Chapter X: Front Matter (10)

The red bud; the pawpaw; grape-vines of several species, and growing to a great size; sassafras; the black willow, confined to the streams; the box elder, the common elder, of two species; the sumach, of two species; several species of gooseberries; and a great many others too numerous to be mentioned here. Among the herbaceous plants we must not omit the ginseng, the Virginia snakeroot, the columbo, and the puccoon, two or three thousand pounds of the roots of which are annually carried by the inhabitants to our Atlantic cities. Among the trees, those belonging to the oak family are the most numerous, if not the most valuable. Split into rails, the farmer builds fences with them, and sawed into plank, boards, and scantling, they furnish materials for houses and barns. The sugar maple is sufficiently abundant, so that brown sugar enough is manufactured for domestic purposes. The sycamore is the largest tree along the river, and the poplar is the largest on the hills. The latter grows by the side of the maple and the beach, and is a most valuable wood for the house-builder and the cabinetmaker. This tree is frequently four and five feet in diameter, and continues of nearly the same size as it ascends, 40, 50, and sometimes even 60 feet.

_Streams._

The Ohio is the eastern boundary of this county, forming wide intervales along its banks. Indian Wheeling is a fine mill stream rising in Harrison county, and after crossing this, empties into the Ohio, opposite the town of Wheeling, which stands on the Virginia side.

Captina is another excellent mill stream, which after running about 17 or 18 miles in this county, puts into the Ohio 23 miles by water below Wheeling. These streams visit and fertilize a considerable part of Belmont.

From the view we have taken of this county, its geology, mineralogy, and botany, the reader will probably be prepared with us to conclude, that no part of the union, of equal extent, contains within it greater natural resources, or can support a more dense population.

The seat of justice is St. Clairsville, situated ten miles from the Ohio river, at Wheeling. It contains three houses for public worship, 15 stores, a printing-office, a bank, and 700 inhabitants.

Many of the inhabitants of this county are Quakers or Friends, who are charitable, humane, frugal, enterprising, industrious, and strongly opposed to slavery. From such a population, possessing such advantages, what may we not hope and expect from their exertions? Their fertile valleys will be turned into meadows, and their hills into pastures; the ox will fatten in the former, whilst the flocks of Andalusia will whiten the latter.

ART. IV. _Remarks on the Structure of the Calton Hill, near Edinburgh, Scotland; and on the Aqueous origin of Wacke; by_ J. W. WEBSTER, M.D. of Boston.

The country around Edinburgh is extremely interesting to the geologist, and presents numerous instances of the junction of rocks to which the advocates of the Neptunian system have referred in support of their opinion as to the aqueous origin of greenstone, basalt, and wacke; while the same examples have been cited by the Volcanists, and by those who hold an intermediate opinion. The structure of a portion of Calton hill, where the most distinct alternations of substances (whose aqueous origin none can dispute,) with pure and well characterized wacke are displayed, has not, as yet, I believe been particularly described.

Edinburgh is situated nearly in the centre of an extensive coal formation, where the usual sandstones and other coal measures are connected with the newer rocks of transition. From the coal field rise in many places beds of greenstone, in general forming small conical and round-backed hills. Other eminences are composed of amygdaloid, claystone, and other porphyries; and basalt and trap tuff occur in an overlying position. Of these, it is not my intention to speak otherwise than as conveying a general idea of the geological relation of the wacke above referred to.

The structure of Calton hill has been exposed by the recent improvements, and in particular by a section made in the construction of the new road to London. The rock occurring in greatest abundance, and which is probably the fundamental bed, is a porphyry, the basis of which in general is claystone, which in many places passes into felspar, in others becomes a distinct greenstone. Numerous veins of calcareous spar traverse it in different directions, and I am lately informed, that very beautiful examples of veins of greenstone of contemporaneous formation with the rock itself, have been discovered _in_ the greenstone. Upon the porphyry rests a bed of trap tuff, upon this other beds of the two rocks repose, that at the summit being porphyry. The back of the hill (as we pass from the city) is a spot of peculiar interest, consisting of alternate thin beds of bituminous shale, sandstone, wacke, and clay ironstone, disposed in a manner which will be best understood by a rough outline taken on the spot.

Monument to NELSON.

A Porphyry.
B Trap tuff.
C Porphyry.
D Trap tuff.
E Porphyry.
F Beds of wacke, &c. upper part concealed by vegetation.

1 Bituminous shale.
2 Wacke.
3 Sandstone.
4 Bituminous shale, with clay ironstone.
5 Wacke.
6 Bituminous shale.
7 Wacke, _with calc. spar._
8 Bituminous shale.
9 Wacke.
10 Bituminous shale passing on both sides into
11 Wacke--and _calc. spar._
12 Bituminous shale.
13 Wacke.
14 Bituminous shale.
15 Wacke.
16 Bituminous shale.
17 Sandstone.
]

The wacke has a greenish gray colour, which is pretty uniform. The fracture is nearly even and earthy, it is soft, yielding readily to the nail, and has a feebly shining streak. A slight stroke with the hammer causes the mass to separate in fragments of various size, the surfaces of which are often smooth and shining, each bed being composed of large distinct concretions, having a tendency to the prismatic form. This wacke fuses with difficulty before Brooke's blow-pipe. Specific gravity not determined, as it falls to pieces on being moistened.

The sandstone is for the most part gray, in some parts spotted red and brown, forming, as the section represents, the last stratum seen; the beds of sandstone are but a few inches in thickness, and the last (17) becomes less than an inch; it is probable, however, from the relative situation, from the dip and direction, that these strata are a continuation of others seen on the other side of the hill, where they are of sufficient thickness to have been quarried for the purposes of architecture. The _beds_ of all rocks we know vary greatly in different parts, and it is not unusual for them to be some feet at one extremity, gradually decreasing till less than an inch in thickness at the other, or they may even be lost entirely, and gradually regain their former size; and it is not improbable that these beds of sandstone will be found to continue on towards the adjoining hills of Salisbury Craig and Arthur's Seat, passing under the greenstone and trap tuff.

The bituminous shale presents the usual characters; intermixed with it are numerous nodules of the common clay ironstone, the colour of which is a yellowish brown, these also frequently present characters common to the three substances, and throughout the beds, the passage from the one to the other is distinct. Whatever may be the opinions in regard to the origin of bituminous shale, there can be but one in regard to that of sandstone; and this has lately received no feeble support from the account given us by Dr. Paris, of a formation of this rock on the coast of Cornwall, where, says he, "we actually detect nature at work, and she does not refuse admittance into her manufactory, nor conceal, with her accustomed reserve, the details of the operations in which she is engaged."

From the appearances which have been thus briefly noticed, no impartial geologist, we should imagine, would infer the _volcanic_ origin of any portion of this formation; and if the aqueous origin of sandstone can be established, that of the wacke must be the same.

* * * * *

From its intimate connexion with the preceding subject, Dr. Webster subjoins the following:

_Extract from a Paper on a recent formation of Sandstone,
occurring in various parts of the Northern coast of Cornwall_;
by JOHN AYSTON PARIS, M.D. F.L.S., &c. &c. Published in the
Transactions of the Geological Society of Cornwall, 1818.

"A very considerable portion of the northern coast of Cornwall, is covered with a calcareous sand, consisting of minute particles of comminuted shells. That part which lies between St. Ives and Padstow is more immediately the subject of the present inquiry; a tract which, with a few exceptions, is entirely covered with this species of sand; and which in some places, has accumulated in quantities so great as to have formed hills of from forty to sixty feet in elevation. A considerable area, for instance, in the parishes of Gwythian and Phillack has been thus desolated, and several churches have been inundated. In digging into these sand hills, or upon the occasional removal of some part of them by the winds, the remains of houses may be seen; and in some places, where the churchyards have been overwhelmed, a great number of human bones may be found. The sand is supposed to have been originally brought from the sea by hurricanes, probably at a remote period."----"The sand first appears in a slight but increasing state of aggregation on several parts of the shore in the bay of St. Ives; but on approaching the Gwythian river, it becomes more extensive and indurated. On the shore opposite to Godrevy Island, an immense mass of it occurs, of more than a hundred feet in length, and from twelve to twenty feet in depth, containing entire shells and fragments of clay slate; it is singular that the whole mass assumes a striking appearance of stratification. In some places it appears that attempts have been made to separate it, probably for the purpose of building; for several old houses in Gwythian are built of it."----"It is around the promontory of New Kaye that the most extensive formation of sandstone takes place. Here it may be seen in different stages of induration; from a state in which it is too friable to be detached from the rock upon which it reposes, to a hardness so considerable, that it requires a very violent blow from a sledge to break it."----"But it is on the western side of the promontory of New Kaye, in Fistril Bay, that the geologist will be most struck with the formation; for here no other rock is in sight. The cliffs, which are high, and extend for several miles, are entirely composed of it."----"The beach is covered with disjointed fragments, which have been detached from the cliff above, many of which weigh two or three tons."

There are three modes by which Dr. Paris conceives the lapidification of calcareous sand may be effected. 1st. "By the percolation of water through a hill of calcareous sand, by which it becomes impregnated with carbonate of lime." 2d. "The percolation of water through strata containing pyritical substances, by which it becomes impregnated with sulphuric salts." 3d. "The percolation of water through decomposing slate, or any ferruginous strata, by which it becomes impregnated with iron alumina, and other mineral matter."

ART. V. _Localities of Minerals._

_To the Editor of the American Journal of Science, &c._

NEW-YORK, Dec. 21, 1818.

DEAR SIR,

It is desirable that some mode should be adopted by which the public may become acquainted with all the _New American Localities of Minerals_, as they are discovered from time to time. With deference I would suggest, that in each number of your Scientific Journal, new localities might be recorded in alphabetical order, for present information and future reference.

The following localities, which have come under my observation, and which are probably not noticed in any work, are at your service.

1. _Agate._ Rolled mass: occurred near Powles Hook, New-Jersey.

2. _Apatite._ Truncated crystals of one inch, and amorphous;
occurs in granite, chiefly in the felspar. Corlaer's Hook,
vicinity of New-York.

3. _Brown Mammillary Hematite_, covering quartz crystals.
Perkiomen lead-mine. Montgomery county, Pennsylvania.

4. _Carbonate of Magnesia._ Structure earthy. Apparently a _pure_
carbonate of magnesia. In mica slate, and granite; chiefly in the
quartz. Roxborough, Philadelphia county.

5. _Common Jasper._ Traversed by veins of semi-opal. Small
detached masses, frequently waterworn. Rhinebeck, Dutchess
county, New-York.

6. _Compact Malachite._ Perkiomen lead-mine.

7. _Fetid Carbonate of Lime._ In ridges; and strata nearly
vertical, sometimes containing petrifactions. Very frequent in
Dutchess county, particularly in the neighbourhood of Rhinebeck
Flats, and near Hyde Park.

8. _Fibrous Talc._ In granite. Roxborough.

9. _Graphic Granite._ North River, near the city of New-York.

10. _Graphite._ In a calcareo-siliceous gangue. Corlear's Hook.

11. _Native pulverulent_ (or rather granular) _Sulphur_. In
pyritical quartz. Barren Hill, Montgomery county, Pennsylvania.

12. _Plumose Asbestus._ Corlaer's Hook.

13. _Semi-opal._ In common Jasper--(which see.)

14. _Scaly Talc._ In granite. Roxborough.

15. _Stellated Quartz._ Perkiomen lead-mine.

16. _Sulphate of Barytes._ In sulphuret of lead and silver.
Livingston's lead-mine, Columbia county, New-York.

17. _Sulphuret of Silver._ With sulphuret of lead. Same locality.

18. _Tourmalin._ In masses of crystalline quartz. Rhinebeck.

Very respectfully,

F. C. SCHAEFFER.

* * * * *

The following notices were prepared before the receipt of the above letter.

_Other Localities of Minerals and of_ ANIMAL REMAINS, _and acknowledgments of Specimens received_.

_Guadeloupe._--Native sulphur, obsidian, pitchstone, native alum, basaltic hornblende, alum covered with sulphur.

_Porto Rico._--Hexagonal crystals of mica.

Specimens of the above minerals are in the cabinet of Mr. John P. Brace, at Litchfield, Connecticut.

_Molybdena_ is found in Shutesbury, Massachusetts, near Northampton, east of Connecticut River, on the land of William Eaton. It is the common sulphuret, but remarkably beautiful and well characterized. Its colour is nearly that of bright lead, very brilliant, smooth, and almost unctuous; soft, flexible, distinctly foliated, and the folia are very thin, and easily separable, almost like mica. It gives the usual greenish trace on white pottery, while a line drawn parallel on the same basis, by a piece of plumbago or black-lead, is black; this being (as pointed out by Brongniart) the easiest criterion, by which to distinguish between molybdena and plumbago, or black-lead. We have many times applied it with entire success.

This molybdena, from Shutesbury, is chiefly crystallized, and the crystals are, in some instances, very distinct; their form is that of a flat six-sided prism, or what is commonly called a table. The rock, from which they were obtained, is a granitic aggregate, (judging from the specimen sent, it may be a true granite) and the forms of the crystals are very distinctly impressed in the stone, so that when removed they leave an exact copy or crystal mould. In a letter from the proprietor of the land, it is said that the molybdena is found in a ledge of rocks, six or seven feet above the surface of the earth, and about ten or twelve feet above the level of the water; the direction of the rocks is from S. to N. E. by N.; the metal is in a vein, running E., and was discovered in small pieces in the top of the ledge. After putting in two blasts, some large pieces were obtained.

From this account, and from the specimens, (some of the crystals being an inch or more in length) this must be one of the most interesting localities of molybdena hitherto observed in this country; and it is hoped Mr. Eaton will take some pains to procure and furnish specimens.

_Rose Quartz._--From Southbury, Connecticut, not far from Woodbury, and from the Housatonick River, two young men, of the name of Stiles, have brought us specimens of _rose quartz_, of delicate and beautiful colour. It is said to be abundant in a ledge of the same substance.

_Plumbago._--In Cornwall, Litchfield county, Connecticut, plumbago is found, of a good quality, and in considerable masses, in a vein contained in a rock of gneiss, or mica-slate. It has been known a good while, and is said to have been exported anterior to the American revolutionary war.

_Coal, &c._ in Zanesville, Ohio. Through the kindness of the Rev. Dr. Bronson, Principal of the Cheshire Academy, we have received the following information.--In cutting a canal in the above town, in the spring of 1817, through freestone, trees, and fish, and other substances, both animal and vegetable, were taken out, alike petrified to a freestone, excepting the bark of a beach tree, which was very perfect and beautiful coal--(as we have had an opportunity of ascertaining, from an examination of the specimens.)

_Coal_, in the county of Muskingum, Ohio. Common stone-coal, highly bituminous, (the slaty or black coal of Werner,) is found abundantly.

_South of Lake Erie_, about 25 miles, in the bed of Rocky River, are found shells, and other animal remains, imbedded in argillaceous iron; the specimens were collected in 1817, by the Rev. R. Searle.

_Mammoth's Tooth_, from the River St. Francis, west of Mississippi. Return J. Meigs, Esq. has transmitted, through the Rev. E. Cornelius, a mammoth's tooth, apparently not mineralized. It appears to have belonged to a very old animal, as the processes, (which, it is well known, are commonly very prominent) are worn down smooth, and some of them almost obliterated.

_Blue Ridge, Tennessee, and Mississippi Territory._--Through the kindness of the Rev. E. Cornelius, and of Mr. John H. Kain, we have received a considerable collection of specimens, illustrative of the mineralogy and geology, and Indian antiquities of these regions; they may be, on a future occasion, the subject of more particular remarks.

_Coal_, in Suffield, Connecticut, on the river of the same name. From Mr. Nathan Stedman, we have received specimens of coal, found in thin veins, in rocks of slate, and argillaceous sandstone, on the banks of the river. The veins are thin, but considerably numerous; the coal is very glossy and black; breaks with a smooth and almost conchoidal fracture, and very much resembles jet. It is very much intersected by thin veins--(not thicker than a knife-blade)--of white crystallized calcareous spar. This coal is bituminous, and burns pretty freely. It has not been explored, except superficially.

_Coal_, in Southington, Connecticut. Beds of slate are found more or less bituminous; and, at the bottom of some of the wells, the slate begins to exhibit thin veins of coal, distributed in great numbers through the substance of the slate, which is the shale of the miners. The coal is from the thickness of a knife-blade to that of a finger; it is highly bituminous, and burns with great freedom. Even the entire masses of the stone burn brilliantly, when ignited on a common fire; and, after exhaustion of the coally matter, leave the slate of a grayish colour.

The locality from which the specimens were taken, is on the land of Roswell Moore, Esq. about midway between Hartford and New Haven. The spot was lately examined by Col. Gibbs, Eli Whitney, Esq. Professor Olmstead, and others; and arrangements are making to bore the strata, to the depth of several hundred feet, if necessary. These localities are in what may, with propriety, be called the coal formation of Connecticut. Coal has been found in several other places in that state; and the peculiar geological features of the region in which it is contained, are very interesting, and may hereafter be described in form.

_Sulphat of Barytes, with Coal, &c._--Sulphat of barytes exists abundantly in Southington, on what is called the Clark Farm. With quartz, carbonate of lime, &c. it forms the gangue of a metallic vein, containing galena, or sulphuret of lead, copper pyrites, &c. The sulphat of barytes is more or less crystallized, and principally in the form that is called the coxcomb spar. The same vein, although it is in the side of a mountain, several hundred feet above the flat country adjacent, and two or three miles from the coal strata above mentioned, contains numerous spots and patches of coal, very much resembling that at Suffield. It is of a most brilliant black, and contrasted with the white, stony matrix, (principally quartz and sulphat of barytes) in which it is enveloped, it forms elegant specimens.

_Scintillating Limestone._--In Vermont, a singular scintillating limestone is found, of which an account is given in the following extract of a letter from Mr. George Chase, dated Randolph, February 19, 1818.

"The object of the present letter is to acquaint you with a circumstance relating to the limestone that abounds in this primitive country, which to me is inexplicable. This carbonate of lime is of a pale sky-blue colour; effervesces strongly with nitric acid; and, by burning, produces lime, so that there is no question as to the identity of the mineral. But it likewise gives forth sparks with steel:--this I concluded, at first, to be an accidental circumstance; but every specimen that I have tried, from various quarters of the country, uniformly gives fire with steel. The limestone is found in layers, in blocks, and masses, disseminated among the clay-slate that covers the greatest part of the townships in this vicinity. When first taken from the earth, and exposed to the air, it is covered with an incrustation of a dark reddish-brown colour, that crumbles easily between the fingers, and is generally from one inch to a foot in thickness. This incrustation, however, hardens on a long exposure to the air. This led me to think that the incrustation was owing to the decomposition of the limestone, which was produced by the sulphuret of iron, intimately disseminated through the rock, which would also explain the singular circumstance of its striking fire. But on dissolving a small quantity of the mineral in nitric acid, and adding a drop or two of the decoction of gallnut, no discolouring of the liquor was produced."

_Limpid Quartz._--West Canada Creek, a northern branch of the Mohawk, affords, in its sands, small crystals of quartz, limpid, and terminated at both ends by pyramids of six sides; we are indebted for specimens to Professor Fisher.

_Fetid Primitive Limestone, &c._--From the vicinity of Williamstown College, through the kindness of Professor Dewey, we have received specimens illustrative of the geology of that region. Among them is limestone from Stockbridge, crystallized in large plates and rhomboids, almost white, and still fetid on being rubbed, which is very different from most fetid limestones, which are dark coloured, and even black, and do not belong to primitive formation.

_Molybdena._--In Pettipaug, Saybrook, Connecticut, molybdena occurs. It is mentioned in the Review of Cleaveland's Mineralogy, and is here cited again for the purpose of pointing out its locality more exactly. It is found about half a mile to the E. of the Turnpike leading from Saybrook to Middletown, on the first road on the right hand above the turnpike gate, near the house of the widow Pratt. It is not far from Pettipaug meeting-house, in a northern direction.

_Beryl._--In Haddam, Connecticut, are found many beryls, and some of uncommon size; an account of one of the most remarkable localities is contained in the following memorandum from the Rev. Mr. Mather, to whom we are indebted for specimens.

"The place in which the beryls are found is in the town of Chatham, about one mile and a half north from Middle-Haddam landing; about half of a mile S. W. of a large hill, on which is the cobalt mine. The rock in which the beryls are contained is granite; the parts of which are very large, especially the felspar and the mica. Large masses of shorl are also found in these rocks. Beryls have also been found in other parts of Middle-Haddam, amongst rocks of the same description. The _greatest_ diameter of the largest beryl is four inches; the _least_ three inches. The beryls are numerous, and of different sizes; though few are less than an inch, or two inches in diameter. The length of the longest beryl is five inches."

_Clay._--Near Delhi, New-York, a few rods from the Delaware river, are found beds of clay, of which specimens have been transmitted by Mr. John P. Foote, of New-York. We are of opinion that they are not porcelain clay.

_Gypsum._--Cayuga Lake. We are informed by Dr. L. Foot, that the workmen who have excavated about 20 feet on the border of the lake, in gypsum, which is generally of a dark brown, or black colour, when they come to a transparent crystallized piece, call it isinglass, and reject it as worthless: the hint should be remembered by mineralogists, that the specimens may be saved for their cabinets.

ASBESTOS IN ANTHRACITE.

_Extract of a letter from Dr. I. W. Webster._

BOSTON, 27th Nov. 1818.

DEAR SIR,

In examining some masses of the anthracite from Rhode Island, one piece attracted my attention, from the waved structure of the lamellæ into which it separated. The fragments of this were wedge-shaped, and I found the space between some of the laminæ filled up by a fibrous, silky substance, which induced me to break up other masses, in one of which I discovered an abundance of amianthus; the filaments are of a light-green colour in some parts of the mass--in others presenting different shades of brown. With a microscope, I found the fibres intermixed with the anthracite; or forming thin layers, and these sometimes parallel to, at others crossing, in different directions, the course of the laminæ. How far the presence of this mineral may influence the ignition or combustion of the coal, is a question, perhaps, worth determining. Should my engagements permit, I shall make further examination, and inform you. In the mean time, the notice of this fact may call the attention of some of your readers to the subject. At any rate, this substance has, I believe, never before been noticed in connexion with anthracite, and is highly interesting in a geological point of view.

REMARKS.

We have been familiar with the Rhode Island anthracite, and with the formation of rocks in which it is found; and, long since, observed the fact mentioned by Dr. Webster. The asbestos often is in the form of the most delicate amianthus, frequently blended also with the slate rocks, which form the roof and pavement of this coal. A specimen now lies before us, in which a complete vein of this amianthus, with fibres nearly two inches _in length, connects and pervades_ a mass of slate, supposed to be of the transition class.

Similar facts are mentioned also by Dr. Meade, in his account of the Rhode Island coal.

RED PYROXENE AUGITE.

_Extract of a letter to the Editor, from Dr. H. H. Hayden of Baltimore._

I have very lately discovered a couple of small specimens of the transparent _red_ pyroxene, resembling fine crystals of titanium, which I, at first, mistook it for. One of them is contained in the middle of a large crystal, like the rubellite in the green tourmalins of Massachusetts, but it is not the same substance. The pyroxene, which I have reference to, is the olive-coloured epidote of some, pistazite of others, but resembles, in this instance, the sahlite; the crystals being divisible longitudinally. Some of them are five inches long, and half an inch diameter, hexaedral and double; that is, two joined together, as described by Brochant in particular.

Some other localities, of which we have received notices, may be mentioned in a future number.

BOTANY.

ART. VI. _A List of Plants found in the neighbourhood of Connasarga River, (Cherokee Country) where Springplace is situated; made by_ MRS. GAMBOLD, _at the request of the Rev. Elias Cornelius_.[32]

A.

Acer rubrum and Sacharium
Acanitum uncinatum
Actæa racemosa
Adianthum Capillus Veneris
Aesculus Pavia
Agave
Agrimonium Eupatorium
Aira pallens
Aletris farinosa
Alisma Plantago
Allium, 2 sp.
Amasonia latifolia
Anchusa
Andromeda arborea and other sp.
Andropogon alopecuides and ambiguum
Anemone hepatica, Thalictroides, virginiana, and pennsylvania
Angelica lucida and other sp.
Annona
Antirrhinum elatine
Apocynum cannabinum
Aquilegia canadensis
Arabis
Aralia spinosa
Arctatis caroliniana
Arethusa parviflora
Aristoloichia serpentaria, 3 sp.
Arum sagittæfolium and triphyllum
Arundo tecto
Asarum virginicum
Aselepias purpurascens, variegata, verticillata and others, tuberosa
Ascyrum
Asplenium
Aster concolor, linarifolius, and many others
Avena palustrio and spicata
Azalea viscosa, and others.

B.

Berberis canadensis
Betula alnus
Bidens pusilla N. S. Muhlenb.
Bignonia crucigera and radicans
Bucknera americana.

C.

Cacalia
Calycanthus floridus
Campanula perfoliata and divaricata
Clematis ochraleuca and virginiana
Clitoria mariana and virginiana
Collinsonia virginica
Cardumine virginica
Carduus, several sp.
Carex, N. S.
Cassia chamæcrista, marilandica, nictitans, and Tora
Ceanothus americanus
Cephalanthus occidentalis
Cerastium arvense
Cercis canadensis
Chelone glabra and Penstemon
Chenopodium ambrosioides and anthelminticum
Chionanthus virginicus
Chironia campanulata and other sp.
Chrysogonum virginicum
Cimicifuga pulmata
Circea lutetiana
Cissampelos smilacine
Claytonia virginica
Commelina erecta, longifolia virginica
Convallaria multiflora and racemosa
Conyza linifolia
Coreopsis auriculata, bidens, senifolia, tripteris, alternifolia and
verticillata
Cornus florida
Corylus americana
Crætægus apiifolia
Crotallaria sagittalis
Cucubalus behen
Cuscuta americana
Cynanchum
Cynoglossum officinale and virginicum
Cynosurus indicus and sparsus
---- filiformis (Muhlenb.)
Cypripedium acaule, alba and calceolus

D.

Delphinium exaltatum
Dentaria multifida
Diodia N. S. and virginica
Dioscorea
Diospyros virginiana
Dodecatheon media
Dracocephalon virginianum

E.

Echium vulgare
Elephantopus caroliniensis
Eleusine filiformis
Epilobium coloratum
Erigeron pulchellum, and other sp.
Eryngium aquaticum ovalifolium and yuccæfolium
Erythronium dens canis
Eupatorium cœlestinum, perfoliatum, and urticæfolium
Euphorbia colorata, ipecacuanha, and other sp.
Evonymus virginicus

F.

Fagus castanea dentata sylvatica atropunicea
Festuca nutans, palustris and sylvatica
Fragaria vesca
Fumaria N. S.

G.

Galactia mollis
Galax aphylla
Galega hispidula and virginica
Galium, several sp.
Gerardia asgelia, hydrophylla, lancifolia and purpurea
Geum rivale
Gleditsia spinosa
Gaura sp.
Gentiana saponaria, and others
Geranium, 2 sp.
Glycine apios and tomentosa parabolica (Muhlenb.)
Gnaphalium germanicum, and others

H.

Hedyotis sp.
Hedysarum prostratum, and others
Helianthus angustifolius. sp. nova.
Heuchera
Hibiscus
Houstonia cœrulea, purpurea, and varians
Hydrangea glauca
Hypericum fasciculatum, nudiflorum, prolificum, and others
Hypnum sp.
Hypoxis erecta.

I.

Ilex aquifolium sp.
Impatiens noli tangere
Inula graminifolia and mariana
Ipomœa, sky blue, and other sp.
Iris, low, sweet-smelling blossoms in spring, and other sp.

J.

Jutropha stimulosa
Juglans alba acuminata
---- ---- ovata
Juglans nigra
---- oblonga alba
Juncus bicornis and tenuis

K.

Kalmia latifolia
Kyllingia triceps

L.

Laurus benzoin and sassafras
Lechea minor
Lepidium sp.
Liatris graminifolia, spicata and squarrosa
Lilium martagen
Limodorum tuberosum
Linum virginicum
Liquidamber styraciflua
Liriodendrum tulipifera
Lobelia cardinalis, inflata, kalmii, puberula and siphylitica
Lonicera erecta and symphoricarpos
Ludugia alternifolia jussiæoides
Lupinus sp.
Lycopodium apodum and rupestre
Lycopsis
Lycopus virginicus
Lysimachia quadrifolia and punctata
---- sp.
Lythrum lineare and strictum.

M.

Malaxis unifolia
Marchantia polymorpha
Mimosa horridula
Mimulus ringens
Melanthium latum
---- sp.
Melica speciosa
Melissa nepeta
Menispermum carolinianum
Mespilus several sp.
Mitchella repens
Momordica sp.
Monarda punctata
Monotropa several sp.
Morus.

O.

Oenothera biennis, lineanis, and others
Ophioriza mitreola
Ophrys cernua
---- sp.
Orchis ciliaris unifolia
Orobanche uniflora
Oxalis, 2 sp.

P.

Panax ginseng
Panctratium carolinianum
Pancium nitidum
Parietaria pennsylvanica
Parnassia caroliniana
Parthenium integrifolium
Passiflora incarnata and lutea
Paspalium ciliatifolium
Pedicularis canadensis
Penstemon lævis
Penthorum sedoides
Phlox ovata, paniculata and pilosa
Phryma liptostachia
Physalis pubescens, several sp.
Phytolacca decandra
Pinus, several sp.
Plantago major and virginica
Poa nervata
Podophyllum peltatum
Polygala cruciata, incarnata and lutea
Polygonum hydropiper, and other sp.
Potentilla reptans
Prenenthes trifida
Prunella vulgaris
Prunus cerasus virginiana, and others
Psoralea melilotoides
Pyrola, 2 sp.
Pyrus malus coronarius

Q.

Quercus alba, 2 sp.
---- nigra, various sp.
---- rubra
Quercus prinus
---- Phellos
Queria canadensis

R.

Ranunculus bulbosus, and other sp.
Rhexia mariana
Rhus toxicodendron, and others
Ribes sp.
Rosa, several sp.
Rubus fruticosus, hispidus and occidentalis
Rudbeckia fulgida, hirta and purpurea
Ruellia

S.

Sagittaria sagittifolia
Salix tristis and others
Sisyrinchium Bermudiana
Sisymbrium nasturtium
Salvia lyrata and urticæfolia
Sambucus nigra
Sanicula marilandica
Sanguinaria canadensis
Saururus cernuus
Scabiosa sp.
Schisandra
Schoenus sparsus
Scirpus retrofractus
Sentellaria hyssoppifolia, parviflora, and others
Sedum, a low plant, fl. white
Senecio sp.
Serratula præalta, scariosa and spicata
Sida rhombifolia and spinosa
Silene antirrhina, and another sp.
Sium sp.
Smilax sarsaparilla and other sp.
Smyrnium aureum
Solanum nigrum
Solidago nova boracensis, rigida, virga aurea and others.
Sonchus sp.
Sophora fl. purple
Spigelia marilandica
Spiræa aruncus, apulifolia, stipulaica, tomentosa and trifoliata
Staphylæa trifoliata
Stellaria sp.
Styrax sp.
Sylphium N. S.
---- compositum.

T.

Tabernamontana latifolia
Teverium canadense
Thalictrum, various sp.
Thlaspi bursæ pastoris
Thymus virginicus
Tradescantia virginica
Tragopogon dandelion
Trichodium laxiflorum and procumbens
Trichostema dichotoma
Trifolium (Buffalo)
Trillium cernuum, luteum, sessile, and another sp.
Triosteum angustifolium

U.

Ulmus, 2 sp.
Uniola latifolia
Uvularia sessilifolia.

V.

Vaccinium, several sp.
Verbascum lychnitis
Verbena officinalis
Verbesina sp.
Veronica virginica
Viburnum, several sp.
Viola, several sp.
Viscum
Vitis, several sp.

X.

Xanthium strumarium
Xantoxylon tricarpon

Y.

Yucca filamentosa.

_Acer rubrum._--The inner bark boiled to a sirup, made into pills, and these dissolved in water, is used in cases of sore eyes; the eyes washed therewith.

_Actæa racemosa._--The root in spirits, these made use of in rheumatic pains.

_Adianthum Capillus Verenis._--A decoction of the whole plant, used as an emetic in cases of ague and fever. A very strong medicine.

_Aesculus Pavia._--The nuts pounded, are used in poultices.

_Agave._--The root is chewed in obstinate cases of diarrhœa with wonderful success. It is, however, a very strong medicine.

_Allium._--The Indians are fond of, for culinary purposes.

_Angelica._--The same.

_Annona._--Of the bark they make very strong ropes.

_Aralia spinosa._--A decoction of the roots roasted and pounded, (green, they are poisonous) is given as an emetic. A very strong one.

_Asarum virginicum._--The leaves dried and pounded, are used for snuff; fresh, they are applied to wounds.

_Bignonia crucigera._--Tea made of the leaves cleanses the blood.

_Calycanthus floridus._--The _roots_ are used as (though very strong) emetics. The _seeds_ to poison wolves.

_Carduus._--various species. The roots used in poultices.

_Cercis canadensis._--Children are fond of eating the blossom.

_Coreopsis auriculata._--The whole plant is much used in colouring. It affords a _red_ colour.

_Cornus florida._--The bark of the root is used to heal wounds, and in poultices.

_Ilex._--Of the wood, spoons are made. The berries of service in colics.

_Juglans oblonga alba._--A kind of pills are prepared from the inner bark, and used as a cathartic.

_Liquidamber styraciflua._--The gum is used for a drawing plaster. Of the _inner_ bark a tea is made for nervous patients.

_Liriodendrum tulipifera._--Of the bark of the root a tea is made, and given in fevers. It is also used in poultices.

_Melanthium._--The root is a crow poison; and a sure, but severe cure for the itch.

_Pinus._--Boil the root, skim off the turpentine, spread it on Deer's skin (tanned,) for a drawing plaster.

_Podophyllum peltatum._--A sirup is boiled of the root, and given for a purgative, two pills at a time. A drop of the juice of the fresh root in the ear, is a cure for _deafness_. (So I have been told, I never witnessed it.)

_Potentilla reptans._--A tea of it is given in fevers.

_Prunus cerasus virginiana._--Of the bark a tea is made, and drunk in fevers.

_Quercus alba._--The bark is used for an emetic.

_Quercus nigra_ and _rubra_.--A die for leather.

_Rosa._--The roots boiled, and drunk in cases of dysentery.

_Rubus fruticosus._--The root good to chew in coughs.

_Sanguinaria canadensis._--The root is used for the _red_ die in basket making.

_Saururus cernuus._--The roots roasted and mashed, used for poultices.

_Solanum nigrum._--When young, made use of as the best relished potherb.

_Solidaga virga aurea._--A tea much made use of in fevers.

_Sophora._--A blue die.

_Spigelia marilandica._--In cases of worms.

_Spiræa stipulaica_ and _trifoliata_.--The whole plant a very good emetic. Of a strong tea or decoction thereof, a pint is drunk at a time.

_Tradescantia virginica._--The leaves much relished greens for the table.

_Yucca filamentosa._--The roots pounded and boiled, are used instead of soap to wash blankets; likewise to intoxicate fishes, by strewing them pounded on the water. The same is done with _Æsculus_.

ART. VII. _Description of a new species of Asclepias. By Dr._ ELI IVES, _Professor, &c. in the Medical Institution of Yale College_. (_With a Plate._)

The plant, which is the subject of the following observations, is found growing abundantly on the sandy plains east of Cedar Hill, in New-Haven. It is locally associated with the asclepias viridiflora and verticillata. When this species of asclepias was first noticed by me, it was supposed to be a variety of viridiflora of Rafinesque and Pursh; but after examining a great number of specimens, it was found that the varieties did not blend themselves. The leaves of the viridiflora being uniformly oblong and obtuse, the leaves of the other uniformly lanceolate and acute. To this new species I purpose to give the name Lanceolata.

_Specific character of the asclepias lanceolata_:--Stem decumbent, hirsute; leaves opposite, lanceolate, acute, sub sessile, hirsuit umbels lateral, solitary, sessile, nodding, subglobose, dense-flowered; appendage none. See the plate.

The asclepias lanceolata is allied to the asclepias longifolia and viridiflora by the absence of appendage or horn of the nectary. It is distinguished from the longifolia, which is characterized by alternate linear leaves, and umbels erect.

The asclepias lanceolata and asclepias viridiflora belong to Mr. Elliott's genus acerates. In both, the nectary or stamineous crown is short concave, and oppressed to the angles of the filaments.

ART. VIII. _Description of a New Genus of American Grass._ DIPLOCEA BARBATA, by C. S. RAFINESQUE, Esq.

Diplocea. _Generic definition._ Flowers paniculated monoical or polygamous. Exterior glumes membranaceous bivalve one to three flowered, valves subequal emarginated mutic. Anterior glumes bivalve unequal, the largest notched, notch aristated, the smallest mutic entire bearded. _Additional characters._ Flowers when single sepile with a lateral jutting peduncle, when double, one sepile and one pedunculated, when three two are pedunculated and alternate. The hermaphrodite and male flowers are similar: the female are nearly clandestine, inferior. Stamens 3, styles 2. Seeds ovate oblong.

_Observations._ This genus is intermediate between _amphicarpon_, Raf. (_Milium amphicarpon_, _Pursh_) and _aira_, L. It differs from this last by its polygamy, variable number of flowers, notched valves, &c. The generic name means _double notch_. Its type is the following species, which had been ranged with the _aira_, by Walter, and considered doubtful by Pursh.

_Diplocea Barbata._

_Specific definition._ Stems cespitose, articulations bearded; leaves rough glaucous, neck ciliated; panicles, few flowered, female axillary; largest valvet rinervate, and ciliated as well as the awl.

_Latin definition._ Caulibus cespetosis, geniculis barbatis, collo ciliato, foliis scabris glaucis, paniculis paucifloris, femineis axillaribus; valva majore trinerva, aristaque ciliata.

_Description._ Roots, annual fibrous: stems many, unequal, rather procumbent at the base, next assurgent, rising one foot at utmost; they are geniculated, slender, brittle, weak, and smooth. The knees or joints are bearded, the sheaths are split, the neck ciliated, the leaves short, stiff, rough glaucous, linear acute, obscurely striated. The panicles have few flowers, particularly the female ones, which are axillary coarctated almost hidden, while the male are terminal and divaricate: some hermaphrodite flowers are occasionally, but seldom found among both panicles; they are all similar, differing only in the want of stamina or pistils. The valves of the exterior glumes are nearly equal oblong notched obtuse, mutic and oneneroed. The valvules or valves of the glumule (corolla or interior glume) are unequal, the largest is ciliated trinerve bifid, with a soft ciliated awl in the notch, as long as the valve: the small valve is ovate acute concave, very hairy on the back. The colour of the flower is reddish or pale red; but variable.

_Observations._ This plant is probably the _aira purpurea_ of Walter, Pursh, Elliott, &c. but does not belong to that genus. It was found in Carolina, but I have found it on Long-Island, near Gravesend, Bath, Oyster-Bay, &c. on the sandy and gravelly sea-shore: it grows probably in the intermediate states. It blossoms in August and September, has no particular beauty, but a very singular appearance. The specific name of _purpurea_ was improper, since the colour of the flowers is variable from whitish to red.

ART. IX. _Floral Calendar, &c._

_To the Editor of the American Journal of Science, &c._

PLAINFIELD, October 17, 1818.

SIR,

Should the following calendar be thought worthy of a place in your Journal, you will please to insert it. Though very brief, it will show that vegetation is considerably later on the range of mountains, on which this place is situated, than in the level parts of our country.

Yours truly,

J. PORTER.

_Floral Calendar for Plainfield, Massachusetts_, 1818. By JACOB PORTER.

_March 13._ Robins and bluebirds appear.

_April 25._ Claytonia in flower. A considerable part of the ground is covered with snow, which, in many places, is 2 or 3 feet deep.

_April 27._ Observed the claytonia, blue violet, strawberry, and a species of sedge, in blossom, at Worthington.

_May 1._ Hepatica, roundleaved violet, and erythronium in flower.

_May 10._ Chrysosplenium, or golden saxifrage, in flower.

_May 15._ The large trillium, or purple wakerobin, in flower.

_May 18._ Uvularia, or cellwort, and white violet, in flower.

_May 19._ A fall of snow, so that the ground at night was almost covered with it.

_May 22._ The beautiful coptis, or goldthread, in flower.

_May 25._ Ash and beech in flower.

_May 26._ Sugar-maple, viburnum, threeleaved arum, blue violet, small panax, prostrate mitella, fly honeysuckle, white berried gaultheria, and umbelled Solomon's seal, in flower.

_June 17._ Absent, since my last date, on a tour to New-York. Four other specimens of Solomon's seal, trientalis, azalea, 2 species of crowfoot, blue-eyed grass, medeola, moose-bush, and several species of vaccinium, in flower. The small trillium, or smiling wakerobin, sarsaparilla, and dentaria, blossomed during my absence.

_June 22._ Small enothera, 2 species of veronica, and the golden senecio, in flower.

_June 23._ Mountain ash, Norway potentilla, sanicle, and the lovely linnea in flower.

_June 28._ Prunella, and red and white clover, in flower.

_June 29._ Mitchella, in flower.

_June 30._ Yellow diervilla, in flower.

_July 1._ Climbing corydalis, in flower.

_July 4._ The fimbriate archis, and roundleaved pyrola, in flower.

_July 5._ Spiked epilobium, and roundleaved mallows, in flower.

_July 6._ Mullen, in flower.

_July 7._ Small geranium in flower.

_July 8._ Another species of epilobium, in flower.

_August 18._ Frost this morning.

ZOOLOGY.

ART. X. _Notes on Herpetology, by_ THOMAS SAY, _of Philadelphia_.

(Communicated by the Author.)

Although I have not devoted a particular study to this department of the science of nature, yet I have been amused and instructed by casually observing many of the subjects of it, when I have been rambling in their native haunts, pursuing objects more particularly interesting to me.

But when perusing, the other day, the account of the copper-head of our country, by Mr. Rafinesque, I was impelled to ask for information on the subject, through your useful publication, in which that account appeared, and to make, at the same time, a few miscellaneous remarks or notes. These are in part included in the present essay, and if they should have a tendency to incite attention to the reptilia of the United States, at present in a state of confusion and incertitude, some portion of benefit will be rendered to the great cause of science.

I think that a moderate degree of labour and observation bestowed upon the investigation of the species already described, would prove the unity in nature of some species which have been considered as distinct by all the authors, would detect many errors in observation, expose some deceptions practised on credulity by the designing, and would enable us to fix, with some degree of accuracy, our knowledge of truth and of the species.

A work devoted particularly to this class, by some one adequate to the task, who could have in his view all the known species, is indeed a desideratum.

_Scytale cupreus_, Copper-head, &c. of Mr. Rafinesque. I have always considered the Copper-head to be no other than the _Cenchris mockeson_ of authors, and _Boa contortrix of Linn._ v. Latr. Lacep. Shaw, Daudin, &c. _Agkistrodon mokasen_ of Beauvois; which opinion is not a little corroborated by an actual comparison of one of these animals in Peale's Museum, with the descriptions of the authors above mentioned. It may be objected to me, that the _mockeson_ of those naturalists is a _Cenchris_, and not a _Scytale_, therefore generically distinguished from the Copper-head; but on the other hand, we know that the genus _Cenchris_ does not exist in nature, that the individual upon which it was founded, was either a fortuitous variety, or that the illustrious naturalist was deceived by the desiccation of his specimen, giving to the basal caudal plates a bifid aspect. That the former was the case I analogically infer, from having seen, in the collection of the Academy of Natural Sciences, a _Coluber heterodon_, of which the fifth and sixth pairs of caudal scales were entire, and not as usual bifid. An additional corroboration of the truth of this inference is derived from the circumstance of the _Scytale_ of Peale's Museum, having the ten or eleven apical caudal plates bifid, precisely as in the genus _Acanthophis_, to which it seems closely affianced, and to which it would be referred if this character was a permanent one. In every other character this specimen coincides with the _S. mockeson_ of authors, and in every necessary respect with the _S. cupreus_ of Mr. R. with the sole exception of the calcarate termination of the tail. This caudal horn seems to approximate Mr. R's. animal to the _S. piscivorus_ or true horn-snake, about which the credulous have so absurdly alarmed themselves, and which was arranged with the _Crotali_ by Lacepede, in consequence of having a horn on the tail an inch long. We find sometimes a small indurated tip to the tail of _Coluber melanoleucus_,[33] at least upon some full grown specimens, formed by the elongation and appression of the terminal scales; a larger one on that of the European viper, and of the _Acanthophis cerastes_, and _Brownii_. Mr. Peale's specimen certainly has not the horn, but it has at the termination of the tail a scale somewhat longer and more indurated than the others, the individual had not attained his full growth. If then this species (and some others) is subject to vary in the form of its caudal plates, from which the generic characters are in part estimated, may it not also vary in the armature of the tail, which at most can only be considered as specific. The Copper-belly is a very distinct species. If the _S. cupreus_ is, notwithstanding the above observations, considered a distinct species, it would gratify those who cultivate natural history, to have some good discriminative characters of it.

Much has been said and written about antidotes to the venomous bites of snakes, and Mr. Rafinesque enumerates over again several plants which have been said to be, and which he appears to believe to be specifics. If the case was my own, I would be very unwilling to rely upon either of the 20 or 30 medicinal plants, dubiously mentioned by the late Professor Barton, as reputed antidotes for this poison. It would be more prudent to resort unhesitatingly to a more certain remedy, in the ligature, and immediate excision of the part, where such an operation was practicable, or to cauterization, if the part could not be removed by the knife.

In conversation with Professor Cooper upon this subject, he informed me that in his domestic medical practice he applied common chalk to the wounds occasioned by the stings of hymenopterous insects. That in consequence of this mode of treatment, the pain was immediately allayed, and the consequent inflammation and intumescence were prevented. The experiment which led to this result was induced by the supposition that the venomous liquid might be an acid, which opinion was, in some degree, justified by the event.[34] Upon the same neutralizing principle it must be supposed that any alkali would be beneficial. The learned Professor supposed, that the venom of the poisonous reptilia may, in like manner, be an acid secretion, and recommends this to be ascertained by experiments upon the liquid itself.

If this inference proves correct, the same alkaline remedy may be employed to neutralize, or so modified as to stimulate, in case, as is supposed by some, the poison produces upon the system a typhoid action.

An instance however is related in the Trans. Royal Soc. of Lond. of the unsuccessful administration of the vol. alkali in case of the bite of a Rattle-snake; and an intelligent physician of Georgia informed me, that he had applied the same stimulant in vain for the cure of the bites of poisonous snakes, but that being once stung by a Scorpion, he was instantaneously relieved by the topical use of this liquid. He further related to me a cure performed under his observation, by means of the singular antidote, which has often been resorted to in case of snake bites, that of the application of a living domestic fowl or other bird directly to the wound; three fowls were applied in this instance, of which two died in a few minutes, it was supposed, by the poison extracted from the wound. This account, from an observant medical professor, (who may nevertheless have been deceived) acquires some additional title to consideration by a similar event which lately occurred at Schooley's Mountain, New-Jersey. We are informed from a respectable source, that a boy was there bitten by a Copper-head, (Scytale mockeson.)[35] The part was immediately painful, became swollen and inflamed, and the sufferer had every appearance of having received a dangerous wound. A portion of the breast of a fowl was denudated of feathers, and applied to the wound; in a few minutes the fowl died, without having experienced any apparent violence or injurious pressure, from the hand of the applicant, the breast exhibiting a livid appearance. Another living fowl was then laid open by the knife, and the interior of the body placed upon the wound. The wound was subsequently scarified, and variously administered to. The boy however recovered, and his cure was generally attributed, at least in part, to the application of the birds. I am as far as any one from relying implicitly upon this mode of treatment, and would only resort to it when the part bitten could not be extirpated, and when a cautery was not at hand. Yet it must be confessed, that from the numerous attestations to its efficacy we should be almost led to suppose a very strong affinity to exist between the venom and the animal thus applied.

That so numerous a catalogue of plants have gained credit with the uninformed as specifics, will not be surprising, when we know that the reservoir of the venom is very readily exhausted and slowly replenished. When this reservoir is vacated, the reptile is of course innoxious, and the most inert plant would then stand a good chance of gaining reputation with the credulous as a specific.

For a similar reason we have so many cures for the bite of a rabid animal; and it may be for a similar reason that the body of an animal has acquired repute as an antidote, against the venom of a serpent.

_Coluber trivittata_ of Mr. R. p. 80, of this work. Judging from the descriptive name and the locality, is the _C. sirtalis_ of authors, or possibly the _C. saurita_ or _C. ordinatus_. These serpents have each the three vittæ, though in the two former this trait is much more striking. I know of no other serpent in our vicinity to which the name can be characteristically applied. The _ordinatus_ has been called _bipunctatus_ and _ibibe_ by the French school. What is the difference between _sirtalis_ and _saurita_? they must be very closely allied, if not synonymous.

_Coluber getulus_, Lin. This species attains to a more considerable magnitude than authors have stated. I saw a specimen on Cumberland Island, Georgia, at least five feet long. The ground colour, by the direction of light in which I viewed him, was deep glaucous or livid, he was much more robust than _C. Constrictor_.[36] He permitted my near approach, without agitating his tail in the menacing manner of the serpent just mentioned, and of the crotali, or manifesting any signs of fear. In my anxiety to secure him, he eluded my grasp, and by a sudden and rapid exertion, disappeared, with all the rapidity of movement so remarkable in the _constrictor_. This last, from his celerity, is known in many districts by the name of _Racer_.