122 
The American Geologist. 
February, 1896 
Mr. Henry A. Miers, of the department of minerals in the 
British Museum, has been appointed Waynflete professor of 
mineralogy in the University of Oxford, in place of Prof. 
Story-Maskelyne, resigned. In the December number of Sci¬ 
ence Progress Prof. Miers presents a popularly written article 
on “Mineral transformations” in which he calls special atten¬ 
tion to pseudomorphs and to the ideas concerning the compo¬ 
sition of some of the psendomorphic minerals. 
Terrestrial Magnetism is the name of a new international 
quarterly journal published under the auspices of the Ryerson 
physical laboratory of the University of Chicago. L. A. Bauer 
is editor, and he has the cooperation of thirty-four associates 
in this country and abroad. The journal is devoted exclu¬ 
sively to terrestrial magnetism and its allied subjects, such as 
earth currents, auroras, atmospheric electricity, etc. The first 
number was issued in January and contains fifty-four pages. 
The Chicago Academy of Sciences has recently issued No. 
IT, Vol. II, of its bulletins, with the publication of which the 
Academy enters upon a new era of activity. Its publications 
will be issued at regular intervals and will contain original 
matter of interest to all branches of scientists. The Academy 
property is now housed in a fireproof building of the best 
architectural construction, and no further fears of fire are en¬ 
tertained. C. M. Higginson is president, and Frank C. Baker 
secretary and curator. 
The Binghamton (N. Y.) Academy of Science, which has 
been recently incorporated, held its first annual meeting on 
the afternoon of Jan. 8th and elected the following officers: 
president, Prof. E. R. Whitney: vice president, Prof. Herbert 
S. Jones; recording secretary. Willard N. Chute; correspond¬ 
ing secretary, Burt E. Nelson; treasurer, Joseph K. Noyes. 
In the evening the members of the Academy were tendered a 
reception by the Young Women’s Christian Association at 
their rooms in the Strong building. 
Stone-capped Pillars of Earth. Prof. H. B. Patton, of 
the Colorado State School of Mines, on Nov. 4, 1895, presented 
a number of photographs before the Colorado Scientific Soci¬ 
ety of “Peculiar geological formations at the head waters of 
the Rio Grande, Colo.” Reproductions of some of these pho¬ 
tographs accompany a brochure just issued by that societ}^. 
The peculiar interest in these lies in the fact that they give 
us excellent examples of the effects of rain erosion on a vol¬ 
canic ash ; boulders which were embedded in this ash are now 
seen perched on the top of pillars or pyramids of the ash. The 
effect is strikingly similar to the earth pyramids or stone- 
capped pillars of the Tyrol described and figured b} r Lyell in 
‘Principles of Geology.” 
