SCIENCE. 



[N. S. Vol. XVI. No. 413. 



Along the shores of the Chesapeake Bay 

 swamp deposits of the Pleistocene era are 

 being uncovered by water action. These 

 occur under from five to thirty feet of gravels. 

 Among the vegetable remains discovered, there 

 were described and shown stumps of the bald 

 cypress, cones of two species of Pinus (P. 

 echinata and P. Strohus), with beech and 

 hickory nuts. Many seeds are now being 

 determined by experts of the Department of 

 Agriculture. When the determination of 

 the seeds is completed a good account of the 

 ancient flora of that region can be given. 



A comparison of the living with the fossil 

 plants of the locality shows that, except for 

 the bald cypress, the plants now growing seem 

 the same as those there in geologic times. 



In discussing the conditions attendant on 

 the formation of the ancient flora and its 

 disappearance. Dr. Hollick stated that the 

 land had undergone elevation twice and sub- 

 sidence twice. The first elevation preceded 

 the formation of the flora which was to be 

 found mainly in the valleys. The area was 

 then depressed and completely submerged, 

 and at length was covered by sand brought 

 in by the waves. After the first elevation 

 and during the first subsidence deposits^ were 

 formed either in situ or at the mouths of the 

 valleys; these, after the second elevation, are 

 now being exposed by erosion. At the present 

 time also a third subsidence is taking place, 

 during which a second series of vegetable de- 

 posits are being laid down. The rate of this 

 subsidence has been calculated to be about 

 two feet in the century. 



Edavard S. Burgess, 



Secretary. 



COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY GEOLOGICAL JOURNAL CLUB. 



November 7. — The following papers were 

 reviewed : Prank Springer, ' Unitacrinus, its 

 Structure and Relations,' by Dr. Austin F. 

 Rogers. M. E. Haug, 'Review of Theories 

 of Glaeiation,' from Revue generate des Sci- 

 ences, by Dr. A. A. Jullen. 



H. W. Shimer, 



Secretary. 



TORONTO ASTRONOillCAL SOCIETY. 



October meeting. President R. F. Stupart, 

 P.R.S.C., Director of the Observatory, in the 

 chair. 



Mr. A. P. Miller stated that on three nights 

 he had succeeded in observing the spectrum 

 of comet ' Perrine ' (b. 1902) ; he had seen 

 three bright bands, and occasionally a fourth 

 very faint band. The bright band in the 

 green seemed to correspond to the green band 

 of the Bunsen flame. The bands were sharp 

 towards the red end of the spectrum, indi- 

 cating the light to be emitted by a hydro- 

 carbon gas. The nucleus gave a continuous 

 spectrum and appeared to consist of several 

 small bright masses involved in the coma. 

 The paper for the evening was entitled ' The 

 Application of Lord Kelvin's Theory of the 

 Ether to the Stellar Universe.' The theories 

 that had led up to the vortex theory were 

 reviewed and an outline of Kelvin's views 

 regarding vortices in a continuous fluid were 

 presented with demonstrations. It was pointed 

 out that the trend of thought amongst observa- 

 tional astronomers just now was to regard the 

 universe as limited rather than infinite in 

 extent. If the continuous ether be limited 

 the envelope would be extremely elastic. A 

 runaway star dashing against the interior 

 surface would rebound without loss of energy. 

 Such a surface would represent a stone wall 

 between the cosmos and blank space beyond. 

 The vortex theory had found favor with physi- 

 cists because it possessed the virtue of sim- 

 plicity and offers facilities for explaining cer- 

 tain peculiarities of behavior of matter and 

 ether not otherwise readily explained as elas- 

 ticity, energy of motion, method of conserva- 

 tion and dissipation (or degradation) of en- 

 ergy and possibly inertia and gravitation as 

 well. The fact that the energy of motion is 

 always as the square of the velocity was cited 

 as evidence that whatever the ultimate nature 

 of energy may be it cannot be motion per se; 

 if energy be motion and motion only it could 

 not require fourfold motion to double the 

 motion (velocity) either of matter or ether. 

 Tlie existence of an ether of some sort was 

 undeniable, but theories of its ultimate struc- 

 ture were advanced provisionally as instru- 



