[N. S. VOL. XXXVII. No. 951

lumen of the uterus. So it is fed upon onlyby the sperm itself.The nematodes should, therefore, be placed

in Faure-Fremiet's (1910) fourth class ofmitochondria-bearing sex-cells, in which thesegranules produce yolk.

Marcus, Mayer, Romien and Faure-Fremietuse the term mitochondria to describe minuteplastin granules found in the nucleus of thespermatogonium and in both nucleus andcytoplasm of the spermatocyte. They areeasily seen in the " perinuclear zone" of thespermatid and in the " crown " of the sperma-tozoon. But nowhere do these granules takeBenda's Krystal violet stain or transform intoany cell structure. Hence they have no rela-tionship with true mitochondria. Meves rec-ognizes their nature and origin and calls themplastochondria. Van Beneden called them" protoplasmic corpuscles "; Altmann, " micro-somes "; Boveri, "archoplasm." But none ofthese observers attributed any importance tothem as bearers of hereditary characters.Meves (1910), however, finds (like the brothersRoja, 1891) that these granules fuse withsimilar ones in the egg after fertilizationoccurs, and he believes, with only this observa-tion as a basis for it, that these plastochon-dria are the bearers of paternal structuralcharacteristics. I have carefully studied theorigin and behavior of these granules through-out the spermatogenesis and find that theyeverywhere behave, like the plasmosome itself,as if they were waste products of the metabolicprocesses of the chromatin. Many of themare actually thrown off by the spermatid withthe cytoplasmic lobe, not only in Ascaris, butin many other forms. They always takeplasma stains, yellow after Benda, and redafter Ehrlich-Bionde, both reactions char-acteristic of secretions; they are pulled aboutin the cell by the force of the centrosomes toform aster rays and spindle fibers of thecleavage figure; they never divide, nor growexcept by fusion on actual contact; in short,they behave everywhere as inert formed prod-ucts only.

I believe that the observed facts of artificial

parthenogenesis, hybridization and fertiliza-tion of enucleated eggs, all argue againstMeves' interpretation of the role of the plas-tochondria; while these facts and the observa-tions of Baltzer, Tennant and others showclearly that it is the retention or eliminationof chromatin (or the karyochondria) thatdetermines the inheritance of paternal char-acters, segregation and dominance.

EDWARD E. WILDMAN

THE AMERICAN ASSOCIATION FOR THEADVANCEMENT OF SCIENCE

SECTION E-GEOLOGY AND GEOGRAPHYThe sixty-fourth meeting of Section E, Geology

and Geography, of the American Association forthe Advancement of Science, was held in thegeological lecture room, main building, CaseSchool of Applied Science, December 30, 1912, toJanuary 2, 1913. Vice-president James E. Toddpresided. The address of the retiring Vice-president, Professor B. Shimek was given on thesubject, "The Significance of the PleistoceneMollusks." Much interest Was taken in thepapers, which are here given with abstracts:Esiker Terraces in Ohio: G. FREDERICK WRIGHT.The Wisconsin Drift-plain in the Begion about

Sioux Falls, S. D. (illustrated): J. ERNESTCARMAN.The region considered lies to the south of Sioux

Falls along the line between Lineoln and Minne-haha counties, South Dakota. Professor Toddand others have interpreted it as belonging to theWisconsin drift-plain, being an eastward projec-tion of the James River lobe to the Big SiouxValley. Professor Shimek has recently decidedthat the region is a Kansan drift-plain and notWisconsin. The present paper describes the char-acteristics of this plain north and west of Shindlarand compares it with the typical Kansan regionto the north and east. The evidence, chieflyphysiographic, indicates that the region is a Wis-consin drift-plain. The conclusions of the papersupport, in the main, the earlier interpretation ofProfessor Todd.The Pleistocene Succession in Wisconsin: SAMUELWEIDMAN.A brief statement is given concerning present

knowledge of the drift and associated surfacedeposits in Wisconsin, with a map showing dis-tribution of the formations. There appear to be

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five drift sheets exhibited in Wisconsin, as fol-lows: First drift, a very old, thin drift; seconddrift, a very old, thick drift correlated with theKansan of northeastern Iowa; third drift, a rela-tively old, thin drift, correlated with the Iowanof northeastern Iowa; fourth drift, a relativelythin, fresh drift, correlated with the early Wis-consin of northeastern Illinois; fifth drift, theWisconsin drift. Extensive alluvial and lacustrinedeposits in old valleys and lowlands, of inter-glacial origin between the second and third drifts.The loess deposits are of later origin than thethird drift and older than the fourth.The "Moraines"' of Kansas: J. E. TODD.

Certain bouldery hills have been designated asglacial moraines by several writers on Kansasgeology. This paper discusses their locations andrelations to the former Kansan Ice sheet andpresent lines and levels of drainage and showsthat they are not true moraines but river-laiddeposits.Traces of an Early Wisconsin Flood: J. E. TODD.

Attention is called to a deep silt which fills por-tions of the valleys of the Missouri and Kansasrivers in eastern Kansas, and which can not becorrelated with the loess, because of its lowerlevel. Because of evidences of the excavation ofthe valley so filled during and after the Kansasstage of the ice, it is argued that the date of thedeposition of the silt was coincident with therecession of the Early Wisconsin Ice, or moredefinitely after the formation of the Altamont, orfirst marginal moraine. This lower loess or ter-race silt is further provisionally correlated withterraces along the Missouri further north and itstributaries in western Iowa.The Sangamon Interglacial Stage in Minnesota:WAREN UPHAM.Three chains of lakes on the till area of Martin

County, one of the central counties of the southerntier in Minnesota, adjoining Iowa, are ascribedto interglacial erosion of rivers flowing south,where now the courses of drainage pass eastward.The duration of this interglacial stage is esti-mated by Winchell, from changes of the course ofthe Mississippi River in and near the Twin Citiesof Minneapolis and St. Paul, to have been about15,000 years. It seems to be represented in thehistory of the Quaternary lakes Bonneville andLahontan by the stage of their desiccation betweentheir previous prolonged stage of high water andtheir ensuing higher but more brief rise of water;and it is correlated with the Sangamon inter-

glacial stage between the Illinoian and Iowanstages of glaciation. Its time is estimated to havebeen approximately from 40,000 to 25,000 yearsago.The Relation of the Keewatin and Labrador Areas

of Glaciation: WARREN UPHAM.The Kansan and Illinoian drift sheets are re-

garded as mainly of contemporaneous age. Theywere deposited respectively by the farthest south-ward extensions of the Keewatin and Labradoricefihlds. The belt of confluence of these icefieldsextended from the borders of the drift northwardalong or near the course of the Mississippi Riverup to the Wisconsin driftless area, which alsoreaches short distances into Illinois, Iowa andMinnesota. Beyond the driftless area, these Kee-watin and Labrador currents of the continentalice-sheet were confluent along a belt or line pass-ing north-northwesterly through Minnesota to thevicinity of Winnipeg, Manitoba and onward alongthe axis of Lake Winnipeg. At St. Paul andMinneapolis and northward, fluctuations of theline of confluence during the Wisconsin stages ofglaciation produced extensive interbedding andsometimes a confused mingling of the Keewatinand Labrador drift formations.Types of Iron Ore in Tennessee: C. H. GORDON.Read by fitle.

Criteria for Distinguishing Various Sorts of Com-mon Deposits (illustrated): A. C. TROWBRDGE.

The Age of the Mesabi Iron-bearing Bock's ofMinnesota: N. H. WINCHELL.This paper gives a very brief summary of for-

mer opinion, and presents new evidence which goesto show that the Mesabi rocks are a part of thegreat Keweenawan formation.Angular Amphitheaters of the Grand Canyon:CHARLES R. KEYES.One of the most perfectly enigmatical features

concerning the physiognomy of the Grand Canyon,in Arizona, and one to which little especial atten-tion has been directed, is a certain regularity inthe notably serrated character of the wall. But-tresses, reentrants and pyramids have a conspicu-ously rectangular ground-plan. So pronounced isthis characteristic and so large is the scale thatit is even emphasized in the latest contour-mapsof the district. The angularities of the buttressesand pyramids are readily explained by the doublesystem of master-joint structure. The deep re-entrants or amphitheaters are not so easily dis-posed of, especially since all of the surface drain-age, which is very deficient, of the general plateau

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on either side of the canyon is directed away fromthe margin of the walls and not into the greattrough. In some cases these reentrants are par-tially accounted for by the presence of faultstrending transversely to the course of the river.In the majority of other cases the amphitheaters,great and small, appear to have originatedthrough undercutting by differential wind action,the deflative effects being much more vigorous onthe soft shales lying between the hard Carboniclimestones forming the upper wall and the hardgranite floor of the inner canyon.Geologic Significance of Enisled Belief: CHARLES

R. KEYES.Sharp meeting of lofty mountain and even

plain, seemingly as level as the ocean strand-line,is one of the most characteristic features of desertlandscapes. Foothills are also conspicuous bytheir absence. The very deficient rainfall of suchregions can not possibly produce such topographicpeculiarities. On the Mexican tableland, for in-stance, where the geologic structure presents agreat thickness of soft later deposits, and thewhole selberglandschaft of the Germans is prob-ably more ideally perfect than anywhere else onthe globe. A number of typical illustrations aredescribed. The phenomena are best explained bythe action of regional eolation, or general levelingand lowering of the country through deflation.Some Upland Flats in Jo Davies County, Illinois:

A. C. TROWBRIDGE.An attempt to distinguish between raised pene-

plains, structural plains, plains of marine deposi-tion and plains of marine erosion, in regions ofnearly horizontal strata.The Value of Geochemistry to Geology and Geog-raphy: J. CULVER HARTZELL.The author stated that geology is the history of

the earth, including organisms; geography is thatpart of geology which deals with the surface ofthe earth, and man in particular, and his relationsto topographical, cultural, political and climaticenvironments. We are apt to forget the relationswhich the atmosphere, the hydrosphere and litho-sphere bear to each other. Diastrophism, vul-canism and gradation are important; but the geo-chemistry is as important as the mechanies whenchanges in the equilibrium of chemical systemsand their relation to man are considered. Atomsare different manifestations of one primal force.The farther we get away from prinal the moredistinct chemical and physical seem. There arepure and applied methods of procedure; but the

pure and applied principles are interdependent inthe proper and accurate interpretation of facts.The value of geochemistry lies in the fact that ittouches every iivision of geology in both its philos-ophy and its applicability. We need to get awayfrom a sole contemplation of finished products.All forces are so balanced as to produce systemswhich are more or less stable; but which may bedisturbed in such a way as to produce new systemswhich may in turn become more or less stable.These disturbances in equilibrium are as vital tothe geologist as the system per se. We know alittle about the balancing of forces; but the bal-ancings are so multifarious as to be almost over-whelming, and it is only by careful, persistentinvestigation, interpretation and application offorces and the formulation of laws (perhaps ten-tative) that we can hope to know the genesis ofany one system and its possible disturbance, thusaccumulating a mass of data relative to manysystems the final interpretation of which will makeclear many of the heretofore apparently un-solvable problems. Stability, unstability and dis-turbance cross our path and we must determinetheir relations. The atmosphere, hydrosphere andlithosphere were discussed. Tke reactions whichtake place, the manner and time of occurrence,the phenomena and the final results are the prob-lems of the geochemist. The solution of theseproblems has a direct bearing on topographical,cultural, political and climatic effects as well ason diastrophic, volcanic and gradational effects.They also have a direct bearing on the igneous,metamorphic and unconsolidated portions of thelithosphere as well as on the morphological andmathematical relations of minerals and their chem-ical molecular arrangement, and the conditions offossilization with reference to the changes in thesolid parts of organisms.

The author is greatly indebted to Dr. FrankWigglesworth Clarke's "Data of Geochemistry,"and to Alfred H. Brooks's presidential addressbefore the Geological Society of Washington,December 13, 1911, for the thoughts here pre-sented.

Gas and Oil Wells near Oberlin, Ohio: GEORGE D.HUBBARD.Exploitation of the Clinton sands of the Clin-

ton formation northward from the Bremen fieldto Lorain County has gone far enough to findseveral good wells in the vicinity of Oberlin.Mostly gas of good quality; some yield oil too.Gas is found at a depth of about 2,170 feet below

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surface which is at about 750 feet. Section con-tains much water in the limestones, also severalfeet of salt. Anticlinal theory does not seem toapply; gas is apparently in pockets or lenses ofthe sand in the calcareous shales. These sand bedsare not continuous. Rock pressure varies in dif-ferent wells from 600 to 950 pounds, and flowfrom 1,000,000 to 5,000,000 cubic feet per day.

The History of the Bajadas of the Tucson Bolsonof Arizona: S. S. VISHER.The bajada is the long, gentle slope of detrital

material at the foot of the mountains i; bolsonsor areas of centripetal drainage. The bajadasnear Tucson have a length of about 10 miles andan average slope of 2° or 100 feet per mile. Inspite of a difference of 80 or more in slope be-tween the lower four miles of the canyons and theupper four miles of the bajada, erosion is nowtaking place on all portions of these thick ter-restrial deposits. The explanation for this wide-spread erosion has been sought by many. Thehigher portions would, as shown by Salisbury, beeroded as the highlands were lowered, but not thelower portions, nor are certain other features tobe thus explained. Over-grazing does not appearto be a sufficient cause. Davis concludes that inmaturity the adjustment between one bolson andan adjacent lower one may result in the terracingin the higher. Changes of climate have been ad-vocated: Barrell considers that bajadas wereformed during the various glacial epochs amd havesince been destroyed; Huntington believes bajadaswere formed in the interglacial epochs, of ma-terial which accumulated in the mountains duringthe glacial epochs. The present terracing he cor-relates with a recent increase of precipitation.The latter apparently opposing theories for ba-jada formation are in this region seemingly bothessentially correct-Barrell's of the bajadas sur-rounding the lower, barren, warmer ranges, andHuntington's those of the higher, forested, coolermountains upon which glacial conditions were ap-proached since the bajadas of the former are moregentle, have a smaller percentage of clay and aremore extensively eroded than those of the largerranges. The frequency of freezing temperaturesare believed to be important. At Tucson a decreaseof 100 F. would increase the frequency about 200per cent. and a 200 decreae would result directlyin frost about 250 nights in the year. A differentdistribution of the precipitation would greatlyeffect the vegetal covering. The percentages ofclay and boulder formation would fluctuate ae-

cordingly as would also accumulation and trans-portation. The Tucson bajadas appear to havebeen mainly formed at a time when the averagetemperatures were 10° or more lower; when theprecipitation was greater and more uniform-either chiefly late in the glacial epochs (smallerranges) or at their close (larger ranges). Thepresent terracing is perhaps due to an increase intemperature and a different distribution andamount of rainfall abetted by the advancementof the area in the geographic cycle.The Relation of the Lime Creek Shales to theCedar Valley Limestones of Floyd County,Iowa: A. 0. THOMAS.The Devonian system of Iowa is represented by

sediments belonging to two series, the Middle andthe Upper Devonian. The stages of the UpperDevonian do not overlie each other, but each islocally developed and geographically separate.Moreover, each lies unconformably on the CedarValley stage of the Middle Devonian. Field studyin Floyd County on the areal distribution andgeological relations of the Lime Creek stage ofthe Upper Devonian has demonstrated a wide-spread unconformity at its base. A new substage,for which the name Nora limestone is proposed,is added as the lowest member of the Lime Creekstage.A Four Mile Section along the Missouri River

South of Columbia, Missouri: E. B. BRANSON.Strata are well exposed along the bluff of the

Missouri River and are, in general, nearly hori-zontal. Eight distinct and well-exposed uneon-formities occur within four miles.The Relation of Geological Activity to Conserva-

tion of Soil and the Waters of FlowingStreams: LUELLA AGNES OWEN.A view of the advance of geology as a science,

and of early geological research, shows the grow-ing appreciation of the all-important power ofwater in the development and progress of conti-nents as well as their destruction or partial de-nudation for continual rebuilding. All atmos-pheric forces unite their energy with that of theflowing streams in every land to work without restin tearing down the high places of the earth andtransporting the waste for renewal of valleys andbuilding new coast lines. So, the present geolog-ical epoch is preeminently the Age of Rivers, andin necessary works of conservation man maychange the application of natural law to meet hisneeds and pleasure, but the law itself is un-changeable.

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Bock Classifications in Three Dimensions: ALEX-ANDER N. WINCHELL.Believing that tabular classifications are de-

sirable because of their simplicity, but that, aspreviously devised, they are unnecessarily limitedin their presentation of mutual relationships, anew classification of igneous rocks is presentedwhich is in tabular form in three dimensions. Itis based largely upon the principles and work ofRosenbusch, but it differs from his usage in vari-ous important respects, so that responsibility forit must lie with the author.

GEo. F. KAY,Secretary Section E

SOCIETIES AND ACADEMIESTHE AMERICAN MATHEMATICAL SOCIETY

THE one hundred and sixty-second regularmeeting of the society was held at ColumbiaUniverslty on Saturday, February 22, extendingthrough the usual morning and afternoon sessions.The attendance included thirty-eight members.Ex-president H. S. White occupied the chair, be-ing relieved by Professors E. W. Brown andFrank Morley. Sixteen new members were ad-mitted: Professor E. P. Adams, Princeton Uni-versity; Dr. H. L. Agard, Williams College; Pro-fessor Fiske Allen, Kansas State Normal School;M. Farid Boulad, Egyptian State Railways; Pro-fessor J. A. Caparo, Notre Dame University;Mr. C. H. Clevenger, Kansas State AgriculturalCollege; Dr. A. L. Daniels, Jr., Yale University;Mr. W. Van N. Garretson, University of Mich-igan; Mr. G. M. Green, Columbia University;Mr. C. E. Love, University of Michigan; Dr.Thomas Muir, Education Office, Capetown, S. A.;Mr. J. A. Nyberg, University of Wisconsin; DeanMarion Reilly, Bryn Mawr College; Professor B.L. Remick, Kansas State Agricultural College;Professor W. V. Skiles, Georgia School of Tech-nology; Mr. J. N. Vedder, University of Illinois.Pive applications for membership were received.The society is about to publish the lectures de-

livered at the Princeton colloquium in 1909 byProfessors G. A. Bliss and Edward Kasner.The following papers were read at this meeting:Harris Hancock: "A theorem in the analytic

geometry of numbers."B. H. Camp: "The expression of a multiple

integral as a simple integral."G. M. Green: "Projective differential geometry

of triple systems of surfaces."

[N. S. VOL. XXXVII. No. 951

C. A. Fischer: "CA generalization of Volterra 'sderivative of a function of a curve."

L. B. Robinson: "INotes on the theory of sys-tems of partial differential equations."Oswald Veblen and J. W. Alexander, II.:

"Manifolds of n dimensions."R. G. D. Richardson: "Oscillation theorems for

linear homogeneous self-adjoint partial differen-tial equations with one parameter. "

L. P. Copeland: "Concerning the theory of in-variants of plane n-lines."

T. H. Gronwall: "On the summability of Four-ier 's series. "

T. H. Gronwall: On Lebesgue 's constants inthe theory of Fourier 's series. "

T. H. Gronwall: "IOn the degree of eonvergenceof Laplace 's series."

N. J. Lennes: "I Note on Lebesgue and Pier-pont integrals. "IN. J. Lennes: "Finite sets.and the foundations

of arithmetic."H. Bateman: "The expression of the equation

of the general quartic curve in the form A/lxx +B/yy' + Clz'=0. I I

H. Bateman: " Sonin 's polynomials and theirrelation to other functions."IDunham Jackson: "On the accuracy of trig-

onometric interpolation."C. E. Wilder: " On the degree of approxina-

tion to discontinuous functions by trigonometricsums."JEdward Kasner: "Systems of curves connected

with equilong transformations. "IThe next regular meeting of the society will be

held at Columbia University on Saturday, April26. The Chicago Section will meet at the Univer-sity of Chicago on Friday and Saturday, March21-22. The San Franciseo Section meets at Stan-ford University on Saturday, April 12.

P. N. COLE,Secretary

THE ACADEMY OF SCIENCE OF ST. LOUIS

AT a r6eent meeting of the academy held onFebruary 17, 1913, Professor Nipher presented anabstract of a paper soon to be published by theacademy, entitled "A Local Magnetic Storm."1The phenomena were pro4ueed by means of two

steel magnets, placed on opposite sides of a mag-netic needle, as in the Gaussian method of deflec-tion. The needle was eompletely enelosed in aeopper cylinder. Its motion was observed througha small glass window, covered with wire gauze, by

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GEOLOGY AND GEOGRAPHY−−SECTION EGeo. F. Kay,

DOI: 10.1126/science.37.951.456 (951), 456-460.37Science 

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