228 



SCIENCE. 



[N. S. Vol. XI. No. 267. 



had reached the conclusion that the system Is 

 In very rapid motion, with a period of perhaps 

 less than ten years. But the recent measure 

 secured by Professor See with the great Equa- 

 torial of the Naval Observatory, combined with 

 others taken by him with the Lowell telescope 

 in Arizona in 1897, show that the System 

 in fact revolves slowly with a period of about 

 150 years. The present position-angle is 157°, 

 and the distance 0.33. As the components are 

 of the 6th and 11th magnitudes, the difficulty of 

 the investigation is apparent. This star has 

 not before been seen at Washington, and Pro- 

 fessor See's success in observing it led him to 

 think the seeing here is occasionally very good 

 indeed. As the companion of 95 Ceti will re- 

 main at a constant distance for about 20 years 

 it forms a test object for telescopes which will 

 prove a useful criterion for observers. 



The first regular paper was by Dr. Hyvernat, 

 Professor at the Catholic University of Amer- 

 ica, who made a tour last summer in Syria 

 for the purpose of ascertaining the cause of the 

 perennial fountains so numerous in the Middle 

 Region, or Wusut, of the Lebanon System. 

 Special attention was given to the Province of 

 Kesrawan which he explored from west to east, 

 following the Nahr-el-Kelb and its chief tribu- 

 tary, the Nahr-el-Zalib, until he arrived at the 

 Sannin Group. He discovered that the junc- 

 ture of the main with the side-ridge, which 

 runs in a northwesterly direction between the 

 basin of the Nahr-el-Kelb and that of the Nahr- 

 Ibrahine, forms a table-land sloping towards the 

 north-west and studded with gigantic, rocky 

 knobs. Between these knobs are numerous 

 holes in the shape of craters, or funnels, filled 

 with snow. Finding these holes entirely with- 

 out outlet on the sides and without an excep- 

 tion, free from water. Dr. Hyvernat came to 

 the conclusion that as the snow melts, the water 

 filters immediately through fissures in the un- 

 derlying rock and appears again at the foot "of 

 the High-Mountain, or Jurd, in the form of the 

 aforementioned fountains. This to him seemed 

 a better solution of the question of the origin 

 of the fountains, than the theory of the con- 

 densed vapors, put forth by many geographers. 

 Completing his own observations from those of 

 E. H. Palmer and R. F. Burton, the lecturer 



remarked that Mount-Lebanon offered very 

 likely the most extensive system of perennial 

 fountains fed by ' snow- swallowing ' holes. Dr. 

 Hyvernat showed quite a number of specimens 

 of geology, particularly from the lower creta- 

 ceous and the Nubian sandstone. 



The second paper was by Mr. Mitchell Carroll 

 on 'Recent Excavations in the Roman Forum.' 

 Mr. Carroll said that the excavations in the 

 Roman Forum, conducted during the past year 

 under the direction of Signer Guido Bacelli, 

 Minister of Public Instruction, and with Signor 

 Giacomo Boni as superintendent, have shown 

 gratifying results, especially in three directions: 

 First, in the removal of mediaeval and modern 

 accumulations fi'om certain ancient structures, 

 and in the collecting and classification of the 

 architectural fragments scattered about in the 

 Forum ; second, in the reconstruction of the 

 temple of Vesta and jEdicula adjacent to it, and 

 of a number of the honorary columns, whose 

 pedestals front the Basilica Julia ; and third, in 

 the excavation of the area of the Comitium bor- 

 dering on the Forum which has led to the dis- 

 covery of what purports to be relics of the 

 period of the Kings. These are : the ' Niger 

 Lapis,' popularity designated the 'Tomb of 

 King Romulus'; archaic votive offerings, 

 (such as a terra-cotta tablet, bronze figurines, 

 etc.) ; and above all in importance, a stel6, 

 bearing an archaic inscription, supposed to date 

 from about the middle of the seventh century, 

 B. C. The lecture was illustrated by lantern 

 slides showing the progress of the work. 



E. D. Preston, 



Secretary. 



GEOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF WASHINGTON. 



The 96th regular meeting was held at the 

 Cosmos Club, January 24, 1900. 



The following papers were presented on the 

 regular program. 



(1) Mr. C. W. Hayes : ' Solution Sinks in a 

 Quartzite Formation.' 



Two circular depressions, 150 feet in depth, 

 occur on the southern flanks of Coldwater 

 Mountain in Alabama. These depressions have 

 all the characteristics of solution sinks. The 

 rocks in which they occur are lower Cambrian 

 quartzites and sandstones, the upper beds of 



