75 





San Francisco, Nov. 26, 1855. 



Col. L. Ransom in the Chair. 



Mr. Joshua E. Clayton was elected a corresponding 

 Member of the Academy. 



Donations to the Cabinet. 



From Mr. Clayton, two specimens of Volcanic 

 Glass from Clear Lake, and leaves of the Long Leaf 

 Pine. 



From .Mr. Bloomer, several hundred specimens of 

 California plants. 



Lieut. M. F. Maury presented for the Library, 

 Lynch 's Expedition to the Dead Sea, and one volume 

 of Washington Astronomical Observations. 



Letters were read from M. F. Maury, of Washing- 

 ton, D. C, and James Palache, of Calaveras Co., Cal- 

 ifornia. 



Dec. S, 1855. 



Dr. Lanszweert in the Chair. 



Donations to the Cabinet. 



From Mr. N. W. Palmer, of Alameda, a specimen 

 of Buteo borealis, and one of Strix pratincola. 



From Mr. W. D. Sleeper, of Columbia, Cal., a spec- 

 imen of the substance mined at Table Mountain, Tu- 

 olumne Co., known by the miners there as "soap." — 

 It was referred to Dr. Lanszweert for examination. 



From Mr. A. G. Branda, a specimen of Orthago- 

 riscus, from the Santa Barbara channel. It is un- 

 doubtedly of a new species. 



Donations to the Library. 



From Dr. J. C. Warren, of Boston, Mass., a copy of 

 his work on the Mastodon. 



From the Pottsville Scientific Association, a copy 

 of their Bulletin for Jan. and Feb., 1855. 



The thanks of the Academy were voted for the do- 

 nations recorded above. 



A letter was read from Mr. Charles Girard, of the 

 Smithsonian Institution, acknowledging the notice of 

 his election as an Honorary Member of the Academy. 



Mr. Bloomer and Dr. Lanszweert were appointed 

 a Committee to furnish specimens to Dr. Sartwell, of 

 Penn Yan, N. Y., and M. Rene" Lenortnand, of Vire, 

 France. 



San Francisco, Dec. 10, 1855. 



Col. Ransom in the Chair. 



Donations to the Cabinet. 



From Dr. Badarous, a beautiful specimen of Cot- 

 ton, from Lower California ; also, a specimen of Hip- 

 pocampus, from Rio Janeiro. 



From Mr. Rudolfson, of Sonora, specimens of pet- 

 rified wood, 'shells, clay, &c , from TaMe Mountain- 



From Dr. J. T. Hyde, a specimen of Tetraodon 

 hitpidus. 



The thanks of the Academy were voted for the 

 above donations. 



From Col. Ransom, a group of fossil shells from 

 the hills east of San Jose Mission ; also, a fossil Os- 

 treea, from the mountain range east of San Luis Obis- 



CAL. ACADEMY OF NATURAL SCIENCES, DEC, 



po, 2000 feet above the sea. This shell is 12 inches 

 long, 6 inches wide, and 4j inches in thickness, and 

 said to be much smaller that many which have been 

 found in the same range. 



From Dr. Newberry, two very important groups of 

 fossil shells. They were obtained by him near Point 

 Pinole, San Pablo Bay. They were taken from two 

 separate strata in the sandstone, which is identical 

 with that of this city, and are of especial value, since 

 they determine beyond question the Tertiary charac- 

 ter of the extensive group known as San Francisco 

 Sandstone. The shells are species of Pecten and 

 Ostraea. 



The December number of the Pioneer was received 

 for the Library. 



Dec 17, 1855. 



Col. Ransom in the Chair. 



Donations to the Cabinet. 



From Col Ransom, two nests of the Tarantula ; 

 also, alkaline incrustations from the plains near 

 Kern Lake ; also, volcanic deposites from near Yre- 

 ka. 



From Dr. Eckel, a very curious capsule, with the 

 seeds, from Nicaragua. 



From Mr. W. H. Brooks, a specimen of Lactophrys, 

 from the Sandwich Islands. 



Dec 24, 1855. 



Col. Ransom in the Chair. 



Donations to the Cabinet. 



From Mr. Wm. Burling, specimens from the vicin- 

 ity of Sitka, comprising fossil shells, the skin of a 

 seal, skeletons of Cygnus buccinator, Lutra cana- 

 densis, Phalaropus, Sciurus, Putorius erm eus, 

 with the skull of a Polar Bear, and a specimen of 

 Diomedea exulans. The skeletons were prepared by 

 the Indians, and are in most admirable condition. 



From Mr. C. Leonard, an abnormal specimen of 

 the Lizard so common in this vicinity, Sceloporus 

 graciosus. 



From Dr. J. G. Cooper was received a copy of 

 Gray's Botany of the Northern United States. 



Letters were received from R. D. Cutts, Esq., 

 Washington, D. C, and Dr. Charles Pickering, 

 of Boston. 



A communication was read from W. P. Blake, of 

 Washington, D. C, giving an abstract of his paper 

 read before the Am. Association for the Advancement 

 of Science, at its last meeting, on the age of the San 

 Francisco Sandstone, also observations on the pine 

 sugar or mannite of California. 



Dr. Ayres presented the following communication; 



In the early part of August, 1854, descriptions 

 were rer.d by me before the Academy, of two species 

 of fish, which were arranged with hesitation under 

 the genus Hemilepidotus, but those descriptions were 

 never published, as the Academy had not then com- 

 menced issuing its proceedings. Shortly afterward, 

 Mr. Qirard presented to the Philadelphia Academy of 

 Natural Sciences, a paper in which was contained a 

 description of one of these species ; he called it Seor- 



18S3. 



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AwXt 



