April 10, 1896.] 



SCIENCE. 



571 



tidal on- and offshore and the alongshore ac- 

 tions: 



I. West coast of Florida (Coast Survey, 180,^ 

 181). 



II. West coast of Schleswig-Holstein (Topo- 

 graphical map of the German Empire, 1:100,- 



000. 5, 11, 20, 21, 35, 36, 37, 55, 56, 79, 80, 

 109, 110,111). 



III. Georgia-South Carolina coast (Coast Sur- 

 vey, 152, 153, 154, 155, 156). 



IV. North Carolina and New Jersey coasts 

 (Coast Survey, 148, 149; 123). 



V. New Jersey, Virginia, North Carolina 

 coasts (Coast Survey, 122; 138; 145, 146, 147). 



VI. Texas coast (Coast Survey, 210, 211, 

 212). 



MARCH 17, 1896. 



1. Exhibition of New Lantern Slides, by J. B. 

 Wood WORTH. 



2. Note on Penning' s Field Geology, 2d. edition, 

 reissue of 1894, by T. A. Jaggae, Jr. 



This book (published by Bailliere, Tindall 

 and Cos, London) and A. Geikie's ' Outlines of 

 Field Geology ' (Macmillan, 1891) are the only 

 books known to the writer which purport to 

 deal with practical field methods of geology. 

 Geikie's book is more popular in style, more 

 elementary and more comprehensive; his chap- 

 ter on the schistose rocks is excellent, while 

 Penning does not even mention them. Penn- 

 ing's book, on the other hand, contains manj' 

 useful tables, rules for finding true dip, tracing 

 boundary lines and faults, levelling etc. The 

 directions for note taking do not include men- 

 tion of the coordinate method of designating 

 points on the note-book map, nor is the use of 

 the plane-table mentioned; in these and other 

 respects the book is not up to date for the 

 American geologist, but on the whole the part 

 which deals with geological surveying, sections 

 and levelling contains much that is useful. The 

 part devoted to paleontology by Jukes-Browne 

 contains many useful hints for the collector, and 

 tables of fossils that are of course intended for 

 use in British fields. Part V. is suggestive, 

 dealing with some difficulties likely to be en- 

 countered by the student in the field, notes on 

 water supply, springs and wells ; stress is laid 

 on the great importance of the study of physi- 

 cal features in connection with geological struc- 



ture. The weakest chapter in the book is that 

 devoted to lithology, which gives elaborate and 

 antiquated tables of physical tests for minerals, 

 rocks and ores, but does not touch on the diffi- 

 culties likely to beset the student in the field. 

 M^:. Penning believes ' ' it should be unnecessary 

 to insist upon what all geological text-books so 

 strongly recommends, that an acquaintance 

 with the appearance and characteristics of all 

 ordinary rocks and minerals should be formed 

 by careful study of cabinet specimens." He 

 believes that ' ' tests applied in their proper 

 order," according to his tables, "will go far 

 enough to arrive at an accurate solution." 

 Rutley's 'Study of Rocks' (1879) is quoted as. 

 'an important work, recently published,' while 

 in the lithological bibliography no mention is 

 made of such books as Teall's 'British Petro- 

 graphy ' or the English translation of Rosen- 

 busch. T. A. Jaggab, Jr., 



Recording Secretary. 



THE philosophical society of WASHINGTON. 



The 450th meeting was held on March 14, 

 1896. The paper of the evening was read by 

 Hon. Carroll D. Wright, Commissioner of Labor, 

 on ' The Factory System as an Element in Civ- 

 ilization,' showing that the factory elevates the 

 low class of persons which it employs by com- 

 pelling them to think more and be more orderly 

 and careful than they otherwise would. 



Bernard R. Green, 



Secretary. 



the TOEEEY botanical club, march 25, 1896. 



In the absence of the President the chair was 

 occupied by Dr. T. H. Allen, first Vice-Presi- 

 dent, and there were present 39 persons. 



Two new members wei'e elected, and W. A. 

 Bastedo appointed to act as Secretary during 

 the absence of Dr. Rusby in South America. 



As the summer season is now rapidly ap- 

 proaching, a 'Field Committee,' with Dr. N. 

 L. Britton as chairman, was appointed to ar- 

 range for the weekly outings of the club. 



The announced paper on Azaleas was post- 

 poned owing to the unavoidable detention of 

 Mr. H. A. Siebrecht in the Island of Trinidad. 



A new fascicle of the ' Distribution of North 

 American Algae,' by Collins, Holder and Set- 



