308 Cowles and Mabery — On the Mectrical Furnace, and 



species ranges through nearly the whole Tertiary, the Vicksburg 

 group included. I have it from Vicksburg. 



Fulgur Mississippiensis Con. and Tellina Vicksburgensis Con. are 

 found in both groups, also in the intermediate Red Bluff strata. 

 Why they could not ascend from the Jackson to Vicksburg 

 passes my understanding. Fulgur films Mr. seems from the 

 description to be F. Mississippiensis itself ; the differences 

 pointed out are trifling, and there are intermediate forms. 



6th. Pleurotoraa terebralis Lam. = P. cristata Con. I have 

 from the Greggs Landing marl which is several hundred feet 

 below the Wood's bluff group and not far from the Cretaceous, 

 therefore its origin is below all the groups in question. The 

 Acteon spoken of has a greater range than given. 



In reference to Natica Mississippie?isis Con. : As the Wood's 

 bluff is over 700 feet below the Claiborne its origin is simply 

 shown to be below the three groups under discussion. 



7th. Here Dr. Meyer is guilty of assuming a parallelism 

 which he has not seen and of which he gives no proof whatever. 



In conclusion, let me state that the Tertiary is a great deal 

 thicker than has been before supposed, and arguments based 

 upon the upper quarter of its thickness are very likely to be 

 upset by the paleontology of the three-fourths as yet unknown. 

 An enormous territory remains here for the paleontologist, both 

 in Mississippi and Alabama, entirely outside of the three groups, 

 Vicksburg, Jackson and Claiborne, full of beautiful new species 

 and gigantic forms of little Claiborne shells, that would cause 

 one to exclaim, what could have led to such degeneration ! 



There is no doubt that there is a relationship existing be- 

 tween fossil species the same as in living forms, but, until the 

 great unknown territory is more fully explored, comparisons 

 are not apt to be of much value. Dr. Meyer has shown great 

 industry in his papers, and apart from his unfortunate mistake 

 in stratigraphy, they are well worth especial study. 



Art. XLI. — On the Electrical Furnace and the reduction of 

 the Oxides of Boron, Silicon, Aluminum and other metals by 

 Carbon ; by Eugene H. Cowles, Alfred H. Cowles and 

 Charles F. Mabery.* 



The application of electricity to metallurgical processes has 

 hitherto been confined chiefly to the reduction of metals from so- 

 lution, and few attempts have been made to effect dry reductions 

 by means of an electric current. Sir W. Siemens endeavored to 

 utilize the intense heat of an electric arc for this purpose, but 

 accomplished little beyond fusing several pounds of steel. A 

 * Read at the Ann Arbor meeting of the American Association. 



