690 
have existed, and are not confined to certaiu 
levels. The fluvio-glacial gravels, as river de- 
posits, must have had originally a slope in 
the direction in which the river flowed. This 
slope has been in some places destroyed by 
earth movements. This can be shown in 
the best way by following the oldest of the 
three fluvio-glacial deposits, the high-level 
gravel. It formed originally an extensive 
covering of the low ground of the north 
Alpine Piedmont region, sloping to the 
north. Now it forms a series of very flat folds 
which run parallel to the foot of the western 
Alps. These folds can be followed from the 
mouth of the Aar into the Rhine, and from 
the mouth of the Lech into the Danube, 
a distance of 250 miles. 
The earth movements of the glacial period 
in the Alps are of a different type from those 
about the grand American lakes., The 
American belong toa warping of the earth’s 
erust, which is independent of structural 
lines ; the sub-Alpine shows that the fold- 
ing of the Alpine system was still going 
on in early glacial times in the foreland. 
Whether or not this folding was connected, 
as Heim assumes, with a bodily sinking of 
a whole mountain chain, could not be ascer- 
tained. 
9. ‘A Suggestion in Regard to the Theory 
of Volcanoes,’ by Professor W. N. Rice, 
Middletown, Conn, The distribution of 
volcanoes gives a clue to their cause. Asa 
generalization, it may be stated that vol- 
canoes occur in localities where there has 
been recent elevation. Assuming the inte- 
rior of the earth to be potentially liquid, 
relief of pressure by crustal uplift might 
cause fusion, the fused material finding exit 
by fissures produced during the movement. 
This idea has been suggested before, but 
seems deserving of the more explicit formu- 
lation presented in this paper. .To the 
objection that contemporaneous sheets of 
igneous rocks occur in thick masses of sedi- 
ment, indicating subsidence, it may be 
SCIENCE. 
[N. 8S. Vou. VI. No. 149. 
answered either that igneous rocks come 
from adjacent rising areas or that they 
point to oscillation of movement, progress- 
ive subsidence being interrupted by epochs 
of elevation. 
10. ‘The Ores and Minerals of Cripple 
Creek,’ by H. P. Parmelee, Charlevoix, 
Mich. After a short review of the rocks 
and ores of the region, the important 
minerals were mentioned, and some de- 
scribed in detail. Specimens of several 
species were shown, among them a very 
perfect crystal of calaverite. 
11. ‘Observations on the Genus Barrettia,’ 
by Professor R. P. Whitfield, New York. 
The author referred to the original dis- 
covery of the fossils and description of the 
genus by 8. P. Woodward, withits reference 
to the Rudistidze; he then pointed out several 
peculiar features of the fossils not noticed 
in the original description and called atten- 
tion to their strong resemblance to cup 
corals, and their general radiate structure. 
The description was based upon a large col- 
lection of specimens obtained from Jamaica, 
W. I. 
12. ‘Ice Jams and what they Accomplish,’ 
by Dr. M. A. Veeder, Lyons, N. Y. The 
paper dealt with the effect of ice forced 
through river channels, partly floated and 
partly grounded on the land through 
choking of the outlets of lakes. The chan- 
neling of rock surfaces in the St. Lawrence 
valley and the formation of parallel ridges 
in Salina marls and shales were ascribed to 
this action. 
13. ‘The Lower Carboniferous of Huron 
County, Michigan,’ by Dr. A. C. Lane, 
Houghton, Mich. This paper, read by Mr. 
W. F. Cooper, described the Bayport lime- 
stone, the Michigan salt group and the 
Marshall series, as exposed along the 
‘Thumb’ of the Lower Peninsula. The 
localities “were arranged in their proper 
position in the geological column, and it 
was shown that the rocks have a greater 
