﻿Miscellaneous 
  Intelligence. 
  87 
  

  

  No. 
  118. 
  Abstracts 
  of 
  current 
  decisions 
  on 
  mines 
  and 
  mining, 
  

   reported 
  from 
  October 
  to 
  December, 
  1915, 
  by 
  J. 
  W. 
  Thompson. 
  

   Pp. 
  *74. 
  No. 
  126; 
  the 
  same 
  from 
  January 
  to 
  April, 
  1916, 
  by 
  J. 
  

   W. 
  Thompson. 
  Pp. 
  90. 
  

  

  No. 
  134. 
  The 
  use 
  of 
  mud-laden 
  fluid 
  in 
  oil 
  and 
  gas 
  wells, 
  by 
  

   J. 
  O. 
  Lewis 
  and 
  W. 
  F. 
  McMurray. 
  Pp. 
  86 
  ; 
  3 
  pis., 
  18 
  figs. 
  

  

  6. 
  An 
  Introduction 
  to 
  Historical 
  Geology 
  ; 
  by 
  William 
  J. 
  

   Miller. 
  Pp. 
  xvi, 
  399, 
  with 
  238 
  figures. 
  New 
  York, 
  1916 
  (D. 
  

   Van 
  Nostrand 
  Company). 
  — 
  In 
  1915 
  appeared 
  the 
  Historical 
  

   Geology 
  by 
  Schuchert, 
  earlier 
  in 
  1916, 
  Cleland's 
  Geology, 
  Physi- 
  

   cal 
  and 
  Historical, 
  and 
  now 
  a 
  third 
  book 
  on 
  the 
  earth's 
  history 
  

   by 
  Miller 
  of 
  Smith 
  College. 
  While 
  the 
  subject 
  is 
  handled 
  differ- 
  

   ently 
  by 
  each 
  of 
  these 
  authors, 
  there 
  is 
  a 
  similarity 
  of 
  treatment 
  

   that 
  is 
  most 
  marked 
  in 
  the 
  first 
  two 
  books. 
  Miller's 
  book 
  is 
  

   unlike 
  the 
  other 
  two 
  in 
  that 
  it 
  is 
  not 
  accompanied 
  by 
  a 
  text 
  treat- 
  

   ing 
  of 
  dynamic 
  and 
  structural 
  geology. 
  He 
  aims 
  at 
  using 
  a 
  small 
  

   number 
  of 
  technical 
  terms, 
  especially 
  the 
  names 
  of 
  fossils. 
  As 
  a 
  

   rule, 
  only 
  the 
  ordinal 
  and 
  class 
  terms 
  of 
  organisms 
  are 
  given 
  in 
  

   the 
  text, 
  but 
  the 
  legends 
  of 
  the 
  illustrations 
  of 
  fossils 
  all 
  have 
  

   their 
  specific 
  names 
  "in 
  the 
  interest 
  of 
  scientific 
  accuracy 
  [the 
  

   names 
  are 
  not 
  always 
  correct] 
  with 
  no 
  thought 
  that 
  these 
  are 
  to 
  

   be 
  remembered 
  by 
  the 
  student." 
  The 
  paleogeographic 
  maps 
  are 
  

   those 
  of 
  Willis 
  and 
  De 
  Lap 
  parent. 
  The 
  book 
  looks 
  well, 
  and 
  the 
  

   illustrations 
  as 
  a 
  rule 
  are 
  good, 
  adequate, 
  and 
  up 
  to 
  date. 
  In 
  

   general, 
  it 
  may 
  be 
  said 
  that 
  a 
  great 
  deal 
  of 
  information 
  is 
  here 
  

   compacted 
  into 
  small 
  space, 
  and 
  that 
  the 
  book 
  is 
  one 
  of 
  facts, 
  

   unadorned 
  to 
  stimulate 
  interest 
  on 
  the 
  part 
  of 
  the 
  undergraduate 
  

   student. 
  

  

  III. 
  Miscellaneous 
  Scientific 
  Intelligence. 
  

  

  1. 
  Report 
  of 
  the 
  Secretary 
  of 
  the 
  Smithsonian 
  Institution, 
  

   Charles 
  D. 
  Walcott, 
  for 
  the 
  year 
  ending 
  June 
  30, 
  1916. 
  — 
  The 
  

   most 
  interesting 
  announcement 
  contained 
  in 
  Dr. 
  Walcott's 
  report 
  

   is 
  the 
  record 
  of 
  the 
  gift, 
  by 
  Mr. 
  Charles 
  L. 
  Freer, 
  of 
  a 
  sum 
  of 
  

   $1,000,000 
  in 
  cash, 
  for 
  the 
  immediate 
  erection 
  of 
  a 
  building 
  for 
  

   the 
  permanent 
  preservation 
  of 
  the 
  collection 
  of 
  art 
  objects 
  pre- 
  

   sented 
  by 
  him 
  to 
  the 
  Institution 
  in 
  1906, 
  and 
  since 
  increased 
  by 
  

   further 
  gifts. 
  The 
  building 
  will 
  be 
  of 
  granite 
  and 
  located 
  at 
  the 
  

   southwestern 
  corner 
  of 
  the 
  Smithsonian 
  reservation 
  ; 
  it 
  is 
  expected 
  

   that 
  the 
  work 
  of 
  construction 
  will 
  soon 
  beoln. 
  The 
  original 
  col- 
  

   lection 
  consisted 
  of 
  about 
  2,300 
  paintings 
  and 
  other 
  objects 
  of 
  

   art, 
  and 
  has 
  since 
  been 
  increased 
  to 
  5,346 
  items, 
  including 
  Amer- 
  

   ican 
  paintings 
  and 
  sculptures, 
  the 
  Whistler 
  collection, 
  and 
  Orien- 
  

   tal 
  paintings, 
  pottery, 
  bronzes, 
  and 
  jades 
  from 
  China, 
  Korea, 
  

   Japan, 
  and 
  other 
  Asiatic 
  countries. 
  

  

  During 
  the 
  past 
  year 
  the 
  Institution 
  has 
  carried 
  on 
  the 
  usual 
  

   series 
  of 
  explorations 
  and 
  researches 
  in 
  the 
  different 
  lines 
  of 
  sci- 
  

   ence. 
  These 
  include 
  the 
  work 
  of 
  the 
  Secretary 
  in 
  the 
  Yellowstone 
  

   Park 
  and 
  from 
  there 
  north 
  in 
  the 
  Belt 
  Mountains 
  east 
  of 
  Helena. 
  

  

  