234 PROCEEDINGS OF UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM. 



JKKPOKT OIV THE €01VTENTS OF T^VO BOTTI^ES OF WATER FROM 



THE C}ITI,F OF MEXICO, FORWARDED BV THE SMJTHSOIVIIAN 

 IIVSTSTtJTllOIV.- 



By »K. 'W. G. FAKLOi;^. 



When received in Cainbridjije, May 14, 1881, the water of both bottles 

 gave out an excessively disagreeable odor of putrefying organic matter, 

 and ammonia was given off in considerable quantities, as was shown by 

 holding a rod moistened with hydrochloric acid over the mouths of the 

 bottles. In one bottle there was a greenish-colored, slimy deposit an 

 inch deep, and the water above was clear. In the second bottle the 

 water was turbid throughout and of rather a brownish color. 



The microscopic examinations showed that the contents of the two 

 bottles were alike. The greater portion of the matter contained in the 

 water consisted of a mass of amorphous slime, in which were numerous 

 crystals, apparently of a fatty nature. There were, besides, a large 

 quantity of eggs of some animal, wliich were easily recognized, although 

 partially decomposed, and the remains of small Crustacea. In addition 

 to the animal substances mentioned were remains of plant tissues, leaves 

 and young stems, pine pollen, and diatoms of four or five different species. 



From what has been said, it is evident that the slime in the water 

 must have been at some time not far from the land, or else that the bot- 

 tles used, or the water after it had been collected, must have been ex- 

 posed to the air for some time. 



It is my opinion that the trouble is not caused by the presence of any 

 vegetable substance, but that the presence of the latter is accidental. 

 The slimy mass probably originated from a mass of eggs which, for 

 some reason or other, were killed near the surface of the water, and the 

 smaller crustaceans in the neighborhood have been involved in the gen- 

 eral mass of slime. 



REMAIIVS OF THE ^VAt,RUS (?) IN MAINE. 



By €. H. BOYD. 



Addison Point, Washington County, Maine, 



October 8, 1881. 



Dear Sir : I have the honor to make the following statement of 

 finding the partly fossilized bones of a walrus (?), in expectation that it 

 may possibly prove of interest in connection with investigations of the 

 Smithsonian, as tending to show the range of the- walrus thus far south, 

 or that this climate was more Arctic in time past. 



* This water was collected where the fish mortality, referred to in preceding pages, 

 was the greatest. 



