February 18, 1898.] 



SCIENCE. 



235 



At this point the suiTace is said to have 

 rolled like the groundswells of the ocean, 

 springs were muddied and in some cases 

 <;ea8ed to flow for a short time after the 

 shock occurred, and a landslide of consider- 

 able proportions and a big rock rolled down 

 off the face of Wolf Creek Mountain. The 

 latter is no indication of great intensity, 

 for the slopes of the mountain are so steep 

 that a slide is liable to start at any time, 

 and the blocks of sandstone have frequently 

 such a precarious foothold that they will 

 start with the slightest disturbance. 



In the valley of Wolf Creek the testi- 

 mony regarding the direction from which 

 the explosions came is conflicting. Some 

 thought that they came from immediately 

 beneath, and some were equally certain 

 that they came from the south— from the 

 base of Wolf Creek Mountain. At Pearis- 

 ■burg there is a general agreement that the 

 «ounds and shocks always came from the 

 west, or from the base of Angels' Eest. The 

 shocks which I experienced at Pearisburg 

 seemed to come from a little north of west, 

 or from the direction of the Narrows, and 

 they also appeared to come horizontally. 

 In the Sugar Run region the general ver- 

 dict was that they came from the north — 

 from under Pearis Mountain, or from the 

 west — from Big Horse Gap. In the vicin- 

 ity of Pearisburg and Sugar Run the 

 springs were disturbed, but not to the same 

 extent as in the valley of Wolf Creek. 



Pearis and Wolf Creek Mountains repre- 

 sent the two sides of a syncline whose point 

 is formed by Angels' Rest. The strata of 

 this basin are only slightly flexed, and it 

 seems strange that it should be the seat of 

 earth tremors. But when it is considered 

 that the great fault along Wolf Creek val- 

 ley dips toward the south at about 30 de- 

 grees it will be seen that the syncline is 

 comparatively shallow and overlies the 

 plane of the fault. Therefore, it seems 

 probable that, instead of originating in the 



mountain proper, the disturbance came 

 from movement along the fault plane 

 underneath the mountain. 



Movement along this fault plane is the 

 only hypothesis I could formulate to ac- 

 count for the phenomena, but if such move- 

 ment occurred it must have been so slight 

 as to be unrecognizable at the surface. 

 The reason for the pronounced disturbance 

 in and about Pearisbui'g is presumably the 

 cavernous condition of the limestone in 

 that region, apparently cSiusing it to act as 

 a sounding board, magnifying the sounds 

 and vibrations. Newport is also reported 

 to have suffered considerably from the 

 shocks ; this can be accounted for by the 

 hypothesis of movement on the fault, on 

 which it also is located. 



M. R. Campbell. 



Washington, D.C, December 18, 1897. 



BOTANICAL NOTES. 



DISTKIBUTION OF GOVERNMENT BOTANICAL 



PUBLICATIONS. 



It may not be generally known that 

 there are many valuable publications from 

 the several botanical divisions of the De- 

 partment of Agriculture which may be ob- 

 tained gratis or by the payment of a merely 

 nominal sum. The Superintendent of Doc- 

 uments has issued a handy list of the pub- 

 lications now in his hands, with prices 

 affixed. It will well repay every botanist 

 not regularly receiving these publications 

 to look over this list and secure valuable 

 books and papers for but a slight cost. 



A similar list has been issued by the Li- 

 brarian of the Geological Surve}' of Canada 

 (Ottawa), which contains the titles of 

 many pamphlets and maps of much botan- 

 ical value. The prices here again are very 

 reasonable. 



bailey's lessons with plants. 



Peofessoe Bailey has again earned the 

 gratitude of the public by bringing out a 



