SCIENCE. 



IVoi.. II., No. 22. 



cleaning lamp-chimneys. In this ball a num- 

 ber of roots also emerged from the lower side 

 of the ball, but only to re-enter it again, as in 

 the other cases. In no. 7 stems and roots 

 came out together indiscriminately, and from 

 all sides of the ball ; the roots, however, 

 after protruding from half an inch to an inch, 

 re-entering the ball or withering. This experi- 

 ment was twice repeated. In the first case 

 more stems appeared from the side of the ball 

 away from the face of the clock, and the greater 

 number of roots made their appearance on the 

 opposite side of the ball. It was observed in 

 this case, however, that the spindle slanted 

 about two degrees toward the clock. In the 

 next experiment the spindle was made hori- 

 zontal, and no difference as to place of emer- 

 ging of root and stem was observed. 



These experiments in combination appear to 

 show with clearness the influence of moisture 

 and gravitation in determining the course of 

 the root, and to suggest that the influence of 

 moisture is the stronger of the two. 



The emergence of the sensitive tips of the 

 primary- roots from the damp ball into the dry 

 atmosphere I suppose Darwin would have ex- 

 plained as the result of the persistence of the 

 impressions in the root behind. The horizon- 

 tally extending roots in the damp atmosphere, 

 both dark and light, suggest that the response 

 to gravitation in both cases was nil. May it not 

 be true that the diageotropism of roots is such in 

 no other sense than that of direction of growth ? 

 that it is in reality siniply a growing toward 

 the proper amount of moisture? This would 

 appear to explain the oblique direction of sec- 

 ondary branches, and the largely indifferent 

 direction of tertiarj' ones. The balls in the jart, 

 placed in the horizontal attitudes indicate that 

 the stem does not grow simply in a direction 

 opposite to that of the principal root, for they 

 were turned toward each other through an angle 

 of nearly ninetj- degrees. The two inverted 

 jars show that the stems did not seek a dry 

 atmosphere, for in both cases they grew up 

 into that which was more moist. The inverted 

 dark jar shows that the effect of the impact or 

 absorption of light on the lower half of the ball, 

 and the absence of these effects upon the upper 

 half, did not produce a sufficient contrast to 

 guide the stem into the light ; but since, of the 

 two jars placed in the horizontal attitude, only 

 the ball in the mouth of the glass one sent 

 stems into the jar, it seems possible, since 

 other conditions were alike, that light may 

 exert a small influence in guiding the stems 

 from the ground. F. H. King. 



River Falls, Wisconsin, May 17, 1883. 



SOME GLACIAL ACTION IN INDIANA. 



With members of my class in geolog3-, I 

 have been examining the glacial deposits in 

 this vicinity (Montgomery county). Our chief 

 water-course is what is called Sugar Creek, a 

 tributary of the AVabash River, whicli occupies 

 a valley with a general south-westerly bearing, 

 virtuallj' the same trend which the Wabash has 

 across the state before it makes its sharp bend 

 to the south. Along the vallej's of the Wabash 

 and Sugar Creek, there are abundant evidences 

 of a glacier which moved in the direction of the 

 vallej-s, and is known as the Lake Erie o;lacier, 

 as it advanced in the direction of tlie axis of 

 that lake, and so up the Maumee. and across 

 the low divide at Fort Wayne, into the Wabash. 

 Sugar Creek itself has been compelled to bend 

 sharply to the south a few miles to the west of 

 us by the deposits of this old glacier, and lias 

 cut its new channel through the soft subcar- 

 boniferous sandstone. At one place in this 

 count}', where the creek still occupies its pre- 

 giacial vallej^ it cuts through what we for- 

 merly considered a large terminal moraine, 

 which lies squarely across the valley. Recent 

 floods have swept away some of this moraine, 

 and laid bare the country rock. This rock is 

 found to be smoothly planed, and absolutel}' 

 covered with glacial scratches all trending 

 N. 20° W., or almost at right angles to the 

 valley of the creek and the course of the former 

 glacier. These scratches of the second glacier 

 are now found in many places throughout the 

 county ; and our old terminal moraine proves 

 to be a medial moraine, and bears upon its back 

 a line of huge bowlders with the same north- 

 westerly' trend. These facts are recorded here 

 in the hope that they may be of some use in 

 the consideration of a much-vexed question. 



Joiix M. Coulter. 



Wabash College, Crawfordsville, Ind. 



THE UNITED STATES FISH-COMMIS- 

 SION STEAMER ALBATROSS. 



I. 

 Proisauly no department of scientific inves- 

 tigation has made greater progi'css in its meth- 

 ods of work during the past ten years than 

 that of deep-sea research. The successful 

 introduction of steel piano-wire for sounding, 

 and of wire rope for dredging purposes, marks 

 a new era in this class of exploration, for 

 which credit is mainly due to American skill 

 and energy. While claiming so much in behalf 

 of our own country, we frankly acknowledge 

 that the only feasible method of using sound- 



