JCfNE 9, 1911] 



SCIENCE 



905 



Some Secent Eesults in Connection with the Power 

 of Solutions to Absorb Light: Haeey C. Jones, 

 professor of physical chemistry, Johns Hopkins 

 University. 



The Properties of Salt Solutions in Selation to 

 the Ionic Theory: Arthde A. Notes, professor 

 of theoretical chemistry, Massachusetts Institute 

 of Technology. (Introduced by Dr. James W. 

 HoUand.) 



The Atomic Weight of Vanadium: GtlSTAVUS 

 HiNEiCHS, of St. Louis. (Introduced by Pro- 

 fessor Amos P. Brown.) 



Quina^olone Aeo Dyestuffs: A New Group of Azo 



Dyes: Maeston Tatloe Bogeet, head of School 



of Chemistry, Columbia University, New York. 



The Friday afternoon meeting was devoted 



mostly to geology and to biology. 



The following papers were read: 

 Shore and Off-shore Deposits of Silurian Age in 

 Pennsylvania: Gilbeet Van Ingen, of Prince- 

 ton University. (Introduced by Professor W. 

 P. Scott.) 



The lithological and faunal characteristics of 

 the Silurian formations were briefly described 

 and the changes in these features were interpreted 

 in terms of their geographic positions in respect 

 of the shore lines and open seas of that time. 

 The marine oolitic iron ores of the center of the 

 basin were shown to change in shoreward direc- 

 tions to hematitic sandstones of much greater 

 thickness and finally to red and olive quartzites, 

 which are equivalents of part of the Shawangunk 

 grit of the northeastern Appalachians. The con- 

 clusion is reached that the Shawangunk grit is of 

 Medina-Clinton-Niagaran age and all older than 

 the SalLna to which it has lately been referred. 

 Tertiary Formations of Northwestern Wyoming : 

 William J. Sinclaie, of Princeton University. 

 (Introduced by Professor "W. B. Scott.) 

 Mr. Sinclair gave a rapid review of the stratig- 

 raphy of the Wind Eiver and Bighorn basins, 

 followed by a discussion of the color banding in 

 the Eocene claya, which he correlated with climatic 

 changes. 



On a New Phytosaur from the Triassic of Penn- 

 sylvania: William B. Scott, of Princeton 

 University. 

 Alimentation of Existing Continental Glaciers: 

 W. H. HoBBS, of University of Michigan. 

 It was in the Alps of Switzerland that the early 

 studies and by far the larger number of subse- 

 quent investigations of glaciers have been made. 



The Swiss type of glacier is one of the most 

 diminutive, but as the theory of former conti- 

 nental glaciation was derived from these studies 

 of puny glaciers, it is not surprising that their 

 attributes were carried over unchanged to the re- 

 constructed extinct types thousands and even tens 

 of thousands of times larger, and this before any 

 continental glaciers had actually been studied. 

 The recent explorations of Norwegian, German, 

 Swedish and Danish explorers, but more than all 

 of Peary in Greenland; and of Scott, Nordens- 

 kiold, von Drygalski and others, but especially of 

 Shackleton in Antarctica, have at last afforded 

 us with observations upon the existing continental 

 glaciers. When these reports are carefully studied 

 and compared, it is found that as regards their 

 form, their erosional processes, and especially 

 their nourishment and waste, continental glaciers 

 are as different as possible from those of the 

 Alpine type. Instead of being nourished by snow 

 precipitated from surface air currents which are 

 forced to rise, their snow supply is derived from 

 the fine ice grains contained in high level cirnos 

 clouds which have been drawn down to the glacier 

 surface, been melted, and there reprecipitated. 

 This action is the work of a refrigerating air 

 engine which is developed directly by the snow- 

 ice mass itself. The paper is illustrated by lan- 

 tern slides. 



On the Formation of Coal Beds: J. J. Stevenson, 

 University of the City of New York. 

 Two hypotheses, presented to explain accumula- 

 tion of coal in beds, have been in conflict for 

 almost a century and a half. One asserts that the 

 vegetable material was transported by running 

 water and deposited, as were the enclosing sand- 

 stones and shales; the other assigns to transport 

 an insignificant share and maintains that the vege- 

 tation grew where the coal bed is now found. 



The disputants agree practically on what may 

 be termed facts of observation, such as the nature 

 of the material and the structure of the beds; but 

 the parting comes in the effort to explain the 

 phenomena by reasoning backward from known 

 conditions of our own time. There is room for 

 surprise when one discovers that phenomena, re- 

 garded by one writer as final arguments in sup- 

 port of his hypothesis, are regarded by another 

 as equally final in support of the contrary doc- 

 trine. Too often, the reasoning is from the hy- 

 pothesis to the facts and the a priori argument 

 seems to be based on an imperfect knowledge of 

 present phenomena or on a purely local study. 



