396 - Scientific Intelligence. 



To Denison Olmsted, an enthusistic graduate of Silliman at 

 Yale, belongs tke konor of being tke first to attempt a state sur- 

 vey (in 1821), "for developing and extending tke internal 

 resources of tke state" of North Carolina, and all ke asked for 

 was $100 to defray his travelling expenses. Even so, tke Board 

 of Internal Improvements did not consider itself autkorized to 

 make tke contract, Two years later, Olmsted renewed tke pro- 

 posal, and tke Legislature autkorized tke Board of Agriculture 

 to have suck a survey made and to provide for tke "geological 

 excursions" of Olmsted, appropriating $250 annually for four 

 successive years. In 1825, Eliska Mitchell took over tke work, 

 since in that year Olmsted returned to Yale. 



Credit for the first successful state survey, however, is due to 

 the great Edward Hitchcock, another student of Silliman. Tkis 

 geological survey was organized in Massachusetts in 1830, and 

 started with $1,000. Then followed in rapid succession the sur- 

 veys of Tennessee (1831), Maryland (1834), New Jersey, Con- 

 necticut, and Virginia (1835), Maine, New York, Ohio, and 

 Pennsylvania (1836), Delaware, Indiana, and Michigan (1837), 

 New Hampshire and Bkode Island (1839), etc, 



We congratulate tke historian of American geology on the 

 completion of this volume, which finds a fitting place on our 

 shelves beside his widely known "Contributions to the history 

 of American geology," 1906. c. s. 



2. Handbuch der regionalen Geologie. — It will interest 

 American geologists to know that during the Great AYar the fol- 

 lowing parts of this excellent and all-embracing work have 

 appeared : Heft 18, Die Oesterreickiscken und Deutscken Alpen 

 bis zur Alpino-Dinarischen Grenze (Ostalpen), by Franz 

 Heritsch, 1915, pp. 153; Heft 19, entralasien, by Kurt Leuchs, 

 1916, pp. 138; Heft 20, The British Isles and the Channel 

 Islands, bv thirteen authors, edited bv J. AY. Evans, 1917, pp. 

 354; Heft 21, Gronland, by O. B. Boggild, 1917, pp. 38; Heft 

 22, Kleinasien, by A. Philippson, 1918, pp. 183. c. s. 



3. The American Diceratheres; bv O. A. Peterson. Mem. 

 Carnegie Mus., 7, No. 6, pp. 399-477, pis. 57-66, 37 text figs., 1920. 

 — Peterson's recent memoir on tke genus Diceratheriwm is an 

 interesting and very valuable contribution to our knowledge of 

 tke extinct rhinoceroses. He shows in a very clear and thorough 

 manner, by the use of fine figures, plates, and descriptions, the 

 distinctive features of the type specimens and in greater detail 

 of the important group D. cooki Peterson. Firmly but tactfully 

 and without prejudice he throws out those species founded upon 

 inadequate types, but in so doing shows a proper regard for such 

 an ancient type as that of Rhinoceros (? Diceratherium) hes- 

 perias Leidy, saying : "In my opinion these remains are gener- 

 ically and specifically unidentifiable, but hold the historic 

 position of being the first material of the RhinocerotidaB obtained 

 in the John Day region of Oregon." He has declared no less 

 than a dozen specific names "incertae sedis" or "synonyms"; 



