Geology and Natural History. 413 



growths (Petry) ; on the physiology of the pancreas (Herzog) ; 

 on the poison of spiders (Sachs) ; on the chemical nature of abrni 

 (Hausmann) ; and on the differentiation of animals upon the basis 

 of chemical differences in their muscle-plasma (Przibram). 



L. B. M. 



II. Geology and Natural History. 



1. Geological Commission Cape of Good Hope. Geo. S, 

 Corstorphine, Geologist. Annual Reports 1898 and 1899. — 

 The annual reports of the Geological Commission of the Cape of 

 Good Hope describe general reconnaissance work covering a large 

 part ol Cape Colony. The Carboniferous conglomerates have 

 received particular attention and the " evidence of glacial action 

 in the Dwyka Conglomerate has accumulated to such an extent 

 that doubt can no longer remain that the rock owes its pecu- 

 liarities to such action." "The Transvaal conglomerates, asso- 

 ciated with the coal, are also unmistakably of glacial origin." 



2. Western Australia. — Annual Progress Report of the Geo- 

 logical Survey, 1900, 34 pp., Perth ; Wm. Watson, Govern- 

 ment Printer. — The operations of the Western Australian survey 

 for 1900 were for the most part confined to mining and water 

 resources. 



3. Sulphur, Oil and Quicksilver in Trans- Pecos, Texas. Uni- 

 versity of Texas Mineral Survey, Wm. B. Phillips, Director. 

 Bull. No. 2. 43 pp. — Perhaps the most important work done by 

 the Texas Mineral Survey during the year 1901 was the examina- 

 tion of the sulphur deposits of El Paso County, which were 

 found to be of considerable commercial importance. As to the 

 origin of the sulphur, " the richer bluish ores have been formed 

 from sulphur waters at a time when they were above ground, 

 and probably through the agency of certain algae which are 

 plentiful in the sulphur springs to-day." 



4. Untersuchung einiger Gesteinssuiten gesammelt in Celebes y 

 von C. Schmidt (Anhang z. Materialien zur Naturgeschichte der 

 Insel Celebes von P. und F. Sarasin ; vol. iv, Geol.-Geog. Beschreib., 

 4°, pp. 28, Wiesbaden, 1901). — The rocks described in this paper 

 were collected by the Drs. Sarasin in their explorations. Short 

 descriptions are given of the microscopical examination of a num- 

 ber of kinds from various localities, the rocks comprising various 

 lavas, massive rocks and crystalline schists of well known types. 

 The greatest interest attaches to a suite from the mountain group 

 of the Peak of Maros near Macassar, where the investigation of 

 both material in place and transported stream bowlders shows 

 that a magmatic center of foyaite-ijolite rocks occurs. Among 

 the lavas are found trachytes, both of Drachenfels and Ponza 

 types, phonolite (which forms the top of the peak), glassy ande- 

 site and basalts including leucitic varieties. Related rocks are 

 bootonite porphyry and gauteite (Hibseh.), which Avere not found 

 in place but are believed to represent the related dike rocks. The 



