Geology and Mineralogy. 259 



cause of elevation, whatever it may be, involves the expansion of 

 the underlying magmas and the cause of depression, their shrink- 

 age. 



4. Siliceous bed consisting of Diatoms, Madiolarians and 

 Sponge-spicides, in the Eocene of New Zealand. — -.This siliceous 

 bed of organisms, occurring on the east coast of the South Island 

 of New Zealand at Oamaru, whose Sponge-spicules are described 

 by Dr. G. J. Hinde and W. M. Holmes (in the J. Linn. Soc, 

 1892), is regarded as probably a deep-sea deposit, " comparable 

 with the Diatom ooze which now forms a belt of varying width 

 surrounding the South Polar Regions, between the Antarctic 

 Circle and the 40th parallel," at " a depth of 600 to 1975 fathoms, 

 and an average of 1477 fathoms. A bluish siliceous deposit now 

 found off the same east coast at depths of 700 to 1100 fathoms 

 is very different in consisting chiefly of material from the land 

 with few siliceous organisms. 



5. A Preliminary Catalogue of the systematic Collections in 

 Economic Geology and Metallurgy in the TJ. 3. National Mu- 

 seum, by Frederic P. Dewey. 256 pp. 8vo. Washington, 

 1891 (Bulletin of the United States National Museum, No. 42). — 

 This bulletin gives not only a full description of the National 

 Museum collections, but also a valuable account of mining and 

 metallurgical processes in the different parts of the country, 

 illustrated by many admirable plates. 



6. The Palmontology of the Cretaceous formation on Staten 

 Island; by Arthur Hollick. Reprint from Trans. N. Y. 

 Acad. Sci., vol. xi, 1892. — Dr. Hollick gives in this paper a brief 

 summary of the various discoveries that have been made by him- 

 self and others of animal and vegetable remains on Staten Island. 

 They consist altogether of eight species of mollusks and a dozen 

 or more of plants, many of them in a bad state of preservation. 

 They were found at Kreischerville, Tottenville, Eltingville, 

 Prince's Bay, Arrochar and Clifton, in more or less ferruginous 

 and concretionary matter underneath the bowlder drift or some- 

 what mingled with it and bearing evidence of considerable dis- 

 turbance. Only at Kreischerville are the Cretaceous clays found 

 in place. The shells are of marine Cretaceous type and the 

 plants are characteristic forms of the Amboy clays of New 

 Jersey across the Kill and the Raritan, most of which, however, 

 were originally described by Heer from the Cretaceous of Green- 

 land, or by Lesqnereux from the Dakota formation. The plants 

 were all found at Tottenville and Prince's Bay, and Dr. Hollick 

 shows that their occurrence can be accounted for on the theory 

 of glacial transportation from the well-known plant-beds of the 

 Woodbridge district, but he thinks the marine shells of Arro- 

 char, sheltered on the west by the Archaean ridge, do not admit 

 of this explanation and must be regarded as in place. The 

 paper is illustrated by four plates, three of which are devoted to 

 the plants. The figures are remarkably clear and instructive. 



l. f. w. 



