24 
THE SCIENTIST. 
deteriiiiined because it i.< undeterniinetl 
as to extent. The quality of the coal is 
inueh like that of Trinidad. 
The strant^est geological phenonienou 
I ever heard of, or saw, is presented in 
connection with the coal formations of 
New Mexico — most notably near Cerillos 
(pro. Se-re-os) about, say, fifty miles 
north of Albuquerque. Here are twenty- 
two veins of coal I They vary from one 
to seven feet in thickness. The united 
thicknesses of the workable veins is 
probably forty or fifty feet! But this is 
not the phenomenon I The npper four 
veins anthracite! Who ever saw anthra- 
cite above bituminous coal and in close 
proximity to it? Has several thousand 
acres been upset? If I live long enough 
I mean to know more of this strange 
formation. 
East of the Pecos (Pa-cus) is said to 
be an extensive coal field, but I have 
never traveled that way. 
Before leaving Cerillos, let me say 
that in addition to extensive mines of 
gold, silver and copper, it has fine iron 
ores, limestones for flux, the beautiful 
Kocky Mountain red sun:lstone, so highly 
prized for many structural purposes, 
white fire cl.iy, etc., etc. 
Eugene H. Covvles, the inventor of 
the Cowles method of manufacturing 
aluminum, he who was shot a few months 
ago in Montreal, Canada, told me in 
January, 1889, that the coke and iron 
ores of Cerillos are as fine as .the world 
affords. As he is a thorough metal- 
lurgist, I think his statements are re- 
liable. 
About sixty miles south of Socorro, 
no; Magdelena. is some very fine marble 
of two or three colors. I am informed 
that there is an abundance of marble iu 
several different localities in the terri- 
tory. I have observed granite suitable 
for building purposes in many places. 
In Chloride Gulch, in Sierra County, I 
saw some fine gray granite. 
The hot springs and mineral waters of 
New JNIexico have been famed for more 
than a centuiy. 
The most noted are Las Vegas, llo"t 
Springs a)id the Ojo (Jalientes— pro. 
O-lio Hai-en-tis — this last is Aztec for 
hot water. 
Wherever water can be had for irri- 
gation, the soil is wonderfidly fertile. 
Alfalfa yields from three to four crops 
annually, and from two to three tons per 
acre for eachcrop. The grapes of New 
Mexico are the finest in flavor 1 ever 
tasted. The center of the grape industry 
is around Las CruccS in the famous 
Mesilla — pro. Mes-se-yah — valley which 
was obtained, as you know, by the; 
Godsden purchase of 1853. Figs and 
olives llo u'ish in the same valley. This 
valley is simpl^^ an enlargement — or 
eastern extension — of the Kio Grande 
valley near Pas Cruces. 
1 must close this rambling letter. Hop- 
ing to be with you personally at the next 
meeting of the Academy, T am 
Yours truly, 
Edwin Walters. 
Little Rock. Ark., Dec. 12, 1800. 
FuK THE Scip:ntist; 
In ihe Nature of Tilings. 
r>Y 1). C. Jordan. 
That phrase "In the nature of things," is 
suggestive of many peculiarly interesting 
thoughts when we come perfectly to realize 
that in the nature of things lies all the secret 
of life, growth, and the undetermined ex- 
periences of death. It is because we do not 
perceive the law, and understand the simple 
variet'es of nature that we are mostly 
mystical and obscure in our modern philos- 
ophy, "ft was a long time before mathe- 
matics had logarithms or algebra," we all 
creep before we walk. I once had the 
opportunity to examine a patch of sputa 
ejected by a consumptive in an advanced 
stage of that disease. The sputa was placed 
