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THE
AMERICAN JOURNAL
aoe
OF
PCIENCGE AND ARTS.
_ CONDUCTED BY
PROFESSORS B. SILLIMAN, B. SILLIMAN, Jr.,
AND e
JAMES D. DANA,
IN CONNECTION WITH
PROF. ASA GRAY, or CAMBRIDGE, PROF. LOUIS AGASSIZ, or CAMBRIDGE, DR. WOLCOTT GIBBS, or NEW YORK.
SECOND SERIES.
VOL. XXII.—NOVEMBER, 1856.
WITH THREE PLATES AND A MAP.
NEW HAVEN: EDITORS. REW YORK: G. P. POFNAM & CO.
B. HAYES, PRINTER,
Ps t' ry - 5
ete
aisy
vs
A VAS 2 ae one iTe sew
A
CONTENTS OF VOLUME XXIEI.
‘
NUMBER LXIV.
Art. I. Notice of Microscopic Forms found in the soundings of
the Sea of Kamtschatka—with a plate; by Prof. J. W. Baitey,
II, Examination of two Sugars (Panoche and Pine Sugar) from
California ; by SamueL W. Jounson, . - a the III. On the Composition of the Muscles in the Animal Series ; by MM. VaLenciEnNes and Fremy, : - - -
IV. A Review of the Classification of Crustacea with reference to certain principles of Classification ; by James D. Dana,
V. On the Mode of testing Building Materials, and an account of the Marble used in the Extension of the United States Cap-
itol; by Professor Jos—epH Henry, - - - - - VI. On the Occurrence of the Ores of Iron in the Azoic System ; by J. D. Wuitney, - : “ 3 t 2 : VII. Obituary of Professor Zadock Thompson. ° - -
VIII. On the Influence of the Solar Radiation of the Vital Powers of Plants growing under different Atmospheric Conditions ; by J. H. Gurapsrone, Ph.D., F.R.S., - - - -
IX. Reports of Explorations and Surveys to ascertain the most practicable and economical route for a Railroad from the Mississippi River to the Pacific Ocean, - - - °
X. Five New Mineral Species; by Prof. Cuartes U. Sueparp,
XI. Correspondence of M. Jerome Nicxiis—Report on the his- tory of the manufacture of Artificial Soda, 99.—Manufac- ture of Chinese Porcelain, 101.—Peculiar arrangement of a Voltaic Battery: The natural state of Hippuric Acid, 102.— Astronomical news, 103.—Equatorial Telescope: Zenith
Telescope: Stereoscopic experiment: ‘Use of brine in food, 104. .
Page.
J
6
9
14
30
38 44
49
67 96
v3
IV CONTENTS.
SCIENTIFIC INTELLIGENCE.
Chemistry and Physics.—On the production of very high temperatures, 105.—On a new mode of furming ether and its homologues: On the equivalent of antimony: On the detection of phosphorus in cases of poisoning. 107.—Sulphate of nickel: Specific volume of compounds containing nitrogen: On the specific heat of some elements and on the isomeric modifications of selenium, 108.
Geology.—On Earthquakes in California from 1812 to 1855, by J. B. Trasx, 110.—Geo- graphical Discoveries in Africa--Dr. Petermann’s Mittheilungen aus Julius Perthes’ geographischer Anstalt, 116.—Notices of remains of extinct Reptiles. and Fishes, dis- covered by Dr. F. V. Hayden in the Bad Lands of the Judith River, Nebraska Terri- tory, by Josepu Leipy, M.D., 118.—Notice of a new Fossil Genus belonging to the family Blastoidea, from the Devonian strata near Louisville, Ky., by B. F. Saumarp, M.D., and L. P. Yanpeut, M.D., 120.—Reptilian Remains in the New Red Sandstene of Pennsylvania, by I. Lea, 122.—On the composition of the Water of the Delaware River, by Henry Wurtz, 124.--On the successive changes of the Temple of Serapis, by Sir Cuarztes Lyewt, F.R.S., 126.—A Geological Reconnoissance of the State of Tennessee, by James M. Sarrorp, 129.—Fossil Fishes of the Carboniferous Strata of Ohio : Cretaceous Fossils of Nebraska, 133.
Botany and Zoology.—Journal of the Proceedings of the Linnzan Society, London, 134. —Origin of the Embryo in Plants, 135.—Sexual reproduction in Alge, 136,—Martius : Flora Braziliensis: Francois André Michaux, 137—Prof. Wm. H. Harvey: On three new Ferns from Californja and Oregon, by DanieEL C. Eaton: On a new species of Dinornis, 138.—A new species of turkey from Mexico, 139.
Astronomy.—New Planets: Elements of the Planet Letitia, 140.
Miscellaneous Intelligence —Ozone, 140.—On Ozone in the Atmosphere, by W. B. Rocrrs, 141.—The Tides at Ponape, or Ascension Island of the Pacific Occan, by L. Guuicx, M D., 142.—On a peculiar case of Color Blindness, by J. Tynpauu, F.R.S., 143.— Information to Students visiting Europe, 146.—Geographical Society at Paris, 148.—A Table showing the times of opening and closing of the Mississippi River, by T. S. Par- vin: Chemical Technology or Chemistry in its application to Arts and Manufactures, by Dr. Epmunp Ronatps and Dr. THomas Ricuarpson, 149.—Western Academy of Natural Sciences, Cincinnati, O.: American Association for the Advancement of Sci- ence: Mantell’s Medals of Creation: Transactions of the Connecticut State Agricul- tural Society, for the year 1855: The Art of Perfumery, and Method of obtaining the Odors of Plants, by G. W. Septimus Pirsse, 159.—Obituary.—Death of Dr. James G. Percival, 150.—The late Dr. John C. Warren, 151.—Daniel Sharpe, Esq., 152.
NUMBER LXV. :
Art. XII. On the Measurement of the Pressure of Fired Gun- powder in its Practical Applications; by Witt1am E. Woop- BRIDGE, M.D., : . - - a he - - 1538
XIII. Description of the Wax-paper process employed for the Photo-Meteorographic Registrations at the Radcliffe Obser- vatory ; by Wittiam Crookes, Esq., - - - - 159
CONTENTS.
XIV. Ona Zeolitic mineral (allied to Stilbite) from the Isle of Skye, Scotland; by J. W. Matter, Ph.D., - - - XV. On the Application of the Mechanical Theory of Heat to
the Steam Engine; by R. Crausivs, - - - . XVI. Statistics of the Flora of the Northern United States; by Asa Gray, - - - - - - - - - XVII. Letter on the Museum of Practical Geology of Great Britain; by Sir Ropericx I. Murcuison, : - :
XVIII. Remarks on the Genus Tetradium, with Notices of the Species found in Middle Tennessee; by Prof. J. M. Sar-
ForD, A.M., - - - . eerie 4 A fs XIX. A new Fossil Shell in the Connecticut River Sandstone ; by E. Hitcucock, Jr, - - - : : : :
XX. On the Eruption at Hawaii; by Rev. Titus Coan, - -
XXI. On the Purification of Amorphous Phosphorus ; by M. Er- NEST NICKLES, . - - - : - - -
XXII. Third Supplement to Dana’s Mineralogy; by the Author,
XXII. Correspondence of M. Jerome Nicktts—Academy of Sciences—Death of M. Binet: Agricultural Universal Exhi- bition: Fecula of the Horse-chestnut, 264.—Astronomy : View of a part of the surface of the Moon, 265.—Meteor- ological System of France, 266.—Inundations: Electricity —Substitute for the copper wire in the construction of He- lices, 267.—Effects with Ruhmkorff’s Apparatus of Induc- tion: Electric Chronometers: Gas and Steam Manometer Alarm: On a Cause of Atmospheric Electricity, 268.— Bibliography, 269.
SCIENTIFIC INTELLIGENCE.
Page
179
180
204
232
236
239 240
244 246
Chemistry and Physics.—Some experiments in Electro-physiology, by Prof. Marrrucct,
270.—Selenium: Iodine, 271.
Mineralogy and Geology.—Meteorie Iron of Thuringia, 271.—Meteoric Iron of Cape of Good Hope: Meteoric Stone of Mezo-Madaras in Siebenburg: On the Volcanoes of Southern Italy, 272.—On the Isthmus of Suez, by M Renaup, 273.—On the Mines of Mineral Coal in Peru, by M. E. pe Rivero, 274.--Waters of Lake Ooroomiah, by Henry Witt, 276.—On the Koh-i-Noor Diamond, 278.—On the origin of Greensand and its formation in the Ocean of the present epoch, by Prof. J. W. Batty, 280 —
[See also, p. 296.]
Botany and Zoology.-Wild Potatoes in New Mexico and Western Texas, 284.--Notes on Paleozoic Bivalved Entomostraca: Cuma, 235.—-Insecta Maderensia, or Insects of the Maderian Group, by T. Vernon Wouuaston, M.A., F.R.S.: On the Variation of Species with especial reference to the Insecta, followed by an inquiry into the Na- ture of Genera, by the same, 236..-On the Fresh water Entomostraca of South
America, by Joun Lussock, Esq., F.Z.S., 289.
Z
7
“¥
vi CONTENTS.
Astronomy.—Shooting Stars of August 10, 1856.-Astronomical Observatory at the University of Mississippi, 290.
Miscellaneous Intelligence.—Observations on the climates of California, by GEORGE BarTLeTT, 291.—Apparatus for taking specific gravity, by Messrs. EckrgLpT and Dusols, 294.—Discovery of Paleozoic Fossils in Eastern Massachusetts, by Professor W. B. Rogers, 296.--Hailstorm in Guilford County, N. C., 298.--Monks Island or Colombian Guano, by Dr. A. S. Pracot, 299.—On the Monks Island Guano, by Dr. A. A. Hayes, 300.—Neo-Macropia: Artificial light for taking photographs, 300.—Wa- ters of the Dead Sea: Density of the Waters of the Caspian Sea, by A. Morirz : Well in the Desert of Sahara: Composition of the Water of the Delaware River, by Henry Wurtz: Aluminium: Officers of the Academy of Science for St. Louis, for 1856, 301.—Obitwary.—Professor John Locke, 301.—Manual of Coal and its Topog- raphy, by J. P. Lestry, 301.—A Treatise on Land Surveying, by Professor W. M. Giuuespi£, A.M.: Annals of the Astronomical Observatory of Harvard College, 302. --Manual of Blowpipe Analysis, for the use of Students, by Prof. WiLu1am EL- DERHORST: Notices of new Publications, 303.
NUMBER LXVI.
Art, XXIV. On American Geological History : Address before = the American Association for the Advancement of Science, August, 1855, by James D. Dana, - - : : - 3806
XXV. On the Plan of Development in the Geological History of North America, with a map; by James D. Dana, - - 3835
XXVI. Re-determination of the Atomic Weight of Lithium; by Prot. J. W. MALiet, - - - - - - - 349
XXVII. On the Relations of the Fossil Fishes of the Sandstone of Connecticut and other Atlantic States to the Liassic and Oolitic Periods; by W. C. RepFrexp, - - - - 307
XXVIII. On the Application of the Mechanical Theory of Heat to the Steam Engine; by R. Ciausius, - - - - 364
XXIX. Examination of the Meteoric [ron from xiuiine Mexico ; bys W. du Taviors +s - - - - - - - 374
_ XXX. On the Heat 1 in the Sun’s Rays; by Exvisua Foote, - 377
XXXI. Circumstances aente the Heat of the Sun’s Rays; by Eunice Foote, - - - - - - 382 XXXII. Review of a portion of the Goolonical Map of the United States and British Provinces by Jules Marcou; by Wini1am Pg GARE - - - - - > - 383 XXXIM. On New Fossil Corals from North Carolina; by E. Emmons, - - - - - - - - - 389
CONTENTS. Vil
Page. XXXIV. Description of an Isopod Crustacean from the Antarctic
Seas, with Observations on the New South Shetlands; by James Eicuts.—With two plates, - . - - - 391 XXXV. Description of a large Bowlder in the Drift of Amherst, Massachusetts, with parallel striz upon four sides; by Pro- fessor Epwarp Hitcucock, - - - - - - 397
SCIENTIFIC INTELLIGENCE.
Chemistry and Physics.—On the wave lengths of the most refrangible rays of light in the Interference Spectrum, 400.--On the connection between the theorem of the equiva- lence of heat and work and the relations of permanent gases, 402.--On Ozone: Prepa- ration of Aluminum: On the conversion of carbonic oxyd into formic acid, and on the preparation of formic from oxalic acid, 403.--On the determination of chlorine by titri- tion, 404..-Reduction of aluminum from cryolite: Researches on the Fluorids, 405.— On two new methods of producing Urea artificially : On Acetylamin: The manufac- ture of Malleable Iron and Steel without Fuel, 406.—On some Dichromatic Phenomena among Solutions, and the means of representing them, by Dr. GLApDsToNE, 412.--On several new methods of detecting Strychnia and Brucia, by T. Horsey, 413.
Geology.—-On the Spongeous Origin of the Siliceous Bodies of the Chalk Formation, by J.S. Bowersank: On some Paleozoic Star fishes, compared with Living Forms, by J. W. SautTer, 415.—On the Physical Structure of the Earth, by Prof. Hennessy, 416. —On the Great Pterygotus (Seraphim) of Scotland, and other Species, by J. W. Sau TER, 417.--On the Bone Beds of the Upper Ludlow Rock, and the base of the Old Red Sand- stone, by Sir R. I. Murcuison, 418.--On a Fossil Mammal (Stereognathus ooliticus) from the Stonesfield Slate, by Prof. Owrn, 419 --On the Dichodon cuspidatus, from the Upper Eocene of the Isle of Wight and Hordwell, Hants, by Prof. OwEn, 420.—On a _ range of Volcanic Islets to the Southeast of Japan, by A. G. Frnpuay, 421.—On the New Red Sandstone Formation of Pennsylvania, by Isaac Lra, 422.—Descriptions of New Species of Acephala and Gasteropoda, from the Tertiary formations of Nebraska
- Territory, with some general remarks on the Geology of the country about the sources of the Missouri River, by F. B. Mex and F. V. Haypen, M.D., 423.
Botany and Zoology.—Alph. DeCandolle : Géographie Botanique raisonnée, ou Exposition des Faites principaux et des Lois concernant la Distribution Géographique des Plantes de l’Epoque Actuelle, 429.—Origin of the Embryo in Plants, 432.—Bentham, Notes on Loganiacee, 433.—The Flowers of the Pea-Nut, 435.--Martius, Flora Brasiliensis: L,. R. Tulasne, Monographia Monimiacearum, 436.—Chloris Andina, Essai d’une Flore de la Region Alpine des Cordilléres de l’Amerique du Sud, par H. A. WEDDELL, M.D. . Manual of the Botany of the Northern United States, by Prof. Asa Gray, 437.--Report on the present state of our knowledge of the Mollusca of California, by Rev. P. Car- PENTER, 438.—On the Vital Powers of the Spongiade, by Mr. Bowrrsanx, 439.— Gar-pikes, 440,
Astronomy.—New Planets, Harmonia, 440.—Daphne : Isis, 441.
Miscellaneous Intelligence——American Association for the Advancement of Sconce: 441. —The Meteor of July 8th, by W. Sriuuman, 448.--Sulphuric Acid Barometer: Can- tonite: British Association: American Geological History, 449.—Obituary.—Rev. Dr. Buckland, 449.—Geology of the Pacific and other regions visited by the U. S. Explor- ing Expedition under C. Wilkes, U. S. N., in the years 1838-1842, by Jamzs D. Dana:
Vill CONTENTS.
A Chronological Table of Cyclonic Hurricanes, by ANDRES Pory, 452.-~Description of some Remains of Fishes from the Carboniferous and Devonian Formations of the United States, by JosrrH Leipy: The Quarterly Journal of Pure and Applied Mathe- matics, edited by J. J. Sy_vester, M.A., F.R.S.: Fossils of South Carolina, by M. Tuomey and F.S. Hotmes: Abhandlungen der Kaiserlich-KGniglichen Geologische Reichsanstalt, 453.—Geognostiche Darstellung der Steinkohlen-formation in Sachsen mit besonderer Beriicksichtigung der Rothliegenden, von Hanns Bruno GEINITZ: Das Normal Verhiltniss der chemischen und morphologischen Proportionen, von ADOLF ZEIs1NG, 154.—Principles of Chemistry, by Prof. Joun A. Porter, M.A., M.D., 455.
List of Works, 455. Index, 456.
ERRATA.
P. 1, line 2 from bottom, for *Dictyopyxis read Dietyopyxis; 1. 4 from bottom, for Dicla- dia, read *Dicladia : p. 2, ‘lines 1 and 2 from top, for *Coseinodiscus, read Coscinodiscus ; 1. 2 from top, for Rhizosolenia, read *Khizosolenia ; 1. > from top, for Difflugia, read *Dif- flugia ; 1. 16 from top, for Eucyrtidium, read *EKucyrtidium, in both cases.
THE
AMERICAN
JOURNAL OF SCIENCE AND ARTS.
[SECOND SERIES.]
Art. I.—WNotice of Microscopic Forms found in the soundings of the Sea of Kamtschatka—with a plate; by Prof. J. W. BAILEY.
In the American Journal of Science, vol. xxi, p. 284 an account was given of some of the results of the microscopic examination of the soundings obtained in the sea of Kamtschatka, by Lieut. Brooke of the U.S. Navy. These soundings which ranged from 900 fathoms to 2700 fathoms in depth are, as was stated (I. c. p. 284), very rich in the siliceous remains of Diatoms, Polyeistins, and Spongiolites, but have yielded no traces of the calcareous shells of the Polythalamia. A perfect agreement was also found to exist in the nature of their organic contents, almost every species noticed having been found, and in about equal abundance, in each of the soundings. The only difference no- ticed was in the proportion of the mineral matter, which was least in the deepest soundings.
The organic contents of the above mentioned soundings as far
as they have been determined are given im the following list. The species distinguished by a star are believed to be 1 new and are described in the subsequent pages.
List of Organic Forms found in the soundings of the Sea of Kamtschatka.
DIATOMACEAE.
Actiniscus Sirius, hr. Denticella aurita Hhr., fig. 26 to 28. *Asteromphalus Brookei B., ee} 1. Dicladia Mitra B., fig. 6. *Chaetoceros furcillatum B., , fig. 4 Dictyocha Speculum Fhr. *Coscinodiscus borealis B. *Dictyopyxis cruciata Lhr.
* erassus B, Gallionella sulcata Zhr.
SECOND SERIES, VOL. XXII, NO. 64.—JULY, 1856, 1
2 J. W. Bailey on Microscopic Forms in the Sea of Kamtschatka.
*Coscinodiscus eccentricus Hhr. Gyrosigma t * ¢ lineatus Hhr. Rhizosolenia hebetata B., fig. 18, 19. * Oculus Iridis Zhr. Syndendrium Diadema, several varieties. ‘ subtilis Hhr. Pinnularia peregrina Hhr. *Cyclotella pertenuis B. Synedra Denticula? lauta B, Triceratium. q
Inrusorta, Ruizopopa?
*Cadium marinum B.,, fig. 2. Difflugia? marina B., fig. 7. POLYCISTINEAA. *Ceratospyris ? borealis B,, fig. 3. *Halicalyptra? cornuta B., fig. 13, 14. Cornutella clathrata 8 profunda *Haliomma?! pyriformis B., fig. 29. Ehr., fig. 23. *Lithobotrys inflatum B., fig. 15. *Cornutella annulata B., fig. 5, a, b. *Perichlamidium venustum B., fig. 16, 17. *Dictyophimus? gracilipes B.,, fig. 8. *Stylodictya stellata B., fig. 20. *Eucyrtidium aquilonaris B., fig. 9. *Kucyrtidium hyperboreum B., fig. 10. 4 cuspidatum B., fig. 12. é turgidulum B., fig. 11. ZOOLITHARIA.* Spongolithis acicularis Hhr. *Spongolithis clavata B. fig. 21. id aspera Hhr. < uncinata Hhr. “ clavus hr. = e orthogona B., fig. 22. PoLYTHALAMIA.
Not even a fragment of any of the Polythalamia has been detected by me in these soundings.
Description of the new species referred to in the above list.
Asteromphalus Brookei B. Plate I, fig. 1. Discs slightly con- vex; umbilical rays (7 to 18 or more), flexuose, some simple others branched, or two or more uniting before reaching the centre.
Diametert 2™ to 4™, (=:002” to 004”).
This is a very beautiful species which I take pleasure in dedi- cating to Lieut. Brooke of the U.S. Navy, who by means of his ingenious device for obtaining deep sea bottoms, has added this and many other interesting forms to the treasures of the micro- scopist. ‘This species appears to be distinguished from any of the Antarctic species described by Ehrenberg, by the branched char- acter of a portion of its umbilical rays. The number of rays in my specimens varies from seven to thirteen, but specimens differ- ing in the number of rays agree so closely in every other charac- ter that I do not believe that the number of rays is a character of specific importance in this genus, and the same remark will apply to the allied forms of Asterolampra, Heliopelta, Actinoptychus, Actinocyclus, &e. |
The genus Asteromphalus may reach its maximum in the polar seas, having been found by Hhrenberg to exist in great
* Ehrenberg refers the silicious spiculae of sponges to Phytolitharia, but the animal nature of sponges now appears to be generally admitted.
+ The micro-unit which I employ is =,4,5th of an English inch, and I express the dimensions in integers and fractions of this unit, thus 347 = -00325’’.
J. W. Bailey on Microscopic Forms in the Sea of Kamtschatka. 3
abundance in the Antarctic ocean, but it is not confined to high latitudes, as a species occurs in considerable numbers in soundings from the Gulf of Mexico, and from the Gulf Stream.
CaDIUM, nov. gen. Animal unknown (a Rhizopod?). Shell siliceous! ovoidal, with a bent beak and circular aperture.
Cadium marinum B. PI.I, fig. 2. Shell with numerous merid- ian lines, of which about twelve are visible at once, Length 2m, Diameter 14”,
I propose the genus Cadium to include some small shells whose siliceous nature I have fully proved, and which occur in the above mentioned soundings, as well as in the Gulf Stream.
In the specimen figured, from ten to twelve longitudinal strize were seen at once on the upper surface of the shell, but i some specimens from.the Gulf Stream the striz were about twice as numerous.
Ceratospyris boreaks B. Pl. 1, fig. 3. Shell semi-globose, flattened and spinose at base composed of a coarse net-work of strong rounded bars. Cells or perforations large, unequal.
Diameter 5™ to 6™. Height 4 to 5™.
Cheetoceres furcillatum B. PI.I, fig. 4. Shells very minute, with the sete of adjoining frustules closely approximate and nearly parallel for a portion of their length, then diverging and afterwards becoming nearly parallel. Length of the body, 02m to 0-4™, Total length including sete about 2™. This species which is one of the minutest of its genus is quite common in the Sea of Kamtschatka and I have also found it in mud taken from _ the head of a whale captured in the sea of Ochotsk.
Cornutella? annulata B. Pl. I, fig. 5, ab. Shell elongated, digitiform or somewhat conical, with a rounded apex and termi- nal spine. Cells or perforations arranged in transverse lines, four to six being visible at once in each ring.
Length 8™ to 6™, Length of spine 4™.
Cosconodiscus Oculus Iridis? Hhr. In these soundings there is a considerable number of large Coscinodisci identical with a species occurring fossil at Richmond, Virginia, which I suppose to be C. Oculus Iridis of Khrenberg, but Ehrenberg’s figure of that species in Mikrogeologie pl. xvii, fig. 42, was probably drawn from a small specimen; as the species both in the recent and fossil species often acquires a size not much inferior to that of Coscinodiscus Gigas. My measurements of specimens in these soundings give its diameter as 11™ to 12™, and the cells where largest were 8 in 1™, measured in the direction of the radii. The si or rosette of the centre is formed by six or more polygonal cells.
Coscinodiscus borealis B. (Not figured.) Disc having at its depressed centre, a conspicuous star formed of about six large cells. The rest of the surface covered with interruptedly radiant lines of prominent hexagonal cells, which increase regularly from near the centre to the convex margin of the shell.
4 J. W. Bailey on Microscopic Forms in the Sea of Kamtschatka.
Diameter 7™ to 8". Largest cells 5 to 6 in 1™.
This resembles the preceding, but the cells forming the star are pore rounded and the other cells are larger than in C. Oculus
idis. |
Coscinodiscus crassus B. (Not figured.) Disc without a central star, covered with interruptedly radiant lines of large prominent hexagonal cells with circular pores, cells increasing slightly in size towards the margin of the shell.
_A common species in these soundings, and also found fossil at Monterey, California.
Cyclotella pertenuis B. (Not figured). Shell minute, slightly convex, very thin, with very minute cells or dots arranged in a radiant manner.
Diameter about 2™. Cells 30 or 40 to 1™, arranged so as to produce radiant lines and eccentric curves. The markings are scarcely visible by an excellent $-mch objective, but become quite distinct under a 4-inch objective when seen by oblique heht.
Dicladia Mitra B. PI, fig. 6. Shell having two conical horns coalescing below into a conical base, and bearing branched pro- cesses above.
Diameter of base 1™ to 14m, Height including the processes 14™.
Difflugia? marina B. Pl. I, fig. 7. Shell siliceous, ovoidal or lagenoid, with a contracted neck and circular aperture. Surface divided by oblique lines into quadrilateral spaces.
Length 244, Diameter 14”.
A single specimen of this shell was found in soundings from the depth of 2750 fathoms which had been cleaned with acids. Its siliceous nature is therefore certain. It is probably the shell of a Rhizopod allied to Difflugia, but as I beheve that all the known species of that genus are fluviatile, it is doubtful whether this form should be associated with them.
Dictyophimus gracilipes B. Pl. I, fig. 8. Shell triquetrous, head rounded, bearing a terminal spine. Body or second articu- lation having large unequal cells, and three acute ridges pro- longed into long acute basal spines.
Length including spines 43™. Cells 3 to 4 in 1™.
Hucyrtidium aquilonaris B. Pl. I, fig. 9. Shell with a rounded head and three (or more?) inflated articulations having large cells or perforations arranged in transverse rows, the spaces be- tween the cells being irregularly granulate. Lower cell abruptly contracted at base and prolonged into a neck.
Length 5™ to 6™, Diameter of lower articulation 3 to 4™.
Hucyrtidium hyperboreum B. Pl. 1, fig. 10. Shell somewhat cylindrical, with a rounded head and three to five (or more?) articulations. Surface marked with longitudinal ridges bearing minute granules. Cells or perforations in transverse rows, often nearly obsolete.
J. W. Bailey on Microscopic Forms in the Sea of Kamstchatha. 5
Length 4™. Diameter 2”.
This shell resembles some of the varieties of HK. lineatum of Ehrenberg, but differs in having the cells much less distinct, the walls thicker, and the surface with a reticulated appearance due to the small elevations or granules placed upon the longitudinal ridges.
Bastritainm tumidulum B. Pl. I, fig. 11. Shell subfusiform ; head rounded, without spines; articulations three or more, each having from four to six transverse rows of large cells of nearly uniform size arranged in a decussating manner.
Length 4™, Diameter 2™. Cells 4 to 5 in 1™.
A species closely resembling this is common in the Atlantic soundings.
Hucyrtidium cuspidatum B. Pl. I, fig. 12. Shell conical with eight or more articulations, head rounded and bearing a long curved setiform process.
Length of shell 6. Length of setula 5™ to 6™.
In the Atlantic soundings is found a species closely resembling this, except that it has not been seen with the setiform process. I have called it C. Tritonis.
Halicalyptra? cornuta B. P1.I, fig. 18-14. Shell dome shaped or campanulate, with a rounded head, armed with two spines. Second articulation (or body) having large cells or openings arranged in transverse and decussating rows.
Length 4™ to 6™. Diameter at base 8% to 4m. Cells nearly 1™ in diameter near the base of cell, and showing four to five in each transverse row.
Lithobotrys inflatum B. Pl. I, fig. 15. Shell ovoidal, head composed of two or three small rounded cells. Body with one large inflated cell with a slight transverse constriction. Surface with cells of unequal size.
Length 8™. Diameter 13”,
Perichlamidium venustum B. Pl. I, fig. 16 and 17. Shell discoidal with a thickened spongiform central mass, and a broad cellulose margin with numerous rays prolonged into projecting spines.
FDcamote 10™ to 15™. Width of margin 1™ to 2™.,
This shell is not rare in these soundings, and is, I believe, the first of its genus that has been found in the recent state.
filizosolenia hebetata B. Pl. I, fig. 18,19. Shell calyptriform, punctate, with a smooth cylindrical base. Apex expanded, lat- erally compressed and having a rounded and retuse end.
This is one of the most common forms in these soundings, and also occurs in the sea of Ochotsk. The punctate conical portions are most frequently seen, but specimens with the cylindrical base are occasionally found.
Stylodictya stellata B. Pl.J, fig. 20. Shell with five or more concentric rings, the outer one armed with short spines.
6 S. W. Johnson on two Sugars from California.
Diameter 5™ to 6”.
I believe this to be a Stylodictya rather than a Flustrella in consequence of indications that the spines radiate from the centre, and are not mere marginal appendages.
Spongolithis ? clavata B. Pl. I, fig. 21. Club-shaped, fistulous, with a rounded head bearing numerous tubular spines.
Spongolithis? orthogona B. Pl. I, fig. 22. Composed of three bars crossing each other at right angles, each bar perforate, smooth near the centre, and enlarging towards each end into a club-shaped portion densely beset with short spines.
Both these forms, which I have referred with some hesitation to Spongolithis, are certainly siliceous and not calcareous forms as they completely resist the action of acids.
The position and depth of the soundings in which the above Species were detected are as follows: )
No. 1. Sea bottom 2700 fathoms, lat 56° 46’ N, long. 168° 18’ H, brought up by Lieut. Brooke with Brooke’s lead.
_ No. 2. Sea bottom 1700 fathoms, lat 60° 15’ N, long. 170° 58’ EK, brought up as above July 26th, 1855.
No. 8. Sea bottom 900 fathoms, temperature (deep sea) 32° Saxton. Lat. 60° 30’ N, long. 175° E.
By consulting the drift chart in Maury’s Physical Geography of the Sea (Pl. LX) it will be seen that the above positions are in the region where the drift is from the north, and the species themselves appear to be of a northern type, differing decidedly as a group from those found at Japan or along the coast of Oregon and California. :
Art. I.—Kxamination of two Sugars (Panoche and Pine Sugar) from Califorma; by SAMUEL W. JOHNSON,
SomE time since I received from Wm. P. Blake, Esq., Geolo- gist of the Pacific R. R. survey, two substances collected by him, with the following notice of their occurrence, &c.
“Tbe sugar which I send you is collected by the Indians of the Tefou in California, from the surface of the leaves of a tall reed or cane which grows abundantly along the streams and low moist places of that valley. ‘The canes are cut and then beaten over hides spread upon the ground. The sugar is thus detached from the plants, and mingled as it is with fragments of the leaves and stalks, is made into thick cakes which are afterwards covered with a neatly woven mat made of tulé or round rushes tightly bound together. ‘This sugar is known as Panoche, and is much liked by the Indians. It is also used by settlers and emigrants when without a superior article, for sweetening their coffee. The
S. W. Johnson on two Sugars from California. 7
sample I send you, was taken from one of the cakes which had been partly used, but still weighed several pounds. Its color was white or gray, with a greenish tinge, probably imparted to it by the leaves and other impurities. It was not crystalline or granu- lar, but in consistency was more like partly hardened molasses- candy but was not so adhesive or sticky. It had a peculiar sweet _ taste, somewhat saline as if it contained a portion of common salt. A part of the mass dissolved in water showed the presence of a large amount of impurities, and among them, numerous re- mains of the Aphis or green-fly. I concluded that these little vermin were the manufacturers of the sugar; an opinion, which I afterwards confirmed to my own satisfaction, by seeing great numbers of these insects on cane leaves made glossy with their excrements. This is probably the source of the Sugar; its accumulation being favored by the long dry season without any rain to wash the leaves.
The other sample I send, is called ‘ Pine-sugar,’ and exudes in considerable quantities from a species of pine growing abundantly in the forests on the western slope of the Sierra Nevada. ‘This is probably Mannite.”
The Panoche, as placed in my hands, had entirely lost its solid- ity, and was mostly absorbed into the numerous papers that had been wrapped about the original mass. In addition to a peculiar odor reminding of figs, it had a strong acetic smell. It was digested in warm water, and the solution filtered and pressed from the paper, fragments of mat, and other impurities; the liquid was evaporated at a gentle heat, and yielded a thick syrup, not distinguishable in appearance and sweetness, from the poorer qual- ities of West India molasses; but it left on the tongue a disa- greeable, bitter, and quite lasting after-taste. I was unable to separate any crystallizable sugar from this syrup. It gave with the usual tests, the reaction of a mixture of cane and grape sugars. The alteration it had undergone while in Mr. Blake’s possession is not a little remarkable, and it appears that when he procured it, it was already in a state of change, for he informs me in a recent note, that there is in the U. S. Patent Office a specimen of sugar of the same origin which is in the solid form, resembling a cake of maple sugar. Is this change of consistency due to a humid atmosphere, or to continued motion? I have observed a similar change in a cake of maple sugar which was carried from this country to Europe. It was originally a firm hard mass, but after the journey it had become quite soft, and the thick paper envelope was thoroughly saturated with molasses.
The Pine Sugar had the form of rounded, rough nodules, half an inch and more in diameter; some were nearly white, others were of a brown color. They were almost completely soluble in water and in boiling alcohol, yielding a reddish brown liquid. The alcoholic solution was partially decolorized by bone black, and a
8 S. W. Johnson on two Sugars from California. 4
quantity of ether added to it, which caused a dense milkiness, After some hours globular or stellate deposits of white and mostly opaque crystals were formed on the sides and bottom of the vessel, while the liquid became clear. If too much ether was added a small quantity of syrup of uncrystallizable sugar (?) gath- ered in globules at the bottom of the liquid.
The crystals thus obtained were further purified by recrystalli- zation, they possess a pure and intense sweet taste, are very hard, brittle, and unless pulverized, dissolve but slowly in boiling alco- hol. In the mother liquors accumulated a substance of bitter taste.
After having procured these crystals in a state of purity and remarked their non-identity with mannite, &., Berthelot’s paper on several new sugars (Compt. Rend. 1855, No. 12, p. 452, t. xu1,) came to hand. ‘This chemist describes the body im question under the name of Prnite. He relates that it is yielded by the Pinus lambertiana of California, and exudes from cavities made by the aid of fire, near the roots of the tree. According to Berthelot, ‘‘it possesses right polarization and is incapable of fer- mentation even after treatment with sulphuric acid. Its analysis led to the formula CizHi2010. Acetate of lead-oxyd ammonia precipitates from its solutions the compound C12H12010 4Pb.0. It is isomeric with Quercite, but differs from that body im erystal form, and has greater solubility and sweetness.” The quantity at my disposal was so small that I only attempted to make an ultimate analysis; my results were slightly vitiated by the fracture of the combustion tube, after the burning was complete, but be- fore the COz had been fully carried into the potash bulbs.
Below are the obtained numbers compared with those required by Berthelot’s formula.
Cale. Found | Cis Saw 43°90 42°75 Oo = 50) 48-78 49°85 164 100-00 100-00
In another paper, Berthelot describes a large number of com- pounds of sugars with acids. Among these are the acid and neutral stearates and benzoates of Pimite. He has further found that when these compounds are saponified there is obtaimed the original acid, and, not pinite, but a substance which gradually passes into pinite.
The name pinite is very objectionable, as identical in orthogra- phy with one appellation of a mineral which is overloaded with
synonyms.
On the Composition of the Muscles in the Animal Series. 9
ArT. I1.—On the Composition of the Muscles in the Animal Se- ries; by MM. VALENCIENNES and FREemy.*
THE articles lately published by us on the composition of egos, show-that a comparative study of subjects related in or- ganization, running through the different classes of the animal kingdom, is always a source of much interest alike to zoology and chemistry. Taking up the eggs of the principal groups of animals, we pointed out fundamental differences in composition which zoology should hereafter regard, and besides, we gave the general characteristics of a new class of organic substances, des- ignated by us under the name of vitellin substances, which chemistry and physiology cannot confound with the albuminous substances.
Associating still our labors—which enables us to handle ques- tions within the provinces both of zoology and chemistry,—we have proposed to ourselves to extend to the muscular fibre the mode of research which we have bestowed on eggs, that is, to endeavor to exhibit, by a comparative study, the differences of the muscles in chemical composition. A general examination of the whole animal series should then give us tolerably pre- cise notions of the nature of the proximate principles found in the muscular fibre, as well as of the analytical processes by which they may be isolated.
Through our joint research, we have established several im- — portant facts which are brought out in this our first communica- tion on the subject.
The muscular fibre of the vertebrate animals, which we first examined, was separated with the greatest care by anatomical processes from the white aponeurotic or tendinous fibres, from the nervous cords, the principal blood vessels, and also from the fat which it contains in considerable amount. The proximate principle which first appears in the analysis of the muscles of the Vertebrata is creatin, the discovery of which, as is well known, is due to M. Chevreul. Then come inosic acid and crea- tinin, which have been described with so much discrimination and care by M. Liebig. In this part of our researches, we can only confirm the labors of the well known chemists just named. We will mention, however, that creatinin appears to us more abundant in the animal economy than is generally supposed ; we have ascertained its presence in the muscular fibre of almost all the Vertebrata; it is often found in a free state, and is shown by a very marked alkaline reaction; we have found it too com- bined with phosphoric acid. Our attention was next drawn to
* Translated from the Journal de Pharmacie for December, 1855, p. 401, &c., by Dr. J. Rosengarten.
SECOND SERIES, VOL. XXII, NO. 64.—JULY, 1856. 2
10 On the Composition of the Muscles in the Animal Series.
the substance which gives acidity to the muscles of all the Verte- brata, we thought it of interest to isolate this principle and to analyze it. The result of our researches in this direction is, that if in some cases, the acidity of the muscles is due to lactic acid, that which makes the muscular fibre strongly acid is ordinarily a phosphate of potash, having, according to our analysis, the for- mula, KO, 2HO, PO*. We obtained this salt in a crystallized condition by treating the muscles with weak alcohol and evapo- rating the liquor to a syrupy consistence.
While determining the proportion of this salt in the muscles of different animals, we observed evidence of some connection with the formation of the osseous system; that 1s, we always found it largely in animals in which the bones are very much developed, and very slightly m the Articulata and Mollusca. The part which this salt takes in the formation of bones is now clear; for we have directly ascertamed that in reacting on car- bonate of lime, the phosphate of potash from the muscles, forms the basic phosphate of lime, which is so considerable a part of the bony substance. This phosphate of potash is not, per- haps, without effect in the production of a phosphuretted fatty matter that exists in the muscles, which will be mentioned far- ther on; we think, however, that under these circumstances, it deserves the attention of physiologists. The muscles of the ver- tebrated animals are impregnated with a considerable quantity of fatty bodies made up of varying proportions of olein, margarin, and stearin. Besides these neutral fatty bodies, another is always found, which differs from the substances properly called fat by a number of peculiarities, and presents some analogy to the cere- bral fat. We have made a tolerably complete examination of this interesting substance. It was extracted easily by treating the muscles with weak alcohol, which dissolves it without alter- ing the other fatty bodies. This liquid, when evaporated, gives, a viscous amber-colored substance, which partly dissolves in water; treated «with sulphuric acid, it decomposes like a soap, giving sulphate of soda and an acid heavier than water. This acid contains both azote and phosphorus; analyzed, it afforded exactly the composition which one of us obtained from the cere- bral fat, called oleophosphoric acid.
The phosphuretted fat which exists in the muscles, is therefore identical with that which is found so plentifully in the brain, and is produced, like the latter, by the combination of soda and oleo- phosphoric acid. This substance can now be said to be found in every part of the animal organization. We have established that its proportion in the muscular tissue increases with the age of the animal, and it is as various as the different species of the verte- brate animals. Fishes, such as the whiting, the dab, the floun- der, have only a very small proportion, while species haying a
On the Composition of the Muscles in the Animal Series. 11
compact body, with a strong taste, generally difficult to digest, like the mackerel” herring, trout, and, most of all, salmon, have a large quantity. It is this phosphuretted substance which, by de- composing incompletely through the action of heat, gives to broiled fish its characteristic smell.
While studying this substance in the muscles of fish, we have been naturally led to examine the red matter which colors the muscles of salmon, that which, in trout and some other fish, pro- duces the ‘sawmonage.’ This remarkable change of color is partly dependent on the phenomenon of reproduction. The salmon, for instance, is red-skinned all the year, but its muscles become per- ceptibly paler at the time of spawning. This discoloration is still more distinct in trout, for when they spawn the skin becomes quite white. While the spawning does not occur at the same time, the female ‘salmons’ itself a deeper red, and keeps this color longer than the male; and often in the same stream there are taken white trout and salmon trout. This shows too that the salmon trout is not the mongrel of the trout and salmon; besides, the fecundation of one of these fish by the other is out of the question since the salmon spawns in July and rarely in Au- gust, while the trout spawns in December. |
The coloring matter of the muscles of a salmon attracted the attention of Sir Humphrey Davy; in the work by this famous chemist, entitled Salmonia, it is said that the skin of a salmon ean be discolored by ether. But even till now, this coloring matter has not been isolated. It is this which we attempt to - accomplish. From our researches, we find this coloring matter to be of a fatty nature, presenting the characteristics of a weak acid, which we call salmonic acid, and that it dissolves in a neutral oil. In order to isolate salmonic acid, we used the following means: the red oil which is easily got from the muscles of a sal- mon by a press, was agitated cold with alcohol feebly ammoni- ated; the oil then becomes colorless, and the alcohol takes the coloring matter, which is separated by decomposing the ammoni- acal salt with an acid. The acid thus obtained is viscous, red, and presents all the characteristics of a fatty acid; itis the same in the salmon-trout as in the muscles of a salmon. We have found it in considerable quantity and mixed with oleophosphoric acid in the eggs of salmon, which partly accounts for the discolora- tion and loss of smell in the flesh of a salmon when it lays. The female of the Salmo hamatus Val., does not afford as much acid, either salmonic or oleophosphoric, as the common sal- mon (Salmo salmo Val.): the muscles of fish show therefore in Species most nearly allied appreciable differences in their compo-
sition.
It was of interest to compare the muscles of Crustacea with those of fish. In order to work at the muscular flesh of the for-
12 On the Composition of the Muscles in the Animal Series.
mer, pure and without any mixture of other organs, we chose the mass of muscles bundled together im the tail, taking care to put aside the extremity of the intestinal canal and the nervous cord which follows it.
The muscles thus prepared, were submitted to the action of different solvents, especially alcohol and ether. They proved to be simpler in composition than those of the Mammalia, and pre- sented some analogy to the muscles of fish. The phosphate of potash which is so largely found in the former, hardly occurs in the Crustacea; the oleophosphoric acid exists’ however in as con- siderable quantity as in the muscles of fish. We obtained also creatin and creatinin from the muscles of several different kinds of crustaceous animals.
To complete this general study of the muscles of different ani- mals, 1t remaimed to examine the Mollusca, which on analysis, afforded a remarkable and unlooked for fact. To enable us to compare these analytical results with those we had arrived at in the other animals, we used great care in the preparation of the museular tissue of the mollusks intended for our experi- ments. For example, in working on the large muscle of the Cephalopods, we took away the bone of the cuttle fish, and the tail of the ‘calmar,’ we put aside all the membranes which touch the cavity enclosing the secretions, and we raised the cartilages which operate on the corresponding tubercles of the body, in the movements of these large muscles. In the acephalous molluscs we took only the large abductor muscles of the valves. In one word, avoiding all the products of the secretions, and all the or- gans of complex composition so plentiful in these animals, which are so often called simple bodies, our analyses were applied to the pure muscular fibre of the Mollusca, from the order of the Ceph- alopoda to that of the Acephala. The delicacy of the prepara- tions had a great influence on the nicety of the analytic results which we are now to make known.
The muscles of mollusks presented a much simpler compo- sition than those of the vertebrated animals, for they do not contain any appreciable quantity of phosphate of potash, of oleo- phosphoric acid, of creatin or of creatinm: these proximate principles are replaced by a crystalline material which is ob- tained as plentifully from oysters as from the cuttle-fish, and may be called a characteristic of the muscles of these animals. It 1s much more soluble in boiling water than in cold, imsoluble in al- cohol and ether, combines with neither acids nor bases, and resists the action of nite acid. When submitted to the action of heat, it gives all the products which result from the decomposition of organic azotized substances, and with sulphuric acid, affords both the sulphite and the sulphate of ammonia. The presence of sul- phur in the crystalline matter of the mollusks has been confirmed by the analyses, which resulted thus:
On the Composition of the Muscles in the Animal Series. 13
: - - - - 19°5
. - - . sD - - - - - 10°5
. - . - - 24:0 . . - - 00 100:0
These analytical data with the other characteristics, show that the substance from mollusks is identical with a very remarkable material discovered by Gmelin in the bile of the vertebrated ani- mals, which he calls tawrmne.
To give the last degree of certainty to this interesting fact we asked M. de Senarmont to determine the crystalline form of the substance obtained from the mollusks; sid his crystallographic determination is a further confirmation of the identity of taurine from the bile, and that from the muscles of oysters and cuttle- fish. The presence in the muscles of mollusks of a substance containing 25 per cent of sulphur, which till now has been found only in the bile, is an important physiological fact; and it seem to us probable, that by directing attention to taurine, the ideas which have hitherto been expressed as to the function of this interesting substance may be modified. ‘Taurine, in the dis- tinctness of its crystalline forms, may be compared to urea, and it presents both chemically and physiologically some analogy to that base of animal orig. Both have been artificially produced. M. Strecker has shown that isethionate of ammonia, when heated, © produces taurine. It has always been supposed that this sub- stance was a result of the decomposition of sulphuric acid in the bile, and it has been looked upon as an original substance in the body. We think that the results published in this article, are likely to modify these opinions, showing that taurine does not originate in the liver, and that it is much more abundant in the animal organization than was generally supposed. These are the chief facts which we present.
Although in this first essay we have examined only a few of the proximate principles of muscles, and have analyzed but a small part of the different groups of the animal series, yet the results confirm a general fact of great importance, set forth in our essay on eggs: namely, that analytical chemistry, while cor- roborating to some extent the principles which from the first have been used in zoological classification, establishes as a new eriterion of distinction, the existence of different substances in animals that are fundamentally different in organization.
OuZz Ha wee
i
d
14 J. D. Dana on the Classification of Crustacea.
Arr. IV.—A Review of the Classification of Orustacea with refer- ence to certain principles of Classification; by JAMES D. DANA.*
THE class Crustacea exhibits a clearness of outline in its types, and a display of relations, transitions, and distinctions, among its several groups, exceeding any other department of the animal kingdom. This fact arises from the very great range in structure occupied by the species. ‘T'he limits in size exceed those of any other class, exclusive of the Radiata; the length varying from nearly two feet to a small fraction of a line, the largest exceed- ing the smallest lineally more than a thousand-fold. In the structure of the limbs, the diversity is most surprising, for even the jaws of one division may be the only legs of another; the number of pairs of legs may vary from fifty to one, or none. The antennz may be either simple organs of sense or organs of locomotion and prehension; and the joints of the body may be widely various in number and form. In the branchial and the internal systems of structurey the variety is equally remarkable ; for there may be large branchize, or none; a heart, or none; a system of distinct arterial vessels, or none; a pair of large liver glands, or but rudiments of them; a series of ganglions in the nervous cord, or but one ganglion for the whole body. |
Taking even a single natural group, the Decapods ;—the abdo- men may be very small, without appendages, and flexed beneath the broad cephalothorax out of view, or it may be far the larger part of the body, and furnished with several pairs of large natatory appendages ;—the inner antenne may be very small, and retractile into fissures fitted to receive them, or they may be very long organs, constantly thrown forward of the head; and descending but a single step, we come to species of Decapoda without proper branchiz, some having the abdominal legs fur- nished with branchial appendages, and others with no abdominal members at all.
When we consider, that these diversities occur in a class that may not embrace in all over ten thousand species (not half of which are now known), we then comprehend the wide diversity in the distinctions that exist. The series of species followed through, gives us an enlarged view of those distinctive charac- teristics upon which the limits and relations of groups depend. The network of affiliations, it is true, is like that in other de- partments; but it is more magnified to the view.
Moreover, the distinctions are obviously distinctions of rank. There is no ambiguity as to which is the higher or superior group, as among Insects. The variations are manifestly varia- tions in grade, and we may readily trace out the several steps
* From the author’s Expl. Exped. Report on Crustacea, Vol. II, pp. 13895—1437.
J. D. Dana on the Classification of Crustacea. 15
of gradation, as we descend from the highest Brachyura to the lowest Lernza. And while we so readily distinguish these gra- dations, we as plainly see that they are not steps of progress fol- lowed by nature in the production of species; but, simply suc- cessive levels (grades of types), upon which species have been multiplied.
We, therefore, may consider the class Crustacea as especially well adapted for instruction in some of the higher principles of classification in Zoology; and, if we mistake not, laws may be educed which have not hitherto taken form in science. ‘I'hese have already been partially alluded to in the previous pages of this Report. But we here bring together the facts in a con- nected view, in order to state the principles more definitely, and exhibit the full extent of their bearing. We leave out, how- ever, a large part of the details, which may be found elsewhere in the work.
T'he fundamental idea, which we shall find at the basis of the various distinctions of structure among the species is, the higher centrahzation of the superior grades, and the less concentrated central Jorces of the inferior,—a principle which has been applied to the animal kingdom in some of its larger subdivisions, but which has not been followed out into all the details of structure exem- plified among Crustacea.
This centralization is literally a cephalization of the forces. In the higher groups, the larger part of the whole structure is cen- tred in the head, and contributes to head functions, that is, the | functions of the senses and those of the mouth. As we descend, the head loses one part after another, and with every loss of this kind, there is a step down in rank. This centralization may be looked for in the nervous cords; but the facts are less intelligi- bly studied there, than in the members, the production and po- sition of which measure the condition of the forces :—just as we can better measure the forces of a galvanic battery by the work done, than by the size or external appearance of the plates which constitute it.
In the Crustacea type, there are normally twenty-one seg- ments to the body, and correspondingly twenty-one pairs of members,—as laid down by Milne Edwards,—the last seven of which pertain to the abdomen, and the first fourteen to the ceph- alothorax. Now, we may gather from an examination of the crab, or Macroural Decapod, acknowledged to be first in rank, what condition of the system is connected with the highest cen- tralization in Crustacea.
In these highest species, nine segments and nine pairs of appendages out of the fourteen cephalothoracic, belong to the senses and mouth, and only jive pairs are for locomotion. Of these nine, three are organs of senses, six are the mandibles and
16 J. D. Dana on the Classification of Crustacea.
maxilla. Moreover, these organs are clustered into the smallest possible space, so that the six pairs of mouth organs hardly oc- cupy more room than the first pair of legs. ‘The organs are all small, the antenne exceedingly short, the maxille small lamellar organs sparingly jointed. The vegetative powers of growth have had but little play. The inner antenne are rather large as regards the basal joint, which is devoted to one of the senses, but the rest is nearly rudimentary, and the whole is snugly boxed away, to be extruded at the will of the animal. The ex- terior maxille (or outer maxillipeds) cover exactly the other pairs, and shut closely down over the mouth, like a well-fitting operculum to the buccal area.
We hence learn, that the condition of highest centralization in Crustacea, is where the cephalic part embraces the largest portion of the normal structure of the cephalothorax, and the whole is contracted within the smallest compass, with the least vegetative growth or elongation of the parts. The forces are concentrated in the more perfectly developed senses and the higher functions of the animal—not in giving size to the organs of the senses, but acuteness to the sensorial function. 'The per- fection of the senses is evinced by the small antennz; for we infer therefrom, not only that the organ is exclusively an organ of sense, but also, that the delicacy of the sense itself is such, as not to require a long-jointed appendage to aid the function.
This cephahzation of the animal is farther observed in the structure of the rest of the thorax and the abdomen. The ab- domen, in the first place, is reduced to its minimum size. Vege- tative elongation is here cut short, as in the anterior part of the animal; and the sphere of growth has a narrow limit, owing to the very intensity of its concentration; and we find that the limit widens as the intensity diminishes.
Again: the central power is indicated by the fact, that the first pair of legs is the strong pair; being properly hands, they contribute especially to the higher functions, that is, the support of the living animal, through their strength and powers of pre- hension, and not like the following, to locomotion. ‘Thus, as we pass from the centre, the organs are of more and more hum- ble function. : :
This centre, as we have observed in another place, is properly between the second antennz and mandibles. ‘The second an- tenn and the rudimentary mouth, are among the first parts that appear in the embryo. If we look at it as a centre of force or of growth, we remark that the radii on opposite sides of this centre, before and behind, are very unequal, the latter being six or eight times as long as the former,—a relation which is the in- verse of the functional importance of the parts pertaining to each.
Our idea of the condition of highest centralization is thus drawn from a study of the species.
=
J. D. Dana on the Classification of Crustacea. 17
The most perfect state of it is seen in the Maia group, (the tri- angular crabs,) in which the bases of the antennz and eyes are crowded into the narrowest possible compass, and the mouth organs are well compacted within the buccal area, and the legs and whole system have the highest completeness.
The form of the body of a Maia is a somewhat flattened ovoid, narrowest in front; and the middle point between the mouth and the second antennz, which we call the potential centre of the animal, is situated near the front, say about half an inch from the front outline (excluding the beak), supposing the ceph- alothorax three inches long. We may call the part anterior to this centre, A; the part posterior, B; and the length of the for- mer, measured on the axis, a; of the latter, b. These parts may be viewed, as regards development, as potentially equal; and yet the anterior, A, is six times shorter and as much nar- rower and lower than the following. It would not, therefore, be far out of the way to say, in mathematical language, that the functional importance of the two parts varies inversely as the cubic contents of the parts.
We pass now to the degradations from this, the highest type.
These degradations are seen—
first, in a widening of the space between the antenne.
Second, in a slight enlargement of the outer maxillipeds, so that they do not fit snugly over the buccal area.
Third, in an elongation of the antenne.
These are all evidences of a slight relaxing of the concentrat- ing element. ‘The jirst, marks the transition of the Maia group to the Parthenopidee, and thence to the Cancride. The second, earries the grade a step lower, to species of the old genus Cancer, also to the swimming crabs and the Corystoids; and the third, marks off the Corystoids as the lowest of the true Brachyura.
While there are such marks of degradation exhibited through the growth or elongation of parts, there is also a mark, equally significant, in the obsolescence of the posterior thoracic legs, a peculiarity of many Grapsoids. In the Maioids, the species are well balanced; the type is perfect in its development; the sus- taining of the central functions allows of the full and complete growth of all the other parts. But the diminution of force may not only be attended with a loosening of the cephalic hold on the remoter of the cephalic organs, but also, in a failure in the production of the posterior organs of the body, or those on the outer limits of the system: and this is what happens in many Grapsoids. The swimming form of the legs in Lupa and allied species is a similar mark of inferiority.
Besides the above evidences of degradation, there are still others in the Brachyural structure, which act conjointly with
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18 J. D. Dana on the Classification of Crustacea.
the preceding, producing lower grades of species. They are all
marks of a relaxation of the centralization.
4 Fourth. An enlargement or widening of the sternum and ab- omen.
fifth. The abdomen becoming somewhat relaxed from the venter instead of remaining close-appressed to it.
Sixth. The vulvee becoming more remote from one another, being situated in the bases of the third pair of legs, instead of the sternum. :
Seventh. The inner antenne losing their fossettes, and being constantly exsert.
fighth. The branchiz being more than nine in number on either side.
The first of these peculiarities distinguishes many of the Grapsoids, as well as lower species. The second is observed in the Corystoids, and is an additional mark of their inferior grade. The third occurs in Dromia and allied. The fourth, in Latrevllia. The fifth, in Dromia. Dromia and Latreillia have the posterior legs abbreviated, and in Dromia, this evidence of degradation is os stronger, in that the fourth as well as fifth pair is short and
orsal.
The last three characteristics, above mentioned, mark a tran- sition towards the Macroural type, and the genera of this kind belong with the Anomoura. ‘This transition is seen further in—
Ninth. The eyes being without fossettes.
Tenth. The second pair of antennz becoming exterior to the eyes.
Eleventh. The outer maxillipeds more enlarged and subpe- diform.
Twelfth. The abdomen more lax and furnished with a pair of caudal appendages.
Thirteenth. The abdomen more elongated, and hardly inflexed.
These several changes exhibit a continuation of the process of ~ relaxation in the central forces. ‘There is thereby an enlarge- ment of the antennee, and their more remote position at the an- terior extremity of the animal; and also, an enlargement of the posterior or abdominal parts of the animal, and a development of appendages in the posterior direction. ‘These marks of de- eradation, excepting the thirteenth, are found in the Hippa and Porcellana groups, and the thirteenth in the Paguridea. At the same time that these Macroural characteristics appear, the body becomes elongated. ‘The species all bear a stamp of imperfection in the abbreviated posterior legs, as explained above, as well as in the other points alluded to. The subordination of the nine anterior annuli to cephalic functions, which is so striking in the Maioids, has become less and less complete, and the organs less perfect; moreover, the habits of the animals are more sluggish,
J. D. Dana on the Classification of Crustacea. 19
and they are less fitted for self-preservation. The large Dromia picks up a waste shell, and by means of its hind legs, lifts it over its bedy for protection, and the Pagurus finds shelter in the water-worn univalves of a coast.
The degradation pointed out, is hence, not merely a variation in the position and size of certains organs, but an actual deterio- ration in rank and intelligence.
Other minor points exhibiting difference of grade, might be mentioned: but they have already been subjects of remark. We state here only one—the character of the fingers of the large hands. In the higher species, these fingers are pointed ; in a grade below, in some groups, they have a spoon-like ex- tremity. This excavate form is often more perfect in young in- dividuals than in adults, which is one evidence that it is in fact proof of inferiority. By this mark we learn that the Chlorodine are of lower grade than the Xanthine; the Paguri, than the Bernhardi; the Mithracide, than the Maiade, ete.
Let us now pass to the Macroura. In the typical Macroural species, the antennse, instead of being minute, with the inner retractile, are long exsert organs, and the outer have a large plate as an appendage at base; the eyes are without sockets; the outer maxillipeds are pediform, and do not closely cover the outer mouth organs; the abdomen is often longer than the rest of the body, and has its six regular pairs of appendages. All these points show a still further relaxing of the centralization or cephalization of the species. There is an elongation of the parts anterior to the mouth, and also of those posterior, and this elongation of the two extremities is approximately propor- tional to the relative dimensions of the corresponding parts in the Brachyura. If we were to draw out an ovoid with the rela- tive length and breadth of a Macroural cephalothorax, and place its focus so as to correspond with the position of the posterior margin of the epistome, in a manner like that proposed for the Maia among Brachyura, the ovoid for the Macroura would be very narrow, and the focus or centre proportionally farther from the front than in the Brachyura.
In following down the degradation of the Brachyura to the Anomoura, we have found the posterior legs becoming abbre- viated, and the whole structure in its aspect imperfect. But, in the typical Macroura, there is nothing of this seeming imperfec- tion. The legs are all fully formed; the animals are exceed- ingly quick in their motion, instead of being sluggish; and every organ is apparently in its most perfect state for the uses of the system to which it is tributary. We should, therefore, understand, that the process of degradation, alluded to above, is not one actually passed through in the system of creation; for by its progress we should never reach the Macroural structure ;
20 J. D. Dana on the Classification of Crustacea.
nor, in the reverse order, should we from the Macroural reach the Brachyural structure. Inthe remarks above, we speak only . of the comparative actual conditions of the species as regards centralization.
The Macroura and Brachyura belong to independent yet cor- related and subordinate types of structure, each perfect in itself, and admitting of wide modifications, and having its own system of degradations. We add a few words on these degradations among the Macroura. We have seen that, in the Brachyura, the powerful prehensile legs are those of the first pair, these acting for the collection of food, and so contributing to the mouth. In the Macroura, there are species of high rank that have the an- terior legs strong-handed, like the Macroura. ‘There are others, in which the second or third pair is the strong-handed pair ; others having all the legs weak appendages, with only rudi- mentary hands or none. ‘The several marks of degradation are as follows :-—
first. The outer maxillipeds pediform.
Second. The maxillipeds next anterior pediform.
Third. Second pair of legs cheliform and stouter than the first.
Fourth. The third pair of legs cheliform and stouter than either of the preceding. :
Thus as we descend, we find one and even two pairs of mouth appendages beginning to pass from the mouth series to the foot series, and the cephalic portion is thus losing its appendages and high centralized character. Moreover, the power belonging to the first pair of legs in the higher species is transferred to the second pair of legs, as in the Palemons; or, to the third pair, as in the Penzidex; indicating a further decrease of that cen- tralization so remarkable in the Brachyura. Still lower among the species, as in the Sergestidee, all the legs are weak, and the posterior pair may be short or obsolete,—the same deterioration that occurs in the lower Brachyura.
As we descend farther, there is an increased obsolescence of organs, and every step is one of marked imperfection as well as degradation.
fifth. The branchiz become external and small.
Sixth. The branchiz become wholly wanting, or part of the abdominal appendages.
Seventh. The last two pairs of thoracic legs become obsolete.
Highth. The abdominal appendages become obsolete.
Ninth. The eyes and antennz have separate segments, and the abdomen is very long and large.
The fifth point of degradation is seen in the Huphauside ; the sixth, in the Myside and other Anomobranchiates; the seventh is found in several genera of the same group; the eighth in cer- tain Myside. The Anomobranchiates are thus degraded Ma-
J. D. Dana on the Classification of Crustacea. 21
croura. There is not merely a relaxing of the centralization; but the forces are so weakened as not to succeed in finishing out the members in the system of structure to which they pertain. The species consequently are not modifications upon the level of the Macroural type, nor upon a distinct level or distinct type; but simply imperfect developments of the Macroural structure below the true level of that type. They bear nearly the same relation to the Macroura, that the Anomoura bear to the Brachy- ura. ‘The ninth step is seen in the Squilloidea, whose relaxation of system and elongation in the cephalic part, as well as abdo- men are remarkable.
The continuation of the line of degradation represented in the Anomoura, is not to be found, as we have remarked, among the typical Macroura. But the structure of the Paguri may be traced into the aberrant Macroura, called Thalassenidea; and thence, both in the abdomen, the legs, and the branchize, we ob- serve a transition to the Squilloids, one division of the Anomo- branchiates. If then, we were to trace out the lines of affinity in the species, it would be from the Mysis group to the typical Macroura, and from the Squilla group to the Thalassinidea, as elsewhere explained. From the latter, the lines lead mainly to the Anomoura and higher species. :
In our review, thus far, we recognise one only of the primary types of structure among Crustacea. ‘This primary type is char- acterized by having nine normal annuli or segments devoted to the senses and mouth, that is, to the cephalic portion of the body. It includes two, or, we perhaps may say, three secondary — types. The first of these secondary types is the Brachyural; it has the antennze small, the inner pair in fossettes, the abdomen. without appendages. In the other type (or other two, if so con- sidered), the antennze are elongated, and both pairs free, the ab- domen is elongated, and furnished with a series of appendages. This, the second type, is the Macroural; or, if we assume that it embraces two distinct types (a second and third), the two cor- respond to the typical Macroura and the Thalassinidea.
Hach secondary type embraces types of more subordinate: character, which it is unnecessary here to dwell upon.
There is a tendency in the lowest Macroural species to a trans- fer of the two posterior mouth appendages to the foot series, so as: to leave but seven cephalic annuli; but it is only a modification of the primary type, as the species have every mark of being de- graded or imperfect forms, and are not examples of a new type.
In this primary type, the species vary in length from half an inch to twenty inches. ‘T'wo inches may be set down as the av- erage length and breadth for the Brachyura; while three inches is the average length of the Macroura, the average breadth being half an inch or less. |
22 J. D. Dana on the Classification of Crustacea.
The second primary type among Crustacea is as well defined in its limits, and as distinct in its characters as the first. Instead of having nine annuli devoted to the senses and mouth, there are but seven, the mouth, including a pair of mandibles, two pairs of maxille, and one of maxillipeds. The number is permanent and characteristic. There are, consequently, seven pairs of legs in these species, instead of five, the Decapod number; and the species have been appropriately styled the Zetradecapoda. In- stead of exhibiting any appearance of imperfection, or any ob- solescent organs, like those lower Macroura that show a transi- tion to a fourteen-footed structure, the organs are all complete, and the whole structure is perfect in symmetry and unique in character. They have not a Macroural characteristic. The eyes are not pedicellate; there is no carapax, but a body di- vided into as many segments as there are legs (whence our name Choristopoda); the antennze, legs, and the whole internal struc- ture are distinct in type. ‘The branchiz are simple sacs, either thoracic or abdominal.
We have, therefore, in the Tetradecapods an expression of that structure of body, and that size, which belongs to a system, in which but seven annuli or segments are concentrated in the ce- phalic portion of the structure. The structure is far inferior to the Decapodan. The size rarely exceeds two inches, though in extreme cases three to four inches; and probably half an inch is the average length. ‘T’he contrast between the first and second of the primary types, is therefore as distinct in the average size of their structures, as in their actual grade or rank.
Superior rank among the Tetradecapods may be distinguished by some of the same points as in the Decapods. The short antennee, short compact bodies, and abbreviated abdomen of the Isopods, are proofs of their superiority of grade. The abdomi- nal appendages are simply branchial, and in the higher species are naked or non-ciliated lamelle. ‘The transitions to a lower grade are seen in the elongation of these abdominal lamellee, their becoming ciliated, and the abdomen being also more elon- gated and flexible; then in the abdominal lamelle becoming elongated natatory appendages, and the abdomen taking a length usually not less than that of the thorax, as in the Amphipods, in which the branchiz are appendages to the thoracic legs. And while this elongation goes on posteriorly, there is also anteriorly an enlargement of the antenns, which in the Amphipoda are usually long organs. There are thus two secondary types of structure among the Tetradecapods, as among the Decapods; a transition group between, analogous to the Anomoura, partakes of some of the characters of both types, without being a distinct type itself These are our Anisopoda. ‘The species graduate from the Isopod degree of perfection to the Bopyni, the lowest
J. D, Dana on the Classification of Crustacea. 23
of the Tetradecapods. There is thus another analogy between this group and the Anomoura.
The Trilobita probably belong with this second type, rather than the Entomostracan. Yet they show an abberrant character in two important points. First, the segments of the body are multiplied much beyond the normal number, as in the Phyllopoda among the Entomostraca; and Agassiz has remarked upon this as evidence of that larval analogy which characterizes in many cases the earlier forms of animal life. In the second place, the size of the body far transcends the ordinary Isopodan limit. This might be considered a mark of superiority; but it is more probably the reverse. It is an enlargement ‘beyond the normal and most effective size, due to the same principle of vegetative growth, which accords with the inordinate multiplication of seg- ments in the body.
The third primary type (the Entomostracan) includes a much wider variety of structure than either of the preceding, and is less persistent in its characteristics. It is, however, more remote in habit from the Tetradecapods, than from the lowest Decapods, and is properly a distinct group. Unlike the Decapods and Te- tradecapods, there are normally but sex annuli devoted to the senses and mouth in the highest of the species, and but five in others, the mouth including a pair of mandibles, and either one or two pairs of maxille (or maxillipeds). This is an abrupt step below the Tetradecapods. We exclude from these mouth organs the prehensile legs, called maxillipeds by some authors, as they _ are not more entitled to the name than the prehensile legs in Tanais, and many other Tetradecapods. There is an exception to the general principle in a few species. A genus of Cyproids has three pairs of maxille; but this may be viewed as an exam- ple of the variations which the type admits of, rather than as an essential feature of it,—possibly a result of the process of obso- lescence which marks a low grade, as in the Mysidsz, whose abdomen by losing its appendages, approximates in this respect to the Brachyural structure, though, in fact, far enough remote.
The species of the Entomostracan type show their inferiority to either of the preceding in the absence of a series of abdominal appendages, and also in having the appendages of the eighth, ninth, tenth, and eleventh normal rings, when present, natatory in form.
The range of size is very great,—and this is a mark of their low grade, for in this respect they approach the Radiata, whose limits of size are remarkably wide. Nearly all of the species, and those which, by their activity, show that they possess the typical structure in its highest perfection, are minute, not avera-
ging over a line in length, or perhaps more nearly three-fourths of a line.
24 J. D. Dana on the Classification of Crustacea,
Taking this as the true expression of the mean normal size of the type, the three primary types will vary m this respect as 24 (two inches): 6: 1.
The size in this third type, reaches its maximum in the Limuli; _and these are unwieldly species,. whose very habits show that vegetative growth has given them a body beyond the successful control of its weak system, that is, a larger frame than it has power to wield with convenience, or defend, for it is at the mercy even of the waves upon a beach. .
This type has its highest representatives among the Cyclopoids, which remind us of the Mysis group of the higher Crustacea. In these, the cephalic part includes six out of the fourteen cepha- lothoracic annuli. In the Daphnioids and the Caligoids, they include only jive. In Limulus, only the first four can properly be counted as of the cephalic series. In many other Entomos- traca, the mouth organs are nearly as perfect legs as in Limulus, and the species although evidently of a low grade, cannot properly be removed from the group. Limulus has its nearest ally in Apus, although this genus has the mouth organs of a Daphnia.
The lowest species of the type are the Lernezoids. ,
A fourth primary type includes the Cirripeds. It is of the same rank as regards cephalization as the Hntomostraca; yet, it has so many peculiarities of structure, that it should be regarded as a distinct type rather than a subordinate division. of the third type.
The mean size of the species of this group is much greater than the same among the higher Hntomostraca. But if we regard the young in its active Cypris state, and compare it with the corresponding condition of species of Cyproids, we shall discover that the species have, in fact, an abnormal growth; a growth which takes place at the expense of the powers of motion or action in the individuals. The body, when it commences a se- dentary life, creases in magnitude far beyond the Cypris or Daphnia size; and there is a corresponding loss of power. 'The same force will not move a heavy structure, that is sufficient for the tiny model; and when the model is enlarged without a cor- responding increase in the seat of power, sluggish motion is the necessary consequence. ‘Thus it is with the Medusz. Individ- uals of the minuter species, or the larger species when in the young state, are gifted with active powers of motion; the struc- ture conforms to the forces within: but as the species enlarge, they become slow in movement, or lose almost every attribute of life. The same principle is illustrated again in the Bopyri. The male is a small active animal, related to Jeera and T’anais. The female, of sedentary habits, becomes grossly enlarged and corpulent, so as to exceed by twenty-fold lineally the length of the male, and nearly ten thousand times its bulk. It is manifest, that the nervous system, or motive power of the female, is abso-
J. D. Dana on the Classification of Crustacea. 25
lutely no greater than that of the male; and consequently, the capabilities of locomotion will be ten thousand times less, or the female will move but a ten-thousandth of an inch at the most, while the male is moving one inch, a fact with regard to them, as any one is aware of who has seen the incapability of the female to make any progress by locomotion. ‘T'his then, is an example beyond dispute, of a system overgrown through the vegetative process, so as to be too much for the motive energies within. The Lernzeoids afford a similar illustration of this principle.
For the same reason, therefore, as in the Bopyri, the Medusz, the Lernzoids, and the Limuli, we cannot compare the actual mean size of the adult Cirripeds, with those of the other primary types. We should rather infer the mean normal size for such a comparison, from the size of the young before it becomes seden- tary, or from that of free males, if such exist. Such males are announced by Darwin, as actually occurring in some species. Moreover, they are very minute, varying from a line to half a line or less in length. This, therefore, is some reason for taking as the mean normal size, the same as given for the Hntomostraca,
A fifth primary type includes the Roratoria. In these animal- cular species, the mouth includes a pair of mandibles and often a rudimentary pair of maxille; and consequently, the cephalic portion may contain the same number of annuli as in the Daphnia group, with which group many of them have near relations. They have usually an articulated abdomen, furcate at extremity, like the Cyclopoids. The grand point of inferiority to the Ento- mostraca, evincing the more infinitesimal character of the system of life within, is the absence of all thoracic appendages or legs, The organs of locomotion are simply ciliz arranged about the head; and it is quite probable that two sets (or more) of them correspond to the second pair of antennez, as these are organs of prehension and motion in many Hntomostraca. In Callidina, there are two sets, some distance from the extremity of the head, which may have this relation; and the two sets in the true Roti- fers may also be of this character. In others, the corresponding paris are actually somewhat elongated.
The species vary in size from a line toa sixtieth of a line. Probably one-sexth of a line is the average size.
The actual relation of the Rotatoria to the Entomostraca (which view the author sustained in his Report on Zoophytes (1845) ), can hardly be doubted by those who have the requisite knowledge of the lower Crustacea for comparison. The struc- ture of the body, the jointing and form of the abdomen, when it exists, the mandibles, and alimentary system, the eyes when present,—all are Crustacean; and a slight transformation of some Hntomostraca—an obliteration of the legs and substitution of locomotive ciliee—would almost turn them into Rotatoria.
SECOND SERIES, VOL. XXII, NO. 64.—JULY, 1856. 4
26 J. D. Dana on the Classification of Crustacea.
In the classification which has been developed, we have made out five primary types of structure among Crustacea. A grand distinction has been shown to consist in the different degrees of cephalization of the normal Crustacean structure. ‘The consecra- tion of nzne annuli, out of the fourteen cephalothoracic, to the senses and mouth, distinguishes the highest type; of seven, the second type; of sex or five, the third and fourth; of jive or four, the fifth. In connexion with other distinctions in these types, we find that they correspond to structures of different size, the size being directly related to the grade. These particulars may be tabulated as follows :—
Typical number Mean normal length, in of cephalic an- twelfths of inches or null. lines.
Type I. Popoputuatmia ) Subtype I. Brachyura, 9 24 (and breadth, 24). or Drecapopa, II. Macroura, 36 (and breadth, 6). > peda 6
Type II. TerrapEcapopA, -~— - 7 Type III. Enromosrraca, - - - - 6-5 Type IV. Crrrieepia, - E 2 “ : 6-5 Type V. Roratoria, - - : 2 4 5
The first type is alone in having true thoracic branchiz, and pedicellate eyes.
The second type has branchial sac-like appendages, either ab- dominal or thoracic, and sessile eyes.
The third type has generally no branchie, the surface of some part or all of the body serving for aeration. A few species, however, are furnished with special organs for this function. This is, however, no mark of superiority in such species, for they occur even in the Limuli, among the lowest of the Ento- mostraca. ‘The necessity of them in this case arises from the abnormal size of the species, both the mark and occasion of its inferiority ; for the system is thus too large for the mode of sur- face aeration, found among ordinary Entomostraca; moreover, the shell; which so large an animal possesses and requires for the attachment of its muscles and its movements, is thick and firm, and this is inconsistent with aeration by the exterior surface of the body. The same remarks apply to the liver glands, which are very small or wanting in the small species.
The third and fourth types show their inferiority to the second, by the absence of a series of abdominal appendages; and the fifth a lower state still, in the absence of both thoracic and ab- dominal legs. The more degraded Macroura (certain Mysideze) show a transition in this obsolescence of abdominal organs to the third type.
Some of the conclusions from these facts are the following.
I, Each type corresponds to a certain system of force more or less centralized in the organism, and is an expression of that force,—the higher degree being such as is fitted for the higher
J. D. Dana on the Classification of Crustacea. 27
structures developed, the lower such as is fitted for structures of inferior grade and size. In other words, the life-system is of different orders for the different types, and the structures formed exhibit the extent of their spheres of action, being such as are adapted to use the force most effectively, in accordance with the end of the species.
II. In a given type, as the first, for example, the same system may be of different dimensions, adapted to structures of different sizes, But the size in either direction for structures of efficient action is limited. ‘'T'o pass these limits, a life-system of another order is required. The Macroura, as they diminish in size, finally pass this limit, and the organisms (Mysidz, for example) are no longer perfect in their members; an obsolescence of some parts begins to take place, and species of this small size are actually complete only when provided with the structure of a Tetradecapod.
The extreme size of structure admitting of the highest efficient activity is generally three to six times lineally the average or mean typical size. Of these gigantic species, three or four times longer than the mean type, there areexamples among the _ Brachyura and Macroura, which have all the highest attributes of the species. ‘There are also Amphipoda and Isopoda three inches in length, with full vigorous powers. Among Entomos- traca, the Calanidz, apparently the highest group, include spe- cies that are three lines long, or three times the length of the mean. type.
III. But the limit of. efficient activity may be passed; and . when so it is attended with a loss of active powers. The struc- ture, as in the female Bopyrus and Lernzoids, and the Cirripeds, outgrows vegetatively the proper sphere of action of the system of force within. This result is especially found in sedentary species, as we have exemplified in our remarks on the Cirripeds.
IV. Size is, therefore, an important element in the system of animal structures. As size diminishes, in all departments of animal life, the structure changes. To the human structure there is a limit; to the quadrupeds also, beyond which the struc- ture is an impossibility; and the same seems to be the case among Crustacea. The Decapod, as the size diminishes, reaches the lowest limit; and then, to continue the range of size in species, another structure, the Tetradecapodan, is instituted; and as this last has also its limit, the Entomostracan is intro- duced to continue the gradation; and, as these end, the Rota- toria begin. ‘Thus Crustacea are made to embrace species, from a length of nearly two feet (or two hundred and fifty lines) to that of a one-hundred-and-fiftieth of a line. These several types of structure among Crustacea do not graduate, as regards size, directly from one to another, but they constitute overlapping lines, as has been sufficiently shown.
28 J. D. Dana on the Classification of Crustacea.
VY. In the opposite extreme of organic beings, the vegetable kingdom, the same principle is illustrated. Plants may be so minute as to have free motion and activity, asin animals. ‘The spores of certain Algze are known to have powers of locomotion, and some so-called Infusoria, are now admitted to belong to the vegetable kingdom. These are examples of locomotive plants. Now, ordinary plants, like Cirripeds, are examples of sedentary species, that have outgrown the limits of activity. The life-sys- tem of a plant, is in fact sufficient in power to give locomotion only to the minute plant-individuals alluded to; and infusorial species of plants retain it, as long as they live. But when, as in the Algee, vegetative growth proceeds in the enlargement of the minute infusorial spore, it immediately outgrows its activity, and becomes a sedentary plant. In most other plants, the seed have never the minute size which admits of motion.
The mean size of the Entomostracan type was stated to be one line; of the Rotatorial type, one-sixth of a line; and we may add, that the mean size of the Plant type—understanding by this, as in other cases, the mean size admitting of the highest activity— if deduced from the size of plant-infusoria, would be about one- sixtieth of a line.
We observe, that the smallest size of the perfect Macroura (first type) is very nearly the mean size as to length of the ani- mals of the second type. So also, the smallest size of the perfect animal of the second type (Tetradecapoda) is very nearly the mean size of the most perfect animals of the third type; and the smallest size of the perfect animal of the third type is nearly the largest size in the fifth type.
In order to compare allied animals of different sizes, it should be noted, that while there is some foundation for the conclusion, that under certain limitations, size is a mark of grade, rapidity of movement or action should also be considered; and the more proper comparison would be between multiples of size and activity. ‘This deduction, is, however, true only in the most gen- eral sense, and rather between species of allied groups than those of different types. We may occasionally find something like an exemplification of the law among bipeds, ludicrous though the idea may be.
VI. We observe with regard to the passage in Crustacea to inferior grades under a given type, that there are two methods by which it takes place. :
1. A diminution of centralization, leading to an enlargement of _ the circumference or sphere of growth at the expense of con- centration, as in the elongation of the antennz and a transfer of the maxilipeds to the foot series, the elongation of the abdomen and abdominal appendages, etc.
J. D. Dana on the Classification of Crustacea. 29
2. A diminution of force as compared with the size of the structure, leading to an abbreviation or obsolescence of some circumferential organs, as the posterior thoracic legs or anterior antenne, or the abdominal appendages (where such appendages exist in the secondary type embracing the species). ‘These cir- cumstances, moreover, are independent of a degradation of in- telligence, by an extension of the sphere of growth beyond the proper limits of the sphere of activity.
VII. A classification by grades, analogous to that deduced for Crustacea, may no doubt be made out for other classes of animals. But the particular facts in the class under consideration, are not to be forced upon other classes. Thus, while inferiority among Crustacea is connected with a diminished number of annuli ce- phalically absorbed (for the senses and mouth), it by no means follows, that the Insecta, which agree in the number of cephalic annuli with the lower Crustacea, are allied to them in rank, or inferior to the higher species. On the contrary, as the Insecta pertain to a distinct division, being aerial instead of aqueous animals, they can be studied and judged of, only on principles deduced from comparison among insects themselves. They are not subject to Crustacean laws, although they must exemplify beyond doubt, the fundamental idea at the basis of those laws.
The views which have been explained, lead us to a modifica- tion, in some points, of the classification of Crustacea. The question, whether the eyes are pedicellate or not, upon which the names Podophthalmia and Hdriophthalmia are based, proves to be one of secondary importance. And although still available in distinguishing almost infallibly the species of the first type, it is far from rendering it necessary or natural to embrace to- gether under a common division the species that have sessile eyes (so-called Edriophthalmia), as done by most writers on this subject.
_ The term Decapoda, in view of these principles, has a higher signification than has been suspected since by expressing the number of feet, it implies the number of cephalic annuli charac- terizing the species. It would not be employing it inconven- iently, therefore, if it were extended to embrace all the Podoph- thalmia, or all species of the first type, including the Mysis and Squilla groups.
For a like reason, the term Tetradecapoda has a high signifi- cance, as applied to the species of the second type. The position of the Trilobita still remains in doubt. The Cirripedia and Entomostraca, third and fourth types, stand properly on nearly the same level.
30 J. Henry on testing Building Materials.
ArT. V.—On the Mode of testing Building Materials, and an ac- count of the Marble used in the Hatension of the United States Capitol ; by Professor JosepH HENRY, Secretary of the Smith- ‘sonian Institution.*
A. COMMISSION was appointed by the President of the United States, in November, 1851, to examine the marbles which were offered for the extension of the United States Capitol, which consisted of General T'otten, A. J. Downing, the Commissioner of Patents, the architect, and myself. Another commission was subsequently appointed, in the early part of the year 1854, to repeat and extend some of the experiments,—the members of which were General Totten, Professor Bache, and myself.
A. part of the results of the first commission were given in a report to the Secretary of the Interior, and a detailed account of the whole of the investigations of these committees will ulti- mately be given in full in a report to Congress, and I propose here merely to present some of the facts of general interest, or which may be of importance to those engaged in similar re- searches.
Although the art of building has been practised from the earli- est times, and constant demands have been made, in every age, for the means of determining the best materials, yet the process of ascertaining the strength and durability of stone appears to have received but little definite scientific attention, and the com- mission, who have never before made this subject a special object of study, have been surprised with unforeseen difficulties at every step of their progress, and have come to the conclusion that the processes usually employed for solving these questions are still in a very unsatisfactory state.
It should be recollected, that the stone in the building is to be exposed for centuries, and that the conclusions desired are to be drawn from results produced in the course of a few weeks. Besides this, in the present state of science, we do not know all the actions to which the materials are subjected im nature, nor can we fully estimate the amount of those which are known.
The solvent power of water, which even attacks glass, must in time produce an appreciable effect on the most solid material, particularly where it contains, as the water of the atmosphere always does, carbonic acid in solution. The attrition of siliceous dusts, when blown against a building, or washed down its sides by rain, is evidently operative in wearing away the surface, though the evanescent portion removed at each time may not be indicated by the nicest balance. An examination of the basin
* From the Proceedings of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, held at Providence, R. I, August, 1855. New York: 1856.
J. Henry on testing Building Materials. 31
which formerly received the water from the fountain at the western entrance of the Capitol, now deposited in the Patent Office, will convince any one of the great amount of action pro- duced principally by water charged with carbonic acid. Again, every flash of lightning not only generates nitric acid,—which, in solution in the rain, acts on the marble,—but also by its in- ductive effects at a distance produces chemical changes along the moist wall, which are at the present time beyond our means of estimating. Also the constant variations of temperature from day to day, and even from hour to hour, give rise to mole- cular motions which must affect the durability of the material of a building. Recent observations on the pendulum have shown that the Bunker Hill Monument is scarcely for a moment | in a state of rest, but is constantly warping and bending under the | influence of the varying temperature of its different sides.
Moreover, as soon as the polished surface of a building is made rough from any of the causes aforementioned, the seeds of mi- nute lichens and mosses, which are constantly floating in the at- mosphere, make it a place of repose, and by the growth and decay of the microscopic plants which spring from these, discol- oration is produced, and disintegration is assisted.
But perhaps the greatest source of the wearing away in a cli- mate like ours, is that of the alternations of freezing and thawing which take place during the winter season; and though this effect must be comparatively powerful, yet, in good marble, it requires the accumulated effect of a number of years in order definitely to estimate its amount. From all these causes, the commission are convinced that the only entirely reliable means of ascertaining the comparative capability of marble to resist the weather, is to study the actual effects of the atmosphere upon it, as exhibited in buildings which for years have been exposed to these influences. Unfortunately, however, in this country, but few opportunities for applying this test are to be found. It is true some analogous information may be derived from the exam- ination of the exposed surfaces of marble in their out-crops at the quarry ; but in this case the length of time they have been exposed, and the changes of actions to which they may have been subjected, during, perhaps, long geological periods, are un- known; and since different quarries may not have been exposed to the same action, they do not always afford definite data for reliable comparative estimates of durability, except where differ- ent specimens occur in the same quarry.
As we have said before, the art of testing the quality of stone for building purposes is at present in a very imperfect state; the object is to imitate the operations of nature, and at the same time to hasten the effect by increasing the energy of the action, and, after all, the result may be deemed but as approximative, or, to a considerable degree, merely probable. !
32 J. Henry on testing Building Materials,
About twenty years ago an ingenious process was devised by M. Brard, which consists in saturating the stone to be tested with a solution of the sulphate of soda. In drying, this salt crystal- lizes and expands, thus producing an exfoliation of surface which is supposed to imitate the effect of frost. Though this process has been much relied on, and generally employed, recent investi- gations made by Dr. Owen lead us to doubt its perfect analogy with that of the operations of nature. He found that the results produced by the actual exposure to freezing and thawing in the air, during a portion of winter, in the case of the more porous stones, produced very different results from those obtained by the drying of the salt. It appears from his experiments, that the action of the latter is chemical as well as mechanical.
The commission, in consideration of this, have attempted to produce results on the stone by freezing and thawing by means of artificial cold and heat. This process is, however, laborious; each specimen must be enclosed in a separate box fitted with a cover, and the amount of exfoliation produced is so slight, that in good marble the operation requires to be repeated many times before reliable comparative results can be obtained. In prose- cuting this part of the inquiries, unforeseen difficulties have oc- curred in ascertaining precisely the amount of the disintegration, and it has been found that the results are liable to be vitiated by circumstances which were not in view at the commencement of the inquiries.
It would seem at first sight, and the commission when they undertook the investigation were of the same opinion, that but little difficulty would be found in ascertaining the strength of the various specimens of marbles. In this, however, they were inerror. The first difficulty which occurred was to procure the proper instrument for the purpose. On examining the account of that used by Rennie, and described in the Transactions of the Royal Society of London, the commission found that its construe- tion involved too much friction to allow of definite comparative results. Friction itself has to be overcome, as well as the resist- ance to compression, and since it increases in proportion to the pressure, the stronger stones would appear relatively to with- stand too great a compressing force.
The commission first examined an instrument—a hydraulic press—which had previously been used for experiments of this kind, but found that it was liable to the same objection as that of the machine of Rennie. They were, however, extremely for- tunate subsequently in obtaining, through the politeness of Com- modore Ballard, commandant of the Navy Yard, the use of an admirable imstrument devised by Major Wade, late of the Uni- ted States Army, and constructed under his direction, for the purpose of testing the strength of gun metals. ‘This instrument
J. Henry on testing Building Materials. 33
consists of a compound lever, the several fulcra of which are knife-edges, opposed to hardened steel surfaces. The commis- sion verified the delicacy and accuracy of the indications of this instrument by actual weighing, and found, in accordance with the description of Major Wade, the equilibrium was produced by one pound in opposition to two hundred. In the use of this instrument the commission were much indebted to the experience and scientific knowledge of Lietenant Dahlgreen, of the Navy Yard, and to the liberality with which all the appliances of that important public establishment were put at their disposal.
Specimens of the different samples of marble were prepared in the form of cubes of one inch and a half in dimension, and consequently exhibiting a base of two and a quarter square inches. These were dressed by ordinary workmen with the use of a square, and the opposite sides made as. nearly parallel as possible by grinding by hand on a flat surface. They were then placed between two thick steel plates, and in order to insure an equality of pressure, independent of any want of perfect paral- lelism and flatness on the two opposite surfaces, a thin plate of lead was interposed above and below between the stone and the plates of steel. ‘This was in accordance with a plan adopted by Rennie, and that which appears to have been used by most, if not all, of the subsequent experimenters in researches of this kind. Some doubt, however, was expressed as to the ac- tion of interposed lead, which induced a series of experiments to settle this question, when the remarkable fact was discovered, that the yielding and approximately equable pressure of the lead — caused the stone to give way at about half the pressure it would sustain without such an interposition. For example, one of the ‘cubes, serine’ similar to another which withstood a pressure of upwards of 60,000 pounds when placed in immediate contact with the steel plates, gave way at about 80,000 with lead inter- posed. This remarkable fact was verified in a series of experi- ments, embracing samples of nearly all the marbles under trial, and in no case did a single exception occur to vary the result.
The explanation of this remarkable phenomenon, now that it is known, is not difficult. The stone tends to give way by bulg- ing out in the centre of each of its four perpendicular faces, and to form two pyramidal figures, with their apices opposed, to each other at the centre of the cube, and their bases against the steel plates. In the case where rigid equable pressure 1s employed, as in that of the thick steel plate, all parts must give way together. But in that of a yielding equable pressure, as in the case of inter- posed lead, the stone first gives way along the lines of least re- sistance, and the remaining pressure must be sustained by the central portions around the vertical axis of the cube.
SECOND SERIES, VOL. XXII, NO. 64.—JULY, 1856, 5
34 J. Henry on testing Building Materials.
After this important fact was clearly determined, lead and alt other interposed substances were discarded, and a method devised by which the upper and lower surfaces of the eube could be ground into perfect parallelism. This consists in the use of a rectangular iron frame, into which a row of six of the specimens, could be fastened by a screw at the end. The upper and lower surfaces of this iron frame were wrought into perfect parallelism by the operation of a planing machine. The stones being fas- tened into this, with a small portion of the upper and lower parts projecting, the whole were ground down to a flat surface, until the iron and the face of the cubes were thus brought into a continuous plane. The frame was then turned over, and the op- posite surfaces ground in like manner. Care was of course taken that the surfaces thus reduced to perfect parallelism, in order to receive the action of the machine, were parallel to the natural beds of the stone.
All the specimens tested were subjected to this process, and in _ their exposure to pressure were found to give concordant results. The crushing force exhibited in the subjoined table is much greater than that heretofore given for the same material.
The commission have also determined the specific gravities of the different samples submitted to their examination, and also the quantity of water which each absorbs.
They consider these determinations, and particularly that of the resistance to crushing, tests of much importance, as indica- ting the cohesive force of the particles of the stone, and its ca- pacity to resist most of the influences before mentioned.
The amount of water absorbed may be regarded as a measure of the antagonistic force to cohesion, which tends, in the expan- sion of freezing, to disintegrate the surface. In considering, however, the indication of this test, care must be taken to make the comparison between marbles of nearly the same texture, be- cause a coarsely crystallized stone may apparently absord a small quantity of water, while in reality the cement which unites the crystals of the same stone may absorb a much larger quantity. That this may be so was clearly established in the experiments with the coarsely crystallized marbles examined by the commis- sion. When these were submitted toa liquid which slightly tinged the stone, the coloration was more intense around the margin of each crystal, indicating a greater amount of absorp- tion in these portions of the surface.
The marble which was chosen for the Capitol is a dolomite, or is composed of carbonate of lime and magnesia in nearly atomic proportions. It was analyzed by Dr. Torrey of New York, and Dr. Genth of Philadelphia. According to the analy- sis of the former, it consists, in hundredth parts, of
J. Henry on testing Building Materials. 35
Carbonate of lime, . . diac? HA622 Carbonate of magnesia, . : : ‘ . 48°932 Carbonate of protoxyd of iron, : 3860 Carbonate of protoxyd of nianganese, . . (a trace.) Mica, , ; ‘ . 4 : : ‘472 Water and loss, . : j ; : "610
The marble is obtained from a quarry in the southeasterly pert of the town of Lee, in the State of Massachusetts, and be- ongs to the great deposit of primitive limestone which abounds in that part of the district. Itis generally white, with occasional blue veins. The structure is fine-grained. Under the micro- scope it exhibits fine crystals of colorless mica, and occasionally also small particles of bisulphuret of. iron. Its specific gravity is 2°8620; its weight 178°87 lbs. per cubic foot. It absorbs *103 parts of an ounce per cubic inch, and its porosity is great in proportion to its power of resistance to pressure. It sustains 23,917 lbs. to the square inch. It not only absorbs water by capillary attraction, but, in common with other marbles, suffers the diffusion of gases to take place through its substance. Dr. Torrey found that hydrogen and other gases, separated from each other by slices of the mineral, diffuse themselves with consider- able rapidity through the partition.
This marble, soon after the workmen commenced placing it in the walls, exhibited a discoloration of a brownish hue, no trace of which appeared so long as the blocks remained exposed to the air in the stone-cutter’s yard. A variety of suggestions and. experiments were made in regard to the cause of this remarka- ble phenomenon, and it was finally concluded that it was due to the previous absorption by the marble of water holding in solu- tion a small portion of organic matter, together with the absorp- tion of another portion of water from the mortar.
To illustrate the process, let us suppose a fine capillary tube, the lower end of it immersed in water, and of which the internal diameter is sufficiently small to allow the liquid to rise to the top, and be exposed to the atmosphere; evaporation will take place at the upper surface of the column, a new portion of water will be drawn in to supply the loss; and if this process be con- tinued, any material which may be dissolved in the water, or mechanically mixed with it, will be found deposited at the upper orifice of the tube, or at the point of evaporation.
If, however, the lower portion of the tube be not furnished with a supply of water, the evaporation at the top will not take place, and the deposition of foreign matter will not be exhibited, even though the tube itself may be filled with water impregna- ted with impurities. The pores of the stones so long as the blocks remain in the yard are in the condition of the tube not
36 J. Henry on testing Building Materials.
supplied at its lower end with water, and consequently no cur- rent takes place through them, and the amount of evaporation is comparatively small; but when the same blocks are placed in the wall of the building, the absorbed water from the mortar at the interior surface gives us the supply of the liquid necessary to carry the coloring material to the exterior surface, and deposit it at the outer orifices of the pores.
The cause of the phenomenon being known, a remedy was readily suggested, which consisted in covering the surface of the stone to be imbedded in mortar with a coating of asphaltum. This remedy has apparently proved successful. The discolora- tion is gradually disappearing, and in time will probably be en- tirely imperceptible.
This marble, with many other specimens, was submitted to the freezing process fifty times in succession. It generally re- mained in the freezing mixture for twenty-four hours, but some- times was frozen twice ii the same day. The quantity of mate- rial lost was ‘00315 parts of an ounce. On these data Captain Meigs has founded an interesting calculation, which consists in determining the depth to which the exfoliation extended below the surface as the effect of its having been frozen fifty times. He found this to be very nearly the ten-thousandth part of an inch. Now, if we allow the alternations of freezing and thaw- ing in a year on an average to be fifty times each, which in this latitude, would be a liberal one, it would require ten thousand years for the surface of the marble to be exfoliated to the depth of one inch. This fact may be interesting to the geologist as well as the builder.
Quite a number of different varieties of marble were experi- mented upon. A full statement of the result of each will be given in the reports of the committees.
At the meeting of the Association at Cleveland, I made a com- munication on the subject of cohesion. ‘The paper, however, was presented at the last hour; the facts were not fully stated, and have never been published. I will, therefore, occupy your time in briefly presenting some of the facts I then intended to com- municate, and which I have since verified by further experiments and observations.
In a series of experiments made some ten years ago, I showed that the attraction for each other of the particles of a substance in a liquid form was as great as that of the same substance in a solid form. Consequently, the distinction between liquidity and solidity does not consist in a difference in the attractive power occasioned directly by the repulsion of heat; but it depends upon the perfect mobility of the atoms, or a lateral cohesion. We may explain this by assuming an incipient crystallization of atoms into molecules, and consider the first effect of heat as that
J. Henry on testing Building Materials. 37
of breaking down these crystals, and permitting each atom to move freely around every other. When this crystalline arrange- ment is perfect, and no lateral motion is allowed in the atoms, the body may be denominated perfectly rigid. We have ap- proximately an example of this in cast-steel, in which no slip- ping takes place of the parts on each other, or no material elon- cation of the mass; and when a rupture is produced by a tensile force, a rod of this material is broken with a transverse fracture of the same size as that of the original section of the bar. In this case every atom is separated at once from the other, and the breaking weight may be considered as a measure of the attrac- tion of cohesion of the atoms of the metal.
The effect, however, is quite different when we attempt to pull apart arod of lead. The atoms or molecules slip upon each other. ‘The rod is increased in length, and diminished in thick- ness, until a separation is produced. Instead of lead, we may use still softer materials, such as wax, putty, &c., until at length we arrive at asubstance ina liquid form. This will stand at the extremity of the scale, and between extreme rigidity on the one hand, and extreme liquidity on the other, we may find a series of substances gradually shading from one extremity to the other.
According to the views I have presented, the difference in the , tenacity in steel and lead does not consist in the attractive cohe- sion of the atoms, but in the capability of slipping upon each other. From this view, it follows that the form of the material ought'to have some effect upon its tenacity, and also that the strength of the article should depend in some degree upon the process to which it had been subjected.
For example, I have found that softer substances, in which the outer atoms have freedom of motion, while the inner ones by the pressure of those exterior are more confined, break un- equally; the inner fibres, if I may so call the rows of atoms, give way first, and entirely separate, while the exterior fibres show but little indications of a change of this kind.
If a cylindrical rod of lead three quarters of an inch in diam- eter be turned down on a lathe in one part to about half an inch, and then be gradually broken by a force exerted in the direction of its length, it will exhibit a cylindrical hollow along its axis of half an inch in length, and at least a tenth of an inch in di- ameter. With substances of greater rigidity this effect is less apparent, but it exists even in iron, and the interior fibres of a rod of this metal may be entirely separated, while the outer sur- face presents no appearance of change.
From this it would appear that metals should never be elon- gated by mere stretching, but in all cases by the process of wire- drawing, or rolling. A wire or bar must always be weakened
38 J. D. Whitney on the Ores of Iron in the Azoie System.
by a force which permanently increases its length without at the same time compressing it.
Another effect of the lateral motion of the atoms of a soft heavy body, when acted upon by a percussive force with a ham- mer of small dimensions in comparison with the mass of metal, —for example, if a large shaft of iron be hammered with an or- dinary sledge,—is a tendency to expand the surface so as to make it separate from the middle portions. The interior of the mass by its own inertia becomes as it were an anvil, between which and the hammer the exterior portions are stretched longi- tudinally and transversely. I here exhibit to the Association a piece of iron originally from a square bar four feet long, which has been so hammered as to produce a perforation of the whole length entirely through the axis. The bar could be seen through, as if it were the tube of a telescope. 3
This fact appears to me to be of great importance in a practi- cal point of view, and may be connected with many of the la- mentable accidents which have occurred in the breaking of the axles of locomotive engines. ‘These, in all cases, ought to be formed by rolling, and not with the hammer.
The whole subject of the molecular constitution of matter offers a rich field for investigation, and isolated facts, which are familiar to almost every one when attentively studied, will be made to yield results alike interesting to abstract science and practical art.
ART. VI.—On the Occurrence of the Ores of Iron in the Azoic System; by J. D. WHITNEY.*
THE object of the present communication is to call attention to the geological position and mode of occurrence of one of the most interesting and important classes of the ores of iron, namely, those which are associated with rocks of the Azoic System.
The term Azoic, first employed by Murchison and De Verneuil in their description of the geology of the Scandinavian Peninsula, has been adopted by Mr. Foster and myself in our Reports on the Geology of the Lake Superior Land District, and has been shown by us to be applied with propriety to a series of rocks which covers an immense space in the Northwest. We have called attention to the fact, that this system of rocks, wherever it has been demonstrated to exist, has been found characterized by the presence of deposits of ores of. iron, developed on a scale of magnitude beyond anything which occurs in any of the succeed- ing geological groups or systems of rocks.
* Proceedings of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, Ninth Meeting, held at Providence, R. 1, August, 1855, p. 209.
" J. D. Whitney on the Ores of Iron in the Azoic System. 39
In illustration of these views, we have briefly described some of the great ferriferous districts of the world, and particularly those of Lake Superior, Scandinavia, Missouri, and Northern New York, all of which exhibit a most marked analogy with each other, both in regard to the mode of occurrence and the geological position of the ores. The two last-named regions, however, not having been thoroughly examined by us in person, we were obliged to content ourselves with information obtained from others, in making a comparison of their most striking features.
Strongly impressed with the interest attaching to this subject, I availed myself of the first opportunity, after the publication of our Report, to visit the iron regions of Missouri and Northern New York, from the last-named of which I have just returned, after a careful examination of the most important localities where ore is now mined in that district. While itis intended to take another opportunity for giving a minute and detailed account of this region, I may be permitted to recapitulate here the prin- cipal pomts maintained by Mr. Foster and myself, to the gen- eral correctness of which my more recent explorations have furnished me with additional evidence.
We maintain therefore,—
1. That deposits of the ores of iron exist in various parts of the world, which in extent and magnitude are so extraordinary as to form aclass by themselves. ‘The iron regions mentioned above offer the most striking examples of the deposits now re- ferred to. :
2. That the ores thus occurring have the same general charac- ter, both mineralogically and in their mode of occurrence, or their relations of position to the adjacent rocks.
_ 3. That these deposits all belong to one geological position, and are characteristic of it.
The extent of the workable deposits of the ores of the useful metals is usually quite limited. Most of the veins which are wrought in mines throughout the world are but a few feet in width, often not more than a few inches. This is true of the ores occurring in veins. In sedimentary metalliferous deposits, such as those of the ores of iron in the carboniferous, the horizontal extent is often very considerable; but the vertical range is so limited, that the most extensive basins may be in time exhausted, when worked on so extensive a scale as is the case in some of the celebrated iron districts of Great Britain. The deposits of iron in the azoic, however, are many of them developed on a scale of such magnitude, that the term ‘ mountain masses” may be applied to them without exaggeration, while, from the very nature of their occurrence, they must extend indefinitely downwards, and cannot be exhausted. Thus the great iron mountain of
40 J.D. Whitney on the Ores of Iron in the Azote System.
Gellivara, in Sweden, has a length of three or four miles, and a width of not less than a mile and a half. Of course such a mass of ore, without limit in depth, might be worked on the most en- larged scale for any length of time without fear of exhaustion. The same may be said of some of the iron knobs and ridges of Lake Superior and of Missouri. They form veritable mountains of ore, and ages must elapse before their dimensions will have been perceptibly diminished. This is not necessarily the case with all the localities of ore of these districts. Indeed, in Northern New York and in Scandinavia, although there are accumulations of iron which may be measured by hundreds of feet, or even by miles, yet those which are best known and most worked are of much more reasonable dimensions.
The character of the ores thus occurring is mineralogically peculiar. They consist uniformly of the oxyds, either the mag- netic or the specular. Hydrous ores, carbonates and the like, are altogether wanting, unless it be upon the borders of the ore de- posits, where a secondary metamorphic action between the fer- riferous mass and the adjacent rocks may have taken place. The oxyds found in this geological position are in general remarkably free from all injurious substances, such as sulphur, arsenic, lead, or zinc, and usually the approach to chemical purity in the ores is in proportion to the extent of the mass, the largest deposits being the purest. The principal foreign ingredient mixed with these ores is silica, which is always present, although frequently in minute quantity. Indeed, the analyses of the Lake Superior and Missouri ores show, in some instances, a surprisingly near approach to a state of absolute purity. It would not be difficult in some localities to procure large quantities of an ore not con- taining more than two or three tenths of one per cent of foreign matter, and that exclusively silica. ‘The purity of the ores may be inferred from the high character and value of the iron manu- factured from them when they have been, skilfully worked, as, for instance, in Sweden. Some samples of iron manufactured from Lake Superior ore have, when tested, exhibited a degree of tenacity unequaled by that from any other part of the world. The ores of Lake Superior and Missouri are mostly peroxyds; those of Northern New York almost exclusively magnetic; while in Scandinavia the magnetic and specular ores are both of frequent occurrence. Those of New York, are often coarse- grained and highly crystalline, while the peroxyds of Lake Superior and Missouri are rarely distinctly crystallized, but are very compact.
The mode of occurrence of these ores in the regions above mentioned is so peculiar, that, from this point of view alone, it is apparent that these deposits should be classed together as distinct from those in the later geological formations. ' In all the charac-
aj
ee 2 _-
J.D. Whitney on the Ores of Iron in the Azoic System. 41
teristics of true veins, the great masses of ore now under consid- eration are wholly wanting. Some of the least important of them approach much nearer to segregated veins, and might with pro- priety be classed with them, were they not developed on so large a scale as to render it difficult to conceive of segregation as a sufficient cause for their production.
_ In the case of the most prominent masses of ore of these regions there is but one hypothesis which will explain their vast extent and peculiar character. They are simply parts of the rocky crust of the earth, and, like other igneous rocks, have been poured forth from the interior in the molten or plastic state. No other origin can be assigned to the dome-shaped and conical masses of Lake Superior and Missouri, or to the elongated ridges of the first-named region. The Iron Mountain of Missouri forms a flattened dome-shaped elevation, whose base covers a surface of a little less than a square mile, and which rises to a height of 200 feet above the general level of the adjacent country. The surface of the mountain, where bare of soil, is found to be cov- ered with loose blocks of peroxyd of iron, without any ad- mixture of rocky pebbles or fragments, which increase in size in ascending to the summit, where large blocks of ore many tons in weight lie scattered about, and piled upon each other. Ij is a most singular fact, that the ore is nowhere seen in place about the mountain, although the whole mass evidently consists of nothing else. Near its base, an excavation sev- enteen feet deep has been made, which exhibits nothing but small, somewhat rounded fragments of ore closely compacted — together, without any other substance present except a little red, ferruginous clay, which seems to have been formed by the friction of the masses against each other. This feature in the Iron Mountain is one of peculiar interest, and one which it seems difficult to explain. Evidences of drift action in this re- gion are exceedingly faint. The ore itself is one which seems httle likely to undergo decomposition from any exposure to atmospheric changes. The blocks upon the summit, although somewhat moss-grown, have their angles and edges but little rounded. As a key to the origin of the ore, we find in close proximity on the north a long elevation of a reddish porphyry of unmistakably eruptive character, connected with the Iron Mountain by a narrow ridge of a rock composed of iron ore and feldspathic rock, showing that the porphyritic ridge and the ore- mass must have originated at one and the same time, and in the same way.
The eruptive origin of the great Lake Superior ore-masses seems also well sustained by the phenomena which they exhibit. They alternate with trappean ridges whose eruptive origin cannot be doubted, and which, themselves, contain so much magnetic
SECOND SERIES, VOL. XXII, NO. 64.—JULY, 1856. 6
©
~ 42 J.D. Whitney on the Ores of Iron in the Azotc System.
oxyd disseminated through their mass, as one of their essential ingredients, that they might almost be called ores. ‘These erup- tive masses include the largest and purest deposits of ore which are known in the Lake Superior or the Missouri iron regions; but there are other localities in both these districts where the mode of occurrence of the ore is somewhat different, and where the evidences of a direct igneous origin are less marked. ‘his class comprehends those lenticular masses of ore which are usu- ally included within gneissoidal rocks, and whose dip and strike coincide with that of the gneiss itself, but whose dimensions are limited. Such is the character of most of the Swedish deposits, and of many of those of Northern New York. Such beds of ore as these may in some cases be the result of segregating action; but the facts seem rather to indicate that they are made up of the ruins of preéxisting igneous masses, which have been broken and worn down, during the turbulent action which we may suppose to have been preéminently manifested during the azoic epoch, and then swept away by currents, and deposited in the depressions of the sedimentary strata in process of formation. In confirmation of this hypothesis in regard to the origin of these lenticular masses of ore in the gneissoidal rocks, it may be noticed that the ores occurring in this form and position are less pure than those of decidedly igneous origin, as if they had become more or less mixed with sand during the process of re- construction, so:that they not unfrequently require to be separated from their earthy impurities by washing before they can be ad- vantageously used. Again, 1t may be observed in the case of some of the ore-beds of this class, that the bed-rock or foot-wall is considerably rougher or more irregular in its outline than the hanging wall or roof, as if depositions had taken place upon a surface originally rough and uneven, the upper surface of the ore being considerably smoother and more regular than the lower one, and sometimes separated from the rock above by a thin seam of calcareous matter. |
There is still another form of deposit which is not unfre- quently met with in the Lake Superior region, and which may be seen on a grand scale in the Pilot Knob of Missouri. This consists of a series of quartzose beds of great thickness, and passing gradually into specular iron, which frequently forms bands of nearly pure ore, alternating with bands of quartz more or less mixed with the same substance. Some of the deposits in the Lake Superior region are of this class, and they are very extensive, and capable of furnishing a vast amount of ore, al- though most of it is so mixed with silicious matter, as to require separating by washing, before use. Heavy beds of nearly pure ore occur at the Pilot Knob, interstratified with beds of a poorer quality. Deposits of this character are usually very distinctly
i
J. D. Whitney on the Ores of Iron in the Azoic System. 48
bedded, and the ore shows a greater tendency to cleave into thin laminee parallel with the bedding, in proportion to its freedom from silicious matter. These deposits seem to have been of sedi- mentary origin, having been originally strata of silicious sand, which has since been metamorphosed. The iron ore may have been introduced either by the sublimation of metalliferous vapors from below during the deposition of the silicious particles, or by precipitation from a ferriferous solution, im which the stratified rocks were in process of formation.
The great deposits of ore which have been alluded to above, agreeing as they do in the characteristic features of their mode of occurrence, especially in the magnitude of the scale on which they are developed, are all, beyond doubt, situated in the same geological position; they all belong to the oldest known system of rocks, the azoic. This name was first applied by Murchison to the ferriferous rocks of Scandinavia, and the geological posi- tion of the great iron regions of this country is precisely similar to those of Sweden. There is ample evidence that the lowest known fossiliferous strata, characterized by the same peculhar types of organic life, both im this country and in Europe, rest uniformly upon the iron-bearing strata throughout the Northwest, from New York to Missouri and Arkansas.
We have thus seen that the earliest geological epoch was char- acterized by the presence of the ores of iron in quantity far exceeding that of any succeeding one; indeed, we may infer that the ruins of the iron ores of this class have furnished the mate- rial from which many of the ores of more recent geological age may have been derived. The condition of things in reference to the ores of iron which existed during the azoic period underwent a complete change, and rarely do we find in any fossiliferous rocks any signs of unmistakably eruptive ores. It is certain that we nowhere, out of the azoic system, find masses of ore of such extent and purity as those which have just been alluded to. By far the larger portion of the azoic series on the earth’s surface being coy- ered up by the fossiliferous rocks, the ore which that formation contains 1s equally concealed, and it is only in those regions where no deposition of newer strata upon the oldest rocks has taken place that the treasures of iron are made accessible. In this respect our country is preéminently favored, and there can be no doubt that the immense deposits of 1ron ore stored away in the Northwest are destined at some future time to add to our national wealth more than has been or ever will be contributed by the gold of California. It may seem absurd to speculate on the exhaustion of the stratified ores of England or of the Hastern United States; yet nothing is more certain, than that the present rate of production in the former country cannot be kept up for. any very great length of time, without making the cost of pro-
44 Obituary of Prof. Z. Thompson.
curing ore so great, that other regions which now seem very remote from a market will be able to compete with the most _ favored iron-producing districts of England.
Practically, the views which have been presented above are of importance, as leading us to expect large and valuable deposits of the ores of iron wherever the azoic rocks are found to exist over any considerable surface. Thus it may safely be predicted that important discoveries of ore will be made, in the now almost unexplored regions of British America, which are covered by rocks of the azoie period. Indeed, large beds of ore have already been found in Canada, which are, in character and position, anal- ogous to those of Northern New York.
Art. VII.—Obituary of Professor Zadoc Thompson.*
Professor ZADoc THompson, died at Burlington on the 19th day of January, 1856, of ossification of the heart. He was born in Bridgewater, Windsor County, Vermont, in the year 1796, and, at the time of his death, must have been in the sixtieth year of his age. His early hfe was a continual struggle with poverty, and his education was acquired while successfully com- batting the evils of pecuniary embarrassment. At the advanced age of twenty-seven years he was graduated at the University of Vermont, having for his classmate in 1823, the Hon. Frederick H. Allen, an eminent lawyer now living in Boston, and War- ren Hoxie, of Westford, Vermont. Within a twelve-month from his graduation he published at Montpelier his ‘Gazetteer of Vermont,” pp. 812; and, in 1838, he published, at Burlington, his ‘‘ History of Vermont from its earliest settlement to the close of the year 1832,” pp. 252. In the year 1832, he was editor of, and principal contributor to, the “Green Mountain Repository,” a monthly magazine published for about a year in Burlington. After pursuing his study of theology, and occasionally teaching at the ‘‘ Vermont Episcopal Institute” and elsewhere, he was prepared for orders and was ordained to the diaconate in the Protestant Episcopal Church by the Rt. Rev. Bishop Hopkins, in 1836. He subsequently preached in several parishes in Northern Vermont and New York, and supplied the pulpit at St. Paul’s Church, Burlington, during the illness or absence of the rector; but his feeble health prevented his assuming the ac- tive and onerous labors of a parish.
From the time of the publication of the books above men- tioned, he had contemplated a larger and more comprehensive
* Communicated to the Franklin (Vt.) County Journal, and sent to this Journal by the author, George F. Houghton, Esq.
Obituary of Prof. Z Thompson. 45
work which should embrace the General History of Vermont, both natural and civil. From 1838 to 1842 he devoted the ereater part of his time to preparing and publishing his ‘“ Nat- ural, Civil and Statistical History of Vermont.”
The prosecution of this purpose necessarily brought him into contact or correspondence with the naturalists of the country. In completing his account of the birds of Vermont, he was greatly assisted by Dr. Thomas M. Brewer, of Boston; and in de- termining several species of reptiles and fishes, he was aided by Dr. D. H. Storer, also of Boston. For a full description of our molluscous animals, he was indebted to Prof. Charles B. Adams, then of Middlebury College, and to Prof. George W. Benedict, then of the University of Vermont. For his catalogue of plants, he was indebted to the late William Oakes, of Ipswich, Mass., to Prof. Joseph Torrey, William F. Macrae, John Carey, and others. With these aids in his arduous labors, Prof. Thomp- son succeeded in embracing in his work everything of special importance relative to the Natural and Civil History of Ver- mont; and published it in so condensed and cheap a form as to place it within the reach of every family in the State, having but little regard to a pecuniary recompense from the sale of a book which had cost him so much travel, research, time and ex- . pense in its preparation.
Prof. Thompson found time also to prepare annual astronomt- cal calculations for the Messrs. Waltons of Montpelier, and te publish a valuable arithmetic and elementary work on the Geol- ogy and Geography of Vermont, for the use of schools, both — written in the systematic, lucid and condensed manner which im-
arted so much value to all of his publications.
In 1845, Governor Slade appomted Prof. Charles B. Adams State Geologist, and, with the approbation of the Governor, the latter made Prof. Thompson one of his assistants in the field la- bor. In connection with the Rev. 8. R. Hall, the other assist- ant, he visited and explored, ‘more or less thoroughly,” about 110 townships in one season. Prof. Thompson was actively engaged in this important scientific labor until the Legislature of Vermont neglected to make an appropriation for a final report on the geology of our State, and thus permitted the materials, man- uscripts, books, and specimens belonging to the survey to remain at Montpelier and Burlington, locked up in about fifty boxes. The brief and expressive report of Prof. Thompson addressed to Gov. Coolidge, in October, 1849, was published in the Appendix of the House Journal for that year and is a sad commentary on the folly of which our State has been guilty in regard to the matter of a geological survey. After the suspension of the geo- logical survey, Dr. Horace Haton, Governor of the State in 1847, appointed Prof. Thompson to carry out the resolution of the
46 ~ Obituary of Prof. Z. Thompson.
Legislature in relation to international literary and scientific ex- changes; and in pursuance of his appointment he presented the exchange system in its clearest light, so that it commended itself to the ‘approbation of every benevolent mind.” 'The preparation of the report of ‘‘ Proceedings and Instructions,” which, by the way, was beautifully printed in a pai io of 80 pages, reflected ereat credit upon Mr. Thompson, and upon the State, and it is greatly to be deplored that the historical interest which was then awakened throughout the State by the visit of the founder of the system of exchanges, and by the labors of such men as Prof. Thompson, Hon. Hiland Hall, of Bennington, Henry Stevens, of Barnet, Daniel P. Thompson, of Montpelier, Prof. James D. But- ler, then of Norwich, Vt., and others, should so soon and so thoroughly have subsided and become almost extinct.
In June, 1850, Prof. Thompson delivered, upon invitation, an address at Boston before the Boston Society of Natural History, in which he made the announcement that “what he had accom- plished in the business of Natural History, he had done without any associates engaged im like pursuats, without having any access to collections of specimens, and almost without books.” In that ex- cellent address, (which was printed by his devoted friend and neighbor, Chauncey Goodrich, Esq., 11 1850, in a pamphlet of
82 pages,) he illustrated the importance and difficulties of a.
thorough cultivation of natural history in country places, insist- ing that a habit of observation and comparison of objects of natural history could be as quickly acquired in the country as in the city, and urging that the study of natural history should be more generally taught in our common schools and colleges, for the obvious reason that such a study “ would refine and improve the moral sensibilities of our people, and sharpen and invigorate their intellectual powers.”
In these labors, beset with the difficulties so freely confessed before his audience at Boston, on the occasion of the delivery of the last mentioned address, he passed his quiet life. At one time he was a teacher of science; at another time he was prose- cuting his researches in natural history; and then he might be found preaching in his modest and reverential manner the sublime doctrines of the Christian creed which he had adopted ; and, whether in or out of the pulpit, he was always seen and known as the industrious, patient, humble and exemplary disci- ple of Him who was born in the manger and died on the cross. Prof. Thompson thus won friends not “‘in single spies but in bat- talions,” friends who knowing the anxieties he felt to see the wonders of the great exhibition at London, in 1851, gladly put into his purse that “ material aid” of which teaching and preach- ing and authorship had not gathered a superabundance. Chiefly through the kindness of frends, which he has beautifully ac-
Obituary of Prof. Z. Thompson. zy
knowledged in one of his books, he was enabled to enjoy a trip to the Old World, ‘“beholding the wonders of the great deep, and seeing and admiring the wonderful things of Nature and Art which lie beyond it.” After an absence of three months, spend- ing a few weeks in London and Paris, and after traveling about 7500 miles, he came back refreshed in spirit and health to his humble dwelling at Burlington, and after a while yielded to the importunities of his friends, and published a neat volume of 148 pages, entitled a “Journal of a trip to London, Paris, and the Great Exhibition in 1851.” Although this “Journal” is com- posed of notes for each day from May till August, jotted down when travelling or sight-seeime, for the private eye of family and friends, and with no expectation that they would ever be printed, yet it contains much that is new and valuable, and although published as a “thank offering to his friends,” the reading public have perused it with equal pleasure and profit.
Since the publication of his History of Vermont in 1842, rail- roads and magnetic telegraphs have been introduced into the State. and other changes have taken place; and early in 1853, Prof. Thompson published an Appendix to the history, chiefly in the department of natural history. This Appendix, although containing only 64 pages, is a valuable supplement to his large work. In the preface, he intimates his intention to re-write the whole history.
We have now come, in chronological order, to the last work, upon which the Professor was engaged. It will be remembered that the labors of Prof. Adams and his assistant had ceased — in 1847 on behalf of the State. The cold shoulder of “‘men most noted for wisdom and virtue” was turned toward them, after it was an established fact “that as much labor was performed and as much investigation effected as were ever accomplished with the same expenditure in any other State.” Prof. Adams’s final report was never made, and January 19th, 1853, he died on the island of St. Thomas, W. L, cut down in the prime of life and usefulness, when all that remained of the Geological Survey of Vermont was shut up in short hand in the field-books of the State Geologist and his assistants, or locked up in the fifty boxes of unticketed and untrimmed specimens at Burling- ton and Montpelier. Years after the field work was done and when Prof. Adams was slumbering in his grave, the men ‘‘ most noted for their wisdom and virtue,” discovered that they had made a mistake*in arresting the progress of the survey. Then it was that Prof. Zadoc Thompson was appointed by Statute, State Naturalist with the following duties: “to enter upon a thorough prosecution and completion of the geological survey of the State, embracing therein a full and scientific examination and description of its rocks, soils, metals and minerals; make
48 Obituary of Prof. Z. Thompson.
careful and complete assays and analyses of the same, and pre- pare the results of his labors for publication under the three fol- lowing titles, to wit: Ist. Physical Geography, Scientific Geol- ogy and Mineralogy. 2d. Economical Geology, embracing Bot- any and Agriculture. 8d. General Zoology of the State.”— Session Laws, 1858, pp. 45, 46.
He was pursuing the labors of this responsible task which the State, honorably to herself and to him, had commissioned him to perform, when his death sorely bereaved his family and friends and the community. On the same day, three years be- fore, his predecessor went to his long home; both left the mat- ter of a geological survey, in which they had delighted and had spent long nights and laborious days, still unfinished.
At the time of his death, Mr. Thompson was Professor of Natural History in the University of Vermont, an institution to which he had been greatly attached since his graduation in 1823. The self-taught naturalist who had devoted his life in a quiet and unpretending way to independent scientific inquiry and the labors of authorship and the ministry, died in his hum- ble dwelling near the University, with his intellectual armor on, ere “his eye had grown dim or his natural force abated.” Dr. Thomas M. Brewer, editor of the Boston Atlas, and a natu- ralist of extended acquirement, thus alludes in touching lan- guage to the death of his valued friend.
‘ His loss, both as a citizen and a public man,—he has not left his superior in science behind him in his own State—is one of no ordinary character. We have known him long and well, and in speaking of such a loss we know not which most to sympa- thize with, the family from whom has been taken the upright, devoted and kind hearted head, or that larger family of science who have lost an honored and most valuable member. Modest and unassuming, diligent and indefatigable in his scientific pur- suits, attentive to all, whether about him or at a distance, and whether friends or strangers, no man will be more missed not merely in his immediate circle of family and friends, but in that larger sphere of the lovers of natural science, than Zadoe Thompson.” f ss * =
We have known him well since 1834, in his various relations as a teacher, a clergyman, a Professor, a correspondent, and a friend. During the quarter of a century in which he was de- voted to the instruction of youth, to the labors of authorship, and to scientific research, he exhibited ever ah unselfish and an unambitious spirit. He loved his pupils, his friends, his church, his associates, his State, his town, and above all, his home. As a teacher he was kind and thorough; as a clergyman what has been appropriately called his “deep and unconquerable modesty of spirit” prevented his ever rising above the Diaconate
Influence of Solar Radiation on Plants. 49
in the Protestant Episcopal Church. Asa fellow-clergyman in that able paper, the New York Church Journal, unites, ‘‘ the un- certainty of his health for many years past prevented his under- taking the labors of a parish. His gentle, quiet, and deep piety of character won him universal esteem. He was chiefly known by the many works in which he has embodied the history, the topography and the natural endowment of his native State. In natural science, his proficiency was so remarkable that he was in correspondence with most of the leading naturalists of this coun- try and many of those abroad. He received one of the medals of the late French Exhibition in this department. His place thus made vacant in Vermont, it will be hard to fill.”
As an author, he has won high distinction for his researches and the accuracy of date and detail which characterize all of his historical productions. His astronomical and meteorological ob- servations were carefully made and noted, and he was one of the best and most reliable correspondents ef the Smithsonian Institution.
As. his life has been chiefly spent in the development and illustration of the natural productions of his native State; the scientific world, and especially Vermonters, will cherish his memory as that of a man who devoted his life with energy and singleness of purpose to objects of lasting interest and useful- ness to the whole community.
Art. VIIL.—On the Influence of the Solar Radiation on the Vital Powers of Plants growing under different Atmospheric Conditions; — ‘by J. H. Guapstoneg, Ph.D., F.R.S.* 4
SINCE I laid before the British Association my former Report, some of the experiments there detailed have been repeated, and the investigation has been pursued further in the same direction. I have the honor now to present the results which have been obtained.
The experiments about to be described were conducted, not as before at Stockwell, but in Tavistock Square, London. The locality was not quite so favorable to the growth of plants, but they had always the advantage (unless otherwise stated) of stand- ing on tables at the windows of a large upper room having a southeast aspect, so that they obtained the full benefit of the morning and noonday sun. ‘I'he apartment was never artificially heated, but in the winter time it must have been a few degrees higher in temperature than the external atmosphere.
* From the Report of the Twenty-fourth Meeting of British Assoc. held at Liverpool, Sept. 1854; p. 373. London, 1855.
SECOND SERIES, VOL. XXII. NO. 64.—JULY, 1856, 7
50 Influence of Solar Radiation on Plants.
The colored bell-glasses described in the previous Report were made use of. Iam now able to give a more accurate description of what solar rays were actually transmitted by them. The effects of the different glasses on the prismatic structum were as follows :—
Colorless glass. No perceptible difference from the normal spectrum.
Yellow glass. ‘The red rays were cut off, but the line C was just visible in the orange-colored region. The yellow and green portions of the spectrum were quite natural, except perhaps that they were rather more uniform in color than usual; the blue was rather bright above the double line F, but there was very little illumination in the portion more refracted, and the violet rays were quite unseen. ‘The lines D, EH, 5 and F were very visible.
fied glass. ‘he spectrum consisted of two luminous spaces, separated by a broad band of perfect darkness. ‘The one was of a red and orange color, commencing between B and C, and appar- ently cut off by the dark line D. The other was faintly illumi- nated with an olive-green tint, commencing about the most intensely yellow part of the ordinary spectrum, and continuing to about 5 (which was barely visible), and then passing into a lilac hue, which gradually faded off, till it became imperceptible per- haps a little below the lines F.
Blue glass, The spectrum had a very singular appearance, consisting of several distinct luminous bands. First there was a reddish band of considerable brilliancy, occupying a space be- yond that of the least refrangible portion of the visible spectrum, This was separated by a dark space from a very narrow but bright band somewhere near the line B. Its color was very dif- ferent from any of those of the normal spectrum, but perhaps it approached nearest to the orange. Then, after another dark space, came a bright yellow band of greater width, just above the line D, which, however, was not itself perceptible. The whole yellow portion of the spectrum was cut off, and there was no illumination till about midway between EH and 0, where a bright green suddenly appeared. ‘This passed into a pale green, - where there was very little illumination, but not perfect darkness, till at about F an intense blue appeared, continuing through the region of the violet, to the end of the most refrangible portion of the spectrum. The lines 0, F,-and G were very distinct, as well as some about d and H. :
This analysis of the light transmitted by the various glasses, confirms the description previously given of their character, name- ly, that ‘‘ The blue glass cuts off by far the greater portion of the luminous rays, but admits the chemical rays freely ; it may also be considered as interfering much with the transmission of heat. The red glass, on the contrary, freely admits the calorific influ-
Influence of Solar Radiation on Plants. 51
énce, but stops the chemical, whilst, like the blue, it diminishes greatly the luminous. The yellow again scarcely decreases the uluminating power of light, but almost destroys the chemical action.”
The series of experiments on hyacinths, which was described in the last Report, was repeated with additional attention to the effects of partial or complete darkness. The large colorless, blue, red, and yellow bell-glasses were employed, together with a par- tially obscured colorless shade, and a partially obscured yellow shade; and another experiment was instituted under a glass shade placed in a large box, so that the light was completely ex: cluded, except when for a few moments the lid might be removed for the purpose of observing the progress of the experiment. As in the preceding experiment, the bulbs were all of the same description, of a healthy appearance, and of about the same size. After being weighed, they were placed as before on the top of colorless glasses, filled with pure water, and covered with the large bell-jars. In this case the jars were themselves placed upon the perforated boards, with the arrangement of tarlatane, &c., mentioned in the previous paper. The experiments were com- menced on December 10th; each of them was successful; the results accorded in some points with those of the former occas sion, but in other respects there was considerable discrepancy. The experiments made in partial or complete obscurity were per- haps the most instructive.
Rootlets began to appear immediately under the dark shade, and on December 26th, that is, after sixteen days, they were found to be 14 inchin length, They grew rapidly, and were very numerous. They were thin and long, and appeared to have little strength. Under the obscured colorless and obscured yellow glasses, the rootlets also began to grow quickly, becoming three- quarters of an inch long in a fortnight’s time, while under the blue and colorless glass exposed to the full power of the light, the rootlets did not so quickly attain any length, and in the same space of time there was scarcely anything observable under the red or yellow glass. The roots continued to grow under the - obscured glasses until the beginning of February, but they arrived more rapidly at maturity under the influence of the white and blue hght. Under the red shade the roots never at: tained any considerable length, but they were stout and strong. Under the yellow shade there was scarcely any growth below the bulb until near the end of January, when a few long strag- gling roots made their appearance. This is very accordant with the effect that was observed during the previous season to be produced by the colored glasses. This shows that the develop- ment of the root takes place most rapidly in the absence of all solar radiations; that partial obscurity is also favorable; that the less refrangible rays of the spectrum had especial power to
52 Influence of Solar Radiation on Plants.
retard their growth, and that the luminous and calorific rays had peculiar actions of their own.
As to the leaves, little appearance of growth was observable in any of the hyacinths till December 26th, when those under the colorless and blue glasses began to shoot; that under the red glass followed very soon, while those under the yellow and the partially and wholly obscured glasses gave no sign for about three weeks longer. The leaves grew most rapidly in the blue hight. The following comparisons of the length of the leaves under the various luminous influences may be interesting. They were taken on the 18th and 21st of February, when all the plants were in vigorous growth, but not one of them had flowered, and on March 22nd, when the plants had attained their full maturity.
February 13. February 21. March 22.
Under the colorless glass, .......... 4 inches 6 inches 11 inches « blue PERT INS,- pe 6 er 8." 14 ” red Bet a WenG ate el otehe - Wire BP BEMe. ‘ yellow Moa ere Ol oe A ad erin 2 Me REV ff obscured colorless glass, ..) 3 “ 34“ 10) cM f obscured yellow Ts IES AM a4 aed pola al geod Ft dp a A ee ot Me pac TO °:*
The flower-stalk very nearly kept pace with the leaves. There |
was a greater difference in the periods at which the petals opened than in the former series of experiments; those under the blue and colorless glasses took the lead, and those under the partially obscured glasses were the last. They opened for the most part during the last days of February. Under the red shade two flowers grew, but they were thin and straggling: the same was the character of the plant that grew in the dark. There were two flower-stalks under the partially obscured color- less glass; they were never developed, however, but were found at the end of March losing their color and becoming rotten. The experiments were terminated on March 22d, excepting the two under the partially obscured glasses, which were allowed to continue till the 30th. The respective lengths of the flower- stalks were then,—
Under the colorlegsielass ’...\;..60 49st oe 13 inches. iy blue FL a hath (oh tess ote li ee 13 i: red Aarau oped «Weis Ree Mek is, fF yellow. ieee we ae ie ea 12 & 4 obscured colorless glass ...... 4 if 1 obscured yelloway ec sae 10 ‘ ei dark MD: 2a. ok De 13 ‘
The hyacinths having been removed from the water in which their roots had been immersed, were suffered to dry in the open air of the room for twenty-four hours, and were then weighed.
Influence of Solar Radiation on Plants. 53
Primary weight | Fully devel- Actual of bulb. oped plant. increase, Under the colorless glass, ........++, 936 grs. 1494 ers. 558 ers. i‘ blue Som te deat ait aR 0g 862 “ 1472) * GLOn re iy red Oo ah cichs Ceavavetsete 856 “ 1438 ° 52. his yellow OL Na tele eo taleag tains 1008 “ 1406 “ 398e5~ “f obscured colorless glass. ... 873 “ 1591 “ TB . obscured yellow Bibt ins od 872“ 1556 “ 684 “ = APIS) ie hs 3. ote ho on "63" 12057" 442 “
If, instead of observing the actual increase of weight, we compare the original weight of the bulb with that of the fully developed plant, we obtain the following proportions :—
Under the colorless glass as ........... 1000 : 1596. ial akon the ade Rene eee 1000 : 1708. 4 red Shs RE Ab ort ge ails 1000 : 16380. . OV Hol ty unum sist sure. wks 1000 : 1895. sh obscured colorless glass as... 1000 : 1822. eo obscured yellow “ Le. OLOOO) el Tee. ” dark i ft LOCO 3 Loge
This increase in weight in the growing hyacinth is due to the fixation of water, and not to the decomposition of carbonic acid in the atmosphere; at least a smaller bulb which was placed under a colorless shade, and cut off from the external atmos- phere by the edges of the glass dipping into water, grew and flowered perfectly well; and when removed from the shade on March 22d, and dried as the others were, it gave the following weight :— |
Primary weight of bulb. Fully developed plant. Actual increase. 5 gers. 1167 grs. 542 ors. or as 1000 : 1867,—
a larger proportional increase of weight than in any of the other experiments, the actual increase being about the same as that of the other plant which grew under the colorless glass. The leaves that grew in the dark were perfectly etiolated, excepting just at the tips, where they showed the normal green color gradually shading off as it descended. The leaves that appeared in the experiments with the obscured glasses, were somewhat lighter in tint than those growing where the direct radiance of the sun could find access. The character of the light, under which the flowers were grown, did not affect their color at all in the way that might have been expected. They were all, as on the former occasion, of an equally deep purple; even that which grew in complete darkness exhibited the same depth of color in all the petals, excepting a few of the lower ones. ‘The purple flower under the colorless glass when fading turned to red; and this was also the case under the blue and
54 Influence of Solar Radiation on Plants.
yellow glasses; but the flower under the red glass showed no trace of red color, even when it had quite shrivelled up, nor was there any such change in the intense purple that appeared where light was excluded.
In such experiments as those just detailed, it is difflcult to separate what might be the effect of adventitious circumstances from the genuine effect of the diversity of light. However, we may safely remark in the experiment which was conducted in perfect obscurity—the rapid and abundant growth of thin root- lets, the general healthiness of the plant, the non-formation of chlorophyll, but the production of the coloring matter of the flower, not altered in its subsequent fading. The two experi- - ments performed in partial obscurity appeared as closely alike as possible, until the last week, when one of the plants died. The fact that the chemical rays were cut off from one of them, made no apparent difference. Their backwardness as compared with the other flowers, was probably owing to their having been placed in a position which was somewhat colder than that of those which received the full light of the sun. The effects of obscu- rity were observable in them in a modified manner, and the both absorbed much more water than the other plants did.. The effect of the red glass in interfering with the length of the roots, and in producing a badly developed plant, was observed both in this and in the former series of experiments. Its power of pre- venting the reddening of the faded flower is remarkable. The effect of the yellow glass in causing the rootlets to be few and straggling, and in diminishing the absorption of water, was also noticed in both instances. The blue glass appeared to favor the development of the hyacinth.
That the green coloring matter of leaves requires the action of light for its production, has long been universally admitted, and Dr. Daubeny has shown that it depends on the luminous ray. From analogy, and from a few observations by Davy, Senebier, and others, the same has been assumed to hold good in respect to the colors of flowers, but the purple hyacinth bears other witness, and should induce us to doubt this too hasty con- clusion.
A number of experiments on germination were made during the spring. The seeds experimented on were those of the wheat and the pea; and in every case both were employed, in order that if there should be a different effect of light on the monoco- tyledonous and dicotyledonous plants, it might be seen. Seeds of familiar plants and of great commercial importance were chosen, as it was supposed a greater degree of interest would naturally attach to experiments on them, and it might happen that some observations of value to the agriculturist might be made. |
we
won edb
Influence of Solar Radiation on Plants. 55
The first series of experiments was made in common air, under the seven various influences of colored light and obscurity, which have been described in treating of the hyacinths. ‘The colored shades were arranged before the windows, as described above, and they dipped into plates of water, so that throughout the ex- periments they were filled with an unchanged atmosphere, satu- rated with moisture. Twelve grains of wheat and twelve peas were taken for each separate experiment, and their weight was noted while they were still dry. They were placed on bricks within the glass shades, the bricks standing in the water, so that they were always damp. Another arrangement was made, simi- lar to that just described in every particular, except that the seeds were in the open air of the room, without any cover.
The experiments were commenced on April 21st. The fol- lowing is a table of the weather, and of the temperature taken in the shade at mid-day during the time that the various experi- ments with peas and wheat continued :—
April 22. cloudy May 15. fine 69° | 8S. do. rE. variable 65 «24, do. dee fine 66 Ca. variable be cloudy and wet 64 fess do. 60° ee BOs fine 66 eee ae wet 57 ae 205 do. 67 28, variable 56 Sec DOR ie es Bos aaa : sae Hite do. 56 i 22. cloudy and wet 64 OID ste pss w, 0. 95 nye ey es fine 65
May 1. wet 55 a 24, variable 63 jee variable 55 O20. fine 66 ad 3 do. 59 #5 26. do. 67 wie: fine 61 Se Oil wet 63 eg fs variable 63 ier ke) | eR On die ty 6. cloudy 60 Me oo wet 63 eRe de: AN a esd ee 56 “30. do. 63 Mrs eS Be variable Bs ei BL fine, but cloudy 65 a. oe wet 60 June 1. fine 66 Me NOE fine 58 a aes wet 63 LY cloudy 62 neste’) fine 65 oh) ee fine 60 iy eae: i Me Ae Aber Les cloudy 64 cared cloudy 63 Me hie oc vetdse le one 65 Weed 5) do. 63
We shall first consider the growth of the wheat; afterwards that of the peas; and then compare the two.
On April 26th the corn seeds were found just beginning to burst under all the seven glasses, those under the obscured yellow being the most advanced. Further growth was visible the following day under that glass, and also under the obscured colorless, and the yellow, though the plume did not appear in any case till the 29th. On May Ist the radicles under the color- less and blue glasses were of considerable length, but those under the obscured colorless and the red were longer, while the longest were under the yellow glass. On April 29th plumes
56 Influence of Solar Radiation on Plants.
appeared under the red and obscured colorless glasses, and in the dark. They appeared two days later under the colorless and the blue, while the seeds under the obscured yellow had an un- healthy look. On the 4th of May long etiolated leaflets were found in the dark; under both obscured glasses the wheat had also shot up long leaves; under the red and yellow glasses there were plumes of 1 or 2 inches in length; while under the color- less and blue they only reached half an inch. The wheat-plants under the colorless glass then began to grow more rapidly, and soon gained the advantage of those under the blue, and still more of those under the red. On the 8th they measured 8 inches, while those that had grown in the dark measured 6.
On the 12th the wheat-plants were more fully examined, and drawings of them were made. It was then found that under the colorless glass ten of the twelve seeds had grown. The leaves were erect, of a full green color, from 4 to 5 inches in height, roots long and thin, five in number, taking firm hold of the brick. They had no side rootlets, but were fringed with hairs. Under the blue glass, the wheat appeared like that under the colorless, but smaller. Under the red, only four plants grew, and they were not so regular in form, size, or general aspect as those under the colorless glass. Where there was this pecu- liarity,—the green stalk had been unable to burst the transparent membranous sheath, and had forced itself out in a kind of loop, at that part where the sheath sprung out of the seed. The roots were generally flaccid. Under the yellow glass, the radicles were so strong and bent so decidedly downwards, that they raised the seed completely on end: they were thickly covered with hairs. The stalks were short and strong, and generally bent. Under the obscured colorless glass only seven seeds had germinated. The leaves were of a pale green color, and had not succeeded in bursting the membranous sheath; the roots were very long. Under the obscured yellow glass, the plants were of a greener color than the preceding. In the dark all the plants were weak,
and of a very pale green color, almost yellow; the radicles had ~
many rootlets branching out from them.
After this, the plants under the colorless glass continued to grow healthily: the hairs along the roots became very long and thick, and on the 22nd of May, ramifications of the rootlets began to appear. The plants under the blue did not continue so healthy, nor did those under the red. Under the yellow glass, . both the upper plant and the roots continued to grow. Under the obscured yellow glass and in the dark, the plants also con- tinued growing. On the 26th, a more full examination and fresh drawings were made. Under the colorless glass there were ten wheat plants, generally 8 or 10 inches in height. Under
the blue glass there were several very thin weak plants, only »
Influence of Solar Radiation on Plants. 57
about 2 inches high. Under the red, the development was but an inch and a half, in the case of three plants. The rest that were growing had not succeeded in breaking the membranous sheath, but were contorted in their efforts to escape. Under the yellow, three plants had grown like those under the colorless glass; three others were not so fully developed, while the re- maining four had not germinated. Under the obscured colorless glass, the wheat had not grown since May 12th. Under the obscured yellow, I found six plants. In the dark, the plants had grown much as under the obscured yellow glass, but they were still longer, weaker, and paler in color. :
On June 5th, the experiments were stopped. The plants under the colorless glass were healthy in every respect, and were of a better green than any of the others. Under the red glass, one of the plants was found to have shot up several small leaflets outside the transparent sheath, which it had been unable to
lerce. : The following table shows the number of seeds of wheat which had put forth roots, and the average length of the princi- pal roots; and also the number of seeds from which plants had grown, together with the average length of the principal leaves.
Roots. _ | Leaves. ; __|No. of plants.) Length. ~ |INo. of plants. ~ Length; REPOOIOSS, e o's ace cae ee 10 2°5 inches 10 10 inches Bee Wee oS cakes 8% 6 O75. 6 F eeaihh RR sgt chste vs ioishecs Mate 6 8 35 " 4 4h ot MeCUO Wes s/. es5.5 s Ee aa 7 2 « 6 Opac Obscured colorless, ...... 6 35 : 3 Paes Obscured yellow, ........ i ; he «“ t 7 Sie MR i bg Fea alew, 9 aids 7 3 2 6 13)
The plants were removed from the bricks, spread out on the table, and allowed to dry in the air for eighteen hours. The following table shows the weight of those which had grown under each of the various conditions of light. The original - weight of the twelve corn-seeds was in each instance 8 grains, giving as the average weight of each seed 0°66 gers.
No. of plants 4 nod ich Average in-
which had Weight. rage weight) crease upon
germinated. of each. original weight. PCR ci. haac o'n, oes «wie ais 10 31 grs. 31 grs. 2°4 grs. RE ised os di aes 0, ¥ 60:0 6 Sa 066 “ Ont Te ds oe we’ 8 45 “ 056 “ —O1 “ IEE RA eae ee 7 8. Pa DEB ss A G4 Obscured colorless, ...... 6 ge et 066 “ Orie Obscured yellow,........ 7 1G st Lod. 1K Oia. s, oh oe 7k i 7 Sete pig OiGr a
The increase in weight of the plants which had grown under the colorless, the dark, and the yellow glasses, was due, of course, SECOND SERIES, VOL. XXII, NO. 64.—JULY, 1856, 8
58 Influence of Solar Radiation on Plants.
to the fixation of water, for there was no supply of carboni¢ acid from the air, and the quantity of substance which the roots could absorb from the bricks must have been very trifling.
The comparative experiment in which the seeds were exposed to the open air of the room did not come to anything. Not one of the seeds succeeded even in bursting the tunic, doubtless because the dry atmosphere prevented their ever retaining suffi- cient moisture.
The presence of soil about the germinating seeds, or a con- stant change of air, would probably have modified these results ; yet the conditions observed in this series of experiments were thought necessary, in order to have the full effect of the different sorts of light about the seeds themselves, for a soil necessarily produces partial if not total obscurity. The deprivation of other sources of carbon, beyond the cotyledons of the seed itself, also answered certain purposes. On examining the results, the follow- ing conclusions may be drawn, as far as wheat is concerned growing under the conditions of the experiment. ‘The absence of the chemical rays favors the first growth of rootlets, and the presence of the luminous rays does not impede it. Afterwards the opposite effect takes place; the roots are stopped in their development by the yellow ray much more than by all the rays of the spectrum in combination. ‘The red or calorific ray is on the whole the most favorable to the growth of the roots, even more so than the complete absence of all solar radiations. ‘The shooting forth of the plume is also favored by the withdrawal of the chemical rays, especially just at first; but the full and healthy development of leaves requires all the rays of the spectrum, the. luminous being particularly necessary. Several other peculiari- ties may be noted; for instance, the downward tendency of the roots under the pure luminous influence; the comparatively greater development and strength of the membranous sheath under the calorific agency; and the late but abundant growth of side-rootlets, where all the solar radiations were admitted.
The results of the experiments on wheat recorded in the pre- . vious Report, where there was the presence of soil and change of air, appear to indicate still more clearly the beneficial charac- ter of the luminous emanations, for the plants under the yellow shade were found even to excel those which had grown in white light, while, as in the experiment just detailed, the cutting off of the luminous ray by the deep blue glass militated greatly against the health of the plants. The protection of the rootlets from the yellow ray may be fairly considered an advantage, but a proper series of experiments on wheat-seeds surrounded by earth is still a desideratum.
We have now to consider the growth of the peas under the different solar influences. It has been already stated that twelve
Influence of Solar Radiation on Plants. 59
peas soaked in water were placed on the bricks along with the wheat seeds, on April 21st. On the 24th they were found to be swollen and beginning to burst. The seeds under the yellow, obscured yellow, and obscured colorless glasses, were the more rapid in their first development. On the 29th, the plumes began to appear under the obscured colorless, yellow, and red shades, and two days afterwards under the blue and colorless. The
lants under the obscured yellow glass appeared very unhealthy.
he radicles grew astonishingly under the yellow glass, and be- came very long under the red and obscured colorless. On May 8th, the plants in complete or partial obscurity were found to be several inches high; under the red, 2 inches; under the yellow, not quite so much; while even on the 11th, the plants under the blue had only just developed themselves, and under the colorless glass only one seed had put forth a stalk, and that was but half an inch in length.
On the 12th they were more fully examined, and drawings were made. Under the colorless glass, the peas resembled the plume only in the first stage of development, the principal root short and thick, with short and thick secondary rootlets, all fringed with hairs. Under the blue, the peas were in a somewhat more advanced stage. Under the red, ten plants had grown,— roots straggling, stalk bending towards the lght, with many leaflets of a deep green color. The plants under the yellow glass were characterized by enormous roots, which turned away from the light in a very marked way. Nine of those under the. obscured colorless had long roots, long succulent weak stalks, and pale green leaflets. Under the obscured yellow, the plants appeared for the most part with smaller roots, though two of them, which were nearest the light, had grown with a stalk. In the dark, six of the peas had grown,—roots irregular, having few side-rootlets, stalks succulent, but tolerably erect, bearing yellow leaflets. The plants in the red light continued to grow healthily, some being 6 inches high on the 15th; under the yellow and obscured yellow, they also grew healthily ; under the obscured colorless, the stalks were found on the 22nd no longer capable of supporting themselves. The stalks in the dark were at. the same time erect, and 10 inches in length. On the 26th, — the seeds under the colorless glass were found to have made scarcely any advance since the 12th. Under the blue, one had grown tall and healthy, but the rest were very small. Under the red, the plants were growing healthily as on the 12th, but some of them had attained the height of 9 inches, and bore three or four secondary branches. Those under the yellow had grown, but did not appear healthy. Under the obscured colorless glass, the plants had grown since the 12th about as much as might have been expected from the time, but they were very weak.
60 Influence of Solar Radiation on Plants.
Under the obscured yellow glass there were two very similar to, and nearly as large as, those under the obscured colorless. Six others were of the same character, but much smaller; the roots were very short. The plants in the dark had also grown since the 12th.
On June 5th the experiments were discontinued. The longest pea-plant under the colorless glass was then only 1°75 inch in length; the secondary rootlets were remarkably short and thick. The plants under the blue appeared the most healthy; those under the yellow, whether in full light or obscured, showed con- siderable inclination to send out lateral branches. The stems of the plants in the dark were white, the leaflets were canary-yellow , those which had grown in partial obscurity were also much etio- lated. One of the peas under the obscured yellow had produced. a triple stem, and so had one of those under the obscured color- less glass. |
The average length of the roots and stalks of those peas which had germinated under the different solar influences 1s given in the annexed table :—
Tap roots. Stalks. ae (Ree? is No. of plants. Length. No. of plants. Length. Robe re is aes hcl ayer achevet idl Gicveiate 10 1 inch 10 1 inch 46 1 Ay AE Se AR a in Gee aarg 2 | es : % t 18 a ME ee a sig does ace tare d'cie yk i 11 Bt 4 15 «& iz MEW cps cin elon s alow mieten ni i 3 65 « t 10 a a Obscured colorless, .......... 10 Ce cus 9 Bio aN Obstured yellow, ......0.00s 10 i aia 10 it ems Pei ae RS CAR 12 A id 12 145 “
The plants were removed from the bricks and allowed to dry in the air for eighteen hours. The following table shows the increase of weight which had taken place in them during their growth :—
Mie - 1. /No. 8 verage in- Pee te pee penteh hed Weight. jana of vented of ‘| germinated. each. original weight. COlorlessy 5 4.5 sj006 33 grs 10 54 ers 5'4 gprs 27 grs BME: Co lcie hs cate e ehee 345 “ 12 Tae i Hea on” EM eit biwindie os vee 30 fe 11 Al. 43 “ PEt PMB ooo ri ieee bid 8 34. 11 (7 a Oat ea Obscured colorless,..| 85°55 “ 10 BBE 83 « ae Obscured yellow, ...| 315 “ 10 85 “ oak dad Da ee ee eta ta es or S15. 4 12 150.4 125° “ 99 “
It being thought that the disproportionate weight of the plants which had grown in the dark might be partially owing to their not having become thoroughly air-dried in eighteen hours, on account of their succulent character, they were exposed m the
* Very various.
Influence of Solar Radiation on Plants. 61
same manner for forty-eight hours. Their weight was then re- duced to 66 grains, while those grown under the obscured color- less (succulent as they were) lost in the same time only 14 grains; and those under the obscured yellow appeared rather to have gained weight.
The increase in weight in these instances must be attributed, as in the case of the wheat, to the absorption of water, and it seems to be in almost reverse ratio to the healthiness of the plant; for those under the red, which had the best appearance at first, showed by far the smallest increase in weight; and those under the blue, which were afterwards better looking, had not increased greatly. ;
In the comparative experiment made without any glass shade, one pea began to germinate on May 238d; this was shortly fol- lowed by two others, but only one of the three grew to any size. When measured on June 6th, its root was found to be only 0°75 inch long; its stalk had attained a length of 4°5 inches; its leaflets were deep green, appearing as healthy as, if not healthier than, any under the glass shades, and when removed from all moisture for eighteen hours, it weighed 5:5 grains, showing an increase of 2°7 grains on its original weight.
On examining these results we are led to draw the following conclusions, as far as peas are concerned, growing under the conditions of the experiment. The cutting off of the chemical rays favors the first germination of the seed, and this appears to be the principal, if not the only advantage of the darkness ob- _ tained by burying the seeds in the soil. The development of roots also requires the absence of the chemical ray, yet it does not go on to the greatest extent when all the solar influences are excluded, but is favored rather than otherwise by heat and lumin- osity. The first development of the plume also proceeds best under the same circumstances; yet these are not the conditions which produce a healthy plant: if all the solar radiations be withdrawn, whether entirely or only to a great extent, the plants absorb much water and grow very tall, without developing secondary branches or many leaves. ‘T'he whole force of these radiations, on the contrary, prevents or greatly impedes the growth of these plants under the circumstances of the experi- ment. As peas grow commonly in the full sunshine, it would be interesting to observe whether the negative result obtained arose from the absence of soil about the roots, from excessive moisture, or from some other cause. The experiment, however, affords us no data for determining this question. The chemical force is the most antagonistic to the growth of the pea, and luminosity also militates against it: the heating rays are favora- ble; but let the plant be fairly established, and those radiations which are comparatively speaking devoid of light, but replete
62 Influence of Solar Radiation on Plants.
with chemical power, are the most suited to the production of a healthy growth. The influences which facilitate rapid growth are diametrically opposed to healthy development. It should be borne in mind, however, that these observations relate only to a very early stage of the plant, and teach us nothing respecting the full-grown pea, or the evolution of the flower or fructification.
If we compare the effect of the various solar radiations upon the germination of wheat with the effect produced upon that of peas, we are struck with the great diversity between them. This was particularly apparent during the progress of the experiment. The colorless and the red glasses happened to stand side by side on the table, and it was curious to notice under the former glass a tall and vigorous crop of corn-plants with a mere matting of stunted roots from the peas, while under the other a thick crop of green spreading plants arose from the germinating peas, but the wheat-plants were few, straggling, and unhealthy in appear- ance. When, however, we come to look more closely into the phenomena, we see certain points of resemblance. In both cases the cutting off of the chemical ray facilitates in a marked manner the process of germination, and that both in reference to the protrusion of the radicles and the evolution of the plume. The unnaturally tall growth of the stem, and the poor develop- ment of leaves in darkness, more or less complete, 1s also common to both these specimens of the monocotyledonous and dicotyle- donous plant. In both cases too, the yellow ray exerted a re- pellant influence upon the roots, giving the wheat a downward and the pea roots a lateral impulse.
The object of employing a partially obscured yellow glass in these experiments, was to decide if possible the question which has been asked, Does yellow light stop germination by some specific action or merely by the excess of light? Contrary to the experience of some others, who, I believe, have experimented on seeds covered with soil, and on other plants than those em- ployed by me, the yellow light did not interfere at all with germ- ination, in the experiments just described. In the case of both plants, indeed, it decidedly facilitated the early development of both the root and the plume. That the yellow ray, however, has a specific action of its own, is proved by the most cursory glance at the facts already recorded; the yellow and the obscured yellow give quite different results from those of any of the other
lasses.
The diversity between the effect of the same qualities of light upon the growth of the wheat and the pea, leads us to look with suspicion on any generalisations affecting other plants which may be drawn from the observed influence of light upon one particular plant, especially, of course, when they are of different orders. ‘This will account for some of the diversity in the state- ments made by previous experimenters in these fields.
Influence of Solar Radiation on Plants. 63
The subject may be, however, further elucidated by referring to some of these. Dr. Draper, in his elaborate investigation of the forces which exert a controlling influence on the growth of plants, records a series of experiments on peas. He placed them just after they begun to grow in blue, red, and yellow light, and also in the dark, and in the open air. His observations were confined to the third and fourteenth days. At the former period he found that under the red the plant had attained 4°5 times its original size, and had produced double the number of leaves; under the blue, three times its original height, with also double the number of leaves. In the dark there was about the same increase of altitude, while in the open air only twice the original height had been attained, and there were no fresh leaves; and under the yellow light, a still smaller advance had been made. On the fourteenth day he found all his pea-plants green, though varying a little in the character of the color, except those which had been placed in the dark, which were of a pale whitish yellow, the plants vigorous, thirteen times their original height, but with no fresh leaves. On the whole, then, as far as Dr. Draper's ex- periment goes, it is in accordance with my results.
M. Senebier describes an experiment performed by him on lettuce-seeds sown in little cups and placed respectively in the open air in full hght of day, in darkness, and under glass vessels filled with colorless, yellow, red, and violet fluids. ‘‘ Observing then the effects produced by the different portions of light which were thus permitted to act, he found that the plants illuminated by the yellow rays grew most rapidly in height; next, those in the violet rays; afterwards those in the red rays. The plants which grew in light transmitted through water were still smaller and approached in size to those which flourished in the open air, while those in perfect darkness attained the greatest height of all. These last plants perished on the eighth day, and those in the yellow light on the ninth day, while all the others continued to vegetate. At the end of about five weeks, the plants growing under the red vessel were 4 inches and 9 lines in height; under the violet vessel 3 inches and 8 lines; under the water vessel 2 inches and 10 lines, and 1 inch and 8 lines in the open air. With respect to the general appearance of the plants, the leaves of those which grew in red light were smaller and less smooth than those of the plants in violet light, or than the leaves of the plants confined under water, or than the leaves of those which grew in the open air. As to color, the leaves exposed to yellow light were at first green and afterwards became yellow; those in red light appeared green and preserved a tinge of that color; those in violet light were quite green and their color aug- mented with their age; while those raised in obscurity possessed no verdure at all.” These experiments were repeated on French
64 Influence of Solar Radiation on Plants.
beans with nearly similar results, but beyond the observation that “‘in proportion as the plants grew in height, in different kinds of light, the number and size of their leaves diminished,” his attention appears to have been directed only to the question of color.* :
Besides the experiments already detailed in this Report, and those on wheat and Malope trifida described in my former one, I have a few other observations on the effect of various qualities of light on the growth of plants from the seed, which it may be worth while briefly to record. ‘They were made on the Collunsia bicolor of the florists, and Mignonette.
Seeds of the Collinsia were sown in garden mould in glasses, and placed under the colorless, blue, yellow, red, and darkened shades, on a table before a window which had a northwest aspect. T'he perforated boards were used for supporting the glass covers.
The experiment was commenced on the 6th of July in last year. On the 9th it was found that germination had taken place under each glass except the yellow, where no plant grew until the 14th. Under the colorless glass, the plants grew and flourished till the beginning of August, when they all faded and died. Under the blue and red glasses they grew well for a while, but began to droop by the 26th of July. Those under the darkened glass ex- isted rather longer, but they were tall and scraggy, and the leaves did not fairly open. Only three plants germinated under the yellow shade; they were all unhealthy and died before the 26th. On August 4th, seeds were sown afresh under each glass. Much the same order of growth was observed.
On October 12th, a hundred seeds of Mignonette were sown in each of seven glasses filled with garden mould. They were placed about a third of an inch below the surface. Six of the glasses were covered respectively with the colorless, blue, red, yellow, obscured colorless, and obscured yellow shades, and the seventh was placed in a dark closet. It should be observed that the closet was rather warmer than the room. The Mignonette seeds began first to germinate in the dark, then under the blue; then, after the lapse of a few days, they appeared under the red, and colorless, and the obscured colorless glasses. ‘The yellow ray long retarded, and very nearly prevented their germination. Those in the dark were tall, thin, and yellow; they all died about November 1st; the others soon followed, excepting one plant under the colorless glass, which was found still alive with four green leaves on December 10th.
The investigations of many experimenters have shown that oxygen is necessary in the germination of seeds. The explana- tion given is that that element is required for instituting the action that converts the fecula of the cotyledon into sugar. It
* From Ellis’s “ Farther Inquiries,” &c.
Influence of Solar Radiation on Plants. 65
is unquestionable, that in the majority of cases, plants after the first stage of their growth require a certain supply of carbonic acid, by the decomposition of which they obtain carbon, setting free oxygen. My brother and I have shown that plants will exist well for a considerable time in an atmosphere devoid of oxygen, for instance in nitrogen, hydrogen, coal-gas, or carbonic oxyd. In order to see the eftects of all these atmospheric condi- tions on the germination of wheat and peas, the following experi- ments were made during the latter part of May and the beginning of June.
Six wheat-seeds and six peas were placed on folds of linen floating on mercury, and covered with a colorless glass jar having a capacity of about 20 cubic inches. The linen preserved the seeds from the mercury, and was kept wet by the introduction of asmall quantity of water. The jar was full of atmospheric air, and was placed on the table before the window having a SH aspect. After a couple of days or so the peas germinated, and shortly afterwards the wheat. They grew for about a week, and retained a healthy appearance much longer. The experiment was twice performed with similar results, and showed that the arrangement was applicable to the proposed experiments.
A precisely similar arrangement was made in a jar containing 29 cubic inches of hydrogen gas, and having in it a tube con- taining pyrogallate of potash, so as to absorb any trace of oxygen which might be accidentally present in the gas, or might be evolved from the seeds themselves. In four days the swollen | peas had begun to burst. They put forth short radicles, but no plume, and in about a week afterwards they were all decaying. The wheat showed no appearance whatever of germination. This experiment was twice performed with the same result.
Another such arrangement was made in a jar filled with car- bonic acid. Not the slightest appearance was indicated by either the wheat or the peas. They decayed, becoming soft and swollen, and emitted a most offensive smell on the removal of the jar.
The same was done in a jar filled with common air, and con- taining a solution of caustic potash in a small capsule, so as to remove any carbonic acid which might be given off by the seeds. In about three days both the wheat and the peas had begun to burst ; four out of the six of each continued to grow for about six days, and remained healthy afterwards. The removal of the carbonic acid, then, did not affect the germination. I subse- quently found that in this experiment I had almost exactly repeated one of Mr. Ellis’s in his ‘Inquiry into the changes pro- duced on atmospheric air by the germination of seeds,’ &c. He employed peas, and satisfied himself that all the oxygen in the jar had been absorbed by the germinating plants.
SECOND SERIES, VOL. XXII, NO. 64.—JULY, 1856.
66 Influence of Solar Radiation on Plants.
The effect of oxygen on the germination of wheat and peas under the influence of the difterent solar radiations was also tried. The small colored glasses, having a capacity of 172 to 177 cubic inches, were employed, and the experiments were con- ducted like those under the colored shades which have been already detailed. ‘The seeds were placed on the bricks on May 2nd. On the 8th, both the wheat and the peas had burst under the colorless glass, but they soon became mouldy, and before the end of the month they were quite dead. The seeds under the yellow glass ran much the same course; but those under the blue glass, though they did not burst till the 11th, grew well, and by the 26th two of the wheat plants had attained a height of 4 or 5 inches. The experiment was discontinued on June 5th. The plants were removed from the brick for desiccation, and on the following day the five of the wheat which had germinated were found to weigh 8 grains, giving an average of 1°6 grain for each, or an increase of 0-9 grain on the original weight. All the six peas had germinated and weighed 26 grains, giving an average of 4:3 grs. for each, or an increase of 1°6 grain on the original weight.
Thus far I have proceeded in the investigation. Many inter- esting inquiries naturally suggest themselves; some have been already alluded to, for instance, the influence of light upon the colors of flowers; the amount of exclusion of light effected by the soil; the different condition of solar influences required by wheat or by peas at later periods of their growth; and the ex- tension of the observations to other seeds. Other questions might be raised, such as,—What character of light promotes best the absorption of oxygen in germination? At what period in the growth of a plant does oxygen become unnecessary? Is oxygen requisite for the full development of a bulbous-rooted plant? Does carbonic acid act specifically in the prevention of germina- tion, or merely by the exclusion of oxygen? How far does the rapid development of a plant in an early stage interfere with its healthy growth at a later period? }
Explorations and Surveys for the Pacific Railroad. 67
Art. [X.—Reports of Explorations and Surveys to ascertain the most practicable and economical route for a Railroad from the Missis- sippt River to the Pacific Ocean; made under the direction of the Hon. JEFFERSON Davis, Secretary of War.*
UNDER the auspices of the Secretary of War, the reports of the explorations made with reference to a route for the Pacific railroad, are in progress of publication in quarto volumes, ex- cellent in style and full in their illustrations. The results of these surveys are exceedingly varied and important. The physical features and climate of the vast region beyond the Mis- SiSsippi Were examined, animals, plants, and rocks collected, and important contributions thus made to science, while at the same time the special object of the surveys appears to have been pur- sued with vigor and as much care as the limited time of the sur- veys admitted. The volume just issued contains the Report of the Secretary of War; an Examination of the Reports of the sev- eral routes explored; railway memoranda; and the Report of Governor I. I. Stevens. The further narrative of the explora- tion, accompanied by views illustrating the features of the coun- try, the natural history and other scientific reports, with illus- trations, will appear in another volume. :
The report of the Secretary of War presents a general re- view of the whole subject, and is drawn up with clearness and apparent justice to each of the proposed routes. ‘The routes ex- amined were five in number:—the most northern or Missouri river route, near the 47th and 49th parallels of north latitude, sur- veyed under Governor Stevens; the next, or Platte river route, near the 41st and 42nd parallels, examined by Col. Fremont and Capt. Stanisbury, east of the Rocky Mts., and by Lieut. E. G. Beckwith, on the west, from Fort Bridger in 110° W. to Fort Reading on the Sacramento; the third, or Arkansas river route, near the 38th and 39th parallels, explored by Capt. Gunnison’s party to the Un-kuk-oo-ap mountains, in longitude 112°, on the Sevier river, where he died; the fourth, or Canadian river route, near the 35th parallel, surveyed under the direction of Lieut. A. W. Whipple; the fifth, near the 31st and 32nd parallels, its _ different parts under the direction of Capt. Pope, Lieut. Parke, Major Emory, and Lieut. Williamson.
We make the following extracts from the Report of the Sec- retary of War.
* Reports of Explorations and Surveys to ascertain the most practicable and economical route for a railroad from the Mississippi river to the Pacific Ocean; made under the direction of the Hon. Jefferson Davis, Secretary of War, in 1853-4, ac- cording to acts of Congress of March 3, 1853, May 31, 1854, and August 5, 1854. Volume J. 652 pages 4to, with Maps and Tables.
68 Lzplorations and Surveys for the Pacific Railroad.
The western portion of the continent of North America, irre- spective of the mountains, is traversed from north to south by a broad, elevated swell or plateau of land, which occupies the greater portion of the whole space between the Mississippi river and the Pacific ocean. The crest of this plateau, or the water- shed of the country, is nearly midway between the Pacific coast and the Mississippi. It may be represented on the map by an undulating line traced between the headwaters of the streams which flow eastward and those which flow westward. It divides the whole area between the Mississippi and the Pacific into two nearly equal portions—that on the east being somewhat the larger. ‘This crest of the water-Shed has its greatest elevation in Mexico; and thence declines to its lowest point about the latitude of 32°, where it has a height of about 5,200 feet, be- tween the waters of the Rio Grande and those of the San Pedro, a tributary of the Gila. From this parallel it increases in alti- tude northward, and reaches its maximum near the 38th parallel, where itis about 10,000 feet high. Thence it declines as we pass northward; and, in latitude 42° 24’, it has an elevation of, say, 7,490 feet; and in the latitude of about 47° it is reported to be at least 1,450 feet lower. The heights here given are those of the lowest passes over the crest or water-shed of the great plateau of the country, and not those of the mountain peaks and ridges which have their base upon it, and rise, in some cases, to the height of 17,000 feet into the region of perpetual snow.
The slope of the plateau on the east and south, towards the Mississippi and the Gulf of Mexico, is comparatively gentle, and in the northern part of Texas, that known by the name of the Llano Hstacado, or Staked Plain, is by steps. It is traversed by the Missouri, the Platte, the Arkansas, and other large rivers, which rise among the mountains near the crest, and flow east- ward and southward in channels sunk beneath the general sur- face-level of the plains.
The crest of the mountains, and nearly the entire distance thence to the Pacific, is occupied by high plains or basins, dif- fering from each other in elevation from 1,000 to 3,000 feet, and by mountain peaks and ridges, varying in direction to almost every point of the compass, though they have a general course north and south. Many of these mountains, including those that bound this system, have obtained the name of chains, and a short classification of them will now be attempted, although it is to be premised that our knowledge of them is most imperfect, and the classification now made, future explorations will probably show to be erroneous. ‘The only proper classification must be made by the geologist, after a thorough exploration for this purpose, which it will require a long period to accomplish.
Explorations and Surveys for the Pacific Railroad. 69
These mountains may be considered as constituting three great systems, extending generally throughout our possessions in a north and south direction; and although this arrangement may not be the best or most accurate, yet it will enable us to take a comprehensive view of the whole as regards the construc- tion of a railroad, since any direct line that can be traced from the Mississippi to the Pacific, except near the 48th and 382d parallels, will encounter each of these three systems in some
oint.
Calling the most eastern system No. 1, we find a portion of it, crossing the Rio Grande, and entering Texas at the Great Cafion. Its extension south into Mexico forms the east front of the Sierra Madre. Running northward, this system includes all the moun- tains on either side of the Rio Grande, enclosing its valley and the Salinas Basin. Those on the east form the divide between the Pecos and Salinas Basin, and between the