128 PROCEEDINGS OF THE CANADIAN INSTITUTE. 



a dyke of igneous rock which, in its passage through a bed of 

 argillite, had metamorphosed contiguous portions of it into 

 quartz, feldspar and mica. If the rock in such a locahty 

 retained traces of its original bedding, or if the crystalline 

 particles assumed a parallelism in the direction of least resist- 

 ance, we should have metamorphic gneiss. Mr. Dale had 

 visited, during the previous summer, a locality in Massachu- 

 setts where fine-grained gneiss was inter-bedded with mica 

 schist, both evidently of metamorphic origin. The paper 

 was an instructive one, and would promote just views on the 

 subject. The upshot of the present difference of opinion on 

 the origin of gneiss would probably be that it would be de- 

 termined that gneiss might be either of igneous or of meta- 

 morphic origin. 



Mr. VanderSmissen introduced Mr. C. N. Bell, of The 

 Manitoba Historical and Scientific Society, who gave an 

 interesting account of the Mounds of Northern Minnesota, 

 Manitoba, and the Rainy River Valley, and of the contents 

 of those at the opening of which he assisted. He exhibited 

 a photograph of a copper hook found by Mr. Richardson, a 

 C. P. Railway surveyor, at the bottom of a deep pocket in the 

 Laurentian rocks, 30 feet below the surface, on the bank of 

 the Pic River. In answer to a question from Mr. Vander- 

 Smissen, he gave some figures as to the cost of the explora- 

 tion of these mounds. 



Mr. Boyle moved a vote of thanks to Mr. Bell, which was 

 seconded by Mr. Bain and carried. 



TWELFTH MEETING. 

 The Twelfth Meeting was held on 20th February, 1886, 

 the President in the chair. 



The following list of Donations and Exchanges was read : 



1. Le Naturalists Canadien, Vol. XV"., No. 8. 



2. From Cornell University, Ithaca, N.Y. : 



(1) Annual Reports of the President for 1881, 1883, 1884, 1885. None 

 published for 1882. 



