334: Scientific Intelligence. 



spray is shot in every direction, falling like a myriad of comets 

 or descending rockets — the spray itself often rises as high as the 

 top of the terminal wall ; and frequently we have seen such an 

 iceberg, after falling, wallow about in the water among the other 

 icebergs like a huge monster. Now and then a bowlder falls 

 with a thud. When a large iceberg falls, a series of large 

 waves, like rings, spread themselves around the center of disturb- 

 ance, and soon gracefully roll or leap, in spiral form, upon the 

 beach close to our camp — a mile away ; and when the inlet is 

 filled with floating icebergs there is great commotion. 



3. On Sandstone dikes in California • by J. S. Dillee. Bull. 

 Geol. Soc. of America, i, 411, 1890. — Mr. Diller describes in this 

 paper a number of dikes, resembling closely ordinary trap-dikes, 

 but consisting of sandstone, made chiefly of grauitic material, 

 intersecting sandstones and shales of the Cretaceous group, on 

 the northeastern portion of the Sacramento valley. They have a 

 general parallelism, but vary in strike from 1ST. 20° E. in the 

 southwestern part of the region in which they occur to N. 70° E. 

 in the northwestern. They are from a mile to less perhaps than 

 a hundred yards in length, and occupy joint-fissures in the rocks. 

 Very beautiful engraved plates illustrate finely the forms and 

 positions of the dikes. The author discusses their origin at length 

 and attributes the fractures to earthquakes, and gives reason for 

 believing that they were filled from below. He observes that 

 if we regard these dikes as earthquake phenomena their gentle 

 curvature may indicate their relation to the center of disturbance 

 far to the southeastward in the Sacramento Valley. 



4. Annual Report of the Director of the ZT. S. Geological 

 Survey for 1886-8*7, vol. viii in two parts, 1060 pp. with maps 

 and other illustrations. — Of the Memoirs' that make the body of 

 this very valuable Report those of I. C. Russell, Lester F. Ward 

 and G. F. Becker have been already noticed in this Journal. The 

 others are on the Lassen Peak District, by J. S. Dillee ; The 

 Fossil Butterflies of Florissant, by S. H. Scuddee ; The Trenton 

 Limestone as a source of Petroleum and Inflammable Gas in 

 Ohio and Indiana, by Edward Orton; The Geology of Mount 

 Desert Island, Maine, by N". S. Shalee. The Report contains 76 

 plates besides a large number of figures in the text. 



5. Hawaiian volcanoes. — (l) Notes from War. T. Beigham, in 

 a letter dated Honolulu, August 26th, 1890. — I have just returned 

 from Puna, Kilauea, Maun a Loa and Mauna Kea. The latter 

 mountain has been covered with snow on the upper region to a 

 greater extent this summer than for many years : hence we found 

 the tarn Waiu at the summit platform, or at the base of the 

 terminal cinder cones, quite full; indeed two springs were flowing 

 in on the northeast corner, while a brook of some volume flowed 

 out on the western side. The principal cone was bare externally, 

 except at the very base, but its crater was nearly filled with 

 snow. At Mokuaweoweo the steam and sulphur fumes are 

 abundant in many places. The vapor has been frequently visible 



