WASHINGTON TO SAN FRANCISCO 141 



peach trees were in blossom, but there was no sign of spring 

 foliage in the woods. We then passed through a country of 

 horizontal beds of rock, alternately hard and soft, looking like 

 our oolite, but really of silurian age. 



I remained in Cincinnati twelve days, met a good many 

 people who were very kind to me, and saw a good deal of 

 the very interesting country around the city. I also had the 

 use of the Cuvier Club, where there was a nice collection of 

 American birds, a library, reading-room, chess-room, etc., 

 equally accessible on Sunday as during the week. Among 

 my first visitors next morning was Mr. Charles Dury, an en- 

 thusiastic naturalist and collector, and Mr. R. H. Warder, also 

 fond of natural history. They took me to call on Mr. J. R. 

 Skinner, who showed me some fine arrow heads of jade, and 

 then took us for a drive round the beautiful suburb of Clifton, 

 where the handsome villas are scattered about a wooded park- 

 like country, with shrubs and wild flowers, but with no fences 

 of any kind, either between the different properties or along 

 the roadside. This gives a delightfully rural aspect to the 

 whole place, and enables every one to enjoy an uninterrupted 

 view over the hills and valleys, and also to walk across in any 

 direction that he may be going. Returning, Mr. Skinner 

 asked me to dine with him, and talked about spiritualism, 

 pyramid and Bible measures, etc., etc. For two hours he 

 poured out Hebrew names and mystic numbers, deducing k 

 and all kinds of geometrical data and measures from Hebrew 

 biblical names. He seemed to be a regular " paradoxer," and 

 afterwards gave me many papers he had published, but I was 

 quite unable to follow them, or to decide whether or not there 

 was anything of value in them. In all other subjects he was 

 a pleasant companion, interested in local antiquities, and an 

 enthusiastic lover of native birds. 



In the evening Dr. H. and Dr. L called on me. 



The former stayed an hour and a half, a great talker, mostly 

 about himself, his sayings and thinkings, his philosophy, his 

 admiration of Herbert Spencer, his recollection of Sir Charles 

 Lyell, etc., etc. On Saturday, May 16, I went with Mr. 

 Skinner to meet Mr. Warder at Valley Junction, about twenty 



