SCIENCE. 



441 



Nasalizing is a prominent feature in Kayowe phonetics, 

 more so in the vocalic than in the consonantic series 

 No word begins in 1 or w. Final syllables of words ter- 

 minate just as often on a consonant as in a vowel, but 

 all other syllables usually end in a clear or nasalized 

 vowel. Every diphthong is adulterine; that is, every 

 combination of two colliding vowels differing from each 

 other can be pronounced as a monosyllable and a dis- 

 syllable. Thus we can pronounce as well ze-iba as zeiba 

 arrow. The fact that every vowel can become nasalized 

 (and many of the consonants also) is one of the curious 

 features of the language. This nasalization is either the 

 one observed in the French an, in, on, un, or it consists 

 in the addition of an n to the vowel. All these Kayowe 

 peculiarities are very commonly observed in the majority 

 of American languages, and also in most of the unwritten 

 languages of other parts of the world. The standard or- 

 thography which is adopted for recording a written lit- 

 erary language exercises undoubtedly some influence 

 upon the pronunciation of the natives, but where the 

 language is not fixed by writing, we perceive constant 

 alternation of the sounds pronounced with the same vocal 

 organ, as of the gutturals, dentals, and labials among 

 themselves. 



" This is also the case in Kayowe, and a full list of the 

 sounds in it is as follows : 



Consonants : 



Gutturals: k, g, kh (aspirate), h, ng. 

 Palatals : y. 

 Linguals : k, g, sh, 1. 

 Dentals : t, d, s, z, n, nd, 'dl. 

 Labials : p, b, f, w, m, mb. 



vowels : a, s, a, a, e, 5, 6, (the primitive vowel), i, 1, 

 i, o, o, u, u, u." 



TYPICAL THIN SECTIONS OF THE ROCKS OF 

 THE CUPRIFEROUS SERIES IN MINNE- 

 SOTA*. 



By Professor N. H. Winchell. 



This paper was in pursuance of the same line of inves- 

 tigation as that by the same author read last year before 

 the Association, but gave the detailed methods by which 

 general results had been attained in the study of the 

 stratigraphy of the cupriferous rocks. By means of the 

 microscopic examination of the crystalline rocks of the 

 series, two groups of rocks were discovered, one being 

 those generally accepted as igneous by Pumpelly, Cham- 

 berlin and by Owen, and the other the result of change 

 from the sedimentaries. The former one dark colored 

 and heavy, consisting essentially of labradorite, augite 

 and magnetite, but the latter are lighter colored, gener- 

 ally showing a reddish tint, and consist essentially of 

 orthoclase, quartz and hornblende. It is the latter group 

 that in this connection possesses the greatest interest, 

 as the author regards them as the true equivalents of the 

 shales and sandstones that in some places are seen 

 interbedded, without metamorphism, with the igneous 

 rocks of the other group. They play a very important 

 part in the geology of noitheastern Minnesota, where, in 

 their varied lithology, exhibiting different stages of crys- 

 tallization, they not only are spread over a large geo- 

 graphical area, but afford some of the most interesting 

 geological studies. 



The author suggested that probably the titaniferous 

 iron ore which is so largely associated with the igneous 

 rocks of the cupriferous series, had its origin in the fer- 

 ruginous shales of the sedimentary series, by the reduc- 

 tion of the oxides with which they are colored, at the 

 time of the igneous disturbances. 



The paper was accompanied by a series of fifty thin 

 sections made by the author, with brief descriptions, and 



* Read before the A. A. A. S., Cincinnati, 1881. 



by samples of the rocks from which they were taken, in- 

 tended to illustrate the lithological distinctions pointed 

 out. 



WORKED SHELLS IN NEW ENGLAND SHELL- 

 HEAPS* 

 By Prof. Edward S. Morse. 



Mr. Morse called attention to the fact that heretofore 

 no worked shells had been discovered in the New Eng- 

 land shell heaps. A similar absence of worked shells 

 had been noticed in the Japanese shell heaps. Worked 

 shells were not uncommon in the shell heaps of Florida 

 and California. Mr. Morse then exhibited specimens of 

 the large beach cockle (Lunatia), which showed unmis- 

 takable signs of having been worked. The work con- 

 s'sted in cutting out a portion of the outer whorl near the 

 suture. To show that this portion could not be arti- 

 ficially broken he exhibited naturally broken shells of the 

 same species, both recent and ancient, in which the frac 

 tures were entirely unlike the worked shells. 



A REMARKABLE INSTANCE OF RETENTION 

 OF HEAT BY THE EARTH. t 

 By H. C. Hovey. . 



The fact is well known that heat may be retained for a 

 long period by the rocks and soils of the earth ; but it is 

 seldom that dates can be fixed with approximation to 

 accuracy as can be done in the instance the particulars 

 of which are now given. 



My attention was called, a year ago, by Mr. James 

 Hudson, manager of the Albion mines, in Pictou county, 

 Nova Scotia, to a peculiar area including about two acres 

 of ground, where the snow never lay long without melt- 

 ing, and the frost, even in severe winters, never pene- 

 trated but for a short distance. All over this space are 

 scattered fused masses of clay and ironstone, resting on 

 the outcrops of what are locally known as the " Main " 

 and the " Deep " seams of bituminous coal, which at this 

 point are about 450 feet apart and partially affecting the 

 outcrops of other seams. On inquiry as to the probable 

 date ot the fire that had left this area of scorias and ashes, 

 I was told that this portion of Nova Scotia was visited 

 early in the seventeenth century by French explorers, and 

 that an account of the harbor called Pictou was given in 

 1672 by Monsieur D'Enny, who was appointed Governor 

 of the Gulf of St. Lawrence in 1654. The name " Pic- 

 tou " is said to be derived from a Micmac word signify- 

 mgfire; a id the traditions of the Indians still point to 

 this locality as having been, a long time ago, the scene of 

 a fierce and long-continued fire, which made them avoid 

 the place as being visited with the anger of the gods. 



The coal measures of Pictou were discovered in 1798, 

 at the very point now described ; and the discoverers 

 represented the spot as covered with ashes, over which 

 grew large hemlock trees. About twenty years ago, 

 while a drain was being dug in this locality, a tree was 

 cut down that showed 230 rings of annual growth ; and 

 three feet below the root of this tree a large piece of 

 wood, fashioned by some sort ot axe, was found in a 

 good state of preservation. It is Mr. Hudson's opinion 

 that at least 300 years must have passed since the ex- 

 tinction of the fire at this point, and it is known that none 

 has been rekindled since; its ignition may have been 

 effected by chemical action, or by a stroke of lightning, 

 or by artificial means applied to one of the so-called 

 springs or feeders of inflammable gas that issue along 

 the outcrops of these unusually thick seams. 



Last spring it was found necessary to sink a small pit 

 at the crop of the Deep seam on this area, in doing which 



* Read before the A. A. A. S., Cincinnati, 1881. 

 f Read before the A. A. A. S., Cincinnati, 1881. 



