Chapter XX: Part 1: , 8vo., New Haven, 1866. Memoirs of the Boston Society of Natural (5)

It will be seen that the more recent and deeper developements
in the Copperopolis mines have only served to confirm the
opinion expressed two years ago by the State Geologist (Geol.
Vol. I, p. 225) that “the deposits of copper ore in this
region, like nearly all the others in California, do not
appear to be included in regular fissure veins, but rather to
form _independent masses_ [the italics are mine] lying in the
direction of the strike of the inclosing rocks, and dipping
with them.” It seems, further, that they are here arranged
in some sort _en échelon_. There is no evidence whatever of
the existence here of a regular and continuous vein of copper
ore, stretching for miles through the country, as some have
supposed. (See Ross Browne’s Report, p. 144.)

The finding of “copper indications,” _i.e._, of small and
isolated bodies of ore, distributed with some constancy
through a narrow belt of country, for no matter how many
miles in length, is anything but conclusive evidence of the
existence beneath of a _regular vein_ of corresponding length
(which, by the way, if it existed, would be an anomaly in the
mining world)—especially when all the developments of the
most extensive workings hitherto made point so decidedly and
strongly to the opinion that there is no _true vein_ at all.
Such “indications” are however evidences, so far as they go
(and they go a good way in this direction) of the probable
existence of other large bodies of ore distributed here and
there along the belt in question. It is not improbable that
such may be found in the future, and it would not be strange
even if some of them should surpass in magnitude and value the
great deposit of the “Union,” which has already yielded such
enormous quantities of copper, and is yet far from being worked
out.

A description of the auriferous deposit of Quail Hill, in
the Gopher Range, together with a similar one at Whisky Hill
(called also the “Harpending Mine”) in Placer County, by
Prof. B. Silliman, was read before the California Academy of
Natural Sciences, at their meeting of April 15th, 1867, and
will be found in their published “Proceedings,” Vol. III, pp.
349-351. This paper describes well the particular deposits in
question, as well as the general appearance and character of
the formation in which they occur. Such deposits, however, are
not confined to one or two localities; but there are other
points in Calaveras County at which gold is known to exist in
considerable quantity, and with similar mode of occurrence.
Among these I may mention Quail Hill No. 2, near the Napoleon
Copper Mine, two or three miles southeast of Quail Hill No. 1,
and the “Plymouth Rock,” or “Austin and Hathaway” claim, at
Rich Gulch, near the Calaveras River. Moreover, the geological
causes and the peculiar chemical decomposition of the rock,
which have been involved in the formation of the deposits in
question, are by no means confined to the localities where
gold is known to occur. On the contrary, they may be traced
with considerable constancy through a narrow belt of country
along the southwest flank of the Gopher Hills, and stretching
from the Calaveras River southeast for a distance of at least
fifteen miles, and perhaps farther. Towards the northwest,
the same belt crosses the Calaveras; but how much farther it
extends in this direction I have no present means of knowing.
It is not unlikely that a similar formation may be found to
exist, here and there at least, in the same general line of
strike, nearly parallel with the stratification of the country,
through Amador and El Dorado Counties to Placer, and perhaps
beyond. The possibility of this at least is worth remembering.
Throughout this belt, in the Gopher Range, surface cuts and
shafts, of greater or less depth, made and sunk in prospecting
for copper, are of frequent occurrence. In fact, this is the
same belt that has been so often mentioned as “the second
important copper-bearing belt of Calaveras County,” and located
some six or seven miles southwest of the main copper belt
of Copperopolis. The “importance” of this belt, on account
of the copper ores which it contains, has been most grossly
exaggerated. An amusing illustration of this fact is to be
seen in a “map of the copper mines in Calaveras County,”
published a few years since, which represents the whole region
in question as literally covered for miles with highly colored
“locations” or “copper claims,” the whole of which, with
few exceptions—and these due not to copper but to gold—have
served no further end than that of rendering their locators
and owners sadder and wiser men. At one locality, indeed, viz,
the “Napoleon Mine,” a body of copper ore was found which in
many countries would have been remunerative, and was worked
to a considerable extent; but the working here was attended
only with loss, and was some time since entirely discontinued.
It should be remembered, however, in speaking of the copper
mines of California, that not only have they had to contend
with the general ignorance of copper mining, and especially
of copper metallurgy which has existed throughout the State,
and with extremely high prices for labor and transportation;
but also that, for a year or two past, the largely increased
supply of ore from the mines of Chili in South America, and
elsewhere—together with the diminished demand and consequent
low price for metallic copper, reacting with increased effect
upon the value of the ore—have told with crushing weight
even upon the best mines. There are certainly not more than
one or two, perhaps not even a single deposit of copper ore
in the known world, which surpasses or equals, in magnitude
and intrinsic richness combined, that of the “Union” Mine of
Copperopolis; and yet it is said that even the “Union” itself,
which is the only mine now active at Copperopolis, is hardly
more than paying expenses at present rates. So far then as my
observations extend, there is simply nothing whatever in this
“second copper belt” which can for some time to come justify
the expenditure of money in searching for copper here; though
it is not impossible that, besides the “Napoleon” Mine, other
deposits of ore may exist within the belt, which at some future
time, and under more favorable circumstances of labor, fuel,
and transportation, may become of value for the copper which
they contain.

It has been already remarked that the zone or belt of surface
decomposition in which the “Quail Hill” and other similar mines
occur, may be traced with considerable constancy for at least
fifteen or eighteen miles, and that it is not improbable that
it is much longer than this. We cannot, however, infer from
our present knowledge that the decomposed or “calico” rock is
continuous throughout the belt, or even for any considerable
portion of its length. On the contrary, its distribution
within the belt appears capricious and local, _i.e._, it
seems to occur in more or less detached and isolated masses,
which vary largely in form and size, and are irregular and
indefinite in outline; so that little more can be predicated
of their occurrence in general, than that they are mostly
confined within a comparatively narrow belt, and that their
longest dimension exhibits a general tendency to approximate
parallelism with the axis of the belt, and the stratification
of the inclosing country. Sometimes, as for instance, along the
northeastern side of the Quail Hill formation, this tendency is
so strongly developed, and the passage from the decomposed to
the undecomposed rock is so rapid, as to form for some little
distance a tolerably straight and well defined “wall” or line
of demarcation, parallel, or nearly so, with the stratification
of the country. But the change or passage from the decomposed
or “calico” rock to the surrounding undecomposed country,
though sometimes rapid is always gradual, so far as I have
seen; and though we cannot yet speak much from underground
explorations, the surface appearances throughout the country
would indicate decidedly that so regular a line of demarcation
as this at Quail Hill is the exception, and not the rule.
The southwestern limit of the decomposed mass of Quail Hill
has been found at several points; but here the change from
the decomposed to the undecomposed rock is not so rapid; and
though the explorations here, being shallow and limited, are
insufficient to determine this point with certainty, it is
not probable that any such regularity of demarcation exists
here as upon the opposite side. Most of the “calico rock”
of this belt still retains distinctly the structure of the
undecomposed rock from which it was formed. The crystalline
hornblendic rock is thus seen to have been largely altered by
the decomposing agency, and even the hornstone, which lay in
its track, seems to have been more or less affected by it. The
decomposition has been purely an oxidation, accompanied by such
mechanical and chemical changes as filtering mineral waters
might produce. It is probably superficial, both in origin and
character, extending to no great depth, although the main level
at Quail Hill is nearly one hundred and twenty feet beneath the
summit of the hill, and the decomposition of most of the rock
at this depth, so far as exploration has gone, is as perfect
as at any higher level. It is certainly long subsequent in
date to the metamorphism of the surrounding country, and is
unquestionably largely due to the action of the products of the
oxidation of metallic sulphurets (chiefly those of iron and
copper) which were originally distributed through the rock. At
the same time it is not easy to account for the whole of it
in this way alone, since at certain localities undecomposed
sulphurets are seen near the surface, and in rock which is
apparently much more permeable to atmospheric influences than
was much of that which has been more deeply decomposed; and
again, much of the decomposed rock, though retaining well its
original structure, shows far too little traces of sulphurets
to readily account for so general and thorough a decomposition
as has taken place. It is all indeed more or less colored by
oxide of iron, but much of it is not deeply colored, and the
undecomposed hornblendic rock itself, in the absence of all
sulphurets, contains sufficient iron in the state of protoxide
to impart a strong coloring when the rock is decomposed and
the iron passes to the state of sesquioxide. Much of the iron
originally present has undoubtedly been removed in a soluble
form, as sulphate, etc. But in rock which preserves its
original structure, as well as most of this does, pyrites, if
originally present, would have left traces of its existence in
the form of casts or cavities in the decomposed mass, which
might or might not have been filled with ferric oxide or other
matter. In certain localities the decomposed rock is in fact
filled with such cavities, often cubical in form, attesting the
former presence of large quantities of disseminated sulphurets.
But in other localities they are few and far between, and here
accordingly the decomposition can hardly be supposed to have
been due to the local presence of sulphurets alone.

The exact methods by which the general and local decomposition
has been effected, and those by which the rock was originally
impregnated with metallic ores—as well as the manner in which
certain substances, as barytes, now found as sulphate, and
true porphyry, now found as kaoline or lithomarge, have found
their present situation in the belt in question—all these would
possess both interest and importance in a high degree, could
they be more definitely known. Such questions, however, cannot
be answered with certainty, and their discussion here would
lead us too far into the doubtful realm of chemical geology.

But whatever may have been the agencies at work, it is evident
that there is nothing in all this to remind us of a true vein
formation. It appears that the zone in question is neither a
vein, nor generally speaking a system of veins. On the other
hand, it possesses emphatically in general the characteristics
of what the Germans style an impregnation—an impregnation
indeed which exhibits a certain regularity as being mostly
confined within a narrow zone, and stretching through a
considerable extent of country, but which within these limits
shows the greatest irregularity of form, and much variety of
character. Veins of quartz occur here and there within the
belt; but they are not more frequent here than elsewhere, and
their occurrence has probably little or no direct connection
with the peculiar character of the belt itself. There is
very little that deserves the name of quartz at Quail Hill,
though much of the surface rock is pretty highly silicious in
character.

The impregnation of the rock with metallic sulphurets,
particularly with sulphurets containing copper, has in certain
localities been sufficiently powerful and concentrated to
assume, in greater or less degree, the characteristics of
segregated veins of limited extent. This has been the case
at the Napoleon mine, and also at Quail Hill, where there
is, or was, a band of oxidized ores of copper traversing the
decomposed rock in a direction parallel with the general
stratification. This band consisted chiefly of the green and
blue carbonates of copper, mingled with ferruginous and earthy
matter, and accompanied by barytes. The last named mineral, so
common a veinstone in other parts of the world, but hitherto
so rare in California, occurs here in considerable quantity.
Its form is granular compact, sometimes quite pure, but usually
contaminated and intermingled with other matters. Crystallized
specimens of it have not been found here to my knowledge. It is
hardly probable that the barytes itself contains either gold
or silver; yet it certainly occurs here in the most intimate
contact with both, as I have seen respectable particles of
gold in place upon the immediate surface of compact specimens
of barytes—and a sample of heavy concentrated barytic sand
from the tailings of the mill, of sufficient fineness to pass
through a sieve of one hundred holes to the linear inch,
yielded to the assay over eleven dollars per ton in gold and
silver.

The thickness of the copper band varied from one to three or
four feet. Its outlines were indefinite, and its original
characteristics of form, etc., much obscured by the complete
decomposition both of itself and the surrounding rock. It was
without doubt originally a segregated mass of sulphurets;
and though it seems now to have nearly or quite run out and
disappeared, it may be found to come in again as such, in
depth, unaltered below the line of surface decomposition.

Other bands of similar character may perhaps exist in the
yet undeveloped portions of the mine. But the great mass
of decomposed material which forms Quail Hill as a whole,
retaining as it does to so great an extent the original
structure of the country rock from which it was formed, can in
no proper sense be called a vein; although its extent, when
considered as a repository of the precious metals, is something
far transcending the size of ordinary veins.

The gold and silver of these formations which have recently
attracted so much attention, and have become the object
of extensive mining operations at Quail Hill, seem to be
distributed at the latter place, to a greater or less extent,
throughout the whole mass of the decomposed rock. The surface
earth of the hill, also, everywhere contains gold, which may be
discovered by washing it in the pan; but this ceases to be the
case on the hillsides as soon as the limits of the decomposed
rock are passed. Some of the gold, as stated by Prof. Silliman
in his communication to the California Academy, already
referred to, is quite coarse; but much of it is exceedingly
fine and difficult to save in the mill. It is a noticeable
fact in the distribution of the precious metals at Quail Hill,
that the cupreous ores and the material in their vicinity have
hitherto been found to be always rich in gold and silver, and
to contain chiefly, if not exclusively, the coarsest gold.

The distribution of the gold at Quail Hill is not uniform, the
more slaty and ferruginous portion of the decomposed rock being
generally the richest in ore, while the compact porphyritic
kaoline contains but traces of gold, if any, and some of the
other and more compact rock is comparatively poor. The original
distribution of the sulphurets here seems also to have followed
approximately the same law—the kaoline containing in general
but little trace of their existence, while the more slaty rock
is often full of their cavities. Hematite, as well as the
hydrated sesquioxide of iron, occurs here in small quantities;
and a curious point in this connection is the fact that, while
much of the best ore is very highly charged with the hydrated
sesquioxide, the hematite has been found hitherto to contain
little or no gold. The origin of the decomposed porphyry
at Quail Hill is a point of much interest, and it may be a
question whether it is not the remnant of an intrusive igneous
dyke. The arguments in favor of this supposition consist in
the entire dissimilarity in character and structure between
it and the surrounding material, as well as in the rarity of
porphyry in the region round about. In fact, I have nowhere
else in this portion of the country seen anything deserving of
the name, while the whole texture and appearance of this mass
at Quail Hill are precisely such as would have resulted from
the decomposition in place of a true feldspathic porphyry.
But however strongly these facts may seem to argue in favor
of an igneous origin, it is not easy to reconcile such a
supposition with its mode of occurrence here. Other masses of
similar character may exist within the hill; but so far as
existing developments have cut or uncovered the one of which
I speak, the indications are that it is irregular in outline,
quite limited in extent, and of approximate lenticular shape.
Moreover, in certain places, it seems to pass gradually
into the eastern country rock, without any distinct line of
demarcation, the change in the texture of the rock being
even more gradual than the passage from the decomposed to
undecomposed material. At certain points, but a few feet from
the eastern “wall,” the kaoline is as perfectly porphyritic in
its texture and appearance as in any portion of the mass, while
between the two is every grade of passage from the one to the
other—the country rock being neither distinctly porphyritic in
texture, nor chiefly feldspathic in composition. I am strongly
inclined to think, therefore, in spite of its peculiar and
distinctive character, that this porphyritic mass is but a
local result of the metamorphism of sedimentary strata, which,
in many portions of this region, seems to have been as varied
in character as it has been high in degree.

The degradation of such formations as this at Quail Hill, has
undoubtedly furnished some of the placer gold of the region;
but the evidence does not by any means justify us in supposing
that it has furnished the whole of it. Gopher Gulch, which runs
at the foot of Quail Hill, and its branches, for a mile above
this point, or nearly to the summit of the Gopher Range, and
hundreds of feet above the level of the Quail Hill formation,
were in early days rich in placer gold, much of which was very
coarse. Other gulches in the vicinity have also furnished more
or less gold high up towards the summit of the range. Moreover,
the quartz veins, which here and there occur in the hard
metamorphic rock, are known, some of them at least, to contain
gold, and such have probably played their part in the formation
of the placers.

I have already mentioned the fact of the prominent association
of the precious metals with ores of copper at the Quail Hill
mine; but this fact derives still further interest from what
follows. As far as my observations have extended in Calaveras
County, and also at Whisky Hill, in Placer County, wherever
gold and silver have yet been found in paying quantities in the
decomposed rock formation, there also, or close at hand, are
found the oxidized ores of copper, carbonates and silicates;
and conversely, I have nowhere seen oxidized ores of copper
in this decomposed rock which were not, comparatively at
least, rich in gold and silver. It is true that sufficient
developments have not yet been made to enable us to state
whether this is the general fact or not. It is possible
that the association of these ores may be to a certain
extent accidental; but it is not unlikely that it may be
otherwise;—and at all events this is a point well worthy of
attention and further investigation.

As this finishes my remarks upon the “calico rock” formation. I
will close by simply mentioning a point relating to the lower
country of Calaveras County, that I have not yet seen publicly
noticed elsewhere. The low, rolling hills which form the
eastern border of the San Joaquin plain between the Stanislaus
and Calaveras Rivers, contain extensive beds of horizontally
stratified material, which is probably sedimentary-volcanic
in origin. The color of these beds is usually varying shades
of gray. They contain no pebbles, so far as I have seen; they
generally crumble easily, and resemble in appearance a friable
sandstone. But their grain or grit, which is pretty fine, is
also quite clean and sharp as well as hard, and rough-polishes
rapidly the hardest steel when rubbed upon it.

These beds are of considerable thickness, and cover many square
miles of country. Their stratification has evidently not been
disturbed since they were deposited, though they have been
largely eroded. The frequent flat tops of the hills, and the
level benches, which these beds have produced along their
sides, by irregularities of wear, impart a peculiar aspect to
the scenery.

Professor Silliman read the following:

On the Occurrence of Glauberite at Borax Lake, California.

BY B. SILLIMAN.

Glauberite, a species not before recognised as occurring in
North America occurs at Borax Lake, where it has lately been
obtained in blue clay, brought up from a depth of forty feet by
an artesian boring. No other crystallized, species was detected
in the masses of clay examined.

Glauberite is a sulphate of lime and soda, half an atom of
each base in combination with an atom of sulphuric acid. It
is usually associated with rock salt, as at Villa Rubia, in
New Castile, and also at Ausee, in Bavaria, and in the salt
mines of Vic, in France. In the Atacama desert in Peru, it is
associated with a fibrous borate of lime called Hagesine. Mr.
Stretch, the State Mineralogist of Nevada, in his catalogue
of minerals found in that State, mentions borate of lime
(Hagesine) as occurring in globular masses and in layers from
two to five inches thick, alternating with layers of salt in a
salt marsh in the Columbus mining District, Esmeralda County.
It is quite possible that a careful scrutiny would detect
glauberite also in this association so analagous to that of
Atacama.

Reference was also made to the occurrence of the species
laghassite detected by Prof. S. in 1864, at the little Salt
Lake near Rag Town in Nevada, as illustrating in an interesting
manner, the chemistry of these bodies of saline water. The
latter species is a hydrous, carbonate of lime and sodium,
while glauberite is a sulphate of the same bases. Both salts
undoubtedly result from the reaction of the respective elements
pre-existing in solution in the saline waters.

The crystals of glauberite from Borax Lake occur in very thin
flattened tables, derived apparently from the great extension
of the faces _O_ of the Monactinic prism.

Mr Bloomer read the following:

On the Scientific Name of the “Big Trees.”

BY H. G. BLOOMER, CURATOR OF BOTANY.

Early in 1853, specimens of the “Big Trees” were presented
to this Academy; Dr. Kellogg and other botanists, members of
the Academy, at once pronounced them to belong to the genus
_Taxodium_, to which the common “Redwood” of California was
referred at that time. Endlicher’s work upon the Coniferæ, in
which the genus _Sequoia_ (named after an Indian Chief) was
instituted, had not at that time reached us. Our California
Redwood, _Taxodium sempervirens_ was included in the new genus
of Endlicher. So then, the true scientific position of the
Big Trees was first determined by members of the California
Academy of Natural Sciences. At the time of the presentation
of these specimens, an English collector of plants and seeds,
Mr. William Lobb, saw them, and having experience enough to
know that they belonged to a species new to the gardeners,
immediately started for the grove and obtained cones, wood
and foliage, which he carried with him to England in the fall
of 1853. Dr. Lindley hastily described these as _Wellingtonia
gigantea_ in the _Gardener’s Chronicle_ for December 1853.

In the meantime Drs. Kellogg and Behr pursued their studies of
the great tree, and at length being convinced that there was no
generic difference between it and the _Taxodium sempervirens_
(now _Sequoia sempervirens_) instituted the species _Taxodium
giganteum_, described in the Proceedings of the Cal. Acad. Nat.
Sciences, May 7th, 1855, Vol. I, page 53.

Previous to this, however, Seemann, in Bonplandia, 3, p. 27,
January 15th, 1855, described it under the term of _Sequoia
Wellingtonia_. Mr. Seemann gives his reasons at length in the
Magazine of Natural History, 3d Series, Vol. 3, p. 164, for
discarding the genus _Wellingtonia_ of Lindley, and says:
“Dr. Torrey was undoubtedly the first who determined the true
systematic position of the tree.” Now this is an error, for Dr.
Torrey’s publication is dated in August, 1855; whereas Drs.
Kellogg and Behr’s appeared May 7th, 1855.

The principal thing to be determined in this matter now is, as
to the name and author, for these must accompany each other;
shall it be:

_Sequoia gigantea_ Endlicher, May, 1847;
_Wellingtonia gigantea_ Lindley, December, 1853;
_Sequoia Wellingtonia_ Seemann, January 15th, 1855;
_Taxodium giganteum_ Kellogg and Behr, May 7th, 1855; or
_Sequoia gigantea_ Torrey, August, 1855?

There are a number of other names made use of and referred to
by Seemann, Murray and others; but as they come to us without
the least scientific authority, they ought not to be considered.

Dr. Lindley’s genus falls to the ground almost by common
consent. I will refer here to a communication from Prof.
Brewer, late of the geological survey of this State. Before he
left San Francisco, he sent Dr. W. J. Hooker one of the large
photographs of the “Grizzly Giant,” one of the big trees in the
Mariposa grove; he had written to Prof. Brewer, asking about
“the Wellingtonia, Washingtonia, I care not what you call it.”
In Prof. Brewer’s answer, he told him that he (the Prof.) did
care what he called it, and also that it was not a new genus,
but a _Sequoia_. Dr. Hooker, in his answer to this, says: “I
heartily agree with you in all you say about the big tree; it
has now produced good fruit in our gardens, and is as true a
_Sequoia_ as can be, and should have no other name.” So here we
have high authority for discarding Lindley’s _Wellingtonia_.
Yet this only settles the question as to the generic term; Dr.
Hooker’s opinion thus far has only given us _Sequoia_.

The next claimant in point of priority is Dr. Seemann, who
rightly refers it to _Sequoia_, and adds the specific term
_Wellingtonia_, giving sufficient reasons for discarding
Endlicher’s specific term _gigantea_, as that was shown by
Hooker to be founded upon _Abies_ (Picea) _bracteata_.

In recent publications of American botanists, we find the term
_Sequoia gigantea_ of Torrey used to designate the species;
to show that this is not the true nomenclature, I need but
to say that Dr. Torrey never described it at all in any book
or proceedings. The reference is to the American Journal of
Science and Art, Vol. 18, p. 286, August, 1855, where it
says: “Dr. Torrey made to the American Association for the
Advancement of Science a communication in reference to the Big
Tree of California;” also Vol. 17, p. 443, but no description.
Now here is no sufficient ground for Dr. Torrey’s _Sequoia
gigantea_, for there is absolutely no description at all,
but a mere reference; and this reference is published three
months after Drs. Kellogg and Behr have described the tree as
_Taxodium giganteum_.

I think now that Endlicher’s, Lindley’s, and Torrey’s claims
have been refuted; the controversy is narrowed down as between
Seemann and Drs. Kellogg and Behr. By strict usage, and without
the usual courtesy of scientific men, the nomenclature of
the “Big Tree” should be _Sequoia Wellingtonia_ of Seemann.
But if courtesy is to be shown at all, it should be to those
students who are entitled to it; that Drs. Kellogg and Behr are
justly entitled to this honor, I cannot for one moment doubt.
Specimens of this gigantic tree were in their possession many
months before any other botanist had directed his attention to
the subject; studying indeed under every disadvantage, for our
botanical literature at that time was very meagre, not even
Endlicher’s work on the Coniferæ, in which was to be found the
then newly instituted _Sequoia_, to which was referred our
common _Taxodium sempervirens_ of Lambert, being available.
Had they access to this work they would have given us _Sequoia
gigantea_; mark, that this was three months before Torrey’s
reference.

They therefore are in truth and reality, if not technically,
the first scientific discoverers of the true position of the
great tree. The terms they used were _Taxodium giganteum_,
meaning by this that it was a congener with _Taxodium
sempervirens_, which it was.

If Seemann’s technical claims are set aside, then by courtesy
_Sequoia gigantea_ Kellogg and Behr, ought to be written as the
true name of the “Big Tree.”

For the advancement of science, we hope the final closing of
this and other questions pertaining to the Coniferæ of this
coast will be left to the able monographer of this order, Dr.
George Engelmann, of St. Louis, who is now in Europe, having
the notes and observations of recent botanists, and who will
there have access to all the literature and material necessary
to establish scientific accuracy and unity in this important
family of plants.

INDEX OF AUTHORS.—1863-1868.

AYRES, DR. W. O.—Remarks on Notorhynchus, etc., 15
On the Sacred Turtle of Japan, 16

BEHR, DR. H.—On Californian Lepidoptera, 84, 123, 163, 178, 279, 296

BLAKE, DR. J.—Infusoria from the moving sands near San Francisco, 35
On the Gradual Elevation of the Land in the vicinity of San
Francisco, 45
On Fœtus of Embiotocoid Fishes, 314, 371

BLAKE, PROF. W. P.—Gold from American River, 166
Fossils from Mare Island, 166
Fossils from Oregon Bar, 167
Fossils from Mariposa, 170
Oil Regions of Tulare Valley, 193
Sphene in the Sierra Nevada, 193
Iron Ore in Northern Arizona, 206
Gum of Sequoia gigantea, 234
Ammonites in Mariposa County, 235
Miscellaneous Notices, 289
Mineralogical Notices, 297
Fossil Fish from Nevada, 306
Fossil Saurians of California, 307, 361
Fossil Elephants Teeth, 325
Submerged Forests of Oregon, 339
Brown Coal of Oregon, 347
Analysis of Mt. Diablo Coal, 348

BLOOMER, H. G.—On the scientific names of the Big Trees, 399

BOLANDER, PROF. H. N.—Description of a new species of Melica, 4
Shrubs and Trees growing near San Francisco, 78, 296
Grasses of Arizona, 205
Remarks on Californian Trees, 225, 377
Botanical Collections of Prof. A. Wood, in 1866, 329

BREWER, PROF. W. H.—Plants growing in Hot Springs of California, 121
Explorations in Sierra Nevada, 170
Fossils of the Auriferous Slates, 198

BRUSH, PROF. G. J.—Analysis of Meteoric Iron from Arizona, 30

CANFIELD, DR. C. A.—Notes on Antilocapra Americana, 238

CARLETON, GEN. J. H.—On Meteoric Iron from Arizona, 33

CARPENTER, DR. P. P.—New Marine Shells of California, 155, 175, 207

CLAYTON, J. E.—Fossils from Nevada, 171

COOPER, DR. J. G.—On New or Rare Mollusca inhabiting California, 56
On a New Genus of Terrestrial Mollusca inhabiting California, 62
On New Genera and Species of Californian Fishes, 70, 93, 108
A New Californian Helix, etc., 259
A New Species of Pedipes, 294
West Coast Helicoid Land Shells, 331

CROFT, C. J.—The Grasses of Arizona, 205

DALL, W. H.—Memorial of T. Bridges, 236
Notes on Octopus punctatus, 243
Notes on Shells of Santa Cruz, etc., 258
New Subfamily of Mollusca, 264
On Shells of Monterey, 271
On Errors in Geography of California, 273
Letter from Alaska, 367

DANA, PROF. J. D.—On Crystallization of Brushite, 174

GABB, W. M.—A New Species of Virgularia from the Coast of
California, 120
Cretaceous Fossils from Sonora, Mexico, 153
Fossils from Mariposa, 172
Fossils from San Luis Obispo, 173
New Marine Shells from Coast of California, 182
Cretaceous Formation of California, 301
Geology of Peru, 359

GARRETT, ANDREW.—Descriptions of New Species of Fishes, 63, 103

GIBBONS, DR. H.—On Rains at San Francisco, 261

GOODYEAR, W. A.—On Salt Spring Valley, Calaveras County, 387

GRAY, PROF. ASA.—Descriptions of new Californian Plants, 101

HOFFMAN, C. F.—On Hetch-Hetchy Valley, 368

JACKSON, DR. C. T.—The Big Trees of Calaveras County, 204

KELLOGG, A., M.D.—Description of two New Species of Plants from
Nevada, 9
On two New Species of Collomia from Nevada Territory, 17
A New Genus and Species of Plant from Nev. Territory,
(Pterostephanus), 20
Descriptions of two New Plants, (Conyza, Collinsia.), 36
A New Species of Hosackia, 38
A New Species of Mentzelia, 40
Description of three New Plants, 42
A New Species of Allium, 54
A New Species of Alsine, 61
Thaspium cordatum and Epilobium obcordatum, 314

MOORE, G. E.—On Brushite, 167

NEWCOMB, DR. W.—New Species of Helix inhabiting California, 115
A New Species of Pedicularia, 121
New Species of Land Shells, 179

PEASE, W. H.—On an Atoll near the coast of Mexico, 200

PREISS, MAJ. E.—On Euphorbia prostrata as a remedy for Snake-Bites, 195

RAIMONDI, DON A.—On Geology of Peru, 359

RÉMOND, A.—Description of two New Species of Bivalve Shells from the
Tertiaries of Contra Costa County, 13
Description of two Species of Scutella, 13
Four New Species of fossil Echinodermata, 52
Geological Explorations in Mexico, 244

RICHTHOFEN, BARON F.—On Natural System of Volcanic Rocks, 356

ROWELL, REV. J.—Description of Gundlachia Californica, 21
On Pisidium angelicum, 353

SCUDDER, S. H.—Letter concerning Californian Butterflies, 47

SHARKEY, DR. J. M.—On fibrous Plants of Nicaragua, 401

SILLIMAN, PROF. B.—Gold and Silver of Whisky and Quail Hills, 349
Localities of Diamonds in California, 354
Localities of Tellurids in California, 378
Glauberite at Borax Lake, 399

STEARNS, R. E. C.—Shells of Baulines Bay, 275
Shells of Santa Barbara and San Diego, 283
Obituary of R. Kennicott, 298
Vitality of a Snail, 328
On Orthagoriscus analis, 341
On Helix Ayresiana, 341
Shells of Santa Barbara, etc., 343
Shells of Purissima, and Lobitas, 345
On Exhibition of Parhelia, 353
Shells of Bodega Bay, 382
Shells of Alaska, 384

TRASK, DR. J. B.—Earthquakes in California during 1863, 1864, 127
Earthquakes in California from 1800 to 1864, 131
Earthquakes in California during 1864, 190
Earthquakes in California during 1865, 239

WHITNEY, PROF. J. D.—On the inaccuracy of the Eighth Census, so far as
it relates to the Metallic and Mineral Statistics of the United
States, 6
Remarks on Japanese Minerals and Fossils, 15
On the Progress of the Geological Survey of California, 23
Analysis of Meteoric Iron, (Brush), 30, 34
On Meteoric Iron from Arizona, 48, 240
On Meteorites of Pacific Coast, 240
On Rémond’s Explorations in Northern Mexico, 243
On Geology of Nevada, 266
On Absence of Drift in California, 271
Human Skull from Calaveras County, 277
Tungstate of Lime and Copper, 287
Silurian Series of Nevada, 307
Tertiary Fossils of Nevada, 309
Triassic Fossils of Chili, 311
Liassic Fossils of Chili, 311
Tertiary Fossils of Chili, 311
Cretaceous Fossils of Chili, 311
Infusorial Deposits, 319
The Highest Mountain of North America, 325
On Coal of Webber Cañon, 341
On Salt from Muddy River, 341
On Ores from Comstock Lode, 342
On Geological Position of Coal, 356
On Fossil Tooth from Douglas Flat, 356
On Oreodon Jaw, 363
On Visit to Oregon, etc., 363
On Ores from Nevada and Mexico, 372
On Minerals of Pacific Coast, 372, 374
On Depression of Death Valley, 129, 376
On Maps of California, 386

WILLIAMSON, COL. R. S.—On the Height of Mount Hood, 364
On Depression of Death Valley, 129, 376

WILSON, JOHN.—Indian Relics from Chihuahua, 160

WOOD, PROF. A.—Ascent of Mount Hood, 292
Botanical Collections, 329

GENERAL INDEX.

PAGE.

Abies, 232

Acanthochites, 211

Acanthopleura, 211

Achatinella, 182

Acmæa, 213, 300

Æolis, 59

Allium, 54

Alsine, 61

Altitude of Sacramento, 386

American Satyrides, 165

Amiantis callosa, 286

Ammonites, 235, 289

Amphissa, 286

Amphithalamus, 218

Amycla, 159, 223

Anachis, 223

Analysis of Coal, 348

” of Salt, 348

” of Ores, 342

Angel Island, 348, 353

Antilocapra, 238

Antimoniate of Lead, 372

Aplodontia, 224

Aplopappus, 9

Aplysia, 57

Apocynum, 352

Apogon, 105

Arbutus, 232

Arenaria, 101

Argynnis, 84

Aristida, 205

Ascent of Mt. Hood, 292, 364

Aspidium, 129

Astarte, 209

Astragalus, 103

Astringent Gum, 234

Astrodapsis, 52

Astrophyton, 300

Ayresia, 73

Barometers, 327

Baulines Bay Shells, 275, 291

Bdellostoma, 295, 331

Belemnites, 173

Big Trees, 399

Binneya, 62

Botanical Collections, 329

Brown Coal, 347

Brushite, 167

Buccinum, 385

Calandrinia, 102

Calliostoma, 156, 186, 214

Cancellaria, 186

Carcharodon, 174

Cardium, 13, 154, 209

Carex, 38

Castanea, 231

Catalogue of Mosses, 386

Census, Eighth, 6

Ceratites, 167

Chætodon, 65

Cheilodactylus, 103

Chemnitzia, 154, 220

Chionobas, 163

Chironectes, 64, 107

Chioræra, 60

Chlorostoma, 286

Chromis, 160

Chrysallida, 219

Cinnabar, 298

Circe, 189

Clathurella, 184

Clypeaster, 53

Coal, Geology of, 356

” of Arizona, 122

” of Mexico, 251

” of Mt. Diablo, 348

” of Oregon, 347

” of Utah, 341

Cœcum, 215

Cœnonympha, 164

Collinsia, 36

Collomia, 17

Collonia, 175

Comstock Lode, 342

Conus, 174, 286

Conyza, 36

Cooperella, 208

Copper Glance, 297

Corbula, 207

Crenilabrus, 106

Crepidula, 385

Cretaceous Formation, 301

Crustacea, 313

Cupressus, 228

Curator’s Reports, 2, 99, 235, 237, 312

Cysticerci, 386

Cythna, 219

Danais, 84

Danaite, 297

Daphnella, 185

Dekaya, 70

Delphinula, 175

Dendronotus, 59

Depression of Death Valley, 129, 376

Diala, 218

Diamonds in California, 354

Diatomaceæ, 258, 320

Doris, 58, 346

Dosinia, 174

Drift Formation, 271

Earthquakes in China, 278

” in California, 127, 131, 190, 239

Echinarachnius, 53

Echinoderms, fossil, 52

Eighth Census, 6

Elephant’s Teeth, 325

Elevation of Land, 45

Emarginula, 188

Embiotocoids, 314, 371

Eocene formation, 301

Epilobium, 314

Esquimaux, 202

Ethalia, 215

Eulima, 221

Euphorbia, 195, 367

European Satyrides, 165

Excursion in Field, 348, 352

Exocœtus, 93

Exogyra, 154

Exploration of Alaska, 367, 377

Explosions under ground, 364

Family Limnæidæ, 264

Fenella, 217

Fibrous plants, 401

Field Excursions, 348, 352

Flabellina, 60

Fœtus of Fishes, 314

Fossils of Alaska, 367

” cretaceous, 301

” Elephant, 166, 171, 290, 325, 367

” Horse, 166, 171

” canine Tooth, 356

” Delphinidæ, 361

” in Gold Formations, 289

” from Mexico, 247, 249, 250, 252

” from Nevada, 266

” skull, 277, 291

” fish, 306

” bones, 307

” Saurians, 307

” Silurian, 307

” tertiary, 307

Fungi as Food, etc., 292

Gadinia, 188

Galerus, 215

Gastridium, 67

Geological Survey, 23, 170

Geology of Coal, 356

” of Mexico, 243

Geology of Peru, 359

Gibbonsia, 109

Gibbula, 158, 176, 214

Gillichthys, 109

Glaciers in Arizona, 162

Glauberite, 399

Globulus, 176

Gold of Whisky Hill, 349

” Quail Hill, 349

Grapta, 123

Gundlachia, 21

Hagesine, 399

Haliotis, 300, 361

Height of Mt. Hood, 294, 326, 363, 364

” Sacramento, 386

” Mountains, 326

Helices of Santa Cruz, 258, 260

Helicoid Land Shells, 331

Helix, 115, 179, 225, 258, 291, 328, 334, 384

Hepburn’s Shells, 283

Hetch-hetchy Valley, 368

Hosackia, 38

Hybrid Ducks, 324

” Haliotis, 361

Indian Hemp, 352

Infusoria, 35, 319

Iron Ore in Arizona, 206

Isapis, 217

Ischnochiton, 211

Jeffreysia, 209

Julis, 63

Junonia, 126

Kelloggia, 202

Kerargyrite, 297

Lagomys, 69

Land Shells of California, 331

Leda, 210

Leersia, 67

Leiostraca, 221

Lepidopleurus, 211

Lepton, 210

Leptonyx, 175, 286

Leptochiton, 212

Leptothyra, 286

Libocedrus, 228

Lilium, 202

Lima, 173

Limenitis, 127

Limnæidæ, 264

Linum, 42, 102

Lioconcha, 189

Liotia, 158

Litiopa, 219

Lycæna, 279

Macadamizing Rock, 327

Macoma, 208

Mangelia, 185, 383

Margarita, 158

Margaritana, 258

Mariposite, 380

Mastodon teeth, 291

Melica, 4

Melissa and Meridion, 258

Melitæa, 85

Mentzelia, 40

Mesalia, 216

Meteoric iron, 21, 30, 48

Meteoric shower, 300

Meteorites, 240

Mexican Cotton, 17, 19

Minerals of California, 372, 374

” Whisky Hill, 351

Mining, Ancient, 358, 362

Minolia, 157

Mirabilis, 10, 68

Mispickel, 8, 297

Monterey Shells, 271

Mopalia, 385

Morains in Arizona, 162

Mount Hood, 292, 326, 364

Mountain Barometers, 327

Muhlenbergia, 205

Murex, 185, 224

Myxodes, 108

Nacella, 213

Nassa, 223

Natica, 174

Native Copper, 297

Navarchus, 8, 58

Navea, 300, 346

Neaplysia, 57

Neithea, 154

Nemeobius, 178

Nereocystes, 324

Newcomb’s collection, 343

Northern drift, 271

Nostoc, 120

Notorhynchus, 15

Octopus, 243

Oenothera, 198

Officers elected, 3, 100, 177, 235, 312

Oil regions, 193

Opalia, 222

Ophisurus, 66, 98

Orcynus, 75

Ores from Nevada, 372

Orthagoriscus, 341

Ostrea, 13

Ovibos, 367

Oxide of Antimony, 372

Pachydesma, 286

Pallium, 174

Panicum, 121, 206

Parhelia, 353

Paspalum, 67

Peat Beds, 325

Pecten, 174

Pedicularia, 121

Pedipes, 294

Pentachæta, 197

Peru, Geology of, 359

Petricola, 310

Phaca, 103

Phidania, 60

Pholadidea, 310

Pholadomya, 173

Picea, 377, 401

Pinus, 204, 226, 296, 317, 353, 358, 370

Planorbis, 119

Pleuraphis, 205

Pleurotoma, 183

Plectodon, 207

Poa, 206

Polyporus, 292

Pomaulax, 286

Pompholyx, 264

Porites, 4

Pristiphora, 210

Proustite, 297

Psephis, 209

Pteroplatea, 112

Pterostephanus, 21

Ptychostylis, 187

Pulmonifera, 334

Puncturella, 214

Purpura, 4, 286

Pyrameis, 125

Quail Hill Minerals, 349

Quercus, 229, 296, 299, 370

Rains of San Francisco, 261

Red Crustaceans, 313

Rissoa, 217

Rissoina, 217

Rowellia, 188

Salt from Muddy River, 341

Salt Spring Valley, 387

Sarcodes, 202

Saturnia, 296

Satyrus, 164

Saxidomus, 174, 286

Scalaria, 221

Schinus, 273

Scintilla, 208

Scorpæna, 105

Scurria, 241

Scutella, 13

Semele, 208

Sequoia, 170, 204, 288, 363, 399

Sharks’ Teeth, 290

Shells of Alaska, 384

” of Baulines Bay, 275, 291

” of Bodega Bay, 382

” of California, 334, 361

” of Monterey, 271

” of Purissima, 345

” of S. Cruz I., 345

” of Sta. Barbara, 283, 343

” of San Diego, 283

” of land of West Coast, 334

Sierra Nevada Peaks, 170

Silene Dorrii, 44

Silkworms, 296

Silver leaf, 330

Silybum, 125

Skull from Calaveras, 277

Snail’s vitality, 328

Solariella, 156

Sphene in Granite, 193

Sphyræna, 203

Strategus, 8

Streptanthus, 101

Styliferina, 219

Submerged Forests, 339

Subterranean Explosions, 364

Succinea, 181

Surcula, 286

Taxodium, 399

Taxus, 229

Tellimya, 210

Tellurian Minerals, 378

Teredo, 11

Terrestrial Molluscs, 334

Thaspium, 314

Torreya, 229

Trachydermon, 212, 383

Tricuspis, 206

Trifolium, 102

Trigonia, 154

Triopa, 59

Trochiscus, 258, 275

Trophon, 224

Tsuga, 232

Tungstate of Silver and Copper, 287

Turbinolia, 154, 158

Turbo, 175

Turbonilla, 186

Turritella, 154, 174, 216

Twelve Mile House, 352

Urolophus, 95

Vitality of a Snail, 328

Vitis, 233

Vitrina, 334, 384

Volcanoes, Active, 368

Volutharpa, 385

Vanessa, 123

Viola, 101

Virgularia, 120

Washingtonia, 399

Wellingtonia, 399

West Coast Helicoids, 331

Whisky Hill Minerals, 351

Wood’s Collections, 329

Xylotrya, 11

Yoldia, 189

Zirphæa, 299

Zua, 384