Dr. Dyar read A Note on Pyrausta ochosalis Fitch MS.,' a pyralid moth, showing that Fitch's species is distinct from Pyrausta generosa G. & R. He exhibited, further, a living larva of Hemileuca electra Wright, from southern California, one of the rarest of our saturnian moths. Dr. Dyar presented, also, a description of a new genus and species of moths belonging to the family Tortricidae.

Mr. Ashmead exhibited a ceropalid (pompilid) wasp taken in Texas in the nest of the harvesting ant, Pogonomyrmex barbatus Smith. It constitutes a new genus and species.

Mr. Warner showed a proctotrypoid hymenopterous parasite found attached by its jaws to a specimen of grasshopper in the National Museum collection. It is a species of the genus Scelio, the members of which are parasites of grasshoppers' eggs, and have a habit of attaching themselves to gravid female grasshoppers and waiting for them to oviposit.

Dr. Hopkins reported some observations he had made recently in North Carolina upon (1) certain dipterous galls found on pine at Asheville, and (2) the damage inflicted upon girdled cypresses, sweet gums and black gums by ambrosia beetles.

Mr. Heidemann exhibited a specimen of the aradid bug, Neuroctenus pseudonemus Bergroth, collected at Bladensburg, Md., under bark, and not previously recorded from the vicinity of the District of Columbia.

Mr. Banks showed a specimen of the syrphid fly, Ceria willistonii Kahl, reared from the puparium at East End, Virginia. It is new to that locality. The adult resembles a fly of the family Conopidæ, or some wasp. He exhibited, also, two rare ortalid flies which resemble ants in appearance, Myrmecomyia myrmecoides Loew and Odontomera ferruginea Macquart.

Dr. Howard described some recent experiments carried on in Brazil for the purpose of testing the correctness of the conclusions of the U. S. Army Commission in regard to yellow fever. These experiments have been generally accepted as conclusive, and have removed all incredulity as to the fact that

THE GRAND GULF FORMATION.

TO THE EDITOR OF SCIENCE: In response to the clear and courteous exposition of their present ideas of what constitutes the Grand Gulf formation, by Messrs. Smith and Aldrich (SCIENCE, July 3, pp. 20-26), I may say: (1) That I withdraw the opinion that it is not new; now that I understand it clearly, I regard it as an absolutely new view; (2) that so far as observed facts are concerned I am far from wishing to be understood as questioning the existence of a deposit of unfossiliferous clay which contains irrecognizable traces of vegetable matter, which has a wide distribution as claimed by these gentlemen, and lies above the Chesapeake Miocene and below the so-called Lafayette, from which it is not separated, where I have observed it, by any unconformity or characteristic peculiarity. I would recall the fact that I have personally no knowledge of the 'Grand Gulf' except what I have derived from such excellent authorities as Wailes, Hilgard, Smith, Langdon, Professor G. D. Harris, Miss Maury, etc., from their published writings and observations in the field. My office has been, after making field studies of the fossiliferous Tertiary, especially the Chattahoochee and Chipola sec

tions, to endeavor to correlate with horizons of known age in the marine series, the freshor brackish-water formations almost destitute of fossils, laid down about the margin of the Mississippi embayment during a long period of Tertiary time, which have been named by the geologists above mentioned, and to which, so far, no satisfactory key has been found.

The difference of opinion, therefore, between Messrs. Smith and Aldrich and myself is in regard to names and their application merely, and not a calling in question of the accuracy of any observation made by them.

It is an acknowledged fact, I believe, that at least since the period of the Vicksburg sedimentation, a considerable part of the shores of the Mississippi embayment have been and still to some extent are the seat of a sedimentation of alluvial material in fresh or brackish water containing fragments of vegetable matter converted into lignite, and from which only a few rare specimens of freshwater molluscan fossils, turtle shells, etc., have been obtained in half a century. The rarity of fresh-water shells is proof that the marshes or lagoons could not have been purely fresh-water areas, the absence of oysters, etc., shows that they were not permanently brackish, and we are forced to offer the hypothesis that fresh and salt water so alternated over the area concerned, that inhabitants of neither were able to maintain a footing and that the organic remains found are either drifted from elsewhere or the product of extremely local and temporary conditions.

The earlier deposits of this kind, other things being equal, we should expect to, and I believe we do find at the greatest distance from the sea and in the most consolidated state; though a comparatively recent transgression has carried unconsolidated sediments over a large part if not all of the antecedent deposits. Now it seems to me that in their interesting communication Messrs. Smith and Aldrich have momentarily forgotten the history of research on this perplexing question. Let us very briefly review it.

The Grand Gulf sandstone, a rock 'superior in hardness to granite itself' was first named by Wales in 1854, who specifies as a typical exposure that on the banks of the Mississippi, at Grand Gulf, Claiborne Co., Miss., from which the formation was named. Hence in the allocation of names to portions of the sediments which have since been hastily included under it, we must reserve for this particular horizon the name of Grand Gulf. Wailes believed that more tractable rocks to the east

ward were identical with this sandstone, but everywhere it is described by him as a rock, a hard or massive sandstone, suitable in its softer phases for building stone, millstones, etc. Beyond the Mississippi this sandstone reappears in Louisiana, and according to Miss Maury extends across the state and as far as the Brazos River in Texas. To the eastward near Oak Grove, Florida, the typical sandstones according to Professor Harris and Miss Maury pass beneath the (Oligocene) Oak Grove sands, indicating that the sandstone is approximately of the same age as the Chattahoochee."* In Alabama the typical sandstone is rare and the series corresponding usually consists of clayey sands or joint clays' according to the same authority.

In 1860 Hilgard, in his valuable report on the Agriculture and Geology of Mississippi,' considerably enlarged the scope of the formation, taking in clays, sands, consolidated and unconsolidated, over a large area of country. Later, as mentioned in my last communication, he came to the conclusion that the series included a succession of sediments of ages between the Vicksburg and the drift. The fact that at the typical locality the flinty sandstone is succeeded by the unconsolidated Lafayette or Orange Sand, is of course no evidence of continuous sedimentation without a break between the two, such as appears to be the case in the aluminous clay of the Chattahoochee, where no distinct line of demarcation is visible between the latter and the so-called Lafayette conformably above it.

As one of the problems to be solved this state of things has long attracted the attention of the few geologists working on the southern Tertiary. Some fifteen years ago I received from Professor Smith what were hailed as fossils at last from the Grand Gulf sands of Roberts, Ala., a horizon which in 1894 Professor Smith included in the Grand Gulf formation. They were very imperfect but fortunately contained one identifiable characteristic Oligocene species of the Chipola horizon. Subsequently Mr. L. C. Johnson obtained from what he pronounced to be * Bull. Am. Pal., No. 15, p. 70, 1902. Coastal Plain of Alabama,' p. 102.

Grand Gulf strata near Vernal, Miss., another series of fossils which I was able to determine as of late Chesapeake or early Pliocene age, and which were then eliminated from the socalled Grand Gulf and placed by Professor Smith at the top of the Miocene with the name of the Pascagoula formation (op. cit., p. 94).

In 1894 Professor Smith expressed himself in regard to the Grand Gulf' in the following language: The barren Grand Gulf sands pass towards the east into the marine deposits of the Chattahoochee (Oligocene) which are their time equivalent' (op. cit., p. 17) and 'The underlying division of the Grand Gulf *** its position is identical with that of the Chattahoochee limestone of Mr. Langdon, and there is no room for any reasonable doubt about their identity in age' (op. cit., p. 106).

Since that time Professor Harris and his party of students have traced typical Grand Gulf' sandstones beneath the Oak Grove Oligocene sands near Oak Grove, Santa Rosa County, Florida, as already mentioned.

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I have no prejudice as to the application of the name Grand Gulf to any particular series to which it can be shown to belong, but I am not convinced that Professor Smith and Mr. Aldrich, in restricting the name in the manner and to the stratum now proposed, have shown proof of its identity with the original formation described by Wailes. feel certain that the Pleistocene age of Wailes' formation is unproved. I believe it to be unlikely, and, in view of the record as above summarized, I feel justified in referring it, as heretofore, to the upper Oligocene, pending more exact and ample information. WM. H. DALL.

SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, July 6, 1903. ANSWER ΤΟ PROFESSOR COCKERELL, REGARDING HIGHER EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTIONS OF

NEW MEXICO.

TO THE EDITOR OF SCIENCE: Professor T. D. A. Cockerell has made some statements in his article on the condition of affairs at the New Mexico Normal University which

appeared in your columns May 8, which seem to me can hardly be passed without notice. I do not care to discuss the matter which Professor Cockerell presents concerning the conditions at the College of Agriculture and Mechanic Arts or at the Normal School at Las Vegas. It is always unfortunate when there is a lack of harmonious relations between a board of regents and the president or faculty of any institution, and still more unfortunate when such relations are the result of political influences. There is no doubt but at times great injustice results to individuals and great harm to the institution and the broader cause of education. Few institutions of any considerable age have not had some differences arise between their managing boards and their faculties at some time in their history, and no institution can boast that its organization is such that it is entirely safeguarded against any such unfortunate condition in the future. It must be recognized, however, that such breaches in the harmonious administration of the affairs of an institution are usually very short-lived. The organization of our public institutions may be such that they are more susceptible to such outbreaks than others, but it is to be doubted. In the public institution it is usually politics which interferes; in private institutions it is personal prejudice; in denominational schools it is denominational creed or religious difference. The character of the factor may vary, but the result is nearly the In all such cases it can usually be shown that some one has abused the powers and privileges of a position of authority. In public institutions all parties, from the governor, who usually holds the appointing power to membership on the board of regents, down to the student in the class-room, are servants of the people, and all are working under a regularly established system of laws. These laws determine the authoritative ranking of each. Each party has a duty to the subordinate elements of the organization, and an obligation of obedience to the superior in rank. In most institutions these duties and obligations are usually well defined by law.

same.

In passing judgment upon any particular case these broad relations should be kept in mind, and in what I have to say I do not wish to be understood as expressing any opinion concerning the conditions which have existed at the Agricultural College in the past, or at the Normal School at the present time. There are, however, two points in Professor Cockerell's communication to which I desire to call especial attention. Not that the professor has intentionally misrepresented the matter, but because of the inference which might easily be drawn. The conditions in two of the several public institutions of the territory are made the basis of several broad and general inferences. I am assured by President Light of the Normal School of Silver City that the relations of the board of regents of that institution and the faculty have been uniformly harmonious, and that the institution is wholly free from political influences in its administration. Professor Cockerell states in his article that the Normal School at Las Vegas 'has had until now a most fortunate immunity from political interference.' And I wish to state that it has never been my pleasure to know of a public institution so free from political influences as the University of New Mexico, over which I have the honor to preside.

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Again, Professor Cockerell says: 'It can not be overlooked that the governors of New Mexico, who appoint the regents of the higher institutions, are responsible for the general unsatisfactory character of these bodies.' wish to object to the professor's use of the term 'general' and 'these bodies,' and to state that, at least in the case of the University of New Mexico, a more estimable body of men could not be selected from any community either in this territory or any of the eastern states of the Union.

Hon. Ex-Governor E. S. Stover has always been a staunch friend of education. Hon. F. W. Clancy is one of the old and leading attorneys of the city of Albuquerque. Dr. James H. Wroth is one of the leading physicians of the city and surgeon for the Santa Fe Railroad. Hon. Henry L. Waldo, of Las

Vegas, is general solicitor for the Santa Fe Railroad and ex-chief justice; and Hon. E. V. Chavez is another of the leading attorneys of Albuquerque. There are three Democrats and two Republicans. These men are all appointees of governors of New Mexico, and three of them originally by Governor Otero, and all have been reappointed by him at the expiration of their terms.

As to the other institutions of the territory, I can only say that their boards, as far as I know, are made up of men who are leading and influential citizens.

In closing, permit me to say that, in my judgment, the higher institutions of learning of the territory of New Mexico are in general fully as free from political influences as are those of any other state of our Union, and it is hardly right to take the exceptional unfortunate cases of disorder as indicative of the general condition.

UNIVERSITY OF NEW MEXICO, ALBUQUERQUE, N. M.

W. G. TIGHT.

THE PROPOSED BIOLOGICAL STATIONS AT THE TORTUGAS.

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TO THE EDITOR OF SCIENCE: Referring to the correspondence from zoologists as to the need for one or more stations for biological research work in southern waters, I notice the preponderance in favor of Tortugas. Aside from its suitability for deep-sea fauna there seem to be other items to commend it, such as: The flag which floats over it, available buildings, subsistence, accessibility and, not the least in importance, communication. may not be known to the committee or to your readers that the United States government departments are planning a chain of wireless telegraphic communication along the coast and to the Antilles. Among those now installed are stations of the De Forest Company at Hatteras and Porto Rico; others are proposed at Miami, Key West, Havana, etc. These will be in demand for commercial marine as well as naval and military purposes. A glance at the map will show that Tortugas can easily be hitched on to this system via Key West (and equally a station at Cul

ebra viâ San Juan) with very little added cost or trouble. No cable will be required, but only a mast and some sort of light motor. The operator could be improvised easily by one of the resident staff familiar with the Morse code. The greater comfort and convenience of life with this facility at hand would be cheaply purchased.

I am assured by the executive of the American De Forest Company-whose office is at 100 Broadway-that they would welcome the establishment of a science station near their field and cooperate in any reasonable way for the handling of any commercial business that might come that way.

Believing that this suggestion may have further weight in the deliberations, I forward this with the concurrence of Dr. De Forest's organization. R. T. COLBURN. Rooм C, 120 BROADWAY, NEW YORK.

SHORTER ARTICLES.

SOME OF THE DANGERS OF FORMAL.

So much use is being made of formal* in the conservation of anatomical and zoological specimens, as well as for purposes of disinfection, and it has become so readily accessible to persons unfamiliar with some of its dangerous properties, that it may not be amiss to point out some of these. Of course every one who works with formal has experienced the disagreeable coryza and coughing arising from the inhalation of the fumes of this drug, as well as the irritating effect upon the ocular conjunctivæ. Although no fatal case of poisoning by inhalation has been recorded, one may take warning from the experimental results of M. H. Fisher,† who found that the exposure of various animals (guinea-pigs, rats, cat and dog) to the fumes of formaldehyd for one or one and a half hours produced in them a fatal pneumonia, tracheitis and bronchitis, after only three grams of paraformaldehyd had been

* On the use of formal as a term more suitable than formalin, formol or formalose, cf. B. B. Stroud's papers in The American Naturalist, January 1 and May 1, 1897.

M. H. Fischer, 'The Toxic Effects of Formaldehyd and Formalin,' Jour. of the Boston Soc. of Med. Sci., Vol. 1, October 16, 1900.

volatilized in the room. Only recently, in this city (New York) a woman was overcome by formal fumes. Her younger child had had diphtheria; the disinfecting was done in the afternoon and the family moved in again about seven o'clock. The odor was still strong, but the woman thought it would pass away and went to bed. Later she awoke with her head ringing, and was just able to crawl to the hall and summon help. The children were not ill at all. The writer has noticed in himself, after working in an atmosphere fairly charged with formal fumes, a state of depression and dulness which does not wear off until after spending some time in fresh air. A long exposure might bring about a serious condition, though Kenyon* expresses it as his belief that the vapor does not endanger inhabitants of rooms, and cites an experiment on a calf kept in an atmosphere of two per cent. formaldehyd for five hours, which only produced a slight cough and some watering of the eyes, both symptoms disappearing on the animal's going into fresh air.

The

The effect of formal on the skin is well known. The cuticle is killed; it hardens, cracks and desquamates; in some individuals this is attended by an eczematous rash. nerve terminals in the skin are paralyzed, producing an annoying numbness. Where the skin is cracked, the entrance of formal becomes very painful.

The palpable influence of formal on the glandular action of the skin led Dr. E. C. Spitzka to recommend it in two instances where patients consulting him mentioned their being affected with the annoying condition of perspiring hands and feet. They began with a dilute solution used as a wash several times a day, and gradually increasing its strength, not exceeding one of ten per cent. of the commercial preparation. In both cases the effect was gratifying after two or three weeks, and in one of them the permanency of the cure seems guaranteed by the non-return of the trouble for three years thereafter.

To laboratory workers one of the great dangers is the accidental splashing of drops *F. C. Kenyon, SCIENCE, VI., 1897, p. 737. † W. H. Dall, SCIENCE, VI., 1897, p. 633.