SCIENCE- G OSSIP. 



A microscopic examination of marmorised Chalk 

 shows, that while at the actual point of contact 

 with the basalt, crystals of aragonite have been 

 developed, calcite is the predominant mineral 

 throughout the mass of the rock. Further, while 

 it is but rarely that fossils escape obliteration 

 during the process of contact-igneous-metamor- 

 phism, in this case they are remai'kably well pre- 

 served, and show little or no traces of alteration. 



If we substitute regional rnetarnorphisni as a 

 primary cause, we are at once met with the diffi- 

 culty that in such a case the action of heat is 

 greatly modified by, and even subordinated to, 

 that of pressure. The weight of superincumbent 

 basalt is trifling, compared with that to which the 

 Chalk lying beneath the London basin is subjected, 

 and there is no evidence that any induration has 

 taken place in the latter district. 



May I propose tentatively that an explanation 

 should be sought in hydrothermal action ? The 

 influence of heated water containing dissolved 

 solid matter and also gases, such as hydrochloric 

 acid and carbon dioxide, in solution, is recognised 

 as a potent factor in rnetarnorphisni. Such waters 

 retain a remarkable uniformity of temperature 

 throughout long periods. They coincide in distri- 

 bution with volcanic areas, in which fact we find 

 a satisfactory explanation of the alteration of the 

 Crimean Chalk where this formation lies beyond 

 the area influenced by igneous masses, but yet 

 within the range of thermal waters, which, on 

 the other hand, are characteristically absent from 

 the unaltered Cretaceous beds occurring in imme- 

 diate contact with beds of Andesitic lava in the 

 Caucasus. A few somewhat parallel cases may be 

 cited in support of our hypothesis. Daubree has 

 shown that the alkaline waters of Plombieres, in the 

 Vosges, conveyed by the Romans to baths through 

 long conduits, have given rise to calcite, aragonite, 

 and fluorspar, together with siliceous minerals, as 

 the result of a rearrangement induced in the bed 

 of concrete made of lime, fragments of brick, and 

 sandstone. M. Foumet, in his description of the 

 metalliferous gneiss near Clermont, in Auvergne, 

 states that all the minute fissures of the rock con- 

 tain free carbon dioxide, and that the various 

 minerals of the gneiss, with the exception of the 

 quartz, are all softened ; and new combinations of 

 the acid with calcium, iron, and manganese are 

 continually in progress. 



In the Lipari Islands the horizontal strata of 

 tuff forming cliffs have been discoloured in places 

 by jets of steam, often above the boiling-point, 

 called ■ si n fas," issuing from the fissures ; similar 

 corrosion of rocks near Corinth, and of trachyte in 

 the Solfatara, near Naples, has been effected by 

 sulphuretted hydrogen and hydrochloric acid. 

 The interest of these instances lies in the fact 

 that the gases must have made their way through 

 vast thicknesses of porous or fissured rocks, and 

 have modified them for thousands of feet. 



We are becoming more and more acquainted 

 with the leading part which thermal waters are 

 playing" in the distribution of internal heat through 

 the superincumbent strata, and in introducing 

 various chemical compounds into them in a fluid 

 or gaseous condition, which alter, rearrange, and 

 often combine with the component minerals of the 

 surrounding rocks. 



20 Warwick Road, 



Upper Clapton, London, N.E., 

 29th October, 1900. 



CEUELTY TO WILD ANIMALS ACT. 



ON August 6th last there was passed a short Act 

 of Parliament entitled the " Wild Animals in 

 Captivity Protection Act." Although we do not 

 for a moment imagine that any reader of this journal 

 would knowingly come within the range of its 

 penalties, it is perhaps as well that all should be 

 familiar with its chief clauses, which are 



1. The word "animal" in this Act means any 

 bird, beast, fish, or reptile which is not included in 

 the Cruelty to Animal Acts, 1849 and 1854. 



2. Any person shall be guilty of an offence who, 

 whilst an animal is in captivity or close confine- 

 ment, or is maimed, pinioned, or subjected to any 

 appliance or contrivance for the purpose of 

 hindering or preventing its escape from such 

 captivity or confinement, shall, by wantonly or 

 unreasonably doing or omitting any act, cause or 

 permit to lie caused, any unnecessary suffering to 

 such animal ; or cruelly abuse, infuriate, tease, or 

 terrify it, or permit it to be so treated. 



:i. Any person committing an offence may be 

 proceeded against under the Summary Jurisdiction 

 Acts, and on conviction shall for every such 

 offence be liable to imprisonment with or without 

 hard labour for not exceeding three months, or a 

 fine not exceeding five pounds, and, in default of 

 payment, to imprisonment with or without hard 

 labour. 



4. This Act shall not apply to any act done or 

 any omission in the course of destroying or pre- 

 paring any animal for destruction as food for man- 

 kind, nor to any act permitted by the Cruelty to 

 Animals Act. 1876, nor to the hunting or coursing 

 of any animal which has not been liberated in a 

 mutilated or injured state in order to facilitate its 

 capture or destruction. 



5. This Act shall not extend to Scotland. 



Radcliffe Observatory, Oxford, is shortly 

 to have a large double telescope, the work of Sir 

 Howard Grubb. The great dome has a steel 

 framework covered with papier-inache\ The 

 observatory will be furnished with a rising floor 

 worked by an hydraulic lift. The height from the 

 gr< iimd to the top of the dome is 53 feet, and the 

 outside diameter of the tower 35 feet. The 

 mass of the great concrete block on which the 

 large brick pier is built weighs some 30 tons, and 

 is placed at a depth of 17 feet below the surface. 



