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POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY. 



can be established. The paleontological evi- 

 dence indicates the ephemeral existence of 

 a passage at the close of the Eocene pe- 

 riod. All lines of inquiry give evidence that 

 no communication has existed between the 

 two oceans since the close of the Oligocene. 



The Twenty second Annual Report of the 

 Department of Geology and Natural Re- 

 sources of Indiana, W. S. Blatchley, State 

 Geologist, embraces, in part, the results of 

 the work of the several departments of the 

 survey during 1897. These appear in the 

 form of papers of economic importance on 

 the petroleum, stone, and clay resources of 

 the State, natural gases and illuminating oils, 

 a description of the curious geological and 

 topographical region of Lake and Porter 

 Counties, and an extended paper on the 

 Birds of Indiana, with specific descriptions. 

 A large proportion of the energies of the de- 

 partment were employed during the year in 

 gathering data for a detailed report on the 

 coal area of the State, which is now in course 

 of preparation. 



The Report of the United States Commis- 

 sioner of Education for 1896-'97 records an 

 increase in the enrollment of schools and 

 colleges of 257,586, the whole number of 

 pupils being 14,712,077 in public institu- 

 tions and schools, and 1,513,016 in private. 

 The increase is confined to the public institu- 

 tions, the private ones having suffered from 

 " hard times." Among the numerous papers 

 published in the volume containing the re- 

 port are those on Education in Great Britain 

 and Ireland, France, Denmark, Norway, Cen- 

 tral Europe, and Greece ; Commercial Edu- 

 cation in Europe ; the Teaching of Civics in 

 France, Switzerland, and England ; Sunday 

 Schools, including accounts of the several de- 

 nominational systems ; the Legal Rights of 

 Children ; and sketches of Horace Mann and 

 Henry Barnard and their work in furthering 

 education. 



Mr. David T. Day's report on the Min- 

 eral Resources of the United States for 189H 

 appears as Part V of the Eighteenth Annual 

 Report of the United States Geological Sur- 

 vey, in two volumes of fourteen hundred 

 pages in all ; the first of which is devoted to 

 Metallic Products and Coal, and the second 

 to Nonmetallic Products except Coal. The 

 report covers the calendar year 1896, and 



shows only a slight increase in total values 

 over 1895. Of some substances, however — 

 gold, copper, aluminum, and petroleum be- 

 ing the most important ones — the value was 

 the greatest ever attained. Of other sub- 

 stances, including lead, bituminous coal, 

 building stones, mineral waters, salt, and 

 pyrites, the product was increased in amount, 

 but the value was less. A paper, by Mr. 

 George F. Becker, on the Witwatersnand 

 Banket, records observations made by him 

 in the Transvaal gold fields. 



A Geological Reconnoissance of the Coal 

 Fields of the Indian Territory, published 

 in the Contributions to Biology of the Hop- 

 kins Seaside Laboratory of Leland Stan- 

 ford Junior University, by Noah Fields 

 Drake, is based upon a six months' examina- 

 tion made by the author during the spring, 

 summer, and fall of 1896, of the larger part of 

 the coal measures and adjacent formations 

 of Indian and Oklahoma Territories. The 

 best maps that could then be had being ex- 

 ceedingly inaccurate, sketch maps were made 

 of areas that were especially important. On 

 account of features of particular geological 

 interest, nearly all the area south and east of 

 the Canadian River and the bordering areas 

 of the Boone chert and limestones were 

 sketched and studied rather closely. 



The American Catholic Historical Society 

 at Philadelphia publishes in its Quarterly 

 Records much that, while it must be of 

 deep interest to historical students holding 

 the Roman Catholic faith, possesses, per- 

 haps, a strong though more general interest 

 to all students of American history ; for the 

 men of that faith have had no small part in 

 the colonization and development of this 

 country. The number for June, 1898, con- 

 tains a portrait and a bibliographical sketch 

 of the Rev. Peter Henry Lemke, 0. S. B., of 

 Pennsylvania, Kansas, and Elizabeth, N. J. ; 

 a poem on the Launch of the American 

 Frigate United States, whose commander 

 was a Catholic ; articles on the Sir John 

 James Fund, and Catholic Chronicles of 

 Lancaster, Pa., and Extracts from the Diary 

 of the Rev. Patrick Kenny. 



A memoir on A Determination of the 

 Ratio (x) of the Specific Heats at Constant 

 Pressure and at Constant Volume for Air, 

 Oxygen, Carbon Dioxide, and Hydrogen gives 



