233 



furnaces. Manganesian iron ore is reduced to pure iron, or 

 " comes to nature," in the language of the workmen, with much 

 greater rapidity than carbon iron ; hence the two metals are 

 often mixed, to " come to nature " at a good time, requiring less 

 care and watchfulness on the part of the workman. Manga- 

 nesian iron makes the best bar iron. 



The Corresponding Secretary announced the reception of the 

 following letters, viz: — From the Smithsonian Institution, March 

 26, and April 5, 1855, acknowledging the reception of numbers 

 of the Proceedings ; — from the Smithsonian Institution, accom- 

 panying a copy of Volume 7 of the Smithsonian Contributions 

 to Knowledge ; — from the New York State Library, August 

 24 ; — from the Western Academy of Natural Sciences, at Cin- 

 cinnati, May 19, acknowledging the reception of Proceedings ; — 

 from the California Academy of Natural Sciences, May 30? 

 accompanying copies of its Proceedings ; — from the Geological 

 Society at London, May 4, requesting copies of Volumes 1 and 

 2 of the Proceedings; — from the Royal Society of London, 

 January 25 ; the Ethnological Society of London, January 1 ; 

 the Linnean Society, November 10 ; the Imperial Mineralogical 

 Society at St. Petersburg, March 25 ; the Royal Society of Sci- 

 ences at Gottingen, May 16 ; and the Imperial Academy of Sci- 

 ences at Vienna, December 27, 1854, returning thanks for copies 

 of the Journal and Proceedings. 



Dr. C. T. Jackson presented some Fossil Shells, from the 

 tertiary strata of Wilmington, N. C. The clay and fine 

 debris, contained within the shells, were referred to Drs. 

 Durkee and Bacon, for microscopic examination. 



Dr. Jackson remarked, that the whole southern coast of the 

 United States is cretaceous and tertiary. South of Maryland, 

 the coast is made up of clay and sand, and no rocks exist in 

 place. Cetacean bones and Sharks' teeth are abundant. 



Dr. Durkee observed, that he had examined sections of sharks' 

 teeth, taken seventy feet beneath the surface of the earth, in Ala- 

 bama. He had found their minute structure as perfect as in 



