J. M. Ordway on Waterglass. 27 
Early in September the writer had the pleasure of mss" 3 
nying Professor Gray to the locality of the heather. The 
round was carefully examined, but, with the exception of the 
discovery of innumerable young plants of all ages, from one to 
ve years, no new facts were obtained. From all the evidence 
adduced it seems much more probable that this is an indigenous 
locality of the heather, although the only one known in the 
nited States. In this opinion Professor Gray coincides, after 
an examination of the facts. 
May not the heather have once existed in profusion on this 
continent and have gradually died out owing to some inexplica- 
ble, yet perhaps only slight climatic changes? May not this be 
the last vestige, or one of the last, of what was once an Ameri- 
can heath? And if the heather exists in Nova Scotia* and 
bearing upon mooted questions respecting the geographical dis- 
tribution or dispersion of species, upon which distinguished 
naturalists are now at issue. ne i 
Although Mr. Dawson cannot be said to be the original dis- 
coverer of this locality, yet to him belongs all the credit of ap~ 
ag the discovery, and of first directing the attention of 
tanists to the existence of the plant in the United States. 
Arr. III.— Waterglass; by Joun M. ORDWAY. 
[Continued from p. 354, vol. xxxii.] 
Part HI. 
Its Precipitation by Alcohol. P 
Awonc the few chemists who have made experiments on the 
Precipitation of waterglass by alcohol, no one seems to have dis- 
tinctly apprehended the fact that the spirit always effects a par- 
tial decomposition of the silicate. Fuchs says, in his first me- 
[* The authority forthe Newfoundland habitat is mentioned in vol. xxxii, p. 290, 
: this Journal, ‘That Calluna also inhabits Nova Scotia is stated ‘ in * 
etum, i . 
the claim for Calluna to be regarded as merican plant rested wholly or mainly _ 
is kesbury locality, it would not gain ee ee t its existence i 
ewfoundland, and still more in Nova Scotia (if ve ed) does away with all ante- 
t improbability of its indigenous New England—Eps] 
