November 8, 1907] 



SCIENCE 



643 



and limber pine {Pinus flexilis) occur at vari- 

 ous places and Engelmann spruce (Picea 

 engelmanni) comes in at the upper limit of 

 the zone. 



4. Sub-alpine Zone.— Altitude 10,000 to 11,- 

 500 feet. This zone is characterized by for- 

 ests of Engelmann spruce with limber pine 

 and balsam fir (Ahies lasiocarpa) as second- 

 ary species. Huckleberries are abundant as 

 shade plants on the forest floor. A consider- 

 able amount of grassland or steppe occurs in 

 the form of mountain meadows in the upper 

 part of the zone. " Wind timber " runs up in 

 tongues to various altitudes and there are 

 small patches of this scrub formation isolated 

 from the main mass below. Numerous ponds 

 and bogs occur along stream-courses. 



5. Alpine Zone.— Altitude 11,500 to 14,000 

 feet and. higher. This is a rock-desert and 

 steppe zone. Mat-forming plants and deep- 

 rooted perennials are common. Large areas, 

 consisting of rock heaps and boulder fields, 

 are practically destitute of all vegetation ex- 

 cept lichens. Sedges and grasses are numer- 

 ous in species but seldom form a dense sod, 

 being mixed with various flowering herbs. 

 Dwarf willows occur, often forming a dense 

 scrub over large areas, but there are no other 

 woody plants. Francis Eamaley 



Univeksity of Colorado, 

 BouLDEK, Colo. 



TEE INTERCOLLEGIATE GEOLOGICAL 

 EXCURSION 



The seventh annual New England Geolog- 

 ical Excursion was held at Providence, Rhode 

 Island, on Saturday, October 26, under the 

 leadership of Professor Chas W. Brown, of 

 Brown University. 



Friday evening a short conference was held 

 at which the route planned was explained. 

 The purpose of the trip was to study the un- 

 disturbed Carboniferous shales and sandstones 

 with their fossil contents that occur east of 

 the city of , Providence and the graphite mine 

 and sheaved basal conglomerate to the west 

 of the city. Professors B. K. Emerson, J. B. 

 Woodworth and Chas. W. Brown explained 

 the structural and metamorphic features of 

 the sections visited. The attendance of pro- 



fessors and graduate students was rather 

 larger than in previous years. 



In addition to the advanced students and 

 teachers from the high schools and normal 

 schools the following institutions were repre- 

 sented in the party of seventy : Amherst, Pro- 

 fessor B. K. Emerson; Brown, Professors 

 Brown and Ward; Colby, Professor PI. E. 

 Simpson; Holyoke, Professor Mignon Talbot; 

 ITarvard, Professors Johnson, Wolff, Wood- 

 worth and Dr. Mansfield; Massachusetts In- 

 stitute of Technology, Professors Jaggar and 

 Daly and Dr. Shimer; Smith, Miss Aida A. 

 Heine; Williams, Professor H. F. Cleland; 

 Yale, Professors Barrel!, Gregory and Schuch- 

 ert; Worcester, Mr. J. H. Perry; Worcester 

 Normal School, R. M. Brown. 



The next meeting will probably be held in 

 the northern Berkshires in the vicinity of 

 Williams College. 



Herdman F. Cleland, 



Secretary 



THE LAMARCK MEMORIAL 

 Mr. Alexander Agassiz, Professor Henry 

 Fairfield Osborn and Professor Bashford 

 Dean, members of the International Com- 

 mittee from the United States, have issued a 

 statement to the effect that the International 

 Committee entrusted to secure funds for the 

 monument to Lamarck has up to the present 

 time received subscriptions amounting to 

 about 25,000 francs. And the prompt re- 

 sponse to the notices sent out by the com- 

 mittee has been, in many cases, very gratify- 

 ing — Montevideo, for example, sending in 

 the names of seventy-seven subscribers. 

 There remains to be raised, however, the sum 

 of 5,000 francs. And it is with the hope of 

 securing the final amount that the American 

 members of the committee are sending out 

 this second notice. It is earnestly wished that 

 this sum be contributed from the United 

 States, in view of the influence which Lamarck 

 has had upon the evolutionary conceptions of 

 many and prominent American naturalists. 



Subscriptions should be sent, as soon as 

 possible, to Bashford Dean (Columbia Uni- 

 versity, New York), who will duly acknowl- 

 edge and transmit them to the headquarters of 

 the committee in Paris. 



