240 



SCIENCE 



[N. S. Vol. XXIX. No. 736 



and often perpendicular, walls. Borings made 

 from the crater bottom vertically downward to a 

 maximum depth of some 1,100 feet pass through 

 a comparatively thin layer of lake bed material 

 and talus (rarely 100 feet in thickness) into a 

 zone of rock flour composed of the shattered gran- 

 ules of sandstone, and thence, at depths of about 

 650 feet below the crater bottom, into firm red- 

 brown sandstone. No traces whatever were found 

 of the ordinary volcanic products, as lava or 

 scoria, excepting such small particles as had 

 drifted from distant sources. 



While not committing himself definitely to the 

 theory of origin through impact of a gigantic 

 meteorite, and while pointing out the seeming 

 objections to such an hypothesis, the speaker 

 showed that nevertheless no other conclusion 

 seemed possible. Not merely had the borings in 

 all cases reached a firm rock bottom, but the 

 detritus thrown out, or now occupying the crater 

 bottom, was wholly of the nature of the lime-and- 

 sand stone (and its derivation products) forming 

 the upper 800 feet of the strata. 



The paper was illustrated by lantern slides. 



At the 211th meeting of the society, held on 

 December 9, 1908, Mr. F. E. Matthes presented 

 the following paper : " The Glacial Character of 

 the Yosemite Valley." 



The glacial character of the Yosemite Valley is 

 essentially a graded one — most pronounced at the 

 upper end, gradually fading downvalleyward and 

 ultimately vanishing at the lower end. This finds 

 its explanation in the circumstance that the valley 

 lay close to the periphery of the glaciated zone of 

 the Sierra Nevada. Only the strongest glacial 

 floods pushed any distance beyond the lower end 

 of the valley. Most of the ice floods were of 

 moderate volume and either barely reached its 

 lower end or did not advance more than half way 

 down the valley. The lower portion of the 

 Yosemite has, therefore, been invaded by ice only 

 at considerable intervals, and then by glacier ends 

 mostly. Its glaciation has been feeble and stream 

 erosion has ever had the upper hand in its fashion- 

 ing. The upper half of the valley, on the con- 

 trary, has suffered frequent and relatively vigor- 

 ous ice erosion and has consequently acquired a 

 much more typical glacial aspect. 



The gradation of the glacial character of the 

 Yosemite is interrupted and obscured by a variety 

 of aberrant sculptural features. These are ex- 

 plained by the selective action of the ice on rock- 

 masses of widely different degrees of fissility. 



The granites of the Yosemite region are noted for 

 their extreme and abrupt structural variations; 

 they range in character from the schistose to the 

 massive. The ice work in the valley was conse- 

 quently subject to the controlling and directive 

 influences of these exceptionally diverse struc- 

 tures. Again, the relative potency of these struc- 

 tural controls was the more marked because of 

 the moderate size and disrupting power of the ice 

 masses involved. 



At the close of Mr. Matthes's address the six- 

 teenth annual meeting of the society was held for 

 the purpose of electing officers, and the following 

 officers were elected for the ensuing year: 



President — ^Mr. George Otis Smith. 



Vice-presidents — Mr. M. R. Campbell and Mr. 

 T. W. Stanton. 



Secretaries — Messrs. Philip S. Smith and F. E. 

 Matthes. 



Treasurer — Mr. C. A. Fisher. 



Members at Large of the Council — W. C. Men- 

 denhall, Geo. W. Stose, Geo. H. Ashley, E. S. 

 Ba^tin, L. C. Graton. 



Ralph Arnold, 



Secretary 



THE CHEMICAL SOCIETY OF WASHINGTON 



The 187th regular and 25th annual meeting of 

 the Washington Chemical Society was held at the 

 Cosmos Club, Thursday evening, January 14, 1909. 

 President Walker presided, and the attendance 

 was 80. 



Two papers were read, viz.: 



" Technical Analysis of Water," by R. B. Dole, 

 of the Geological Survey. 



" Prevention of Dust on Highways," by Prevost 

 Hubbard, of the Division of Public Roads. 



The report of the secretary showed that 84 new 

 names had been added to, and 42 names removed 

 from the list of members during the past year. 

 The membership of the society is now over 230. 

 A proposed amendment to the by-laws, changing 

 the time and manner of holding the election of 

 officers, was submitted. The election of officers 

 resulted as follows: 



President— F. H. Walker. 



First Vice-president — G. H. Failyer. 



Secoiid Vice-president — W. W. Skinner. 



Secretary — J. A. LeClere. 



Treasurer — F. P. Dewey. 



Extra Members of the Executive Committee — H. 

 C. P. Weber, M. X. Sullivan, H. E. Patten, H. C. 

 Gore. 



J. A. LeCleec, 

 Secretary. 



