114 The Ottawa Naturalist. [September 



dantly and to a great height, but probably the only indigenous 

 plant of this family is the Prickly Pear {Opuntia vulgaris), very 

 common on barrens and sandy shores, with a prostrate massive 

 fleshy stem thickly studded with awl-shaped spines. Its flower 

 is yellow, followed by an edible crimson fruit which must be 

 peeled before eaten. 



The porosity of the coral rock sublying all the islands, and 

 retaining like a sponge a certain amount ot moisture, doubtless 

 tends to the prolific growth of shrubs and plants, many of the 

 latter assuming arborescent conditions. Plants will constitute 

 the subject of the next article. 



H. B. Small. 



OBITUARY. 



jAMhS Hall, PAL.iiONTOLOGIST. 



James Hall, the father and prince of palaeontologists in 

 America, has passed away at Echo Hill, Bethlehem, N.H., full of 

 years and honour. For sixty years he has been most active and 

 constantly engaged in the field of geological research in 

 America, and in more particular detail in the State of New 

 York, having held the position of State Geologist since the early 

 years of the establishment of that renowned State Survey. The 

 accuracy of the work performed in pointing out the economic 

 resources of this enterprising State, the indefatigable labours 

 and numerous obstacles and prejudices which he had to encoun- 

 ter in the beginning only stimulated him to greater effort and 

 more pronounced achievements. Indeed, many of the valuable 

 geological resources which have made New York State so 

 famous, have been pointed out by him in his reports or by the 

 reports of members of his staff. His successes as State Geo- 

 logist and as Paleontologist were both marked. In guiding the 

 affairs of the Geological Survey of New York State he combined 

 both economy and sound judgment, and in Paktontology, won 



