New-York daily tribune. [volume] (New-York [N.Y.]) 1842-1866, 1857-08-17
AMERICAN ASSOCIATION FOR THE
ADVANCEMENT OF SCIENCE.
SECOND DAY.

SECOND DAY.
Bssn Our Own Reporters.
MONTREAL, Thursday, Aug. 10, 1857.
The Association met in general session at 10 a. m.
Aer the usual opening it announced that the ses-
siops would cit from 10 until p M, and that
the general meetings would be held at a p m.
Or. HARE repeated that be had some important
matters to communicate and diagrams to lay before the
Association, showing the impossibiity of circular
sscrms Twenty minutes were allowed him tomorrow
afternoon.
President CAswELL asked the gentlemen Of the
press to submit their reports to gentleman
vsrsant with the technical terms, in order that they
might be spelled right, and the Association polypzed
into two sections.
MATHEMATICS, PHYSICS AND CHEMISTRY.
Prof BAcHE called the Section to order, and ap.
pointed Prof ALEXANDER of Princeton, n. j.. Chair.
man Of the day.
The frs. paper was by Capt. CHAs. WILKES, swing
an account of the observ atoms on the zodiaca light
made in the exploring expedition, by the OIL
GERS as well as by members Of the scientific corps.
The paper illustrated by Autographed plates, cir
eulsted an org the members. The beauty Of this
phenomenon in the tropics cannot be imagined by
1hose who have only seen it in northern twilight.
II s narrower but brighter and lenger, thar In the
temperate regions. Capt. Wilkes thinks it consists OF
perpendicular column Of the atmosphere, directly
The second paper, by Prof. SHELL of Amherst was
upon the vibration Of aterfalls. Acknowledging the
reality of vibration produced by hction on the edg,
Of the DAM he proved that it sometimes produced
by the vibration Of the air behind the fail.
Professor BAoHF, Of the Coast Survey, then gave
m interesting paper the measurement Of base line
on Eppng Plains, Washington County Me. The line
was about 81 miles in length. The paper was beauti-
fully illustrated to the members by Photographic views
taken by White d Block, Of Boston. Tie line was
Graded IKE common road at an experse of 81 500,
An cheap and rapid manner. The operations OF me ls-
uremeni required extreme care and the most un'aer-
rupted attention. Their most successful .nents
were at the rate Of over mile day; and were so
accurate that detecte. error, that
IL, the two measures absolutely conceded Proesso
Bache took especial pains TO mention his assistants.
The Rev. Tios. HILL next read three short mathe
NAUTICAL papers, the solar eclipse Of March, 1888,
one on a system Of arthmetical COMPLIMENTS, and the
third upon possible systems ofcoordinates in analytical
geometry.
Professor PIERCE remarked that the last paper was
one of real value; that he had attained results in me-
chancs by similar methods which he could not other
wise have obtained; and that if the mathematician
ever rose to knowledge OF the laws OF the form oil
plants aud animals il must be by following lines of in
vestgstion like those which Mr.. Hill had pointeu
out
Prof. PIERCE next gave a mathematical note on
the gyroscope showing that the end of the gyroscOpe
does not necessarily move in SMALL inverted arches,
but ii may move in looping or kiDked curve with
small loops.
Or. j. H. GrBBoS of the U. S. Mint, Charlotte, n.
e., next read essay on Troy weight, giving his.
torca eketch Of the weight and coinage of earliit
nations, the origin of sterling money and the Troy
weight of Great Britain, and OF the present of the
latter weight. TWAS filled with curious and interest
ing facts but expressed in such terse language hs 1t
is impossible to copdense the paper into the limits
Of our columns, and any attempt TO do go would be
only giving parts OF the history and not outline Of
the whole. The design of the paper was that of
showing the advisability of moving toward the nsl
adoption Of unifoIm system Of welt ats, measures
and eoins. We have in our L. s. Minis introduced
L,,S.
some Of these changes have simpfed the matter,
Others have not, and our own coinage, measures and
weights in state of confusion. 1t is highly de-
sirable that uniform system should be devised and
made at least TO the coinage of Great Britain
her dependencies, and Of the United States.
After few words Of comment from various mem.
bers, the Section adjourned.
SECTION OF GEOLOGY.
Prof. j. d. DANA in the chair.
Prof j. W. DAWSON read paper the Varieties
and Mode of Preservation of the Fossils known as
Ste, nbergis." In 1885, Prof Dawson suggested that
of the curious fossils known Sernberei& those which
occur only with smooth coatings of coal might have
been analogous TO rushes in their structure, while
tho,e which had fragments Of fossil wood attached
presented structures resembling conifers Since that
zine the discovery of other specimens has enabled
him to comprehend more fully the homologes OF that
curious structure His most perfect specimen, cyin-
drical but somewhat Aattened, is little less than an
inch in one direction and little more than an inch In
che other The transverse portions appear to have
been continuous, but are now somewhat broken, and
LEES than tenth Of inch apart. The outer surface
of the ph where not covered with the remains OF the
wood marked by strong wrinkles, corresponding to
the oiapbragms. These partitions are found by the
microscope To coneist Of condensed pth, which must
have been Of firm, barklike texture In the recent
wood. The slight remains OF wood attached 10 the
epecimen are coneroue. The wood and dlaphragms
are perfectly sicifed and of dark brown color the
part, coated with quartz crystals and little
pyrtes and the remaining shares with sulphate OF
barytes.
The specimen does not show the size If the tree to
which it belonged; it does prove, lhowever that the
pth was not merely dried up and cracked ransversely
by the elongation Of the stem, but that 1t was con-
Sensed into firm epidermous like coating and part
lions less destructble than the wood which invested
them.
Convinced that the structure ofthe Sternbergia i'm
plies something than the traverse cracking of
nth drying Prof. ID. compared his specimens with
living plants and has found in the Ceoropia Peitata
IN which the me dullaIy cylinder Is lined throughout
with coating Of dense waitish pith tissue, forming
sort of internal bark Within this the stem is hollow,
but crossed with arched partitions OF tissue ike the
coating. OF this character must have been many spf
ces of the Sternbergie.
Another tree cultivated IN Montreal ls analogous IN
tbis respect to the coal formation conifers.
The state of Preservation of wood IN SterhoeIgEe
specimens presents many Interesting features IN
geological point Of view. Often fragments only re-
nnaip which show an advanced state of decay, while
abe bark. like pth remains entire In other cases
there is coay expansion on each side as II the pin
were that OF the middle OF large leaf. ms, now
ever Prof d. concludes TO be the remains OF the bark
compressed while the wood has entirely oecayed.
Finally, Mr.. Dawson has drawn the conclusion nom
abe conferous character of these fossils in connection
with their state Of preservation as well as from micro
seopic and field examination Of the coal and cGrbon
rous shales that the largest beds OF coal IN Eastern
America consist mainly Of the hattened bark OF conf
erous sigaroid and lepdod ndoid tees, the wood OF
which has perished or appears only in tue form OF
md He III moi on lew