that I conclude "we have reason to believe" in the existence of indigenous petroleum in the sandstones in question. Lesley there states that the oil in these rocks occurs in thin fissures corresponding to the remains of plant stems which have disappeared, having been converted into petroleum, an observation which is an answer to Mr. Warner's remark that while the sand-rocks in question are seen in certain parts to abound in fossil plants," they contain nothing from which the petroleum could possibly have been derived". While I have constantly maintained the view held by Mr. Warner, that the oil, so far as I have studied it, comes from a lower horizon, I am nevertheless not disposed to reject the statements of so skilled an observer as Mr. Lesley. Mr. Warner will find in the facts ascertained at Terre Haute a confirmation of the view that the petroleum in this region, at least, comes not from the sandstone, nor even from the underlying pyroschists, but from the still lower limestones of the Niagara and Corniferous formations.

Montreal, Sept. 8, 1871.

3. Surface Geology of New Brunswick; by G. F. MATTHEW, Esq., (Proc. Nat. Hist. Soc. of New Brunswick, April, 1871.)-The author closes his paper with the following conclusions.

1st. The present summer climate of a large part of Acadia is such as to compare with that of the region around Lake Superior, where according to Prof. L. Agassiz and Sir W. E. Logan, glaciers existed during the Drift period. The resemblance in the climatic conditions of the two regions is shown both by their mean summer temperatures and by the distribution of indigenous plants. (See Can. Nat., June, 1889.) The authority of Messrs. L. Agassiz and J. D. Dana may be quoted in favor of the former existence of glaciers in southern New England, which enjoys a summer temperature considerably higher than Acadia.

2nd. Some of the phenomena of the drift epoch, such as the direction and position of the glacial striæ and the distribution of the clays, do not appear susceptible of explanation on the hypothesis that icebergs and ocean-currents alone produced them. And it seems reasonable to suppose that a great sheet of ice similar to the continental glaciers of Greenland and the Antaretic regions, which will explain these phenomena, covered the Lower Provinces during the glacial epoch; and that while the general course of this mass was southward toward the then existing ocean, the motion of the deeply-buried ice in the bottom of the glacier was partly governed by the configuration of the land beneath it.

was

3rd. That while the western portion of this icy mass steadily moving down the Atlantic slope from the table land of northern Maine, and the eastern pushing across the low swell of land which separates the Gulf of St. Lawrence from the Bay of Fundy, the motion of the central portion of the ice-sheet, which could have had but a slight inclination, would have been impeded or nearly arrested by the southern hills of New Brunswick.

4th. That such portions of the glacier as were pushed over the tops of these hills, or through the narrow valleys between them, conformed in some degree to the slope of the surfaces over which || || they moved.

5th. The erosion effected by the glacier was chiefly in the softer rocks of the country; the harder ones resisting the attritive power of the ice, and preserving with comparatively little change their pre-glacial outline.

4. Remarks on Fossil Vertebrates from Wyoming. (Proc. Acad Nat. Sci. Philad., August 8, 1871.)-Prof. LEIDY remarked that the collections of fossils presented this evening by Drs. J. Vat A. Carter and Joseph K. Corsos were of unusual interest. They consist of remains mainly of turtles, with those of mammals and crocodiles, and were obtained from the tertiary deposits in the vicinity of Fort Bridger, Wyoming Territory.

The great abundance of remains of turtles, of many species and genera, of fresh-water and terrestrial habit, obtained in Wyoming, indicates this region to have swarmed with these animals during the earlier portion of the Tertiary period. Crocodiles and lacertian reptiles were likewise numerous. The many mammalian remains found in association with the reptilian fossils mainly belong to tapiroid and carnivorous animals.

The Wyoming tertiary fauna presents a remarkable contrast with the later fauna of the Mauvaises Terres of White River, Dacota, and of the Niobrara River, Nebraska. Among the large number of fossils from these two localities, rich in evidence of mammalian life, there occur the remains of a single species of turtle in each, and none of crocodiles or other reptiles.

Dr. Carter's collection, besides containing remains of Trionyx guttatus, Emys Jeanesianus, E. Haydeni, and E. Stevensonianus, and Baena arenosa, also adds two new turtles to the list. One of these is a species of Emys of the largest size, and exceeds any now living. The carapace has measured about two feet and a half in length, and the sternum about two feet. In honor of its discoverer, it may be named Emys Carteri.

The first and second vertebral plates of this species present an unusual, perhaps an anomalous appearance. The first is 4 inches long, and clavate in shape, with the narrow part foremost. The second is 24 inches long, and presents the usual hexagonal form reversed. The third plate, a little longer, is quadrate, with convex sides. The first vertebral scute is vase-like in outline, 5 inches long, 23 inches wide in front, 43 inches near the middle, and 34 inches at the back border. The second scute, of the ordinary form, is 5 inches long, and 4 inches wide.

The second turtle belongs to the recently characterized genus Baena, but is considerably larger than its associated species which have been described. The shell in its complete condition has been upwards of a foot and a half in length, and is seven inches and a half high. The sternum is flat, and about fifteen inches long. Its pedicles ascend at an angle of about 45°, and

are seven inches and a half broad. As in the living Dermatemys, and the sea turtles, they are covered with large scutes, four in number, as in Baena arenosa. The intermediate vertebral scutes are longer than broad-the third being 4 inches long, and 3 inches wide. A peculiarity of the species is the undulating manner in which the costal scutes join the marginal scutes, and the sternal scutes one another. The species may be named Baena undata.

Dr. Carter's collection also contains some fragments of bones of a large mammal, which are so mutilated as to be hardly characteristic. A jaw fragment among them, with the retained fragments of the true molars, would appear to indicate a species of Palaosyops much larger than P. paludosus. In absence of other evidence, it might be viewed as a species of this genus, under the name of P. major. The true molars occupied a space of four and a half inches. The last molar measured an inch and seven-eighths fore and aft, and an inch transversely in front.

Dr. Carter had also sent some fossils to Prof. Leidy, among which were portions of jaw, with nearly full series teeth of Hyrachyus agrarius. This animal is related to the Tapir, Hyracodon, and Lophiodon. The formula of its dentition is the same as in Hyracodon : 7 molars, 1 canine, and 3 incisors. The true molars are like those of Lophiodon, except that the last lower one has a bi-lobed instead of a triple-lobed crown. Apparently the same animal has been indicated by Prof. Marsh under the name of Lophiodon Bairdianus. A fragment of a lower jaw containing the last premolar, and the first true molar, indicates a larger species of Hyrachyus, which may be named H. eximius. The crown of the last premolar is 74 lines antero-posteriorly, and 54 transversely. The true molar has measured about 8 lines fore and aft, and 6 lines transversely. The depth of the jaw fragment below the true molar is over an inch and a half.

Another fossil is a mutilated incisor, indicating a species of Trogosus rather more than half the size of T. castoridens, which may be named T. vetulus.

A femur of Palæosyops paludosus, in the collection, exhibits the third trochanter, characteristic of the unequal-toed pachyderms. The astragalus of this animal almost repeats that of the living Tapirs.

Among the remains of Dr. Corson's collection there is the greater part of the lower jaw of a large crocodile, but too much broken to attempt to give an opinion in regard to its specific character, until it is in some degree mended or restored.

5. Dredging in Lake Superior under the direction of the U. S. Lake Survey.-Extensive dredgings were undertaken the past season in Lake Superior, from the U. S. steamer Search, under the direction of Gen. C. B. Comstock, Superintendent of the Lake Survey. Dredging was carried on from the shallow waters, especially along the north shore, down to 169 fathoms, the deepest point known in the lake. In all the deeper parts of the lake, the bottom, as shown both by the dredging and by the soundings

executed by the Survey, is covered with a uniform deposit of clay, or clayey mud, usually very soft and bluish or drab in color. Water brought from the bottom at many points was per fectly fresh; that from 169 fathoms gave no precipitate with nitrate of silver. The temperature, everywhere below 30 or 49 fathoms, varied very little from 39°, while at surface (at the time of the observations, during August) it varied from 50° to 55°. The fauna of the bottom corresponds with these physical condi tions. In the shallow waters, the species vary with the varying character of the bottom, while below 30 to 40 fathoms, where the deep-water fauna properly begins, the species seem to be everywhere very uniformly distributed. The deep-water fauna, s might be expected from the unfavorable character of the bottom. is meager, and seems to be characterized rather by the absence of many of the shore species than by forms peculiar to itself. Some of the more interesting species occurring in deep water were : Mysis relicta Lovén, at various depths from 4 to 159 fathoms: Pontoporeia affinis Lindst., at nearly every haul from the shallowest to the deepest; a small undescribed species of Pisidium, down to 159 fathoms; several forms of dipterous larvæ, allied to Chironomus, down to the same depth; several species of Lumbricoid worms, of the genera Tubifex, Sanuris, and an allied genns; and a species of Hydra, which was found from the shore down to 159 fathoms. Of these, the Mysis, Pontoporeia, and Pisidium are identical with species found by Dr. Stimpson in his dredging in Lake Michigan, a short account of which was published in the American Naturalist for September, 1870. The species of Mysis and Pontoporeia I am unable to distinguish from specimens from Lake Wetter in Sweden. In the Swedish lakes, these species were associated with Idotaa entomon and Gammaracanthus loricatus, marine species, and were supposed by Lovén to have been derived from ancient marine species left in the lake basins by the recession of the ocean. The occurrence of these forms in Lake Superior, so far removed from the ocean, is certainly a very interesting fact in the geographical distribution of species, but one which I will not attempt to discuss in this brief notice. In the shallow waters many interesting species were obtained. Among these was a new species of Crangony, a genus closely allied to Gammarus, and heretofore known only from a few species found in the fresh waters of the old world, which occurred in 8 to 13 fathoms; and at the same depth, species of Lumbricus, Nephelis, Procotyla, Gammarus, Asellus, Limnoa, Physa, Planorbis, Valvata, Sphærium, Pisidium, etc. A full report will soon be published.

S. I. SMITH.

6. A. Featherman: Report of Botanical Survey of Southern and Central Louisiana. In the Annual Report of the Board of Supervisors of Louisiana State University, for year 1870. New Orleans, 1871.-The Botanical Report, separately paged, fills 130 pages. Professor Featherman is Lecturer on Botany in the Uni

-versity, and Professor of Modern Languages. The general matter, which makes the principal staple of this Report, is of considerable interest, although the information afforded is in some cases decidedly trite. Our attention is concentrated upon the list of new species, twelve in number, which we enumerate, appending the names which they have previously received, some of them in works which Prof. Featherman has probably not had access to. We are indebted to the author for original specimens of some species and drawings of others, without which these determinations could hardly have been made. Taking the species in order:

Euphorbia Ludoviciana is Phyllanthus Carolinensis Walt.
E. Meganasos is E. maculata L., a pretty well-marked, more
erect, and smoothish variety, of our southern coast.
Sabbatia nana is S. gracilis Pursh, a dwarf form, approach-
ing S. stellaris.

S. oligophylla is a slender state of S. gentianoides Ell.
Hydrolea leptocaulis is H. affinis Gray, Manual, ed. 5.
H. Ludoviciana is H. ovata Nutt.

Jussica Boydiana is J. repens L., a small form.

Tephrosia angustifolia, from the drawing is probably only a slender form of the next.

T. multiflora is T. onobrychoides Nutt.

Lilium Lockettii is Crinum Americanum L.

Enothera paludosa, for lack of specimen and drawing, is not
made out.

Helenium Seminariense is H. nudiflorum Nutt., that is,
Leptopoda brachypoda Torr. and Gray.

A. G.

7. Dr. Rohrbach on Typha.-Dr. Rohrbach, the monographer of Silene, of Berlin, has published a careful revision of the genus Typha. He recognizes 9 species, with 4 sub-species: 7 of the former are found in Europe, and 2 of these also in the territories of the United States, together with a sub-species, peculiar to the warmer parts of America.

Dr. R. has discovered that the fruits of 7 of the 9 species show a longitudinal groove, and burst open, emitting the seed, when placed in water: the two others possess no groove, nor do they open, the pericarp being adnate to the seed. Our species belong to the first section.*

The other characters on which he relies to distinguish the species are (1) the shape of the stigma, which is linear, spatulate or rhomboid; (2) the presence or absence of bracts (variable in shape in the same species) at the base of the female flower; (3) the proportional length of the stigmas, the perigonial hairs, and the just mentioned bracts, at the period of maturity of fruit; (4) the presence or absence of hair on the axis of the male inflorescence; (5) the pollen, whether in single grains or in 4 grains united; (6) the anatomical structure of the seed coats.

*The species with adnate pericarp are T. Laxmanni Lepechin (the earlier name for T. minor Sm.), throughout middle and southern Europe and Asia; and T. stenophylla F. & M., extending from Asia into Italy.