eat Pl OW i ve ee 4 awa 'a'a a'r. 0 ms ik We AA BEE AE An ee DAA MAAR AAR Ae GIVEN BY THE AMERICAN MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY yur wy tt oe ket "as ! HWSeprembiy ree: e aleve 9 ee wre: ae ee a , = ANT us wausy As } i Vig 7 ny. * THE CANADIAN > RECORD OF SCIENCE, INCLUDING THE PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY OF MONTREAL, - Ne AND REPLACING FEE CANADIAN NATURALIST. VOL. I. (1884-1888.) LIBRARY. NEW YORK BOTANICAL , GARDEN MONTREAL: PUBLISHED BY THE NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY, AND FOR SALE BY DAWSON BROTHERS. 1885. EDITING COMMITTEE. D. P. PENHALLOW, B.Se. T. Sterry Hont, UL.D., FBS. A. H. Mason. E W. T. COoSTIGAN. R. W. Boopte, B.A. 7 < ~ INDEX. PAGE Address before the British Association, 1884. LoRD RAYLEIGH............ 88 Ainos of Northern Japan, Traditions of the. D. P. PENHALLOW......... 228 Ancient Insects and Scorpions. Sin J. W. DAWSON...-....ccc.e cece evencece 20T Wow whincars WCAS@ECS: | Wbus bs) GREG). osc ccles ot coeee ey coe ne cane doeeeees 211 Annual Rings of Exogens in Relation to Age. D. P. PENHALLOW.......... 162 Antiferments, Notes onsome. J.T. DONALD..........00cccccccneers Srialacte Aes Apsiiie eposis Of Canadas (ES. HUNT: aii sec side cba nn vow se tee Cec ees 65 Athabasca District of the Canadian Northwest Territory. Rev. E. PeTiTror. 27 Ete BPM DEO CT NN OMGEGADs oho Sc icis [seine wicleloec Hains en ets = Ene atb eager siee e eles 175 British Association, President’s Address, 1884. ...........0 cc cee cece eee cceeee 88 Cambrian Pteropods, A New Genus of. G. F. MATTHEW.......-. -........ 149 Hee - kecks of North America... TS, HUN. lite lee ele. TT Composition of Soils, some Points inthe. Sir J. B. LAwsEs, BaART., and PERE Gy PERS HPah so) oboe ent oi cratone a's Goes ciel Pea So 'e Same eR ce eee 143 @rysialline Rocks, Geosnosy of. T. S. HUNT. .......---.:-.- wae /e Ser ate stn 147 Do. dese Oristn Ob. TE. S. EEN): Soares. s bo es BSS Borie e> ae ae Pence the erairie Ohbickens ~C.ANe Bibi oe 25 ee ee eet ook asec 209 Development Theory: A Review. E. W. CLAYPOLE..:....-.......-..c2c0ee 113 Discoveries in the St. John Group. G. F. MATTHEW................eccee ees 136 Distribution of the Reserve Material of Plants in Relation to Disease. D. ESN ER AE HOIWasete a. for eco v at sath bene alee aah Poe ch cele k hee oe ne eae 193 PP emeesaihe, Pateuens Milne 52228 70+, | ogee 8 ei a 252 LOZOe KOCKS Of North Ameria. IP.S. PRON ei ccied = 5-00 cates lode ene aleeee 82 Eozoon Canadense, Notes on. SIR J. W. DAWSON..........--...ceceescees 58 Exogens, Annual Rings of, in Relation to Age. D. P. PENHALLOW........ 162 Fertility, Results Illustrating the Sources of. Sir J. B. LAWEs, BART., and ieee Eten GoW Dp a Se njsiaa ereiale aie sialel< + co atpconianire s atactenWnd.ecawree some ate 163 Fossil Flora of Prince Paeard Island. F. BarnNand Sir J. W. DAwSON.. 154 Geolomealisociety.ob London, Report Of: 6. ae2-. caked ocd ectebcsiene oeeceses 123 Geology of Prince Edward Island. F. Bain and Sir J. W. DAwWsowN...... 154 Geornosy Ob Crystalline hocks, (Vb. iS. ELUNT? cc. ccodcecs bescaencs de yeeeeee 147 Pesce ANCIGNt.. SER oS. W 2. DAWSON. 603% faec cn etinew ng dee biel bette ne les 207 RPE GOH CLION: «3502s slc ris as Se tin ciecis oa tioeas Seasaneas saecadne ded cuee natu cuvesecnes £ Jefireys, the late J. George. Sin J. W. DAWSON... .......2--00--ccecenee 121 Lake Deposits, Organic Siliceous Remainsin. A. H. MacKay. SU), Se ceeaienl 236 Linear Measures, Some Prehistoricand Ancient. R. P. GREG.. : ee a! Manitoba Prairie Soils, Sources of Fertility of. Sir J. B. Sots Glee and J. H. GILBERT.. Seiiuies alnlora este tarmaworetslac merle neviassiee nae eadalae 143 Mesozoic Floras, Rocky Monntain fee. of Canada. Sir J.W. eae 141 Meteorological Observations for 1883 and 1884. C.H. McLuop. .. ..... 54, 152 MISCELLANEOUS NOTES. LHL EEOPOLOStC Ale =. 2 eucieine sys cls a acne We iocen ic See eeeerer ace Mapeome ence 253 FOULING A aioe oda) ees otis vices vam 26s tus Rene ee eear cack cotcs sec 60, 254 CHETHIC RIOR sere omen clea ie ine Soe ace ate Gio o oietisc Bley wane cfu aa ete aciate ain eys’e 255 IPHYSiCad x5 22's\-'<6 ioe BOC oh nec cece Eo PER EC ee COL Deer CeUEE ae CAGE OCEcot 254 Montreal Botanic Garden........... Claealeete Seite os Sencar meameuu eels oreo 175 Movement of Water in Robinia Pseudacacia. Miss G. E. COOLEY........-. 202 6336 INDEX. PAGE NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY OF MONTREAL. Annual Statement of Cash Transactions ....-..0.0.ceennssscene-see-e0s 184 Exchanges, List of...........: PICs sn a S55 tow a ae 190 Members, List of........... ee ee omerin, Season on 185 THUR OOTIR ES TOL cic w'ninrats cine st. anie Pe lsicuse sere cial sie) acto Eee ote 63, 124, 178 Natural Silicates, Classification of. T.STERRY HUNT.... .....--.. . 129, 244 Nova Scotia Lake Deposits, Organic Siliceous Remains in. A.H.MACKAY. 236 OBITUARIES. H. Milne Edwards.. : Dine oaeoaece ees ae eee Cee oe J. George Jefireys. SIR J. Ww. ee on2s. ih Rb Rn eee ee ene 121° Origin of Crystalline Rocks. T. STERRY HUNT........----0--+0-200--e0enss- 75. Orthopraphy for Native Names of Places) «5. «1.00.5 22% 25 ace sane aiomin eiepiensite 248 Palzozoic Period, Rhizocarps in the. SIR J. W. DAWSON.........-se-45. ee 19 Prairie Chicken, Dance of the; CC. Ni BELL... 3222.3. ss2c oo aa) aceite 209° Prehistoric Linear Measures. R. P. GREG....0.200. 00002000000 cnses 5 aio ete 211 Prince Edward Island, Geology and Fossil Flora of. F. BAIN andSigJ. W. DAWSON @ 0) 0 500 e cee nee ens vind als nae p sels ices auisisle 2 a oeiae deka er 154 Pteropods, A New Genus of Cambrian. G. F. MATTHEW... 2... eee eee nee ee 149 Reserve Material of Plants in Relation to Disease. D.P. PENHALLOW...... 133 Reviews Of BOOKS 222.2662 pened eee ceeocr cme socce ceuviea cel cunts = 2 ae 250 Rhizocarps in the Palzozoic Period. SIR J. W. DAWSON........---.--.-.... 19 Rings of Exogens, their Relation to Age. D. P. PENHALLOW................ 162 Robinia pseudacacia, Movement of Waterin. Miss G. E.CooLey. ..... 202 Rocky Mountain Region of Canada, Mesozoic Floras in the. Sir J. W. WVAIWSON ecm ae sic ce sina a) a nad ssreislt dary o oastesioanes Levees ae bt Ree eee eee 141 Royal Society of Canada... 60 .doiwleals ceca colds cebeewes se eee ae 3. Scorpions, Ancient. SIR J. W. DAWSON doa%saastiab neers ono 5 265/02 Shee EES 207 Silicates, Classification of Natural. T.STERRY HUNT...............---- 129, 244 Siliceous Remains in Lake Deposits of Nova Scotia. A. H. Mica 236. Soils, Some Points in the Composition of. Sir J. B. LAWEs, BART., il J - FE. GUL BRED yp. 2h fe lwiae s\ws.ei elses, eisve.elew dine sons CERO ee eee E7143 St. John Group, Recent Discoveries in the. G. F. MATTHEW........-....+-« 136. Traditions of the Ainos of Japan. D. P. PENHALLOW........essceeeeseeee> 228 Water, Movement of, in Robinua Pseudacacia. Miss G. E. COOLEY......... 202 4 > ‘ a “* ¥ . , s “ ‘ we ‘ da Py : =. * + E. Petitot on the Athabasca District. 33 I have observed a saline spring near the mouth of the Clear- water; a little below this point the Athabasca receives a saline feeder, which rises in a natural salt-spring of considerable size ; and below Lake Athabasca, on the left bank, isa second saline feeder, rising in the Caribou Mountains, which contain vast deposits of rock-salt, and a cavern remarkable for its crystalline concretions. Still further, between Forts Simpson and Norman, two other saline streams, unfit for drink, are fed by the mines of rock-salt contained in Clarke’s Rock, a mountain of volcanic aspect. Lastly, there is a fifth saline river not far from the Arctic Ocean. About 56° 30’ N. lat., the Athabasca meets Birch or Bark Mountain, a continuation of the heights forming Portage la Loche or Methy Portage (named after the loche or fresh-water cod-fish) and leaves its former course in order to open a way across the ravines of the mountain, thus making a right-angled elbow at the east. This wonderful canon is called the Great Rapid. For some twenty-five or twenty-eight leagues it impedes and much endan- gers the navigation of the Athabasca. Besides the Great Rapid, properly so called, the traveiler must pass as best he may the ‘Brialé, Noyé, Pas-de-bout, Croche (or Sinuous), Stony, Cascade, and Mountain Rapids. In short, the whole make one continuous rapid, twice as long as that of the Bear River, for the current sometimes reaches a rate of twelve to fifteen miles an hour. There is nevertheless, strictly speaking, no cataract in the Athabasca canon, only a very strong declivity, in the form of a rapid flat sheet of water, obstructed by enormous boulders. At its commencement the river finds itself checked by the vast natural dam of Bark Mountain, the base of which is sandstone or madre- poriferous limestone. The raging flood dashes against this obstacle, in which it has striven to batter a breach for centuries, washing away and carrying off the quartzose particles and expos- ing the madreporic conglomerate, shelly limestone, or bituminous sandstone forming the base of this vast deposit, and detaching and isolating a multitude of globular masses of solid or hollow sandstone contained in the quartzose sand, which now obstruct the bed of the river and are the cause of its foaming rapids. These concretions are found at every elevation of the cliffs, from the size of a coat- button to that of a Dutch fishing-vessel; they are of all degrees of 3 34 E. Petitot on the Athabasca District. measurement and bulk, and of elegant or grotesque shapes, from buttons and turnips to the planet Saturn with its rings. I have never seen in any geological text-book an explanation of the formation of these lenticular concretions, geodes, or pisolites, which I cannot believe to be merely concretions of sandstone rolled and rounded by the action of water. 1 am inclined to the opinion that they are masses thrown up in a globular form by some sub- terranean igneous force, and falling into the water holding much mud in solution, in which they have passed from a pasty condition to a solid consistency, erystallismg as it were in it by the action of cold. I adopt this view, because these pisolites (whether geodes or not) are only met with in this district near rapids and waterfalls, in localities exhibiting numerous traces of subterranean fires, formerly much more active and powerful than now; and because I have found some of these concretions composed of iron pyrites, crystallismg from the centre outwards, and also others of bog iron. Whatever may be the method of formation of such singular freaks of nature, the Athabasca in eroding a tortuous and deep channel through the sandstone of Bark Mountain, finds its bed obstructed by these gigantic concretions, which are the sole cause of its rapids, and render its navigation so perilous as to be well-nigh impossible. Besides this danger, great numbers of them are exposed on the sandy surface at all heights of the cliffs, form- ing immense caps constantly threatening the heads of the unsus- pecting travellers beneath. Remarkable vegetable fossils are often found in the sandstone of this part of the Athabasca, imbedded in the rock, but capable of detachment with the hammer. I have noticed whole trunks of — Cupressoxylon (probably a Sequoia), characteristic of the ter- tiaries, and have sent specimens of it to Montreal and to Paris. Near the Clear-water a pudding-stone begins to appear in horizontal layers from the level of the water, probably also reach- ing below it. This conglomerate is here overlaid by oblique stratifications of bituminous schist, which transude asphalt from top to bottom. The savannas and swamps covering the surface of these rocks conceal rich mines of bitumen under their thin coat of turf; and from Point Colbert to the Pierre-A-Calumets river they have given rise to the Chipewyan name of “ Hillel Déssé,” or ‘‘ River of the moving grounds.” E. Petitot on the Athabasca District. 35 The proximity of pisolites and considerable deposits of quart- zose sand leads me to the belief that the bituminous matter exud- ing from the black cliffs of the Athabasca is Pisasphaltum areniferum, characteristic of the tertiaries. It flowsin summer in wide sheets from the schistose flanks of the cliffs down into the river, mixing with the sands and solidifying so as to form a con- glomerate, sometimes softened by the sun’s rays and at others hard and brittle, of which fragments detached by the waters are carried down and deposited on the shores of the Athabasca-Mackenzie system, where they could be mistaken for nodules ofbasalt. They acquire an astonishing degree of hardness, and it is only by acci- dent that their true origin is eventually discovered. The bituminous schists are replaced at intervals by a shell- bearing limestone of dolomitic character, sometimes milky white. From this I have extracted various fossils, including Terebratule, very small Belemnites, Atrypa reticularis, Cyrtina hamiltonesis and C. umbraculosa, These limestone strata are undulating, and occur both above and below the water-level. The shores of the Athabasca present an attractive sight. Far from injuring plant-life, the presence of naphtha and the subter- ranean fires seem to have imparted new vigour to it, so that the lofty banks have their steep slopes covered with vigorous and varied vegetation. Besides white pine, larch, aspen, and birch (which gives its name to the Bark Mountain), the forest trees here include, Virginian pine, cypress, Banks’s pine, Weymouth pine, balsam-poplar, alder, and many kinds of willow. Along its waters, discoloured by muddy matter and loaded with deposits to such an extent as to be prejudicial to fish-life, I have collected a large number of medicinal plants : Geum strictum and rivale, Verbascum, Elexgnus argentea (a very sweet-smelling shrub whose berries are a great delicacy to bears), Lonicera par- viflora, Cypripedium with its large golden lips, saxifrages, Poly- gala, Erythronium dens-canis, and beautiful scarlet lilies like the Martagon, which would be an ornament to any garden. The Indians are very fond of the bulbs of this latter plant, which the Tinneys* call “Télé-nuié” (or Crane bread) and the Crees * Also variously written as Tinneh, ’Tinné, ’Dtinné, Dinné, Diné, Dinneh, Déné, &c. (meaning “ men ” or “ people’’)—the great northern or Athabas- can family of Indians. : 36 E. Petitot on the Athabasca District. ‘“‘Okitsanak.” The eatable Hedysarum with blue flowers, and the poisonous one with yellow (known as the Travelling Vetch) are found there also. The male fern adorns the woods with its large fronds, and others, such as Polypodium, Capillary, and Scolopendrium, carpet the mossy rocks with their elegant plumes. But the most abundant plant all along the river is sarsaparilla. The Tinney of the Beaver tribe know this smilaceous plant as a febrifuge and sudorific, and collect its roots; but they are not aware of the anti-syphilitic properties of smilacine, a tannic base contained in it, and which I have more than once pointed out to them. It is a curious fact that I have never heard a Cicada in the Northwest, though on two occasions (in 1876 and 1879) I satis- fied myself of the occurrence of those insects at the junction of the Clear-water and the Athabasca, though I only found them on that spot. The wapiti has become rather uncommon in the forests of the Athabasca, but the moose is frequently met with there. I have never travelled along this noble river (and I have done so six times) without seeing it, sometimes as many as three individuals together. The frugivorous black bear, lynx, beaver, and otter are common. On June 23rd, 1879, I met two Cree hunters who declared that since the spring (4. e., mm less than three months) they had between them killed along the river two hundred beavers, twenty-five moose, twenty bears and five wapiti; and I may add that from experience of the Redskins I know they are more given to diminish than to exaggerate the results of their hunting. This shows that life could still be maintained on the river if there existed inhabitants able to hunt and provision the trading-posts. But from the drainage of the Lesser Slave Lake to Lake Atha- basea there are but thirty-one Crees and twenty-two Chipewyans, women and children all told. The original mouth of the Athabasca is now distant a good day’s navigation from the lake. It is shown by the simultaneous receding of both the high strands forming the bed of the river, which from this pomt keep widening away from each other until they disappear in the interior. A flat uniform plain follows, com- posed of accumulations of soil, with no admixture of rock, and covered by dense forest growth. The river has thus actually E. Petitot on the Athabasca District. aT filled up its own ancient estuary with the material it has carried along, for no other in the world is more loaded with muddy deposits, vegetable detritus, and floating trees. Almost immediately after this the river divides into two arms, of which only the right-hand one retains the name of Athabasca, the left taking that of Hmbarras, because of the frequent bars made across it by the timber borne on its waters. Further on, the Athabasca channel is subdivided into three other branches, of which the central was the principal channel in 1879, whilst the left one, known as the Brochets (or Pike) River, rejoined the Eimbarras branch. But all these channels are interconnected by a multitude of creeks, not reckoned by the natives, as they are only navigable by bark canoes. Some maps make the river Athabasca communicate with Lake Mamawi (or Mamawa), which isalso represented as an expansion of one of the mouths of the Peace River; but this is a double error. Lake Mamawi (meaning in Cree, Reunion or Assemblage) receives its waters from Clear Lake, with which it communicates by a very short arm called the Hay River (‘“ Klopé-djiéthé ”) ; and Clear Lake itselfis fed from Bark Mountain, having no connection with the Peace River. But before entering Mamawi, the waters of Clear Lake bifurcate, the left channel discharging under the name of the ‘‘ Des Enfants” or Children River, into the most eastern mouth of the Peace River, called ‘ Aux Ciufs” or Hee River, which flows into Lake Athabasca. The waters of Mamawi are also drained into the latter basin by four channels, of which the right-hand one passes direct into it, the other three eventually uniting and emptying into the east- ern mouth of the Peace River, which, before reaching Lake Athabasca, sends out an arm towards Lake Mamawi. This quad- ruple channel bears the name of the Four Forks, and is the cause of the Cree name for Mamawi. Very curious tidal fluctuations result from this arrangement. In ordinary weather, with things in their normal condition, the above description is correct. But as the level of Lake Athabasca is. materially heightened at the period of flood, the waters of its basin, or more correctly the currents of the Athabasca which cross it, flow back in the direction of the Four Forks, reaching Lake Mamawi and even Clear Lake itself, so that they connect the first with the eastern or Hmbarras chan- 38 E. Petitot on the Athabasca District. nel of the Athabasca, and inundate all the prairies between the different mouths of that great river, forcing the Egg River to flow back to the main branch of the Peace River which joins the Great Slave River. Such was the condition of the estuary of the Athabasca and its mouths in Franklin’s time (and also in 1876) ; and if there are errors in the maps of that time, they are either owing to incorrect information or to misunderstanding; for I can scarcely believe that the first explorers were able to visit all of these localities, con- sidering the short time they spent in the country. The vast marshy savanna of this delta—an ocean of tall grass, mare’s-tail, Cyperus, reeds, and willows, intersected by numberless miry creeks always covered with water-fowl—is well called in Cree “The Herbaceous Network,” which is practically the meaning of Athabasca, Ayabasca, Arabasca, and Wabasca, in the Algon- quin dialects,—a name applied to the entire lake and also to the river by Europeans. There are often not more than two or three feet of water in these creeks of the Athabasca ; but sometimes the whole estuary is submerged and becomes part of the lake, still bearing on its muddy surface a flotilla of huge trees which have got locked to- gether and materially heightened its level. I saw such a state of things in 1871 and 1876; but how different was the estuary three years after! At that time, the channels of the Athabasca were almost dry; the main current had left the central one and gone wholly to the east, and the savanna of the estuary, elevated many feet above it, was changed into the immense and perfectly firm prairie, covered with young willow copses and dotted with water-holes.* But the most remarkable thing was that the estuary of the Athabasca had entirely left this high and dry prairie, and betaken itself toa point between its old mouth and that of the Peace River, into the Rocky (or Stony) River, the drainer of the great lake. The expanse of waters between these two points had therefore vanished, and the once great bay of Lake Athabasca, so picturesque with its chains of granitic pine-clad isles, like a fleet of war-ships preparing for nautical evolutions, had wholly disap- peared. Perhaps I should more correctly say that this basin of five to six leagues still existed with its rocky rim, but instead of *See Macoun, in Rep. Geol. Survey of Canada, 1875-76, p. 91. E. Petitot on the Athabasca District. 39 water it contained grass; instead of resembling a vast turquoise set in a jasper border, it seemed an emerald, silver-v-ined. This part of the lake was also transformed intoa prairie, from Bustard Island tothe Rocky River, and its former islands, now surrounded by fertile land, only lacking the plough to produce splendid crops, were mere isolated elevations—landmarks destined in future ages to show that once the white-fish, the carp, and the pike disported in places destined, I hope, to be improved ere long by high cultiva- tion. This condition of the waters endured till I left the North-west ; for in 1881 Mr. R. McFarlane wrote to me that this drying-up had proved a severe calamity to the Redskins of the lake, who had hitherto derived plentiful supplies of food from the well-known fisheries of the Four Forks and Bustard Island, now of course entirely destroyed. It seems that the four mouths of the Athabasca, the embou- chure of Lake Mamawi, and the eastern (or Kee River) channel of the Peace River, retained their respective currents beneath the waters of the lake, before filling it up; and when the level of the lake had become considerably heightened by their numerous inter- connections, their beds remained like so many narrow rivers, which now run through the dried-up mud, far from the ancient isles, to reunite in the great outlet of the Rocky River. Unless some extraordinary flood remodifies this newly formed estuary, the Athabasca district will thus have gained an immense space of land, excellent for cultivation, and not requiring artifi- cial fertilisation for very many years ; and it should be noted that the climate of the lake is far from being an obstacle to the ripen- ing of cereals and vegetables, for at the Philadelphia Centennial Exhibition in 1876, the Catholic Mission near Fort , Chipewyan obtained a silver medal and honourable mention for cereals of the first quality and remarkable size. In fact, the chief want of the lake-district as regards colonization is vegetable mould. With the exception of the estuary above mentioned, and of the still more extensive and no less extraordinary one of the Peace River, only rocks are found in it; and it may be said with truth that the entire north from the Slave Lake and River to Hudson’s Bay is only a gigantic bed of crystalline rocks, where the planetary nucleus is exposed under the form of various granites, feldspar, 40 E. Petitot on the Athabasca District. syenite, porphyry, serpentine, &c. Vegetation is only to be seen in the inequalities of the stony surface or depressions in these products of fusion, where the action of water has not entircly cleared away their sandy surface, or where it has deposited a slight layer of sedi- mentary earth, asat the Chipewyan Mission. Conifers, black alder, heather, Cistus, Absinthium, and some other aromatic plants root in the meagre soil, and diminish the melancholy aspect of this vast exposed portion of the frame of nature. I firmly believe that all the land reclaimed from the Peace and Athabasca rivers is of the best quality, if the present con- ditions are maintained. But there is always the fear of some exceptional rise in the waters causing a sudden flood, of such a nature that the vast plains recently uncovered might be once more overrun by devastating currents washing away their soil and entirely re-modifying their surface. I have travelled over the whole of the estuary of the Peace River,* above referred to, and found it no less curious than that of the Athabasca. As before mentioned, its first or most eastern channel enters Lake Athabasca at the Four Forks, under the name of Ege River ; and the maps are quite wrong in represent- ing the Clear Lake River as another mouth of the Peace River. But between the Egg River and the Canard or Duck Portage, where there are unmistakable traces of an old western channel, this river has four other openings into the Slave River, without counting six creeks originating in the same number of lakes formed by the overflow of the Peace River, but with no currents of their own, directly its waters retire. Between the two last-named points, therefore there is an immense plain, comparable in fertility with the delta of the Camargue in Provence, intersected by rivulets and dotted with lakesand ponds. Forest-trees have sprung up in it, and pine-crowned hillocks rising in a hundred different places show the position of former islands. Crops of the highest quality could he raised on this gigantic and well-watered delta, which contains prodigious quantities of timber deposited by the waters during past ages. Iam firmly of opinion that the colonization and cultivation of this portion of the Athabasca district deserve serious attention, and I have therefore done my best to prepare a * On the Peace River Distriet, see also Dawson, in Rep. Geol. Survey Canada, 1879-80, (B) p. 66 et seq. E. Petitot on the Athabasca District. 41 map of those two great estuaries as accurately as possible, pre- serving the local names ofthe lakes and water-ways. This map is, indeed, the chief result of my labors. Besides these vast deltas there are other lands, on the left bank of the Slave River, perfectly fit for cultivation; this is indeed proved by the old settlement of the Beaulieu family on the banks of the Salt River; but the settlers there would have to struggle against inextricable forests, and an entire want of roads or other communications, without mentioning other serious incon- veniences. But there is in the Athabasca district a belt not overrun by forest, and which has nothing to fear from periodical inunda- tions; where timber only grows sufficiently for the needs of colo- nists, and is rarely a mechanical obstacle; well covered with undergrowth and grass, capable of cultivation, crossed by a wag- gon-track, watered by streams, stocked with fish-bearing lakes, and offering every facility and advantage for the construction of arailroad. I refer to the zone ofnatural prairie along the Rocky Mountains, from the mountains of the Upper Saskatchewan to the banks of the Hay River, one of the feeders of the Great Slave Lake. I have been told by very many persons who have travelled over the Great Prairie, by which name this fertile belt is known, that it comprises every condition requisite for settle- ment, as well as’ being rich in lumber requisites and minerals of all kinds. Sulphur, bitumen, and coal crop up in many places, with rock-salt, iron, native copper, and even gold (according to report). Against these advantages, must be set the fact that the means of subsistence have become more and more rare, from the rapid diminution and imminent extinction of the animals which Supplied the daily food of the Indians, such as the moose, caribou, wapiti, bison of the woods (a distinct species from the musk-ox and prairie bison), beaver, porcupine, &«. The musk-rat alone seems not to have failed as yet, and continues, as before, to swarm on the lakes, ponds, and smallest streams. I can only regret that I have no personal knowledge of this fertile region. 42 E. Petitot on the Athabasca District. ih Lake Athabasca is the smallest of the fresh-water seas which stretch like a chain from the Gulf of St. Lawrence to the Arctic Ocean, east of the Mississippi, the Red River of the North, and the Athabasca-Mackenzie system. It is 230 miles long by twenty miles broad, and about 600 feet above the level of the Arctic Qcean, according to the observa- tions of General Sir J. H. Lefroy. The position of Fort Chipewyan, the headquarters of the district, is 58° 43’ N. lat., and 111° 18’ 32” W. long.; that of Fort Fond-du-Lac is 59° 20’ N. lat. and 107° 25’ W. long. Like a number of other lakes in this region, it is a crystal sheet of water lying in a deep bed, granitic at the north end, and with sandy and muddy deposits at the south. Three of its sides are granite, and a great number of granite islands thickly set with pines dot its surface. But there are no mountains there, and Hearne, the first explorer in 1771, would have been more correct in naming it Lake of the Isles than Lake of the Hills, as the abundance of islands strikes the traveller at the first glance. Ihave already explained the Cree meaning of Athabasca. The present inhabitants, the Chipewyan Tinneys, call it “ Yétapé-t'ueé ” (Lake Superior), or more habitually ‘‘ Kkpay-t’élé-kké,” or Wil- low bed, alluding, doubtless, to the deltas. This was also the name of an old trading-fort at the mouth of the Athabasca river, where willows were the dominant feature of the vegetation, only conifers and aspens being visible elsewhere. The nature of the soil of the lake is therefore identical with that of the great lakes tributary to Hudson’s Bay, such as Lakes Wollaston; Caribou, Beaver, and Bear, the Lake of the Woods, and Lake Winnipeg, and of those which drain to the Atlantic, as the Canadian lakes proper. The fishes of the lake are Coregonus lucidus or white-fish, salmon- trout (which there, as in more northern waters, reaches thirty-five lbs. and over), Canadian trout, Catastomus reticulatus, maskin- ongé (Hsox estor), grey and red sucking-carps, sandre (Lucioperca Americana, called doré by the Canadians), the golden-eyed lakéche, lamprey, methy (Lota maculosa), &c. I only refer here to the larger species, for the very sufficient reason that the smaller ones are entirely unknown. E. Petitot on the Athabasca District. 43 The north of the lake, which is wholly sterile and rocky, only affords support for caribou, which find a palatable food in various lichens growing there. The animals and plants of the forests and prairies to the south have already been referred to. It is obviously impossible that very exact cartographic repre- sentations should exist of so vast a lake, which has only once or twice been visited by scientific observers, and then only partially, having never been explored as a whole. I have therefore here also to make some alterations in the maps now current. The lake receives eleven watercourses, of which eight (the Peace, Mamawi, Athabasca, Little Fork, William’s, Unknown, Beaver, and Other-side rivers) are on its south. The Grease and Carp rivers enter into it from the Barren Ground ; and the Great Fond- du-Lac river flows in on the east. The latter drains into the lake the wat-rs of the Great Black Lake and the Lake of the Isles, a basin dotted with granitic blocks and fed by two streams which are practically a chain of small lakes. The most southerly of these rises at the foot of Beast’s Mountain, not far from Wollas- ton or Great Hatchet Lake; the northern one rises near Lake Caribou, but without having any kind of communication with it. It was doubtless the proximity of these two great lakes to the most eastern sources of Lake Athabasca that caused Hearne to believe that Lake Wollaston was connected with Hudson’s Bay by the Churchill river, and with the Arctic Ocean by Lake Atha- basca. Nothing, however, could be more incorrect. The most northern source of Lake Wollaston is the glacial river springing from the elongated granitic water-parting before mentioned. This lake drains into Lake Caribou by the Canoe River, a simple connecting arm, and communicates with the Churchill River by the Deer River. But there is absolutely no communication between the lakes occupying the two slopes of the water-parting. Ihave therefore corrected four geographical mistakes about these Canadian lakes, to which various drainages have hitherto been attributed. The first mistake refers to Lake la HKonge, which empties into the Churchill, and which was also said to open into the Beaver River; but I showed in 1873 that the Beaver - receives the La Plonge River, which rises near Lake La Ronge, though not taking the actual waters of the latter lake. The second concerns Lakes Wollaston and Athabasca, as above stated. 44 E. Petitot on the Athabasca District. The third refers to the Great Bear Lake, to which Sir John Richardson attributed three outlets, viz., the Bear Lake River and the Hareskin River, entering the Mackenzie, and the Beghula River, entering the Arctic Ocean. In ascending these three rivers to their respective sources, I proved in 1869-70 that the Bear Lake has only one outlet, viz., the river of the same name ; that the Hareskin River flows out of the Wind Lake near Smith Bay in Bear Lake; and that the Anderson (the “ Beghula ” of Rich- ardson) rises in a little lake at the foot of Mount “ 'Ti-dépay ” quite to the north of and some distance from Bear Lake. Lastly, the fourth error is regarding the famous great lake of the Hskimo, to which various openings into the Arctic Ocean were attributed, besides one outlet in the mouths of the Mackenzie and another in ~ the Anderson River. It is now known that this lake (the size of which has been considerably diminished) has but one outlet, the river ‘“‘ Natowdja,” a direct tributary of the Arctic Ocean. I also made, in 1879, a complete survey of the course of the Slave River from the great lake of the same name to that of Athabasca, in order to complete my former work on the Mackenzie ; and it is remarkable that, although I had no map to refer to, and no other instrument than a compass, the result agreed almost exactly with Franklin’s route-map of 1820, except as regards some islands, which either escaped his observation or have been exposed since his journey, some winter-portages that he never crossed, and a few bends in the river which he probably passed at night-time. Above the rapids formed by the Caribou range, where that range leaves the left bank and turns off towards the east, along the course of the great Des Seins River, or ‘“‘ Thou-bau-dessé,” * the Slave River crosses a flat plain covered with inextricable forests, apparently reclaimed by degrees by the sedimentary deposits of its muddy waters. This river has:no sandy shores. Its muddy banks are constantly washed off on one side to be depos- ited on the other. At times they give way, and the current, * This river, a southern affluent of the Great Slave Lake, is apparently represented on M. Petitot’s map by the “ T’al’tsan-Dessé”’ or Yellow Knives River. The name used in the above text seems to agree with the “ Thu- wu-desseh ” of the map of Back’s “ Narrative ” (1836), which enters the Slave Lake to the east of the mouth of the Slave River, E. Petitot on the Athabasca District. 45 precipitated with violence into the forests, opens fresh channels, whilst the old ones, obstructed by the mire and sand brought down, are filled up and transformed into a marshy savanna. The Duck Portage was formed in this way. Entering it from the north (the direction facing the current), the idea is suggested that it is a channel of the river or one of its affluents; but the traveller soon finds himself in an immense dried-up marsh, quite level, and entirely composed of black viscous mud, cracked by desiccation and covered with timber formerly deposited by the waters. Its Chipewyan name, ‘“ T'édh dédh-héli t’ué” (Float- wood Lake) points to its origin. There is however, no trace of any lake; but a chain of wooded and elevated isles shows that this is the ancient bed of the Slave River, which, after filling in with muddy deposits, has been obstructed in its course by imbed- ded timber and forced to break a passage to the right by an abrupt eastern elbow. I think this alteration of course has been effected recently. It may perhaps be the outlet which I saw in course of formation in 1862, though I had then no opportunity of accurately fixing its position. During extraordinary floods the surplus waters of the Slave River spread over this great marsh and scour the Duck Portage; but at an epoch before the formation of the present bed, when the Duck Portage was the ordinary channel, the overflow passed to the left by another natural channel, now dry. This shows a gradual tendency of the Slave River towards the east in this dis- trict. 'The conditions above referred to as existing at the mouth of the Athabasca, are also shown at the mouth of this river, for the current has so clogged its bed and filled up its estuary as to be compelled to divide and make its way across the sedimen- tary deposits of its delta, which it cuts up into a great number of mud islands. The first and oldest of its branches contained large and lofty islands, identical as to soil with the mainland, and wooded, like it, with white pines, Populus balsamifera, aspens, and birches, whose venerable trunks show an existence of at least six or eight centu- ries. Ifa line be drawn on the right from this point to the mouth of the Des Seins River, and on the left to that of the Oxen River, a triangle or delta will be described wholly occupied by the ancient and recent mouths of the river. The latter, after divid- ——— ne Gee 46 E. Petitot on the Athabasca District. ing into three channels, is subdivided into two great median arms, of which the eastern one is called Jean’s River, a corruption of the Chipewyan name “ Dzan-des-tché,” literally Mud-river end, or Muddy mouth. Up to this point standing trees are found in the delta, but they are no longer coniferous, thus showing that the islands are of later formation. As the channels subdivide vegetation decreases with them ; aspens, poplars, and alders have disappeared, and only small willows, six to eight feet high, are found. Still lower down, nothing is found but reeds, bulrushes and at last only mare’s-tail (Hqwisetum), an exclusively aquatic growth, entirely covered during floods. Such are the products of the last sedimentary formations, which are not yet consolidated. Between them and the lake extends a moving bog, fluctuating with the waters, which cover it for a few inches. Any unfortunate boat running into this mud will infallibly become as firmly imbedded as the innumerable tree- trunks whose roots are horizontally exposed above its surface. Some years hence these unsolid and unfathomable banks will, become firm, and, aided by the accumulations and drying effects of frosts in winter, will form new islands, more and more encroach- ing on the Slave Lake. . During the 240 miles of the course of the Slave River, it only receives two affluents, one on each bank, viz., the Dogs and the Salt rivers, the first of which is above and the second below the Rapids, interrupting its navigation. The maps of Lake Athabasca give indeed its southern affluents, but two of these, the Unknown and Beaver rivers, are not repre sented to be of large dimensions, nor are the lakes from which they spring shown as being within so comparatively short a dis- tance of the lacustrine enlargement of the Churchill known as Lake Lacrosse, that passage from the latter to the tributaries of Lake Athabasca could be made by the head-waters of the Caribou river. Ihave thought it right to rename these two great rivers and the lakes from which they spring after Messrs. C. P. Gaudet and R. McFarlane, as a mark of my respect and gratitude. II. The first person entitled to honour as the explorer of Lake Athabasca, was Samuel Hearne. He discovered it in 1771, and named it “ Lake of the Hills.” Seven years afterwards, the E. Petitot on the Athabasca District. 47 North-west Company sent hither a Canadian, Joseph Frobisher, who founded the first trading-post. The Hudson’s Bay Company soon followed the example of its rival, so that here, as in many other places, these two commercial bodies found themselves in competition at.an early date. Nevertheless, the. discoveries of Hearne, of Peter Pond in 1779, and even of Sir Alexander Mac- kenzie in 1789, however authentic and scientific, were apparently anticipated by the far-reaching tracks of the cowreurs de bois ; for when Pond reached the Great Slave Lake, the halfbreed Canadian family of Beaulieu had already settled on the Salt River—one of them, named Jacques, indeed acted as interpreter for this trading-officer, justas, at a later date, his nephew Frangois was Sir John Franklin’s hunter and interpreter. In 1820, and again in 1829, Sir John Franklin, accompanied by Lieutenant Back and Dr. Richardson, visited Athabasca on their way to the Arctic Ocean, when commencing their explora- tions for the famous North-West passage. The portrait drawn by these travellers of the Chipewyan Tinneys (whom they also call, though wrongly, Athabascans) is anything but a flattering one, and shows the recent change for the better in the character and disposition of these Indians. I can myself speak of as great an alteration in the Beaver Indians, who are now as gentle and inoffensive as they were thievish, shifty, and faithless twenty-five years ago. This is the natural effect of the commercial relations and religious habits acquired since that date by those child-like tribes. ; The Chipewyans, without being as timid as their northern brethren, who deserved the uncomplimentary epithet of “ Slaves” bestowed on them by the first explorers, are now a gentle, peaceful, and honest people, comparatively chaste and religious, though they may perhaps be accused of being a little too morose in disposition and fond of solitude. The Catholic Missionaries first visited them in 1847, and two years later settled among them. In 1866 or 1868, if I remember rightly, a clergyman of the church of England was domiciled at Fort Chipewyan; and lastly, in 1875, the Montreal sisters of charity founded a school with an orphanage and hospital there. This fort has for some years been the seat of an Anglican bishop. From the time of the historian Charlevoix a vague acquaint- 48 E. Petitot on the Athabasca District. ance with Lake Athabasca must have existed in Canada, for he speaks of the Dog-rib Indians and the “ Savanois” (now called ‘“‘Mashkégous” [Maskigos] or swamp-dwellers), the former of whom lived at the north-east of the lake, while the hunting- grounds of the latter were to the east and south-east. At this date, the Ayis-iyiniwok or lyiniwok (Men), called by Duponceau “ Killistini,” by the Ojibbeways “ Kinistinuwok,” and by the French “ Cristineaux” (also called ‘“ Klistinos” and ‘«‘ Knistineaux ’’), from which have finally been derived the names Cris, Crees, Kree, and Kyi, lived on the banks of the Beayer- Churchill river, which they called Great Water (Missi-Nipi), as well as on the shores of Cross-isle Lake, Moor-hen Lake, Cold Lake, &c. In short, they occupied the country between the Sav- anois Indians on the east and the Grandspagnes (also called Prairie-Crees), on the west. The Chipewyans at that time lived along the course of the Peace River, after crossing the Rocky Mountains, not having yet ventured down into the country now occupied by them between the Great Slave Lake and Frog Por- . tage on the English River. It was in fact their primitive home in the Rocky Mountains that originated the Canadian name « Montagnais ” or Highlanders for these Tinneys, who now live in a flat country. Lake Athabasca, the Slave River, and the shores of the Great Slave Lake were the exclusive territ ory of another tribe of Tinneys, to whom the epithet of Slaves was ziven, from their natural tim- idity and cowardice. They themselves recognized two divisions, people living among the hares (or northern Tinneys), and among the rabbits (meaning the Chipewyans). The latter name is applied by the Crees to the entire Tinney nation, and means «Tailed men,” ¢.e.; men clothed in tailed skins. This arose from the fact that all the Tinneys, like the modern Dindiiés of Alaska, used to wear a fringed robe of moose or reindeer skin, ending in a long point in front and behind. The Indians using the Algonquin tongue, such as the Crees, Savanois, Grandspagnes, and Ojibbeways, carried on a pitiless war against the Athabascan Tinneys or Slaves, who from natural timidity gave up their territory to their enemies, and fell back on the Great Slave Lake, pursued by the Crees, who made a great sluughter among them. Various islands and archipelagos retain E. Petitot on the Athabasca District. 49 the name and the memory of these dreaded Ennas (strangers, enemies), including Dead Men’s Isle, which keeps alive to this day the recollection of the defeat ofthe Katché-Ottiné, subsequently called Slaves. From that time, this portion of the Tinney family never ventured south, but remained in the cold lands and swampy forests of the north, where they became split up and settled under the names of Doz-ribs, Hareskins, Highlanders, Slaves, &c. Their different tribal dialects vary but slightly inter se, differing much more widely from the Chipewyan. The Kilistino or Crees, established on Lake Athabasca and its tributaries and discharges, found themselves exposed to the attacks of the Chipewyan Tinneys arriving from the west by the Peace River (called Amisko-Sipi or Beaver River by the Crees),thus prov- ing that the Tinney family, or at least its northern tribes, are of later origin on the American continent than the Killini or Hillini Liléni, But, being as brave as, if not braver than, the invaders, they offered such a resistance that prisoners and slaves were made on both sides. Meanwhile the English appeared in Hudson’s Bay at the mouth of the Missi-Nipi (called English River from them), and founded a factory there named Churchill, after the then prime minister of England. This became the medium of commerce between the coast Eskimo, the Savanois, and the Crees of the interior. Before the Hudson’s Bay Company sent Hearne to explure the interior, a Chipewyan woman named Tha-narelther (Falling Sable) was carried off by a Savanois war-party, and taken in captivity to the shore-region of Hudson’s Bay. She saw with astonishment in the tents of her captors domestic utensils and arms entirely new to her, and as she at first believed them to be of native manufacture she admired the intellectual superiority of the Kallini, and determined to remain with a people so superior to herself in intelligence and cleverness. But she did not live among them long before detecting from their ways and ceaseless wander- ings that they obtained these things from strangers, in exchange for peltry and provisions. ‘This traffic puzzled the captive, but, as she imagined that the original possessors of the riches bestowed upon the Savanois must be their relations or allies, she never thought of taking refuge with them and begging their protection. 50 E. Petitot on the Athabasca District. Only after some years of harsh captivity, did she discover that — the ‘ Agayasieu” (the Cree name for the English), who supplied the Crees and Savanois, belonged to an entirely strange race, good-natured and generous, friendly with all the aborigines, and coming from the far east to trade with them. Her mind was then soon made up. She succeeded in reaching Fort Churchill alone, and as she had learned enough of the Algonquin dialect to make herself understood by the interpreters of the fort, she was enabled to let the Hudson’s Bay Company’s officers know that she belonged to the great nation of “Men” (Tinneys), living far off in the west, and professing honesty and fair behavior like the English. She expressed -her determination of returning to her own people and begged for assistance on the way home, promising to establish friendly relations between her countrymen and the officers of the company, who, glad of the opportunity of extending the sphere of their commercial transactions, gave her a sledge and dogs, with various presents, and a safe conduct through the land of the Killini. Attracted by these presents, the Chipewyans at, once undertook the long voyage from the Peace River to the mouth of the Churchill, calling the fort ‘Thé-yé” (stone house), and its inhabitants “'Thé-yé Ottiné” (men of the stone house), a name by which the English are stillknown among the Tinneys. These relations continued to the time when Joseph Frobisher established Fort Chipewyan, on the shores of Lake Athabasca, in 1778, for the North-west Company, at which date there were as many as 1200 Redskins settled on the Lake. But the white man brought with him the horrible disease of small-pox, till then unknown to the Americans, which made great ravages among the Tinneys, and more than decimated the Crees, driven to the southern part of the Jake by the warlike attitude of the Chipewyans. Influenza, an epidemic catarrhal affection, attacking the tribes at recular intervals of about seven years, completed the work of the small-pox. Reduced to a very small number, the Crees ceased all hostile action against the Chipewyans, who had become their superiors, both in number and in strength; so that the possession of the lake, and indeed of the territory of Athabasca, remained with the Tinneys, who permitted a few Crees and Savanois to remain among them. E. Petitot on the Athabasca District. 51 From Athabasca the Chipewyans spread north by degrees towards the shores of the Great Slave Lake, and east and north- east towards Hudson’s Bay, where, having met with vast herds of wild reindeer, they settled on the Barren Grounds, living from that time in common under the names of Yellow-knives (“T’altsan Ottiné’), and Caribou-eaters (“Hthen eldéli”). Such of thes, as remained attached to the Churchill traders took the name of the latter, and are still known to their western fellow-tribesmen as “ Thé-yé Ottiné.” Finally, many of them even ventured south to Lake La Biche, Cold Lake, Lake La Ronge, Cross Island, Heart, Island, &c., where they bear the name of “ Thi-lan Ottiné” (Men of the end of the head). When leaving the fertile plain watered by the Peace River and its affiuents, the Chipewyan Tinneys were hard pressed by a tribe still more warlike than themselves, namely the Sécanais or “Thé-kké Ottiné” (Men who live on the mountains). whe in their turn had come from the western slope of the Rockies, where they left tribes identical with themselves as to language and customs. As to the Beaver Tinneys, they crossed the mountains to the south and reached the plains of the Saskatchewan, where still lives a remnant of this people, the Sarcis (in Cree “ Sarséwi”’) whose Black-foot name means bad (from “‘ Sa-arsey,” not good). Hearne permitted the association of some Chipewyans on his expedition to the Copper-mine River, a tributary of the Arctie Ocean, with a result that is well known, as is also the massacre committed by his followers among the Eskimo. The Hudson’s Bay Company was notlong in founding a trading- post on Lake Athabasca, establishing one under the name of Wedderburne on an islet near Fort Chipewyan. This remained till 1821, when the rival companies united their interests and put an end to their regrettable hostilities. Commerce and religion have materially civilized the manners and character of the Cree, Chipewyan, and Beaver Indians inhab- iting the Athabasca district. They are at present quiet, peaceable, inoffensive, and friendly to the white man, but very much dimin- ished in numbers, the failure of animal life, and the extraordinary decrease for many years in the waters of the rivers and lakes, which has destroyed the fish to an immense extent, and driven 52 E. Petitot on the Athabasca District. away wild fowl, having caused such a famine that many died of hunger and misery between 1879 and 1881. There were 900 Chipewyans and 300 Crees at Fort Chipewyan in 1862, but in 1879 I could only find 537 Chipewyans and 86 Crees, even includ- ing those living on the river Athabasca. Now there is but one single family of Crees at the lake, and the remnants of the tribe have gone away to join their fellows of the Peace River. The same fate has befallen the Chipewyans. In their total of 500 must be reckoned those of Fort Smith, at the foot of the rapids of the Slave River, as well as those of Salt River, and many families of the Great Slave Lake and Ox River. In short, the Athabasca district, comprising the Peace River and parts of both the Lesser and Great Slave Lakes, now contain no more than 2268 souls, including 150 halfcastes and fifty-seven white men of various origin—English, Scotch, Irish, and French-Canadians. The following are the exact statistics in 1879, for which I am indebted to Mr. R. McFarlane, the chief of the district :— . Half ; oi Tinney | Crees. Castes. Whites Chipewyan, Smith, and Small Red River 537 86 50 28 together * i Fond-du-Lac ... ae ae pee 318 a5 15 2 Resolution (Slave Lake) = pos cae 300 es 25 15 Vermillion (Peace River) _... eee ae 234 6 15 2 MacMurray (Clear-Water River) ... 31 22 10 4 Dunvegan(Peace River)and Battle together 195.) 137 20 6 St. John or D’Epinette (Peace River) and 195 15 Slave Lake, together - } Rif 1810 | 251 150 57 Grand total of the Athabasca district, 2268 The following statistics of the whole Athabasca and Mackenzie Redskin population (including women and children), were col- lected with great care by myself in various localities in which I have visited or stayed in at different times. I have before me synoptical tables by tribes and families, including even the names of the individuals. | E. Petitot on the Athabasca District. 53 Great Slave Lake. Fort Resolution, 1863—64_... { CRPESW TADS | — B17. PER ereAC ESOL econo! sta”) nes nie lense) DOS gkeDS = 4.4, ee ee 788 Mackenzie. Providence, 1871 ... ... ... +... Slaves, or Etcha-ottiné... 300 Black Lake River, 1878 ... ... Etcha- ottiné . Weel ieee 115 miayebet wer, 1874 ite ose) ede. a: a cath hese bit. 100 _ Fort Simpson, 1873 one aa nh ie een Ty eee 300 ( Slaves or Etcha-ottiné 97 Forts Norman and Franklin ! Dog Ribs a2 eee ak (Bear Lake), 1869, together... 1 Mountain Indians... 43 Hareskins_... soc heh SD == Le Hori t.ood Hope A867). 4...) ... Hareskins ... ae 422 ( Dindjié or Loucheaux, Fort Macpherson (Peel River), 1866 | Quarrelers, Kntchin... 290 including La Pierre’s House ... } Eskimo of the Anderson 250 ( “¢ Mackenzie 300 —— 550 Forts Liard and Hens Liard { (Not collected by mgaelt) River oe mea ( Slaves ... 500 Population of the Mackenzie 4214 Athabaska. Forts Chipewyau and Smith, an htpe wae At ee Boje Ser ens Fond-du-Lac, 1879... Caribou eaters... . 318 Beavers aes so 234} Vermillion, Peace River, 1879 . af Gieens a ca 6 —— 240 Fort MacMurray, Athabaska Chipewyans see 81 River, 1879 wee Crees oe ee 22 53 Fort Dovegan, Peaee River, 1879 a Pe sud beeen ne — 332 Fort St. John, Peace River, 1879 Lesser Slave River oat Secanais ry nab Population of the hee 1761 Maximum total* ... vs OS * These figures may be compared with similar but less detailed statistics collected by Captain (now Sir Henry) Lefroy in 1844, and published in the Proceedings of the Canadian Institute. 1853. They were also based on the books of the Hudson’s Bay Company’s trading posts and the personal knowledge of its officers. The enumeration of the Tinney under various subdivisions comes to 1592 men, estimated to represent 7575 souls. To these were added, at Fort Chipewyan, Lesser Slave Lake, and Isle 4 la Cross, 209 families of the Crees, estimated at 1081 souls. The Indians have apparently, therefore, decreased in numbers since 1844. 54 Meteorological Observations. V. METEOROLOGICAL OBSERVATIONS FoR 1883. The following is an abstract of the observations made in 1883 at the McGill College Observatory, at Montreal, situated 187 feet above sea-level : C. H. McLeod, superintendent. wiis THERMOMETER. *BAROMETER. E Sp fiiect = eee: Pemrnrnrarama (| + oO: pee: MONTH. ; Mean Mean a : 2 a ‘ daily 2 ; se | ee Mean; Max.| Min. tae Mean. | Max. Min. daily 5 2 abe age. range. S S = g _ — January......| 5.67 | 39.0 | -20.4 |18.52 80.1917 | 30.649 | 29.272 | .3473 ||.0545 | 83.01 February...../13.61 | 44.1 | -12.1 |16.78 || 30.1716 | 30.755 | 29.527 | .3638 ||.0710 | 77.90 March........|16.68 | 48.0 | —- 9.8 |19.65 || 29.9123 | 30.489 | 29.038 | .3215 ||.0762 | 72.64 Asprlleinsc sieve 37.22 | 62.8 11.1 114.82 || 29.9555 | 30 449 | 29.602 | .1992 ||.1453 | 64.40 IMAI Neb by ass ace DOMIS | Slo. ee2ecia Gad 29.9277 | 30.301 | 29.494 | .2008 |).2498 | 70.85 “UID Ge anaes 65.82 | 84.0 46.0 |16.85 || 29.8705 | 30.448 | 29.326 1512 ||.4640 | 72.89 A ubyees aaa ac 67.33 | 82.8 | 47.8 |16.93 || 29.8798 | 30.161 | 29.594 1121 ||.4860 | 72.35 August...... 66.37 | 85.8 | 45.5 |16.68 || 29.9610 | 80.343 | 29.596 1263 ||.4564 | 70.30 September ..|56.30 | 78.9 | 35.8 [17.40 || 30.2977 | 30.461 | 28.971 2186 ||.3448 | 72.70 October ....../48.78 | 68.8 | 24.3 |13.43 |} 30.1221 | 30.730 | 29.018 | .1974 ||.2933 | 74.91 November ...|33.91 | 66.9 4.9 |12.96 || 29.9978 | 30.566 | 29.349 | .2995 ||.1608 | 75.88 December .. .|16.61 | 48.1 | -19.4 !17 24 || 30.0308 | 30.789 | 29.232 | .2961 ||.0910 | 83.3 Means for1883/39.452|......|........ 16.498 || 300265 | .22---2+|- 0-0-0) <= #2< 4 | POSSE TA. 162 Means for nine years . ending with December, SISt, CIS83 S142! 162122 Sep ell Peace eerie oe DO EOT DU i inin:oievatctorail estaeintay se POPE Io eOOE. 5 a eee apn NSiee - ce FS Teees : WIND. sie (foye 2 Me 5] Re ee |e |g° : 2 z : 2D > fp |Se : ie AAS s ene ee ee Ve he cce! || Sees q [a \" Bie S| BS: 2 Mean = of s a 3 Ba Ho : rots, Sac MONTH. veloc] 3 | se i1 3 |e z rt og mise h Z6 £9 Mean jityin) 5 | €¢ ei on n |Sa|m “|\OPFalacd, direction. |miles| © wey |S es = ee a ees = B 5 pr | & | Bale | se g |Ba |Seolsoalsog hour.; %& Ay pz 7, me |IGZ° lA 7, 7 January ...|S.W. by S. |11.63 | 54.7 | 42.5 |) 0.34 3 20.0 | 16 | 2.31 2 17 February...| W.by S. |12.61 | 54.4 | 48.0 || 0.51 4 17.2 | 16 | 2.80 2 18 March -....| W.S.W. |12.72 | 49.6 | 52.0 || 0.04 2 35.5 | 15 ; 3.30 2 15 CATA e201 W. 11.18 | 60.9 | 60.6 |} 0.84 10 6.7 7 | 1.48 2 15 NiEAYS 5AAdaC W.N.W. |12.02 | 78.3 | 45.0 || 6 94 20 |Inapp.| 2 | 6.94 0 22 June....,../S.W. by W.| 9.82 | 52.3 | 54.0 |] 3.45 19 0. 0 | 3.45 0 19 July -| W.S.W. | 7.91 | 46.9 | 62.2 || 4.72 18 0.0 0 | 4.72 0 18 August....|S.W. by W.| 9.45 | 44.7 | 61.4 || 1.60 13 0.0 0 | 1.60 0 13 September.| W.S.W. 8.34 | 48.6 3.57 15 0.0 0 | 3.57 0 15 October....|N.W. by N.| 8.53 | 61.0 | 41.5 |} 2.49 14 0.0 0 | 2.49 0 14 November..|S.W. by W.|11.90 | 71.6 | 24.7 || 2.05 144), ADL 8. jus, 1 21 Decembevr.. S.W. 12.69 | 68.0 | 27.3 |] 1.03 6} 25.5 | 17 | 3.64 3 20 Means for LS BB ces. cae W.S.W. [10.733] 57.17| 48.31 A Wate rial Da mern re reicion acteelaen Ie, .. fam ern ae 27.58 | 138 | 117.0 | 81 !39.47 | 12 |. 270 Means for nine years ending with Dee. — |-_-——_- —— a 31st, 1883...| W. by 8. |11.01,,! 60.94! ....27.10 J1387.1 | 114.1 [84.8 '38.59 | 15.6 1205. 7 * Barometer readings reduced to 32° F. and tosealevel. +Inches of mercury. + Re- lative, saturation being 100. The monthly means are derived from observations taken every four hours, beginning with 3.13 a.m. Meteorological Observations. 55 The greatest heat was 85° 8 on August 22nd; the greatest cold —20° .4 on January 6th® ; the extreme range of temperature for the year was therefore 106° .2. The greatest range of the thermometer in one day was 45° on January 13th; the least range in one day was 2° .8 May 22nd. The warmest day was July 5th, the mean temperature (from max. and min.) being 70° .15; the coldest day was January 5th, the mean temperature being 15° .65 below zero. The highest barometer-reading was 30.789 on December 23rd; the lowest 28.971 on September 25th, giving a range of 1.818 inches for the year. The lowest relative humidity was 28 on May 18th and 19th. The greatest mileage of wind recorded in one hour was 45 on January 21st ; its greatest velocity was at the rate of 60 miles per hour on Jan- uary 18th. The sleighing of the winter closed on April 6th. The first snow of the autumn fell on November 12th, but was inappre- © clable; the first noticeable snow was on November 13th. The first river-craft arrived in port on April 27th. Ferries began running on April 28th. Navigation was open on May 4th. Auroras were observed on 39 nights. Lunar coronas were observed on 3 nights; lunar halos on 14 nights ; solar halos on3 days; hoar-frost on 24 days; fogs on 10 days; thunder-storms on 16 days, and lightning without thunder on 2 days ; brilliant clear red sky on 6 days. VI. NoTES ON SOME ANTIFERMENTS.* By J. T. Donatp, M.A. The liability of many of our articles of food to change, especially In warm weather, has from very early times, incited men to seek for some substances that will prevent this change. Such sub- stances receive the general name of antiseptics or antiferments, and many of them are well known. Newcompounds, or at least mix- tures of well-known antiferments with new names, are at intervals presented to the public, who are assured that each new one in turn is far superior to any hitherto employed. * Read before the Natural History Society, Montreal], January, 1884, 56 J.T. Donald on Antiferments. During the past two years several so-called new antiseptics have been sent to me for examination. - I have thought that a knowledge of their constituents, and what they really effect as antiferments, might be of interest to this Society ; hence these notes. In the autumn of 1881, I received from a gentleman interested in packing fish a sample of a substance called Glacialine, accom- panied by a sheet describing its mode of use, and a certificate as to its value. In the words of this sheet, a pinch of glacialine will prevent a pint of milk, beer, wine or soup from turning sour, and. a nine-ounce packet will enable hundreds of eggs to be kept fresh from June to Christmas; for nine ounces is suffilent to prepare a gallon of antiseptic fluid. Examination showed that the glacia- line was simply boracic acid finely ground. A number of experi- ments made with it proved conclusively that it had antiseptic powers of a high order, yet it did not give the results that were claimed for it. Its action was not as long continued as its ven- dors claimed; eggs, kept in a solution of the boracie acid, how- ever, retained their flavor, and were as good after several months as when fresh-laid; oysters remained sweet when treated with it, but the flavor was said to be impaired. At the time this substance was sent me, boracic acid was by no means a new food-preservative ; it had been used for many years (as far back as 1865), both alone and mixed with alum. In London, England, it had been sold to milkmen for years under the names of Aseptin and Double Aseptin. ; The next antiseptic I received, bore the name of Ozone, although it was a black powder. Directions for use were somewhat as fol- lows :—‘‘ Place water in which the articles are to be preserved in a suitable vessel, put a quantity of the ozone in a dish, which is to be floated on the water; then set fire to the ozone, covering the vessel and admitting only a small quantity of air. After the ozone has ceased to burn, the liquid is to be stirred and is ready for use.” An examination of this so called ozone showed it to be a mixture of sulphur and carbonaceous matter. When the mixture was ignited sulphurous anhydride was produced and, this dissolving in water, rendered it more or less antiseptic. The antiseptic properties of sulphurous anhydride (the gas obtained by burning sulphur) have been known for a very long time. The ga8 be Se J.T. Donald on Antiferments. 57 acts by destroying the germs whose growth causes fermentations, disease and decay, and for this reason it is used for fumigating apartments. The curious thing about this ozone is its name, for, to the chemist, ozone is the name of an allotropic form of oxygen. The third sample of food-preservative received bore simply the name of Antiferment and is intended for preserving wine, beer, and cider. It is composed chiefly of common salt and sodi¢ carbonate, with a very small quantity of salicylic acid. The gentleman who sent the sample informed me that, so far as he had been able to test the material, it did satisfactorily what was claimed for it. Through what length of time it acts, I cannot say. Two of its ingredients, viz: salt and salicylicacid, are both well known as food-preservers, and it is quite credible that the two, acting in conjunction, may very powerfully oppose fermentation. The manufacturers of Antiferment advertise that they prepare several brands of food-preservatives, each for a specific purpose; that for the keeping of meat is called Viandine. Science for Sept. 14, 1883, contains a note on viandine, in which the composition is said to consist of sixty- seven parts of a mixture bora boracic acid, and fifteen parts of chloride of potassium and eighteen parts of water. The same journal further states that numerous trials had been made with viandine, and that, whilst it to a certain extent pre- vented putrefaction, it by no means accomplished what was claimed it, and could not be recommended for preserving meat. The last antiferment to which I have had my attention called is name Boroglyceride. It was first prepared, I believe, by Prof. Barff, the original inventor of the well-known Bower-Barff process for rendering iron rustless. Boroglyceride, as its name indicates, is composed of boracic acid and glycerine, and is a hard, brittle solid, somewhat resembling ice in appearance. Since boracic acid and glycerine are both well-known antiseptics, we should naturally expect that a compound of the two would be very useful for pre- venting fermentation. There are many who are loud in their praises of boroglyceride, and not without cause, if the substance acts as effectually as Prof. Barff, who is worthy of credence, assures us it does. With this preparation the inventor sent cream from England to Zanzibar, passing through the hot climate of the Red Sea, and 58 J. W. Dawson on Hozoon Canadense. on being eaten in Africa it had not at all deteriorated. By means of it he has kept cream perfectly sweet and good for eighteen months. Pigeons treated with boroglyceride were sent from Ber- muda to England, and kept there for several months without change, while sardines, by means of the preparation, were brought from Spain without any loss of flavor. Prof. Barff claims that his antiferment is not in any way injurious to health. In proof of this claim, he states he has for a year and a half given a member of his family daily the greater part of a quart of cream treated with one ounce of the boroglyceride, and no injurious effects were noticed. During a whole summer the pupils of a college, to the number of two hundred, used milk treated with boroglyceride; its presence was not detected by any of them, nor was there the slightest sign of ill-health arising from its use. It would seem that this last mentioned antiferment is the best yet introduced, and it may be expected to prove a boon to the public. VII. Notrs on Eozoon CANADENSE, By J. W. Dawson, C.M.G., F.R.S. (Abstract of a paper read before the British Association at Southport, 1883). The oldest known formation in Canada is the Ottawa gneiss, or fundamental gneiss, a mass of great but unknown thickness, and of vast area, consisting entirely of orthoclase gneiss, imperfectly bedded and destitute of limestones, qnartzite or other rocks which might be supposed to indicate the presence of land-surfaces and ordinary aqueous deposition. It constitutes the lower part of the Lower Laurentian of Logan, and may be regarded either as a por- tion of the earth’s original crust, or as a deposit thereon by aqueo- igneous agency and without any evidence of derivative deposits. Succeeding this is a formation of very different character) though still included in the Lower Laurentian of Logan. It has been named the Grenville series, and includes beds of limestone, quartzite, iron ore, and graphitic and hornblendic schists, with evi- dence locally of pebble-beds, It isin this, and espcially is one of its great limestones, the Grenville limestone, that Hozoon Cana- dense occurs. It has been shown that these limestones are reeu- J. W. Dawson on EHozoon Canadense. 59 larly bedded and of great horizontal extent. The Grenville for- mation presents lithological evidences of ordinary atmospheric _erosion of the older rocks, and of ordinary aqueous as well as or- ganic deposition. Above this is the Norian series of Hunt, or Upper Laurentian of Logan, in which lime-feldspar rocks become dominant, and show that the calcareous rocks accumulated in the preceding period were already contributing to the material of new deposits. No evidence of Hozoon has been found in this series, which is, thus far, entirely unfossiliferous. The Huronian and other series, also of Eozoic or pre-Cambrian rocks, succeed to the Norian, and in one of these, the Hastings group, belonging probably to the Taconian of Hunt, specimens of Hozoon and indications of worm- burrows and other obscure fossils have been found. With reference to the mode of preservation of Hozoon, it was stated that in its ordinary condition, as mineralised by serpen- tine, it presents the simplest kind of mineralisation of a calcareous fossil ; that in which the orignal calcite walls still exist, with no change except a crystallisation of the calcite, common in the fossils of newer formations, and with the cavities filled with a hydrous silicate, which was evidently in process of deposition on the sea- bottom on which Eozoon is supposed to have lived. Commencing with this fact, the author proceeded to show that the various im- perfections and accidents of preservation observed in Hozoon are precisely parallel to those observed in paleeozoic and mesozoic fossils, 7 In conclusion, it was stated that many new observations had been made by Dr, Carpenter and the author, and would appear in a memoir now in course of preparation by the former, and that the author hoped, on the occasion of the visit of the British Asso- ciation to Canada next year, to exhibit to those interested in the subject the large series of specimens of Hozoon now in the mu- seum of McGill University, 60 Botanical Notes. VIII. Botanica Notes. Six-leaved Clover—A specimen of six-leaved clover, possess- ing some features of interest, was found in Mount Royal Park by Miss Van Horne, on June the 6th. Upon examination, the leaflets appeared to be united to the petiole in two distinct groups of three each. The petiole was also flattened and had a width about twice that of its thickness, while a strongly defined median furrow gave unmistakable evidence that the monstrosity was developed by union of the two leaves in the bud throughout the entire length of their petioles. Furthermore, it was found that there was only one pair of stipules instead of two, or their rudiments, as might have been expected; but this pair, instead of being lateral to the base, as in a normal petiole, were median along the central furrow, or in other words, they represented the survival of the two interior stipules along the line of union, and the suppression of the external! stipule in each petiole. 1 ae a a Tension.—An interesting case of tension developed through conjunctive growth, was observed during the month of May in a large elm tree at Abbotsford, P.Q., on the land of Mr. Chas. Gibb. It appears that, originally, the tree forked a short dis- tance above ground, and the main limbs thus formed con- tinued to grow at a slightly diverging angle. As the two struc- tures mutually approached through co ntinued growth in diameter, the bark of their inner faces came in contact, and caused a compres- sion which finally arrested further increase in that direction, but forced the new growth out laterally. Thus, in time, the two trunks came to present a plano-convex section, separated at their plane surfaces by the persistent bark. Through excessive lateral growth, and the added influence of strong internal tension, the now closely approximated lateral edges of the two limbs ruptured their bark and affected a complete union, thereby enclosing the original bark of the two, in a firm and constantly thickening case of wood. Thecompression increased with growth, and finally brought the two layers of bark into a high state of tension, which was made quite conspicuous at the time the tree was cut. When the first section was made the compound trunk was found to be nearly square in outline, with the extreme length of the diagonals 93 c.m. and 85c.m., while the line of internal fissure, which prt Botanical Notes. 61 coincided with the longer diagonal, was found to be 87 c. m. long and 1.9¢. m. at its greatest width. The included bark was so strongly compressed as to be very solid. With the second cut, the tension was largely released, and the crack almost immediate- ly opened to 5.5. c. m. at its greatest width. DIESE. Sisyrinchium bermudiana.—On first seeing the specimens of Sisyrinchium collected in the Bermudas, by Sir J. H. Lefroy and Mr. Moseley, I suspected that they were specifically different from the plant commonly known as Sisyrinchium bermudiana, and after comparing them with numerous specimens of the plant so called from eastern North America, I was convinced that such was the case. Referring to the literature of the subject, I found this view supported by all the early writers who had actually seen the Bermudan plant. The history of the two species concerned is soon told. Towards the end of the seventeenth century Plukenet figured and briefly described what he termed the Bermudan and the Virginian Sisyrinchii, the types of which are still preserved in the Sloane Herbarium at the British Museum. Dilleniu s, who had opportunities of seeing living plants at Eltham, followed Plukenet in distinguishing these two species, and published better ficures and more complete descriptions of them in the ‘ Hortus El- thamensis.’ Linnaeus, who we assume did not see the Bermudan plant. as there is no specimen in his herbarium, united the two, as- varieties of one, under the name of S. bermudianu. Miller, who seems to have been the most accomplished English botanist of - his day, was the first to restore the two forms to specific rank. This was in 1771. In 1789 Curtis figured the true Bermudan plant, and insisted upon its specific rank, remarking that he had - living plants before him of both the species figured by Dillenius. Unfortunately he gave it a new specific name, for which he afterwards expressed his regret. The first De Candolle wrote the text to the excellent figure of the Bermudian plant, which was published in Redouté’s Liliacées, at the begin- ning of the present century, and he particularly points out its distinctive characters. I have not taken the trouble to turn up every book in which the two species are likely to be mentioned, and I have not ascertained who was the first botanist to re. unite them; but the North American botanists seem to be agreed 62 | Botanical Notes. that there is only one species of Sisyrmchium in the Hastern States, and this they designate S. bermudiana. The error pro- bably arose in consequence of the Bermudian plant disappearing from European gardens, though the name was retained. SS, ber- mudiana requires the ‘shelter of a greenhouse in this country, not merely to protect it from frost, but also to enable it to attain its full development, while S. angustifolium, the other species, is perfectly hardy and grows like grass. Curtis, having been de- ceived by its behavior during a very mild winter, at first stated that the Bermudian plant was hardy, an assertion that he recalled in the letter-press accompanying the figure cited below of his 8. gramineum. ; The synonymy of the Bermudian plant follows.— SISYRINCHIUM BERMUDIANA Linn. Sp. Pl. ed. i. p. 954 (quoad 8 tantum) ; Miller, Dict.. ed. 6; Lamarck Encycl. Method. Bot. i., p. 408; Redoute) Lill. t. 149. Sisyrinchium bermudensz floribus parvis, ex ceruleo & aureo mixtis ; Iris Phalangoides quorundam; Plukenet, Almagestum, p 348 et Phytogr., t. 61, fig. 2. Bermudiana Iridus folio, fibrosa radice, Tournefort Inst. Rei Herb., p. 388, t. 108; Dillenius, Hort. Elth., p: 48, t. 41, fig.48. Sisyrinchium tiridioides, Curtis, Bot Mag., t. 94. Stisyrinchium bermudianum, var. 1, Baker in Journ. Linn. Soc, Lond., xvi, pe bli: Endemic in the Bermudas, Besides the Bermudian specimens alluded to above, there are cultivated specimens at Kew from the herbarium of Bishop Goodenough, presented by the corporation of Carlisle. Sisyrinchium bermudiana differs from S. angustifolium in being much larger in all its parts, and strikingly so in its broad leaves, which are equitant at the base; hence Curtis’s name iridioides. It grows eighteen to twenty-four inches high, and is stout in pro- portion. The flowers are large, and the broad segments of the perianth are obovate-mucronate ; but I have not been able to com- pare the flowers, as there are none of the Bermudian specimens in _a satisfactory state. However, a comparison of the figures cited should be sufficient to convince any one of their specific diversity. With regard to the forms of Sisyrinchium from eastern North America, if they are all to be regarded as belonging to one species, (and we have the authority of the leading botanists in the States for considering them as such,) Miller’s name, being the earliest, is the one to adopt. Proceedings of the Natural History Society. 63 SISYRINCHIUM ANGUSTIFOLIUM Miller, Dict., ed. 6 (1771). Stsyrinchium anceps Civanilles, Dissert. vi, p. 345, t. 190, fig. 2 (1788). Sisyrinchium gramineum Curtis, Bot. Mag., t. 464(1799). Sisyrinchium mucronatum Michaux, Fl. Bor-Am. ii, p. 33 (1803). Sisyrinchium bermudiana Linn., Sp. Pl., ed. i, p. 954 excl. 3. bermudense. Sisyrinchium bermudiana, A. Gray, Man. Bot. Northern U.S., ed. 5, p. 517. Chapman, Fl. Southern U. S., p. 474; Baker in Journ. Linn. Soc. Lond., xvi, p. 117, excel. var.1. Sisyrinchium czruleum parvum gladiato caule Virginianum: Plukenet, Almagestum, p. 348, et Phytogr., t. 61. fig. 1. Bermudiana graminea, flore minore cxruleo: Dillenius, Hort. Elth., p. 49, t. 41, fig. 49. Common in the Eastern States of North America from Massa- chusetts to Florida, and naturalized in the Mauritius, New Zea- land, and Australia. It also occurs in Ireland, where it is reported to be spreading; and as it so readily colonizes, it has been con- sidered as an introduced plant, though, on the other hand, the North American Hriocaulon septangulare is generally admitted to be indigenous in Ireland. Since the above has been in type, Dr. Asa Gray has directed my attention to the fact that Mr. Sereno Watson pointed out, as long agoas 1877 (Proc. Am. Acad. Sc. xu, p. 277), that the Bermudian Sisyrinchium is a distinct species; but as he neither elaborated the synonymy of the species nor explained that the Linnean S. bermudiana was a composite one, he has only so far anticipated me that he recognized the Bermudian plant as different from the North American.— W. B. Hemsley, in American Naturalist for June, 1884. TX. ProcerpInas OF THE NaTURAL History Soclkry. The first ordinary meeting of the Natural History Society of Montreal for the session 1883-84 was held on the evening of Monday, 29th October ; the president, Dr. T. Sterry Hunt, in the chair. After routine business, Mr. G. L. Marler exhibited specimens of the osprey, wood-duck and blue-bird, presented to the museum by Mr. W. L. Marler, St. Johns, Que. The thanks of the society were given Mr. Marler for his donation. Messrs. W. H. Rintoul, and W. P. J. Bond were elected ordi- nary members, and Messrs. J. H. R. Molson, J. O. Robert, J. Jack and Prof. D. P. Penhallow were proposed for membership. 64 Proceedings of the Natural History Society. Dr. T. Sterry Hunt then gave an account of “ Ieneous and Aqueous Theories in Geology,” after which a general discussion on this topic followed. The second meeting was held on Nov. 26th; the president in the chair. Four birds were presented to the museum, viz.: A © velvet duck from Mr. J. L. Macdonald of St. Johns, and three specimens of the Napoleon gull by Mr. G. L. Marler, — Messrs. J. H. R. Molson, J. A. Robert, J. Jack and D. P. Penhallow were elected ordinary members of the society ; and Messrs. J. H. R. Molson and J. H. Burland life-members. Dr. Osler then made a communication on “‘ The Brain of the Seal,” illustrated by many prepared specimens of the brains of this and other animals. The third meeting was held on January 28th. In the absence of the president, Major Latour occupied the chair. Messrs. Marler, Molson and Latour were appointed a committee to ascertain on what conditions Messrs. Dawson Bros. would permit the use of the title of ‘‘ The Canadian Naturalist” for the society's journal. Dr. Harrington presented to the library a copy of his “ Life of Sir W. HE. Logan,” and Mr. W. L. Marler, of St. Johns, Que., presented the museum with a specimen of the saw-whet owl, for both of which gifts the thanks of the society were voted. Dr. Harrington, Mr. Beaudry, Dr. Hingston and Mr. Marler were appointed a committee to prepare an address to the Gov- ernor-General, asking him to become the patron of the society. Messrs. F. B. Caulfield, J. J. Robson, HE. A. Robert and G. Young were proposed as ordinary members. Mr. J. T. Donald read a paper in “ Some Antiferments ” which is published in this number of The Record, and also pre- sented notes on a clay found at Cote St. Luc, and on the occu- rence of the mineral samarskite in the county of Berthier, Que. (The continuation of the Proceedings will appear in the next number.) THE CANADIAN RECORD OF SCIENCE, MONTREAL. VOLUME I. Soa ly" cctoktcceugl Seni opings: ia luce NUMBER 2. I. THe ApaTiITE DEposits oF CANADA. * By Posreeey Hon, b.1IDs F.B:S: The presence of apatite in the Laurentian rocks of North America has long been known to mineralogists, and within a few | years so much interest has been excited by the economic import- ance of deposits of this mineral, found in certain parts of Canada, that a brief history of our knowledge of these deposits may not be unacceptable to the members of the ‘American Institute of Mining Engineers. It was in 1847 that the present writer was shown by a local collector of minerals some large crystals, which had been called beryl, found in North Burgess, in Ontario. These were at once recognized as apatite ; and after a visit to the - locality, this was described in the report of the geological survey of Canada for that year as likely to furnish an abundant supply of a valuable fertilizer : the opinion being then expressed that the fact of ‘‘ the existence of such deposits as these will prove of great importance.” Specimens of apatite from this locality, collected by the writer, were shown among the economic minerals of Canada at the great * Read before the American Institute of Mining Engineers, at Cleveland, Feb- uary, 1884, and reprinted from its Proceedings. 66 The Apatite Deposits of Canada. exhibitions of London and Paris in 1851 and 1855, and the mineral had already been found by explorers at several other points in the same region previous to 1863. In the Geology of Canada, published in that year, the writer resumed the results of his further studies of these deposits, and described the apatite as occurring in the Laurentian rocks, both distributed in crystals through carbonate of lime, and in “ irregular beds running with the stratification and composed of nearly pure crystalline phos- phate of lime.” This was further said to occur in North Burgess, in several parallel ‘‘ beds interstratified with the gneiss.”* In a subsequent report of the geological survey,in 1866, I again noticed the occurrence of the apatite in beds in the pyrox- enic rocks often found associated with the gneiss. It was said, “the presence of apatite seemed characteristic of the interstrati- fied pyroxenic rocks of this section. in which it was very frequen- tly found in small grains and masses, alike in the granular and the micaceous schistose varieties.’ In these rocks, the apatite was said to mark the stracification, and to form, in one example, 4 bed, in some parts two feet thick, which was traced 250 feet along the strike of the pyroxenic rock. I at the same time descri- bed the occurrence of apatite, often with calcite, in ‘true vein-stones, cutting the bedded rocks of the country;” alike gneiss, pyroxenite, and crystalline limestone. These latter deposits were farther spoken of as well-defined veins, traversing vertically, and nearly at right angles, the various rocks; as often banded in structure, and including besides apatite both calcite and mica, occasionally with pyroxene, and more rarely with horn- blende, wollastonite, zircon, quartz, and orthoclase. These veins were said to be very irregular, often changing rapidly in their course from a width of several feet to narrow fissures. It was added, “it is evident that this district can be made to supply considerable quantities of apatite; and while the uncertainties arising from the irregularities of the velms were mentioned, it was sald that “some of the deposits might probably be mined with profit.’ Before following farther this history, it may be stated that there are two districts in Canada which have, within the past few * Loc. cit, pp. 592, 761. t Loc. cit., pp. 204, 224, 229. The Apatite Deposits of Canada. 67 years, been found to contain deposits of apatite of economic im- portance; one in the province of Ontario, in which the above observations were made by the writer previous to 1866, including parts of the counties of Lanark, Leeds, and Frontenac; and the other, since made known, in the province of Quebec, chiefly in Ottawa county. In both cases it is found in the rocks of the Laurentian series, consisting of granitoid gneisses with bands of quartzite, of pyroxenite, and of crystalline limestone. These ancient and highly inclined strata, with a northeast strike, rise from beneath the horizontal paleozoic rocks near Kingston, and again pass beneath them near Perth. These overlying strata belonging to the Ottawa basin, hide, moreover, to the eastward, the apatite-bearing gneisses of this district; which, a short dis- tance to the westward, are again concealed by the Taconian and other overlying pre-Cambrian groups in Hastings county. The eneissic belt is here seen chiefly in the the townships of Lough- borough, Storrington, Bedford, North and South Crosby, and in North Burgess, where the apatite was first discovered. The country presents a succession of small, isolated, rounded, rocky hills, alternating with numerous small lake-ba~ins, hollowed out of the gneiss, and sometimes out of the interstratified lime- stones; the general trend both of the hills and the lakes being coincident with the strike ofthe rocks. These, though concealed in the valleys by considerable depths of alluvial soil, are seen in the hills to be hard and undecayed. These geographical features, as I have elsewhere pointed out, wer apparently determined by sub-aérial decay previous to the erosion which removed from them the softened and disintegrated portions, leaving the present outlines.” . When, after cutting the forest-erowth which covers these hills of granitoid gneiss, fire is allowed to pass over the surface, des- troying the undergrowth, the comparatively thin layer of soil is laid bare and is soon washed away by the rains; leaving the bald rocky strata exposed in a manner singularly favorable for geologi- cal study, but rendering the region sterile. ‘To prevent this pro- cess of denudation it has become the practice in some parts of the country, after burning over the hillsides, to sow them, without * See the author’s paper on “Rock Decay Geologically Considered.”— Amer. Jour. Sciences, Sept., 1883. 68 The Apatite Deposits of Canada. loss of time, with grass-seed, which, at once taking root, protects the soil from the destructive action of rains, and transforms 1 in- to good pasture-land. This system, which has been adopted to a considerable extent in parts of Frontenac county, Ontario, is worthy ofrecord and of imitation in other regions. The similar apatite-bearing gneisses, which are found to the north of the river Ottawa, a little northeast of the city of that name, are in Ottawa county, Quebec, and chiefly in the town- ships of Buckingham, Templeton, and Portland. They reproduce all the characteristics of the first mentioned district, and may be looked upon as a prolongation of it beneath the northwestern limb of the paleozoic basin already mentioned. Later observa- tions, both in Ontario and in this latter district, where mining operations have been carried on within the past few years, have been recorded by Messrs. Broome and Vennor, and by Dr. Harrington,—the latter up to 1878. They have, however, added little to our knowledge of the conditions of occurrence of the mineral beyond what had already been set forth in 1863 and 1866. I haye, within the past few months, examined with some detail many of the apatite-workings in Ontario, which have served to confirm the early observations, and to give additional importance to the fact, already insisted upon in previous descriptions, that the deposits of apatite are in part bedded or interstratified in the pyroxenic rock of the region, and in part are true veins of pos- terior origin. These gneissic rocks, with their interstratified quartzose and pyroxenic layers, and included bands of erystal- line limestone, have a general northeast and southwest strike, and are much folded; exhibiting pretty symmetrical anticlinals and synclinals,in which the strata are seen to dip ut various angles, some- times as low as 25° or 30°, but more often approaching the vertical. The bedded deposits of apatite,which are found running and dipping with these, I am disposed to look uponas true beds, deposited at the same time with the inclosing rocks. The veins, on the con- trary, cut across all these strata and, in some noticeable instances, include broken angular misses of the inclosing rocks. They are, for the most part, nearly at right angles to the strike of the strata, and generally vertical, though to hoth of these conditions there are exceptions. One vein, which had yielded many hun The Apatite Deposits of Canada. 69 dred tons ofapatite, I found to intersect, in a nearly horizontal attitude, vertical strata of gneiss; and in rare cases what appear, from their structure and composition, to be veins, are found coin- ciding in dip and in strike with the inclosing strata. The distinction between the beds and the veins ofapatite is one of considerable practical importance,—first, as related to the quality of the mineral contained, and second, as to the continuity of the deposits. ‘The apatite of the interbedded deposits is gen- erally compactly crystalline, and free from admixtures, although in some cases including pyrites, and more rarely magnetic iron-ore, with which it may form interstratified layers. Many will recall in this connection the band of magnetite, with an admixture of eranular apatite, found interstratified in parts of the great magnetic ore-deposit known as the Port Henry mine, near Lake Champlain, in Essex county, New York; where in certain layers formerly mined, the apatite made up about one-haif the bulk. I have seen an example of a similar association of magnetite and apatite from Frontenac county, Ontario. The latter mineral is, however for the most part found included in the beds of pyroxene rock, already mentioned, which is generally pale green or grayish green in color, sometimes containing quartz and orthoclase, and dis- tinctly gneissoid in structure. The veins present more complex conditions; while they are often filled throughout their width by apatite as pure and as massive as that found in the beds, it happens not unfrequently that portions of such veins consist of coarsely crystalline sparry ealcite, generally reddish in tint, holding more or less apatite in large or small crystals, generally with rounded angles, and often accompanied by crystals of mica, and sometimes of pyroxene and other minerals. Occasionally these mixtures, in which the carbon- ate of lime generally predominates, will occupy the whole breadth of the vein. ‘T'hese dime-veins, as they are called by the miners, sometimes include cavities from which the carbonate appears to have been dissolved by infiltrating waters, leaving free the in- elosed crystals of apatite. In some cases, however, these veins present cavities which have apparently never been filled with solid matter, and exhibit drusy surfaces, with quartz, and more rarely with barytine and zeolites. The calcareous veins often carry so much carbonate of lime as to be valueless for commercial purpos- 70 The Apatite Deposits of Canada. es, unless some cheap means for separating the apatite can be devised. It may be said, in general terms, that while some of these true veins throughout portions or the whole of thei: breadth yield good and pure apatite, others are of comparatively little value. The bedded masses, on the contrary, are free from car- bonate of lime, and although they may occasionally contain small quantities of mica, pyroxene, hornblende, or pyrites, these are seldom present to an injurious extent. The question of the continuity of these deposits of both elasses is an Important one. Veins filling fissures that have been formed in rocks are sometimes continuous for great lengths and to great depths, but experience shows that their extent varies very much for different regions and for different rocks. In- clined beds, which were once horizontal sheets, inclosed in strata that have since been folded, should be as persistent in depth aS they are in length; and when traced in the outcrop for many hundreds of feet, may be expected, under ordinary circumstances: to continue downwards as far, unless a turn of the inclosing strata bring them up again to the surface. The inclosed beds of apatite in the regions already noticed are often traced for 500 to 1000 feet and more, and there is reason to believe that they are continuous for long distances. The workings upon them have, however, as yet been very superficial, generally from twenty to forty feet, and rarely exceeding 100 feet. The deepest mine, which is in Ottawa county, is now about 200 feet. The ordinary thickness of the bedded masses of apatite may be said to vary from one to three and four feet, though not unfrequently expanding to eight and ten feet, and even more, and sometimes contracting toa few inches; the same layer being subject to considerable variations. In some cases the apatite in a bed is found to thicken and then to diminish, or to be divided by the interposition of the accompanying pyroxenic rock. The condition of the apatite im these cases recalls the thickening and thinning sometimes observed in a layer of coal among disturbed strata, where, as the result of great pressure attending the move- ments of the harder inclosing rocks, it is alternately attenuated and swollen in volume; in which case a thinning in one portion is necessarily compensated for by a thickening of the parts adjacent. The thickness of the veins also, as above stated, is very The Apatite Deposits of Canada. Te variable, and the same vein ina distance of a few hundred feet will sometimes diminish from eight or ten feet to a few inches. We have already noticed the variable nature of the contents of these veins, which are sometimes filled with with solid and pure apatite, and at other times present bands or layers of this mineral, with others chiefly of calcite, of pyroxene crystals, or of a magnesian mica, occasionally mined for commercial purposes. While these veins have yielded in many cases con- siderable amounts of apatite, they have not the persistency of the beds. Thcir study presents many interesting facts in para- genesis, which I have described in detail in the report of the geological survey for 1866, already quoted, and more briefly in my Chemical and Geological Essays (pp. 208-213). It is worthy of remark, that some of the. first attempts at mining apatite in Canada were upon these veins, and that their irregularitics contributed not a little to the discouragement which followed the early trials. The larger part of the productive workings are upon the bedded deposits. ‘These, however, as already noticed, are for the most part opened only by shallow pits; a condition of things which is explained by the peculiar character and the frequency of the deposits, and also by the economic value of the apatite. This mineral, unlike most ordinary ores, is, in its crude state, a merchantable article of considerable value, and finds a ready sale at all times, even in small lots of five or ten tons. Like wheat, it can be converted into ready money, at a price which generally gives a large return for the labor expended in its extraction. Hence it is that farmers and other persons, often with little or no knowledge of mining, have, in a great number of places throughout the dis- trict described, opened pits and trenches for the purpose of extracting apatite, and at first with very satisfactory results. So soon, however, as the openings are carried to depths at which the process becomes somewhat difficult from the want of ap- pliances for hoisting the materials mined, or from the inflow of surface-waters, which in wet seasons fill the open cuts, the workings are abandoned for fresh outcrops, never far off. In this way a lot of 100 acres will sometimes show five, ten or more pits, often on as many beds, from twelve to twenty feet deep; each of which may have yielded one or more hundred tons of apatite, 72 The Apatite Deposits of Canada. and has been abandoned in turn, not from any failure in the supply, but because the mineral could be got with less trouble and cost at a new opening on the surface near by. These conditions are scarcelychanged when miners, without capi- tal, and unprovided with machinery for hoisting or for pumping, are engaged, as has often been the case, to extract the mineral at a fixed price per ton. These, having no interest in the future of the mine, will work where they can get the material with the least expenditure of time and labor, and often will quit the opening for some one which is more advantageous. The very abundance and the value of the mineral mined has thus led to its careless, wasteful, and unskilful exploitation. It is the working of these causes, in the way just explained, which has thrown undeserved discredit on this mining industry, and more even than the injudicious schemes of speculators and stock- jobbers, has retarded its legitimate growth. It is evident that the proper development of these deposits will require regular and scientific mining in place of the crude plan of open pits and trenches, which, from causes already explained, has hitherto, with few exceptions, been followed. As a basis for calculation in mining, it becomes necessary to establish some data as to the production and the value of the apatite- layers which we have described. The specific gravity of the mineral, as deduced from many specimens of massive Canadian apatite, is from 3.14 to 3.24. If we assume 3.20, this will give for the weight of a cubic foot of apatite almost exactly 200 pounds. for existence. Man often preserves those who would have no chance in such a warfare. The weak in mind or body, whom nature and Sparta would have condemned to speedy death, are kept alive; sentiment forbids their abandon- ment to their natural fate. The wisdom of this policy is sometimes called in question by sanitarians, but, whether wise or “unwise, it is established beyond overthrow. Beyond doubt the prevailing practice tends to entail a terrible burden on our civilization. Prof. A. M. Bell has recently called attention to the danger of creating a race of deaf-mutes, by the constant preservation and perpetuation of such persons. It is however tao wide a subject to be here discussed, and leads to other and greater problems with which future sanitarians and legisla- tors must deal. If the sympathies of man will not allow the The Development Theory: A Review. 117 laws of nature to take their course cannot the production of such forms be avoided or prevented ? Among domesticated animals human selection is by far the most potent factor. ‘‘It was said that in England the intro- duction of short-horned cattle operated almost like a pestilence in the destruction of the earlier and less-improved breeds. The comparison means that the owner of the old sorts killed them off for meat at such a rate as to thin them out as fast as the cattle- plague could have done.” Yet the short horns would be ill- fitted to hold their own in a free-fight for existence among long- horned competitors. Man, however, finds that they come more quickly to maturity, are consequently cheaper to raise, and their meat is of fine quality. Hence he decides that they shall live, and the long-horned races go down before them. . One of the most interesting chapters in the book is that which treats of mimicry, a doctrine which maintains that among the processes of natural selection is one whereby varieties accident- ally possessing characters belonging to other species, and deriving benefit therefrom, transmit that character to their offspring, and a species arises that resembles or mimics the other. This is one of the most curious fields in the domain of evolution, and one which will reward, as well as any, patient and careful observa- tion. Very little is at present known on the subject, but that little is strongly suggestive to the thoughtful mind of the intensity of the struggle for existence, and the minuteness of the difference on which success or failure may depend. We must refer the reader to the work for examples of this doctrine and for others illustrating the keen competition among plants and insects for mutual advantages in the fertilization of the former and the feeding of the latter. The marvellous testimony of embryology to evolution is next considered ; and some of the leading well-ascertained facts detailed. These point like index-fingers to a common ancestry for all living beings, they point along converging roads to a spot at some epoch in the past, where all these diverging ways started from a common centre. No one in this country has contributed so much to the embryological argument in favor of evolution as Prof. L. Agassiz, himself one of its most determined opponents. The close and accurate study of the antenatal history of organic 118 The Development Theory; A Review. beings has revealed a multitude of facts which have been generalized by Haeckel into the law, that “the history of the development of the individual portrays the history of the develop- ment of its tribe.” Thus, then among the successive changes of the egg from its first formation to the exclusion or birth of the animal, we may read with our own eyes a concise summary of its development through a long series of ancestors, whose remains are entombed in the rocks or destroyed for ever by geologic catastrophes. Embryology thus enables us to read in miniature and close at hand, an epitome of the greater record which the lapse of time has removed aimost beyond our ken, and its accidents have in great part effaced. Confirmatory of the testimony of embryology is that of geology, which forms the subject of the next chapter. These two records confirm and supplement each other. It is not probable that the former can ever supply all the details of the past history of any species. It is certain that from the record of the latter many chapters are missing, and will never perhaps be recovered. But geology is supplying ample evidence that the deductions of . embryology are well founded, and embryology is furnishing unmistakable indications of the line which descent has followed in the production of existing species. Both records are as yet very incomplete, and call for years of patient labor and thought to lessen their imperfection. But every advance in the same direction, every new fact points thesame way. ‘“‘ Missing links’”’ come to light connecting species with species in the past, and every one adds vastly to the force of the cumulative argument. With the discovery of every one, the gaps remaining become less important, and before long the induction may become sufficient to warrant the acceptance of a universal inference by every unbiassed mind. ‘Wherever the known incompleteness of the geological record, ‘prevents our explaining’ a difficulty, it becomes the believer in the development theory frankly to acknowledge that the riddle is too intricate to be solved by any means at his command. And yet, until an evolutionary rise of species had been assigned as an explanation of the succession of higher and higher animals and plants through the geologic ages, what adequate reason for this progress could be given? Strike out —— The Development Theory: A Review. 119 from our present conception of the organic world all notion of actual relationship by descent, and what have we left but a mighty list of extinct creatures whose rise, progress and dis- appearance are far more unaccountable than those of the genii of the Arabian Nights.” We omit the chapter on the geographical distribution of animals and plants—a new-born science which under the labors of Wallace and others, is yielding valuable results in the same direction, and pass on to that on the origin and antiquity of man. This will prove to many readers the most interesting in the volume. Those who believe with the authors in the Evolution of Man from a lower form, will find some facts on which they can base a rational faith. Those who reject such an ancestry for themselves would do well to calmly and dispassionately- consider the evidence before giving way to prejudice. Our authors write :—‘‘ In order to gain a clear conception of the geo- logical relation of man, let us recapitulate the life-history of the individual from the beginning. We shall find the future human being a mere nucleated cell, a little speck of albuminous jelly, the mammalian egg. So closely do the form, the size, and: the struce- ture of this little cell remind us of the ameeba-cell that Haeckel’s inference is most natural. ‘he ancestors of the higher beings must be regarded as one-celled beings similar to the amcebe which at the present day occur in our rivers, pools and lakes. The incontrovertible fact that each human being develops from an egg which, in common with those of all animals, is a simple cell clearly proves that the most remote ancestors of man were pri- mordial animals, of this sort, of a form equivalent to a simple cell. When therefore the doctrine of the descent of man is condemned as ‘horrible, shocking, and immoral,’ the unalterable fact, which can be proved at any moment under the microscope, that the human egg is a simple cell in no way different from those of other mammals must equally be pronounced horrible, shocking, and immoral.” | The close resemblance of structure between man and the higher apes so often pointed out is brought forward, and the sole cause of man’s superiority is shewn to lie in his brain, there being nota few serious deficiencies in other organs which set him at a disad- vantage in comparison with some of the lower animals. Several 120 The Development Theory: A Review. of these are mentioned, the vermiform appendage, the coccyx or rudimentary tail, and the eye, in which Helmholz has pointed out six decided optical defects. We may here remark that a valuable and interesting paper by Dr. Clevenger on this topic may be found in the American Naturalist for 1884 containing additional facts and establishing some physical disadvantages of the erect position in man. Dwelling for a short time on the low and degraded moral con- dition of savage man, the author adds: ‘The most inhuman monster of crime that ever was condem- ned by a court and executed by an officer of the law would, among such tribes as those of the Australian natives, pass for the embod- iment of all excellencies, and rise to an uncontested chieftainship. Yet out of such elements, and from the midst of such degradation, scientists must conclude that the human race as it is now has risen.” A few pages on the fossil remains of man conclude the work, showing that archeology has already amassed sufficient facts to prove man’s presence on earth for a vastly longer time than was formerly supposed, or, at all events, the existence of a creature, man, ape, or intermediate, capable of forming and using weapons and tools of chipped flint. Bones are as yet very scarce, but implements are abundant, of whose artificial nature no doubt can exist. As the worker was before his work, so the maker of these tools, what- ever he was, must have existed before they were made. Twenty-five years ago, the antiquity of man and his develop- ment from lower animals were subjects mentioned only with bated breath as awful possibilities of which heretical scientists were beginning to speak. But the world moves, Kent’s cavern and many others have been ransacked, river-gravels have been search- ed, lake-beds examined, and peat-mosses and kitchen-middens dug over, until now the wealth of evidence is bewildering to all but the antiquarian specialist. The proof of man’s antiquity is unassail- able, and that for his development is rapidly becoming unanswer- able. In closing this sketch of a subject for which the little book noticed at the outset has furnished a text, we need only say that to the general reader who wishes to obtain some firm foundation of fact regarding the theory of evolution, and who has neither the The Late J. George Jeffreys. M.D.,F.R.S. 121 time nor the technical knowledge necessary for the perusal of strictly scientific works we heartily recommend it. To college- students and scholars in high schools also, who do not wish to go out into life unacquainted with the grandest generalization of our day, we also advise its perusal. And all who wish to make acquaintance with the fundamental facts of evolution, whether called by the name of Darwin or any other, and who are not too blinded by prejudice to read and reason fairly, we commend this little work, the composition of a period of enforced seclusion from active life on the part of one of its authors. VII. Tue Late J. GeorGE JEFFREYS, M.D., F.BS. By Sir J. W. Dawson. A late British mail brings the intelligence of the death of this eminent naturalist, probably the oldest British zoologist next to Owen, and at the time of his decease generally recognised as the most eminent conchologist in Great Britam. Dr. Jeffreys was born at Swansea in January, 1809. He was a zealous collector of shells from his youth, and was one ofthe earliest scientific dredgers on the shores of Great Britain. He took a leading part in connection with some of the sea-expeditions of the English and French governments, and at the time of his death was busily engaged in the investigation of the mollusca dredged by the Porcupine. Besides his great work in British conchology, he was the author of a large number of memoirs in the Transactions of the Royal, Linnzan and other Societies. He was a man of broad general views, as well as of attention to de tails, and was especially interested in the relation of the subject to physical geography and the history of genera and species in geologic time. In connection with this he took much inter- est in the discoveries recently made in this country, and some of his most recent papers had reference to the relations of European and American mollusca. He was in correspondence with many of the leading workers in modern and pleistocene mollusks in the United States and Canada. When in Canada some years ago he was the guest of Sir William Logan, and spent much time in inspecting the collections of Dr. Carpenter at McGill College, and in examining the dredgings of Mr. Whiteaves in the collections 122 The Late J. George Jeffreys, M.D., FBS. of the Natural History Society. He had given some attention to the study of entomology, but his life-work related to the natural history and distribution of the mollusca. As to his kindly and genial nature and friendly and public-spirited disposi- tion, all of his many friends on both sides of the Atlantic well agree with the statements in the following extract from the obituary in the London Times :— ‘ Almost from its foundation he was a constant and prominent attendant at the meetings of the British Association; he was president of the biological section in 1877, and one of the vice- presidents at the meeting in Swansea in 1880. With his keen interest in the promotion of biological research generally, he was one of the founders of the Marine Biological Association of Great Britain. For forty-five years he has been a Fellow of the Royal Society, and latterly one of the guiding spirits at the Royal Soc- iety Club. At the age of twenty he was elected to the Linneean Society. Of the Geological Society he was treasurer for many years, and of many foreign societies he was an honorary member. Dr. Jeffreys, while strong in his own opinions, was one of the most genial of men, and a man of many friends. He was not a Dar- Winian in the full sense of that term ; he thought the evidence of his shells was against the doctrine, but his opposition had nothing of bitterness. Dr. Jeffreys occupied several important publie po- sitions during his lifetime. He was a J.P. of Glamorganshire and Breconshire, asalso J.P. and D.L. of Hertfordshire, for which county he served as High Sheriff in 1877. In recent years he has lived mostly at Ware Priory, Herts, where he delighted to exercise a liberal hospitality. Dr. Jeffreys hada son and five daughters, one of whom is married to Professor H. N. Moseley.” Report of the Geological Society of London. 123 VIII. Report oF THE GEOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF LONDON. March” 25, 1885-—Prof. Tf. G. “Bonney; “D.5e.,' LL D., F.R.S., President, in the Chair. The following communications were read: ‘On an almost perfect Skeleton of Rhytina gigas —Rhytina stelleri (‘Steller’s sea-cow’) obtained by Mr. Robert Damon, F.G.S., from the Pleistocene Peat-deposits on Behring Island.” . By Henry Woodward, LL.D., F.R.S., F.G.S. The author spoke of the interest which paleontologists must always attach to such animals as are either just exterminated, or are now in course of rapid extirpation by man or other agents. He referred to the now rapid destruction of all the larger mam- malia, and expressed his opinion that the African elephant, the giraffe, the bison and many others, will soon be extirpated unless protected from being hunted to death. The same applies to the whale and seal-fisheries. He drew attention toa very remarkable order of aquatic animals, the Sirenia, formerly classed with the Cetacea by some, with the walruses and seals by others, and by De Blainville with the elephants. He particularly drew attention to the largest of the group, the Rhytina, which was seen alive and described by Steller in 1741. It was then confined to two islands (Behring Island and Copper Island). In forty years (1780) it was believed to have been entirely extirpated. It was a toothless herbivore, living along the shore in shallow water, and was easily taken, being without fear of man. Its flesh was good, and it weighed often three or four tons. The author then described some of the leading points in the anatomy of Khytina, and indicated some of the characters by which the order is distinguished. He referred to the present wide distribution of the Sirenia:—Manatus with three species,* namely, M. latirostris occupying the shores of Florida and the West Indies; J/. americanus, the coasts of Brazil and the great rivers Amazon and Orinoco; WM. senegulensis, the west coast of Africa and the rivers Senegal, Congo, etc. Halicore with three species,* namely H. tabernaculi, the Red * Dr. Murie affirms, that, after examination of many specimens, he be- lieves that only two species exist at the present day, one of Manatus, and one of Halicore. 124 Proceedings of the Natural History Society. Sea and east coast of Africa; H. dugong, Bay of Bengal and East Indies; H. australis, North and East Australia. The fossil forms number thirteen genera and twenty-nine species, all limited to England, Holland, Belgium, France, Germany, Austria, Italy, Malta, and Egypt, and to the United States and Jamaica. The author gave some details as to the dentition of fossil species, of which Halithcrium and Prorastomus are the two most remarkable types. Lastly, with regard to the geographical area, occupied at the present day by the Sirenia, the author pointed out that two lines drawn 30° N. and 30° S. of the Equator, will embrace all the species now found living. Another line drawn at 60 N. will show between 30° and 60° N. the area once occupied by the twenty-nine fossil species. He looked upon Rhytina as a last surviving species of the old tertiary group of Sirenians, and its position as marking an “outlier” of the group now swept away.t The greater northern extension of the group seems good evidence of the once warm climate enjoyed by Europe, Asia, and America in the tertiary period. IX. PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY. FOR 1883-84. (Continued from page 64.) The Fourth Meeting of the session was held on Monday evening, March 31st, Dr. T. Sterry Hunt in the chair. After discussion concerning the Society’s Journal, the following were appointed an editing committee: Dr. Hunt, Dr. Harrington, J. T. Donald, D. P. Penhallow and D. A. P. Watt. Messrs. F. B. Caulfield, C. J. Young, J. J. Robson and £. O. Robert were elected ordinary members of the Society, and Messrs. A. Inglis and Thos. Devine were proposed for membership. + Only three or four examples of the reconstructed skeletons of Rhytina are known at the present day, viz. :—a nearly perfect skeleton in the St. Petersburg Museum (described by Nordmann and Brandt), a less perfect one at Stockholm (obtained by Nordenskiold) and the one now under con- sideration, obtained by Mr. Damon. Proceedings of the Nutural History Society. 125 The President then read a paper on, ‘“ The Genesis of Crystalline Rocks,” after which the meeting adjourned. The Fifth Meeting was held April 28th, Mr. J. H. Joseph, vice-president, in the chair. Mr. W. F. Ferrier was appointed to represent the Society at the third annual meeting of the Royal Society of Canada. Messrs. Sumner, Beaudry, Marler and Shearer were appointed a committee to superintend all others relating to the Society’s annual field-day. A suitable minute referring to the death of Mr. F. W. Hicks, formerly recording secretary to the Society, was placed on record. Messrs. A. Inglis and Thos. Devine were elected ordinary members, and the Bishop of Huron was proposed for honorary membership. Two papers were thenread; one by Mr. F. B. Caulfield, who explained the characteristics and habits of the British game-birds presented to the Society last year by Mr. Jowett of Sheffield, England, and one by Mr. G. L. Marler on “ An unread Leaf in Boiany.” The Annual Meeting was held on May 26th. The president, Dr. Hunt, occupied the chair. After routine business Mr. John S. Shearer presented the Report of Council for the Session 1883-84. Mr. G. L. Marler read the treasurer’s report and financial statement. Mr. Wm. Muir read the report of the Museum and library committee, The editor of the Society’s Journal reported, but his report was referred back to the editing committee. The other reports were adopted and ordered to be printed in the journal. Mr. P. S. Ross referred to the small amount received for membership fees during the year, and suggested that some better method of collection be adopted. The election of officers was then proceeded with and resulted as follows :— President, Dr. T. Sterry Hunt. Vice-Presidents, Dv. J. W. Dawson, Dr. B. J. Harrington, Dr. W. H. Hingston; Messrs. J. H. Joseph, L. A. Hugnet Latour, 126 Proceedings of the Natural History Socety. J. H. R. Molson, Rev. R. Campbell, Edward Murphy and Dr. Osler. 3 Corresponding Secretary, Dr. J. Baker Edwards. Recording Secretary, Geo. Sumner. Treasurer, G. Li. Marler. Calinet-keeper and Librarian, Wm. Muir. Council, J. 8. Shearer, J. Bemrose, M. H. Brissette, W. T. Costigan, J. 8S: Brown, P. 8S: Ross, 3d Ty Donalds aa - McLachlan. Library Committee, Dr. Wanless, H. Graham, B. T. Chambers Dr. McLaren, J. 8. Brown. Editing Committee, \r. Hunt, Dr. Tid aUeae J.T. Donald, D. P. Penhallow, Dr. Wanless. Mr. G. L. Marler gave notice of a motion to ine effect that young men under eighteen years of age be allowed to become associate members upon payment of a yearly fee of one dollar. A vote of thanks being tendered to the retiring officers the meeting adjourned. Report of Council, May 26th, 1884. Your Council have to report that during the season now closing the society has elected twelve members. The number of persons who have visited the Museum during the year is about 3,300, The lectures of the Sommerville course were delivered as follows: February 14th, Prof. Penhallow, On Tea; February 21st, Prof. Bovey, on Conser- vation of Force; February 28th, Dr. Major, on The Voice; March 6th, A. T. Taylor, Esq., on Health in our Homes; March 13th, Dr. T. Sterry Hunt, on The Food of Plants; March 20th, Dr. W. George Beers, on A Child’s Teeth. These lectures were well attended, and well received, and the thanks of the Society are due to the gentlemen who delivered them. It is now a settled fact that the British Association for the Advancement of Science are to meet in Montreal on the 27th of August next, and this Society will do all in its power (as they did when the American Association visited Montreal in August, 1882) to make the meeting of the British Association successful. The use of our building has been placed at the disposal of the . ei % Proceedings of the Natural History Society. 127 various committees. Itis our pleasing duty to record the election from our number of Dr. J. W. Dawson, Dr. T. Sterry Hunt, and Dr. Hingston as vice-presidents of the British Association. The Society held their Annual Field-day on the 8th of June, 1885, at Rougemont, through the kind invitation of Mr. George Whitfield. The day was fine, and a large number availed themselyes of the invitation. The start was made from the G.T.R. station at 9 a.m,, by the South Eastern Railway, arriving at Rougemont station about 10.45. Mr. Whitfield’s farm, which was soon reached, is beautifully situated at the foot of the Moun- tain, and from his house a fine view of the country for miles around was visible, giving the visitors an excellent opportunity of seeing the highly cultivated land that lay as it were at their feet. A light collation was provided by our kind hostess, Mrs. Whit- field, after which the party divided into groups, some bent on see- ing the country from the top of the mountain, while others started to examine the geology and the botany of the neighborhood. At noon the several parties returned, as prearranged, to inspect the farm and the numerous herds of high-bred cattle. The whole company then sat down to a bountiful and well-served dinner, at the close of which our esteemed President, Dr. Hunt moved a hearty vote of thanks to Mr. and Mrs. Whitfield, heartily responded to by all present. During the afternoon Dr. Hunt gave an able and interesting lecture on the geology of that part of the country. The collections made during the day having been brought in and examined, prizes were awarded as follows :— Collection of named plants (Ladies’ prize) Miss EK. Martin. Collection of named plants (Mens’ prize) Mr. EK. Blackader. For collection of unnamed plants Miss Carsley and Miss Cooper, equal. Hntomological prize, Mr. R. C. Holden; Geology and Mineralogy, Mr.G. R. Martin. The day being well nigh-spent the party prepared for returning, first giving thanks to Mr. and Mrs. Whitfield for the pleasant day they had spent, and soon after reached the station and the train, arriving home shortly after 9 p.m. An effort should be made by the Society to increase its mem- bership and secure a greater interest in its proceedings, which would enable us at the same time, in some measure, to keep up the 128 Proceedings of the Natural History Society. a income, in view of the withdrawal of the Government Grant; and a committee on membership should be appointed by the incoming Officers for that purpose. Six regular meetings of the Society have been held during the year, and eight meetings of the council. Report of the Cabinet-Keeper and Librarian for the year ending May 18th, 1883 Your Treasurer will report to you the state of our finances and Mr. Muir will report on the Museum and Library. The whole respectfully submitted. Work on the building: The old counter-desk in the lecture hall has been taken down and replaced by a light and handsome reading-stand. Shelves have been fitted up in the library for the reception Of periodicals, pamphlets, ete. Work in the museum: Mr. Caulfield has cleaned and arranged the exotic insects; this finishes the work on the entomological collections, all of which are now in good order. The following is a list of the donations to the Museum during the year, with the names of the donors :— Osprey (Pandion haliuetus reseed Owl ( Nyctale ee ) Mr. W. L. Marler, Blue Bird (Sialia sialis ) St. Johns, P.Q. Wood Duck (Aix sponsa) Mr. L. J. McDonald, Velvet Duck (Mel meita velvetina) j St. Johns, P.Q. Herring Gull (Larus argeniatus) Mic i, Maden Bonaparte Gull (Larus philadelphie) By purchase, European Hen Harrier. (Circus cyaneus.) THE CANADIAN RECORD OF SCIENCE. MONTREAL. VOLUME I. I. THE CLASSIFICATION OF NATURAL SILICATES. * (Abstract. ) By T. Sterry Hunt. The author in this paper reviewed the history of mineralogy, and noticed the method of classification of mineral species based solely on physical characters, which makes mineralogy a division of natural history. He then proceeded to consider the method of those who have arranged mineral species in accordance with the results of chemical analysis, while disregarding or giving a sub- ordinate place to physical characters. A true philosophy, it was contended, should keep in view beth of these methods: the chemi- cal cannot be separated from the physical study of species, and a thorough knowledge of the chemical constitution of these will show that their physical characters are intimately related thereto, and will lead to a natural system in mineralogy. The author in attempting the elaboration of such a system, the importance of which is evident, begins by showing in the present paper its application to natural silicates. These he regards as polysilicates of high equivalent weight, in accordance with the view * The paper of which this is an abstract was presented to the National Academy of Sciences at Washington, April 23, and to the Royal Society of Canada at Ottawa, May 27, 1885. It will be published at length in the Transactions of the last named Society for 1885. 130 Classification of Natural Silicates. put forward by him in papers published in 1853 and 1854, when wollastonite was referred to a polysilicic acid with 118i0,, and pyroxene to one with 14810, or perhaps some simple multiple of these numbers, with an equivalent volume, probably not less than 460. In such compounds the degree of complexity of the mole- cule is shown by the relation to space of the chemical equivalent, or, in other words, by its volume. To arrive at a term of compar- ison for this relation in species of various and unknown degrees of complexity, the author deduces for each silicate the mean equi- valent weight of its atomic unit, corresponding to an atom of NaCl; for which purpose HO and CaO are divided by two ; SiO, by four, and Al,O,; by six. The mean unit-weight thus deduced trom any arbitrary chemical formula, when divided by the specific gravity of the species gives the volume of the unit, which serves to show for different species the relative condensacion of the mole- cule. The hardness and the chemical relations of species will be found to vary with the unit-volume, as is shown in the tables given below. The various relations just described may be illustrated by an example. The simplest atomic formula representing the chemical elements of meionite and zoisite (which have the sante centesimal composition) is (ca.al_.si;) 0,; the small letiers representing atoms and o=8. ‘This gives an equivalent weight of 107, which, divided by six, shows the mean weight (P) of the unit or oxyd-atom in these species to be 17.83. Dividing this latter number by 2.7, the specific gravity of meionite (water=1.0), we have for the volume of the oxyd-atom in this species, V=6.60. Dividing by 3.4. the specific gravity of zoisite, we find that V=5.24. The true formulas and equivalent weights of these two complex silicates must be deduced from a comparison of their specific gravities with those of other species whose equivalent weights are other- wise determined. Meanwhile it will be seen that the species zoisite, having the lower value of V, or the more condensed mole- cule, differs from the less dense meionite in its greater hardness and its superior resistance to acids. Mineralogy affords many examples of the principles here illustrated. From the complex constitution thus assigned to silicates it follows that the comparatively simple ratios generally deduced for the silica and the various bases are, in many cases, but approx- Classification of Natural Silicates. 131 imations to the more complex ratios really existing. These, from the frequent impurities of natural silicates, can seldom be fixed with exactness, although with sufficient precision to give very nearly the values of P and V, which latter serves to deter- mine the place of the species in the natural system of classification. Water being an element universally distributed in nature, its presence or absence in a silicate becomes of subordinate impor- tance in determining alike the genesis and the natural affinities of species. Hence the water-ratios are omitted in the tables of classification, wherein the various natural silicates are from the chemical side, considered with regard to the atomic ratios of the fixed bases to each other and to silica. There are genetic reasons (which were explained at length) for separating silicates of sesquioxyd-bases, like alumina, from protoxyd-silicates. The former of these constitute the Persili- cates, and the latter the Protosilicates, those containing both prot- oxyds and sesquioxyds being designated Protopersilicates. Ferric oxyd and zirconia are classed with alumina, while titanic and boric oxyds in silicates are counted with the silica in determi- ning the atomic ratios. In the table of the Protosilicates, and in that of the Persili- cates, both hydrous and anhydrous, the generally accepted atomic ratios of the fixed bases to the silica are noted, but in the table of the Protopersilicates regard is had to the more important ratios of the sesquioxyd and fixed protoxyd bases to each other, inas- much as the ratio of the silica to both of these is found to vary greatly in closely related species, as may be seen in zeolites, feldspars, scapolites and micas. In these tables the three groups of silicates are arranged with primary reference to physical characters. Thus for Protosilicates we have in parallel vertical columns Pectolitoid, Spathoid, Adamantoid, Phylloid and Ophi- toid, for each of which the range of values for V is given, while in an adjacent column are inscribed the approximate atomic ratios of fixed protoxyds to silica. Among pectolitoids are included with pectolite, apophyllite and datolite, hydrorhodonite, dioptase, pyrosmalite, calamine, cerite and thorite. Thespathoids embrace tephroite, willemite, gadolinite, helvite, leucophanite, tscheffkinite and wollastonite; the adamantoids, chondrodite, chrysolite, phenacite, bertrandite, hornblende, pyroxene, titanite, roynqueg| - - - - = - = =e = - fe -- ee eee ee el ge S ‘OPUBYT “OyUMenpH |; - - - - = = = «= = = = = | = = = ‘oPUEHO ‘oyT[Aqdody| #i LT “2 ‘oqoqed | #S2¥ i R ‘eUIWOONETH) “OPJOIdeg “o[Vy,] - - - - - - = -- =| - 2 = - 2 = we we ew ee ef ee ee ee ee ee ely 3 *OUIIOV[OBSUOY “OTB, | - - - = = = = = ee | ew ee ee ee ee Ke ee ee ee ee KY = ‘oyiupudg| - - - - - ‘opugquioyy| - - - - = - - = = = = = | = = = = = = = *onoqoog | fe ix *B[[0D08AIND °9}1[010 . ‘OsB}doId *oJTUOpoyIoOIpATT E J -optporqdy sRaymaiators § repualquiog | ~ OMULTBOPORLE “OH TOWTTO MA. “OHLIOLOUOT T PaNaTeuon § o'r S ‘oyIqyUOH ‘oy[AOMoq| - - = - - - - - = = Loew agte Ear a se tomo Mees OPVUISOIAT “opOIAH | HEEL “s “OP [BUIOY “OuljyUedI1og PES SENS aie Re eS gee — 6 = = = = ‘oplueydoone'T Se ee ge Ee Oee Ne See SLL OUIpPULIZIO *o}19eU “OULA]OFT “OVUI[OpRH ‘op101ydo San 5 ; . & “OUOLTR “PPISTVTILA Mares treet eae at a 1 crip oaronn a a a9 ae i iad ll on a ‘oyporpuoyg | - - - - - = - = ee ee fee ee ee ee ee HL KE iva) 3 Sco eee es SE Ee ae o G-O—-S-L=A 9-F—0-9=A 0-9—-2-9=A 6-9—-O-L=A "IS: a “dIOLIHd(C) “CIOINVNVAY “dqIOHLVdS *CIOLITOLON a “HALVOITISOLOUd—V eWaayo-4ag am} "ALVOIISHSpsO age 133 Classification of Natural Silicates. talc, and the ophitoids, the various hydrous silicates, of which and danburite; while the phylloids embrace thermophyllite and villarsite, serpentine and deweylite are representatives. *(setoeds 19q}O YIM) *oqT]TOQuAIN - “OJTAOOSN “OFT T9G OY ee Bn aE ge ie Be SR ai cage = ean” aaa Be aaa manne . ie) oq1A00sn . JB eee oye ge I eS ts) ah 1s tte: bee cet ga Sore *O}TBSS0N enone oaetoorpul < Spam eS eee. a UE | eS ee a ee eee § ‘oqTAOOSN YW Be aeigiets aim) bape Merete, 25 Kone > RRS ~ 3 ee ee ee ee < e t coutruaaeies | 5 0319801077 -° d . . ddrq °9 d joo Se. wert = 5S see See (Qty) ommgdois4y Oq1]0Pl ge oy 1oqog ane ueumnpodg MBI a ! oqsreavigvoytuntqeg | ~ “P!OHMOTGO | 2 ‘oymolog) - - - - - - = - - ‘SHCIHLVdSaTHY | - — - ‘SHLITOIAZ : d ontuosereg “aidqoe| ~~ “OMOKL| | - “eHepEL ‘oNsIog cojopidg -omxy) - - - - “saurtoavog|} “OGL TO | “CIOLINIT *8q1}10q 40g - - 2 - - = ‘oJlUUepIy ‘esvpony | - - - - - ‘OPAIVT] - - ‘opuyog wig Se ce ae ; ‘ “OJIOTTO MA *OFAETT soe a 7 7 Omer [slog ‘oylURITy “jourry NomonetComanes oqqjJoqjuey *gsor1oeds UvIs a -* °(& 0 . 2 . - - - - - - = - - - - - = -ouSvm snorpéy 3 o}1dos0[qd (% +E) OWUMOTLOYY -oz1VAT] “oseso0pyT Jo dnoiz e318] 5 ~ eytdoso[ qq J Se ee ee gee ee SPOLETO ges Ota) SIDI CUTIES A (areas a eae T-o—se9=-A 4°6F—S-G=A 0O-9—-—GL=A Se9—G-L-— A *CIOTTIAHG “dIOINVAVAY “cqIOHLYdS *CIOLITON ‘ALVOITISURAAOLOUd—E *ACUQ-4g "SLVOPIUS 40psoO = = eo eawt © HH | cae = . = 2 oo ar ee z 134 Classification of Natural Silicates. The Protopersilicates are grouped under the heads of Zeolitoid, Spathoid, Adamantoid, Phylloid and Pinitoid; while in a column to the left are given the atomic ratios of fixed protoxyds and ses- quioxyds, the silica being variable. The zeolitoids include, be- sides the zeolites proper, forestite, prehnite, cataplelite, xanthor- thite, etc. Under the spathoids of this class are placed petalite, all feldspars and feldspathides, including sodalite, iolite and leu- cite; the scapolites, including meionite ; barylite, milarite, gehle- nite, sarcolite, melilite, wohlerite and eudialyte. The adamantoids comprise pargasite, keilhauite, schorlomite, ilvaite, idocrase, gar- net, allanite, beryl, euclase, ardennite, axinite, epidote, zoisite, jadeite,spodumene, staurolite, sapphirine, and the various tour- malines, In the phylloids are included the micas proper, from phlogopite and biotite, through seybertite and chloritoid, lepido- lite, margarite and euphyllite to the muscovites and damourite. With the magnesian micas are placed, under the head of phyl- loids, the whole family of chloritic species, while parallel with the non-magnesian or muscovitic micas, are ranged the pinitoids, including besides pinite or gieseckite, jollyte, fahlunite, Bravanelegy cossaite and giimbellite. Order SILICATE. Scs-OrpER C.—PERSILICATE. K AOLINOID. ADAMANTOID. V=6°8—5°3 W=5°3 —4-4 1 1 1 1 1 1:44 e 1 1 i 1 : 4 | Schrotterite. AA Culiiaiie, “sa ata oS) > Dumortierite. ¢i% | Allophane, = = == 2 Tepaz. Andalusite. Fibrolite. Cyanite. : I | Pholerite. Samoite. - - | Bucholzite. Zircon. Malacone. :1% | Kaolinite. Halloysite. eee ee ors, ee Auerhachite. - @ | § Pyrophyllite. . (Steargillite. Chloropal. 4234 | Pyrophyllite. Cimolite. - - - -— = | Anthosiderite. 54 : 4 | Smectite. Classification of Natural Silicates. 135 The Persilicates are arranged in like manner in five groups, the received ratios of silica and the fixed hases being given, as before, in a column to the left. The adamantoid persilicates include dumortierite, andalusite, fibrolite, topaz, cyanite, bu- cholzite, the zirconsand anthosiderite. The phylloids include pholerite, kaolinite and pyrophyllite; and the argilloids, the various amorphous hydrous silicates of alumina from the highly basic schrétterite, through halloysite, to the more silicious cimo- lite and smectite. _ The relations of fluorine in silicates like topaz and chondrodite, of chlorine in pyrosmalite, sodalite and scapolites, and of sulphur in helvite, lapis-lazuli and danalite are considered at length by the author. ‘T'able: showing the values of P and V, together with the simplest atomic formulas deduced from chemical analysis are given for most well-known silicates. The discussion of the equivalent weights of these species, and of their defitite place in a chemical classification of polysilicates is noticed, but is left for future consideration. If we regard the silicates as constituting a natural order, the three groups already noticed may be called sub-orders ; A. Protosilicates; B. Protopersilicates; C. Persilicates. The divisions of these will constitute tribes, and the tribal characters being repeated in the sub-orders, we distinguish the spathoids, adamantoids and phylloids, by prefixing the distinctive syllables of the sub-orders; as protospathoid, peradamantoid and protoper- phylloid. The sub-divisions of these tribes into families, genera and species cannot here be discussed. The genus feldspar, including anorthite, albite and perhaps iolite, with other genera, some of which are represented respectively by orthoclase, by leucite, and by sodalite, will constitute the family of the feld- spathides. The families of the micas and the pyroxenides in like manner will each include several genera, having different values for V. The application of the principles above defined to carbonates, and the reference of the various carbon-spars to different polycar- bonates, were long ago shown by the author in his papers already noticed. The extension of like views to all liquid and solid inorganic species, both natural and artificial, is but a matter of detail and labor, and when fully carried out will be the basis of a new chemistry. 136 Discoveries in the St. John Group. II. RECENT DISCOVERIES IN THE ST. JOHN GROUP. By G. F. Matruew. For some years the St. John group has been known as a for- mation containing the fullest representation of the oldest Cam- brian fauna yet discovered in America. In Europe this very old fauna is well known, but in America the Cambrian rocks which are best known and have been most carefully studied, do not contain it. These Cambrian rocks of America are known as the Potsdam sandstone ; they cover exten- sive areas along the valley of the St. Lawrence and in the Middle and Western States, and are thus the oldest Cambrian group recog- nized by its fauna in the central region of North America, but they do not contain any of the species of the St. John group. On the shores of Lake Champlain and along Hudson River another group of Cambrian rocks is found, older than the Potsdam sandstone, but even this, so far as we know, contains none of the St. John species. In short, nowhere west of the Appalachian Mountains have Cambrian strata been met with containing remains of animals of the ancient type of those of the Acadian provinces. The crustacean genus Paradoxides is one of the most character- istic forms of this early fauna, and it has thus far been found in America only to the east of the Appalachian chain. One species is known to occur in Massachusetts, and three in Newfound- land, but the genus is represented by a greater variety of forms at St. John, N. B., than elsewhere on this continent. This genus is considered to be characteristic of the Lower Cambrian rocks. The late Professor C. F. Hartt, by a study of the fossils of the St. John group, was able to declare that they were of the same type as those of the Primordial zone in Bohemia, which Joachim Barrande had shown to contain the oldest of all known organic remains.* But, since Prof. Hartt made this determination, the fauna of the Primordial zone has been further elaborated, and Paradoxides is now found to mark the lower part of the Primor- dial or Cambrian system. This fact was ascertained for central t From the Bulletin of the Natural History Society of St John, New Brunswick, read December 2, 1884. * That is, the oldest known at that time. a Discoveries in the St. John Group. 137 Europe by the illustrious Barrande, and for Great Britain by Mr. J. W. Salter and Dr. Henry Hicks. These students discovered that while Paradoxides characterized the Lower Cambrian rocks, the Upper Cambrian could be recognized by the presence in it, among other fossils, of the crustacean genus Olenus. Dr. Hicks went further, and was able to divide the Lower Cambrian formation of Wales into three groups, by means of the different assem- blages of animals which it contains. He thus established the succession of the groups known as Ceerfai, Solva, and Menevian. Prof. Hartt fixed the age of the St. John group as nearly as was possible in his time, as Primordial, or, as we now call it, Cam- brian ; but these latter discoveries in Europe have enabled the writer to point out more exactly the Cambrian group in Wales holding a fauna to which the beds containing the St. John fauna described by Prof. Hartt correspond.* This has been shown in a memoir in the Transactions of the Royal Society of Canada (1884) and elsewhere, and we now know that Hartt’s species more nearly represent those of the Solva group than those of the Menevian. In other words, it is the fauna of the older part of the Lower Cambrian. When we look for a source from which our Lower Cambrian fauna may have been derived we are met with the difficulty that no other large assemblage of animals of greater antiquity is known. The oldest creature known, Eozoon canadense, so far preceded in time the advent of the Cambrian forms of life that its influence on them is almost beside the question. It is true that a species resembling Hozoon canadense has been found in the pre-Cambrian rocks of Bavaria, but the gepus Eozoon is not known to have left any successors or nearly related forms in the Cambrian lime- stones, and may therefore be considered as practically extinct at the opening of the Cambrian pericd. Coming to more recent times than that represented by Eozoon, there is a Geological stage in Newfoundland indicated by the Intermediate series of Mr. Alex. Murray, in which a single organism has been found. This Intermediate series is regarded by Mr. Murray and others as equivalent to the Huronian system of Canada, and therefore intermediate between the Laurentian *The two groups, one in Wales and the other in Acadia, are not neces- Sarily on that account exactly cotemporaneous. 138 Discoveries in the St. John Group. (the system containing Eozoon) and the Cambrian. The organic form which occurs in this Intermediate system was described by the late Mr. E. Billings of the Canadian Geological Survey, who appears to have thought it a representative of the Gasteropods (Sea-snails, etc.) and gave it the name of Aspidella terranovica. It is a curious patelliform object, which Mr. Bill- ings was unable to refer to any known genus or family, so that its bearing on the question of the origin of the Lower Cambrian or Acadian fauna of the St. John group is somewhat problematical. In the Acadian fauna of the St. John group, notwithstanding its antiquity, we do not have the ultimate source of organic life, but, on the contrary, an assemblage of animals already greatly differentiated and adapted to the conditions under which they existed. At the time when the Acadian fauna flourished, there may also have been other areas on the globe occupied by living beings, for when we consider the place and mode of occurrence of the species of the St. John basin, belonging to Division or Series 1, both described and undescribed, it is clear that there were three successive irruptions of living forms into this area, all of Lower Cambrian types, and all strictly within the limit upward of the Paradoxidean zone. ach of the three sets of organisms in these beds contains a large proportion of distinct species, with a smaller number of identical species. The latter serve as connecting links to bind these several sub-faunas together as one connected whole. Before describing the three assemblages of organic forms that are found in the lower part of the St. John group it may be well to give a brief statement of the nature and order of the beds in which they occur. The St, John group has been divided in six principal masses of strata, designated as Divisions (=Series) 0,1,2,3,4and5. Of Division 0, it may be said that no organic remains have been found in it; but in Division 1 is found the fauna described by Professor Hartt and others. This fauna is not found at the base of Division 1, but in one of its middle members. Division 1 at St. John has been described as consisting of four bands of strata, differing in the nature of the sediments, and designated respectively, in ascending order, as a, b, c, and d. The band @ is barren, and ¢ contains the species already described ; but both 4 and d are now found to have each their own peculiar assemblage of species. Discoveries in the St. John Group. 139 The oldest fauna is found in the band J. Itis littoral, and its deep-sea equivalent is not known, but its crustaceans differ from those of the next band. The connecting link between the fauna of this band and that of the band c¢ above it, is found chiefly in the brachiopods and pteropods. In the fauna of 6 are two new types of bivalve crustaceans. The solitary trilobite known, Agraulos (?), is notable for the great development of the axial lobe of the cephalic shield and thorax, and of the close approximation of the eyes to the glabella. In this feature it re- sembles Conocoryphe lyellit of the Welsh Cambrian strata. Two species of the pteropods display the remarkable feature, in this class, of a camerated shell, and were apparently adapted to resist the accidents of life on asandy sea-shore. As for the brachiopods, we find among them only the most primitive types—Linnarssonia, Lingulella, Acrothele and Acrotreta. On passing to the beds of band ca host of new forms present themselves, among which are two types of sponges, Protospongia (?) and an undescribed genus. The cystidian, Hocystites, also appears atthis horizon. To the genera of brachiopods referred to as found in band 6 are now added three species of the genus Orthis, and another Lingulella takes the place of that found im band 6. Among the gasteropods are several genera: Stenotheca, Scenella, Haritia, etc. The pteropods are well represented in hyalithoid species of three different types. The bivalve crustaceans have a fair representation; those of the underlying band are not found but new species appear, including those of the genera Primitia, Leperditia, ete. The trilobites are represented by the most ancient, genera :—Agnostus has four species, Microdiscus two, Ptychop- aria five or more, Conocoryphe three, an ancient type of Ctenoce- phalus one, and Paradoxides four ; all four of this last genus have continuous eyelobes. Passing to the beds of the new band, viz., d, a change in the fauna is at once apparent, though a connection with the preceding fauna is maintained by the presence of the undescribed sponge, all of the pteropods, and two familiar forms of brachiopods—Lin- uarssonia and Acrothele; there are also varieties of the Agnosti, the Ptychopariz, and of Protospongia (?) of band c. On the other hand, quite a number of new species appear at this horizon, among which may be named a Dendrograpsus (?), another Lin- 140 Discoveries vn the St. John Group. gulella, and two new species of Stenotheca. Two worm-casts and new species of bivalve crustaceans also come in at this horizon. Among the trilobites also there are new species; the Agnosti have four; Microdiscus exhibits a new form closely allied to M. punctatus, Salter. Among the Ptychopariz some species now appear for the first time, and Solenopleura has a representative. A Paradoxides with shortened eyelobes has left abundant frag- ments in these measures; it is a species which, by its pleural spines, pygidium and hypostome, is allied to P. tesseni of Europe. This new fauna consists largely of forms similar to those of the Menevian group, and is chiefly remarkable for the great abun- dance of Pteropods, Microdisci and Agnosti, and for the presence of a Paradoxides with shortened eyelobes. So far as they are at present known, each of the successive sub-faunas has an indivi- duality of its own; that in band 6 contains forms the most remark- able for novelty ; band c is notable for the variety of species it con- tains, and band d for the abundance of individuals of many of the species. The beds of the band b may be said to have been de- posited on a sandy shore, those of c on a muddy shore, and those of d in deeper and more tranquil waters. Volcanic action in the vicinity of the St. John basin seems to have been dormant during the time when the beds of band a were laid down, but awoke into activity during the period when the strata of 6 were deposited, and gradually died away while the olive-grey mud beds of c were formed, The time when these successive faunas were making their way into the St. John basin was a period of decreasing vol- canic action and of gradual subsidence in that area. In concluding this article, I quote a letter of Prof. Alpheus Hyatt of Boston, well known for his researches among the Ceph- alopods and Sponges, which relates to one of the new forms noticed in the preceding paper. Prof. Hyatt had very kindly offered to advise me in reference to difficult points connected with the fossils of the St. John group, and I therefore availed myself of this opportunity to place before him the various specimens of pteropodous shells bearing upon the possible early connection of the pteropods with the cephalopods. Unfortunately, the letter giving the details of his examination of these fossils has been lost in transmission, but the general results of the investigation are given in the summary quoted below from a later letter. By way ” . ca Mesozoic Floras of the Rocky Mountains. 141 of preface to Prof. Hyatt’s letter I may say that more than one of the early pteropods of the St. John group are remarkable for the presence of several distinct septa at the base of the tube. There are two such species in the band 4 ; another, but a longer and narrower kind, is found in the band ce, and this or a similar camerated shell occurs in the band d. Of these species (refer- ring, however, chiefly to the latest) Prof. Hyatt says (February 3, 1885) : “T kept no notes of the details I had observed; my results, however, were quite definite in respect to the main points. These were: (1) The fossil isa Hyolithes allied to H, undulatus, Barr. (Syst. Silur. pl. 11, f. 29.) (2) The aspect of a siphon is due to the compression of the sharper against the flatter side, and the form of the sutures, which favors this impression. Barrande figures, as I found after arriving at this decision, a similar case, (pl. 15, figs. 35, 35a) of a closely allied species, H. elegans. (3) The sutures are similar to those of H. elegans in curvature, but wider apart. These fossils with their distinct septa are startlingly similar to certain forms of Nautiloidea, but there is no siphon, They, however confirm Von Jhernig’s and my opinion that the Orthoceratites and Pteropods have had a common, but as yet undiscovered, ancestor in ancient times. ” III. Tae Mesozoic FLoras oF THE Rocky MounrtTAIN REGION OF CANADA* By Sir Witiiam Dawson. In a previous memoir, published in the Transactions of the Royal Society of Canada, Vol. I, the author had noticed a lower Cretaceous flora consisting wholly of pines and cycads occur- ring in the Queen Charlotte Islands, and had described a dico- tyledonous flora of middle Cretaceous age from the country adjacent to the Peace River, and also the rich upper Cretaceous flora of the coal formation of Vancouver Island—comparing these with the flora of the Laramie series of the Northwest Territory, which he believed to constitute a transition group con- necting the upper Cretaceous with the Hocene tertiary. *Abstract of a paper read before the Royal Society of Canada, May, 1885. 142 Mesozoic floras of the Rocky Mountains. = The present paper referred more particular by to a remarkable Jurasso-cretaceous flora, recently discovered by Dr. G. M. Daw- son in the Rocky Mountains, and to intermediate groups of plants, between this and the middle Cretaceous, serving to extend greatly our knowledge of the lower Cretaceous flora, and to render more complete the series of plants between this and the Laramie. The oldest of these floras is found in beds which it is proposed to call the Kootanie group, from a tribe of Indians of that name who hunted over that part of the Rocky Mountains between the 49th and 52nd parallels. Plants of this age have been found on the branches of the Old Man River, on the Martin Creek, at Coal Creek, and at one locality far to the northwest on the Suskwa River. The containing vocks are sandstones, shalesand conglom- erates, with seams of coal, in some places anthracitic. They may be traced for 140 miles in the north and south direction, and form troughs included in the Paleozoic formation of the moun- tains. The plants found are conifers, cycads and ferns, the cycads being especially abundant and belonging to the genera Dioonites, Zamites, Podozumites and Anomozamites. Some of these cycadaceous plants as well as of the conifers, are identical with species described by Heer from the Jurassic of Siberia, while others occur in the lower Cretaceous of Greenland. The almost world-wide Podozamites lanceolatus is very characteristic, and there are leaves of Salisburya sibirica, a Siberian mesozoic species, and branches of Sequoia smittiana, a species char- acteristic of the lower Cretaceous of Greenland. No dicoty- ledonous leaves have been found in these beds, whose plants connect in a remarkable way the extinct floras of Asia and Amer- ica and those of the Jurassic and Cretaceous periods. Above these are beds which, with some of the previous species, contain a few dicotyledonous leaves, which may be provisionally referred to tle genera, Sterculia and Laurus ; and still higher the formation abounds in remains of dicotyledonous plants of which additional collections have been made by Mr. T. C. Weston. The beds containing these, though probably divisible into two, groups, may be named the Mill Creek series, and are approxi- mately on the horizon of the Dakota group of the United States geologists, as illustrated by Lesquereux and others. The species are described in the paper, and differ for the most part from those Points in the Composition of Soils. 143 of the Peace River series, which is probably of the age of the Niobrara group, and, of course, still more from the overlying Laramie group. With regard to the latter, the author adduced some new facts confirmatory of his previously expressed view as to the position of the Laramie at the top of the Cretaceous and base of the EKocene, and also tending to show that some of the plants still held by some paleeo-botanists to be of Miocene age are really, in Canada at least, fossils of the Laramie group, and consequently considerably older than is currently supposed. These facts also confirm the views previously expressed of the author as to the Eocene or Laramie age of the fossil plants of Mackenzie River and of Greenland, hitherto usually regarded as Miocene. The collections of plants studied by the author had for the most part been placed at his disposal by the Director of the Geological Survey. abate! Gussie) Ub AE ithe IV. Some PoInTs IN THE COMPOSITION OF SOILS; WITH RESULTS ILLUSTRATING THE SOURCES OF FERTILITY OF MANITOBA PRaIRIE SOILS. By Sir J. B. Lawes, Bart,, anp J. H. GivBert. This paper is a continuation of one given by the authors at the meeting of the American Association, held at Montreal in the autumn of 1882, entitled “ Determinations of nitrogen in the soils of some of the experimental fields at Rothamsted and the bearing of the results on the question of the sources of the nitrogen of our crops.” The first part of the presint paper consists of a résumé of the previous one. It was thereshown that when crops are grown year after year on the same land without nitrogenous manure, the produce and the yield of nitrogen decline in a very marked degree. This is the case even when a full mineral manure has been applied; and it is the case not only with cereals and with root crops, but also with Leguminosee. Further, with this great decline in the annual yield of nitrogen of these very various descriptions of plant, when grown without artificial nitrogenous supply, there is also a marked decline in the stock of nitrogen in the soil. Tius a soil-source of, at any rate, scme of the nitrogen of the crops was indicated. Other evidence was also adduced clearly pointing to the same conclusion. 144 Points in the Composition of Sols. Next, that determinations of the amounts of nitrogen as nitrate in soils of known history as to manuring and cropping, and to a considerable depth, show that the amount of nitrogen in the soil in that form is much less after the growth of a crop than under corresponding conditions without a crop. It was hence concluded that nitrogen had been taken up by the plant as nitrate. In the case of gramineous crops and some others, the evidence points to the conclusion that most, if not the whole, of the nitrogen is taken up from the soil. It is also clear that some, at any rate, of the nitrogen of Leguminosx has the same source and the results are in favour of the supposition that in some of the cases the whole of it might be so accounted for. Still it is admitted that, in other cases, this seems doubtful. The conditions and the results of a large number of new experi- ments are next described. It is found that there is very much more nitrogen as nitrate, in the soils and subsoils down to the depth of 108 inches, where leguminous than where gramineous plants have grown. The results point to the conclusion that under the influence of leguminous growth and crop residue, especially in the case of strong and deep-rooted plants, the conditions are more favourable for the development and distribution of the nitrifying organism ; and if this view be confirmed, an important step would be gained towards the more complete explanation of the sources of the nitrogen of the Leguminose, which assimilate a very large quantity of nitrogen, including, as above supposed, the nitrification of the nitrogen of the subsoil, which may thus become the source of the nitrogen of such crops. An alternative obviously is that the plants might still take up nitrogen from the subsoil, but as organic nitrogen and not as nitrate. There is however no direct experimental evidence in favour of such a view, whilst some physiological considerations, which are discussed, seem to be against it. Again, results show that the soil and subsoil contain less nitrogen as nitrate after the growth of good crops of Vicia satwa than where the more shallow-rooted Trifo- lium repens fails to grow. This is further evidence that the Leguminose take up nitrogen as nitrate; and in the experiments in question the deficiency of nitric nitrogen in the soil and subsoil of the Vicia sativa plots, compared with the amount of those of the Trifolium repens plot to the depth examined, is sufficient to Points in the Composition of Soils. 145 account for a large proportion of the nitrogen estimated to be contained in the Vicia crops. Other experiments were quoted, which bear less directly on the point, the results of which are, however, accordant ; and they at the same time afford illustrations of the loss of nitrogen that the land may sustain by fallow in a wet season, and therefore of the. benefits arising from the ground being covered with a crop which takes up the nitrate as itis produced. To conclude on this part of the subject, it may be considered as established that much, at any rate, of the nitrogen of the crops is derived from the stores. within the soil, and that much, and in some cases the whole, of the nitrogen so derived is taken up as nitrates. This leads the authors to the consideration of the second part of their subject, namely, the sources of the fertility of some Mani- toba prairie soils. Soils from Portage la Prairie, from the Saskatchewan district and from near Fort Ellice, were first examined. They proved to be about twice as rich in nitrogen as the average of arable soils n Great Britain, and perhaps about as rich as the average of the. surface soil of permanent pasture land. Four other Manitoba soils were examined in greater detail, one- was from Niverville, forty-four miles west of Winnipeg, the second from Brandon, the third from Selkirk, and the fourth from, Winnipeg itself. These soils show a very high percentage of nitrogen ; that from Niverville nearly twice as high a pereentage. _as in the first six or nine inches of ordinary arable land, aad about as high as in the surface soil of pasture land in Great Britain. The soil from Brandon is not so rich as that from Niverville, still the first twelve inches of depth are as rich, as the first six or nive inches of good arable lands.. The soil from Selkirk shows an extremely high percentage of nitrogen, in the first twelve inches, and in the second twelve iaches as. high a percentage as in ordinary pasture surface soil. Lastly; both the first and second twelve inches of the soil from Winnipeg: are shown to be very rich in nitrogen—richer than the average of. old pasture surface soil. The question arises, how far the nitrogen in these soils is susceptible of nitrification and so of becoming easily available fox vegetation ? The soils and subsoils are placed in shallow dishes, 10 146 Points in the Composition of Soils. covered with plates of glass, kept under proper conditions of temperature and moisture for specified periods, extracted from time to time, and the nitric nitrogen determined in the extracts. The periods were never less than twenty-eight days, and some- times more. The rate of nitrification declined after the third and fourth periods. There was a very marked increase in the rate of nitrification in the subsoils during the eighth period compared with the seventh, there having been added only as much as the tenth of a gram of garden soil containing nitrifying organism. This result is of much interest, affording confirmation of the view that the nitrogen of subsoils is subject to nitrification, if only under suitable conditions, and that the growth of deep-rooted plants may favour nitrification in the lower layers. Records show that the rich prairie soils of the Northwest are competent to yield large crops; but, under existing condi- tions, they certainly do not on the average yield amounts at all commensurate with their richness compared with the soils of Great Britain, which have been under arable cultivatien for centuries. That the rich prairie soils do not yield more produce than they do, is due partly to climate but largely to scarcity of labour, and consequent imperfect cultivation, and to luxuriant growth of weeds ; and until mixed agriculture, with stock feed- ing, can be had recourse to, and local demand arises, the burn- ing of the straw, and deficiency or waste of manure, are more or less inevitable, but still exhausting practices’ So long as land is cheap and labour dear some sacrifice of fertility is unavoidable in the process of bringing these virgin soils under profitable cultivation ; and the only remedy is to be found in the increase of population. Still the fact should not be lost sight of, that such practices of early settlement, however unavoidable, do involve serious loss of fertility. A table has been prepared showing the comparative characters, as to percentage of nitrogen and carbon, of exhausted arable soils, of newly laid down pasture and of old pasture soils, at Rothamsted, also of some other old arable soils in Great Britain ; of some Illinois and Manitoba prairie soils; and, lastly, of some very rich Russian soils. A comparison of the figures leaves no doubt that a rich virgin soil, or a permanent pasture surface soil, is characterised by a relatively high percentage of nitrogen ae The Geognosy of Crystalline Rocks. 147 -and carbon. On the other hand, soils which have long been under arable culture are much poorer in these respects ; while arable soils under conditions of known agricultural exhaustion show a very low percentage of nitrogen and carbon, and a low relation of carbon to nitrogen. In conclusion, the authors said that it had been maintained by some authorities that a soil was a laboratory and not a mine ; but not only the facts adduced by them in thisand former papers, but the history of agriculture throughout the world, so far as it was known, clearly show that a fertile soil is one which had accumu- Jated within it the residue of ages of previous vegetation; and that it had become infertile as this residue was exhausted. V. THE GEOGNOSY OF CRYSTALLINE Rocxs.* By T. Srerry Hunt. The author discussed at length the relations of the great masses ‘of crystalline rocks usually divided into stratified and unstratified, and considered the intrusion of the latter, both in a plastic state among harder rocks, and in the form of resisting solids among softer and yielding materials. He then proceeded to notice the view held by many of the older geologists, and still entertained by some, that the laminated structure in crystalline schists is no evi- dence of aqueous deposition, but is developed by movements of translation in a plastic igneous mass. While maintaining for most stratiform rocks an origin by aqueous deposition, he showed that such a structure is also developed in many cases by movements during the extrusion of exotic rocks, and sought to define its con- ditions. As regards the source of such rocks, it is argued that granites -and some related aggregates are (in accordance with the crenitiec hypothesis elsewhere advocated by the author) of secondary origin, and previous to their displacement had been formed from a primary plutonic mass, mediately, through the action of water solvents. : Mean Max.| Min. |daily || Mean. | Max. | Min. |daily || 62 | 2= range range || 32 | 93 | sre [Ba — ++ | January ..... 873 | 40.5/—16.5 {16.38 || 30.0409 | 30.964 | 28.960 | .3353 ,, .0634] 81.12 : February... |18.11 44.0;—11.0 |17.52 || 30.0027 | 30.686 | 29.175 | .3649)| .0956) 85.59 WarGhts <<... <:. 25.65 47.1)— 9.4 {14.02 || 29.9941 | 30.395 | 29.518 | .2350| 1212) 79.69 April aenvie| 405.90 69.0) 24.5 |14.17 || 29.8369 | 30.317 | 29.233 | .1635 || .1794| 71.68 MVD irs cu s do. Journal of the Board Of ‘Arts... 20. sceees sence cone do. do. Trinity College.........0. ieietatatat ak SUR tellers ats) (do. do. University College........... JogoOIC Dob. onoeede a lek. do. Geological and Natural History Survey.......... Ottawa do. Ottawa Field Naturalists’ Club ........... soe a elo: do. Royal Society of Canada...... Soedoctor dobigno-onon eels do. Botanical Society........ sor sUGUUOrIC po nmady ON n ce Kingston do. Bees COLT E','. ea fsls's m's'siva's'o'a's oretelctets Talat 's(e'aate do. do. Entomological Society of Ontario...... ..seee sees London do. Hamilton Association, Alexandrian Arcade......-Hamilton do. RiginiballlistOry OCI’. ’.%'c.5 .- st ce ce «e's o'ss- 5s St.John N.B. Department of Agriculture, Statistics and Health. Winnipeg Man. UNITED STATES. Smithsonian Institute. ... ...cce ccc seceeses stan Washington,D.C. WS or eOlOPICAl SULVEY. <6. ce «+ sini sin Hedeldenos do. do. Se His COMmmMMsslOMitels sc . cfs alc a's! Wialalalciovcis’ sae do. do. State Library, State House.......... o ecceresseee boston Mass. Natural History Society........ @ wroneeniale: wakecayeestcrets do. do. American Academy of Sciences...........+02 see do. do. Harvard College Library..... Sic wi ciSinay saser ciokatene/stetelets Cambridge do. Mee at (4 SCICD CO. Fics, « aidlcioiais, 5 oe shai ian calere teh wvalets do. do. Amherst College Library.......... 66 Sebas eee Amherst do. Seem UTI SETUIEGE a siaieto old wovcivinile sveieaniateiess) «' oo o)-leuiee eee: do. Hntomolovical Society . 7... a. sice\+¢ rece. cote do. do. Zoologigal Society cots sees. cee eneeemier do. do. DOCIEby Ok ARES eG cs ies sotes ss oa) ee my. eines do. do. Chemical Society... seesience sfeqtte cle doncteclene do. do. Geological Survey of Great Britain............ do. do. Brihish Museumai. ciclo... ssc. oe e cree le nese eeetee do. do. Museum of Practical Geology, Jermyn St....... ’ do. do. Linnean Society, Burlington House........00+ do. do. Annals and Magazine of Natural History....... do. do. BhevGeologistitwwasegon veces lk eee do. do. Mhevehytolomighe sto cee rss sic jeyetelnee ater mC ee do. Mhe,Zoologistiit, wisi: os soe bsps sls saitte Oo eee oe do. do. We MoI 38 sacra teins ie er aanse eo ete epee ee ere do. do. The: Mechnologist-. i... chee abc quae eee els do. do. London, Edin. and Dublin Phil. ERE a50006 do. do. Natural History Review.. a asagSio ieee leo “sauna nen LOE do. Journal Royal Mic. Socikay | abi.» altoleeeiaoneyeee es teremane do. do. Chemical Newstin.) 20 /sicet tele tele a teennre tellin ma Oe do. ANOS SNUMCISIRE Hamer kK Abed GDN Shao so50 p0d0 0500. do. do. The Engineer..... sp fojo'ava ores ce S wocoterel otter tol helene do. do. The Gardener’s Chronicle....... 2... seeee suacoraceina, (Oe do. Bod leva Minlbrawy, =e cencisieree Sievelote cate ereterter Oxford do. Wmiyersity Library tej. e ete eee hte Cambridge do. Literary and Philosophical Society.........0.. Manchester do. Natural History SOCIeby 510 «1a see) ereleie ne orien Neweastle on Tyne do. Botanical Society... ists. « soeese so eile oes see HGIM QUT mimo ee nt Royal Physical Society. wc casircle oe cteie stereucnetere do. do. FLOW MO CICUY spe -ere)i t os “wat oF e% Pre ew i Vin“ ‘ ; . 4 STAND the x a Phe © glee « a yaa Aas ame > a fe ‘ a! b t ba i a ee uh si j : jae ee, 5 se eh eae rf , het i 4 ‘ ‘ ; i me rs é :l Widdciwe wees rr eee v | ’ -d ' ‘ ae, y WL eek Oden 00 tee ce ‘ nade ¥ ! a atts Nie ceeubus ¢eckesle 0k) Snee 4 p ee ; f a. E ee OE ; e- wee F : sti }4 ‘ tee. CONE © Meme uns Bee rs 1 , -_ ie : , : reese ie re ‘ Ne a0 9 tcy os’ «kc i eh ey 7 s > , { tee atin! | F J ‘ . b> a ee ¢4 Bea en a + tar ! 34 i} es f — ‘4 oe there’ wane te . & A Bs ct) aie ORE Cth a: ae mf bale & TEER Ale Od. 0 0 & wath tle BL eee a le Ore ee a ‘ Cy ia 40 ot ACER ee tay a ; ' t é xs ‘ " boo Pi eae © y 4 : baled he ches + Ae : . . x .. 7 + - ‘a * ¢ 7 > fi a erect r b " a a Z ¢ | ’ - : “ j 4 hia , . << er G07 147 tA Vr epediggivee). 20 2a tin a Seed Fara ae : ( G Vaeer ws ©.) pik rE ht” laos avaed yt | = Z t pf pee at 1 , oh - —_= . ; ’ - ‘ . . . ’ «' ! ~ bor) ‘ é . SS ——————E eS THE CANADIAN RECORD OF SCIENCE, MONTREAL. VOLUME I. anebeereb are sam) PeeMMG Abi | omens oog NUMBER 4. I. DISTRIBUTION OF THE RESERVE MATERIAL OF PLANTS IN RELATION TO DISEASE. By D. P. Penaatiow. By reserve material we understand all those proximate consti- tuents of plants which are either directly or indirectly the pro- duct of assimilation, and which are stored up in solid or liquid form to meet some future requirements of growth. It is essential for us to bear in mind that, such material being the result of an assimilative function which is dependent upon the presence of chlorophyll and the action of sunlight, it can be found, primarily, only in those parts of green plants which grow under the normal influence of light; and, secondarily, also in those parts of green plants which are normally excluded from the light, and to which it has been transferred from the organs where it is formed by secondary processes. It follows from this,that all such material must be absent from colorless parasites, except in so far as they may have taken up the digested material of their hosts and rede- posited it in their own tissues, and from all saprophytes. It will also follow that, whatever operates to influence the digestive pro- cessin green plants must have a direct bearing upon the amount of reserve material finally deposited, as well as the tissues in which itis stored, _ 13 194 Reserve Material of Plants. We may consider all reserve material as occurring in two forms, the liquid and the solid. Of the former we have examples in the oils, sugars, inulin and allied compounds, although the two latter may also be obtained in a solid form under certain special conditions of treatment. Of the latter we have familiar examples in the various kinds of starch which, however, is most probably also a liquid at certain times, as when in process of transfer from one organ to another. We should also enumerate, among the solid forms of reserve material, those peculiar forms which protoplasm assumes when passing into the resting state, such as are to be found in the crystalloids, aleurone, etc., or in other words, in the so-called protein compounds of seeds. It is not the purpose of this paper to discuss all, or even a large portion of these compounds, since the subject is altogether too large to permit of proper treatment within such brief limits, and I shall therefore confine my remarks to that one form of most frequent and conspicious occurrence, starch, since what is true of this in its distribution and relation to pathological conditions, is also true in a very large measure of the other forms of reserve material ; and, moreover, it is in the distribution of this in health and disease with which our investigations have been chiefly con- cerned. 1 The leaves are the special organs of digestion for the plant, and to them we may consider this function wholly confined ; except in cases where there is a green bark, as in all herbaceous plants and the young shoots of woody plants, or where true leaves are absent, and their function is assumed by other parts of the plant, as in the cacti. ‘The products of digestion are in general the same in either case, as, also, must be their final distribution and use, so that what is true of the leaves in their relation to the digestive function must also be true of other green parts. The essential features of the digestive process, as we observe it in leaves, are the decomposition of CO, and H,O with recombination of their constituent elements, giving rise to starch as a solid product to be utilized in nutrition, while free O is liberated into the sur- rounding air whence the CO, was derived. This action may be regarded as continuing during the entire vegetative period, so long as chlorophyll is present and sunlight has free access to the leaves, and, therefore, under otherwise uniform conditions, sub- — es nd baa ies Reserve Material of Plants. 195 ject only to a daily periodicity, due to alternation of day and night. As fast as formed, the starch is disposed of in two ways :— (1) It is transferred in a soluble form to all the actively growing parts of the plant to meet the immediate requirements of growth. So long, therefore, as vegetation, or the extension of tissues is active, the bulk of all the starch produced is at once disposed of in this way, and there is therefore no excess, but all the tissues show a marked absence of it. This is particularly true during the first one or two months of spring and summer, the solution of the stored starch commencing at a period which antedates the first growth; but as the season advances, maturity of parts replaces rapid extension, and then there is a tendency for the starch to be formed in excess of the immediate demands of growth, and it therefore requires to be disposed of otherwise. (2) The starch produced in excess of immediate needs is transferred in a soluble form to parts of the plant which have generally lost their power of growth and which contain no chlorophyll, and is there deposited untilrequired by the growth of organs at some future period, generally before the leaves have reached that stage of development which will permit of their assimilating new material. In accordance with this it is generally found that there is comparatively small accumulation of starch in the leaves and other assimilating tissues, while any excessive development there becomes at once indicative of dis- ordered function. It is impracticable to place a quantitative limitation upon the amount of starch which may normally be present in tissues, and apply that law toall periods of vegetation ; the limit can only be established asa matter of experience, since in early summer, when growth is most active—the requirements of tissue-formation keeping pace withthe power to supply—the tissues all contain a minimum of starch ; but toward the end of summer, as growth ceases, there is a tendency to greater accumulation in all the tissues. At the end of the season, as the leaves ripen previous to their annual fall, whatever starch they contain is either withdrawn to the per- manent structure of the plant, or it enters into fatty degeneration. Such changes are normal. If, on the other hand, such accumula- tions or fatty degenerations occur at other than their normal period, or if in excess at this time, as fatty degeneration during the month 196 Reserve Material of Plants. of June, or excessive accumulation of starch in the bark during active growth, they at once become certain and most important indications of disease. As in the early period of vegetation, the nutritive and assimi- lative functions are nearly balanced, there is no surplus material to be deposited. As the season advances, growth diminishes and the products of assimilation then become in excess, in which case they are stored up—most generally in tissues which have long since lost their power of growth—and are therefore designated as permanent, though sometimes in tissues still active, but specially modified as reservoirs of reserve material. These reservoirs represent different tissues and organs in differ- ent plants. In the potato, it is the tuber itself; in the lily, it is the modified leaves forming the scale of the bulb ; in the carrot, it is the root; and in the century plant, it is each leaf, which becomes specially modified for that purpose. Our particular purpose, how- ever, will be best illustrated by confining our attention to trees and other plants in which the woody structure is largely in excess. Here the distribution of the starch for storage is determined first of all to the pith, next to the medullary rays and woody cells, and last of allto the bark, thus being correlated to the ac- tivity of the tissues themselves. In trees, the deposition of starch may be regarded as commencing somewhat late in the season, and increasing, as growth diminishes, to the time when the function of the leaves ceases. No law can-as yet be stated concerning the amount of starch which should normally. be deposited in the various tissues, but as the result of examinations into the histological condition of several thousand specimens taken from a great variety of trees and shrubs, examined at all seasons of the year, the following conclusions appear to-be justified :— 1. While, in general, plants store reserve material at the close of the growing season, this law cannot find specific application in all cases and for all tissues. 2. Woody plants generally contain reserve material in their permanent structure during the period of active growth, but the presence of starch in the cortical tissues during this time is vari- able in different species, and depends upon the special physiologi- cal functions of the subject, ha Reserve Material of Plants. 197 3. The reserve starch is least during active growth and great- est just after the fall of the leaves. 4. The amount of stored material is most variable in the bark, and least variable in the wood and pith. 5. Reserve material appears most abundantly in the oldest tissues and those which are most strongly lignified, least abun- dantly in the tissues where the vitality is greatest. 6. The storage of the carbohydrate is first in the old and lignified cells, and last in the most active structure. 7. The solution of the stored starch is first in the active paren- chyma cells, and last in the permanent tissues. 8. There is a gradual solution of the stored starch during the period of rest. 9. Leaves normally contain an abundance of starch during the period of their greatest activity, but as they ripen the starch is replaced by oil. In 1871, Nobbe and Schroeder demonstrated the influence which may be exerted upon this distribution by an abnormal food supply. Their experiments with buckwheat, to determine the specific value of chlorine and potash, were found to have an important bearing upon the products of assimilation. The potash, as is now so well known to be the case, was found to be essential in the first instance to the formation of the reserve material, while the chlorine was observed to bear a most important relation toits final distribution. Withholding the chlorine, the starch accu- mulated in the tissues where formed, so that the bark and leaves became abnormally charged with it, particularly in the young growth. At the same time there was marked atrophy, together with high discoloration of all the growing parts, showing a failure of proper nutrition and, therefore, of distribution of the digested material. Restoration of chlorine to the food-supply gradually effected distribution of the starch and restoration of the normal growth. This then shows what may be produced by artificial treatment, and clearly demonstrates the dependence of the physio- logical activity upon the presence of special elements and com- pounds. It also leads us to infer that similar abnormal condi- tions may develop whenever the plant is deprived of these special elements of food under conditions of ordinary growth. Acting upon these suggestions, Dr. Goessmann and I have, for 198 Reserve Material of Plants. several years past, been endeavoring to determine the possible existence of similar conditions in plants growing under ordinary influences, and their relation to specific diseases. The results of our examinations show most conclusively, that in certain diseases, e.g., peach yellows, we have to deal with essentially the same histological characteristics as were artificially produced by Nobbe and Schroeder in the case of buckwheat, and not only that, but that the disease can be produced and cured at will. In order to understand this, it will be necessary to deal with the experiments in both their chemical and botanical aspects. In dealing with the chemical changes involved, it was deemed essential, first of all, to determine what mineral constituents normally enter into the composition of both fruit and wood in its healthy condition, and to compare these quantitatively with the constituents found in the ash of corresponding structures in a state of disease. The analyses obtained were as follows :— Fruit of Crawford’s Early. Healthy. Diseased. Ferric oxides. 222 Peo. so sce a eee eee 0°58 0.46 Caleiumioxide iy 2s ss BESe 2.64 4-68 Magnesium oxides)... ...si 6% 6°29 5-49 Phospherig ACiG soccjos;h:a/0's «af tioeys 16-02 18-07 POtassinm Oxide, xe ches: oe eee 74:46 71:30 100-00 100-00 These results at once made it clear that in the diseased, as compared with the healthy, the ash contains more phospheric acid and lime, and less potash. Previous examinations and ex- periments with strawberries and grapes had already demonstrated the superior importance of potash in improving the qualities of these fruits, and the inferior value of lime, and it seemed possible that similar results might be obtained here in the case of the peach. Analyses were, therefore, made of the diseased wood, and acting upon the theory that potash and chlorine were probably the two elements most needed, a number of diseased trees were treated with muriate of potash. After the lapse of a few years, they lost all appearance of disease, and were restored to such a con- dition of health that, up to the present time, they have been most profitable in their production of fruit. An analysis of the Reserve Material of Plants. 199 wood was now made for comparison with that of the diseased wood. The results follow :— Wood of Crawford’s Early. Restored. Diseased. ERTIC ORIGE «saan ue ov vas si eerdeas 0°52 1°45 Calcium Oxide. ..s0. ese pia Siar ‘ 54°52 64°23 Magnesium oxide........ deeadene 7°58 10°28 Phospheric acid...cs. cesessesees 11°37 8°37 OUaBe IIL CRC a ota o> so «ace eterno 26°01 15°67 oo ———e 100.00 100.00 This comparison shows the same deficiency of potash and excess of lime in the diseased, as previously noted, and what is of great significance, that the excess of lime in the one and deficiency of potash in the other, or the decrease of lime in the healthy and the corresponding increase of potash, stand about in the relation of equivalent value. Other analyses fully confirmed these results, and the final conclusions reached were, that, since in the diseased condition there was always an excess of lime and deficiency of potash, and as the relations of these could be changed by conditions of treatment causing increase of potash and de- crease of lime, together with the promotion of a healthy organism, that, so far as chemical data could determine, the disease was caused by, or at least associated with, imperfect nutrition. At this stage, it became most important to determine the re- lation of the reserve material to these various changes, and in order to arrive at a clear understanding of this, we must discuss the various external and internal indications of disease. Among the external features which characterize the disease in peaches, we must take into consideration the formation of the fruit, the formation of the wood, the color of the bark and the color and size of the foliage. The color of the bark is one of the first symptoms to develop. Instead of retaining the natural, reddish hue which all healthy trees possess until well advanced in years, the bark turns dark and has the external appearance of drying up. As the tree be- comes more involved in disease, the foliage begins to show indica- tions of the fact. The normal size of the leaf is from 15 to 18 em. in length. The color is a rich leaf green. The outline is somewhat wavy, but the surface is uniform and not depressed by irregular curlings. As the disease advances, however, the leaves 200 Reserve Material of Plants. decrease in size, the chlorophyll undergoes modifications or is imperfectly formed, an abnormal red, yellow and green color is developed, and all these conditions continue to increase until the extremes are reached. The last external characteristic is to be found in the abnormal development of the new wood. The branches of the new growth become more strongly atrophied as the disease advances, until they finally become of a very wiry character and develop upon the trunk and branches in clusters. The internal features are as strongly marked as the external, and may generally be determined in very early stages of the dis- ease. The first indication is to be found in the very dense accu- mulation of starch, not only in the pith and medullary rays, but particularly in the bark, from which it should normally be absent to a very large degree. This excessive accumulation of digested material in unusual parts, is at once indicative of an imperfect power of distribution to the growing parts and imability of the plant to convert it into tissues, so that the atrophy of structure appears in the first instance, not to be caused by want of material, but by the absence of certain chemical compounds by which the necessary chemical changes of direct nutrition may be accom- plished. This accumulation of starch increases as the disease progresses, while, at the same time, very important modifications in the tissues themselves, are developed, particularly in the bark. There the cells of the middle bark, or mesophloeum, become relatively thick- walled; the intercellular spaces decrease in size and number and thereby retard the proper respiratory function ; the disposition of the cells becomes somewhat regular, the tendency being to the development of layers forming well-defined concentric rings, while the form also tends strongly to an elongated ellipse with its minor axis running ina radial direction. Contrasting this with the normal, we find in the latter that both the internal and external features are markedly different. The leaves are a deep green, and of large size,as already shown. The young shoots, likewise, are of a lively green color, and two or three times the diameter and several times the length of the dis- eased. Internally, the starch, in comparatively small quantity, is confined almost wholly to the pith rays and wood, the bark con- Reserve Material of Plants. 201 taining but little. The structure of the bark shows that the intercellular spaces are large and frequent, the cells arranged with- out order, irregular in form and size, and with relatively thin walls. We are now to inquire what relation, if any, these histological conditions bear to the chemical constitution of the ash already referred to, and particularly to the chemical results derived from an examination of the tree restored to health by treatment. 1st. In the normal plant, the full exercise of its functions of growth and a normal histological condition occur, when potash and chlorineare relatively in excess and lime is relatively wanting. 2nd. In the diseased plant, the imperfect nutrition and distri- bution of the reserve products, as also modifications of the cellular structure, are associated with deficiency of potash and chlorine and excess of lime. 3rd. Weare to inquire as to the relation in which the restored tree stands to all of these. The chemical analyses already referred to show that, when the restoration from abnormal to normal functional activity occurs, the chemical constituents change their relations to those ob- served in the normally healthy, i. e., the potash becomes in relative excess. At the same time, the histological conditions show a corres-. ponding change, and asthe new growth develops, the structure and also the cell-contents assume precisely the conditions of develop- ment and distribution found in the naturally healthy tree. These results may be regarded as fairly conclusive so far as this particular disease is concerned, but we can as yet hardly apply generally the laws here determined. However, the fact here developed with reference to the distribution of the reserve material will not apply with equal force to other trees or plants, since there are very important variations in this respect, depen- dent upon the physiological characteristics of particular species, or at least of particular families of plants. Nor will the same chemical elements, or the same chemical compound, be equally efficient in all cases in determining a similar result, since here, also, the effect is determined by specific physiological peculiarities. This is well illustrated in the peach and the pear: both belong to the same family Rosacece, yet the peach belongs to the group Amygdalec, while the pear belongs to the group Pomee, indicating at once specific physiological differences, And while 202 Movement of Water in a Robinia. potassium chloride will exert a most beneficial effect in the peach. it is comparatively worthless when applied to the pear, for which the potassium sulphate appears to be the most efficient combination. Il. Notes oN MovVEMENT OF WATER IN “ ROBINIA PSEUDACACIA.” * By Miss G. HE. Cooxey. The influence of transpiration in determining the upward movement of water in plants is fully recognized ; but, apart from that force, another appears to act in conducting water to the leaves, the proper physical causes of which are not well understood as yet. The root-hairs and other active cells of the root derive moisture from the soil through osmosis, and are thus brought into a state of positive tension, while the contained fluid isin a state of negative tension. Sachst points out that the necessary release from this ten- sion must be into adjoining cells as offering the least resistance. These are in turn made tense, and the action continues from the lower to the higher cells, thus conducting the water from the root to the stem. Root-pressure is the expression of this tension of tissues by which water ascends in plants, through osmosis acting as a primary influence. This force of root-pressure is very variable in plants of different species, but in general it is found in all plants with a well-developed root-system. That it is a strong and well-marked force can be readily shown, if the proper conditions are observed, by manometric measure- ments, when the amount is found to be considerable ; as demon- strated by Clark { in the case of Betula lenta, amounting to the equivalent of 68 inches of mercury or 77 feet of water, and of Vitis ceestivalis, 78 inches of mercury or 88.4 feet of water. Such a power, as this can be shown to be in actively-absorbing roots, must be an important factor in supplying the deficiency of water lost by transpiration; or, as often happens in some species * Observations made in the laboratory of Prof. Penhallow, Mont- real, during the summer of 1885. + Sachs’ Text Book, p. 687. } Phenomena of Plant Life, 1874. Movement of Water im a Robinia. 203 of Aroideze, where transpiration is comparatively weak, it may even exceed the evaporation from the leaves, and cause exudation in drops from their tips. This is by no means the rule, however; on the contrary, the loss caused by transpira- tion usually tends to produce a vacuum in the stems and lower tissues, which is only slowly compensated for by root-pressure. This is shown by the well-known fact that if an actively transpiring plant be cut off a few centimetres above the ground and water applied to its cut surface, it is rapidly sucked in, and it is only after the lapse of some time that root-pressure predomi- nates, but then water is forced up the stem and out at the cut surface in large amounts and even against pressure. This action will continue until the roots die, with a force, varying but gener- ally increasing to the maximum, and then gradually decreasing until the force is exhausted. It was to determine the movement of water, chiefly as exhibit- ed in root-pressure under the influence of atmospheric conditions, that the following experiments were entered upon. A mercurial manometer of the ordinary form, nine decimeters long and with graduations reading to mms., was set up in the open air beside the plant, and connection with the stump was made by a rubber tube bound with book-linen to prevent expansion under pressure. All the fastenings were made air-tight, and all air was removed from the water column connecting the mercurial column with the stump, and the tube was then pressed down over the stem, which was cut off four cm. from the ground, 7.e., below the lowest leaf. The plants selected were vigorous shoots of Robinia pseudaca- cia of this year’s growth. All were from 6 to 10 decm. in height 0.5 and 0.7 cm. in diameter, and were situated from 15 to 20 ft. from the parent trees. An examination showed an intimate con- nection between the suckers and these trees. The running roots from the tree give rise to buds which develop into strong shoots having at first no root system of their own, the old root continu- Ing its course and becoming the primary root of the new plant before the connection with the parent tree is severed. All the roots showed a swelling at the juncture with the sucker, and some of them exhibited signs of decay a few inches back of the swelling, but in most, the connection with the main root of the tree was perfect, as the results of the experiment will show. ened. Movement of Water in a Rob 204 ‘urd ¢ puv‘w'eTy] 3 -ldop UI SI a]B08 ay T,] [‘s19}0UL YeGSe \ecaels: OFS \Po6r 62 L050 | 00. ae). Ge | 2671 =| 2 2000Ia = S02 ass Good lec co) Usch seol Ve, ech 0a: COO; se | se lost isi Il HS ee | tie Oke Lee. (S088 Sel 1 | AGE GL tue arr Olle | OSG S| 276-1 ees |e aegis OGL} O08 S| = GGet = | Bele OO GE sa ps GSE a= | OGL ae] = 0K TL | aces OG Leh Ss a Sos Cor Oe OME tee aor tle GP OL de *s 95 BGO | PIE seal SCE =| cles QESOT eS" ss Ses use} “AY pue dwoy, h0G | of F9 | OTT + 009° + | 8@e qo°T | weg or "mst Ame “ut ‘bs 19d ‘un, , ‘sooue | ‘Surpeoy | “Surpeoy ‘a °duro einsserd . : soy | 2 L IOI 8 ees In0q a1Vd *Sq'T ‘muny ‘jey| ‘dwoay, Ateq | Area uve | uvoyT ‘T ‘ON Vi0OvOVvanasg VINIG0O{ 205 LSS SS OO See [soja | «6OZ'19 | G9 TL} O'8G | E'S) | OFS'O+ | 8Z'0+ | O8O'E | OF8'Z OOLTT |e 5 -lOop UT SI ayvos ayy] 907° 0+ | T2°0+ | 090°S | 0g8°z OG Tel cer Ses os LU Oe | OL OF 080 e. NON = coreg On| parce ss 3 ‘pooefder QW] 02°88 | L0°0L! 0°86 | G°th | Sgo'0t | zZO'O+ | s96°z | GEEZ GF) 4s | yess = , 610° 0+ 10°0+ | 996°% | S¥6'°Z OyeG 4) 0 =" “Rexam 55 :S “Iv9|O) 009°0— | €0°0—| 086°% | 096°2 OG | Py jes 3 “spno[d yqSrT 061°0— | OL'0—| 006°% | 000° OOP Pes | Oar es fe et OL, | O24 | Op"I= | 98°0—-| 009% | Ogee |urdons |-* 5, 3 “SUIULeY] Ores 4) 20 6) 3) 202220 =| OE Or OL) ee 00 es oreo) tre| Vice ae 2 "oqn} oy} UIQ *H) 44°99 loZZ°1L] O'0L | 6°SL | Bg0°O+ | ZO°Ot | 096°% | OFE'Z (es EP ero SF “S 610°0— | 10°0—| 0¢6°% | 096°2 Oi? Ggial ye 9 S 060°0— | S0°0— ¢76°% | 916° as ae iO 3 9TT 0— 90°0—| 026°% 086°% OT Vat ee5 IN 961'0=— {| 10°0—) 916% | ce67z 00° Fel “en. 5 : SET 0= | 2070-1 -o0622) eeae a CP Gel) Ses = 0°67 [Lh LLT'O0— | 91°0—| 048°2- | 080° OOS el eens eae a ‘urd 1 pue g 00°0 00°0 | 096°% | 096°2 Ge Ciel "Cases eo ghee ee Sey Levee) 19° €° 10+ | v09's | 00g'Z furdog’st feet a os ee ene poe ue) “9G _| 06'S4 | 00°0 00°0 | 096°% | 096°z oo'aL |. ° 430% Ame iS) 5 manL Teed. es "une jeusbent ‘S907 | “sUIPvOY | ‘suIpvoIy = So CEE Ajieqg Aired "TOW ‘A ‘duet! -ur-bsaed -1eQIg AL cree *Inoy, “078d UBol UvIT "Ssq'T | ‘II ‘ON VIOVOVanasg VINIGO{ 206 Movement of Water in a Robinia. An examination of the tables will show that the first action of the stump wasthat of suction,—the mercury, which had risen at the moment the tube was drawn over the stem, having quickly fallen. This we were led to expect from the rapid transpiration of the shoot, and the consequent exhaustion of moisture from the stem before it was cut. Thissuction continued and reached its maximum at the hottest part of the day, or when the parent tree was most actively transpiring, evidently pulling upon the water in the manometer through the root-stock of the sucker. After the maximum was reached, the action decreased until sunset, when a slight pressure was observed ; and, if the records had been made during the night, it is probable that a still higher pressure would have been registered. In the second table, it is noticeable that during the rain of the morning, there was recorded only one third the amount of negative pressure that appeared at 3 p.m., when the air was warm and the sun shining. At the close of the experiment, the water in the rubber tube was replaced by air from the stem, and all fluctuations after that time were evidently caused, at least in part, by varia- tions in the temperature acting upon the column of air above the stump. The experiment is interesting as showing how vigorously a transpiring tree draws upon its roots even to the distance of 30 ft., and upon its young shoots, in opposition, to the more feeble draught of the sucker, as the moisture evaporates from its leaves. These stems wilt very quickly when cut down, showing, as did the manometric action, that the stems were almost empty. From the fact that air in some cases finally replaced the water, it appears that, in spite of all precautions to the contrary, the appa- ratus, while air-tight for slight pressures, did not prove so for those of considerable increase ; so that, the maximum of negative pressure permitted by the apparatus being reached, the mercury then fell back to a height which was within the limits of the instrument. So far as we are enabled to determine from these results, it would thus appear :— ist. That the influence of transpiration is felt in very remote parts of the plant. 2nd. That, in this case at least, root-pressure has but little value in supplying the wants created by transpiration. It will be the object of further experiment to see how the roots ~ Ancient Insects and Scorpions. 207 are able to draw water from the sucker, which the experiment shows to be done, and, as a contrary function, to provide it with sufficient nourishment from the parent tree to make a healthy growth. It is a fact worthy of note, that this plant takes unusual care to provide for its propagation. Mostof the roots examined showed evidence of buds already formed for another year, and wherever the suckers had been cut down in previous seasons, two or more buds had taken their place. In one instance where worms were injuring the root, the expiring tissues redoubled their exertions, and eight shoots and twelve buds were produced in 4 inches of root. Such a state of affairs renders it exceedingly difficult to eradicate the undergrowth of the Robinia. III. AncriENT INSECTS AND SCORPIONS. Fossil scorpions have been known for some time as far down in the geological series as the Carboniferous, in which formation about twenty-five species of scorpions and spiders have been discovered, but until last year no discovery of this kind had been announced in any older rocks. In November last, Dr. Lindstrém of Stockholm, announced the discovery of a well-preserved specimen of a true scorpion, which he named Palcophoneus nuncius, in the Upper Silurian of Sweden ; and in December of the same year, a similar discovery in Scotland was announced by Dr. Hunter. In July of this year, Prof. Whitfield of New York described and figured a third species in the Lower Helderberg series of the State of New York. Thus this form of life has been at one bound, and in three different localities, carried back from the Carboniferous to the Silurian, a remarkable instance of the nearly simultaneous dis- covery of new facts, in different places and by different observers. It is also of interest that the crustaceans of the genus Eurypterus, which have been called aquatic scorpions, appear in the same formations in which the scorpions have now been found, so that it would appear that the aquatic and aérial animals of this type of structure originated together, or were at least contemporaneous in the Silurian period. The Eurypterids, however, early became extinct, while the scorpions survive. 208 Ancient Insects and Scorpions. The insects had previously been traced back to the Devonian or EKrian period, and the scorpions would now have antedated them, but for another discovery made in Spain by M. Donville, and communicated to the Academy of Sciences by M. Charles Bronguiart in December, 1884. This is a wing of an insect in the sandstone of the Middle Silurian, probably equivalent to our Niagara series in Canada. ‘This wing is shown by its venation to belong to the Blattidze or cockroaches, a group already well- known in the Carboniferous, where they seem to have thriven on the abundant vegetable matter of that period. It differs, however, in some of the details of venation from any living or fossil species previously known. JBrongniart proposes for it the name Protoblattina donvillet, and as the beds containing this insect are probably a little older than any of those containing the s¢or- pions above referred to, this discovery makes the cockroaches, still so numerous and voracious a family of insects, the oldest known air-breathing animals. It is to be observed, also, that the group which thus has priority belongs to the insects which have an imperfect metamorphosis, and to the order Orthoptera. In connec- tion with this, it seems that all the insects hitherto known in the Carboniferous period belong (with the exception of species uncer- tainly referred to the moths and the beetles) to the three closely allied groups of Orthoptera, Neuroptera, and Hemiptera, all having incomplete metamorphosis, so that in any case this group was the dominant one of insects in the Paleozoic period. With the ex- ception of a few lycopodiaceous plants we know nothing as yet of Silurian land vegetation, but the Spanish Protoblattina suggests to us the existence of Silurian forests producing some kind of succulent and nutritious vegetable food, while it also furnishes an explanation of the possible means of sustenance of the carnivorous scorpions. 1 Ws. Dance of the Prairie Chicken. 209 ITV. DANCE OF THE PRAIRIE CHICKEN. By Cuas. N. Betit, WINNIPEG. At sunset on the evening of May 10th, 1873, near Saddle Lake (Saw-gi-ah-gun Aspapowin), which is twelve miles north of Upper or North Saskatchewan River, and ninety miles north-west of Fort Pitt, or in latitude 54° N. by longitude 111.40° W., | first had the good fortune to witness that most amusing dance indulged in during the spring season by the Prairie Chickens, when courting preparatory to mating for the summer. The Prairie Chicken, or Sharp-tailed Grouse (Pedioccetes phasianellus)*, the Pheasant of the Hudson’s Bay Company residents, is called in the Cree, as _ well as in the Saulteau or Chippeway language, akiskow or aw- kiscow,—the Crees also using an alternative name for it, pehayo. I had been without any food worth speaking of for some forty- eight hours, and was roaming about amongst the ponds and hills in search of game, feeling fairly used up with fatigue and hunger, when I heard a most peculiar sound, apparently coming from a great distance and resembling somewhat the murmur of many voices. At once taking cover in the willow brush, which grew in long patches in a depression between two rolls of the prairie, I quietly pushed forward in the direction from which the sound came. LHvery few yards 1 stopped to listen, thoroughly puzzled as to the cause of the extraordinary bursts of noise succeeded by perfect silence. Could it be Indians? A few Crees had passed my log wintering hut during the past week, and some of these might here be discussing a plan to rob the moneass (‘“‘stranger,” or literally, ‘‘ greenhorn’’) who was living alone forty miles from the nearest settlement. I determined to find out what it all meant, so keeping my double- barrelled muzzle-loader in readiness, I dropped down on all- fours and quietly crept forward. For afew minutes all was very still and quiet, when suddenly, from a spot but a few yards a head, where I could see that there was an open space, *The Prairie Chicken is a term applied to two different species of grouse—the Pinnated grouse or the Tetrao cupido of naturalists, and the Pintail or Sharp-tailed grouse of the text. In 1870, the Pintail only was to be fonnd in the Northwest; but the Pinnated grouse ad- vances with civilisation, replacing the Pintail. 210 Dance of the Pravrie Chicken. there came a perfect babel of sounds. Creeping slowly forward I noiselessly pushed the willow boughs aside, when my glance fell on a covey of some fifty prairie chickens covering the top of a small dome-shaped mound. They were running about and per orming all sorts of strange movements. Every now and then, one would jump into the air for a foot or two, with all its feathers ruffled, the air-sacs on its neck inflated, and pouncing down, strike at another, who either stood his ground to receive the attack, or turned tail and fled, to be pursued by his antagonist. Here and there a hen was rushing through the throng, followed by two or three male birds, who stopped at intervals to combat with great fierceness. The scene was indescribably funny. At times they gathered in a cluster near the centre of the hillock, struggling, fighting and making each others’ feathers fly, all the time emitting a series of peculiar sounds, cooings and sharp angry cackles mingled with drumming. For a time they were motionless and quiet, when a single individual pranced out from the others and began strutting about, with his head bobbing up and down, his tail opening and shutting rapidly witha rustling noise. Suddenly he broke into a jumping, stamping, sort of jig-dance, beating a quick time on the ground with his feet, moving them so rapidly that a sound was produced like that resulting from the strumming on one string of a banjo, and joining to this a flapping of his wings and a rapid whirr of his tail. He then capered about, jostling against the others, for by this time the whole assemblage was imitating him, and it soon became a question of the “ survival of the fittest.” It wus for all the world like an Irish cutting-out jig, or the celebrated Red River jig, only that, instead of two or three dancers taking part, the whole party took the floor. Suddenly, as if tired out, they separated and scattered over the mound, the hens apparently mak- ing for the brush and the cocks following, until two of the latter came together, when a pitched battle at once took place. By the time they had once more gathered in the centre of the ball-room floor the pangs of hunger had again attacked me, so I gave up enjoying the sight, quickly levelled my gun and fired into the midst of the crowd, knocking over for one the floor-manager as he once more began to lead the dance. Consternation seemed to strike them motionless, and it was not until I rose upright that they began to scatter and fly off with an abrupt cackle, obtaining Ancient Linear Measures. 211 sufficient headway by a dozen flaps of the wings to sail thirty or forty yards at a stretch. As they rose in the air, I knocked down two more, thus securing an excellent meal. During the next day I laid out on the mound, which was beaten smooth by the trampling and stamping of many little feet, a set of bent rods, inserting the ends well into the earth, and suspending from the arches thus formed running nooses of buffalo sinew*in the same manner as is followed in snaring rabbits. For several evenings and mornings these snares supplied me with from one to three birds ; but they finally either mated or grew wary, for they refrained from indulging in their dance in that locality. The fierceness with which they fought may be judged from the fact that in several cases when birds were snared, a lot of feathers were plucked from them, and the skin on the top of the heads was completely pecked off. The poor unfortunate bird, held fast by the sinew loop, was soon killed by his blood-thirsty companions. V. SomME PREHISTORIC AND ANCIENT LINEAR MEASURES. By R. P. Gree. [have for a considerable length of time been engaged on an investigation concerning the units of measure among certain ancient nations ; and though there is not space, within the limits of amere communication * like the present, to enter upon the whole ground gone over, which would moreover entail a consider- able number of figures and illustrations, I will, as briefly as possi- ble, recapitulate some of the leading results, about which, I think there is little reasonable ground for doubt, and which may lead to interesting results. 1. Peru.—From the measurements afforded, mostly by a num- ber of small objects, it would appear that the ancient Peruvians of the time of the Incas employed the same inch and foot as did the Aztecs and Toltecs, and Central Americans: viz., a foot equal to 11# inches English, or say a fraction more than the old Roman or Solon’s foot. This foot —'298 of a metre, and was * Communicated as correspondence to Z’he Academy, July 4th and 25th 1885. D242 Ancient Innear Measures. divided into twelve equal parts. As with the Mexican foot, in reducing English foot measurements as given in books of trave} and architecture, itis only necessary to add 2 per cent.; 100 English feet equal 102 Mexican and Peruvian. 2. Mexico and Central America.—F rom measurements of many small objects again, as wellas from various other confirmatory methods it may be safely stated that the unit of measure employed by the ancient Mexicans was a foot of 12 inches, equal to 11? inches English. Since arriving at this conclusion, I have received a little pamphlet on the subject of ancient “ American Linear Measures,” by Dr. Daniel Brinton, of Philadelphia, in which he shows that the old Mexican octucatl was, ‘as deduced from the yard, or Vara de Burgos, equal to 9°84 English feet, which would make the octacat/ a 10-foot measure, and a multiple of the length of afoot; as is proved by an analysis of the word.” That result Dr. Brinton adds, “is as interesting as it 1s new, as it demon- strates that the metrical unit of ancient Mexico was the same as that of ancient Rome, 1.e., the length of the foot print.” Mr. H. Seebohm says the Roman foot, or foot of Solon, was = -296 metre, consequently Dr. Brinton’s calculation is almost identical with my own, viz., ‘298; which, moreover, is fairly deducible from the 4 palm foot of the Egyptian (royal) cubit of 525 metre. Mr. Petrie’s reductions of the Mexican foot of :260, as well as of other old North American ones of :170, ‘315, and 325, seem to be incorrect. My correction of 2 per cent. added in fact to Dr. Brinton’s 9:84 ten-foot measure, would make’ the old octacatl almost precisely 10 old Mexican feet. The same correction also added to the 11-foot 9-inch diameter of the celebrated Mexican ‘‘Calendar”’ stone would show thata precise diameter of 12 feet was intended. Moreover, on that very stone, round a portion of the outside or rim, are 18 square divisions or cartouches, represen- tative of the months of the Mexican year, each exactly a Mexi- can foot square. Curiously, the equally celebrated so-called “ sacrificial’? stone, probably once also a calendar, stated to be a few inches over 9 feet Hnglish in diameter, would, for 9 feet 5 inches, give 350 to 365 Mexican inches for circumference, pro- bably intended as 1 inch for each day of the year. In Lady Brassey’s fine collection of gold ornaments from graves in Antio- quia, Northern South America, figured and described by Mr. Ancient Linear Measures. 213 Bryce Wright, there is a gold band 232 English inches long, evidently intended or cut off for 2 Mexican feet (— 23¢ inches). A number of articles in the same collection measure exactly 1, 14, 2, 24, and 3 inches Mexican. A flat jade object, like a paper knife, with two holes for suspension, probably, to a workman’s belt, measures precisely 6 inches Mexican, and may have been a half-foot measure. 3. Mound-Builders of North America.—Prof. Daniel Wilson, of Toronto, in the second edition of his “ Prehistoric Man,” p. 221, describes a curious stone tablet or implement, found in a grave mound at Cincinnati in 1841 (it is also figured or described in Squier and Davis, and other works). His figure is given 2 size, but is not quite accurate, for I have since received a rubbing from a cast of the original in the Blackmore Museum at Salis- bury, and do not find that Dr. Wilson’s figure is correct, nor the description of some of the details. This tablet has never been thoroughly explained. Some have thought it to be a calendar, others a measure, and some a mere stamp for printing textile materials. The greater part of its upper surface is covered with a scroll-like pattern, but at each end are scales, containing each two sets of divisions, evidently intended for some special purpose. Describing it best from the tracing or rubbing sent me by Dr. Blackmore, of Salisbary, it has at one enda series of 23 + 1 small nearly equal divisions, in connection with 7 larger ones, say 34 small to each larger one; and at the opposite end a series of 6 larger divisions, in connection with 20 + 4 smuller ones, some- what similarly disposed. The length of each scale is about 24 inches English. The longer sides of the tablet are curved toa 12 mound inch radius. The length and breadth of the stone tablet itself is very nearly 5 inches English by 24 at the narrower middle part; consequently, almost exactly the same by Mexican measure. It struck me that this tablet looked very much as hav- ing something to do with a possible half-foot measure; and I further observed at each corner, not before noticed by any archeeo- logist, two straight lines, evidently not forming p:rt of the general ornamental scroll pattern, which I guessed might possibly have been intended to represent the mound builders’ standard inch, or finger breadth. On scaling this as a foot of 12 inches I found I had obtained means of a measure for many North American 214 Ancient Innear Measures. things described in books and museums, which has in other ways been curiously confirmed. It is even a unit of measure for the stone tablet itself. This mound inch is shorter than the English inch, in the proportion of 10 to 12; and it is evident that the mound foot was one divided into 12 inches, for the tablet itself is exactly 6 of its own standard inches in length, 7.e., doubtless halfa foot, and exactly 3 inches in width at the middle or narrower part and 34 across the wider ends. In Dr. C. Abbott’s ‘‘ Primitive Industry of America,” Fig. 356, p. 375, there is figured and des- cribed what is calleda ‘“‘Slickstone” ; and noticing a number of small notches (about 8 or I0 to an inch) on it, I tried the length, and found it to be 6} inches long, but with a large corrective notch right across near one end, at precisely the 6-inch length. With often equal success I applied this, my mound-builder’s foot- rule, to many objects described by Squier and Davis, and in Dr. Abbott’s book more particularly, which I have no space at pres- ent to go farther into, but refer to Figs. 142, 192, 195, 362—par- ticularly to Fig. 365, p. 388, a fish totem measure, of exactly 1 mound foot in length and nearly 3 inches in breadth. Alsosee Fig. 43, p. 71, representing a flattish stone of about 7 x 34 inches, whereon are scratched a series of 15 small notches, exactly — 1$ mound inch, showing a decimal division, with four other larger notches, showing some other inch.. It would appear, then, that the length of the mound-builder’s foot was precisely 10 inches English = ‘254 metre, and that there would be 7 mound inches to 6 Mexican inches. Entirely independently of my own results I have since found in Dr. Brinton’s pamphlet, p.11, “ Colonel C. Whittesley of Cleveland, in 1883, analysed 87 measure- ments of these mound earth-works by the method of even divi- sion, and concluded that 30 inches (English) was about the length or was one of the multiples of their metrical standard,”— thus indirectly confirming my own discovery that the mound foot of 12 inches was precisely 10 English inches, at least so far that 30 isa multiple of 10. From about 200 mound measure- ments, I have found that 25 English, or 30 mound, feet are a proba- ble standard unit for large measurements. Squier and Davis mention prehistoric North American garden plots 12$ English feet wide, which would —15 or 32 mound feet. Incidentally, I have also reason for supposing that the mound- a ~ —— iS rfe se ss Ancient Linear Measures. 215 builders’ acre, or larger unit of superficial measure, was equal to 12 to 1,4 English acre with square-side of 300 mound feet (30 x 10), equal to 250 English feet, and that the favourite square and circle areas of 20,27, and 40 (or 41) English acres meant 15, 20 and 30 mound acres respectively. If the mound-builder’s foot of 12 inches (finger breaths ?) was equal to 10 English inches, it would follow that most mound measures expressed in English feet (as in Squier and Davis’s ‘¢ Monuments of the Mississippi Valley”) would give for 250 feet, say 300; for 750, 900, for 835, 1,000; for 920, 1,100; for 1,000, 1,200; for 1,080, 1,300; though it is not impossible that Mexican feet for large measures may have been sometimes also used, in proportion of about 12 to 13; when 930 feet would be = 1,000 feet, or side of a favorite square area of 15 mound acres or 20 English acres. 4. Prehistoric Measures of North America.—Besides many objects found in the mounds of Ohio and Tennessce evidently giving mound-builders’ measure, as well as in New Jersey, Massa- chusetts and New Hampshire, I had been much puzzled by measurements, evidently intentional and rather regular in their discordance, showing reference to some other scale of linear meas- ure, and giving apparently evidence of a near accordance with the English foot. In trying them with the old Mexican foot and inch scale, I found some excellent accordances; and it may turn out, remarkable as it may seem and bearing important results, that at the time of the mound-builders, 1,000 to 2,000 years ago proba- bly, there co-existed over large parts of North America at least two distinct sets of linear measures, probably used by different races of people ; and that one of these was no other than the iden- tical one we have shown to exist, probably at a somewhat later period, in Mexico and Peru. There is no space for me to go fully into this subject at the present time; but in part confirma- tion of it, | must go back to the Cincinnati stone tablet of mea- sure, to which I have already referred. It struck me that the two sets of scales, one at each end of the tablet, might refer to these two scales, and prove to have been intended as a mode of comparison between them; and that solution of the question appears to be the correct one, after a protracted investigation of that curious and puzzling instrument. 216 Ancient Iinear Measures. Without a figure or drawing of the tablet, it is not easy to give a very clear description of it; but it may be stated that the six larger divisions on the left hand are in ‘length precisely equal to two Mexicain inches, or 4 of a foot, consequently each equals 4 of that inch, and that they have attached to them a decimally divided scale of twenty smaller divisions, over and beyond which, at each end, are two more similar small ones, apparently so placed as a mere stop-gap, or for symmetry. On the opposite end are 7 larger divisions, each a trifle smaller than those on the other side, in connection with 23 smaller sub-divisions and one over. The first 6 of these 7 are precisely 2 inches, and therefore also 4 of what I have little doubt had reference to another co-existent unit of measure, which I call the North American prehistoric unit, and which I have likewise found to measure with great exactness several objects, notably several stone tubes, some objects in Squier and Davis’ museum at Salisbury and also certam figures given in Abbott’s ‘“ Primitive Industry” and the Peabody Museum Re- ports, as gorgets, pendants, etc., etc. Of this measure there are as nearly as possible 13 to 12 Mexican, and 11 to 10 English, and 6 to 64 of the smaller or mound inches, while 64 of the larger divisions on this scale are equal to the 6 larger Mexican ones on the opposite or left-hand side of the tablet. This prehistoric inch is Intermediate, in fact, between the mound inch, as indicated by the tablet itself, and the Mexican inch. Whether 11 or 12 of these inches made the foot I cannot certainly say, though pro- bably 11. That is, perhaps, a rather unusual multiple; but 5} inches exactly measure the tablet itself. Mr. Petrie gives 11.66 English inches as a Celtic and old Aryan prehistoric unit, also 22 inches, and I have found a unit pointing to 33 inches in Polynesia. There can be no reasonable doubt that this tablet was one of measure, and had reference to at least two distinct units of linear measure, used probably by the mound-building workmen. The tablet itself, of course, representing another and different one, the mound-builder’s doubtiess par excellence, with its own standard or unit inch, does not tally with the two scales referred to, engraved on its upper surface, one of which almost certainly represents the Mexican measure, the equivalent of the so-called Solon’s foot. As 7 mound are just equal to 6 Mexican, it is not unlikely that reference was intended to that proportion ; Ancient Linear Measures. 217 the 7 larger divisions (—=23 ° smaller) are as near as can be —=24 mound inches; but that multiplied by 2 or 3 does not, however, give an exact half-foot. It must be borne in mind, also, that as the mound-builders were skilled in square and circle mensuration and circumvallation, it is possible some reference to the well- known ratio of 3 to 1 might even have been intended in connection with circumferences of circles and their diameters, or possibly with diagonals and diameters; for opposite each of the larger divisions there are on an average 32 smaller ones. Supposing, say, that the fourth division meant 400 feet (of either scale), then 400 x 3:3 might roughly have stood for the more exact 3 to 3:14. This is, however, a less likely explanation than the simpler one— viz., that the tablet was a half-foot measure, showing two or three different co-existing linear units of measure, used by several neighboring or allied peoples. The whole of this tablet is most curious and important, and so far has never been explained. On the reverse side of the stone are three large rough grooves, evi- dently made by the sharpening of some pointed tool. Involved with the scroll pattern on the upper side may be noticed seventeen small bosses or centres, many of which give, very exactly, dis- tances apart of one inch, both mound and Mexican. The pattern itself may be semi-Mexican. As no mound measures, so far, have been found in Central America, Peru, or Mexico, it would follow that in all probability the mound-builders themselves neither migrated there nor came from thence; and it confirms the opinion that the Toltecs and ancient Mexicans came in all probability from the North, as has generally been indeed supposed; but what is most interesting would seem to follow, viz., that the mound-builders, and the people allied to, or the ancestors of, the Toltecs, etc., must have, perhaps some two thousand years ago, coexisted and lived together in large parts of America, extending from New York to Ohio and Tennessee, and not been exclusively confined to the mound district par excellence. In fact, objects giving mound measures seem to occur in New Jersey and the New England States, and each set of people used their own peculiar standard of linear measure, consisting of twelve smaller or larger inches to a corresponding smaller or larger foot, probably employing also a 10 or 30-foot measure, and having a fixed acre with side of 300 mound feet, or 218 Ancient Innear Measures. 250-260 Mexican feet: unless, indeed, they may possibly have had for larger measures one and the same standard. But that may require further investigation. For convenience, I here append the length of the inches I have been referring to, along with the English :— Mound Inch, N. America, 12 to foot = a finger breadth, or 1 digit. Foot = 4 cubit (?). Prehistoric N. American Inch, 11 to foot (?). Mexican, Peruvian, and N. American Inch, 12 to foot = Solon’s foot, or Roman.* English Inch, 12 to foot. I have a gorget from Ohio precisely six Mexican inches in length. A number of objects mentioned in Dr. Abbott's ‘Primitive Industry’ appear to give excellent Mexican scale measurements—pp. 144, 374, 383, 381, 373, 352, 330, 71, etc. The notches and distances of holes in gorgets, pendants, etc., will, I believe, often give either mound or Mexican inches. And, in fact, I hope that by means of these three scales or systems of measure for ancient America, when fully worked out, a flood of * light may be thrown upon the habits and implements of her ancient peoples, possibly indicating how they may have been related to each other or to the Old World. 5. China and Japan.—There appear to be several different foot and inch measures in China and Japan. According to Mr. H. Seebohm, the Chinese and Japanese have a foot decimally divided, exactly equal to our English foot. According to Williams, a good authority, the chih = 134 English inches, but others also = 14:1, 14°62 to 14.81. He elsewhere gives also an inch = 12 x 10 —14°0 inches English. On an old foot rule (of bamboo) measure in the British Museum I find it so divided ; and on a new Japanese foot measure the inch — 14 Hnglish x 10 = 15 inches. There can be little doubt, however, that the best and oldest measure in China is the foot = 12 English inches, ‘305 metre, decimally divided into 10 inches of 1:25 English. But what is of considerable interest, as showing that this unit was not recently borrowed direct from Europe, I have found that it must have been a measure employed without *The Mexican inch is exactly 3g of the foot (4 palms) of °300 metre as derived from the Egyptian cubit of ‘525 metre. Ancient Linear Measures. 219 change two thousand years ago in the manufacture of what is called sword money! These appear generally to measure very precisely 6, 5, and 44 of these Chinese inches, and it is a point that will, I think, bear fuller investigation. The oldest round bronze cash that is in my own collection, said to be B.c. 200 measures precisely one old Chinese inch across. The old Chinese inch = 1:25 English; and Mr. Seebohm believes that this old Chinese, as well as perhaps the English foot itself, may be derived from an Assyrian or Babylonian cubit of °533, as given by Lepsius, thus :—- (Royal cubit 6 + 1) = 7) 5330 ‘0761 = palm. eile: *3044 Anything throwing light on the early connection between Babylonia and China or other countries cannot, at the present _ time, fail to bear good results. 6. Mongol.—At p. 316 of Col. Yule’s “Travels of Marco Polo” is a description and figure half-size of a most impor- tant specimen of what is called a ‘‘Table d’or de Command- ment,” the Paiza of the Mongols. It is of the fourteenth or fifteenth century, having engraved on it letters in the Baspa character. This is described by Schmidt as measuring 12-2 inches long, by 3°65 wide; and by Ramusio as a cubit in length and 5 fingers wide, and as weighing between 24-32 ounces. This tablet was found in the Government of Yenesei in Eastern Siberia; and being so important an object, perfectly finished and of solid silver gilt, and running so near the old Chinese foot, viz., *311 metre as against -305, it should receive some attention as having been possibly cut or cast by the measure of the then existing Mongol foot, or as part of some cubit. This tablet measures 8 5%, inches of the newer and larger Chinese measure. 7. Hittite.—In looking over the plates in Dr. Wright’s “ Empire of the Hittites,’ recently published, it struck me that the apparent regularity of the spaces and lines, which divided the rows or parallel series of enclosed hieroglyphs, might furnish indications of some fixed measure, possibly in connection with 220 Ancient Iinear Measures. the old Assyrian or Greek. Mr. W. H. Rylands, secretary of the Biblical Archzological Society, kindly sent me a number of these measurements from the so-called Hamath stones; those of the Jerabis stones I have not yet received. The results are interesting; the average space, with a few very irregular, exceptions, gives exactly 4+ English inches. Multiplied by 3 this would give a foot of 12% English inches, or ‘323 metre, probably derived from one of the old Assyrian cubits. Mr. Seebohm, who has thoroughly gone into the question of ancient cubits and feet, informs me that this is almost identical with a foot derived from the Olympic cubit, say of *320 metre. The Hittite foot of 44 x 3 = ‘320, w.e., 1-600 part of the Olympian ‘stadium. Prof. Lepsius gives the Babylonian cubit as :— Cubit = .5333 6 rods or reeds 3.2000 x 60 = 192 stadia. This, if treated as a decempeda, gives a foot of :320. ‘This, if fully confirmed, is of singular interest in connection with Baby- lonian, Assyrian, Hittite, and Greek civilisation and ancient inter-communication, a subject at the present time occupying considerable attention. There was, I understand, from Mr. Seebohm (see also Mr. Petrie’s “Inductive Metrology”), another old Assyrian cubit, equivalent to 560 (? = the modern Persian), which, treated as a decempeda, gives another foot of ‘325; and the same as what is called the Drusian, or Old Belgic, foot. Mr. Seebohm further alludes to Herodotus as stating that the foot = 4 palms out of the seven (1.e., 6 + 1). The cubit of 7 .°560 palms "080 xX 4 = °320. I hope at a future period to go more fully into these questions, and to give fuller illustrations and figures. In the meantime, I content myself with stating what appear to me to be sufficiently well authenticated results on somewhat novel ground. 8. Buddhist and Indian.—There would appear to be consider- able uncertainty, as well as variety, in connection with units of measure in Persia and India, more especially im comparatively modern times, since the introduction of Mohammedism and the employment of Huropean architects, © Ancient Linear Measures. 221 In Petrie’s ‘Inductive Metrology,” p. 129, there are given no less than fifteen varieties of the so-called gaz, gueze, or cubit, varying in length from 14:9 to 38:3 inches. In more modern times the + gaz is also common = 6°93 inches. The hasta Mr, Petrie considers to be a very ancient Aryan measure, sometimes found in Greece and Asia Minor as = 17-9 inches; butin India it may be reckoned at about 18°4 inches. Another unit is 11°63 inches, which may, perhaps, be referred to the Roman foot in Mohammedan buildings in Turkey and Persia, where the Greek or Roman Empire extended. Mr. James Fergusson informs me that no ancient buildings of India are set out with sufficient exactness to recover a measure from them, which may even apply to buildings of the time of the Mogul Empire, when Europeans were employed. It is nearly impossible to ascertain the length even of the Illahi gaz, and it might almost seem that the Hindoos never employed any other “rule” than the cubit or forearm of the reigning king. Mr. Petrie, however, gives the Hlahi gaz = 34:1 inches English = 41 digits; and it has probably nothing to do with the digit of the early Hindus, which is connected with the hasta, though it would come to about the double of it. It is difficult to suppose that the old Assyrian cubits of 19:04 and 19:97 inches did not find their way into India by way of Persia, either directly or indirectly, but they may have been modified, or carelessly applied; the sacred or royal cubits of 25°3 too were larger. Ihave taken from Mr. James Burgess’s “‘ Arch- eeological Survey of Western India” about 250 measurements of from 2 feet to 100 feet ; most from early Buddhist shrines, cells, temples, and caves, as those of Elora, Anka, Kaladgi, Badamj, Bhaja, Kuda, Gumli, Sana, Junagarh, Navalakha and Aurunga- bad, say A.D. 200 to A.D. 1200. On tabulating these measure- ments, I found a decided tendency to maxima and minima group- ing of nearly five English feet; giving, say, for maxima, the Nos. 60, 56, 51, 47, 42, 37, 32, 27, 22, 19, 164, 124, 71, 43, and 2°7. After trying various cubit lengths, say, of 17, 18, 19 and 20 inches, I found that a cubit of almost exactly 19 inches suited best for a series of most likely cubits, giving, say, 38, 355, 324, 30, 264, 234, 204, 17, 14, 12, 104, 8, 6, 44, 24, and 1-7, appar- ently pointing to a series showing differences of 3 cubits, which 222 Ancient Linear Measures. would be best represented by the series of 39, 36, 33, 30, 27, 24, 2i, 18, 164, 134, 104, 9, 74, 6, 34, from 40 to 20 cubit lengths, where a half-rod might have been employed, and for the smaller lengths perhaps a quarter rod, or 14 cubit measure. Here 4? English feet = 3 cubits = 4 rod, and 94 = 6 cubits = 1 rod. From 45 special measures of dagobas, shrines and chakras, I obtained about the same 19-inch cubit. It is, however, hardly to be expected that the same exact cubit or measure should have been constantly employed over a period of 700 or 800 years, even in the same part of India. In further corroboration of a probable earlier Buddhist unit of about a cubit of 19 inches, I may mention that Williams gives the Japanese thuoc, chih or cubit = 17:12 inches English, specially used by architects. This may have not improbably been introduced by the Buddhists more than 1,000 years ago. Again, in Java, I have got from Raffles’ descriptions of old Buddhist or Hindu temples, probably free from European or Mohammedan influences, some 90 measurements, showing apparent favorite maxima numbers of about 34, 54, 65, 74, 10, 114, 124, 16, 20, 21, and 30 Knglish feet, which would again seem to suit best a cubit of - 19-20 inches, giving roughly say 2, 34, 44, 64, 7, 8, 10, 13, and 20 cubits. Here the smaller measures given by Raffles, e.g., below 2 feet, of 12, 12, 14,14, 16, 18, 20, 24, 26, 26 inches indi- catea very regular gradation of 2 English inches, probably = 24 digits. At the same time the old Indian hasta might also yield for 64, 74, 10, 114, 12 and 20 English feet, very nearly the numbers 5, 63, 74, 8, 9, and 15. From some measurements connected with the Amravati tope, Madras Presidency, I get a small hasta of 16°25 inches, for large measures, and of 32 = 16-0, from a number of smaller measure- ments of plinths, tablets, etc., in the British Museum. ‘The two large feet of Buddha from the same tope measure 20 inches in leneth. From some larger cave-temple measurements at Adjanta, second to tenth century, mentioned by Fergusson in his “‘ Hand- book of Architecture,” I get a unit of 17°8 inches, probably the hasta of 17:82 as given by Petrie as a unit of some measurements at the Elora cave temples. One of the oldest Buddhist topes in North India, near Peshawur, is said to be about 20 feet in dia- meter, which might also indicate a small hasta of about 16 inches. pte aa eee Pi tet KSA S ee AES ee ee a ee a Ss oe eee li a ri ak ee) 2 Ancient Linear Measures. 223 From 12 measurements of old buildings in Ceylon given by Fer- gusson, I deduce a unit of 22°1, which does not fit precisely any known measure, though near the prehistoric one of 22 inches, and an old Assyrian cubit of 21°30 as given by Petrie, but it might possibly fit equally well a hasta or aratni of 16°5 inches, Of course a good deal in these matters must depend on the respective dates of the buildings themselves, and in what part of India they are situated. I have been attempting to deal rather with old buildings, prior to the twelfth century ; and the general results appear to indicate a cubit of 19.1 inches, and a hasta of about 164 inches, very near Mr. Petrie’s aratni of about 16°6 to 16°8 inches, and also, I believe, identical with Warren and Conder’s latest determination of the old ordinary Hebrew cubit. 9. Prehistoric Measures of Bronze and Stone Period.—The entire question of prehistoric units, as distinguished from the older and more classical measure units of Egypt, Assyria, Greece, and Rome, requires a more thorough examination than it has yet received. Mr. Petrie, in his ‘“‘ Inductive Petrology,” gives a very common and apparently well-established prehistoric (? Celtic) unit of from 21:30 to 22°50 as obtained from the ruder stone monuments of France and Britain, etc.; and for Irish bronze weapons 22:0 (as from 2°20 inch objects probably). The half of this would show a (? foot) measure of about 11-0, too small to agree with the old Roman foot of 11:60 to 11-70 not unfrequent- ly found in Great Britain in connection with old Druidical remains, as even at Stonehenge, This unit, or half unit of 11:0, is, however, by no means, uncommon, and may prove to be of considerable importance. May not this old Aryan foot of about 11-0 inches, found in North Europe and elsewhere, prove to be the identical unit which in my first letter I called the North American prehistoric one? On scaling 22 = 11 into twelve equal parts the result is a foot, barely the one eighth of an inch less than my American one, as indicated by the Cincinnati double- scaled measure-tablet. I most unexpectedly came upon this con- clusion from a quite independent investigation of objects from North Europe of the bronze period, described by Evans, Keller, Madsen, and Montelius, as well as from specimens in my own col- lection. It is, therefore, not by any meansimprobable that there was at a very early period, before the superior civilisation of 224 Ancient Linear Measures. Egypt and Assyria had begun to extend itself to other parts of the globe, one, if not two, rather widely extended primitive units of linear measure in existence, which spread over the New World as well as the Old, but which also probably, as time advanced got modified or mixed up with other units. | I have likewise found rather strong traces of the North Ameri- can mound foot of ‘254 metres, as well as the Mexican or old Roman foot of *268, occurring in North Europe in the bronze age. That the Roman footis frequently met with in Europe, and occasionally even in the East, is a well-known fact, and easily to be accounted for. The following is the analysis of some 360 measurements of bronze objects I have collected from various sources, and is, at least, curious; probably three fourths of the objects measured, or fizures examined to scale, gave good results to one scale or the other, say, to very nearly round inches and half inches. 8 gs o< eos sa mie a ol ==) —O oT (Argilloid). * This paper was written in answer to a request for the Author’s observations on the diatomaceous deposits of Nova Scotia. It was simply given as a report of the progress of the Author’s own work, which has since been extended to other portions of the Province, to New Brunswick, and Newfoundland. “ Silliman’s Journal,” April, 1845, contains a list of twelve fossil infusoria determined by Professor Bailey in material sent from Earlton Lake by Sir J. W. Dawson. Of these, ten are now known as diatoms, and two as sponge spicules. 245 Classification of Natural Silicates. (88) Orv, : "(Q? @) OBL ‘aqrmqueqg |- - = = = © © © ee ee we ele we ee te el ww “(B* S) OMsydouoyqy, opUByTY, ‘oyupeN | - - © © se = ee ee ee we = soqueRQ ‘oqTéqdody Ndr sae “oNpOVB "S}UOUNal) -GulOrdan 7° = = ees se Ss See es SS ie a SSS © ee 8 el Sel Se a eae ‘opoujassmey |- - - es es se ett tte tte te ee wee ee et ee ee ee ee ee siete a lh Se alae AS f = 2 = “O}[O}00g ++ > ommeusten, ssmenens|f dar ran ted “OPOPOLAT “oF TOI p} ‘oppBUljoY, ‘outjuedIeg | - - = = - - = = = = “|= = = = = = = = ‘opuBydooney | - = - - = = ‘ortyossrqQ *B]TOOOsAIqD ‘OIJEISUG, “OUSXOIAT "OFT O18) “OHpOMay § ‘oyuopoyY “efoqiqduy ronyningy ompeomed |= = * Pete 2 oat Shs ier Gals che ee =} ples —v—-— 1 OIPURI}IOgT ‘oyloBuEyg ( *OITATOTT ‘oWULopeyH ‘oyorqday, “OPOSAAY “OU TTOorUO PY § |} oqtyowageg ‘oztjoqouy ‘oyrmayr yy §| 7 CFMPO “MONT ourmuyey “epIpompaoy |=. = = - == °., (OP 2) OUTeUBq) = = ww se Ste nls “2-S-S-45 A 9.F—0-9=A 0.9—2-9=A E-2—-0-4=A “dIOLINdQO °G ‘dIOLINVNVAVLOUT °§ ‘dIOHLVdUSOLOUT ‘% “dIOMITOLUY °T ‘ALVOITISOLOUG—'] “apwoqng sification of Natural Silicates. C 246 (‘werpisqg “euoysqoyid “ey Aqoey, *8}1U038[8q ) " *@q188800 ( -onma \ [(a ? W) Of rqdoi3s4 *OPISIGABIGE “opLUN| eT “e74]10¢ ‘GIOLINIY ‘OT *so1oeds UBIsou -9UsBUI snoIpséy jo dnoid e318, V *SHLIZOTHD *(soroods 1oq}0 THEM) *@qIAODSN][ *OPIAOOSUTT -OFLINOWVG “op Aqdn yy *OqIAOOSN TA OPIVIIVIA, - ‘oy fopidey “oIP[PAUUL = -OPXOOTIEM “OyIWIEG4eg -OJ01g - ‘opdoso[yg ee - -oy1dos0[yg LG~-s9-—A “GIOTIAHAUAAOLOUT °6 *SVOIN “OPTTTOQNY -O[OOIpUT ee a ie dae a ara te wg ‘oyizaydy |B - - - - - ee ee > 4 - - - - - [eo od - - ss oe oo - - a ‘ - - = = *9}1[01Ne} OHTTOYIS } ‘oulatyddeg Saennede : ‘eymoIog} - - - - - - - - = = fm ee ee we we ee = ONTTOY “OPIUOSPOAFIY ‘oylUMepIy ‘osvjony ‘|Alog ‘opURITY ‘oy1sg7 “jourey *(S : P) OPLMMO[IOYOS ‘oseIOOpT ~ “OFINY IOS “opsvsieg £-F— 8-2 =A ‘dIOINVNVAVUAGOLOUT *g - - = = © *Op]RBIOg - + - *SHdIHLVdISa1a iT “soyT[epog “sapodBog - = 5 Ss = soppAreg §- = = = *OUIRITY (eylfoorrg *ez1Ue|qon — “OW BATT *O70TGOM - “oP4[BIpNy “OP TP 1-9 — 9-8 = A ‘dIOHLVdSundOLOU *f| “atoLr1oW7 “9 ‘ALVOITISUTAOLOUG—"]] apuoqny £.9— CLA "041]S8010,7 *99jU0730IpA - -‘SHLIIONZ “oqtopdeyeg “oyl[ouIe - =royuyorg “OPITJLOGIUBY “ES 5 Ue 2 Ul 247 of Natural Silicates. Classificati “o}T}00NIg "o7T]OUNI) *[edo10[ gO *O}LMOT [MOU UOPT Declare te ij “ep sMO][BH “Allow y “e}LOMIBS *eusy dol] y *OIATTOD “891107301999 F-2-2-9 = A "dIOTIINUY “CT ‘op Aqdoisg | - *oy[Aqdordg | - - ‘opurjoey | - (ota) oysoony “97119]04q at - ‘oyTgoeqiony | - - - .« *eUOORl[VYT “WOOITZ *ozLINOUA'T ‘oyloueYX ‘ojIzjoyong ~ (Gig) OGIO M Bt ‘oROIgI “ozisn[epuy ‘zedoy, ‘o}ItelzIOUINgG | - = = = =A “GIOTTAHAUA “FT FeP-L-9 = A *CIOINVNVAVEAT “ST ‘ALVOITISUTG—' [[] vapsogny =A =A ‘CIOHLVdSUR J “ZI |‘AIOLTIONZAAT “TT Sew See egy ee x x Z = i “ES 5 26 248 - Orthography for Place-Names. IX. ORTHOGRAPHY FOR NATIVE NAMES OF PLACES. ~ The Council of the Royal Geographical Society have adopted the following rules for such geographical names as are not, in the countries to which they belong, written in the Roman character. These rules are identical with those adopted for the Admiralty charts, and will henceforth be used in all publications of the society. 1. No change will be made in the orthography of foreign names in countries which use Roman letters: thus Spanish, Portuguese, Dutch, etc., names will be spelt as by the respective nations. 2. Neither will any change be made in the spelling of such names in languages which are not written in Roman character as have become by long usage familiar to English readers: thus Calcutta, Cutch, Celebes, Mecca, etc., will be retained in their present form. 3. The true sound of the word, as locally pronounced, will be taken as the basis of the spelling. 4. An approximation, however, to the sound is alone aimed at. A system which would attempt to represent the more delicate in- flections of sound and accent would be so complicated as only to defeat itself. 5. The broad features of the system are that vowels are pro- nounced as in Italian and consonants asin English. 6. One accent only is used—the acute—to denote the syllable on which stress is laid. 7. Every letter is pronounced. When two vowels come to- gether each one is sounded, though the result, when spoken quick- y, is sometimes scarcely to be distinguished from a single sound, as iN di, au, et. 8. Indian names are accepted as spelt in Hunter’s ‘ Gazet- teer.”’ The amplification of the rules is given below :— Letters. Pronunciation and Remarks. Examples. a |ah,aas in father ..,.0. ....+6 ee BS Java, Banana yee ee ree Tel-el-Kebir, Olé- Jeh, Yezo, Medi- na, Levuka, Peru Urthography for Place-Names. 249 Letters. Pronunciation and Remarks. Examples. i English e; 7 as in ravine; the sound of ee in beet. Thus, not Feejee, but |Fiji, Hindi Jak anid) 22 aed aceslee tei | pee” meh pose Tokio long w as in flute; the sound of 00 in boot. Thus, not Zooloo, but........ Zulu, Sumatra All vowels are shortened in sound by|Yarra, Tanna, Mec- doubling the following consonant. ca, Jidda, Bonny Doubling of a vowel is only necessary where there is a distinct repetition of the single sound..........+.- a Ae, Nuulua, Oosima hy PBME LAW 2 AS ATR JOE lao ong 0 Sie'epi > 45 ctaovers Shanghai au jow asin how. Thus, not Foochow, but|Fuchau ao |is slightly different from above........ Macao ei |is the sound of the two Italian vowels, but is frequently slurred over, when it is scarcely to be distinguished from ey in the English they.......seesee- Beirut, Beilul b_ |English 6. c is always soft, but is so nearly the sound of s that it should be seldom used. (Celebes should be written Se- SRLEUES \) orate patel oie ss & of pimeleistw (a air aln alate ste Celebes ch |is always soft, asin church............ Chingchin d_ |English d. f |Knglish f. Ph not to be used for the _ sound of f. Thus, not Haiphong, but|Haifong, Nafa g fis always hard. (Soft g is given by j.).|Galapagos _h_ [is always pronounced when inserted. j Knglish 7. Dj should never be put for Ghis(HOMEL. cst. sathde- areas os Japan, Jinchuen k English k. It should always be put for the hard c. Thus, not Corea, but....|Korea kh |The Oriental guttural................ Khan gh |is another guttural, as in the Turkish |Dagh, Ghazi 1,m, n |As in English. ng |has two separate sounds, as in finger and singer. As the soundsare rarely employed in the same locality, no attempt is made to distinguish them. p |Asin English, _ q should never be employed; gu is given as! kee. sek .8% APPEAL SY Rwanetane T,8,t,V As in English. always a consonant, as in yard, and should not be used as a terminal, z or e being substituted.............. Kikuyu Thus, not Mikindany, Kwaly, but|Mikindani, Kwale Zio Ravi 2) ee wuies «cine step SOAS SREP Zulu Pe) 250 Reviews and Book-Notices. X. Reviews aNnD BooK-NotIcEs. A Text-Book or Botany.* Those who regarded this book with so much favor at the time of its previous issue, eight years ago, will doubtless be gratified that the fifth edition, with important revisions and additions, is now accessible. That a work which has so well filled an impor- tant place in botanical education, both in Kurope and America, should be kept well abreast of the most recent developments of the science it represents, is particularly gratifying to those who have realized that the former edition was in many respects sadly behind the requirements of the day, almost as soon as issued, and the name of the English editor is sufficient guarantee that all reasonable effort would be made in this direction. The ground covered is extensive, dealing as it does with the whole range of botanical science from histology to geographical distribution; and to comprise so much within the narrow limits of an octavo of 480 pages has necessitated great abbreviation, often when it would seem exceedingly desirable that more detailed consideration should be given. ‘Thus the very important results recently developed concerning the continuity of protoplasm, are dismissed (p.31) with a brevity which must certainly leave a very unsatisfactory impression on the mind of the student. Again, concerning the movement of water, (p. 161) the student gains but a superficial knowledge of the forces actually at work and the way in which they operate, when it is stated that: ‘“ The roots absorb a greater quantity of water than the plant requires, and this therefore exercises . pressure which drives the water that has been already absorbed, higher and higher up the stem,”—a statement which is much too general to be exact, and which, in the second place, gives the student no possible clue to the well- known fact, that this root-pressure is largely subordinate to other forces when the plant is in a condition of active transpiration. Also, one is not informed of the important distinction which’ must be made between the flow of sap which is purely mechanical and that which is of a more strictly physiological nature, Thus, the impression is given (p. 161) that the bleeding of trees is due to * Text-Book of Structural and Physiological Botany. By Otto W. Thomé and A.W. Bennett. Fifth edition 8vo., pp, 480. Longman, Green & Co., London. - bit ays “aly Reviews and Book-Notices. 251 the special abundance of sap in spring, whereas it is now a well known fact that such bleeding occurs only when there is great variation in temperature ; that it may occur at any time during the rest period, if the external conditions are favorable ; and that it most generally occurs at a time when the tree contains its minimum of water, ceasing as soon as the leaves develop, and therefore not appearing when there is a maximum of water in the tissues and the greatest physiological movement of water to the leaves and growing parts. These faults, while they are serious for the student who desires to pursue an independent course of study, would largly disappear under the guidance of a com- petent teacher, but they should be eradicated as far as possible. While we regret the exceeding brevity which seems to be forced. upon the author, this finds some compensation in the remarks of the translator when he says: ‘‘ It cannot be too strongly impressed upon the student that a mere book knowledge of this, as of any other science, is absolutely valueless. He must make himself practically acquainted with the aid of the microscope, and, if possible, under the guidance of a competent teacher, with the minute structure of plants, and with the life history of the various forms,” This is the view which it is important to emphasize and impress upon students and also teachers of graded schools where such subjects find an important place in the course of study. In this light, the treatment of the various subjects may be con- ~ sidered to serve the purpose very well. In classification many important changes have been made, bringing this subject fairly well abreast of recent developments. In the general morphology there is a tendency to the introduc- tion of rather more technical terms than is wholly desirable, tending to create confusion in the mind of the young student. Taken asa whole, this edition may be regarded asa useful addition to the general text-book series, and will doubless be found to meet a very general demand. DP. BsB: The Report of the Kansas State Horticultural Society* is a most hopeful indication of what American horticulture is likely to become in the future. The contents are of a much more ~* Kansas State Horticultural Society, Annual Report. G.C. Brackett, 8vo., pp. 306. 1884. ooo ae 252 — Obituary. substantial character than is generally found in such publications and embrace much that is of a valuable scientific nature. Many of the articles were presented at the New Orleans meeting of the American Horticultural Society, and are from the pens of men well qualified to bring scientific dignity to such discussions and publications, That science is gradually being more and more appealed to by such Societies, becoming daily more closely identified with their work, and more of a recognized necessity in meeting the practical problems of the horticulturist, is a source of great gratification, and progress in this direction cannot be made more directly and efficiently than by such efforts as are apparent in the Report now before us. We have received a little reprint from the Tenth Annual Report of the Montreal Horticultural Society, On the Establishment of a Botanic Garden in Montreal, containing a large amount of useful information concerning botanic gardens in other parts of the world, of which it enumerates a total of 187. It is well worthy of careful perusal. Its chief object appears to be to supply arguments showing the necessity of a Botanic Garden in Montreal. The subject is dealt with in all its aspects, and, aside from the purely scientific value of such institutions, which it clearly demonstrates, not the least valuable is the very interesting influence which gardens of such a character are found to have upon the public, in establishing higher ideals of nature and a better moral senti- ment. XT. OBITUARY. H. Mitne Epwaprps. After a life of eminent service as one of the leading naturalists of his day Dr, H. Milne Edwards died at Paris, July 9th, in the eighty-fifth year of his age. He was elected an honorary member of Montreal Natural History Society in 1852, Though resident in Paris from an early age, he was born at Bruges, Belgium, of English parentage, in the year 1800. His investigations began at an early age and led directly up to the crowning work of his life, his ‘‘Comparative Physiology and Ana- tomy,” upon the completion of which, in 1881, he was presented with a medal, subscriptions to which were contributed by men of science in all parts of the world, as a modest tribute to his high Miscellaneous Notes. 253 scientific attainments. His well-recognized merits as a Zoologist resulted in his election to the chair of Zoology at the Museum of the Academy of Sciences, as the successor of Geoffrey St. Hilaire. His son, A. Milne Edwards, is following the same line of research as his father, with much of the ability and thoroughness which characterised the latter. MISCELLANEOUS NOTES. ANTHROPOLOGICAL.—The Physical Characteristics of the Natives of the Solomon Islands.—On June 23rd, atthe Anthro- pological Institute of London, Mr. H. B. Guppy read a paper on the above subject, giving the results of observations made during the years 1881-1884. The typical Solomon Island native (male) is well-proportioned, with a height of about 5 ft.3 in., a weight of 125 to 130 lbs., and a chest-girth between 34 and 35 in., whilst the color of his skin is a deep brown, corresponding with color type 35 of M. Broca. Con- siderable variety, however, prevails in the physical characters of these natives, and it was shown, by comparing the inhabitants of the islands of Bougainville Strait with those of St. Christoval and its adjoining island at the opposite end of the group, that in the former locality there exists a taller, darker, and more bra- chycephalic race, whilst in the latter mesocephaly prevails, and the average native is rather shorter and of a lighter hue. The color of the skin varies considerably throughout the group, from a very deep brown to a light copperish hue, the range being repre- sented by color types 42 and 29, with their intermediate shades. The author arrived at the conclusion that, although mesocephaly and brachycephaly most frequently characterize these people, the form of the skull varies beteween too wide limits to allow of one particular type being referred to this group. The range of the cephalic indices calculated from these measurements is 69 to 86, and the greater number are gathered in two groups, one around the indices 74 and 75, and the other around the indices 79 and 80.—Atheneum. (R.W.B.) The Report of the Council at the Annual Meeting of the Folk- Lore Society of London, June 27th, contained the following defi- nitions of Folk-lore by different members, with suggested divisions of the subject :—Mr. Nutt, “ Anthropology dealing with primitive man”; Mr. Hartland, “ Anthropology dealing with the psycho- logical phenomena of uncivilised man’; Mr. Gomme, ‘“ the Science which treats of the survivals of archaic beliefs and cus- toms in modern ages’’; Miss Burne, ‘‘ the Science with treats of all that the Folk believe or practice on the authority of inherited tradition, and not on the authority of written records” ; Senor 254 Miscellaneous Notes. Machado y Alvarez, “ (1) Demo-Psychology, or the science which studies the spirit of the people; and (2) Demo-Biography, which is the description of the mode of life of the people taken in the ageregate.” The council also brought forward several sugges- tions made by Don Machado y Alvarez, (1) that an International Congress of Folk-lorists should be held in London in June, 1888, being the tenth anniversary of the foundation of the Society ; (2) that a Committee should be appointed to study children’s games and the language of children, for which the lady members might lend their assistance; (3) that photography should be applied to the games, festivals and popular types of all the dis- tricts of England.—Academy. (R.W.B.) BoTANICAL.—Chemistry of Chlorophyll.—A fter separating the phyliocyanin and phylloxanthin by Fremey’s method, the author points out the special reactions of the former. It is insol- uble in water, petroleum, ether and ligroin, but soluble in alcohol, ether, chloroform, glacial acetic acid, benzol, aniline and carbon disu!phide, the best solvent being chloroform. A very small quan- tity of the phyllocyanin imparts an intense color to all of these solvents, but when very largely diluted the solutions lose their opa- city. Oxidising agents easily decompose it, yielding yellow, amor- phous products, the solutions of which show no absorption bands, but it is more permanent than chlorophyll when exposed to the combined action of air and light. Phyllocyanin dissolves in con- centrated sulphuric, hydrochloric and hydrobromic acids, yielding dark blue solutions, but these compounds are unstable, the addi- tion of water precipitating the phyllocyanin unchanged. The latter has no tendency to combine with weaker acids, such as oxalic, tartaric, acetic, phosphoric, ete. Phyllocyanin readily dis- solves in caustic potash or soda, from which precipitates of various shades of green may be obtained with earthy and metallic salts, such as barium chloride, calcium chloride, acetate of lead, acetate of copper, etc. Solutions in alkali involve some change in the phyllocyanin.— HK. Scuencx, Nature, xxxii. 217. (D. P. P.) Colorless Chlorophyil._C. Timiriazeff points out that he has quite recently determined that, when a chlorophyll solution is treated with metallic zinc and an organic acid, it is reduced through the agency of the nascent hydrogen generated in the reaction, the resulting substance being perfectly colorless and presenting no traces of the characteristic chlorophyll spectrum or fluorescence. It is only in coming in contact with air that it gra- dually acquires its green color and specific optical properties. He considers that this discovery is an additional proof in favor of a hypothesis announced by him in 1875, viz., that the green color of this. substance is due to iron in the state of a FeOFe,O, compound. Since the product of reduction is colorless and Miscellaneous Notes. 255 produces no dark line in the spectrum, he regards the reduction ef chlorophyll, when CO, is dissociated through the agency of light, as sufficient reason why the transformation may not be attended by a visible change of its color and other optical properties.— Nature, xxxii. 217, 342. (D. P. P.) The Eucalyptus in Italy.— According to a writer in the ‘“ Gar- tenzeitung ” of Bertin, the plantations of the Kucalyptusin Italy have been far from realising the results that were anticipated from them, as a means of preventing malarious fever, and neither the soil nor the climate of that country appears to be favorable for the growth of this tree, and he recommends the Quercus rex, the Laurus glandulosa, and certain varieties of the maple as being far better suited for the purpose. Another authority, Dr. Dieck, recommends the Acer californiense, a tree of nearly as rapid a growth as the Eucalyptus, the Acer macrophyllum of California, the Acer insigne of the Himalayas, all of which are well suited forcultivation in malarious districts in Italy ; the Salix babylonica, Populus angulata, heterophylla, etc., are all said to be preferable _ to the Eucalyptus, and more suitable to the climate, and contain similar properties to those of the Hucalyptus, to which it owes its efficiency asa preventive against the malaria. Dr. Dieck, however, considers that the root of the evil lies in the indiscriminate cutting down of the trees on the mountains, and that their re- wooding would do far more towards checking malaria than any measures taken in the marshes, which districts have been reduced to their present state by forestal mismanagement and neglect. (A.H.M.) CHEMICAL AND PuysicaL.—Apomorphine as an Anesthetic.— — Professor Ludwig, aided by M.Bergmeister, has instituted a series of experiments upon a great number of organic substances in search for a body possessing powers similar to cocaine. Their investigations were fruitless until they tried apomorphine, which drug they found to be almost, if not quite, equal to cocaine in point of local anzesthetic properties. Their experiments were made on eats with a 2 per cent solution of apomorphine hydro- chloride. (A.H.M.) A New Reagent for Distinguishing Alcohols.—As a reagent. for distinguishing alcohol obtained from potato spirit from the pure alcohol obtained from corn, etc., Dr. Hager (Pharm Central, xxvi. 26) proposes a 10 per cent. solution of mercurous nitrate. One-part crystallized nitrate is dissolved in 10 parts distilled water and rendered clear by the addition of a trace of nitric acid and allowed to settle over some metallic mer- cury. When 3 drops of the solution are added to 3 cc. (about 50m.) of absolute or 94 per cent. alcohol, a milky mixture witha yellowish white tinge results upon agitation. Upon several hours’ wean _ 256 Miscellaneous Notes. © standing a pale yellow, pretty well defined precipitate falls to the bottom. Corn spirit, if free from acetic and other ethers, shows a similar behavior, and after standing six to nine hours the pre- cipitation is still more marked, and the superior liquid is perfectly clear and as bright as pure alcohol. With spirit obtained from” potatoes, and therefore containing amylic alcohol treated in the Same manner, the mixture does not become nearly so milky, but is bluish white, and upon standing nineto twelve hours a very slight precipitation takes place, only about one third as much as in the former, and the precipitation is pure white ineolor. The liquid portion of the mixture is also not entirely clear or water bright, but shows bluish white opalescence of several hours duration. A spirit contaiing traces of acetic ether, in which the odor of the fusil 01] is masked, behaves similarly, (A. H. M.) Application of Prof. Lodge's Electric Spark.—A wonderful instance of the manner in which a scientific discovery can be turned to practical advantage has recently occurred. At the Montreal meeting of the British Association, Prof. Lodge gave a*lecture on “ Dust”, and pointed out a new observation due to himself and Mr.J. W. Clark. These two gentlemen had made the curious discovery that the passage of electric sparks through a dust-laden atmosphere would quickly cause the dust to settle down. During the lecture alluded to, a bell-glass filled with magnesium smoke was subjected to experiment, and the contained air rapidly became clear when the sparks were passed through it. So much for the scientific discovery. Now for its application. The head ofa firm of lead smelters in Wales read a report of this lecture. He knew what difficulty there was in re- taining the fume of volatilized lead from the smelting works, and in preventing its escaping from the flues to poison the atmosphere outside, besides robbing the smelter. He determined to see whether the electric spark would not cause the fume to fall in the same way that it acted upon the dust. An experimental shaft made of barrels, with windows in it, and an electric machine by which sparks could be sent through the fume, soon demon- strated that the thing could be done. (A. H. M.) Cirsine.—A notice of a new Alkaloid, which has been named “ Cirsine,” discovered by E. B. Shuttleworth, of Toronto, in the flower heads of the Canada thistle, Cirsium arvense, was read at the semi-annual meeting of the Ontario College of Pharmacy, held at Belleville, last month. The method of analysis was that of Drugendorff, and the Alkaloid was not found to be soluble in petroleum ether, but most readily in alcohol. It was stated that thistle flowers are an important constituent in a well-known patent medicine, and it is quite possible that the active principle, when isolated, may be found to have powerful remedial properties. (A.H.M.) ‘ Garden Libra ® ce c A] e ° m= x - oO > > o z =z