164 



HARDWICKE'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 



chalk downs that contain the subsoil water at con- 

 siderable depth below the surface do not suffer so 

 much in a dry season as other lands in which there is 

 no subsoil water. 



West Indian Geology.— At the last meeting of 

 the Geological Society, an important paper on " The 

 Tertiary Microzoic Formations of Trinidad, West 

 Indies," was read by Mr. R. J. Lechmere Guppy. 

 After giving an account of the general geology of the 

 island, and noticing previous memoirs devoted to 

 that geology, the author describes in detail the 

 characters of the Naparima beds, to which he assigns 

 an Eocene and Miocene age. He considers that the 

 Nariva Marls are not inferior to but above the 

 Naparima Eocene Marls, and are actually of Mio- 

 cene date. The Pointapier section is then described, 

 and its Cretaceous beds considered, reasons being 

 given for inferring that there was no break between 

 the Cretaceous and Eocene rocks of the Parian area. 

 The author observes that the Eocene molluscan 

 fauna of Trinidad shows no near alliances with other 

 known faunas, thus differing from the well-known 

 Miocene fauna of Haiti, Jamaica, Cuba, Trinidad, 

 and other localities. Only one mollusk is common to 

 the Eocene and Miocene of the West Indies. The 

 shallow-water foraminifera are found in both Eocene 

 and Miocene, whilst the deep-water foraminifera are 

 nearly all of existing species. It would appear that 

 during the Cretaceous and Eocene periods a sea of 

 variable depth (up to 1000 fathoms) occupied the 

 region now containing the microzoic rocks of Trini- 

 dad, whilst a mountain-range (which may be termed 

 the Parian range) extended continuously from the 

 north of Trinidad to the littoral Cordillera of Vene- 

 zuela, forming the southern boundary of the Carib- 

 bean continent, and possessing no large streams to 

 transport mechanical sediment into the Cretaceo- 

 Eocene sea which opened eastward into the Atlantic. 

 In the discussion which followed, the president said 

 the Society had lately heard the paper by Messrs. 

 Jukes-Browne and Harrison on the deep-sea deposits 

 of Barbados, and the present paper would be useful 

 for comparison with the results of those authors. 

 Mr. J. W. Gregory stated that the conclusions as to 

 the truly deep-sea origin of some of the Trinidad 

 rocks stated in an appendix to the paper agreed with 

 those just announced by Dr. Hinde. He remarked 

 on the great interest of the geology of Trinidad, 

 as that island occurs at the intersection of the 

 two main Caribbean lines of movement, viz., that 

 along the Cordillera of Venezuela, and the later 

 one along the Antillean chain. It was from Trinidad 

 that evidence as to the exact correlation of the 

 Cainozoic deposits of this area might be expected, for 

 a series of shallow-water beds containing mollusca 

 there occurred below deep-sea beds almost identical 

 in character with those of the Oceanic series of 

 Barbados. 



NOTES AND QUERIES. 



North Kent Natural History Society. — 

 The biennial meeting of this society was held on 

 Wednesday, May nth, 1S92, Mr. Woodward, the 

 President, in the chair. It was unanimously resolved, 

 that the annual subscription to the Society for 

 members residing within the radius of ten miles, 

 should be reduced to $s. payable quarterly, and for 

 country members (those living beyond the radius) 

 should be 2s. 6d. payable in advance. Exhibits were 

 shown during the evening by several members. A 

 small library is connected with the Society, and 

 monthly journals are taken. It is earnestly hoped 

 that Naturalists residing in this neighbourhood and 

 the metropolis will join the Society, which meets 

 on alternate Wednesdays. Donations and gifts of 

 Books to the library will be thankfully received, 

 as will also the names and addresses with the 

 Entrance Fee, Is., of any person wishing to become 

 a member, by Mr. C. H. J. Baldock, I Chapel 

 Street, Woolwich, S.E., or by the Secretary, Mr. 

 H. J. Webb,. - 3, Gunning Street, Plumstead. 



Professor Frank Clowes has adapted the or- 

 dinary miner's safety-lamp as a fire-damp tester. 

 Ordinarily when there is fire-damp in the air a 

 luminous "cap" appears over the flame, and the 

 height of the cap increases as the percentage of 

 inflammable gas in the air increases. But when the 

 percentage is small the cap is not very apparent, 

 unless the flame is feeble. To remedy this defect, 

 Professor Clowes places a small tube between the 

 wick and the case, and introduces hydrogen by it 

 from a steel reservoir. When the air has to be tested 

 the hydrogen is allowed to enter and ignite at the 

 ordinary flame of the lamp, which is then turned 

 down. It burns with a pale light, and the luminous 

 cap over it due to fire-damp is readily measured. 

 When the test is made the ordinary flame is re-lit 

 and the hydrogen one extinguished. 



The importance of keeping the surface and ex- 

 tremities of the body warm during brain-work has 

 long been recognised in a general way ; but Professor 

 Mosso, of Turin, has demonstrated that when the 

 brain is active much more blood is sent to it from the 

 peripheral parts of the body. He has also found that 

 the circulation of the blood in the brain is subject to 

 fluctuations which are apparently not dependent on 

 physical activity. Fatigue, caused by brain-work, 

 acts as a poison which affects all the organs, espe- 

 cially the muscular system. The blood of dogs 

 fatigued by long racing also acts as a poison, and 

 when injected into other dogs makes them exhibit all 

 the symptoms of fatigue. Sense of fatigue seems to 

 be due to the products of the nerve-cells rather than 

 to deficiency of proper substance. 



"To the Curious Observers of Natural 

 Phenomena. — T. Hall, well known to the virtuosi 

 as the first artist in Europe for stuffing and preserving 

 all kinds of Birds, Beasts, and Reptiles, so as to 

 resemble the attitudes and perfection of life ; respect- 

 fully informs the public, that by a method peculiar to 

 himself, he now makes the stuffed birds to sing as 

 though they were alive. Specimens of his surprising 

 Art maybe seen at his Museum, opposite The terrace, 

 City Road, Finsbury Square, London ; where a 

 capital collection of Stuffed Birds, Beasts, and 

 Insects, are to be sold, in the highest state of 

 preservation, well adapted for Tea Gardens and other 

 public places, by which a great profit may arise to 



