VASSAR BROTHERS INSTITUTE. 281 
The earthquake which caused so great ruin at Charles- 
ton, and for a time occupied such general attention, 
very naturally suggested the subject of ‘‘ Karthquakes”’ 
for your chairman’s opening address on December 1, 
1886. 
On December 15, Prof. W..B. Dwight gave a detailed 
account—with illustrative specimens—of his ‘‘ Recent 
Discoveries of Fossiliferous Cambrian strata in Dutchess 
County.”’ 
— “BWrom Coal Tar to the Alizarine Dyes” was the sub- 
ject of an interesting address, January 12, 1887, by L. 
C. Cooley, Ph.D., and on February 9, Mr. C. L. Bristol 
reported his personal experiments in ‘‘ Iodine Blow- 
piping.’’? Miss Isabel Mulford, of Vassar college, read 
a paper February 23, on ‘‘ Bacteria,’ wherein she gave 
the methods employed in their ‘‘culture,’? and des- 
cribed several species—believed to be new—which she 
had recently discovered ; and on March 9, Miss Mary 
W. Whitney, of Vassar college, read a paper entitled 
‘New Stars in Andromeda and Orion,’’ which have 
appeared within the last two years. On March 23, C. 
B. Warring, Ph.D., read a paper on ‘‘ Continental Ev- 
olution,’? wherein he sought to explain, (1)—why the 
land rises above the ocean’s bottom; (2)—why the 
coasts of the Atlantic are parallel, and (8)—why those 
of the Pacific cut each other at right angles; and on 
April 20 he described an interesting geological forma- 
tion at Croton landing-on the Hudson. 
By the amended by-laws of the Institute the museum 
and the library are placed under the immediate care of 
this section, and the curator and librarian are made 
officers herein. This change, it is believed, will prove 
beneficial, and the hope is expressed that the donations 
hereafter received for the museum and library will be 
more systematically registered, and be more freely used 
165 
