APRIL 12, 1901.] 
introduced into Central New York about 1864. 
Dr. Rusby referred to its rarity within his 
memory in the vicinity of New York City, and 
to the recently discovered medical value of the 
related genus Echinacea. Dr. Britton called 
attention to the supposed variants of KR. hirta 
with parti-colored rays, as suggested by plants 
from near Philadelphia and from Staten Island. 
Dr. Britton presented the subject of the rela- 
tionship of our woodland species of Circxa, C. 
Lutetiana being the representative near New 
York City, and extending widely around the 
world. ‘The characteristic bristles of the fruit 
fail to appear in a remarkable specimen from 
Ohio which was exhibited. C. intermedia of 
Central Europe was also discussed in its rela- 
tions to the foregoing. 
The third paper, also by Dr. Britton, was 
upon Antennaria. Dr. Britton exhibited a series 
of specimens of Antennaria neodioica Greene, a 
species which seems to be easily distinguished 
from the others of eastern North America by its 
spatulate basal leaves, distinctly mucronate, 
tapering rather abruptly from well above the 
middle into a long narrow base, which, how- 
ever, can scarcely be called a petiole. He 
showed specimens of the plant collected in com- 
pany with Professor Greene at Bushkill, Penn., 
on the Club’s Field Meeting, May 30, 1897, at 
which time Professor Greene first insisted on its 
specific difference from A. plantaginifolia with 
which it grew. The series included authentic 
specimens of Antennaria rupicola Fernald, which 
differs only from the typical specimens in the 
yellowish involucre, and slightly less abruptly 
tapering leaves, collected by Mr. Fernald at 
Island Falls, Aroostook Co., Maine, a character 
which can hardly be maintained for specific dis- 
tinctness ; also specimens of A. neodioica atten- 
uata Fernald, which differs from the type in its 
slightly more acuminate inner involucral bracts 
and relatively broader leaves, and is identica] 
with A. alsinoides Greene, original specimens of 
which were also included in the exhibit ; also of 
A. neodioica grandis Fernald, which differs from 
the latter only in size. He concluded that the 
series represented only one species, A. neodioica. 
Dr. Rusby referred to the similar variability 
of Andean species of Gnaphalium as seen by 
himself and other botanists in Bolivia. 
SCIENCE. 
587 
Dr. Howe discussed the relationship of Riccia 
Beyrichiana, the hepatic which he had consid- 
ered to be probably identical with one discov- 
ered by Mr. R. Harper near Athens, Georgia, 
last summer. The loan of the type-specimen 
from Vienna now shows that the two are wholly 
distinct, Mr. Harper’s plant representing a new 
species, soon to be described in the Bulletin. 
Ricca Beyrichiana seems, therefore, to be still 
known only from the original collection of 1833. 
EDWARD S. BURGESS, 
Secretary. 
SCIENCE CLUB OF NORTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY. 
THE last meeting of the Science Club of North- 
western University was held on March 1st. Pro- 
fessor A. R. Cook addressed the Club on ‘ Min- 
erals of the Chicago Area.’ The region, though 
containing no stores of precious metals, or gems, 
and though not mentioned in lists of mineral 
localities, has minerals enough ; first, to repre- 
.sent five out of the eight classes into which the 
mineral kingdom may be divided; second, to 
illustrate the chemical, crystallographic, optical 
and other physical properties of minerals, and 
third, to show the chief methods of investiga- 
tion. 
Thus far forty-eight minerals have been found 
and studied. One fourth of them occur in the 
underlying Niagara limestone. They are of 
such character as the geological history of the 
region would lead us to expect. 
Those occurring in the Niagara are most im- 
portant since they most properly represent this 
region. They are sulfur, galena, sphalerite, 
pyrite, marcasite, quartz, limonite, calcite, dolo- 
mite, siderite, melanterite, petroleum, gas, as- 
phalt. 
The sulfur occurs in crumbling rounded 
masses in the center of the decomposing mar- 
casite. Galena and sphalerite are in crystal- 
line masses with occasional crystal planes de- 
veloped, showing characteristic cleavage, and 
contained both in limestome and in quartz. 
Pyrite is most common when the containing 
limestone most nearly approaches the purity of 
calcite. The surprising condition is the great 
abundance of the orthorhombic form of the iron. 
sulfid. Pyrite is rare but marcasite occurs in 
