Recent examinations of prospecting parties, have added largely to the well-known oil-bearing portions of the State. A district some sixty miles in length, on the inner slopes of the Coast mountains, towards the Tulare Valley, has been found to abound in oil springs, or indications of oil. Oil exudes from the surface in large quantities, and collects rapidly in small pits sunk by prospectors. The soil about these pits is very black and saturated with oil. The gases escaping from this soil are inflammable, and many of the prospectors have been startled to see flames spreading over the ground, beyond their camp fires. In digging pits about these springs, large quantities of bones of various kinds have been thrown out, and all are wonderfully well preserved. These bones appear chiefly those of the horse, deer, and elk, though there are many others which I have not been able to recognize. The teeth of the horse, sent to me, are of unusual size, and induce the question, whether they are not of greater antiquity than the present race of horses. I am assured that the variety of bones and teeth of many kinds is very great. The oil found gives an excellent article for lubricating purposes, and must be very similar to the oil found near Zanesville, Ohio, according to the descriptions given of the latter. Note upon the occurrence of Sphene in the Granite of the Sierra Nevada. BY WILLIAM P. BLAKE. Sphene, in small hair-brown or amber-colored crystals, appears to be abundantly distributed in the granite of the Sierra Nevada. It may be found at the sources of the American River, in the exposures of granite about Slippery Ford, and other points, and upon the Mokelumne River, further south. The crystals are seldom more than the thirty second part of an inch in diameter, and are not conspicuous, but may be found in almost any specimen of the rocks. It appears, that this mineral is also of common occurrence in the granite of the British Islands. In a report to the British Association, (1863) upon the composition of the granite of Donegal, it is stated, that the rock contains, almost universally, small crystals of sphene, in some varieties so abundantly, as to induce the authors of the Report to term it “sphene granite.” It is also observed that this mineral has long been known to exist in the granite of parts of Scotland, and in that of Galway. REGULAR MEETING, FEBRUARY 20TH, 1865. Dr. Kellogg in the chair. Ten members present. Discussion as to various matters pertaining to Natural History. REGULAR MEETING, MARCH 6TH, 1865. President in the chair. Twelve members present. William Hillebrand, M. D., of Honolulu, S. I., was elected a corresponding member. Donations to the Cabinet: Dr. Behr, in behalf of Mr. Smith, presented a curiously formed chicken, having four legs.