78 TRANSACTIONS OF THE [JAN. 13, 



weather ; a plate was shown completely pitted all over with 

 bacteria colonies. 



A number of photomicrographic transparencies and prints 

 were then exhibited, and an extension-scale of magnifying 

 powers, determined on a large number of low and high power 

 objectives. 



January 13, 1890. 



Stated Meeting. 



The President, Dr. Newberry, in the chair. 



Twenty-five persons present. 



A letter was read by the President from M. Charles 

 Barrois, of Lille^ France, acknowledging with thanks his 

 recent election as an Honorary Member of the Academy. 



The paper announced for the evening was then read, upon 



some ancient shore-lines and their history. 



by frederick j. h. merrill. 



(Abstract.) 



In studying the surface geology of the vicinity of New York, 

 the writer has observed a number of old terraces and shore-lines. 

 One of tlie most prominent is the base-level plane which passes 

 over the summits of the trap ridges of the Trias in New Jersey, 

 and descends over the hill-tops in Westchester County to the 

 north shore of Long Island Sound. This plane, with its northwest 

 extension in New Jersey, has been referred to the Cretaceous 

 age by Prof. Wm. M. Davis. As the region about New York 

 City was depressed 400 feet or more in pre-glacial Quaternary 

 time, while the ''Yellow Drift" of New Jersey was being 

 deposited, at least a portion of this plane was tlien submerged 

 and must have been again subjected to the levelling action of 

 the waves. 



In the vicinity of Clarksburg, New Jersey, a shore-line has 

 been observed on the red sand bed of the Cretaceous, and from 

 its relation to the Tertiary formations it has been referred by the 

 writer to the latter age. This Tertiary shore-line is about 240 

 feet above tide, and, though ill preserved, traces of it are notice- 

 able on the eastern slopes of the Cretaceous hills of denudation 

 throughout Monmouth County. With this fragmentary shore- 

 line may be correlated a fragmentary base-level plane, sloping to 



