Missouri's Geological Survey. 
Prof. Arthur Winslow was in town re- 
cently. On account of the penuriousness 
of a Fourteenth century resident of Kan- 
sas City, the Professor was unable to ob- 
tain descriptions of certain drill lioles, 
which he es])eciall.y desired. What a 
blessing it is all people are not alike I 
In marked contrast to the above. 
Mr. L. J. Talbott, treasurer of the Ean- 
dolpli Coal Mining Company, instructed 
his superintendent, Mr. Oliver Hutchin- 
son, to place at Prof. Winslow's disposal 
any information concerning the mines he 
desired. And through the same 
courtesy the Professor was taken to and 
through the mines. He examined theiH 
carefully with a view to a full descrip- 
tion in the forthcoming report, which 
will contain detailed maps on a scale of 
one inch to the mile,on which the topog- 
raphy and geology of the state will be 
shown. These maps will also give the 
location of all openings and exposures 
such as outcrops, drill holes, wells, shafts 
and pits in coal, clays, building stones 
and other substances of value, accurately 
delining their distribution. 
The quantity of these substances con- 
tained on each juan's land and their 
depths beneath the surface will he furth- 
er given, so that every land-owner will 
find information of value toliim. There 
will be numerous illustrations of sec- 
tions, descriptions of all openings and 
drill holes, and the results of analyses and 
tests, information which the survey has 
diligently gathered and which will now 
be published and i)nt on record for refer- 
ence for all time. 
Other lines of work of the survey carry 
it into all sections of (lie state; but work 
of the character spoken of above is in 
progress in portions of ten counties, and 
an area of nearly 2,000 square miles will 
be finished this autumn. 
T'his report will be of great value to 
Missouri, and will compare favorably 
with similar reports from other states. 
Considering the very small appropria- 
tion, the work accomplished i^resents a 
very creditable showing and the state is 
to be congratulated upon the wise selec- 
tion made by Gov. Francis for state ge- 
ologist, and especially since Prof. 
Winslow has begun by doing thorough 
and exhaustive work wherever he goes, 
which he considers preferable to passing 
over the ground superficially, merely for 
eftect. AVe will have to wait a little 
longer for results, but when these come 
they will be all the more valuable. It is 
safe to say that no Missouri library will 
hereafter be complete which does not 
contain Prof. Winslow's geological j-e- 
port. 
We are always pleased to see the Pro- 
fessor and trust he will make it a point 
to hunt us up whenever he is in town. 
For the information of the readers of The 
Naturalist, we will say that arrange- 
ments have been made whereby the 
work of the state survey will be furnish- 
ed the editor of this publication and 
given from time to time to our patrons. 
Fifteen Bears and Two Hundred Wolves 
to the Square Mile, or "As Numer- 
ous as Rahbits." 
One of our exchanges attributes to the 
American rifle, the almost total exterm- 
ination of the larger carnivera of this 
continent, and states that "within the 
past fifty years wolves and bears have 
entirely disappeared from hundreds of 
thousands of square miles where they 
once were as numerous as rabbits."' We 
haven't the remotest idea what particular 
patch of rabbits the writer had in view. 
Again, it would appear vastly more 
probable to a thoughtful person and 
would no doubt come Jiearer to the truth, 
were we to declare that wolves and bears 
are found in their native haunts to-day in 
every state and territory in the Union. 
Hyperbole is cheap with some editors. 
Sequoia Trees. 
The Interior Department is probablj' 
the most important of the executive 
branches of government. Secretary 
Noble's responsibilities are numerous 
and arduous, having supervision of pen- 
sions and bounty lands; all public lands, 
including )nines: the patent office; In- 
dians; education: railroads; public sur- 
vej's; the custody and distribution of 
public documents; the census, etc. 
Exercising his prerogative he has with- 
drawn from entry the tracts of land in 
California's Siei'ras. covered with Se- 
quoia groves, or big trees. The design 
is to have Congress set them apart as a 
permanent reservatory that they may be 
preserved for all time, or until they per- 
ish from natural causes. 
lu (Jalifornia Sequoia giganta occurs 
chiefly in groves at an altitude averag- 
ing 4,500 feet above the sea ; appearing 
to be the remains of a once extensive 
forest belonging to a past epoch. Some 
of these vegetable monsters have obtain- 
ed a height of more than 400 feet. 
In Vv ithdrawing these lands from entry, 
Secretary Noble has made niunerous 
friends for himself in California, and de. 
serves the hearty thanks of every Ameri- 
can citizen possessing an atom of pride 
for his country's greatness or a love for 
nature. 
The sniallest. plant that bears flowers 
is Woljic microscopia, a native o$ India. 
Minerolosy. 
Contributions for this department shouUl 
be addressed to David H. Todd, 1217 Cherry 
St., Kansas City, Mo. 
ONYX. 
Recent reports from the Big Bug 
mining districts of Arizona, announce 
the finding of one of the largest deposits 
of onyx in the world, extending a dis- 
tance of 3 miles. It is also reported that 
mills will be erected and quarries opened _ 
The immense value of such a deposit can 
hardly be estimated. If this report is 
true it will have a tendency to cheapen 
the product. 
Reports also come of the finding of 
another large deposit of onyx. This time 
near home and within 75 miles of St. 
Louis. The discovery was made by Mr. 
Horace E. Rood, of St. Louis, who owns 
the entire tract of 300 acres. It is found 
susceptible of the highest polish and is 
very beautiful in having delicate tints of 
chocolate to an almost transparent white. 
CUPRITE. 
Recently a pocket of a beautiful form 
of cuprite was found in one of the mines 
in the Moriencey mining district of Ari- 
zonia. The cuprite is known as the vari- 
ety of ehalestrichite or capellany form, 
The color is from a rich vermillion to a 
beautiful brown and wine color, and has 
a very bright and pleasing eftect by arti- 
ficial light. This is a rare form of cuprite 
and specimens of this variety are highly 
prized. There was only a limited quan- 
tit}' obtained. Several members of the 
Academy were among the fortunate few 
to secure a series of these interesting 
siiecimens. 
ALUMINA. 
At Steamboat Springs, Nevada, an 
enormous deposit of alumina is reported. 
It is said to be as white and clean as 
chalk. Alumina has become a very use- 
ful mineral in mechanical purposes and 
its future market value will depend 
much in the manner in which it is ex- 
tracted from its natural substances. 
Near Hunumsville, Mo., a rich vein of 
lead ore has been discovered. 
A good vein of coal was discovered ou 
a farm near Springfield, Mo., the other 
day. 
A careful inventory of the salt wells of 
Hutchinson shows none are missing. Jay 
Gould was there recently. 
Gold is worth about |240 a pound troy. 
This is not very expensive when com- 
pared with Barium, at $975 a pound: 
Calcium, $1,800 a pound; Cerium, $1,920 
a pound, or GaJlivim^ at f3,?5Q ounce, 
