462 



NA TURE 



[September 14, 1893 



If now the ratio of the volumes in which oxygen and hydro- 

 gen combine is substantially that found in these experiments, 

 the atomic weight of oxygen computed from the densities would 

 be 15 '882 from the former series of determinations (or i5'S8o, 

 if the correction is allowable), and 15-880 from the present 

 series, we should then have : — 



1 5 8 79, from ratio of H to O 

 15879 „ „ HtoHjO 



15-882 [or 15-880] ratio of densities (a) 

 15-880 from ,, ,, [b) 



as the result so far of Prof. Morley's work. 



But the later work of Scott has attained a high degree of 

 excellence, and gives a value of the ratio of the volumes in 

 which the gases combine, which is considerably higher than 

 that used in this computation. Prof. Morley explained that he 

 had himself published every experiment which he had ever 

 made on this point, and that they had a mean error of only one 

 part in 26,000. Since no source of constant error had yet been 

 ppinted out, he had great confidence in the accuracy of his own 

 experiments. He, however, inlended to make another series 

 of determinations with the apparatus used before, and one with 

 a new apparatus now constructing. 



He also mentioned three other series of determinations which 

 he is now carrying on ; two are determinations of the absolute 

 density of hydrogen, and one a determination of that of oxygen ; 

 in these a very small mean error is attainable. 



Among the other papers which attracted special attention, 

 were one on "The Constitution of Paraldehyde and Metalde- 

 hyde," by W. R. OrndorfF and John White ; and one on 

 " S ilubility of Lead Oxide in the normal tartrates and other nor- 

 mal organic salts, with observations on the rotary power of the 

 solutions thus obtained,'' by L. Kahlenber^j and H. W. Hillyer. 



In Section 1) (Mechanical Science and Engineering) the num- 

 ber of papers was small, owing to the increasing tendency of 

 engineers to support special technical association?. 



Messrs. \Vm. S. Rogers, S, W. Robinson, and J. Burkitt Webb 

 contributed useful notes on different topics ; while the secretary 

 of the section, Prof. D. S. Jacobus, read three papers describing 

 ingenious apparatus devised and used by him at the Stevens 

 Institute of Technology at Hoboken, N.J. 



Among the papers read, we note one by Prof. J. J. Stevenson 

 on "the use of the term Catskill," in which he offered strong 

 objection to the application of this term to the whole series of 

 rocks from the Hamilton to the lower carboniferous, as has been 

 recently advocated. Since the group is well defined below, and 

 since the geographical term Catskill represents conditions which 

 prevailed over an extended area only during the latter part of 

 the upper Devonian period. Prof. Stevenson thinks that the 

 term should be restricted as defined by Vonuxem. 



Mr. J. A. Holmes gave an interesting description of a map 

 and section of the stratified rocks of the coastal plain of southern 

 North Carolina. Mr. William Hallock reported the results of 

 further observations of temperature in the deep well at Wheel- 

 ing, W.Va. Since 1891 this well has filled with water by leak- 

 ing below the surface. Temperature determinations have been 

 made in the water, which are practically identical with the 

 determinations made when the well was filled with air two years 

 ago, showing that there is not an appreciable circulation of 

 water in a hole five inches in diameter. Down to 3200 feet the 

 gradient is I°F. to 81-5 feet, and near the bottom I'F. to each 

 60 feet. 



Dr. C. R. Van Hise, referring to the "character of the folds 

 in Marquette iron district," called attention to the fact that 

 what has been considered a synclinal is really a great synclin- 

 orium, having a nearly east-west axis, and having both the north 

 and the south limbs pushed under, producing a complex fold 

 with overturned minor folds, and comparable to some of those 

 which Heim has described from the Alps. 



Prof. C. D. Walcott exhibited beautiful specimens of trilobites 

 which he had collected from the Utica shale of New York, on 

 which the antennae and legs were remarkably well preserved. 

 Mr. F. P. Gulliver exhibited beautiful papier mache models, one 

 of the sand plain at Newtonville, Mass., and a second showing 

 the theoretical conditions at the time of its formation. 



A paper entitled " Alditional Fac!ts Bearing on the Unity of 

 the Glacial Period," was read by Prof. G. F. Wright, consecu- 

 tively with one by Frank Leverett on " Changes of Drainage in 

 the Rock River IJasin in Illinois." The latter is important as 



NO. I 246, VOL. 48] 



affording means of estimating the amount of erosion in inter- 

 glacial compared with that of post-glacial time. The ' wide 

 pre-glacial channel of the Rock is followed to the Green River 

 Basin near Inlet Swamp, when it is choked up by accumulations 

 of drift. The change to the present course is located early in 

 the glacial period, since the present valley can be shown to have 

 been opened to about its present size and depth prior to the 

 formation of the kettle moraine of the Green Bay lobe, the gravels 

 which occupy the new course of the river being derived from the 

 ice-sheet at the time the moraine was forming near the head 

 waters of the river. These gravels are traceable up to the head of 

 the moraine as a moraine-headed terrace. It is found that the 

 post-glacial erosion in the river valley is only one-half that 

 accomplished in inter-glacial time, and whereas the post-glacial 

 erosion is mainly in gravel and sand, the inter-glacial erosion 

 was mainly in rock strata. This seems to Mr. Leverett to 

 warrant the use of the term epoch rather than episode to 

 characterise these time relations. 



Mr. Warren Upham, in his paper on "Tertiary and Quarter- 

 nary Stream Erosion in North America," argued from stream 

 erosion that an epeirogenic uplift preceded and probably pro- 

 duced the glacial epoch. 



Section F (Zoology) having been severed from botany by the 

 new amendment to the constitution, had comparatively few 

 papers. The president. Prof. H. F. Osborn, carried en the 

 line of thought contained in his annual address, by a paper on 

 "The Mammals of the Upper Cretaceous," in which he pro- 

 posed a system of classification and evolution materially differ- 

 ing from that of Prof. Marsh, which has so long held its ground. 

 Prof. Osborn's studies lead him to more confidence in Ihe belief 

 that early forms are in many cases pretty highly specialised, and 

 that evolution by degradation plays a pretty important part in 

 biological investigation. This is quite in harmony with the 

 statement of the president-elect of the association. Dr. Brinton, 

 in his public address on " The Earliest Men," above noted, to 

 the effect that the evolution of man appears to have been per 

 saltum. 



.Section G (Botany) was organised at this meeting by division 

 of the old section of biology, and considered a large number of 

 papers of technical interest. Among the contributors were 

 Arthur, Beal, Galloway, Dr. and Mrs. Bridon, Barnes, Hal- 

 stead, MacMillan, Coville. Dr. Britton discussed the question 

 of nomenclature. 



Probably the proceedings of the Botanical Club were even 

 more interesting to botanists than those of the section, inasmuch 

 as the club organised the Botanical- Society of America with 

 twenty five charter members. Dr. Arthur exhibited to the 

 club two very interesting pieces of apparatus, one a rotatory 

 machine in which a germinating seed may be placed and sub- 

 jected for hours or days to centrifugal force instead of gravita- 

 tion. This apparatus gives the interesting result that the roots 

 grow in the direction of the centrifugal force, and the leaves 

 opposed to it. The other apparatus, called an auxanometer, 

 shows by ingenious automatic action the rate of growth of 

 plants. 



Section H (Anthropology) furnished the largest number of 

 papers. The first paper read in the section, by Washington 

 Matthews, on " Songs of Sequence of the Navajos," was illus- 

 trated by reproductions of the songs by the phonograph. Dr. 

 Joseph Jastrow gave an account of the system of psychclogic 

 investigation now pursued at the World's Fair. The recent 

 discoveries resulting from excavations at the ancient argillite 

 quarries on Geddes' Run, near the Delaware River, were pre- 

 sented by H. C. Mercer ; and Ernest Vo!k made some obser- 

 vations in regard to the use of argillite by prehistoric people, 

 as illustrated by explorations in the Delaware Valley. H. N. 

 Rust read several papers on California Indians and imple- 

 ments. Prof. G. F. Wright presented a summary of the 

 evidence in favour of the existence of glacial man in America, 

 which commanded general attention because of the personal 

 abuse to which Prof. Wright has recently been subjected. The 

 subject was discussed at some length, and Prof. Wright's con- 

 clusions were violently attacked by Mr. McGee. Dr. Brinton 

 read a paper on the "Mexican Calendar System," which he 

 pronounces an anomaly, having no relation to the period either 

 of solar or lunar revolution. It consits of 20 x 13, or 260 

 days. The 20 is a double digital basis. The 13 seems in- 

 explicable. 



The excursion of this section on Monday afternoon gave an 

 opportunity to visit a group of effigy mounds just across Lake 



