Geology and Natural History. 499 



4. Composition of a brick from the brick-yard of S. P. Crafts, 

 at Quinnipiac, three miles north of New Haven, Ct.; by O. H. 

 Drake. — The brick-clay used for making the bricks is from the 

 bed of stratified drift in which were found bones of the Reindeer, 

 mentioned in volume x (1875) of this Journal. The brick was one 

 of the overbaked kind, much distorted, and highly vesicular or 

 scoria-like, and the texture within indicated complete fusion. The 

 clay had been mixed with coal-dust before the heating, as now 

 usual at brick yards. The analysis of the vesicular semi-glassy 

 portion afforded 



Si0 3 A1 2 3 FeoOs FeO MnO CaO MgO K 2 Na 2 

 65-89 18-98 2-91 1-32 0"22 2"29 2-56 3-15 2-96=100'32 



The large percentage of potash and soda shows that the clay con- 

 tained much undecomposed feldspar, which is natural . in view of 

 the fact that the crystalline rocks that were its source border the 

 Connecticut valley thi-ough its whole distance to New Haven. 

 The vesiculation is supposed to be due to the coal dust. 



5. International Congress of Geologists. (From a communica- 

 tion from the Secretary of the American Committee, Professor H. 

 S. Williams, to the Editors.) — The Organizing Committee of the 

 International Congress of Geologists met in the National Museum, 

 Washington, D. C., on the 19th of April last. Present, Professor 

 J. S. Newberry (in the chair), J. P. Lesley, N. S. Shaler, O. C. 

 Marsh, C. H. Hitchcock, J. J. Stevenson, G. K. Gilbert, James 

 Hall, A. Heilprin, J. R. Proctor, A. Winchell, C. D. Walcott, R. 

 P. Whitfield and H. S. Williams. 



Professor J. S. Newberry of Columbia College was elected 

 Permanent Chairman, G. K. Gilbert of the U. S. Geological Sur- 

 vey, Vice-Chairman, and H. S. Williams of Cornell University, 

 Secretary. 



There were added, by election, three new members to the Com- 

 mittee, T. Sterry Hunt, Persifor Frazer and E. D. Cope, making 

 a total of twenty-seven. 



It was resolved that the Chairman appoint three committees, 

 viz : (1) a Committee on the Scientific programme of the Con- 

 gress, (2) a Committee to arrange for the longer excursions, 

 (3) a Local Committee to make arrangements for the holding of 

 the meeting in Philadelphia. The names of the members of these 

 sub-committees will be announced later. 



The Committee adjourned to meet at Philadelphia at the time, 

 in November, of the meeting of the National Academy. 



6. Brief notices of some recently described minerals. Meta- 

 stibnite. — This name has been proposed by Becker for the red 

 sulphide of antimony which he has observed among the deposits 

 of the Steamboat Springs, California. It is brick-red in color, 

 dull in luster, apparently amorphous, and occurs mingled with 

 silica and sulphide of arsenic. It seems to be identical with the 

 chemically precipitated Sb 2 S 3 . — U. S. Geol. Surv., Monograph xiii. 



Heeiophyixite, Rhodotilite. — Two new minerals from Pajs- 

 berg, Sweden, described by G. Flink. Heliophyllite is a sulphur- 

 yellow mineral, with foliated structure, and optically shown to 



