778 
archeologic nomenclature. He presented a 
table in which he showed the distribution of 
certain types and forms of artifacts. 
Dr. Thomas Wilson, of the Smithsonian, has 
issued a number of reports in which he classifies 
and subdivides the multitudinous flint tools of 
the United States. Aside from this and what has 
been done by Messrs. Holmes, Fowke, Rau, Ab 
bott and others, the various museums and indi- 
viduals have confined themselves to the chron- 
icling of explorations rather than to the detailed 
study of objects. Some of the more remarkable 
art specimens in copper, clay and shell have 
been reported upon. But I think it is no ex- 
aggeration to say that museums direct their 
attention to the accumulation of vast stores of 
material. This is apparent to archeologists 
visiting any of the five larger museums. 
I agree with Mr. Douglass that too little 
attention is given towards the study of these 
interesting implements. By comparison and a 
careful study of localities and the objects them- 
selves, much is to be learned. 
I have begun several MSS. upon ‘ ornamen- 
tal and ceremonial stones,’ and ‘implements 
and utensils,’ etc. I shall be glad to have pho- 
tographs, drawings or descriptions, together 
with observations and opinions from persons in- 
terested in prehistoric archeology. I shall feel 
encouraged if a more serious study of stone, 
bone, shell and clay objects results from the 
undertaking, although other observers may take 
exceptions tomy views. An exchange of cor- 
respondence is desired. 
WARREN K. MOOREHEAD. 
SARANAC LAKE, N. Y. 
NOTES ON INORGANIC CHEMISTRY. 
In the Zeitschrift fiir praktische Geologie, H. 
Oehmichen describes some recently discovered 
auriferous cobalt ores in the Kruis river dis- 
trict in the Transvaal. The ore, which is 
found associated with diabase rocks, is exclu- 
sively smaltite, with its decomposition products, 
as erythrite, and carries gold to the amount of 
about 60 grams per ton. The gold seems to be 
in the smaltite, as no trace of free gold is 
found. Five kilometers further west is another 
deposit of pockets of smaltite, in a gold bear- 
ing quartz, the whole assaying 400 grams per 
SCIENCE. 
[N. 8. Von. X. No. 256. 
ton. Here ninety per cent. of the gold is con- 
tained in the smaltite. These deposits promise 
to have a very considerable value. 
THE subject of the distribution of the so-called 
rare metals continues to interest chemists and 
in the same journal is an extensive paper by J. 
H. L. Vogt on the distribution of vanadium. A 
very considerable portion, of the paper is taken 
up by a review of Hillebrand’s paper (published 
last year in the American Journal of Science) on 
the same subject. From Hillebrand’s investiga- 
tions and his own, Vogt concludes that the 
average amount of vanadium in the solid crust 
of the earth is between 0.0025% and 0.005%. 
Vanadium is thus decidedly less abundant than 
titanium (which occurs to the extent of 0.3%), 
phosphorus (0.09%), manganese (0.075%) and 
sulfur (0.06 %) ; and also rarer than barium 
(0.03 %), zirconium (0.01-0.02 %) and chromium 
(0.01%). It falls near lithium, strontium and 
nickel, each of which occurs to the extent 
of about 0.005%, but is probably somewhat 
less abundant than these elements. Still rarer 
elements are cerium and yttrium (each less 
than 0.001%), cobalt (0.0005%) and thorium 
(0.0001%). Zine and glucinum are somewhat 
less rare. Vanadium is generally found in the 
basic eruptive rocks, while columbium and tan- 
talum, which resemble it are found especially 
in granitic rocks. The elements of Group VI. 
show a similar condition, for chromium is found 
in basic rocks, while molybdenum, tungsten 
and uranium are more generally associated 
with acidic rock masses. It might be added 
that these occurrences are not unnatural, inas- 
much as vanadium and chromium are them- 
selves much less positive than the elements of 
the same groups with higher atomic weight. 
THERE is given in a recent number of the 
Oesterreichische Zeitschrift fiir Berg- und Hiitten- 
wesen a description by E. Priwoznik of the 
Austrian mint methods of parting platiniferous 
gold and silver. The material is first digested 
with dilute nitric acid (1.109) in which only a 
trace of platinum dissolves. The residue is then 
treated with a somewhat diluted aqua regia in 
which the gold dissolves readily, while the plat- 
inum is only very slightly soluble. When silver 
is present a coating of silver chloride is gradu- 
