December 28, 1906.] 



SCIENCE. 



857 



cized on the ground that salt is not the only 

 mineral in solution. Probably few students 

 would understand 'salinity' to refer solely to 

 common salt, since it is commonly used in its 

 broader sense in scientific treatises. 



It is a matter of surprise that Professor 

 Branner should say that ' no mention is made 

 of increase of temperature ' in connection 

 with the deposition of mineral matter from 

 solution, for the influence of temperature on 

 solution and deposition is distinctly recog- 

 nized by the statement that ' reduction of 

 temperature often causes deposition ' with the 

 added statement that ' in general, hot water 

 is a better solvent of mineral matter than 

 cold,' with the further recognition in a foot- 

 note (p. 213, 1) of exceptional cases, lime 

 carbonate being specified. The statement 

 might have been more fully explained, but 

 doubtless the authors had in mind at all times 

 the necessity of keeping the length of the 

 treatise within reasonable limits. 



The reviewer makes the authors affirm that 

 ' the deposition of mineral matter from boil- 

 ing water is the same process as that by which 

 it is deposited upon evaporation.' The state- 

 ment in the text is that ' the process of deposi- 

 tion by evaporation is illustrated when water 

 is boiled,' which is obviously true. The state- 

 ment might have been made clearer by ampli- 

 fication; yet there is no reason to give the 

 abbreviated statement an adverse interpreta- 

 tion. 



Complaint is also made that ' in discussing 

 river terraces ' (p. 198) ' no mention is made 

 of a stream swinging back and forth across its 

 flood plain.' On the page cited only the ex- 

 ceptional modes of terrace-formation are out- 

 lined, whereas if the reviewer had glanced at 

 pp. 196-197 he would have found the normal 

 process of terrace-making fully discussed. 



Another group of criticisms is based upon 

 misinterpretation of the text, where the true 

 meaning is obvious upon careful reading. 

 Perhaps the authors might have explained 

 their statements, so as to forestall all possible 

 misinterpretations, thus increasing the size of 

 the volumes, but no doubt it was expected that 

 the student would find the correct interpreta- 

 tion from briefer statements which were some- 



times capable of being twisted into another 

 meaning. 



With reference to the statement that ' faults 

 rarely show themselves in the topography of 

 the surface ' the reviewer says that ' a Cali- 

 fornia geologist could hardly be expected to 

 uphold such a statement with a straight face.' 

 The original sentence is ' since faults rarely 

 show themselves in the topography of the sur- 

 face, their detection and measurement are 

 usually based on the study of the relations of 

 the beds involved.' Topographic features 

 which are known from other evidences to have 

 arisen from faulting, but which could not be 

 proved to have originated in that way except 

 by the other means indicated, are clearly not 

 embraced in the statement. On a previous 

 page, fault scarps are discussed and the fact 

 stated that they are, before they become ob- 

 scured by erosion, notable topographic fea- 

 tures. While it is unquestionably true that 

 in some parts of the world recent fault scarps 

 are still prominent, it may also be affirmed 

 without hesitation that the vast majority of 

 faults have no topographic expression. 



In discussing the formation of deltas, the 

 statement is made in the text that 'the pro- 

 jected stream current is ineffective, all load 

 except that in suspension is dropped and a 

 depositional slope is established.' The re- 

 viewer assumes that matter in solution is 

 meant, whereas obviously the material rolled 

 or pushed along the bottom is referred to. 

 This is clearly implied by the context, for a 

 little below it is stated that 'the finest sedi- 

 ment will be carried beyond the steep slope 

 and conform to the topography of the bottom 

 beyond.' The wording of the sentences could 

 have been improved and has been so altered 

 in the second edition of volume I., which the 

 reviewer seems not to have had before him. 



The criticism of the authors' statement with 

 reference to fiords is hardly deserved, since 

 subsidence is explicitly recognized as a factor 

 in fiord-making in several places in the vol- 

 umes. On the particular page cited the ques- 

 tion of the effect of glaciation in the develop- 

 m-cnt of fiords was the special case under dis- 

 cussion. 



Most of the above criticisms relate to small 



