Trans. N. Y. Ac. Sci. 2 Oct. 2, 



feet. At its upper end the valley is supplied by only two or three in- 

 significant streams. It is, in fact, a g-lacial channel, bearing on its 

 sides abundant marks of glaciation, with cliffs towering up, sometimes 

 to a height of 2000 feet. There are also deposits of clays belonging 

 to the category of the Champlain clays, stratified and often terraced. 

 Clays of this age have been observed, at Polaris Bay, up to a height of 

 1800 feet above the sea, often enclosing Arctic shells. These terraces 

 may be traced for miles along the Saguenay and indicate interesting 

 alternations of level. Similar terraces are found along the Hudson 

 River. The subsidence during which they were produced affected the 

 whole eastern and, perhaps, western part of the Continent. These 

 clays are only the wash from the ancient glaciers, and formed the sedi- 

 ment of an icy-cold sea, which stood higher than it does now. The 

 subject of the causes of glaciation had met with a spirited discussion at 

 the recent meeting at Montreal, especially on the part of Dr. DAW- 

 SON, whose views, largely founded on the peculiar action of shore-ice 

 in the St. Lawrence, would meet with wide modification by a visit to 

 other portions of the glaciated area of the Continent. 



Prof. A. R. Leeds called attention to the recent death of a very illus- 

 trious member of the Academy, Prof. Friedrich Wohler, whose 

 life, linked with the progress of science for three-quarters of a century 

 marked an epoch in its history. He was born in 1800, and, without 

 awaiting a further advance in his years, a great Jubilee was arranged 

 and carried out, in connection with his eightieth birthday, among the 

 chemists of the German Universities ; and in this many American 

 chemists united. A large bronze medal was struck off for distribution 

 in commemoration of this event. He was one of the tavorite pupils of 

 Berzelius, and has given an interesting account of his studies with 

 that master, at that time a mere country doctor, in the kitchen of his 

 house and on the kitchen tables, the simple articles used being washed 

 up by the old " hausfrau" at the end of the day. We owe to him the 

 discovery of the true constitution of many mineral compounds. Many 

 American students gradually resorted to his laboratory and to them he 

 became the favorite teacher. Prof. BOOTH was the first American 

 chemist to go abroad and was the first American student under 

 Wohler'S care. It is a wonderful fact that the life of this one 

 man should have been sufficient to include most of the important 

 discoveries of modern chemical science. He was the first to unlock 

 the mysteries of organic compounds, by his classic investigation into the 

 constitution of urea, showing that this was made up of inorganic con- 

 stituents. His life, in fact, links the modern discoveries in organic 

 chemistry with the glorious achievements of the first quarter of the 

 present centuiy. 



