October 11, 1895.] 



SCIENCE. 



491 



SCIENTIFIC JOURNALS. 

 JOURNAL OF GEOLOGY, AUGUST-SEPTEMBER. 



James Divight Dana and His Work as a Geol- 

 ogist: By H. S. Williams. Prof. Dana's con- 

 tributions to the geology of tliis country are so 

 many and so varied, tliey are such a funda- 

 mental part of our knowledge, that so long as 

 the science endures he cannot be forgotten. 

 Prof. Williams has succeeded in bringing to- 

 gether the salient features of his work iu a very 

 satisfactory manner. 



Glacial and Interglacial Deposits near Toronto : 

 By A. P. CoLEMAK. The question whether 

 there was one or two or more glacial epochs 

 has been so long and earnestly discussed that 

 we hail with pleasure any decisive and positive 

 contributions to the subject. Such is this article 

 by Mr. Coleman. He finds in the cliffs near 

 Toronto three beds of till separated by stratified 

 material. Between the lower and middle till 

 the stratified material is 140 feet of laminated 

 clay and sand, while between the middle and 

 upper till there is seventy to one hundred feet 

 of sand and clay. In the first of these a larger 

 collection of fossils has been found than iu any 

 like deijosit in the world. Among insects five 

 families, fifteen genera and twenty-nine species 

 -are represented. These are all extinct forms 

 and may be considered as indigenous to the lo- 

 cality and not decidedly boreal. Of vegetable 

 remains fifteen species were represented. These, 

 according to Dr. Macoun, indicate a climate 

 like that of the northern part of the Gulf of 

 St. Lawrence or southern Labrador. There 

 was no sign of ice action, but rather of quiet 

 water conditions. In the valley of the Don, a 

 few miles away, apparently in the same rela- 

 tions to the till, many unios were found, a few 

 gasteropods and specimens of the wood of Oak, 

 Ash, Elm, Pawpaw and Osage Orange were 

 found. These point to a climate as wai-m as 

 that of Toronto at present, if not as warm as 

 Ohio. The unios are such as chiefly now be- 

 long to the Mississippi basin and not to the St. 

 Lawrence. In addition to the lapse of time in- 

 dicated by the deposit of these one hundred 

 and forty feet of fine sediments he finds an 

 erosion interval represented by ninety feet deep 

 and one-half mile wide cut iu the deposits after 



their emergence and before the succeeding beds 

 were formed. Above these beds is thirty feet 

 of till consisting of a blue calcareous clay with 

 striated erratics of limestone and Utica shale, 

 together with Laurentian bowlders. Then fol- 

 lows about one hundred feet of stratified sand 

 and gravel, which has no fossils and shows evi- 

 dence of the not-distant presence of the ice. 

 The upper till is twenty to thirty feet thick and 

 contains striated erratics of limestone, shale 

 and gneiss. Mr. Coleman seems to make a very 

 strong case for one important interglacial epoch 

 and one subordinate interglacial episode. 



Origin of Certain Features of Coal Basins : By 

 H. F. Bain. A description of the coal basins 

 of Iowa as throwing light on coal horizons in 

 general. 



Preglacial Gravels on the Quartzite Range Near 

 Baraboo, Wis. : By E. D. Salisbuey. Cer- 

 tain peculiar gravels are found at high levels in 

 Wisconsin and surrounding States which differ 

 from all glacial gravels. The author discusses 

 the significance of these, suggests a correlation 

 and concludes that the area indicated was sub- 

 merged much later than had been supposed, 

 possibly as late as the Cretaceous or Tertiary. 

 Glacial Studies in Greenland: By T. C. 

 Chambeelin. This is one of a series of papers 

 founded on the personal observations of the 

 author during the last summer. They embody 

 some rather unique additions to our knowledge 

 of the formation and work of glaciers. 



The Upper Paleozoic Rocks of Central Kansas : 

 By C. S. Peossee. This is a description and 

 correlation of the rocks of Kansas. 



Summary of Current Pre- Cambrian North A meri- 

 can Literature: By C. R. Van Hise. Since 

 the introduction of the microscope into geolog- 

 ical study a fiood of light has been thrown upon 

 this difiicult field — the pre-Cambrian rocks. 

 Many investigators are working and there has 

 come to be an extensive literature. Prof. Van 

 Hise brings together this literature and en- 

 deavors to interpret it. 



THE AMEEICAN GEOLOGIST, OCTOBEE. 



The Synchronism of the Lake Superior Region 

 with other portions of the North American Conti- 

 nent: By N. H. WiNCHELL. The author shows 

 that a close similarity exists between the pre- 



