92 Scientific Intelligence. 



ornamental stones of the National Museum upon which the pres- 

 ent work is based numbers nearly 3000 specimens. To a large 

 extent it was brought together through the efforts of the late 

 Dr. George W. Hawes, but his work upon it was interrupted by 

 his early death and it has been taken up and ably prosecuted by 

 Mr. Merrill. With the advantage of this large amount of ma- 

 terial the author has prepared a very useful manual of American 

 building stones. He gives the chief localities, the mode of occur- 

 rence, method of quarrying and working with numerous illustra- 

 tions, with notes on the effects of weathering, means of preserva- 

 tion, and other related points. The closing chapter gives a con- 

 cise summary of similar stones from other countries. A series of 

 appendices give tables showing the specific gravity, strength 

 per square inch, etc., also composition, price, and so on. 



6. Annotated List of the minerals occurring in Canada, by 

 G. Christian Hoffmann, Montreal, 1890 (Trans. R. Soc. Canada, 

 vii (3), pp. 65-105, 1890). — This is a carefully prepared list of 

 Canadian minerals with notes on the important localities. The 

 species are arranged alphabetically and are about 280 in number. 

 An interesting occurrence noted is that of bournonite from 

 Marmora township, Hastings Co., and Darling township, Lanark 

 County. 



1. On the Hygroscopicity of certain Canadian Fossil Fuels y 

 by G. Christian Hoffmann, Montreal, 1890 (Ibid., pp. 41-55). — 

 The author has carried through an elaborate series of experiments 

 with a series of Canadian fuels from anthracite to peat, showing 

 the amount of water present in dry coal, in saturated, the loss in 

 dry air, and the amount reabsorbed in a moist atmosphere. Some 

 of the results are shown in the following statements : 



Lignites (and peat) retain 2'5 — 5'0 p. c. and reabsorb 10*0 — 14"5 p. c. water. 

 Lignitic coals " I'll— 2'0 " " '' 6'5— 9'0 ' " •' 



Coals " 0-1 — 1-0 " " " 1-5- 6-0 " 



8. Ninth Annual Report of the State Mineralogist of Cali- 

 fornia, William Irelan, Jr., for the year ending December ] , 

 1889. 352 pp. Sacramento, 1890. — Some of the subjects dis- 

 cussed at length in this report are the refining and coining of 

 precious metals by S. Gumbinner; the auriferous gravels of Cali- 

 fornia by J. H. Hammond, with numerous sections and excellent 

 illustrations ; river mining by R. L. Dunn ; on clays by W. D. 

 Johnston; on pottery by Linna Irelan, etc. 



9. A Course in Determinative Mineralogy / by John Eyer- 

 man. Easton, Penn., 1890. — This is a brief concise series of tables 

 including chiefly the minerals of economic value, arranged first 

 according to metallic or non-metallic luster and subdivided by 

 blowpipe and chemical reactions. The chemical tests chosen have 

 the advantage that they throw together the species which are 

 allied in composition, e. g., those containing zinc, copper, etc., and 

 hence tend to instruct the student as well as guide him in the 

 determination of species. 



