The New York Herald Newspaper, August 31, 1856, Page 2

2 ed he been living, might have listened to Agaseia with faterest and profit, Tow is excuse n devoung © bem the space they bave oogup’ OO. g1 SURVEY. Otber papers Were read ‘n the Physical section, on the rewth of Sandy Hook, the state of the Hudson river anke, So , from the materials collected by Prof. A. D. Bache in the course of the coast survey. At the viose of ene of these papers Prof. Pierce took occasion to pay to Prof. Bache the very compliment which I paid him in a better a couple of days smee. He said that he had no he- ‘Station in calling the coast eurvey the greatest work in & eetentitic pointof view, and also m repect of its material Denelits, hat bad ever been undertaken by tho hand of mun. Prof. Pierce, mathemat¢lan as he 1s, can be elo quent att be was $0 om this occasion, and what he said was fully apprcclated aud re-echoed by bis audience. Profs. Alexander & also rose toadd their meed Of praise, Wicd, Luin proud to say, was every whit de- werved. Prof. Bache, who covered up his face while these tit men were doing him jrstice, is raising a monument will place bis name hereafter by the side of the ee bames in science, and is reliectiug, perhaps, more , Uponz his country thao ali the politicians who il) the newspapers and men’s mouths, 8 subject, I may mention Dr. Le If Sireau, which attracted a great deal of attention, and has beea pronounced one of te most valuable papers of the session. The paper shows ‘bow the Gulf Stream has built the peninsula of Florida, fend bow ‘t is affecting and slowly changing the climate of ‘Buroj ] most refer you to the paper itseif for further . Of this, ag of the coast survey, one may ask the tion: where, in any division of the world, de you Sor science appiled to such noble, such practical resuns? THR SOUTHRKN BOUNDARY, ‘You will find the geological character of the Southern well laid down im the paper by Mr. Schott, one of y's party on his expedition. A few months, or perbaps years, bence, you will have these papers pub- Bebed ta thick volumes octavo, and our worthy members ef Congress will make an honest penny by selling them the booksellers. Meanwhile the readers of the Eexatp ‘will bave the satisfaction of getting at their pith ia a con. ple of columns. Yam compelled to pigs over several other important papers that were read yesterday. on various branches of science. I must stop, however, to pay @ complitnent to Professor Wolcott Gibbs, whose communication on the ‘ammonia cobals bases is pronounced by experienced ehemists to be one of the most valuable papers presented ‘to the association. It has involved not only great know- Jedge and remarkable powers of philosophical discrimi- mation, but research of the most careful and laporious ebaracter; and his colleagues say that, considering the severe duties which Professor Gibbs is discharging at New York. it reflects uncommon credit upon him, aod jes the German prediction that he would prove a shining light in his peculiar brauch of science. CONNAGR. A further movement is, I understand, about to be made with a view to effect a genera) assimilation of the coinage, hts, mens and stancards of the commercial world. ‘It is proposed to torm an asgeciation consistin, ef the @ ost eminent persons in the country, which shall De placed in possession of the whole subject, and shall be @uthorized to memorialize Congress, and take what mea. wuree may de deemed {it to Dring the matter properly be- fore foreign governments. Of such a project there is but me remark to make. No corporate body can, im fact, possess executive activity; and if we wait till associations Femodel our coinage, aud give us uuiform weights aad measures, we may wait till doomsday. If, indeed, such ‘ap association as is projected could obtain the services of ‘® man whose character stood high euough to inspire re- wpect, and whose capacities grasped the whole subject— who could to the authority of the ation unite the r of the one man power—then g from the scheme. But where is ? FRSTIVIEIES, ETC. ‘The tent is being raised in view of the Capitol under which Mr. Everett is to deliver his oration. ks are aid, and al! is in readicess for a grand celebration. Mr. Everett is here already, and no doubt bas his speech fm bis pocket. The local committee are untiring in their efiorts to amuse tho members. On Monday thero was @ seiree at the Geological Hall, diversitied by a lecture from Professor J. D, Dana, on the net results of scientific re- gearch, followed up’ by ice cream. Last evening Mrs. Dedley gave a reception, at which all the world made their bow: and the evenings at the hotels are as gay and Pheasant as ever. Sixth Day’s Proceedings. ALDANY, Aug. 28, 1856. PHYSICAL SECTION. Trofeeeor Pierce wm the chair. ‘The eection subdivided itself into two sub-sections— ene of mathematics and astronomy, the other of physics, ebemietry and meteorology. SUB-SECTION OF MATHEMATICS AND ASTRONOMY. Professor Horsvorp in the chair. Mr. FE. B. Exuort read two papers, entitled 1. Tables of Prussian mortality interpolated for annual ftervals of age, accompanied by formule and process for construction. 2 Process for deducing accurate average duration of Ife, present values of life annuities, and ether useful tables involvin; contingencies, from returas of popu ation and deaths, without the intervention of a general Prepared at dying are radly deficient. The present Secretary of State for Massachusetts has liberally consented to a change fm the registration report for 1855, which, by add. mg somewhat te the pense, will aiford material for the catisfactory construction of a Life table for er of the population of the commonwealth. Elhott briefly indicated the patare of the tables pre ‘and the formula and process for construction. described the more common methods ot framing life fables, and contrasted them with the improved metoods mow presented. He illustrated the difference by diagrams Baprenenting the intensity of mortality in various commu by curves. He then discussed different methods for deducing from the ratio of the dying to the living, ‘within certain intervals of age, the probability that oue ving at the earlier age will attain the later, aad indicated accurate method for accomplishing that end, whether a the deaths for the period be | uniform or de- creasing. ext pointed out an abridged method for com average duration of life, lite annuities and otber tables, from omy go and mortality returns. @eredy reducing the labor of woeks to hours, and giving Peeults almost kientical with those obtained by tedious ‘mterpolation. Below are annexed, for comparison, a copy ef the results obtained by the diferent methods — Avmage Duration of LAfe, at Certwin Ages, Daducel from raw od Maho By Inter, ‘ton. A rthods. ‘polation. ihe iW ied 41.49 28 4. un al 42 27.39 20.61 208 Mu MwA eeeees om 919 “ e 6.06 6o business bef me the sub rection was the con the giecussion of the nebelar bypothesi, 1s . alexander, Prof, MoCoy and i’rof. Pierce ook part. Mr. J. E. Hnoanp then discussed the terrestrial mag- Betis elements for the Uulted States, from odservations tm the Coast Survey and others. THE COAST SURVEY. close of bis remarks Prof. Pence said that he would rot let the present occasion pass witbout remark much they owed to the Coast Survey, It was, work that had ever been undertaken, at the present time. aspe® would add that it @ost less por mile surrey of the lands of the United States. He y compare the survey, in respect of its nicety operation of the chemist who saw a tear fall frow beautiful girl, and though half of it eva remainder, and told what were the noble labors. The sub rection then adjourned. ABSTRACT OF PROF. ALEXANDER'S COMMUNICATION OW TRY LOST PLANET BETWEEN MARS AND JUPITER —PRESENTED AUG. 25, 1856. In this paper Protessor ALaxaspen succinctly re-stated the principal features of his hypothesis advanced Mest year, vic that Were was originally bat one planet between Mara and Jupiter, and that this, tastend = Ordipary form, approximating closely to a sphere, abape mach ike That ota very thin wafer the eq gatorial Giameter being cvormous in comparison with the polar In one determination of the equatorial diameter he made ‘ase of the mass of the planet derived from a Bon of manses and distances, which itself see juence of the nebular hypothesis. Four othor de terminations , however, given io that connexion Dut that @#hich included the mort extensi\e reiations was falao the most consistent with other aud independent re wulte. ‘The other method of obtaining the eaatorial diameter ommatoned, - lying the ditfe. renee of the velocities of those asteroids which approach mont nearly to one, and live their aphelia aod perihelia otively. two indeperdent resuits were as follows — Equatorial diameter. a {ee} miles. ‘The polar diameter must haye been very small, as it ‘Was independent of the density. With a density equal to that of the earth, it would ly from about 836 to Ti ty mules. No leas than eleven facts were stated, which thi hypothesis would reconcile. The recently discovere! asteroids had the position of their orbits represented, ‘end the inciination of the orbit of the original planet was deduced anew, and iound to be about 4 deg. 20 min, SROTION OF ZOOLOGY AND PTHNOLOGY. Prof, Anderson ip the chair Mr. Hiwry R. Senooucnart began (0 read a paper on the structure of the Algooquin language. PRTTUFACTIONS ‘The following paper was then read by J. H. Corrim on #0 called petrifactiont — Descriptions of petrified human bodies are occasionally ym in American newspapers, which to those whu Observes bedies whic! have beea fed inte adipocire, are appl cable in every particular to this sub ‘A correspondent of the Rushville, in Republican, men. tione the ing case of petrifaction of a human body — A case of (ila kind Was witnessed by the writer, in this county, « few years ago. The subject, a boy about sixteen years of age, bad been buried about seven yoars. The skin and mureles on the neck extremities, except the hands and fect, were in apertect state of preservation, the skin in some places Goring 8 smooth, and in others a wrinkled appearance. The whole had, by some process, been converted into stone. One of the arms wae with some dim euilty dewebed from ihe body, and carefully washed and mj substance ite Nil appearaboens inthis . ap) chance ile iias rsond So oie Tu this cage the supposed conversion into stone was observed in the muscular or fleshy parts; the bones were “moveable in their stony encasements;”’ the skin of os: scous parts had ‘entirely disappeared.’? The entire de- scription is strictly applicable to buman bodies which have been changed into adipocire; and the properties of adipocire are such as to mislead thoge who are not ac- quainted with the change to which animal substances are liable to the belief that petrifaction has occurred. The element, moreover, in which the body is supposed to bave been immersed is that ia which the chemical trans fermation occurs. The removal of haman remains from chureh yards to rural cemeteries, which is of frequent occurrence now, has brought converted into adip ocire to the notice of unscientific individuals who have published descriptions of them a. nipinatenn An amination of the specimen now ibited will show ho’ easily the deception may occur. There cannot be any doubt that all specimens of supposed human remains, disipterred in Serene, are juliar sub stances named adipocire by Fourcroy—a substance with whose properties scientific individuals generally are fami- liar, from actual ebeervation or published descriptions. A knowledge of the properties of adipocire en ables us to explain the change of ition of dead bodies in graves, and the AbD turning of a buried alive,” wTich have led to the po vular belief that bodies so turned were buried before death ov- curred. This changed position has beem observed ia the skeleton after the desomporition of the adipocire and dis- eppearance of all the soft parts; and in one instance, which came under my own observation, a relative of the de ceased person supposed the interment had been mate before the death. The body of another relative of the same individual was discyvered at the same time floating in its coffin, as adipecire, in the water in which the adipo cire bai been formed; ana furnished at once, to my mind, the explanation of a change of posit'ou, which had beea referred to voluntary motion during the imagined agony of dywg in the grave. Before udipocire is formed in aves the coffins are filled with water, after they have del water-tight from the ewelling of the wood, from contact with water. In this tluid the body, after i's con- version into adipocire, floats, as has been observed in this town; and as the water egcapes when the collin begins to leak from decay, or as the supply of water diminishes io dry seasons, the body, it settles down, takes various positions, according to the parts which firet come in contact with the surrounding solids, or the specific gravity of its seve ral parts, which placed it in new positions while floating I find the specific gravity of pure pieces of the specimen on exhtbition to vary from 782 to 858. It will ve observed, then, that the &} fic gravity of adipocire is sufticiently below that of water to allow the whole body to be buoyed up by this tiuid aud new positions to be giver to it, which are misunderstood, and in a'l cases are referred to voluntary turning after interment, I bave found the Jower limbs crossed as bigh as tue thighs, after all the soft parts had disappeared; and, in the case already referred to, the upper part of the body and head were clevated and inclined t) one side, far from the po sition on the back as the body had been iaterred. 1a the turped position the bones were restiug tp the earth, aad to ail who examined them the proof seemed conclusive that interment had been made prior to death. The es- cape of gages, generated during decomposition, was for- merly supposed to be the cause of turning of dead bodies; the specific gravity of adipocire and the ditferent specific gravity of ¢ifferent portions of tbe body, from more or lees complete conversion into adipocire, from -700 a 80010 1, will furnish a more satisfactory and, Goubtless, the true explanation of the change of position. Itis not the design of this paper to furnish a description of a substance well known to the scientitc world, but simply to call tion to the socalled petrified himan bodies and the “turning’’ of interred bodies, facts inter- esting scientifically, or as furnishing the explanation of a phenomenon which bas too often been the occasion of new grief to the friends and relatives of those whose bocies have been moved from the positions in which they were deposiied im the grave. Adi pecire has’ not attracted much attention for several Fears past. The experiments of Doctor Gibbes, reported in the “Philosophical Transactions for 1794 and 1795,’ seemed conclusive as to the formation of this substance from fibrin. An excellent article on its chemical relations has been published iv the * 8 of the American Philosophical Society,’’ from tie pen of Charies M. We il, Ph. D , M. D., of Phitadelphia, read Jan. 19, 1859. obser vat ons are necessary; but a simple exeri- mination of a body before the adipocire has beea mu :h de- composed, ant wile the bones are encased by it, would convert ever? oue to the belief of the truth of the early theory of its formation, viz., tuat it is changed fibria. Fat if not sumficieatly abundant in aay human boty to form such @ mas of adipecire. Further. in one cuse— the tloatipg bovy re‘erred to above—the individual died of consumptioa, a cisease, as is well known, in which the fat is largely absorbed. The specimen for exhibtuen and examination beivre the association was obtained from a rave d in a churchyard op the 14th of September, 855. It is @ portion of a human body interred seventeen years previously. T rsop, & female, was abuut seventy yeara of age at death. The afipocire was com- paratively dry. Ip another case, the coffiu was Gilled with ‘water, containing the ficating body, seven years alter ita interment. Interesting remarka were made on this paper by Profs. Horsvakp and Giri ss. Yrof. Scwarven, of Cincinnati, said he kmew of a case at Cincipnati where a genticman fad bad occasion to disinter bis wile some time after burial; be found her body quite petrified. The circumstance had hoon kept ome ol ~ mimitz, wine might mot like this dis of alarming. he cqm pocet Ut ONE CELLED ANIMAL The next paper in order was by Professor Acassiz, It was the third and concluding portion of bis communica tien on animal developement, being a sketch of one-ce!lod apima's, Ge said that thirty yoars bad elapsed since Schwan het discovered that the es Of animals apd plants were toe fame and were all com of cells. Lever since that time the investigation of the similarity had been the cnier object of physiological study. Aout twelve years ago it was first suggested that might be ani a3 weil As plente consisting of one cell only. Now, there was no point in physiology of greater importance than the obtatn- ing a clear insight into the and (ur ctions of cells. If t ever was shown that « cell was an organize! beng With power of reproducing itself, with a speci‘ic chara all ite own, the importance of cells in animals which ars composed of many cells would at once become far greater than it ever baa been. We proceed in two adi rections \o recognive the importance of indivtdual c in the coonomy ot animated beings ; and hence we must ask the question—are there any one celled animal ‘The botanists bave proved thal there are one celied plaats. ‘Thwaite bas sbown that there esist one celled algi, which combing and reproduce pew individuals of their species. No doubt was left, therefore, of the existence of one celled plants, Botanists im Munich, in England and else where had placed the fact beyond controversy that there were piants which bad but ove cell during the whole of their existence. Zoologists—among others Siebold— bad pureved the same investigations with regard to ani mals, and bad shown that certain organised betnga exbi bited ag aimoilar to the one celled plants. Unfor. tunately, their investigations on these pointa had not beyond question, for they had not reality animals and not plants. They take for granted that the infusoria in which clats they found their one celled animals, are animals; but that was disputed. He, for one, did uot believe that there was any group im tbe anima! world to which the name of ifucoria could be properly applied. Brown has proved that many types #bich were meer 4 classed a4 infueoria were merely one celled algi. Ali those infusoria which have ne alimentary canal must be removed from the list of auimaie aud re. stored to the vegetable kingdom. Another division, by vorticele he had carefully examined, aud believed them to be mollusks. There was nothing left for infusoria but that class in which a mouth aad ao alimentary canal coald be detested, and he had beon enabled to ave these hatched from eggs laid by worms. They were, in fact, mere em bryos. The presumption was that the three great groups of infusoria must be removed from the animal kingdom Dana and Liebig bad come to this conclusion {rom diter- ent evidence—the one from embryological, the otber from homological evidence, and thus the whole of the infusora were gene Tne learned Professor then revertet to the common hen’s egg, of which he drew a sketch on the black board; and he cheerved that after segmentation (which was a division of the yolk fret into two, then into more parts) the animal within detached itself from the covering of the yolk, and revolved om an axia, strange to say, pre cigely Itke the solar bodies of our system. The albunen, or white of the egg, was slowly absorbed into the yolk as the plastoderm increased io breadth, Ths an origi nal diseovery of the speaker's. When he mado this \is covery he happewed to be studying the family of turtles, and be noticed the same phenoinenon there. "It occurred in fact in all animals in whore oggs there was a yolk. In the eggs of turties, in which the yolk was much smaller in proportion to the albumen than in the fowl, the germ to develope the moment the’ whole of the albumen is absorbed into the yolk. Ina few hours the yolk expanded till it filled the shell, There was a wholesale introduction of the albumen into the yotk bag. Now, whet wasa yolk bag but a cell? The little chicken or the young turtle was in fket a one celled animal, though the contents of the yolk contained the compli ated organs of the embryo. All animals are, at some period or other of their develope ment, one celled animals, as long as their substance is contained inthe yolk bag. The cells difler among one celled animais a: the coils forming part of au aoimet etrocture differ among themsel vee. angular cells of the intestines and epidermis @ ~ from the elongated ceilv of the nervous and museus fibre; bat such difer All animals in which the obce® turt not be mietak York revolves cease to he Ned animals when they throw off the envelope in which they are contained; but #0 long as it retal that onvelo pe the little chicken Was a one celled animal Tho next paper was one on the influence of light and water on the direction of the plumole and radicle in the germination of plants, by James Dascown This led to some ussion, in whieh Professor Agassiz and others joined Then Professor A ase” made some remarks oO Vivira Iuty abd OVirAKiiY, a8 lollows = FOOS AND INPANTS, Profersor Agas#'s said thar ths was a mort important question. At one time the mode of bringing sorth young was made the basis of a classification of animals: those which brought forth eggs being in one class, and those which brought forth young being in another. Progress has since been mace, zoologivta are now aware that n is there any relationship between the animais which bring forth in like manner, nor, on the other hand, does a contrast in this re imply Jiference ot cla Among oviparous anima’ some species are found whi are wiriparous; and, on the other hand, some oviparous species are found among viviparous animals. Some — ry 4 A forth if youn then be salt that oviparity or qooer thes — famiy? iit vf spar ‘or ovigaray | Occur in same U vi n- we should Rerabige eS v i independent, NEW YORK HERALD, SUNDAY, AUGUST 31, 1856. : Mammalia usugly but our possums and ip a sort of balf dev the fully develo) marsu) are geverall state. y ape Tee pred until the cond birth arrives. © y precisely the same mapner as. r mamma! under d:fterent circumstances, does it test dillerence whether there be a Placental connection 1s quite irrelevant to zoological cias- sification. The best illustration of thia is to be seen in the sbark family. The sbark is a true natural family, in which there sre three diiferent groups, with different me- thods of bringing forth their young, Some sharks are oviparous, eome viviparous; and again, some of the vivi- parous sharks carry their young about in a pouch after parturition, until their full Sergent. But in all cases the developement of the egg in evary is the samo; in all the embryo developed itself above the sur- face of the yolk of the egg, and ai a certain stage, some threw off while othera retained Now, the process of develo) which he had do- scribed in the shark took in all families in which there were both oviparous and viviparous types; tucres fore it was proper to infer that no claseifiation could pos- sibly be based on Mee nog and viviparity 30 20 long &- the developement, which was typical of the mode of thought, so t© speak, impressed on each animal in its growth, was identical, Nor was it possible to establish a classification of ani- mals on the basis of peculiarities of structure; aud 10 his respect the course pursued by Cuvier must sooner or jater be abandoned, It seemed at trst sight a back ward step to recede from the old classification of the primary groups upon peculiarities ol structure; but he trusted ‘bat it was @ etep forward, and in the right direction, ‘The section then adjor vurmed. SUB-SECTION OF PHYSICS, CHEMISTRY, ETC. Prof_Baxxarp ip the chair, Dr. Wotcorr Gusks presented & paper on researches on on - ammonia-cobalt bases by himself and Dr. F. A. Gen It led to a long ciscuscussion, which was purely techni ca} in its character. The next paper read was the plan of the reduction of the meteorological observations reported to the Smith- sonian Institution by James H. Corriy, The Section then adjourned, AFTERNOON SESSION. ‘There was no general meeting this afternoon, on assembling the members dispersed into the several sections, GEOLOGICAL SECTION. FOSSIL, WHALES, Dr. Hamrus, of Maine, presented some remains of fossil cetacea, with the following remarks: — Thave the pleasure of presenting to the notice of the section some fossils of a cetacean, w! were discovered more than a year ago, the banks of the Penobscot, in the city of Bangor. were found io a post pliocene deposit, forty-seven feet below the surface of the earth, and about eighty miles distant from the open sea. As they lay in the clay they observed that inclination wo- wards the north which has been before observed by naturalists, especially by M. Cortesi, in his discoveries in Italy. In many ees gy this cetacean resembles very closely one deacril by Prof. Eschricht, and before ven turing upon ar Thave thought proper to communi cate with him. I would also present to your notice some vertebrw from North some from Mars land, aul also three cetotolites from the latter State, one of which 1 think to be identical with one described by Owen. These fossils are found in tertiary and diluvial deposits, aud often in such fragments as to render an exact determina tion very difficult. Very little has been written upon this sub) Nearly all that has been dove is by Cavier, but Pe . Eschricht, of Copenbagen, promises to supply the ‘The next paper read was ON THE AGENCY OF THE GULF STREAM IN THE FORMATION OF THE PENINSULA AND KEYS OF FLORIDA, BY JOSEVH Le- CONTR. Iu the winter of 1861, and diirtng the months of Janu- ary and February, I enjoyed the rare opportunity of vi siting and examining the keys and reo(s of Florida, ta company with Professor Agassiz. Ithen and there be- came deeply interested in a subject which has continued to occupy my thoughts from time to time until now— ‘viz., the mode of formation of the peninsula of Florids. Until the time referred to nothing definite was known ¢f the geology of Florida, but it was supposed to coasist of a southward pr ion of the eocene of (ieorgia and Alabama, and its shell limestone to bear some general resemblance to the white limestone of these States. But the observations of Professor Tuomey during the summer of 1850, andthe more fall and observations of Provcasor Agassiz. during the following winter, pevnets to light the remarkable jact, tbat the keys and the jor portion of the peningula of Flori‘a are of recent origin ‘and, a* iar a8 could be examined, the work of corals stil! livug in the viciaity, and still engaged in the work of ex tens:on—that they are, in fact. superficially at least, the re- éuli of the growth of successive coral re¢ vucentrically Brrenged, one outeide of the other, from north to south My object in tbe present paper will be to show that corai cncy alone if not sufficient to account for the phenoi pa, but tbat there bas been another and still more pow erful sgent at work, preparing the ground and laying the foundation for these builders, and tbat this agent hes been the Gulf Stream. A clear understanding of the sub- ject renders necessary & succinct account of the views of Tuomey and Agassiz. 4 Now, we bave the best evidence that the Everglades the Southern coast and Keys are all formed by coral agency. The evidence is briefly as foliows :-— Tt is w well known fact that corals cannot grow above the surface of the water. The islands, therefore, 80 com monly found on coral reefs cannot be formed by the agency of the avimals alove, butare due to the violent action of waves breaking off huge coral beads and over. Warning coral trees, bearing them from the outer aad more exposed side, and putting them on the middle aud inner sige ef the reef. These coral boulders form the nucleus around which cluster emiller fragments and coral sand; the whole is there firmly cementod by car- bonate of lime in solution in the sea water, and the isiand thos formed is finally covered with vegetation and iv habited by animals and maa. The whole eurbryonic developement, if I might use the expression, of coral islands be observed upon the keys and rees& of Fo: rida. On outer or living reef a few have commenced to form «nly a few Emde get and exist as yet owy athe form of isolated boulders of deai coral, and potyct dig ified with the name of keys, Others are formed of simi lar boulders, mingled with smalier fragments and cora) send, and Ormly cemented by carbonate of lime, but th larger boulders are still conspicuous above the strroun ing send, though immovably fixed. Still others are so covered with coral sand t} the boulders are not observable, except by excavation or by the outermost portion of the island towar coral and is always affected with the cros# aad o>! | stratification £0 Common in materials expored 1) tur Violent action of waves. A}! the islands on the outer reet are very small, of very recent origin, (some only a few Years old,) and, therefore, as yet entirety barren. The examination larger aad older inhabited prove beyond question that they bave been formed in & similar manner. We have here also the same coral boulders, —— with smaller fragments and core! sand, and the whole Ormly cement. ed into solid rock, the same cross or obli\ue stratification indicating the former action of waves on an exposed shore. The boulders here Also sometimes stand above the surround! current, expose! in tieir superior pertions, as at Key Vaca; and at others wom pletely covered with coral sand, as at Key West, and most other keys. This exposure of the larger boulders above the surroundiag current ia which they are Ormly fixed led Tuomey into the error of supposing that tacy were the prominent points of the original reef, elevate above the sea level by igneous agency, and that the keye were jormed by pee rather y aqueous agemey. That such is not case is proved by more attentive ex ‘mination and comparison with the smaller keys of the outer reef, ‘iherecan be no doubt, therefore, that th» inner line of island ig the position of a former roe, changed into keys by the action of the waves alone. In a sitmilar manner it bas been pomted out by Tuomey and proved by Agassiz that the southern coast of Florida was the position of still another and earlier reef. Tue character of the rock i# the same as that of the keys o: the main range, or of the smaller ones oa the living reet Here also Tuomey has seen, as be supposes, the eviden-e Of elevatory forces, while Agassiz sces nothing bat the action of the waves. ‘There seems to be no reasonable doubt, therefore, that some former period the nortbern shore of thy ‘giades was the position of the southern coast, and at the same time the present southern coast was the posi tion of a reef. 8 general sequence of change has been as follows: The ent shore lise becams: gradually converted into a line of keys, and finally, added to the mainland and the shoal water, became the evergindes and ite mangrove isiands, tac hammocks which overdot this swamp. In the meantune, i. ¢, while the present southern coast was stili a line of keys. another reef was forme: further out. This be came in time converted also \p the line of keys, and will eventually be added, tn ite tura, wo the main land and be come the gouthern coast—the shoal water between the reefs, with its mangrove islands, becoming another ever giade, with its hammocks. In the meantime, still an other reet has been formed still further out, (viz: the it, or living reef.) apd wpon this, too, the process of ey formation has already comme need. Any further ex tension, however, in this direction, by the growth of stil! another reef, seems preciuvied by the proximity of deep water, Standing upon the reef, the blue waters of the Gulf Stream are distinetly seen at the distance of but # few bundred yards. Thus it appears that not only the keys, but tho main land of Florida, certsiuly as fer north as the sorters abores of the evergiades, bas Been formed superficially, at least, by coral agency, The evitence in ver ors similar Origin for that portion of (he peninsula lying north Of this line is less abv d perhaps less conclusive and yet we have every reason to believe that the portion of this alko was formed | imilar manner. Al though the geology of thie part has not, as laras 1 know been exam: by any one capable of decid ing defiinitely az to what portion of the po nins@in is tertiary nd what is recent cora formation, yet epecimens ot cora: rock precisely similar to that of the southern const and keys, sent to Professor Agaeet from the shores of Lake George and other paris Florida as far north as St. Augustine, leaye no dougst that on the eastern coast at least the coral formation ex ten¢s as far north as that ancient city. 1 have myself a frogment of meandrina from the neighborhood of 4. Au gustine, undistinguishalle from fragments which may be picked up anywhere upon the keys. The western shore is still less known, but Conrad and Tucmey state it as their opinion that the bluffs of Tampa are eocene tertiary Supposing this to be a fect, though it js still problema cal, then all that portion of the peninsula lying south » the jine is almost certainly of coral orgia and form ed in the manner already indicated, viz . by the grow. of enccessive reefs. As to the position of these supposed reefs we know absolutely nothing. The position of the lines of reefs bas been merely suggested by the succes. sion ot bays which indent the western const. May they not all bave been formed like Chatham bay, by the imper- fet filling up of the shoal water, separating successive rec fa from (he mainland? fueh isa brief account of Professor Agassiz’s views concerning the mode of formation of the peninsula and key a of Florida, J will now attempt to ager cy alone js not sufficient for this purpose, and sup] One #0 would violate all probability, a1 ail tl at we know of the laws which govern the growth of there animals. Ite a well known fact that reef building corals cannot grow ata greater depth than from ten to twelve fathoms, it 18 @ #0 certain that they cannot grow above the surface of the water at low tide, Thos they are limited in a ver- the envelope. 4 tleal direction. to.a space of about si or seventy feet, unless there i subsidence of the sea * mulated above the sea tevel by the agency Of waves. It there is ne subsidence, therefore, 90 coral formation can be more than eighty feet in thickness, Now, nothiog can be more certain than that there has been no subst dence whatever of the sea bottom upon which thoy grow, the reeis of Florida, for otberwise the extension of the peninsula by means of coral agency would have been im ‘ible, It necessarily toilows, therefore, that the coral tion of Florida, whether ‘wpen the’ maio land, or upon the keys, or upon the fiving reof, can nowhere be more than’ seventy or cighty leet thick, In other words, it is evident thet Florida and the ie are only faced or encrusted with coral formation. If, then, corals have been the only agents in this werk, if the eca bottom has remained substantially unchanged d uring the whole time the coral work was progressing, it js evident that the tea, for the enormous distance of ive degrees of latitude, viz.: from St Angustine to the present reef, was nowbere more than sixty or seventy feet in depth, and Florida must bave been represented by & tongue of shoal water three hundred mi in length—a circumstance possible, sertainly, but so improbable that it behoves those who maintain the theory that coral aione bas formed the peninsula to arcount for it, But, even if we admit the probability of such a condi. tion of things, we do not get rid of the wain difficulty; for in that case there is no apparent reason why the coral should not grow over the whole area at the sare time, as an immense coral forest, instead of in tue fori of suc- cessive reefs. In a word, the fact that the corals grew in the form of successive reefs, concentrically dispgzed f:010 north to south, proves, as it acems to me, incontestibly that the conditions nec for coral growth have ais» been progressively formed in the same direction, Tho horizontal extension of coral through so great a space proves algo the progressive extension of necessary conti thong; in other words, it proves that the sea bottom has been gradually rising from the north towards the south. Such a gradual rising of the sea bottom may be attributed to one of two causes, viz.:—First, gra dual nee igneous agency ; and second, fil! ing np by sedimentary de As we have al- ready teen, Professor Tuowe} thought that these are evidences of such igneous elevation upon the keys as ‘weil as upon the main land, but the more careful obser. ‘vations of Prof. Agassiz have satisfactorily explained these deceptive appearances, £0 that we may now say with confidence that there is not the slightest evidence of such elevation, but much evidence to the contrary. Neither the main land nor the keys arc anywhere higher than may be accounted for by the action of waves, viz.: from i to sven feet, and it isTuconceivable that this ebora, jon should haye gone on progressively preparing groun: for the growth of successive reefs wi haut in the slight. est degree affecting the contiguous and recently formed lan. But this is precisely the mode of action of sedi. meni deporit. Sediment cannot, of course, affect any. thing but the sea bottom. Itis to sedimentary deposit, therefere, that I attrivute the gradual rising of the sca bottom from north towards the south, which, as we have seen, forms the necessary condition tor the horizontal ex tension of coral reefs through so great a distance. Having thus shown that sedimentary deposit 1s almozt absolutely necessary for the explanation of the southward extension of the reets of Florida, let us attemp’ to prove that such deposit has in fact taken place under the in- fluence of the Gulf Stream. It is a well known law of currents bearing sediment, that if from any cause their velocity is checked, they deposit np sper of their sediment upon the bottom; but if, on Sencha their velocity ia imcreased, they abrade their beds and banks, If, therefore, the velocity of a stream is greater on one side than on the other, abra. sion will take place on the former, and deposit on the lat- ter. Now, if such a stream, bearing seoiment, make a sweep or curve, the velocity will always be greater on the outer, and least on tho inner eide of the sweep. Hence there muet necessarily be abrasion cf the outer bank. and deposit upon the inner. Thus, in as the outer curve extends by abrasion of the outer bank, the inner curve will extend also by deporit, and tae tongue of land around which the sweep is made will grow Jonger and Jonger. If this tongue is cut away by artificial ‘Mesns, £0 as to convert this portion of the stream into a Jake, around the outer margin of which sweep3 the cur- rent, the still water witbin the tweep will become more ‘and more shoal, until it is again converted into a tongue of land, this is necessarily true under al! circum kes xo difference whether the etream runs between banks of solid matter or between banks of still water. Ifa stream, leaving se¢iment, runs through ati water, mak sweep or curve, the sediment must de jy upon the inner sido of the curve, makiog thi ; the curve will extend, and the shoal water will « id in the same proportion. Now, the Gulf Stream is such a current. I: makes a sweep mound the point of Fiorida. If, therefore, the Guif am bears any sediment, the conclusion seems ir resistible that the sweep of the curve has been increay ing with the course of time, and that the tongue of land witbin the curve, viz.: the peninsula of Florida, has been extending, pari by means of sedimentary deposit. Or, even supposing that the position of the Gulf Stream bas alwi een the same as at present, and that Florida ‘Was 00: ech acama by a tongue of stil water withic the curve, thie tongue of etill water must have become more and more shoal by sedimentary deposit. I repest then, that upon any conceivable theory ag to the position of the Guif stream, w! r its curve has been incre: ing or has been always the same as at present, if it car ries sediment, according to the laws of currents, there most have be en a progressive shoaling of water and mak ing of jand witbin the curve from north toward the souto. andl, consequentiy, a progressive formation of the cond: tions necessary for the growth of coral, and their extea sion in the same directon. What evidence, then, have we that (be Gulf Stream does indced carry tediment? ‘Ibe Guif Stream is supposed to be a continuation of the reat equatorial current which, stietching across the At tic from the coast of Africa, strikes upon the wedge shaped point of the eastern coast of Sout America, aod divides into a northern and south ern branch. The northern branch, uniti wits the waser of the Amayon and Orinoco, rans along ty coast 0! South America, through the Caribbean Sea, u> der the name of the Caribbean current, euters and re ceives ttrength in the Gulf of Mexico from which emer ging it sweeps round the point of Fiorida aud, along the coast of the United States, on its way to the coss! of Now, is game that a stream which washes 60 muy shores, which runs through seas into which are poured #uch enormous quantities of eediment, been down by the largest rivers in the world, is it conceivable that sucu stream should carry no sediment’ On the contrary, it is well known that the rediment both of the Amazon and Orinoco rivers is carried by this stream, and is distinctly traceable for reveral bundred mis. Moms of Ais aot leposited along the coast an ¢ Caribbean but “according to Humboit, much sedimect is carried again out of the Caribbead Sea into the Gulf of Mexico.” Ture this same Gulf is also the enormous amount of sediment bi nt down by the Gulf rivers, ey by the Micsissippi. Out of this Gulf, the waters of wi are thus highly charged with comes the Guit Stream on its way round the tof Florida. 1¢, then, this stream mingles at all with the waters of the Gali rivers, it mutt necessarily carry sediment, That it does thus mingle, is proved by the fact mentioned by Lyell, that drift timber from the Mississippi is car ried by this stream to the shores of Joceland and Europe. Now, unless we suppose the whole of this side is deposited in the Gulf, it must reach, and, by the lav of currents already insisted on, be deposited much of it ‘on the pot of Fiorida. But we have the best reason for believing that it is not all deposited in the Gulf. The distance from the mouth of the Mississippi to the Tortu gas is about five hundred miles. Taking the volocity o: the Guif Stream tarough the Gulf of Mexico at three miles per hour, it would traverse this distance in about seven days. Now, the finest sediment will not sink more than ‘an inch in an hour; but supposing the mud brought down by the Mississippi sinks at the rate of one foot per hour in seven days it would sink 198 feet. But the depth of the Guif of Mexico and the Gulf Siream is muc) greater than this. Therefore, fine sediment from the Mississip, would reach the point of Florida, and what was not de ited there would even be carried much farther ou ‘ec bave farther evidence of this in the soundibgs made by the Coast Sarvey off the eastern coast of Fiorida and }@ nature of the botiorm ich bas thas been brougt up. IK can scarcely be doubted for a moment tuat ¢' banks of sand and mud, found in the bed and on the ma: gin of the Gulf Stream, off the eartern coast of Fiori were “ed there by that stream. Bat it will be objected that the water of the Gulf Stream ie remarkable for its uansparency. This objection, bow ever, will entirely deappear when we consider the dill +r ence between river ana ocean currents. The former are of slight depth, aud run over roagh bottoms, and between banks possessing many \nequalities of sarface, and oiler ing, therefore, much resistance; hence are generated currents upward and downward, to the right aud ‘hich thoroughly mix, as if by & sort of ebuilitioa, the waters of the river. It is impossible that mat ters in suspension of solation should exist in one part and not in another; ¢. g., that sediment should be carried by the deeper strata, while the supérih ia! strata remain transparent ; but with oceanic streams the case is quite different. r , and tae fact that they are boundee on ail rides by still water; ia other words, that they run over perfect'y even beds ani vv tween perfictly smooth banks, causes them to flow wita out the slightest agitation, without te ripoles an¢ ine. qualities which mark the currents of rivers. The currents of oceanic streams, therefore, do not in the slightest de gree interfere wih the natural subsidence of materials in suspension, They are equally as favorable to aubsid-vce aa perfectly 1 till water, The surface transparet cy of the Guif Stream, therefore, forms no obdje tion whatever io the supposition that it carries sediment io ihe deeper Such sediment woul! necetsarily sink beyond observation in the couse of a fow hundred miles, Tt evident that of thie theory be correct, and no in supers ble obstacie is interposed, the Gulf Stream ma: continue to move ite bed, and the point of Florida to « tend simort indefinitely, But such an obstacie | posed in the ivland of Cuba. The Gulf Stream mvve much beyond ite present position, nor Flu: tend beyond the position of the present reef, © the expense of Cuba and the Bahama Bankes, © arnoxed by any natural agency, wheth peve, or current. Or even supposing (as I bave already done) that the position of the Guil Stream has always been the samo a at present, and that the peninsula of Florida was origi nally represented by a tongue of still watir, yet, substan tinl y, the same changrs would necessarily have occurred It is evident that es the point of Florida approached the Golf Stream the of the bottom would become sleeper, and therefore the limiting depth would bo at tained at a shorter distance from shore, the cousecutive reefs would be formed nearer and nearer to on: ‘and the intervening ship cbanacls would become na ‘We have chosen to trace this process only as far as the norihern shore of the everglaies, because thus far we have the mort indisputable evidenoe of the recency of the formation. But in the ame manner we might carry it stil) farther back in time and northward in space, and represent the successive reefs by which the superficial bite ‘of the rest of the penineula was formed. There is one other fact of great importance and other. ise inexplicable, which receives @ ready expl ination upon this theory, and which I think, therefore, is strong. ly confirmatory of ite trath, [allude to the fact that the successive reefs aro found at some distances from une another; in other words, that the peninett'a is formed by @ succession of harrier frees, instead of a continuous southward growth of fringing reef. The reefs of Forida some respects entirsly peculiar, Barrier tects beretoiore been considered as always the result of subsidence of the sea bottom, and are looked om as the sign of subsidence. in Fkrida we bave barrier reefs it is certain there hag been no subsidence. We have here, therefore, a new form of barrier reef. This important fact did not, 1 am sure, e3- cape the Professor ‘apeatie, for my own at. tention was first drawn to it by him; but J have seen no pobtication in which he bas alluded to the fact, nor as far as 1 know, has he ever attempted, or even thought ol, a probable ¢: - The explanation which } would It is a well known condition of coral growth that the sea water must be pure and transparent, Corals will not grow, therefore, on mud¢y shores, or in water upon the bottom of which sediment is deposited. Now, it must be borne in mind that while the Gulf Stream’ bears se¢i- ment in iw deeper strate, it is superficially transparent, and we have already shown that this must of necessity be the case with ocean streams, Suppoee, then, that the matter held in suspension by the waters of the Gulf ot Mexico be of such a degree of tine nees that it sinks to the depth of sixty feet by the time it reaches the point of Florida, it is evicent that the sea dotfom within the curve capnot rise by deposit above this level, for all the sediment is below. A stream bearing sediment in all its strata from bottom to top—such as a river, for instance—will make land within the curve, but an ocean stream will only make shoal water within the ‘ve. In the case supposed, where the bottom of the shoal rises to within sixty fect of the surface, it will cease to receive deposit, and the water wil! remain perfectly transparent. Here, then, it would seem we have the con- ditions necessary for soral growth, It must be recollect- ed, however, that upon sloping shores, with mud bot- er eo C hal ryt supposed alwyas xaind at = point of Flo "inging reef cannot possibly form, for is rendered turbid by the chafing of waves against the mud bottom; but at some distance from shore, 4. ¢, where the depth of sixty or seventy feet is attained, and where the bottom is unaffected by the waves, the conditions favorable for coral growth would be formed. Here, therefore, would be formed a barrier reef, limited on the one side by the muddiness, and on the other by the depth o1 the water. Ibave said thata stream running through still water and making a curve would deposit most of its sediment on the inner side of the curve. This is certainly true; but it is a more gencral expression of the truth to say that a stream running through still water will deposit sediment on both sides, just where it comes im contact with the still water, and is retardea by it. It would ¢o so for the same rea- son that rivers which habitually overflow their banka form natural levees on either side where the rapid cur- rent of the river comes in contact with the compara- tively still water of the river swamp. It is well known that the natura] levees of the Mississippi continue out to sca in the form of submarine banks, evidently formed by the checking: of the velocity of the current on either side by contact with the sti!l water of the Gulf. If the current is straight the deposit on both sides will be equal, and thus the stream will form banks for itself. If the stream is curved the deposit will be mostly on the inner side of the curve, as already said.' Is it not probable that the Bahama banks, or at t that portion of them that lie to the east of Flerida, may have been formed to a great extent in the same way? That while the penin- sula of Florida has been made on one side the Bahama banks,have been made on theo:her? It will be observed that the great Bahama banks lie od the eastern coast of Florida, and that the Guif Stream runs ‘p a narrow chan- nel between them. At the point of Fionda the deposit would, of course, be on the inner side of the curve, and would go, therefore, mostly or entirely to the extension of that peninsula; but after the stream turns northward and becomes nearly straight the deposit would be also on the other side, and thus probably tave originated these banks. Even if we suppose that there originally existed in this position islands or submarine hills, which turned the stream around the point of Florida, these have doubtless been greatly modified and extended by gedimentary deposi:. Probably also even the general form of the Atlantic bottom—very sloping until the Gulf ‘Stream ie reached, and then plunging rapidly into an al- most unfathomable abyss, forming a deep bed for that stream—may, to some extent at least, be accounted for in a similar manner, for certain it is that a stream run- =~ through still water, no less than one runting over |, Will make its own bed, only in the latter case by abrasion it cuts out its own channel, while in the former, by deposit, it builds its own bapks. ‘This ap pod of ocean streams, viz.: that they form banks or ridges where they come {n contact with still wa- ter, affords a possible and, as it seems to me, even a pro- bable explanation of certain remarkable peculiarities of sea bottom, brought to tight by recent sounding across the Gulf Stream, commencing at Charleston. The bed of the ocean slopes at first very gently, so that at the dis- tance of 50 miles from sbore it attains only the depth of 20 fathoms, and then very rapidly, so that 25 miles more it #inks to the depth of 700 fathoms or more. At the addi- tional distance of another 25 miles (i. ¢. 100 miles from shore), at the cepth of 300 fathoms is found a ridge rising from unfathomable depth on one (coast) side, and 1,500 feet aboye the hollow on the other side. At the distance of a litt'e more 20 miles move 1s found auother ride 500 feet high, followed by still another hollow. Farther observation shows that the Gulf xtream is divided into lengitudiwal bands or streams of warm aud cold water, and tbat the warm bands correspond to the bottom and the cold bands to the ridges. Now, al! these ridges and hollows may be conceived to bave been formed in either of two ways, viz.: by igneous or current agency, a8 apon land valleys are formed ether 7 igneous or aqueous agency, ¢.¢., may be valleys of elevation or valie¥s of erosion. So also in the sea ridges may be formed by igneous ur current agency, may be ric ges ot elevation or ridges of deposit. In either case there would be conformity between the direction o! the ridges and the direction of the current, only in the one case Ube current would coniorm to the ridges, and ia the other the ridges would conform to the current. In order to account for these ridgés by this current theory, the only supporition which it necessary to make js, that there exists in the bed of the Guif Stream somewhere to the southward of the Charlestoa sectioa, 1. ¢., at the southern extremity of the ridges, two or more subinarine peaks or mountaiss—| oly & spur of the Bahama chain. Ittwo such peaks existed in this Ne on, and rose go high as to part the lower strata of the Guilt Stream, there would evidently be formed bands o com| tively still water tothe northward, aod dently there wou)d be lines 01 deposit determined by the etill water, and the necessary result would be the ridges Ciscovered by the Coast Survey. We sce the same thing ona email scale in river currents. Every obstacle which parts the current determines the position of a sand ridge on the lower side of the obstacle, and in the direc- tion of the current. There is this remarkable difference, bowever, between river and ocean currents—tbhat while in the case of rivers the eee current quickly closes again, and the bemyo | ay is theretore very ebort, in Ocean currents, as the Gulf Stream, the + pace between the two parts woul be quickly filled by the cold water of the ocean. The current would have, therefore, no disposition to coalesce, but would continue as bands of warm Gulf water separated by bands of cooler and stiller Atlantic water, and the re- sulting ridges would coatinue fer great dis tances. I know not whether thero have been any oveer- vations to test the comparative velocity of the warm and cool bands, but it seems tome that on any conceivable theory as to the formation of the ridges the velosity of Caen mies vous eens pi Now, though it may be impossible in the present con- dition of science to determine with absolute certainty whether these ridges were formed previous to the exis- tence of the Gull dtream by igneous agency, or whether they have been formed the sediment the stream iteelf, sete e recollect that all 4 other peculiarities of the Gul ‘eam and the contigaous sea bottom are mainly referable to sedimentary deposit, plicable on any other theory, unless we su istence of lateral currents, it seems to me weight of probability will strongly incline to sedimentary depo- sit as che cause also of these ridges. In tact, everything about the Gulf Stream seems to point to the conclusion that it bas been the architect of its own curves, its own banks and its own configuration of sea bottom. There is one other conclusion which, Cog not con nected with any particular theory of the formation of Florida, is, nevertheless, naturally suggested by the subject of this paper. We have seen that the peninsula of Florida Las been progressively advancing towards Cuba 88 & fixed point, and tbe Gulfstream has been becoming more and more narrow, If, thereiore, as is probabiv, the quastity ot water carried by the Gulf Stream has re mained constant, it follows that the velocity with which this stream emerges from the Straits of aad therefore the distance to which it penetrates the still water of the Atlantic, has been progressively increas ny. Now, unless there has been some very remarkable change in the direction of this current, it necessarily f! lows that its warming iniluence upon the Earopean con- tupent hos also been progressively increasing. Have we not here, if not s sufficient cause, at least one of the true causes of that great change which we know has tacen place in the climate of Furope since the rey ‘Thus we see that the advancing point of ida has been progrestively warming the crimate of Furope, and thus, perhaps, controling the destinies of the hunaa race, Can we conceive a more beautiful instance than ‘Unis of that sympathy which exists between the most dis- tant portions of our globe, and which binds ail its mem- bers together in one organic whole! ‘The next paper read was entitled, ‘Observations on the cology of the region between the Mississippi aud the acitic ocean with a map,’ by Wa. P. Blake. It was log, and occupied the section till the adjourn- ment raysicaL ECTION OF MATHEMATICS ANB ASTNO- NomyY. The firet paper read here waa one by l’rofessor Perens on the advantage of obeetving a lunar spot jostead wm @ limb, in transits, for determining the difference of Jon; \- tude. It was purely technical and abstruse. SANDY HOOK. Professor A. D. Bacie then read an abstract of a Observations to Determine the Cause of the Increase of Sandy Hook, made by the Coas} Survey for the Commis siuners on Harbor Encroschments of New York.”’ It ig known as ove of the developements of the Coast Skrvey that the peninsula of Sandy Hook is gradually io. ot growing to the northward in the main ship "M-@ spot north of the Hook, where there wie of water when Captain Geaney made his sar yey, in lees than ten years itwas noarly bare. portance of determining the canse of this | icadipg fo the meaner of controlling, it cannot over eat mated. The Commissioners on Harbor Kocrovchments bad early attended to this ma'ter, and reqaested that the neceseary Obeervations for its inve-tigation should be made. lhese were under the immediate direction of Prof. Hache, the obvervations having been made by Henry Mitchell, one of the svbassistapts in the Coast Survey ‘with all devirabie zealand ability. Vario ad times on the ineide ofthe Hook. The effect of the opening ana apg | of Shrewsbury Inlet had also been insist- ‘0 ¢d upon. examine these and other probable causes, labolicws Observations of tides and currents hea’ beed upon the map. ments of the low water line had airo been made in connection with these obser vatioaa, and with O:here, of the force and direction of wind, Objects easily distingy shed from che eand, an: various specific gravities and shapes, had been deposited pear the ehore of the Hook to determine the direction of traneportetion of matter along the Hook, It is eney to see how laboriour all of servations are, and that some of them are obtained with 5 i considerable danger; hence the credit to Mitonel! may be ured. The results of ob tions have not youheen worked out in Soe. the conelucions from are of the highest . It turns that this growth of the Hook is not an accidental menon, but goes on regalarly, and according to determ! able laws. ¢ amount of increase depends upoa var! ble causes, but the geaeral fact is that it y by year ; and the cause of this is @ remarkable no wardly current, the amount and duartion of which th observations assign alopg both shores of the Hoo! outer one extending across the whole breadth of Hock channel with varying velocity, and the one insi of the Ilook orienting Nea one-third of the across Sandy Hook y. These currents north during both the ebb and tlood tide, rates, and result from those tides directly and indirectl The inner current is the one by which the flood and e' be are perfectly tides draw, by the lateral communicatian of raction, water from Sandy Hook bay ; and the outer is similar related to those tides as False Hook chan The velocities and directions found favor thie conc sively, An important observation for navigation resu! from'this, for eleven hours out of the twelve is} horthwardly current running through False Hook ch nel which assists vessels enterip, ew Yorls harbor the ebb tide, and to be avoided passing out with ¢) ebb. It is the contlict of these two north cu rents ontside and inside, and the deposit of the which they carry to the point of the Hook, which cau its growth. Within a century it has increased a mile. a oeven, and at about the rate of one sixteenth of| mi ear, on the average, for the last twelve ys Flynn's knoll, on the north side of the main shipeh does not give way as the point of the i!ook adyanc ‘The importance watching this movement cannd therefore, be overstated. The mode of contro rowth is obvious from the resuit obtained, The ob vations are still continued to obtain the nzcessary mume cal results, THE HUDSON RIVER. Prof, Bacse also read an abstract of a ‘Notice of Ob ations to Determine the Progresg of the Tidal Waves the Hudson River, made by the Coast Survey for Commissicners on Harbor Tocroachmonts. , Prof, Bacus explained the importance of a knowled of the movement of the tide "wave up the Budsou Riy to the determination of the shore line of Now York B aud barbor, and the subject of encroachment upon t! area of the harbor, and stated that the New York Cor missioners bad directed a full series of observations to mace for the examination of this point in the bearing jt referred to, and also on the character of the impro' ments projected for tne Hudson River at the Oversiau and indeed in the whole distance from Troy to New B tumore. Nine tidal stations wore iu the course of occup tion between Governor’s Island, New York, and Greed buh, opposite Albany. At the two terminal statior Saxtor ’s self registering gauges were placed, end he h expect(d to invite the members to see the Albany gau but the late freshet ia the river had required its remov| for the present. Prof, Bache explained the clio made of the localities of the tidal stations and the reasor for their special poritions, and stated that the regults the work would herealter be laid before the associati¢ On Tempdrery Stare, aud the Origin of Yao Spherol fem porary rs, e the d Forms of Clusters and Nebul, By Srmrney ALEXANDE| Professor ALEXANDER began by defending the nebul. by pothesis from the ebarge that ‘it is essentially cal in )ts tendency, and remarked that any merely p cat bypothesis was atheistical if it were ded final. That the question was, whether the changes it scribed had Liye dl occurred, and that the argum from design and adaptation was only the stronger tt] longer the series of cl s. He showed what must \j tke position of the centre of gyration of a thin revolvir| ring, and that half ot the mass must be situated withi and the other half without, the central line of gyratio He drew thence sundry conclusions with respect to tH mode of division of the rings and their breakiog up {n! small portions at first, to form single planets d He found traces of the existence of three systems of rit in the solar system—one including the planets from cury tothe earth; the next from Mars to Uranus, at Neptune by iteelfon the outside. He showed how rings seemed to have been subsequently divided and su div! |, fincing the same traces of arrangement whe’ the yetem. He also spoke of sliiar” arrangements, system. He also spoke of 81 the systems ¢f Jupiter and Saturn Professor Pisce remarked that the results arrived by Professor Alexander were facts. In obtainit he had followed the same course which Kepler r which would have made him the Kepler of chis day hi Kepler not been. On the Stability of satellites Revolving in Narrow 0 bits. By Dasu Vavonay, The section then adjourned. SUBSECTION OF PHYSICS, ETC. Dr. Rerp, of London, here read a paper 3 ee tion of rotary currents in air and other wit p cial illustra jon of a rotary current rendered {uminous Y flame ard incandescent charcoal. The experiments ne gentleman were witaeseed with much r Dr. HARr rose to refer to his theory on storms, be he proposed to explain the phenomena wit: wi The Cui expressed a fear that if they got into the gicn of storms they would be blown away. Professor Guyot then made ® communication en altitude and pbyetcal structure of the Appalachian 8; tem ip the region of the Black Mountains in North Cy lima, compared with those of the White Mountains in No Hampebire. The section then adjourned. SECTION OF ZOOLOGY. The only paper read here this afternoon was on t] classification of turtles, by Professor Agassiz, ANIMAL CLASSIFICATION. M. Acassiz said that at Providence he had suggested necessity of adopting a new nomendature based on o rect principles. bad advised the adoptioa of classification in which a pound should be a pound and ounce an ounce, in order that ry one should not at liberty to give what names they pleased to various divisions of animals. At present, no works agreed im point of classification. What one o snorder, another called a class; some introduced word families; and these words were introduced as if pames by which the diferent divisions of the ani kingdom Were distinguisbed were interchangabie at ‘He wished now to recall that at Providence the first had been made towards remedying this evil, by drat attention to it. eel tgp the bomg mode of proceeding was an {lust 5 jor purpose he would select family of turties. Turtles, as a group, are quite remarkable. They £0 La eae npc ato dimits bra | pmo ever thoug! ubting the boundaries of the group. ‘80 well fixed as that of birds, though the birds ere a c while the turtles are oniy an order. To review the ous views that have been teken of turtles—one considers them as a oom, Sees, they differ from other reptiles by having their extremities under their another (Brogniart) calls them the highest order of ‘tuleap in which batrachi are also iacluded ; class, third (Blainville) divides reptiles in‘o two c! ‘with scales, the other without—this latter, of coarse, ij cluding frogs and toads. Are they a class or are they order? That is a question which ne one can ans Zoologints may give individual opinions on the point; & positive answer cannot be obtained, If he was on this point, be would be happy to stand corrected. In general, zoologists bad the more comp tive groups, classes; the next lower divisions, and the families. The divisions were predicated 4 on an animals were @ mass whico could be vided and subdivided hike a solidcube Now, the fa was that in nature, there were no such qu sptitative, pon fr pment 3 Civisione—that the characters © upg grounds of division were wholly qualitative, that there was no ical ‘one division to these qualities were ‘The learned er, weal it was cleariy shown . in the one to the other. then to sbow how Cuvier on one occasion that al) divisions in the animal kingdom #! on diversities in the plan of structure. And bh bas not always fo lowed out the principle which tered, #0 to speak, by an impulse of instinct primary divisions in the animal kingdom were into vertebrates, artioniates, radiates difer not by their structure only, bat by the that structure—by the , OF ides wh sien, bore po resemblance to each other; some were pie in their #tructure; some complicated, some igh, gome low; but in all, the essential plan was tf fame. Just és a sentiment is the same, in fact, wi clothed in the beautiful language of a poet, or by the lips of a child, so the essential animals, the plan of their structure, was the ther it was developed wa high ora plication. Ciaenes, again, reat on the way carried out. the claes, In applying this to reptiles, by me tration, it was found that they divided thi ves rally into three classes, disti elaborateness of their structure:—Ist. Turtles; 2d. for familie, fortn was the guide, and form,be it milies, form was t! 5 w ttood, was the key to the CTR would a'so serve as an aid to the dogs bunt, run their [ans down, kill tear it which isa family characteristic; while cats, tigers fons, all belonging to the same family, all lie in wait (beir game and on it, He thought the T ay haye classified reptiles had better have 0 Lint frof the ornithologists, who had classified birds arti, etroper bats for divicon ats genera, form give the f basis for He or fae new claseification, bat he investigators would hereafter be prevented from mak; arbitrary divisions of the animal kingdom, based on {hilesophieal principle. After some discussion the section adjourned. DEPCTIPTION OF THR COUNTRY AnsAcRyT To THK UNITED STATES AND MEXICO, RESENTED TO THE ASSOCL/ TION ALG, OUNERAT ROUNDARY HETWR! COLONEL RMORY. 1856. The boundary between the United Statee aod Mex] extend tirely aorovs the continent, from ocean ‘ocean, That portion of it which is formed by the Bravo below the mouth of the San Pedro, or Dew River, of Texas, makes a boundary whieb, in the of extradition laws, must always seurce of co verry between the United States and Mexico, In other respecte the boundary is a good one, and) line traversing the continent could probasy be fo whieh is better suited to the purpose In this epee it ie fortunate that two nations which fer so much in lnwe, religion, customs aad phys! wants, thould be separated by lines marking great tures in physical geography. ie era! in the zone repara ing the tropical from the rate more northern regions. Here waters unite, fome of wh are furnished by the melting of northern snows, wi those from the south are supplied from mou