Miscellanies. 193 



in the article I have noticed. Fearing that I may be mistaken in my 

 views, I will respectfully request Mr. T. to consider the subject far- 

 ther, and to give his opinion on the heating of water at vast depths and 

 under great pressure ; and to show, if possible, that the heated parti- 

 cles of water would not tend to the surface, but would be confined to the 

 bottom, forming there a stratum of hot water more dense than mar- 

 ble. If however the heating of the ocean at the bottom would be 

 attended with the same circumstances as the heating of a kettle in a 

 furnace, then the experiments of Peron, instead of going to disprove 

 the theory of Cordier, would, in the view of some^ furnish arguments 

 in favor of it, for it is known that the ocean continually gives off ca- 

 loric to the surrounding medium, and what source for a continual 

 supply of it can be found nearer at hand, than the interior heat of thfr 

 earth ? 



7. Proceedings of the Lyceum of JYatural History, of JV'ew York. 

 (Continued from Vol. XVI, p. 357. 



June, 1829. — Mr. Halsey offered for inspection branches of the 

 Tilia Americana and Gleditschia triacanthos which had been destroy- 

 ed by the bark and membrane beneath being taken off by some in- 

 sect, in a circular manner, as completely as if effected by a sharp cut- 

 ting instrument, and so effectually as to destroy all that part of the 

 twig above the spot thus girdled. This insect appears to be allied in 

 its habits to the Lamia destructor. Mr. Cooper presented specimens 

 of one hundred species of plants collected by himself in Kentucky, 

 Tennessee and Virginia, in August and September, 1828, with a crit- 

 ical catalogue prepared by Prof. Torrey. Among them were sev- 

 eral of the rarer plants observed by Michaux and the earlier bota- 

 nists, and some which are probably new. Dr. Holmes of Montreal 

 presented a large and valuable collection of minerals from York, 

 Grenville, &,c. but chiefly from the Rideau Canal, all in Upper 

 Canada. They comprised fine specimens of scapolite, tremolite, 

 hornstone, white pyroxene, (petalite ?) precious garnet, sahlite, apa- 

 tite, dodecahedral carbonate of lime and several varieties of iron ore. 

 Prof. Del Rio, late of the University of Mexico, read an account of 

 a new mineral from the vicinity of that city. It is a carbonate of 

 tellurium and bi-carbonate of nickel, occurring with oxide and mo- 

 lybdate of lead. Prof. Del Rio proposes to call it Herrenite. 

 Messrs. H. H. Eaton of Troy, and Isaac Lea of Philadelphia, were 

 elected corresponding members. 



Vol. XVIII.—No. 1. 25 



