38 



SCIENCE. 



[Vol. ir., No. 23. 



from a hundred or more that occurred to me. 

 No effort has been made in the diagram to copy 

 the actual appearances seen on the river-bank. 



V A 1? V Y t 

 A V ^ A A ^ 



\\° 



WAA 



[ZD 



IZZI 



ii Ji. i U <^ 6 



An essentiallj' different stjde of representation 

 would be needed in order to convey a just con- 

 ception of the effect of the scene I witnessed. 

 With the exception of the herring-bone figure, 

 I cannot profess that either of the figures of 

 the diagram is like anj- of those I saw in New 

 Brunswick. It is to be remembered, however, 

 that, whatever the forms maj' be that are pro- 

 duced bj' reflection from one particular bank 

 of rock, the same kinds of forms will usually 

 and probably be repeated again and again with 

 the result that a pattern or ' design ' will be 

 produced. 



I consider myself so little qualified to look 

 up a matter whoUj' foreign to mj^ usual studies, 

 that I have made no effort to search for rec- 

 ords of observations similar to the one here 

 described, though I am stronglj' inclined to 

 believe that such records must exist. I would 

 say merelj', that on again steaming up the 

 Magaguidavic River at a time when a breeze 

 was stirring, and the surface of the water was 

 ruffled, I saw none of the picturing excepting in 

 one quiet nook or cove, where a series of really 

 superb herring-bone figures was produced by 

 reflection from the surface of the calm water 

 of the lines of stratification between the beds 

 of rock, which were here tilted at a consider- 

 able angle. Although during this second visit 

 I saw none of the ' reeding,' or of the other 

 kinds of symmetrical figures which had so much 

 impressed me before, the multiplicitj- of the 

 herring-bones, i.e., the continued repetition of 

 this figure, was specially noteworthy'. A pecul- 

 iar kind of beauty or sense of satisfaction to 

 the ej-e was thus obtained, which a single figure 

 would clearlj- not have been competent to give. 

 It is reasonable to suppose, that wherever 



complete herring-bone figures are formed, as 

 here, by reflection of those lines between the 

 lavers of rock which are continuous, and, so to 

 sa}-, perfect, a variet}' of related or derived 

 figures will be produced b}' the reflection of 

 lines which are not continuous ; that is to say, 

 the reflections from lines that are imperfect in 

 anj' waj-, or broken into various lengths, would 

 give rise to hieroglyphic characters in consid- 

 erable varietj', though they might all belong to 

 one common group or kind. 



At the time of my second visit to the river, I 

 could see no reason to doubt that the figures 

 might be seen almost any daj* when the time 

 of high tide, and consequentl}- of a full river, 

 happened to be coincident with the calm 

 moments so common in summer at the hours 

 not far from sunrise and sunset. 



As bearing on the question of human imita- 

 tion, it is of interest to note, that while herring- 

 bone patterns would natarall}' be produced 

 wherever the lines of stratification of tilted 

 layers of rock are reflected from calm water,, 

 i.e. , in numberless localities, it is precisel}' thes& 

 figures which have been most frequently de- 

 lineated bj' savages upon pottery and other im- 

 plements as one of their earliest artistic efforts.. 



Excepting the two instances here recorded,. 

 1 have never noticed anj' such figures in the- 

 course of my own travels, nor have I heard of 

 their being seen \>j others. I am assured, 

 moreover, by several of the most competent, 

 and experienced observers of m3' acquaintance,, 

 that they have never witnessed anj' thing simi- 

 lar. I expect, however, for mj' own part, to- 

 see such figures from this time forth, when 

 opportunity offers, and I trust that many other 

 persons will do so. It is to be hoped, withal, 

 that some of the more noteworthy effects of 

 this sort maj' be accurately depicted. 



F. H. Stoker. . 



THE AMERICAN SWAMP CYPRESS. 



The following observations on the bald or 

 swamp cypress of the southern states are 

 condensed from the forthcoming second volume 

 of the memoirs of the Kentucky geological 

 survey. The3' embodj- the results of certain 

 inquiries which show that this peculiar tree 

 deserves more studj' than has been given to 

 it by our botanists. 



The Taxodium distichum is, as is well 

 known, a common tree in the swamps of the 

 southern states, extending from New Jersey 

 to Texas, and northwardly in the Mississippi 

 valley, to the lowlands of southern Illinois. 

 It has several titles to distinction : it is not. 



