862 Personal and Scicnfijic Nens. 
The same number contains an excellent account of a heavy 
lubricating? oil from the springs of Nacogdoches county, by 
professor E verb art of the UniA^ersity of Texas. 
Dr. C. a. Wtiite, describes a new generic form of Creta- 
ceous Astrffiid* from Kaufman county, Texas, in the Geologi- 
cal Magazine, vol. v. p. 302, naming it Hindeastra?a discoidea, 
in honor of Dr. G. Jennings Hinde. 
Prof. C. H. Gordon, Keokuk, Iowa, publishes a carefully 
studied section of the deep well lately drilled by J. C. Hub- 
inger, at that city, and compares it with the section given 
by Prof. Calvin of the deep Avell at Washington, Iowa,* find- 
ing a general agreement; the distance between them is 63 miles. 
Both wells find a white sandstone just below the Devonian 
limestones, and Prof. Gordon follows Prof. Calvin in assigning 
it to the Niagara. It may, however, be the Oriskany sandstone 
which is well known in Ohio and Illinois at this horizon. A 
similar white sandstone was found at the same horizon in some 
deep wells at Albert Lea, Minnesota. 
The annual meeting oj the Iowa Association for scientific 
research was held at Des Moines, Sept. 5 and 6. The following 
geological papers were read: 
Oa tbe folding of Carboniferous strata in soutli-western Iowa. Pkof. 
J. E. Todd. 
The fauna of the lower Coal Measures at Des Moines, Iowa. Charles 
II . Keyes. 
The lineage of lake Agassiz. Prop. J. E. Todd. 
Some additional observations on the Loess in and about Muscatine. 
Prof. M. F. Witter. 
The geology of Crowley's ridge, Arkansas. Prop. R. Ellsworth Call. 
On the glacial drift and Loess of a portion of the north-central basin 
of Iowa. Clement L. Webster. 
Description of two new fossils from, the Devonian of Iowa. Charles 
R. Keyes. 
The state geologist of Arkansas, Prof. J. C. Branner, has 
recently discharged an important duty to the State, and to the 
United States. He has reported to the Governor of the state 
that he considers a large percentage of the mining enterprises 
and stock companies organized in that state and professedly 
based on remunerative mining, to be without valid foundation. 
He is satisfied that some unscrupulous assayors have fostered 
the craze which has prevailed for nearly two years. Prof. 
Branner has quietly gathered evidence of this, and is well for- 
tified in his course. 
Prof. James Hall is re-visiting some of the celebrated fos- 
sil bearing localities in Indiana, Ohio and Illinois. He is clos- 
ing up his great work on the paleontology of New York, at 
which he has been engaged for more than forty years, and will 
make large collections in the west for purposes of comparison 
Rev. professor John Gmeiner, st. paul, minn., contributed 
*American Gfc:OLOGisT, vol. 1. p. 28. 
