ENTOMOLOGICAL SOCIETY. 



there from the shales which extend as shoals far into Lake Hnron. These concretions 

 vary in size from a foot to five feet in diameter. Their composition is limestone, colored 

 by bituminous matter. They are crystalline and radiate from a centre. They resemble 

 fossilized wood. When exposed to the action of the air they usually divide through the 

 centre forming hemispheres. 



" As they are being wantonly destroyed by visitors there should be legislative pro- 

 tection provided for these curiosities as soon as possible. 



" The shales here present a fine tesselated appearance. The vertical cleavage runs 

 in parallel straight lines at different distances, and the general appearance is much the 

 same as it would be had these shales been placed in position by skilled workmen. Quan- 

 tities of pyrites are found in these shales. The iron oxidizing tinges with red the boulders 

 along the shore. 



" By decomposition of the shales, quantities of alum are produced. This the Indians, 

 from time immemorable, have used as medicine and a commodity for barter. Many years 

 ago fire raged among these shales and consumed a great Dart of the peninsula which pre- 

 viously had extended far into the lake." 



Mr. Percival's report on the celestine grotto at Put-in-Bay : 



" It having been reported to the section that a curious crystal cave had recently been 

 discovered on an island at the western extremity of Lake Erie, I decided to visit it and 

 report. The cave was discovered a year ago by workmen engaged in digging a well. At 

 a depth of about twenty feet a fissure was discovered at one side of the well, and further 

 excavation revealed a beautiful little cavern everywhere lined with crystalline strontium 

 sulphate (celestine). The owner having lighted the well by electricity the effect is very fine. 

 The crystals are rhombic, of a beautiful azure blue, and vary in size from one inch to twenty 

 inches in transverse axis. As the cavern is everywhere lined by these crystals it may be 

 considered a gigantic geode. The cave is semi-circular in form and about forty feet in 

 perimeter. The arch of the roof however is low owing to the vast deposit of crystals, said 

 to be more than twenty-two feet in thickness, on the floor of the grotto. 



" Crevices at several points together with other indications lead to the opinion that 

 this is only one of a series of similar caverns in that vicinity. The owner proposes to 

 continue excavating during the ensuing winter, and probably next summer there will be 

 several grottoes open to the inspection of visitors. 



" Strontium is a somewhat rare mineral and occurs nowhere else in large quantity. 

 The element was isolated about a century ago. It is whitish in color, oxidizes readily, 

 decomposes water with explosive violence, and never occurs in organic bodies. It gives 

 a remarkable band of light in the spectrum, by which it is readily detected. Strontium 

 was named after Strontian, in Argyle, Scotland, where it is found as a carbonate. It is 

 also found in Sicily in small quantity. Here however the quantity 'in sight is quite large. 

 Sr. nitrate is used to give a crimson tint to a. flame, and is the chief material used in 

 making Bengal fire (red). Strontium salts are also used in sugar refining to hasten the 

 crystallization of sugar." 



Mr. Percival placed beautiful crystals in our geological cabinet in the Entomological 

 Society's rooms, where they may be inspected at any time. 



Mr. Sangster's Report on Alvinston Shales. 



The outcrop measures 1,400 feet in length, and borings made at various points prove 

 that the depth is sixty feet. The river has eroded the bed to a depth of about eight feet. 

 The shales are similar to those exposed at Kettle Point, but contain no concretions. 

 They are highly carbonaceous and contain much iron sulphide. The shales are capped 

 by a stratum of clay forty feet in thickness. 



Experiments made with this shale prove it to be a most valuable material for the 

 manufacture of vitrified brick. A leading manufacturer of paving brick declared no 



