SOUTHERJ\ CALIFORNIA ACADEMy OF SCIENCES. 41 



f ornia, a member of the Chemical and Metallurgical Club of Los Angeles, 

 who read an interesting paper on * ' The Chemical Geology of Sedimentary 

 Deposits. ' ' 



He said in part, that chemistry had always played an imjjortant part 

 in building up the earth 's strata which usually occurred near the surface, 

 and that the rivers carried much of this material into the sea, and the 

 larger material was deposited near the shore, and the finer matter was 

 carried further out. He also stated that mineral substances were held in 

 solution, and that in the Lake Superior region the iron was deposited 

 chiefly by precipitation. He asserted that it was estimated that 100 

 tons of rock material per square mile were dissolved by rain wai,:- • every 

 year into the sea, and that limestone was formed in vast quantities on 

 the ocean floor, mostly between the surface and at a depth of 2000 

 fathoms an.:', remarked that limestone played no Siiiail pari in the 

 formation of iron ores as a carbonate or sulphate being derived from the 

 decomposition of pyrites and other iron-bearing minerals. He quoted 

 several prominent authors who substantiated the opinions advanced. He 

 also stated that the area of the ocean floor was estimated to cover 

 103,000,000 square miles, and that dead marine animals probably covered 

 the ocean floor six feet in depth for many square miles. He also gave 

 the reports of 160 analyses of sea water collected by the Challenger ex- 

 pedition; stating that of deep-sea deposits on the floor of the ocean, 36.83 

 were carbonate of lime, and that 90 per cent, was derived from pelagic 

 organisms, and that below 3000 fathoms very little limestone was de- 

 posited; that a large percentage of silica is being formed from diatom- 

 aceous and radiolarian oozes; that metaraorphism changed nearly every 

 kind of sedimentary rock. 



There was a general discussion by members and questions were 

 asked and answered by the speaker. The lecture was interesting and of 

 a purely scientific character. 



The chairman thanked Professor Shepherd for his interesting and 

 instructive lecture. G-. MAJOE TABER, Secretarv. 



NOTES AND ISTEWS. 



One eucalyptus tree, E. naudiniana, Muller, has been discovered in 

 Mindanao, the most southern of the Philippine Islands (Science Xo. 4.57). 



Southern California has the distinction of producing some of the 

 most interesting mineral gems that have been discovered of late. Dr. 

 Kunz, at the New York Academy of Sciences, reported the following: 

 Magnificent colored tourmalines from San Jacinto, Mesa Grande and 

 Pala; rose beryl also from the latter localities; lilac spodumene from 

 Pala and Coahuila; spessarite, a garnet of remarkable beauty, from 

 Coahuila and from San Diego; kunzite "in crystals, which for purity and 

 beauty of color are unrivaled by any other mineral in North America." 



At Ramona, near San Diego, crystals of pale blue topaz have been 

 found that resemble those of the itral region. This is the first noted 

 occurrence of this mineral in the state. 



The greatest amount of salt detected in beach sand occurred in a 

 sample 'taken at Los Angeles, 0.15 for the first foot, and 0.12 for the 

 second foot, an amount not greater than that sometimes occurring in cul- 

 tivated land in the United States. We are therefore constrained to at- 

 tribute the xerophytic character of sand-strand vegetation to factors^ in 

 the environment other than the presence in the soil of an excessive 

 amount of soluble salt. (The Salt Content of Seabeach Soils. T. H. 

 Kearney.) 



