while Goeppert mentions its change into bitumen, and also observed a resinous matter in the pores of silicified conifers. He found that in some cases, as in certain agatized woods from Hungary, · the organic matter had almost, or altogether, disappeared, leaving spaces which were empty, or filled only with water. Bead-like drops of silica were occasionally found by him upon the bundles of ligneous fibres. He also observed in some cases an incrustation of hyalite on the exterior of some specimens of silicified wood. (Goeppert, Plantes Fossiles, livr. 1, part 3.)

The silicified woods from Antigua, unlike any of these described by Goeppert, exhibit a replacement of the woody tissue by silica; some of them however still retaining portions of organic matter. In a specimen of exogenous wood from that locality, which I have. lately examined with Dr. Dawson, the medullary rays are filled with silica showing traces of cells, and the ducts are also filled with silica. The whole of the woody fibre has more over disappeared, and its place is occupied by silica, which is distinguished by a slight difference in color from that filling the place of the vessels. In this case, it would appear that the process of silicification consisted of two stages; the first being the filling up of the pores by silica, followed by a removal, by decay, of the organic matter, leaving a silicious skeleton like that of the Hungarian woods noticed above, after which the empty spaces in this were filled by a further deposition of silica. It is probable that processes similar to those connected with silicification take place in the so-called petrifaction of organic remains by carbonate and sulphate of lime, sulphate of barytes, oxyd of iron, and metallic sulphurets.

In this connection, may be mentioned the observations and experiments of Pengelly, Church, and others on the so-called Beekkite. This name has been given to mammillary chalcedonic concretions around a nucleus of coral, sponge, shells, or even of limestone, which occur in the Triassic conglomerates of Torbay in England. This nucleus in some cases has disappeared, but in others remains in greater or less part unchanged, or has been partially silicified. These concretions apparently result from a similar incrusting process to that which I have described in Stromatopora and Metoptoma. Mr. Church has examined these bodies with care both chemically and microscopically, and in the L. E. & D. Phil. Magazine for February 1862 ([4], xxiii, 95) has given his own and others' observations, with a

number of figures. He has also described in this paper the results of some experiments on the process of silicification; for Mr. further details of which see The Chemical News, vol. v, 95. Church prepared a solution of silica in water by dialysis, according to Graham's method (L. E. & D. Phil. Mag. [4], xxiii, 295), and found that when this solution, containing about one two-hundredths of silica, and impregnated with a little carbonic acid, was filtered through fragments of coral, a large portion of carbonate of lime was dissolved, and the whole of the silica removed. Similar results, though to a less extent, were obtained with shells. In another experiment, a fragment of a recent coral was fitted into the neck of a funnel, and a solution prepared as above, with a little carbonic acid, and containing one hundredth of silica, was allowed to drop on the coral, and after slowly filtering through, was found, as in the previous experiment, to have abandoned the whole of its silica, while the coral had lost nearly all its lime, although retaining its structure in a great measure. It was however covered with a thick film of gelatinous silica." Mr. Church farther observed that the addition of small portions of the solid carbonate of lime, barytes, or strontia to a strong solution of pure silica, caused it to gelatinize immediately; and according to Graham, solutions of these carbonates have the same effect. The concentric structure which is characteristic of chalcedony, was observed by Mr. Church in the silicious deposits from the Geysers of Iceland, and from the hot springs of Luzon in the Philippine Islands, as well as in menilite; and Mr. J. H. Gladstone, in a note to Mr. Church, in the paper already cited from the Philos. Magazine, refers to a similar structure as having been observed by Mr. Rainey in carbonate of lime formed in animal tissues: it is also artificially obtained when carbonate of lime is slowly deposited in the presence of gum or albumen. Mr. Church has since described (Chem. News, vi, 306) a curious example of the deposition of silica. A basket of eggs was recently found in a chalk-pit near Winchester, where it had been buried beneath the broken rock for, it is supposed, four or five centuries. The organic matter and the calcareous shell of the eggs had both disappeared, their places being occupied by chalcedony; "which seemed farther to have been deposited upon the willow twigs composing the basket, incrusting it so well that the real nature of the latter is evident to this day." I have thought it well to bring together these observations

VOL. I.

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No. 1.

since, for although they do not explain all the phenomena of silicification, they go far towards showing the conditions under which silica can be precipitated from its solutions in natural waters, and deposited either upon or within organic bodies, or in the forms of opal, chalcedony, and hornstone. See farther Silliman's Journal [2], xxviii, pp. 377, 381; and Bischof, Lehrbuch, ii, 1241. Montreal March 25, 1864.

NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY.

ANNUAL CONVERSAZIONE.

"The Second Annual Conversazione of the Montreal Natural History Society was held in the rooms of the Society on the 2nd instant, and was, we are happy to say, highly successful. We learn with pleasure that since the last annual social meeting the Society has made very steady progress, the year not having been excelled, or even equalled, by any other in its history for the amount of scientific work done, and the successful introduction of new and valuable features, which it is believed will be sources of permanent benefit to the Society. But while the Society congratulates itself on this satisfactory state of affairs, there is of course room for still further prosperity, were the members and the friends of the cause to come forward more readily and evince greater interest in its advancement. At the regular meetings a number of interesting papers have been read, of which mention has been made at various times in these columns; and many elaborate articles, representing great scientific research, and having an important bearing on the arts of life, and on the material improvements of the country, have been contributed to the Canadian Naturalist. The Geology of our own country, in which every one must feel more or less interested, has received a large share of attention; and on points of the geology of the United States connected with Canadian geology, important contributions have also been received. In fact, in all the branches of study embraced by the Society, many new facts have been made known, which looked at merely in a scientific aspect, should be highly esteemed; but the pursuits of the naturalist are also of great utility to the country in their economical applications, thus giving the Society a strong claim to

the support and consideration of the public, independently of the purely scientific discoveries, or of the pleasures to be derived from the collections and lectures. A committee of the Society has, for instance, been engaged in promoting measures for the more effectual protection of the smaller insectivorous birds which protect us against insect ravages; whilst another committee has been investigating the causes of the decay of the apple-orchards, for which the island of Montreal was once celebrated. Discussions have also arisen at the meetings respecting the use of Canadian fibres in the manufacture of fabrics and of paper. Nor should we omit to mention another important part of the work of this Society, namely that of popularizing natural science, thus rendering it more attractive, and causing its results to be more extensively known. This end is sought to be attained by the popular course of Somerville lectures, free to the public, and by throwing the Museum open on easy terms. One of the new features worthy of special attention. is the engagement of a scientific curator, Mr. Whiteaves, under whose care large portions of the collections have been arranged in such a manner as to assist very materially in the study of natural history. There have been added to the Museum within a short time, many valuable contributions of marine shells, and some interesting specimens to the collections of birds and fishes.

"Many of the gratifying features which we have here briefly noticed, in order to show the work that the Society is engaged in, and what has been done, are attributed to the favorable impression made by the first Conversazione, held last year; one direct result of which was that a member liberally offered to commence a list with $200 to pay off the remaining indebtedness of the Society."

The chair was taken at eight o'clock by Dr. Dawson, President of the Society; there being seated on the platform the Lord Bishop of Montreal, Metropolitan, Rev. Mr. Ellegood, Rev. Mr. Kemp, Rev. Dr. DeSola, Hon. Mr. Sheppard, Prof. Miles, Stanley Bagg, Esq., W. H. A. Davies, Esq., John Leeming, Esq., and others. The Hall was crowded throughout, many being unable to obtain seats. The fine band of the Royal Artillery was present, by the kind permission of Col. Dunlop, R.A.

The introductory address was delivered by the President of the Society, Principal Dawson, LL.D., who said: "Ladies and Gentlemen, the members of the Natural History Society again welcome you to their annual conversazione, and trust that on this as

on former occasions, you will sympathize with our pursuits and enjoy the entertainment which we have provided. I have no doubt that many of you regard us as very simple though harmless enthusiasts, pleased with a butterfly or a flower, delighted with a new shell or coral, going into ecstacies over the discovery of some unheard-of worm or microscopic animalcule smaller than a grain of dust. But admitting all this, and that our pursuits may not be worthy of comparison with the grave and weighty matters which engage your attention, we have still something to say for ourselves. If enthusiasts, we are not selfish; indeed I may say that we are somewhat amiable. A great authority in such matters has said that a true naturalist is never an ill-natured man; and we show our good nature by gathering here all our precious treasures, and exposing them to your inspection, and by providing in our Museum a refuge for every destitute specimen, that might otherwise go to waste or be neglected in some obscure corner. Indeed, I fear that we sometimes carry this to an extreme, and even render ourselves troublesome by insisting that you should look through our microscopes or examine our choice specimens, when you would rather be engaged about something else. We further, in these artificial days, keep up a testimony in behalf of nature. We maintain its pre-eminent loveliness, standing up for the lily of the field, even against all the glory of modern art. We invite attention to the plan and order, to the design and contrivance, which exist in nature, and thus do what little we can to magnify the works of God. Further, we are always ready to inform you as to any little practical matter that lies in our way. If you are puzzled by any strange bird or beast, or by any unaccountable phenomenon in air or earth, we are always ready to do our best to explain it. If any impertinent insect or fungus ravages your farm, garden, or orchard, we can tell you all about its habits, and how to get rid of it. We can, with the aid of our friends of the Geological Survey, inform you. as to the mineral resources of the country, and can guard you against that perversion of mining enterprise, whereby some simple. persons contrive to bury their money under ground without any rational hope of ever extracting it again. Besides all this, in our lectures, our monthly meetings, our published proceedings, and our museum, we provide you with many sources of pleasing and profitable recreation. Doing all this and more, in a quiet unobtrusive way, we think ourselves entitled to ask your kind counte