180 Reviews — Bulletin of the United States Survey. 



jMr. J. S. Diller describes " A late Volcanic eruption in Northern 

 California" (79). The cinder cone, 10 ru. N.E. of Lassen Peak, 

 marks the scene of one of the very latest volcanic eruptions in the 

 United States, and is composed wholly of ejecta inclosing a perfect 

 crater 240 feet deep. Two epochs of eruption are noted as having 

 taken place, the first about 100 years before the American revolution, 

 the second at a much later date, but more than 50 years ago. The 

 lava, which is a basalt, is especially noteworthy on account of the 

 phenocrystic quartz which it contains. 



The " Stratigraphy of the Bituminous Coal-field of Pennsylvania, 

 Ohio, and West Virginia" (65), is dealt with by Mr. J. C. White in 

 a very exhaustive manner, and illustrated by no less than 152 wood- 

 cuts of sections in 212 pp. of text. "Correlation Papers" form the 

 subject of two Nos. (80 and 81), "Devonian and Carboniferous by 

 H. S. Williams," and " Cambrian by C. D. Walcott." Both these 

 are bulky papers, and as thej^ summarize the results obtained by all 

 previous observers, their extreme value to all students of Paleeozoio 

 geology cannot be overrated. 



In Bulletin No. 77 is presented a summary of the evidence that 

 may be accepted as indicating the Permian age of a certain series 

 of strata in Western Texas, which have been referred sometimes to 

 the Trias and sometimes to the Permian. The discovery in these 

 beds is moreover recorded of certain types of invertebrate fossils 

 which are usually regarded as indicative of Mesozoic age, com- 

 mingled with a considerable number of Carboniferous types, 

 including well-known Coal-measure species. 



Two important compilations relating to fossil Insects come from 

 the pen of Mr. H. S. Scudder : — No. 69 " A classed and annotated 

 Bibliography of fossil Insects" pp. 101, and No. 71 "Index to the 

 known fossil Insects of the world, including Myriapods and 

 Arachnids," pp. 744. What, we wonder, would the authorities of 

 H. M. Stationery Office sa}^ were our Survey to suggest the publica- 

 tion of a series of useful bibliographies such as these? The fiist 

 is an extension to date of the one published in 1882 by the Harvard 

 University as No. 13 of their " Bibliographical Contributions," when 

 it only covered half the number of pages it now takes up. Some 

 of the increased space is of course due to the repetition of titles 

 entailed by the adoption of the classified form in the later edition ; 

 but still more to the careful manner in which references bearing in 

 any way on the suliject have been looked up and included. 



The " Bibliography " is supplemented by the " Index," which is 

 a work no palseontologist, even if it be not his special subject, can well 

 afford to be without ; and is exactly what its title describes. The 

 only improvement which suggests itself is that it would have been 

 well to add when possible where the type specimen is now to be seen. 



"The Minerals of North Carolina by F. A. Genth " (74) is essentially 

 a new edition of the report published by the Geological Survey of 

 North Carolina in 1881. In the present memoir many new analyses 

 will be found ; whilst the " Synopsis of Minerals and Mineral 

 Localities, by Counties," with which the work terminates, will be of 

 especial value to the field geologist and the collector of minerals. 



