194 The Ottawa Naturalist. [January 



and its hideous glaring eye and formidable beak make it a most 

 repulsive object. 



Owing to the heavy surf beating on broken coral, shells in a 

 perfect state are rare on the shore, the specimens for collection 

 being dredged from among the reefs. 



H. B. Small. 



THE GEOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF AMERICA. 



The Eleventh Winter Meeting of the Geological Society of 

 America was held in New York City from December 28th to 

 30th, 1898. There was a large attendance of fellows, and more 

 papers than could be conveniently read were presented. The 

 Sessions were held in Shermerhorn Hall, Columbia University 

 at Morningside Heights. An address of welcome by President 

 Low of Columbia was followed by Reports of Council and 

 declaration of vote for officers for 1899, which is as follows : — 

 President: B. K. Emerson; Vice-President : G. M. Dawson; 

 Secretary : H. L. Fairchild ; Treasurer : I. C. White ; Editor : J. 

 Stanley Brown ; Librarian: H. P. Gushing, and Council o{ \.)\x&e. 



The necrology of the late Prof James Hall, well known 

 to many members of theClub,by the retiring President, J. J. Steven- 

 son, was a worthy tribute and memorial to so great an adminis- 

 trator, geologist and palaeontologist. 



The Presidential address by Prof. J. J. Stevenson was both 

 a useful and practical retrospect in the work of early geologists 

 as well aa a hopeful look forward into the future of" Our Society." 



The following are some of the papers read and presented to 

 the Society by Canadians. — 



A Remarkable Landslip on the Riviere Blanche, Portneuf 



County, Quebec. 



By Dr. GEORGE M. DAWSON, Ottawa, Ont. 



In this paper a brief account is given of the landslip that occurred 

 on May 7th, last. It affected the thick deposit of Leda clay that floors 

 this part of the St. Lawrence plain and serves to indicate that a clay of 



