January 3, 1902.] 



SCIENCE. 



lar portion of Balanus, but with the base, 

 which in the latter genus is not only entire, 

 but under suitable conditions assumes a 

 tubular conical form, and in one species, 

 the Balanus Icevis of Darwin, sometimes has 

 the lower portion of this tube more or less 

 filled with a vesicular mass of shell sub- 

 stance closely resembling the tube of Tavii- 

 osoma* This conclusion was fortified by 

 the discovery of an undoiibted species of 

 Balanus in the same horizon as that of 

 Tamiosoma, forming a tubular base like 

 that of B. Iwvis, though much smaller, in 

 the proximal portion of which a certain 

 amount of vesicular filling had taken place. 

 Lastly, complete confirmation was attained 

 through the kindness of the authorities of 

 the State Mining Bureau of California 

 which at the intercession of Dr. J. C. Mer- 

 riam, of the University of California, for- 

 warded a unique specimen which had been 

 supposed to exhibit an ' upper valve, ' but 

 in which the subconic base filled this role, 

 while a careful cleaning of the much- 

 crushed but otherwise nearly intact ' base ' 

 revealed the remains of six very solid 

 valves typical of the genus Balanus, and 

 the cavity, noAv filled with gravel and frag- 

 ments of the shell, in which the soft parts of 

 the animal had originally been enclosed. 

 These valves were so crushed and worn that 

 a complete figure of the valviilar summit of 

 Tamiosoma is not yet attainable, but the 

 fact that the valves are smooth, except for 

 the rude concentric rugosities due to rest- 

 ing stages and other exigencies of growth, 

 and that they agree with the typical Bala- 

 nus in number and general character, is 

 conclusively demonstrated.! 



It is interesting to discover new tjT)es of 



* Darwin, Mon. Cirripedia, Balanidw, p. 227, 



1854. See figure of the variety coguimbensis, 



Plate 4, Fig. 2a, giving a section of the tubular 



base, partly filled with vesicular septa. 



t Since the above was written a letter from Mr. 

 Hamlin announces the discovery of a number of 

 complete specimens with the valves. 



animal organisms, but perhaps still more so 

 to be able to place those already known to 

 some extent, but whose relations, in the 

 absence of complete information, have been 

 so differently estimated as in the present 

 case. It only remains for systematic stu- 

 dents of the cirripedes to determine 

 whether the notable peculiarities of growth 

 of this singular fossil warrant the retention 

 of the name Tamiosoma in a subgeneric or 

 sectional sense, or whether it shall be rele- 

 gated to the genus Balanus as a synonym. 

 Some time since, the supposed occurrence 

 of Radiolites in a bed of clay pierced for a 

 tunnel in the city of Los Angeles was 

 noted in Science. A further examination 

 of fossils collected from these clays by Mr. 

 Hamlin shows that sixty per cent, of the 

 moUusks are recent species, and the age of 

 the deposit therefore Pliocene. Mr. T. W. 

 Vaughan is confident that the fossil which 

 was taken for the smaller valve of the 

 supposed Radiolites is a solitary coral ; and, 

 while the other portion still remains prob- 

 lematical, it is highly improbable that it 

 belongs to the group of Rudistes. 



Wm. Healey Dall. 



THE RELATIVE PROGRESS OF THE COAL- 

 TAR INDUSTRY IN ENGLAND AND 

 GERMANY DURING THE PAST 

 FIFTEEN YEARS.* 



The coal-tar industry is the flower of 

 the chemical industries. It represents the 

 highest development of applied chemical 

 research and chemical engineering, and a 

 country which allows the most scientific 

 branch of chemical industry to languish 

 cannot expect to maintain preeminence 



* From a paper by Arthur C. Green read before 

 the British Association (Section of Chemistry) at 

 the Glasgow Meeting, 1901. This accurate state- 

 ment of the present status of the coal-tar industry, 

 and incidentally of the whole chemical industry, 

 is of interest, not only to the audience for which 

 it was prepared, but also to Americans. For this 

 reason the most important portions of the paper 

 are here presented. 



