April 24, 1896.] 



SCIENCE. 



623 



the iron-ore regions whose structural and 

 paleontological geology in detail has yet to 

 be unraveled, or is at present being worked 

 up for publication, in this as well as in other 

 countries. 



I merely desire here and now to announce 

 the discovery of traces of organic remains, 

 made by me in fragments of iron ore from 

 the Chapin mine, Iron Mountain, Menomi- 

 nee, Michigan, as well as possibly from 

 other mines on the same range or elsewhere 

 in the Lake Superior region. It is hoped 

 shortly to publish a much fuller account of 

 my work in this connection, in another 

 place. 



During the period of 1890-93, I col- 

 lected a considerable number of speci- 

 mens of iron ore from the ore piles on the 

 docks at Erie, Pa., and was firmly of 

 opinion that some of the markings upon 

 them or in them were of organic origin, 

 produced by animals of some kind; but 

 being only an amateur geologist, I de- 

 cided to submit the material to Prof. H. S. 

 Williams, of New Haven, Conn., for exam- 

 ination. After seeing the specimens. Prof. 

 Williams kindly wrote : " There are cer- 

 tainly some among them which resemble 

 very strongly the trailings left by worms or 

 crawling things on the sand." 



The material was then forwarded to the 

 U. S. ISTational Museum, Washington, D. 

 C, where Prof. Charles Schuchert, assistant 

 curator of the Museum — Smithsonion Insti- 

 tution — examined them, and said: "The 

 specimens of the Algonquin ores contain 

 annelid trails." 



Finally they were placed in the hands of 

 Dr. Chas. D. Walcott for examination and 

 he kindly reported as, follows : " Most of 

 the specimens from the Lake Superior re- 

 gion containing ' traces of organisms in 

 Lake Superior iron ores ' show only mark- 

 ings of mechanical origin. A few, numbers 

 10, 14, A, E and G, appear to be casts of 

 the trails of a small annelid and a^-e, I 



think, organic. It is not possible to iden- 

 tify them with any described species. For 

 convenience of reference they can be re- 

 ferred to the genus Planolites ." 



Prof. C. R. Van Hise, geologist in charge 

 U. S. Geological Survey, Lake Superior 

 Div., also saw the specimens and remarks 

 that in his opinion the markings might 

 possibly have been produced by some com- 

 plex movement or movements, but that 

 they are very peculiar, and in any ordinary 

 case would be unhesitatingly accepted as 

 organic. My long-since-formed opinion as 

 to the organic origin of these markings 

 having thus been confirmed by the highest 

 authorities, this discovery will doubtless 

 add a new phase to the question or contro- 

 versy regarding the origin and age of these 

 ake-region iron ores, and iron-bearing 

 series of strata, and also should tend to ex- 

 cite renewed and closer investigation of 

 the Huronian rocks in search of better 

 ' fossils ' than mine, which surely exist 

 and will eventually be brought to light. 



Those especially interested could, no 

 doubt, see these specimens on application to 

 Prof. Schuchert, at Washington, in whose 

 care I propose to let them remain for the 

 present. W. S. Gresley. 



Ekie, Pa. 



FOOD OF THE £ABN OWL {STBJX PBATIN- 

 COLA). 



It is well known that birds of prey dis- 

 gorge the indigestible portions of food, such 

 as hair, bones and feathers. These ai-e 

 formed into balls, known as 'pellets' or 're- 

 jects,' by the muscular action of the stomach 

 and are regurgitated before a new supply of 

 food is taken. The 'pellets' contain the 

 skulls, teeth, and other parts of the victims, 

 and furnish a perfect index to the food 

 eaten. In a woi-k on ' The Hawks and 

 Owls of the United States,' published in 

 1893, I recorded the results of the examin- 

 ation of 200 'pellets' or 'rejects' of the Barn 



