386 



SCIENCE. 



[Vol. II., No. 32. 



would form a similar wall along the railroad between 

 Philadelphia and New York 100 feet wide and 268 

 feet high. It was estimated that the region originally 

 contained 25,000,000,000 tons. If it he assumed that 

 in the production of 500,333,695 tons an area has 

 been practically exhausted which originally contained 

 1,500,000,000 tons, there is 94% of the coal origi- 

 jially contained which still remains untouched. In 

 comparing the anthracite region with the bitumi- 

 nous fields of England, the estimated contents of the 

 former is about one-sixth of what the most recent 

 estimates assign to the latter. About the same pro- 

 portion exists between the annual production of 

 Pennsylvania anthracite and English bituminous. 

 Mr. Ashburuer stated the estimates were based upon 

 very general, but at present the most reliable data. 

 The geological-survey estimates have not yet ex- 

 tended beyond the Panther Creek basin, between 

 Mauch Chunk and Tamaqua. It was stated that 

 this basin originally contained 1,032,000,000 tons of 

 coal, — double the amount which has already been 

 shipped from the entire region. An area had been 

 mined over in this basin, up to last January, which 

 originally contained about 92,000,000 tons, so that 

 91% of the original coal still remains untouched. 

 About 88% of the coal which has been rained from 

 this basin was taken from the mammoth bed." 



In a subsequent communication to the same paper, 

 Mr. Ashburner disclaims having made any statements 

 with regard to the exhaustion of the anthracite coal- 

 fields of Pennsylvania, with which he had been 

 credited by various newspapers. He adds, however, 

 that Mr. P. W. Sheafer, who has probably given this 

 subject more careful consideration than anyone else, 

 has made a very general statement that the field 

 still contains about 25,000,000,000 tons of coal. Up to 

 Jan. 1, 1883, he had estimated that the total produc- 

 tion amounted to 509,333,695 tons. It has been gener- 

 ally thought that but one-third of the coal contained 

 has been consumed as fuel ; so that, up to last January, 

 an area had been exhausted which originally contained 

 about 1,-500,000,000 tons, 23,500,000,000 tons remain- 

 ing untouched. If this same proportion of produc- 

 tion to original content be applied to that which still 

 remains, about 8,000,000,000 tons would represent the 

 possible future producticm. According to the mine- 

 inspector's report, there was produced last year 

 31,281,066 tons. If this production should remain 

 constant for all future time, the field would be ex- 

 hausted in a little over 250 years. Such a conclusion 

 is quite untenable, for our yearly production is rap- 

 idly increasing. In 1870 there was shipped from the 

 region 16,182,191 tons, and in 1880, 23,437,242 tons. 

 The abrupt exhaustion of the coal-fields is a practical 

 impossibility; nor is it reasonable to suppose, that, 

 if on an average for every ton of coal won there are 

 two lost, this will be the practice in future mining. 

 The geological survey has already in its possession 

 many valuable facts to throw light on this subject; 

 but, as it is hoped that the survey will be completed 

 before this question of ultimate exhaustion will be- 

 come one of practical concern, it would be folly to 

 make any statement as to how long the coal will last. 



— M. Dauhree has been examining an interesting 

 meteorite which fell not far from Nogoga, iu the 

 province of Entre Ilios, Argentine Republic. Chemi- 

 cal analysis proves that the meteorite contains iron, 

 lime, and magnesia; but its most important feature 

 is, that it is said to contain carbon in an organic 

 form, which is chiefly proved by the action of potash 

 in it. M. Daubr^e from this is led to hope that he 

 may yet find organic remains in a meteorite. 



— In the September ^-UZaniiC, Bradford Torrey prints 

 some studies in the temperaments of bii'ds, which 

 will interest ornithologists, as they are made from 

 personal observation. The chickadee, goldfinch, 

 brown thrush, towbee, blue-jay, shrike, white-eyed 

 vireo, and chat, and the New-England species of 

 Hylocichlae, are discussed. 



— The Florence newspapers announce the acqui- 

 sition of a skull of Mastodon arvernensis by the Isti- 

 tuto di studii superiori. Professor d'Ancona writes to 

 La nazione, that it was found through excavations that 

 were making in pliocene deposits in the neighbor- 

 hood of Percussina, situated about two hundred 

 metres above the sea, between Siena and Florence. 



— In his recent work on cultivated plants, DeCan- 

 dolle says, " In the history of cultivated plants I have 

 found no indication of communications between the 

 inhabitants of the old and new world anterior to the 

 discovery of America by Columbus. The Gulf Stream 

 has equally been without effect. Between America 

 and Asia, two transportations may have been effected ; 

 one by man (the batatas), the other by man or by the 

 sea (cocoa-nut)." Drs. Gray and Trumbull, in com- 

 menting on this in the last number of the American 

 journal of science, say, "Perhaps the banana should 

 be ranked with the sweet-potato in this regard. And 

 we may merely conjecture that the purslain came 

 to our eastern coast with the Scandinavians or the 

 Basques." 



— Ostrich-chicks are hatching out at the ostrich- 

 farm near Anaheim, Cal., at the rate of one a day. 

 When they first come out of the egg, they are about 

 the size of a half-grown duck. They have good ap- 

 petites, and grow rapidly. 



— Means of transportation are rapidly increasing 

 on the borders of countries not within the recognized 

 bounds of civilization. Thus it is aimounced that 

 the journey from Paris to Algiers will shortly be re- 

 duced to thirty-three hours rail and steamer travel, 

 of which only sixteen will be by boat. Hitherto 

 passengers by the Marseilles line, in the regular rou- 

 tine of travel, have spent forty hours on the water 

 alone, beside the railway journey from Paris. 



— At the meeting of the French entomological 

 society, held July 11, Mr. E. Lefevre showed a large 

 solitary ant allied to Ponera, found about Hong Kong, 

 remarkable for the extraordinary development of its 

 mouth parts, and for its power of leaping; being able, 

 when disturbed, to make bounds of twenty to twenty- 

 five centimetres. The statement was confirmed by 

 the experience of earlier observers. As the legs are 

 in no way developed for springing, Mr. Lefevre was 

 inclined to thinlc that it was accomplished in some 

 way by its buccal organs. 



