62 JOURNAL OF THE [April, 



and its period of deposition antecedent to that of the overlying 

 gravel beds and alluvial sands, the association of the pollen 

 grains with the diatoms proves them to be of contemporaneous 

 growth and deposition; and the survival of the pollen from decay 

 may be attributable to their resinous nature, which is likewise a 

 characteristic of the spores of the present fern-vegetation of the 

 •earth, as well as that of the carboniferous period in geology. 



"One slide of macrospores. These interesting fossil plant 

 remains were isolated from a shale from Ontario, Canada, by 

 crushing the shale transversely to its layers. Under a high power 

 they show spinous processes regularly distributed over their sur- 

 faces. When a single specimen is ignited on mica, it melts to a 

 shapeless bituminous mass and is reduced to ash. The slide is 

 sent for comparison with the fossil sporangia from Alabama 

 coal. 



" Four slides derived from a study of material from borings of 

 a now celebrated artesian well at Mobile, Ala., 850 feet in depth, 

 recently finished. One shows a group of forty foraminifera of a 

 single species, being very nearly the only microscopic animal re- 

 mains permeating 500 feet of greensand strata. Two of the 

 slides show a sand of high specific gravity, composed of myriads 

 of spherules, octahedral and dodecahedral crystals of pyrite, also 

 perfect microscopic quartz crystals, polished agate and sand 

 grains, and grains of magnetite, all associated together. One 

 slide of magnetite grains, including iron scales from boring 

 tubes. These grains were separated from the pyrites sand with 

 a small magnet, and as mounted will serve to illustrate a number 

 of interesting experiments under the microscope. For example, 

 when the grains are evenly scattered on the slide the effect of 

 the union of the grains may be noted when a small horseshoe 

 magnet is applied to the under side of the slide. If one leg or 

 pole is presented, the grains stand in vertical chains; and if the 

 magnet is moved in rapid circles, double or multiple images of 

 the grain chains succeed each other in waltzing style ; if the slide 

 is held in a vertical plane, and both poles applied to the cover 

 glass, a single chain of grains is lifted to top of cell and drops at 

 once on removal of the magnet. The grains may be scattered 

 by tapping with the thumb nail, and each grain may be examined 

 for mineralogical character. When this pyrites sand is heated 



