108 Scientific Intelligence. 



lished in this country, on river control. It is practically an 

 encyclopedia of flood data relating to the Pittsburgh region. The 

 comprehensive way in which the problem has been attacked may 

 be appreciated from the fact that even the secondary papers on 

 forest conditions, rainfall, etc., in the Alleghany and Mononga- 

 hela catchment basins, are the best that have yet been written for 

 these districts. The studies of the topographic and soil condi- 

 tions are well done, and at every step are correlated with the out- 

 standing problems of the Commission. Furthermore each feature 

 of the problem is handled in so broad a manner that the student 

 looking for principles is as gratified as one looking for detailed 

 information on a point of restricted interest. It would quite 

 exceed the limits of space to review even the best portions of this 

 great work. We shall confine ourselves to a brief statement of 

 the principal results. 



1. Floods at Pittsburgh are increasing in frequency and height. 



2. The damage resulting from a flood of a given height is 

 steadily increasing. 



3. The direct losses due to flood damage at Pittsburgh 

 amounted to over $12,000,000 in the last ten years, while in one 

 year and five days, between March 15, 1907, and March 20, 1908, 

 three floods occurred, causing a direct loss at Pittsburgh of about 

 $6,500,000. 



4. There are many favorable reservoir sites of large capacity 

 available for flood-water storage on the drainage areas of Pitts- 

 burgh. 



5. Forty-three sites have been selected and most of them com- 

 pletely surveyed by the Flood Commission, the others having 

 been studied from existing topographic maps, and by means of 

 partial surveys. 



6. The estimates of the cost of storage reservoirs and other 

 works for flood relief made by the Flood Commission are based 

 on detailed surveys, and show that Pittsburgh can be completely 

 safeguarded against floods at a cost of about $20,000,000. 



In addition, it is proposed to build nearly 24,000 feet of pro- 

 tective wall along the lower margins of the river at Pittsburgh, to 

 limit pier extensions that restrict the channel, and to take due 

 account of forest influences on the run-off of both water and 

 waste. i. b. 



6. The Trias of the Himalayas ; by C. Diener. Mem. Geol. 

 Surv. India, xxxvi, part 3, 176 pages, 1912. — Professor Diener 

 here presents a summary, with the necessary detail, of the Trias- 

 sic of the Himalayan region. The lower (40-150 feet), middle 

 (100-400 feet) and upper (1250-2750 feet) Triassic localities are 

 taken up in succession and correlations are made with Europe, 

 Siberia, North America and elsewhere. The work is of the greatest 

 import to all students of Triassic faunas and their intercor- 

 relations. 



The geologists of India were agreed that the Triassic began 

 with the Otoceras dark shales and thin limestone, until 1900, 



