514 
NATURE 
[Sepz. 23, 1886 
part of the province of British Columbia. It consists of four 
main ranges, or, more correcily, systems of mountains, each in- 
cluding a number of component ranges. These mountain 
systems are, from east to west :—{1) The Rocky Mountains 
proper. (2) Mountains which may be classed together as the 
Gold Ranges. (3) The system of the Coast Ranges of British 
Columbia, sometimes improperly named the Cascade Range. 
(4) A mountain system which in its unsubmerged portions con- 
stitutes Vancouver and the Queen Charlotte Islands. The 
present paper refers to the Rocky Mountains proper. This 
system, between the 49th and 53rd parallels, has an average 
width of about sixty miles, which, in the vicinity of the Peace 
River, on the 56th parallel, decreases to about forty miles. It 
is bounded to the east by the Great Plains, which break into a 
series of foot-hills along its base; to the west by a remarkably 
straight and definite valley occupied by portions of the Columia, 
Kootanie, and other rivers. Since the early part of the cen‘ury 
the trade of the fur companies has traversed this ranze, chiefly 
by the Athabasca and Peace River Passes, but till the explora- 
tions effected by the expedition under Capt. Palliser in 1858-59, 
nothing was known in detail of the structure of the range. 
During the progress of the railway explorations a number of 
passes were examined, and in 1883 and 1884 that part of the 
range between the 49th parallel and latitude 51° 30’ was ex- 
plored and mapped in some detail in connection with the work of 
the Canadian Geological Survey by the author and his assistants. 
Access to this, the southern portion of the Rocky Mountains 
within Canadian territory, being now readily obtained by the 
railway, its mineral and other resources are receiving attention, 
while the magnificent alpine scenery which it affords is beginning 
to attract the attention of tourists and other travellers. The 
results of the reconnaissance work so far accomplished are here 
presented in the form of a preliminary map, accompanied by 
descriptions of routes and passes, and remarks on the main 
orographic features of the range. 
Surface Subsidence caused by Lateral Coal-Mining, by Prof. 
W. Benton, A.R.S.M.—A paper showing that a large amount 
of coal is annually sacrificed in British mining for the lateral 
support of neighbouring and disinterested surface proprietaries ; 
pointing out the results of this sacrifice, and enumerating the 
considerations which should govern the extent of this support. 
A New Form of Clinometer, by John Hopkinson, F.L.S., 
F.G.S.—A ‘‘day and night” compass-card is set to true north 
over the compass-needle, which necessarily points to magnetic 
north. The diameter of the card is less than the length of the 
needle, so that the points of the needle project beyond the card, 
and the correction made is seen and can be adjusted when 
required. The same result would be attained by placing the 
card below the needle. The clinometer dip is as usual below 
the magnetic needle, and can be easily seen outside the compass- 
card. The advantage of being able to take the amount and 
direction of the dip of strata with a single instrument without 
loss of time and liability to error in making the correction for 
magnetic deviation, and at the same time having the points of 
the compass exposed for more miiute observations if required, 
must be obvious. The present deviation is 17° 50’ W. of N., 
and it is lessening. The instrument was exhibited. 
Statistics of the Production and Value of Coal Raised within 
the British Empire, by Richard Meade, Mining Record Office. 
—This paper, prepared at the request of the Committee to 
accompany other papers on the Colonial coal resources, gave 
particulars of the quantity and value of coal raised for several 
years past, in many cases for ten years. We give here only the 
amount and value quoted for the latest year in each case :— 
Quanti le 
Date rey wees 
Queensland ... 1885 ... 209,500 ... not given 
New Zealand 1883 408,831 ... 360,622 
Victoria 1884 not given ... 3,280 
Natal 1883 5,000 ... 1,000 
Indiagi t=. | cet. nas, 92883) 1,315,976 ... 657,988 
Cape of Good Hope 1884 9,000 .., 7,250 
Tasmania w. =©1884 PETOU. |. or 6,381 
Canada ae cee LOH: 1,876,643 ... 619,336 
United Kingdom 1885 ... 159,351,418 ... 41,139,408 
On Canadian Examples of Supposed Fossil Alge, by Sir 
William Dawson, LL.D., F.R.S.—Markings of various kinds 
on the surfaces of stratified rocks have been loosely referred to 
Algze or Fucoids under a great variety of names; and when 
recently the attempt was made in Europe more critically to define 
- i 
and classify these objects, a great divergence of opinion deve- : 
loped itself, of which the recent memoirs of Nathorst, William-— 
son, Saporta, and Delgado may be taken as examples. The 
author, acting on a suggestion of Sir R. Owen, was enabled, in 
1862 and 1364, by the study of the footprints of the recent 
Limulus polyphemus, to show that not merely the impressions _ 
known as Protichnites and Climaclichnites, but also the sup: 
posed Fucoids of the genera Rusophycus, Arthrophycus, and 
Cruziant are really tracks of Crustacea, and not inprobably of 
Trilobites and Limuloids (‘On Footprints of Limulus,” Cana 
dian Naturalist, 1862; ‘On the Fossils of the Genus Ruso- 
phycus,” ibid. 1864). He had subsequently applied similar 
explanations to a variety of other impressions found on Paleo- 
zoic rocks (*‘On Footprints and Impressions of Aquatic Ani- 
mals,” American Fournal of Sience). The object of th 
present paper was to illustrate, by a number of additional ex- 
amples, the same conclusions, and especially to support the 
recent results of Nathorst and Williamson.  Rzsichnites, 
Artirichnites, Chrossochorda, and Cruziana, with other forms 
of so-called Bilobites, are closely allied to each other, and are 
explicable by reference to the impressions left by the swimming 
and walking feet of Limulus, and by the burrows of that animal. 
They pass into Protichnites by such forms as the P. Dvisid of 
Williamson, and Saerichnites of Billings, an1 Dislichnites of 
the autho. They are connected with the worm-trac<s of the 
genus Wereites by specimens of Arthrichnites, in which the 
central furrow becomes obsolete, and by the genus Gyrichnites 
of Whiteaves (7yansactions of the Royal Society of Canada, 
1883). The tuberculated impressions known as Piymztoderma 
and Cauderpites may, as Zeiller has shown, be made by the 
burrowing of the mole-crick+t, and fine examples occurring in 
the Clinton formation of Canada are probably the work of 
Crustacea. It is probabl2, however, that some of the later 
forms referred to these genera are really Algz related to Caulerpa, 
or evea brancies of Conifers of the genus Brachyphyllum. 
Nereites and Planulites are tracks and burrows of worms, with 
or without marks of setee, and some of the markings referred to 
Puleschorda, Paleobhycus, and Scolithus have their places 
here. Many examples highly illustrative of the manner of 
formation of these impressions are afforded by Canadian rocks. 
Branching forms referred to Licrophycus of Billings, and some 
of those referred to Buthotrephis, Hall, as well as radiating 
markings referable to Srotulithus, Gyrophyllites, and Asterophy- 
cus are explained by the branching burrows of worms illustrated 
by Nathorst and the author. Astvofolithon, of the Canadian 
Cambrian, seems to be something organic, but of what nature 
is uncertain. Rtadbdichnites and Lophyton belong to impressions 
explicable by the trails of drifting sea-weeds, the tail-markings 
of Crustacea, and the ruts ploughed by bivalve mollusks. 
Den trophycus, Dictyolites, some species of Delesserites, Aristo- 
Phycus, and other branching and frond-like forms, were shown 
to be referable to rill-marks, of which many fine forms occur in 
the Carboniferous of Nova Scotia, and also on the recent mud- 
flats of the Bay of Fundy. The genus Spirophyton, properly 
so called, is certainly of vegetable origin, but many markings o 
water-action, fin-marks, &c., have been confounded with these 
so called ‘*Cauda-galli Fucoids.” On the other hand, some 
species of Paleophy-us, Buthotrephis, and Sphenothallus were 
shown to be true Alga, by their forms and the evidence. of 
organic matter, and Aaliserites, Parrin leina, and Nemato- 
phycus were shown to include plants of much higher organisatio! 
than the Algz. With reference to the latter, it was held that 
the form to which the name Protofaxites had been given was really 
a land plant growing on the borders of the sea, and producing 
seeds fitted for flotation. On the other hand, certain forms to 
which he had given the name Wematoxylon were allied to Algee 
in their structure, and may have been of aquatic habit ; very 
perfectly preserved specimens of these last had been recently 
found, and had thrown new light on their structure. The author 
proposed to apply to all these problematical plants, having a 
tissue of vertical and horizontal tubes, the general name Vemato- 
phytee or Nematophyton. The paper referred to the history 
of opinion on these objects and the bibliography of the subject ; 
but this, as well as detailed descriptions, are omitted in this 
abstract. ? a 
Notes on some of the Problems nrw being Investigated by th 
Oficers of the Geological Survey in the North of lreland, chiefly 
in Co. Donegal, by Prof. E. Hull, LL.D., F.R.S.—The author 
stated that the investigations of the Survey were confined to the 
counties of Antrim and Donegal, and, restricting his observa- 
