X NEW YORK. xV,/ 



SCIENCE. 



FRIDAY, MARCH 26, 1886. 



COMMENT AND CRITICISM. 

 A report for the year 1884 was made to the 

 New York legislature early in 1885 by Prof. James 

 Hall, state geologist : it was accompanied by a 

 large preliminary geological map of the state, 

 compiled by Mr. W. J. McGee, of the U. S. geo- 

 logical survey, from all available material which 

 was of special value on account of its candid de- 

 parture from the usual form of geological maps 

 in coloring only those areas that had been pretty 

 well studied, and leaving the rest conspicuously 

 blank. There is no question that the publication 

 of such a map would be an incentive to local 

 investigation by explicitly pointing out where it 

 is especially needed ; and Professor Hall seems to 

 have made this clear to the legislature, as it was 

 ordered to be published by a resolution of the 

 senate and assembly, and an appropriation was 

 made for this purpose. But a note added to the 

 report in November states that the governor has 

 vetoed this item in the supply bill, and thus the 

 appearance of the map has been indefinitely post- 

 poned, — a most regrettable piece of political 

 economy. The same report contains a geological 

 map of Ontario county, with accompanying text, 

 giving a brief outline of its geological succes- 

 sion, by Professor J. M. Clarke. Apart from the 

 valuable local details of stratigraphy, it excites 

 our interest from the indication it gives of the 

 true physical relations of some of the north and 

 south lakes of western New York, — called the 

 ' finger-lakes ' by Chamberlin, — which the author 

 refers to briefly as lying in separate preglacial 

 valleys. When the ice of glacial times was break- 

 ing up in these valleys, " which had then had, no 

 doubt, a long previous existence as valleys of 

 water erosion," they discharged their waters into 

 a basin where the town of Naples now stands, 

 whence a southward overflow was found by the 

 Conhocton ' River. A little distance west of 

 Canandaigua Lake, another valley is shown on 

 the map, now filled with alluvium, but equal 

 in size to the average of those near by, now 

 occupied by lakes. It would thus appear that 

 the northern edge of the Devonian plateau of 



No. 164. — 1836. 



western New York is pretty well dissected by 

 valleys of the ordinary type, in only some of 

 which lakes are caught. The more numerous 

 these valleys, the less aid need be called for from 

 glacial erosion in originating them. 



The report of observations of the annular 

 eclipse of the sun, March 15-16, 1885, by Com- 

 mander A. D. Brown and Ensign A. G. Winter- 

 halter, U.S.N., has been issued as Appendix II. 

 to the Washington observations for 1882. At 

 least, we suppose that this appendix belongs to 

 the volume of observations issued by the U. S. 

 naval observatory, for it was received from the 

 superintendent of that institution. The titlepage, 

 however, simply states that it is ' Appendix II. , 

 1882,' and the reader must learn from other 

 sources to what publication it belongs. Unfor- 

 tunately this omission, trivial in itself, is indic- 

 ative of the character of the paper. It begins 

 with a jerk, ends abruptly, and throughout re- 

 sembles patchwork in which the pieces are fitted 

 together with little regard for symmetry. Be- 

 ginning with the preliminary circular calling for 

 observations from volunteers in the north-west, 

 it next describes the preparations for photographic 

 work at Washington, and gives the number of 

 plates exposed, with a few comments on the 

 success attained. Then follow the contact and 

 transit observations made at the observatory. 

 Returning to the volunteers in the north-west, 

 the authors give the reports in full, with two 

 sketches showing the relative positions of the 

 stations. The thread of the Washington nar- 

 rative is then resumed (without the slightest in- 

 timation that the scene has been changed), the 

 measurements of the photographs are given in 

 detail, and a- reproduction, by phototype process, 

 of one of the negatives, closes the report. While 

 the faults of arrangement are quite glaring, there 

 are other defects which provoke criticism. Thus, 

 two kinds of plates were used, collodion and 

 gelatine, having different degrees of sensitiveness ; 

 but we are frankly told, though the reason there- 

 for is not stated, that the slide was arranged for 

 the former only, and that in consequence the 

 latter were necessarily over-exposed. Again, the 

 observations are only partially discussed, and we 



