xxxi] WASHINGTON TO SAN FRANCISCO 141 



wooded slopes above. In the flat valley-bottoms the white- 

 washed American planes were abundant, and in the villages 

 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 road-sides. This gives a delightfully rural aspect to 

 the whole place, and enables every one to enjoy an uninter- 

 rupted 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 7r, 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 



