July 19, 1895.] 



SCIENCE. 



77 



1895 will be ready for the printer shortlj^ 

 after its close. 



It is divided into two parts: a bibli- 

 ogi'aphy and an index. The bibliography is 

 arranged alphabetically by authors' names 

 and contains the titles of each paper, place 

 of publication, references to abstracts and 

 reviews, and a brief summary of the con- 

 tents. The entries are numbered from 1 to 

 something over 1100 and are used for index 

 reference. The index of the four subjects 

 is published as a whole and is arranged al- 

 phabetically. Its geographic arrangement 

 is by States and Territories of the United 

 States and the other political divisions of 

 North America. The geologic subdivisions 

 are those of the different geologic periods 

 and dynamic, economic, glacial and physi- 

 ographic geology. The papers relating to 

 economic geology are arranged by con- 

 densed titles of papers under the different 

 geographic subdivisions which they de- 

 scribe, and there is also given a list of the 

 useful minerals and ores described. Under 

 mineralogy is given the condensed titles of 

 papers and a list of minerals described. 

 Petrology is divided geographically by the 

 States and countries in which the rocks de- 

 scribed occur and by a list of rocks de- 

 scribed. Paleontology is subdivided by the 

 different geologic periods and a list of 

 genei'a and species described. In each of 

 the lists of ores, minerals, rocks and genera 

 and species the paper in which they are de- 

 scribed is referred to by author's name and 

 number of the entry in the bibliography. 

 These represent the main features of the in- 

 dex. 



In making iip the bibUography the li- 

 brary catalogue card is used (size 4^x6i 

 inches). On one side is written the entry 

 that appears in the bibliography, and on the 

 other the subdivisions of the index under 

 which the paper is to be listed. In this 

 manner all the information in regard to 

 each paper is assembled on one card. Thus 



the indexing can be determined on while 

 the paper is still in hand, and, as soon as the 

 bibliography is complete, the task of mak- 

 ing up the index can be easily and rapidly 

 accomplished. 



The following specimen card illustrates 

 the plan: 



FACE or CARD. 



Hill (Eobert T.), Geology of parts of Texas, Indian 

 Territory and Arkansas adjacent to the Red River. 

 Geol. Soc. Am., Bull., vol. 5, pp. 297-338, pis. 

 12-13, figs. 1-4. 



Describes the physiography of the region. Gives 

 a list of the Cretaceous, Tertiary and Pleistocene 

 formations and their subdivisions, whose outcrops 

 at different localities are described. Gives lists 

 of fossils found at certain horizons, discusses 

 the oscillations of land and sea, and includes the 

 author's conclusions as to the Cretaceous section 

 of the region. Plate 12 contains a geologic map 

 and cross sections. 



BACK or CAED. 



Texas, Arkansas, Indian Territory, Cretaceous, 

 Eocene, Pleistocene, Paleontology (Cretaceous), 

 Physiogi-aphic geology. 



The work has been conducted along with 

 other office work, and hence only an approx- 

 imation as to the length of time required to 

 complete a year's bibliography of this kind 

 can be made. It is believed that from four 

 to five months' time of one person will be 

 required to examine the literature, prepare 

 the manuscript and read the proof. With 

 skilled clei-ical assistance much more could 

 be accomplished in the same time. 



F. B. Weeks. 



U. S. Geological Survey. 



VOLCANIC DUST. 



Several notices of volcanic dust have 

 appeared recently in Science. It may be 

 interesting, perhaps, to some of the readers 

 of Science to learn that a large deposit of 

 of volcanic dust occurs in central Kansas, 

 in McPherson Co., just north of the water- 

 shed between the Smoky Hill and Little 

 Arkansas, and in the great depression ex- 

 tending from Salina to the Little Arkansas. 



