Miscellanies. 399 



26. Lycopodium. — On the morning of May 22, 1839, between 2 

 and 3 o'clock, a shower of rain was falling in Troy, (New York,) and 

 soon after a yellow substance was observed on the tinned roof of a 

 house, as well as on all the flat roofs in the vicinity,* and was wash- 

 ed oft" by the rain. The highly characteristic flash which it gives in 

 the flame of a candle, resembling lightning, leaves no doubt of its 

 identity with lycopodium, or at least of its belonging to the same fam- 

 ily. The ground pine or club-moss is the humble representative of 

 this family in modern times ; none of the species ever attain a greater 

 height than a few feet, whereas at the coal era there were trees of 

 this family which attained a height of 60 or 70 feet in the stem. 



Prof. Eaton and the botanists in Troy have probably long since de- 

 termined from what source this yellow powder was brought by the 

 winds. The specimen has only now arrived, or it would have been 

 mentioned before. 



The substance is probably a collection of the sporules, (or powder 

 performing the office of seeds in the flowering plants) of the Lyco- 

 podium clavatum, or other species of the Lycopodiaceee, (or club 

 mosses.) These sporules are well known to be highly inflammable. 



The above facts as well as the specimen have been communicated 

 to us by the politeness of Mr. Avery J. Skilton, of Troy. — Eds. 



27. The burning of MonJcton Pond, Fit.— The following account 

 was given me by Dr. Smith, of Monkton. He says his father, broth- 

 er, and himself were burning briars early in the spring near the pond, 

 and in an instant the pond took fire with a terrible roar; in a fright, 

 they fled away from it, and when they looked back they saw the blaze 

 to rise many yards high, and although it was a calm day, and the 

 pond still till that moment, the water became agitated in great waves, 

 and the roaring of the fire was heard several miles. Dr. Smith was 

 a man of strict veracity, and the statement of facts can be relied on. 

 He says the blaze settled lower and lower till it was extinct. 



S. Fansher. 



28. Bone Cavern. — Extract of a letter to the Editors from Mr, W^ 

 Gaylord, dated Otisco, N. Y., Aug. 3, 1839. 



" My dear Sirs — In looking over a Philadelphia paper a few days 

 since, I saw it stated that a cave had been lately discovered on the 

 bank of the Susquehannah, in constructing the railroad near Harris- 

 burg, and in noticing it, the Harrisburg Keystone states ' that its 

 depth is about 20 feet, its extent unknown. Bones of various kinds 



^ There is an account in Dr. Mitchill's Med. Repos. (Vol. 3, p. 414,) of a yel- 

 low deposit from rain, which fell at New York, April 12, 1800. 



