258 Scientific Intelligence. 



small part of the igneous core of the Wichita uplift is now- 

 exposed. The rock section of the Wichita Mountains is almost 

 an exact reproduction both in stratigraphy and structure of the 

 Arbuckle Mountain uplift, and the epochs of its stratigraphic his- 

 tory probably also correspond with those in the mountains to the 

 east. 



5. The Oldest Sedimentary Rocks of the Transvaal. — In a 

 recent paper by Frederick H. Hatch, published in the Transac- 

 tions of the Geological Society of South Africa, vol. vii, pt. 3, 

 attention is called to the discovery of metamorphosed sediments 

 of earlier age than the Witwatersrand series. The rock is vari- 

 able in character. One of its stricking features in the Mt. Marais 

 district is the presence of "knotted" schist containing andalusite 

 and ottrelite. This early formation has been named the Swaziland 

 series and, with its intrusive granite, is ascribed to the Archean 

 system. Swaziland beds occupy the same relative position as. the 

 Malmesbury beds of Cape Colony. 



A paper by E. J. T. Jorissen, read December 12th, before the 

 Geological Society of South Africa, gives a detailed description 

 of the granites which are intruded in the Swaziland beds, and 

 underlying unconformably the Witwatersrand. 



6. Maryland Geological Survey. Miocene, text, pp. i-clv, 

 1-543 ; volume of plates, x-cxxxv. The Johns Hopkins Univer- 

 sity, 1904. — These two splendid volumes treat of the stratigraphy 

 and life of the Miocene deposits of Maryland. The stratigraphy 

 is described by Clark, Shattuck, and Dall. The fauna and flora 

 are described in detail and illustrated by excellent drawings, as 

 follows : The plants, by Hollick and Boyer ; vertebrates, by 

 Case and Eastman ; the bivalves, by Glenn ; the other Mollusca, 

 the brachiopods, and most of the Crustacea, by Martin ; the 

 ostracods and bryozoans, by Ulrich and Bassler; the echino- 

 derms, by Clark ; the corals, by Vaughan ; the foraminifers, by 

 Bagg. The number of fossil species is large, as 652 are 

 described. 



The State Geologist reports that the "most important contri- 

 bution to the interpretation of the Maryland Miocene deposits 

 which has been hitherto made " is by Dr. Dall. On pages 

 cxxxix-clv, Dall discusses " The relations of the Miocene of 

 Maryland to that of other regions and to the recent fauna." The 

 Maryland Miocene is divided into Calvert, Choptank, and St. 

 Mary's formations. " One-third of the molluscan fauna of the 

 Maryland Chesapeake is peculiar to it. Ten per cent survive to 

 the present fauna." 



"The temperature conditions governing the fauna of the Mary- 

 land Chesapeake were those of the temperate rather than the 

 boreal or subtropical faunas of the present coast ; and , . . the 

 temperature of the Chesapeake embayment was on the whole 

 somewhat warmer than at present." 



" In a general way, allowing for local peculiarities, the Miocene 

 fauna of North Germany compares well and agrees closely with 



