.'Ill' The American Geologist. May, 1896 
ber two classes will leave Minneapolis on May 2nd, and the 
former on May 5th, returning May : '. 1st. The party will first 
go to Soudan on the Vermilion range, where two weeks will be 
spent in the mines of the Minnesota Iron Company. After- 
wards it is expected that about a week will be spent at Ely, 
and the party will return by way of the Mesabi range, stopping 
at some of the more important mines there. The work will be 
under the personal direction of Professors W. R.Appleby and 
F. W. Denton and Instructor Peter Christiansen. 
The Kansas Academy of Science, with headquarters at To- 
peka, has just issued a reprint of its "Transactions, " volumes 
I, II and III. This society was organized on Sept. 1, 1868. as 
the Kansas Natural History Society. Four annual meetings 
were held under this organization, and on the fourth (Oct., 
1871) the name of the society w T as changed to the Kansas Acad- 
emy of Science. Volume I of the "Transactions " includes the 
papers of the fifth annual meeting (1872), and volumes II and 
III the papers of the sixth (1873) and seventh (1874) annual 
meetings respectively. A list of the geological papers in 
these volumes will be found under "Recent Publications" in 
the present number of this journal. The reprint was edited 
by the librarian of the Academy, Mr. Bernard B. Smyth. 
The Mining Bulletin for March (published by the Pennsyl- 
vania College, State College, Pa.) contains two articles on ge- 
ological topics by professors of that institution. The first, "An 
estimate of geological time" by Prof. W. A. Buckhout, differs 
in radical particulars from most papers dealing with the age 
of the earth. This paper argues for the view that the earlier 
ages of the earth were the short, and the latter the long ages, 
and the author concludes that several hundreds of thousands 
of years will cover all geological time and that it is even pos- 
sible that 100,000 will suffice. The second paper is by Prof. 
H. H. Stoek and is entitled "Official geology." Sketches of 
the different organizations which have done geological work 
for the United States government are given, and reference is 
made to the w r ork of the various state surveys. 
Summer Courses in Geology at Harvard. These courses 
begin on July 3rd and continue six weeks. Three courses will 
be given in geology and two in physiography. The courses 
in geology are an elementary one, one in field work and an ad- 
vance course in field work given by Profs. Shaler and Wolff. 
The first course in field work is under the charge of Prof. 
Shaler and Mr. J. B. Woodworth ; lectures and discussions on 
the localities to be visited an dshort excursions in the vi- 
cinity of Cambridge will occupy the time of those taking this 
course to July 13th, and from that date to Aug. 3rd the class 
will engage in an excursion to many points of geological in- 
terest in Massachusetts and Connecticut. The courses in 
