370 TRANSACTIONS OF THE [nOV. 15, 



pulp ; and the crown is long and pointed, but still retains much 

 of the spatulate shape. Dr. Matthew concluded that the first 

 differentiation of all the placental mammals took place at the be- 

 ginning of the Tertiary and not in the Cretaceous, as has fre- 

 quently been stated. The paper was discussed at length by 

 Professor Osborn and Dr. Wortman. 



Mr. Harrington reported on some of the observations which 

 he had made on earth worms during copulation. He de- 

 scribed an organ which apparently has been usually overlooked. 

 This organ, the spermatophere of some authors, consists of a 

 modified seta, much enlarged at the extremity and functioning, 

 as Mr. Harrington suggests, to force spermatozoa into the semi- 

 nal receptacles of the other worm. 



Gary N. Calkins, 

 Secretary of Section. 



Section of Geology. 



November 15th, 1897. 



Meeting was called to order b}^ President Stevenson at 8:10 

 with 84 persons present. There being no Academy business, the 

 Section of Geology was immediately formed, and the reading of 

 the minutes was dispensed with by mutual consent. 



The first paper of the evening was by Dr. F. J. H. Merrill, of 

 the State Museum, Albany, on " The Geology of Greater New 

 York." Dr. Merrill devoted his attention to the region east of 

 the Hudson River, and occupied by the crystalline and meta- 

 morphic rocks. He stated that the area consisted first of the 

 high mountains of the Highlands, composed of the pre-Cambrian 

 granite ; on the valley sides are gneisses, l^'ing on the slopes of 

 the ridges, and in the bottoms of the valleys are limestones and 

 rarely quartzite. These latter rocks are very highly metamor- 

 phosed, and probably belong in the Upper Cambrian and Silurian 

 Series. Besides the rocks mentioned, there are also intrusives, 

 cutting the altered paleozoics, including granite and basic rocks. 



