401 Tne American Geologist. June, 1896 
PERSONAL AND SCIENTIFIC NEWS. 
Dr. Joseph F.James has removed from Washington. I). ('., 
bo Hinghara, Mass. 
Niagara as a Timepiece is the title of an article by Dr. J. 
W. Spencer in Appletons" Popular Science Monthly for May. 
Mr. C. 1). Walcott, director of the IT. S. Geological Survey, 
has been elected a member of the National Academy of 
Sciences. 
The American Association for the Advancement oe 
Science meets this summer at Buffalo, X. Y., beginning Mon- 
day, August 24th. 
Dr. N. O. Holst, a Swedish government geologist, is travel- 
ling for a year in Australia. He expects to investigate, for a 
Scandinavian company, the gold deposits of West Australia. 
Native Sulphup. in Texas. Prof. Eugene A. Smith calls 
attention (Science, May 1) to some deposits of native sulphur 
about 40 miles northwest of Pecos City, Texas. Three local- 
ities are known where the sulphur .ias been discovered at or 
near the surface of the ground, and in each locality there 
appears to be sufficient material for profitable working. 
The National Academy of Sciences met in Washington on 
April 20th to 25th under the presidency of Prof. Walcott 
Gibbs. The following papers relating to geological themes 
w T ere presented : '• The geological efficacy of alkali carbonate 
solution," E. W. Hilgard : "On the characters of the Otocoe- 
lidse," E. D. Cope; "On the Pithecanthropus erectus from 
the Tertiary of Java," O. C. Marsh. 
Organic Markings in Lake Superior Iron Ores. In Science 
Tor April 24th Mr. W. S. Gresley announces the discovery of 
traces of organic remains in fragments of iron ore from the 
Chapin mine at Iron Mountain, Mich. The material has been 
submitted to Messrs. H. S. Williams, Charles Schuchert. C. D. 
Walcott and ( !. R. Van Hise, all of whom are inclined to con- 
sider the markings as of organic origin, probably annelid 
trails. 
Philadelphia Academy of Natural Sciences. Messrs. 
Persifor Frazer, Angelo Heilprin, Benjamin Smith Lyman and 
Theodore D. Rand have been appointed as the Committee on 
the Eayden Memorial Geological Award for 1896. Prof. 
Angelo Heilprin has been appointed to represent the Academy 
at the mining and geological millennial congress to be held at 
Budapest, Sept. 25th and 26th, in connection with the cele- 
bration of the founding of the kingdom of Hungary. 
Geographic Range of Mississippi Valley Unionid.e. Mr. 
Charles T. Simpson, of the U. S. National Museum, contrib- 
utes to the May American Naturalist an interesting discus- 
