1890.] natural sciences of thiladelphia. 189 



June 3. 

 Mr. Theo. D. Rand in the chair. 

 Twenty persons present. 



June 10. 



Mr. J. H. Redfield in the chair. 



Fifteen persons present. 



The death of Richard K. Betts, a member, May 29th, was 

 announced. 



June 17. 

 ]Mr. Thomas Meehan, Vice-President, in the chair. 

 Twenty-seven persons present. 



The death of Isaac J. Williams, a member, June 10, was 

 announced. 



Marine and Fresh Water Diatoms and Sponge-Spicules from the 

 Delaware River Clays of Philadelphia. — Mr. Lewis Woolman ex- 

 hibited under the microscope, in connection -with the Microscopical 

 and Biological Section, specimens of sponge spicules and diatoms from 

 the Philadelphia clays and stated respecting them that about a 

 year ago Mr. C. Henry Kain remarked to him that a pupil in a 

 public school of the city had handed him, in 1884, a lump of blue 

 clay with the broad but rather indefinite information that it was 

 obtained from a cellar near 8th and Vine streets, and that it con- 

 tained diatoms, which on further examination proved to be salt 

 water forms. 



Mr. Kain at that time catalogued the forms but did not publish 

 the discovery because unable to exactly locate and positively identify 

 the bed from which the clay had been obtained and also because 

 some question had been raised as to the probability of marine species 

 occurx'ing in Philadelphia clays. 



The tearing down of the houses at the south-west corner of 9th 

 and ^Market streets, formerly occupied by ^Messrs. Cooper & Conard, 

 preparatory to the erection of a new building to be used by their 

 successors, Messrs. Granville B. Haines ct Co., recently presented an 

 opportunity to investigate the subject referred to by Mr. Kain. 



In deepening the cellar and digging still lower for the foundations, 

 a bed of clay was encountered varying from whitish and yellowish 



