542 



SCIENCE 



[N. S. Vol. XL VI. No. 1196 



listed species were found in tlie Brusli Creek. 

 Besides the writer, Messrs. S. B. Brown, 

 David White, J. W. Beede and E. V. 

 Hennen^ have examined the Uffington shale at 

 Ulfington and vicinity without discovering 

 marine fossils. 



Studies of the Conemaugh formation in 

 West Virginia and Maryland by the writer 

 have not revealed a marine fauna at this hori- 

 zon nor has such been reported by other ob- 

 servers in these and adjoining states, with 

 the exception of the instances mentioned 

 above and two other West Virginia localities 

 reported by Stevenson. These places are: in 

 Wirt county 8 miles north of Burning Springs^ 

 and at Outright in Upshur county.^" These 

 localities have since been studied by mem- 

 bers of the West Virginia Geological Survey 

 during the preparation of county reports. 

 From the similarity of the sections given by 

 the different observers-'-' the fossiliferous 

 members at these localities also appear to be 

 Brush Creek. 



In Ohio the shale is reported by Condit but 

 marine fossils were not found. 



The UiEngton shale may then be re-defined 

 as follows : 



The Uffington shale is a plant-bearing bed 

 of shale, frequently sandy in the lower por- 

 tion, of non-marine origin, occupying in 

 places the interval between the Upper Free- 

 port coal and the Mahoning sandstone, and 

 indicating by its variable thickness and un- 

 dulating upper surface that erosion took place 

 over the area of its outcrop before or during 

 the deposition of the Mahoning sandstone. 

 The maximum reported thickness of the shale 

 is 40 feet and, though lacking in many places, 



8 Oral communication from S. B. Brown and E. 

 V. Hennen. 



» Geol. Soc. America Bull., Vol. 17, 1906, p. 149. 

 "Carboniferous of the Appalachian Basin," by J. 

 J. Stevenson. 



10 Idem., p. 135. 



11 E. V. Hennen, W. Va. Geol. Surv., Wirt, Eoane 

 and Calhoun counties, Eept., 1911, p. 258 ; and I. C. 

 White, W. Va. Geol. Surv., Vol. II., 1903, p. 279 

 (recent field work by D. B. Eeger in the preparation 

 of a report on Upshur county confirms the corre- 

 lation of I. C. White) . 



its appearance at widely separated points in 

 Maryland, West Virginia and Ohio shows that 

 its former distribution was perhaps general 

 in the Appalachian Carboniferous area. 



W. Aemstrong Price 

 West Virginia UNrvEEsirv, 



BOSTON MEETING OF THE AMERICAN 

 CHEMICAL SOCIETY 



The fifty-fifth meeting of the American Chem- 

 ical Society was held at the Massachusetts Insti- 

 tute of Technology, Cambridge, Mass., from Sep- 

 tember 10 to September 13, inclusive. The gen- 

 eral program was carried out under the able leader- 

 ship of Professor Julius Stieglitz, president of the 

 society, and Dr. Charles L. Parsons, secretary, 

 while the local arrangements were under the di- 

 rection of Professor H. P. Talbot, assisted by the 

 chairmen of the numerous committees. The vari- 

 ous divisions were presided over by J. E. Brecken- 

 ridge, T. J. Bryan, E. H. S. Bailey, L. P. Kebler, 

 L. E. Weber, C. L. Alsberg, J. E. Bailey, H. P. 

 Talbot, and H. E. Howe. 



During the session, the usual order of business 

 was carried out, consisting of meetings of the 

 council, with general and public meetings. A 

 strong feature of the meeting was the stress placed 

 upon ' ' War Service of the Chemist. ' ' A shore 

 dinner at the Hotel Pemberton, held on Tuesday 

 evening, was much enjoyed ami served as a pleas- 

 ant break in the work before the Society. Wednes- 

 day evening was given over to the address by 

 President Stieglitz, who took for his subject, ' ' The 

 Outlook for Chemistry in the United States." 

 This address was printed in the issue of Science 

 for October 5. 



During the entire week, the time was taken up 

 by the reading of papers. 



DIVISION OP BIOLOGICAL CHEMISTRY 



C. L. Alsberg, Chairman. 

 1. K. Phelps, Vice-Chairman and Secretary. 



Abstracts have been received of the following 

 papers : 



Oxidase action in the nucleus: W. J. V. Oster- 

 HOUT. The Indian pipe {Monotropa uniflora) 

 contains a colorless chromogen which darkens on 

 oxidation. This process takes place more rapidly 

 in the nucleus than in the cytoplasm, indicating 

 that the nucleus is the center of oxidation in the 

 cell. 



The dynamics of the process of death: W. J. V. 

 OSTEKHOUT. Determinations of the electrical 



