226 



The National Geographic Magazine 



closely resembles the Atlantic 0. vir- 

 ginica, and was so referred to as long ago 

 as 1863 by Dr. P. P. Carpenter in his list 

 of west coast shells,* and O. iridescens, 

 of somewhat darker semi-nacre. There 

 are many examples of these in the Na- 

 tional Museum. The first of the above 

 was collected in 1850, or about that time, 

 at La Paz, by Major Rich, of the U. S. 

 Army, and is further credited to Marga- 

 rita Bay, on the outer shore of the 

 peninsula (Xantus Collection, i860). 



As many as forty years ago the im- 

 portation of these Gulf oysters was at- 

 tempted by San Francisco parties. The 

 enterprise failed for some reason — pre- 

 sumably, uncertainty of transportation 

 and other requisite facilities. With quick 

 service by railroad, which is certain to 

 come before many years, and the neces- 

 sary ice plant or refrigerator cars, 

 Ostre a- culture in the Gulf of California 

 w T ill sooner or later be a profitable in- 

 dustry, as the general region is immune . 

 from some of the perils that are so dis- 

 couraging to enterprises of this kind in 

 more northerly latitudes, for natural in- 

 crease could be safely counted upon. 



For a self-perpetuating stock for the 

 northern waters, as long ago as 1886, at 

 the request of Professor Baird, I an- 

 swered a letter addressed to him by 

 parties in San Francisco, and recom- 

 mended experimenting with some edible 

 species from Japan, as being more likely 

 to propagate than any species from a 

 more southerly source, temperature of 

 waters considered. This very desirable 

 experiment remains to be tried. 



In writing of the Geologic age of the 

 region about Berkeley, the late Prof. 

 Joseph Le Contet said : "Oysters, such 

 as would astonish a latter-day California, 

 existed in such numbers that they formed 

 great oyster-banks. Their agglomerated 

 shells, each shell five or six inches long 

 and three to four inches wide form 



* Report to the British Association, 1863 

 (pp. 542 and 621), Smithsonian Miscellaneous 

 Collections, No. 252. Washington, December, 

 1872. 



t "A Berkeley Year," &c. Published in 

 Berkeley, California, in 1898. 



masses three feet thick and extending for 

 miles. These are found in the Berkeley 

 Hills ; but elsewhere in California. 

 Miocene and Pliocene oysters are found 

 thirteen inches long eight inches wide 

 and six inches thick. Alas for the de- 

 generacy of their descendants, the 

 modern California oyster. And yet, upon 

 second thought, there may be nothing to 

 regret. It may be that in the gradual 

 decrease in size the flavor has been cor- 

 respondingly intensified. It may be that 

 what was then diffused through a great 

 mass of flesh, and therefore greatly 

 diluted, was all conserved and concen- 

 trated into the exquisite piquancy char- 

 acteristic of the little California oyster of 

 the present day. If so we are consoled." 



TOPOGRAPHIC MAPS ISSUED BY 

 THE GEOLOGICAL SURVEY IN 



1907. 



The new topographic maps published by the 

 United States Geological Survey in 1907 com- 

 prise 104 sheets and cover areas in 32 states 

 and 2 territories, as shown by the following 

 lists. (Address Director U. S. Geological Sur- 

 vey, Washington, D. C.) 



State. Quadrangle. 



Alabama Bessemer Special 



Do Birmingham 



Do Leeds 



Alaska Casadepaga 



Do , Solomon 



Arizona Camelsback 



Do Fort McDowell 



Do Sacaton 



Do Vishnu 



California Colusa 



Do Davisville 



Do Dunnigan 



Do Holtville 



Do Indian Valley 



Do Mount Whitney 



Do Olancha 



Do Tesla 



Do Woodland 



Do Yosemite Valley 



Colorado Mount Olympus 



Do San Cristobal 



Georgia Dahlonega Special 



Do. Talbotton 



Idaho-Montana Coeur d'Alene Special 



Illinois Belleville 



Do Eldorado 



Do Mahomet 



Do Springfield 



Illinois-Indiana-Kentucky New Haven 



Iowa Decorah 



Do Des Moines 



