Miscellaneous Intelligence. 315 



greater part of Europe and North America (where the Probos- 

 cidea are unknown till the Pliocene) renders it almost certain that 

 neither of those regions was the home of the direct ancestors of 

 the JElephantidce ; and we must therefore look forward to the dis- 

 covery of mammaliferous Lower Miocene or Upper Eocene strata 

 in some other region of the (probably Old) World, which may 

 yield these missing forms. There is, however, but little chance 

 of the occurrence of such beds in India, and our main hope must 

 therefore be directed to other parts of Asia, or Africa, if indeed 

 these regions were ever populated in early Tertiary times by the 

 larger Mammalia. 



In regard to geographical distribution there appears to be con- 

 siderable evidence in favor of an easterly migration of the Masto- 

 dons having taken place from Europe to India; while the 

 restriction of the Stegodont group of Elephants to the latter 

 country and the regions to the eastward, points to the conclusion 

 that the transition from the Mastodons to the higher Elephants 

 took place in those regions ; from which we may also infer that 

 there subsequently ensued a westerly migration of these higher 

 forms to Europe, and finally on to North America, where the true 

 Elephants did not make their appearance till the Pleistocene, and 

 then appear to have been represented only by two species, one of 

 which ranged over the greater part of the higher latitudes of the 

 northern hemisphere. 



5. Mineral localities in the Western United States. — At recent 

 meetings of the Colorado Scientific Society various new occur- 

 rences of minerals have been described., Mr. W. B. Smith men- 

 tions the rare mineral dioptase from a new locality near Riverside, 

 Pinal county, Arizona; it is found in well-formed prismatic crystals, 

 the largest 3'5 mm in length and - 5 mm in thickness. He also notes 

 alabandite in crystals on Snake river, Summit county ; manga- 

 nite on Devil's Head mountain, Douglas county ; a black ferrifer- 

 ous rutile from near St. Peter's Dome in the Pike's Peak region ; 

 epidote and garnet and a corundum schist from Chaffee county. 

 Mr. R. M. Pearce describes the occurrence of enargite at the 

 Gangon mine, Montana; erinite and other copper arsenates, also 

 pharmacosiderite, from the Tintic district, Utah. 



III. Miscellaneous Scientific Intelligence. 



1. British Association. — The meeting of the British Associa- 

 tion for 1887, opened at Manchester on the 31st of August. The 

 number of tickets sold approached 4,000, exceeding the number 

 of any former year. The grants to investigators during the past 

 year aggregate more than $10,000. The proceeds available for the 

 coming year from the large attendance at this meeting will be still 

 greater. 



The inaugural address of the president, Sir Henry E. Roscoe, 

 alluded, in its opening remarks, to the honorable mention of the 

 name of the great Manchester chemist, John Dalton, in the presi- 



