July 14, 1893.J 



SCIENCE. 



25 



and P.iramid Mountains." It is unfortunate that the exact local- 

 ity of the collection is not given : — 



Gryphcea dilatata var. tucumcari, Marcou. 



Ostrea marsliii, as determined by Marcou. 



Gryphcea pitcheri. Morton, 



Exogyra texana, Roeuier. 



Ostrea quadripUeata, Sbumard. 



Trigonia imoryh, Conrad. 



Cardium hillanum, Sow. 



Cytherea leonensis, Conrad. 



Turritella seriatim granulata, Roenier. 



Pinna, Sp. 



Ammonites. 



Pecten. 



Finally, the writer wishes to state that be is not prepared, nor 

 <3.ies he desire, to write a final treatise on the Tucumcari, which 

 can never be properly related until the atlas-sheets of the United 

 Slates Geological Survey are completed for the region. Tucum- 

 cari is but a single station in the vast group of phenomena belong- 

 ing to the deposition and degradation of the Las Vegas and Llano 

 Estacado Plateaus and the Canadian Valley, and to be properly 

 understood, it would be necessary to write a treatise on the whole 

 region. One thing is settled be.vond all doubt in my mind, how- 

 ever, and that is that the G. dilatata beds of the region do not 

 belong to the Jurassic, but are undoubtedly of Cretaceous age. 

 On tbe other hand, it may also be safely assumed that the Gryphcea 

 dilatata, Sow , of Marcou, is not the same as G. pitcheri, Morton, 

 as has been asserted by many authors, nor does it occur in the 

 Cretaceous beds of central Texas, so far as the writer is aware. 

 But this is a question which cannot be discussed inttelligibly until 

 a thorough revision of the Gryphaeas is made. 



In conclusion, permit me to say that there is not one trace of 

 "the Jurassic formation over the Texas region, as Mr. Marcou so 

 positively affirms, and, furthermore, that there is no evidence that 

 it was ever there, the whole trend of the testimony being to show 

 that that region was land during the Jurassic period. 



If the writer should devote his time to criticising the works of 

 his contemporaries or predecessors, he would have little time for 

 research. It has been my practice, however, under the opinion 

 that all knowledge is progressive, to see the good in the works of 

 others, and to correct any errors without abuse. In all I have 

 published on the Texas region, there is not a line which was 

 written with the desire to discredit any man, and yet I believe 

 that my severest critics will confess that there has been great ad- 

 vance in opinion since I undertook the renaissance of geologic 

 ■study in Texas. 



My colli ctions from Tucumcari are in Washington, and ai'e 

 ■open to the inspection of anyone inter sted. Robt T. Hill 



Chloropia. 



The case of VValliau, reported on page 360 of the latest vol- 

 ume of Science, would seem to be one of temporary Chloropia. 

 More extended and carefully recorded observations, while the ob- 

 ;server is looking at various objects under various conditions, 

 would be very desirable. E. W. ScRlPTtTRE. 



Yala University, New Haven. 



Trees as a Factor in Climate. 



I ONCE observed a signal case of the eEfect of trees in determin- 

 ing rainfall. A few years ago I was walking along a j;oad in 

 the so-called backbone of England at an elevation of from 800 to 

 1,000 feet above the sealevel. It was a dull, calm October day, 

 and the hills on either side were cased in mist. Where I was no 

 rain was falling and the ground was quite dry. As I passed on 

 the road entered and traversed a \voo3 of fir trees. Here I at 

 once encountered a gentle drizzle. Far from suspecting that the 

 trees were playing any part iu the matter, I concluded that the 

 expected wet weather bad at last set in. When the road emerged 

 from the wood at its opposite extremity I found that no rain was 

 there falling or had fallen. Still I did not connect the trees with 

 ithe downfall, but imagined that the weather bad again improved. 



On returning from my destination about three hours after- 



wards I found that the rain was still falling in the wood, but 

 that it ceased as soon as I emerged into the open country. The 

 ground, too, within the wood was wet, still all around it was 

 dry. Hence it appeared that a alight rain must have been fall- 

 ing for the greater part of the day within the wood, but not in 

 the bare fields and heath land outside. 



Thus under certain conditions of the weather the presence of 

 trees may determine rainfall which would not take place in their 

 absence. J. W. Slater. 



London, England. 



Mineral Wax. 



I notice an account and inquiry in Science of June 16 in regard 

 to the receipt at the National Museum of specimens of natural 

 wax coming from Portland, Oregon, derived from the shores of 

 the Columbia River, and from other accounts it is found along 

 the coast from the Columbia River to Puget s Sound. 



The material has been well known for the past half century as 

 mineral wax, native paraflSn, ozokerite and lastly as ozocerite, a 

 hydro-carbon compound (hydrogen, 15 per cent; carbon, 85 per 

 cent — variable); supposed to bo derived from bituminous and 

 lignite coal formation by infiltration and crystallization. It is 

 generally found in situ in the neighborhood of coal and lignite 

 beds and in the bituminous clays or shales. 



The legend as to its being derived from a wreck is a most ab- 

 surd one. It is a resinous wax in consistency and translucency, 

 with structure sometimes foliated ; color brown or yellowish- 

 brown by transmitted light; leek green by reflected light ; odor, 

 aromatic, in specimens that I have examined, having the char- 

 acteristics and feel of beeswax that had been lying for some time 

 in water. 



It is mined in variable quantities in Germany, Austria, Turkey, 

 and England, associated with the soft coal and lignite beds. 



In Galicia alone about 30,000 tons have been mined since its 

 discovery there in 1859. It is used in Europe principally in the 

 manufacture of candles and by refining in place of beeswax and 

 paraffin. It is said to be an excellent electrical insulator. 



In the United States it is mined in situ at Soldiers Summit, 

 Umtah County, and in Emery County, Utah. Sixty-five thousand 

 pounds were marketed in 1888, with a yearly increasing output. 

 The whole product of the United States in 1890, includmg the 

 Oregon find, reached 350,000 pounds. 



The imports of mineral wax, ozocerite, under the names of 

 bay or myrtle, Brazilian and Chinese wax, in 1890 were over one 

 and a half million pounds. 



It has been found i)i situ in thin seams in the lignite beds of 

 Oregon, Washington, and British Columbia. The deposits along 

 tbe Columbia River and on the sea-shore of Oregon are no doubt 

 the debris from lignite beds near by. C. D. Hiscox. 



361 Broadway, New York. 



BOOK-REVIEWS. 



The Seismological Journal of Japan. Edited by John Milne, 

 F.R.S. 

 In 1880 the Seismological Society of Japan was founded by a 

 number of earnest students of seismology in that country, 

 prominent amongst whom was the editor of this Journal. In 

 the earlier years of its existence its membership included such 

 well-known names as Milne, Gray, Ewing, Mendenball and others 

 at that time resident in Japan, and their interest in the science 

 led especially to the invention of many instrumental appliauces 

 for the study of earthquake phenomena, some of which have been 

 copied wherever earthquakes are observed, and in some respects 

 have revolutionized the science of experimental seismology. It 

 also resulted in the establishment of a chair of seismology in the 

 Imperial University of Japan, and the organization of a bureau 

 controlling a central observatory and some 700 outside stations. 

 Of late years, however, the interest in the society has declined, 

 partly through the return of some of its most active supporters to 

 England and America, and, after publishing sixteen volumes of 

 Transactions, in 1893 the society ceas"d to exist. Professor 

 Milne, however, still remains in Japan and has determined to 

 continue the publication of seismological literature in tbe present 



