Regular Meeting, May 4th, 1863.
President in the Chair.
Present, eleven members.
Donations to the Cabinet were received as follows:
A collection of pine cones, from H. G. Bloomer. A specimen of rock, containing cretaceous fossils, from the vicinity of Fort Tejon (?), by E. T. Schenck. Two specimens of Monocentris Japonicus Cuv. from Dr. Ayres.
Donations to the Library:
Commercial Relations of the United States for the year ending Sept. 30th, 1861, from the Department of the Interior. Classification of the Coleoptera of North America, by John Le Conte, M.D., Part I. Smithsonian Instructions for collecting eggs and nests of North American birds. Smithsonian Directions for collecting, preserving, and transporting specimens of Natural History: the three last-named volumes were presented by Dr. Ayres.
Professor Whitney read the following communication in regard to the progress of the State Geological Survey of California.
The Act of the Legislature authorizing a geological survey of this State was approved April 21st, 1860; but operations were not commenced until about the first of December of that year, consequently the work has been in progress for a little more than two years.
The plan of the survey, according to the requirements of the act by which it was organized, demands “an accurate and complete geological survey of the State,” and a report containing “a full and scientific description of its rocks, fossils, soils, and minerals, and of its botanical and zoological productions.” Provision is also made for the collection of specimens in all departments of geology and natural history, which specimens are to be deposited “in such place as shall be hereafter provided for that purpose by the Legislature.”
The following persons have been employed on the survey since it was commenced: Professor W. H. Brewer, as Principal Assistant, and specially in charge of the department of Botany and Agricultural Geology. Professor Brewer, however, up to the present time, has been chiefly engaged in the geological field work of the Survey. Mr. William Ashburner was employed from the commencement of the work, up to the spring of 1862, in the field; and, for a considerable portion of the time, in examining the gold-quartz mines and machinery in the principal mining counties of the Sierra Nevada. Mr. A. Rémond served as volunteer, in the field work, during the season of 1862. Mr. W. M. Gabb took the place of Palæontologist to the Survey at the beginning of the year 1862, which position he still continues to hold. Mr. C. Averill was connected with the Survey from its commencement up to the month of February last, as Clerk, Commissary, and Barometrical Observer. Dr. J. G. Cooper has been in charge of the department of Zoology, and has been employed, at intervals, as the financial condition of the Survey permitted, since July 1st, 1861. In the topographical department, Mr. C. F. Hoffmann has been employed constantly since March, 1861; and Mr. V. Wackenreuder, at intervals, during the past year.
The uncertainty peculiar to all undertakings of this kind in the United States, arising from the necessity of appealing to each successive Legislature for the means of carrying on the work, and the disturbed state of the country during the whole time since we commenced operations, as also the unfortunate condition of the finances of the State, which has kept the treasury from one to two years behind in the payment of the legislative appropriations, have combined to render it difficult to arrange and carry out as systematic a plan for the conduct of the work as would, under more favorable circumstances, have been practicable.
Two ideas have, however, as far as possible, governed the survey in its operations: the first was, to make, as rapidly as could be done, a reconnoissance of the State, with the view of acquiring a knowledge of its general geological structure, the age of the various formations which occur in it, and as complete a general idea as possible of their range and extent, so that a foundation might be laid for the detailed work which would follow the preliminary examination; the second idea was, at the same time that the general examination was going on, to work up in detail certain more important districts, so that the public might have light on questions of economical interest, and at the same time be able to form an idea of what the work might be if ever carried to completion. Besides this, the natural history part of the survey was to be carried on, in connection with the geological work, as rapidly as possible, progress in all departments being necessarily proportioned to the varying amounts of the annual appropriations.
California is covered by a vast net-work of mountain ranges, separated by comparatively narrow valleys, with the exception of those of the Sacramento and San Joaquin, which do not, together, cover more than one-fifteenth of the area of the State. The remaining fourteen-fifteenths may be called mountainous, as the valleys include but a small portion of its surface. Into this mountainous region no accurate surveys have ever been carried; even the General Land Office work stops at the base of the mountains. A few ranch lines have been run among the moderately elevated portions of the Coast Ranges; but, as a general thing, the genuine Mexican grants were limited to the plains.
Without considerable topographical work in connection with the geological survey we should, then, be entirely unable to carry on our geological work with any pretense to accuracy, as we could neither locate our observations nor make our descriptions of the country intelligible. The authority for doing something for the increase of the geographical knowledge of the State is found in the clause of the act authorizing the survey, which requires “proper maps” to accompany the reports.
What has been done, up to the present time, in this department may be briefly recapitulated as follows:
A series of maps, forty-nine in number, has been compiled by Mr. Hoffmann from the original documents at the United States Surveyor-General’s Office; the scale of these is half an inch to the mile. They contain a compilation of nearly all that is known at that office in regard to the geography of the State. The maps, as thus blocked out, have been used by us in the field, by filling in the topography wherever our route has laid.
The maps which have been or are now being prepared for publication are:
1st. A map of the vicinity of the Bay of San Francisco, on a scale of half an inch to the mile, four feet by three; it extends from near Santa Cruz on the south to Napa on the north, and from the Pacific to Corral Hollow, east and west. The area of land which it covers is 4,248 square miles, which is just twice that of the State of Delaware, and only lacks two hundred square miles of equaling that of Connecticut. As near as can be ascertained, it contains one-third of the population of the State, and has about thirty inhabitants to the square mile—the average density of the population of California being but little over two to the square mile. This map, on which all the details of the topography are given, as minutely as the scale allows, is nearly completed, and will be soon ready for the engraver.
2d. A detailed map, on a scale of two inches to the mile, of the vicinity of Mount Diablo; this is about two and one-half by three feet in dimensions, and includes the most important coal mining district yet known to exist in the State. The map can be made ready for the engraver in a few days.
3d. A map of the Coast Ranges, from the Bay of Monterey south to Santa Barbara. It is about three feet by two and one-half in dimensions, is on a scale of six miles to the inch, and embraces about 16,000 square miles of territory. To complete it will require about another year’s work in the field with two sub-parties.
4th. Map of the Washoe silver-mining region—three and one-half by two and one-half feet in dimensions, on a scale of two inches to the mile—and extending over all the important mining ground of the district. This map is from an accurate trigonometrical survey by V. Wackenreuder; it is nearly completed.
5th. Map of the Comstock Lode, on a scale of four hundred feet to the inch, completed.
6th. Map of the central portion of the Sierra Nevada; scale not yet determined on. Extensive surveys have been made by Mr. Wackenreuder for this part of the work, and these will be continued during the present season.
Of the above mentioned maps, Nos. 1 and 2 will accompany the first volume of the Report. Nos. 4, 5, and probably 6, the second volume.
It is intended, if the survey is carried to completion, to construct a final map of the State on a scale of six miles to the inch, in nine sheets, each about three feet square.
In addition to the regular topographical work, an extensive series of barometrical observation has been made, for the determination of altitudes, some two hundred and fifty important points having been ascended and measured. The most interesting operation in this department was the determination of the height of Mount Shasta, which, by an elaborate series of observations, we found to be 14,440 feet above the sea level. This is the first of the lofty volcanic peaks of the Sierra Nevada which has been accurately measured.
In the department of geology proper, our explorations have extended over portions of forty of the forty-six counties into which the State is divided; and when it is remembered that the average size of a county is equal to half that of the State of Massachusetts, (California having just twenty-four times the area of that State,) some idea of the magnitude of our work may be obtained. The chain of the Sierra Nevada may be parallelized with that of the Alps for extent and average elevation; while the Coast Ranges are nearly as extensive as the Appalachian chain of mountains.
We have obtained a pretty clear idea of the general structure of the Coast Ranges from Los Angeles to Clear Lake; the vicinity of the Bay of San Francisco has been worked out in considerable detail, including all of San Francisco, San Mateo, Santa Clara, Alameda, Contra Costa, and Marin Counties, with portions of Santa Cruz, Solano, Napa, and Sonoma. Considerable field-work has been done in the Sierra Nevada, chiefly in the lower portion of the range between Mariposa and Shasta Counties. Our observations have also been extended to the Washoe Region, and we have received considerable collections of fossils from the Humboldt Mining District, (known by this name on the Pacific Coast, but designated on Warren’s Map as the “West Humboldt River Range,” and in longitude 180°) by which we have been able to fix the age of the formations in that region.
Mr. Gabb has been chiefly occupied, the past year, in figuring and describing the cretaceous fossils of the Coast Ranges and the foot-hills of the Sierra, of which he has nearly two hundred new species ready for publication. He has also described the triassic fossils, collected by the Survey at Washoe, and by Gorham Blake, Esq., in the Humboldt Range. The fossils older than the Trias have been referred to Mr. Meek for investigation. A portion of the fossil plants have been placed in the hands of Dr. J. S. Newberry for description.
It is to the department of General Geology that, up to the present time, by far the greater portion of our attention has been given, since the first thing required in a geological survey is a knowledge of the general geological structure of the State, the age of the various formations which occur in it, and their range and extent, or the position which they occupy on the surface, and their relations to each other. Each group of strata, thus determined by its lithological peculiarities, and by the fossils which it contains, is then to be laid down upon the map, in the position in which its outcrop occupies on the surface. The general character of the minerals and ores which occur in each formation or group of strata having been thus determined, the details of their mode of occurrence, their relative abundance, and the facilities which may exist in each separate district for making them economically available must, after the preliminary general work has been done, be the object of more special and detailed examinations. It is not, however, the business of a geological surveying corps to act, to any considerable extent, as a prospecting party; to do this, would require that we should confine our operations to a very limited area; the labors of the whole corps for an entire season would not suffice to thoroughly prospect more than a few hundred square miles in a very rich mineral region, and we should have often to engage in expensive mining operations to decide what was really of permanent value. It is our task, rather, to limit the field of research, and to show to others where their labors will be best bestowed, preventing foolish expenditures of time and money in searching for what our general geological investigations have determined not to exist in sufficient quantity, in certain formations, to be worth working. Especially in the first years of our work, in a State of such an immense area as California, our labors have more the character of a geological reconnoissance than of a detailed survey.
Already, however, during the progress of our work, a large amount of information has been collected in regard to the mode of occurrence and abundance of the useful ores and minerals of this State and the adjoining Territories. The principal deposits of coal have been carefully examined, and their geological position ascertained. Most of the important quartz mines of the State have been visited by Mr. Ashburner, and a large amount of information has been collected by him, preparatory to an elaborate investigation and report on this important branch of the industry of the Pacific Coast. Considerable work has been done, preliminary to a full report on the geology, mineralogy, and metallurgy of the Washoe region.
In the department of botany and agricultural geology, the work has thus far been chiefly confined to collecting the plants of the State.
Extensive duplicate suites have been preserved both for study and exchange, the specimens now collected amounting to not less than twelve thousand or fifteen thousand in number, and embracing probably half of all the species described from the State, besides many new and undescribed ones. The collections have been made by Professor Brewer while engaged in geological explorations, at a very trifling expenditure of time and money.
In the department of Agriculture proper, less has been done, owing to limited means. Partial preparation was made for investigating the subject of grape culture, and the production of wines; but discontinued from the same cause. Especial attention has been paid to our native forage plants, to aid in devising some means of arresting the rapid decrease of forage in this State, and correspondence entered into to obtain all possible information on this subject from other regions whose climates are similar to our own.
In the zoölogical department—in charge of Dr. J. G. Cooper, who has been employed about half the time since the Survey was commenced—the annexed table gives a succinct idea of what had been accomplished, up to the close of the year 1862, in the way of collecting.
| Class. | Number of species in the collection. | Of which there are new to California. | Believed to be new, or undescribed. | Other Californian species not yet collected. | Total number credited to California. | Of which there are found east the Mississippi. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mammalia | 32 | 10 | 3 | 45 | 77 | 14 |
| Birds | 170 | 28 | 4(?) | 150 | 320 | 141 |
| Reptiles | 36 | 6 | 3 | 9 | 45 | 0 |
| Fishes | 58 | 16 | 16 | 75 | 133 | 0 |
| Mollusca | 335 | 123 | 123 | 65 | 400 | 0(?) |
Of Articulata and Radiata no statistics can be given for want of works especially devoted to the California species.
From this it appears that, notwithstanding the large collections made by Government expeditions and by individuals, during the last ten years, which have been elaborately described in the Pacific Railroad and Mexican Boundary Reports, the Smithsonian publications, and various other works, we have been able to add materially to the known Fauna of California, and of the country at large, even among the highest and best known classes.
Arrangements have been made for having the collections in natural history referred to the highest authorities in each branch, and portions of our materials have already been placed at the disposition of eminent men in Europe and the United States for examination and description.
Deferring the fitting up of a laboratory, and the engaging of a special assistant in the chemical department, until a suitable permanent place could be provided in the State Museum building, Mr. Ashburner went East in the spring of 1862 and commenced the examination of some of the ores and minerals of the State in the laboratory of the Sheffield Scientific School of Yale College, under the direction of Professor Brush, who has charge of the metallurgical department of that institution. The reduction of the appropriation to fifteen thousand (15,000) dollars for the year, made it necessary to suspend this work soon after it was commenced, in order that the whole force of the Survey might be concentrated on the field operations.
A small sum has been allowed to Mr. F. H. Storer, of Boston, for a chemical investigation of the bituminous substances found in different parts of the State. His researches will probably be embodied in the first or second volume of the annual reports. Qualitative examinations, as well as a few quantitative ones, have been made at the office of the Survey, of specimens which have been collected. A considerable number of coals have been analyzed. Information in regard to ores and minerals has been given to a large number of persons who have applied for the same by letter or otherwise, as will always be done when practicable.
If the survey is continued, it will be necessary to fit up a complete laboratory, in which the important questions constantly arising, both in regard to the composition and metallurgic treatment of our ores, may be carefully and systematically investigated.
No provision has yet been made by the Legislature for the arrangement and exhibition of the collections made by the Survey. These are already quite extensive, embracing many thousand specimens of rocks, fossils, minerals, ores, all of which are of importance in illustrating the Natural History, the geological structure and the mineral resources of the State. Such as have not been required for study remain packed in boxes, and are stored at the office of the Survey in Montgomery Block, San Francisco.
Of course it is highly desirable that a permanent, fire-proof building should be provided for the State collections, the proper disposition of which is a subject of great interest, not only as connected with the welfare and progress of the survey, but as influencing the educational and material progress of the State.
The only official step thus far taken in this matter is the appointment, by the last Legislature, of the State Geologist, the State Superintendent of Public Instruction, and the State Surveyor-General as a Board of Commissioners “to report to the Legislature, on or before the second Monday of December, 1863, upon the feasibility of establishing a State University, embracing an Agricultural College, a School of Mines, and a Museum, including the geological collections of the State.”
A considerable number of specimens, some of them of value, have been already given to the State by individuals; and there can be no doubt that many interesting and valuable articles would be contributed, provided it were demonstrated that they would be properly exhibited, and well taken care of. It is believed, that when the State Museum is once established, and a suitable building provided, the value and importance of it to the people will soon be made so clear, that it will be sustained and fostered by the Legislature.
By the terms of the Act of the Legislature authorizing a Geological Survey of the State of California, it was made the duty of the State Geologist to present to the Governor, to be laid before the Legislature, as near as may be to the beginning of each session, a “Report of Progress,” in which the operations of the Survey during the preceding year should be set forth, and its more important practical results made public. He is also required to communicate an account of the expenditures, and to furnish estimates for the continuance of the Survey.
By an Act of the Legislature of 1862, however, the State Geologist was authorized to combine his first and second annual reports into one volume, to be printed during the winter of 1862 and 1863, and an appropriation of $3,000 was made to pay the expenses of printing, engraving, etc., while the size, form, and style of the report, and the place of printing, were left to the discretion of the State Geologist, under the advice and with the approval of the Governor.
According to this, there is a report now due the State; but, as no part of the appropriation of last year for the continuance of the Survey has been yet received, or is likely to be, for months to come, and as the appropriation for printing is in the same condition, the work has been necessarily delayed. As it is presumed that the amount due the Survey from last year will be available some time next winter, it is not anticipated that there will be any difficulty in issuing the first volume; and, if the Legislature takes the necessary steps early in the session, two, or perhaps three, volumes can be published in 1864. It is intended that they shall be of royal octavo size, in the best style of typography, and illustrated with maps, sections, plates of fossils, etc. The maps will be engraved on copper and printed from transfers, in order the original plates may be preserved, to be used, after necessary corrections and revisions, in the final report, or otherwise, as may be found desirable. The maps will be sold separately, with or without the geological coloring, as desired. The first volume will be chiefly devoted to the geology of the Coast Ranges; the second to that of the Sierra Nevada and the mining districts of the eastern slope. If my plans are not thwarted by the Legislature, both these volumes will be issued together next year, and will form a “Report of a Geological Reconnoissance of the State of California.” By the law, as it now stands, the publications of the Survey are required to be copy-righted, and sold for the benefit of the Common School Fund; hence, it has been impossible to communicate to the public, from time to time, through the medium of the Academy’s publications, the results which have been obtained. It is proper to say, in this connection, that the extent of territory to be examined, the complexity of the phenomena, and the bearing which our investigations will have on important questions of economical interest, make it eminently proper that there should not be an undue haste exhibited, on the part of the Survey, to place its results before the world. We can only hope to influence the mining public, in this State, by degrees; and it is necessary, first of all, that it should be made clearly to appear, with the lapse of time, that our statements are to be relied on as closely approximating to the truth.
Professor Whitney communicated the following letter from Professor Brush, giving the results of a chemical investigation of the meteoric iron presented to the city of San Francisco, by General Carleton:
Sheffield Laboratory of Yale College,
New Haven, March 30th, 1863.
Professor J. D. Whitney, State Geologist, San Francisco, Cal.
Dear Sir:—I have examined the specimen of meteoric iron from Tucson, which you sent me for analysis, and herewith communicate to you my results.
The density of the mass is 7.29. When a fragment of it is placed in a solution of neutral sulphate of copper, it quickly becomes coated with metallic copper, proving the iron to be “active.” An inspection of the specimen with a lens showed it to be dotted with little cavities, which on the fresh fracture were lined with a white silicious mineral, giving the surface a porphyritic, or pseudo-porphyritic, appearance.
When a fragment was attacked with an acid, a portion of the iron was dissolved, leaving the silicious mineral projecting from the surface of the specimen; and with a magnifier, black particles of Schreibersite could be seen. After complete solution of the iron, a careful microscopic examination was made of the insoluble residue. With a magnifying power of 25 diameters, it appeared to consist chiefly of two substances: one a milk-white to transparent mineral, having a fused, rounded surface, occurring in little globules, or elongated, rounded particles; while the other constituent was black and angular, and attractable by the magnet. The first named substance, when observed with a magnifying power of 100 diameters, proved to contain minute specks of the black mineral disseminated through it; some of the silicious fragments were translucent and of a milk-white color, and others colorless and transparent; a large number, however, were transparent at one end, shading into milk-white at the other, thus seeming to indicate that the transparent and translucent portions were not two distinct minerals. A blowpipe examination of the silicious mineral showed it to have characters very much resembling olivine. The black mineral proved to be Schreibersite. A minute trace of chromium was also observed in the insoluble residue.
The qualitative analysis of the portion soluble in nitric acid indicated the presence of iron, nickel, cobalt, copper, phosphorus, lime, and magnesia with unweighable traces of chlorine, sulphur, and alumina. For the quantitative examination of the meteorite a fragment weighing 4.3767 grammes was treated with nitro-chlorohydric acid (aqua regia), and after solution of the iron the whole was evaporated; on approaching dryness, gelatinous silica separated, showing that the silicate had been partially, at least, decomposed by the acid. After heating until the silica was rendered insoluble, it was repeatedly treated with acid and evaporated, so as to insure the oxydation of all the Schreibersite, and finally the soluble part was taken up with chlorohydric acid, and on dilution separated by filtration from the silica and insoluble residue.
The filtrate, or soluble part, was accurately measured and divided into four portions for analysis—two portions were used for the determination of the iron, nickel, cobalt, phosphorus, and alkaline earths; a third portion was employed to estimate the copper, and the fourth portion was reserved to answer in case of accident.
Two methods were used for the separation of the iron from the nickel and cobalt—one by precipitation of the iron as basic acetate, and the other by precipitation with carbonate of baryta in the presence of an excess of chloride of ammonium; but in neither case was the separation perfected on the first precipitation, and traces of nickel remained with the iron even after the second precipitation. The nickel and cobalt were separated by means of nitrite of potash, and the cobalt was subsequently converted into sulphate and as such weighed. The lime and magnesia were separated by oxalate of ammonia, care being taken to redissolve and reprecipitate the lime to insure its being free from traces of magnesia. On spectroscopic examination of the precipitate, it proved to be lime, free from other alkaline earths.
The precipitate of iron, after being weighed, was fused with carbonate of soda; the product of the fusion was dissolved in chlorohydric acid, and the phosphoric acid precipitated with molybdate of ammonia. This phospho-molybdic precipitate was dissolved in ammonia to free it from possible traces of silica and other impurities, and the phosphoric acid precipitated from this solution by an ammoniacal mixture of sulphate of magnesia and chloride of ammonium.
The copper was precipitated as sulphide by sulphuretted hydrogen gas, redissolved in nitric acid, and determined as oxyd.
The insoluble residue, containing free silica and undecomposed silicate, was perfectly white, and free from all traces of Schreibersite. It weighed 0.1855 grm. equal to 4.24 per cent. of the specimen analyzed. It was fused with carbonate of soda, and the silica and bases determined in the usual manner. It contained 0.159 grm. silica; 0.0054 protoxyd of iron, with a minute trace of alumina; 0.0028 lime, and 0.0168 magnesia.
The soluble and insoluble portions gave in the analysis the following per centage composition:
| Considering the silica to exist as olivine. | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Iron | 81.56 | 79.44 | |
| Nickel | 9.17 | 9.17 | |
| Cobalt | 0.44 | 0.44 | |
| Copper | 0.08 | 0.08 | |
| Phosphorus | 0.49 | 0.49 | |
| Silica | 3.63 | Combined with 2.73 Protoxyd of Iron, making Olivine | 10.07 |
| Protoxyd of Iron with trace of Alumina | 0.12 | ||
| Lime | 1.16 | ||
| Magnesia | 2.43 | ||
| Chlorine, | minute traces | traces | |
| Sulphur, | |||
| Chromium, | |||
| 99.08 | 99.69 | ||
If the silica found in this analysis be considered to exist in combination with lime, magnesia, and iron, in the proportions to form olivine, it will be necessary to deduct 2.12 per cent. from the amount of metallic iron (equal to 2.73 per cent. of protoxyd of iron), in order to give the silicate the olivine formula, (3 R O, Si O₃). Admitting this to be the correct view, the mass analyzed contains 10.07 per cent. of olivine, and by the addition of the oxygen of the protoxyd of iron the analysis adds up 99.69 instead of 99.08.
The variable composition of Schreibersite in different specimens of meteoric iron, and the peculiar character of the insoluble residue of this meteorite, together with the small amount of material in my possession, rendered it impracticable to determine the exact amount of this substance contained in the specimen.
The composition of this meteorite corresponds very closely with another meteoric-iron from Tucson, discovered by Mr. Bartlett, and described by Prof. J. Lawrence Smith, in the American Journal of Science, vol. XIX, page 161. Dr. Smith’s analysis gives Iron 85.54, Nickel 8.55, Cobalt 0.61, Copper 0.03, Phosphorus 0.12, Chromic-oxyd 0.21, Magnesia 2.04, Silica 3.02, Alumina, trace = 100.18. He considers it to correspond to Nickeliferous Iron 93.81, Chrome Iron 0.41, Schreibersite 0.84, Olivine 5.06 = 100.18. By an evident inadvertence Dr. Smith adds the magnesia and silica together, and gives the sum as olivine; these substances are obviously not in the proportions to form the silicate 3 R O, Si O₃, and if we consider the silicate to be olivine, we must reckon the excess of silica as combined with protoxyd of iron. To do this, we must deduct 2.78 from the amount of metallic iron (equal to 2.58 protoxyd of iron), necessary to be combined with the silica and magnesia to give the olivine formula. The amount of olivine contained in the Bartlett meteoric-iron will then be 8.64 per cent. Thus the two masses of iron will be seen to agree very nearly in composition, the only trifling difference being, that Dr. Smith has determined quantitatively the small amount of chromium contained in the Bartlett meteorite, while I have found a little lime and traces of sulphur and chlorine in the specimen you sent to me. The specific gravity I have stated to be 7.39; this was taken on about 12.5 grammes of the iron, and probably is somewhat higher than the portion which I analyzed, as the two surfaces of the larger mass had been rubbed down, and as thus a considerable portion of the exposed silicate would be mechanically removed, it would make the density correspondingly higher.
I regret that I had not more of this interesting meteorite at my command, in order to have determined more definitely and satisfactorily the character of the insoluble residue. I shall be glad to make a further investigation of this point if you will supply me with more material.
Very respectfully yours,
GEO. J. BRUSH.
After reading the above letter, Professor Whitney added some remarks on the form and locality of the meteoric iron analyzed by Professor Brush, stating the circumstances under which it came in possession of the city of San Francisco.
On the twenty-fourth of November, 1862, the Board of Supervisors of this city received, through Mayor Teschemacher, a letter from General George Wright, commanding the Department of the Pacific, stating that he had received a mass of meteoric iron from General Carleton, commanding the “Column from California,” and which mass he, in accordance with General Carleton’s request, placed at the disposal of the city authorities.
General Carleton’s letter is here appended:
Head Quarters Column from California,
Tucson, Arizona, June 30th, 1862.
To General George Wright, U. S. Army, Commander Dep. of the Pacific, San Francisco, Cal.
My dear General:—Soon after my arrival at this place I sent by a train to Fort Yuma, to be shipped to your address at San Francisco, a very large and beautiful Aerolite, which I found here and which I had heard and read of for many years. In Bartlett’s Explorations, vol. 2, page 297, it is described as follows: “In the afternoon,” July 18th, 1853, “I called to take leave of General Blanco, and at the same time examine a remarkable meteorite, which is used for an anvil in a blacksmith’s shop. This mass resembles native iron, and weighs about six hundred pounds. Its greatest length is five feet. Its exterior is quite smooth, while the lower part which projects from the larger leg is very jagged and rough. It was found about twenty miles distant on the road towards Tubac and about eight miles from the road.”
I desire that you present this aerolite to the City of San Francisco, to be placed upon the Plaza, there to remain for the inspection of the people and for examination by the youth of the city forever. It will be a durable memento of the march of the Column from California.
I am, General, sincerely and respectfully,
Your friend and servant,
JAMES H. CARLETON,
Brigadier General U. S. A.
Soon after this mass of meteoric iron came into the possession of the city, I obtained permission from the Board of Supervisors to have sawn from it a small piece for analysis and for distribution to a few of the principal public institutions in this country and Europe having collections of aerolites; this has been done, and also a fine photograph of it taken by Mr. C. E. Watkins, of which copies will be forwarded, with the specimens of the mass itself, as convenient opportunity offers.
The piece intended for analytical examination was sent to Professor Brush of Yale College, and a letter has just been received from him giving the results, which will be found in the preceding pages, and which may appropriately be followed by a few remarks on the size and general appearance of the mass, with such other facts in regard to it as may be of general interest.
The weight of the mass of which the analysis is given above was six hundred and thirty-two pounds, when it arrived in this city, and about two pounds have been since cut from it.
Its shape is irregular, but in general it is that of a flattened elongated slab, having a length of four feet one inch and an average breadth of about eighteen inches; its thickness is irregular, varying from two to five inches. It has evidently been long used as an anvil, having been partly buried in the ground in an upright position, having a flat face of about four inches square on the top, with two holes drilled in the projecting edge for adding to the convenience of its use as a blacksmith’s anvil.
The mass is now placed in the Mayor’s office, it having been deemed inadvisable to expose it on the Plaza, as desired by the donor, on account of its liability to rust in the damp atmosphere of San Francisco, and the difficulty of securing it from injury by careless or mischievous handling.
Professor Brush remarks that “the composition of this meteorite corresponds very closely with that of another meteoric iron from Tucson” discovered by Mr. Bartlett and analyzed by Professor J. Lawrence Smith. A comparison of the analyses of Professors Brush and Smith and a reference to Mr. Bartlett’s work seem to render it highly probable, to say the least, that the two analyses were of pieces cut from the same mass.
In this connection I will add to General Carleton’s quotation from Mr. Bartlett’s book a few lines which complete what is said in regard to the meteorites seen by him at Tucson. Mr. Bartlett adds, after stating that the mass was found about twenty miles distant towards Tubac and about eight miles from the road, “where we were told are many larger masses. The annexed drawing gives the appearance of this singular mass. There is another large mass within the garrison grounds, of which I did not take a sketch. With much labor Dr. Webb broke off a fragment of this meteorite, for the purpose of analysis.”
The wood cut which Mr. Bartlett gives of the meteoric iron, which he notices as having been used as an anvil, shows at once, as does also the description, that, contrary to General Carleton’s idea, this mass and the one which is now in San Francisco, are not the same. The mass figured by Mr. Bartlett is of a very peculiar shape, well adapting it to use as a common blacksmith’s anvil, as it has a broad, flat top, and is supported by two legs.
In the absence of evidence to the contrary, it is reasonable to suppose that the mass forwarded by General Carleton is the one spoken of by Mr. Bartlett as “another larger mass,” and of which no drawing was made; while, on the other hand, a piece was taken for analysis. This piece is almost certainly the one analyzed by Dr. Smith, and hence the close agreement in the two analyses—this chemist, however, not having apparently made so complete a separation of the nickel as Prof. Brush has done. Still it is possible, of course, that different portions of the mass may differ slightly in composition.
Dr. Blake read the following paper: