GENERAL MEETING. eo 
for eight miles in length, extending from 1,200 feet to 2,200 feet 
above tide water, within which the leaves of plants, shrubs, and 
flowers remain untouched by frost until the latter part of Decem- 
ber, and after a snow storm not a particle of snow remains within 
the belt, while the tops and sides of the mountains above and the 
valleys below will be covered. 
The verification of these alleged facts would be matters of interest 
in their economical and sanitary aspects, and would supply data 
for some interesting researches respecting the nocturnal stratifica- 
tion of the atmosphere. 
It is earnestly to be hoped that at some time we may have reli- 
able and continuous thermometrical observations at these and simi- 
lar stations, to determine the existence, extent, and temperature of 
such belts. 
Remarks were made on this communication by Mr. ALvorD. 
Mr. C. E. Dutron then made a communication on the 
GEOLOGY OF THE HAWAIIAN ISLANDS. 
[ Abstract. ] 
On the slopes of Mauna Loa are sea beaches, terraces, coral 
sands, and other evidences of shore action at various levels. The 
highest that can be positively announced has an altitude of 2,800 
feet above the ocean. It can be traced a large part of the way 
around the island, being discernible even when covered by more 
recent lava. It does not now lie horizontal, but descends from 
2,800 to 400 feet, while on the adjoining island, Maui, there is 
evidence of submergence. On the farther (western) side of Maui, 
and on other islands beyond, there is again evidence of upheaval. 
All the lavas of the islands are basaltic. Those of Mauna Loa 
and Kilauea are abnormally basic and are related to certain lavas 
of New Zealand, called by Mr. Judd “ ultra-basalts.” ‘The New 
Zealand rock consists chiefly of olivine; that of Mauna Loa is 
sometimes more than half olivine, and contains much magnetite 
and hematite. A Greenland lava, classed also as ultra-basalt, 
contains the only known native iron of telluric origin. As this 
suggests the iron meteorites, so the basalts of New Zealand and 
Mauna Loa suggest the stony meteorites. 
The volume of the eruptions of Mauna Loa is enormous; that of 
1855 would nearly build Vesuvius, and two of prehistoric date 
