mile of the upper coal beds but separated from them by the whole thickness of the Eocene and considerable of the Cretaceous. Again these deposits are always in the immediate vicinity of large deposits of bituminous shales or clays quite full of fish bones and the like but showing few or no vegetable remains. That a distillate should have come up froin the far underlying Cretaceous coal beds through fissures and have spread out in certain beds only of the Miocene, while exactly the same conditions as to permeability prevail throughout the upper Cretaceous and Eocene with no hydrocarbons, would of itself preclude the supposed origin. even if there were great fissures through which the material could come. In addition, however, there are no fissures cutting the formations where the deposits occur; the beds lie almost and often quite horizontally and show no signs of disturbance for the most part. Here and there are little irregular seams very rarely more than a foot wide, though in one case four feet wide, into which the hydrodarbon has oozed from the surrounding clays and made a deposit of the pure article. Were these fissures, which are evidently only local and shallow, the source and not the receptacle of the hydrocarbons, then the surrounding shales and clays would be saturated most at the point of contact and less and less as the distance from them increased, but the fact of the case is they are if anything less saturated at the point of contact and fully as much impregnated miles away from any fissures. Wherever we find even a seam the thickness of a knife-edge in these beds we find hydrocarbons, and where they are absent we find no deposits of hydrocarbons at all. The only beds which show a thinning out of their contained asphalts are the sandstones, which are nowhere evenly. impregnated but are full of asphalt only where there is a crack or fissure leading up or down to the bituminous beds in the immediate vicinity. There are also several places where crude asphalt has oozed out of the sandstones and formed from a thousand to a million tons of matter more or less pure, assaying from 11 per cent to 75 per cent crude asphalt; the larger deposits are still flowing slowly, perhaps a barrel a day or the like. This material when it first comes out carries a large percentage of the more volatile hydrocarbons and considerable of the paraffine series, while the fixed carbons are low. To my mind these have the same origin as the other deposits, the connection with the overlying bituminous beds being very extensive through the small seams in the sandstones and the means of exit being the gentle slope of the beds. That the asphalt is composite is due either to the quantity and its wide origin or to lack of facilities for the volatilization of the lighter elements. Another remarkable feature in our hydrocarbons is that no two deposits so far discovered in Utah are alike in their chemical composition excepting the asphalts just mentioned. The so-called ozokerite at Pleasant Valley Junction is black and somewhat flaky, containing an excess of fixed carbon for one of the paraffines. Some fifty miles south is a deposit a few inches wide, containing a paraffine as pure as beeswax and of the same color, approaching closely to the typical ozokerite. At a place near Pleasant Valley Junction there are quite a number of seams of the asphalt series and one place where it oozes very slowly out of a layer in the bituminous shales and forms little balls which at length break off and roll down the slope. These have about the appearance of pure Trinidad asphalt and go low in the paraffines and contain small percentages of the lighter hydrocarbons. In the same region are several seams of the pure asphalt, none of them workable, in which the matter is as pure as the Uintahite or Gilsonite of

commerce and has a fracture varying in the various seams from cubical to conchoidal, according to quantity of contained paraffine. A few miles farther north, but in the same geological horizon, are the only known deposits of what has recently been called Wurtzellite, which is an asphalt with an excess of paraffine. Some 100 miles farther, but in the same horizon, are the great deposits of Uintahite or Gilsonite, which has become so well known as a varnish and insulator. In my judgment these variances in composition are due to local causes, affecting the matter as it has oozed out of the shales into the crevices which have received it, such as expcsure to the air, oxidation, etc.

Though the theory of the animal origin of our hydrocarbons, which was long ago ably advocated by Professor Newberry, seems to be the only tenable one, it must not be taken as proved by any means, for I have never yet seen sufficient remains of animals to account for the quantity of our hydrocarbons, though there may be sufficient in the beds as a whole. A significant fact is that these beds contain multitudes of tracks of birds and mud cracks indicating their being nearly on a level with the water. It is possible that many of the bones have disappeared by decay; this is plausible, since I have never found the bones of any animal intact but always scattered, broken and tangled in wild confusion, and yet plentiful.

The above remaks apply to the hydrocarbons of which mention has been made in Science and other journals. They are not the only ones in Utah, however. At the base of the Cretaceous, or at least as low as the base of the Colorado of Emmons, are other hydrocarbons wholly different from those mentioned above, which are nearly identical with the petroleum of the east, containing more paraffine only. So far they are not known to be extensive. In one locality there seems to be natural gas, but with what pressure is not definitely known,

In Salt Lake Valley is quite an extensive local deposit of natural gas of Pliocene age giving a pressure of at least 200 pounds to the inch. Its composition does not vary materially from that of the east, though it seems to give more heat and less flame.

BIRDS SELDOM SEEN IN SOUTH CAROLINA.

BY PROF. J. C. HARTZELL, JR., B. S., M. A. O. U., ORANGEBURG, S. C. FOR Some time the writer has been endeavoring to make a list of those birds that are uncommon in South Carolina. The undertaking has proved a very arduous task. The following is a partial list as the result of the undertaking. A fuller list is not given on account of the unsatisfactory data of a few species observed. The majority of the species noted below are in the writer's possession:

Clangula hyemalis; A. O. U. 151. Bays and coast in fall and winter. Food, shell-fish. Nest in long grass. Eggs bluish-white.

Grus americana; A. O. U. 204. Salt marshes and swamps. Food, Indian corn and sometimes mice. Nest on the ground. Eggs pale blue, spotted with brown, Bonasa umbellus; A. O. U. 300. Hills, northwestern part of state. Nest under fallen log. Eggs white. Aquila chrysætos; A. O. U. 349. Food, mammals and birds. Mountains in northern part of state. Nest on ledge of rocks. Eggs whitish.

Archibuteo lagopus sancti-johannis; A. O. U. 347a. Open fields. Nest in tree. Eggs whitish and drab. Food, field-mice.

Did not see nest or eggs.

portion of the anterior division of the body and standing quite erect, ten on the posterior portion, two at anterior angles, two behind the middle and others near the margin on the posterior third of the body, abdominal suckers four, located between the abdominal legs.

This species differs from T. phylloxerae Riley, particularly in the greater length of tarsal joints, greater curvature of tarsal claw and the much greater length of the hairs, those at the end of the abdomen being as long or longer than the body, while the phyllorerae Riley describes as about one-third the diameter of the body. It is also larger than specimens I have determined as phylloxeræ, and the second pair of legs is further back on the body than shown in Riley's figure.

I have named it in honor of Dr. Lintner, who has taken a most lively interest in the various forms of acaridea, besides having made many valuable observations on these and other important insects.

A NEW MITE INFECTING MUSHROOMS.

BY HERBERT OSBORN, AMES, IA. SOME time since I received from Professor J. A. Lintner specimens of a mite which had been found infesting mushrooms quite seriously, and from its habits and the statements concerning its numbers it is likely to prove a very important pest of this crop. From the literature which is available it does not appear to be described and is certainly different from the species described as infesting mushrooms in Europe. It approaches more nearly to the Tyroglyphus phylloxera of Riley but is quite different in many structural details. Since it is likely to prove of importance it seems desirable to describe it, even though it may possibly prove identical with some of the described European forms.

Tyroglyphus lintneri, n. sp.

a, dorsal view. b. ventral view. c, tarsus, much enlarged; length shown in circle to right.

From nature, by H. Osborn.

Tyroglyphus lintneri, n. sp.-The mandibles are large, chelate, strongly toothed, the palpi terminating with a strong hook, the tarsi hooked with no sucker visible, the last segment long, slender, spiny at tip and on the two anterior pairs bearing a clavate appendage. The hairs are very long, those on the posterior part of the body equal to or greater than the length of the body and their origin marked by chitinous rings, six located on the posterior

ST. LAWRENCE.

BY ANDREW T. DRUMMOND, MONTREAL, CANADA. THE great Arctic Current of northeastern America takes its rise in Baffin's Bay and, after skirting with its broad surface the coasts of Labrador and Newfoundland, appears to largely lose itself as a cold surface current, as it impinges on, and, in part, parallels, the Gulf Stream. Every traveller to America by the St. Lawrence route has his attention drawn forcibly to it by the coldness of both the atmosphere and the water, and by the presence of the picturesque icebergs, which, though floating slowly southward with the current, suggest to the imagination a broad submerged mountain chain with the glaciered topmost peaks and snow-clad pinnacles alone left to view.

As the great steamship passes inward to the Gulf of St. Lawrence by the Straits of Belle Isle, the traveller is equally struck with the fact that although the current appears to have been crossed, huge bergs are still met with, floating in a new direction toward Anticosti. The explanation is that a branch of this Arctic or Labrador Current finds its way through the Straits of Belle Isle and past Anticosti to the River St. Lawrence, up the estuary of which it ascends on the northerly side toward Quebec. On the way it meets with and is tempered by the warmer waters coming from the Great Lakes above, as they pass outward to the sea, and returns on the south side of the estuary as a modified current, which, after skirting the Gaspe Peninsula, is finally lost in the Gulf of St. LawThis is the substance of our present knowledge. The temperature of the water in the estuary of the river becomes interesting as bearing on the existence of this current. During the early part of August, last, the opportunity presented itself at Murray Bay, on the north shore, of obtaining some surface and bottom temperatures. The instruments used were Negretti and Zambra's reference and deep-sea thermometers. The conditions on the 5th of August, when the following readings at different points were taken, were those of calm air, clear sky, and fairly strong sun; the time, 8 A. M. to 8:30 A. M., and the position about a mile and a half off Cap & l'Aigle, a jutting headland four miles below Murray Bay village:

Whilst the surface water at this distance from land was comparatively cold, at the shore at Cap a l'Aigle, where it flows and reflows over the rocky shallows, its temperature on warm days was generally from 53° to 60° F., thus admitting of bathing on the part of the summer residents.

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR.

*Correspondents are requested to be as brief as possible. The writer's name is in all cases required as a proof of good faith.

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A ROPE OF MAGGOTS.

THE following bit of experience is given in the hope that some well-informed person will shed light upon the subject.

I was hurriedly passing through a wood one damp summer morning when my attention was drawn to what appeared to be a piece of rope lying among the leaves. It was not at all unusual to find short pieces of rope in the pastured woods, but something unusual in the appearance of this one attracted my attention at once. It was moving! not in a forward or backward, nor in a sidewise, direction; nor rolling over, nor in the least changing its position or shape. In the dim light of the woods I could make it out only by stooping down with my face Then I discovered that it was composed of

close to it.

maggots!

The rope tapered like a whip-lash, which it very closely resembled, being about five feet long, nearly two inches in diameter at the large end, fully two inches at the largest part, and tapering from there to a thin line at the "lash" end. It was in the form of a section of a circle about twenty feet in diameter.

Each maggot seemed to be in motion toward the large end, wriggling over or between or below his fellows. During the five minutes that I watched them there was an advance of four inches, the van of the mass wriggling on the leaves ahead of the rest.

My first thought was that they were feasting on the

cadaver of a snake. But there was not the least evidence of a snake. Since all seemed to be migrating, I concluded that they had finished one mess and were seeking another. But I was unable to find anything which they could have hatched in or come from, in any direction, nor any hole whence they might have issued. For nearly two feet in the rear of the moving mass there were traces of them, indicating that they had travelled over that space. Further than that no traces could be found. If the Some questions naturally suggest themselves. maggots were really migrating, how came they to be in that shape rather than spread out over a larger surface? If they simply occupied carrion which assumed this shape, why were they all moving in one direction? It is not at all unusual to see a great mass of maggots move simultaneously when there is some exciting cause. But these did not have that appearance. They were trying to get somewhere! If they had been feeding upon carrion, why should there be not the slightest remains of it? hope that some one may be able to throw some light upon this. As near as I could determine, the maggots belonged to the genus Musca, and very closely resembled, if they were not identical with, the common house fly (M. domestica.) LYNDS JONES.

Oberlin College, Oberlin, Ohio.

SINGULAR BEHAVIOR OF AN OWL.

I

WHEN Collecting plants in the summer I came across an owl standing at the base of a small shrubby oak in a thinly wooded pasture. It was discovered when about

twenty feet away, and was cautiously approached in order to get a better view, and to see how it would act. When I had come within eight or ten feet it fluttered away about as far in the opposite direction, turned partly on its side and spread its wings a little, much as a wounded or fallen bird does. I went up to it, took it from the ground and carefully examined it, expecting to find some wound or mark of disability for flying, but could find none. While doing this it was held in the hands either by the wings, feet or body, the bird quietly submitting or only slightly flapping the wings. After satisfying my curiosity I set it down, not wishing to carry it about all day in order to take it home, for it was not yet noon. To my surprise it immediately flew off several rods with as much apparent ease as any bird possessed. I watched to see where it lighted, and found it in an open place amid the rushes of a dry slough. Being curious to see whether it would repeat the former tactics, I again approached it cautiously, but got scarcely as near as before, when it took wing again and flew still farther off. It was sought once more, and found in a similar place, but had become more wary, so that I could not get very near before it flew so far away that I did not care to follow it up, having become well satisfied that the owl was physically sound, and knew quite well how to care for itself.

It at once became a question why the bird had acted so strangely at first. Was it surprised and bewildered, or dazed by the sunlight, or did it make a deliberate effort to deceive? To decide by the behavior, since one cannot tell what may be passing in the bird-mind, the last offers the best explanation. Though walking quite briskly when the owl was first seen, I at once checked my step, and paused for a little before going nearer. The bird evidently saw me about as soon as I saw it, for its face was towards me, and it watched my movements. How well an owl can see in the day-time I am not prepared to say, though it readily perceived me by some sense on the two subsequent occasions of approach when I was quite a piece away. Hence the attitude it took, its non-resistance when taken in hand, and its submissiveness when undergoing inspection, led me to infer that the owl wished to pass for a worthless fellow, if not dead, and cause me to go by and let it alone. But it evidently came to a different conclusion after the first trial and did From

not care to run further risk, or trust me longer. its size and markings it was judged to have been the short-eared owl, Brachyotus palustris of authors. E. J. HILL.

Englewood, Chicago, Dec. 22, 1893.

ON CARIB MIGRATIONS.

IN Science, Dec. 15, p. 334, it is said, referring to the Caribs, "It would seem strange if a people who could navigate the Caribbean Sea in large open boats were incapable of crossing from Cuba to Florida."

The assumption appears to be that some Caribs lived on the island of Cuba. What authority is there for this? Is it any more strange that the Caribs did not reach Florida than that the Mayas and the Island Arawacks did not? Both of whom were equally skillful navigators. Or, because they were capable of doing so, are we to assume that they did? Not an element of the Carib language has been found anywhere north of the Isthmus of Panama. D. G. BRINTON.

Philadelphia, Dec. 27.

POCKET KEY OF THE BIRDS OF THE NORTHERN UNITED STATES.

In the notice of my "Pocket Key of the Birds of the Northern United States" in Science for Dec. 15 it is said that it "will enable a student of nature to determine

the family and usually the genera of any of our northern birds."

As it attempts to trace them all to the species, I think the notice should say so, and, if it is a failure in that attempt, say that also, and not lead readers to think I would write a book to enable a hunter to find out merely that the bird he shot is a snipe rather than a duck. AUSTIN C. APGAR.

Trenton, N. J., Dec. 27, 1893.

BOOK-REVIEWS.

The Science of Education, Its General Principles Deduced from Its Aim, and The Aesthetic Revelation of the World. By JOHANN FRIEDRICH HEBART. Translated from the German with a Biographical Introduction by Henry M. and Emmie Felkin and a Preface by Oscar Browning, M. A. Boston, D. C. Heath & Co. 268 p., 1893. PROBABLY no feature of our intellectual culture and of our advancement in higher education is so significant as the growing library of pedagogics in this country. For a number of years this department of thought has been sadly neglected with us, while abroad it has long received due attention as a most important factor in philosophic progress. Particularly with the German thinkers has this subject proved most fruitful, but, unfortunately, the peculiar difficulties of philosophical German have limited the English-speaking readers of these works to a favored few who, maybe, from residence abroad have acquired that thorough knowledge of the language necessary. Mr. and Mrs. Felkin have certainly then earned the applause of all teachers and thinkers by their careful and conscientious translation of these most valuable works of Hebart. Hebart himself is known by little more than name in this country, though some may recall him as a former professor at Göttingen, whose works on psychology and education are of great value; and yet as a metaphysician, psychologist, philosopher and teacher few men are deserving of so much careful study.

In the introduction to the present work we have a

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charming biographical sketch of the author, revealing in its carefully selected details glimpses of the inner man and offering a series of pen pictures of great value and assistance to the proper appreciation of the discussion which follows. Through his childhood, at Jena, at Bremen, at Göttingen, at Königsberg, we follow the author in his development, if development it can be called, when from their inception his theories seem to be those of mature growth and profound contemplation. Following this entertaining sketch the translators have given a review of Hebart's philosophy, together with a synopsis of the two works which follow and form the principal portion of the book. The review has evidently been written from a thorough acquaintance with Hebart's writings and is an additional aid to our understanding of his principles. "The whole aim of education, according to Hebart, is contained in the one word, morality. Its whole work is to form a character which in the battle of life shall stand unmoved, not through the strength of its intermal action, but on the firm and enduring foundation of its moral insight and enlightened will." "Proceeding from morality as the highest aim of humanity, and consequently of education, the essence of formation of character is defined as 'a making' which the pupil himself discovers when choosing the good and rejecting the bad. jecting the bad. This rise in self-conscious personality must take place in the mind of the pupil himself, and be perfected by his own exertion. To place the power already existent, and in its nature trustworthy, in the midst of such conditions that it must infallibly effect this rise, is what the teacher must conceive as possible-while he must consider the great work of all his efforts is to reach, understand and guide that power."

Industrié des Cuirs et des Peaux, Analyse des Matières Premières, des Agents Auxiliaries et des Products. Par FERDINAND JEAN. Paris, Gauthier-Villars et Fils. 195 p., 1893.

Fabrication des Vernis, Application à l'Industrié et aux Arts. Par LAURENT NAUDIN. Paris, Gauthier-Villars et Fils. 200 p., 1893.