NOTES. 



H3 



flora have been obtained by Mr. Hallick from 

 the ferruginous sandstone on the shore at 

 Tottenville. The occurrence of copper, de- 

 rived from the decomposition of pyrites, in 

 the limonite ore beds at Todt Hill is men- 

 tioned. Several well-defined nearly driftless 

 areas north and west of the terminal mo- 

 raine illustrate an interesting feature of gla- 

 ciation. 



NOTES. 



Prof. D. S. Martin's Geological Map of 

 New York City and its Environs is the only 

 map giving in detail the geology of the en- 

 tire region (fifty-five by sixty-eight miles) 

 surrounding the metropolis ; it is compiled 

 with great care from separate sources, some 

 of which are not easily accessible, and some 

 are unpublished ; it exhibits the relations of 

 many geological systems and series east of 

 the Alleghanies ; and shows striking features 

 connected with the Glacial age, the terminal 

 moraine, and the ancient (now submerged) 

 channel of the Hudson River. A pamphlet 

 of explanations accompanies every copy. A 

 few copies of the second edition of the map 

 still reman for disposal at ten dollars each. 

 No more are likely to be published. Address 

 Prof. Martin, at Rutgers Female College, West 

 Fifty-fifth Street, New York. 



Mr. C. R. Orcutt remarks, in the West 

 American Scientist, on the prominence of the 

 great variety in rock-lichens in producing a 

 pleasing effect in the scenery of Lower Cali- 

 fornia. Red, yellow, gray, and white are the 

 prevailing colors, and the whole side of a cliff 

 is often covered by lichens of the same tint. 

 Quartz, however, is not a favorite rock with 

 the lichens, and consequently is seldom con- 

 cealed. The lichens frequently imitate, in 

 coloring, the natural hue of the rocks on 

 which they are found. 



A book by Mr. George F. Kunz, the dis- 

 tinguished mineralogical expert of the house 

 of Tiffany & Co., on the Gems and Precious 

 Stones of North America, is announced for 

 publication by the Scientific Publishing 

 Company, New York. It will be a popular 

 description of the occurrence, value, history, 

 and archaeology of precious stones in Amer- 

 ica, and of the collections in which they ex- 

 ist, with a chapter on pearls. The several 

 species and varieties are described system- 

 atically. The work will be sold at ten dol- 

 lars a copy. 



Mr. John Griffttt, of Smyrna, has re- 

 ported favorably on the results of a sea- 

 son's experiments in rearing silk-worms on 

 mulberry-trees, under muslin screens, in the 

 open air, using the regenerated Bournabat 

 graine. They show that the regeneration was 

 thorough and complete, enabling the worms 



to endure the low temperature of 45° F., 

 with storm and wet for ten consecutive days. 

 The proportion of Ratine or satin-like cocoons 

 was extraordinary — fifty to two hundred and 

 ninety-four in all. A somewhat similar trial 

 made in India some years ago was success- 

 ful experimentally but not financially. In 

 this case the worms, under calico screens, 

 ate along the hedge at their will, new relays 

 taking the place of the old ones as the parts 

 of the hedge over which thev had eaten re- 

 covered their leaves. 



River water was substituted for spring 

 water in one of the quarters of Paris sev- 

 eral times last summer. In every instance, 

 according to the " Semaine Medicale," an in- 

 crease of typhoid fever was observed. The 

 quantity of spring water brought to Paris 

 being insufficient for the demand, the Coun- 

 cil of Public Hygiene and Health has deter- 

 mined to expedite the labors for the new 

 supply from springs recently bought by the 

 city, and to insist that the use of the present 

 spring waters be limited to food purposes. 



Henry Holt & Co. will publish soon, In- 

 troduction to Systematic Botany. By Charles 

 E. Bessey, professor in the University of 

 Nebraska, and author of Bessey's Botanies 

 in the American Science Series. 



M. de Malarce recently informed the 

 French Academy of Sciences that the use of 

 the metric system had in 1887 become com- 

 pulsory in countries having an aggregate pop- 

 ulation of 302,000,000, being an increase of 

 53,000,000 persons obliged to use it in ten 

 years ; use was optional in countries having 

 nearly 97,000,000 inhabitants ; and was le- 

 gally admitted and partially applied in coun- 

 tries having an aggregate population of 395,- 

 000,000. The systems of Japan, China, and 

 Mexico are decimal but not metric. Hence 

 the metric system is legally recognized by 

 794,000,000 people and decimal systems by 

 about 474,000,000 others. 



By the Hungarian trade law of 1884, 

 every commune in which there are fifty or 

 more apprentices must provide for their ed- 

 ucation, and afford special courses of in- 

 struction. The apprentice schools in Buda- 

 Pesth contain a preparatory class, provide a 

 course of three years, and are chiefly de- 

 signed to educate apprentices for the higher 

 trade schools. Each district of the town 

 must have at least one apprentice school. 

 No class is to have more than fifty or at 

 most sixty pupils. Deserving pupils are pro- 

 moted at the end of each year. In the oth- 

 er towns and counties of the kingdom there 

 are 229 apprentice schools, with 1,237 teach- 

 ers and 38,081 pupils. 



The Swedish Oyster-culture Society is try- 

 ing to acclimatize American oysters from 

 Connecticut on the coast of the province of 

 Bahus. The young oysters seem to thrive 

 welL 



