion of it where the grain of the rock varies
rapidly within a few feet, and where the crystallization of
the coarse-grained portion undoubtedly took place after the
magma ceased to move, it is observed that the various modes
of crystallization not only affected the magnetite, ferro-mag-
nesian silicates, feldspar, and quartz, but even the apatite
and zircon ; for it is observed that in the fine-grained varie¬
ties apatite occurs in great numbers of minute, idiomorphic
crystals. In the coarser-grained varieties it is in fewer and
larger crystals, and in the coarsest-grained varieties it occurs
in very much fewer individuals, which are irregularly out¬
lined, like all the other minerals in the rock. The zircons
also are larger in the coarser-grained varieties of the rock.
Hence it is evident that in this instance the oldest minerals
in the rock crystallized very near the surface of the earth
and under comparatively low pressure. The magma must
have been entirely fluid when it came to rest, and was free
from all kinds of crystals.

There are cases also where it can be shown that the crys¬
tallization set in after the magma reached the surface of the
earth. Such is the case in the spherulitic obsidian flow which
forms Obsidian Cliff, in the Yellowstone National Park.*

Relation of Rock Structures to Chemical Composition. — (1.)
The degree or extent of crystallization of a rock also bears
a very marked relation to its chemical composition. The
basic rocks have a much greater tendency to crystallize than
the acid and alkali rocks. Thus surface flows of basalt are
almost always crowded with crystals, and pure basalt glasses
are very rare, and are then in small bodies. The size of the
individual crystals is generally larger than those of acid
and alkali rocks of similar occurrence, and it is even prob¬
able that some coarse-grained gabbros may have been very
large surface flows.

On the other hand, rhyolitic lavas are often almost entirely
glassy ; the microscopic crystals in them are very minute,

*Loc. cit. , p. 248.

10— Bull. Phil. Soc., Wash., Vol. 11.

90

IDDINGS.

and frequently are ill-shaped, while rhyolitic obsidian oc¬
curs in great abundance and sometimes in large bodies.

The andesitic glasses are generally found to be more sili¬
ceous than the normal andesites to which they are related.

In the case of intruded rocks, which occur under similar
geological conditions, that are about the same sized bodies
and appear to have been intruded into rocks haying about
the same temperatures, it is also observed that the basic ones
are more coarsely crystalline than the acidic.

(2.) The character of the structure also is intimately re¬
lated to the chemical composition of the magma. Thus the
ophitic structure is peculiar to certain basic rocks, such as
the diabases and the dolerites, and a somewhat similar
structure is characteristic of highly feldspathic rocks like
syenites and certain diorites, where the feldspars crystallized
in advance of some of the other minerals, and are more
nearly idiomorphic. The evenly granular or granitic struct¬
ure is more characteristic of the acid rocks, while a com¬
bination of these two extreme structures occurs in rocks of
intermediate chemical composition.

Relation of the Mineral Composition to the Chemical Compo¬
sition. — The relation between the mineral composition and
the chemical composition of rocks is found to vary within
certain limits, as already stated. The extent of this varia¬
tion must continue fora longtime to be the subject of careful
investigation.

(1.) The study of a great number of suites of rocks from
a large part of this continent shows that this relation is less
variable among rocks of similar geological occurrence. Thus,
when the volcanic rocks of a large area are compared, it is
observed that the basalts, which represent the basic end of
the series, in ninety -nine cases out of a hundred, have a uni¬
form mineral composition. Over a very large portion of
Western America they consist of lime-soda feldspars, augite,
olivine, and iron oxides (magnetite or ilmenite). The less
basic members of the series, the pyroxene-andesites , consist of

CRYSTALLIZATION OF IGNEOUS ROCKS.

91

lime-soda feldspar, augite, hypersthene, and iron ores. They
carry a variable amount of hornblende in many cases, whose
connection with the chemical composition is quite variable,
as it is so closely allied to augite chemically. The pyroxene-
andesites grade into basalt chemically and mineralogically
as they carry more and more olivine and less hypersthene.
On the other hand, they grade into more acid andesites
by increasing percentages of biotite, which characterizes the
hornblende-mica-andesites . These rocks are composed of more
alkaline lime-soda feldspar, biotite, hornblende, and a vari¬
able percentage of pyroxene and less iron ores.

As the chemical composition of the rocks varies toward
the more siliceous end of the series, the last-named andesites
pass into dacites with the development of quartz and some¬
times sanidine, besides the oligoclase and biotite, with less
and less hornblende and pyroxene. At the more acid end of
the series are the rhyolites, characterized by quartz, sanidine,
and a variable amount of lime-soda feldspar, with little or
no ferro-magnesian silicates.

These are actual observations for large areas of country.
When the mineral character of the rocks varies from this
rule it can be traced in the great majority of cases to varia¬
tions in the chemical composition. Thus the development
of leucite at Leucite Hills, Wyo. Ter., can be traced to the
large percentage of potash in the rock ; the occurrence of
nepheline in the Black Hills, Dak., to an increase in the
soda. The mineral composition of the trachytes, phonolites,
leucite basalts, and other volcanic rocks can be correlated
with their chemical composition.

(2.) There are mineralogical variations, however, which
do not appear to be connected with variations in the chem¬
ical character of the rocks ; such as the occurrence of primary
quartz in numerous basalts and andesites ; of porphyritical
crystals of hornblende in the basaltic rocks, or those of olivine
in acid andesites and in some dacites, and of fayalite in rhy¬
olitic obsidian. Such occurrences are widespread, but are,
nevertheless, exceptional in the sense that they form a very

92

IDDINGS.

small portion of the whole number of occurrences. They
appear to owe their origin to causes that are not ordinarily
in control of the crystallization of these rocks, some of which
have been discussed by the writer elsewhere.*

Relation of the Mineral Composition to the Geological Occur¬
rence. — The mineral character of rocks of the same chemical
composition is found to vary greatly with their geological
occurrence and their mode of crystallization. The variation
in the mineral composition of rocks derived from the same
chemical magma and its relation to their geological sur¬
roundings is a fact to which sufficient attention has not yet
been given. It is one of the greatest importance for the
proper correlation and classification of rocks.

It is strikingly well illustrated by certain intrusive rocks
at several localities in the Yellowstone National Park, which
are the equivalents of the surface lavas. The study of these
rocks shows that the mineral composition of the coarse¬
grained forms of the different magmas is quite different from
that of the corresponding lava flows, the most noticeable dif¬
ference being in the development of biotite and quartz in the
coarse-grained varieties of those magmas, which, as glassy
rocks, take the form of pyroxene-andesite or of hornblende-
pyroxene-andesite.

The study also shows that a regular mineralogical varia¬
tion among rocks of similar grain is found to accompany
chemical variations. The regularity of these variations,
however, is modified by the fact that the geological occur¬
rence of a magma and the history of its physical experiences
is different for different parts of one magma. This renders
the discovery of the laws of rock crystallization the more dif¬
ficult, and makes clear the necessity of an extremely close
geological study of all such occurrences.

*Am. Journ. Sci., vol. xxxiii, Jan., 1887 ; ibid., vol. xxxvi, Sept., 1888;
Seventh Ann. Eeport U. S. Geol. Survey, 1888; also Bull. IT. S. Geol. Sur¬
vey, “ On a group of igneous rocks from the Tewan Mountains, New Mex¬
ico.” [Not yet issued.]

CRYSTALLIZATION OF IGNEOUS ROCKS.

93

Part II.—Causes of Crystallization.

Artificial Production of Pocks and Minerals. — Turning from
the phenomena of crystallization to the consideration of the
causes producing them, it is apparent that the evidence of
direct observation is the most important, and should be con¬
sidered first. The molten condition of volcanic lavas when
they reach the surface of the earth testifies to the general
condition of all igneous rocks previous to their solidification,
and shows that we have to deal with the crystallization of
molten magmas.

The experiments of James Hall,* Gregory Watt, f Haubree,|
Fouque, and Michel-Levy § upon the production of crystal¬
line rocks by artificial processes have demonstrated that cer¬
tain kinds of rocks can be produced by the simple cooling
of fused magmas having the requisite chemical composition.

The synthetical researches of Fouque and Michel-Levy
are of special importance because of their extent and the iden¬
tity of the products they obtained to those occurring in
nature. They succeeded in producing by purely dry fusion
and gradual cooling at ordinary pressures a large number of
the rock-making minerals, including anorthite, labradorite,
oligoclase, nepheline, leucite, augite, enstatite, olivine, meli-
lite, magnetite, and picotite. They also obtained certain
basic rocks, as basalt, diabase, augite-andesite, nephelinite,
leucitite, and lherzolite, and thereby proved that these rocks
can be formed by the gradual cooling of magmas from a con¬
dition of purely igneous fusion at low pressures.

* James Hall. “Experiments on whinstone and lava [1798].” Trans.
Roy. Soc. Edinburgh, vol. 5, 1805, pp. 43-76.

f Gregory Watt. “ Observations on basalt and on the transition from the
vitreous to the stony texture which occurs in the gradual refrigeration of
melted basalt, with some geological remarks.” Phil. Trans. Royal Soc.,
London, 1804, p. 179.

t A. Daubree. Etudes synthetiques de geologie experimentale. Paris,
1879, p. 517.

§F. Fouque and Michel-Levy. Synthese des mineraux et des roches.

94

IDDINGS.

They also observed the great tendency of angite and ensta-
tite to crystallize out of a cooling magma, and remarked that
the magma must be cooled very rapidly to prevent their
partial separation from it.* Nepheline crystallizes rather
easily, and the feldspars less so, while a certain group of the
rock-making minerals fail to crystallize at all under the con¬
ditions of purely igneous fusion at ordinary pressures. These
minerals are quartz, ortho clase! albite, mica, and hornblende.

It is to be observed that the last-named minerals are those
that characterize the more acid rocks, which it has been
remarked more frequently occur in a glassy condition than
the basic ones, the latter exhibiting a greater tendency to
crystallize than the former when subjected to the same phys¬
ical conditions.

On the other hand, quartz, orthoclase, and albitef have
been produced artificially at high temperatures in the pres¬
ence of water vapor and other gases under high pressure,
and mica has been produced by the simple fusion of silicates
with fluorides. % This has led many investigators to the con¬
clusion that the crystallization of rocks composed of these
minerals requires the assistance of a mineralizing agent in the
condition of an absorbed vapor. The influence of absorbed
vapors to promote crystallization has been observed in the
production of artificial glasses, where it is found necessary to
free the molten glass from gas bubbles to prevent its devitri¬
fication upon cooling.

The results of experimentation are far from the solution
of the problem before us. They have not as yet succeeded
in producing the minerals — quartz, orthoclase, mica, and
hornblende — in the manner in which they occur either in

* Loc. cit., p. 49.

| Friedel and Sarasin. Bull. Soc. Mineral. France, vol. 2, 1879, p. 158;
ibid., vol. 3, 1880, p. 171; Comptes rendus Acad. Sci., Paris, vol. 92, 1881,
p. 1374; ibid. ,vol. 97, 1883, pp. 290-294; K. von Chrustschoff. Am. Chemist,
1873; Tschermak’s min. pet. Mittheil, vol. 4, 1882, p. 536.

J Hautefeuille. Comptes rendus Acad. Sci., Paris, vol. 104, 1887, p. 508 ;
K. von Chrustschoff. Tschermak’s min. pet. Mittheil, vol. 9, 1888, p. 55.
C. Doelter. Tschermak’s min. pet. Mittheil, vol. 10, 1889, p. 67.

CRYSTALLIZATION OF IGNEOUS ROCKS.

95

volcanic rocks or in the coarsely crystalline ones ; nor have
they produced the feldspars in those isomorphous series so
common to eruptive rocks. In this respect they have only
suggested the possible necessity of a mineralizing agent, and
have indicated the lines upon which further research should
be made.

Conclusions Based upon Analogy. — Leaving the firm ground
of direct experimentation for the uncertain footing of specu¬
lation, we come to the consideration of the probable nature
of molten rock magmas.

In 1861 Bunsen pointed out the correspondence between
rock magmas and solutions of salts. Calling attention to
the fact that the order of crystallization of the essential min¬
erals in granite was not in accord with their fusibility, and
that their order of separation from the magma upon its
cooling was not that which should be expected if they existed
in it simply as fused substances, it corresponded to what
would happen if they were in solution in one another and
obeyed the laws governing the solution of salts. He remarks
that “no chemist would think of assuming that a solution
ceases to be a solution when it is heated to 200, 300, 400 de¬
grees, or when it reaches a temperature at which it begins
to glow, or to be a molten fluid. Thus, for example, he would
not think of assuming that a mixture of ice and crystallized
calcium chloride, which has become fluid, is indeed a solu¬
tion, but that a fluid mixture of quartz and feldspar is not,
because it becomes fluid at a red heat. No one can longer
entertain the slightest doubt that that which holds good for
solutions at lower temperatures must also hold good for solu¬
tions at higher temperatures.”*

Schottf considered glasses as supersaturated solutions anal¬
ogous to salt solutions, and Lagorio,J in 1887, assumes that

* R. Bunsen. Zeitschr. deutsch. geol. Gesell., vol. 13, 1861, p. 62.

t Schott. Poggendorff, Annalen, vol. 154, p. 422.

J A. Lagorio. “ Ueber die Natur der Glasbasis, sowie der Krystallisa-
tionsvorgange im eruptiven Magma.” Tschermak’s min. pet. Mitth., vol.
8, 1887, p. 437.

96

IDDINGS.

a molten rock magma is nothing more than a supersaturated
solution of different silicates, which only need a slight in¬
centive, according to the degree of saturation of each com¬
pound, in order to crystallize out as rock constituents. He
discusses at length the crystallization of magmas from a
chemical standpoint, and the influence of his views upon
the present paper may be recognized in many places.

In the light of our present knowledge, or in the absence
of any knowledge to the contrary, this seems the most reason¬
able hypothesis as to the nature of rock magmas.

It is to be remarked that in considering these magmas
with respect to their crystallization we have only to deal
with them near their point of solidification, and therefore
have no need of considering their possible condition at ex¬
cessive temperatures.

It is also to be remembered that the actual chemical status
of solutions and the physical conceptions of fusion and solidi¬
fication are as yet unsolved problems of the most essential
nature. Nevertheless, some of the laws governing the crys¬
tallization of solutions have been investigated to a certain
extent, and have been formulated by Sorby.* He found that
the crystallization of those salts that condense upon crystal¬
lization from a fluid condition is aided by an increase of
pressure, and that the reverse is true for those which expand
upon crystallization. The silicate rock-making minerals are
found to belong to the former class, for their crystallized con¬
dition is denser than their amorphous or glassy modification,
and these glasses are denser than the molten substance at the
same temperature. Hence it is assumed that when they exist
in a fluid magma a diminution of pressure would lower the
point of temperature at which they would crystallize out of
the magma; or, expressed differently, if a magma were on
the point of crystallizing under a particular pressure and
temperature, a diminution of the pressure would prevent the
crystallization by decreasing the degree of saturation, and

*Proc. Boy. Soc., London, vol. 12, 1863, p. 538.

CRYSTALLIZATION OF IGNEOUS ROCKS.

97

would make it necessary for the temperature to be lowered
before the proper degree of saturation was reached.

The effects of temperature and pressure on such solutions
near their point of crystallization are consequently the re¬
verse of one another. An increase of temperature hinders
crystallization; a decrease of temperature induces it. An
increase of pressure induces crystallization; a decrease of
pressure hinders it.

It is well known that salts differ greatly in their solubility
and in the tendency they possess to saturate a solution ; or,
in other words, that a solvent may take up different amounts
of various substances before becoming saturated. The amount
is generally greater as the temperature is higher. A solution
that is saturated at a certain high temperature becomes
supersaturated as the temperature is lowered and parts with
the excess of the dissolved substance, which crystallizes out.
It is possible to render a solution highly supersaturated by
cooling it very gradually and quietly.

The relative tendency of various chemical compounds that
occur in rocks to saturate siliceous magmas has been investi¬
gated by Pelouze * and others, who experimented on artificial
glass to discover what amount of these compounds could be
introduced into the glass without producing devitrification
or crystallization. The results of these experiments are
summed up by Lagorio,f in the paper already cited, as fol¬
lows : “ Potash silicates saturate molten silicate solutions
with great difficulty, the same is true of alumina; soda
silicates more easily, then follows CaO, MgO, as well as
the oxides of the heavier metals (FeO more difficultly than
Fe2 03), as well as titanium and zirconium. Si02 saturates
silicate solutions with difficulty.” Hence the order in which
these compounds tend to saturate silicate solutions, com¬
mencing with that having the strongest tendency, is as fol¬
lows : Ti and Zr, Fe2 03, FeO, MgO, CaO, Na2 0, Si02, Al2 03,
K2 0, the position of silica not being definitely stated.

* Comptes rendus Acad. Sci., Paris, vol. 64, 1867, p. 53.

t Loc. cit., p. 501.

11-Bull. Phil. Soc., Wash., Vol. 11.

98

IDDINGS.

Application of the Foregoing Conclusions to Rock Magmas.

Saturation of Rock Magmas. — From the foregoing observa¬
tions we may reasonably conclude that the degree of satura¬
tion of natural molten glasses or rock magmas will depend
on the temperature and pressure at which they exist. In a
perfectly molten state the relation between the temperature
and pressure is such that all of the compounds remain in
solution. The character of the saturation will depend pri¬
marily on the relative amounts of these chemical compounds,
which are present in all rock -magmas in variable propor¬
tions.

In a cooling magma which originally was perfectly molten
we may imagine the rate of cooling such that crystallization
is possible ; then as the temperature decreases a point will
be reached where some one or more of the chemical com¬
pounds supersaturates the solution and begins to crystallize
out. At a lower temperature a point is reached where another
combination must crystallize out, and so on until the whole
mixture has solidified — it may be to a complete mass of crys¬
tallized compounds or to a mixture of crystals and amor¬
phous, uncrystallized glass.

(1.) The nature of the compound that crystallizes first will
depend primarily on the chemical make-up of the magma,
and will vary accordingly. From the order already given
of the ability possessed by the chemical compounds in ques¬
tion to saturate such a solution, it appears that it requires a
smaller amount of the iron oxides and magnesia than of
lime, and a still smaller amount of these than of the alkalies
and alumina to saturate the magma. Hence, if they occurred
in nearly equal quantities, the first compounds to separate
out would be the ferro-magnesian silicates, followed by those
bearing lime and alumina, with more or less of the alkalies,
while the last to separate would be the alkali-aluminous
silicates and free silica. This order would be maintained if
the proportion of the -first-named compounds increased, but

CRYSTALLIZATION OF IGNEOUS ROCKS.

99

would not obtain if the amount of the silica and alkalies
passed a certain limit. In the latter case it should happen
that the alkali-aluminous compounds and free silica crys¬
tallize before the ferro-magnesian compounds.

It is to be remarked that in a cooling solution of various
compounds, when a point is reached where certain of the
compounds are in excess of what the solution is then capable
of holding dissolved, this excess is crystallized out and the
relative proportions of the various compounds is changed.
In a subsequent phase of the cooling another compound may
reach the point of excess and it may start to crystallize. In
this manner a number of crystallizations may take place
beside one another, though they started to crystallize at suc¬
cessive periods of the cooling.

In the case of magmas highly charged with silica and the
alkalies it is probable that the early separations would con¬
sist of these compounds, and that the ferro-magnesian com¬
pounds would crystallize later and would finish their sepa¬
ration before the alkali compounds and the free silica did.

(2.) The exact chemical nature of compounds when in so¬
lution is as yet little known ; their mutual relations when
in a mixed solution is still less understood. The influence
of the temperature and pressure upon their crystallization
from mixed solutions has not been determined for a sufficient
number of substances to lead to general conclusions ; but
enough has been observed to indicate that the resulting crys¬
tallizations vary within certain limits according to the
physical conditions under which they separate from mixed
solutions.

Hence it should happen that chemically similar magmas
that cool under similar physical conditions should crystallize
alike, and that differences in the nature of the crystallization
of such magmas should indicate differences in the physical
conditions attending their cooling. Further, that chemically
different magmas which cool under similar physical condi¬
tions should differ in the nature of their crystallization ac¬
cording to their chemical variations ; and, finally, that if one

100

IDDINGS.

magma cools under a variety of physical conditions which
obtain for different portions of its mass the resulting crystal¬
lization should vary with the changes of physical conditions.

If the variations in the physical conditions which attend
the crystallization of the great majority of magmas are con¬
fined to a certain range the corresponding differences in the
crystallization will also be limited, and will be recognized as
of frequent occurrence. Greater variations in the physical
conditions would lead to less frequent variations in the crys¬
tallization, both of which would be considered exceptional.
By crystallization is to be understood both the kind of min¬
erals developed and the structure they assume.

(3.) These theoretical conclusions agree with the general
observations already stated, that among rocks of similar
geological occurrence — that is, where the physical history of
the crystallization has been similar — the mineral composition
of the different kinds of rocks varies according to the chem¬
ical composition ; that among rocks of different geological
occurrence — that is, where the physical history has been dif¬
ferent — the mineral composition of rocks of similar chemical
character varies according to the geological occurrence.

To these rules there are many apparent exceptions ; but it
must be remembered that only a portion of the physical his¬
tory of the crystallization of any rock can be discovered by
observation, and that the greater part of it must be derived
by indirect methods, if at all. Thus it is possible to judge
in many cases of the conditions under which crystallization
took place after a magma came to rest from the geological
environment in which we find it afterwards ; but there is no
direct means of observing what conditions it passed through

before coming to rest.

■

Consideration of Magmas during Their Eruption. — The gen¬
eral nature of the physical changes experienced by a magma
previous to its coming to rest can be understood if we con¬
sider the act of eruption of igneous magmas.

In this consideration we shall start with a molten, fluid

CRYSTALLIZATION OF IGNEOUS ROCKS. 101

magma about to rise from a great depth through its conduit
toward the surface of the earth. Whether it contains any
crystal secretions at this stage we have no means of judging,
for it has been observed that all of the rock-making minerals
are capable of crystallizing at or near the surface of the earth,
and none demand an unusual depth for their formation. On
the contrary, it has been observed that molten magmas fre¬
quently reach the surface or to near the surface without
having commenced the crystallization which often leads to
their complete separation into minerals.

(1.) As the magma rises through its conduit the 'pressure
will diminish in proportion to the vertical distance traversed.
The temperature will also diminish, but according to the loss
of heat by conduction through the walls of the conduit.
This loss will be more variable than that of the pressure,
and will proceed at a different ratio to the distance traversed.
As it depends primarily on the temperature of the walls of
the conduit and on their conductivity, it is readily seen that
the rate of decrease of temperature will be much less at first,
when the hotter rocks near the original seat of the magma
are being traversed, than when the cooler rocks near the
surface of the earth are passed through. Hence the loss of
heat will be slow at first and more rapid toward the end of
the eruption, while the decrease of pressure will be more
nearly uniform.

Now, since the effects of heat and of pressure upon fluid
rock magmas have been assumed to be the opposite of one
another, though not necessarily in a directly inverse ratio,
it is seen that a rapid decrease of pressure might more than
offset a slower loss of heat, and the result would be equiva¬
lent to an increase of heat. Thus the magma might at first
become more fluid and farther from the point of saturation
and crystallization than before its eruption.

If we assume that the rate of ascension in the conduit is
uniform, it is apparent that the ratio between the loss of heat
and the decrease of pressure will increase as the magma

102

IDDINGS.

approaches the surface. At some particular moment the
ratio between them may be such that the rate of loss of the
heat exceeds that of the decrease of pressure, and the magma
reaches a degree of saturation that necessitates the crystal¬
lization of certain of the compounds in solution. As long as
the changes in the heat and pressure continue in the same
direction the crystallization of the magma will progress.

When the magma reaches the end of its eruption the
pressure will remain very nearly constant, while the heat
will continue to decrease, but at a different rate, which will
depend on the environment of the magma. It may decrease
more slowly or more rapidly, and with it the character of
the crystallization will vary.

When a column of magma has come to rest and fills its
conduit the pressure at various places in the column will
remain nearly constant, but will be greater from point to
point downward. The temperature will continue to decrease
by conduction through the walls of the conduit, but from
what has already been said it is probable that the tempera¬
ture of the conduit’s walls will be greater downward, and the
actual temperature of the magma will also be greater down¬
ward. The rate of the loss of heat by conduction will prob¬
ably decrease as the distance below the surface of the earth
increases ; hence the magma should cool much more slowly
at great depths than near the surface ; but the effect of the
increased pressure upon deeper and deeper portions of the
magma would be to increase the degree of saturation for any
given temperature or to raise the point of temperature at
which supersaturation and crystallization sets in. It would
consequently tend to counteract the effect of the increase of
temperature in the deeper portions of the magma and the
slower rate of cooling, and would produce greater uniformity
in the crystallization which takes place at various points in
a vertical column of magma.

From the study of volcanic phenomena we know that the
act of eruption is not always a uniform movement of a
magma from great depths to its final place of rest ; that its

CRYSTALLIZATION OP IGNEOUS ROCKS.

103

conduit is not a regularly shaped orifice, but a very irregular
one, constantly changing in width and cross-section, and
that the experience of various magmas which traverse the
same conduit must be very different.

(2.) Thus the later of a series of eruptions may pass
through a conduit whose walls have been heated by the mag¬
mas that previously passed through it. Indeed, the latter
end of a large body of magma will pass through hotter rocks
than the advance end of the magma encountered. Conse¬
quently the rate of cooling will be different in the later and
earlier magmas, and even in the ends of the same magma.
It may therefore happen that the crystallization of the first
part of a great body of magma will start earlier in the erup¬
tion and lower in the conduit than the last part of the same
body, and the character of the crystallization may differ
greatly in these parts of the magma.

(3.) It is also probable, in the case of a large conduit per¬
mitting the passage of a broad body of magma, that the rate
of cooling at the sides of the body near the walls of the con¬
duit will be greater than the rate of cooling at the center of
the mass. Consequently the crystallization may commence
at the sides before it does in the center, and the nature of the
crystallization vary from the sides towards the center. This
is illustrated by large intrusive bodies which have stopped
in their conduits and which exhibit distinct differences of
crystallization at the sides and center. The sides of such
bodies often exhibit a porphyritic structure with medium¬
grained groundmass and porphyritical crystals ( phenocrysts )
of quartz, feldspar, or other minerals, according to the rock,
while at the center the structure is granitoid or coarse-grained,
with no porphyritical crystals {phenocrysts). The compounds
which crystallized from the magma at the sides of the body
with the character of porphyritical minerals crystallized from
the magma at the center of the body with the characters of
allotriomorphic or granitic minerals. In some of these cases
it is apparent that the porphyritical crystals {phenocrysts) de-

104

IDDINGS.

veloped before the magma came to rest, for the groundmass
exhibits flow structure, while it may be equally evident that
all of the minerals at the center of the mass developed after
the magma came to rest.

(4.) The progress of a magma through its conduit may not
be at a uniform rate. In fact, it could not be uniform if the
shape and size of the conduit varied. It must travel faster
through the narrower portions than through the broader.
Moreover, its progress is often spasmodic, rising a certain
distance and discharging the advance portion out at the
surface, or into gaps in the superficial crust where planes of
weakness divide the rock ; then standing, or even sinking, in
the conduit until another combination of forces causes it to
rise still farther.

The effect of a rapid increase in the rate of ascension in
the conduit would relieve the pressure at a faster rate, which
might gain on the rate of cooling to such an extent as to
destroy the previous ratio between them. Its effect would
be equivalent to an increase of temperature. If this ratio
had previously been that which caused the supersaturation
of the magma and induced crystallization, the newly dimin¬
ished ratio would have the effect of reducing the degree of
saturation and of hindering further crystallization, or might
even lead to the dissolving of the minerals already separated
out — that is, of resorbing them.

Thus it may happen that the porphyritical crystals ( pheno -
crysts) in a magma may be partially resorbed during the
ascension of the magma, not by an increase of temperature,
but during its actual decrease, the cause of the resorption
being the rapid diminution of the pressure.

When the balance between the temperature and pressure
oscillated about the point of saturation of the magma the
development and retardation of crystallization might be
often repeated, as it appears to have been in certain zonally
built minerals with irregular, rounded zones of resorption.

Before leaving the subject of the resorption of crystals it

CRYSTALLIZATION OP IGNEOUS ROCKS.

105

may be well to consider how the re-solution of minerals
would take place when several kinds existed in the same
magma.

If the magma, upon cooling under decreasing pressure,
reaches a point where the molecules of one kind of mineral
can no longer remain in solution, they crystallize out ; and
at a subsequent point the molecules of a second kind of
mineral can no longer remain in solution, and they crystal¬
lize out ; and so on until three or four kinds of minerals have
crystallized out of the magma. If, now, the ratio between
the temperature and pressure diminishes, so that the result
is a greater capacity of the magma to contain matter in solu¬
tion, then the mineral molecules should be resorbed in the
reversed order to that in which they were excluded from solu¬
tion ; for the tendency of a substance to saturate a solution
is in a measure inversely proportioned to its solubility in the
solvent. Hence the relative solubility of minerals in the solu¬
tion out of which they have crystallized should be inversely
as their power to saturate it. Thus the mineral which crys¬
tallized last would be the first to be resorbed. Consequently
the youngest mineral should exhibit the greatest amount of
resorption.

Rate of Cooling and Rock Structures. — It appears to be un¬
questionably the rule that the crystallization due to slow
cooling proceeds from a comparatively few centers, while that
due to rapid cooling proceeds from a much greater number
of centers closer together. Hence the slower rate of cooling
which a magma may experience in the earlier stages of its
eruption will lead to the crystallization of a comparatively
few individuals of any mineral. These may grow to consid¬
erable size before the rate of cooling is sufficiently increased
to set up crystallization from a greater number of centers.
Such a change would start other individuals of the same
mineral that would not reach the size of those started earlier,
which may continue growing. In this manner there may be
produced a porphyritic structure in which there is a grada-

12— Bull. Phil. Soc., Wash., Vol. 11.

106

IDDINGS.

tion in the size of the crystals of one or more of the essential
minerals, from the largest porphyritical individual to the
smallest, which occur in far greater numbers in the ground-
mass. Such structures are common among the andesites.

It is evident that a sudden increase in the rate of cooling
would produce a fine-grained groundmass with distinct por¬
phyritical crystals ( phenocrysts ).

Where the magma retained sufficient heat during its erup¬
tion to prevent the separation of crystals early in its history
it would reach its stopping place without porphyritical crys¬
tals {phenocrysts). The structure would then result from a
nearly uniform rate of cooling, and would become compara¬
tively even-grained if the magma was homogeneous. The
rate of cooling would affect the size of the grain, which might
be extremely fine or very coarse.

Extremely rapid cooling would prevent all crystallization
and would solidify the mass as glass.

Relative Influence of the Various Causes of Crystallization in
Rock Magmas. — (1.) When we consider the relative impor¬
tance of the causes leading to the crystallization of rock
magmas we conclude that of the various factors treated of in
the foregoing discussion the most evident and essential is the
loss of heat, or cooling. All igneous rocks have solidified as
cooling bodies from a fluid state, and so long as their origi¬
nal temperature existed they would not have crystallized
under the conditions existing near the surface of the earth.

It is also evident that the element of time is almost as essen¬
tial as that of cooling ; for it is known that a certain amount
of time is necessary for the development of crystals, and that
very rapid cooling may solidify any rock magma in the form
of glass. The rate of cooling , therefore, becomes the compound
factor whose influence is to be compared with that of the
chemical composition, mineralizers, and pressure.

The relative efficiency of these factors, which have taken
part in the crystallization of most if not of all rocks, can be

CRYSTALLIZATION OF IGNEOUS ROCKS.

107

ascertained to a certain extent by comparing occurrences
where the relations of two or more of them are known.

To judge of the influence of the rate of cooling we must
compare instances where similar magmas or parts of one
magma have crystallized under the same or similar pressures,
and where the mineralizer, if present, has been uniformly
disseminated through the mass. These conditions are often
realized, and may be found between neighboring points in
a chemically homogeneous body, as in a horizontal plane
across a broad dike. The crystallization often varies very
decidedly in a rock body in such connection with its sides or
cooling surfaces that it plainly indicates the great influence
of the rate of cooling. It is more strongly marked where
bodies of different sizes have crystallized under essentially
the same pressure.

(2.) The influence of the chemical composition of the magma
upon the extent or degree of crystallization appears to stand
next in importance. It is very clearly recognized when
bodies are compared that have crystallized under similar
geological conditions, which indicate very nearly the same
rates of cooling and degrees of pressure, the basic magmas
exhibiting a much greater tendency to crystallize than the
highly siliceous or alkaline ones.

(3.) The influence of a mineralizer is very apparent in some
instances, and can be appreciated by studying a portion of a
rock body which has solidified under a uniform pressure and
rate of cooling, but in which the mineralizing agent has been
irregularly distributed. It is then observed that the crystal¬
lization varies conspicuously with the mineralizer. Such
cases have been noted in spherulitic and laminated obsidian
and rhyolite and in those with lithophysse.

The cases in which the influence of a mineralizer can be
recognized are very much fewer than those in which the
effect of cooling or of the essential chemical composition is
observed. Hence it appears to be a much less important
factor than either of these. If a mineralizer be uniformly

108

IDDINGS.

distributed through a magma, however, its influence may be
overlooked.

(4.) The influence of pressure upon the crystallization of
magmas, judged by the evidence presented by the phenomena
of crystallization, appears to be slight ; for it has been ob¬
served that all of the rock-making minerals, including the
earliest to crystallize, may form under very great pressure,
and also under comparatively slight pressure, being devel¬
oped in some instances on or near the surface of the earth,
and it is not possible to determine from the character of the
crystals themselves whether in a particular case they were
formed near the surface or thousands of feet below it.

Portions of the same magma that have crystallized a thou¬
sand or more feet from one another vertically exhibit the
same minerals and structure where the rate of cooling was
about the same.

But it has already been remarked that the influence of
greater pressure on deeper portions of a magma may offset
the influence of slower cooling and equalize the crystalliza¬
tion at different depths in a column of magma. In this case
the influence of pressure on the crystallization of rocks at
different depths may easily be miscalculated, as the rate of
cooling in any case is entirely conjectural.

With the exception of tridymite, which is almost exclu¬
sively confined to surface lavas, and whose development is
probably due to mineralizing agencies and is often accom¬
panied by the crystallization of quartz, there is no dimorph¬
ism among the rock-making minerals. Their essential
crystallographic characters are the same, whether they were
formed early in the history of the magma or late.

There are optical anomalies in certain minerals, such as
leucite, which indicate that the crystal form or character
assumed at the time of crystallization is not that which is
stable under present conditions ; but this is equally true of
those crystals that were formed at great depths as of those
that were formed much nearer the surface of the earth, and
appears to arise from the change in the temperature under

CRYSTALLIZATION OF IGNEOUS ROCKS.

109

which it has existed ; for it has been found*, in the case of
leucite, that simple heating obliterates the optical anomalies
and twin lamination, and restores the mineral to what was
undoubtedly its original crystal character. Hence the range
of physical conditions under which igneous rocks have crys¬
tallized does not appear to have been great enough to have
produced dimorphism, with the exception of the often con¬
temporaneous production of quartz and tridymite.

Condition of Rock Magmas Previous to Crystallization. — Fi¬
nally, when it is remembered that most of the porphyrit-
ical or older minerals in glassy rocks carry glass inclusions
with comparatively large gas bubbles, the diameter of the
bubble being half that of the whole inclusion in some instances,
which is often the case with quartz ; and when it is consid¬
ered that these bubbles indicate either that the glass has con¬
tracted upon solidification and has become so much denser
than when first inclosed in the mineral at some great depth,
or else that gas actually existed in the magma at the time of
the inclosure as a gas with the volume of the bubble, and
has not condensed to a liquid state, we may reasonably con¬
clude that the ordinary phenomena of the crystallization of
igneous rocks do not indicate the existence of extraordinary
physical conditions at the commencement of the crystalli¬
zation of their magma, and that they throw no light on the
possible condition of these magmas previous to the molten
fluid state in which crystallization began.

Conceptions of such previous conditions, if they are to be
gotten at all, must be derived from the consideration of other
phenomena than those exhibited by the ordinary crystalli¬
zation of igneous rocks.

Resume.

There are numerous facts concerning the crystallization of
igneous rocks that are familiar to all students of petrography,

*C. Klein. Neues Jahrb. Min., etc., 1884, II, p. 50; S. L. Penfield,
ibid., 1884, II, p. 224; H. Rosenbusch, ibid., 1885, II, p. 59.

110

IDDINGS.

which have not been discussed in this paper. Some of them
may have a direct bearing on the points here raised. Many
of them are more closely connected with certain phenomena
which belong to another phase of the question which has
been intentionally left for another paper, the purpose of the
present paper being to present only the essential facts which
seem to contribute to an understanding of the act of crystal¬
lization and of the nature of rock magmas. The facts con¬
cerning the phenomena of crystallization have been arranged
so as to show : —

The general structure of different igneous rocks and the
manner in which the mineral crystals occur in them.

The various kinds of minerals composing the rocks, their
chemical nature and association in different rocks.

The character of these minerals as crystals and the means
of distinguishing their relative age in glassy and in holo-
crystalline rocks.

The nature of the inclusions in these minerals, their kinds,
mode of occurrence, associations, and their significance.

The zonal structure of certain minerals and its significance.

The tendency of certain minerals to include certain other
substances and minerals ; to crystallize together as synchro¬
nous intergrowths or as successive parallel growths.

The crystallization of the constituent minerals in one con¬
tinuous period or in two or more interrupted periods.

The order in which these minerals crystallize and its varia¬
bility for different kinds of rocks.

The essential difference between minerals of different gen¬
erations in some cases.

The essential identity of minerals of different generations
in other cases and its important bearing on the apparent in¬
fluence or lack of influence of the pressure under which
these generations took place upon the nature of the minerals
crystallized.

The extraneous differences between minerals of different
generations in one rock combined with identity of mineral
substance.

CRYSTALLIZATION OF IGNEOUS ROCKS.

Ill

The relation of rock structures to the geological occurrence
of glassy fine-grained and coarse-grained rocks.

The instances where all of the crystallization took place
after the magma reached to within a short distance of the
surface of the earth.

The relation of rock structures to the chemical composi¬
tion of the rock, showing its effect on the extent of crystal¬
lization and the character of the structure.

The relation of the mineral composition of rocks to their
chemical composition for rocks of like geological occurrence,
with a notice of certain exceptions.

The relation of the mineral composition of rocks to their
geological occurrence, and the consequent variation of the
mineral composition of rocks having like chemical compo¬
sition.

In discussing the probable causes that have led to the
crystallization of these rocks attention was first turned to
the results of direct experimentation, which show —

That certain basic rocks and their component minerals
can be produced by the gradual cooling of their fused ma¬
terial under slight pressures.

That the pyroxenes have a great tendency to crystallize
under such conditions, and that nepheline and lime-soda
feldspars crystallize less easily.

That certain minerals characteristic of the acid rocks have
not yet been produced in this way.

That the latter minerals have been produced with the aid
of mineralizing agents.

From analogy with the crystallization of saturated solu¬
tions of salts it seems highly probable that molten rock
magmas are saturated solutions of silicate compounds and
certain oxides.

The exact laws governing the crystallization of salts from
mixed solutions have not been determined, and nothing is
known regarding the actual behavior of rock magmas under
different physical conditions. It is assumed that Sorby’s

112

IDDINGS.

law holds for solutions at high temperatures and great press¬
ures.

The results of the experiments of Pelouze and others upon
the saturation of artificial glasses are applied to the satura¬
tion of natural glasses, and the conclusions drawn —

That the degree of saturation of rock magmas depends
primarily on the temperature and pressure.

That the character of the saturation depends primarily on
their chemical composition.

That in cooling magmas the order of crystallization will
depend primarily on their chemical composition.

That the nature of the crystallization should vary with
the physical conditions attending solidification.

The consideration of magmas during their eruption takes
account of —

The uniform decrease of pressure accompanying the ascen¬
sion of the magma in its conduit.

The accelerated decrease of temperature as it approaches
the surface of the earth, and its resultant influence on the
saturation of the magma.

The changes in the temperature of the walls of the con¬
duit, which may become highly heated and permit the magma
to reach the surface of the earth before crystallization sets in.

The effects of large conduits in producing different rates
of cooling at the sides and in the center of large bodies of
magma.

The variability in the velocity of eruption and the retarda¬
tion of crystallization, or the resorption of crystals.

It appears that the order of resorption should be according
to the solubility of the minerals, which is inversely as their
power to saturate the solution. Consequently the last min¬
eral crystallized should exhibit the greatest amount of resorp¬
tion.

The rate of cooling affects the grain of the rock — slow
cooling producing fewer and larger crystals ; rapid cooling,

CRYSTALLIZATION OF IGNEOUS ROCKS.

113

more abundant smaller crystals ; and extremely rapid cool¬
ing preventing all crystallization.

The order of importance of the factors bringing about
crystallization appears to be as follows :

Cooling and a certain amount of

Time, or the rate of cooling ;

Chemical composition of the magma ;

Mineralizing agents ;

Pressure , its direct effect not having as yet been recognized.

The phenomena of the crystallization of igneous rocks in¬
dicate that they were fluid molten magmas previous to crys¬
tallization, and throw no light on the previous condition of
these fluid magmas. /

REDUCTION OF PENDULUM OBSERVATIONS.

BY

Erasmus Darwin Preston.

[Read before the Society by permission of the Superintendent of the U. S.
Coast and Geodetic Survey, May 25, 1889.]

Every physical investigation involves certain determina¬
ble quantities. The accuracy attainable in the measurement
of these quantities depends on various external conditions,
to a certain extent beyond our control, but which, from the
very fact that they bear on some one final result, have a
certain degree of correlation. If from reciprocally imposed
relations between the quantities sought and the data bear¬
ing on the solution of the problem the accuracy of the result
is limited, all auxiliary quantities should be determined
with especial reference to this degree of accuracy. In the
process of finding chronometer corrections from star observa¬
tions the refinement in the determination of any one of the
auxiliary quantities — i. e., in the correction for aberration,
level, azimuth, and collimation — should not be pushed be¬
yond that possible in the final result. When a time-piece,
from the nature of its mechanism, cannot be expected to
indicate true time — that is, to run uniformly with an error
less than one-tenth of a second — the application of the correc¬
tion for diurnal aberration becomes superfluous. This same
principle, namely, that the strength of any investigation in
physics is the strength of its weakest part, is everywhere
applicable, and it is proposed in the present paper to examine
recent work with the pendulum with reference to the degree
of accuracy attainable or desirable in the determination of
the corrections usually applied to the observed period of
oscillation.

13-Bull. Phil. Soe., Wash., Vol. II.

(115)

116

PRESTON.

The time of vibration is subject to a number of correc¬
tions, of which the most important are : First , for the rate
of the time-piece to which the period is referred ; second ,
the reduction to an infinitely small arc ; third, the correc¬
tion for temperature, and fourth, the atmospheric correction.
This last is usually divided into two parts, one of which is
statical and depends on buoyancy alone, and the other is
dynamical and results from the influence of the air which
is set in motion by the pendulum. The first part, being
merely a question of the relative densities of the oscil¬
lating body and the fluid by which it is surrounded, can
easily be found by calculation. The second part, depend¬
ing on the viscosity and humidity of the air and on the
form of the pendulum, can only be computed for certain
simple geometrical forms. It is now customary, however,
to determine them together, by making observations under
widely different atmospheric pressures. The temperature
correction is susceptible of two independent determinations :
either by measuring the coefficient of linear expansion of the
metal composing the pendulum, and by computation, deduc¬
ing the correction for one oscillation, or by swinging at very
different temperatures and noting the change in the period
due to a given change in the temperature. Of the other
corrections to the observed period of oscillation — that is, for
the slip and wear of the knives, the flexure of the support,
and the stretching of the pendulum by its own weight — we
shall not speak in the present paper, merely remarking that
in relative determinations of gravity they may in general be
dismissed from consideration, except in so far as is necessary
to assure ourselves that their amounts do not change from
station to station enough to vitiate the results of the observa¬
tions, considered now purely as differential work.

In the first place, let us see what has been the general
experience by modern observers in the measurement of the
time of oscillation of a seconds pendulum. Whether we
examine the results of the invariable, reversible, or converti¬
ble instrument, the discrepancies in the separate observa-

REDUCTION OF PENDULUM OBSERVATIONS.

117

tions, reduced of course to the same conditions, are not
widely different. This supposes the conditions to be not
abnormal ones ; because if the observations are made in an
extremely rarefied atmosphere, or at a very high tempera¬
ture, or through a wide amplitude for the purpose of study¬
ing these conditions, manifestly discrepancies found here
should not be taken as a criterion by which to judge this
class of work in general, and at ordinary conditions. For
swings that have a duration of four or five hours, and in a
series having half a dozen sets, we get a range between ex¬
treme values of slightly more than a second per day. This
is equivalent to differences between the independent meas¬
ures of the period of one hundred thousandth part. We
may therefore assume this to be a standard of accuracy ?
with reference to which the auxiliary quantities should be
determined.

The accuracy of any determination of time, as given by a
chronometer or clock, varies with the mechanism of the
time-piece and the conditions under which it is running.
The modern custom of making pendulum observations ex¬
tend through the entire 24 hours, eliminates to a great
extent the variations of rate ; and when stars are obtained
every night, the values given each swing are almost— and
those given for each day are entirely — independent of the
clock. But since, when the pendulum swings in the air, we
are confronted with independent values extending over only
a small fraction of the day, any variations of the clock rate
are made apparent, and it becomes necessary to know to
what extent the apparent discrepancies may be attributed to
the imperfection of the time-piece; and the shorter, the
swing, the more pronounced becomes these discrepancies.
The unit chosen for discrepancies will be one in the sixth
place of decimals — that is, one-millionth of a second. The
Kater pendulums, beginning with an arc of vibration of 1°,
will swing six hours before falling to an arc of 10'. Peirce’s
pendulums will swing 4J hours with the heavy end down,
and 1J hours with the heavy end up. The Repsold pendu-

118

PRESTON.

lum swings but little over one-third as long. Now it is well
known that the best made clocks give variations from the
mean daily rate of one or two tenth of a second for differ¬
ent hours when the temperature changes more than a few
degrees. Admit one and one half tenths for 15,000 oscilla¬
tions and we have a discrepancy of 20 between different
swings. This is slightly greater than those usually found,
but we have supposed the variations on each side of the
15,000 oscillation period to be equal and in opposite direc¬
tions, which is an exceptional case. At the greatest ele¬
vation in India, the English had variations of temperature
of 26° daily, and a two-hourly rate variation of the clock
from the mean that would amount to 24 seconds per day,
which would give a range in the discrepancies for a 15,000
oscillation period of about 70.

The extreme range of temperature at a Coast Survey sta¬
tion during a period of eleven days, 10,000 feet above sea
level, was 16° centigrade, and we have a range of about 40
in the observed discrepancies. This range of temperature
of 16° was not that to which the pendulums were subjected
during the experiments ; it is that of the air surrounding the
chronometers. The variation in the pendulum house was
about 11° centigrade. On the other hand, experiments made
by the same observer and with the same pendulums only show
a range of 4 in the discrepancies at the Lick observatory.
Here however every condition with regard to the time deter¬
mination was of the most favorable. The Dent clock, which
was on the chronograph most of the time for the pendulum
work, in a seven-day period only varied from its mean rate
two-tenths of a second. The variation of one of the Dutch
clocks, which was afterwards substituted for the Dent, was
even less. Mr. Keeler gives as the probable error of a clock
correction 0S.02. At the mountain station the chronometer
varied a second from a uniform rate in a seven-day period,
and as the star observations show that a change of nearly
two seconds . has occurred between the rates of consecutive
days we may expect discrepancies of 20 in the separate

REDUCTION OF PENDULUM OBSERVATIONS.

119

swings, and as a matter of fact consecutive swings show just
this difference. Therefore the discrepancies are explained
by the variations of the time-piece, both at elevated stations,
where they amount to 20, and at normal ones, where they
are as low as 4. The conclusion would then seem to be that
swinging through the entire 24 hours is necessary, unless
time can be obtained from a fixed observatory, where the
clocks are well protected from changes of temperature, and
even when the swinging is done in observatories, with the
good temperature conditions that usually exist, the discrep¬
ancies from the clock seem to be equal, if they do not over¬
shadow, those arising from the other variable conditions.

The method of reducing the time of a vibration to what
it would be were the oscillating body to move in a very
small arc involves purely geometrical considerations, and
is given in all works on mechanics. Some modifications in
the application of the formula have been introduced by
modern experimenters, but the influence of these modifica¬
tions on determinations of relative gravity is probably with¬
out material significance. The law of decrement of the arc
is that of a geometrical progression, or at least such a pro¬
gression represents the descent with sufficient accuracy. Of
the different transformations of the formula for the purpose
of system izing the computations and making the work
more expeditious, it is unnecessary to speak. They all come
within the requisite degree of accuracy, both for absolute
and relative work. Prof. Peirce however assumes a differ¬
ent law of descent, and corrects each set of swings with
quantities that are derived from observations of the decre¬
ments of arc from these same swings. His method is to ex¬
press the differential coefficient of the arc with respect to the
time as the independent variable in terms of constants and
ascending powers of the arcs. These constants, determined
either graphically or algebraically, being substituted in the
integral formula which represents the sum of all the arc
corrections, gives the correction for the whole swing. This
method, which certainly answers most thoroughly the

120

PRESTON.

mathematical and physical conditions of the case, leaves
nothing to be desired in point of accuracy. Its use, however,
in differential measurements of gravity is hardly necessary,
as the accuracy attained in the final result is far from being
commensurate with the additional labor entailed. In fact,
for differences of gravity, and where the descent of arc is
not abnormal, the results are practically identical by the
two methods. This is especially true for modern observa¬
tions, because the accuracy in the construction of the instru¬
ments makes it possible to swing in arcs whose half ampli¬
tude does not much exceed one degree ; so that the second
term of the development is almost insensible. In order to
compare the different methods, some observations made in
1887 at the Lick observatory have been reduced in four ways,
and it will be seen that the corrected time of one oscillation
is practically the same for all. Any method is accurate
enough for differential gravity until we can better control
the temperature and clock rates.

The following are the four ways :

I (Borda). Assuming the arcs to decrease in a geometrical
ratio, the quantity to be added to n oscillations in order to
get the number made in an infinitely small arc, during the
same time, is given by —

M n sin {p + <p') sin (pp — <p')

32 log sin p — log sin ip '

where p and p' are the initial and final arcs, and M the
modulus of the common logarithmic system. When the
arc falls from about 40' to 5' this is equivalent to a correc¬
tion of 0S.‘00000177 for one oscillation.

II (Peirce). Taking the equation

dp , 2

-di = -b<p-e<p

to represent the relation between the arc and time, the con¬
stants are first determined, and then the correction for arc?

by integrating the expression YtJ'p2 dt By limiting the

differential equation at the second power of the arc, the

REDUCTION OF PENDULUM OBSERVATIONS.

121

constants may be determined graphically and approxi¬
mately by dividing by% the arc and thus reducing the equa¬
tion to that of a straight line. Then plotting the equation

b + c <Pm = n,

b will be the value of the ordinate where the line cuts the
axis of y, and c will be the tangent of the angle made with
the axis of x. This method is so simple that a great many
values of the arc may easily be introduced, and the straight
line best satisfying all the values taken to determine the
constants ; but a few values at the beginning, middle, and
end of the swing give all necessary accuracy. The con¬
stants being found and substituted in the definite integral
equation

a/ * = i [Nap- ’og (1 + 7) - 7 ]

a

taken between the limiting values of the arc gives the
quantity to be subtracted from the interval given by obser¬
vations to obtain that required to make the same number of
oscillations in an infinitely small arc. The correction for
one oscillation in the swing just referred to would be by
this method s.00000173, differing from the preceding by
only 4 units in the eighth place.

Ill (Weddle).*

Here the decrement of arc is plotted, and the curve
divided into equal parts. Letting u represent the ordinates,
and n the number of parts, we have to find the integral

^ ux dx.
o

This from the ordinary interpolation formula is equal to

ft 7v

A x dx + q~2° J* x (* — L

dx ,

* Boole (Geo.) A Treatise on the calculus of finite differences. 12° Lon¬
don , 1860, pp. 38-39.

122

PRESTON.

and after integration

1 I* A

n u0 + 4 u,

0 + (

&C

2 ) 1.2 ’

The data permit us to calculate the successive differences of
u0 up to dnu0. When the curve is divided into six parts,
Weddle noticed that by changing the coefficient of the sixth
difference by the y^-g-th part of itself, all the coefficients were
rendered a common multiple ; and since the sixth differences
are from the nature of the approximation considered small,
this introduces a very slight error, and we have

^ ux dx — io [_wo + u2 + w4 4- -f* 5 (wj + u^) -f- 6 u5

o

where dx of the original equation is replaced by h. To
apply this to the corrections for arc in pendulum work, the
arc is read at the beginning, end, and at five equidistant
intermediate points, dividing the swing into six equal parts.
These are the values of u. The value of li being converted
into seconds of time and the whole quantity being divided
by 16, we get the sum of all the arc corrections. For the
same swing already calculated, the correction for one oscilla¬
tion is 0S.00000176.

IY. The arc is read off when it reaches certain divisions
of the amplitude scale — the intervals of time to the nearest
tenth of a minute being also noted. These arcs are squared
and divided by 16. Then taking successive means, we have
arc corrections that apply quite approximately to the whole
partial period between the different consecutive divisions of
the scale. Weighting these in proportion to the length of
the interval and taking the mean gives the final arc correc¬
tion applicable to the mean oscillation between the initial
and final arcs. The introduction of weights depending on
the time is nothing more than giving to each interval its
requisite number of corrections, each of which is a mean
between the initial and final arcs for that part of the curve
of descent. This method gives a correction of 0.00000172

REDUCTION OF PENDULUM OBSERVATIONS.

123

for one oscillation. The following are the results by the
different methods :

s

I.

0 . 00000177

II.

173

III.

176

IV.

172

The near agreement of the first with the others is due to
the small amplitude of the arc. Now it is evident that
when the corrections differ so immaterially as in these four
cases that method should be chosen which requires the least
labor. The first one, or that of Borda, is therefore to be
recommended for differential gravity work.

The coefficient of expansion of brass is about 18 millionths
for 1° centigrade, and since the time of oscillation varies as
the square root of the length of the pendulum, the time of
one oscillation will be changed by 9 millionths per degree.
Hence it appears that when the range of temperature is
not more than one-tenth of a degree and where therefore we
can assume to know the mean temperature of the pendulum
within this amount, we should not on account of erroneous
temperature expect to find discrepancies of more than one
or two units in the sixth place. But an examination of the
Lick observatory observations shows that we do actually
find differences several times as large where the temperature
changes during a swing much less than 0°.l. Then, ad¬
mitting that the coefficient of expansion (not that derived
from linear measures, but that deduced from oscillation) ;
admitting that this is correct to two places, we must turn
elsewhere for an explanation of the apparent discrepancies.
On one of the mountain stations where the daily range of
temperature was 11° in the pendulum house, we found differ¬
ences of 40. This would require, temperature alone being
considered, an uncertainty of at least 2° in the mean tem¬
perature of the pendulum for any one swing, which is
entirely inadmissible. Therefore we are forced to the con¬
clusion that, although the temperature has usually been

14— Bull. Phil. Soc., Wash., Vol. 11.

124

PRESTON.

considered the greatest enemy to accuracy in work of this
kind, there still remain unexplained differences even where
the temperature is all that can be desired. The changes in
the atmospheric effect, whether depending on buoyancy or
the viscosity of the air, need not be particularly examined,
because for any one station the conditions do not vary
enough to change the time of oscillation by nearly so much
as those produced either by temperature or by the time-piece.

Peirce’s treatment of the atmospheric corrections is briefly
this : From observations at varying pressures an empirical
formula is deduced for the times of oscillation at a given
temperature. This formula contains a constant term with
two others depending on the pressure and the square root of
the pressure. The coefficients are then reduced to make
them applicable to one absolute atmosphere and to one
absolute unit of temperature, on the supposition that the
second term varies directly as the pressure and inversely as
the temperature, while the third term varies directly as the
square root of the pressure and inversely as the eighth root
of the temperature. By one absolute atmosphere is meant
one million centimeter gramme second units.* * The absolute
zero of temperature is taken to be at 273° centigrade below
the freezing point. For pendulums No. 3 and No. 4 the
following formulae are given by Professor Peirce :

No. 3:

T. = * + '0003107 f + -0000349

t Yt

Tu = y 4- '0008821 j + -0001047

No. 4 :

T„ = x + -0003315 y + -0000428

d t v*

T„ = y 4- -0009905 f + -0001247 8l^|

cm.

* This corresponds to 74.986 barometric pressure at Paris. See Report
. . Coast Survey . . lor 1876. 4°, Washington, 1879. Appendix 15,

pp. 265-266.

4- 7 4- S' 'T

REDUCTION OF PENDULUM OBSERVATIONS. 125

These apply to Washington, the initial station. For any
other station the correction is

\9*_ 288.1
X g t + 273.1 29

where K is the coefficient for Washington, gw is gravity at
Washington, g is gravity at any other station, t is the tem¬
perature centigrade, and P is the barometer in inches.

In the application of these formulae differential correc¬
tions are first applied to reduce to a mean pressure and
temperature. The mean swing is then brought to one ab¬
solute atmosphere and to 15° centigrade, which corresponds
to one absolute unit of temperature. Either of two methods
may be employed to refer the time of oscillation to the chro¬
nometer or clock. If a clock is used, coincidences are gen¬
erally observed. With a chronometer, the successive transits
of the end of the pendulum across the vertical at the lowest
point are registered electrically on the chronograph. For¬
merly 100 transits were observed at the beginning and end of
a swing, besides taking 40, at intervals of an hour, during
the swing, in order to count correctly the whole number of
oscillations made. This, however, is pushing the observa¬
tions to a point far beyond the necessary accuracy. The
probable error of the mean of 40 transits is for an experi¬
enced observer only s’002, as far as observation is concerned.
This would give an uncertainty for one oscillation in a
swing of 4 or 5 hours of 2 in the seventh place, and for 1 J
hours, the shortest swings, with heavy end up, of less than
one in the sixth place. In regard to the intermediate trans¬
its, inasmuch as the object is only to guard against losing
two whole oscillations (since, if transits are always begun
with the pendulum moving in the same direction, any mis¬
count must involve the loss of an even number of beats)
it is quite sufficient to take one or two transits only. This
lessening of the number of observed transits very mate¬
rially shortens the work of the chronographic method, and no
significant error can arise therefrom.

126

PRESTON.

The counting of the oscillations is a comparatively easy
matter when the period is known to within less than one
ten thousandth of a second, because the uncertainty in that
case cannot accumulate to be more than about half a second
in a couple of hours, which will always enable us to decide
between the two contiguous even numbers. This does not
consider the changes arising from changes of temperature ;
but they are not usually enough to throw doubt on the
number of oscillations. At one station, however, which has
already been cited, the range of temperature was so great
that it was necessary to consider it in making the count.
At the Lick observatory, on the contrary, all conditions were
so perfect that intermediate transits were unnecessary. The
time computed for the duration of a swing of 15,000 oscil-

h m s

lations for pendulum No. 3 was 4 0 33.7, and the observed
duration was never more than one-tenth of a second differ¬
ent from this. Here obviously there was no necessity for
intermediate transits at all, in order to count the oscillations.

The swings were made to consist of exactly 15,000 oscil¬
lations. A sounder near the observer gave the seconds from
the clock, which was in another building. The minute was
known from a sidereal watch compared daily with the clock.
This enabled the observer to terminate the swing at exactly
the end of the 15,000th oscillation, the moving pendulum
being followed by the eye and the clock -beats by the ear.
As before stated, when the calculated time had elapsed, the
pendulum was always found within a tenth of its ampli¬
tude from the lowest point. The determination of the ap¬
proximate period of oscillation is accomplished by taking
transits at short intervals near the end of a swing. For
the first and shortest interval the number of vibrations is
actually counted from the chronograph. The first approxi¬
mation will then be in error by a fractional part of the error
commuted in the terminal observations, and the error of the
deduced period will vary inversely as the number of inter¬
mediate oscillations. Then, knowing the uncertainty of a
single oscillation, it is easily seen how long the next interval

REDUCTION OF PENDULUM OBSERVATIONS.

127

may be made in order, without actually counting the oscil¬
lations, not to miss one. Repeating this operation, the
period may be found to any desired degree of accuracy, at
least up to the point where the uncertainties from other
causes overshadow those from the clock and the pendulum
itself.

From two minutes’ observations the period of pendulum
No. 4 was determined at Pakaoao to be ls.007, with an uncer¬
tainty of less than s.001. The pendulum was now allowed
to swing 500 oscillations, the uncertainty only accumulating
in this time to half a second. From this interval the period
was found to be ls.0072, the uncertainty being less than
s,0001. With this data an interval of half an hour gives a
value of F.00720 correct to the nearest one hundred thou¬
sandth of a second, and this value may be used in counting
the oscillations for intervals of several hours. Each new
approximation increases the accuracy tenfold and decreases
the probable error of the result in an equal ratio. Hence
the rule is to take sixty transits, allow ten minutes to elapse,
and take forty more ; allow thirty minutes more to pass, and
take forty additional transits. This gives sufficient data for
the determination of the period.

Whether the reductions are made on the principle of the
reversible or the invariable pendulum, it becomes necessary
to measure the distance of the center of mass from the two
knife edges. The accuracy necessary here depends entirely
on the relation between the times of oscillation in the two
positions of the pendulum. Letting a be the difference in
these times and hd — ha the difference of the distances, and
hn the distance of the center of mass from the knife edge at
the heavy end, the effect on the time of one oscillation will
be given by the differential of the fraction

<*K

K—K

For pendulum No. 4

a= -s* 000031;

hence for this pendulum an error of one millimeter in the
location of the position of the center of mass will introduce

128

PRESTON.

an error of s.00000012 in the deduced time of one oscillation.
For pendulum No. 3

a = --00017

and T would be changed by s * 0000007. Admit, now, that
the distance hd — hn is obtained to the nearest millimeter
and we have errors that are absolutely insignificant. For
the Peirce pendulums the ratio of the distances hA and
ha are as three to one. Measures of center of mass have
therefore usually been made with an accuracy far beyond
that attained in the other quantities bearing on the same
result, and; in the writer’s opinion, the accuracy has been
pushed to an unnecessary extent.

The conclusions are therefore that time may be saved,
with no sacrifice of accuracy, by correcting for arc by Borda’s
method. Observations extending through the entire 24
hours are always to be recommended. Forty transits at the
beginning and end of swings and one or two intermediate
transits at intervals of two hours suffice when the period is
known to the nearest ten-thousandth of a second, and finally
the determination of the position of the center of mass to
the nearest millimeter is sufficiently accurate when the
times of oscillation for the two positions of the pendulum do
not differ more than about one six-thousandth part of an
oscillation.

The distance between the knives has usually been ascer¬
tained by comparing it with a known standand in a vertical
position, the illumination being effected for a dark field by
throwing the light downward on the edge from a right-angled
prism, and for a bright field by letting it enter directly to¬
wards the microscope in the line of the axis. Measures were
made for edge bright and edge dark, and the mean was
taken as the true value. Owing, however, to the construc¬
tion of the pendulums and the comparator, measures could
only be made at the middle of the edge, whereas its whole
extent fixes the axis of rotation. Moreover, in order to
admit the prism, a part of the supporting plane was cut out,
so that however much the knives might wear by use, the
difference of length on this account could not be detected.

REDUCTION OF PENDULUM OBSERVATIONS.

129

Two pendulums have recently been measured, using a
method of illumination due to Mr. 0. H. Tittmann, in
charge of the Bureau of Weights and Measures at the Coast
Survey Office. Without going into the details of the arrange¬
ment, it may be said that the image of the edge was reflected
from a surface of polished steel, and the mean of the measures
on the direct and reflected image was taken as the reading
on the surface of the plane. The space between the two
images appeared as a dark band, the width of which depended
on the closeness of the contact between the edge and surface.
Leaving to one side for the present the question as to what
should be considered the defining line of the length of the
pendulum, the fact is to be noted that after having made
measures on the direct and reflected images the reflecting
plane was removed and the illumination introduced behind
the knife edge. Readings were then made on the dark edge
of the pendulum, and these agree quite satisfactorily with
those on the direct and reflected images, corrected for the
width of the band ; so that it would .seem to be sufficiently
accurate to measure on the edge directly, having the field
bright enough to make the threads visible when projected
against the body of the knife.

As to the value to be accepted for the length of the pen¬
dulum, it is to be remarked that although the true edge at
the point measured is not in perfect contact with the plane,
as is made evident by the perceptible thickness of the dark
band, yet the middle of this band should be considered as
making the line about which the pendulum oscillates. If
the steel surface is a perfect plane and the pendulum is rest¬
ing upon it, certainly the existing conditions are precisely
similar to those that obtain when the gravity observations
are made, and the best value for the position of the line
about which the oscillations take place is that given by the
surface of the plane or the mean of the direct and reflected
images. The thickness of this band was in one case as
much as thirty microns ; so that, admitting the plane to be
perfect, the edge at the point measured departs from a
straight line as much as fifteen microns. The two knife

130

PRESTON.

edges were measured in the same way and the resulting
values are thought to be much nearer those that should
enter into the gravity computations than those heretofore
attained.

The following table of corrected swings for pendulum
No. 4, at the Lick observatory, in 1887, shows the degree of
accuracy attainable when the conditions are favorable :

HEAVY END DOWN.

Name out.

Name in.

No.

Date.

Epoch.

Obs.

Period.

No.

Date.

Epoch.

Obs.

Period.

h.

s.

h.

s.

1

Oct. 23....

9.1

P

1.006603

9

Oct. 25...

8.8

P

1.000604

2

13.6

“

2

10

13.1

(i

2

3

17.9

“

2

11

17.4

“

3

4

22.2

K

4

12

22.2

K

4

5

Oct. 24....

8.7

P

* _

13

Oct. 26...

8.8

P

1

G

13.2

U

3

14

13.2

“

2

7

17.5

4C

1

15

17.7

“

1

8

22.1

K

2

16

22.0

K

5

HEAVY END UP.

Name out.

Name in.

No.

Date.

Epoch.

Obs.

Period.

No.

Date.

Epoch.

Obs.

1

Period.

h

s.

h .

s.

1

Oct. 20....

8.3

P

1.006495

11

Oct. 21...

8.2

P

1.006475

2

9.8

it

5

12

9.7

“

71

3

11.3

C(

7

13

11.2

«

73

4

12.8

u

6

14

13.0

“

78

5

14.3

U

4

15

14.5

“

72

6

15.9

(4

5

16

15.0

“

67

7

17.3

5

17

17.5

“

72

8

18.8

8

18

19.0

“

71

9

22.5

K

3

19

22.2

K

79

10

0.1

“

8

20

23.7

C<

78

* Rejected on account of defective action of clock “trip.” The following swings are
by a different time-piece.

THE RELATIVE ABUNDANCE OF THE CHEMICAL

ELEMENTS.

BY

Frank Wiggles worth Clarke.

[Read before the Society, October 26, 1889.]

In the crust of the earth, with its liquid and gaseous en¬
velopes, about seventy chemical elements are at present
recognized. Others, as yet unknown, are indicated by gaps
in the periodic system and will probably be discovered in
the future. Some of the elements are quite plentiful, some
are exceedingly rare, and in any thorough discussion of
their nature and relations this comparative abundance or
scarcity should be taken into account. Even though the full
meaning of the facts may not be discoverable for many years
to come, it is worth while to put them into something like
systematic order.

In its larger aspects the general problem is at present un-
solvable, for the reason that we know nothing of the earth’s
interior. Its surface only is within our certain reach, and
from the composition of that we must draw nearly all our
conclusions. For that which lies below the crust we must
be content with inferences based upon the scantiest of data.
Of the crust itself the average composition is easily comput¬
able, and the calculation gives results which are in some
respects surprising.

In order to have a definite mass of matter under consid¬
eration, we may assume for the earth’s known crust a thick¬
ness of ten miles below sea-level. The volume of that crust,
including the mean elevation of the continents above the
sea, is 1,935,000,000 cubic miles. Of this amount 302,000,000

14— Bull. Phil. Soc., Wash., Vol. 11.

(131)

132

CLARKE.

cubic miles are ocean and 1,633,000,000 are solid matter-
The mass of the atmosphere is equivalent to that of 1,268,000
cubic miles of water, the unit of density. For these data,
which cover all the terrestrial matter accessible to us, I am
indebted to Mr. R. S. Woodward of the U. S. Geological
Survey, and from them the relative masses of solid crust,
ocean, and atmosphere can be determined within narrow
limits of uncertainty. To sea water we may assign a density
of T03, which is a trifle too high, and to the solid rocks a
specific gravity not lower in average than 2*5, nor much
higher than 27. With these values we can get the follow¬
ing expression for the percentage composition of the known
matter of the globe :

density. density.

Per cent. of crust 2-5. of crust 2-7.

Atmosphere _ . _ *03 -03

Ocean j _ _ _ _ _ 7*08 6*58

Solid crust _ _ _ _ _ - 92-89 93-39

100-00 10000

In short, we may regard the earth’s crust, to a depth of
ten miles, as composed essentially of 93 per cent, solid and
7 per cent, liquid matter ; treating the atmosphere as a small
correction to be applied later. More elaborate estimations
are unnecessary. Since the known nitrogen of the earth is
mainly in the atmosphere, its relative scarcity as an element
is at once curiously manifest. It cannot possibly exceed
25 thousandths of one per cent of the total.

For the composition of the ocean, the data given by Ditt-
mar in the Reports of the Challenger Expedition are perhaps
the best available. The maximum salinity he puts at 37*37
grammes of salts in the kilogramme of water, and by taking
this figure instead of a lower value we can make an allow¬
ance for saline masses enclosed in the solid crust, which
would not otherwise appear in the final averages. Combin¬
ing this datum with Dittmar’s statement of the average com¬
position of the ocean salts, we get the second of the subjoined
columns. The traces of other elements, not named here,

ABUNDANCE OF THE CHEMICAL ELEMENTS. 133

which have been found by various observers in sea water,
are too small to be considered.

Comp, of salts. Comp, of ocean.

NaCl. _ —

. - 77-76

O _

85-79

MgCl2 -

. _ 10-88

H _

10-67

MgS04 _

4-74

Cl _

2-07

CaS04 _

_ _ 3-60

Na _ _ _

1-14

K2S04._ . -

_ 2-46

Mg -

•14

MgBr2 -

_ -22

Ca _

•05

CaC03 _

_ . -34

K__ _

•04

S _

•09

100-00

Br _ _ _

•008

C _

•002

100-000

Dissolved gases need not be taken into account, and no other
constituent of the ocean can reach 0‘001 of one per cent.

In the case of the solid crust of the earth the problem of
ascertaining its mean composition is far less simple ; for the
crust is not an homogeneous body, but is made up, so to
speak, of shreds and patches ; of old crystalline rocks, of
volcanic outflows, and of all manner of deposits of sedimen¬
tary origin. It is veined and seamed with diverse minerals,
it encloses pockets of various materials, and upon its surface
are quantities of organic matter and great bodies of fresh
water. At first sight it would seem to be impossible to
determine the average composition of such a mass, and yet,
upon consideration, the question is not seriously complicated.
In a crust ten miles thick a section having the superficial
area of the United States represents only about 15 per cent,
of the total ; so that all veins, pockets, patches, organic sub¬
stances, etc., become insignificant in comparison with the
whole mass, and even the lakes and rivers are neglectable
quantities. On any attempt to compute their percentages
they vanish into the dim recesses of the remoter decimals.
Discarding these trivial constituents the question becomes
one of the mean composition of the dominant rock material,
and in that form it is comparatively simple.

In the first place, we may assume that the volcanic and

134

CLARKE.

crystalline rocks represent pretty closely the general com¬
position of the whole crust ; for from them the sedimentary
rocks have been formed, and the latter differ from the parent
formations only in the carbon which they have taken up
from the air and in the loss of saline constituents which have
been leached out to the ocean. For this gain and loss re¬
spectively, approximate corrections are possible.

In the second place, we must regard the original rock
matter, volcanic and crystalline, as being in a large sense
fairly homogeneous. However greatly these formations may
vary locally, they should average pretty much alike all
over the world when sufficiently large areas are considered.
This assumption can be tested in the light of evidence, as
follows : We may average together great numbers of analyses,
grouped in various ways, and so determine whether the
results are sensibly constant. This has been done in the
subjoined table, minor and occasional constituents being
temporarily omitted, to be separately considered later.

A. The mean of 82 analyses of volcanic rocks from the
Western Territories of the United States, published in Clar¬
ence King’s Survey of the Fortieth Parallel.

B. 64 analyses of rocks from the Yellowstone Park, taken
from the laboratory records of the U. S. Geological Survey.

C. 54 analyses of volcanic rocks collected in Northern
California ; also from the Survey records.

D. 39 analyses of eruptive rocks from various localities in
the Western United States, taken from the Survey records.

E. 80 crystalline and archsean rocks from all parts of the
United States. Of these analyses 50 were taken from the
Survey records, 23 from the 40th Parallel Report, and 7 from
the report of the New Hampshire Survey, vol. 3.

F. 75 analyses of European volcanic and crystalline rocks;
taken at random from five recent volumes of the Neues
Jahrbuch.

G. 486 miscellaneous plutonic rocks, analyzed between
1879 and 1883, and collected by Roth in his “ Beitrage zur
Petrographie der plutonischen Gesteine.”

H. The mean of the foregoing 880 analyses.

ABUNDANCE OP THE CHEMICAL ELEMENTS. 135

A. B. C. D. E. F. G. H.

Si02 _ 61-89 61-89 60-49 60-66 60-50 59-80 56-75 58-59

A1203 _ 15-71 15-73 16 08 15-46 14-30 14-65 14-90 1504

Fe203 _ 1-81 3-18 2-47 2-74 3-35 4-99 4-58 3-94

PeO _ _ _ 3-65 2-40 2-86 2-27 4-31 2-92 3-71 3-48

CaO _ 4-51 4-58 6-15 4*7 1 3-52 5-19 5 79 5-29

MgO _ 2-40 3-08 4-31 3-35 500 3-45 5-22 4-49

K20 _ 3-54 2-70 1-80 3-97 2-52 3-06 2-90 2-90

Na20 _ 3-28 3-70 3-31 3-54 2-49 2-98 3-24 3-20

H30 _ 1-69 1-59 1-12 -97 2-53 2 09 2-12 1-96

98-48 98-85 98 59 97-67 98-52 99-13 99-21 98-89

That these means are remarkably concordant, especially as
regards the columns A to F, is at once evident ; but a reduc¬
tion to elementary form renders the agreement even more
striking.

A. B. C. D. E. F. G. H.

Si _ 28-88 28-88 28-23 28-31 28-23 27-91 26-50 27-34

A1 _ 8-31 8-32 8-51 8-18 7-57 7-75 7-89 7-96

Fe _ 4-11 4-09 3-96 3-68 5-71 5-77 6-09 5-47

Ca _ 3-22 3 27 4-39 3-37 2-51 3-71 4-13 3-78

Mg _ 1-44 1-85 2-58 2-01 3 00 2-07 3-13 2-69

K _ 2-94 2-24 1-49 3-29 2-09 2-54 2-41 2-41

Na _ 2-43 2-74 2-46 2-63 1-85 2-21 2-56 2-37

H _ -19 -18 -12 -11 -28 -23 -24 -22

O _ 46-96 47-28 46-85 46-09 47-28 46-94 46-26 46-65

98-48 98-85 98-59 97-67 98-52 99-13 99-21 98-89

The thesis that the crust of the earth is fairly homogene¬
ous in composition is thus sustained by positive evidence.
The variations in the foregoing table are as small as could
reasonably be expected.

So far, however, only nine of the rock-forming elements
are accounted for. The proportions of the others are less
easily computable, although in some cases fair estimates can
be made. In certain directions very many of the analyses
considered, especially in the columns A and G, were incom¬
plete, constituents like titanium, manganese, phosphorus,
etc., having been ignored as not essential to the purpose of
the analyst. These substances appear in part, therefore, as

136

CLARKE.

impurities in the silica and alumina, rendering the latter a
trifle too high.

For several of the less frequently determined elements the
laboratory records of the U. S. Geological Survey furnish
data. In 211 analyses of volcanic and crystalline rocks
there recorded, titanium, manganese, and phosphorus were
determined in a great majority of cases, and other elements
appear frequently enough to prove something as to their
relative abundance. Taking these 211 analyses all together,
they show the following mean percentages for the constituents
in question :

Ti02 -

_ 0-55

P205 -

_ -22

MnO .

_ -10

C02 -

i

i

i

i

i

cb

— i

S— _

_ *034

Cr203 -

■

r

i

i

i

6

to

BaO _

— . -033

SrO _

_ -009

Cl _ __

_ *012

Li20 -

_ -Oil

All of these figures, obviously, are mder-estimates, for the de¬
terminations were not made in all cases. Furthermore, the
rocks analyzed were varied enough in origin, locality, and
character to avoid any cumulative error due to the peculiar¬
ities of any one formation or area. The value for titanic
oxide includes whatever zirconia may have been present in
the various rock samples, but, although the latter base is
widely diffused, its proportion cannot be very high. Tita¬
nium, therefore, must be regarded as more abundant than
phosphorus, manganese, or sulphur — a result hardly to have
been expected. This conclusion, however, is borne out by
evidence from other sources. Titanium is rarely absent from
the older rocks ; it is almost universally present in soils and
clays, and it is often concentrated in great quantities in beds
of iron ore. Having no very striking characteristics and
but little commercial importance, it is easily overlooked, and
so it has a popular reputation for scarcity which it does not

ABUNDANCE OF THE CHEMICAL ELEMENTS. 137

deserve. Among all the elements it probably ranks tenth
or eleventh in point of absolute abundance and is rare only
as regards obvious concentrations.

For phosphoric acid and manganese the data given are
probably not far out of the way, but in the case of carbon
the estimation is more troublesome. The percentage of CO 2
in volcanic and crystalline rocks, 0‘37, is doubtless untrust¬
worthy, for the reason that surface rocks are mainly repre¬
sented, in many of which alteration may have begun. The
figure, however, may be used as an offset for the undeter¬
minable carbon existing in coal, shales, petroleum, etc. As
regards the limestones, rough estimates of their quantity must
suffice, and we may provisionally accept that of T. Mellard
Reade as given in his essay on “ Chemical Denudation in
Relation to Geological Time.” According to Reade, the ex¬
isting bodies of limestone are equivalent to a layer of the
rock 528 feet thick and completely enveloping the globe.
This is approximately one per cent, of the crust under con¬
sideration, and represents 0*44 per cent, of C02. To this we
may add the 037 per cent, given above, making 0.81 per
cent, in all — an estimate which can hardly be too low.

In the case of sulphur, the figure given, 0‘034 per cent., is
surely much too low ; for sulphur is abundant both in sul¬
phates and in sulphides, and iron pyrites especially is widely
diffused. The absolute proportion of this element seems to
be hardly determinable. It should be at least 0*05 and prob¬
ably not over 0T0 per cent. For chlorine, chromium, barium,
and strontium the figures are minima, but cannot be very
largely increased. The value for lithia is probably not far
out of the way, for that oxide is almost universally present
in minute traces in the older crystalline rocks, although it is
rarely estimated in ordinary analyses.

Now, taking the mean of 880 analyses as cited in column
H of the table, we may insert in it the additional values so
far determined, but with certain qualifications. In about
half of the analyses Ti02, P205, and Cr203 were not esti¬
mated, but their amounts appear in the figures for silica and

138

CLARKE.

alumina. The silica, then, may he reduced by about one-
fourth the percentage of the titanic oxide, and the alumina
by the other fourth, plus half the values assigned to P205
and Cr203. Making these corrections, reducing to elemen¬
tary form, and recalculating to 100 per cent., we get a rough
approximation to the mean composition of the solid crust of
the earth. To this approximation the other unestimated
elements may be regarded as future corrections of very small
amount. Combining this result with the mean composition
of the ocean, and including 0*02 per cent, for the nitrogen
of the air, we get the final column to illustrate the abundance
of the elements so far as at present known. Quantities less
than 0*01 per cent, are left out of consideration.

'iSolid crust, 98 f0-

Ocean, 7

Mean , incl. air.

Oxygen. _

47-29

85-79

49-98

Silicon -

27-21

_

25-30

Aluminum _

7-81

7-26

Iron _ __ _

5-46

5-08

Calcium _ _ _

3-77

•05

3-51

Magnesium _ _

2-68

•14

2-50

Sodium. __ __

2-36

1-14

2-28

Potassium _ _ _

2-40

•04

2-23

Hydrogen. _ _

•21

10-67

•94

Titanium. _ _ ...

•33

_

•30

Carbon _ _ _

•22

•002

•21

Chlorine _ _ _

•01

2-07

} '16

Bromine _ _ _

•008

Phosphorus _

•10

•09

Manganese.. _ _

•08

—

•07

Sulphur __ ..... __

•03+

•09

•04+

Barium _ _ _

•03

_

•03

Nitrogen . _ _

i _ _

•02

Chromium ... ..

•01

•01

100-00

100-000

10000

Nineteen of the

elements are here provided

for with very

varying degrees of probability, although their order in the
last column is presumably correct. The uncertainty may
reach one per cent, in the cases of silicon and iron, one-half
as much with aluminum and oxygen, and is proportionally

ABUNDANCE OF THE CHEMICAL ELEMENTS.

139

less for the other elements specified. The remaining ele¬
ments, more than fifty in number, can hardly aggregate
over one per cent, altogether, and not one of them could pass
0‘05 per cent, in relative quantity. Some of them may be
briefly considered in detail, as follows :

Fluorine. — Abundant in fluor-spar and apatite and present
in many rocks as a constituent of topaz or mica. If the
phosphorus in the foregoing estimate, 0*09 per cent., represents
mainly apatite, the proportional amount of fluorine would
he *02 to *03, the minimum assignable value.

Glucinum. — Widely distributed as beryl and easily over¬
looked in small traces. If determined, it would appear as a
correction to the alumina.

Boron. — -Comparatively abundant in tourmaline and dato-
lite and conspicuous in certain volcanic waters ; difficult to
estimate.

The Cerium Group. — According to Cross and Iddings, alla-
nite is a wide-spread constituent of rocks. The same is true
of monazite, as shown by Derby. These elements, together
with thorium, zirconium, and the yttrium groups, would ap¬
pear as corrections to alumina.

Nickel. — Frequent in rocks composed of or derived from
olivine. Less than O’ 01 per cent.

The Metallic Acids — stannic, molybdic, tungstic, columbic,
and tantalic. — These, if determined, would form corrections
to silica. The same is true to some extent of barium when
present in rocks as sulphate.

The Heavy Metals. — Widely distributed in rocks, according
to Sandberger’s researches, but very small in quantity.

In the larger items, say from oxygen down to the alkaline
metals, the estimates here given do not differ very widely
from others which have been long current in chemical and
geological literature. They rest, however, upon fuller evi¬
dence, and the discussion is, perhaps, more complete. In
the smaller items the new results display the greatest novelty,
and future modifications are most likely. The comparative
rarity of carbon and sulphur is, to say the least, surprising.

15-Bull. Phil. Soc.. Wash. Vol. 11.

140

CLARKE.

On the theoretical side the results attained are not easy to
interpret. That nine of the chemical elements should con¬
stitute, at the lowest estimate, 98 per cent, of all known ter¬
restrial matter is somewhat startling and difficult to compre¬
hend. Are the other elements concentrated in the interior
of our planet ? On this point there is a little positive evi¬
dence.

The mean density of the earth, 5’5 to 5’6, is more than
double that of the rocky crust, and the difference may be
accounted for as a result of pressure, or by supposing that as
the globe cooled the heavier elements accumulated toward
the centre. Both suppositions may be true in part, but less
weight is to be placed upon the second, for the following
reason : A mixture of the elements in equal proportions, in
the free state and as they behave at the earth’s surface, would
have a specific gravity of about 7'3. In combination the
density would be greater because of condensation, and below
the surface it would also be increased by pressure. Hence it
seems clear, since the density of the earth is only 5‘5, that in
the planet as a whole the lighter elements must very consid¬
erably exceed in quantity the heavier ones. Twenty -nine of
the known elements have densities below 5*5, and forty exceed
that figure, iron being the only one of the heavier group which
is at all abundant. The greater part of the earth’s mass is
almost certainly to be found among the twenty-nine lighter
elements. The others may be more plentiful at the centre
of the globe than upon its surface, but few beside iron can
be dominant constituents. This evidence seems to be clear,
even though it is not proof positive.

An attempt was made in the course of this investigation to
represent the relative abundance of the elements by a curve,
taking their atomic weights for one set of ordinates. It was
hoped that some sort of periodicity might be evident, but no
such regularity appeared. No definite connection with the
periodic law seemed to be traceable. And yet certain other
regularities are worth noticing. All of the abundant elements
are low in the scale of atomic weights, reaching a maximum

ABUNDANCE OF THE CHEMICAL ELEMENTS. 141

at 56 in iron. Above 56 the elements are comparatively
rare, and only two of them, barium and strontium, appear
in my estimates. Below oxygen, hydrogen alone approaches
one per cent., while between oxygen and iron only scandium
and vanadium are of neglectable rarity. Furthermore, in
several elementary groups abundance diminishes with in¬
crease of atomic weight. This is plainly seen in the series
potassium, rubidium, and caesium ; in sulphur, selenium,
and tellurium ; in chlorine, bromine, and iodine ; in arsenic,
antimony, bismuth, etc., etc. The regularity is not certainly
invariable, but it. occurs often enough to be suggestive.

Perhaps a part of the difficulty in tracing relations of this
sort arises from the fact that our field of view is limited to
the earth and does not include the whole solar system.
Indeed, several writers, reasoning on the broader basis of
the nebular hypothesis and noting the low densities of the
outer planets, have argued that the latter may contain the
lighter elements mainly, while the heavier substances are
concentrated at the original nucleus, the sun. Along this
line, however, close reasoning is impossible, partly because
evidence is lacking and partly because the conditions of
temperature and pressure differ so widely between the sun
and the other heavenly bodies. As thus attacked, the prob¬
lem becomes one of enormous complexity, and even the solar
sprectrum gives us no conclusive evidence. That oxygen
and silicon are not conspicuous in the sun’s atmosphere we
may admit, but that non-volatile silica is absent from the
solar body is by no means certain. We may assume that
compounds can exist nowhere in the sun, but the assump¬
tion is unprovable. As to the composition of the outer
planets we know practically nothing. How far they may
differ from each other, from the earth, and from the sun is
as yet a matter of pure -conjecture.

If, despite Mendelejeff ’s recent demurrer, we assume that
the elements have been evolved from one primordial form
of matter, their relative abundance becomes suggesti ve. Start¬
ing from the original “ protyle,” as Crookes has called it, the
process of evolution seems to have gone on slowly until oxy-

142

CLARKE.

gen was reached. At that point the process exhibited its
maximum energy, and beyond it the elements forming stable
oxides were the most rapidly developed, and in the largest
amounts. On this supposition the scarcity of the elements
above iron becomes somewhat intelligible ; but the theory
does not account for everything and is to be regarded as merely
tentative. It is legitimate only so long as its purely specu¬
lative character is kept clearly in view. If, however, the
evolution of the elements is admitted, it is clear that the later
stages of the process must have been seriously conditioned
by the chemical affinities developed at first.

ASSUMPTION AND FACT IN THE THEORIES OF
SOLAR AND STELLAR PROPER MOTIONS..

BY

John Robie Eastman.

ADDRESS AS RETIRING PRESIDENT.

Delivered December 7, 1889.

Since the beginning of the historic period, a comparatively
few important general themes have furnished the necessary
pabulum for the serious cogitations of mankind; and for
many centuries the whole range of human thought was
covered by that comprehensive term Philosophy.

The earliest definite systems of Philosophy were born of
the speculative and reflective intellects about the eastern
limits of the Mediterranean sea, and reached their maturity
under the fostering care and the keen criticism of the high¬
est Grecian culture. The study of Philosophy was for suc¬
cessive ages the touchstone that separated the learned from
the ignorant, and its masters were believed to hold the keys
to all knowledge. Most of the systems set forth boldly the
solutions to all the moral, religious and material problems
of the universe.

The speculative theories dealing with the moral world had
their origin deep in the minds and hearts of men, and were
founded on observation, experience and reflection. These
theories could be brought at once to a rigid test in the daily
life of every human being and, therefore, were adapted to a
healthy and normal development.

16— Bull. Phil. Soe., Wash., Vol. II.

(143)

144

EASTMAN.

With the material universe this method was completely
changed. The ancient Philosopher found himself confronted
with the earth, the sun, the moon, the planets and the almost
countless number of the stellar systems ; he recognized the
unspoken challenge to solve their mysteries, and took refuge
in feeble speculation. He had penetrated the depths of the
human passions, but the distance to the earth’s nearest
neighbor was unknown ; he had probed the follies and set
the bounds to the ambitions of his fellow-men, but he had
no conception of the form and motion of the earth or of the
order of the universe.

Undaunted by the lack of knowledge, and confident that
intellectual acumen, though unsupported by observed facts,
was equal to the demands of any problem, he explained the
system of the universe on the basis of his crude hypotheses,
and felt no need of any criterion by which his speculations
could be tested. In all these schools of Philosophy assum¬
ing to deal with the problems of the physical world, there was
one common element, one peculiar arrangement, that evi¬
dently was deemed essential to the stability of every system.
In every scheme some member of the system was placed in
the center, and represented the immovable nucleus of the
universe. It was of little importance what body was given
the place of honor ; whether it be sun, earth, or fire, immov¬
able stability was the distinguishing attribute of the central
figure in all the systems, from the earliest known, down
through the Ptolemaic to the Copernican. It was the one
fixed idea in the order of the solar system that survived the
clashing of rival hypotheses for more than twenty-five cen¬
turies, and had apparently passed with success the test which
observation mercilessly claims the right to apply to theory.

The idea of an immovable center of the solar system had
its origin in vague hypotheses, untrammeled by perplexing
facts, and it triumphantly passed all tests of theory and ob¬
servation down to the beginning of the eighteenth century.

In 1718 Edmund Halley,1 afterwards Astronomer Royal

1 Halley, Edmund. Philosophical Transactions, 1718; 736.

SOLAR AND STELLAR PROPER MOTIONS.

145

at Greenwich, read a paper before the Royal Society enti¬
tled “ Considerations on the Change of the Latitudes of some
of the principal fixt Stars.’’ He had been engaged upon an
investigation of the precession of the equinoxes, and by com¬
paring the declinations of the stars contained in Ptolemy’s
Almagest with the declinations of the same stars obtained
nearly two thousand years later, he had reached a point
whence he was enabled, on well considered evidence, to sug¬
gest the probability of motions that were destined to over¬
throw the well worn theories of the immobility of the solar
system.

On account of the historical importance of this paper, I
venture to give the following leading points in the author’s
own language.

“ But while I was upon this Enquiry, I was surprized to
find the Latitudes of three of the principal Stars in Heaven
directly to contradict the supposed greater obliquity of the
Ecliptick, which seems confirmed by the Latitudes of most
of the rest ; they being set down in the old Catalogue as if
the Plain of the Earth’s Orb had changed its Situation,
among the fixt Stars about 20' since the time of Hipparchus.
Particularly all the Stars in Gemini are put down, those to
the Northward of the Ecliptick, with so much less Latitude
than we find, and those to the Southward with so much
more Southerly Latitude. Yet the three Stars Palilicium
or the Bull’s Eye, Sirius and Arcturus do contradict this
rule directly : for by it, Palilicium being in the days of
Hipparchus in about 10 gr. of Taurus ought to be about 15
Min. more Southerly than at present, and Sirius being then
in about 15 of Gemini ought to be 20 Min. more Southerly
than now ; yet, & contra, Ptolomy places the first 20 Min.
and the other 22 more Northerly in Latitude than we now
find them. Nor are these errors of Transcription, but are
proved to be right by the declinations of them set down by
Ptolomy, as observed by Timocharis, Hipparchus and him¬
self, which shew that those Latitudes are the same as those
authors intended. As to Arcturus, he is too near the Equi-

146

EASTMAN.

noctial Colure, to argue from him concerning the change of
the Obliquity of the Ecliptick, but Ptolomy gives him 33'
more North Latitude than he now has ; and that greater
Latitude is likewise confirmed by the declinations delivered
by the abovesaid observers. So then all these three stars are
found to be above half a degree more Southerly at this time
than the Antients reckoned them. When on the contrary
at the same time the bright shoulder of Orion has in Ptol¬
omy almost a degree more Southerly Latitude than at
present. What shall we say then? It is scarce credible
that the Antients should be deceived in so plain a matter,
three Observers confirming each other. Again these stars
being the most conspicuous in Heaven are in all probability
the nearest to the Earth, and if they have any particular
Motion of their own, it is most likely to be perceived in
them, which in so long a time as 1800 Years may shew itself
by the alteration of their places, though it be utterly imper¬
ceptible in the space of a single 'century of Years.”

From the date of this paper begins a new and important
epoch in the history of Astronomy.

Foremost among the reasons leading to the choice of a
subject for this meeting, was the conviction that the history
of this branch of astronomy in all the phases of its evolu¬
tion illustrates the conflict in every department of science
between the Philosophy which rests alone on assumption,
and that which is founded on observation. In this view of
the subject, each member of the Philosophical Society lias,
an interest, and therefore I bespeak your attention, while I
briefly trace the evolution of those theories which have been
adopted to explain the peculiar motions of the stars among
themselves, and to account for the motion of the Sun in a
certain direction among the stars. The first phenomenon is.
known as “ Proper Motion of the Stars,” and the second, as-
“ Motion of the Solar System in Space.” As the sun itself is
only a rather insignificant star, there seems to be no real ne¬
cessity for two names for the same phenomenon, but custom
is sometimes more powerful than reason.

SOLAR, AND STELLAR PROPER MOTIONS.

147

Halley’s paper was not only the first, but for twenty years
it was the only publication in regard to the new hypoth¬
esis. At that time, communication between widely separated
astronomers was very tedious, and new departures from the
beaten tracks of accepted theories were subject to grave
doubts, and frequently to harsh criticisms.

On November 12th 1738, Jacques Cassini2 presented a
paper to the Royal Academy of Sciences at Paris, on “ The
variations observed in the situation and motion of several
fixed stars.” The author announced that the earliest work of
the Royal Observatory at Paris was the examination of a num¬
ber of the stars catalogued by Ptolemy, and especially those
cited by Halley, in order to test the hypothesis of stellar
proper motion. His comparisons with ancient results proved
conclusively to his mind, that certain stars had moved from
their former positions, while other stars of equal magnitude
gave no evidence of abnormal change. As a result of his
investigations, he concluded that the stars with proper mo¬
tion probably revolved about some center, situated perhaps
beyond our perception, and remarked, finally : ‘ It results
from this hypothesis that, following the several positions of
these stars in their orbits, some would appear to move in
longitude from west to east, others in the opposite direction,
others, finally, would appear to approach or to recede from
the pole of the ecliptic in accordance with observations.
Be that as it may, it must remain certain that although
the greater part of the stars maintain the same positions
among themselves, there are some that approach or recede
from each other, in longitude as well as in latitude, which
is, as we have already remarked, very important to recog¬
nize for the progress of Astronomy since it is principally
to the fixed stars that we refer the movements of the other
celestial bodies.’

All the discussions and investigations of proper motion
for the next forty years were of the same general character

2 Cassini, Jacques. Histoire de l’Academie Royale des Sciences. Paris,
1738; 331.

148

EASTMAN.

as portrayed in the work of Cassini, just quoted, and while
the various publications indicated a growing interest in the
subject, its scientific development was scarcely affected.

In 1748, James Bradley,3 in his famous paper before the
Royal Society announcing his discovery of the Nutation of
the earth’s axis, mentions the phenomena of proper motion
but adds nothing to the theory or the facts.

In 1750, Thomas Wright in his work “ The Universe and
the Stars,” though sometimes quoted, really adds nothing
but confusion to the subject ; while J. H. Lambert, in his
“ Cosmologische Briefe” in 1761, was content to contribute
only vague speculations.

Near the end of a paper presented by Tobias Mayer in
1760, to the Academy of Sciences in Gottingen, the author
remarks : * If the sun and with it the planets and the earth
which we inhabit, tended to move directly towards some
point in the heavens, all the stars scattered in that region
would seem to gradually move apart from each other, while
those in the opposite quarter would mutually approach each
other ; in the same manner one who walks in the forest sees
the trees which are before him separate, and those that he
leaves behind approach each other. Since then the observed
motions of the stars are not governed by this common law,
as one can be assured by examining our Table, it is clear
that these movements are not simply apparent, and that
they do not depend upon this or any other common law but
belong to the stars themselves. In regard to the true and
legitimate cause of these phenomena, we shall still remain
ignorant, perhaps for several centuries.’

The Rev. John Michell4 in 1767, and J. S. Bailly5 in 1775,
contributed their speculations to the general fund of knowl¬
edge without stimulating its increase; and in 1775, De La

3 Bradley, James. Philosophical Transactions, 1748 ; 39.

4 Michell, Rev. John. Philosophical Transactions, 1767; 234 and foot
note p. 252.

5 Bailly, J. S. Histoire de l’Astronomie Moderne, Paris 1775— ’83 ; Tome
II ; 662 et seq.

SOLAR AND STELLAR PROPER MOTIONS.

149

Lande6 infers the displacement of the solar system in the
following terms : — “ Mais une force quel-conque imp rim ee a
un corps, et capable de le faire tonrner autour de son centre,
ne pent manquer aussi de deplacer le centre, et Ton ne sanroit
concevoir Tun sans l’autre. II paroit done tres-vraisembla-
ble qne le Soliel a un mouvement reel dans l’espace absolu,”
etc.

For more than sixty years the study of the hypothesis of
solar or stellar motion had been devoted simply to testing
the reality of the phenomena. The problem of the direc¬
tion and the magnitude of the translation still remained
unsolved ; in fact, its solution had not been seriously at¬
tempted.

On March 6, 1783, William ITerschel7 gave in detail be¬
fore the Royal Society his methods of attacking this problem.
He used the most carefully determined proper motions of
fourteen well known stars. From an examination of these
motions he suspected that they indicated a translation of the
Solar system toward the constellation of Hercules. Assum¬
ing the point to which this motion tended, to be near the Star x
Herculis he found that more than eighty per cent of the proper
motions, of these stars, in, right-ascension and in declination,
were such as they would be if the assumed point were what
he termed the true apex of the solar motion. Regarding the
magnitude of the solar motion, he offered only the following
hints : — “ From the annual parallax of the fixed stars, which,
from my own observations, I find much less than it has
hitherto been proved to be, we may certainly admit (with¬
out entering into a subject which I reserve for a future op¬
portunity) that the diameter of the earth’s orbit, at the dis¬
tance of Sirius or Arcturus, would not nearly subtend an
angle of one second ; but the apparent motion of Arcturus,
if owing to a translation of the solar system amounts to no
less than 2". 7 a year, * * * Hence we may in a gen-

6 La Lande, J. Histoire de l’Academie Royale des Sciences. Paris, 1776 ;
518.

7 Herschel, William. Philosophical Transactions, 1783 ; 247.

150

EASTMAN.

eral way estimate, that the solar motion can certainly not
he less than that which the earth has in her annual orbit.”

In this paper we have the first attempt to determine the
direction and amount of Solar motion ; and, though the
problem was not subjected to any real mathematical analysis,
it is remarkable thalt the concluded direction of motion com¬
pares favorably with the later determinations from a rigid
mathematical treatment of a far greater amount of data.
During the remainder of the eighteenth century nothing of
importance was added to the subject.

In 1805, Herschel8 resumed the study of the problem, and
with wider experience, and more and better data, he was
led to believe that he had determined with greater accuracy
the position of the solar apex, and gave its right ascension
as 245° 52' 30" and its north polar distance 40° 22'.

In the following year Herschel9 presented to the Royal
Society the results of an extensive investigation of the
“Quantity and Velocity of the Solar Motion,” in the follow¬
ing terms : —

“ It appears, therefore, that in the present state of our
knowledge of the observed proper motions of the stars, we
have sufficient reason to fix upon the quantity of the solar
motion to be such as by an eye placed at right angles to its
direction and at the distance of Sirius from us, would be seen
to describe annually an arc of 1". 116992 of a degree ; and
its velocity, till we are acquainted with the real distance of
this star, can therefore only be expressed by the proportional
number of 1116992.”

About the beginning of the nineteenth century astrono¬
mers began to consider analytical methods of discussing the
data at hand, and a new epoch was reached in the progress
of the investigation. Kliigel 10 had already developed special
Trigonometrical formulae but had not employed them in any
computation. In 1809, Burckhardt* 11 presented an ingenious

8 Herschel, William. Philosophical Transactions, 1805; 233.

9 Herschel, William. Philosophical Transactions, 1806 ; 205.

10 Kliigel, Gr. S. Astronomisches Jahrbueh, 1789 ; 214.

11 Burckhardt, J. C. Connoissance des Temps, 1809 ; 377.

SOLAR AND STELLAR PROPER MOTIONS.

151

analytical method of determining the direction of the solar
motion. Employing the same data used by Herschel in
1805, he found the results from the different stars so discord¬
ant that he concluded that the material then at hand was
insufficient to fix the direction of the solar translation.

In his Fundamenta Astronomise, published in 1818, Bes¬
sel12 gave a portion of his discussion of alleged proper mo¬
tions, from which he inferred that the data did not warrant
Herschel’s conclusions in regard to the position of the apex
of the sun’s motion. It appeared to him that the variable
apparent stellar motions could not be explained by any gen¬
eral law.

In 1837, Argelander 13 presented to the Imperial Academy
of Sciences of St. Petersburg, a very complete mathematical
determination of the position of the apex of the solar motion.
He used the proper motions derived from a larger number of
stars than had been used by any of his predecessors, and divided
them into three classes. In the first class he had 21 stars
whose observed proper motions were greater than 1".0 ; in
the second class 50 stars with proper motions between 0".5
and 1".0 ; and in the third class 319 stars with proper mo¬
tions between 0".l and 0".5.

He found the right ascension of the point towards which
the solar motion is directed, to be 257° 47'.6 and its declina¬
tion + 32° 29'.5, or very near the sixth magnitude star
Piazzi XVII, 143.

This investigation settled beyond all doubt the reality of the
motion of the solar system in space, and also attested the ac¬
curacy of the adopted direction of that motion. In 1840, Lun-
dahl 14 published the results of his mathematical discussion
based upon the proper motions derived from Pond’s catalogue
of 1112 stars, from which he found the position of the solar
apex to be in R. A. 260° 51' and in Dec. +31° 17'. Combining

12 Bessel, F. W. Fundamenta Astronomise, 1818, sect. 12; 808.

13 Argelander, F. 'W. A. Memoires presentes a PAcademie Imp. des
Sciences de St. Petersbourg par divers savans. Tome III.

14Lundahl, G. Astronomische Nachrichten, 898; 209.

17— Bull. Phil. Soc., Wash., Vol. 11.

152

EASTMAN.

Lundahl’s result with those from his three classes, Argelan-
der 15 obtained as the most probable result, for the position
of the solar apex, from all the observations, a point whose
R. A. was 257° 49/.7 ± 2° 49'.2 and Dec. +28° 49'.7 ± 1° 59'.8,
for the epoch 1792.5.

In 1841, Otto Struve 16 presented to the Imperial Academy
of Sciences of St. Petersburg, a very elaborate paper on the
determination of the constant of precession, with regard to
the proper motion of the solar system. Employing a greater
amount of data than any of his predecessors in these inves¬
tigations, the author essayed to obtain, not only the correc¬
tion to the assumed constant of precession, but also the an¬
gular value of the solar motion, from the same set of about
eight hundred equations.

He also employed the residuals from the first set of equa¬
tions, in a new series of equations to find corrections to Arge-
lander’s coordinates of the solar apex. From this last cal¬
culation, he found the right ascension of the point in the
heavens, towards which the solar system is moving, to be
261° 22' d= 4° 50' and the declination + 37° 36' ± 4° 12',
at the epoch 1790. Combining these values with those de¬
termined by Argelander he ^obtained the coordinates 259°
9'.4 d= 2° 57'.5 and + 34° 36'.5 ± 3° 24'.5 for the epoch
1790. For the annual amount of translation of the solar
system, at right angles to the line of sight, as seen from the
mean distance of the stars of the first magnitude, he found
the value q = 0"3392 ± 0".0252.

If the proper motion of any star is due to the action of
some remote central body, then, like all bodies moving about
a centre under the influence of gravitation, its path would
deviate more or less from a straight line, and its apparent
motion would not be uniform. In comparing the positions
of Sirius and Procyon, depending on Bradley’s observations
in 1755, and on later observations in 1820 and 1844, Bessel17

15 Argelander, F. W. A. Astronomische Nachrichten, 398 ; 210.

16 Struve, Otto. Memoires de PAcademie Imp. des Sciences deSt. Peters¬
burg, Vie serie. Sciences, Math, et Phys. Tome III ; 17.

17 Bessel, F.W. Astronomische Nachrichten, 514, 145; 515,169; 516,185.

SOLAR AND STELLAR PROPER MOTIONS.

153

believed that he had detected a lack of uniformity in their
proper motions ; and in 1844 he completed a very elaborate
discussion of all the data at hand, reaching the conclusion
that Sirius had a variable proper motion in right-ascension,
and Procyon in declination ; due in each case to the influ¬
ence of a not very distant, and possibly an opaque, body of
immense mass, around which the stars revolved.

In 1847, Thomas Galloway18 presented to the R. A. S. an
investigation of the position of the solar apex, depending on
the observations of southern stars. He employed seventy-
eight stars from the catalogues of Johnson and Henderson,
and compared their places wTith the positions given by
Lacaille and Bradley. The difference of epochs was about
eighty years, and he selected all the stars that appeared to
have an annual proper motion of more than 0".l.

Following the line of investigation adopted by Argelander,
Galloway found the most probable position of the solar apex
to be in R. A. 260° 0'.6±4° 31'.4 and in Dec. +34° 23'.4±
5° 17'.2.

From 1847 to 1856 but little progress was made in mathe¬
matical investigation but a number of catalogues of stars
with suspected proper motion were constructed, and several
astronomers completed admirable discussions of the sus¬
pected irregular motions of Sirius and Procyon.

In Vol. XIV of the Dorpat Observations, J. IT. Madler
gives the results of his study of the motion of the solar sys¬
tem in space. He adopted the methods of computation em¬
ployed by Argelander and divided the 2,163 stars, from
which he derived his data, into three classes, according to
the amount of proper motion.

Class (a) contained 227 stars with proper motion greater
than O''. 25.

Class ( b ) contained 663 stars with proper motion between
0".10 and 0".25.

Class (c) contained 1,273 stars with proper motion between
0".04 and 0".10.

18Galloway, Thomas. Philosophical Transactions, 1847 ; 79.

154

EASTMAN.

The coordinates of the solar apex were found to be —

From class (a) . . 262° 8'.8; + 39° 25'.2

“ “ (6) . . 261° 14'.4; +37° 53'.6

“ f (c) . . 261° 32'.2; +42° 21'.9

Mean — 261° 38'.5; +39° 53'.6,

allowing equal weight for each class.

Madler19 had already discussed, in 1846, the proper motions
of a limited number of stars in the constellation Taurus, and
arrived at the well known conclusion that the Pleiades was
the central group of the fixed stars, and that the star Alcyone
was the central sun of that group.

In 1859, Gr. B. Airy,20 the Astronomer Royal at Greenwich,
presented to the Royal Astronomical Society the results of
his investigation of the movement of the solar system in
space. He adopted a new method of discussing the linear
movements of the sun, and of each star, by the use of rec¬
tangular coordinates, a device at once complete and inde¬
pendent, in which no assumption of the values of the quan¬
tities sought was necessary.

He formed his equations on two widely different suppo¬
sitions : First, that the irregularities of proper motions are
due wholly to chance-error of observation ; second, that they
are due entirely to peculiar motions of the stars themselves.
He was evidently inclined to believe that the second suppo¬
sition was nearer the truth. Like most of the previous in¬
vestigators, he sought such a value of the sun’s angular
motion in space as would be seen from a star of the first
magnitude, and for that purpose was obliged to assume some
law of relative distances among the stars. In tllis he was
guided by the elder Struve’s work, and, dividing the stars
used into seven groups, according to magnitude, he adopted
the system in the following table, which is almost identical
with that of Struve :

19 Madler, J. H. Astronomische Nachrichten, 566; 213.

20 Airy, G. B. Mem. Eoy. Ast. Society, XXVIII ; 143.

SOLAR AND STELLAR PROPER MOTIONS. 155

Table I.

Division.

Magnitude.

Distance from
sun.

1

1

1.00

2

1.2,

2,

2.3

1.71

3

3.2,

3,

CO

2.57

4

4.3,

4,

4.5

3.76

5

5.4,

5,

5.6

5.44

6

6.5,

6,

6.7

7.86

7

7.6,

7,

7.8, 8

11.34

Using the proper motions of 113 stars from Main’s Cata¬
logue, the author found the coordinates of the solar apex to
be, according to the first supposition, R. A. 256° 51' ; Dec.
+ 39° 29' : according to the second supposition, 261° 29' and
+24° 44'.

From the equations formed under the first supposition,
the angular value of the solar motion was found to be 1".27,
and from the second supposition 1".91.

These values of the solar motion were so much larger than
that found by Struve, that the author was disposed to cast
grave doubts upon the accuracy of the assumed law of dis¬
tances for the stars, and- observed, 1 It may be, therefore,
that we have in point of fact been using, as stars at the
average distance of stars of the sixth magnitude, stars whose
distance is little greater than that of stars of the first mag¬
nitude.’ This remark emphasizes the weak point in every
discussion of the solar motion.

In 1863, Mr. Edwin Dunkin 21 gave to the R. A. S. the re¬
sults of a very careful investigation of the direction, and the
amount, of the solar motion.

He followed the same methods in his work as those em¬
ployed by the Astronomer Royal, but used the data from

21 Dunkin, Edwin. Mem. Roy. Ast. Society, xxxii ; 19.

156

EASTMAN.

1167 stars. On the supposition that the irregularities of
proper motion were entirely due to accidental errors of ob¬
servation, he found the coordinates of the solar apex to be
in R. A. 261° 14'. 0 and in Dec. +32° 55'. 0. On the suppo¬
sition that the irregularities were due entirely to the pecu¬
liar motions of the stars, he found the coordinates to be
263° 43.9 and 4-25° O'. 5. On the first supposition he found
the angular value of the annual solar motion to be 0".3346,
and on the second supposition 0".4103.

In 1863, Mr. E. J. Stone92 using the factors of solar motion
computed by Mr. Main, in his Catalogue of proper motion
stars, proposed to test the possibility of determining the
linear velocity of the solar system, so as to obtain any con¬
siderable diminution of the sums of the squares of the cor¬
rected proper motion.

Assuming the linear unit to be the mean distance of the
group of stars considered, and therefore the distances of all the
stars to be equal, he found, using the entire number of factors
computed, the sum of the squares of the uncorrected proper
motions in R. A. to be 0S.525 and the velocity of solar mo¬
tion to be 0".054. The sum of the squares of proper motions
corrected for solar motion was 0s. 473. Concluding that the
small value of the solar motion was due principally to the
inaccurate factors for stars near the pole, he omitted the data
for the 13 circumpolar stars and from the remaining 91

stars, he found, *

From From
R. A. Dec.

The sum of the squares of the uncorrected

proper motions . 0S.464 48.539 •

The sum of the squares of the corrected proper

motions . 0S.381 44.862

The velocity of solar motion . 0".434 0".341

The author remarks in conclusion, ‘ I think we may fairly
conclude that, so long as we confine our attention to large
proper motions, we have numerical evidence of a drift such

22 Stone, E. J. Month. Not. Roy. Ast. Society, xxiv, 1864; 36.

SOLAR AND STELLAR PROPER MOTIONS.

157

as would be produced by the motion of the solar system in
space but that the numerical evidence is slight.’

In 1869 and ’70, Mr. R. A. Proctor23 published several
papers on the nature, direction and amount of solar and
stellar motions. With his well known graphical skill, he
constructed charts on which the direction and amount of the
proper motions of the principal stars were represented, and
from which he was able to show that, in certain limited areas
of the heavens, the motion or drift of the stars had an ap¬
parent common direction. The motion of the stars in
Taurus is towards the south-west ; in Gemini and Cancer
toward the south-east, and in Leo the drift is toward Cancer.
The stars a, p and y Arietis appear to form a single system ;
while five of the seven bright stars in Ursa Major are all
drifting in the same direction, and at almost the same rate,
towards the apex of solar motion, or away from the point
towards which all stellar motions, due to the Sun’s transla¬
tion in space, should be directed.

In 1877, Dr. De Ball24 discussed the direction of the solar
motion from the data derived from the proper motions of 67
southern stars and found the coordinates of the solar apex
to be, in right ascension, 269°. 0 and in declination, -f- 31°. 9.

In 1882, Dr. F. Rancken,25 proceeding on the hypothesis
that the proper motions of the stars increased with the stellar
parallax, discussed the data derived from 106 stars, lying
within 30° of the plane of the milky way, and found the
position of the solar apex to be in right ascension, 285° S'. 3
and in declination, + 31° 52'. 1. He also found the annual
linear motion of the solar system to be 9.79 radii of the
earth’s orbit.

In 1884, Dr. Johann Bischof26 investigated the direction

23 Proctor, R. A. Proc. Roy. Society of London, xviii ; 169. Month. Not.
Roy. Ast. Society, xxx ; 9. Pop. Science Review, London, viii, 1869 ;
358.

24 De Ball, L. Inaugural Dissertation, Bonn, 1877.

25 Rancken, Frey vid. Astronomische Nachrichten, 2482; 149.

36 Bischof, Johann. Inaugural Dissertation, Bonn, 1884.

158

EASTMAN.

and velocity of the solar motion ; using as data the proper
motions determined by Argelander for his well known list
of 250 stars, and also the proper motions from 95 other tele¬
scopic stars which had been observed by Argelander. He
divided the 345 stars into four groups, depending upon the
amount of proper motion, as follows :

The first group contained 19 stars with proper motions
greater than l". 000.

The second group contained 24 stars with proper motions
between 0".70'1 and 1".000.

The third group contained 65 stars with proper motions
between 0A401 and 0".700.

The fourth group contained 237 stars with proper motions
between O''. 050 and 0".400.

He found a position of the Solar apex from each group
separately, but finally adopted the following values derived
from combining the data from all the stars : H. A. — 285°. 2 ;
Dec. = + 48°.5.

He also found the annual, angular value of the solar mo¬
tion to be 0A3367.

In March, 1887, Ludwig Struve,27 a member of the third
generation of Russian astronomers who have borne the name
of Struve to the great credit of the empire, presented to the
St. Petersburg Academy of Sciences an important paper en¬
titled “ Bestimmung der Constante der Praecession und der
Eigenen Bewegung des Sonnensy stems.” He adopted in his
computations the method of rectangular coordinates as used
by Airy, and also assumed for the stars the same relation be¬
tween magnitude and distance. The author used the proper
motions of 2509 stars whose earliest positions depend upon
Dr. Auwer’s late re-reduction of Bradley’s observations,
while the modern places were taken from the Pulkowa Cata¬
logues for the epochs 1845, 1855 and 1865. From this dis¬
cussion, the coordinates of the solar apex, for the epoch 1805,

27 Struve, Ludwig. Memoires de PAcademie Imp. de St. Petersbourg.
vii® Serie, Tome xxxv, No. 3.

SOLAR AND STELLAR PROPER MOTIONS.

159

were ascertained to be, in right ascension, 273° 21' and in
declination, +27° 19'. At the same time the annual, an¬
gular motion of the solar system, as seen from a sixth mag¬
nitude star, was found to be 0//.43642.

The principal results, derived from the laborious compu¬
tations undertaken during the last hundred years to de¬
termine the position of the solar apex, as well as the velocity
of the solar motion, are collated in the following table. In
some cases, the epoch for which the computation was made?
is omitted in the original papers, and in others it is indefinite.
Only those are given in the table about which there is no
doubt. The date given, is the time of publication.

The values of the solar motion given by Herschel and
Airy were considered by the authors themselves as of little
weight. Rancken’s value is indeterminate. The mean is
given of the seven other determinations.

The values found by 0. Struve and by Dunkin were for
the distance to first magnitude stars, that by L. Struve for
the distance to sixth magnitude stars, while the values given
by Stone and Bischof were for the mean distances of the re¬
spective groups of stars used by each author.

But little importance is attached to the means of the coor¬
dinates of the solar apex, for it is impossible to assign proper
weights to such data.

It is intended to give each determination as deduced by
the author and, in the means, equal weight is given to the
separate values.

18— Bull. Phil. Soc., Wash., Vol. 11.

160

EASTMAN.

Table II.

Author.

Date.

Number of stars
used.

Deduced position of
apex.

solar

Epoch.

Right as¬
cension.

Declination.

O

O

Herschel _

1783

14

260.6

+26.3

u

1805

6

245

/

52.5

49

CO

OO N.

u

1806

36

Gauss_ __

259

10

30

50

Argelander _

1838

390

259

51.8

32

29.1

1792.5

Lundahl _

1840

147

252

24.4

14

26.1

1792.5

O. Struve _

1841

392

261

21.8

37

36.0

1790

Galloway __

1847

78

260

0.6

34

23.4

1790

Madler

/ 1848
\ 1856

2,163

261

38.8

39.

53.9

1800

Airy -

1859

113

256

54

39

29

1800

CC

1859

113

261

29

24

44

1800

Dunkin _

1863

1,167

261

14.0

32

55.0

1800

C C

1863

1,167

263

43.9

25

0.5

1800

Stone

1863

91

U

1863

91

Gylden28 _

1872

274.1

Gylden29 _

1877

260.5

1800

JDe Ball _

1877

67

269.0

31.9

1860

Rancken _

18821

106

285

8.3

31

52.1

Bischof _

1884'

480

285.2

48.5

1855

Ubaghs30 _

1886

464

262.4

26.6

L. Struve _

1887;

2,509

273.3

27.3

1805

Mean

263°

53/

32°

35'

Sj

SJ

rci f-i
o3

5 O

1.117

0.3392

1.269

1.912

0.3346

0.4103

0.434

0.341

(9.79)

0.3367

0.4364

0//.3760

28 Gylden, Hugo. Antydningar om lagbundenhet i Stjernornas rOrelser
(Ofversigt af Kongl. vetens kaps Akademiens FOrhandlingar, 1871, Ho. 8.)
Stockholm, 1872.

29 Gylden, Hugo. Grundlebren der Astronomie. Leipzig, 1877; 388.

30 Ubaghs, P. Astronomische Nachrichten, 2733 ; 355. Bulletin de
l’Academie Boyale des Sciences de Belgique, 1887, 3© series, Tome XIII ; 66.

In this incomplete review, altogether too brief for the im¬
portance of the subject, but, I fear, long enough to weary
your patience and dull your interest, I have endeavored to
outline the methods and the results of the labor of a century

SOLAR AND STELLAR PROPER MOTIONS. 161

in one of the important departments of astronomical science ;
and at the same time to indicate the progress of that line of
thought which tended to uproot the theory of the immobility
of the solar system, and to supplant the speculations of a
baseless philosophy with a broader theory of the Universe,
resting on the solid foundation of numerous and well ob¬
served facts.

The progress of science has often been likened to the march
of a grand army, sweeping with a steady but irresistible mo¬
mentum towards some definite point ; and, again, it has been
characterized as the advance of an undisciplined throng,
without a leader, but finding its directing impetus in the
common impulse of its individual members. In the' special
investigation considered to-night, the progress seems to me to
be more like that of a rising flood invading for the first time
the surface of a partially broken but unexplored country.
There is no steady, uniform progress in any direction. When
the tide overrides the barrier to an unoccupied basin beyond,
the rush of the current is not stayed until every nook and
indentation in the fresh fields has been searched out, and the
new possibilities have been exhausted. Then a period of
tranquillity ensues, until a higher level is reached, fresh ob¬
stacles are surmounted, and the accumulated energy is diverted
into new regions where exploration is again concentrated,
until the rising flood is strong enough to break its way into
still higher areas, intermittingly repeating the cycle of renew¬
ing rest and impulsive effort.

A careful examination of the literature of solar and stellar
motions will reveal, in a striking manner, the intermittent
character of the numerous investigations undertaken within
the past century. New observations and more ingenious
methods have revived, at irregular intervals and with fresh
energy, the hope that new light might be thrown upon the
troublesome problem, and many zealous students have en¬
tered the field, at nearly the same, time to search for a more
satisfactory solution.

It is now one hundred and seventy years since Halley

162

EASTMAN.

called attention to the phenomena, and one hundred and
six years since the first serious investigation, by Herschel, of
the suspected motion of the stars and the solar system in
space, and yet the problem is not completely solved.

It has been proven beyond all doubt that certain phe¬
nomena known as stellar proper motions exist. They have
been explained by assuming; first, the translation of the solar
system through space at a high velocity ; second, the mo¬
tions of the stars themselves ; and, third, a combination of
both solar and stellar motions.

It has been shown very conclusively that the solar system
has a motion of translation through space, and the general
direction of this motion is known within narrow limits.
But this alone will not explain all the observed pheno'mena.
If the solar system were moving towards some definite point
in the heavens, and the stars had no motion of their own,
then the angular distances, between the stars about the ob¬
jective point, would increase as the sun, with the earth, grad¬
ually approached them, while the intervals between the stars,,
in the opposite quarter of the heavens, would correspond¬
ingly decrease. At the same time, stars, situated 90° from
the line of the solar motion would have an apparent move¬
ment directly opposite to the sun’s real motion.

These phenomena are observed in the case of some stars,,
but not in all. It is observed also, that whole groups of
stars, as well as isolated ones, in the same portion of the
heavens, move in opposite, or, at least, divergent directions,
and the inference is unavoidable that the stars, as well as
the sun, have their own peculiar motions of translation. If
the problem ended here, we could count on having made
substantial progress. But for further advance in this research,
it is necessary to know the distances of the stars from the
solar system. Here, alas ! the astronomer is working with
the infinitely short arm of the lever. Many assumptions
have been made, and many shrewd inferences have been
drawn, but still we have almost no actual knowledge of
stellar distances. It is certain that some well known stars

SOLAR AND STELLAR PROPER MOTIONS.

163

have an appreciable parallax, and most of these are of large
magnitude. Hence it was inferred that the larger stars were
nearer the solar system, and that the apparent brightness
was a guide to their relative distances. It was also assumed
that if the apparent motion of the stars was caused wholly,
or partially, by the motion of the sun, the nearer or larger
stars would be affected by the greatest proper motion.

In 1827, the elder Struve31 devised an ingenious scheme of
relative stellar magnitudes and distances, in which the stars
then called the first magnitude, were taken as the unit of
magnitude, and the mean distance of these stars from the
solar system, was assumed as the unit of distance. This
scheme included not only the relative magnitudes and dis¬
tances, but the relative brightness of the stars, together with
the number of stars of each magnitude which would be
equal in brilliancy to the adopted standard.

This system, or some modification of it, has been employed
in nearly every study of the direction and velocity of. the
solar motion undertaken since these supposed relations were
published. It is apparent that this system was founded bn
the assumption that all the stars are of the same real mag¬
nitude and brilliancy, and that all changes in those charac¬
teristics are due to the varying distances from the solar sys¬
tem. If these assumptions be true, then all stars of the same
magnitude ought to have the same parallax. Sirius, appar¬
ently the largest stellar body known, and theoretically the
nearest to the solar system, has an annual parallax of less
than 0".4, while the 7th magnitude star, Lalande 21185, has
an annual parallax of 0".5. According to the generally
accepted theory the fainter star should be more than eleven
times as far from the sun as Sirius is, while the observations
for parallax show that it is nearer than Sirius by the ratio of
five to four. Many comparisons showing similar discrep¬
ancies between theory and fact could be easily shown.

If all stars of the same magnitude were at equal distances

21 Struve, F. G-. W. Catalogus Novus Stellarum Duplicium et Multi-
plicium. Dorpat, 1827 ; XXXV.

164

EASTMAN.

from the sun, and the apparent stellar proper motions were
caused by the motion of the solar system in space, then the
largest stars, or those nearest the sun, in those portions of
the heavens 90° from the direction of the sun’s motion, would
show the greatest proper motion. If, on the other hand, the
solar system is fixed in space and the observed change in
the positions of the stars is due to an inherent motion of
those bodies themselves, then the stars nearest the solar sys¬
tem would have the greatest apparent motion. But, what
are the facts ?

The annual proper motion of Sirius is about 1".30,
or less than that of some 9th’ magnitude stars which theory
would place at least twenty-three times as far from the sun.
The seventh magnitude star, Groombridge 1830, which, ac¬
cording to theory, would be more than eleven times the dis¬
tance of Sirius from the sun, has an annual proper motion
of 7". 05 or more than 5.4 times that of Sirius. The cases
just cited are isolated phenomena, and, as the inferences
drawn from such data are possibly misleading, it has been
deemed of the highest importance to undertake a more gen¬
eral investigation in a much broader field.

In the Proceedings of the American Association for the Ad¬
vancement of Science32, for 1889, is published an abstract of the
methods employed in the investigation of the relation between
stellar magnitudes and proper motions, together with the re¬
sults obtained. In this connection it is unnecessary to cite
from that paper anything but the data and the results. I first
investigated the relations of the magnitudes and proper
motions of 345 stars whose proper motions had served as a
basis for an Inaugural Dissertation by Dr. 'Johann Bischof.
This list included the well known proper-motion catalogue
of 250 stars by Argelander.33

The magnitudes of these stars range from the 5th to the
9th, inclusive, and the observed motions are determined with

32 Eastman, J. R. Proc. Am. Ass. for Ad. Science, 1889 ; 71.

33Argelander, F. W. A. Astronomische Beobachtungen auf der Stern-
warte zu Bonn. Siebenter Band; 109.

SOLAR AND STELLAR PROPER MOTIONS. 165

very great care. Arranging all the stars in four classes, ac¬
cording to the amount of observed proper motion, and taking
the mean of the magnitudes and of the proper motions in
each class, the following rather significant result was reached.
In class I, which includes the largest proper motions, are
found the faintest stars ; in class II, which contains smaller
proper motions, there is a slight increase in the size of the
stars; and in all the classes as the mean proper motion
decreases, the mean magnitude increases . I then examined
the proper motions deduced by Newcomb34 from 307 of
Bradley’s stars ranging from the largest down to the 5th
magnitude. These stars were not so well adapted for this
investigation as those of Argelander’s list, because many of
the deduced proper motions are so minute as to be at least
doubtful. They were arranged and treated in the same way
as the first list, and in many respects similar results were
obtained.

Finally, in order to show definitely the relations between
magnitudes and proper motions the whole number of stars,
652, were arranged in nine groups, according to magnitudes.
Taking the mean of the magnitudes and the mean of the
proper motions in each group, certain rather remarkable
results were reached. The mean proper motion for the first
magnitude stars, 0".52, is somewhat anomalous, inasmuch
as the number of stars is quite small and there occurs three
large proper motions. For the succeeding magnitudes, from
the second to the ninth, inclusive, the mean proper motions
are respectively, 0T16, 0A18, 0T14, 0".17, 0".29, 0".42, 0T46
and 0T68.

These results were so decidedly opposed to the accepted
theories that a further examination was considered very de¬
sirable. Since the publication of the paper just quoted,
another investigation of the proper motions of Bradley’s
stars has been made on the same general plan as the first.
In Argelander’s list no star was used whose proper motion

34 Newcomb, Simon. Astronomical Papers of the American Ephemeris,
1882; 147.

166

EASTMAN.

was less than 0T05, and, in order to make the data from the
two lists more nearly homogeneous, all the stars from Brad¬
ley’s list, from the first to the fifth magnitude, inclusive,
whose proper motions were less than 0T05, were excluded
from the second investigation.- By this process, one hundred
and two stars used in the first paper, were rejected in the
second. The remaining five hundred and fifty stars of the
two lists were arranged, as in the first investigation, in nine
groups, according to magnitude. In the first group were
placed all stars wdiose magnitudes were greater than 1.5 ;
in the second group all magnitudes between 1.6 and 2.5, in¬
clusive, and, by a similar method, each group was arranged
until the ninth , which contained all stars fainter than the
8.5 magnitude.

Taking the means of the different quantities, as in the
first discussion, there are found the results which are ar¬
ranged in the following table :

Table III.

Group.

Number of
stars.

Mean magni¬
tude.

Mean proper
motion.

1

14

1.13

//

0.668

2

28

2.15

0:237

3

42

3.08

0.272

4

70

4.02

0.187

5

61

4.89

0.243

6

64

6.12

0.293

7

128

7.04

0.422

8

114

8.08

0.460

9

29

8.78

0.678

In this table we have results similar to those derived from
the first investigation, but all tending to disprove the ordi¬
nary theories in regard to the relations of magnitudes and
proper motions.

SOLAR, AND STELLAR PROPER MOTIONS.

167

The result in the first line, like that in the first discussion,
is peculiar by reason of the small number of stars and the
occurrence of three large proper motions. Neglecting that
result, there is found an almost uniformly increasing proper
motion as the stars grow fainter, until the 9th magnitude
stars are found to have a proper motion nearly three times as
great as those of either the 2d., 3d., 4th. or 5th. magnitudes,
and quite as large as the anomalous result for the 1st. mag¬
nitudes.

Assumption, which has developed into a quasi theory, and
gained general acceptation, asserts that the largest stars are
nearest the solar system. Observation plainly shows this
theory to be quite untenable.

The following tables exhibit the magnitude, proper mo¬
tion and parallax of forty-six stars or, practically, all those
whose parallaxes have been well determined. Most of this
data was compiled by Dr. Oudemans35 for a special occasion,
and I have used his figures except where additional data
have made changes necessary, or where less apparent accu¬
racy was sufficient for my purpose.

The stars in Table IV are arranged in five nearly equal
groups, according to magnitude of proper motion.

Table V giving the mean results from each group in Table
IV, presents some important features. 1°. The larger
proper motions and parallaxes belong to the smaller stars-
2°. The decrease in the numerical value of the parallaxes
is accompanied by a corresponding decrease in the proper
motions. 3°. The mean magnitude of the first two groups is
5.58 and the mean proper motion is 3". 63. Of the last three
groups the mean magnitude is 2.86 and the mean proper
motion is 0".49.

35 Oudemans, J. A. C. Astronomiche Nachrichten 2915 ’6 ; 193.

19-Bull. Phil. Soe., Wash., Vol. 11

168

EASTMAN.

Table IV.

Name of star.

Magni¬

tude.

Proper

motion.

Annual

parallax.

//

//

Groombridge 1830 _ _ _ _ _ _

6.5

7.05

0.07

Lalande 9352__ .... _ _

7.5

6.96

0.28

61 Cygni __ - - — _

5.1

5.16

0.40

Lalande 21185 _ __ _

6.9

4.75

0.50

s Indi __ __ __ _ _ _

5.2

4.60

0.20

Lalande 21258 _ _ _

8.5

4.40

0.26

o* Eridani_ _ _ _ _

4.5

4.05

0.19

jjL Cassiopeae _ _ _ __ _ _

5.2

3.75

0.19

a Centauri _ _ _ _

0.7

3.67

0.75

0. A. N. 11677 _ _

9.0

3.04

0.26

e Eridani __ _ ____

4.4

3.03

0.14

Groombridge 34 _ _ _ _

7.9

2.80

0.29

A 2398_ _ _ ___ __

8.2

2.40

0.35

a Bootis _ _

0.0

2.28

0.02

B. A. C. 8083 _ _

5.5

2.09

0.07

j £ Tucanse_ __ _ _ __

4.1

2.05

0.06

a Draconis _ _ _

4.7

1.84

0.25

Groombridge 1618- __

+6.5

1.43

0.32

a Canis Majoris. _ _ _ _ _

— 1.4

1.31

0.39

85 Pegasi- _ _ _ _ _

+5.8

1.29

0.05

0. A. N. 17415 _ _ _ _

9.0

1.27

0.25

a Canis Minoris _ _ _ _

0.5

1.25

0.27

0 Cassiopeae- _ _ _ _ .

3.6

1.20

0.15

70 Ophinchi __ __ ___

4.1

1.13

0.15

a Aquilae __ __ __ _

L0

0.65

0.20

6 (B) Cygni - . _ -

6.6

0.64

0.23

/ 3 Geminorum. __ __ _

1.1

0.64

0.07

j3 Cassiopeae _ _ _ _ _

2.4

0.55

0.16

10 Ursae Majoris _ _ _ _ __

4.2

0.51

0.20

l Ursae Majoris _ _ __ __ __

3.2

0.50

0.13

a Aurigae _ _ _ _ _

0.2

0.43

0.11

A 1516 _ _

7.0

0.42

0.28

a Lyrae _ __ _ _

0.2

0.36

0.16

a Leonis _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

1.4 '

0.27

0.09

a Geminorum _ _ _ _ _ __

1.6

0.21

0.20

a Tauri _ _ __ _ _

1.0

0.19

0.11*

v 1 Draconis . _ _ _ _ _ . _

4.9

0.16

0.32

v 2 Draconis. __ _ _ _

4.8

0.16

0.28

ri Herculis _ _ _ _ __

3.7

0.08

0.40

a Cassiopeae _ _ _

2.2

0.05

0.07

a Ursae Minoris _ _ _ __

1.1

0.04

0.07

7 r Herculis _ _ _ _ _ _ _

3.4

0.04

0.00

a Herculis __ _ _ _

3.2

0.04

0.06

y Draconis _ _ _ _ _ _

2.4

0.03

0.09

y Cassiopeae _ __ _ —

2.3

0.02

0.01

a Argus _ _ _ _ _

0.4

0.00

0.03

* Elkin’s and Hall’s value.

SOLAR AND STELLAR PROPER MOTIONS.

169

Table V.

Number
of stars.

Mean mag¬
nitude.

Mean proper
motion.

Mean parallax.

//

//

First group _

9

5 57.

4.93

0.32

Second “ —

9

5.59

2.33

0.20

Third “ _

9

3.37

1.04

0.20

Fourth “ ___

9

2.36

0.38

0.16

Fifth “ ___

10

2.84

0.06

0.13

If the stars in Table IV be arranged according to the
magnitude of the parallaxes, it will be seen that eighteen of
them have a parallax greater than 0".2. The mean magni¬
tude of these stars is 5.56 and the mean parallax is 0".34.
Of the remaining twenty-eight stars the mean magnitude is
2.89 and the mean parallax is 0".ll.

Hence it would appear that, if any law can be formulated
from the observed data, it must be that the fainter, rather
than the brighter stars are nearest the solar system.

A corollary of the theory just discussed avers that, as the
largest stars are nearest the solar system, they should be
affected by the largest apparent proper motions. This, as is
fully shown in the discussions just cited, is not in accord¬
ance with the observed phenomena ; in fact, the manifest con¬
clusion, from all recent observations and investigations, must
be that the assumptions in regard to the relations between
stellar magnitudes, distances and proper motions, which
have been introduced into the discussions of the direction
and of the velocity of motion of the solar system', have little
or no foundation in nature, and are now a decided hinderance
to true progress in such investigations. *

The elder Struve’s scheme, formed to express certain as¬
sumed relations between stellar magnitudes and distances,
was not originally designed to aid the study of stellar proper
motions, but was a bold and ingenious assumption which he
employed in the investigation of a different class of problems

170

EASTMAN.

in stellar astronomy, and in that direction, in the hands of
such a master, it served a useful purpose.

The most important obstacle, in all the discussions of solar
and stellar motions, is our almost complete ignorance of the
distribution and the distances of the stars. While it is true
that the parallaxes, and consequently the distances of a
very few stars, have been measured with considerable appar¬
ent accuracy, the probable error of many of the most trust¬
worthy results, if expressed in miles, would be greater than
any known distance in the solar system.

But even if we knew the distance from the solar system of
any star of a given magnitude, or of a number of stars of dif¬
ferent magnitudes, with as much precision as we know the
distance of the earth from the sun, we should only be in pos¬
session of a few isolated facts, and would be unable, from
such data, and with the knowledge we have thus far attained,
to infer the distance of any other star in the universe.

Our knowledge of stellar distances must be obtained by
the slow and laborious process of measuring the parallax of
each object, trusting that, with the gradually accumulating
facts, new light may be thrown upon the problem, and a
second Newton may appear, who will solve the riddle, and
point out to future astronomers the laws that obtain among
the stellar worlds.

It is well, perhaps, to consider at this point, one important
fact. If, at this moment, we knew the distance from the solar
system of every star visible to the naked eye, with an ac¬
curacy equal to the best work ever done in that direction,
we should still he unable to solve the problem of the direc¬
tion and the velocity of the motion of the solar system, with
a degree of precision commensurate with the importance of
the question.

But we are not yet in possession of the necessary accurate
knowledge of the proper motions of the stars.

While many of the earlier observations of right ascen¬
sions are fairly trustworthy, it is only about ninety years
since Pond’s observations, with astronomical instruments of

SOLAR AND STELLAR PROPER MOTIONS.

171

the proper character, gave declinations with which to begin
the discussion, and at least another century must elapse be¬
fore the necessary data can be obtained for a satisfactory
solution of the problem.

Finally, lest, after rehearsing the obstacles that confront
our progress in this direction, I be misunderstood, I wish to
disclaim most earnestly any pessimistic views in regard to
the results of genuine investigation in this field of astro¬
nomical research.

For more centuries than we now reckon since the Chris¬
tian era, a peculiar theory of the immobility of the solar sys¬
tem held undisputed and dominating sway in the minds of
those who formulated the philosophy of the physical world
and only yielded, at last, to the accumulated evidence gath¬
ered by those patient watchers of the stars who labored not
for present gain or future glory, but to learn the secrets of
the heavens.

And shall we now grow faint hearted because we may be
forced to wait for one or two centuries for the solution of an
interesting problem, while the progressive evolution of the-
result is visibly manifest from year to year ? It is, rather,,
the attractive duty of the astronomer of these later days to
strive cheerfully to fix, for his epoch, the evidence of each
member of that starry host of witnesses whose cumulative
testimony will make clear, sooner or later, the laws that
guide their motions through the depths of space.

HURRICANES IN THE BAY OF NORTH AMERICA.

BY

Everett Hayden.

[Read before the Society, October 12, 1889.]

The Bay of North America embraces the entire western
part of the North Atlantic between Newfoundland and
Venezuela, including the Caribbean Sea and Gulf of Mex¬
ico. The term was first used, I believe, by Prof. Alexander
Agassiz, and it is so expressive that it should come into
more general use. In its general outlines this great body of
water bears a certain analogy to the corresponding indenta¬
tion of the North Pacific into the continent of Asia, and the
hurricanes of the Bay of North America are very similar, in
all their essential features, to the typhoons of the China
seas. The tracks along which they move, however, seem to
be far more uniform and regular in character, due, perhaps,
to the greater simplicity in the general configuration of land
and water and to the fact that the Gulf Stream, a famous
breeder of ocean storms, is greater as to temperature, veloc¬
ity, and volume than the Kuro Siwo, or Black Stream of
Japan.

The wrord “ hurricane ” comes from a Carib word, mean¬
ing simply a violent wind. As used at present it has a
double meaning : first, an entire storm system or cyclone, in
which the highest force of wind is as high as 12 (Beaufort’s
scale) ; secondly, a wind as high as 12. Thus a sailor might
say that on a voyage from Havana to New York he encoun¬
tered a hurricane ; here the word would mean a “ revolving
storm,” or a very severe cyclone. Again, in describing the

20— Ball. Phil. Soc., Wash., Vol. 11. (173)

174

HAYDEN.

storm, the shifts of wind, &c., he might say that at 8 a. m.
it was blowing a moderate gale from E NE. ; at noon, a
strong gale from E. ; and at 4 p. m., a hurricane from SE.

A hurricane, then, in the broader signification of the word,
is a cyclone of enormous intensity. This word cyclone, as
originally coined by Piddington and adopted by Pedfield
and other early writers, and as still used by leading author¬
ities, does not necessarily convey the idea of a violent storm,
but is used as a generic term to refer to a wind system where
the circulation is cyclonic (in the Northern hemisphere,
against watch hands ; in the Southern, with) and the baro¬
metric pressure below the normal. It is, I think, a pity that
popular usage is making the meaning of the word too spe¬
cific, somewhat as it has made the expression “ tidal wave ”
too generic. The following quotation from Redfield is of
interest in this connection :

“ The term cyclone was first proposed by Mr. Piddington
to designate any considerable extent or area of wind which
exhibits a turning or revolving motion, without regard to its
varying velocity, or to the different names which are often
applied to such winds. If used in this sense it may prevent
the confusion which often results from other names, more
variable or indeterminate in their signification. Thus, all
hurricanes or violent storms may, perhaps, be considered as
cyclones or revolving winds ; but it by no means follows that
all cyclones are either hurricanes, gales, or storms. For the
word is not designed to express the degree of activity or force,
which may be manifested in the moving disk or stratum of
rotating atmosphere to which it is applied. It often desig¬
nates light and feeble winds, as well as those which are strong
and violent.”

The tracks that have been traversed by storms during each
month of the year are valuable indications to the navigator
regarding the probable path of a storm that he may encoun¬
ter during a voyage. For this reason there were plotted
upon the Pilot Chart of the North Atlantic Ocean last year

HURRICANES IN THE BAY OF NORTH AMERICA. 175

the tracks of all the cyclones on record for August, Septem¬
ber, and October, respectively, likely to indicate to the navi¬
gator the paths that hurricanes usually follow during these
three months — the especially dangerous hurricane months
in the Bay of North America. Upon looking at these three
charts it will readily be seen that the motion of translation of
such storm systems is westward in the tropics, then north¬
ward into the temperate zone, and finally northeastward ;
it will be noticed, also, that the tracks are most numerous
off our coast, in the Gulf Stream region. These storm tracks,
although valuable as indicating in a general way the region
where tropic cyclones are most liable to be encountered
and the direction of their tracks, are nevertheless far from
satisfactory. Although compiled from all available data,
we have had hardly time enough to go into the subject with
the thoroughness that it deserves, in order to sift out the
tracks that represent the movements of cyclones unaccom¬
panied by winds of any noteworthy violence, to omit every¬
thing founded too largely on guess-work, and to verify and
correct the tracks of genuine hurricanes. As they stand, we
cannot base upon them anything but the weakest and vaguest
generalities.

A hurricane is an event of enormous importance in the
history of atmospheric physics; to use a metaphor from
human history, it is a great battle, upon which the fate of
nations — of civilization itself — depends, as compared to the
desultory and meaningless skirmishes' that are so liable to
confuse and mislead the historian. The simplicity and
breadth of marine meteorology, due to the greater extent
and uniformity of the leading meteorologic conditions at sea
than on land, would seem to make its study of the very
greatest value in arriving at any correct ideas regarding the
general laws, of atmospheric circulation, and to repay well
the increased difficulty in collecting and collating data.

In a general way, then, these tracks illustrate the fact that
hurricanes, originating as great whirlwinds in the tropics,
move westward, northward, and finally northeastward, along

176

HAYDEN.

a parabolic track concave to the east, with a marked ten¬
dency to follow the Gulf Stream. Speaking of the origin of
these terrific storms, Padre Vines, the eminent director of
the Observatory of Belen College, Havana, says :

“ To the east of the Windward Islands and along the Carib¬
bean Sea is planted a cyclonic battery which in certain
months of the year aims its death-dealing projectiles at us —
projectiles of incalculable destructive power and prodigious
range.” He says further, and to this I would call especial
attention : “ The position and aim of the battery that is
planted to fire upon us, the range of its shots, and even the
destructive force of its projectiles, all depend upon general
causes that vary, more or less, with the seasons ; hence the
cyclone commonly takes a path that varies with the months.”

Here, then, we have a general law, a key that opens the
door to the solution of problems of the greatest interest and
importance to the' physicist, to the meteorologist, and to the
practical navigator. Briefly stated, Vines’ laws regarding
the recurvature of West Indian hurricanes are as follows : In
June (and October) the vertex of the parabola is in about
latitude 20° to 23° north; in July (and September), 27° to
29°, and in August, 30° to 32°. The importance of these
laws is so great, both theoretically and practically, and the
authority of their discoverer so well established, that they
are worthy of the most careful consideration and are not to
be denied on the strength of any series of storm tracks that
has yet been published.

Let us consider next the conditions that precede the forma¬
tion of a hurricane. To do this let us imagine ourselves
aboard ship in the tropics, near the northern limits of the
belt of equatorial rains and calms, and watch the weather.
I will quote from “Two Years before the Mast,” by R. H.
Dana, Jr., a little book whose interest, truthfulness, and
descriptive power are so great that many successive editions
have been published since its first appearance, some fifty
years ago :

HURRICANES IN THE BAY OF NORTH AMERICA. 177

“ Sunday , September 4-th, the trades left us, in latitude 22°
north, longitude 51° west, directly under the tropic of Cancer.
For several days we lay ‘ humbugging about ’ in the Horse
latitudes, with all sorts of winds and weather, and occasion¬
ally, as we were in the latitude of the West Indies, a thunder¬
storm. It was hurricane month, too, and we were just in
the track of the tremendous hurricane of 1830, which swept
the North Atlantic, destroying almost everything before it.
The first night after the trade-winds left us, while we were
in the latitude of the island of Cuba, we had a specimen of
a true tropical thunder-storm. A light breeze had been
blowing from aft during the first part of the night, which
gradually died away, and before midnight it was dead calm,
and a heavy black cloud had shrouded the whole sky. When
our watch came on deck, at twelve o’clock, it was as black as
Erebus ; the studding-sails were all taken in and the royals
furled ; not a breath was stirring ; the sails hung heavy and
motionless from the yards ; and the stillness and darkness,
which was almost palpable, were truly appalling. Not a
word was spoken, but every one stood as though waiting for
something to happen. In a few minutes the mate came for¬
ward, and in a low tone, which was almost a whisper, told
us to haul down the jib. The fore and mizzen top-gallant
sails were taken in in the same silent manner ; and we lay
motionless upon the water, with an uneasy expectation,
which, from the long suspense, became actually painful. We
could hear the captain walking the deck, but it was too dark
to see anything more than one’s hand before the face. Soon
the mate came forward again and gave an order, in a low
tone, to clew up the main top-gallant sail ; and so infectious
was the awe and silence that the clew-lines and buntlines
were hauled up without any singing out at the ropes. An
English lad and myself went up to furl it, and we had just
got the bunt up when the mate called out to us somethingj
we did not hear what, — but, supposing it to be an order to
bear-a-hand, we hurried and made all fast, and came down,
feeling our way among the rigging. When we got down we

178

HAYDEN.

found all hands looking aloft, and there, directly over where
we had been standing, upon the main top-gallant mast-head,
was a ball of light, which the sailors call a corposant (corpus
sancti), and which the mate had called out to us to look at.
They were all watching it carefully, for sailors have a notion
that if the corposant rises in the rigging it is a sign of fair
weather, but if it comes lower down there will be a storm.
Unfortunately, as an omen, it came down and showed itself
on the top-gallant yard-arm. We were off the yard in good
season, for it is held a fatal sign to have the pale light of the
corposant thrown upon one’s face. As it was, the English
lad did not feel comfortably at having had it so near him?
and directly over his head. In a few minutes it disappeared^
and showed itself again on the fore top-gallant yard ; and,
after playing about for some time, disappeared once more,
when the man on the forecastle pointed to it upon the flying-
jib-boom-end. But our attention was drawn from watching
this, by the falling of some drops of rain, and by a percepti¬
ble increase of the darkness, which seemed suddenly to add,
a new shade of blackness to the night. In a few minutes
low, grumbling. thunder was heard, and some random flashes
of lightning came from the southwest. Every sail was taken
in but the topsails ; still, no squall appeared to be coming.
A few puffs lifted the topsails, but they fell again to the
mast, and all was as still as ever. A moment more, and a
terrific flash and peal broke simultaneously upon us, and a
cloud appeared to open directly over our heads, and let down
the water in one body, like a falling ocean. We stood mo¬
tionless and almost stupefied; yet nothing had been struck.
Peal after peal rattled over our heads, with a sound which
seemed actually to stop the breath in the body, and the
‘ speedy gleams ’ kept the whole ocean in a glare of light.
The violent fall of rain lasted but a few minutes, and was
followed by occasional drops and showers ; but the lightning
continued incessant for several hours, breaking the midnight
darkness with irregular and blinding flashes. During all
this time there was not a breath stirring, and we lay motion-

HURRICANES IN THE BAY OF NORTH AMERICA. 179

less, like a mark to be shot at, probably the only object on
the surface of the ocean for miles and miles. We stood hour
after hour, until our watch was out, and we were relieved at
four o’clock. During all this time hardly a word was spoken ;
no bells were struck, and the wheel was silently relieved.
The rain fell at intervals in heavy showers, and we stood
drenched through and blinded by the flashes, which broke
the Egyptian darkness with a brightness that seemed almost
malignant ; while the thunder rolled in peals, the concussion
of which appeared to shake the very ocean. A ship is not
often injured by lightning, for the electricity is separated by
the great number of points she presents and the quantity of
iron which she has scattered in various parts. The electric
fluid ran over our anchors, topsail sheets and ties ; yet no
harm was done to us. We went below at four o’clock, leav¬
ing things in the same state. It is not easy to sleep when
the very next flash may tear the ship in two, or set her on
fire ; or where the deathlike calm may be broken by the blast
of a hurricane, taking the masts out of the ship. But a man
is no sailor if he cannot sleep when he turns-in, and turn out
when he’s called. And when, at seven bells, the customary
‘All the larboard watch, ahoy ! ’ brought us bn deck, it was
a fine, clear, sunny morning, the ship going leisurely along,
with a soft breeze and all sail set.”

As a good, brief, scientific statement of the most widely
accepted theory regarding the formation of these storms,
Abbe’s review of Blanford’s results in the Bay of Bengal is
of interest: “Cyclones are not produced between parallel
currents flowing in opposite directions. A calm state of the
atmosphere, or one in which the winds, are light and vari¬
able over the open sea, is a favorable condition, and a second
condition is a high or moderately high temperature,” result¬
ing “ in the production and ascent of a large quantity of
vapor, which will be condensed with the liberation of its latent
heat over the place of its production. If this state of things
last for some days, the slowly inflowing winds acquire by the
influence of the motion of the earth a whirl, in consequence

180

HAYDEN.

of which, as Mr. Ferrel has shown, the barometric depression
must increase. The last step preceding and apparently de¬
termining the formation of a well-defined cyclone in the Bay
of Bengal is, according to Blanford, the inrush of a saturated
stormy current from the southwest or west-southwest. But
this last feature may be peculiar to that locality, and those
previously enumerated seem to correspond best to the con¬
ditions generally observed in the formation of whirlwinds.”
Abbe says, further, “ Concerning the origin and cause of the
hurricanes of the Atlantic Ocean comparatively little is pos¬
itively known.” Relative to this statement it can only be
said, I think, that it is one of the most remarkable and
lamentable facts in the history of meteorology that we have
so completely failed to utilize the admirable opportunities
that exist for the study of marine meteorology. There is no
large body of water in the world that compares with this in
availability for such a purpose ; it is classic ground for the
meteorologist, for it was here that Bedfield made his great
discoveries; and, finally, very complete and reliable data
have been for years past and are now being collected from
masters of vessels navigating these waters. In spite of all
these advantages, however, no well-directed effort seems to
have been made to utilize the data at hand, and we have to
go to the Bay of Bengal for light on the subject. The fact
is, the interests of agriculture and other great inland indus¬
tries are really so important in this country that they are of
right entitled to every consideration ; and yet commerce is a
great factor in our success as a nation, and, indeed, the study
of the meteorology of the Bay of North America is of the
very greatest importance in connection with a knowledge of
weather conditions in the entire eastern half of the United
States, so intimate is the relation between the two.

Another theory regarding the formation of cyclones is that
of the French astronomer, Faye, and this may be called the
“ descending eddy ” theory. Although not supported by the
same weight of authority as the generally accepted “ aspira¬
tion ” theory (referred to above), it seems to me to be worthy

HURRICANES IN THE BAY OF NORTH AMERICA. 181

of respectful consideration and comment, at least. Its essen¬
tial feature is the hypothesis that eddies form amongst the
rapid upper atmospheric currents and descend toward the
surface of the earth, bringing down with them some of the
intense energy of motion characteristic of their place of
origin. The Edinburg Review for October, 1888, contained
an able and favorable review of Faye’s theory, going into the
whole subject somewhat exhaustively. To one statement,
however, I must take decided exception, and as it is rather
an essential part of the theory I may as well quote it here.
The reviewer says, after speaking of the comparatively Clear
and calm space at the center of a tropic cyclone : “ There
can, then, be no doubt that in the calm space of the typical
storm of the tropics the air is descending ; and if it be de¬
scending at the core, it is difficult, if not impossible, to believe
that it is mounting in the spires.” Relative to this state¬
ment I must say that it seems to me incredible that any one
who has seen a tropic cyclone, or who has considered the
known facts regarding cyclonic circulation, can fail to admit
that there is an ascending current in the spires of the whirl¬
wind. It is now well known that in a hurricane the winds
at the surface blow somewhat spirally inward; the next
upper current (bearing the low scud) moves in a circular
direction about the center ; the next higher (the high cumu¬
lus) in an outward spiral, and so on up to the very highest
cirrus, which radiates almost directly outward. These fea¬
tures of cyclonic circulation are illustrated' by means of this
large chart, showing the marked spirally in-blowing char¬
acter of the circulation in the great, hurricane off our coast
the 25th of last November, and by the cyclonoscope con¬
structed by Padre Vines to illustrate the typical and normal
relative direction of motion of the various atmospheric cur¬
rents, as observed by him in hundreds of cyclones. If, then,
we are to believe the substantial accuracy of such data, there
is no possible alternative but to accept the observed fact
(regardless of any theory) that the air moves inward below,
and, whirling about the central core, flows outward above.

21— Bull. Phil. Soc., Wash., Vol. 11.

182

HAYDEN.

One of the strongest arguments advanced against the theory
of an ascending current has been the fact that all observa¬
tions regarding the rainfall in a waterspout at sea have
seemed to show that the water was fresh, and never salt, as it
should be were any water drawn bodily up from the ocean.
A recent and thoroughly reliable report sent to the United
States Hydrographic Office from a vessel that passed through
a waterspout off the Bahamas states positively that the rain¬
fall was salt water, and this observation has been confirmed
by careful inquiry regarding the particulars' of the case.
Admitting, then, that there is an ascending current of air in
every cyclone, it does not seem to me that even this is suffi¬
cient to disprove the most essential feature of Faye’s theory.
In fact, if you start with the hypothesis of a descending eddy
of cold dry air, the natural and normal result would be that
an ascending spiral should be induced by it as soon as it
broke through the intervening strata and reached down to
the lower warm and saturated layers of the atmosphere. That
there is a descending current of dry air at the center seems
to be admitted, indeed, by the leading supporters of the
“ aspiration ” theory, and the principal difference of opinion
would therefore seem to be as to whether such a descending
current or eddy be the cause or the effect. The following
quotation from a late work by Ferrel must be of especial
interest in this connection : “ The air, charged with moisture,
in its vertical circulation, in toward the center below, up in
the interior to a given altitude, and outward above in the
middle strata, necessarily moves in a path somewhat ellip¬
tical ; so that it is being deflected outward above and still
ascends until at a considerable distance from the center, and
so there is little condensation of vapor in the central part,
and the cloud stratum is thin and sometimes entirely want¬
ing. And this state is still further promoted by the gyratory
motion which is confined mostly to the lower and middle
strata, bringing the air down from above, it may be, down
pretty low, into the interior central part, where it is carried
out horizontally on all sides; and the descending air in the

HURRICANES IN THE BAY OF NORTH AMERICA. 183

interior above is of course clear air. The effect under such
conditions is a thinning of the cloud and a scantiness of con¬
densation and rainfall in the center, a ring of denser and
deeper cloud at some distance from the center, which grad¬
ually shades off to the outer limit. Where, however, the
conditions give rise to a vertical or cyclonic circulation up to
very high altitudes, this phenomenon is perhaps never ob¬
served.” If the supporters of Faye’s theory will only admit
that their “ descending eddy ” must cause and be accompa¬
nied by spirally ascending whirls in the lower strata, then,
perhaps, the “ aspirations ” will admit, on their side, that this
theory, as well as their own, is competent to explain the
facts. It would then remain to decide as to which of the
two principles is the more general in its operation, and to
discriminate, perhaps, between two classes of storms. There
might, for instance, be reasons for believing that great hur¬
ricanes, traversing their majestic orbits for thousands
of miles with such marked symmetry, individuality, and
energy, may have a higher origin than the countless little
storms whose more or less erratic tracks on our charts obscure
their more regular and systematic paths.

It seems to me that there is one factor that has not received
sufficient, if any, attention, namely, the focusing of the sun’s
rays at the center of a hurricane by reflection from surround¬
ing cloud-masses and by refraction through strata of varying
density about the “ eye of the storm.” Under certain condi¬
tions similar action may, perhaps, determine the origin of a
hurricane, and certainly in the case of a fully developed
hurricane, with a clear space at the center surrounded by a
ring of piled-up masses of clouds, the reflected and refracted
rays of an almost vertical sun must have a very great
effect in determining the intensity, and variations in the
intensity, of the storm.

What part electricity plays in maintaining the terrific
energy of a hurricane is unknown. It is, perhaps, dimly
suspected, for the problems of atmospheric electricity are en¬
gaging the attention of many of the ablest physicists of the

184

HAYDEN.

age, but it certainly has not as yet been announced. It is a
striking fact that there is a marked absence of thunder and
lightning in a tropic cyclone. The ordinary visible and
audible manifestations of this great physical agent are almost
wholly wanting in the inner whirls of a hurricane, although
its pressure is indicated very decidedly in other ways. On
a 'priori reasoning, at least, we must assign it some very
important part in the phenomenon.

Certain marked exceptions to the normal tracks of hurri¬
canes in the Bay of North America may next be referred to,
and these I have illustrated by a chart upon which are
plotted the tracks of two hurricanes of September, 1888, and
two of September, 1889. Of the former, the first crossed
Cuba from east to west, September 4th, and thence moved
along a very abnormal track (about west by south) toward
Vera Cruz; it was followed-at a distance of about 700 miles
by a second hurricane, which recurved about as usual. This
notable exception to the usual law called forth an important
statement from Padre Vines, who attributed the deflection
of the first hurricane to its repulsion by the second. The
following extract from this statement may be quoted here :
“At the impact of two cyclones the only currents that can
and ought to produce a repellent action are the upper ones,
which diverge from the center toward the circumference, and
which are expelled with great velocity and to great distances
in tropic cyclones. Consequently, when two meet, the upper
currents of one flow out and strike the upper currents of the
other directly. The lower currents, as they are convergent,
tend rather to join the two cyclones in one. Furthermore,
when two cyclones are brought into contact from a distance,
the first meeting and first shock is among the upper cur¬
rents, which extend much farther outward than the super¬
ficial winds. I would say, then, that the contact of the upper
currents of the two cyclones could and ought to be proven,
and that in fact the struggle was proven and established.
We have, therefore, the exceptional case of a storm whose
path, instead of curving toward the north, as usual, curved

HURRICANES IN THE BAY OF NORTH AMERICA. 185

southward, this rare phenomenon being due to the disturb¬
ing action of the upper currents of another simultaneous
storm.”

It has been observed that one hurricane often succeeds
another and follows it at only a few days’ interval and along
an almost identical track. Probably in this case the relative
position and normal motion of each happens to be such that
the repellent action is manifested by accelerating the first
and retarding the second. In addition to the interest that
attaches to this question from the point of view of theory,
there is thus a side of great practical importance, since occa¬
sion might arise when two tropic cyclones were known to be
in existence near each other and it were desired to predict
the course each would follow. This chart shows that a sec¬
ond and very severe cyclone was in existence about 800
miles east from St. Thomas, September 3, 1889, the very day
that the first of these two September hurricanes passed the
island. Now it seems possible, indeed, probable, that the
delay of the first hurricane off our coast between Hatteras
and Block Island was due to the area of high pressure built
up between the two (as they moved north), southward of
Newfoundland. Thus, just as in the case of the Cuban hur¬
ricane a year previously, the two cyclones modified each
other’s movements. It is so often the case that two storms
of moderate energy unite to form one storm of considerable
energy, especially in the temperate zone, that it seems par¬
ticularly important to put on record the fact that two hurri¬
canes repel each other. That this is not the case where
cyclones of moderate or slight energy are concerned, even in
the tropics, is evidenced by a recent communication from
Maxwell Hall, Jamaica Government Meteorologist, who re¬
fers to the union west of that island of two small depressions
that passed on either side of Jamaica September 15th. Here,
then, is one distinction, at least, between the movements of
cyclones of slight and great intensity, and it will serve to
illustrate what was said relative to the importance of study¬
ing the movements of hurricanes from the tracks of hurri-

186

HAYDEN.

canes, and not from the tracks of cyclones of every grade of
intensity. The case may be compared to that where the
movements of great icebergs south of Newfoundland give
correct ideas regarding the sub-surface currents that drag
them southward into and through the easterly surface cur¬
rent, which, however, would determine the track of any
lighter and less deeply immersed object.

The recent and very severe hurricane that was central off
Hatteras September 8th, and that raged off the coast between
Hatteras and Block Island for several days, is described
briefly by a supplement issued with the October Pilot Chart,
entitled “ The St. Thomas-Hatteras Hurricane of September
3-12, 1889.” The ten synoptic charts of the Bay of North
America contained thereon illustrate the general character¬
istics of the storm for each day, from the time it passed St.
Thomas till it died away north of Hatteras. Extracts from
St. Thomas and Antigua newspapers illustrate the severity
of the storm amongst the Windward Islands, and a chart of
telegraph lines and cables shows that it is practicable, with
the facilities that already exist, to get very complete tele¬
graphic information regarding such storms, and to watch
their progress from day to day as they approach our Atlantic
and Gulf coasts. In the present case, indeed, brief tele¬
graphic reports were received by the United States Signal
Office, but the importance of early, decided, and definite
warnings of such a storm would seem to require that we
should receive as full reports as reach Havana, where the
dangers of a hurricane are so keenly appreciated that the
daily papers publish columns of news about every one that
is reported from the Windward Islands. These long clip¬
pings from Havana newspapers show exactly what was
known in Havana about this particular storm, as compared
with the few words that reached Washington. The almost
unfailing accuracy with which a skilled observer in the
tropics can note the presence and character of a storm while
it is still distant is not appreciated at all by those who are
accustomed to base their forecasts entirely upon the syn-

HURRICANES IN THE BAY OP NORTH AMERICA. 187

chronous data charted on a daily weather map. This sub¬
ject is so well understood at places like Manilla, Mauritius,
and Havana, that a hurricane cannot come within 500 miles
without detection by means of observations of the upper
clouds, together with various other well-known indications,
such as peculiar atmospheric effects, increased ocean swell,
etc., although its existence might not even be suspected by
the uninitiated. Indeed, a good example is furnished in
the present case, where the motions of the storm were clearly
traced from Havana when it was central about 900 miles
away.

One very important source of information regarding a
storm off the coast, generally recognized by meteorologic
offices and published on their daily weather maps, in Eng¬
land and France, for instance, is the state of the sea. A long
rolling swell from the direction of a distant storm is one of
the earliest signs of its approach, and perhaps the very best
index of its severity. This valuable source of information
might well be utilized along our own coast. It will be re¬
membered that it was a marked feature of the recent hurri¬
cane, and the enormous seas started by the great whirlwind
had overspread almost the entire western half of the Atlantic
as early as the 5th, when it was central 750 miles S SE.
from Hatteras. At this time there was a heavy northeast¬
erly swell at Jamaica and through the Windward Channel ;
northeasterly and easterly, all along the Bahama Islands and
northern Florida ; very heavy surf at Bermuda ; long, roll¬
ing swell from S SE. off Hatteras, perceptible as early as
the 2d and increasing daily ; long, low southerly swell off
Nantucket, perceptible as early as the 4th, when the storm
center was 1,300 miles away, and increasing daily. The
more severe the storm, the more important is this source of
information. The energy of a hurricane is so concentrated
that by the time its presence is indicated on a daily weather
map by the increased velocity of the wind and low reading
of the barometer the warning is too late to be of much value.

The high tides and floods along the coast between Hatteras

188

HAYDEN.

and Nantucket were due to the storm wave of the hurricane.
This feature is well described in the following quotation
from Buchan : “ The most dreadful attendant on tropical
cyclones is the storm wave, caused by the inflowing winds
and the low pressure of the center of the storm. When this
wave is unusually high and is hurled forward on a low-lying
coast at high water it becomes one of the most destructive
agents known. The Bakarganj cyclone of October 31, 1876,
was accompanied by a wave which flooded the low grounds
to the east of the delta of the Ganges to heights varying from
10 to 45 feet, by which more than 100,000 human beings
perished.”

In conclusion, permit me to call your attention to the com¬
mercial importance of the Bay of North America, the value
to navigators and to the inhabitants of its shores and islands
of taking advantage of every possible method of obtaining
and circulating early and reliable information of approach¬
ing storms, and the admirable facilities that exist for the
establishment by international co-operation of a weather
service that would exhibit clear and intelligible storm warn¬
ings and concise general statements of existing weather con¬
ditions from every prominent light-house and headland. A
cable is about to be laid from Halifax to Bermuda, which
will add a very important station, and a line should be ex¬
tended to Nassau, which is perhaps an equally important
point. First and most important of all, however, the enor¬
mous value to commerce of a first-order station at Hatteras
should be recognized, and this might well be considered in
planning the new light-house on the outer Diamond Shoal.
The great strategic valuQ of this salient and commanding
point in our outer line of defenses against Atlantic storms
has never been fully appreciated. It is too often the case
that at the first attack of the enemy the wire to Hatteras
goes down and communication is severed. In connection
with the new light-house there should be a cable that no
storm, however severe, could ever interfere with. From a
commercial point of view, at least, this is the central and

HURRICANES IN THE BAY OF NORTH AMERICA. 189

commanding point in the weather service of the Bay of
North America.

Considering, then, what has already been said regarding
the distance at which a skilled observer can note the pres¬
ence and character of an ocean storm, it is interesting to take
a map and select a certain number of points along the coast
and from each of these points as a center describe a circle
with a radius of, say, 300 miles (to be well within the dis¬
tance assigned for the easy detection of an approaching
storm). It will be found that an almost perfect system of
interlocking circles can be obtained by selecting the following
fifteen points, all of which, with the exception of Bermuda
and Nassau, have, already, full telegraphic communication :
Cape Race, Halifax, Nantucket, Hatteras, Bermuda, Nassau,
Havana, New Orleans, Brownsville,, Progreso, Kingston, St.
Thomas, Barbados, Curasao, and Aspinwall. A most im¬
portant step toward the establishment of such a service has
been taken by the formation at Havana of a Marine Meteor-
ologic Service for the Spanish West Indies, under the direc¬
tion of Captain Carbonell, of the Royal Spanish Navy, who
has already rendered valuable assistance to the Signal Office
and the Hydrographic Office. He has interested the French,
Spanish, and American cable companies to such an extent
that they have allowed him the franking privilege for his
weather despatches over their lines, and it is hoped that the
English company will soon grant the same favor, in consid¬
eration of the benefits that must result to commerce and to
the people generally. With the growth and extension of
this system we may expect to see, within a very few years, a
great increase in the safety of navigation in the Bay of North
America and a notable addition to our knowledge of every
branch of marine meteorology.

22— Bull. Phil. Soc., Wash., Vol. 11

THE MINERAL COMPOSITION AND GEOLOGICAL
OCCURRENCE OF CERTAIN IGNEOUS ROCKS IN
THE YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK.

BY

Joseph Paxson Iddings.

[Read before the Society by permission of the Director of the U. S.
Geological Survey, January 18, 1890.]

Introduction.

That there is a connection between the geological occur¬
rence of igneous rocks and their crystalline structure is very
generally admitted ; when by the geological occurrence is
meant the mode of occurrence of such rocks as dikes, stocks
or necks, laccolites, or irregularly shaped masses of variable
dimensions enclosed within other bodies of rock, or as ex-
travasated masses which assume the form of lava-flows,
breccias, pumices, and tuffs.

But the term should be extended so as to include the geo¬
logical history of the eruption. For the nature of this rela¬
tion is not definite or fixed, since the crystalline structure of
different rock-masses not only varies with the size and char¬
acter of the geological bodies in which they occur, but more
especially with certain conditions attending the solidification
of the magmas, including those connected with the whole
history of their eruption.

The extent of these variations in structure is becoming
better understood as the geological investigation of igneous

23— Bull. Phil. Soc., Wash., Vol. 11. (191)

192

IDDINGS.

rocks in the field and their petrographical examination ad¬
vance hand in hand.

The relation, however, between the geological occurrence
and the mineral composition of igneous rocks is less under¬
stood, and seems not to have entered sufficiently into the
consideration of these rocks as crystallized magmas. This
relation is a matter of fundamental importance for the estab¬
lishment of the proper connection between different varieties
of eruptive rocks, which necessarily underlies a natural sys¬
tem of their classification.

The study of the igneous rocks at Electric Peak and Se¬
pulchre Mountain — incidental to the investigation of the
Yellowstone National Park under the charge of Mr. Arnold
Hague — offers a valuable contribution to our knowledge of
these relations. In order to present some of the results of this
study it will be necessary to sketch the geology of the region
and describe the eruptive ro#ks occurring in it. After which
the variations in their mineral composition and crystalline
structure will be discussed.

Geological Sketch of the Region.

Electric Peak is the highest point of that portion of the
Gallatin Mountains lying within the Yellowstone National
Park, and reaches an altitude of 11,100 feet. It has been
carved out of Cretaceous shales and sandstones, which, with
the underlying strata of this range of mountains dip grad¬
ually toward the northeast. Occupying a synclinal trough
between two bodies of Archaean gneiss, these strata have
undergone more or less folding and displacement, which
has been accompanied by the eruption of igneous magmas.

The earlier of these eruptions forced sheets and laccolites
of intrusive rocks between the strata wherever the nature of
the beds offered planes of least resistance to the dynamical
forces engaged in their plication. Hence the sheets are
more abundant and smaller where the strata were very
fissile, and abound in the shales and thinly bedded sand¬
stones of the Cretaceous. The mass of Electric Peak is

IGNEOUS ROCKS IN YELLOWSTONE PARK. 193

traversed by sheets of porphyrite, which have been intruded
from a centre of eruption southwest of the mountain.

A subsequent synclinal break along what is now the east
side of the mountain, permitted the further eruption of
igneous material, which penetrated the nearly vertical
fissures caused by this fracture. These vertical dikes
traverse the strata and intercalated sheets in the main body
of the mountain, but are nearly parallel to them in that
portion of the mass east of the synclinal axis where the beds
have been turned up on end. The dikes radiate from
about the middle of the northeast spur of the mountain
through an arc of 45° from south to southwest, and are hot
more than a mile and a half long. At the centre from
which they radiate is a broad stock of intrusive rocks 1,500
feet wide, which lies in the axis of the synclinal. From it
branch several apophyses, and around it the sedimentary
rocks have been highly metamorphosed.

The eruptive magmas which found their way between the
ruptured strata and solidified as intrusive rocks in the form
of laccolites, sheets, dikes and stocks, also reached the sur¬
face of the earth in places and cooled as effusive bodies.
The extravasated rocks were probably erupted from a num¬
ber of different vents, whose position was governed by the
nature and extent of the fissures in the sedimentary rocks.
They poured out as flows of lava and were from time to
time blown to pieces and thrown into great accumulations
of breccia. These in turn were intersected by dikes and
stocks of subsequently erupted magmas, that solidified as
intrusive bodies within the effusive rocks.

This is the condition of things at Sepulchre Mountain,
which is directly east of Electric Peak across the valley of
Reese Creek. The mass of this mountain is made up of
volcanic breccias and lava-flows and tuffs, which rest upon
Cretaceous strata and exhibit little or no evidence of bedding.
The western portion of the mass at the base of the mountain
is filled with dikes and larger intruded bodies of igneous
rocks, which also form the low ridges and hills between

194

IDDINGS.

these two mountains. The dikes are later eruptions through
the breccia, and trend from the vicinity of Cache Pond in a
north and northeast direction, some trending east. In a
general way they radiate in the opposite direction to those
in Electric Peak.

The mass of Sepulchre Mountain with the body of intru¬
sive rocks at its west base is separated from Electric Peak
by a profound fault that trends north and south, and has
thrown the higher surface accumulations Of Sepulchre
Mountain below the level of the Cretaceous strata with
their deep-seated bodies of intruded rocks.

'The eruptive rocks at the western edge of the Sepulchre
Mountain mass, and directly east of the plane of faulting,
carry large blocks of black Cretaceous shale, showing that
they have broken up through the same strata as those
forming Electric Peak. The effect of the faulting on the
eruptive rocks along the east side of the fault is plainly seen.
The rocks are shattered and fractured into small pieces, held
together by the pulverized portion.

Petrographical Notice of the Various Rocks.

An investigation of all of the igneous rocks embraced with¬
in this small area reveals a great number of important and
interesting facts, which it would be impossible to present at
one time to the attention of the society. In the present
paper it will be sufficient to notice some of the more general
observations before describing those more intimately con¬
nected with the subject in hand.

Electric Peak. — The rock-bodies forming the sheets that
were intruded into the mass of Electric Peak before the in¬
trusion of the dikes consist of a group of fine grained por-
phyrites. They are holocrystalline with slight variations in
the grain of the groundmass. They form a group of rocks
varying in chemical and mineralogical characters within
certain limits. Thus they may be arranged under five differ¬
ent divisions, which grade into one another mineralogically,
and mav be tabulated with reference to the phenocrysts

IGNEOUS ROOKS IN YELLOWSTONE PARK.

195

other than plagioclase, which is common to all the varieties,
as in the following table :

Table I.

Variation of Phenocrysts in the sheet-rocks at Electric Peak.

pyroxene

hornblende

hornblende biotite

HORNBLENDE BIOTITE

hornblende biotite quartz

The variations in the mineral composition are accom¬
panied by changes in the character and amount of the feld¬
spars. Toward the end of the series in the order given the
feldspars become less basic and more abundant and are as¬
sociated with an increasing amount of quartz in the ground-
mass of the rock. The proportion of ferromagnesian silicates
decreases from the pyroxene end toward the mica end of the
series.

The intrusion of these sheet-rocks was not the result of a
, single eruptive action, but of a succession of eruptions ;
hence we observe that there was a period of volcanic activity
that injected into the mass of Electric Peak a series of mag¬
mas which solidified as pyroxene-porphyrite, hornblende-
porphyrite, and hornblende-biotite-porphyrite.

Subsequently another period of activity filled the eastern
portion of the mountain with dikes and the stock. The
magmas forced up at this period solidified as porphyrites
and diorites, which grade into one another structurally and
mineralogically. The coarse grained rocks, the diorites,
occur in the stock and larger apophyses ; the porphyrites
occupy the dikes and smaller apophyses, and are found
along the sides of the stock in places, in contact with the
sedimentary rocks.

The great body of diorite varies both in structure and
composition ; the variations being rapid in some places, and
very irregular. It is mostly a dark-colored granular rock,

(«)

(»)

(<0

(d)

(e)

196

IDDINGS.

composed of ferromagnesian silicates and feldspar ; parts of
it are light-colored with a noticeable percentage of quartz.
It is traversed by veins or dikes of light-colored diorites,
and shows by brecciated portions that the whole mass is
made up of a number of bodies that have followed one
another up through the main fissure at short intervals of
time.

The minerals composing the diorites are : hypersthene,
augite, hornblende, biotite, lime-soda-feldspar (labradorite),
orthoclase and quartz. The relative proportions of these
vary considerably as already noted. The crystallization
of the coarser grained diorites appears to have been a con¬
tinuous, uninterrupted act ; all of the minerals including
the accessory ones having come within the influence of the
causes producing the granular structure. In the finer
grained, porphyritic portions of the diorite mass it is evident
that the initial tendency of crystallization led to the forma¬
tion of hypersthene and augite, and also hornblende in
some cases, and that the biotite was a later crystallization
connected with the final consolidation of the rock. In the
non-porphyritic, granular forms of the diorite) it is also
evident that the earlier crystallizations were of hypersthene
and augite and of part of the hornblende, while the greater
part of the hornblende, and the biotite followed. The labra¬
dorite commenced to crystallize early, while the alkali
plagioclase, orthoclase and quartz closed the series.

The last eruption through this channel was that of a
quite siliceous magma, solidifying as quartz-biotite-diorite-
porphyrite, which approaches granite-porphyry in composi¬
tion. It is a light-colored, fine grained rock with abundant
phenocrysts of plagioclase, biotite and quartz, with a little
hornblende in places. It forms a broad body within the
diorite, with a few dikes of still finer grained rock traversing
the strata to the southwest.

The mineral variation in the rocks within the stock is
shown in the accompaning table in which (a) ( b ), etc., repre¬
sent different modifications of the rock.

IGNEOUS) ROCKS IN YELLOWSTONE PARK.

197

Table II.

Mineral variation of the diorites and their facies at Electric Peak.

(a)

pyroxene

biotite

labradorite

OLIGOCLASE

quartz

(&)

pyroxene

hornblende

BIOTITE

labradorite

OLIGOCLASE

quartz

(c)

pyroxene

hornblende

biotiie

LABRADORITE

OLIGOCLASE

orthoclase

QUARTZ

(d)

hornblende

biotite

LABRADORITE

OLIGOCLASE

orthoclase

quartz

(e)

HORNBLENDE

biotite

• labradorite

oligoclase

orthoclase

quartz

(/)

hornblende

biotite

oligoclase

orthoclase

quartz

(9)

biotite

oligoclase

ORTHOCLASE

quartz

The porphyrites associated with the diorites vary iii min¬
eral composition from those with phenocrysts of pyroxene
and some hornblende, through varieties with hornblende and
biotite, to those with biotite and quartz, plagioclase being
common to them all. The series is represented by the
following table :

Table III.

Variation of phenocrysts in the- porphyrites at Electric Peak.

w

pyroxene

(*)

pyroxene

hornblende

M

PYROXENE

HORNBLENDE

(d)

pyroxene

hornblende

b)

hornblende

(/)

hornblende

biotite

U)

hornblende

BIOTITE

(h)

hornblende

biotite

(0

hornblende

biotite

U)

BIOTITE

quartz

The variation in the nature and abundance of the por-
phyritical ferromagnesian silicates is accompanied by a
gradual change in the character of the plagioclase, which is
more basic at the pyroxene end of the series; besides a

198

IDDINGS.

change in the character of the groundmass, which is richer
in quartz and assumes a more granular structure toward
the mica end of the series.

The course of volcanic events at Electric Peak, then, com¬
menced with successive intrusions between the sedimentary
strata of a series of porphyrites. A later series of magmas
came up through vertical fissures and a central conduit.
These later magmas imparted a great amount of heat to the
rocks immediately surrounding the conduit, and highly
metamorphosed them. The magmas which followed one
another through the conduit broke through those that had
previously solidified within it, but had not entirely cooled.
They solidified in the outlying, narrow fissures as dikes of
porphyrite, while within the heated conduit they consolidated
into coarse grained diorites of various kinds ; the magmas
of this series of eruptions becoming more and more siliceous.

The succession of eruptions may be expressed as in the
first half of the table on the opposite page.

Sepulchre Mountain. — The eruptive rocks lying east of the
fault line embrace a large body of extravasated breccias
with smaller bodies of dikes that have broken through the
breccia. The whole group of rocks coming within the
generally accepted class of volcanic rocks.

The breccias which form the main mass of Sepulchre
Mountain and extend as far west as the fault consist of frag¬
ments of various kinds of andesites. The lowest portion is
made up of acidic andesites, that are characterized by pheno-
crysts of biotite, hornblende and plagioclase. They are
light-colored rocks, passing in places into fine tuffs. This,
the oldest breccia, carries a great amount of Archaean ma¬
terial in fragments, which are not found in the later, over-
lying breccias. Over the acidic breccia is a dark-colored
one of basic andesite with inconspicuous phenocrysts of
pyroxene and plagioclase, and a variable amount of horn¬
blende. Higher up the breccia becomes grayer, and carries
more hornblende phenocrysts. Some of the dark-colored

Succession of Eruptions at Electric Peak, Succession of Eruptions at Sepulchre lYlountain,

IGNEOUS HOCKS IN YELLOWSTONE PARK,

199

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24-Ball. Phil. Soc., Wash., Vol. 11.

with some hornblende, and some hornblende.

with dikes of quartz-biotite-porphyrite.

200

IDDINGS.

breccia is quite basaltic looking, while the grayer breccia
has an andesitic habit. They are very intimately associated,
however, with no line of demarcation between them. The
upper breccias are distinguished from the lowest by the
presence of pyroxene and the absence of biotite. The bot¬
tom breccia is made up of hornblende-mica-andesites, the
upper breccias of pyroxene-andesites and hornblende-py¬
roxene-andesites.

The breccias and flows of massive lava occurring in the
upper portion of the mountain, differ among themselves in
color and macroscopical habit, that is, in the abundance and
proportion of groundmass and phenocrysts. They also differ
in the relative abundance of the various essential minerals,
and in the chemical composition of the rocks within certain
limits.

They have all the petrographical characteristics of volcanic
lavas ; they are mostly glassy, with a porous or vesicular
texture ; some are compact, and some, holocrystalline.

The dikes that have broken through these breccias and
are consequently of younger age, have furnished a series of
rocks that vary among themselves mineralogically and
chemically. The earliest of these dikes consist of horn¬
blende-andesite with large hornblende phenocrysts ; a few are
pyroxene-andesite. They are so closely allied petrographi-
cally to the flow-rocks of the uppermost breccia that it is
probable that they may be the same magmas which solidi¬
fied as dikes during the extravasation of the hornblende-
pyroxene-andesitic breccias and flows.

Later dikes consist of hornblende-mica-andesite, with
abundant small phenocrysts of hornblende, biotite and
plagioclase. Between these two varieties of andesite are all
possible gradations, caused by the variations in the amount
of biotite, and in the general habit of the rocks.

These rocks in turn grade into still more micaceous vari¬
eties which carry phenocrysts of quartz, and as the extreme
variety present a quartz-mica-plagioclase rock with little
hornblende. These dacites were the last to break up, and the

IGNEOUS ROCKS IN YELLOWSTONE PARK. 201

most acid variety appears to have closed the series of erup¬
tions that built up Sepulchre Mountain.

It is evident from a study of these dikes in the field that
they were formed by a succession of eruptive actions, which
fissured the breccias and filled the cracks with magmas that
differed chemically and mineralogically ; and that, starting
with magmas resembling those of the latest breccias, they
became more and more siliceous.

The andesitic breccias and dikes form a continuous pet-
rographical series, which may be divided for convenience
into varieties that differ in the nature of the porphyritical
minerals as represented in the accompanying table, plagio-
clase being present in all.

Table V.

Variation of phenocrysts in the rocks of Sepulchre Mountain.

(a)

PYROXENE

(*)

pyroxene

hornblende

to

HORNBLENDE

to)

PIORNBLENDE

biotite

w

hornblende

biotite

quartz

(/)

BIOTITE

QUARTZ

The dike rocks are porous and vesicular in the smaller
dikes and are sometimes glassy. In the larger bodies they
are more compact and usually quite crystalline.

The course of events at Sepulchre Mountain may be ex¬
pressed as follows, and as tabulated on the second half of
Table IV, page 199 : An acidic, andesitic breccia carrying
a great amount of Archaean fragments was spread upon the
surface of the country. It rests upon Cretaceous strata, and
was probably thrown from some neighboring area of Ar¬
chaean schists and gneisses. Such an area at present exists
to the north, across the Yellowstone river.

Upon this were thrown breccias with massive flows of

202

IDDINGS.

pyroxene-andesite, followed by those of hornblende-pyroxene-
andesite. These were intersected by dikes of the same
andesites, followed by hornblende-mica-andesites and dacites,
which closed the series. The upper portion of this volcano
having been removed, the surface-flows of the later magmas
are not known in this region.

Comparison of the Eocks at Electric Peak with those
at Sepulchre Mountain.

Upon comparing the Tables (No. IV) representing the
succession of eruptions at Electric Peak and at Sepulchre
Mountain, the correspondence between the two is at once
striking, but not more so than the correspondence between
the rocks themselves. Leaving out of consideration the
eruptions embraced in the divisions A, which evidently
emanated from different sources ; we observe that the series
of* magmas that were erupted successively, and solidified
within the strata of Electric Peak as porphyrites and
diorites, and those that consolidated into the mass of Sepul¬
chre Mountain are similar; that each series commenced
with basic magmas and closed with acidic ones. Their
division in the table into four groups is not intended to
convey the idea that they belong to four distinct periods of
eruption. The whole series in each case is more correctly
a single, irregularly interrupted succession of outbursts of
magma that gradually changed its composition and char¬
acter.

When we compare the rocks that have resulted from the
corresponding phases of these series of eruptions, the similar¬
ity of the porphyritic forms is immediately recognized. The
nature and distribution of the phenocrysts in the different
varieties of andesite and dacite, which determine their ma-
croscopical habit, have their exact counterparts in the differ¬
ent varities of porphyrites. The microscopical characters
of the phenocrysts in the corresponding varieties of porphy¬
rites and of the intruded andesites and dacites are identical.
The character of the various groundmasses, however, is differ-

IGNEOUS ROCKS IN YELLOWSTONE PARK.

203

ent in the two groups, being more highly crystalline in the por-
phyrites — many of the andesites being glassy. Many of the
finer grained diorites have a habit, derived from the distri¬
bution of the ferromagnesian silicates and larger feldspars,
which resembles that of some of the andesites and dacites
which correspond to them chemically. But the coarse grained
diorites bear no resemblence to the andesites in outward ap¬
pearance or in mineral composition.

Chemical Characters of the Rocks.

The chemical investigation of these rocks not only brings
out more clearly the similarity between the two groups of
rocks under consideration, but establishes their chemical
identity, and permits of the comparison of those modifica¬
tions of the magmas which bear no mineralogical or struc¬
tural resemblance to one another.

The analyses of the rocks occuring at Electric Peak, to¬
gether with analyses of two of the sheet-rocks, are given in
Table VI, p. 206. They were made by Mr. J. E. Whitfield.
With the exception of the two analyses of sheet-rocks, which
are introduced for comparison, they have all been made from
rocks occurring within the area of the main stock in Electric
Peak, and represent the composition of various forms of
the diorite and the diorite-porphyrite. The first three an¬
alyses are from the main body of coarse grained diorite,
and show its variation between 56 and 58 per cent, of silica,
with irregular variations in the other chemical constituents,
especially in the alumina and magnesia. The next two
analyses are from porphyrites occurring in sheets, which
resemble certain of the porphyrites occurring in dikes and
have been introduced in the table to show their similarity,
and to fill up a gap between Nos. 269*2 and 3008 ; it not
being advisable to multiply too largely the chemical work
on this particular group of rocks since others of equal im¬
portance command their share of attention.

That this insertion is admissible is shown by the accom¬
panying list of silica percentages, determined for different
modifications and varieties of this group of rocks.

204

IDDINGS.

Table VII.

Silica Percentages of the Poclcs from Electric Peak.

53-72

58.10

6I.5O

65.80

55-23

58.11

61.85

65-94

55-64

58-49

63.OI

65-97

56.28

58.87

63.78

66.05

56-33

59-64

64.85

67-54

57-12

60.54

65.II

69.24

57-38

60.56

65.48

58-05

60.89

65.60

They were intended to supplement the complete analyses
in order to demonstrate what is evident from the microsco¬
pical study of the thin sections, namely : that the different
varieties of porphyrites and diorites pass through all possible
gradations from one extreme to the other. The character of
this transition is shown by the accompanying diagram, in
which each determination is given the same weight, the
series being arranged according to the increase of silica, and
the silica percentages plotted as ordinates.

The next three analyses of Table VI, Nos. 3008, 2724, 2695,
are from the main body of the diorite, No. 3008 being a light
colored vein or d?ke of diorite in the darker mass. Nos.
2668 and 2676 are diorites from the main stock ; and Nos.
3001 and 2670 are from the quartz-mica-diorite-porphyrite,
occurring within the main stock. These latter analyses
vary from 64.85 to 69.24 per cent, of silica.

The variations of the other chemical constituents are best

IGNEOUS ROCKS IN YELLOWSTONE PARK.

205

comprehended by comparing their molecular proportions.
This has been done graphically as in the accompanying dia¬
gram Table VIII, in which the molecular proportions of
the principal oxides are plotted as ordinates, those of the silica
being taken as abscissas. The point of origin of the latter is
some distance to the left of the diagram.

The first impression derived from the diagram is that of
the irregularity of the variations in all of the oxides besides
silica, magnesia being the most erratic. The second im¬
pression is that of the apparent independence of the varia¬
tions of the different oxide molecules. But this independ¬
ence disappears upon closer study and certain evidences of
sympathy become very marked. The most striking evi¬
dence of this exists between the ferrous and ferric oxides ;
they are noticeably inversely proportional to one another,
an increase of ferrous oxide being accompanied by a decrease
of ferric oxide. The total amount of iron varies irregularly,
decreasing from the basic to the acidic end of the series.
Each of the iron oxides seems to be quite independent of the
magnesia. The most regular variation is that of the lime,
which decreases steadily from the basic to the acidic end of
the series. The magnesia drops very rapidly at first, and is
very irregular in the more siliceous end of the series. The
alumina, though quite irregular between certain limits, main¬
tains a uniformly high position, being largely in excess of
any one of the other oxides, except silica. The alkalies are
most like the alumina in their variations and remain very
nearly uniform, increasing slightly toward the siliceous end
of the series. The soda molecules are more than twice as
numerous as those of the potash. In the basic end of the
series the alkalies vary together in the same direction, while
in the more siliceous end they vary in opposite directions.

There is a marked accordance between the soda and
alumina, both varying in the same direction, with one ex¬
ception, though not to the same extent. There is an equally
marked discordance between the alumina and magnesia,
which, with one exception, vary in opposite directions.

Chemical analyses of intrusive rocks from Electric Peak.

206

IDDINGS,

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IGNEOUS ROCKS IN YELLOWSTONE PARK,

207

TABLE VIII.

£

* as

25-Bull. Phil. Soc., Wash., Vol. 11

MOLECULAR VARIATION IN THE ROCKS OF ELECTRIC PEAK.

208

IDDINGS.

It is to be remembered that these irregular variations take
place not only between allied varieties of rocks, but in differ¬
ent parts of the same rock-body, and that they correspond
to variations in the relative proportions of the essential
minerals. When it is remembered that the essential min¬
erals concerned in this group of rocks are: feldspars,
pyroxenes, amphiboles, mica, quartz and magnetite, one or
more of which may be absent from a particular form of the
rock ; and when we consider the number of different com¬
plex molecules into which any one of these oxide molecules
enters, we begin to realize the interdependence of the varia¬
tions among the oxide molecules. Thus while most of the
alumina enters into the composition of the feldspar, a por¬
tion of it enters into the ferromagnesian silicates. The
alkalies are mostly found in the feldspars, but the soda
takes part in the augites and hornblendes, and the potash
in the biotite. The lime is an important factor in both the
feldspars and ferromagnesian silicates ; it is most abundant
in the basic plagioclases, and diminishes as the feldspars
become more alkaline ; it abounds in augite and to a less
extent in hornblende, and is almost absent from hyper-
sthene and biotite. The iron and magnesian molecules,
however, have no part in the composition of the feldspars,
and are [confined to the ferromagnesian minerals.

Corresponding to the extremes of the series of chemical
constituents are the simple minerals, magnetite and quartz,
consisting of an uncombined oxide or oxides, which act as
compensators to regulate the exhaustion of the oxide
molecules in the magma ; the magnetite expressing the iron
oxide in excess of that entering into the complex silicate
molecules ; the quartz representing the excess of silica
molecules.

From these considerations we begin to understand the
relative variations expressed by the diagram. The inverse
relation between the magnesia and alumina corresponds to
variations in the complex molecules of feldspars and of the
ferromagnesian silicates ; an increase of feldspar molecules
is accompanied by a decrease of ferromagnesian molecules.

IGNEOUS ROCKS IN YELLOWSTONE PARK.

209

The independently uniform variation in the lime molecules
is consistent with the fact that it enters so largely into both
the feldspar and the ferromagnesian molecules. Their
steady diminution from the basic to the acidic end of the
series is in accord . with the decrease in the amount of
augite and hornblende, and the increase of alkali feldspars,
shown by the increase, of soda and potash and silica.

The very noticeable reciprocal relation between the ferrous
and ferric oxides indicates the variable oxidation of pre¬
existing molecules.. And it is probable that the ferrous
molecules were the original ones ; moreover, when all of the
iron is reduced to the form of ferrous oxide, its molecules are
found to vary in the same direction, and almost to the same
extent as those of magnesia. Since the hornblende and
biotite are the ferromagnesian minerals, carrying the greatest
percentage of ferric oxide, the variation in the oxidation of
the iron is naturally in accord with the amount of these min¬
erals in the rock. This is, however, significant from its
bearing on. the question of the development of hornblende
and biotite in the coarser grained varieties of these rocks,
and from its possible connection with the work of mineral¬
izing agents.

The chemical composition of different varieties of the
Sepulchre Mountain rocks is shown by the accompanying
analyses, Table IX. Nos. 219, 694, 221, 2736 and 3680 were
analyzed by Mr. J. E. Whitfield ; Nos. 214, 217 and 394, by
Dr. T. M. Chatard ; and No. 3680 by Mr. L. G. Eakins.

The varieties represented are the two forms of breccia :
pyroxene-andesite and hornblende-pyroxene-andesite. And
the dike rocks including three varieties of andesite and
dacite. They range from 55.83 to 67.49 per cent, of silica,
very nearly the same as the group from Electric Peak.

The chemical variation of the group is expressed graph¬
ically by the diagram, Table X, showing the molecular
proportions of the essential oxides, which have been plotted
in the same manner as in Table VIII.

An examination of this diagram shows the same rela¬
tions between the oxides as those observed for the group

TABLE IX.

Chemical Analyses of Volcanic Rocks from Sepulchre Mountain.

210

IDDINGS,

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IGNEOUS ROCKS IN YELLOWSTONE PARK.

211

TABLE X.

I

* t* * * «*

AS C1 ^ A A) ' n>

^ Kj IS Vj

212

IDDINGS.

occurring at Electric Peak. They vary quite irregularly for
a gradual change in the silica. The alumina varies rapidly
and retains a high position. The alkalies gradually in¬
crease with the silica, the soda molecules being more than
twice as numerous as those of potash. Magnesia experiences
the greatest variation which is strikingly opposed to that
of the alumina. The lime is less regular than in the Elec¬
tric Peak group. The two oxides of iron are remarkably
uniform in their reciprocal relations. The magnesia, lime
and iron diminish with the increase of silica, while the
alkalies increase, and the alumina decreases slightly. In
this group of rocks also the oxidation of the iron bears a
noticeable relation to the presence of hornblende and biotite
and magnetite.

It is evident from a study of the analyses that the chemi¬
cal variations in this group of volcanic rocks are the same
in character and extent as those in the intrusive rocks of
Electric Peak. Further, it is shown that the variations be¬
tween similar varieties of andesite — such as those between
different pyroxene-andesites — are as great, and in some cases
greater than the variations between varieties of andesites
which are distinguished mineralogically from one another.
Thus 219 and 221 are pyroxene-andesites without horn¬
blende ; 214 and 217 are hornblende-pyroxene-andesites,
while 694 is a hornblende-andesite. It is not possible to
point to any chemical character of these rocks as distinctive
of this mineral variation, with the exception of the oxidation
of the iron, which, though slight, is an important one ; for
it undoubtedly relates to forces which did not alter the fun¬
damental relation between the bases in the magma, but
simply modified it by changing the oxidation of one of them

The last four analyses are of hornblende-mica-andesites
and dacites. The chemical variations between them are
quite as pronounced as those between the more basic mem¬
bers of the series, without there being the corresponding dif¬
ferences between the kinds of ferromagnesian silicates so far
as it can be detected microscopically. They all carry horn-

IGNEOUS ROCKS IN YELLOWSTONE PARK.

213

blende and biotite and no pyroxene, the relative proportion
of these minerals varying. The character and amount of
the feldspars differ in these rocks, and so does the abund¬
ance and mode of occurrence of the quartz. In Nos. 3017
and 3680 quartz appears in porphyritical crystals ; in the
other rocks it is confined to the groundmass.

Comparing the two sets of analyses and the correspond¬
ing diagrams it is evident #that the intrusive rocks of
Electric Peak and the volcanic rocks of Sepulchre Moun¬
tain have the same chemical character. In fact, they
are chemically identical, for the varieties that have been
analyzed are but a few of the many mineralogical and struc¬
tural modifications assumed by these series of rocks. The
analyses serve as indications of the range of the chemical
variability of the magma or magmas furnishing these rocks.

Furthermore the comparison demonstrates that the mag¬
mas that reached the surface of the earth in this place had
exactly the same chemical composition as those which re¬
mained enclosed within the sedimentary strata. It proves
with equal clearness that the different conditions attending
the final consolidation of the extra vasated and of the intruded
magmas affected not only their crystalline structure but their
essential mineral composition . The most marked illustration

of this is in the occurrence of biotite in the two series. In the

*

volcanic rocks of this locality biotite is an essential constit¬
uent of the more siliceous varieties, and is only rarely found
as an accessory constituent of the varieties with less than 61
per cent, of silica. In the intrusive rocks it is an essential
constituent of all the coarse grained varieties, even the most
basic. In the finer grained porphyritic forms it is a constit¬
uent of the groundmass to a variable extent. The second
most noticeable difference is the presence of considerable
quartz in the coarse grained forms of the basic magmas, and
its absence from the volcanic forms of the same magmas.

Correlation of the Rocks on a Chemical Basis.

Correlating the two groups of rocks according to their
chemical composition as in Table XI, we see that the horn-

214

IDDINGS.

blende-mica-andesites, 2736, 394, are the equivalents of
the quartz-mica-diorites, 3008, 2724, 2695, 2668, 2676.
The dacites, 3017, 3680, are the equivalents of the quartz-
mica-diorite-porphy rites, 3001, 2670. The hornblende-
pyroxene-andesites and pyroxene-andesites, 219, 694, 214,
221, 217, are the equivalents of the coarse grained diorites,
2669, 2692, and of fine grained facies, 2679, and they
resemble certain porphyrites occurring in sheets, one of which
is a hornblende-porphyrite, 2089, and the other a horn-
blende-mica-porphyrite, 154.

The dacites and hornblende-mica-andesites included
within this correlation are intruded bodies within the brec¬
cia of Sepulchre Mountain, and have the same mineral com¬
position as the corresponding porphyrites and diorites of
Electric Peak. They differ from them in structure and de¬
gree of crystallization, the details of which cannot be de¬
scribed in this paper.

The glassy andesites with pyroxene and hornblende
phenocrysts, however, present the utmost contrast to the
equivalent coarsely crystalline diorites. In the former the
hypersthene, augite, hornblende, and plagioclase are sharply
defined, idiomorphic crystals of these minerals, scattered
through a groundmass of glass, which is crowded with mi-
crolites of plagioclase and pyroxene besides grains of mag¬
netite. The hornblende is brown, occasionally red, and the
other phenocrysts have all the microscopical characters which
distinguish their occurrence in glassy rocks. In the diorite
the hornblende is green, in some cases brown ; the hyper¬
sthene, augite, and hornblende are accompanied by biotite,
and are all intergrown in the most intricate manner, with
evidence that they commenced to crystallize in the order
just given. The labradorite is often clouded with minute
opaque particles, which are characteristic of its occurrence
in many diorites ; it is surrounded by a shell of more
alkaline plagioclase, which, with occasional individuals
of orthoclase and considerable quartz, closed the crys¬
tallization of the magma. Magnetite, apatite, and zircon

SiO 2%

No.

Volcanic Rocks of

Name.

65.24

2670

phenocryt

fieldspar.

67-54

2676

67.49

3680

dacite .

quartz, biotite, hornt

66.05

2668

65-97

3001

65.66

3OI7

dacite ....

quartz, biotite, horn

65.60

2695

uartz.

65-5o

394

hornblende-mica-andesite

hornblende, biotite,

65. 1 1

2724

Dclase), quartz.

64.85

3008

64.27

2736

hornblende-mica-andesite

hornblende, biotite,

61.50

154

• • • quartz.

60.30

217

hornblende-pyroxene-andesite

hornblende, augite,

5^-49

2089

58-05

2692

dase, (quartz).

57 38

2679

57-17

221

pyroxene-andesite

augite, hypersthene,

56.61

214

hornblende-pyroxene-andesite

hornblende-augite-h

56.28

2669

dase, quartz.

55-92

694

hornblende-andesite

hornblende, plagioc

55-83

219

pyroxene-andesite

augite, hypersthene,

TABLE XI.

Correlation of the two Groups of Rocks upon a Chemical Basis.

Volcanic Rocks of

Sepulchre Mountain.

Intrusive Rocks of Electric Peak.

SiO^/e

No.

Name.

Essential Minerals.

Name.

Essential Minerals.

65.24

2670

phenocryi

fs J groundmass

d iorite-porphy rite

quartz, biotite, plagioclase, hornblende. | quartz and alkali fieldspar.

67-54

2676

. . .

quartz-mica-diorite . 1

biotite, hornblende, plagioclase (orthoclase), quartz.

67.49

3680

dacite ...

quartz, biotite, hornlllende, plagioclase. j holocrystalline, quartz and feldspar.

66.05

2668

quartz-mica-diorite .

biotite, hornblende, plagioclase (orthoclase), quartz.

65.97

3001

diorite-porphyrite

biotite, hornblende, plagioclase (orthoclase), quartz.

65.66

3017

dacite ....

quartz, biotite, horn

jlende, plagioclase. | holocrystalline, quartz, feldspar.

65.60

2695

quartz-mica-diorite .

biotite, hornblende (pyroxene), plagioclase (orthoclase), quartz.

65.50

394

hornblende-mica-andesite

hornblende, biotite,

plagioclase. | holocrystalline, quartz, feldspar.

65.II

2724

quartz-mica-diorite .

biotite, hornblende, augite, hypersthene, plagioclase (orthoclase), quartz.

64.85

3008

quartz-mica-diorite .

hornblende, biotite, plagioclase (orthoclase), quartz.

64.27

2736

hornblende-mica-andesite

hornblende, biotite,

plagioclase, magnetite. | holocrystalline, quartz, feldspar.

61.50

154

.

hornblende-mica-porphyrite

biotite, hornblende, plagioclase, magnetite. | feldspar and quartz.

60.30

217

hornblende-pyroxene-andesite

hornblende, augitc,

hypersthene, plagioclase, magnetite. | glassy, microlitic.

58-49

2089

hornblende-porphyrite

j hornblende, plagioclase, magnetite, j feldspar and quartz.

58-05

2692

diorite ....

biotite, hornblende, augite, hypersthene, magnetite, plagioclase, (quartz).

57 38

2679

pyroxene-porpbyrite .

augite, hypersthene, biotite, magnetite, plagioclase, quartz.

57-17

221

pyroxene-andesite

augite, hypersthene,

( plagioclase. J brown glass, microlitic.

56.61

214

hornblende-pyroxene-andesite

hornblende-augite-hypersthene, plagioclase. 1 glassy, microlitic.

56.28

2669

diorite ....

biotite, hornblende, augite, hypersthene, magnetite, plagioclase, quartz.

55-92

694

hornblende-andesite

hornblende, plagioclase. j microcrystalline.

55-83

219

pyroxene-andesite

augite, hypersthene,

plagioclase. | glassy, microlitic.

IGNEOUS ROCKS IN YELLOWSTONE PARK.

215

are the accessory minerals. The quartz contains fluid in¬
clusions, which complete the correspondence of this diorite
with typical diorites of other regions.

Conclusions.

When we consider the geological structure of the region ;
the occurrence at Electric Peak of a broad body of eruptive
rocks that have broken up successively through the same
general channel, and that have imparted sufficient heat to
the surrounding Cretaceous strata to highly metamorphose
them for a considerable distance ; the existence of a system
of fissures filled with dikes of porphyrite that radiate out¬
ward toward the south and southwest ; and when we observe
at Sepulchre Mountain that an accumulation of breccia,
resting on the Cretaceous, is traversed by a system of dikes
radiating outward toward the north and northeast; the
two systems being separated and probably disconnected by
a profound fault —

When we further consider the petrographical resemblance
between the dike rocks of the two places, the correspondence
of habit between the more acid members of both series, and
the chemical identity of the magmas involved, we feel
justified in concluding that:

I. The volcanic rocks of Sepulchre Mountain, and the in¬

trusive rocks of Electric Peak were originally con¬
tinuous geological bodies.

II. The former were forced through the conduit at Electric

Peak during a series of more or less interrupted
eruptions.

III. The great amount of heat imparted to the surrounding

rocks was due to the frequent passage of molten lava
through this conduit.

IV. Portions of the different magmas erupted found their

way into vertical fissures and took the form of
dikes ; portions reached the surface and became lava-
flows and breccias, while portions remained in the
conduit.

26-Bull. Phil. Soc., Wash., Vol. 11

216

IDDINGS.

Y. The various portions of the magmas solidified under a
variety of physical conditions, imposed by the differ¬
ent geological environment of each, the most strongly
contrasted of which were the rapid cooling of the
surface flows under very slight pressure, and the ex¬
tremely slow cooling of the magmas remaining with¬
in the conduit under somewhat greater pressure.

It is to be remarked that the first of a series of erup¬
tions would pass through a colder conduit than the
last magmas Would, consequently the rate of cooling
would be different in each case, and the pressures
at which crystallization sets in would also differ.
This difference would also obtain between the
advance and rear ends of the magma of a single
eruption, and should be more marked in the first
eruptions of a series than in the last, since the tem¬
perature of the conduit increases during the period of
eruptions. Hence the first part of a magma may
carry porphyritical crystals while the latter portion
may be free from them.

VI. We have in this region the remnant of a volcano, which
has been fractured across its conduit, has been faulted
and considerably eroded; and which presents for
investigation, on the one hand, the lower portion of
its accumulated debris of lavas, with a part of the
upper end of the conduit filled with the final intru¬
sions ; and on the other hand a section of the conduit
within the sedimentary strata upon which the vol¬
cano has been built.

We find that the lower portion of the basic breccia
is made up of andesites carrying phenocrysts of
augite, hypersthene and plagioclase, and of other basic
andesites without macroscopic crystals. The former
correspond to a facies of the diorite in the conduit
carrying the same kinds of phenocrysts ; while the
second modification of the andesite corresponds to the
greater part of the basic diorite. For it is evident

IGNEOUS ROCKS IN YELLOWSTONE PARK.

217

from a study of this diorite that much of its magma
reached its position in the conduit in a completely
fused condition, after which it crystallized into hyper-
sthene, augite, hornblende, biotite, labradorite,
alkali feldspars and quartz, with accessory magne¬
tite, apatite and zircon. We feel justified, then, in
the further conclusions :

VII. That the molecules in a chemically homogeneous,

fluid magma combine in various ways, and form
quite different associations of silicate minerals, pro¬
ducing mineralogically different rocks.

VIII. In this region the .greatest mineralogical differences
accompany the greatest differences in structure or
degree of crystallization ; hence, the causes leading to
each are coexistent.

IX. The causes of these mineralogical and structural differ¬

ences must be sought in the differences of geological
environment, and these affect the rate at which the
heat escapes from the magmas, and the pressure they
experience during crystallization.

Since it has been demonstrated by synthetical re¬
search that water- and other vapors are potent factors
in the crystallization of quartz and other minerals
that have not been produced artifically without their
aid, and as there is ample evidence both in the ex-
travasated lavas and in the coarsely crystallized
rocks in the conduit that water-vapor was uniformly
and generally distributed through the whole series of
molten magmas, and no evidence that there existed
in the magmas which stopped within the conduit any
more or different vapors than those which existed in
the magmas that reached the surface, we may con¬
clude that —

X. The efficacy of these absorbed vapors as mineralizing

agents has been increased by the conditions attending
the solidification of the magmas within the conduit.

218

IDDINGS.

For, if it is necessary, as advocated by the French geolo¬
gists, MM. Michel Levy,* de Lapparentf and others, to refer
the crystallization of certain minerals, as quartz, to the min¬
eralizing influence of absorbed vapors-, it is evident that the
required mineralizing agent is universally present in suffi¬
cient quantities, since there are no instances where a magma
of the requisite chemical composition has failed to crystal¬
lize completely with the development of quartz when sub¬
jected to the proper physical conditions.

However, it is probable that differences in the amount or
in the kind of mineralizing agents produce differences in the
degree or nature of the crystallization of similar magmas
which have solidified with the same geological environment.

It has been suggested by Mr. H. J. Johnston-Lavis j that
the nature of the rocks surrounding a conduit, through which
molten magmas pass, materially affects the amount and
character of the vapors introduced into these magmas, which
will vary as the surrounding rocks are more or less porous
and are saturated with different kinds of waters. The effect
of these vapors on the structure and composition of igneous
rocks is also discussed by the same writer.

The effect of differences in the amount of the mineralizer
in a single magma is well illustrated in the structure of the
obsidian at Obsidian Cliff, Yellowstone National Park, §
where the alternating layers of holocrystalline and glassy
rock appear to be unquestionably due to the irregular dis¬
tribution through the -magma of vapors, which in the upper
portion of the flow have produced alternating layers of
pumice and compact glass. The mineralizing agent was
present, however, in the alternate glassy layers as well as in
the crystallized or in the pumiceous ones, for in the highest

Structures et Classification des Roches Eruptives.” Paris, 1889. pp.
5 and 12.

-j- Revue des questions Scientifiques. Paris, 1888. 36.

J “ The Relationship of the Structure of Rocks to the Conditions of their
Formation. ’’ Sci. Proc. of the Royal Dublin Soc. Yol. Y (n. s.), part 3,
July, 1886, pp. 113 to 155.

§ Obsidian Cliff, Yellowstone National Park, by J. P. Iddings. Seventh
Annual Report of the Director of the U. S. Geological Survey, Washing¬
ton, 1888, p. 287.

IGNEOUS ROCKS IN YELLOWSTONE PARK.

219

portion of the flow the whole mass is pumiceous but in differ¬
ent degrees, and the presence of absorbed vapors may be
detected chemically and physically in the compact layers.
Its amount, however, was not sufficient to produce complete
crystallization under the attendant physical conditions.
Its effectiveness in this case was controlled by the geological
occurrence of the magma.

It is to be observed, in addition, that, whatever the min¬
eralizing vapors in acid magmas may be, there is the same
evidence of their existence in intermediate and in basic
magmas, whether we investigate them chemically or phy¬
sically, or study the phenomena of their geological occur¬
rence. There are even indications of their greater abund¬
ance in the basic lavas, many of whose glasses contain a
high percentage of water, and the highly vesicular character
of whose lava-flows is universal. Nor are the geological
evidences less conclusive that demonstrate the existence of
abundant explosive agents in the basaltic and andesitic mag¬
mas that have hurled their shattered masses over broad
areas of country, and have piled vast accumulations of
basaltic breccia throughout our western territory.

Nevertheless, with all these evidences of the universal
presence of mineralizing agents in basic magmas, we do not
recognize their influence upon the microstructure or crys¬
tallization of basic lavas. We may assume, then, that in
the majority of these cases they have no influence.

But when the basic magmas become coarsely crystalline,
and separate into minerals, the crystallization of some of
which we have already referred to the action of mineraliz¬
ing vapors, we may logically assume that in these cases the
absorbed vapors have influenced the crystallization of the
magmas.

If this reasoning is correct, then the action of mineralizers
upon basic magmas is controlled by the physical conditions
under which they solidify.

Finally, if mineralizing agents are universally present in
igneous magmas, and if their action, so far as we can ob-

220 IDDINGS — IGNEOUS ROCKS IN YELLOWSTONE PARK.

serve it, is controlled by the physical conditions imposed
by the geological history of each eruption, we should not
regard the presence or absence of certain minerals, relegated
to the influence of mineralizing agents, as evidence of the
presence or absence of these agents in the molten magma ;
but we should see in it the evidence of special conditions
controlling the solidification of the magma, and should seek
the fundamental causes of the mineralogical and structural
variations of a rock in the geological history of its particu¬
lar eruption.

E

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GRAPHIC CONSPECTUS OF SERIALS PUBLISHED BY SCIENTIFIC SOCIETIES

THE EVOLUTION OF SEEIALS PUBLISHED BY
SCIENTIFIC SOCIETIES.

BY

W J McGee.

[Read before the Society April 13, 1889.]

CONTENTS.

Page

Introduction _ 221

The Serials studied _ * _ 224

The Evolution of the Serials - 230

The Causes of Evolution of the Serials _ _ 235

Methods of fixing Responsibility and their Evolution - 242

Introduction.

The study out of which this communication grew was
undertaken, and the communication was written, as a basis
for a plan for the publications of the Geological Society of
America.

The societies whose publications have been examined were
selected upon various grounds :

The American Society of Civil Engineers and the Ameri¬
can Institute of Mining Engineers were selected for study
because these societies are active and energetic, because they
comprise the best talent of the country in their specialties,
and because, while each has a fixed abode, they stand toward
their specialties and toward the country at large much as
must the newly organized Geological Society. Moreover,
both are comparatively young and may be assumed to have
profited by the experience of the older societies in the develop¬
ment of their plans of publication. Another reason for the

2G— Bull. Phil. Soc., Wash., Vol. 11.

(221)

222

MCGEE.

selection of these societies was the accessibility of their pub¬
lications.

The National Academy of Sciences was chosen because it
is the most exclusive scientific society of the country, because
it comprises the highest scientific talent of the land, because
its geographic relations are similar to those of the Geological
Society of America, and because its relations to various
specialties are much the same as the relations of the last
named society to a more restricted group of specialties. It
was not selected as a representative scientific society in the
matter or manner of its publications, because its relations to
the federal government are such that its publications are
necessarily unique. Neither was it selected because of acces¬
sibility of its publications. Indeed, the publications of the
Academy are practically inaccessible ; there is no complete
set in any public library in Washington ; and weeks of labor
and inquiry among private libraries and officers of the
Academy were insufficient for the preparation of a complete
list. There is probably no scientific society in this country
whose publications are more inaccessible than those of the
National Academy of Sciences.

The American Association for the Advancement of Science
was selected partly because the Association began as a
national geologic society, and partly because it is a repre¬
sentative scientific society of the migratory class. With its
growth the original function of the society has been changed :
from a strictly scientific organization, established for the
direct advancement of science through investigation, it has
become a semi-social body which promotes science by diffu¬
sion ; it is no longer an organization for investigation, but
rather for popularization, and its plan of publication has
undergone concurrent modification.

The Philosophical Society of Washington is, despite its
inconspicuous place in the conspectus of publications, one of
the most active and potent among the local scientific societies
of the country. Its small publication record is indeed mis¬
leading. While most of its members are actively engaged

EVOLUTION OF SCIENTIFIC SERIALS. 223

in original scientific investigation, many of them have other
means of publication ; and while their communications are
read before and discussed by the society, they are frequently
not offered for printing. Moreover, the growth of the Philo¬
sophical Society has always taken place through multiplica¬
tion by fission more than through direct increase in stature,
and the Anthropological Society, the Biological Society, the
Chemical Society, its own Mathematical Section, and perhaps
the National Geographic Society, are its offspring. It is
pertinent to add that the change in form of publication by
this society was in some degree foreshadowed in the serials
issued by some of its subordinate branches — the Anthropo¬
logical Society recently transformed its organ from a biennial
volume of Transactions to the quarterly American Anthro¬
pologist, and the recently organized National Geographic
Society sets out with a Bulletin issued at irregular intervals
as a geographic magazine.

The Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia was
selected because it is one of the oldest among the scientific
societies of the country, because its vicissitudes in member¬
ship and financial support have been representative, and
because its various publications are fairly accessible. The
record of some of its serials as shown in the conspectus may
be found defective, (1) because in the absence of original
covers (removed in binding) it is sometimes impossible to
ascertain the original form of publication ; (2) because in the
multiplicity of paginations it is sometimes impossible to
ascertain whether or not certain matter belonged to a given
volume or series ; (3) because certain of the minor publica¬
tions (generally extracted from larger serials) were not found ;
and perhaps for other reasons.

The Boston Society of Natural History was selected because
it is one of the older and more important among the scien¬
tific societies of the country, because some of its modifica¬
tions in plan of publication seem especially significant and
at the same time representative, and because its publications
are fairly accessible.

224

MCGEE.

The Geological Society of London was selected because,
although it has a local habitation, its relations to its country
are much the same as those which must obtain between the
Geological Society of America and the land of its labors,
because it is an old society and its publications represent the
outcome of the experience of generations, and because most
of its publications are accessible.

The publications of several other scientific societies were
examined in greater or less detail, yet they were not included
in the final study partly by reason of the labor involved
and the space required for their description, but chiefly be¬
cause their publications seldom exhibit relations not equally
well exhibited by those of the societies noted below, and it
so became apparent that further extension of the study
would be practically fruitless. The generalizations and in¬
ductions recorded in the following pages are, however, based
in part upon examination of the serials issued by these ad¬
ditional societies.

From the nature of the case, the study was essentially
critical, and the supposed defects in plans and methods of
publication have been unsparingly recorded, while the fea¬
tures considered good have been strongly brought out. In¬
deed, each serial and group of serials has been treated as
impersonally as would have been a series of formations or a
group of rocks, or as species and genera are treated by the
biologist.

The Serials studied.

The American Society of Civil Engineers, with a large
and practically national membership, a fixed home, and
frequent local as well as annual migratory meetings, pub¬
lishes rather voluminously in two 8vo serials — the first, , or
Proceedings, being chiefly an administrative record, while
the second, or Transactions (accompanied by maps, plates,
diagrams, etc.), is a record of research.

The American Institute of Mining Engineers, with a nom¬
inal place of abode, a national representation in its member-

EVOLUTION OF SCIENTIFIC SERIALS.

225

ship, and both local and migratory meetings, maintains two
serials (or, rather, two editions of the same serial) : the first
consisting only of a series of preliminary issues of the records
of research (printed in the Engineering and Mining Journal
for some years, but now printed and distributed by the In¬
stitute) ; and the second, or Transactions, comprising these
records of research in their final form, together with the ad¬
ministrative records o'f the Institute.

The National Academy of Sciences, with a home office
but with a national membership and partly migratory meet¬
ings, leads the list in the number of its serials and in the
editions in which they appear. Of the seven nominally
regular serials and the additional two resulting from in¬
constancy in nomenclature, the first, or Annual, is chiefly
an administrative record ; the second, or Report (including
the Annual Reports and Reports of Proceedings) are also
administrative records primarily, but embrace records of
research in the appended reports of committees, etc. ; the
Bulletin and the Proceedings are essentially records of ad¬
ministration ; the Memoirs and the special reports are records
of research ; wdiile the Biographical Memoirs stand alone
midway between the two classes into which the records of
scientific societies may be most conveniently divided. So
there are four distinct records of administration (one prob¬
ably defunct) and two of research, besides a vigorous one of
intermediate character. Of this long list of serials, some are
published in divers and sometimes enormous and widely
distributed editions.

The most completely national scientific society of the
country, the American Association for the Advancement of
Science, with a large membership and migratory annual
meetings, now records its work in a single serial. This serial,
the Proceedings, comprises moderately full administrative
records and greatly condensed records of research, and is
issued in annual volumes as soon as may be after meetings.
The Memoirs, established in 1875 as a vehicle for publishing
in extenso the results of elaborate investigations, are practi-

226

MCGEE.

cally discontinued, and the Transactions gave place to the
Proceedings with the reorganization of the Association in
1847.

The Philosophical Society of Washington has a fixed place
of abode and bi-weekly meetings, and its membership is
chiefly local. It has published but a single serial, the
Bulletin, comprising records both of administration and
research ; but the plan of publication of this serial has been
repeatedly modified, while in the interests of bibliography
the name has been kept unchanged.

The Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia, with a
fixed home, frequent meetings, and a predominantly local
membership, has generally limited itself to two serials ; but
that these have not fully met its needs is indicated by the
facts (1) that the series have changed in plan from time to
time, and (2) that other serials have been issued temporarily.
The Society began with the 8vo Journal as essentially a
record of research, and little account was made of the records
of administration. About 1840 a need of more detailed
administrative records appears to have been felt, and the
Proceedings was established principally to meet this need.
A few years later the 2° Journal took the place of the 8vo
record of research and for a generation was vigorously main¬
tained ; but as time went on the Proceedings was gradually
transformed into a record of research rather than of admin¬
istration, and so absorbed the energy of the Journal, which
now appears decadent. Of late years the original purpose of
the Proceedings is in part met by the Annual Reports, as
was the case while building was in progress and the Reports
of the Trustees were issued annually. The issue of the
American Journal of Conchology for a few years and the
publication of various important works by the Academy
represents its partially developed function* as a publishing
house for trade supply ; and the Proceedings of the Mineralog-
ical and Geological section represent sporadic activity in a
particular direction, such as led to the birth of new institu¬
tions in the Philosophical Society of Washington and in some
other cases ; but this exceptional activity was short-lived.

EVOLUTION OF SCIENTIFIC SERIALS.

227

The Boston Society of Natural History, like the Philadel¬
phia Academy, has a commodious home, its membership is
largely local, and it holds frequent meetings. It leads the
National Academy in its list of six regular and four subordi¬
nate serials, though it falls far behind in editions and in
distribution. In early days it followed the example of the
Philadelphia society first in setting out with a Journal as a
record primarily of research, and second in the issue of a
substantial serial called Proceedings, chiefly as a record of
administration ; as in Philadelphia, too, the research record
was enlarged (its name being changed to Memoirs) ; and,
again as in Philadelphia, the character of the administra¬
tive record gradually changed until it has become princi¬
pally a record of research and only subordinate^ an ac¬
count of administration. Meanwhile, the research record
has weakened, and may be regarded as certainly decadent,
only one number having appeared in the last 17 years.
This loss of vitality may be attributed in part to the initia¬
tion of the series of Occasional Papers as a vehicle for re¬
search records, and the issue of the semi-centennial volume
of Anniversary Memoirs, which gave outlet to the results of
several original investigations. The Proceedings, however,
seems scarcely to perform the function of an administrative
record to the satisfaction of the Society ; and the dissatisfac¬
tion has found expression in the issue of the Conditions and
Doings, the Custodians’ Deports, the Annual Deports, the
Proceedings of the Annual Meetings, and perhaps the
Annual.

The Geological Society of London has a fix^I place of abode
and frequent meetings, and its large membership is chiefly
national, but partly foreign. Like the ’older American
societies, it began with the publication of a research record
alone, and this serial, called Transactions, was vigorously
maintained for generations ; as time went on the desirability
of a record of administration appears to have been felt, and
another serial, entitled Proceedings, was initiated ; the new
serial grew and came to absorb part of the vitality of the old,

228

MCGEE.

when a third, designed to combine the functions of the new and
part of the old, was initiated as a Quarterly Journal ; but as
the years went by this periodical, following the parricidal ex¬
ample of the Proceedings, finally absorbed the entire vitality
of the Transactions, and is now a combined record of re¬
search and administration of so long standing that it is prob¬
ably the best known geologic serial in the libraries of the
world. But with the growth of the serial its character has
undergone modification, and for years it has contained elabo¬
rate illustrated papers which can only be published after con¬
siderable delay ; and that it has in consequence failed to
meet certain of its requirements as an administrative record
is indicated by the issue of the little known series of Ab¬
stracts, designed for local and temporary use only.

In brief, these eight societies are now regularly issuing
nineteen serials (excluding the Memoirs of the A. A. A. S.,
the Annual Report of the Acad. Nat. Sci. Phil., the Proceed¬
ings of the Annual Meetings of the Boston Soc. Nat. Hist,
and the Occasional Papers of the same Society, but includ¬
ing the 2° Journal of the Academy of Nat. Sci. of Phil.,
the Memoirs of the Boston Soc. Nat. Hist., the Anni¬
versary Memoirs of the same Society, and the Abstracts
of the Geol. Soc. of London) ; and they have published in all,
for greater or less periods, forty different serials (including
the Eng. and Min. Jour., the Annual Reports and Reports of
Proceedings of the Nat. Acad, of Sci., the two distinct series
of the Journal of the Acad, of Nat. Sci. Phil., the Annual
Reports and tl^e Reports of Trustees of the same Society, the
sub-reports extracted from the Proceedings of the Boston
Soc. Nat. Hist., and the Abstracts of the Geol. Soc. of London),
comprising about 315 volumes. These various serials, with
the periods covered by each, the regularity or irregularity
of issue, their form and size (8vo or smaller, 4to or larger),
and the volumes and in some cases the parts issued, are
represented in the accompanying diagram. This diagram
thus represents salient points in the life-history and the

EVOLUTION OF SCIENTIFIC SERIALS. 229

leading features of each serial, and the relations of all the
serials issued by the eight societies, viewed as units or indi¬
viduals. It is at the same time a graphic representation of
the leading bibliographic facts connected with the serials.

The Evolution of the Serials.

Even a cursory glance at the diagram or at the publica¬
tions it represents discovers certain general tendencies toward
stability or instability in each serial, and these tendencies
become more manifest when the various serials are care¬
fully scrutinized. A few of these may be mentioned :

Perhaps the most obvious tendency is that toward unifica¬
tion in form and functions of serials ; and this tendency is ex¬
hibited alike in the history of the various serials issued by any
of the older societies, and by comparison of the serials of the
old with those of the newer societies. Thus, the Geological
Society of London maintained during its youth two or three
serials, and even after the abandonment of all but the
Quarterly Journal adhered for years to a refined differentia¬
tion of matter in each volume expressed by the five, seven,
or more paginations. Quite similar is the history of publica¬
tion by the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia,
which after getting well under way supported distinct serials
for the records of research and administration respectively ;
and after the latter partly absorbed the former it dis¬
played an analagous differentiation of matter in multiple
paginations and in other ways. The tendency is equally
shown by the decadence of the 4to serials issued by the
American Association for the Advancement of Science, the
Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia, and the Boston
Society of Natural History. The same tendency also appears
when the Philosophical Society of Washington and the
American Institute of Mining Engineers, each with a single
serial (if the preliminary edition of the papers of the latter
Society be disregarded), and the vigorous American Society
of Civil Engineers, with its two serials, are compared with
the older societies ; for the newer societies appear to have

27— Bull. Phil. Soe., Wash., Vol. 11.

230

MCGEE.

profited by the experience of the older, and to have adopted
only those forms of publication which time has shown to
best survive the exigencies and obstacles besetting serial life.
True, the National Academy of Sciences and its serials do not
exhibit this tendency, but for reasons elsewhere stated this
Society is a law unto itself, and inferences concerning it are
valueless for other institutions. In short, it would appear
that specialized serials do not thrive, and that the most
vigorous and long-lived serials (the Proceedings of the
American Association for the Advancement of Science, the
Bulletin of the Philosophical Society of Washington, the
Transactions of the American Institute of Mining Engineers,
the Quarterly Journal of the Geological Society of London?
and the Proceedings of the Academy of Natural Sciences
of Philadelphia and of the Boston Society of Natural History,
etc.) comprise records of research and administration com¬
bined.

A second tendency is in the direction of prompt publica¬
tion : An avowed object in the issue of preliminary papers by
the American Institute of Mining Engineers is to get the mat¬
ter into the hands of the public at the earliest possible mo¬
ment ; the present plan of publication of the American Asso¬
ciation for the Advancement of Science was expressly adopted
to secure prompt issue of the annual volumes ; the recent
change in plan of publication of the Bulletin of the Philo¬
sophical Society of Washington was made for the same pur¬
pose ; the Proceedings of the Academy of Natural Sciences of
Philadelphia was established expressly to permit of prompt
publication of results ; the Proceedings of the Boston Society of
Natural History is issued in signatures for the same reason ;
the Quarterly Journal of the Geological Society of London
was devised to secure more prompt publication than was
possible in the Transactions, and the Abstracts are printed to
secure still earlier publication. No one can examine the
publications of the various scientific societies without find¬
ing decided evidences of a prevailing desire to publish
promptly, even at considerable sacrifice in other directions.

EVOLUTION OF SCIENTIFIC SERIALS.

231

A third tendency, which is explained in part by the first
two, is toward publication in 8vo rather than 4to : The
oldest of the eight societies (the Geological Society of London)
has completely abandoned the 4to form. The next oldest
society (the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia)
nominally maintains a folio, but its importance, both abso¬
lute and relative to the 8vo publications, has declined of late,
and only two small parts have appeared in eight years ; of
the leading 4to serial of the Boston Society of Natural His¬
tory, only one number has appeared in 18 years ; the 4to
serial of the American Association may be regarded as
abandoned after a single issue ; and the younger societies,
the Philosophical Society of Washington, the American
Society of Civil Engineers, and the American Institute of
Mining Engineers, have again profited by the experience of
the older and have not adopted the 4to form, though the last
two frequently introduce plates so large as to require folding.
It is evident from inspection of the publications of scientific
societies that the quarto serials cannot maintain a leading
rank in the race for success, and indeed that, like the great
herbivores of the Tertiary ages, they are doomed to extinction
save under especially favorable conditions.

A fourth tendency, which is manifestly connected with the
second, is toward publication in small units or fractions :
This tendency is vigorously opposed by the plans of publica¬
tion in several societies and evidently by editors and pub¬
lishing committees generally, and it sometimes fails or even
appears to be reversed ; but it crops out in the issue of the
Abstracts of the Geological Society of London and the advance
publication of extracts from the Proceedings of the Boston
Society of Natural History and of the Academy of Natural
Sciences of Philadelphia under special serial titles, in some
of the minor publications of the latter society, in the sepa¬
rate signatures issued by both of these societies, and in the
multifarious publications of the National Academy ; while
it finds full expression in the Bulletin of the Philosophical
Society of Washington under its new form, in the prelimi-

232

MCGEE.

nary papers of the American Institute of Mining Engineers,
and in the small parts and separate papers of the Transac¬
tions of the American Society of Civil Engineers. With a
few exceptions, the vigorous and long-lived serials are those
appearing in small parts, and the exceptions are mostly ex¬
plained by another tendency.

A fifth tendency, which is apparently opposed by the last,
but which really explains many of the exceptions to it, is
against the publication of monthly serials ; or, perhaps more
properly, against the publication of regular units at short
and regular intervals : It finds expression in the transforma¬
tion of the Journals of the Academy of Natural Sciences of
Philadelphia and the Boston Society of Natural History, and
of the Proceedings of the former society and of the Geological
Society of London from regular monthlies into irregular
serials, by the irregularity in appearance of the nominally
monthly parts of the Transactions of the American Society
of Civil Engineers and of the Quarterly Journal of the Geo¬
logical Society of London, and by the dearth of monthlies
among the publications of the younger societies. All the
older societies, save the American Association for the Ad¬
vancement Science, have tested monthly publication, but
none of the societies now issue regular monthlies, and it is
evident that this mode of publication does not survive
under existing conditions.

There is an evident tendency against the publication of
administrative records per se: This tendency is exhibited
by the decadence of the Proceedings of the Geological Society
of London, more decidedly by the combination of the ad¬
ministrative and scientific records of two of the younger
societies (the Philosophical Society of Washington and the
American Institute of Mining Engineers) and the joint issue
of the Proceedings and Transactions of the third (the Ameri¬
can Society of Civil Engineers), and still more emphatically
and very curiously in the transformation of the Proceedings
of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia and of
the Boston Society of Natural History (and in less measure

EVOLUTION OF SCIENTIFIC SERIALS.

233

the Quarterly Journal of the Geological Society of London
and the Proceedings of the American Association for the Ad¬
vancement of Science), by which they have, contrary not only
to the expectation but even to the express plans and purposes
of their founders, become changed from almost purely ad¬
ministrative to predominantly scientific records. The purely
administrative serial has never held its own for any consid¬
erable period, save in the National Academy of Sciences,
where the conditions are unique, and in the American
Society of Civil Engineers, where the serial is weak and
tottering if not decadent ; and in the joint records the tend¬
ency is decidedly in the direction of condensation of the ad¬
ministrative matter.

Summing these several tendencies, it appears that the
general drift of serial publication by scientific societies is
toward a combined record of research and administration
(the latter condensed) in the form of a single 8vo serial,
printed promptly in small parts and issued at intervals
depending on the accumulation of matter.

No one can scan the serials issued by any considerable
number of scientific societies without perceiving that, what¬
ever form and character their founders may impose upon
them, they are subject to laws of development more potent
than the efforts of editors, publishing committees, or even
wealthy and well-organized societies, by which their ulti¬
mate success or failure and the qualities which tend toward
these ends are determined. Neither can the student fail to
perceive that the younger organizations have (perhaps un¬
consciously) profited by the experience of their elders, and
that the modern serials, whether the direct outgrowth of the
ancient series of mighty tomes or the offspring of new
organizations modelled in part after the old, are the more
stable. In short, the serial, like the organism and the insti¬
tution generally, is a creature of environment, and, whatever
its birthright, quickly passes into the troubled sea of mortal
strife in which only those survive who both conquer their

234

MCGEE.

adversaries and adjust themselves to the rhythm of the
waves. But while the general tendencies of serial publica¬
tion are more or less obvious, and while modern societies
have noted and profited by them, their raisons d’etre appear
not to have been sought hitherto. Yet they are not far to
seek.

The Causes of Evolution of the Serials.

In their relations to the serials published by scientific
societies, the people of a country or of the world may be
classed as book-makers and book-users ; but in order to under¬
stand fully the relations of these general classes, a more
refined classification must be employed. So the book-makers
may be divided into authors and publishers ; and the book-
users may be separated into librarians, bibliographers, and
readers who may be assumed to be students. The require¬
ments and influence of these classes of people control serial
publication and the character of the serials. The facts (1)
that the student is sometimes his own bibliographer and
librarian, (2) that the author may be practically his own
publisher, (3) that the functions of the bibliographer are not
well differentiated particularly from those of the librarian,
and (4) that the society frequently combines various func¬
tions, do not run counter to this classification.

Now, it is evident that the requirements of the student are
paramount ; it is for him that treatises are written ; it is for
his use that they are printed and bound ; and it is to afford
access to these treatises that bibliographies are prepared and
libraries formed. The student demands not only that books
shall be made but that they shall be promptly published
while yet their subject matter is new, and so planned that
they may be easily handled, conveniently entered in cata¬
logues under intelligible . and not misleading titles, and
readily found in the library ; he needs and is beginning to
demand that the author’s work shall be carefully and well
done, that the text shall be clear and succinct, and that
graphic expression shall be used so far as may be expedient •

EVOLUTION OF SCIENTIFIC SERIALS.

235

and he demands with ever increasing emphasis that the re¬
sponsibility for every published statement shall be definitely
fixed. The vehemence of this last demand is not felt by those
authors who delude themselves with the notion that the
publication of their names is a device for securing credit
rather than fixing responsibility. But printed statements
are worthless to the student unless vouched for by some
individual in person ; a thousand anonymous declarations
that a meteor has fallen are disproved to the student by the
simple utterance of a single reputable individual who backs
his utterance with his name; and even the lay reader is
coming to regard the author’s name as the sign manual of
veracity. That the function of the author’s name was prop¬
erly appreciated by students even in the early days of
scientific societies is proved by the formula — “ The society is
not responsible for the facts and opinions expressed by its
members ” — which has come down from the older organiza¬
tions just as functionless, vestigean organs are inherited from
older organisms.

Second in order of importance are the requirements of the
bibliographer : It is he who classifies and catalogues books,
not as loosely related units but as sources of information,
and so renders their contents accessible to the student for
whose use they are designed. At present the place of the
bibliographer in the bibliothecal machinery is scarcely
recognized, because, while his function is born of books, it
is not felt until they become too numerous to be read and
remembered ; but the work of the bibliographer is repre¬
sented in subject catalogues, in book lists of all kinds, in
annual records of progress in science, in the bibliographic
references which careful authors and editors introduce as
footnotes, and in the notices and reviews which have occu¬
pied a prominent place in scientific literature for years, as
well as in the systematic bibliographies of various branches
of knowledge which have been published in recent times ;
and the function of the bibliographer is destined to increase
in importance with the increase in volume of the literature

236

MCGEE.

of exact knowledge. The prime requirement of the bibliog¬
rapher is for systematic arrangement of books and minor
publications under expressive, brief, and complete titles ;
and there are other requirements which the bibliographer
holds in common with the student — though certain of the
student’s requirements are immaterial to the bibliographer.

Third in order of importance are the requirements of the
librarian, for it is upon him that the student must depend
for access to publications. The requirements of the librarian
are that the publications shall be issued in convenient form
for arrangement upon shelves and for binding, and that
every volume or part-volume shall bear a definite title.
Some of the requirements of the librarian are common with
those of the student ; but his demands are less numerous
and exacting, since he deals only with the units and integral
parts of publications, while the bibliographer deals with
fractions, and the student with the undifferentiated sub¬
stance of books ; and some of his needs are opposed to those
of the student — e. g., prompt publication is not a desideratum
to the librarian, but rather the opposite, since frequent issue
in small parts gives trouble in arranging serials upon
shelves and in volumes. But the librarian shares the stu¬
dent’s antipathy to multiplication of serials of the same
society, and especially to ponderous quartos and limp folios,
which he often relegates to bottom shelves and miscellaneous
heaps in out of the way corners.

Fourth in order of importance must be placed the require¬
ments of the author ; for it is incumbent upon him not only
to so prepare his books that they may be conveniently
handled by the librarian and readily recorded by the bibli¬
ographer and so made accessible to the student for whose
use they are written, but to have something to say which is
worth the saying ; and he must write clearly and illustrate
wisely in order that his writings may be comprehensible
with a minimum of- effort on the part of the student. The
just subserviency of the author to the student in this respect
is not always understood ; but if the author expects to have

EVOLUTION OF .SCIENTIFIC SERIALS.

237

300 readers, he ought to realize that it is only fair for him
to spend five hours upon a single sentence if he can there¬
by render it intelligible one minute more quickly. The
primary requirement of the author, which is held in com¬
mon with the student, is prompt publication. The force
of this demand on the part of the author cannot well be
overestimated ; it is the incentive to investigation ; it is
the spur to subsequent labor at the desk, and it is the stim¬
ulus to publication, often at great personal sacrifice. Any
plan that prevents prompt publication stifles scientific en¬
thusiasm, and any device that promotes prompt publication
vivifies science and enlarges knowledge. Subordinate re¬
quirements of the author are (1) publication of his papers
in convenient form for the use of the bibliographer and
student; (2) publication under his own name that the re¬
sponsibility and credit may appear prima facie; and (3)
publication in such form that he may obtain and distribute
copies of his own treatises at will. The last of these require¬
ments has led tq the development of a form of publication
known as the author’s separate, which is the bane of the
bibliographer and the burden of the librarian, since it com¬
monly involves needless duplication of editions. Emphatic
protests on the part of students and bibliographers against
re-paging such separates were widely published a few years
ago, and the nuisance has been thereby in part abated ; but
still this form of publication remains an unsightly excres¬
cence on the genealogic tree of scientific serials. There
is a fancied requirement of the author for fine printing, heavy
paper, broad margins, and sumptuous binding which is an¬
tagonistic to the legitimate requirement of wide distribution
of his writings, and need not be seriously considered. The
author has another interest which is directly antagonistic
to the just requirements of the publisher: in seeking to
economize time and energy the author may slight his lit¬
erary and artistic work and prepare his manuscript badly ;
but since slovenly manuscript costs publishers much more
than its improvement would cost the author, and since the

28— Bull. Phil. Soc., Wash., Vol. 11.

238

MCGEE.

mechanical slovenliness is inevitably accompanied by slov¬
enliness of expression, this illegitimate interest of the author
is injurious to the student and so indirectly suicidal.

Last in order of importance, at least as viewed from the
standpoint of author, librarian, bibliographer and student,
are the requirements of the publisher. He justly demands,
first, that his copy shall be carefuly prepared ; second, that
sufficient time shall be permitted for the reproduction of
illustrations as well as the composition of the letterpress ;
and it is generally a convenience to him to keep a consider¬
able amount of copy on hand and to issue the publication
in complete volumes or in large parts. The demand of the.
student and author for prompt publication *is immediately
antagonistic to his interests ; and his disposition is to com¬
bine with the librarian, and perhaps also the bibliographer,
in delaying publication. The publisher, too, fixes the cost,
and thus tangibly represents the condition limiting the
volume of the publication ; and in this function, too, the
interests of the author and publisher are opposed.

On applying these principles to the serials published by
the eight representative scientific societies, the reasons for
the instability betrayed by some and the stability displayed
by others becomes manifest :

Multiplicity of paginations in a volume, of series in a
serial, or of serials issued by the same society are all objec¬
tionable to the student ; the last two conditions impose a
burden on the bibliographer ; the last condition occasions
inconvenience to the librarian, particularly when the serials
are unlike in size ; and, moreover, the cost of publishing and
distributing serials generally increases with the number of
serials issued. So the unification of serials represents pro¬
gress in the direction of economy in labor on the part of
students, bibliographers, and librarians and in the monetary
cost of publication.

The paramount requirement of student and author
alike is prompt publication ; and while this requirement

EVOLUTION OF SCIENTIFIC SERIALS.

239

is opposed measurably by the bibliographer and librarian
and decidedly by the publisher, its force is such that it has
found expression in the publications of almost all the scien¬
tific societies. More than half of the changes in form and
plan of serials have been made in obedience to the need
of prompt issue ; and while promptness is opposed by in¬
ertia and tends to degrade into sluggishness, the mean
interval between regular issues has materially diminished
in nearly all of the societies, and is less in the younger than
it was in the older at corresponding stages.

The author needs large plates for the illustration of certain
subjects ; and with this actual need goes the fanciful require¬
ment which leads to publication in sumptuous form. But
the need for large plates has diminished with the improve¬
ment and reduction in cost of illustrations; wood-cuts in
the text are now used where steel or copper-plate engraving
was formerly necessary ; photo-engravings replace elaborate
lithographs; and the art of lithography has been so im¬
proved that maps, diagrams, etc., maybe published upon
smaller scales than formerly. At the same time students
have found 4to volumes unwieldly, librarians have found
them a source of inconvenience in their libraries, authors
have found their issue dilatory and their circulation limited,
and publishers have found them expensive. All of these
objections to the 4to have had influence, and publication in
that form has declined notably, despite the definite plans and
sustained efforts of most of the scientific societies.

Publication in large units or fractions involves the accu¬
mulation of a considerable volume of matter in the hands of
the publisher before the first pages are printed, and this oc¬
casions delay ; but such delay is inconsistent with the satis¬
faction of the common need of student and author for prompt
issue. So this paramount requirement finds expression also
in the small and frequent issues to which nearly all the so¬
cieties have been forced.

Publishers of regular periodicals of uniform size find it
necessary to keep on hand a large amount of copy, upon

240

MCGEE.

which they draw at will in making up each issue ; in the
literary and popular magazines some articles are so kept on
hand for months and sometimes years ; and even in scien¬
tific journals of the highest grade individual memoirs are
often held for weeks or months before they can be fitted into
the Procrustean bed provided for each family. Moreover,
editorial labor is required in rounding out the various de¬
partments into which the periodical is divided, and this in¬
volves added expense. These impediments of delay and
cost appear to be the rocks upon which the periodicals
launched by most of the societies have been wrecked.

The author pursues his researches con amove, and on pub¬
lication of results finds among his fellow-students a large
circle of readers who share interest in his problems. So the
inspiration of authors and the enthusiasm of students breed
special treatises ; and it is the chief function of the scientific
society to bring the author into communication with the
student and to aid the labors of the former and supply the
needs of the latter. But except in rare cases there is none
of the inspiration of authorship in the preparation of admin¬
istrative records of scientific societies, and there are few care¬
ful readers of such matter save among historians or pro¬
jectors of new scientific institutions. Such records are in¬
deed necessary for the society and in a less degree for the
public, but it is evident a 'priori that the incentives to prep¬
aration and the demand for distribution and reading of
“ proceedings ” must be limited, and that such records must
ever be parasitic upon the scientific records which it is the
special province of the society to maintain. Here, again, de¬
duction from the fundamental principles controlling publi¬
cation, and induction from the history of scientific serials
are coincident ; for although nearly all the societies have
sought to support separate administrative records, only two
are now doing so, and in one of these the serial is unstable
while in the second the conditions are unique.

In brief, it appears that the variations and tendencies to
vary exhibited by the serial publications of scientific socie-

EVOLUTION OF SCIENTIFIC SERIALS.

241

ties, like those of organisms and of other institutions, result
from efforts toward adjustment to environment and repre¬
sent the survival of the fittest through natural selection ;
that the variation indicates evolution in a certain definite
direction ; and that failure on the part of their founders to
recognize the conditions of success or failure of serials has
never prevented evolution toward the optimum form and
character.

Methods of fixing Responsibility and their Evolution.

In all the societies studied, the more important papers are
published under the names of authors who thereby assume
personal responsibility for statements of fact and expres¬
sions of opinion ; but the responsibility for the publications
does not end here. Every society is in itself or through
its committees or other officers a professed censor of the
papers read at its meetings or published under its auspices
and therefore assumes a limited responsibility for all its
publications, however conspicuous the type of the misleading
and obsolescent disclaimer of responsibility displayed upon
its title-pages. Moreover, in most societies the administra¬
tive records and reports of discussion and the abstracts of
oral communications are prepared and arranged in greater
or less part by officers of the society, and for all such work the
society is responsible through its accredited officers. Again,
it is the society, in itself or through its committees or other
officers, that deals with printers and engravers, prepares copy,
revises proofs, rejects or accepts engravings, and superintends
the mechanical part of publication generally ; and so in
another way the society incurs responsibility for its publi¬
cations.

Now, it is interesting to note that, concurrently with the
change in form and plan of publication, there has been a
perceptibile movement in the direction of fixing and clearly
setting forth the responsibility for the editorial and admin¬
istrative part of the publications.

In the American Society of Civil Engineers the various

242

MCGEE.

publications are edited by the secretary under the direction
of the library committee ; and while it is provided that the
“ Society is not responsible as a body for the facts and opinions
advanced in any of its publications/’ the secretary and library
committee are vested with large discretibnary powers and
practically vouch for the propriety and general scientific or
technical value of every published paper. The society
thereby incurs a limited responsibility for its publications,
and this responsibility is definitely fixed upon the editor and
library committee by the frequent publication of their names
and official functions.

In the American Institute of Mining Engineers the council
(the administrative body of the institute) decide upon the
propriety of all communications, and so incur a limited
responsibility for them as definite units, though responsibility
for statements of fact and opinion contained therein is dis¬
claimed. In this case, too, the secretary is virtually editor
of all publications of the society.

In the National Academy of Sciences the standards of
membership are high, and large responsibility is thrown
upon the authors of communications ; but there is a com¬
mittee on publications who incur limited responsibility
(proportionate to the powers with which they are vested) for
the records of research; while the administrative records
are prepared by the home secretary ; and the names and
functions of these officers are annually published.

In the American Association for the Advancement of
Science the permanent secretary is ex officio editor, and all
communications are sifted by the sectional committees and
by the standing committee, and sometimes the question of
publication is decided by vote of a section. So the society
at present assumes large responsibility for the character
of its publications. But during its early years, when its
standards of membership were different, communications
were accepted upon their merits and the reputation of
their authors, as in the National Academy of Sciences,
and there were no statutory provisions for scrutinizing them

EVOLUTION OP SCIENTIFIC SERIALS.

243

nor for determining or fixing the share of responsibility
borne by the society.

In the Philosophical Society of Washington every paper
offered for publication is submitted to the general committee
and by it at once referred to a special committee ; this com¬
mittee reports to the general committee, and it then decides
the question of publication. So the general committee as¬
sume limited responsibility for matter appearing under the
imprint of the society, and this responsibility is vaguely
fixed by the publication of the names and functions of the
general committee ; but it should be pointed out that the
large responsibility borne by the secretary and virtual
editor is not fixed in the publications.

In the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia there
has long been a committee on publication who not only
scrutinize the communications as originally presented but
also revise proofs, etc., and thus incur large responsibility
for' the matter published by the Academy; and in recent
years the secretary has come to be editor ex officio, and a
part of the powers and responsibilities of the more imper¬
sonal publication committee have been transferred to him.
At first the administrative part of the publication of the
society was impersonal.

In the Boston Society of Natural History the names and
functions of the officers responsible for the publications were
not at first clearly indicated ; but there is now a publishing
committee who examine and superintend the publication of
communications offered by members, and thus vouch for
their value though disclaiming responsibility for “ any opin¬
ion expressed ” therein ; and the names of this committee
appear on most of the publications.

In the Geological Society of London there was originally
an indefinite body known as “the 'Editors” who passed
upon all matter offered for publication, though disclaiming
responsibility for it ; but as time went on the regulations
were gradually changed until the communications came to
be scrutinized by the council ; and now they are not only
so examined but edited by the vice-secretary.

244

MCGEE.

Thus, of the four older societies, all of which began without
published provision for fixing responsibility upon any indi¬
vidual or individuals on the part of the society, three (the
Am. Assn. Adv. Sci., the Acad. Nat. Sci. Phil., and the Geol.
Soc. London) now have ex officio editors who virtually
assume limited responsibility for the publications of the
society, while the fourth (the Boston Soc. Nat. Hist.) has a
publishing committee whose names appear on every publi¬
cation issued by the society ; and these officers virtually as¬
sume limited responsibility proportionate to their powers,
and that responsibility is as clearly fixed by the publication
of their names as is the larger responsibility of the authors.
Thus, too, two or three of the four younger societies (the
Am. Soc. Civ. Engrs., the Am. Inst. Min. Engrs., and, per¬
haps, the Nat. Acad. Sci.) have ex officio editors, and only
one (the Phil. Soc. Wash., in which the provision for scru¬
tiny of communications by special committees is exception¬
ally rigorous) now publishes without vouching for the pro¬
priety and value of the publication and definitely fixing
personal responsibility for the editorial and supervisory
work by giving the names and functions of the officers con¬
cerned.

The reason for this curious tendency is obscure, but appears
to lie at the very foundation of science : Science is preemi¬
nently democratic and has ever opposed the secret tribunal
and the ex cathedra dictum, and so the standing of the scien¬
tific institution represents the standing of its members as
individuals ; the subject matter of science is knowledge, the
value of which depends upon its exactitude, and it has been
constantly sought to maintain a high standard by holding
individuals responsible for their contributions and subject
to the penalty of ignominy and public scorn in case of de¬
fault, and so the recognition of individual responsibility has
become more general in science than in those branches of
knowledge which are less exact ; there is no hierarchy in
science, all men stand upon a footing determined by their
ability to contribute to human knowledge, and the method

EVOLUTION OF SCIENTIFIC SERIALS. 245

of scientific work renders the collaborator and accessory in
even the most trivial detail co-responsible with the principal,
and so the editor imbued with the scientific spirit is ready
to acknowledge his work and the just author welcomes the
acknowledgment. The tendency to fix individual responsi¬
bility for censorship and editorship is the outgrowth of the
desire to fix responsibility for authorship, and indicates that,
whatever be the case in statecraft, in science the executive
session is doomed.

29— Bull. Phil. Soc., Wash., Vol. 11.

ON CERTAIN PECULIAR STRUCTURAL FEATURES
IN THE FOOT-HILL REGION OF THE ROCKY
MOUNTAINS NEAR DENVER, COLORADO.

BY

George Homans Eldridge.

[Read before the Society November 23, 1889.]

CONTENTS.

Introduction _

Lithological Character of Formations involved.

General Features of the Affected Area _

Topographical _

Surface delineations _

Detailed Geology. _

The Formations and their Relations _

The Archiean _ _ _

The Trias _

The Jura _

The Dakota _

The Colorado JFort Benton
[Niobrara _

The Montana i Pierre.

\Fox Hills

The Laramie _

The Arapahoe _

The Denver _

Special irregularities _

Structural Features _

Dips _

The general fold along base of Range

Faults _

Structural Development of the Area _

Introductory _

(Table)

Page.

248

249

250

250

251

252
252
252

252

253

254

255

255

256

257

257

258
258
258
258

258

259

259

260
260

30-Bull. Phil. Soc., Wash., Vol. 11.

(247)

248

ELDRIDGE.

Page.

Periods in the Development _ 261

First period _ 262

Second period _ 262

Third period _ 263

Fourth period _ _ 264

Fifth period _ 267

Discussion of Movements producing the present Structure _ 267

1° Hypothesis upon which the argument rests _ 267

2° Faults and folds — the local manifestations of forces in¬
volved. _ 268

3° Forces have acted with varying direction _ 268

4° Development of the post-Niobrara fold _ 268

5° Readjustment of forces, inducing present structure _ _ 270

6° Readjustment accounted for _ 270

7° Relation of basalt eruption to the foregoing events _ 271

Earlier Views on the Structure of this Region _ 271

Views of A. R. Marvine _ 271

Views of Lester F. Ward _ 272

Views of others _ 274

Note. — The geological map accompanying this paper is an original plat.
The profiles are based upon this, and are developed by construction from it
and from one another by actual measurements, with the necessary reductions
for thickness. The two sketches, towards the close of the text, illustrative
of the manner in which the folding occurred and its relations to that of the
Main Range, are, however, diagramatic, although based upon the histori¬
cal facts developed in the paper.

Introduction.

The present paper is devoted to the discussion of a type
of geological structure recently discovered by the writer in
the foot-hill region west of Denver, which upon detailed study
may prove of common occurrence along the base of the Rocky
Mountains, a recurrence of it in a less developed form having
already been observed in the vicinity of Boulder, a few miles
north of the area covered by the present instance. The type
consists in a succession of non-conformities appearing one
after another at various geological horizons, the explanation
of which is found in the forces acting in the general uplift of
the Colorado Range, from which have been developed cer¬
tain secondary forces that have from point to point brought
about the elevations upon which the non-conformities depend.

Tabular Statement of the Lithological Characteristics of the Formations Involved in the Present Discussion.

STRUCTURAL FEATURES IN THE FOOT-HILL REGION. 249

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250

ELDKIDGE.

General Features of the Affected Area.

The area affected by the phenomena now to be discussed
extends along the base of the foot-hills of the Colorado Range
west of Denver, from a point about a mile south of Bear
creek northward to Coal creek, a distance of 21 miles, with
a breadth varying from 2J to 4 miles, the greater occurring
along its northern and southern edges. It involves the hog¬
backs of the Dakota and the region within to the Archaean,
and includes the prairies as far to the east as Mt. Carbon,
the western slopes of Green Mountain, the Table Mountains,
and the vicinity of the Ralston dyke.

Topography. — Its topography shows a marked variation
from that normal for the foot-hills region in general, and its
relations with the geology of the tract as displayed from
point to point throughout its extent are so close as to warrant
the assertion that for every topographical lineament there is
to be discovered an equivalent geological incident that has
led to its development. The normal foot-hill topography
consists of a mountain mass of Archsean rocks, fringed at an
average distance of half or three-quarters of a mile by a sharp
serrated ridge of Dakota sandstone, the valley between the
two being occupied by the formations of the Trias and Jura.
Above the Dakota in their geological succession come the
Fort Benton, the Niobrara — this generally constituting a
second, smaller reef outside the Dakota — the Fort Pierre,
Fox Hills, and the Laramie, the basal sandstones of the
Laramie, again, forming either a low roll in the ground or
an actual comb of rock slightly projecting above the surface
of the surrounding prairie. To the east of the Laramie, at a
distance of between 600 and 1,200 feet from its basal sand¬
stone, appears in the southern portion of the area yet another
comb, formed by the conglomerates at the base of the Arapa¬
hoe series. Finally, this is followed at about an equal dis¬
tance by either an outcrop of the lower members of the
Denver formation or a peculiar ribbing of the prairie due to
their presence beneath the surface. For mile after mile

STRUCTURAL FEATURES IN THE FOOT-HILL REGION. 251

along the mountains the above topographical features may
be traced with unswerving regularity, but within the area to
be described they undergo rapid change, and midway the
tract, in the vicinity of the town of Golden, lose all recogni¬
tion whatsoever. For a distance of over a mile north of the
town and an equal one to the south of it, the Dakota hog¬
backs have completely disappeared ; the low Niobrara ridges
cease to exist at a point about a mile north of Bear creek,
not to again appear until the region of Van Bibber creek,
10 miles to the north, is reached ; the Laramie sandstones,
with their coal, have gradually approached to within 500
feet of the Archaean at Clear creek, the variation in their
strike from that of the Triassic and Dakota outcrops below
being apparent to the most casual observer ; finally, oppo¬
site the center of this great topographical gap, appear the
two great basalt-capped sedimentary masses of North and
South Table Mountain, originally continuous, but afterwards
cut by the waters of Clear creek, which debouches from the
main range midway their length.

Surface delineations. — Standing upon any of the more ele¬
vated points within this remarkable area, another set of
features, second in prominence only to the ones already re¬
ferred to, at once strike the eye. These are the clearness with
which the lines of stratification are delineated upon the sur¬
face, and the distinct tendency which they display to group
themselves, with respect to direction, into two well marked
assemblages: the one embracing the formations of the
Colorado and all below, and maintaining for the greater part
of their extent the same parallelism to the general trend of
the foot-hills which they have held beyond the affected area ;
the other embracing the Montana and younger formations,
and, though maintaining a parallelism of strike within them¬
selves, nevertheless abutting against the older formations at
an angle In places as high even as 20°. The latter forma¬
tions, in fact, approach the range proper in a broad, well
marked, and regular, inward sweeping curve, the center of
its arch lying a short distance north of Clear creek. The

r

252 ELDRIDGE.

features just noticed again occur, in a minor degree and in
a manner not at first liable to attract attention, in the rela¬
tions between the Dakota and underlying beds nearer the
middle of the area, where the beds of the younger formation
lie across the edges of those of the older.

North of the central portion of the area of non-conformity
and south of Ralston creek for the distance of about two
miles the topographical and geological features are somewhat
complicated by the presence of intrusive masses ; they are,
however, still sufficiently clear to permit interpretation, and
with the others in the south and center of the area and in
the remainder of the tract to the north form one complete
whole.

Detailed Geology.

The Formations and their Relations .

The Archsean. — This is but slightly involved in the special
geological history of the region. It formed an uneven floor
for the deposition of the Trias, across the truncated edges of
which the latter formation was deposited.

The Trias. — In their strike and dip the beds of both mem¬
bers of the Trias are conformable inter se. Their strike
follows approximately the line of the Archaean foot-hills,
and their dip is to the east and varies between 35° and 90°,
the shallower next the foot-hills and increasing as distance
from them is gained.

The lower member of this formation, the Red Beds, main¬
tains its usual appearance, and, with two exceptions, a nearly
constant thickness over the entire area under consideration.
The two variations in thickness are found, the one near the
southern extent of the tract, the other for a mile and a half
on either side of Clear creek. The former is of no particular
interest in the present discussion. The latter is attributable
to two causes : one, non-deposition at the base, due to a rise
in the Archsean floor and a consequent shallowing of the
sea at this point, the beds of the deeper water abutting against
this rise ; the other, the disappearance from the top of the

STRUCTURAL FEATURES IN THE FOOT-HILL REGION. 258

series, of the beds last laid down, including the Creamy
sandstone and at least one or two hundred feet of the beds
beneath. The linear extent of the disappearance of the
Creamy sandstone is probably somewhat under one mile,
and is chiefly confined to the region immediately north of
Clear creek, reaching to the south of it but slightly, if at all.
In this interval the clays of the Fox Hills are found in close
proximity to the Red Beds, the former conformable in strike
with the Laramie sandstones above, the latter pursuing their
usual trend, approximately parallel with the base of the range.

The upper member of the Trias presents nothing anom¬
alous in its occurrence until within a distance of about two
miles north and south of Clear creek, when a rapid dis¬
appearance of its beds successively from top downward is
found to occur as the center of the region is approached, the
limestones and associated beds at its base apparently reach¬
ing within a short distance of the limits already assigned for
the Creamy sandstones below. An extremely important
point in this connection is the fact that this disappearance
occurs while the overlying Jura is not only still present, but
maintains even the greater part of its thickness ; it occurs,
in fact, between the Jura above and the lower member of the
Trias, the Red Beds, beneath. The disappearance of this
series of strata is most marked, because more sudden, to the
north of Clear creek and Gold run, where within a distance
of between a half and three-quarters of a mile it has decreased
in thickness from 650 to 270 feet. The diminution in thick¬
ness to the south of Clear creek is also rapid, but over this
portion of the region the upper Triassic member is not
limited altogether by the Jura above, but in part by the
Dakota, with a discrepancy of at least 10° in their strike.
Farther to the south, where the Jura is present in nearly its
full thickness, the variation in thickness of the Upper Trias
is more gradual, but still to be associated with the local
phenomena of the region.

The Jura. — No extraordinary discrepancy in strike or in
general relations between this formation and either the under-

254

ELDRIDGE.

or over-lying one is apparent until upon near approach to
the confines of the region presenting the anomalies just
described for the Trias. Any decrease in the thickness of
the Jura beyond is little more than is usually met with from
point to point along the range. From about a mile south
and a mile and one-half north of Clear creek, however, the
beds of the formation disappear in rapid succession as the
center of the region is gained. Their strike is, moreover, at
variance with the formations both above and below : in the
southern part it is in noticeable contrast with that of the
Dakota, being some 10° or 15° to the east of the latter ; in
the northern portion not only is the same discrepancy prob¬
able between these two formations, but an equal one also
appears between the beds of the Jura and those of the Trias
below. The thinning of the Jura is in part probably due to
the absence of some of its lower beds, while the cause of its
sudden and final thinning is found in the rapid and succes¬
sive disappearance of, first, its upper beds, followed in turn
by those lying beneath.

The Dakota. — As ascent is gained in the series of forma¬
tions, the region of anomalies becomes more and more ex¬
tended in north and south directions. The Dakota begins
to display irregularities as far south as the northern end of
the high hog-back just south of Coon gulch, and in the
north at the southern end of the chain of hog-backs north
of Golden. The noticeable points in the behavior of the
southern half of the formation are : first , the disappearance
of the characteristic hog-back ; second, the gradual decrease
in thickness, which the outcrops of the remaining portions
show to be both from above and from below, the fireclays in
the middle of the formation being the last to disappear, as
evidenced at the bluffs of both Clear creek and Gold run •
third, the discrepancy in strike between this formation and
those below and above, its beds in the region of more pro¬
nounced irregularity lying across the edges of the former,
and abutted from above by the ends of the successive strata

STRUCTURAL FEATURES IN THE FOOT-HILL REGION. 255

of the Montana group throughout much of their line of con¬
tact; finally , frequent changes in the strike of its beds
oyer the central portion of the affected area, none of which
changes are paralleled by corresponding ones in the promi¬
nent sandstones at the base of the Laramie, lying but a short
distance to the east. In the northern half these same pecu¬
liarities are again met with, but in some particulars are
more strongly accented than in the southern : these are the
more sudden disappearance of the hog-back ; the rapidity
with which the formation thins ; the marked crumpling,
as shown in their strikes, to which its beds have been sub¬
jected without the overlying strata being in the least affected.
In dip the Dakota varies from 45° in its more normal occur¬
rence to vertical over the more disturbed, middle portion of
the field.

The Fort Benton. — This formation completely disappears
a short distance north of Coon gulch, and also at a point
about opposite the middle of the first liog-back north of
Golden. The southern portion has thinned very gradually
throughout a distance of three and one-half miles, while for
the northern member the disappearance has been completed
in a little less than a mile. In strike and dip the Fort
Benton conforms to the Dakota, but is overlain, after the
disappearance of the Niobrara, by successively higher strata
of the Fort Pierre and Fox Hills formations as the center of
the disturbed region is approached.

The Niobrara. — This, like the Fort Benton, disappears
only from above downward, but its limits are found con¬
siderably to the north and south of those of the correspond¬
ing members of the older formations. In strike and dip it
conforms with the Fort Benton and Dakota, and like them,
in passing from without inward, is overlain by successive
strata of the Fort Pierre, though nowhere brought in contact
with the higher member of the Montana group, the Fox
Hills. The disappearance of this formation is especially
well shown both in the north and south from the physical

31— Bull. Phil. Soc., Wash., Vol. 11.

256

ELDRIDGE.

character of its sediments, the upper, bright yellow or buff,
sand}^ measures, which often form a well marked outcrop,
first being lost, followed by the destruction of the argilla¬
ceous middle part of the series, and finally by the cutting
out of the prominent basal limestones themselves. The dis¬
appearance occurs in the south only a short distance north
of Bear creek, and in the north a quarter mile north of Van
Bibber creek.

The Montana. — This group in strike conforms strictly with
the overlying Laramie, the basal sandstones of which afford
a prominent and reliable key to the relations of these upper
formations with the ones already considered. The dip of the
component beds of the group, where all are present and in
normal occurrence, shows a gradual increase from 45° to 90°
as the distance increases from the base towards the summit.
Over the middle of the anomalous tract, however, the vertical
dip prevails, as in the case of nearly all the formations in
this portion of the area.

The fact of chief interest regarding the Montana group is
its remarkable and rapid disappearance between Bear and
Coal creeks as distance is gained from either of these streams
towards the center of the region at Golden. Immediately
north of Bear creek its strike relations with the underlying
formations are rather more exaggerated than at most other
points, and consequently moref clearly brought out in the
surface exposures there occurring. In this vicinity successive
beds of the Fort Pierre may be traced over their general line
of strike by means of their lithological characteristics and
the general prevalence of certain fossils at particular hori¬
zons, from points a thousand feet or more to the east of the
Niobrara at the bluffs of Bear creek to others within only
two or three hundred feet of the older formation, one or two
miles to the north. The angle thus made by the difference
in strike between the Niobrara and Fort Pierre is on an
average about 15°, but decreases to the north, opposite the
middle of the Dakota hog-back, beyond which the strikes are
for a considerable distance more nearly parallel.

STRUCTURAL FEATURES IN THE FOOT-HILL REGION. 257

In the northern part of the region, opposite the first hog¬
back north of Golden, the exposures of the Montana group
are rare, but a half mile north of Van Bibber creek and
from this point to Ralston, the discrepancy in strike observe
able to the south has for a time almost wholly disappeared ;
beyond Ralston creek, however, a divergence of 20° is still
noticed in the general trend of the Laramie and Dakota
sandstones, which extends to a line due east from the entrance
to the canon of Coal creek. This area is regarded as corre¬
sponding to that in the vicinity of Bear creek in the south,
over which a thickness of Montana beds equivalent to that
on the southern border of the field is regained, by which the
geological symmetry of the region is rendered complete.

Over the middle portion of the region the Montana beds
follow closely the behavior of the Laramie, but show fre¬
quent variations in thickness arfd corresponding changes in
their strike relations with the beds below. Regarding the
individual members of the Montana group, if the general
thickness of the Fox Hills is taken at between 800 and 1,000
feet, the Fort Pierre has not been deposited for a long dis¬
tance in the middle portion of the region, having gradually
thinned from the confines of the area towards the center of
Golden by successive losses of its lower beds. The Fox Hills
alone is of general occurrence, although its thickness, also,
over the central portion, varies greatly and often.

The Laramie. — The prominent feature of this formation is
its remarkable bend from a course approximately parallel to
the foot-hills and to the formations below to a broad sweep¬
ing curve, by which it is gradually carried to the westward
until at Golden, its point of greatest deviation, it lies between
two and three miles to the west of its former course. The
general trend is slightly wavy, but with reference to the
early Cretaceous and older formations, is of notable steadi¬
ness, passing all their individual deviations without the least
disturbance of its own. Its dip is vertical or slightly over¬
thrown for the entire length of the area under considera-

258

ELDRIDGE.

tion, and its basal sandstones form along their trend a char¬
acteristic series of combs.

Arapahoe and Denver. — The formations above the Laramie,
although in reality markedly unconformable with it and
with each other throughout the broad area over which they
have been deposited, nevertheless in the present tract so
closely follow the former in strike and dip that they display
no peculiarities worthy of note in the present discussion,
and in fact are only incidentally connected with the special
geological history here discussed.

Special irregularities. — The two irregularities in the super¬
ficial relations of the strata noticed upon the map — the one
just south of Ralston creek in the vicinity of the eruptive
dike, where a block of strata has been displaced to the east¬
ward, the other immediately north of Coal creek, where the
Dakota and formations below have been thrown into the
greatest relative confusion — are not connected in any way
with the phenomena which form the subject of this paper,
and will therefore only be alluded to as occasion demands.

Structural Features.

Dips. — A geological cross-section along Bear creek would
present a gradual increase in the dip of the several forma¬
tions from the Archaean outward at a rate about as follows :
35° E. for the Trias ; 38°-40° for the Dakota, Fort Benton,
and Niobrara; 45° for the lower part of the Fort Pierre, in¬
creasing to 55°-65° in the upper part ; 65°-80° from base to
summit for the Fox Hills, and 80°-90° and overthrown for
the Laramie, Arapahoe, and lower members of the Denver
formation. Three or four miles north of Bear creek, 10°-
15° may be added to the lesser of the foregoing dips, while
from Coon gulch to the vicinity of the hog-back first north
of Golden the formations of higher dip, having now become
vertical or slightly overthrown, remain so, and the Triassic
beds alone have an inclination under 80° or 90°. North of
this, where regularity in the formations once more prevails,

STRUCTURAL FEATURES IN THE FOOT-HILL REGION. 259

the dips settle back approximately to their normal amounts
as given at Bear creek.

The general fold 'parallel with the base of the Colorado
Range. — The surface exposures of the prominent and sharply
defined fold of general occurrence along the base of the Colo¬
rado Range and resulting from its uplift are, for the greater
part of the area under consideration, to be found within a
short distance of the line of union of the Denver and Arapa¬
hoe formations. North of Van Bibber creek, however, —
where the Denver formation ceases to exist, followed within
two or three miles by the disappearance of the Arapahoe, —
the bend is almost entirely transferred to the Laramie, the
Arapahoe for that part of the distance over which it is present
entering into it only in the slighest degree.

Faidts. — There are along the line of the older formations in
this region four easily recognized fault localities : one near
the termination of the Niobrara just north of Bear creek ; a
second in the isolated Dakota hill two miles south of Clear
creek ; the third near the southern end of the Dakota hog¬
back first north of Golden, and a fourth a half mile to the
south of the latter, near the line of union of the lower and
upper divisions of the Trias. The faults of each region have
the present appearance of approximately east and west cross¬
fractures, along which the ends of the upturned strata are
thrown to one side or the other. In the southern half of the
field the northern ends of the interfault blocks are carried to
the westward, while in the northern half it is the southern
ends that are carried to the westward. The fractures in the
isolated Dakota hill south of Clear creek are irregular and
apparently local in their character. As a rule, the extent of
throw of the faults mentioned is slight and confined to the
formations in which it has been stated they occur, a single
fracture only — one of those in the southern portion of the
area — extending beyond one or two hundred feet, this includ¬
ing both Niobrara and Dakota, but of a much less pronounced
character in the older formation than in the younger.

260

ELDRIDGE.

Structural Development of the Area.

Introductory. — The abnormal conditions which have been
noted in the relations of the several formations to each other
are directly traceable to a series of non-conformities that
exist at the particular horizons at which these conditions
occur. Excluding the higher ones of general occurrence
along the base of the mountains in this portion of Colorado —
that is, those between the Laramie and Arapahoe, and the
latter formation and the Denver beds — there are still to be
found four which are in some respects peculiar to this locality :
one between the Archaean and Trias, of special development
in this area ; a second at or near the close of the Trias ;
a third at the top of the Jura, and a fourth in the Cretaceous
at the close of the Colorado.

Entering most prominently into the history of these non¬
conformities are as many folds, all of which occurred prior to
the general uplift of the Rocky Mountains, and hence, with
the erosion going on at the time, represented a completely
different topography for the region from that of the present
day. When the great uplift of the Rocky Mountains brought
the beds into the position they now have, all hills, the result
of previous folding, were changed in their individual posi¬
tions from one in which the plane of their bases was hori¬
zontal to one in which it became vertical, or at least inclined
at a high angle, and parallel to the direction of the mount¬
ains. In the subsequent erosion of the region, therefore,
what would originally have peen a profile section of the
strata constituting these folds now appears in plan on the
present surface of the ground, all originally north and south
dips becoming present north and south strikes — in some
cases slightly altered in character by incidental variations
in the amount of folding in the general uplift of later times.

The detailed character and the contours of these ancient
elevations cannot be determined, the two dimensions given in
the profiles being naturally the only ones admitting of obser-

STRUCTURAL FEATURES IN THE FOOT-HILL REGION. 261

vation. The profiles, however, afford data quite sufficient to
furnish a clear insight into the general character of the non¬
conformities and the movements in the earth’s crust which
led up to them.

Periods in the Development.

First period. — Taking up now in detail the several events
in the geological history of this region by which it has
reached its present state of evolution, first: that which
brought about the non-conformity between the Archaean
and Trias. That there everywhere exists a general non¬
conformity between the rocks of these two ages is, of course,
well known, but within the region in question there is direct
evidence of a special development of the non-conformity,
which is, furthermore, borne out by the subsequent e-vents
which form the successive steps in the geological history of
the area. This evidence consists in the observed termina¬
tion of certain of the lower beds of the Trias against a
slightly projecting portion of the Archaean; in the impossi¬
bility on structural grounds of the whole amount of thin¬
ning which the Triassic beds have undergone being attribu¬
table to disappearance from the top and the consequent
necessity for its having taken place from below ; and in the
graphical development of an Archaean eminence, as repre¬
sented in profile I, by tracing backward from their present
positions through the series of figures given, the relative move¬
ments of the rocks of the several ages by which they have
been brought into these positions. The evidence is found
to lead directly to the following conclusions regarding the
first of the periods in the special history of this region with
which we have to deal.

Prior to the deposition of the Trias there had been de¬
veloped in the Archaean, partly by erosion and partly, per¬
haps, by compression, the elevation shown in section in pro¬
file I. Its height was probably 800 feet, and it had a linear
extent in a north and south direction of nearly four miles.
Against the sides of this Archaean elevation were laid down

262

ELDRIDGE.

the coarse sediments of the lower division of the Trias — the
Red Beds — which in time completely capped the hill along
the line of profile given, and finally buried its summit deep
beneath the accumulated material. General subsidence and
sedimentation continued uninterruptedly to or nearly to the
close of Triassic times, completing the first stage in the his¬
tory of events here considered.

Second period. — At the close of the Trias the region which
embraced the above events a second time yielded in a marked
degree to the forces of elevation and developed the gentle
arch of Triassic and Archaean strata shown in profile II.
The north and south extent of this arch was but slightty
greater than that of the one already described in Archaean
times, its crown — coincident with that of the earlier one —
lying about a half mile to the north of the present position
of Clear creek. The rise of the arch, as indicated by its
upper beds, was apparently about 420 feet, but subsequent
erosion must have planed it down from its original height
and shape to approximately the level line drawn across it
in the figure as the base of the Jurassic formation.

The evidence for the occurrence of the non-conformity at
this horizon and the fold which preceded it is found in the
disappearance of most of the upper members of the Trias
within the region of its influence, and in the divergence be¬
tween the present strikes of the formations on either side of
the line of unconformity — a divergence in strikes, it being
remembered, corresponding to an equivalent discrepancy in
the ancient dips, as shown in the profiles.

This line of non-conformity is naturally somewhat wavy,
and it is possible, indeed, that at some points along the mid¬
dle portion of the existing arch, through insufficient erosion,
the deposition of a part or even of the whole of the Jura may
not have taken place. The weight of the evidence, however,
is in favor of nearly complete deposition over the entire sec¬
tion, from the fact that wherever the formation now exists
it displays no tendency whatever to a protracted, gradual
thinning, as is the case in the disappearance of certain of

STRUCTURAL FEATURES IN THE FOOT-HILL REGION. 263

the other formations, but, on the contrary, disappears by
the sudden truncation of its strata in almost their full nor¬
mal thickness, clearly the effect of subsequent erosion.

The movement which brought about the elevation of the
Triassic strata must be regarded as synchronous with at least
a portion of that more prolonged or extensive movement by
which the sea was sooner or later shut out from certain areas
in the Rocky Mountain region of Colorado, causing either a
partial or an entire absence of marine beds, according to cir¬
cumstances, with a succeeding deposition of fresh-water strata
in which a lacustrine life appeared. In the area under dis¬
cussion the fresh-water Jurassic alone was laid down.

General subsidence of the entire region continued during
the deposition of the Jura upon and against the sides of the
Triassic eminence, and at its close the second period in the
geological development of the area was completed.

Third period. — This opened with still another uplift of all
the pre-existing sediments into the fold traced in profile III,
the rise of the arch in this case being approximately 1,000
feet. The figure shows the character of the fold on the line
of profile given to have been that of a long gentle slope from
the confines well towards the center, where, on further yield¬
ing to the compressive forces, a clearly denned median ridge
was produced. Erosion naturally went on in a more or less
irregular manner, but the general position of the hill and
its component strata relative to erosive forces was apparently
such as to cause the disappearance from the top of the Jura
over those parts of the slopes of gentle inclination of only
the most insignificant amounts of material, while over the
central or sharper portion of the fold the probable effect
was the complete removal of the beds of the Jura and Upper
Trias together with a partial removal of those of the Lower
Trias from the crown of the arch, and from the adjoining
flanks the material to the gently sloping line of union shown
between these formations and the Dakota lying across their
edges. Whether erosion reached an extent sufficient to per¬
mit the deposition of the Dakota and the lower part of the

32— Bull. Phil. Soe., Wash., Vol. 11.

264

ELDRIDGE.

Fort Benton clear across this rise is doubtful, but from the
rate of disappearance of the Dakota from below, it is prob¬
able that neither this formation nor the lower half of the
Fort Benton was here laid down.

The evidence for the conclusions given in the preceding
statements is clearly brought out in the strikes (ancient dips)
and surface relations of the formations to each other : notably,
in the divergence in strike and the truncation of the edges
of the Jura by the Dakota on the southern side of the gap
(profile III) ; in the thinning of the Dakota in such a man¬
ner as to eventually leave the fire-clay in its upper half in
contact with the older sediments at the two points where the
formation appears to end, in the south bank of Clear creek
and the north one of Gold run ; and in the ready reproduc¬
tion by graphic methods of the structural conditions observed
in the field and the natural sequence of events based thereon.

Sedimentation of the Dakota, Fort Benton, and Niobrara
continued uninterruptedly to the close of the latter time,
subsidence probably keeping pace. With this the third
period of development ended.

Fourth period. — The fourth period embraces the time dur¬
ing which the great elevation shown in profile IV was cre¬
ated, and in which the sediments of the Montana and over-
lying formations were laid down. The uplift of this time
was of much greater vertical and areal extent than any of
those which preceded it, the rise of the arch on the line of
section given reaching at least 9,500 feet, while its lateral
extent was not far from 21 miles. It is broadly symmetrical,
though there are several sub-flexures of a more or less pro¬
nounced curvature. The two of greatest prominence occur
midway either flank. The others, of minor development,
are confined chiefly to the higher part of the arch, and rep¬
resent a crumpling of a secondary nature along this portion
of the fold. This crumpling is well shown upon the present
surface of the region in the changes in strike of the affected
beds, which are in strong contrast with the unbroken direc¬
tion to which the strata of younger age hold. The possi-

STRUCTURAL FEATURES IN THE FOOT-HILL REGION.

265

bility of the presence of an occasional fault in the place of an
unbroken flexure as drawn in the profile is to be remarked,
notably, in the vicinity of Gold run and north of Coon
gulch at the points x, x of the profile. It so happens that
here and there a space intervening between two outcrops of
the same bed, lying in an indirect line from each other, is
so covered that it is quite impossible to observe the position
of the underlying strata ; but since in no case a sharp break
in the beds of the Archsean and Trias lying below the more
affected ones has been discovered, it is preferable to sketch
the irregularities as flexures rather than as faults.

Concerning the recognized faults in the northern and
southern halves of the arch, described on page 259, their true
character now readily appears in profile IV, where, upon
the restoration of the beds to their position in pre-Montana
times, the fractures are, with the local exception at the south
end of the Dakota hog-back north of Coon gulch, all found
to be of the normal type, either vertical or hading to the
downthrown side and away from the center of the uplift,
and similarly developed on either flank of the elevation.
The explanation of the normal type of fault under the at¬
tendant conditions may possibly be found in the readjust¬
ment of the strata brought about by subsidence during a
later period.

The profile of this ancient hill, at least on the line given
in the figure, is one of structure rather than erosion, the
unevenness in its outline being clearly traceable to the flex¬
ures underlying, the comparatively little erosion that has
taken place over the higher portion of the arch having been
regular in distribution, and thus having but slightly altered
the original outline of the upheaval. The height of the
elevation, however, has been reduced over 1,000 feet — to
8,481 — by the removal of the Niobrara, Fort Benton, and
Dakota.

The succession of events in the erosion, the transportation
of the derived material, the sedimentation in the adjacent
Montana seas, and the conditions which led up to each, are

266

ELDRIDGE.

in a degree speculative, but the inferences are : first, that soon
after the completion of the Niobrara period elevation began,
and so much of the hill as is above the altitude indicated
in the section by the height upon its flanks reached by
the upper layers of the Niobrara was then, sooner or later,
brought within the erosive power of waves or currents, and
the sediments last laid down, being now brought into a
favorable position, and still in a condition sufficiently soft
to permit their being easily broken down and comminuted,
were removed by the transporting powers of the waters
washing them ; secondly, that the conditions of sedimenta¬
tion in the immediate seas were the same as those in all
mediterranean or large inland seas or along the margins of
the continents at the present day — that is, comparatively
deep and quiet water at a distance somewhat remote from
the nearest coast line, which permitted the quiet settling of
the sediments which go to make up the clays of the Mon¬
tana group, and which correspond to those under which the
blue mud of sub-continental areas is now being deposited.

The apparent complete removal over the space originally
covered by them of the materials resulting from the break¬
ing down of the early Cretaceous strata is somewhat strik¬
ing, but it may readily be accounted for in the nature of the
formations removed, and in the action of waves and currents
and the long time through which the higher parts of the
elevation were probably subjected to them. Furthermore,
it cannot be positively asserted that the line of non-con¬
formity is as clear of debris as represented, since on the
steeper flanks of the arch it is rare that the beds above this
line can be traced to actual contact with those below ; still
further, it is to be remembered that nothing whatever is
known of the conditions on other profiles of this ancient hill.
During the deposition of the beds of the Montana group
gradual subsidence of the area at a generally uniform rate
must have taken place, the sedimentation, with two excep¬
tions, being that of quiet and deep water. The exceptions
noted — the sandy zone midway the Fort Pierre and the more

STRUCT UK AL FEATURES IN THE FOOT-HILL REGION. 267

arenaceous beds of the Fox Hills — are, however, not confined
to the area under consideration, and therefore bear no rela¬
tion to the phenomena here discussed.

With the general movement at the close of the Laramie
and those which produced the non-conformities between the
Arapahoe and Denver formations the peculiar structural
features here described have nothing to do.

Fifth period. — Upon comparing profile IV with the present
surface section of the same beds upon the general map of
the region, the early relations between the arched and hori¬
zontal strata, as shown in the profile, are observed in later
times to have completely interchanged. The once highly
arched strata below the line of non-conformity have now
assumed a practically direct trend, wrhile the strata above
the line of non-conformity, originally horizontal, have at
the present time a well-defined inward sweep towards the
mountains, reaching their limit of deviation in the vicinity
of Golden, or, looking at the latter feature with reference
to the profile itself, the Laramie and overlying strata have
acquired a downward bend at the center of the area, directly
over the crown of the arch of post-Niobrara times. Com¬
pare also figures 1 and 2, following.

The final movement which produced the present structural
conditions, together with the outpouring of the lavas of Table
Mountain midway the period of the Denver formation, are
regarded as constituting the fifth and closing stage in the
geological development of the area under discussion.

Discussion of Movements producing the present Structure.

ls£. Statement of the hypothesis upon which the argument
rests. — It is believed from the not infrequent occurrence,
either within the present area or in other parts of the Eocky
Mountains, of compound folds of the S type and of otherwise
contorted strata, from the presence of reversed faults, and
from the occurrence of the well-known folds 6 en echelon ”
that the theory of lateral compression as the means by which

268

ELDRIDGE.

the forces uplifting the range were generated, although not
accepted by all scientists, does, nevertheless, more completely
and satisfactorily fall in with the observed facts than any
other which can be suggested. It is not intended, however,
that this shall preclude the acceptance in the future of any
other grounds upon which it may be possible to establish a
still more satisfactory explanation of the phenomena form¬
ing the subject of this paper.

2d. Manner in which the forces of deration have locally
manifested themselves. — At various points along the base of
the Colorado Range occur strongly pronounced local pecul¬
iarities of structure, either faults, or folds of varying shape
and character, both secondary as to the general uplift of the
range. It is highly probable that these structural peculiari¬
ties are attributable to the general forces of elevation that
are acknowledged to have been in action through the several
geological periods here represented.

3 d. The unequal distribution of, or resistance to, the general
force of elevation. — Still further, it may unhesitatingly be
granted that the general force of elevation or the resistance
opposed to it has been more or less unevenly distributed
from point to point, and has acted, not always at an abso¬
lutely right angle to the axis of the range, but diagonally to
it, in one or more directions at the same time. Its direction
has in fact varied according to circumstances.

Ath. The development of the post-Niobrara fold. — In the
present area the distribution and directions of this force up
to immediate post-Niobrara time had been such as to eventu¬
ally bring into existence the fold of the general character
represented in the profiles, and in figure 1 beyond.

An analysis of this distribution and its effects shows that,
of the various components of this force, the major, which ex¬
ceeded all the others combined, was that acting in the gen¬
eral elevation of the range and directly against its axis —
that is, for the eastern base, with the arrows A (Fig. 1) west¬
ward. This had undoubtedly been in action with probably
but little interruption from earliest time. The other com-

STRUCTURAL FEATURES IN THE FOOT-HILL REGION. 269

ponents, secondary to that just noted, and acting in direc¬
tions more or .less normal to it, B (Fig. 1), were evidently
periodical in character. They reasserted themselves with

The profiles I- IV, inclusive, may be regarded as transverse (north and
south) sections of this secondary fold in the several stages of its develop¬
ment according to the geological time represented by each. Figure 1 is
more particularly a diagrammatic representation of the condition of affairs
at the close of the Laramie or at a point in time somewhere between this
and a stage early in the deposition of the Denver formation.

By the post-Laramie movement the strata were bent up against the range
nearly at right angles and afterwards truncated by erosion. This effect is
produced in the figure by supposing a slice of the block represented, to have
been turned down through an angle of 90°, as if hinged along the line C D.
The hinged portion is thus a diagrammatic representation of the superficial
outlines, as shown in detail by the map.

special intensity at the close of the Niobrara, effecting almost
entirely at this time the pronounced elevation under discus¬
sion, c (Fig. 1), the cross-section of which is that in profile
IV. The Montana, Laramie, Arapahoe, and early Denver

270

ELDRIDGE.

beds were then deposited upon this fold, closing the first
four periods of history discussed above.

5th. The readjustment of forces by which the structure of
post-Niobrara and Laramie times was changed to that of the
present day. — At the close of the events detailed in the last
paragraph there began a readjustment of the major forces
acting against the range, by which the fold of pre-Montana
age and its cap of horizontal strata gradually gave way to
the structure of later times. The results of this readjust¬
ment may have been developed prior to the time of the in¬
clusion of the affected area within the general uplift of the
range, but were more probably synchronous with it.

The complex movement which brought about these results
may properly be resolved into two chief components. The
first of these includes the movement by which the strata
composing the pre-Montana fold were brought from their
position, as represented in profile IV, to that which they
hold in the natural section given by the outlines on the
map. The effect of this movement can be seen in diagram¬
matic representation, shorn of all complicated details, by com¬
paring figure 1, which shows the conditions previous to the
movement, with figure 2, which shows those subsequent to
it. In this movement the strata resting horizontally upon
the pre-Montana fold of necessity followed the recession of
the beds beneath, assuming the position of the synclinal
depression d in Fig. 2, or the highly curved position — the
result of the synclinal position — which they hold in the sec¬
tion on the map. The second component is the movement
specially involved in the elevation of the range, by which
the strata were brought into the highly inclined position
they hold along its base at the present time.

6th. Readjustment of the forces accounted for. — The read¬
justment of the forces effecting such important structural
changes can be accounted for by relief from the compression
to which the strata had been subjected, brought about be¬
yond the immediate region here considered. The exciting
cause may have been elevations in other areas, or even an
increase in the force of the general lateral thrust to the north

STRUCTURAL FEATURES IN THE FOOT-HILL REGION. 271

and south of the field, accompanied by a variation from its
normal western direction to directions diagonal to the range
and divergent as this is approached, by which the original
north and south compressive forces would have been com¬
pensated by the components of the later one acting in the
reverse direction respectively (B, Fig. 2). Equilibrium hav¬
ing been restored over the area in question, and a portion
of the affected region having become involved in the gen¬
eral uplift of the range, which still continued, by subsequent
erosion and the formation of the plane surface of the present
day the underlying strata became exposed in the superficial
section now existing.

7 th. Relation of the basalt eruption to the above events. — The
eruption of the Table Mountain basalt took place e&rly
in the period of the Denver formation, approximately after
the deposition of about one-third of the series had been com¬
pleted and some time before the strata had assumed the ex¬
tremely high angles they now have. With regard to its re¬
lations to the phenomena forming the subject of this paper,
it is possible that the subsidence of the Niobrara fold and
the horizontal beds capping it may have been, in its later
stages, synchronous with the eruption of the basalt masses
in Denver times and perhaps in a measure due to it. The
fissures through which the pent-up lavas found relief may
have been the result of the almost constant bending to .
which the rocks were subjected, and their appearance may
have thus constituted the final event in the history of a
place remarkable for its dynamic movements.

The Views of Others on the Structure of this

Region.

Before closing this paper it is desirable to notice the views
of the late Mr. Marvine and Professor Ward in regard to the
structure of this region.

The views of Marvine. — These are given in Vol. VII (1873)
of the Hayden Reports, where he has expressed in the briefest
possible manner the idea of non-appearance of strata due to

30— Bull. Phil. Soc., Wash., Vol. 11.

272

ELDRIDGE.

an actual “ thinning of the original deposits * * * from

conditions naturally attending the laying down of new for¬
mations upon the newly prepared and hence uneven surfaces
of older rocks.” He also mentions, as an alternative, the
possibility of a fault accounting for the structural peculiari¬
ties, but remarks the limited knowledge of the locality which
he then possessed. The unpublished results of his work
during the season of 1874 unfortunately cannot be traced,
and therefore his final views must remain unknown ; but
the brief statement given above leads one to believe that he
would in the end have reached a solution not far different
from the one presented in the foregoing pages.

The views of Ward. — These are to be found in the Sixth
Annual Report of the present Geological Survey of the
United States, pp. 537— ’8, where, referring to the strata in
the vicinity of Golden, between Table Mountain and the
Cretaceous [Montana group] — which embraces the Denver,
Arapahoe, and Laramie formations, but which are all in¬
cluded by him in the Laramie, irrespective of stratigraphical
evidence — he remarks as follows : “ The strata are conform¬
able, and both the Cretaceous and the Laramie are tilted so
as to be approximately vertical. At the base of South Table
Mountain the strata are horizontal, and the line dividing
the vertical from the horizontal strata could be detected at
certain points. A measurement from this line to the base of
the coal seam was made at one place and showed 1,700 feet
of upturned edges of Laramie strata. It is probable that we
here have the very base of the formation.

“ The geology of Golden is very complicated, but my ob¬
servations led me to conclude that during the upheaval of
the Front Range a break must have occurred along a line
near the western base of Table Mountain, forming a crevice
through wdiich issued the matter that forms the basaltic cap
of these hills. The eastern edge of a broad strip of land
lying to the west of this break dropped down until the entire
strip of land assumed a vertical position or was tilted some¬
what beyond the perpendicular. This brought the Laramie

STRUCTURAL FEATURES IN THE FOOT-HILL REGION. 273

on the east side of the Cretaceous, with its upper strata at the
extreme eastern, while the coal seam at its base occupied the
extreme western side of the displaced rock. The degree of
inversion varies slightly at different points, and may have
been much greater in some places. This will probably ac¬
count for the discovery at one time of a certain Cretaceous
shell (Mactra) above a vein of coal in a shaft about four miles
north of Golden, and about which considerable has been said
in discussing the age of the Laramie group. I visited the
spot, but found the strata so covered by wash that I was
unable to determine their nature.”

In the above views there are four points demanding re¬
plies, although one — that regarding a certain Cretaceous
shell — is somewhat irrelevant. The first point is the re¬
mark as to the conformability of all the strata from the
Denver beds to the Montana group. Although no discrep¬
ancy in dip or strike is noticed between them in the vicinity
of the Table Mountains, a study of the whole region has
abundantly proved the existence of several non-conformities,
by evidences of erosion, by the areal distribution of the out¬
crops, and by the character of the component materials of
the various formations. The second point is the crevice near
the western base of Table Mountain through which issued
the basalt of the region. As a matter of fact, no evidence of
such a crevice, nor of the dike which would still remain as
its filling, exists along the well-exposed base of the hills.
Furthermore, the outpouring of the basaltic sheets is entirely
accounted for by the great Ralston dike and the irregular
eruptive body near its southern end, and hence there is no
necessity for assuming a further fracturing of the strata to
give it a vent at some other point in the field. The third point,
the fault, into which Professor Ward has developed the break,
beyond a doubt coincides in locality with the great fold which
occurs all along the eastern base of the Colorado Range, by
which the beds to the west of it are sharply upturned, often
to a vertical or reversed dip, while their continuance to the
east of the axis is at a dip of but the slightest amount. This

274

ELDRIDGE.

curve may at times be complete within a distance of fifty
feet. A fault is, therefore, unnecessary to explain the abrupt
change from the vertical to the horizontal position. More¬
over, observations show that the Denver and Arapahoe beds
actually take part in this fold at a point directly opposite
South Table Mountain. The complicated geology of the
region would very naturally lead one to mistaken conclu¬
sions unless a thorough knowledge was possessed not only
of the area of disturbance here considered, but also of the
general structure of the region far beyond. The fourth
point in the quoted remarks of Professor Ward relates to
the manner in which he accounts for the fossil Mactra found,
according to prior statements, “over” the coal. As a matter
of fact, the fossil does not occur over the coal, but beneath it,
in its usual position in the Fort Pierre bed, its apparent posi¬
tion being due to lying within a locally faulted area, the beds
of which have been thrown to the eastward of the general
trend of the coal in the unaffected area to the south and
north.

The views of Others. — In addition to the views of the above
gentlemen, others have from time to time been expressed,
implying belief in a fault in the vicinity of Golden to ac¬
count for the peculiarities of structure there displayed. In
reply to this it need only be stated that no fault can be con¬
ceived which will at once account for the several features in
the geology of this region as exposed over the present sur¬
face of the area and set forth in the preceding pages of this
article.

Vertical and Horizontal Scale the same.

BULL. PHIL. SOC. WASH., VOL.Xl, PLATE Z.

LARAMIE

fox HILLS

MONTANA

NIOBRARA I

— COLORADO

fT. BENTON J
JJAKOTA
JURA

UPPER TRIAS

ILOWER TRIAS

CHAEAN

GEOLOGICAL MAP OF THE VICINITY OF GOLDEN

— I mile-

contour INTERVAL 100 FT.

THE PROGRESS OF METEORIC ASTRONOMY IN

AMERICA.

BY

John Robie Eastman.

[Read before the Society April 12, 1890.]

TABLE OP CONTENTS.

Page.

Introduction _ 276

Abstracts of Theories _ 278

, Authors :

Rev. Thomas Clap _ 278

Dr. W. G. Reynolds _ 278

Prof. Edward Hitchcock _ 279

Prof. D. Olmstead _ 279

E. C. Herrick _ 281

Prof. Benjamin Peirce _ 281

Prof. S. C. Walker _ 281

Prof. Peter A. Browne _ 282

Prof. J. Lawrence Smith _ 283

Dr. B. A. Gould _ 283

Prof. II. A. Newton _ 285

Prof. A. C. Twining _ 285

Prof. H. A. Newton _ 285

Prof. A. C. Twining _ 286

B. Y. Marsh _ 286

Prof. II. A. Newton _ ^ _ 287

Prof. Daniel Kirkwood _ 290

Prof. H. A. Newton _ _ 290

Prof. S. Newcomb _ 291

Prof. W. Harkness _ 291

Prof. Daniel Kirkwood _ 291

Jacob Ennis _ 291

Prof. Pliny Earle Chase _ 292

Prof. H. A. Newton _ 292

Prof. J. W. Mallet _ 292

34— Bull. Phil. Soc., Wash., Vol. 11. (275)

276

. EASTMAN.

Page.

Authors :

Prof. A. W. Wright _ _ 292

Prof. IT. A. Newton _ 292

Prof. IT. A. Newton _ _ 297

Examination of Theories _ 298

Meteors _ _ ! _ _ 298

Comets _ 800

Comets and Meteors _ _ _ 302

Lockyer’s Theories _ _ 305

Huggins on the Spectra of the Aurora and of Nebulae _ 310

Liveing and Dewar on the Spectra of Nebulae and of Magnesium. 310

Conclusions _ _ _ 311

Observations of Meteors _ _ 312

Catalogues _ 313

I. Observed Meteorites _ 316

II. Discovered Meteorites, date of discovery given _ 318

III. Discovery of Meteorites, date of discovery unknown _ 322

IY. Meteor Showers _ _ _ 324

Y. Sporadic Meteors _ 336

Introduction.

The progress of Meteoric Astronomy through its succes¬
sive stages of development has been so peculiar in America,
especially in the United States, that, unlike almost all the
other branches of Astronomy and Physics, its advance may
be thoroughly discussed with very little reference to the im¬
portant growth which it has made in Europe.

From the nature of the phenomena it is evident that the
ajiparition and fall of meteors must have compelled the at¬
tention of mankind through all ages, but the earliest records
are at least obscure. While there may be some claim to
authenticity in the early allusions to what was apparently
meteoric phenomena, there seem to be no trustworthy obser¬
vations until about 600 B. C.

From that time the falls of a great number of meteors and
meteorites were recorded with more or less accuracy and
detail, but no special attention was attracted to the observa¬
tion and study of such phenomena until the publication of
a paper in 1794, by Chladni, on a mass of meteoric iron

PROGRESS OP METEORIC ASTRONOMY IN AMERICA. 277

found in Siberia by Dr. Pallas, a well-known naturalist.
About this time several noted meteorites fell in Europe, and
in 1802 Edward Howard published in the Philosophical
Transactions a paper entitled “ Experiments and observa¬
tions on certain stony substances which at different times
are said to have fallen on the earth.” This paper contains,
probably, the account of the first chemical analysis of a
meteorite ever made.

Nearly all the publications referring to meteors, both in
Europe and America, up to the year 1883 were confined to
vague theories and brief speculations with regard to their
origin.

The very important meteoric shower on the morning of
April 20, 1803, was the first well-defined phenomenon of that
class in this country of which there seems to be any record.
There is no evidence that it was well observed except at
Portsmouth, N. H., and at Richmond, Va., and no recurrence
of this shower of any notable magnitude has since been ob¬
served. Graphic accounts of this phenomenon were printed
in “ The New Hampshire Gazette,” of Portsmouth, N. IT.,
May 31, 1803, and in “ The Virginia Gazette and General
Advertiser,” of Richmond, Va., May 23, 1803, but appar¬
ently no scientific interest or discussion was developed.

The wonderful display of meteors on the morning of No¬
vember 14, 1833, which was seen throughout the Atlantic
coast of the United States, gave a decided impulse to the
study of the subject and suddenly brought the principal
American observers into prominence.

The serious study of meteoric phenomena in America
may be said to date from this epoch.

The earliest studies immediately developed theories, more
or less fantastic, to account for the varied but startling dis¬
play in the heavens.

The first theories, derived from only a few facts, naturally
presented the greatest range of speculation.

As phenomena multiplied, the limits of speculation were

278

EASTMAN.

notably contracted, and in 1834 the germ of the true theory
of meteoric motion was presented, but not developed.

The most accurate idea of the progress of the science of
Meteoric Astronomy can be obtained, without doubt, from
an examination of the principal theories.

Abstracts of Theories.

The following abstracts of these theories are presented in
chronological order, and in each case the language of the
author is employed if practicable.

Probably the first paper printed in this country which ad¬
vances any theory of the nature or the motion of meteors
was written by Rev. Thomas Clap, ex-president of Yale Col¬
lege, and was printed in Norwich, Connecticut, in 1781. He
concluded that “ our observations have heretofore been so
imperfect as that we cannot easily determine minute circum¬
stances ; but the general theory seems highly probable, if
not certain, that these superior meteors are solid bodies, half
a mile in diameter, revolving around the earth in long
ellipses, their least distance toeing about twenty or thirty
miles ; that by their friction upon the atmosphere they
make a constant rumbling noise and collect electrical fire,
and when they come nearest .the earth or a little after, being
then overcharged, ,they make an explosion as loud as a
large cannon.”

In 1819 W. G. Reynolds, M. D., of Middletown Point, N.
J., published a paper 1 advocating the theory that “ Meteors
proceed from the earth. They arise from certain combina¬
tions of its elements with solar heat, and meteoric stones are
the necessary results of the decomposition of these combina¬
tions.”

After the shower of 1833 elaborate accounts of the event
were written by several scientific observers, and various con¬
clusions and theories were deduced.

Prof. Edward Hitchcock ,2 of Amherst College, Mass., con-

1 A. J. S., Iv 266.

2 A. J. s., XXYj, 354.

PROGRESS OF METEORIC ASTRONOMY IN AMERICA. 279

eluded that “ there was a point from which most of the
meteors seemed to emanate ; that this radiant corresponded
to that point in the dome of the heavens to which the mag¬
netic needle would point if left free to move vertically and
horizontally, and that meteors are only modifications of the
Aurora Borealis.”

Prof. D. Olmstead,1 of Yale College, discussed at length the
meteors of November 13, 1833, with the following conclu¬
sions :

“ 1st. The meteors originated beyond the limits of our at¬
mosphere and fell towards the earth, in straight and nearly
parallel lines, from a point 2,238 miles above the surface of
the earth.

“ 2d. Their velocity on entering the earth’s atmosphere was
about four miles per second.

“ 3d. They consisted of light, transparent, combustible mat¬
ter, and took fire and were consumed in traversing the at¬
mosphere.”

Prof. Olmstead finally concluded that “ the meteors of
November 13 consisted of portions of the extreme parts of a
nebulous body which revolves around the sun in an orbit
interior to that of the earth, but little inclined to the plane
of the ecliptic, having its aphelion near to the earth’s path
and having a periodic time of 182 days, nearly.”

After discussing the November meteors of 1836, Prof.
Olmstead2 concluded that “ the zodiacal light might be the
source of those meteors, and therefore was not a portion of*
the sun’s atmosphere, but a nebulous or cometary body re¬
volving around the sun within the earth’s orbit nearly in
the plane of the solar equator, approaching at times very
near to the earth, and having a periodic time of either one
year or half a year, nearly.”

On the 28th of April, 1840, Mr. E. C. Herrick 3 read before
the Connecticut Academy of Arts and Sciences a paper on

1 A. J. S., xxvq, 132.
3 A. J. S., XL1? 349.

2 A. J. S., XXXID 386.

280

EASTMAN.

“ The history of star-showers of former times,” in which he
presented a brief account of all the records he had been able
to find, together with the following tabular chronological
account of star-showers, where the dates are reduced to Gre¬
gorian style :

Chronological List of Star-Showers.

Number.

Date.

Number.

Date.

1

B. C. 1768.

21

A. D. 1060.

2

B. 0. 686.

22

“ 1090.

3

A. D. 7.

23

“ 1094.

4

“ 532.

24

“ 1095, April 10.

5

“ 558.

25

“ 1096, April 10 (?).

6

“ 585, September 6 (?).

26

“ 1106, February 19.

7

“ 611.

27

“ 1122, April 11.

8

“ 744 or 747.

28

“ 1199, October (?).

9

“ 750.

29

“ 1202, October 26.

10

“ 764 (?), March.

30

“ 1243, August 2.

11

“ 765, January 8.

31

“ 1366, October 30.

12

“ 829.

32

££ 1398.

13

“ 855, October 21.

33

££ 1399, October (?).

14

“ 899, November 18.

34

££ 1635 or 1636.

15

“ 901, November 30.

35

££ 1743, October 15.

16

£‘ 902, October 30.

36

££ 1799, November 12.

17

“ 912 or 913.

37

££ 1803, April 20.

18

11 931 or 934, October 19.

38

££ 1832, November 13.

19

“ 935, October (?).

39

££ 1833, November 13.

20

“ 1029, July or August.

PROGRESS OF METEORIC ASTRONOMY IN AMERICA. 281

Of the theory of meteors, Mr. Herrick wrote :

“ The most probable hypothesis is that there are revolving
around the sun millions of small planetary and nebulous
^bodies of various magnitudes and densities, and that when
any of these dart through our atmosphere they become
ignited and are seen as shooting-stars.”

In discussing a paper on meteors by Prof. Erman (Schu¬
macher’s Ast. Nach. No. 385) Prof. Benjamin Peirce j after
pointing out an error in Erman’s work, concludes in these
words : “ The plane of the meteors cannot differ much from
that of the ecliptic, and their relative velocity cannot exceed
one-third of the earth’s velocity. A ring so nearly in the
plane of the earth’s orbit must be subject to great perturba¬
tions ; and, if there is one, I think that no observations which
we can make will enable us to calculate its motions with any
degree of accuracy.”

On January 15, 1841, Prof. S. C. Walker1 2 read a paper
before the American Philosophical Society, “ On the peri¬
odical meteors of August and November,” in which the fol¬
lowing points were discussed :

The relative velocities of meteors ;

The relative directions of meteors in space ;

The periodical or anniversary display of meteors ;

The respective plausibilities of the hypotheses of a single
cluster with a half-yearly or yearly period, or that of a con¬
tinuous ring for the periodical meteors of August and No¬
vember ;

The theories of aerolites and shooting-stars ;

The variation of the relative velocity and of the conver¬
gent point ;

And principally the investigation of formulae for com¬
puting the elliptic elements of the orbit of a meteor from its
observed relative velocity and direction.

In 1844 an “ Essay- on Solid Meteors and Meteoric Stones”

1 Trans. Am. Phil. Soc., VIII2, 83.

2 Trans. Am. Phil. Soc., VIII2, 87.

282

EASTMAN.

was published by Prof. Peter A. Browne , of La Fayette
College.

The author devoted the first and larger portion of his
paper to proving the solidity of meteors.

The latter portion of his essay was confined to the exami¬
nation and rejection of all the theories previously advanced,
which, briefly stated, were :

1st. Dr. Halley’s theory that meteors were nothing but a
stratum of inflammable vapor, gradually raised from the
earth and accumulated in an elevated region, which sud¬
denly took fire at one end and the progress of the flame
along the stratum produced the apparent motion of the
meteor.

2d. The theory in Luke Howard’s Meteorology that hy¬
drogen gas dissolves various bodies, even iron, and that is
evolved, mixed with carbon in the gaseous state, from the
earth in large quantities, is collected in vast fields in the air,
is fired by electric explosions, and, the gasses burning out,
they let fall the earthy and metallic contents precipitated
and agglutinated as we find them in aerolites.

3d. Prof. Soldani’s theory that meteoric stones are gener¬
ated in the air by a combination of mineral substances which
had risen as exhalations from the earth.

4th. Dr. Reynolds’ theory, previously given in this paper.

5th. Dr. Blagden’s theory that meteors are electrical phe¬
nomena.

6th. The theory of Patrick Murray that meteors originate
in the local atmosphere of the earth, and their explosions are
due to electrical action.

7tli. The theories of Brewster and La Grange that meteors
are bodies thrown off from the earth by volcanic action.

8th. The theories of Hutton and La Place that meteors
are thrown from volcanoes in the moon.

9th. Newton’s theory that they proceed from the tail of a
comet.

10th. They are terrestrial comets — a theory maintained by
Professors Clap and Day and by Carvallo.

PROGRESS OF METEORIC ASTRONOMY IN AMERICA. 283

11th. The theory that they were solids that have been
floating in space from the beginning ; advocated by Chladni,
Franklin, and Rittenhouse.

12th. The theory of Olbers that they are fragments of an
exploded planet.

13th. The theory of Quetelet that they belong to a zone
through which the earth passes annually.

14th. The theory of Boubee that they are fragments of an
exploded comet.

These theories are all rejected as disproved or absurd ; but
the author advances no theory as a substitute. He announces,
however, that, to his mind, “ the most probable supposition
yet made is that the solid meteors may possibly emanate
from the sun,” though no serious attempt is made to prove
the proposition.

In a paper read by Prof. J. Lawrence Smith before the
American Association for the Advancement of Science, in
April, 1854, the author 1 advocated the theory of the lunar
origin of meteors, which he stated as follows : “ The moon
is the only large body in space, of which we have any knowl¬
edge, possessing the requisite conditions demanded by the
physical and chemical properties of meteorites ; and they
have been thrown off from that body by volcanic action
(doubtless long since extinct), and, encountering no gaseous
medium of resistance, reached such a distance as that the
moon exercised no longer a preponderating attraction, the de¬
tached fragment possessing an orbital motion and an orbital
velocity which it had in common with all parts of the moon,
but now more or less modified by the projectile force and new
condition of attraction in which it was placed in reference
to the earth, acquired an independent orbit more or less
elliptical. This orbit, necessarily subject to great disturbing
influences, may sooner or later cross our atmosphere and be
intercepted by the body of the globe.”

In 1859 2 Dr. B. A. Gould read a paper before the Ameri-

*A. J. S., XIX2, 343.

35— Bull. Phil. Soe. Wash., Vol. 11.

2 Proc. A. A. A. S. 1859, 181.

284

EASTMAN.

can Association for the Advancement of Science to disprove
the theory that meteors had their origin in lunar valcanoes.

Assuming that a lunar volcano, may eject masses of matter
with the requisite velocity to pass beyond the region where
the lunar gravitation predominates over the terrestrial and
the masses become obedient to the earth’s attraction, Dr.
Gould examines in detail the consequences to which the
theory of the lunar origin of meteorites would necessarily
lead, and presents his conclusions as follows :

“ From the foregoing considerations we are warranted in
assuming that for every body expelled from lunar volcanoes
with a force adapted for throwing to the earth an aerolite of
average dimensions there are, in probability, at the very
least one hundred and eighty bodies expelled with forces
not thus adapted ; that for every mass ejected with the av¬
erage force of a lunar volcano and striking the earth, there
are at least one hundred and eighty masses of inadequate
dimensions ejected ; and that for any given combination of
volcanic force and projected mass, the region of the lunar
surface, whence the mass may reach the earth, is exceeded
in extent by the tract of the lunar surface whence this would
be impossible, in the ratio of fifty to one. Combining these
several individual probabilities, it will readily be perceived
that not more than

i_ v i v —1 — i _

of all the ejected lava masses, or about 3 in 5,000,000 of each
possible size, would probably ever reach the earth as aero¬
lites ; nor is this an unsafe estimate. It is a very guarded
oi^e, and the fraction % w oeo"o"o would be more likely to be
correct. Now, can we regard it as probable that the moon
has parted with so large an amount of matter as nearly, if
not quite, two million times the combined mass of all the
aerolites which have fallen to the earth? I think not.
Even of those known to have fallen there are more than five
hundred of various weights, one of them having a mass of
thirty thousand pounds. The tokens of such a mass of
gravitative matter as this would imply could not fail to be

PROGRESS OF METEORIC ASTRONOMY IN AMERICA. 285

legibly inscribed in the unerring and enduring records of
our system. They would preclude the accordance which
is found to exist between the present lunar theory and the
ancient observations. They would be found to be incon¬
sistent with the known values of precession and nutation.
They might, indeed, almost be said to be incompatible with
the present mass of the moon.”

From the observations of the meteor of November 15, 1859,
Prof. H. A. Newton l, of Yale College, concluded that it must
have moved in a hyperbolic orbit, and that we have, there¬
fore, two sources of meteors — the solar system and stellar
space.

With regard to the periodic meteors of August, Mr. A. C.
Twining 2, of New Haven, concluded that “ the radiant is
probably capable of a far more exact determination than is
ordinarily supposed or than could have been anticipated,
and it is apparently subject to a motion of several degrees
from day to day, and a motion which exhibits some remark¬
able points of agreement in the comparison of one year’s
positions with those of other years.”

From a discussion of the peculiar characteristics of the
August meteors Prof. IP. A. Newton 3 came to the following
conclusions :

1st. The individual meteors are cosmical bodies.

2d. They are permanent members of the solar system, re¬
volving about the sun in elliptic orbits.

3d. The direction and Velocity of the relative motion, and
therefore of the absolute motion of the individual bodies, are
nearly the same.

4th. The whole group forms what may be considered a
ring or disk around the sun.

5th. The periodic time is two hundred and eighty-one
days.

1 A. J. s., XXX2, 186.

3 A. J. S., XXXII2, 448.

2 A. J. S., XXXII2, 444.

286

EASTMAN.

In the same paper Professor Newton estimates the whole
number of meteors in the August ring as 300,000,000,000,000.

In March, 1862, A. C. Tivining l, published a paper entitled
“ Investigations respecting the phenomena of meteoric rings
as affected by the earth,” and arrived at the following con¬
clusions : “ The position of the node of the ring cannot be
shifted by the earth’s action more than a degree or two in
half a million of years ; there is an appreciable change of
radiant positions, relative to locality on the earth’s surface
and to the hour of the day, whose maximum is about 3 j° be¬
tween the extremes and to which the extremes approach ; the
terrestrial disturbance is sufficient to affect the perihelion
distance of the meteors by many millions of miles and to
expand the ring to a corresponding breadth at' the ascend¬
ing node ; also to collect together in orbits, of similar ele¬
ments, those meteors which are similarly affected in respect
of radiant positions; and terrestrial disturbances do not ap¬
pear sufficient to draw off meteors into permanently erratic
orbits ; so that, unless in exceptional instances, meteors are
not lost to the ring other than those which the atmosphere
absorbs or arrests. If meteors are partially arrested without
being dissipated in an excessively tenuous upper medium
it may be possible that the ordinary and unconformable
meteors are such as have missed a return to the ring under
the effect of atmospheric retardation.”

Mr. Twining appends the suggestion that, “ perhaps comets
whose vastly extended atmospheres or heads around the
nucleus, although greatly attenuated are perhaps competent
to arrest meteors completely, may be found in rare instances
to have been disturbed by impact with a meteoric ring whose
mere attractive influence it would not be possible to detect.”

In 1863, Mr. B. V. Marsh,2 of Philadelphia, published a
paper on “ The luminosity of meteors as affected by latent
heat,” in which he arrived at the following results : “ The
upper regions of the atmosphere, even to its utmost limit,

1 A. J. S., XXXIII2, 244.

2 A. J. S., XXXVI2, 92.

PROGRESS OF METEORIC ASTRONOMY IN AMERICA. 287

are grand reservoirs of latent heat most admirably adapted
to the protection of the earth from collision with bodies ap¬
proaching it with planetary velocity from without. The
intruder is instantly surrounded with a fiery envelope heated
to the greatest conceivable intensity ; its surface is burned off
or dissipated|into vapor; the sudden expansion of the stratum
immediately beneath the burning surface tears the body into
fragments, each of which, retaining its planetary velocity, is
instantly surrounded by a similar envelope, which produces
like effects, and so on until, in most cases, the whole is burned
up or vaporized.” A second paper on the same subject, and
of similar import, was published by Mr. Marsh in the Pro¬
ceedings of the American Philosophical Society, vol. XIV,
114.

From an examination of the list of November meteor
showers from A. D. 902 to A. D. 1833 Prof. H. A. Newton1
concluded that “ the star-shower has a motion along the
sidereal year of one day in seventy years, and also that the
shower has a period of about a third of a century. This
precession seems to imply that the orbit of the body furnish¬
ing these meteors has only a small inclination to the ecliptic,
and that the motion is retrograde. The small distance of
the radiant from the point to which the earth is moving,
viz., 7°, confirms this conclusion.”

In an article on the peculiarities of the November meteors,
Prof. H. A. Newton 2 arrived at the following conclusions :
“ The length of the annual period as determined from the
showers in A. D. 902 and 1833, reckoning 233 leap years,
19 odd days, and adding six hours for difference of longi¬
tude, is 365 + (233 ^J9'25) ? Q r 365.271 days. The length of the
cycle is 33.25 years.

“ The length of the part of a cycle during which showers
may be expected may be five or six years or, for extraordi¬
nary displays, at least 2.25 years. The supposition of a
ring of uniform density throughout its circuit seems im¬
probable.

1 A. J. S., XXXVI,, 300.

2 A. J. S., XXXVIII,, 53.

288'

EASTMAN.

“ The elements of the mean of the orbits of the different
groups composing the partial ring are :

Semi-major axis = 0.98049,

Inclination = 17°,
and the ring is nearly circular.

“ The velocity with which these bodies enter the earth’s
atmosphere is about 20.17 English miles per second.”

The most elaborate American paper on meteors up to the
date of its publication was prepared in 1865 by Prof. II. A.
Newton ,* who discussed the subject under the following divi¬
sions, the conclusions being briefly stated in each case :

“ 1st. The average altitude of the middle points of the
luminous portions of the meteor paths is found to be 59.4
English miles.

■“ 2d. The relative frequency of meteors when the heavens
were divided into eight equal parts was about equal in all —
perhaps a slight preponderance in the southeast — and the
relative frequency in different parts of the visible heavens
may be considered a function of the zenith distance only.

“ 3d. Not quite one in fifty of all the meteors seen at any
one place should have the middle points of their apparent
paths within 10° of the zenith.

“ 4th. The number of visible meteors that come into the
atmosphere every day would be 10,460 times the number
visible at one station ; or the average number that traverse
the atmosphere daily, that are large enough to be seen with
the naked eye, if the sun, moon, and clouds would permit,
would be 30 x 24 x 10,460 = 7,531,000.

“ 5th. The number of meteoroids in the space which the
earth traverses is discussed at length and formulae are de¬
rived for computing the whole number when the average
number is known for a given unit of time.

“ 6th. The average length of the apparent paths derived
from 213 European and 803 American observations is 12°.6.

“ 7th. Adopting the theory that for every meteor visible to

1 Mem. Nat. Acad. Sciences I, 291.

PROGRESS OF METEORIC ASTRONOMY IN AMERICA. 289

the naked eye there are 52.7 that are visible through a comet-
seeker, the whole number of meteoroids coming daily into
the air is 400,000,000.

“ 8th. The mean distance of the meteors from the observer
is less than 144 miles.

“ 9th. The mean foreshortening of the meteor paths by per¬
spective is from 16°. 0 to 12°. 6.

“ 10th. The average length of the visible part of meteor
paths is between 24 and 40 or 21 and 34 miles ; probably
nearer 21 and 34 miles.

“11th. The mean duration of flight is not* much, if any,
greater than half a second of time.”

Prof. II. A. Newton1 discussed the observations of the al¬
titudes of seventy-eight meteors observed on November 13-14,
1863, at Washington, Haverford College, Germantown, Phil¬
adelphia, and other points, giving diagrams exhibiting the
altitudes of these meteors, and also of thirty-nine meteors
observed in August, 1863, with the following results :

November

meteors.

Mean altitude at appearance . . 96.2 miles.

Mean altitude at disappearance . 60.8 “

Mean altitude of middle point of
path . 78.5 “

August me¬
teors.

69.9 miles.
56.0 “

62.9 “

In a paper on “ The Theory of Meteors ” Prof. Daniel Kirk¬
wood 2 arrived at the following conclusions :

“ The zodiacal light is probably a dense meteoric ring, or
rather, perhaps, a number of rings.

“ Variable and temporary stars are caused by the interpo¬
sition of meteoric rings.

“ Mercury’s mean motion is probably diminished by the
action of meteoric matter.

“ The transit of a meteoric stream or cloud affords the most
probable explanation of the phenomenon known as ‘ dark
days.’

1 A. J. S., XL2, 250.

2 Proc. A. A. A. S. 1866, 8.

290

EASTMAN.

“ It seems probable that a ring of meteor asteroids exists
within the orbit of Titan, Saturn’s largest satellite, and
causes the annual motion of the apsides of Titan, found by
Bessel to be 30' 28".

“ Saturn’s rings are probably composed of an indefinite
number of extremely minute asteroids or meteorites.

“ The gaps in the distribution of the mean distances of the
asteroids between Mars and Jupiter are analogous to the
gaps in Saturn’s rings.”

In May, 1867, Prof. Daniel Kirkwood published a book 1
under the title “ Meteoric Astronomy,” designed by the
author to present in a popular form the principal results of
observation and study in that branch of Astronomy. It
was devoted chiefly to the collection of some of the princi¬
pal theories and the more important observations, and to pre¬
senting them in a brief but popular form without attempt¬
ing to set forth any new theory.

A paper by Prof. IP. A. Newton 2 in 1867, “ On certain re¬
cent foreign contributions to Astro-meteorology,” was devoted
to the discussion of a table comparing the epochs and posi¬
tions of radiant points of shooting-stars concluded inde¬
pendently by R. P. Greg and Dr. E. Heis; the influence of the
August and November meteors on the temperature of the
atmosphere ; the paths and probable origin of the shooting-
stars, by Schiaparelli, and the age of the November group
of shooting-stars.

From the data obtained from the observations of the No¬
vember meteors in 1867 Prof. H. A. Newton 3 discussed the
geographical limits of the shower ; the personal equation of
observers ; the form of the curve of intensity ; the breadth
of the radiant in latitude ; the length of the radiant in longi¬
tude, and the distribution in longitude of the perihelia of
the orbits of the meteors.

1 J. B. Lippincott & Co., Phila., 18G7, 129 pp.

2 A. J. S., XLIII2, 285.

3 A. J. S., XLV2, 89.

PROGRESS OF METEORIC ASTRONOMY IN AMERICA. 291

From data obtained from the observations of the Novem¬
ber meteors of 1867 at the U. S. Naval Observatory and at
Richmond, Va., Prof. S. Newcomb l, U. S. N., computed the
altitude of nine meteors, finding the mean altitude at appari¬
tion to be 102 miles, and at disappearance 47 miles. From
data obtained from observations on the same occasion, Prof.
W. Harkness 2 3, U. S. N., discussed a method of determining
the mass of such meteors as are consumed before reaching
the earth.

Assuming that the light produced is always proportional
to the amount of material consumed, he arrived at the con¬
clusion that “ the mass of the ordinary shooting-stars does
not differ greatly from one grain.”

In 1869 a paper by Prof Daniel Kirkwood? on “ Comets
and Meteors ” was devoted to exhibiting the probable coin¬
cidences* between the orbits of comets and periodical meteors.

In 1871 Mr. Jacob Ennis 4 published a paper entitled “The
meteors and their long-enduring trails.”

The scope and method of this paper are briefly sketched
by the author, and are best presented in his own words, as
follows :

“ Firstly, I will bring forward many facts to prove that
some meteors undergo a process of burning or oxidation
while passing through the air, and that the trails are the
smoke and ashes of such burning.

“ Secondly, I will give facts and reasoning which show that
some meteors are composed of various simple chemical ele¬
ments unoxidized, and which are therefore capable of burn¬
ing in the air.

“ Thirdly, I will show the order and process of creation by
which such meteors were originally formed and left in an
unoxidized condition. ”

These points are discussed at length, and numerous theories
and observations are cited as proof.

1 A. J. S., XLV2, 233. 2 A. j. S., XLV2, 237.

3 Proc. Am. Phil. Soc., XI, 215. 4 Proc. A. A. A. S. 1871, 122.

36— Bull. Phil. Soc., Wash., Vol. 11.

292

EASTMAN.

In a paper on the “ Influence of meteoric showery on au¬
roras” Prof. Pliny E. Chase 1 concludes that “ there seems
therefore good reason to look for an increase of auroral dis¬
plays soon after every meteoric shower.”

In discussing the meteors of November 27, 1872, Prof. H.
A. Newton 2 remarked, “ With Professor Weis and others, I
am inclined to consider them all to have been once con¬
nected with periodic comets. The scattering took place appar¬
ently at or near the perihelion.”

In 1872 Prof. J. W. Mallet , of the University of Virginia,
read a paper3 on “ The occluded gases of meteorites,” and
another paper4 by this author on the same subject appeared
in 1875.

In 1875 Prof. A. W. Wright , of Yale College, published an
account5 of some very carefully conducted experiments made
to determine the character and quantity of the occluded
gases of meteorites.

From these experiments he derived results differing ma¬
terially from those obtained by other investigators.

This paper was followed by three others6 during 1875 and
1876, in which Professor Wright reached the conclusion that
the spectra of gases from meteorites were identical with the
spectra of comets.

In a lecture7 at the Sheffield Scientific School of Yale Col¬
lege, on “The relation of Meteorites and Comets,” Prof. H.
A. Newton , exhibiting a fragment from the meteoric stone
which fell in Iowa February 12, 1875, very clearly presented
his theory of the connection of these bodies.

The principal points in the theory, together with some of
the arguments, may be briefly stated as follows :

Between the largest meteorite known and the faintest
shooting-star that can be seen on a clear night with a telescope

1 Proc. Am. Phil. Soc. XII, 401. 2 A. J. S., V3, 62.'

3 Proc. Koyal Society, XX, 865. 4 A. J. S., X3, 206.

5 A. J. S., IX3, 294. 6 A. J. S., X„ 44: XL, 253 ; XII3, 165.

^ Nature, Vol. XIX, 315, 840.

PROGRESS OF METEORIC ASTRONOMY IN AMERICA. 293

there is no essential difference as to astronomical character.
In all their characteristic phenomena there is a regular grada¬
tion of meteors from one end of the line to the other. They
differ in bigness, but in their astronomical relations we can¬
not divide them into groups. They are all similar members
of the solar system. In proof of these statements we cite
some of the points in which the large and small meteors are
alike and unlike :

1st. They are all solid bodies. It is doubtful whether a
small gaseous mass could exist permanently as a separate
body in the solar system. A liquid would probably freeze
and become solid. In any case, neither a gas nor a liquid
could for an instant sustain the resisting pressure which a
meteor is subjected to in the air, much less could it travel
against it with the velocity observed in ordinary meteor
flights. In short, every shooting-star must be a solid body.

2d. The large meteors and the small ones are seen at about
the same height from the earth’s surface. The air is a shield
to protect the earth from an otherwise intolerable bombard¬
ing by these meteors. Some of the larger masses penetrate
this shield, or, at least, are not melted before their final explo¬
sion, when the fragments, their velocity all gone, fall quietly
to the ground. The small ones burn up altogether or are
scattered into dust.

3d. The velocities of the large and the small meteors agree,
and, though they are never measured directly very exactly, we
are sure that in general they are more than two and less than
forty miles per second. Velocities of from ten to forty miles
per second imply that these masses are bodies that move
about the sun as a^center or else move through space. These
velocities, as well as other facts, are utterly inconsistent with
a permanent motion of such bodies about the earth or with
a terrestrial or a lunar origin.

4th. The motions of the large and small meteors as they
cross the sky have no special relations to the ecliptic. If
either kind had special relations to the planets, in their origin
or in their motions, we should have reason to expect them,

294

EASTMAN.

if not always, at least in general, to move across the sky
away from the ecliptic. The fact is otherwise. Both large
and small meteors are seen moving towards the ecliptic as
often as from it. Neither class seem, therefore, to have any
relation to the planets.

Again, in general character the two classes are alike.
They have like varieties of color ; they have similar luminous
trains behind them. In short, we cannot draw any line divid¬
ing the stone or iron producing meteor from the shooting-
star, at least in their astronomical relations. They are all
astronomically alike. They differ in size ; but that has noth¬
ing to do with their motion about the sun or in space.

The general connection between comets and meteors may
be exhibited in the peculiar relations existing between the
meteors of November 13-14 and their accompanying comet.
The orbit of these meteors is one that is described in 33.25
years. The meteors go out a little further thail the planet
Uranus, or about twenty times as far as the earth is from
the sun. While they all describe nearly the same orbit they
are not collected in one compact group. On the contrary,
they take four or five years to pass a given place in the orbit,
and are to be thought of as a train several hundred millions
of miles long but only a few thousands of miles in thickness.

Along with this train of meteors travels a comet. It passed
the place where we meet the meteor stream nearly a year
before the great shower of 1 866 and two or three years before
the quite considerable displays of 1867 and 1868. Idow
came it that this comet and the meteors travel the same
road? The plane of the comet’s orbit might have cut the
earth’s orbit to correspond with any other day of the year
than November 15 ; or, cutting it at this place, the comet
might have gone nearer to the sun or farther away ; or,
satisfying these two conditions, it might have made any
angle from 0° to 180° instead of 167° ; or, satisfying all
these, it might have had any other periodic time than 33.25
years ; even then it might have gone off in any other direc¬
tion of the plane than that in which the meteoroids were

PROGRESS OF METEORIC ASTRONOMY IN AMERICA. 295

traveling. All these things did not happen by chance;
there is something common.

The comet alluded to is not the only one that has an orbit
common with meteors, though it is the only case in which
the orbit of the meteors is completely known, aside from our
knowledge of that of the comet. Every August, about the
tenth day, we have an unusual number of meteors — a star-
sprinkle as it has been called. A comet whose period is
about 125 years moves in the plane and probably in a like
orbit with these meteors. Near the first of December there
have been several star-showers, notably one in 1872, and
these meteors are traveling nearly in the orbit of Biela’s
comet. In April, too, some showers have occurred which
are thought to have had something to do with a known
comet. Thus much as to the meteors of the star-showers.
The sporadic meteors are with good reason presumed to be
(and observed facts prove some of them to be) the outliers of
a large number of meteor streams.

Considering again the November meteor stream and its
comet w^e find that the several bodies move along a dbmmon
path not at all by reason of a present physical connection.
They are too far apart — in general, a thousand times too far
apart — to act on each other so much that we may measure
the effect. Their connection has been in the past. They®
must have had some common history. Looking now at
the comets, we see that they have been apparently growing
smaller at successive returns. Halley’s comet was much
brighter in its earlier than in its later aj)proaches to the sun.
Biela’s comet has divided into two or more principal parts,
and seems to have entirely gone to pieces. Several comets
have had double or multiple nuclei. In the year 1366, in
the week after the star-shower, a comet crossed the sky ex¬
actly in the track of the meteors. A second comet followed
in the same path a week after. Both belonged, no doubt,
to the November stream, and one of them may perhaps have
been the comet of 1866.

The November meteor stream is a long, thin one. We

296

EASTMAN.

have crossed the stream at many places along a length of a
thousand millions of miles, sometimes in advance of and
sometimes behind the comet, and all along this length have
been found fragments — sometimes few, sometimes many.
This form of the stream suggests continuous action produc¬
ing it. A brief, violent action might have given this form,
but a slowly acting cause seems more natural.

Again, in the history of Biela’s comet we have distinct
evidence of continued action. The comet divided into two
parts not long before 1845, and yet in 1798 fragments of it
were met with so far from the comet that they must have
left the comet long before, probably many centuries ago.

“ Thus we are led to say, first, that the periodic meteors
of November, of August, of April, &c., are caused by solid
fragments of certain known or unknown comets coming into
our air ; secondly , that the sporadic meteors, such as we can
see any clear night, are the like fragments of other comets ;
thirdly, that the large fire-balls are only larger fragments of
the same kind ; and, finally, that a portion broken off from
one of those large fragments in coming through the air must
once have been a part of a comet”

“ How came the comet to break up? Perhaps the prior
question would be, How came the comet together ? In its
* history there is much that cannot yet be explained, much
about which we can only speculate.”

“ Thus, how came this meteoric stone to have its curious
interior structure? As a mineral it resembles more the
deepest fire-rocks than it does the outer crust of the earth.
It seems to have been formed in some large mass, possibly
in one larger than any of our existing comets. Some facts
show that the comets have almost surely come to us from
the stellar spaces. Out somewhere in the cold of space a
condensing mass furnished heat for the making of this stone.
The surrounding atmosphere was unlike ours, since some of
these minerals could hardly have been made in the presence
of the oxygen of our air. Either in cooling or by some ca¬
tastrophe the rocky mass may have been broken to pieces,

PROGRESS OF METEORIC ASTRONOMY IN AMERICA. 297

so as to enter the solar system having little or no cohesion,
like a mass of pebbles ; or it may have come, and probably
did come, a single solid stone.

In either case, as it got near to the sun new and strong
forces acted on it.

The same heat and repulsion that develops and drives off
from a comet in one direction a tail, sometimes a hundred
millions of miles long, may have cracked off and scattered
in another direction solid fragments. One of these contained
in it this stone, and it wandered in its own orbit about the
sun, itself an infinitesimal comet, how many thousands of
millions of years we know not, until three years ago it came
crashing through the air to the earth in Iowa.”

More than ordinary space has been given to the citations
from the various statements and arguments and to the con¬
cluding speculation of Professor Newton’s paper because,
better than any preceding American discussion, it presents
the status of the modern theories of meteors and comets
which are now generally accepted by the scientific world.

The latest formal discussion of this subject was presented
by Professor Newton 1 in his presidential address before the
American Association for the Advancement of Science, at
Buffalo, in 1886. This address was devoted wholly to the
consideration of the various- theories in regard to the motions,
character, and origin of meteorites, meteors, and shooting-
stars.

The discussion in this address follows the same general
lines as in the lecture just cited, while the various arguments
are presented with far greater elaboration. No new hypoth¬
eses or theories are offered ; but the key-note of the address,
given in the author’s own words, is that “ science may be
advanced by rejecting bad hypotheses as well as by forming
good ones.”

1 Proc. Am. Ass. Ad. Science 1886, 1.

298

EASTMAN.

Examination of Theories.

The abstracts and excerpts just presented are, from the
limitations of the method employed, frequently very brief,
sometimes disconnected, and generally separated from the
various discussions which led to the results cited.

Although they present in themselves insufficient data for
an accurate study or a rigorous discussion of the subject,
they are quite sufficient to illustrate the evolution of the
modern theories as they have been successively developed
from the superstitions and the dogmatic assumptions of the
last century.

This development is a fair illustration of the growth of
most of the sciences, and the sometimes absurd and baseless
theories, some of which have been cited, are the usual evi¬
dences of an anxious, persistent searching after the truth
which is satisfied only by success.

While the modern theories have been slowly evolved from
a multitude of observations and discussions, expanding here
and there along the lines of least difficulty, it is not improb¬
able that frequently there has been a lack of the nicest dis¬
crimination as to what were real and well-established facts.

Keeping in view the precept that no sound theory can be
.based on doubtful data, it is proposed to examine briefly the
accumulated mass of so-called knowledge of Meteors and
Comets, with a view to ascertaining what we actually know
about these bodies ; what we infer, assume, and assert, and
to some extent, perhaps, what we do not know about them.

Meteors.

Those bodies which are usually designated as meteors, me¬
teorites, and shooting-stars Sire known, to some extent, by every
intelligent person. The first name is usually applied to those
sporadic bodies which one can see occasionally on any clear
night ; the second term is applied to iron or stony masses
that sometimes fall to the earth, while the last term is used

PROGRESS OF METEORIC ASTRONOMY IN AMERICA. 299

to designate those bodies which appear in such periodic
showers as those of November 13-14, August 6-10, etc., but
which, like the first named, are, almost without exception,
entirely consumed before they reach the earth.

These bodies have received, at various times, a great
variety of names, such as “ Fiery Tears of St. Lawrence,”
“ Fire-balls,” “ Bolides,” “Aerolites,’ “ Meteoroids,” etc., most
of which have been coined to suit the fancy or ambition of
some aspiring author. The only definite knowledge we have
of this class of bodies before they reach the surface of the
earth is obtained .with the spectroscope, and the results from
observations with that instrument indicate that all these
bodies are similar in composition, and their spectra are the
same as that obtained from those masses that have reached
the surface of the earth before destruction.

There appears to be, therefore, no reason for using but two
names — the one, meteor , for those bodies that are consumed
before they reach the earth ; and the other, meteorite , for the
solid iron or stony substances that succeed in storming our
atmospheric barriers, reaching the surface of the earth intact
and bringing our only material messages from the depths
beyond.

Sporadic meteors as well as meteorites move apparently
in all directions. Meteors that appear in showers seem to
emanate from pretty well defined points in the heavens, each
separate shower having its own radiant, and in most c&ses
the bodies are not condensed in a single compact mass, but
are scattered along the orbit in which they move.

This orbit has been determined for several of the showers
with considerable accuracy.

From the testimony of the meteors themselves nothing is
known of their origin. The theories of a terrestrial or a
lunar volcanic origin are easily shown to be absurd, while
the so-called theories that place their origin in other por¬
tions of the solar system are mere idle speculations.

37- Bull. Phil. Soc., Wash., Vol. 11.

300

EASTMAN.

Comets.

The whole number of comets, real and suspected, from
about 1770 B. C. to the end of 1889 A. D., the elements of
whose orbits have not been computed, is 472. From 370 B.
C. to the end of 1889 A. D. the number of comets the ele¬
ments of whose orbits have been computed is 309. Of these,
18 are known to have elliptic orbits. In the case of 52, the
computed elliptic orbits have not been verified by observa¬
tion.

The computations show that 231 have parabolic orbits, and
indicate that 7 have hyperbolic orbits.

Thus it appears that not more than seven per cent, of the
comets whose orbits have been discussed are known to have
elliptic orbits, while it is almost certain that seventy-five
per cent, have parabolic orbits. Of course, the periodic
comets, whatever their origin, belong now to the solar system.

As it is highly improbable that there are two or more
kinds of comets of intrinsically diverse character and of
different origin, it follows that all the comets had their
genesis beyond the limits of the solar system, and that the
few periodic comets are the exception to the general law, and
at best are only adopted members of the solar family.

There are only two sources of actual knowledge of the
physical constitution of comets :

One is from the use of the spectroscope ; the other is the
behavior of the light from a star when seen through various
portions, but especially the nucleus of a comet.

As is well known, observations with the spectroscope are
not always easily interpreted, but in this case the difficulty
is not so great as at first it seems to be.

It is a general law that where there is a continuous spec¬
trum containing all the primary colors without gaps, the
light is derived from an incandescent solid or liquid body.
A discontinuous spectrum containing bands or bright lines
indicates that the light comes from luminous gases or vapors.

PROGRESS OF METEORIC ASTRONOMY IN AMERICA. 301

To these general rules there are some important exceptions
or modifications.

If the temperature of certain vapors or gases be raised to
a high degree the number and the appearance of the colored
band or of the bright lines change rapidly, though not uni¬
formly, and some investigators have asserted that if the
temperature be raised to something over 4,500° Fah. the
spectrum will become practically continuous. Similar
changes in the phenomena are observed if a gas, like hydro¬
gen, is rendered luminous by the electric spark and then
subjected to varying pressures. With a pressure amounting
to one-twentieth of an inch of mercury the spectrum is dis¬
continuous and consists of several groups of bright lines in
the green. As the pressure is gradually increased there ap¬
pears a temporary spectrum of bands, then a spectrum of
three lines, afterwards a more permanent and complete
spectrum of bands, and finally, under a pressure of 52 inches
of mercury, a complete and pure continuous spectrum.

The spectra of comets, which have been obtained by care¬
ful and experienced observers, present a large number of
variations and combinations, ranging from one or more
faint bands with indistinct or fluted borders against a color¬
less background to a faint continuous spectrum with bands
or lines of a greater or less degree of brightness and defini¬
tion.

The most obvious interpretation of the spectroscopic ob¬
servations of comets is that the bands and lines are the true
spectra of a gaseous body, varying through a wide range
under the effect of changing pressure and temperature, super¬
imposed upon the faint continuous spectrum derived from
the sunlight reflected from the nucleus or other parts of the
comet.

Such is the information derived from the spectroscope.

In the vast number of observations of comets, made for
the determination of their positions or their physical pecu¬
liarities, it has sometimes been noted that the comet passed

302

EASTMAN.

between the observer and a star without diminishing the
apparent brightness of the star or changing its position.

While observing Comet I, 1866, in January, 1866, I saw
on one occasion the nucleus of the comet pass directly over
a star of the 9.2 magnitude with no more effect on the bright¬
ness of the star than would be produced by the close prox¬
imity of any object as bright as the comet’s nucleus. Similar
accounts have been given by other observers, and the phe¬
nomenon is too well attested to admit of a reasonable doubt.

The light from a star could not pass unobstructed through
a solid body or a dense aggregation of solid bodies ; and,
considering this phenomenon alone or in connection with
the appearance of the nucleus as it approaches and recedes
from perihelion, it appears that we are driven to the conclu¬
sion that the nucleus of a comet is composed principally, if
not entirely, of gaseous matter, which varies in form and in
density from the effect of the sun’s attraction and repulsion.

Comets and Meteors.

The elements of the orbits of four meteor streams have
been determined with considerable accuracy. These are the
streams that produce the showers of November 13-14, No¬
vember 27, April 20, and August 10.

It has also been found that the orbit of the meteor stream
of November 13-14 coincides very closely with the orbit of
Comet I, 1866. The orbit of the November 27 stream corre¬
sponds to that of Biela’s comet, the orbit of the April stream
to that of comet I, 1861, and the orbit of the August stream
is nearly identical with that of Comet III, 1862.

The identify of these orbits is quite as good as could be
expected from the uncertain character of the observations
on which the adopted positions of the meteor streams depend.

On these coincidences in the orbits of meteor streams and
of certain comets depends principally the modern theory
of comets and meteors, which, briefly stated, is as follows :

Sporadic meteors, individual members of meteoric showers,

PROGRESS OF METEORIC ASTRONOMY IN AMERICA. 303

and meteorites differ in magnitude and appear under widely
varying conditions, but from an astronomical standpoint they
are all alike.

They are all solid bodies and are fragments of comets.

Assuming that this theory is true, we shall find that some
of the inferences drawn from it are of great importance in
their bearing on cosmical physics.

1st. As the meteoric masses, both great and small, are
derived from comets, they must have originated beyond the
limits of the solar system, and they furnish evidence of the
existence in space of exactly such minerals, though in dif¬
ferent combinations, as are found in the earth’s crust.

2d. They arise from the disintegration of comets, which
for centuries have furnished the material for the enormous
areas of bodies forming the various meteor streams that trail
along the orbits of these masses for immense distances.

3d. The meteors forming the shower of November 13-14
have been observed for more than 900 years, and yet the
comet whose gradual destruction has produced these bodies
was not discovered until 1866. The August meteors have
been observed for more than six centuries, but the comet
whose disintegration has furnished the material for this vast
stream remains intact, and was not discovered until 1862.

The accepted comet-meteor theory does not explain clearly
the visibility of comets or the changes that occur in the ap¬
parent brightness and in the density of the nucleus as these
bodies approach and recede from the sun ; neither does it
explain in a satisfactory manner the position of the comets
in their attendant meteor streams. If comets are composed
of solid matter or of discrete solid particles, it would seem
quite proper to ask why they become visible at such im¬
mense distances from the earth and the sun.

The perihelion distance of 26 per cent, of the comets with
known orbits is equal to or greater than the mean distance
of the earth from the sun.

Many comets when first seen are much farther from the
sun than is the earth at aphelion, and the spectroscope only

304

EASTMAN.

gives the information that the light is derived from a gas or
vapor. From our constant experience with solid masses of
stone and iron on the surface of the earth and under the
unobstructed influence of the sun, it is impossible to see how
the sun’s heat alone can produce gas or vapor from such
bodies at the observed distances.

As the comet approaches the sun the faint diffused mass
of the body begins to contract, and a point in the mass; gen¬
erally nearer the sun than the center, becomes brighter and
denser, frequently, as it rapidly nears the sun, changing its
form and brightness in a marked manner from day to day.

It is not improbable that the solid constituents of mete¬
orites would be vaporized if they passed as near the sun as
did Comet II, 1882 ; but it is not probable that this change
does occur at distances greater than the radius of the earth’s
orbit, if it is effected simply by the action of the sun.

If the visibility is caused by the assumed enormous change
of temperature experienced by the solid portion of the comet
in passing from outer space to the locus of visibility in the
solar system, then the entire mass of the comet should be
vaporized and solid meteoric bodies would cease to exist.

If, on the other hand, this visibility is brought about by
the effect of this change of temperature on the occluded gases
stored up in the solid portions of the comet, then during the
long period in which these masses are subjected to the solar
action these gases would all be expelled and dissipated and
none would be found in those meteorites which finally find
their way to the surface of the earth and into the chemist’s
laboratory.

The meteors of the shower of November 27 are scattered
along the orbit of that stream for at least 500 millions of
miles. If this elongation of the meteor stream is formed, as
is highly probable, by the difference in velocity between
those meteors on that portion nearest the sun and those on
the outside of the mass, then, if the comet is the meteor-pro¬
ducing body, the same action would tend to break it up and
destroy it early in its existence as a solar satellite.

PROGRESS OP METEORIC ASTRONOMY IN AMERICA. 305

If the existence of the comet as a member of the solar sys¬
tem antedates the meteor stream, it is difficult to see how the
comet could have remained intact long enough to have been
observed, in the presence of forces that for thousands of years
have been transforming the figure of the original mass and
stretching it out into a stream whose length is measured by
hundreds of millions of miles. It is not improbable that
comets of large dimensions are destroyed by the action of
such forces ; but that a body of that character should mi¬
raculously survive its own destruction and be found existing
in ordinary cometary form in the midst of its own ruins is
a proposition that makes large demands on the imagination.

If the brightness of comets is caused by the vaporization
of iron or stony matter, it must be produced by collisions
between the masses at such . velocities that a high tempera¬
ture is developed, producing an incandescent vapor yielding
a distinctive spectrum. It seems difficult to explain how
such relative velocities can arise among the individual
members of the same stream moving in a common orbit.
It is more than probable that the light of a star passing from
the extremely low temperature of space through the supposed
high temperature of the comet’s nucleus, and again into the
temperature of space, would suffer so much apparent change
of position that it would compel recognition. It is claimed,
however, that the individual masses of meteoric matter which
form the nucleus are so far separated that the light of a star
can pass through the aggregated mass without material
change of direction.

But if the masses are vaporized by collisions, then there
must be absolute contact, which would to a great extent
obstruct the passage of stellar light and would be certain
to produce refraction.

Lockyer’s Theories. — before leaving the consideration of
these points I venture to call attention for a moment to a
recent theory which has been set forth with considerable
elaboration of detail.

306

EASTMAN.

In a paper entitled “ Researches on the Spectra of Mete¬
orites,” presented to the Royal Society on October 4, 1887,
and in the Bakerian lecture on April 12, 1888, followed by
an appendix to the same on January 10, 1889, Mr. Lockyer
presented in detail his laboratory experiments, combined
with the more or less accurate observations of other astrono¬
mers and physicists, which led him to certain definite con¬
clusions in regard to the relations of comets and meteors.

The author’s conclusions and theories can be most suc¬
cinctly presented in the following citations from the papers
mentioned :

“ The existing distinction between stars, comets, and nebulae
rests on no physical basis.”

“All self-luminous bodies in the celestial spaces are com¬
posed of meteorites or masses of meteoric vapor produced by
heat brought about by condensation of meteor swarms due
to gravity.”

“ Meteorites are formed by the condensation of vapors
thrown off by collisions. The small particles increase by
fusion brought about again by collisions, and this increase
may go on until the meteorites may be large enough to be
smashed by collisions when the heat of impact is not suffi¬
cient to produce volatilization of the whole mass.”

“ Beginning with meteorites of average composition, the
extreme forms, iron and stony, would in time be produced
as the result of collisions.”

“ The spectra of all such bodies depend upon the heat of
meteorites produced by collisions and the average space be¬
tween the meteorites in the swarm, or, in the case of consoli¬
dated swarms, upon the time which has elapsed since com¬
plete vaporization.”

“ The temperature of vapors produced by collisions in
nebulae, stars without G and F, but with other bright lines,
and in comets away from perihelion is about that of the
Bunsen burner.”

“ The temperature of the vapors produced by collisions
in a Orionis and similar stars is about that of the Bessemer
flame.”

PROGRESS OP METEORIC ASTRONOMY IN AMERICA. 307

“ The brilliancy of the aggregated masses depends upon
the number of the meteorites and not upon the intensity of
the light.”

“ The bright flutings of carbon in the spectra of some
‘ stars/ taken in conjunction with their absorption phenom¬
ena, indicate that widely separated meteorites at a low tem¬
perature are involved.”

“ New stars are produced by the clash of meteor-swarms,
the bright lines seen being low temperature lines of those
elements in meteorites the spectra of which are most brill¬
iant at a low stage of heat.”

“A comet is a swarm of meteors in company. Such a
swarm finally makes a continuous orbit by virtue of arrested
velocities. Impacts will break up large stones and will
produce new vapors, which will condense into small me¬
teoroids.”

“ When the meteorites are strongly heated in a glow-tube
the whole tube, when the electric current is passing, gives us
the spectrum of carbon. When a meteor-swarm approaches
the sun the whole region of space occupied by the meteorites
* * * gives us the same spectrum.”

“ The first stage in the spectrum of a comet is that in
which there is only the radiation of the magnesium. The
next is that in which Mg. 500 is replaced wholly or par¬
tially by the spectrum of cool carbon. Mg. is then added
and cool carbon is replaced by hot carbon. The radiation
of manganese 558 and sometimes lead 546 is then added.
Absorption phenomena next appears, manganese 558 and
lead 546 being indicated by thin masking effect upon
the citron band of carbon. The absorption band of iron is
also sometimes present at this stage. At this stage also the
group of carbon flutings, which I have called carbon B, prob¬
ably also makes its appearance. As the temperature in¬
creases still further, magnesium is represented by b, and lines
of iron appear. This takes place when the comet is at or
near perihelion.”

“ The observations on meteorites recorded in the Bakerian

38— Bull. Phil. Soc., Wash., Vol. 11.

308

EASTMAN.

Lecture and the discussion of cometary observations contained
in this Appendix show that the vapors which are given out
by the meteorites as the sun is approached are in an ap¬
proximate order : slight hydrogen, slight carbon compounds,
magnesium, sodium, manganese, lead, and iron. Now, of
these the hydrogen and carbon compounds are alone per¬
manent gases, and the idea is that they have been occluded
as such by the meteorites.”

“ The aurora being a low temperature phenomenon, we
should expect to find in its spectrum lines and remnants of
flutings seen in the spectra of meteorites at low temperatures.
The characteristic line of the aurora is the remnant of the
brightest manganese fluting at 558.”

“ The spectrum of the nebulae, except in some cases, is
associated with a certain amount of continuous spectrum,
and meteorites glowing at a low temperature would be com¬
petent to give the continuous spectrum with its highest in¬
tensity in the yellow part of the spectrum.”

“ Only seven lines in all have been recorded up to the
present in the spectra of nebulae, three of which coincide
with lines in the spectrum of hydrogen and three corre¬
spond to lines in magnesium. The magnesium lines rep¬
resented are the ultra-violet low-temperature line at 373, the
line at 470, and the remnant of the magnesium fluting at
500, the brightest part of the spectrum at the temperature
of the Bunsen burner. The hydrogen lines are h, F, and
H y. (434). Sometimes the 500 line is seen alone, but it is
generally associated with F and a line at 495. The remain¬
ing lines do not all appear in one nebulae, but are associated
one by one with the other three lines.”

“ When a tube is used in experiments to determine the
spectrum of meteoric dust at the lowest temperature we find
that the dust in many cases gives a spectrum containing the
magnesium fluting at 500, which is characteristic of the
nebulae and is often seen alone in them. If the difference
between nebulae and comets is merely of cosmographical
position, one being out of the solar system and one being in

PROGRESS OF METEORIC ASTRONOMY IN AMERICA. 309

it ; and, further, if the conditions as regards rest are the
same, the spectrum should be the same, and we ought to
find this line in the spectrum of comets when the swarm
most approaches the undisturbed nebulous condition, the
number of collisions being at or near a minimum — i. e., when
the comet is near aphelion the fluting should be visible
alone.”

After citing the results of the spectroscopic observations
of several comets, the author remarks : “ This spectroscopic
evidence is of the strongest, but it does not stand alone.
Comets at aphelion present the telescopic appearance, for
the most part, of globular nebuke.”

The comprehensive theory set forth in the quotations just
cited assumes that the aurorse, nebulae, meteorites, comets,
and most of the stars all have a common origin, and that
all the multifarious teloscopic and spectroscopic phenomena
exhibited by these bodies are due to the varying velocities
of the collisions between the meteoric particles and masses
of which in some form all these bodies are composed.

We are told that meteorites at a low temperature, present
in the spectum a certain line, at 558, due to manganese, and
also that this line appears in the nebulse, the aurora, and in
comets at considerable distances from perihelion. Hence
the identity of all these bodies is inferred and the foundation
of the theory is laid.

Meteorites are subjected to laboratory experiments in tubes
in which the temperature is gradually raised to a high
degree and the varying spectra is noted. Spectroscopic ob¬
servations of nebulse, comets, and stars are then compiled
and classified, until the several groups are so arranged that
they present nearly the same sequence of spectra that have
been derived from meteoric matter at increasing temperatures
in the experiments.

The theory is then extended and we are given to under¬
stand that when, in the case of nebulse and stars greater
activity of collisions occur, or wThen a comet approaches the
sun, the same phenomena appear and in the same order.

310

EASTMAN.

The identity of these bodies is then supposed to be complete
and the theory established.

This theory of collisions rests upon a remarkable congeries
ol experiments, observations, and assumptions. Many of the
observations and many of the laboratory experiments, which
were made by the author, as well as much of the data quoted
throughout his papers are entitled to the highest merit.
But, considering much of the data and many of the state¬
ments in his conclusions, and especially the extraordinary
assertion that “ comets at aphelion present the telescopic ap¬
pearance for the most part of globular nebulae,” it is not re¬
markable to find the author’s data, as well as his deductions,
vigorously attached by able physicists.

Huggins. — After a careful study of the spectrum of the
aurora Mr. Huggins 1 remarks : “After consideration, I think
that I ought to point out that Mr. Lockyer’s recent statement
that ‘ the characteristic line of the aurora is the remnant of
the brightest manganese fluting at 558 ’ is clearly inadmis¬
sible, considering the evidence we have of -the position of
this line.”

After a very thorough study of the spectra of the nebulae,
Mr. Huggins 2 writes : “ As, therefore, there seems to be little
doubt that the ‘ remnant of the fluting at 500 ’ is not coin¬
cident with the brightest nebular line, and the next most
characteristic group of this spectrum, the triplet at 3720,
3724, and 3730, according to Liveing and Deivar, does not
appear to be present in the photographs, we may conclude
that the remarkable spectrum of the gaseous nebulae has not
been produced by burning magnesium.”

Professor Liveing 3 says in regard to the line denoted by
Lockyer as 470 I have never seen the line at ^ 4703 in the
spectrum of the magnesium flame. As it is a conspicuous
line in the arc and spark, we looked for it in the flame, but
did not find it.”

1 Proc. Roy. Soc., XLV, 435.

3 Proc. Roy. Soc., XLVI, 56.

Proc. Roy. Soc., XLVI, 55.

PROGRESS OF METEORIC ASTRONOMY IN AMERICA. 311

If the testimony of Huggins and of Liveing and Dewar
represents the observed phenomena, and their observations
have not yet been disproved, then most of the broad theories
of Lockyer, which assume a common origin and structure
for aurorae, nebulae, comets, and stars, lacks a basis of ob¬
served facts, resting wholly, so far as the aurora and nebulae
are concerned, on approximate coincidences in the spectra,
while the assumed telescopic appearance of comets at aphe¬
lion is a creation of the imagination.

Conclusions.

Attention has been called to these various theories relat¬
ing to comets and meteors simply with a view to emphasiz¬
ing the fact that none of the systems, whether simple or
complex, seems to explain all the observed phenomena.

As a scientific explanation, the direct and simple is always
preferable to the indirect and involved method, and this
safe precept should be the guide in all investigations of the
apparent physical connection between comets and meteors.

It seems to me that the true theory of the origin and the
relations of comets and meteors is yet to be discovered.

When asked to give my own theory of these bodies I can
only reply that I have none. At the same time I see less
objection to the following hypotheses than to any of those
now doing duty as theories:

Meteors and meteorites are solid iron or stony bodies and,
whatever their origin, are now members of the solar system.
Comets are composed chiefly of gaseous matter, and originate
outside of the solar system. Some of these bodies on enter¬
ing the sphere of solar attraction are so far drawn away
from their original orbits by the masses of the sun’s outer
satellites that they become permanent members of the solar
system. Of these, at least four have become entangled in
the immense aggregations known as meteor streams and
have adopted the orbits of their captors. The meteors still
remain meteors, however, and the comets retain their former
identity and peculiar structure.

312

EASTMAN.

Observations of Meteors.

Most of the observers of sporadic meteors and meteorites
have been either amateurs or persons entirely deficient in
that special training which is so essential in a trustworthy
observer of unexpected phenomena. Fortunately, however,
most of the important phenomena have been noted by in¬
telligent and skilled observers, whose zeal and care have left
little to be desired.

It would be impracticable to mention even the names of
all the successful observers, but any sketch of the progress
of meteoric astronomy in this country would be notably de¬
ficient if some of the prominent names were omitted.

The remarkable meteor shower of November 13, 1833,
attracted the attention of many careful observers and zealous
students along our Atlantic coast, and for several years the
subject was carefully investigated by Prof. Dennison Olm-
stead and Prof. A. C. Twining, who were the pioneers in the
study of this science in the United States.

From 1838 when E. C. Herrick began his work he labored
with untiring industry as an observer and a compiler of ob¬
servations and other data until his death, in 1862, and no
one in this country did so much as he in promoting the ob¬
servation and investigation of the August meteors.

Mr. Herrick also gave considerable attention to the study
and observation of the November meteors, but this stream
was made a special study by Prof. H. A. Newton, with the
best results.

Professor Newton’s observations of the November meteors
began in 1860 and have been continued to the present time,
while his investigations of the motions and character of this
stream place him undeniably at the head of American
workers in this branch of Astronomy.

Much work of the highest value was done by Prof. C. U.
Shepard and by Prof. J. Lawrence Smith in the chemical
examination of all classes of meteorites, and excellent in-

PROGRESS OF METEORIC ASTRONOMY IN AMERICA. 313

vestigations of a similar character have been carried out by
other eminent chemists in the country.

The zeal and industry of Professor Shepard was shown in
his extensive collection of meteoric specimens, which at the
time of his death was the largest in America.

The attempt to bring together all the published observa¬
tions in this country in one systematic collection is a task
beset with grave difficulties.

The reports of these observations are scattered through all
the scientific journals, the metropolitan and local newspapers,
and the proceedings of all grades of learned societies. Fre¬
quently the reports, when found, have but little scientific
value from lack of the necessary information. In many
instances much time and space are wasted in describing
trivial details which have no interest or value in connection
with the true meteoric phenomena, while the really essential
data are not mentioned.

It sometimes happens that the only available information
in regard to a meteorite is derived from the report of its
chemical examination, and there can be found no astronomi¬
cal data whatever to account for its position ; it is simply a
portion of the earth’s surface, and the how, when, and whence
of its advent remain unanswered.

It has been impossible, sometimes, t6 find any trustworthy
authority for essential data, and it has been necessary fre¬
quently to interpret freely where the observer or writer has
given but a slight clue to his meaning.

In nearly all cases marginal references are made to the
original papers in order to facilitate further examination, if
desired.

The Catalogues.

The catalogues of Sporadic Meteors, Meteoric Showers,
Observed Meteorites, and Discovered Meteorites are supposed
to contain all observations, accompanied with the necessary
data that have been found in the various publications to
which the author has had access. It is not assumed, how-

314

EASTMAN.

ever, that these lists contain all the good observations that
have been made in this country ; in fact, it is quite certain
that they do not, and one of the principal aims of this paper
will be attained if this fact attracts sufficient attention to
bring to light the missing or the unpublished observations.

In all the catalogues the day of the observation is the
astronomical day. It was manifestly impracticable to give
every reference to each object in the five catalogues, and only
the most important ones have been retained.

Occasionally references are only given to the first page of
a paper when it contains several observations of the same
phenomenon.

In the reference notes at the bottom of the page the princi¬
pal abbreviated notation may be explained as follows :

A. J. S., XXV2, 306, refers to the American Journal of
Science, Yol. XXV, second series, page 306.

Trans. A. P. S. refers to the American Philosophical Society.

Proc. A. P. S. refers to the American Philosophical Society.

Proc. A. A. A. S. refers to the proceedings of the American
Association for the Advancement of Science.

CATALOGUES

i.-v.

31G

EASTMAN.

CATALOGUE I.—

Number.

Date.

Locality.

Iron or stone.

Year.

Month.

Day.

Hour. Min.

1

1781(?)

Portage Bay, Chilcot Inlet, Alaska .

I.

2

1807

13

18.5

Weston, Conn .

S.

3

1810

30

Caswell, N. C .

S.

4

1823

7

.

Nobleborough, Me . . .

s.

5

1 X25

10

Na.njemov, Md . .

s.

' s.

6

1827

Mav . .

9

Sumner Co.,Tenn .

7

1828

4

Richmond, Va .

s.

s.

8

1829

8

3

Forsvth Co., Ga . .

9

1829

15

Deal, N. .1 .

s.

10

1 835

July .

30

2

Charlotte, Dickson Co., Ten n . . .

I.

11

1837

5

3

Fast, Bridgewater, Mass . .

s.

12

1839

February .

13

3

Little Piney, Pulaski Co., Mo .

s.

13

1840

October .

Concord, N. H .

s.

14

1843

March .

25

Bishopsville, S. C .

s.

15

1844

January .

Argentine Republic .

I.

16

1846

August .

14

3

Cape Girardeau, Mo .

s.

17

1847

February .

25

3

Marion, Linn Co., Iowa .

s.

18

1848

May .

19

16

Castine, Me .

s.

19

1849

October .

31

3

Charlotte, Cabarrus Co., N. C .

s.

20

1855

August .

5

3

Lincoln Co., Tenn .

s.

21

1857

April .

1

Costa Rica, Central America .

s.

22

1857

Independence Co., Towa,

s.

23

1859

March .

28

4

Harrison Co., Tnd . . .

s. •

24

1859

July . . . . .

4

Crawford Co., Ark . ..A .

s.

25

1859

A 11 gust .

11

Bethlehem, N. Y .

s.

26

1860

May .

1

i

New Concord, Ohio .

s.

27

1865

March .

24

21

Vernon Co.. Wis .

s.

28

1868

November .

27

5

Danville, Ala .

s.

29

1868

December .

5

3

Frankfort, Ala . .

s.

30

1869

October .

5

23

Stewart Co., (4a .

s.

31

1871

May .

20

20

Searsmont, Me .

s.

32

1874

May .

14

2.5

Nash Co., N. C .

s.

33

1875

February _

12

10.5

Iowa Co.. Iowa . . .

s.

34

1876

.Tune .

24

21

Kansas City, Mo .

I.

35

1876

DAPPmber . ..

21

8.75

Rochester, Fulton Co., Tnd .

s.

36

1877

January .

2

Warrenton, Warren Co., Mo .

s.

37

1877

J an nary .

23

Cvnthiana, Harrison Co., Kv .

s.

38

1879

M a,y .

10

5

Estherville, Emmet Co., Iowa .

S.& I.

39

1879

August .

Fomatlan, Jalisco, Mexico .

40

1883

Calderilla, Chili .

I.

41

1885

November . ..

27

Mazapil, Mexico .

I.

42

1886

Ma.rc.h .

27

3

Johnson Co., Ark . .

I.

43

1887

January .

21

2

De Cewsville, Haldimand Co., Ontario .

s.

44

1890

1

M ay .

2

5 *15

Winnebago Co., Iowa . . .

s. •

1. Cat. State Mining Bureau of Cal., 1888, No. 2925.
0 f Trans. Amer. Phil. Soc. VTi, 823.
t A. J. S. XXXVIIi, 130 ; VI2, 410.

3. A. J. S. II2, 392.

4. A. J. S. VI [x, 170; IXj.400.

5. A. J. S. IXlt 351 ; Xlt 131 ; VI2, 406.

6. A. J. S. XVIIl5 326 ; X Villi, 200, 378.

7. A. J. S. XVj, 195; XVIi,191.

8. A. J. S. XV llli, 388.

9. Proc. A. A. A. S.t 1851, Vol. II, 188.

10. A. J. S. XLIXi, 336.

. 11. A. J. S. XXXIIi, 395.

12. A. J. S. XXXVIIi, 385; XXXIXlf 254.

13. A. ,1. S. IV2, 353; VI2, 416.

14. A. J. S. II2l 392; VI2, 411.

15. Proc. Lit. and Phil. Soc. Liverpool, VII, 1853'.

16. A. J.S. XXXI I3, 229.

17. A. J. S. I Vo, 288, 429.

18. A. J. S. VIo, 251,406.

19. A. J.S. IX2, 143; X2, 127.

20. A. J. S. XXI V2, 134; XXXI2, 264.

21. Buchner, 93.

. 22. A. J. S. XXX2, 208.

PROGRESS OF METEORIC ASTRONOMY IN AMERICA. 317

Observed. Meteorites.

Number.

Weight.

Authority.

Remarks.

1

88

lbs.

Seen to fall by the father of one of the oldest

Indians.

2

300

“

Nathan Wheeler .

Observed by many persons.

3

3

U

Madison.

4

4

A. Dinsmoor.

5

16.5

“

W. D. Harrison.

6

11

“

7

4

U

8

36

Elias Beall.

q

Weight “ rather more than half an ounce.”

10

9

lbs.

G. Troost .

J. L. Smith gives the date as August 1.

11

0.5

lb.

12

50

lbs.

Mr. Harrison.

13

Weight 370.5 grains.

14

13

lbs.

O. U. Shepard.

15

H. E. Syrnonds .

Fall witnessed by 1,400 soldiers. About a cubic

f

E. S. Dana.

yard of the mass remained above the surface

16

4.5

lbs. |

S. L. Penfield.

of the ground.

17

130

lbs.

D. C. Rogers.

18

0.1

lb.

Giles Gardner.

19

19.5

lbs.

H. Host.

20

3.9

“

James B. Dooley.

21

22

C. U. Shepard .

Fell in the “summer” of 1857.

23

3.7

ibs.

Several observers.

24

Mr. Scott.

25

C. U. Shepard .

“Smaller than a pigeon’s egg.”

26

460.2

lbs.

27

J. L. Smith.

28

4.5

ibs.

W. Brown.

29

1.7

“

Jas. W. Hooper.

30

0.8

lb.

Mrs. Buck.

31

12

lbs.

32

33

500

lbs.

Many observers.

34

35

0.8

lb.

A. J. Morris.

36

100

lbs.

37

15

“

“Fell in the afternoon.”

38

750

“

39

C. U. Shepard .

.Several pieces ; the largest weighed about 2 lbs.

40

“Small.”

Ward and Howell .

Not yet described.

41

8.7

lbs.

W. E. Hidden.

42

107.5

u

G. F. Kunz.

43

0.75 lb.

E. E. Howell.

44

184

lbs.

G. F. Kunz .

Probably more fragments to be discovered.

23. A. J. S. XXVIir2, 409.

24. Owens’ 2d Geolog. Reconnaissance of Arkansas, 408.

25. A. J. S. XXX2l 206.

f A. J. S. XX Xo 103, 207, 296 ;

26' 1 A. J. S. XXX lo, 87 ; XXXI E, 30.

27. A'. J. S. XI r3, 207r

28. A. J. S. XblX2, 90.

29. A. J. S. XLVIIIs, 240.

30. A. J. S. L2, 335, 339.

31. A. .T. S. Il3, 133, 200.

32. A. J. S. X8, 147.

33. A. J. S. 1X3, 407, 459 ; X3, 44, 357. •

34. A. J. S. XII3, 316.

35: A. J. S. XILI3, 207, 243.

36. A. J. S. XUI3, 243 ; XIV3,219.

37. A. J. S. XII I3, 243; XIV3, 219.

38. A. J. S. XVIII3, 77, 186; XIX3, 459,495; XX3, 136.

39. A. J. S. XXX3, 105.

40.

41. A. J. S. XXXIII3, 221.

42. A. J. S. XXXIII3, 494, 500.

43. Science, N. Y., March 7, 1890, 167.

44. Science, N. Y., May 16, 1890, 304.

I*

<D

J=>

B

3

S3

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

13

14

15

16

17

18

19

20

21

22

23

24

25

26

27

28

29

30

31

32

33

34

35

36

37

38

39

40

41

42

43

44

45

46

47

48

49

50

51

52

53

54

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

7.

8.

9.

10.

11.

12.

13.

14.

EASTMAN,

CATALOGUE II-

Date.

Locality.

Year.

Month and day.

1735

1784

1792

1808

1810

1811

1818

1819

Burlington, N. Y . . .

1820

1822

Randolph Co., N. C .

1826-7

1828

1832

1834

1834

1835

Buncombe Co., N. C .

1836

Brazos, Te.xas .

1839

March .

Putnam Co., Ga .

1839

Buncombe Co., N. C .

1840

February 26 .

Chili .

1840

Cocke Co., Tenn .

1840

Smithland, Livingston Co., Ky .

1841

February .

Lexington Co., S. C .

1842

Grayson Co.,Va . '. .

1842

Roanoke Co., Va .

1842

Carthage, Tenn .

1842

Green Co., Tenn .

1845

DeKalb Co., Tenn .

1845

Otsego Co., N. Y .

1846

Franconia, N. H .

1846

Jackson Co., Tenn .

1847

Chesterville, S. C .

1847-8

Murfreeshorough, Tenn .

1849

Pittsburgh, Pa .

1850

Allegheny Co., Pa .

1850

Seneca River, N. Y . . . .

1850

Salt, River, Ky .

18'0

Botetourt Co., Va .

1853

Jefferson Co., Tenn .

1853

Union Co., Ga .

1853

July ....

Campbell Co., Tenn .

1853

August .

Tazewell, Claiborne Co., Tenn . .

1854

Major*, Ontario .

1854

Haywood Co., N. C .

1855

Coahuila, Mexico .

1856

Nelson Co., Ky .

1856

Nehraska .

1856

Madison Co., N. C .

1856

Forsyth, Ta.nev Co., Mo .

1856

Marshall Co., Ky .

1856

Denton Co., Texas .

1856

Oktibbeha, Miss .

1857

Laurens Co., S. C . .

1858

Washington Co., Wis .

Smithsonian Report 1863, 55, 85.

A. J. S. XVIII2, 369 ; XIX2, 161, 162.

A. J. S. XV2,12; XXXVI3, 158.

Sci. Am. Supp. Oct. 19, 1889.

. J. S. XV2, ll.

. J. S. VIIIlt 218 ; XVIx, 217 ; XXVIIj, 382.
. J. S. XV2, 11.

. J. S. XVo, 19.

. J. S. XLVIIIi, 388 ; II2, 374, 391.

. J. S. XLVIj, 401 ; II2, 391 ; XVo, 20.

. J. S. XVTIj, 140 ; XLj, 369.

. J. S. XVIL, 140 ; I Io, 391 ; X Vo, 21.

. J.S. XI2,39; XXX1V2, 298.

. J. S. II2, 391 ; XV2, 21.

. J. S. XLIXj, 344 ; 1 12, 391 ; XV2, 21.

. J. S. XL1? 366 ; I I2l 390 ; IV2, 75.

15. A. J. S. XXXIVi, 332; XLVIII'i, 145.

16. A. J. S. XXXVIa, 81; XLIIIi.359.

17. A. J. S. XXXI2, 459.

18. A. J. S. XVI[2, 331.

19. A. J. S. IV2, 82.

20. Lon., Ed. and Dublin Phil. Mag. X4, 12.

21. A. J.S. XXXVII llt 250; XLIIli, 354.

22. A. J. S. II2, 357; XVo, 21.

(A. J. S. Xo, 128; XV2,5, 16.

23. ■< Proc. A. A. A. S. 1850, Vol. I, 152 ; 1851,
( Vol. 11,189.

24. A. J. S. XLIIli, 169; I To, 392.

25. A. J.S. XLIIli, 169; H2, 392.

26. A. J. S. II2, 356 ; XV2, 20.

27. A. J. S. XLIXi, 342; II2, 391.

PROGRESS OF METEORIC ASTRONOMY IN AMERICA.

319

Discovered. AEeteorites..

1 Number.

Weight.

Authority.

Remarks.

1

1,400 lbs.

Joseph Henry .

The “Ainsa ” or “Tucson” meteorite.

2

3

4

5

6

11,819 “

2,000 “

1,635 “

1,700 “

The “Bendego” meteorite.

Weight 30,000 or 40,000 lbs.

7

36 lbs.

B. Silliman.

8

150 “

B. Silliman.

9

28 “

C. U. Shepard.

10

2 “

C. U. Shepard.

11

0.1 lb.

C. U. Shepard .

Rammelsburg thought this was not a meteorite.

12

C. U. Shepard .

“A few ounces.” Dr. Genth thought it was Spiegeleisen,

13

165 lbs.

G. Troost.

14

8 “

C. U. Shepard.

15

40 “

C. T. Jackson.

16

30 “

C. U. Shepard .

One date given is 1845.

17

324 “

C. U. Shepard.

18

72 “

J. E. Willett.

19

1.3 “

C. U. Shepard.

20

17 “

R. P. Greg .

Found in the desert of Tarapaca.

21

2,000 “

G. Troost.

22

9.9 “

G. Troost.

23

117 “

C. U. Shepard .

Found on “ Ruff’s Mountain.”

24

J. B. Rogers .

“ Original mass of many pounds’ weight.”

25

280 lbs.

W. B. Rogers .

No weight given.

26

G. Troost.

27

29 “

G. Troost .

Found near Babb’s mill. j

28

36 “

G. Troost.

29

C. U. Shepard .

Weighed 276 grains.

30

Robert Gilmore....

Weighed “15 or 20 pounds.”

31

G. Troost .

Weighed 15 oz.

32

36 lbs.

C. U. Shepard.

33

19 “

G. Troost.

34

0.6 lb.

F. A. Genth.

35

292 lbs.

B. Silliman.

36

9 “

Date somewhat doubtful.

37

8 “

B. Silliman.

38

39

40

41

2.5 lbs.

15 “

0.3 lb.

C. U. Shepard .

Original mass lost.

42

60 lbs.

C. U. Shepard .

Also described by J. L. Smith.

43

370 “

T. Sterry Hunt.

44

O. U. Shepard .

Weight about oz.

The “Couch” meteorite.

45

252 lbs.

J. L. Smith .

46

47

0.21b.

35 lbs.

G. J. Brush.

48

0.11b.

G. J. Brush.

49

197 lbs.

C. U. Shepard.

50

15 “

C. U. Shepard.

51

C. U. Shepard .

Weighed 66 grains.

52

0.3 lbs.

W. J. Taylor .

Found in an Indian mound.

53

. 4.7 “

W. E. Hidden.

54

85.8 “

F. Breundecke.

28. A. J. S. XLIXx, 341 ; II2, 391.

29. A. J. S. II2, 391 ; XV2, 16.

30. A. ,J. S. II2, 392; IV2, 87.

31. A. J. S. II2, 357 ; XV2, 21.

32. A. AS. Vlfo, 449 ; XV,, 21.

33. A. J. S. V2, 351 ; XVo, 21.

34. A. J. S. XV2, 22 ; X1I3,72.

35. A. J. S. XVo, 7 ; Proc. A. A. A. S. 1850, Vol.

II, 37.

36. A. J. S. XIV2, 439 ; XV2, 363.

37. A. J. S. XV2, 22 ; Proc. A. A. A. S. 1850, 36.

38. A. J. S. XL1I2, 250.

39. A. J. S. XVII2, 329.

40. A. J. S. XVII2, 328.

41. A. J. S. XIX2, 153.

42. A. J. S. XVII2, 131, 325 ; XIXo, 153.

43. A.J. S. XlXo, 417,

44. A. J. S. XVI To, 327.

,, ? A. J. S. XIX2, 160.

■ \ Smithsonian Report, 1863, 56.

46. A. J. S. XXX2, 240 ; XXX lo, 459.

47. A. J. S. XXX2, 204; XXXIIo, 146.

48. A. J. S. XXX2, 240 ; XXXIo, 459,

49. A. J. S. XXXo,205; XXXIV3, 467.

50. A. J. S., XXXo, 240 ; XXXIo, 459.

„ ( A. J. S. XXX I2, 459.

' t Trans. St.. Louis Acad. Sci. I, 623.

52. A. J. S. XXIV2, 293.

53. A. J. S. XXXI3, 463.

54. Smithsonian Report 1869, 417.

320

EASTMAN.

CATALOGUE I I -Dis-

Date.

£

s

3

a

Year.

55

1858-9

56

1859

57

1860

58

1860

59

1860

60

1860

61

1860

62

1863

63

1863

64

1863

65

1863

66

1866

67

1866

68

1867

69

1868

70

1868

71

1868

72

1869

73

1869

74

1869

75

1870

76

1873

77

1873

78

1874

79

1875

80

1877

81

1878 •

82

1879

83

1879

84

1879

85

1880

86

1880

87

1880

88

1882

89

1882

90

1883

91

1883

92

1883

93

1884'

94

1884

95

1884

96

1884

97

1885

98

1887

99

1887

100

1887

101

1887

102

1888-

103

1888

104

1888

105

1888

106

1888

Month and day.

October ...
December.

February 18

June 9,

April

August.

July 19.

June 10.

May 15,

June,

August.

January .,
March....,
March —
March 27,
April 30....

Locality.

Augusta Co., Va . . . .

Rogue River Mountains, Ore..
Mountains of East Tennessee.

Franklin Co., Ky .

La Grange, Oldham Co., Ky .

Coopertown, Tenn .

Newton Co., Ark .

Rensselaer Co., N. Y .

Colorado . .

Tucson, Arizona .

Dakota . . .

Bear Creek, Colo .

Frankfort, Ky .

Allen County, Ky .

Losttown, Cherokee Co., Ga .

“ Southeastern Missouri” .

Auburn, Macon Co., Ala .

Utah .

El Dorado Co., Cal .

Trenton, Wis . .

Howard Co., Ind .

Madison (Jo., N. C .

Cleburne Co., Ala . .

Waconda, Kan .

San Francisco, Brazil .

Whitfield Co., Ga .

Fayette Co., Texas .

Whitfield Co., Ga .

Davidson Co., N. C . .

Ivanpah, Cal .

Eagle Station, Carroll Co., Ky..

Lexington Co., S. C . . .

Rutherford Co., N. C .

Maverick Co., Texas .

Burke Co., N. C .

Grand Rapids, Mich .

Little Miami Valley, Ohio .

Wayne Co., W. Va .

Independence Co., Ark .

Hammond, St. Croix Co., Wis..
Santa Fe County, New Mexico.

Chili .

Catorze, San Luis Potosi, Mex.

Laramie Co., Wyoming .

Claiborne Co., Tenn .

Cumberland Co., Tenn .

Chattooga Co., Ga .

Welland, Ontario .

Chili .

Chili .

Chili .

Hamilton Co., Texas .

.a,

(D

S3

O

05

t-t

o

I.

I.

T.

I.

r.

i.

i.

s,

I.

[.

I.

I.

I.

I.

I.

I,

I.

s.

I.

I.

I.

I.

I.

s.

I.

I.

s.

I.

1.

I.

I.

I.

I.

I.

I.

I.

I.

I.

I.

I.

I.

I.

I.

I.

• I.

s.

I.

I.

I.

r.&s.

i.

i.

55. A. J. S. XV3, 337.

56. Proc. Boston Soc. Nat. Hist. Vol. 7, 161, 174,

175, 191, 279, 289.

„ f A. J. S., XXXIV3, 473.

0I’ | Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Phil. 1886, 366.

58. Smith. Report 1868, 343; A. J. S. XLIX.331.

59. A. J. S. XXXfo, 151, 265.

60. A. J. S. XXXb, 151, 266.

61. A. J. S. XLo, 213; XXXIV3, 471.

62. A. J. S. XXX IV3, 60.

63. A. J. S. XL1I2, 218.

rl /A. J. S. XXXV I2, 152.
b*’ (Proc. Cal. Acad. Sci. Ill, 30.

65. A. J. S. XXXV l2, 259.

66. A. J. S. XLI12, 250, 286; XLIII2, 280.

67. A. J. S. XLIXo, 331.

68. A. J. S. XXXfir3, 500.

69. A. J. S. XLVlo, 257 ; XLVIL, 234.

70. A. J. S. XLVIlo, 233.

71. A. J. S. XLVn2, 230.

72. A. J. S. XXXI13, 226. .

73. A. J. S. III3, 438; Vr3, 18.

74. A. J. S. XLVIlo, 271 ; III3, 69.

75. A. J. S. V3, 155 ; VII3, 391.

76. A. J. S. X1I3, 439.

77. A. J. S. XIX3. 370; XX3, 74.

78. A. J. S. XI3, 473 ; XIII3, 211.

(Comptes Rendus LXXXIH, 917, 918;

79. < LXXX IV, 478, 482, 1085, 1508.

(a. J. S. XXIIIg, 232 ; XXIX3, 33, 496.

PROGRESS OF METEORIC ASTRONOMY IN AMERICA.

321

covered. IVEeteorites— Cont’d.

Number.

Weight.

Authority.

Remarks.

55

152 lbs.

J. W. Mallet.

56

Mass above ground, 4.5 x 3.5 feet.

57

254 lbs.

F. A. Genth.

58

0.1 lb.

G. J. Brush.

59

112 lbs.

Found by Wm. Daring.

60

37 “

Found by D. Crockett.

61

62

J. L. Smith .

Specimen weighed 22% oz.

3.3 lbs.

S. C. H. Bailey.

63

64

29 “

632 “

Found near Central City by Otho Curtice.

65

10.6 “

Dr. Jackson .

Found in the “ Dakota Indian country.'’

436 “

J. L. Wilson.

67

24 “

J. L. Smith.

68

69

24.3 “

6.6 “

J. E. Whitfield.

70

0.8 lb.

C. IT. Shepard.

71

8 lbs.

C. U. Shepard.

72

1.9 “

E. S. Dana.

73

85 “

B. Silliman.

74

143.5 “

J. L. Smith .

Six fragments found; the first in 1869.

75

4 “

E. T Cox.

76

25 “

B. S. Burton.

77

35.8 “

W. E. Hidden.

78

116 “

C. U. Shepard.

79

22,048 “

E. Guignet .

In the province of San Catherina.

80

13 “

W. E. Hidden.

81

321 “

Whitfield and
Merrill.

.

82

117 “

C. U. Shepard.

83

2.8 “

1 W. E. Hidden.

84

128.2 “

C. U. Shepard.

85

80 “

G. F.Kunz.

86

10.5 “

C. IT. Shepard.

87

. 4.8 “

L. G. Eakins.

88

97.25 “

W. E. Hidden.

89

1 Mb.

G. F. Kunz.

90

114 lbs.

J. R. Eastman.

*

91

G. F. Kunz .

Fragments found in mounds by F. W. Putnam; now in
the Peabody Museum.

92

26 lbs.

G. F. Kunz .

Several fragments.

93

94 “

W. E. Hidden.

94

53 “

Davenport Fisher.

95

324.4 “

G. F. Kunz .

Several fragments.

96

14.5 “

Ward and Howell.

Found near Puquios. Not yet described.

97

92 “

G. F. Kunz.

98

• 25.06“

G. F. Kunz.

99

18 “

G. F. Kunz.

100

94.5 “

J. E. Whitfield.

101

27 “

G. F. Kunz.

102

17.5 “

E. E. Howell.

103

16 “

Ward and Howell.

Thirty leagues east of Taltal. Not yet described.

104

27 “

Ward and Howell.

Thirty-five leagues S. E. of Taltal. Not yet described.

105

Ward and Howell.

Estimated at from 6 to 8 lbs.

106

179 “

Ward and Howell.

Found five miles south of Carlton. Not yet described.

■80. A. J. S. XTVg, 246 ; XXI3, 286.

81. A. J. S. XXXVI3) 113.

82. A. J. S. XXVI3, 836; XXXIV3, 473.

83. A. J. S. XX3, 324.

84. A. J. S. XIX3, 381.

85. A. J. 8. XXXIII3, 228.

86. A. J. S. XXI3.H7.

87. A. .J. S. XXXIX3, 395.

88. A. J. S. XXXIIg. 304; XXXIIIg, 115.

89. A. J. S. XXXVig, 275.

90. A. J. S. XXVlIl3l 299 ; XXX3, 312.

91. A. J. S. XXXIII3, 228.

92. A. J. S. XXXI3) 145; Proc. A. A. A. S., 1885,

246.

93. A. J. S. XXX r3, 460; School of Mines Quar¬

terly, Columbia Coll., VII, No. 2, 188.

94. A. J. S. XXXIV3, 381.

95. A. J. S. XXX3) 235 ; XXXII3, 311.

96.

97. A. J. S. XXXIII3, 233.

98. A. J. S. XXXVI3) 276.

99. A. J. S. XXX1V3, 475.

100. A. J. S. XXXIV3. 387, 476.

101. A. J. S. XXXIV3, 471.

102. Science, N. Y., March 7, 1890, 167..

103.

104.

105.

106.

322

EASTMAN.

CATALOGUE Ill -Discovered.

Number.

Locality..

Iron or stone.

Weight.

1

I.

1 lb.

2

I.

30,000 lbs.

1.4 “

3

Crawford Co., Arkansas .

S.

4

I.

386 “

5

I.

19 “

80 “

6

Los'Angeles, Cal...... . . .

I.

7

S.

8

I.

3,853 lbs.

9

I.

10

Sierra de Chaco, Chili .

S. & I.

11

Durango. Mexico . . .

I.

72.75 “

12

Oaxaca, Mexico .

I.

13

San Luis Potosi, Mexico . . .

I.

14

Xiquipilco, Mexico .

I.

108.6 “

15

Mexico . . .

I.

192 “

16

Mexico .

I.

17

Mexico . .

I.

18

Mexico .

I.

2,942 lbs.

0.51b.

19

Mexico .

I.

20

Mexico .

I.

21

Mexico .

I.

5,000 lbs.

90 “

22

23

Ral.es On , Missouri

I.

I.

Ironton, Missouri .

24

Rasgata, New Granada .

I.

129 lbs.

25

Rockingham Co., N. C . .

I.

11 “

26

I.

6 “

27

Green Co., Tenn .

I.

290 “

28

Jefferson Co., Tenn .

1.

1.4 “

29

s.

5.5 “

30

Augusta Co., Va .

I.

3.5 “

31

Augusta Co., Va .

I.

36 **

32

Augusta Co., Va . *. .

I.

56 “

33

Augusta Co., Va . .*. . .

I.

2.2 “

34

Kiowa Co., Kansas .

I.

35

Chili .

I.

95.5 lbs.

36

Jackson Co., Oregon .

I.

2 oz.

1. A. J. S. XXXIV3, 59.

2. A. J. S. XV2, 12.

3. Owen’s 2d Geological Reconnaissance of

Ark., 408.

4. Trans. Rov. Soc. Canada, IV, sect. Ill, 97.

5. A. J. S., XXIX3, 469.

6. A. J. S. IV3, 495.

7. A. J. S. XXXV3, 490.

( A. J. S. XlXo, 163 ; II3, 335; III3, 207.
t Proc. A. A. A. S. 1871, 266.

9. Buchner, 127.

10. Buchner, 131.

11. A. J. S. XXXVII3, 439.

12. A. J. S. XV2, 21.

13. Buchner, 149.

14. A. J. S. XVo, 20; XXIIo, 374; XXIVo, 295.

15. A. J. S. XXIX3, 232.

16. Proc. A. A. A. S. 1871, 269.

17. Proc. A. A. A. S. 1871, 269.

PROGRESS OF METEORIC ASTRONOMY IN AMERICA.

323

Meteorites witliont Date.

©

a

3

Authority.

Remarks.

53

1

2

R. B. Riggs.

Found in Col. Abert’s collection of minerals presented to the Na¬
tional Museum.

3

4 A. P. Coleman . Brought to Coburg, Canada, in 1869.

5 C. U. Shepard.

6 C. T. Jackson.

7 G. P. Merrill . Put through an ore-crusher before its character was known.

8 J. L. Smith.

9

10

11

12

13

14

15

16

17

18

19

20
21
22

23

24

25

26

27

28

29

30

31

33

34

35

36

J. E. Whitfield.

N. T. Lupton.
J. L. Smith ...
J. L. Smith ...
J. L. Smith ...

J. L. Smith ...

W. M. Pierson.
G. C. Brodhead.

Numerous pieces.

The San Gregorio meteorite, 6.5 feet long, 5.5 wide, 4.0 high.

“The largest yet found in that vicinity.”

The “Butcher” meteorites— six, weighing 290, 430, 438, 550,580,
and 654 lbs.

Found in a collection of minerals from Mexico.

Now in National Museum, Washington, D. C. Estimated weight,
2,500 lbs.

Small specimen.

J. L. Smith.

C. U. Shepard . .

W. P. Blake.

R. B. Riggs .

L. G. Eakins .

J. W. Mallet.

J. W. Mallet.

J. W. Mallet.

G. F. Kunz and J. W.
Mallet.

F. H. Snow .

Ward and Howell.
Ward and Howell.

Property of the Smithsonian Institution; place of discovery un¬
known.

Riggs considers this a doubtful specimen.

Probably found in Texas.

Found by “cowboys” before that portion of Kansas was settled ;
fragments weighing in the aggregate more than 1,600 lbs. dis¬
covered.

Found about 10 or 12 leagues east of the port of Chanaral ; not yet
described.

Piece of a mass found by a miner.

18. Proc. A. A. A. S. 1871, 269.

19. A. J. S. XLV2, 77.

20.

21. Smithsonian Report, 1873, 419.

22. A. J. S. X3, 401 ; XIII3, 213.

23.

24. A. J. S. XV2, 11.

25. A. J. S. XIII3, 213.

26. A. J.S. XXII3, 119.

27. A. J. S. XXXI3, 41.

28. A. J. S. XXXIV3, 60.

29. A. J. S. XXXIX3, 59.

30. A. J. S. II3, 10.

31. A. J. S. II3, 10.

32. A. J.S. 1 13, 10.

33. A. J. S. XXXIII3, 58.

34. Science N.Y.,Vol. XV, No. 379, 290; No. 384,359

35.

36.

40-Bull. Phil. Soc., Wash., Vol. 11.

324

EASTMAN.

CATALOGUE IV.-

Year.

1803

1833

1834

1834

1835

1835

1835

1836
1836
1836
1836
1836
1836

1836

1837
1837
1837
1837
1837
1837

1837

1838
1838
1838
1838
1838
1838
1838
1838
1838
1838
1838
1838
1838
1838
1838
1838
1838
1838

1838

1839
1839
1839
1839
1839
1839
1839
1839
1839
1839

Date.

Time of Shower.

Time of max.

flight.

Whole num¬

ber counted.

Max. hourly

rate.

Radiant point.

No. of observ’s.

Month.

£

Q

Begin¬

ning.

End.

h.

m.

h.

m.

h.

m.

19

13

0

15

0

800

Nov .

13

9

0

Sunrise

16

0

200,000

“ Bend of the Sickle ” in Leo

u

12

14

50

17

25

17

0

18

1

CC

12

Many.

“ In Leo ” .

if

13

CC

13

„

13

CC

12

14

0

16

0

248

It

12

0

18

15

253

t<

12

15

30

16

0

15

40

29

CC

12

23

1

«

12

75

«<

12

500

12

18

Aue. ...

9

8

0

15

n

a — 55°, 6 — -f 60° .

1

Nov

12

13

5

Sunrise

16

30

226

Near ju. Leonis .

8

12

14

0

70

Tn Leo . .

1

cc

12

14

0

18

0

45

1

cc

12

14

45

16

37

74

12

12

15

15

17

15

16

0

34

17

1

12

15

45

17

0

52

Tn Leo .

1

April...

20

10

0

16

0

154

2

Aug. ...

8

11

30

12

30

20

a — 55°, 8 — + 60° .

1

9

9

30

16

20

16

15

54

a — 35°, 8— + 69° . -v .

1

CC

9

15

0

15

45

24

1

it

10

8

55

TO

0

36

In Cassiopese . .

3

CC

10

9

0

11

0

48

■ 2

It

10

9

30

16

0

122

Near e Cassiopete .

1

CC

10

14

30

16

o

65

“ Sword handle of Perseus”.

2

Nov. ...

11

12

0

18

0

15

30

199

53

In Leo .

8

“

12

12

0

17

0

13

30

131

37

8

“ ...

. 13

13

0

17

20

15

30

233

80

“ .

8

“

22

13

20

15

30

14

30

50

25

8

Dec

6

8

0

17

0

113

In Perseus .

5

7

8

0

11

0

210

5

<<

7

10

0

11

0

78

“ Zenith ” .

3

«

8

7

15

9

0

59

3

tt

11

8

45

10

0

18

1

(C

12

6

0

13

30

28

3

CC

15

6

0

9

15

9

4

April...

18

12

0

15

0

58

a — 273°, 8 — + 45° .

2

18

14

0

16

0

25

2

,c

19

12

15

13

15

19

4

CC

19

14

0

16

0

25

2

Aug....

4

9

0

11

0

36

Vicinity of Cassiopese .

2

9

9

7

14

7

13

30

691

*194 '

Sword handle of Perseus .

4

9

12

41

15

36

100

1

CC

10

9

0

16

0

187

66

1

CC

10

9

0

76

2

CC

10

9

30

10

0

33

“Algenib ” .

1

1. A. J. S. XXXVIj, 358; Va. Gazette and

General Advertiser, April 23,1803; N. H.
Gazette, Mav 31, 1803; Med. Repository,
N. Y., Vol. 1, 1804.

2. A. J. S. XX Vx, 354, 363.

3. A. J. S. XXVlIlt 335; XXVIIIx, 305.

4. A. J. S. XXVI lx, 339.

5. A. J. S. XXXx, 375.

6. “ “

7. A. J. S. XXXx, 376.

8. A. J. S. XXXIx, 390.

9. A. J. S. XXXL, 388.

10. A. J. S. XXXIx, 390.

11. A. J. S. XXXIj, 389.

12. A. J. S. XXXIx, 391.

13. A. J. S. XXXIx, 392.

14. A. J. S. XXXIlx, 392.

15. A. J. S. XXXIIIj, 133.

16. A. J. S. XXXIIIx, 379.

17.

18.

19. “ “

20. “ “

21. “ “ “

22. A. J. S. XXXIVi, 398.

23. A. J. S. XXX Vx, 167.

24. “ “ “

PROGRESS OP METEORIC ASTRONOMY IN AMERICA,

325

M! e t e o r Showers.

| Ref. number, j

Authority.

Place of observation.

Remarks.

1

Richmond, Va., and Ports-

“ Fell too fast to be counted.”

2

Prof. D. Olmstead .

Prof. A. D. Bache .

Prof. A. C. Twining .

mouth, N. R.

Number estimated; seen throughout
the Atlantic and Gulf States.

Observed on the morning of the 13th.
“Unusual number;” hourly rate es¬
timated at 40 or 50.

“Unusual number.” Observed on the

3

4

Philadelphia, Pa.

West Point, N. Y .

5

6

Mt. St. Mary’s College, Md..

Salisbury, N. C .

7

morning of the 14th.

“Unusual number.”

Many seen that were not recorded.

8

.

New York, N. Y .

9

Springvale, Me.

10

Cloudy.

Observed one hour.

Whole number estimated at 400.

11

12

.

13

.

Randolph and Macon Col¬
lege, Va.

Hingham, Mass.

New York, N. Y .

14

.T T Russell . ^

15

G. C. Sehaeffer .

Counted between 200 and 300.

Majority left trains.

Many trains.

16

Prof. D. Olmstead .

New Haven, Conn .

17

G. C. Schaeffer .

New York, N. Y .

18

19

20
21
22

23

24

Prof. F. A. P. Barnard.

Prof. E. Loomis . !

E. Fitch .

L. Obermeyer .

Prof. Wright .

G. C. Schaeffer .

T. R. Dutton .

New York, N. Y.

Hudson, Ohio.

New Haven, Conn.

Mt. St. Mary’s College, Md.
Knoxville, Tenn.

! Barren Hill, Pa.

1 Wilmington Island, Ga.
Society Hill, S. C.

Norfolk, Va.

25

W. A. Sparks .

26

J. D. Dana .

27

E. C. Herrick .

New Haven, Conn.

28

T. R. Dutton .

Wilmington Island, Ga.
Rock Island, Ill.

29

C. G. Forshey .

30

Prof. J. Lovering .

Cambridge, Mass .

Only two observers after 17 hours.

31

32

33

34

Prof. J. Lovering .

Prof. J. Lovering .

Prof. J. Lovering .

E. C. Herrick .

Cambridge, Mass.
Cambridge, Mass.
Cambridge, Mass.

New Haven, Conn.

35

E. 0. Herrick .

New Haven, Conn.

36

37

Prof. A. W. Smith .

E. C. Herrick .

Middletown, Conn.

New Haven, Conn.

•

38

E. C. Herrick .

New Haven, Conn.

39

E. C. Herrick .

New Haven, Conn.

40

E. C. Herrick.... .

New Haven, Conn.

41

E. 0. Herrick .

New Haven, Conn.

42

Prof. E. Loomis .

Hudson, Ohio.

43

E. C. Herrick .

New Haven, Conn.

44

Prof. E. Loomis .

Hudson, Ohio.

45

E. C. Herrick .

New Haven, Conn.

•

46

E. C. Herrick .

New Haven, Conn.

*

47

T. R. Dutton .

Columbia, Tenn.
Middletown, Conn.

48

L. L. Knox .

49

Charles Baldwin .

New York, N. Y.

50

Prof. A. W. Smith .

Middletown, Conn.

25.

26.

27.

28.

29.

30.

31.

A. J. S. XXXVi, 167.

U U it

Trans. Am. Phil. Soc. VII, 266.
A. J. S. XXXVi, 323.

U U it

33. “ “ “

34. A. J. S. XXXVi, 361 ; XXXVIi, 355.

35. A. J. S. XXXVi, 361.

36. “ “ “

38. A. J. S. XXXVi, 361.

39.

40.

41. A. J. S. XXXVIi, 3«1.

42. “ “ “

43. “ “ «

44. it ct “

45. A. J. S. XXXVIIi, 325.

46. A. J. S. XXXVIIi, 325.

47. A. J. S. XXXVIIIi, 203.

48. A. J. S. XXXVIIi, 325.

49. “ “ “

50. “ “ “

37.

326

EASTMAN.

CATALOGUE IV.-

Ref. number.

Pate.

Time of Shower.

Time of max.

flight.

Whole num¬

ber counted.

Year.

Month.

>>

cS

ft

Begin¬

ning.

End.

h.

m.

h.

m.

h.

m.

51

1839

Aug. ...

10

10

0

13

0

13

0

491

52

1839

“ ...

10

11

20

12

20

50

53

1839

11

9

0

10

0

28

54

1839

“ ...

14

10

0

12

0

72

55

1840

9

8

0

16

0

171

56

1840

“ ...

9

10

0

15

30

15

0

818

57

1840

“ ...

9

14

15

15

45

112

58

1840

“ ...

10

15

0

15

35

35

59

1841

April...

18

8

30

11

30

60

60

1841

19

11

0

13

0

20

61

1841

Aug. ...

9

12

0

15

0

49

62

1841

U

10

9

0

10

0

60

63

1842

April...

20

10

20

16

0

15

30

151

64

1842

Aug. ...

8

9

50

16

0

90

65

1842

9

10

0

12

0

133

66

1842

“ ...

10

10

10

11

0

89

67

1842

Nov .

13

15

o

16

o

46

68

1844

Aug. ...

9

11

20

15

0

13

30

367

69

1844

“ ...

10

8

0

13

0

117

70

1844

M

11

9

50

15

0

14

0

622

71

1844

“ ...

12

13

50

15

0

46

72

1845

“ ...

9

10

0

13

0

81

73

1846

“ ...

10

12

0

14

0

46

74

1846

«

11

9

0

10

0

41

75

1847

“ ...

10

10

0

12

0

41

76

1847

“ ...

10

12

0

14

0

415

77

1847

“ ...

11

9

15

10

0

37

78

1848

“ ...

9

13

0

15

30

15

15

475

79

1848

1C

9

13

30

15

30

216

80

1848

“ ...

9

15

0

16

45

55

81

1849

April...

19

13

0

14

0

54

82

1849

Aug....

10

10

0

12

30

260

83

1850

...

9

12

40

15

0

13

30

451

84

1850

“ ...

10

10

0

12

0

312

85

1850

U ...

10

12

0

15

0

351

86

1852

“ ...

9

14

0

14

40

19

87

1853

“ ...

10

11

45

15

25

14

30

408

88

1855

“ ...

9

10

25

14

30

13

30

385

89

1855

(C

10

10

30

13

0

13

30

290

90

1855

“ ...

11

10

0

11

0

37

91

1855

“ ...

11

13

55

15

5

58

92

1855

...

12

13

30

14

45

36

93

1856

“ ...

10

11

5

14

50

12

30

283

94

1858

“ ...

9

10

45

15

10

14

35

128

95

1858

“ ...

9

12

5

14

5

56

96

1858

...

10

8

30

9

0

11

97

1858

((

10

13

7

13

52

29

98

1858

44 ...

11

14

15

15

15

33

99

1859

July ...

29

10

30

11

30

16

*0

1859

Aug. ...

5

11

0

12

0

19

101

1859

9

11

0

13

0

64

102

1859

“ ...

9

13

0

15

30

15

15

304

103

1859

44 ...

9

14

15

15

30

56

104

1860

tC

9

10

0

15

10

14

30

588

3

189

44

332

76

55

79

139

152

281

216

119

110

136

100

156

155

Radiant point.

Sword handle of Perseus .

(4 (4

Ret. Cassiopeee and Perseus..
Sword handle of Perseus .

a = 30°, 8 = + 63° 30' . !”!!!

a = 198°, 5 = — 8°.

Corona Borealis

Sword handle of Perseus.

/3 Cassiopeee.

Sword handle of Perseus

Head of Perseus.

In Perseus

In Perseus

In Perseus.

Sword handle of Perseus.

•< «

44 44

Sword handle of Perseus . .

a = 38° 30', 3 = + 57° 15' .

Sword handle of Perseus......

4

1

3

3
1

4
1
1
1

3
1

2

5
7
7
7
2

4
1
4
2
1
4
2
1
4
4
4
3
1

3

4
3
3

1

3

3

3

1

1

1

3

1

1

1

1

•1

1

1

3

4
1
7

51. A. J. S. XXXVIIi, 325.

52. Trans. Am. Phil. Soe. VII, 268.

53. “

54. A. J. S. XXXVIIi, 325.

55. Trans. Am. Phil. Soc. VII, 270.

56. A. J. S. XXXIXj, 328.

57.

58. “ “ “

59. A. J. S. XLIIj, 397.

60. “ “ “

61. A. J. S. XLIj, 399.

62. “ “ “

63. A. J. S. XLIIIi. 212.

64. A. J. S. XLIIIi, 377.

65. A. J. S. XLIIIi, 377.

66. “ “ “

67. A. J. S. XLIVi, 209.

68. A. J. S. XLVIIIj, 316.

69. A. J. S. XLVIIIx, 320.

70. A. J. S. XLVIIIi, 316.

71.

72. A. J. S. I2, 86.

73. A. J. S. II r2, 125.

74. “ “ “

75. Sidereal Messenger, II, 14.

76. A. J. S. VI2, 278.

77. “ “ “

78. A. J. S. VI2, 279.

No. of observ’

PROGRESS OP METEORIC ASTRONOMY IN AMERICA.

327

Meteor Showers-Cont’d.

Ref. number.

Authority.

Place of observation.

Remarks.

51

E. C. Herrick .

New Haven, Conn.

52

C. G. Forshey .

St. Louis, Mo.

53

C. G. Forshey .

Illinois River.

54

E. C. Herrick .

New Haven, Conn.

55

C. G. Forshey .

Philadelphia. Pa.

56

Moon set at 14h. 0m.

57

G. C. Schaeffer .

Jamaica, L. I.

58

G. C. Schaeffer .

Jamaica, L. I.

59

C. G. Forshey .

No trains ; paths short.

60

E. C. Herrick .

New Haven, Conn.

61

Dr. J. S. Huntington,
U. S. N.

Pensacola, Fla.

62

Dr. John Locke .

Cincinnati, Ohio.

63

Moon set at 15h. 0m.

64

Cloudy; actual observing time lli.lOm.
Cloudy.

Cloudy,

Cloudy after 16h.

Partially cloudy.

65

66

F_ C. Herrick .

New Haven, Conn .

67

68

E. C. Herrick .

New Haven, Conn .

E. C. Herrick .

New Haven, Conn .

69

S. R. Williams .

Canonsburg, Pa.

70

E. C. Herrick .

New Haven, Conn.

71

E. C. Herrick .

New Haven, Conn.

72

73

Fj. C. Herrick .

New Ha.ven, Conn .

Cloudy.

E. C. Herrick .

New Haven, Conn.

74

E. C. Herrick .

New Haven, Conn.

75

0. G. Forshey .

Pass Christian, La .

33 conformable with the x’adiant.

76

77

W. M. Smith .

Manlius, N. Y .

Cloudy after 14h.

Completely cloudy after lOh.

E. C. Herrick .

New Haven, Conn .

78

E. C. Herrick .

New Haven, Conn.

79

E. C. Herrick .

“ On Mt. Carmel.”

80

C. G. Forshey .

Mouth of Miss, river.

81

E. C. Herrick .

New Haven, Conn.

82

S. R. Williams .

Canonsburg, Pa.

83

E. C. Herrick .

New Haven, Conn.

84

E.C. Herrick .

New Haven, Conn.

85

E. C. Herrick .

New Haven, Conn.

86

John Edmunds .

New Haven, Conn.

87

E. C. Herrick .

New Haven, Conn.

88

E. C. Herrick .

New Haven, Conn .

306 conformable.

89

E. C. Herrick .

New Haven, Conn .

242 conformable.

90

E. C. Herrick .

New Haven, Conn .

One-half conformable.

91

E. C. Herrick .

New Haven, Conn .

45 conformable.

92

E. C. Herrick .

New FTfl.ven, Conn .

20 conformable.

93

E.C. Herrick .

New Haven, Conn.

94

F. Bradley .

Observed on railroad between Daven¬

95

Prof. A. C. Twining ...

Cleveland, Ohio.

port and Chicago, Ill.

96

Prof. A. C. Twining ...

Cleveland, Ohio.

97

Prof. A. C. Twining ...

Cleveland, Ohio.

98

Prof. A. C. Twining ...

Cleveland, Ohio.

99

F. Bradley .

Chicago, 111 .

6 conformable to the August radiant.
8 conformable to the August radiant.

100

F. Bradley .

Chicago, Ill .

101

F. Bradley . -...

Chicago, Ill.

102

F. Bradley .

Chicago, Ill .

Only a few unconformable meteors.

103

Prof. A. C. Twining ...

Boston, Mass.

104

E. C. Herrick .

New Haven, Conn.

79. A. J. S. VIo, 279.

80. A. J. S. XL, 133.

81. A. J. S. VIII2, 429.

82. u 44 44

83. " A. J. S. XI2, 130.

84.

85 44 44 44

86! A. J. S. XIV2, 430.

87. A. J. S. XVI2l 288.

88. A. J. S. XX2, 285.

89. “ “ “

90. “ “ “

91. A. J. S. XX2, 285.

92.

93.

94.

95.

96.

97.

98.

99.
100.
101.
102.

A. J. S. XXo, 285.

A. J. S. XXLI2, 290.
A. J. S. XXV12, 435.

A.

J. S. XXVIIIo, 446.

104. A. J. S. XXX2, 296.

328

EASTMAN.

CATALOGUE IV.-

| Ref. number, j

Date.

Time of Shower.

Time of max.

flight.

Whole num¬

ber counted.

Max. hourly

rate.

Radiant point.

| No. ofobserv’s.

Year.

Month.

&

ft

Begin¬

ning.

End.

h.

m.

h.

m.

In. m.

105

1860

Aug. ...

9

11

30

13

0

57

Sword handlet of Parsons .

1

106

1860

10

11

0

14

0

12 30

381

146

a — 32°, 8 — + 61° .

5

107

1860

7

7

0

9

0

46

N. E. of zenith .

3

108

1860

12

6

30

17

0

14 30

423

68

109

1860

.« ...

12

10

0

16

0

14 30

381

90

In Leo .

5

110

I860

,t

13

6

17

0

13 30

500

83

111

(t

13

15

15

16

15

21

In the “ Sickle ” in Leo

1

112

1800

it

14

15

40

16

25

15

1

113

I860

12

8

20

12

0

11 30

180

60

114

ISfil

19

14

45

16

0

52

2

115

1801

3

9

5

10

5

36

4

116

1861

Aug. ...

10

8

0

15

15

13 30

397

75

0 Persei .

2

117

1861

10

10

0

13

0

12 30

289

119

Sword handle of Perseus .

4

118

1861

it

10

10

25

14

45

12 30

289

85

Between tj, y, and r Persei ...

2

119

1861

it

10

10

30

13

0

95

In Perseus .

1

120

1861

it

10

12

25

13

0

12 30

100

37

1

121

1861

11

8

15

10

15

52

2

122

1861

it

11

9

30

12

0

47

In Perseus .

1

123

1861

Nov. ...

10

13

0

15

0

11

a — 156° 30', 8 = -f- 40° 40' . .

1

124

1861

11

14

15

16

40

32

Near y Leonis .

1

125

1861

11

14

15

15

30

32

In Leo .

2

126

1861

tt

11

16

0

17

0

15

1

127

1861

tt

12

15

0

17

0

16 30

13U

72

“

4

128

1861

tt

12

15

0

16

30

15

1

129

1861

tt

,JS2

11

15

12

15

11

4

130

1861

tt

12

15

20

16

20

27

4

131

1861

tt

13

10

0

13

0

15

Zenith .

1

132

1861

13

15

0

17

30

19

1

133

i861

tt

13

15

15

17

38

23

1

134

1862

Aug. ...

9

14

0

15

40

90

In Perseus .

2

135

1862

10

12

30

15

30

51

1

136

1862

Nov

13

12

0

15

0

59

In Leo .

2

137

1862

13

15

15

17

5

31

1

138

1862

tt

13

16

30

17

30

17

1

139

1863

Aug. ...

10

8

30

10

0

41

1

140

1863

10

9

0

12

0

399

Tn Perseus .

4

141

1863

it

10

9

0

13

0

257

2

142

1863

tt

10

9

15

10

15

96

3

143

186.3

c.

10

10

0

13

50

130

1

144

1863

tt

10

12

0

14

0

289

3

145

1863

tt

10

13

0

14

0

87

1

146

1863

tt

10

15

10

15

40

153

6

147

1863

tt

11

9

0

11

0

67

1

148

1863

Nov

11

10

0

15

0

105

149

1863

11

11

22

14

52

185

150

1863

it

12

10

0

14

0

129

151

1863

tt

12

10

20

15

51

199

152

1863

it

13

8

0

14

0

107

8

153

1863

c<

13

9

30

13

30

32

154

1863

it

13

10

10

17

7

15 0

213

46

In Leo .

6

155

1863

Ci

.13

10

38

17

16

15 30

316

69

In the “Sickle” in Leo .

7

105. A. J. S. XXXI2, 136.

106. “ “ “

107. A. J. S. XXXI2, 137.

108. A. J. S. XXXI2, 138.

109. A. J. S. XXX I«, 139.

110. A. J. S. XXXI2, 138.

111. A. J. S. XXX12, 137.

112.

113. A. J. S. XXXI2, 138.

114. A. J. S.XXXII2> 294.

115. A. J. S. XXXII2) 296.

116. A. J. S. XXXII2, 294.

117.

118. A. J. S. XXXII2, 294.

119. A. J. S. XXXIIo, 447.

120. A. J. S. XXXIIo. 295.

121. A. J. S. XXXHIo, 148.

122. A. J. S. XXXII2, 447.

123. A. J. S. XXXIII2, 148.

124. “

125. A. J. S. XXXIIIo, 146.

126. “ “ “

127. “

128. A. J. S. XXXIII2, 147.

129. A. J. S. XXX1I12. 148.

130. “ “ ' “

PROGRESS OE METEORIC ASTRONOMY IN AMERICA,

329

Meteor Showers-Cont’d.

Ref. number.

Authority.

Place of observation.

Remarks.

105

F. Bradley .

Chicago, Ill.

106

F. Bradley .

Chicago, III.

107

Prof. C. U. Shepard .

Off Cape Hatteras.

108

Francis Miller .

Montgomery Co., Md . .

Several students assisted in the ob¬

servations.

109

Half the number conformable after
13h.

110

Several students assisted in the ob¬
servations.

111

Prof. H. A. Newton .

New Haven, Conn.

112

Prof. H. A. Newton .

New Haven, Conn.

113

Francis Miller .

Montgomery Co., Md .

Several students assisted in the ob¬
servations.

114

E. C. Herrick .

New Haven, Conn .

No decided radiant.

115

E. C. Herrick .

New Haven, Conn.

116

F. W. Russell .

Natick, Mass.

117

A very large meteor at llh. 30m.

A very large meteor at llh. 23m.

118

B. V. Marsh .

Burlington, N. J .

119

Prof. A. C. Twining ...

New Haven, Conn.
Burlington, N. J.

120

R. M. Gummere .

121

John Roberts . * .

Madison, Ind.

122

Prof. A. C. Twining ...

New Haven, Conn.

123

F. W. Russell .

Natick, Ma«s.

124

F. W. Russell .

Natick, Mass.

125

Prof. A. C. Twining ...

New Haven, Conn.

126

E. C. Herrick .

New Haven, Conn.

127

Prof. A. C. Twining ...

New Haven, Conn.
Burlington, N. J.

128

S. J. Gummere .

129

Prof. D. Kirkwood .

Bloomington, Ind.

130

Prof. D. Kirkwood .

Bloomington, Ind.

131

F. W. Russell .

Natick, Mass.

132

S. J. Gummere .

Burlington, N. J.

133

B. V. Marsh .

Germantown, Pa .

Thirteen left trains.

134

F. W. Russell .

Winchendon, Mass.

135

B. V. Marsh . .

Germantown, Pa.

136

Prof. S. J. Gummere...

Haverford College, Pa.

137

B. V. Marsh .

Germantown, Pa.

138

Prof. A. C. Twining .

New Haven, Conn.

139

VV. G. Bryant .

Winchendon, Mass.

140

F. W. Russell .

Natick, Mass.

141

J. G. Pinkham .

Manchester, Me.

142

Prof. H. A. New. on .

New Haven, Conn.

143

B. V. Marsh .

Philadelphia, Pa.

144

F. W. Russell .

Natick, Mass.

145

F. Bradley .

Chicago, 111.

146

Prof H. A. Newton .

New Haven, Conn.

147

F. W. Russell .

Natick, Mass.

148

Prof. 0. N. Stoddard...

Oxford, Ohio.

149

Prof. H. L. Smith .

Kenyon College, Ohio.

150

Prof. O. N. Stoddard...

Oxford, Ohio.

151

Prof. H. L. Smith .

Kenyon College, Ohio.

152

Prof. A. I). Bache .

Coast Survey Office, Wash¬
ington, D. C.

More than half the tracks plotted.

153

Prof. H. A. Newton .

New Haven, Conn .

Hazy.

Track of each meteor plotted.

154

Gapt. J. M. Gilliss,
U. S. N.

U. S. Naval Observatory .

155

Prof. S. J. Gummere...

Haverford College, Pa .

200 tracks plotted.

131. A. J. S. XXXIir2, 148.

132. A. J. S. XXXIIIs, 147.

133. u 44

134’. A. J. S. XXX I V2, 295.

135 44 44 44

136. ' A. J. S. XXXV2) 146.

137. “ “ “ “

138. “ “

139. A. J. S. XXXVIo, 306.

140. A. J. S. XXXV4 305.

141. A. J. S. XXXVI2, 304.

142. A. J. S. XXXVI2, 302.

143. A. J. S. XXXV12, 304.

144. A. J. S. XXX VI2, 305.

145. “ “ " “

146. A. J. S. XXXVI2, 302.

147. A. J. S. XXXVI2, 305.

148. A. J. S. XXXVIlo, 144.

149. A. J. S. XXXVII2, 146.

150. A. J. S. XXXVIlo, 144.

151. A. J. S. XXXV Il2, 146.

152. A. J. S. XXXVI 12, 145.

153. A. J. S. XXXVlfo, 143.

154. A. J. S. XXXVIi; 141.

155. A. J. S. XXXVII2, 142.

330

EASTMAN,

CATALOGUE IV.

Ref. number.

Date.

Time of Shower.

Year.

Month.

>>

a

ft

Begin¬

ning.

End.

h.

m.

h.

m.

156

1863

Nov. ...

13

13

0

17

20

157

1863

“ ...

13

15

0

16

30

158

1863

“ ...

13

15

45

17

45

159

1864

Aug. ...

9

9

0

16

0

169i

1864

9

10

0

11

0

160

1864

9

10

20

13

0

161

1864

“

9

10

30

13

0

162

1864

“ ...

9

10

30

13

0

163

1864

4‘ ..

9

10

40

12

0

163x

1864

“ ...

9

11

30

14

30

164

1864

44

9

12

0

12

30

165

1864

“ ...

9

13

0

15

30

166

1864

“ ..

9

15

0

16

0

167

1864

Nov .

11

13

15

16

15

168

1864

44

12

13

45

16

0

169

1865

Aug. ...

9

14

25

15

50

170

1865

12

10

45

12

45

171

1865

CC

15

11

5

15

5

172

1865

i Nov. ...

12

13

0

14

0

173

1865

CC

12

15

0

16

0

174

1866

Aug. ...

9

9

0

9

20

175

1866

9

12

0

14

0

176

1866

44 ...

10

9

0

10

15

177

1866

CC

10

9

10

15

0

178

1866

“ ...

10

9

15

11

30

179

1866

44

10

12

0

14

15

180

1866

cc

10

12

0

14

15

181

1866

44 ...

10

13

0

14

0

182

1866

44 ...

10

14

0

16

0

183

1866

44 ...

11

8

15

9

0

184

1866

u

11

14

0

16

0

185

1866

Nov. ...

8

9

45

13

20

186

1866

44 ...

9

10

0

15

0

187

1866

44 ...

11

13

30

14

30

188

1866

44 ...

12

7

0

18

0

189

1866

CC

12

10

45

14

30

190

1866

CC

12

11

0

16

40

191

1866

44 ...

12

11

10

13

40

192

1866

CC

12

11

30

13

0

193

1866

44

12

12

0

17

0

194

1866

CC

12

13

0

15

0

195

1866

44 ...

12

13

10

13

40

196

1866

44 ...

12

14

20

15

20

197

1866

44 ...

12

14

40

17

30

198

1866

44 ...

12

15

54

16

39

199

1866

«c

12

16

6

16

36

200

1866

CC

12

201

1866

44 ...

13

7

0

18

0

202

1866

44 ...

13

8

30

16

30

203

1866

44 ...

13

10

0

15

0

204

1866

44 ...

13

11

0

14

0

205

1866

•4 ...

13

11

0

16

10

206

1866

CC

13

11

20

14

40

h. m.
15 30

14 30

14 30

12 30
14* "so"

14 30

14 30
13 30
16 10
11 30

15 30

17 15

13 30
15 0

13 0

15 30
12 30

S'O

g <D

s c

s
® o
o ?

3

o •

97

79

49

17
33
29

332

300

13
44
25

694

50

18

46
19
16

178

77

63

14
114

50
364
100
129
164

51
75

8

63
93

47
27

205

85

402

236

65

603

35

8

56

458

64
8

354

453

440

150

492

901

261

61

43

108

155

180

71

138

202

212

113

Radiant point.

In the “Sickle” in Leo.

In Leo.

a = 42°, 5 = +57°.
a = 52°, 6 = + 58°.

In the “Sickle” in Leo.,

In Cassiopese.
In Perseus .

In Perseus

“About Capella ”.
In Leo .

Between a and y Leonis.,

a = 147° 30', S = + 23° 15'.

In Leo.

A. J. S. XXXVIIo, 142.
A. J.S. XXX Vila, 143.

156.

157.

158.

159. A. J. S. XXXVI II*, 432
159x.

160.

161.

162.

163.

163x.

164.

165.

166.

167. A. J. S. XXXIXo, 229

168. A. J. S. XXXIX2, 229.

169. A. J. S. XL2, 284.

170.

171. “ “ “

172. A. J. S. XLI2) 273.

173.

174. A. J. S. XLII2) 286.

175. A. J.S. XLIIo, 429.

176. A. J. S. XLIIo, 286.

177. A. J. S. XLIIo, 429.

178.

179.

180. “ “ “

181. A. J. S. XLIIo, 429.

PROGRESS OF METEORIC ASTRONOMY IN AMERICA,

331

Meteor Showers-Cont’d.

X!

s

3

Authority.

Place of observation.

Remarks.

a>

03

156

157

158

159
159i

160

B. V. Marsh .

C. E. Dutton .

J. H. Worrall .

H. P. Tuttle .

G. Scarborough.

H. S. Osborn .

Germantown, Pa..
Norfolk, Va.

West Chester, Pa.
Off Charleston, S.
Riverside, Kan.
Belvidere, N. J.

C.

161

162

163
163i

164

165

166

167

168

169

170

171

172

173

174

175

176

177

178

179

180
181
182

183

184

185

186

187

188

189

190

191

192

193

194

195

196

197

198

199

200
201
202

203

204

205

206

Francis Bradley .

W. H. R. Lykins .

B. V. Marsh .

Prof. H. A. Newton .

G. Scarborough .

Francis Bradley .

G. Scarborough .

R. H. Stretch .

R. H. Stretch .

Prof. A. C. Twining .

Prof. A. C. Twining .

Prof. H. A. Newton .

O. B. Wheeler .

O. B. Wheeler .

D. Trowbridge .

Prof. H. A. Newton .

D. Trowbridge .

F. W. Russell .

Isaac Pierson .

B. V. Marsh .

R. M. Gummere .

Prof. H. A. Newton .

J. H. Worrall . .

D. Trowbridge .

J. H. Worrall .

James Ferguson .

James Ferguson .

F. Bradley .

Prof. Hopkins .

C. G. Rockwood .

James Ferguson .

Prof. H. A. Newton .

F. Bradley .

C. S. Lyman .

Prof. Hinrichs .

B. V. Marsh .

O.B. Wheeler .

Prof. H. A. Newton .

Prof. D. Kirkwood .

B. V. Marsh .

Maria Mitchell .

Prof. Hopkins .

Prof. Hinrichs .

John T. Wheeler .

Prof. C. S. Lyman .

Prof. H. A. Newton .

C. G. Rockwood .

Chicago, Ill .

Lawrence, Kan.
Philadelphia, Pa.

New Haven, Conn.
Riverside, Kan.

Chicago, Ill.

Riverside, Kan.

Virginia City, Nevada.
Virginia City, Nevada.
Hinsdale, Mass.
Hinsdale, Mass.

New Haven, Conn.
Detroit, Mich.

Detroit, Mich.

Hector, N. Y.

Sherburne, N. Y.

Hector, N. Y .

Natick, Mass.

Vineyard Sound .

Germantown, Pa.
Germantown, Pa.
Sherburne, N. Y.

West Chester, Pa.
Hector, N. Y.

West Chester, Pa.

U. S. Naval Observatory.
U. S. Naval Observatory.
Chicago, Ill.

Williamstown, Mass .

Newark, N. J.

U. S. Naval Observatory.
New Haven, Conn.

Chicago, III .

New Haven, Conn.

Iowa City, Iowa.
Germantown, Pa.

Detroit, Mich.

New Haven, Conn.
Canonsburg, Pa.
Germantown, Pa.

Vassar College, N. Y .

Williamstown, Mass .

Iowa City, Iowa.

Concord, N. H.

New Haven, Conn.

New Haven, Conn.
Newark, N. J.

f*On Nov. 13, 55 tracks were
Hazy. plotted in Phila. by H. D.

| Vail, 56 tracks were plotted
Hazy. -{ in West Chester by B. Hoop-
er, 27 tracks were plotted in
Easton by E. Menline, 23
| tracks were plotted in St.
[ Louis bv Prof.W. Chauvenet.
Cloudy in the Middle and N. E. States.

Some left trains lasting 6 or 7 seconds.
Off Martha’s Vineyard, Mass.

Williams College.

No observations from 12h. 45m. to
13h. 0m.

F. W. Russell, of Cambridge, Mass.,
observed several evenings in first
half of November, and counted, in
all, 875 meteors.

Observed seven hours.
Williams College.

182. A. J. S. XLIIo, 429.

183. A. J. S. XLlf2, 286.

184. A. J. S. XLII2, 429.

185. A. J. S. XLlIl2, 78; Nov. Meteors, 1866,

U. S. N. Obs’y, 8vo.

186. “ “ “

187. A. J. S. XLIII2, 78.

188. • “

189. “ “ “

190. A. J. S. XLIII2, 78 , Nov. Meteors, 1866,

U. S. N. Obs’y, 8vo.

191. A. J. S. XLIIIa, 78.

192.

193. “ “ “

41-Bull. Phil. Soc., Wash., Vol. 11.

194.

195.

196.

197.

198.

199.

200.
201.
202.

203.

204.

205.

206.

A. J. S. XLIIIo, 78.

ti <c u

Smithsonian Archives (not vet printed).
A. J. S. XLIII2, 78.

t< K iC

*A. J. S. XXXVII2, 141.

332

EASTMAN.

CATALOGUE I V. -

Ref. number.

Date.

Time of Shower.

Time of max.

flight.

Year.

Month.

05

Q

Begin¬

ning.

End.

h.

m.

h.

7)1.

h.

1

m.

207

1866

Nov. ...

13

12

0

12

36

208

1866

it

13

12

0

13

0

.

209

1866

44 ...

13

12

0

17

15

14

30

210

1866

“ ...

13

14

0

16

0

211

1866

44 ...

13

14

0

16

30

14

30

212

1866

13

15

8

16

8

913

1866

it

13

.

214

1866

44

16

13

0

15

0 {

215

1866

44 ...

17

14

0

17

30

.

216

1867

May....

20

!

217

1867

Aug. ...

8

12

15

12

55

::::::

218

1867

44

9

13

3

14

30

219

1867

“ ...

9

13

3

14

30

220

1867

it

9

14

15

15

25

......

221

1867

Ci

10

14

0

15

40

.

222

1867

u

10

15

0

15

30

223

1867

44 ...

11

14

0

15

30 1

.

224

1867

Nov. ...

13

9

0

17

0 !

15

30 |

225

1867

44 ...

13

9

28

13

0

|

226

1867

44

13

10

0

16

0

227

1867

44 ...

13

11

0

16

0

228

1867

44 ...

13

11

45

18

25

15

30

229

1867

44 ...

13

12

0

16

40

15

45

230

1867

44 ...

13

12

0

17

45

15

50

231

1867

Ci

13

12

30

17

0

j 15

52

232

1867

“ ...

13

13

0

18

0

16

30

333

1867

13

13

0

13

30

234

1867

it

13

13

0

16

28

i 16

22

235

1867

“ ...

l 13

13

0

18

0

1 16

10

236

1867

i 13

14

0

18

13

: 16

30

237

1867

“ ...

13

15

3

17

45

■

238

1867

13

15

45

16

45

■

239

1867

it

i 13

15

55

16

35

.

240

1867

“ ...

13

16

0

17

0

241

1867

ii

13

16

5

17

54

.

242

1867

“ ...

13

16

30

17

30

.

243

1867

“ ...

i 13

17

0

17

22

.

244

1867

“ ...

13

17

0

17

30

. 1

245

1867

tc

13

246

1868

Aug. ...

! 9

12

15

14

0

|

247

1868

Nov. ...

i 13

10

0

15

30

248

1868

“

! 13

10

45

18

0

16

30

249

1868

it

| 13

11

0

18

11

250

1868

44 ...

13

11

30

17

30

251

1868

ii

*’

! 13

11

35

13

20

......

252

1868

13

12

0

17

54

17

27

253

1868

ii

13

11

34

17

40

; 17

0

254

1868

“

13

12

20

14

20

.

255

1868

44 ...

13

12

51

17

15

17

10

256

1868

Ci

13

13

0

257

1868

»t

13

13

0

17

28

258

1868

“

13

13

0

18

0

j 16

30

259

1868

“ •

13

13

4

17

37

.

Whole num¬

ber counted

Max. hourly

rate.

Radiant point.

No. of observ’s.

28

1

35

a = 147° 30', 8 = + 24° 30' .

1

101

51

180

3

173

91

a Leonis .

4

43

Bend of the Sickle .

1

419

6

24

Between /u. and e Leonis .

1

75

Near a Leonis .

1

20

A little southeast of Lyra .

1

17

Tn Perseus .

1

35

1

27

ii

1

39

it

1

44

1

17

<c

1

45

Ci

| 1

535

276

50

5

4,937

1,000

10

2,325

2,056

3,730

1,713

3,044

500

1,488

/

4

2,184

1,076

2,110

a = 147° 45', 8 = + 23° 0' .

y Leonis .

2

1,474

2,267

1,626

2,220

In Leo .

15

1,472

1,082

4

1

1,800

1,088

339

In Leo . . .

4

a = 150° 45', 8 = + 21° 55'

1

a = 148° O', 8 = + 23° 0' .

500

.

2

1,301

460

Tn Leo .

4

1

100

Tn Leo .

1

61

1

500

1

56

In Perseus .

2

1,330

2,886

2,500

1,462

700

3

572

2

a — 152°, 8 = + 18° .

i

3

5,573

5,000

800

1,402

1,400

In Leo .

10

2

5,670

896

1,545

1

850

1

1,341

1,926

628

4

3

207. A. J. S. XLIII2, 78.

208. “ “

209. A. J. S. XLIIIa> 413.

210. A. J. S. XLIII2, 78.

211. A. J. S. XLIIIa, 78; Nov. Meteors, 1866,

U. S. N. Obs’y, 8vo.

212. A. J. S. XLIIIo, 78.

213 “ 41 44

2U. A. J. S. XLIIIo, 78 ; Nov. Meteors, 1866,
U. S. N. Obs’y, 8vo.

215. 44 • 44 44 44

216. Trans. St. Louis Acad. Sci., II, 577.

217. A. J. S. XLIVo, 426.

21 8 . 44 44

219.

220. A. J. S. XLIV2, 426.

221. “ “ “

222. 44 44 “

223. 44 “ “

224. A. J. S. XLV2, 78.

225 . 44 4 4 44

226. A. J. S. XLV2, 225.

227. A. J. S'. XLV2, 78.

228. Smithsonian Archives (not yet printed).

229. A. J. S. XLV2, 225.

230. A. J. S. XLV2, 78.

231. 44 “ 44

232. Proc. Am. Phil. Soc. X, 356.

233. A. J. S. XLV2, 78.

234. 44 “

u

Q

&

a

3

a

<u

tf

207

208

209

210

211

212

213

214

215

216

217

218

219

220

221

222

223

224

225

226

227

228

229

230

231

232

233

234

235

236

237

238

239

240

241

242

243

244

245

246

247

248

249

250

251

252

253

254

255

256

257

258

259

235,

236.

237,

238,

93C1

PROGRESS OF METEORIC ASTRONOMY IN AMERICA. 333

teor Showers— Cont’d.

Authority.

Place of observation.

Remarks.

B. V. Marsh . . .

Prof. A. C. Twining .

The Denver News .

W. A. Anthony .

James Ferguson .

Prof. A. C. Twining .

Maria Mitchell .

James Ferguson .

James Ferguson .

R. Hayes . .

F. W. Russell .

B. V. Marsh .

C. H. Darlington .

Lewis Swift .

F. W. Russell .

Lewis Swift.. .

F. W. Russell .

Prof. T. C. Wylie .

Prof. H. A. Newton .

Prof. N. R. Leonard....

S. J. Gummere .

Prof. F. H. Snow .

Prof. C. A. Young .

Prof. T. H. SafFord .

Francis Bradley .

James McClure .

San Francisco Times..
Prof. H. A. Newton .

G. F. Kingston .

Robert B. Taber .

Profs. Newcomb and

Eastman.

Prof. J. C. Watson .

Prof. W. Harkness .

Mrs. J. H. Trumbull...

Prof. G. W. Hough .

J. N. Flint .

Prof. A. C. Twining .

J. D. Parker .

Prof. E. Loomis .

C. G. Rockwood .

Robert B. Taber .

G. T. Kingston .

T. A. Wylie .

W. S. Gilman, Jr .

B. J. Gilman .

Prof. H. A. Newton .

S. J. Gummere .

Prof. J. R. Eastman ...

C. G. Rockwood .

Lewis Swift .

P. E. Chase .

W. H. Pratt .

C. G. Berner .

Germantown, Pa.

New Haven, Conn.

Denver, Col.

Franklin, N. Y.

U. S. Naval Observatory.
New Haven, Conn.

Vassar College, N. Y.

U. S. Naval Observatory .

U. S. Naval Observatory.

St. Louis, Mo .

Winchendon, Mass .

Philadelphia, Pa.
Philadelphia, Pa.

Marathon, N. Y.
Winchendon, Mass.
Marathon, N. Y.
Winchendon, Mass.
Bloomington, Tnd.

New Haven, Conn.

Iowa City, Iowa .

Haverford College, Pa.
Lawrence, Kan.

Hanover, N. H .

Chicago, Ill .

Evanstown, Ill.

Philadelphia, Pa .

San Francisco, Cal.

New Haven, Conn .

Toronto, Canada.

New Bedford, Mass.

U. S. N. Observatory .

Ann Arbor, Mich.
Richmond, Va.

Hartford, Conn.

Dudley Observatory .

Canaseraga, N. Y.

New Haven, Conn.

Topeka, Kan.

New Haven, Conn .

Durham, Conn.

New Bedford, Mass .

Toronto, Canada.
Bloomington, Ind.

Palisades, N. Y .

Williamstown, Mass.

New Haven, Conn.
Haverford College, Pa.

U. S. N. Observatory.
Brunswick, Me.

Marathon, N. Y . . .

Haverford College, Pa.

Davenport, Iowa .

Vevay, Ind.

120 tracks plotted on charts from Nov.

9 to Nov. 17, inclusive.

Observations made in the evening.

“ Moon two days past the full.”

Cloudy from 12h. 0m. to 15h. 15m.

Dartmouth College.

Number of observers varied from 8
to 30.

Several observers.

One-third of the sky covered with
clouds.

147 tracks mapped.

*In Chihuahua, Mexico, the meteors
fell so fast they could not be counted;
often 20 or 30 visible at once.

Observed one hour.

Actual observing time 4h. 35m.

f Several bright meteors were seen
during the Nov. shower in 1868.

The time when observations ended
not given.

48 were counted before 13h. 0m.

A. J. S. XLV2, 78.

(C U <(

A. .J. S. XLVs, 225; Nov. Meteors, 1867,
U. S. N. Obs’y, 8vo.

A. J. S. XLV2, 78.

A. J. S. XLV2, 225; Nov. Meteors, 1867,
U. S. N. Obs’y, 8vo.

A. J. S. XLV2i 78.

u ct cc

M Cl Cl

A. J. S. XLVIIo, 287,
A. J. S. XLVIIo, 118.

Cl €1 It

249. A. J. S. XLVII2, 118.

250. “ “ “

251. “

252. “ “ “

253. “ “ “

254. Nov. Meteors, 1868, U. S. N. Obs’y, 8vo.

255. A. J. S. XL VII2, 118.

256. “ “

257. A. J. S. XLVII2, 118 ; Proc. Am. Phil. Soc.

X, 539.

258. A. J. S. XLVII2, 118 ; Dav. Acad. Nat. Sci.

1, 14.

259. A. J. S. XLVII2, 118.

* A. J. S. XLV2, 78.
fA. J. S. XLVII2, 399.

334

EASTMAN,

CATALOGUE IV.-

[ Ref. number.

Date.

Time of Shower.

Time of max.

flight.

Whole num¬

ber counted.

Year

Month.

Day.

Begin¬

ning.

End.

h.

TO.

h.

TO.

h.

TO.

260

1868

13

14

30

3,766

261

1868

13

14

20

17

58

16

55

4,278

262

1868

CC

13

15

0

17

0

1,780

263

1868

u

13

15

7

17

38

455

264

1868

cc

13

15

30

18

0

711

265

1868

13

16

0

17

15

250

266

1868

13

16

30

17

30

833

267

1869

cc

13

7

0

19

0

830

268

1869

cc

13

13

18

15

43

556

269

1870

cc

12

12

30

15

30

31

270

1870

cc

13

11

5

15

45

153

271

1870

tC

13

13

20

16

10

82

272

1870

cc

13

13

30

15

0

13

273

1870

cc

13

13

30

15

0

11

274

1871

Aug. ...

10

11

40

13

18

283

275

1871

Nov. ...

13

98

276

1872

Aug. ...

9

10

30

15

30

358

277

1872

9

14

45

15

55

62

278

1872

Nov. ...

24

7

30

12

30

217

279

1872

“

25

10

25

14

0

80

280

1872

“

27

6

5

10

0

6

30

720

281

1872

“ ...

27

6

10

11

45

143

282

1872

“

27

6

38

8

48

6

55

1,750

283

1875

Aug. ...

5

13

30

15

30

112

284

1876

Oct .

24

11

30

15

30

58

285

1876

Nov. ...

13

12

0

13

0

12

286

1877

“

13

13

55

15

45

54

287

1885

cc

27

6

0

6

24

44

288

1885

27

9

0

12

289

1885

27

10

15

10

30

13

290

1885

u

27

7

15

7

45

100

291

188')

Cff

27

6

30

7

50

213

292

1885

27

7

0

9

0

328

Max. hourly

rate.

Radiant point.

900

1,650

Tn TjRO . . . |

CC

. i

2° or 3° N. of y Andromedse....

300

ix Andromedse . .

a — 15°, 8 - !- 30° .

1,300

a — 25°, 5 - 1-43° . 1

In Perseus . |

Bet. Orion and the Pleiades..!

In Leo . !

. 1

y AnriromedfR . . .

2° N. W. of y Andromedse .

1

4

3
1
1
1
2

4
2
3
6
3
1
1
6

4

1

2

1

1

4

1

1

1

2

1

3
1
1
8

4

260. A. J. S. XLVIIo, 118.

261. Nov. Meteors, 1868, U. S. N. Observatory,

8 vo.

262. A. J. S. XLVir2, 118.

263. “ “

264. “ “ “

265. “ '• “

266. “ “ “

267. A. J. S. XLIX2, 244.

268. A. J. S. XLIX2, 244.

269. A. J. S. I3, 30.

270. “ “ “

271. “ “ “

272. “ “ “

273. “ “ “

274. A. J. S. II3, 227.

275. A. J. S. II3, 470.

276. A. J. S. IV3, 244.

No. ofobserv’s.

PROGRESS OF METEORIC ASTRONOMY IN AMERICA.

335

Meteor Showers— Cont’d,

1 Ref. number. |

Authority.

Place of observation.

Remarks.

260

Maria Mitchell .

Vassar College, N. Y.

261

Prof. J. R. Eastman ...

U. S. N. Observatory .

90 tracks plotted.

262

B. J. Gilman .

Williamstown, Mass.

263

C. W. Tuttle .

No observations between 16h. 4m. and

264

Robert B. Taber .

New Bedford, Mass.

16h. 33m.

265

J. E. Hendricks .

Des’ Moines, Iowa.

266

B. F. Mudge .

Manhattan, Kan.

267

Frederickton, N. B .

Reported by Prof. H. A. Newton.

268

George Davidson .

Santa Barbara, Cal.

269

Prof. H. A. Newton .

New Haven, Conn.

270

Prof. H. A. Newton .

New Haven, Conn.

271

C. G. Rockwood .

Brunswick, Me .

6 tracks plotted.

272

B. V. Marsh .

Burlington, N. J.

273

J. G. Gummere .

Burlington, N. J.

274

Prof. H. A. Newton .

Sherburne, N. Y.

275

Prof. H. A. Newton .

New Haven, Conn .

Only a few belonged to the November
system.

276

Prof. C. A. Lyman .

New Haven, Conn.

277

R. W. McFarland .

Oxford, Ohio.

278

Prof. H. A. Newton .

New Haven, Conn.

279

Prof. H. A. Newton .

New Haven, Conn.

280

Prof. J. R. Eastman ...

U. S. N. Observatory.

281

B. V. Marsh .

Philadelphia, Pa.

282

Prof. H. A. Newton .

New Haven, Conn.

283

Prof. J. R. Eastman ...

U. S. N. Observatory .

Most of the meteors had short trains.

284

Prof. J. R. Eastman ...

U. S. N. Observatory .

A few left long trains.

285

Prof. H. A. Newton .

New Haven, Conn .

Night mostly cloudy; 3 conformable
to radiant.

286

Prof. D. Kirkwood .

Bloomington, Ind .

Night mostly cloudy.

287

Robert Brown .

New Haven, Conn.

288

H. A. Newton .

New Haven, Conn .

Hourly number estimated for 3 ob¬
servers, 100.

289

H. A. Newton . ...

New Haven, Conn.

290

C. A. Young .

Princeton, N. J.

291

A. Hall .

Georgetown, D. C.

292

D. Horigan .

Georgetown, D. C.

277.

278.

279.

280.
281.
282.

J. S. IV3, 244.
J. S. V3, 53.

283. Astron’l and Meteor’l Observ’ns, 1875.

284. Astron’l and Meteor’l Observ’ns, 1876.

285. A. J. S. XII3, 473.

286. A. J. S. XV3, 76.

287. A. J. S. XXX r3, 78.

288.

289.

290.

291.

292.

C^T^-LOG-TJP: 'V'.— Sporadic Meteors.

336

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PROGRESS OF METEORIC ASTRONOMY IN AMERICA.

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51 « “ « 55. “ “ “ 59. Wash’n Ast. & Met. Obs’ns, 1864.

52.’ « “ “ 56. A. J. S. XXXVr2, 154. 60. “ “ _ ,

53 “ “ “ 57. Wash'n Ast. & Met. Obs’ns, 1864. 61. Wash’n Ast. & Met. Obs’ns, 1865.

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62. Wash'n Ast. & Met. Obs’ns, 1865. 67. Wash’n Ast. & Met. Obs’ns, 1867. 72. Wash’n Ast. & Met. Obs’ns, 1869.

63. “ “ “ 68. A. J. S. XLIV2l 288. 73. A. J. S. XLVIII2, 145.

64. A. J. S. XLII2, 286. 69. Proc. Am. Phil. Soc. X, 353. 74. Wash’n Ast. & Met. Obs’ns, 1869, 372; Proc.

65. Smithsonian Archives (not yet printed). 70. Wash’n Ast. & Met. Obs’ns, 1868. Am. Phil. Soc. XI, 194.

66. Wash’n Ast. & Met. Obs’ns, 1867. I 71. A. J. S. XLVI2, 429. 75. A. J. S. XLIX2, 139.

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357

MONEY FALLACIES.

BY

Clarence Edward Dutton.

ADDRESS AS RETIRING PRESIDENT.

Delivered February 1^, 1891.

It is the custom of the retiring president of this Society
to offer an address upon an occasion fixed for that purpose
by its general committee. Such addresses are expected to
embody the understanding of the speaker concerning some
scientific or philosophical subject which has specially en¬
gaged his study and reflection. In following the examples
of my learned predecessors, I selected some months ago a
theme in the domain of Political Economy which has been
almost a life-long subject of interest to me, but which, apart
from its pure philosophic interest, chances to touch, and even
to underlie, one of the burning questions of the hour. In
view of this coincidence I am reminded how in 1860 the
power of political agitation, spreading among all men, so
infected even the clergy that much was said about preaching
politics in the pulpit. I am not unmindful of the dignity
of this occasion, and the Philosophical Society would have
lived and flourished in vain if it had not inculcated upon
all its members the necessity of calmness and candor in
treating all subjects admitted to its deliberations.

I have selected the subject of Money Fallacies as the theme
for this evening. It is a broader one than its title might at
first suggest. Money is an institution as old as human so¬
ciety, and the daily, almost hourly, association of human
ideas with its uses and abuses constitutes a force of human

(359)

45-Ball. Phil. Soc., Wash., Vol. 11.

360

DUTTON.

impulses so strong and so constant through successive gen¬
erations that it seems a fair question whether there be not
an evolved and hereditary money instinct in the human
mind. Certainly the small child grasps the significance of
the money function in a way that suggests as much. But
in the progress of society the uses of money have been grow¬
ing more and more complicated. While the great mass of
mankind still use it in the ancient, simple way, with an ac¬
tion which seems instinctive, the financier, the statesman,
and the economist find upon inquiry that the growing
complications give rise to many phenomena which are un¬
known and unperceived by those who have not analyzed
them. The ordinary individual judges of the properties of
money by his own limited experience, and, unless he be more
than ordinarily observant, extends his reasoning without
limit or qualification to all men and to all money. But the
economist, who studies and endeavors to integrate the results
of all men’s actions in using all the money of a community,
quickly discovers that the ordinary reasoning either fails
wholly or is radically qualified by the total action of forces
and conditions which are imperceptible in one individual
transaction. Thus the ordinary person says one dollar will
buy me so much and two dollars twice as much. Why may
not this reasoning be extended to any practicable limit in
the same relative proportions? The economist knows that
it cannot be. What is generally true in the individual ex¬
periences of men, when it is sought to apply it to all men
and to all money fails, and at once fallacies make their ap¬
pearance.

The fallacy that money and wealth are one and the same
thing is the fallacy of antiquity. It has during the last
century been for the most part relegated to the same class
of delusions as perpetual motion, and though on rare occa¬
sions it still raises its head, as does the idea of perpetual
motion, yet it is now so nearly eradicated from human reason
that no one cares to waste his breath upon it. But as old
theorems give birth to new ones, so do old fallacies leave be-

MONEY FALLACIES.

361

hind them a brood of younger ones, and sofhe of them bear
the paternal resemblance so strongly that we are at times
doubtful whether we have encountered the parent or the
child.

The fallacy which I shall discuss first is one which is im¬
plied, rather than distinctly stated, in a saying which has
become frequent of late : “ That it is the government stamp
that makes the money.” The same fallacy is implied in an
equivalent saying, “ That money is the creature of the law.”
There is a sense in which either form of the statement is
true. It is true that stamping a piece of paper or metal with
certain images and superscriptions converts them into money,
or, if you like, makes money ; but this statement is so
obvious that the only interest in it is the query why any¬
body should have thought it worth while to state a proposi¬
tion so self evident. There is, however, an implication in
the statement which is not true. People who make it gen¬
erally intend to convey the belief that it is the government
stamp that makes the value of money, or that the value of
money is the creation of the law. Nothing could be further
from the truth. The value of money is just what value
people will consent to give or receive in exchange for it. Its
value is fixed, according to time, place, and circumstances,
every time a bargain is made, by an agreement between the
two parties who trade.

So long as government action conforms to the real and the
right practices of the people who use it, the action may be
useful and beneficial in protecting the honest against the
dishonest, and in facilitating the payment of obligations and
in quieting disputes ; but any attempt to contravene the
monetary customs of a people or to force them to adopt
valuations of money against their will would be wholly in¬
effectual. A few illustrations will suffice : The colonies of
New England, before the revolutionary war, repeatedly
stamped money and passed laws fixing the values of .the
various issues. The people, with almost united voice, de¬
manded these laws. Almost immediately after the money

362

DUTTON.

was issued its value began to diminish rapidly, and at length
it had no value at all. Cruel and unusual laws were passed
in the effort to sustain its value, and in the outrageous at¬
tempts to enforce them society was brought almost to the verge
of dissolution. People, however, continued at every bargain
to place their own value on the money, which value grew
less and less, and finally vanished. Again, during the war,
the value of the legal tender notes was implied on their faces
to be equal to gold money. The people of most of the north¬
ern states accepted them as money, but their value declined
until, at one time, it became only about two-fifths of their
declared value. In California and Nevada they were not
accepted as money at all, and the few that were obliged to
receive them had no resource but to sell them to money
brokers for what they would fetch, or to the banks, which
shipped them east as fast as possible.

On the other hand, a government stamp on money, though
useful, is in nowise essential. From the close of the revo¬
lutionary war to the war of the rebellion, the principal and
almost universal money of larger denomination than half a
dollar consisted of the notes of State banks. They were pri¬
vately printed by the banks and were not a legal tender.

The next fallacy which will be discussed is one which is
very prevalent in our own country, but which has had its
day in other countries also, and still exists elsewhere. It is
contained in the widely prevalent belief that more money is
needed in the total circulation. In some large portions of
the country there is an apparent scarcity of money ; people
find it difficult to obtain. The local papers and periodicals
abound with complaints and are urgent in their demands
for an increase of the circulation and “a relief of the strin¬
gency in the money market.” Interest is 10 or 15 per
cent. Real estate is offered as security, but “ the money ” is
not forthcoming. Enterprises believed by the people to be
pregnant with extraordinary profits are projected and
planned in detail, but “ money ” cannot be had to carry them
out. Towns and cities are springing up, but while rents are

MONEY FALLACIES.

363

exorbitant, there is not sufficient “ money ” procurable to
build dwellings and offices. Surely if more money could be
put in circulation (and the more the better) it could be pro¬
cured with ease, and prosperity would come with a leap and
a bound.

The fallacy which underlies this dismal view of the reality
and hopeful view of the possibility may begin to appear if
we look at other portions of the country. In any of the great
cities of the eastern and central states a merchant or manu¬
facturer of good standing has no difficulty in obtaining all
the money he wants at 4 or 5 per cent. The banks are full
of it. If we look into the accounts of the New York banks
we shall find that there is hardly a southern or western bank,
whether national or private, that has not a deposit or credit
there. It is no uncommon thing to find this money loaned
out in the city, or even outside of it, on call, at 2 or 3 per
cent. Here there is no scarcity of money, but rather a seem¬
ing redundancy. High interest is not a proof that money is
scarce, for any one of many causes may make it high ; but
low interest is proof positive that money is abundant, for in
order that interest may be low all causes must conspire to
make it so. Money, therefore, is not scarce in all parts of
the country, but only in some parts of it. But why should
this be so ? Why should money be abundant in the mer¬
cantile centers and scarce elsewhere? Because money is the
medium of exchange and naturally goes where the exchanges
are made. Where the exchanges are, there will the money
be also. If the western parts of the country have wheat and
corn, pork and beef, gold and silver, wool and hides, to ex¬
change ; if the southern parts have cotton and oil, iron and
lumber to offer, the whole money supply of the world is open
to their drafts, and if they want the cash in gold coin or in
paper money they have but to say so and it is on the way to
them as fast as steam can carry it.

So, then, it appears that the asserted scarcity of money in
some parts of the country is not because of a general or uni¬
versal scarcity ; for all of the money in the world is at their

364

DUTTON.

command, upon the same conditions that prevail everywhere
else. An equivalent must be given in exchange for it. But
if they have already given all- that they are disposed to part
with and still have not as much as they want, how are they
to be benefited though the money of the world were in¬
creased tenfold ?

Here the real nature of the complaint begins to show it¬
self. The economist has no difficulty in perceiving that the
complaint involves three fallacies : The first consists in con¬
founding the desire for more money with the demand for more
money. Desire is intelligible enough and needs no explana¬
tion, but demand for an article is a very different matter.
It is the desire to have, accompanied by the willingness and
ability to pay the price required. Whenever I enter Tiffany’s
store, on Union Square, I want a thousand beautiful and
costly things ; but my demand for his stock is pitifully small.
The impecunious portions of the country have not, it is true,
all the money they want, but it is absolutely certain that
they have all that they demand. The same is true of every
community and of every individual.

The second fallacy consists in confounding the want of
money with the want of capital. Those who call for it would
indignantly reject the imputation that they are asking for
alms ; they would, if the matter were put to them squarely,
admit at once that they want money to build up and improve
their portions of the country ; to open mines of coal, ore and
precious metal ; to build roads and bridges ; to erect factories
and set wheels in motion. This is plainly the function of
capital. Money is only the intermediary thing and the in¬
cident. The ultimate and substantive thing is capital.
Money is desired only to give in exchange for something
desired still more. Capital is wanted to keep and to hold
and to employ in perpetuity. This is so obvious and so well
understood that no further discussion of it is necessary.

The third fallacy consists in attributing to a supposed de¬
ficiency of money effects which are produced by other causes
and which would operate in substantially the same way

MONEY FALLACIES.

365

whether the total money be of great amount or small. For
instance, take the obvious fact of an abundance of money
in the great commercial cities and its apparent scarcity in
the rural districts. The cause is obvious and would con¬
tinue to operate in the same way whether the total volume
of the circulation were great or small. Or again, take the
apparent scarcity of money, even in great cities, during hard
times and its apparent abundance almost everywhere, even
in the country, during good times. There is little or no dif¬
ference in either case as to the actual amount of money in
the country ; but, in hard times, the money circulates very
slowly and with difficulty, while in good times it circulates
rapidly and with ease. By far the greater portion of the
money function in this country is accomplished by transfers
of credits. But, in hard times, credits are neither sought nor
offered so abundantly, because there is little promise of profit
either to borrower or lender, or in the use of credit by its
owner. These and other examples of the same fallacy will
be discussed a little more in detail hereafter.

We may also disclose the same fallacy by pointing out
the fact that the quantity of money in circulation is only
one of several factors which determine its general effective¬
ness for performing the money function of the country in
the best possible manner. The efficiency of the same quan¬
tity of currency may vary enormously under varying con¬
ditions, and so long as there is any considerable quantity in
use the efficiency is governed by economic laws and forces
which are independent of the amount. So, too, is the dis¬
tribution of money throughout the country and throughout
the world.

There is a prevailing belief among many people that an
increase in the amount of money must increase the avail¬
able purchasing power of a country and thereby stimulate
the demand for produce ; that this increased demand must
lead to greater production and a more rapid increase and
consumption of wealth. If there were more money there
would be more to spend and more to lend. This looks very

366

DUTTON.

plausible, but it is very fallacious. The fallacy consists in
stating one half of the truth and leaving the other half un¬
told. • The sting of the fallacy is in the untold half. It is
true that a large amount of money suddenly forced into
circulation will be an apparent, though not a real, increase
in the purchasing capacity of the circulation, for the avail¬
able things to be bought remain as they were before ; still,
for a short period there will perhaps be more buying and
selling. It matters little how the money is paid out from
the treasury, much the greater part of the money will be de¬
posited in the banks or in loan and trust companies or
in some large receptacle of money within a week, and nearly
the whole of it within a month, and it is the business of
these depositories to find some use for it, generally in the form
of loans.

Sooner or later the money may (or may not) find bor¬
rowers who put it to use in increased purchases or invest¬
ments. Demand for goods now increases. It is followed by
increased production and by a rise of prices. All things
look well ; business is active, manufacturers find it difficult
to fill orders, and labor is well employed. Profits seem
large, credit is easy, and people are pleased with their ap¬
parent prosperity. This is the rising side of the wave. It
would be a great and general benefit if this were all real and
permanent. Increased production and consumption mean
a general improvement in the material well-being of a people
and a higher and better scale of living ; but this kind of
wave has a descending as well as an ascending side, and the
crest is followed by a trough. A mere increase of money
suddenly forced into circulation carries with it at the start
no corresponding increase in the other valuable things which
constitute the wealth of a nation. It has merely increased the
nominal lending capacity without increasing the borrowing
capacity, and the nominal power of exchanging valuables
without increasing the valuables to be exchanged. Thus
debts have been increased without any corresponding in¬
crease of real assets out of which they must ultimately be paid.

MONEY FALLACIES.

367

If instead of more money, which has really added nothing,
there had been a well diffused increase of the productive
unencumbered capital, there would have been increased
production, increased consumption, and a higher scale of liv¬
ing without any drawbacks. And this improved condition
might have been permanent. People then would have been
prospering by the use of accumulated savings from the past
fully realized ; but with more money and with consequent
expansion of debits and credits there is a momentary spasm
of seeming prosperity, for which the future is expected to
pay but cannot. Sooner or later there must be a reckoning,
and when the future arrives it is sure that debts overrun
available assets. Credit must be contracted again, and with
it production and consumption and all below the original
scale. So, too, must the scale of living be reduced. But an
increased scale of living is the easiest thing in the world
for people to accept, while a decreased scale of living is the
hardest. The increased scale they accepted almost un¬
consciously and with little or no thanks, as if it were their
rightful due from the bounty of nature. The decreased
scale is yielded to from hard necessity, with repining and
sullen discontent, and with a vague notion that something
is wrong somewhere, and that somebody is robbing every¬
body. Today men have their revel with wine and dance
and song; to-morrow brings the racking headache, the
soured temper, and the depleted pocket-book.

But there is another fallacy lurking in this call for more
money. It is suggested by the following inquiry : How
happens it that it always arises when times are hard, when
trade is stagnant and exchanges diminished — in fact, when
the real demand for money to effect exchanges is apparently
smallest ? And how happens it that in brisk tjmes, when
trade is active and exchanges are greatly increased, the cry
is suddenly hushed and nobody seems to have the least idea
that any more money is needed in the circulation ? Is it
because there is less money in the country in hard times than
in brisk times? Not at all. There is in every civilized

, 46 — Bull. Phil. Soc., Wash., Vol. 11.

368

DUTTON.

country and in most half-civilized countries plenty of money
at all timesj only in the hard times people who want it (badly
enough, I grant you) are unable to get hold of it. Naturally
they judge the whole supply by the leanness of their own
purses ; but the strangest part of it all is the large masses of
money locked up in the great reservoirs of money anxiously
waiting and longing for some one to come armed with the
proper documents and release it from its irksome confine¬
ment. At such times money is just as anxious to be had as
impecunious people are to have it. What is it that keeps these
two ardent lovers apart ? The usual reply, that it is the want
of good collaterals, while it may be true in one sense, is
hardly so in the sense of a real and ultimate cause, for in
fact good collaterals are as plentiful in hard times as in flush
ones ; but the people who hold the collaterals are not the ones
who want the money. The true proximate cause is that
money in its capacity of capital never moves but in the ex¬
pectation of profit, and in hard times there is little profit in
sight. Indeed, hard times mean the scarcity of profits much
more than the scarcity of real production ; and then capital,
in the form of credit, retires into winter quarters and money
goes into the strong boxes. But why should there be a gen¬
eral dearth of profit at one time and plenty of it at another ?
The causes are many, and two periods of depression may
have very different causes ; nor does it seem possible to em¬
brace them under any one form of statement, unless it be
one so general that it is of little or no use. Perhaps the
most frequent cause of depressions is the waste of capital
and of the surplus of society consequent upon an undue ex¬
pansion of credit. When the effects of this waste have be¬
gun to press upon the community, as in due time it inevita¬
bly must, people must go to work repairing damages and
restoring the capital to its original efficiency and productive
power. What would otherwise have been profits are ab¬
sorbed in this restoration, and this recuperation is itself
hampered and retarded by the crippling and diminished
efficiency of the capital whose restoration must be accom-

MONEY FALLACIES.

369

plished. But while over-expanded credit is possibly a more
frequent cause of depression than any other one, it is by no
means more frequent than all other causes combined. Of
other causes it is perhaps unnecessary to speak at present.

There is another mistake involved in the call for more
money to be issued by the Government. Forced issues of
money by the Government cannot increase, except tempo¬
rarily and for a very brief time, the amount of money in
use beyond what would have been supplied by the spon¬
taneous action of trade without Government interference.
The amount of money in use is governed by thp law of de¬
mand and supply, and this law is still supreme, whether the
Government forces issues of money or not. The only quali¬
fication to this action is that a stiffening or relaxation of the
relative demand is not instantly followed by a correspond¬
ing variation in the supply. It takes a little time to attain
the readjustment.

The experience of many countries during the last two
centuries has taught us that any great increase of currency
beyond the demands of trade first displaces the gold money
of the country, and, if still further pressed, results in infla¬
tion, in which there is a nominal but not a real increase of
money. The process by which the displacement of gold
money is thus effected is through a rise of prices, which
always follows a large increase of the circulation. More
money means a nominal increase of the buying capacity,
which leads to increased demand for produce, and a general
rise of prices follows ; but when prices in general have thus
risen, there being no corresponding rise in other countries,
the country becomes unfavorable for foreign buyers who
seek to purchase lower elsewhere. But it becomes a favor¬
able country for foreign sellers, who urge sales and find ready
buyers. In a short time an “ unfavorable balance of trade ”
is thus developed, the balance against the country steadily
grows, and the premium on sterling, exchange rises until it
passes the “ shipping point.” Then gold flows abroad. If
the redundancy of money is not relieved by this outflow of

370

DUTTON.

gold the exportation continues until gold available for ship¬
ment becomes scarce and at length commands a premium.
This is the beginning of inflation, and if the redundancy ♦
still persists, the money (necessarily not convertible into gold
at par) depreciates or loses purchasing power, which is
equivalent to a diminished quantity, and it continues to de¬
preciate until it becomes adjusted to the real demand for
money. Prices being quoted in the inflated currency are
now at a maximum, but if they are estimated in gold, at a
premium, they will be seen after a time to be no higher than
they were before, unless in the mean time some other cause
wholly independent of the money supply has affected them.

The reverse is seen when the money supply is deficient or
when the real demand for more money has increased.
Money being really scarce, the purchasing capacity of the
country is curtailed, the home demand for merchandise de¬
clines, and prices fall. The country now is favorable for
foreign buyers and unfavorable for foreign sellers. More
values are bought by foreigners than are sold by them, and
a “ favorable balance of trade ” is at length established which
leads to an importation of gold.

Since the close of the war there has been a growing de¬
mand for a larger circulation in the United States. This
has arisen from the rapid increase of population and the
still more rapid increase of wealth and amount of exchanges.
This growing demand was met during the first part of the
period by an appreciation in the purchasing power of the
paper money, which reached a parity with gold in 1879, and
also in part by an increase in the volume of national bank
notes.

In 1878 the Treasury began the issue of silver dollars and
silver certificates, but this was in a great part offset by the
retirement of national bank notes, so that the total issues of
the Government did not keep pace with the growing de¬
mand for money. Gojd then poured in upon us rapidly,
and within the last twelve years the statistics of the gold
supply now in the country show an enormous increase. In

MONEY FALLACIES.

371

fact, the demands of trade have added more gold to the total
money of the country in the last twelve years than all the
silver money and Treasury notes added by the Treasury in
the same time ; and if the Treasury had added nothing the
demands of trade would doubtless have added it.

It will probably be suggested here that an importation of
a large amount of gold drawn from the world’s existing
stock to meet the growing demand of the United States for
money would cause a general increase of demand for gold
without a corresponding increase of supply. It is estimated
that at the present time the consumption of gold in the arts
does not differ greatly from the output of the mines, and the
existing stock has within the last five or six years been but
little increased. The increased demand, therefore, would
tend to increase the value of gold, and thus cause a general
fall of prices. This reasoning is no doubt true, but it takes
no account of the constant growth of substitutes for gold
and the continued increase in the efficiency of money,
whereby less is required as the final basis of money needed
to accomplish a given amount of exchanges. Whether the
effect of all causes combined is such as to produce an increase
in the purchasing power of gold relatively to all commodi¬
ties is a question which hardly admits of an answer. So
many new commodities are being introduced almost daily,
the older commodities are so much improved in quality or
changed in fashion, the relations of capital to labor are so
greatly modified, that exact comparisons are impossible.
The general opinion of those who have attempted compari¬
sons of the prices of a considerable number of commodities
at different times is that the commodity price of gold has
appreciated. But it is clear that none of these comparisons
take full account of the effects of innumerable causes which
influence prices, nor does it seem possible to do so.

Waiving this question, however, and granting that there
may have been an appreciation of the commodity value of
gold by reason of increased demand for the world’s stock, it
remains to inquire whether this appreciation would be an

372

DUTTON.

evil or not. The answer, I think, is that a sudden apprecia¬
tion or depreciation of the standard of value would always
be a shock or stress to the economic system, and any violent
change of this kind is for a time detrimental ; but a slow
and steady change in the standard is a matter of such small
importance that it exerts no appreciable effect. It is like
the effect of the rise and fall of the tide upon a ship, which
is unfelt as she tosses and labors in the swell of the ocean.
There are numberless causes acting upon prices and tending
to disturb them which are incomparably more potent than
any possible change in the value of gold could ever be : — a
change of freight tariffs or of the rate of discounts, an im¬
proved machine, a very favorable or unfavorable crop, and
many other causes would exercise a much more powerful
influence. The objection to “ a change in the standard of
value ” is proportional to the rapidity of the change.

Hitherto I have spoken of money only in the ordinary
sense of the currency or the circulating medium. I have
done so to avoid unnecessary complication ; but we may
now advert to the fact that the exchanges of this country
and of some others are in much the greatest part effected by
other devices. As nearly as can be estimated, about 4
per cent, of the exchanges of the country are effected by the
direct payment of money. The rest is effected by transfers
of credit on account. It is not a little interesting to note
that in the later evolution of the methods of exchanges the
civilized world is reverting more and more to barter — not,
indeed, of the simple and primitive form of antiquity, but
an elaborate and highly developed form involving the funda¬
mental principle of barter. In fact, the use of money is
gradually being narrowed down to those exchanges in which
the use of credit is impracticable, and there is a powerful
tendency to the use of the minimum amount of money with
which it is possible to effect exchanges, and there is an equal
tendency to make the efficiency of money as great as
possible.

To show how money seeks a minimum of quantity and a

MONEY FALLACIES.

373

maximum of efficiency we have only to recall the nature
and uses of the ordinary bank check. By the increasing
uses of this device much the greater part of the exchanges
of this country are effected. By means of the promissory
note, which may pass from creditor to creditor, another great
amount of exchange is accomplished. Foreign exchanges
are now settled without the use of money at all, except at
long intervals, and even the bullion which is interchanged
moves rather in the capacity of a commodity than of money.
Many other devices might be mentioned, but these will suf¬
fice for illustration.

The causes of this tendency to a minimum use of money
are superior convenience, the economy of time, labor, and
capital, and greater security, and this is in accordance with
all tendencies of the age. Money has been superseded to a
wonderful extent by devices which accomplish money pur¬
poses far better. Transfers of solid credit have taken its
place wherever possible. They all perform the money func¬
tion in a more speedy and satisfactory manner, and they may
very properly be called special kinds of money. By the
use of these devices the money function of a great and
wealthy country can be multiplied and expanded almost in
an instant to an enormous extent. If occasion were to arise,
in conformity with the real demands of trade, for an instant
increase in the money of this country to the extent of a
hundred million dollars it could be effected in less than
fifteen minutes by the simple action of tens of thousands of
men opening their check books in the morning and making
a few scratches of the pen. By night 95 per cent, of these
checks would be in the banks and through the clearing¬
houses, and the same operation could be repeated the next
day, and day after day, ad infinitum.

And so people think there isn’t money enough in the
country ! Why, Mr. President, the creditors in this country
can create in a day more money than all the mints can coin
in a year, and every dollar of it would have solid face value
under it. More money, forsooth ! The world is using

374

DUTTON.

Aladdin’s lamp in these days, and coin is but a clumsy relic
of antiquity.

The assertion that the filling and signing of a bank check
for a specified amount by a depositor creates just so much
money may seem an absurd one to many. Undoubtedly it
must have its qualifications ; but there is no qualification
which affects its substantial validity. As Prof. F. A. Walker
says, “Money is that money does.” A valid check pays
debts and buys goods as effectually and completely as a Treas¬
ury note. Its uses, however, are much more restricted. But,
on the other hand, wherever usable it is generally more con¬
venient, either to the drawer or payee, or both. Its function
is a pure money function. Between the time the check is
drawn and the time it is honored and cancelled at the de¬
pository on which it is drawn it is an addition to the circu¬
lation. It may have effected one payment only, or it may
have effected many payments.

It is also evident that an increased rapidity of circulation
is an increase of the monetary potency of the total currency.
In truth, one of the most striking differences between the
active times and the dull times of business is the difference
in the rapidity of circulation of both statutory money and
credit money. While most people would say that more
money is paid out and in, during active times, the real truth
is that the money of the country changes hands more rapidly,
with little or no variation in the amount.

Perhaps the best illustration of the effect of credit money,
such as bank checks, upon the volume of currency may be
seen in contrasting the money system of France with our own.
In France such devices are less commonly used. With a
population much smaller than our own, as well as much
poorer, and with an aggregate value of total exchanges not
much more than one-third as great, the total estimated
amount of money in the country is about three times as
great per capita as in the United States. A very considerable
part of this mass, however, is not in circulation.

A great deal of fallacious reasoning results from a want

MONEY FALLACIES.

375

of definiteness in the language employed when the apprecia¬
tion or depreciation of the money standard or unit is spoken
of. Many people proceed to reason about it as if there were
some absolute and invariable standard of value with which
the particular standard of a country can be compared to de¬
termine whether the latter has fallen or risen. There is no
absolute standard of value; there is nothing but relative
value. We can compare two values and their ratio is a
price. Thus the ratio of the value of a quantity of wheat
to the value of the money unit is the money price of wheat.
If we invert this ratio we have the wheat price of money ;
but what the value of the money unit is in itself, apart from
such a relation, is beyond the power of the human reason to
determine.. We can have as many relative valuations of
the money unit as there are of exchangeable things to com¬
pare it with. We may have the wheat value, the cotton
value, the silk, iron, copper, silver, or coal value ; but when
the value of the money unit, independently of its ratio to
the value of other things, is asked for, the question is un¬
answerable. So, too, if it is asked whether the gold dollar
or sovereign has appreciated we can only toss back the ques¬
tion and ask, Relatively to what ? If it be asked whether
the wheat price of the gold unit has appreciated it can be
answered by comparing the present market quotations of
wheat with those of any past time. Relatively to most
commodities, there has been a slow appreciation of gold, or,
reciprocally, there has been a depreciation of the value of
most commodities relatively to gold ; but whether gold has
depreciated or appreciated absolutely no man can say.
Relatively to a few commodities, gold has depreciated. But
what is of far more importance than any other change of
this kind is the fact that, relatively to the value of human
labor, gold has depreciated.

Another fallacy is that an appreciation in the commodity
price of gold works hardship upon debtors who are required
to pay their debts in gold or its equivalent. This fallacy is
easily exposed. The hardship of paying any debt must ob-

47— Bull. Phil. Soc., Wash., Vol. 11.

376

DUTTON.

viously consist in the relative difficulty of obtaining the
wherewithal to pay it. There are, df course, thousands of
people who would have had much less difficulty in obtain¬
ing a thousand dollars in gold one, five, ten, or twenty years
ago than at present, but there are also thousands of whom
the reverse is true. We can take account only of averages
or, at most, of large groups or classes.

The means of paying debts must come from one or more
of three sources — wages, profits on capital, and rents. As
these terms are understood in political economy, they com¬
prise all possible sources of income. First, as to wages, there
can be no question that the amount of gold which an
average worker, whether with brain or muscles, can earn in
a given time has in this country greatly increased and is
continually increasing. The exceptions are extremely few.
Hence, measured in terms of labor, pure and simple, the
price of gold has greatly diminished, and this measurement
of the price of gold is of far greater moment to the nation
than its price measured in commodities. Hence, where the
means of paying debts are derived from wages alone, it is
on the average much easier to pay them now in gold than
formerly.

Second, as to profits on capital. Here two considerations
arise : first, the rate of profit ; second, the amount of capital
or principal on which the profit is to be reckoned. The rate
of profit during the last twenty or twenty-five years has
fluctuated with good and bad times, but, on the whole, has
considerably diminished, and hence a person whose capital
is unchanged in amount and who depends wholly upon such
profits for the means of paying debts finds increased diffi¬
culty. On the other hand, the amount of capital has not
only increased as a whole very greatly, but the per capita
amount has also much increased. Whether the aggregate
profit (average amount of capital multiplied by the rate of
profit) has increased is a difficult matter to settle. The
probabilities favor the view that there has been an increase
in the aggregate profits of the average individual ; but this

MONEY FALLACIES.

377

average embraces the sum of the widest inequalities in the
distribution of ownership of capital, from a fortune of
$100,000,000 or more down to the ownership of a sewing-
machine or typewriter.

Third, in respect to rents. Throughout the greater part
of the country they have increased. The term rent, of
course, is used in its economic sense. The increase of rents
has been unequal, being greater in city and town property
than in country property. In some farm lands, notably
those of New England, rents have greatly fallen ; in the
Central and Southern States they have generally increased ;
on the frontier of the agricultural states, Dakotas, Nebraska,
and Kansas, they have lately begun to exist at zero, and are
steadily increasing. We must, however, distinguish between
the profits of farming and the economic rent of farm land.
Agricultural profits have during the last ten years greatly
fallen all over the world, and the cause is world wide.

As this thought brings me to the real lesson contemplated
in my address, I will, as briefly as possible, develop it in its
outline, and show what part money fallacies play in the
drift of human sentiment and human action. The de¬
pression of agriculture, as has been remarked, is world wide.
It has of late years been felt not only in Europe and America,
but has spread to tropical countries in Asia and, to a less
extent, even to the unprogressive states of South America.
It has pressed with severe force upon the colonies of Aus¬
tralia and South Africa and the Mohammedan provinces of
the Levant. Extremely few countries or districts have es¬
caped. A few have had the good fortune to be shielded from
the pressure by reason of some special crop not produced
elsewhere or producible on its native soil only in limited
quantity, or grown under special conditions of market not
common to the rest of the world. The causes have already
been alluded to. Proximately, the cause has been the rail¬
road and steamship, by which vast areas of good land
has been brought under cultivation, the cost of production
cheapened, and the produce brought to market at won-

378

DUTTON.

derfully low rates. The first effect of this was to make
farming in the newly opened districts highly profitable.
Good profits and unlimited cheap land made more farmers.
Improved agricultural machinery made larger crops with
a given amount of labor. Our own Government adopted
the policy of giving away land at a nominal price to
whomsoever would take it and use it, inviting settlers
from all quarters of the earth, except China, to come and
occupy it. Meantime Australia and the Argentine Republic
adopted a public land policy differing in details, but amount¬
ing to the same thing in the end. In India the government
fostered the opening of wheat lands, and set millions of ryots
at work producing wheat for the world’s markets. Thus the
force of governmental policy and action was added to the
forces already powerfully at work, tending to make agri¬
culture less and less profitable. With almost unlimited ex¬
panses of the finest agricultural land given away without
price, with marvelous improvements of machinery for in¬
creasing the produce of agricultural labor, with still more
marvelous reduction of the cost of transportation and dis¬
tribution of the produce, the number of farms has been
enormously and disproportionately multiplied, until the
markets of the world have been gorged and broken down
with a surfeit of the first fruits of the soil. The profits of
farming have greatly fallen all over the world, and the cause
is excessive production of surplus products. Dakota and
California are competing with India, Russia, and Australia
in the principal market of the world, Great Britain, where
their surplus is most largely taken and where its prices are
inevitably determined according to the law of demand and
supply. The cotton crop of the South has scarcely any com¬
petitor except itself, but so vast has been the increase of product
and so greatly has the use of wool and other fibers increased
that the supply of cotton has grown more rapidly than the
demand. This has been a great blessing to the rest of the
world, but has been the cause of diminished profits to the
farmer. He feels it keenly, and yet it would seem that he has

MONEY FALLACIES.

379

failed to recognize what it is that hurts him. When the fall¬
ing price of his products began to press upon him, his first
thought was that it was the railroads. If the railroads,
which had made his farm a possibility and without which
it could have been no more than Robinson Crusoe’s farm,
could be persuaded or compelled to haul his produce for less,
he would get more profit. He applied the law, and the re¬
sult was that England and the Eastern States got the whole
benefit of the reduced tariffs and he got poorer railroad
service and less of it. He had bitten a file and broken his
teeth. Still, the pressure upon him grew more and more
intense. Surely something is wrong somewhere, and some¬
body must be robbing him. Looking eastward or north¬
ward, he sees wealth rapidly piling up and contrasts it with
his own languishing condition. The effect upon his mind
is inevitable and is only history repeating itself. Surely
that vast wealth must in a great measure have been wrung
from him, the toiler of toilers. If justice had been done he
would have been at least an equal sharer in it. He would
be more than human if he failed to think so. Here
are the men who have by black art or by the relentless use
of the tyrannical power of capital squeezed or leached out
the profits of his noble industry and concentrated them into
colossal fortunes. How have they done it, and how can
their art be proscribed and their power for oppression
broken ? Thousands of men are ready to tell them. To
the man who is really suffering any kind of a doctor who
will look wise, talk sympathetically, and promise him a
speedy cure is welcome. He must be careful, however, not
to assign as a cause of the malady anything which every¬
body knows is beyond the reach of physic, or else the patient
will have no use for his nostrums. The quacks have told
him of many causes of his suffering, and one set of them
assure him that something is the matter with the money of
the country. Money, the circulating medium, is the life¬
blood of economic organism ; there is not enough of it, and
what there is is out of order. Something must be done to

380

DUTTON.

make more of this blood and put it in order. All this is in
harmony with popular ideas of economic pathology, and it
is not at all surprising that the call for blood-purifiers is
urgent.

To diagnose the real cause of the depression of agriculture
requires no assumption of peculiar wisdom, but does call
for a great deal of candor. Any man has but to open his
eyes and it is as plain as the Washington monument from
the south windows of the Treasury. The cause is world¬
wide. Monetary conditions have absolutely nothing to do
with it. The industrial revolutions of the last fifty years,
having profoundly modified almost every other industry,
have at last begun to operate with resistless force upon the
oldest, the greatest, and the most deeply rooted of all human
occupations — agriculture itself. The old regime of agri¬
culture is doomed and must give way to a new one. To
oppose it is as futile and hopeless as the effort to sway the
motion of the earth in its orbit. Nearly all other great in¬
dustries have been compelled to undergo their metamorpho¬
sis, and the turn of agriculture has now come. As with
the others there has been suffering during the transition
epoch, so will there be suffering with the transition of agri¬
culture ; as with the others there has at length resulted a
general increase of benefits, so will it be in agriculture. It
will end in greater comfort and an improved condition for
all mankind ; but the transition stage will be one of depres¬
sion to the industry which is transformed. That the change
will be resisted and that resistance will aggravate the suffer¬
ing is to be expected.

But how is it with the rest of the world ? It has pros¬
pered greatly. And yet most people cannot see it so. The
mercantile and some of the manufacturing classes are com¬
plaining. Of what? That profits are small. And this is
true. Profits are decreasing — not the aggregate profits, per¬
haps, but certainly the rate of profit. Political economy
teaches us that the rate of profit always tends to a mini¬
mum, and, though occasional disturbances or upheavals and

MONEY FALLACIES.

381

wars or other calamities sometimes shake and unsettle the
economic foundations of the world, compelling communities
to start anew with a higher rate of profit, yet the tendency
immediately reappears. After a period of rest and stability
or of equable unperturbed motion of the economic machine,
profits are seen to have dwindled. But is not this a pes¬
simistic and gloomy view to take of the prospects of society ?
Is this to be the outcome of our boasted improvement, and
is there nothing before us but a diminution of profits until
trade is simply a struggle to secure a bare margin against
loss ? What becomes of those vanishing profits ?

My good friend, if you would find the vanished profits,
look about you. They have not left the earth nor lapsed
into nothingness; they have gone to places where of all
others and before all others it is well that they should go.
Here they are all around you — better food and more of it,
better clothing and more of it, better houses and more of
them, better streets and roads and more of them, better fur¬
niture and fairer decoration in your houses and more of
them, swifter trains and more of comfort in them, better
music and paintings and more of them, better schools and
colleges and more of them, better comfort, better thought,
better art, better living, and, in Heaven’s name, let us hope,
better men and better women. Your profit of 20 per cent,
of 20 years ago, my friend, has dwindled now to 5 per cent.,
but the world has gotten the other fifteen, and that, too, on
a vastly greater capital sum. You may long for the good
old times, but the world will, if it is wise, give you little
sympathy. It is best as it is. As profits diminish real
wages rise. In the division of the produce of land, labor, and
capital a decreasing share goes to capital and, for the present,
to rent also, and labor has gained what the other two have
lost.

Still the world is not happy. Why ? Because it is blind
to what it has gained and sees only what it has lost. It has
gained a better living because it has sacrificed profits, and is
moping because it cannot have its cake and eat it, too. Yet

382

DUTTON.

all classes have not fared alike, for some have gained a
much greater advantage than others, and some have gained
little and perhaps nothing. It is doubtful whether the ag¬
ricultural class have materially improved their condition in
the last ten years, though, on the whole, I am inclined to
think they have, but not in nearly the same ratio as other
classes. This is a very serious drawback to the general im¬
provement of the people, and it is most deeply to be regretted.
No great community can fully prosper or enjoy the full meas¬
ure of its prosperity unless it be fairly distributed. Even
though two-thirds be greatly advanced, a terrible tension
will be set up if there be some drag or friction which keeps
the other third behind, and the obstruction is sure to react
on the whole system.

Under such circumstances history has taught us by many
examples that among the depressed or obstructed class the
.pressure of the discontent manifests itself. People seek for
the real cause honestly enough, but seldom apprehend it.
It is at such times that money fallacies spring up like mush¬
rooms. All of them are the progeny of the most ancient of
all money fallacies, that money and wealth are one and the
same thing. And this quickly leads to another fallacy in¬
comparably more dangerous, more destructive, more suicidal.
Seeing that vast wealth has accumulated in the hands of
comparatively few men, while the rest are grinding away
their lives in the hardest toil, with a trifling reward, a sense
of injustice is aroused. This monstrous inequality cannot be
right. Such a distribution of the good things of this world
must be founded in the rottenness of the system and not in
right and justice. True, rich men may have broken no stat¬
ute and, with here and there an exception of some gigantic rob¬
ber, they may have gained their wealth either by inheritance
or by any other method which the law sanctions and upholds.
So much the worse, then, for statute law. Let us see if we
cannot change it and make it conform a little more nearly
to something like justice. Nor is this complaint confined to
the languishing classes of the community. It is taken up

MONEY FALLACIES.

383

and ventilated by men who make a business of finding
wrongs and correcting them on paper. Let us inquire into
this grave charge in quest of the real guilt of social customs
and statute law.

In what does the wealth of the rich men of the world
consist? Is it money? No. Shall it be warehouses filled
with merchandise ? Who eats it, drinks it, wears it ? Who
builds or adorns his house with it ? Shall it be mills and
factories ? For whose uses are the wheels turned, the iron
heated and shaped, the spindles whirled, the fabric woven ?
Shall it be blocks of city real estate built up with houses ?
Who dwell in them and find in them the comforts of home
and the family fireside ? Shall it be stocks and bonds ?
These are but the evidences of ownership, and the real
things owned are undivided portions of railways. For
whose benefit are the trains run, whose goods are trans¬
ported, who are the passengers carried swiftly on their jour¬
neys ? It appears, then, that while the rich man owns the
wealth, the community is using it. The ownership is his,
but the usufruct is ours. But if the final use of all this
wealth is by the community what matters it who owns it,
whether one man or a million? Whoever owns it is under
bonds for all he owns to apply it to the most urgent de¬
mands of society. Failing to do this, he first loses his profits
and then his principal. The economic law is merciless and
accepts no excuse. He who owns capital, I say, must apply
it to such uses as society demands or it will be taken from
him. Good intentions or evil intentions are nothing to the
purpose. Only the result is weighed in the balance. The
economic law encompasses equally the evil and the good,
the just and the unjust, and its mesh is fine enough to catch
all the financial minnows and strong enough to hold all the
financial whales. So long as a man comes honestly by his
wealth, there is no more injustice or injury to society than
there is in the fact that the Treasurer of the United States
is the custodian of tens or hundreds of millions of public
money. Even when dishonestly acquired, the moral sense

48— Bull. Phil. Soc., Wash., Vol. 11.

384

DUTTON.

of the community is outraged, but not its pocket. If by
subtle art one man has been able to gain possession of a
railroad system at the expense of the stockholders, he may
be an object of moral aversion, but bis ill-gotten railroads
remain and must carry the public and its goods just the
same or he will lose what he has wrongfully gotten. He
may have broken the moral law and evaded the statutes,
but the economic law still holds him with unshaken grip.
If offenses of this kind occur it is an excellent reason for
striving to make the statute law as strong and inevitable as
the economic ; but it is a very bad reason for seeking to
make the economic law as weak and as full of holes as the
statute.

It is to the latter effort that money fallacies invariably
lead. Under the influence of these fallacies the effort is
first directed to making money cheap and lowering the
value of its unit. Its effect on credit capital is immediate
and destructive. Credit capital is the life-blood of industry,
the subtle fluid which penetrates and nurtures every part of
the economic organism. A lowering of the standard of
value does not ^destroy, at least for a time, the fixed capital
of the country. It does not contract the length of a railway
nor the size of a machine shop, nor the number, size, or power
of the machines that are in it ; but it contracts credit capi¬
tal directly in proportion as the unit of value is contracted.
But that is not the worst of it. Not only is a part of the
blood drawn from the veins and spilled, but the arrow wil¬
fully shot from the bow of the law always leaves a poisoned
wound. A creditor may lose by the honest insolvency of
his debtor, and many a creditor will do what he justly can
to put the debtor on his feet again. A creditor may be de¬
frauded, but without losing confidence in other men ; but
when laws are passed whose ultimate effect must be to im¬
pair the obligations of contracts, then, indeed, the very
ground on which the structure of modern credit stands is
undermined.

MOHAWK LAKE BEDS.

BY

Henry Ward Turner.

{Read before the Society January 81, 1891 , and published by
permission of the Director of the U. S. Geological Survey .)

Contents.

Page.

General remarks - - - - - - - - - - 385

Pleistocene Eake Beds - 386

Earlier Eake Beds _ _ _ _ _ _ — - - - - - - 388

Pliocene Beds _ _ .* - - - - - - — 390

Glacial Moraines in relation to the Eake Beds - - - - 392

Faulting in the Eake Beds - - - - - - 396

Relation of the Mohawk Valley Fault to the Structure of the Sierra

Nevada - 396

Resume - - - 407

Publications referred to — - - - - - - - - - - - - - 408

General Remarks.

The facts presented in this paper were gathered in the
course of my regular field-work as assistant of Mr. G. F.
Becker, geologist in charge of the California Division of the
United States Geological Survey.

For assistap.ce in connection with the publication I am
indebted to Mr. Becker, to Mr. J. S. Diller, and to Mr. W J
McGee.

The memoirs and papers referred to will be found in a list
at the end.

On the accompanying map, Plate No. 4, the areas indi¬
cated as Pre-tertiary include all of the rocks known ordinarily

49— Bull. Phil. Soc., Wash., Vol. ll. (385)

386

TURNER.

as bed-rock to the miner, on which the late Cretaceous and
Tertiary rocks rest unconformably everywhere in the Sierra
Nevada. These rocks about Mohawk Valley are granite,
diabase, porphyrites, and clastic rocks of Paleozoic or early
Mesozoic age.

Mohawk Valley is in Plumas county, California, on the
eastern slope of the Sierra Nevada. Its general location
may be seen in Figure 1. The geological map of Mohawk
Valley and vicinity, Plate No. 4, covers the area included
in the rectangle in Figure 1.

Fig. i — Outline sketch of central California.

That Mohawk Valley was once the bed of a lake is evident
from the deposits of fine stratified material underlying it and
from the terraces about it. The elevation of the lower parts
of the valley, now occupied by farms, is about 4,500 feet and
that of the highest terraces something more than 5,000 feet.
There was thus at one time a depth of water of more than
500 feet. We wfill first consider the certainly Pleistocene
deposits.

Pleistocene Lake Beds.

The middle fork of the Feather River now flows through
the valley, the former lake having been merely a widening

BULL. PHIL. SQC. WASH. VOL. XI, PL.

if

geotogigal map of mohawk valley and vicinity

SCALE

MOHAWK LAKE BEDS.

387

and deepening of this stream. If we seek for the cause of
the former existence of the lake it will be found to be con¬
nected with volcanic outflows that occurred about the close
of the Pliocene or in early Pleistocene time.

Judging from the present contours of the surface of the
bed-rock formations (granite and the auriferous slate series),
the middle fork of the Feather Fiver at the present time fol¬
lows approximately an older drainage system, which existed
before the volcanic outflows, though perhaps not for a great
length of time. These outflows, largely andesitic breccia
and tufa, filled up the canon that then existed, and the
waters thus dammed back formed the Pleistocene lake here
treated of. Since that time the river has cut through the
barrier, and the lake has been drained. For three miles
north of the Mohawk lake beds the Feather Fiver at the
present time flows through a canon, the walls and bottom of
which are composed entirely of andesitic and some later
lavas.

Pebbles of andesite and of rhyolite abound in the lake beds,
and, to the north and east of Mohawk Valley, thin patches of
lake deposit may be seen at many points to rest upon the
andesite. It is therefore certain that the lake attained its
maximum development after the andesitic eruptions.

The lake at its highest level not only filled Mohawk Val¬
ley, but extended east into Humbug Valley, having a surface
of, approximately, thirty -five square miles. The deposits at
the highest stage were largely rather fine material, andesitic
and morainal detritus, which has since been much eroded,
particularly on the east side of Mohawk Valley, where well-
defined terraces are not to be found.

But in the northwestern portion of the lake area, at an alti¬
tude of about 5,000 feet, the terraces are well preserved.
The road from Mohawk Post Office to the mining town of
Johns ville passes over some of these terraces. They are now
heavily wooded. Exposures of them at various points show
them to be composed of loose sand and gravel distinctly
stratified, the bedding being approximately horizontal.

388

TURNER.

Forming a set of terraces about 4,500 feet high about Mo¬
hawk Valley and well exposed along the Feather River
where it enters the valley from the east, and by the public
road just south of Wash Post Office, are beds of coarse
gravel and sand containing some pebbles of late olivine
basalt, a lava of much later age than the andesite. These
beds appear to be the latest of the lake deposits. Lying
usually somewhat below the 4,500 foot contour is the allu¬
vium, which will not be considered here as part of the lake
beds. The alluvium is of very recent origin.

Earlier Lake Beds.

Underlying the coarser deposits, previously described, is
an older series of beds not anywhere found, so far as I know,
at a much greater elevation than 4,600 feet. These older
beds are usually whitish in color and composed largely of
sand and clay, with layers of carbonaceous shale. Since
there is some doubt about the age of the beds, exposed at
different points, some of them will be described separately.

About one-fourth of a mile down-stream from Mohawk Post
Office, on the west bank of the Feather River, and forming
also the bed of the river, are beds, largely clay and sand, with
a good deal of carbonaceous shale. Distinctly and uncon-
formably overlying the fine material, which is horizontally
stratified, is a later gravelly series, with some sand and clay.
Vertically above the line of contact in the later material are
some angular blocks of carbonaceous shale, only a few feet
from the carbonaceous layer from which they came. There
must have elapsed between the formation of the earlier fine
and the later gravelly deposits sufficient time for some ero¬
sion and consolidation of the earlier beds to have taken place.
It is also evident that the earlier deposition took place in
comparatively still and deep water, while the later gravelly
beds could only have been deposited in water moving with
some rapidity. The entire exposure is about sixty feet high.

The later beds are correlated with the gravels forming the
4,500 foot terraces previously described.

MOHAWK LAKE BEDS.

389

On Grey Eagle Creek, about one and a half miles nearly
south of Mohawk Post Office, at an elevation of about 4,600
feet, is another exposure of beds very similar to the older
beds just described, with much clay, sand, and carbonaceous
shale.

In addition there was observed a fine white layer, a few
inches in thickness, composed almost entirely of volcanic
glass in angular fragments with fluted forms, very similar
to some material described as volcanic dust by Mr. G. P.
Merrill (XV). The most reasonable explanation of the
homogeneity of the volcanic layer is to suppose that it was
thrown out in its present fine condition, and falling in the
water, was deposited as we now find it. It might also be
supposed that it was eroded from an area of volcanic ash
near by and re-deposited on the lake bottom. In either case
it marks approximately the age of the eruption, since, if the
result of the erosion, it could hardly fail, after a considerable
period had elapsed, to be much mixed with other detrital
material. The angular character of the dust is against its
having undergone much transportation, though fine thin
glass would doubtless be not greatly rounded, but rather
broken into finer angular particles. The material presents
all the appearance of being rhyolitic glass. This is further
substantiated by a silica determination made by Dr. W. H.
Melville, of the United States Geological Survey. He found
the fine white powder from Grey Eagle Creek to contain 70.64
per cent, of silica, while a rhyolite from near Mohawk Valley
contains 71.14 per cent.

Now the rhyolites of the Sierra Nevada in general under¬
lie the andesites. Indeed, in some places, there is proof that
they were eroded somewhat before the andesitic eruptions.

Evidence gathered by Mr. Waldemar Lindgren and my¬
self at a great many localities in the Sierra Nevada all
points to the rhyolites being older than, at least, the horn¬
blende-andesites which form the great bulk of the andesitic
eruptions.

It is therefore likely that the Grey Eagle Creek and Mo¬
hawk Post Office beds belong to a lake that existed before the

390

TURNER.

Pleistocene lake, formed by the damming back of waters by
the later andesite. Further evidence on this point will be
presented in a succeeding paragraph.

Southeast of the Sulphur Spring House, in the southern
part of Mohawk Valley, is some sandstone sufficiently con¬
solidated to be used for chimneys. This hardening of the
material has probably been brought about by the cementing
action of the waters of the adjacent springs. Some of the
sandstone shows plant impressions. The sandstone is
bedded nearly horizontally. Just east of the sulphur
springs there is a disturbance in the lake beds, the dip being
southwest 22°.

About one-fourth mile north of the Sulphur Spring House,
on the north bank of a little stream, is an exposure of lake
beds, which dip westerly about 13°. The material is rather
fine detritus. A microscopical examination of a whitish
layer showed sand grains, fragments of volcanic glass, green
hornblende, biotite, apatite, and black opaque grains, pre¬
sumably magnetite. The volcanic glass appears to be rhyo¬
litic ; the sand grains, hornblende, biotite, and apatite are
probably from granite.

The narrow area of river gravel to the north of the lake
beds and directly connecting with them has at first sight
the appearance of being the bed of a former outlet of the
lake, but as some of this gravel lies at an elevation of 5,500
feet this does not seem likely. There are indications of local
disturbances here, in the form of little benches, such as are
to be found where land slides have taken place. It is prob¬
able that the low position of part of this gravel just to the
north of the mouth of Cedar Creek is due to subsidence by
a land slide. This river gravel seems, on the map, Plate
No. 4, to rest on andesite, but this is not the case, the rock
underlying the gravel being of the auriferous slate series.

Pliocene Beds.

There are some beds exposed along the middle fork of the
Feather River, a little to the east of Mohawk Valley, on the
ranch of Abel Jackson. These beds consist of sandstone

MOHAWK LAKE BEDS.

391

with a little lignite and carbonaceous shale, and at one point
where some sulphur springs issue forth the very fine-grained
layers contain numerous well-preserved leaves, mostly of
deciduous trees. Professor W ard has made a preliminary
examination of these leaves and identifies two forms as
Quercus distinda and Liquidambar Calif omica .* Some of the
leaves are probably new. In the summer of 1890 I obtained
here impressions of a bunch of pine leaves and of a winged
maple seed. Professor Ward considers the plant remains to
indicate that the beds are about of the same horizon as the
auriferous gravels, apparently meaning the later and more
abundant gravels which occur in considerable amount on
the western slope of the Sierra Nevada, and which seem to
be but little older than the volcanic material that usually
covers them. These later and more abundant gravels are
generally considered of Pliocene age. The Sierra Nevada
has undoubtedly been a land mass since, at least, early Cre¬
taceous time (since the post-Mariposa upheaval). It is there¬
fore extremely probable that some of the river gravels of the
Sierra were deposited by streams that flowed in early Ter¬
tiary or even late Cretaceous times.

For positive evidence of there being older river channels,
which in some cases are intersected by later channels, the
reader is referred to R. E. Browne’s paper on “Ancient River
Beds ” (II), which will be again mentioned further on. The
beds above described containing the fossil leaves have a
westerly dip varying from 5° to 30° and are distinctly over¬
laid by andesitic breccia.

I am inclined to correlate the horizontal beds containing
carbonaceous shale at Mohawk Post Office and Grey Eagle
Creek, previously described, with the certainly pre-andesitic
beds, but I have been unable to find any barrier that existed
before the time of the andesitic eruptions that could have

* In his “ Report on the Fossil Plants of the Auriferous Gravels of the
Sierra Nevada,” Memoirs Museum Comp. Zool., Vol. VI, No. 2, Pro¬
fessor Lesquereux describes these two species from Chalk Bluffs, Nevada
county, referring the beds to the Pliocene.

392

TURNER.

retained sufficient water to deposit beds of the character de¬
scribed. Moreover, the Mohawk Post Office beds seem to
continue north and abut against the andesitic barrier. The
Grey Eagle Creek beds have an approximate elevation of
4,600 feet, at least 100 feet higher than at Mohawk Post
Office, to which they are so similar. It is possible the first-
mentioned beds have attained their present position through
differential elevation or subsidence, though as the beds at
both exposures are approximately horizontal this does not
seem likely.

The beds from which the leaves came may simply record
a quiet stage of the former Feather Elver. The river is
probably now, in fact, depositing similar material in the
numerous nearly quiet stretches between Mohawk and Sierra
Valleys.

Glacial Moraines in Relation to the Lake Beds.

All about Johns ville are enormous accumulations of
morainal material. Over an area of fifteen square miles
none of the underlying formations are exposed, so deep is
the morainal detritus. This is largely made up of diabase
.and quartz, porphyrite boulders, and subangular fragments
from the extensive areas of these rocks in the high ridge to
the west and southwest, the east and north slopes of which
formed the neve fields of the glaciers. Mounts Elwell,
Bunker Hill, and Eureka Peak are prominent northward¬
trending spurs of this high ridge, and between these spurs
the glaciers were nourished.

The moraines merge into the lake deposits, and opposite
Jamison, on the east side of Jamison Creek, there is an ex¬
posure of the moraine material at the point where the highest
lake terrace begins. The underlying coarse gravel and sub-
angular material are roughly stratified. This would suggest
that the maximum period of the glaciers and that of the
Pleistocene lake occurred at the same time, for if the water
had terraced the moraines subsequent to their deposition it
seems probable that there would be no internal stratification,
but only a surface leveling of the material.

MOHAWK LAKE BEDS.

393

Some of the moraine material poorly exposed on the op¬
posite (west) side of Jamison Creek at the same elevation
(about 5,000 feet) shows less evidence of stratification.

In the bed of Jamison Creek just below the bridge at
Jamison, a shaft was sunk some years ago to the depth of
270 feet, all in gravel. This shaft is still to be seen. There
must therefore be an enormous amount of detrital material
here.

The town of Johns ville rests on a terrace-like embank¬
ment, the upper part of which shows some stratification. A
similar though narrower terrace exists on the east side of
Jamison Creek opposite Johnsville. The stratified material
could not have been deposited when the canon was filled
with ice and may have been formed by a slight damming
up of the waters of the creek after the retreat of the glacier.

On the west side of Mohawk Valley, at an elevation of
about 5,000 feet, is Bennett’s hydraulic mine. The upper
part of the material washed is clay with scratched boulders,
traces of a rough stratification being visible, which may have
been due to water from melting ice.

A little lower down, however, the material is more arena¬
ceous, shows bedding plainly, and is traversed by normal
faults at two points, the down-throw of each being toward
the valley at an angle of perhaps 30° from vertically, and
the throw in each case being about one foot. This lower
material is thought to represent the highest terrace of Mo¬
hawk Lake. The inclination of the stratification is toward
the valley or easterly, and this may be explained by the
steepness of the slope on which it was deposited rather than
by any subsequent disturbance. The well-worn gravel at
Bennett’s hydraulic mine is thought to have come from an
old river channel that formerly existed higher up on the
slope, remnants of which are still to be seen.

There are frequent large boulders of diabase on the lake
beds near the north end of the area, where the outlet of the
lake presumably was, and these may have been brought to
their present position by floating ice. There is no diabase

50— Bull. Phil. SocM Wash., Vol. 11.

394

TURNER.

in place exposed near them, while the glacial moraines near
Johns ville are largely of diabase debris.

Mr. I. C. Russell, in his paper on the Quaternary basin
of Lake Mono (XVI), states that the inside as well as the
ends of some of the lateral moraines at Lake Mono are ter¬
raced, showing that the highest stage of the lake either fol¬
lowed or continued after the retreat of the glaciers, for the
inside of the lateral moraines must have been filled with ice
at the period of maximum glaciation. Mr. Russell suggests
that the melting of the glaciers produced the maximum
stage of the lake.

Professor Le Conte (X) considers that the absence of
terminal moraines can be accounted for on the hypothesis
that the maximum stage of the glacier and that of the ice
coincided, for then the loose material that would have
formed a terminal moraine would be carried away by float¬
ing ice. Professor Le Conte accounts for the presence of
large boulders at certain points about Lake Mono by sup¬
posing them to have been transported by icebergs.

When at Lake Mono, in 1889, in company with Mr. G. F.
Becker, it was observed that a rough stratification existed in
the end of the Lundy moraine, the material being well ex¬
posed by mining operations; and in the opinion of Mr.
Becker this would show that the end of the glacier extended
into the water, the morainal material being roughly strati¬
fied as it dropped off.

The true explanation may be that the high stage of the
water was both contemporaneous with and continued after
the retreat of the glaciers. On this hypothesis the internal
stratification of the moraines, the terraces on their inner
sides, and the stranded boulders would be explained.

It was not till after this paper was read before the Society
that I found that Mr. Gilbert had treated the subject of the
correlation of glaciers and the Pleistocene lakes of the great
basin very fully. On page 314 of his monograph (VI) Mr.
Gilbert says :

“ With one voice these four localities tell us that Mono
Lake occupied its maximum level after the glaciers of the

MOHAWK LAKE BEDS.

395

Sierra had retreated from their most advanced position ; but
their testimony goes no farther. The narrow range of levels
common to the two may have been occupied first by ice and
afterward by the water, or it may have been occupied by
both together. We can only say that the ice was first to
retreat.

“ Combining this result with that afforded by the moraines
of the Bonneville basin, we conclude that the epoch of great¬
est glaciers fell within the second period of lake expansion,
but did not coincide with the epoch of greatest water supply.
It occurred somewhat earlier. If the two sets of phenomena
were consequent upon the same series of climatic changes,
then the lacustral changes lagged behind the glacial.

“That such a lagging admits of plausible explanation
may readily be shown. The neve and glaciers of the Mono
district occupied a portion of the catchment basin of the
lake. The precipitation which they accumulated during
their growth was subtracted from the precipitation tributary
to the lake, and the same was afterward returned to the lake
when they were finally melted. Their mass of ice may
therefore be regarded as a portion of the water supply of
the lake, arrested in its progress. When the climatic con¬
ditions were favorable for the growth of lake and glaciers
the growth of the glaciers antagonized and delayed the
growth of the lake. When the climatic conditions favored
the wasting of lake and glaciers the waste of the glaciers
fed the lake and thus antagonized its depletion. The ascend¬
ing and descending phases of the lake thus fell behind the
corresponding phases of the glaciers, and the maxima and
minima or turning points were correspondingly displaced.

“ It is to be observed that this explanation is quite distinct
from the theory, alluded to by Whitney (XVIII, page 185),
that the Pleistocene lakes were the sequel of the Pleistocene
glaciers, being created by their melting. Such a relation is
quantitatively impossible. In the Mono basin, indeed, the
mass of snow and ice upon the mountains may have been
equal 1 6 the volume of water in the valley, but in the La-
hontan and Bonneville basins it was far too small.”

396

TURNER.

Faulting in the Lake Beds.

Besides the local faulting at Bennett’s mine previously
referred to, and which would be expected with any not
thoroughly consolidated material on a steep slope, there is
evidence of a line of faulting on the east side of Mohawk
Valley.

The lake beds on the east side of the Feather River oppo¬
site Wash Post Office are plainly faulted. A very evident
fault exists in the lake beds on the south bank of the river
about one mile up-stream from Wash Post Office. About
one-fourth mile still further east, at the locality where I ob¬
tained the fossil leaves, a fissure was formed in the tufa and
breccia beds overlying the fossiliferous series at the time of
an earthquake shock some years ago (about 1876).

This fissure was about two feet wide, and at the time warm
air came out of it. The locality was formerly the resort of
numerous rattlesnakes, attracted, no doubt, by the warmth.
At the time of my visit, in 1889, slightly warm, moist air
still issued from holes near the former fissure. A little, east
of the fissure is a warm sulphur spring. Near this is an¬
other spring which, according to Abel Jackson, who lived
here at the time, was so warm that at the time of the earth¬
quake the hands could not be held in the water.

The lake beds are flexed just east of the springs at the
Sulphur Spring House, showing disturbance. The springs
have now a uniform temperature of about 75° as tested in
1890.

Artesian wells sunk along the west side of Sierra Valley
in some cases strike flows of hot water. The land slides
noted in connection with the river gravel by Cedar Creek
may be connected with faulting.

Relation of the Mohawk Valley Fault to the
Structure of the Sierra Nevada.

The different localities above mentioned, together with
the hot artesian wells in Sierra Valley, are approximately
in line, which coincides very well with the general line of

MOHAWK LAKE BEDS.

397

faulting which Mr. J. S. Diller (III) has laid down as hav¬
ing formed the east escarpment of a huge orographic block.
This block as outlined constitutes the main mass of the Sierra
Nevada. Mr. Diller presumably bases his general scheme
of faulting upon the previous work of Professor Le Conte
and Mr. Gilbert, to whose papers he refers. This main
escarpment forms the steep east slope of the Sierra Nevada,
and is best seen west of Lakes Owen and Mono. For the ex¬
tension of this great line of faulting which seems well sub¬
stantiated by all geologists who have visited the above places,
to the northward through Mohawk and American Valleys,
we are, I think, indebted alone to Mr. Diller. My own
observations substantiate the hypothesis of Mr. Diller so far
as they relate to the existence of a line of faulting in Mohawk
Valley. The existence of the hot springs seems to point to
a fissure of some depth.

Mr. Diller establishes, in the publication just referred to,
two other lines of faulting to the east of the main fracture.
(See also IV.) The smaller of these, which is intermediate
in position between the other two, all three being approxi¬
mately parallel, extends along Little Grizzly Creek north¬
westerly to near Taylorville, in Indian Valley. The Grizzly
Mountains lie between it and the main fracture to the west,
and constitute another smaller orographic block. The other
line of faulting is west of Honey Lake, the escarpment being
best seen on the east side of Thompson Peak. The region
between the Little Grizzly Creek fault and the fault west of
Honey Lake constitutes Mr. Diller’s third and most eastern
block of the Sierra Nevada.

In Figure 1 these three lines of faulting are shown by black
lines. Between Mohawk Valley and Mono Lake Valley the
line of the main fault is indicated only by a dotted line,
since positive evidence of faulting in this part of the Sierra
Nevada has not, so far as I know, thus far been presented.

To well understand the basis for Mr. Diller’s division of
the Sierras into orographic blocks it will be necessary to take
a brief review of the papers of Professor Le Conte and Mr.
Gilbert, giving their important conclusions only.

398

TURNER.

In 1872, in his paper on the “ Formation of the Great
Features of the Earth’s Surface ” (VIII, page 355), Professor
Le Conte says :

“ I think, therefore, I am justified in asserting that the
phenomena of plication and slaty cleavage demonstrate a
crushing together horizontally and an upswelling of the
whole mass of sediments, and that slaty cleavage demon¬
strates in addition that the upswelling produced by this
cause alone is sufficient to account for the elevation of the
greatest mountain chains.”

On page 463 of the same article he further says :

“ Mountain chains are formed by the mashing together
and the upswelling of sea bottoms where immense thicknesses
of sediments have accumulated, and, as the greatest accumu¬
lations usually take place off the shores of continents, mount¬
ains are usually formed by the uppressing of marginal
sea bottoms. We will make this plainer by some illustra¬
tions taken from the history of mountain chains in North
America.

“ During the whole Triassic and Jurassic periods the region
now occupied by the Sierras was a marginal sea bottom,
receiving abundant sediment from a continental mass to the
east. At the end of the Jurassic, this line of enormously
thick, off-shore deposits yielded to the horizontal thrust and
and the sediments were crushed together and swelled up¬
ward into the Sierra range. All the ridges, peaks, and
canons— all that constitutes the grand scenery of these
mountains — has been the restilt of an almost inconceivable
subsequent erosion.”

In 1874 Professor Le Conte writes (IX, page 180) :

“ The Sierra range was first formed at the end of the Jurassic
by mashing together and up-swelling only, while its subse¬
quent slight increase at the end of the Tertiary was attended
with great fissure-eruptions.”

MOHAWK LAKE BEDS.

399

In 1878, in his article on the “ Structure and Origin of
Mountains,” (XIX, pages 100-101), Professor Le Conte
says :

“ The Sierra Nevada may be taken as a typical example,
both in form and in structure, of a monogenetic upheaval,
or what I have called a range. * * * So simple appears

the structure of this mountain that we might imagine that
it consists of only one grand fold, eroded along its crest until
the granite is exposed. * * * But this is probably not

so, because forty miles of slates and schists outcropping at
high angle would give an incredible thickness of sediments
if we regard them as a single unrepeated series. It is prob¬
able, therefore, that these flanking slates really consist of
several closely appressed folds, afterward deeply eroded so
as to simulate a single series. * * *

“Again, the Sierra range is an admirable example of a fold
passing gradually into a fault. In the northern portion of
Lake Tahoe the slates occupy a broad area on both slopes,
though largely covered on the eastern slope by volcanic ejec¬
tions. The two slopes are more equal, and the height of the
crest is moderate — only about 9,000 to 10,000 feet. The
great wave [referring to the largest supposed fold forming
the crest of the range] is more normal.

“ In the middle portion, about Lake Mono, the eastern
slate area is far narrower, the two slopes more unequal, and
the crest higher, viz., 13,000 feet. The great wave is ready
to break. In the southern portion, about Lake Owen, the
eastern slope is still more abrupt, the eastern slates have en¬
tirely disappeared, granite alone forming the summit and
the whole eastern wall, and the crest here reaches its highest
point, near 15,000 feet. The great wave has at last broken
with the formation of a prodigious fault. Remembering that
the escarpment is here 10,000 to 11,000 feet, and that the
whole thickness of the slates has been removed by erosion
from its summit, and that their eastern continuation lies
buried beneath the soils of the plains below, we cannot esti¬
mate this slip as less than 15,000 feet. It is probably much

400

TURNER.

more. It is almost certain that it was a slight readjustment
of this slip which caused the Inyo earthquake of March, 1872.

“ Marginal sea-bottom sediments are thickest near shore,
and thin out very gradually seaward. Such sediments, there¬
fore, even before yielding, form a lenticular mass, with the
thickest part near the shore edge, and therefore asymmetric.
Now, this already thickest part is precisely the line of great¬
est yielding and therefore of greatest ups welling, and thus the
mountain wave becomes very asymmetric, with its steeper
slope landward. Finally, the already asymmetric mountain
is pushed over against the stiffened land crust, making a
still steeper slope, which may even break on that side.

“ Now, the Sierra is again an admirable illustration of this
law. The oldest portion of the western half of the American
continent is probably the basin region, especially its south¬
ern portion, running down into Mexico. During much of
the Paleozoic and all the Mesozoic times until the end of the
Jurassic this was a continental mass with its western shore
near the eastern margin of the Sierra region. The Sierra
region, as I have elsewhere shown, was then a marginal sea
bottom, receiving sediments from the basin-region continent,
until an enormous thickness had accumulated. When these
thick sediments began to yield from the aqueo-igneous soften¬
ing of their floor they would first swell up asymmetrically,
and then be pushed over against the stiffened Basin region
land crust, forming a steep slope, or even a fault and escarp¬
ment, on that side.”

Professor Le Conte, in the same paper, ascribes a similar
origin to the Wahsatch Mountains, which he regards as
made up of sediments, on the eastern shore of the basin-
region land mass, while their steep western and landward
escarpment was formed in the same way that the steep
eastern and landward escarpment of the Sierra Nevada was
formed.

In 1880 Professor Le Conte wrote an important article on

MOHAWK LAKE DEDS.

401

the “ Old River Beds of California ” (XII). His conclusions
in brief are that the enormous deposits of coarse sediments
(the auriferous gravels) were caused by overloaded waters,
which resulted from the melting of snow and ice, from the
heat of the approaching interior lava which soon after was
erupted, completely filling up the old river beds and causing
their streams to seek new channels.

Glacial conditions are presumed to have commenced be¬
fore the lava flows and to have reached their maximum after
the lava flows. It is thought probable that the gradual
elevation and the attendant glacial conditions commenced
and advanced until the former culminated in the fracture
and outflow of lava. He considers that there is a certain
definite relation between slope and the amount of detritus
which determines the depth of canons.

If this relation be disturbed by increase of slope the stream
will strive to re-establish it. Thus it has been with the great
canons of the plateau region, and thus it must have been
with the canons of the Sierra Nevada. Professor Le Conte
says :

“ It is difficult to imagine that the Tertiary river channels
should have remained so shallow after the erosion of the
whole Cretaceous and Tertiary times if the general Sierra
slope were as high then as it is now , viz., 100 to 200 feet per
mile. * * *

“ The elevation which I suppose took place in the Sierra
range at the time of the lava flow was evidently of a gentle
kind, unaccompanied with crumblings and dislocations of
the strata, and therefore undetectable except by the work of
canon cutting.”

In reviewing Whitney’s “ Climatic Changes ” (XVIII), in
1883, Mr. Gilbert (V, page 194) writes :

“ If the inclination of the western flank of the Sierra was
exceedingly gentle in Pliocene time, it would be natural for
its streams to form deposits on the lower slopes ; and if after¬
ward an elevation occurred, increasing this inclination, the

51— Bull. Phil. Soc., Wash., Vol. 11.

402

TURNER.

habit of the streams would be reversed, and the canons we
see would result. That such a change in inclination has
taken place is rendered probable by other considerations.
In the first place, the western face, which is far broader than
the eastern, is, as described by Whitney and others, an in¬
clined plane, interrupted only by the narrow canons of the
modern streams. Its plateau character is not given by a
continuous stratum of hard rock parallel to the general
surface, but has been produced by the uniform erosion of a
system of plicated strata. Such uniform erosion could only
have been accomplished by streams flowing at a low angle-
Second, the eastern boundary of the range or plateau is a
line of faulting ; and the orographic movement producing
the range consisted of a displacement along this fault line,
and a consequent inclination of a plateau-like mass to the
westward.”

In 1886 Professor Le Conte wrote a paper on the “ Post-
Tertiary Elevation of the Sierra Nevada ” (XIII). On page
173 he says:

“ The old river beds were probably established at the be¬
ginning of the Cretaceous, when the Sierra range was born
from the sea and were being cut and shaped throughout
the whole Cretaceous and Tertiary. By the end of that
time * * * the rivers seem to have reached their base

level and had ceased to deepen their channels, but rain
erosion still continued to widen the valleys and cut down
the divides. The river system had therefore assumed the
form characteristic of old topography. Then came the lava
flood, displacing the rivers, and the contemporaneous eleva¬
tion changing the base level and enormously increasing the
erosive power of the rivers. These, therefore, without loss
of time, commenced cutting anew, and in comparatively
short time have cut far lower than before. * * * It is

impossible to explain this except by supposing a great rise,
probably several thousands of feet, with increased slope of
the range at the end of the Tertiary.”

MOHAWK LAKE BEDS.

403

Professor Le Conte, on the evidence of Gilbert, Howell,
and Pussell, considers the fault scarps of the great basin to
be due to normal faulting, which he considers due to gravi-
tative settling. He says :

“ It is certain that the great normal faults which charac¬
terize the basin region, among which must be counted the
eastern Sierra fault and the western Wahsatch fault, were
produced in this way long after the orogenic crumpling had
ceased.”

Professor Le' Conte has still further elaborated methods of
faulting in a paper “ On the Origin of Normal Faults,” pub¬
lished in 1889 (XIV). This may be taken as representing
his present views.

Professor Le Conte assumes the earth to have a solid
nucleus surrounded by a liquid layer on which the crust
floats. Lie says :

“At the end of the Tertiary the whole region from the
Wahsatch to the Sierra, inclusive, was lifted by intumescent
lava into a great arch, the abutments of which were the Sierra
on the one side and the Wahsatch on the other. * * *

“ The arch broke down and the broken parts readjusted
themselves by gravity into the ridges and valleys of the
basin region, leaving the raw faces of the abutments over¬
looking the basin and toward one another. It must not be
supposed, however, that this took place at once, but gradually ,
the lifting, the breaking down, and the re-adjustment going
on pari passu”

. “ The Sierra Nevada is a great crust-block heaved and

slipped on the eastern side, forming there a great fault of
15,000 to 20,000 feet vertical displacement, and this took
place at the end of the Tertiary, accompanied by floods of

lava.”

/

It will be observed that Le Conte’s views have undergone
a marked change since his first articles were published.
Supposing his assumption of a liquid substratum to be cor-

404

TURNER.

rect, his explanation of the formation of the basin ranges by
gravitative settling finds confirmation in a paper by William
Hopkins, in 1842 (VII), who demonstrated that a series of
wedge-shaped blocks, formed by a system of normal faults
cutting a given area of crust resting on a molten magma,
would be differentially displaced, and that the blocks with
the base of the wedge downward would be elevated relatively,
and those with the apex of the wedge downward would
settle. The relatively elevated blocks would form a system
of flat-topped ridges with steep sides, the intervening blocks
forming the floor of valleys.

This would not, however, account for the monoclinal
ridges, which Professor Le Conte supposes to have been
rhomboidal blocks, the overhanging side of which would
tip, heaving up the other side.

It will be seen from Le Conte’s earlier writings that he
considered the Sierra to have attained nearly its present
elevation at the time of its upheaval, and that at about that
time a fault was formed west of Owen’s Lake, which ran into
a fold at about Lake Mono ; also that the elevation of the
range at the close of the Tertiary was a very slight affair.

He now evidently considers the range to have attained its
present elevation by a considerable elevation at the close of
the Tertiary, with the formation of a line of normal faulting
along the base of the steep eastern scarp of the range.

We will here assume Mr. Diller’s extension of this line of
faulting through Mohawk and American Valleys to be cor¬
rect. It will follow that the amount of faulting in recent
times has not been great. Since the highest lake deposits
occur on both sides of the line of fracture at an approximate
elevation of 5,000 feet, it is evident that the amount of fault¬
ing since the existence of the highest stage of the lake must
be measured in tens and not hundreds of feet.

On the supposition that the Pliocene beds containing the
fossil leaves and the Mohawk Post Office beds are approxi¬
mately of the same strata, these also being on opposite sides
of the line of fracture and nearly of the same elevation, the

MOHAWK LAKE BEDS.

405

main faulting must have occurred before the existence of the
so-called Pliocene lake, which, on the grounds before given,
may be supposed to have existed.

Professor Le Conte studied the main fault scarp where it
is at its maximum — that is, from Lake Mono south — but, so
far as I know, has given no proof of so great a displacement
as he indicates. The Sierra Nevada is thought to have been
reduced to a base level of erosion during Tertiary time, and
to have had an elevation not much, if any, greater than that
of the great basin at the time of the displacement along
Lake Mono and Owen’s Lake. But while there is evidence of
the river channels having had a very moderate grade during
Tertiary time in the more northern part of the Sierra, so far
as I know no evidence has been adduced to show that the
Sierra Nevada did not constitute a mountain range during
all of Tertiary time in the region where it is now highest,
viz., to the west of Owen’s Lake. No extensive gravel de¬
posits, showing ancient rivers flowing at a moderate grade,
have, to my knowledge, been found there, and it remains for
the future geological explorer in that region to get evidence
that may decide the question-

The general topography of the country indicates that the
amount of displacement along the main fault scarp is much
less in the region to the north of Lake Tahoe than from
there south. Bearing on this point are some facts which I
will now present. Referring again to Mr. Diller’s orographic
blocks as set forth in Bull. No. 33, U. S. G. S., there is evi¬
dence of an old river channel that originated as far south,
at least, as Haskell Peak, which is south of Mohawk Valley,
and flowed in a course a little west of north across all three
of these blocks. If future investigations substantiate the
course of this river as above it can be certainly shown that a
differential elevation or subsidence of the land on opposite
sides of the fault line of the Mohawk Valley of perhaps a
thousand feet has taken place, but it will be equally certain
that this displacement took place previous to the deposit of
the Mohawk lake beds, even the oldest, and after the deposit

406

TURNER.

of the river gravels which now give evidence of the former
existence of the river above mentioned. It could be also
shown that the amount of faulting between the middle
block, having its eastern escarpment along Little Grizzly
Creek, and the eastern block, with its escarpment east of
Thompson Peak, has been comparatively slight at the place
where the river crossed the fault line.

The highest gravel area observed which is ascribed to the
ancient river lies about one mile north of Haskell Peak at
an elevation of 7,000 feet. The most northern area observed
lies to the east of Little Grizzly Creek and north of the
fortieth parallel at an elevation of about 5,800 feet. The
gravel deposits of this old river are well exposed by hydraulic
washings at several points, particularly at the Cascade gravel
mine. The river probably existed in Eocene and Miocene
times.

Mr. Diller informs me that he has traced the same chan¬
nel still further north, and that he believes the river to have
had a northerly course. During a subsequent season I hope
to get positive evidence as to the course of this ancient river
and its bearing on the question of faulting.

Professor Whitney believes the Sierra Nevada to have had
substantially the same elevation in Tertiary times as now.
(XVII, page 342.)

He accounts for the large accumulations of auriferous-
gravels in Tertiary times by supposing the precipitation, and
consequently the volume, of water in the rivers to have been
far greater at that time, and thinks that the present narrow
and deep canons were cut by streams constantly diminish¬
ing in volume.

In an excellent paper on “ The Ancient Biver Beds of the
Forest Hill Divide ” (II, page 435) Mr. R. E. Browne gives
the results of his investigations of certain channels in Placer
county, California, which have been pretty thoroughly ex¬
posed by mining operations. He has been able to show that
there are several channels of different ages, and has been
able to map with absolute certainty portions of the courses

MOHAWK LAKE BEDS.

407

of these ancient streams. One very remarkable thing noted
is the finding of fossil trees standing upright on the banks
of one of these channels, having been overwhelmed by a
mud flow of lava, such as many of the flows of breccia and
tufa undoubtedly were, without being displaced.

On page 445 Mr. Browne says :

“ If Professor Le Conte’s view is correct, and the bearing
of the axis of upheaval is north and south and the tilt to
the west, one should expect to find in following the sinuous
course of the tilted channel, first, the original grade main¬
tained wherever the course is north or south ; second, a
greatly increased grade wherever the course is west ; third,
little or no grade wherever the course is east, * * *

more data are wanted to settle the question of tilting. How¬
ever, it may be said that the evidence, as far as it goes, is
against any considerable increase in the slope of the Sierra
flank — decidedly against an increase large enough to account
per se for the two-thousand-feet-deeper cutting of the modern
river.”

The most decisive grade would be an easterly one. Un¬
fortunately, none of these channels appear to have such a
course, even for a few miles.

The last important paper is by Mr. Becker, “ The Struct¬
ure of a portion of the Sierra Nevada” (I). Mr. Becker
accounts for the late elevation of the Sierra Nevada by means
of distributed faults, of which he has found evidence during
the past season. His explanation of how this occurred is
somewhat elaborate, and the reader is referred to the original.

Resume.

Mohawk Valley is the bed of a Pleistocene lake caused by
the damming up of the canon of the Feather River by a
flow of andesitic lava.

Glaciers existed contemporaneously with the lake.

A line of recent faulting extends across the lake beds in a
northwesterly direction. This line of faulting appears to

408

TURNER.

coincide with the east fault scarp of the Sierra Nevada as
outlined by Le Conte and Gilbert and extended by Diller.

The amount of faulting since the deposit of the lake beds
is to be measured in tens and not hundreds of feet.

If the course of an ancient river as described be later sub¬
stantiated, the amount of faulting since perhaps Eocene
times may be approximately measured.

The literature bearing on the elevation of the Sierra is
briefly reviewed. Gilbert, Le Conte, Diller, and Russell re¬
gard the Sierra Nevada as being a tilted block of late origin,
while Whitney, Becker, and Ross E. Browne believe the
range to have had nearly its present elevation since the post-
Mariposa upheaval.

PUBLICATIONS REFERRED TO.

I. Becker, G. F. “The Structure of a Portion of the Sierra Ne¬
vada of California.” Bull. Geol. Soc. Am., vol. 2, pp. 49-74,
Jan., 1891.

II. Browne, Ross E- “The Ancient River Beds of the Forest Hill
Divide.” Tenth Ann. Rep. State Mineralogist of California,
1890, pp. 435-465, with a map in two sheets.

III. DiEEER, J. S. “ Notes on the Geology of Northern California.”

Bull. No. 33, U. S. Geol. Survey, 1886.

IV. DiEEER, J. S. “ Geology of the Lassen Peak District.” Eighth

Ann. Rep. Director U. S. Geol. Survey, pp. 395-432, with a
geological map.

V. GiEBERT, G. K. Review of “Whitney’s Climatic Changes.”
Science, vol. I, 1883, pp. 141-142, 169-173, and 192-195.

VI. GieberT. G. K. Lake Bonneville. Monograph I, U. S. Geol.
Survey, 1890.

VII. Hopkins, Wieeiam. “ Researches in Physical Geology. ” Phil.
Trans. Roy. Soc., London, 1842, p. 43.

VIII. LE Conte, Joseph. “ A Theory of the Formation of the Great
Features of the Earth’s Surface.” Am. Jour. Sci., Third
Series, vol. IV, 1872, pp. 345~355 and 460-472.

IX. LE ConTE, JOSEPH. “ On the Great Lava Floods of the West,
and on the Structure and Age of the Cascade Mountains.”
Am. Jour. Sci., Third Series, vol. VII, 1874, pp. 167-180 and
257-267.

MOHAWK LAKE BEDS.

409

X. LE Conte, Joseph. “On some Ancient Glaciers of the Sierra
Nevada.” Am. Jour. Sci., Third Series, vol. X, 1875, pp.
126-139.

XI. LE Conte, Joseph. “On the Structure and Origin of Mount¬
ains with special reference to recent objections to the Con-
tractional Theory.” Am. Jour. Sci., Third Series, vol. XVI,
1878, pp. 95-112.

XII. LeConTE, Joseph-. “Old River Beds of California.” Am.
Jour. Sci., Third Series, vol. XIX, 1880, pp. 176-190.

XIII. Le Conte, Joseph. “A Post-Tertiary Elevation of the Sierra

Nevada shown by the River Beds.” Am. Jour. Sci., Third
Series, vol. XXXII, 1886, pp. 167-181.

XIV. Le Conte, Joseph. “On the Origin of Normal Faults, and on

the Structure of the Basin Region.” Am. Jour. Sci., Third
Series, vol. XXXVIII, 1889, pp. 257-263.

XV. MERRILL, G. P. “On Deposits of Volcanic Dust and Sand in
Southwestern Nebraska.” Proc. U. S. Nat. Museum, 1885,
pp. 99-100.

XVI. RUSSELL, I. C. “Quaternary History of Mono Valley, Cali¬
fornia.” Eighth Ann. Rep. Director U. S. Geol. Survey,
Part I, pp. 269-394, illustrated with maps and photo-engrav¬
ings.

XVII. Whitney, J. D. “ The Auriferous Gravels of the Sierra Nevada
of California.” Memoirs of the Museum Comp. Zool., vol.
VI, No. 1, 1880.

XVIII. Whitney, J. D. “The Climatic Changes of Later Geological
Times.” Memoirs Museum Comp. Zool., vol. VII, No. 2,
Part II, 1882.

XIX. LE Conte, Joseph. “On the Structure and Origin of Moun¬
tains.” Amer. Jour. Sci., Third Series, vol. XVI, 1878, pp.

IOO-IOI.

52— Bull. Phil. Soc., Wash., Vol. 11.

CONSTITUTION AND ORIGIN OF SPHERULITES
IN ACID ERUPTIVE ROCKS.

BY

Whitman Cross.

[Read before the Society, April 25, 1891.]

In the course of geological investigations in Colorado, ex¬
tending through several years, the writer has observed a
number of occurrences of rhyolitic rocks containing the in¬
teresting bodies known as spherulites and lithophysse. Some
of these occurrences have furnished material remarkable for
its variety and degree of development, and exhibiting in
unusual clearness certain important characteristics of these
structural forms. The author began the study of these
spherulites without having had previous experience with
such objects, and he naturally sought to apply to them the
classificatory scheme and the descriptive terms of the lead¬
ing authorities of the day ; but, whether he turned to the
German, to the French, or to the English school of petrog¬
raphy, he found that the current views regarding spheru¬
lites were in large measure inapplicable to the case in hand,
and that the schemes of classification were unsatisfactory.

A full description of the spherulitic rocks collected in Col¬
orado is being prepared for publication by the U. S. Geologi¬
cal Survey, and it is the intention to give at the present time
only such results of the investigation as have a general bear¬
ing upon the subject and tend to corrrect certain inaccurate
or fallacious beliefs concerning spherulites which are current
in text-books and in general literature. Preliminary to this
discussion it will be necessary to review in brief the origin
of the prevailing ideas.

53— Bull. Phil. Soc., Wash., Vol. 11.

(411)

412

CROSS.

Historical Review.

The term spherulite is one of many in the nomenclature
of petrography to which no satisfactory and consistent defi¬
nition has as yet been given, for the evident reason that
knowledge concerning the essential character of the objects
to which the term has been applied is inadequate for the
establishment of such a definition. A round or spherical
form is implied by the word, and a radiate or concentric
inner structure has been found to be a seldom-failing char¬
acteristic of the bodies in question ; yet, in spite of these
purely structural conceptions, which are prominent in all
discussions of the subject, the term has usually been limited
in its application to masses found in the acid eruptive rocks
and assumed to be peculiar forms of consolidation of a molten
magma.

It is not necessary for present purposes to go far back into
the literature of petrography, for the views entertained con¬
cerning spherulites before the microscope was applied to their
examination are naturally vague and in a large measure in¬
correct. But, although the microscope dispelled certain illu¬
sions, it brought out a host of new problems to be explained,
and in the latest presentations of the subject by acknowl¬
edged authorities some important features of spherulites are
still surrounded by a veil of mystery.

In 1866 Zirkel states* that spherulites may be considered
to represent an intermediate stage in the development of the
crystalline state, between the knotted trichites or crystallites
of many obsidians and the perfect crystals of the same rock.

- - : - \ -

* Zirkel (F.). Lehrbuch der Petrographie. 8°. Bonn, 1866, vol. II, p. 253.

“ Die Spharolithe scheinen eine ahnliche Bildung zu sein, wie die soge-
nannten Krystalliten in den langsam abgekuhlten Glasern, dem Reaumur-
schen Porzellan ; sie diirften eine Mittelstufe in der Entwicklung des
krystallinischen Zustandes darstellen, einerseits zwischen jenen Knotclien,
welche sich mitunter in den Obsidianen finden, und welche als die un-
vollkominensten Producte gelten konnen, die eine rasch erkaltende Masse
in ihrem Bestreben Krystalle auszuseheiden, hervorzubringen vermag, und
andererseits den vollkommen ausgebildeten Krystallen in der Glasgrund-

inasse.

CONSTITUTION AND ORIGIN OF SPIIERULITES. 41 B

This view is probably based upon the earlier investigations
of Vogelsang on slags, and upon the resulting theories of crys-
tallogenesis. Vogelsang himself elaborated this idea in his
celebrated work, “ Die Krystalliten,” issued in 1875, which
contained an application of the result of his synthetic ex¬
periments to the explanation and classification of spheru-
lites in rocks. It is not necessary to review the classic ob¬
servations of Vogelsang in the field of crystallogenesis, and
it is no part of the present writer’s purpose to discuss the
theories of crystal growth which arose from those observa¬
tions. He does wish to question their application to a large
share of spherulitic forms in rocks ; and in this connection
it may be well to point out that Vogelsang himself seems to
have appreciated the dangers of this application much more
clearly than most of his followers have done.*

The idea that spherulites are not made up of known
minerals, and that their essential elements are indefinite
substances, has proven very attractive, both to superficial
observers and to those whose material would not allow of
accurate diagnosis. It has therefore been widely adopted,
and many descriptions of spherulites have been published
which contain no mention of a definite mineral component,
although the statements made clearly indicate the presence
of feldspar or quartz.

In 1887 Lagoriof speaks of spherulites in terms very
similar to those used by Zirkel in 1866.

The views concerning the structure and composition of
spherulites, found in the petrographical literature of today,
are naturally the views of the leaders in the respective schools

* Vogelsang (PI.). Die Krj’-stalliten. 8°. Bonn, 1875, p. 107. “Esistnicht
zu verkennen, dass die Gefahr dabei sehr nahe liegt, zu weit zu gehen,
und der Idee zu Liebe dem krystallitischen Aggregatzustand ein grosseres
Feld einzuraumen als er beanspruclien darf ;....”

f “ Ueber die Natur der Glasbasis, sowie der Krystallizationsvorgange im
eruptiven Magma.” Tschermak (G.). Min. und petrog. Mittheilungen.
8°. Wien, 1887 ; vol. 8, p. 440. “Diese letzteren [Spherulites] sind als
Anfange der Krystallization zu betraehten, die in einem gegebenen Au-
genblick zum Stillstande kam, sei es, weil das Gestein erstarrte, sei es, weil
das Magma uberhaupt keine Tendenz besass, die gelosten Silicate auszu-
scheiden.”

414

CROSS.

of petrography. A large part of the descriptions to be found
are based upon the statements and follow the classification
presented by Professor Rosenbusch in his “ Physiographie
der massigen Gesteine.” Messrs. Fouque and Michel-Levy
are followed even more closely by French writers, and current
English literature of this subject has in a certain measure
an individual tone.

The classification of spherulites presented by Professor
Rosenbusch* is a modification of that proposed by Vogelsang.
It establishes six divisions, namely : 1st, Cumulites ; 2nd,
Globospherulites ; 3rd, Granospherulites ; 4th, “ Sphaerokrys-
talle;” 5th,Pseudospherulites; 6th, Felsospherulites, or spher¬
ulites proper. Cumulites and globospherulites are almost
wholly of theoretical importance. They consist of primitive
globulites — unindividualized matter — a radial arrangement
of these particles distinguishing the second group from the
first. Granospherulites are composed of distinct mineral
grains without any regular arrangement. A spherulite con¬
sisting of but a single mineral and exhibiting a radiate
structure is a “ Sphserokrystall.” A radiate aggregate of
chlorite leaves is mentioned by Rosenbusch as* an illustra¬
tion of this group of spherulites. .It is clear that these first
four classes of spherulites include but comparatively few of
the bodies found in rocks, and only those of minute size.

For the more abundant, more complex, and as prominent
rock constituents, more important, spherulites, but two groups
are provided by Rosenbusch, the pseudospherulites and the
felsospherulites, between which he draws what must be char¬
acterized as a very remarkable distinction. If a complex
spherulite of radiate structure consists only of identifiable
minerals it is a psewdo-spherulite, while if there is an unde¬
termined element, in addition to the known substances, we
have before us a true spherulite. This distinction illustrates
another phase of the idea that spherulites proper cannot
consist of definite minerals ; for while the presence of crys¬
tallites is not essential to the felsospherulites, Rosenbusch

* Rosenbusch (H.). Mik. Phys. der mass. Gesteine. 2d ed. 8°. Stutt¬
gart, 1887, pp. 392-3.

CONSTITUTION AND ORIGIN OF SPHERULITES. 415

sees in many of them the even more mysterious substance
called microfelsite, which appears to be abundant in the rocks
studied by certain petrographers, is never mentioned by other
good observers, and has certainly never been found by any
one in such development that its right to recognition as a
definite substance could be established.

“ Mikrofelsit ” is a term proposed by Zirkel for the micro¬
scopically felsitic, i. e., unresolved and apparently unindi¬
vidualized, yet not glassy, base of acid porphyries and rhyo¬
lites. Whether desirable at the time of its proposal, or not,
the term soon fell into disrepute, because used as a mere
“ confession of ignorance ” by careless observers. The latest
definition of microfelsite, and that with which we are here
concerned, is given by Rosenbusch in his already cited work.
The definition is scattered through the descriptions of several
rocks, but when the parts are put together it is seen that
Rosenbusch gives to microfelsite the properties of a distinct
mineral species. It is averred to have a stoichiometric
chemical composition and a homogeneous crystalline struc¬
ture. It occurs in scales and fibers which normally do not
have any effect upon polarized light, and the radiate spher-
ulitic form is characteristically assumed. Through strain of
some kind such spherulites give a negative black cross
between crossed nicols, and even superposed scales in a
groundmass may acquire the power of polarizing light.

The chemical composition assigned to microfelsite by
Rosenbusch is that of a silicate of alumina and the alkalies.
The bases have the ratio 1:1, as in feldspar, but there is
more silica than in any feldspar. The ratio of silica to bases
is not given, and is apparently not constant. How can the sub¬
stance, then, be asserted to have a stoichiometric composition?

There are obviously many reasons for doubting the cor¬
rectness of the position taken by Rosenbusch in regard to
microfelsite. Teall * and Brogger,f among others, have defi-

* Teall (J. J. Harris). British Petrography. 4°. London, 1888, p. 402.

f BrOgger (W. 0.). Die Mineralien der Syenitpegmatitgange, etc., being
Zeitschrift fur Krystallographie und Mineralogie etc. von P. Groth. 8°.
Leipzig, 1890, vol. 16, p. 402.

416

CROSS.

nitely expressed the opinion that microfelsite is simply a
“ submicroscopic ” intergrowth of orthoclase and quartz. As
will be seen later, the writer has been led to the same con¬
clusion for the microspherulites thought by Rosenbusch to
represent microfelsite in its purest state and most character¬
istic development. As for scales and fibers of the supposed
substance occurring in the groundmass of porphyries and
rhyolites, it will be extremely difficult to prove that they are
not simply minute particles of known minerals, as feldspar,
whose properties cannot be accurately determined by exist¬
ing means under the circumstances of their development.

Turning now to the classification of spherulites recently
presented by Michel-Levy* and compared by him with that
of the German author, we find here, too, a great confusion
resulting from the introduction of the vaguely characterized
element, petrosilex. The present writer has searched in
vain through the publications of Fouque, Michel-Levy, and
other French authors for a definition of petrosilex which
should cover and explain the various usages of the term.
In the pamphlet last cited, Michel-Levy states that petrosi¬
lex is the same thing as microfelsite, to which Rosenbusch
gave the definition above mentioned, but then refers to it as
“a partially amorphous magma impregnated with silica
already individualized in the state of opal or chalcedony/’
a phrase which admirably illustrates the indefinite way in
which the term is used. One finds in descriptions of spheru-
litic rocks such expressions as : “ la matiere petrosiliceuse,”
“ le substance petrosiliceux,” “ la structure petrosiliceuse,”
“ l’aspect petrosiliceux,” “ la cassure petrosiliceuse,” “ glob¬
ules petrosiliceux a extinction,” “globules petrosiliceux
promorphiques,” etc., etc. It is seldom that a French writer
describes a dense, obscure groundmass of an acid eruptive
rock, or a spherulitic growth, without applying this favorite
adjective. The various uses of the term logically imply that
petrosilex may possess either the properties of an amor¬
phous, of a crystallitic, or of a fully crystalline substance.

* Michel Levy (A.). Structures et classification des roches eruptives.
8°. Paris, 1889, pp. 20-24.

CONSTITUTION AND ORIGIN OF SPHERULITES. 417

In the “Tableaux des Mineraux des Roches” by Michel-
Levy and Lacroix, issued in 1889, p6trosilex is mentioned
under quartz, and summarily defined as a “ melange de
quartz spherolitique dominant et de feldspath.” Its chemical
composition is given as “Si 02 + un pen d’alumine et
d’alkalis ; ” its characteristic form as “ Spherolites & fibres
surtout positives,” and its color is said to be “ brunatre.”
This definition is precise, but it by no means covers the
usages to which the term is put in petrographical literature,
and is directly opposed to many statements of the properties
of the substance — as, for example, the one above cited. One
of the results of the present investigation seems to explain
in a measure the confusion of properties attributed to petro-
silex, as will appear later on.

Michel-Levy divides spherulites into five groups, which
he designates as follows : 1st, “ Etoilements des micro¬
pegmatites ; ” 2d, “ Spherolites a quartz globulaire ; ” 3d,
Spherolites petrosiliceux a croix noire ; ” 4th, “ Spherolites
d’orthose;” 5th, the spheres of perlite. The last group is
excluded from present consideration, the second includes
peculiar and usually secondary forms of a single rock con¬
stituent of minor importance. The fourth group is said
to represent the “ Sphserokrystalle ” of Rosenbusch. The
classification of Michel-Levy has no place for spherulites
composed of known minerals, unless they be quartz and
feldspar intergrown in the manner of micropegmatite. His
third group corresponds to the felsospherulites of Rosenbusch,
and as a matter of fact the great majority of spherulites are
referred to this division, petrosilex, like microfelsite, being
readily assumed to be present where the spherulite is very
dense, or when it is clouded by decomposition products, or
when the sections are too thick for microscopical analysis.

It is to be noted that the French author does not recog¬
nize among spherulitic bodies of rocks any representatives of
Vogelsang’s cumulites and globospherulites ; at least he does
not provide for them in his classification.

Existing literature concerning spherulites is almost exclu-

418

CROSS.

sively the product of European writers. The only impor¬
tant contribution to the subject which has been made by an
American is contained in the description by J. P. Iddings *
of the wonderful material of Osidian Cliff, in the Yellowstone
National Park. In beauty, freshness, variety, and degree of
development, the spherulitic rhyolite of this locality seems
to surpass any previously described occurrence in the world.
Spherulites of several types are here associated, from ex¬
tremely minute microscopic forms to those several inches in
diameter, and the relationship between solid spherulites and
the hollow variety termed lithophysse is very plainly shown.

The publications of Iddings regarding this excellent ma¬
terial contrast very markedly with those of European writers,
in that he does not mention in his description of any variety
of spherulites a crystallitic or otherwise indefinite substance,
such as microfelsite or petrosilex. He interprets all spheru¬
lites studied by him as made up of known minerals, which
are not different in kind from the constituents of the rhyolite
formed from the same magma under other conditions. In
other words, he treats these spherulites as produced by the
crystallization of a magma under special conditions causing
the peculiar structure, and not as mere consolidation
products, caught in a certain transition stage between the
molten fluid and the normal crystalline state. As shown by
mineral and chemical composition and geological relation¬
ships these spherulitic masses are simply primary structural
modifications of a rhyolitic lava.

The investigations of the present writer upon a large col¬
lection of spherulitic rocks, showing many modifications not
exhibited at Obsidian Cliff, have led him to the same con¬
clusion regarding his own material. He must not be under¬
stood to deny the existence of crystallitic aggregates, cumu-
lites, or globospherulites, in glassy rocks, but he has seen no
reason to believe that they are developed in the material he

*The nature and origin of lithophysse and the lamination of acid lavas.
Amer. Jour, of Science. 8°. New Haven, 1887, Jan., vol. 33, p. 46.

Obsidian Cliff, Yellowstone National Park. Seventh Ann. Rep. Di¬
rector U. S. Geological Survey. 8°. Washington, 1888, pp. 249-296.

CONSTITUTION AND ORIGIN OF SPHERULITES. 419

has studied. On the other hand, certain facts to he brought
out show conclusively that in very many interpretations of
spherulitic bodies the presence of indefinite substances — crys¬
tallites, petrosilex, or microfelsite — has been unnecessarily
and unjustifiably assumed under the influence of precon¬
ceived ideas.

Description of Spherulites from Colorado.

The spherulitic rocks examined by the writer come mainly
from the Silver Cliff-Rosita mining district, in Custer county,
Colorado, where, on the western slopes of the Wet Mountain
range, there is a small group of hills made up of a series of
andesites, rhyolites, and trachytes from a single volcanic cen¬
ter. The rhyolite was poured out through numerous fissures
and ejected from explosive vents, the products intermingling
in a complex manner. The rock is now found in dikes, in
remnants of flows, and in breccia or agglomerate masses,
almost all of which are characterized by an abundance of
spherulitic growths. In many cases the entire mass is spher¬
ulitic, in a number of generations, the conditions favorable to
such crystallization having been repeatedly interrupted, to
be renewed with distinct, though minor, changes in the char¬
acter of the successive products.

In these various rock masses spherulites occur of all sizes
between those of microscopic dimensions and complex bodies
more than ten feet in diameter. In form they vary from the
perfect sphere through almost the whole series of modifica¬
tions so easily produced by this kind of crystalline growth.
These multitudinous forms are visible in many relationships
to each other, to glassy rocks, and to banded lithoidal rhyo¬
lite. They are sometimes found in fresh condition in pitch-
stone, and in other cases occur in masses which have been
subject to decomposition in several ways. The material is
therefore adapted to show the original relationships of the
bodies to the consolidation of the magma, different kinds of
internal structure and mineral constitution, and also changes
due to entirely secondary processes.

54-Bull. Phil. Soc., Wash., Vol. 11.

420

CROSS.

Excepting purely silicious forms of secondary origin, all
the spherulitic bodies of these rocks are products of the con¬
solidation of a cooling magma. As an aid in appreciating
some of the subsequent statements, it is thought advisable to
give in the outset quantitative analyses of two typical pitch-
stones, both in almost perfectly fresh condition, and repre¬
senting, as nearly as can be ascertained, the composition of
two magmas in which spherulites were locally developed.
Analysis I is of the pitchstone at Silver Cliff, in which occur
the large compound spherulites to be described, while II rep¬
resents a small lava flow in the Rosita Hills. The analyses
were made by L. G. Eakins.

I. II.

Si 02 _ _ _ 71.56 73.11

A12 03 _ 13.10 13.16

Fe2 03 _ 0.66 0.62

' Fe O _ 0.28 0.23

Mn O _ 0.16 0.14

CaO _ 0.74 0.54

Mg O _ 0.14 0.19

K20 _ 4.06 5.10

Na2 O _ 3.77 . 2.85

H2 O _ 5.52 4.05

99.99 99.99

Other analyses confirm these in showing the very simple
constitution of the rhyolitic magmas of this district, each of
which on complete crystallization must consist of nearly
two-thirds alkali feldspar and a little more than one-third
free silica. All other possible constituents are quite subordi¬
nate in amount, and it is to be noted that prior to the spher¬
ulitic period the lime, magnesia, and much of the iron oxides
had been separated out in phenocrysts of plagioclase, leaves
of biotite, microlites of augite, and in grains or trichites of
magnetite. When the spherulites began to form in these
lavas the molecular ratio of potash + soda to alumina in
the still fluid part was almost exactly 1 : 1, and the only
other important constituents were silica and an abundance
of water.

CONSTITUTION AND ORIGIN OP SPHERULITES. 421

All substances older than the spherulites are arranged to
bring out the fluidal structure of the viscous magma. Here,
as elsewhere, this structure traverses the spherulites without
change in course, but the earlier mineral particles have been
more or less attacked by the agencies active in the spheru-
litic periods. This action reaches a maximum when the
microlitic crystals are wholly resorbed and the fluidal struc¬
ture is thus obliterated.

Extremely minute microscopic spherulites were the first
to form, although also developed in later periods, and several
varieties may be distinguished among them. Some are
clearly micropegmatite groups ; others are too dense to show
any definite intergrowth of minerals. The early ones are
usually colored brownish, but often have an outer colorless
zone, plainly contemporaneous with adjoining spherulites
which are colorless throughout. Dense cores are occasion¬
ally surrounded by an outer zone of later date, composed of
distinct feldspar rays, and, rarely, microspherulites of appar¬
ently pure feldspar are found.

Globules of opal or chalcedony are sometimes present in
these rocks, chiefly in certain bands of lithoidal rhyolite, in
druses, or in veins. They seem referable in all cases to the
last period of spherulitic growth, or to a definitely secondary
period. No reason has been found to suppose that purely
silicious spherulites formed here in any period when the
magma yet contained the components of feldspar in con¬
siderable amount.

Further description of these minutest spherulites is un¬
necessary, as they seem to correspond to varieties developed
in unusual perfection in the lava of Obsidian Cliff, which
have been described by Iddings in the publications already
cited and in an article read before the Philosophical Society
at the same meeting with the present one. Iddings shows
conclusively that a very large share of those dense micro¬
spherulites affording a distinct, negative interference cross
must be supposed to consist of micropegmatite. This is a
most natural product of crystallization of such magmas, and

422

CROSS.

it seems both unnecessary and unwise to suppose that in¬
distinguishable bodies may occur in the same association and
of the same condition of origin which are either made up of
a wholly hypothetical substance, such as petrosilex or micro-
felsite, or of a known mineral, as chalcedony, whose forma¬
tion in such circumstances is chemically unlikely. The
assumption for other cases, that the optical properties are
due to tension in an amorphous substance, should have some
special basis to rest upon.

Dismissing from further consideration these very dense
and very minute spherulitic forms, the main part of the fol¬
lowing descriptions will have reference to a distinctly differ¬
ent class of spherulites, the nature of whose growth permits
them to reach a size and assume forms scarcely possible for
the others. The spherulites in question occur in several
generations of growth in the rocks of Custer county, and
each growth possesses characteristics suggesting some local
name for use in study and description. In using these con¬
venient terms in this article the writer must not be under¬
stood to suggest that similar types, developed in other lavas
under somewhat different conditions, are likely to appear in
the same order of formation, or in the same formal relation¬
ships. A perfect coincidence in products of two occurrences
would imply a perfect coincidence in numerous varying con¬
ditions, something very improbable for the entire series
though it might be partially realized in many cases.

The first spherulites of this series are commonly charac¬
terized by internal cavities, large with reference to the whole
spherulite and of very irregular shape. Movements of the
stiff viscous mass soon after these hollow spherulites were
formed crushed many of them and the cavities were filled
by liquid matter. Fig. 1, Plate 5, shows in natural size a
rock in which the hollow spherulites are abundant. Most
of them have been crushed, but the dislocation of fragments
was evidently slight.

The solid shells of hollow spherulites are chiefly made up
of colorless needles of feldspar radiating from many different

CONSTITUTION AND ORIGIN OF SPHERULITES. 423

centers on the surface of the cavity, but in the outer zone
they have all come into position normal to the circumference.
These needles branch or fork at low angles in the manner
well illustrated by Iddings and others, and which is quite
common in large spherulitic growths. Between the feldspar
needles is the silica, often in amorphous form, probably opal,
and colored light yellowish brown by ferritic pigment. But
a portion of the silica has usually become anhydrous and is
developed in minute balls of tridymite, scattered wholly ir¬
regularly through the mass. The ferritic matter is excluded
from these tridymite aggregates and is gathered in the
amorphous material about them, or, if the silica is all devel¬
oped in such aggregates, the pigment becomes concentrated
in larger particles and the whole spherulite is thereby clari¬
fied. The feldspar needles are naturally most plainly seen
when the silica is thus developed. In some cases irregular
quartz grains develop instead of tridymite, and then the op¬
tical action of the feldspar needles is more or less obscured
by the mineral of stronger double refraction. It is charac¬
teristic of hollow spherulites that magnetite should be formed
in distinct grains scattered evenly through the fibrous mass
and in no way accentuating the radial structure.

The second spherulitic growth, or the first where the hol¬
low ones are missing, has been termed the trichitic type. In
form these growths are most variable, the tendency being to
develop in bushy shapes or peculiarly lobed modifications of
the round form. This variability is due to the fact that the
conditions attending the growth caused the extremely deli¬
cate feldspar fibers to curve and branch to an unusual de¬
gree, and this influence was so strong that the magnetic iron
assumed a trichitic form, and, starting from the same centers
with the feldspars, branched and curved about with all the
eccentricities of the silicate mineral. While in actually
small amounts, the delicate black lines of these trichites are,
when. fresh, the most striking element of these spherulites.
The feldspars are very thin indeed, averaging only 0.004ram
in diameter. In trichitic spherulites the silica is developed
as in the hollow ones, though less frequently as tridymite.

424

CROSS.

Trichitic spherulites do not as a rule form extensions of the
earlier hollow variety, but spring from independent centers.
While in spherical form they may reach a diameter of two
or three inches, they are much more commonly developed
in fox-tail-like arms of a few millimeters diameter. In Fig.
1 of Plate 5 the arborescent forms between hollow spheru¬
lites are trichitic growths.

Both hollow and trichitic spherulites are often surrounded
by a zone of supplemental spherulitic growth. In this the
force of crystallization has been weak. Probably only a
small part of the feldspathic material crystallized out, and
it appears in very thin delicate fibers which are prevailingly
oriented as extensions of the needles of the interior growth.
Often the optical action of these fibers is so slight as to
require special care in observation, in order to detect it.
Further individualization of minerals in these supplemental
areas is rare. A pigment of almost unresolvable fineness
usually produces a very even yellowish-brown coloration,
which sharply defines the spherulite from the surrounding
glass. Occasionally the pigment develops in distinct flakes
which by concentration on certain planes emphasize a wavy
concentric structure. Supplemental spherulitic zones may
be very narrow, or they may be even wider than the diameter
of the enclosed spherulite. Their outer boundary is a sharply
defined curved surface. Secondary grains of quartz some¬
times develop from the silica in the amorphous base.

The three spherulitic generations which have been de¬
scribed locally make up the entire rock. Usually, however,
there is more or less residual space between them that may
be occupied by glass, by a fourth radiate growth, or by the
two together. This residual spherulitic growth exhibits a
regular outer form only where bounded by glass or by a
somewhat later crystallization of the same kind. The forces
acting in this last period favored the development of larger
individuals of feldspar, quartz, and ore than in the preced¬
ing groups.

Where the first three spherulitic growths were subordinate
in development the fourth generation was able to acquire a

CONSTITUTION AND ORIGIN OF SPHERULITES. 425

regular outer form, and as the action of this period seems to
have been very energetic, complex spherulites several inches
in diameter have frequently resulted. In such a spherulite
the early forms are simply surrounded as so many foreign
bodies, and the type may be termed the enveloping spherulite.
Such bodies are comparatively coarse in texture and have
practically the same characteristics as the more limited re¬
sidual growths.

What may be termed compound spherulites result from a
regular orientation of successive growths. A most remark¬
able instance of this type is found at Silver Cliff, where a
large lava flow several hundred feet in thickness was poured
into a lake basin. The lower part is pitchstone (see analysis
I above), -the upper, banded lithoidal rhyolite, and between
the two is a zone, locally fifty feet thick, largely made up of
gigantic compound spherulites. These bodies vary from a
few inches to more than ten feet in diameter. They are
built up by two or three successive growths about a common
center and in several ways. In the largest ones the first
growth took the form of very dense finely fibrous arms
branching as they extended out from the center, often for a
distance of several feet. After an interval the matter between
these arms crystallized in a coarser growth, the feldspars of
which are oriented in accordance with the fibers of the
earlier development. This crystallization does not extend
far beyond the limits of the first, but an outer zone is fre- *
quently present of a third type, which may in itself build up
certain other compound spherulites. Fig. 1, Plate 6, repre¬
sents the structure of the compound type, to which reference
will again be made in considering conditions of spherulitic
development.

Discussion of the Mineralogical Constitution of
Spherulites.

It has been shown many times that the larger and more
important spherulites of acid lavas have practically the same
chemical composition as the rock in which they lie. This

426

CROSS.

composition renders it inevitable that the spherulite, if holo-
crystalline, will contain alkali feldspar as its chief constituent
and free silica in some form as the only other quantitatively
important element; yet many spherulites, seemingly like
some forms developed in lavas of the Rosita Hills, have been
described as quartz spherulites, without reference to the
implied absence of feldspar, which would certainly be remark¬
able. Such descriptions are often, if not always, based upon
the erroneous assumption that optically positive fibers or
needles of spherulites cannot be feldspar, and are therefore
probably quartz. This assumption seems to be merely an
unwarranted extension of the rule, now commonly recognized,
that free microlites of alkali feldspar in vitreous acid rocks
are characteristically elongated parallel to the clinoaxis, and
thus have the negative optical character of the prismatic
zone. It has been found true of the spherulites above de¬
scribed that their feldspar needles are in some cases negative,
and in others positive, in character. This observation, if
substantiated, casts doubt upon all determinations of quartz
needles in spherulites, which rest alone upon the optical
character displayed, and throws light upon the origin of
some important misconceptions in regard to spherulites.

As far as the coarser crystalline spherulites of the Rosita
Hills are concerned, the determination of the branching
needles as feldspar is justified by the observations that the
extinction is not always parallel to the length axis, but
varies from 0° to more than 15°, and that cross-sections show
the mineral to be biaxial, while what appears to be a normal
quantity of free silica is developed in quartz grains or tridy-
mite scales between fibers. By using the quartz plate a teinte
sensible in the well-known manner, the application of which
to the study of spherulites has been specially recommended
by Michel-Levy in “ Les Mineraux des roches,” the greater
number of feldspar fibers are found to be optically positive
in character, while a lesser proportion are negative. In the
hollow, the trichitic, and the supplemental spherulitic
growths the feldspar fibers are all positive; in the dense

CONSTITUTION AND OKIGIN OF v SPHERULITES. 427

busliy growth of the compound spherulites represented by
Fig. 1, Plate 6, they are uniformly negative, but those of
the second, coarser growth between these arms are all posi¬
tive. The feldspars of the residual and enveloping forms
are variable in character, being positive in some cases and
negative in others. In certain enveloping spherulites the
needles of one portion are all negative, and of other parts all
positive, the change from one character to the other taking
place most frequently on some concentric zone of growth.
Again, positive and negative fibers are mingled so intimately
as to show that for these the optical sign is probably ±.

All of these characters are explainable on the assumption
that the needles of positive optical character are feldspar
elongated parallel to the vertical axis, and that they possess
the so-called abnormal optical orientation, the optic axes
lying in the plane of symmetry. The needles whose char¬
acter is ± are elongated parallel to the vertical axis, but
possess the usual optical orientation, and those of constant
negative character are doubtless parallel to the clinoaxis and
may have either optical orientation. The so-called ab¬
normal position of the axes of elasticity is found most fre¬
quently in sanidines of acid lavas, and that these needles of
somewhat peculiar conditions of growth should be thus
different from the free microlites is nothing strange.

The cross sections of positive needles are sometimes
rhombic, the angles corresponding to those of the feldspar
prism, and in other cases they are apparently hexagonal
through probable development of the clinopinacoid ; but in
many growths the faces of the prismatic zones are curved or
otherwise irregular in development. Cross sections of positive
needles polarize much more strongly than those of negative
fibers, the latter being sometimes sensibly isotropic, a differ¬
ence which is a natural consequence of the optical orienta¬
tion. The larger negative fibers are frequently Manebach
twins, and there are reasons to suppose that they grow char¬
acteristically with the reentrant angle oo Poo Aoo Poo out¬
wards. They fork at larger angles than the positive needles,

55— Bull. Phil. Soc., Wash., Vol. 11.

428

CROSS.

and the diverging twigs are in some cases apparently parallel
to the vertical axes of the two halves of the twin. A beautiful
instance of this forking of negative feldspar fibers occurring
in a spherulite of Obsidian Cliff is described and illustrated
by Mr. Iddings in his article in this volume on spherulitic
crystallization. It may be added that Iddings has found
positive feldspar prisms characteristic of many spherulites
in the Yellowstone Park.

The first and most important result of this error, in re¬
garding all positive fibers of spherulites as quartz, has been
a fundamental misconception as to the character of many
spherulitic bodies, so that their true relationship to the rock
masses of which they are a part has not been appreciated.

The observations made upon the spherulites of the Rosita
Hills show that the amorphous base holding the feldspar
needles is mainly hydrous silica. It is a curious fact that
Michel-Levy, of all petrographers, has emphasized the im¬
portance of colloidal silica in influencing spherulitic growth ;
but so long as the positive fibers of spherulites were regarded
as quartz the amorphous material between them had to be
considered as a kind of feldspathic paste, with a probable
excess of silica. By regarding the needles as the silicate
and the base as colloidal silica, the importance of the latter
is by no means diminished, and it is made to appear in a
natural role. Many references to petrosilex as a partially
amorphous base impregnated with quartz or chalcedony,
such as that cited on page 416, seem to be fully explained
by these considerations.

The delicate branching trichites described above as char¬
acteristic of certain growths are beyond question primary.
They correspond to magnetite in some growths and to tri¬
chites of other forms in residual or enveloping spherulites.
It is plain from the literature of the subject that the small
amount of iron oxide usually present in spherulites has
greatly obscured certain occurrences, and the manner in
which it has been accomplished seems clearly indicated in
some partially decomposed rocks of the Rosita Hills.

CONSTITUTION AND ORIGIN OF SPHERULITES. 429

When branching trichites are first attacked they disinte¬
grate, the particles are hydrated and become brown, but the
radial arrangement is still very clear. If solvents carry off
a larg® part of the hydrous oxide, the place of the original
trichite is often indicated by most delicate, faintly brownish
lines. The hydration sometimes produces a flocculent mat¬
ter which materially obscures the feldspar needles. Each of
these secondary conditions of the iron oxide corresponds ex¬
actly to what has at times been described as the essential
characteristic of certain spherulites. The various secondary
forms of iron oxide have even been the only constituents de¬
scribed in a spherulite said to show a distinct black cross in
polarized light.

The brownish color of the amorphous base between feld¬
spar needles is sometimes not referable to individualized par¬
ticles ; but if tridymite or quartz crystallizes out of that base
the iron oxide is excluded and forms distinct particles. This
brownish color is often mentioned as a property of petrosilex,
and it is noteworthy that Michel-Levy and Lacroix retain
this feature in their late definition, cited above, which makes
spherulitic quartz and feldspar the components of the sub¬
stance.

There are various other features of the mineral constitu¬
tion of spherulites well illustrated in the material which has
been studied, but only those of greatest importance can be
discussed in the limits of this article.

Origin of Spherulites.

It is the writer’s desire to discuss, briefly and in a prelimi¬
nary way, the bearing of some of the observations made
upon the question as to the origin of spherulites produced
during the consolidation of a rock magma, the agencies in¬
volved and the conditions directing their activity to the end
specified. At present it seems impossible to harmonize all
the known facts with any theory suggested, but this is doubt¬
less because some one of the important agents is unknown or

430

CROSS.

unappreciated, or because the physical laws controlling some
recognized agent are too imperfectly understood.

Among the spherulites studied by the writer there are
two prominent classes : The first class embraces the distinct
micropegmatite or “ granophyre ” * groups and the dense
forms which may be considered their equivalent. It has
been observed by various petrographers that between coarse
micropegmatite and microspherulites of most delicate radi¬
ate structure there exist all intermediate stages. Iddings f
has illustrated very beautifully the structure of certain
spherulites formed by the interpenetration of feldspar crystals,
each of which has quartz fibers regularly intergrown, and
the manner in which these distinct groups grade into the
very dense spherulites. He also calls attention to the occur¬
rence of single crystals or simple groups of orthoclase crys¬
tals with quartz thus intergrown among the phenocrysts of
crystalline and vitreous rhyolites. While spherulites of mi¬
cropegmatite seem to form most characteristically in the
early stages of consolidation, they are not thus limited, and
occur at Silver Cliff as products of the last period. View¬
ing micropegmatitic spherulites as manifold interpenetra¬
tions of quartz-bearing feldspar crystals, it is evident that
their size will be limited by the same general conditions
which limit the development of single crystals in magmas.

Micropegmatitic spherulites are composed of the two prin¬
cipal constituents of rhyolite, but it does not seem prob¬
able that the feldspar and quartz are necessarily present in
the proportion in which they occur in the rock. The amount

Granophyre is a term appropriately applied by Vogelsang (p. 160 of
work before cited) to a porphyry with a granular crystalline ground-
mass, as a companion to felsophyre and vitrophyre. Under the idea, now
abandoned, that some glassy residue was essential to a porphyry, Rosen-
husch (p. 31 of work before cited) diverted the term from its original
use and inappropriately applied it to what is called micropegmatite by the
French and by many English authors. It seems to the present writer that
the usage of the term in the sense advocated by Eosenbusch is*, to be depre¬
cated both on historical and on etymological grounds.

f Obsidian Cliff, Yellowstone National Park. Seventh Annual Report
Dir. U. S. Geol. Survey. 8°. Washington, 1888, Plate XV.

CONSTITUTION AND ORIGIN OF SPHERULITES. 431

of quartz may presumably sink to nothing, and in fact in one
of the Silver Cliff rocks there are spherulites made up of in¬
terpenetrating crystals of apparently pure feldspar. Other
rock constituents are but accidentally included in spheru¬
lites of this type.

The second class of spherulites to be considered differs
widely from the first in several essential characters. In the
first place, they represent the consolidation of the whole
magma for a certain space, excepting only what had crys¬
tallized out in the early microlites and phenocrysts. The
nature of the crystallization which produced them allows of
large dimensions and various modifications of the spherical
form. Under this class are two primary divisions, the one
characterized by radiating branching feldspar crystals, the
other by a more marked concentric structure, though the
two are connected by all manner of intermediate stages.
Concerning this important class of spherulites the study of
the material from Colorado has brought out or emphasized
a number of points to be discussed. Let us first consider
the arborescent growth of the feldspathic constituent.

It is well known that many substances crystallize out of
solutions in curved and branching forms, and a host of
observations upon the synthetic products of chemical labora¬
tories has made clear certain of the conditions essential to
this growth. It is plainly a study in molecular physics, and
has been so treated by Dr. 0. Lehmann,* among others, who
has also observed and discussed the relationships between
these artificial products and the similar bodies met with in
glassy rocks. Briefly stated, the cause of the curving of a
growing needle or trichite is supposed by Lehmann to be a
tension unequally distributed over the outer surface. If the
tension increases the needle may break or simply crack, and
in the latter case a forking of the stem is a frequently observed

* Lehmann (O.). Molekular Physik. 2 vols. 8°. Leipzig, 1888. In
this work are described and illustrated many branching crystallizations,
with data concerning the conditions under which they were formed. See
vol. I, pp. 378-390.

432

CROSS.

result. If this forking is continued arborescent growths are
produced. While the physics of these curving growths are
as yet imperfectly understood, it seems that a certain degree
of viscosity of the medium in which the crystallization pro¬
ceeds and a great rapidity in the process are essential factors.
Lehmann expresses the belief that most substances crystal¬
lizing out of solutions can be made to form branching
growths under proper conditions.

Applying this idea to crystallizations met with in glassy
lavas, we’ find that certain forms are almost completely
analogous to some that have been observed in synthetic ex¬
periments, as, for instance, the curling or knotted bunches
of trichites, forked microlites, and the beautiful feathery
shapes assumed by augite in the pitchstone of Arran, or in
the basalt of the Sandwich Islands described by E. S. Dana.*
But these crystallizations are not complete spherulites ; they
are simply branching crystals, and correspond to but one
element in a spherulite of the type under discussion. In no
spherulite examined by the writer can all of the branching
feldspars be assumed to spring from a single original crys¬
tal. They start from many such centers, so that the feld-
spathic part of each spherulite is a complex of many arbo¬
rescent individuals. A single branching individual that
acquires a spherical form by curving about until the primary
crystal grain is in the center of the body is called a “ Sphse-
rokrystall ” by Lehmann, who compares such a growth with
the spherulite thus designated by Rosenbusch. But the ra¬
diate aggregate consisting of a single mineral to which
Rosenbusch gives the name can seldom, if ever, be an indi¬
vidual such as the Sphserokrystall of Lehmann. The criti¬
cism of Cohenf that a radiate aggregate of crystals should
not be called a Sphserokrystall will undoubtedly hold good
for nearly all cases coming under Rosenbusch’s definition.

The question as to what has caused the branching feld-

* Contributions to the petrography of the Sandwich Islands. Amer.
Journ. of Science. 8°. New Haven, 1889, June, vol. 37, pp. 441-467.

f Gottingsche gelehrten Anzeigen, 1886, p. 915.

CONSTITUTION AND ORIGIN OF SPHERU LITES. 433

spathic growth in the spherulites studied by the writer seems
inseparable from that regarding the meaning of the concen¬
tric structure and the regularity of the outer form. In con¬
sidering these problems we must take into account all avail¬
able data as to the condition of the magma at the time of the
spherulitic formation. We know that the lava had come to
rest, for the fluidal structure caused by the movement of the
magma during eruption traverses the spherulites undis¬
turbed as to course. The mass must have been nearly solid,
yet capable of being locally softened or rendered viscous
again, by the agencies involved in the formation of spheru¬
lites. The heat liberated during rapid crystallization and
the influence of superheated water and steam are factors
which were doubtless potent in producing this result. A
very remarkable occurrence at Silver Cliff is full of signifi¬
cance in this connection, though its full meaning is not yet
clear.

In some of the enormous compound spherulites of the type
represented by figure 1, Plate 6, there is a very marked
breccia structure. The fragments are sharply angular, of
various sizes up to two or three inches in diameter, and are
defined as fragments by the dislocation of the fluidal struc¬
ture, and by a slight brownish color in the more finely
brecciated parts. The first idea is that the spherulite has
been fractured, but the outer surface shows no dislocation of
parts, and closer examination proves that both generations of
spherulitic growth traverse these fragments without change in
course. The symmetry of the spherulite is not affected by the
interior breccia structure, which is thus clearly of older date.
The same breccia structure is, however, found locally in the
perfectly fresh pitch stone of the same flow. Here the frag¬
ments seem almost welded together, so perfect is the union
of surfaces on which a sharp dislocation of the fluidal struc¬
ture takes place. It appears that the lava must have been
in a very stiff viscous state, just prior to final consolidation,
when by some sudden and violent volcanic shocks it was
broken into pieces, which still possessed plasticity enough to
perfectly coalesce again under the pressure upon them.

434

CROSS.

That the brecciated mass, whatever its condition when
fractured, became plastic to a certain degree during the
subsequent splierulitic growth, is clear. In the first place,
the symmetry of these huge spherulites, several feet in di¬
ameter, cannot be explained on the assumption that they
are entirely secondary devitrification products of a solid
glass. Some force was able to control the growth of the
delicate branching arms of the earlier crystallization and
limit it to a certain relationship to the outer form. That
these arms were produced by rapid crystallization in a
viscous medium seems an irresistible conclusion from the
synthetic experiments mentioned. In harmony with this
idea is the fact that microlites and minute garnet crystals
of an earlier formation are strongly resorbed in the denser
spherulitic growth, and less so in the succeeding coarser one ;
but perhaps the strongest evidence of a plasticity within the
area of crystallization is afforded by a feature of certain
spherulites which will now be described.

Fractured faces normal to the circumference of large
spherulites often show what appear to be veins, a centimeter
or less in width, cutting sharply through the fragments of
the breccia. Examination shows that these vein-like spaces
extend into the spherulite for varying distances from the
circumference to which they are nearly at right-angles ; that
they curve and branch laterally, and generally die out to¬
ward the center. They are filled with a mixture of micro¬
pegmatite spherulites and an irregular aggregate of quartz
and feldspar grains. Some of them contain very minute
and delicate litliophysal cavities, with several concentric
shells. Further, these apparent veins do not cut across the
fibrous growths, and it seems even clear that, in some way,
these spaces were marked out and occupied by plastic matter
when the adjoining fibrous parts of the spherulite were
formed. This is indicated by the fact that the smooth sur¬
face bounding the radiate growths against the vein area is
beautifully fluted, the undulations corresponding to concen¬
tric zones of the spherulite. Figure 2, Plate 6, represents

CONSTITUTION AND ORIGIN OF SPHERULITES. 435

such a surface on a specimen from a large spherulite. A
portion of the vein against which this undulating surface
was developed is shown resting on it, in the left central area
of the figure. The fractured surface of the lower part of the
specimen shows the delicate development of the early growth,
here subordinate to the latter one. It is evident that the
vein-like space whose walls are thus moulded cannot be
thought of as a fissure cutting into solid rock. An explana¬
tion is suggested below.

Further evidence that the agencies active during the
periods of spherulitic growth were able to soften or even
liquefy the viscous mass is found in many places. In cer¬
tain rocks of the Rosita Hills where there are three or four
generations of spherulites the residual growth is character¬
ized by large curving trichites, which form a heavy fringe
about the earlier crystallizations, and in other cases large
knots of trichites have developed in the residual space,
exactly like those of some obsidians and quite unlike the
earlier trichites of this magma. In such cases the original
fluidal structure of the magma is seen traversing the earlier
spherulites up to the boundaries of the residual space, but cut
sharply off on that line, the augite and feldspar microlites
and the small primary trichites having been completely
resorbed, while a fluidal structure pertaining to the residual
period has resulted from minor movements which drew out
and deformed the new trichitic knots in the narrower spaces
between the spherulites. Residual spherulites develop in a
part of the area characterized by these trichitic knots.

In order to explain the phenomena above described the
writer wishes to advance an hypothesis as to the conditions
favorable to or causing spherulitic growth in the cases which
have been specially considered. It is an attempt to explain
the close and seemingly interdependent relationships exist¬
ing between the outer form, the concentric zones of growth,
and the branching character of the feldspathic contituent.
The fact that such spherulites are especially characteristic of
lavas rich in silica and containing some water, together with

56— Bull. Phil. Soc., Wash., Vol. 11.

436

CROSS.

the frequent development of opalline silica with the spheru-
lites, has led to the idea that this amorphous substance plays
an important role in the formation of these bodies. Michel-
Levy* has expressed the same belief, founded on the observed
facts, first, that opal characteristically assumes the globular
form ; second, that chalcedony is often developed in spheru-
litic form, and on the erroneous supposition discussed above,
that all positive rays of spherulites are quartz.

The hypothesis to be presented has been suggested by
numerous observations tending to show that the crystalliza¬
tion of the feldspars in radiating branching forms was but
one act in the history of the spherulite, and that it was pre¬
ceded by another more important act, which provided the
conditions necessary to that peculiar growth and directed
and limited it. This precedent act is conceived to be a local
change in the character of the magma, in that, within the
area of each spherulite, there first developed a colloidal sub¬
stance. There are several ways in which this general idea
can he elaborated and applied to different phases of the
problem in hand.

The simplest conception is to suppose that the magma
splits into its two chief components, hydrous silica and feld¬
spar, through the separation of the former in its character¬
istic globular form, and that the individualization of the
latter takes place simultaneously. Starting with the initial
globule of opalline or colloidal silica, containing in it the
elements of feldspar, the idea is that the degree of viscosity
and the tension which must be assumed induce and direct
the arborescent feldspathic growth. Such a globule once
formed might serve as a nucleus for successive secretions from
the surrounding magma. If this secretion proceeded at a
uniform rate the structure of the resulting spherulite would
be simple. But if the opalline matter were added in distinct
periods a concentric zonal structure might be emphasized
by slight variations in the development of the feldspars, or
in other ways actually observed in spherulites. Where the

* Michel Levy (A.). Structures et classification des roches eruptives.
8°. Paris, 1889, p. 22.

CONSTITUTION AND ORIGIN OF SPHERULITES. 437

surrounding magma is not perfectly homogeneous the secre¬
tion of the colloidal substance will probably not proceed
uniformly and the common hemispherical or otherwise
laterally developed forms are a natural result. If a lateral
growth is once started by some primarily trivial cause, its
continuation in that direction may be attributed to the thus
localized influence of some factor, such as the heat liberated
in rapid crystallization, which may promote further secre¬
tion of the colloidal matter in the adjacent portion of the
magma. In this way bushy spherulites extending in all
directions through a homogeneous magma may be explained.

Many irregularities of growth to be observed in spherulites
seem to be natural results of such a process as that outlined
above. For example, it is common to find spherulites of
regular form whose radiate crystallizations spring from
several points not symmetrically related to that form. There
is often a concentric zonal structure about each point of
origin and the growths meet on sharply defined planes, but
gradually a controlling force brings all into harmony and
the outer zones are regular shells of the sphere. Such a
structure may be explained by supposing that the secretion
of the colloidal substance began simultaneously at several
neighboring points. As the spheres came into contact they
would at first be separated by planes such as those between
drops of viscous liquid, and the accompanying crystalliza¬
tion would be limited by those planes. Gradually these
additional zones would become concentric to a common point
and might coalesce. The manner in which a spherulitic
growth regains its symmetrical relationship to the outer form
after curving around a foreign body is directly analogous to
the case just considered.

That the colloidal substance formed prior to the crystalli¬
zation of the feldspar needles cannot in all cases have been
simply hydrous silica is indicated by several observations,
three of which will be mentioned :

1st. In the supplemental spherulitic growth which has
been described (p. 424) and is illustrated by Fig. 2, Plate 5,

438

CROSS.

the development of the feldspar seems to be so slight that
one can hardly avoid concluding that the amorphous base
must contain the elements of feldspar in addition to hydrous
silica.

2d. The hollow spherulites illustrated by Figs. 1 and 2,
Plate 5, bear evidence of another character. It is found that
the arborescent feldspar groups spring from many points on
the surface of the cavity, and all the indications are that the
cavity was formed prior to the crystallization. One can
imagine the cavity to be a result of contraction in a sphere
of colloidal matter. They are not found in glass, but are
common in spherulites ; hence the contraction seems to have
taken place in a substance, not glass, occupying the spheru-
litic area.

3d. The huge compound spherulites of Silver Cliff repre¬
sent several peculiarities which seem explainable only on the
hypothesis that a colloidal mass having practically the chem¬
ical composition of the magma separated out in the spheru-
litic areas. The vein-like spaces described above may then
be looked upon as radial fissures of contraction in such a
sphere ; and the two feldspathic crystallizations which took
place after the formation of these fissures may be thought of
as separations of the colloidal mixture into its two parts
under the directing influence of the tension existing in the
large sphere.

In considering the further application of this hypothesis,
that the separation of a colloidal substance precedes the for¬
mation of branching feldspar needles, it will at once occur
to many observers that a large number of spherulites are
holocrystalline and present no evidence as to the former
existence of an amorphous constituent of any kind ; but this
undoubted fact may possibly be explained by the very simple
idea that an individualization of the silica as tridymite or
quartz will effectually destroy all evidence of this early stage
in the history of the spherulite ; and this change may take
place at once, before the rock has completely solidified, or in
a much later period as a decidedly secondary process. It

CONSTITUTION AND ORIGIN OF SPHERULITES. 439

seems probable that the amount of water present in the magma
may have much to do with this question. In the spherulites
of Obsidian Cliff no amorphous matter is described by Mr.
Iddings, but the fresh obsidian carries less than one per cent,
of water, while the pitchstones of Silver Cliff contain four or
five per cent.

In conclusion, it may be well to briefly review the reasons
for advancing a hypothesis which once more introduces an
element of unknown character into the discussion as to the
essential nature of spherulites. The idea that a radiate crys¬
tallization is the direct and primary cause of the peculiar
forms assumed by spherulites cannot be accepted for all cases,
because there are instances, mentioned above, in which the
crystalline growth is very subordinate to an amorphous
matter that in its development brings out the same charac¬
teristics of form, as opposed to the surrounding glass. In
certain spherulites one finds indications that the form was
outlined by the amorphous substance before crystallization
began. Further, there are many minor peculiarities in the
spherulites of Custer county which, in the author’s judgment,
are best explained by the assumption of some force tending
to produce the spherical form, other than that of radiate
crystallization.

If one accepts the idea of the formation of a colloid, pre¬
ceding the crystallization in the spherulitic area, for any
case, one must necessarily extend the application to some
instances of apparently holocrystalline spherulites, because
it has been observed that evidence of the former amorphous
material may be entirely destroyed by crystallization of
tridymite, quartz, or feldspar in its place. The question is,
how many holocrystalline spherulites are to be thus ex¬
plained ?

The branching arborescent growths of feldspar are results
of certain conditions. If those conditions are realized in the
viscous glass, the growths in question will undoubtedly form.
In the rocks studied by the writer it does not appear that
they ever did form except in the complete spherulites. The

440 cross.

single arborescent individuals should be found in glass, and
also the intermediate stages between the individual and the
regular complex of such forms observed in spherulites, if it
is to be argued that the latter are wholly due to the
crystallization. Between spherulites due to radiate crystal¬
lization alone and those whose structure seems to demand
the assumption of another nearly contemporaneous agency,
there are many forms whose relationships are not yet per¬
fectly clear.

It is the writer’s hope that the foregoing descriptions may
contribute somewhat to our knowledge of the constitution of
spherulites, and that the speculative portion may also prove
to be of some value.

BULL. PHIL, SOG . WASHINGTON

VOL XI., PLATE 5.

From photographs by author.

WHITMAN

CROSS. CONSTITUTION AND ORIGIN OF SPHERULITES.

Fig 2

Fig. 1.

EXPLANATION OF PLATE 5.

Figure 1. — From photograph of hand specimen, nearly natural size;
represents a rock of three generations of spherulitic growths. 1st. “ Hol¬
low ” spherulites (p. 422), many of them crushed by movements of the vis¬
cous mass. 2d. “ Trichitic ” spherulites (p. 423) ; the small white arms often
in bunches or groups; cross-sections of these arms shown in center of
specimen. The dark central part contains fresh trichites, the white color
of the outer zone being due to decomposition of the trichites. 3d. “ Sup¬
plemental” spherulitic zones (p. 424), comprising in this rock almost the
entire mass between the earlier growths. This part has a dull brown
color, subconchoidal fracture, and opalline luster.

Figure 2. — Photomicrograph, X 25, ordinary light. In center a “ hol¬
low ” spherulite of botryoidal form. Branching feldspar needles radiate
from several centers and run to circumference, but are obscured by ferritic
flakes. The development of tridymite is shown by the lighter parts of the
spherulite, and the consequent exclusion of ferritic matter caused the
outer zone to be very dark. Several small balls of tridymite are seen in
this outer zone.

On surface of the hollow spherulite are numerous balls of tridymite,
surrounded by dark zones filled with ferritic matter. Each of these tridy¬
mite balls is a center for the development of a wavy concentric structure
and of a delicate radiate growth of feldspar needles. Compare with de¬
scriptions, page 423. This “ supplemental ” spherulitic development also
surrounds the sanidine crystal on the left of the hollow spherulite. This
rock contains no trichitic spherulites, and the crystalline parts above de¬
scribed are surrounded by fresh colorless glass, shown on the upper edge
of the figure.

(441)

BULL. PHIL, SOO. WASHINGTON.

VOL XI.. PLATE 6.

From photographs by author.

WHITMAN

CROSS. CONSTITUTION AND ORIGIN OF SPHERULlT ES.

EXPLANATION OF PLATE 6.

Figure 1. — From a photograph ; illustrates structure of the “ com¬
pound ” spherulites of Silver Cliff (p. 425), § natural size, from section of a
spherulite 3 feet in diameter. The white branching arms represent the
earliest spherulitic development ; they consist mainly of a dense bundle
of feldspar fibers lying in a base of amorphous hydrated silica. The darker,
mottled part between these arms consists of feldspar and quartz, the for¬
mer in fibers more or less regularly oriented with reference to the earlier
crystallization.

The outer zone consists of a dense microspherulitic band and of added
spherulites of pronounced zonal structure, some of them being very distinct
lithophysse.

Figure 2. — From a photograph, f natural size ; illustrates features of a
compound spherulite from Silver Cliff, described in detail on page 434.

(443)

SPHERULITIC CRYSTALLIZATION.

BY

Joseph Paxson Iddings.

[Read before the Society, April 25, 1891. J

Having had occasion recently to study a new series of
thin sections of the lithoidite of Obsidian Cliff, Yellowstone
National Park, which were prepared for the educational
series of rocks to be distributed by the U. S. Geological
Survey, the writer has been led to review his previous work
on the spherulites of the glassy and lithoidal rhyolite of this
locality. The new thin sections present 26 examples of one
phase of the rock, whereas the previous 50 or 60 thin sections
represented its great variability, with more or less duplication.

In the new thin sections the microscopic spherulites attain
a degree of crystallization that permits their structure in
many cases to be clearly observed. The use of the quartz
plate^ giving the purple color ( teinte sensible ) between crossed
nicols, for determining the relative values of the axes of
elasticity throws additional light upon the character of these
radially fibrous intergrowths.

The results of the recent study corroborate the conclusions
already reached, and extend our knowledge of the subject
by making it more definite. The investigation also adds to
the list of primary minerals in this rock three not previously
observed, one of which is rarely, if ever, found as a constit¬
uent of volcanic rocks, and its presence in this one is a further
indication of the part played by mineralizing agents in the
original crystallization of the rock. The minerals are tour¬
maline and mica, with an occasional zircon.

57— Bull. Phil. Soc., Wash., Vol. 11.

(445)

446

IDDINGS.

The general conclusion arrived at by the former study
was summed up in an article published in 1887, and is
briefly as follows : “ It seems highly probable that the differ¬
ences in consistency and in the phases of crystallization ”
(lithophysae, spherulites, and allied structures) “ producing
the lamination of this rock were directly due to the amount
of vapors absorbed in various layers of the lava and to their
mineralizing influence.” *

The writer’s conception of the action of an absorbed vapor,
like that of water, upon the crystallization of a molten
siliceous magma is derived from the following consideration.
Since the water- vapor does not enter into the chemical com¬
position of the resulting minerals in most cases, though it
may affect the oxidation of the iron in some instances and
lead to the formation of mica and hornblende, f its action is
most probably physical rather than chemical ; but in the
case of other vapors, as fluorine, the action may also be
chemical. The occurrence of a completely crystallized
portion of magma, such as a spherulite, within a wholly
glassy rock indicates that while the greater part of the molten
magma cooled and consolidated so rapidly that it formed
amorphous glass, a certain portion of it passed through
different conditions, which permitted it to crystallize com¬
pletely. It is evident from the nature of the case that
any considerable mass of the magma within the body of the
rock must have cooled at a uniform rate, and therefore the
portions forming the spherulites must have cooled at the
same rate as the magma immediately surrounding them,
which solidified as glass. The crystallization of minerals
in a molten magma requires a certain amount of molecu¬
lar mobility within the fluid at the proper temperature —
that is, between the point of fusion of the minerals developed

* Iddings (J. P.). The nature and origin of lithophysae and the lamina¬
tion of acid lavas. In Amer. Journ. Science. 8°* New Haven, 1887, Jan.
vol. 33, p. 45.

j- Iddings (J. P.). The mineral composition and geological occurrence
of certain igneous rocks, etc. In Bulletin Phil. Soc. Washington. 8°.
1890, Yol. XI., p. 209.

SPHERULITIC CRYSTALLIZATION. 447

and the point of solidification of the magma. In the portion
of the magma which solidified as glass the requisite mobility
was wanting. In that which formed crystalline spherulites
it must have been present. It is easily demonstrated that
absorbed water- vapor makes molten glasses more fluid, and
also lowers their melting point or point of solidification.
Hence we may conclude that the influence of the absorbed
water- vapor is to render the molecular mobility of the molten
magma greater at a given temperature in proportion to the
amount of hydration, thus permitting the crystalline arrange¬
ment of the molecules in places of greater hydration while
the surrounding less hydrated portions are becoming too
viscous.

In this connection the writer wishes to call attention to
the speculations of Charles Darwin * on the lamination of
volcanic rocks of the “ trachytic series.” After considering
the different degrees of crystallization in the various layers of
laminated obsidian and of what was then termed “ trachyte,”
but which is mostly lithoidal rhyolite, and correlating them
with the parallel layers of gas pores in pumice and obsidian,
with a remark that “ numerous facts, as in the case of geodes,
and of cavities in silicified wood, in primary rocks, and in
veins, show that crystallization is much favored by space,”
he concludes : “ That, if in a mass of cooling volcanic rock,
any cause produced in parallel planes a number of minute
fissures or zones of less tension (which from the pent-up
vapors would often be expanded into crenulated air-cavities),
the crystallization of the constituent parts, and probably the
formation of concretions, would be superinduced or much
favored in such places, and thus a laminated structure of the
kind we are here considering would be generated.” As a
possible cause for the production of parallel zones of less
tension in volcanic rocks he cites Forbes’ theory as to the
lamination of glacier ice and suggests a possible parallelism
between the two groups of phenomena.

* Darwin (Charles). Geological observations, etc. 8°. London, 1851,
Part II (on volcanic islands), pp. 65-72.

448

IDDINGS.

The investigation of the spherulitic forms of crystallization
already alluded to showed that there are two different kinds,
one of which is compact and radially fibrous, the shape of
the individual fibers not being determinable. The second
kind is composed of jointed fibers, . sometimes branching,
made up of microscopic feldspar crystals ; between these
fibers are tridymite scales and often gas cavities.*

The compact and radially fibrous spherulites range in
size from those which are a centimeter in diameter to micro¬
scopic ones, .05mm in diameter. Between crossed nicols the
larger ones exhibit numerous dark arms, a characteristic of
the so-called pseudospherulites. The smallest ones ex¬
hibit a more or less well-defined dark cross, the arms of which
alternately contract and spread, and split into branches near
their ends when rotated, a characteristic of the so-called true
spherulites when highly magnified. It was stated in the
paper published in January, 1887, that “ These spherulites
have been traced through gradations of microstructure to
groups of granophyre feldspars of extreme minuteness, which
appear to be composed of intergrown quartz and acid feld¬
spar, and enclose trichites and microlites which also occur
in the spherulites, so that the mineral composition of the
spherulites is most probably quartz, acid feldspar, and tri¬
chites of magnetite with augitic microlites. Chemical analy¬
ses of the spherulites and the obsidian in which they occur
show that the two are identical, and that a spherulite is only
a particular form of crystallization of the once molten glass.”
The evidence on which this conclusion was based has been
described and illustrated with considerable detail in the
article on Obsidian Cliff, in which the writer was led to con¬
clude that the spherulites are composed of feldspar and
quartz that have crystallized from the molten glass at one
and the same time and have intergrown with each other.”

In his work entitled “ British Petrography,” published in

*Amer. Journ. Science. 8°. New Haven, 1887, Jan. vol. 33, pp. 36-37.
Also fuller article by same author on Obsidian Cliff, Yellowstone National
Park, in Seventh Annual Eeport of the U. S. Geological Survey. 8°.
Washington, 1888, pp. 276-278.

SPIIERULITIC CRYSTALLIZATION.

449

1888, Mr. J. J. Harris Teall says, on page 402 : “ The spher-
nlites in many of the acid rocks probably answer in compo¬
sition to micropegmatite. * * * The present writer is

inclined to regard these spherulites as due to the simultane¬
ous crystallization of quartz and feldspar. * * * If this

be correct, then the spherulites in question are simply special
modifications of the pseudospherulites and micropegmatite.”
To which might have been appended a foot-note similar to
that numbered (2) on page 338 of the same memoir. Brog-
ger has expressed the same view in his great work on the
minerals of the syenite-pegmatite dikes of Southern Norway.*
He considers microfelsite a submicroscopic intergrowth of
orthoclase and quartz, basing his argument on the optical
and chemical characters of microfelsitic spherulites, and
states that if one approaches the subject from a study of the
pseudospherulites of granophyre the conviction is more
quickly reached that microfelsite is the crystallitic equiva¬
lent of granophyric pseudospherulites; and it is not difficult
to find all transitions between the two in the proper thin
sections.

In the articles on Obsidian Cliff by the present writer the
term microfelsite was not used, as there seemed to be no
occasion for introducing this ambiguous term into the descrip¬
tion of a rock whose manifold microstructures could be ex¬
plained without it. The minutest spherulites appeared to
be nothing more than very small forms of larger ones, whose
structure and composition could be observed, and they were
so considered.

It may seem that after the definite statements already
quoted as to the transition of microspherulites to micropeg¬
matite or granophyric intergrowths it would be unnecessary
to pursue the subject further ; but there remains sufficient
uncertainty regarding the exact nature of these microscopic
crystallizations to warrant a careful investigation of them

* Brogger (W. C.). Die Mineralien der Syenitpegmatit-gange, etc., being
Zeitschrift fur Kryst. u. Min. von P. Groth. 8°. Bonn, 1890, vol. 16, pp.
552-553.

450

IDDINGS.

whenever the undertaking promises to furnish additional
evidence of their mineralogical and crystallographic char¬
acter. Such have been the grounds for recording the follow¬
ing observations :

The lithoidite from which the new thin sections were pre¬
pared is the same as that described in the papers on Obsidian
Cliff already referred to. It forms the thinly laminated
lithoidal portion of the obsidian flow a short distance north
of the columnar glassy portion immediately on the road near
the bridge. It is light, purplish gray, delicately banded
by layers of different degrees of crystallization, the most
highly crystalline being white, and the more or less glassy
layers the darkest colored. It is filled with lithophysae of
great beauty, which are very open and cavernous, the volume
of the cavities frequently exceeding that of the solid portion
of the lithophysae proper.

In thin sections the rock is irregularly banded or mottled
according as the sections have been ground across or parallel
to the layers of lamination. The most crystalline parts are
colorless, the dark gray portions are mottled with minute
spots, and with a low magnifying power these dark portions
are seen to be minutely spherulitic, exhibiting characteristic
black crosses. The transparent parts are quite crystalline
aggregations of tridymite or quartz and feldspar, often with
numerous irregular cavities between the crystals. Occasion¬
ally these places contain irregular grains of fayalite, and still
more rarely brown mica, besides scattered spherulites, which
also border these more crystalline portions.

The thin sections show a few of the larger spherulites
which are porous, and in some places branching, arbo¬
rescent or feather-like growths of feldspar — in fact, all of the
modifications of spherulitic crystallization described in the
paper on Obsidian Cliff.

Studied with higher magnifying power, it is seen that the
finely spherulitic portions are crowded with trichites, which
are more perfect as the spherulitic structure is more minute,
but which lose their form and uniformly fluidal arrange-

SPPIERULITIC CRYSTALLIZATION.

451

ment when the sphernlites are more developed, sometimes
being crowded out toward the margin of the sphernlites and
aggregated in opaque lines between the spherulite individ¬
uals. The finely spherulitic parts of the rock-section also
exhibit an extremely minute granulation by transmitted
light and appear brown ; but by incident light this granu¬
lated portion is white, evidently in consequence of the re¬
flection of the light from innumerable small surfaces or
cracks. In the small sphernlites that lie isolated in and also
bordering on the more crystalline portions of the rock the
centers of the sphernlites are granulated and brown while
the margins are often colorless and transparent. In some
cases the centers of the sphernlites are colorless, and the
brown color is confined to an outer zone. In such spheru-
lites the fibers of the outer zone are more delicate than those
of the central portion, showing a lower degree of crystalliza¬
tion.

These small sphernlites when investigated with the quartz
plate prove to be optically negative — that is, the axis of
greatest elasticity, ft, lies approximately parallel to the direc¬
tion of the radial fibers. This is also true of the most minute
colorless spherulites which occur in the glass of the obsidian
and are represented by fig. 1, Plate 7. In the lithoidite
the spherulites have formed in juxtaposition, so that they
adjoin one another with more or less polygonal boundaries.
Occasionally there is a small space between several spheru¬
lites where the magma has crystallized differently. These
spaces may attain a considerable size, relatively, or may
constitute layers of the rock. The spherulites bordering
such spaces frequently continue their crystallization a short
distance into them, and exhibit distinct prismatic rays that
project beyond the apparent periphery of the spherule, and
resemble the teeth of a cog-wheel. Sometimes the projecting
rays assume a comparatively great size. These forms are illus¬
trated by figs. 3 and 5, Plate 7. In such cases the mineral
character of the rays is clearly determinable. The project¬
ing rays are prisms with parallel sides and crystallographic

452

IDDINGS.

terminations. They extend with uniform optical orientation
toward the center of the spherulite. They exhibit in a few
instances distinct cleavage parallel to the sides of the prism.
The angle of extinction ranges from 0° to 10° or 12°, being
usually low. The prisms are invariably optically negative,
and are therefore orthoclase crystals elongated in the direc¬
tion of the clinoaxis. The high limit of the extinction
angles, as well as the chemical composition of the rock and
the spherulites, since there is no evidence of the presence of
more than one species of feldspar, indicates that the ortho¬
clase is rich in soda, the molecular ratio of the potash to
soda in the rock being 1 to 1.

There is a difference between the end of the projecting
prisms of feldspar and the part of the ray within the spher¬
ulite. The former is transparent and clear, without inclu¬
sions ; the part within the spherulite proper is clouded and
granulated, as already stated. In some instances the granu¬
lation assumes a more definite character and has a radiating
feather-like structure, which at once suggests the granophyric
arrangement of quartz in feldspar. This is unquestionably
its true character, although the quartz does not appear to
affect the optical behavior of the feldspar rays.

An examination of the microscopic granophyre groups of
feldspar and quartz which occur in the same thin sections
and which have been described in the article on Obsidian
Cliff (p. 274) shows the same optical characters and feather¬
like structure. Such an intergrowth is represented in fig. 2,
Plate 7. It is made up of feldspar crystals, which cross
one another at a common point, or which radiate from a
common center. These feldspars invariably have the axis
of greatest elasticity, &, approximately parallel to the direc¬
tion of radiation. They have the same crystallographic
orientation as the feldspar rays of the spherulites. The in-
tergrown quartz does not alter perceptibly the optical orien¬
tation ; therefore it must be either so oriented as to have its
axis of greatest elasticity more or less coincident with that
of the feldspar, or it is not present in sufficient amount to

SPHERULITIC CRYSTALLIZATION.

453

influence the interference phenomena appreciably. The
latter is most probably the case, for in a large granophyric
group with the same structure, which was studied for com¬
parison, it was observed that the quartz, though appearing
to be present in considerable amount, was not sufficient to
change the character of the double refraction of the feldspar,
which was the predominant mineral. It modified it, how¬
ever, to a variable extent ; and in places where quartz was
more abundant its optical character was predominant.

The small spherulites of this rock are unquestionably com¬
posed of orthoclase prisms or needles elongated in the direc¬
tion of the clinoaxis, which radiate from a center and are
intergrown with quartz after the manner of granophyre or
micropegmatite ; and it is this microscopic intergrowth which
gives them the granulated or feather-like structure.

In the case of the spherulites with projecting rays of pure
feldspar it is evident that the free silica ceased to crystallize
as quartz in intimate connection with the orthoclase and
allowed the latter to continue alone and project into a highly
siliceous residual paste, which finally crystallized as tridy-
mite in most instances.

In certain cases the zone of clear feldspar does not occur on
the margin of the spherulite,but forms a crescent-shaped trans¬
parent belt within it, as shown in fig. 4, Plate 7. In ordi¬
nary light this belt appears to be a gaping circular crack,
though its definition is lost at one end. Between crossed nicols
it is found to consist of pure feldspar, oriented in accord with
the radiating prisms, and producing no disturbance of the
dark cross which passes regularly through it. At the lower
end, fig. 4, it is seen to be part of the same crystallization as the
purer feldspar rays of that part of the spherulite ; and in the
upper part it differs from the rest of the spherulite simply by
being free from the granulated or micropegmatitic structure.
There can be no doubt that it is a part of the original crys¬
tallization of the spherulite, and that from some cause the
free silica ceased to crystallize for a short space and then con¬
tinued in other portions of the spherulite. This is in har-

58— Ball. Phil. Soc., Wash., Vol. 11.

454

IDDINGS.

mony with the observation that the micropegmatitic struct¬
ure and the other phases of crystallization in this part of the
rock are irregularly scattered in patches, so that adjoining
parts of adjacent spherulites are micropegmatitic, wdiile other
portion’s of them are free from this structure. Such crescent¬
shaped spaces in the spherulites of this rock have undoubt¬
edly been produced at the time of the crystallization of the
feldspar rays by conditions which affected the quantity or
distribution of the free silica or of the mineralizing agencies
engaged in its crystallization.

In parts of the rock the small feathery spherulites
bordering an area of tridymite do not terminate in well-de¬
fined feldspar prisms, but pass out into irregularly shaped
feldspars and send out acicular rays of extreme delicacy.
These transparent needles also lie in various directions in the
tridymite area. They have apparently the same double re¬
fraction as orthoclase, and have the axis of greatest elasticity,
IX, parallel to their length. A transverse parting is slightly
developed. Their mineralogical character cannot be made
out with any degree of satisfaction from the smallest needles,
but they can be traced to stouter ones which are undoubt¬
edly orthoclase ; so that there would seem to be no question
that the delicate acicular rays of these spherulites are needles
of orthoclase elongated parallel to the clinoaxis. They are
then the same as the stouter prismatic rays, but have prob¬
ably developed an acicular form because of some slight dif¬
ference in the conditions under which they crystallized.

The spaces between the spherulites already mentioned are
in most instances occupied by tridymite in comparatively
large crystals, often twinned and carrying numerous gas
cavities. These patches may be completely filled with
tridymite, or may be but partially filled, there being open
spaces between the crystals which cross one another in all
directions, and in extreme cases the tridymite may simply
coat the walls of a hollow cavity. In most instances the
area is completely occupied, when the free silica is sometimes
in the form of quartz. There are always other minerals

SPHERULITIC CRYSTALLIZATION.

455

present in variable amounts, including orthoclase, and mag¬
netite, with less regularly tourmaline, mica, and fayalite.
The fayalite occurs in relatively large irregular individuals,
with an opaque border, which at times entirely replaces the
original mineral.

The tourmaline and mica occur in minute crystals about
.025mm long and .Qlmm thick. They are abundant in places
and lie scattered through the tridymite or quartz and also
in the margin of the bordering spherulites. They occur
sometimes together, but usually one is present to the exclu¬
sion of the other. The tourmaline is recognized by its de¬
cided pleochroism, the strong absorption being across the
prisms, 0 > E. Its color is brownish green ; colorless parallel
to E. The double refraction is strong and negative. Trans¬
verse sections exhibit a uniaxial cross and are bounded by
six sides, alternately three short and three long. It also
occurs in the tridymite coating the walls of the hollow
cavities in some cases.

The mica is green and also yellowish brown to reddish.
It forms stout tablets with six sides, and exhibits strong
absorption, from colorless to almost opaque, which is of
course in the opposite direction from that of the tourmaline,
the axes of elasticity also in the long and narrow sections
being reversed in the two minerals. The dark-green mica
may be easily mistaken for the tourmaline.

The tourmaline and mica are idiomorphic and must have
crystallized just before the outer portion of the small spher¬
ulites and the tridymite and quartz in which they lie. They
are confined to the region of these interspherulitic spaces,
and are not found scattered indiscriminately through the
compactly spherulitic portion of the rock. Their period of
crystallization is therefore later than that in which the small
spherulites began to crystallize and earlier than the final
crystallization of the residual magma or paste. Their sep¬
aration from the magma was preceded by that of quartz
and orthoclase, and was also followed by the same. Their
crystallization in such a siliceous lava is abnormal, for they

456

IDDINGS.

are locally abundant in very small spaces within the body
of the rock, and not along a contact face of it. The crys¬
tallization of the tourmaline at least involves the presence
of a small amount of boron and fluorine within the magma
before its final solidification ; but they were probably present
in extremely small amounts and only locally.

While the occurrence of the tourmaline like that of the
fayalite may be referred to the category of “ fumarole action,”
still this is only correct when the term is so defined as to
include any mineralizing influence which heated vapors may
have upon crystallization. It would thus include their
primary action within fused magmas, as well as their sec¬
ondary action on solidified ones. The effect of heated vapors
which permeate the rocks in many places in the Yellowstone
National Park is distinctly a destructive or metamorphosing
process ; and all such fumarole action is plainly secondary
in the sense that it affects changes in the crystalline character
of rocks already solidified. It would seem advisable, there¬
fore, in order to avoid confusion, to use some other term for
the primary mineralizing influence of absorbed vapors upon
the crystallization of molten magmas.

The second kind of spherulites occurring in this rock,
which were described in the paper on Obsidian Cliff under
the head of porous spherulites (p. 278), are distinguished by
being composed of more or less distinct rays of feldspar,
which are generally branched, and a cementing material of
tridymite, with numerous hollow spaces or gas cavities. The
branching feldspars may also lie in an isotropic, base, which
appears to be glass. The arborescent feldspar growth may
form a complete sphere or only a plume-shaped growth, or
it may even resemble the stem and branches of a shrub.
The optical investigation of these feldspar rays shows them
in some cases to consist of many small stout prisms of feld¬
spar grown together with their longer axes parallel and
forming long crooked rods in the direction of this axis.

In thin section these rods or rays are partly positive and
partly negative-— that is, the axis of elasticity, which is

SPHER ULITIC CRYSTALLIZATION.

457

approximately parallel to their length, is sometimes less and
sometimes greater than that at right angles to this direction.
The prisms have a small extinction angle of variable size,
and it is observed that the negative rays exhibit less double
refraction than the positive ones and have a lower extinction
angle. From these characters it is evident that the rays are
prisms of orthoclase elongated parallel to the vertical axis, c,
and that the plane of the optic axes is normal to the plane
of symmetry. In spherulites of this sort the positive and
negative rays are generally uniformly mixed throughout the
whole. Such a spherulite sometimes has an outer zone or
border of compact, finely fibrous structure, which is negative
and is the same growth as the small granophyric spherulites.
Tridymite is scattered through these spherulites, besides
small grains of magnetite, and sometimes a few grains of
fayalite and a little mica.

In other cases the branching rays are all positive. This
indicates that the feldspar prisms have the same develop¬
ment — that is, parallel to the axis c — but that the plane of
the optic axes is in the plane of symmetry, which is fre¬
quently observed to be the case in prisms of orthoclase which
have crystallized independently in the tridymite in other
parts of the rock.

The distinctly arborescent growths of feldspar in which
the long slender rays branch off from a stouter stalk is shown
in the figure on Plate 8. The prisms become thinner and
more crowded together as they grow outward, and terminate
in broad fronds like leaves. The stems are usually twinned
throughout their length, as are also the fronds, which are
sometimes found as isolated growths. These are twinned
in the same manner, the composition plane dividing the
crystal in two in the direction of its length. These twinned
prisms of orthoclase are always negative, and the inclination
to the twinning plane of the axis of greatest elasticity is
about 7° or 8°. These characteristics could only be found
in orthoclase prisms elongated parallel to the clinoaxis, a ,
and twinned according to the Manebach law, which is the

458

IDDINGS.

orientation already given for this form of feldspar in the
article on Obsidian Cliff (p. 278).

In the large porous spherulites several forms of feldspar
growths occur together. In one instance the center consists
of an aggregation of partial spherulites of small size and
positive character. This is surrounded by a narrow zone
of cloudy material, but slightly doubly refracting, and with
a positive character. Outside of this zone the porous portion
of the spherulite begins. It is made up of nearly straight
radiating fibers of feldspar, with weak double refraction, which
are all positive. From points at various distances from the
center of the whole spherulite, within these positive fibers,
there start stouter fibers of feldspar with stronger double re¬
fraction and negative character. These branch out into
radiating bunches, which unite to form the outer zone of the
spherulite, where the fibers are partly negative and partly
positive. In this outer zone it is observed, on closer inspec¬
tion, that the negative feldspars form stems from which
thinner positive feldspar fibers branch like the needles of a
pine twig. These needles curve to a position parallel to the
stem and to the radii of the sphere. All of the porous por¬
tion of the spherulite is thickly spotted with pellets of
tridymite. The structure is very crudely represented by
figs. 6 and 7, Plate 7, the actual structure being ex¬
tremely complex, formed as it is by innumerable delicate
crystals. The first porous zone of weakly refracting rays of
feldspar, all of which are positive, must be composed of
prisms elongated in the direction of the vertical axis, c, with
the plane of the optic axes in the plane of symmetry. The
branching groups of strongly refracting feldspars, which are
all negative, must he prisms parallel to the clinoaxis, a;
they are twinned according to the Manebach law. In the
outer zone these latter prisms send out thinner ones in
the direction of the vertical axis, c, which are positive.
These thinner needles branch forward from both sides of
the twinned stem ; consequently the crystallization of the
twinned prism must have advanced out from the angle
2 P made by the c-axes of the twinned halves of the crystal.

SPHERULITIC CRYSTALLIZATION.

459

The synchronous growth of crystals of the same mineral
with two distinct habits is a natural consequence of crystallo¬
graphic branching as distinguished from that due to the
splitting or cracking of microlites.* Its occurrence in this
rock indicates how slight may be the difference in the condi¬
tions under which either form of crystal is induced. This
accords with the fact that we find no fixed order in which
positive and negative spherulitic growths have been devel¬
oped. In the rock of Obsidian Cliff they alternate with
each other, sometimes one having started first and sometimes
the other.

The Essential Characteristics of Spherulitic Growths.

In expressing what seems to the writer to constitute the
essential nature of spherulitic crystallization, there will be
no attempt made to suggest a cause for its initiation. It is
simply a statement of conclusions which have probably
forced themselves upon all who have made a careful study
of these kinds of microstructures.

Just as the earliest definition of a crystal was confined to
the outward form of the body, and rested upon its being
bounded by plane surfaces, so the conception and derivation
of the term spherulite rested on its spherical form. In both
cases the definitions would not now be limited to a state¬
ment of the outward form of the bodies. It is, of course, un¬
derstood that a spherulite differs from a crystal in being a
complex intergrowth of minute crystals of one or more
species. The essential character of the spherulite must be
sought in the internal arrangement of this intergrowth ;
for we should not consider the essential character of the
crystallization which produced a spherical body as having
changed because in one instance the sphere had a smooth
surface and in another a roughened one. In the latter case
the composite crystals may have been larger. Nor is it
necessary that a complete sphere should have been formed.

* Lehman (O.). Molekular Ph}7sik. 8°. Leipzig, 1888, p. 378.

460

IDDINGS.

It would require the same kind of growth to form the seg¬
ment of a sphere. Furthermore, the character of the growth
which would produce a sphere would not be altered by
changing the curvature of the spherical surface from which
it was advancing at any moment of its growth; consequently
it is not essentially different when it proceeds from the
surface of a sphere whose radius is infinity — that is, from
a plane ; or even when the sign of the radius is minus —
that is, when the surface is concave. These conclusions are
substantiated by the study of the various forms of growth
associated with spherulites. It is therefore logically correct
to embrace all manner of crystalline growths which have
the same internal structure as crystalline spherulites under
the general designation of spher-ulitic growths or crystallizations ,
whether their cross-sections be circular, elliptical, or in
sectors, plume-like or irregularly excentric ; or whether they
appear as straight or curving bands.

The necessity of basing the general definition of spher-
ulitic structures on some other character than their outward
form is well illustrated by the microscopic spherulites of a
typical spherulitic groundmass such as occurs in the rock
under investigation. The absence of a spherical boundary
to the majority of the spherulites and the frequency with
which excentric and irregularly polygonal forms occur forces
one to the conclusion that the fundamental characteristic of
these typical spherulites must exist in their mode of crys¬
tallization. It is to be remarked that the proof of their being
definitely crystallized bodies and not amorphous material
under an internal strain, which might produce double refrac¬
tion, lies in the fact that the dark crosses which show them¬
selves between crossed nicols do not bear that relation to the
shape of the excentric and polygonal spherulites which they
should if they resulted from a contraction or irregular com¬
pression of globules which had assumed corresponding
shapes. If the latter were the case they should behave like
the dark hyperbolas of pearlite grains. The dark crosses
retain their form with slight modifications corresponding to

SPHERULITIC CRYSTALLIZATION. 461

those in larger crystalline spherulites, their arms shortening
and lengthening out according to the distance of the bound¬
ary from the center of crystallization, which may be quite
excentric.

We should therefore consider the essential characteristic
of spherulitic growths to consist in the formation of radiating
or diverging groups of crystals, which commenced to crystallize
from one or more points. Thus it may be from a single
center or from a number of different ones more or less distant
from one another. The component crystals are usually pris¬
matic and form delicate rays or fibers, with which may be
associated other forms of minerals with or without definite
orientation; but an arrangement of plate-like crystals or
grains that are oriented with reference to a center of crys¬
tallization may also constitute a spherulitic growth.

A diverging fibrous crystallization which has started from
innumerable points close together over a plane would pro¬
duce a growth of fibers which would lie approximately par¬
allel to one another. Such structures appear in thin section
like bands or fringes of almost parallel fibers, and constitute
a special form of spherulitic. crystallization.

Summary.

The chief facts brought out by this study may be stated as
follows :

The occurrence of tourmaline as a primary constituent of
the rock in small amounts and sporadically, with the similar
occurrence of mica.

The compact granophyric spherulites are composed of
prisms of orthoclase elongated in the direction of the clino-
axis, which radiate from a center of crystallization. With
the feldspar is quartz, intergrown as in granophyre or micro¬
pegmatite.

The branching growths of feldspar needles which form the
rays of the porous spherulites, and which also occur alone,
are formed of prisms of orthoclase, sometimes elongated par-

59— Bull. Phil. Soc., Wash., Vol. 11.

462

IDDINGS.

allel to the vertical axis, c, and sometimes parallel to the clino-
axis, a. In the latter case they are generally twinned accord¬
ing to the Manebach law. In the former they exhibit, in
some instances, the normal position of the optic axes and at
others the abnormal position.

The crystallization of orthoclase prisms of these two types
may take place at the same time or may follow one another
alternately.

The essential characteristic of spherulitic growths is the
crystallization of minerals from one or more points with a
radiating or diverging arrangement.

■

BULL. PHIL. SOC.. WASHINGTON.

VOL. XL, PLATE 7.

Drawn hv author.

Moss Fng. Co.

SECTIONS OF SPHERULITES.

BULL. PH IL. SOG . WASHINGTON.

VOL XL, PLATE 8.

Drawn by author. Moss Eng Co*

BRANCHING CRYSTALS OF ORTHOCLASE.

EXPLANATION OF PLATES.

Plate 7. — Sections of spherulites.

Figure 1. — Colorless microscopic spherulite, showing irregular dark cross
between crossed nicols, enlarged 153 diameters.

Figure 2. — Simple form of granophyre group of quartz and feldspar
between crossed nicols, enlarged 235 diameters.

Figure 3. — Microscopic spherulite with projecting rays of orthoclase,
enlarged 120 diameters.

Figure 4. — Like figure 3, with crescent-shaped area of pure feldspar
substance, enlarged 130 diameters.

Figure 5— The same as figure 3, enlarged 120 diameters.

Figure 6. — Portion of large spherulite, showing different forms of feld¬
spar needles.

Figure 7. — Branching group of orthoclase needles occurring in the outer
portion of the spherulite of figure 6.

Plate 8. — Branching crystals of orthoclase.

Mannebach twins, enlarged 43 diameters.

(463)

OBITUARY NOTICES.

EMIL BESSELS.

Emil Bessels was born in Heidelberg, June 2, 1847.
Educated at the University, and securing the degree of
Doctor in Medicine, he was more disposed toward science
and belles-lettres than to the practice of his profession.
Being in easy circumstances, he was enabled to follow his
natural bent, and for a time was a student in zoology under
Van Beneden, and an assistant of Krauss at the Naturalien
Cabinet or Royal Museum of Wiirtemberg, in Stuttgart.
He became interested in Arctic discovery, and his first essay
in that direction, under the encouragement of Peter mann of
Gotha, was the well-known voyage of 1869 into the sea be¬
tween Spitzbergen and Nova Zembla. By his observations
on this journey he traced the influence of the Gulf Stream
water east of Spitzbergen, and added much to the scanty
knowledge of this region then available. In 1870 he was
called to the field as military surgeon, rendering service in
the hospitals which brought him a public commendation
from the Grand Duke of Baden. In 1871 he came to
America, at Petermann’s suggestion, to join Hall’s polar ex¬
pedition as naturalist and surgeon. Most of the scientific
results of this voyage were the fruit of his personal efforts.
After the rescue of the survivors he returned to America,
where for some years he was busy at the Smithsonian Insti¬
tution in preparing for publication the scientific results of
the voyage, one of the most striking of which was the proof,
first brought out by him, of the insularity of Greenland,
which he deduced from the tidal observations secured on the
expedition. In 1876 his work was printed in quarto, under
the title of “ Report on the Scientific Results of the Polaris

60— Bull. Phil. Soc., Wash., Vol. 11. (465)

466

CHARLES OTIS BOUTELLE.

Expedition.” Three years later he published, through En-
gelmann, at Leipzig, a German narrative of the oxpedition,
illustrated largely from his own very artistic sketches. He
projected a work on the Eskimo, to which he devoted much
labor. An ethnological voyage, undertaken on the U. S. S.
Saranac to the northwest coast of America, was prematurely
terminated by the wreck of that vessel in Seymour narrows,
British Columbia. He returned to Washington, where he
prepared several contributions to arctic and zoological liter¬
ature. Through an unfortunate fire at his residence he lost
his library, manuscripts, and collections in 1885, and subse¬
quently returned to Germany, where he settled, at Stuttgart.
There he was engaged in literary pursuits, the study of art,
and in geographical instruction. He died, after a short ill¬
ness, March 30, 1888, and his remains were interred in the
FriedhofF cemetery at Heidelberg.

Doctor Bessels was short and slight, of dark complexion,
and highly nervous temperament. His brilliant, dark eyes,
flowing hair, and aquiline nose gave him a striking and
attractive physiognomy. V ersatile, lively, and open-hearted
to a fault, his social qualities inspired warm affection among
his intimates, while his restless energy and undoubted abil¬
ity secured for science results — valuable, if not profuse —
which will serve to perpetuate his memory.

Wm. H. Dale.

CHARLES OTIS BOUTELLE.

When the history of the United States in the nineteenth
century comes to be written, as doubtless it will be written
by some Bancroft or Adams one or two hundred years
hence, it is not improbable that one of its most valuable
chapters will relate to the influence that has been exerted
upon the course of events by the scientific organizations
that have been founded and fostered by this Government.

The life and work of a man who was for nearly half

OBITUARY NOTICES.

467

a century an efficient and prominent officer of the oldest
and one of the most important of these organizations must
have had share enough in shaping the movement of affairs
to warrant a memorial of him more complete than the
necessarily brief one now presented and intended to form a
part of the records of this Society.

Charles Otis Boutelle was born in Lexington, Mas¬
sachusetts, August 4, 1813. His grandfather was an officer
who served honorably throughout the Revolutionary War.
His father, a skillful physician and a man of brave and
earnest temperament, was a surgeon in the navy during
the war of 1812. His mother, a daughter of General
Nathaniel Goodwin, of Plymouth, who served also during
that war, was a woman loved and revered by all who knew
her. She lived to nearly the age of one hundred, and her
son never ceased to mourn her loss.

With such ancestry, many features of Mr. Boutelle’s
character can be traced to their source. Having while yet
at an early age lost his father, he was educated by his uncle,
the Reverend Ezra Shaw Goodwin, of Sandwich, Massachu¬
setts, and received from him a thorough training in both
the classics and mathematics. It soon became necessary for
him to earn his own living ; so he taught school, studied
surveying, and one day, having heard that a friend who
owned a work on that subject was willing to lend it to him,
he walked twenty miles to get it. His skill in practical sur¬
veying soon became known, and a place was given to him
on the survey of his native State by its director, Simeon
Borden.

Having served creditably as Mr. Borden’s chief assistant,
he was appointed by Alexander Dallas Bache, Superinten¬
dent of the U. S. Coast Survey, to a position upon that work
in January, 1844. His service was at first in the office, but
his active temperament and robust physique demanded less
sedentary occupation, and his special capabilities for the
field were quickly recognized by his distinguished chief.
His advancement was rapid. In 1846 he was made an as-

468

CHARLES OTIS BOUTELLE.

sistant in the Survey, and from that time forward gained
steadily in standing on the work, being intrusted with the
charge of important operations, which he conducted with his
accustomed energy and with the professional skill and fer¬
tility of resource always at his command.

For some years he carried on the reconnoissance for the
primary triangulation upon the coast of Maine. He made
the reconnoissance and selection of sites for three primary
base-lines, and had personal charge of the measurement of
a primary base-line (the Atlanta base) in Georgia. This
measurement was three times repeated as a test of accuracy,
the line being measured twice in winter and once in sum¬
mer, with an accordance of results so close that the greatest
divergence did not exceed a millionth part of the whole
length of nearly six miles. He conducted the primary tri¬
angulation which was carried from the Atlanta base north¬
ward and northwestward along the Blue Ridge to connect
with the primary triangulation which was advancing south¬
ward and southwestward from the Kent Island base, and
had charge of the surveys upon the coasts of South Carolina
and Georgia.

During this period the bent of his mind was shown by the
improvements he introduced into the methods and processes
of the work ; among these may be mentioned the form of
preliminary base apparatus described in the Coast Survey
Report for 1855 ; his form of tripod and scaffold observing
signal, 1855 ; his experiments with lights for geodetic night
signals, carried on for several years, and brought to a suc¬
cessful termination in 1880 by the adoption of the mag¬
nesium lights and the student-lamp reflectors.

In 1884 the charge of the Coast and Geodetic Survey office
was assigned to him, and after his relief from that duty he
was placed in immediate supervision of geodetic operations
in the States which had organized their own geological and
topographical surveys.

For a number of years he was a member of the board of
commissioners for the improvement of the harbor of Norfolk.

OBITUARY NOTICES.

469

On February 16, 1884, soon after taking up his residence
in this city, he was elected a member of the Philosophical
Society of Washington.

No notice of .Mr. Boutelle’s life would be complete that
should omit reference to the important services which he
rendered to his country at a critical period of its history. In
common with the great majority of his brother officers as¬
signed to duty with the military and naval forces, he parti¬
cipated in the hardships and dangers of the civil war. Soon
after the outbreak of hostilities he was assigned to the com¬
mand of the steamer Vixen and schooner Arago, as hydro-
graphic officer of the South Atlantic squadron, serving under
Admirals Dupont and Dahlgren, and Commodore Lanman,
U. S. N. This duty lasted throughout the war, and it de¬
volved upon him the responsibility for the safety of naviga¬
tion of the squadron along its entire cruising ground.
With what patriotic devotion and professional ability this
service was rendered, the records of the civil war amply
attest.

Admiral Dupont, in his report to the Navy Department of
the capture of Port Royal, refers to the fact that all aids to
navigation had been removed by order of the Confederate
authorities and acknowledges the able assistance of Captain
Boutelle in sounding out and buoying the channel, and
thus enabling the squadron to advance to the attack.

General W. T. Sherman, U. S. Army, commanding the
land expeditionary force, concludes a report, dated Novem¬
ber 8, 1861, as follows :

“It is my duty to report the valuable services of Mr.
Boutelle, assistant in the Coast Survey. * * * His

services are invaluable to the army as well as to the navy,
and I earnestly recommend that important notice be taken
of this very able and scientific officer by the War Depart¬
ment.”

Personally, Captain Boutelle (as he was known to his
friends after the civil war) was a man of varied reading and
a most retentive memory, genial and witty in conversation,

470

EZEKIEL BROWN ELLIOTT.

of uniform kindness of heart, and of a generous and hos¬
pitable nature, always assuming that others were guided by
motives as unselfish as his own.

He combated manfully the advances of age and the in¬
roads of disease, and it was not until the approach of his
seventy-eighth year that, yielding to the solicitations of his
.family and friends, he sought relief from active duty. He
died on the 22d of June, 1890, at the home of his son, Dr.
Boutelle, in Hampton, Virginia.

Edward Goodfellow.

EZEKIEL BROWN ELLIOTT.

Ezekiel Brown Elliott was born on July 16, 1823, in
the village of Sweden, Monroe county, New York, and died
of heart failure, on May 24, 1888, at Washington, D. C., after
only a few hours’ illness.

He was the second child of John Brown Elliott, M. D.,
and Joanna Batch. In his boyhood he attended the high
school at Waterloo, N. Y., and the academy at Geneva?
N. Y., and subsequently entered Hamilton College, whence
he was graduated in 1844. Immediately upon graduation
he engaged in teaching, first at Grand Rapids, Mich., and
subsequently at Macedon, N. Y. ; Lyons, N. Y. ; Lubec, Me.,
and Eastport, Me. From the latter place he removed to
Boston, Mass., in 1849, and there became an actuary and
electrician. Late in the last-mentioned year he aided in open¬
ing the House printing telegraph line between New York
and Boston and took charge of the Boston office, having pre¬
viously spent a few weeks in Providence, R. I., where he
made himself familiar with the necessary routine. Subse¬
quently he and Mr. W. 0. Lewis, of Hartford, Conn., became
for a short time joint proprietors of the line, and still later they
were joint superintendents. Finally he became superin¬
tendent of the Boston, Troy and Albany (Llouse) printing

OBITUARY NOTICES.

471

telegraph line. During these years he made several inven¬
tions, among which may be mentioned a white-flint tele¬
graph insulator, for which he received a bronze medal from
the Massachusetts Charitable Mechanics’ Association in 1853.
In 1854 he gave up telegraphy in order to undertake for the
New England Mutual Life Insurance Company the prepara¬
tion of tables of two-life survivorships, which comprised,
when finished, about eighteen thousand logarithmic val¬
ues, computed on the basis of the London actuaries’ life
table, at four per cent. Later on he was engaged in com¬
puting annuity, survivorship, and other tables, and in 1860
he prepared a set of official “instructions concerning the
registration of births, marriages, and deaths in Massachu¬
setts,” the latter work being done under the direction of
Hon. Oliver Warner, then secretary of the Commonwealth.
While in Boston he united with the late Uriah A. Boyden
and others in investigating the claims of spiritualism, hyp¬
notism, etc., and, failing to find satisfactory evidence of the
truth of these claims, he was ever after their emphatic
opponent.

Upon the breaking out of the civil war in 1861 he came
to Washington as actuary of the United States Sanitary
Commission, and of his work relating to the first battle of
Bull Bun it has been said that probably “ there is no in¬
stance in history in which the causes of the loss of any con¬
siderable battle have been so thoroughly sifted and examined
on the spot, and within a week after the disaster, and in
which the minutest details affecting the result have been so
carefully preserved and their influence so accurately noted.”
Statistical work respecting the personnel and condition of the
United States armies occupied him till 1863, when, as a
delegate from the American Statistical Association, he at¬
tended the International Statistical Congress at Berlin.
After the close of the congress he visited the German and
Danish armies engaged in the Schleswig-Holstein war,
which was then virtually over, and was afforded unusual
opportunities for inspecting the hospitals and becoming

472

EZEKIEL BKOWN ELLIOTT.

acquainted with the methods adopted in caring for the sick
and wounded.

In 1865 he was made secretary to the commission, con¬
sisting of Messrs. Wells, Colwell, and Hays, for revising the
United States revenue laws ; and subsequently he continued
in a similar relation with Mr. Wells when that gentleman
became special commissioner of the revenue, in the office of
the Secretary of the Treasury. After the expiration of Mr.
Wells’ official term, Mr. Elliott remained in the office of the
Secretary of the Treasury until September, 1870, when he
was made chief clerk of the U. S. Bureau of Statistics.
He was transferred to the Bureau of the Mint about 1878,
and in July, 1881, he was appointed to the newly created
office of government actuary, whi^h he held till his death.
Notwithstanding the nominal changes in his official posi¬
tion, from 1867 to 1888 Mr. Elliott’s duties were always
substantially the same, namely, those of an actuary em¬
ployed in the office of the Secretary of the Treasury, and
as such he bore a large part in the operations connected with
the refunding of the United States war debt. In addition
to the offices already mentioned, he was appointed by Gen¬
eral Grant, in June, 1871, a member of the first Civil Serv-
vice Commission, which place he held until the close of the
active operations of the commission, in March, 1875.

Mr. Elliott was elected a member both of the American
Association for the Advancement of Science and of the
American Statistical Association in 1856, of the American
Academy of Arts and Sciences in 1857, of the British Asso¬
ciation for the Advancement of Science in 1864, and subse¬
quently of the American Horological Society. He was one
of the founders of the Washington Philosophical Society in
1871, of the American Metrological Society in 1873, and of
the Cosmos Club in 1878.

Both in the American Association for the Advancement
of Science and in the Washington Philosophical Society
Mr. Elliott was very prominent, contributing many papers
to their proceedings; he was vice-president of the former

OBITUARY NOTICES.

473

association and chairman of its economic section in 1882,
and a member of the governing body of the Philosophical
Society almost continuously from its foundation to the
time of his death. The titles of his numerous papers may
be found in the publications of the societies to which
he belonged, in the documents both of the United States
Sanitary Commission and of the Treasury Department, in
the Report on the Ninth Census of the United States (1870),
in Hunt’s Merchants’ Magazine, and in other places. It
will suffice to mention here his paper “ On the Military
Statistics of the United States of America,” which was read
before the International Statistical Congress in Berlin in
September, 1863, and in recognition of which he received a
letter from the Crown Prince Frederick, afterward Emperor
of Germany ; and his “ Tables of money, weights, and meas¬
ures of the principal commercial countries of the world, with
their equivalents as used in the United States and as known
in the metric system,” which was published in 1869 in
Webster’s Counting House Dictionary.

One of Mr. Elliott’s most notable achievements was the
discovery of a method by which the labor of computing life
tables was enormously reduced. The mathematical theory
of this method was communicated by him to the American
Association for the Advancement of Science in August, 1866,
but no abstract was furnished for publication, and probably
the only accessible account of the method is that contained
in his “ Remarks upon the statistics of mortality,” in volume
2 of the Ninth Census of the United States (June 1, 1870),
pages ix to xvi.

In person Mr. Elliott was portly and slightly below the
medium height. Although not a fluent speaker, his address
was agreeable and his manner such as to indicate clearly
the sturdy honesty and straightforwardness of his character.
To these sterling qualities he united a kindliness of disposi¬
tion and a keen sense of honor, which gave him a high
place in the estimation of all who knew him.

William Harkness.

61-Bull. Phil. Soc., Wash., Vol. 11.

474

THOMAS HAMPSON.

THOMAS HAMPSON.

Thomas Hampson was born in New York city in 1849.
His early life was passed in the town of Newberg, N. Y.,
where he adopted the avocation of a printer. Having pre¬
pared himself by study after his day’s work was done, he
entered Cornell College in 1869. Notwithstanding that he
had to provide his own maintenance and, in addition, to
keep up with his - studies, he took a high position in his
class. To relieve the heavy tax upon his strength and by
the advice of President White, always his warm friend, he
left college in the third year of his course to accept a posi¬
tion in the Government Printing Office at Washington. In
1874 he was graduated from Cornell and returned to Wash¬
ington to resume his place. His marked ability in this
position becoming known, in 1875 he was offered and ac¬
cepted a clerkship in the Bureau of Education, with the
duties of editor of its publications. In 1882 he entered the
Law Department of Georgetown University, where he was
graduated as Bachelor of Laws in 1884. In 1885 he left the
Bureau of Education to accept a similar position, though
with enlarged duties, in the United States Geological Survey,
where he remained until his death, which occurred April
23, 1888.

In addition to being a member of this Society, he belonged
to the Cosmos Club and to the Anthropological Society of
Washington. A few months before his death, in connec¬
tion with the last-named society, he became one of the
editors of the “American Anthropologist.”

Mr. Hampson belonged to the Philosophical Society, not
because he cultivated a special branch of science in which
his word was authority, but because he possessed a broad
education and an enlightened culture which was in full
harmony and sympathy with its spirit and aims. Strictly
speaking, Mr. Hampson was not a scientific man. He neither
professed nor coveted the title of scientist. Naturally of a

OBITUARY NOTICES.

475

bright and receptive mind, education served to store it with
a rich harvest of facts and well-digested opinions. During
recent years he was brought daily into close personal and
professional intimacy with scientific specialists, and as editor
of the publications of a large and important scientific bureau
annually producing many volumes, the product of scholarly
minds, it was requisite that he should possess a general and
comprehensive knowledge of the subjects treated as well as
a thorough literary ability. How well equipped he was for
his work and how complete his mastery of its details is best
known to the men whose privilege it was to consult him daily
and who had learned to welcome his advice and criticism.

It was in the exercise of his daily functions as a critic that
the kindliness of Hampson’s nature was most apparent.
Criticism of an author’s work is at best but a thankless task
and only too apt to hurt pride and arouse opposition. Hamp¬
son’s ready tact and generous sympathy robbed criticism of
its sting without in the least blunting its force or weakening
its effect.

While not himself a producer of scientific works, Mr.
Hampson’s death was a distinct loss to science, most deeply
felt by those who received his criticism and suggestions in
the line of his duty.

Mr. Hampson was of fair complexion, medium height, and
of robust frame. His eyes were bright and sparkling, the
expression of his face singularly frank and pleasing, and his
manner and address such as to inspire immediate confidence.
His kindliness of heart and genial disposition were con¬
stantly bubbling over in open mirth, and perhaps his most
marked characteristic was a certain enthusiasm and boyish¬
ness of manner which was peculiarly attractive.

H. W. Henshaw.

476

FERDINAND VANDIYEER HAYDEN.

FERDINAND VANDIVEER HAYDEN.

Ferdinand Vandiveer Hayden, who died in Philadel¬
phia December 22, 1887, in his 59th year, was the tenth
name among those appended to the call asking Prof. Joseph
Henry to preside at the meeting on March 13, 1871, for the
formation of the Philosophical Society of Washington. He
was not only one of the founders of the Society, but had pre¬
viously been a member of the Saturday Night Club, from
which the Philosophical Society was evolved.

He was born at Westfield, Mass., September 7, 1829. Pie
was the son of Asa Hayden and Melinda Hawley, the latter
of Middletown, Conn. Both of his grandfathers were in the
Continental Army during the Revolutionary War, and both
fought at Bunker Hill. His father died when he was about
ten years of age, and about two years later he went to live with
an uncle at Rochester, in Lorain county, Ohio, where he re¬
mained for six years. He taught in the country district
schools of the neighborhood during his sixteenth and
seventeeth years, and at the age of eighteen went to Oberlin
College, where he was graduated in 1850. The united testi¬
mony of those members of his class who survive him is
that he was shy and modest in demeanor, of an excitable
temperament, frank and unconcealing, with an intense and
self-absorbed air ; enthusiastic and persistent in whatever he
undertook, a good student, well read in general literature,
and particularly fond of poetry. The subject of his graduat¬
ing address was, “ The Benefits of a Refined Taste.”

He studied medicine with Dr. J. S. Newberry, at Cleve¬
land, and at Albany was graduated Doctor of Medicine in
the early part of 1853. After his graduation he was sent
by Prof. James Hall, of New York, to the Bad Lands of
White river, in Dakota. The years 1854 and 1855 he spent
exploring and collecting fossils in the upper Missouri coun¬
try, mainly at his own expense. From 1856 until 1859 he
was connected as geologist with the expeditions of Lieuten-

OBITUARY NOTICES.

477

ant Warren, engaged in explorations in Nebraska and Da¬
kota. From 1859 until 1862 he was surgeon, naturalist, and
geologist with Capt. W. F. Raynolds, in the exploration of
the Yellowstone and Missouri rivers. In October, 1862, he
was appointed acting assistant surgeon of volunteers, and
was connected with the army as assistant surgeon and
assistant medical inspector until June, 1865, when he re¬
signed, and was brevetted lieutenant colonel for meritorious
services during the war. He then resumed his scientific
work, and in 1866 made another trip to the Bad Lands of
Dakota, this time in the interest of the Academy of Natural
Sciences of Philadelphia. In 1865 he was elected professor
of mineralogy and geology in the University of Pennsylva¬
nia, which position he resigned in 1872. From 1867 to
1879 his history is that of the organization of which he had
charge, which began as a geological survey of Nebraska
and became finally the Geological Survey of the Territo¬
ries. In the winter of 1871-72 he succeeded in having the
Yellowstone National Park made a Government reserva¬
tion, the bill setting it apart having been chiefly written
by himself. From 1879 until December, 1886, he was
connected with the United States Geological Survey as
geologist. His health began to fail soon after his connec¬
tion with this organization, and gradually became worse,
and he lived only a year after his resignation.

In 1876 the degree of LL. D. was conferred upon him by
the University of Rochester, and in June, 1886, he received
the same degree from the University of Pennsylvania. He
was a member of seventeen scientific societies in the United
States, among them the National Academy of Sciences, and
was honorary and corresponding member of some seventy
foreign societies. ' A bibliography of his writings includes
158 titles.

Dr. Hayden was one of the pioneers in the geological in¬
vestigations of the West, among whom,® as the Director of
the Geological Survey of Great Britain has said, his name
will always hold a high and honored place. He made the

478

ROLAND DUER IRVING.

first complete sections of the cretaceous and tertiary forma¬
tions of the West, and the names he applied to them have
long been known and widely used. He was the first to
demonstrate the fact that the Rocky mountains and adja¬
cent regions were covered during tertiary times with fresh¬
water lakes, and he also recognized as long ago as 1862 the
fact that the elevation of the Rocky mountains began in
Laramie times, and continued throughout the tertiary
period, and is still going on at the present time.

The gentleness and diffidence, approaching even timidity,
which impressed his fellow students at Oberlin characterized
Dr. Hayden throughout his life, and rendered it somewhat
difficult for those who did not know him intimately to un¬
derstand the reasons for his success, which was undoubtedly
due to his energy and perseverance, qualities which were
equally characteristic of him as a boy and student and in
later life. His desire to forward the cause of science was
sincere and enthusiastic, and he was always ready to modify
his views upon the presentation of evidence. He was in¬
tensely nervous, frequently impulsive, but ever generous,
and his honesty and integrity undoubted. The greater
part of his work for the Government and for science was a
labor of love.

A. C. Peale.

ROLAND DUER IRVING.

Roland Duer Irving was born in New York city April
29, 1847, and died at Madison, Wis., May 30, 1888.

His father was Rev. Pierre P. Irving, nephew of Washing¬
ton Irving, and a clergyman of the Episcopal church. His
mother was a daughter of Judge Duer, an eminent lawyer,
and at one time chief justice of the supreme court of the city
of New York.

In 1849 Dr. Irving removed his residence to New Brighton,
Staten Island, where he was rector of Christ church.

OBITUARY NOTICES.

479

Young Roland there passed his boyhood days, and in his
rambles over the island first exhibited a taste for geological
studies. His education was conducted by his father and his
sisters until his twelfth year, when he attended a classical
school near his home. In 1863 he entered the freshman
class at Columbia College, but owing to a disorder of the
eyes he was obliged to suspend his studies during his sopho¬
more year. Six months of this enforced interval of rest was
passed in England. Returning in 1866, he resumed his
studies and was graduated as a mining engineer from the
School of Mines in 1869, and as a master of arts from the
collegiate department of Columbia College in 1870. Ten
years later the same institution conferred upon him the
degree of Doctor of Philosophy.

While a student at the School of Mines he was engaged
during the summer of 1867 as an assistant engineer in the
Lykens Valley colliery, Pa., and during the following sum¬
mer as assistant geologist on the Geological Survey of Ohio.

Soon after his graduation he accepted the position of
metallurgist in the Gold Smelting Works of Greenville,
N. J., where he was employed until the summer of 1870,
when he was called to the chair of geology, mining, and
metallurgy — changed to the chair of geology and mineralogy
in 1880 — in the University of Wisconsin, a position which
he held until his death.

He was assistant State geologist of Wisconsin between the
years 1873 and 1879, and expert special agent of the 10th
Census, in charge of explorations on Lake Superior in 1880
and 1881. For several years he was president of the Wis¬
consin Academy of Sciences.

In 1882 he became connected with the United States Geo¬
logical Survey and assumed the direction of the Lake Su¬
perior division, a position which occupied a large share of
his time and thought until his death. His reports in this
capacity are among his most enduring contributions to
science.

On August 8, 1872, Professor Irving was married to Abby

480

JEROME HENRY KIDDER.

McCullough, daughter of John McCullough, of Glencoe,
Maryland.

Professor Irving’s work as a teacher and as an investigator
were carried on side by side with equal success in each
direction. His ability as a teacher has been highly com¬
mended both by his colleagues in the University of Wis¬
consin and by the students who received the benefits of his
instruction. The results of his geological investigations are
known to all who are interested in the earth’s history, and
have been a credit to himself, to the Geological Surveys and
to American science.

Professor Irving became a member of this Society in 1886,
but owing to the distance of his residence he was seldom
able to attend its meetings. In March, 1886, he read an
important paper on “ The Enlargement of Mineral Frag¬
ments as a Factor in Pock Alteration,” the only scientific
communication that he made to the Society.

JEROME HENRY KIDDER.

Jerome Henry Kidder, whose untimely death has de¬
prived this Society of one of its most active and respected
members, was born October 26, 1842, in Baltimore county,
Maryland, and there his boyhood days were spent. En¬
tering Harvard College as a freshman at the age of six¬
teen years, he was graduated Bachelor of Arts in 1862, and
shortly after, having tendered his services for the war, he
was placed by General Saxton in charge of the Sea Island
plantations, near Beaufort, S. C. There contracting yellow
fever, he was obliged to return north early in 1863, but, upon
recovery, he enlisted in the Tenth Maryland infantry, in which
regiment he served as private and non-commissioned officer
for about a year. He was then appointed a medical cadet,
and in that capacity was employed in the hospitals near the
capital until after the war had closed. The study of medi-

OBITUARY NOTICES.

481

cine, begun at that time, was continued in Baltimore, and
in 1866 he received the degree of Doctor of Medicine from
the University of Maryland. The degree of Master of Arts,
in regular course, was also conferred upon him by Harvard
College in 1865.

On June 18, 1866, a few months after completing his
medical education, Dr. Kidder was commissioned an as¬
sistant surgeon in the United States Navy, in which he
served for eighteen years with much distinction. He was
promoted to passed assistant surgeon April 5, 1871, and to
surgeon May 19, 1876, and resigned his commission June 18,
1884.

His first detail was to the Naval Asylum at Philadelphia,
where he remained a little over a year. From 1867 to 1870
he was attached as assistant medical officer to the United
States ship Idaho, then stationed off Nagasaki, Japan, as
the general hospital for the Asiatic squadron. While on this
station he received from the King of Portugal the decoration
of the Military Order of Christ, in recognition of gracious
professional services to a distressed vessel of His Majesty’s
navy; and during the memorable typhoon of September
21, 1868, he displayed his faculty for accurate observation
by making a careful plotting of the storm’s track. In 1874
and 1875 he served, in connection with the United States
steamer Swatara, as surgeon and naturalist of the Transit
of Venus expedition to Kerguelen island, and in 1877 and
1878 as surgeon of the United States steamer Alliance in
the Mediterranean. On the latter cruise he was married, at
Constantinople, September 18, 1878, to Anne Mary, daughter
of the Honorable Horace Maynard, Minister of the United
States to Turkey. During the summers of 1875 and 1879
he was assigned to special duty with the small naval steamers
Bluelight and Speedwell, engaged in fishery investigations
on the New England coast, and in December, 1882, became
the first surgeon of the Fish Commission steamer Albatross,
on which he remained until the following April. His shore
service was performed mainly at the Naval Hospital and

62-Bull. Phil. Soc., Wash., Vol. 11.

482

JEROME HENRY KIDDER.

Laboratory, Brooklyn, from 1871 to 1874, and at the Bureau
of Medicine and Surgery, Washington, from 1879 to 1882.

Dr. Kidder was recognized as one of the most accomplished
and efficient surgeons in his corps, and his frank and genial
disposition gained him hosts of friends. The advantages of
the naval laboratory at Brooklyn, where he served as an
assistant from 1871 to 1874, probably led to the chemical
and physical inquiries which afterward became his favorite
studies, and in all probability they determined the char¬
acter of his principal future work. The Brooklyn labora¬
tory was then the only one under the Navy Department
equipped for general chemical investigations, and it was also
the naval depot for medical supplies. In addition to the
customary analyses of drugs, Dr. Kidder was assigned many
special problems, and while at this place he also prepared a
chemical test case and manual of instructions for the use of
medical officers on board ship, which, slightly modified, is
still issued to naval vessels.

It was from Brooklyn that Dr. Kidder was ordered to join
the scientific party sent out by the United States Govern¬
ment to observe the transit of Venus at Kerguelen island
in 1874. Four months were spent in the desolate and in¬
clement spot selected for the station, and during that period
Dr. Kidder was indefatigable in his study of the natural
history, geology and climatology of the island. No group
of animals or plants was neglected, and notwithstanding
the comparative scantiness of the field, his labors were
well rewarded. After his return to Washington he re¬
mained about a year at the Smithsonian Institution study¬
ing, with the cooperation of several specialists, the material
which he had obtained. The results were published by the
National Museum in two bulletins — one descriptive of the
birds, the other covering the remaining subjects, with a
special monograph on Ghionis minor, which has been re¬
garded as his most valuable contribution to zoology. The
outcome of this single expedition was sufficient to demon¬
strate Dr. Kidder’s ability and fitness as a naturalist, and

OBITUARY NOTICES.

483

to prove that he might readily have attained eminence in
that pursuit had he chosen it as a profession. Appreciating
the importance of observing every detail which could elu¬
cidate the habits or distribution of a species, his descriptions
are replete with interesting notes, which add greatly to their
value, and he was equally successful in discussing structure
and relations.

This brief sojourn at the Smithsonian Institution was fruit¬
ful in many ways, and the relations then established with Pro¬
fessor Baird, soon ripening into a warm and lasting friend¬
ship, were instrumental in finally severing his connection
with the navy. In fact, a career in natural history seems
at that time to have been seriously considered by him, if we
may judge from the elaborate plans prepared for an expedi¬
tion to the Antarctic regions, under the auspices of the Insti¬
tution, which was to have been in his charge. Circum¬
stances, however, delayed the execution of this project, and
it was finally abandoned.

The first published record indicating Dr. Kidder’s in¬
terest in , hygiene is contained in his report as surgeon of
the steamer Alliance during 1878. This paper states in
forcible terms the requirements for a healthy ship, and
closes with a “ Memorandum of a partial examination of
the impurities of the air on board the Alliance,” and con¬
tains also ‘a description of the apparatus improvised for
the occasion. The simplicity of these methods of obtain¬
ing condensed moisture and of securing the impurities
of the air on small glass slips and watch-crystals led the
author to suggest the propriety of supplying similar outfits,
with some additional appliances, to all naval vessels — a rec¬
ommendation which was soon adopted and carried out.

In 1879 there was started in Washington, under the charge
of Dr. Kidder, a small naval laboratory, consisting in the
beginning of only a single room, and intended primarily for
the special examinations which he had recently proposed.
The limited amount of money available for the purpose
made it necessary to resort to very crude appliances, but in

484

JEROME HENRY KIDDER.

no way checked the ardor with which the work was carried
on. Under the liberal and energetic policy of Surgeon Gen¬
eral Wales, by whom the laboratory had been founded, the
facilities for study were rapidly increased, larger appropria¬
tions were obtained, and in the course of two or three years
the young establishment was converted into the Museum of
Hygiene, as it is known to-day. The principal investiga¬
tions conducted by Dr. Kidder during his three years’ as¬
signment to this duty consisted in the chemical and micro¬
scopical analysis of the air with respect to the amount and
character of the influences exerted in the production of dis¬
ease by its organic and inorganic impurities, while among
his other duties were the examination of pathological speci¬
mens and the consolidation of meteorological reports de¬
rived from naval sources.

The zeal and earnestness displayed in all this work, his
untiring devotion to the cause of hygiene, and, above all,
his strength and breadth of mind, especially fitted him for
leadership in this important movement, with which he would
undoubtedly have continued to be identified under more
stable conditions of environment. His several reports upon
this subject indicate most careful and painstaking observa¬
tions, and exhibit marked success in the development of
ingenious though, for the most part, exceedingly simple
methods of experiment.

His earlier inquiries in hygiene had reference mainly to
the surroundings of the laboratory, but prior to his detach¬
ment he was detailed to assist in two special investigations.

The first and more important of these was an inquiry
into the cause of the recurrent epidemic of yellow fever
on board the United States Steamship Plymouth, in con¬
junction with Medical Inspector Dean and Naval Constructor
Wilson, and was executed in 1880. The report submitted by
this board was published in the report of the Surgeon
General of the Navy for 1880. The following year Dr.
Kidder, with Medical Director Browne and Passed Assistant
Surgeon Griffiths, examined with unusual care the sanitary

OBITUARY NOTICES.

485

condition of the proposed site for the new naval observatory
at Washington, and upon their favorable decision depended
in great part the acceptance of the property. While on this
duty Dr. Kidder also suggested several changes in the Ameri¬
can naval rations, based upon a study of their physiological
value. Subsequent to his resignation from the navy, he was
called upon to investigate the purity of the air in the Hall
of Representatives at the Capitol and its approaches, and in
the lecture hall of the National Museum, in both instances
securing practical results of great benefit.

As before mentioned, Dr. Kidder was on special service with
the United States Fish Commission during the summers of
1875 and 1879, and in the latter year he made an interesting
series of experiments on the animal heat of fishes. He was de¬
tailed to the Albatross in 1882 as a naval surgeon, but after
holding that position for only a few months his active connec¬
tion with the navy ceased, and he was appointed a civilian as¬
sistant on the Fish Commission. This change was determined
mainly by the recent death of his father, of whose estate he t
was an administrator, and by his desire for occupation that
would retain him near his family. His specific duties were
those of physicist and chemist, but as the trusted adviser of
Professor Baird, who had the highest regard for his ability
and judgment, he contributed in many ways to the general
welfare of the Commission. In the building of the marine
station at Wood’s Holl, Mass., begun in 1883, he took a deep
personal interest, placing at the service of Professor Baird an
adjoining piece of land which he had acquired for that pur¬
pose. A physical laboratory, suitably equipped for fishery
investigations, was established at that place, and another of
the same character in the Smithsonian Institution at Wash¬
ington, Dr. Kidder’s time being divided between the two.
His work related chiefly to water temperatures, densities,
and analyses, to the purchase and testing of all physical ap¬
paratus, to experiments upon the preservation of fresh fish,
and to such other kindred subjects as came within the prov¬
ince of the Fish Commission. His unwillingness to publish

486

JEROME HENRY KIDDER.

until the volume of results would seem to warrant their
being placed before the public has left us with only a few
printed records of his fishery studies, but it is due to him to
state that the high perfection attained in the methods of
physical research employed by the Commission has resulted
largely from his intelligent supervision.

In the autumn of 1887, upon the death of Professor Baird
and the appointment of Dr. G. Brown Goode as Commis¬
sioner of Fish and Fisheries, Dr. Kidder became the Assist¬
ant Commissioner, for which position he was well qualified
by his administrative ability and his intimate acquaintance
with the affairs of the Commission. Resigning that office,
however, early in the following year, he was appointed, in
March, 1888, Curator of Laboratory and Exchanges in the
Smithsonian Institution, which post he held until his death,
rendering most efficient service and becoming greatly en¬
deared to his associates. His surroundings were, moreover,
entirely suited to his tastes, and his future seemed full of
promise, with the prospect of again returning to the study of
many early problems which his frequent change of duty had
interrupted but not banished from his mind. His attachment
for the Smithsonian Institution and appreciation of its objects
were manifested in his will, by which the sum of $5,000 was
bequeathed for the promotion of physical research.

Dr. Kidder was a contributor to the National Medical1
Dictionary, compiled under the editorial supervision of Dr.
John S. Billings, United States Army. His principal scien¬
tific papers have appeared as follows : Those relating to
sanitary and kindred subjects, in the reports of the Surgeon
General of the Navy from 1879 to 1882, the Proceedings of
the Naval Medical Society for 1884, the reports of the Forty-
eighth Congress, and the report of the Smithsonian Institu¬
tion for 1884 ; on the natural history of Kerguelen island,
in Bulletins Nos. 2 and 3 of the National Museum, published
in 1875 and 1876 ; on fishery matters, in the reports and
bulletins of the Fish Commission subsequent to 1883, and
on chemistry and physics, in the publications of various
scientific societies.

OBITUARY NOTICES.

487

In the social, scientific, and literary circles of Washington,
Dr. Kidder was especially prominent and influential, hav¬
ing been a member of the Cosmos, Metropolitan, Harvard,
and Rover Clubs, and of the Philosophical, Biological, and
Chemical Societies. He joined the Philosophical Society in
1880, was one of its secretaries in 1887, and a member of
the general council during 1888 and 1889. He was faithful
in attendance at the meetings of the Society and active in
the promotion of its interests, contributing papers on deep-
sea temperature observations and on the gilding of ther¬
mometer bulbs. A founder in both the Biological and
Chemical Societies, he took a prominent part in their pro¬
ceedings, and was an officer in each, having served as presi¬
dent of the latter in 1888. He had been a companion for
over twenty years of the New York Commandery of the
Military Order of the Loyal Legion, and was also a zealous
member of the Masonic fraternity.

Dr. Kidder was an able writer and a fluent speaker, using
clear and vigorous language, and always presenting his sub¬
ject in a simple and attractive manner. While not entirely at
home before a formal audience, he was ready, even brilliant,
in conversation, and among the “ Rovers,” a few well-chosen
friends, whose meetings were given over to the familiar dis¬
cussion of interesting topics, he never failed to take a lead¬
ing part. His proficiency in writing was gained, to some
extent, from an early experience with the New York jour¬
nals, to which he contributed on literary and other matters
during a number of years. He was an accomplished lin¬
guist, and being passionately fond of books, a choice col¬
lection that had been left to him was made the nucleus of a
large and valuable library. His residence in Washington
also bore evidences of his taste in art and of the opportuni¬
ties in that direction afforded by his distant travel,

His final illness was of short duration and scarcely known
beyond his household. In perfect health, he was stricken
with pneumonia on a Friday and died on the following
Monday, the 8th of April, 1889, in his forty-seventh year.

488

EDWARD BROWN LEFAVOUR.

In their sad bereavement the devoted wife and children
had the heartfelt sympathy of every one to whom his name
had become familiar, whether through personal contact
or through a knowledge of his good works and sterling
qualities. His loss was widely felt and his place will long
be vacant.

Richard Rathbun.

EDWARD BROWN LEFAVOUR.

s

Edward Brown Lefavour, eldest son of Issachar and
Lydia A. Lefavour, was born in Beverly, Mass., November
25, 1854. His whole course as a student was a brilliant one/
Entering the high school of his native town at the age of
twelve, he graduated in his fifteenth year, in June, 1870, with
the rank of valedictorian of his class. After pursuing an
advanced course for one more year at Beverly, he went to
Salem and spent a year in its high school, from which he
was graduated, at the head of his class, in 1872.

Thus prepared, he entered Harvard College in 1872, at
about the beginning of his eighteenth year, taking the course
in mathematics and physics, and in 1876 again graduated
at the head of his class, this rank being determined by the
record of his four years of undergraduate work. He took
honors in both physics and philosophy, a thing of rare
occurrence, and received an oration at commencement, hav¬
ing previously taken honors in mathematics in his junior
and in classics in his sophomore year. He was also during
his junior year elected to membership in the Harvard chap¬
ter of the Phi Beta Kappa Society.

After graduation he returned to Cambridge and spent a
year in post-graduate work and as tutor at the university.

From September, 1877, to near the end of January, 1878,
he served as a substitute teacher in the Jamaica Plain high
school, during the illness of the principal, and the following
April accepted the position of principal of the high school at
Holbrook, Mass., a position which he filled till July, 1880.

OBITUARY NOTICES.

489

At the close of the summer vacation of 1880 he came
again to the university as special student and private tutor,
but only for a brief interval. In January, 1881, he came to
Washington and entered the Bureau of Weights and Meas¬
ures, in the office of the Coast and Geodetic Survey. In this
work as verifier of weights and measures, for which his talent
and training so well fitted him, he remained nearly five
years, resigning his place December 1, 1885. It was during
this interval that he became known to and a member of the
Philosophical Society, which he joined December 16, 1882.
An occasional participant in the discussions in the Society,
his chief activity was, however, manifested in the mathe¬
matical section, in the work of which he was more especially
interested. While employed in the Bureau of Weights and
Measures he also undertook, beginning June 1, 1883, the
measurement of the star photographs made by Dr. B. A.
Gould at the Argentine National Observatory, at Cordoba,
South America. This work he continued to prosecute after
leaving the Weights and Measures Bureau, and brought it
to a successful conclusion a few months before his death.
For facilitating these measures he devised and had partially
completed an instrument, which his sudden death has left
incomplete.

After leaving Washington he returned to Cambridge, and
continued his work upon the star photographs of Dr. Gould.
At the same time he entered the Theological Department of
Boston University with a view to entering the ministry, for
which he had always evinced a strong liking. For some
time it had been his wish and his purpose to enter the An¬
dover Theological Seminary. Indeed, for a number of years
he had been privately pursuing his theological studies in
connection with his other work. In 1887, after pursuing
theological studies for a year in Boston University, he ap¬
pears to have finally decided the question as to whether
theology or science should be his vocation by giving up his
theological studies and devoting his energies to scientific
work. He became a member of the Mathematical and Phys-

G3— Bull. Phil. Soc., Wash., Vol. 11.

490

EDWARD BROWN LEFAVOUR.

ical Society of Cambridge, and in October, 1888, he was made
an assistant in physics in Harvard College, which position
he held to the date of his death.

In May, 1889, he was attacked by rheumatic fever, which
rapidly developed into typhoid, from which he died on May
18, 1889.

Never physically strong, he succumbed to an illness which
a more robust constitution might easily have withstood.

Through training and inheritance he was of a strongly
religious temperament. He was always an active worker in
the church, and in the Sunday school he acted both as
teacher and superintendent. With this strong tendency to¬
wards both science and religion, the question of his vocation
was long an open one, and it was not until his thirty-second
year that the question appears to have been finally decided
in favor of science.

Without being shy, he was reserved in his manner, and
appeared formal to those not intimately acquainted with
him. To his intimate friends, however, he was a most
genial and instructive companion.

His logic was keen and his conclusions came faultlessly
from the assumptions based on his philosophy and religion.
He was a thinker rather than an actor, and his thinking a
compound of clear, cold, mathematical reasoning conjoined
with metaphysical speculation.

In person he was of medium or slightly less than medium
height, neither spare nor stout. He had a clear, hazel eye,
and his black, curly hair heightened the whiteness of a
clean-shaven face, suggestive of the churchman. A slightly
bent form, and the head thrown forward, showed the man
of thought rather than the man of action. Most faithful
and diligent in all he undertook, exceedingly conscientious,
kindly and considerate to all, he had no enemies, and his
friends were only limited by the number of his acquaint¬
ances.

Marcus Baker.

OBITUARY NOTICES.

491

PETER PARKER.

Peter Parker, who had attained some distinction in the
two different professions of divinity and medicine, was one
of the original founders of the Philosophical Society of Wash¬
ington, in 1871. He was born in Framingham, Mass., June
18, 1804. He was educated at Yale College, where he was
graduated in 1831 ; and he was a graduate of the medical
department in 1834. He was at the same time a student in
theology, and a few years later was ordained and sent to
China as a missionary by the American Board of Foreign
Missions. He made a diligent study of the Chinese lan¬
guage, and established at Canton a hospital for the treat¬
ment of diseases of the eye, which he found to be quite fre-
(Juent in that city. Other classes of disease were soon
admitted into the hospital, and in the first year he had re¬
ceived and cared for 2,000 patients suffering with various
afflictions. His skill and success as a surgeon made his
hospital quite famous, and he trained several natives in
medicine and surgery to act as his assistants. During this
time he was as diligent in the care of the spiritual as of the
corporeal requirements of the people around him, and prac¬
ticed his function of preacher no less zealously.

In consequence of the disturbed condition of affairs in
China during England’s memorable “ opium war ” with that
country, Dr. Parker returned to the United States in 1840.
Two years later he revisited Canton and reopened his hos¬
pital. In 1845 he resigned his position under the American
Board of Missions in order to give uninterrupted attention
to his very large clientage of patients. Having acquired a
good practical acquaintance with the Chinese language, he
was selected as secretary and interpreter to the United States
legation in that place, and in the absence of the United
States minister, he also acted as charge d’affaires ad interim.

In 1855, to obtain a needed rest and recuperation for his
overtaxed strength, he again returned to his native country,

492

HENRY FRANCIS WALLING.

but, from his familiarity with the manners and language of
the Chinese, he was soon appointed a special commissioner
to again visit the country, with powers to rearrange a com¬
mercial treaty with the nation. This important and respon¬
sible mission accomplished, in 1857 he for the last time left
the country and the people with whom for more than twenty
years he had been so intimately and so honorably asso¬
ciated.

Having made his residence at the city of Washington, Dr.
Parker was on January 11, 1868, appointed by resolution of
Congress a regent of the Smithsonian Institution, and at the
meeting of the board held January 22 he was elected to the
executive committee of the regents, do fill the vacancy occa¬
sioned by the death of Prof. A. D. Bache. This position he
held till induced by failing health to offer his resignation,
April 7, 1884, as member of the committee and of the
board.

He died at his residence in this city (Washington) Janu¬
ary 10, 1888, universally respected for his integrity and ad¬
mired for his geniality and sympathetic disposition. His
remains were buried at Oak Hill cemetery, in West Wash¬
ington.

HENRY FRANCIS WALLING.

Henry Francis Walling was born in Burrillville, R. I.,
June 11, 1825. He was the son of a well-known man of
sterling integrity. Both father and mother were members
of the Baptist church. His maternal grandfather was a
Baptist deacon, while his grandmother belonged to the So¬
ciety of Friends. From her he inherited the gentleness of
manner which distinguished him and which is so marked
a characteristic of that peaceful people.

Early in Mr. Walling’s life his father removed to Provi¬
dence, where young Walling was first educated in the pub-

OBITUARY NOTICES.

493

lie school, leaving it for Lyons and Friese’s classical school,
where he was fitted for college ; but he did not enter college,
having married at the early age of twenty -two.

At that time his attention had already been turned toward
his future field of labor. While studying surveying and
civil engineering he had assisted in making and publishing
a map of Northbridge, Worcester county, Massachusetts. At
the same time he also taught an evening drawing school in
Providence with marked success. Previous to this time he
had been assistant librarian of the Providence Atheneum.

He formed a partnership about 1849 with Barrett Cush¬
ing, a civil engineer of Providence, with whom he was asso¬
ciated in making the map of Northbridge before referred to.
This partnership did not last long, for in the next year he
alone engaged in surveys in Bristol county, Massachusetts,
resulting in the production of maps of five considerable
towns, all bearing the date of 1850. From that time forward
map-making and surveying for that object became the busi¬
ness of his life. Between 1850 and 1860 fifty-two maps of
towns and twelve maps of counties, all in Massachusetts,
bear his name.

In 1858 he set up in New York an establishment for the mak¬
ing and publishing of maps of all kinds upon a large scale.
Here he employed surveyors, whose work he carefully su¬
perintended, while watching the reductions and publication
with thoughtful care. This establishment he had brought
into successful and profitable operation, when, in 1861-62,
the war supervened and nearly ruined him. The class of
men in his employ were precisely those most needed in the
country’s service and most ready to give both service and
life to the country when called upon.

Early in 1868 he accepted an appointment to the chair of
civil and topographical engineering at the Pardee Scientific
School of Lafayette College, Pennsylvania, at the same time
carrying on to some extent the publication of maps. He
held this position about three years, and then, returning to

494

HENRY FRANCIS WALLING.

the east, took up liis old business of map-making at Boston.
Here he was again engaged for several years under the au¬
spices of the State of Massachusetts in correcting and adding
new data to the State map of Massachusetts, originally pub¬
lished in 1842. The result was an imperial quarto atlas of
the State published in 1871 by H. F. Walling and A. 0.
Gray, which was very creditable to them and a decided step
forward. But it did not satisfy Mr. Walling ; none knew better
than he its many imperfections. Resting as it did upon a
practically perfect basis in the triangulation, executed be¬
tween 1834 and 1841, under the direction of Mr. Simeon
Borden, upon which the State of Massachusetts had ex¬
pended over $70,000, Mr. Walling knew that the topo¬
graphical details were by no means of the same order of
precision.

Mr. Walling had been brought much into contact with
Mr. Borden between 1850 and 1856, while he was engaged
in making and publishing the town maps of Massachusetts.
He was in the habit of consulting him and coming to him
for information, as he did to the writer of this notice, espe¬
cially after Mr. Borden’s death, in 1856. [It was in these
years, from 1-856 to 1862, that I saw most of him and learned
to value rightly his many excellent qualities. The events
of the war and subsequent duty south of New England for
many years deprived me of opportunities of personal inter¬
course with him until my removal to Washington in 1884.]

He had made many surveys and maps in the meantime.
Among his plans was one for a general map of the United
States. To this end he had made a very elaborate collection
of all obtainable atlas maps of every part of our country.
This very useful and valuable collection is now the property
of the Coast and Geodetic Survey, purchased from Mr. Wall¬
ing in 1884.

At that time he had been several years in the service of
the Coast and Geodetic Survey, where he had rendered faith¬
ful service, as he did everywhere.

OBITUARY NOTICES.

495

In 1884 he entered the service of the Geological Survey.
He had always wished to see a really accurate map of the
State of Massachusetts, in which he had spent so much of
his life upon patchwork. It is not too much to say that the
inception and execution of the work now approaching com¬
pletion was largely due to his persistent efforts.

He was employed upon it from the time of his entering
the Geological Survey, in 1884, until his death, in April last.
His widow writes that “ he was devoted to his work, putting
his whole soul into it, and giving himself up to it until the
last hour of his life. The book from which he was comput¬
ing lay open before him when he could no longer see it. He
was an earnest seeker after the truth ; an honest, sincere, and
upright man.”

In the report of the Commissioners of the Massachusetts
State Topographical Survey for 1888, the commissioners,
Messrs. Walker, Whiting, and Shaler, say of him:

“ Mr. Walling has been identified with the State survey
from its inception to the time of his death ; in fact, it was
mainly due to his personal efforts that the survey was in¬
augurated. He was at the time a member of the Geological
Survey, which he finally left for the exclusive service of the
Commonwealth. His personal knowledge of the geography
of the State and his long experience in map-making gave
him a special fitness for the work of the new survey.

“Although always a sufferer from grave bodily ills, Mr.
Walling, by dint of patience and a masterful will, succeeded
in accomplishing a remarkable body of work. To him more
than to any one else is due the appreciation of good maps
which is now bearing fruit in the National Survey.”

Mr. Walling was married at Providence, in 1847, to Miss
Maria Fowler Wheeler, who survives him, as do two daugh¬
ters. Two sons died — one in infancy ; the other, a fine, prom¬
ising youth, died in 1867, while in his sophomore year at
Yale College. His father never entirely recovered from this
severe blow, but his “ masterful will ” kept him up to the

496

OBITUARY NOTICES.

end, which came in the form of a heart disease and was
sudden.

Obituary notices of the following members of the Society
who have died during the period covered by this Bulletin
have not yet been prepared for publication :

George Bancroft, died January 17, 1891.

John Huntington Crane Coffin, died January 8, 1890.
Charles Henry Nichols, died December 16, 1889.
Charles Christopher Parry, died February 20, 1890.

I

PROCEEDINGS

OF THE

PHILOSOPHICAL SOCIETY OF WASHINGTON

AND OF ITS

MATHEMATICAL SECTION,

1888-1891.

' i

64— Bull. Phil. Soc., Wash., Vol. 11.

(497)

PROCEEDINGS

AT THE

GENERAL MEETINGS OF THE SOCIETY.

1888 to 1891.

FROM THE MINUTES.

311th Meeting. January 7, 1888.

The President, Mr. Garrick Mallery, in the chair.
Thirty members and guests present.

The President announced the death, on December 22, 1887,
of Ferdinand Vandiveer Hayden, a founder of the Society.

Announcement was also made of the appointment of the fol¬
lowing Standing Committees :

On Communications:

G. K. Gilbert, Chairman. J. R. Eastman. G. Brown Goode.
On Publications :

Marcus Baker, Chairman. Robert Fletcher.

W. C. Winlock. S. P. Langley.

The report of the committee appointed to audit the Treasurer’s
accounts was read, accepted, and ordered to be entered upon the
minutes. The report is as follows :

January 6, 1888.

The undersigned, a committee appointed at the Annual Meet¬
ing of the Philosophical Society of Washington, December 21,

(499)

500

PHILOSOPHICAL SOCIETY OF WASHINGTON.

1887, for the purpose of auditing the accounts of the Treasurer,
respectfully report as follows :

We have examined the statement of receipts, including dues,
sales, and interest, and find the same to be correct.

We have examined the statement of disbursements, compared
it with the vouchers, and find that they agree.

We have examined the returned checks, which agree with the
bank book, the balance of which, as reported by Riggs & Co. on
December 28, was $942.05, agreeing wdth the Treasurer’s report.

We have examined the United States and other bonds belong¬
ing to the Society, and find them to be in amount and character
as represented in the Treasurer’s report, aggregating $3,100.

John S. Billings.

C. O. Boutelle.

James C. Welling.

Mr. George F. Becker presented a communication on the
Rounding of Rock Masses by External Attack.

Mr. J. W. Spencer read a paper on the Iroquois Beach — a
Chapter in the Geological History of Lake Ontario. [Abstract
published in Science , vol. 11, p. 49.]

312th Meeting. January 21, 1883.

The President in the chair.

Thirty-seven members and guests present.

The following communications were presented :

Determination of Fault Hades, by Mr. Bailey Willis.

[Abstract.]

Mr. Willis suggested the application of methods of descriptive geometry
to the determination of hade, and illustrated by statement of results ob¬
tained in East Tennessee.

The method rests on the assumption that the fault surface is a plane for
short distances, and under this assumption the strike and hade may be
found after ascertaining by survey the relative positions of three points of
the fault outcrop. A check is afforded by using a large number of points
in adjacent sets of three each, and a conception of the fault surface may
be obtained by extending adjacent plane facets thus determined, either

PROCEEDINGS.

501

graphically or in a model, to their intersections ; care is, however, neces¬
sary not to be misled by the development of theoretical planes beyond
reasonable limits.

As a result of many determinations of hade, it is found that faults in
southwestern Virginia and northeastern Tennessee hade to the upthrow
at angles ranging from forty-five to seventy degrees from the vertical.

The Neozoic Formations in Arkansas, by Mr. R. T. Hill.

[Abstract.]

The Neozoic formations of the Southern Gulf States have been studied
mostly from long range, from which only the hand rock material and
conspicuous fossils, both exceptional features, were visible and from which
no ideas whatever of their relation, differentiation, and stratigraphic
paleontology are conceivable. Southwest Arkansas, notwithstanding the
obscurement of the stratigraphy by the dense forest growth and debris,
afforded a fair- cross-section of the Neozoic formations and the method in
which they were deposited one upon the other and upon the older Paleo¬
zoic continental area.

During the past year, under the direction of Dr. John C. Branner, State
geologist of Arkansas, Dr. Hill commenced a systematic investigation of
the economic questions of the region, to facilitate which he was under
the necessity of making a thorough study of the stratigraphy, from the
basal Mesozoic to the basal Tertiary, inclusive.

Mr. Hill found that the lower Tertiary and uppermost Cretaceous for¬
mations were continuations of nearly similar formations from the adjoin¬
ing States, as has been previously supposed, but in addition to those he
found the lower Cretaceous and probably uppermost Jurassic strata of the
central Texas region to extend into the State, disappearing near the In¬
dian Territory line beneath the later strata of the Mississippi embayment.

The lowest of the Mesozoic strata he found resting directly upon the
highly disturbed Carboniferous rocks, and extending from near Antoine
P. O., Arkansas, to the Brazos river in Texas. Owing to the undoubted
stratigraphic position of these beneath the lowest marine Cretaceous of
the Comanche series, and the great resemblance of the fossils therefrom
to those of the transitional Wealdan and Purbeck beds of Europe, he pro¬
visionally referred these to the upper Jurassic*

The detail^of these beds, together with those of all the overlying strata
herein mentioned, are in process of publication by the Arkansas State
Geological Survey.

Throughout the whole series of strata there were found several non-con¬
formities and breaks in faunal continuity, contrary to preconceived ideas,
indicating many oscillations in depth of the waters in which the forma¬
tions were deposited.

* Science, Jan. 13, 1888.

502

PHILOSOPHICAL SOCIETY OF WASHINGTON.

Upon inquiry by Mr. Gilbert Thompson, Mr. Hill said that he had
made careful observations of the fall lines of the rivers in this portion of
Arkansas and Texas, and that Dr. Branner was having topographic maps
made that would give valuable data upon this question.

A paper by Mr. Romyn Hitchcock — Notes on Eclipse-Pho¬
tography in Japan — was read by the Secretary in the absence of
the author.

Mr. Gilbert made a communication on the Flat Rock
Channel.

313th Meeting. February 4, 1888.

The President in the chair.

Fifty members and guests present.

Announcement was made of the death, on January 10, 1888,
of Peter Parker, a founder of the Society.

Announcement was also made of the election to membership
of Robert Thaxter Edes and Otto Hilgard Tittmann.

Mr. C. F. Marvin described A New Self-recording Rain-
Gauge, and developed the formula for its various adjustments
or corrections. [Abstract, Science, vol. 11, p. 97, Feb. 24, 1888.]

Mr. J. S. Billings exhibited a form of Galton’s Apparatus for
Testing Muscular Sense.

The President announced the presence of Dr. George M.
Dawson, Assistant Director of the Geological Survey of Canada,
and requested him to favor the Society with an account of his
explorations in the extreme northern part of British Columbia
and the head- waters of the Yukon river.

Following is an abstract of Dr. Dawson’s remarks :

[Abstract.]

The route followed was by the Stikine river to the head o*f navigation
at Telegraph creek, and thence overland to Dease lake, the center of the
Cassiar gold mining district of British Columbia. Here boats were built,
and the Dease, Liard, and Frances rivers followed to the head of the last
named in Frances lake. At Frances lake the boats were abandoned, and
a difficult portage of about fifty miles made across the height of land
between Frances and Liard rivers and the Pelly branch of the Yukon.
This route had been used many years ago by the Hudson Bay Co., but

PROCEEDINGS.

503

had been abandoned since 1852. A canvas boat was made on the Pelly,
and that river was descended to the month of the Lewis, where another
wooden boat was built for the ascent of the Lewis, and the coast finally-
reached on September 20th by crossing the Chilkoot or Perrier Pass to
the head of Lynn canal. Two parties still remain in the district for the
purpose of continuing explorations next spring — one under Mr. B,. G.
McConnell on the Mackenzie river, the other under Mr. W. Ogilvie on
the Pelly (Yukon).

An outline was given of the geological results obtained on the route
above described. The general character of the rocks and the formations
represented are very similar to those characterizing the Sani Cordillera
belt in the more southern part of British Columbia, embracing deposits
referable to the Carboniferous, Cretaceous, Laramie (probably), and Mio¬
cene. The coast ranges preserve an almost identical character from the
Fraser river to Lynn canal, a distance of about 900 miles. They are
chiefly composed of gray granites and granitoid rocks, with associated
crystalline schists.

Evidences were found of the glaciation of the upper Yukon basin by
working in a northern and northwestern direction.

Mention wras also made of a wide-spread deposit of volcanic ash, of
comparatively recent date, in the region, and of the discovery of rolled
fragments of jade in the bed of the Lewis river.

Dr. Dawson regretted that he was unprovided with specimens and
photographs obtained during the exploration, which would have illus¬
trated his remarks.

[A full account of these explorations has been published by
the author as Part B to the Annual Report for 1887 of the
Director of the Geological and Natural History Survey of
Canada.]

314th Meeting. February 18, 1888.

The President in the chair.

Forty-two members and guests present.

The following communications were presented :

Increasing Industrial Employment of the Rarer Metals, by
Mr. Henry H. Bates.

[Abstract.]

The metals particularly referred to wTere, first, aluminium. Its valuable
properties were mentioned and outlines of some of the leading processes
for obtaining it were given. Its most valuable alloys were enumerated,

504

PHILOSOPHICAL SOCIETY OP WASHINGTON.

viz., 1, aluminium bronze, a 10 per cent, alloy of aluminium and copper ;
2, tiers argent, a 66f per cent, alloy of aluminium and silver, and, 3, the
“ mitis ” casting, an alloy of cast iron with a minute proportion of alu¬
minium (aV of one per cent.) to improve fluidity in the mold and solidity
in the Casting. The Cowles incandescent electrical furnace for the smelt¬
ing of refractory ores, including those of aluminium, was described from
the patents ; also the electrical furnace of Bradley and Crocker for the
procurement of sodium. The sodium process of Frishmuth of Philadel¬
phia for obtaining aluminium was also described from the patents. Speci¬
mens of pure aluminium and aluminium bronze were shown.

Sodium. — Its uses in metallurgy were referred to and the mode of its
production on a commercial scale indicated.

Potassium. — An industrial use in the manufacture of fuses to ignite and
burn on contact with water was described.

Magnesium. — Several modes of utilizing this metal in the production of
artificial actinic light for instantaneous photography were described.

Cadmium. — The use of this metal as a component of fusible alloys for
dental and other purposes was described and its use for the preparation
of artist’s colors referred to.

Iridium. — The mode of utilizing this metal in the arts by melting and
casting it as a phosphide was described. Its principal industrial uses are,
for tubular points in fountain pens, as a hard facing for burnishers, etc.,
as draw-plates for wire drawing, and as indestructible bearings for fine
machinery in lieu of jewels, for which its great hardness and unchange¬
ableness recommend it. As a phosphide, it is also useful for anodes in the
electro-deposition of iridium. A specimen of the electro-deposited metal
was shown.

Palladium. — This metal finds a valuable use in the hairsprings, compen¬
sation balances, and other quick-moving parts of watches to be used near
dynamo-electro generators, where ordinary watches with steel balances
are rendered useless by magnetic influences. Palladium is recommended
for these purposes by its unchangeableness, elasticity, and low coefficient
of expansion.

Strontium. — The industrial uses of this metal arise out of the magnifi¬
cent crimson light of its spectrum, which qualifies it for coloring rocket
signals for military and naval purposes.

Tungsten. — This metal has recently been found valuable for military
projectiles on account of its high specific gravity conjoined with sufficient
hardness, giving it superiority over either lead or steel, neither of which
unites these two qualities. Specimens of such proposed projectiles were
exhibited,

Yttrium, Lanthanum, Zirconium, and Thorium. — The great refractory
qualities of the oxides of these metals qualify them for incandescents in
gas-lighting with non-carburetted gas, a novel way of utilizing them hav¬
ing recently been introduced and patented in Europe by saturating web¬
like cylinders of textile fabric with aqueous solutions of the salts of said

PROCEEDINGS.

505

oxides, singly or in combination, and then burning away the fabric, leav¬
ing the shell of refractory matter as the incandescent, which is illuminated
by burning gas within the same by means of a small Bunsen cylinder. A
specimen lamp was operated and exhibited.

Trans-Mississippi Rainfall, by Mr. A. W. Greely.

Note on the Formation of Alloys, by Mr. William Hallock.

[Abstract.]

In the Berichte der. Chemischen Gesellschaft, vol. XV, 1882, pp. 595-7, W.
Spring describes the formation of alloys by submitting the tilings of the
constituent metals to high pressure without appreciable rise in temperature.
Wood’s alloy of cadmium, tin, lead, and bismuth he produced by mixing
the proper weights of the tilings of these metals and subjecting them to
7,000 atmospheres pressure. The block thus obtained was again tiled up
and subjected to the same pressure. In this way a block of metal was pro¬
duced which possessed the physical properties of ordinary Wood’s alloy
formed by melting the mixed constituents.

W. Chandler Roberts repeated this experiment [ Chemical News , vol.
XLV, 1882, p. 231] and verified Mr. Spring’s results.

In seeking an explanation of the above phenomenon satisfactory to
myself, I reasoned that if at any time during the first compression, the
subsequent filing, or the second compression, anywhere throughout the
mass the constituent metals were in contact, that at that point there
would be a minute globule of the alloy — a molecule of the alloy, as it were-
If now the temperature of the block, either during compression or subse¬
quently, be raised to 70° C., then that molecule of alloy will fuse and act
as a solvent upon the surrounding metals till the whole mass is fused.

If my idea was correct I concluded that perhaps I could produce the
result without pressure, giving more time and an appropriate temperature
to the substance. The filed metals in the proper proportions (1 Sn, 1 Cd,
2 Pb, 4 Bi.) were mixed and packed into the bottom of a “ sealed tube,”
such as is used in blowpipe wTork, using no greater pressure than could be
conveniently exerted with a piece of wire g-inch diameter held between
the thumb and finger. This tube was hung in the water bath of the
laboratory over night (eighteen hours), thus maintaining it at a tempera¬
ture of 98° C. or 100° C. On examination the filings had settled down
considerably ; the tube was then struck upon the table, jarring them
down still more, and in an hour or two the whole was a molten globule.

The experiment was repeated, using larger quantities, packed in with
a lead pencil, and occasionally pressing the mass together with the pencil,
producing 20 or 30 grains of alloy. Since then tin and lead have been
fused together at 200° C., tin melting only at 230° C. ; also sodium and
potassium at ordinary temperatures (20° C.), the first melting at about 90°
C., and the latter at about 60° C.

G5 — Bull. Phil. Soc., Wash., Vol. 11.

506

PHILOSOPHICAL SOCIETY OF WASHINGTON.

Thus I propose the law that an alloy can be formed out of the constituents
at a temperature above the melting point of the alloy, although it be far below
that of any constituent, with no ( appreciable ) pressure.

The extended verification of this law, as well as the electrical and ther¬
mal phenomena associated therewith, will be the subject of a work which
I hope soon to undertake and carry through.

An abstract of this paper was also published in Science, vol.
11, pp. 99, 100, Mar. 2, 1888.

315th Meeting. March 3, 1888.

The President in the chair.

Thirty-two members and guests present.

Announcement was made of the election to membership of
Andrew Braid and Arthur Keith.

The following papers were read :

On the Determination of Atomic Weights, by Mr. F. W. Clarke.
Notes on the Drift north of Lake Ontario, by Mr. J. W. Spencer.

[Abstract.]

Amongst the deposits of the later Pleistocene period there is a well-
stratified, hardened brown clay, charged with pebbles which are more or
less glaciated, resting upon the typical blue bowlder clay north of Toronto.
In the Canadian classification of the Pleistocene deposits there is no place
for this deposit. Indeed, all of the stratified deposits of this region need
revision, in the light of the progress that has been made in surface geology
during the last twenty years. Thus, the Saugeen clay is resolvable into
three series. The relation of all the clays to the older beaches require
special study, as some of them may represent the deep-water deposits of
the Beach epoch, while some of the' later beaches rest upon such clays.
Around the head of Georgian bay there are ridges in the form of moraines,
similar to those about the other great lakes, reaching to the height of
1,300 to 1,400 feet above the sea. From the face of the Niagara escarp¬
ment — between Georgian bay and Lake Ontario — there extends for over
a hundred miles, to near Belleville, a broad zone of from eight to twenty
miles in width, covered with drift ridges, composed of stony clay below
and frequently stratified clay or sand above, having an elevation of '1,100
to 1,200 feet above the sea, with occasional reductions to only 900 feet.
These “ Oak Hills or Kidges ” rise from 300 to 500 feet above the flat Paleo¬
zoic country to the north. The stones in the clay are often glaciated
fragments of limestone, with only a small proportion of crystalline pebbles

PROCEEDINGS.

507

or bowlders. In the deposits of the ridge native copper has been found ;
consequently the drift-carrying agent moved southeastward down Georgian
bay to the western end of the Oak Ridge and probably throughout its
whole length. North and east of Belleville there are many lower and
fragmentary ridges, having a trend somewhat across that of the Oak
Ridge. The glaciation of the region adds great difficulties to the expla¬
nation of the phenomena. The striation in the Ottawa valley, from Lake
Tamiscamang to near the junction with the St. Lawrence, is to the south¬
eastward with very rare local exceptions. On the Niagara escarpment,
between Georgian bay and Lake Ontario, from 1,600 down to 700 feet
above the sea, the striae are also to the southeast ; but between these
widely separated regions the surface markings of the rocks to the south
and west are obscured to the west and south by drift, and to the north
and east absent or rarely seen, although the crystalline rocks are com¬
monly rounded or very rarely polished — an absence that can only in
part be accounted for by subsequent atmospheric erosion. About the St.
Lawrence and Lake Ontario the striations are to the west and more par¬
ticularly to the southwest. Between the Ottawa river and Georgian bay
there is a high prominence which divided the drift-bearing currents ; but
north of Lake Huron the glaciation is very strongly marked and to the
southwest, with very rare local variations.

All the lobes of glaciation about the lakes, from Superior to the Ottawa
valley, radiate backward to the broad and open but low basin of James
(Hudson’s) bay. The watershed between the lakes and Hudson’s bay
during the epoch of the formation of the drift was several hundred feet
lower than now — it is about 1,600 feet at present — as shown by the
differential elevation of the beaches. For these conflicting phenomena of
the drift no explanation was offered, but one was rather sought for.

Air. C. A. Kenaston presented a paper on the Physical Features
of a Portion of the British Northwest.

316th Meeting. March 17, 1S88.

The President in the chair.

Fifty members and guests present.

Air. John AIurdoch presented a communication on An Arch
of Ice Formed by Horizontal Pressure.

[Abstract.]

On February 17, 1883, the heavy ice-pack off Point Barrow moved in
with great violence before a westerly gale, which blew with a velocity of
sixty miles an hour, and by forcing the grounder “ lava flow ” against the

508

PHILOSOPHICAL SOCIETY OF WASHINGTON.

edge of the level shore-ice produced at one point, half a mile west of the
International Polar Station, a permanent arch of ice. This arch was a
regular anticlinal uplift, with the ridge of the anticlinal at right angles to
the direction of the pressure, and, as was to he expected, was steeper on
the side toward the pressure and arched along the ridge. The span of
the arch was about 45 feet and its height in the clear 6 feet. The strip of
ice was 20 feet wide and 4 feet thick. The temperature at the time was
about 0° F.

Such arches must frequently be formed during heavy ice-pressure, but
it is apparently very rare for the pressure to stop in time to leave the arch
intact. A similar arch is mentioned by Dr. Kane ( “ First Grinnell Expe¬
dition,” p. 286), which was probably formed in the same way and not, as
he believed, by the bending over of an erect cake of ice.

Mr. H. G. Ogden read a paper on Distortion in Plane Table
Sheets.

[Abstract.]

A brief reference was made to the difficulties experienced in all classes
of precise work arising from the hygrometric properties of paper, and the
method employed by draughtsmen of shrinking paper on a board was
cited as the most ready means of overcoming them. The same devices
have been resorted to by topographers using the plane table, where they
had not the check afforded by the points of a triangulation previously
plotted. A general knowledge of the change in the form of the sheet, it
was asserted, however, permits a determination of the change that takes
place in the relations of all the fixed points marked upon it. The per¬
centage of expansion, it was stated, is less in the direction of the grain
of the paper than at right angles to that direction, or across the grain,
and the difference between these percentages is practically the “ distor¬
tion.” If the per cent, of increase should be the same in both direc¬
tions there would result only a change of scale. The change that takes
place was said to be uniform in each direction throughout the sheet, pro¬
vided the paper had been carefully made apd subjected to equal exposure,
and it was this fact that permitted an analysis of the disturbance in the
relations of the fixed points previously marked upon it, and the determi¬
nation of rules to guide the operator in the selection of points, or to elimi¬
nate the error of points not well conditioned.

The general result of changes that take place is a permanent contraction
that varies little except on exposure to excessive moisture. All sheets do
not change alike. In some no change is apparent, and in others the per¬
centage is so nearly the same in both directions that the “ distortion ” is
not appreciable. Experiments conducted at the Coast Survey office some
years ago, with strips of hand-made antiquarian paper backed on muslin,
were then cited, showing a “ permanent distortion ” in the strips that
was quite appreciable in a foot of paper, with a maximum distortion
about twice as large, but Mr. Ogden stated that he had frequently found a

!

PROCEEDINGS. 509

distortion much larger than these experiments indicated, in his experi¬
ence in the field.

A simple diagram with eight points marked upon it in the form of a par¬
allelogram, with an included figure showing the relations of the points
after the sheet had become distorted, was then referred to in illustration,
and the following rules announced :

1st. A station made with three points that are on the lines of contrac¬
tion, the resecting lines forming nearly right-angles at their intersection,
will give the true position in relation to all the points on the sheet.

2d. A similar condition of right-angle intersection at the station, but
the lines of resection forming diagonals to the lines of contraction, will
give the worst possible position for the station.

3d. A station made with three points on one of the “ lines of contrac¬
tion ” will give the correct orientation of the table.

4th. In eliminating errors of the points due to distortion, those situated
on the lines of contraction require no allowance, however distant.

The errors liable to arise in conducting an extensive plane-table trian¬
gulation were then referred to, and a method of correcting distances
measured on a distorted sheet was briefly explained, and the advisability
of constructing squares on all sheets before taking them into the field was
recommended.

Mr. William Hallock read a paper on The Flow of Solids.

[Abstract.]

The question whether solids possess any of the properties of liquids, or
what conditions will impart such properties to them, is one of ever-increas¬
ing interest and importance, alike to the student of molecular physics in
general or of the earth’s crust in particular.

The temperature rises as we penetrate the earth ; hence, if no other in¬
fluences affect the substances, the earth has a liquid center with this solid
crust.

Astronomical and mechanical facts seem to demand a considerable
rigidity.

Thompson has even demanded a rigidity equal to that of glass or steel.
Geological phenomena require a considerable liquid-like motion. With
rising temperature as we penetrate the earth’s crust, we also have rising
pressure, which probably increases the rigidity of the materials. Can
we not satisfy the demands of both geology and astronomy or mechanics ?

In the glaciers we have the grandest examples of the flow of solids.
Henri Tresca proved that lead and some other substances would flow and
follow the laws of flowing liquids. W. Spring has extended the list.
Mousson actually liquefied ice. These observations have led many to
advocate the idea of a liquefaction by pressure. Others, having in view
the results of Bunsen, Hopkins, Amagat, and others, maintain that the
melting-point is raised by pressure, the rigidity increased. Solids can be
made to flow ; hence that property cannot be used to characterize them.

510

PHILOSOPHICAL SOCIETY OF WASHINGTON.

The essential difference between a solid and a liquid is the relative ease
of rearrangement of the molecules. In liquids the change is very easy ; in
solids, very difficult. Rigidity may briefly be defined as the difficulty of
rearranging the molecules of the body in question. Can rigidity be re¬
duced by pressure ? A priori, it seems scarcely likely that forcing the
molecules nearer together can give them greater freedom of motion.
Generally rigidity is inversely as the intermodular distances. Ice is
abnormal and cannot be taken as evidence pro or con. Lead, copper, and
iron are all hardened by compression. All metals are harder, more rigid,
in the rolled or hammered state than when cast or annealed. The rigidity
of a steel pin was raised from 95,000 pounds to 110,000 pounds per square
inch by that pressure. Two experiments bear directly upon the question
and are convincing, although they gave unwelcome results. The first was
made under the Ordnance Department, and will be found fully given in
their report on “ Tests of Metals, etc., for 1884- ” A mixture of four parts
wax and one part tallow was used as a “ straining liquid ” in “ tangential
tests.” It was demonstrated that such a mixture would not transmit
pressure through a hole inch in diameter and 2| inches long when the
pressure at one end was 100,000 pounds per square inch and at the other
30,000 pounds or less, whereas 2,000 pounds was sufficient to overcome
all friction and force it through when there was no back pressure — that
is, the wax and tallow were rigid enough under pressure to maintain a
difference of 70,000 pounds per square inch (100,000 — 30,000) at the two
ends of that hole. The second experiment was also made with the testing
machine of the Ordnance Department at Watertown arsenal, Mass. (See
Am. Jour. Sci. (3), XXXIY, 1887, p. 280.) In that experiment silver coins
on top of beeswax and paraffine in the holder, instead of sinking through
a liquid under 6,000 atmospheres, were pressed so hard against the top of
the holder that their impression in the steel was easily seen and felt*
The paraffine and wax were rigid enough to impress silver into steel.

Such facts lead us to believe that pressure increases rigidity ; and when
we remember that the pressure at the center of the earth is millions of
atmospheres, a demand for the rigidity of steel seems trifling. What is
the rigidity of steel ? Simply a rigidity capable of resisting a deforming
force of 80,000 to 100,000 pounds per square inch. But distinguished geol¬
ogists have made the fatal mistake of using “ rigidity of steel ” and “ ab¬
solute rigidity ” as synonymous and equivalent terms. Nothing is more
misleading.

Upheavals and depressions and other geological phenomena are most
beautiful examples of the viscous flow of solids. The forces causing a
glacier to flow are trifling as compared with those generated in the earth’s
crust by shrinking, and undoubtedly to cause any body to flow we only
need sufficient force and time.

Can pressure impart to solids the ability to change crystallographically>
mineralogically, or chemically ? Prismatic sulphur naturally changes to
octahedral, and in many other cases changes take place under ordinary
conditions of pressure and temperature. We would scarcely expect press-

PROCEEDINGS.

511

nre, pure and simple, to cause a re-orientation of the axes of two crystal
fragments, even if it could perfectly weld them together ; nor would we
expect pressure without heat to impart the ability to complete the fusion
of a lump of barium sulphate in sodium carbonate, even after the reaction
had been well started by heat. Under these extremely complex condi¬
tions it is difficult to generalize. A welding together is not only theoret¬
ically hut practically possible between two chemically clean surfaces that
fit, hut any operation which requires an increase of freedom of the mole¬
cules would scarcely be assisted by pressure. Cohesion and adhesion I
believe to be identical, and molecular rather than molar.

The bearing of these ideas, if good, upon geological phenomena is some¬
what thus : By the action of pressure and time a sandstone or such mate¬
rial might be rendered compact and coherent, and even continuous, the
most plastic constituent yielding most, and the most viscous retaining
their shape most perfectly. Some’constituents might even appear to
have been fused and filled in between the rest ; certain crystallographic
changes might take place, but more than the slightest chemical effect of
the constituents upon each other is not to be expected. The case be¬
comes infinitely complex, and the subject for conjecture only, if the tem¬
perature is high. An indisputable fact in this connection is that many
more experiments are needed, and such that each effect can be ascribed
to its proper cause, and not, as at present, causes and effects treated col¬
lectively.

See, also, Science, vol. 11, p. 152 ; also , Am. J. Sci., vol. 34 (3. s.),
p. 277 ; also, ibid., vol. 36 (3. s.), p. 59.

317th Meeting. March 31, 1388.

The President in the chair.

Thirty-five members and guests present.

Mr. C. V. Riley presented a communication on Some Recent
Entomological Matters of International Concern. [This paper
has been published by the U. S. Department of Agriculture in
the Periodical Bulletin of the Division of Entomology for No¬
vember, 1888, vol. 1, No. 5, p. 126.]

Mr. H. A. Hazen presented a paper on “ Two Balloon Voy¬
ages.”

[Abstract.]

It was shown that with modern safety appliances ballooning was by no
means the dangerous pastime it was generally thought to be. Most of the
fatal accidents were due to the use of hot-air balloons or to carelessness on
the part of the aeronaut. The first voyage was from St. Louis, in the
“World” balloon, on June lf>, 1887 — a balloon of 160,000 cubic feet

512

PHILOSOPHICAL SOCIETY OF WASHINGTON.

capacity. It was intended to make the longest trip on record. After a
delay of 10 days, during which the currents were all from the east, the
start was made at 4.26 p. m. A probable eddy or back current in the air
caused a sudden drop of the balloon near the starting point, and nearly
400 pounds of ballast were thrown over. This caused the balloon to rise
to 15,700 feet, though it was not intended to go much above 1,500 feet.

Results Obtained During the “World” and “Great North West” Balloon

Voyages.

Height.

Temperature.

Eel. Hum.

Dew-point.

-7- PO.*

Ilann.

Feet.

W.

G.N.W.

W.

G.N.W.

W.

G.N.W.

W.

G.N.W.

500

91°

71°

39%

56%

62°

53°

100

98

1,000

89

68

40

53

61

50

97

93

87

1,500

87

67

41

56

60

49

96

85

2,000

85

65

42

51

58

47

86

80

80

2,500

82

60

43

58

57

46

84

78

3,000

81

61

45

54

58

45

87

73

73

3,500

79

60

47

57

57

45

85

74

4,000

77

56

50

66

56

46

84

73

64

4,500

75

55

53

69

56

44

83

72

5,000

73

53

56

53

56

36

81

53

56

5,500

72

51

58 *

24

55

12

80

26

6,000

70

53

60

13

54

2

79

13

52

6,500

69

54

62

11

53

1

77

12

7,000

67

54

64

11

52

2

76

12

48

7,500

65

66

52

71

8,000

64

65

50

65

42

8,500

63

63

47

58

9,000

61

62

45

51

38

9,500

58

63

45

50

10,000

55

70

45

49

34

10,500

51

80

44

48

11,000

48

82

43

47

31

11,500

47

84

42

46

12,000

46

86

41

45

27

12,500

45

84

39

40

13,000

45

56

32

30

25

13,500

43

52

27

25

14,000

41

45

21

19

23

14,500

40

31

10

14

15,000

40

35

14

15

21

15,500

37

33

10

13

*po = vapor tension at ground.
p = vapor tension at each height.

PROCEEDINGS.

513

At the height of 12,000 feet the neck of the balloon opened and large
quantities of gas flowed out, so that the sudden rise was immediately
followed by a more sudden fall, and to check the impetus and avoid
striking the ground, much more ballast was thrown out. This carried the
balloon up over 1,000 feet, and as the ballast was now exhausted a land¬
ing was made at Hoffman, Illinois, 54 miles from St. Louis.

The second voyage was made in the “ Great Northwest,” on August 13
1887, from Philadelphia, to a height of 7,070 feet.. Both of these voyages
showed a remarkable adaptability of the sling psychrometer for balloons*
In the most rapid ascent or descent the temperature was obtained within
about 1° F., while in other voyages errors of 15° have been noted, owing
to the sluggishness of the still thermometer. The scientific results were
of the highest interest, and show what may be hoped for meteorology
in the future of ballooning. The preceding table exhibits the more im¬
portant determinations.

Mr. Thomas Russell made a communication on Baudin’s
Vertical Minimum Thermometer a Marteau.

318th Meeting. April 14, 1888.

The President, Mr. Mallery, in the chair.
Forty-eight members and guests present.

Mr. C. O. Boutelle read a paper on Geodetic Azimuths.

[Abstract.]

1. Account of difficulties found in use of glass roofs for protection of
mercurial horizons, owing to unequal surfaces, densities, and other imper¬
fections shown by the best French plate glass while observing for azimuth
at Seaton station, in Washington, in December, 1868.

2. They were overcome in 1870 by the substitution of thin semi-trans¬
parent gauze for glass in all the more delicate class of observations where
a reflecting surface of mercury is used.

3. Geodetic observers have, as a rule, settled upon observations of close
circumpolar stars as the best method of obtaining good ' azimuths. The
simplest method is that of observations of Polaris in any part of its orbit.
Polaris is chosen because its place is best determined and because its size
and brilliancy make it peculiarly available for accurate pointing with field
telescopes.

4. A comparison was made between the results of observations made
upon Polaris for azimuth, in Spain, in 1879, where a striding-level was

66— Bull. Phil. Soc., Wash., Vol. 11.

514

PHILOSOPHICAL SOCIETY OF WASHINGTON.

used to insure verticality of the telescope, and similar observations made
in Wisconsin, in 1887, using a mercurial horizon protected by a gauze
cover.

5. A comparison was also made between the results of observations
made in the great Franco-Spanish quadrilateral of 1879, connecting the
European geodetic system with that of Africa, and the “ Davidson ”
quadrilateral of the U. S. Coast and Geodetic Survey in California.

6. In both instances, u while the observing skill might be considered
equal, superior methods and better atmospheric conditions gave some¬
what greater precision to the American results.

7. In conclusion, American observers were urged to supreme exertion to
keep pace with equally earnest brother- workers abroad, both in theory
and practice — educating the hand to become the skilled servant of the
head.

Mr. Simon Newcomb then presented a communication on the
Fundamental Concepts of Physics.

[Abstract.]

The subject was introduced with a twofold objection to the maxim that
a body cannot act where it is not. In the first place, the question how
and where a body can act can be determined only by observation, and if
we find by observation that it does act where it is not, that settles the
question ; but, secondly and mainly, we do not know where a body is
except by its action. When the hand comes in contact with a material
object we infer that the object is there solely from the fact that the resist¬
ing force is exercised against the motion of the hand. It is commonly
supposed that this resisting force is the effect of a repulsion exerted by
all bodies upon others which come sufficiently near them. If we admit
that such a repulsive force can be exerted through a space a millionth of
a millimeter, we may with equal force conclude that it may extend
through the celestial spaces.

The remainder of the paper was principally devoted to the discussion
of the probability of forming a satisfactory theory of the constitution of
matter and of the nature of such physical agents as light, heat, and elec¬
tricity. The suggestion was thrown out that it might be forever impos¬
sible to form a rational theory of these things, owing to the fact that our
senses afford no means of seeing what is going on in the ultimate parts of
matter. We cannot conceive of any physical change which does not
imply a change of something in space, but we may have to admit that
changes may take place in the chemical qualities of bodies without any
such change.

PROCEEDINGS.

515

319th Meeting. April 28, 1888.

President Mallery in the chair.

Twenty-five members and guests present.

The President announced to the Society the death of Thomas
Hampson, on April 28, and that of Emil Bessels, on March 30,
1888. He also announced the election and acceptance to mem¬
bership of Robert Bowne Warder.

The following communications were presented :

On the Origin of Primary Quartz in Basalt, by Mr. J. P.
Iddings. [Published in the Am. Jour. Sci., vol. 36 (3. s.),

p. 208.]

Some Peculiarities in Personal Equation, by Mr. J. R. East¬
man.

[Abstract.]

In general, transit, observers who use the chronograph may be divided
into two classes : First, those who make their record an appreciable time
after the phenomena, and, second, those wTho intend to have their record
effected at the instant the transit takes place, and therefore necessarily
begin the process of making the record before the star reaches the transit
thread. In the case of the first, class the observer waits until he sees the
star bisected by the thread and then makes his record, which occurs
always later than the time of actual transit. The magnitude of this error
depends upon the times required by the brain, nerves, and muscles and
by the recording apparatus to act. For the same recording instrument
the instrumental time is the same for all observers. The variability is
due to the brain, nerves, and muscles. For all stars except very faint ones
the error of the first class of observers does not seem to vary. So far as
investigations have been carried, it is found that the errors of the second
class of observers vary with the magnitude of the star. Large stars are
observed earlier than small ones ; so that if a large star precedes a small
one, the observed interval is too great ; if the order is reversed, the interval
is too small.

Such work introduced into a fundamental catalogue would vitiate the
results, and it would be impossible to determine the ultimate effect of
such work without knowing the exact amount of error introduced by each
observer. A discussion of the grouping of the large stars in every funda¬
mental catalogue leads to the conclusion that it is more than probable that
a large portion of the catalogue errors, whose elimination is attempted by

516

PHILOSOPHICAL SOCIETY OF WASHINGTON.

corrections obtained from the formula m cos a-\-n sin a, were introduced
by observers whose records were made too early.

Another peculiar form of personal equation arises in the observation of
very faint stars, such as can be seen only in a dark field and observed
with bright threads.

Abnormal personal equations in such cases have been suspected for
some time, and an investigation, lately undertaken but not yet completed,
shows that all classes of observers have a personal equation for such stars
different from their ordinary errors and one that cannot be inferred from
those obtained from the work on ordinary stars.

A communication was also presented on Cambrian Rocks in
Tennessee, by Mr. Cooper Curtice.

320th Meeting. May 12, 1888.

President Mallery in the chair.

Seventy-five members and guests present.

The President announced the death of H. F. Walling, at
Cambridge, Massachusetts, on April 8, 1888.

It was also announced that the meeting of May 24 would be
the last meeting of the Society before the customary summer
recess.

Mr. W. A. Croffut, upon the invitation of the Society, gave a
series of Experiments in Hypnotism.

Dr. G. Stanley Hall, who was also present by invitation,
followed Mr. Croffut with some remarks and experiments upon
the same subject.

321st Meeting. May 26, 1888.

President Mallery in the chair.

Thirty members and guests present.

The Chair announced the death, on May 24, of Ezekiel
Brown Elliott, a founder of the Society, and stated that the
General Committee desired to refer appropriate action to the
full meeting of the Society.

PROCEEDINGS.

517

On motion of Mr. Harkness, it was Voted that a committee of
three be appointed by the Chair to draft suitable resolutions
and present them at the first meeting of the next session.

The Chair appointed Messrs. Harkness, Taylor, and Wood¬
ward.

The following communications were presented :

The Sphygmograph, by Mr. R. T. Edes. [The substance of
this paper has been published under the title “A New Clinical
Sphygmograph,” in the Journal of the American Medical Asso¬
ciation, August 18, 1888.]

The Recent Mount Vernon, Ill., Tornado, by Mr. H. A. Hazen.

[Abstract.]

This tornado was unusually interesting, in that it possessed in a marked
degree most of the characteristics of a typical tornado, and in that it oc¬
curred at a very early date (February 19) for this latitude. A chart was
presented giving the distribution of the meteorological elements just pre¬
ceding the tornado, which occurred at about 4.50 p. m. (central). A low
area had moved at a velocity of about thirty miles per hour from the north
of Texas, and at 2 p. m. was central at the point of meeting of the bound¬
aries of Iowa, Missouri, and Illinois. About 300 miles to the southeast of
this point, in the region of uniform and fresh southerly winds, with
southerly upper currents, was a region of narrow width, but nearly 300
miles long, in which a large number of very destructive storms raged. The
earliest was at Houston, Missouri, and the latest at Russellville, Illinois.
An approximate velocity of 70 miles per hour was determined.

A little later another tornado started about 200 miles to the southeast
of the first and with its path parallel to it. The destruction at Mt. Ver¬
non was very great; 35 people killed and over $500,000 in property
destroyed. The following is a brief rSsutn^ of the characteristics of this
tornado :

1st. It occurred about 300 miles to the southeast of an area of low
pressure and in a region of rather brisk uniform southerly winds.

2d. The temperature was abnormally high for this region.

3d. Its motion was about 70 miles per hour, while that of the low area
was only 30.

4th. There were intense electrical disturbances all along its path.

5th. The upper currents in all this region continued from the south or
from a southerly direction.

6th. It seemed to be an independent formation suddenly thrust in upon
the southeast border of the low area.

518

PHILOSOPHICAL SOCIETY OF WASHINGTON.

Mr. Merwin-Marie Snell presented a communication —
Observations on Certain Hypnotic Experiments of the Comte
de Maricourt.

Mr. E. D. Cope presented a communication on The Relation
of Consciousness to Animal Motion.

322d Meeting. October 13, 1888.

The President in the chair.

Thirty-five members and guests present.

The President announced the election to membership of
Leland Ossian Howard and Louis Agricola Bauer.

The following amendment to the constitution was offered by
Mr. Asaph Hall : In Rule 3 strike out the words “ the ex-
Presidents of the Society.”

In accordance with the constitution, this was laid over for
discussion and action at the annual meeting.

The following communications were presented :

On the Solar Parallax and its Related Constants, by Mr. Wil¬
liam Harkness. [Published in Washington Observations for
1885, Appendix III.]

Chemical Action between Solids, by Mr. William Hallock.

Note on Certain Surfaces Feebly Sensitive to Light, by Mr. J.
W. Osborne. (Read by Mr. Hallock.)

323d Meeting. October 27, 1888.

The President in the chair.

Thirty-nine members and guests present.

The special committee appointed on May 26, 1888, to draft
resolutions commemorative of the late E. B. Elliott, presented,

PROCEEDINGS. §19

through its chairman, Mr. William Harkness, the following re¬
port, which was adopted and the committee discharged :

“ The committee appointed to take suitable action respecting
u the death of our late member, Mr. E. B. Elliott, beg leave
“ to report that on account of the trite and perfunctory character
“ of the resolutions usually passed on such occasions they are
“ of opinion that it would be better to omit them entirely,
“ and to substitute in their stead a suitable biographical notice
“ of Mr. Elliott, to be published in the Bulletin of the Society.

“ The committee are further of the opinion that in the future
“ such biographical notices should be published in the case of
“ all deceased members of the Society, and for that reason the
“ committee offer the following resolution :

“ Resolved , That in the future suitable biographical notices of
“ all deceased members of this Society shall be published in our
“ Bulletin, and it shall be the duty of the President in each
“ case to appoint a member of the Society to prepare such
“ notice.

‘‘(Signed) Wm. Harkness.

“(Signed) R. S. Woodward.

“ October 27, 1888.”

Mr. J. W. Powell then read a paper entitled The Laws of
Corrasion. [Abstract published in Science , vol. 12, p. 229.]

Remarks on this communication were made by Messrs. Ward,
Kenaston, and Greely.

[Abstract.]

Mr. Ward said that while making the descent of the Missouri river in
the summer of 1883, from Fort Benton to Bismarck, he had been inter¬
ested in studying the phenomena of lateral corrasion, and had observed
that this was the only influence at work at that season of the year in
causing the well-known turbidity of the water of that river. The river
consists of a succession of curves or “ bends,” in which, on one side or the
other, it is perpetually wearing away the flood plain. The lateral corra¬
sion takes place only on one side at a time, namely, on the side of maxi¬
mum curvature. On the other side deposition is going on and bars are
formed. The current is most rapid on the corrading side and regularly
diminishes in velocity from one bank to the other. This fact, Mr. Ward
said, did not seem in harmony with the law laid down by Major Powell,

520

PHILOSOPHICAL SOCIETY OF WASHINGTON.

that corrasion and deposition could not occur at the same part of a stream
at the same time. The valley of the Missouri consists of a flood plain
which has been many times eroded and deposited, and this work of simul¬
taneous erosion and deposition of the same material is still going on, not
merely at different parts of the river, but on opposite sides of it at the
same point.

In reply to further remarks by Major Powell, Mr. Ward stated that at
the season of the year of which he was speaking there were no other
influences whatever operating to produce the result, as all the streams
were so nearly dry that only clear alkaline water flowed in them.

Mr. B. E. Fernow then read a paper entitled Methods Used
in Determining the Influence of Forests upon Quantity and
Frequency of Rains.

324fh Meeting. November 10, 1888.

The President in the chair.

Fifty members and guests present.

The President announced the election * and acceptance of
membership of Erasmus Darwin Preston.

In accordance with the resolution presented at the 323d meet¬
ing the following gentlemen were appointed to prepare bio¬
graphical sketches of members who have died during the year :

Mr. Wm. B. Taylor, notice of Dr. Peter Parker, died January
10, 1888.

Mr. W. H. Dali, notice of Dr. Emil Bessels, died March 30,
1888.

Capt. C. O. Boutelle. notice of Mr. Henry F. Walling, died
April 8, 1888.

Mr. H. W. Henshaw, notice of Mr. Thomas Hampson, died
April 22, 1888.

Prof. Wm. Harkness, notice of Mr. E. B. Elliott, died May 24,
1888.

Mr. I. C. Russell, notice of Prof. R. D. Irving, died May 30,
1888.

The programme for the evening consisted of a symposium,
participated in by Messrs. Gannett, Greely, and Fernow, upon
the question, Do Forests Influence Rainfall?

PROCEEDINGS.

521

325th Meeting. November 24, 1888.

The President in the chair.

Thirty members and guests present.

Messrs. Hazen and Abbe presented communications upon the
Influence of Forests upon Rainfall.

The following is an abstract of Mr. Hazen’s communication :

[Abstract.]

This question, discussed at the last meeting of the Society, is of vast
economic importance and should be thoroughly investigated. The crucial
test would be to take an extended forest region and carefully determine
the difference in precipitation within and without the forest. Such an
investigation as presented to the Society shows a tendency to an increase
of about ten per cent, in the forest. It is very evident that fogs tend to
linger much longer over a forest than a plain, and this increase of moist¬
ure must give more rain. The forest cannot attract rain, but it often
prevents the evaporation of moisture and a desiccation of the air, such as
takes place over a desert, and in consequence the rain-drops when formed
are not dried up as they descend.

An attempt has been made to determine this influence by a comparison
of total annual rainfall at a large number of stations, on the supposition
that the forest has gradually increased, and hence there should be an
increase of rain in the last half of a series of years, even if these years
did not embrace the same period. At Augusta, Illinois, for example, the
records extended from 1843 to 1860, while at Davenport, Iowa, they were
from 1861 to 1885, and so on. If forests have increased steadily from
1843 on, and if no other influences have affected the rain, this discussion
might be accepted as showing a purely negative effect from forests. We
find, however, that there is a regular secular variation, which is far
greater than the influence of the forest. Suppose a minimum epoch
about the year 1860 ; then by the two series above we would have had a
decided decrease by the first and just as decided increase from the sec¬
ond, neither of which, however, would be due to the forest. Taking the
fluctuations at a station (St. Louis) having a long series of years, it was
possible to predict, from the intervals of time at each of the twenty and
more stations discussed by Mr. Gannett, which station would give an
increase and which the reverse.

It should be noted that vegetation and a deciduous forest can, in gen¬
eral, influence rain only during the growing season, and if the other
seasons are taken they will serve to mask the effect sought. We have
several stations which have a record of about forty-eight years. Taking
the observations during May, June, July, August, and September, a table
67-Bull. Phil. Soc.s Wash., Vol. 11.

522

PHILOSOPHICAL SOCIETY OF WASHINGTON.

was presented showing that each station gave a diminution of rainfall
during the latter half of the long period. This was due to the fact that
the secular variation reached a minimum about 1877 and the forest had
little or no influence. The forestry reports from Illinois show, in the
region covered by their records, about- three trees to the acre, which indi¬
cates plainly that they had no effect on the precipitation one way or the
other. We may consider that forests keep back the precipitation from
rivers, increase the humidity and the number of springs, and by actual
observation augment the rainfall slightly, and hence should be carefully
conserved all over the country.

Mr. Gilbert read a paper upon the Problem of the Soaring of
Birds. [Abstract published in Science , vol. 12, p. 267, December
7, 1888.]

326th Meeting. December 8, 1888.

By courtesy of the trustees of the Columbian University the
meeting was held in the lecture-room of the University build¬
ing. About 200 ladies and gentlemen were present, including,
by special invitation, members of the various scientific societies
of Washington and members of the Cosmos Club.

Vice-President Eastman presided.

The retiring President of the Society, Colonel Garrick Mal-
lery, presented an address bearing the title Philosophy and
Specialties. [Printed in full upon pages 3-40 of this volume.]

327th Meeting. December 22, 1888.

EIGHTEENTH ANNUAL MEETING.

The President, Mr. Mallery, in the chair.

Thirty-five members present.

The minutes of the 310th, 325th, and 326th meetings were
read and approved.

The Chair announced the election and acceptance of member¬
ship of Daniel Currier,. Chapman.

The report of the Secretaries was read and accepted.

PROCEEDINGS.

523

ANNUAL REPORT OF THE SECRETARIES.

Washington, D. C., December 22, 1888.

To the Philosophical Society of Washington :

We have the honor to present the following report for 1888 :

The last annual report brought the record of membership
down to December 21, 1887, at which date the number of
active members was . . 189

This number has been increased by the addition of 11 new
members and by the return of 1 absent member. It has
been diminished by the departure of 3 members, by the
resignation of 2, by the dropping of 6 for non-payment of
dues, and by the death of 5 members. There has thus

been a net decrease of . 4

And the active membership is now . 185

The roll of new members is :

L. A. Bauer. G. H. Eldridge. E. D. Preston.

Andrew Braid. B. E. Fernow. 0. H. Tittmann.

D. C. Chapman. L. 0. Howard. R. B. Warder.

R. T. Edes. Arthur Keith.

The roll of deceased members is : '

F. V. Hayden, died December 22, 1887.

Peter Parker, died January 10, 1888.

Emil Bessels, died March 30, 1888.

Thomas Hampson, died April 22, 1888.

H. F. Walling, died April 8, 1888.

E. B. Elliott, died May 24, 1888.

R. D. Irving, died May 30, 1888.

Of these five were, on the active list and two, Messrs. Hayden
and Walling, on the absent list.

There have been 17 meetings, of which 15 have been for the
presentation and discussion of papers, one for the President’s
annual address, and one for the annual reports and election of
officers. The average attendance (at the 15 meetings for the
presentation of papers) has been 40. Also the Philosophical

524

PHILOSOPHICAL SOCIETY OF WASHINGTON.

Society, in conjunction with the Anthropological and Biological
Societies, held on January 11a joint meeting commemorative of
the life and scientific work'of Professor S. F. Baird. This meet¬
ing, as well as that for the annual address of the retiring Presi¬
dent, was held in the lecture-room of the Columbian University ;
all other meetings in the assembly hall of the Cosmos Club.

There have been 12 meetings of the Mathematical Section ;
average attendance, 14. All meetings of the section were held
in the Columbian University.

In the general meetings 43 communications have been pre¬
sented by 30 members and 5 guests; in the Mathematical Sec¬
tion, 27 communications by 16 members. Altogether 70 com¬
munications have been made by 44 members and 5 guests. The
number of members and guests who have participated in the
discussions is 45. The total number who have contributed to
the proceedings is 62, or 30 per cent, of the present active mem¬
bership.

The General Committee has held 16 meetings ; average attend¬
ance, 14 ; the smallest attendance at any meeting being 11 and
the largest 22.

When the place of meeting of the Society was changed last
year from the Army Medical Museum to the assembly hall of
the Cosmos Club, the rules respecting attendance of guests were
modified to the extent of tendering a general invitation to all
members of the Club to attend the meetings of the Society. This
invitation has affected the average attendance by increasing the
number of guests.

To its small stock of furniture the Society has added during
the year a magic lantern of good quality and all its accompany¬
ing appliances.

There has also been formed this year a Joint Commission of
the Scientific Societies of Washington to consider matters of
common interest. The initiative in organizing such commission
was taken in the General Committee early in the year. As
organized, the commission consists of three delegates each from
the Anthropological, Biological, Chemical, National Geographic,
and Philosophical Societies.

The General Committee of the Society has agreed to unite in
the preparation and publication of a joint directory of the five
named Scientific Societies. It has also decided to make impor-

PROCEEDINGS.

525

tant changes in the publications of the Society, and for this
purpose has adopted a complete new set of rules respecting
publication.

Respectfully submitted :

Marcus Baker,

William C. Winlock,

Secretaries.

The report of the Treasurer was read, accepted, and referred
to an auditing committee consisting of Messrs. H. G. Ogden, G.
W. Hill and W J McGee.

REPORT OF THE TREASURER.

The report which I shall presently have the honor to submit
to you exhibits the total receipts and disbursements for the fiscal
year which ends with this meeting.

The assets of the Society consist of —

Two Government bonds, $1,000 and $500, at 4 per

cent . $1,500 00

One Government bond, $1,000, at 4? per cent . 1,000 00

Six Cosmos Club mortgage Bonds, at 5 per cent . 600 00

Cash with Riggs & Co . 956 26

Unpaid dues . 230 00

Total . $4,286^26

The expense of printing the Bulletin this year was materially
increased, owing to the publication of the complete and valuable
index of the entire series of volumes which accompanied it.
This volume of the Bulletin, being volume X, was promptly
issued upon publication to all members who were entitled to
receive it, and to such Societies and scientific journals as are on
the exchange list of the Philosophical Society.

Robert Fletcher,

Treasurer.

The Treasurer in Account with The Philosophical Society of Washington .

526

PHILOSOPHICAL SOCIETY OF WASHINGTON.

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Washington, December 22, 1888.

PROCEEDINGS.

527

After the announcement of the names of members entitled to
vote, in accordance with Standing Rule 14, a recess was taken
to enable members in arrears to pay the annual dues to the
Treasurer.

Ballots being cast for President, Mr. Eastman was found to
have a majority of votes and was declared elected, and at the
request of the retiring President assumed the chair.

Upon motion of Mr. Kidder, unanimous consent was granted
to take up, out of order, the amendment to the Constitution
offered by Mr. Hall on October 13. Remarks in favor of the
proposed amendment were made by Messrs. Hall and Hill,
and in opposition to it by Messrs. Baker and Kidder. A
rising vote upon the amendment was then taken and, there
being 18 votes in favor and 13 against it, the amendment was
declared lost.

The election of officers was then continued with the following
result :

President . J. R. Eastman.

Vice-Presidents

| C. E. Dutton. G. K. Gilbert.

G. B. Goode. PIenry H. Bates.

Treasurer

Robert Fletcher.

Secretaries . W. C. Winlock. J. S. Diller.

MEMBERS OF THE GENERAL COMMITTEE.

W. H. Dall.

J. H. Kidder.

C. V. Riley.

R. S. Woodward.

G. W

Lester F. Ward.
F. W. Clarke.

H. M. Paul.
Marcus Baker.
Hill.

While the balloting was in progress Mr. Baker, at the request
of the Chair, explained to the Society the new rules adopted by
the General Committee for the publication of the Bulletin.

The rough minutes of the meeting were read and corrected^
and the Society then adjourned.

528

PHILOSOPHICAL SOCIETY OP WASHINGTON.

GENERAL MEETINGS.
1889.

328th Meeting. January 5, 1889.

President Eastman in the chair.

Forty-one members present.

The Chair announced the following standing committees :

On Communications:

G. K. Gilbert, Chairman. G. Brown Goode. Henry H. Bates.
On Publications :

Robert Fletcher, Chairman. Marcus Baker. W. C. Winlock.

The Auditing Committee reported, through its chairman, Mr.
Ogden, as follows :

Washington, January 2, 1889.

To the Philosophical Society of Washington :

The undersigned, a committee appointed at the annual meet¬
ing of the Philosophical Society of Washington, December 22,
1888, for the purpose of auditing the accounts of the Treasurer,
respectfully report as follows :

We have examined the statement of receipts, including dues,
sales, and interest, and find the same to be correct and satis¬
factory. We have examined the statement of disbursements,
compared it with the vouchers, and found that they agree. We
have examined the returned checks, which agree with the
vouchers and with the bank book, the balance of which, as re¬
ported by Riggs & Co. on December 27, 1888, was $956.26,
agreeing with the Treasurer’s report. We have examined the
United States and other bonds belonging to the Society and
find them to be in amount and character as represented in the
Treasurer’s report, aggregating $3,100.

PIerbert G. Ogden.

G. W. Hill.

W J McGee.

PROCEEDINGS.

529

By appointment, the following obituary notices were prepared
and read :

Of Peter Parker, by W. B. Taylor, published in this volume,
pages 491-492.

Of E. B. Elliott, by Wm. Harkness, published in this volume,
pages 470-473.

Of F. V. Hayden, by A. C. Peale, published in this volume,
pages 476-478.

Of Roland D. Irving, by I. C. Russell, published in this vol¬
ume, pages 478-480.

Of Thomas Hampson, by H. W. Henshaw, published in this
volume, pages 474-475.

Of Emil Bessels, by W. H. Dali, published in this volume,
pages 465-466.

Mr. Bailey Willis made a communication on The Mechanism
of the Overthrust Fault.

[Abstract.]

Mr. Willis referred briefly to the views of Professor H. D. Rogers, pub¬
lished in 1842, and to those of Professor Heim, of Zurich, published in
1878 and again in 1888, concerning the formation of faults intimately
related to folds, which frequently arise in the steeper side of an anticlinal,
and which may be termed overthrust faults. Professor Heim’s explana¬
tion of phenomena of this nature rests upon the fact observed in the Alps,
that the inverted limb of an anticlinal is stretched or is even crushed
between the anticlinal and synclinal cores of an overturned fold moving
in opposite directions. This explanation fails to account for faults in the
Appalachians, because the essential fact of squeezed beds has not been
found.

The Appalachian sedimentary series from Cambrian upwards is com¬
posed of strata differing greatly in their capacity for resistance to hori¬
zontal thrust. These variations of rigidity occur in the same stratum
originally in the same horizontal plane, and also in different strata super¬
imposed one on the other. It follows that a rigid stratum may not fold
at the place where a vertically adjacent flexible stratum does fold ; the
rigid stratum may ride forward on its lowest bedding plane until it
reaches an axis, anticlinal or synclinal, in which both beds have suffered
flexure. The forward movement will then shear across the beds on the
opposite dip, producing a fault.

The facts relating to this hypothesis were illustrated by photographs
of folded strata and of models ; the latter showed differential folding and
faulting produced in layers of wax by horizontal thrust.

68— Bull. Phil. Soe., Wash., Vol. 11.

530

PHILOSOPHICAL SOCIETY OF WASHINGTON.

329th Meeting. January 19, 1889.

President Eastman in the chair.

Fifty-one members and guests present.

Mr. W. O. Atwater, by invitation, made a communication
on American and European Food Consumption, compared from
physiological and economic standpoints.

This paper has not been published in full. Its principal data
as to statistics of dietaries are given under the title “ Tables of
Foods and Dietaries,” by Professor W. 0. Atwater, in the National
Medical Dictionary, edited by Dr. J. S. Billings, and published
by Lea Brothers & Co., Philadelphia, 1890 ; vol. 1, pp. xxxv-xl,
with two charts.

330th Meeting. February 2, 1889.

President Eastman in the chair.

Thirty-seven members and guests present.

The Chair announced the election to membership of Charles
William Hayes ; also the action of the General Committee with
reference to the minutes of the general meetings of the Society
as follows : “ It is the sense of the General Committee that it is
not desirable that the Secretary should be required to make ab¬
stracts of the remarks upon and discussion of papers.”

Mr. C. R. Van Hise, by invitation, made a communication on
The Penokee Iron-Bearing Series of Rocks.

The paper will be published in full as part of United States
Geological Survey Monograph, entitled “ The Penokee Iron-
Bearing Series of Northern Wisconsin and Michigan,” by R. D.
Irving and C. R. Van Hise. 4to, 1890. Washington : Govern¬
ment Printing Office.

Mr. W J McGee read a paper on Rock Gas and related Bitu¬
mens.

The paper will he published in full as an introduction to
United States Geological Survey Bulletin No. 63, Natural Gas
Districts of Indiana, by Arthur John Phinney. Published also
in part in The Forum (8vo, New York, July, 1889, vol. 7, No. 5,
pp. 553-566) under the title of “ The World’s Supply of Fuel.”

PROCEEDINGS.

531

331st Meeting. February 16, 1889.

President Eastman in the chair.

Thirty-three members present.

The Chair announced the election to membership of Messrs.
Cosmos Mindeleff and Victor Mindeleff.

Mr. C. 0. Boutelle read an obituary notice of Mr. H. F.
Walling, published in full in this volume, pp. 466-470.

Mr. I. C. Russell made a communication on Sub-Aerial De¬
posits of the Arid Region of North America, published in full
in the Geological Magazine, 8vo, London, 1889, July and August,
vol. 6, No. 7, pp. 289-295; No. 8, pp. 342-350.

Mr. Swan M. Burnett made a communication entitled Ex¬
hibition of Models Showing Refraction by Cylinders with their
Axes Crossed at Various Angles.

332d Meeting. March 2, 1889.

President Eastman in the chair.

Forty-eight members and guests present.

Mr. H. V. Wurdeman read a paper on Color Perception.

Mr. S. P. Langley read a paper on the Observation of Sudden
Phenomena.

Published in full in this volume, pp. 41-50 ; also in : American
Journal of Science, 8vo, New Haven, 1889, August, vol. 38,
No. 224, pp. 93-100.

333d Meeting. March 16, 1889.

President Eastman in the chair.

Twenty-seven members and guests present.

The Chair announced the election to membership of Mr. John
George Hagen.

Mr. J. S. Diller made a communication on The History of
Porphyritic Quartz in Eruptive Rocks.

532

PHILOSOPHICAL SOCIETY OF WASHINGTON.

Mr. C. D. Walcott made a communication on The Strati¬
graphic Position of the Olenellus Fauna in North America and
Europe.

Published in full in the American Journal of Science, 8vo, New
Haven, 1889, May and July, vol. 37, No. 221, pp. 374-392;
vol. 38, No. 223, pp. 29-42.

334th Meeting. March 30, 1889.

President Eastman in the chair.

Fifty-two members and guests present.

The Chair announced the election to membership of Mr. John
Elfreth Watkins.

Mr. R. S. Woodward presented a communication entitled
“ Some Mechanical Conditions of the Earth’s Mass.”

[Abstract.]

It was the object of this communication to adduce the grounds for the
opinion that the earth is a viscous body, whose mass behaves under the
action of long-continued forces essentially as if it were fluid, and is there¬
fore subject to internal pressures which differ little from hydrostatic
pressures.

It was first explained that, independently of any hypothesis as to the
actual arrangement of the earth’s mass, five important properties de¬
pendent on that arrangement are accurately known. These properties are
the surface shape, the surface density, the mean density, the relation of
the moments of inertia expressed by the constant of precession, and the
relation of the moments of inertia derivable from the moon’s motion.
Collectively these properties require a peculiar symmetry of distribution in
the mass and a marked increase in density with depth below the surface ;
they are so many conditions which must be satisfied by any hypothesis
concerning the arrangement of the constituents of the mass.

Turning, then, to the question of pressures to which the earth’s crust
would be subject if it were self-supporting like a dome, it was shown that
such pressures would be thirty times the crushing strength of the finest
cast steel, or six hundred to one thousand times the crushing strength of
granite and limestone. The conclusion drawn from these figures was
that the upper strata rest with their full weight, substantially, upon those
below, producing perfect continuity of matter (probably in the amorphous
state) at no great distance from the surface, and generating pressures
throughout all but the superficial portions of the mass which differ in no
material degree from hydrostatic or fluid pressures.

PROCEEDINGS.

533

It was shown that numerical estimates of the magnitudes of these in¬
ternal pressures require an hypothesis as to the increase of density with
depth or as to the relation of density to pressure, but that any hypothesis
not inconsistent with the above-named conditions will give pressures in¬
creasing rapidly with the depth to about two or three million atmospheres
per square inch at the earth’s center. Of the various hypotheses which
have been made, the so-called Laplacian law was instanced as of special
interest, and a table showing the corresponding variation of density,
gravity, and pressure with depth from the earth’s surface was exhibited.

Mr. J. Elfreth Watkins made a communication on The
Origin of the Railway Systems of England and America, and
the Causes of their Differences.

Published in part under the title “ Development of the Ameri¬
can Rail and Track.” Trans. Am. Soc. Civil Eng., 8vo, New York,
April, 1890, vol. 22.

335th Meeting. April 13, 1839.

President Eastman in the chair.

Forty-six members and guests present.

The Chair announced the death, on April 8, of Dr. J. H.
Kidder, and remarked upon the great loss to the Society, as Dr.
Kidder was ever active in furthering its best interests.

Mr. David P. Todd made a communication on Results of the
Total Solar Eclipse of January 1, 1889.

Mr. W J McGee made a cbmmunication on The Evolution of
Serials Published by Scientific Societies.

Published in this volume, pp. 221-246.

Mr. Abbe made the following remarks upon the paper pre¬
sented by Mr. Woodward at the last meeting :

[Abstract.]

As I was not present at the last meeting, I take the liberty now of
saying that I do not see how we can decline to accept the figures and
statements which have just been given us by Mr. Woodward.

Similar statements have been made by several other eminent and able
students of the subject during the past ten years, and it remains only for
us to follow these results up to their logical conclusions.

Absolute rigidity, limpidity, and elasticity do not exist in nature.

534

PHILOSOPHICAL SOCIETY OF WASHINGTON.

The matter we have to deal with is all of it plastic and viscous. The
pressure of a quick blow makes a glass rod give out a musical ring, and a
harder, quicker blow may break it to fragments ; but the same pressure
long continued will produce neither sound nor fragments, but will mold
the glass into any shape we please.

It is evident that every form of matter as we know it on this earth be¬
comes viscous fluid under the influence of either temperature or pressure,
and the pressures within the earth’s surface at a comparatively short
depth are sufficient to make all known rocks behave like viscous fluids,
without any special increase of temperature.

It is therefore evident that our earth, under the influence of the cen¬
trifugal force due to its diurnal rotation, would assume its present sphe¬
roidal shape without the necessity of being any more truly a fluid than
it is at the present moment.

We thus remove what to me has always seemed a great difficulty, both
from geological and from thermo-dynamic considerations, namely, the
assumption that the earth was at one time a molten globe. There is
evidently no longer any need of making such assumption, and in fact
still other considerations that I need not now enumerate have of late
made me feel the propriety of wholly rejecting this idea as a necessity in
any cosmogony.

It is now evident that any irregular meteoric mass that is a mixture of
materials like those of our earth, and as large as it, must under the in¬
fluence of its own gravitation, assume a spherical form and have a greater
density at its center than its circumference, owing not only to the presence
there of denser forms of matter, but especially to the general compression
due to pressure. On the other hand, irregularities would continue to exist
on the surface, but to such an extent only as is allowed by the fact that
the pressures there are less, and consequently the relative rigidity greater.

Again, such a viscous, but rough-surfaced, globe entering the solar sys¬
tem and acquiring a rotation would, under the long-continued influence
of its own axial rotation, assume a spheroidal shape.

In doing this the change of shape from sphere to spheroid would, through
internal friction and stress, produce considerable internal heat, which I
would designate as its initial heat. The diurnal rotation of such a globe
in the presence of the sun and moon also gives rise to the bodily tides
recently investigated by Mr. G. IT. Darwin and Sir William Thomson.
Sea water is so limpid that it can have an appreciable diurnal tide, but
the diurnal bodily tides are too rapid to produce large deformations in
the very viscous, dense body of our earth ; however, they can produce
temporary strains, whose effect I will explain at some future date. On the
other hand, the fortnightly lunar tide, however, can produce a continual
deformation of the viscous and plastic mass of our earth, and give rise to
an internal friction such as occurs in every fluid when the molecules
move past each other. This friction we recognize in another form as in¬
ternal heat, so that in fact lunar gravitation (and possibly solar gravita-

PROCEEDINGS.

535

tion to a slight extent), acting upon the earth to produce internal tidal
friction, are converted into heat, and thus we have a steady development
of heat in the interior of the earth to supply what is lost by radiation.

I do not suppose this heat sufficient to melt the rocks, nor do we in
fact need to assume any high temperature in the interior of the earth.
We have at present all the fluidity we need in the central portion of our
planet. In the lower portion of our outer crust any breaks in the rocks
are quickly healed by a welding process ; it is in the quasi-viscous outer
portion of the crust where pressures are less and rigidity slightly greater,
and where innumerable faults break up the solid strata into fragments
that slide on each other like the molecules of the small masses that we
experiment on in our laboratories, that a steady tidal action produces
the strains that continually cause new faults and crumples with their
accompanying earthquakes, and is therefore most efficient in producing
sensible heat.

Our observed earth temperatures show an increase of one degree Fah¬
renheit for fifty feet of descent, but it is a very violent hypothesis that
assumes this increase to continue at this rate for many miles in depth.

The hardest materials that we know of would become plastic at ordinary
surface temperatures and under the pressures prevailing at a depth of fifty
miles ; but with a slowly increasing temperature, they would become very
plastic at a temperature of 1,000° Fahrenheit and the pressure prevail¬
ing at a less depth, say of twenty miles ; so that the latter is the greatest
thickness we need assume for our so-called solid crust.

Now, it is only in this crust that by means of crushing earthquakes^
tidal friction, viscous tides, faulting, chemical action, and perhaps other
causes, there takes place a continued evolution of internal heat. This
heat has been conducted inward for ages, until the central sphere has
attained a nearly uniform temperature ; it has also been conducted out¬
wardly for ages to the radiating surface of our globe. As the evolution of
heat still continues, we have on the continents attainel a pretty stable
rate of temperature decrease of 100 degrees to the mile (and rather less,
I suppose, under the oceans), but I do not suppose that at any time the
hottest stratum within the earth has had an average temperature so high
as a thousand degrees Fahrenheit (except in lava pockets).

Of course I accept the view that the specially high temperatures attend¬
ing the formation of lava have been due to the local chemical action be¬
tween warm rocks and water penetrating to them under great pressure
through crevices in the crust.

The study of Geological Climate during and since the formation of
Azoic metamorphic strata has led me to adopt the conclusion that surface
geology, like volcanic, does not demand excessive temperatures ; it seems
to me most reasonable to assume that the surface was never much warmer
than 250 degrees Fahrenheit, but to allow that this temperature may have
prevailed at the close of the Archseic epoch.

At this temperature all the water of the ocean would exist only as vapor

536

PHILOSOPHICAL SOCIETY OF WASHINGTON.

and clouds in the atmosphere. The steady hot rain from the atmosphere
would rapidly disintegrate the surface rocks. Small seas and lakes of
Water saturated with alkalies and salts would at once begin to form the
rocks that we know as metamorpliic and archsean. The covering thus
formed would contribute to diminish the rate of cooling of the interior
mass, thus allowing the atmosphere to cool down to its present condition
and deposit the most of its moisture.

The systematic changes in the contours of the continents and the moun¬
tain ranges that have taken place since the Azoic period, like those that
took place before that, have therefore not been due to any great extent
to strains of contraction consequent on the general cooling of the molten
nucleus of our globe, but must have been due mostly to strain produced
by solar and lunar bodily tides, and to similar strains produced by the
gradual slowing down of the earth’s rotation, which abatement produces
a tendency to return from the spheroidal back to the spherical shape ;
ancl thirdly, but to a less degree, to strains produced by the unequal cool¬
ing of those portions that have for a long time been continental and
oceanic respectively.

It will thus be seen that from our present point of view the physical
questions involved in dynamic geology differ from those that were the
subject of discussion a few years ago, and I should hardly have dared to
express myself so decidedly to-night if it were not that the study of some
problems in meteorology had forced me to go over the question as to what
we know about the earth’s surface and its relation to our atmosphere.

336th Meeting. April 27, 1889.

President Eastman in the chair.

Thirty-six members and guests present.

Mr. C. E. Dutton read a paper on Some of the Greater Prob¬
lems of Physical Geology.

Published in full in this volume, pp. 51-64.

Remarks were made upon Mr. Dutton’s paper by Messrs.
Woodward, Gilbert and Dutton, who have prepared the follow¬
ing abstracts :

[Abstract.]

Mr. Gilbert found difficulty in understanding the particular way in
which the crumpling of the surface layers is produced.

Assume a portion of the terrestrial surface sloping seaward and partly
covered by the sea ; assume that the material near the surface is homo¬
geneous and sharply separated from the heavier material, also homogene¬
ous, beneath : then under isostacy the surface of separation between the

PROCEEDINGS.

537

lighter matter above and the heavier beneath must slope toward the
land. When isostacy is disturbed by degradation on the land side or
deposition under the water, the tendency to flow landward in restoration
of equilibrium cannot reside in the superficial portion, because it would
there be opposed by gravitation. It must be in the deeper, denser ma¬
terial, so deep that it is difficult to understand its crumpling effect on
the surface layers.

In response to Mr. Gilbert, Captain Dutton said that there is no limit
in depth to the flow. Owing to the higher rigidity of the surface rocks
the flow would be greatest at great depths, but would extend to near the
surface, and by the adhesion of the parts of the viscous mass the surface
portion would be carried along and crumpled in much the same manner
as the rough surfaces of certain lava flows. He cited the case of the
wrinkles on the surface of “ pahoehoe ” in the Hawaiian lavas as exam¬
ples and illustrations on a small scale of the effect of a more rigid surface
in a less rigid flowing mass beneath.

Remarks were also made by Mr. Woodward, who opposed the view
that secular contraction plays an unimportant part in crumpling the
earth’s crust. While not unmindful of the difficulties of the contraction
hypothesis, he considered it an essential basis for the hypothesis of isos¬
tacy. The process of isostacy tends at a relatively rapid rate toward
equilibrium ; it ought, apparently, to run down in a comparatively brief
geologic age. The process of contraction goes on at a relatively slow rate
and is continually opposing the equilibrium to which isostacy leads.
Both processes tend to produce crumpling along lines of weakness, and
though that of isostacy may have been the more effective of the two, it
appears to require secular contraction for its maintenance.

Mr. Woodward called attention also to Dr. Helmert’s recent memoir on
plumb-line deflections, in which it is shown that the observed deflections
in the vicinity of the Appalachians are on the whole toward the moun¬
tains rather than from them.

Mr. Walter Harvey Weed read a paper on The Formation
of Deposits of Lime, Iron, and Silica by Plant Life.

[Abstract.]

It is a little strange that the chemical and geological work performed
by plant life has not been recognized by naturalists who have studied so
carefully the analogous work of the mollusks, corals, and other forms
of animal life. It has long been known that certain marine algae build
stony structures of carbonate of lime, and more recently that certain
mosses and fresh-water algae are lime-encrusted because of the vital
activity of the plants. My own observations upon the subject convince
me that the importance of the subject is not realized, and that the
deposits formed in this way are not only sometimes of great magnitude,
as is the case at Tivoli and Carlsbad, and more especially in our own
69— Ball. Phil. Soe., Wash., Vol. 11.

538

PHILOSOPHICAL SOCIETY OP WASHINGTON.

Yellowstone Park, but are more common than is generally supposed,
and embrace a variety of mineral deposits.

In point of magnitude and frequency of occurrence, deposits of car¬
bonate of lime undoubtedly take first rank. The travertine deposits just
alluded to, the limestones on the coast of Florida, described by Agassiz,
and a host of other cases too numerous to mention, make it unnecessary
to dwell upon deposits of this character further than to state that they
sometimes result from a direct secretion of carbonate of lime to form the
cell- wall of the plants, and sometimes from the precipitation of the car¬
bonate of lime because of the withdrawal of carbonic-acid gas from the
water by the living plants — a sufficient explanation of the chemistry of
the process in either case.

It is not so well known that deposits of oxide of iron, as bog iron ore
or as a silicious ocher, are also formed by living plants. This is probably
because a simple oxidation resulting from exposure to the atmosphere
will explain the deposition of the ferric oxide ; yet it is well known to
botanists that the algse, Leptothrix ochrocea, secretes ferric oxide in the
algae sheaths, and that several species of diatoms form their tests of
both silica and oxide of iron, and microscopic examinations of many bog
ores prove them to consist very largely of these organic structures. In
the Yellowstone mounds of silicious iron ocher have been found formed
of the remains of a Hypnum in situ, with the living moss at the surface,
whose green stems were formed very largely of iron.

Both algae and mosses secrete silica and form strata of silicious sinter,
and of what may be called moss sinter. As in the case of the diatoms
forming the well-known deposits of diatomaceous earth, the secretion of
silica by the plants seems to be due to some physiological need of the
plants being first secreted as a silicious jelly by the algae, and in sandy,
gritty grains by the moss Hypnum. Both varieties of silicious deposits
are common in the Yellowstone Park, where they are of considerable
magnitude.

The strangest case of all is the formation of gypsum by the vegetation
of sulphur waters. The slimy, white masses of algae that live in sulphur
springs have been found to secrete sulphur which they oxidize to sul¬
phuric acid, the latter immediately forming sulphate of lime with the
carbonate of lime in the water.

Examples of all these deposits due to plant life may be found in the
Yellowstone Park, where they have been studied by the writer.

Also Published in part under the title of The Formation of Sili¬
cious Sinter by the Vegetation of Thermal Springs. Am. Jour,
of Science, 8vo, New Haven, May, 1889, vol. 37, No. 221, pp. 351-
359 ; also in The Ninth Annual Report (1887-88) of the Director
of the U. S. Geological Survey (4to, Washington, 1890, pp. 613-
676), under the title The Formation of Travertine and of Silicious
Sinter by the Vegetation of Hot Springs.

PROCEEDINGS.

539

Mr. J. C. Gordon made a communication entitled Notes on
the Discovery and Development of Hearing in Certain Deaf-
Mutes.

[Abstract.]

The pupils in our schools for deaf-mutes have been, before admission,
with rare exceptions, under the care of physicians and aural surgeons,
who have pronounced them incurably and hopelessly deaf. Instructors,
until recently, have acquiesced in the diagnosis furnished, and have
referred phenomena indicative of partial hearing, either to acuteness of
tactile sensation or to sense-impressions, too rudimentary for use or im¬
provement.

Experiments by the writer years ago convinced him that the prevalent
opinion was a generalization too sweeping, and that a large percentage of
so-called deaf-mutes were fit subjects for auricular training and develop¬
ment.

The honor of initiating experiments leading to important results be¬
longs to Mr. J. A. Gillespie, of Omaha, who began in the Nebraska Insti¬
tution, with selected pupils in 1880, progressive exercises in auricular
development, which were carried to a successful conclusion. This led to
the consideration of the subject by conventions of instructors of the deaf
and to the appointment in 1884 of Professors A. G. Bell, F. D. Clark, and
the writer as a committee to make thorough investigation of tests of hear¬
ing and other phases of the subject. This committee presented in 1885,
through the American Annals of the Deaf , a preliminary report, and its
members still hold in reserve much interesting matter for further inves¬
tigation and study.

• The writer here gave an account of the auditory apparatus, with reasons
for thinking that a standard test for hearing, approaching to a standard
test of vision in scientific exactness, is not attainable. After referring
to various acoumeters, and to the tests and methods of expressing re¬
sults approved by the American Otological Society, the telephonic audi¬
ometer devised by Professors Clark and Bell was described. This ap¬
paratus consists of a Bell receiver in circuit with the movable coil of
an “ induction balance,” the fixed coil of which is connected with an
ordinary magneto-electric machine. The rapid revolution of the arma¬
ture produces a very loud sound in the telephone when the coils are
together, which diminishes as the induced current becomes weaker by sepa¬
rating the coils, until it is finally inaudible. Provision is made for cutting
off the sound at will without the knowledge of the subject tested. The
vanishing point of the sound, or the initial point as the coils approach,
as read on a centimeter scale measuring the separation of the coils, is
taken as the measure of audition. This vanishing point in persons whose
hearing is good ranges, say, from 55 to 87 centimeters, and is rarely the
same for both ears. Though this apparatus was suggested by Hughes’
sonometer, important modifications are apparent which make it simpler

(

540 PHILOSOPHICAL SOCIETY OF WASHINGTON.

and efficient. Comparative constancy, wide range, compactness and port¬
ability adapt it to testing the hearing of large numbers of persons at
different times and places, and it has been used in testing the hearing
of about fifteen hundred deaf-mutes in New York, Washington, New
Jersey, Illinois, and Arkansas. Comparative tests and subsequent train¬
ing demonstrate that not less than 15 per cent, of these possess utilizable
hearing, requiring systematic education and the judicious use of special
appliances for satisfactory results.

Sexton’s binaural conversation tube, Currier’s duplex tube, Maloney’s
otaphone, an audiphone, and an English conical tube were exhibited.

In 1888 twenty-four American schools reported 261 pupils under auric¬
ular training. Certain cases present interesting and novel phenomena
for the psychologist and many throw light upon problems in physiology-

The writer’s notes briefly discussed hypnotic experiments with a view
to the alleviation of deafness ; also European experiments in auricular
development.

In certain cases the evidence of improvement in the auditory apparatus
appears to be conclusive. In the majority of cases the improvement may
be in sense-perception. It is not claimed that hearing is restored, nor
that hearing is supplied where none existed, but simply that in certain
cas'es rudimentary or dormant hearing may be detected and developed to
a useful extent, thus giving to a large percentage of “ deaf-mutes ” much
of the profit and pleasure gained through what is to them practically, if
not scientifically, a new sense.

337th Meeting. May 11, 1889.

President Eastman in the chair.

Twenty-nine members present.

The Chair announced the election to membership of Mr.

Wilbur Olin Atwater.

Mr. Arthur Keith read a paper on The Rocks of the Great
Smokies and Their Age.

Mr. D. C. Chapman made a communication on A New. Form
of Galvanometer.

[Abstract.]

This instrument was devised and constructed in response to a demand
for a cheap and convenient means of comparing heavy currents with a
fair degree of accuracy.

Its coil consists of a number of heavy copper rods or bars placed par¬
allel to each other and secured by transverse bars or blocks of copper into

PROCEEDINGS.

541

which their ends project, making good electrical contact with these blocks
and thus with each other. This gridiron arrangement, the length of
which is about six times its width, is then bent in the middle, so that
one half lies above and parallel to the other, their planes being separated
by about one inch.

When a current is led into one end of one of the end blocks it divides
nearly equally among the parallel rods and returns to the opposite end
of the other, producing an approximately uniform magnetic field in the
inclosed space, as well as in the space immediately above. A needle of
proper dimensions may be placed in either of these positions and a large
range of sensibility is the result. The instrument may be calibrated by
any of the ordinary methods.

338th Meeting. May 25, 1889.

President Eastman in the chair.

Thirty-fonr members present.

The Chair announced the death of Mr. E. B. Lefavouk, a
member of the Society.

Mr. E. D. Preston read a paper on The Reduction of Pendu¬
lum Observations.

Published in full in this volume, pp. 115-130.

Mr. J. P. Iddings read a paper on The Crystallization of Igne¬
ous Rocks.

Published in this volume, pp. 65-113.

Mr. W. H. Dall made a communication on Some Forms of
the Gill in Pelecypod Mollusca.

The facts of this paper are incorporated in Mr. Dali’s report
on The Gasteropoda and Scaphopoda: Bulletin Museum of
Comparative Zoology, Cambridge, vol. 18, June, 1889.

339th Meeting. October 12, 1889.

President Eastman in the chair.

Forty members present.

The Chair announced the election to membership of Mr.

Oliver Lanard Fassig.

542

PHILOSOPHICAL SOCIETY OF WASHINGTON.

Mr. Everett Hayden made a communication on The Hurri¬
canes of the Bay of North America.

Published in full in this volume, pp. 173-189.

Mr. Frank Baker made a communication on Work of the
Life-Saving Crews during the Recent Hurricane.

340th Meeting. October 26, 1889.

President Eastman in the chair.

Twenty-four members present.

Mr. Romyn Hitchcock read a paper on The Action of Light
on Silver Chloride.

Published in full in Anthony’s Photographic Bulletin, 8vo,
New York, December, 1889, vol. 20, pp. 748-754; also in Amer¬
ican Chemical Journal, 8vo, Baltimore, October, 1889, vol. 11,
pp. 474-480.

Mr. F. W. Clarke made a communication on The Relative
Abundance of Chemical Elements.

Published in full in this volume, pp. 131-142.

Mr. William Hallock made a communication entitled Chem¬
ical Action Between Solids.

Published in full in the American Journal of Science, 8vo,
New Haven, 1889, May, vol. 37, No. 221, pp. 402-406.

341st Meeting. November 9, 1889.

President Eastman in the chair.

Sixty members present.

Mr. Asaph Hall made a communication on Saturn and its
Ring.

Published in full as Appendix II of Washington Observations
for 1885, 4to, Washington, Government Printing Office.

Mr. C. E. Dutton made a communication entitled Remarks
on Irrigation in the Arid Region.

PROCEEDINGS.

543

342d Meeting. November 23, 18B9.

President Eastman in the chair.

Forty-two members psesent.

Mr. George H. Eldridge read a paper on Certain Structural
Features near Denver, Colorado.

Published in this volume, pp. 247-274.

Mr. J. S. Diller made a communication on The Sandstone
Dikes of Northern California.

Published in Bulletin of the Geological Society of America,
8vo, Washington, April 1890, vol. 1, pp. 411-442.

343d Meeting. December 7, 1889.

Vice-President Dutton presided.

About two hundred members and guests present.

By courtesy of the trustees of the Columbian University, the
meeting was held in the law lecture-room of the. University
building. Members of the other scientific societies in Washing¬
ton and their friends were invited to be present.

President Eastman delivered the annual address, entitled The
Association of Assumption and Fact in the Theories of Solar and
Stellar Proper Motions.

Published in full in this volume, pp. 143-172.

344th Meeting. December 21, 1889.

NINETEENTH ANNUAL MEETING.

President Eastman in the chair.

Thirty-one members present.

The chair announced the election to membership of Messrs.
George Washington Littlehales and of John Fillmore Hay-

ford.

544

PHILOSOPHICAL SOCIETY OF WASHINGTON.

The annual report of the Secretaries was read as follows, and
accepted: •

ANNUAL REPORT OF THE SECRETARIES.

Washington, D. C., December 21, 1889.

To the Philosophical Society of Washington :

We have the honor to present the following report, containing
the usual statistics, for the year from December 22, 1888, to De¬
cember 21, 1889 — that is, from the 327th to the 343d meeting
(inclusive) of the Society.

At the date of the last annual report, December 22, 1888, there
were 185 active members upon the rolls. This number has been
increased by the addition of 10 new members and by the return
of 1 absent member. It has been decreased by 3 who have been
transferred to the absent list, 1 who has resigned, 2 who have
been dropped for non-payment of dues, and 2 who have died,
1 upon the active list and 1 absent. There has thus been a net
increase of 4 in the active membership, which now numbers 189.

Invitations to attend the meetings of the Society for a period
of 3 months have been extended to 2 gentlemen.

The roll of new members is :

C. Willard Hayes.
Cosmos Mindeleff.
Victor Mindeleff.
C. Whitman Cross.
J. G. Hagen, S. J.

J. E. Watkins.

W. 0. Atwater.

0. L. Fassig.

G. W. Littlehales.
J. F. Hayford.

The deceased members are Jerome H. Kidder, who died April
6, 1889, and Edward B. Lefavour, who died at Beverly, Massa¬
chusetts, May 18, 1889. Dr. Kidder was, at the time of his
death, a member of the General Committee of the Society and
a regular and interested attendant at its meetings. For two
years he served with marked ability as general secretary.

The Society has held 17 regular meetings ; 15 of these have
been devoted to the presentation and discussion of papers ; one
to the address of the retiring President, and one to the annual
reports and the election of officers. The average attendance at
the 15 meetings for the presentation of papers has been 40.
Thirty-eight communications have been presented, 35 of which

PROCEEDINGS.

545

have been by members, and 3 by guests ; 54 members and
guests have taken part in the proceedings.

The Society is indebted to the courtesy of the authorities of
the Columbian University for the use of their large lecture-
room on December 7, when the President presented his annual
address, and for the use of a smaller room in which the meet¬
ings of the Mathematical Section have been held. All other
meetings of the Society have been held in the hall of the
Cosmos Club, the Society paying a small amount to defray a
portion of the expense of lighting and heating.

In the Mathematical Section 7 meetings have been held, with
an average attendance of 14; 14 communications have been
presented, 22 members and guests have participated in the dis¬
cussions, and an aggregate of 23 members and guests in the
scientific proceedings of the section.

The General Committee has held 15 regular meetings and 1
special meeting ; the average attendance has been 13, the least
number at any meeting being 8, and the greatest, 17.

The new rules for the publication of the Bulletin, which were
adopted December 22, 1888, were first applied to the address of
the retiring President for that year, Mr. Garrick Mallery.
The paper was printed in February, 1889, and was at once dis¬
tributed to the members of the Society. Seven papers have
now been published, including the address of the President for
1889, and we believe that the new method of publication has
added materially to the value of our Bulletin.

■ Very respectfully,

J. S. Diller,

W. C. Winlock,

Secretaries.

The annual report of the Treasurer was read, accepted, and
referred to an Auditing Committee, consisting of C. D. Walcott,
W. A. De Caindry, and W. Eimbeck.

70— Bull. Phil. Soc., Wash., Vol. 11.

546

PHILOSOPHICAL SOCIETY OF WASHINGTON.

REPOET OF THE TREASURER.

The report which I shall have the honor to submit to you
exhibits the total receipts and disbursements for the fiscal year
ending with this meeting. In the receipts are included amounts
received for outstanding dues of previous years and for dues
paid in advance for 1890 and 1891. The precise income for the
year 1889 was $871.79, and the total expenditures $604.47, leav¬
ing a balance in favor of the Society, upon the year’s transac¬
tions, of $267.32.

The change in the form of the Bulletin from a single volume,
published complete, to separate fasciculi, printed at different
times, has added somewhat to the expense of printing and dis¬
tributing, but this is more than compensated for by the advan¬
tages to members from prompt publication of their papers.

The assets of the Society consist of —

One Government bond, at 4 per cent., No. 64,596 . . . $500 00

One Government bond, at 4 per cent., No. 135,639 . . 1,000 00

One Government bond, at 4k per cent., No. 41,719 . . 1,000 00

Six mortgage bonds of the Cosmos Club, at 5 per cent.,

Nos. 16 to 21, for $100 each . 600 00

Cash with Riggs & Co . 1,408 58

Unpaid dues . . . 200 00

Total . . . $4,708 58

Robert Fletcher,

Treasurer.

Washington, D. C., December 21, 1889.

The Treasurer in Account with The Philosophical Society of Washington.

PROCEEDINGS.

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Kobert Fletcher, Treasurer.

548

PHILOSOPHICAL SOCIETY OF WASHINGTON.

The election of officers for the year 1890 was then held, with
the following result :

President . C. E. Dutton.

Vice-Presidents

G. K. Gilbert.
G. B. Goode.

H. H. Bates.

T. C. Mendenhall.

Treasurer

Robert Fletcher.

Secretaries . W. C. Winlock. J. S. Diller.

MEMBERS-AT-LARGE OF THE GENERAL COMMITTEE.

Marcus Baker.

F. W. Clarke.

W. H. Dall.

G. W. Hill.

R. S. Woodward.

H. M. Paul.

C. V. Riley.

0. H. Tittmann.
Lester F. Ward.

PAST PRESIDENTS, EX-OFFICIO MEMBERS OF THE GENERAL

COMMITTEE.

J. S. Billings, 1886.
J. R. Eastman, 1889.
Asaph Hall, 1885.
Wm. Harkness, 1887.

Garrick Mallery, 1888.
Simon Newcomb, 1879, 1880.
J. W. Powell, 1883.

W. B. Taylor, 1883.

J. C. Welling, 1884.

STANDING COMMITTEES.

On Communications :

T. C. Mendenhall, Chairman. G. Brown Goode. C. V. Riley.
On Publications :

Robert Fletcher, Chairman. Marcus Baker. W. C. Winlock.

PROCEEDINGS.

549

GENERAL MEETINGS.

1890.

345th Meeting. January 4, 1890.

President Dutton in the chair.

Thirty members present.

The report of the committee appointed to audit the accounts
of the Treasurer was read and adopted.

REPORT OF AUDITING COMMITTEE.

Washington, December 31 , 1889.

To the Philosophical Society of Washington :

The undersigned, a committee appointed at the annual meet¬
ing of the Philosophical Society of Washington, December 21,
1889, for the purpose of auditing the accounts of the Treasurer,
respectfully report as follows :

We have examined the account of receipts, including dues,
sales, and interest, and find the same to be correct and satis¬
factory. We have examined the statement of disbursements,
compared it with the vouchers, and find that they agree. We
have examined the returned checks, which agree with the
vouchers and with the bank book, the balance of which, as re¬
ported by Riggs & Co. on December 24, 1889, was $1,408.58,
agreeing with the Treasurer’s report. We have examined the
United States and other bonds belonging to the Society and find
them to be in amount and character as represented in the Treas¬
urer’s report, aggregating $3,100.

Chas. D. Walcott.

Wm. A. De Caindry.

William Eimbeck.

Read, adopted, and the committee discharged January 4, 1890.

J. S. Duller,

Secretary.

550

PHILOSOPHICAL SOCIETY OF WASHINGTON.

Mr. H. A. Hazen made a communication on The Brocken
Spectre.

Published in Science, vol. 14, p. 224, September 27, 1889.

Mr. W J McGee made a communication on The Southern
Extension of the Columbian Formation.

Published in abstract in Proceedings of the American Associa¬
tion for the Advancement of Science, vol. 39, p. 244, 1890.

346th Meeting. January 18, 1890.

President Dutton in the chair.

Fifty members present.

The President announced the death of Professor J. H. C.
Coffin, who was one of the founders of the Society, and died
January 8, 1890.

The two standing subcommittees for 1890 were then an¬
nounced as follows :

On Communications:

T. C. Mendenhall.

C. V. Riley.

G. B. Goode.

On Publications :

Robert Fletcher.

W. C. WlNLOCK.

Marcus Baker.

Hon. Edwin Willets made a communication on The Scientific
Work of the Department of Agriculture.

Published as a special report,4 included in the Report of the
Secretary of Agriculture for 1890, pp. 59-73.

Mr. J. P. Iddings read a paper on The Relation Between the
Mineral Composition and Geologic Occurrence of Certain Igne¬
ous Rocks of the Yellowstone National Park.

Published in this volume, pp. 191-220.

PROCEEDINGS.

551

347th Meeting. February 1, 1890

Vice-President Gilbert in the chair.

Forty members present.

Mr. C. Hart Merriam read a paper on The General Results
of a Biological Survey of the San Francisco Mountain Region of
Arizona.

Published in U. S. Department of Agriculture, Division of
Ornithology and Mammalogy, North American Fauna, No. 8,
pp. 1-186, pi. 18, maps 5.

348th Meeting. February 15, 1890.

President Dutton in the chair.

Seventy-five members and guests present.

The President announced the election of Joseph Stanley-
Brown and Lincoln Grant Eakins as members of the Society.

Mr. Gardiner G. Hubbard gave An Account of Stanley’s Dis¬
coveries in Africa.

Not published.

Mr. C. D. Walcott read a paper entitled A Study in Structural
Geology.

Published under the title “ Study of a Line of Displacement
in the Grand Canon of the Colorado in Northern Arizona,” Bul¬
letin of the Geological Society of America, vol. 1, pp. 48-64, 8vo,
Washington, 1890.

349th Meeting. March 1, 1890.

President Dutton in the chair.

Forty members present.

Mr. G. Brown Goode made a communication on The Origin
of our National Scientific Institutions.

Published in Papers of the American Historical Association,
8vo, New York, 1890.

552

PHILOSOPHICAL SOCIETY OP WASHINGTON.

Mr. C. R. Van Hise made a communication on the Pre-Cam-
brain Rocks of the Black Hills of Dakota.

Published in Bulletin of the Geological Society of America, vol.
1, pp. 203-244, 8vo, Washington, 1890.

35Qch Meeting. March 15, 1890.

Vice-President Gilbert in the chair.

Thirty members present.

Mr. B. E. Fernow read a paper on The Relation of Forests to
Water Supplies.

Published by U. S. Department of Agriculture, Report of the
Chief of the Forestry Division for 1889, pp. 297-330.

Mr. G. E. Curtis made a communication on The Relation of
Surface and Climatic Conditions to the Flow of Water-Courses.
Not published.

351st Meeting. March 29, 1890.

President Dutton in the chair.

Thirty-four members present.

The President announced the election to membership of Joseph
Francis James and George Marie Searle.

The Secretary read a letter from the University of Toronto,
Canada, giving an account of the losses to the university on Feb¬
ruary 14, 1890, by fire and soliciting donations of publications
for a new library.

Mr. Marcus Baker read an obituary notice of Edward Brown
Lefavour.

Published in this volume, pp. 488-490.

Mr. O. H. Tittmann read A Note on the Length of Kater’s
Pendulum.

Published in Nature April 10, 1891, vol. 41, No. 1067, p. 538.

PROCEEDINGS.

553

Mr. Herman Hollerith exhibited and described a new elec¬
trical tabulating machine.

Description published in U. S. letters patent Nos. 395781,
395782, 395783, January 8, 1889.

352d Meeting. April 12, 1890.

President Dutton in the chair.

Forty-five members and guests present.

Announcement was made of the election to membership of
Charles Richard Van Hise, Ernest George Fischer, and Al¬
fred Charles True.

Mr. J. R. Eastman read a paper on The Progress of Meteoric
Astronomy.

Published in this volume, pp. 275-358.

By invitation, Prof. B. G. Wilder made a communication on
The Comparative Anatomy of the Simian and Human Brain.
Not published.

353d Meeting. April 26, 1890.

President Dutton in the chair.

Forty-five members present.

Mr. G. W. Littlehales read a paper on A New Method of
Recording and Reproducing Articulate Speech.

Published in U. S. letters patent No. 404,850.

Mr. William Eimbeck read a paper on A New Method of
Determining Astronomical Differences of Longitude.

Not published.

Mr. Romyn Hitchcock read a paper on The Burial Mounds of
Japan.

Published in the Smithsonian Institution Annual Report for
1891.

71— Bull. Phil. Soc., Wash., Vol. 11.

554

PHILOSOPHICAL SOCIETY OF WASHINGTON.

354th Meeting. May 10, 1890.

President Dutton in the chair.

Thirty-four members present.

Mr. J. Elfreth Watkins read a paper on Early Dividing
Engines, with special reference to that constructed by Ramsden
in 1775.

Published in the Report of the National Museum, 1888-’89.

Mr. W J McGee read a paper on Recent Geographic Changes
on the Atlantic and Gulf Coasts.

Published, under the title “ Encroachments of the Sea,” in The
Forum, 8vo, New York, June, 1890, vol. 9, No. 4, pp. 437-449.

355th Meeting. May 24, 1890.

Vice-President Gilbert in the chair.

Thirty-five members present.

The election to membership of Dr. Frank Baker and Mr. A.
W. Harris was announced.

Mr. H. G. Ogden read a paper on Chart-Making.

Not published.

Mr. Frederick W. True read a paper entitled An Epitome of
the Natural History of the Puma.

Published in the Report of the National Museum, 1888— ’89,
pp. 591-608.

356th Meeting. October 11, 1890.

Vice-President Gilbert in the chair.

Forty-five members and guests present.

The Chair announced the death of Capt. C. 0. Boutelle,
who died June 22, 1890. He announced also the election to

PROCEEDINGS.

555

membership of Messrs. B. A. Colonna, Herman Hollerith, W.
P. Jenney, W. R. Atkinson, Waldemar Lindgren, and H. W.
Turner.

Mr. Cleveland Abbe gave a General Account of the Eclipse
Expedition to Africa, especially as to its results in the study
of meteorology.

This will be published in Professor Abbe’s contribution to
Professor D. P. Todd’s preliminary report to the Secretary of
the Navy on the U. S. Scientific Expedition to the West Coast
of Africa.

Mr. H. S. Reid, of the Case School of Science, Cleveland, Ohio,
presented by request a Note on the Muir Glacier of Alaska.

Published in Johns Hopkins Circular No. 84, December, 1890.

357th Meeting. October 25, 1890.

Vice-President Bates in the chair.

Thirty-six members present.

Mr. William Harkness made a communication On the De¬
termination of the Mass of the Moon from the Tides.

Published by the U. S. Naval Observatory, in 1891, under
the title The Solar Parallax and its Related Constants, pp. 112-
121, Washington Observations for 1885, Appendix III.

Mr. F. H. Bigelow made Some Suggestions on Eclipse Pho¬
tography and Eclipse Apparatus.

The substance of the suggestions will be published in the re¬
port to the Secretary of the Navy on the Scientific Expedition to
the West Coast of Africa in 1889.

358th Meeting. November 8, 1890.

Vice-President Gilbert in the chair.

Forty-two members present.

The Chair announced the election to membership of Dr.
Joseph Pohle.

556

PHILOSOPHICAL SOCIETY OF WASHINGTON.

Mr. J. Elfreth Watkins read a paper on The Beginnings of
Engineering.

Published in the proceedings of the American Society of Civil
Engineers, May, 1891.

Mr. J. Howard Gore read a paper on The Decimal System
of the Seventeenth Century.

Published in the American Journal of Science, January, 1891,
3d ser., vol. 41, pp. 22-27.

359th Meeting. November 22, 1890.

Vice-President Gilbert in the chair.

Thirty-four members present.

Mr. Charles F. Marvin read a paper on Wind Pressures and
the Measurement of Wind Velocities.

Substance published in the Engineering Journal December 13,
1890, p. 520; also in American Meteorological Journal for Feb¬
ruary, 1891, p. 487.

Mr. William PIallock made a communication on The Coeffi¬
cient of Expansion of Some Rocks.

Published in U. S. Geological Survey Bulletin No. 78, pp.
109-116.

360th Meeting. December 6, 1890.

Vice-President Gilbert in the chair.

Forty-nine members present.

Mr. E. G. Fischer read a paper on Standard Screws and
Threads.

Not published.

Mr. Gilbert Thompson communicated An Example of Work
in Barometric Hypsometry.

Not published.

PROCEEDINGS.

557

Mr. B. E. Fernow read a paper on The Artificial Production
of Rainfall.

Published by the U. S. Department of Agriculture, Report of
the Chief of the Forestry Division for the year 1890, pp. 227-235.

361st Meeting. December 20, 1890.

TWENTIETH ANNUAL MEETING.

President Dutton in the chair.

Thirty-nine members present.

After the reading and approval of the minutes of the nine¬
teenth annual meeting, the annual report of the Secretaries was
read and accepted.

ANNUAL REPORT OF THE SECRETARIES

Washington, D. C., December 20, 1890.

To the Philosophical Society of Washington :

We have the honor to present the following annual report for
1890:

At the beginning of the year the Society numbered 189 active
members. During the year this number has been increased by
the addition of 18 new members. Four members have been
transferred to the absent list, 1 has been dropped for the non¬
payment of dues, 2 have resigned, and 2 have died. The total
decrease in the membership of last year has been 9 ; but, as the
increase has been 18, the active membership of the Society has
risen to 198.

.An invitation to attend the meetings of the Society for a period
of 3 months was extended to one gentleman.

The roll of new members is :

J. F. Dawson.

G. M. Searle.

E. G. Fischer.

B. A. Colonna.
W. R. Atkinson.
Joseph Pohle.

J. Stanley-Brown.

A. W. Harris.

A. C. True.

Herman Hollerith.
Waldemar Lindgren.
F. H. Bigelow.

L. G. Eakins.

C. R. Van Hise.
Frank Baker.
W. P. Jenney.
H. W. Turner.
J. F. James.

558

PHILOSOPHICAL SOCIETY OF WASHINGTON.

The roll of the deceased members is :

J. H. C. Coffin, one of the founders of the Society, died January
8, 1890. C. O. Boutelle died June 22, 1890.

The Society has held 17 meetings — 16 for the presentation of
papers and one for the annual reports and election of officers.

All the meetings were held in the assembly hall of the Cosmos
Club.

The average attendance at the meetings for the reading of
papers has been forty-one and one-half, an increase of one and
one-half upon the average attendance of last year.

Thirty-four communications have been presented to the So¬
ciety by 28 members and 4 guests.

Two members have presented two papers each.

Sixty-seven remarks were made by 39 members.

In all, 52 members, which is over 25 per cent, of the active
membership of the Society, have taken part in its proceedings.

It has been the custom of the Society to set apart the meeting
next preceding the annual meeting for the delivery of the Presi¬
dent’s annual address, but the President found it to be impossible
for him, on account of his other official duties, to deliver the
address at the appointed time.

The address was postponed and a program for the meeting
furnished by the Committee on Communications.

The Mathematical Section has held 7 meetings, with an average
attendance of 11. Nine communications were presented to the
section and an aggregate of 12 members participated in its pro¬
ceedings.

The General Committee has held 17 regular meetings and one
special meeting, with an average attendance of 13.

The least number at any meeting was 11 and the greatest 16.

Last year 38 communications were presented to the Society.

Of these, 9, including the annual address of the President, have
been published by the Society. During the year just closed, as
already stated, 34 communications were presented, and of these
only 3 have been offered to the Society for publication ; 2 have
already been published and 1 is in course of publication.

It should be noted, however, that the annual address of the
President has not yet been communicated, and that the two
papers published this year are above the average length. The 9

PROCEEDINGS.

559

published of those read last year contained an aggregate of 220
pages.

They average twenty-four and one-half pages each, while the
two published this year average 49 pages each.

Concerning the remaining 31 communications presented to the
Society, but not offered to it for publication, the following infor¬
mation has been obtained :

4 have been or will be published in the Reports of the Depart¬
ment of Agriculture.

4 in reports of the Smithsonian Institution or National Mu¬
seum.

2 in the bulletins of the Geological Society of America.

1 in a bulletin of the U. S. Geological Survey.

1 in the American Journal of Science.

1 in the publications of the Naval Observatory.

1 in the report of the Secretary of the Navy.

1 in the proceedings of the American Society of Civil Engi¬
neers.

1 in the papers of the American Historical Association.

1 in Nature.

1 in The Forum.

1 in Science.

1 in School of Mines Quarterly.

1 in Johns Hopkins University circulars.

1 in letters patent.

7 have not been published ; 2 have not been heard from.

Very respectfully,

W. C. Winlock,

J. S. Diller,.

Secretaries.

The report of the Treasurer was then read.

REPORT OF THE TREASURER.

The report which I have the honor to submit to you exhibits
the total receipts and disbursements for the fiscal year ending
with this meeting. In the receipts are included some amounts
received for outstanding dues for previous years, and in the dis¬
bursements are included amounts paid in purchase of bonds .

560

PHILOSOPHICAL SOCIETY OF WASHINGTON.

The precise income for the year 1890 was $988.88, and the ex¬
penditures for the same period $784.88, leaving a balance in favor
of the Society upon the-, year’s transactions of $204.00.

The Society possessed a Government bond, No. 41,719, for
$1,000.00, hearing interest at 4i per cent., which was sold in De¬
cember under the offer of the Secretary of the Treasury to pur¬
chase these bonds at face value with a year’s interest in advance.
It is difficult to find a satisfactory investment for a small sum
of money, hut the amount in question was used for the purchase
of ten Cosmos Club second-mortgage bonds, which fortunately
happened to be for sale to close an estate. The Society already
owned 12 of these bonds, purchased from surplus funds. Upon
February 1, 1891, these bonds will become first-mortgage bonds,
and as the total amount of the loan is $20,000, secured by mort¬
gage upon property valued at four times that sum, the security

cannot be excelled.

The assets of the Society consist of —

1 Government bond, at 4 per cent., No. 64,596. ..... $500 00

1 Government bond, at 4 per cent., No. 135,639 . 1,000 00

22 bonds of the Cosmos Club, at 5 per cent., Nos.

16-21, 119-132, 135 and 136 . 2,200 00

Cash with Riggs & Co . 1,133 40

Unpaid dues . 245 00

Total . $5,078 40

Robert Fletcher,

Treasurer.

Washington, D. C., December 20, 1890.

Dr. The Treasurer in account with The Philosophical Society of Washington.

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72— Bull. Phil. Soc., Wash., Vol. 11.

Washington, December 20, 1890.

562

PHILOSOPHICAL SOCIETY OP WASHINGTON.

The Treasurer’s report was accepted and referred to the follow¬
ing Auditing Committee : Edward Farquhar, E. D. Preston,
and G. E. Curtis.

The Society then proceeded to the election of officers, with
the following results :

President . T. C. Mendenhall.

G. K. Gilbert. Robert Fletcher.

G. Brown Goode. R. S. Woodward.

Vice-Presidents

Treasurer . W. A. De Caindry.

Secretaries . . W. C. Winlock. J. S. Diller.

MEMBERS-AT-LARGE OF THE GENERAL COMMITTEE.

Marcus Baker.
Henry H. Bates.
F. W. Clarke.

W. H. Dall.

G. W. Hill.

H. M. Paul.
C. Y. Riley.

O. H. Tittmann.

Lester F. Ward.

PROCEEDINGS.

563

GENERAL MEETINGS.

1891.

362d Meeting. January 3, 1891.

President Mendenhall in the chair.

Forty-eight members and guests present.

The report of the committee appointed to audit the accounts
of the Treasurer was read, accepted, and placed on file.

REPORT OF AUDITING COMMITTEE.

Washington, D. C., December 31, 1890.

To the Philosophical Society, Washington , D. C. :

The undersigned, a committee appointed at the annual meet¬
ing of the Philosophical Society of Washington, December 20,
1890, for the purpose of auditing the accounts of the Treasurer,
respectfully report as follows :

We have examined the statement of receipts, including dues,
sales, and interest, and find the same to be correct. We have
examined the statement of disbursements, compared it with the
vouchers, and found that they agree. We have examined the
returned checks, which agree with the bank book and with the
vouchers.

The balance of cash on hand, reported by the Treasurer as
$1,133.40, is accounted for by the receipt of W. A. De Caindry,
the newly elected Treasurer. The other assets of the Society, as
reported by the Treasurer, are also accounted for by the receipt
of W. A. De Caindry. They are as follows :

1 Government bond, at 4 per cent., No. 64,596 . $500 00

1 Government bond, at 4 per cent., No. 135,639 . 1,000 00

22 bonds of the Cosmos Club, at 5 per cent., Nos.

16-21, 119-132, 135 and 136 . 2,200 00

Total . . . $3,700 00

Edward Farquhar.

George E. Curtis.

564

PHILOSOPHICAL SOCIETY OF WASHINGTON.

Mr. G. E. Curtis read a paper on The Hot Winds of the Plains.

Published in the Seventh Triennial Report of the Kansas
State Board of Agriculture, part 2, 1891, pp. 162-183.

Remarks were made by Messrs. Bigelow and Hazen.

Mr. O. T. Mason read a paper on The Study of Religions by
the Methods of Natural History.

Not published.

Remarks were made by Messrs. E. Farquhar, Mussey, and
MASon.

Mr. J. E. Watkins read a paper entitled The Log of the Savan¬
nah, a Pioneer Transatlantic Steamship.

363d Meeting. January 17, 1891.

President Mendenhall in the chair.

Thirty-four members present.

The following standing committees were announced :

On Communications:

G. Brown Goode.

F. W. Clarke.

H. M. Paul.

On Publications :

Robert Fletcher.

Marcus Baker.

W. A. De Caindry.

W. C. WlNLOCK.

The Chair announced the death of the oldest and one of the
most eminent members of the Society, Mr. George Bancroft,
the great historian, who died January 17 in this. city.

Mr. H. A. Hazen read a paper on The Lawrence (Massachu¬
setts) Tornado of July 26, 1890.

Published in the Monthly Weather Review, July, 1890.

Remarks were made by Messrs. Curtis, Green, Paul, Hazen,
Eastman, and Bigelow.

PROCEEDINGS.

565

Mr. Asaph Hall made a communication entitled Note on
C Cancri.

Not published. g

Remarks were made by Messrs. Bates,* Farquhar, Paul, Gil¬
bert, Chapman, and Hall.

364th Meeting. January 31, 1891.

President Mendenhall in the chair.

Thirty-eight members and guests present.

The Chair announced the election and qualification for mem¬
bership of Mr. Thomas William Smillie.

Mr. C. V. Riley read a paper on Bacteriology in Applied En¬
tomology.

Not published.

Mr. H. W. Turner made a communication on An Extinct
Lake of Pleistocene Times in the Sierra Nevada, California.
Published in this volume, pp. 385-410.

Remarks were made by Messrs. Gilbert and Diller.

Mr. W J McGee read a paper on The Flood Plains of Rivers.
Published in The Forum for April, 1891, pp. 221-234.

365th Meeting. February 14, 1891.

By the courtesy of the authorities of Columbian University
the meeting was held in the lecture-room of that institution to
listen to the address of the retiring president, Major C. E. Dutton,
on the subject “ Money Fallacies.”

Published in this volume, pp. 359-384.

The President, T. C. Mendenhall, occupied the chair and
there were about 150 members and invited guests present.

566

PHILOSOPHICAL SOCIETY OF WASHINGTON.

366th Meeting. February 28, 1891.

President Mendenhall in the chair.

Fifty-five members present.

The Chair announced the death of Charles Christopher
Parry, which occurred at his residence, in Davenport, Iowa,
February 20, 1890.

Mr. Edward Goodfellow read a biographical notice of the
late Capt. C. 0. Boutelle.

Published in this volume, pp. 466-471.

Vice-President Gilbert was called to the chair and Mr. Men¬
denhall exhibited and described a new pendulum apparatus.

Not published.

Remarks were made by Messrs. Paul, Harkness, Abbe, Baker,
Langley, Bigelow, Preston, and Mendenhall.

Mr. A. C. True read a paper On the Status and Tendencies
of the Agricultural Experiment Stations.

The substance of this paper is published in the annual reports
of the Secretary of Agriculture for 1889, pp. 485-544, and 1890,
pp. 489-555.

367th Meeting. March 14, 1891.

President Mendenhall in the chair.

Forty members present.

The election and qualification of the following individuals for
membership in the Society was announced :

Henry Newlin Stokes, Joseph Kay McCammon,' Rollin
Arthur Harris.

Mr. Swan M. Burnett made a communication on A New
Metric System of Numbering Prisms, and exhibited apparatus
for applying the system.

The substance of the paper is published in “ Ophthalmic Re¬
view,” London, January, 1891 ; also in “ Medical News,” Phila¬
delphia, May 2, 1891.

PROCEEDINGS.

567

Mr. E. D. Preston read a paper on The Study of the Earth’s
Figure by Means of the Pendulum.

Not published.

Remarks were made by Messrs. Woodward and Preston.

Mr. J. Howard Gore read a paper on The Geodetic Opera¬
tions in Russia.

Published in the Smithsonian Report for 1890.

The final paper of the evening was by Mr. J. Stanley-Browtn
on Bernardinite : Is it a Mineral or a Fungus ?

Published in the American Journal of Science, July, 1891, vol.
42, pp. 46-50.

368th Meeting, March 28, 1891.

Vice-President R. S. Woodward presided.

Forty members present.

Mr. Henry Farquhar made a communication on The Com¬
mercial Growth and Import Duties of the United States. Illus¬
trated by curves.

Published in chapter III of a work entitled “ Economic Delu¬
sions,” by A. B. and H. Farquhar. Published by G. P. Putnam’s
Sons, New York.

Mr. W J McGee read a paper on The Mississippi Bad Lands.

Not yet published.

Remarks were made by Messrs. Van Hise and McGee.

Mr. R. W. Shufeldt read a paper on Indian Types of Beauty,
and illustrated the subject by a series of lantern slides.

Not yet published.

369th Meeting. April 11, 1891.

Vice-President Gilbert in the chair.

Eleven members present.

On motion of Mr. Goode, it was voted that on account of the

568

PHILOSOPHICAL SOCIETY OF WASHINGTON.

small attendance, due to the inclemency of the weather, the
reading of the papers upon the program be deferred until the
next meeting.

370th Meeting. April 25, 1891.

Vice-President Gilbert in the chair.

Thirty-three members present.

The election and qualification of Mr. W. K. Carr as a mem¬
ber of the Society was announced.

Two papers, illustrated by a series of specimens, were read
On the Characteristic Radiate Growth in Acid Lavas, the first
by Mr. W. Cross, entitled Constitution and Origin of Spherulites
(published in this volume, pp. 411-444), and the second by Mr.
J. P. Iddings, entitled Spherulitic Crystallization in Obsidian
(published in this volume, pp. 445-464).

Remarks were made by Messrs. Abbe, Gilbert, Littlehales,
Iddings, and Cross.

Mr. R. S. Woodward gave a review of Tisserands Traite de
Mecanique Celeste.

Published in the Annals of Mathematics, vol. 6, No. 1.

Remarks were made by Messrs. Kummel and Woodward.

371st Meeting. May 9, 1891.

Vice-President Gilbert in the chair.

Twenty-one members present.

The death of Prof. Julius E. Hilgard, one of the founders of
the Society, was announced. It occurred at his residence in this
city on May 8.

Mr. F. W. Clarke made a communication on A Theory of the
Mica and Chlorite Groups.

To be published in the American Journal of Science early in
1892.

PROCEEDINGS.

569

Mr. J. W. Powell read a paper on Evolution of Industry.
Not yet published.

372d Meeting. May 23, 1891.

Vice-President Gilbert in the chair.

Eighteen members and one guest present.

Mr. R. T. Hill made a communication on Some Recent Geo¬
graphical and Geological Explorations in the Southwest.

Published in the American Journal of Science, July, 1891 ;
also in the Report of the U. S. Artesian Inquiry for 1891.

Remarks were made by Messrs. Ward and Hill.

Mr. F. H. Newell read a paper on Stream Measurements in
the Western States.

To be published under the head of Hydrography, in the
Twelfth Annual Report of the Director of the U. S. Geological
Survey.

Mr. D. E. Salmon read a paper On the Objects and Methods
of the System of National Cattle and Meat Inspection.

Not published.

373d Meeting. October 10, 1891.

President Mendenhall in the chair.

Fifty members and guests present.

The President announced the election and qualification for
membership of Dr. Albert L. Gihon U. S. N.; also the death,
since the last meeting, of Asa Owen Aldis, June 24, 1891, and
William Ferrel, September 18, 1891.

Mr. Cleveland Abbe made a communication on Meteorology
in Europe and America.

Not published.

Remarks on Mr. Abbe’s paper were made by Messrs. Hark-
ness, Hayden, Muzzey, and Fernow.

73— Bull. Phil. Soc., Wash., Vol. 11.

570

PHILOSOPHICAL SOCIETY OF WASHINGTON.

Mr. G. E. Curtis made a communication on The Rain-making
Experiments in Texas.

Published in Nature, vol. 44, October 22, 1891, p. 594.

A general discussion followed, participated in by Messrs. Fer-
now, Clarke, Hallock, Riley, McGee, and Abbe.

Mr. F. V/. Clarke made a communication on The Gem
Localities of Maine, with exhibition of specimens.

Not published.

374th Meeting. October 24, 1891.

President Mendenhall in the chair.

Thirty members and guests present.

Mr. Frank H. Bigelow presented An Account of the Experi¬
ments for Eliminating the Error of Personal Equation from
Stellar Transits by Photography, with exhibition of instruments
and photographic negatives.

Published in the January number of the New Sidereal Mes¬
senger and Astrophysical Journal.

Remarks on this communication were made by Messrs. Hark-
ness, Paul, and Winlock.

Governor John W. Hoyt (of Wyoming) gave An Account of
the Present Status and Prospects of the Project for a National
University.

Remarks upon this communication were made by Mr. F. W.
Clarke.

Mr. Thomas Wilson read a paper on The National Postal and
School Savings Bank System of Belgium. Not published.

Remarks were made by Messrs. Hill and Mann.

375th Meeting. November 7, 1891.

President Mendenhall in the chair.

Thirty-four members and guests present.

The first paper of the evening was read by Mr. E. M. Gal-
laudet on Values in the Education of the Deaf.

PROCEEDINGS.

571

Published in the Educational Review of New York, January
— , 1892.

Remarks were made by Messrs. Welling and Gallaudet.

Mr. J. C. Gordon made a communication on The New De¬
parture at Kendall Green.

376th Meeting. November 21, 1891.

Vice-President Fletcher in the chair.

Thirty-four members and guests present.

Mr. William Hallock made a communication on The Deep
Well at Wheeling.

Published in the Proceedings of the American Association for
the Advancement of Science for 1891.

Remarks were made by Messrs. Abbe, Woodward, and Hal¬
lock.

Mr. Robert T. Hill read a paper on The Occurrence and
Availability of Underground Water in Texas and New Mexico.

Published under the same title in the Report of the Artesian
Well Investigation of the U. S. Department of Agriculture, 1892.

The paper was discussed by Messrs. Abbe, McGee, Eldridge,
and Follett.

377th Meeting. December 5, 1891.

President Mendenhall in the chair.

Forty members and guests present.

The President announced the election and qualification of
Mark W. Harrington and Joseph Nelson James.

Mr. R. S. Woodward read a paper on Maxwell’s Theory of
Electrostatics.

Published in the Annals of Mathematics.

This paper was discussed by Messrs. Bigelow, Harkness,
Hill, and Woodward.

i

572

PHILOSOPHICAL SOCIETY OF WASHINGTON.

Mr. J. F. Hayford read two papers; the first, entitled The
Detection by Azimuth Observations of Variations in the Pole or
the Vertical, was discussed by Messrs. Bauer, Paul, Kummel,
Harkness, and Hayford ; the second was entitled A Recent
Check on the Relation Between the Metric Units of Length and
Mass.

Not published.

378th Meeting. December 19, 1891.

TWENTY-FIRST ANNUAL MEETING.

President Mendenhall in the chair.

Thirty-three members present.

On motion of Mr. Harkness, it was voted that the officers of
the Society shall serve to the end of the annual meeting.

The annual report of the Secretaries was read and accepted.

ANNUAL REPORT OF THE SECRETARIES.

Washington, D. C., December 19, 1891.

To the Philosophical Society of Washington :

The Secretaries have the honor to submit the following annual
report for the year 1891 :

The number of active members in the Society at the close of
last year was 198. Since that time 3 members have died : Mr.
George Bancroft died January 17 ; Hon. Asa Owen Aldis, June
24, and Professor William Ferrel, September 18, 1891.

During the year 10 new members have been added to the list.
The roll of new members is as follows :

Thomas W. Smillie. Henry Newlin Stokes.

Joseph Kay McCammon. Rollin Arthur Harris.
William K. Carr. Albert L. Gihon.

Isaac Winston. Mark W. Harrington.

John Nelson James. G. L. Morton.

PROCEEDINGS.

573

Upon request, 3 members have been transferred to the absent
list, 3 have resigned, and 5 have been dropped for the non-pay¬
ment of dues. There has thus been a decrease of 11 in the
number of active members from last year, but the addition of 10
new members brings the active membership of the Society at
the present time to 197.

Besides the annual meeting and the one at which the address
of the retiring President was delivered, the Society has held 15
regular meetings, with an average attendance of 36 members
and guests. At these meetings 38 communications were pre¬
sented by 32 members and 1 guest, and 44 members participated
in the discussions.

The General Committee has held 15 regular meetings, with an
average attendance of 13. The least number at any meeting
was 9 and the greatest 17.

The Mathematical Section has held 2 meetings, with an av¬
erage attendance of 8. Two communications were presented,
and one of them has been published in the Mathematical Mag¬
azine of this city.

During the year the Society has published four papers, includ¬
ing the annual address of the President, besides a series of
obituary notices of deceased members. The final brochures of
volume XI of the Bulletin are now in press. They contain the
minutes of the general meetings of the Society and the Mathe¬
matical Section from 1888 to 1891, inclusive.

Concerning the publication of communications presented to
the Philosophical Society during the year the following infor¬
mation has been obtained from the authors. As already stated,
4 have been published by the Society.

3 have been published in the American Journal of Science.

2 in Nature.

2 in The Forum.

3 in the reports of the U. S. Geological Survey.

2 in the Annals of Mathematics.

1 in the Weather Review.

2 in the Reports of the Department of Agriculture.

1 in the Medical News.

1 in the Smithsonian Report.

1 in the New Sidereal Messenger.

1 in the Educational Review.

574

PHILOSOPHICAL SOCIETY OF WASHINGTON.

1 in the Proceedings of the American Association for the Ad¬
vancement of Science.

14 have not been published.

Very respectfully,

W. C. WlNLOCK,

J. S. Diller,

Secretaries.

The annual report of the Treasurer was then read.

ANNUAL REPORT OF THE TREASURER.

The Philosophical Society of Washington , D. C. :

The Treasurer submits herewith his annual financial state¬
ment, covering the period from December 23, 1890, to December
19, 1891.

The income of the Society derivable from the dues of mem¬
bers for the year 1891 alone, and from interest accruing on
investments received during the same period, was as follows :

From dues of 1891 received in 1891 . $780 00

From receipts in 1891 of interest on investments. . . . 170 00

*

Total income derivable from 1891 . 950 00

The disbursements made during the year were all
chargeable to the transactions of the year 1891 and
amounted to . . . 598 54

Leaving balance in favor of the Society on the
year’s transactions of . $351 46

In addition to the receipts above mentioned, there were re¬
ceived on account of dues of 1889, $40 ; dues of 1890, $110 ; dues
of 1892, $20.

In May last, with the consent of the General Committee, the
Treasurer rented a lock-box at the National Safe Deposit Com¬
pany, Washington, D. C., in which to keep the securities owned
by the Society. There are now on deposit in the Treasurer’s
box in the vaults of that company the following securities, the
property of the Society, viz :

PROCEEDINGS.

575

One U. S. 4 per cent, bond, No. 64,596. . $500 00

One U. S. 4 per cent, bond, No. 135,639 . 1,000 00

Twenty-two Cosmos Club 5 per cent. 5-20 bonds, Nos.

16'to 21, 119 to 132, 135 and 136 (these bonds have

now become first-mortgage bonds) . 2,200 00

Total . $3,700 00

A committee from the General Committee of the Society is
now seeking an investment for a portion of the cash balance to
the credit of the Treasurer at Riggs & Co.

There are several pieces of movable property owned by the
Society which should be taken into account in any statement of
assets. It is not known to the Treasurer in whose charge this
property is now placed. It is believed to consist of a fine ma¬
hogany table and chair, a large blackboard, a microscope, and a
magic lantern. Omitting it from consideration, the money assets
of the Society may be stated as follows :

The securities on deposit at the National Safe Deposit

Co., as above . $3,700 00

Cash with Riggs & Co . 1,655 61

Unpaid dues . 205 00

Total . $5,560 00

The Society has no outstanding liabilities.

Respectfully submitted.

Wm. A. De Caindry,

Treasurer.

December 19, 1891.

The Treasurer in Account with The Philosophical Society of Washington , D. C.

576

PPIILOSOPHICAL SOCIETY OF WASHINGTON.

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Respectfully submitted.

PROCEEDINGS.

577

The report of the Treasurer was accepted and referred to an
Auditing Committee, consisting of Thomas Russell, G. E. Cur¬
tis, and B. R. Green.

The Society then proceeded to the election of officers, with
the following results :

President .

. G. K. Gilbert.

Vice-Presidents .

f G. Brown Goode. R. S. Woodward.

( Robert Fletcher. W. H. Dall.

Treasurer .

. W. A. De Caindry.

Secretaries .

. W. C. Winlock. J. S. Diller.

MEMBERS-AT-LARGE OF THE GENERAL COMMITTEE.

Marcus Baker. G. W. Hill.

H. H. Bates. H. M. Paul.

F. H. Bigelow. C. V. Riley.

F. W. Clarke. O. H. Tittmann.

L. F. Ward.

The following standing committees were appointed by the

President for 1892 :

On Communications:

R. S. Woodward.

J. S. Diller. F. H. Bigelow.

Robert Fletcher.

On Publications :

W. C. Winlock. Marcus Baker.

74— Bull. Phil. Soc., Wash., Vol. 11.

PROCEEDINGS

OF THE

MATHEMATICAL SECTION.

1888 to 1891.

36th Meeting. January 25, 1888.

The Chairman presided.

Present, thirteen members.

The minutes of the 35th meeting were read and approved.

An election of officers of the Section was held, resulting in the
choice of Mr. H. M. Doolittle for Chairman and Mr. R. S.
Woodward for Secretary. Thereupon Mr. Doolittle was called
to the chair and presided during the subsequent proceedings of
the evening.

Mr. A. S. Christie presented a communication on What is a
Quaternion ?

[Abstract.]

A quaternion, according to the point of view from which it is regarded,
is either, 1st, The product of a tensor and a versor ; or, 2d, The sum of a
scalar and a vector ; or, 3d, A power or a root of a vector ; or, 4th, Any
combination by sum , difference , product , quotient, power, or root of tensors,
versors, scalars, vectors, or quaternions — where the underscored words
must be taken in the peculiar but not perverted sense assigned them by
Hamilton.

Tensors, versors, scalars, vectors, and quaternions are reals, easily com¬
prehensible and combined by methods always rationally explicable. It
is a mistake to suppose that either the ideas or the methods of the qua¬
ternion calculus are based upon or are affected by any “ curious quasi¬
metaphysical speculation.” Tait’s employment of that phrase (North
British Review, September, 1866, page — ; Quaternions, 2d edition, § 64)

(579]

580

PHILOSOPHICAL SOCIETY OF WASHINGTON.

is unfortunate and does injustice to the luminous and unimpeachable
character of Hamilton’s mathematical reasoning. It is equally a mistake
to suppose that the quaternion calculus is merely an “ abridged notation.”
It is a calculus sui generis, its novelty consisting, not in a notation, but in
new ideas requiring a new notation for their expression.

37th Meeting. February 8, 1888.

The Chairman presided.

Present, seventeen members.

The minutes of the 36th meeting were read and approved.

Mr. R. S. Woodward presented the principal features of a
paper on The Variation of Terrestrial Density, Gravity, and
Pressure, according to the Laplacian Law.

Starting from the law assumed by Laplace, namely, that at any
point within the earth’s surface the increment of pressure is
proportional to the increment of the square of the density, the
steps involved in the derivation of formulas expressing the den¬
sity, gravity, and pressure in terms of the distance of the point
from the earth’s center were briefly indicated. A set of for¬
mulas adapted to the numerical computation of the density,
gravity, and pressure was given, and a table of numerical values
derived by means of these formulas was exhibited. Attention
was called to the fact that, according to the law in question,
gravity increases with the depth below the earth’s surface to a
maximum which corresponds to a depth of about 610 miles,
and then decreases to nothing at the earth’s center.

Some examples of other laws connecting pressure and density
but not applicable to the earth were briefly considered.

An outline was given of a proposed extension of the Laplacian
law, or rather of an investigation whose object is the discovery
of all possible laws of arrangement of density applicable to the
earth, provided those laws are continuous functions of distance
from the earth’s center.

Mr. Artemas Martin read a paper on Square Numbers whose
Sum is a Square Number.

PROCEEDINGS.

581

Mr. Martin gave a proof of the proposition that a series of n
squares whose sum is a square can always he found. The ap¬
plication of the formulas expressing this proof was illustrated
for the cases in which n= 2 and n— 3, and the geometrical con¬
structions corresponding to these and the general case were
pointed out.

When the number of squares to be found is large, the tenta¬
tive process explained by Mr. Martin in his communication on
wth-power numbers whose sum is an nth power, at the 35th
meeting of the Section, is found to be more convenient. By this
process many series were derived. A few of these are as follows :

1. The sum of the squares of the natural numbers from 1 to
24, both inclusive, is 702. This result is of historical interest in
being the only known series of squares of consecutive natural
numbers, from 1 upward, whose sum is a square. It is the
solution of a prize problem proposed in the Ladies’ Diary in
1792.

2. Several series of 50 squares whose sum is 2312.

3. Several series of 1,000 squares whose sum is a square.

4. One series of 999,995 squares whose sum is a square.

5. Two series of 1,000,000 squares whose sum is a square.

6. Several series of squares of consecutive numbers whose sum
is a square.

38th Meeting. February 22, 1888.

The Chairman presided.

Present, nineteen members and guests.

The minutes of the 37th meeting were read and approved.

Mr. G. W. Hill read a paper on The Interior Constitution of
the Earth as Respects Density.

This paper was published inextenso in vol. iv, No. 1, of Annals
of Mathematics, University of Virginia, Va., 1888.

Mr. H. A. Hazen presented a paper on A Failure in the Ap¬
plication of the Law of Probabilities.

582

PHILOSOPHICAL SOCIETY OF WASHINGTON.

39th Meeting, March 7, 1888.

In the absence of the Chairman of the Section, Mr. W. B.
Taylor was called to the chair and presided during this meet¬
ing.

There were present eleven members and guests.

The minutes of the 38th meeting were read and approved.

v

Mr. C. H. Kummell presented a communication entitled Re¬
marks on Some Recent Discussions of Target-Shooting. The
recent discussions to which he referred are those of J. Bertrand,
published in the Comptes Rendus, Nos. 3, 4, 6, and 8 of vol. cvi,
1888, and those of Mr. E. L. De Forest, published in the Trans¬
actions of the Connecticut Academy, vol. vn, 1885. These
authors reject Poisson’s hypothesis that the departure of a shot
from the center of the target is the resultant simply of the inde¬
pendent errors of alignment in azimuth and altitude, and main¬
tain that the law of arrangement of shots in any target can only
be determined by examining the target itself.

Mr. Kummell referred to his own investigations on target¬
shooting, published in the Bulletin of the Philosophical Society
for 1883, vol. vi, p. 138, which proceed from Poisson’s hypothesis,
and affirmed the correctness of his published views and results.

Mr. Kummell gave also a solution of the problem of con¬
ditioned maxima or minima from a new point of view.

This solution consisted in the introduction of certain factors
or correlates in a manner similar to that followed in the treat¬
ment of conditioned observations in least squares, by which the
problem is changed in form to that of unconditioned maxima
and minima.

Mr. G. K. Gilbert proposed a new problem relative to the
estimation of skill in making predictions. He stated that
Messrs. Finley and Doolittle and himself had considered in their
investigations only absolute success and failure. Some weight,
he thought, should be attributed to a near approach to success,
or there ought to be considered degrees of success and failure.
In short, the problem he hoped some of the mathematicians of
the Section would solve is, “ What is the proper mathematical
expression for a close miss ? ”

PROCEEDINGS.

583

40th Meeting. March 21, 1888.

The Chairman presided.

Present, fifteen members and guests.

The minutes of the 39th meeting were read and approved.

Mr. M. H. Doolittle presented a communication on Proba¬
bilities.

Mr. Doolittle read an extract from the chapter on the Calcu¬
lation of Chances in the eighth edition of Mill’s System of Logic,
in which Mill accedes to Laplace’s definition of the term proba¬
bility , as implied in his statement of requisites for mathematical
calculation, after having controverted it in an earlier edition.

While Mr. D. regarded Laplace’s definition and statement as
eminently proper for adoption by mathematicians in order to a
comprehensive and correct understanding of the subject, he
maintained that a signification is very extensively attached to
the term when used without qualification, not only in popular
usage, but also among scientific men, such as largely to justify
the position at first taken by Mr. Mill.

41st Meeting. April 4, 1888.

The Chairman presided.

The Secretary being absent, Mr. G. K. Gilbert was appointed
Secretary pro tem.

Present, eleven members.

The minutes of the fortieth meeting were read and approved,
subject to revision by Mr. Doolittle, of his remarks.

The subject for discussion was, What is Force?

The following paper by Mr. A. Hall was read by the Chair¬
man :

When a man comes to intellectual consciousness he finds himself in a
wonderful and interesting world, full of change and motion on earth and
in the heavens. Perhaps the most striking of these phenomena are the
rising and setting of the sun and moon and the grand procession of the

584

PHILOSOPHICAL SOCIETY OF WASHINGTON.

planets and the stars. Men are so constituted that theories for the expla¬
nation of these motions and changes will soon be formed. Thus we find
in the oldest hooks that have come down to us very complete and dog¬
matic accounts of the construction of the universe. The slow growth of
science has overturned one after another of these explanations until we
have come to look with distrust upon elaborate theories that cannot be
tested by observation or reduced to truths that may be considered axio¬
matic. The history of astronomy gives a good example of such changes of
opinion. The study of this science presents to observers the motions of
bodies in a manner that cannot fail to excite their curiosity. From the
study of the motions of bodies has come the science of rational mechanics.
It deals with questions in a purely mathematical form, and its funda¬
mental conceptions are matter, space, and time. It is not necessary to
undertake the definition of these conceptions. The only satisfactory
method seems to be that every one shall determine them for himself.
We assume that they are quantities that can be measured, and proceed to
consider the motions of a body. Among the first things we notice are
differences in the rates of motion ; this gives us the idea of velocity. Our
first step in such investigation is always to simplify the conditions, and
here we begin by considering motions that are uniform and rectilinear.
In this case we measure velocity by comparing the ratio of the observed
spaces to that of the observed times. Thus we have

v : V :

v

FX

T

X S

In order to make measurements we must adopt units of space, time, and
velocity. If we make

£=1, T= 1, F=l,

we have for uniform motion

If the motion be variable we have for the instant t, by the usual, method
of proceeding to the limit,

ds

Observation shows that the same body has different velocities at differ¬
ent times, and we infer a cause for this change. We notice that a large

PROCEEDINGS.

585

body has two kinds of motion ; a motion of translation and a whirling
motion. We also see bodies change their forms while moving, and this
occurs even among the heavenly bodies, as is shown when a comet ap¬
proaches the sun and recedes from it. Again, in order to make the ques¬
tion simple, we leave out of consideration the whirling motions of bodies
and their changes of form, and to do this we imagine the moving body to
be infinitely small, and call it a particle. This particle we adopt as the
unit of matter. Assuming this simple body to be uniformly changing its
velocity under the action of causes which we designate as forces, we have
the proportion,

<P

v_

T '

Let F be the unit of force, or a force which acting on a unit of matter
during the unit of time produces a unit of velocity ; then for a uniform
force we have 1

v

If the force be variable we have

dv d2s

9 = at =

Force appears, therefore, as a secondary idea, or as a function of the three
fundamental conceptions of matter, space, and time. It is true that this
process teaches us nothing concerning the nature of force, and I know of
no method that does ; but from the preceding simple equations can be
deduced the whole theory of rational mechanics. We are able to study
the modes under which forces act, and in some cases to deduce the laws
of their action, but all these results are to be controlled by accurate obser¬
vation and measurement. Thus it is very natural to extend the New¬
tonian law of gravitation to the stellar universe , but such an extension
should be tested by observation, and the reasons for the universal ex¬
tension of the simple law that controls our solar system should be care¬
fully examined.

The notion of force is one that we acquire fronj our earliest experiences,
such as lifting bodies, putting them in motion, or resisting their motions.
Let us examine some of the phrases that are in common use ; and first the
“ centrifugal force.” The equations of motion of a particle for rectangular
coordinates are

d2x Fy d2z

dt2 ~ dt 2 ~ dt2 ~ Z’

in which t is the independent variable. The phrase “ centrifugal force ”
75— Bull. Phil. Soc., Wash., Vol. 11.

586

PHILOSOPHICAL SOCIETY OF WASHINGTON.

came from considering motion in a curve ; and since the radius of curva¬
ture p for the point xyz has the expression

where s is the independent variable, we transform the expressions for the
forces into others which have a more general form. Thus

d2x d ( dx ds \

dtf dt \ds dt )

d2x ds1 d2s dx

~ ds 2 dt 2 ^ dtf ds

d2x dx d2s

’ ' ds 2 ds dtf ’

with similar values for the components Y and Z. Squaring these values
and adding, we have for the resultant,

Itf

^•{(f )'+©)'+©•}

2 d2s j dx dlx ( dy d2y
v ‘ dtf \ ds

(l iV

\ dt2 )

d2x
ds 2 ds

dz

ds 2 ds

dtfz \
ds2 j

+ 1 .7^2

f dtf ^ dytf + d* \ .

\ ds

ds2

ds2 j

From analytical geometry we have

dx2 -f dy2 -f dz 2 — ds2.

From this equation the second term in the values of E 2 is zero, and the
coefficient of ( J is unity ; so that we have

2* _ j^y j. f£iy.

E2 =

+

\ dtf )

If we differentiate the equation

dx2 + dy 2 -f- dz2 = ds2,

making t the independent variable, and divide by 2 ds dt2, we have

PROCEEDINGS.

587

Since are the direction cosines of the tangent at the point

d2§

xyz, we see that is the 'accelerating force along the tangent to the

curve. The other component of R acts at a right angle to the tangent
and contributes nothing to the velocity of the particle, hut changes the
direction of its motion. This component is called the “ centrifugal force.”
Since it does not change the velocity of the particle, and would not even
if its connection with the center of motion were severed, it is common to
speak of it as a fiction ; but it is a component of R that must be consid¬
ered in many questions, and the old nomenclature of Huygens is con¬
venient. At the equator of the earth centrifugal force diminishes gravity
by ^jgth part of its value. The effect varies as the square of the cosine
of the latitude, the general expression being

G is the value of gravity if the earth had no rotation, and <p is the lati¬
tude.

Another expression which is disputed, and which indeed seems to be
unfortunate, is the “ force of inertia.” Correctly speaking, there does not
appear to be a force of this kind, and we mean by this phrase the reac¬
tion we experience when we attempt to put a body in motion or to resist
a moving body. If a mass be placed on a smooth surface where there is
no friction, and if it be acted on by a force however small, it will begin
to move with a certain velocity. If the mass be increased, the force must
also be increased in order to obtain the same velocity ; and if we could
accurately compare the forces we could in this way determine the masses
of bodies. But it does not follow that matter opposes a resistance to the
action of force.

»

Still another expression which seems to me incorrect is that of “ specific
gravity.” Gravity is a general force and does not depend on the nature
of bodies ; but so delightfully inconsistent are we that writers who strain
at the term “ centrifugal force ” have no trouble with “ specific gravity.”

The preceding examples are sufficient to convince me that the only
safe way in such matters is first to obtain the general equations of mo¬
tions (a), and then to deduce results by the proper analytical transforma¬
tions. This method has the great advantage of starting from grounds
that are fundamentally correct ; so that a slip in the use of a word or
phrase need not make our result wrong.

After the reading of Mr. Hall’s paper Mr. H. H. Bates said :

In the paper to which we have just had the pleasure of listening
Professor Hall states some well-known mathematical truths with his
accustomed accuracy and ability. His presentation has no flaw as a

588

PHILOSOPHICAL SOCIETY OF WASHINGTON.

mathematical statement. I had doubted, on receiving the notice for this
evening’s discussion, whether the subject announced strictly came within
the province of the mathematical section. The question, “ What is force ? ”
seemed more properly to belong to physics, and to involve one of the fun¬
damental definitions of Philosophy ; yet 1 recognize that the subject is
in a sense a mathematical one. Mathematicians find in their analytical
processes certain constants and also variables, representing a rate of
acceleration in dynamic problems, and this they conveniently term force,
throwing causes out of view; to wThich there is no objection. This,
however, affords no answer to the question, “ What is force ? ” Mathe¬
matics is purely a science of abstract relations, dealing with such rela¬
tivities as number, quantity, extension, position, dimension, and time, and
their variations, by deductive methods, and hence is incapable of replying
to primary questions of ontology. Many mathematicians, therefore, find¬
ing the question irrelevant to their science, throw it out and deny that
force has any existence other than as a mathematical expression. Perhaps
the question cannot be answered. The word “ force,” however, exists in
our language, as in others, as a symbol of a reality of nature, though still
with an ambiguity of usage proportional to the abstruseness of the subject.
It is a fact in language, as in all other evolutionary products, that function
precedes structure and is the prime cause of the evolution of structure. Thus
both organs and words exist at first in a generalized and rudimentary
state, the organ or word becoming specialized as the function becomes
differentiated. The terms of physics and mechanics have become more
specialized within the last twenty-five years. About a quarter of a cen¬
tury ago a distinguished English physicist published a work which he
called “ The Correlation of the Physical Forces,” a title not particularly
incorrect at that time, but which now would be wrritten “ The correlation of
the various modes of energy ; ” energy being the well-understood dynamic
term for the manifestations of matter in motion and capable of doing
work by transference of motion. Heat, although a form of vis impressa,
being a mode of motion capable of impressing itself by transference, has
been differentiated as a form of energy, as much so as vis viva.

Force is the proximate cause of motion, while energy is the product or
resultant compounded of mass and the variable factor motion, itself a
function of space and time. Energy is therefore variable and transferable,
while force is persistent and inexhaustible, and manifest as well under
static as under dynamic conditions. A magnet or a planet draws a million
neighboring bodies with the same power as one. Force in its centripetal
aspect appears to exist as a universal stress and is not separately apparent.
There is an intermolecular stress which takes the names of cohesion and
affinity. In its aspect of mass, force is manifest under the various forms
of “ 'vis ” as used by Newton, the basis of which is inertia or persistence
of condition. In this aspect it is also a cause of motion by transference or
by conservation of condition. I hold, then, that in the necessary imper¬
fection of language we may with propriety use the term force in either

PROCEEDINGS.

589

of its recognized senses : as a physical term to express a fundamental con¬
cept of philosophy, and a basic fact of observation, as the force of gravity,
the force of cohesion, the force of elasticity, the force of magnetism, the
force of affinity, the force of inertia, or as a mathematical term to express
mere kinetic relations. In the vernacular, it is the mere synonym of
power.

Mr. M. H. Doolittle had previously defined a force as “ that which does
anything whatever ; ” but this definition may require interpretation. A
chord subtends an arc, though there may be difference of opinion as to
whether the chord can properly be said to do anything. It is supposed
that no one regards a mathematical line as a force ; but perhaps every
possible definition would itself need to be defined, and he would not now
attempt to improve the definition which he had given. The word should
be so understood as to adapt it for use in fundamental propositions, such
as that of the “ parallelogram of forces,” and the definition should there¬
fore be broad enough to cover every case. He read an extract from
Newton’s Principia (Book I, sec. II, prop. 1), in which the parallelogram
of forces is made to cover the case in which vis insita, (inertia) is one of the
forces. He read another extract from the same work (Scholium between
definitions and axioms), in which Newton speaks of “ the forces which are
the causes and effects of the true motions.” A body may be conceived as
voluntarily endeavoring to move in one direction while impelled by an
external force in another direction. In order to bring this case under the
general proposition, voluntary effort must be regarded as a force. Some
writers on physics define force as “ that which changes or tends to change
a body’s condition of rest or of uniform motion in a right line,” maintain¬
ing that a body left to itself perseveres in such a condition, and that no
force is required for such perseverance ; but it may well be doubted, if
not denied, that any one knows what matter does when left to itself. The
uneducated usually think that force is necessary to keep a. body from
falling, but not to make it fall. There are those who maintain that matter
is always left to itself and produces all the phenomena of the universe
without foreign assistance or intervention ; others hold that matter is
never left to itself, and that divine or other external force is always re¬
quired to keep it in any state of motion or even of existence ; between
these extremes there may be a great variety of opinions, and all are un¬
scientific. There is a conservative force which always tends to preserve
an existing condition of rest or of uniform motion in a right line, and
there are various mutative forces which in various ways permanently
or transiently tend to change such conditions. Whether any or all of
these forces consist of matter itself, are inherent in it, or are impressed
upon it, are metaphysical speculations which should not be imbedded in
the significations of terms employed in physical science. We need broad
terms for broad propositions as well as narrow terms for narrow proposi¬
tions ; it is much easier to introduce a new narrow term when it is wanted
than to replace a broad term that has been spoiled ; and those who give

590

PHILOSOPHICAL SOCIETY OF WASHINGTON.

a narrow meaning to such a word as force may believe that they are im¬
proving onr terminology by rendering it, as they say, more definite ; but
they are really threatening an irreparable injury to our language.

Mr. Elliott exhibited a notation for various fundamental
terms in physics and electricity, force being designated by m a,
the symbols for mass and acceleration.

After Mr. Elliott’s remarks, and in response to the President’s
comments on the parallelogram of forces, so called, Mr. Bates
said :

I regard the use of the term force in the parallelogram of forces as com¬
ing under Newton’s “ vis impressa ” and relating to the manifestation of
mass under the first law of motion. The resultant is the expression of
the second law of motion, exemplifying the relativity of motion and the
independence of vires impressx. The parallelogram is a purely intellectual
notion — a sort of mental scaffold by which we aid conception, having no
real existence.

42d Meeting. May 2, 1888.

The Chairman presided.

Present ten members and guests.

The minutes of the 41st meeting were read and approved.

Mr. W. B. Taylor read a paper on A Question in Mathemati¬
cal Nomenclature, of which the following is an abstract:

[Abstract.]

Mr. Taylor in criticising the terms “ square ” and “ cube,” commonly
used to designate algebraic second and third powers — a usage probably due
to the convenient conciseness of the expressions, and probably also to a
latent sentiment of their greater definiteness — thought that the evils of
such mis-nomer were twofold : First, the vague suggestion of some geo¬
metrical significance in such expressions as “ the squares of the disturbing
forces,” employed in discussions of planetary perturbations ; “ mass multi¬
plied by the square of the velocity,” in dynamical problems, and ‘‘ the
product of the masses divided by the square of the radius,” in celestial
mechanics. In the latter case the general use of the symbol r 2 suggested
the further error that a radial emanation is involved, and it was contended
that the symbol d for distance simply should always be used in preference
to the customary r for radius. And the second evil was the false indue-

Proceedings.

591

tion (actually drawn by some writers of repute) that since the first three
terms in a series of algebraic powers may have a geometrical import, the
succeeding terms should also in some way have the same. Of course, as
an exercise of pure logic, such discussions may he as instructive as the
developments of any other imaginary values of a variable ; hut when the
products of such pure or abstract logic are supposed to have a real concrete
existence they evidence fatuity and illustrate absurdity. If logic be the
science of “ necessary conclusions,” it must as certainly conduct us to neces¬
sary falsehood as to necessary truth, accordingly as our postulates are
faulty or sound.

Reference was made in this connection to the somewhat astounding
statement of Professor Peter G. Tait (in his “ Lectures on Recent Advances
in Physical Science,” published in 1876) that our Solar system might be
gradually passing into “ curvature of space,” where a fourth-dimension
change of form will be necessarily evolved. Such arrant nonsense could
be accounted for only on the supposition that the incongruous algebraic
square and cube naturally suggested cubic contents of the fourth degree
and even of still higher powers in grandly ascending orders, and that the
abstract and imaginary had been hopelessly confounded with the concrete
* and the real. While it is true that algebraic analysis may be successfully
applied to geometrical relations, the converse is utterly false ; and the
two departments of mathematical logic are as radically distinct as is the
science of space dimension from the “ science of pure time.” The speaker
insisted, in conclusion, that mathematicians, above all others, should culti¬
vate not only the finest perspicacity of concept, but the most vigorous
accuracy of expression.

[Mr. Taylor added that after writing out his present criticism he had
just discovered (almost accidentally) that Judge Stallo, in his “ Concepts
and Theories of Modern Physics,” published in 1882, incidentally remarked
in a foot-note to chapter 14 (on Riemann’s Dissertation) that such an ex¬
pression as x square or x cube assumes algebraic quantity to have an in¬
herent geometrical import.]

Mr. Marcus Baker made a communication on Averages.

592

PHILOSOPHICAL SOCIETY OF WASHINGTON.

43d Meeting. May 16, 1888.

The Chairman presided.

Present, thirteen members and guests.

The minutes of the 42d meeting were read and approved.

Mr. Artemus Martin presented a paper on An Error in Bar¬
low’s Theory of Numbers. The following is an abstract :

[Abstract.]

It is stated on page 299 of Barlow’s “ Theory of Numbers ” that “ the
equation

x2 — 5658 y2 = l

has the least values of x and y as follows, viz :

x = 166100725257977318398207998462201324702014613503,
y = 698253616416770487157775940222021002391003072.”

But I have found the least values of x and y satisfying this equation to
be —

x = 1284836351,
y= 17081120.

As J3arlow’s value of x contains three more figures than his value of y,
it is plain that the coefficient of y2 should contain five figures, and that he
(or some one else) left out one of them. Our problem is to determine and
locate the missing digit.

From x2 — Ny 2 = 1 we easily obtain

very nearly when x and y are large numbers ;

. * . - = •/ N very nearlv.

y

In the example under consideration I find

~ = 237.8802219 +, = / 5658Y

Hence it appears that the last figure, 7, of the coefficient of y2 was left out,
probably by the compositor, possibly by the writer of the “ copy.”

I have computed the least values of x and y in the equation

x2 — 56587 y2 = 1,

and find them to be correctly given by Barlow.

PROCEEDINGS.

593

Mr. H. Farquhar read a paper entitled Systematic Differ¬
ences of Proper Motions in Declination Catalogues. The follow¬
ing is an abstract :

[Abstract.]

The “ Fundamental-Catalog ” of the Berlin Jahrbuch (Astr. Gesellsch.
Pubs. 14 and 17, Dr. A. Auwers) and that of the American Ephemeris
(Report of Northern Boundary Commission, Appx. H, Prof. L. Boss) con¬
tain 303 stars in common. Boss gives, along with his proper motion in
declination, an estimate of its probable error ; and the probable error-
square of the difference between his proper motion and Auwers’ is taken
proportional to the square of this estimate plus a constant (e| + .000008),
the differences being weighted accordingly from 1 to 4. The stars were
first taken in zones between parallels 5° apart, then within limits of an
hour of right ascension. The former only of these comparisons is shown
in the table. Though the differences in order of right ascension show
some uniformities of sign, they are not well satisfied by a formula in sine
and cosine of a, while the smallness of the means and the wide range of
the individual residuals throw doubt on their significance/

The first column of the table gives the declination, the next two the
number of + and — residuals within the zone in the direction Boss-
Auwers, the fourth the sum of the weights, as just explained ; the fifth
the mean difference of proper motion in declination in seconds per cen¬
tury ; the sixth the same difference, smoothed by taking five times the
means of successive values. This is adopted as the systematic difference
of the two catalogues in proper motion. It is so applied to the next
column, five times the reduction of the Pulkowa ’45 to the Pulkowa ’65
catalogue or the systematic difference between Auwers’ system of proper
motions and those to be obtained from a comparison of these two, column
8 giving the same difference for Boss. The uniformity of sign is signifi¬
cant. If this column, 8, were corrected by the rate of change of latitude,
f7/ per century, deduced from observations of Polaris at Pulkowa, but not
included in the declinations, the residuals, except near the southern limit,
would all become very small. Column 10 gives the systematic difference
between the proper motions of Boss and those to be deduced from com¬
parison of six Greenwich catalogues, 1840 to 1872, all reduced to the same
refractions. It is derived from the table of systematic corrections to each
of these catalogues. Column 9 = No. 10 — 6 gives a similar difference for
Auwers. Considering northern stars only, the closer agreement of the
Boss system is noteworthy, but the effect of those south of the equator is
materially to weaken the argument from these catalogues. Column 11 is
from the Berliner Jahrbuch for 1884, and shows the systematic difference
in declination between the Jahrbuch and the American Ephemeris for
1883 as found by Dr. Auwers. No. 13 gives the difference of the funda¬
mental catalogues themselves (Epoch 1875) found by me in 1886 [see Bull.

7G— Bull. Phil. Soc., Wash., Vol, 11.

594

PHILOSOPHICAL SOCIETY OF WASHINGTON.

Phil. Soc. ; also Proceedings Amer. Assn., Buffalo meeting]. This difter-
8 10

ence, corrected by -f etc., of column 6, gives Nos. 12, 14, 15,

16, and 17, the differences between the two systems for 1883, 1865, 1838,
1800, and 1755. Columns 12 and 11 are closely alike, as they should be ;
the only differences, of a tenth of a second, are about the pole and about
declination 45°, and are probably due to the asterisked stars of the
Ephemeris, whose declinations do not depend on Boss [see B. J., 1884, p.
— , 86 — ]. As column 14 gives the reduction to Boss of the later Pulkowa
declinations at their own epoch, it may be of interest to examine it. No.
18 gives the residuals of this column, after subtracting the simple correc¬
tion x|~g (54° — 8) ; the difference thus practically disappears, except close
to the pole and within 15° of the Pulkowa horizon. This is a striking
demonstration of the equable character of the later Pulkowa scale, and if
the corrections are taken as showing an error in it, this error is naturally
to be ascribed to the adoption at Pulkowa of two large refractions, a cor¬
rection which may possibly be smaller south than north of their zenith.
Column 19 gives the difference between Auwers’ system of Publication 14
and that of Astron. Nachr., vol. 64 (see Pub. 14). No. 20 = No. 19 + No.
15 shows the reduction to Boss of Dr. Auwers’ former system. The best
epoch of this system differs from that of the Fundamental Catalog by 27
years, about a fourth of the interval from Bradley’s observations (1755-
1865) ; hence if the places of Auwers for 1838 have 16 times the weight of
Bradley’s places they are as suitable as his for the deduction of proper
motions. Dr. Auwers, in fact, forms them from a mean of fourteen observa¬
tion catalogues, each having weight 1, while he allows to Bradley but half
weight, and since 14 : \ > 16, it seems to follow from his very rule of pro¬
cedure that the proper motions of the Astron. Gesellsch. Fundamental
Catalog would have been better had he based them exclusively on com¬
parison with this earlier system, making no use at all of Bradley. As
Professor Boss proceeds upon this very theory, his close agreement with
Auwers’ earlier system is not surprising ; it would be closer still but for
his inclusion of some catalogues (as the Pulkowa, 1845) not then accessible
to Auwers. Column 22 gives Boss’ correction to Piazzi, and No. 21 == No.

22 — No. 16 that of the Publication 14 system. The difference in size be¬
tween these columns is noteworthy, though no considerable systematic
weight is generally allowed to Piazzi. Column 23 gives the correction to
“Greenwich 1861” in the fundamental system, which, as Dr. Auwers
derives proper motions from comparison of this with his reduction of
Bradley, is taken as his systematic correction of Bradley. No. 24 = No.

23 -j- No. 17 is therefore Boss’ correction to Auwers’ Bradley. A careful
direct comparison of the two is desirable. Professor Newcomb has pub¬
lished one (“Standard Clock and Zodiacal Stars”) for the neighborhood
of the ecliptic. Treating the corrections found by him as a function of
declination and smoothing them, column 25 is derived, furnishing a rough
check on No. 24. The next two columns contain Boss’ correction to
Bessel’s Bradley for stars about the ecliptic and between -p 15° and — 15°,

596

PHILOSOPHICAL SOCIETY OP WASHINGTON.

No. 26 for those near 0h, and No. 27 near 12h of right ascension. These
apply to Bessel’s reduction, unaffected by a correction derived from Brad¬
ley’s observations of the sun and introduced by Bessel between -f 14° and
— 14°; the value of which correction, smoothed by repeatedly taking
means of successive values, gives column 28. It is of the same sign as the
Boss correction, and agrees more nearly with column 26 than with a mean
of Nos. 26 and 27.

It may be worth while to summarize the reasons for believing that Brad¬
ley’s observations, even in the elaborate and skillful reduction of them
made by Dr. Auwers, are open to a large correction in the direction of the
Boss system, the first of which is furnished by that system itself, which
is for 1820-30 practically a mean of Bessel’s, Struve’s, and Argelander’s
independent and carefully determined places. (2) The evidence of
Piazzi’s results (see columns 21, 22). (3) Evidence of the same kind from
contemporary work by Mayer in Gottinger and La Caille in Paris, both
of whom put their southern stars considerably northward of Bradley.
(4) The similarity of Boss’ correction to that adopted by Bessel, repre¬
sented in column 28. For a correction to Bradley of opposite sign
there is one reason: that the Boss system requires us to adopt for
Greenwich in 1755 a latitude considerably higher than is now used.
Auwers adopts a latitude for Bradley’s epoch 0//.88 smaller than Bessel’s
value, though 0/7.56 larger than the one suiting recent observations, while
Boss is satisfied with Bessel’s latitude. Though the change of a second or
more is quite possible, and agrees with observations elsewhere, there is no
independent reason for suspecting it, and the series of catalogues under
Airy’s long direction of this observatory shows no sign of its continuance.
This consideration, together with the uncontested high superiority of
Bradley over Mayer or Piazzi as an observer, may be held sufficient to
keep the question for the present doubtful.

Professor W. A. Rogers (Memoirs Amer. Acad., n. s. vol. 10) has already
made a comparison between these two declination systems, and has paid
attention to the important difference of proper motions used in their for¬
mation. The present paper is, however, entirely independent of the re¬
searches of Professor Rogers.

Mr. M. H. Doolittle presented a communication on Means
and Averages, of which the following is an abstract :

[Abstract.] *

Such problems as require the determination of the average value of a
variable may be divided into two classes.

In the first class there is a locus within which points, lines, or surfaces
are equally distributed. In the solution the equicrescent variable grows
but is otherwise stationary, and its definite integral is the locus of equal
distribution. For illustration, let it be required to determine the average
value of a right triangle inscribed in a given semicircle, the vertices of the

PROCEEDINGS.

597

right angle being equally distributed in the semi-circumference, or each set
of legs being equally distributed in a right angle having the hypotenuse
for one of its sides.

In the second class there is no locus of equal distribution, and the
variable whose average value is required is a function of an equicrescent
variable which moves while it grows. For illustration, let it be required
to determine the average area of a right triangle with a given hypotenuse
and one of the legs equicrescent.

In the published works on the subject nearly all, if not all, the problems
belong to the first class, and the locus of equal distribution is frequently a
given constant. When only one such constant is mentioned it has not
always been thought necessary to state that this constant is the locus of
equal distribution.

If it be required to determine the average area of a right triangle having
a given hypotenuse, with no other conditions given, the problem is con¬
fessedly obscure ; but the solution best conforming to any system of inter¬
pretation is that which makes the altitude divide the hypotenuse into
equicrescent segments.

44th Meeting. May 30, 1888.

In the absence of the Chairman, Mr. H. H. Bates presided.
Present, fourteen members.

The minutes’ of the 43d meeting were read and approved.

On motion of Mr. W. B. Taylor the following resolutions
were adopted :

Whereas we have learned of the sudden death of our esteemed fellow-
member E. B. Elliott, which occurred on last Thursday, May 24th ; and
whereas Mr. Elliott has been one of the most earnest and faithful mem¬
bers of this Section, presiding over the meeting which organized it, attend¬
ing almost every session, contributing frequently to its proceedings, and
always appreciatively following the discussions of others :

Be it resolved by the Mathematical Section of the Philosophical Society of
Washington, at a session held May 30th, 1888, That w'e, the members of the
Section, feel it to be our duty to unite in a warm expression of our high
appreciation of the intellectual and social qualities of our departed friend,
of our strong admiration of the courtesy and fidelity manifested by him in
all his relations with others, and of our deep grief at the loss we realize in
having no longer the pleasure and the benefit of his familiar presence
among us.

Be it resolved, That the Secretary of the Mathematical Section be requested
to present a copy of this minute of its proceedings to his relatives, with

598

PHILOSOPHICAL SOCIETY OE WASHINGTON.

the assurance of our sincere condolence with them in the affliction they
have suffered.

Mr. G. W. Hill read a paper on The Disputed Mass of Titan.
This paper was published in full in No. 176 of the Astronom¬
ical Journal, Boston, July, 1888, under the title The Motion of
Hyperion and the Mass of Titan.

Mr. Ormond Stone also made a communication on the same
general subject, the title of his paper being The Orbit of Hyperion.
The following is an abstract of this paper-:

[Abstract.]

A pure ellipse having a mean longitude equal to three times the mean
angular distance of the radius vector of Hyperion from that of Titon was
taken as an intermediate orbit. The difference between the equations of
motion for the intermediate orbit and those for the disturbed orbit gave
new equations, which were solved by indeterminate coefficients. An ap¬
proximate solution gave for the mass of Titan ¥dir times that of Saturn.

The following paper on Problem-Solving was read by Mr. A.

Hall :

Every one who has a taste for mathematical studies must have had
some experience in solving problems. That this is a good exercise for a
beginner no one can doubt. Such practice serves to clear his ideas, to show
the power of theory, and to give confidence. Two centuries ago, when
the differential calculus was coming into use, it was common among mathe¬
maticians of the Jirst rank to propose questions to each other, and these
questions or challenges had an important influence on the progress of
mathematics. Thus the modern theory of probabilities had its origin in a
question proposed to Pascal by one of his friends, the Chevalier de Mere,
who having failed to solve a question in gaming declared with a high tone
that arithmetic was crazy and lied. “ He has,” says Pascal, “ a very good
mind, but he is not a geometer, which is a great defect.” The questions
proposed were nearly always such ^s involved the consideration of a
principle, and thus the study of them was fruitful. Another example is
that of the pendulum. The simple pendulum having been discovered by
Galileo, Huygens undertook to solve the problem of the compound pendu¬
lum. He obtained a correct result, but his assumptions and arguments
were doubted and criticised. At length Janies Bernoulli gave the correct
formal solution, which afterwards led to a’ great extension of the theory
of dynamics. Such questions are worthy the labor of the ablest men.
There are still questions of this nature that are under discussion, and the
followers and representatives of the former investigators of the higher
problems are our present writers on applied mathematics.

PROCEEDINGS.

599

But with the growth of the science mathematicians separate into classes,
and different nations produce various methods for teaching and cultivat¬
ing the science. The English school teaches largely by working examples,
and lays much stress on the solving of problems. I think there is much
that is good in this method, since it is well to bring one’s knowledge to
the test of trial. But when we look over the lists of wranglers at Cam¬
bridge and consider the great amount of reading and hard work that is
done, we feel that for some reason this method does not furnish the best
results. Apparently it gives too much weight to memory and the training
for a special trial. The prizes offered in the shape of honors and fellow¬
ships are so great that men with money employ experienced coaches and
tutors, and it is not certain that the ablest mathematicians win. The suc¬
cessful coach will not only be a good mathematician, but he must also be
a man of the world. He will invite the examiners to dinner, gauge them,
and find out what kind of questions they are likely to set. Having done
this, he can prepare his students for the contest with a confidence of suc¬
cess. Here is a good field for skillful management, and one is not sur¬
prised to be told that during the last twenty years more than half the first
ten wranglers of each year at Cambridge have come from one famous
coach. These successful men become the examiners of after years, and of
course this old coach knows the caliber of every one of them. In these
contests, as described by one of their best men, the main thing is to solve
a question in twenty minutes, for this is all the time the contestant will
have at his disposal. To do such work a man must be well drilled in all
analytical transformations, he must have a great deal of practice in solving
problems, and, furthermore, he must be quick with his pen and write a
plain hand. But the real questions of a science cannot be dealt with in
this manner, and experience teaches us that a man’s ability does not de¬
pend on his penmanship ; and although the drill in analysis is valuable
I. think the habits a man gets from such a course are apt to make him for
life merely a solver of conundrums and book-questions, or he becomes
dead scientifically as soon as he is stamped A. B. It has a strange sound
to be told that to get honors in the great mathematical university of Eng¬
land it is a waste of time to read Lagrange, Laplace, and Gauss. But after
all wTe must acknowledge that this system does produce some able men.

Turning now to the continent of Europe we see many men in France
and Germany who spend their lives in the study of pure mathematics.
These are the men who support the great mathematical journals and who
are the real pioneers of the science. It is a wonder how they live and find
time to do so much work. The only answer I can think of is that they
are content with small salaries and are willing to lead simple lives. These
men are not problem-solvers as the term is now used.

In our own country we have only begun scientific work, and in mathe¬
matics we have done very little. The tone of our society is opposed to
such work. Religion and politics, politics and religion, have been and
still are the subjects which attract the attention of men and furnish the

600

PHILOSOPHICAL SOCIETY OF WASHINGTON.

rewards of life. So long as we assume that an act of Congress can regulate
everything it seems impossible for us to understand that we are placed in
a world where universal laws have been established which we ought to
learn and to which we should conform our conduct. No wonder we are
told that mathematics should be studied only to “ discipline the mind ” —
that is, to make us sharp and cunning in the affairs of life. Perhaps it is
the influence of this sentiment that makes so much of the mathematical
learning that we have tend to become quibbling and intolerant. The best
corrective for this condition is the study of the real questions of nature.
Whenever we undertake to solve a question of this kind we are sure to
find things so different from the questions of the books that our eyes are
opened to a wider world. . If we call a thing by a different name, or repre¬
sent it by a new symbol, it does not help much. The real difficulty must
be met.

From my own experience I find that solving a few problems now and
then is a good exercise. Even if they are mere hook-questions, the prac¬
tice serves to keep one’s knowledge bright ; hut if a question he thoroughly
worked it will generally give some instruction, and can he used to illus¬
trate a theory. In this respect mathematics has a great advantage over
most of the natural sciences, in which the investigator seems like a hoy
picking up stones on a New England farm — the work must be repeated
every time the land is plowed.

45th Meeting. October 17, 1880.

The Chairman presided.

Present, eleven members and guests.

In the absence of the Secretary, Mr. A. S. Flint was elected
secretary pro tem.

Mr. C. H. Kummell read a paper on Some Fundamental
Theorems in Mensuration in One, Two, and Three Dimensions.

This paper was published in full in No. 4, vol. iv, of the
Annals of Mathematics, University of Virginia, Va., 1888.

The remainder of the evening was devoted to a discussion of
the paper of Mr. A. Hall on Problem-Solving, read at the 44th
meeting.

PROCEEDINGS.

601

46th Meeting. October 31, 1388.

The Chairman presided.

Present, fourteen members and guests.

The minutes of the 44th and 45th meetings were read and,
after amendment, approved.

On motion, the Section voted to offer for publication in extenso
the paper by Mr. A. Hall on Problem-Solving, read at the 44th
meeting.

Mr. R. S. Woodward presented a communication on The Sum¬
mation of Certain Complex Series.

The details of the analysis* involved in this summation are
given in full in a paper on The Diffusion of Heat in Homoge¬
neous Rectangular Masses, with Special Reference to Bars used as
Standards of Length, in No. 4, vol. iv, of the Annals of Mathe¬
matics, University of Virginia, Va., 1888.

Mr. G. W. Hill read a paper on the Application of Infinite
Determinants to the Integration of Differential Equations.

47th Meeting. December 12, 1888.

The Chairman presided.

Present, fourteen members and guests.

Minutes of the 46th meeting read and approved.

Mr. W. C. Winlock presented a communication on Comet
1888 (/) V (Barnard, Oct. 30).

The substance of this communication was published in the
Astronomical Journal, vol. 8, p. 136 and p. 148, Boston, 1889.

Mr. A. Hall presented a note on a method of deducing the
right ascension and declination of an object observed to be at the
intersection of the diagonals of a quadrilateral of the celestial
sphere, from the right ascensions and declinations of the four
vertices of the quadrilateral.

77— Bull. Phil. Soc., Wash., Vol. 11.

602

PHILOSOPHICAL SOCIETY OF WASHINGTON.

Mr. M. H. Doolittle discussed A Problem in Probabilities,
which may be stated as follows : Two persons, A and B, agree in
their testimony concerning the occurrence of an event. The
veracity of A is known, of B unknown. What is the probability
that the event did occur when the testimony is affirmative ? Mr.
Doolittle considered the answer to this question concurred in by
several mathematicians, whom he cited, erroneous. He indicated
the error which led to the erroneous answer and gave the steps
of the reasoning involved in what he thought the correct solution
of the problem. In brief, the veracities of A and B being denoted
by p and x respectively, the probability sought, if a;. were known,
would be

px + (1 — _p)(l — x)'

But x being unknown, though confined within the limits 0 and
+1, the correct answer according to Mr. Doolittle is the ratio of
the average values of the numerator and denominator of this
fraction, or p ; while the erroneous answer is the average value
of the fraction, or

During the discussion which followed Mr. A. S. Christie
presided.

Mr. Artemas Martin read a brief paper maintaining the cor¬
rectness of the expression last given above and gave a demon¬
stration leading thereto.

48th Meeting. December 26, 1888.

The Chairman presided.

Present, seventeen members and guests.

Minutes of the 47th meeting read and approved.

Mr. R. S. Woodward presented a Statement of the Mathemati¬
cal Theory of the Stratum of no Strain and its Application to
the Earth. The object of this communication was to explain the

PROCEEDINGS.

603

physical conditions under which an unstrained stratum may
exist in a cooling sphere, to define its position mathematically,
and to indicate the bearing of the theory on geological phenomena.

Mr. Artemas Martin read a paper written by Professor
Florian Cajori, of Denver, Colorado, on the Difference Between
Napier’s and Natural Logarithms.

This paper is published in full in No. 1, vol. n, of The Mathe¬
matical Magazine, Washington, D. C., January, 1890.

Mr. M. H. Doolittle presented a communication on Symbols
of Non-Existence, of which the following is an abstract:

[Abstract.]

After a brief allusion to 0 as a symbol of non-existence, Mr. Doolittle
dwelt chiefly on probability-equations as symbols of the non-existence
of knowledge, either real or assumed. In tflte first edition of his Logic,
Mill complained that mathematicians were attempting to coin ignorance
into knowledge. In the last edition he acknowledged the injustice of
this complaint. The mathematician merely analyzes an alloy of ignorance
and knowledge and properly stamps it. In making this analysis prob¬
ability-equations are appropriate expressions for the ignorance involved.
For example, the equation p — b when denoting the probability of an
event, merely signifies the non-existence of knowledge (real or assumed)
of any reason for expecting the occurrence rather than the non-occurrence
of the event or the reverse. The equation requires no assumption and
implies no existence of any knowledge whatever, unless it be (as Mr. Hill
suggested) the mere knowledge that the event must either happen or fail
to happen. If the mathematician has any knowledge or assumption of
knowledge to express, there are appropriate symbols, and he should not
confuse his analysis by attaching to probability-equations a meaning be¬
yond their proper scope. To illustrate more definitely, if the event be
the random drawing of a white ball from a box containing balls of no
other colors than black and white, the equation neither implies nor denies
that the balls are equally divided in color ; it is perfectly consistent with
certain knowledge that they are all of the same color, if we do not know
which ; and it is amply justified by complete ignorance of the proportions
in which the colors are mingled.

604

PHILOSOPHICAL SOCIETY OF WASHINGTON.

49th Meeting. January 23, 1889.

The Chairman, Mr. Doolittle, presided.

Present, fifteen members and guests.

The annual election of officers of the Section was held and
resulted in the choice of Mr. R. S. Woodward for Chairman and
of Mr. A. S. Flint for Secretary.

Mr. A. S. Flint presented a paper on, A Brief Control for
General Solutions of Normal Equations.

Published in full in the Annals of Mathematics, 4to, University
of Virginia, Va., Dec., 1888, vol. 4, No. 6., pp. 182-185.

Mr. Artemas Martin read a paper on Napier’s Logarithms.

Published in full in the Mathematical Magazine, edited and
published by Artemas Martin, 4to, Washington, vol. n, No. 1,
Jan., 1890, pp. 4-6.

Mr. W. F. McK. Ritter made a communication on General
Perturbations of the Minor Planets.

50th Meeting. February 6, 1889.

The Chairman, Mr. Woodward, presided.

Present, thirteen members and guests.

Mr. C. H. Kummell made a communication on An Error of
Delaunay which has Passed into Text-Books and Encyclopedias.

Mr. J. H. Gore made a communication on The Scope and
Character of a Bibliography of Geodesy now Completed.

The bibliography referred to is published as Appendix No. 16
of report of U. S. Coast and Geodetic Survey for 1887, 4to, Wash¬
ington, Government Printing Office, 1889.

Mr. M. H. Doolittle made a few remarks on The Applica¬
tions of a Formula for the Probability of an Event Resting on
the Concurrent Testimony of Two Witnesses.

PROCEEDINGS.

605

51st Meeting. February 20, 1889.

The Chairman, Mr. Woodward, presided.

Present, thirteen members and guests.

Mr. M. H. Doolittle discussed briefly Two Problems in
Probabilities.

Mr. R. S. Woodward stated and briefly discussed A Problem
in Dynamics.

523 Meeting. April 3, 1889.

The Chairman, Mr. Woodward, presided.

Present, sixteen members and guests.

Mr. G. W. Hill read a paper on The Combination of Obser¬
vations into Normal Positions.

Mr. C. H. Kummell read a paper on Warped Polyhedra in
General, with Special Application to the Road-Cutting Solid.

Mr. A. Hall made a brief communication on the problem :
Given a chord drawn at random within a given circle, what is the
probability that its length will be greater than the side of the
inscribed equilateral triangle ?

533 Meeting. * May 29, 1889.

The Chairman, Mr. Woodward, presided.

Present, twelve members.

Mr. R. S. Woodward made a communication entitled Notes
on Problems in Averages.

606

PHILOSOPHICAL SOCIETY OF WASHINGTON.

54th Meeting. October 16, 1889.

The Chairman, Mr. Woodward, presided.

Present, eighteen members and guests.

The Chairman announced that both himself and the Secretary
would soon depart for a prolonged absence from the city and
suggested that the Section elect officers to serve for the remainder
of the year.

Accordingly Mr. G. W. Hill was elected Chairman and Alex.
S. Christie, Secretary.

Mr. G. W. Hill read a paper on A Reported Occultation of
o Tauri by Saturn in 1679.

Mr. A. Hall made a communication on The Resisting Medium
in Space.

Published in full in the Siderial Messenger, 8vo, Northfield,
Minn., Dec., 1889, vol. 8, No. 10, pp. 433-442.

55th Meeting. October 30, 1889.

The Chairman, Mr. Hill, presided.

Present, ten members and one guest.

Mr. G. K. Gilbert made a communication on The Geometry
of Shrinkage Cracks.

Mr. Artemas Martin made a communication on A Method of.
Extracting the Square Root.

Published in the Mathematical Magazine, vol. n, 1890, p. 33-38.

56th Meeting. January 8, 1890.

The Chairman, Mr. Hill, presided.

Present, seven members.

The annual election of officers of the Section was held, and re¬
sulted in the choice of Mr. J. H. Gore for Chairman and of Mr.
G. E. Curtis for Secretary.

PROCEEDINGS.

607

57th Meeting. February 5, 1890.

The Chairman, Mr. Gore, presided.

Present, nine members.

Mr. C. H. Kummell began a communication on The Method
of Continued Identity in its Application to the Solution of Equa¬
tions and Expressing Functions in Highly Convergent Forms.

Published in full in the Annals of Mathematics, 4to, University
of Virginia, Va., vol. v, 1890, pp. 85en 98.

58th Meeting. February 19, 1890.

The Chairman, Mr. Gore, presided.

Present, seven members and one guest.

Mr. C. H. Kummell continued his presentation of the com¬
munication begun at the previous meeting.

59th Meeting. March 19, 1890.

The Chairman, Mr. Gore, presided.

Present, sixteen members and guests.

By invitation Mr. G. N. Saegmuller exhibited the drawings
of the new telescope now in process of construction for the Cham¬
berlain Observatory, at Denver, and explained the novel features
that he has introduced in its mounting.

Mr. C. E. Dutton made a communication on Some Remark¬
able Transcendental Equations.

60th Meeting. April 2, 1890.

Mr. G. W. Hill presided.

Present, fifteen members.

Mr. R. S. Woodward made a communication on Some Special
Laws of the Diffusion of Heat in Homogeneous Spheres, in which

608

PHILOSOPHICAL SOCIETY OF WASHINGTON.

he discussed the application of the laws of cooling of a sphere
under various assumptions as to the initial distribution of tem¬
perature.

Mr. C. H. Kummell made a communication on A Short, Rough
Method of Computing the Probable Error.

61st Meeting. April 30, 1890.

The Chairman, Mr. Gore, presided.

Present, ten members.

Mr. G. W. Hill made a communication on The Secular Per¬
turbations of Two Planets Moving in the Same Plane, with Appli¬
cation to Jupiter and Saturn.

62d Meeting. May 14, 1890.

The Chairman, Mr. Gore, presided.

Present, ten members.

Mr. Marcus Baker made a communication on The Published
Writings of Mr. E. B. Elliott, in which he presented a bibliog¬
raphy of Mr. Elliott’s publications, accompanied by remarks
upon their scope and character.

Mr. Artemas Martin made a communication on The Curve
of Pursuit.

Mr. J. F. Hayford made a communication on A Modification
of the Ferrel Tide-Predicting Machine, which enables hourly
readings of the tidal heights to be made in addition to the heights
and times of high and low water, which latter the instrument
has heretofore given.

63d Meeting. January 7, 1891.

The Chairman, Mr, Gore, presided.

Present, ten members and guests.

The first business transacted was the annual election of officers
for the ensuing year.

PROCEEDINGS.

609

Professor J. H. Gore was re-elected Chairman and Mr. G. E.
Curtis Secretary.

Mr. C. H. Kummell made a communication on A New, Simple,
and Symmetrical Solution of the Quartic.

64th Meeting. April 1, 1891.

The Chairman, Mr. Gore, presided.

Present, six members.

Mr. Artemas Martin made a communication entitled The
Sum of Two Biquadrate Numbers Cannot be a Biquadrate
Number.

Mr. C. H. Kummell completed his communication, begun at
the preceding meeting, on A New Solution of the Quartic.

Published in full in the Mathematical Magazine, 4to, Wash¬
ington, D. C., vol. ii, 1890, pp. 49-55.

Mr. Martin pointed out that of all known solutions of the
quartic Mr. Kummell’s is the only one which does not employ
more than one auxiliary unknown quantity.

78— Bull. Phil. Soc., Wash., Vol. 11.

INDEX

Page.

Abbe, C. : Account of the eclipse expedition

to Africa . 555

— Influence of forests upon rainfall . 521

— Mechanical conditions of the earth’s

mass . 533

— Meteorology in Europe and America . 569

Address of President Dutton, 1890 [1891] . 359

- President Eastman, 1889 . 143

- President Mallery, 1888 . 1

Africa, Stanley’s discoveries in. G. G. Hub¬
bard . 551

Agricultural Department, Scientific work of.

E. Willits . 550

— experiment stations, Status and tenden¬

cies of. A. C. True . 566

Aldis, A. O., Death of . 569

Alloys, Formation of. W. Halloek . 505

Anatomy, Comparative, of the simian and

human brain. B. G. Wilder . 553

Annual Meeting, 1888 . 522

- 1889 . 543

- 1890 . 557

- 1891 . 572

Arid region of North America, Subaerial de¬
posits of. I. C. Russell- . 531

Arkansas, Neozoic formations in. R. T. Hill. 501
Astronomy, Meteoric, Progress of, in Amer¬
ica. J. R. Eastman . . 275

— Spherical, Problem in. A. Hall . 601

— Tisserand’s Trait6 de mecanique celeste.

R. S. Woodward . 568

Atkinson, W. R., elected member . 555

Atlantic and Gulf coasts, Recent geographic

changes on. W J McGee . . . 554

Atomic weights, Determination of. F. W.

Clarke . 506

Atwater, W. O., elected member . 540

— American and European food consump¬

tion . 53Q

Auditing committee, Report on Treasurer’s

accounts for 1887 . 499

— ’ - 1888. . 528

- 1889 . 649

- 1890 . 563

Averages. M. Baker . 591

— Notes on problems in. R. S. Woodward.. 605

— and means. M. H. Doolittle . 596

Page.

Azimuth observations for the detection of

variations in the pole or vertical. J. F.

Hayford... . . . . 572

Bacteriology in applied entomology. C. V.

Riley . 565

Baker, F., elected member . 554

— Work of the life-saving crews during the

recent hurricane . 542

Baker, M. : Averages . 591

— Obituary notice of E. B.'Lefavour . 488

— Published writings of E. B. Elliott . 608

— Report of the Secretaries, 1888 . 523

Balloon voyages, Two. H. A. Hazen . 511

Bancroft, G., Death of . . . 564

Bates, H. H. : Force . 5S7

— Increasing industrial employment of the

rarer metals . 503

Bauer, L. A., elected member . 518

Becker, G. F. : Rounding of rock masses by

external attack . 500

Belgium, National postal and savings bank

system of. T. Wilson . 570

Bernardinite. J. Stanley-Brown . 567

Bessels, E., Death of . . 515

— Obituary notice of, by W. H. Dali . 465

Bigelow, F. H. : Experiments for eliminat¬
ing the error of personal equation from
stellar transits by photography . 570

— Suggestions on eclipse photography and

eclipse apparatus . 555

Billings, J. S. : Galton’s apparatus for testing

muscular sense . 502

Biological survey of the San Francisco moun¬
tain range of Arizona. C. H. Merriaip ... 551

Birds, Soaring of. G. K. Gilbert . 522

Black Hills, Pre-Cambrian rocks of the. C.

R. Van Hise . 552

Boutelle, C O. : Geodetic azimuths . 513

— Obituary notice of H. F. Walling...^ . 492

— Death of . 554

— Obituary notice of, by E. Goodfellow . 466

Braid, A., elected member . 506

Brain, Comparative anatomy of the simian

and human. B. G. Wilder . . 553

British Columbia, Explorations in. G. M.
Dawson . * . 502

(611)

612

PHILOSOPHICAL SOCIETY OF WASHINGTON.

Page.

British northwest, Physical features of a por¬
tion of. C. A. Kenaston . 507

Brocken spectre. H. A. Hazen . 550

Burial mounds of Japan. R. Hitchcock . 553

Burnett, S. M.: Models showing refraction by
cylinders with their axes crossed at vari¬
ous angles . 531

— New metric system of numbering prisms..
Cajori, F.: Difference between Napier’s and

natural logarithms . 603

Carr, W. K., elected member . . . 568

Cattle, and meat inspection, Objects and

methods of. D. E. Salmon . . 569

Chapman, D. C., elected member . 522

— New form of galvanometer . 540

Chart-making. H. G. Ogden . 554

Chemical action between solids. W. Hal-

loek . 542

Chemical elements, Relative abundance of.

F. W. Clarke . . 131, 542

Christie, A. S.: What is a Quaternion ? . 579

Clarke, F. W. : Determination of atomic
weights . 506

— Gem localities of Maine . 570

— Relative abundance of the chemical ele¬

ments . 131, 542

— Theory of the mica and chlorite groups... 568

Coffin, J. H. C., Death of. . 550

Colonna, B. A., elected member . 555

Color perception. H. V. Wurdemann . 531

Columbian formation, Southern extension

of. W J McGee . 550

Comet 1888 V. W. C. Winlock . 601

Committee on communications, 1888 . 499

- 1889 . 528

- 1890 . 550

- 1891 . 564

— on publications, 1888 . 499

- 1889 528

- 1890 550

- 1891 . 564

Constitution, Amendment to, proposed.. 518, 527
Cope, E. D.: Relation of consciousness to

animal motion . 518

Corrasion, Laws of. J. W. Powell . 519

— Remarks on the laws of. L. F. Ward . 519

Croffut, W. A.: Experiments in hypnotism... 516
Cross, W.: Constitution and origin of spher-

ulites . 411, 568

Crystallization of igneous rocks. J. P. Id-

dings . . 65, 541

Curtice, C.: Cambrian rocks in Tennessee... 516
Curtis, G. E.: Hot winds of the Plains . 564

— Rain-making experiments in Texas . 570

— Relation of surface and climatic condi¬

tions to the flow of water-courses . 552

Curve of pursuit. A. Martin . . 608

Page.

Dali, W. H.: Some forms of the gill in pe-
lecypod mollusca . 541

— Obituary notice of Emil Bessels . 465

Dawson, G. M.: [Explorations in northern

part of British Columbia and head-waters

of the Yukon] . 502

Deaf, Education of the. E. M. Gallaudet . 570

— New Departure at Kendall Green. J. C.

Gordon . 57T

Deaf-mutes, Discovery and development of

hearing in. J. C. Gordon . 539

De Caindry, W. A.: Treasurer’s report, 1891. 574
Decimal system of the 17th century. J. H.

Gore . 556

Delaunay, Error in. C. H. Kummell . 604

Differential equations, Application of infinite
determinants to the integration of. G.

W. Hill . 601

Diller, J. S. : History of porphyritic quartz
in eruptive rocks . 531

— Sandstone dikes of northern California... 543

— Secretaries’ report, 1889 . 544

- 1890 . 557

- 1891 . 572

Dividing engines. J. E. Watkins . . 554

Doolittle, M. H.: Applications of a formula

for the probability of an event resting on
concurrent testimony of two witnesses.. 604

— Means and averages . 596

— Probabilities . 583

— Problem in probabilities . . 602

— Symbols of non-existence . 603

— Two problems in probabilities . 605

— What is force? . 589

Dutton, C. E.: Irrigation in the arid region. 542

— Money fallacies. President’s address,

1890 [1891] . 359

— Remarkable transcendental equations . 607

— Some of the greater problems of physical

geology . . . 51, 536

Dynamics, Problem in. R. S. Woodward . 605

Eakins, L. G., elected member . 551

Earth, Interior constitution of, as respects
density. G. W. Hill . 581

— Figure of Study of, by means of the pen¬

dulum. E. D. Preston . 567

— Mass of, mechanical conditions of. C.

Abbe . 533

— Mass of, mechanical conditions of. R. S.

Woodward . .' . 532

— Mathematical theory of the stratum of no

strain. R. S. Woodward . 602

— Variation of terrestrial density, gravity,

and pressure. R. S. Woodward . 580

Eastman, J. R.: Assumption and fact in the
theories of solar and stellar proper mo¬
tions. President’s address, 1889 . 143, 543

INDEX,

613

Page.

Eastman, J. R.: Progress of meteoric astron¬
omy in America . 275, 553

— Some peculiarities in personal equa¬
tion . 515

Eclipse expedition to Africa. C. Abbe . 555

Eclipse photography and eclipse apparatus.

F. H. Bigelow . 555

- in Japan. Romyn Hitchcock . 502

— Solar, January 1, 1889. D. P. Todd . 533

Edes, R. T., elected member . 502

— The Sphygmograph . 517

Eimbeck, W.: New method of determining

astronomical differences of longitude.... 553
Eldridge, G. H.: Peculiar structural features
in the foot-hill region of the Rocky

mountains near Denver, Col . 247, 543

Electrostatics, Maxwell’s theory of. R. S.

Woodward . 571

Elements, Chemical, Relative abundance of

the. F. W. Clarke . 131

Elliott, E. B.: Notation in physics and elec¬
tricity . '. . 590

— Death of . . . 516

— Bibliography of. M. Baker . 608

— Obituary notice of, by W. Harkness . 470

— Resolutions upon the death of . 597

Engineering, Beginnings of. J. E. Watkins.. 556
Entomological matters of international con¬
cern. C. V. Riley . . . 511

Equations, Remarkable transcendental. C.

E. Dutton . 607

Equatorial telescope, Denver, Drawings of.

G-. N. Saegmuller . 607

Evolution of serials published by scientific

societies. W J McGee . 221

Explorations, Recent geographical and geo¬
logical, in the southwest. R. T. Hill . 569

Farquhar, H.: Commercial growth and im¬
port duties of the United States . 567

— Systematic differences of proper motions •

in declination catalogues . 593

Fassig, O. L., elected member . 541

Fault hades. Bailey Willis.. . '.. . 500

Fault, Mechanism of the overthrust. Bailey

Willis . 529

Fernow, B. E.: Artificial production of rain¬
fall . 557

— Influence of forests upon quantity and

frequency of rains . 520

— Relation of forests to water supplies . 552

Ferrel, W., Death of . 569

Fischer, E. G., elected member* . 553

— Standard screws and threads . 556

Flat Rock channel. G. K. Gilbert . 502

Fletcher, R.: Treasurer’s report, 1888 . 525

- 1889.... . ; . . 546

- 1890. . 559

Page.

Flint, A. S.: Brief control for general solu¬
tions of normal equations . 604

Food consumption, American and European,

compared. W. O. Atwater . 530

Force, What is. A. Hall . 583

- H. H. Bates . 587

- M. H. Doolittle . 589

Forests, Relation of, to water supplies. B.

E. Fernow . 552

Gallaudet, E. M.: Values in the education of

the deaf . 570

Galvanometer, New form of. D. C. Chap¬
man . 540

Gannett, H.: Do forests influence rainfall?.,. 520

Gem localities of Maine. F. W. Clarke . 570

Geodesy, Scope and character of a bibliogra¬
phy of. J. H. Gore . 604

Geodetic azimuths. C. O. Boutelle . 513

— operations in Russia. J. H. Gore . 567

Geology, Physical, Some of the greater prob¬
lems of. C. E. Dutton . . 51, 536

- G. K. Gilbert . 536

- R. S. Woodward . 537

— Study in structural. C. D. Walcott . 551

Gihon, A. L., elected member . 569

Gilbert, G. K.: Estimation of skill in mak¬
ing predictions...-. . 582

— Flat Rock channel . 502

— Geometry of shrinkage cracks . 606

— Soaring of birds . . 522

— Some of the greater problems of physical

geology . 536

Goode, G. B.: Origin of our national scientific

institutions . 551

Goodfellow, E.: Obituary notice of. C. O.

Boutelle . 566

Gordon, J. C.: Discovery and development
of hearing in certain deaf-mutes . 539

— New departure at Kendall Green . 571

Gore, J. H.: Decimal system of the 17th

century . 556

— Geodetic operations in Russia . 567

— Scope and character of a bibliography of

geodesy . 604

Great Smokies, Rocks of the, and their age.

A. Keith . 540

Greely, A. W.: Do forests influence rainfall ? 520

— Trans-Mississippi rainfall . 505

Hagen, J. G., elected member . 531

Hall, A.: Note on £ Cancri.... . 565

— Problem in probabilities . 605

- spherical astronomy . ; . 601

— Problem-solving . . . 598

— Resisting medium in space . 606

— Saturn and its ring . 542

— What is force ? . 583

Hall, G. S.: Experiments in hypnotism . 516

614

PHILOSOPHICAL SOCIETY OF WASHINGTON.

Page.

Hallock, W.: Chemical action between
solids . 518, 542

— Coefficient of expansion of some rocks . 556

— Deep well at Wheeling . 571

— Flow of solids . . 509

— Formation of alloys . 505

Hampson, T., Death of . 515

— Obituary notice of, by H. W. Henshaw . 474

Harkness, W.: Determination of the mass

of the moon from the tides . 555

— Obituary notice of E. B. Elliott . 470

— Solar parallax and related constants . 518

Harrington, M. W., elected member . 571

Harris, A. W., elected member. . . 554

Harris, R. A., elected member . 566

Hayden, E.: Hurricanes in the bay of North

America . . 173, 542

Hayden, F. V., Death of . . 499

— Obituary notice of, by A. C. Peale . . 476

Hayes, C. W., elected member . 530

Hayford, J. F., elected member . 543

— Check on the relation between the metric

units of length and mass . 572

— Detection by azimuth observations of va¬

riations in the pole or vertical . 572

— Modification of the Ferrel tide-predicting

machine . . 608

Hazen, H. A.: Brocken spectre . 550

— Failure in the application of the law of

probabilities . . . 581

— Influence of forests upon rainfall . 521

— Lawrence tornado, July 26, 1890 . 564

— Recent Mount Vernon, Ill., tornado . ■. 517

— Two balloon voyages . 511

Heat, Special laws of the diffusion of, in

homogeneous spheres. R. S. Woodward.. 607
Henshaw, H. W.: Obituary notice of Thomas

Hampson . 474

Hilgard, J. E., Death of . 568

Hill, G. W.: Application of infinite deter¬
minants to the integration of differen¬
tial equations . 601

— Combination of observations into normal

positions . 605

— Interior constitution of the earth as re¬

spects density . 581

— Mass of Titan . 598

— Reported occultation of o Tauri by Saturn

in 1679 . i . 606

— Secular perturbations of two planets mov¬

ing in the same plane, with application

to Jupiter and Saturn . 608

Hill, R. T.: Neozoic formations in Arkansas. 501

— Occurrence and availability of under¬

ground water in Texas and New Mexico. 571

— Recent geographical and geological ex¬

plorations in the southwest . 569

Page.

Hitchcock, R.: Action of light on silver
chloride . 542

— Burial mounds of Japan . 553

— Notes on eclipse-photography in Japan.... 502

Hollerith, H., elected member . 555

— Electrical tabulating machine . 553

Howard, L. O., elected member . . . 518

Hoyt, J. W.: Account of the present status

and prospects of the project for a national

university . . . 570

Hubbard, G. G.: Stanley’s discoveries in

Africa . 551

Hurricane, Work of the life-saving crews

during the recent. F. Baker . 542

Hurricanes in the bay of North America.

E. Hayden . 173, 542

Hyperion, Orbit of. O. Stone . 598

Hypnotic experiments of the Comte de Mari-

court. M. M. Snell . 518

Hypnotism, Experiments in. W. A. Croffut

and G. Stanley Hall . . . 516

Hypsometry, Barometric example of work

in. G. Thompson . 556

Ice-arch formed by horizontal pressure. J.

Murdoch . 507

Iddings, J. P.: Crystallization of igneous
rocks . 65, 541

— Mineral composition and geological oc¬

currence of certain igneous rocks in the
Yellowstone National Park . 191, 550

— Origin of primary quartz in basalt . . 515

— Spherulitic crystallization in obsidian..445, 568
Identity, Continued, in its application to the

solution of equations, and expressing
functions in highly convergent forms.

C. H. Kummell . 607

Indian types of beauty. R. W. Shufeldt . 567

Industry, Evolution of.... . 569

Iroquois beach. J. W. Spencer. . 500

Irrigation in the arid region. C. E. Dutton.. 542
Irving, R. D.: Obituary notice of, by I. C.

Russell . 478

James, J. F., elected member . 552

James, J. N., elected member . 571

Japan, Burial mounds of. R. Hitchcock . 553

Jenney, W. P., elected member . 555

Keith, A., elected member . 506

— Rocks of the Great Smokies and their age. 540

Kenaston, C. A.: Physical features of a por¬
tion of the British northwest . 507

Kendall Green, New departure at. J. C.

Gordon . 571

Kidder, J. H., Death of. . 533

— Obituary notice of, by R. Rathbun . 480

Kttmmell, C. H.: An error of Delaunay . 604

— Fundamental theorems in mensuration

in one, two, or three dimensions . 600

INDEX.

615

Page.

Kummell, C. H.: Method of continued iden¬
tity in its application to the solution of
equations, and expressing functions in
highly convergent forms . 607

— New simple and symmetrical solution of

the quartie . 609

— Remarks on some recent discussions of

target-shooting . 582

— Short, rough method of computing the

probable error . .- . . 608

— Warped polyhedra, with special applica¬

tion to the road-cutting solid . . 605

Lake, Extinct, of Pleistocene times in the

Sierra Nevada. H. W. Turner . 565

Lake Ontario, Drift north of. J.W. Spencer. 506
Langley, S. P.: On the observation of sudden

phenomena . . . 41, 531

Lavas, Characteristic, radiate growth in acid.

W. Cross . 568

Lefavour, E. B , Death of . 541

— Obituary notice of, by M. Baker . 488, 552

Life-saving crews, Work of during the recent

hurricane. F. Baker . 542

Lindgren, W., elected member . 555

Littlehales, G. W., elected member . 543

— New method of recording and reproduc¬

ing articulate speech . 553

Logarithms, Difference between Napier’s
and natural. F. Cajori . 603

— Napier’s. A. Martin . 604

Longitude, Determination of. W. Eimbeck.. 553
Malle ry, G.: Philosophy and specialties.

President’s address, 1888 . 1

Martin, A.: Curve of pursuit . 608

— Error in Barlow’s theory of numbers . 592

— Method of extracting the square root . 606

— Napier’s and natural logarithms . 603, 604

— Probabilities . . . 602

— Square numbers whose sum is a square... 580

— Sum of two biquadrate numbers cannot be

a biquadrate number . 609

Marvin, C. F.: New self-recording rain-gauge. 502

— Wind pressures and the measurement of

wind velocities . . . 556

Mason, O. T.: Study of religions by the

methods of natural history . 564

Mathematical nomenclature, A question in.

W. B. Taylor . 590

Mathematical Section, Officers for 1888 . 579

- 1889 . 604

- ( pro tem.) 1889 . . . 606

- for 1890 . 606

- for 1891 . 609

- Proceedings of, 1888 to 1891 . 579-609

McCammon, J. K,, elected member . 566

McGee, W J : Evolution of serials published
by scientific societies . 221,533

Page.

McGee, W J: Flood plains of rivers . 565

— Mississippi bad lands . 567

— Recent geographic changes on the Atlan¬

tic and Gulf coasts . . . 554

— Rock gas and related bitumens . 530

— Southern extension of the Columbian for¬

mation . 550

Members elected in 1888 . 523

- 1889 . 544

- 1890 . 557

- 1891 . 572

Mendenhall, T. C.: New pendulum appara¬
tus . 566

Mensuration, Fundamental theorems in. C.

H. Kummell . 600

Metals, Increasing industrial employment

of rarer. Henry H. Bates . 503

Meteoric astronomy in America, Progress of.

J. R. Eastman . 275

Meteorology in Europe and America. C.
Abbe . 569

Metric units of length and mass, Check on

the relation between. J. F. Hayford . 572

Merriam, C. H.: Biological survey of the San
Francisco mountain range of Arizona ... 551
Mica and chlorite groups. F. W. Clarke . 568

Mindeleff, C., elected member . 531

MindelefF, V., elected member . 531

Mineral composition and geological occur¬
rence of certain igneous rocks in the
Yellowstone National Park. J. P. Id-

dings . 191

Mississippi bad lands. W J McGee . 567

Minutes of general meetings, Resolution in

relation thereto . 530

Mohawk Lake beds. H. W. Turner . 385

Mollusca, Pelecypod, Some forms of gill in.

W. H. Dali . 541

Money fallacies, President’s address, 1890.

C. E. D^utton . 359

Moon, Mass of, from the tides. W. Hark-

ness..... . 555

Muir glacier of Alaska. H. S. Reid . 555

Murdoch, J.: Ice-arch formed by horizontal

pressure . 507

Muscular sense, Galton’s apparatus for test¬
ing. J. S. Billings . 502

Newcomb, S. : Fundamental concepts of

physics... . 514

Newell, F. H.: Stream measurements in the

western states . . . 569

Normal equations, Brief control for general

solutions of. A. S. Flint . 604

— positions, Combination of observations

into. G. W. Hill . 605

Numbers, Error in Barlow’s theory of. A.
Martin . 592

616

PHILOSOPHICAL SOCIETY OF WASHINGTON.

Page.

Numbers, Square, whose sum is a square . 580

— Sum of two biquadrate, cannot be a biquad¬

rate number. A. Martin . 609

Obituary notices . 465, 520, 529

— Report of committee relative to . 518

Observation of sudden phenomena. S. P.

Langley . 41, 531

Obsidian, Spherulitic crystallization in. J.

P. Iddings . 568

Occupation, Reported, of o Tauri by Saturn
in 1679. G. W. Hill . 606

Officers of the Mathematical Section. See
Mathematical Section.

Officers for 1889 . . . 527

- 1890 . 548

- 1891 . . 562

- 1892 . xvii

Ogden, H. G.: Chart-making . 554

— Distortion in plane-table sheets... . 508

Osborne, J. W.: Surfaces feebly sensitive to

light . 518

Parker, Peter, Death of.. . 502

— Obituary notice of, by W. B. Taylor . 491

Parry, C. C., Death of . 566

Peale, A. C.: Obituary notice of F.V. Hayden. 476
Pendulum apparatus. T. C. Mendenhall . 566

— Length of Hater’s. O. H. Tittmann . 553

— observations, Reduction of. E. D. Pres¬

ton . . . 115, 541

— Study of earth’s figure by. E. D. Preston. 567
Penokee iron-bearing series of rocks. C. R.

Van Hise . 530

Personal equation, Elimination of, from stel¬
lar transits by photography. F. H. Big¬
elow . 570

- Observation of sudden phenomena. S.

P. Langley . . . 41, 531

- Some peculiarities in. J. R. Eastman. 515

Perturbations of the minor planets. W. F.
McK. Ritter . 604

— Secular, of two planets moving in the

same plane, with application to Jupiter

and Saturn . 608

Philosophy and specialties. President Mal-

lery’s address . 1

Physics, Fundamental, Concepts of. S. New¬
comb. . 514

Plane-table sheets, Distortion in. H. G. Og¬
den . 508

Plant life, Formation of deposits of lime,

iron, and silica by. W. H. Weed . 537

Pohle, J., elected member . 555

Powell, J. W.: Evolution of industry . 569

— Laws of eorrasion . 519

Predictions, Estimation of skill in making.

G. K. Gilbert . 582

President’s address. See Address.

Page.

Preston, E. D., elected member . 520

— Reduction of pendulum observations 115, 541

— Study of the earth’s figure by means of

the pendulum . 567

Prisms, New metric system of numbering.

S. M. Burnett . . . . 566

Probabilities, Failure of the apparent law of.

H. A. Hazen . 581

— A. Martin . 602

— M. H. Doolittle . : . 583

— Problem in. A. Hall . 605

- M. H. Doolittle . 602

— Two problems in. M. H. Doolittle . 605

Probability equations. M. H. Doolittle . 603

— of an event resting on the concurrent tes¬

timony of two witnesses, Application of

a formula for. M. H. Doolittle . 604

Probable error, Short, rough method of com¬
puting. C. H. Kummell . 608

Problem-solving. A. Hall . ! . 598

Proper motions, Assumption and fact in the
theories of solar and stellar. J. R. East¬
man . 143

Puma, Epitome of the natural history of. F.

W. True . 554

Quaternion, What is a? A. S. Christie . 579

Quartic, New simple and symmetrical solu¬
tion of. C. H. Kummell . 609

Quartz, Origin of primary, in basalt. J. P.
Iddings . 515

— Porphyritic, in eruptive rocks. J. S. Dil-

ler . 531

Railway systems of England and America,

Origin of . 533

Rainfall, Trans-Mississippi. A. W. Greely.. 505

— Artificial production of. B. E. Fernow ... 557

— Influence of forests upon. C. Abbe . 521

- . B. E. Fernow . 520, 552

Rain-gauge, New self-recording. C. F. Mar¬

vin . 502

Rain-making experiments in Texas. G. E.

Curtis . 570

Ramsden’s dividing engine. J. E. Watkins.. 554
Rathbun, R.: Obituary notice of J. H. Kidder. 480
Reduction of pendulum observations. E. D.

Preston . 115, 541

Refraction by cylinders with axes crossed

at various angles. S. M. Burnett . 531

Reid, H. 8.: Note on the Muir glacier of

Alaska . 555

Relative abundance of the chemical ele¬
ments. F. W. Clarke . 131

Religions, Study of, by the methods of nat¬
ural history. O. T. Mason . 564

Resisting medium in space. A. Hall . 606

Riley, C. V.: Bacteriology in applied ento¬
mology . 565

INDEX.

617

Page.

Riley, C. V.: Some recent entomological

matters of international concern . 511

Ritter, W. F. McK.: Perturbations of the

minor planets . G04

Rivers, Flood plains of. W J McGee . 565

Rock gas and related bitumens . 530

— masses, Rounding of, by external attack.

G. F. Becker . . . 500

Rocks, Coefficient of expansion of some. W.

Hallock . 556

Rocky mountains, Peculiar structural feat¬
ures in the foot-hill region near Denver.

G. H. Eldridge . . 247-274

Russell, I. C.: Subaerial deposits of the arid
region of North America . 531

— Obituary notice of R. D. Irving . 478

Russell, T.: Baudin’s vertical minimum

thermometer a Marteau . 513

Saegmuller, G. N.: Drawings of Denver equa¬
torial telescope . 607

Salmon, D. E.: National cattle and meat in¬
spection . 569

Saturn and its ring. A. Hall . 542

Savings-bank system of Belgium, Postal and

school. T. Wilson . 570

Scientific institutions, Origin of our national.

G. B. Goode . . . 551

Screws, Standard. E. G. Fischer . 556

Searle, G. M., elected member . 552

Secretaries’ report for 1888 . 523

- 1889 . 5-14

- 1890 . 557

- 1891... . 572

Series, Summation of certain. R. S. Wood¬
ward . 601

Shrinkage 'cracks, Geometry of. G. K. Gil¬
bert . 606

Shufeldt, R. W.. Indian types of beauty . 567

Silver chloride, Action of light on. R. Hitch¬
cock . 542

Smillie, T. W., elected member . 565

Snell, M. M.: Hypnotic experiments of the

Comte de Maricourt . 518

Societies, Scientific, Evolution of serials pub¬
lished by. W J McGee . . 221, 533

Solar parallax. W. Harkness . 518

Solids, Chemical action between. W. Hal¬
lock . 518, 542

— Flow of. W. Hallock . 509

Square root, Method of extracting. A. Mar¬
tin . . . 606

Speech, New method of recording and re¬
producing articulate. G. W. Littlehales.. 553
Spencer, J. W.: Drift north of Lake On¬
tario . 506

— Iroquois beach— a chapter in the geologi¬

cal history of Lake Ontario . 500

Page.

Spherulites, Constitution and origin of. W.

Cross . 568

Sphygmograph. R. T. Edes . 517

Stanley-Brown, J., elected member . 551

— Bernardinite . 567

Star-catalogues, Systematic differences of

proper motions in declination. H. Far-

quhar . ... . 593

Star, Multiple, £ Cancri. A. Hall . 565

Steamship Savannah, Log of. J. E. Watkins.. 564

Stokes, H. N., elected member . 566

Stone, O : Orbit of Hyperion . 598

Stratigraphic position of the olenellus fauna

in North America and Europe . 532

Stream measurements in the western states.

F. H. Newell . . . . i . 569

Tabulating machine, Electrical. H. Holler¬
ith . 553

Target-shooting, Recent discussions of. C.

H. Kummell . -582

Taylor, W. B.: A question in mathematical
nomenclature . 590

— Obituary notice of Peter Parker . 491

Tennessee, Cambrian rocks in. C. Curtice.. 516
Thermometer, Baudin’s vertical minimum

thermometer a Marteau . 513

Thompson, G.: Example of work in baromet¬
ric hypsometry . 556

Tide-predicting machine, Modification of

the Ferrel. J F. Hayford . 608

Titan, Disputed mass of. G. W. Hill . 598

Tittmann, O. H., elected member . 502

— Length of Rater’s pendulum . 552

Todd, D. P.: Results of the total solar eclipse

of January 1, 1889 . 533

Tornado at Mount Vernon, Ill. H. A. Hazen.. 517

- Lawrence, July 26, 1890. H. A. Hazen.. 564

Treasurer’s accounts for 1887, Report of au¬
diting committee on . 499

- 1888, Report of auditing committee on.. 528

- Report of auditing committee on, for

1889 . 549

- for 1890, Report of auditing committee

on . 563

— report, 1888 . 525

- 1889 . 546

- 1890 . 559

- 1891 . 574

True, A. C., elected member . 553

— Status and tendencies of the agricultural

experiment stations . 566

True, F. W.: Epitome of the natural history

of the puma . 554

Turner, H. W., elected member . 555

— Extinct lake of pleistocene times in the

Sierra Nevada . 565

— Mohawk Lake beds . 385

618

PHILOSOPHICAL SOCIETY OF WASHINGTON.

Page.

United States, Commercial growth and im¬
port duties of. H. Farquhar . j . 567

University, National, Present status and

prospects for a. J. W. Hoyt . 570

Van Hise, C. R , elected member . . . 553

— Penokee iron-bearing series of rocks . 530

— Pre-Cambrian rocks of the Black Hills of

Dakota . . 552

Walcott, C. D.: Stratigraphic position of the
ol'enellus fauna in North America and
Europe . . . 532

— Study in .structural geology . 551

Walling, H. F., Death of . . . 516, 531

— Obituary notice of, by C. O. Boutelle . 492

Ward, L, F.: Remarks on the laws of corra-

sion . 519

Warder, R. B., elected member . . . 515

Warped polyhedra, with special application
to the road-cutting solid. C. H. Kum-

mell . 605

Water-courses, Relation of surface and cli¬
matic conditions to the flow of . 552

Water supplies, Relation of forests to. B. E.
Fernow . 552

— Underground, in Texas and New Mexico.

R. T. Hill . 571

Watkins, J. E., elected member . 532

— Beginnings of engineering . 556

— Early dividing engines . * . 554

— Log of the Savannah . 564

— Origin of the railway systems of England

and America . 533

Weed, W. H.: Formation of deposits of lime,
iron, and silica by plant life . . . 537

Page.

Well, Deep, at Wheeling. W. Halloclc . 571

Wilder, B G.’ Comparative anatomy of the

simian and human brain..... . . 553

Willis, Bailey : Fault hades . 500

— Mechanism of the overthrust fault . 529

Willits, E.: Scientific work of the Depart¬
ment of Agriculture . 550

Wilson, T.: National postal and school sav¬
ings-bank system of Belgium . 570

Wind pressures and the measurement of

wind velocities. C. F. Marvin . 556

Winds, Hot, of the plains. G. E. Curtis . 564

’Winlock, W. C.: Comet 1888 V . . . 601

— Secretaries’ report, 1888 . 523

- - 1889 . 544

- 1890... . . . 557

- 1891 . . . 572

Woodward, R. S.: Mathematical theory of

the stratum of no strain and its applica¬
tion to the earth . 602

— Maxwell’s theory of electrostatics . 571

— Mechanical conditions of the earth’s mass. 532

— Notes on problems in averages . 605

— Problem in dynamics . 605

— Some of the greater problems of physical

geology . . 537

— — special laws of the diffusion of heat in

homogeneous spheres . ; . 607

— Summation of certain complex series . 601

— Tisserand’s Traite de mecanique celeste.. 568

— Variation of terrestrial density, gravity,

and pressure . 580

Wiirdemann, H. V.: Color perception . 531

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