Abstract
American Journal of Science and Arts, March.—This number commences with an interesting paper, by Prof. Leconte, On the Great Lava Flood of the West, and on the Structure and Age of the Cascade Mountains. The flood, commencing in Middle California in separate streams, became in Northern Oregon and Washington absolutely universal; the whole country, mountain and valley, being buried several thousand feet. Its extent cannot be less than 200,000 to 300,000 square miles; its average thickness is probably 2,000 ft., and extreme thickness 3,700 ft. From the structure of the Cascade Range (which extended throughout the entire region of the flood) and palseontological evidence, the author thinks the flood began to occur during or after the Miocene; and the process of flooding probably continued, by successive fissure-flows of lava, chiefly in the Cascade and Blue Mountain Ranges, until the Post-Tertiary; the liquid matter having been squeezed out by horizontal and vertical pressure, while water, percolating through the hot mass, generated voicanoes that continued the upbuilding process.—Dr. Blake of San Francisco has a paper On the Connection between Isomorphism, Molecular Weight, and Physiological Action. One of the conclusions arrived at is, that among compounds of the more purely metallic elements, the quantity of substances in the same isomorphous group required to produce analogous schanges in living matter, is less as the atomic weight of the electro-positive element increases.—Mr. Carey Lea describes some experiments made to determine whether it is a general law that when a metallic compound reducible by light is placed in contact with an oxidisable body (or one capable of uniting with Cl, Br, or I, as the case may be), the capacity of reduction of the compound by any particular part of the spectrum is influenced by the colour of the body placed in contact with it. But he did not succeed in thus generalising Vogel's results; which, however, he does not regard as contradicted or disproved. —Some experiments by Prof. Wright on the oxidation of alcohol and ether by ozone, seem to indicate that the vinegar process might be materially accelerated by passing ozonised air through the apparatus.—Prof. Marsh communicates a notice (bearing on the genealogy of the modern horse) of new equine mammals from the Tertiary formation; and we further note papers On Recent Dredging Operations in the Gulf of St. Lawrence (Mr. Whiteaves); On Fossils figured in the Illinois State Geological Report (Mr. Meek); On Dissociation of certain Compounds at very low Temperatures (Mr. Leeds), &c.
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Scientific Serials . Nature 9, 453–454 (1874). https://doi.org/10.1038/009453a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/009453a0