Part 1 — Regular Meeting, September 5th, 1864.

Vice-President, Dr. Eckel in the Chair.

Nine members present. Prof. B. Silliman, Jr., Dr. Eichler, and Mr. Ehrenberg as visitors.

Donations to the Cabinet: A specimen of a wild cherry from Catalina Island, by Mr. J. E. Clayton. A collection of plants from Washoe, by Mr. Bloomer.

Prof. B. Silliman remarked that in his recent visit to Arizona, east of the Mohave, he had seen what he presumed were the morains of former glaciers on the eastern flanks of some of the mountain ranges. They consist of rudely stratified materials both angular and round, mingled confusedly together and forming terrace-like spurs or embankments radiating outwards from the curved range and appearing to have been left there by glaciers, though no glacial polishing and scratching of the rocks could be seen as in the Sierra Nevada opposite Mono Lake and elsewhere. These evidences of glaciers in Arizona were nearly under the 35th parallel of latitude, and he believed that no evidence of glacial action had before been observed on the Pacific slope at a point so far south.

Prof. W. P. Blake observed that this was certainly the first observation upon glacial phenomena in Arizona, and that he had noted evidences of former glaciers in the Sierra Nevada, as far south as the Tejon Pass, lat. 35°, where there were large blocks of granite deposited for miles beyond the opening of the valley.

Prof. Silliman described the peculiar character of the outcrops of the veins in the regions of the El Dorado Cañon. He found that nearly all vestiges of the sulphurets were removed from the outcrops, while they abounded below. The outcrops gave little indication of the metal-bearing character of the veins. He had observed as he believed, at least three distinct periods of volcanic activity in that region of the Colorado and Mohave, two of which periods were sub-aqueous, and the last sub-aerial. The lava-streams generally appeared to have been poured out after the face of the country had already assumed its present form. The volcanic outflows though extensive had not materially modified the topography of the country.

Mr. Ehrenberg stated that the copper ores in the vicinity of La Paz, and Mineral City, Arizona, were generally argentiferous, sometimes giving results by assay as high as $200 per ton. The ores beyond that district did not appear to contain much. The quicksilver ore at the Eugenie vein contained both silver and copper.

Doctor Behr presented the following paper:

Notes on Californian Satyrides.

BY HERMAN BEHR, M. D.

Chionobas Nevadensis. Boisduval, in litteris.

A few specimens of this new and as yet undescribed Chionobas, were caught by Mr. Lorquin, the discoverer of the species, and named by Dr. Boisduval. Not possessing a single specimen of this rare species, I am not able to give a diagnosis, and have only an indistinct recollection, that the species bore most resemblance to the Gerontogeic, Ch. Tarpeja, a Siberian species that has also been found on the summit of the Appenines, in Italy, but that in size it is superior to any Chionobas known to me.

Satyrus Sthenele Boisd.

Is rather common near San Francisco, where it is found in June. Only one generation annually.

Satyrus Sylvestris Edwards.

Edwards’ description shows very clearly the marks by which S. Sylvestris can be recognized from S. Sthenele. This species is found on grassy hills thinly covered with live-oak, where its habits show a very marked difference from those of its relations, by preferring the underside of oak branches to any other seat, while Sthenele and Boopis almost exclusively settle on the ground.

Satyrus Boopis Behr.

Sthenele similis at limbus non tesselatus, sed linea transversa distincte partitus et fœminæ ocelli alarum superiorum in fascia dilutiori positi. Alae subtusdimidiatæ pars radicalis brunnea, marginalis grisea, marginem versus brunnescens. Utraque marmorata, halone ocellorum in alis anticis solo excepto dilutiori et concolori.

This Satyrus is the biggest of our Californian species, the male being nearly double the size of the female of S. Sylvestris. I find this Satyrus in July in Contra Costa, on the hills as well as on the plains. In regard to the diagnosis of these three closely allied species, I would mention, that the presence or absence of one or two more or less distinct eye-marks, on the upper or under side near the anal angle of the hind wings, is of no diagnostic importance.

S. Ariane Boisd.

I confess I can not find any constant mark of difference between this species and S. Alope, Nephele, and Pegala, however different at first glance their forms may appear. I am very much inclined to consider them local aberrations of one far spread species, that gradually slopes from S. Pegala Fabr., through S. Ariane Boisd. to S. Nephele and S. Alope Fabr., in a similar way as the Gerontogeic P. Egeria L. looks very different from its African form P. Xiphia Fabr., with which, nevertheless, it is insensibly united by its intermediate form P. Meone.

All my Californian specimens agree perfectly with Dr. Boisduval’s diagnosis of S. Ariane; with the exception of one that approaches to S. Pegala, by its having only one eye-mark on the upper side of the anterior wings, but differs by the entire absence of the wide rusty band on the same. The specimen was among several undoubted S. Ariane, caught near Mono Lake, by Prof. Brewer, of the State Geological Survey. Besides the above mentioned locality, I received specimens from San Diego and Santa Cruz. Near San Francisco the species is wanting.

As to S. Sthenele and S. Sylvestris, I entertain no doubts regarding their rights as distinct species, but S. Boopis being only distinguished by the absence of the series of eyes on the under side of the hind wings from S. Nephele, may, perhaps, prove a local variety or aberration of that most polymorphous and far spread species S. Alope. In the mean time, until the connecting forms are found, I consider it to be specifically distinct.

Coenonympha Hubner.

C. Galactina. Boisd.

I consider this species as identical with C. Californica Dbld. At least I find in a long series of specimens, no point where Californica ends and Galactina begins. C. Galactina, according to Boisduval, exists also in Kamtschatka. In California it is one of the commonest species of Diurnals, and is found in the most different localities, in several generations throughout the year. There exists a second Cœnonympha in some sequestered valleys of the Northern Sierra, that approaches in its coloration, the European C. Pamphilas. I have only seen one pair of this species, and not possessing it, I can not give a diagnosis. It may be that it is identical with C. Inornata, Edw., or C. Ochracea, Edw., or some other Northern species.

Extratropical America is not rich in Satyrides, if compared to the same latitudes in Europe or Asia, and California is especially poor.

Europe. California.

Arge, ——

Erebia, ——

Chionobas, Chionabas,

Satyrus, Satyrus,

Pararga, ——

Epinephele, ——

Cœnonympha, Cœnonympha.

There are seven European genera, each of them represented by a whole series of species connecting different types. In California there are only three of which none is known to contain more than four species.

The Atlantic States add some tropical genera to the three genera already obtained in California, viz.: Neonympha Hubner, Hyphthima Hubner, Debis Dbld., and Calisto Hubner. The genus Calisto seems to be confined to subtropical North America; the genus Neonympha spreads in numerous species through the tropics of America, and trespasses only in a few species the Cancer; Hyphthima is found in many species in the tropics of the Old World, and it is a very curious circumstance, that one species of this essentially Gerontogeic genus should be found in the Southern States. But the two American species of the genus Debis, are even more interesting, for all other species of this genus, are confined to the Indian Archipelago.

The metamorphoses of the Satyrides, are only with difficulty to be investigated.

They feed as far as they are known, on Monocotyledoneous plants, the extra-tropical ones, with one exception perhaps, exclusively on Graminaceous plants. The Caterpillars shun the sunlight and hide themselves in the grass. Some of them bury themselves in the daytime in the ground and feed only at night. The tropical species feeding on Scitaminaceous, Aroideous plants, palms, and arborescent grasses, sport the shady thickets of tropical forests, in whose twilight depths, most of the species are also found in their imago state. Other ones like some of the Morphonides, and even some Nymphalides of the tropics, spend their days hidden under the luxuriant foliage of primeval forests and begin their flight only after sunset.

In a most interesting treatise on the characteristics of the insect fauna of the “White Mountains,” by Samuel H. Scudder, (Boston Journal, Vol. VII, Part IV), I find the description of the Caterpillar of Chionobas Semidea, Edw., with a notice that it was found on Lichen. This would prove a most remarkable exception, as all the other Satyrides feed on Monocotyledoneous plants. Nevertheless, larvæ of Artic types are generally polyphagous, and adapted to some degree, to accommodate themselves to circumstances, and so I would not entertain any doubts about the feeding plant of the Chionobas, if it were not for the circumstance that Mr. Scudder confesses that he did not succeed in bringing the Caterpillar, with Lichen, to perfection. Perhaps the Caterpillar fed on grass, or perhaps some Carex, and was only, by some accident, compelled to crawl to the lichen-covered stone, where that gentleman found it. I hope to hear very soon about this most interesting object, for I consider the discovery of the metamorphoses of one insect, a more valuable fact than the diagnoses of ten new species, of which we do not know more than the external appearance.

Prof. Wm. P. Blake presented the following papers:

Note on a large lump of Gold found on the Middle fork of the American River.

BY PROF. WM. P. BLAKE.

In July last, a mass of gold nearly free from quartz, was taken out of a placer on the Middle Fork of the American River, about two miles above Michegan Bluffs. It weighed, as taken out, 187 ounces troy, and sold for $17.50 per ounce, netting the finder $3,272.50. In melting, a loss of six ounces was experienced. There was a further loss to the purchaser, from the poor quality of the gold, the assay return of which I have not yet been able to obtain. The ordinary gold of the claim is worth $17.50. It is a singular fact, often remarked by dealers, that the large lumps of gold are almost always poorer in quality than the smaller ordinary grains from the same placers.

Note on the Fossil remains of the Horse and Elephant, mingled, at Mare Island, San Francisco Bay.

BY PROF. WM. P. BLAKE.

The entire lower jaw and teeth of a horse, the fragments of which I exhibit to the Academy, were taken by me from the face of the shore cliff of Mare Island, together with broken pieces of bones of other large quadrupeds. The teeth of an Elephas had been found in the same place, a few weeks before, by Mr. Brown, the Naval Engineer, by whom my attention was directed to the place. The fossils occur in a stiff sandy loam, which rests on the eroded surface of the Tertiary or Cretaceous beds below. Near the surface is a layer of oyster shells, apparently an upraised bed, most of the shells being entire. The fact that the Horse and Elephant roamed together over our hills and plains, at the dawn of, or before the human period, is certainly not without interest.

Ammonites or Ceratites from Oregon Bar, Middle Fork of the American River.

BY PROF. WM. P. BLAKE.

The specimen which I exhibit to the Society this evening, is from the collection of J. J. Spear, of this city. It was kindly loaned to me by that gentleman for examination. Not wishing to risk the specimen, by sending it to a paleontologist at the East, I had it photographed, and sent a copy to F. B. Meek, Esq., of Washington. It is not possible to determine from the specimen, whether these fossils are new or not, or even, whether they are Ammonites or Ceratites. They appear to be not unlike the fossils described by Dr. Trask, under the name of A. Chiceonsis, Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Cal.; but it is not safe to identify them, without the septæ can be clearly made out.

There are several casts in an argillaceous, somewhat micaceous slate. This locality is about 15 miles from Coloma. It is not certain, whether the specimen was taken from the slates in place, or broken from a loose mass.

Mr. Moore presented the following paper:

On Brushite, a new mineral occurring in Phosphatic Guano.

BY GIDEON E. MOORE, PH. B.

In the spring of the present year, I received through the kindness of Wm. E. Brown, Esq., of Mare Island, in this State, a specimen of a mineral discovered by him in a cargo of phosphatic guano, at Camden, N. J. The locality from which it was derived, is not known, and though letters of enquiry have been sent to the parties to whom the cargo was originally consigned, no reply has been received up to this date. The texture and appearance of the guano would, however, point to some one of the Caribbean Islands, and more particularly, to the Island of Sombrero, as its probable source. It is very probable that the mineral may be recognized among the crystallized products occurring in other guano deposits.

In the specimen in my possession, the mineral occurs filling seams in the guano, varying from ⅛ to ¼ of an inch in width. The matrix itself is of the variety known as rock guano. It possesses an oolitic structure and a brownish white color, interspersed with small spots of pure white.

The mineral is in the form of small but very perfect and brilliant crystals with a cleavage in the direction of their greatest length, nearly equal to that of selenite; the laminæ, being also slightly flexible, as in the case of the latter species. Hardness, 2.25 (Moh’s scale). Specific gravity, 2.208, (mean of two determinations). Color, yellowish white. Transparent. Lustre, vitreous splendent, inclining to pearly on the cleavage faces.

When heated in a closed tube before the blowpipe, it whitens and gives off water, at an incipient red heat. In the platina forceps, it fuses with intumescence, at about 2. of Von Kobbell’s scale, tinging the flame with the peculiar green characteristic of phosphoric acid. The button formed by fusion, crystallizes on cooling, showing numerous brilliant facets. Readily soluble, even in coarse crystals, in dilute nitric and hydrochloric acids.

A qualitative analysis, revealed the presence of Lime, Phosphoric acid, and water, with barely discernable traces of Magnesia and Alumina.

The quantity of mineral at my disposal was very small, scarcely exceeding one gramme in weight. In each of the following analyses, the water was determined in 0.2 grammes, the remaining 0.3 grammes being employed in the determination of the Lime and Phosphoric acid. The results were as follows:

1. 2.

Lime 32.65 32.73

Phosphoric acid 41.50 41.32

Water 26.33 26.40

100.48 100.45

These figures agree exactly with the composition of the neutral tri-basic phosphate of lime (2 CaO., H O, P O₅), with the addition of four equivalents of water of crystallization, (2 CaO, H O, P O₅ + 4 aq.) viz.:

2 CaO 56.26 = 32.59

P O₅ 71.36 = 41.34

H O 9.00 } = 26.07

4 Aq 36.00 }

172.62 100.00

In the polarizing microscope, the mineral shows a vivid succession of colors. A sample has been sent to Prof. J. D. Dana, who has kindly undertaken the study of its crystallographic characters, and I hope, in a short time, to be able to communicate the results of his investigations to the Academy.

It is with very great pleasure, that I dedicate this species to Prof. Geo. J. Brush, of Yale College, to whose unwearied zeal and efficient labors, American Mineralogy stands so deeply indebted.