:i44 'The Anien'cdti Geolo(jisl. November, 1897 
tare. Their preservation is, however, below the average, and 
the value of the fossil remains has apparently been overesti- 
mated, Heer, who had the advantage of many collections and 
especially those of Steenstrup, has very thoroughly studied 
them, and there appears to remain but little to be done in that 
direction. On the other hand the stratigraph}^ of the Cretace- 
ous beds of the Noursoak peninsula is not well known, as well 
as the nature of the invertebrates associated with the fossil 
plants. It is believed that in these respects the late expedi- 
tion will contribute a valuable addition to Arctic geology. Of 
the invertebrates an important coUectifjn was made, larger 
probably than that of de Loriol which formed the basis of his 
preliminary report to Heer. 
The collection of plants, however, will liave its chief value 
in atl'ording a direct comparison between the Cretaceous llora 
of Greenland and that of America. 
The Baffin Land party of the same expedition redis- 
covered Hall's Ordovician (Trenton) locality "Silliman's Fos- 
sil Mount." The specimens are well preserved and will be 
studied by Mr. Schuchert. 
New York Academy of Sciences, Section of Geology. 
October 18th, 1897. The first meeting of the Academy for 
the autumn was largely devoted to accounts by various mem- 
bers of the scientific meetings of interest held during the sum- 
mer. President Stevenson spoke briefly of the work of the 
International Congress of Geologists at St. Petersburg; the 
secretary spoke of the work of the geographical section of the 
British Association for the Advancement of Science at Toron- 
to, and professor Martin gave a similar account of the work 
of the geological section of the same meeting. The principal 
paper of the evening, apart from these descriptions, was bj'^ 
Mr. Charles Bullman, who gave a descriptive account of the 
location and character of the auriferous gravels of the state 
of Columbia, illustrated by many specimens. In the opinion 
of the speaker, the auriferous gravels are of wide distribution 
and thickness, and of exceeding value, and much more exten- 
sively distributed than stated byMr. F, C. Nicholas, who gave 
a paper before the Academy on the same topic at one of the 
spring meetings. The speaker believed that the gold deposits 
are still being laid down in considerable richness and that the 
whole area around the San Juan river is extremely rich in au- 
riferous deposits. The paper was discussed by Mr. Nicholas, 
who reiterated his statements, that the gold-bearing clay de- 
posits are not as extensive as they at first may seem to be, 
and that they are restricted to a few small localities now be- 
ing dissected and drained by small streams. 
Richard E. Dodge, Secretary. 
