3 
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: 
Sa 
TIEDE A e a s 
1878.] Proceedings of Scientific Societies. 769 
of a diatom earth, and Mr. Hanks sent some lichens containing 
diatoms from a parapet of the Palace at Versailles. 
After examining the beautiful slides of foraminifera, mounted 
by Mr. Merriam and exhibited by President Hyde, the members 
began their contributions to the topic of the evening, “The 
ocean water, taken at insetting tide just within the Golden Gate. 
He spoke of the lime and silica in solution in sea water, and 
beside attributing to these the origin of the foraminifera shells 
and diatom frustules, a well-known pj spoke of the silica in 
solution as a probable source of san nce he considered the 
fine deposit that gradually fell in his ‘are of sea water as coming 
from solution, and not as:a long suspended silt, the view generally 
held. 
After selecting for the next topic “ The Lower Forms of Marine 
Life,” the society listened to a translation, by Secretary Clark, of 
a short paper on “The Alternate Generation of the Echinoder- 
mata,” by Prof. Haeckel. 
AMERICAN ASSOCIATION FOR THE ADVANCEMENT OF SCIENCE.— 
The next meeting is to be held in Saratoga on the last Wednes- 
day of August, 1870. The officers elected for that meeting are 
Prof. G. F. Barker, of Philadelphia, president ; Prof: S P. Lang- 
ley, of Alleghany, Pa., vice-president of section A; Major J. W. 
Powell, vice- president of section B; Prof. Ira Remsen, chairman 
of subsection of chemistry and Prof. E.W. Morley, of Hudson, Ohio, 
chairman of subsection of microscopy. Among the noteworth 
pers in geology and biology were those by C. O. Whitman on the 
Embryology of Clepsine, Prof. I. E. Todd’s on Richthofen’s 
Theory of the Loess in the light of the deposits of the Missouri, A. 
G. Weatherby’s Are the so-called Chzetetes of the Cincinnati Group 
Bryozoans? and his remarks on the Geographical Distribution of 
the land and freshwater Molluscs of the United States and their 
local varieties. Major Powell spoke on the rainfall of the arid 
region of the United States, while Prof. B. G. Wilder made a 
mia, Mr. C. E. Dalton made a communication on the geologi- 
cal history of the Colorado river and plateaus, rb Mr. A. Lakes 
spoke of the discovery of Atlantosaurus and other Dinosaurs in 
the Rocky mountains of Colorado. The atheos papers | 
were noticed in our last nper, 
Boston SOCIETY OF eee History, Oct. 2d.—Mr. W. O. 
Crosby read notes on the physical geography and geology of 
Trinidad. 
