368 



SCIENCE. 



[Vol. I., Xo. 13. 



indicate a marked similarity in earlier periods. — 

 {Acad. nat. sc. Plulad.; meeting April 10. J [771 



Lacustrine formations of St. John, N. B. — As 



studied in the deposits of Lawlor's Lake, G. F. Mat- 

 thew finds these to have begun about the middle of 

 the terrace period, when the sea, which )iad pre- 

 viously submerged this portion of the coast to a depth 

 of 200 feet, had .'o far shoaled as to bring up the land 

 within 6.5 feet of its present level. During the inter- 

 val between this epoch and the present time, a series 

 of layers has been deposited, resting upon tlie marine 

 Saxicava (or Macoraa) sands below, and consisting, 

 in succession, of lacustrine clays, lacustrine peat, 

 peaty marl, and pure marl, to a depth of about 81 

 inches. From the character and relations of the de- 

 posits, together with the vegetable and animal remains 

 ■which they contain, he finds it possible to trace out 

 a number of successive phases in the lake-history of 

 the region, accompanied, probably, by equally marked 

 climatic differences. Among the plant-remains ob- 

 served, the most interesting are those of the Chara- 

 ceae, of which particular descriptions, accompanied 

 by figures, by Dr. T. F. Allen, are given. In addition 

 to the spores of Chara, fragments of wood (some of 

 them gnawed by the beaver), baric, cones of evergreen 

 trees, bnd-scales and leaves, and fruits of several 

 species of land-plants, occur. A small fragment of 

 charcoal was also found some distance below the 

 surface, indicating, probably, the presence of man. 

 The character of the plants is regarded as presenting 

 a more northern facies tliau those dwelling in the 

 same region to-day. The variations of the molluscan 

 fauna attendant upon the changes in the condition 

 of the lake are especially interesting, and have been 

 made the subject of particular study by Prof. Hyatt. 

 — [Bull. nat. hist. soc. N.B.) i.. -w. B. [772 



Lithology. 



The Cheviot andesites and porphyrites. — 



The Cheviot district is composed largely of a series 

 of quartzless eruptive rocks, to which the name 

 ' porphyrite ' is usually applied. They have a com- 

 pact felsitic groundmass porpliyritically enclosing 

 numerous felspars. The color is generally dark 

 purple or red. They are much altered ; and amyg- 

 daloidal varieties are found. In addition to the ordi- 

 nary porishyrites, there occur masses of volcanic ash 

 and breccia, and also a rock known as pitchstone 

 porphyrite. Tliese porphyrites have been described 

 by Teall under the name 'andesites,' regarding them 

 as more or less altered andesites. 



Mr. Teall describes the mineral constituents as 

 felspar, pyroxene, magnetite or mennacanite (a 

 glassy base containing various devitrification prod- 

 ucts), apatite, and hematite or biotite. The fel- 

 spars contain niunerous inclusions of the base, and 

 are principally plagioclase. The pyroxene is in elon- 

 gated, octagonal, and irregular crystals and grains. 

 The crystals are sometimes twinned, and he regards 

 them as augites. The inclusions in the augite are 

 glass cavities and colorless microlites. The g-round- 

 rnass is described as a ' felted aggregation of micro- 

 lites in a glassy base.' The present writer has 

 preferred to denominate this as a ' felty base.' The 

 microlites of the felty base Teall regards principally 

 as felspar. The alteration products appear mainly 

 to be siliceous. The age is stated to be ' post-silurian 

 and pre-carboniferous.' Some specimens were later 

 examined by Dr. H. Rosenbusch of Heidelberg, the 

 leading European lithologist. He found that part of 

 the pyroxenic constituent was orthorhombic, prob- 

 ably hypersthene, while the remainder is augite. 



The constantly increasing discovery of other min- 

 erals besides augite, in the andesites, is leading, in 

 the present system of nomenclature, to a series of 

 distinct names for rocks structurally and chemically 

 alike, and will probably in time cause the abandon- 

 ment of the niineralogical nomenclature of rocks. 

 In this case it should lead to the employment of the 

 term ' andesite ' alone. — (Geol. mag., March, 1883.) 

 M. E. w. [773 



GEOGRAPHY. 

 {Arctic.) 



Northern notes. — Later advices have been re- 

 ceived from the British party at Fort Eae. After 

 ■ experiencing a miniature shipwreck on Great Slave 

 Lake, they arrived at Fort Rae in the latter part of 

 August. Sept. 1, meteorological, and, two days later, 

 magnetic observations were begun. Winter set in 

 Nov. 1. The minimum temperature of the air to 

 Nov. 30 was — 43° C. The latitude of Fort Eae was 

 determined to be 64° N., a degree farther north than 

 previously supposed. Corrections in the position 

 and shape of Great Slave Lake also seem necessary. 

 The party were well, and work progressing favor- 

 ably. They expect to return in Oetober, 1883. 



The plans of Baron Nordenskiold for the present 

 summer in Greenland have been in part made public. 

 South-west Greenland is to be visited, and a study of 

 the inland ice from that direction is contemplated. 

 Later in the season, when the usual lane of water 

 forms between the pack-ice and the south-east shore 

 north from Cape Farewell, the party will proceed in 

 umiaks, or sealskin canoes, as far as circumstances 

 will admit, with the view of reaching, at the head of 

 some of the fiords, the highlands which exist in east 

 Greenland, and which are believed to be partly free 

 from glaciers. Traces of the ancient Norse colonies 

 at Ost-bygd are among the things to be sought for, 

 though the present weight of evidence is in favor of 

 the theory that these colonies were on the south 

 rather than on the east coast, and that they are rep- 

 resented by the well-known stone ruins of south 

 Greenland. — w. H. D. [774 



Siberian notes. — Number four of the quarterly 

 I.ieestia of the imperial geographical society for 1882 

 (printed 1883) contains an article by N. S. Shtukin 

 on ' Popular traditions of eastern Siberia,' which 

 contains much interesting matter, and some amusing 

 instances of ideas associated by the residents with 

 certain ancient monuments. Another by the same 

 author is, ' An explanation of certain picture-writings 

 on the cliffs of the Yenisei Kiver.' These are figured, 

 but are not particularly, remarkable, except as being 

 the work of invaders from the far south, perhaps 

 Persians. ' Camels and pheasants are among the 

 animals represented. U. V. Arsenieff discusses the 

 consequences of early publications on, and explora- 

 tions of, the Amur River. BussiS continues his valu- 

 able (separately paged) bibliography of the literature 

 of the Amur region. The first edition of this bibliog- 

 raphy, containing 522 titles, appeared in 1874. The 

 present edition is brought down to 1881, the forty- 

 eight pages already published including 973 titles. 

 The work, which will probably be completed in- tlie 

 next number, is announced to contain, in all, 1,416 

 titles, divided under appropriate subjective subheads, 

 but catalogued by authors. Of the proposed bibliog- 

 raphies of Hoovert and of the academy of sciences, 

 nothing has lately been heard, which makes the 

 result of private enterprise so much the more wel- 

 come. Buss^'s titles are condensed, but sufficiently 

 full for reference, and a large proportion refer to 

 articles in Russian i)eriodicals. — w. ii. D. [775 



