486 Screntifie Intelligence. 
Third Report of Progress in the Laboratory of the Survey at 
Harrisburg (numbered M3), by A. S. McCrearu. 126 pp. 8vo, 
with a 
a ¢ Gevtogy of Erie and Crawford Counties (numbered Q4), 
b . Wurrr, 406 pp. 8vo. Includes a paper on the Discov- 
ery Of ‘the Preglacal Outlet of Lake Erie by J. W. Spencer, 
Ph.D., with t maps. 
The Waste of Blair County (numbered T), by Franxiiw 
Puiatr. 312 pp. 8vo, with Atla 
The volumes all bear evidence of good work, both in the scien- 
tific and practical direction. 
Mr. McCreath’s Laboratory Report contains numerous analyses 
of iron ores, coals and cokes, and limestones, with some of fire-clays. 
Many of the iron ores are from beds of limonite associated with 
Lower Silurian limestones. The limestone formation No. 2 (or 
the Calciferous and Chazy), wherever found in Pennsylvania, is 
stated to have passe with it more or less important deposits 
of this iron ore, some of them at the bottom, others at the middle, 
and others a the oe beneath the Trenton limestone; and these 
beds have applied the larger part of the stock to the furnaces 
along the Lehigh, oe and Susquehanna rivers, and the 
whole of it to the furnaces of Mountain Creek Valley, in Cumber- 
land eto and some others. They occur at er i in the 
Cumberland Valley, from the Lehigh River to ao ryland, and 
through Virginia and East Tennessee to Alaba Other iron 
ores analyzed were from Magnetite mines near Di sbury, in 
York Co., connected with the Mesozoic sige and still others 
from Devonian and Carboniferous rocks, from bogs. The 
Cumberland Valley ores contain *018 to 1787 per cent of phos- 
phorous, but usually under 0°5 ; and they sometimes vary in this 
a a 0°21 in the same bed. 
he Report on Erie and Crawford Counties Mr. White men- 
tions facts respecting “ buried valleys.” He states that “the 
present water-courses meander along the upper surfaces of drift 
deposits which fill the ancient valleys to various heights above 
the old rock-beds.” About four sa a half miles below Meadville, 
in the valley of French Creek, a boring went down 285 feet 
through the drift from a level 482 feet above Lake Erie. Con- 
neaut Creek has a drift-filling, according to borings, 180 feet deep. 
Other similar facts are reported. Conneaut Creek is the only one 
of the streams that now takes water to Lake Erie. The author 
refers to similar facts described in the Report of Mr. J. F. Carll, 
and cites his Secchpnient that the buried water-ways drained 
northwestern Pennsylvania toward Lake Erie. Mr. White states, 
as his own conclusion, that they owe their origin to glacial move- 
ment in the opposite direction. Mr. White’s Report is occupied 
mainly with stratigraphical details, but treats also of the disturb- 
ances of the region, and of oil-wells and other points of general 
interest. The oil or petroleum is attributed to generation in situ 
from seaweeds, as urged by Lesquereux. He mentions the occur- 
_ rence of a grit saturated with oil, in all parts of which were frag- 
