SCIENCE IN NEWSPAPERS 485 



In another attempt to report the contents of a paper on " The Influ- 

 ence of Depth on the Character of Metalliferous Deposits," the follow- 

 ing obscurities occur : 



"The deepest borings," said the speaker, "had either copper or gold as 

 their objective, but precipitation was most favorable at a depth of 2,000 to 4,000 

 feet. A point of great interest was the extent of enrichment in regard to depth, 

 but secondary enrichment was limited to a short stretch below the ground 

 water. ' ' 



In reporting one or two other papers it appears likely that the 

 writers sought and obtained assistance from some competent source, 

 securing much better results. 



Only one of the professional papers was made a "feature," by the 

 Toronto press. This was the paper presented to the congress by one of 

 Toronto's own men, on the subject "An Estimate of Post-glacial and 

 Interglacial time in North America." The "write-ups" of this paper 

 demonstrate that the contents of at least some such papers can be 

 profitably reported even in a daily newspaper, if the necessary effort and 

 space be given to the task. Scientific discussion requires an accuracy 

 of expression that can rarely be attained in speedy writing. To give as 

 much space to other papers as to this one was evidently out of the ques- 

 tion, and the editorial management certainly made a proper selection in 

 "featuring" this paper. It treated a local subject of general anc! 

 popular interest. 



Under the head "general information about the congress," were 

 classified such paragraphs as could not be placed in any of the other 

 subjects mentioned in the list. These paragraphs include a variety of 

 subjects, from an account of the history of the organization of the first 

 International Geological Congress at Philadelphia in 1876, and an 

 inventory of all the expenses connected with the present meeting, to the 

 length of time taken for a morning nap by some of the attending 

 geologists on Sunday, and the color of the laundry bill received by an- 

 other visitor. The matter classified under this head consists of items of 

 information secured by the reporters from any chance source about 

 anything connected with the congress. By inquiry from a foreign 

 member, one reporter appears to have learned the significance of the 

 color scheme of the ribbons worn by many of the delegates on the pins 

 bearing their names, and he wrote a neat little item on " How delegates 

 in the Congress know what tongue to use in greeting." Another re- 

 porter, probably less obtrusive, wrote a half column under the heading 

 "Politeness a Feature of Congress," evidently basing his observations 

 on what he saw and heard, without making any inquiries. A paragraph 

 which seems to have been based on some interview was headed " Typical 

 Geologists are not Wealthy." Another article, which was probably 

 written off-hand and as a "bluff," dilates on the guess that geologists 



