PROCEEDINGS

OP THE

ACADEMY OF NATURAL SCIENCES

OF

PHILADELPHIA.

1874.

PUBLICATION COMMITTEE.

Joseph Leidy, M.D., Geo. "W. Trton, Jr.,

AVm. S. Vaux, Edw. J. Nolan, M.D.,

W. S. W. Ruschenbergek, M.D.

PHILADELPHIA:

ACADEMY OF NATURAL SCIENCES,

Corner Broad and Sansom Streets.

1874.

Hall of the Academy of Natural Sciences,

Philadelphia, February 4, 1875.

I hereby certify that printed copies of tlie Proceedings for 1874 have been presented at the meetings of the Academy, as follows : —

Pages 9 to 34 . ... . April 28, 1874.

25 to 72 . . . . May 19, 1874.

73 to 104 . . . . August 18, 1874.

10.") to 136 . . . . September 29, 1874.

137 to 152 . . . . October 20, 1874.

153 to 200 . . . . December 15, 1874.

SAMUEL B. HOWELL, M.D.,

Recording Secretary.

Pages 201 to 216 " 217 to 232

5, 1875.

2, 1875.

. January . February

EDWARD J. NOLAN, M.D.,

Recording Secretary.

puii.AnKi.PHiA :

C O I, I, I .V S , P R I N T IC R .

LIST OF CONTRIBUTORS,

With reference to the several articles contributed by each. For Verbal Communications see General Index.

Binney, W. G. On the Anatomy and Lingual Dentition of Ariolimax

and other Pulmonata 33

Conrad, T. A. Remarks on the Tertiary Clay of the Upper Amazon,

with descriptions of new Shells 25

Description of two new Fossil Shells of the Upper Amazon 83

Cope, E. D. Description of some species of Reptiles obtained by Dr. John F. Bransford, Assistant Surgeon United States Navy, while

attached to the Nicaragnan Surveying Expedition in 1873 64

On some Batrachia and Nematognathi brought from the Upper

Amazon by Prof. Orton 120

Notes on the Santa Fe Marls, and some of the contained Vertebrate

Fossils 147

Cones, E. Synopsis of the Muridae of North America 173

Gentry, T. G. On Habits of some American Species of Birds 96

Grote, A. R. New species of North American Noctuidse 197

Herrick, H. Description of a new species of Helminthophaga 220

Lewis, J. Description of a new species of Helix 118

On a new variety of Helix 162

I S '^ i 1

PROCEEDINGS

OF THE

ACADEMY OF NATURAL SCIENCES

OF

PHILADELPHIA. 1874.

January 6, 1874.

The President, Dr. Ruschenberger, in the chair.

Thirty-two members present.

Dr. J. G. Hunt remarked that the structure of the Schizaea piisilla differed widely from that of our other indigenous schiza- ceous ferns, viz., Lygodium palmatum^ and its morphological ele- ments are unlike those of our ferns in general. The barren frond of Schizeea pusilla is marked on its epidermal surface with a double line of stomata, and these organs extend the entire length of the frond. The cells which make up the interior of this delicate fern are cylindrical and vary in size, but their distinctive cha- racters lie in minute projections or outgrowths from all sides of the cells, and these projections meet and are articulated with cor- responding outgrowth from adjoining cells, so that the cells of Schizaea have penetrating between them in every direction inter- cellular spaces and channels of remarkable t^egularify and beauty, and so characteristic is this plan of cell-union that the botanist need find no difficulty in identifying the smallest fragment of the plant. This morphological peculiarity has not been noticed before.

Dimorj^hous Floivers in Passiflora. — Mr. Thomas Meehan ex- hibited some flowers of Passiflora qiiadrangularis, in which some of them had the pistils almost wanting, while the flowers were

2

10 PROCEEDINGS OF THE ACADEMY OF

perfect in all other particulars. A large plant running along a rafter in his greenhouse, and producing hundreds of flowers, bore these dimorphous ones in about equal proportions. He said it was well known that in cultivation this plant never produced fruit unless by artificial cross-impregnation, but he thought the tendency to abort in the female flowers, and thus approach the classes which were in structure as well as practically uni-sexual, had not been noticed before. There was a species in New Zea- land, however, known to be monoecious, and it might be just pos- sible tiiat the Fassijloraceee, with mostl}^ hermaphrodite flowers, were following in the wake of the allied Gucurbitacese, in which a complete separation of the sexes was the rule.

January 13.

The President, Dr. Ruschenberger, in the chair.

Twenty-six members present.

Remarks on Hydi'a. — Prof. Leidy remarked that two species of Hydi^a were common in the neighborhood of Philadelphia. One is of a light brownish hue and is found on the under side of stones and on aquatic plants in the Delaware and Schuylkill rivers, and in ditches communicating with the same. Preserved in an aquarium, after some days the animals will often elongate the tentacula for several inches in length. The green Hydra is found in ponds and springs attached to aquatic plants. It has from six to eight tentacles, which never elongate to the extent they do in the brown Hydra. In winter the animal is frequently observed with the male organs developed just below the head as a mamma- like process on each side of the bod}'. He had not been able to satisfy himself that these Hydrse were different from H. fusca and H. viridis of Europe. Prof. Agassiz had indicated similar colored forms in Massachusetts and Connecticut, under the names of H carnea and H. gracilis. Of the former he remarks that it has very short tentacles, and if this is correct under all circumstances, it must be difterent from our brown Hydra, which can elongate its arms for three inches or more.

January 20.

The President, Dr. Ruschenberger, in the chair. Thirty members present.

Prof. E. D. Cope described some species of extinct tortoises from certain formations of Northeastern Colorado, which had been previously found in the Fort Union or lignite beds of the Missouri river region by Dr. Ha^^den. He had in 1868 recognized

NATURAL SCIENCES OP PHILADELPHIA. 11

the age of the latter as cretaceous, contrary to the opinion ex- pressed by some geologists, that the formation both in Dakota and Colorado is tertiary.

Mr. Cope incidentally mentioned the recent discovery of remains of Dinosaurs in the lignite beds of Colorado, which Avere thus proved to belong to the cretaceous period, and not tertiary, as the evi- dence of the fossil plants had been interpreted by Mr. Lesquereux and others.

Dr. LeConte expressed his great satisfaction at the complete confirmation, by his friend Mr. Cope, of the statements he made several 3^ears ago,* concerning the cretaceous age of the lignites at the eastern base of the Rocky Mountains, from near Denver southwards into New Mexico. Dr. LeConte had discussed the subject on page 19, and more fully on Go and 66 of his report. He had, it is true, expressed on page 65 a suspicion that the lig- nites of the Missouri basin might be of miocene age, but it would be seen by the narrative part of the report that Di\ LeConte had not examined these beds personally, and their tertiary age was assumed only in deference to the very strong!}' expressed opinion of Dr. Hayden, "the pioneer and most successful explorer of the Missouri basin" (Report, page 53), who was the first, as he has been the most persistent advocate of this view. While admitting the similarity of the flora of these lignites to those of known tertiary localities, he had insisted on the greater value of the stratigraphical and zoological evidence by which they were shown to be cretaceous. He referred Mr. Cope to this report, that he might see how perfectly these recent discoveries accorded with the previously expressed views, which Mr. Cope had, perhaps inadvertently, omitted to mention.

Mr. Cope replied that he was quite familiar with the report of Dr. LeConte, but did not consider stratigraphical evidence of value as compared with palseontological in this instance, because the beds display continuity of deposit from cretaceous to tertiary (Hayden), while the fauna and flora exhibit an interruption.

Prof. Frazer remarked that in this opinion Mr. Cope differed from geologists generally, who regarded the weight of palaeonto- logical evidence as based entirely on our previous knowledge of stratigraphical relations, and where the field was so new as our Western territories, the evidences of palaeontology as establishing synchronism with the geological ages of Europe must be received with great caution.

' Notes ou the Geology of the Survey for the Extension of the Union Pacific Railway, Eastern Division. Philadelphia, Feb. 1867.

12 PROCEEDINGS OF THE ACADEMY OF

January 27. The President, Dr. Ruschenberger, in the chair. Thirty members present.

Henry A. Muhlenberg, of Reading, Pa., George De B. Keim, Henry Tagg, Chas. S. Whelen, and Charles W. Macfarlane, were elected members.

Jas. Stevenson, U. S. Geol. Surv., was elected a Correspondent.

Prof. Cope made some observations on the age of the lignite and other corresponding formations of the West, and especially its supposed equivalent in Northern Colorado. He referred to his determination of the Upper Missouri formation as cretaceous in 1868 ; of the Wyoming Bitter Creek series as of the same age in 1872. He now added the Colorado strata to the same, on the evidence of vertebrate remains procured by himself during the past season, in connection with the United States Geological Survey under Dr. P. V. Hayden. These remains consisted of DinoHauria of three species, tortoises of five, and a single species of crocodile. Five of the genera were diagnostic. The Dinosauria were referred to the old genus Hadrosaiirus and the new genera Polyonax and Cionodon. The Gionodon arctatus was a large herbivorous saurian, allied to Hadrosaurus, but with a most com- plex and singular type of dentition ; the size that of a horse. The other two species are much larger.

He also pointed out that the tortoises are identical with species discovered b}' Dr. Hayden in the Fort Union formation of Dakota. He identified the Colorado beds with this group, and believed that they are therefore of cretaceous age, stating that it was the first time such identification had been made.

Prof. Cope then discussed the age of the coal and lignite forma- tions west of the Missouri River, and stated that Dr. Hayden had divided them into several epochs, viz., the Placer Mountain (New Mexico) ; Canon City (Colorado) ; Fort Union (Dakota) ; and Bear River (W3'oming) ; and that Mr. Meek and himself liad re- garded the Bitter Creek series as distinct from the others. He stated that the stratigraphers and vegetable palaeontologists had regarded all these beds as tertiary, but he believed that the animal and especially the vertebrate pala^ontolog}' required their reference to the cretaceous period. He observed that Mr. Meek had pointed out the cretaceous age of the Bear River beds. LeConte had in- sisted on the same reference for the Caiion City basin. Mr. King and himself had determined that the Bitter Creek coal was creta- ceous, and he had asserted that the Fort Union epoch belonged to the same division of geologic time, in Dakota in 1869, and for

NATURAL SCIENCES OF PHILADELPHIA.

13

Colorado at the last meeting of the Academy, although LeConte and others had regarded them as probably miocene.' lie stated, moreover, that the evidence from palaeontology was discrepant, and that it must be conceded that a tertiary flora was contempo- rary with a cretaceous fauna. lie quoted Dr. Hayden as having shown that there was no phj'^sical interruption in the series of deposits above enumerated, and that the incongruity in the palae- ontology is to be regarded as e-vidence that no extinction or re- creation of a general character had taken place during this time; that the apparent interruption in the vertebrate life in the dis- appearance of large land saurians and appearance of land mam- malia is due to the irruption of the latter by migration probably from the south.

February 3. The President, Dr. Ruschenberger, in the chair. Eighteen members present.

Dr. Chapman exhibited a dissection of one of the hind legs of a muskrat, Fiber zibethicus. The tendons of the tibialis anticus (a), extensor proprius hallucis (6), and extensor longus digitorum (c), pass down a groove in the tibia and under a little process of bone {d). The extensor longus digitorum is held down by an additional process {e). This arrangement seems to quicken the extension of the foot, and is of use apparently to the animal in swimming.

Remarks on Protozoa. — Prof. Leidy re- marked that while it was exceptional to find the same species of the higher sub- kingdoms in the difierent parts of the world, it appeared to be the rule that most species of Protozoa were found everywhere under the same conditions. A large number of our fresh-water forms he had recognized as the same as those described by European authors. A less number of species are pi'obably peculiar to every region. Among our fresh-water Ehizopods he had observed not only the genera Ainceba, Arcella, Diffiugia, Euglypha, Trinema, Lagynis, ActinophrySy etc., but also most of the species of these as indi- cated by European naturalists.

1 LeConte, Notes on Geol, Pacific R. R. Co., 1868, p. 65.

14 PROCEEDINGS OF THE ACADEiMY OF

Of the genus Arcdla^ A. vulgaris and A. dentata, with their varieties, are common with us. In the genus Difflugia the lilce- ness of our species to those of Europe is strilcing. Besides D. 2)roteiformis, D. acuminata^ D. comjji-essa, D. pyriforini.^, D. aculeata, etc., he had observed the beautiful form described by the English naturalist. Dr. Wallich, under the name of D. corona. The shell of this species resembles a Roman helmet, with from five to seven spines, and it has the mouth notched with twelve serrations. A comparatively large species observed may be peculiar, though future investigation may prove it to be only a variety of 1). lageniformis. The shell has the form of an ancient amphora, without the handles, and it measures the fourth of a line in length. With its delicate pseudopods of varied form, and sometimes extending far bej^ond the length of the shell, it appears as a microscopic vase of phantom plants.

Among Amoeba he had observed one which he suspected to be the same as A. princeps of Ehrenberg, but it was twice the size given by this author. It was remarkable for its activity and wonderful changes of form. At first globular, the next moment pseudopods appear like a multitude of dewdrops all over the sur- face. A few of these stream forth and widen in their course, while others disappear. The animal will then extend itself and appear like a branching coral. At one moment it will enter and traverse the interstices of a mass of mud and sand, and then emerge without an adherent particle. Detached and floating it will appear like a long-rayed star. At times it assumes the most grotesque forms — that of a human head with a rapidly growing nose ; the outline of an elk with the antlers extending, or a leg elongating at the expense of the body. The species is common in the vicinity of Philadelphia. First observed in the neighbor- hood of Swarthraore College, it was also found in the ditclies of the Neck below the city. The animal contained a multitude of minute particles of ellipsoidal form which reminded him of the discoliths of the Bathybins of Prof. Huxley.

It is an interesting question whether our fresh-water protozoa have reached us from the same sources as those of Europe and other remote countries. If derived from the same sources they were probably infused in the waters of the different continents at an early age when the latter were not separated by ocean barriers. If thus early infused we have a remarkable instance of a multi- tude of specific forms retaining their identity through a long- period of time. Such a view might appear to oppose the doctrine of evolution, but not justly so, for the simplest forms would be the slowest or least likely to vary, while the most com- plex, from their extended relationships, would be most liable to variation. Perhaps, however, the simplest forms of life, of the same species, may have originated independently of one another, not only in different places, but also at difl'erent times, and may

NATURAL SCIENCES OF PHILADELPHIA. 15

yet continue to do so. While the highest forms of life may have been slowly evolved from the simplest forms of the remotest age, eqnalh' simple forms may have started into existence at all times down "to the present period. From the later original forms new ones may have been evolved to speed towards the same goal as those which preceded them.

February 10. The President, Dr. Ruschenburger, in the chair. Twenty-four members present. The death of Prof. William Procter was announced.

February 11.

The President, Dr. Ruschenberger, in the chair.

Twenty-six members present.

On the Mode of Groioth of Desmids. — Prof Leidy made some remarks on the mode of reproduction and growth of the Desmids. In illustration he described a common species of Docidium or Pleurotseyiium. This consists of a long C3^1indroid cell constricted at the middle and slightl}' expanded each side of the constriction. When the plant is about to duplicate itself, the cell-wall divides transversely at the constriction. From the open end of each half cell there protrudes a colorless mass of protoplasm defined by the primordial utricle. The protrusions of the half-cells adhere to- gether and continue to grow. The bands of endochrome now ex- tend into the protrusions and subsequently keep pace with their growth. The protrusions continue to grow until they acquire the length tyid form of the half-cells from which they started. The exterior of the new half-cells thus produced hardens or becomes a cell-wall like that of the parent half-cells. In this condition two individuals of Docidium are frequently observed before sepa- ration. During the growth of the new half-cells the circulation of granules in the colorless protoplasm is quite active. In a species of Docidium \\ mm. long by ^^ mm. broad, the growth of the new half-cells was observed to be at the rate of about ^ mm. In an hour.

16

PROCEEDINGS OF THE ACADEMY OF

February 24. The President, Dr. Ruschenberger, in the chair. Seventeen members present.

The death of Col. Jas. Greer was announced.

There not being a sufficient number of members present for an election, the meeting adjourned until March 3d, when the follow- ing were elected members : John B. Pease, Gen. Isaac J. Wistar, Gen. Wm. Tilley, Wm. M. Bowron, John T. Sharpless, M.D., Samuel J. Reeve, and John F. Weightman, M.D.

The following standing committees were elected for 1874 : —

Anthropology. Radiata.

J. Aitken Meigs, Geo. H. Horn,

Henry S. Schell, J. G. Hunt,

J. F. Richardson, R. S. Kenderdine,

E. Goldsmith. Samuel B. Howell.

Comparative Anatomy. Harrison Allen, J. McQuillan, Jos. Leidy, Henry C. Chapman.

Ornithology.

Bernard A. Hoopes, Edwin Sheppard, Theo. L. Harrison, Jas. A. Ogden, John Krider.

Articulata.

Geo. H. Horn, R. S. Kenderdine, T. Hale Streets, John L. LeConte.

Stratigraphic Geology. Jos. P. Lesle^'^, P. Y. Hay den, Franklin Piatt.

Vertebrate Paleontology. Jos. Leidy, Edw. D. Cope, Harrison Allen.

Mineralogy.

Wm. S. Yaux, E. Goldsmith, Jos. Wilcox, C. S. Benient, Persifor Frazer, Jr.

NATURAL SCIENCES OF PHILADELPHIA.

n

Botany.

Thos. Meehan, Rachel Bodley, Isaac Burk, John H. Redfield.

Mammalogy.

Harrison Allen, Edw. D. Cope, Henry C. Chapman,

U. Smith.

Ichthyology.

Edw. D. Cope, Thaddeus Norris, J. H. Redfield, Chas. F. Parker.

Herpetology.

Edw. D. Cope, Harrison Allen, Samuel B. Howell, Chas. F. Parker.

Physics.

Robert E. Rogers, J. G. Hunt, Robert Bridges, J. H. McQuillan, Alex. Wilcox.

Invertebrate Paleontology. T. A. Conrad, H. C. Wood, Jr., Persifor Frazer, Jr., Geo. A. Koenig.

Chemistry.

F. A. Genth, Robert Bridges, E. Goldsmith, Samuel B. Howell.

Instruction and Lectures. Hector Tyndale, Robert S. Kenderdine, Wm. S. Halsey, J. Aitken Meigs, W. S. W. Ruschenberger.

Library.

Jos. Leidy,

Chas. F. Parker,

Geo. W. Tryon, Jr.,

W. S. W. Ruschenberger,

J, G. Richardson.

March 3.

The President, Dr. Ruschenberger, in the chair.

Thirty members present.

The following paper was presented for publication : — " Remarks on the Tertiary Clay of the Upper Amazon, with descriptions of new shells." By T. A. Conrad.

18 PROCEEDINGS OF THE ACADEMY OF

Extract of a Letter relating to Ilammalmn Fossils in Califor- nia— Prof. Leidy read an extract from a letter recently received from Dr. Lorenzo G. Yates, of Centreville, Alameda Count}', California, as follows : —

Yours of the 29th came to hand, and also a copy of your work, " Contributions to the Extinct Vertebrate Fauna of the Western Territories," for which accept my thanks. Prof. E. O. Hovey's statement in relation to the localities of some of the fossils, page 229, of the " Contributions," is incorrect. I discovered all the fossils in a gravel deposit, which Avas evidently an old river channel, in Livermore Valle}^, not from a " wash in the side of a hill."

The Bos latifrons, figs. 6, 7, plate xxviii. ; the Canis indianensis, fig. 2, pi. xxxi. ; the Felis imperialis, fig. 3, pi. xxxi. ; and the Auchenia hesterna, figs. 1-3, pi. xxxvii., together with the teeth and bones of Elephas americanus, Equus, and the other bones which I could not identify, were all discovered by me in that lo- calit}^

Accompanying the letter was a newspaper slip of the discovery of remains of Elephant and Mastodon in various localities, which is here inserted.

At a meeting of the Agassiz Institute at Sacramento, on the 17th of June, the following paper by Dr. L. G. Yates, of Centre- ville, Alameda County, was read : —

The interest taken within the last few years in the " antiquity of man" has invested the finding of the remains of the extnct mammalia with a greater degree of interest than they would other- wise receive, and the question is one which has b}^ common consent been admitted to be one of the most important which has been raised of late years, consequently the discovery of the bones and teeth of any of the larger animals, their geological location and surroundiiigs, is matter of interest to men of science and the ma- jority of educated minds of all classes.

Less than fifty j^ears ago the discovery of the bones of a fossil elephant, or other large animal, would have been looked upon as evidence supporting some popular superstition in relation to giants or tritons, and by some, less sceptical than the majorit^y, they would have been called a lusus natura?, or, as the writer has heard them pronounced within the last three or four years, " peculiarly formed rock," or "the bones of some common animal which has grown in size since the animal died." But the majority of the people of California at tlie present day are better informed on the subject, and admit the finding of remains of extinct animals of size and form different from those now existing in temperate re- gions ; yet, within the last two or three years, the writer remem- bers having seen an item in one of our interior papers, giving an account of the finding of a "huge til)ia," and giving it (on the authority of some " Doctor") as the bone of a " human" or of some other " upright walking animal."

NATURAL SCIENCES OF PHILADELPHIA. 19

But the principal object of the writer of this article, is to furnish a list of localities of remains of fossil elephants and mastodons, to which additions may be made from time to time.

The writer, during a residence of eight years in California, has spent considerable time in visiting locations where the fossils have been discovered by others, and has succeeded in discovering a number of localities not before known, where fragments of bones and teeth, portions of skeletons, and, in some instances, whole skeletons of the large pachyderms have been found, and has been so fortunate as to discover the onl}^ new species, and, at the same time, probably the oldest mastodon found on the Pacillc Coast.

List of Localities — Fossil Etephas.

Alameda Comity No. 1. Near Mission San Jose, Elephas Ame-

ricanus and E. ? Discovered by the writer in post pliocene

detritus with Mastodon, Lama, Equus, Bos, and a large carnivore ; upper molar deposited in Amherst College ; portion of lower jaw with molar in Yale College, and portion of tusk in Wabash Col- lege.

No. 2. In Livermore Valley, two large molars of Elephas Arae- ricanus, discovered by the writer in post pliocene with Lama California ? Bos, Equus, Cervus, etc. ; one molar in Wabash Col- lege, the other in writer's collection.

No. 3. Portion of tusk, from bed of a creek between Haywood and Dublin, formerly in writer's cabinet, deposited in Wabash College.

Calaveras County. — No. L Near Murphy's, in auriferous gi'avel, fragment of molar of Elephas Americanus, discovered by the writer ; deposited in Yale College.

Los Angelos County. — At San Pedro.

Placer County. — No. 1. Near Forest Hill.

No. 2. Near Michigan Bluff, in auriferous gravel.

Solano County. — No. L At Mare Island, molar. (W. P. Blake, Proc. Cal. Acad. Nat. Science.)

No. 2. Near Rio Vista, entire skeleton of Elephas Americanus, about seven feet below the surface in clay. The partj' who dis- covered it " went for it" with a pick, and with the assistance of his neighbors, and by dint of perseverance and hard labor, they succeeded in entirely destroying the bones, so that when the writer visited the locality he found a large pile of small fragments, and succeeded in obtaining casts of portion of the right side of lower jaw with molar, and a portion of upper molar; which, with three or four vertebra, comprised all that was taken, and they were so broken that they had to be built up and partially restored in order to get the easts.

Fossil 31astodon.

Alameda County. — No. 1. Near Mission San Jose, in post plio- cene gravel, the writer discovered an almost entire lower jaw,

20 PROCEEDINGS OF THE ACADEMY OF

containing five molars, and showing in a remarkable degree the nlethod of growth and reiDlacement of the teeth ; deposited in Yale College.

No. 2. Molar in bowlder of conglomerate, found in Alameda Creek, and presented to writer; deposited in Yale College.

Amador County. — Near Volcano, in auriferous gravel. Locality visited.

Calaveras County. — At Douglas Flat, near Murphy's. Locality visited.

Contra Costa County. — No. 1. At Oak Springs, lower jaw entire and upper molars of Mastodon obscurus, taken out of the base of a pliocene hill by the writer ; entire skeleton in the rock, but im- possible to take it out; lower jaw and upper molar in Amherst College ; upper molar and fragment of tusk in Yale College.

No. 2. Molar taken out of tunnel on the railroad between Somersville and Pittsburg Landing. Locality visited.

Ul Dorado County. — No. 1. At Grey's Flat, molars in recent gravel deposit. Locality visited.

No. 2. El Dorado Ranch, several molars and fragment. Lo- cality visited. The " Doctor" who had them pronounced them " Saurian teeth." The teeth had been broken up, and he called each fragment (consisting of a cusp) an entire tootli, but on seeing the pieces put together, and forming a large molar, he thought " perhaps it might be so," but seemed loth to believe it, and re- fused to part with even a fragment.

No. 3. At Gold Hill, near Placerville.

Jlendocino County. — Locality unknown.

Placer County On North Fork of American River, above

Rattlesnake, in gravel. Locality visited.

Santa Barbara County. — At Gaviota Pass. (Prof. J. D. Whit- ney.)

Stanislaus County. — On Dry Creek, Mastodon Shepardi; new species discovered b}' the writer in pliocene sandstone, at the base of a high perpendicular bluff; fragments of tusks in Amherst and Yale Colleges.

Solano County. — Near Benicia. Locality visited.

Sonoma County. — Near Petaluma. Bones in recent deposit near creek. Locality visited.

Tuolumne County. — No. L At Texas Flat, in aurifei'ous gravel. Locality visited.

No. 2. At Shaw's Flat, in auriferous gravel. Locality visited.

No. 3. At Gold Springs, in auriferous gravel. Locality visited.

No. 4. Under Table Mountain ? (Dr. Snell) in old river bed. Locality visited.

It will be seen that the majority of the localities given have been visited by the writer. Particular attention has been given to the formations and accompanying fossils, and search made for evidences of the handiwork of man, but up to this time the writer has failed to discover anything which would show conclusively

NATURAL SCIENCES OF PHILADELPHIA. 21

that man and either the mastodon or the fossil elephant were con- temporaneous in this State.

The stories of the finding of bones and teeth of fossil verte- brates, I)}' miners and persons not practical geologists, nor accus- tomed to stud}' the geological whys and wherefores, and who do not realize the necessity of close observation and discrimation of the circumstances and surroundings of the relics, are not, in the writer's opinion, entitled to much weight, and are very liable to give false impressions; for example, in a ravine in Alameda Coun- ty, the writer found a human skull in the bank, some thirty feet below the surface, and apparently in the same formation where he had previousl}' discovered bones and teeth of Elephas, and after- ward found a lower jaw of Mastodon and molar of Elephas, but upon climbing to the top of the bank, the remaining portions of the human skeleton were found some eighteen inches below the surface in an old Indian burial ground or rancheria. It would have been an easy matter to have labelled that skull as "found with bones of Elephant and Mastodon," and passed it ofi" as an- other link in the chain of evidence of the contemporaneousness of man and the extinct animals; or the creek in the ravine might have changed its bed and the human skull been covered up by detritus in close proximity with the mastodon jaw, and after many years discovered by some future fossil hunter, and the re- mains of the two animals assigned, without question, to the same

age.

One more example. Some four years since, a friend brought me a remarkably well-preserved molar of a mastodon, imbedded in a bowlder of conglomerate, which he had found in Alameda creek. Now, suppose that tooth, instead of being placed in the writer's cabinet, had been carried by a freshet on to some gravel bed along the creek, and the skull of some aborigine washed out of the bank above (as they often do), or some of the stone imple- ments sometimes found there had been deposited in the same place. Perhaps in a few hundred years or less, some antiquarian or eth- nologist finding these relics in the same gravel bed might at once decide tliat they were of the same age, when in fact the mastodon tooth washed out of a pliocene gravel bed, miles from where it was found, and it may have l)een (and probably was) separated from the other parts of the skeleton, and carried by the action of water perhaps hundreds of miles before it was deposited in the pliocene conglomerate; or, to carry the probabilities still further, the mastodon might have lived in the miocene period, and the tooth washed out of a miocene rock by a pliocene river, to where it was again deposited, and afterward formed a part of the con- glomerate bowlder in wiiich it was found.

The death of Dr. John Bachraan, a Correspondent of the Acad- eni}', was announced.

22 PROCEEDINGS OF THE ACADEMY OF

March 10.

The President, Dr. Ruschenberoer, iu the chair.

Twent3'-three members present.

The following papers were presented for publication : —

" On the Anatomy of Ariolimax and other Pulmonata." By

W. G. Binney.

" Descriptions of some new species of Reptiles." By Edward

D. Cope.

Elevation of the Trunks of Trees. — Mr. Thomas Meehan re- ferred to remarks made on a former occasion — not communicating anything new to science — but in regard to matter introduced into a laAvsuit, as to whether the trunks of trees would elongate after once formed. He suggested that trees growing on a rock, by the natural thickening of the roots beneath, would lift the tree four inches in forty years, which covered the matter in dispute.

Since that time, however, Dr. Lapham, the Botanist, and State Geologist of Wisconsin, had called his attention to a force at work in elevating the trees of that region, which he believes had not before been recognized, and which he thought of interest suffi- cient to merit a notice in the Academy's Proceedings. This was that frost gradually lifted trees so that the trunk would sometimes appear in time to have elongated a foot or more.

Since Dr. Lapham had made the suggestions, he had examined trees in the vicinity of Philadelphia and found unmistakable evi- dence that large numbers of trees had been raised iu the manner stated. As was well known, most trees standing by themselves had the collar of the tree of much greater diameter than the trunk above; and the upper portions of the roots, springing from about the collar, were considerably above the surface of the ground. He had supposed, and he thought this was the impression of most observers, that this arose merelj' from the annual deposition of wood — the thickening upwards of the roots — but, on examination, it could be seen in many cases that the axis, or original centre of the root, once of course below the soil, was now above the surface.

That tills was caused b^' the action of frost was probable from what we know of its action on vegetation by what is known as " drawing out." When the land freezes, expansion ensues, drawing the clover root up with it, leaving, of course, a cavity from whence the root was drawn. When tlie first thaw came, the liquid, carrying earthy matter, entered the cavity; and thus the clover I'oot was prevented from descending to its original position.

NATURAL SCIENCES OF PHILADELPHIA. 23

It was as true of trees as of the clover plant. Roots elevated found the cavities below partially filled, and could not thus per- mit of the tree being quite as low as before. Dr. Laphara thought that in the West large old trees blew over much more readily than younger ones, though the comparative weight of head and roots were proportionally the s^ame, chiefly because the older trees had been drawn nearer the surface.

Mr. M. also remarked that the belief was very prevalent among woodmen, that the numerous large roots which marked the sur- face of an old piece of woodland " like railroads on a modern map" were not originally near the top, but had grown to the sur- face. He had always supposed these also to result from thicken- ing, but he now had seen some cases in which this would not ac- count for it, and only the frost-lifting power would. So, also, in many swampy pieces of land, much of the vegetation had the appearance of tussocks, and the land as if it had been washed awa^' from around the roots. It was not probablj'^ from annual growths, but from gradual liftings of the plants from year to year and the filling in of the spaces beneath by the soft mud.

It was likely that one of the chief offices of the tap roots was to guard the tree from this frost lifting as much as possible. His impression was that the trees of tropical climates had not near the development of tap roots which are found in the more northern ones, but this was a matter for further investigation.

March IT. The President, Dr. Ruschenberger, in the chair. Twenty members present. The death of Dr. Wm. S, Halsev was announced.

March 24, The President, Dr, Ruschenberger, in the chair. Twentj'-seven members present.

On Actinophrys sol. — Prof. Leidy, after describing the structure and habits of this curious rhizopod, said that he had recently' observed it in a condition which he had not seen described. He had accidentally found two individuals including between them a finely granular rayless sphere nearly as large as the animals them- selves. These measured, independently of the rays, 0.064 mm. in diameter; tlie included sphere 0.06 mm. He supposed that he had been so fortunate as to find two individuals of Actinoj)hrys in conjunction with the production of an ovum.

24 PROCEEDINGS OP THE ACADEMY OF

Preserving the animals for observation, on returning after an absence of three hours, the animals were observed connected by a broad isthmus including the granular sphere reduced to half its original diameter. Two hours later the granular sphere had melted in the isthmus, leaving behind Avhat appeared to be a large oil globule and half a dozen smaller ones. The isthmus in the former time measured -^^^ mm., at the later time -^-^ mm.

Shortl}^ afterwards, the isthmus elongated and contracted to gL mm. on the left, while the right half, retaining the oil globules, remained as thick as before. At the same time the animals be- came flattened at the opposite poles. The latter subsequently became depressed so that the animals assumed a reniform outline.

The isthmus now more rapidly narrowed and elongated, became a mere thread, and finally separated about one hour from the last two hours indicated.

The oil globules were retained in the right-hand individual, which, with the remaining projection of the isthmus, appeared broadly codiform in outline. In the left-hand individual all remains of the isthmus at once disappeared, and the animal appeared reni- form in outline, but now contracting on the same side it assumed the buscuit form. The constriction rapidly increased, and in thirty minutes from the time of separation from the right-hand individual it divided into two separate animals presenting the or- dinary appearance of A. sol. Thus this second division took place in an opposite direction from the first.

The right-hand individual, retaining the oil globules apparently unchanged, more slowly assumed the reniform outline, and then became constricted all around. The constriction elongated to an isthmus, in the centre of which were the oil globules. Three hours after the separation of the right-hand animal, the isthmus was narrowed to about half the diameter of the two new indi- viduals which were about to be formed. At this moment other engagements obliged me to leave the examination of the animals. Six hours after, in the animalcule cage, I observed only half a dozen individuals of the A. sol.

March 31. The President, Dr. Ruschenberger, in the chair. Sixteen members present.

The following papers w^ere presented for publication : —

" On Variations in Structure of Horns of Deer of the Genus Cariacus." By E. D. Cope, A.M.

" On the Ziphius of Nantucket." By E. D. Cope, A.M.

On report of the committees, the following papers were ordered to be pu)>lished : —

NATURAL SCIENCES OF PEIILADELPHIA. 25

REMARKS ON THE TERTIARY CLAY OF THE UPPER AMAZON, WITH DESCRIPTIONS OF NEW SHELLS.

BY T. A. CONRAD.

Professor Eug. W. Hilgard has sent me for examination a number of fossils collected on the Upper Amazon by Mr. Steere. The extraordinary character of this interesting group has made it one of more than ordinary attraction. The species and even many of the genera being limited to these deposits, we fail to find a point of comparison with other groups of fossils. Some natural- ists have supposed from the look of freshness and the perfection of many specimens, that they may be of comparatively^ modern origin, but the clay in which they are imbedded is admirably fitted for their indefinite preservation. The clay is generally free from iron, and thus one source of injury is wanting. Tlie colors of the shells are sometimes preserved in perfection, and even the epidermis of a few specimens of Pachydon, and also portions of cartilage, but I do not regard these as evidence of very late de- position of the group. The colored markings of a cretaceous Neritina from Mississippi, and on a univalve of the eocene of Alabama, as well as portions of cartilage in an eocene bivalve, all of which I have seen, might as well be considered evidence of late tertiary deposition of the beds in which they occur. Were the Pebas group of pliocene date, we should expect it to contain man}' recent species of the Lower Amazon, and especially Azara, but as far as we yet know, such shells are absent. Triquetra and Hemisinus are characteristic genera of South American rivers, but the fossil species are not identical with living ones. Mr. Dall informs us that " many of the genera are exclusively marine," but I am sure no such genus was in the collection which he studied at the time. Only one doubtful genus of this character has been found in all the collections since made. The fresh-water shells consist of, 2 Anodontas, 2 of Hemisinus, and 2 of Triquetra, besides several land shells, while the estuary genei*a, Mytilopsis and Neretina, might have lived in either fresh or brackish water. On the coasts of the Atlantic States of North America these two genera live in the latter. The only shell which might be sup- posed to be strictly marine is a Nuculana, if it prove to be a 3

26 PROCEEDINGS OF THE ACADEMY OF

species of that genus. So partial a view of the hinge has been obtained that it cannot be certainly determined as indicating that genus. The shell described as Tellina b^- Mr. Gabb is a young valve of Pachydon teimis. So that any certain evidence of a marine origin for the Pebas group is wanting.

Professor "Woodward remarks that in the living analosrue of Pachydon, " Azara or Potamomya, we have just the evidence we need to argue upon" in respect to the nature of the habitat of the