November ii, 1915] 



NATURE 



297 



mately seven times the interval between M. Sola's 

 plates) no stars showing movement could be detected. 



The Future of the Planets. — Under this title 

 P. Puiseux contributes an essay to Scientia (Octo- 



;r) dealing with some possible consequences of the 

 Explosion hypothesis due to Mr. R. T. A. Innes. The 

 mderlying idea is that sufficiently great pressure may 

 le capable of inducing an explosive instability of the 

 ilementary atoms of matter resembling the trans- 

 ormations associated with radio-activity. If this is a 

 ^act of nature, then condensing stellar bodies become 



jontaneousiy explosive. It is supposed that the de- 



-uction of the planets will be brought about by a 



)lar outburst of this character. 



AMERICAN HYDROLOGY.-^ 



■HE issue by the United States Geological Survey 

 of a further instalment of water supply papers 

 'directs attention to the continued activity of that de- 

 partment in prosecuting its researches into the national 

 water resources available for industrial and agricul- 

 tural purposes. The papers cover an extensive area 

 of country and a diversity of subjects ; and accord- 

 ingly it will be convenient to deal with them seriatim, 

 (i) The eastern and southern coasts of the United 

 States and the contiguous parts of Mexico and Central 

 America, as far as the peninsula of Yucatan, con- 

 stitute a broad, sub-level region, sloping gently sea- 

 ward from the interior highlands. In the basin of 

 the Mississippi, this plain, known as the Gulf Coastal 

 Plain, extends inland for a distance of no fewer than 

 500 miles. This, however, is the maximum breadth. 

 On the Atlantic coast and in Mexico it is much more 

 restricted, reaching mountainous districts at no great 

 distance from the sea. The plain is characterised 

 generally by low relief and broad river valleys, and 

 in Texas, with which region Mr. Deussen's report is 

 specially concerned, it comprises a series of prairies 

 and wolds, the latter term denoting a range of hills 

 sloping gently on one side and descending abruptly on 

 the other. 



Being a hydrographical paper, the report is drawn 

 up from the point of view of defining and classifying 

 the available sources of water supply, and accordingly 

 the stratigraphy of the various districts is described 

 in relation to their water-producing powers. The 

 geological systems represented are the Carboniferous, 

 the Cretaceous, the Tertiary, and the Quaternary. 

 The Carboniferous rocks are not exposed, nor have 

 they been reached by any boring within the limits of 

 the area under consideration, but their presence is 

 inferred from an exposure further west, and by the 

 evidence of drill-holes in the adjacent Cretaceous area. 

 The Cretaceous rocks, which consist for the most 

 part of chalk, limestone, and marl, are so deeply 

 embedded as to render them impracticable as sources 

 of supply, either by artesian wells or otherwise. The 

 available water-bearing strata are, therefore, the sedi- 

 ments of the Tertiary and Quaternary series, com- 

 prising some dozen formations, of which may be 

 noted the Dewitt (Miocene), 1250 to i.i;oo ft. thick, and 

 the Wilcox (Eocene), 800 to 1150 ft. thick. The former 



I (i) Oeology and Undereround Waters of the South-Eastern Part of the 

 Texas Coastal Plain (Water Supplv_ Paper No. 335). By Alexander 

 Deuso-n. Pp. 365, with dingrain and ix plates. 



(2) Water Analv«es from the Laboratory of the United Spates Geo- 

 loeical Survey (Water Stipply P.iper No. 364). Tabulated by J. W. 

 Clarke. Chief Chemist. Pp.40. 



(3) Quality of the Surfac*? Wafers of Washington (Water Supply Paper 

 No. 3'?9). By Walton Van Winkle. Pp. los, with charts. 



(4) Deschutes River, Oregon, and its Utilisation (Water Snpolv Paper 

 No. 344). By F. F. Henshaw, John H. Lewis, and E. J. McCaustland. 

 Pp. soo. with 28 plates and 8 diagrams. 



(5) The Wa'er Resources of Butte, Montana (Watrr Supply Paper No. 

 34S-G). By O. E. Meinzer. Pp. 125, with map and photographs. 



consists of lacustrine and littoral deposits : cross- 

 bedded, coarse, grey, semi-indurated, highly calcareous 

 sandstones; and the latter of palustrine, marine, and 

 littoral sands, clays, marl, and lignite. The waters 

 from these sources are classified and analysed accord- 

 ing to their locality and occurrence. 



(2 and 3). The next two papers deal with the chem- 

 ical side of water supply. They exhibit in tabular 

 form the constituents of samples of water, taken from 

 various sources in the United States, and submitted 

 to chemical analysis, together with some useful notes 

 as to the bearing of chemical composition on the suit- 

 ability of such waters for specific purposes. Most of 

 the waters are commonplace in character, but some 

 are exceptional; for instance, the Devil's Inkpot in 

 the Yellowstone Park is essentially a solution of 

 ammonium sulphate, and the Shoal Creek springs in 

 Missouri are impregnated with zinc to a remarkable 

 degree. 



The physiographical features of the State of Wash- 

 ington are described at some length in Mr. Van 

 Winkle's report, and it is interesting to note that the 

 Cascade Range of mountains, which crosses the State 

 from north to south, divides it into two regions with 

 very dissimilar climatic conditions, that on the western 

 side characterised by an abundant rainfall, with cool 

 summers and mild winters, and that on the eastern 

 side by a moderate, and even scanty, rainfall, with hot 

 summers and cold winters. 



(4) The Deschutes River is a tributary of the 

 Columbia River, entering the latter at a point about 

 135 miles above the town of Portland. It is stated 

 that the river is unique in several respects among 

 rivers of the United States. " Its natural flow is 

 remarkably constant; its head waters afford reservoir 

 sites sufficiently large and so distributed that the total 

 flow of the river may be utilised both for irrigation 

 and for power" — these features, combined with the 

 suitability of the river basin for their practical applica- 

 tion, justify the expectation that the Deschutes Valley 

 will become a flourishing district of agricultural im- 

 portance, enhanced by numerous installations of hydro- 

 electric plant furnishing power, either locally or for 

 transmission to distant distributing centres. 



(5) The rugged region of western Montana includes 

 a curious re-entrant of the Continental Divide, form- 

 ing a basin, bounded on the north, east, and south 

 sides, and on part of the west side, by mountain walls. 

 This basin, the flat floor of which is a little rnpre than 

 a mile above sea-level, has a maximum length of 

 twenty-two miles, a maximum width of ten miles, and 

 an area of 130 square miles. It probably came into 

 existence near the close of the Tertiary or at the 

 beginning of the Quaternary period. It is noteworthy 

 to-day as containing on its northern side the Butte 

 mining district, the most important mining centre in 

 the United States. Started in 1864. when placer gold 

 was discovered in the locality, the settlement has 

 erown to a town of more than 50,000 inhabitants. 

 The eff"ect of this invasion of human activity has been 

 to change completely the natural aspect of the place. 

 The mountain sides have been denuded of their trees 

 and the valley floor of its luxurious vegetation by 

 sulphurous fumes emitted in great clouds from the 

 smelting works, and a scene of desolation and ugli- 

 ness has supervened. Since 1912, however, conditions 

 have somewhat improved. Most of the large smelters 

 have been shut down or removed, and the citizens are 

 endeavouring by the cultivation of lawns, gardens, 

 and trees, to restore something of the original beauty 

 of the valley. The climate is somewhat rigorous, the 

 mean annual temperature being 42° p., and the lowest 

 recorded temperature 29° F. below zero. The water 

 supply of the district is plentiful ; there is an average 

 daily consumption of nine million gallons for 55,000 



NO. 2402, VOL'. 96] 



