depth of 158 feet below the surface, on the eastern coast of Florida.

The stratum

of limestone is twenty or more feet in thickness, and is termed "coralline limestone," because it is chiefly composed of disintegrated coral.

4. A specimen of marl taken from "mammocks" sub-soil on the east coast of Florida.

5. A specimen of coral from the outer reef off the coast, near Daytona, Florida, and brought in by the breakers.

6. A specimen of what is called coquina or soft stone, composed of the fragments of very small shells.

Accompanying these specimens was an interesting letter from Mr. Mann de-. scribing the coral reefs, which was read by the president. The Academy tendered Mr. Mann a vote of thanks for his contributions.

President Fulton then exhibited a specimen of copper ore found in Iowa, and read the following paper in connection:

"COPPER IN THE DRIFT OF IOWA."

I wish to exhibit to the Academy a very pure specimen of native copper ore found by Dr. John D. Parker, who resides ten miles southeast of Winterset, and near Peru post-office, in Madison County, Iowa. He found it while digging out a spring on his farm in that vicinity, at a depth of nearly six feet from the surface of the ground, and under circumstances which preclude any supposition that it may have been placed there recently, or since the settlement of the country by white people. The weight of this specimen is just ten ounces. On one side of it you will observe an irregular cavity, in which some small particles of quartz still adhere. Its general shape and appearance indicate that since it became detached from its original and native bed, it has been worn by the action of water, ice, and the various other forces which grind up the rocks into gravel and pebbles. Doubtless its original home was the Lake Superior copper region, but during that ancient time which geologists term the glacial epoch, or the age of ice, it was transported to the place where Dr. Parker found it by the same action which scattered the boulders over the prairies of Iowa, hundreds of miles from where they originally reposed "in place," in the far north. There have been numerous instances of the finding of native copper in connection with the drift of Iowa, in pieces varying from a few ounces to thirty pounds or more. A lump found by Col. W. S. Dungan, in Lucas County, Iowa, some years ago, weighed over thirty pounds. Wesley Redhead, Esq., Des Moines, is the owner of a fine specimen, weighing several pounds, which was found some years ago in the vicinity of Des Moines, and through his courtesy I also have the pleasure of exhibiting that specimen to the Academy. These specimens are in all respects similar to the native copper of the Lake Superior mines, as you may see by comparing them with the other specimens from my private cabinet, and which were taken directly from the mines a few years ago. Those mines were originally the home of all of them. We infer, from the finding of these fragments of copper in the drift of Iowa, that sometime during the glacial epoch the glacial current passed in a

southwesterly direction. The occasional finding of fragments of the common sulphide of lead in the drift of Iowa, in a southwesterly direction from the lead region about Dubuque, would indicate the same fact. Perhaps long subsequent to that part of the glacial epoch, during which these fragments of copper and lead were transported from the northeast, the glacial currents changed their course, and assumed the direction which brought about the present drainage system of Iowa-a general movement of those currents from nearly north to south. Dur ing that wonderful age, known in the geological calendar as the glacial epoch, the topographical conformation of the North American Continent was no doubt vastly different from what it is at the present time. That age of ice may have extended over many thousands of years, and until the latter part of it the Mississippi with its great valley did not exist. The present drainage of Iowa is the result of the later glacial currents, the currents which carried down in their flow the great granite and quartzite boulders now found so far "out of place" that we sometimes term them "lost rocks." As the climate gradually changed, through influences which astronomers explain, the glaciers slowly subsided, and these erratics were lodged as we find them, with their worn and rounded shapes and peculiar markings, still bearing the evidence of the forces to which they were subjected, just as the pebble you pick up on the beach of the Des Moines river shows by its oval and worn appearance the result of the action of the water. Every pebble, every grain of sand on the shores of our rivers was once a part of some stratum of rock in its proper geological position, but was displaced and carried away by the forces of nature, just as the fragments of copper were during the great ice age. These natural forces have never been suspended, for, in a modified degree, the same process is still going on. In our river valleys, with the constant alternations of heat and cold, dearth and flood, the rocks are still being ground into gravel and sand.

O. P. Pence, the treasurer, made a report stating that the society was out of debt and had nearly enough on hand to meet the next quarter's rent.

ed:

The following resolution was offered by T. G. Orwig and unanimously adopt

"In view of the lamentable fact that much disease and suffering is occasioned by sewer gas and that all efforts heretofore made to economically and satisfactorily dispose of sewerage have failed, and

Whereas, Mr. Andrew Engle, of Metz, Iowa, has invented a method and apparatus for converting sewerage (urine, night soil and kitchen offal) into gas and charcoal that can be utilized for producing light and heat, and has demonstrated the merit of his invention by a practical test in the courthouse at Newton during the past month; therefore be it

Resolved, That we recognize the importance of Mr. Ergle's scientific efforts in sanitary reform and respectfully request him in the interests of science to exhib. it a model of his apparatus and explain the philosophy of his invention at our next monthly meeting, Tuesday evening, July 8."

Adopted.

The following officers were then elected for the ensuing year:

A. R. Fulton-President.

R. S. Miller-Vice President.

H. L. Chaffee-Recording Secretary.

Dr. W. M. Thomas-Corresponding Secretary.

O. P. Pence-Treasurer.

W. Bailey-Curator.

A. M. Forster-Librarian.

Directors-Geo. C. Baker, T. G. Orwig, R. S. Miller, A. R Fulton, H. L.

Chaffee.

The Academy adjourned to meet on the second Tuesday in July.

NEW RAILROAD LEGISLATION IN ENGLAND.

HON. GEO. C. PRATT, R. R. COMMISSIONER OF MISSOURI.

EDITOR KANSAS CITY REVIEW:-If you include "transportation" among the industries coming within the scope of your REVIEW, you may possibly think this article from the Railroad Gazette worth re-publication; as being calculated to awaken the attention of thinking men to this subject. There is a similarity between Missouri and English legislation in that the same hesitancy to give the Commissioners entire control over rates has been exhibited in both.

Respectfully yours,

GEO. C. PRATT.

A bill has recently been introduced into Parliament making important changes in the powers of the English Railway Commission. It is by no means certain to pass at this session; but whether it passes or not, it foreshadows the course which English railroad legislation is likely to take in the immediate future.

mere haphazard proposal, like so many of the bills brought before Congress. It is officially introduced by Mr. Chamberlain, President of the Board of Trade, and is based upon the report of a strong Parliamentary Committee which had spent two years in studying the questions at issue. It may be taken as expressing the deliberate views of a number of leading Englishmen of both parties.

It is now eleven years since the English Railway Commission was established. It was a new piece of machinery for carrying out an old law. The act of 1854 defined the relations between the railroads and the public. But it had remained to a great extent a dead letter. Cases constantly arose under it of which the courts would not and could not take cognizance. Others involved great delay and expense to the complainants; so great as to deter men from having recourse to the courts when the law was plainly on their side. To meet these difficulties the Railway Commission was established. It was intended to enforce those parts of the act of 1854 which the courts could not enforce, and to

secure quick comparatively cheap relief to those who could not afford the expenses of a long lawsuit.

It was avowedly an experiment-originally established for five years, renewed only for still shorter periods. It is neither a complete success nor a decided failure. Its best work is its indirect work. The fact that such a tribunal is there prevents a great many disputes from arising, and acts as a check upon arbitrary power. But the evidence before the committee of 1881-82 showed that its direct results left much to be desired. It was only empowered to deal with cases under the act of 1854, so that it often suffered for want of jurisdiction. It could not enforce decrees of mandamus. It could not prevent appeals from being taken to a superior court, so that if the railroad companies chose to contest the case it cost the complainant about as much time and money under the new system as under the old. The Commission suffered because its powers were so ill-defined. Some of these difficulties it is now proposed to remove. The effect of Mr. Chamberlain's bill, if adopted, would be to bring the powers of the Commissioners much nearer to those of an ordinary court of law. It gives them jurisdiction under the special railroad acts as well as under the general act of 1854. It enables them to enforce their authority like any other court. For the roundabout modes of procedure hitherto in use it substitutes an explicit right of appeal under some restrictions which are perhaps more apparent than real. Appeal is granted only in those cases where it shall be specially admitted either by the commissioners themselves or by a court of appeal. Of course the last exception makes the whole restriction amount to very little, though the railroad companies object strenuously that their right to appeal is too much restricted.

It is proposed to make the Commission permanent. No further change is to be made in its constitution. Many of the railroad men would have preferred a Commission composed entirely of lawyers, but the parliamentary committee considered this as out of the question. Provision is made by Mr. Chamberlain's bill for the occasional employment of technical assistance (assessors) in cases where it may be demanded.

The matter of direct control over rates is not settled by the proposed bill, and remains pretty much where it was before. On one point there is a curious compromise. The State has always exercised a certain control over the mileage rates of the English railroads, but the roads have claimed the right to make an arbitrary terminal charge-not merely the "handling terminals," for loading and unloading, but the "station terminals," for use of sidings, expense of signal men, interest on station buildings, etc. Under this head of station terminals the roads have claimed the right to charge what they pleased. The Commissioners have, in a very recent decision, denied their right to make any charge at all, holding that the legal mileage rates were intended to cover everything but "handling terminals." The present bill proposes that reasonable station terminals be granted to those roads (and only those) which submit a revised classification of goods under which their mileage rates may be regulated.

These are but a few among many provisions; but they are the only ones

At present

affecting the Railway Commission which are likely to be contested. they seem to exasperate both parties. This is because they parcel off a piece of disputed ground where each party formerly claimed the whole. The railroad men held that there was really no occasion for the Commissioners; the shippers held that they ought to be allowed to settle pretty much everything. Therefore the railroad men are dissatisfied to see the Commission made permanent and given independent power; while the shippers are dissatisfied to see that power limited by the right of appeal, or the allowance of station terminals.

There can be no doubt that the bill offers some great advantages. It settles many points which have hitherto been at loose ends. It substitutes definite and efficient powers for vague ones. The one serious danger is that it may lead to a determined attempt on the part of the Commissioners to base rates upon cost of service instead of value of service. They have tried to do so in many cases which have come before them in the past. There is some reason to fear that they may, with their increased powers, pursue the same policy on a larger scale in the future.

CHOLERA-THE SAFEGUARDS OF AMERICA.

Dr. John B. Hamilton, Surgeon-General of the Marine Hospital Service, expresses the following opinion as to the possible danger of the introduction of Asiatic cholera into the United States, and of the means taken to keep it away.

He said that the United States kept up three quarantine stations. Of these, one is at Ship Island, near the mouth of the Mississippi, which is for all points on the coast of the Gulf of Mexico. The steamer Day Dream, which formerly belonged to the National Board of Health, is attached to this station, and there is also a steam launch for boarding vessels and removing sick to hospital. Surgeon Robert D. Murray, who has become noted in connection with the yellow fever epidemics, is in charge.

The second station is at Sapelo Sound, on the coast of Georgia, and is the quarantine for all ports between Key West and North Carolina. Acting Assistant Surgeon George H. Stone is in charge, having the sloop Gypsy as a tender and boarding vessel, and has an assistant at the hospital on the island.

The third station is the Cape Charles quarantine grounds, situated on Fisherman's Island, just inside of Cape Charles, and is the quarantine for Norfolk, Newport News, Richmond, Fort Monroe, Fredricksburg, Alexandria, and Washington, and all other ports on the Chesapeake or its tributaries, except Baltimore, which is in charge of the health officials there. The boarding vessel there is the steamer John M. Woodworth, and there are two steam launches. The officer in charge is Passed Assistant Surgeon Fairfax Irwin, and Dr. Hubbard remains at the island, where a temporary hospital building seventy feet in length has recently been completed.

The large seaports-Philadelphia, New York, and Boston-are attended to