New-York daily tribune., 1856-08-27
ANERIC ~ ASSOCIATION 1OR TIKI I'D
TANCEMENT OF SCISNCE.
SESSION Og 1856.
FIFTH DAY-MORSISG SESSION.

Il has been before since the meeting commenced.
An invitation received from to Mayo; sOi Council
of Sprr gft d. Mass commun "a ed oy the Secre-
tary with TecOmme enda.ion from the Standing Con-
mittee that the meeting of the American Assoca-
ton take laee at Montreal
Com. WIIKEs mov.d that the name Baltimore be
subti;uad for Montreal.
Col FosTER seconded This motion, on the ground tha,
Montreal under the dominion of smother govern
mtn; and was not aware that the British Association
had ever met out of England.
Prof AGAssIz corrected this statement, referring 20
meetings which he had attended both in Dublin ana
In GLASGOW. lie instsnced ID Fresch Association
which lad held meetings both in Switzerland and
Savoy.
Prof PIERCE said that though perhaps the continen.
belongs 20 tbe United States, y. why tad the A.eo.
citation assumed the name American If those beyond
our limits sre excluded from our visits. The nSme
tier should be changed, or no distinctions be made.
Com WILKES had had no such thought in he mind
he simply wished the meeting to be at The soa'h,
ard had moved the substitution OF the name Ballmore
for Montreal. Upon taking the vote, It stood tor the
aDleEcment J., against II 90.
DR.. STEISER of Baltimore immediately rose and
concluded o humorous and pleasant speech by moving
that the vote to meet al Montreal be made UNANIMOUS
lApplausel.
The vote was put on the recommendation OF the Com
mttee, and adopted unanimously.
Prof. DAwsos returned thanks in the name of tie
Montreal deeg alton.
Tie Association then voted i,s thanks to the Ne
chsncs' Institute Of Baltimore, and the Mayor aud
Council of Springfield, for the invitations extended t.
It by those bocIcs.
The Standing Committee recommended that the
subec. Of the new Constitution De deferred unti the
afternoon.
Col FOSTER rose to point of etiquette that nas-
much a. tle matter in the hands OF the General
Meeting, the StaLdrg Committee had no authority 10
act uIon il, and b. made as private member, mo
ton equiyas Mt to the Committees recommendation
The side ration of the Constitution wa5 then, by
vote, deferred TO the afternoon.
Some time lost upon the question OF distributing
certain copies of the new Constitution, which having
been agreed to- the question OF prntng with the pro-
ceedbgs Of this meeting Of tue Aseo ;ation, the SER
delivered yesterday at the request OF the Local
Committee upon topics relating to this meeting, was
referred 10 the Standlr Committee.
Mr.. WooLwORfn OF the Local Committee gave a
list Of railroads and steamboats, which had consented
TO give fee tickets to such members OF the Association
oil the return home dc paid their passages over tte
lires Adjourned.
GEOLOGY AND NATURAL HISTORY.
Mr.. J. ID. WHITsEY gave description of a remark
able instance of ncned ttratitc.tion near Lake
George where fir white sand raining small u-rtz
p, bibles has been deposited over considerable extent
and with q thickness OF % feet vertical, hsvng
dip of thirty degIees This fact thus established that
strata may be deposited at a high angle led to the
development Of a theory Of the formation and dip of
the saidstones Of the Connecticut valley and other
similar deposits on the Atlantic slope Of tae Appala
chian chain. The man point OF the theory was this:
tina. these beds of sandstone originally dep 'elted
in an inclined position in a basin of suo-dence by cur
rents of water carrying detrtus which currents were
produced by the subsdence sef. IL ielt originated
in valley at one side the other AMI there should be
a subsistence that side, curren. of water
would be Produced Of greater or ses violence
which current would set acrnse the valley and carry
nth II the material abraded from the adJ ~eDt REGION
which would be deposited in strata dipping az coz
rid. rable angie, a. right angles 10 the line o. direction
OF tie fault as in the Connecticut valley According
a. the subsierce to the east OF the we- the dip
of the strata woud be in the opposite direction. Thus
the origin of limited basins of sandstone, having dp
ushsvese to the direction of the basin, wou be fully
explained by a living within the basin II 'ef-a
pht which had not as vet been satisfactorily
explain ed by geoogsts.
Prof. RoGERs rose and confirmed the theory al
vaucedby Mr. Whitney, from his OWE and his brothers
observations in Pennsy vsnia, Maryland and Virgins.
Mr. WM. =. BLAZE described an isolated knob cut
through by the Colorado near the head of the Cali of
Calf mia the porphyri.ic granite Of which Is found on
ts lower sic to be deposited as also to confirm the
ueoy. o,s
the western portion of the United States llusTating
it with map. Mr.. b axe has, VT two or three years
past macs this a of the country hls especial study,
sLd s row engaged IN comparing the geo osicsl re-
ports Of the various Pacific Railroad surveys. II
was but few Yeas he said since the vast territory
ki'g between The Mississippi and the Pacific was an
almost unknown region. Solitary explorers had here
and there tiavesed the wilderness and brought hone
THE ad ike lines Of topography, to be laid down upon
the great spaces marked un. xpored upon our mips,
but sill wide blanks remained untouched. The eX
ploratio of Lewis and Clarke, of Long NioOllet,
and Fremont, gave the first gimps.s Of the true
structure aloi the several lines of travel. Fremont
had brought US a knOSledge m that singular feature
in the geography of America, the Great Basin, WITH its
ncuced Great Salt Lake, and given US the fret rei
able know edge of the structure OF the great Sierra
Nevada of California AND the extended valleys at its
western base. Still vast regions remained to be
portd. These grand contributions 10 geography
were however, sutiicent to authorize extensive gen
ordinations which map publishers and others aoon
made, not always Dguishing between exsct
knowledge and the fances OF ignorant observers. Tae
result had been that maps left little 10 desire all
the ,psce was filed and few could distinguish between
the tue and the fan ifu. The recently completed
surveys made 10 deteim the most practicable rail-
read route to the Pacific had added largely TO pre-
vlOus knowledge. Indeed it was believed tina.
such extersiye contributions 10 the geography and
IatuIa history OF the Interior Of country had
been made IN 80 short tpace of time. Eight expedi
toLs had been cent out, each with an independent
outfit Instructions, and line to survey. They crossed
the couIty at dif rent parallels Of latitude and their
routes were selected with reference to the plored
spaces. In many instances these parties, when in the
fed, were subdyided, and in this way lines
were explored. TIE result Of these surveys filed up
nearly all the previously blank spaces the map OF
the territories, and served 10 connect the results OF
explorations previously made The position, direction
aLo altiuce OF ranges Of mountains not before de-
scribed bad been made known. The direction aud
position Of part of the Great Colorado and other
Iivtr Lad been changed, and the boundaries of the
Great Basin restored 10 the limits originally assigned
by Fremont. As the attention Of the surveys had
been specially directed to the determination of slti.
tudes and graces, and large Lumber Of accurate
srumeLts had besn provided for this purpose the re-
sulis were unusually Interesting in geographic point
# view. The a.ituoe of large number of mountain
passes IN all The principal mountain ranges from Brit
lsh America 10 Mexico, as well as the inclination OF
tht sopes either eide had been accurately deter
mnec. The materials which had been collected a, the
date OF publication of the preliminary report suf
fcieDt 10 acmt Of the construction OF se prof OF
The country fion tie Mississippi to the Pacft. These
were redt ced TO one scale, ana published shee.
under the direction Of tie Secretary Of War. With
sdch Gccumu alton Of new material i il no. sur-
pri'irg that pnvie usy constructed maps, and the