sippi river, in Whiteside county, was regarded by the observer as so extraordinary as to call for a special explanation. And yet on the prairies of Illinois, frequently lying on the surface and in the soil at all depths, are found numerous boulders of granite, syenite and trap rocks. On the surface they are found scattered from the hilltops to the very borders of the sloughs; and hidden in the ground they frequently prove a nuisance to the cultivator of the soil. Their presence in such situations cannot be reconciled with the notion that the soil is a lacustrine deposit.

3. The general absence of fossils in the soil and subsoil of the high prairie lands is opposed to Lesquereux's theory. In the Loess we find abundant fossils of land and fresh water shells. Such remains, too, sometimes occur in the deposits of the sloughs and marshes on the prairies; but these deposits are of later date than the soil of the higher grounds, and have frequently been formed as described by Lesquereux. If the prairie soil had been formed as he supposes, it would have afforded the most favorable conditions for the preservation of animal and vegetable organisms. “At a depth of from one to three feet the mosses, confervæ, and charas form a thick carpet which hardens, becomes consistent, like a kind of felt, and floating about six inches above the bottom, is nearly thick enough to sustain the weight of a man. This carpet is pierced with holes where fishes pass to and fro; and the bottom under it is that fine impalpable clay, evidently a residue of the decomposition of its plants." We ought then almost anywhere on these prairies, to find insect and leaf beds as rich as those of Eningen. But where now are those aquatic insects that people such waters; those land and fresh water mollusks; those numerous cray-fishes; those leaves of plants that must have been buried there? Where are now those little fishes that passed to and fro through the holes in that mossy carpet? So far as the writer knows, no such remains have been found.

4. The theory urged by the distinguished botanist requires us to suppose that these prairies have undergone a greater amount of denudation than would have been possible under the conditions supposed. He admits that the prairies must originally have been horizontal, and attempts to explain their present undulating character by supposing that where we now find broad and level sloughs, the soil has been removed by the gentle movement of water on its way to lower levels. The hills, however, rise frequently many feet, sometimes perhaps a hundred, above the level of

the low grounds, and these may be many rods in width. The theory under consideration requires us to believe that in such cases an enormous amount of material has been removed. And yet it is questionable whether, under such circumstances, the soil would be removed as rapidly as it would accumulate through the decay of vegetation. For if the surface were as level as we must suppose it was, and as it frequently is in these sloughs, the water must have moved so slowly as to carry little sediment along with it; and as the water passed through the tangled grasses, rushes and sedges, even this little would have been filtered out.

Indeed, the cause assigned for the uneven surface of the prairies is one that tends to produce the very opposite effect, that of removing any inequalities of the surface that might have at first existed. For the water running down the hillsides would have carried with it some soil. On reaching the level slough its velocity would have been checked and a large part of its burden deposited. That this has occurred, rather than the contrary phenomenon, is plainly shown by the fact that the alluvium is much deeper in the sloughs than on the tops and sides of the hills.

5. The theory referred to requires us to ascribe to the alluvial deposits of the hypothetical lakes an undue thickness. For, since the peculiar fine soil of the prairies is found on the hilltops, as well as in the valleys between; it follows that, if the surface were once level, the lacustrine deposit of soil must have been of a thickness at least equal to the height of the hilltops above the lowest point to which the soil extends in the valleys. We must then believe that the deposit was perhaps a hundred feet in depth; and since the valleys have been scooped out of this, we might expect to find the hills composed entirely of the lacustrine sediment-rich, black, prairie soil from ten to one hundred feet in depth. On the contrary the soil is comparatively thin on the hilltops, very deep in the valleys.

The valleys have been excavated from the Drift formation; and the general contour of the prairies must have been determined before the prairie soil was formed, under whatever conditions it may have resulted. That some portions of the prairies, especially those bordering our great lakes and some of our rivers, have originally been swamps cannot be doubted; but that they are destitute of trees must be attributed to other causes, the absence of which in other localities permits the growth of trees alike on the finest or the coarsest, the sweetest or the sourest soil.

METHODS OF LABELING IN OÖLOGICAL COLLEC

T

TIONS.

BY W. H. BALLOU.

'HE study of the eggs of birds, which has recently taken such impetus as to give it a recognized position in the science of ornithology, is at present in a condition deplorable indeed, from its broad deficiencies in the matter of labeling. Taking up an egg, in size no greater than a robin's, we find plentifully scattered over its surface an advertisement large enough to adorn a newspaper column, spreading forth the fact apparently of great moment to the scientific world, that Mr. So-and-so was the fortunate collector of the egg, that it was collected on such and such a day, month and year, that it is a certain number in a standard catalogue, and numbers so-and-so in So-and-so's collection. Examining European eggs in countries where the science was old when America was new, specimens are often found with a semicircular band of paper, or with a square label pasted on them with the scientific name written in ink or printed. Where the names are long, it is often a matter of speculation as to which occupies the greater space, the egg or the name. It is a shocking disgrace to European oölogy, equal in some respects to the eminently unscientific usages of our own oölogists. It is astonishing that during these centuries of existence that the science has attained so little eminence, and has remained so deficient in so small a matter as labeling, leaving out other points of greater and of less moment. It has heights and depths which it may attain to, and which will undoubtedly be arrived at before many years. Its devotees, at present, seem to consist mainly of a class of persons whose only interest is concentrated in the knowledge of having a "collection" of eggs and in discovering species yet unknown. The latter though of value to oölogy are used to build up ornithology, and to that science is the credit of the discovery given.

In consideration of some of the above facts it has been a subject of much study on the part of myself and undoubtedly others as to what remedies may be successfully applied to so great an evil as the present labeling system. The problem is not without its difficulties of solution. Many and varied were the experiments tried, which sometimes met with success in part, but on the whole are causes of grave errors. In each experiment some one was sure to so disarrange the eggs as to make it impossible to identify them. A leading difficulty was also found when

the collector possessed one or more sets of the same kind, or large quantities of eggs of the same species, as in the case of water-birds. It is still worse, when each egg or set of eggs of the same kind was obtained on the same day under different circumstances and in different localities. Here there should have been a separate label in each case; but what collector is there that has been able or disposed to furnish one, or if he has done so, who at his death will be able to decipher them? A catalogue of continued difficulties rises before the collector; labels pasted, or markings written on the egg, deface portions of its natural colorings. Slender shells often crumble in the hand while attempting to inscribe a written narrative thereon. Eggs are exchanged, passed into a new collector's hand, who rubs away at the original marking, and deprives it of its natural luster and finish to make way for a new and more extended announcement. Drawbacks of these descriptions are sufficient to place any science below par and cast suspicion on its accuracy.

But at last an expedient has been determined upon which, if followed, seems to cover the entire ground and to keep each individual egg forever in a condition that will enable one to preserve an accurate record of it.

Having occasion during the past year to make an arrangement of the collection of oology in a certain Academy of Sciences in the west, my attention was more than ever drawn to the absolute necessity of having a different system of labeling from the one I employed there, especially in so large an institution where duplicate eggs are stored away by the thousand with no distinction whatever. Soon after obtaining additions to my own collection of eggs, some of which required mending, I was attracted by the wonderful adhesive force of "coaguline" in cementing shells together. Following out the line of thought presented at the time, I was enabled to perfect a system of labeling which is essentially described here:

Slips of paper are to be prepared in triangular form, or at least to have one portion tapering to a point as in Fig. 1. The slips

can be cut in sizes varying with the dimensions of the eggs, or the amount of writing intended to be placed upon them. Having made the necessary record, the very tip of the label may be moistened with coaguline and fastened to the egg as in Fig. 2. It should be placed on the border of the drilled hole on the side, so that both may occupy as little space as possible. Almost the entire surface of the egg is now in a condition for examination. The advantages of such a label are seen at once. Both sides may be written upon. They may be used as handles by which to hold the egg for examination, thus saving many eggs from being crushed. They may be made sufficiently large to contain all necessary writing, or small enough to suit the taste. They may be taken off at any time by simply dipping the cemented portion into warm water; and it is often desirable to do this, especially in exchanges. There is no possible danger of their being torn off when they are handled with the care usually bestowed on eggs.

FIG. 2.

A practical use of the above method is convincing proof of its efficiency.

:0:

BY DR. EDWARD PALMER.

The Navajoes in the presence of death.-In 1869, Colonel Dodd, agent of the Navajo Agency, was very sick, and Barboncito, the head chief, though quite unwell himself, went to see him. After gazing intently upon the Colonel for a few minutes, and shaking hands, the chief said in Navajo, "I wish you a good journey," and left the room weeping. When the agent was dead and laid out, all the Indians came to look on him whom they had loved so well, though it is their custom never to look upon the dead. At the funeral Barboncito expressed a desire to go with the Colonel, but afterwards recovered from his sickness.

A Navajo Indian being sick, his friends took away his ticket entitling him to food at the Agency, gave him an old blanket and