2G4 ANNUAL OF SCIENTIFIC DISCOVEIIY. 



merous forms of life which the researches of ireoloiiists were con- 

 tiuuaiJy tliscovcrinfj iu the coal measures. 



SUMMARY OF GEOLOGICAL FACTS. 



Petroleum in the Netherlands'^ East Indies. — Dr. Baumlianer. — The 

 author ^ivcs a c'om})lete (losc'rij)tion of a larii;c luunljcr ol" sources 

 of petroleum (.liscovered iu dillcreiit ishiuds of the Indiau Arelii- 

 IX'la<^o, dcpcudencies of the Jsethcrhmds. From observations :uul 

 experiments matle, there exists at 250 metres' depth au ahiiost 

 inexhaustil)lc reservoir of this Ihiid. 



Smoke-colored Qu-artz. — A h'tter from the P'ronch minister, resi- 

 dent at Berne, contains full particulars conccrnin;^ the discover}^ 

 and the exploration of quartz of rare beauty, accidentally discov- 

 ered in the Ticfengletscher of the valley of Urseren, Canton Uri, 

 Switzerland, — Annates des Mines, Nov. ?>. 



Mineral Resources of Algeria. — This paper is an excellent mono- 

 graph. — Annates des Mines, Nov. 3. 



Copper Mines of Lake Superior — Titi in the State of Maine, U. S. 

 — In the shape of a letter, written by the author to M. Elie de 

 Beainnont, Mr. Jackson, of Boston, states that, in June last, there 

 was found in the rha}nix copper mine, near Lake Superior, a mass 

 of native copper measuring (JoX-^^X-i feet, weiirhing 1,000 tons, 

 and valued at 400,000 dollars. In some ])arts, this mass has, in- 

 stead of its average 4 feet, 7 feet in thickness. As to the site 

 where the tin ore has been discovered, the author states that he 

 received a sample, sent to him from Winslow, and th.at on analy- 

 sis he Ibund the ore to yield, in its crude state, 4G per cent, of 

 pure tin, and, after washing, about 75.5 per cent. There exist 

 some 40 mineral veins containing the ore, and those veins are 

 workaI)Ie. 



Jlir/hest Peaks of the Caucasus. — There is a capital map of the 

 Caucasus iu "Petermann's Mittheilungen," ii., 1809. The accom- 

 panying notes give the following as the elevations of the four 

 most important peaks of the proper or Great Caucasus : — 



Elbrug, 18,572 English feet. 17,42G Paris feet. 



Koscban-tau, . . . . 17,123 " 1G,0GG " 



Dvch-tau, 1G,928 " 15,883 " 



Kasbek, 1G,54G " 15,525 " 



The Ararat is almost equallv high with the Dvch-tau, namely, 

 16,01G English feet, or 15,872 Paris feet. 



Geodetic Measurement in Europe. — There is a good ])rospect that, 

 at an early day, the measurement of an arc of meridian, under- 

 taken by the Russian government, will be extended into the Turk- 

 ish dominions, and, possibly, into the island of Crete. If the 

 project is carried out, an arc of 155° 35' will have b(M'n measured, 

 extending from 35*^ 5' to 70° 40' N. kit., tlu? utmost possible in 

 Europe. A measurement of the 52d parallel, between Valentia, 

 on the Irish coast, and Orsk, on the Kirgi-cn Stej^pe, has lately 

 been completed. — Petermann, ii., 18G9. 



