34 
scope a section of wood from a well-lig- 
nitized piece found in the deposit. The 
specimen was coniferous and apparently 
a species of pine, or perhaps white spruce, 
but the tissue was too much distorted by 
compression for accurate comparison. 
Dr. Hollick exhibited the results ob- 
tained by macerating in water a quintity 
of the stratified deposit from the pond. 
The coarse vegetable debris floated to the 
top and was skimmed off, after which th: 
water was drained away and the residue 
which had settled at the bottom was dried. 
The former consisted of fr yments oftwigs 
and cone scales of white spruce, (Picea 
Canadensis B. S. P ) bark, and somesmiall 
particles of charcoal. The residue from 
the bottom was an exceedinyiy fine iv- 
organic powder, relatively small in 
amount and containing a few coarse 
angular fragmeuts of rock, varying in 
size from that ofa pius’ head to some as 
large as an orange pit. The abseace of 
auy irregularity in the layers of the deposit 
as a whole and the character of the ma- 
terial composing it, indicated a gradual 
and quiet accumulation by zolian agency 
rather thau by ruuuing water and this 
would also infer a longer period of time 
for accumutation than if due to streams 
depositing material in the pond, 
Another interesting fact is that although 
the inorganic material is apparently iden- 
tical with that of the moraive surround- 
ing it the red coloring so characteristic 
of the latter is absent, due to the reduc- 
tion of the red iron oxide by the chemi- 
cal action of the decaying vegetation In 
some of the coarser fragments of shale 
and sandstone, however, this reduction 
may be seen to be only superficial and 
the red color may be fouid by breaking 
them open. The decolorizing influence 
niay also be seen to extend into the 
soil of the moraine for some distance 
from the limits of the pond deposit. 
MINOR NOTES. 
Mr. Kerr exhibited branches of the 
common pitch pine (Pinus rigida Mill), 
representing shoots growing from old 
stumps, in wiich each sheath of needles 
was subtended by a linear bract about an 
inch in length. Asthe normal branches 
of the tree do not bear these bracts it was 
suggested that they perhaps were an in- 
dication of atavism. 
