1881.] Sctentfic News. 509 
&c., of portions of the coal field, prepared for publication, not 
only refused to publish or go on with the field work, but refused 
to refund to the principal geologist the salaries of his assistants, 
and expenses of the survey for the preceding year, which he had 
advanced from his own means, or to pay for his own services 
during that time; all of which to this day remains unpaid. This 
was not only dishonest but foolish—dishonest, because repudiating 
a just debt ; foolish, because a continuance of the survey meant a 
clearer insight into the riches of the great State for whose high- 
est interests they were sent to legislate. Then came the survey 
of Dr. White, the results of which, in an imperfect form, were 
ordered printed despite the protests of the geologist, and the sur- 
vey again brought to a close. The complete geology of the State 
is still unknown. Many thousands of dollars are being expended 
in the counties of Page, Fremont, Mills and Montgomery, in a 
vain attempt to find coal. The survey of Dr. White, incomplete 
as it necessarily was, had demonstrated that no coal could be ob- 
tained in that portion of the State, at a distance from the surface 
to prove remunerative. Personal observations confirm the accu- 
racy of his judgment. So the field is still open, and the various 
Societies in the State might apportion it into districts, convenient 
to the seat of each, and accomplish a work which a short-sighted 
legislature declared useless. There are local geologists of some 
reputation in Iowa, and they could thoroughly and completely 
perform the work.—R. &. C. 
— An important memoir on the crustaceans of the Caribbean 
sea and the Gulf of Mexico, has been read by M. Alph. Milne- 
Edwards to the Paris Academy. The material he has to deal 
with had been sent him by Mr. Agassiz, and obtained during 
cruises in the Blake, in recent years. The author is struck with 
the great difference between the fauna of the coast and that of 
the deep parts. The shore animals are of a highly-organized 
type, while the deep-water animals have a more ancient character. 
A large number of new species have been met with, and it has 
often been necessary to form new generic divisions. Seve 
§Toups, formerly thought foreign to American seas, have been 
found abundant at great depths (¢. g. the family of Galathea). 
The infinite variety of forms is very remarkable, and the accepted 
modes of classification will often not apply. There isa large 
number of transition-forms. M. Milne-Edwards considers that the 
study of animals, living at great depths, is only begun, and he in- 
-vites men of science to organized effort in a domain which is cer- 
tain to prove highly fruitful. 
— M. Certes has lately found a method of coloring infusoria 
and anatomical elements during life. Placed in a weak solution of 
Chinoline blue or cyanine, infusoria are colored pale-blue, and 
any continue to live 25 and even 36 hours. Strong doses poison 
immediately. Again, after being 24 hours in a moist chamber, 
