1881.] 
267 
[Wadsworth. 
In describing the above rocks, Zirkel stated of No. 289 (293) : 
“ There is no olivine which expresses the absolute separation of 
the rock from basalts” (VI, p. 148). Yet No. 325 (2601) and 
332 (2621) are described as trachytes containing olivine. He has 
indeed explained the presence of the olivine in 325 as a crystal- 
lization from the rock to neutralize the quartz contemporaneously 
produced. When it is realized that the quartz is not a crystal- 
lization from the rock, but foreign, like a stick in dough, and that 
332 contains olivine but no quartz, some idea of the value of his 
theory can be gained. Furthermore, a number of his basalts 
are said to contain no olivine. How then does the absence of 
olivine absolutely separate a rock from the basalts even in his 
own work? 
The slide No. 326 (2614) is not believed by me to have come 
from the rock with the label Col. No. 2614. Apparently the slide 
and the hand specimen are the ones described by Zirkel, King, 
and Emmons. Had the discrepancy between the slide and hand 
specimen been observed, Mr. King would probably have been 
saved his difficulty in classifying it (I, pp. 547-549; II, p. 170 ; 
VI, pp. 160, 161). 
Professor Zirkel described in Nos. 300 (1664), 301 and 613 
(2623), some Prussian blue grains which he thought in all prob- 
ability belonged to Hailyne (VI, pp. 151, 152, 251 ; I, p. 596 ; II, 
pp. 568, 598). Grains of the same kind were found quite com- 
monly in the sections of rocks from the Cordilleras, in the Litho- 
logical Collection of the Museum of Comparative Zoology, also 
in many European sections in that collection. They seem never 
to be in the groundmass, but always above or below the section 
in the Canada balsam ; frequently they were observed in the bal- 
sam at a distance from the section. I can but regard them as 
impurities that have got into the balsam at some time previously, 
or else upon the section during its preparation. The most prob- 
able explanation for the California occurrences is this : the chips 
to be ground were placed in small boxes, many of which were 
made of paper colored by ultramarine. The paint readily rubbed 
off upon the fingers and specimens, and microscopic examination 
of prepared slides containing this powder in balsam showed 
that its characters are the same as those of the supposed Hatiyne 
