The New York Herald Newspaper, August 25, 1856, Page 7

THE SCIENTIFIC CONGRESS. American Association for the Advancement of Science. on the of Interesting Reports Geological History North America, Progress of the Coast Survey, Rock Formation of Nova Scotia, Fossil Elephants and Mastodons, As- &., &e., Our Special Correspondence. Aupayy, Aug. 23—A, M. ‘The exercises lavt evening, with the exception of Pro- feesor Dana’s paper, in the Geological Section, were of a ighly technical character. Professor Emmons seems to have made some valuable discoveries of fossils in tho tas and superior rocks of North Carolina; indeed, if Professor Agassiz is to be believed, they are moro va- Juable than the discoverer had any idea of, You wil! ap. Preciate the considerations which inituce me (0 spare you ® dissertation on labyrinthodous and saurians. Jn the Physical Section Professor Rogers exhibited tue curious fmstruments called rotascope and gyroscope, which have a duplicate rotary motion, like the earth, round a fixed axis, ‘and also, in an opposite direction, round theirown. They are pretty philosophical toys, and the experiments, which resemble Monsieur Foucault’s, are as yet ouly amusing. Of couree it would be imposeible to give you any idea of their character without drawings, or the instruments themselves. Professor A.D. Bache’s paper on co-tidal lines, of which you have pretty full abstract, was highly important, though not adapted to popular hearing. It was illuetrated by maps and plaas. J may remark, by the way, in taking leave of the Phy- sieal Section, that the Senate chamber, in which it meets, is very il) ventilated. By some strange attraction crowds of people, including many ladies, go to hear the abstrure papers which are read there, and towards the close of the day carbonic acid is im excess im the air of the room, I hope this may be remedied. Dana’s peper on developement, or, to give it a better name, on the progress ot the ereation of the world, was one of tho bighest merit, aud toaiiwho take an interest in the intensely importart Subject of geognory, very attractive. The Professor showed how the continent of America rose out of water; how the Arctic regions, then tropica!, were the elder por- tion of the great continent; bow Canada followed, then the United States; and entered into a variety of ingonious —— ou the proportion exiwting between the area teas aud the altituvc of mountains bordering on them. 3 is indeed a circumstance well worthy of attentioa that the Pacitic, or great ocean, should be bordered ou almost all sides by high mountains, many of which are volcanic, while the Atlaniie, a emailer ocean, is bordered tor the ‘most part by siopes and table land. But I forbear further comment on points which are so much better expiained inthe itselfthan I could explain them; and I ad- viee all that large cinss of young meu who have been led te the study of geoguowy by such werks as Kosmos and the Vestiges of Creation, to give Profeasor Dana an attentive veading. The discussion whieh arose upou the paper was leo interesting. The delegate from Missonri (to uxe the conventional term) put in a plea for the iron mountains, for which he claimed an antiquity prior even to the Arctic er Caz adian rance of bills; and somewhat reluctantly, I fancy, Professor Dana was compelled to acquiesce. Une dors not hke, et this time of day, you conceive, to oppose ‘& Missourian, especially if, as in this case, he has the ad- e of being sustained by such @ host as Professor i the close of the ceremonies, Mr. Woolworth, on be- ‘of the Local Commitiee, invited the members of the to Mr. Robert Townsend’s. I fervently trast the Local toposes rc not betrayea ag 4 offering to any unauthorized persons; after the pains taken to exciude the hot polloi, it would be ed if they were entrapped iato admitting tinue the basty skotches I began in my last let- just say @ word of Professor Hare, of Phila- gentleman was for many re—I will broadily—the first chemist the United He taught chemistry for @ generation or im the University of Pennsylvania, and during riod be invented apparatus of tho very bigheet » Among his instruments I will only mention the pound or oxy hydrogen biowpipe, which is now used whee intense is required to be |. He invented many others as valuable as this, which have oe ingtruments formerly in ase Europe. He was also @ sound clear thinker, and rarely in the discussions in olden time allowed a faliacy escape him. Withia the few last years, unfurtunately, haps fiom the decay of his perceptive facaities, Pro- Riser Hare has allowed himself to deluded by the apirit rappers, aud has embraced the subject of spiritual fem with more zeal and ardor than discretion. fle pub Mahed a work on the subject lately, a8 you are aware, fend is perhaps the lader of those strange lugatcs who g0 about knockmg on tabies and floors, and fancy they re conversing with their dead grandmothers. It often us thet ® manis On one it leaves the mind Desitby avd clear ov ail others. is not the case with Dr. Hare. All his former ability ia sub: tm his ism, and there retains nothing now but the de- cayed remains of what once was a very learned and ca- may. His activity is unimpaired. He take on every subject, in deviance of the undisguised ennui of the members and the frowns of the ebair, and no‘ uafre quently requires authoritative interference to reduce hitio to silence, Ho is @ striking Joosing man, very tal! 4! stoui; bis head ie large, containing a vast volume of Drain, an’ thickly covered with flowing white hair, Prof. Jamee Hall, the outgoing President of the Asso- @intion, w the State Geologi-t of New York. He is, I be- deve, a native of New Envian’, and ore of the oldest eological celebrities in the country. He was appotntes Rite cologist, 1 beheve, by Gov. Seward, and unlike maay men, whose activity ceases whea pecuntary rea- sons for exertion disappear, he has made steady progress m bis speciality year after year. He is constantly ro ferred w by the members of the Association as « high authority op ali questioas of paleontogy, to which branch ef geology he han devoted most of atention. His ished volomes juetity the respect in which he w i¢. He is a tall, inteliectual looking man, with @ vather English fae; makes a better debater on the floor of the bo coe than a chairman, ¢peake fueutty, aod o graceful, conthmanty style. ' He resides here, and hia ‘Mt orcsent as bis gucets Sir Wm. Logan and 47.2.3 Liss ot Moatronl. Third Day's Proceedings. AFTERNOON SESSION—ARCTION OF GEOLOGY. Prot, Fusrsn in the chair, Prof. Kxmows made a communication on tho Peruviaa ‘and Triaeme systems of North Oarolina, accompanied by B reterence to maps and townils. Prot. Agassiz remarked at the close of Prof, Eramona’ @ommuuication, tha! it was ono of the mow! important papers op geology he had beard. He hadi but glanced at the torrie, and coull hardly give a reliable optaioa aatit be bad siwdied them more cloeely—they dseerved severa: weets etudy—but it eppeared to him that they range! ever xn immense period—rn fact, from thé apper Jara to We lowent Trias, Mr. W. 0. Revemn mide an inquiry as to the povition of the forriis exbibired, which led to 4 general conversa don, in which several members particlpated. ‘The Cuaim then calied oa Prof, Dana for his paper J OF DEVELOPEMENT [NCH GROLOGICAL MSTORY OF SORTH AMAAICA—BY JAMRS D. DANA. On other occasions, I have discussed at somo lengty te ontline and surface features of the cuntinents, the parallel courses of ialand groups, and tho relatioas be tween the structure of the continental borders and the exten of theadjoining oceans; and I have endeavored we eoarccton to elucidate tho great principle of geologi eal dynamics which at the hasia of these character trues of our giode. I propose at this time to pelt out the relations between the operations ot this priaciyle or agency and the special goctogwal history of the North merican coutinent. ‘Jo rencer tnia application of the subject inteiligidie, it fe necessary to review briely the fundamenial facts just alluded to. For this purpose, | would direct your a ton to a Mereator’s Chart of the World, ou whe whole is open t @xamination—such a chart being inture reprerentation of the facts themselves, aa’ the ‘orcer observed among its parts, and the syliables which pel! oul the principies ‘You observe in the first place the two great oceans, the Atiantic the Pacitic—both widening south, and cosleecing in @ vast ring of oceau around the South Jote, while narrowing north ana uniting ina fmall arctic sea. ‘The Indian Ocean is a third north and south ocean; but it reeches north ouly ® lithe ways beyond the equator ‘Aa the Atlantic is lesa than naif the breadth of the Pa ei, #0 the American continent is loss thao half th Dresdib of the great Orient, including Europe, Asia and Africa. You fee asso that while the North Atiantic tronds ‘ef w the northeast, and the whole Atlantic isa zigang channel with a tai northeast coarse, tho Paciic #a northwest channel, ite longest diameter being at right argles nearly with the trend of the AUautic. This lor gost ter, moreover, has the mean trend of the Pacific Bland: Jor those wiands havo a orarly parailel coarse ai! through the ocean, the New Hebrides, Kings Mills, Sa- mesn, Tahitian, Marquesw aud Sandwich Isienda, tying in wearly parallel lines. In the body of New Zesland, bow qvor, and some other = ahe transverse trend of Eastern America is represen te Now what is the relation between the border of the continents as to features and siructure, and tho oxteat of ‘Whe oceans! 1. Look firet to North Amorica. Observe Srat the gonoral dies ction of the coast conforming to the prevalent treads Of the globe, the NE. and NW , nud thus giving it fle trian = form, | See the low Appalachians teeing the small oe sat ef Hae mortly a double i , besides & Recor Cascade and Sierra Nevada, nearer fewering range, thence May wo not say, as the heigat of the Appals ebiaae ia to the size of the Atiautic, so is the height of Ge Bucky rengs to the site of the Paci? In South Aineriea there is the same reiation—the low Brazilion mountaine 8p the Atlantic side, the lofty Aades ‘on the Pacific, and the later exceeding the Rocky Moun tains as muoli as the Bo..th Parific exceeds the North Pa cific; #0 that we may m.‘ke another proportion, as the beight of the Rocky Mount.ins t the North Pacific, #0 \a | Feed end bokiness of the Andes to the South we In the Orient, the movutains towards tho Atlantic, or there of Burope, are low avd lim, ‘ed. compared with the ‘anges of ile side: and these fast the .tublimest buighte of oooan ~# large open NEW YORK HERALD, MONDAY, AUGUST 25, 1856. nt, ening of the Atinntio ‘on the wort side of Nerth America the Pacific coast faces, not towards Asia, but southwest, where the broadest range of ocean js the Atlantic, we find metamor rocks, some trap dykes, and a few tepid springs. ‘the side of the great ocean, the Pacific, all these phenomena oc- cur, and besides, some of the grandest volcanoes of the globe, while basaltis floods have buried out of sight almost all other rocks a considerable part of the country. Mount St. Helens, Mount Hood, Mount Shesta, and a dozen others, twelve to eighteen thousand feet igh, mike ‘a majestic pile of fire mountams not yet wholly extinct. May we notssy again, bag as the siz, of the Atlantic to the action of heat on the Atiantic bor- der, so 1s the size of the Pacific to the action of heat on the Pacific border? In South America there is a direct repetition of the same facts on a still grander scale—the ilian side, with metamorphic rocks and no vol anoes; the Pavitic si¢e, with volcanic heights of 20,000 feet and ‘upward. In the Orient, there are some small volcanic operations on the Atlantic side; but an unot host down through Kamchatka, Japan and the wlands south on the Pacific ride. In Africa there are great volcanoes in the Red Sea and the lofty Abyssinian mountains, and only afew on the east, in the Gulf of Guinea, where, ip fact, the continent opens on the Southern Ocean, and ‘not simply in the nar. row Atlantic; the volcanoes are at the junction of the two lines, in or near the Bight of Biafra. 4. Again, these effects of heat are confined mostly to the region between the coast of the berder mounta!ns and the ocean, and are most intense towards the coa-t line. Thus the erystallizavon or metamorvhism of Kast- ern North America, from Labrador to Georgia, is strougly marked towards the ocean, and dimiaishes going west- ward. So on the Pacific side: the great volcanoes are net ou the east or landward side of the coast, for there ix peta volcano on that side, but on the seaward side, and not very far from the ovean. Thus we may almost say, the bearer the water the hotter the fire. 6. Again, the mountains that make the berders consist, a8 ig Dow well known, since the surveys of the Professor, (Rogers,) of rock that have been pressed up out of place, often into ridges, or mense the fokla in paper by pressing laterally ; fulds are many miles in range and of mountain height; and these folds or plicstions and displacements are most pumerous towards the ocean, and are parallel nearly to the ocean. Hence, sgain, the nearer the water, the vaeter the plications and upliftings of the rocks. 6. Over the interior of North America there are not only no volcanoes, but there never have been any since the earlier allurian, as shown by the absence of their re mais among the strata; and this +s so, notwithstanding the abundance of salt water over the regions in those wucient times. Over the isterior of Asia there are no voicances, a8 18 well known, except the three or four in the Thian-chan Mountains: tho great volcanic belt of the Orie bt stands out a short distance from the water line of Asia, in the Japan range of telands, thus directly odging the oceanic basia; for the intervening region of shallow waters is properly « submerged part of the continent. 7. In contrast with this non volcanic character of the interior of the continents, the islan‘s of the oceans, it all voicanic where not coral, coral probably rest on a volcanic basis. Dbwalagiri, in the Himalayas, 28,000 feet high, is grani- tie; and we might have Tooked for some granitic peaks among the central lelands of the oceans. But there are none. At the same time, as others have remarked, the trans- verre seas which divide the Northern and Southern con- tiperts, the East Indies, the Mediterranean and West In- dies, are characterized by volcanoes, af, then, the typical form of a continent is a treugh or basin, the oceanic borders being varied into mountains; it thege borders are 80 turned as to face the widest of ovean; if the height of these border mountains and extent of igneous action along them is directly propor- tioned to the size of the oceans, the Pacitic, —— A being girt with great volcanoes and lofty mountains, w: the narrow Atlantic is boumied by smaller heights and but few volcanoes; if, moreover, volcanoes characterize the islands of mid-ocean and not the Interior of the con- upepts, what is the legitimate inference? Most plainly, that the extent and positions of the ocean- ic depressions bave some way determined, in a great de ree, the featurer of the ; that the same cause which originated ihe one impressed peculiarities on the ocher,; that the two have hada parallel history through past lime—the oceanic cepressions tending downward, the continents upward; ip other words, that they have both been in progress with mutual reaction from the begin- ning of the earth’s re’ ration. The continents have aiways been the more elevated land of the coast, and een basins always basins, or the more depressed We thence learn that the profounder features of the earth were marked out in the earliest boginnings of geo logical history, and tbat the whole subsequent progress har been a working on this basis. her aud more di rect evidence of this fact I alluded to ip address be fore this association last —evitence aerived from the extent and nature of the jam eandatone, the earliest of the silurian strata, showing that this primal rock was laid down over a’ large part of North Am nca by a soa which just bathed its suriace—thus proving thet the coo. paar waa a’ready made, and indicating in part ite water level. The relation between the extent of the oceans and the vorcer features of the conunents, which has been pointed out, fe pot simply @ relativn of fact, but of effect and dy nomi ®, pointirg to a unity of cause. The one cause i# assured)y not ip the waters of the oceans, for these are ‘ert; they cannot bake rocks, light up voleances, fola the heavy strata and make mountains e cause is no paroxysmal force exhausted in a temporary freak of na- t it if some protound, #ystemadc, untiring force, in its slow movement, bas counted centuries as if weonds The Appalachian range is ono mark of its power. ot not the result of a fitful ve; on the contrary, a work of time, and time so tong, that the: resisting strata owuld bend in many plications without bemg redured wo ebaos; +0 ong that New England and regions South, which entered the period of catastrophe as a te Of sedi mentary beds, came forth at last a rogion of granite, Peis avd crystaliine schists, Most of the of the globe, for the reasons stated, we mu t regard as otber fects of this fundamertal cau it ls therefore no matter of surprise that they should have in general a com mon system of structure. A unity of cause there must be for the groat phono ‘nena of geology. Such is natore iu all its departments. wlatl: are the means by woiwh we penetrate to the deep nd when that caase i once reached and sly ed, the details have new interest from the »armovlous rejations thus developed, as the leaves and (wipe of a tree derive their grandeur and the most o hoie beauty from the ris ng trunk and © .ading branches w whieb they are subordinate, an’ waa wich they are © perfect barmony What then, i# the princip'e of developement through b grand resulta in the earth's structure and foa We detect a plan uf pro We trace out the spot waich im. rated cane jeto result: may wo similarly search y Of the earth's progross 7 Ube orgamizing agencies in the «Phere are— 1, Chemieat combinatt n and crystallization 2 Hest in vaporization, fusion, expansion, with the corr: late forte of contraction, which has been in increas ig action trom the time the globe bagau to be @ cooling ae : %. The external physical agencies, pre-eminently water and the atmosphere, chiseiling abd moulding the urface. 4. The superadded agency of jife. Of these causes the first ie the molecvlar power by which the material o! the crust bat been prepared. The third and fourt! wave only worked over the exposed suriace. But the reond, while molecular In origi, is mochanlcal in acuop and in the way of cor waction, especially, it hat engaged he pivereal sphere, cauring a shrinkage of its vas ides, a heaving and sinking in world wide movem -ats Jts acton, therefore, has been co-extensive with the arth’s wurface throughout the earth's history. If « power at ail, it has been a dominant power tm the grow changes, aud in connection with the profyund steuctar: received through coneoliation, it haa brough: h's ineaments, varying them with her ¥ vars Gret featurel as sphere to tho bold expres ive # nod wrinkles of age. This is the cause that most conce ns as at this time. ‘There must be system tn the intimate structu crust. For if tt was once fluid, and is now oni scores of miler in tof the first film, has hece produced through gra dipgly gradual, awd prolonged cooling, ad ward increase, t the solid surface arc vor @ pord when thickening in this by additions dewnward to the surtace film, a crystalline texture perpecdicular to this flim, as hw bern proved, we may safely infor that the oryatal!ls sti» ot the earth's crurt, as it siowly thickened, would have taken @ regular structure, and the more eurely sinc know thet the mineral feldspar, which gives a cleavage structore to grantte, is the prevailing mineral in all igne ous rocks. us we approach some explenati of the prevalence of two great ystems of trends {n the outline features of the globe. Bet thie subject we pass by, to the ene which more immediately concerns us=th *urfacc f atuces of the contents. ‘The contraction to which we havo alluded, golng on efter a crnet was formed over the earth, would noceas ace, or wrinkle the crust, as the eam: , vies wdyying apple’ The large than rulficient for the contracted sphere ing downward of some parts must oaneo thy If any large areas of the crust wore hd eause, rind je and the d bnipting of others epking more than the rest, this very rubsidence w mesarily posh up the borders of these areas into elevations or folds; and the larger the are higher these border elevations ese are the simple fag ‘The oceanic ba ® re these sreas greatest subsidence; and hence woule necesearily Now the law, already estab liehed as a matter fact—the tar the oan. the bigher the mountains on its bor the: the fractures and displacements there, or nucleus of the ‘evidence (Aged ate it; and, what is of area ts central continent; and, w! tt Nes parallel to the Rocky Moun. tains aud the fic border, thus ‘tbat the greater force came from that in azoic ae well as when the Rocky Moun- tain were raised. Thus this first land, nel of the St. Lawrence, and {n the northwest coast of Lake Superior, and probably also in the triangular form of Hud- =e Ld Against this primal ss | Leryn up.ifting agency operated, acting wo direc- tiove, the Atlantic and the Pacific; and the evolution of the continent tok place yh the tiens of the crust, and the add! resulting; the ocean in the meaotia ¢ pursu! Pointed functions in the plan of developement, by wear- img exposed rocks and strewing the shores and sub merged rurface with sand, gravel or clay. or else growing shelis, corals and cunolds, and thus storing up the mate. rial of strata and bury ing the life of successive epochs. These secular vibrations, movements by tho age rather than day, dipping the surface and raieing it again th many and varying successions, were absolntaly essen tial to the progress. Had the continent been stable, there could have been no history ,no recorded events of cl life and alternating depoeits—al) would have been onty a blank past. These forces, 5 ly from the southeast and southwest, were actually organiz- ing forces essential to the com; of the continent, to the juction of its alter of limestones, es, sandstones and conglomerates, and its swee; catas- tropbes burying the old preparatory for higher forms of life. The continent, in the course of these movements, bemg &t one time, it may be, just beneath the ocean’s surface, and nls fom of sand and gravel accumulating under the action of the waves; then somewhat deeper, and clearer waters, with limestones forming, from coral or crinoidal plantations, or the of shells; then, perbape, ricing from the waves, bringing death upon its sea tribes im one universal desolation; then, s.oking slowly in tho waters again, and varying in its accumnula- tions irom sandstones to shales, pebble beds or lime. #tones, w'th the depth and the currents; and then a;ain above the tides, aithough destruction +) all the beauty of the ocean was'in the movement; and, perchance, lying in the open a'r for an era, to receive the mists and raias, ano sunshine, and become luxuriant through new crea tions, with broader prairies than now cover the West, a these were again and again repoated, as First, as the facts show, the sflurian deposits of Canada ee ee ‘the azoic, were left above the sea, for these 8 there are not overlaid by later beds; |, therefore, were not the sea bottom of later seas. their beds having already been folded u the Appalachians. The red seandetone of the €onnecticut Valley and of the Atlantic States from New York to Ala- ama leave little doubt as to the water line of that ora. the cretaceous the continent bad farther expanded along the Atlantic; but in the Musab sippt Valley the Mexican Gulf stil) extended north even tothe head waters ot the Missouri. Noxt as tne tertiary opened, the continent had yet more widely en- larged ite bounds, 8. and S. E. ; if the waters of the Mexican Gull for a while tenet a Eine over gome part of the Nebraska plains, as late the close of the period, the continent in this direction pearly reached its full maturity. steps of marked in ob 5 i eget i E tt: ti | & ; F i i : # i ‘Thus the enlargement went on w the period making some addition to mainland, year gives @ layer of wood tathe tree. Not dition was free from cecil! }) Causing submergences, jor there continued long to occur ; but the gain, on the «hole, was a gain—a progress ; and the moving ages made the accession a sure and per maven! gain as tbe (vn- sinept became more stable. But i the statement tbat the growth of the continent was to theS S E. and S. W., wo assert only the most general truth respecting (t. The continent has its special features as much as any being of organic growth, ac! the elimination of these features \s to be traced to the same ope the east, the Rocky Mo range on ‘y Moun- tains and the subordinate chaina on the west, the lower lands and tabiee of the interior, ail, tion, are the more marked of these vast river system, with the broad allavial raced plaina, the wide spread drift, the denuded beightg and chanpelea rocks, are subordinate peculiarities of ihe face of the continent. ‘The Appalachian range phe cael as | explained a year stance, Was commenced in the silurian age. and even be- fore. The force irom tho southeast, in the earliest part of the Pa agoic era, had made the Appalachian rogion geverally sbatlowor than the Mississippi valley beyond. ‘he vast eandatone and shale deport of the region bear marks, in — pata, of aeaxhure action, while the imertones which were forming cotomporaneodsly, farther west, indicste clearer and some what deeper sens ;’and the patch of azoic in northern New York points to an anterior tage in the same course of history ; #0 that, in early vime, long before there were mountains, the future of the ctinent, 118 low centre and bigh borders, was forestad- »wed. We can bardiy doubt that the of the Hocky Mountains was 10 Uie #a ne coadiGon, in the mala, with that of the Appsiachians. Moreover, these bor ders, OF at least the eastern, for ages anterior to ihe making of the mountains, were subject to vastly greater oscillations than the interior, for the gilurian and Devonian sai dstones that occur along from New York to Alabama ‘are of great thickness, being five times as thick imestones and associated de vosita of the same age to the west. A limertone bed, moreover, is of iteelf evidence Of comparatively littie oscillauion of level daring ita pro. cress, We hence learn that in the evolutions of the continen- m, after the ce of the azoic aacleus, \here «ere two prominent lines of developemes:; one along he Appalachian region, the other along the Rocky moun ‘ain region—one, therefor, beimg parallel with either oean. Intand beyond exch of their developing areas here was @ great trough + chansel of deeper ocean wa: were, separating either (rr = the azule area. The azo, as has been dicated, bas something of a V sbape, with’ the Hudson's Bay detwoen its aris. This succeeding step of progress ia the developement of » larger V outeide of and peraliel to the azcic nucleus. Je betwoon the two V's. all that remains of the larger of es sf these channels, Its waters once stretched vo the Arctic “em, and were, in carly time, but the deeper part of the ‘ontinental ogean. Later, a& the ages moved on, there of fresh water lakes in its course to t uit reached no higher than the head. waters of the Missouri. Later sull, and its limits became more contracted, till now the full. growa contiaent has but her foot in the salt water, The Gulf of St. Lawrence marks the outlet of the cther hannel, and the river St. Lawrence ite course. The creat sakes as well as the smailer lakes north lie near the }im.ts “the szcic nucleus within these ancient troughs or de- oreasions ; aod the largest lake, Lake Superior, i at the uretion of the two lines. Su b was the law of growth, the molecular forces be- neath the continent, from the progressive cooling there were not idle, and murt have moditied 5 ing the lifting and sinking of the crust, and the final gain to the land, pro ceeded from the ¢irections of the oceans. The inequality in the forces from the two directions, as well as in tho form snd depth of each oceanic or subsiding area, whence the forces mainly came, would necessarily have pro duced many irregularities ip the results. The Pacific region baa alwayr been true to \ta own arendeor, The from that direction not oaly made the Rocky mountaine to rive, and « file of lofty yoicances: 10 light up ite waters, (while the most the gentler Atlan tie could accompliah wae a bending up of the strata into Appalachians, and a baking some of the beds,) but it uso added tenfold the most dry land to the continous; «nd even after the tertiary rocks were dopostted, |: ele vated the continental border at least two or three thou: rand ae Umes beyond what bappened on the Al tantic side. Bot look further, and consider thet the great lines of elevation on the Pacific side ate parallol nearly to the islands of the ocean ; that these islands are like a long train stretching off from Asia to the east. southeast ; that even New Hebrides, New Caledoala, the toot of the New Zealand boot, and northwestern Aus- tralia conform to the general lelism, and you will then comprehend that we have conritering not sim. ply @ continental br of progress, but one involving the whole y alao from the hist ry of the coral ial ot the ific, that while the and post tertiary elevations were on the Facitio border of North America, and gradual subsidence wan in progress over Fegio? across the mi tdle of the ocean. the axis of the Pacific ts not only the maift trend of ita lands, but le also nearly the course of the great aubsidency vrhieb is indicated by the history of the goral islands, t cy regi giving a fina! completion to tl ‘aD wi na I have elaowhera G ed, involved the latitudes about the whole inwe sigh aan; yults of the post-tertiary G ‘appreben res period etna Perceive that there was vast importance in these finishing operations over the sphere; tha} during pd yn geen | centuries the phenomenon of the drift took place, covering hills and that the valleys for our rivers were ti either made or vastly enlarged; that immense alli een out ip terraces over the intertor and in flats along Cor apis large part of the brighter fea- e globe were H of the earth at Ist stood at i 3 educed; their full altitude, having 5 and ranges, were sent on reno- vating missions over the breadth of the continents. In- deed, the upper terraces of the rivers show that di the post tertiary these interior waters had an extent an¢ power bee | beyond what the streams now exbibit—an extent which is yet unexplained, unless attributabiec, as | have suggested, to the declining snows of a glacier ep»cn. In their strength they deeply channelled the bills, and wrought out much of the existing sublimity of mountan architecture. There was the elimination of beauty aad of immediate utility in every stroke of these later waters, in striking contrast with the carlier operations of rock- making and mountainlifting; for those very conditions, those surface details, were developed which were most eesential to the pastoral and agricultural pursuits of 1040 im patriarchal times, while that grandeur was impressed on bod earth that ehould tend to raise his goul above its surface. ‘This transter of thé precess of developement from the extremities to the more northern regions, thence evoly- ing these new and more refined qualities of inorganic na- tare aud humanizing the earth, & parallel in organic growth, for the extremities are finisheo and adult size at- tained before the head and inner being are fully prrfoc'od. ‘The is fanciful; yet me he ress peeiaine analogy to be left unsaid on that account in an admirable manner. He ew yr Dana on the excellent paper he read. Prof, Acasmz bad not quite understood the Profoe- sor. Did he understand him to Uhat the earth had pot pasred tl h the changes whi are usually sup ed to bave taken ), by which ocean bottoms have ome mountain } and mountiin ridges ocean bottoms? Did he advance the opinion that no such alter- nations had ever taken place? Prof. Lest commented on the theories of Prof. Dana. Prof. Dasa was of opinion that the alternations—whose occurrence he did not wholly deny—had been much — than was generally 81 Prof. AGass, was satistied the earth had passed h a series of progressive and develope mente, passing step by step from a con suited to the lowest order of v rated animals to that whieh was required for the highest created being—man. Prof. Swarow, of Miszouri, must insist on planting an island in Prof. Dana’s covan—ap island comprising part of Northern Arkansas and Southern Missouri, He could not spare that island. Prof. Dana was not disposed to refuse admittance to the island. Prof, Acasmz inquired after the hunchback on whose back Cincippati rested ? Prof. Dana was not informed on tts subject. Professor Swattow faid that Missoari contained the oldest land in the United Statee—the Missour! iron moun- tain. yretunte Dana was aware that Professor Whitney had eait #0. Professor Swattow had heard the same thing stated by Professer Agassiz, when he lectured in the West, two or three years ago. Professor Daxa mado some further explanations. Mr. Woorwoxts on behalf of the Local Committee, tn vited the members of the association 9 be oan Sees by Mr. Robert Townsend that ey en- ing. He called thom to receive their tickets at the desk. These tickete admitted one member, with his lady or Indiow, An allusion was also made to the press, The section then adjourned, NOTHS ON THE PROGRRS MADE IN TIE COAFT SURVEY, IN Um DICTION TABLES FOR THE TIDES OF TUK UNIT) STATES oO AMT, WE A.D. BACKE, SUPTD., ETC. (Communicated by authority of the Treasury Dept } As #090 a6 tidal observations had accumulated ».f- ciently to make the task a profitable one, Icanged them to be treated, under my immediate direction, by tho methods in most general acceptance. The observations at Old Point Comfort, Virginia, were among the eariiost ‘eed for this purpose, and the labors of Commaader Charlies BH. Davis, U. $. N., then an assistant in the consi survey, were directed to their reduction by the graphical methods pointed out by Mr. Whewell. Thiv work was subsequently continued by Mr. Labvook’s method, by Mr. ry Mitchell, and next the titer of Boston har! Were taken up as aifording certain ad vantages in the observations themselves, #bich . uid not be claimed for thowe of O'4 Point. The system of Mr. Lubbock is founded on ‘he sought by arranging the clements of and fun’s motions, upon which they depend. ing obtained the coefficient of the haif monthly ine quality of tho semidiarnal tide at Boston, from soven years’ observations, the labors of the tite, di ‘vision, and approximate corrections for the parailay w* dectination, | was much tod in attempting the verifleauon by applying to individual udes for a yoar during which we vations, There was a gu ora! agreement on the average, bi Cveir present residuals by carves did not fail to By int corrections for declination and parailax of the creasing and decreasing, we reduced these <iser, Dut still the results wero not sufficient a), fons. With the numerical reductions of the ob servations before referred to, was commenced in 1863, under my !mmodiate direction, by Mr. L. W Meech, a study of the theory of the tides, direct" chiefly to the works of Bernoulli, La Place, Avery, Lab vk and Whewell. The immediate object which [ 5)! in view was the application of the wave theory t the discuesion of our observations. I thought the. the mind of an expert mathematician, directed entirely t * theoretical portions of this work, with direction’ , and full Of verifying resw' “by the compntation ‘would give, probably, the best resclt in this com!) ned Pngsieal and tathemakical investigation. general’ orm of the different functions expres ing same in the different theories, 7 to be satisfactory «s to the lawe of change which ineqaaltiies proseat Whether we adopt, with [a Place, the ides that peri) ‘ica! forces produce effects, or with Avery, thy’ the tidal wave arrives by two or “lore canals; or with "or nouilli and Labbook, the re-vlts of an equilibrium + phe roid; or with Whewell, make @ series of inaqaali(ies rem! menstrual, parallax and deciioation, with diffrent epochs, we arrive at the same general resulta, tha: the heights and times of high water may be represento.’ by certain functit with indeterminate co-efficienta, in the form of which’ the theories in a general way agroe. Ry forming equations from the obsorvations, and obtain ing the numerical values of the coeMcienta by the method used #0 Ca | in astronomical computa «ns, tbe result is accomplished. A general consideration of the 60 ordinates in spac of the moon and sun, without any special theory, would Jead to the same result, representing the luni tidal \uter val b; me and cosines, with indoterm nate co-efficients. Calling I the luni tidal interval from observation, ¢ the mean, oe interval, H the clock time for For the moon’s declination increasing d. sin 3 it + cos 2%. For the moon’s declinstion inequality q. Sine rt Bin 2H+q. Sind, Cos 2 H+ qa aM ing forms or the noqaaities prodacst by tho sau's a sun’s ao- Won; the whole formula takes the form:— Mean interval and i=, -+8 ein 2 B48, con 2 H........4 bal monthly ine- quality. P (P’—57/)-+p? (P’—67’) nin 2h pt atom os pit P, (8P)...-+P! (SP) sin 2H+ps) Hourly dif. D's ti) eon do par, inequality. 4 sim 2 it,.-+q, ain 2 it ein 2 @ sin 21't coe 2 D’s declination in- 4, cow 2 It.--q’s cos 2 It sin 2 H. equalities. q#co8 21" cos 2 +t, sin It Bin 2 Hts ein It cos 3H.. o's lax ine- + cos It sin 2 H- qualities, cos It cos 2 H.. +4, sin 2 it ein 2 @ sin 2 It cos 2 H | ©’s declination in- +@ 008 2 it sin is 3 equalities. Q 008 2 it cos 2. Th of the ‘one year at observations Boston, ply method, the formation of the equations and their solution by the raethod of indirect elimination bas None the He s Mr. R. L. (Avery, who bas labored most ueutly aud successfully, ingeniously checking his work where the am of checks ouuld’ be applied, at every step. He determined the values of 4 of the co efficients for Boston, as follows: — A=+58.47, d=— 3.17, d =—35.62, p=— 0.98, Pes 56 S=-10.49, ¢ =411.97, pis} 1.31, pio— 1.21, fae P+ 0.60, qa— 7.1%, qa} 1.81, = 2.91, gt — cies 1.9 There are proponitio: ating this work, grow- ing out of the experience acquired in the compel 8, teived before provouncing. tion wbem” it iy Sono ing upon that by epplying Lubbock’s metuod of aversges to some of the approximate values may be found more readily by the method we have employed. Two additional terms for the eun’s declina- tion, D. sin 2 It. and D cos 2 It. will be troduced. esent to the association the tables computed by Mr. Avery for applying this method to the iction of the tides at Boston harbor. In order to teat the co-efficients, computations were made for different parts of tho months of the year 1853, for which we have obeervations. Transit was used as the transit of reference. The difference between the predicted and observed results are shown in the annexed table, the p lohaargre of which contains the dates of the last, tides, the id rae ee irrouped te the morning an grouped o get rid of the diurnal inequality, there are two differences of aess thao two 2 m., thirteen of more than 2 m. and less than 4 m., three of more than 4 m. and legs than 10 m., two of morethan 10m. The probable error of the pre- diction of a single pair of tides is 4h. 12 m. These laborious researches are still in progress, but I have thought that the results already obtained required @ notice of them and a@ recognition of the labors of Messrs Meech and Avery— Comparison oF OpseRvED aND PRepicreD Times oF HiGH Warsk, Bostox, Massacavserms, Time of High Water. Mean 47 8] 3)—17 329) 20) 32); ~09)/—13 260) 11) 21)—70 498] 23) 48) ~18)]—44 M7) 2) 20)—~17 453) 14) 42) ~ 3-3] — 25 16-9} 6} 21 41 61-5 | 18 | 59 Tm 58 198} 10 | 18 | — 1-8 40-2 | 22 | 36) ~ 42) — 30 184) 11) 18) — O04 44-7 | 23 | 49 43 20 345 | 2] 89 4.5 23/15) 3 OT 26 o77{ 6) 7 os 24:3 | 18 | 87 12-7 neo e 9} 31 36 52-2 | 21 | 63 os 23 1] 0} 3 20 103 | 12 | 12 17a 23 6o4) 4) 7 16 248) 16) 4) -—08 33 SOT] 7) 44 43 11-6 | 20 | 15 a4 a9 Uy] 4) —21 Sd} 43 | 30] 211) —16 47) 1540) — 47 TTL MM] Tim OTL 27 MS) 5) 10) — 65 67-8 | 17 | 68 o2)—27 72) 3) 9 16 284 30 16 la 32:6 31) — 1-6 oT 62) — 87) — 52 m4 | 26 36 65" 42) 11-3 | — 3-9 Qe 2) 27-4 big 41 | —13-0 | —202 458) 4) 63 72 33-9] 17 | 00) —39 Mt seven 06 #12 Number of differences lees than 2 minutes=2. Number; of difleren°cs more than 2min., & less than 4=13 “ ‘ 4 “ l= 8 “ “ * 10min,, PHYSICAL SECTION. The chair was taken by Professor McCoy. Professor Roarns presented two philosophical inatru- ments called the rovscope and the gyroscope, and pro- ceeded to expiaia them. He was followed by Professor Bartlett, of West Point, Profeseor Pierce, Professor Henry and otuers, who made several experiments with the instruments. A special committee consisting of the following gontie- men :—Professor Bache, Chairman; Dr. Poters, of Cam bridge, Dr. Jones, of Cambridge, and Professor Chan- venet, of Annapo!'s, was appointed at the tion of Professor Bache. repert, at the next Conv }, Upon Mr. Alvan Clarke's new y of the teleaco; the measurement of coteetiat arcs. o: ‘The next paper in orde: was on the AYPROXIMATR COTIDAL LINEM OF DICKNAL AND SkMI-DITRNAL TIDES OF THR COAMT OF THR UNITED STATEX ON THE GULY OF MPXICO BY A.D. PACUR, SUPERDVTENDENT UNITED STATRS COAST SURVEY. COMMUNICATED BY AUTHOWTTY OF TUE TREASURY DEPARTMENT, (Abstract. } ‘This paper is supplementary to those on cotidal I\nes of the Atlantic and Pacific coasts heretofore communicated to the association, Preparation was made at the jast meeting for these conclusions by presenting the type curves of the Gulf const. The tides from Cape Florida to St. George’s are of the usual type, with a re daily inequality. From St. George’s to ‘the mouth of the Mis. sizeippi they are of the si day type. Then the halt day Udes reappear to extend beyond Udes recurring at Aransas, in Texas, and the ty pe curves were presented. them with a diurpa! an ‘The tide tations extend servations are much wanted ond it to complete the invertigution, on the south side of the Straits of Florida, ee ee en eee ees, epecially between ard Yocatan, . trance of the Gulf from the Car bbean sea, rg ie A tablo of the ttations at which the observations were made, heights of tide (rise and fall) obeerve:, and of the baifday and day tides, was given; and another pag Ep eberrver. represented on a di ; which « navigator may tind the rise and fall of tite 4 proximaiely on any part of our Gul! coast. The least uine tenths of a foot, The greatest ie at Cedar Koys, i Flor and is two and a half feet. The difficul tee the problem presenied by these tides ase explained, removable in part by the progress of the survey of the Gulf, inherent in them in part. Toe labors of Mr. Pourtales end gentlemen cou cerned in the dt § edged. The iy discussed by fors retra:kably in certain parte of the lunar month. A @iagram shows the general form of the curve of interval between the moon's transit and high water, Advantage is taken of the part of the curve which ol but hule in ordinate to obtain an average Juul tidal interval vor. responding in kind with the pumber for semi diurnal tides, known as the estadiehbment. These tides oocur about the period of greatest declination of the moon, These intervals, LF ay ag declination, vary greatly uur ing the year , and the form of carve showing the annual chat ge i prevented, as deduced (rom obsorvations at Key West, Fort Morgan (Mobile enirance), and Galveston, as well as from San Frapeieco, on the Westera cuast, wuete the results are remarkably regular. These annual curves are weed to deduce the average number for the interval of the daily tifes from short series of observa- tions ; the Nmnite of uncertainty of the process are point. ed out, These intervals are next turned into cotidal hours by the usual process of correcting for the dier- ence of longitude, for transit, for depth, and by the pro- cows just described for the annual change, A table of 00. tidal hours for the various stations is given. By it the tide ware passit through Mistlenipy and jatorally to the western coast of the peninsula of Flor ‘om south to north, and alcng tho southern coast of Uy Flori‘, along the eastern const of Louisiane from the Southwert Pass northward, and along the coast of Missiasippl, Aleo, into the Gulf between southwert pars apd Grande, in euch & way that Galveston has, as the head of the Gulf, the Intest cotidal forming groupe of stations, as ex the direc'ton of the nd the velocity termined. The di termined. ained, and the general %y thet are shown ta 8 tab wn ore gave dna, and. the reels stay of the or the daily dal hour of the nortbern shore hours, twenty-seven occurring wheh Galv hour, By 7 diurnal wave as indicated by three hours is ala® sown. The general motion of the wave is jike theb of the diurnal wave, with very characteristic culigs ities. From the line of deep water ji Tortugas and Southwest [aes at tho en- twance of the the eemi-diurnal wave reaches & the stati. on the western coast of the Piorida peoingula in this order, from south to north und weet. Tue «mave~ orter of Ment west of St. George's uppears to be in the Pensacola, Fort Morgan and Cat Island, whtie diurnal wave it wee Oat Island, Fort Morgan, crease of estublichment, as if another semi-diorn ! wa brought the ‘ides there. ‘The mean cotidal hour of the fiver sections west of Southwest Pass is 20h. 6 m., while that o® Southwest Pass and three east of it ie 16 b. 17 m., a differ ence of about fou- hours. This, taken with the rem vr! ready made in regard to the appearance of two bigh tere in the curves for Isle Dernier and Caloasicn, indicat a system of interferences yet to be unravelied. 49 was the case with the diurnal wave, the stationg at lo Der- ier and Calcasieu gave cotidal hours very like those of Brazos Santiago and Aransas, and Galveston is later than either. The diflerences between the cotidal hours for the diurnal and seri diurnal tides are shown im a tabie. The grou; of ths semi-diurpal reeults is next made, and the results tabulated and drawn on a diagram map. This map also shows the cotida] lines ded |. The co~ tidal lines of thirteen and fourteen hours only appear om the coast of the Florida Keys ; that of sixteen hours is well marked, near Egmont Key (Tampa), and passes around the ehore of the great : A ae Louisiana and Florida, to near Southwest The iine of eighteen hours is at the head of the between Bt George’s and Cedar Keys, and in that near Cat Island ; the lines of sixteen and 1 have succeeded each other closely in the bay to the weetward of Southwest Pass. In com; the two sets of cotidal lines for the diurval apd semi-diurnal waves, we find resemblance in the great bay between the west- . ern coast of Florida and the eastern coast of Leui- siapa, The lines of 24, 26 and 26 of the diurnal tide on tho eastern side of the bay, corresponding generally with 16,17 and 18 of the semi-diurnal tides and 26 and 26 hours of the diurnal tide on tho western wide of the bay corresponding generally to 16 avil 17 of the semi diurnal. On the sout! coast of Florida, b: the Keys, on the contrary. the lines of 19, 20, 21, 22 23 hours succeed each other rapidly between Cap2 Fiori- da and the Tortugas, in the diurnal series, along tne same shores in the sem{-diurnal tide. On nal system, while 16, 17, 18, 19, 20 and 21 ovcur in the game space between Southwest Pass and Brazos Sap- in the same diurnal} tite, ‘he section then adjourned, ON TH PARALLELISM OF ROCK FORMATIONS IN NOVA SCOTIA, WITH THOSE OF OTHRK PARTS OF AMERICA, BY PROF. DA WBON, OF M’CILL COLLEGE, MONTREAI—READ LKYORE THE AS800LA~ TON AVG, 21, 1856. The author stated that it was his intention to give # sketch of the ‘atest state of information respecting the sequence of formations in this part of America, with the view of eliciting comparisons with rocks of similar age im other parts of the continent He first noticed the evidence of a recent subsidence of the lant, to the amouat of 30 feet or more, afforded by beds of stampa of pine and beech, in situ, observed at low tide in tue Bay of Fundy, and connected this appearance with sitaliar evidences of modern subsidence in other parts of the east coast of America. He next noticed the boulder formation, re- marking that it consists of two members—a’ liner or boulder, clay resting in some places on ancient beds of peat and layers of sand and gravel, but more fre- quently on strated and polished rock surfaces; and ‘upper or gravel the land, when being elevated above the waters which had covered it in the boulder period. The moat impor- tant fact, however, in relatio 1 to the boulder formation ia Nova Scotia was that it showed the transport of biocks by ica, notin one, but in various directions, depending om the existing features of the surface. this many exam- ples were given The next formation observed in Nova Scotia is a red fandstone and trap deposit, known to overlie the coal- Dearing rocks aud to belong to the mesosoic period of gecirgists, but otherwise of uncertain age. Perbaps the existing evidence tende towarda a Peruvian date. aici: great carboniferous 8 wi in its several subuivisiona—the oer eee mg a4 the millstone gut, the tim marine limestone, gypsum and red ¢: lower necuco coal formation. Particular laid on the local differences im on of Nova Scotia. by the exis: featurea try, aad on the connection ef these with ences observed oes ee scale in the gri of the United *ates. ular circums' May in Nove Scotia bave ittseis em nent Bheis ab and footprints of bairachians, or sala- ee Rete ee ‘was also advertod to, Nits Cider than the carhonifero all dis 4, aod in meee crop. Lone erdei ea, it wes dificult to erie the trae age ana relations of these older rocks. ‘The author was at work op the subject, and trusted, with the aid of Profoesor Hali, soon to attain decisive results. At present peared that there were foesiliferous rocks reaching fg he Clinton to the Oriehapy series; and than s t series of altered” noo foeilierons wustts wae and slates, with mica-slate, gneiss and granite, whicl be of lower silurian The auther invited mig! . rs ists present to state ad titional instances of shel oe divergence whieh might occur to them. yeas Fourth Day. MORNING GENERAL SESSION. Atnany, Aug, 23, 1856, Prof. Hait took the chair at 104; o'clock, The Secretary announced, as @ report from tbe Stand- would preeest hie report on ling vistte ¢thnology on Monday morning. ‘The Standing Comuittes also referred the subject of he establishment of a new section of ethnology and political economy to the Sectional Committee, to take action thereon. An invitation was received from the New York State Agricultural Socicty to the members to visit their rooms. Accepted, with thanks, ‘The following goutlemen were proposed and ad ritted to membervbip:—Mesers. Jas. Hyatt, M. Gottle, J. E, Whipple, J. P. 8. Gifford, 0, Marey, Dr. Wm, Ewderboss, J. Allen, Naban Hail, Judge Ormond, R. 0. Dorewus, D, Cameron, Dr. H. Townsend, Dela’ W. Green, I. D. Green, Takia, D, ee,” Wane Beare) Fooret, 5 Wane, B. © Biche, 3. T. Ro J Downes, E. A. . et ae wpe, E Barber, 0. W. Treadwell, ‘ue moved that Prof, Haidoman’s report read ob Munday aMornooe, not morning, as aay pot DeTs Were going ONt Of Wor and would pot be beck the afternoon of Monday, Garriad, grape THE COINAGE. Dr. Cimon moved @ iewoiution to the elloet that the Committee on Weiglts, Measures and Coinage De relleved of the consideration of the last men- tioned rubject, and that © new committee be appoimied to examine and repert upon the on OD Dn ‘ed OF MONET, Aud to devise & moans the introduction of a general uniform ayatem of coin- age een ——— He remarked that the Brueh govern Were at the present moment engaged in oon- nideripg the propriety of introducing a new currency aod @, And the German nations ¥ titer coinage. He considered tbat the Unite! tates shoula ke the eame opportunity of reviewing end, as it war a epectal subject, that Three. Bacur (of the C . Bacux (of the Commities on Weights, Mearures and Congo) did not see the necessity lor the appoint- pent of any ne The committee had met twice at the request his desire, ano jupic tion to make to . ay os Se, eae contoremnn we Ge tetjesh rogats where ® ie. 3 cut apee mnow bat no doubt of Se tapeen hae one Mitiee to do jumuce to the sulject, they bed baw itm ay end mean «tile the a ae op ata rate than Py GLY coinage. ed a separeie commit Colpage, leaving the sub apother. colpn were going abroad in came back in the same shape. Prof, Bacr® paid that the accemmodate Jr Bttentively to by was Jed on ibet o ts ot be diereveres from it The lion of abandon ng the «ul requinite to — or bring out Were ready to adurees the Secretary Treasury the Director of the Mist, or Ay? MH they bad frequently ask actical mewuree on ue ir best to giv Well with it, Why take Ductor desire to change @iferent cone vw» tone fro: Taittee had too much power but leave the venue where ail the time ane attention the memverw of the committee were deal with the question of coinage, Inetance, had writen some works never read; and ot! j i i Mi ai if fi if : ine Ht i iH ¥. | ? e9E opportunity be ny with referene iz 35 es eS i EE Ee