Natural Science News. 



VOL. I 



ALBION, N. Y., MAY 4, ]895. 



No. 14 



Natural Science News. 



A Weekly Journal Devoted to 

 Natural History. 



FRANK H. LATTIN, Editor and Publisher, 

 ALBION, N. Y. 



Correspondence and items of interest to the 

 student of any of the various branches of the 

 Natural Sciences solicited from all. 



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In this issue of Natural Science 

 News we publish the substance of 

 Prof. Wilson's "Camp Agassiz" 

 announcement.— Although we have 

 corresponded and had business 

 relations with Prof. W. for nearly 

 fifteen years and can give him and 

 his scheme our unqualified en- 

 dorsement — we publish the matter 

 trusting that his enthusiasm and 

 ideas may prove contagious and 

 become prevalent to such an ex- 

 tent that during July and August 

 well organized and systematized 

 Natural History Camps will be 

 found by the hundreds scattered 

 abroad this fair land of ours. 



James D. Dana. 



In the death of Professor James 

 DwightDana, America has lost one 

 of her greatest scientific men. 



The celebrated mineralogist and 

 geologist passed away after an ill- 

 ness of only a few hours at his New 

 Haven home on Easter Sunday, 

 April 14, in the eighty-second year 

 of his age. He was born in Utica, 

 February 12, 1813. Hisearly edu- 

 cation was obtained at school in 

 his native place. In the autumn 

 of 1830 he entered Yale College and 

 graduated three years later, after 

 which he was appointed professor 

 of mathematics to midshipmen in 

 the United States Navy. In the 

 two years he held this position he 

 visited F ranee, Italy, Greece and 

 Turkey. In 1835 he returned to 

 New Haven and became assistant 

 in chemistry to Prof. Silliman. He 

 was engaged at this time in the 



preparation of his "Treatise on 

 Mineralogy," the first edition of 

 which was published in 1837. This 

 work was the first of his remarkable 

 writings which were to mark an 

 epoch in the history of natural 

 science. In 1836 he received the 

 appointment of mineralogist and 

 geologist to the exploring expedi- 

 tion sent by the United States to 

 the Southern and Pacific Oceans. 

 The Peacock on which he sailed, 

 was wrecked at the mouth of the 

 Columbia River. In the three years 

 and ten months which he spent on 

 the trip he visited Maderia, Rio de 

 Janeiro, Terra del Fuego, Valpara- 

 iso, Callao, Tahiti, Samoa, Austra- 

 lia, the Hawaiian Islands, the Fee- 

 jee group, Manila, Borneo, Singa- 

 pore, Cape of Good Hope, St. Hel- 

 ena and many other places. Be- 

 sides the mineralogy and geology 

 of the expedition, Mr. Dana had 

 under his supervision the zoologi- 

 cal department, including the Crus- 

 tacea and corals. The rare opportun- 

 ity which this voyage afforded for 

 scientific observation had been well 

 improved, and for thirteen years 

 after his return he was engaged 

 principally in studying the material 

 that he had collected, making draw- 

 ings and preparing reports for pub- 

 lication. From 1842 to 1844 he 

 lived in Washington. In the latter 

 year he removed to New Haven, 

 where he married Henrietta Fran- 

 ces, third daughter of Prof. Silli- 

 man. 



In 1850 Mr. Dana was appoint- 

 ed Silliman professor of natural his- 

 tory and geology in Yale College, 

 succeeding his father-in-law, but 

 he did not enter on the active ad- 

 ministration of the chair until 1856. 

 The title of the professorship was 

 changed in 1864. Mr. Dana be- 

 came associate editor of The Am- 

 erican Journal of Science and Arts, 

 and after Professor Silliman's death, 

 its senior editor. Contemporan- 

 eously with his duties as a lecturer 

 and editor, Prof. Dana prepared 

 his well known text books on min- 

 eralogy and geology. His "Sys- 

 tem of Mineralogy" grew in size 

 from 452 pages in 1837 to the edi- 

 ton of 1892, which contains 1,197 

 pages. The "Manual of Mineral- 

 oly," a more elementary work, has 

 also a deserved popularity. These 

 books, with his "Manual of Geo- 

 logy" and "Text Book of Geology" 

 are recognized as standard through- 

 out the world, and are used as text 

 books and works of reference wher- 



ever the sciences of which they 

 treat are taught in the English 

 language. His writings on the 

 coral islands include "Coral Reefs 

 and Islands" (1853) and a second 

 edition of that book which was pub- 

 lished in 1872 under the title of 

 "Origin of Coral Reefs and Islands. " 

 His separate papers include hun- 

 dreds of titles. Many honors were 

 paid to Mr. Dana. He received 

 the degrees of Ph. D. and L. L. D. 

 The Geographical Society of Lon- 

 don, conferred on him its Wollas- 

 ton medal an 1872 and in 1877 he 

 received the Copley gold medal 

 from the Royal Society of London. 

 He was also a member of the chief 

 scientific societies of America and 

 Europe. Prof. Dana retired from 

 active work at Yale two years ago, 

 but has given private lectures and in- 

 structions at his home and gave in- 

 valuable advice on the subject of 

 geological and zoological matters in 

 the Peabody Museum. — Set. Am. 



Great Gold Nuggets. 



The largest piece of gold, free of 

 quartz, in the world was taken from 

 Byer& Haltmangold mining claim, 

 Hill End, New South Wales, Aus- 

 tralia, on May, 10, 1872, its weight 

 being 640 pounds; height four feet 

 nine inches; width, three feet two 

 inches; average thickness, four in- 

 ches, and was worth $148,800. It 

 was found embedded in a thick wall 

 of blue slate, at a depth of 250 feet 

 from the surface. The owners of 

 the mine were living on charity 

 when they found it. 



The Welcome Stranger nugget was 

 found on Mount Moliagel, Febru- 

 ary, 9, 1869, it weighed 190 pounds 

 and was valued at $45,000 It was 

 raffled for $46,000. 

 . The Welcome nugget was found 

 at Bakery Hill, June 9, 1859; it 

 weighed 184 pounds 9 ounces 16 

 pennyweights, and was worth $44, 

 356. It was raffled for $50,000. 



The Lady Hotham nugget was 

 found in New South Wales, Cana- 

 dian Gully, September 8, 1854; it 

 weighed 98 pounds 10 ounces 12 

 pennyweights, and was sold for 

 $23,557- 



The Union Jack nugget was found 

 February 28, 1857; it weighed 23 

 pounds 5 ounces, and was sold for 

 $5,620. 



No name nugget was found at 

 Eureka, Dauttons Flat, February 

 7, 1874, at a depth of thirty feet 



