157 



(July 16) ; J. Prescott, Siipt. Eastern Bailroad (July 10) ; S. S. Eath- 

 vou, Lancaster, Pa. (July 13); F. G. Sanborn, Andover (July 2, 10); 

 J. Seaton, Boston (July 2) ; Prof. J. H. Thayer, Andover (July 16) ; 

 E. W. Treadwell, Ipswich (July 2) ; Henri N. Woods, Eockport (July 8). 



Donations to the Library and Museum were announced. 



Mr. Alpheus Hyatt was introduced, and, humorously detailing a 

 mishap by which he had become the recipient of an involuntary bath, 

 said the circumstance had naturally suggested water as a topic upon 

 Avhich it might be appropriate to dilate. He thereupon gave some 

 very entertaining and instructive talk upon this subject, saying that 

 water was the equal of fire in its destructive power, washing down 

 the rocks and debris from the mountain sides and in comminuting 

 them in fine powder, which was borne down the streams, and depos- 

 ited at the mouths in the foi'm of deltas, or at the bottom of the 

 adjoining seas, where strata are formed by successive deposits, in 

 which are buried the remains of the various kinds of animals existing 

 at the time. These strata are then, by some great convulsions of na- 

 ture, upheaved and form the land. 



Mr. Edward S. Morse gave one of his interesting talks on the me- 

 chanism of some forms of snail-shells which he described, illustrating 

 his remarks bj^ some very rapid but excellent drawings upon a black- 

 board. He commenced by uttering the truth that we admire mechan- 

 ism for its minuteness. While we think but little of the large derrick 

 that raises stones, we admire the same general principles of mechan- 

 ism when combined with a little watch. The brooks about here con- 

 tain thirty or forty different kinds of snail-shells. The peculiarities, 

 and difl"erent formation of these he described, one after another. He 

 described the eyes, mouth, feelers, the tongue made up of thousands 

 of particles and so constructed that the food was lacerated as by a file. 

 He gave an interesting account of the process of breathing, for which 

 purpose they ascended to the surface of the water and then went back 

 again to the lower siirface on which they had the power of moving. 



Eev. Mr. Smith, the pastor of the society in whose church the meet- 

 ing Avas held, being called upon, made some appropriate remarks. He 

 alluded to the descriptions given by the previous speakers, as illus- 

 trating the fertility of the Creator and Sustainer of these organisms. 



Prof. C. H. Hitchcock exhibited a topographical map of the two 

 Andovers, published in 1852 before division had been efl"ected, accord- 

 ing to the surveys of H. F. Walling with the scale of ttt^otx- Upon 

 this he had attempted to represent the distribution of the diflerent 

 rocks over most of the area of the two towns. Upon such a large 

 map it is better to color only the spaces occupied by the actual out- 

 croppiugs, so that every one may see at a glance the proper outlines 

 of each belt, just as correctly as the explorer. The following are the 



