48 



SCIENCE 



[N. S. Vol. III. No. 54. 



and assistant geologist on U. S. Geological 

 Survey, engaged in general and glacial ge- 

 ology. 



The Council also distributed a printed re- 

 port containing the resume of the year. 

 The last printed roll contains the names of 

 223 living and 13 deceased fellows of the 

 Society. Four have died during the year. 

 The financial affairs of the Society are in 

 good condition. After a few announce- 

 ments, memorials of deceased members 

 were presented as follows : of James D. 

 Dana, written by Joseph Le Conte and read 

 by H. S. "Williams ; of Henry B. Nason, 

 written by T. C. Chamberlin and read by 

 Bailey Willis ; of Albert E. Foote, written 

 by G. F. Kunz and read by J. F. Kemp ; 

 of Antonio del Castillo, written by Ezequiel 

 Ordonez and read by the Secretary. 



The reading of scientific papers was then 

 taken up with the usual rule that papers 

 whose authors were not present in person 

 were passed and transferred to the end. 

 The papers actually read came in the fol- 

 lowing order. 



Illustrations of the Dynamic Metamorphism of 

 Anorthosites and related Bocks in the Adiron- 

 dacks. J. F. Kemp, New York, N. Y. 

 The high, central peaks of the Adiron- 

 dacks and the larger outlying ridges con- 

 sist of anorthosite, a coarsely crystalline 

 rock that is nearly pure labradorite. 

 Though described as norite in earlier re- 

 ports, it is noticeably poor or entirely lack- 

 ing in ferro-magnesian silicates. In the 

 course of a fairl}"^ extensive reconnoissance 

 of the principle portion of the mountains, 

 the writer has met but limited exposures 

 of the anorthosites in an uncrushed condi- 

 tion. Specimens of such were shown, and 

 beginning with these as a starting point the 

 gradual development of crushed rims was 

 shown, which at fii-st barely discernible, in- 

 creased until the original crystals of labra- 

 dorite were but small nuclei. The extreme 



is a ' pulp-anorthosite ' with no nuclei. 

 The passage into gneissoid forms, through 

 augen-gneisses, and with a rich develop- 

 ment of garnets, was also illustrated. The 

 final result is a thinly laminated gneiss. 

 Comments on the areal distribution of these 

 types were added. The speaker then took 

 up a series of basic gabbros and illustrated, 

 by specimens, their passage into gneissoid 

 types in the same exposure. Acknowledg- 

 ments are to be made to Prof. James Hall, 

 State Geologist of New York, under whose 

 direction a part of the material used for il- 

 lustration was gathered. The paper was 

 discussed by A. C. Lane and C. H. Hitch- 

 cock, bringing out the facts that in the 

 gabbros the change to gneiss was generally 

 marked by a passage of pyroxene to horn- 

 blende, and that the igneous series, though 

 called Upper Laurentian by the speaker in 

 following the Canadian usage, was doubt- 

 less later than the crystalline limestones of 

 the region, that would be called Algonkian 

 by many American geologists. 



The Importance of Volcanic Dust and Pumice 

 in Marine Deposits. N. S. Shaleb, Cam- 

 bridge, Mass. 



Considerations based on volcanic action 

 in the Java district make it probable that 

 the extrusions of rock matter in the form 

 of dust and pumice may exceed that which 

 is carried to the sea by the rivers and pos- 

 sibly equals that which is conveyed to the 

 ocean by all other actions. Observations 

 on the shores of the United States afford 

 evidence that there is a noticeable contribu- 

 tion of pumice to the deposits forming along 

 that coast line. The facts warrant the sup- 

 position that the value of these volcanic 

 contributions to sedimentation has not been 

 properljr appreciated. 



The paper elicited an extended and inter- 

 esting discussion. C. H. Hitchcock, apro- 

 pos of the recorded discoveries of pumice 

 along the southern coast line of the United 



