i , | s % ao ge este Nene ee. Vig e Ba foresee @) if itr Sey, il \! se as “ Soa iae @) ine Hi 3 I y th | | i m Ws Hy Nati Spies, OY, 7 is Ba * a - Cle eee tiei, foe EE yo fe Avie S, & aN aah ¢ al CjEns 4, (pues , = 4 \ 9) Sea (e) | % 3 | iil | / : % Mt i i » ice ia , A 1@) 4 ils F “Ly oO” | aa i | y | ‘ il i Arig? ey HO wi. PROCEEDINGS GF THE GEOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF LONDON. NOVEMBER 1833 to JUNE 1838. VOL. I. LONDON: PRINTED BY R. AND J. E, TAYLOR, RED LION COURT, FLEET STREET ; AND SOLD AT THE APARTMENTS OF THE SOCIETY, SOMERSET HOUSE. 1838. CORRIGENDA. Page 13, Table, last column, (No. 34.) f. for Marrington Dingle, read Mary Knoll Dingle g. — Prescold read Prescoed k. — Corton read Corston Dele the comma after Castell Craig ———— 24, Jime 25 ......cceeeenenserececeseeeeecees for Bailey read Bayly 595 — 14 and note ™ ve. cemrcsner scenes — Ovelipore read Oudeypore — 146, — 7 from bottom ............... — 1784 read 1824 AT, OF) oeceececwrseceerrepseerenracras — Hardy read Hardie —— 149, — 6 from bottom ............... — outline read outlier == 161, — 19)... cercencescorsocreereeecscesces — medal read Proceeds == GZ, ==] SD consacos000ae00a900G0080000000008 — Wallickii read Wallichii ———— N71, = WS saio leo Gooooacoaconsee — shisti read schisti ———= 19, Tnarirorm IW soocospeco50nc0bo0009000000 — white read while ———_ 210, lime 16 ......ccrcercescercersecserrerees — F. Darwin read C. Darwin — FBI, THE céooovosonsodcgonbac0noNG0ad0000000 — No. 41, vol. iil. p. 191. read No. 36, vol. ii. p. 83. aie Hine ane ak pans00000000DD00000d0000 — Hunter read Hunton —— 450, — 10 from bottom ............... — Plaistic read Plastic ——— 530, — DD)... cece nce reregrceccccsecrnse — Walton Naze read Harwich Barracks Cliff B55, —— Bi cercosnccccncerseersseractsereras — breaches read beaches —— 537, — 8frombottom ............... — rocks and read rocky PROCEEDINGS i OF THE GEOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF LONDON. Vor. II. i 1833—1834. No. 33. Nov.6.— L HE Society assembled this evening for the Session. John Ward, Esq. of Holwood, Bromley ; tam F. South, Esq , St. Thomas’s-street, Southwark; and Francis Walker, Esq. of Southgate, Middlesex, were elected Fellows of this Society. A paper was first read “On a Band of Transition Limestone, and on Granite Veins, appearing in the Greywacké Slate of Westmore- land, near Shap Wells and Wastdale Head,” by the Rev. Adam Sedgwick, V.P.G.S., and Woodwardian Professor in the University of Cambridge. The author began by stating, that his communication was a short supplement to a former paper, in which he described the range of a band of transition limestone from the south-western extremity of Cumberland through a portion of Lancashire and Westmoreland. He there had stated that this limestone was cut off by the Shap granite, and did not reappear on the north side of it. During the past summer, however, he ascertained, by the help of some new artificial sections laid bare near Shap Wells, that the band of lime- stone does reappear, nearly in its original line of direction; and that it passes, along with the slate rocks, unconformably under the ter- race of old red sandstone and mountain limestone. The phzno- mena are noticed in detail: and a mineral spring is described as rising among these beds, in near connexion with a protruded mass oper phyry. he paper then describes some granite veins in the same neigh- bourhood, Pabieh rise from the central granite near the farm called Wastdale Head, and penetrate the grauwacké slate. Near the junction of the granite and slate, the latter puts on the character of the killas of Cornwall. The change extends to some distance, but gradually disappears, and the slate then returns to its common type, and contains organic remains. The author considers these facts as proving (in this instance) the posterior origin of the granite, and the protrusion of the granite veins into the preexisting slate rocks. A paper was then read entitled “‘ A Notice respecting some Points in the Section of the Coast near St. ee and estes by William Henry Fitton, M.D., V.P.G.S - The improvements in the vegbotrhod’ of St. Leonard's which VOL, II, > : have rendered it necessary to cut down the face of the cliffs from Hastings to that place, have brought to light several portions of the strata, previously concealed. The object of the present paper is to describe some of these details; and a great part of it, conse- quently, is not susceptible of abridgement. Several rocky ledges run out obliquely from the shore, both on the east anc west of Hastings; these are analogous to the ledges which occur in the equivalent of the Hastings Sands, on the south coast of the Isle of Wight; and for the greater part consist of con- cretional grit, including especially fresh-water shells, of the ge- nera Cyclas, Paludina, and Unio; others again are composed of a pisolitic sand-rock, inclosing numerous grains of reddish brown oxide of iron, which is found all along the shore from the Lover's Seat to the west of Bopeep. With the rocks above mentioned beds are found to alternate,—of sand-rock varying in colour and degrees of hardness, clay, and fuller’s-earth. In proceeding westward from Hastings, the strata are observed to decline gradually towards the west as far as the gate of St. Leonard’s ; but at a very short distance beyond that point, they rise towards the west, and. the same strata are found to recur, but in a reversed order. This appearance, which might at first be ascribed to some derangement, is produced, in fact, by a slight projection of the shore at the eastern point of the Marina at St. Leonard’s, where the range of the beds coincides with the direction of the coast; the strata which come up from the sea at a small angle towards the interior, and are continued in the cliffs on the east and west, thus rising in dif- ferent directions. : 4% Among the strata which have recently been disclosed in the cliffs, a continuation of the remarkable group of the White-rock is one of the most conspicuous, and can be traced from its emer- gence in the sea under the White-rock to the cliff within the New Brewery. Beneath, at an interval of about 30 feet, the well- known bed of white sand-rock which forms the cliff of the Castle Hill at Hastings, rises on the shore, and being continued to the north-east, may be traced in the upper part of the East-cliff, and thence nearly to the summit of Fairlight Down. The group of the White-rock contains a subordinate stratum, in which numerous specimens of Endogenites erosa have been found ; and the large number of specimens exposed during the progress of the works, has brought to light some additional circumstances respecting this singular vegetable. The specimens, which were found lying horizontally, in a stratum composed of sand with al- ternate layers of clay, consist of two portions, perfectly distinct from each other: Ist, An external coating of lignite; within which is, Qndly, A stony kernel or nucleus, the internal structure of which has been already described*, The general form of the whole ap- pears to have been originally nearly cylindrical, and this has been modified by pressure, so that the transverse section both of the Fall * Geol. Trans., 2nd Series, vol. i. p. 423: and Mantell’s Tilgate Fossils. 3 masses, and of the tubular cavities within, generally approaches to an oval figure. The specimens differ very much in size; being from less than one foot to nine feet in length; the stony matter within occupying, in the largest, about 5 feet, with a thickness of 6 to 9inches, and a general width of about | foot. This stony nucleus was invested with a coating of cual, from ,th to 4 an inch in thickness, which was found to extend, at both extremities, 2 or 3 feet beyond the nucleus. The external surface of the coaly covering is uniform and smooth, of a light brown colour, and glis- tening: but neither in this surface, nor in the coal beneath, could any traces of organization be discovered. Thin polished slices of the nucleus were exhibited. A ledge which is observable on the shore below St. Leonard’s, may be traced thence in the cliffs, through the site of the church, and westward to the summit of the hill above the Sussex Hotel. In this group also, a specimen of Endogenites was found by Wood- bine Parish, Esq.; by which and other circumstances it is identi- fied with that of the White-rock ledge: and from its including also a thin band of siliceous conglomerate, abounding in the remains of animals like those of the well-known grit of Tilgate Forest,—the teeth and bones, especially, of the Iguanodon of Mantell,—there can be no doubt of its geological identity with some of the strata of that place. The coast sections, described in this paper, will be useful in assisting to determine the order of succession in the Hastings Sands; a point of difficulty, from the great similarity, both in the rocks, and the included fossils, of the several members composing that formation: and the author thinks it deserving of inquiry, whether the Ashburnham group, which has hitherto been referred to the lower portion of the Hastings Sands, may not be identical with some of these groups upon the shore,—and, consequently, may not belong in reality to the upper part of the formation. A letter was afterwards read from Woodbine Parish, Esq., ad- dressed to George Bellas Greenough, Esq., P.G.S., accompanying a collection of fossils made by Mr. Parish during the last summer at St. Leonard’s. These fossils Mr. Parish states were principally found ina layer of very compact conglomerate varying from 1 inch to 3 inches in thick- ness, and forming a crust upon a stratum of sandstone which ex- tends from the new church to the western extremity of St. Leo- nard’s. They consist of remains of the Iguanodon, and other Sau- rians, and of the Lepisosteus Fittoni. Mr. Parish also describes, in his letter, a submarine forest, which he traced at low water, from the western extremity of St. Leonard’s to the headland at Bulverhithe, and he is of opinion that it is a con- tinuation of the submarine forest which occurs off Hastings. The trees, he says, are chiefly oak, and appear to have fallen towards the sea. In the peat forming part of the deposit he found hazel nuts, a variety of seeds, and the remains of beetles and other insects. No 4 tradition has been preserved of the irruption of the sea by which the forest was submerged. Nov. 20.—Joseph Burkart, Esq., Engineer of Zacatecas, Mexico, and John Kenyon, Esq., of Devonshire Place, were elected Fellows of this Society. A paper was read entitled, “« Notes on the Geology of the North Coast of the River and Gulf of St. Lawrence, from the Mouth of the Saguenay (Long. 69° 16’) to Cape Whittle (Long. 60°),” by Captain Bayfield, K.N., and communicated by George Bellas Greenough, Esq., P.G S. The line of coast surveyed by the author, and described by him in this memoir, includes above 500 miles. It is traversed by ranges of round-backed hills, rarely exceeding 1000 feet in height, and towards the eastern termination of the district sinking nearly toa . level with the sea. In some parts of the coast the hills approach close to the shore; but in others they recede to a distance from it, and the country presents a succession of flats or extensive peat bogs. The formations of which the main land and adjacent islands consist, are granitic and syenitic compounds, limestone, a deposit of clay, sand and gravel, and modern alluvial accumulations. The granitic and syenitic rocks compose the whole of the hilly districts, with the exception of a tract opposite the Mingan Islands, True granite was noticed only in one place, the prevailing rocks being formed of felspar, quartz, hypersthene and hornblende. Porphyry, passing into syenite, was observed at the falls of the aniton river ; and veins of trap were occasionally noticed traver- sing the syenite. Magnetic iron was found in great abundance along the whole line of the coast, either as a constituent of the rocks or as beds of sand accumulated on the beach. The limestone forms the Mingan and Esquimaux Islands, and it oc- curs on the adjacent main land, reposing in horizontal beds on the syenite. It composes also the whole of the island of Anticosta, which lies to the southward of the Mingan Islands, as weli as Cape Gaspé on the south shore of the St. Lawrence. It varies consider- ably in its characters, being sometimes compact, at others earthy, arenaceous, shaly, or crystalline; and it generally abounds in fossils, -which agree with those found in the limestone of Lake Huron and near Quebec. The strata, except at Cape Gaspé, dip at a very low angle towards the S.W. The deposit of clay, sand and gravel forms a series of horizon- tal strata, sometimes 300 feet thick, in the valleys and basins be- tween the syenitic hills. The clay invariably occupies the lowest portion, and the gravel generally the highest. No shells were no- ticed, though the water-courses of the rivers cut through the de- posit. The modern alluvial accumulations are of great extent, and in some parts of the’ coast are rapidly increasing. In Outard Bay (100 fathoms deep) the surface of the water was highly charged with earthy matter, which the surveying vessel cut through in her course, and displayed beneath the pure sea water. 5 The peat bogs occur towards Cape Whittle, the eastern part of the district examined, and rest upon the syenite. During his investigations, the author noticed many evidences of change having taken place in the relative level of land and water. He mentions, that in the Mingan Islands he traced a succession of shingle beaches, the most distant from the shore and covered with trees, being 60 feet above the level of the highest tides. In the Bay of the Seven Islands, and in almost every other bay, and at the en- trance of the valleys near the sea, he observed parallel ridges of sand, sometimes attaining a height of 100 feet, and occasionally containing shells analogous to those now inhabiting the St. Law- rence. ‘This change the author conceives has been produced, not by successive depressions of water, but by successive elevations of land; and he supports his opinion by showing, Ist, that no per- manent depressions could have taken place in the water of the River and Gulf of St. Lawrence, without corresponding ones in the Atlantic; and 2ndly, that the beach now forming on the Mingan Islands presents the same characters as the beaches which he traced at a distance from the shore; that the water-worn pillars of limestone which accompany each beach, bear evidence of having been worn or scooped out at different periods, the successive action of the water agreeing in level with the successive ridges of limestone shingle ; and he states that the distance between these marks of ac- tion of water on the limestone pillars, exactly agrees with the rise of the present. tidal wave of the St. Lawrence. He also proves, by a minute description of the alluvial accumulations now forming on the shore of the main land, and a careful comparison of them with the parallel ridges of sand already mentioned, that an identity of character exists. . In conclusion, the author briefly refers to the geological structure of the south shore of the St. Lawrence, between the meridian of the Saguenay and Cape Gaspé, and states that it consists of alternating strata of slate and grauwacké, overlaid conformably, at the latter point, by limestone, containing fossils analogous to those of the Mingan Islands and Lake Huron. Dec. 4.— Viscount Oxmantown, M.P.; Sir George Magrath, M.D., of Plymouth; Jones Quain, M.D., Professor of Anatomy and Phy- siology in the University of London ; George Rushout, Esq., of the Ist Life Guards; Rev. Thomas Smith Turnbull, M.A., F.R.S., Caius College, Cambridge ; C. H. Weston, Esq., B.A., of Trinity College, Cambridge, and Russell-square; John Waterhouse, Jun., Esq., of Halifax, Yorkshire; and Richard Hollier, Esq., of Marc Hill, Green- wich, were elected Fellows of the Society. A letter from Hugh E. Strickland, Esq., addressed to George Bellas Greenough, Esq., was first read. This letter was accompanied by a manuscript map, on which are laid down, with greater accuracy than had before been attempted, the boundaries of the red marl and lias in the districts adjacent to Pershore, Evesham, Bitford, Alcester, Droitwich and Worcester. Mr. Strickland. points out, also for the first time, a line of fauls 6 ranging from a little north of Bredon Hill in Gloucestershire, to Inkberrow, north of the road from Alcester to Worcester. By this fault the relative position of the red marl and the lias has been af- fected, the former constituting a valley of elevation, bounded on each side by the latter. Mention is also made of bones and teeth of the Hippopotamus and of a Deer having been found in the gravel near Cropthorne, between Evesham and Pershore. Mr. Strickland like- wise alludes to the occurrence, on Shotover Hill near Oxford, of fossils which he believes to belong to the fresh-water genus Palu- dina; but the specimens which he procured are imperfect casts. These shells, he adds, were first discovered by the Rev. H. Jelly of Bath, in a sand-pit on the brow of the hill, much higher than the pit at which the Portland strata occur. A paper on the Strata of Quainton and Brill in Buckinghamshire, by James Mitchell, LL.D., F.G.S., was then read. In this communication the author confines his observations almost solely to an enumeration of the beds belonging ta the Portland stone, presented at the two localities of Quainton and Brill. The principal quarries at the former place are composed of the following strata: Feet. ‘hop Vegetable mouldi G55 Ssn. el et eer 3 Cl atv eth ea SAR OE ee NS —? lron sand (lower green sand) containing a layer of Fulleristearth 2923s 1 eae § Se ee, Peete Duds Hard sandstone Wien s70 2%, Shy, ees ae ee eee 1 to 2 Cay fe eis AE ae PE ANG GND CR SemR Ra 2 _ Soft, calcareous sandstone (Pendle stone) abound- 9 Ing’ in fossils) eon ieee cra nee a tea Building stone,—numerous fossils .............. 2 Soft, (whhitelimestoney ae se. ieee weer coe 23 SEG ER eal n san Geeenaml Rage AR 1) Pala a Nanay 3 6 Rubble stone,—abundance of fossils............ 3 Sania h Ge eB Oise Ee Tee Seige 6 Coarse, soft; bluestone 2. sine i ae ae e ° 2 Besides the fossils common to the Portland stone, the author pro- cured caudal vertebrz of a Plesiosaurus and a Crocodile. The strata at Brill are then enumerated in the following order : Feet. Vepetablemnoniid 2 00 dito We ee 4: White, soft limestone, with fossils .............. 7 Said. race tie Sa Ae Oh aarti ee ce eee 3 Rubble; with fossiseicaae Ale eae ee 4 Sand and clay, with nodules of blue stone in the 8 lower-part.. 2). 20) 7eaee ed Bini, he eeenrene™ } Coarse, whiteisand <:...2 5.04). i eon ao ee 2 Blue cla 2 Tn the lower part of this quarry is an abundance of green sand. The upper beds of stone in the Quainton quarries, the author adds, are wanting in those at Brill; and the lower beds at each @ locality are stated to be nearly the same, though not agreeing pre- cisely in all their details. A paper was next read, entitled ‘“‘ Observations on the Cliff at Reculver in Kent,” by James Mitchell, LL.D., F.G.S. The object of this paper is twofold: Ist, It describes the geolo- gical structure of the cliff; and 2nd, It gives a chronological account of the changes which have taken place on this part of the coast of Kent since the period of the Roman dominion. The cliff, described in the memoir, is situated between Reculver — and Herne Bay, and is about two miles in extent. The upper part, where the beds are fully displayed, consists of about 35 feet of mottled, brown and red clay ; and the lower part of about 50 feet of sand, containing a layer of masses of sandstone. Fossils are stated to be found only in the sand, and to belong chiefly to a species of Venus. Sections are given of different parts of the cliff, and it is shown that the strata dip gradually towards the west, the sandy por- tion of the series sinking beneath the level of the shore, and being replaced entirely by the clay. In tracing the history of the change on the line of the coast, the author first draws attention to the present bydrography of the bed of the Thames, and gives his reasons for concluding that many of the sand banks now dry at low water, were formerly islands; and in additional support of this opinion, mentions the large island which is laid down in Ptolemy’s map in the position of the present Margate sands. The author then states that historical documents, and inscriptions on altars, prove that Reculver, or Regulbium, was at the period of the Roman dominion a military station and a sea-port, and that the Isle of Thanet was at that zra separated from the rest of Kent by a navigable channel; that at the period of the Norman Conquest the district of Reculver was one of the hundreds of Kent, though it now forms only an obscure portion of the hundred of Bleangate ; that in the reign of Henry VII. the channel between the Isle of Thanet and Reculver was so far filled up as to permit a bridge to be built,—but according to Leland, in the beginning of the reign of Henry VIII., Reculver was then half a mile from the sea, or, in pro- portion to other distances mentioned by him, about one mile ; that in the year 1780, the wall of the Roman castrum, distant 80 yards from the church, had been only lately taken down; and lastly, that about the beginning of the present century, the church itself was abandoned as a place of worship, and would in all probability have long since disappeared, but for the precaution taken by the Trinity House to defend the cliff from further destruction. Dec. 18.—Lieut.-Colonel Clive of the Grenadier Guards; Charles Denham Orlando Jephson, Esq., M.P., Mallow; Dr. MacDougle, of Duke-street, St. James’s ; and Charles Spicer, Esq., Royal Ho- spital, Chelsea, were elected Fellows of this Society. A paper, entitled ‘‘ Notes on the Geology of the Brown Clee Hill in Shropshire,” by Rumley Wright, Esq., employed in theOrdnance Survey, was first read. The base of the Brown Clee Hill is stated to consist of old red 8 sandstone, and the upper part of coal measures surmounted by basalt. The top stratum of the sandstone is a conglomerate, and the same formation contains two beds of nodular limestone or cornstone, the lower of which is about 12 feet thick. The strataare said to dip regularly towards the centre of the hill at an angle of about 7°. The coal-field is represented to have the form of the figure 8. The strata are said to be about 150 feet thick, and to dip towards a common centre at an angle of from 3 to 5 degrees. Three beds of coal have been discovered, varying from | foot 7 inches to 2 feet 6 inches in thickness, but the coal is of inferior quality to that of the Titterstone Clee Hill. Three faults are described, and stated to range nearly parallel to each other, and to traverse the coal measures in a north easterly di- rection. One of them, the author observes, is marked by a dyke of basalt connected with an overlying mass of the same rock. It is 13 yards in horizontal thickness, and though the wall of the dyke is so hard as to require to be blasted, yet the coal is not in the least charred. The overlying basalt is shown to form the two highest points of the hill, one of them being 1800 feet above the level of the sea, and the other 1600. A memoir “‘ On the Geology of the Banks of the Indus, the In- dian Caucasus, and the Plains of Tartary to the Shores of the Cas- pian,” by Lieut. Alexander Burnes, was then read. The author has endeavoured in this paper to embody the geolo. gical observations which he made on a journey during the years 1831 and 1832, up the river Indus and across the lofty range of Hindoo Koosh to the Caspian Sea. He first describes the province of Cutch, situated near the eastern mouth of the Indus. He states that it is mountainous; that the soil is either rocky or sandy, with masses of lava scattered over its surface; and that sulphur, coal, iron and alum are found in the district. Nummulites occur in a ridge near the right banks of the Indus. The delta of the river is composed of a succession of beds of earth, clay and sand of different colours, sometimes parallel, and sometimes having one stratum dovetailed into another. ‘The sea is described as being discoloured to a distance of three miles by the detritus carried down by the river, with regard to which it may be stated that the base of the triangle of the delta is above 125 miles. After mentioning a range of hills called the Hala Mountains, which extends in a northerly direction from the sea-shore west- ward of the mouths of the Indus, and terminates to the N.W. of Cabool in the Hindoo Caucasus, and which consists, in part of com- pact nummulitic limestone, the author proceeds to describe the principal geological features which he observed on the banks of this great river. The town of Hydrabad, he states, is built on a finely grained, shelly limestone. At Schwan in lat. 26° 22! and at Curachee, 9 are hot wells; and the island of Bukhur, in lat. 27° 42’, consists en- tirely of flint. On the eastern bank of the river, opposite this island, is a precipice of flint, 40 feet high, on which the village of Roree is built. In lat. 28° 55 the rivers of the Punjab fall into the Indus. Still higher up, in lat. 33°, at Kara Bagh, the river cuts through a range of hills, described by Mr. Elphinstone as the salt range. The salt is found in layers of about a foot in thickness, separated from each other by thin strata of clay. With the exception of this range of hills, which is estimated to be about 1800 feet above the level of the sea, the district of the Punjab is uniformly flat; but the hilly di- strict is intersected by numerous defiles, presenting vertical strata, which terminate in peaked points. Between the river Sutlege and Lahore the country consists of indurated clay, sometimes gravelly. At Attoch, much higher up, the rocks by which the Indus is con- fined consist of a dark coloured micaceous slate, which is said to extend to the southward until it meets the salt range above men- tioned. Near this place gold is washed out of the sand of the river. At Lahore, in February 1832, the author experienced a very vio- Jent shock of an earthquake. Several valleys were choked up by the masses of rock thrown down from the overhanging precipices, and a great part of the population of Badakhshan was destroyed In crossing the Punjab the author observed that several buildings of the Mogul Emperors were decaying from the foundations, and were encrusted with an efflorescence of nitre. Proceeding to the westward from the Indus, he found bituminous coal at Cohat, and that the salt range above mentioned extended across the country into this district. The river of Cabool flows through a very nar- row defile, the rocks of which rise to a height of 2000 feet, and con- sist of sandstone, quartz rock and mica schist, the strata of the latter being vertical. Cabool is situated 6000 feet above the sea. The neighbouring hills are covered with rounded pebbles of all sizes, sometimes loose, at others forming a conglomerate. A beautiful white marble is found near Cabool, and the rocks are occasionally covered with asbestus. From Cabool the author crossed the Hindoo Caucasus to Balkh and the plains of Tartary. This range of mountains is the prolon- gation of the Himalaya to the westward of the Indus. Hindoo Koosh is, properly speaking, the name given to the highest peak in the range, the only part of which that is covered with per- petual snow is the Koh-i-Baba, between Cabool and Bameean, from which latter place the waters flow northward into the Oxus. In some of the defiles through which the author passed, the sides rose to a height of 2000 or 3000 feet. The loftiest peak which he ob- served between Cabool and Hajeeguk consisted of gneiss or granite, sometimes deeply impregnated with iron. These formations were succeeded by blueslates and quartz rock, and precipices of micaceous schist. From the summits of the precipices masses of green granite and other rocks had been hurled into the valley below. Further down is a calcareous conglomerate, succeeded by cliffs of reddish and purple coloured clay, and by ridges of indurated clay mixed 10 with bands of a harder nature. In this ridge great idols are carved and caves excavated, for it is easily worked. ‘The neighbourhood of Bameean is described as producing gold, lead, copper, tin, anti- mony, sulphur and iron. The lower passes of Hindoo Koosh consist principally of a light brown splintery limestone, of great hardness, and susceptible of a high polish. ‘This formation is followed by sandstone rocks, in one of which round flint stones are imbedded at regular intervals. The real peak of Hindoo Koosh lies about a degree to the eastward of this route, and the difficulty of crossing it Is very great. From Khooloom, whence the author descended into the plains of Toorkistan, the country slopes gradually towards the Caspian. It is generally flat and is watered by the Oxus. The author then describes the course of the Oxus, from its source in the high plain of Pameer until it is lost in the sea of Aral, after passing through a low and swampy district. He does not believe that the Oxus ever terminated in the Caspian Sea, and concludes that what are called the dry river beds between Astrabad and Khina are the remains of ancient canals. The natives pretend that the waters of the Aral pass by a subterranean communication into the Caspian Sea, and that at a place called Kara-goombuz, between the two seas, the water may be heard gushing beneath. it is, how- ever, remarkable, that in the sandy ridge near this place, water is found near the surface, although further south it cannot be had within a bundred fathoms. The author then fully describes the na- vigation, course, rise and fall, and inundations of the Oxus; and he mentions that it is frequently frozen over. The author then notices the effects of the great earthquake of 1832 in the valley of Badakhshan. The roads in this valley were blocked up for several days by the falling of stones and cliffs, and this place seems to have been the centre of the convulsion. Badakh- shan is famous for its rubies, which are found imbedded in limestone. The country which extends from the north of the Oxus towards Bokhara is next described. It consists of a succession of low ridges of soft yellowish limestone, sometimes oolitic, with a superficial coating of loose gravel, alternating with plains of hard clay. Sand hills of greater or less extent, raised by the winds, also occur in se- veral places on this plain, and in some of the valleys are saline rivu- “Jets and deposits of salt. The author afterwards offers some remarks upon the inhabitants, and on the meteorological phenomena which he observed in the neighbourhood of Bokhara; and concludes his memoir with a de- scription of the sandy desert of the Turcomans, between the Oxus and the Caspian Sea. PROCEEDINGS OF THE GEOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF LONDON. Vor. II. 1833—1834. "No. 34. Jan. 8, 1834.—George C. Lewis, Esq., of Henrietta Street, Lon- don ; Thomas Jameson Torrie, Esq., of Edinburgh; Peter B. Brodie, jun., Esq., of Lincoln’s Inn Fields ; Wm. Copland, Esq., of Edin- burgh; and Benjamin H. Bright, Esq., of Stone Buildings, Lincoln’s Inn, were elected Fellows of this Society. A paper was read by Roderick Impey Murchison, Esq., F.R.S., F.G.S., ‘On the Old Red Sandstone in the Counties of Hereford, Brecknock and Caermarthen, with collateral Observations on the Dislocations which affect the north-west margin of the South Welsh Coal-basin.” This memoir is the first of a series of communications resulting from researches made during the last summer. A short sketch is given of the structure of that portion of the car- boniferous limestone of the South Welsh coal-field, which, in Breck- nock and Caermarthenshires, 1s contiguous to those older formations, which were the particular subject of the author’s examination. After noticing some features which are common to the mountain limestone in other districts, such as an oolitic structure, and the ex- istence of caverns and funnel-shaped cavities, attention is specially called to a portion of the limestone near Gwinfe in Caermarthenshire, the exterior of which exhibits a high polish. As these polished beds protrude from the edge of a turf bog, it is suggested that such effects may have been produced by the long-continued action of a weak ve- getable acid issuing from the morass, and altering the surface of the rock. 1. Old Red Sandstone.—The old red sandstone is divided into three groups. a. Conglomerate and sandstone. 6. Cornstones and marl. c. Tile- stones. a. The uppermost of these groups, occupying the loftiest summits of the country described, as the Brecon and Caermarthen Fans, is uniformly capped by a band of conglomerate, underlaid by a vast thickness of sandstone. Neither calcareous beds nor organic remains have been discovered in this group. b. The central group is spread in undulating masses over the greater part of Herefordshire. The red argillaceous marls of which it consists, contain many beds of concretionary limestone or cornstone, with some strata of sandstone. Vou. 11. 1 Remains of Crustacea have been found in this group, together with defences of fishes, &c. c. The tile-stones are best exhibited in a remarkably rectilinear es- carpment, extending from the north-western extremity of the Mynidd Eppint to near the mouth of the Towey, a distance of about thirty- five miles. These beds contain fossils in Caermarthenshire, and also in their north-eastern prolongation into Shropshire : among them are Lingula, Avicula, three or four species of univalves, a small species of Orthoce- ras, &c. These fossiliferous tile-stones constitute the beds of passage into the “‘ Ludlow Rock,” or highest member of the grauwacke series. The limits of certain detached basins of the old red sandstone, par- tially described during the last session, and which are spread over the area of the inferior Ludlow rocks, have this year been extended west- ward to the source of the Teme, twenty-five miles to the north-west of the ancient line of demarcation. The absence of all vegetable re- mains, with the exception of a few small fragments, notwithstanding the full exhibition afforded by many natural, deep sections of the mineral structure of all the groups of the formation, is insisted upon as demonstrating the hopelessness of ever finding any workable quan- tity of coal in the old red sandstone of this part of the kingdom. The maximum thickness of the whole formation is estimated to be about 10,000 feet. II. Outliers of Carboniferous Limestone, &c.; Dislocations of the Old Red Sandstone. A very remarkable outlier of carboniferous limestone and millstone grit, is first described, occupying the summit of a mountain of old red sandstone to the south of the town of Crickhowell. This mass, called Pen Cerrig Calch, is distant from the main escarpment of carboni- ferous limestone from four to five miles, and is separated from it by the deep valley of the Usk. It is shown, by the position and slight inclination of the beds, that the limestone of Pen Cerrig Calch must have been connected with that of the main escarpment anterior to the excavation of the intermediate valley, and the case is cited as one of the deepest and most extensive denudations which has come within the author’s observation. Numerous and complicated dislocations of great extent, occur in that segment of the margin ef the South Welsh coal-basin, which extends from the Caermarthen Fan to the latitude of Llandeilo. The largest of these breaks is the great upcast of Fan Sirgaer, by which the old red conglomerate is thrown up about 700 feet from its regular horizon at Cerrig Ogof. The greatest downcast has taken place at the spot marked by the polished limestone ; but the most extraordi- nary of all these disruptions is that which has given rise to the po- sition of the singular outlier of carboniferous limestone called Castel Cerrig Cennen. ‘This outlier, by a violent elevation of the old red sandstone, has been dismembered from its parent rock, and left in- sulated with the dip of its beds reversed, in the centre of a valley of the old red sandstone. By these great elevations and subsidences large masses of .car- Table of the stratified Deposits beneath the Coal-measures in the C To face page 13.) DESCENDING ORDER. ounties of Hereford, Salop, Montgomery, Radnor, Brecknock, Caermarthen, Monmouth, Worcester, Stafford and Gloucester. } 4 @ Some Localities. Zé I. Ludlow rocks. = ley limestone. f. Lower Ludlow rock. f. Sandy, liver and dark-coloured shale and flag, with concretions of earthy limestone. fibrosa, Goldf., and a few other corals. jf. Phragmoceras, new genus, Broderip, 3 species. Asaphus caudatus. Ichthydorulites? small. ‘“ Cardiola,” Brod., a new genus, 2 sp. Nau- tilus, n. s. Spirulites, 2n.s. Pentamerus. Atrypa galeata, Dalm., n.s. Pleurotomaria, n.s. Orthocera pyriformis, n. s. and several others. Maximum 9 . Characteristic Organic Remains. 5 . see Lithological Characters. Fi tions. approximate Subdivisions. eet thichness : = Corals differing in species from those of the formations below the old red | Lilleshall, Steeraways, Orleton, south end of Clee Hills, and Llanymynech, Shrop- Feet Limestone. Shale. sandstone. Producta hemispherica. P. Martini. Spirifer triangularis,| shire. The edge of the South Wales Coal-basin. Carboniferous limestone. 500? &c. (Defence and teeth of fishes. Clee Hill, Salop.) + i ick 5 1 i ins observed ..... sevenssncscecssnnsscssesscscssccussseroscnanss . Caermarthen and Brecon Fans, S.E. part of Black Forest, Brecknockshire : flank: a. Bed conglomerate a. Quartzose conglomerate overlying thick-bedded sandstones ...-.. a. No organic remains observe “ SfineiBiGen Clee Hill, ghvopslives, D ockshire : flanks and sandstone. . 71 ire * . P i R i tted argilla- | 6. Crustacea of undescribed genera . .| 6. Central and northern parts of Herefordshire: eastern part of Brecknockshire : 7 6. Gornatone andargil- b. Bediand. cag Nepueretionnyj Mines ones paths potted sate os Whitbach near Ludlow, and base of the Clee Hills, shrepskiret Tenbury and Old red sandstone. 0,000. BceOUs nar s- ene ee iShaterfond aE HA Gh ena uccesstersbirg ate ai m7 . A sandstone ....---..|¢- Avicula, n.s. Pileopsis, n.s. Small Orthocera. Small Ichthyodo- | c. Pontarlleche, Cwmdwr, Caermarthenshire: Clyro Hills, Brecknockshire: Tin- c. Tile stone. e. Flaggy, highly micaceous, hard, red and green sandstone rulites? ‘ mill Copse, near Downton Castle, Herefordshire: Clun Forest, Shropshire. A . S hin-bedded sandstone. d. Avicula, n.s. A. retroflexa, Hisinger. Atrypa (Dalman), n.s. Cypri-| d. Ludlow Castle, Whitcliffe, Munslow, Diddlebury, Larden, Shropshire: Cr ft d, Upper Ludlow rock. | d. Slightly micaceous, grey OEIC UES ED cardia, n. s. Homonolotus Knightii, new genus, Kénig. Leptena lata, Castle, Mortimer's Cross, ‘Titley, Kington, Fownhope, Stoke Edith, Hereford- V. Buch. Orthis, several new species. Orbicula, 2 new species. Ortho- shire: West flanks of Malvern and Abberley Hills, Worcestershire: west flank of cera, seyeral new species. Pleurotomaria? 2new species. Turbo, n. s. May Hill, Tortworth, Gloucestershire: Presteigne, Pain’s Castle, Radnorshire : Gigantic serpuline bodies, &c. &c. Trewerne Hills, Corn-y-fan, Brecon, Llanbadock near Usk. . i d bl i Limestone «sesseceeees e. Pentamerus Knightii, M.C. Pileopsis vetusta, M. C. Bellerophon, n.s. |e. Aymestry, Croft Ambry, Gatley, Brindgwood Chase, Downton on the Rock, 2000, | & AymestryandSedge-| ¢. Suberystalline or gray and Llue argillaceous lim Lingula, n.s. Atrypa, n. 8. ‘Terebratula Wilsoni, M.C. Calamopora| Herefordshire: Yeo Edge, Shelderton, Norton Camp, Dinchope, Caynhani Camp, Shropshire: Sedgeley, Staffordshire. ee Jf. Fscarpments of Mocktree and Brindgwood Chase, Gatley, and valley of Wool- hope, Herefordshire: Marrington Dingle, Westhope, Hopedale, and Long Mountain, Shropshire: west side of Abberley and Malvern Hills; I escarpments in Montgomery, Radnor, Brecknock and Caermarthenshires. 8 = g- Wenlock and Dud- ley limestone. g- Highly concretionary gray and blue subcrystalline limestone... g. Corals and Crinoidea in vast abundance. Bellerophon tenuifascia, M. C. Euomphalus rugosus. Eu. discors. Conularia quadrisuleata, M. C. Pentamerus, n.s. Natica, n.s. N.spirata, M.C. Leptena euglypha, Dalman. Spirifer lineatus, M.C. S.n.s. Terebratula cuneata, Dalm. g- Lincoln Hill, Benthall and Wenlock Edge, Shropshire : Burrington, Nether Lye, near Amestry, Nash, near Presteigne, Old Radnor: Pwll-Calch, Caermarthen- shire : valley of Woolhope, Ledbury, and west side of Malvern Hills: east side of Abberley Hills, Dudley, Worcestershire : Long Hope, near May Hill, Glou- UPPER GRAUWACKE SERIES. N.B. No yegetable remains, except the Fucus serra (Brongn.), and some very imperfect fragments of Fucoi duals have been mentioned as are characteristic of each subdivision. Others, as for example the Terebratula affini: None of the species of corals or shells are identical with those found in the true carboniferous limestone. schists, Coarse slates : little or no calcareous matter. II. Wenlock and Dudley. 1800. Producta depressa, M. C. Orthocera, seyeral species. Asaphus cestershire: Prescold and Cil-na-Caya, near Usk. rocks. caudatus. Calymene Blumenbachii. The Bar Trilobite and others. k. Wenlock and Dud-| A. Argillaceous shale, liver and dark gray-coloured, rarely mica- | i. As. caudatus variety, C. Blumenbachii, Lingula, n.s. Orthis, n.s., | 4. Buildwas, Hughley, Wistanstow and Clungunford, Salop: escarpments in Mont- ley shale, ceous, with nodules of earthy limestone. and others. Cyrtia trapezoidalis, Dalm. Delthyris, n.s. Orthocera, gomery, Radnor, Brecknock and Caermarthenshires: west flank of Malvern n.s. O.annulata, M.C. Crinoidea, &c. Hills, Alfrick, Worcestershire : centre of Wren’s Nest, Dudley, &c. &c. i. Flags. i. Thin-bedded, impure, shelly limestone, and finely laminated, | 7. Pentamerus levis, M.C. P. oblongus, n.s. Leptena, n.s. Pileopsis, | i. Banks of the Onny, near Horderley, Acton Burnell, Chatwall : i if slightly aiacetus greenish sandstone, ns. Cris Callactis, Dalm., and several new species. ‘ Hope) Bowdlesy pene, Tongville, Acton Scott: east flank of Bawa Caer Terebratula, n. s. aradoc, Salop : Eastnor Park, Obelisk, and _ Tentaculites and Crinoidea, abundant, (Copal ee, fordshire : May Hill, Gloucestershire. SEO NUT VEN EG III. Horderley and May 2500. k, Sandstones, grits, | £*. Thick-bedded, red, purple, green, and white freestones. Con-|#. Nucula, n.s. Pentamerus, n.s. ‘Trilobites of undescribed species, and | t. Horderley, Hoar Edge, Long Lane, and Corton, Shropshire: Ankerdine Hill Hill rocks. and limestones. glomeritic quartzose grits. Sandy and gritty limestones, 14 species of the genus Orthis have been found, including O. apertu- Old Storridge, Howler Heath, S.W. of Malvern Hi Worcestershire: May ratus, Dalm., all differing from those of the overlying formations. Hill, Gloucestershire: and the same localities as i in Shropshire : Guilsfield ate” maen, Montgomeryshire: Castell Craig, Gwyddon, Caermarthen- IV. Builth and Llandeilo 1. Dark-coloured flags, mostly calcareous, with some sandstone |%. Asaphus Buchii. Agnostus, Brongn., undescribed Trilobites of three | 7. Rorington, near Shelve, Shropshire: L! i 7 flags. 12006 | and schist. ; | Laney athens from Hwee of the overlying omnia, Radnorshire : Tan-yr-Alt to landeilo, Cae ee ae bee V. Longmynd and Gwas-] | Many thou- m. Hard, close-grained, grey, greenish and purple sandstone. Red | J. No organic remains have yet been observed in this great system. m, The Longmynd, Linley, Haughmond, L: yth, Pulver: r ; 3 taden rocks. sand feet. and grey quartzose conglomerate. Slate-coloured and purple taden, east of Rhayader, Brecon, &e. we 8 fiitewerae Lando 1 have been found in any portion of the deposits below the carboniferous limestone, nor has any coaly matter, beyond small nests of Anthracite. is, M. C, (dérypa reticularis, Wabl.), which occurs in several formations, have been omitted in this short Table, but will be given hereafter in a full a thenshire. In the list of organic remains, only such indivi- nd descriptive account of all the organic remains. * The sandstones (i and /) pass into quartz rock in the vicinity of certain trap rocks (Wrekin, Caer Caradoc, Blaen Dyffrin garn, &c.), as will be explained in a subsequent Memoir. ERRATA IN THE TABLE, last column (No. 34.) jf. For Marrington Dingle, read Mary Knoll Dingle, g. — Prescold read Prescoed ; k. — Corton read Corston Dele the comma after Castell Craig 13 boniferous limestone are, as it were, thrown out en ¢chellon from the circumference of the coal-field into the area of the old red sand- Stone. This portion of the memoir concluded with a comparison between these violent yet local disturbances which have dislocated the carbo- niferous limestone and old red sandstone, and that great muvement from north-east to south-west, which in Brecknockshire and Caermar- thenshire threw up the mural ridge formed of the lowest beds of the old red sandstone and the Ludlow rocks or upper member of the grau- wacke series. It is also shown that although this ridge of transition rocks passes in one part of its course within three miles of those disturbances, which subsequently convulsed the coal-measures, yet still preserves the true south-westerly strike in an unbroken fine, as if unatiected by them. Jan, 22.— Alexander Trotter, Esq., of Orchard Street, and Robert Walters, Esq., of Lincoln’s Inn Fields, were elected Fellows of this Society. A paper was read “On the Structure and Classification of the Transition Rocks of Shropshire, Herefordshire and part of Wales, and on the Lines of Disturbance which have affected that Series of Deposits, including the Valley of Elevation of Woolhope,” by Roderick Impey Murchison, Esq., F.R.S., F.G.S., &e. I, Another summer’s work, during which the author revisited Shropshire and the Welsh counties, formerly described, and also examined the eastern side of Herefordshire, with portions of Mon- mouth, Gloucester, Worcester and Staftordshires, has enabled him to lay befure the Geological Society much more copious information respecting the “Transition rocks,” or ‘ Fossiliferous Grauwacke” of this quarter of Great Britain; and to subdivide the same into formations. The following classification is, therefore, substituted for that pro- posed last year, being founded upon more extensive observation and an increased knowledge of the organic remains and the order of superposition. 1. Ludlow Rocks— Commencing beneath the old red sandstone, described in the memoir read before the Society, January 8th, he names the superior formation of the grauwacke series, the “ Ludlow rocks.’ This sandy, argillaceous deposit, has in its centre, the zone of limestone well known at Aymestry, Downton on the Rock and other places, by its containing in abundance the Pentamerus Knight. It is stated that the black limestone of Sedgeley, near Dudley in Staffordshire, is identical in character and in organic re- mains with that of Aymestry in Herefordshire, and the Yeo edge in Shropshire, and that this calcareous zone is everywhere separated from the Wenlock and Dudley limestone by a thick deposit of shale and flag, to which the author has assigned the name of “ Lower Ludlow rock”. For the chief characters and order of superposition of the groups of this formation and all those of the descending series, the reader is referred to the annexed tabular view, in antici- pation of details and illustrations which will, at some future time, be 14 laid before the public, The number of unpublished organic remains in the formation is considerable, including a new genus of Crusta- ceans, another of Cephalopods, and a third of Conchifers. 2. Wenlock and Dudley Rocks—-The coralline limestones of Wenlock and Dudley having been shown to be equivalent, the term of ‘¢ Wenlock and Dudley rocks” has been adopted, that the name of the Jast-mentioned place, so well known for its organic remains, may serve to mark a zone in the Geological Series. The lower part of this formation is termed the ‘‘ Wenlock shale,” the local term of « Die earth,” used last year, having been abandoned by the author, because he finds that it has been applied by the mi- ners to any stratum of the transition series upon which their coal bearing measures have been deposited ; so that in one case their «Die earth” is the lower shale of the Ludlow formation, in another the shale beneath the Wenlock limestone. 3. Horderley and May Hill Rocks.—This formation, consisting of shelly sandstones, impure limestones, grits, &c., having been more thoroughly examined, is found to contain many more organic re- mains, and to be of much greater thickness than was formerly supposed. - The strata on the banks of the river Onny at Horderley, Salop, are described in detail, as they present a full type of the formation. The name of May Hill in Gloucestershire, is added to that of Hor- derley, because in that well known hill, several members of the formation (particularly the red and shelly sandstone) are well ex- hibited. 4. Builth and Llandeilo Flags.—These flags, so peculiarly marked by the presence of the large Asaphus Buchiz, and so fuliy developed in Caermarthen and Brecknockshires, have this year been discovered at Rorington in the west of Shropshire. 5. Longmynd and Gwastaden Rocks.—These constitute a great mineral axis in Shropshire, occupying the hilly region of the Long- mynd, Linley, the Stiper Stones, &c.; extending to the north-east in Lyth and Haughmond Hills, and throwing off upon their vertical flanks, the overlying formations: These rocks are again found in the same geological horizon at Gwastaden in Brecknockshire, and also west of Llandovery in Caer- marthenshire, where the siliceous and gritty members are frequently in the form of concretions. The whole of this vast system (No. 5) is void of organic remains. Each of the four fossiliferous formations above enumerated, is distinguishable by an individuality of character of the organic re- mains, by lithological structure, and by geographical boundaries ; whilst. the underlying slaty and conglomeritic system is perfectly dissimilar in aspect and composition from any of the overlying groups. These distinctions are explained in the annexed Table. The author however states, that in Brecknock and Caermarthen- shires it is very difficult to draw those neat lines of separation be- tween these formations, which nature has established in Selop, He- refordshire, &c., and the calcareous members being almost entirely 15 absent in South Wales, it is only in certain places that these subdi- visions can be defined. In addition to this, the several formations thin out so rapidly in their course to the south-west, that beyond Llandeilo, the Ludlow and Wenlock formations appear in the same escarpment, and in like manner on the left bank of the Towey, be- tween Llandeilo and Llangadock, it is difficult to separate the shelly sandstones of the third formation from the black flags of Llandeilo, with which they are associated ; the great fossiliferous system which in Shropshire, Hereford, Radnor, &c. is expanded over so wide an area, being there compressed into a narrow zone between the old red sandstone on the one side and the rocks of roofing slate on the other. I]. The next chapter describes such of the above-mentioned for- mations as occur in the Abberley Hills, upon the flanks of the Mal- vern Hills, Herefordshire, in the vicinity of Usk, Monmouthshire, or in May and Huntley Hills, Gioucestershire, &c. It is stated that Nos. 1 and 2, or the Ludlow and Wenlock formations, are much the most persistent, usually occupying two distinct ridges, as in Shrop- shire, though on a smaller scale. The impure limestone at the base of the Wenlock shale and constituting the top of the shelly sand- stones is also strongly marked by its peculiar characters and organic remains. ‘The arenaceous or great mass of this third formation is brought out from beneath the others at certain points only, as at Ankerdine and Old Storridge Hills, and at Howlers Heath, Wor- cestershire. May Hill, in Gloucestershire, is cited as a good type of the formation, where it is also overlaid by the superior deposits. III. Woolhope Valley of Elevation.—A valley of elevation which the author conceives to be the most symmetrical in Great Britain, is then pointed out as occurring south-east of Hereford, where the two superior formations of the grauwacke series are incurvated round a central dome-shaped mass, composed of the shelly sand- stones of the third formation, from which the strata dip away on all sides at angles varying from 15° to 70°. The harder strata of each formation having resisted destruction, whilst the shales have been worn away, the former constitute the higher encircling ridges, the latter deep trenches of intervallation. The outer zone contains all the fossils characteristic of the Ludlow rocks, and passes beneath the old red sandstone; the inner zone, those of the coralline forma- tion of Wenlock and Dudley, and both these are wrapped round a nucleus of the third formation. The outer zone is unbroken by any transverse gorge, throughout two thirds of its circumference; but at Mordiford it is violently dislocated, and the result has been achasm, by which and by two minor fissures, the valley is en- tirely drained. The whole of the valley is stated to be one of clean denudation, being entirely free from any fragments, even of the old red sandstone, though the inferior and denuded strata must have been raised up through that formation. The author calls atten- tion to the south-eastern apex of this valley, where the encircling formations successively become confluent, and the line of the axis of elevation in its prolongation to the south-east being alone 16 marked by a thin ridge of the Ludlow formation, bears the same geographical relations to the ovoidal mass, as the tail of a school- boy’s kite does to its body. This phenomenon he will hereafter point out as occurring in other valleys of elevation of similar epoch. This line of elevation trending from north-west to south-east, is stated to be prolonged through May and Huntley Hills to Flaxley in Gloucestershire, where the three superior grauwacke formations being reproduced, a separate description of them is annexed. Mr. Maclauchlan had previously laid down upon the map of Ordnance Survey a correct outline of this mass of transition rocks, in its general relations to the old red sandstone. IV. Lines of Direction and Dislocations ——The author here referred to the sheets of the Ordnance Survey on which he had laid down numerous details illustrative of the outlines of each formation, and of the direction and dislocation of the strata. The prevailing strike of all the deposits described, is from north-east to south-west, as indicated by the line of junction of the Ludlow rocks with the old red sandstone in the counties of Salop, Hereford, Brecknock and Caermarthen. The western limits of these counties, together with those of Montgomery and Radnorshire, ex- hibit the same direction of the strata. This tract is about 100 miles in length from Lilleshall Hill and Wellington on the north-east to the mouth of the Towey on the south-west, and has a breadth of from 30 to 40 miles. Within this space there are numerous minor axes of elevation, which are only traceable for short distances on the strike, but they are all parallel to each other, and subordinate to the same great line of elevatory movement. These are for the most part marked by eruptive ridges of trap rock, which tilt the strata upon their flanks both to the north-west and to the south-east ; and wherever such parailel outbursts are numerous, as between the Wenlock edge and the river Vierniew in Montgomeryshire, they occasion the folding over and repetition of strata of the same age, far to the north-west of their regular line of bearing, upon the confines of Shropshire and Herefordshire. Wherever on the con- trary, the longitudinal influence of these short outbursts has ceased, the younger formations, or those of Ludlow and Wenlock, overlie in slightly disturbed positions, the vertical and dislocated beds of the older groups. Hence it is, that the old red sandstone and the Ludlow rocks occupy so large and detached an area on the west, as in Clun, Knighton and Radnor forests. The line of elevation of which the trap rocks of Old Radnor mark the center, terminates on the north-east in the valley of ele- vation of Wigmore, having the promontory of Ludlow as its apex; and on the south-west in the narrow anticlinal ridge of Corn-y-fan near Brecknock. The trap rocks extending from Llandrindod to Builth, and other ridges of porphyritic rocks discovered by the author in Brecknock and Caermarthenshires (hereafter to be de- scribed), occasion similar, short anticlinal lines all trending from north-east to south-west. This general line of direction is broken 17 through transversely by many cracks anc fissures, some of which have been the scene of great dislocation, and it is shown, that through such rents in the strata, the principal rivers escape from the mountains of Wales into the lower counties of England, viz., the Severn, the Onny, the Teme, the Lug, the Wye, &c. On the eastern side of the trough of old red sandstone of Here- fordshire, the mean direction of the strata, as determined by the outline of the trap and sienitic ridges of Abberley and Malvern, is from north to south. But there are many aberrations from that direction, and innumerable local disturbances, curvatures and faults. Thus, for example, the superior grauwacke formations strike south-south-east from Knightwick bridge upon the Teme for a di- stance of six miles, until they are met by the sienitic ridge of the Malvern running due north and south. The result of this contact is, that the sedimentary deposits are cut out, deflected from their course, and their direction accommodated to the western sides and promontories of the intrusive rock. In the neighbourhood of East- nor Park three of the grauwacke formations have the north-east and south-westerly strike so persistent in Salop and Wales; but this direction is merely local, being only maintained in a length of about 24 miles, for the Ledbury ridge, which terminates this group, is seen to strike due south at its apex near Clencher’s Mill. The discrepancy is still greater between the strike of the major axis of the Woolhope Valley extending to Flaxley in Gloucestershire (a distance of about 15 miles), and that of Shucknell Hill, which al- though only two miles distant from the northern end of the Wool- hope Valley, and composed of the same rocks, has a direction from south-west to north-east, and at right angles to the former, which runs from north-west to south-east. The strike of the strata of Shucknell Hill is parallel to the line of bearing of the adjoining trap rocks of Bartestree. Notwithstanding the numerous data explanatory of these divergen- cies in the direction of the strata of the same age on the east side of Herefordshire, and in other parts an occasional coincidence of parallelism between the strike of formations of very different age, the author declines for the present to enter upon the general theoretical question put forth by M. Elie de Beaumont, conceiving that the scale upon which he has observed may by some geologists not be considered sufficiently expansive to enable him fairly to discuss the merits of that theory. It might also be contended that the phe- nomena apparent on the eastern side of Herefordshire have been sim- ply the offsets of those stupendous forces to which the mountain chains of Wales owe their origin, and that such small exceptions could not vitiate a train of reasoning deduced from the phenomena “ observed throughout a whole mountainous region. Intending to pursue this inquiry, he restricts himself, on this oc- casion, to the statement of the fact, that the carboniferous limestone and coal-measures near Wellington, and in the Titterstone Clee Hills where these deposits are penetrated by basalt, have been thrown up into the same north-east and south-west direction as 18 the grauwacke series of Salop and Wales ; whilst in the Abberley Hills, and at Dudley in Staffordshire, a southerly movement has affected both the transition rocks and the coal-measures. This part of the memoir was concluded by the notice of a very remarkable case of dislocation, amounting to an entire reversal of the two younger formations of the grawwacke series along a distance of several miles upon the flanks of the Abberley Hills. In this tract the Lower Ludlow overlies the Upper Ludlow rock, at angles varying from 70° to 45°; and the adjacent parallel ridge of the Wenlock limestone is conformably tilted over, giving the appear- ance of the Ludlow rocks passing beneath the older formation. This phenomenon is supposed to have been brought about by the out- burst of the contiguous trappean hills of Abberley and Woodbury, the elevating forces accompanying which, it is conceived, have bent them back upon their axes, and produced their present inverted po- sition. This mode of explanation, it is stated, is rendered conclusive on tracing the same sedimentary groups to those points where, from their south-south-easterly direction they impinge upon the sienite of the Malvern chain, and where the same phenomenon of reversal, on a small scale, is again apparent. Here the strata near the sienite are bent backwards; but those which are removed from it not having been disturbed in so great a degree, incline towards the west, the Wenlock and Dudley limestone dipping beneath the exterior and upper zone of Ludlow rocks. In further illustration of the country of which he has undertaken the review, the author announced as future communications— 1st, A special notice of the Ludlow and Wenlock formations as they appear at Sedgeley and Dudley in Staffordshire, and of their relations to the coal-measures of that district. Qndly, A sketch of the gravel and alluvial deposits of Hereford- shire and the surrounding counties. 3rdly, On certain new lines of demarcation which he has estab- lished between the old and new red sandstones in Shropshire, Wor- cestershire, Hereford and Gloucestershire ; with some observations on the coal-fields of Pensax, Billingsley, Deuxhill and Sherlot in Salop. athiy, An account of the trap rocks in the country described, including basalts, green-stones, porphyries and sienites, and of the effects produced at their points of eruption through the sedimentary deposits. Feb. 5.—John Donkin, Esq., of Great Surrey Road, Blackfriars Bridge ; Edward Ord Warren, Esq., Horkesley Hall, Colchester ; Edward Clarke, Esq., of Mincing Lane; and James F. W. Johnston, Esq., Professor of Chemistry in the Durham University, were elected Fellows of this Society. A paper was first read ‘ On some of the Faults which affect the Coal-field of Coalbrookdale,” by Joseph Prestwich, jun., Esq., F.G.S. In this communication the author confines his observations al- most entirely to the direction of the principal faults, and to the ES changes which they have produced in the relative position of the beds of coal; and he refers to the memoirs of Mr. Murchison for an account of the formations on which the coal-measures repose. The coal-field is traversed a little north of the Severn by a ridge called “the limestone fault,” which has a nearly east and west direction, and by which the field is divided into two unequal parts. That portion which lies to the north of the line of disturbance is intersected by four faults trending from nearly north-east to south- west, but without preserving a strictly parallel direction. They are called the Boundary, Ketley, Main or Leightmore, and Ranley faults. The Boundary fault, which ranges from Lilleshall Hill to Arcol Hill, the author does not consider to be a true fault, but only to mark the line beyond which, to the north-west, no workings are conducted. Along the line, the dip of the beds suddenly increases from 2° north-west to 13°, and afterwards to 30°. These changes have been ascertained by sinking shafts ; and by means of workings conducted from them it has been proved that the beds of coal, after preserving the last dip for a short distance, suddenly rise towards the surface, in an opposite direction, at an angle of 30°. The out- crop of the measures is concealed by the overlying red marl, but the author is of opinion that the strata may terminate against an under- ground ridge of limestone or against one of the rocks composing the Wrekin. Between New Hadley and the Glass House, in the direction of the synclinal line, the “< clod coal” is 180 yards deep. The Ketley fault is situated to the south-east of the Boundary fault. It is perpendicular, and was traced by the author from the Glass House to the Red Lake, but he states from the informa- tion which he received, that it extends to the base of Steeraways Hill. At the Glass House, and in other parts of its range, the walls of the disjointed measures are in contact, but they are occasionally 30 yards asunder, and the space is filled with the detritus of the ad- joining strata. The greatest difference of level is about 140 yards. The Main or Leightmore fault was traced from Sneeds Hill En- gine to Coalbrookdale. It inclines towards the south-east, and its breadth is about 60 yards, the intervening space being filled with fragments of the coal-measures. The greatest difference of level on the opposite sides of the fault is stated to be 260 yards. The Ranley fault ranges parallel to the Main. The author did not discover its north-eastern extremity, but he traced it from Dark Lane towards Sturchley; he states, however, from the information of the colliers, that it extends to the limestone fault. The breadth is 10 yards, and the inclination towards the south-east. The greatest dif- erence of level is 50 yards. Besides these four principal faults of the northern portion of the coal-field, the author notices several minor ones which have a di- rection generally at right angles to the principal faults, and which appear to have had considerable influence in producing the difference in the level of the strata. The ridge called the limestone fault, which divides the coal-field 20 into two parts, the author traced from Lincoln’s Hill to Windwill Farm, but he noticed the limestone only at the extremities of the ridge, it being elsewhere covered by the coal-measures. ‘The ridge varies in breadth from a quarter to half'a mile. On the north side the coal-measures abut against it, but on the south side they incline with the ridge at an angle of 40° or 50°. To the south of the ridge are several faults which the author de- scribes in detail, but jira their complicated character it is impos- sible to convey a clear notion of their nature without the assistance of ground plans. The author concludes his memoir with some abecruinone on the fossils he procured principally from the ironstone. Of 18 genera of shells which he enumerates, 12 are marine. ‘The lower layers of the ironstone nodules contain, in general, the greatest number of shells, and the upper the greatest number of plants; but the bed called the “‘Chance-penny ironstone,” the highest wrought, contains the greatest abundance of a species of Productus. The most re- markable fossils obtained by the author, are the remains of Trilobites hitherto undescribed. He procured them from a bed of ironstone in the centre of the coal-measures. He notices also a Coleopterous insect, and another apparently belonging to the genus Aranea, in the possession of Mr. Antice of Madeley, and which were obtained from ironstone nodules. A paper was then read, entitled, “« Notes on the Forest of Wyre Coal-field,” by the Rev. Thomas England, F.G.S. The district, described in this memoir, is bounded on the east by the Severn, on the north by the coa!-field of Coaibrookdale, on the west by the Rea and the Hopton to their junction with the Teme, and on the south by the latter river and the Abberley Hills. The superficial transported matter, the author states, is confined chiefly to elevated spots and hill- tops. The gravel consists of pebbles of quartz, trap, slate, hornstone, granite, porphyry, limestone and hard grits; and near Calinenelt Sharon is a boulder of grey granite weighing about two tons. The next deposit described is the new red sandstone, which the author states consists of only the lower beds of the formation im- mediately covering the coal. He says that it forms majestic rocks on each side of the Severn, south of Bewdley, and that between Blackston Hermitage and Kidderminster it appears to rise from be- neath the forest coa! strata. At Winterdine the sandstone is stated to contain beds of conglomerate. From the Borle brook, near Higley, the formation is said to constitute a long north-west range of high land through Chelmarsh and east of Chetton, bending north-east to Tasley. It consists of beds of white and grey sandstone sometimes spotted black and brown, of brown clay and loamstone, and red sandstone. The true nature of this ridge, it is stated, may be plainly seen in rising from the Borle brook to Higley church, and its internal structure par tly examined along the Bridgenor th road. To the south of Cardington, both banks of the Severn are said to be c capped with the new red sandstone, and the coal series to appear half 21 way down the declivity. The author is of opinion that the coal- measure ranges uninterruptedly from Coalbrookdale to the Abber- ley Hills. The greater part of the workings are only shallow pits, touching merely the sulphureous beds, locally called «stinkers.” The upper portion of the measures is chiefly composed of sandy, micaceous, thinly bedded Joamstone with vegetable remains, sand. stone and quartzose conglomerate; the middle and lower part, in which the coal is chiefly wrought, of slate clay, micaceous loamstone, sandstone grit and calcareous conglomerate. Abundance of ve- getable remains are found in the shale, but no other fossils. The author states that this coal-field is peculiar in the constant occurrence of a calcareous conglomerate called cornstone. He says it is seen in different parts of the series, sometimes at the top, as at Glazeley, and sometimes in the middle, forming a concretionary limestone. The lowest of the coal strata are described as being more indurated than the upper, and as consisting of brown and grey sandy loamstone, and coarsely laminated flagstone grits, with thin layers of conglomerate of a deep chocolate colour. The author then briefly alludes to the base of the coal-measures or the old red sandstone, and to the intrusive rocks, which he says abound on every side of the great south Shropshire coal-field. A paper was lastly read “Ona Freshwater Formation contain- ing Lignite in Cerdagne in the Pyrenees,” by Charles Lyell, Esq., Foreign Sec. G.S. The upper part of the basin of the river Segre in Cerdagne pre- sents an example, rare in the Pyrenees, of a great longitndinal valley running east and west, or nearly parallel to the axis of the chain. This basin is formed by a depression in the central region of granitic rocks, which, in the eastern division of the Pyrenees is of consider- able breadth. The lacustrine strata occupy the lower parts of the depression, reposing horizontally on the granite, hornblende schist and argillaceous schist. ‘The breadth of the freshwater formation is about five miles, and its elevation above the sea probably between three and four thousand feet. Its eastern limits are seen to the east- ward of Livia, where the boundary is formed by the ridge of granite from which the head waters of the Segre descend. At this outcrop the freshwater clays are seen to be covered with beds of such gravel as might now be supplied from the waste of the surrounding moun- tains of granite and schist. On crossing the ridge of granite from the basin of Segre to that of the Tét, the author found no recur- rence of the freshwater strata in the valley of the last-mentioned river. The northern outcrop of the lacustrine deposit is well seen at Ur, between Porté and Puycerda, where the strata consist chiefly of coarse gravel resting on highly inclined hornblende schist. The deposit is for the most part composed of variously coloured clays, often laminated, in which shells of the genera Limneus and Planor- bis abound, as at Estavan, near Livia, in French Cerdagne, where lignite has been worked, and where there are bituminous clays con- taining impressions of plants. Lignite is still procured from pits at Prats, near Senabastre, in Spanish Cerdagne. 22 The author offers no opinion as to the tertiary epoch to which the formation may beiong, for the shells obtained at Estavan, al- though entire, were too much flattened to allow M. Deshayes to determine the species. As some portions of the freshwater beds, especially those to the eastward, are highly elevated above others, it appears that the country has undergone great geographical changes since this part of Cerdagne was a lake. The position of the tertiary basin of Cerdagne was illustrated by two transverse sections across the Pyrenees. The memoir concluded with some remarks on the signs of obliterated lakes which abound in the valleys of the Pyrenees at a great variety of levels. The first of the sections alluded to, extended from Pamiers south of Toulouse through the highest part of the Pyrenees to Puycerda in Spain. Beds of a conglomerate (a), are seen on the river Arriege near Verhilles, inclined to the south; and next in a succession are limestone strata much contorted, containing nummulites and other fossils (b) ; then a formation of grit, sandstone and coal, (c). In passing from Ver- hilles tp Foix the groups 6 and c appear to be more than once re- peated in consequence of the derangement of the strata. In the re- maining part of the section between Ussat and Puvcerda, the rocks consist chiefly of granitic and argillaceous schists, covered here and there by limestone in which no fossils were observed. The second section extended from La Estéla in the low country of Catalonia to Céret in France. Immediately north of La Estéla, which stands upon horizontal tertiary strata, the geologist, on ascending the Pyrenees, finds strata of conglomerate having a southerly dip and probably identical with the group a of the first section. This conglo- merate resembles the pudding stone which caps the lofty hill of Mont- serrat in Catalonia. Next to this comes a nummulitic limestone (b), which is seen at Tarrades, and is also inclined to the south; then a series of shales and sandstones (c); and next to this, proceeding to- wards the north, a formation of red sandstone and red marl (d). This last is well exhibited in the valley of the river Muga not far from San Lorenzo. It recurs on the north of that valley with a southerly dip, and rests on strata of mica schist and gneiss, which dip to the north. A little to the north of this point the secondary and primary rocks come in contact with opposite dips ; the Pyrenees here consist of gneiss, mica schist and clay slate, which continue to near Céret, where tertiary formations are seen at the base of the Pyrenees. The above section passes through Masanet, to which place Maclure supposed that the volcanic rocks of the Olot district extended. The author searched in vain for any of these modern igneous rocks near that place, and convinced himself that the extent of the modern vol- canic region of Catalonia has been greatly exaggerated, and that it dees not stretch in a direction from Olot towards Masanet much farther than Castel Follit, or some point between the last-mentioned town and Besalu. ain PROCEEDINGS mor THE GEOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF LONDON. Vor. II. 1833—1834. No. 35. AT THE ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING, 2\st February 1834, The following Report from the Council was read :— The Council have great satisfaction in being able this year to report that the affairs of the Society continue in a state of progres- sive improvement. Not only has the number of Members increased very considerably, notwithstanding the great mortality which the Society has this year to lament, but the finances may be said to be flourishing in a manner totally unprecedented in former years, Fifty-one new Members have been elected during the last year, but there were twenty-two deaths and five resignations, leaving, at the end of the year 1833, a total number of 716 Members. With regard to the finances, the balances in hand amount at pre- sent to the sum of 763/.; and in compliance with the suggestion of the Auditors, the sum of 440/. has, in the course of the year, been in- vested in the purchase of 500/. Consols. ‘The whole balance, there- fore, in the hands of the Society may be calculated at 1203/., an in- crease of about 300/. upon the balance with which the Society com- menced the year ; to which may be added the sum of 1791. 7s. 9d., the difference between the amount of the outstanding debts at the end of 1832 and at the end of 1833, which at the former period amounted to 297/. 11s. 6d., and at the latter only to 1197. 3s. 9d. It may also be observed, that the balance of the property of the Society, without including the value of the collections, the library, or the furniture, is nearly equal to the amount of all the sums which have been received for compositions since the formation of the Society, viz. about 2200/. From the Report of the Committee appointed to examine the state of the Museum, it will be seen that additional space is now become absolutely necessary, for the arrangement of the specimens in a manner consistent both with the objects and interests of the Society, and with the attention which is due to the individuals who have pre- VOL, I. D 24 sented them. A safe and convenient depository is also requisite for the casts of the Megatherium which have been sent to the Society. The Council beg to direct the attention of the Society to the state of the Library, which they consider to be deficient in works relative to the progress of Geology on the Continent, and to observe that foreign works and maps connected with this subject will be the most acceptable donations which can be made to the Society. The Council have to announce that the Supplement to the third volume of the Transactions will soon be published, and that the first part of the fourth volume is also now in the press*. The Council have also directed that the proceedings up to the close of the last Session, together with a full index and title-page, which have been ordered to be prepared, should complete the first volume of the Proceedings. The index and the title-page will soon be ready for delivery. In pursuance of a resolution of Council of the 22nd of January, 1834, one year’s dividend of the Wollaston Fund has been directed to be paid to M. Agassiz in testimony of the high opinion enter- tained by the Geological Society of London, of the scientific value of his work on Fossil Fishes, and to encourage him in the prosecution of his important undertaking. The great additional labour which has devolved upon the Curator of the Museum has induced the Council to direct Mr. Lonsdale to engage another clerk to assist him in the discharge of his duties. They have now to announce that Mr. Bailey has been provisionally appointed on trial for three months. REPORT of the Committee appointed to examine and report on rt the state of the Museums. ' 5th February, 1834. The Committee have the satisfaction of announcing to the Council that the Curator has made very considerable progress since the last Anniversary in the arrangement of the different collections, and in the removal of unnecessary and duplicate specimens. The principal features of the arrangements which have been car- ried into effect by Mr. Lonsdale are: Ist. That in the Foreign Collection nearly all the specimens pre- sented up to the close of the Session of 1833, have been introduced into the series, the only exceptions being those presented by Capt. King from the Straits of Magalhaens, and by Capt. Belcher from the * The following is the statement of the stock of Transactions now re- maining on hand: Vol. I. Part 1, 4 Copies. - Vol. II. Part 3, 190 Copies. = & Suppl. 247 Vol. II. Part 1, 127 —— ~~ Vol. III, Part 1,206 —— — 2,173 — 2, 264 —— Both parts of vol. i. being thus out of print, and the number of these parts having originally been equal to that of the others, the donation of that volume or of either of the parts, will be acceptable to the Society. — 25 West Coast of America, and that the greater part of these specimens have been labelled with the localities and names of the donors. 2nd. That in the English Collection the specimens presented up to the close of the Session 1833 have been also introduced, with the exception of those presented by Mr. Murchison from the coun- ties of Salop, Herefordshire, and the neighbouring parts of Wales, the arrangement of which has stood over until his observations on that part of the country are completed. And 3rdly, That in the Scotch and Irish collections all the spe- cimens presented up to the close of the Session 1833, have also been arranged. The Curator has been most anxious to introduce a regular and systematic method of labelling all the specimens, but his whole time having been occupied in the performance of the above-mentioned duties, he has this year been unable to make any progress in the labelling of the British Collections. The appointment of an addi- tional clerk, as already authorized by the Council, will enable Mr. Lonsdale to proceed immediately in the prosecution of this desirable object. The Museum has been considerably improved as a place of study by the addition of a collection, arranged and presented by the Pre- sident, illustrative of some important phenomena in geology, such as the alteration of rocks in contact with granitic and other mineral veins, the varieties of concretionary structure, cleavage, wea- thering, &c. &c. The same department of the Museum has also been enriched by a collection of mineral veinstones from Cornwall, presented by Mr. Henwood, which it is hoped will form the nucleus of a series to be collected from different parts of the world to elucidate this still ob- scure subject. The Society has been indebted to Captain Basil Hall for the do- nation of a cabinet containing the results of the experiments of the late Sir James Hall on the fusion of rocks. The Committee hope that the possession of this series will facilitate further investigations on a subject, which would probably yield an ample harvest of dis- covery to future inquirers. Amongst the other donations, those which the Committee feel themselves particularly called upon to notice are : A collection of specimens from the neighbourhood of Bonn, pre< sented by Mr. Horner. ’ Specimens of rocks from Wirtemburg, presented by Count Fre- derick Mandelsloh. An extensive series of specimens from the formations of the bor- der counties of England and Wales, collected during the last sum- mer, and presented by Mr. Murchison. A collection of certain products of Vesuvius, preserved in sealed, glass bottles, presented by Mr. Auldjo. The Committee have also the pleasure of stating that the Library has been increased during the last year by 142 books and pamphlets. A valuable series of more than 800 Admiralty Charts has been presented by the Admiralty ; and the Committee have the satisfac- pZ 26 tion of observing, that that department continues to send to the Society, from time to time, their newly published charts. The Honourable Board of Directors of the East India Company have also presented Charts of the East India Seas, to which Captain Horsburgh has added his own Surveys. The collection of maps has also been considerably increased by the donation of a portion of the Irish Ordnance Townland Survey, comprising the county of Londonderry in 49 sheets, which has been presented by the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland through Col. Colby. The Committee cannot speak in too high terms of the plan which, under the direction of the President, has been adopted for arranging and facilitating a reference to the Admiralty charts. The other charts will be arranged in the same manner. The Committee recommend that two similar cabinets be procured for the maps and drawings. The Committee cannot conclude their Report without again allu- ding to the great inconvenience which is experienced from the want of proper room to arrange the daily increasing number of the spe- cimens, an inconvenience which is now the greater, from there not being sufficient space left for the large casts which have lately been received. The casts alluded to consist of—I1st, The bones of the Mega- therium, brought to England from Buenos Ayres by Mr. Woodbine Parish, and for which the Society are indebted to the Royal Col- lege of Surgeons ; and 2ndly, The inferior maxillary bones of the Mastodon and Tetracaulodon, presented by the American Philoso- phical Society of Philadelphia. R. I. MURCHISON. C. LYELL. W. I. HAMILTON. Frsruary 21st, 1834. Fellows. 31st Dec. 1832. 31st Dec. 1833. Having compounded ........ LOK Se eet olen 76 Contributing ye eee nl PAU ARG 5S cole: 225 INoneresidents; 0). SOG yo eset. ork 311 586 612 Hloniameiay, WGC io Li eens even titre t ON Ua aciccon ae 44 Foreren Members) 200) 0): Ey MMe BY ae i 57 Personages of Royal Blood .... 3 ........... 3 694 716 The following Persons were elected Fellows of this Society during the Year 1833. January 9th.—Mr. Justice Bosanquet, of Montague-place, Russell- square. January 23rd.—Herman Merivale, Esq. of Woburn-place, Russell- 27 square ;, Rev. Robert Hankinson, of Bilney Lodge, Lynn; and Charles Atticus Monck, Esq. M.A. Trinity College, Cambridge, and Coldstream Guards. February 6th.—John Taylor, jun. Esq. of Coed-cdu, Flintshire; Richard Taylor, Esq. of Perran Arworthal, near Truro, Cornwall; Richard Davey, Esq. of Redruth, Cornwall; Henry Enfield, Esq. of Raymond-buildings, Gray’s Inn; and P. I. Martin, Esq. of Pul- borough. February 27th_— William Henry Booth, Esq. of Old-square, Lincoln’s Inn; and Chaning Pearce, Esq. of Bradford, Wiltshire. March 13th.—Rev. William Otter, M.A. Principal of King’s College London; and James Harfield, Esq. of Queen-square-place, West- minster. March 27th.—Robert Williams, jun. Esq. of Grosvenor-square. April 17th.—Thomas Colbeck, Esq. of Maddox-street, Regent-street. May Ist.—Robert Scarlett, Esq. of Park-street, Westminster; Rev. R. W. Browne, B.A. Fellow of St. John’s College, Oxford; George Silvertop, Esq. of Minster Acres, Northumberland ; Andrew Martin, Esq. of Suffolk-place, Pall Mall East; Henry Darwin Rogers, Esq. of Philadelphia ; and John Lewis Prevost, Esq. Consul-General for Switzerland, of Suffolk-street, Pall Mall East. May 15th.—George Wareing Ormerod, Esq. B.A. of Brazenose College, Oxford, and of Ardwick, Lancashire ; Viscount Borring- don, M.P. Kent House, Kensington ; James Garth Marshall, Esq. of Headingley, near Leeds, and of Upper Grosvenor-street ; Capt. Chartres, Royal Artillery, Bath; Damiano Floresi, Esq. Com- missioner of the Bolaiios and Vetu Grande Mines in Mexico; and Joseph Prestwich, Esq. of Lawn, South Lambeth. May 2Y¥th.—Richard Grantham, Esq. of Limerick, Civil Engineer ; and James Hardie, Esq. on the Bengal Medical Establishment. ~ June 12th —Stephen Woolryche, Esq. Inspector General of Hospitals, of Heath Farm, Cashiobury, Hertfordshire ; Rev. Edward Denison, Fellow of Merton College, Oxford; Philip Pusey, Esq. of Pusey near Farringdon, Berkshire ; Richard Westmacott, jun. Esq. of Wilton-place; and Abel Lewis Gower, Esq. of Finsbury-square. November 6th.—John Ward, Esq. of Holwood, Bromley, Kent; John F. South, Esq. of St. Thomas’s-street, Southwark ; and Francis Walker, Esq. of Southgate, Middlesex. November 20th.—Joseph Burkart, Esq. Mining Engineer of Zaca- tecas, Mexico; and John Kenyon, Esq. of Devonshire-place. December 4th.—Viscount Oxmantown, M.P. of Berkeley-square ; Sir George Magrath, M.D. of Plymouth; Jones Quain, M.D, Professor of Anatomy and Physiology in the University of London; George Rushout, Esq. Ist Life Guards; Rev. Thomas Smith Turnbull, M.A. of Caius College, Cambridge ; Charles Henry Weston, Esq. B.A. of Trinity College, Cambridge, of Lincoln’s Inn, and of Rus- sell-square ; John Waterhouse, jun. Esq. of Halifax, Yorkshire; and Richard Hollier, Esq. of Maze-hill, Greenwich. December 18th.—Lieut.-Col. Edward Clive, of the Grenadier Guards ; Charles Denham Orlando Jephson, Esq. M.P. of Mallow, in the 28 county of Cork; Charles Spicer, Esq. Royal Hospital, Chelsea; and Dr. MacDougle, of Duke-street, St. James’s. The names of the Fellows and Honorary Members deceased are as follows :— Compounders, (None.) Residents (7), William Babington, M.D; John Badams, Esq.; W. P. Brigstock, Esq.; Lord King; Roger Pettiward, Esq.; William Sotheby, Esq.; Duke of Sutherland. Non-residents (11), Sir James Affleck ; Adam Clerke, LL.D.; Turn- bull Christie, M.D. ; John Crosse, Esq.; Marquis de Funchal ; J. Francis Berger, M.D. ; Sir C. Giesecké; Rev. Lansdowne Guild- ing; Sir John Malcolm; Rev. Daniel Pettiward; Thomas Walford, Esq.; David Scott, Esq. Honorary (4), David Crawford, Esq.; C. S. Harford, Esq.; Rev. Benjamin Newton ; Alexander Nimmo, Esq. The Museum has received many Donations since the last Anniver- sary, among which are included the following :— British and Irish Specimens. A collection of recent Shelis from the English Coast, and Fossils from Weymouth; presented by Miss Warne. Specimens from the border counties of England and Wales ; pre- sented by Roderick Impey Murchison, Esq. F.G.S. Geological Specimens from the Isle of Man; Specimens of Ripple Marks in the New Red Sandstone of Cheshire ; Geodes from the Magnesian Limestone, Yorkshire ; and Specimens from the Moun- tain Limestone and Coal Shale of Kulkeagh, county of Fermanagh ; presented by Viscount Cole, M.P. F.G.S. and Sir Philip de Malpas Grey Egerion, Bart. F.G.S. Part of a Basaltic Column from the Giant’s Causeway ; presented by Sir William Blizard, F.R.S. Fossils from the neighbourhood of Weymouth; Agate Nodules from the Magnesian Limestone, Mendip Hills; and Casts of perfora- tions by Teredina personata, from the Plastic Clay, Hengisbury, Hants ; presented by the Rev. Prof. Buckland, D.D. F.G.S. Fossils from the neighbourhood of Weymouth; presented by Henry Thomas De la Beche, Esq. V.P.G.S. Specimens of Bechite and fossil Corals from Devonshire ; presented by the Marquis of Northampton, F.G.S. Head of a Fish from the London Clay; presented by George Stewart Nicholson, Esq. F.G.S. Cast of the Paddle of the Plesiosaurus found near Bedford ; presented by Dr. Lee. Specimens from the Chalk of Wiltshire ; and of Silicified Wood from the Isle of Portland, Dorsetshire; presented by Miss Benett. Specimen of Manganese ; presented by Mr. James De Carle Sowerby. 29 Chalcedonic Flints from Hemel Hempstead; presented by Henry Campbell White, Esq. F.G.S. Specimens from the Mountain Limestone in the neighbourhood of Tenby ; presented by the Rev. T. Salway. Bones of the Elephant, Rhinoceros and Ox, from the gravel, Brookhall, near Lawford; presented by the Rev. William Thornton. Fossils from the Cliffs at Hastings and St. Leonard’s, and part of a Tree from the Submarine Forest near Hastings; presented by Woodbine Parish, jun. Esq. F.G.S. Specimens of Endogenites erosa from St. Leonard’s; presented by William Henry Fitton, M.D. V.P.G.S. Specimens from the Submarine Forest near Hastings ; presented by Robert Wrench, Esq. A Specimen of the Hastings Sandstone with Ripple Marks ; presented by Charles Babbage, Esq. Specimens from the Coal-field of the Forest of Wyre; presented by the Rev. Thomas England, F.G.S. Foreign Specimens. Fossil Shells of existing species from the shores of the Red Sea; pre- sented by James Burton, Esq. F.G.S. Specimens from the South of Spain; presented by George Bellas Greenough; Esq. P.G.S. Coal Plants from Cape Breton, Gulf of St. Lawrence ; presented by Thomas Bigge, Esq. F.G.S. Cast of the Lower Jaw of a young Tetracaulodon ; presented by Dr. Harlan. Fossils from France; presented by Miss Warne. Specimens from the neighbourhood of Bonn; presented by Leonard Horner, Esq. F.G.S. Series of Specimens illustrative of the Geology of Wirtemburg ; pre- sented by Count Frederick Mandelsloh. Specimens of Glarus Slate, and of Kupfer-shiefer, with impressions of Fishes, from Mansfield; presented by Sir Philip de Malpas Grey Egerton, Bart. F.G.S. Fossils from the Montagne de Fis; presented by Viscount Cole, M.P. F.G.S., and Sir Philip de Malpas Grey Egerton, Bart. F.G.S. Silicified Wood from Ava ; presented by Mr. Jas. De Carle Sowerby. Specimens from the Brazils ; presented by James Sturz, Esq. Specimens from the Cave of Santo Ciro, near Palermo; presented by Samuel P. Pratt, Esq. F.G.S. Specimens from the Mouth of the Tigris; presented by William P. Richards, Esq. F.G.S. Specimen of Thorit; presented by Professor Esmark, For. Mem.G.S. Specimens of Lead Ore from Gador, South of Spain; presented by John Willimott, Esq. F.G.S. Specimens from the North Shore of the River St, Lawrence ; pre- sented by Captain Bayfield, R.N. Specimens from Vesuvius, Calabria, Sicily and Mount St. Gothard ; presented by Count de Bylandt. 30 A Specimen of Marble perforated by Lithodomi, obtained from a ship sunk in the Leghorn Roads in the year 1750; presented by William Richardson, Esq. F.G.S. Specimen of Rock Salt from Huamanga, between Huancavelica and Cusco ; presented by I. M. Maclean, Esq. Specimens from Vesuvius ; collected and presented by John Auldjo, Ksq. F.G.S. Chromate of Lead from Siberia ; presented by Mons. Donati. Fossils from Malta; presented by J. W. Collings, Esq. Asbestus from Corsica ; presented by Richard Knight, Esq. F.G.S. Specimens from the Azores ; presented by the Rev. J. H. Simpson. Specimens from the banks of Indus, Hindu Koosh, &c.; presented by Lieutenant Alexander Burnes. Specimens from Jersey ; presented by Ashhurst Majendie, Esq. F.G.S. Specimens from Australia ; presented by Capt. Henry Smyth, R.N. Casts of the Bones of the Megatherium from Buenos Ayres, brought to England by Woodbine Parish, jun. Esq. F.G.S.; presented by the Royal College of Surgeons. Casts of the Inferior Maxillary Bones of the Mastodon and of the Tetracaulodon ; presented by the American Philosophical Society. Specimens of the Tertiary Formations in the South of Spain; pre- sented by Col. Silvertop, F.G.S. The Liprary has been increased by the Donation of 142 Books and Pamphlets. Cuarrs anp Maps. A complete series of the Charts published under the direction of the Admiralty ; presented by Captain Beaufort, by the command of the Lords Commissioners of the Admiralty. The Townland Survey of the Counties of Londonderry and Antrim ; presented by Lieut.-Col. Colby, by command of His Excellency the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland. Sheets 45, 56, and 73 of the Ordnance Survey of England; presented by the Master General and Board of Ordnance. The Sheets of the Trigonometrical Survey of India, published during the last year; presented by the Honourable the Court of Direc- tors of the East India Company. MiscELLANEOUS. Cast of the Colossal Bust of Baron Cuvier, by M. David; presented by M. David. A Silver and Bronze Medal of Count Sternberg ; presented by Count Sternberg. A Medal of Lem. Jacob Berzelius, M.D. For. Memb. G.S. in Selenium ; presented by M. Batka. Portions of Iron Boiler Tubes from the Steam Engines, Cornwall ; presented by John Taylor, Esq. Treas. G.S. The following Lrsr contains the Names of all the Persons and Public Bodies from whom Donations to the Library and Museums have been received since the Anniversary of 1§33. Admiralty, Lords Commissioners of the. Anti-Slavery Reporter. Arts, Society of. Asiatic Society of Calcutta. Auldjo, John, Esq. F.G.S. Aylmer, His Excellency Lord. American Philosophical Society. Babbage, Charles, Esq. Babbington, B. G. M.D. Batka, M. Bayfield, Captain, R.N. Beaufort, Capt. R.N. Hon. Mem. G.S Beaumont, M. Elie de, For. Mem. G.S. Beke, Mr. C. T. Belcher, Captain, R.N. F.G.S. Benett, Miss. Besser, M. Bigge, Thomas, Esq. F.G.S, ~ Black, Young and Young. Blizard, Sir William. Bohn, Mr. John. Boubée, Mr. Brewster, Sir David, F.G.S. Bristol Institution. Broderip, W. J. Esq. V.P.G.S. Brookes, Henry, Esq. F.G.S. Buckland, Rev. W., D.D. F.G.S Burnes, Lieut. Alexander. Burton, James, Esq. F.G.S.. Bylandt, Count de. Cambridge Philosophical Society. Chaubard, M. Christie, Prof. Alexander. Clerget, M. Colby, Lieut.-Col. R.E., F.G.S. Cole, Viscount, M.P. F.G.S. Collings, J. W. Esq. Committee of the Atheneum. Cooper, , M.D. Cotta, C. Bernard. Crocker, E. Esq. Cumby, Wm. Esq. Dechen, Heinrich von, For. Mem. G.S. De la Beche, Henry Thomas, Esq. V.P.G.S. Donati, M. Dufrénoy, M.——, For. Mem. G.S. Dumont, M. A. Kast India Company, Directors of. Editor of the Literary Gazette. Egerton, Sir Philip, Bart. F.G.S. Esmark, Prof, For. Mem. G:S. England, Rev. Thomas, F.G.S. Faraday, Michael, Esq. F.G.S.__ Finch, J. Esq. Fitton, Miss. Fitton, William Henry, M.D. V.P.G.S. Geological Society of Dublin. Geological Society of France. Gilbert, Davies, Esq. F.G.S. Gordon, Alexander, Esq. Gould, Nathaniel, Esq. Gower, Lewis, Esq. F.G.S. Greenough, G. B. Esq. P.G.S. Hall, Capt. Basil, R.N. F.G.S. Harlan, Dr. Hausmann, J. F. L. Hays, Isaac, M.D. Herschel, Sir John F. W., F.G.S. Hoeninghaus, M. F. W. Hookham, Mr. Horner, Leonard, Esq. F.G.S. Horsburgh, Captain. Hutton, William, Esq. F.G.S. Jackson, Col. J. R. Jones, Mr. Killaly, Richard G. Esq. F.G.S. Knight, C. Esq. Knight, Richard, Esq. F.G.S. Laurillard, M. C. L. Lea, Isaac, Esq. Lee, , LL.D. Lewis, Rev. T. T. Lindley, John, Esq. F.G:S. Linnean Society of London. Literary and Historical Society of Quebec. London and Birmingham Rail- way Company, Directors of. Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, His Excellency the. Loudon, J. C. Esq. F.G.S. Lyell, Chas. Esq. For. Sec. G.S. Macneill, John, Esq. Maclean, I. M. Esq. Majendie, Ashhurst, Esq. F.G.S. Man, W. Esq. Mandelsloh, Count Frederick. Mantell, Gideon, Esq. F.G.S. Master General and Beard of Ordnance. Meyer, von Hermann. Monnet, M. Morris, Mr. Murchison, Roderick Impey, Esq. F.GS. Murray, Hugh, Esq. Nattali, Mr. Natural History Society of Ile Maurice. Nicholson, George S. Esq. F.G.S. Northampton, Marquis of, F.G.S. Page, Frederick, Esq. F.G.S. Parish, Woodbine, jun. Esq. F.G.S. Parker, Joseph, Esq. Paxton, Mr. Joseph. Perthis, M. Phillips, Richard, Esq. F.G.S. Phillips, Thomas, Esq. Plymouth Institution. 32 Pratt, Samuel P. Esq. F.G.S. Procter, J. Esq. Reinwardt, M. G. C. Richards, W. P. Esq. F.G.S. Richardson, William, Esq. F.G.S. Roberts, Mr. Royal Academy of Science of France. Royal Academy of Berlin. Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain. Royal Astronomical Society of London. ; Royal College of Physicians. Royal Society of Edinburgh. Royal Society of Literature. Royal Society of London. Royal College of Surgeons. Salway, Rev. T. Schmerling, Dr. P. C. Scrope, George P. Esq. F.G.S. Silliman, B., M.D. Hon. Mem. G.S. Silvertop, Col. C. F.G.S. Silvertop, George, Esq. F.G.S, Silvestre, Giovanni. Simpson, Rev. J. H. Smyth, Capt. Henry, R.N. Society of Arts. Sowerby, Mr. James de Carle. Sternberg, Count G., For. Mem. G.S Stratford, W. S. Esq. Sturz, James, Esq. Sykes, Lieut.-Col. F.G.S. Taddy, Mr. Sergeant, F.G.S. Taylor, John, Esq. F.G.S. Taylor, Richard, Esq. F.G.S. Thornton, Rev. William. Thorpe, Mr. Thomas. Upton, Mr. Vandermaelen, Mr. Vaughan, Petty, Esq. Walker, F. Esq. F.G.S. 33 Warne, Miss. Woodward, Samuel, Esq. Wetherell, Nathaniel, | Esq. | Wrench, Robert, Esq. F.G.S. Wright, Mrs. Whewell, Rev. William, F.G.S. White, Henry C. Esq. F.G:S. Yorkshire Philosophical Society. Wild, Isaac, Esq. Willimott, John, Esq. F.G.S. Zoological Society of London. List of Papers read since the last Annual Meeting, Feb. 15th, 1833. February 27th.—Description of parts of the Kingdoms of Valencia, Murcia and Granada, in the South of Spain; by Captain Cook, R.N. F.G.S. ————— Observations relative to the Structure and Origin of the Diamond; by Sir David Brewster, K.C.H. LL.D. F.G:S. F.R.S. — Notice on the occurrence of Bones of Animals in a Coal-mine in Styria; by Professor Anker, of the Joanneum in Gratz. March 13.—On the Environs of Bonn; by Leonard Horner, Esq. F.G.S. March 27 and April 17.—On the Sedimentary Deposits which occupy the western parts of Shropshire and Herefordshire, and are pro- longed from N.E. to S.W. through Radnor, Brecknock and Caer- marthenshires, with descriptions of the accompanying rocks of in- trusive or igneous characters ; by Roderick Impey Murchison, Esq. F.G.S. May 1.—Notice of a Machine for Regulating High Temperatures, invented by the late Sir James Hall, Bart. F.G.S., drawn up by Captain Basil Hall, R.N. F.G.S. A Letter from Mr. Telfair to Sir Aiexander Johnstone, V.P.R.A.S., accompanying a specimen of recent Conglomerate Rock from the Island of Madagascar, containing fragments of a Tusk, and part of a Molar Tooth of a Hippopotamus; communi- cated by Roderick Impey Murchison, Esq. F.G'S. May 15.— Observations on the Cliffs in the neighbourhood of Har- wich, made in December 1832; by James Mitchell, Esq. LL.D. F.G.S. A Memoir on the Valley of the River Medway and the adja- cent Country; by R. Dadd, Esq. and communicated by James Mitchell, Esq. F.G.S. On a Fossil in the Bristol Museum, and discovered in the Lias at Lyme Regis ; by Dr. Riley, and communicated by Charles Stokes, Esq. F.G:S. . May 29.—On the Oolitic Formation and its Contents, as occurring in a Quarry at Bearfield, near Bradford, Wilts; by J. Chaning Pearce, Esq. F.G.S. 34 May 29.—-A Paper upon some Tertiary Deposits in the Province of Granada and part of that of Sevilla, and along the line of coast from Malaga to Cartagena, in the South of Spain; by Col. Charles Silvertop, F.G.S. June 12.—A Notice on some Specimens from the Coal Shale of Kul- keagh, and the subjacent Limestone, in the County of Fermanagh ; by Sir Philip de Malpas Grey Egerton, Bart. F.G.S. ——— On the Osseous Cave of Santo Ciro, about, two miles to the S.E. of Palermo; by Samuel Peace Pratt, Esq. F.G.S. A Communication from Captain Colquhoun, and addressed to Roderick Impey Murchison, Esq. F.G.S., “ Descriptive of Masses of Meteoric Iron found in Mexico and Potosi.” A Letter from Mr. Gardner, Geographer, to Roderick Impey Murchison, Esq. F.G.S,, ‘‘ On the Relative position of Land and Water with Respect to the Antipodes.” November 6.—On a Band of Transition Limestone, and on Granite Veins appearing in the Grauwacké Slate of Westmoreland, near Shap Wells and Wastdale Head; by the Rev. Adam Sedgwick, F.G.S. Woodwardian Professor in the University of Cambridge. Notice respecting some Points in the Section of the Coast near St. Leonard’s and Hastings ; by William Henry Fitton, M.D. V.P.G.S8. — A Letter from Woodbine Parish, Esq. F.G.S. addressed to George Bellas Greenough, Esq. P.G.S., accompanying a collec- tion of Fossils made by Mr. Parish during the last summer at St. Leonard’s. November 20.—Notes on the Geology of the North Coast of the River and Gulf of St. Lawrence, from the Mouth of the Saguenay (long. 69° 16’) to Cape Whittle (long. 60°); by Captain Bayfield R.N., and communicated by George Bellas Greenough, Hsq. P.G.S. December 4.—A Letter from Hugh E. Strickland, Esq. addressed to George Bellas Greenough, Esq. P.G.S., On the Red Marl and Lias of parts of Gloucestershire, Worcestershire and Warwickshire, and on a Line of Disturbance which affects those Formations be- tween Bredon Hill in Gloucestershire, and Inkberrow in Worces- tershire. On the Strata of Quainton and Brill in Buckingham- shire ; by James Mitchell, LL.D. F.G.S. —_—_——— Observations on the Cliff at Reculver in Kent ; by James Mitchell, LL.D. F.G.S. December 18.—Notes on the Geology of the Brown Clee Hill in Shropshire; by Rumley Wright, Esq. employed in the Ordnance Survey. — On the Geology of the Banks of the Indus, the Indian Caucasus, and the Plains of Tartary to the Shores of the Caspian ; by Lieutenant Alexander Burnes. January 8.—On the Old Red Sandstone in the Counties of Hereford, Brecknock and Caermarthen, with Collateral Observations on the Dislocations which affect the N.W. margin of the South Welsh Coal-basin ; by Roderick Impey Murchison, Esq. F oe 35 January 22.—On the Structure and Classification of the Transition Rocks of Shropshire, Herefordshire and part of Wales, and on the Lines of Disturbance which have affected that Series of Deposits, including the Valley of Elevation of Woolhope ; by Roderick Impey Murchison, Esq. F.G.S. February 5.—On some of the Faults which affect the Coal-field of Coalbrookdale, and on the occurrence of Trilobites and Marine Testacea, associated with Freshwater Shells in the Ironstone of that District; by Joseph Prestwich, Esq. F.G.S. On the Coal-field of the Forest of Wyre, near Stourport, in Shropshire ; by the Rev. Thomas England, F.G.S. — On the Freshwater Formation of Cerdagne in the Py- renees, and on the evidences which that Chain affords of oblite- rated Lakes at different altitudes ; by Charles Lyell, Esq. For. Sec. GS. 36 Sums actually Received and Expended, Recerprs. Balances in hand January 1, 1833: ah Sun ea. SRC Banker (including 104/. 8s. Od. Wol- Tastom? Eure) ones ae ee eee 878 17 4 Accountant. Oe ee a Bae 40 1 0 ——— 918 18 4 Arrears : SS fe ACiMiSSIONMEEeSi ee aie tet) ee 7h trae (0) Annual Contributions) \.0- ee. Dis CG) L667 3) 16 Ordinary Income: Esaki wale Annual: Contributronsses.- ee eee 546 0 O Admission Fees : Lewomnral Residents ........ ISS 2a70 Non-Residents .... 189 0 UO —— S27 AZ a0 == Sam ao) Compositions, six ........ Sy dane re BURN hNea cy Boris 1s9 0 0 gag Soo Wa: ES5 Ge.) Gh MrAansactlOouSimee see eee. 99 17 6 Received from Messrs. Treuttel and Wurtz for copiessold during £ s. d. SS Zee ee see Les. O77 8} Dittosoldat the Apart- ments in 1832.... 016 0 —— 97 18 8 197 16 2 IPROCECCINE Si ey cies CCL nee one 4 3 0 DON WS). By WeollastomiMun dg) e 5 sen rot matt. er Sra nae S27 10ys4 Dividends on 500/. 3 per cent. Consols, six months,... 7 10 0 £2389 13 4 37 during the Year ending December 31, 1833. PayMENTS. Bills outstanding: 633 G5 Ws), ean Go. Wo TNESRS) céccoaaossacnsdocaasoacaseeoocodaosoNGaoo000000000 9 5 © Salaries and Wages ..........0s.eccoeecssescerooeves 1s © © Collector's Poundage, (1831 and 1832)......... 33 0 O Petty Expenses for December 1832............... 3015 3 Tronmoncerss Willy ncneccteresaceecseaceseeesececs 318 3 Treuttel for Books...........scscsesserecsecsseseoeees SOO Relay lon lenin ti oereeeaalacecal aececsscseceacisises 12 iil © Wyon, for Wollaston Dies and Medal............ 638 0 0 Lonsdale, award of Wollaston Donation Fund, NEB GoocaocaasooaanndopoobdboUsHGKd0bG0de00000000000 B44 0) Ge Vandercomb, Bond and other Law Expenses... 34 11 8 297 11 6 General Expenditure: eisai de Household Furniture ............ 1 4 0 Repairs of House .........-..s0000s 18 7 4 House Expenses ..........0.20000. 156 18 3 Paxesteearochialllcceucsccnesiscsees Oy FO =) USCIS cas q00cq00d0900 50000050 53 9 4 IDTSERIIGS “Goadoonosonesacooodos.oHOon 6 0 O 258 3 It Salaries and Wages : GS Be Oe Curator and Clerk .................: 150 O O JERHIBIP GooctogonsoosasHooHDdcoRnHAgb000d 75 O O Collector’s Poundage ............ As i) O) 250 19 O Scientifics xpenditureges ae erties 100 15 3 Stationery and Miscellaneous Printing.... 34 9 6 eastor Meetings mln mes argrse isn cer 43 7 0 — 687 14 8 Cost of Publications : Boy Sede AMR NSAE MODS, oobocaqgagscod9nd90000b00K0000005000006800 NGL jl © LETHON, Saqgoodadososqucabo9n cadSdoobo0>N000N5300 tu By & 198 6 6 Purchase of 5007. 3 per cent. Consols . 441 17 6 Power of Attorney to receive Dividends Ll 6 442 19 0 Balance in hand Jan. 1, 1834: £, s. d. Banker (including 411. 8s. Wollaston Fund)... 725 1 8 Accountant ........ 9900000000 sonoqapsode6e0 190800C »- 40 0.0 763, 1 8 £2389 13 4 35 "PESI “1g ‘une ‘suontany { “ANYOH GUVNOUT ite “UANTAV “MD *J0a1109 Way} puy puv “syuoutaye}g asayy yA si 0} pajuasaid siayono, pue syoog ay} paaeduios oavy aM G Il OL60¥ - “‘uauaASvaNT, YOTAV.L NHOFL [:“apunog ayn fg pagsassns sasodind ay2 02 pagnrtdo.ddn Suaq foasays spuaprarp ayy £ sarginu -Uup ‘quao sad @ pasnpayy ay, U2 “PT ‘ST “2FSOT 07 quas -a.ld 7p Surjunowun ‘uopspyyo yy iq 29) ayg fig pagngysue «PUNT UOLDUOCTT ,, 9Y) S2.LOU : papnjour a1ay Zou s2 aang -wing pup hinagrT ‘suoyoayjog ayy fo anova ayy “g'N | 6 Il OL60F © 61 O10Z °° °° Aya100g ay} Jo noay ur aourjeg 0 O1 IL Aja100g ay) 48 pos suonsesuesyjo saidoo 10} ang 0 0 OOL **°***** +++ **paatazas aq 03 AfayI] JOU sava.ay 0 91 OF Pete ttrrtseees sess sees ss blog guonoesuRdy, 0 8 Ih “""" ,, puny uojseT[opy ,, ay} 0) Sulsuojaq yseg JO yunoooe uo ‘z}1nAA pUue Ja}jNaIy, wosy aug 6 € Ssti- 0 0 OPP © °° °°°******sjosuog ues qed e “40019 "1006 ORAS weGhrese S "*** sSurpaa001gq 9 91 Z8G °°°°**** suonoRsuRry, pjosun jo onjea payewns| pue suonovsueay suryoins ‘ajiag 0 2 &SP : 06S ‘ttt 05 pure jaynary, 0 IL 01g °°°*** suonnquyueg jenuuy we IG\E A EOS “palquary OF Oe Ge eat = oe 2 Sao uuOIssIUIpy, Spall 80% Se ee Beau ot eee Ti AG. 8? : AJQ1I90g 9Y} 0} anp srvoIy OO ¢ asepunog $,10199][05 ; 0 0 GL “**"*"****sadeqy pue sarees BL GOL cite ttt ee ee teres (ung uo} OG 8 ea es * BOXY J; “SPTIOM “PO 88 “71h SuIpnjour) puey ul saourreg TDG 2: ee ea : Sulpueysyno sifig |p ‘s -s “SLagGd “ALUAIOU J “ES81 “aquiazeq sie * hjsadorg sfija190g ayy fo NOILVA'IV A. 3Y bo€ OLOIF ey & Vv 0 ) ooo eo “p 6 Ol 0 0 °s Zz °°°*** Ayatoog ayy Jo anoavy ul souepeg SS « PUNY vONLuOG UO}sLIJO AA », B41 Jo JUaWAO|dUIy OO “°° °° ct * 8s *paataoar aq 03 ATOyI] 10U SivoIy 08€ 0 Oo 038 eee ee sete eee ee we se oes SSUIpad001F OO: Cee Soaduonovcbs0e Ge coks - suonjovsuesy, je G3 : SUOIJBOI[GN | JO ySOD 0S e2 ee eo ee cee eee eo ee ee oe ow "* SSUTJIOJY 10} vay, 0G “"°°°** Ruynurig snoauryipaosipy puev A1gu0yv3¢6 OG[ Sadjaysyoog pur syaurqeg ‘ainjipuedxq oynuatog OOM a O= OF GG ee cr a aSepunog $,10}09][0.) OOF 00 en a ee jUBAISg pul 19}10;] On OL Gua ee Soe - 41019 O 0 006 “""*"""**°***** GuURISISSY pue 10}21nND > S9SBAA PUB SdLIV]VS 69E OO) Gee = soanquiang pjoyesnoyy (6) @) Ost eeeee ss cee ae eee tees sosuodx asnofy 0 0 GL citttttttt) crest etees = agueansuy O 6 a idee dad Shp TS Se ses -- soxey @) O (0) ece eeceeoeeee “°° asnoyy Jo sireday = Wes 2 : ainyipuedxy pelauay Sele Specs: mea ESI ‘1g ‘20q Suipuris}no s}qaq F ‘CULVWILSA SUSNAdXa bee OL91F (a Ge =e ‘ sjosuog “uae Jad ¢ 790¢ UO spuaplalqd i? Ol Be. °%° « Pung UoNLUOT UOsseI[OMA », UO spuaplalq 0 0 0% ee oe SOD 00D 00 DbOOD 0000-0 sdUIpIa00.1 J 0 0 062 SS oe ee se) SUOMOCSUVIN [OLOIUG 0 OL €6 Sa ee oe (Gotu) RSM OTI SOCIO) O OL £82 ) Ol Ua e2eeees 900 (61) syuaprsay -uoN O_O: 20Aie ee ee (oz) s}apisoy (PEF iSeo,, UOISSIUIpY 0 0 O6h “ct ttt ttt smorfag egy Jo suonnquyu0g :(paywmysa) pEg] 10; auoouy AreuIpsg 0 OL It °° °°‘ * **Aja1D0g ay 4B plos suoToLsuRAy, I0J ong 0 g] OF Se et eae ae eR ee eee |) |OSESUO MOE -SuvI], JO JUNODIV UO ‘Ox PUL [aq}NoIT, WOT 0171 0 £ Beh “°"°°* S81 ‘IE 29d “Ay2100g 943 03 anp sivaty ‘Ds °F ‘CdaLIGd Xa ANOONI “PSST “vax Suinsua ay] LOf STLVINILS VOL. II. 40 The Reports having been read, it was Resolved : — That these Reports be received and entered on the Minutes of the Meeting, and that such parts of them as the Council may think fit, be printed and distributed among the Fellows of the Society. The President then stated that the Council had awarded to M. Agassiz the proceeds of the Wollaston Fund for the past year, in order to promote his important work on Fossil Fishes. It was next Resolved :— 1. That the thanks of the Society be given to William Henry Fit- ton, M.D. and the Rev. Professor Sedgwick, retiring from the office of Vice-President. 2. That the thanks of the Society be given to Francis Chantrey, Esq. ; Viscount Cole, M.P. ; Earl Fitzwilliam ; Captain Pringle ; and William Somerville, M.D., retiring from the Council. The Meeting then proceeded to ballot for the Officers and Council for the ensuing year ; and on tne glasses being closed, the scrutineers announced that the following gentlemen had been duly elected :— OFFICERS. PRESIDENT. George Bellas Greenough, Esq. F.R.S. & L.S. VICE-PRESIDENTS. William John Broderip, Esq. B.A. F.R.S. & L.S. Henry Thomas De la Beche, Esq. F.R.S. & L.S. Roderick Impey Murchison, Esq. F.R.S. & L.S. Henry Warburton, Esq. M.P. F.RS. SECRETARIES. Edward Turner, M.D. F.R.S. L. & E. Professor of Chemistry in the University of London. William John Hamilton, Esq. FOREIGN SECRETARY. Charles Lyell, Esq. F.R.S. & L.S. TREASURER. John Taylor, Esq. F.R.S. 41 COUNCIL. George William Aylmer, Esq. Rev. Prof. Buckland, D.D. F.R.S. L.S. Professor of Geology and Mineralogy in the University of Oxford. Major S. Clerke, K.H. Rev. W. D. Conybeare, M.A. F.R.S. C. G. B. Daubeny, M.D. F.R.S. Professor of Botany and Che- mistry in the University of Ox- ford. Sir Philip de Malpas Grey Eger- ton, Bart. F.R.S. William Henry Fitton, M.D. F.R.S. & L.S. | D. Gilbert, Esq. D.C.L. F.R.S. S.A. L.S. & H.S. Hon. Mem. R.S. Ed. M.R.1.A. Woodbine Parish, jun. Esq. F.R.S. Captain A. Robe, R.E. | Rev. Adam Sedgwick, M.A. F.R.S. Woodwardian Professor in the University of Cambridge, Lieut.-Col. Sykes, | J. H. Vivian, Esq. M.P. F.R.S. Rev. J. Yates, M.A. F.L.S. E2 4:2 Address delivered at the Anniversary Meeting of the Geological Society, on the 21st of February 1834, by Georex: Bettas Greenoven, Esq. President. ; GENTLEMEN, You have learned from the Report of the Council that the Society has considerably gained in number since the last Annual Meeting. So large an accession of members shows the growing popularity of our science, and is at once a gratifying reward of your past exertions and a sure presage of your further success. You have also been informed that during the same period the losses of the Society have been unusually numerous. Several of the deceased, whose main objects in life, if not alien, were connected but remotely with those of our institution, conferred uponit, notwith- standing, by their enlightened encouragement, important advantage: but the merits of the poet, the historian, the statesman, the warrior, though recorded in the annals of a grateful country, must not here be dwelt upon. To the memory of those only who have been closely allied to us, as fellow-labourers, will you desire that I should pay, individually, the well-earned tribute of our common regret. The late Dr. Babington, whom we have been accustomed to look to with a respect almost filial, attached himself in early life to the study of chemistry and mineralogy. In the year 1795, he published a Systematic Arrangement of his collection of minerals purchased of the Earl of Bute, the finest, perhaps, which at that period existed in England ; and in 1799, his New System of Mineralozy, which may be considered a continuation of the former werk. These works, now superseded by others, which the introduction of improved modes of inquiry and the application of new instruments have rendered more perfect, evince much patient research and an exact knowledge of the state of mineralogy at that time. Active in the cultivation of science himself, Dr. Babington was quick to discern and eager to encourage merit in others. With a view to enable Count Bournon, of whom be had been a pupil, to publish his elaborate monograph on carbonate of lime, Dr. Babington, in 1807, invited to his house a num- ber of gentlemen the most distinguished for their zeal in the prose- cution of mineralogical knowledge. A subscription was opened and the necessary sum readily collected. This object having been ac- complished, other meetings of the same gentlemen took place for the joint purpose of friendly intercourse and mutual instruction, From such small beginnings sprang the Geological Society; and among the names of those by whose care and watchfulness it was supported during the early and most perilous crisis of its history, that of Dr. Babington must always stand conspicuous. But while Dr. Babington employed his leisure in the study of chemistry and mineralogy, he gradually rose into eminence as a physician, and at last became occupied with the care of a numerous family, and subjected to all the labour and responsibility of exten- sive medical practice. During many years, he was disabled from 43 pursuing his favourite sciences with that unremitted attention which alone leads to original discovery ; and accordingly our Trans- actions do not contain any communication from his pen: no man, however, more steadily cheered us in our progress or more heartily rejoiced in our success. In the year 1822, he was elected to the pre- sidency of this Society, an office which he accepted in deference to the earnest wish of the Members, and held for two years at great personal sacrifice. His conduct in this chair afforded to us ample opportunity of observing the native goodness and kindliness of his heart, the urbanity of his manners, the evenness and cheerfulness of his temper, and the aptitude with which he exercised every liberal feeling. During the presidency of Dr. Babington, and at his suggestion, was established the practice of submitting to immediate discussion the papers read at the table of the Society. Apprehensions were entertained by some persons at that time, that the collision of argu- ment and the desire of personal distinction might interfere with the love of science or break the bonds of social intercourse,— that we might learn to contend less for truth than for victory. I appeal to you, Gentlemen, whether the brighter anticipations of Dr. Babington have not been amply justified by experience; whether our discussions, continued now during twelve years, have not been strongly charac- terized by a love of truth; whether the bonds of friendship have not been more closely cemented by them. Our conversations have been animated, but never intemperate; they have encouraged the timid, assisted the investigator in discovering the object of his research, and given additional value to every paper in cur Transactions. Dr. Babington was a Vice-President during the years 1810, 1811, 1812, 1813 and 1814, and a Trustee from 1811 to 1821. His dona- tions to our library and museum were extensive, and from subscrip- tions set on foot to promote the objects of the Society his name was never withheld, Dr. Babington retained to the latest period of his life a keen re- lish for the attainment of knowledge, and made considerable sacri- fices to enable himself to keep up with its rapid progress. After descending from this chair he took private lessons in geology of Mr. Webster. So late as the winter of 1832-3 he enrolled his name at the University of London as a student of chemistry, and there attended with the utmost punctuality a course on that science of seven months’ duration ; he afterwards in the same spirit, and in his 77th year, once more applied himself seriously to geology, and went over the collection of fossils in our museum. I can scarcely imagine a more gratifying spectacle than that of a veteran in the labours of professional duty, thus returning to the pursuits which he had loved when young, and seeking relaxation, not in ease and repese, the al- lowable luxuries of old age, but in the indulgence of an enlightened passion for knowledge. , I need not apologize for these extended comments; they are more than justified by the occasion. The duties which your bene- factor owed to the Society he cheerfully and fully performed. May 4:4: his memory kindle in us a feeling not merely of gratitude but of emulation! Dr. Berger, who died in the early part of last year, was a native of Switzerland, and had been employed in geological study for some years previous to 1813, when he sought in England an asylum from the foreign oppression which in those days of revolution had visited his country. In 1816, at the request of some of his friends in this Society, he agreed to devote himself for three years to geo- logica] investigations in the British Islands; and an annual sum was insured to him during that period by a subscription of some of our members. The north-west coast of Ireland was suggested for his first examination, and there, as might perhaps have been foreseen, the movements of a foreigner, who spoke our language imperfectly, and whose occupation must have appeared to the inhabitants myste- rious, if not dangerous, at first excited doubt and obstruction, which, though not unamusing, were attended with some embarrassment, and called for the interference of his friends. He laboured with great zeal and assiduity, in that interesting field of inquiry, till his health unfortunately gave way. His papers and collections were therefore incomplete ; and his attention appears to have been given perhaps too much to the investigation of details not immediately connected with the proper and immediate business of the geologist. His merit, however, must be judged of, not by reference to the present state of knowledge and the methods of inquiry now pursued, but to the condition of the science at that time. The facts he accumulated were valuable. “ A Memoir on the Dykes of the north-east coast of Ireland,” by himself, appears in the third volume of our Trans- actions; his remaining papers were put into the hands of the Rev. William Conybeare, who subsequently went over the same country with Dr. Buckland; and we are indebted to the labours of Dr. Berger, extended and illustrated by these geologists, for one of the most valuable memoirs in the earlier volumes of our Transactions. The late years of Dr. Berger’s life were passed in his native country, in bad health: he died at Geneva in 1833. In perusing at the distance of so many years the record of the arrangement by which Dr. Berger’s services were obtained for this Society, and the names subjoined*, I have been much struck by the delicacy with which his personal feelings were consulted, and have looked back with pride and exultation to the early history of our institution. I cannot be surprised at the success which has attended your exertions, when I call to mind the noble and disinterested spirit by which the first steps in your progress were directed. On no oc- casion since I have known the Geological Society, (and I have known it from its birth until the present hour,) have the Members hesitated to contribute, with the most liberal devotion, both personal labour and pecuniary support, whenever the probable advancement * The paper bears, with the names of other Members who still remain, the signatures of the late Dr. Babington, Dr. Marcet, Mr. Francis Horner, Mr. Morgan, Dr. Wollaston, Sir Joseph Banks and Mr. Ricardo. 4:5 of science appeared to call for them. I mention this with double satisfaction, because I am convinced that this good spirit still sub- sists amongst us with undiminished vigour. Dr. Alexander Turnbull Christie imbibed in the class room of Professor Jameson a taste for geology, which he afterwards im- proved in India, as far as opportunity allowed, under many discoura- ging circumstances. On his return to Europe he applied himself to the science with great earnestness; he studied the best works, courted the society of their authors, familiarized himself with the contents of collections, and practised in the open air the most ap- proved methods of investigation. He became the pupi) of M. Brong- hiart at Paris, and the companion of M. de Beaumont and M. von Buch in the Alps. His studies were by no means confined to geology ; they embraced every department of natural history. The climatological and geographical distribution of plants was a subject to which he paid much attention. Having provided at his own ex- pense the best instruments for the purpose, he returned to India with the design of instituting there a continued series of barometric, hygrometric, and other experiments, as well as of exploring the physical structure of that vast region, and of determining the rela- tions of its rocks to those of Europe. On his way he visited Sicily, and transmitted to the Society an account of some of the younger deposits of that island, and the phenomena that accompanied their elevation. He wrote also a description of some bone caves near Palermo, and of tidal and other zones observed on limestone along the shores of Greece. These notices will be found in Jameson’s Journal. Dr. Christie died prematurely of a Jungle Fever, while crossing the Nilgherry hill in November 1832. Mr. Lansdown Guilding, though not himself engaged in the pur- suit of geology, added several valuable specimens to our collec- tion, and materially assisted the progress of some other branches of natural history, especially in connexion with the West Indies. Sir Charles Giesecké was born at Augsburg in 1761. He was originally intended for the church; after various changes of occu- pation and a life of some adventure, he devoted himself in about his fortieth year to mineralogy, and studied under Werner at Freyberg in 1801. He subsequently travelled with mineralogical views in several parts of the North of Europe; in 1806 he entered into the service of Denmark and repaired to Greenland, leaving at Copen- hagen a valuable collection of books and minerals, which were de- stroyed during the bombardment of that city. In Greenland he formed acquisitions of great interest in various departments of na- tural history, but foreseeing the probability of their capture on the passage to Europe, he with great resolution and perseverance went a second time over the ground he had examined, and re- mained in that desolate region till his object was accomplished. In the mean time the vessel which contained his first treasures was 46 taken, and the cargo sold by auction at Leith. The minerals attracted but little general notice, in part, I have been informed, from their being packed in moss and sea-weed, and perhaps also from the very circumstance of many of the species being un- known. Mr. Allan purchased nearly the whole collection, which upon examination proved to contain a great number of new and rare substances of the highest mineralogical interest, cryolite, so- dalite, allanite, with mixed groups of striking variety and novelty ; and all in such abundance that most of the cabinets of England (when collectors, if not more numerous, were at least more active than I fear they are at present,) were supplied from this source. Mr. Giesecké himself accidentally arrived at Leith in 1813, not long after Mr. Allan had published an account of his purchases, and with great generosity contributed to the improved catalogues and de- scriptions of specimens which subsequently appeared. He was soon after appointed Professor of Mineralogy to the Royal Dublin So- ciety, and went to reside in Ireland, where he spent the remainder of his life. About this period also he was honoured with an Order of Knighthood by the King of Denmark ; but having now passed his fiftieth year, his health was broken, and much of the energy lost which distinguished his early life. He lived to the age of 72, and died at Dublin in March 1833. Sir Charles Giesecké meditated, after his return from Greenland, an extensive work upon that coun- try; he published a brief account of it in Dr. Brewster's Encyclo- pedia, but the larger work was deferred till the voyages of Ross and Parry had deprived the subject of the interest of novelty. His meteorological observations appeared in the Edinburgh Philo- sophical Journal for 1818; and he gave to Mr. Scoresby, for his work on the Greenland Coast, the use of his maps and other materials. The Edinburgh Philosophical Journal for 1822, contains an ac- count of his discovery of the geological situation of Cryolite. His only publications on the mineralogy of Ireland are, I believe, a brief notice of the geological situation of Beryl in the county of Down*, and an account of an excursion to the counties of Galway and Mayot. Mr. Alexander Nimmo was a civil engineer of high reputation. He was born in Fifeshire in 1783, and at a very early age showed a strong propensity to physical and mathematical inquiry. One of his first public employments was a survey of some of the bogs in Ireland, on which he delivered a report to the Commissioners in 1811, containing some general observations on the geological cha- racter of part of Roscommon, Kerry, Cork and Galway. He was afterwards engaged in various works of great importance, prin- cipally in Ireland. He was the author of several articles in Brew- * Annals of Philosophy, 1825. New Series, vol. x. pp. 74 & 75; repub- lished from the Dublin Philosophical Journal. + Annals of Philosophy, 1826; republished from the Dublin Philoso- phical Journal, 47 ster’s Edinburgh Encyclopedia, on subjects connected with his pro- fession. One of his latest and most valuable literary productions, on the publication of part of which he was engaged at the period of his death in January 1832, was a Chart of the Irish Channel, with sailing directions for the coast of Ireland, a performance probably connected with a paper which he laid before the Royal Irish Academy “ On Geology as applicable to the Purposes of Naviga- tion.” Mr. David Scott was one of the numerous class of officers in the service of the East India Company who have found means to com- bine with the most exemplary discharge of their official duties, a con- stant attention to the interests of literature and science. He was the second son of Archibald Scott, Esq., of Montrose, and died prema- turely in India in 1831, at the age of 45, having passed through many offices of high trust with distinguished credit, and holding at the time of his death the situations of Civil Commissioner in Bung- poor and other districts, and agent to the Governor General in the North-east of Bengal. His exertions and success in discharging his official functions, and in promoting the welfare of the country in which he was placed, by diffusing education, were highly appreciated, and a monument has been erected to his memory by the Supreme Government of India. Mr. Scott possessed great knowledge in several branches of science not immediately connected with this institution, and lost no opportunity of attending to geological re- search. Our Transactions are indebted to him for the substance of a valuable paper communicated by Mr. Colebrooke*, ‘‘On the Geology of the North-eastern Border of Bengal,” in which is de- scribed a remarkable deposit on the left bank of the Burrampooter river, containing an assemblage of fossils that bear an extraordinary likeness to those of the London clay. “ Among the remains of fishes,” Mr. Colebrooke states, ‘‘ bony palates and the fins of the Balistes are common to the Indian clay and to that of Sheppey; and the shells of Cooch-behar bear a strong generic, if not specific, resemblance to the marine formations above the chalk in France and England.” This communication contains also some valuable facts respecting a succession of strata, like those of our coal-fields, in the Tista and Subuk rivers; and in the same volume, is an extract from a letter written by Mr. Scott, describing the situation of a limestone and clay containing Nummulites at Robagiri, a village in the North- east of Bengal. Such resemblances, though they are far from esta- blishing the contemporaneous formation—much less the continuity —of the groups in which they occur, are interesting, from the proof they furnish, of the operation of similar causes in very distant parts of the former surface of the globe. On the accounts of the past year put into your hands today, I will make but one observation. From the report of the Auditors it ap- * Series JI. vol.i. pp. 132—140. 48 pears that the balance of disposable property in favour of the So- ciety, taken at a very moderate estimate, is £2010, while the total amount of the compositions of all the compounders in the List of Fellows since the foundation of the Society does not exceed £2394. The difference is less than £400. If, then, the value of the collec- tions, library, and furniture belonging to the Society be taken into account, our actual property considerably exceeds the claims of all our compounders, our current income being wholly disposable and free. Wottaston Mepar.—The product of the Wollaston Fund du- ring the past year has been awarded to Mr. Agassiz of Neufchatel, in promotion of his work on the ‘‘ General History of Fossil Fishes.” The first part of Mr. Agassiz’s publication has but recently reached England, and the Council have availed themselves of the earliest op- portunity of giving support to an undertaking of great geological im- portance. The author's qualifications for this work were so highly appreciated by the late Baron Cuvier, who had himself been engaged in a similar project, that on seeing Mr. Agassiz’s collection of draw- ings, and hearing a statement of his views, and the results at which he had arrived, that profound naturalist at once transferred to Mr. Agassiz the whole of his materials, The approval of Cuvier is fully sanctioned by the portion of the work which is now before the Society. In deciding on the present award, the Council have acted strictly in compliance with the bequest of Dr. Wollaston. The work of Mr. Agassiz is intimately connected with the objects of this Society ; it demands for its completion great labour and ex- pense. It is still in progress, and its publication has been ably com- menced with a full assurance of the author’s competency to the ful- filment of the task he has begun. In his prospectus, Mr. Agassiz solicits the contribution of spe- cimens from all quarters; and I cannot better close the announce- ment of a testimony of approbation which | trust will be gratifying to his feelings, than by requesting the Fellows of the Geological Society to aid the progress of this important work, by giving or lending to its author any drawings and specimens of fossil fishes which they may either possess or obtain. The transmission and re- turn of these loans can be easily effected through the medium of the officers of this house. The History of Geology has been recently treated by several authors, especially by Mr. Conybeare and Mr. De la Beche, in a manner which would render any observation from me on that sub- ject at once superfluous and imprudent. The communications read at our general meetings have been fixed in your memory by the discussions to which they have given rise, and the published abs- tract of their contents. Still, however, it may be well to enumerate these communications, that you may measure the exertions mad- 49 here since the last Anniversary, and the effect they have had on the state of geological knowledge. MISCELLANEOUS. The experiments of Sir James Hall mark an important epoch in science. It was with great delight, therefore, that we received from Captain Basil Hall, R.N., a collection of the products of these ex- periments, and some of the instruments with which they were con- ducted. Among the latter is a machine for regulating high tem- peratures, accompanied by an account of its properties and mode of acting. Mr. Gardner, the well known geographer, has drawn our attention to the curious fact, that of the land on the surface of the globe only z;th part has land at its antipodes. Sir David Brewster has communicated to us his interesting ob- servations on the properties of the diamond, from which it would appear to be of vegetable origin,—the cavities whence these proper- ties are derived being found in amber, but not in any product either of igneous fusion or of aqueous solution. Home GeEoLoey. Dr. Mitchell has laid before the Society a detailed account of the geology of Harwich in Essex, of the Reculvers in Kent, of Quainton and Brill in Buckinghamshire. Mr. Dadd has described the Vale of Medway and its neighbourhood. Dr. Fitton, who published in the early part of the year, a geological sketch of the vicinity of Hast- ings, has supplied us with an account of some instructive sections recently exposed to view at St. Leonard’s. Mr. Woodbine Parish has sent to us portions of the Iguanodon and Lepidosteus from the well known ‘‘ White Rock,” situate in the same district, and now almost destroyed. Our knowledge of the inland Extent of the Wealden Formation has been enlarged by a paper of Mr. Strick- land, accompanied by specimens of Paludina from the ferruginous sand of Shotover hill. Mr. Strickland has also rectified the boundaries of some of the strata near Bewdley, and traced a line of fault from the north of Bredon Hill to Little Inkbarrow. Sir Philip Egerton has supplied us with further inforrnation in respect to the lower portion of the Connaught Coal district. Be- neath the coal at Kulkeagh in the county of Fermanagh is a shale 600 feet thick, with subordinate layers of black marlstone and clay- iron ore towards the top, and a thin stratum of micaceous grit near the bottom. All the beds are replete with ammonites, orthocera, producta, encrini, corals and calamites. This deposit lies on sand- stone separated by the mountain limestone from another bed of shale marked by characteristic fossils, and the entire system there- fore appears to bear a strong resemblance to the lower portion of the carboniferous beds in the South-west of England. In the carboniferous strata of Coalbrookdale, Mr. Prestwich has 50 described a heterogeneous assemblage of plants and shells both of fresh- and salt-water species. A band of ironstone, nearly in the centre of this series, contains four genera of Trilobites: in the same coal-field Mr. Anstice has recognised two genera of insects. On the opposite side of the Severn, Mr, Murchison has found at Pontes- bury, Uffington, Le Botwood and other places, a band of compact limestone, between two beds of coal, resembling the lacustrine limestone of central France, and containing freshwater shells. These discoveries may throw light on those which have been since made at Burdie-house and elsewhere in the neighbourhood of Edinburgh. The structure of other coal-fields has been illustrated by Mr. Murchison, Mr. R. J. Wright, and Mr. England. After careful examination of the Old red Sandstone, Mr. Murchi- son has proposed to divide it into three parts: the uppermost, cha- racterized by quartzose Conglomerate ; the middle, by Cornstone ; the lowermost, by Flagstone. The cornstone and marlstone of the middle group contain undescribed genera of crustacea ; and in the tilestone beneath are found some defences of fish, together with a few remains of testacea. Mr. Murchison has employed three summers in examining a range of country situate between Shrewsbury and Caermarthen; and the geological positions as well as the mineral and zoological characters of the several rocks which border England and Wales are now deter- mined with as much exactness as those of any portion of the secon- dary system. ‘Taking the old red sandstone as a line of departure, the rocks beneath are disposed in descending order as follows: 1. The Ludlow series, divisible into three parts, the upper, middle and lower. To the middle belong the well-known limestones of Amestry and Sedgley : the upper and lower consist of sand, marl, or flagstone, having some fossils peculiar to each, and others in common. The thickness of the whole is estimated at 1000 feet. 2. The Dudley or Wenlock series, consisting of limestone : its thickness may be taken at 2000 feet. 3. The Hordesley or May Hill series, composed of party-coloured sandstone, conglomerate and impure calcareous flagstone : it is said to attain a thickness of 2500 feet. 4. The Built or Llandilo series, a black flagstone, characterized by the Asaphus Buchit. 5. The Longmynd or Linley series, consisting of coarse roof slate, sandstone and conglomerate ; no fossils have been discovered in it. It is well known that Professor Sedgwick has studied with equal assiduity the rocks which lie beneath those I have mentiened. When his observations are published, the Society will have a type of the whole of the transition rocks of Wales. The rocks described by Mr. Murchison are, for the most part, exceedingly well charac- terized by their fossil contents. Some of the shells which he has dis- covered, appear to have escaped the notice of antecedent observers; but the genera, if not the species, of others, may occasionally be found in the works of Hisinger and other continental writers. If, then, the transition as well as the secondary and tertiary beds can be identified 51 over great tracts of country by their fossil remains, let us hope that a clue is now at hand, by which we may find our way through that vast assembiage of beds, which, not in England only, but in Scot- land, Ireland, Germany, Russia, Sweden, and North America, has hitherto presented to the observer a mere scene cf confusion. In Mr. Murchison’s paper we find also, traced with exactness, se- veral hitherto unexplored lines of disturbance, producing sometimes, as in the Abberley Hills, a complete inversion of dip. The rocks which border the old red sandstone, acquire in some places an anticlinal dip, and reappear in parallel ridges far westward of their natural site, insomuch that the Ludlow series is met with even in Montgomeryshire. Mr. Murchison has examined in detail the trap- pean and porphyritic rocks to which these disturbances are for the most part assignable, but the description of them has been reserved for communications not yet before us. Professor Sedgwick has transmitted to us a notice on the granite of Shap in Westmoreland. From recent excavations it appears that veins of this granite penetrate the adjoining strata, from which he infers that it 1s of posterior date. Mr. De la Beche, one of our Vice-Presidents, acting under the direction of the Board of Ordnance, has produced a geological map of the county of Devon, which, for extent and minuteness of informa- tion and beauty of execution, has a very high claim to regard. Let us rejoice in the complete success which has attended this first at- tempt of that honourable Board to exalt the character of English topography by rendering it at once more scientific and very much more useful to the country at large. OrcAnic Remains.—Every succeeding year brings to light new fossil animals which cannot be assigned to existing genera. Dr. Riley, deeply skilled in physiology and comparative anatomy, has given us an account of an animal so extraordinary, that naturalists differ even respecting its class. After careful examination, he con- siders it a cartilaginous fish, partaking of the character both of the Rays and the Squales. Here then is another instance of a link, now wanting to connect existing genera, having formerly existed. Towards the close of the last session Mr. Channing Pearce exhi- bited to the Society a matchless collection of Apiocrinites found at Bradford in Wiltshire. To the description of this fossil as given by the late Mr. Miller, Mr. Pearce adds that the column was occa- sionally ten inches long. He has found in the great oolite, three species of Apiocrinites, differing in the form of their body, and the thickness of its component plates. FOREIGN GEOLOGY. Evuroprr.—The structure of the South of Spain has been illus- ‘trated by Colonel Silvertop and Captain Cook. From the joint la- bours of these gentlemen we learn, that the country between the Sierra Morena and the Mediterranean consists: of lofty ranges of 52 granite, slate, serpentine and limestone, succeeded either by red sandstone or by vast beds of secondary, compact, dolomitic limestone. Wealso learn from them that the valleys and plains which border the shore of the Mediterranean, are composed of tertiary strata; but we are indebted solely to Col. Silvertop for pointing out to us, on the authority of M. Deshayes, that the tertiary deposit of Malaga and the districts adjacent belongs to the Pliocene, while that of the basins of Baza and Alhama belongs to the Miocene epoch. Mr, Lyell has laid before us an account of the lignite formation of Cerdagne in the Eastern Pyrenees. This lacustrine deposit re- poses in horizontal beds on granite and hornblende and argillaceous schist at the height of 3000 and 4000 feet above the level of the sea. The shells procured are too imperfect to determine its age. A memoir on the neighbourhood of Bonn was presented Jast year by Mr. Horner. After describing the characters of the grau- wacke, trachyte, basalt, brown coal, gravel and loss, the author compares the age of these with that of analogous formations in other parts of Europe, and of one another. ‘The beds of grauwacke as they contain Terebratule and other shells he refers to the upper part of that system; he considers the brown coal more recent than the plastic clay, some of its plants and shells having been identified with specimens found at Aix en Provence. The loss, which re- poses on a thick bed of gravel, and contains existing land shells, together with bones of extinct quadrupeds, is considered the latest deposit, and attributed to the bursting of a lake in the upper part of the Rhine. From the beds of trachytic tuff being interstratified with brown coal, and from the occurrence of a bed of basalt above it, Mr. Horner infers that volcanic operations took place during, and even subsequently to, the deposition of the lignite. Having thus established the comparative age of the brown coal, he also deter- mines that of the volcanic rocks. The tertiary coal or lignite near Gratz, in Styria, is interesting on account of its organic remains. In the memoir of Professor Sedgwick and Mr. Murchison on the Eastern Alps, the strata of this deposit, which are nearly horizontal, are shown to rest on “an inclined system of secondary green-sand.” Imbedded in the coal are various vegetable remains, shells of a Cypris, scales of fishes, and fragments of bones of Mammalia and Tortoises. Professor Anker of the Joanneum, has sent to the Society an account of these, together with the drawing of a jaw, which Mr. Clift conceives to have belonged to a Hyena. Mr. Pratt, ignorant of the prior researches of Dr. Christie, care- fully examined, in the year 1832, the caves of Monte Grifoni near Palermo ; and having ascertained the height to which the perfora- tions of lithodomi extend in each, infers that the change of level was not effected by one movement, but by several. As1ta.—Much information has been received from the East during the past year. Mr. Burnes, distinguished for his travels in India, Persia and Toorkistan, has presented to the Society his geological memoranda of the countries lying between the mouth of the Indus 53 and the Caspian Sea. Mr. Burnes, though he did not travel for the express purpose of studying geology, carefully and faithfully noted whatever attracted his attention. In reading his account of these hitherto almost unknown regions, we cannot but be struck with the resemblance of their geological structure to that of Europe. The central axis of the Hindoo Koosh is composed of granitic rocks, suc- ceeded by various schists, conglomerates, variegated marls, lime- stones and sandstones. Besides this mighty system, some portion of which cannot be identified with European strata for want of fos- sils, there is a vast range of salt (previously noticed by Mr. Elphin- stone), of coal, and, near the mouth of the Indus, nummulitic lime. stone. In a late number of Jameson’s Journal is part of a memoir on the structure of the Valley of Ovelipore* by Mr. Hardie, one of our re- cently elected Fellows. This valley had previously been noticed by Captain Dangerfield + ; but Mr. Hardie has been the first to describe a singular Indian for- mation which occurs there, called Kunkur, It is rarely, if ever, stra- tified ; it forms a bed, seldom exceeding a few feet thick, which mantles over the irregularities of the country. It is sometimes im- perfectly oolitic ; at others globular, botryoidal or nodular; in some places a compact limestone ; in others it resembles chalk : not un- frequently it contains round and angular fragments of rocks. No animal or vegetable remains have been noticed in it. The author carefully distinguishes Kunkur from modern tufaceous deposits, but assigns to it a similar origin. AmeERIcA.—Captain Colquhoun and Mr. Burkart have presented to us a specimen of native iron from Zacatecas, and memoranda on this and similar masses found in Mexico. Captain Bayfield has communicated to us a paper on the shores of the River and Gulf of St. Lawrence from the Saguenay to Cape Whittle. The information contained in this memoir completes our knowledge of the north coast of the St. Lawrence}; and from the pre- vious labours of Mr. Green in the district of Montmorency§ ; of Lieutenant Ingall in the country bordering the rivers St. Maurice and aux Lievres||; of Captain Bonnycastle in Upper Canada q ; of Dr. Bigsby**, Captain Bayfield++ and Dr. Richardson}}, on the shores of Lakes Ontario, Erie, Huron and Superior; and of Dr. Richardson in the overland expeditions to the Arctic Seas, we have a * The city of Ovelipore is in lat. 24° 25’ N. long. 73° 44’ E. + See Sir John Malcolm’s Central India. + See on the country between the St. Maurice and the Saguenay, Trans. Quebec Society, vol. ii. p. 216. On the Saguenay country and St. Paul’s Bay, idid. vol. i. p. 79; vol. ii. p. 76. On Quebec, Proceedings Geol. Soc. No. 5, p. 37. § Quebec Trans. vol. i. p. 181. || Zid. vol.ii. p. 7. q Jbid. vol. i. p. 62. ** Proceedings Geol. Soc. No. 3, p. 23. Trans. Geol. Soc. Series II. vol.i. p.175. Journal Royal Institution, vol. xviii. pp. 1, 228. tt Quebec Trans. vol.i.p.1. {+ Appendix, Expedition to Polar Seas. 54 general account of the geological structure of the whole country be- tween the mouths of the Mackenzie and Copper Mine rivers and the Gulf of St. Lawrence. The researches made during the expeditions of Captain Ross, Sir Edward Parry and Sir John Franklin, have also given us a general insight into the nature of the formations which constitute a large portion of the shores of the Western Polar Seas. Why should I repress the feeling of patriotic pride which rises within me on contemplating how vast a range of the western continent has thus, in the brief period of a few years, been brought within the pale of our science almost entirely by the ex- ertions of English officers? Great is the gratitude we owe them ; yet have their services not been wholly without reward. The taste for scientific research which sprung up in the minds of these gallant men, spontaneously, as it were, and without the aid of regu- lar systematic culture, has been to many of them a welcome relief from the toil and monotony of professional duty; while to others it afforded pleasurable occupation in the solitude of trackless deserts, under exposure to all the rigour of an arctic climate, in the absence of European indulgences, and even under the terrible apprehension of impending starvation. The district surveyed by Captain Bayfield is bounded by hills, composed of granite, sienite and trap rocks, which enter so largely into the structure of the two Canadas. Clay, sand and gravel, apparently recent, occupy the coast. The Mingan, the Esquimaux and Anticosti Islands are of limestone, containing fossils like those of Lake Huron. But the most interesting feature in this com- munication is the evidence it affords of a change in the relative position of land and water. In the Mingan Islands is a series of shingle terraces, agreeing in character with the recent beach, the most distant being 60 feet above the level of the highest tide. The author describes, with great care, the different vegeta- tion of each terrace, the one furthest from the shore being covered with trees, the nearest almost barren; parallel to the shore, in this island, natural columns of limestone have been scooped out by the action of water at different periods; the levels of the water-worn por- tions agree with those of the terraces, and the depth of the scooped parts, with the rise of the present tidal wave of the St. Lawrence. Captain Bayfield has noticed similar terraces on the adjacent main- land and in the neighbourhood of Quebec, and thinks the pheno- mena indicate successive elevations of the land rather than suc- cessive depressions of the water. Among the subjects which have for some years past engaged the thoughts of geologists, none perhaps has excited so general and in- tense an interest as the Theory of Elevation. I shall avail myself, therefore, of the present occasion to lay before you a connected statement of the scattered facts and opinions upon which it rests. On entering upon this subject, it is necessary to understand di- stinctly what is meant by Elevation. Definitions have recently been decried, I think unwisely. The formation of definitions, it has been said, and the establishment of unerring distinctions 55 are among the last, and not the first steps of systematic know- - ledge. . Equally true, and far more salutary is the lesson that sci- ence cannot be advanced by equivocation. As in trading con- cerns fixed weights’ and measures are necessary guards against fraud, so in philosophical investigation words of definite meaning are indispensable securities against sophistry and_self-delusion. Euclid did not end, he began with defining. Mathematical certainty has no other basis than mathematical precision, and the greater part of those absurdities which from time to time attach themselves to all other branches of knowledge derive their subsistence from am- biguity of language and a dearth of definition. A torrent brings down a quantity of alluvial matter, and the plain on which it rests is said to be elevated. An opening occurs in the earth; ejected ashes, scorie and lava accumulate around it; a Monte Nuovo is formed ; and the area it occupies is said to be elevated. By the persevering labour of polypi, a coral reef gradually attains the surface of the ocean; and the fabric so constructed is said to be elevated. A porous rock covers a rock that is not porous; the rain filters through the superincumbent bed; springs break out in the subja- cent ; and at last, for want of support, the porous rock, originally horizontal, acquires an inclined posture, one end being directed up- wards, the other downwards ; and the whole is said to be elevated. An earthquake takes place at the mouth of a river; the sea is violently affected; a bar is formed at the entrance of a harbour from the washing in of new alluvion, or from some obstruction to the escape of the old; where a ship floated, a barge is aground ; and the land is said to be elevated. Such instances of Elevation are common and incontestible; but elevation of this kind is quite different from that which forms the subject of my present inquiry. By the term Elevation, I mean only the removal of any given ob- ject from a lower level to a higher level; consequently it is neces- sary, before I speak of an object as elevated, that I should be pre- pared to show two things: first, the level at which it has stood ; secondly, the level at which it stands. That I might form a right opinion of the theory, the merits of which I am about to investigate, I have endeavoured to determine the site, the number and the magnitude of those multifarious objects to which the attribute of elevation is continually applied. The at- tempt has proved unsuccessful: they are indefinite in place, in form, and in dimension. That Mountains should be elevated is not sur- prising, but we are familiarized also with Valleys of elevation*. In ancient times an Island (Delos, for example,) would alternately * Valleys of this nature are properly called by Mr. Scrope “ valleys of “ elevation and subsidence,” or more concisely, “ anticlinal valleys.” See Scrope on Volcanoes, p. 213. VOL. II. EF 56 emerge from, and plunge beneath, the sea. Extensive Provinces, nay, entire Kingdoms, now perform the same feat. The existence ot Craters of Elevation is by some still considered doubtful; but it is an accredited fact that Mountains and Mountain Chains have risen, either per saltum or per gradus. All the Strata have been raised; and all Unstratified Rocks would doubtless have been raised also, but that some have risen of themselves. The Bed of the Sea has been elevated again and again. Continents too have been raised, though “by an operation distinct from that which raised the Pri- *‘ mary Strata.” The arguments advanced in favour of these doctrines are derived either from observation, or from induction. It is stated by Von Hoff, that in the year 1771 several tracts of land were upraised in Java, and that a new bank made its appear- ance opposite the mouth of the river Batavia. The authorities cited for the effect of this and several other earthquakes mentioned in the same place by this author, are Sir Stamford Raffles, John Prior’s Voyage in the Indian Seas, and Hist. Gen. des Voy. tom. ii. p.401. Mr. Lyell has cited the first of these only, but no such fact is noted in either edition of the work of Sir Stamford Raffles. The other authorities adduced by Von Hoff I have been unable to consult; but from the Appendix to the Batavian Transactions (which contains an apparently authentic account of all the recorded earthquakes that have taken place in Java during a century and a half,) it would seem, that in the year 1771, in which the uprising is said to have happened in that island, there was no earthquake at all. The Earthquake of Chili in 1822 has been so much* insisted on, that it requires detailed consideration. Of this event an account by Mrs. Graham is inserted in our Transactions. I am deeply sensible of the honour that lady conferred on the Society by her obliging compliance with the request which elicited her narrative, and it is only the importance of its contents which could induce me to sub- ject them to the test of rigid examination. According to this account “it appeared on the morning after the ‘¢ earthquake, that the whole line of coast from north to south, to the «« distance of above 100 miles, had been raised above its former level.” But by what standard was the former level ascertained? who on the morrow of so fearful a catastrophe could command sufficient leisure and calmness to determine and compute a series of changes, which extended 100 miles in length, and embraced (according to a statement in the Journal of Science, ) an estimated area of 100,000 square miles? How could a range of country so extensive be sur- veyed while the ground was still rocking, which it continued to do on that day, and for several successive months? What was the average number of observations per square mile? Who made, checked and registered them? By what means did the surveyors acquaint themselves with what had been the levels and contour before the * Bakewell’s Geology, edition 4, pp. 98. 504. Lyell, vol. i. pp. 401. 455. De la Beche’s Manual, edition 2. Scrope on Volcanoes, p. 209. me bay ¢ Si catastrophe took place, by which, as we are told, all the landmarks were removed, and the soundings at sea completely changed? Mrs. Graham states that by the dislodgement of snow from the mountains, and the consequent swelling of rivers and lakes, much de- tritus was brought to the coast ; and further, that sand and mud were brought up through cracks to the surface. Amid so many agents it should not be easy to assign to each, its share in the general result. That fishes lay dead on the shore may prove only that there had been astorm. in her published travels, Mrs. Graham represents them as lying on the beach, which may very well have been thrown up, as the Chesil bank has been, by a violent sea. Some muscles, oysters, &c., still adhered, she says, to the rocks on which they grew; but we know not the nature or dimensions of these rocks, whether fixed or drifted. ‘The occurrence of ashelly beach above the actual sea-level is an observation which must not be lost sight of. I pro- pose to speak of it hereafter: in the mean time be it recollected, that these beaches are said to occur along the shore at various heights, along the summit of the highest hills, and even among the Andes. Neither in the paper of Mrs. Graham, nor in the anonymous ac- count published about the same time in the Journal of Science, can I find any paragraph to justify the position (which, from the se- ductive character of the work* in which it appears, may, if not now assailed, soon be deemed unassailable, ) that a district in Chili, one hundred thousand miles in area, “‘ was uplifted to the average height ‘¢ of a foot or more; and the cubic contents of the Granitic Mass ‘¢ added in a few hours to the land.” By what means we get the average I do not know. Mrs. Graham says the alteration of level at Valparaiso, was about three feet ; at Quintero, about four feet: but the granitic Mass! has the geological structure of Chili been suffi- > ciently examined to assure us that Granite extends over one hun- dred thousand square miles ? In the well-known work of Molina, a Jesuit who passed the greater part of his life in Chili, and wrote a natural history of that country, I find no ground for supposing that in any earthquakes which took place there from the time the Spaniards first landed on its shores to the date of his publication, any similar phenomena had been noticed. Moreover, the statement of Mrs. Graham, and of the writer before aliuded to, respecting the Elevation of land which oc- curred during the earthquake of 1822, has not been confirmed by Captain King, nor by any naval officer or naturalist who has since visited that region, though many have visited it who had heard the circumstance, and who would willingly have corroborated it if they could. But they saw no traces of such an event ; and the natives with whom they conversed, neither recollected nor could be induced to believe it. The 16th number of the “ Mercurio Chileno,” a scientific Journal, contains an account of this earthquake, by Don Camilo Enriquez, which I have not been able to procure. A later number refers to this account, and to another published in the Abeyja Argentina, a work * Lyell, vol.i. p. 473. F2 58 of considerable reputation, which, by the kindness of Mr. Woodbine Parish, I have been enabled to consult. The account there given of the earthquake of 1822, is strongly recommended to the reader, “as a sensible straight-forward description of what actually took « place, without the high colouring in which ignorance and terror “and exaggeration are apt to indulge.” No notice is here taken of the permanent Elevation of the Land, and the account concludes thus: «« The earth certainly cracked in places that were sandy or ‘‘ marshy; I saw cracks too in some of the hills, but mostly in ‘“‘ the low nook where much earth had run together ; the sea was ‘not much altered,—it retired a little, but came back to its old ‘¢ place. Don Onofri Bunster, who, on the night of the earthquake, ‘* was walking on the shore at Valparaiso, in front of his house, had <¢a mind to go up on the hill, but could not, so great was the quan- “< tity of falling dust and stones: he repaired to his boat therefore, “and with some difficulty got aboard; this done, he made obser- ‘“‘ vations on the motion of the sea; on sounding, the depth was “ thirteen fathoms; he heaved the lead a second time, and the «« depth was no more than eight fathoms: this alternate ebbing and “ flowing lasted the whole night, but did not the slightest harm on << shore.” These are the only cases I remember to have met with, in which the testimony of eye-witnesses has been adduced to prove the Rise of land by Earthquakes. That such Rise may have taken place, at different times, without being recorded, perhaps even without being observed, is not very improbable ; but if | am to pronounce a ver- dict according to the evidence, I believe there is not as yet one well authenticated instance in any part of the world, of a non-volcanic Rock having been seen to rise above its natural level in consequence of an Earthquake. Before I quit this subject, it may not be amiss to mention, that on comparing the times at which the successive shocks took place in Chili, as given by Mrs. Graham, ard the other-authorities to which I have had occasion to refer, the discrepancy is extraordinary. I have already intimated in a few words, my opinion,as to the sense in which land can be said to be elevated by means of Volcanoes. Of these, Vesuvius is perhaps the most constantly observed ; and among the innumerable authors who have described its effects, from the time of Pliny down to the present day, not one pretends that the Apennine limestone, close at hand, has been in the least raised by that volcano. We shall do well to bear this in mind, when we have occasion to consider the height at which tertiary shells are found on Etna. That those shells belong to-beds thrown up by Etna, is a doctrine founded upon induction, not upon experience. As far as experience goes, we have no reason to think that Etna, in its most violent paroxysms, will ever raise those tertiary strata above their present level. Leaving these scenes of paroxysmal violence, let usnext inquire, whether there may not be goiny on, in the calmest seasons and in 59 the stillest countries, a chronic and almost imperceptible ampulston of land upwards. As early as the time of Swedenborg, who wrote in 1715, it was observed that the level of the Baltic and German Ocean was on the decline. About the middle of the last century an animated and long-continued discussion took place in Sweden, first as to the cause of this phenomenon, and then as to its reality. Hellant, of Tornea, who had been assured of the fact by his father, an old boatman, and who afterwards witnessed it himself, bequeathed all he had to the Academy of Sciences, on condition that they should proceed with the investigation: the sum was small, but the bequest answered the purpose. Some of the members of the Academy made marks on exposed cliffs and in sheltered bays, recording the day on which the marks were made, and their then height above the water. The Baltic affords great facility to those who conduct such experiments, as there js no tide, nor any other circumstance to affect its level, except unequal pressure of the atmosphere on its surface and on that of the ocean: this produces a variation which is curiously exemplified at Lake Malar near Stockholm. As the barometer rises or falls, the Baltic will flow into the lake, or the lake into the Baltic. The va- riation resulting from the inequality of atmospheric pressure, how- ever, is trifling. In sheltered spots, mosses and lichens grow down to the water’s edge, and thus form a natural register of its level. Upon this line of vegetation marks were fixed, which now stand in many places two feet above the surface of the water. In the year 1820-1, Bruncrona visited the old marks, measured the height of each above the line of vegetation, fixed new marks, and made a Report to the Academy. With this Report has been pub- lished an Appendix by Halestrom, containing an Account of Mea- surements made by himself and others along the coast of Bothnia. From these documents it would appear, 1. That along the whole Coast of the Baltic the water is lower in respect to the land than it used tobe. 2. That the amount of variation is not uniform. Hence it follows, that either the Sea and Land have both undergone a change of level, or the Land only; a change of level in the Sea only will not explain the phenomena. A quarter of a century has now elapsed since Mr. von Buch de- clared his conviction that the surface of Sweden was slowly rising all the way from Frederickshall to Abo, and added that the Rise might probably extend into Russia. Of the truth of that doctrine the pre- sumption is so strong, as to demand, that similar experiments and observations should be instituted and continued for a series of years in other countries, with a view to determine whether any change of level is slowly taking place in those also. The British Association for the Advancement of Science have already obeyed the call. A com- mittee has been appointed to procure satisfactory data to determine this question as far as relates to the coasts of Great Britain and Ire- land, and I cannot but hope that similar investigations will also be set on foot along the coasts of France and Italy, and eventually be extended to many of our colonial possessions. The inductive arguments in favour of the Elevation of land, what- 60 ever the size, and whatever the amount of Rise, are founded chiefly on the following circumstances: 1. The height of sedimentary beds and marine bodies, whether corresponding or not to those of ad- jacent seas, or of the actual globe. 2. ‘The height of terraces re- sembling sea beaches. 3. The height of ripple marks. 4. The change of posture which horizontal strata undergo in the neigh- bourhood of ‘‘ unstratified rocks.” 5. The various heights at which the same rocks occur in different parts of their course. 6. Thean- ticlinical posture of strata frequent in, though not confined to, mountain chains. 7. The arched or domed configuration of some strata. 8. The occurrence of coral, apparently recent, high above the present surface of the sea. 9. The position of ancient buildings, viz. the temple of Serapis at Puzzoli, &c. I have not time to con- sider these arguments in detail; each deserves to form the subject of a separate treatise. Some of them prove not Elevation, but only change of level, which Subsidence would explain equally well. Some prove local disturbance, whereby one portion may have been thrown up, the other down. Some again afford a fair presumption of real local Elevation or Ascent. Most of them are good to a certain point : all are continually overstrained; and I am frequently astonished to observe how prodigious the weiglit, how slender the string that supports it. The assigned Causes of Elevation are exceedingly various. One author raises the bottom of the sea by earthquakes ; another, by sub- terranean fire ; another, by aqueous vapour ; another, by the contact of water with the metallic bases of the earth and alkalis. Heim ascribes it to gas ; Playfair, to expansive force acting from beneath; Necker de Saussure connects it with magnetism; Wrede, with a slow continuous change in the position of the axis of the earth; Leslie figured to himself a stratum of concentrated atmospheric air under the ocean, to be applied, I suppose, to the same purpose. It is impossible within the narrow limits of this discourse, that I can enter into the merits of these and other hypotheses seriatim. I must therefore throw them into two classes, the first of explosive forces, the second of sustaining forces ; they are one and the same in Plutonic language, but still it will be convenient to separate them. That explosive forces exist, or may exist, under the surface, no one can deny; but I cannot adopt the opinion (however high the autho- rity from which it comes,) that ‘in volcanic eruptions we find a power « competent to raise Continents out of the ocean.” The force we find in volcanic eruptions is limited in time, place and action ; it fuses bodies of easy fusibility ; it tosses up those that are refractory, and thus forms either acurrent of lava or a shower of stones, scoriz and ashes. What resemblance is there between this operation and the rise of a continent? With more propriety might it have been said that in a mole- hill we behold the action of a cause competent to raise mountains. If by Continent is meant a whole Continent, and nothing but a Continent, its rise, provided this happened only once, would seem difficult to understand; but to me still more incomprehensible is the confident assurance we continually receive from writers of high 61 and deserved reputation, that this event has happened again and again. Before we admit the Submersion of a continent, we must ad- mit either that at a period immediately preceding that catastrophe, there existed under the landa cavity large enough to contain the con- tinent about to be submerged, or that during the process the subja- cent beds shrunk in consequence of a reduction of the temperature, and to such an extent that the contraction in a vertical line equalled the distance from the level of the highest tops of the continent to that of the surrounding ocean. In like manner, before we can admit the Elevation of a continent, we must admit either that, at a period immediately preceding that catastrophe, there happened an inroad of sustaining matter equal in thickness and in extent to the Continent about to be uplifted, or that during the precess the subjacent beds expanded in consequence of an increase of temperature, and to such an extent that the expansion in a vertical line equalled the distance from the level of the highest tops of the continent to that of the sur- rounding ocean. These therefore are the events which we are taught to credit, as having taken place again and again, notwithstanding the tendency which caloric has to diffuse itself, and the apparently un- altered dimensions of the fissures and local caverns by which the strata are so often separated or intersected. I will not expend more of your time in arguing against such doc- trines. All men are more or less lovers of the marvellous, but few, I think, will upon reflection approve such marvels as these. Solids, fluids and aeriform substances exist, we know, in the interior of the earth, and expand by heat, which exists there likewise. All of these, therefore, are fit Agents of Elevation, subject to certain conditions, Dr. Daubeny attributes the liquefaction of lava, the throwing up of ashes, and all other phenomena of disturbance attendant on volcanic eruptions, to the Action of Water upon the Metallic Bases. This cause is not opposed to experience, and appears well proportioned to the effect, which is sudden, violent, occasional, temporary, accompanied by heat and by flame. To me, at least, it seems far more satisfactory than the explanation of those who ascribe the effect to the Elastic Power of Subterranean Fires, repressed in one place and relieved in another, or to the Undulations of a Heated Nucleus. A heated Central Nucleus is a mere invention of tancy, traceable, I believe, to no other source than the hope of obtaining a good argument from the multiplication of bad ones. To the Huttonian and every other geological sectary who relies on this postulate, I say, be cau- tious ; “‘ incedis per ignes dolosos.” The only observation I recollect to have met with in favour of cen- tral heat is, that the deepest mines are the warmest—be it so! Might not a geologist by parity of reasoning argue thus?—In travelling from Rome to Chamonix, the country becomes continually more and more mountainous ; some of the peaks of Chamonix are from ten to fifteen thousand feet above the level of the sea. Imagine, therefore, what they must be at Hamburgh!! If mines derive their temperature from heat lodged in the centre of the earth, the temperature ought to vary with their distance from the eentre, and therefore, since the earth is an oblate spheroid, the mines 62 of Scandinavia ought at the same depth from the surface to be propor- tionally warmer than those of tropical countries ; a result which has never been, I believe, even suspected. The existence of Central Heat in the sense and to the extent as- sumed in the Huttonian theory, is contrary to all our experience. If Heat there be in the Centre of the globe, it must have the properties of heat and none other. [ ask not how the Heat originally was lodged in that situation, for the origin of all things is obscure; but | ask why, in the countless succession of ages which the Huttonian requires, the Heat has not passed away by conduction, and if it has passed away, by what other heat it has been replaced ? Dr. Chalmers in speaking of Sir Isaac Newton, observes, that it was a “ distinguishing and characteristic feature of his great mind, that it «« kept a tenacious hold of every position which had proof to substan- “« tiate it; but a more leading peculiarity was, that it put a most de- ** termined exclusion on every position destitute of such proof. The «« strength and soundness of Newton’s philosophy was evinced as much «* by his decision on those doctrines of science which he rejected, as “by his demonstration of those doctrines of science which he was “* the first to propose. He expatiated in a lofty region, where he met «< with much to solicit his fancy, and tempt him to devious speculation. « He might easily have found amusement in intellectual pictures, he «< might easily have palmed loose and confident plausibilities of his < own on the world. But no, he kept by his demonstrations, his mea- << surements, and his proofs.” Gentlemen, let us, as far as is consistent with the nature of geolo- gical investigation, show the strength and soundness of our philo- sophy in the same manner. That Heat of considerable intensity prevails occasionally, in certain places, at some depth, is all that we have as yet clearly established. Whether that Heat is permanent, whether it is generally diffused, whether it is central, are questions of mere speculation. Intimately connected with the hypothesis of Central Heat is that of Refrigeration. It has been observed by one of our members, that “the Remains both “ of the animal and vegetable kingdom preserved in strata of different “* ages, indicate that there has been a great Diminution of Tempera- “ ture throughout the northern hemisphere, in the latitudes now oc- ““ cupied by Europe, Asia and America ; the change has extended to “the arctic circle as well as to the temperate zone; the heat and ‘«* humidity of the air, and the uniformity of climate, appear to have ‘been most remarkable when the oldest strata hitherto discovered «were formed. The approximation of a climate similar to that now ** enjoyed in these latitudes, does not commence till the era of the ‘‘ formations termed tertiary ; and while the different tertiary rocks s* were deposited in succession, the Temperature seems to have been « still further lowered, and to have continued to diminish gradually ** even after the appearance of a great portion of existing species upon ‘the earth.’ The little knowledge we have of the fossil productiors of countries south of the temperate zone, induces me to believe tha 63 these observations are as applicable to the southern hemisphere as to the northern. This Refrigeration, one of the most undoubted facts in geology, is supposed by the Huttonians, and if I mistake not, by M. Elie de Beau- mont and others, to arise from a decrease of the Central Heat; an opinion, however, which cannot, I think, be supported. We know of one method only by which Central Heat, if it exists, can pass from the earth, viz. by Radiation. It cannot pass by Conduction. Conduction implies conductors, which in empty space are not to be procured *, but the Radiation of heat, at low temperatures, is so slight that it is scarcely sensible at 100° of Fahrenheit’s thermometer, a temperature twice as great as the medium temperature of the sur- face of the globe at this time. The Temperature of the earth’s surface has been shown by Fourier to be as constant as are the dimensions of its orbit, and the period of its annual revolution. Laplace observes, that our planet has undergone no Contraction of Size during the last 2000 years ; consequently there has been no sensible Refrigeration during that period, and the last Seculum of M. de Beaumont has already extended to more than twice the length of a Millennium. Another argument, or rather postulate, has been adduced in fa- vour Gf Central Heat,—the Fusion of Unstratified Rocks, and their forcible Injection into the Stratified. Gentlemen, I have confessed to you again and again, that I am not aware, nor has any one as yet informed me, by what test Stratified and Unstratified rocks can be distinguished ; the only test I know is the good will and pleasure of those who make the distinction. ‘The followers of Pluto seize and appropriate to his use as many rocks as’ they think proper. By virtue of such seizure, these Rocks become ne- cessarily Unstratified: why so ? because if Stratified they would be no longer Plutonic. Stratification [ know is a question to be determined not by the senses but by the fancy ; otherwise, I would say, that the magnificent range of basaltic cliff, which extends from the county of Derry along the coast of Antrim as far as Fairhead, is as distinctly stratified as any mountain-limestone, oolite or chalk in Great Britain. However, I waive this objection as it leads me away from my sub- ject, and return to the consideration of Central Heat. Have those who believe in this agent ever taken into their account the nature of the substances said to have been fused? Many of the trap rocks, not all of them, (for the family is large, and many of its members have been introduced into it, not by nature but by adoption,) I attribute to the agency of the causes which have produced lava, causes which, comparatively speaking, I do not believe to be very deep-seated. These rocks I put out of consideration for the present; the remarks about to be offered apply to granite and its congeners, under which head I would give to every one full liberty to include or reject quartz rock, gneiss, mica slate, eurite, cipollino, hornblende rock, serpen- tine, &c. Some or all of these, it is the bounden duty of Central Heat to fuse and to eject. * See Comparative View of the Huttonian and Neptunian Systems of Geology. 64 Such and so limited are the means of Chemistry, that of many sub- stances thus brought within the sphere of our inquiries, the point of fusion is at this day unascertained, The author of the masterly publica- tion before adverted to, brought together many useful observations upon this subject. He observes that ‘ Lavoisier could not melt a “* particle of Carbonate of Lime by the intense heat of a burning mir- “yor, and that Quartz, according to Saussure, requires for its fusion “* a temperature = 4043° of Wedgwood’s pyrometer, Glass requiring ‘* at a medium only 30° of the same scale.”’ That the Difficulty, which here suggests itself, of providing, in the absence even of imaginary fuel, a Supply of imprisoned Heat sufficient to fuse the substances I have mentioned and others scarcely less re- fractory, may be mitigated by extending the time employed in the process, or by the aid of compression and other circumstances, I am ready to admit; but, in the most favourable view of the case, the Heat wanted, (when we consider the thickness and extent of these rocks, comprising entire mountains and mountain chains,) must be prodi- gious ; and I cannot but admire the singular taste of those geological speculators, who, enjoying the free range of the globe, have deposited their Caloric exactly in that spot in which it can he of least use to them. The inconvenience of this distribution becomes still more ap- parent when it is recollected that fusion is not all that is necessary ; but that, when fused, these substances must be propelled in a deter- minate direction and with sufficient force, in many instances, to raise the bed of the sea to the height of an Alpine chain. I will not at- tempt to point out to you the way in which this is accomplished, but confess at once that I do not understand it. And yet it appears certain that the surface of our planet has become cooler and cooler, from the period when organic life commenced to the tertiary epoch. If this cannot be explained by the Escape of Heat, there remains only one other mode of explaining it,—a continually diminishing Supply. The latter is the explanation offered by Mr. Lubbock. Sir John Herschel, also, has brought into view causes within the range of physical astronomy which, independently of a Loss of Internal Heat, produce a slow but certain Diminution of Tempe- rature on the surface of our globe*. ‘These auxiliaries, however, are insufficient. Mr. Lyell has offered another solution of the problem, depending not on celestial but terrestrial causes. ‘The chapter that contains it abounds in valuable information and ingenious reasoning ; but when the author tells us that ¢ in every country “the land has been in some “ parts raised, in others depressed, by which and other ceaseless changes, “ the configuration of the earth’s surface has been remodelled again and * The Baobab-tree of Senegal is supposed by Adanson to have attained the age of 5150 years, and De Candolle attributes to the Cupressa disticha of Mexico a still greater longevity. (Lyell, vol. iii. p. 99.) If these opinions be correct, it seems improbable that any great change either of level or climate can have taken place at these spots within the last 5000 years. ; + Principles of Geology, vel. i. p. 113. 65 “ again since it was the habitation of organic beings, and the bed of the “ ocean lifted up to the height of the highest mountains,” I cannot but wish that he had stated this as an opinion, not as a fact. All these theories have one defect in common ; they do not meet the whole of the case. We have to explain not only the Cooling gra- dual during the long interval that occurred between the formation of the carboniferous beds and the chalk, but also the Sudden Chill which followed, and seems to have continued from that time to this. There is yet another element to be taken into account. ‘The coal-beds of Melville Island contain various plants, natives of the country where they are found, and which, if we may trust analogy, require for their healthy growth or for their growth at all, not only tropical heat *, but a tropical apportionment of the periods of exertion and repose. It is a botanical impossibility that such plants could have flourished in a region in which they must have been stimulated by months of con- tinuous Light, and paralysed by months of uninterrupted Darkness. The distribution of Light, therefore, as well as of Heat, must formerly have been different from what it is at present. To meet this further difficulty, recourse is had to physical astro- nomy, which gives us the Precession of the Equinoxes, and a Shifting Axis of Rotation : but the periodical changes of astronomers are insuf- ficient to explain the phenomena to which I have just drawn your attention. It has therefore been suggested that a greater change may, in the course of ages, have been produced on the axis of the earth’s rotation by some foreign cause, say the Collision of a Comet. Such change is undoubtedly possible, but of possibilities there is no end, and we must circumscribe our researches to render them useful. Sir John Herschel gives us no encouragement, therefore, to proceed with this speculation. Mr. Conybeare also dissuades us from it, but by an argument which to me at least appears inconclusive. His argument, founded upon the lunar theory, is this,—that the internal strata of the earth are ellipses parallel to its external out- line, their centres being coincident, and their axes identical with that of the surface. The present axis of the earth must therefore have been its axis from the beginning. It may have been so, yet I should like to be told by what process the form of the internal strata of the earth had been so nicely determined. Possibly, however, I may not under- stand the expression “internal Strata.” All I believe to be ascer- tained is, that of corresponding sections of the interior the density is nearly the same, and if so, my inference is, not that the earth has never changed its axis of rotation, but that if it has done so, the in- terior was then sufficiently pliant to accommodate itself to the change. A much more formidable objection to the employment of such a cause is, that if once called in, we must take it with all its conse- quences. The effects produced by it will not be what we wish per- formed, but what its nature obliges it to perform. In explaining the * Since this passage was written, doubts have been expressed whether the specimens of these plants preserved at the British Museum are sufficiently distinct to warrant the inference. 66 phenomena of Melville Island, it might render inexplicable those of the rest of the world. If we choose to change the axis upon which the earth revolves, let us at least fix upon the best time for doing it; now what is that time? immediately after the formation of the carboniferous series? The reduction of temperature at that epoch was inconsider- able; tropical plants and animals are found in the lias, in the oolite series, in the chalk. A much more convenient time would be on the first appearance of the tertiary rocks; but however satisfactory it might. be to trace to such a cause the violent changes and disturb- ances which appear to have taken place about that period in all other parts of the world, I am afraid our satisfaction would be greatly di- minished on finding that Gosau and Maestricht * escaped unhurt. Be the cause what it may, the effect is certain. The Temperature of the Crust of the Earth must have been higher when the Coal-mea- sures were deposited than now, and we have reason to think it was still higher at antecedent periods. ‘That a considerable degree of Heat still exists, either partially or generally, at no great distance from the surface, appears from thermal springs and volcanoes. I am aware that the doctrine of Internal Cavities has been regarded as visionary ; and in the extent to which it was carried by some of the old Cosmogenists it was so; but that comparatively near to the surface, there are, I do not say Vacuities, but large Spaces unoccupied by solid matter, is not only probable, but almost proved. It seems, indeed, to be a necessary consequence of the structure of the crust of the earth. No miner has ever got to the bottom of a vein, and a vein itself is often a half empty pipe or fissure. The correspondence of the phases of distant volcanoes, the continuous ranges of their eruptive openings, the vast extent of territory shaken simultaneously by their convulsions, are so many proofs of communication below the sur- face. The bulk of the ejected matter cannot be less than that of the concreted ejections which we see; for at the temperature of fusion it is greater than at a lower temperature, and for every foot of matter ejected, it is necessary to provide a substitute in the place which it occupied. The continuous streams of lava which issued in Iceland, on one occasion, attained the length of forty or fifty miles. But the bulk of volcanic matter presented to view, does not enable us to form a correct estimate of the quantity of matter ejected; we must take further into account the combustible substances which have vanished, the gases which have escaped, the dust and ashes which, projected into the air, have fallen many miles distant from the place of explo- sion t. Then only can we entertain a just idea of the Cavities that must have been created in the interior of the earth by the escape of a mass of matter competent to produce an Etna or a Chimboraco. Such Ca-: vities are ill suited to support such Mountains ; La Metherie therefore supposes Cavities to be at a distance, and volcanic matter to flow * See the descriptions of these places in Geol. Trans. + In 1783, a submarine Volcano off the coast of Iceland ejected so much pumice that the ocean was covered to a distance of 150 miles, and Ships. were considerably impeded in their course. 67 from these through long galleries and fissures of communication. Nor have we in volcanic countries alone decisive evidence of the existence of subterranean Cavities. Norock is exempt from Fissures : in. thick beds of limestone Fissures and Caverns are exceedingly abundant; and the extent of these last is sometimes prodigious. Who has not heard of the Grotto of Antiparos ? of the Caverns of Carinthia and Carniola, the content of which amounts to some hundred thousand cubic feet ? of the Kingston Cave recently explored near Michelstown in Ireland ? To the frequency of Caverns and Openings, by whatever name de- signated, I ascribe many of the inequalities which vary the surface of the earth ; such openings, |] conceive, produce phenomena sometimes of Subsidence, sometimes of Elevation. I cannot entertain a doubt, that many of the tilts and contortions of strata usually ascribed to Sou- lévement, have been occasioned solely by want of adequate support. The Duchy of Finland exhibits an endless series of lakes filling up the hollows ofa granitic surface. Let me be allowed a similar series of subterranean lakes occupying similar basins beneath the level of the Baltic, ans receiving, by means of Fissures extending up to the sum- mits of the Scandinavian chain, a continual supply of water which has no outlet; in other words, let me be allowed the use of hydrostatic pressure ; and without having recourse to central heat or secular re- frigeration, I think I shall be able to account, without difficulty, not by a general and uniform Rising, but by a number of unequal and partial Risings, for the phenomena observed along the shores of the Baltic. Steam is often referred to as capable of producing the same result, nor will I deny that it might do so under favourable circumstances ; but I apprehend Steam rarely does act in nature under such circum- stances ; for its existence depends on the access of heat, and its force on close confinement, contingencies not very likely to occur in the porous and fissured strata of the earth. Any of the various Gases, if compressed, might also become agents of elevation, but only under the same conditions as steam. _ I have reserved for the last the popular theory which accounts for Elevation by the forcible Inroad of igneous rocks into sedimentary. To put this theory to the test, it is natural to inquire, what igneous rocks are. My answer is, whatever geological speculators think proper to call so. The late Professor Dugald Stewart cautioned us strongly, though, alas ! in vain, to avoid the language of theory. Appearances, he observes, ‘should always be described in terms which involve no ** opinion as to their causes. These are the objects of separate ex- ** amination, and will be best understood if the facts are given fairly, “* without any dependence on what should yet be considered as un- “ known ; this rule is very essential where the facts are in a certain “* degree complicated.” In dealing out to rocks the appellation of igneous, some geologists are more liberal than others. I have not time to enumerate the va- rious rocks which enjoy this title, still less to investigate their respec- tive claims to retain it. I will therefore content myself with observing, that in the scantiest catalogue they are many in number, and con- sequently, if ejected in a state of fusion, must have been ejected from different reservoirs and cauldrons, not from a central cauldron. 6§ That any rock whatever was originally igneous, is a gratuitous as- sumption. Lavas themselves may be, and probably are, in very many cases, Rocks not originally igneous, but Rocks which have been ex- posed at one time or other to the action of fire. Granite is one of the rocks most usually considered as an Agent in Elevation, for what reason I am at a loss to discover. Solid Granite has no inherent principle of motion ; if it move, it can only be by vir- tue of the impulsion it has received from some other body, not in con- sequence of its igneous origin or its want of stratification. The dis- turbances of strata that adjoin granite are not more constant, nor more striking nor more extensive than those of strata far remote from it, as for instance, the limestone shales of Derbyshire or the coal-beds of Liege. Granite veins are too small to raise mountains, and the changes or anomalies that take place at the junction of granite with other rocks, whatever else they may prove, appear to me to have no bear- ing on the question of Elevation. On the other hand, the arguments adduced against the doctrine that Granite while fluid has been forcibly injected from beneath into its present position, are to my mind con- clusive; especially that which is founded on the frequent transition which takes place from Granite to the rocks that adjoin it. We find a continuous series from Granite through Gneiss and Mica slate to Clay- slates and the Fossiliferous Slates ; and it is not possible to stop at any point of this progress, and to say in which direction the tendency is strongest. If the gradation were single, the difficulty would be great, but what shall we say to a repetition of such gradations? In Mr. Weaver’s paper on the East of Ireland, two detailed sections are given, in one of which, more than six layers of Granite alternate with as many of Mica slate, and in the other five alternations of the same kind occur, the rocks in each instance forming bands from three to seventy fathoms in thickness. The reliance which some authors place on Granite and other un- stratified rocks, as Agents of Elevation, is to me very extraordinary ; let one instance suffice. At Castrogiovanni in Sicily, the Pleiocene Beds attain an altitude of three thousand feet ; hence it has been in- ferred, that since these beds were deposited, there has been formed and introduced into the beds subjacent, a body of Granite, Sienite, Porphyry or other crystalline and unstratified Rocks three thousand feet in thick- ness. This supposition is said to be necessary, but since I do not see the necessity, I will venture another supposition, viz. that Etna has not risen to the height of ten thousand feet without occasioning large cavities in its neighbourhood, some of them submarine; that Castro- giovanni is situate over one of these; that the Pleiocene strata have closed the cavity and rendered it water-tight, except on the side of Etna; from whose lofty flanks and cloud-capped crater the caverns beneath are regularly supplied by fissures with rain-water and melted snow. Let the author grant me so much,—I ask no more. The hydrostatic paradox has tripped up the hills of the geological one, and I behold my Pleiocene beds mounted at once on a pedestal three thousand feet high, and capable of still further promotion. If the explanation here offered meets the case of Castrogiovanni, it will equally account for the height of the tertiary beds in different 69 parts of the Val di Noto, and for similar phenomena in every country which is or has been formerly the site of volcanic eruptions. To the appearances on the Gulf of St. Lawrence, described by Captain Bayfield, I have already adverted. My Predecessor directed your attention last year to the existence in the Morea of four or five distinct Ranges of ancient Sea-cliffs, marked at different levels in the limestone escarpments by lithodo- mous perforations, lines of littoral and sea-worn caverns, and other striking proofs of former tidal action. Similar Terraces have been ob- served in Sicily, in Chili, in the Gulf of St. Lawrence and various other places. At Uddevalla in Sweden, are ancient Beaches with shells of living species, two hundred feet above the level of the Baltic, a height strikingly disproportionate to the very moderate Rise ascertained to have taken place in other parts of the Scandinavian coast: many ex- amples of similar phenomena have been found in Great Britain. It would be rash to offer a solution of these phenomena in the gross. Every individual case deserves separate examination. All I undertake at present is to put a new key into the hands of the decipherer. It was my intention on commencing this address to have discussed at some length the theory of M. Elie de Beaumont, but there is not time now to do itjustice. He belongs to that class of authors whose Opinions, right or wrong, always instruct me. There is no part of his theory which does not evince thought and diligence, a habit of cor- rect observation and an enlarged mind. In some respects I differ from him, and it will not be difficult to infer from what I have already said, wherein the difference consists.. Should these observations engage his notice, I would beg him to consider whether the distur- bances in the Alps and elsewhere have not been generalized rather more than they will bear, whether the tilts and upliftings may not have taken place bit by bit at various epochs, and whether, if the se- cular Refrigeration of the Globe cannot be established, and Central Heat be an Ignis fatuus, his attention may not be usefully directed to more partial but better authenticated sources of disturbance and elevation. Allow me, in conclusion, to say a few words upon a subject in con- nexion with which my name has of late been brought forward much more prominently than I could have desired ;—I mean Diluvial Action. Some fourteen years ago I advanced an opinion, founded alto- gether upon physical and geological considerations, that the entire earth had, at an unknown period, (as far as that word implies any determinate portion of time,) been covered by one general but tem- porary Deluge. The opinion was not hastily formed. My reasoning rested on the facts which had then come before me. My acquaintance with physical and geological nature is now extended ; and that more extended acquaintance would be entirely wasted upon me, if the Opinions which it will no longer allow me to retain, it did not also induce me to rectify. New data have flowed in, and with the frank- ness of one of my predecessors, I also now read my recantation. The varied and accurate researches which have been instituted of late years throughout and far beyond the limits of Europe, all tend to this conclusion, that the geological schools of Paris, Freyberg and London have been accustomed to rate too low the various forces 70 which are still modifying, and always have modified, the external form of the earth. What the value of those forces may be in each case, or what their relative value, will continue for many years a subject of discussion; but that their aggregate effect greatly sur- passes all our early estimates, is I believe incontestably established. To Mr. Lyell is eminently due the merit of having awakened us to a sense of our error in this respect. The vast mass of evidence which he has brought together, in illustration of what may be called Diurnal Geology, convinces me that if, five thousand years ago, a Deluge did sweep over the entire globe, its traces can no longer be distinguished from more modern and local disturbances. ‘The first sight of those comparatively recent assemblages of strata, which he designates the Eocene, Meiocene and Pleiocene Formations, (unknown but a few years ago, though diffused as extensively as many which were then honoured with the title of universal,) shows the extreme difficulty of distinguishing their detritus from what we have been accustomed to esteem Diluvium. The Fossil Contents of these for- mations strongly confirm this argument. M. Deshayes has shown that they belong to a series unbroken by any great intervals, and that, if they be divided from the secondary strata, the chasm can have no relation to any such event as is called The Flood. Further, the elephants and other animals once supposed to be ex- clusively Diluvial, are now admitted to be referrible to two or three distinct epochs; and it is highly probable that the blocks of the Jura Mountains, of the North of Germany, of the North of Italy, of Cum- berland, Westmorland, &c., are not the waifs and strays of one, but of several successive Inundations. It is, Gentlemen, a well-known rule of such institutions as ours, that the “‘ Authors alone are responsible for the facts and opinions contained in their respective productions.” Under that feeling have I spoken on the present occasion, and having freely set before you what hus occurred to me on some points of general interest to our science at this time, I think it my duty, in concluding this address, to disclaira and deprecate any attempt to connect what I have here expressed with the general sentiments of the Geological Society. The opinions I have uttered are my own, and I should be sorry that more importance should be attached to them than they intrinsically deserve, from the accident of their having been delivered from this Chair. Had not the whole responsibility fallen on myself, | should have hesitated, or perhaps altogether forborne to bring before you Opinions, several of which I know are little in accordance with those of some of the most distinguished members of our association. PROCEEDINGS OF THE GEOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF LONDON. Vou. II. 1833—1834. No. 36. February 26.—Charles Allsop, Esq., of Broombriggs, near Loughborough; James R, Hope, Esq., B.A., Fellow of Merton College, Oxford, Royal Hospital, Chelsea; and Williamson Peile, Esq., of Whitehaven, were elected Fellows of this Society. A paper “On the Quantity of Solid Matter suspended in the Water of the Rhine,” by Leonard Horner, Esq., F.G.S., F.R.S., was first read. The experiments referred to in this paper, were made by the author at Bonn, in the months of August and November. The ap- paratus which he used was a stone bottle capable of containing about a gallon, and furnished with a cork covered with greased leather, having a long string attached to it. A weight was sus- pended from the bottle by a rope of such a length, that when the weight touched the ground, the mouth of the bottle was at the de- ‘sired distance from the bottom of the river. The cork was then removed by the string, and the instant the bottle was full it was drawn up. The first set of experiments was made in August, at 165 feet from the left bank of the river, and at 7 feet from the surface, or 6 feet from the bottom. The Rhine was unusually low, and the water was turbid and of a yellowish colour. ‘The quantity of solid matter obtained from a cubic foot of water, and slowly dried, was 21-10 grains, or about »,52,zth part. The residuum effervesced briskly with diluted muriatic acid, was of a pale yel- lowish-brown colour, smooth to the touch, and in appearance and properties undistinguishable from the loess of the Rhine Valley. The second set of experiments was made in November on water taken from the middle of the river, and about one foot below the surface. A great deal of rain had fallen some time before, and also fell during the experiment. The water was of a deeper yellow than on the former occasion, but when taken up in a glass was not very differentin appearance. The residuum of a cubic foot weighed 35 grains, or the ;z4,th part. The author then enters into an ap- proximate calculation of the medium quantity of earthy matter borne down by the Rhine during 24 hours. He assumes that the annual mean breadth of the river opposite Bonn, is 1,200 feet, the mean depth 15 feet, the mean velocity 2: miles in an hour, and the VOL. II, : G 72 average amount of solid matter held in suspension to be 28 grains in the cubic foot of water. From these data he deduces the result that 145,981 cubic feet of solid matter are borne past Bonn every 24 hours, A paper was next read, entitled, ‘‘ Observations on the Geo- logical Structure of the Neighbourhood of Reading,” by J. Rofe, Esq., and communicated by Robert Hunter, Esq., F.G.S. This communication was accompanied by a collection of fossils from the neighbourhood of Reading, and was prepared by the author chiefly to point out the localities and geological connexions of the specimens; but he also describes some beds belonging to the plastic clay, which are not mentioned in the published accounts of the district. In detailing the section presented by the Katsgrove pits, he states, that the upper part of the chalk is perforated to about the depth of a foot by tubular cavities resembling those made by the Teredo in wood. The oyster-bed, which rests upon the chalk, he says, is divisible into two parts, each about a foot thick, the lower consisting principally of brown clay, and the upper of the sand containing green particles. Above this bed the author observed about a foot and a half of clay, and in the quartzose sand resting upon it a layer of ochreous nodules. The account given by Dr. Buckland of the strata above the one last mentioned *, the author says is correct, with the exception of a thin bed of shells which occurs about 6 feet from the top of the section, and which is not mentioned in Dr. Buckland’s paper. This bed was also noticed by Mr. Rofe in many other places in the immediate neighbourhood of Reading, and at Woodley Lodge, about three miles to the east of the town. At the latter locality the order of the beds is as follows : Blueiclay.paboutes oe ae oe 40 feet. The shelly stratum. Mottlediclayert may On Ditto, occasionally sandy..... 35 — In conclusion, the author states that all the wells in Reading, excepting those supplied by land-springs, both on the north and south of the Kennet, and even within 30 yards of its banks, are regulated by the Thames, rising and falling with that river. This phenomenon, he conceives, may be accounted for, by the Kennet flowing over a bed of tenacious clay, whereas the Thames flows over gravel resting immediately upon chalk, into which the wells are sunk. March 12.—Col. Pasley, C.B., Royal Engineers, Woolwich; the Knight of Kerry; and Edward Hill, Esq., B.A., of Christ Church, Oxford, were elected Fellows of this Society. A paper was read, entitled, ‘‘ Observations on the Temple of Serapis at Pozzuoli, near Naples; with Remarks on certain Causes which may produce Geological Cycles of great Extent. In a Letter to W. H. Fitton, M.D., from Charles Babbage, Esq.” * Geol. Trans., Ist Ser., vol. iv. p. 278. 73 The author commences this paper with a general description of the present state of the Temple of Serapis, and gives the measurement of the three marble columns which remain standing, and which, from the height of 11 feet to that of 19, are perforated on all sides by the Modiola lithophaga (ot Lamarck) ; the shells of that animal remaining in the holes formed by them in the columns. A de- scription isthen given of the present state of twenty-seven portions of columns, and other fragments of marble, and also of the several incrustations formed on the walls and columns of the temple. The conclusions at which the author arrives are— 1. That the temple was originally built, at or nearly at the level of the sea, for the convenience of sea-baths, as well as for the use of the hot spring which still exists on the land side of the temple. 2. That at some subsequent period the ground on which the temple stood subsided slowly and gradually ; the salt water, entering through a channel which connected the temple with the sea, or by infiltration through the sand, mixed itself with the water of the hot spring containing carbonate of lime, and formed a lake of brackish water in the area of the temple, which, as the land sub- sided, became deeper, and formed a dark incrustation. The proofs are, that sea-water alone does not produce a similar incrustation ; and that the water ef the hot spring alone produces an incrustation of a different kind ; also, that Serpulze are found ad- hering to this dark incrustation ; and that there are lines of ‘water- level at various heights, from 2-9 feet to 4:6 feet. 3. The area of the temple was now filled up to the height of about seven feet with ashes, tufa, or sand, which stopped up the channel by which sea-water had been admitted. The waters of the hot spring thus confined converted the area of the temple into a lake, from which an incrustation of carbonate of lime was depo- sited on the columns and walls. The proofs are, that the lower boundary of this incrustation is ir- regular ; whilst the upper is a line of water-level, and that there are many such lines at different heights ;—that salt water has not been found to produce a similar incrustation ;—that the water of the Piscina Mirabile, which is distant from the sea, but in this imme- diate neighbourhood, produces, according to an examination by Mr, Faraday, a deposit almost precisely similar ;—that no remains of Serpulz, or other marine animals, are found adhering to it. 4. The temple continuing to subside, its area was again par- tially filled with solid materials; and at this period it appears to have been subjected to a violent incursion of the sea. The hot- water lake was filled up, and a new bottom produced, entirely co- vering the former bottom, and concealing also the incrustation of carbonate of lime. The proofs are, that the remaining walls of the temple are highest on the inland side, and decrease in height towards the sea- side, where they are lowest ;—that the lower boundary of the space ‘perforated by the marine Lithophagi is, on different columns, at dif- GZ 74 ferent distances beneath the uppermost or water-level line;—that several fragments of columns are perforated at the ends. 5. The land continuing to subside, the accumulations at the bottom of the temple were submerged, and Modiole attaching themselves to the columns and fragments of marble, pierced them in all directions. |The subsidence continued until the pavement of the temple was at least nineteen feet below the level of the sea. The proofs are derived from the condition of the columns and fragments. 6. The ground on which the temple stood appears now to have been stationary for some time, but it then began to rise. A fresh deposition, of tufa or of sand, was lodged, for the third time, within its area,—leaving only the upper part of three large columns visible above it. Whether this took place before or subsequently to the rise of the temple to its present level, does not appear; but the pave- ment of the area is at present devel with the waters of the Mediter- ranean. The author then states several facts, which prove that consi- derable alterations in the relative level of the land and sea have taken place in the immediate vicinity. An ancient sea-beach ex- ists near Monte Nuovo, two feet above the present beach of the Mediterranean ;—the broken columns of the Temples of the Nymphs and of Neptune, remain at present standing zn the sea ;—a line of perforations of Modiolz, and cther indications of a water-level 4 feet above the present sea, is observable on the sixth pier of the bridge of Caligula; and again on the twelfth pier, at the height of 10 feet ; —a line of perforations by Modiole is visible in a cliff op- posite the island of Nisida, 32 feet above the present level of the Mediterranean. The author considers the preceding inferences as a legitimate induction from the observed and recorded facts; and proceeds to suggest an explanation of the gradual sinking and subsequent elevation of the ground on which the temple stands. From some experiments of Col. Totten, recorded in Silliman’s Journal, he has calculated a table of the expansion, in feet and decimal parts, of granite, marble, and sandstone, of various thicknesses, from 1] to 500 miles, and produced by variations of temperature of 1°, 20°, 50°, 100°, 500° of Fahrenheit: and he finds from this table, that if the strata below the temple expand equally with sandstene, and a thickness of five miles were to receive an accession of heat equal only to 100°, the temple would be raised 25 feet ;—a greater alteration of level than is required to account for the phenomena in question. An additional temperature of 50° would produce the same effect upon a thickness of ten miles; and an addition of 500° would produce it on a bed only a single mile in thickness. Mr. Babbage then adverts to the various sources of volcanic heat in the immediate neighbourhood : and he conceives that the change of level may be accounted for by supposing the temple to ben 19 have been built upon the surface of matter at a high temperature, which subsequently contracted by slowly cooling down ;—that when this contraction had reached a certain point, a fresh accession of heat from some neighbouring volcano, by raising the Patan of the beds again, produced a renewed expansion, and which re- stored the temple to its present level. The periods at which these events happened are then compared with various historic records. The second part of this letter contains some views, respecting the possible action of existing Causes, in elevating continents and mountain-ranges, which occurred to the author in reflecting on the preceding explanation. He assumes as the basis of this rea- soning the following established facts: 1. That as we descend below the surface of the earth at any point, the temperature increases. 2. That solid rocks expand by being heated; but that clay and some other substances contract under the same circumstance. 3. That different rocks and strata conduct heat differently. 4, That the earth radiates heat differently, or at different parts of its surface, according as it is covered with forests, with mountains, with deserts, or with water. 5. That existing atmospheric agents and other causes, are con- stantly changing the condition of the surface of the globe. Mr. Babbage then proceeds to remark, that whenever a sea or lake is filled up, by the continual wearing down of the adjacent lands, new beds of matter, conducting heat much less quickly than water carries it, are formed; and net the radiation, also, from the surface of the new land, will be different frem that from the water. Hence, any source of heat, whether partial or central, which pre- viously existed below that sea, must heat the strata underneath its bottom, because they are now protected by a bad conductor. The consequence must be, that they will raise, by their expan- sion, the newly formed beds above their former level;—and thus the bottom of an ocean may become a continent. The whole ex- pansion, however, resulting from the altered circumstances, may not take place until dong after the filling up of the sea; in which case its conversion into dry land will result partly from the filling up by detritus, and partly from the rise of the bottom. As the heat now penetrates the newly formed strata, a different action may take place; the beds of clay or sand may become consoli- dated, and may contract instead of expanding. In this case, either large depressions will occur within the limits of the new continent, or, after another interval, the new land may again sub- side, and form a shallow sea. This sea may be again filled up by a repetition of the same processes as before :—and thus alter- nations of marine and freshwater deposits may occur, having inter- posed between them the productions of dry land. Mr. Babbage’s theory, therefore, may be thus briefly stated.— In consequence of the changes actually going on at the earth’s surface, the surfaces of equal temperature within its crust, must 76 be continually changing their form, and exposing thick beds, near the exterior, to alterations of temperature; the expansion and contraction cf these strata will probably form rents, raise mountain-chains, and elevate even continents.— The author admits that this is an hypothesis; but he throws it out, that it may be sub- mitted to an examination which may refute it if fallacious,—or, if it be correct, establish its truth,—because he thinks that it is de- duced directly from received principles, and that it promises an explanation of the vast cycles presented by the phenomena of geology. March 26.—William Palmer, Esq., of Essex Court, Temple, and Alexander Melville, Esq., F.R.S., of Upper Harley Street, were elected Fellows of this Society. A letter was first read frorm Charles Denham Orlando Jephson, Esq., M.P., F.G.S., to George Bellas Greenough, Esq., P.G.S., “On Variations of Temperature in a Thermal Spring at Mallow.” The observations recorded in this letter were made principally during the autumn and winter months of 1833. The extreme variations were 67° and 71°,3,, the difference depending, in Mr. Jephson’s opinion, on the quantity of water acted upon. From 80 to 100 yards north of the spring at which the observations were made, are other thermal springs, the temperature of which is 1° higher, and from 60 to 80 yards to the south is a cold spring, having a temperature of 54°. The formation from which the waters issue is limestone. A letter was then read from William Henry Egerton, Esq., F.G.S., addressed to Charles Lyell, Esq., For. Sec. G.S., «* On the Delta of Kander.” The Kander in its ancient course flowed parallel to the Lake of Thun, and emptied itself into the Aar, beyond the village of Heimberg ; but in consequence of the injury done to the land by its frequent inundations, the Government of Bern determined to direct its waters into the lake of Thun. ‘This object was finally accomplished about the year 1713, by making two parallel tunnels, about a mile in length, between the original course of the river and the lake; and no sooner was the Kander admitted into them than it burst up the arches, tore away the masses of rock which ob- structed its passage, and bore a vast heap of gravel and detritus into the lake. he delta thus commenced, and increased by the sedimentary matter brought down during nearly 120 years, now presents a tract covered with trees, extending about a mile along the original shore, and a quarter of a mile from it into the lake. The depth of the ravine by which the Kander now enters the lake is 50 feet. The depth of water at the part occupied by the delta Mr. Egerton could not ascertain, but, from the declivity of the ancient banks, he conceives that it must have been consider- able, and Saussure found some parts of the lake to be 350 French feet in depth. The author determined by actual measurement the angle at which the new deposit dips beneath the waters of the lake, Ge at the extremity of the delta. At 30 yards from the shore, he found 14 fathoms of water;’at 60 yards, 23 fathoms, and at 120 yards no bottom at a depth of 32 fathoms. A communicaticn by Colonel Sykes was then read, entitled, “A Notice respecting some Fossils collected in Cutch by Captain Smee, of the Bombay Army.” The district from which the specimens were procured is situated between the 23rd and 24th parallels of N. lat. and 70th and 71st degrees of E. long., and is bounded on the E. and S. by the Run, The fossils consist of four species of Ammonites, one of Trigonia, two of Astarte, one of Corbula, one of Gryphea, and a coral having a nummulitic form. One of the Ammonites has a general resemblance to A. Wallichz, and another agrees in some respects with 4. Nepauliensis, both of which occur in the fossils procured in the Himalaya range; one specimen of the Gryphea is stated to resemble closely the Gryphea of the Oxford clay of England; and the coral belongs to the genus which occurs in the Kressenberg iron ore. Specimens of silicified wood, lignite and alabaster from Cutch were also exhibited, and of durable oolite from near Poorbunda, on the W. coast of the peninsula of Goojrat ; and it is stated that the same rock is found abundantly at Raujcote in the centre of the peninsula. In conclusion, Colonel Sykes observes, that if English analogies may be taken for a guide, the district from which the above fossils were obtained would seem to be composed of second- ary rocks, as Ammonites, Trigonia, and Gryphza have not been found in England higher than the upper chalk. A paper was afterwards read “ On the Gravel and Alluvial De- posits of those Parts of the Counties of Hereford, Salop, and Worcester which consist of Old Red Sandstone; with an Account of the Puffstone, or Travertin of Spouthouse, and of the South- stone Roch near Tenbury,” by Roderick Impey Murchison, Esq., V.P.G.S. The district of which the transported materials are described is bounded on the west by the transition rocks, extending from the environs of Ludlow to the S.W. of Kington, and on the E. by the Abberley Hills, thus including a large portion of the trough of old red sandstone, It is shown that all the detritus within these limits has been derived from the adjacent rocks. In the neighbourhood of Kington bowlders of the contiguous trap rocks are found upon the talus of the Ludlow rocks, extending to the edge of the old red sandstone, and in the plain W. of Ludlow the surface of the old red is frequently covered with coarse gravel, in which are numerous fragments of the trap rocks of the W. of Shropshire. In general, however, the gravel is chiefly made up of the debris of trans- ition rocks, the coarser varieties being found only near the boun- dary of those formations. Detailed sections are given in the neigh- bourhood of Ledbury ; and the valley of the Teeme is particularly described to prove that, on receding from the transition chains, the gravel becomes more finely comminuted, and exhibits near Tenbury the characters of lacustrine or fluviatile sediments, the 78 materials of which consist exclusively of fragments of the surround- ing rocks of old red sandstone. Two remarkable cases of a modern travertin, 5 and 8 miles E. of Tenbury, are then cited, the one near the Spouthouse farm, the other the Southstone Roch, both of which have been accumulated in narrow dells, which intersect transversely promontories of the old red sandstone. At the former the travertin is associated with much sandy marl. The latter is a cavernous rock of about 50 feet in height, and has a superficies of more than a quarter of an acre, having on its surface a small house and garden. In both cases the travertin incloses Helices of existing species, and has been occasionally quarried for purposes of building and burning to lime. These modern rocks are shown to have been formed by small springs which issue from the calcareous or cornstone strata of old red sandstone, and still encrust the leaves and grasses over which they flow, a process which the author (judging from the size of the rocks produced) supposes to have been in undisturbed action during the whole period of history. Although no bowlders of foreign rocks are to be found in the di- stricts above described, it is stated that on the northern confines of the eld red sandstone near Bridgenorth and Wenlock, there are niany large fragments of granite of various sorts. These are also seen in abundance on the flanks of the Wrekin, but they are not to be traced into the area of the old red sandstone, and as they are entirely different from any of the Welsh rocks, the author refers them to a northern region. In conclusion, it is suggested that the superficial accumulation of the old red sandstone of Salop, Here- fordshire, and Worcestershire may be referred to causes in opera- tion during three epochs, which may hereafter be divided into other distinct periods. 1. To the currents caused by the elevation of the adjacent transition rocks of Wales, when the associated volcanic action was in full activity. 2. To the subsequent degradation of the old red sandstone, both when submarine and during its elevation. 3. To various alluvial causes, of date posterior to the desicca- tion of the old red sandstone, including the erosion of rivers, the deposits of partial lakes, and the accumulation of travertin. April 9.—James Bryce, Jun., Esq., M.A., of Belfast; the Rev. Edward Tagart, of Addison-road, Kensington; William Hopkins, Esq., M.A., of St. Peter’s College, Cambridge; the Rev. Christopher Sykes, of Roop, near Hedon, Yorkshire ; and Sir Charles Mans- field Clarke, Bart., M.D., of Saville-street, were elected Fellows of this Society. A paper was first read, entitled “« A short notice of the Coast Section trom Whitstable in Kent to the North Foreland in the same County,” by William Richardson, Esq., F.G.S. The author commences his memoir by describing the changes which the line of coast has undergone; and he states that many parts 79 of it, as Hearne Bay and the Old Haven, near Bishopstone, have completely lost the features to which they owe their appellation. He then enters into a minute detail of the London and plastic clays, of which the district is principally composed. He shows that the former constitutes the whole of the clifis from Whitstable marshes to Hearne Bay, and the upper part of that to the eastward of it. The clay he divides into two portions; the higher contains much sand and green earth, and is occasionally marked with patches and streaks of light blue or green clay; and the lower preserves the usual characters of the formation. ‘he only organic remains which he noticed were fragments of wood, teeth of fishes, and por- tions of an Encrinite and of Pentacrinites sub-basaltiformis. Iron pyrites and selenite are stated to abound in every part of the clay, and amber and jet to be occasionally found in it. A minute de- scription is given of the Septaria, which are said to be very numerous and to have the surface often covered with small ramifications re- sembling branches flattened by pressure. Of the plastic clay formation only the sandy portion is said to occur on the coast. It first appears to the east of Hearne Bay rising from beneath the London clay at an angie of about 5°, and extends to Birchington, where it is succeeded by chalk. It contains beds of pebbles and friable sandstone inclosing shells. Sectional lists are given of the cliff near Bishopstone, and of that on which the Recul- ver Towers are situated ; and the author rectifies the error in the * Outlines of England and Wales,” where it is stated that the Re- culver cliff is composed of London clay. The fossils mentioned in the paper are confined to the genera Venus, Cerithium and Trochus, and the remains of fishes. The chalk which forms the coast from Birchington to the North Foreland is mentioned only for the pur- pose of showing that it declines to the westward at the same angle as the superior formations. A bed of brown loam containing a few flints is described as covering the surface of the London and plastic clays, and to be thickest in those parts where the cliffs rise to the greatest height. The vast accumulation of bones in the oyster-bed opposite Swale Cliff is also described, and among those obtained by the author are the remains of the elephant, horse, bear, ox and deer, 2 A paper was afterwards read, “ Onthe several Ravines, Passes, and Fractures in the Mendip Hills and other adjacent Boundaries of the Bristol Coal-field, and on the geological Period when they were ef- fected,” by the Rev. David Williams, F.G.S. The district included in this memoir comprehends the western portion of the Mendip Hills, and the western and north-western — boundaries of the Bristol coal-field. It presents a series of lofty ridges composed of mountain limestone and traversed by deep transverse ravines which connect the valleys on the opposite sides of the ridges. The author describes, in great detail, the characters, both physical and geological, of each ravine; and shows that in consequence of their being filled, in part, with horizontal beds of dolomitic conglo- merate, red marl, and lias, they were formed previously to the 80 deposition of those formations; but he also shows that the ravines have been subsequently acted upon by a body of water, forming what he terms valleys of denudation in valleys of elevation. In describing the defile of St. Vincent’s Rocks, near Bristol, the author states, that he has discovered two lines of fracture indepen- dent of the one noticed in the memoir of Dr. Buckland and Mr. Conybeare on the south-western coal-field*. He says that the prin- cipal evidence which he has of the existence of these two faults, rests on the beds of clay, belonging to the lower limestone shale, occurring twice on both sides of the ravine between the first fault and the commencement of the shale beds in their true position beneath the mountain limestone. In alluding to the bone-caves and fissures of the Mendip Hills, the author conceives that they were formed contemporaneously with the ravines; and that he had found among their organic contents the remains of the Mastodon. April 23,—Sir Oswald Mosley, Bart., M.P., of Rolleston Hall, Staffordshire; and Edward J’Anson, Esq., of Burntwood Grange, Wandsworth Common, were elected Fellows of this Society. A paper was first read, ‘“ On the Tertiary Formations of the Kingdom of Murcia, in Spain,” by Charles Silvertop, Esq., retired Brigadier in the Spanish Service, K. R. O. C. IIL. F.G.S. This memoir is a continuation of papers on the tertiary formations of the South of Spain, read before the Society during the last and preceding Sessions}. The district described is situated in the south- eastern portion of the kingdom of Murcia, and consists of extensive plains and valleys of tertiary formations, bounded by discontinuous ridges of mica slate, transition rocks, and nummulitic limestone. The tertiary deposits the author divides into four districts, which he names from the principal towns situated in their immediate neighbourhood, viz. Lorea, Totana, Alhama and Mula, and Car- tagena. The tertiary strata of Lorca he separates into two systems, one characterized by the beds being horizontal, the other by their being highly inclined. The horizontal beds consist of reddish friable sandstone and greyish marl. In the sandstone the author noticed no organic remains ; but near the eastern boundary of the district he observed, in a mass of clay mixed with sand, innumerable small oysters ; and in a yellowish, calcareous freestone, corals, clypeas- ters, pectens, and oysters. The best points for examining the argillaceous beds are stated to be in the ravines between Lorca and Velez Rubio, where they consist of about fifty feet of marl, con- taining a few thin strata of reddish pulverulent sandstone, and inclose shells belonging to the genera Pecten, Ostrea, Venus, Tellina, Murex, Emarginula, &c. Upon the argillaceous strata rests a bed of conglomerate in which the author found the long- hinged oyster, so abundant in the newer formations of the South of * Geol. Trans., 2nd Ser., vol. i. p. 241. + Proceedings of the Geol. Soc., vol. i. pp. 216, 234, 485. St Spain, The inclined system occurs in the immediate vicinity of Lorca, and consists in the lowest part of sandy loam and sandstone, calcareous and quartzose freestone, and fine conglomerate; and in the upper part of foliaceous, indurated marl, gypseous marl, and gypsum. No organic remains were noticed by the author. The strata dip towards the north at an angle of 15 or 20 degrees, and rest upon the highly-inclined beds of transition rocks. Totana. This village is about twenty miles E.N.E. of Lorca, and is situated in a prolongation of the highly-inclined gypseous system of the latter place. Alhama and Mula. In the immediate neighbourhood of Alhama no tertiary strata occur, but to the north of the plain extending from it to Murcia, isa hilly tract in which is situated Mula. The southern part of this tract is composed of an immense deposit of earthy, whitish-grey, argillaceous marl, containing numerous beds of gyp- sum and brine springs, and the northern of a thick series of sandstone and argillaceous beds which are slightly inclined towards the south and dip under the former. In the alternating sandstone and argillaceous beds, portions of the long-hinged oyster were found. Beneath this series, in the neighbourhood of Mula, occur beds of reddish sandy loam and sandstone, resting on highly inclined strata of nummulitic limestone; and to the north of this ridge of lime- stone Is an horizontal deposit of the tertiary, shelly freestone before described. Along the south-eastern border of the hilly district, the gypseous formation is disturbed in the same manner as at Lorca and Totana. Cartagena. In the neighbourhood of this town the tertiary strata are extensively developed, and constitute, apparently, the whole of the great plain which ranges irom Cartagena north- wards to the Fuensanta ridge. On the southern extremity of the plain the strata dip towards the north, and at the northern extre- mity towards the south. The surface of the district consists of clay, marl and sand, which the author conceives have been de- rived from the decomposition of the tertiary strata. The beds from the eastern termination of the Fuensanta ridge to the Segura, con- sist of the calcareous sandstones and comminuted shelly limestone ; and in the neighbourhood of Cartagena the same beds are well displayed in numerous and extensive quarries. The author in conclusion states that M. Deshayes considers the tertiary deposits of this portion of Murcia to belong to the second and third epochs. A memoir was afterwards read, ‘“‘ On the Geology of the Ber- mudas,” by Lieut. Nelson, of the Royal Engineers ; and communi- cated by the President. The author commences the memoir with a general description of the form, structure, and meteorological phenomena of the Bermu- das, and draws a minute comparison between the characters which they present, and those assigned by Kotzebue to the Coral Islands in the Pacific. He says that the Bermudas consist of about one hundred and 82 fifty islets, lying within a space of fifteen miles by five, and situated on the S. i, side of a zone of coral reefs, approximating in form to an ellipsis, the major axis of which is twenty-five miles “aml the me- nor thirteen. ‘The highest point is stated to be Sears Hill, 260 feet above the level of the s sea; and the undulating portions of the islands are described as resembling sand-hills in shape, and chalk downs in colour. The whole group is composed of calcareous sand and limestone, derived from comminuted shells and corals, and the different va- rieties are associated without any definite order of position, the harder limestones occasionally resting upon loose sand. The ar- rangement of the beds is often domed-shaped, but in many instances the strata are singularly waved. The bottom of the basin within the zone of coral reefs is Saved to consist of corals, calcareous sand, and soft calcareous mud resem- bling chalk, and considered by the author to have been derived from the decomposition of Zoophytes. Under the head of encroachments, he describes the banks of detritus thrown up by the sea, and the progress which, under certain circumstances, the loose sand makes in overwhelming tracts previously fertile. He states that wherever the shrubs and creepers have been destroved, the sand has spread rapidly, but that it is inva- riably stopped as soon asit arrives at a plantation or row of trees. The shells found by the author in the sand as well as the lime- stone, belong entirely to recent species, the most abundant being the Venus Pensyloanica, which in some of the islands constitutes entire beds. ‘The only vegetable remains which he observed were casts of the root of a plant considered by the natives to belong to the palmette which now grows upon the island. Caverns are stated to ibe very numerous, and their origin is as- signed to the undermining action of the sea. The memoir concludes with an account of the method by which the author conceives coral islands and reefs are formed. May 7.—Richard Prime, Esq., of Walburton near Arundel; William Henry Breton, Esq., Lieut. R.N.; Edmund Buxton, Esq., of Devonshire Piace; ‘and Capel Cure, Esq.; also of Devonshine Place, were elected Rellows of this Society. A paper was first read, ‘* On the Distribution of Organic Remains in the Lias Series of Yorkshire, with a View to facie its Iden- tification by giving the Situation of its Fossils,” by W. Williamson, jun., Esq. of Scarborough. The part of the Yorkshire coast to which this paper immediately refers, extends from the Peak Hill near Robin Hood's Bay to the village of Saltburn near Redcar. The lias presents the threefold arrangement of alum-shale, marlstone, and lias marl or lower lias rock. The first of these deposits, the author says, consists of three di- stinct divisions, viz. (a) seft, rubbly shale 130 feet thick, (6) hard shale breaking inte large lamellar blocks, 30 feet thick, and (c) soft sandy shale from 15 to 20 feet thick. The upper part of the su- 83 perior bed of soft shale (a) is characterized by Ammonites striatulus, A. communis, A. crassus, and Trigonia literata ; the middle portion, from which alum is manufactured, by Ammonites Walcottii, A. he- terophyllus, and Nautilus astacoides ; and the lowest by Ammonites exaratus, A.elegans, Nucula ovum, and the remains of saurians. The hard shale (6) is distinguished by the presence of jet, Ammonites elegans, Belemnites compressus, B. tubularis, and Inoceramus dubius; and the lower bed of soft shale (c) by the great abundance of Am- monites annulatus. The mar!stone, or second division of the lias series, is characterized by Ammonites Hawkerensis, A. Clevelandicus, A. Stokesit, Belemnites conicus, B. elongatus, Turbo undulatus, Dentalium giganteum, Iso- cardia lineata, Cardium multicostatum, C.truncatum, Corbula car- dioides, Amphidesma recurvum, Mya V-scripta, M. literata, Pla- giostoma leviusculum, Pecten equivalvis, P.sublevis, Avicula inequi- valvis, A.cygnipes, Plicatula spinosa, Modiola scalprum, M. Hillana, and Terebratula bidens, T. subrotunda, T’. tetrahedra, and T. tri- licata. The lower lias rock is distinguished by Ammonites planicosta, Pli- catula spinosa, Hippopodium ponderosum, Lutraria ambigua, Pinna folium, Gryphea depressa, G. Maccullochii, G. incurva, Pentacri- nites Briareus, and P. vulgaris. In preparing these lists, the author says that he has omitted to mention those fossils which he has not seen, or those which, from their rarity, can be of little use in distinguishing the different sub- divisions of the lias series ; and in conclusion, he states, that he has found the fossils enumerated above, almost invariably in the beds to which he has assigned them; and he is of opinion that similar sections may be drawn up on the same minute scale of the contents of all the other strata, but that it remains for further investigation to determine to what extent. A paper was afterwards read, entitled, “ Observations on the Loamy Deposit called Loess in the Valley of the Rhine,” by C. Lyell, Esq., For. Sec. G.S. In this paper Mr. Lyell details some observations made by him in the summer of 1833, on the loess between Cologne and Heidel- berg, and in several parts of Baden, Darmstadt, Wiirtemberg and Nassau. Near Bonn large deposits of loess containing recent shells rest on the gravel of the plain of the Rhine. The author collected two hundred and seventeen entire shells, of which one hundred and eighty-five individuals were of terrestrial species be- longing to the genera Helix, Pupa, and Clausilia, and thirty-two of aquatic species of the genera Limnea, Paludina and Planorbis. This large proportion of land shells is very general in the formation. The author then made a collection of such shells as are now drifted down by the Rhine and occasionally cast ashore by the waves, in which case the shells for the most part retain their colour and are perfectly distinguishable from fossils washed out of the loess. Out of two hundred and seventy-three individuals thus procured, one hundred and forty-seven were land shells and one hundred and 84 twenty-six aquatic. The author infers that if the waters of the Rhine were now received into a lake, the sediment of such a lake might contain more terrestrial than aquatic shells. After some observations on the hollows and furrows in the gravel of the Rhine which have been filled with loess, the author states that the interior of the crater of the volcanic mountain called the Roderberg is in great part filled up with pure Joess, which was pierced to the depth of 65 feet in digging a well in 1833. But although this and other sections prove the posteriority of the loess in general to the volcanic formations of the Eifel, Mr. Lyell ad- mits that at Andernach there have been considerable falls of pumice, scoriz and volcanic sand during the period of the formation of the loess. In proof of this, the sections in the Kirchweg near Ander- nach, are described. The loess is then stated to be spread almost everywhere over the tertiary and secondary strata around Mayence, Oppenheim, Alzey, Flonheim, Eppelsheim and Worms. There is a section of loess with shells, alternating several times with gravel, at the Manheim gate of Heidelberg. The loess between Heidelberg and Heilbronn appears to attain the height of seven or eight hundred feet above the sea. In this district, shells of the Succznea elongata alone are so abundant as to exceed in number all the accompanying land shells. The author then mentions the loess near Stuttgard and between Géppingen and Boll in Wiirtemberg. He found no traces of it in the course of a tour by Heidenheim, Solenhofen, Nuremberg, Bayreuth, and the cave district of Miiggendorf, but he found it again between Bam- berg and Wurtzberg in the valley of the Mayne. It was wanting in the Spessart and the country around Aschaffenberg, but is abun- dant near Frankfort and in several parts of Nassau. In the valley of the Lahn near Limburg, it contains its usual shells and alternates frequently with gravel. From these facts and others mentioned in the paper, the author deduces the following conclusions :— First, That the loess is of the same mineral nature as the yellow calcareous sediment with which the waters of the Rhine are now commonly charged. Secondly, The fossil shells contained in the loess are all of recent species, consisting partly of land and partly of freshwater shells. Thirdly, The number of individuals belonging to land species usually predominates greatly over the aquatic, and this seems now to be the case with the modern shells drifted down by the Rhine. Fourthly, Although the loess when pure appears unstratified, it must have been formed gradually, as the shells contained in it are numerous and almost all entire, and beds of shelly loess sometimes alternate with strata of gravel or volcanic matter. Fifthly, Some volcanic eruptions must have taken place during and after the deposition of loess. In conclusion, the author states that great changes must have oc- curred in the physical geography of the basin of the Rhine since 85 some of the loess was deposited, and consequently at a comparatively modern geological era, when the recent testacea existed. As the waters must have been at rest when the loamy sediment was thrown down, we must suppose one or many temporary lakes and ancient barriers which have since been removed. It is shown that to assign the probable places of these would be very difficult, and more data are required respecting the greatest height which the loess attains. } May 21.—Thomas Clements Parr, Esq., was elected a Fellow of this Society. A paper was read, “On certain Trap Rocks in the Counties of Salop, Montgomery, Radnor, Brecon, Caermarthen, Hereford, and Worcester; and the Effects produced by them upon the strati- fied Deposits,” by Roderick Impey Murchison, Esq., V.P.G.S. F.R.S. &c. Having established an order of succession in the various sedimen- tary formations between the carboniferous series and the older grauwacke slates, the author proceeds in this memoir to explain the nature of the trap rocks which rise to the surface in the region under review. These rocks are described in the following order. Ist. Those which protrude in separate ridges through various members of the grauwacke series between Lilleshall Hill, Salop, on the north-east, and Llangadock, Caermarthenshire, on the south- west. 2nd. The Malvern and Abberly Hills, including dykes which tra- verse the old red sandstone. 3rd. Rocks penetrating the coal measures. I. Shropshire and Montgomeryshire.—Lilleshall Hill consists chiefly of compact felspar rock, having in parts a sienitic structure. The Wrekin, which has been described by Mr. A. Aikin in the Geological Transactions*, is of nearly similar composition. Lea and other rocks near Wrockardine have the same base, but pass into porphyry and clinkstone. In Charlton Hill, porphyries and greenstones occur where they had not been previously noticed. These rocks mark parallel axes of different lengths on the north bank of the Severn, ranging from north-east to south-west, and piercing through beds of grauwacke, chiefly these of the third, or Horderley and May Hill+ formation, the sandstones of which, on the sides of the Wrekin and Arcal, and at Charlton Hill, are con- verted into quartz rocks at their points of contact with the trap. The line of disturbance occasioned by the protrusion of the zone of Charlton Hill, is traced in certain trap rocks which appear in the bed of the Severn, near Cound, extending thence to the south-west. Caer Caradoc.—This remarkable ridge, formerly described by Mr. A. Aikin{, is on a line of eruption parallel to that of the Wrekin. * Geol. Trans., Ist Series, vol. i. p. 191. + Ante, Table, p. 13. tf Geol. Trans., Ist Series, vol.1. p. 207. 86 It includes the hills of Lawley, Great and Little Caradoc, Helmeth, Ragleath, &c., together with a large contrefort on its south-eastern face. At Cardington and Hope Bowdler it consists of many varieties of felspar rock, sienite and greenstone. The beautiful amygdaloid with actynolite first pointed out by Dr. Townson, and supposed to be peculiar to one spot, is shown to be of frequent occurrence in several of these hills. The axis of elevation of this ridge has been traced by the author to nearly six miles south-west of the limit formerly assigned to it, the trap reappearing at Wartle Knoll, Hopesay, Sibdon, Aston and Corston. Numerous examples are adduced of the conversion of sandstone into guartz rock where in contact with the eruptive rocks of these hills, particularly on the south-eastern flank of the Lawley, Little Caradoc, and Cardington Hills, the strata of sandstone being thrown offthe flanks of the trap rock in vertical and dislocated forms, in some of which the traces of bedding are with difficulty observed. These conversions of sandstone on the sides of the Wrekin and Caradoc Hills are supposed to have been caused by the action of heat, accompanying the forcible intrusion of some of these trap rocks. A large mass of impure limestone, somewhat indurated, and containing many fossils of the Ludlow formation, has been heaved into a vertical and detached position at Botville, on the north- western face of Caer Caradoc. Besides these dislocated masses, the author describes a portion of the third formation (May Hill and Horderley), which rises from be- neath the Wenlock shale, contains organic remains, and reposes on the flanks of these trappean hills, as being in structure so analogous to the unstratified rocks themselves, that he terms it * Volcanic Sand- stone,” and conceives that it must have been formed during a period of volcanic action, and that the materials of which it is composed are the residue of ashes given off during submarine ejections. A similar rock is found near the Wrekin. Longmynd, Linley, Pontesford, and Haughmond Hills —The ancient grauwacke system of the Longmynd and Linley Hills, or mineral axis of Shropshire*, is penetrated by a vast number of points of eruptive trap, chiefly greenstones. Pontesford Hill, amid varieties of greenstone, contains also a porphyry and a remarkable amygdaloid. This zone is reproduced at intervals in Sharpstone Hill, and has been observed by the author in Haughmond Hill, four miles north-east of Shrewsbury, where it passes into a coarse sienite. Vertical, veined, and indurated strata appear at different points along these lines of eruption. Copper ores have been par- ‘tially worked on the western sides of the Longmynd, and at Nor- bury. Quartz crystals and small portions of anthracite are found here and there, and at Lyds Hole are jaspidified red sandstones, with abundant veins of carbonate of lime, &c., the whole being in a state of extreme contortion and irregularity. Shelve, Corndon, §c.—The mining district of Shelve is an iso- *) Antex pila. 87 lated tract, separated from the Linley and Longmynd Hills by the remarkable ridge of quartz rock, called the Stiper Stones. It is made up of parallel ridges of trap, and alternating depressions in grauwacke. ‘The trap rocks of this district are greenstones, por- phyries, claystones, &c. ‘These are separated by the author into two classes ; the one, alternating conformably with the strata of the third and fourth grauwacke formations, is supposed to be contem- poraneous with them; the other is shown to be posterior to the consolidation of the stratified deposits. In the contemporaneously formed traps are several varieties, some of which, although aggre- gates of compact felspar with a concretionary structure, contain organic remains: others graduate into the class of volcanic sand- stone. The first are best seen near Leigh Hall, the latter in the Corndon flagstones, Mary Knoll dingle, &c., where they are largely quarried. The other class, or the intrusive trap, rises to the greatest heights and to the largest masses in the Corndon, Stapely, Taudley, and Roundton Hills, which form the chief axis of the district ; but there are other linear eruptions, many of which are of extreme tenuity, occasioning numerous alternations of trap and grauwacke. The trap rocks consist of greenstones, porphyritic greenstone, compact felspar, concretionary felspar simple and porphyritic, amygda- loids, &c. Some remarkable parallel dykes are described running from north- east to south-west between beds of grauwacke, shale, and calcareous flag, which latter in some instances is converted near the prismatic ends of these dykes, into cream-coloured porcellanite. In the grauwacke adjacent to the trap are also many productive veins of lead, which are respectively described at the Snailbach, Penally, Bog, Gravel, Grit, and Roman Mines. Besides these ores of lead, sulphate of barytes, sulphuret of iron, and carbonate of lime are very abundant. Stiper Stones.—This dentated and lofty ledge of quartz rock belongs to sandstones of the fifth formation of the previous table*, which have been altered by igneous action, and thrown up into their present highly inclined and broken forms by the erupticn of vol- canic rock, lines of which are pointed out both on the western and eastern faces of the ridge, and some of which it is presumed lie con. cealed beneath it. To the west and south of the above district small portions of trap are noticed at Nantcribba, Montgomery, and at Heblands near Bishop’s Castle. Breiddin Hills—These hills are divisible into ridges running from east-north-east to west-south-west, which, although parallel to each other, are not parallel to those previously mentioned. The eastern or chief of these is marked at one extremity by the Mid- dleton and Moel y Golfa Hills, and at the other by those of Buil- they and Bauseley. In this ridge are compact felspar rocks, slaty * Ante, Table, p. 13. VOL. Ii. H 38 porphyries, greenstone, and much concretionary rock, frequently of very large size. These trap rocks burst through strata of grauwacke, in some of which fossils of the Ludlow and Wenlock formations have been found. ‘The strata in contact are much hardened and fractured, and contain many veins of carbonate of lime, and sul- phate and carbonate of barytes, &c. &c. The other chief ridge, or that on which Rodney’s Pillar stands, is composed in great part of coarse-grained columnar greenstone, passing at its extremities into fine concretionary trap and clinkstone. The Criggan, a third or minor ridge, included between these, ex- hibits bosses of greenstone, with altered and silicified schists on their sides. A new locality of singularly spotted trap rock piercing through an impure limestone full of shells, is noticed at the Cefn, between the Moel y Golfa and Welch Pool. The celebrated quarries of building-stone at Welch Pool expose a broad dyke of columnar greenstone, passing in one part into con- cretionary trap traversing strata of the same age, and producing great changes in them in contact. The direction of this great dyke is in the prolongation of the volcanic axis of the Breiddin Hills. The last traces of these concretionary traps are observable in Powis Castle Park. Radnorshire-—The trap rocks in Radnorshire run in distinct ridges from north-east to south-west : the most eastern are those near Old Radnor; the central or chief masses range from Llandegley and Llandrindod to Builth ; a third and unimportant ridge occurs at Baxter’s Bank, five miles north-west of Llandrindod. Old Radnor Group.—These trap recks occupy two parallel ridges comprising Stanner Rocks, Worsel Wood, and Hanter Hill on the south-east, and Old Radnor Hill and its dependencies on the north- west. These rocks are distinguishable from all others mentioned in this memoir by the abundance of hypersthene, and exhibit many passages from a coarse crystalline hypersthene rock to a fine-grained greenstone. Unlike the hypersthene rocks in the Isle of Skye, their base is for the most part of compact felspar, which passes into gra- nular felspar, porphyry, &c. In Old Radnor Hill, besides hypersthene rock and greenstone, there are concretionary traps, bastard serpentine, &c. Towards Harpton Court these latter rocks throw off a peculiar conglomerate, having a base of felspar inclosing pebbles of quartz, which the author supposes to have been formed by a mixture of volcanic matter with submarine detritus. The eruptive masses of trap tilt the strata of the Ludlow forma- tion on the one side, and those of the Wenlock rocks on the other, the most interesting phenomena being observable near Old Radnor church and the guarries to the south of it, where the limestone has been cleared away from the abrupt faces and points of the intrusive rock. Bands of imperfect serpentine are frequent between the trap and the limestone. ‘The latter, near the contact, is wholly unstratified, crystalline, and hard, and only resumes its ordinary appearance at 89 a certain distance from the trap. ‘The shale is altered into a hard slaty substance. Coatings and nests of anthracite, together with minute veins of copper ore and iron pyrites, appear near the junc- tion, sometimes running from the trap into the altered deposits. The author states that the phenomena are very analogous to those of the Val di Fassa in the Tyrol. On the north-eastern prolongation of this line of eruption is the limestone of Nash Scar, which, although at its extremities (Wood- side and Corten,) is demonstrably the equivalent of the Wenlock and Dudley rocks, yet in this central part is a craggy mass of altered and crystalline limestone, the changes in which are doubtless due to the igneous influence which has shown itself on the same line at Old Radnor. Llandegley, Llandrindod, and Builth Group.—This large trap- pean district having a length of nearly ten miles and a breadth of five, is very similar in structure and physical features to that of Shelve and Corndon in Shropshire, consisting of sharp ridges of trap and deep trenched valleys in grauwacke, al) running from north- east to south-west. Itis further analogous in presenting some evi- dence of volcanic eruptions of date contemporaneous with the se- dimentary deposits containing the Asaphus Buchu. Transverse sections near Gelli and Buries, illustrate these phenomena of re- peated conformable alternation of concretionary felspar and other rocks of igneous origin with stratified shelly deposits. The most prominent elevations of trap consist of greenstones of many varieties, felspar rock with quartz crystals, porphyries, both amorphous and slaty, passing into porphyritic greenstone, amygda- loids of various characters, concretionary rocks, claystone, &c. The author points out, in some detail, the reckless folly which has led people in this district to seek for coal by driving horizontal gal- leries through the black schist on the sides of these eruptive ridges, endeavours which they have been led to persevere in from the oc. casional presence of small pieces of anthracite near the junctions. The altered strata of grauwacke within and around the exterior of these hills are of too frequent occurrence even to be named in an abstract. Among a great number of cases, the author calls par- ticular attention to the south-western termination of the great moun- tain of Carneddau near Builth, where certain lower ridges of green- stone, &c., cut through the shale and calcareous flag containing the Asaphus Buchii, the beds of which are distorted, broken, indurated and silicified, and in some instances changed toa milk white colour, and to a brittle condition resembling some sorts of porcelain. Nu- merous and large crystals of iron pyrites occur in these altered beds, and as the mineral waters of the Park wells issue from them, their origin is supposed to be due to the decomposition of the cry- stallized pyrites. Hence the author infers that the mineral sources of Builth, Blaen Eddw, Liandegley and Llandrindod, which seve- rally issue from pyritized beds of grauwacke at points of contact with intrusive rocks, are as much the result of volcanic action as the mineral veins of Shelve in Shropshire. Baxter's Bank contains a coarse-grained greenstone throwing HZ 90 off black shale, which, in contact, is a silicified schist. Galleries in search of coal have also been driven through these inclined strata. A little spur of trap reappears at Caerfagie, one mile south-west of Baxter’s Bank. Brecknockshire.—A ridge of trap rock of about three miles in length and half'a mile in width, extends from the stream of Nant- einon on the north-east to the right bank of the Yrfon near Llan- wrtyd on the south-west. The gorge, in which the little river Cerdin flows, separates this ridge into two mountains, Gaer Cwm and Carn Dwad. The predominant character of the trap is porphyritic, including greenstones, compact felspar rocks, &c. Some of the porphyry is columnar, This nucleus is irregularly coated over with a thin and broken covering of highly altered grauwacke schist, which is frequently in the state of Lydian stone, from beneath the dislocated beds of which bosses of trap protrude. Other varieties of altered rock in contorted positions are seen on the flanks of the ridge, in some of which are crystals of iron pyrites and small portions of car- buret of iron. Absurd trials for coal, similar to those previously described, have been made on the sides of these hills. The mineral source of Llan- wrtyd issues from the pyritized schist on the banks of the Yrfon, and it was from a conviction that the phenomena in this case might be due to volcanic action similar to that noticed in the cases near Llandrindod and Builth, that the author was induced to examine this remote district. The result justified his anticipations, and led him to the discovery of this intrusive ridge. Caermarthenshire.—The only example of trap rock in the large portion of Caermarthenshire which has been examined, was detected last summer in the small rocky knoll of Blaen-Dyflrin-garn, about three miles south-east of Llangadock. ‘This trap is mere or less porphyritic, from which state it passes into a rock having a base of compact felspar in parts containing concretions and disseminated green earth. It throws off strata of sandstone of about the same age as those found on the sides of the Wrekin and Caer Caradoc, and the phenomena resulting from the contact are identical with those of Shropshire, the sandstone being converted into a hard and granular quartz rock, having a conchoidal fracture. This line of altered rocks runs precisely parallel to the strike of the strata of the grauwacke series, and is traceable for miles to the south-west, the most prominent elevation of the quartz rocks being Cairn-goch, formerly a Roman camp. Small metalliferous veins, chiefly of lead, have been found along this line of eruptive elevation, particularly on the right bank of the river Sowdde. The only lead mines now in work in Caermarthenshire are at Nant y Moen, seven miles north of Llandovery, and it is highly worthy of remark, that although these are situated so far to the westward of the range of fossilliferous grauwacke, their relations are analogous to those of the Shelve district, in presenting on one flank @ mountainous wall of highly altered conglomerate and quartz rock 91 running from north-east to south-west, which forms the chief rider to those veins, as in the case of the Stiper Stones in Shropshire. II. Malvern and Abberley Hills.—The author highly commends the description of the Malvern Hills published by Mr. Horner in the Geological Transactions*, and refers to it for a faithful account of their mineralogical structure. The present memoir dwells more at length on the effects produced by these sienitic rocks upon the grauwacke strata among which they have been protruded, and which have been altered into chloritic and micaceous schists, highly indu- rated grits, &c.; whilst others, although unaltered, have been thrown into an inverted position, as pointed out upon a former eccasion+. The author points out the existence of certain bosses of sienite and greenstone in Cowley park to the north of the main chain. He then proceeds to indicate the various points at which masses of eruptive rock hitherto unnoticed appear at the surface in the north- ern prolongation of the direction of these hills, and connect the Malvern with the Abberley Hills. These are the hills of Berrow, Woodbury and Abberley. They are all of rounded forms, and so covered with vegetation that their structure can only be ascertained from the knobs of rock which occasionally protrude. They chiefly consist of concretionary, compact felspar, sometimes containing crystals of common felspar. That they have, however, a mineral nucleus similar to that of the Malverns, is to be inferred from two observations: Ist. The discovery at the north end of Berrow Hill of a small boss of rock having quite a granitoid character, being made up of compact felspar, quartz and silvery mica, and therefore undi- stinguishable from a sienite of the Malverns. 2ndly. The discovery of a remarkable dyke at Brockhill, on the right bank of the river Teme, Worcestershire. This dyke is evidently a spur from the trap- pean hills of Woodbury and Abberley, from the first of which it is distant only 14 mile, being thrown out ma direction from east to west. The dyke cuts through the old red sandstone, and consists chiefly of sienite or sienitic greenstone perfectly analogous to many varieties of the Malvern Hills. It isin great part cclumnar, the ends of the columns being at right angles to the walls of the dyke. The stratain contact with the trap are much hardened; the mica appears to be driven off from the sandstone, the colour of which is changed to a dingy dark purple; and the associated marls and cornstone are converted into hard amygdaloids, with veins of carbonate of lime, crystals of iron pyrites, &c. &c. Another dyke of trap traversing the old red sandstone, which is marked in Mr. Greenough’s map, occurs at Bartestree near Hereford. It is a basaltic greenstone, with olivine, and the strata in contact are affected similarly to those of Brockhill near Abberley. III. Trap Rocks penetrating the Coal Measures. Clee hills —The basalt of the Titterstone and Brown Clee Hills having been described, the author only refers to his former com- munications for the purpose of stating, that Mr. Lewis of Knowlbury * Geol. Trans., Ist Series, vol. i. p. 281. + Ante, p. 18. 92 has proved the existence of an eruptive wall of basalt which cuts off the coal of the Treen pits, precisely in the linear direction of that which has been called the Jewstone (basaltic) fault. The coal in the proximity of the basalt is much altered and of no value. Wenlock and Coalbrook Dale.—The greenstones and amygdaloids which rise up at various points through the carboniferous limestone and coal measures of this tract, are marked by the author on the Ordnance map, but he suggests that their chief interest will be ap- parent when the survey of all the dislocations of these coal fields by Mr. Prestwich, shall have been completed. Kinlet.—This is rather a peculiar trap, being a greenstone in which white spots of granular felspar are dotted through a base of dark hornblende. It rises into knolls, protruding through the coal measures, flanked by old red sandstone. Arley and Shatterford—This dyke of trap has been described by the Rev. J. Yates*, to which account the author adds some de- tails respecting its structure, and the beds of coal, sandstone and shale upon its sides; the chief additional fact being, that the red sandstone which immediately surrounds this narrow zone of coal measures is not the zew red sandstone of Bewdley and Kiddermin- ster as formerly supposed, but a girdle of o/d red sandstone, with beds of cornstone, which is distinctly separated from the new red sandstone and folds round this peninsulated carboniferous tract. Conclusion —From the natural phenomena described in the pre- ceding pages it appears, 1. That volcanic agency satisfactorily accounts for the appear- ance of all the varieties of trap rock which are associated with the grauwacke series, the old red sandstone, and carboniferous strata in the country under review. 2. That from the imperceptible passages which take place be- tween the different varieties of these trap rocks it is difficult, from mere lithological characters, to assign a separate age to each. 3. That as some of the porphyritic and felspathic rocks, alter- nate conformably with strata of marine origin containing organic remains of a very early period, and as some of the layers in which such remains are imbedded have a base of true volcanic matter, the date of the origin of this class of rock is thereby fixed. 4. That these conformable alternations of trap and marine sedi- ment establish a direct analogy between their mode of production and those replications of volcanic ejections and marine deposit which are now going on beneath the present seas ; whilst they fur- ther explain the manner by which, in times of the highest geological antiquity, the porphyry slates were arranged in parallel lamine with the sedimentary accumulations of that age. 5. That the existence of certain strata containing organic re- mains, yet possessing a matrix, composed in great measure of the same materials as the adjacent ridges of trap rock, has strengthened the inference that some of the ebullitions of these submarine vol- canos were contemporaneous with the period in which these ani- * Geol. Trans., New Series, vol. il. p. 249. 93 mals lived and died, the finer volcanic ejections having, it is pre- sumed, led to the formation of the volcanic sandstone. 6. That subsequent to these contemporaneous classes, other trap rocks have been forcibly intruded, amidst deposits of all ages, from the oldest grauwacke up to the strata of the coal measures, pro- ducing great derangement, fracture, and alteration in the beds which they penetrate, exhibiting, at the points of contact, siliceous schists, porcellanite, many crystallized substances, veins, quartz rock, &c. 7. Special attention is invited to that change by which sand- stone has been converted into quartz rock, because it appears to explain howthe so-called primary quartz rock may have been formed, 8. It is inferred that all the metalliferous veins in the country described are due to the presence of the contiguous trap rocks, and that therefore this inquiry has amply corroborated the theoretical speculations of M. Necker*. June 4.—A paper was first read, entitled, “ Observations on the Strata penetrated in sinking a Well at Diss, in Norfolk,” by John Taylor, Esq., Treas. G.S. The well alluded to in this communication affords the only details, hitherto made public, of the thickness and character of the chalk in that part of Norfolk in which Diss is situated. The well was sunk by Mr. Thomas Lombe Taylor, and the fol- lowing list gives the order and thickness of the beds: Clays tects settee feces ance wrayer shes Swat Mannan Sano 50 feet PEE AYO! ia hc Gua le a CR i See RH MAS iit Je Sha NU 50 — Chalk, without flints, soft and of a marly nature...... 100 — Chalk, with flints in layers of single stones, distant 330) about a yard from each other 2.2... 0..... 222: oa Grey chalk, with an occasional layer of white chalk, 60 andiireenromvaintses ee see ee ence | tee = Light bright blue chalk, approaching to clay, with 20 wiitegchallkestoness ene ta cen det mene ee i cae POPLINE rina aes Rb ati bag as Aa Macc nl ella cali 5 615 On penetrating the light blue chalk, the tools sunk rapidly for about 5 feet, and the water rose to within 47 feet of the surface, at which height it is stated to have continued. A paper, entitled, ‘‘ Observations on a Well dug at Lower Heath, on the South Side of Hampstead,” by Nathaniel Wetherell, Esq., F.G.S., was next read. The strata penetrated in making this well are stated by Mr. Wetherell to be as follows: Wondonxclayges soar velo ae 285 feet. JEONG) 13'S igice NAC ese ea A 5 — elas tICEC Avatar ree eo) cyte a 40 — 330 * Proceedings, vol. i. p. 392. 94 The London clay, for the tirst thirty feet, was of a loose texture, reddish brown colour, and contained a good deal of iron pyrites and selenite; for the next hundred and seventy feet it varied in colour from blue to dark brown, and contained many septaria; and the lower part was very sandy. At the depth of 260 feet a few fruits and seeds were procured,—the former resembling those found at Sheppey, and the latter those found at Highgate; but between 265 and 285 feet the clay abounded with vegetable re- mains. A classed list is given of the fossils obtained by the author; and among those not previously noticed, he mentions the remains of Asterias, a Pentacrinite, six species of bivalves, and two small, straight, tubular bodies, one round, the other square, having an in- ternal radiated structure like that of a Belemnite, but without a central cavity. The rock between the London and plastic clays was full of green particles, and contained numerous rounded flint-pebbles. The fossils obtained from it were chalky and friable, and among them the author found Mya intermedia and Natica glaucinoides, shells characteristic of the Bognor rock. The plastic clay presented its usual mottled appearance, but no organic remains were noticed in it. At the depth of 330 feet a bed of sand, containing small flint- pebbles, occurred, and the water gradually rose from it to within 200 feet of the surface. A letter was afterwards read from Sir Philip Grey Egerton, Bart. F.G.S.to the Rev. Prof. Buckland, D.D., F.G.S., ‘On the Ossiferous Caves of the Hartz and Franconia.” This letter contains a detailed enumeration of the remains found by Sir Philip Egerton and Viscount Cole in the caves of Gailen- ruth, Kuhloch, Scharzfeld, and Baumanns Hohle. In communi- cating these results, the author states that he has made the list as complete as possible, as from the extreme strictness with which the Miiggendorf caves are now guarded, it is not probable that any large collection of bones will again find its way to this country. With respect to the caves of Kiihloch and Rabenstein, he states, that the account which he gave in ]&29 of their destruction *, has been fully verified by Lord Cole, who visited them last year ; but in con- sequence of the absence of the Baron of Rabenstein at the time of their destruction, the author acquits him of having been impli- cated in the transaction ; and adds, that this nobleman has proved himself a strenuous friend and patron of science, by the care with which he protects the newly-discovered cave of Rabenstein from depredation. The author states that he found recent bones of pigs, birds, dogs, foxes, and ruminantia, in every cave which he examined ; frag- ments of rude pottery in those of Scharzfeld, Baumanns Hohle, Gailenruth, and Zahnloch; and old coins and iron household * Phil. Mag. and Annals, vol. vi. p. 92, 1829; and Quarterly Journal of Science, vol. vi. p. 213, 1829. 95 implements of most ancient and uncouth forms in that of Raben- stein. In the Gailenruth cave he did not find one bone gnawed by hyenas, but numerous bones of bears marked with short scratches, the effects, he conceives, of their having been the playthings of young bears; an idea first suggested to him by observing the amusement a ball of wood affords a bear in confinement. Of the genus Ursus, Sir Philip Egerton states that he had found among the remains procured in the Gailenruth cave, two bones of the carpus, one of the metacarpus, one of the metatarsus, and part of the sternum ; all required to complete Cuvier’s account of the osteology of the animal; that in the collection from the same cave, he had found the large incisor of the right side of nearly ninety bears, and of all ages, from the cutting-tooth to the worn- down stump; that he had not a single humerus out of the many procured from various localities, with the perforation at the condyle for the cubital artery; and that out of 36 specimens in his collec- tion, besides a greater number in Viscount Cole’s, he had not no- ticed one containing the least trace of the small anterior false molar. Sir Philip Egerton then gives a detailed list of every bone pro- cured by himself and Lord Cole. This list it is impossible to give in an abstract ; but it may be stated that the bones obtained from the cave of Gailenruth belong to Felis Canis, Canis Vulpes, Hyena and Gulo; those from Kihloch to Hyena, Canis Vulpes and Rhino- ceros; those from Scharazfeld to Felis and Canis ; and those from Baumanns Hohle to Felis. A letter was also read from Hugh E. Strickland, Esq., to G. B. Greenough, Esq., P.G.S., ‘‘On the Occurrence of Freshwater Shells, of existing Species, beneath the Gravel near Cropthorne, in Worcestershire.” In a former letter, dated September 28th, 1833, Mr. Strickland stated that he had found in a gravel-pit near Cropthorne, fresh- water shells of existing species, but that the circumstances under which he had noticed them induced him to hesitate in assigning them to the age of the gravel. The surveyor of the roads having, however, at the request of the Worcestershire Natural History So- ciety, opened a new pit, Mr. Strickland is enabled in this letter to state, that the same species of shells had been found under hori- zontal beds of gravel and sand, which presented no sign of having been disturbed since their deposition. He also states that the re- mains of the hippopotamus, deer, and he believes ox, had been found in considerable abundance in the same pit. A notice “‘ On the Action of High Pressure Steam on Glass and other Siliceous Compounds,” by Prof. Turner, M.D., Sec. G.S., was then read. An opportunity having presented itself to the author, of includ- ing substances in a high pressure steam-bciler, he took advan- tage of it to try the effect which would be produced on glass ; and he accordingly encased in wire gauze some specimens of plate and ree and suspended them from the top of the boiler, so Oita je I 96 that they were surrounded by steam whenever the boiler was in action. They were kept in this situation for four months, during which time the boiler was commonly in action ten hours daily, ex- cept Sundays, its temperature being then at 300° Fahr. On open- ing the boiler at the end of the time specified, all the pieces of glass were found to have been more or less decomposed; and the plate- glass in particular, which is a glass of silex and soda, was far ad- vanced in decomposition. Flat pieces, +th of an inch thick, were in some parts decomposed through their whole substance; while in others a layer of unchanged glass was found in the middle, covered on each side with a stratum of opaque white siliceous earth, having the appearance of chalk. The author referred these changes to the influence of water on the alkaline matter of the glass. The white earthy portions were found to be entirely free from alkaline matter, which had been dis- solved and removed by the water which condensed upon the glass at the successive heating and cooling of the boiler, or which may have been thrown upon it by splashing during ebullition. But the author considered that the actual loss was not due to the extrac- tion of alkaline matter only, but that the silex of the glass had in some measure been dissolved along with the alkali. This was proved to have been the case by the apertures of the gauze envelope being filled up at the most depending parts by a siliceous incrustation, where also a stalactitic deposit of silica, about 4 inch long, had formed. A piece of window-glass included at the same time with the plate- glass, was also in adecomposing state, but in a much lower degree. A piece of rock-crystal confined in the boiler at the same time was wholly unchanged. The author adduced these facts as illustrative of the action of water at high pressures on felspathic and other rocks containing alkaline matters. At the close of this Meeting, which terminated the Session, the Society adjourned till Wednesday evening, the 5th of November. May 7th.—After the ordinary business of the Society had been transacted, a Special General Meeting of this Society was held, when the President having stated, that in compliance with a representation made by His Royal Highness the President of the Royal Society, the Lords Commissioners of His Majesty’s Treasury had been pleased. to transfer to the Society additional apartments, lately in the pos- session of the Royal Society, and that a sum of not less than 5001. would be required to adapt the said apartments to the improvements contemplated :— It was resolved unanimously, I. On the motion of Charles Denham Orlando Jephson, Esq., M.P., seconded by William Henry Fitton, M.D.,—That the thanks of this Society be given to the Right Honour- 97 able the Lords Commissioners of His Majesty's Treasury, for the grant which they have been pleased to make to this Society, of additional apartments in Somerset House. II. On the Motion of R. 1. Murchison, Esq., seconded by III. IV. Viscount Cole, M.P.,—That the thanks of this Society be given to His Royal Highness the President, and to the Council of the Royal Society, for their aid and co-opera- tion, in obtaining from the Lords of His Majesty’s Trea- sury a Grant to this Society of additional apartments in Somerset House. On the Motion of Francis Baily, Esq., seconded by Henry Witham, Esq.,— That a Subscription be immediately en- tered upon to defray the expenses attendant on the Grant of the additional Apartments. On the Motion of James Mitchell, Esq., LL.D., seconded by Nicholas Dennys, Esq.,— That the thanks of the Meet- ing be given to the President and Council of the Society for their exertions in procuring the rooms. POS RE ae ty PROCEEDINGS OF THE GEOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF LONDON. Vot. II. 1834—1835. No. 37. November 5, 1834.—The Society assembled this evening for the Session. Hugh Edwin Strickland, Esq., of Craycombe House, near Eves- ham ; Sir William Molesworth, Bart., Member of Parliament for the Eastern Division of Cornwall, Pencarrow, Cornwall; and Herbert Mayo, Esq., of Cheshunt, Herts, were elected Fellows of this Society. A paper was read “On a new Classification of Fishes, and on the Geological Distribution of Fossil Fishes,” by Prof. Agassiz, of Neu- chatel. The author begins by observing that the state of the science of Ichthyology had obliged him to undertake an examination of recent fishes for the sake of comparing them with the fossil species, and in doing so that he had arrived at a classification, in general, differing considerably from the various arrangements previously adopted by naturalists. One of the essential characters of fishes is, to have their skin covered with scales of a peculiar form and structure. This co- vering, which protects the animal without, is in direct relation with its internal organization, and Dr. Agassiz has found that by an at- tentive examination of the scales, fishes may be divided into more natural orders than had hitherto been adopted. In this manner he has established four orders, which bear some relation to the divisions of Artedi and Cuvier ; but one of which, hitherto completely misun- derstood, is almost exclusively composed of genera, whose species are found in only the most ancient strata in the crust of our globe. These four orders are, the Placotdians, which comprehend the car- tilaginous fishes of Cuvier, with the exception of the sturgeon ; the Ganoidians, which comprehend above fifty extinct genera, and to which we must refer the Plectognaths, Syngnaths, and Acipensers ; thirdly, the Ctenotdians, which are the Acanthopterygians of Cuvier and Artedi, with the exception, however, of those which have smooth scales, and with the addition of the Pleuronectes. Lastly, the Cy- cloidians, which are principally Malacopterygians, but which com- prehend, besides, all those families excluded from the Acanthoptery- gians of Cuvier, and from which we must take the Pleuronectes placed among the Ctenoidians. If we estimate the number of fishes now known to amount to about eight thousand species, we may state that more than three fourths of this number belong to two only of the above-mentioned orders ; namely, the Cycloidians and Ctenoidians, whose presence has not VOL. Il. K 100 yet been discovered in the formations inferior to the chalk. The other fourth part of living species is referrible to the orders Placoidians and Ganoidians, which are now far from numerous, but which existed during the whole period which elapsed since the earth began to be inhabited, to the time when the animals of the greensand lived. These remarkable conclusions to which M. Agassiz had come, from the study of more than six hundred fossils on the Continent, have been corroborated by the inspection of more than two hundred and fifty new species found in English collections. The author next observes that in fishes more considerabie dif- ferences may be remarked within narrow geological limits than among inferior animals. We do not see in the class of Fishes the same genera, nor even the same families, pervading the whole series of formations as takes place among zoophytes and_testacea. On the contrary, from one formation to another, this class is repre- sented by very different genera, referrible to families which soon become extinct, as if the complicated structure of a superior organi- zation could not be long perpetuated without important modifica- tions; or rather, as if animal life tended to a more rapid diversifica- tion in the superior orders of the animal kingdom, during equal periods of time, than in its lower grades. With respect to this, it is with fishes nearly as with mammifers and reptiles, whose species, for the most part but little extended, belong at a short distance in the vertical series to different genera, without passing insensibly from one formation to another, as is generally admitted to be the case with certain shells. One of the most interesting facts which Mr. Agassiz has observed is, that he does not know a single species of fossil fish which is found successively in two formations, whilst he is acquainted with a great number which have a very considerable horizontal extent. But the class of fish presents besides to Zoolo- gical Geology, the immense advantage of traversing all formations. Thus they afford us the only example of a great division of verte- brated animals in which we may follow all the changes experienced in their organization during the greatest lapse of time of which we possess any relative measure. The fish of the tertiary formations approach nearest to recent fish, yet hitherto the author has not founda single species which he con- siders perfectly identical with those of our seas, except the little fish which is found in Greenland in geodes of clay, and whose geologi- cal age is unknown to him. The species of the crag of Norfolk, the superior subapennine for- mation, and the molasse, are related for the most part to genera now common in tropical seas; such are the Platax, the large Car- charias, the Myliobates, with large palatal plates, and others. In the inferior tertiary formations, the London clay, the calcaire grossier of Paris, and at Monte Bolca, a third at least of the species helong to genera which exist no longer. The chalk has more than two thirds of its species referrible to genera which have now entirely dis- appeared. In it we already see even some of those singular forms which prevail in the Jurassic series. But as a whole the fishes of the 3 101 chalk recall more forcibly the general character of the tertiary fishes than that of the species of the Jurassic series. If we paid attention only to fossil fish in the grouping of geolo- gical formations on a large scale, the author thinks it would be more natural to associate the cretaceous with the tertiary strata than to place the former among the secondary groups. Below the chalk there is not a single genus which contains recent species, and even those of the chalk which have them, contain a much greater propor- tion of species which are only known as fossil. The oolitic series, to the lias inclusive, forms a very natural and well-defined group, in which also must be included the Wealden, in which Mr. Agassiz states he has not found a single species referrible even to the genera of the chalk. Henceforth, the two orders which prevail in the pre- sent creation are found no more; whilst those which are in a small minority in our days, appear suddenly in great numbers. Of the Ganoidians, those genera which have a symmetrical caudal fin are found here, and among the Placoidians those above al] predominate which have their teeth furrowed on both the external and internal surface, and have large thorny rays. For it is now certain that those great rays which have been called Ichthyodorulites, belong neither to Silures nor Balistz, but are the rays of the dorsal fin of the great Squaloids, whose teeth are found in the same strata. On leaving the lias to come to the inferior formations, we observe a great difference in the form of the posterior extremity of the body in the Ganoidians. All have their vertebral column prolonged at its extremity into a single lobe, which reaches to the end of the caudal fin, and this peculiarity extends even to the mest ancient fishes. Another observation worthy of attention is, that we do not find fishes decidedly carnivorous before the carboniferous series; that is to say, fish provided with large conical and pointed teeth. The other fish of the secondary series below the chalk appear to have been omnivorous, their teeth being either rounded, or in obtuse cones, or like a brush. The discovery of coprolites containing very perfect scales of fish which had been eaten, permits us to recognise the organized beings which formed the food of many ancient fish ; even the intestines, and in some fossil fish of the chalk the whole stomach are preserved, with its different membranes. In a great number of fish from Shep- pey, the chalk, and the oolite series, the capsule of the bulb of the eye is still uninjured; and in many species from Monte Bolca, Solen- hofen, and the lias, we see distinctly all the little blades which form the branchiz. It is in the series of deposits below the lias that we begin to find the largest of those enormous sauroid fish whose osteology recalls, in many respects, the skeletons of saurians, both by the closer su- tures of the bones of the skull, their large conical teeth, striated longitudinally, and the manner in which the spinous processes are articulated with the body of the vertebrze and the ribs at the ex- tremity of the spivous processes. The small number of fish yet known in the transition formations K 2 102 does not as yet permit the author to assign to them a peculiar charae- ter, nor has he discovered in the fossil fish of strata below the green- sand any differences corresponding with those now observed be- tween marine and freshwater fish, so that he cannot, on ichthyo- logical data, decide on the freshwater or marine origin of the an- cient groups. This paper is accompanied by Tables of the fossil fish of different formations. November 19th.—A paper was first read, entitled «« An Account of the raised Beach, near Hope’s Nose, in Devonshire, and other recent Disturbances in that Neighbourhood, by: Alfred Cloyne Austen, Esq., F.G.S. The ancient beach near Hope’s Nose, noticed by Mr. Greenough in his geological map, is situated a little within the point of land so called, and rests upon a mass of transition limestone containing thin beds of shaie. The distance between the ordinary line of high wa- ter and the lowest part of the deposit, is about 31 feet: its extent east and west is not more than 50 feet; and its thickness is 17 feet. How far it extends inland cannot be easily determined, as it is co- vered, in that direction, by an accumulation of detritus fallen from the neighbouring hill. The deposit varies much in texture and composition. The lowest portion is a coarse congiomerate, containing blocks of considerable size ; above this the grain becomes finer and the remains of shells of recent species, occur in greatest abundance. A little higher the particles are still finer, forming an exceedingly hard and compact stone, in which frequently the casts only of the shells are found. In the upper portion the beds are less compact, and at the highest they consist of uncemented sand, like that of arecent beach. The greater part of the deposit is formed from grauwacke rocks, but fragments of trap also occur, and in the lowest part chalk flints. On the weathered surface, the harder beds project in thin shelves, but which have sufficient strength to support a man. A deposit which encircles the Thatcher rock, about three quarters ofa mileS.S.W. of Hope’s Nose, presents thesamecharacters. These are the only instances which the author could discover of a raised beach on this part of thecoast. The preservation of the deposits, he considers, is owing to their resting on masses of limestone, and that the abrupt terminations which the beach at Hope’s Nose presents towards the east and west, are proofs that it was once more extensive. The author premises his observations on the Watcombe fault by stating, that any section of the new red sandstone of South Devon will present innumerable lines of disturbance, and that attention to these will show they have been the origin of the hills and valleys of the district, though all superficial evidence of their existence has been destr oyed by their being rounded off. But in the neighbour- hood of Babbacombe, he says, there are several] faults shin at first sight offer a very different character. Of these he mentions two, that at Watcombe and another west of Petit Tor rock. The first 103 presents a vertical change of level of about 200 feet; but it is not, like the faults before ailuded to, rounded off, and therefore the author infers that it is of more recent origin. Some ovservations are then offered on the position of the trap in the neighbourhood of Babbacombe ; and it is shown, that in the hill to the east of the town it rests on shale, und is overlaid by beds of shale and limestone, the trap dipping to the south-west conformably with the stratified deposits. At its lower surface it adberes firmly to the shale ; but at its upper no such adhesion occurs, though the bed which rests upon the trap is moulded into its outline, From this phenomenon, and the absence of all marks of disturbance, the author infers, that the trap wasa submarine lava current, on which the superincumbent limestone and shale were subsequently deposited. In other instances, however, as in the hill between Torquay and Tor Abbey, the limestone appears to have been violently disturbed, the beds of new red sandstone on the flanks of the hill being in a vertical position. In conclusion the author offers some remarks on the drainage and destruction of the lake which he supposes to have occupied the site of the Ballemarsh and Bovey Heathfield. A paper, entitled, ‘‘ Some Facts in the Geology of the Central and Western Portions of North America, collected principally from the statements and unpublished notices of recent travellers,” by Henry Darwin Rogers, Esq., F.G.S., was then begun. December 3.— Major-General Lord Greenock, F.R.S, Ed., of Carlton Place, Edinburgh ; David Milne, Esq., F.R.S. Ed., Advo- cate, of York Place, Edinburgh; Coulthurd, Esq., Captain in the Bengal Artillery; John Rofe, jun., Esq., of Bernard Street ; Rev. James Bowstead, Fellow and Tutor of Corpus Christi College, Cambridge; Charles Hastings, M.D., President of the Literary and Philosophical Society of Worcestershire, Worcester; and Rev. Josiah Bull, M.A., of Newport Pagnel, Buckinghamshire, were elected Fellows of this Socicty. The reading of Mr. Rogers’s paper was resumed and concluded. Mr. Rogers states that he is indebted for the greater part of the facts contained in his communication to Mr. Sublette, a gentleman engaged for eleven years in the fur trade; but that he has also ex- tracted from the journals of Long and Lewis, and Clerke and Nutt- hall, such observations as bear upon the structure of the country. The district noticed includes the vast tractextending from the Mis- sissippi to the Pacific, and from the 36th to the 49th degree of North latitude. The principal physical features of the country are the Rocky Mountains ; and the immense plains which extend from the Mississippi to that range, circle round its southern termination, and are prolonged into Mexico, and northward to an unknown distance. The Rocky Mountains consist, as far as they have been examined, of primary formations, and their eastern chain, the Black Hills, of gneiss and mica slate, greenstone, amygdaloid, and other igneous rocks. Chains of primary mountains, separated by sandy plains and volcanic tracts, constitute the country between the Rocky Mountains 104 and the Pacific; but to the east of that range are several nearly horizontal formations, of the limits or the relative age of which lit- tle is known. The country from the falls of the Platte to the mountains, and from the Missouri to the Arkansas and the Rio Colorado, as well as the plains included within the Rocky Mountains, is composed of a red saliferous sandstone, containing beds of clay ; and Mr. Rogers is of opinion that the same formation extends into Mexico, and that the red sandstone described by Humboldt as occurring extensively in the southern parts of the continent, may belong to it. The ge- neral colour of the sandstone is red, but it is sometimes gray or white. ‘The saline contents are principally muriate of soda, but other salts of bitter and cathartic properties likewise abound. Brine springs are of general occurrence ; and rock-salt is found in large beds west of the Rocky Mountains, as well as on the Rio Colorado, and south of the great Salt Lake. The surface of the ground, especially of the banks of the ravines, is often also thickly encrusted with saline matter. Gypsum is likewise found in many parts of the country ; and fossils are said to abound in the sandstone on the river Platte, but Mr. Rogers had not seen any of them. In the neighbourhood of the Rocky Mountains the formation is covered with a deposit of gravel and boulders, apparently derived from the adjacent hills ; but at a distance from them it is overlaid by a bed of loose barren sand, the drifting of which the author conceives may partially conceal the existence of other formations, especially of that greensand which occurs so extensively on the Missouri above the river Platte. ' At the eastern base of the Rocky Mountains and for a short di- stance up their declivity, are various conglomerates and gray and red sandstones, dipping at high angles ; but these deposits are not considered to belong to the great sandstone formation, as they con- tain no salt. In ascending the Missouri from its confluence with the Missis- sippi the banks are in many places composed of limestone cliffs, 200 and 300 feet high, containing Producte, Terebratule, and En- crini: hills of this limestone occur also near the Chariton and in the same district is good bituminous coal. Above the junction of the Platte with the Missouri are beds of sandstone and dark blue shale, and a little higher, adjacent to the Au Jacque, are high, perpendicular bluffs of a formation con- sidered to be true chalk. This deposit extends for several miles up the Missouri, and it occurs further down the river about the mouth of the Omawhaw ; but its lateral extent is not known. No flints have yet been noticed zn szdu, but pebbles and nodules of flints, similar to those so abundant in the valley of the Thames, are numer- ous lower down the river, even as low as the Mississippi. Mr. Rogers likewise has seen Belemnites reported to have been picked up in the same district. From below the Big Bend tothe Rocky Mountains, both on the Missouri and the Yeilow-stone river, is a vast formation, said to be 105 very rich in fossils, indicating an upper secondary group; and Mr. Rogers observes that the matrix in which the shells are imbedded resembles very closely some of the greensand-beds of Europe. The fossils mentioned in the paper are a Hamite, a Gryphza con- sidered to be the Gryphea Columba, and Belemnites compressus. This formation has not been traced continuously over the whole area alluded to, but the same fossils have been brought from the beds of the Missouri and Yellow-stone rivers, and from their springs in the Rocky Mountains: they have likewise been found west of that range. Above the Big Bend occurs also an extensive range of horizontal beds of lignite, sandstone, shale, and clay, forming bluffs ZOO and 300 feet high, and continuous for several days’ journey. Lignite is also found on'the Cherry River, and along the whole of the country watered by the Powder River, in beds from 3 to 9 feet thick. This formation Mr, Rogers conceives to be more recent than that which contains the fossils, as the latter has a slight westerly dip, and there- fore may underlie it. Silicified trunks of trees are stated to have been noticed on the banks of the streams, and are considered by the traders to have fallen from the bluffs. No recent volcanic production appears to have been yet brought from the country east of the Rocky Mountains, with the exception of the pumice which annually descends the Missouri; but nothing is yet known of the quarter whence it is derived. West of the moun- tains, however, from the Salmon River to beyond Louis's River, and for a considerable distance around the insulated mountains called the Butts, the country is said to be composed of Java traversed by a multitude of deep, extensive fissures, having a general direc- tion from north-west to south-east, and nearly parallel to that of the mountains. Volcanic mounds, cracked at the top and surrounded by fissures, are numerous over the whole region; but no lava appears to have flown from them, and Mr. Rogers conjectures that they were formed by the action of elastic or gaseous matter. In many places deep circular funnels, a few yards in diameter, penetrate the sur- face. For more than 40 miles the Columbia runs between perpen- dicular cliffs of lava and obsidian, from 200 to 300 feet high, which are traversed by great fissures, and present all the phenomena of dykes in the most striking manner. The Malador branch of the Columbia flows through a similar gorge. In the course of the memoir Mr. Rogers corrects the accounts pre- viously given of the great salt lake, which, he says, Mr. Sublette journied round, and ascertained to have no outlet, though it receives two considerable streams of fresh water. The length of the lake is estimated to be 150 miles and its breadth 40 or 50. Inconclusion, some observations are offered on the thermal springs which abound along the base on each side of the Rocky Mountains, and in the volcanic district. They are stated to vary in temperature from blood-heat to the boiling-point; and to form, from their 106 earthy contents, large mounds, sometimes of a pure white, hard, siliceous nature, and at others of a substance which, on drying, be- comes pulverulent. In the volcanic district some of the springs are said to be sour; and many sulphureous springs occur both in and west of the mountains, Lastly, pure sulphur has been occasionally seen above the Great Salt Lake, and at the eastern base of the mountains, but none in the volcanic district. A letter was then read from H. T. De la Beche, Esq., F.G.S., and addressed to the President, on the Anthracite found near Biddeford in North Devon. Mr. De la Beche says, the anthracite occurs along a strip of country about thirteen miles in length from east to west and about three quarters of a mile in breadth from north to south. It com- mences eastward at Hawkridge Woods on the banks of the Taw, and extends westward to Greencliff in Biddeford Bay, where the sea cuts off all further observation of its course in that direction. On the opposite side of the bay, however, a very carbonaceous slate is found in the cliffs among the greatly contorted strata of grauwacké between Clovelly and Hartland Point. There can be little doubt, Mr. De la Beche observes, that this carbonaceous slate belongs to the same system as the Biddeford beds, and thus it would be extended about eleven miles still further westward, where the sea again cuts it off. The anthracite between Hawkridge and Greencliff has been extensively worked at various times, and at the latter place is now worked for the sole supply of a limekiln. The beds of anthracite do not occur precisely in the same line with each other, so that one or two beds are not so far continuous, but swell out in particular places, the maximum thickness not exceed- ing 12 feet. The letter was accompanied by a collection of fossil plants, all collected by Mr. Dela Beche; and he says, there can be no question that the shales, slates, sandstones, and anthracite, among which they are found, belong to the grauwacké, the evidence being of the most clear and satisfactory kind *. With regard to the position of these beds in the grauwacké of Devon generally, Mr. Dela Beche states that, it may be considered at about two thirds of the whole, above that part where the grau- wacké shades away into the mica slate, chlorite slate, and other non-fossiliferous rocks of the most southern part of Devon. It should, however, be observed that the grauwacké of Devon and Somerset is not complete, and that we nowhere can see what can be decidedly termed its upper portions. After very diligent search, * The plants have been examined by Prof. Lindley,and he has decided that they are, as far as they can be determined, plants of the coal measures, viz. Pecopteris lonchitica, Sphenopteris latifolia, Calamites canneformis, As- terophyllites resembling A. longifolia, another species, which may be A. ga- lividis, Cyperites bicarinata, and Lepidophyllum intermedium; also frag- ments apparently of Palm leaves, specimens of which Prof. Lindley states he has received from Bolton. The most abundant plant is too imperfect for its characters to be determined. 107 Mr. De la Beche observes, he has been unable to discover any of the interesting beds of the upper grauwacké noticed by Mr. Mur- chison in Wales and the adjoining English counties. On the north coast of Devon and its continuation into Somersetshire, precisely where some traces of them should be expected, older beds are brought up by contortion (Dunkeny Beacon), and the other high land of the coast is formed of beds apparently of the same age with those which extend from Hartland to the eastward, a great trough being formed, supporting a body of grauwacké, the chief portion of which is an argillaceous slate, calcareous matter being disseminated in the lowest portion of it, often in sufficient abundance to constitute limestone. The letter was also accompanied by a collection of specimens il- lustrative of the cleavage of the grauwacké in the neighbourhood of Biddeford. A paper was afterwards commenced on the physical and geologi- cal structure of the country to the west of the dividing range between Hunter’s River (lat. 32° south) and Moreton Bay (lat. 27° south), with observations on the geology of Moreton Bay and Brisbane River, New South Wales, by Allan Cunningham, Esq., and com- municated by William Henry Fitton, M.D., F.G.S. NT i POHL) | 4,009 (i sta rast | eae KAP RIN yea iw Ratti sd xy i ay mien 4 seins Hey a th 2 thvee sys Bue Ga) sh Hh Phey e tae Oi nis Lartten Thuis bald yes) hea vii ‘axl Hi eth i m Mit oy vite sil PROCEEDINGS Or THE GEOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF LONDON. Vou. II. 1834—1835. No. 38. Dec. 17th.—The reading of a paper, “‘ On the physical and geo- logical Structure of the Country to the west of the Dividing Range, between Hunter’s River (lat.32°S.) and Moreton Bay (lat. 27°S.); with Observations on the Geology of Moreton Bay and Brisbane River, New South Wales,” by Allan Cunningham, Esq., and commu- nicated by W. H. Fitton, M.D., F.G.S., begun at the Meeting on the 3rd of December, was resumed and concluded. This paper was accompanied by a series of specimens collected by the author, who states that he had submitted it to the examination of Dr. Fitton, and that he is indebted to the notes of that gentleman for the geological descriptions embodied in the memoir. After alluding to the ‘‘ Wingen or Burning Mountain,” situated on the south-eastern side of the ‘‘ Dividing Range,” the author states that the summit of that range, at the point where he crossed it, con- sists of greenstone slate, and the base of a quartzose conglomerate. Having descended the range, he traversed the low hills which form the eastern side of Liverpool Plains and consist of a similar conglome- rate; and afterwards the hills tothe north of the Plains composed ofa very finely grained granite. Between the latitudes of 31° and 30° the country gradually rose from the level of Liverpool Plains, or 840 feet, to nearly 2000 feet above the level of the sea, and pre- sented a broken irregular surface, often traversed by low ridges of clay slate. On the north of 30° the exploring party entered a fer- tile valley, called by Mr. Cunningham “ Stoddart’s Valley.” The base of the ridges by which it is bounded, consists of serpentine, and their flanks and summit of hornstone; and the hills at the head of the valley of clay-slate. In the bed of Peel’s River, which traverses the northern extremity of the valley, the author noticed a thin ho- rizontal bed of calcareous sandstone, between strata of indurated clay or shale. The country for 50 miles to the north of “ Peel’s River ” exhibited a moderately undulating surface, covered in some parts with fragments of cellular trap; and the hills which bounded the route on the westward, as far as the parallel of 29° 10’, consisted of a reddish coarse-grained sandstone, in nearly horizontal strata. Beyond this point Mr. Cunningham directed his journey to the north-east, and a little north of 29° he arrived at Mogo Creek, the banks of which were found to be composed of a coarse fri- able sandstone. Pursuing the same direction,the country for 40 VOL. II, L 110 miles presented a rugged surface, and the prevailing rocks were sandstone and clay slate; but occasionally the tops of the hills formed low terraces composed of a quartzose conglomerate. In the bed of acreek in lat. 28° 46’, and on the meridian of Paramatta, (151° east long.), a hard slaty rock was noticed; and the country beyond it was found to be composed, where it could be examined in the dry water-courses, of flinty slate. In lat. 28° 13! the party entered upona fertile district which extended for 18 miles, or to the foot of the “ Dividing Range,” in the parallel of 28°. At the base of these mountains Mr. Cunningham procured specimens of basalt containing olivine; at the height of 1877 feet above the level of the sea, the rock consisted of amygdaloid; and the summit, 4100 feet above Moreton Bay, of a brick-red cellular trap, the cells having an elongated form and parallel direction. From this station the author directed his course back towards Hunter’s River, but chose a route to the east of that by which he had arrived at the foot of the “‘ Dividing Range.” In a ravine about 20 miles from the extreme point of his journey, and on the confines of a mountainous region, a reddish granite occurred, and the prevail- ing formation in the hilly district itself was grey granite. Leaving this mountainous country and directing his course south-west- ward, Mr. Cunningham entered upon a region, composed of clay slate ; and in lat. 29° he arrived at a deep gorge similarly con- stituted, and traversed by a rapid stream, in the bed of which he noticed large boulders of the gray granite. During the next 40 miles the only rocks observed were reddish granite and fragments of basalt. In lat. 29° 26' large masses of a fine quartzose conglomerate occurred, and were afterwards found to be very generally scattered over the adjacent country. The boundary hills of «* Wilmot Val- ley” are stated to be a fine-grained grey granite; and those which form the head of it, in lat. 30° 11', of brownish porphyry, containing grains of quartz. The party having crossed these hills, traversed Liverpool Plains and the “‘ Dividing Range” to Hunter’s River, and thence returned to the station from which they originally set out. Mr. Cunningham next offers some remarks on the geology of Moreton Bay and Brisbane River, both of which he visited in 1828, for the purpose of connecting his observations at the foot of the «‘ Dividing Range” in lat. 28° with the sea coast. The western shores of Moreton Bay, from the entrance of Pumice- stone River to Red-Cliff Point, are faced by a reef of considerable breadth, a ledge of which at low water afforded specimens of chal- cedony. In ascending the Brisbane River, which falls into Moreton Bay, the first rock observed was talc or chlorite slate; and opposite the settle- ment, 16 miles from the mouth of the river, is a quarry of pink clay- stene porphyry, used for building. In the ravines further up occurs serpentine traversed by veins of asbestus and magnetic iron. Sixty miles from Moreton Bay, beds of hornstone crop out in the banks; and in the same part of the river a considerable seam of coal appears in its channel. A portion of the stern of a fossil plant was found 111 in the vicinity of this seam of coal. At the “ Limestone station” on ‘‘ Brenner River,’ which falls into the Brisbane, Mr.Cunningham pro- cured a series of specimens, which consists of yellowish hornstone, bluish grey, a gritty yellowish limestone, and indurated white marl, much resembling some of the harder varieties of chalk, and containing large masses of black flint,and of bluish grey chalcedony passing into chert. A bed of coal has likewise been noticed in the Brenner, and traced from that stream to the Brisbane. To the south of the «¢ Limestone station” is a remarkable hill, called «« Mount Forbes,’ consisting of trap; and 50 miles south of the penal settlement on the Brisbane is the Birman-range, from which the author pro- cured specimens of compact quartz rock. From Mount Lindsay, likewise south of the Brisbane, he obtained specimens of granite. To the collections formed by himself, in the districts above men- tioned, Mr. Cunningham has added some specimens obtained by Capt. Sturt during an excursion from Bathurst to the marshes of the Macquarie, and thence to the Darling River. They include car- bonate of copper from a white argillaceous cliff at Molong Plain; stalagmite from the bed of the Macquarie; pink clay from the cataract below Wellington Valley; porphyry from Mount Harris; hard, granular, quartz rock from Oxley’s Table-land and Mount Hellvellin; granite from New Year’s Creek; quartzose conglome- rate, porphyry, sandstone, white clay, and selenite, from the Darling River ; and lastly,specimens of compact limestone, containing corals, froma limestone range 16 miles north from Bathurst. A paper was next read, entitled “ An Account of Land and Freshwater Shells found associated with the Bones of Land Quad- rupeds beneath diluvial Gravel, at Cropthorn in Worcestershire,” by Hugh Edwin Strickland, Esq., F.G.S. On two former occasions Mr. Strickland laid before the Society brief notices of the discovery, near Cropthorn, of the bones of extinct quadrupeds associated with shells of existing species :—the present paper contains the result of his continued researches. ‘The de- posit in which these remains were found, is situated on the road from Evesham to Pershore, and on the east side of the small rivulet which flows from Bredon Hill towards the Avon. In May 1834 the deposit presented a section about 70 yards in length and 8 feet 6 inches high in the middle. The lower part of it consisted of lias clay, on which rested a layer of fine sand, containing 23 species of land and freshwater shells, with fragments, more or less rolled, of bones of the Hippopotamus, Bos, Cervus, Ursus, and Canis. The sand passes upwards gradually into gravel, which extends to the surface, and differs in no respect from the other gravel of the neighbour- hood, being composed principally of pebbles of brown quartz, but occasionally containing chalk flints, and fragments of lias Ammo- nites and Gryphites. The bones, though most abundant in the sand, are interspersed also through the gravel; but the shells are confined to the sand. Lists are given of the bones, and of the species of the shells, two of which are supposed to be extinct. The au- L2 2 thor from these phenomena assigns the deposit to the newer plio- cene era; and from the fluviatile habits of some of the shells, he con- ceives that it occupies the site of an ancient river-bed, and not of a lake. In the course of his paper he points out the inferences which may be drawn from these deposits, respecting the greater change which has taken place in the mammifers of this island than in the molluses, since the era when the gravel was accumulated ; and the little variation which the climate appears to have undergone since the same epoch. In conclusion he notices the published accounts of similar deposits at North Cliff, near Market-Weighton, and at Copford, near Colchester, and states that he was informed at Bath, that freshwater shells had been discovered under gravel, in sinking for foundations in the lower part of the city. A notice was afterwards read, ‘‘ On the Bones of certain Animals which have been recently discovered, in the calcareo-magnesian Con- glomerate on Durdham Down, near Bristol,” by the Rev. David Williams, F.G.S. The author observes that the calcareo-magnesian conglomerate of the neighbourhood of Bristol has hitherto been singularly deficient in organic remains ; but is of opinion that the nature of the conglo- merate will account for their absence. He mentions the recent disco- very of bones in this deposit on Durdham Down, which Dr. Riley and Mr. Stutchbury have ascertained to belong to Saurians. These bones, he says, as well as the associated fragments of mountain limestone, are angular, and so intimately incorporated with the latter as to constitute a bone-breccia. He has ascertained that the bones belong to at least three animals, varying in their proportions, from those of the Dracena of Lacépéde, to the lesser varieties of Monitors. He afterwards describes a fragment of a small jaw found by himself, which exhibits six distinct alveoli separated by bony partitions. One of the alveoli contains a young tooth, which had made its way to the summit of the jaw: it is hollow from the base to the apex, and consists of a very thin plate of ivory coated by a thinner sheathing of enamel. The form is triangular, the point sharp, and the margin on each side regularly crenated from the apex downwards. From these characters the author conceives that the animal to which the jaw belonged, may have formed a link between the crocodiles and the lizards proper. January 7th, 1835.—James Pulleine Esq., King’s Bench Walk, Temple; Thomas Starkie Thomson, Esq., of Primrose near Cli- theroe; and the Rev. George Gleig, M.A., Chaplain of the Royal Hospital, Chelsea ; were elected Fellows of this Society. A letter from Dr. Bostock, F.G.S., addressed to George Bellas Greenough, Esq. P.G.S., containing an account of the analysis of a mineral water from the Island of St. Paul, in lat. 38° 45! S. and leng. 77° 53! E., was first read. The island of St. Paul is stated, on the authority of Capt. Ford and Mr, Houslip, to be of volcanic origin, very rugged inits outline, 113 and to have the form of a bowl, 10 or 12 miles in circumference, into ' which the sea flows by a narrow opening, capable of admitting a boat. The surface of the island is, in many places, covered with pumice, and at night flames were observed to issue from various crevices in the rocks. With the exception of the island of Amster- dam, about 40 miles to the north of it, St. Paul’s is ata great distance from any land. In the hole from which the water was taken the thermometer stood at 212°. Dr. Bostock then explains the manner in which he conducted the examination, and gives the following as the earthy constituents of 100 grains of the water: Miuriatelot sodanin ua yi s i. 23 grains. Suliphatesotysoda it ives. ee 053 Miiateronlitve is yey eae "340 Muaniatelofmagnesialy 43). 4.0.5) 059 Wosse eats hays Sey EME ENS amea oie b 038 2°790 » He afterwards compares these results with those obtained by Dr. Marcet from water procured from the middle of the South At- lantic; and from the great difference in the saline contents, infers that the water of the island of St. Paul is not merely the water of the neighbouring ocean in a state of dilution, or altered simply by mechanical filtration. A paper “On the chalk and flint of Yorkshire, compared with the chalk and flint of the southern counties of England,” by James Mit- chell, LL.D., F.G.S., was then read. The chalk of Yorkshire, Dr. Mitchell states, is distinguished from that of the southern counties by its great hardness, by its being occasionally of a red colour, by its being more distinctly stratified, and by its containing veins of calcareous spar. He says, that it is also distinguished by the upper part being always destitute of flints, while in the southern counties the absence of flints in the upper part is an exception. The flints of Yorkshire are shown to differ from those of the southern counties by their being almost invariably of a tabular form, constituting regular and well-defined continuous layers ; by being tougher, and breaking into short small fragments, unfitted for the manufacture of gun flints; by the colour being always greyish or whitish throughout the whole thickness ; the crust not being of a different character from the body of the flint. Nodules of iron pyri- tes are stated to be common in the Yorkshire chalk, but in that of the South of England to be confined to the lower chalk without flints. In conclusion the author points out the following resemblance between the Yorkshire chalk and that of the N.E. of Ireland, namely, the great hardness of both, and the common occurrence in both of iyon pyrites and veins of calcareous spar. 114 A letter was next read from Woodbine Parish, Esq., addressed to George Bellas Greenough, Esq., P.G.S., accompanying a suite of specimens from the neighbourhood of Bognor. The collection, referred to in this letter, contained a series of all the fossils hitherto described as occurring in the Bognor Rock, and a suite of specimens of Choanites Keenigi obtained from the rolled shingle onthe beach. Mr. Parish also points out for the first time the existence of chalk on the shore opposite Felpham, between high and low water mark. He states that it may be traced for upwards of a mile in the direction of Middleton; that at the point where it first appears, it is hard and thickly interspersed with flints, but that further on it becomes soft and the flints are less numerous. Mr. Parish procured from it many of the characteristic chalk fossils. He states also that near Middleton, chalk mar! has been long dug at low water. A notice on the want of perpendicularity of the standing pillars of the Temple of Jupiter Serapis near Naples, by Capt. Basil Hall, R.N., F.G.S., was Berard read. Capt. Hall observes that the three pillars of the Temple of Serapis now standing, each of which is formed of asingle piece of stone, are not strictly perpendicular, but all slope towards the south-west, that is, towards the sea, and from the temple where the statue of Jupiter is supposed to have stood. It is well known the columns of ancient Greek temples, the Parthenon for instance, have an inclination in- wards. ‘The slope of the columns in that of Serapis is not great, but very decided, and was established by measurement and by ob- servations on the angle formed by the reflection of the columns in the water, which covers the pavement of the temple at high tides. The floor of the temple is also slightly inclined, for Capt. Hall ob- served, that on the recession of the tide, the northern side was left dry, when the water was still some inches deep on the southern side. January 21.—Edward William Brayley, Esq., F.L.S., Librarian tothe London Institution, was elected a Fellow of this Society. A paper was first read “ On an outlying basin of Lias on the bor- ders of Salop and Cheshire, with a short account of the lower Lias between Gloucester and Worcester,” by Roderick Impey Murchison, Esq., V.P.G.S. Having heard from Mr. Dod of Cloverly that frequent trials for coal had been made in a part of North Salop situated between the Hawkstone Hills and thet owns of Whitchurch and Market Dray- ton, the author visited that district during the autumn of last year. He found that the strata, supposed to be coal shale, belong to the lias, and that they range over a considerable area resting upon red marl and new red sandstone. With the assistance of the Rev. T, Egerton, F.G.S., he has ascertained that this lias occupies an ellip- tical basin, the length of which from S. W. to N.E. is 10 miles, and the breadth about 4 to 6, the surrounding strata dipping inwards at 115 slight angles. The western boundary only is indeterminable, being concealed by gravel and turf bog. The formation is divisible into marlstone and lower lias. The first is clearly exposed in the hill of Prees,and contains the fossils which characterize it in Gloucestershire and Worcestershire, viz., Avicula inequivalvis, Gryphea gigantea, and Pecten equivalvis, with an Ammonite, in great abundance, re- sembling A. geometricus of Phillips. The lower lias crops out at various points along the exterior of the ellipse, particularly between Moreton Mill and Burley Dam; near the last of which places it is,in parts, bituminous and slaty. like the Kimmeridge coal. Near Cloverly and Adderiey the lias shale has been penetrated by shafts in search of coal to the depth of 300 feet, and numerous fossils have been extracted, among which are, Ammonites Bucklandi, A.Conybeart, A. planicosta, A. planorbis, A. communis ?, A. , published in Zeiten’s Wirtemberg fossils, and four species of undescribed Ammonites; Astarte elegans, Belem- nites subclavatus (Voltz, found in the lias of Boll.), Cidaris, Gryphea zncurva, G. MacCullochi, Modiola minima; Pecten and Pullastra (two unpublished species, both occurring at Brora); Plagzostoma pectinoides, first published from Brora; P. giganteum, Pentacrinites scalaris, Goldfuss; Rostellaria? Spirifer, Tellina, Unio, Turritella, and unpublished Serpulee ? Among these fossils some are universally characteristic of the formation, others were first observed in the lias of the distant di- stricts of Brora in Scotland, and of Boll and Banz in Germany. Some of the sinkings produced small pieces of jet or lignite like that of Whitby ; others nearer the escarpment went through the lias, and reached brine springs in the subjacent red marl. Having proved that this basin of lias reposes upon the new red sandstone, the author adverts tothe almost unfathomable thickness of strata by which it must be separated from the coal-measures. Three fourths of this tract of lias are covered with thick accumulations of gravel, sand and boulders, the nature and origin of which will be pointed out on a subsequent occasion. With this sketch is connected an account of a new base line of the lower lias which the author has laid down upon the Ordnance map between Gloucester and Wor- cester. It crosses to the right bank of the Severn in the neighbour- hood of Tewkesbury, by Forthampton and Bushley, the lias occu - pying Longden Heath as an outlier. The lowest strata of the for- mation are described as graduating into inferior green marls and white sandstone of the new red sandstone at Combe Hill, Bushley, Longden, Ripple, and Boughton Hill; the characteristic strata a little above the line of junction being thin, flag-like beds of blue limestone and shale, characterized by Modiola Hillana, Ostree, Spines of Echini, Gryphea gigantea, &c., 5c. This clear escarp- ment of the lower lias is of value, because the same strata are not well exposed in the coast sections at Whitby and Lyme. A paper was afterwards read entitled, “ A general view of the new red sandstone series, in the counties of Salop, Stafford, Wor- 116 cester, and Gloucester.” By Roderick Impey Murchison, Esq., V.P.G.S. Viewing the new red sandstone which occurs in parts of Salop, Stafford, and Worcester, in the extended sense first applied to it by Mr. Conybeare*, as including all the deposits between the lias and the coal-measures, the author endeavours to divide the group into distinct subformations; an attempt which had not been made, the whole having been hitherto laid down upon maps as one for- mation. Following, as far as the structure of the country would allow, the divisions established by Professor Sedgwick for the N. E. of England, it is shown that the series is divisible into the under- mentioned subformations : F: Foreign Equivalents. 1. Red afd green marls........ Keuper. 2. Sandstoneand conglomerates. . Bunter sandstein, Gres bigarre. 3. Calcareous conglomerates. ... Zechstein, &c. &c. 4. Lower red sandstone ........ Rothe todte legende. I. “ Red and Green Marls.”—Theseare best developed in Glouces- tershire and Worcestershire, where they contain a subordinate white sandstone, undistinguishable from certain varieties of the Keuper- sandstone of the Germans. In the marls are situated most of the brine springs, both in these counties and in Salop anc Cheshire, though some of them rise out of the inferior sandstone. But gyp- sum is not so abundantly developed as in the south-western districts of England, occurring rarely, and in thin stripes. There is no trace of the ‘‘ muschelkalk” beneath these marls, and they uniformly graduate downwards into sandstone. II. «* Red Sandstone and Conglomerates.’—The country north of Shrewsbury affords the largest development of thick-bedded sand- stones, of grey and reddish colours, in the hills of Hawkstone, Wern, Grinshill, Nesscliff, &c. Ores of copper and manganese, with sulphate of strontian, and chalcedony are of partial occurrence. This group extends into Staffordshire and the east of Shropshire, where it contains many bands of quartzose conglomerates, the dis- integration of which gives a wild and sterile character to large tracts. In other parts, particularly north and south of Kidderminster, where the pure sandy beds prevail, are large districts of rye land, which exhibit an agricultural character quite distinct from that of any of the groups either above or below. In the southern parts of Worcestershire these red sandstones and conglomerates are con- cealed by a thick covering of gravel, andin Gloucester they are re- duced to a very narrow band. ‘The division into thick beds, false lamination, and want of cohesion, are the characters of this group. III. “ Calcareous Conglomerates.” —In North Worcester and Salop calcareous conglomerates, forming natural escarpments and dipping beneath the above sandstones, are supposed to occupy the place of the dolomitic conglomerate of the south-west, or magnesian lime- * Outlines Geol. England and Wales, p. 278. 117 stone of the north-east, of England. They are largely burnt for lime to the east of the Lickey and Clent Hills, where they are of irregular thicknesses. These strata are repeated at Enville, the Bowells, and at Coton, &c., between Kidderminster and Bridg- north. The chief imbedded fragments are of limestone, which at Coton and the Bowells being sometimes oolitic, are supposed to have been derived from Orelton and the Clee Hills. Fragments of old red sand- stone, quartz, and coal grits with impressions of plants, occur in the impure beds which pass into calcareous grits. This calca- reous conglomerate can only be partially detected in the red sand- stone of Apley, Nedge Hill and Lilleshall terraces, which form the eastern boundary of the coal-field of Coalbrook-dale; and similar slender bands, around the Dudley coal-field, may possibly be com- posed of the same conglomerate. In the west of Shropshire these strata swell out into a distinct ridge of about two miles in length, extending from Cardeston to Alberbury, where they have been mentioned in previous abstracts by Professor Sedgwick* and by the author, and where they put on many of the characters of the dolomitic conglomerate and contain nests lined with crystals of dolomite. IV. “ Lower New Red Sandstone.”—In Worcester and Salop the natural escarpment above alluded to exhibits sandstone and argilla- ceous marls, sometimes of great thickness, underlying the calcareous conglomerate. As these are seen in several places to pass down con- formably into the coal-measures, the author identifies them with the lower new red of the North of England, which Professor Sedgwick has shown to be the equivalent of the rothe todte liegende of German geologists. Such relations are seen in the eastern parts of the Lickey Hills, on the southern and eastern face of the coal-field of Coalbrook-dale, and in parts of the Shrewsbury coal-field. At Cantern bank near Bridgnorth and along a part of the bed of the Severn, these strata dip away conformably from the under- lying coal-measures. Similar relations are seen at Wellbatch near Shrewsbury, and still better at Coedway near Alberbury, where the red sandstones and shales graduate upwards into the dolomitic conglomerate, and downwards into coal-bearing strata. On the whole this subformation, containing sandstone, shale, and grits, has in some parts much the external appearance of the old red sandstone, and in others of the coal-measures, and impressions of plants have been found in it near Lilleshall and at Wellbatch. As coal has been extracted in many parts of the North of England from beneath sandstone of this age, the author speculates on the probability of similar success attending well-regulated enterprises in Salop, Stafford, and Worcester. He alludes to a great sinking now going on between the edge of the Dudley coal-field and Bir- mingham, the shafts of which he believes are passing through strata of this age. * Geol. Proceedings, vol. i. p. 345. 118 The author has defined the whole of the base line of the new red sandstone from May Hill in Gloucestershire to the Oswestry coal- field, and has made some changes in its direction, particularly in the country between Newent and the Malvern Hills, and between Kidderminster and Bridgnorth. He further describes the occur- rence of several conglomerates along this base line, the most notable of which are Haffield Camp near Ledbury, Rosemary Rock near Knightwick bridge on the eastern flanks of the Abberley Hills, and on the sides of Stagbury and Warshill Hills near Bewdley. These conglomerates resembling that of Heavitree in Devonshire, are subordinate to red sandstone, and the fragments of trap which they contain have been derived from hills in their immediate vicinity. Felspathic trap rocks of this character have been formerly described in the Malvern and Abberley Hills, and similar rocks have this year been discovered by the author in Stagbury and Warshill Hills resembling in composition the rocks of the Clent and Abberley Hills. The conglomerates, however, which rest upon their flanks, include fragments of quartz, greywacke, old red sandstone, &c. Though occupying the base line of theseries of new red sandstone, the author does not pledge himself that the conglomerates of these districts are the precise equivalents of the lower red sand- stones which overlie and pass down into the coal-measures of Shropshire, for he shows that in the south of Worcestershire and in Gloucestershire there is not a sufficient expansion of the system to admit of such proofs. He is, however, disposed to think that the red sandstone which overlies the small patches of coal at Newent, may prove to be the representative of the lower new red. At two or three places on the eastern slopes of the Malvern Hills the conglo- merates have been observed in inclined positions, and at some height above the adjoining plain. At Great Malvern they adhere in one spot to the steep flank of the sienite in a dislocated form, dipping east at an angle of 30° to 35°. This fact not having been previously noticed is considered to be worthy of record, as leading to the in- ference, that this chain of trappean hills may have undergone a movement of elevation subsequent to the deposit of the new red sandstone. A letter was also read from Thomas Weaver, Esq. F.G.S. ad- dressed to George Bellas Greenough, Esq. P.G.S. In a communication read before the Society on the 4th of June 1830, Mr. Weaver stated that all the coal of the province of, Mun- ster except that of the county of Clare, belonged to the transition series*. In this letter, he says, ‘‘ having devoted between three and four months continuous service to further research in the south of Ireland, I have to retract that statement, having been led to too rapid an inference by the apparent connexion between the southern portion of the coal-field and the transition series ; and especially by finding the limestone, which there underlies the coal measures, to * Geol. Proceedings, vol. i. p. 232. 119 contain some fossils hitherto considered distinctive of the transition epoch, in particular the Trilobites, which I have designated, some crinoidal remains, &c. But having in my later researches discovered between that limestone (in a part of its extent) and the transition series, a well-characterized formation of old red sandstone, the anomaly disappears, and we have in regular succession, the old red sandstone, carboniferous limestone, and the coal measures, which last I find also supported in other quarters by the carboniterous lime- stone, except where they directly conjoin the transition series. I am now, therefore, convinced that both the North and South Mun- ster coal tracts are alone referrible to the great carboniferous order.” February 4th.—M. B. Cowie, M. D., of Mecklenburgh-Street, Mecklenburgh-Square ; William Moody, Esq. of King’s Bench Walk, Temple; Samuel Jones Lloyd, Esq. of New Norfolk-Street, Park-Lane, and Alexander Nasmyth, Esq., of George-Street, Ha- nover-Square ; were elected Fellows of this Society. A paper was read, “‘ On certain Coal Tracts in Salop, Worcester- shire and North Gloucestershire,” by Roderick Impey Murchison, Esq. V.P.G.S. Pursuing the inquiry in descending order, commenced at the last Meeting, the author calls attention to certain undescribed carboni- ferous districts, the outlines of which he has laid down upon the Ordnance Maps. I. “ Shrewsbury or upper Coal-measures with freshwater Limestone.” The author takes this opportunity of showing, that the coal- measures near Shrewsbury, which he formerly described* as con- taining a subordinate band of lacustrine limestone, pass up con- formably into the lower member of new red sandstone, and are thus proved to constitute the uppermost portion of the carboniferous series. He has this year discovered this freshwater limestone (with the same minute Planorbis, &c.,) in a thin zone of coal-measures extending from Tasley near Bridgnorth to Coughley near Broseley, where the strata, like those near Shrewsbury, also dip conformably beneath the lower new red sandstone. Mr. Prestwich has ascertained that some of the great beds of coal of the Broseley and Colebrook- dale field are worked beneath this limestone. II. Western Coal-field of Salop. The Oswestry coal-field, lying on the western borders of Shrop- shire, is completely separated from that of Shrewsbury, and is the southern termination of the carboniferous zone, which extends from Flintshire by Ruabon and Chirk. It is of small extent, and little productive, containing only one bed of good coal. The millstone grit, which rises from beneath it on three sides, is remarkable for containing beds of cherty breccia, courses of sandy, encrinital lime- stone, and in the lower portion strata of thick-bedded, red sandstone, in parts undistinguishable from the new red sandstone. ‘The carbo- * Geol, Proceedings, vol.i. p. 472. 120 niferous limestone beneath this red sandstone, is exhibited on a very large scale in the fine escarpments of Llanymynech, Porth-y-wain and Treflach. The upper part is somewhat magnesian, and con- tains few fossils, with thin veins of copper ore; the lower is a fine subcrystalline limestone, in which are found Producta hemispherica, the large basaltiform Coral, and many other fossils characteristic of the formation. Faults are numerous, and in the principal one run- ning from north by east to south by west, the coal is upcast 180 yards. These dislocations increase as they rise upon the hill sides, and decrease as they range towards the plains of Shropshire. III. ** Central and Southern Coal-fields of Salop.” The author mentions that he has accumulated many new facts respecting the coal-fields of the Clee Hills, since his communications in 1832, the principal of which are, That at the Titterstone Clee, the new works established by Mr. Lewis, have proved the existence of productive coal seams under the Hoar Edge, on the western side of the great basaltic dyke. He corrects the observation formerly made that some of the faults which affect the elevated tract of the Brown Clee Hills are the fissures of eruption of the basalt which crowns their summit. These faults, running from north to south and tra- versed by others trending from east to west, are all upcasts, and contain no basaltic matter, the chief eruption of which is supposed to have taken place at the north end of the Abdon Burf. Various details are given respecting this poor coal tract, which, though interesting in the theory of the formation of coal basins, cannot be included in an abstract. The mountain limestone is entirely absent, the coal resting on old red sandstone, as previously remarked by Mr. Wright of the Ordnance Survey.* IV. Forest of Wyre. In this tract are comprehended all the carboniferous strata rang- ing from two miles south-west of Bridgnorth to the Abberley Hills, the central and broadest portion of which is called the Forest of Wyre. The outline of this coal tract is very irregular, and the measures rest upon and are surrounded by the old red sandstone, except near Bewdley, where they are flanked by the new red sand- stone, and on the sides of the Abberley Hills, south of the Hundred- house, where they have been deposited in thin patches upon transi- tion rocks. Accounts are given of the different seams of coal and layers of ironstone which have been worked, near Deux Hill, Billings- ley, Stanley, Mamble, Pensax, &c. The greater part of these works, including all the deep shafts, are abandoned, owing chiefly to the poor and pyritous quality of the coal. Sweet coal is of rare occurrence, though some thin beds occur at Lower Harcourt near Kinlet. These sulphureous coals are little used, except for drying hops and burning lime; but the sandstones, though only par- tially quarried, afford excellent building material. Some peculiar conglomerates, having a matrix of decomposed trap, occupy the lower beds of the series south of Bewdley. In general the strata * Geol. Proceedings, vol. it. p. 7. 121 are much disturbed, and the structure of the country is rendered obscure by protruded bosses of the underlying old red sandstone and its associated marls and cornstone. In some cases the old red sandstone (as on the Borle Brook), constitutes the sides cf narrow vavines, on the flanks and in the hollows of which the coal is thrown off at high angles of inclination. At Kinlet the coal-measures are perforated by a wide and extensive mass of basalt, the structure of which has been previously described*, and in the neighbourhood of this rock they are much hitched and broken, the sandstones being in parts converted into a hard siliceous rock called White Jewstone. At Arley, on the Severn, ccal-measures, surrounded by old red sandstone, extend in a peninsulated form from the left __ bank of the river, and are bisected by the trap dyke of Shatterford. Another large mass of trap consisting of concretionary compact felspar was last year discovered by the author at Church Hill, 5 miles south of Cleobury Mortimer, but its relations to the adjoining coal-field cannot be detected. The great fault at Stanley, near Higley on the Severn, has been caused by an upcast of the old red sandstone, which there occupies both banks of the river, abruptly cutting off the coal-measures. Allusion is then made to a short no- tice + of this tract, in which concretionary calcareous rocks are de- scribed as being subordinate to these coal-measures, but Mr. Mur- chison shows that these rocks are nothing more than protruding masses of cornstone of the inferior old red sandstone. He further describes, in detail, a section extending from one of these masses of concretionary limestone near Kinlet to Prescot Bridge. In this sec- tion there is a full development of the superior group of the old red sandstone, which although incoherent and of a yellow colour, and therefore unlike the prevailing rocks of that formation, is seen to pass upwards into a conglomerate, and dip under the true carbo- niferous limestone of Orelton. It is this tract of old red sandstone which separates the stinking coal-fields of Bewdley Forest from the productive coal-fields of the Clee Hills. V. “ Coul-field of Newent, North Gloucestershire.” The carboniferous strata are here so little developed as scarcely to entitle them to the name ofa coal-field, being composed of merely a few carbonaceous beds, interposed between the new and old red sandstones. In the vicinity of the town of Newent, where the formation is most expanded, four thin seams of coal were formerly worked, which were separated from each other by only a few yards of shale. In some cases the coal was extracted from beneath the new red sandstone. The extension of these carbonaceous strata is cut off in the south and south-west by the transition rocks of May Hill; while to the north they gradually taper away, and are abso- lutely seen to thin out between the escarpment of new red sand- stone and the argillaceous marls of the old red; hence the author concludes that the Newent coal strata were originally deposited upon * Geol. Proceedings, vol. ii. p. 92. + Geol. Proceedings, vol. ii. p. 20. 122 old red sandstone, in a similar manner to those of the Brown Clee Hills, the Forest of Wyre, &c. xc. In coneluding his reports upon these detached coal-fields, the author gives the following as the positions which he has attempted to establish : Ist, The existence of a younger zone of coal, which contains a peculiar freshwater limestone, and passes upwards into the oldest strata of the new red sandstone, (Shrewsbury coal-field.); and down- wards into the inferior coal strata of Coalbrook Dale. Qndly, That the interior coal strata were deposited in some parts upon mountain limestone and in others upon the old red sandstone and transition rocks. 3rdly, That the Clee Hill fields exhibit only the lower system, graduating down in two situations to mountain limestone, and in others resting upon old red sandstone. 4thly, That in the Brown Clee Hills, the Forest of Wyre, and at Newent, the carbonaceous matter was originally deposited upon the old red sandstone. 5thly, That in some of the poor and ill-consolidated coals, particu- larly in the upper zone, the traces of vegetable organization are so distinct, that even the generic and specific characters of the plants can be recognised in the coal itself. Lastly, That wherever the mountain limestone has been inter- polated between the bottom coal grits and the old red sandstone, it can invariably be traced to thin out and disappear within a very small area; and hence it is inferred, that as calcareous matter ap- pears never to have been elaborated in these regions, except at wide intervals and in minute quantities, mighty convulsions are not ne- cessary to account for the absence of the mountain limestone through such large carboniferous tracts. The coal-field of Oswestry is not included in the application of these inferences; for, like the great coal basin of South Wales, it has been deposited upon a thick girdle of carboniferous limestone, PROCEEDINGS OF THE GEOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF LONDON. Vou. II. 1834—1835. No. 39. AT THE ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING; 20th February 1835, The following Report from the Council was read :— It is a great satisfaction to the Council to commence their Annual Report to the Society by congratulating its Members on the acqui- sition of the additional apartments which His Majesty’s Government have been pleased to make over to them since the Jast Anniversary. The benefits resulting from this new accommodation will be best understood by areference to the annexed Report of the Committee appointed to examine into the state of the Museums. The expense of the alterations has amounted to 1035/., of which 5001. have been raised by voluntary subscriptions, and the remainder has been defrayed out of the ordinary income of the Society, ‘The improvements have been carried into effect under the direc- tion and superintendence of Mr. Decimus Burton; and the Council cannot but advert to the thanks which are due to that gentleman forthe liberality with which he has gratuitously devoted his valuable time and services to this object. | The Society continues annually to increase. At our last Anni- versary the Council congratulated you on the number of its mem- bers being 716; they have now the further satisfaction of announ- cing that at: the close of 1834 it amounted to 745. Forty-two new Members were elected in the course of the past year; on the other hand, there were ten deaths and three resignations. With respect to the finances, the outlay required for the improve- ments in the Apartments has necessarily somewhat diminished the apparent balance of the Society’s assets. The amount of the So- ciety’s property, consisting of cash at the bankers’, money invested in the Public Funds, of arrears due to the Society, and of the stock on hand of unsold Transactions taken at a very low valuation, by the last account presented to you was valued at 2010/. 19s. 5d. This year it appears, in consequence of the expenses in question, to be reduced to 1735/. 15s. 10d. On referring to the accounts of the general receipts and expenses 'M 124 for the year, including those incurred for the improvements, it ap- pears that there has been an excess of expenditure over the receipts of 1331. 16s. 8d.; but as of this sum 113/. 14s. 3d. was for debts in- curred in the previous year, ee 1S-1 the actual excess of the expenditure for 1834 over the 200 2 5 TEGEIPES/ISAOMLY, 1.00.20) Me. pe oie yes Oe ee to which is to be added the amount of debts out- 25718 2 standing on the 31st December last...... ..... } making the excess of the Society’s liabilities at the 278 0 7 Closeiofslastiyean yi ie I Se cay karen ee \ By the failure of Mr. Richter, who, for a short time, was the pub- lisher of the Society’s Transactions, a trifling loss may be sustained. The whole amount of his debt, however, does not exceed 25/., part of which may be recovered. The estimates for the ensuing year will show that the expected income will about meet the probable expenditure, including a provi- sion for the publication of the volume of the Transactions now in preparation, and for the payment of all outstanding debts; and this without taking credit in the estimates for such sums as may be re- ceived under the head of Compositions, which the Council trust they may be able to continue to invest in Government Securities, with the exception always of such sums as from time to time may be required to appropriate to the special object of carrying on the pub- lications of the Society, in which a certain portion of capital must necessarily be at all times invested. On the subject of publications, the Council have to announce that the Supplement to the Third Volume of the Transactions will appear at the same time as the first part of the Fourth Volume; and the Council have taken such measures as they trust will prevent the recurrence of delay in the publication in future. In pursuance of a resolution of the Council of the 20th of January 1835, the Wollaston Medal, with the balance on one year’s dividends, has been awarded to Gideon Mantell, Esq., for his various publica- tions and long-continued labours on the comparative anatomy of fossils, especially for the discovery of two new genera of fossil rep- tiles, the Iguanodon and the Hyleosaurus. It is with extreme regrét that the Council announce that Dr. Tur- ner has found himself obliged, in consequence of ill health, to resign the office of Secretary; and they cannot omit this opportunity of stating how fully entitled that gentleman is to the grateful acknow- ledgements of the Society for the zeal and ability with which he has at all times discharged the duties of his office. REPORT of the Committee appointed to examine and report on the state of the Museums and Library. ; 4th February, 1835. | Museum.—The completion of the new arrangement made in the apartments of the Society, in consequence of the grant of additiona) 125 rooms by His Majesty’s Government, caused the Museum to be en- tirely dismantled during the last summer; so that the Curator was prevented from introducing into the collection the specimens pre- sented since the last Anniversary. The Committee therefore can only call the attention of the Council to the increased space gained by the grant of the rooms lately obtained from the Government. The Lower Museum has been enlarged by adding to it the room formerly appropriated, in part, to the Library, and by the removal to the new library of the collection of recent shells. By a more condensed arrangement of these shells, as also of the simple mine- rals, about eighty drawers have been emptied, and prepared for the accommodation of new specimens, of which they are capable of hold- ing from 2000 to 2500. Nearly all this space will be required for the collections presented during the last eighteen months. Additional room, however, will be gained during the ensuing summer by dimi- nishing the size of the tablets to which the collections of fossils in the English series are attached, the space hitherto allowed to each specimen being far greater than is necessary. By this arrange- ment the present cabinets may be made to contain about one fourth more fossils, and there is space in the Museum for additional Cabi- nets when they may be wanted. The following are among the principal donations made during the last year to the English Collections: Ist. Suite of rocks and fossils from Herefordshire, Shropshire, and parts of Wales; from R. I. Murchison, Esq. V.P.G.S. These specimens extend the series formerly presented by the © same donor, and are important as supplying one of the principal de- ficiencies in the English Collection. 2nd. Bones and shells from the gravel and loam of Cropthorne . near Evesham, Worcestershire ; from Hugh Edwin Strickland, Esq. ° F.G.S. | Upper or Foreign Museum.—This room has been increased in size by throwing into it a large closet, formerly a store-room; and by the removal of the books formerly kept in it space is gained for the accommodation of eighty-six drawers, which would hold about 2000 specimens. The principal donations made to the Collection are—Specimens from the Eifel, presented by Leonard Horner, Esq. ; Remains of the Anthracotherium Velaunum, Myoxus, and Crocodile from Puy en Velay, presented by Mons. Bertrand de Doué, For. Mem. G.S.; Tertiary Shells from the United States, presented by Henry D. Rogers, Esq. F.G.S., and T. A. Conrad, Esq. Library.—The Bocks, with the exception of a small proportion, for which additional shelves must be provided, have been removed from the former library to one of the apartments lately obtained from His Majesty’s Government. In this apartment the cabinets of simple minerals and recent shells have been placed. The donations to the Library during the last year have equalled those of former years ; and the Society continues to receive from the Board of Ordnance the maps of the English Trigonometrical Survey, and of the Townland Survey of Ireland. The East India M2 126 Company also continue to present the sheets of the Trigonometrical Survey of India in the order in which they are published. All the Charts in the Society’s possession, amounting to about 850, are now arranged; and an interleaved catalogue of the Admiralty list of charts has been prepared, which, with the necessary additions in manuscript, renders the entire collection easy of reference. The Maps have likewise been arranged; and, as soon as the presses formerly recommended to contain them are ready, they will be dis- posed of in the same manner as the charts. The Committee wish to call attention to the wants of the Society in this department, and to express their regret that many important maps, recently pub- lished on the Continent, are not in the possession of the Society. The Committee think it desirable to publish the following list of the Transactions, which they have been in the habit of receiving from various Philosophical Societies, and in which some lacune will be observed. In connexion with this list of scientific Transactions the Com- mittee have great pleasure in stating, that the Curator has in the course of the last vacation prepared a catalogue of Papers or Me- moirs on Geology, alphabetically arranged according to the names of places, with a similar catalogue arranged according to the names of Fossils, and a third catalogue of Memoirs on Theoretical Geo- logy, arranged according to the names of the authors ; and that these catalogues are accompanied by references so as to form a complete index toallthe volumes of Transactions, Journals, and other works, Geological or Miscellaneous, contained in the library. The Com- mittee have the highest satisfaction in concluding their Report with the mention of so useful and meritorious a labour, and wnich adds so materially to the many valuable services rendered by Mr. Lonsdale to the Geological Society. CHARLES LYELL. W. H. SYKES. JAMES YATES. List of Transactions referred to in the above Report. Philosophical Transactions. From the commencement to the end of the year 1700, abridged by John Lowthorp, M.A. and F.R.S. — From 1700 to 1720, abridged by Henry Jones, M.A. — From 1719 to 1733, abridged by Mr. John Eames, F.R.S., and John Martyn, F.R.S. — From 1772 to 1791, 1801 to 1807, 1824 to 1834. Transactions of the Linnean Society, Vols. 9 to 16, and Part 1. of Vol. 17. (1808—1834.) Transactions of the Horticultural Society, Vols. 1 to 7.. Memoirs of the Astronomical Society, Vols. 1 to 7. (1821 to 1834.) Transactions of the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ire- land, Vols. 1 to 3. (1827 to 1834.) Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland, No. 1. (1834.) ai. Journal of the Royal Geographical Society, Vols. 1 to 4. (1832 to 1834.) Transactions of the Medico-Botanical Society for 1832 and 1833. Transactions of the Society of Arts, Manufactures, and Commerce, Vol. 1 to 50. (1783 to 1834.) Reports of the First, Second, and Third Meetings of the British Association. (1831 to 1833.) Transactions of the Cambridge Philosophical Society, Vols. 1 to 5. (1821 to 1834.) Transactions of the Royal Geological Society of Cornwall, vole: 1 to 4. (1818 to 1832.) Transactions of the Plymouth Institution, Vol. 1. (1830.) Transactions of the Royal Society of Edinburgh, Vols. 6 to 12. (1812 to 1834.) Memoirs of the Wernerian Society, Vol. 1, Vol. 2 Part J, and Vol. 5 Part 2. Transactions of the Royal Irish Academy, Vols. 1 to 16. (1787 to 1830.) Transactions of the Dublin Society, Vol. 2 Part 2 to Vol. 6. (1801 to 1810.) Journal of the Geological Society of Dublin, Vol. 1, Parts 1 and 2. (1833 and 1834.) Mémoires de la Société Impériale des Naturalistes de Moscou, Tome 5. (1817.). Nouveaux Mémoires, ‘Tome 3, (1834.) Bulletin de la Société Impériale des Naturalistes de Moscou, Tome 6. (1833. Te obe of the Berlin Academy from 1812 to 1832. Memoirs of the Royal Academy of Munich, Vol. 5. (1817.) Nova Acta Academiz Curiosorum Bonne, Vol. 13 et 14. (1826— 1829.) Studien des Géttingischen Vereins Bergmannischer Freunde, Biinde 1—3. (1824—1834.) Mémoires de la Société de Physique et d’Histoire Naturelle de Geneve, Tomes 5 et 6. (1832—1833.) Memorie della Societa Italiana delle Scienze residente in Modena, Tomo 20. Fascicolo Secondo delle Memorie di Fisica. Mémoires de l’Académie Royale des Sciences de l'Institut de France, Tomes 5—12. (1826—1833.) Mémoires présentés par divers Savans a |’Académie Royale des Sciences de ]’Institut de France, Tomes 1—3. (1827—1832.) Mémoires de la Société Géologique de France, Vol. 1. Part 1. (1833.) Annales des Mines, Tomes 1—11 (1816—1825.) — gieme Series, ‘Tomes 1—6. Mémoires de la Société Linnéenne du Calvados, Année 1824. Transactions of the American Philosophical Society, held at Phila- delphia, Vols. 1 to 6. (1789 to 1804.) —_— New Series, Vols. 1 to 5. (1818 to 1834.) Journal of the Academy of Natural Sciences at Philadelphia, Vol. 7, Part 1. (1834.) 128 Transactions of the Geological Society of Pennsylvania, Vol. 1. Part 1. (1834-) Transactions of the Literary and Historical Society of Quebec, Vols. 1 and 2. Vol. 3. Part 1 and 2. (1829 to 1833.) Transactions of the Agricultural and Horticultural Society of India, Vol. 1. (1829.) Asiatic Researches, or Transactions of the Society instituted in Bengal, Vols. 1 to 17. (1788 to 1832.) Physical Class, Vol. 1. (1829 to 1833.) Memoirs of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, Vols. 3 and 4. (1809 to 1818.) Transactions of the Literary and Philosophical Society of New York, Vol. 1. (1815.) Memoirs of the Board of Agriculture of the State of New York, Vols 2 and 3. (1823 to 1826.) Comparative Statement of the Number of the Society at the close of the years 1833—1834. Frsruary 20th, 1834. Fellows 3ist Dec. 1833. 3ist Dec. 1834. Having compounded ........ LOR A otP if 84 Contributins ee ene errr UAE as 8,4 hs ao 229 Nigh resid ents eer rais ine) ol ELIE ea or Os Pe 328 ; 612 641 Fon oraryey ) 2% BUN see Ce eI Raa OR a 44. Foreign. Members............ STA IL NaI 57 Personages of Royal Blood.... 3 .......... 3 716 745 The following Persons were elected Fellows of this Society during the Year 1834. January 8th.— William Copland, Esq. of Edinburgh; Peter Bellin- ger Brodie, jun. Esq. of Lincoln’s Inn Fields; George Cornwall Lewis, Esq. of Harpton Court, Radnorshire, and Henrietta-street, London ; Benjamin Heywood Bright, Esq. of Stone-buildings, Lin- coln’s Inn; and Thomas Jameson Torrie, Esq. of Edinburgh. January 22nd.—Alexander Trotter, Esq. of Orchard-street; and Robert Walters, Esq. of Lincoln’s Inn Fields. February 5th.—John Donkin, Esq. Civil Engineer, of Great Surrey- road, Blackfriar’s-bridge ; Edward Ord Warren, Esq. of Horkesley Hall, Colchester; Edw. Clark, Esq. of Mincing-lane; andJames F.W. Johnston, Esq. Professor of Chemistry in the Durham University. February 26th.—Charles Allsop, Esq. of Broombriggs near Lough- borough ; Williamson Peile, Esq. of Whitehaven ; and James R. 129 Hope, Esq. B.A. Fellow of Merton College, Oxford, Chelsea Hospital. ; March 12th.—Col. Pasley, C.B., Royal Engineers, Chatham; the Knight of Kerry; and Edward Hill, Esq. B.A. of Christ Church, Oxford. March 26th.—William Palmer, Esq. of Essex-court, ‘'emple; and Alexander Melville, Esq. of Upper Harley-street. April 9th.—James Bryce, jun. Esq. M.A. Belfast; the Rev. Edward Tagart, of Addison-road, Kensington; William Hopkins, Esq. M.A. of St. Peter’s College, Cambridge ; The Rev. Christopher Sykes, of Roop near Hedon, Yorkshire ; and Sir Charles Mansfield Clarke, Bart. M.D. of Saville-street. April 23rd.—Sir Oswald Mosley, Bart. M.P. of Rolleston Hall, Staf- fordshire ; and Edward J’Anson, jun. Esq. of Burntwood Grange, Wandsworth-cummon. May 7th.—Richard Prime, Esq. of Walberton near Arundel ; Lieut. William Henry Breton, R.N.; Capel Cure, Esq. of Devonshire- place ; and Edmund Buxton, Esq. of Devonshire- place. May 2lst—Thomas Clements Parr, Hsq. M.A. of Christ Church, Oxford, Barrister-at-Law, Combe Lodge, Somersetshire. November 5th.—Hugh Edwin Strickland, Esq. of Craycombe House near Evesham ; Sir William Molesworth, Bart. M.P. of Pencarrow, Cornwall; and Herbert Mayo, Esq. of Cheshunt, Herts. December 3rd.—Major-General Lord Greenock, of Carlton-place, Edinburgh ; David Milne, Esq. of York-place, Edinburgh ; Capt. Coulthurd, of the Bengal Artillery ; Rev. James Bowstead, Fellow of Corpus Christi College, Cambridge; John Rofe, jun. Esq. of Bernard-street; Charles Hastings, Esq. M.D. Worcester ; and Rev. Josiah Bull, M.A. of Newport Pagnel, Bucks. December 17th.—James Wyatt, Esq. of Lime Grove, near Bangor. The names of the Fellows deceased are as follows :— Compounders, (None.) Residents (5), Viscount Grenville ; Earl of Hardwicke ; Thomas John- son, Esq.; John C. Powell, Esq. ; Thomas Telford, Esq. Non-residents (5), Mathew Culley, Esq. ; Major Franklin; James Hardie, Esq.; Frederick Page, Esq.; Henry Jones Shrapnell, Esq. The Museum has received many Donations since the last Anniver- sary, among which are included the following :— British and Irish Specimens. Portions of Septaria from the London Clay at Brixton ; and of Fossil Wood perforated by Teredina personata, from the Plastic Clay, Hengistbury, Hants ; also Cast of a Palatal Tooth from the Chalk soo tae presented by the Rev. Professor Buckland, D.D. GS. 130 A series of Specimens of the Transition Formations, and the Green- stone, Porphyry, and Syenite of Herefordshire, Worcestershire, Shropshire, and parts of Wales; Specimens of Tufe from the South- stone Roche; and of Fessils from the Mountain Limestone and Greensand; presented by Roderick impey Murchison, Esq. V.P.G.S. Specimens from the Plastic Clay near Reading ; presented by John Rofe, jun. Esq. F.G.S. Fossil Corals from Aymestry ; and a large Specimen of the polished Limestone found near Gwinfe in Carmarthenshire ; presented by the Rev. T. T. Lewis. Cast of an Ophiura from the Lias on the banks of the Severn; pre- sented by Matthew Wright, Esq. Specimens of Selenite from the London Clay near Herne Bay ; pre- sented by William Richardson, Esq. F.G.S. Specimens of Grauwacke containing Casts of Pentamerus oblongus ; presented by Mr. Rees. Fossils of the Grauwacke Series of Shropshire; presented by W. Wil- liams, Esq. Grauwacke Fossils from the neighbourhood of Llandovery ; presented by Professor Miller, F.G.S. Cast ofa Palatal Bone from the Chalk ; Specimens from the London Clay at Hornsey; and from the Loam of Muswell Hill; presented by Nathaniel T. Wetherell, Esq. F.G.S. Specimens of Rowley Rag, unaltered, decomposed and fused ; pre- sented by J. R. Corrie, M.D. F.G.S. Specimens of the Hastings Sand; presented by Baden Powell, Esq. F.G.S. Specimen of Slickensides, from Cornwall; presented by Richard Taylor, Esq. F.G.S. of Perran Arworthal. A Fish from the Magnesian Limestone ; presented by J. W. Colling, Ksq. Gatonate of Strontia, with Calcareous Spar and Brown Iron Ore, , from the Forest of Dean; presented by Captain Yorke, R.N. Minerals from the Trap of Scotland ; presented by George Bellas Greenough, Esq. P.G.S. Corals from the Shale Beds of the Mountain Limestone, county of Fermanagh; presented by Sir Philip de Malpas Grey Egerton, Bart. F.G:S. Fossils from the Greensand, Blackdown ; presented by Viscount Cole, M.P. F.G.S., and Sir Philip de Malpas Grey Egerton, Bart. F.G.S. Fossils from the neighbourhood of St. Ives; presented by J. R. Wright, Esq. F.G.S., and Henry Maclauchlan, Esq. F.G.S. Casts of a Claw Bone of a Crocodile, and of an Iguanodon from Til- gate Forest ; presented by Gideon Mantell, Esq. F.G.S. Specimens from Bognor and from the Chalk near Felpham ; pre- sented by Woodbine Parish, jun. Esq. F.G.S. Specimens from the ancient Beach at Hope’s Nose near Babbacombe, and from the Watcombe Fault, Devonshire ; presented by Robert Alfred Cloyne Austen, Esq. F.G.S. 131 Specimens of Granite traversed by Veins, from Dartmoor; presented by J. H. Deacon, Esq. F.G.S. Specimens of Vegetable Remains from the Anthracite of North Devon ; presented by Henry T. De la Beche, Esq. F.G.S. Cast of a Molar Tooth of Mastodon angustidens from the Crag, Suf- folk ; also Shells from the Loam and Gravel at Cropthorne, Wor- cestershire ; presented by Hugh Edwin Strickland, Esq. F.G.S. Specimens from Jersey, Guernsey, and Sark; presented by W. C. Trevelyan, Esq. F.G.S. Specimens from the neighbourhood of Ilfracombe ; presented by Col. Harding. Specimens from the Coal of the South of Ireland ; presented by Thos. Weaver, Esq. F.G.S. Casts from Flambro’ Head of Spongeous Zoophites ; presented by Mr. Leigh. Shells and Bones from the Freshwater Deposit at Sutton, Suffolk ; and a Specimen of the Calcareous Nodules accompanying the Shells ; presented by Edward Charlesworth, Esq. Porcelain Jasper from the Junction of the Sandstone and Trap Rock of Stirling Castle; presented by Richard Knight, Esq. F.G:S. Foreign Specimens. Fossil Plants from the Greensand of Niederschona near Freyberg ; presented by M. Felipe Bauza, jun. A Hippurite from Sicily; presented by M. le Conte Duchatel. Specimens from Australia; presented by Captain Henry Smyth, R.N. Specimens from the Islot of Alcatraz, on the West Coast of Africa, from Gibraltar and from Keith’s Reef between Sicily and the Coast _ of Africa; presented by Captain Belcher, R.N. F.G.S. Fossil Plants, Insects, and Fishes, from Aix en Provence ; presented by George Bentham, Esq. F.G.S. Specimens of Lignite from Leira; presented by Richard Hollier, Esq. F.G.S. Specimens from France ; and a Hippurite from Untersberg ; pre- sented by Roderick Impey Murchison, Esq. V.P.G.S. Fishes from Monte Bolca; presented by W. A. Mackinnon, Esq. Specimens from the Eifel ; presented by Leonard Horner, Esq. F.G.S. Specimens of Recent Coral from the Straits of Sunda; and Native Iron from the mass in the British Museum, from Otumpa in the Chaco, South America ; presented by Woodbine Parish, jun. Esq. F.G.S. Specimens from the Tertiary Formations of Murcia; presented by Charles Silvertop, Esq. F.G.S. Lava from Graham’s Island ; presented by Captain Stuart. Specimens from the South of Spain; presented by Captain Cook, R.N. F.G.S. Specimens from the Mines of Konigsberg and Norway ; and of Ar- tificial Cupriferous Iron-pyrites; presented by H. C. Strém, Esq. Fish from Monte Bolca; presented by Samuel P. Pratt, Esq. F.G.S. Casts of the Remains of Felis spelea and Gulo speleus from Gailen- 132 ruth; presented by Viscount Cole, M.P. F.G.S., and Sir Philip de Malpas Grey Egerton, Bart. F.G.S. Magnetic Iron Ore from Sierra Leone; presented by David Mushet, Esq. Hon. Mem. G.S. Specimens from ‘Tampico ; presented by Thomas Weaver, Esq. F.G.S. A collection of Specimens taken from the Crater of the Water Vol- cano near Guatemala; presented by Col. Juan Galindo. Fossil Crab (Gonoplax Latreillit) from India ; presented by the Right Honourable the Earl of Cawdor, F.G.S. Remains of the Anthracotherium Velaunum, Myoxus, and Crocodile, from Puy en Velay; presented by Mons. Bertrand de Doue, For. Mem. G.S. Tertiary Shells from the United States ; and Specimens from the Big Bend on the Missouri ; presented by Henry D. Rogers, Esq. F.G.S. Tertiary Shells from the United States ; presented by T. A. Conrad, Esq. Specimens from China; presented by John Russell Reeves, Esq. Specimens from Australia ; presented by Allan Cunningham, Esq. Anthracite from the Lehigh Coal-mine, Pennsylvania; presented by F. Lambert, Esq. Fossils from the Calcaire Grossier of France; presented by Joseph Prestwich, jun. Esq. F.G.S. Casts of the Inferior and Maxillary Bones of the Mastodon and Tetra- caulodon ; presented by the American Philosophical Society held at Philadelphia. MiscELLANEOUS. Specimens of Iron Tubes from a Steam-boiler; presented by John Taylor, Esq. Treas. G.S. Deposits on the vertical Walls of the Boiler of a Steam Boat; pre- sented by Charles Lyell, Esq. For. Sec. G.S. Palate of an Eagle Ray (Myliobites) from Bermuda; presented by Leonard Streate Coxe, Esq. F.G.S. The Lisrary has been increased by the Donation of 144 Books and Pamphlets. Cuarts anp Maps. The Townland Survey of the county of ‘Tyrone; presented by Lieut.~ Col. Colby, F.G.S.. by order of the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland. Sheets 53, 57, and 62 of the Ordnance Survey of England; presented by the Master General and Board of Ordnance. 133 The following Lisr contains the Names of all the Persons and Public Bodies from whom Donations to the Library and Museums have been received since the last Anniversary. Ainsworth, William, Esq. Allan, Robert, Esq. American Philosophical Society. Arts, Society of. Asiatic Society of Bengal. Atheneum, Editor of. Atheneum Club, Committee of. Austen, A. C. Esq. F.G.S. Bauza, M. Felipe. Beaufoy, Henry, Esq. Beke, Charles T. Esq. Belcher, Capt. Edw. R.N. F.G.S. Bentham, George, Esq. F.G.S. Berlin, Royal Academy of. Berwickshire Natural History Club. Black, Young and Young, Messrs. Boblaye, Mons. E, Puillon. Bohn, Mr. Boué, Manie, For. Mem. G.S. Brewster, Sir David, F.G.S. British Association. Broderip, Wm. John, Esq. F.G.S. Brongniart, Mons. Alex. For. Mem. G.S. Bronn, Dr. H. G. Buch, M. Leopold de, For. Mem. G.S Buckland, Rev. Prof., D.D.F.G.S. Cambridge Philosophical Society. Cawdor, Right Hon. the Earl of, F.GS. Charlesworth, Edward, Ksq. Christol, M. Jules. Colby, Lieut.-Col. F.G.S. Cole, Viscount, M.P. F.G.S. Colebrook, Lieut.-Col. Colling, J. W. Esq. Cook, Capt. 8. Edw. R.N.F.G.S. | Corrie, John, M.D. F.G.S. Coxe, Leonard Streate, F.G.S. Cunningham, Allan, Esq. Daubeny, Prof. C. M.D. F.G.S. Esq. Deacon, J. H. Esq. F.G.S. Dela Beche, H. T. Esq. F.G.S. De la Marmora, Chevalier. Dickinson, John, Esq. F.G.S. Doue, M. Bertrand de, For. Mem. G.S. Duchatel, M. le Conte. Dufrénoy, M. For. Mem.G.S. Kast india Company, The Direc- tors of the. Ecole des Mines. Egerton, Sir Philip, Bart. F.G.S. Faraday, Michael, Esq. F.G.S. Galindo, Col. Juan. Geneva, Natural History Society of. Geological Society of Dublin. Geological Society of France. Geological Society of Pennsyl- vania. Greenough, George Bellas, Esq. P.GS. Harding, Col. Harlan, Richard, M.D. Hausmann, Prof. |. Frederick, For. Mem.G.S. Hitchcock, Prof. Edward. Hoff, M. C. A. de, For. Mem. G.S. Hollier, Richard, Esq. F.G.S. Horner, Leonard, Hsq. F.G.S. Hullmandel, Mr. Hutton, William, Esq. F.G.S. Imperial Society of Naturalists of Moscow. Ireland, His Excellency the Lord Lieutenant of. Jackson, Col. J. R. Kleinschrod, Mons, C. T. Klipstein, A. M.D. 134: Knight, Richard, Esq. F.G.S. Lambert, F. Esq. Lea, Isaac, Esq. Leeds Philosophical Society. Leigh, Mr. Lewis, Rev. T. T. Lindley, John, Esq. F.G.S. Linnean Society. Lnoteky, Dr. John. Loudon, J. C. Esq. F.G.S. Lyell, Chas. Esq. For. Sec. GS. Mackinnon, Wm. A. Esq. Maclauchlan, Henry, Esq. F.G.S. Mammatt, Edward, Esq. F.G.S. Mantell, Gideon, Esq. F.G.S. Marcet, Mons. F. Medico-Botanical Society. Miller, Prof. W. Hallows. Modena, Societa Italiana delle Scienza residente in. Murchison, R, I. Esq. V.P.G.S. Mushet, David, Esq. Hon. Mem. G.S. Nattali, Mr. A. Ordnance, Master General and Board of. Parish, Woodbine, jun. Esq. F.G.S. Paxton, Mr. Joseph. Phillips, John, Esq. F.G.S. Phillips, Richard, Esq. F.G.S. Powell, Baden, Esq. F.G.S. Prague, President of the Museum of. Pratt, Samuel P. Esq. F.G.S. Rees, Mr. Repertory of Patent Inventions, Editor of. Reeves, J. R. Esq. Richardson, William, Esq. F.G.S. Rive, M. Aug. de la. Rodds, Mr. Rofe, John, jun. Esq. F.G.S. Rogers, Henry D. Esq. F.G.S, | Scarborough Philosophical | Royal Asiatic Society. | Royal Astronomical Society. Royal Society of Edinburgn. Royal Geographical Society. Royal Society of Literature. Royal Society of London. Royal College of Physicians. | Royal College of Surgeons. Saint Hilaire, M. Geoffroy. Savi, Signor Paolo. So- ciety. Schmerling, P. C. M.T. Serres, M. Marcel de. Silliman, Benjamin, M.D. Silvestre, M. Silvertop, Col. Chas. F.G.S. Smyth, Capt. H. R.N. Strickland, Hugh E. Esq. F.G.S. Strom, H.C. Esq. Stuart, Capt. John. Sussex, His Royal Highness the Duke of. Taylor, John, Esq. Treas. G.S. Taylor, Richard, Esq. F.G.S. Taylor, Richard, Esq. F.G.S. of Perran Arworthal. Thomson, Thomas, M.D. Trevelyan, W. C. Esq. F.G:S. Turnbull, George, Esq. Turner, Edward, M.D. Sec. G.S. Vandermaelen, Mons. P. H. Vincenzo, Signor Dottore. Virlet, Théodore, M. Waterton, Charles, Esq. Weaver, Thomas, Esq. F.G.S. Wetherell, Nath, T. Esq. F.G.S. Williams, William, Esq. Wright, John Robinson, Esq. F.G.S. Wright, Matthew, Esq. Yorke, Capt. R.N. Yorkshire Philosophical Society. Zoological Society. 135 List of Parrrs read since the last Annual Meeting, Feb. 21st, 1834. February 26th.—On the Quantity of Solid Matter suspended in the Water of the Rhine; by Leonard Horner, Esq. F.G.S. Observations on the Geological Structure of the neighbourhood of Reading ; by John Rofe, jun. Esq. F.G.S. March 12th.—Observations on the Temple of Jupiter Serapis at Puz- zuoli near Naples; to which are added some Remarks on the Causes which produce Geological Cycles of great extent; in a letter addressed to William H. Fitton, M.D. F.G.S. from Charles Babbage, Esq. March 26th.—A Letter from Charles Denham Orlando Jephson, Esq. M.P. F.G.S. addressed to George Bellas Greenough, Esq. P.G.S. On Variations of Temperature in a Thermal Spring at Mallow. ——_——— A Letier from William Henry Egerton, Esq. F.G.S., addressed to Charles Lyell, Esq. For. Sec. G.S., On the Delta of the Kander. A Notice respecting some Fossils collected in Cutch by Capt. Smee of the Bombay Army; by Lieut.-Col. W. H. Sykes, F.G.8. On the Gravel and Alluvial Deposits of those parts of Herefordshire, Shropshire, and Worcestershire which consist of Old Red Sandstone, with an account of the Puffstone or Travertin of Spout-house, and of the Southstone Roche near Tenbury; by Roderick Impey Murchison, Esq. V.P.G.S. April 9th.—A short Notice of the Coast Section from Whitstable in Kent, to the North Foreland in the same county ; by William Richardson, Esq. F.G.S. On the several Ravines, Passes, and Fractures in the Mendip Hills and other adjacent boundaries of the Bristol Coal- field, and the Geological period when they were effected ; by the Rey. David Williams, F.G.S. On the Ter tiary Formations of the kingdom of Murcia in Spain; by Charles Silvertop, Esq. retired Brigadier in the Spa- nish Service, F.G.S. On the Geology of the Bermudas ; by Lieut. Nelson of the Royal Engineers, and communicated by George Bellas Green- ough, Esq. P. ‘GS. May 7th— On the Distribution of Organic Remains in the Lias Series of Yorkshire, with a view to facilitate its Identification, by giving the situation of its Fossils ; by Mr. W. Williamson, jun. of Scarborough. ——— Observations on the Loamy Deposit called Loess, in the Valley of the Rhine ; by Charles Lyell, Esq. For. Sec. G.S. May 21st—Upon the "Trap Rocks, and the effects produced by them upon the Stratified Deposits in Shropshire, Herefordshire, &c. ; by Roderick Impey Murchison, Esq. V.P.G.S. 136 June 4th.—Observations on the Strata penetrated in sinking a Well at Diss in Norfolk; by John Taylor, Esq. Treas. G.S. Observations on a Well dug at Lower Heath, on thie . south side of Hampstead ; by Nathaniel Wetherell, Esq. F.G.S. —— A Letter from Sir Philip Egerton, Bart. F.G.S., addressed to the Rev. Prof. Buckland, D.D. F.G.S., On the Ossiferous Caves of the Hartz and Franconia. A Letter from Hugh E, Strickland, Esq. F.G.S., addressed to George Bellas Greenough, Esq. P.G.S., On the Occurrence of Freshwater Shells of existing Species, beneath the Gravel near Cropthorne, Worcestershire. —— A Notice on the Action of High Pressure Steam on Glass, and other Siliceous Compounds ; by Prof. Turner, M.D. Sec. G.S. November 5th.—On the New Classification of Fishes and on the Geological Distribution of Fossil Fishes ; by Prof. Agassiz. November 19th.—An Account of the Raised Beach near Hope’s Nose in Devonshire, and other recent Disturbances in that neigh- bourhood; by Alfred Cloyne Austen, Esq. F.G.S. November 19th and December 3rd.—A Paper, entitled Some Facts in the Geology of the Central and Western Portions of North America, collected principally from statements and unpublished Notes of recent Travellers; by H. D. Rogers, Esq. F.G.S. December 3rd.—A Letter from Henry T. De la Beche, Esq. F.G.S., addressed to George Bellas Greenough, Esq. P.G.S., On the Anthracite found near Bideford, North Devon. December 3rd and December 17th.—A Paper on the Physical and Geological Structure of the country between Newcastle, (New South Wales,) and the Dividing Ridge in 28° 3’ south lat. and 15° 24' east long.; by Allan Cunningham, Esq. December 17th.—An Account of Land and Freshwater Shells found associated with the Bones of Land Quadrupeds beneath Diluvial Gravel at Cropthorne in Worcestershire ; by Hugh Edwin Strick- land, Esq. F.G.S. eee On the Bones of certain Animals which have been recently discovered in the Calcareo-magnesian Conglomerate on Durdham Down near Bristol; by the Rev. David Williams, F.G.S. January 7th, 1835.—A Letter from Dr. Bostock, F.G.S., addressed to George Bellas Greenough, Esq. Pres. G.S., containing an account of the es of a Mineral Water from the Island of St. Paul, in lat. 38° 45’ south and long. 77° 53!. A Paper on ae Chalk and Flint of Yorkshire, com- pared with the Chalk and Flint of the southern counties of England; by James Mitchell, LL.D. F.G.S. ———. A Letter from Woodbine Parish, jun. Esq., addressed to George Bellas Greenough, Esq. P.G.S., accompanying a suite of Specimens from the neighbourhood of Bognor. A Notice on the want of Perpendicularity of the stand- ing Pillars of the Temple of Jupiter Serapis near Naples; by Capt. ‘Basil Hail, R.N. F.G.S. 137 January 21st.—On an Outlying Basin of Lias on the borders of Salop and Cheshire, with a short account of the Lower Lias between Gloucester and Worcester; by R. 1. Murchison, Esq. V.P.G.S. A Memoir on a General View of the New Red Sand- stone Series in the counties of Salop, Stafford, Worcester, and Gloucester ; by Roderick Impey Murchisen, Esq. V.P.G.S. February 4th.—On certam Coal Tracts in Salop, Worcestershire, Stafford, and North Gloucester ; by Roderick Impey Murchison, Esq. V.P.GS. 138 Sums actually Received and Eaxpended, ReEcEIPTs. Balance in hand January 1, 1834: Boe OSB NSEC! Banker (including 417. 8s. 0d. Wollaston und) oie etine ce eee Cn ener eae TORN MMS Accountant72 = pater eee tere 40 0 0 — 703 1 & Arrears : ES Negi (2 AGMISSIONIHEES eee elee eles ace: 9410 0 Annuali@ontributions e444. ee HO) N70) — 154 7 0 Ordinary Income: eS.) de AnnualiContributions.: es eee 481 19 0 Admission Fees : ee ess: Residents ........ 32 OMenO Non-Residents .... 189 O UO —— Ball GB) — 803 5 0 Eo Sa Oks Compositions, 7 at31l.10s. Od........... 220 10 0 ie Beha? co3 0666 Pei Th) AY ————— 248 17 Subscriptions to Alteration Expenses .............. 396 18 Ba UGB GIs e8e &5" Gl Transactions sold at the Society 45 15 0 Received from Messrs. Treuttel and Co. for copies sold during Bai PRM OE) A aN 40 16 0 Ditto sold at the Apartments GUETD ERS Sonera: oleae sian OO —— 94 1 0 PO CCE GIN ES ees ey ec cap a tea ecto 12 14 0 —— 1061s 4 Wollaston;Donationy i. seer Coe a eee 32 10 4 Dividends, 5001. 3 per cent. Consols, 12 months ...... 15 0 O £2520 14 0 eeu oe * This Compounder paid in January the Annual Contribution of 37. 35. Od. See By-Laws, Section 6, Art. 9. p. 9. 139 during the Year ending December 31, 1834. PAYMENTS. Bills outstanding : Nalaniestand @Wia Sesimencncsicssiisseceeeecerectncsese 1s © HlousepE:xpenses) ceecresesesecciscsorsensioncceeecceces 10 2 6 Mae swpeeer cee scene ccieiatsslcivecesicsicere-eeerceaseneten 8 5 0 “Nery cael, \W/BITES — cognoonoonoenodbooogosb ano Goquob0K06 6°45 Scientific Expenditure .............c.008 secsscectes 9 6 4 JEN@EREGIMES GoonconsdaovosoonendoopsoadanuSKadoGeadbon ATTEN 0) Transactions vol iiteante2eeeesscescecencocecoecoe i 17 @ Siatlomenyamacescsesctiaececcemieseccnasnelsciscicsssecacsciet 117 6 ——_ 113 14 3 Alteration Expenditure ...... 2c MIE Os 915 9 I General Expenditure: eee Sa) de Household Furniture .........ccc.ccececesecceeeees LOM 2 EVCPAIL SION LOUSE! Morioaciilssecetielsiccieclocicisseseeeloeitis 012 0 HlouseBlxpenses) Piseccccesecesasececes cesses SOM Taxes, Parochial 23/. 5s. Od. -, King’s... 371. 7s ae pd00000B0000060D00d000 60 12 6 JEST RNIVES “GoooosoncoonconodoosdadadauadaodoupoqoboonECG 6 0 0 266 6 11 Salaries and Wages: 235 Be) oe CuratornjandVAlssistantiyesr-ccesenesescsesceseseectec NEO) ©) ©) Cl ere secret esistete esse cone sine slactoa ceed aca tesisccitecels 37 10 O Porter, Housekeeper, and Servant ............00+ (om OmEO, 262 10 O Sclentificebsxpenditure si es pws ae ean ie. 25 18 8 Stationery and Miscellaneous Printing.......... a 33 13 11 dea formVicetines en Py sire wine a NE eet Ly 43 1 1 Cost of Publications : £2, Go Gb Transactions .......0....-.s0ees pdoneco9ada0c6000006009 130 8 O Proceedings ..........0..++ 30008 dogco000G00900000000 6413 9 T95y) 19 Contributionretunded: © s4fevt eae oe 3.3 0 Award of Wollaston Fund to M. Agassiz ............ 32 10 4 Balance in hand Jan. 1, 1835: £. s. d. Banker (including 41/. 8s. 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The President then delivered the following Address : GENTLEMEN, In the Report which has just been read to you, it is stated in what manner the Council have adjudicated the proceeds of the Wollaston Fund for the present year. To carry into effect that award is the pleasing duty which I now have to perform. It is to me as well as to Mr. Mantell a subject of deep regret that he cannot attend to receive the prize in person. I shall deliver it, with your permission, to Mr. Lyell, who will officiate as his representative on this occasion. Mr. Lyell.—In the name of the Geological Society I beg to com- mit to your care the proceeds for the present year of a fund be- queathed to us by one of the most eminent philosophers to whom this country has given birth, and by him directed to be applied to the furtherance of geological science. The Council are of opinion that they cannot upon the present occasion more conscientiously discharge the duty imposed upon them, than by awarding this prize to Mr. Mantell. Zealously engaged as he is in the practice of an ar- duous profession, we, his fellow labourers in this Society, have wit- nessed with great satisfaction for a series of years his unceasing en- deavours to unravel the geological phenomena of the interesting district around him. By long experience Mr. Mantell has acquired so much skill in the dissection, if I may callit so, of fossils, from amidst the matrix that conceals them, that many of the finest speci- mens in that rich and beautiful collection which his liberality has opened to the public, may almost be considered as the works of his hand : his active researches in different branches of natural history, and more especially his investigations in comparative anatomy, preg- nant with inferences and analogies illustrative of the early history of our planet, are convincing proofs of the energy and activity of his mind, of his determined love of knowledge, of his parsimony of time, of his unbounded prodigality of labour. His discovery of the Igua- nodon in 1828, and his determination of the place which it occupied in the scale of animated beings, prove his sagacity and acquaintance at that early period with the principles of anatomical and zoological science. So strange to the eye of the naturalist were the first discovered remains of this gigantic animal, that Cuvier himself knew not to what genus recent or fossil they could with any propriety be assimilated. Mr. Mantell discerned its relation to the Iguana, and the fortunate and wholly unexpected disinterment which has lately taken place at Maidstone of a considerable assemblage of the fossil bones of this creature, together with the impression of a tooth, confirm in many respects his early conjectures. The Hyleosaurus, also, another extinct genus, was first brought to light by Mr. Man- tell’s labours, and correctly illustrated by the application of his ana- 143 tomical knowledge. I will only add, in the way of congratulation, that his perseverance in these interesting researches are not remote from the habits, or at variance with the duties of his profession ; for, as you are well aware, the examination of the human body is one department of that wide and beautiful field of comparative ana- tomy in which he finds amusement ; and to become well acquainted with the ceconomy and physiology of man, it is necessary to study the structure of other animals. We hope and trust, that Mr. Man- tell may long possess health and strength to advance further and further still in his honourable career, and we request you, Sir, to convey to him our earnest wish that in every department of life he may meet with that success which his industry and talents so emi- nently deserve. ' The President then presented, in the name of the Society, a purse of guineas to Mr. Lyell to be by him conveyed to Mr. Mantell, and informed him that the remaining portion of the proceeds of the fund had been laid out on a Medal, which would likewise be forwarded to him. It was afterwards Resolved :— 1. That the thanks of this Society be given to George Bellas Greenough, Esq., retiring from the office of President. 2. That the thanks of this Society be given to William John Broderip, Esq., and Henry Thomas De la Beche, Esq., retiring from the office of Vice-President. 3. That the thanks of this Society be given to Professor Turner, M.D., retiring from the office of Secretary. 4, That the thanks of this Society be given to Charles Lyell, Esq., retiring from the office of Foreign Secretary. 5. That the thanks of this Society be given to the Rev. William Daniel Conybeare, Charles Giles Bridle Daubeny, M.D., Major Shadwell Clerke, Davies Gilbert, Esq., and Capt. Alexander Robe, retiring from the Council. 6. That the thanks of this Society be given to Decimus Burton, Esq., for the valuable service which he has rendered gratuitously to the Society. 144 The Meeting then proceeded to ballot for the Officers and Council for the ensuing year; and on the glasses being closed, the scrutineers announced that the following gentlemen had been duly elected :— OFFICERS. PRESIDENT. Charles Lyell, jun. Esq. F.R.S. & L.S. VICE-PRESIDENTS. Sir Philip de Malpas Grey Egerton, Bart. M.P. F.R.S. Roderick Impey Murchison, Esq. F.R.S. & L.S. Edward Turner, M.D. F.R.S. L. & E. Professor of Chemistry in the University of London. Henry Warburton, Esq. M.P. F.RS. & LS. SECRETARIES. William John Hamilton, Esq. Woodbine Parish, jun. Esq. F.R.S. FOREIGN SECRETARY. Henry Thomas De la Beche, Esq. F.R.S. & L.S. TREASURER. John Taylor, Esq. F.R.S. COUNCIL. George William Aylmer, Esq. || Rev. Adam Sedgwick, Woodwar- Francis Baily, Esq. F.R.S. & L.S. diae Professor in the Univer- Arthur K. Barclay, Esq- sitv of Cambridge, F.R.S. & William John Broderip, Esq. L.S. F.R.S. & L.S. Lieut.-Col. W. H. Sykes, F.R.S. William Henry Fitton, M.D. & L.S. F.R.S. & LS. John Henry Vivian, Esq. M.P. George Bellas Greenough, Esq. F.R.S. F.R.S. & L.S. Sir Richard Vyvyan, Bart. M.P. Henry Hallam, Esq. F.R.S. F.R.S. John Forbes Royle, Esq. F.L.S. || Rev. James Yates, F.L.S. 145 An Address delivered at the Anniversary Meeting of the Geological Society of London, on the 20th of February, 1835, by the President, G. B. Greenovuen, Esq. F.R.S. Sc. GENTLEMEN, I rejoice to see you assemble in these long-desired apartments : the increased facilities now afforded to us of pursuing the objects of our institution demand on our part a corresponding increase of exertion. Let it not be imagined that in accepting a boon from the Govern- ment we have not incurred an obligation. Our claim rested en- tirely on the sense which the public entertain of our deserts. The full and accurate knowledge, which it has been our aim to ac- quire and publish, of the subterranean resources of all parts of the world, cannot fail to be useful: so long as the utility of our establishment is distinctly felt, independently of its bearings upon what to us appear the higher considerations of science, so long may we rely on the continuance of public support; but our claim to that support would vanish at once, if we should relax our exertions, and fail to realize those expectations which our hitherto well-sustained activity has kept alive in the breast of our benefactors. Gentlemen, you are well aware that all the accommodation which you now enjoy has not been derived, however, solely from the be- neficence of the Government, set in motion by the Royal Society. On our first taking possession of this house the repairs and alter- ations occasioned on our part an immediate outlay of 1500/., and 1000/. more have now been expended in improving and furnishing the new apartments, and in availing ourselves of such other advantages as their acquisition has enabled us to command. The Council con- sidering it imprudent that so large a sum should be deducted from the capital of the Society, 500/. of that amount have been provided by a voluntary subscription. The alterations planned by Mr. Decimus Burton have been exe- cuted under his direction within the specified time, and in accord- ance with the estimates. With what skill they have been executed has not escaped the notice of the Building Committee ; with what success is apparent to you all. You have been informed that Mr. Burton has declined to accept any remuneration for his pro- fessional services, but I cannot deny myself the pleasure of again recording this new instance of his public spirit and characteristic liberality. The concluding part of the third volume of our Transactions is in the press, and the recent arrangements of the Council induce me to hope that not this part only, but also the first part of the fourth vo- lume will be ready for delivery in the course of the present year. The Number of our Fellows has received an addition of forty-two and a diminution of ten ; of those whom we have Jost, three only are known to me as Contributors to the Transactions or as Geological Authors. f To the liberality of Mr. Matthew Culley, the chief of a family 146 greatly celebrated for the practical improvements they have intro- duced into agriculture, our Museum is indebted for a large series of primitive rocks collected in the remoter parts of Sutherland- shire, as also for some fine specimens of the fossil fishes which occur at Banniskirk, situated eight miles south of Thurso in Caithness. The geological relations of these last have been since investigated by Mr. Murchison and Professor Sedgwick, and their zoological . characters determined by M. Agassiz*. Mr. Culley also transmitted to us an account of the prodigious power occasionally exerted by rivulets when swoln by heavy rain. Major James Franklin was a younger brother of Captain Sir John Franklin, R.N.; he commenced the survey of Bundelcund in India in 1813, and continued it during four years, after which he joined the army in the field, under the Marquis of Hastings. In December 1818, Captain Franklin returned to the duties of his survey, and shortly afterwards was promoted to the rank of Assistant Quarter- Master General. In 1820, he commenced at Calcutta the construc- tion of his maps. He afterwards made a careful survey of Sincapore and the adjacent strait. Having repaired to England in 1823 for the benefit of his health, he soon learned by communication with members of this Society, how much the value of his surveys would have been enhanced by geological descriptions. On his return to India in 1826, his first care was to supply this desideratum: he solicited, though unsuccessfully, the appointment of Geologist to the trigonometrical survey then carrying on in India, and strenu- ously recommended that all officers employed on that service should be qualified and encouraged to collect materials for the construc- tion of a geological map of the entire Peninsula. Declining health brought him again to England in 1829, where he remained till his death, which took place in the summer of last year. He trans- mitted to usa paper on the geology of a portion of Bundelcund + and other districts in Central India; and to the Asiatic Society of Bengal a description of the Diamond Mines of Panna, published in the Transactions of the respective Societies. Among his MSS. have been found Observations on several Iron Mines, and on the mode in which the ore extracted from them is manufactured in Central India, together with an account of different beds of coal in that country. Mr. James Hardie evinced in early life a taste for natural history. Educated at Edinburgh, he founded the Plinian Society in that city, and contributed largely to its Museum. In 1784 he embarked for India, and served in the Bheal campaign; he was afterwards ap- pointed the Residency Surgeon at Odeypoor, and made a survey of the neighbourhood. In his visits to Calcutta he acquired the friendship of the most distinguished geologists of the East ; he be- came a member of the Medical and Physical Society, and contributed many papers to their Transactions. A survey of his route on one * Proceedings of the Society, May 1829. ; Transactions of the Geological Society, 2nd Series, vol. iii. Part I, 147 occasion from Calcutta to Bombay, and thénce to Odeypoor, will be found in the Transactions of the Asiatic Society, of which he was alsoa member. In 1830, he made a voyage round the Indian Archipelago, with a view to the recovery of his health. He passed six months at Java, and paid much attention to the geology of that island. On his return to Scotland he presented his collection to the Museum at Edinburgh. Professor Jameson recommended him to the East India Company as a fit successor to the appointment held by the late Dr. Turnbull Christie. Mr. Hardy repaired to Paris in 1833 for the purpose of prosecuting his geological studies, and diéd there in May following at the age of 31. In reviewing the geological labours of the year I shall advert prin- cipally, but not exclusively, to those of our own members, and the order of precedence will be regulated by the nature of the respective papers, without any reference to date. Mr. Murchison, in prosecution of the work in which he has been so long and actively engaged, has communicated to us his observa- tions on the detritus that covers the old red sandstone in Hereford- shire and its vicinity. All the detritus, he says, seems to be derived from neighbouring rocks. Granite boulders are nowhere found within its area, but they occur of large dimensions and of various sorts upon its northern confines ; he states generally that they appear to have come from the North. Many, if not all them, may I believe be identified with the granitic rocks of Westmoreland and Cumberland. Several of those I have observed on the north of Shrewsbury have the character of the Irton rather than of the Shap granite. The de- tritus of the old red sandstone is ascribed to the operation of dif- ferent causes, some of which may perhaps require further study. From Mr. Strickland we have received three communications re- specting certain bones of extinct quadrupeds associated at Crop- thorne in Worcestershire, with existing species of shells. On a base of lias clay reposes a layer of fine sand containing twenty-three species of land and freshwater shells, together with rolled and broken bones of the Ox, Deer, Dog, Bear, and Hippopotamus. Upwards this sand passes into gravel undistinguishable from the so-called di- luvium. These shells are found at five or six different localities within the Vale of Evesham. Two of the species are thought to be extinct. The inference drawn from all the phznomena is that this deposit occupies the site of a former river-bed or lake ; that since its formation mammiferous animals have migrated more than mol- luscous, and that the climate has remained nearly stationary. Mr. Edward Charlesworth has placed in our Museum some valu- able specimens collected at Sutton in Suffolk, valuable because they establish the existence of similar phenomena there also. ‘The spe- cimens consist of bones, (one of which appears to belong to the ele- phant, )and of freshwater shells, including an extinct species of Cyclas. Five or six feet below the surface a layer of calcareous nodules may be traced, he says, for about half a mile along the banks of the 148 Stour; the nodules are very numerous and found only with the shells. Let us hope that the interest excited by these notices may lead some competent naturalist to undertake a detailed examination of the “ Crag,” our imperfect acquaintance with which, again and again pointed out from this Chair, continues to be what I may justly call one of the Opprobria of English Geology. The changes which have taken place in the boundaries of the land and sea on the north-eastern coast of Kent have been brought under our notice by Mr. Richardson. Mr. Wetherell has transmitted to us a detailed account of a Well recently sunk on the south side of Hampstead ; its depth is 330 feet; under 285 feet of clay was found a rock five feet thick, which in ex- ternal character and fossil contents agrees with the Bognor, and rests on plastic clay. At the depth of 160 feet specimens were brought up of what would be called in Sheppy Island fossil fruits : the local distribution of these remarkable bodies is very limited. From the examination of Mr. Konig, it would appear that a few only are of vegetable origin. By far the greater part belong to a distinct class, which, in Mr. Konig’s new division of the natural order of Polypi, are distinguished by the appropriate name of Carpomorphi. Mr. Rofe has found in the neighbourhood of Reading the Bognor rock, occupying the same position which Mr. Wetherell assigns to itat Hampstead. It is strange that in a quarry of which so many sections have been given, this rock should have remained so long unnoticed. Mr. Rofe has also observed, that in the wells at Reading the level of the water depends not onthe Kennet which is the nearest river and flows over tenacious clay, but on the more distant Thames which flows over gravel resting upon chalk. M. Boué has recently pronounced the plastic clay formation destitute of fossils, but it certainly does contain them in England. Mr. Woodbine Parish has detected chalk in a part of the Sussex coast, where its existence had not been before observed. He has traced it from Felpham to the distance of about a mile; it runs in the direction of Middleton, where chalk marl has been obtained at low water. Dr. Mitchell has pointed out to us in what respect the chalk of the North of England differs from that of the South. The difference consists in its greater hardness, its occasional redness, its well de- fined stratification, the absence of flint nodules in its upper portion, and the continuity of layers of flint in its lower; in many of these characters it resembles tie chalk of Antrim. The occurrence of Hippurites in the chalk of Sussex appears to require confirmation. A well recently sunk at Diss in Norfolk, after penetrating two beds of clay and sand, the aggregate thickness of which amounted to 100 feet, penetrated through the great body of the chalk, which proved to be 500 feet in thickness; the tools passed afterwards through five feet of sand, when water flowed in, and rose to within 47 feet of the surface. Mr. Taylor, our Treasurer, to whom we are 149 indebted for this information, states that the proprietor was en- couraged to perseverse in so expensive an undertaking by the ac- count which he had seen of a similar well in Cambridgeshire, drawn up by Mr. Lunn and published in our Transactions, The confidence which he placed in that analogy (though the places are many miles distant from one another, ) has been fully justified by the event, and the success of the experiment furnishes a striking example of the value of records of this nature. Dr. Fitton’s paper on the strata of the South-east of England, be- tween the chalk and Oxford oolite, together with the memoirs of Dr. Buckland and Mr. De Ja Beche on the coast of Dorsetshire, are in great part printed. The Wealden and Purbeck beds are generally supposed to have been deposited in an estuary, but what may have been the form, direc- tion and extent of that estuary, it is not easy to conjecture. Similar beds occur at Lady Down in Wiltshire, and at Swindon; and the Vivipara, one of their characteristic fossils, appears towards the top of Shotover. The discovery of this formation in the neighbourhood of Beauvais excited much interest among the naturalists, assembled there about three years ago, and several species of the Wealden fos- sils seem to prove its existence at Loch Staffin in the Isle of Sky. And here, while considering the district of the Weald, allow me to direct your attention for a moment to a subject temporarily, and let us hope, only accidentally connected with it. I refer to the repeated, though slight shocks of earthquakes, which have been ex- perienced during the last eighteen months in the neighbourhood of Chichester. When we recollect the prodigious area over which the earthquake of Lisbon was felt, comprehending one fourth of the en- tire northern hemisphere, we can hardly suppose it possible that the cause of such phenomena can be seated so near the surface of the earth as to come at all within the range of our observation. It is, however, a singular coincidence, that in 1734, 1747, 1749, 1755, and the three following years, earthquakes were felt in this same part of England, and that on those occasions, as well as now, the di- rection of the shocks is supposed to have nearly coincided with the great line of fault. On the oolite district we have received no additional intelligence. The boundaries of the several clay-beds in the midland and northern counties is as yet ill defined, and the same remark will apply to many of the stone-beds in Lincolnshire, Leicestershire, and Rut- landshire. The anomalies of the Stonesfield slate are still unex- plained, and it is very desirable that figures should be published of the fossil remains found in it, and more especially the coleopterous insects. Mr. Murchison has discovered an outline of lias at Longdon Hill, near Upton, and improved the boundary line of that formation in the neighbourhood of the Severn. The lias mar] or lower lias rock, ill exhibited along the Yorkshire coast, and on the coast of Dorset- shire imperfectly developed, in Worcestershire and Gloucestershire swells into importance, and may be traced continuously for a distance 150 of twenty or thirty miles, passing insensibly here, as in Germany, into the red marl. A much more unexpected discovery has been made, by the same indefatigable observer, of the same beds in another situation, viz. between the Hawkstone Hills and the towns of Whitchurch and Market Drayton, seventy miles apart from the lias range in the Midland counties. This outline is known to extend about ten miles in length, and from four to six in breadth; its greatest extent is from north-east to south-west; its western boundary is obscure. The strata have a slight dip inwards towards a common centre. The visit of a geologist to this spot has had the effect of stopping an in- considerate speculation; the bituminous character of the lower beds had been supposed to indicate the proximity of coal, and a shaft had been sunk to the depth of three hundred feet in search of that mineral, in a place which I need hardly say afforded not the slight- est chance of success. The escarpment here exposed presents to view the junction of the middle and lower part of the formation. With most of its fos- sils we are familiar, but six or seven of the species met with are new in England, though some of these occur in a corresponding position at Brora in Sutherlandshire, and others are figured in the valuable work which Mr. Zieten is now publishing on the Organic Remains of the Kingdom of Wurtemburg. A shaft sunk at Kents- rough has reached the brine springs and gypsum of the subjacent formation. Mr. Williamson, jun., has given us a detailed account of the lias near Scarborough, to which I shall have occasion to advert again. Mr. Murchison has described to us the new red sandstone on the confines of England and Wales ; the formation here, as in the north- eastern counties, may be divided into 1. Red and green marl ; 2. Sandstone and conglomerate ; 3. Calcareous and dolomitic conglomerate ; 4. Lower red sandstone: corresponding to 1. the Keuper ; 2. Bunt sandstein; 3. Zechstein ; 4. Rothe todte liegende of the Germans. Limestone is sparingly distributed in this district. No trace has been met with of the muschelkalk, and the magnesian limestone oc- curs only in the shape of a sandstone conglomerate. \. The red and green marls afford brine-springs in Gloucester- shire, Worcestershire, Shropshire, and Cheshire, but with a small proportion of gypsum. 2. The beds immediately beneath are largely developed in the north of Shrewsbury, in Staffordshire and Salop ; the district which they occupy is wild and barren, owing to the prevalence of decom- posed quartzose conglomerates. Where sand predominates it is more fertile, and the country assumes a character perfectly distinct from that which belongs to the upper and lower beds. 3. The fragments of the calcareous conglomerate are occasionally of oolitic limestone, sometimes of old red sandstone, or of some mem- 15] ber of the coal series. This division is unimportant on the east of Coalbrooke Dale, but in the western part of Salop it swells out and corresponds with the dolomitic conglomerate of Bristol. At Car- deston it is from eighty to one hundred feet in thickness ; its es- carpment, with partial interruptions, may be traced from Alberbury and the Brythins round the carboniferous promontory of Salop and the Clent Hills, and it forms a distinct ridge between Bridge- north and Kidderminster. 4. Beneath this, in Salop and Worcestershire, is found a thick deposit of reddish sandstone (rothe todte liegende); it passes up- wards into dolomitic conglomerate, and downwards into the coal- measures in conformable beds, so that there is great reason to sup- pose that unwrought coal lies beneath. Mr. Murchison has deter- mined the extent of this rock, which occasionally towards the bot- tom contains trappean conglomerates like those of Heavitree in Devon, or feldspatic rocks like those of the Malvern and Abberley range. The dolomitic conglomerate just mentioned has in another coun- ty engaged the attention of the Rev. David Williams: he has dis- covered for the first time Saurian reptiles in this deposit. Mr. Co- nybeare had before noticed the occurrence of a part of the skeleton of a supposed gavial near the bottom of the red sandstone in Wor- cestershire. The obscurity which for so many years continued to involve the red sandstone deposits both in England and on the Continent was first cleared away by Professor Sedgwick. We now know that the proper position of the rothe todte liegende of the Germans is im- mediately beneath the magnesian limestone, and that it is the same rock which Mr. Smith described as the Pontefract sandstone. It is much to be regretted that Mr. Hoffmann in the beautiful map and sections which he published of North-western Germany, has designated by one name, as if they were only parts of one and the same deposit, the red sandstones and conglomerate that lie under the carboniferous series, and those that lie above it. This grouping together of formations so widely separated in nature is very objection- able. With a view to distinctness itis essential that the rothe todte liegende shall not be classed as heretofore, sometimes with the old red sandstone, sometimes with the new, sometimes with both, some- times with the coal-measures, but that it should hold the rank of a substantive and independent formation. The barbarous phrase, which has just been employed to designate it, though tolerated in Germany, will never, it is hoped, be naturalized here. The name by which it is known at Tarnowitz is toolocal. Many other names have been proposed when one would have sufficed. By M. de Beaumont it is called Grés des Vosges; by Mr. Smith, the Ponte- fract rock ; by Professor Sedgwick, the Plumpton; and by Dr. Hibbert, the Roslyn sandstone. Assuming that all these names are Synonymous, the last appears for many and obvious reasons the most worthy of adoption. This important rock, which, in richness of soil, in undulation of 152 surface, and in the luxuriant growth of its timber, closely resem- bles in many places the old red sandstone of Herefordshire, lies in general, sometimes conformably, sometimes unconformably, upon coal-measures, and even contains occasionally beds of that sub- stance. But in the neighbourhood of Shrewsbury, and also at Tasley and Coughley near Bridgnorth, Mr. Murchison has shown that this lower red sandstone overlies unconformably and passes down into a zone of coal-measures containing a peculiar fresh-water limestone. The great coal-beds of Brozeley and Coalbrook Dale are wrought beneath it. i had occasion myself to observe during the last summer, in the neighbourhood of Nuneaton in Warwickshire, a limestone similar in aspect, lying under a two-foot bed of sulphureous coal. The lime- stone is about fourteen inches in thickness, and exhibits veins of galena in calcareous spar. At the first pit I visited there was but one bed of limestone, but at another on the same estate is a second bed which also contains galena, and on its surface numerous impres- sions of plants. The interval between the two beds is occupied by a sandstone not unlike the Pennant rock in appearance, and what is here called a chance coal. Immediately beneath the lower one is another bed of coal four feet in thickness. In three papers which Mr. Conybeare has lately published on the relations of our principal coal-fields*, he considers it probable that coal will be discovered hereafter in many districts as yet unexplored. He dwells upon our uncertainty as to the boundary of the carboniferous beds in the midland counties, and recommends that a survey should be undertaken expressly with a view to determine this problem : «Tt is little to the credit,’ he observes, ‘‘of a nation like ours, so pe- culiarly dependent on this branch of her mineral resources, that we continue to acquiesce in a state of ignorance so easily removed. We here see a strong instance of our want of a regular school of mining, such as is possessed by many countries.”’ Mr. Elias Hall has published a geological map of Lancashire, a county hitherto comparatively neglected, and, I am sorry to add, very indiflerently represented in all the geological maps of England. Mr. Hall is entitled to great praise for his intrepidity and perseve- rance; had he not possessed these qualities in an eminent degree, he never would have entered, as it were alone and single-handed, on so irksome and laborious an investigation. That the work is in many respects imperfect must be admitted, but considering the ap- parent disproportion of his means to his end, it is surprising that the author should have achieved so much : what he has left incomplete or inaccurate will be readily supplied and corrected by the supple- mental labours of more fortunate observers, when the physical fea- tures of this extensive tract shall have been accurately delineated by the Ordnance Department. For a detailed account of the carboniferous tracts in Salop and * Lond. and Edinb. Phil. Mag. and Journ. of Science, vol. iv. pp. 161 and 346, vol. v. p. 44. 153 the adjacent counties we are indebted to Mr. Murchison. The fol- lowing are the conclusions which his paper tends to establish. 1, In the Shrewsbury coal-field the presence of a younger se- ries of coal-measure than has hitherto been noticed, characterized by the freshwater limestone above alluded to. 2. The recurrence of these beds at Coalbrook Dale, over an older series of coal-measures which at one spot repose on mountain lime- stone, at other places either on the old red sandstone or on transi- tion rocks. 3. The absence of these upper beds at the Titterston Clee hills, where the lower beds rest in two places on mountain limestone, but generally on old red sandstone, as they do invariably on the brown Clee hill, in the forest of Wyre and at Newent. 4. In some of the poor andill-consolidated coal-beds, particularly in the upper part of the series, the characters of the fossil plants, both generic and specific, can be recognised in the coal itself. 5. The mountain limestone where it does occur in this part of the country is of inconsiderable thickness, and wedge-shaped, so that it shortly disappears entirely. Its absence, therefore, is not to be im- puted to mighty convulsions, but to partial and scanty deposition in the first instance. At Shaftoe, near Wallington, in Northumberland, Mr. Trevelyan * has observed among the constituents of the milistone grit, the low- est bed of the regular coal-measures, transparent fragments of gar- net ; they occur there rather abundantly. He has also remarked in other northern coal-fields small portions of hornblende in a simi- lar situation. The Rev. Mr. Williamson has directed attention to certain ra- vines in the Mendip hills, and other heights which bound the coal- field of Bristol. These ravines cross the ridges transversely so as to connect the opposite valleys, being occupied in part by horizon- tal beds of dolomitic conglomerate and lias ; he infers that the frac- tures took place before these rocks were deposited, and that the bone-caves were formed at the same period. Dr. Lloyd first observed fossil fishes in the old red sandstone. Mr. Murchison finds the observation true over a considerable extent of country; they belong chiefly to the genus Cephalaspis of Agassiz ; they have also been described by Dr. Fleming, as having been met with in the old red sandstone of Forfarshire. ‘They appear not to be diffused through the formation generally, but to be confined to the middle portion of it, the cornstone. The nature of the pebbles imbedded in the Old Red Conglomerate varies according to its locality. In Scotland they are very fre- quently of gneiss, as is the case in the neighbourhood of Baden- Baden. In an Account of the Trap Rocks of the Border Counties, and their effects on the Stratified Beds with which they are in contact, Mr. Murchison has separated the objects of his examination into three * Lond. and Edinb. Phil. Mag. and Journ. of Science, vol. vi. p. 76, (1835.) 154 classes: 1. the Trap-Rocks which penetrate transition beds ; 2. those which penetrate the old red sandstone ; 3. those which penetrate the coal-measures. He refers the whole to igneous action, and con- siders them to be of the same age as the rocks with which they are respectively associated, rocks which he readily admits to be sedi- mentary, since, though composed of volcanic materials, they con- tain organic remains. The igneous action he conceives has taken place under water, and the finer volcanic ejections, arranged by Neptunian agency, have led to the formation of volcanic sandstones. His views upon this subject appear to be in exact accordance with those of Mr. de la Beche. Treating of the relations between igneous and fossiliferous rocks, Mr. de la Beche observes*, that though frequently posterior, the for- mer are in many cases contemporaneous with the strata in which they at present occur, appearing to have covered an inferior bed, and to have been subsequently covered themselves by a tranquil deposit of transported matter, as lava may flow over a sandy bottom and afterwards be covered up by sand or mud. Trappean rocks, he continues, are in various parts of Europe much associated with the lower parts of the grauwacke series, sometimes in a manner which leaves no doubt that some of them have not been included. among the strata after their consolidation, while others have clearly forced a passage through the grauwacke and previously formed masses of trap. Beds of greenstone or porphyry, he says, some- times fine off among the grauwacke strata, taking the character of an arenaceous deposit, as if such portions constituted a deposit of trappean ashes, thrown out at the same time that the trappean rock itself was produced. Brent Tor, north of Tavistock, remarkably exemplifies some of these appearances. The researches of your Vice-President in the counties of Deyon and Somerset have been carried on this year with increased energy. Of the eight sheets of the Ordnance Map upon which he has been engaged, four were published last spring, three others are com- plete, the eighth is nearly complete, and an explanatory memoir with sheets of sections applying to the whole are to be published before our next anniversary. Let us hope that this work so admirably be- gun may not be suffered to terminate here. Gentlemen, we had many of us an opportunity of witnessing at the late Meeting of the British Association the increasing interest and success with which geology is pursued in Scotland, and we felt more especially grateful on that occasion to Lord Greenock and the Highland Society, for the exertions which they have re- cently made to unravel the structure of their native land, and more especially the nature of its coal-fields. It is not my intention to detail to you all the proceedings of that Society, but I must not refrain from attributing mainly, if not solely, to their exertions the provision which the Government have lately made for the immediate * Researches in Theoretical Geology, p. 384. ~ 155 publication of Dr. MacCulloch’s geological mag of Scotland. What- ever may be the intrinsic excellence of ‘that work, it must be emi- nently useful, if considered only as a nucleus, round which will im- mediately congregate those ample stores of geological knowledge which at present lie latent in the minds and cabinets of our northern brethren. Nor will Ireland be backward in furnishing her contingent. The coloured copy of Arrowsmith’s map of that portion of the United Kingdom which Mr, Griffith has undertaken to lay before the British Association in August next, will bring within our reach an abundant supply of geological information, which though it has been in his possession for many years past, a natural repugnance to combining geological correctness with geographical inaccuracy has hitherto induced him to withhold. The exertions of the Geological Society of Dublin have been continued, and cannot fail to diffuse over the whole of Ireland a taste for those studies which at a very early period reflected so much lustre on the name of Kirwan. It will be in your recollection that Mr. Weaver presented to us some time since a valuable Memoir on the Geology of the south- western part of that country. In one part of the Memoir the coal- measures of the county of Kerry were referred to the transition se- ries; the correctness of this statement was questioned at the time, and various inquiries were instituted and persevered in, without leading however to any very decisive result. Since the commence- ment of the session, the author on reexamining the district, has with great candour acknowledged himself to have been in error. More diligent investigation brought into view a well-characterized band of old red sandstone, intervening in one part of the coal-field, be- tween the carboniferous and the transition strata. Mr. Jephson has transmitted to us an account of a remarkable spring at Mallow in the county of Cork, the temperature of which varies from 67° to 71,3,°. It breaks out in limestone. An ample and able account of the recent progress of our science. on the Continent will be found in the Report of M. Boué to the Geological Society of France. I shall, therefore, confine my ob- servations on this head almost exclusively to the Papers which have been read at our evening meetings. The first in order relates to the loamy deposit, called in the val- ley of the Rhine, Loes, a term as yet scarcely naturalized among us, and which, I believe, is correctly represented by the word Silt. This paper, from the pen of Mr. Lyell, has since been published entire in Jameson’s Journal. Intimately connected with this is a communication by Mr. Horner, on the nature and quality of the solid matter actually suspended in the water of the Rhine. To ascertain them the author made experi- ments during the months of August and November, bringing up about a gallon of water from different depths and drying slowly the solid matter obtained from it. With whatever attention to accuracy such experiments are conducted, they must, I conceive, be multiplied al- fo) 156 most indefinitively before we can arrive in safety at any general con- clusion upon so intricate a problem. From Colonel Silvertop we have received a description of certain tertiary deposits, which in the kingdom of Murcia, in Spain, occupy extensive plains, bounded by discontinuous ridges of nummulitic limestone, transition rocks and mica-slate: the author divides these deposits into four districts, and each of these is separately treated. M. Deshayes refers their imbedded fossils to the second and third deposits of tertiary formation. In a work on Spain, published during the past year by Captain Cooke, will be found a brief account of the mines and rocks of that hitherto partially examined country. I may also be permitted to notice among the additions which have been made to our library, an excellent Memoir by M. le Che- valier Albert de la Marmora, on the constitution of the Balearic Islands. No communication has been made to us from Asia since the last Anniversary. A paper by Mr. Cunningham describes the physical structure, and to a certain extent, the geological composition of the country be- tween Hunter’s River and Moreton Bay, in Australia, and is accom- panied by a valuable map and section and a small collection of rock specimens. The additions made during the expedition referred to by Mr. Cunningham are important, and the geological notices, though slight, will be welcomed by future inquirers. Mr. Rogers, who laid before the British Association at Edinburgh an able sketch of the “Geology of North America,’ has more re- cently favoured this Society with an account of the strata situate on the banks of the Misouri and Mississippi rivers, and further, in the district of the Rocky Mountains. It may be said of all these papers that they are in a great degree compilations, but compilations so ex - ecuted are perhaps among the most valuable documents that can be transmitted to us. No general views could ever be opened if every author were to confine his descriptions and reasonings to those minute tracts which have fallen within the sphere of his own per- sonal examination. Every system and theory is necessarily founded upon details industriously collected from various quarters. Besides these communications, we have received from America recently two works, in which the same subject is treated with great clearness and in considerable detail: the one entitled ‘‘ Contribu- tions to Geology, by Isaac Lea, accompanied by six plates of Shells,” of which some at least are not very accurately figured ; the other « A Synopsis of the Organic Remains of the Cretaceous Rock, with nineteen lithographed plates of Shells, by Dr. Morton.” These works, together with the papers of Mr. Conrad published previously in the American Journal of Science and the Journal of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia, illustrated also with lithographic plates, have rendered the upper formations of the United States as intelligible as those of our own country. 157 Dr. Morton notes the generic accordance of the Testaceous Mol- lusca on the east and west shores of the Atlantic; but indepen- dently of genera, there are at least twenty-four species common to both. In like manner some identities have been traced in the tertiary deposits of Europe and America. The Pecten quin- guecostatus in particular occurs equally in the cretaceous greup on both sides the Atlantic; nor is the analogy confined to Testacea ; it extends to the Saurian reptiles. The animals whose remains are found in chalk formerly inhabited the seas of the two continents, and whatever cause bared the eastern, appears to have acted simul- taneously on the western mass; not a rush of currents, but a subsi- - dence or elevation. In the county of Onondago, in New York, is a lacustrine depo- sit still forming, in which thousands of tons might be obtained of bleached shells. The shells at the mouth of the Potomac river, be- longing to the newer Pliocene beds, retain their colours; twenty- nine of the species are the same with those which now live, and of these there are seven only which are not known to inhabit the coast of America. From the upper marine deposit of Dr. Morton, which corre- sponds to the lower tertiary of Mr. T. A. Conrad, and to the older pliocene of Mr. Lyell, numerous specimens were exhibited to us in the course of last session by Mr. Finch. Of fifty-six species of shells observed by Mr. Conrad in this deposit, which extends through Maryland, Virginia, and the county of Cumberland, in New Jersey, one third still exist on the coast of America, but some species in a more southern latitude than that in which they are found fossil. The Miocene beds, if they occur, have hitherto escaped detec- tion. The Eocene, the middle tertiary of Mr. Conrad, which in En- gland is known as the London clay, and in France as coarse lime- stone, assumes in America the character of siliceous sand, and in that form has been traced in a north-eastern and south-western di- rection from Alabama, through South Carolina, Georgia, and Flo- rida, as far as the Gulf of Mexico. Two hundred and nineteen species of shells found in this deposit have been described by Mr. Lea, but among them all, there is perhaps not one entirely analo- gous to any living species. Several of these shells belong to genera unknown upon the coast of America, some to genera found fossil in Europe, some to genera entirely new. It may be doubted whe- ther any of the species correspond with any of the eocene fossils of Kurope, but the number of turreted shells and generic resem- blance satisfactorily establish the epoch to which they belong. It appears from the observations of M. Dufrénoy that in the chalk of the Pyrenees fifty species, in a list of about two hundred, have the character of tertiary shells. A corresponding gradation in the fossil contents of the tertiary and cretaceous formations is observable in America. The Chalk, or rather the Chalk- Marl, of the new continent occupies large tracts in New Jersey, Delaware, and Alabama, and contains among other organic remains teeth of the 02 158 Mosasaurus, in no respect differing from those collected at Maes- tricht. Mr. Rogers recovers the Chalk formation on the banks of the Missouri, and about the mouth of the Omawhavw ; its transverse limit is not known. No flints appear in the beds, but flint nodules, like the English, occur plentifully lower down the river, even to the Mississippi. The Ferruginous Sand of America reposes in the northern states of the Union as in Sweden and along the Carpathian mountains, upon primary rocks ; in the southern, upon limestone, perhaps our mountain limestone; it forms an irregular crescent, extending nearly three thousand miles, through Jersey, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, the two Carolinas, Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, Te- nessee, Louisiana, Arkansa and Missouri. Dr. Morton and Mr. Rogers refer this formation to the Green-Sand of England with more confidence perhaps than their observations warrant. Sands red and green occur in Europe both above the chalk and below it. Zoological evidence rather militates against their conclusion. With one or twoexceptions all the species are peculiar to the western continent. Pecten quinquecostatus, the only shell which is quoted as being commen to the sands of the United States and this country, occurs also at Maestricht, and Baculites are cha- racteristic of the upper part of the chalk. From the occurrence of great quantities of lignite in this formation, from the remains dis- covered in it of the Scolopas, a bird which inhabits the sea-shore, and from the locality of the beds in reference to the ancient coast line, Mr. Rogers infers that the deposit took place in shallow water, along a coast, which like the present, presented a very extensive range of soundings ; to this circumstance he attributes the differ- ence of the American and European species of sea shells at the same period. With greater probability, as far as the evidence of fossils is con- cerned, Mr. Rogers attributes to the Green-Sand Formation of En- gland a deposit traced from below the Big Bend to the Rocky Moun- tains both on the Missouri and the Yellow River, characterized by Hamites, Gryphaea Columba, and Belemnites compressus. Above the Big Bend horizontal beds of lignite, sandstone, shale and clay, occur continuously for several days journey. The author considers this formation to be of more recent birth ; it contains, near the Cherry River, beds of lignite from three to nine feet in thickness. The New Red Sandstone, with its usual accompaniments of sand and gypsum, appears to be in North America developed very ex- tensively. According to Mr. Rogers, it comprehends all the coun- try from the falls of the Platte to the great salt lake, or rather sea, on the western side of the Rocky Mountains, and from the Missouni to the Arkansas and Rio Colorado. The same formation is sup- posed to extend into Mexico, and to be the red sandstone described by Humboldtas occurring so extensively in the southern provinces. On ascending the Missouri from its junction with the Mississippi 159 the cliffs are found to consist of Limestone, characterized by Pro- ductz, Terebratule and Encrini. The hills near Cheriton are com- posed of this limestone, and good beds of bituminous coal occur in the same district. The relative position of the vast deposits of Coal and Anthracite which have been discovered in America is not yet satisfactorily ascertained. The great coal-field of Pennsylvania is said to occur in the higher beds of grauwacke, but what are so called may possibly be shown hereafter to correspond to the limestone shale and millstone grit of Derbyshire. When skilfully treated, this an- thracite is considered better than the best bituminous coal of En- gland and the United States. Vegetable impressions are rare, and I do not find that any of the Species have been identified with the English, but the Genera, I believe, are the same. The next great deposit of anthracite, that of Rhode Island, lies rather lower in the series, and the anthracite of Worcester is said to occur in an imper- fect mica slate, associated with gneiss. Dr. Meade states, that at Rhode Island the veins of coal are separated by various coloured sandstones of the transition series, yet fine specimens of indurated talc and green asbestus in capillary crystals are also interspersed through the shale, and form the immediate cover of the coal. The Rocky Mountains, as far as Mr. Rogers could collect from the information of Mr. Sublette, a person engaged for eleven years in the fur trade, and from the journals of Long and Lewis and Clarke and Nuttal, are Primitive. The eastern chain, called the Black Hills, consists of gneiss, mica slate, and greenstone, with amygdaloid and other volcanic substances. Volcanic mounds are frequently seen on the west of the mountains between the rivers Salmon and Louis ; for the distance of more than forty miles the Columbia river flows between perpendicular cliffs, from two to three hundred feet in height, composed of lava and obsidian. ‘The Mala- dor branch of the Columbia takes its direction through a similar gorge, and thermal springs abound in this part of the country. On the various organic remains of North America, a Paper by Dr. Harlan, which first appeared in the Transactions of the Geolo- gical Society of Philadelphia, has been republished in Jameson's Journal. A valuable Communication on the Bermudas, with which we have been favoured by Lieutenant Nelson, R.E., has taught us that in explaining the formation of strata our homage is not exclusively due to Neptune, Vulcan, and Pluto, but that /Zolus must also be re- garded. This cluster of islands consists entirely of coral, of what kinds it is unnecessary to specify here, though the author has bestowed upon this part of the subject a large share of attention. Confining myself to what relates more especially to geological science, I may state the following as the most important conclusions which Lieutenant Nel- son’s observations tend to establish: 1. That the coral animal does not build above water. 2. That cora! islands now in process of forming may and do attain a considerable height, say 260 feet above 160 the level of the sea, without the assistance of volcanoes, earth- quakes, or any other violent catastrophe. 3. That this height has in Bermuda been attained by a mere accumulation of sand and shells, continually blown up and advancing from the coast into the interior, 4. That drift sand is capable of arranging itself in strata. 5. That of the strata so formed some may be consolidated, others unconsolidated, and that the two may alternate. 6. That strata of drifted sand do not present horizontal surfaces. 7. That wind is capable of giving to strata the figure of a dome or saddle, or a waved and contorted appearance, or an arrangement round centres, or a high degree of inclination. 8. That in coral islands bays are ori- ginal indentations, not the effects of subsequent abrasion. 9, That the suriace of a country may he diversified by hill and dale, though it has never undergone diluvial action. 10. That under favourable circumstances denudation may be occasioned by wind as well as by water, 11. That the ripple-mark, which Mr. Scrope* ascribes to a vibratory movement of the lower stratum of water, agitated by winds or currents, may also be owing to wind. 12. That crevices or fissures may be the results of contraction or unequal expansion, and are not necessarily accompanied by violence. 13. That the reticulation of such crevices does not disprove their being contem- poraneous. 14, That caves may be produced in strata by the un- dermining action of the sea. 15. That limestone may be conso- lidated without the application of either heat or pressure. The Bermuda Islands furnish a striking example of the intermix- ture of land and sea shells with the bones of birds and tortoises, and likewise with vegetable remains. Some of thespecimens which accompany the paper have a structure distinctly oolitic, and in some I observe the delicate red tint which is met with in the chalk beds of Yorkshire, or the oolite of Dijon. The cause of this, and still more, the origin of the sand, the detritus of rubies which occurs in one part of the shore, are curious subjects of inquiry. It is also remarkable that breccias should be found at Bermuda, similar to . those of Nice, the island of Cerigo, and Gibraltar. A paper on the arrangement of Fossil Fishes, read at the first meeting after the recess, and ably commented upon by its author, M. Agassiz, received from you more than usual marks of approba- tion. M. Agassiz informed us, that as yet he had not found any species identical with those of our present seas, with the exception of one small fish which has been discovered in Greenland imbedded in geodes of clay, the geological age of which is undetermined. In the newer tertiary formations, viz. the Crag and superior Apennine beds, the species for the most part exhibit a relation to the genera which dwell within the tropics, but in the older tertiary, viz. the London clay, the marine limestone of Paris and the rock of Monte Bolca, at least a third of the shells belong to genera that are ex- tinct. Inthe Chalk more than two thirds belong to extinct genera, and if the grouping of strata were regulated only by ichthyological * Proceedings of the Geological Society, No. xxi. 1851. 16] considerations, this rock would be more properly classed with the tertiary formations than the secondary. Below the Chalk not one re- cent species has been met with ; in the Wealden Beds, the Oolitic Beds, and the Lias, even the genera are all different from those in the chalk. Below the lias, two out of the four orders, under which M. Agassiz comprehends all the fishes that are known, viz. the Cycloi- dean and the Ctenoidean, entirely vanish, while the other two orders, rare in our days, suddenly appear in great numbers, together with large sauroid and carnivorous fishes. Of the fishes that occupy the Transition Rocks few have been brought to light, and no peculiar cha- racter has yet been affixed to them. In general the more ancient fishes are the best protected by scales. Those which are more an- cient than the green sand exhibit none of those marks by which we can determine in the fishes of our own times whether the water in which they live be fresh or salt ; the species always changes with the formation, and frequently, as we see, the genus also. It would ap- pear, therefore, that greater changes take place in the higher order of animals than the lower in equal periods of time. Your award of the Wollaston medal to this eminent naturalist has led to the most advantageous results. By that award M. Agassiz having been induced to come over to this country, has received in all quarters that distinction which his superior knowledge and personal character and deportment justly deserve. With a view to enable him to devote a larger portion of time to the study of fossil Ichthyology in Great Britain, the Association for the Advancement of Science voted to him at Edinburgh the sum of 100/. During his subsequent excursions in various parts of England and Ireland he had ample opportunities of visiting whatever collections have been made in that department of natural history to which he devotes himself; and every one was happy to transmit to our apartments at his request any specimens which he wished to figure. In the very short space of time to which his stay in this country was necessarily confined, M. Agassiz was enabled to add to the very large number of species which he had already examined, no less than two hundred that were entirely new tohim ; these were placed, immediately as they arrived, in the hands of an artist from Neufcha- tel, acting under M. Agassiz’s direction. Such are the facilities and advantages which Associations like ours supply to those whom our motto designates as true sons of science! Sir Philip Egerton has drawn out for us a Catalogue of a rich Col- lection of Specimens formed by himself and Lord Cole in the caves of Franconia and the Hartz Mountains. In the cavern at Galenreuth, now closed against visitors, it was their good fortune to obtain several bones of the fossil bear, which the late Baron Cuvier required to com- plete theskeleton of that animal. Many of them appear to have been scratched, but none gnawed. In all these caverns, recent bones re- ferrible to various animals, accompany the fossil; and in some of them have been found old coins, iron implements, and fragments of rude pottery. To a work which I shall have occasion to bring under your notice 162 hereafter, Mr. Broderip, our Vice-President, has appended a Table, showing the situation and depth at which the different genera of shells are found in seas and estuaries. ‘The importance of such a table, though professedly incomplete, must be evident to you all; andI hope we shall receive from the same quarter further proofs of the advantage which our science is capable of receiving by allying itself with prac- tical zoology. One of my predecessors has adverted to various cir- cumstances which may determine different fossils to different loca- lities, producing an abundant supply in one place, and a comparative dearth in another. In this point of view, Mr. Broderip’s table will be found of great use. By referring to it we discover at once what genera in the present creation are confined to shallows; what genera are to be expected at depths varying from a few feet to three or four hundred, and even more: which are those that attach them- selves to marine plants, drifted wood, coral, crustacea, loose stones, or rocks ; perforate the shells of other animals, coral, wood, or are- naceous and calcareous deposits ; or dwell on beds of mud or sand. A knowledge of the habits of recent Testacea must materially assist our investigations into the habits of corresponding fossil genera. The Geographical Range of different fossil Animals is a subject of great interest, coinciding as it must do with the range of those con- ditions which were essential to their birth and preservation. To Col. Sykes we are greatly indebted for bringing under our notice a Collection of fossils made by Captain Smee in the district of Cutch. On comparing these remains with the fossils of the oolitic series in England, we observe, not without surprise, that one agrees in every respect with the Gryphea dilatata, that another agrees equally with the young shell of T77gonza costata, that a third bears a close resemblance at least to the Ammonites Harveyit, while others are identical with the Ammonites Wallick, which is found in the range of the Himalaya. I hope the interest which these species have ex- cited will lead to a more extended investigation of the tract from which they were procured. Among the illustrations which will accompany a Geological Ac- count of Gurhwal and Sirmou, drawn up by Mr. Royle, is a plate representing certain Shells collected by Mr. Gerard in the elevated valley of the Spiti; these shells may also be identified generically with those of the secondary formations in Europe. Besides these, are given the head and teeth of a small species of Deer, and the tooth of a Rhinoceros, obtained by Messrs. Webb and Trail from the lofty region on the north of the Snowy Mountains ; and several teeth of a carnivorous animal, a saurian, and fish, discovered by Mr. Cauntly at the southern base of the Himalayan chain. A list of Fossils found in the Lias of Yorkshire by Mr. Williamson, jun. of Scarborough, will be valuable to us as a local monograph, and still more so as a type to which we may refer the fossils of the same formation in other parts of the country. The author is of opinion that every particular layer is characterized by pe- culiar organic remains, a statement which must be received with caution ; it may be true where the district examined is very small, 163 but published lists, which deserve the greatest confidence, establish beyond, all doubt that those species which abound in a formation belong to various beds, and that those species which at one locality are most numerous fail altogether in another. Mr. Mammatt, one of our Fellows, has embodied the result of forty years experience in asplendid Work on the Coal-field of Ashby de la Zouch, illustrated with beautiful engravings. It is a work of considerable labour, and independently of its local interest, contains some remarks on fissures, joints, and “slines,” which coming from a practical observer are well entitled to atten. tion. It is to be regretted that the specimens from which the draw- ings were taken have been too frequently impertect or indistinct. In other branches of natural history, so intimate are the relations of the several parts, that from the examination of an unknown tooth and a few other bones, the expert physiologist has been enabled in some Instances to construct in imagination an unknown animal, the fidelity of which, to nature, subsequent discoveries have established. The Jaws which determine vegetable forms are more indefinite and ob- scure; if fragments of plants are to be engraved, they require to be selected with great judgement, and should be confined to those parts of the object which are best defined and most characteristic. Seen from another point of view, however, these plates become immediately valuable; for though the objects engraved were too indistinct perhaps to enable us to determine the genus, class, or order to which they belong, a correct delineation of them may be sufficient to enable us to identify them with objects found in other coal-fields, perhaps in very distant parts of the world. The author adopted at an early period the opinion that “ Strata are characterized by their Fossils,’ and he appears to think, that in the coal-field under his consideration, each bed of shale has vegetable impressions of its own. By the precision with which the work is executed, the justice of this opinion is at once put to the test; the successive strata are numbered in regular order, and the names of the plants (where they have names) are attached to the numbers to which they respectively belong. Now, in looking over the list, with a view to the determination of the question before us, I observe Stigmaria fucoides at No. 25, 55, 223, 232; Sigillaria Or- ganum at No. 37 and 118; Szgillaria oculata at No. 74 and 79; Aste- rophyllites longifolia at No. 16, 330, and 370; and Neuropteris g7- gantea at No. 112, 147, 249 a, and 406. A series of Vegetable Impressions transmitted to us by Mr. De la Beche has given rise to a good deal of discussion. The plants have been examined by Mr. Lindley, and identified at once with those usually found in the Newcastle and other regular coal-fields ; they form the roof of certain beds of coal or culm which have lon since been observed and worked in the neighbourhood of Bideford in Devonshire, and extend from the shore inland to the distance of about fourteen miles, being about three quarters of a mile in breadth. Along the coast very distinct sections are exposed, both of these beds and their associates. The associated beds have hi- 164 therto been generally referred, and with the utmost confidence to the transition epoch. Many of them appear to me identical with those in the Hartz Mountains, to which the name of grauwacke was in the first instance applied, and which may therefore be con- sidered as the types of that formation. Mr. Smith, indeed, in his geological map of England, refers the Bideford district to the red and dunstone of Brecon and the south-east part of Scotland; whether he applies that term to the old red sandstone exclusively, or to the old red sandstone and grauwacke conjointly, I do not know ; at all events, neither he nor any other person has ever ex- pressed a suspicion that the beds under our consideration may be more modern than the limestone of Derbyshire; nor am I aware that such suspicion is entertained even now by any one who has seen them in situ. Mr. Ainsworth, an active naturalist, who is gone out with Cap- tain Chesney on an expedition to the Euphrates, has published an Account of certain Caves at Ballibunnian on the coast of Kerry. In the bay which bears that name, the cliffs which rise to the height of a hundred feet, are composed of two beds (varying from thirty to forty feet in thickness) of compact ampelite, divided by seams of the same slate but fissile and anthracitous, and pouring out stream- lets of water containing iron and salts in solution. Near Hunter’s Path are seven beds of anthracite ; the laminar and slaty rocks be- longing to the great transition clay-slates repose on compact sono- rous argillaceous limestone, and considerable beds of quartz occur in the midst of the slate formation ; this coast, therefore, seems to be very analogous to that of Bideford: it is desirable to ascertain whether the beds of anthracite are here also accompanied by im- pressions of plants, and whether they can be identified with those of the independent coal districts. The distinctness of the Bideford section, and the great ex- perience which Mr. De la Beche possesses in geological surveying, make it highly improbable, I think, that the plants which he has presented to us can belong to any other formation than that to which he has referred them: that the same fossils, vegetable as well as animal, are confined to one particular epoch, and cannot be found in more than one part of the general series, are presumptions, which if countenanced, as to a certain extent they are, by limited expe- rience, more enlarged experience may not unnaturally be expected to overthrow, unless indeed we choose to suppose, amid all the ob- scurity that surrounds us, that our knowledge has already reached a maximum, and that nothing more can ever be visible than that which we have been accustomed to see; but the case which Mr. De la Beche has stated is not altogether a new case; it does not even con- tradict our present experience. Coal measures, with their usual plants, have been before found in undoubted grauwacke at the Bocage in Calvados, and you have heard, from one ‘of my pre- decessors, that they occur in the same relative position at Mag- deburg ; that they occur in sandstone beds that alternate with mountain limestone in our own country ; and that on the southern 165 flank of the Alps they had been discovered by M. Elie de Beau- mont in beds of the age of lias. Two Communications have been presented to us, one from the pen of Mr. Babbage, the other of Captain Basil Hall, R.N., on the Temple of Serapis at Puzzuoli, one of the most extraordinary build- ings in Europe; beautiful as a work of art, interesting as an object of antiquity, but to the geologist more especially valuable, as ex- hibiting a variety of complex natural phenomena, which, though they have taken place in times comparatively modern, it is exceed- ingly difficult to explain according to the known laws of nature. Of the solutions which have been proposed by different authors*, not fewer than twenty in number, and most of them authers of emi- nence, it is impossible to give even a summary within the time al- lowed me. The merit of Mr. Babbage’s paper, as far as original ob- servation is concerned, consists principally in his notice of various stalactitical deposits, and his examination of their different charac- ters and modes of production. Mr. Babbage describes in detail all the appearances of this tem- ple, and then inquires into the causes of the extraordinary revolu- tions which it must be admitted on all hands to have undergone : the principal difficulty, you are aware, is to account for the erosion of the columns by lithophagous animals, from the height of 11 feet to 19 above their base, the remaining parts being intact. Mr. Babbage is of opinion that the building stood at first very nearly at its present level. Assuming that since that period it has both subsided and risen again, and that considerable changes have taken place in the relative levels of the land and sea in its vicinity ; he explains these circumstances by supposing the edifice to have been built upon the surface of matter at a high temperature, which matter contracted afterwards by slow cooling; that at a still subse- quent period a fresh accession of heat produced a new expansion, and that in this way the temple was gradually restored to its original level. To suppose and illustrate his reasoning, the author has constructed a Table (founded on experiments made in America,) showing in feet and decimals what would be the amount of expansion in beds of granite from 1 to 500 miles thick at various temperatures ; toge- ther with a formula for calculating the amount of expansion in si- milar volurnes of marble and sandstone ; this fable has a collateral claim to notice, as being the first worked out by the calculating en- gine with a view to publication. It appears to me, that in applying the calculation, it is very ne- cessary to take into account three elements which have been over- looked. . 1. How far under the supposed conditions expansion would be counteracted by pressure? * Among these may be mentioned Barthelemy, Boué, Brieslak, Brocchi, Cochin, Billiard, Daubeny, Desmarest, Desnoyers, Forbes, Goethe, Hott, De Jorio, Lyell, Pini, Prevost, Nicolini, Raspe, and Dr. Robertson. 166 2. What space of time would be required to heat or cool such enormous masses of substances, which are very imperfect conductors of caloric, to the required temperatures* ? 3. How farthe explanation given of the phenomena of the Sera- peum is applicable to others in its vicinity ? The admitted fact that certain buildings which have also subsided still remain below the level of the sea, while others have been raised to unequal heights above it, makes it unlikely that any uniform cause, while it produced upon them such various effects, should yet have stationed the pave- ment of this temple in the self-same spot which it occupied at the time of its original censtruction. The Letter from Capt. Basil Hall contains remarks on the position of the three columns of the temple which are still standing; they appear from his observations not to be exactly upright, but to bulge over a little, all in one direction, but not to the same degree. The outermost, in consequence of the tilt, has been brought into such a position that the top of the column is in a line with its base, an ex- traordinary accident. These remarks do not diminish our difficulties. The tilting may have been occasioned by such subsidences as all buildings are liable to, which are not founded upon solid rock, or it may be referred to earthquakes or original carelessness, or to the skill of the architect, who, by giving a deviation from the plummet line to the axis of the columns (so slight indeed as not to catch the eye,) strengthened his edifice against some lateral thrust, a practice known to have been employed at Athens, and referred to in the let- ter. Captain Hall has indeed put his veto on this last hypothesis, by saying that the inclination of the columns takes the opposite di- rection to that which would be required for the supposed purpose ; but this cannot be known, I imagine, unless we know also the de- tails of the original structure, and especially the position and con- struction of the roofs. Shortly after this temple had been examined by Mr. Babbage, an attempt to drain it effectually was made by the Neapolitan Govern- ment: the stagnant water which infected the air of the neighbour- hood was partly supplied from the mineral spring, partly from rain, partly from the sea: the experiment failed for reasons which it is not necessary to mention. Signor Nicolini, President of the Royal Academy of Naples, who was entrusted with the conduct of the work, and has published an account of it, discovered a rich mosaic pavement a hundred palms in length at the depth of sixteen palms below the level of the stagnant water, whence it appears that the * On a statement of Mr. Scrope’s, that a current of lava after it had been ejected nine months, was still flowing on the flanks of Etna at the rate ofa yard per day, Mr. de la Beche observes, “If lava can retain its elevated ‘‘ temperature when thus exposed, what length of time may we not allow for “< its doing so within the pipe of the volcano itself, surrounded on all sides by ““ matter greatly heated, and like itself an exceedingly bad conductor of heat? «« Even in those cases where centuries elapse between the great eruptions “ of any given volcano, the lava is probably liquid beneath at no very con- “ siderable depth.” 167 sea must have risen sixteen palms since that pavement was laid. The existence of two pavements of different dates shows further that great changes of level took place before the present temple was built: but Signor Nicolini goes further, he advances a confident opinion that the level of the Mediterranean, in relation to the land, is even now changing. In support of this doctrine, he not only refers to the phenomena of the temple of Serapis, but points out others in its neighbour- hood, all tending to the same conclusion: he states, that in the year 1808 he spent ten days or more in sketching at this spot, and never once saw the pavement flooded, whereas during the last five years he has never once found it dry; that in 1790 the old road near the Serapeum being subject to be flooded, a new one was made at a higher level; and that at the commencement of the new road there is now visible, two palms below the sea level, the pavement of an old landing-place; that boats now pass near the promontory of Puzzoli overa mass of tufa, which derived its name of ‘‘ The Table,” from having been formerly used as such by sea-faring people ; that the ground floor of the Aspizio dei Capuccini is now under water ; and that near Pizzo Falcone modern marks are seen on the tufa many inches under the level of the sea at low water. Before I quit this branch of the subject, I would wish to suggest to future visitors of this temple, the following topics of inquiry. What parts of the building have undergone repair? Can the date of these repairs be deduced from the nature of the materials em- ployed, or the character of the workmanship ? Where is the pavement out of level, and to what amount? Are the subsided parts under the lines of thoroughfare, or can their sink- ing be traced to imperfect construction? Is the foundation such as an architect would call secure? Does it stand on stratum No. 6 of Mr. Babbage’s section ? Were there roofs to the bath-rooms ? Would the fragments No. 6, 7, 8, form one column, or more than one? Was the original number of iarge (czpollzno) columns greater than four ? Is the tufaceous deposit on No. 7 the same as that on the walls? Are all the water lines horizontal ? Brick-work is found in the strata which buried the temple. What is the character of this brick-work? Is it reticulated ? Draw up a detailed and exact account of the strata. What is the nature of the thermal spring? Evaporate a few gallons of the water, and send the deposit to the Society. The plan which accompanies Mr, Babbage’s paper being copied from that of Jorio, it is desirable, in order to prevent confusion and save expense, that this plan, with the numbers attached to it, should be adopted in any future description. In the concluding part of the paper, Mr. Babbage proceeds to show in what manner existing causes may possibly elevate conti- nents and mountain ranges, and a similar train of reasoning seems to have presented itself to Mr. De la Beche’s mind about the same 168 time. The justice, or at least the relevancy of the reasoning, depends on the establishment of many postulates which in the present state of our knowledge can be regarded only as matters of surmise: but I treated this subject so much at large on a former occasion, that I will not detain you with any further observations upon it now. A Paper by Dr. Turner, our Secretary, informs us of some expe- riments which have been made on the action of high-pressure steam upon glass, and other siliceous compounds. The glass was suspended within the boiler of a steam-engine, encased in wire gauze at a tem- perature of about 300° commonly for ten hours a day. At the end of four months all the pieces were decomposed, and the plate-glass especially, consisting of silex and soda, was in some pieces corroded entirely through. Window-glass was less acted upon, and rock crystal wholly unaltered. Dr, Turner ascribes these changes to the influence of the water on the alkali of the glass, the white opaque matter with which the decomposed pieces were coated being siliceous earth entirely free from alkali; but some portions of the silex also must have been dissolved, for the apertures of the gauze were in some instances closed by a siliceous incrustation, and a small sta- lactite of silica was found depending from the lowest part. He points out the bearing of these results on the agency of water under high pressure on felspathic and other rocks containing alkalies, and in this point of view they are of great interest. JT hail with unfeigned pleasure the arrival of every paper which makes geology a science not merely of observation, but experiment. In the condition in which we stand at present, the geology of the laboratory is as essential to our progress, as that of the open air. The Metamorphoses of rocks which are so continually pressed upon our notice are capable of explanation by chemists only. Of those metamorphoses I wiil only observe, that they appear to me to be attributed too exclusively to Plutenic action. The phenomena which startle and delight us in the vicinity of whin dykes, we regard in Neptunian rocks without emotion. The Account recently published by Professor Hoffmann of the marble of Carrara is very striking. The result of his examination is, that this pure saccharine limestone in which no trace has been discovered of organic matter, although in its cavities are occa- sionally found pellucid crystals of quartz, ts only transformed oolite. Mr. De la Beche’s researches along the gulf of Spezia, an account of which is published in the Transactions of the Geological Society of France, had already prepared us for such an announcement : yet it seems strange when we reflect on the wide expanse of serpentine which is seen in its neighbourhood, that the Carrara marble should not be magnesian. In the Isle of Skye veins of serpentine sometimes penetrate the lias, where, in the vicinity of numerous whin dykes it assumes thewhiteness and occasionally the sparkling grain of statuary marble, and here again the marble is unadulterated by magnesia: the origin of the serpentine is somewhat less mysterious since the limestone in its unaltered state is micaceous. M. Dufrénoy in a late number of the ‘“ Annales des Mines,” has described a similar 169 ‘Transformation of lias into saccharoid limestone seen in the Py- renees. I think it unnecessary to detail to you the descriptions which Mr. Murchison has given of the Change of structure, or even of substance that take place at the Malvern Hills and at sundry other places in Wales, and on the confines of Wales frequently, though not always, in the vicinity of trap and sienite, because they are in general the same as have been observed repeatedly in other districts. ‘The phenomena at Old Radnor the author remarks are very analogous to those of the Val di Fassa in the Tyrol. It may, however, be proper to mention, not as a novelty, but as a circum- stance the frequent occurrence of which is little attended to, that in Carmarthenshire the line of altered rock produced by the proximity, or as it is called the protrusion of a mass of porphyritic trap, is pa- rallel to the strike of the grauwacke so altered. At Caer Caradoc, the Wrekin, the Stiperstones, and elsewhere, a stratified sandstone is at its junction with trap, converted into quartz rock. One other circumstance deserves to be noticed; the range of the Stiperstones, along which these Plutonic appearances present themselves, is flanked on either side by metalliferous deposits, but not of the same kind, the copper ores being all found on one side of the range, the lead ores on the other. An analogous case will be seen in Hum- boldt’s account of the country situate between the Oural and Altaic chains. A fault or fissure is there traceable through not less than 16° of longitude, forming a crest or water-shed; the rocks are nearly the sameas those of Shropshire: they comprehend a granite (uncon- nected with gneiss,) clay-slate, grauwacke-slate, augitic porphyry, and transition limestone, once compact but now granular. Ma- lachite and red Copper ore are found on one side of the ridge, argen- tiferous galena on beth. Such are the Plutonic phenomena, for an explanation of which we rely chiefly on the assistance of chemistry; but there is another train of phenomena which renders a close and intimate alliance be- tween this science and our own, no less desirable. The spontaneous generation, shall I call it? of agate, of chert, of hornstone, of flint, in the midst of sedimentary calcareous deposits, apparently through the instrumentality of animal or vegetable matter, in which little or no silex is to be met with, is one of those mysterious operations of nature which can nowhere be satisfactorily accounted for unless in the laboratory. The coralline agates of Antigua, the entrochal cherts of Derbyshire, the siliceous shells of Blackdown or Fontaine- bleau, the chalcedonic alcyonia of Pewsey, pieces of fossil wood either imbedded in strata or loosely scattered over sandy deserts, the flinty casts of echini and other substances in the midst of our chalk, all these suggest a course of experimental investigation which we are entitled to hope, if undertaken in earnest, would not be un- dertaken in vain. Gentlemen, I have great satisfaction in announcing to you, that at the opening of the present Session of the Royal Society, one of the Royal Medals was awarded to our Foreign Secretary as the au- 170 thor of the most important discoveries or series of investigations sufficiently established or completed to the satisfaction of the Council within the last five years, and for which no honorary reward had been previously received. The Council of the Royal Society, pre- mising that they decline to express any opinion on the controverted positions contained in Mr. Lyell’s work, entitled « Principles of Geo- logy,” state the following as the grounds of their award. 1. The comprehensive view which the author has taken of his subject, and the philosophical spirit and dignity with which he has treated it. 2. The important service he has rendered to science by especially directing the attention of geologists to effects produced by existing causes. 3. His admirable description of many tertiary deposits, several of these descriptions being drawn from original observations. Lastly, The new mode of investigating tertiary deposits, which his labours have greatly contributed to introduce ; namely, that of de- termining the relative proportions of extinct and still existing spe- cies, with a view to discover the relative ages of distant and uncon- nected tertiary deposits. Of the Work so honoured by the Royal Society, the third edition has been lately published: in this edition some opinions formerly expressed have been modified or renounced, and much new matter has been introduced ; the phenomena of springs and Artesian wells have been more fully treated ; the theory of elevation has been en- tered into more at large, the author still controverting that theory. A chapter, almost entirely new, points out the probable causes of volcanic heat ; objections are advanced against the doctrine of the central fluidity of the earth, and especially the intense heat attri- buted by some writers to the internal nucleus. Mr. Lyell considers how far chemical processes in the interior of the earth may generate volcanic heat, and what may be the effect exerted by currents of electricity. Sir Humphry Davy’s theory of an unoxidated metal- lic nucleus is considered, and it is suggested that compounds re- sulting from the action of water upon metallic bases may be again deoxidated by the hydrogen set free in that process. The author has also given a more complete view of his opinions respecting the origin of caverns, and the manner in which they have been filled with breccia and the bones of animals. In illustrating this sub- ject, he refers particularly to the recent discoveries of MM. Virlet and Boblaye in the Morea. His sketch of the principal secondary formations is also considerably enlarged. Two other publications have issued from the press during the last year, which are eminently deserving of your attention. The first of these, entitled ‘‘ A Treatise on Primary Geology,” originated in great measure from a discussion that took place at a Meeting of the Geological Section of the British Association at Cambridge, and. was drawn up with a view to the further consideration of the chief uestions which it embraces, at the subsequent Meeting of the same body at Edinburgh. 171 Dr. Boase begins by describing the composition and relation of the several Primary Rocks, combining the accounts of geologists in various parts of the world with the results of his own laborious in- vestigations in Cornwall. I regret, that within the limits to which I am restricted, it is impossible for me to do justice to the merits of this important work ; I must confine my observations to a few of its most characteristic features. Dr. Boase is of opinion that the con- nexion between Unstratified and Stratified Rocks shows that they had a common and contemporaneous origin. He cbserves that granitic masses are as complex in their composition as stratified rocks, and form sometimes distinct regular beds, highly inclined and alternating with one another; that the elvans, or insulated beds of granitic rock, always partake of the nature of the containing slate, and have the same basis; that the difference between the granite and killas, or ~ elvan, in Cornwall is often feebly marked, and still more feebly the difference between the granite and gneiss of Scotland and Germany; as little difference is there between the granite of the Alps and the talc slate adjoining. Where the granite changes its character, a cor- responding change, he says, takes place in the slate. The elvans are connected on either side with the granite they intersect by the most intimate mineral gradations, or contain irregular portions or masses of the common granite, with which they coalesce; both are penetrated by crystals of felspar; both are striped with shor). At Pednimerer Meer one of the parallel layers of granite runs through the elvan. In Scotland different beds of granite will inter- sect a common mass, and pass by minute mineral transition into one another, or into the characteristic granite of the district. Dr. Boase considers that the Primitive Shisti are improperly said to be stratified. Pini has expressed the same opinion in two sepa- rate memoirs; the supposed planes of stratification are, in his view of the subject, mere transverse fissures. Prof. Phillips, Mr. Scrope, Dr. Fleming, Prof. Sedgwick, have all felt and expressed the dif- ficulty of distinguishing in these shisti planes of cleavage, and planes of stratification, In the days of my geological apprenticeship [ took great pains to observe and record dip and direction, and fondly hoped to obtain so large a number of accurate data on this subject as might enable me to arrive at last at some general and impor- tant result. I threw these data into tables, which only bewildered me. Suspecting the accuracy of my early observations, I re- peated them again and again, guarding myself on every occasion more and more against probable sources of error; still I found ny results perpetually varying, till at last my patience was exhausted, my Clinometer discarded, my registers destroyed. Let it not be supposed, however, that my observations were useless ; they taught me a salutary distrust. - Dr. Boase remarks that all the Slate rocks are composed of rhom- boidal concretions, which are developed on a large scale by disinte- gration, Mr. Scrope had anticipated this remark, and generalizes it. He says the stratification of rocks of all kinds, where the strata are separated by seams, is produced by concretionary process. P 172 Now, then, which of all the planes are the planes of dip? Dr- Boase, like the Woodwardian Professor, selects those which run with the laminze, and yet the layers of massive crystalline and granitic rocks often lie the other way. But this seems to be very much a matter of taste ; different observers selecting for the scene of their measurements different planes. Some pay great attention to the laminz, others neglect them ; nay, the same observer shall some- times select as strata one series of planes, sometimes another. Professor Phillips, in a passage which is too long to be quoted, has expressed the same idea in language equally expressive. Dr. Boase presents to those who differ from him on this subject the following alternative: either Stratification implies a successive deposition of sedimentary matters held in suspension, in which case none of the primary shistt are stratified; or merely parallel planes without regard to the cause of their production, in which case not only the primary shisti are stratified but granite also. In the thirteenth chapter will be found some excellent observations on the nature of Inclined Strata, tending to show that these last are not necessarily the effect of disturbance, but are to be attributed, in the Primary Slates, to original structure, and in many of the Second- ary, partly to this cause, and partly to deposition upon inclined sur- faces. The difficulty I have been considering is by no means confined to Primary Slates. Mr. Conybeare has observed on the coast of Sully, in Glamorganshire, that the Lias splits spontaneously into blocks of regular figure, corresponding to that of a crystal of calcareous spar. If this be the case, where are we to look for the seams of Stratifica- tion? I have felt for very many years, and I still feel that the indistinctness of this term is one of the most dangerous stumbling blocks we have to encounter. If we would found upon this distinc- tion the grand classification of rocks into Neptunian and Plutonic, surely we ought to have some test by which to determine whether rocks are stratified or not. If, looking to the theory of M. Elie de Beaumont, we would know whether strata are conformable or dis- turbed, surely we ought to be placed in a condition to determine what Strata are. On taking leave, as I must do, of Dr. Boase’s work, I again recommend it to your attentive perusal; it is written with great candour as well as earnestness, and will be found a useful cor- rective of many opinions which appear, to me at least, to have been too inconsiderately adopted. Mr. De la Beche, one of your Vice-Presidents, to whose pen and pencil our science has been for a series of years continually and largely indebted, has published a small volume, entitled “‘ Researches in Theo- retical Geology”. The main tendency of this volume is to establish the importance and practicability of subjecting geological opinions to the tests of chemistry and natural philosophy. The Author goes over much ground, keeping always the same direction, having apparently no other objects in view than the acquisition and communication of sound knowledge, the detection and exposure of error, and the disco- 173 very and establishment of truth. Unshackled by authority, unen- slaved by preconceived opinions, unseduced by the love of novelty, free from all vanity of authorship, concise, methodical, exercising his judgement continually, his fancy seldom, the author may not obtain that popularity which with less merit he might have easily commanded ; but such a work cannot fail to be appreciated here. After taking a general view of the Solar System, and considering cer- tain apparent agreements and disagreements in the condition of some of the Planets, Mr.de la Beche applies his observations entirely to the Earth, which he supposes to have been originally in such a state that its component particles had a free passage among one another. The principal Constituents of Land, Water, and Air, sixteen in number, are made up of Substances commonly termed simple: viz. oxygen, hydrogen, nitrogen, carbon, sulphur, chlorine, fluorine, phosphorus, siliclum, aluminum, potassium, sodium, magnesium, calcium, iron and manganese. Adopting Laplace’s hypothesis, that the sun, planets, and their satellites, have resulted from the Condensation of gaseous matter, he ascribes the Condensation of our own planet to the gra- dual Radiation of Heat into space. He shows how Sedimentary Rocks may be deposited so as to present, from the first, inclined planes, and that we should therefore be cautious in referring to subsequent dis- placement all deviations from a horizontal level: he forms an esti- mate of the Destruction of Land by Breakers, of the wear and tear of Running Waters, of the transport of detritus by Rivers. The mean Density of the crust of the earth is usually reckoned at 2:5. From a reference to the lists, which the author has drawn out, of the specific gravities of many rocks, of the various simple minerals which enter into their composition, and of certain recent shells, it would seem that 2°6 would be nearer the truth. The Author investigates the Chemical Changes which Rocks undergo after their formation, and the subject of Concretions, such as Ludus Helmontu, &c. He remarks on the importance of attending to the Cleavage of Rocks, whether igneous or aqueous, and their Transforma- tion : he considers the great Breaks of the Surface in reference to the effect which would result from its gradual cooling; and, from the con- tortions and Fractures ef Mountain Chains, infers the Intensity of the forces that have acted upon them: he shows that certain Thermal Springs may be occasioned by the Condensation of volcanic discharges of gas and vapour, and ascribes the Uniformity of their Temperature to the Constancy of such condensation: he then treats of Volcanic Action and the gradual Rise of large tracts of Land. When explaining the Formation of Valleys, Mr. De la Beche con- tends that the “‘ Bursting of Lakes,” as it has been termed, could not take place in the way supposed. The Area, comprised within sound- ings, that is, within the 100 fathom line, round the British islands, is delineated on a map, in order to show, that within that area at least, no Valleys are produced by Tides and Currents ; whence it would fol- low, that such effects cannot be satisfactorily referred to such causes. Under the head of Faults, which are treated of at some length, the author shows with what facility ‘‘ Craters of Elevation” may be formed, Pi? 174 and expresses surprise that so much discussion should have taken place on so simple a case; he sees no difference between many Me- talliferous Lodes and Faults. The subject of Organic Remains is next investigated, and the Modi- fication produced by various physical causes on the distribution of Life, particularly Animal Life in the sea. Diagrams are given to show that Shells, contemporaneously enveloped by rocks now forming, would probably not be of the same Species, even under the same parallels of latitude ; but that the Species would be determined in some measure by the relative depth of the water at different places, on the influx of rivers, and other causes. Attention is particularly called to the man- ner in which Organic Remains may be entombed in aseries of deposits along a gradually rising coast. Under the head of Mineralization of Organic Remains, the Author shows that these bodies are not merely changed in character but in reality. One substance being substituted for another, a cast for an original, the Change varies in these bodies in proportion to their re- spective Solubility. Carbonate of lime being more soluble than phos- phate, shells change much more rapidly than bones. Silica in shells follows the same law as in agates, entering their cavities by infiltra- tion. The Author now gives a general Sketch of the various Rocks that are known to us; he remarks that the Primary differ chemically from the Secondary, and endeavours to account for the phenomena con- nected with animal and vegetable life, as exhibited in the several for- mations, upon the theory ofa gradual Loss of Heat by Radiation. Upon this theory he would explain the Scanty Supply of Limestone in the earliest Rocks. The effect of great heat would be to expel from water the carbonic acid necessary to hold the carbonate of lime in solutions ; and consequently Calcareous matter could not be deposited from heated water. He observes also that the Conditions for an uniform distribution of animal and vegetable life, would be more uniform in a thermal than in our actual Seas, and, therefore, if the Ocean had be- come gradually cooler, we should expect to find, as we do, genera and species more diversified. The terms, Eocene, Miocene and Pliocene, are objected to, as pre- judging an important question. Unless equal conditions obtained at equal times in ali places, the Miocene rocks of one country may be of the same date as the Pliocene of another. The Author closes his remarks on Erratic Blocks by observing, that, like the great contor- tions and dislocations of strata, they teach us, while we duly appre- ciate the continued and more tranquil effects which are daily before our eyes, that we must not dismiss from our consideration Forces of greater Intensity ; still bearing in mind, that however great these last-mentioned forces may be when measured by the ideas commonly entertained on such subjects, they are still insignificant when consi- dered with reference to the entire spheroid on the surface of which they act. Gentlemen, I have now brought to a close the account, which, in aS conformity with the practice of the Society, I proposed to lay before you, of the labours and achievements of last year. It therefore only remains for me to resign the chair. When I consented to resume the office of President, many of you are aware that a consciousness of the precarious state of my health made me diffident of my powers to discharge that office with becoming energy and effect. The generous support which I have received from the Conall and the Fellews at large, has, Iam willing to believe, in some degree concealed from your piscration several deficiencies, of which I myself have been fully aware, and the Society has continued to flourish. The only merit I claim is, that of having, upon all occasions endeavoured to promote your interests ; but a brighter prospect now opens upon you, and you will find an ample guarantee for more brilliant anticipations of success in the youth, the spirit, the abilities and the character of my suc- cessor. Rei ace nhl ath PROCEEDINGS OF THE GEOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF LONDON. Vou. Il. 1835. No. 40. February 25.—The Rev. William Thornton, of Brockhall, in North- amptonshire; Viscount Adare, F.R.S., of Adare, in the county of Limerick ; and Thomas G. Parry, Esq., of Trinity College, Cam- bridge ; were elected Fellows of this Society. A paper was first read, “ On the Volcanic Strata exposed by a Section made on the site of the new Thermal Spring discovered near the town of Torre del Annunziata, in the Bay of Naples ; with some remarks on the Gases evolved by this and other Springs connected with the Volcanos of Campania;” by Professor Daubeny, M.D., F.G.S., &c. The discovery of a spring near Torre del Annunziata having oc- casioned the removal of a considerable portion of a cliff, a clear sec- tion has been exposed of the volcanic strata constituting that part of the base of Vesuvius. The entire height of the cliff is 68 feet, and it presents the following details : Vegetable mould, mixed with decomposed lava, 5 to 10 feet. Hard, compact, cellular lava, with occasionally considerable cavi- ties, and scoriform at the bottom, 5 feet. In one of the cavities of this stratum, Dr. Daubeny states, on the authority of Colonel Robinson, that a considerable quantity of car- bonate of magnesia was found: and Dr. Daubeny also found in the same lava_a white coating, which appeared to contain a very large proportion of it. The author further states that Colonel Robinson has since informed him, that in endeavouring to find the origin of the magnesia, he had excavated to the depth of 40 feet, two miles up Vesuvius, in the direction of the spring, and had found large pieces of pumice, the cavities of which were completely filled with carbonate of magnesia. Under the bed of lava, the cliff is principally composed of strata of rapilli and scoriz, of various shades of red, grey, and black, some- times agglutinated by volcanic sand. In the upper portion the beds are blended together, but in the lower they are, for the greater part, tolerably distinct. In the midst of these strata is an irregular bed of compact tuff, terminating abruptly at each extremity ; and at a lower level are one or two other beds of similarly constituted tuff, but trace- able-only for a few feet. These beds of tuff, Dr. Daubeny is of opi- nion, were formed on dry land, by rain or torrents, as eight or nine feet lower in the cliff, is an admixture of vegetable mould containing VOL. I, Q 178 stems of reeds, similar to those now growing in the neighbourhood ; and about one foot still lower are the roots and part of the trunk of a fir, in an upright position, in the soil in which the tree must have grown. Intermixed with the earth, found at this level, fragments of tiles, a piece of hewn timber, and other traces of human art are said to have been discovered ; and at a somewhat higher level, a cypress, also in an upright position, In driving a horizontal gallery, at a level nearly 10 feet below that of the fir, vestiges of walls and buildings with fresco paintings, as well as fragments of Roman pot- tery, and a considerable quantity of cut marble, were discovered, proving the overwhelming, if not of another town, of at least several buildings, by an eruption of Vesuvius. The position of these build- ings corresponds with that of a place mentioned under the name of Oplonti in the Tabula Theodosiana, and it is remarkable that the large square building represented in that ancient map, opposite to the word Oplonti, indicates in other places a thermal spring, which the recent excavations made in this spot prove to have existed there in the time of the Romans. The catastrophe which overwhelmed the cypress and fir, above alluded to, Dr. Daubeny conceives happened prior to 572, because near Bosce-tre-case, about two miles to the north of Torre del Annunziata, and on the slope of Vesuvius, was lately discovered, a few feet below the surface, a bag of Roman gold coins, evidently almost fresh from the mint, and bearing that date; while he conceives that it may have been effected by the great erup- tion of 472. Considering, however, that the buildings underneath must have been overwhelmed by some eruption antecedent to that which covered the trees (these latter appearing to have grown in the very materials which enveloped the former), he is disposed to assign the formation of the beds constituting the lower part of the cliff to the eruption of 79; but he adds, it is remarkable that an event which covered the neighbourhood of Torre del Annunziata to the depth of more than 30 feet, should not have added sensibly to the accumulation of volcanic materials over Pompeii. The spring of Torre del Annunziata possesses a temperature of about 87° of Fahrenheit, and, according to the analysis of Professor Ricci of Naples, abounds chiefly in the bicarbonates of soda, mag- nesia, potass, and lime, with sulphate and muriate of potass, muriate of soda, and muriate of magnesia, The quantity of carbonic acid gas discharged is so great as to maintain the water constantly in a violent ebullition, and to render the air in the stone cylinder through which it escapes unrespirable. The same gas also rises in bubbles through the sea, near the spot; and there are patches of land upon the cliff, upon which, owing to the disengagement of this gas, no plant can be made to grow. Dr. Daubeny then points out the pre- sence of oxygen and nitrogen gas, not only in the spring of Torre del Annunziata, but in those of St. Lucia in Naples, at the Lago di Amsanti, the Agua Santa on Mount Vultur, and the Lago di Solfa- tara near Tivoli; the proportion of oxygen varying from 9 to 16 per cent., and of nitrogen from 84 to 9]. With reference to the origin of the nitrogen gas of these and other springs, Dr. Daubeny states 179 that he is ready to admit the possibility that it may, in many instances, be separated from the water, and not be derived from an independent source. To those, however, who refuse to admit volcanic action to be a pro- cess of oxygenation, he says, such a mode of explaining the emission of nitrogen would seem to remove the difficulty only one step further, since it still remains to be shown why spring water, which is in ge- neral impregnated more fully with oxygen than nitrogen gas, should, in these cases, disengage chiefly the latter. He also adds, that in none of the warm springs in the neighbourhood of Naples does nitro- gen appear to be evolved in any notable quantity ; and that the warm springs of Ischia are destitute of all gaseous impregnation: and in conclusion, whilst admitting that the hot springs of Campania fur- nish no positive confirmation of the connexion between volcanic pro- cesses and the evolution of nitrogen, the author contends, on the other hand, that they suggest no facts which can set aside the evidence in favour of that position, which the production of ammonia within the volcano itself appears to furnish. A letter was afterwards read, from Lieut. Freyer, R.N., addressed to Charles Lyell, Esq., P.G.S., en the appearance of elevation of land on the west coast of South America. The localities alluded to in this letter are Arica, lat. 18° 26’ south, the Island of San Lorenzo in the Bay of Callao, and Valparaiso. Mr, Freyer states, that on his first arrival at Arica he was struck by finding shells, in very great abundance, at considerable heights above the present level of the sea. To the north of the town the coast is low, with a shingly beach and sandy plains, no rock being exposed ; but he here found shells of existing species ten or twelve feet above high-water mark. On the south are interesting sections, consisting of innumerable thin beds of red sandstone and gypsum, resting upon shale, in which fragments of fossil shells were noticed. The bold pro- montory called the Morro of Arica is formed by the dislocation and elevation of this sandstone to the height of about 400 feet, by a mass of basalt, porphyry, and pitchstone, which pass insensibly into each other. Near the summit of the Morro the sandstone contains layers ofa salt, consisting of chlorine 31°6, sodium 31°6, sulphuric acid 14:0, lime 9:45, potash and magnesia 9:0, insoluble (silex) 4:°0*. South of the Morro the sandstone and gypsum beds have a small southerly dip, and form indistinct terraces towards the shore. On these ter- races, wherever the rock is exposed, Balani and encrusting Millepora are found. At the height of about twenty or thirty feet above the sea they are as abundant, and almost as perfect, as on the shore; at up- wards of fifty feet they still occur, but abraded by the sand con- stantly blowing over them; and there are traces of them at still greater heights. In the island of San Lorenzo in the Bay of Callao, Mr. Freyer found, at considerable heights, Concholepas, Pecten pur- * The author states that this analysis was made by his friend Major Emmett, R.E. Q2 180 pureus, Sigaretus concavus, with other shells, in great abundance, and retaining their colour almost as freshly as those living in the ad- jacent sea. Mr, Freyer states that he did not visit Conception, but that he had seen cargoes of the lime made from the shells found at great heights in its neighbourhood. With respect to Valparaiso he regrets he did not more attentively examine the neighbourhood ; but he says, that to the east of the town the shelly beach is now far above the reach of the tides, and that rocks were pointed out to him which he was assured were under water previously to the earthquake of 1822. March 11.—Richard Atkinson, Esq., M.A., of Trinity College, Cam- bridge, and Old Square, Lincoln’s Inn; and the Rev. Ralph Lyon, M.A., of ‘Trinity College, Cambridge, and Sherborne, Dorsetshire ; were elected Fellows of this Society. A paper was first read, entitled “ Description of a Bed of recent Marine Shells near Elie, on the Southern Coast of Fifeshire ;”’ by William John Hamilton, Esq,, Sec. G.S. The author commences his memoir by describing the geological struc- ture of the neighbourhood of Elie, a small fishing-town about eighteen miles north-east from Edinburgh. The promontories which form the two extremities of the bay of Elie, consist of amygdaloid and basalt, the latter exhibiting sometimes a columnar structure. Between these headlands the beach is low, and composed of alternating, thin beds of sandstone and shale, with occasionally seams of coal and strata of limestone, the whole belonging to a carboniferous system, and in- clined at high angles in different directions, and without any regu- larity. Basalt occurs in numerous places, extending in long reefs far into the sea; the beds of sandstone and shale dipping from them on both sides: but at one point in the western part of the bay the strata are said to dip under the basalt. About two miles to the eastward of Elie is a small promontory, near the extremity of which is situated the bed of marine shells. The extent of the deposit across the promontory does not exceed eighty yards ; but its range inland could not be ascertained. The bed rests unconformably upon strata of sandstone and shale containing masses of ironstone, and consists principally of coarse sand, with rounded fragments of the sandstone and ironstone. The shells are sometimes imbedded in clay, but are more frequently scattered irregularly through the deposit, and belong, without exception, to existing species. The point at which they were first noticed, is about five feet above high- water mark, and the shells were very much broken. As the bed gra- dually rose towards the north-east, they were more numerous, and better preserved ; the greatest height at which they were noticed, by the author, being twelve or fourteen feet above the level of high tide, and on the east side of the promontory. The deposit passes upwards into fine sand and comminuted shells. The strata, on the basset edges of which the shelly bed rests, Mr. Hamilton conceives were thrown into their highly inclined position by the agency of the neigh- bouring trap, and before the accumulation of the gravel and sand; 181 but that in consequence of the angle presented by the latter, and the distribution of their component materials, a subsequent elevatory movement has taken place, to which he ascribes the difference of level between the deposit and the present shore. A paper was afterwards read, entitled ‘“‘ Observations on the Dilu- vium of the vicinity of Finchley, Middlesex ;” by Edward Spencer, Ksq., F.G.S. The district occupied by this deposit extends from Muswell Hill to Finchley Common, a distance of about three quarters of a mile: its breadth is about 150 yards, and its average thickness is from 15 to 20 feet. The best point for examining the deposit is at the gravel- pits in the lane leading from Muswell Hill to Colney Hatch. It pre- sents, immediately beneath the vegetable soil, a bed about 14 feet thick, consisting of marl and waterworn fragments of granite, por- phyry, micaceous sandstone, mountain limestone, coal, lias, oolite, and chalk, with many of the characteristic fossils of these formations. The most abundant pebbles are lias and chalk ; the latter being in so great quantity as to give the whole accumulation a chalky character. Flints are likewise sufficiently numerous to be extracted for repairing the roads. This bed is separated by a well-defined line from another of red gravel, about six feet thick, resting upon London clay. It is com- posed of rounded chalk flints and sand, and saurian vertebre are occasionally found in it ; but no remains of Mammalia have been no- ticed either in it or the superior bed. Mr. Spencer states that there appears to be, in the whole of the deposit, a total absence of the small rounded pebbles of Lickey quartz, which are plentiful on the summits of the neighbouring hills of Highgate and Hampstead: and in conclusion he suggests that the current of water which brought the materials of the upper bed into their present situation flowed from the north. March 25.—William Tite, Esq., Honorary Secretary of the London Institution, of Upper Bedford Place; Robert Phippen, Esq., of Badg- worth Court, near Cross, Somersetshire; Lieut. Cautlev, of the Ben- gal Artillery, Superintendent of the Doab Canal; William Hulton, Esq., of Hulton, in Lancashire; and George Edward Eyre, Esq., Barrister at Law, Lineoln’s Inn Fields; were elected Fellows of this Society. A paper was read, entitled “‘Remarks on the Structure of large Mineral Masses, and especially on the Chemical Changes produced in the Aggregation of Stratified Rocks during different periods after their deposition ;”’ by the Rev. Adam Sedgwick, F.G.S., Woodwardian Professor in the University of Cambridge. § 1. Introduction. The first section of the paper is devoted to some general considera- tions of the changes produced both by igneous and aqueous agents. Changes of the former class may be effected in a comparatively short period, and can sometimes be imitated in a laboratory. But changes 182 of the latter class have often been effected during indefinite periods of time, and under circumstances which admit not of imitation. In such cases it is by observation only, and not by direct experiment, that we can hope to rise to a rational explanation of the phenomena. The author then gives some examples of both kinds of change here con- sidered. § 2. Globular Concretionary Structure. The author remarks, that although this kind of structure, as seen in aqueous rocks, can seldom be imitated, yet it may be explained, in most cases, compatibly with the known modes of material action, and the phenomena may be correctly classified. He then proceeds to give examples of the structure in questioff. 1. Chalk Flints.—They are posterior to the existence of the beds in which they are found. The free siliceous matter of the formation has not been uniformly diffused, but accumulated in distinct concre- tions; and therefore illustrates the principle contended for in the paper. 2. Globular Calciferous Grit, &c.—The author dwells at consider- able length on the internal structure of calciferous grits, and explains their chatoyant lustre by the independent crystallization of carbonate of lime through definite spaces. He then points out several cases of such rocks with a regular spheroidal structure, and with the lamina- tions of original deposit passing, without interruption, through the several spheroids ; and he infers from such phenomena that the glo- bular structure was superinduced during the passage of the stratified mass into a solid state. 3. Globular Magnesian Limestone.—For a detailed account of this structure, he refers to a former memoir in the Society’s Transactions, and endeavours to confirm, by new arguments, the conclusion he drew from the phevomena, viz., that all the complicated concretions in the formation of the magnesian limestone, have been produced since the original deposition of the beds *. 4. Rocks of Globular Structure subordinate to the Old Slate Forma- tions of North Wales.—He describes these rocks in considerable de- tail, and divides them into two classes, both of which he is disposed to arrange among stratified rocks altered by igneous action; and he remarks, that whether this opinion be true or false, the phenomena illustrate a great principle in the segregation of mineral masses. 5. Nodular Ironstone, &c. in Beds of Shale.—These, again, are pos- terior to the deposition of the beds; for it is shown (especially by some examples derived from Yorkshire) that the laminations of de- posit may be traced through the nodules themselves. In this case the segregation of the nodule has often been occasioned by the presence of an extraneous body. Other examples are given of a similar che- mical segregation from a similar cause; and the section concludes with an enumeration of some appearances exhibited in the mineral structure of petrifactions. * See Geological Transactions, Second Series, vol. iil. p. 94, ed seg. 183 § 3. Slaty Structure, Cleavage, &c. The subjects introduced in this section of the paper are described in considerable detail. The author first compares the structure of the great Cumbrian zone, of green slate and porphyry, with the structure of the principal chain of North Wales, and shows their perfect ana- logy. In one respect, however, the two regions are remarkably con- trasted. The Cumbrian system has few contortions or undulations, probably in consequence of the great abundance of alternating beds of porphyry ; whereas a transverse section through the Welsh chain, exhibits a continued series of longitudinal anticlinal and synclinal lines. He also compares the structure of an upper slaty series in Westmoreland and Lancashire, with a corresponding upper series in North and South Wales, pointing out the circumstances in which they agree and in which they differ. In all these regions occur many beds with a slaty cleavage, which is entirely distinguished from a jointed structure by its indefinite sub- division, and it is never found to coincide with the true plane of strati- fication. These planes of stratification and cleavage sometimes dip to the same point, and sometimes to opposite points of the compass ; they are stated to be inclined to each other, sometimes at an angle less than 10°; on the average at an angle of 30° or 40°, and in no instance at 90°. Where the slaty structure is well developed, the strike of the cleavage planes coincides nearly with the strike of the beds ; and this important rule holds true in countries where the beds themselves are thrown into a series of anticlinal and synclinal planes. The author adds, that there are regions in North and South Wales, thirty miles in extent, and many miles in breadth, where the cleavage planes (notwithstanding the numberless contortions of the beds) pre- serve an undeviating direction and dip. He states that in many large slate quarries there is no indication whatsoever of the true bedding ; but whenever the slates have a striped structure, the stripes (so well known in the Cumberland and Welsh roofing slates) are parallel to the true beds. To this rule there is no exception in the regions de- scribed ; and in thousands of instances the stripes are seen to be parallel to the alternating masses of ‘ coarse greywacké’, and to cal- careous beds with organic remains. The author then describes a flaggy, passing into a finely laminated, structure, parallel to the bedding. He points out the manner of di- stinguishing this from a true slaty structure, which may readily be done in a quarry, and, generally, even in examining hand specimens. In this view, a laminated structure and a slaty structure differ so entirely in their origin, that however nearly they may resemble each other in some instances, they ought never to be confounded under the same name. Finally, he distinguishes cleavage planes from the contorted laminz of argillaceous schists; and endeavours to prove, by a long series of sections derived from various parts of North and South Wales, that the introduction of a crystalline cleavage was the last chemical change superinduced on the slaty deposits before they became entirely solid. He then speculates on the enormous amount of force necessary to 184 produce a crystalline cleavage through whole mountain chains of me- chanical rocks ; and supposes it due to an accumulated intensity of crystalline action in a nearly homogeneous mass, every part of which is exposed to the same conditions of aggregation while passing into its ultimate solid form. He illustrates this principle by contrasting the structure of the enormous calcareous deposits of the Alps with the structure of the thin interrupted limestone formations of England. The foliated uneven layers of old, crystalline schists (such as chlorite schist, and mica schist) are briefly noticed, and considered generally to form portions of beds, and not of cleavage planes: dus to this rule he gives some remarkable exceptions. In all slate rocks, besides the cleavage planes, there are found one or more sets of cross-joints, which often separate the rock into regular rhombohedral solids. Even in hand specimens of such solids we may detect which is the cleavage plane, because, parallel to that plane (and to that plane only) the mass admits of indefinite subdivisions. The direction of one set of joints is generally inclined at a great angle to the direction of the beds: and, hence, as the prevailing strike of the slate rocks of England is north-east, we may expect the prevailing strike of one set of joints to be nearly north-west. This portion of the paper concludes by recommending a more cone sistent use of technical language in the description of slate rocks than is commonly met with in the published works on this part of geology. § 4. Jointed Structure. Rocks, both aqueous and igneous, have undergone a mechanical tension while passing into a solid form; and, in consequence, many of them have become subdivided by a number of parallel fissures, pro- ducing a jointed structure. Jointed pillars of basalt and prismatic granite are considered as examples of this structure. A jointed struc- ture of this kind may in some instances be derived from an original globular structure ; but the prismatic and cuboidal blocks of granite are not considered as due to such a cause, and the concentric crusts into which such blocks are found to decompose, are regarded as the natural effects of decomposition on a mass of homogeneous structure. This conclusion is supported by the fact, that artificial pillars of gra- nite (or even of oolitic limestone) sometimes decompose in concentric cylindrical crusts. In the preceding cases a jointed structure is, both in its origin and in the mineral phenomena it presents, entirely distinguished from a slaty cleavage. Some granitic rocks (without a vestige of true bed- ding) have, however, an imperfect cleavage. The granite of St. Aus- tell Moor is described as made up of highly inclined parallel Jamina- tions ranging about magnetic east and west; and on some parts of the region, the laminations, on approaching the schistose rocks, are extremely fine, and seem to form a passage between the killas and the granite. Such an appearance is, however, the exception, and not the rule. Again, the prismatic joints of the granite sometimes par- tially affect the neighbouring slate rocks. But facts like these only prove that the granite and the contiguous schists passed into their 185 ultimate solid state at the same time, and under similar conditions, and throw no difficulties whatever in the way of the igneous theory of granite. Some writers, by confounding such joints with beds of deposit (to which they bear no analogy), have been led into most pre- posterous conclusions. Many of the great parallel veins of St. Austell Moor are described as veins of segregation; yet some of them are metalliferous. Most of the metalliferous veins and cross courses of Cornwall are, however, considered by the author as veins produced by mechanical disruption; but on this hypothesis, the direction of such veins would (in part at least) be affected by the structure and direction of the rock: and from these considerations he thinks that we might (independently of any direct observations) expect in some parts of the county a system of veins running neatly magnetic east and west, and a great system of cross-joints nearly at right angles to that direction. Before concluding the paper, he briefly notices the principal direc- tions of the great cross courses and veins traversing the mountain limestone of Derbyshire and Flintshire. The cross courses are nearly in the direction of the beds, the veins nearly at right angles to them: and these two directions harmonize very exactly with the theory which refers both sets of fractures to a mere mechanical disruption of the rock. April 8.—Edward Bellasis, Esq., Barrister at Law, New Square, Lincoln’s Inn; and Henry English, Esq., of New Broad Street; were elected Fellows of this Society. A paper was first read, entitled ‘‘ Notice on the Junction of the Portland and the Purbeck Strata on the Coast of Dorsetshire ;” by William Henry Fitton, M.D., F.R.S., &c. The occurrence of silicified trunks of trees in the upright position, with their roots in a thin bed of carbonaceous clay and coarse gravel, a few feet above the top of the oolite, in the Isle of Portland, was mentioned some years ago by Mr. Webster*. Since that time Dr. Buckland and Mr. De la Beche have inferred that both these trunks and the Cycadez described by the former f as occurring in the same stratum, must actually have grown in the places where their remains are found t ; and, more recently, Professor Henslow has ascertained the existence of two other beds of clay, between that which includes the trees and Cycadee and the Portland stone. The author of the present notice was so fortunate as to visit the island, during the last summer, at a moment when the remains of Cycadez were found in one of these lower beds, and to see some of them before they were disturbed. The bed in which they occur is between those which are called by the quarry-men ‘‘ Cap” and “Skull-cap”’, both of which consist of freshwater limestone ; the latter being separated from the Portland stone by no more than two or three inches of clay. The Cycadez in this lower bed were in some cases of very large horizontal dimensions, and, like those in the dirt above the “Cap”, were in * Geological Transactions, Second Series, vol. ii. p. 42. ¢ Tbid. p. 395. { Geological Proceedings, vol. i. p. 219. 186 the upright position, and apparently in the places where they ori- ginally grew. The author found thin beds of clay, with more or less admixture of mechanically divided matter, alternating in several other instances with the fissile limestone at the lower part of the Purbeck forma- tion. Even the “‘ Cap”, which in Portland is generally a continuous mass of limestone six to eight feet thick, without stratification, in- cludes, in other places at its lower part, alternations of thin strata of clay. The “Cap” is for the greater part compact; but it includes ca- vities lined with botryoidal carbonate of lime, and in other respects resembles very strongly the travertine of Italy. In the clay or dirt beneath it, no trees are found along with the Cycadee, in the Isle of Portland; but the author observed near Poxwell, on the north-east of Weymouth, part of a silicified trunk, in a bed of “ dirt”, which he thinks may, not improbably, be inferior to the “Cap”, and, conse- quently, the same with the lower of the two beds which in Portland afford the Cycadee. The author ascertained, on attentive examination, that casts of one or more species of Cypris exist throughout the whole series of the slaty limestone beds above the Portland stone; the boundary of the two formations being, as Mr. Webster had supposed, immediately below the “Skull-cap”: and, generally, the portion of the Purbeck formation which adjoins that of Portland, may be said to consist of freshwater limestone, alternating with thin beds of clay and mecha- nically worn matter ;—two of which beds, at least, contain the re- mains of plants standing in the places where they grew: the whole reposing upon strata which abound remarkably in marine shells. The top of the Portland series, in which these shells are so abun- dant, has many points of resemblance to the recent agglomerated limestones of Bermuda, and of the shores of Australia, and other places in low latitudes ; a fact which accords with the supposition that this portion of England was for some time in the condition of a bank, very near the surface,—or of an island of small height above the sea. The inferences from the new facts mentioned in this paper, the author remarks, do not invalidate the conclusions of previous ob- servers; showing only that land must have existed and produced vegetation, above the present site of Portland Island, before the de- position of the upper of the two beds, which contains the trees and Cycadex. The whole of the freshwater strata seems to have been the deposit of a lake, or an estuary, of freshwater, in which (whatever was the cause of the alternations), the waters must have deserted the strata previously accumulated at their bottom, at two successive periods at least ; in each case during a space of time sufficient for the growth of Cycadez ; and in the latter of the two cases, of trees also,—upon the surface of the land thus exposed. In conclusion, the author suggests, that the Isle of Portland should be visited from time to time, and frequently, by geologists; since all the principal appearances of interest are presented by that part of the strata which it is necessary to remove, in order to obtain the . 187 valuable stone: so that new phenomena are continually brought to light, and as rapidly defaced, during the course of the operations at the quarries. A paper was afterwards read, enfitled ‘ Observations on the Ich- thyolites of Gamrie in Banffshire, and on the accompanying Red Con- glomerates and Sandstones,” by Joseph Prestwich, Jun., Esq., F.G.S. In the summer of 1826, Mr. J. Christie of Banff, in company with Mr. Dockar of Findon, discovered the thin stratum of clay which contains the Gamrie ichthyolites, previously noticed in the bed of a small brook; but as those gentlemen did not determine the geolo- gical situation of the stratum, the author, at the suggestion of Mr. Murchison, undertook, in a recent visit to Scotland, to investigate its relative position. The formations of which the district consists are, micaceous and argillaceous schists, old red sandstone, a red conglomerate, and lias clay and sand. The bed containing the ichthyolites the author found to belong to the upper part of the red conglomerate, and he gives the following section of the deposit: Soil : 1. Loose conglomerate of angular fragments of argil- laceous schist, imbedded in a reddish brown, slightly micaceous’sand. 5,35 64.2204). 2.0527 35 feet. 2evediclay a cteeryess Re Ae Ose ore PITH pie 2 3. Grey clay, with ichthyolites disposed in nodular layers about six or eight inches apart........ 4 4, Grey, slightly micaceous shale.............. 12 5. Red conglomerate of quartz and clay slate .... 5 6. Coarse, micaceous, deep red sandstone........ 3 Aabooserconclomenrateyas sacs cee es ee: esas eae "4 Beneath the last stratum are other beds of conglomerate, which gradually become coarser and harder, and inclose a few rolled masses of gneiss. The ichthyolites, though most abundant in the bed of grey clay (No. 3.), are not confined to it, remains of fishes occurring in the subjacent sandstones and conglomerates; and it is only when the sandstones are entirely replaced by the conglomerates that the fish exuvie disappear. This distinction the author assigns to the apparent turbulent state of the water which brought the conglomerates together, and the comparatively tranquil condition of that which deposited the sandy strata. With respect to the geological position of this system of sandstones and conglomerates, the author shows that it rests unconformably on the old red sandstone, and that it is overlaid by outliers of lias; he is further of opinion that it belongs to the age of the coal measures, and, probably, of the millstone grit. This conclusion is likewise in ac- cordance with the opinion of M. Agassiz respecting the age of the deposit, deduced from the characters of the ichthyolites. The author, in addition to this account of the bed containing the 188 fish, gives a detailed description of the old red sandstone, the schistose formation, and the trap rocks of the district. He gives a detailed ac- count, also, of the faults, and shows by sections, that those between Findon and Gamrie, and near Gamrie church, are older than the lias, because they are overlaid by that formation, without atffect- ing it. April 29.—John Wiggins, Esq, of Tavistock Place; George Vaughan, Esq., of Cumberland Terrace, Regent’s Park ; Lord Abin- ger, Lord Chief Baron, of Spring Gardens ; and Christopher Puller, Esq., Barrister at Law, Park Street; were elected Fellows of this Society. A paper was first read, entitled ‘“‘ Remarks to illustrate Geological Specimens from the West Coast of Africa,” by Captain Belcher, R.N., F.G.S., &c. The points whence the speciniens were obtained are the Isles de Los, in lat. 9° 27' north; the reef of Young Gonsalez; and Cape Blanco, lat. 20° 47! north. The Isles de Los are stated to be composed principally of porphy- ritic hornstone; but at the water’s edge that rock is said to be inter- sected by a granitic compound of quartz, felspar, and hornblende. Tumbo Point, situated on the main land, opposite the Isles de Los, consists of the same compound, as well as the coast for several miles to the northward. When in mass this rock is said to affect consider- ably the magnetic needle. From the mouth of the Sangareeah or Debreekah nearly to Cape Verga, in lat. 10° 11’, the coast consists of sand banks; but at Cape Verga the granitic compound reappears. Off this Cape is a reef, composed of masses of hard, calcareous sandstone and granular lime- stone. The banks or shoals in the vicinity are frequently composed of a jaspery gravel, and indurated ferruginous sand, apparently de- rived from the reef off Young Gonsalez. The reef at the entrance of the river Cappacches, and the whole of the coast to Rio Nunez, are composed principally of a ferruginous sandstone, passing into a breccia. In the Rio Nunez, basalt is stated to occur at the first falls above Debucko ; and at “the barrier”, about thirty-five miles from the mouth of the river, the strata are said to be much disturbed, and the sandstone to assume a prismatic structure. For five miles from this point the banks were apparently composed of reddish and yel- lowish clay. At “‘ Five-miles’ Bend” is a precipitous bank, stated to consist of slate, spotted in some places with greyish steatitic matter ; and hence to one mile above Cassassez, no rock occurs, but at the latter place the sides of the river and its bed are said to be composed wholly of basalt, which is generally columnar. The peninsula of Cape Blanco is formed of calcareous sandstone, in which shells occasionally occur; and the surface of the cliff, seventy feet above the level of the sea, is stated to be covered with immense quantities of shells, agreeing with those found in the bay. On some parts of the coast are ledges composed of strata of various colours, dipping at a high angle towards the south, and often worn . in forms resembling that of a mushroom. 189 A paper was next read, entitled “A Description of Specimens col- lected on the Island of Ascension by the Rev. W. P. Hennah ;” com- municated by the Rev. Richard Hennah, F.G.S. The bays on the west and north sides of the island consist of a rock formed of comminuted fragments of shells and corals, and occasion- ally of masses of lava, the whole being cemented by carbonate of lime, and covered by a loose sand of the same materials. Those parts of the rock which are exposed to the action of the waves have a polished surface, and are often covered by a coating of calcareous matter which presents a peculiar appearance, like some varieties of lichen. On the east and south sides of the island the shore is deep, and calcareous accumulations are totally wanting. With the exception of this recent limestone, the whole of the island consists of volcanic products, pre- senting many varieties of lava, obsidian, ashes, and occasionally frag- ments of trachyte. Caverns and oven-shaped hollows are stated to be of common occurrence, and the former to be lined with stalactitic matter. Two craters are mentioned by the author, and he says that the beds of ashes occur only on the leaward side of the isiand. A paper was afterwards read, “On a Bed of Gravel containing Marine Shells of recent species, at ‘The Willington’, in Cheshire ;” by Sir Philip Grey Egerton, Bart., M.P., V.P.G.S. “The Willington”, the residence of Major Tomkinson, is situated at the western base of the “ Forest Hills’, four miles aorth of Tar- porley, and about nine miles in a direct line from the nearest point on the shore of the Mersey. The “ Forest Hills” belong to the new red sandstone formation, and at this point have an elevation of 120 or 130 feet above the Mersey, or from 50 to 60 feet above the adja- cent valley. In the summer of 1834 a bed of gravel was exposed close to their base, to the extent of three or four yards, and to the depth of one ; and the author ascertained that it was between seventy and eighty feet above the level of the Mersey. It presented so dif- ferent a character from the usual gravel of Cheshire, that it attracted the attention of the workmen. It was composed principally of fine- grained gravel and pebbles from one to six inches in diameter, inter- mixed with sand and fragments, and sometimes perfect shells of ex- isting marine species. The pebbles had undergone considerable attrition, but presented a flattened, not a spheroidal form. They con- sisted chiefly of granite, slate, chert, porphyries, greenstone, amyg- daloid, new red sandstone, coal-measure sandstone, and quartz peb- bles, identical with those of the conglomerate beds of the new red sandstone of the district. The shells, which were thickly disseminated through the whole deposit, were in an extremely friable condition, and belonged to Turritella terebra, Cardium edule, and Murex erina- ceus, as well as to a thin smooth bivalve, the genus of which could not be determined. The extent or thickness of the deposit the author was not able to ascertain, though he was informed that in making a well at the “ Willington”, twelve yards of gravel and sand were pene- trated before the new red sandstone was reached ; he could not, how- ever, learn if any Testacea had been noticed in making the well. 190 The shelly bed was separated by a well defined line from an over- lying deposit, twenty feet thick, of the ordinary diluvium of Cheshire, and consisted principally of sand, containing pebbles and boulders of granite, slate, greenstone, and other rocks. From “The Willington” the country slopes very gradually to the Gowey, a small sluggish stream which conveys the drainage of this part of Cheshire to the river Mersey, and empties itself into that river near the village of Ince. The author then quotes some extracts from the Red Book of St. Warburgh’s Abbey, given in ‘ Ormerod’s Topographical Account of Cheshire,’ stating that in Wyrall, in the manor of Ynes, the sea had removed thirty caracates of land, and was daily destroying more: the author also states that, according to popular tradition, the sea once occupied a large portion of the valley at the foot of the Forest Hills. From the above details, and from a careful examination of all the facts he could collect, he gives the following, as the conclusions at which he has arrived : Ist. That the bed of gravel was deposited on the shore of the an- cient sea, at that»period extending to the base of the Forest Hills. 2nd. That this has occurred since the existence of some of the spe- cies of shells now inhabiting our seas. 3rd. That an alteration in the relative levels of land and sea, to the amount of seventy feet, has taken place since its deposition. 4th. That it has been covered by an accumulation of diluvium twenty feet in thickness. A communication was lastly read, entitled “‘ Notice of a newly dis- covered gigantic Reptile;” by the Rev. William Buckland, D.D., F.G.S., &c. The remains noticed in this communication were discovered near Buckingham in a bed of clay immediately above the cornbrash ; and the author states that their preservation is owing to the zeal of Wil- liam Stowe, Esq., of that town. The principal bone is a caudal ver- tebra of a reptile larger than the Iguanodon. It measures about six inches in its longitudinal diameter, and six inches in the vertical and largest transverse diameters of its articulating faces. Both these faces are slightly convex, and are smallest on the lower side, and depressed on the upper, to form the channel for the spinal marrow. The body of the vertebra is much compressed towards its centre, and the transverse processes are reduced to a small tubercle on each side. On the inferior margin of the articulating surfaces are large oblique facets for the reception of a powerful chevron bone. The form of this vertebra differs essentially from the subquadrangular form of the caudal vertebre of the Iguanodon, and it has no perforations on the inferior part of its body, like those which enter the lower side of the body of the vertebre of the Plesiosaurus. Other bones, of corresponding size, and considered by Dr. Buck- land as belonging probably to this genus, have been found at Brad- well, a few miles north-east of Buckingham, on the continuation of the same formation. 143 tomical knowledge. I will only add, in the way of congratulation, that his perseverance in these interesting researches is not remote from the habits, or at variance with the duties of his profession ; for, as you are well aware, the examination of the human body is one department of that wide and beautiful field of comparative anatomy in which he finds amusement ; and to become well acquainted with the ceconomy and physiology of man, it is necessary to study the structure of other animals. We hope and trust, that Mr. Mantell may long possess health and strength to advance further and further still in his honourable career, and we request you, Sir, to convey to him our earnest wish that in every department of life he may meet with that success which his industry and talents so eminently de- serve. The President then presented, in the name of the Society, a purse of guineas to Mr. Lyell to be by him conveyed to Mr. Mantell, and informed him that the remaining portion of the proceeds of the fund had been laid out on a Medal, which would likewise be forwarded to him. It was afterwards Resolved :— 1. That the thanks of this Society be given to George Bellas Greenough, Esq., retiring from the office of President. 2. That the thanks of this Society be given to William John Broderip, Esq., and Henry Thomas De la Beche, Esgq., retiring from the office of Vice-President. 3. That the thanks of this Society be given to Professor Turner, M.D., retiring from the office of Secretary. 4, That the thanks of this Society be given to Charles Lyell, Esq., retiring from the office of Foreign Secretary. 5. That the thanks of this Society be given to the Rev. William Daniel Conybeare, Charles Giles Bridle Daubeny, M.D., Major Shadwell Clerke, Davies Gilbert, Esq., and Capt. Alexander Robe, retiring from the Council. 6. That the thanks of this Society be given to Decimus Burton, Esq., for the valuable service which he has rendered gratuitously to the Society. 144 The Meeting then proceeded to ballot for the Officers and Council for the ensuing year ; and on the glasses being closed, the scrutineers announced that the following gentlemen had been duly elected :— OFFICERS. PRESIDENT. Charles Lyell, jun. Esq. F.R.S. & L.S. VICE-PRESIDENTS. Sir Philip de Malpas Grey Egerton, Bart. M.P. F.R.S. Roderick Impey Murchison, Esq. F.R.S. & L.S. Edward Turner, M.D. F.R.S. L. & E. Professor of Chemistry in the University of London. Henry Warburton, Esq. M.P. F.R.S. & LS. SECRETARIES. William John Hamilton, Esq. Woodbine Parish, jun. Esq. F.R.S. FOREIGN SECRETARY. Henry Thomas De la Beche, Esq. F.R.S. & L.S. TREASURER. John Taylor, Esq. F.R.S. COUNCIL. George William Aylmer, Esq. Francis Baily, Esq. F.R.S. & L.S. Arthur K. Barclay, Esq. William John Broderip, Esq. F.R.S. & L.S. Rev. William Buckland, D.D. F.R.S. Professor of Geology and Mineralogy in the Uni- versity of Oxford. William Henry Fitton, M.D. F.R.S. & LS. George Bellas Greenough, Esq. F.R.S. & L.S. Henry Hallam, Esq. F.R.S. John Forbes Royle, Esq. F.L.S. Rev. Adam Sedgwick, Woodwar- dian Professor in the Univer- ay of Cambridge, F.R.S. & L.S. Lieut.-Col. W. H. Sykes, F.R.S. & LS. John Henry Vivian, Esq. M.P. F.R.S. Sir Richard Vyvyan, Bart. M.P. F.R.S. Rey. James Yates, F.L.S. PROCEEDINGS OF THE GEOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF LONDON. Vou. Il. 1835. No. 41. May 13th.—George Thomas Nicholson, Esq., of Waverley Abbey, near Farnham, was elected a Fellow of this Society. A paper was first read, ‘‘ On the Cretaceous and Tertiary Strata of reap Islands of Seeland and Moen ;”” by Charles Lyell, Esq., P.G.S. ; The author commences with a short account of the succession of deposits formerly supposed by Dr. Forchhammer to exist in the Danish islands. In a memoir published in the ‘‘ Edinburgh Philoso- phical Journal of Science” for July 1828, Dr. Forchhammer had de- scribed the white chalk of Seeland as covered by a coralline lime- stone, and had imagined the white chalk of Moen to be a formation higher in the series than this coralline limestone. He had also con- sidered certain deposits of blue clay, sand, and gravel, seen in the clifis of Moen, as alternating with the white chalk. ; Mr. Lyell examined, in company with Dr. Forchhammer, the cliffs of Seeland and Méen, during the summer of 1834, and the following are the results at which he has arrived. The two formations of which Denmark and Danish Holstein chiefly consist, are, chalk, and an over- lying tertiary deposit. Part of the latter resembles in composition the argillaceous and sandy beds of the English crag. Another part cor- responds with deposits usually called diluvial, especially those asso- ciated with the English crag, in parts of Norfolk. Large erratic blocks are also strewed over the surface of Denmark, connected with, and sometimes buried in, the gravel’or ‘‘diluvium’’. In some sec- tions on the banks of the Elbe, the yellow tertiary sands are divided regularly into thin strata, and are exposed for a thickness of about 200 feet. Unstratified masses of blue clay, of great thickness, are also there seen, in which gravel, containing every kind of rock, from granite to chalk, occurs. There is often an abrupt passage from the stratified to the unstra- tified parts of the formation, which the author compares to the Nor- folk and Suffolk crag, from its general appearance, but without pre- tending to decide its relative age in the tertiary series. Fossils are rare, except those washed out of older strata. A few recent shells have been found near Segeberg, and at other points, and two of ex- tinct species at Schulan on the Elbe. The white chalk of Denmark is characterized by the same fossils as those of the upper chalk of France and England, and occurs at Stevensklint in Seeland, and in the cliffs of Méen. On the coast VOL, II, R 192 at Stevensklint, and at several places in the interior of the same island, particularly at Faxoe, a newer limestone occurs, consist- ing, for the most part, of fragments of coral, cemented together by a chalky matrix. It is separated from the white chalk by a thin seam of bituminous clay, containing marine shells and impressions of plants. The limestone contains beds of flint, like those of the white chalk, but more cherty, and usually in continuous layers ; and these are sometimes disposed diagonally to the general lines of stratifica- tion. The author presumes that this coral limestone, which he calls the Faxoe limestone, may be the equivalent of the Maestricht beds, as, like them, it contains some fossils identical with those of the chalk, intermixed with others which belong to genera more usually charac- teristic of tertiary formations. The shells at Faxoe are chiefly in the state of casts, and among them are several species of Cyprea, Conus, Mitra, and Voluta, as also an Ammonite, a Patella, a Fusus, and a Cerithium. Upon the whole, there are in the collection of Prince Christian of Denmark 132 species of fossil shells from the Faxve beds, of which 26 have been ascertained by Dr. Beck to be identical with chalk species, while the rest are distinct from them, but do not agree with known tertiary shells. Lastly, the author considers the relations of the chalk of Méen with the tertiary strata of that island. The white cliffs of M6en are from 300 to 400 feet in height, consisting of chalk and parallel layers of nodular flint, the strata having been violently disturbed ; so that instead of being nearly horizontal, as at Stevensklint, they are curved, and often vertical, and, upon the whole, more deranged than the chalk of Purbeck and the Isle of Wight. The range of lofty cliffs in Méen is divided into separate masses by ravines, which often intersect them from top to bottom, but are in great part filled up with tertiary clay and sand, masses of which appear to have subsided bodily into large fissures and chasms of the fractured chalk. In consequence of these disturbances the chalk has been made to alternate on a great scale with interposed and uncon- formable strata of clay and sand. These alternations cannot be ex- plained by supposing the detritus of the superincumbent strata to have been washed in by running water into clefts ; but masses of the tertiary beds seem rather to have been engulfed. Several drawings illustrating these dislocations accompany the memoir, and the ap- pearances are compared to those exhibited by the chalk, nearly enve- loped by crag, near Trimmingham in Norfolk, although the entangle- ment of the two formations there, is on a smaller scale. Dr. Forchhammer now agrees with the author in the principal con- clusions above enumerated, and has discovered the disturbed chalk of Méen in the South of Seeland, as also the Faxoe beds overlying chalk in Mors, an island of the Lym Fiord. A paper was afterwards read, ‘‘ On a peculiarity of Structure in the Neck of Ichthyosauri, not hitherto noticed ;’’ by Sir Philip Grey Egerton, Bart., M.P., V.P.G.S. 193 Miss Anning of Lyme Regis discovered, a short time since, in a thin bed of lias shale, near that town, a large portion of the skeleton of a new gigantic species of Ichthyosaurus. Among’ these interesting remains are the anterior cervical vertebra, together with an occipital hone, and it is to the peculiarity of structure which they present that Sir Philip Egerton principally confines his observations. The occipital bone, he says, on the authority of Mr. Owen, proves very satisfac- torily the permanent separation of the basilar element of the occiput in individuals of the fullest growth and largest size, evincing a very languid circulation in this family of reptiles. The atlas and axis of Ichthyosauri, the author states, are usually found adhering together, the connexion between them being so intimate that it is rarely pos- sible to disunite them ; and when this has been effected, the surfaces have borne the appearance of fracture more frequently than that of natural division. In one instance in which he succeeded in separating the two bones, the articulating surfaces were nearly even, and with- out cup. This union of the two vertebra appears to have received ad- ditional strength from a small bone which articulated with the under circumference of the atlas and axis, showing, as the author observes, that in the anterior region of the spinal column strength and not la- titude of motion was required. This bone is a nearly circular, solid, umbonated disc; the central projection being on the inferior or ex- ternal surface, while the upper is depressed anteriorly and posteriorly for the purpose of articulating with the atlas and axis, the two sur- faces being divided by a transverse elevation corresponding with the line of union of the vertebrae. The atlas and axis have their circum- ferences prolonged in the form of two tangents meeting at an obtuse angle on the under surface. These processes are truncated, and form, when the vertebre are in apposition, a triangular depression for the reception of the two articulating surfaces of the interspimous bone. Sir Philip Egerton states that Mr. Owen has informed him, that a bone somewhat analogous in position, although not in form, occurs in some recent saurians. The apparently two succeeding vertebre present, at the lower part of their articulating surfaces, an alternating elevation and depression, fitting into each other so exactly, as to limit, to a great extent, the motion between the bones. Some of the other cervical vertebre are also remarkable for the flatness of their surfaces, the intervertebral cavities being nearly obliterated. In conclusion, the author says, that the conditions under which the atlas and axis are found ; the existence of an auxiliary bone connecting the two; _ the form of the articulating surfaces of the cervical vertebre, and the consequent contraction of the intervertebral cavities, all tend to prove that the extent of motion in the cervical region of Ichthyosauri was extremely limited, at the same time that its strength was propor- tionally increased. : May 27th.—A paper was first read, ‘On certain Lines of Eleva- tion and Dislocation of the New Red Sandstone of North Salop and Staffordshire, with an account of Trap Dykes in that Formation, R 2 194 at Acton Reynolds, near Shrewsbury ;” by Roderick Impey Mur- chison, Esq., V.P.G.S. The author refers to former memoirs, read before the Society, in which he pointed out the existence of certain bedded trap rocks, in- terstratified with transition deposits, and of other intrusive trap rocks which have been subsequently injected amid these stratified masses. The Breiddin Hills, west of Shrewsbury, afford examples of both these classes of trap rock, in ridges running from west-south-west to east- north-east, and also indicate, upon their flanks, that elevations have taken place along these lines, subsequently to the deposition of the adjoining coal measures. The author has lately discovered that still more recent movements of elevation have been propagated along the same line of fissure, posterior to the consolidation of the new red sandstone. He was led to this observation by the unexpected dis- covery of three small trap dykes beneath the house of Sir A. Corbet, Bart., at Acton Reynolds, which were accidentally laid open upon clearing out the foundations of that mansion. These dykes cut like walls through the new red sandstone, and are made up of a peculiar greenstone and a mottled concretionary felspar rock, both of which rocks occur in the Breiddin Hills. Besides this similarity in structure, the principal dyke has precisely the same di- rection as the Breiddin Hills, and hence the author was induced to examine the intervening tract of fifteen miles by which these trap rocks are separated. The result has been the detection of an anti- clinal line throughout that space, along which the strata of the new red sandstone are thrown off, both to the south-south-west and north- north-east, or at right angles to the line of eruption of the trap. The clearest and most unequivocal point in the course of this anticlinal line is seen in Pim Hill, six miles north of Shrewsbury, in the centre of which the sandstone is compact, white, and unstratified, with slicken- sides, coatings of earthy oxide of manganese, traces of copper ores, vertical fissures, &c., whilst strata of unaltered sandstone dip away from this common centre, both to the south-south-west and north- north-east. This point of altered rock lies exactly upon the line connecting the Moel y Golfa ridge of the Breiddins with the trap dyke of Acton Reynolds. The line of elevation is further traceable for about fifteen miles, to the east-north-east of Acton Reynolds, usually throwing the strata into only dome-shaped masses; but the Rey. T. Egerton has observed it passing the Liverpool and Birming- ham canal thirty miles distant from the Breiddin Hills. The author is of opinion that the hilly range of new red sandstone extending from the Ness Cliff Hills, by the south of Wem, into the Hawkstone and Hodnet Hills, and then prolonged by the south of Market Drayton into the high grounds of Ashley Heath (parallel to the line extending from Moel y Golfa through Acton Reynolds), has been affected by similar elevatory forces acting along a line proceed- ing from the focus of the principal ridge of the Breiddins, or that on which Rodney’s Pillar stands; and in corroboration of this, he alludes to the veined and metalliferous character of the red sandstone along this line, in which copper ores, manganese, &c. are of partial 195 occurrence. Immense accumulations of coarse gravel and clay ob- scure the flanks, and sometimes hide, for vast spaces, the disturbed and denuded strata of red sandstone along the chief anticlinal line. Attention is then directed to the position of the lower strata of the new red sandstone, around the coal-fields of Colebrook Dale and South Staffordshire ; and in confirmation of opinions expressed in former communications, the author cites several examples near Wol- verhampton and Dudley, particularly one at Sedgely, where the coal itself is thrown up at an angle of about 40°, the strike being north and south, with the lower new red sandstone conformable to it; and from these evidences he concludes that the principal lines of fracture along the margin of these coal-fields took place after the deposition of the new red sandstone series, and that, therefore, the break so prevalent in the South-west of England, between the upper part of the coal measures and the new red sandstone, can no longer be con- sidered as of general application in English geology. From the amount of dislocation which has taken place throughout all this region, accompanied by an enormous destruction of masses of new red sandstone, and from the protrusion of so many points of trap rock, some of which cut through that formation, the author is disposed to think that the recently described outlier of Lias at Clo- verly and Prees, in Shropshire, may have been originally connected with the chief escarpment of lias in Warwickshire and Worcestershire, there being in the large accumulations of gravel in the intermediate country, many lias shells, which may have been derived from the destruction of once continuous strata of that formation, In conclusion, he recapitulates what in former memoirs read to the Society he has endeavoured to show— st, That certain trap rocks have been evolved during the forma- tion of the transition rocks : 2ndly, That others have burst forth subsequently to the consolidation of these older strata, throwing them into vertical and broken forms, and producing metalliferous veins in them : 3rdly, That this period of activity was anterior to the formation of the coal measures, as is proved by the strata of the latter resting un- conformably upon the highly inclined edges of the transition rocks. Carrying on the inquiry from this point, the present memoir demon- strates, 4thly, that igneous agency evolving precisely similar products has been renewed at a much later period upon one of these lines of ancient eruption ; and, finally, that the great disruptions around the flanks of the central coal-fields of England took place after the accu- muiation of the new red sandstone. A paper was afterwards read, ‘‘On the Crag of part of Essex and Suffolk ;” by Edward Charlesworth, Esq.; communicated by Edward William Brayley, Esq., F.G.S. After stating that the only direct information respecting the crag is to be found in the works of Mr. R. C. Taylor and Mr. Woodward, on Norfolk, and in Mr. Lyell’s Principles of Geology, the author quotes an extract from Prof. Phillips’s Guide to Geology, to show 196 the state of knowledge respecting the formation up to the period of preparing his memoir. Mr. Charlesworth then proceeds to point out that the crag consists, in parts of Essex and Suffolk, of two well-defined beds; the upper characterized by its ferruginous colour, and the lower by the presence of corals; and he proposes for them the terms of ‘red crag” and “‘ coralline crag’. The best localities for examining these beds are, Ramsholt, on the eastern bank of the Deben; Tattingstone, between the Orwell and Stour; Sudbourn Park, twenty miles to the east of Tattingstone; and Orford. The “red crag” at these localities varies from four to nineteen feet in thickness, and the “coralline crag” from seven to twelve feet. The most striking peculiarity of the coralline crag is stated to be its uniform character, presenting none of those variations in colour or stratification which are constant in the upper beds, It is composed of highly calcareous sand, containing numerous Testacea, none of which appear to have been rolled, and the species often occur in groups. The corals are most abundant at Orford and Sudbourn. For his general information respecting the organic remains in the two beds, the author states that he is indebted to Mr. Wood, of Hasketon, near Woodbridge, who has formed a very large collec- tion of crag shells, and has been, as well as the Rev. G. R. Leathes, for many years aware of the existence of the two beds. Mr. Wood's collection is stated to contain the following species : Anmulata eels Conchifera...... 189 Cinnipedaeee 11 Mollusca ...... 257 in all 450, including 50 species of minute Cephalopods. Of these species, about 80 are said to be peculiar to the red crag, upwards of 200 to the coralline, and the remaining 150 to be common io the two. One of the most marked distinctions between the Testacea of the upper and lower deposit is the total absence in the latter of the Fusus contrarius, and the Buccina and Murices, so abundant in the former. In the coralline stratum the remains of Echinide are-nu- merous, belonging to several genera. In the red crag, fish teeth are very common, but they are of rare occurrence in the coralline ; and the remains of Mammalia appear to be confined to the upper bed. The author then enters into an inquiry respecting the relative age of the red and coralline crag; and from the difference in their zoologieal contents, he concludes that the two beds were deposited under different conditions, at different periods. June 10.—John Cowley Fisher, Esq., of Woodhall, near Cocker- mouth, Cumberland, and Frederick Ayrton, Esq., Lieutenant in the Bombay Artillery, were elected Fellows of this Society. A paper was first read, entitled ‘‘ Note on the Trappean Rocks as- sociated with the (New) Red Sandstone of Devonshire ;” by Henry T. De la Beche, For. Sec. G.S. ; a The author remarks, that white trappean rocks are not found among 197 the (new) red sandstone series of Somersetshire and the more north- ern portions of Devonshire: the southern portions of the latter county afford many examples of the association of trappean rocks with the lower parts of this series, particularly near Tiverton, Thorverton, Sil- verton, Kellerton Park, Crediton, and Exeter. When hastily viewed, the trappean rocks might be mistaken for masses of igneous matter which have been intruded, in a state of fu- sion, among the beds of red sandstone. A more detailed examination of the various facts connected with their mode of occurrence leads, however, in the opinion of the author, to the inference that they have been produced by volcanic action during the formation of the lower parts of the (new) red sandstone series ; in fact, that the trappean rocks in question are the remains of melted rock, either ejected from, or re- tained within the pipes of, volcanos which were in a state of activity during the production of the lower part of the (new) red sandstone series of Devonshire. The author endeavours, in the first place, to point out the relative geological age of the red sandstones and conglomerates with which these trappean rocks are associated in Southern Devon, by showing, that in their continuation to the northward, along the skirts of the grauwacke to the shores of the Bristol Channel, they pass into a series of beds which is crowned by magnesian limestone and conglomerate, equivalent to the magnesian limestone and conglomerate of the Men- dip Hills and the vicinity of Bristol. The beds beneath the magnesian conglomerate, which very rarely passes into a magnesian limestone, from the absence of pebbles derived from older rocks, consist, for the most part, of red or claret-coloured sandstones, with an occasional seam or bed of conglomerate, the cementing matter of which is not calcareo-magnesian. ‘Their thickness is necessarily variable, from the uneven surface of grauwacke, upon which the sandstones rest uncon- formably ; but it amounts to about one hundred and fifty feet in the vicinity of Wiveliscombe. The author points out, by the aid of sec- tions, that the magnesian conglomerate may readily rest upon the grauwacke, and conceal the lower red sandstone series by over- lapping it, and that therefore it becomes exceedingly difficult to ob- tain an average thickness of these lower red sandstones, which, if we consider the magnesian conglomerates of the Mendip Hills as an equivalent of the zechstein of Germany, would be equivalent to the rothe todte liegende of the same part of Europe, and therefore be of the same geological age as the lower red sandstones of the North of England described by Prof. Sedgwick, and the beds noticed by Mr. Murchison. Having thus obtained the relative geological age of the beds with which the trappean rocks are associated, the author proceeds to point out the occurrence of beds of sand among the more common red sandstone, which presents every appearance of having been vol- canic sands ejected from a crater, and which became subsequently mixed with common detrital matter then depositing. It is stated that though the trappean rocks may sometimes be seen, as in the vicinity of Exeter, to rest as if they had overflowed the grauwacke which the 198 (new) red sandstone series skirts, they are generally separated from the grauwacke by conglomerates, or sandstones, which do not contain the detrita! remains of trappean rocks. Hence the author considers that the (new) red sandstone series of the district generally was, toa certain extent, in the course of formation when the volcanos came into activity. A description is given, accompanied by a section, of the manner in which the trappean rocks cf Washfield, near Tiverton, are associated with the (new) red sandstone of the same locality, and it is inferred from the facts detailed, that events there succeeded each other in the following order: 1. An original subaqueous valley or depression in the grauwacke. 2. A deposit of detrital matter derived from the subjacent grauwacke. 3. An eruption of igneous substances, in the manner of modern volcanos, beneath very moderate pressure. 4. The deposit of detrital matter, in a great measure derived from the neigh- bouring grauwacke, mingled with fragments of trappean rocks, many of which may have been ejected, as fragments now frequently are, from volcanic craters. 5. Denudations at various geological epochs since the period of the (new) red sandstone, which have left the rocks as we now find them. It is noticed as a fact, which the author conceives to be of difficult explanation without the aid of this volcanic hypothesis, that in the localities where the trappean rocks, associated with the red sandstone, occur, there are numerous angular fragments, some of considerable magnitude, even equal to one or two tons in weight, intermingled with the conglomerates, which do not resemble any trappean rocks discovered, in place, within the district. These fragments principally consist of reddish brown quartziferous porphyry, the base being fel- spathic, and the contained crystals being those of quartz and glassy felspar, the latter often attaining a large size. Though quartziferous porphyry is observable in place in some situations, as, for instance, to the northward of Dunchideock, near Exeter, it does not contain the large crystals observable in numerous fragments of porphyry in- cluded in the red conglomerates. The author, therefore, is inclined to consider, that these angular fragments have been ejected from vol- canic vents, and that, falling upon the detrital matter then in the course of deposition around such vents, they became included among it. It is remarked that these fragments, as well as those of the more com- mon, scoriaceous, and other trappean rocks, found in place, do not form component parts of the red conglomerates beyond somewhat moderate distances, measured from situations where the existence of volcanic vents, during the early part of the (new) red sandstone epoch, may be considered a probable inference, from the various, observed phenomena. A memoir was next read ‘‘ On the range of the Carboniferous Lime- stone flanking the primary Cumbrian Mountains ; and on the Coal- fields of the N.W. Coast of Cumberland, &c.;” by the Rev. Adam Sedgwick, F.G.S., Woodwardian Professor in the University of Cam- bridge, and Williamson Peile, Esq., F.G.S., of Whitehaven. 199 The authors first briefly describe the general relations of the zone of carboniferous limestone (surrounding the primary Cumbrian system) to the central carboniferous chain, and show that this zone has been separated from the central chain by a great downcast fault, described in a preceding memoir. In illustration of this, they give a transverse section from the carboniferous limestone ridge, south of the river Lowther, to the chain of Cross Fell, proving that this low limestone ridge is not connected with the elevated chain, but with some dislo- cated masses which appear at its base, and dip towards the valley of the Eden. They then give a detailed account of the range of the carboniferous limestone from the neighbourhood of Kirkby Stephen to Egremont. Beyond the latter place, patches of limestone are also stated to occur at Mousehole, Kirksancton, and Hodbarrow-Point, giving indications of at least a partial extension of the carboniferous series along the S.W. coast of Cumberland. Lastly, they notice the prolongation of the limestone (chiefly in great detached tabular masses) through Low Furness and a part of Westmoreland, till the broken zone reaches the great downcast fault at the base of Ingleborough. They afterwards describe, in considerable detail, the sections ex- hibited by the carboniferous zone between Kirkby Stephen and Egre- mont. It is stated that the lower part of the carboniferous limestone corresponds, on the whole, with the great scar limestone of Yorkshire ; but it is, here and there, more subdivided by thin beds of shale and by coarse beds of sandstone. Near Hesket Newmarket two or three beds of coal (some of which have been considerably worked) appear in the lower part of the series, offering an analogy to the structure of the central carboniferous chain on its approaching the Scotch frontier. They are stated to thin off in the iange towards the west, and the formation to resume its more ordinary characters. The authors then give a section from the rivulet below Cleator through Bigrigg-moor, by which they show, (1.) that the limestone series is there greatly di- minished in its aggregate thickness ; (2.) that it contains subordinate irregular beds of red hematite (now extensively worked) ; (3.) that it is separated from the new red sandstone by thin bands of magnesian conglomerate. They afterwards describe several sections in an upper division of the series, intermediate between the great scar limestone and millstone grit. The principal details are derived from the Westmoreland range of the limestone, and from the works in the neighbourhood of Cald- beck Fells. In these localities thin beds of coal alternate with the shale and limestone, and have been worked to a considerable extent. The millstone grit is ill exhibited along the line of range; but may in some places be concealed under the great accumulation of alluvial matter on the confines of the new red sandstone. The great upper coal formation commences near Rosley, and is greatly expanded in its extension towards the west, so as to occupy the whole coast from St. Bee’s Head to Maryport. But all details respecting it are referred to a subsequent communication. In the concluding portions of the paper the authors briefly notice 200 the unconformable position of the carboniferous series on the primary Cumbrian slates, and the occasional masses of old red sandstone and conglomerate by which, in the eastern part of the range, the two sy- stems are separated from each other. Considered in its greatest generality, the carboniferous series is divided into four groups: 1. The great scar limestone; 2. Alter- nations of limestone, shale, and coal; 3. Millstone grit; 4. Great upper coal formation. The Ist and 4th preserve their characters in a great measure unchanged in all the great carboniferous deposits of England and Wales; the 2nd and 3rd undergo modifications which are briefly enumerated. In Flintshire, Yorkshire, and Cumberland the richest metalliferous veins appear to be in the 2nd group. A paper was afterwards read, “ On the occurrence near Shrews- bury of Marine Shells of existing species in transported Gravel and Sand, resting upon a peat bog which contains imbedded Trees ;’’ by Joshua Trimmer, Esq., F.G.S. In November of last year Mr. Trimmer noticed, that in widening the road about five miles from Shrewsbury, towards Shiffnal, some very black timber was extracted from beneath a bed of loam and gravel ; and having subsequently examined the spot, he has commu- nicated his observations in this paper. Two sections have been cut, to the depth of 15 feet, and are distant from each other about 600 yards. The eastern excavation is 360 yards long, and consists, proceeding from east to west, of 200 yards of sandy loam and gravel; 40 yards of sand resembling sea-sand, the laminz crossing each other in various directions ; 60 yards of reddish loam, with curved lamine near its junction with the sand, and hori- zontal at the lower part, the upper portion not being laminated ; and lastly, 60 yards of sandy loam and gravel. Fragments of shells occur in every part of the section, but are most abundant in the veins of fine gravel which pervade the sand: among them the author found Turritella terebra, Cardium edule, and Tellina solidula. The western excavation contained fewer shells, and presented near the eastern termination of the southern side: cultivated soil, | foot ; whitish and reddish finely laminated loam, 6 to 8 feet; peat, with prostrate trunks of oak trees, 6 inches to 2 feet; black clay, 4 inches; whitish sandy gravel, 12 to 18 inches, passing beneath the level of the road into reddish sandy gravel. Still nearer the eastern termi- nation, the section presented thin beds of laminated loam and sand resting on peat. On the southern side this excavation consisted of fine cultivated soil, 1 to 2 feet; sandy loam, with occasionally boulders of several varieties of granite, some more than 2 feet long, and patches of peat, containing fragments of oak, beech, and fir, 6 feet; blackish loam, enveloping the upper part of a fir-tree, 6 inches ; peat, enveloping the lower part of the fir-tree, 2 feet: the base of this tree was not visible, nor had any trees still rooted been noticed by the workmen. The patches of peat in the bed of loam the author conceives were derived from the tearing up of part of the peat bog. 201 From these details the following changes are inferred : Ist, A surface of dry land, consisting of gravel derived from the neighbouring rocks, either while the district was submarine, or during the rise of the strata, or by subsequent denudation, or by these causes united. 2ndly, The surface was covered with a forest of birch, oak, and fir. 3rdly, The forest was destroyed, or it decayed, and a peat bog was formed. 4thly, A rush of sea buried the bog beneath a mass of loam and gravel, containing fragments of existing marine shells and granite boulders. In conclusion, the author draws attention to the natural sections on both sides of the Severn, west of Shrewsbury, about one mile above the Welsh Bridge, in one of which he obtained, after much search, a few fragments of shells; and he begs geologists in general, both in England and Ireland, to institute a patient examination of the super- ficial gravel of their neighbourhood for fragments of shells, however, comminuted, A paper was also read, entitled, ‘‘ Description of some Fossil Crus- tacea ‘and Radiata ;” by William John Broderip, Esq., F.G.S. F.R.S., &e. Lord Cole and Sir Philip Egerton having placed in the author's hands some fossils which they had lately found in the lias at Lyme Regis, a detailed account is given, in the memoir, of those which he considers to be new. Crustacsa. The first specimen described consists of the anterior parts of a ma- crourous Decapod, between Palinurus and the Shrimp family, but of a comparatively gigantic race ; and its organization being considered by the author to be sui generis, he has assigned to the fossil the name of Coleia antiqua, with the following generic characters : «« Antenne. Base of mesial antenne (antenne interne) not extending beyond the anterior spine of the thorax; each antenna terminated by two annular sete. External antenne provided with a large and rude scale, and having a spine on the exterior of the penultimate joint: the terminal setz large, but the length undetermined. « Eyes pedunculated, directed outwards, approaching in their situa- tion and form to those of Palinurus. “ Feet. First pair long, slender; the cubit (cubitus) with small spines or serratures on the internal margin, and terminated externally by three strong spines. ““ Hand (manus) elongated, slender; digits slightly incurved, fili- form, unarmed, pointed. *« Thorax thin (divided transversely by furrows indicating the dif- ferent regions), tuberculate, spinous at the sides, and with three dcep emarginations anteriorly, the middle one the largest; each of the four anterior angles produced into a strong spine.” The collection contained the remains of other macrourous Decapods. One of these specimens consisted of a fragment of the post-abdomen, 202 approaching nearest in sculpture to Palinurus, and equaling in size the sea crawfish: and two others are peculiarly interesting from their exhibiting the tips of the four larger branchiz, and of the four smaller ones below, pointing towards the situation of the heart, and proving, the author observes, that this Crustacean did not belong to the Am- phipoda, but to the highest division of the Macroura, of the arctic forms of which it reminds the observer. Rapiara. Opuiura Ecgertoni. Oph. radiis tereti-subulatis, disco subplano, rotundato. This species, Mr. Broderip states, approaches very nearly to the re- cent Ophiura texturata, and differs from Ophiura Milleri of Phillips, in as much as, among other differences, the disk of the latter is lobated according to the figure given in the “ Geology of the Yorkshire Coast.’ There is no description, but there is authority for considering the figure to be correct, though it is stated to have been drawn from se- parate parts. The specimens were found about half a mile west of Brid- port harbour, in masses of micaceous sandstone fallen from the cliffs. Ciparis Becuer. Cid. testd subglobosd, mamillis parvulis, spinis elongatis, aculeatis. This fossil the author considers may be identical with that figured in the Geological Transactions, Second Series, vol. ii. Pl. [V. as an Echinus. A letter from Sir Philip de Malpas Grey Egerton, Bart., M.P., V.P.G.S., addressed to the President, ‘“‘ On the Discovery of Ichthyo- lites in the South-western Portion of the North Staffordshire Coal- field,”’ was then read. The part of the coal-field in which the ichthyolites occur is called Silverdale, and consists of the following beds : Superficial covering. 1. Argillaceous shale, generally of a lightish colour and soft tex- ture. 2. Ditto, of harder texture, and more calcareous. 3. Ditto, black, and highly fissile. 4. Ditto, more compact, containing nodules of ironstone. 5. Ironstone, extensively wrought. Beds | and 2 abound in vegetable remains, and the upper portion may be distinguished by the frequent occurrence of Stigmaria ficoides. The ichthyolites are principally contained in No. 4, and consist of teeth, palatal bones, and scales, belonging to the Placoidian order, and to the Sauroid and Lepidoidian families of the Ganoidian order of M. Agassiz. Some of the scales correspond precisely with those of the Megalich- thys, described by Dr. Hibbert, from Burdiehouse near Edinburgh * : but the plants associated with the ichthyolites, the author states on * Transactions of the Royal Society of Edinburgh, vol. xiii. pl. 8. fig. 3. and pl. 11. figs. 2, 7, 8. 203 the authority of Professor Lindley, are entirely dissimilar from those und at Burdiehouse. In No. 3 nodules occur, which Dr. Turner has ascertained to agree chemically with coprolites, though they do not present the external characteristic markings. A paper was next read, ‘On the Bones of Birds from the Strata of Tilgate Forest in Sussex ;’’ by Gideon Mantell, Esq., F.G.S. Mr. Mantell states that soon after his attention was first directed to the fossils of the Wealden, he discovered in the strata of Tilgate Forest several slender bones, which, from their close resemblance to the tarso-metatarsal bones of certain Gralle or Waders, he was induced to refer to birds. ‘The correctness of this opinion was afterwards doubted, in consequence of the thin fragile bones found at Stones- field, and considered as belonging to birds, being ascertained to be those of Pterodactyles. Having subsequently discovered a few spe- cimens of more decided character, Mr. Mantell submitted them to the inspection of Baron Cuvier, during his last visit to England, who pronounced them to belong to a Wader, probably to a species of Ardea. Still it was doubted whether these remains did really be- long to those of birds; but the author’s attention having recently been directed to the subject, he placed his specimens in the hands of Mr. Owen, of the College of Surgeons. This gentleman, after a care- ful examination, pointed out that one bone decidedly belonged to a Wader, being undoubtedly the distal extremity of a left tarso-meta- tarsal bone, presenting the articular surface or place of attachment of the posterior or opposable toe. Other specimens of long bones Mr. Owen conceives may have belonged to a more erpetoid form of bird than is now known. From this examination, Mr. Mantell’s pre- vious views of the existence of birds below the chalk have been fully established, and, as the author observes, these are the oldest remains of the class at present known. The memoir concludes with a descrip- tion of the bones, consisting of a tarso-metatarsal of a Wader, a tibia (?), a metatarsal bone, a humerus, and an ulna. The next paper read was entitled, ‘‘ Remarks on the Coffin-bone (distal phalangeal) of a Horse, from the Shingle Bed of the Newer Pliocene Strata of the Cliffs near Brighton ;” by Gideon Mantell, Esq., F.G.S8., &c. The deposits which partially fill up the valley of the chalk, and con- stitute the subsoil of the central part of Brighton, as well as the line of cliffs extending from Brunswick Terrace to Rottingdean, are di- vided by Mr. Mantell into the following beds : Top, 1. Elephant bed ; an obscurely stratified mass, formed chiefly of chalk detritus, with a large intermixture of ochreous clay, and con- taining remains of the elephant, horse, buffalo, and deer. This bed forms the greater portion of the cliff. 2. An ancient shingle beach, consisting principally of pebbles and boulders of chalk flints, interspersed with boulders of many varieties of primary, secondary, and tertiary rocks. 3. Sand resting upon chalk. 204 The coffin-bone described in the paper was obtained from a fallen mass of the upper part of the shingle bed (2.), and in addition to that specimen the author procured an astragalus, os calcis, two canon bones, and a phalangeal. On comparing the coffin-bone with that of a young horse which had never been shoed, no difference was percep- tible, the outlines of each presenting the same beautiful form, and proving that no hereditary change has taken place in the feet of the domesticated race. An extract was lastly read, of a letter from Dr. Daubeny. In this letter Dr. Daubeny gives the analysis of the mineral spring lately discovered near Oxford, and announced to the Society by Dr. Buckland, at the Meeting held on the 29th of April. Dr. Daubeny says the water at the time the analysis was made (March 26th) contained more sulphuric salts than any other spring in this country. The following were the saline contents of a pint of the water : Chloride of sodium........ 70°82 calcium ...... 7°25 ———— magnesium.... 2°40 Sulphate of soda ........ 52°40 132°87 This being the last Meeting of the Session, the Society adjourned, at its close, to Wednesday, November 4th. PROCEEDINGS OF THE GEOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF LONDON. Vot. II. 1835—1836. No. 42. Nov. 7, 1835.—The Society assembled this evening for the Session. William Sisson, Esq., of Parliament-street; and William Forster, Esq., of Bridport, were elected Fellows. A paper was first read, entitled “A notice on the Fossil Beaks of four extinct species of Fishes, referrible to the genus Chimera, which occur in the oolitic and cretaceous formations of England,’’ by the Rev. William Buckland, D.D., F.G.S., &c. About six years ago, Sir Philip Egerton procured from the Kim- meridge clay of Shotover Hill, near Oxford, five fossil bodies of most curious configuration, in some degree resembling beaks of cuttle-fishes and turtles, but not reducible to any known form in either of these families. In 1832 the Rev. C. Townsend of Great Milton, Oxfordshire, discovered in the Portland stone of that village another series of bones, resembling those found in the Kimmeridge clay, but very much larger, and evidently of a different species. In Mr. Mantell’s collection are also three similar bones, one from the chalk marl of Hamsey, and two from the chalk near Lewes, but belonging to two other distinct spe- cies of the same genus *. After fruitless research through the best collections in London, the author showed his specimens, but in vain, to some of the most distin- guished anatomists of Germany, at the meeting of the Naturforscher at Bonn in September last. Professor Carus made the nearest ap- proximation to their true nature, by suggesting that the two smaller bones might be the beaks of a Tetrodon. In pursuance of this suggestion, Dr. Buckland compared his fossils with the Tetrodons in several museums on the Continent, but with no successful result. At last, in the museum at Leyden, he found a skeleton of the Chimera, and immediately perceived in the upper and lower jaws of this fish the object of his long research. The two in- termaxillary bones corresponded with the pair of fossil tooth-like bones from the Kimmeridge clay; the superior maxillary bones corresponded with a second pair of bones from the same clay ; and the inferior max- illary bones presented the form of the inferior maxillary bones of the * Since the above communication was read, M. Agassiz has found, in the collection of G. B. Greenough, Esq., and in the Museum of the Geological Society, remains of two other species. The specimen in the possession of the Society was procured from the gault near Cambridge. VOL. Il. $ 206 four fossil species from the Portland stone, Kimmeridge clay, chalk marl, and chalk. To these four species Dr. Buckland gives the fol- lowing names: to that found in the Portland stone, Chimera Town- sendii; to that in the Kimmeridge clay, C. Egertonii; to thatin the chalk marl, C. Agassizii ; and to that in the chalk, C. Mantellii. In an ap- pendix to the paper, Prof. Agassiz gives the following as the distinc- tive characters of each species : C. Townsendii: inferior maxillary very large, short and proportionally much thicker; groove of the symphysis of its two branches shal- lower, and curve of dental edge broader than in the other species ; exterior surface convex, and furrowed longitudinally, intermaxillary much curved. C. Egertonii : inferior maxillary short and flat: snout truncated, and in proportion very large: curve of the dental edge very wide: groove of the symphysis very deep : intermaxillary very much bent, and the dental edge truncated and square: superior maxillary irregularly triangular, much elongated, and contracted insensibly towards its dental extremity, which is bifid. C. Agassizii : form of inferior maxillarysquare, more regular, and sur- face of symphysis flatter than in the other species; dental edge slightly open. C. Mantellii: inferior jaw straighter and thinner; exterior surface perfectly smooth and flat; snout much elongated and pointed ; curve of the dental edge wider than in the other species. A paper was next read, “ On the recent discovery of Fossil Fishes (Paleoniscus catopterus, Agassiz,) in the new red sandstone of Tyrone, Ireland ;”’ by Roderick Impey Murchison, Esq., V.P.G.S. A small specimen of new red sandstone, presenting the first im- pressions of fishes found in this formation in the British Isles, having been exhibited before the Geological Section of the British Association at the late meeting in Dublin, Mr. Murchison, in company with Prof. Sedgwick, Lord Cole, and Mr. Griffith, visited the spot where it had been obtained. The quarry is at Rhone Hill, in the parish of Killyman, about three miles east of Dungannon. The new red sandstone in which it is ex- cavated is a prolongation of the deposit which occupies large tracts in the county of Antrim, and extends into this part of Tyrone, where it surrounds a small, slightly productive coal-field, but reposes for the greater part upon mountain limestone. The eastern flank of the di- strict is covered by a vast thickness of clay, containing lignite, the exact age of which is not known; and the surface generally is very much overlaid by loose detritus, consisting of sand and gravel, derived from the adjacent formations. Large blocks of syenite and green- stone, referrible to a northern origin (Antrim), are scattered here and there. The beds of new red sandstone exposed in the quarry dip about 15° to the N.N.E., and consist, in the upper part, of red and green marls, passing down into a dark red, thickly bedded, siliceous sandstone, with a few irregular, highly micaceous way-boards of a deep purple. 207 colour. The surface of some of the beds exhibits ripple-marks. The quarry, which is the property of Mr. Greer, is from 25 to 30 feet deep, and the fishes are found only in the bottom beds, but are in great abundance *. Dr. Agassiz afterwards gave a systematic enumeration of the fos- sil fishes which he has found in English collections. He commenced by detailing the general results of his researches, from which it appears, that the discovery in England of three hundred new species has corroborated the jaws of development which he had previously de- termined in the succession of these animals during the different changes which our globe has undergone, with the exception of the discovery in the chalk of two species belonging to two genera which he had before observed only in the oolitic series, and of a species of one of those genera in the lower tertiary strata. The secondary systems (terrains) of England are the richest in fose sil fishes ; and Dr. Agassiz stated that the number of specimens which he has seen in English collections is astonishing. The species which he has determined are about 400; but the specimens too imperfect to be described, at present, announce the existence of a still greater number. Their geological distribution presents the following details: In the Silurian system of Mr. Murchison there are five or six spe- cies which exhibit the first appearance and organization of this long series of vertebral animals, the species of which become more and more numerous, and more and more diversified, as well in their forms as in the details of their organization. The old red sandstone, including the Caithness schist and the Gam- rie deposit, contains twenty species. In the coul measures there are fifty-four species ; in the magnesian limestone sixteen. The oolitic series is particularly rich in ichthyolites, the number of species from the lias to the Wealden inclusive being one hundred and fifty. The greensand and chalk are also very rich in fossil fishes, and even much richer than their equivalents on the Continent. The num- ber of English species is fifty. In the London clay the species perfectly determined are about fifty; but it is certain, from the fragments preserved in different collections, that this formation incloses the remains of a much greater number. M. Agassiz stated that the London clay, particularly in Sheppey, will be, for a long time, an inexhaustible mine. The crag contains five or six species peculiar to it, and belonging to genera which do not inhabit our northern seas. As an example of what remains to be done in the study of fossil fishes, and of the importance of these researches to zoology and geo- logy, M. Agassiz afterwards described two singular genera found in the lias. One is the animal which has been described under the name * A slab, presented to the Geological Society by Mr. Greer, exhibits, on a surface not exceeding two feet square, above 250 fishes. s 2 208 of Squalo-raia, discovered at Lyme Regis ; the other a new genus, called by M. Agassiz Gyrostris mirabilis, and is probably the largest known fish. This fossil was discovered at Whitby; but there have hitherto been found only some detached bones of the head, of the branchial ares, and some portions of vertebre and fins: traces of the same fish have been recently observed at Lyme Regis. Nov. 18.—Thomas Sopwith, Esq., of Newcastle upon Tyne; Mr. Frederick John Bell of Oxford-street; David Urquhart, Esq., of Grafton-street, Bond-street ; and Lieut.-Colonel Aitcheson of the Fusilier Guards, were elected Fellows of this Society. A letter was first read from Dr. Pingel of Copenhagen to the Pre- sident, containing a notice of some facts showing the gradual sinking of part of the west coast of Greenland. The first observations which led to the supposition that the west coast of Greenland had subsided, were made by Arctander between 1777 and 1779. He noticed, in the firth called Igalliko (lat. 60° 43’ N.), that a small, low, rocky island, about a gun-shot from the shore, was almost entirely submerged at spring tides, yet there were on it the walls of a house 52 feet in length, 30 feet in breadth, 5 feet thick, and 6 feet high. Half a century later, when Dr. Pingel visited the island, the whole of it was so far submerged that the ruins alone rose above the water. The colony of Julianahaab was founded at the mouth of the same firth in 1776; and near a rock, called the Castle by the Danish co- lonists, are the foundations of their storehouse, which are now dry only at very low water. The neighbourhood of the colony of Frederickehaab (lat. 62° N.), was once inhabited by Greenlanders ; but the only vestige of their dwelling is a heap of stones, over which the firth flows at high water. Near the well-known glacier which separates the district of Fre- derickehaab from that of Fiskenass, is a group of islands called Fulluartalik, now deserted ; but on the shore are the ruins of winter dwellings, which are often overflowed. Half a mile to the west of the village of Fiskenass (lat. 63° 4’ N.), the Moravians founded, in 1758, the establishment called Lichtenfeld. In thirty or forty years they were obliged once, perhaps twice, or move the poles upon which they set their large boats, called Umiak, or Women’s boats. The old poles still remain as silent witnesses, but beneath the water. To the north-east of the mother colony, Godthaab (lat. 64° 10’ N.), is a point called Vildmansnass by St. Egede, the venerable apostle of the Greenlanders. In his time, 1721—1736, it was inhabited by several Greenland families, whose winter dwelling remains desolate and in ruins, the firth flowing into the house at high tide. Dr. Pin- gel says that no aboriginal Greenlander builds his house so near the water’s edge, The points mentioned above the writer of the letter had visited ; but he adds, on the authority of a countryman of his own highly de- serving of credit, that at Napparsok, 10 Danish miles (45 miles En-_ 209 glish) to the north of Ny-Sukkertop (lat. 65° 20! N.), the ruins of ancient Greenland winter houses are to be seen at low water. Dr. Pingel is not aware of any instance of subsidence in the more northern districts ; but he suspects that the phenomenon reaches at least as far as Disco Bay, or nearly to 69° north lat. Some notes by Capt. Fitzroy, R.N., read at a Court Martial at Portsmouth, Oct. 19th, 1835, on Capt. Seymour and his Officers for the loss of His Majesty’s Frigate Challenger, wrecked on the coast of Chili, near the port of Conception, and communicated to the Pre- sident by Capt. Beaufort, R.N., Hon. Mem. G.S., were then read. These notes refer to the effects produced by the earthquake of Feb. 1835, in the currents on the coasts of Chili, from the Island of Mo- cha to the parallel] of Conception. Capt. Fitzroy also mentions that the island of Santa Maria was elevated ten feet. A letter dated Valparaiso, 22nd of March 1835, from R. E. Alison, Esq., addressed to the President, on the earthquake of Chili of the 20th of February 1835, was then read. The earthquake began at quarter past 11 a.m. by a gentle heaving or undulation of theearth; but the motion increased in afew seconds to so great a degree that no person could stand. It destroyed the cities of Conception and Chillan, with the ports of Taleahuano and Maule, as well as above twenty smaller towns, and animmense num- ber of country houses. It was felt to the southward as far as the In- dian territory opposite the island of Chiloe ; to the northward be- yond Copiapo ; at Mendoza on the east of the Andes; by the crew of a ship 100 miles to the westward of the coast, and at Juan Fernandez 300 miles from it. At the port of Talcahuano the same phenomena occurred which ac- companied the destruction of Pencoin 1730 and 1751. Forty minutes after the first shock the sea suddenly retired so far that part of the bottom of the Boca chica, the smailer or southern entrance of the bay, could be seen; but the seaafterwards returning through the same channel with a great bore, flawed 20 feet over the town, carrying everything before it. This phenomenon was repeated three times. Mr. Alison says that the sea was reported to have receded, or rather the land to have risen, 2 or 3 feet, a difference having also taken place in the soundings in the bay; and that a rock, which was invisible pre- viously to the earthquake, was afterwards near the surface. Large fissures are stated to have been made in the earth, and water to have burst from some of them: the earth is also said to have opened and closed ; and near Los Angeles several hills to have disappeared, and others to have opened and vomited steam and black smoke. The harbour of the island of Santa Maria was destroyed, and the sea retired between 300 and 400 yards, while the reefs which surrounded the greater part of the island are said to have entirely disappeared. At the island of Juan Fernandez phenomena occurred similar to those which accompanied the destruction of Taleahuano. About a league from the shore the sea appeared to boil, a high column of water 210 was thrown into the air, when the sea retired so far that a number of old anchors and brass guns became visible ; but it soon returned with great violence, carrying off all the houses of the convicts. A volcano also burst forth at the point where the sea was first agitated. The brig Glanmalin was in the latitude of Taleahuano, and about 100 miles to the westward of it, at the time of the earthquake, when the crew felt a shock as if the vessel had struck upon a rock. Mr. Alison also mentions the existence near Valparaiso of the re- cent marine shells 1400 feet above the level of the sea, and of recent marine shells being dug near Conuco for the purpose of making lime. In the bay of Valparaiso, he says, a rock which in 1817 could be passed over in a boat, is now dry, except at spring tides. “Geological notes made during a survey of the East and West Coasts of South America, in the years 1832, 1833, 1834, and 1835, with an account of a transverse section of the Cordilleras of the Andes between Valparaiso and Mendoza ;’’ by F’. Darwin, Esq., of St. John’s College, Cambridge ; communicated by Prof. Sedgwick, were after- wards read. Prof. Sedgwick began by observing that the notes were extracted from a series of letters (addresssd to Professor Henslow), containing a very great mass of information connected with almost every branch of natural history ; and that he had selected for the occasion those re- marks only which he thought more especially interesting to the Geo- logical Society. Mr. Darwin’s first letter contained some account of St. Jago (one of the Cape Verde Islands), which he visited early in 1832; and he considered that he had good evidence of its recent elevation, as he found on its surface beds of recent shells and corals considerably above the actual level of the sea. In various portions of the notes he shortly described the vast extent of primary rocks along the shores of Patagonia, the existence of highly crystalline schists in the Falkland Islands, alternating with micaceous slaty sandstone, exhibiting the casts of bivalves (Terebratulz), and encrinital stems, and a rock near Cape Famine containing some sort of Ammonites. On theline of the western coast of South America, from Chiloe to Tres Montes, he found a widely extended formation of mica- slate, traversed and burst through by a grand transverse chain of gra- nite, and penetrated by innumerable dykes of great complexity of mineral structure. From the position of the tertiary deposits, which exist on both sides of the Southern Andes, he concludes that the primary chain must have had a great elevation anterior to the tertiary period: and he thinks that a rough approximation may be made to the date of the com- mencement of the volcanic period, by observing the first associa- tion of streams of lava, with certain tertiary groups on the Patagonian side. ; A considerable portion of the extracts was devoted to a descrip- tion of the great tertiary groups on both sides of the chain of the Andes. Some of the details respecting the eastern side were derived from 211 observations made on the Rio Negro, and on the line of a transverse section from Rio Santa Cruz to the base of the Cordilleras. These exhibit the structure of what Mr. Darwin calls the great southern ter- tiary formations of Patagonia. The lowest of these formations appears to be of great extent and thickness, and in one instance was found to contain a bed of an- cient lava, which seemed to mark the commencement of the eruption from the craters of the great chain of the Andes. It is character- ized by a great oyster, and by other shells and corals, some of which belong to species now living on the neighbouring coasts. Over it is a deposit which Mr. Darwin describes as chiefly composed of rolled por- phyry pebbles, which he had himself traced for more than 700 miles. Overlying all the rest, and at a greater elevation above the level of the sea, were beds of recent shells, identical in species with the lit- toral shells of the neighbouring shores. Among these, he more espe- cially notices a widely extended bed of Muscles, which still retain their blue colour, and emit an animal smell when thrown in the fire. From these facts, he thinks the tertiary deposits of Patagonia may be separated into distinct periods, somewhat similar to those derived by Mr. Lyell from a comparison of the newer deposits of Europe: and in making the transverse section, he thought that he saw traces in the valley of Santa Cruz of an ancient channel, which must have traversed a great portion of the south part of the continent before the elevation of the tertiary groups. In noticing the groups on the western side of the Andes, he de- scribes an old tertiary deposit (eocine or miocene?) south of Rio Maypo, and abundance of recent shells 1300 feet above the same level. He also describes the association of lava with beds containing recent shells in the island of Chiloe. Among other facts, he notices the ap- pearance of pitchstone among the beds of lava, and the occurrence of a forest growing over a bed of recent oysters 350 feet above the ac- tual level of the sea, All these recent shells are the littoral shells of the neighbouring shores ; from which he concludes that the elevation must have been gradual, or by successive hitches, similar to those by which the coast of Chili and, more recently, the coast of Chiloe have been unquestionably elevated. In addition to these very remarkable notices, Mr. Darwin mentions other tertiary deposits at Chiloe and Conception, composed of beds of sandstone and carbonaceous shale without shells, but containing many silicified trunks of dicotyledonous trees, and alternating with beds of lava. During the progress of the four years’ survey (in addition to the traverse above mentioned), Mr. Darwin crossed from Rio Negro to Buenos Ayres by Sierra de la Ventana, a chain almost unknown to geographers. He found two immense collections of large bones (of Mastodons) near Santa Fé, but in a condition not to admit of their being removed. He also found bones of a species of Mastodon at Fort St. Julian, S. lat. 50°, and more than 690 miles from the former localities. In one instance the bones appear to have been associated with marine shells. In the gravel of Patagonia he also found many 212 bones of the Megatherium and of five or six other species of quadru- peds, among which he has detected the bones of a species of Agouti. He also met with several examples of the polygonal plates of the Me- gatherium, which at first induced him to regard the animal as a gigan- tic Armadillo. A very large collection of tnese fossils has been sent to England, and are in the custody of Professor Henslow till Mr. Dar- win’s return. Professor Sedgwick concluded by reading extracts from two letters describing a section transverse to the Andes, extending from Valpa- raiso to Mendoza. The Cordillera is here composed of two separate and parallel chains. The western chain is composed of sedimentary rocks, distinctly stratified, and resting on granite. The sedimentary rocks (composed of red sandstone, conglomerate, gypsum, &c.) are violently contorted, and dislocated along parallel north and south lines, and as they approach the granite, become so crystalline that they cannot be distinguished from the porphyritic dykes by which they are traversed, Following the line of section, Mr. Darwin found, at the Pass of Puquenas, elevated 12,000 feet above the sea, that the red sandstone was replaced by a black rock, like clay slate and pale limestone, con- taining numerous impressions of shells ; a Gryphza? is the most abun- dant; but he also found Ostrea, Turritella, Ammonites, and a small bivalve (Terebratula?). At the Portillo Pass is a conglomerate resting on micaceous sand- stone, and traversed by great veins of granite. But at the Uspellata Pass (in the eastern chain), he*found highly crystalline and felspa- thic rocks, regularly bedded, and resting on granite, the peaks of which reach the elevation of 14,000 feet. A wider examination of the overlying groups convinced him, not only that they were more re- cent than the western chain (being partly made up of its debris), but that they were of the same age with certain tertiary formations above noticed. For example, he discovered along the line of section, in the eastern chain, beds of sandstone, with silicified trunks of dico- tyledonous trees, and beds of carbonaceous shale, resting on an an- cient stream of lava, and surmounted by black augitic lava, 2000 feet thick ; over all these were five grand alternations of black volcanic rocks and sedimentary deposits, amounting to several thousand feet in thickness. This series, in its structure and fossils, is considered as identical with certain tertiary deposits of Patagonia, Chiloe and Con- ception; for it loses its mineral character only where it approaches the granite; in which case it is shattered, contorted, aud traversed by great veins rising out of the central mass; and its several beds, as well as the fossils they contain, become entirely crystalline. Mr. Dar- win further states, that this singular overlying croup contains very nu- merous veins of copper, silver, arsenic, and gold, which may be traced down to the granite ; and as a general conclusion, he expresses his conviction that the granite (now rising into central peaks 14,000 feet in elevation), must have been in a fluid state since the tertiary group, above described, was deposited. * 23 Dec. 2nd.—Edward Lewis Richards, Esq., of Rolls Chambers, Chancery Lane ; Rev. Edward Thomas Daniel, of Park-street, Gros- venor-square, and Balliol College, Oxford; John Hare, Jun., Esq., of Bristol; M. Vander Maelen, Proprietor of the Geographical So- ciety of Brussels ; and Henry Leach, Esq., of Milford Haven, Pem- brokeshire ; were elected Fellows of this Society. A letter was first read from Capt. Belcher, R.N., F.G.S., addressed - to Woodbine Parish, Esq., Sec. G.S., dated 10th of March, 1835, inclosing two others from Lieut. Bowers, R.N., and H. Cuming, Esq. These letters referred to the effects produced at Valparaiso by the earthquake of November 1822. Capt. Belcher says that he had carefully searched the Remark- Books of His Majesty's vesselsstationed on the Chilian coast, between September 1822 and March 1823, but had not found a notice in any way connected with the Port of Valparaiso. He therefore infers that no British ship of war was present; but he thinks that if the distur- bance produced by the earthquake of November 1822 had been of a nature to alter the soundings, or even induce the residents to attach importance to any known changes, they would have formed a subject of special communication by the commanders of ships of war. Lieut. Bower states in his letter, dated 7th of March 1835, that he was not at Valparaiso at the time of the earthquake, but arrived from England in February 1823, and found everything in the same situa- tion as when he quitted it twelve months previously. He adds, that since the earthquake, the water has gradually receded from the part situated between the landing place and the market place, and that a ’ row of stores and substantial dwellings had been erected where the sea formerly flowed. Mr, Cuming’s letter is dated 5th of March 1835. The writer arrived at Valparaiso in January 1822, and resided there constantly until 1827, and from the latter period, with occasional ab- sences, till May 1831. At the time of the earthquake, he lived in the Plaza Mayor, near the landing place at the Arsenal, and his house was destroyed by the first shocks. He did not go to the beach during the night, but was informed that the sea had retired a considerable distance, and had returned with great force. On the morning of the 20th he noticed the effects, but found nothing more than a high tide. He never heard of the rocks having been heaved up, or of the perma- nent retirement of the sea, until the publication of Mrs. Graham's work, to the statements contained in which neither he nor his friends could subscribe. : Mr. Cuming’s pursuit of conchology and natural history generally, caused him to visit frequently the rocks and inlets with which the northern and southern parts of the Bay abound ; but though the rocks were covered with Fuci, Patelle, Chitons, Balani, &c., yet he never perceived the least difference in their appearance from the date of his arrival to his finally quitting Valparaiso. He mentions particularly, as points which he often examined, the Caleta, the Quebrada de Dios, VOL. I, v 214 and the Cruz de Reyes. He also never found the least trace of the above productions, except in situations covered by. the tide. After the earthquake, Mr. Cuming resided in a house in the Arse- nal, where the spring tides came up to the same mark as they did pre- viously to that event. He refers especially to the tides of 1822 and 1823. Another circumstance which convinced Mr. Cuming that no change of level had taken place was the existence of a small detached rock opposite the Estanco, half-way between the Custom house and the Market place, and about fifty yards from the walls at half tide. From this rock he had often taken Concholepas Peruviana previously to the earthquake, and subsequently it retained the same position. The vessels occupied the same anchorage as they did before Novem- ber 1822; and nautical men affirmed that there was not the least dif- erence in the depth of the water in any part of the Bay. The opinion that a change had taken place in the relative level of land and sea, Mr. Cuming conceives originated in the accumulation of detritus at points where the tide flowed anterior to the earthquake, and on which houses, and even small streets have been since erected. Though these accumulations appear to have been going on between 50 and 80 years, yet they were smail previously to the violent rains in June 1827, which brought down into the bay the loose granitic soil of the hills and the ravines. This detritus has since been thrown up by the tides, and formed into a firm open space exceeding 250 feet in breadth, on which the buildings have been erected. The quantity of matter thus carried into the Bay has not affected the anchorage, and Mr. Cuming, when dredging within two hundred yards of low-water mark, never found a grain of decomposed granite, or any kind of recent soil, but fine sandy mud, well stocked with se- veral species of shells of mature growth. Both to the northward and southward of Valparaiso, where the coast is open, namely, at Lagunilla, Vina del Mar, Con-Con, and Quintero, the sea has thrown up high banks of sand, many feet above the ievel of the land behind them, and reaching inland from 1000 to 2000 feet, and at Quintero to a much greater extent. At this place the sand contains beds of shells ‘in a semi-fossil state.” Mr. Cuming visited these localities previously to the earthquake, and often subse- quently, but never saw a shell beyond the range of high water, except those in the state above mentioned, and the owners declared that no change had taken place. Mr, Cuming also states that about 70 years since, he believes at the same time that Conception was visited by an earthquake, Valpa- raiso was also visited. The sea retired to a very great distance, and the reflux was so violent that it destroyed all the houses, carrying the boats and canoes to the church of San Francisco, which is about a quarter of amile on a gradual ascent from where the tide usually flows. A paper on the effects of the Earthquake-waves on the Coasts of the Pacific, by Woodbine Parish, Esq., Sec. G.S., was afterwards read, 215 i In this memoir the author has collected all the historical notices which he has been able to discover respecting the effects of the ma- rine inundations which have accompanied the earthquakes on the coast of Chili and Peru. ; Father Acosta, in a work written in 1590 *, mentions an earthquake on the coast of Chili which caused the sea to rise out of its bed some leagues, leaving ships dry far inland. He also states among the ef- fects of the earthquake at Lima on the 9th of July, 1586, that after the shock of the earthquake, the sea rose mightily out of its bed, and bursting over the shore nearly two leagues, overwhelmed all the shore, and left the shrubs and trees, as it were, swimming in the waters. Frezier T says, that on the 26th of November, 1605, the sea, being agitated by an earthquake, suddenly flooded, and bore down the greater part of Areca. Ulloat, describing the earthquake at Lima on the 20th of October, observes that during the second concussion the sea retired consider- ably, and returning in mountainous waves, totally overwhelmed Cal- lao, and the neighbouring parts. Lionel Wafer§, who felt the same. earthquake in latitude 12° 30’ S., and 150 leagues from the coast, speaking of its effects, says, the ships in the road of Callao were car- ried a league into the country, and drowned man and beast for 50 leagues along the shore. Wafer also describes a similar catastrophe at Santa, about three degrees to the north of Callao. In passing from the shore to the town, distant about 3 miles, he crossed a small hill, and in a valley between it and Santa he saw three ships, about 60 or 100 tons each, Jodged there, and very ruinous. These vessels, he was informed, were deposited during the earthquake of 1678. The water, it is said, retired for 24 hours, and then came in, tumbling and rolling with such violence that it carried these ships over the town, which then stood on the hill Wafer had crossed. In 1746 Callao was again destroyed by an earthquake-wave, vast heaps of sand and gravel occupying its position ||. All theshipsin the harbour, except four, foundered. One of these, the San Firmin man- of-war, was found in the low grounds of the Upper Chacara, oppo- site to the place where she rode at anchor, and near her the St. An- tonio; another of these vessels rested on the spot where before stood the Hospital of St. John, and the ship Succour was thrown up towards the mountains. Ulloa says that this terrible inundation extended to the ports of Cavallos and Guanape ; and the towns of Chancay and * Historia Natural y Moral de las Indias por el Padre Joseph de Acosta ; Madrid 1792 (sexta edicion). + A Voyage to the South Sea and along the Coast of Chili and Peru in the years 1712, 1713 and 1714, by M. Frezier, Engineer in Ordinary to the King of France; London, 1717. t A Voyage to South America by Don Juan and Don Antonio de Ulloa, &c., translated by Adams, 5th edit.; London, 1807. § Lionel Wafer’s Voyage to Magellanica, &c., &c., in 1685. || A true and particular Relation of the dreadful Earthquake which hap- pened at Lima and Callao onthe 28th of October 1746, published by com- mand of the Vice-Roy, and translated from the original, &c.; London, 1748. 216 Guara, and the Valleys della Barranca, Sape, and Patevilca under- went the same fate as the city of Lima. The inundation at Penco (Conception) in 1730, is mentioned by Ulloa and Molina*; and on the 6th of May 1751, that city was totally destroyed by a similar visitation. This earthquake was felt at the Island of Juan Fernandez, where the sea overwhelmed the houses along the shore. Mr. Parish notices the earthquakes at Arequipa in 1582, and at Lima in 1697, 1699, 1716, 1725, 1732, 1734, and 1745, but no men- tion is made of any isruption of the sea; he also alludes to the effects of the earthquake at Valparaiso in 1822, and at Conception in 1835. * The Geographical, Natural, and Civil History of Chili, translated from the Italian of the Abbé Ignatius Molina ; London, 1809. PROCEEDINGS OF THE GEOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF LONDON. Vou. Il. 1835—1836. No. 43. Dec. 16.—Lord Charles Harvey, of Trinity College, Cambridge ; James Brogden, Esq., M.A., of Trinity College, Cambridge, and of Lower Brook-street ; George Woods, Esq., of East Dulwich; Henry Thomas, Hsq., of Cushion-court, Broad-street; Edward Charlesworth, Esq., of North Buildings, Finsbury Circus ; the Rev. Leonard Jenyns, M.A., F.L.S., of Swaffham-Bulbeck, Newmarket ; Charles Cardale Babington, Esq., M.A., F.L.S., St. John’s College, Cambridge ; Charles James Fox Bunbury, Hsq., of Great Barton, Suffolk; and James Edmonstone, Esq., of George-square, Edinburgh, were elected Fellows of this Society. A paper, entitled “Notes on the Geology of Denmark,” by Dr. Beck of Copenhagen, and communicated by the President, was first read. The only part of the Danish dominions in which gneiss and gra- nitic rocks like those of Scandinavia appear, is in the north-east of the Island of Bornholm. To the south and south-west of these for- mations in the same island, are beds considered to be of the age of the Silurian system of Mr. Murchison; and on the eastern side of it are strata of the cretaceous period, all the intermediate groups being wanting. Respecting the exact age of the lower part of the cretaceous beds in Bornholm, much difference of opinion has existed. By some it has been referred to the old carboniferous formation, on account of the presence of large quantities of coal, and impressions of ferns; by others to a lignite deposit of a very new or diluvial period; by M. Alexander Brongniart to the age of the lias; by Dr. Pingel to the iron sand of Messrs. Conybeare and Phillips ; and by Dr. Beck to the English strata, from the Hastings sand to the upper green sand in- clusive. The fossil ferns found in these beds belong to the genus Pecopteris, and some of the species have been named by M. Adolphe Brongniart. The seed-vessel of a monocotyledonous plant of com- mon occurrence in these strata, and considered by Dr. Beck to belong to the family Restiacez, is identical with one in Mr. Mantell’s collec- tion obtained at Heathfield in Sussex. The few shells associated with the ferns which the author has examined are marine; and he conceives that these Bornho!m beds were deposited in the seaat some distance from the mouth of the river which formed the Wealden system of England. VOL, II. U 218 To the south of these coal-bearing strata are beds of siliceous and calcareous sand, containing between 30 and 40 species of shells,which also occur in the upper green sand of England: and in the neigh- bourhood of Arnager is a small patch of greyish white chalk with very few flints, but abundance of fossils, agreeing with those of the lower white chalk without flints at Southerham near Lewes. In Denmark Proper the oldest formation belongs to beds of the cretaceous series, younger than those in the island of Bornholm. The lowest strata consist of pure white, soft chalk, with many layers f black, nodular flints, and contain more than 300 species of fossils. Among these remains, Ammonites are extremely scarce, Marsupites are unknown; and the remains of fishes, except teeth of the shark fa- mily, are very rare: but small zoophytes and microscopic foraminifera are very abundant; and, in some instances, animals of the sponge tribe, replaced by flint or chalcedony, but retaining their form, con- stitute complete beds. This portion of the chalk series forms, very generally, the lower part of the stratain Seeland and Jutland, and the whole of the clifis of Moen. But in Moen masses of gravel and sand have, in consequence of great disturbances, become entangled with portions of disrupted chalk, in the manner explained by Mr. Lyell in a paper lately read before the Society*. This white chalk is immediately overlaid, in Seeland and elsewhere, by the Faxoe beds, consisting almost entirely of hard, yellowish limestone, susceptible of a polish. They contain some of the cha- racteristic fossils of the white chalk and some which are peculiar, belonging to the genera Arca, Modiola, Venus, Trochus, Fusus, Vo- luta, Oliva, Cyprea, Nautilus, &c.; while in the quarries at Faxoe (Seeland) they are composed so largely of zoophytes that they may justly be regarded as a coral reef. This division of the cretaceous series attains at Faxoe athickness of more than 40 feet, but it is only between 2 and 4 feet thick at Stevensklint, where it may be traced for 3 or 4 miles resting upon the white chalk and covered by other strata of this series. The Faxoe beds appear also in some places in Jutland as in the Island of Mors, the cliffs near Grenaa, &c. These beds have been imagined to be perfectly parallel to those of Maestricht, but the organic remains differ considerably ; and are more analogous to those found at Kiinruth near Liege. Among the fossils common to the last locality and the Faxoe beds, are Baculites Fawasii, Nautilus fricator (Beck), Fusus elongatus(Beck), and Terebratulasubgi- gantea (Schlotheim). Dr. Beck also states that the Nautilus Danicus is not identical with the Nautilus aganiticus of the lias, though Von Buch considers that it is : he. likewise states that he has not been able to identify any of the Faxoe fossils with those of the oolitic series, or with the shells of Gosau, or with any of the tertiary fossils hitherto described. The cretaceous beds which immediately cover the Faxoe deposit in Stevensklint, consist of a whitish and hardish chalk, including so great. a number of broken and almost pulverised zoophytes that the rock is sometimes entirely composed of them. The bivalves and echinoder- * Proceedings, No. 41. Vol. II. p. 191. 219 mata are chiefly the same as those of the white chalk, but the univalves, so common in the Faxoe beds, are wanting, while many of the smaller corals which occur in those beds occur also in this upper limestoue, The flint of these superior strata is sometimes in continuous layers as in Stevensklint, sometimes in nodules, and differs from the flint in the white chalk in being more opake, and having a less conchoidal fracture. Sometimes it is replaced by a bluish grey stone, composed of silex and lime, and called in Danish “ bleger.” Dr. Beck infers from the organic remains that the chalk of Salt- holm; of the cliffs in Jutland, ran ging from Rugaard by Daugbjerg and Monsted, and terminating in the neighbourhood of Hjerm ; as well as the chalk of the south of Thyholm, that resting upon the white chalk in part of Mors and in the north of Thy ; and the chalk of the clifis of Bulbjerg and the islet Skarreklit belongs to this uppermost bed. Upon the chalk in various districts i in Denmark is a breccia of an- gular fragments of chalk and flint cemented with carbonate of lime. The chalk hills of Denmark present generally thesame rounded, smooth outline as in many parts of England, with this distinction, that in Denmark they are crowned very commonly with small mammilliform hillocks of gravel, sand, and erratic blocks. As the sandy beds some- times contain shells identical with those now living in the German Ocean, it is evident that the chalk in Denmark has been submerged since the existence of the living species of Testacea. In Bornholm, Moen, and Seeland, the strike of the cretaceous strata is dependent on the str ike of the most ancient granitic rocks in Scania; but in Jutland it is not parallel to them, and evidently was not caused by the same system of movements. In the central parts of Jutland is an extensive jdinen several hundred feet thick, referred by Dr. Beck to tertiary strata probably older than the erratic blocks. It consists in some localities of white micaceous sand, in which occasionally occur traces of brown coal, and near Skanderberg is a considerable layer of it. In other districts the formation is composed of clay, which also contains mica, flat masses of hydraulic limestone, like the septaria of the London clay, and occasionally a few organic remains, consisting of scales of fishes apparently belonging to the Cyprinidae; the elytra of beetles, the cases of the larve of Phryganza, and an hymenopterous insect which the author has called Cleptis Stenstrupii. In the neighbourhood of Thisted at Thye, the north of Mors and in the island Futr, Dr. Beck observed, in 1831, dislocations which affect equally these tertiary strata and the chalk. To the tertiary period belong also the beds discovered by Professor Forchhammer in the island of Sylt, on the western shores of Holstein. Some of the few shells hitherto detected in them Dr. Beck has ascer- tained to agree with characteristic fossils of the London clay, and others, as Voluta Lamber tit, with shells of the crag. To the same older tertiary period the author is inclined to refer the strata containing Valvata, Gyrogonites, &c., detected at Segeberg, and u 2 220 the deposit between Altona and Geuchstad in which Mr. Lyell disco- vered a valve of a Cardita. Newer than any of the above-mentioned formations are the deposits of gravel, sand, and loam, often several hundred feet thick, which ge- nerally cover the older strata, and constitute almost the whole surface of Denmark. In and upon these beds, the erratic blocks so common in that kingdom first appear. They consist principally of the commoner varieties of the gneiss and granitic schists of Scandinavia; but in the neighbourhood of Copenhagen Dr. Beck has observed blocks of trans- ition limestone, basalt with olivine, and the well-known secondary sandstone of Hor. In the northern part of Jutland he has also no- ticed blocks of Elfadal porphyry, and the blue zircon-syenite of Fre- dericksvaern in Norway. The gravel beds with erratic blocks rarely contain any fossils, but when shells do occur, they are often absolutely identical with living species. Dr. Beck pee however, found at Moen a specimen of Slarmaeae, which he believes to be tertiary, and there and at Himlingoie several specimens of Turritella not hitherto known as living. From the difference of the fossils, together withthe manner in which the gravel beds are disposed upon the chalk, he infers that the older strata have been elevated and submerged more than once. Dr. Beck says that space does not permit him to give his views re- specting the erratic blocks, and he merely states that their depo- sition took place after the beginning of the tertiary period, and went on during the accumulation of blue marl and sand, from which he has obtained more than 70 species of shells now living in the German Ocean; and that he has proofs, of which he intends to give a more detailed account hereafter, that the transportation of these blocks continues on the coast of Jutland. _ In conclusion the author mentions the existence of several, small, lacustrine formationsin the interior of Jutland and of Moen, containing remains of Lymnea, Physa, Helix, &c.; and an extensive formation of sand cemented by oxide of iron. ; An extract from a letter addressed to the President by H. Edwin Strickland, Esq., F.G.S., dated Athens, 26th Oct., 1835,was then read. Mr. Strickland noticed first at Trieste the vast formation of secon- dary limestone which appears to extend thence uninterruptedly into Greece ; and of which the Ionian Islands are almost wholly composed. In Corfu, however, are several obscure and complicated patches of tertiary deposits, and in Cephalonia is a Pliocene formation of vast thickness, containing abundance of fossils. Mr. Strickland then de- scribes the currents of sea-water which constantly flow into the land near Argostoli in the island of Cephalonia. This extraordinary phe- nomenon occurs about a mile north of Argostoli at the very extremity of the rocky promontory which separates that town from the large bay on the west. The promontory is composed of the hard, white, second- ary limestone, the strata dipping about 30° to the east ; and at this spot it contains several species of shells which in general are rather 221 rare. The streams of water have been noticed for many years rushing in between the rugged masses of rock of which the coast consists, but it was only about two years since that they excited the attention of the English. Mr. Stevens of Argostoli, desirous to turn them to advan- tage, was induced to stop up three of these holes, and by excavating a channel at the principal one, has been enabled to obtain a sufficient supply of water to turn a mill. The channel which has been made is about three feet wide, and the average depth of the current is six inches. Inithe mean state of the tide the fall is about 3 feet, the usual rise of the tide being 6 inches, but during southerly winds it is consi- derably more. After passing the wheel the current flows for 65 or 7 yards, and is then partly absorbed in swallow holes and partly disap- pears under the rocks. The water at the bottom of the excavation is greatest at high tides, the quantity of water then flowing in being greatest. A small freshwater spring enters the excavation on the land side, and when the sea is effectually stopped out, renders the water at the bottom of the excavation quite fresh in the course of a day ; rais- ing it at the same time several inches to a certain point, where it rests. This circumstance, Mr. Strickland thinks, may be explained by the less specific gravity of the fresh water requiring a higher column to overcome the obstacles met with in its subterranean course. In order to ascertain the direction of the current, Col. Brown has had an exca- vation made, by which it appears that the stream does net pass under the sea at the opposite side of the promontory. Mr. Strickland, in explanation of the constant flowing into the land of these streams, ob- jects to the proposition that the subterranean current may be absorbed by the incumbent soil and evaporated at the surface, as it occurs in an island of small extent : but agrees to the supposition that an earth- quake has at some period opened a communication between the sea and the region of volcanic fire; that the water being there converted into steam, is afterwards condensed in its upward course, and forms those hot-springs which exist in various parts of Greece. A paper onthe occurrence of fossil vertebre of fish of the shark fa- mily in the Loess of the Rhine, near Basle, by Charles Lyell, Esq., _F.G.S., was afterwards read. Mr. Lyell described in a memoir communicated to the Society in May, 1834,* the geographical extent of the Loess or ancient silt of the Rhine, as far as he had then examined it. In tracing its southern limits during last summer, he found it in considerable force at Basle, and still higher on the Rhine at Waldshutt, where it contains the usual land and freshwater shells. Beyond this point he did not trace the deposit; but from the information he received, he believes that it terminates between Waldshutt and Schaffhausen. He here alludes only to the loamy portion, which can be identified by its fossils ; for the gravel beds with which the loess sometimes alternates in its lower part, are probably of much greater extent, and are not easily to be * See Proceedings of the Geological Society, No. 41.Vol. Il. p. 191; and Jameson’s Journal, Vol. 19. 222 separated from any other ancient gravel'in which bones or shells have not been discovered. The loess at Basle crowns the summit, and is found on the sloping sides of several low hills which bound the valley of the Rhine; but it is best seen one or two miles to the south of the town, in the hills called Bruder Holz, where it rests upon nearly horizontal beds of molasse. ‘The loess has here an elevation. of more than 1100 feet above the sea; for it is found in places which are more than 300 feet above the Rhine at Basle, according to the measurement of Prof. Merian, who has also determined that the Rhine at Basle is about 760 French feet (809 English) above the level of the sea. The principal section examined by Mr. Lyell is near the northern extremity of the Bruder Holz below the church of the village of Bin- ningen. ‘The loess in this place is of its usual yellowish grey colour, and is filled with terrestrial and freshwater shells. The lower beds al- ternate with strata of sand and gravel, and in one of the loamy strata of this part of the series, he found the vertebra of fish, together with the following loess shells: Succinea oblonga, Pupa muscorum, Clau- silia parvula, Helix cellaria, H.plebeium, H.arbustorum, H. rotundata, Bulimus lubricus, and a small Planorbis, all recent shells. The vertebrae, M. Agassiz says, belong decidedly to the Squalide or shark family, perhaps to the genus Lamna. The one is a caudal and the other an abdominal vertebra, each about a quarter of an inch in diameter. They are in such a state of preservation, and of such a colour as might be expected in bones preserved in loess, and as they were in a bed of fine loam in which there were no extraneous fossils, nor any fragments of rock washed out of other formations, there is no reason to suspect that they could have been derived from the ter- tiary molasse ; and M. Agassiz also states that he has seen nothing like them in the molasse of Switzerland. It may seem very extraor- dinary that the first remains of fossil fish obtained from this freshwater silt should belong to a marine genus, but M. Agassiz has informed Mr. Lyell that both in the Senegal and the Amazon certain species of the shark and skate families (Squalus and Raia, Linn.) have been known to ascend to the distance of several hundred miles from the ocean, and analogous facts are referred to in Margrave and Piso’s Natural History of India. A notice on the occurrences of selenite in the sands of the plastic clay at Bishopstone near Herne Bay, by William Richardson, Esq., F.G.S., was lastly read. The perpendicular cliff in which the selenite occurs is about a hun- dred feet in height, and consists of the following strata : Vegetable mould, Reddish marl or brick earth........ 5 feet. London! elayriiicicicinisa see 20 to 30 — Sand/and sandstone. ..22..0000. .: 60 — determine, contains no iron pyrites or lime except in a few well-de- fined lines of testaceous remains. The superjacent clay abounds in| 223 pyrites, and is thickly studded with transparent crystals of sulphate of lime, but noconnexion could be traced between the two deposits, and the sands for five or six feet underlying the clay contain no selenite. January 6, 1836.—William Anstice, Esq., of Madeley Wood, Shropshire, was elected a Fellow of this Society. A notice on the transportation of rocks by ice, extracted from a letter of Capt. Bayfield, R.N., addressed to Charles Lyell, Esq.,P.G.S., was first read. Capt. Bayfield says that both on the lakes of Canada and in the St. Lawrence he has seen fragmentary rocks carried by ice. The St. Lawrence is low in winter, and the loose ice accumulating on the ex- tensive shoals which line each side of the river is frozen into a solid mass, being exposed to a temperature sometimes 30° below zero. The shoals are thickly strewed with boulders, which become entangled in the ice ; and in the spring, when the river rises from the melting of the snow, the packs are floated off, frequently conveying the boui- ders for great distances. It is also well known that stones are car- ried by the ice. Anchors laid down within high-water mark to secure vessels hauled on shore for the winter, are cut out of the ice on the approach of spring, or they would be carried away. In 1834 the Gulnare’s bower-anchor, weighing half a ton, was transported some yards’ by the ice, and so firmly was it fixed, that the force of the moving ice broke a chain cable as large as that of a 10-gun brig, and which had rode the Gulnare during the heaviest gales in the Guif. The anchor was cut out of the ice or it would have been carried into deep water and lost. With respect to rocks being transported by icebergs, Capt. Bayfield’s testimony is equally conclusive, as he passed three seasons in the vi- cinity of the Strait of Belleisle. In an iceberg which he examined, boulders, gravel, and stones were thickly imbedded ; and he saw others which owed their dirty colour to the same cause. Some of these immense ice-islands, Capt. Bayfield thinks, had been detached from the coast very far to the northward, perhaps from Baffin’s Bay. The northern current brings similar masses in great numbers down the coast of Labrador every year, and they are very frequently carried through the straits, and for several hundred miles to the S.W. up the Gulf of St. Lawrence. ane A paper “ On the syenite veins: which traverse mica slate at Good- land cliff and chalk at Torr Eskert, to the south of Fair Head in the county of Antrim,” by Richard Griffith, Esq., F.G.S., and P.G.S. of Dublin, was afterwards read. The part of Antrim to which this paper refers is situated between Fair Head on the north, and Cushleake mountain on the south. The base, or oldest formation of the district, consists of inclined strata of mica slate passing into gneiss, and containing subordinate beds of hornblende slate and schistose limestone. Upon the mica slate re- pose nearly horizontal and unconformable strata of coal measures, new red sandstone, and chalk ; andthe whole of these secondary deposits 224 are surmounted by an overlying mass of rudely columnar trap, the northern extremity of which forms the magnificent promontory of Fair Head. Besides the hornblende schist, which is interstratified with the mica slate and dips conformably with it, there are other rocks containing hornblende, which appear to be imbedded in the slate, but which are really intruded veins. On thesea-shore at Torr Point are two of these veins, consisting of syenite and syenitic green-stone; and they may be traced passing obliquely along the face of the stupendous and, for the greater part, perpendicular cliff of Goodland. On the sea-shore they appear so regular and conformable, both in strike and dip, to the strata of mica slate, that they might be considered as integral portions of it; but on minute inspection the syenite is found to mould into the rough and saw-like edges of the strata of mica-slate ; and on tracing the veins as they gradually ascend the cliff, they are found to pursue undulating courses, neither parallel to each other nor to the laminze of the slate, in some places approaching within four feet, and in others being more than 20 feet apart. To the south of the fault which traverses the cliff about 150 yards from Torr Point, the veins reappear at a higher level than on the north of the line of dislocation ; and between the two previously noticed is a third and smaller one. Where first seen, this small vein is in contact with the upper surface of the lower vein, from which it gradually diverges and approaches the upper, but afterwards again descends towards the lower vein. The mass of the two larger veins consists of dark green, crystallized hornblende, brownish red felspar, and occasionally quartz ; and re- gular transitions may be traced from syenite to greenstone. When viewed at a distance they present arudely columnar structure. The centre vein contains much black hornblende, some black quartz, and presents a concretionary structure, the oval-shaped masses being en- veloped in a congeries of pinchbeck brown mica. A tendency to this structure is observable also in the upper vein. Owing to the covered nature of the ground, the syenite veins of the coast cannot be traced continuously to Torr Eskert, but by laying down the line of the veins of Goodland ciiti on the Ordnance Map, and making due allowance for their average inclination and the ele- vation of the hill, Mr. Griffith entertains no doubt that the syenite in the chalk of Torr Eskert is a prolongation of one of the syenite veins in the sJate of the cliff. The syenite which traverses the chalk cannot be distinguished from that of the mica slate, and passes also in syenitic greenstone. At one point the author had a portion of the surface soil removed, and obtained the following section: Too.yaCompact:chalke etc) 1oek belek: 5 feet SVENILEL ARAL EEE eee 5 — Chalk, irregular bed from 9 inches to 1 foot Mica islate en cep enna ee elke The lower bed of chalk contains quartz pebbies, green sand, and numerous, red, siliceous grains, some of which resemble garnets. The syenite presents large masses separated by chalk containing quartz- 225 pebbles, green sand, and numerous fragments of fossils. These re- mains have nearly a vertical position when 2m seu, and Mr. Griffith consequently infers that they are not in the position in which they were deposited. The irregularities on the surface of the chalk are accurately filled with the syenite: the chalk in immediate contact with the vein is usually compact, sometimes crystallized ; and pebbles of quartz si- - milar to those in the green sand and chalk are found occasionally in the syenite. ‘The author noticed a small reniform mass of syenite imbedded in the chalk—the grain of the included portion being finer than that of the syenite in general. Small particles of chalk were likewise noticed in the syenite, and the union of the two rocks is so perfect that the chalk appears to be an integral portion of a compound deposit. Among other peculiarities exhibited at the junction of the two formations, the author mentions spheroidal masses of syenite in- cludedin the chalk ; and, in conclusion, he says, that if the views which he has put forward have been substantiated, a new and important fact is added to those already described, which may ultimately lead us to attribute a comparatively recent origin not only to syenite veins and primary greenstone, but also to crystalline rocks generally when as- sociated with schistose strata. A letter from H. T. De la Beche, Esq., addressed to the President, and dated Truro, the 18th of December, 1835, was then read. This letter was accompanied by a collection of fossils from the schistose rocks of the North of Cornwall, and presented to the Society on the part of the Ordnance Geological Survey. Mr. De la Beche says that in the grauwacke of Western Somerset, Devon, and Cornwall natural divisions may be made, founded on marked characters. How far these divisions may coincide with those in Prof. Sedgwick’s Cambrian system he has no means at present of judging ; but he is of opinion that the whole of the district is older than the Silurian formations of Mr. Murchison. Some of the organic remains obtained at Dinas Cove, in Padstow Harbour, belong to a system of beds consisting of slates, sandstones, and conglomerates, which encircles the northern flank of Dartmoor, then makes a great curve south of Launceston, bends afterwards northward round the Rough Tor and Brown Willy granite, and lastly, again inclines southward, crossing the Padstow river to the seaon the western coast. In various parts of this line the system is fossiliferous, particularly where limestone occurs or caleareous matter abounds. The Tintagel slate, long since shown by Dr. Buckland and the Rev. John Conybeare to contain organic remains, belongs to this system. Part of the fossils which accompanied the letter were procured from Trevelga Island (Lower St. Columb Porth), and Towan Head near New Quay, from the same series of beds, which, in. consequence of an east and west anticlinal line ranging by St. Eval, St. Issey, and St. Breocks Downs, is folded over to the south, and constitutes the schistose system of St. Columb Major, St. Columb Minor, New Quay, &. 226 The remainder of the fossils was obtained by Dr. Potts at the western entrance of Bodmin, and by Mr. De la Beche from the vi- cinity of Liskeard, on a prolongation of the same strata. Altered or metamorphic rocks, having frequently the appearance of gneiss, mica slate, hornblende rock, &c., occur in the neighbourhood of Tintagel and Camelford ; and Mr. De la Beche says, that a little care in tracing these rocks shows that they are altered portions of strata which possess the usual and varied characters of grauwacke. In con- clusion he observes, that there is every reason to believe that two movements have taken piace of the land in Somerset, Devon, and Corn- wall, one to a height of 30 or 40 feet above the present sea-level, and another to an uncertain depth beneath it, smce the vegetation of the land and the molluscous inhabitants of the neighbouring sea were the same as they now are. January 20, 1836.—Arthur William Tooke, Esq., A.M., of Rus- sell-square; J. Jukes, Esq., B.A., St. John’s College, Cambridge ; Richard Zacchary Mudge, Esq., F.R.S., Capt.in the Royal Engineers, Highwood Hill, Middlesex ; and Philip Worsley, Esq., of Great Or- mond-street, were elected Fellows of the Society. A paper was read “ On the geological structure of Pembrokeshire, more particularly on the extension of the Silurian system of rocks into the coast cliffs of that county.” By Roderick Impey Murchison, Esq., V.P.G.S. This memoir was prefaced by an account of the origin of the terms Silurian and Cambrian Systems as applied to the older sedimentary deposits. Having occupied several years in establishing a fixed order of succession amid the strata of age anterior to the old red sandstone, and having finally named the formations in descending order, the Ludlow rock, Wenlock limestone, Caradoc sandstones, and Llandeilo flags, the author was urged by many leading geologists to propose a new, comprehensive name for this group, and thereby to prevent the confusion which had so long prevailed by the use of the words “‘ Trans- ition” and “‘Grauwacke.” He adopted the term Silurian System, be- cause the territory in which the successive formations above mentioned are exhibited, was formerly occupied by the ancient, British people the Silures. The Silurian rocks are underlaid by vast masses which rise up into the mountains of North, and the western part of South Wales, and to these Professor Sedgwick, connecting his labours with those of Mr. Murchison, has assigned the name of ‘‘ Cambrian System.” A portion of last summer was employed in tracing these rocks from Caermarthenshire into Pembroke, and in doing this the author was led to attempt a general survey of the county, examining the strata from the youngest to the oldest, dwelling, however, specially on the deposits of the “ Silurian System.” Owing to its peninsulated form and the transverse fissures proceed- ing from Milford Haven into the heart of the county, Pembrokeshire affords great facilities for the comprehension of its mineral structure, and as the chief masses range from HK. to W., sections from S. to N. 227 expose the formations of which it is composed in descending order from the coal-measures to the Cambrian System. The points of novelty in the descriptions of the author apply to the persistence of the carboniferous deposits along the coast of St. Bride’s Bay, where they are not separated by any mass of greywacke as indicated in former maps, the parts producing culm*, lying simply to the N. and S. of a highly dislocated promontory of carboniferous grit. The contortions and innumerable faults of these coal-measures being pointed out, attention is then called to some of the probable results of such movements in the singular accumulations of finely fractured stone coal in small basins called “slashes,” and to other vertical downcasts of the mineral termed “sloughs.” The shale of these culm deposits resembling in some respects certain strata of the upper Si- lurian rocks, might to an unpractised eye appear undistinguishable; but even where the order of superposition is not tobe detected, essential differences are invariably to be observed, in the coal shales never con- taining those organic animal remains which are so abundant in the Silurian system, whilst the latter never contains a single plant simi- lar to those which abound in the former. Instances are cited where by dislocations the coal measures are thrown into positions apparently conformable to old greywacke rocks of the Cambrian system, and hence the author surmises, that if the millstone grit and carboniferous limestone were not present in many adjoiing parts to test the true age of these coal measures, mistakes might easily result from such juxta-positions. Cherty and siliceous sandstones (the millstone grit) rise in dome shapes to the west of Haverford, and occupy large por- tions of the coal tract underlying the productive culm measures and capping the mountain limestone, Carboniferous Limestone.—lIn this formation, besides the very ac- curate outline expressed in Mr. De la Beche’s mapf, the author re- marks the existence of a double trough of the lower limestone shale overlying the old red sandstone in East Angle Bay ; and he particu- larly adverts to the peculiar mineral character of these beds in Pem- brokeshire in containing yellow and light coloured sandstones alter- nating with shale. The fossils of this lowest member of the carboni- ferous system are numerous, many having been furnished by the Earl of Cawdor ; and as far as they have been yet examined they appear to differ specifically from all the fossils of the inferior systems. The coal measures and mountain limestone of Pembroke are singularly subject to great faults ; one of the most remarkable of which occurs between Johnston and Haverfordwest, where the carboniferous limestone is thrown into a position by which it appears to overlay the coal. Old Red Sandstone.—The upper strata of this great formation pass upwards in many places inta the shale and sandstone of the carboni- * All the coal of Pembroke is stone coal, and it is usually in the laminated condition of culm. : + The survey of the county was much facilitated by the possession of Mr. De la Beche’s map of South Pembroke, which, though differing in some points from that completed by the author, is mentioned by him as a work of great merit for the period of its publication. : 228 ferous limestone, and the lowest members graduate into the Silurian system. The great mass consists of sandy shale, here termed the ‘‘ red rab,” associated with red sandstones and grits ; but lithological varia- tions from the usual types in Herefordshire have led to the belief that large districts (Cosheston, Williamston, Benton, &c.) consisted of greywacke. These are yellow, grey, and greenish micaceous sand- stones which the author proves to be interlaced with the “ red rab,” and to occupy the same position as similar varieties of the rock pre- viously described in Hereford, Radnor, &c. Some of the coarse grits (Canaston wood) are undistinguishable from the “ greywacke ” grit of the oldest rocks of the Cambrian system. Calcareous matter is very sparingly exhibited, imperfect concretions or very impure “‘ corn- stones” appearing only at wide intervals. The fishes so profusely de- tected by the author in the range of the formation through Salop, Hereford, and Monmouth, have not been observed. Amid the many faults affecting this formation, those by which the strata ranging from Caermarthen into Pembrokeshire have been powerfully bent and bro- ken, and thrown into a westerly direction (Tavern Spite, &c.), are perhaps the most striking. Silurian System.—Though the order of superposition and the or- ganic remains clearly attest the age of the rocks of the Silurian system, the masses differ so much in mineral aspect from those selected as types that it is rarely possible to subdivide them into the Ludiow, Wenlock, Caradoc, and Llandeilo formations; but adopting the classi- fication proposed, the author has laid down their course upon the map as two sub-groups consisting of “ upper and lower Silurian rocks*.” The former parting with their mudstone characters are for the most part hard and siliceous, containing little calcareous matter, and are never subdivided by zones of limestone as at Aymestry and Wenlock. The lower Silurian rocks, on the contrary, are amply displayed in all their characteristic forms, the limestones of the Llandeilo formation expanding to greater thicknesses (Llanpeter-Felfry, Llandewi, &c.) than in any other part of their course, and containing many beautiful fossils, including two unpublished species of Trilobites, common to Caermarthenshire. The chief mass of the Silurian system ranges from E. to W. across the county, passing by Haverfordwest, till its western extremity subsides beneath the coal measures of Druson Haven and St. Bride’s Bay. Other bands of it rise from beneath the old red sandstone at Orlanton, Hoten, and Johnston; whilst a most re- markable zone is heaved up in an anticlinal line extending across the most southern promontory of the county (Castle Martin Hundred), from Fresh Water East to Fresh Water West. The most perfect succession of the rocks of which the system is composed, is exhi- bited in the bold coast cliffs of Marloes Bay, extending for a distance of two miles, in which space the uppermost strata, rising at angles of 35° to 40° from beneath the old red sandstone of Hook Point, are succeeded by conformable, underlying masses, until the whole graduates down and passes into the rocks of the Cambrian system in Wooltack Park and Skomer Island. The Ludlow and Wealock * See Lond. & Edinb. Phil. Mag., Vol. VII. p. 46, Silurian System. 229 formations can be here defined; the latter containing many well- known fossils. The lower Silurian rocks are still more largely de- veloped; a vast thickness of fossiliferous sandy strata being quite identical with the ‘< Caradoc sandstones,” whilst the Llandeilo flags with Asaphus Buch and A. Bigsbii (a new species of the author) occur in the haven called Moseley-wick Mouth. This coast section is 150 miles distant from the N. eastern extremity of the Silurian system. The Cambrian System.—If divided by a line passing from E. to W., the northern half of Pembroke is exclusively composed of the older rocks of the Cambrian system, consisting, in descending order, of a. Dark-coloured incoherent schists, with few stone bands, no cal- careous matter, and scarcely any traces of organic remains. These occupy a great breadth, and, as in Caermarthenshire, they form the beds of passage between the Silurian and the Cambrian systems (sometimes without any break). b. Hard grits and flagstones, coming strictly within the definition of greywacke of German mineralogists. c. Hard purple sandstones and schists, identical with the slaty grey- wacke of the Longmynd, Salop, (the Lammermuir hills, Scotland, may be cited as a good and well-known type of these rocks). d. Slates coarse and fine, with quartz veins and concretions. At St. David’s, Pantiphilip, and Scillvham, where the roofing-slates are quarried, the author has detected what he believes to be a coin- cidence between the laminz of deposit as indicated by differently co- loured layers of sediment, and the lines of slaty cleavage; though in the great majority of cases in Pembroke the rocks of this system, whether consisting of sandstone, schist, or hard slate, exhibit the di- vergences between the lines of true bedding and slaty cleavage, so clearly and ingeniously explained by Professor Sedgwick. The author therefore thinks it right to point to these exceptions to the observations of Prof. Sedgwick, because if strictly scrutinized the phenomena are not placed in opposition to them, since it was his’ belief upon the spot, that the crystallizing action which gave to these masses their hard slaty properties produced the flaglike lamine of the beds. Trap Rocks.—Of these there are distinctly two classes: 1, Bedded, and synchronous with the formation of the older rocks; 2, Posteriorand intrusive. Of the former there are no examples like those cited in West Salop, Montgomery, and Radnor, (see former memoirs, of alternation with the strata of the Silurian system, being all confined to the Cam- brian rocks. The tract extending from Fishguard to St. David's and the Isle of Skomer offer illustrative examples of both these classes of trap. In addition to the varieties of sienite, compact felspar rock (corneen of De la Beche), greenstone, &c., of which these rocks are composed, the author has detected crystallized chromate of iron and albite in St. David’s Head,—small veins of copper ore also occur between Solfach and St. David’s. Among the more remarkable changes effected by the intrusive trap, he adverts to jaspidified schists inclosed between a large bifurcated mass of trap proceeding from Trafgarn. Having traced 230 the Silurian systemin a course of 120 miles from the Wrekin to Caer- marthen in ridges more or less parallel running from N.E.to S.W., the author has shown in former memoirs that this strike of the strata uni- formly coincides with the direction of linear outbursts of volcanic mat- ter. In Caermarthenshire vast dislocations and transverse breaks are exhibited by which the strata are for short distances thrown into E. and W. directions, but on the whole the south-westerly course is maintained. A ridge of intrusive rocks recently discovered, ranging _ between the rivers Towey and Taf (Castel, Cogan, &c.), having the same course, serves to explain how that dominant direction has been there preserved. In entering Southern Pembroke, however, the whole of the strata from the coal measures to the Cambrian rocks are thrown into an E. and W. direction, accompanied by violent contortions and powerful faults ; whilst in northern parts of the county the old N.E. and §.W. direction prevails. As these converging lines are accom- panied by linear, parallel ridges of trap rock, the author is confirmed in his belief that the forces which evolved the latter have been the proxi- mate cause of such directions; and he further refers the extraordinary convulsions and dismemberments to which the strata in Pembroke have been subjected, to the interference of two great lines of ele- vation dependent upon volcanic activity. In accordance with phe- nomena observed in other parts of S. Wales, it is remarked that all the superficial detritus is of local origin, the southern or lower part of the county being partially strewed over with the debris of the rocks which rise into mountains on the north coast. After some observa- tions on the blown sands, and the period of their formation, the author recapitulates the value of the Pembrokeshire coast sections in exhi- biting the “ Silurian System” precisely in the same geological position assigned to it from examinations in the interior ; and concludes by stating it as his opinion, that as this one county is shown to contain rocks in the true coal measures and in the old red sandstone, as well as in the Silurian and Cambrian systems, which from their lithological characters have been mistaken for “‘ greywacke,” the use of that word as expressing the age of rocks is no longer consistent with the ad- vanced state of geological science, and that if used, the name should either be rigidly restricted to some of the very oldest sedimentary de- posits, or simply employed as amineralogical definition of peculiar grits which actually reoccur in strata formed in many succesive epochs. Feb. 3.—James Thompson, Esq., F.R.S., of Primrose Hill near Clitheroe; James Winter Scott, Esq., M.P., of Rotherfield Park, Hants, and Grafton-street ; and George Warde Norman, Esq., of Bromley, Kent, were elected Fellows of this Society. A paper on “ The Gravel and Alluvia of S. Wales and Siluria as distinguished from a northern drift covering Lancashire, Cheshire, N. Salop, and parts of Worcester and Gloucester,” by R. I. Murchi- son, Esq., V.P.G.S., was read. The first part of this memoir describes the detritus in the Welsh and Silurian territories. The surface of this region is completely exempt from the debris of any of those far-transported rocks which 231 constitute what has been called “‘diluvium”’ in other parts of England; all the Joose materials in S. Salop, Herefordshire, and the adjoining Welsh counties having been derived from the Silurian and trap rocks of the adjacent mountains. These mountains range from N.E. to S.W., presenting inclined planes to the S.E., on the surfaces of which the broken materials are distributed. Four of the rivers which descend from the higher parts of Wales flow to the S.E. in accord- ance with the prevailing lines of drift, traversing the ridges of Silurian rocks through fissures which have resulted from dislocations of the strata. These are the Teme, the Onny, the Lug, and the Wye, all tributaries of the Severn. That great river, on the contrary, does not follow the “ line of drift” to the S.E., but escapes from the mountains to the north by a lateral gorge under the Breidden Hills; and after a circuit in the Vale of Shrewsbury passes eastward through a narrow transverse rent in the upper Silurian rocks and coal measures of Coal- brook Dale; and taking its final course southward, from Bridgnorth to the Bristol Channel, forms the eastern limit of the country covered by the Welsh or Silurian detritus. The drainage of the Teme, Onny, Lug, and Wye, is described in detail, with a view of showing, that m the valleys in which these rivers descend from the mountains, the ma- terials change with each successive ridge, the larger fragments being transported only short distances ; and that as the gravel advances into the plains, it becomes more finely comminuted ; Herefordshire and the low countries being chiefly covered with local debris of the old red sandstone. The author specially distinguishes this drift, which is extensively spread over valleys and slopes, and sometimes found in high situations, from the detritus which hasbeen carried down by rivers under the atmosphere, conceiving that the former accumulations have been washed down the surfaces of the inclined strata ; because wherever the latter dip tothe S.E., so are the materials invariably found to have been propelled in that direction. In no instance has any fragment been found on the west which can have been derived from rocks on the east. He therefore believes that at those periods when the Silu- rian and older rocks were raised from beneath the waters, great quantities of coarse and fine detritus were drifted down these slopes ; and that as the rocks on which the loose materials have been depo- sited are replete with dislocations, and penetrated at many pomts by ridges of trap rock, it is to be inferred, that during and after the evolution of this volcanic matter, great and successive elevations of the bottom of the sea took place, throwing up the drifts to the various heights at which we now find them. As soon as the land was raised from beneath the sea, the present rivers, it is conceived, began to flow ; passing through the ridges by gorges produced by great lateral cracks the result of elevation ; and that these streams have since merely trans- ported to short distances those broken materials which were previous- ly gathered together by subaqueous drift. To prove that the drifted matter of each district within this region may be referred to disturb- ances purely local, it is shown that although wherever the hills have been elevated from N.E. to S.W. the lines of drift are from N.W. to S.E., yet in those contiguous tracts which have been elevated in other- 232 directions the course of the drift changes immediately with the varia- tion of the strike. Thus on the exterior margin of the great coal-field of S. Wales vast quantities of materials resulting from the breaking up of the carboniferous series have been dispersed to the N.E., N., and N. West, directions excentric from the broken margin of that elevated tract. In Pembrokeshire, again, where the prevalent lines of strike are from E.to W., the drift has been carried southwards. Conceiving that the great masses of these drifts have been formed at various pe- riods under the sea, either in gulfs, estuaries, or straits, and have been raised up at different periods when the solid strata were elevated, the author then proceeds to consider the probable conditions of the surface of this portion of the country for some time after such emer- sion, and yet at a period comparatively remote. Heinstances many flat embayed tracts which, from the equable surface of the sand and gravel, are supposed to have been for some time under water, accu- pying lakes which have been drained by the deepening of gorges is- suing from these bays ; since it is shown that a very slight difference of level in the beds of rivers at several gorges would effectually bar up the present streams, and pond them back into lacustrine expanses. Hence he infers that slight additional movements of the land, aided by the excavating process of the rivers themselves, may have operated in draining these flat tracts. A large part of Herefordshire watered by the Wye is supposed to have been under such waters, which have since escaped by the picturesque gorges of Ross and Chepstow. The Vale of Radnor is a similar case; now drained only by a feeble rivulet. But the clearest examples of successive lacustrine expanses are ex- hibited in the descent of the Teme; first in the tract still called «© Wigmore Lake ;” from whence the superabundant waters have escaped through the upper Silurian rocks in the gorge of Downton on the rock; and next in various expansions and contractions between Ludlow andthe Abberley Hills, where they have been again barred up by that ridge until the gorge at Knightwick Bridge was deepened, opening out a channel for their escape into the great Valley of the Severn. The finely levigated sand, marl, and mud, at small heights above the present stream point to this anterior lacustrine condition. The period of the final desiccation of these river-lakes, and the reduc- tion of the rivers to their present channel, is supposed to have been contemporaneous with that recent elevation which in raising the land to greater heights brought up large adjacent portions of the bottom of the sea, and to the consideration of which the second part of the me- moir is devoted under the head of ‘‘ northern drift.” In the region of Welsh and local drift attention is specially called to the length of time during which existing causes have been in un- disturbed action, as proved by the magnificent mass of Travertino formed and still forming at the Southstone rock; whilst he also points to the discovery of shell marl in a bog near Montgomery, containing several species of Lymnea, which has evidently been formed in the manner described by Mr. Lyell in his memoir on the marl loch of Forfarshire. 333 Northern Drift.—Detritus differing entirely from that which covers Wales and Siluria, is spread over large parts of Lancashire, Cheshire, and N. Shropshire, ranging up to the edges of the region above mentioned., The materials of this drift consist of granites, porphyries, and other hard rocks, which have been derived from the mountains of Cumberland, a few perhaps from those of Scotland. The drift further contains much sand and clay, with many pebbles of smaller size, which varies exceedingly in different districts. Thus, in N. Salop, near the great outlier of lias, described by the author*, fragments of that formation are added to the mass, and as it advances to the south the materials become still more varied ; the fragments, however, of the northern granite and porphyries always existing to identify tne drift. Its distinguishing feature is the reoccurrence at intervals of large blocks or boulders, of northern origin, a large proportion of which lie at various heights on the slopes of the mountains skirting the N. Welsh coal-field, and encumbering the northern flanks of the Wrekin and of Haughmond Hill; while a few have been propelled to the. edge of the Silurian rocks south of Shrewsbury. They prevail in vast quantities in the high inland district between Wolverhampton and Bridgnorth, from which latitude they begin to diminish in size ; but coarse gravel, composed of the same materials, is prolonged south- wards lixe the tail of a delta through Worcestershire, until it dies away in the fine silt and gravel of the Vale of Gloucester. Not a fragment of any such detritus, enters into the region of Welsh and Si- lurian drift; but in the environs of Shrewsbury certain mounds of the Jatter are capped by clay and boulders of the northerm drift, which is thereby shown to be of subsequent formation. The best proof of the recency of the epoch during which this northern drift was accumulated is, that it contains sea shells of existing species. These were formerly noticed at Preston, in Lancashire, by Mr. Gilbertson ; and by the author at the height of 350 feet above the sea. In Cheshire they have been observed by Sir P. Egerton at heights of about 70 feet +. Mr. Trimmer has cited similar shells on Moel Tryfanet{, now ascertained to be 1392 feet above the sea, and has recently detected them near Shrewsbury. Mr. Murchison has collected evidence of their diffusion over a wide area in Shropshire, tracing them at intervals from Maring- ton Green, N.W. of Shrewsbury, by the Wrekin and Wellington, to the high grounds between Bridgnorth and Wolverhampton, at least 60 miles inland, and at heights varying from 300 to 600 feet. He has also been enabled to add several species to those mentioned in any former list. ‘These shells having been examined by good conchologists (including Dr. Beck, of Copenhagen,) prove to be identical with spe- cies now inhabiting adjacent seas, viz. Buccinum reticulatum, B. un- datum, Dentalium entalis (Linn.), Littorina littorea, Tellina soldula ? Venus » Astarte » Cardium tuberculatum, C. edule, Cyprina islandica, Turritella ungulina (Beck), ( Turbo ungulinus, Linn.,) Donax or Mactra. At wasa prevalent the belief that large boulders were usually lodged */Proceedings of the Geological Society, Vol. Il. p. 114. +; Lbid., Vol. Ih. p: 189 t Ibid., Vol. 1. p. 33h. VOL. . >.¢ 334 upon the surface of the gravel and sand; but cuts which have been made through mounds of these materials at Norton, near Shrewsbury, have proved that the larger blocks occur at considerable depths below the surface mixed up with shells, sand, gravel, and clay. This is the locality described by Mr. Trimmer* as indicating the exist- ence of dry land anterior to the deposit of the shells and gravel, by the occurrence of a peat bog, which he supposed to have been formed out of the remains of a submerged forest ; the stumps of the trees of which were said to be still rooted in their parent soil, and standing in their growing posture. Having examined the spot (accompanied by Dr. Du Gard), Mr. Murchison has obtained clear proofs that the sup- posed trees were stakes with sharpened points which had been driven down into a patch of subjacent clav; the other remains consisting of a plank and smaller stakes which had been laid horizontally. This woodwork formed the support of the old road, which in making the new one had been cut down beneath the ancient foundations. The patch of clay into which the piles were driven, lying in a depression between two hillocks of gravel, must have given rise to a wet and boggy spot, which having been rendered passable by piling and dam- ming, the dry materials of the contiguous hillocks were doubtless shovelled in to complete the road, thus giving rise to the deceptive appearances of marine drift overlying the supposed forest. Though the collocation of the boulders, sand, gravel, loam, clay, and shells is in parts very irregular, yet the materials are sometimes finely laminated: the whole, it is presumed, may have been thus brought together at the bottom of a sea, as the massis not unlike many raised sea-beaches, with one of which, at the mouth of Carlingford Bay, Ire- land, recently visited by Professor Sedgwick and himself, the author compares it. From the evidences afforded by these recent shells it is inferred, that the tracts covered by them must have lain under the sea during the modern period; whilst from the continuation of the granitic drift from the high grounds east of Bridgnorth into the Vale of Worcester, Mr. Murchison conceives that the sea must at the same time have covered the Valley of the Severn from Bridgnorth to the Bristol Channel, thus separating Wales and Siluria or one side, from En- gland on the other. Having shown that the Welsh and Silurian mountains were partly raised at an earlier period, he points out the Abberley and Malvern Hills, as constituting the western side of a strait of the sea, the eastern shore of which was the Cotteswold Hills. He deduces the principal proof of the preexistence of this eastern coast from the observations of Mr. H. Strickland, which show the transport from the east and north-east of fluviatile and land shells mixed with the remains of extinct quadrupeds in banks of coarse gravel, following the drainage of the Avon near to where that river empties itself into the Severn; and he asserts, that the terrace-like deposits of Cropthorne are exactly those which would have been ac- cumulated at the mouth of a river, if the materials had been carried onwards beneath the waters of the adjoining strait of the sea, illus-. * Proceedings of the Geological Society, Vol. II. p. 200. 335 trating his views by the analogies of other rivers and estuaries. He therefore presumes that the deposit of Cropthorne may have been coeval with that of the northern drift. After an explanation of the theories hitherto proposed to account for the transport of large boul- ders to distant points, the author states that the evidences in question seem to him to be subversive of the diluvial hypothesis which imagines that the blocks were carried over the land, it being proved that here, at least, they were accumulated under the sea. He does not think we have yet been furnished with a full explanation of any method by which such blocks can have been transported to distances of 100 miles: for supposing them to have been derived from the shores of Cumberland, and that they extended in a delta from thence, it would appear that assuming the slightest degree of inclination, viz. 3°,—which could give adequate momentum to the ordinary power of tunning water acting upon these loose materials,—the southern part of the delta (even at a distance of 50 miles from Cumberland,) must, as suggested by Mr. Lonsdale, have lain at the vast depth of 13,000 feet beneath the sea, in which case all Wales would have been equaliy submerged ; though we have proof that the mountains of that country had risen to acertain height previous to the accumulation of the northern drift. [tis further submitted that under the physical features of the region when this drift was formed, i. e. when a great arm and strait of the sea separated England from Wales, submarine currents alone could not have been powerful enough to propel these large blocks, though the question is one which ought to be more completely disposed of by those versed in the laws of dynamics. Mr. Murchison next takes into consideration the theory of the transport by ice. After allusion to the views of Esmarck, De l’Arriviére, Haussman, &c., it is shown that Mr. Lveil has thrown great additional light on this subject by his observations on Sweden and the Alps, by which it really ap- pears that under certain limitations ‘‘ice floes” may have been “ verze caus’’ in the transport of large blocks, depositing them under seas and lakes at great distances from the source of their origin. In the Salopian case, however, though it is possible such means may also have been employed, there are many arguments which weaken the application of the hypothesis, such as the rounded and worn exterior of the boulders, and their diminution in size and quantity from north to south. It might also be contended that we have no right to infer the existence of a colder climate in our latitudes in those days ; but this objection does not appear unanswerable, since it might be replied, that if at the period of the northern drift England, Ireland, and the continent of Europe were united by a lofty chain of mountains, there might have been a temperature sufficient to have formed annually large bodies of ice on the shores of Cumberland. Passing however from this difficult question of the method of transport, Mr. Murchison states that the greatest of the anomalies hitherto presented by these boulders is obviated, when we dispel from our minds the idea of their having been carried over preexisting lands. Having once ascertained that large distributions of them took place under the sea, the diflerent heights at which we now find them may, he supposes, be satisfactorily 306 accounted for, by movements of elevation and depression acting upon the bed of the sea with unequal measures of intensity, raising up shells, gravel, and boulders which were accumulated at the same period, to the respective levels which they now occupy, doubtless producing many of the cracks and fissures with which the solid strata are replete, and leaving denuded valleys between the points so elevated. PROCEEDINGS OF THE GEOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF LONDON. Vot. II. 1836. No. 44. AT THE ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING, 19th February, 1836, The following Report from the Council was read :— The Council has this year again to congratulate the Society upon a gradual increase in the number of its Members,—a fresh evidence of the interest taken by the public in Geological science. Forty-five new Fellows have been elected ; the deaths and resignations are 16. Upon the whole, the Society, which at the end of 1834 consisted of 745 Members, at the end of 1835 was increased to 774. The appearance of its finances is no less satisfactory. The expenditure in the past year has been under the estimates sub- mitted to the Society. The stock of the Society has been increased by the purchase of 300/. more 3 per cent. Consols; and upon the whole its property, last year valued at 17351. 15s. 10d., is now calculated to be worth 2102J.13s. The further details of the state of the Society’s finances are fully set forth in the annexed accounts. The probable expenditure in 1836 is estimated at about 1820/. Out of the proceeds of the Wollaston Fund at the Society’s dis- posal, the Council has thought fit this year to present a Medal to M. Agassiz, to mark their high sense of the value of his work of last year upon fossil fish; and to award to M. Deshayes the sum of 251. as some assistance to him in his labours on fossil conchology. The following is the Report of the Committee appointed to ex- amine into the state of the Library and Museums. REPORT of the Committee appointed to examine and report on the state of the Museums and Library. Museum. The labours of the Curator during the summer have been exerted in re-arranging the fossils belonging to the crag, London clay, chalk, upper green-sand, and gault, The specimens have now been put VOL, I. Y 338 up in the manner suggested by the Museum Committee of last year, with the effect, that though the number of specimens has been ma- terially increased, they do not occupy a greater number of drawers than previously, space being at the same time left for future addi- tions. ‘The specimens have all been fixed on wood, covered with white instead of black paper as formerly, which admits of the name being directly written on the paper, and dispenses with the use of labels. Their appearance is neat, and well adapted for consultation and study. The Committee have noticed with much satisfaction that the selection of the specimens, as well as their order and position, has been studiously made witha view to show the mutual relations of allied species, to illustrate varieties of the same species, and to exhibit in- ternal structure. ‘To render the collection more effective in these re- spects, it is desirable that donors should not consider duplicates un- necessary, since two shells, apparently identical, often, on close ex- amination, present slight varieties which more fully display the cha- racters of the species. The Committee beg to observe that the fossils of the Crag are very defective. The principal donors to this portion of the Museum have been Dr. Fitton, Miss Benett, Viscount Cole, and Sir P. Grey Egerton. The specimens in the collections below the Gault remain in the same state as at the last report; but the valuable series presented by Dr. Fitton will render the Wealden and Portland formations nearly complete. The specimens are in preparation, and will in a short time be introduced into their proper cabinets. The fossil fishes have been named by M. Agassiz; but the collec- tions are very far from being complete, particularly those from the lias of Dorsetshire. Coal- Measures and Inferior Strata.—The Society has received two small collections of fossils from Mr. De la Beche, presented in the name of the Ordnance Geological Survey. The Committee look with pleasure to this donation from a branch of the public service, from which great additions to the department of organic remains may be anticipated. Fossil fishes from the Coal-measures at Wardie and from other lo- calities have been presented by Lord Greenock, F.G.S. The Society is indebted to Mr. Murchison for a suite of fossils from the Silurian System of Rocks ; and to the Earl of Cawdor for fossils from the lower limestone shale and upper Silurian beds of Pembroke- shire. The principal donations of foreign specimens, are fossils from the Virgin Islands, collected by M. Schomberg for the Royal Geographical Society, and presented by that Society ; and the collections made in India by Mr. Royle, and presented by himself. The Committee have the satisfaction to observe, in noticing the fossils presented through M. Schomberg, that donations have been re- peatedly presented by the Royal Geographical Society of specimens collected by their agents. The Committee cannot close their Report on the Museum without 339 expressing the pleasure they derived from the excellent state of pre- servation of the whole Museum, and from the unwearid zeal and dis- criminating skill displayed by the Curator in arranging the collections. Library. The Society has received many valuable additions to the Library. About 100 volumes and pamphlets have been presented during the year, including the Transactions and Journals of the Royal Society, the Astronomical Society, Zoological Society, British Association, ~ Royal Asiatic Society, Cambridge Philosophical Society, Linnzan Society, Royal Geographical Society, Royal Society of Edinburgh, Muséum d’Histoire Naturelle, Berlin Academy, American Philoso- phical Society, Geological Society of France, Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia, Natural History Society of Geneva, and of the Roval Society of Lisbon. The Board of Ordnance continues to present to the Society the Maps of the English Trigonometrical Survey, and of the Townland Survey of Ireland. The Committee deem it necessary to call attention to the presentation of the Charts of the Depét-Général de la Marine of Paris, in return for a set of the Society's Transactions presented by the Council. EDWD. TURNER. J. FORBES ROYLE. Comparative Statement of the Number of the Society at the close of . the years 1834—1835. Fellows. 3ist Dec. 1834. 31st Dec. 1835. Having compounded ........ iSO Mae A As 90 Contribute oe. oe ee PAS | Rosia Ana hie eli 232 Non-residents jy) is jae DO ay rte 348 641 670 ETON OT ATE hii ieee eye nt ke CHES Se Ue 44 Foreign Members............ Diy ioe cibeke oy! 57 Personages of Royal Blood.... 3 .......... 3 TA5 774 The following Persons were elected Fellows of this Society during the Year 1835. January 7th.—James Pulleine, Esq. M.A. Cambridge, of King’s Bench Walk, Temple ; and Thomas Starkie Thomson, of Prim- rose, near Clitheroe. January 21st.—Edward William Brayley, Esq. Librarian to the Lon- don Institution. t ¥ 2 340 February 4th.—A. B. Cowie, M.D. of Mecklenburgh-street ; William Moody, Esq. of King’s Bench Walk, Temple ; Samuel Jones Loyd, Esq. of New Norfolk-street, Park-lane; and Alexander Nasmyth, Esq. of George-street, Hanover-square. February 25th.—The Rev. William Thornton, of Brockhall, North- amptonshire; Lord Adare, of Adare, in the county of Limerick; and Thomas G. Parry, Esq. of Trinity College, Cambridge. March 11th.—Richard Atkinson, Esq. M.A. of Trinity College, Cam- bridge, and of Old-square, Lincoln’s Inn; and the Rev. Ralph Lyon, M.A. of Trinity College, Cambridge, and of Sherborne, Dorset. March 25th.— William Tite, Esq. Honorary Secretary to the London Institution ; Lieut. Cautley, of the Bengal Artillery, Superintend-: ent of the Doab Canal ; William Hulton, Esq. of Hulton in Lanca- shire ; and George Edward Eyre, Esq. of Lincoln’s Inn Fields. April 8th.—Edward Bellasis, Esq. of New-square, Lincoln’s Inn; and Henry English, Esq. of New Broad-street. April 29th.—John Wiggins, Hsq. of Tavistock-place ; Geo. Vaughan, Hsq. of Cumberland-terrace, Regent’s Park; Lord Abinger, of Spring-gardens; and Christopher Puller, Esq. M.A. Barrister-at- Law. May 13th.—George Thomas Nicholson, Esq. of Waverley Abbey, near Farnham. June 10th.—Frederick Ayrton, Esq. Lieut. of the Bombay Artillery ; and John Cowley Fisher, Esq. of Woodhall, near Cockermouth, Cumberland. November 4th.—William Sisson, Esq. of Parliament-street ; and William Forster, Esq. of Bridport. November 18th.—Thomas Sopwith, Esq. of Newcastle-upon-Tyne ; Frederick John Bell, Esq. of Oxford-street ; David Urquhart, Esq. of Grafton-street, Bond-street ; and Lieut.-Col. Aitchison, of the Fusileer Guards, Piccadilly. December 2nd.—Edward Lewis Richards, Esq. of Pyle, Glamorgan- shire; The Rev. Edward Thomas Daniell, of Park-street, Grosvenor- square, and of Balliol College, Oxford; John Hare, jun. Esq. of Bristol ; Henry Leach, Esq. of Milford Haven, Pembrokeshire ; and M. Vander Maelen, Proprietor of the Geographical Institute at Brussels. ; December 16th—Lord Charles Harvey, of Trinity College, Cam- bridge ; James Brogden, Esq. M.A. of Trinity College, Cambridge, and of Lower Brooke-street ; George Woods, Esq. of East Dul- wich; Henry Thomas, Esq. of Cushion-court, Broad-street ; Ed- ward Charlesworth, Esq. of 3, Devonshire-square ; Rev. Leonard Jenyus, M.A. of Swaffham Bulbeck, Newmarket ; Charles Cardale Babington, Esq. M.A. of St. John’s College, Cambridge ; Charles James Fox Bunbury, Esq. of Great Barton, Suffolk ; and James Edmonstone, Esq. of George-square, Edinburgh. — 341 The names of the Fellows deceased are as follows :— Compounders none. Residents (6), H. H. Goodhall, Esq.; Viscount Milton ; William Smith, Esq. ; H. Trollope, Esq. ; Sir George Tuthill, M. D.; Pel- - ham Warren, M.D. Non-residents (6), David Doulas Esq.; Alexander Logan. Esq. ; Grenville Lonsdale, Esq.; Edward Mammatt, Esq. ; J. R. Under- wood, Esq.; John Vetch, M.D. The Museum has received many Donations since the last Anniver- sary, among which are included the following :— British and Trish Specimens. A Specimen of flexible Magnesian Limestone from Sunderland, and Fossils from the Lower Greensand; presented by John Willimott, Esq. F.G.S. Fossils from Blackdown; presented by Sir Philip Grey Egerton, Bart. M.P. V.P.G.S., and Viscount Cole, M.P. F.G.S. Fossils from the Silverdale Mines, Staffordshire ; presented by Sir Philip Grey Egerton, Bart. V.P.G.S. Specimens from “Portland ; and Fossils from the Strata below the Chalk in Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire; presented by William Henry Fitton, M. eD. F.G.S. British Minerals ; presented by J. H. Holdsworth, Esq. F.G.S. Specimens from the Pennant Grit and Dolomitic Conglomerate near Bristol ; presented by George Cumberland, Esq. Hon. Mem. GS. A Specimen of Silicified Wood from Chicksgrove quarry ; a Fossil Fish from Ladydown, Vale of Wardour; Fossils from the Moun- tain Limestone near Frome, and from Wiltshire, Blackdown, and Bognor; presented by Miss Benett, of Norton House near War- minster. Casts of an Occipital Bone, and the anterior Cervical Vertebre of the Ichthyosaurus lately found at Lyme Regis; presented by H. War- burton, Esq. M.P. F.G.S. Fossils from the Coal-measures near Keighley in Yorkshire ; pre- sented by the Rev. Thomas Drury. Bones from the Diluvium at Lawford; presented by the Rev. Wil- liam Thornton, F.G.S. Spirolinites in Chalk Flints from Stoke near Ciichasiens presented by the Marquis of Northampton, F.G.S. Specimens from the Arigna Mines; presented by John Rofe, jun. Esq, F.G.S. A Trilobite from the Dudley Limestone ; ; presented by John Rofe, Esq. Fossils from the Inferior Oolite of Leckhampton- -hill, and from the neighbourhood of Cheltenham ; presented by Capt. Mudge, Royal’ Engineers, F.G.S. Fossils from the Chalk at Grayesend ; presented bv Joseph Prestwick, jun. Esq. F.G.S. 342 Specimens from the Elephant bed in the neighbourhood of Brighton, _ and of Fishes from the Chalk of Sussex ; presented by Gideon Mantell, Esq. F.G.S. Ammonites perarmatus from the Coral Rag; and Fossils from the Chalk and Upper Greensand; presented in the name of the late Mrs. Kenyon, by J. Kenyon, Esq. F.G.S. Fossils from the Chalk and the Plastic Clay near Chatham ; presented by G. 8. Nicholson, Esq. F.G.S. A Slab of New Red Sandstone, with impressions of Fishes, from Rhonchill near Dungannon ; presented by Thomas Green, Esq. Specimens of Boulders from the Gravel at Ballingdon Hill, Essex ; presented by J. Brown, Esq. Fossils from the Chalk of Beachy Head and from the Hastings Beach; presented by Woodbine Parish, Esq. Sec. G.S. Fossil Fishes from the Coal Measures of Wardie near Newhaven ; Stoney Hill near Musselberg ; and the Edmonstone Colliery near Stoney Hill; presented by Major-General Lord Greenock, F.G.S. Remains of a recent Sheep imbedded in indurated Clay; presented by Messrs. Francis, White, and Francis. Fossils from the Limestone Shale of Pembrokeshire; presented by the Earl of Cawdor, F.G.S. Specimens of Selenite from the Sands of the Plastic Clay at Bishop- stone Cliff near Herne Bay; presented by William Richardson, Esq. F.G.S. Fossils from the Grauwacké Slate of Cornwall; presented by H. T. De la Beche, Esq. For. Sec. G.S., in the name of the Ordnance Geo- logical Survey. Fossils from the Grauwacké Slate near Bodmin; presented by Dr. Potts. Earthy Phosphate of Iron from Boyland near Long Stratton, Norfolk ; presented by Mr. Samuel Woodward. Specimens of the Sienitic Veins in the Mica Slate at Goodland Cliff, and the Chalk of Torr Eskert, county of Antrim ; presented by R. Griffith, Esq. F.G.S. Fossils from Bognor ; presented by James Laird, M.D. F.G.S. Specimens of Sandstone, with vegetable impressions, from the neigh- bourhood of Whitfield ; presented by the Rev. J. H. Scott, F.G.S. Fossil Plants from the Coal Measures at Barnsley, Yorkshire ; pre- sented by William Taylor, Esq. F.G.S. Foreign Specimens. Franklinite from New Jersey ; and Shelly Ironstone from Lake Mél- lor, between Hamburgh and Lubeck; presented by John Willimott, Esq. F.G.S. Casts of Bones of the Megalonyx laqueatus from Big-bone Cave in _ Tennessee; presented by Richard Harlan, M.D. Shells of existing species from the newer Pliocene Deposits in the Baltic ; and Rock Specimens from Teneriffe : presented by Charles Lyell, jun. Esq. P.G.S. 343 Specimens from Chili, Peru, and the Island of Fernandez ; presented by H. Cuming, Esq. Specimens from the Island of Ascension, the Mauritius, &c. ; pre- sented by the Rev. W. P. Hennah. Impressions of Fern Leaves on Shale from the Grit Formation near Hoderitz ; presented by M. John B. Batka of Prague. Minerals and Rock Specimens from Norway ; presented by M. H. Strom. A collection of Specimens from the Virgin Islands made by M. Schom- burgh, by direction of the Royal Geographical Society ; presented by the President and Council of the Royal Geographical Society. Specimens from the Cerro de Pasco, collected by Don Mariano Ri- vero ; presented by the Collector. Specimens from Beauvais; presented by Gideon Mantell, Esq. F:G.S. A Specimen. of Elba Iron Ore; presented in the name of the late Mrs. Kenyon, by John Kenyon, Esq. F.G:S. Fossils from Neuchatel; presented by Prof. Agassiz. Specimens from the Volcanic districts of the Rhine; presented by Lieut. Nelson, Royal Engineers. Fossils from Cerigo; presented by Lord Nugent. Fossil Vegetable Remains from the Coal Mines at Sydney, Cape Breton ; presented by J. B. Ford, Esq. A set of Teeth of the Gangetic Crocodile; presented by N. ‘I. Wethe- rell, Esq. Fossils a Malta ; presented by — Collins, Esq. Fossils from Van Diemen’s Land; presented by Richard W. Hay, Esq. Sher imnens from the Isle of Ascension; presented by Mrs. Warren, in the name of the late Dr. Warren. - Foreign Minerals; presented by J. H. Holdsworth, Esq. F.G.S. MIscELLANEOUS. A Specimen Basket ; presented by Capt. Chapman, R.N. The Lisrary has been increased by the Donation of about 100 Books and Pamphlets. Cuarts anp Maps. Nos. 46,52, and 63 of the Ordnance Survey of England; presented by the Master General and Board of Ordnance. N. E. Quarter Sheet of the 63rd Sheet of the Ordnance Survey of England, coloured Geologically, by Henry Still, Esq.; presented by H. Still, Esq. Ordnance Townland Survey of the counties of Fermanagh, Down, and Armagh ; presented by Lieut.-Col. Colby, by direction of His Excellency the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland. A Mineralogical and Geological Map of the Coalfield of Lancashire, 344 with parts of Yorkshire, Cheshire, and Derbyshire, by Elias Hall; presented by Mr. Elias Hall. The Depot Générale de la Marine of Paris has presented the fol- lowing collections of Charts :— 1, Le Pilote Frangais, 3 volumes; 2. Exposé des Travaux relatifs & la Reconnaissance des Cétés Occ. de France; 3. Mémoire sur les Attérages des Céotés Occ. de France; 4. Le Pilote de la Corse (34 Cartes et Plans en feuilles); 5. L’Atlas de la Martinique (9 Cartes et Plans en feuilles) ; 6. Description nautique des Cétés de la Mar- tinique ; 20 Cartes et Plans en feuilles. Esquise Orographique de l’Europe, par O. N. Olsen, en 1830 ; pre- sented by M. O. N. Olsen. Carte Géologique du Départment de la Manche, par M. A. De Cau- mont ; presented by M. A. De Caumont. A rough sketch by Néggerath of the part of the Eifel between Adenau and Witlick ; presented by Lieutenant Nelson, Royal Engineers. The Tuixp Part of the Third Volume, and the Firsr Part of the Fourth Volume of the Society’s Transactions have been published since the last Anniversary. The following Lisr contains the Names of all the Persons and Public Bodies from whom Donations to the Library and Museums have been received during the past year. Academy of Natural Sciences of | Broderip, W. J. Esq. F.G.S. Philadelphia. Bronn, Dr. H. G. Agassiz, L. LL.D. Broun, J. Esq. American Philosophical Society held at Philadelphia. Cambridge Philosophical Society. Analyst, the Editor of. Cawdor, Earl of, F.G.S. Atheneum Club. Charlesworth, Edw. Esq. F.G.S. Clark, George, Esq. Bahama Society for the Diffusion | Clarence Club. of Knowledge. Colby, Lieut.-Col. F.G.S. Baily, Francis, Esq. F.G.S. Cole, Viscount, F.G.S. Batka, Herr J. B. Collins, — Esq. Beaufort, Capt. R.N. Hon. Mem. | Connell, Arthur, Esq. GS. Cumberland, George, Esq. Hon. Beke, Charles T. Esq. Mem. G.S. Benett, Miss. Cuming, H. Esq. Birt, W. R. Esq. Boblaye, M. Puillon de. Daubeny, Charles G. B. M.D. Brayley, E. W. jun. Esq. F.G.S. F.G.S. Breton, Lieut. R.N. F.G.S. De Caumont, M. A. Brewster, Sir David, F.G.S. De la Beche, H.T. Esq. For. Sec. British Association. Per Gass 345 Depot Général de la Marine of Paris. ‘D’Omalius d’ Halloy, M. Drury, Rev. Theodore. Egerton, Sir Philip Grey, F.G.S. English, Henry, Hsq. F.G.S. Faraday, Michael, Esq. F.G.S. Featherstonaugh, G. H. Esq. EGS. Fischer de Waldheim, Gotthelf. Fitton, W. H. M.D. F.G.S. Foord, J. B. Esq. Forchhammer, Dr. G. Francis, White, and Francis, Messrs. Geological Society of Dublin. Geological Society of France. Grateloup, M. Green, Thomas, Esq. Greenock, Major-General Lord, B.G.S. Griffith, Richard, Esq. F.G.S. Gumprecht, Herr T. E. Hay, Richard W. Esq. Hall, Mr. Elias. Harlan, Richard, M.D. Hastings, Charles, M.D. F.G.S. Hawkins, Thomas, Esq. F.G.S, Henslow, Rev. J. S: F.G.S. Herschel, Sir John, F.G.S. Hibbert, Samuel, M.D. F.G:S. Hitchcock, Prof. Heeninghaus, M. Fredk. Wm. Holdsworth, T. H. Esq. F.G.S. Hopkins, William, Esq. F.G.S. Horticultural Society. Institute of British Architects. Ireland, His Excellency the Lord Lieutenant of. Jager, Dr. G. F. Jenyns, Rev. Leonard, F.G.S. Kenyon, John, Esq. F.G.S. Kielmeyer, Herr C. von. Kirby, Rev. William, F.G.S. Laird, James, M.D. F.G.S. Leeds Philosophical Society. Lhotsky, Dr. John. Linnean Society. London Institution. Loudon, John Claudius, Esq. F.G:S. Lyell, Charles, Esq. jun. P.G.S. Main, Mr. James. Manchester Mechanics’ Institu- tion. Mandelsloh, Count Fredk. de. Mantell, Gideon, Esq. F.G.S. Marcel de Serres, M. Mariano Rivero, Don. Master-General and Board of Ordnance. Mather, Wm. W. Esq. Morton, Samuel George, M.D. Mudge, Capt. R. BE. F.G.S. Muséum d’Histoire Naturelle de Paris. Nattali, Mr. Necker, L. A. M. For. Mem. G:S. Nelson, Lieut. R. E. Nicholson, G. S. Esq. F.G.S. Northampton, Marquis of, F.G.S. Nugent, Lord. Olsen, Capt. R.N. Parbury and Co. Parish, Woodbine, Esq. Sec. G.S. Paxton, Mr. J. Pentland, J. B. Esq. Phillips, John, Esq. F.G:S. Phillips, Richard, Esq. F.G.S. Potts, Dr. Prestwich, Jos. jun. Esq. F.G.S. Rennie, George, Esq. F.G.S. _ Repertory of Patent Inventions, Editor of. Richardson, William, Esq. F.G.S. Rofe, John, Esq. Rofe, John, jun. Esq. F.G.S. 346 Ross, Sir John, R.N. Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland. Royal Academy of Lisbon. Royal Academy of Science at Ber- lin, Royal Astronomical Society. Royal Geographical Society. Royal Society of London. Royle, John Forbes, Esq. F.G.S. Royal College of Surgeons. Scharf, Mr. G. Scott, Rev. J. H. F.G.S. Sheepshanks, Rey. Rich. F.G.S. Sherwood and Co., Messrs. Silliman, Benjamin, M.D. Hon. Mem. G.S. Société de Physique et d'Histoire Naturelle de Paris. Sopwith, Thomas, Esq. F.G.S. Sowerby, Mr. G. B. jun. Statistical Society of London. Sternberg, Count, Hon. Mem. G.S. Still, Henry, Esq. Strickland, Hugh Edwin, Esq. F.G.S. Strom, H.C. Esq. Studer, Herr B. Taylor, William, Esq. F.G.S. Taylor, Richard, Esq. F.G.S. Thornton, Rev. William, F.G.S. Virlet, M. Theodore. Von Buch, Herr Leopold, Hon. Mem. G:S. Warren, Mrs. Walker, Frederick, Esq. F.G.S. Warburton, Henry, Esq. F.G.S. Wetherell, N. T. Esq. Whewell, Rev. William. F.G.S. Willimott, John, Esq. F.G.S. Woodward, Mr. Samuel. Yarrell, William, Esq. Yates, Rev. James, F.G.S. Yorkshire Philosophical Society. Zoological Society. List of Parans read since the last Annual Meeting, February 20, 1835. February 25th.—A Paper on the Volcanic Strata exposed by a Sec- tion made on the site of the New Thermal Spring discovered near the Town of Torre del Annunziata in the Bay of Naples, with some remarks on the Gases evolved by this and other Springs con- nected with the Volcanos of Campania; by Prof. Daubeny, M.D. _—_—_—— A Letter from Lieut. Freyer, R.N. addressed to C. Lyell, Esq. P.G.S. on the Appearance of Elevation of Land on the west coast of South America. March 11th.—Description of a Bed of Recent Marine Shells near Elie on the Southern Coast of Fifeshire ; by William John Hamil- ton, Esq. Sec. G.S. Observations on the Diluvium of the vicinity of Finchley, Middlesex ; by Edward Spencer, Esq. F.G.S. March 25.~Remarks on the Structure of large Mineral Masses; and especially on the Chemical Changes produced in the Aggre- gation of Stratified Rocks during different periods after their De- position; by the Rev. Professor Sedgwick, F.G.S. April 8th.—Notice on the Junction of the Portland and the Purbeck Strata on the coast of Dorsetshire; by William Henry Fitton, M.D. F.G.S. 347 April 8th.—Observations on the Gamrie Ichthyolites, and on the accompanying Red Conglomerates and Sandstones; by Joseph Prestwich, jun. Esq. F.G:S. April 29th.—Remarks to illustrate Geological Specimens from the West Coast of Africa; by Capt. Belcher, R.N. F.G.S. ——_-— A Description of some Specimens collected on the _ Island of Ascension by the Rev. W. P. Hennah, and communicated by the Rev. Richard Hennah, F.G.S. On a Bed of Gravel containing Marine Shells of recent Species, at “‘ The Willington” in Cheshire; by Sir Philip Grey Egerton, Bart. M.P. V.P.G.S. ——_——— Notice of a newly discovered Gigantic Reptile; by the Rev. Wm. Buckland, D.D. F.G.S. May 13th—On the Cretaceous and Tertiary Strata of the Danish Islands of Seeland and Moen; by Charles Lyell, Esq. P.G.S. — Ona peculiarity of Structure in the neck of Ichthyosauri not hitherto noticed; by Sir Philip Grey Egerton, Bart. M.P. V.P.G.S. May 27th.—On certain Lines of Elevation and Dislocation of the New Red Sandstone of North Salop and Staffordshire, with an ac- count of Trap Dykes in that Formation at Acton Reynolds near Shrewsbury ; by Roderick Impey Murchison, Esq. V.P.G.S. —— On the Crag of part of Essex and Suffolk; by Edward Charlesworth ; communicated by Edward William Brayley, Esq. F.G.S. June 10th.—Note on the Trappean Rocks associated with the (New) Red Sandstone of Devonshire ; by Henry T. De la Beche, For. Sec. G.S. &c. On the Range of the Carboniferous Limestone Flanking the Primary Cumbrian Mountains, and on the Coalfields of the north-west coast of Cumberland, &c.; by the Rev. Adam Sedgwick, F.G.S. Woodwardian Professor in the University of Cambridge, and Williamson Peile, Esq. F.G.S. of Whitehaven. ‘On the occurrence near Shrewsbury of Marine Shells of existing Species in Transported Gravel and Sand resting upon a Peat Bog which contains Imbedded Trees ; by Joshua Trimmer, Esq. F.G.S. ——_—l— Description of some Fossil Crustacea and Radiata; by William John Broderip, Esq. F.R.S. F.G.S. &c. —__—_— A Letter from Sir Philip de Malpas Grey Egerton, Bart. M.P. V.P.G.S. addressed to the President, On the Discovery of Ichthyolites in the south-western portion of the North Staffordshire Coalfield. On the Bones of Birds from the Strata of Tilgate Forest in Sussex ; by Gideon Mantell, Esq. F.G.S. Remarks on the Coffin-bone (distal phalangeal) of a Horse, from the Shingle Bed of the newer Pliocene Strata of the Cliffs near Brighton ; by Gideon Mantell, Esq. F.G.S. A Letter from Prof. Daubeny, M.D. F.G.S. to the Pre- sident, On the Mineral Spring lately discovered near Oxford. 348 November 4th.—A Notice on the Fossil Beaks of four extiact Species of Fishes referrible to the genus Chimera, which eccur in the Oolitic and Cretaceous Formations of England ; by the Rev. Wil- liam Buckland, D.D. F.G.S. Professor of Geology and Mineralogy in the University of Oxford. On the recent discovery of Fossil Fishes ( Palgoniscus catopterus, Agassiz,) in the New Red Sandstone of Tyrone, Ire- land; by Roderick Impey Murchison, Esq. F.G.S. oo A Systematic Enumeration by M. Agassiz of the Fossil Fishes hitherto discovered in England. November 18th.—A Letter from Dr. Pingel of Copenhagen to the President, containing a Notice of some facts showing the Gradual Sinking of the Coast of Part of Greenland. Some Notes by Capt. Fitzroy, R.N. read at a Court Martial held at Portsmouth, October 19th, 1835, on Capt. Sey- mour and his Officers for the Loss of the Challenger Frigate, wrecked on the coast of Chili, near the Port of Conception; communicated to the President by Capt. Beaufort, R.N. Memoir on the Geological Relations of the South of Ireland ; by Thomas Weaver, Esq. F.G.S. Some Geological Notes made during a Survey of the east and west coasts of South America in the years 1832, 1833, 1834, and 1835, with an account of a Transverse Section of the Cordillera of the Andes between Valparaiso and Mendoza; by T. Darwin, Esq. of St. John’s College, Cambridge; and commu- nicated by Prof. Sedgwick, F.G.S. December 2nd.—A Letter from Capt. Belcher, R.N. F.G.S. addressed to Woodbine Parish, Esq. Sec. G.S. dated 10th of March, 1835, inclosing two others from Lieut. Bowers, R.N. and H. Cuming, Esq. —_—____———— A Paper on the Effects of the Earthquake Waves on the coasts of the Pacific; by Woodbine Parish, Esq. Sec. G.S. December 16th.—Notes on the Geology of Denmark, by Dr. Beck of Copenhagen ; communicated by the President. ——_____—— An Extract from a Letter addressed to the President by Hugh Edwin Strickland, Esq. F.G.S. On Currents of Sea Water Flowing into the Land near Argostoli in the Island of Cephalonia. —- A Paper on the Occurrence of Fossil Vertebrz of Fish of the Shark Family in the Loess of the Rhine near Basle; by Charles Lyell, Esq. P.G.S. ————— A Notice on the Occurrence of Selenite in the Sands of the Plastic Clay at Bishopstone near Herne Bay; by William Richardson, Esq. F.G.S. January 6th, 1836.—A Notice on the Transportation of Rocks by Ice, extracted froma letter addressed to Charles Lyell, Esq. P.G:S. ; by Capt. Bayfield, R.N. A Letter from H. T. De la Beche, Esq. For. Sec. ad- dressed to the President, dated Truro, the 18th a December, 1835, On the Fossils of Schistose Rocks of the North of Cornwall. — A Paper on the Sienite Veins which Traverse Mica. 349 Slate at Goodland Cliff, and Chalk at Torr Eskert, to the South of Fair Head, in the county of Antrim; by Richard Griffith, Esq. F.G.S. & P.G.S. of Dublin. January 20th—A Paper on the Geological Structure of Pembroke- shire; more particularly on the Extension of the Silurian System of Rocks into the coast Cliffs of that county ; by Roderick Impey Murchison, Esq. V.P.G.S. February 3rd.—A Paper on the Gravel and Alluvia of South Wales and Siluria as distinguished from a Northern Drift covering Lan- cashire, Cheshire, North Salop, and parts of Worcester and Glou- cester ; by Roderick Impey Murchison, Esq. V.P.G.S. 350 Sums actually Received and Expended, RecEIPtTs. Balances in. hand January 1, 1835: een aSHi Ge cee Banker (including 417. 8s. 0d. Wollaston Prin ly) eon tar hee aoe ee ey et DOGO aL) Accountantiys ne ha. seels atv ae 40 0 0 - —— 629 Arrears : Eo, bi he Admission#beesseer en eee er 44 2 0 Annual Contributions ............ 166 3 6 210 Ordinary Income: edo Gs) Gh Annual’Contributions. 4-27). oe. 548 12 6 Admission Fees : Sousa wads Residents ........ 119 14 O Non-Residents .... 126 0 0 RrERe 245 14 0 794 Compositions ecg icteric eroe tee cletedo etn cree 189 25.) So Uh, Subscriptions to Alteration Expenditure du- INNES EAT eRe PN lta re euNed eatemellt 35 11 0 Ditto ATLEATS ja) ietsrap tater hors 39 2 0 Ot Baa ah Transactions sold during 1835 .......... 216 7 O Ditto during 1834, paid for in ESO meV erases sei. PO Ac ARVIN eats Ce 016 0 — 217 PROCeedin esa 2h Mek Lien: Cree Rede te le Me ck ea 10 Wollaston Donation Fund, Interest on 10841. ls. 1d... 32 Dividends, 500/.3 per cent.Consols,12months 15 0 0 Ditto 3001.3 percent. Red, 6 months .. 4 10 0 NR SND) e a) 0 £2177 7 4 301 _ during the Year ending December 31, 1835. PayMENTS. Bills outstanding: Bap. Be NGS wee GB) Us Salaries and Wages ...........ssesscececcocscscoeces 109 19 6 FtouseyEMpenSes) ceecweccecciesciernieseecieccieecicociacie ©); sy AVARRES 54c00000000000000 poogoocEcaDoDNDoGEDADOHEDISONGEND 915 0 Tea and Waiters ...........ccccecceccscccesrecsesees 6 6 9 Scientific Expenditure ............ lbciel dslenietisletste 0 19 11 Sewers Rates for 1833 and 1834..........sesssseeees 6 0 0 Repairs of House ..........ccccecsscerscscescovecsees QO 7 oO SKETHOINGIAY. \ sogoacso00acoqobagEeHE40G00000000000000000000 018 6 Alteration Expenditure .........cccccsscessseoseeee 119 16 4 263 18 2 General Expenditure: 25, 35 Oh Household Furniture — .........ccsscesessereeerences 26 10 3 Repairs Of HOuse .........cesecceccssccceecsreeeecoes 13 0 1 House Expenses ...........scescescccceccceecscocces 168 11 2 Taxes, Parochial ............cesceseeeees 19 15 O =n ISTHE" — cosonoaoacno0cceb0505C00000 2119 8 - 41 14 8 Tmsurance si eieecssoececnccescicccssosedesecsaeeeece 6 0 O 255 16 2 Salaries and Wages: Bay Ge Oh Curator and Assistant ......sccsccccscescoscoseecees 200 0 O (Oar Rut) PAA ae tase msescrSECHBCaHECLCTECCHOROSCES DOCS anos 75 0 O Porter, Housekeeper, and Servant ....... 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Ii, 354 The Reports having been read, it was resolved :— That these Reports be received and entered on the Minutes of the Meeting, and that such parts of them as the Council may think fit, be printed and distributed among the Fellows of the Society. The President then announced the award of the Wollaston Medal and Proceeds for the past year ; and, in doing so, said, GENTLEMEN, You have learnt from the Report of the Council that the Wollaston Medal has been awarded to Mr. Agassiz of Neuchatel for his work on Fossil Ichthyology, and that the sum of 25/. from the Donation Fund has been awarded by the Council to Mr. Deshayes in promo- tion of his labours in fossil conchology. I shall now proceed to re- quest Mr. Broderip to communicate this adjudication to his friend Mr. Agassiz, and IJ shall deliver in charge to our Foreign Secretary, Mr. De la Beche, the sum which has been voted to Mr. Deshayes. The President then addressed Mr. Broderip in these words :— Mr. Broperip, I have great pleasure in requesting you to inform Mr. Agassiz, of Neuchatel, that the Council of the Geological Society have awarded the Wollaston Medal to him for his work of last year on Fossil Ich- thyology. On a former occasion we presented the proceeds of the Donation Fund for one year to the same distinguished naturalist, to assist him in the publication of the early part of his great work, the importance of which was then only beginning to be known to the scientific world. It will ever be a subject of gratification to us to have learnt that this small pecuniary aid was not without its influence in accelerating the publication of his “ Researches on Fossil Fish,’’ arriving as it did opportunely at a moment when the funds which could be appro- priated for the undertaking were nearly exhausted. Mr. Agassiz acknowledged at the time his obligation to us for a mark of sympathy and regard which he received so unexpectedly from a foreign country, and which cheered and animated him to fresh ex- ertions. You will have the kindness to acquaint him that the Council in now awarding the Medal to him, are desirous that he should possess a lasting testimony of their esteem and of the high sense which they entertain of the merit of his scientific labours. Mr. Broperip replied,— Srtr.—I accept the trust: and permit me, on the behalf of Pro- fessor Agassiz, to offer his best thanks to the Society for the seal which it has this day set on the powerful zoological lever which he has placed in the hands of Geologists. This crowning gift will be doubly precious to him when he reflects: 399 on the high character of those who have awarded it, and hears of the expressions with which you, Sir, have been pleased to accom- pany it. These, he will feel, are the incentives _ “ that the clear spirit do raise To spurn delights and live laborious days.” He will look upon the illustrious head that gives dignity to the gold—upon the representation of “that dark eye” before whose glance as it has been eloquently said by one of your predecessors, all false pretensions withered—and the sight will inspire him with new energies. The President then addressed Mr. De la Beche in these words :— Mr. De ta BeEcue, It is now my duty to deliver into your hands as Foreign Secretary of this Society the sum of 25/., and it is with great satisfaction that I request you to inform Mr. Deshayes of Paris that this portion of the proceeds of the Wollaston Donation Fund has been awarded to him by the Council for the promotion of his labours in Fossil Con- chology. I beg that you will express to Mr. Deshayes at the same time how highly we appreciate the services which he has already rendered to Geology by his description of the fossil shells of the strata above the chalk, to which he has chiefly, although not exclu- sively, devoted his attention ; and we rejoice to hear that he is now engaged in the investigation of the fossil shells of the older for- mations. We are not ignorant that he has prosecuted his scientific studies with zeal and enthusiasm under circumstances of considerable dif- ficulty ; and we trust that the notice thus taken of his labours may encourage him to persevere in devoting the powers of his mind and his great acquirements to a department of science so eminently subservient to the advancement of Geology. Mr. De ta Becue on receiving the donation expressed the plea- sure which it gave him to be requested to communicate the intelli- gence to Mr. Deshayes, and the satisfaction which he felt in pub- licly avowing his approbation of the award of the Council. It was afterwards resolved :— 1, That the thanks of this Society be given to Roderick Impey Murchison, Esq. and Henry Warburton, Esq. retiring from the office of Vice-President. . 2. That. the thanks of this Society be given to George William Aylmer, Esq. ; Arthur Kett Barclay, Esq. ; John Henry Vivian, Esq. ; Sir Richard Vyvyan, Bart.; and the Rev. James Yates, retiring from the Council. Zz 2 306 ' On the balloting glasses having been duly closed, the scrutineers announced that the following gentlemen had been elected the Officers and Council for the ensuing year. OFFICERS. PRESIDENT. Charles Lyell, jun. Esq. F.R.S & L.S. VICE-PRESIDENTS. Rey. William Buckland, D.D. F.R.S. Professor of Geology and Mi- neralogy in the University of Oxford. Sir Philip de Malpas Grey Egerton, Bart. M.P. F.R.S. George Bellas Greenough, Esq. F.R.S. & LS. Edward Turner, M.D. F.R.S. L. & E. Professor of Chemistry in the University of London. SECRETARIES. William John Hamilton, Esq. Woodbine Parish, jun. Esq. F.R.S. FOREIGN SECRETARY. Henry Thomas De la Beche, Esq. F.R.S. & L.S. TREASURER. Tohn Taylor, Esq. F.R.S. COUNCIL. Francis Baily, Esq. F.R.S. & L.S. William John Broderip, Esq. F.R.S. & LS. William Clift, Esq. F.R.S. Sir A. Crichton, M.D. F.R.S. William Henry Fitton, M.D. F.R.S. & L.S. Henry Hallam, Esq. F.R.S. Robert Hutton, Esq. Roderick Impey Murchison, || Esq. V.P.R.S. F.L.S. Viscount Oxmantown, F.R.S. John Forbes Royle, Esq. F.L.S. Rev. Adam Sedgwick, Woodwar- dian Professor in the University of Cambridge, F.R.S. & L.S. Lieut.-Col. W. H. Sykes, F.R.S. & LS. Henry Warburton, Esq. M.P. F.R.S. Rev. Maat Whewell, F.R.S. & Sons | 307 Address to the Geological Society, delivered at the Anniversary, on the 19th of February, 1836, by Cuaries Lyetr, Jun., Esq., President. GENTLEMEN, You have learnt this morning, from the annual report of the Council, that the financial affairs of the Society continue to flourish ; and that since our last anniversary we have published the conclud- ing part of the third volume of our Transactions, and the first part of a fourth volume. Another part of the same volume is nearly ready, and the Council have directed their thoughts seriously to the means of preventing, in future, the accumulation of such heavy arrears of unpublished memoirs. ‘The delays have hitherto arisen from a desire to print all papers containing original and valuable matter in the order in which they were presented; but many have been sent to us in so unfinished a state as to retard the printing of the rest, and, as the science advances rapidly, and new facts pour in daily, the authors even of the most finished memoirs soon require to make additions and corrections, and thus the evil is continually augmenting. The Council have therefore resolved, for the future, to print at once those memoirs which are in the most complete state, without waiting for others which are imperfect. During the last year there have been elected into the Society 45 new members, and we have lost 4 by resignations and 12 by deaths. Among the names of the deceased Fellows I may mention those of Mr. Goodhall and Mr. Mammatt as having zealously contributed to the progress of our science. Mr. Goodhall was an active collector of British fossils, and to his labours we owe many valuable contri- butions to our museum, and the discovery of shells of new species figured in Sowerby’s Mineral Conchology. The work of Mr. Mam- matt, on the Coal-field of Ashby-de-la-Zouch, has been honourably mentioned by my predecessor Mr. Greenough, in his last anniver- sary speech. Mr. Mammatt had superintended, for more than thirty years, the working of extensive coal mines, and kept a record of the details of various sections with which he was practically acquainted. To these documents he has added several plans of remarkable faults which intersect the carboniferous strata of Leicestershire. He has shown that on one side of one of these faults the beds rise to the height of 500 feet above the corresponding beds on the other side, yet the mass of uplifted strata does not project above the gene- ral level of the country. He infers, therefore, that it has been removed by denudation, and that the wreck of it alone now remains on the surface in the shape of sand and boulders. Mr. Conybeare has drawn similar conclusions respecting analogous phee- nomena observed on a still greater scale in the Newcastle coal di- strict.* Whether the denudation was sudden or gradual, or whether the faults were produced at once or were the result of a series of * Report on Geology to the British Association, 1832. 358 movements, are points which the limits of this discourse will not allow me to discuss at present. Mr. Mammatt contends that these enormous shifts were not effected by volcanic convulsions, but simply by a quiet and uniform operation accompanying the desiccation, shrinking, and induration of dense masses of argillaceous and other rocks, an opinion which, however ingenious, seems irreconcileable with the evidence of violent disruption with which this and other coal-fields abound. Mr. Mammatt’s volume is illustrated by more than one hundred plates of fossil plants, but it is much to be re- gretted that before executing such costly illustrations the author did not obtain the assistance of a skilful botanist, who might have selected the most important and might have added descriptions, without which mere figures can scarcely ever convey accurate in- formation. Early in the spring of last year an application was made by the Mas- ter General and Board of Ordnance to Dr. Buckland and Mr. Sedg- wick, as Professors of Geology in the Universities of Oxford and Cam- bridge, and to myself, as President of this Society, to offer our opi- nion as to the expediency of combining a geological examination of the English counties with the geographical survey now in progress. In compliance with this requisition we drew up a joint report, in which we endeavoured to state fully our opinion as to the great ad- vantages which must accrue from such an undertaking, not only as calculated to promote geological science, which would alone be a sufficient object, but also as a work of great practical utility, bear- ing on agriculture, mining, road-making, the formation of canals and rail-roads, and other branches of national industry. The enlight- ened views of the Board of Ordnance were warmly seconded by the present Chancellor of the Exchequer, and a grant was obtained from the Treasury to defray the additional expenses which will be incurred in colouring geologically the Ordnance county maps. This arrangement may justly be regarded as an economical one, as those surveyors who have cultivated geology can with small increase of labour, when exploring the minute topography of the ground, trace out the boundaries of the principal mineral groups. This end, how- ever, could only be fully accomplished by securing the cooperation of an experienced and able geologist, who might organize and direct the operations: and I congratulate the Society that our Foreign Secretary, Mr. De la Beche, has been chosen to discharge an office for which he is so eminently qualified. At the same time that measures are thus in train for complet- ing a Geological Map of England on a magnificent scale, the Map of Scotland, by Dr. MacCulloch, which has been so long and im- patiently expected, is at length on the eve of publication. But at the moment when I can announce this welcome intelligence we have to deplore the sudden loss of this distinguished philosopher. The first paper in the first volume of our Transactions was from the pen of Dr. MacCulloch, and subsequent volumes contain no less than eighteen of his memoirs. It would lead me far beyond my present limits were I to attempt to give a general analysis of 309 these, and of his numerous other works on geology, such as his Western Islands and his Classification of Rocks. The influence exerted by them on the progress of our science has been powerful and lasting, yet they have been less generally admired and studied than they deserve. Their popularity has been impaired by a want of condensation and clearness in the style, a defect which no one could more easily have remedied than the author, had he been willing to submit to the necessary labour. Another blemish has also contributed to give a repulsive character to some of his later productions, especially his System of Geology, the absence, or ap- parent absence, of all enthusiasm and love for his subject, and a _ disposition to neglect or speak slightingly of the labours of others, and even to treat in a tone bordering on ridicule some entire depart- ments of science connected with geology, such as the study of fossil conchology. I attribute these imperfections principally to habitual ill health acting upon a sensitive mind, for certainly, Dr. MacCul- loch’s spirits were much depressed by bodily sufferings when I had first the pleasure of knowing him, about the year 1825. His imagination was then haunted with the idea that his services in the cause of geology were undervalued, and it was in vain to com- bat this erroneous impression. After that period he almost entirely withdrew himself, even when residing in London, from all personal intercourse with the most active geclogists; and to those who knew him this seclusion from scientific society was a subject of frequent regret. Having expressed myself thus unreservedly on some of the peculiarities and defects of his style, I may affirm that as an origi- nal observer Dr. MacCulloch yields to no other geologist of our times, and he is perhaps unrivalled in the wide range of subjects on which he displayed great talent and profound knowledge. For myself I may acknowledge with gratitude that I have received more instruction from his labours in geology than from those of any living writer. One of the most important communications which we have re- ceived for many years is an essay by Professor Sedgwick on the changes of structure produced in stratified rocks after their deposi- tion. Respecting the magnesian limestone, he has confirmed by new arguments the conclusions which he formerly drew, in proof that the complicated concretions of this rock have been pro- duced since the original deposition of the beds. But the principal part of his memoir is devoted to the description of the cleavage or slaty structure of rocks, and those partings which have been called joints. The author first shows the analogy of the Cumbrian zone of green slate and porphyry with the structure of the principal chain of North Wales. In these regions, as in part of the slaty series of Westmoreland and Lancashire, occur many beds exhibiting a slaty cleavage, which the Professor distinguishes from a jointed structure. Joints, he says, are fissures placed at definite distances from each ather, the masses of intervening rock having no tendency to cleave in a direction parallel to such fissures: whereas in the planes of cleavage, the rock is capable of indefinite subdivision in a direction 560 parallel to such planes. The planes of stratification, on the other hand, are perfectly distinct from both, and throughout the district alluded to have never been found to coincide with the lines of cleav- age, dipping sometimes to the same point and sometimes to opposite points of the compass, but being always inclined to them at an angle of from 10° to 30° or 40°, and in no instance at 90°. There are re- gions in North and South Wales thirty miles in extent, and many miles in breadth, where the cleavage planes preserve an undeviating dip and direction notwithstanding that they traverse strata which are greatly contorted. In that variety of slate-rock which is used for roofing, all traces of original deposition or stratification are often obliterated ; yet in many quarries, a number of parallel stripes are discovered, sometimes of a lighter and sometimes of a darker colour than the general mass. These stripes, says the Professor, are universally parallel to the true beds, whenever such beds can be discovered, whether by or- ganic remains, by the alternations of similar deposits, or other ordinary means. Many of these beds are of a coarse mechanical structure, others are fine chloritic slate; but the coarser beds and the finer, the twisted and the straight, have all been subjected to one change, a crystalline cleavage passing alike through all. Some of the sections given show the cleavage planes preserving an almost geometrical parallelism while they pass through curved strata, of which the sedimentary origin is obvious. In another place it is said that where the slaty cleavage is very perfectly brought out the rocks always make an approach to homogeneity, but where the coarse beds predominate the slaty structure almost entirely dis- appears. Dr. Boase in his comments on these passages has re- marked that they seem inconsistent with each other, and I confess that at first they struck me in the same light; but the Professor has explained to me that although the coarse beds are not slaty, they have a grain parallel to the cleavage planes of the finer beds, this grain being exhibited when they are struck with the hammer ; and it is only when the materials of the beds are very coarse that the cleavage planes entirely vanish. In regard to the origin of these phenomena, the author supposes that crystalline or polar forces must have acted on the whole mass simultaneously in given directions, and that the action being carried on at once through a very large mass of matter may have acquired an accumulated intensity of crystalline action in each part, so that the whole intensity of crystalline force, modifying the mass, may not have been equal to the sum of the forces necessary to cry- -stallize each part independently, but may have been some function of that sum whereby it may have been increased almost indefinitely. I regret that I have not space to do justice to this ingenious speculation, nor have I yet had sufficient opportunities of obser- vation to know whether we shall be able to distinguish generally, with precision, those slates which are diagonal to the strata, from those flagstone-slates, as it is proposed to term them, which are pa- rallel to the layers of deposition. During the lastsummer I observed. | 361 in the Swiss Alps that the fissile roofing-slate and drawing-slate of the Niesen, in the Canton of Berne, divides into extremely thin la- mine, which are parallel to the true planes of stratification. ‘Phe direction of the beds is shown by alternations of coarse and clearly mechanical strata of a kind of greywacke, the whole series belong- ing to the Green Sand or fucoid grit formation. If it be said that these slates may owe their laminated texture to extremely minute flakes of talc, mica, or some other foliated mineral which may have fallen as sediment and have been al! deposited on their flat surfaces, I reply, that in that case they would exemplify the exact similarity of certain acknowledged slates of deposition to others which have originated in crystalline forces independent of sedimentary action. Mr. Murchison, after confirming the truth of the Professor’s obser- vations as applied to all those regions of Wales which have come within his survey, has pointed out what might by some be considered an exception to the rule in a part of the slate-rocks of Pembroke- shire, where the planes of slaty cleavage are coincident with the true laminze, as proved by colour and the alternation of various layers of deposit. Mr. Murchison states, however, that although these rocks are quarried as roofing-slates, and are a part of the older system, they may be classed by Mr. Sedgwick as fine flagstones. Some confusion will, I fear, arise from attempting to restrict the term slate to those cases alone where the cleavage is oblique to the stratification ; but whatever nomenclature we adopt, it is clear from the excellent paper of the Professor, that three distinct forms of structure are exhibited in certain rocks throughout large districts : namely, first, stratification; secondly, joints; and thirdly, slaty cleavage; the last having no connexion with true bedding, and being superinduced by a cause absolutely dependent of gravita- tion. These different structures must have different names, even though there may be cases, and I believe there will be many, where it is impossible, after carefully studying the phzenomena, to decide upon the class to which they belong. One curious consequence, but slightly alluded to by the author, ap- pears to follow from the facts described, namely, that the slaty struc- ture must have commenced at a period posterior to the last series of violent movements which dislocated the strata and threw them into anticlinal and synclinal lines. Such disturbances would have de- ranged the parallelism of the cleavage planes. If, therefore, there are proofs, as I believe there are, of the elevation or subsidence of these rocks since they assumed the slaty structure, the whole country must have been moved bodily, or the separate masses, if they changed their relative position, must have moved in such directions as to allow the dip of the cleavage planes to remain un- altered. It is with pleasure that I next call your attention to the investi- gations which Mr. Murchison has been steadily pursuing in the older fossiliferous rocks of Wales and the bordering counties of England. He has at length brought his survey of five years to a successful termination; and his work will form a most important 362 step in the progress of geological science, not merely as elucidating the history of a portion of the sedimentary formations of our island, but as fixing the characters of a succession of normal groups to which the strata of other parts of Europe, and perhaps of America, may be referred. A large and beautifully illustrated treatise, in which he intends to give a detailed description of his original ob- servations and views, will soon be published. In the mean time we have tasted, as it were by anticipation, the fruits of his labours, having, year after year, received at our meetings the earliest intel- ligence of his discoveries, and having freely discussed and criticized them long before it has been possible for him to lay the whole in a matured and digested form before the public. You are aware that the system of rocks, which have been the chief object of his re- search, constitutes the upper part of what was formerly called the transition or greywacke series. In these strata, which had previ- ously remained in a state of obscurity and confusion, he has distin- guished several formations. The old red sandstone rests conform- ably on the uppermost of these, while the lowest of them repose both conformably and unconformably on the ancient slate-rocks of Wales. Mr. Murchison proposes the general name of “Silurian” for this whole system, as the strata may best be studied in those parts of England and Wales once occupied by the ancient British nation the Silures. The necessity of a new term has arisen from the uncertain lati- tude with which the word “transition” had been applied, some au- thors including in it the carboniferous rocks, and also from the still greater confusion introduced by the word “ greywacke,” a term which can only be employed conveniently, in a mineralogical sense, to designate a peculiar kind of rock which has been formed at many successive epochs. ‘Thus, for example, in the memoir now under review, it is shown that in Pembrokeshire grits, which have passed for greywacke, occur in the true coal-measures, in the old red sand- stone, in the Silurian, and in the still older systems of rock. Below the Silurian strata are slate-rocks of older date, in which traces of organic remains have been again detected ; and Professor Sedgwick has suggested the name of Cambrian for this more ancient system, which is conterminous over a wide territory with the Silu- rian formations, the relative position of both being clearly seen. Mr. Murchison has recently traced the Silurian system running in zones through Pembrokeshire, and there rising out in the coast cliffs from beneath the old red sandstone as conformably as in the interior of the country,—an important verification of the accuracy of his previous determinations. Great lithological changes are, how- ever, observed to take place in these localities, so distant from the best types of the system; thus, the “‘ Ludlow and Wenlock” formations are no longer distinctly separated by subordinate limestones, and are therefore simply termed the “ upper Silurian rocks,” and these, changing their soft argillaceous characters of ‘‘ mudstone,” become hard sandstones, yet contain some well-known organic remains ; whilst the lower Silurian rocks, or Caradoc and Llandeilo formations, . 363 not only maintain their usual fossil distinctions, but exhibit lime- stones of much greater thickness than in any other part of their course. Mr. Murchison has also shown that rocks occupying a large coast tract in Pembrokeshire, which from their mineral aspect had been laid down as “greywacke”, consist of true coal-measures. After noticing a ridge of intrusive rocks in Caermarthenshire, be- tween the Towey and the Taf, as connected with certain great lines of dislocation, he points out, in the Cambrian System of Pembroke- shire, examples of the existence of two classes of trap rock, one bedded or contemporaneous, the other amorphous and of posterior intrusion. He further shows that the main directions of the stra- tified deposits of this county are parallel to divergent zones of trap. Tn another paper the same author states that he has lately disco- vered to the north-west of Shrewsbury, proofs of an eruption of trap posterior to the new red sandstone, and probably to the lias. This line of fissure along which he has observed the new red sand- stone affected for a distance of thirty miles is on the precise pro- longation of a linear eruption in the Breiddin Hills, which he had previously pointed out as having been in progress during and after the epoch of the deposition of the Silurian strata. The more modern trap is made up of a peculiar felspathic rock identical with some of those at the great vent of eruption fifteen miles distant, where they both alternate with and are intruded into the more ancient deposits. It appears from these observations that volcanic operations were renewed along the same line after a wide interval of time, showing that we must be on our guard against inferring the synchronism of coincident lines of derangement. ‘The repetition also in the same spot and at two distant periods of a trap identical in mineral cha- racter 1s curious, and reminds me of an opinion lately mentioned to me by Mr. Von Buch, that the composition of lava is often deter- mined by that of preexisting voleanic rocks near the point of erup- tion. Thus on two opposite sides of the same volcano, as on Tene- riffe for example, a trachytic flow of lava will issue from a mass of trachyte, and a basaltic flow from rocks of basalt. Mr. De la Beche has shown that the trappean rocks are associated in such a manner with the new red sandstone of part of Devonshire,— among other places, near Tiverton and Exeter,—as to indicate that the trap and the sandstone were each in the course of formation at the same period. Some beds of sand present every appearance of hav- ing been of volcanic origin, and ejected from a crater, but the sand became mixed with common detrital matter then in process of de- position at the bottom of the sea. Numerous angular fragments, some of them even one or two tons in weight, of quartziferous por- phyry with a felspathic base, are intermingled with the conglome- rates of the old red sandstone, and do not resemble any trappean rocks discovered in place in this district. Mr. De la Beche conjec- tures with much probability that these fragments were ejected from voleanic vents, and that they fell upon the sand and pebbles then in 364 the course of deposition around such vents, and were thus included. The author has not failed to show that the original features of the bed of the sea, of the period of eruption alluded to, have been obli- terated by subsequent denudation; and I may suggest that this cause has often prevented geologists from recognizmg the analogy of trappean phenomena to those of submarme and insular volcanos now active. In another communication Mr. De la Beche informs us that the “ Cornish grauwacké,” in which term he here comprises the slates of that country and their associated sandstones and conglomerates, contains in some places organic remains. Specimens of these fos- sils have been presented by him to our museum. He also states that this greywacke formation, which extends into Somerset and Devon, is older than Mr. Murchison’s Silurian system, and may be subdivided into natural sections, coinciding perhaps with some ob- served by Professor Sedgwick in the Cambrian group. The slates of Tintagel, long since known to be fossiliferous, belong to the same age as this greywacke of Cornwall. A joint paper by Professor Sedgwick and Mr. Williamson Peile has made us acquainted with the carboniferous limestone flanking the primary Cumbrian mountains, and with the coal-fields of the north-west coast of Cumberland. These carboniferous strata rest unconformably on the primary Cumbrian slates. The carboniferous series is divided into four groups: Ist, The great scar limestone; 2nd, Alternations of limestone, shale, and coal; 8rd, Millstone grit; 4th, Great upper coal formation. It appears that the struc- ture of the carboniferous limestone is nearly the same as that of the Yorkshire chain so admirably described by Professor Sedgwick in the first part of our fourth volume just published. Mr. Griffith, who has for so many years been preparing a geologi- cal map of Ireland, has described to us the position of some ves of syenite which traverse the mica-slate and chalk near Fair Head in the county of Antrim. The syenite is composed of dark green crystal- lized hornblende and brownish red felspar, with occasional grains of quartz ; and the chief point of interest consists in the circumstance that the syenitic veins have the appearance in general of being regu- lar beds in the mica-slate, being for the most part conformable both in strike and dip. They are found, however, when more closely examined and traced for some distance, to deviate from the strati- fication of the mica-slate, and to have an indented and saw-like edge at their junction. Similar syenitic veins also penetrate through the chalk in the neighbouring part of the coast, and near their contact with the chalk nodules or spheroidal masses of syenite are occa- sionally observed so isolated and surrounded by chalk that had not the intruding veins clearly proved its posteriority, the syenite might be mistaken for the older rock, rounded fragments of which had been imbedded in the calcareous stratum. These phznomena remind us of the isolated nodules of granite which in Cornwall, the Valorsine, and other countries, occur in the tmmediate vicinity of granite veins. 365 I have next to call your attention to an able sketch of the geo- logy of Denmark, which you will find at some length in our Pro- ceedings, from the pen of an eminent Danish naturalist, Dr. Beck, of Copenhagen. He describes in Bornholm, besides the granitic and Silurian rocks, certam strata which appear to agree with our Weal- den group in mineral character and fossil plants, some of these being the same as those found in the Hastings sands, although the shells are marine. In Bornholm this formation is characterized by containing coal. The most remarkable feature in the geology of Denmark Proper is the great development of the cretaceous system above the white chalk with nodular flints. In the island of See- land the ordinary white chalk is covered with a hard yellowish limestone containing some fossils of the white chalk and others peculiar to itself, especially univalves of the genera Trochus, Fusus, Voluta, Oliva, Cyprzea, and Nautilus. At Faxoe this rock consists of an aggregate of corals of unknown depth, but certainly mcre than forty feet thick. When I myself visited the Faxoe quarries in 1834 in company with Dr. Forchhammer, the rock struck me as agreeing with the description usually given of the limestone in re- cent coral reefs. The fossil zoophytes of Faxoe are often cemented together by white chalk, which may recall to your recollection the recent chalk which Lieut. Nelson has presented to our museum from the coral reefs of the Bermudas. This recent substance is not distinguishable from some of the white marking chalk of En- gland, and like it is composed of pure carbonate of lime. It is in fact a white earthy mud, known to be derived from the decomposi- tion of the softer corallines, such as Eschara, Flustra, and Celle- pora. These observations support an opinion which has long been entertamed by some geologists that all chalk may be derived from the decomposition of shells and zoophytes. While on this subject I may mention a discovery made by Mr. Lonsdale during the last summer, and which he has permitted me to announce. In arranging our collection he has: found that our common white chalk, especially the upper portion of it, taken from different parts of England, (Portsmouth and Brighton among others, ) is full of minute corals, foraminifera, and valves of a small ento- mostracous animal resembling the Cytherina of Lamarck. From a pound of chalk he has procured, in some cases, at least a thou- sand of these fossil bodies. ‘They appear to the eye like white grains of chalk, but when examined by the lens are seen to be fossils in a beautiful state of preservation. According to Dr. Beck there is a whitish and hard chalk above the Faxoe beds almost entirely made up of pulverized zoophytes including bivalves and Echini, chiefly of the same species as those of the white chalk with flints, and with corals like those of Faxoe. There are layers of flint or chert in this upper division. These conclusions, drawn from a careful examination of an extensive series of the Danish fossils, are very important, for it was formerly ima- gined by Dr. Forchhammer that the Faxoe beds and the overlying chalk belonged to the calcaire grossier, an idea suggested by the ‘ 366 ® generic resemblance of the shells to those of the tertiary deposits. But none of the species, according to Dr. Beck, agree with any known tertiary fossils, and the secondary genera Ammonite and Baculite occur among the Faxoe shells. Some of the Faxoe corals agree with those of Maestricht, and the newest of the cretaceous for- mations of Seeland and Jutland agree more nearly with those com- monly called the Maestricht beds than with any previously known. Dr. Beck, however, says that the organic remains difter on the whole from those of Maestricht, and are more analogous to those found at Kunruth near Liege. The cliffs of Moen, one of the Danish islands, are composed of white chalk with nodular flints. The fossils agree with those of the chalk of England and France, as was shown in the year 1827 by the list of more than one hundred species of them given by Dr. Beck in Leonhard’s Taschenbuch der Mineralogie. ‘Two years before, Dr. Forchhammer had published in the Transactions of the Royal Danish Academy his opinion respecting Moen, and extracts from his paper afterwards appeared in the Edinburgh Journal of Science for July 1828. He then considered the Moen chalk to be an integral part of the same tertiary deposit of sand and clay which contains erratic blocks in Denmark; and in confirmation of this opinion he gave sections representing an alternation of chalk with beds of tertiary sand, clay, and loam. Being desirous of inquiring into this singular phznomenon I visited the Moen cliffs in company with Dr. Forch- hammer in 1834, and came toa different conclusion. I have explained to the Society my reasons for inferring that the association of the cretaceous and tertiary deposits may be referred to the violent dis- turbances which the chalk strata have undergone. The cretaceous beds are curved, vertical, or shifted, and, upon the whole, more de- ranged than the chalk in Purbeck or the Isle of Wight. In fact the movements have been on so great a scale that masses of the overlying clay and sand have subsided bodily into large fissures © and chasms, intersecting the chalk to the depth of several hundred feet. Some of the intercalations of clay and sand in the midst of great masses of unconformable chalk can only, I think, be explained by supposing engulfments of superincumbent matter, such as are described to occur during earthquakes. These appearances are analogous to those exhibited by masses of chalk nearly enveloped in crag near Trimmingham in Norfolk, although the Danish phe- nomena are on a much grander scale. Dr. Forchhammer did not fully concur in these opinions in 1834, but he appears to have since adopted them for the most part, in an excellent memoir on the geo- logy of Denmark, a copy of which has been lately sent by him to the Society, accompanied by a small coloured map of the whole of Denmark and Bornholm. As the fossils of the upper cretaceous series of Denmark are very peculiar, and of so much interest from their position, I have plea- "sure in stating that figures and descriptions of them are in the course of publication by Dr. Beck, and I may add that we owe this work . to the liberality and the zealous interest taken in our science by an 367 illustrious member of our Society, the Crown Prince of Denmark. The collection of recent shells formed by His Royal Highness and now in his private cabinet,—more extensive perhaps than any other in Europe,—has afforded Dr. Beck the most ample facilities of com- paring fossil and recent shells, and from the opportunities thus en- joyed we may look, at no distant period, for results which will ma- terially advance the general progress of fossil conchology.* Few communications have excited more interest in the Society than the letters on South America addressed by Mr. Charles Darwin to Professor Henslow. Mr. Darwin has devoted four years, from 1832 to 1835 inclusive, to the investigation of the natural history and geology of South America. From the position of the tertiary deposits which exist on both sides of the southern Andes, he con- cludes that the primary chain must have had a great elevation an- terior to the tertiary period. A transverse section from Rio Santa Cruz to the base of the Cordilleras, and another on the Rio Negro exhibit the structure of what Mr. Darwin calls the great southern tertiary formations of Patagonia, which may be separated into groups of distinct periods analogous to those already established in Europe. The lowest group is of great extent and thickness, and in one in- stance was observed to alternate with a bed ef ancient lava, which seemed to mark the commencement of the eruptions from the cra- ters of the principal chain of the Andes. Among the shells and corals, even of this lowest deposit, are some which are supposed to belong to species now living in the neighbouring Pacific. Over- lying this is a stratum of rolled porphyry pebbles, which the author traced for 700 miJes. Scattered over the whole, and at various heights above the sea, from 1300 feet downwards, are recent shells of littoral species of the neighbouring coast, so that every part of the surface seems once to have been a shore, and Mr. Darwin supposes that an upheaval to the amount of 1300 feet has been Owing to a succession of small elevations, like those experienced in modern times in Chili. The principal section described is one transverse to the Andes, extending from Valparaiso to Mendoza. ‘The Cordillera consists here of two separate and parallel chains, the western being com- posed of stratified sedimentary rocks resting on granite. The strata are violently dislocated and contorted along parallel north and south lines, and become crystalline as they approach the gra- * Having been led to speak of cretaceous fossils, I may state that it has been a question whether certain fossils found in the English chalk, and called by Mr. Mantell Hippurites Mortoni, are truly referrible to the genus Hippurite. When I first saw one of these fossils in the collection of Mr. Robert Hudson, I conjectured that it might belong to the family of Conia and Balanus ; but I regret that this opinion has been published as mine in Loudon’s Magazine, as it was abandoned by me as soon as I had opportu- nities of minutely examining the specimens. (See Loudon’s Mag., No. 58.) Without being able to decide whether they are truly Hippurites, I may state that I believe ‘them to belong to the family of Rudistes of Lamarck, and that they are not allied to Conia. 368 nite. Some of the slates and limestones, probably referable to the transition period, contain organic remains at an elevation of 13,000 feet above the sea. In the eastern chain are sandstones and conglo- merates, and associated felspathic rocks regularly bedded, and more recent than the rocks of the western chain, being partly made up of their debris. After much investigation Mr. Darwin convinced him- self that these were of the same age with certain tertiary deposits of Patagonia, Chiloe, and Conception, resembling them in mineral cha- racter and in the lignite and fossil wood which they contain. In one escarpment is seen a sandstone of this system in which there is a wood of petrified trees in a vertical position, some of the trees being perfectly silicified and of dicotyledonous wood, others con- sisting of snow-white columns of coarsely crystallized carbonate of lime. They appear to have formed a clump of trees which had grown on lava and was then submerged, so that layers of fine sand- stone were quietly deposited between the trunks. The enveloping sandstone rests on lava, and is again covered by a bed of black au- gitic lava about 1000 feet thick. Over this there are at least five other grand alternations of similar rocks and aqueous deposits, amounting in thickness to several thousand feet. The same sedi- mentary strata, or the continuation of them, are not only altered by granite, but are traversed by dikes of granite proceeding from the mass, and also by numerous metallic veins of iron, copper, arsenic, silver, and gold, all of which can be traced to the underlying gra- nite. A gold mine has been worked close to the clump of silicified trees. From these observations I am led to suspect that, as in some parts of the Alps, the metamorphic structure has been assumed by strata high up in the secondary series, so in the Andes the same structure has been superinduced on certain tertiary deposits which have been also penetrated by granitic and by metalliferous veins. Dr. Daubeny has analysed a new thermal spring discovered near the town of Torre del Annunziata in the Bay of Naples, and he re- fers the origin of nitrogen gas in this and other springs in the vol- canic region of Naples and Mount Vultur to a process of subterra- nean oxygenation analogous to combustion. In the excavations made in volcanic tuff and lava near Torre del Annunziata for gain- ing access to the spring, vestiges of walls and buildings with fresco paintings, and other traces of human art were discovered, and vege- table mould containing the stems of reeds, similar to those now growing in the neighbourhood, and a fir and cypress tree in an up- right position. ‘The buildings must have been overwhelmed before the soil existed on which the fir and the cypress grew, as this soil was formed upon the materials which enveloped the town. Mr.H. E. Strickland and Mr. Hamilton have examined a cavity be- low the level of the sea in Cephalonia adjoining the coast, into which a constant stream of sea water is flowing, and has been flowing for years. This singular phenomenon had previously attracted the at- tention of Mr. Martin and of Lord Nugent and others, some of whom had speculated, like Mr. Strickland, on the probability of the 369 water thus descending through crevices being converted into va- pour in subterranean hollows, and then carried off in other direc- tions in the form of stufas or hot springs. I forbear to enlarge on this subject at present, as a description of the facts drawn up by Mr. Martin before Mr. Strickland’s visit, will shortly be read to the Society. We have received from Capt. Belcher a suite of geological spe- cimens from various parts of the west coast of Africa, with remarks on the reefs and sand-banks of that coast ; and a collection from the Rev. W. Hennah of recent calcareous limestone and volcanic pro- ducts from the island of Ascension. I shall next consider some papers relating more or less exclusively to fossil zoology, which have been read at our meetings during the Jast session. We are indebted to Mr. Broderip for a description of some new species of fossil Crustacea and Echinodermata, which were discovered by Lord Cole and Sir P. Egerton in the lias of Lyme Regis. One of these crustaceans belongs to a genus intermediate between the Palinurus and the Shrimp. It is of a gigantic size compared to any recent species, and belongs to a division of which the living types have been only met with in the arctic regions. Sir P. Egerton has described some peculiarities of structure in the occipital bone of an Ichthyosaurus, observed in the skeleton of a new and gigantic species recently discovered by Miss Anning at Lyme Regis. He also states that the axis and atlas in this genus are usually found adhering firmly together, and they are connected by an auxiliary bone, showing that strength rather than freedom of lateral motion was required in the neck of these animals. These observations have been confirmed by Mr. Owen and Mr. Clift. It has often been a question whether the bones of birds had ever occurred in strata below the chalk, some of the thin fragile bones found at Stonesfield, and formerly considered to be those of birds, having been ascertained to belong to Pterodactyls. In order to elucidate this point, Mr. Mantell lately placed all his specimens from the Wealden, supposed to be those of certain Grallee, or waders, in the hands of Mr. Owen, and the result of his examination has con- firmed Cuvier’s opinion that they are true ornitholites. They seem, therefore, to be the oldest authenticated fossils of this class hitherto found in Great Britain. The rarity of such remains in geological formations, especially in the marine, cannot surprise us; for in the recent shell marl of Scotland, formed in lakes much frequented by water-fowl up to the moment of their drainage, no bones of birds have as yet been detected amongst the numerous relics of deer, ox, pig, and other quadrupeds occurring in the marl. Mr. Darwin, in his travels in South America before alluded to, found, in crossing the continent from the Rio Negro to Buenos Ayres, many large bones of Mastodons, and other remains of the Mastodon at Port St. Julian, 50° S. lat., at a distance of more than six hundred miles from the former. He also saw, in the gravel of Patagonia, many bones of the Megatherium, and among VOL, Il. ZA 370 the remains of five or six species of quadrupeds associated with them, he detected those of a species of Agouti. Our museum has just been enriched by a truly magnificent present of fossil bones from India, more valuable than any which have reached England since those obtained by Mr. Crawfurd and Dr. Wallich from Ava. They were collected and presented to us bya gentleman whom we last year elected a Fellow of this Society, Capt. Cautley of the Bengal Artillery,and their existence seems to have been first distinctly recog- nized by Dr. Falconer, superintendent of the Botanic Garden at Saha- runpore. These organic remains come from the range of hills for- merly called Sewalik, which skirt the base of the Himalayan Mountains from the Ganges to the Sutluj rivers, or from north lat. 30° to 31°. They abound in part of the range to the westward of the Jumna river, and belong to the genera Mastodon, Elephant, Hippopotamus, Rhi- noceros, Hog, Anthracotherium, Horse, Ox, Deer, Antelope, Ca- nis, Felis, Gavial, Crocodile, Emys, Trionyx, besides fish and shells. Among the fossils there are some considered to be new genera, and one which Messrs. Cautley and Falconer have called Sevatherium. We have also received a splendid collection of specimens of rocks from the Himalayas, illustrating the two sections published by Mr. Royle in his work on these mountains, from the plains to the snowy passes, and his section across the central range of India. _ Several new facts have been brought to light in fossil ichthyo- logy during the last year. Sir P. Egerton has found in the coal- field of North Staffordshire, among other remains of fish, some scales of the Megalichthys, that large sauroidal fish first described by Dr. Hibbert as occurring at Burdiehouse, near Edinburgh. I have lately seen a large tooth of this fish in a mass of Cannel coal found in Fifeshire by Mr. Horner and described by him in a paper read before the Royal Society of Edinburgh. It will be remem- bered that these teeth were formerly referred to saurians, to which, in fact, the Megalichthys had a much nearer affinity, according to Mr. Agassiz, than has any fish now living. Sir P. Egerton has also published a catalogue of the fossil fish in his cabinet at Oulton Park, and in that of Lord Cole, at Florence Court; two collections which are described by Mr. Agassiz as unrivalled in England in this de- paxtment of organic remains, and only equalled by two others in the rest of Europe, that of Count Munster, at Baireuth in Bavaria, and that of the Royal Museum of Paris*. In this catalogue Sir Philip has given the names and loealities of about 200 ichthyolites, British and foreign, and. has indicated the geological position of each. Remains of fishes have been found by Mr. Prestwich in a forma- tion of sandstone and red conglomerate which overlies the old red sandstone in Banffshire. He supposes the deposit to be of the age of the coal-measures, an opinion which is in accordance with the characters of the ichthyolites as determined by Mr. Agassiz. * Agassiz, Poiss. foss , 4me livr. p. 45. 371 One of the most perplexing enigmas in paleontology has lately ‘been solved by Dr. Buckland, who has discovered that some cu- rious fossils of the oolitic and cretaceous strata, which had long baffled the skill of comparative anatomists, are in fact the upper and lower jaws of extinct species of Chimera, a rare genus of living fish. These fossils had been found by Sir P. Egerton in the Kimmeridge clay, by Mr. Townsend in the Portland stone, and by Mr, Mantell in the chalk. They belong to four distinct species, of which the characters are given by Mr. Agassiz. ‘The scientific world is indebted to the splendid museum of comparative ana- tomy at Leyden for the opportunities enjoyed by Dr. Buckland of comparing the skeleton of the recent Chimera with the fossils alluded to. Mr. Agassiz has described two very singular genera of fossil fish from the lias, one of which has been known under the name of Squalo-raia from Lyme Regis; the other from Whitby, called Gy- rostris mirabilis, probably the largest known fish, Hitherto the new red sandstone in Great Britain had been desti- tute of all organic remains, but some distinct impressions of fish of the genus Paleoniscus, 4g., have now been observed in this for- mation near Dungannon in Ireland. The geological position of these has been pointed out by Mr. Murchison, and a slab of sandstone presented to the Society by Mr. Greer exhibits on a single surface only two feet square, impressions of about 250 fishes. I have already had occasion to allude more than once to the name of Agassiz, on whom the Council have this day conferred the Wollaston Medal. I may say with pleasure, that in his second visit to England, as in that of the preceding year, he has given an impulse to the study of fossil remains in various departments which will long be felt in this country. It is not merely sound knowledge which he has freely communicated to all who have enjoyed his so- ciety, but what is even of more lasting profit, a generous enthusiasm for the study of every department of natural history and particularly of fossils. ‘The great work on which he is now engaged yields not in importance to any that has ever been undertaken for the illustra- tion of organic remains, and the progress which he has already made at so early an age, holds out the most encouraging prospects of his future success. When we consider the strong ties of affinity which unite together all animals of the vertebrate classes, and reflect that man himself, viewed in reference to his organization, belongs to this great divi- sion of the animal kingdom, we cannot but feel the highest interest in tracing the remains of the vertebrate animals through geological formations of every age, from the newest to the most ancient. Ina small part of Europe alone more than 800 species of ichthyolites have already been determined, They are distributed through strata of all epochs; no less than 54 species have already been discovered in the carboniferous rocks, and five or six have been met with in the still older Silurian formations. The museums of Great Britain alone have afforded to Mr. Agassiz 2A2 372 no less than 300 new species of ichthyolites, 50 of which have been added since our last anniversary. He had previously pointed out as a general law that particular generic types are strictly confined to certain groups of strata, and it is remarkable that so vast an accession of new species offers but few exceptions to the rule. In the chalk two species have come to light belonging to genera before observed in the oolitic series only, and a distinct species of one of these genera extends even into the lower or Eocene tertiary deposits. The labours of Mr. Charlesworth have thrown much light on the structure of the crag of Suffolk and Essex, and on the fossils of that deposit. He proposes to divide the crag into the upper or red crag, and the lower or coralline crag, the last of which consists for the most part of calcareous sand, derived chiefly from the decom- ‘position of zoophytes and shells, and in which many very perfect corals and testacea are preserved. Among other places this coral- line crag may be well examined at Tattingstone, Ramsholt, Orford, and Aldborough. It is now many years since Mr. Wood, of Hes- -kerton in Suffolk, formed a large collection of crag fossils, amount- ing in number to no less than 450 species of the classes Annulata, Cirrhipeda, Conchifera, and Mollusca. Out of 370 species of shells found in the lower crag, Mr. Wood identifies 150 with those found in the red crag. Of these 150 species, common to the two deposits, Mr. Charlesworth suggests that many may have belonged to the lower bed and have been washed into the newer one, in the same manner as some fossil shells of the chalk have been evidently im- bedded in the crag. - : Such accidental mixtures have doubtless occurred, and they have been occasionally remarked by geologists in other places under analogous circumstances. But I continue to believe that these upper and lower divisions of the crag should be referred to the same geological period. The determination of that period or the exact place which the crag should occupy in the chronological series of European strata is a more difficult question. When I first sub- mitted 111 species of crag shells to the examination of M. Deshayes, he was of opinion that 66 of them were extinct, and that the others belonged to recent species now inhabitants of the German ocean. T lately laid before him 60 species from the coralline crag with which Mr. Charlesworth had favoured me, and he was still of opinion that _ the proportion of recent species was equally great. | But I should add that the suites of individuals of each species were not so full and complete as might have been desired, to enable these identifications to be placed beyond all doubt. Dr. Beck has lately seen 260 species of crag shells in Mr. Charlesworth’s ca- binet in London, and informs me, that although a large proportion of the species approach very near to others which now live in our nor- thern seas, he regards them as almost all of distinct species, and un- known as living. Both he and M. Deshayes have declared the shells to be those of a northern climate, and according to Dr. Beck the climate may even have resembled that of our arctic regions. ‘ 373 In regard to the discordance in the results at which these eminent conchologists have arrived, it may arise not only from the unequal. opportunities which they have enjoyed of examining the necessary data, but also, in part, to the different estimate which they have formed of the amount of variation necessary to constitute a distinct species. One example will sufficiently illustrate my meaning. Those naturalists who agree with M. Deshayes in referring all the living varieties of Lucina divaricata brought from different countries to one and the same species, will identify many more fossils with re- cent shells than those who agree with Dr. Beck in dividing the same recent individuals of Lucina divaricata into six or eight di- stinct species. Provided, however, each zoologist is consistent with himself, and provided the distinctive characters relied on as specific by each are commensurate one with another, no confusion will arise. In reviewing the proceedings of the Society during the last year, I find that the remaining memoirs, numerous as they are, may be all referred to one great class of subjects, for they either relate to changes now going on upon the surface of the earth as attested by man, or to geological procfs of similar changes since the rivers, lakes, and seas were inhabited by the existing species of testacea. Under these heads I shall be led to consider the effects of modern earth- quakes in upheaving and depressing the land; the gradual rising of jand in one region and the lowering of its level in another; the rolling in of great waves of the sea upon the coast during earthquakes ; the transportation of rocks by floating ice; the signs of upraised beaches containing marine shells; erratic blocks ; alluvial deposits of different ages; and other kindred topics on which a variety of new facts have been collected. The last year has been signalized in South America by one of those terrific convulsions which have so often desolated the western coast since the discovery of the new world. A brief notice of this catastrophe was sent me by Mr. Alison, written immediately after the event. He mentions that on the 20th of February, 1835, when Conception, Chillan, and other towns were thrown down in ruins, the sea first retired from the shores of the Bay of Conception, and then returning in a wave about twenty feet high, rolled over several of the towns, and completely destroyed whatever the earthquake had left uninjured. He also states that the coast of the bay was reported to have been heaved up, and that a rock off the landing= place at the port of Talcahuano, which before the shock was nearly level with high water, stood afterwards three feet above that mark. Large fissures were made in the earth, and water burst from some of them. In these and other particulars Mr. Alison’s letter agrees with the more circumstantial account sent to the Royal Society by _ Mr. Caldcleugh, who was resident at Valparaiso, but who drew his information in great part from eye-witnesses. He mentions that a great number of the volcanos of the Chilian Andes were in a state of unusual activity during the shocks, and for some time preceding 374 and after the convulsion. Among others, Osorno, of which the cone rises 3900 feet above the sea, and which is situated on the mainland north-east of the island of Chiloe was in eruption, lava being seen to flow from its crater. Several others are also noticed, and the lava emitted from one of them is stated to have covered an area eight leagues in circumference and to the depth of 34 yards. The ashes reached to the distance of 300 leagues. I refer you to these statements because it is rare to meet with any recent descrip- tions of the emission of lava and ashes from the high cones of the Andes. The same writer was informed that the strata of clay-slate, form- ing the shore of the Bay of Conception, were elevated from three to four feet, whereas the rise at San Vicente, south of Talcahuano, amounted to only 14 feet. Mr. Caldcleugh was also informed that the island of Santa Maria, in the Bay of Conception, was upheaved about eight feet. At the same time the island of Juan Fernandez, distant 360 miles from Chili, was violently shaken and devastated by a great wave. A dense column of vapour issued from the sea about a mile from the coast, and flames were seen at the same spot in the night which illumined the whole island. At this point in the sea whence the flames were emitted the depth of water was afterwards ascertained to be no less than 69 fathoms. At a court-martial, lately held at Portsmouth, in consequence of the wreck of the Challenger frigate on the coast of Chili, in May 1835, some notes of Capt. FitzRoy were read, and afterwards com- municated by Capt. Beaufort to the Society, in which he describes some remarkable alterations produced by the earthquake of February in the direction of the currents on the Chilian coast. A more de~ tailed account of the convulsion has just been received at the Ad- miralty from the same officer, with a sight of which I have been favoured, but no allusion is here made to the currents. ‘There are, however, other facts perfectly new and of the highest importance at- tested in this memoir, and as they come from an observer of great experience in hydrographical surveying, who examined the Bay of Conception immediately after the shocks, they will remove all doubts. from the minds of those who have questioned the power of earth- quakes to cause the permanent upheaval of land. Capt. FitzRoy states, that on the 20th of February, 1835, the earthquake was felt at all places between Copiapo and Chiloe from north to south, and from Mendoza to Juan Fernandez from east to west. Conception and other towns were thrown down. After the shock the sea retired; the vessels in the bay grounded, even those which had been lying in seven fathoms water; all the shoals in the bay were visible; and soon afterwards a wave rushed in and then retreated, and was followed by two other waves. The verti- cal height of these waves does not appear to have been greater than from 16 to 20 feet, although they rose to much greater heights when they rushed upona sloping beach. During the shocks the earth opened and closed rapidly in numerous places. The direction 379 of the cracks was not uniform, though generally from south-east to north-west. ‘The earth was not quiet during three days after the great shock, and more than three hundred shocks were counted between 20th February and 4th of March. The loose earth of the valley of the Bio Bio was everywhere parted from the solid rocks which bound the plain, being separated by cracks from an inch to a foot in width. In the Bay of Conception two explosions or eruptions were seen in the sea while the great waves were coming in. One beyond the island of Quiriquina appeared to be a dark column of smoke in shape like a tower; another rose in the Bay of San Vicente like the blowing of an immense imaginary whale. Its disappearance was followed by a whirlpool which lasted some minutes. It was hollow and tended to a point in the middle, as if the sea was pouring into a cavity of the earth. ‘The water in the bay appeared to be everywhere boiling, bubbles of air or gas were rapidly escaping, and dead fish were thrown ashore in quantities. For some days after the 20th February the sea at Talcahuano did not rise tothe usual marks by four or five feet vertically. “‘ Some thought that the land had been elevated, but the common and pre~ vailing opinion was that the sea had retired. This difference gra- dually diminished till, in the middle of April, there was only a dif- ference of two feet between the existing and former high-water marks. The proof that the land had been raised exists in the fact that the island of Santa Maria was upheaved nine feet; but of this pre- sently. When walking on the shore, even at high-water, beds of dead mussels, numerous chitons and limpets, and withered sea-weed still adhering, though lifeless, to the rocks on which they had lived, every- where met the eye—the effects of the upheaval of the land.” From the above extracts, then, it appears that in the opinion of Capt. FitzRoy some of the land was first raised in February four or five feet, and that it afterwards gradually returned towards its. for- mer level, so that in about two months the temporary increase of its height was diminished by more than one half. The observations which follow respecting Santa Maria, an island seven miles long and two broad, in the Bay of Conception, deserve particular attention, and I shall give them in Capt. FitzRoy’s own words ; for although in so doing I anticipate a communication which I trust will hereafter be given in full to the Society*, I am only sup- plying the proofs of the elevation which was asserted as a fact in Capt. FitzRoy’s notes read before you during the last year. ‘It appeared that the southern extreme of the island had been raised eight feet, the middie nine, and the northern end up- wards of ten feet. The Beagle visited this island twice, at the end of March and in the beginning of April. At her first visit it was concluded, from the visible evidence of dead shell-fish, water-marks, and soundings, and from the verbal testimony of the inhabitants, * Since the above was written the whole memoir has appeared in the Nautical Magazine for March 1836. 376 that the land had been raised about eight feet. However, on re= turning to Conception, doubts were raised, and to settle the matter beyond dispute, or the possibility of mistake, the owner of the island, Mr. Salvador Palma, accompanied us. An intelligent Ha- noverian, who had lived two years there and knew its shores tho- roughly, was also a passenger in the Beagle. His occupation upon the island was sealing. When we landed, the Hanoverian, whose name was Antonio Voselborg, showed me a spot from which he used formerly to gather Choros by diving for them at low water. At dead low water, standing upon that bed of choros, and holding his hands up above his head, he could not reach the surface of the water. His height is six feet ; on that spot when I was there the choros were barely covered at high spring tide. “ Riding round the island afterwards with Mr. Palma and Vogel- borg, many measures were taken in places where no mistake could be made. On large steep-sided rocks, where vertical measures could be correctly taken, beds of dead mussels were found ten feet above the present high-water mark. A few inches only above what was taken as spring-tide high-water mark were putrid shell< fish and sea-weed, which evidently had not been wetted since the upheaval of the land. One foot lower than the highest bed of mus- sels, a few limpets and chitons were adhering to the rock where they had grown. Two feet lower than the same, wee chitons, and limpets were abundant. * An extensive rocky flat lies around the northern parts of Santa Maria. Before the earthquake this flat was covered by the sea, some projecting rocks only showing themselves. Now the whole flat is exposed. Square acres (or many quadras) of this rocky flat were covered with dead shell-fish, and the stench arising from them was abominable. By this elevation of the land the southern port of Santa Maria has been almost destroyed ; there remains but little shelter, and very bad landing. The soundings have diminished a fathom and a half everywhere around the island.” The author then goes on to inform us that at Tubul, to the south- east of Santa Maria, the land has been raised six feet. At Mocha two feet. No elevation has been ascertained at Valdivia, north- ward of Conception; at Maule, according to the assertion of the governor, the chief pilot, and other residents, the land instead of being elevated had sunk two feet, for they said there were two feet more water on the bar after the shock, and the banks of the river were lowered. Capt. FitzRoy, however, suggests that a rush of wa- ter might have shifted the loose sands of the bar; so that he doubts the subsidence at Maule, and only feels certain that the land had not risen there. It is scarcely necessary for me to advert to the striking analogy of the phenomena observed by Capt. FitzRoy and those which were formerly described by Mrs. Maria Graham (now Calcott), and pub- lished in our Transactions, respecting the Chilian earthquake of 1822. The coast of Valparaiso, Quintero, and other places was then stated to have undergone unequal elevations, the greatest amounting only 377 to a few feet, and banks of sea-shells were laid dry above high-water mark. But these statements, given on the authority of Mrs. Gra- ham’s personal observation, and confirmed by others to which I shall presently allude, have been met by a direct counter-statement so circumstantial and explicit as to deserve the fullest consideration. Mr. Cuming, well known to you by his numerous researches in conchology, declares that being at Valparaiso before and during the earthquake of 1822, and residing there constantly until 1827, he could never detect any proofs of the rise of the land, although his pursuit of conchology and natural history in general caused him to visit frequently the rocks and inlets with which the northern and southern parts of the bay abound. These rocks were covered with Fuci, Patellee, Chitons, Balani, &c., yet he never perceived the least difference in their appearance from the date of his arrival to his finally quitting Valparaiso, nor observed any trace of them except in situations covered by the tide. He also remarked that the wa- ter at spring tides rose after the earthquake to the same point ona wall near his house which it had reached before the shocks. He imagines that the idea that a change had taken place in the relative level of land and sea originated in the gain of land opposite Valpa- raiso, occasioned by the accumulation of detritus at points where the tide had flowed previously to the earthquake. Mr. Cuming first heard of the notion of the land having been elevated at Valpa- raiso when Mrs. Graham’s paper read to the Geological Society in 1824 was talked of at Valparaiso. Neither he nor his friends were then able to subscribe to the opinion expressed in that com- munication. On the other hand, Lieut. Freyer, R.N., in a letter read to you during the last session, observes, that being at Valparaiso after the earthquake of 1822, he saw a shelly beach to the east of the town, above the reach of the tides; and rocks, which was pointed out to him as being less under water than it had been before the convulsion. Dr. Meyen also, a Prussian traveller, who visited Valparaiso in 1831, says he examined the coast there and found appearances in corro- boration of Mrs, Graham’s statements. I may also repeat what I have elsewhere recorded, that some years after the event I applied to Mr. Cruckshanks, an English botanist, who resided in Chili at the time of the earthquake, whether he had seen any signs of the alleged. change of level. He said that he examined the coast at Quintero after the shocks, and satisfied himself that it had been uplifted seve- ral feet, and that the fishermen told him that the ocean had gone down and was lower than before, in confirmation of which they pointed to some rocks of greenstone at Quintero, a few hundred. yards from the beach, which were always under water previously to the great shock of 1822, but were afterwards uncovered when the tide was at half ebb. ‘ Without pretending that I can reconcile this contradictory evi- dence, I may suggest that some discordance in the accounts may have arisen from a want of uniformity in the movement at different places, and still more from a subsequent sinking down of some 378 of the land which was first raised, in the manner described by Capt: FitzRoy as having taken place near Talcahuano in the spring of last year. In perusing Mr. Cuming’s account we must all feel that the author has had no object in view but that of establishing the truth; and the doubts which he has raised will call for a reinvestigation of the phenomena; but after hearing all objections, even before the late convulsion of 1835, I expressed myself satisfied with the proofs in favour of the elevation of 1822*. If I had stiil cherished any scepticism, it would now be removed by the coincidence of the facts related by Capt. FitzRoy. To suppose that a set of imaginary phenomena, which appeared at first sight very improbable, and which no geologist could explain, should have been invented, in Chili, in 1822, by several intelligent observers, and that thirteen years afterwards nature should realize, in the same country, the same phzenomena, or others strictly analogous, so as to lend coun- tenance to all the previous misconceptions, is to imagine a combi- nation of circumstances almost as marvellous as the upheaval of a continent itself. We are indebted to Mr. Woodbine Parish for a collection of histo- rical notices respecting the effects of the earthquake waves of the Pacific, which have repeatedly caused great inundations on the coast of Chili and Peru. The earliest date to which he has traced back these memorials is the year 1582. The sea usually retired in the first instance, and then rolled in upon the land, carrying ships far inland and levelling towns to the ground. Such floods must have left great banks of sand and gravel, mingled occasionally with bro- ken and entire shells, upon dry land, considerably above the level of the highest tides, but they will by no means account for the very elevated position of recent marine shells on various parts of the maritime country of Patagonia, Chili, and Peru. Mr. Freyer, to whom I have before alluded, states that he ob- served in many parts of Peru, especially near Arica and in the Isle of San Lorenzo, in the Bay of Callao, lines of shingle and sand, with shells of existing species, at various elevations above the level of the sea. The rocks of sandstone and gypsum south of the bold pro- montory called the Morro of Arica are shaped into distinct terraces towards the shore, and on these terraces the rock, wherever it is ex- posed, is seen to be incrusted with balani and millepores. At the height of about twenty or thirty feet above the sea, these shells and zoophytes are as abundant and almost as perfect as on the shore; at upwards of fifty feet they still occur, but in an injured state, for although there is no rain in this district to hasten their decay, by alternate moisture and desiccation, still they are abraded by the sand which is constantly blown over them. Some of the recent shells occurring at considerable heights in the island of San Lo- renzo retain their colour almost as freshly as those living in the adjacent sea. Mr. Darwin has also observed in different parts of Patagonia and Chili beds of recent shells at various heights above * Principles of Geology, 4th edit. vol. ii. p. 331. 379 the sea, and among them mussels which retained their blue colour, and emit a strong animal odour when thrown into the fire. I shall now turn from the modern changes observed in South America to the evidences of recent alterations in the level of the land in high latitudes in the northern hemisphere. Dr. Pingel, a Danish mineralogist and ‘naturalist, has communicated some facts showing the gradual sinking of part of the west coast of Greenland. It is now more than fifty years since Arctander inferred that this coast had subsided, having noticed some buildings in the Firth called Igalliko, on a low rocky island near the shore, almost en- tirely submerged at spring tides. From this point, which is in lat. 60° 43! north, to Disco bay, extending to nearly the 69th degree of north latitude, Dr. Pingel has traced various signs of the depression of the land, ancient settlements of the Greenlanders and Moravians being now overflowed by the sea. In one case the Moravians were obliged to move inland the poles upon which their large boats were set, and the old poles still remain beneath the water as silent wit- nesses of the change. It is also mentioned that no aboriginal Green lander builds his hut near the water’s edge. Having conversed with Dr. Pingel, at Copenhagen, on this subject, I am convinced that the phzenomena cannot be explained away by reference to a rise of the tides at particular points, the advance of the sea being general for more than 600 miles from north to south, and caused not by the undermining of cliffs and the denudation of land, but by submer- gence of what was before above water. I am the less inclined to question the probability of a general sub- sidence of the land in Greenland, because I now believe that an equally slow and gradual movement is taking place, but in an oppo- site direction, throughout a large part of Sweden and Finland. — I ventured formerly to controvert the proofs adduced in favour of such an upheaval of land in those countries, although the fact had been advocated by Celsius, the Swede, and in later times by Play- ‘fair and Von Buch. But after visiting, in 1834, several parts both of the eastern and western coasts of Sweden, I became satisfied that an elevation is in progress, more rapid at Stockholm than further to the south, and greater at Gefle than at Stockholm. The rate of rise appears in some places to have amounted only to a few inches in a century, in other places to several feet, but as far as I could learn from the report of pilots, travellers, fishermen, and traders, the alteration extends to the North Cape, and is probably felt over a space more than 1000 miles in length from north to south, and several hundred miles in breadth. The evidence is derived from many sources, partly from tradition and from the recollection of the oldest inhabitants and seafaring men, partly from the position of ancient buildings on the coast, and partly from marks chiselled at different periods on rocks bordering the sea, for the express purpose of indicating the ancient standard level of the waters. As the details of my own observations have been published in the Philosophical Transactions of last year, I need only add that at one spot to the south of Stockholm I saw what appeared to me a con- 380 clusive proof of an alternate rising and sinking of the same land since this region was inhabited by man, first a depression of the ground of at least 50 feet below its former level, and then a re-elevation of the same amounting to at least 50 feet. The probable cause of the prolonged and insensible movements of large masses of land opens a wide and inviting field for specu- lation. As we know that volcanic action is never dormant in some parts of the interior of the globe, it seems most natural to imagine that an alternate expansion and contraction of the earth’s crust may arise from a gradual increase or diminution of its temperature. Mr. Babbage has suggested that as many common kinds of stone have been shown by experiment to augment in volume when heated, and decrease in bulk when slowly cooled, a great thickness of sub- jacent rock may cause the surface to rise or sink according to the variations experienced in the subterranean temperature. We have also to consider the effects which might result from the slow cool- ing and crystallization of large reservoirs of melted matter, on which subject we have unfortunately as yet few experiments to guide our conjectures. We know not, for example, whether the passage from a fluid to a solid state would uplift or let down an incumbent mass of rock. A dense fluid, subjected to immense pressure, may, perhaps, on crystallizing into a rock like granite, oc~= cupy more space in its state of solidity. I need not remind you that as ice floats in water, soa bar of cast iron floats on the surface of melted iron. But however obscure the origin of the movements in question, their reality if admitted affords a key to the interpretation of a va-= riety of geological appearances, some of which I shall now proceed to consider. Dr. Beck has mentioned that the oldest strata in Denmark are often covered by deposits of gravel, sand, and loam, several hun< dred feet thick, in which, but more commonly upon them, lie erratic blocks. The sand and gravel beds rarely contain any fossils, but when shells do occur they are absolutely identical with living species. He has also found, in the lower valleys of Jutland, more than se- venty species of shells now living in the German Ocean. These facts agree precisely with others which I observed in different parts of Sweden, and which I have described in the memoir before al- luded to. On the west coast, between Uddevalla and Gothenborg, the beds of sand, gravel, and clay, containing recent oceanic shells, are seen at various heights from 100 to 300 feet above the sea. M. Alex. Brongniart formerly pointed out those which rest on the gneiss, near Uddevalla, and like him I saw Balani still attached to the rocks at the height of more than 150 feet above the sea-level. IT ought, however, to state that at the points where I discovered them they had not been exposed to decomposition in the atmosphere ever since their emergence. On the contrary, the adhering shells had been protected by a covering of shelly sand only removed of late years for road-making. I need scarcely insist upon the obvious inference that the Balaniand corallines which also cover the rocks, and 381 which are of the same species as those found on the shells of the re« cent strata in contact with the rocks, prove that the gneiss was long submerged beneath the waters, and that the shells werenot washed up by an inroad of thesea upon the land. In theisland of Orust, opposite Uddevalla, I found similar appearances, and on other parts of the western coast ; but on the eastern shores of Sweden or those bor- dering the Baltic, both to the north and south of Stockholm, a marked distinction is recognized. In the assemblage of fossil shells which there occur in beds of upraised gravel, sand, and clay, the testacea belong to recent species, yet not to that assemblage which inhabits the ocean, but to a confined number of mixed freshwater and marine species characteristic of the brackish waters of the Baltic. Such deposits rise near Stockholm to the height of 200 feet above the sea, and show that the relative level of land and sea has greatly changed, not only since the existing testacea were in being, but also since the Baltic was divided off from the ocean as an inland sea freshened by a superabundance of river water. It is well known that these parts of Sweden are densely strewed over with huge erratic blocks, many of the largest of which oc- cur in the highest part of ridges of sand and gravel, finely stratified or made up of a continued series of thin layers of sand, loam, and gravel. In one of these ridges, at Upsala, I found layers of marl, containing perfect shells of recent species, such as live in the Baltic. The ridge was about 100 feet high, and on the summit of it were blocks of gneiss and granite, measuring from eight to ten feet in length. I saw similar boulders but inferior in size overlying some deposits of recent shells in Orust and near Uddevalla*. Hence it is evident that the transportation of these rocky fragments into their present position continued after the period when the modern shelly formations of both the coasts of Sweden were accumulated. In addition to the facts enumerated in my paper on Sweden in the Philosophical Transactions for 1835, in regard to the agency of ice- islands, I may mention a fact observed by Dr. Beck on the coast of Jutland. He has ascertained that on the breaking up of the fringe of ice which encircles the coast there during winter, small islands of ice float off and carry with them not only small gravel from the beach but stones four feet in diameter firmly frozen into the solid mass. These ice-floes are sometimes driven eastward into the Cattegat, and have been known to stop up the narrow part of the passage of the Great Belt, and to cause new reefs of rocks thus transported on which ves- sels, and a few years ago a Danish man-of-war, have been stranded. If such power can be exerted by ice-islands, only a few hun- dred feet in diameter, in latitudes corresponding to those of En- gland, we may be well prepared to find that islands several leagues in circumference may remove blocks of the magnitude of small houses. | Capt. Bayfield, in commenting on the inferences which I had drawn as to the transporting power of ice in the Baltic, communi- # Phil. Trans., 1835, p. 33. 382 cated to me several interesting facts observed by him both on the lakes of Canada and in the St. Lawrence. In the river last men- tioned the loose ice, when the water is low in winter, accumulates on the shoals, the separate fragments being readily frozen together into solid masses in a climate were the temperature is sometimes 30° below zero. In this ice boulders become entangled, and in the spring, when the river rises after the melting of the snow, the packs are floated off, frequently conveying away the boulders to great di- stances. Heavy anchors of ships lying on the shore have in like manner been closed in and removed. He also states that immense ice-islands, detached far to the north, perhaps in Baffin’s Bay, are brought by the current in great numbers down the coast of Labrador every year, and are frequently carried through the Straits of Belle- isle between Newfoundlandand the continent of America, which, after passing through the Straits, sometimes float for several hundred miles to the south-west up the Gulf of St. Lawrence. In one of these icebergs which Capt. Bayfield examined, he found heaps of boulders, gravel, and stones, and he saw other ice-floes discoloured by mud. Capt. Belcher also informs us that im 1815, when in His Majesty’s ship Bellerophon he fell in with field-ice off New- foundland, near St. John’s Harbour, in which there were muddy streaks, gravel, and even stones: it was in the heat of summer and torrents of water were shooting off the ice. The importance of these phzenomena will be duly appreciated by the geologist who reflects that they relate to the annual transportation of rocks from high la- titudes probably corresponding to those of the northern parts of Norway and Sweden, and that the points sometimes reached by the ice are further south than any part of Great Britain. It is there- fore by no means necessary to speculate on the former existence of a climate more severe than that now prevailing in the Western Hemi- sphere in order to explain how the travelled masses in Northern Europe may have been borne along by ice. We know from inde- pendent evidence that large parts of the lands bordering the Baltic, and now strewed over with erratics, have constituted the bed of the sea at a comparatively modern period. It may be asked whether I refer all erratics, even those of Swit- zerland and the Jura, to the carrying power of ice. In regard to those of Switzerland I have elsewhere endeavoured to show that a combination of local causes might have contributed to their transfer ; for repeated shocks of earthquakes may have thrown down rocky fragments upon glaciers, causing at the same time avalanches of snow and ice, by which narrow gorges would be choked up and deep Alpine valleys, such as Chamouni, converted into lakes. In these lakes, portions of the fissured glaciers, with huge incumbent or included rocks might float off, and on the escape of the lake, after the melting of the temporary barrier of snow, they might be swept down into the lower country*. . M. Charpentier has lately proposed another theory which he in- * Principles of Geology, vol. ili, p. 149, 1833, enlarged in later editions. 383 forms us is merely a development of one first advanced by M, Venetz. The Alpine blocks, according to these writers, were not carried by water, for had that been the case the largest would be either in the Alpine valleys or near the base of the great chain, and we should find their size and number diminish as we receded from their original poimt of departure. But the fact is otherwise, many of the blocks on the Jura, or those farthest removed from the starting-place, being of the largest dimensions. They suppose, therefore, in accordance with the opinion of M. de Beaumont and others, that the elevation of the Alps occurred at a comparatively modern epoch, and that when these mountains were first upheaved they were more lofty than now, and more deeply covered with snow and glaciers. After the principal movement had ceased, a lowere ing of the Alps took place, the dislocated and shattered beds re- quiring time to settle down into their present more solid and stable form. According to this hypothesis, therefore, the erratic blocks are monuments of the greater magnitude and extent of the ancient glaciers under a different configuration of the surface. I have not space for all the ingenious arguments adduced, after a minute exa- mination of the ground by M. Charpentier in support of this theory, but must refer you to the original memoir *. Before leaving this subject I may observe, that although it is rare, in modern times, to meet with icebergs in the northern hemisphere so far south as the Azores, in north latitude 42°, yet they have been seen there, and not unfrequently m north lat. 44°, within the pre- sent century, thus reaching the parallel of Southern Italy and Cen- tral Spam. In the southern hemisphere we learn from Capt. Hors- burgh that some large ones were carried, in 1828, still nearer to the equator as far as lat. 35° south, or within about forty miles of the Cape of Good Hope. I do not remember, when examining alluvial deposits, to have seen any blocks in Sicily nor in Italy till I approached the foot of the Alps; and in Sweden I found them in- creasing in number and size as I advanced northwards, where I saw some between thirty and forty feet in diameter. The erratics, there- fore, as far as my experience extends, are a northern phenomenon ; and M. Charpentier states, on the authority of Humboldt, that there are no such fragments at the eastern foot of the equatorial Andes, where, notwithstanding the altitude of the mountains, there are no glaciers. But assuming that ice could have transported into their present position those myriads of angular blocks which cover the low coun- tries bordering the Baltic, in what manner and by what force could these masses have been detached from the mountains of which they once formed a part? Now the granitic rocks in Sweden sometimes consist of large tabular masses, traversed by numerous horizontal and vertical joints; and entire hills may be said to be broken up, 2 * Sur les Blocs errat. de la Suisse, Ann. des Sci., tom. viii. p. 219. Mr. Bakewell has also in some one of his works alluded to the carrying of Alpine blocks by ice, 354 situ, into blocks of the same forms and dimensions as the erratics of the Baltic. I remarked this particularly in Ostrogothland, near Lake Roxen. Whether this fissuring of the rocks has been due to earth- quakes, or the expansive power of ice innorthern regions, or to what other causes I cannot pretend to decide; but reefs of such jointed rocks before they emerged from the sea might have afforded an in- exhaustible supply of detached fragments, over and around which the ice would freeze in winter. One block after another might be buoyed up and floated off on the rise of the Baltic when the snows melted, or of the ocean during high tides. It has been suggested that large blocks may have been pushed far over the bed of the sea and over the land by a succession of waves raised by earthquakes or by hurricanes. Without denying that such agency may explain some facts in geology, I may remark that we cannot be too much on our guard against assuming violent catastrophes where the effects may have been brought about tran- quilly, and even with extreme slowness. Let us imagine, for ex- ample, a sunken reef of granite in Baffin’s Bay, in about 75° north Jat., divided into fragmentary masses as above described, and these masses becoming year after year involved in packed ice. In a few months they may be drifted more than 1800 miles to the southward, through the Straits of Belleisle, to the 48° north lat., the ice mov- ing perhaps at a slow rate—no more than amile an hour. We might even land upon such ice-fields and be unable to determine whether they were in motion or not. After a repetition of these operations for thousands of years, the uneven bed of the ocean far to the south may be strewed over with drift fragments which have either stranded on shoals or have dropped down from melting bergs. Suppose the floor of the ocean where they alight to be on the rise as gradually as the bottom of the Baltic in our own times. The change may be so insensible that pilots may suspect, and yet scarcely dare to insist upon the fact till its reality is confirmed by the experience of centuries. At length a submarine ridge, covered with the tra- velled fragments, emerges, and first constitutes an island, which at length becomes connected with the main land,—in time, perhaps, the site of a university like Upsala. Here the question is agitated whether the land is stationary, or continually rising beneath their feet. Perchance they decide that it is motionless, and yet it con- tinues to move upwards, ‘“‘ E pur si muove,” till by a growth as im- perceptible as that of the forest tree, what was once a submarine reef becomes the summit of an inland mountain. Here the geologist admires the position, number, and bulk of the transported fragments ; identifies them with the parent mountains, a thousand miles distant to the north; and in speculating on the causes of the phenomena, imagines mighty deluges and tremendous waves raised by the shock of a comet, or the sudden starting up of a chain like the Andes out of the sea, by which huge rocks were scattered over hill and dale as readily as shingle is cast up by the breakers on a sea beach. But it is time to return from these digressions and to consider the other memoirs treating of these and similar subjects which have 385 been lately read to the Society. There is perhaps no class of geo- logical phenomena in Great Britain which has hitherto remained in more obscurity than that relating to the distribution and origin of superficial gravel, sand, and mud, especially that which has been called diluvium. Mr. Murchison, in his examination of the older rocks of part of Wales and England, has made a great step towards reducing these phenomena to order, and has thrown so much light upon them that his treatise may be considered not only as one of much local interest, but as likely to contribute powerfully towards the establishment of a general theory of these deposits. He has distinguished between the local drift, or the gravel and alluvium of South Wales and Siluria, and that which he terms the northern drift of Lancashire, Cheshire, North Salop, and parts of Worcester and Gloucester. The surface of the Welsh and Silurian territories is exempt from the debris of far-transported rocks, the alluvium there being derived from the adjacent mountains, while Herefordshire is chiefly covered with debris of the old red sandstone. The au- thor, after giving a detailed description of the drainage of the Teme, Onny, Lug, and Wye, shows that in the valleys of these rivers the loose materials change with each successive range which they traverse, the fragments becoming smaller in proportion as they have been carried to greater distances towards the valley of the Se- vern. It is also demonstrated that there is an evident connexion between the distribution of this ancient gravel or drift and the strike and dip of the strata in the Welsh and Silurian mountains ; and hence it is inferred that the scattering of certain fragments took place during the original upheaving of the mountains. But there are other wide-spread accumulations of sand and gravel in the valleys of the same region, which have partly been due tothe existing rivers, and partly to lakes which were drained long after the first emersion of the country from the sea. The above-mentioned alluvia differ entirely from another kind of detritus, which is spread over parts of Lancashire, Cheshire, and North Shropshire, and which consists of granites, porphyries, and other hard rocks, similar to those of Cumberland and some of the Scotch mountains. To these, with their associated clay and sand, the author gives the name of the northern drift. It has two di- stinguishing features: first, the occasional occurrence in and upon it of large blocks or boulders of northern origin, sometimes of great size, like the erratics of the Baltic, and none of which ever enter into the region of the Welsh drift ; secondly, the association with it of marine shells of existing species. This last fact was formerly noticed by the author and Mr. Gilbertson, at Preston in Lancashire, at heights of 350 feet above the sea. Sir Philip Egerton has since observed the same shells in sand and gravel, north of Tarporley, in Cheshire, at the height of 70 feet, where they occur at the western base of the Forest Hills, about nine miles from the nearest point of the estuary of the Mersey. But what is still more remarkable, Mr. Trimmer found similar recent marine shells on Moel Tryfane, near the Menai Straits, at the height of 1592 feet above the level of VOL, Il. 7228 386 the sea. The same author also reported to us that he had disco- vered similar gravel with recent marine shells overlying a peat bog near Shrewsbury, im which were the remains of a submerged forest. Mr. Murchison, however, having examined this spot, has shown us that the supposed trees were stakes with sharpened pvints driven into the ground, forming a woodwork which supported an old road, and over these piles the shelly gravel or northern drift had been afterwards spread artificially. I understand that Mr. Trimmer is now fully aware of the mistake into which he had fallen. From the evidence afforded by the shells, as well as by the indica- tion of several newly discovered localities where they occur sixty miles from the nearest sea-coast, Mr. Murchison infers that the tracts covered by them must have formed the bed of the sea during the modern period, and as the granitic drift occupying the high grounds east of Bridgnorth rises to the height of 500 or 600 feet, and thence descends in a deltoid form into the Vale of Worcester, he conceives that the sea also extended over the valley of the Severn from Bridg- north to the Bristol Channel, so that there was then a strait sepa- rating Wales and Siluria on the one side from England on the other. The deposits observed by Mr. Strickland at Cropthorne and at other points in the valley of the Avon, an eastern tributary of’ the Severn, and which contain fluviatile and land shells, with the bones of extinct quadrupeds, must, according to Mr. Murchison, have been accumulated at the mouth of a river which flowed from the east, or from the Cotteswold Hills, into the ancient straits above alluded to, and into which the northern drift was prolonged. There are sections near Shrewsbury from which Mr. Murchison: has been enabled to deduce the relative age of the two alluvial for- mations, the local or Welsh drift having in those places been found covered by the clay and boulders of the northern drift. The latter is, therefore, evidently of newer origin. As to the mode in which the erratic blocks were transported, Mr. Murchison adverts to the possible agency of ice-floes, and to the difficulty of imagining that cur- rents of water alone, whether of rivers or the ocean, could have ex- erted a force adequate to their removal to such great distances; many boulders of several tons in weight having been transported to more than 100 miles from the nearest possible source of their origin. He also infers from the position of the shells, gravel, and boulders, that they were not washed, as has sometimes been imagined, by one or more diluvial waves over preexisting lands, but were all de- posited during the same period in the bed of the sea, which bed was afterwards uplifted to unequa! heights by movements of eleva- tion of unequal intensity—movements which, though so largely affecting the physical geography of our island, must have taken place within the modern era. Mr. Edward Spencer has communicated to us the result of his examination of the “diluvium ” near Finchley, and the summits of the neighbouring hills of Highgate and Hampstead. The gravel there contains water-worn boulders of granite and porphyry, toge- 387 ther with fragments of secondary rocks with their characteristic fossils from the mountain limestone to the chalk inclusive. Mr. Spencer supposes that the current which brought these materials into their present situation must have flowed from the north. ‘The diluvium here alluded to seems to correspond to that which covers the crag of Norfolk, and which is in some places intimately con- nected with that deposit. I may add that I have seen a similar for- mation on the banks of the Elbe, below Hamburgh, and in other parts of Denmark, with erratic blocks included in it in some places. Our Secretary, Mr. Hamilton, has described a bed of marine shells, of recent species, on the southern coast of Fifeshire, near Elie, part of the deposit beg twelve or fourteen feet above the level of high tide. Similar marine shells have been observed above the sea-level in many of the low lands bordering the estuaries of the Forth and Tay; and in the memoirs before mentioned Mr. Murchi- son has described a raised beach at the mouth of Carlingford Bay, Treland, which he lately examined in company with Professor Sedg- wick. Mr. De la Beche also informs us that he has lately disco- vered proofs of two movements of the land of Somerset, Devon, and Cornwall, one to a height of about thirty to forty feet above the present sea-level, and another to an uncertain depth beneath it, both subsequent to the period when the vegetation of the land and the molluscous inhabitants of the neighbouring sea were the same as they now are. The evidence, therefore, is annually augmenting in favour of con- siderable alterations in the relative level of land and sea having been brought about in northern Kurope at a comparatively modern epoch. For this reason I am more than ever disposed to refer to great move- ments of elevation and depression, the origin and present position of the loess of the valley of the Rhine, of which I gave some account in a former year. I have lately had occasion to recall your atten- tion to this ancient silt im which terrestrial and aquatic shells are preserved of species still living in Europe. It is found from below Cologne to the neighbourhood of the Falls of Schaffhausen, exhibit- ing almost everywhere the same mineralogical character and fossils, formmg sometimes low hiils which cover the gravel of the great al- luvial plain of the Rhine, sometimes rising up on the flanks of the mountains which border the great valley to an elevation of 300 or 400 feet above the river, or more than 1200 feet above the sea. I discovered lately, in the neighbourhood of Basle, the first remains of fossil fish which have been detected in this silt; and Mr. Agassiz recognized them as the vertebra of a small species of the Shark fa- mily, perhaps of the genus Lamna. They were associated with the usual fresh-water and terrestrial shells, and the fact appeared ano- malous, but the celebrated ichthyologist informs me that species of this family and of the Skate tribe have been known to ascend from the sea up the mouths of the rivers Senegal and Amazon to the di- stance of several hundred miles. Some have imagined that a great lake once extended throughout 2BR 388 the valley of the Rhine, which sent off large branches up the courses of the Mayne, Neckar, and other tributary valleys, in all of which large patches of loess are occasionally met with. The barrier of such a lake has been placed in the narrow gorge of the Rhine between Bingen and Bonn; but this theory is untenable, as there are proofs of the loess having once filled that gorge, and of its having over- spread the adjoining hills of the Lower Eifel; also that it reached to the flanks of the hills bounding the valley of the Rhine as far down as Cologne and still further. Instead of supposing one continuous lake of sufficient extent and depth to allow of the simultaneous accumulation of loess at all heights and throughout the whole area where it now occurs, I conceive that subsequently to the period when the countries now drained by the Rhine and its tributaries, acquired nearly their actual form and geo- graphical features, they were again depressed gradually by a move- ment like that now in progress on the west coast of Greenland. In proportion as the whole district was lowered, the general fall of the waters between the Alps and the ocean was lessened, and both the main and lateral valleys, becoming more subject to river inundations, were partially filled up with fluviatile silt containing land and fresh- water shells. After this operation, when a thickness of many hun- dred feet of loess had been thrown down slowly, and in the course of many centuries, the whole region was once more upheaved gradu- ally, but perhaps not equally, throughout the whole region. Durmg this upward movement most of the fine loam was carried off by denudation to such an extent that the original valleys were nearly re-excavated. The country was thus restored to its pristine state, with the exceptionof those patches of loess still remaining, and which, from their frequency and their remarkable homogeneousness of composition and fossils, attest the original continuity and common origin of the whole. By introducing such general fluctuations of re- lative level, we may dispense with the necessity of erecting and after- wards removing a great barrier more than 1200 feet high, sufficient to exclude the ocean from the valley of the Rhine during the accu- mulation of the loess. Dr. Fitton has again brought before us those curious phenomena in the Island of Portland from which the former alternate existence of sea, of dry land, and lastly, of a body of fresh water in the same place, all antericr to the formation of the chalk, has been clearly in- ferred. In the ancient soil, called in Portland, the “ Dirt bed,” the silicified trunks of trees and their roots are still preserved. Some curious facts are just published on this subject in the new Part of our Transactions, in a memoir by Dr. Buckland and Mr. De la Beche. After Mr. Webster had first made known the nature and existence of the dirt bed, Professor Henslow ascertained that between this and the marine oolite of Portland there were two other beds of car- bonaceous clay, and in one of these Dr. Fitton has now found the remains of Cycadez, from which it appears that the forest of the dirt bed was not the first vegetation which grew on this tract. First there must have been the sea of the oolite, then land which sup- 389 ported Cycadeze, then a lake or estuary in which freshwater strata were deposited, then again land on which other Cycadez and a fo- rest of dicotyledonous trees flourished ; then a second submergence under fresh water, in which new strata were formed ; and finally, a return of the ecean in the South-east of England, when the green- sand and chalk were superimposed upon the Wealden. The ap- pearances in Portland alluded to by Dr. Fitton may be explained either by the alternate rising or sinking of the same ground, or by simply supposing one gradual and continuous subsidence in a region where a large and turbid river entered the sea. The conversion of certain tracts into land several feet high might be caused in a single year by river-inundations, and there might be sufficient time for a forest to grow upon these before the continued sinking down of the land (assuming it to have been constant) had time to cause the tract to be again submerged. I have before adverted to the petrified forest described by Mr. Darwin, in Chili, where the trees have grown ona bed of lava, and have then been covered by sand and sedi- mentary and volcanic matter 2000 feet thick. These facts seem to prove that the region of the Andes, instead of having been raised up suddenly and at once, a few thousand years before our time, as some have conjectured, has undergone, even since the commence- ment of the tertiary period, vast movements of depression as well as of elevation. Among the modern changes of the surface of the globe which have been attributed to a depression of the earth’s crust, | may men- tion the great cavity in Western Asia spoken of by Humboldt in his Asiatic Fragments. The supposed existence of a region of dry land 18,000 square leagues in area, surrounding the Caspian Sea, and be- low the mean level of the ocean, naturally excited the most lively curiosity. The fact was regarded for twenty years as established by a series of barometrical measurements made in 1811 by Profes- sors Engelhardt and Parrot. ‘The difference of level which these travellers assigned to the Caspian and Black Seas amounted to about 350 feet. But Professor Parrot, having revisited the tract in 1829 and 1830, soon found reason to doubt the accuracy of his former conclu- sions. He learnt that some Russian engineers had ascertained by careful measurements that the Don, at the place called Katschalinsk, where it is only sixty wersts distant from the Wolga, is 130 Paris feet higher than the latter river, and as the Don flows with much greater rapidity to the Black Sea than the Wolga does to the Cas- pian, the difference of level between the two seas, if any, must be considerably less than 130 feet. Parrot accordingly made a series of levellings from the mouth of the Wolga to Zarytzin, 400 wersts up its course, and from the mouth of the Don to the like distance ; and these observations gave as a result that the mouth of the Don was between three and four feet lower than that of the Wolga! So that, according to this measurement, if there is any difference between the levels of the two seas, the Caspian is the highest! Baron Humboldt, who with other geographers had given full credit to the former statement of Parrot, very naturally refused to admit 390 the validity of these new observations, unless the Professor was pre- pared to show that his former ones were less worthy of confidence. In reply to this, Professor Parrot, in his Appendix, admits that the barometrical instruments used in 1811 were imperfect, and that his former calculations also were in some respects inaccurate. It appears tome perfectly natural that Baron Humboldt, M. Arago, and others, should have willingly admitted the supposed fact of a con- siderable variation between the levels of the Caspian and Black Seas. It is well known that the Mediterranean sustains its level at nearly the same height as the ocean by drawing largely from the Atlantic on one side and from the Black Sea on the other. But if these constant supplies of water were cut off, if the Straits of Gibraltar and Constantinople were closed, and the Mediterranean became an inland lake isolated like the Caspian, its level must immediately fall. Its loss, by evaporation, would not be counterbalanced by the influx of river water, and there would then exist around its borders a tract of dry land lower than the ocean. It is true that we have no data for deciding to what extent this depression of level would reach; but it would present, at least on a small scale, a phenomenon analogous to that supposed to have been established in the case of the Cas- pian. With every inclination to acknowledge and duly to appreciate the honest zeal with which Professor Parrot has laboured to correct his first error, I may remark that it does not yet appear why three or four years were lost after 1829 in putting the scientific world on their guard, and above all why the author of the Asiatic Fragments, published in 1831, was allowed to remain in ignorance of results previously obtained. Gentlemen, I have now endeavoured to lay before you a brief sketch of the principal subjects referred to in the papers and in the discussions which have engaged the attention of the Society during the last year. I have confined myself exclusively to our own Pro- ceedings ; for the limits of this address would not allow me to give an analysis even of all the English works on Geology which have ap- peared since our last Anniversary, still less of all those which have been published on the Continent. A brief notice of these last would indeed require a volume, and this fact alone should inspire us with a feeling of strength and confidence in the future progress of Geology, which although it had scarcely obtamed a recognized place among the sciences towards the close of the last century, has already risen into such importance as to excite a general interest in every nation throughout the world where the works of nature are studied. PROCEEDINGS OF THE GEOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF LONDON. Vo. IL 1836. No. 45, Feb. 24.—William John Prescott, Esq., of Threadneedle-street, and Thomas Collett, Esq., of the Inner Temple, were elected Fellows of this Society. A paper was first read, entitled “‘ Observations on a Patch of red and variegated Marls, containing Fossil Shells, at Collyhurst, near Manchester,” by J. Leigh, Esq., and E. W. Binney, Esq., and com- municated by Roderick Impey Murchison, Esq., F.G.S. Manchester stands on a slightly elevated platform of upper new red sandstone ; but the country to the north-west, north, and east of the town rises to a considerable height, and is traversed by the valleys of the Irwell, the Irk, and the Medlock, which furnish the only natural sections of the district. The formations exhibited in these valleys, and supposed to extend under Manchester, are, first and lowest, the car- boniferous group; secondly, the lower red sandstone and marls ; thirdly, the magnesian limestone; fourthly, the lower red marl; fifthly, the upper red sandstone; sixthly, the upper red marl; and seventhly, the superficial detritus. The principal object of the authors being to describe the upper red marl, they notice briefly the characters of the other deposits. The accumulations of superficial detritus are sometimes thirty feet thick, capping nearly all the high ground, and extending over the val- leys. In the lower part they consist of water-worn fragments of gra- nite, greenstone, porphyry, claystone, mountain limestone, and coal measures, imbedded in sand ; and in the upper, of stiff blue clay, containing partially rounded fragments of the same rocks but of greater size. Portions of the lower red sandstone and marl are some- times found, but none of the magnesian limestone. Blocks of granite, weighing two or three tons, occur on the summit of some of the hills which surround the Irwell and the Irk. The lower red sandstone, the magnesian limestone, and lower red marl are exposed at Worsley Mills and at Stockport, dipping conform- ably with the coal measures; but at the latter locality they are stated to be overlaid unconformably by the upper new red sandstone. —_ The immediate vicinity of Manchester consists of upper new red sandstone, occupying the cavity formed by a flexure in the underlying VOL. II, 2c 392 deposits, and is generally supposed to be unconformable to them. It is very soft when first exposed, but hardens by exposure to the atmo- sphere ; and is occasionally marked by belts and nodules of white sand, and in the lower part contains rounded fragments of granite, quartz, and other older rocks.. No organic remains have been no- ticed in it. The upper red marl is exposed only at Collyhurst, about a mile to the north-east of the Manchester Exchange, in the old road to Blake- ley; but it has there yielded a greater number of fossils than has been found in any other bed of the superior divisions of the new red sand- stone group in England. Tne deposit extends about a hundred yards, and at one of the points examined presented the following details : Top a. Variegated marls, no organic remains .... 6 inches. b. Strong, red marl, traversed near its centre by a thin layer of fragile bivalve shells.. 5 c. Light-coloured, calcareous marl, marked with lines and spots of a beautiful red... 3 ——— d. Light-coloured, calcareous, strong marl, containing an immense number of imper- fect casts of bivalves and perfect univalves When the marl is first excavated it crumbles under the touch, but after exposure for a short time, it is fractured with difficulty. e. Clay, striped red and white, and containing casts oft bivalves! iifaitis see AS eek ieee 4 —— f- Light-coloured marl, similar to No. 4 > and inclosing numerous casts of bivalves and Lin VAM ER KC Mal (Lpaau URE Wicullete opened 3 — g. Variegated marl, with an immense number of univalves and bivalves, 2 inches..... 2 h. Indurated red marl, mottled with streaks of a greenish colour. The upper part contains numerous casts of large bivalves, and the light-coloured streaks also inclose casts of bivalves and univalves. Few shells are found below the depth of one foot, though the author had the bed penetrated to the depth of 29 feet, when an influx of water prevented them from boring any further. The rhomboidal fracture, so characteristic of the red marl, was very observable in this: bed'/i.352 2 joc oe Re ee gai ws jac Onteet. With respect to the geological position of these fossiliferous marls, the authors are fully satisfied that the deposit reposes on the upper new red sandstone by which the marls are surrounded, though, from the covered nature of the ground, the connexion of the two forma- tions cannot be ascertained. In mineral aspect the lowest beds at Collyhurst are said to agree with the upper red marl of Lincolnshire or 393 and Cheshire, and to be distinguished from it only by the presence of fossils and the absence of salt ; while the Collyhurst strata differ from the lower red marl, in colour, fracture, and the erganic remains. In accounting for the presence of these fossiliferous marls in the situation described, and their absence from the top of the new red sandstone in the immediate neighbourhood, the authors suppose that the marls were deposited ina hollow of the new red sandstone, and to have been, therefore, protected from denudation. A notice, by Francis Offley Martin, Esq., inclosing communications from Col. Brown and Lieut. Laurence, of the Rifle Brigade, and Mr. Stevens, on the streams of sea water which flow into the land in the island of Cephalonia, was next read. These communications were procured by Mr. Martin at. the request of Mr. Lyell. Lieut. Laurence’s letter is dated 31st of May, 1835, and contains an extract from an account sent to him by Mr. Stevens of the na- ture, excavation, and the operation of the stream. The length of the channel made for conducting the water was 20 yards and its width 3 feet ; and at the end of the channel a pit was made nearly 100 square yards in extent, and to the depth of about 4 feet below the level of the sea. On opening the sluice a stream of 150 square inches rushes into the pit with a velocity of 20 feet a second, and down a channel in the form of a segment of sth of a circle of 18 feet diameter. A constant discharge of this stream raises the water in the pit to within 2 feet of the top of the arched channel. The stream escapes through the fissures in the pit, but the direction which it afterwards takes has not been well ascertained, though shafts have been sunk for that purpose. In these shafts water of the same de- scription with that in the pit is found, rising and falling in the same manner. Mr. Laurence also states that when the sluice-gate is shut down after a very considerable discharge of sea water into the pit, the water in the pit falls a few inches lower than it was previously to the discharge ; but is afterwards raised to the usual level by the freshwater springs. Mr. Stevens’s letter, dated the 28th August, 1835, gave an account of the making of the excavation, and states that the experience of a year and a half had proved that the stream is not liable to any perio- dical change. Col. Brown’s communication bears date the 27th of August, 1835, and gives an account of the physical features of the island, the nature of the excavation, aad the probable manner by which the subterra- nean current is disposed of. On the eastern side of the harbour of Argostoli the country rises abruptly from the shore to a considerable elevation, and then more gradually until it is lost in one of the great ridges which intersect the island; but on the western side the narrow peninsular ridge at the foot of which Argostoli is built, nowhere exceeds 400 feet in height, sloping gradually towards the sea, and is surrounded by com- paratively shallow water. The whole of the ridge consists apparently 22 394 of coarse limestone, presenting on the surface large, detached blocks. Col: Brown’s account of the excavation agrees with those already given. He notices the springs of fresh water, and the fact, that when the sluice is first shut the pool is drained to a much lower level than that at which it afterwards stands, and this pheenomenon he conceives may be explained on the principle of natural siphons. He says that there are three other openings on opposite sides of the promontory, through which sea-water flows into the land, and he is of opinion that there may be many more. With respect to the question what becomes of the water, Col. Brown has always believed that the streams are conducted to subterranean fires, and that the earthquakes so common in the island are caused by the expansion of the gases generated by the action of those fires on the sea water. A notice accompanying rock specimens from the caves of Bally- bunion, on the coast of Kerry, by Lieut. Col. W. H. Sykes, F.G.S., was then read. The author states that his principal object in bringing this commu- nication before the Society is to induce geologists to examine a part of Ireland seldom visited, but which he conceives to be highly deserv- ing of attention. The coast of Kerry, in the neighbourhood of Ballybunion, presents a series of cliffs varying from 100 to 150 feet in height, and is in- dented by numerous bays. The stratification consists of several feet of debris, composed of angular fragments of silicious rocks and earth ; a bed of alum shale follows, breaking into rhombs; then a stratum of lignite or carbonaceous schist, and another of iron shale. These strata are occasionally repeated, and said, on the authority of Mr. Ainsworth, to rest on limestone. A principal feature in these beds is a disposition to separate into rhombs; and the cliffs in several places present the solid angles pro- jecting beyond the vertical line of the cliffs, while the roof of some of the caves is groined like the intersection of Gothic arches. ‘The -general inclination of the strata is about 13° to the east, but it is frequently altered by faults, and sometimes presents anticlinal dips. Of the exact age of the beds the author offers no opinion, but he thinks that it is not posterior to the carboniferous series. Among the specimens which accompanied the memoir were some from the west end of the Isle of Innisfallen, in the Lake of Killarny. The strata at that point consist of narrow vertical and alternating ridges of asilicious rock and limestone : the former projecting beyond the surface of the latter. A paper was last read, entitled, ‘‘ An Account of some fossil vege- table Remains found in the sandstone which underlies the lowest bed of the carboniferous. Limestone, near Ballisadiere, in the County of Sligo, Ireland,” by Sir Alexander Crichton, M.D., F.G.S., &c.: In the county of Sligo there are no coal deposits, the nearest being 395 the Arigna coal-field, in the county of Leitrim. The bed of sand- stone containing the plants is well exhibited, resting upon gneiss, with which it is stated to dip conformably, and is covered by the mountain limestone. The state of the plants prevented the author from ascer- taining their generic characters, but the specimens consist principally of flattened stems covered occasionally with a thin coating of carbo- naceous matter. The lowest beds of limestone in this part of Ireland abound with corals, and contain nodules of chert; while the upper contain many shells, and are purer and better adapted for forming quicklime. The author then remarks on the great interval which must have taken place between the growth of the plants contained in the sandstone, which underlies the limestone, and of those which occur in the coal-measures resting upon it. March 9th.—The Rev. George Brett, A.M., of Jesus College, Cam- bridge, and of Ranelagh House, Chelsea; and John Brown, Esq., of Stanway, near Colchester, were elected Fellows of this Society. A paper was read, “ On the Remains of Mammalia found in the Sewalik Mountains, at the southern foot of the Himalayas between the Sutluj and the Ganges,” by Capt. Cautley, F.G.S., and commu- nicated by J. F. Royle, Esq., F.G.S. The range of mountains from which the remains described in this paper were obtained, extends from the Sutlej to the Burhampooter and the district of Cooch Behar. Its general direction near the Sutluj is N.W. and S.E., but on approaching the Burhampooter it is many points nearer direct E. and W. It is either connected with the Hima- layas by a succession of low mountains, or is separated from them by valleys varying in breadth from three to ten miles, the principal being the Deyra valley, between the Ganges and the Jumna, and the Kearda and the Pinjore, between the Jumna and the Sutluj. The: breadth of the range is from six to eight miles ; and the loftiest peaks do not exceed 3000 feet, the average height being from 2000 to 2500 above the level of the sea, or from 500 to 1000 above that of the adjacent plains. The only roads by which the range can be passed follow the line of the rivers which flow through gorges flanked by pre- cipitous clifis, sometimes crowned by inaccessible pinnacles, on the top of which is usually a solitary fir-tree. As the range is not known to the present inhabitants or to geographers by a distinct name, Capt. Cautley has been induced to call it the Sewalik, a term by which the portion between the Jumna and the Ganges was formerly known*; and he states that he is anxious to give to it a distinct ap- pellation to avoid the use of the indefinite terms Lower Hills and Sub- Himalayas. The formation of which the range is composed between the Sutluj and the Ganges, the portion personally examined by the author, con- * Smith’s Exotic Botany, vol. i. p.9. Dow's History of India. The name is also used in some writings in the possession of the high priest re- siding at Deyra. The word is a corruption of Shibwalla, from the district between the Ganges and the Jumna haying been the residence of Shib. 396 sists of alternating beds of conglomerate, sandstone, marl, and clay, inclined at angles varying from 15° to 35°. The succession of the beds is irregular, the marl prevailing to the west and the conglomerate to the east of the Jumna. The beds of conglomerate, or in the language of the author, of shingle, are of enormous thickness, and are composed of pebbles of granite, gneiss, mica-slate, hornblende-slate, and trap, derived appa- rently from the Himalayas, and are either loosely aggregated or ce- mented by clay and carbonate of lime. The sandstone consists of grains of quartz and scales of mica, ce- mented by oxide of iron or carbonate of lime. The colour presents various shades of red and grey ; and the state of induration differs in proportion to the quantity of the cementing matter, which sometimes gives the stone a crystalline appearance. It is occasionally used as a building material and in some instances has resisted for a long time the action of the atmosphere. Carbonaceous matter is of common occurrence in the sandstone, either in fragments exhibiting the struc- ture of dicotyledonous plants, or as grains disseminated throughout the stone in nearly equal proportions with the sand. Carbonaceous matter exists also in the marl, and in one instance Capt. Cautley noticed it in the conglomerate. It has never yet been found in suf- ficient quantity to be of ceconomical importance. At the Kalowala Pass, one of the entrances into the Deyra valley, the author discovered in a bed of yellow and red sand elliptical masses of sandstone coated by a thin layer of carbonaceous matter. The marl or clay conglomerate is described as consisting of frag- ments of indurated clay cemented by clay, sand, and carbonate of lime. It is exceedingly tough, and is less easily acted upon by run- ning water than the other strata. The only point at which trap has been observed is in the neigh- bourhood of Nahun, where it has been noticed by Dr. Falconer. Soda effloresces on the surface of the shingle and sandstone, and selenite occurs occasionally in the clay. The distribution of the organic remains in the district between the Jumna and the Ganges, Capt. Cautley states to be as follows, the greater part of the fossils having been obtained at the Kalowala Pass. Conglomerate or Shingle Beds.—Lignite, scarce. Sandstone.—Trunks of dicotyledonous trees in great abundance, lignite, and remains of reptiles. Marl.—Pachydermaia : teeth, and remains of a species of Anthra- cotherium. Carnivora: genera doubtful, but some of the teeth corre- spond with those of the Bear. Rodentia: Rat, and a small variety of Castor. Ruminantia : Deer, more species than one. Solipede, teeth of a Horse Gavial and Crocodile, teeth and bones in abundance. Emys and Trionyx, fragments of. Pisces, vertebre and perhaps scales. Shells, freshwater genera. 397 The district between the Jumna and the Sutluj consists of the same series of shingle or conglomerate, sand, clay, and marl; but the shin- gle is less abundant, and differs in being composed of pebbles of va- rious kinds of clayslate and quartz, and the marl is exposed only at Nahun, where it contains the same organic remains asin the Kalowala Pass. From Nahun to the plains there is a succession of sandstones and clays, dipping on an average about 20° tothe north. In the neighbourhood of that town the sandstone is hard and used for build- ing; but it becomes soft on approaching the plains. The clays are stated to be more or less rich in Testacea, and the sandstone in re- mains of Mammalia. The large collections of bones obtained by Capt. Cautley were found partly lying on the slopes among the ruins of fallen cliffs, and partly in situ in the sandstone; and he is of opinion that the former have been, in a great measure, preserved by the sandstones in immediate contact with the bones, being much harder and more ferruginous than in the general mass. The following is a list of the remains which had been determined at the time the memoir was written. Mastodon, elephant, rhinoceros, hippopotamus, hog, horse, ox, elk, deer, several varieties ; carnivora, canine and feline ; crocodile, gavial, emys, trionyx, and fishes ; and portions of undescribed mam- malia. The remains of all these animals are in great abundance, with the exception of the Horse and Carnivora ; but the bones of the head are better preserved than those of the trunk or the extremities. Some- times the fractured bones have admitted of being joined, though the surfaces were coated with calcareous spar. In assigning an age to the formation composing the Sewalik moun- tains, Capt. Cautley adopts the views of his friend Dr. Falconer, who in 2 notice read before the Asiatic Society of Calcutta, considered the deposit to be synchronous with that from which Mr. Crawfurd obtained the remains near Prome, on the banks of the Irawadi, there being an agreement in the organic remains. The author then offers some remarks on the Mastodon elephantoides and M. latidens, and in consequence of his having found jaws in which the front teeth are not to be distinguished from the teeth of M. latidens, and the rear from the teeth of M. elephantoides, he conceives that the distinc- tion established on detached teeth will be found to be erroneous. March 23.—Henry G. Atkinson, Esq., of Grove End; Henry Har- pur Spry, Esq., of the Bengal Medical Service, Member of the Phy- sical Class of the Asiatic Society of Calcutta, &c., and Frederick Edwards, Esq., of Southampton Place, Euston Square, were elected Fellows of this Society. A paper was first read, entitled, <“ A Description of various Fossil Remains of three distinct Saurian animals discovered in the autumn of 1834, in the Magnesian Conglomerate on Durdham Down, near Bristol.” By Henry Riley, M.D. and Mr. Samuel Stutchbury; and communicated by Charles Lyell, Esq., P.G.S. The conglomerate in which these Saurian remains were discovered 398 rests upon the edge of inclined strataof mountain limestone, filling up the irregularities of their surface, and consists of angular fragments of the limestone cemented by a dolomitic paste. The thickness of the deposit at the point where the remains were discovered does not exceed twenty feet. Of the three animals descr ibed j in the paper, two belong to a genus for which the author proposes the name of Paleosaurus, and the third to one which they have called Thecodontosaurus. The characters of the genus Paleosaurus are derived from the teeth, which are described as being carinated laterally, and finely ser- tated at right angles to the axis. They are stated to differ from those of all the Saurians known to the authors: and as the teeth in their possession exhibit minor marked characters, they are induced to consider that they belonged to two species, which they have named P. cylindricum and P. Platyodon. The genus Thecodontosaurus is likewise founded on the struc- ture of the teeth, and their having been deposited in distinct alveoli. Among other remains in the Museum of the Bristol Institution is the right ramus of a lower jaw, 34 inches long and |+ in the greatest depth, from the summits of the teeth to the under rise, consisting of the dental bone, containing 21 teeth, with portions of the sub- angular and complementary bones, and perhaps traces of the oper- cula. The alveolar groove for the reception of the teeth is formed by two ridges of nearly equal height, the teeth being deposited in it, in distinct alveoli, to nearly half theirlength. The teeth somewhat re- semble in shape a surgeon’s abscess-lancet, being acutely pointed and flattened ; while the anterior edge is also curved, but concave and strongly serrated, the serrature being directed towards the apex of the tooth. The middle teeth are the largest, rising not less than a quarter of an inch above the socket. They all possess a conical hol- low, and in a specimen belonging to the Rev. D. Williams a young tooth is well exhibited in one of the alveolar cavities. From these cha- racters the authors infer that the jaw belonged to a Saurian, but not to the great genus Lacerta of Linneus as reformed by Cuvier by re- jecting the Crocodiles and Salamanders. They further infer from the shape and serrated edge of the teeth that it did not belong to the Crocodiles ; nor to the Lizards, whose alveolar inner edge is either wanting or much less elevated than the outer. ‘They also show that it was not allied to the Monitors, because of the elevated inner alveolar edge, the distinct alyeoli, the teeth remaining hollow and the formation of the new tooth in the same cell with the old one, as well as from the great number of the teeth. With respect to the Iguanas and Scinks they show that the fossil could not have belonged to them, in consequence of the distinct alveoli, the inner alveolar edge, and the form of the summit and serratures of the teeth: and that it differed from the Saurodon in having a ridge on the outside of the tooth with the edge crenated and of unequal length. Numerous other bones have been discovered, but as none of them were found in connexion with teeth, the authors hesitate to assign them to either of the genera which they have established. Among these remains the following are described : 399 Vertebre possessing the peculiar characters, of having the centre of the body diminished one half in its transverse and vertical diameters so as to resemble an hour-glass; of a suture connecting the annular part or body with the processes ; and in the extremities of the ver- tebre being deeply concave. These characters the author conceives distinguish the fossil vertebre from those of all recent Saurians. ° A nearly perfect chevron bone; ribs, one flat and imperfect, the other round with a double head and a deep intercostal groove; a cla- vicle ; portions of coracoids; a humerus, the articulatory extremities of which expand to nearly three times the diameter of the centre of the bone ; a humerus 7 inches long, 2 inches broad at the superior extremity, and 14 at its inferior ; two femurs, one nearly perfect, being 10 inches in length; part of an ischium; a tibia; a fibula; metacarpal or metatarsal bones, with penultimate and ungueal pha- langes. ; 2 conclusion the authors state that these remains afford further proof of the truth that the more ancient the strata the more the ani- mal remains differ from existing types. oa A memoir was afterwards read, ‘‘ On the Ossiferous Cavern of Yealm B idge, 6 miles south-east from Plymouth.” By Capt. Mudge, Royal Engineers, F.G.S., F.R.S., &c. This cavern is situated in a mass of limestone adjoining the village of Yealmpton, near Yealm Bridge, and on the south side of the river. It has been long known, and though large quantities of the bones have been burnt in the limekiln, yet it was not till lately that its con- tents attracted the attention of the scientific observer. Mr. Bellamy, of ‘Yealmpton, first detected their value, and Capt. Mudge in a visit to-Devonshire in the autumn of last year collected the information detailed in the memoir. ‘“ There were originally three openings into the cave, each about 12 feet above the river Yealm, and a few yards distant from each other. Large portions of the rock being removed for economical purposes, a considerable part of the cavern has been destroyed, and at the time of Capt. Mudge’s visit portions of only the eastern and western chambers remained. The former consisted of a descending shaft to the depth of 10 feet, which turned at right angles and again ascended to the surface, both the descent and the ascent being at an angle of 45°. Of the western cavern, a portion remained uninjured. Prom the present opening it takes a northerly direction for 43 feet, the height varying from 5 to 6 feet, and the breadth from 4to5. It then turns westerly for 25 feet, the height varying from 5 to 12 feet, and the breadth from 34 to 5. The cave contained five, distinct, sedimentary deposits, and where they did not fill it to the roof the uppermost bed was covered by a layer of stalagmite. The order of the deposits was as follows : Top. Loam, containing bones and stones ........ 3+ feet. Stiff whitish clayioni). saa8 oe. gascec Hadi anek Satadiead . exctie. oak Lkksg2 Soh? eles dere cht 10, Neédislapses wad. vert. dais avseed ats. to - 4 Argillaceous sand Haiisisal.sia.ceiaiini-sili- 6 to 18 VOL. Il. 2D 400 Animal remains have been found only in the uppermost bed, and the author, on the authority of Mr. Clift and Mr. Owen, states that they be- long to the elephant, rhinoceros, horse, ox, sheep, hyena, dog, wolf, fox, bear, hare, water-rat, and a bird of considerable size. Co- prolites also occur in the same bed. Many of the bones are splin- tered, chipped, and gnawed. Of the elephant only two teeth of a young animal have been preserved, and the remains of the rhinoceros are also rare, being confined to teeth and a doubtful bone, but those of the hyzna, particularly teeth, exceed in quantity all the bones of the other animals. Teeth and bones of the horse and ox are very abundant, but the remains of the bear are confined to teeth. It is however stated by the author that it is impossible now to determine what proportions the animals originally bore toeach other. The peb- bles found in the same bed with the bones are apparently derived from the confines of Dartmoor, and differ from those contained in the bed of the Yealm. In one part, where the roof is a little lower than usual, the limestone is beautifully polished, as if by the friction of the animals which inhabited the cave. There are many other caverns in the neighbourhood, but the one next in importance to that at Yealm Bridge is in the grounds at Ketley. The floor of this cavern rises but little above the present level of the river, and consists of gravel and pebbles corresponding with those in the bed of the Yealm. It has been ascertained that it does not contain bones, and Capt. Mudge therefore concludes that the caverns of Yealm Bridge and Ketley were exposed to very dii- ferent conditions when the elephant and the hyena inhabited the southern part of Devonshire. As far as regards space the accommo- dation in Ketley Cavern was much superior to that of Yealm Bridge Cave, and consequently it may be inferred that at the time when the hyeenas inhabited the latter, they were prevented from entering the former either from its having been frequently flooded or permanently under water. PROCEEDINGS OF THE GEOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF LONDON. Vou. II. 1835—1836. No. 46. April 13.—A memoir on the Geology of Coalbrook Dale, by Joseph Prestwich, Jun., Esq., was commenced. April 27.—The memoir on the Geology of Coalbrook Dale, by Joseph Prestwich, Jun., Esq., began on the 13th of April, was concluded. In a paper read before the Society in February 1834, Mr. Prest- wich gave an account of some of the principal faults of this coal-field, and in the present memoir describes fully the extent and physical features of the district, the formations of which it consists, the dis- locations not previously noticed, the superficial detritus or drift, the organic remains, and the inferences which the author conceives may be drawn from the facts enumerated. In the first place, how- ever, he acknowledges the assistance which he has received from Mr. Murchison, Mr. Anstice of Madeley, and the gentlemen connected with the coal-works ; he also acknowledges the aid which he has derived from Mr. Arthur Aikin’s labours in the same district. The coal-field is bounded on the east by a slightly undulating line ranging from Lilleshall to Bridgenorth ; on the north-west by a line nearly coincident with the main road from Lilleshall to Watling-street, near Wellington, and thence by the Wrekin; on the west the boun- dary is broken by the gorge of the Severn, but is formed, in part, by the elevated ridges of Benthall and Wenlock ; and on the south-east it is defined by the road from Much Wenlock to Bridgenorth. The area thus circumscribed consists of a platform raised about 400 feet above the Severn at Madeley, or 500 above the level of the sea ; the surrounding country seldom rising to a height exceeding 350 feet. It is intersected by numerous picturesque glens, including the cele- brated defile through which the Severn flows at the Iron Bridge, and is traversed by several low hills, the most elevated of which is about 746 feet above the level of the sea ; but the Wrekin, which forms part of the north-western boundary, rises to the height of 1320 feet. . The formations of which the district consists are, commencing with the oldest, Ist, some members of the Lower Silurian rocks ; 2ndly, the Wenlock and Ludlow rocks, belonging to the Upper Silurian sy- stem; 3rdly, the old red sandstone ; 4thly, carboniferous limestone; 5thly, coal measures ; 6thly, new red sandstone ; and, 7thly, trap. In describing the formations subjacent to the old red sandstone, Mr. Prestwich states that he owes his knowledge of their order of su- perposition entirely to the previous labours of Mr. Murchison, and VOL, Il. 25 402 that unassisted by them it would have been impossible for him to have determined correctly their relative antiquity. Ist. The lower Silurian rocks consist of quartzose grit succeeded by micaceous flags, which are overlaid by a coarse-grained sandstone alternating with beds of light grey clay. They occur on the flanks of the Wrekin and Arcol Hills. 2ndly. The Wenlock rocks are composed, in the lower part, of beds of shale, and in the upper of limestone abounding with organic re- mains, They form the escarpment of Wenlock and Benthall Edges, Lincoln Hill, &c. The Ludlow rocks consist of three divisions: the lowest being formed of grey-coloured, soft, calcareous sandstones and shales; the middle of very thin beds of light grey and brown limestone; and uppermost of sandstones. They are stated to occur at Much Wenlock and Wyke, also near Apley, in the Meadow-pits and in several other pits in Broseley parish ; likewise between Dean and Willey, &c. 3rdly. The old red sandstone skirts the southern parts of the coal- field, and consists of beds of dark red marl alternating with dark, mi- caceous sandstones. Athly. The carboniferous limestone appears on the south of Little Wenlock, at Steeraways and Lilleshall Hills, and presents thin beds of argillaceous limestone and shale. 5thly. The coal measures consist of the usual alternations of shale, sandstone, and coal, amounting at the Madeley Meadow pits to 135 beds, having an aggregate thickness of about 250 yards. The first 70 or 80 beds are light grey, yellow, or red; the succeeding 20 are nearly black, and the underlying are mostly light-coloured. These distinctions are general, but not universal. In the uppermost part of the series clays and soft calcareous sandstones predominate ; in the middle argillaceous sandstones and indurated clay ; while in the lowest part fine hard sandstones. The upper coal seams are thin, generally sulphurous, widely separated, and extremely irregular, but the lower are nearer together, and are persistent throughout the field. The average thickness of the seams is about 3 feet, and the number in different pits varies from 1 to 16. The following table contains the aggregate thickness of the seams and the number at each of the loca- lities mentioned : Yards. ft. in. Number of beds. HELO colon oO)8o Hor BU 307 Seca nr onetee 16 Sned’s Hill..... ea i opi ie SC ie 12 Malmslee =! 22: aE RO Ore Se sreegsere 13 Baniglevercis ct. car jl aM Oa 1] Dawlevere sae 14 0 0. 16 Lightmoor...... Ponuoge Gin 17, Madeley.) usa. TCAD) sas Alla 24 BTOSCKeNR Snel Ab MOCO Hm kite n ws 13 In these pits the measures are fully developed, and consequently the variations may be explained by the thinner beds not having been equally included. In the Madeley list every thin seam is given. 403 The shales and sandstones vary greatly in their characters, though the former are said to be more uniform than the latter, and to contain layers of argillaceous carbonate of iren. A bed of freshwater lime- stone occurs in the upper part of the measures, at Inet, the Frog’s Mill near Nordley, and at Tasley. It is very hard, has a fine con- choidal fracture, and varies in thickness from one to two yards. A minute account is then given of the changes presented at different pits, and it is shown that the thinning out of the strata of sandstone and shale is frequently of great advantage to the miner by bringing into contact, beds of coal, which would otherwise be separated many feet. Jarburetted hydrogen is disengaged in greater abundance from the lower than from the upper measures, and in greatest quantity on commencing a new work, especially on approaching a fault, when large masses of coal are constantly blown off the main beds with loud reports. Carbonic acid gas is rarely found in a pit at work, and Mr, Prestwich suggests that the quantity sometimes noticed may have been accumulated in adjacent old pits. The mineral contents of the coal measures are confined to the ar- gillaceous carbonate of iron, sulphuret of iron, sulphuret of zinc, and petroleum. The celebrated spring, which once yielded more than a hogshead a day, produces now only a few gallons a week; but another abundant spring has been discovered, and considerable quantities of petroleum have been obtained in working the Dingle pit. Titanium is found in considerable quantities in the hearthstones of the old furnaces, often beautifully crystallized, but in greatest abundance in a massive state. In analysing some crystals of zinc found in the coal measures the author detected titanic acid. 6thly. New red sandstone.—Only the lower divisions of this forma- tion occur in the immediate neighbourhood of Coalbrook Dale, flank- ing the eastern and north-western sides of the field, and in some places abutting against the dislocated edge of the coal measures. They con- sist of clay, marl, and sandstones, overlaid by calcareous conglo- merates, to which succeed coarse sandstone, marls, and other conglo- merates. The lowest beds pass conformably into the coal measures, the line of distinction being chiefly distinguishable by the change in the colour; but some of the vegetable remains of the coal may be, though rarely, detected in the sandstone series. Mr. Prestwich is of opinion that there is a want of conformity between the lower and upper systems of the new red sandstone series. 7thly. Trap rocks.—The greater portion of the Wrekin, Arcol, Mad - dox, and Lilleshall Hills, &c. are composed of greenstone, felspar rocks, and amygdaloid. Smaller bosses also rise to the surface at various points within the coal-field, and others have been discovered in the deep workings ; but it is worthy of remark that no trap has been no- ticed in any of the crevices or fissures connected with the faults. The trap does not appear to have charred the coal; but at New Hadley, at a point where a boss appears at the surface, the coal in its vicinity loses its cohesion and becomes sooty, and the same change was no- ticed elsewhere near dislocations, though no trap was visible. Dislocations.—The author says that there is probably no coal-field 2E2 404 of equal size in the kingdom so greatly shattered as that of Coalbrook Dale. The faults are most numerous and complicated where the measures are thinnest, the miner in those parts rarely proceeding 20 yards without interruption, and frequently not more than two or three ; but when so close together the dislocations are small in effect and ex- tent, and are connected with others of greater magnitude. The larger faults tilt the strata in various directions, but have ge- nerally a parallelism of strike, and deviate but very slightly from a straight line. Sometimes the sides of the disjointed strata are in con- tact, when the edges of the beds of coal and shale have a shining stri- ated surface, but at others the sides are separated several yards, the interval being filled with the debris of the strata. The inclination of the principal faults as well as of the minor, obeys no general law, and even in the same fault it occasionally varies from 45° to 90°. The difference of level on the opposite sides of the principal dislocations also varies considerably ; thus the Lightmoor fault, at Malmslee and Old Park produces a difference of level of 600 or 700 feet, but at Sned’s Hill of only 300, and a branch of it does not affect the strata more than 50 or 60 feet. In some instances the change of level is by steps or hitches, owing probably to unequal resistance, or a series of small dislocations. Another character of the large faults is their sub- dividing, more especially at the extremities—the subdivisions occa- sionally taking a direction at right angles to the main fault, but when they are numerous they diverge from it only a few degrees and extend but a short distance. The author then describes minutely the chief faults ; the two prin- cipal of which, bounding the field on the east and partly on the west, bring the disjointed edges of the coal measures in a level with those of the new red sandstone; and he afterwards gives a table of the minor faults, containing the name of each fault with its direction, extent, average angle of inclination, breadth, fall, the greatest difference of level produced by it, and the localities at which the difference of level varies ; and from the phenomena presented by the faults, and the fact that the field is a platform raised above the level of the sur- rounding country, the author infers that the coal-field has been ele- vated above its original position ; he also adds that the contortions of the beds are not of any great magnitude. Superficial detritus or drift.—Thick beds of gravel and sand cover a large portion of the surface, and are considered by the author as con- sisting of two distinct deposits. The lower, which is of local occur- rence, though from 20 to 50 feet thick, consists of fine-grained red sand, containing beds of small angular pebbles of the adjacent rocks, and thin, distinct seams of marl or clay. _Imbedded in the sand are frequently found masses of coal, some of them six feet in diameter. The upper deposit is composed of rolled pebbles of rocks, composing the coal-field and its boundaries, imbedded in coarse reddish sand. Its distribution is more regular than that of the lower division; and it is distinguished by the abundance of fossils derived from the Dudley limestone and the coal measures, as well as the presence of marine shells of existing species. 405 Organic remains.—The fossils of the coal measures are described with great detail, as well as the phenomena of beds containing marine remains, alternating with others in which freshwater shells and land plants occur; and a comparison is made with the Ganister coal-field, in which similar alternations have been noticed. ‘The following are the principal points detailed in the paper respecting these alternations at Coalbrook Dale. The lowest part of the coal measures presents nu- merous beds of sandstone and shale, with seams of good coal; some of the beds containing in abundance vegetable remains, occasionally associated with Unios. To these succeed the bed called the peany iron- stone, in which has been found a few vegetable remains and casts of Unios and Cyclades, but great abundance of marine remains belong- ing to the genera Producta, Spirifer, Ammonites, Nautilus, Bellero- phon, Conularia, Euomphalus, Pecten, Orbicula, Terebratula, Venus, Asaphus, and Pentacrinites ; remains also of fishes, namely, the Megal- ichthys Hibbertit and Gyracanthus formosus. The next series of beds, consisting of the usual alternation of sandstone, shale, and coal, in- close vegetable remains and Unios. Upon these repose a stratum of micaceous shale, containing ironstone nodules in which have been found land plants, Unios in considerable quantities, remains of the Me- galichthys and Gyracanthus, and Trilobites of a distinct genus. This singular stratum is surmounted by a series, of great thickness, of the usual coal measures, in which organic remains and iand plants have been observed, and is succeeded, in two localities, by the Chance penny-stone, in which Productus scabriculus occurs in vast abundance. The uppermost beds of the series, consisting of many thick beds of sandstone with Jayers of shale and one seam of coal, are almost de- stitute of organic remains. The distribution of the fossils is extremely irregular in different parts of the coal-field, being most persistent in the lower beds; and though they are most commonly found in the ironstone nodules, yet they sometimes occur in the sandstones and shales adjacent to the coal seams. In the concluding part the author reviews the facts detailed in the memoir, and draws the inferences which he conceives they warrant. Ist. Mr. Prestwich is of opinion that the alternations of freshwater shells with marine remains, do not prove as many relative changes of land and sea; but that the coal measures were deposited in an estu- ary, into which flowed a considerable river, subject to occasional freshes ; and he conceives that this position is supported by the fact of frequent alternations of coarse sandstones and conglomerates with beds of clay or shale; and for the same reason he is of opinion that the vegetable remains did not grow where they are found. 2ndly. After recapitulating the evidence in support of the protru- sion of Coalbrook Dale through once continuous overlying forma- tions, he calls attention to the important inquiry whether there may not be buried beneath the new red sandstone districts other conside- rable coal-fields, which are unknown, because they have not been sub- ject to disturbing agents similar to those which exposed the district under review. ~ 406 Lastly. With respect to the agents which have modified the surface of Coalbrook Dale, the author is of opinion that it was denuded, in part, while beneath the level of the ocean ; that the lower bed of de- tritus, containing angular gravel and large masses of coal, proves a sudden and short cataclysm ; while the upper beds of rounded gravel, containing recent shells, indicate the long-continued action of a body of water, since the existence of the present Testacea of our coasts. A letter from R. W. Fox, Esq., addressed to Sir Charles Lemon, Bart., M.P., F.G.S., “On the Formation of Mineral Veins,” was then read. Mr. Fox is of opinion that mineral veins were originally fissures probably caused by changes in the earth’s temperature; that they were small at first and gradually increased in their dimensions ; and that the mineral contents progressively accumulated during the whole period of the development of the fissures ; and as changes in the earth’s temperature might produce changes in the direction and intensity of the terrestrial magnetic curves, he conceives that electricity may have powerfully influenced the existing arrangement of the contents of these fissures. Copper, tin, iron, and zinc, in combination with sulphuric and muriatic acids, being very soluble in water, Mr. Fox says, they would in this state be capable of conducting voltaic electricity; and as the rocks forming the walls of the veins, contain different salts, they would be in opposite electrical conditions, and hence currents would be generated and readily transmitted through the fissures, and in time the metals would be separated from their solvents and deposited in the veins. But, on the known principles of eleetro- magnetism, Mr. Fox adds, it is evident that such currents would be more or less influenced by the magnetism of the earth ; and there- fore that they would not pass from north to south or from south toe north as easily as from east to west, but more so than from west to east. The author then offers some observations relative to the production of sulphurets from the decomposition of the metallic sulphates ; and explains how fissures, gradually widening, would be successively filled, and would account for veins occurring within veins; he offers some remarks also on the greater productiveness exhibited at the points where veins pass frem one formation to another, and is of opinion that the fact may be explained by supposing the rock in which the vein is productive to have been electro-negative. In conclusion Mr. Fox states, that if in other parts of the world veins may be found to deviate from an east and west direction much more than they do in England, the apparent discrepancy may be ex- plained by the rocks having yielded more easily in one direction than in another, and from a difference in the direction of the magnetic me- ridian in different countries, as well as from the probability that it has varied greatly at different epochs. 407 April 27.—After the ordinary business of the Society had been transacted, a Special General Meeting was held to take into consi- deration the By-Law respecting Defaulters. The President having stated that, according to the existing By- laws, a defaulter could not be removed from the Lists of the Society until his name should have been suspended two calendar months, and been subsequently read from the Chair at four successive ordinary General Meetings, and a Special General Meeting should have been held to take into consideration the removal of the name from the List of the Society : It was unanimously resolved, by ballot, «« That the Council be authorized to remove from the List of the So- “* ciety any Fellow being more than two years in arrear ; the name of *« that Fellow having been suspended during one month, and it having “been announced at two subsequent ordinary Meetings to be the in- ““ tention of the Council to remove the said defaulter’s name from the *« List of the Society unless his arrears be paid up.” May 1!.—Thomas Bland, Esq., of Bedford-row ; John Thomas Woodhouse, Esq., of Ashby-de-la-Zouch ; William Holl, Esq. of Edg- baston, near Birmingham; George Owen Rees, Esq., of Holland- place, Clapham-road ; George Cornwall Legh, Esq., of High Legh, Cheshire; and Michael Jones, Esq., of Mount-street, Grosvenor- square, were elected Fellows of this Society. A paper was read “ On the Silurian and other Rocks of the Dud- ley and Wolverhampton Coal-field, followed by a Sketch proving the Lickey Quartz Rock to be of the same age as the Caradoc Sandstone,”’ by Roderick Impey Murchison, Esq., F.G.S., V.P.R.S. In previous memoirs the author has shown that the coal-field extend- ing from Dudley into the adjacent parts of Staffordshire is surrounded and overlaid by the lower member of the new red sandstone ; and on this occasion, laying before the Society an Ordnance map, geologi- cally coloured, he gave, Ist, A general sketch of the structure of the coal-field in descending order: 2ndly, Detailed accounts of the Si- lurian rocks which protrude through the coal measures or lie beneath them: 3rdly, A sketch of the quartz rocks of the Lickey: 4thly, A description of the trap rocks: 5thly, General remarks upon the dis- locations of the stratified deposits ; and the dependence of these phe- nomena upon the intrusion of trap rocks. 1. Coal measures——In most parts of the productive coal-field the coal measures are covered by a considerable quantity of detritus, the greater part of which has been derived from the breaking up of the new red sandstone which once overspread this tract, with which are mixed, especially in the northern part of the field, a few boulders of — northern origin and some from the surrounding region. General and detailed sections are then given of the regular succes- sion of the carboniferous strata; for the greater part of which in the neighbourhood of Dudley, and for much valuable information, Mr. Murchison expresses great obligation to Mr, Downing; the best 408 sections of the Wolverhampton field having been afforded by Mr. J. Barker. The principal points of novelty consist in drawing a clear distinction between the upper or thicker measures, which contain the 10-yard coal, generally known as the Dudley coal, and the underlying carbonaceous strata, or ironstone measures. ‘The latter, rising from beneath the 10-yard coal, range to the N.N.E. from Wednesbury and Bilston, in a long tract between the parallels of Walsall and Wol- verhampton, extending to Cannock Chase. At the southern end of the field, emerging from beneath the 10-yard coal, they occupy the district between Stourbridge and Hales Owen, containing the well- known “ fire clay ;” though some of the most valuable of the Wol- verhampton iron-stones, beneath those called the ‘« New Mine,” are here wanting, viz. the “ Gubbins,” and ‘‘ Blue Flats.” This poverty in the lower coal measures extends over all the district south of Dud- ley. In the northern and southern ends of the district these lower measures represent the whole carboniferous system; and in various natural sections near the Hagley and Clent hills, the author has de- tected them, in very feeble bands, passing upwards and conformably into the lower new red sandstone. Besides the open works formerly alluded to by him in previous memoirs, Mr. M. now states, that his for- mer conjectures respecting the passage of the 1(-yard coal beneath the new red sandstone which flanks it on the east and west have been ve- rified by the efforts of the Earl of Dartmouth, who, after sinking to a depth of 151 yards through strata of the lower new red sandstone, has very recently succeeded by further borings, carried down to the depth of 290 yards, in discovering the 1-foot, 2-foot, and “Brooch” coal seams, which overiie the 10-yard coal throughout the Dudley field. These operations have taken place at Christchurch, one mile beyond the superficial boundary of the coal-field. Besides the plants so common in all carboniferous tracts, the author has observed the presence of animal organic remains. Unios of several species are abundant; and in the northern or lower part of the field he has extracted fragments of fishes, which have been named by Pro- fessor Agassiz, Megalichthys Hibbertii, M. Sauroides, Diptodus gibbus ; together with scales, coprolites, &c., proving an identity between the animals deposited in these coal measures and those of Edinburgh, de- scribed by Dr. Hibbert. The same species, it will be recollected, have been pointed out by Sir Philip Egerton as occurring in the N. Stafford- shire coal-field, and one of them has been observed by Mr. Prestwich in the coal-field of Coalbrook Dale. Mr. Murchison, however, re- marks that he has not yet observed any marine remains in these coal measures similar to those of Coalbrook Dale ; and nothing yet found can invalidate the inference that the coal of Dudley and Wolverhamp- ton may have been accumulated exclusively in fresh water. b. Silurian rocks.——The mountain or carboniferous limestone and the old red sandstone, which in so many other parts of England form the support of coal tracts, being wanting, this field reposes directly 409 on rocks which Mr. Murchison proves to consist of the two upper members of the Silurian system, viz. ‘‘the Ludlow rocks” and ‘‘ Wen- lock limestone.”’* As, however, these rocks rise up irregularly, like separate islands, through the surrounding coal measures, and not in their regular order of superposition, so it was obviously impracticable to have determined their relative age by any local evidences; and hence no attempts could have been made to distinguish the younger from the loder deposits, until the structure and organic remains of the different members of the Silurian system, had been fairly worked out in other districts, where these types were fully and clearly displayed in their regular order. 2. Ludlow rocks.—These rocks appear at the surface in three de- tached points in this coal-field, viz. Sedgeley, Turner’s Hill, and the Hayes. At Sedgeley they are thrown up in an elongated ellipse, very much resembling a large inverted ship, of which Sedgeley Beacon, 630 feet above the sea, may be considered as the keel. The upper Ludlow rock, though not thick, is plainly marked by containing the Leptena lata, the Serpula gigantea, &c., and by overlying a limestone which is in every respect identical with that of dymestrey or the middle member of the Ludlow rocks, presenting the same lithological struc- ture, i. e. adull argillaceous grey limestone, which among other well- known shells, such as the Terebratula Wilsoni and the Lingula, con- tains also the beautiful Pentamerus Knightiz so entirely peculiar to this stratum. As at Ludlow and Aymestrey, this limestone of Sedyveley, known here as the “black limestone,” forms an excellent cement under water. Turner's Hill, a small elevation between Gornals and Himley, is composed of Ludlow rocks; and the Hayes is a narrow short tongue of the same, with a central band of limestone, which rises at a high angle from beneath the coal measures, on the main road from Stour- bridge to Hales Owen, a portion of the lower Ludlow rock being alse well exposed. 2a. “ Wenlock limestone.” —This limestone formation is much more largely developed than that of the Ludlow rocks, constituting several ellipsoidal masses near the town of Dudley, which have been long worked and extensively known among collectors, from the number and beauty of their organic remains. Hence the rock has been usually termed the “‘ Dudley limestone.” As, however, it was impossible to have ascertained in this district the relative age of these rocks, their different members being independently in contact with the coal mea- sures, the nomenclature of the Silurian system already selected is ad- hered to, because in Shropshire the Wenlock limestone, in its fullest standard, rises out regularly from beneath the Ludlow rocks, and the latter passing beneath the old red sandstone and carboniferous lime- stone (both of which are wanting at Dudley) complete the proofs re- quired. The author therefore entreats geologists not to employ the term Dudley limestone except as the synonym of Wenlock, with which * There is one spot, however, within the author’s knowledge where the underground works reached a thick mass of red shale or marl deneath the coal-field ; but the works having been long abandoned, no correct know- ledge of these red rocks can be now obtained. 410 he proceeds to show its lithological and geological identity. This limestone is described in detail at the Castle Hill, Wren’s Nest, and Hurst Hill, in all of which it forms ellipsoidal elevated masses, 500 to 650 feet high, protruding through the coal measures in lines paral- lel to similarly shaped masses of Ludlow rock at Sedgeley; &c., i. e. trending from 10° E. of N. to 10° W. of S. ‘Two strong bands of limestone occur in these hills, overlaid and separated from each other by shale, charged with numerous small concretions of impure lime- stone, the “bavin” of the workmen. The limestone having been quar- ried out from these bands which have been raised up from a common centre, and disposed with a quaquaversal dip at high angles, it is evi- dent that the hills themselves would ere now have been demolished, had they been composed throughout of calcareous masses of equal purity; but the ‘‘bavin” or refuse composes the framework of these perforated hills, and preserves their outline. ‘The Wenlock shale, or underlying part of the formation, constitutes the nucleus of the Wren’s Nest, the largest and most perfect of these ellipsoids, and of this the author gives a detailed plan. These ellipsoids usually feather off at one extremity with a broken-down margin, and thus complete their resemblance in physical features to ancient craters of eruption*. The greatest superficial extent of the Wenlock formation is in the neighbourhood of Walsall, where it rises both in dome- shaped masses and in rectilinear ridges, running from S.S.W. to N.N.E. parallel to the axis of the Wolverhampton coal-field, of which one of these ridges forms the eastern boundary, the limestone plunging beneath the coal-field at a rapid angle. ‘The other ridge is continuous with the new red sandstone of the Bar-beacon, and is known as the Hay Head lime. In the Dudley or 10-yard coal tract few works have yet preceeded downwards beneath the lower coals, and hence the subjacent Silurian rocks are little known to the miners, A remarkable and accidental discovery of a mass of limestone took place recently near Dudley Port, on the rise side of a great fault, which bounds the downcasts of the coal, called “‘ Dudley Trough.” Having worked out the coal on the upcast side, a shaft was sunk in and upon the southern side of this fault, when at a depth of 208 yards, and about 100 yards below the exhausted coal strata, a mass of limestone was met with, which proved to be near 7 yards thick, and of very good crystalline quality. Being found to extend in a form more or less ho- rizontal, extensive works were promptly opened in it for the extrac- tion of a rock so precious in the heart of the coal-field. When the author visited it, a considerable cavity had been formed, in which no trace of moisture was discernible, whilst it was known that copious streams of water were flowing in the coal measures overhead. He accounts for this mass of limestone being hermetically excluded from the percolation of water, by the impervious nature of the Silurian shale which separates the coal measures from the limestone, and by the shafts being sunk in the fault itself, which, like other lines of fissure, is filled up with clay and other materials, so closely compacted as to form com- * See account of Valley of Woolhope for similar phenomena on a larger scale, and with a greater number of concentric and enveloping formations. —Proceedings Geol. Scc., vol. ti. p. 15. 41i plete dams to water. At the north-western edge of the subterranean excavation the fault was stripped, and the materials of which it is composed having thinned out, the limestone was found in contact with a bed of coal, the edges of which appeared bent, both the coal and the limestone having a slickensides polish. By boring through the limestone a second calcareous stratum was found, thus completing the proofs of identity between this underground mass and that which rises to the surface in the hills of Dudley Castle and the Wren’s Nest. In the northern or Wolverhampton field, where the whole of the coal measures, even to beneath the lowest beds of ironstone, (the blue Jfiats,) are traversed by shafts not exceeding 120 yards in depth, the field has been proved at several points to rest on shale and impure limestone, the equivalents of the Ludlow and Wenlock formations. For lists of the fossils in this group of Upper Silurian rocks the author refers to previous memoirs, announcing that more perfect lists will shortly be laid before the public in his large work upon the Silurian system. 3. Lickey Quartz rock, Caradoc sandstone, (Lower Silurian rocks.) Dr. Buckland first called the attention of geologists to the Lickey quartz rock* ; and, showing that it had been one of the principal ma- gazines of the quartz pebbles in the new red sandstone and diluvium of the southern counties, he further compared it with certain rocks ir situ in the neighbourhood of the Wrekin. ‘The Rev. J. Yates has also clearly described the lithological structure of this rock, and has briefly touched upon some of its fossils t. Mr. Murchison undertakes to prove the true geological position of these rocks. He shows that they lie in the direct prolongation of the Silurian rocks of Dudley, and that, being partially flanked and covered by thin patches of coal, they emerge through a surrounding area of the lower new red sandstone and calcareous red conglomerate (described in previous memoirs). Unlike, however, the succession in the Dudley field, there are here no traces of the Ludlow rock and Aymestrey limestone. Nor are there masses of any size of the Wenlock limestone, but shreds only of the shale or lower part of this formation with some of its well- recognised fossils, (Colmers.) The lower Silurian rocks rise from beneath the Wenlock shale in thin courses of bastard limestone, alternating with red and green courses of sandstone and shale, the equivalents of those bands, which at various places in Shropshire, and at Woolhope in Herefordshire, con- stitute the top of the formation of Caradoc sandstones. Like these, they are here underlaid by flaglike sandstones, sometimes rather more ar- gillaceous and approaching to clay slate, the whole passing down into silicious sandstones, both thick and thin bedded. In the latter are casts of several fossils of the Caradoc formation, such as Pentameri of two species, and corals peculiar te it. These fossilliferous strata are well exposed on the eastern side of the hills by recent cuttings, where the new road from Bromsgrove to Birmingham traverses the ridge. The ridge itself, however, consists essentially of quartz rock, which * Transactions Gecl. Soc., Ist Series, vol. v. p. 507. + Transactions Geol. Soc., 2nd Series, vel. ii. p. 137. 412 the author shows is nothing more than altered Caradoc sandstone, precisely analogous to that which he has on former occasions pointed out on the flanks of Caer Caradoc, the Wrekin, Stiper stones, &c. In those districts the passage from a fossiliferous sandstone to a pure quartz rock has been accounted for by the latter being in absolute contact with eruptive masses of igneous origin; and here it is sug- gested that the same cause may have operated, though the contact is not visible, because the line of quartz rock is precisely upon the pro- longation of the trappean axis of the Rowley Hills, whilst the southern end of the parallel outburst of the Clent Hills, is but little distant. Notwithstanding their highly altered condition, it is shown that all the quartz rocks throughout this ridge of low hills are uniformly stra- tified, the dip being either to the E.N.E. or W.S.W., i. e. at right angles to the direction; and the parallelopipedal fragments into which the rock breaks are shown to be produced by fissures more or less at right angles to the planes of stratification ; these fissures being so numerous where the mass is much altered, as almost to obscure the true laminee of deposit. 4. Trap.—The composition and characters of the trap rocks and basaltic masses of the Rowley Hills are first described, together with the manner in which they are supposed to rise through and cut off the coal upon their flanks. Rocks of similar origin occur at various detached points to the west of Dudley, of which Barrow Hill is the principal, affording the most convincing proofs of the volcanic mass having burst through the carboniferous strata, since the latter are not only highly disturbed and broken, but fragments of coal and coal mea- sures, in highly-altered conditions, are found twisted up upon the sides, and even mixed with the trap itself. In the Wolverhampton or north- ern coal-field, the chief vent of eruption is at Pouk Hill, two miles west of Walsall, where the greenstone is arranged in fan-shaped columns. After pointing out distinct evidences of the intrusion of similar rocks at Bentley Forge and the Birch Hills, in some of the old open works near which the trap is seen to overlie the coal, the author gives vari- ous sections of subterranean works, which prove the existence of greenstone, in bands more or less horizontal. As these bands of trap have jagged edges, are of limited extent, of exceeding irregularity in thickness, and often produce great alteration upon the inclosing carbonaceous masses, the author has no hesitation in expressing his belief that they are not true beds, but simply wedges of injected matter which have issued from central foci, and have been intruded laterally amid the coal strata; an opinion formerly expressed by Mr. A. Aikin in an able memoir*. Although these lateral masses of greenstone in the Wolverhampton field are of origin posterior to the accumulation of coal strata, the author does not deny that the tufaceous conglomerates of Hales Owen, which have a strong analogy in composition to a certain class of vol- canic grits described in former memoirs, may have been formed con- temporaneously with the carboniferous deposits. The trap of the Clent Hills is then briefly described, and is shown * Transactions Geol. Soc., Ist Series, vol. ili. p. 251. 413 to be identical with that of the Abberley Hills, also mentioned in pre- vious memoirs. 9. Principal lines of dislocation.—The whole of this carboniferous tract has been upcast through a cover of new red sandstone, the lower mem- bers of which are frequently found to have been dislocated conform- ably with the inferior carbonaceous masses, proving (as formerly ex- pressed by Mr. Murchison) that some of the greatest of these move- ments took place subsequently to the deposits of the red sandstone. In describing the faults along the boundary of the new red sandstone, he directs particular attention to that of Wolverhampton, where the coal measures dip slightly inwards from the line of fissure, along which they are conterminous with the overlying strata, a fact perhaps without parallel in this or the adjacent coal-fields (including Coalbrook Dale), the usual phenomena being that, however disrupted, the carbonaceous or upcast strata always incline outwards, as if they would pass even- tually beneath the lower new red sandstone on their flanks. This exception is supposed to have been caused by the upheaving of a subjacent mass of Silurian or trap rocks close to the edge of the line of fault. Having next described the effect of the great longitudinal faults produced by the upcast of the Wenlock limestone of Walsall, he shows that the subterranean mass at Dudley Port (p. 410), is upon the same parallel, i.e. from N.E. to S.W., if not directly on the same line of fis- sure. ‘This line of eruption is strongly marked on both edges of the northern half of the coal-field extending to Cannock Chase. Another great axis of elevation which affects the Dudley field, di- verges at a considerable angle from the former. It is prominently marked by the line of the Rowley Hills, and after concealment for a certain distance beneath the red sandstone to the S. of Hales Owen, reappears in the ridge of the Lickey quartz rock. ‘The lofty trappean ridge of the Clent Hills is parallel to this last-mentioned axis. It is further pointed out as remarkable that at the angle formed by the confluence of these divergent lines of elevation, the Silurian or fun- damental rocks of the tract are raised in inflated ellipsoidal forms from common centres, the strata having a quaquaversal dip, in one case completing the outlines of a very perfect valley of elevation. The author infers that such curvatures are exactly what might be ex- pected at the point of greatest flexure in the axis of the coal-field, where the volcanic matter, unable to find issue, has produced these inflated masses. There are numberless faults in this coal-field to which no reference is made, it being stated that much additional labour is required to give a complete history of them ; but attention is called to the Birch Hill, Lanesfield, and Barrow Hill faults, which are the principal éransverse faults, and which the author conceives may be ex- plained upon the principles of the theory of Mr. Hopkins, or as cross fractures which have resulted from elevation of the coal-field en masse. The memoir concludes with referring to the importance of one of the problems to which the author has been directing public attention during the last few years, viz. the probable extension of carboniferous tracts of the central counties beneath the surrounding new red sand- stone; and he rejoices that the deductions which necessarily follow 414 from his observations in this and the adjacent coal-fields, have recently been so ably supported by the masterly observations of Mr. Prestwich upon Coalbrook Dale, with whose opinions he entirely coincides. The quantity therefore of unwrought coal beneath the new red sand- stone of Shropshire, Worcestershire, Staffordshire, &c. though pre- viously omitted in statistical data, must form an element in all calcu- lations concerning the probable duration of the carboniferous wealth of the empire. May 25.—Golding Bird, Esq., F.L.S., of Seymour-street, Eus- ton-square ; James Smith, Esq., F.R.S., of Jordan’s Hill, near Glas- gow; and Octavian Blewitt, Esq., of Charlotte-street, Bloomsbury- square, were elected Fellows of this Society. A paper was first read “On the part of Devonshire between the Ex and Berry Head and the Coast and Dartmoor ;”” by Robert Alfred Cloyne Austen, Esq., F.G.S. The formations of which the district consists are transition rocks, new red sandstone, greensand, and trap. The transition rocks are sometimes arenaceous, more often slaty, and contain beds of limestone rich in organic remains. The only portion of the system considered by the author as undescribed is a conglo- merate, 100 feet thick, which occurs at the Parkat Ugbrook. It is com- posed of rounded quartz pebbles and fragments of clay slate, united by a siliceous cement. It alternates in the upper part with beds of elay slate, and is older than any of the limestone of the country. These transition formations are traversed by numerous faults, the strata being thrown into the wildest confusion. In some places beds of trap are regularly interposed without producing any effect upon the adjacent strata; but in other localities dykes intersect the sedimentary deposits, and have produced great alterations both in their structure and dip. The new red sandstone consists in the lower part of fine-grained fissile sandstone, and a coarse conglomerate, formed out of the surround- ing older formations, including partially rounded fragments of slate, limestone, porphyry, greenstone, &c. This formation is also much disturbed by faults, some of which, the author thinks, are contempo- raneous with the deposition of the sandstone, as they appear to affect the lower and not the upper beds in the same section. The elevation of the greensand of the Haldons, Mr. Austen thinks, was due to the action of asubjacent mass of trap, portions of which are visible at the extremities of the hills: and he is of opinion that the preservation of these insulated patches of greenstone has been owing to their having been raised above the level of the waters which denu- dated the surrounding districts. In conclusion the author briefly reviews the geological phenomena which this part of Devonshire presents, and infers from them, that du- ring the transition epoch there were submarine volcanic irruptions, as shown by the interstratified trap; that the number of organic remains in the limestone prove the ocean teemed, in parts, with life: that the new red conglomerate was due to the breaking up of the transition formations : that there were irruptions of trap at later periods, as proved 415 vy the dykes in the new red sandstone; and that Dartmoor was ele- vated after the deposition of the greensand, as the first traces of gra- nitic debris are found in the Bovey deposit. A notice was next read on the supposed existence of the Lias forma- tion in Africa, by Roderick Impey Murchison, Esq., F.G.S. Mr. Leach, of Milford Haven, a short time since presented to the Society some organic remains, stated to have been obtained by Com- modore Sir Charles Bullen on the west coast of Africa. As these or- ganic remains agree exactly with fossils of common occurrence at Lyme Regis, it was conjectured that some mistake might have occurred re- specting them; but Mr. Leach has been subsequently informed by Sir Charles Bullen that they were collected by himself and officers at West Bay, Fernando Po, Accra, andSierra Leone, and that they occur in abundance. Mr. Murchison also announced in this notice, that Sir John Herschel has discovered Trilobites in a rock which occurs to the north of the Cape of Good Hope. A paper was then read, entitled “‘ A Notice on Maria Island, on the east coast of Van Diemen’s Land, (S. lat. 42° 44’ E., long. 148°8',) by George Frankland, Esq., Surveyor-General of the Colony; and communicated to the Society by Robert W. Hay Esq., Under Secre- tary of State for the Colonies. Maria Island is composed, for the greater part, of trap; but strata of freestone well calculated for building purposes frequently occur, and at the northern point of the island is a perpendicular cliff, from 200 to 500 feet high, composed of dark grey limestone, formed of oysters, muscles, and other shells, in a state of great preservation. On the eastern coast, near Cape Mistaken, are numerous caverns, some at the height of 600 feet above the level of the sea, the roofs of which are studded with stalactites. Mr. Frankland states that Van Diemen’s Land in every part furnishes strong evidence of the ocean having once occupied a much higher level than at present. The paper also contains’ much valuable information respecting the natural pro- ductions of the island. A letter was next read on the geology of the country included in the S.W. quarter of the Daventry, or 55th sheet of the Ordnance Survey, by J. Robison Wright, Esq., F.G.S., and addressed to Capt. Mudge, R.E., F.G.S. The surface contained in this quarter sheet is about 168 square miles, including the towns of Southam and Kineton, and the field of the battle of Edge Hill. The formations of which the district consists are the new red sandstone, the lias, and the inferior oolite. A notice on the occurrence of marine shells in a bed of gravel at Narley Bank, Cheshire, by Sir Philip Grey Egerton, Bart., M.P., F.G.S., was then read. In proceeding from the valley of the Weaver, at the point where it is crossed by the Liverpool and Birmingham Railway, towards Dela- 416 mere Forest, are two acclivities, each about 60 feet high, and distant about a mile and a half from each other. Narley Bank is situated on the summit of the second ridge, and the gravel-pit is in the face of the northern declivity, about 157 feet above low-water mark at Weston Point, and six miles from it. The gravel differs from the common gravel of the country by the prevalence of calcareous matter and the small proportion of fine sand ; but agrees with the gravel at the Wil- lington, described in a former paper*. This resemblance induced the author to search for shells, and he found, at a second visit to the pit, several imperfect fragments of apparently recent marine shells. In conclusion, Sir Philip Egerton states that he has always found a marked distinction, in Cheshire, between the gravel containing re- cent shells and that which does not; and he infers, from the former being occasionally covered, as at the Willington, by a thick deposit of sand and gravel, that it was accumulated before the occurrence of the last drift, to which he ascribes the origin of the common detritus of the county. A paper was afterwards read, entitled ‘‘ Accompanying remarks to a section of the Upper Lias and Marlstone of Yorkshire, showing the limited vertical range of the species of Ammonites and other Testacea, with their value as geological tests,” by Louis Hunter, Esq., and communicated by John Forbes Royle, Esq., F.G.S. The portion of the coast to which this paper immediately refers is called the Easington Height, situated between Whitby and Redcar, and presents the following details : INFERIOR OOLITE. Upper Lias Shale. Shalews we eerie er OE RT A Se hieewoonteet Hardorecement stone bedi. ee). nn ee 25 Shale, containing nodules of ironstone........ 90 JOE ROOK S506 Soogco poco DN GD ODO DODO 20 to 30 Hard compact sandy shale...........--.... 30 about 200 Marlstone. Thin seams of shale, alternating with hard iron- stoneibands.vatootrthickin abaeiiay eee 95 Sandy shale, with beds of dogger ............ 63? Alternating beds of calcareous sandstone and Sandly-sliale cute ci: scoge oases, siecencise eran eee 40 Shaly sandstone, passing gradually into the lower liasishalepmereree Sb0G DGD oOo Ooo nD bono OS 30? — 160 owen Inasi Shaler ae eae ai BUYS cig eS U ESE Se Seonoaniee 150 The beds of shale superior to the jet rock are characterized by the presence of Nucula ovum, Orbicula reflexa, Plagiostoma pectinoide, Ammonites communis, A. heterophyllus, A. fimbriatus, A, Walcottii, * Proceedings Geol. Soc., vol. ii. p. 189. 417 A. subcarinatus, A. angulatus, A. crassus, A. fibulatus, A. subarmatus, A. Lythensis, A. Boulbiensis, A.annulatus, Nautilus astacoides, and Belemnites elongatus. The species gradually decrease in abundance on approaching the jet rock, and the specimens which do occur in that stratum are stated to be smaller than in the higher beds. The jet rock contains a peculiar suite of Ammonites, viz. A. elegans, A. sig- nifer, A. elegantulus, .4. exaratus, A. Mulgravius, A. concavus, and A. ovatus. It is also distinguished by containing the remains of the gavial-snouted crocodile. With respect to the relative abundance of the fossils, Mr. Hunter observes that where they occur in the greatest number they are smallest in size, The beds situated between the jet rock and the marlstone are very poor in fossils. The marlstone series is distinguished not only by a change in the species, but in the preponderance of bivalves and the comparative ra- rity of Ammonites ; the characteristic fossils being Avicula cygnipes, A. inequivalvis, Pecten sublevis, P. equivalvis, Pullastra antiqua, se- veral species of Terebratula, Cardium truncatum, Modiola scalprum. The species of Ammonites are few, 4. vittatus occurring about the centre of the series, and 4. maculatus at the junction with the lower lias shale. In conclusion, Mr. Hunter states that the difference between the distribution assigned to the fossils by himself and other authors may be owing to the prevalent practice of collecting fossils from subsided masses, and not from undisturbed portions of the cliffs. A letter was, lastly, read from Robert Fitch, Esq., of Norwich, to Edward Charlesworth, Esq., F.G.S., on the discovery of the Tooth of a Mastodon in the crag at Thorpe, near Norwich. The pit in which the tooth was found is stated to present the fol- lowing section : Lops Alivimniee se occindatsiee S ioiholbio nee 5 feet Gravel see Sto: sovsosccco O Brick-earth, sand, and gravel ...... inde Crapo es esa see ate ete ie cies D Large chalk flints, mixed with crag shells, principally Pectens....... p00Ga008 Chills See rene ae elutes It was in the bed of large chalk flints that Mr. Fitch found the tooth; and he adds that Thorpe adjoins the parish of Whitlingham, in which Mr. William Smith discovered the tooth figured in his “ Strata Identified.” — June 8.—Henry Hubert, Esq., F.R.A.S. of New Bridge-street, Blackfriars ; the Hon. William Lascelles, of Wilton-crescent ; the Hon. W. Bingham Baring, M.P., of Great Stanhope-street; the Hon. John Stewart Wortley, of Curzon-street, May Fair; and the Right Hon. Baron James Parke, of Park-street, were elected Fellows of this Society. 25 418 A paper was first read, entitled, “ Notice respecting a piece of Wood partly petrified by Carbonate of Lime; with some remarks on Fossil Woods, which it has suggested.” By Charles Stokes, Esq., F.G.S. Mr. Stokes lately received from Germany, with a collection of fossil woods, a piece of recent wood, stated to have been found in an ancient Roman aqueduct, in the principality of Lippe, in the Buckeberg, in which some parts are petrified by carbonate of lime, while the remainder of the wood, though in some degree decayed, is not at all mineralized. This fact has afforded an explanation of the peculiarities of some other instances of fossil wood, in which different parts of the specimen pre- sent different appearances. Two other instances are particularly de- scribed: one of silicified wood from Antigua, and one of a calcareous petrifaction from Allen Bank in Berwickshire. In both these cases it is inferred by the author, that the process of petrifaction com- menced simultaneously at a number of separate points, and that it was suspended when only parts of the wood had been petrified. The unchanged parts would then be liable to decay; and in the specimen from Antigua the process has been renewed after this remaining part had decayed in a considerable degree, when that also became silici- fied. In the calcareous petrifaction from Allen Bank (which is de- scribed and figured by Mr. Witham, in his work on the structure of fossil vegetables), the parts which had not been petrified at the time the process was interrupted, have been entirely destroyed by the de- cay which then ensued, and the intermediate spaces have been filled up by the crystallization of carbonate of lime, without the removal of the petrified portions from the positions in which they grew and in which they had become mineralized. In the specimen from the Roman aqueduct the petrified portions run in separate columns through the wood, as if conducted down- wards by the vessels or woody fibres. In that from Allen Bank the separate portions are spherical in form and independent of each other ; and in that from Antigua they are independent, and though nearly spherical not regularly so. Hence the author infers that a different explanation must be sought for the manner in which the solution of mineral matter was supplied in the first instance from that of the two last. The paper notices also the fossil wood from Lough Neagh and Bonn, in which some small parts preserve their texture, although re- maining still unchanged in the midst of the petrified mass. The author concludes with a short notice of the different conditions in which the structure of wood is preserved in different specimens, and considers that the condition of the wood has not any influence on the process of petrifaction. A paper was next read, entitled, “ Further notice on certain pecu- liarities of Structure in the Cervical Region of the Ichthyosaurus,” by Sir Philip Grey Egerton, Bart., M.P., V.P.G.S. In a former communication* Sir Philip Egerton gave an account * Proceedings Geol. Soc., vol. ii. p. 192. 419 of the cervical vertebra of the Ichthyosaurus, and announced the dis- covery that the atlas and axis are firmly united and strengthened be- low by an accessory articulating bone. In this paper he shows, that the union of the two vertebre is perfect at all periods of the animal’s growth, and apparently in all the species of the genus hitherto dis- covered, having observed it in vertebra varying in size from half an inch to seven inches and a half in diameter. Externally there is a strong fine of demarcation between the two bones, but internally the cancelli appear to pass from one to the other. The atlas, indepen- dently of the union of the two vertebre, is distinguished by the form of the anterior cavity for the reception of the basilar process of the occipital bone; by the outer margin being rounded instead of sharp, and by the triangular facet on the inferior part of the circum- ference for the reception of the accessory bone: the axis, indepen- dently also of its union with the atlas, differs from the other vertebra, by the facet on the under surface for the reception of the accessory bone: and the third vertebra is also distinguished from the remaining bones of the neck by a facet for the articulation of a very small accessory bone. The intervertebral cavities of the 4th and 5th cervical verte- bree, the author states, are less than in the vertebre of the dorsal and caudal regions, and the anterior cavity is considerably smoother than the posterior one of the same vertebre. Sir Philip Egerton states that the spinal column does not, as de- scribed by other authors, decrease in diameter from the middle dorsal vertebra to the atlas, but that the minimum diameter is attained about the fifth cervical vertebra, from which point to the occipital bone the increase in size is very rapid, the atlas being fully one fifth more in diameter than in the above-mentioned bone. In the former memoir Sir Philip Egerton described only one acces- sory bone in the cervical region of the Ichthyosaurus ; but in this paper he proves that there are three, and proposes to designate them by the name of subvertebral wedge-bones. One of them is supplementary to the atlantal socket, another is common to the atlas and axis, and the third, which agrees in form with the second, but is much smaller, articulates on the under surface of the third vertebra. The author, then, in conclusion, enlarges upon the admirable adaptation of the structure of the Ichthyosaurus to the habits of the animal. A communication was afterwards made “ On the coal-fields on the north-western coast of Cumberland, &c., &c.:” by the Rev. Pro- fessor Sedgwick, M.A., F.R.S., F.G.S., and Williamson Peile, Esq., of Whitehaven, F.G.S. In a former paper* the authors described the range of the carboni- ferous limestone from the neighbourhood of Kirkby Stephen to Egremont; and showed that the formation admitted of two divi- sions : the lower representing the scar limestone of the Yorkshire sections, the upper (also like the Yorkshire sections) exhibiting * Proceedings Geol. Soc., vol. it. p. 198. Ps ie Dy 420 alternations of limestone, sandstone, and shale, with thin seams of coal. They commenced with a short notice of rocks and sections made through this upper division, which in its range towards the western coast of Cumberland, appears gradually to thin off, and lose its importance. They then proceeded to describe in more detail, and with many illustrative sections, a still higher coal-field; which is on the same parallel with the great Northumberland and Durham coal-fields, and in the quantity of carboniferous beds subordinate to it, is in no respect inferior to them. This field is bounded by the red sandstone of St. Bees Head ; by the carboniferous limestone, in a part of its range above described ; by the sea coast between St. Bees Head and Maryport; and by the new red sandstone in its range from Maryport to Chalk Beck near Rosley. The whole system appears to thin off near Rosley, and is succeeded by some sterile, alternating, masses of red shale and sand- stone, to which the miners, though improperly, have given the name of the “ great red metal dyke.” ‘To the east of this series of red beds the rich upper coal-field never appears to have extended. From many borings and workings near Whitehaven, it is inferred that the upper division of this carboniferous limestone, as well as the millstone grit, have almost disappeared; and that the coal measures are brought nearly into immediate contact with the lower civision of the limestone. In some places the whole limestone has thinned off, and the coal measures seem to rest almost immediately on the Skiddaw slate The authors commence their details, in the present paper, with an account of the Whitehaven coal-field, which they separate into three divisions : the southern, or How-Gill colliery ; the middle, or Town field bounded by a great downcast dyke towards the north; and the northern, or Whin-Gill colliery, bounded by an anticlinal line which enters the sea near Parton. ‘The strata found in these several parts of the field are described by the help of the sinkings and borings at Croft Pit, and by other sinkings in various parts of the field down to the limestone. A comparison is then made between this series of strata and those exhibited in corresponding sections of the Harring- ton and Workington fields; and it is shown that the whole series may be conveniently separated into two divisions: the upper, con- taining two principal bands of coal, called the “ Bannock Band,” and Whitehaven “ Main Band”; the lower, containing many thin seams of coal, but only one band which has been much worked near White- haven. They then proceed to describe the most remarkable workings in the several divisions of the Whitehaven field; the new field to be approached by the Parton tunnel ; and the extension of the “ Main and Bannock band” to the hills S.E. of Dissington; but these de- tails, as well as an account of the works attempted in a small trian- gular field bordering the sea to the north of Parton, are necessarily passed over in this abstract. They then describe the Harrington coal-field, bounded to the north and south by two enormous faults ; between which the coun- try is occupied by the lower division of the coal measures. It is 421 impossible in an abstract to describe the complicated faults that everywhere intersect this field, and by which the limestone is in two instances brought up to the surface. The coal beds, worked within it, are five in number, and are described, in descending order, un- der the following names: (1.) Metal Band; (2.) Two-feet Band ; (3.) Yard Band; (4.) Four-feet Band; (5.) Yendale Band. By help of a transverse section to Castlerigg, this field is connected with the upper division of the coal measures; in as much as pits have been sunk near that place, through the great beds of the upper division, down to the two-feet band ; thus giving a consistency and unity to all the sections. The authors next describe the Workington field, bounded to the south by the great fault which brings in the lower division of the Harrington field ; and to the east and west by the sea and the turn- pike road. The river Derwent was formerly regarded as its north- ern boundary ; but the mazn band unfortunately thins out alittle to the south of Workington, and thereby contracts the extension of the valuable part of this field. Nearly all the beds worked in this field belong to the upper division ; and their general agreement with the Whitehaven bands of coal is proved by detailed sections ; especially from the sinkings at Henry Pit near the mouth of the Derwent. The principal faults traversing this district, the outcrops of the prin- cipal bands of coal, and the extension of the works under the sea are described in some detail. Several other small divisions of the great field are then noticed: viz. the Starmire, Keekhill-Side, Brownrigg, Branthwaite-Edge, Gillgaron, and Graysouthern fields ; after which the authors proceed to describe the phenomena on the north side of the Derwent. To the north of the Derwent, there is near the sea-coast a sterile region, partly occupied by the lower red sandstone, and partly by the upper division of the coal measures, in which the main coal 1s wanting ; a fact connected with the thinning off of the main band to the south of Workington. Ina very extensive field, commencing alittle to the N.of the village of Seaton, and extending over Brough- ton Moor, and from thence to Dearham, two beds of coal (known by the names of the “‘ten-quarter band” and the “‘kernel and metal band”) have been very extensively worked, and are identified with the “ dan- nock-band” and “ main-band” of Whitehaven and Workington. The relations of the several parts of this extensive tract of country are exhibited in detailed sections, of which it is very difficult to convey a notion in a mere abstract ; and the works carried on within the mare, with very limited exceptions, referred to the upper division of the Whitehaven field. The coal bands exhibited in the works near Gillerux, Aspatria, Plumland, and Weary Hall are then described; and detailed sections are given of the works in the Bolton field,—generally regarded as the north-eastern limit. There is, however, an unexplored tract to the east of a great fault which forms the northern limit of the Bolton field ; and, in the neighbourhood of Rosley, a seven-feet coal (un- doubtedly a member of the upper division) was formerly worked ; ‘422 though to a very small extent, in consequence of the complicated dislocations which intersect the district. Having described, in the above order, the several portions of the great coal-field, and noticed some of its peculiarities of mineral struc- ture, the authors endeavour to ascertain the limits of certain outlying masses of the lower red sandstone, of the magnesian conglomerate, and of the new red sandstone. From the facts stated, it appears that the coal measures pass, in some instances, in regular ascending order, into the lower redsandstone. In other instances, however, the coal measures appear to have undergone considerable movements of ele- vation before the existence of the lower red sandstone; in as much as the position of the two formations is discordant, Again, though the lower red sandstone forms the natural and immediate basis of the magnesian limestone and conglomerates, yet there are several places, within the south-western limits of the country described, where the conglomerates appear to have been deposited in hollows and inequalities presented by the waterworn beds on which they rest unconformably. From which facts it seems to follow, that the formations described in this paper have undergone, during their de- velopment, two considerable movements, affecting the position of the component strata: Ist, a partial movement of the coal measures, anterior to the deposition of the lower red sandstone ; 2ndly,a par- tial movement, both of the coal measures and the lower red sand- stone, anterior to the formation of the magnesian conglomerates. This being the last evening of the Session, the Society adjourned, at its close, to Wednesday, November the 2nd. . PROCEEDINGS _ OF THE GEOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF LONDON. Vot. IL. 1836—1837. No. 47. November 2, 1836.—The Society assembled this evening for the Session. J. Talbot, Esq., of Evercreech House, Shepton Mallet, Somerset- shire, was elected a Fellow of this Society. In conformity with Section VI. Article 8. of the By-laws, the names of the following Fellows proposed by the Council to be re- moved from the lists of the Society on account of arrears, were read from the Chair for the first time: Lord Glenlyon, William Higgins, Esq. A paper was read, entitled ‘‘A general sketch of the Geology of the western part of Asia Minor,” by Hugh Edwin Strickland, Esq., F.G:S. This memoir embodies the observations made by the author during a winter’s residence at Smyrna, a tour into the valleys of the Meander avd Cayster, and a journey from Constantinople up the river Rhyn- dacus into Phrygia, and thence down the valley of the Hermus to Smyrna. In the latter excursion he was accompanied by Mr. Hamil- ton, one of the Secretaries of this Society, to whom he acknowledges himself indebted for a zealous cooperation. The country, thus visited, is thickly beset with mountains, some of which are arranged in five parallel chains having, on a great scale, nearly an east and west bearing, but the remainder are variously grouped and without any particular direction. Four of these parallel chains bound the valleys of the Hermus, the Cayster, and the Mean- der; and the fifth, commencing with Mount Ida, extends eastward to the Mysian Olympus, and probably is continued in the Bithynian Olympus. With respect to the theories which have been advanced relative to the direction of a range being a mark of its comparative antiquity, the author says that the whole of the mountains of this part of Asia Minor, whether parallel or not, appear to have been elevated at nearly the same geological epoch. The formations of which the country is composed, Mr. Strickland arranges in the following chronological order, but he states that further researches may require it to be modified: 1. Granitic rocks ; 2. Schistose and metamorphic rocks; 3. Greenstone; 4. Silurian rocks; 5. Hippurite limestone; 6. Tertiary lacustrine limestone ; VOL, It, 26 424 7. Tertiary marine formations ; 8. Trachytic and trap rocks ; 9. Mo- dern volcanic rocks ; and 10. Modern aqueous deposits. |. Granitic rocks were not observed in situ, but on the authority of M. Fontanier, M. Texier, and other travellers, the loftiest part of Ida, the Mysian Olympus, the range of the Bithynian Olympus, Mount Dindymus, the top of Mount Tmolus, and Mount Latmus are granitic. 2. Schistose and metamorphic rocks.—This class of formations, con- stituting nearly all the mountain chains, consists principally of mica- schist associated irregularly with beds of marble and quartz rock, and is supposed by the author to be altered clays, earthy limestones, and sandstones. The marble is very generally distributed, but the chief points mentioned in the paper are the quarries in the island of Proconnesus, from which the name of Marmora was given to the neighbouring sea, Broussa, Ephesus, the north and west sides of Mount Olympus, and the valley of the Cayster. The colour is white, gray, or striped, and thin seams of mica often traverse the blocks, giving them a tendency to split into slabs. The quartz rock is in- terstratified with the slate, into which it frequently passes. The strike of the beds commonly coincides with that of the mountain range, but the amount and direction of the dip is said to vary greatly. 3. Greenstone.—lt is with some hesitation that the author gives a distinct place to this rock, as he conceives that it may be of the age of the trachytes. He observed it between Kesterlék and Adriands, associated, though not clearly, with the mica slate; and near the village of Eshén he noticed a vein of greenstone traversing a tertiary rock, and therefore believes that the SERINE greenstone formation around that village may be tertiary. 4. Silurian rocks.—A formation of ie and limestone containing many fossils resembling in general character those of the Silurian rocks, was observed on both shores of the Bosphorus north of Con- stantinople. Mr. Strickland stated that the formation would be de- scribed in a separate memoir. 5. Hippurite limestone and schist.—This term is employed by the author to designate the vast series of limestones, which covers a great area in the South of Europe, and represents in Asia Minor the whole of the secondary formations. On the south side of Lake Apollonia the deposit consists of compact, yellowish, lithographic stone, iden- tical with that of Greece ; at Mount Tartali, on the east of Smyrna, of compact, gray limestone, abounding with large Hippurites, and of greenish schistose panietione like some of the Italian macignos; on the eastern part of Mount Sipylus, above Magnesia, as well as in the peninsula of Carabornou, and in the island of Scie, it also consists of gray compact limestone ; and at Mount Corax, west of Smyrna, of schistose marls and sandstone apparently devoid of fossils. In addition to these localities, Mr. Strickland says, that on the south side of the Hermus, between Ghiédiz and Hushak, he and Mr. Hamilton observed a series of beds consisting chiefly of mica- ceous sandstone finely laminated, and containing occasionally beds of rolled pebbles and soft white limestone ; and though the deposit 429 is unlike any other in Asia Minor, yet he is inclined to class it with the Hippurite limestone. 6. Tertiary lacustrine limestone.—In the part of Asia Minor de- scribed in this paper, every large valley, with the exception of the Cayster, contains remains of extensive lacustrine deposits, forming occasionally rounded hills several hundred feet high; but they are totally wanting in the narrow ravines. They consist generally of horizontal beds of calcareous marl, sandstone, and white limestone, which is often identical in composition with English chalk, inclosing layers and nodules of flint; but sometimes approaches in character to the Italian scaglia. Near the skirts of the deposits the marls and limestones gradually become sandy and gravelly, resembling in some instances a shingle beach. ‘The fossils noticed in these beds belong to shells of the genera Unio, Cyclas, Lymnea, Planorbis, Paludina, and Helix, and to leaves of dicotyledonous plants. As far as the author’s observations extended, these testaceous re- mains resemble more the existing freshwater shells of the North of Europe than those now inhabiting Asia Minor. Thus the genus Cy- clas, common in the North of Europe, was not noticed by him in Asia Minor, except in a fossil state ; and the genus Melanopsis, abundant in every stream in the country, was not found in the tertiary strata. The author then gives a detailed account of each lacustrine deposit, designating it by the name of the valley in which it occurs, or the principal town in its vicinity. He terms them the basins of Mou- dania, Doondar, Harmanjik, Taushanli, Gozuljah, Azani, Ghiédiz, Hushak, Sardis, Smyrna, and the lower vale of the Meander. 7. Tertiary marine formations.—Accumulations assigned to this class, are stated to occur on the coast of the Troad, both banks of the Dardanelles, and in the southern part of Tenedos, but they were not examined by the author. _ 8. Trachytic and trap rocks.—Patches of these rocks are scattered abundantly over Asia Minor, and are commonly associated with the lacustrine deposits, which in some cases appear to be older, in others younger, than the igneous rocks. The following are the points at which they were observed by Mr. Strickland and Mr. Hamilton in the journey from Constantinople to Smyrna: Both sides of the Bospho- rus, a few miles north of Constantinople ; the promontory of Boz- bornou, north of the gulf of Moudania; Hammamli near Kirmasteu on the Rhyndacus; between Debrént and Taushanli, where volcanic matter is intermixed with a lacustrine sandstone; the vicinity of Ghiédiz, where a basaltic mass has sent forth a coulée of columnar amygaaloid, which is 10 feet thick, and rests upon beds of sand and gravel inclosing pebbles of trachyte; Gundy; the hills west of Kobék ; an isolated hill about 8 miles from Adala, on the road to Koola; the western side of Mount Sipylus; and the hills immediately above Smyrna. 9. Modern volcanic rocks.—These were observed by the author only in the Catacecaumene, and are termed by him modern, with reference to geological epochs ind not to historical events. He refers them to two ages, marked by the different degree of preservation of the cones of 262 426 scoria and by the appearance of the streams of lava which have flowed from them. The older cones, 3U in number, are low and flat; their craters have either disappeared or are marked by a small depression, and they are covered almost invariably with vineyards producing the Catacecaumene wine. ‘The streams of lava connected with them are also Jevel on the surface and covered with turf. To the north of the Hermus the author observed many isolated hills of lacustrine lime- stone, capped by beds of lava or basalt, which he considers may have flowed from these older cones. The newer volcanos, of which there are only three, must have been extinct for at least 3000 years; yet their craters are perfectly defined, and their streams of lava are black, rugged, and barren. One of these craters, visited by the author, is called Karadewit or the Black Inkstand, and is about 14 mile north of Koola. It is a vast mound of reddish scoria and ashes, has a small crater on the north side, and an immense sea of black lava containing olivine and augite has flowed from its base. ~ As an additional proof of the comparatively great antiquity of these modern volcanic eruptions, Mr. Strickland describes the effects pro- duced by running water on a stream of lava at Adala, a town in the north-east extremity of the plain of Sardis. The Hermus enters this plain from the Catacecaumene through a narrow gorge between hills of micaschist. A coulée, probably derived from the most western of the three newest cones, has flowed through this gorge and expanded over the plain at Adala. The Hermus, thus impeded in its course, appears to have flown over the lava, the surface of which is smooth and bears a stratum of pebbles. In course of time the river has worn a channel between the mica slate and the lava to the depth of 80 feet, completely cutting through the coulée; yet so compact is the lava which has escaped the action of the stream of water, that it exhibits not the slightest tendency to decomposition. The author then points out the strong resemblance between the structure of the Catacecaumene and the volcanic district of Central France. In each country are extensive lacustrine formations, cones of scorie of different ages, coulées, sometimes forming plateaus on the summits of isolated hills, at others continuous streams, and tick beds of lava worn through by the action of running water. 10. Modern aqueous deposits—Under this head a description is given of the travertine deposited by hot springs between the foot of Mount Olympus and Broussa, forming an accumulation 2 miles in Jength, and at the latter locality half a mile in breadth and 100 feet thick. The water has a temperature of 184° of Fahrenheit, but at present there are no springs except those at the foot of Mount Olym- pus. A description was next given of the changes which have been pro- duced by sedimentary matter deposited near the mouths of the rivers. Thus the island of Lade, once the scene of a sea-fight between the Persians and the Ionians, is now a hill in the midst of a plain; the Latmic Gulf is changed into an inland lake; the once flourishing town of Miletus, losing its harbour, is become a heap of ruins; the 427 port of Ephesus is converted into a stagnant pool; and the delta of the Hermus threatens in a few centuries to destroy the harbour of the prosperous city of Smyrna. _ The memoir concluded with the description of a recent lacustrine deposit in the valley of the Rhyndacus above Kirmasteu, which appears to have been for the greater part removed by the action of that river, only detached platforms, 50 or 60 feet thick, being left on the sides of the valley. Nov. 16.—James Philips, Esq., of the Royal Navy; Lieutenant Henry Drummond of the Bengal Army; Louis Hunter, Esq., of Loft- house, Yorkshire ; and Henry Glasford Potter, Esq., of Ridley Place, Newcastle-on-Tyne, were elected Fellows of this Society. In conformity with Section VI. Article &. of the By-laws, the names of the following Fellows proposed to be removed from the lists of the Society, on account of arrears, were read from the Chair for the se- cond and last time: Lord Glenlyon, William Higgins, Esq. A paper was first read ‘‘On indications of changes in the relative level of Sea and Land in the West of Scotland,” by James Smith, Esq., of Jordan Hill, F.G.S. In the West of Scotland are two superficial deposits. The lowest, in some districts called “ Till,” consists of stiff unstratified clay, con- fusedly mixed with boulders. It rarely contains organic remains, but stags’ horns, tusks, and bones of the elephant have been found in it in the bed of the Union Canal at Kilmarnock, and remains of the elephant associated with marine shells at Kilmaurs in Ayrshire. The upper deposit is composed of finely laminated clay, overlaid by sand and gravel; and marine remains of existing species occur in every part of it, but most abundantly in the clay. It has been traced by Mr. Smith, on both sides of the Clyde from Glasgow to Rosemeath and Greenock, at points varying from 30 to 40 feet above the level of the sea. He has also observed sea-worn terraces on each side of the Clyde below Dumbarton and between Cloch Light-house and Largs. The following are the principal localities, mentioned in the paper, at which the clay bed has been examined: A brick-yard at Glasgow, 30 feet above high water-mark, where the author found the remains of six species of recent marine shells of common occurrence on the adjacent coasts of Scotland ; also a branch of an elm and an oak-tree with its roots. The canal from Glasgow to Paisley and Johnstown was excavated in the clay at the height of 40 feet above the sea, and numerous remains of 26 species of existing marine testacea were found in it. In a pond lately dug at Paisley, a bed of clay was exposed, to which a violet colour had been given by decomposed muscles, in a manner similar to that described by Mr. Lyell in his memoir on change of level on the coast of Sweden*, * Phil. Trans., 1835, pp. 5, 7. 428 In the brick and tile works around Paisley, and in the adjoining parishes, recent shells are abundant. Near Renfrew, cockles are so numerous, that a farm and hill, are called Cockle Farm and Cockle Hill. At Johnstown, which is about 8 miles from the sea and at a point about 40 feet above its level, in making a well, there were found bones of fishes and sea-fowls, fragments of sea-weeds, crabs’ claws, and numerous layers of shells imbedded in sand and clay, which rested on a deposit of ‘‘ till” more than 70 feet thick. Besides these localities, recent shells have been noticed at Helensburgh, also near Loch Lomond, at Dalmuir, and the shores of the Firth of Forth. With respect to the origin of these deposits, Mr. Smith is of opinion, that the lower or “till” resulted from the violent though transitory action of a body of water; but that the upper was gradually deposited at the bottom ofa sea of sufficient depth to protect it from the agita- tion of waves, and that it was raised to its present level by a process analogous to that described by Mr. Lyell as now taking place on the shores of the Baltic *. Of the period when the change was effected, Mr. Smith offers no conjecture ; but he states that it must have been anterior to the oc- cupation of Britain by the Romans, because the terminations of their wall on the shores of the Forth and the Clyde were constructed with reference to the present level of the sea. He also adds, that on the banks of the Firth of Clyde there are vitrified forts and tumuli to which the same observation applies ; and that no human remains or works of art have been found in the clay. At his first examination, the author concluded, judging from the sea-worn terraces which skirt the coasts, that the change of level could not exceed 40 feet, but he has since observed the clay at the height of 50 feet; and Mr. Buchanan of Arden has found oyster- shells near Loch Lomond 70 feet above the sea. Mr. Smith, how- ever, believes that at the period when the clay was accumulated and the terraces formed, the relative level of sea and land was stationary, and that, if we may judge from the comparative dimensions of the ancient terraces with those now forming, the period during which the level was thus stationary must have greatly exceeded 2000 years. The important question, if the Fauna and Flora of the period when this deposit was accumulated were identical with those of the present epoch, Mr. Smith says it would be premature now to determine. A very great proportion of the species of shells, amounting in all to about 70, abound in the present seas ; and it is worthy of remark that Aséarte Garensis, which is common in the clay at Helensburgh, is found in great numbers in the Gare Loch; on the other hand, some of the species have become very rare, if not extinct with reference to the coast of Scotland. In alluding to the geological position of the upper deposit, the author says, that it must be placed among the newer pliocene; and as it belongs to one of the first steps in the descending series, every circumstance connected with it should be carefully observed and re- * Phil. Trans,, 1835, p. 1. 429 corded, that researches into the more ancient formations may be con- ducted with greater success. A paper was afterwards read ‘‘On the distribution of Organic Remains in the Qolitic formations on the coast of Yorkshire,” by W. C. Williamson, Esq., Curator of the Natural History Society of Manchester, and communicated by the President. In a former paper* Mr. Williamson gave detailed sections of the lias of the Yorkshire coast, with a view to determine how far its fossils might be useful in recognising the different beds of the formation at other localities. The paper read at this meeting was prepared with the same intent, and gave detailed accounts of the fossils of the (1) inferior oolite, (2) the lower shale and sandstone, and the (3) Great or Bath oolite. 1. The point selected by Mr. Williamson as affording the best section of the inferior oolite on the Yorkshire coast is Blue Wick; and the following is the succession of the strata which it presents in ascend- ing order: Feet. 1. Thick beds of dark grey finely grained sandstone.. 20 2 Irregular beds of yellow sandstone.......... Bera 20) i Hard ironshot sandstone containing small pebbles. anna es Irregular beds of yellow sandstone, in some parts ironshot, and inclosing layers of pebbles........ 30 Hard ironstone, many fossils........ Spite Aan Nt 4 s ldlerGl DOMSIONE. MO HOSSMIS So gade boned ore cuds S The beds No. 1]. contain, in their lower Ais argillaceous nodules resembling those of the Alum shale, and inclose great numbers of Ammonites striatulus, Lingula Beanii, Crbicula sof aa, and, in less abundance, an Avicula resembling 4. echinata and Terebratula bidens. Above this nodular bed no fossils have been noticed till within 10 feet of the top of No. 1, where another layer of similar concretions occurs, inclosing portions of an Astacus, resembling in some respects Astacus rostratus, and a species agreeing with one found in the Cornbrash. A little nearer the top of No. 1. is a thin seam containing great numbers of Vermetus compressus, which is found also in the coralline oolite of Yorkshire. The division No. 2. presents throughout its whole thickness small fragments of dicotyledonous wood with an undescribed Belemnites ; and towards the top are found, though rarely, Mya litterata, and still higher two species of Ammonites, apparently new. The bed No. 3. contains the same Belemnites as No. 2, but is characterized by great abundance of Terebratula trilineata. No. 4. is destitute of fossils, except near its junction with the over- lying bed, where it contains the Belemnites and Avicula of Nos. 1. and 2. The bed No. 5, though not more than 2 feet thick, incloses the greater part of the fossils of the inferior oolite of the Yorkshire coast, : * Geol. Proceedings, vol. ii. p. 82. 430 and the following is a list of the species given by Mr. Williamson, as occurring chiefly in the middle and lower portions of the bed : Trochus granulatus, T. bisertus, T'’. pyramidalis, Solarium calix, Nerita costata, Turbo levigatus, T. funieulatus, Rostellaria composita, Natica ad- ducta, N. tumidula, Terebra vetusta, Acteon humeralis, Auricula Sedgvici, Ostrea Marshir, O. solitaria, Pecten virguliferus, P. abjectus, Trigonia angu- lata, ’'T’. costata, T. striata, T. gibbosa, Avicula Braamburiensis, Astarte ele- gans, A, minima, Modiola pulchra, M. cuneata, Mytilus sublevis, Cardita similis, Nucula axiniformis, Isocardia concentrica, Cardium incertum, Phola- domya ovalis, Unio abductus, Gastrochena tortuosa. The upper part of the stratum is characterized by Turritella muri- cata, T. quadrivittata, T. humifusa, T. cingenda (Phillips) in great abundance, Melania Heddingtonensis, Terebrutula obsoleta, and Ca- ryophyllia convexa. In No. 6, the highest stratum of the inferior oolite, no fossils have been noticed by Mr. Williamson. 2. Immediately above the inferior oolite lies the lower sandstone and shale, an important formation on account of the absence of marine remains atid the presence of terrestrial plants. With the exception of a similar series of beds above the great oolite, this formation is the most irregular in its subdivisions of any on the Yorkshire coast. The only point at which the upper and middle divisions of the series are fully developed are the cliffs between Cloughton Wyke and Blue Wick; the remainder of the coast exhibiting only the lower divisions. The following is the succession of the beds in ascending : Feet. 1, Black carbonaceous shale, no vegetable remains .. 10 2. Hard, pale, gritty sandstone, containing at its junc- tion with No.1. great abundance of a new species of Calamites, also fronds of Zamia gigas, and a remarkable fossil apparently connected with the fnuctiticationsoliay Cy Casi nce ocr ee 20 SEPODALE nits Sol recelee i: eeMete see ee Oe een cane 10 Arr Grr thyeSandstOnme ery covet cele sech sls ee lee el ale 20 5. Softish sandstone containing fine specimens of Equi- setum columnare, all in a vertical position with their TOOLS\COWnWATS Won eee ene ee eng ne 6. Soft black shale ...... SINS Be Ae epee : 3 Hee Sancdstones anges hale) tues eee re earl Seely) SPoDark shalysandstowe: omy. ee eisai BiG eae 8 OV Hard oreyisandstOne ume 2) concn smectee ith iea mnt 10. Black shale yy Ua Ra ein cars iittala ae nsacae eae 2 11. Laminated sandstone containing great abundance of various species of beautiful ferns, Cycadean plants, and Equiseti, also towards the lower part three Seams, Ol SOft jet emer. tice cle. ci mete ate 6116 The following are the species enumerated by Mr. Williamson :— Equise- tum laterale, Lycopodites Williamsonis, L. falcatus, Thuites expansus, Sphe- nopteris longifolia, 5. hymenophylloides, Pecopteris ligata, P. curtata, P. Whit- biensis, P. Williamsonis, Pterophyllum pectinoides, P. minus, Otopteris acu- minata, Cyclopteris digitata, Tenivpteris vittata, Solenites Murrayana. 431 Feet. 12. Sandstones and shales containing no well-preserved plants, but about 90 feet from the top a bed of coal MOOR CMICk ei. ote clp ele a TAK Ges ir .. 170 The plants of this system differ from those of the upper sandstone and shale by the abundance of Pterophyllum minus, Otopteris acumi- nata, Sphenopteris hymenophylloides, and the deeply lobed Cyclopteris digitata, and is characterized by Pterophyllum pectinoides, Equisetum laterale, Lycopodytes falcatus, and by a singular frond supposed to belong to a Cycadean plant. With respect to the vertical Equiseti in bed 5, Mr. Williamson is of opinion that they did not grow where they are found, but were transported, not, perhaps, from a great distance; and that their perpendicular position is owing to the roots of this description of plants being specifically heavier than the stem. 3. The Great or Bath oolite varies very little in its characters oy fos- sils, except for 8 or 9 feet from the top, where, according to Mr. Williamson’s observations, it presents two forms very different both in structure and organic remains. ‘The localities referred to in the memoir for the general structure of the formation are Cloughton and White Nab, and for the upper beds Cayton and Gristhorpe Bays. Section of the general structure of the Great Oolite. Feet. 1. The lowest beds consist of a very hard blue lime- stone, sometimes oolitic and destitute of fossils, except in the upper part, where the stone is softer, and where the author has found Ostrea edulina, Amphidesma decurtatum, Mya calceiformis, a large undescribed Ammonites, and at the junction with the next bed Belemnites compressus, B. Aalensis, Melania Heddingtonensis, Amphidesma decurtutum, Serpule, and long tuberculated spines of a Ci- daris, but no portion of the Cidaris itself....14 to 20 2. Hard blue fine-grained oolite, sometimes ironshot, and apparently devoid of organic remains ...... 6 3. Soft or hard bluish clay, tinged, at some localities, with iron. It contains at least 11 species of fossil shelis, whichare mostabundantat Cloughton Wyke, and some species which occur there have not been noticed at any other point. This bed also contains the remains of a Saurian, which the author is in- duced to consider a new species of Plesiosaurus.. 2 The shells given by Mr. Williamson are, Rostellaria composita, Acteon glaber, Terebra vetusta, Phasianella cincta, Trochus, Avicula Braamburien- sis, Gervillia acuta, Cucullea cancellata, Astarte minima, Cardita similis, Pholadomya acuticostata. 4. Nodular ironstone, sometimes inclosing fragments of VAINOTILES DIA SCENT Huhne item tsa ee (anne aes 6 to 12in. 5. Clay containing Avicula Braamburiensis, Amphidesma decurtatum, and a Gervilia ..............--6: ft. 6. The top strata consisting of layers of nodular iron- Stone ana arollaceous|Oolite! <3). .2)-)04)-1)- 6 -- - VOL. II. 2u 432 The lower part of this bed is characterized by the presence of Perna quadrata, and the upper by numerous remains of the following shells : Melania Heddingtonensis, Ammonites Blagdeni, Terebratula spinosa, Gry- phea nana, Ostrea Marshit, Pecten lens, Plagiostoma interstinctum (c), Avi- cula Braamburiensis (c), A. echinata(c) ? Gervilia acuta (c), Trigonia cos- tata, J. clavellata, Astarte minima (c), Corbula depressa, Pinna cuneata, Pentacrinites vulgaris, Cidaris vagans. The author then describes the upper beds of the Great Oolite at the two extremities of Cayton Bay, and at low water at the south side of Carnelian Bay. Top. Irony nodules, without organic remains........ 1 ft. Extremely hard ironshot rock, composed almost wholly of fragments of fossils, viz. Millepora straminea, pa- pille of a Cidaris, innumerable small spines, probably of Cidaris vagans, muricated spines, and joints of a by aseam of argillaceous oolite, containing Avicula Braamburiensis, and similar to that which forms the top of the Great oolite at White Nab (No. 6. of the section), with the exception that the nodular iron- stone is wanting. ‘This system of sandstone and shale, considered by Mr. Phillips to belong to the upper marl and sandstone, is, in Mr. Williamson’s opinion, a distinct and merely local deposit included in the superior division of the Great oolite. It contains most of the fossil plants assigned by Mr. Phillips to the upper marl and sandstone, and several which are new and peculiar toit. An ascending sectional list is given of this deposit, commencing with the 1 foot bed of irony nodules, and passing through 35 feet of alternations of shale, with ferruginous and other sandstones, ends in the seam of argillaceous oolite, which is said to be overlaid by the upper sandstones and shales. One of the beds of shale contains a vast number of plants, amounting to above 40 species. The following list is given by Mr. Williamson : Pecopteris lobifolia, P. insignis, P. undans, P. polypodioides, P. propingua, P. Williamsonis, P. acutifolia, P. obtusifolia, P. dentata, P. exilis, P. c@- spitosa, Neuropteris recentior, N. ligata, N. arguta, Sphenopteris stipata, S. Williamsonis, Cyclopteris digitata, Glossopteris Phillipsii, Tceniopterts vittata, T. major, Solenites Murrayana, Lycopodites Williamsonis, Spheridia paradoxa, Pterophyllum comptum, P. Pecten, P. minus, Otopteris cuneata, O. Beanii, Ctenis falcata, Dictyophyllum rugosum, Cycadites tenuicaulis. Two shells are occasionally found in these beds, and are considered by the author to be allied to the genus Anodon. In conclusion, Mr. Williamson says, that the characteristic shells of the Great oolite are few, as they bear a general resemblance to those of the cornbrash and inferior oolite. (c) The species thus distinguished are found in the greatest abundance. TRANSACTIONS OF THE GEOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF LONDON. Volume IV., Second and concluding Part: 380 pages, 25 plates. Price, to the Fellows, 17. 18s,; to the Public, 2/. 5s. CONTENTS : 1V. Observations on some of the Strata between the Chalk and the Oxford Oolite in the South-east of England; with extensive illustrations by 5 plates of coloured maps, views, and sections, and 14 plates of fossils. By William Henry Fitton, M.D., P.G.S. F.R.S. V. Zoologicai Observations on a New Fossil Species of Chelydra from (Xningen ; with a lithographic drawing of the fossil. By Thomas Bell, Esq., F.G.S., F.R.S. VI. On the New Red Sandstone Series in the Basin of the Eden and North- western Coasts of Cumberland and Lancashire; with a plate of co- loured sections. By the Rev. Adam Sedgwick, V.P.G.S. F.R.S., Woodwardian Professor in the University of Cambridge. VII. On a Portion of the Dukhun (Deccan), East Indies; with a map and two plates of sections. By Lieut.-Col. William Henry Sykes, F.G.S., F.R.S., F.L.S. VIII. On the Geology of the Environs of Bonn; with a coloured map. By Leonard Horner, Esq., F.G.S., F.R.SS.L. & E. Index, List of Donations, &c. paste oi tie sgaia! vdieo g hina h ae ; Dive cpteanldivens! Hees (aoe Dakiort ay ay 3 ¥ esl sash gt . i ce mysiel PROCEEDINGS OF THE GEOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF LONDON. Vo. II. 1836-1837. No. 48. November 30.—Charles Darwin, Esq., A.B., Christ’s College, Cambridge ; Thomas White Collard, Esq., of Prospect House, near Herne, Kent; Rev.-John Pye Smith, D.D., of Homerton College, near London ; William Cubitt, Esq., of Gray’s Inn Lane ; and Wil- liam Railton, Esq., of Carlton Chambers, were elected Fellows of this Society. A paper “On certain elevated Hills of Gravel containing Marine Shells in the vicinity of Dublin,” by John Scouler, M.D., F.L.S., Pro- fessor of Mineralogy in the Royal Dublin Society, and communicated by Robert Hutton Esq., F.G.S., was first read. The object of this communication is to give a brief account of phe- nomena which, although frequently described in other countries, have been but recently observed in Ireland. Before entering on the im- mediate subject of the paper, Dr. Scouler gives a general description of the formations constituting the district under examination. They consist of granite, porphyry, quartz rock, micaceous, talcose, and argillaceous schists, greywacke, which near Lyons is succeeded by a very ferruginous conglomerate, find mountain ‘limestone, called, near Dublin, calp. The principal points at which the author examined the shelly de- posits are, the promontory of Howth, Bray Head, and the valley of Glenismaule. On the south side of the promontory of Howth, where the limestone or calp approaches the quartz rock, is a deep depression occupied by an exceedingly tenacious and very ferruginous clay, which also extends across the peninsula, filling up fissures in the limestone. It is unstratified, and does not contain any transported fragments of rocks, but abounds with nodules of oxide of iron, iron pyrites, and oxide of manganese; the last being extracted for economical pur- poses. Resting upon this clay, the limestone and the quartz rock, is a thick accumulation of shelly coarse gravel and fine sand, extend- ing about half a mile in length, but separated into two parts by the hollow in which is situated the village of Howth. The highest portion of the deposit is about eighty feet above the level of the sea. The gravel consists chiefly of limestone, differing in no respect from the limestone of the district ; pebbles of argillaceous schist are not uncommon ; and rounded fragments of granite, the hard chalk of An- trim, and flints occur, but rarely ; and it is worthy of remark that though the gravel rests partly on quartz rock, fragments derived from it are scarce, The beds of sand are sometimes very thin, at others of considerable VOL, II, 21 436 thickness, and though, for limited distances, there appears to be a regular stratification, yet the beds cannot be traced to any extent, thinning out in the same manner as on existing sea-beaches. The shells which have been found were, for the greater part, very imper- fect, but Dr. Scouler has been enabled to determine, from well-defined specimens, the following species: Turritella ungulina, Turbo lito- reus, Nerita litoralis, Buccinum undatum, Cardium BON, Cyprina Islandica, and Pecten varians. On the opposite side of the Bay of Dublin, and to the south of the promontory of Bray Head, is a similar accumulation extending for upwards of a mile. At its northern extremity it presents a perpendi- cular section about 200 feet high, but gradually declines towards the south till it sinks to a level with the present shore. It consists, in the upper part, of angular fragments of granite or syenite, and quartz rock ; in the middle, of numerous beds of shelly sand and gravel, and in the lowest, of clay and marl. The central beds of gravel are chiefly composed of fragments of limestone of moderate size, and imperfectly rounded, but they also contain pebbles of chalcedony, flint, hard -chalk, and a ferruginous conglomerate. With respect to the locali- ties from which these materials were derived, Dr. Scouler says, that no limestone occurs in situ nearer than the opposite side of the Dublin granitic mountains ; that the fragments of chalcedony, flint, and hard -chalk, appear to have been transported from Antrim, and the pebbles of ferruginous conglomerate from Lambay Island, or Lyons Hill, to the west of the Dublin chain. The whole of the recent species of shells found at Howth, have been obtained at Bray Head, with the addition of Dentalium entalis. Besides these shelly deposits which occur adjacent to the existing sea shores, Dr. Scouler describes others at a considerable distance inland. One of the most remarkable of these, is in the valley of Glenis- maule, near the source of one of the branches of the Dodder, and about seven miles from the Bay of Dublin. On each side of the valley are perpendicular cliffs formed of irregular beds of sand and calcareous gravel, about 100 feet thick, and probably 200 feet above the level of the sea. These beds are also above the level of any of the calcareous strata of the immediate neighbourhood. Associated with thelimestone fragmentsare pebbles of flintand chalcedony, as well as recent shells identical with those in the beds previously described at Howth and Bray Head. Dr.Scouler also mentions having found a specimen of limestone perforated by Lymnoria terebrans. Similar deposits are stated to exist in other valleys in the vicinity of Dublin; and accumulations of gravel, agreeing in the arrangement of the beds but differing locally in the nature of the materials, toextend over the whole of Ireland, forming low rounded hilis, and filling previously existing depressions. The only instance of remains of mammalia in this gravel, known to Dr. Scouler, is the discovery of bones of the Irish Elk, at Enniskerry, near Dublin. The following inferences were then given, as deducible from the facts contained in the memoir : 437 Ist, That the coast around the Bay of Dublin has been elevated, though unequally, at a comparatively recent geological epoch ; 2ndly, That the valley of Glenismaule, and other valleys containing similar accumulations of drift, were at one time under water, and then filled with calcareous gravel; and that they were afterwards elevated, and subsequently re-excavated by the action of running water. The memoir concluded with some theoretical observations respect- ing the sources from which the calcareous gravel was derived, and the agents by which it was brought into its present position. A paper ‘ On the Geology of the Thracian Bosphorus,” by Hugh Edwin Strickland, Esq., F.G.S., and William John Hamilton, Sec.G.S., was then read*®. The formations which occur in the neighbourhood of the Bosphorus may be classed as follows: 1. Aseries of beds considered to be equi- valents of part of the Silurian system; 2. Igneous rocks; 3. Tertiary limestone ; 4. Ancient alluvium. 1. The equivalents of the Silurian system occupy both sides of the Bosphorus for about three quarters of its length, and extend in Eu- rope and Asia towards the W.N.W. and E.S.E. to an unascertained distance. The prevailing rock is argillaceous schist, but associated with it are compact brown sandstone, and compact dark blue lime- stone, the whole passing insensibly into each other. Andreossy and an American traveller referred the deposits to the transition class, on mineralogical characters ; and the authors of this memoir, to that portion of it lately named Silurian by Mr. Murchison, from the general agreement of the organic remains to those found in the formations beneath the old red sandstone in England. Fossils are, however, of so rare occurrence that Messrs. Strickland and Hamilton noticed them at only two localities, a ravine above Arnaout-keui, about four miles from Pera on the European side; and the Giant’s Moun- tain on the Asiatic side of the Bosphorus, and about fifteen miles from Constantinople. At the former locality they were found in argilla- ceous schist, and in the latter in limestone. They belonged chiefly to the genera Spirifer, Productus, Terebratula, Atrypa and Orthis ; but the eye of an Asaphus, remains of Crinoidea, and of three genera of Corals were also obtained. 2. Igneous Rocks.—The transition rocks are united on the north toa mass of igneous rocks, and on the south-west to tertiary deposits. The authors were unable to determine the relative age of these two formations ; but as the igneous rocks are brought into more immediate connexion with the Silurian or transition group than the tertiary, they are described first. They consist of trachytes and trachytic con- ‘glomerates. The former are more or less compact, sometimes passing into phonolite and basalt, and occasionally assume a columnar struc- * In a note, Mr. Strickland says, that Mr. Hamilton being still in Asia Minor, he has been deprived of any direct assistance in drawing up this paper; and that he is solely responsible for any theoretical views which it may contain, Dh iD 438 ture. The conglomerates are composed of angular fragments of tra- chyte, imbedded in a tufaceous paste. The inclosed portions are some- times softer than the cement, when the rock assumes a honeycomb appearance, but they are more often harder, and stand out in bold relief, The conglomerates rest upon and alternate with the trachyte, and in some places are intersected by basaltic dykes. Veins of car- nelian and chalcedony are stated to be contained in the igneous rocks, and near Filbornou to pass through the conglomerate, traversing both the basis and the included fragments. These conglomerates are considered by Mr. Strickland to have been accumulated by water, and the contained fragments, though commonly angular, are sometimes rounded, and included in finely laminated volcanic sand. On the Asiatic side of the Bosphorus the igneous rocks commence en masse at Kavak, under the old Genoese Castle, and extend to Yoom-bornou on the Black sea, or perhaps further ; and on the European side they commence on the north of Buyukderé, and also extend to the Black sea. Besides these great masses of igneous products, trachytic and trap dykes were observed by the authors traversing the Silurian rocks at Baltalimani, in the hills above Bebek, at Kiretch-bornou, and the base of the Giant’s Mountain. 3. The Tertiary deposit commences immediately on the west of Constantinople, and extends inland about three miles, till it meets the transition formations, and ranges along the north coast of the Sea of Marmora for many miles, its western limit being at present undefined. It is best exhibited in the quarries at Baloukli and Makri-kuei, where it consists of horizontal beds of soft, white, shelly limestones and marls, resting on sand in which no fossils have been observed. Near Con- stantinople the deposit was apparently accumulated in an estuary, for it contains a species of Cardium, and considerable numbers of a fossil considered to be a Cytherea, the whole being associated with land and freshwater shells, some of which resemble recent species. Along the banks of the Bosphorus the authors observed no traces of a tertiary formation ; and consequently infer that this channel was opened at a comparatively very recent period. The only ancient alluvium mentioned in the memoir isan extensive and thick deposit of ferruginous clay, sand, gravel and boulders, rest- ing upon the Silurian or transition rocks. It commences a few miles north of Constantinople, forms the subsoil of the Forest of Belgrade, and apparently skirts the southern side of the Lesser Balcan range. December 14.—William Percival Hunter, Esq., of the Albany ; Francis Charles Parry, Esq., of the Court of Bankruptcy ; Major Wil- liam Harding, of Ilfracomb, Devonshire ; John Hey, Esq., Curator of the Leeds Philosophical Society ; William Stanger, Esq., of Wisbeach, Cambridgeshire; William Charles Henry, M.D.,F.R.S., Manchester ; William Gray, jun., Esq., of York ; James Thompson, Esq., of Kirk- house, near Brampton, Carlisle; the Hon. Henry Upton, of White- hall Place; William Darley Hull, Esq., of the Wood House, Ross- ' trevor, Ireland; Thomas Cabbell, Esq., Barrister at Law, Essex Court, 439 Temple ; and William Mathews, Esq., of Greenhill, near Dudley, were elected Fellows of this Society. A paper “ On Impressions in Sandstone resembling those of horses’ hoofs,” by Charles Babbage, Esq., and communicated by the Presi- dent, was first read. During a recent visit to Dowlais, Mr. Guest mentioned to the author, that in the channel of a stream on the extensive moor called Pwll y Duon, and about seven miles from Merthyr Tydvil, there were many impressions considered by the country people to have been made by horses’ hoofs. The stratum of sandstone in which they occur is called the Farewell Rock, being the lowest bed of the coal measures. At first sight they presented a strong resemblance to the marks which tne hoof of a horse would leave on a soft surface, but on a closer examination Mr. Babbage found that the part which should have received an indentation from the frog was in relief, and resem- bled rather a cast of the frog itself. The first mark examined by him proved to be the letter G, which had been carved on the rock by some person whose initials were G.H. ‘This discovery made him inspect the others more minutely, and he ascertained satisfactorily that they were not artificial. Similar impressions were noticed by him at several places on the moor. The author then referred to analogous casts in the old red sandstone of Forfarshire, and there called Kelpies’ feet. In attempting to account for the marks, Mr. Babbage described some observations recently made by Mr. Lyell on impressions left by Medusz on the rippled sand near Dundee. On removing the gela- tinous body of the animal, a circular space was exposed, not rippled, but having around half the border a depression of a horse-shoe form. These marks, however, were not considered by Mr. Lyell as identical with those called Kelpies’ feet, but merely so far analogous as to in- vite further observations, and to make it desirable to possess drawings of the impressions which different species of Meduse leave, when thrown by the tide upon a beach of soft mud or sand. A memoir “ On the occurrence of silicified trunks of large trees in the new red sandstone formation or Poikilitic series, at Allesley, near Coventry,” by the Rev. Wm. Buckland, D D., Professor of Geology and Mineralogy in the University of Oxford, was then read.” In the great bed of gravel which overspreads the portion of War- wickshire referred to in this paper, specimens of silicified wood had been long found, and from being slightly relled, it was conjectured that they could not have been drifted from a distance, though no in- dication of their original matrix had been observed. In the spring of last year, however, Dr. Buckland was informed by the Rev. W. T. Bree of Allesley, that part of the silicified trunk of a tree, several. feet in length and a foot and a half in diameter, had been discovered in the garden ofthe Rev. Mr. Gibson, at the bottom of Allesley Hill. On visiting the spot in October last, the author ascertained that the tree was not imbedded in the gravel, but in that portien of the new 440 red sandstone series, which consists of indurated sandstone, alterna- ting with beds of conglomerate, chiefly made up of sand and of peb- bles of quartzite and compact forms of trap. In the churchyard of Allesley Dr. Buckland found an angular frag- ment of similar silicified wood which had been fresh cast up from the bottom of a grave, sunk to an unusual depth in the red sandstone ; and in making a road from Allesley towards Coventry another large tree was discovered a short time ago, and the greater part of it used in forming the foundation of the road. On comparing the fragments found in the gravel with the tree in Mr. Gibson’s garden, which is carefully preserved in its matrix, Dr. Buckland found so perfect an identity in mineral character as to leave no doubt that the fragments in the surface gravel had been derived from denuded beds of the new red sandstone. A description was then given of the mineralized condition of the wood, and its organic structure. On the surface of many of the specimens from the gravel, is a multitude of small spherical cavities, each of which was once filled with a minute round concretion of oxide of iron or im- perfect jasper ; and innumerable specks formed by these concretions pervading the interior of the specimens, appear to have been formed in a manner analogous to that which produced the eye agates in the An- tigua wood. The tree in Mr. Gibson’s garden, and many ofthe larger fragments found in the gravel, abound with minute longitudinal apertures resembling those in shrunk and shaken timber; many of these are filled with red oxide of iron, or lined with beautiful crystals of dark-coloured quartz. In two specimens Dr. Buckland noticed lon- gitudinal holes about 1th ofan inch in diameter, which had apparent- ly been perforated by the larve of some insect. In the large collection formed by Mr. Bree, the author sought in vain for examples of the petrified palms, psarolites and helmintolites described by Cotta and Sprengel as found in Saxony, in beds considered to be the equivalents of the new red sandstone of Engiand ; all the Allesley specimens are either referrible to decided coniferze, which have distinct concentric lines of growth, or exhibit a compact structure in which neither large vascular tubes nor concentric lines of growth are visible. A paper entitled “ Further notice on a partially petrified piece of wood from an ancient Roman aqueduct at Eilsen, in the Principality of Lippe-Buckeberg,” by Charles Stokes, Esq., F.G.S., was next read. Since his former communication on this subject, the author has been shown by Mr. Robert Brown a specimen from the same partially petrified piece of wood; and Mr. Brown has pointed out to him, in its longitudinal section, that the petrified portions are spindle-shaped bodies, about two inches in length, in some instances completely in- closed within and surrounded by the unchanged wood, and are not, therefore, as formerly conjectured by the author, connected by such an external supply of carbonate of lime to particular points as might have been derived from stalactites formed in the building. The author also stated that Mr. Brown had called his attention to 441 the remarkable circumstance exhibited in this specimen, that though the change in the longitudinal fibres appears to be complete, yet the medullary rays are still in their ligneous state; and on referring to the specimen formerly described, Mr. Stokes has found some instances in which a part of the medullary ray which passes through the petri- fied portion has not been so completely changed as the surrounding longitudinal fibres, or the part of the same ray which is more in the centre of the petrified portion. Of the unpetrified part of the specimen, some portions are much de- cayed and worm-eaten, while others are hard and apparently in good preservation; the line of separation between the two conditions being occasionally remarkably well defined. On submitting portions of each to the action of muriatic acid, Mr. Stokes found that the decayed part exhibited only a slight effervescence, while that which appeared in good preservation gave off a much greater quantity of gas, and chiefly from the inside of the larger vessels, as if they were coated with an extremely thin layer of carbonate of lime. This fact, connected with the medullary rays remaining in some instances unchanged, or but partially changed, presents, as stated by the author, the first ocular demonstration of progressive steps in the process of petrifaction. The communication concluded with some observations on the fossil wood of Allesley described in Dr. Buckland’s paper, in some of the specimens of which there are spindle-shaped portions similar to those in the partially petrified wood of Buckeberg. “ Description of a Raised Beach in Barnstaple Bay, on the north- west coast of Devonshire,” by the Rey. Professor Sedgwick, F.G.S., and Roderick Impey Murchison, Esq., F.G.S., was afterwards read. This raised beach is first seen at the northern extremity of the blown sand-hills called Braunton Burrows, and thence may be traced round the western end of Saunton Down, into Croyde Bay. After meeting with some interruptions it reappears, and may be followed to the face of the bold headland called Baggy Point, about three miles from the place of its commencement. In situations where it is best exposed, especially on the south side of Saunton Down, it puts on the form of a horizontal under terrace, resting upon an indented and irregular surface of the older formations, and abutting against their component beds. It forms regular sea-clifis, the stratification of which is most distinct ; and the several beds may be traced by small bands of shingles, by alternating courses of different degrees of fine- ness, and by horizontal lines of division. In distinctness of stratifica- tion it yields to no rock ; and as several parts of the cliff are in a state of perfect induration, presenting regularly bedded masses of calcareous grit and sandstone, the authors at first sight mistook it for a secondary formation, The bottom of this horizontal deposit is chiefly composed of indu- rated shingles resting on the ledges of the older rocks, and filling up their inequalities. These conglomerates or shingles are seldom of great thickness, but in some places alternate two or three times with beds of sand, so as to reach an elevation of eight or nine feet in 442 the horizontal deposit. Over the shingles are horizontal beds of sand, occasionally indurated, sometimes putting on a concretionary struc- ture, and weathering into grotesque forms by the action of the ele- ments. Lastly, the preceding deposits are surmounted by regular beds of finely laminated sand in a state of imperfect induration, and sometimes hardly differing from the sand of the actual beach between the high and low water marks. The thickness of these beds of sand amounts in some places to more than twenty feet. These marine deposits are frequently covered by terrestrial overshot materials which have descended from the higher talus of Saunton Downs. In the whole of the stratified undercliff above described there are sea shells. In the upper part they are rare, and in a bad state of peservation ; but in the lower and more indurated portions they are more abundant, are often well preserved, sometimes appearing in beds, and in their condition and arrangement exactly resembling the shells of a modern beach. In species, they are identical with the living shells of the coast. Among them the authors enumerate Mactra stultorum, Tellina fa- bula, T. solidula, Cardium edule, Ostrea edulis, Mytilus edulis, Mya margaritacea, Pholas, Patella vulgaris, Natica canrena, Purpura lupillus, &c., making in all twelve or fourteen species*. At the north side of Croyde Bay the sea shells are very abundant in the deposit ; the lower shingles expand to the thickness of nineteen feet, and are found on the face of Baggy Point at various heights and rising to sixty or seventy feet above high water level. The horizontal beds, above described, cannothave been formed by accumulations of blown sand. They are stratified marine deposits, differing in no respect from the sand and coarsest shingles of the neighbouring beach, except in the level; and they perfectly demon- strate an elevation of the neighbouring coast during the modern period. In confirmation of their views, the authors assert that the physical features of the neighbouring region, indicate that kind of depression in the sea level which is demonstrated by the raised beach. The ancient line of sea-clifls may be traced inland by Saunton and Braun- ton towards the mouth of the Barnstaple river, passing to the east of the existing marshes and dunes of blown sand. In like manner the old line of clifis, anterior to the elevation, may be traced from Apple- dore along the south side of Norton Burrows. The popple or pebble beach, a remarkable ridge of large rounded blocks of stone, rising to a height of seventeen feet above the sea level, and shutting out the ocean from the neighbouring marsh lands, &c., of Appledore, is, in connexion with the blown sands, regarded by the authors as the natural and necessary consequence of a considerable elevation of the coust, and as strongly confirming the views they have advanced. In * This list has been much augmented by the subsequent labours of Ma- jer W. Harding, F.G.S. of Ilftacomb, who has in other respects contirmed the views of the authors, and added some important facts. In the craggy cliffs of the old transition rocks near Baggy Point, he has detected patches of the indurated shingle, or ‘‘dry beach”’ as he terms it, containing modern sea, shells at different heights, far above the reach of the highest tides. 443 further support of these views, they state that the raised beach ot Barnstaple Bay, forms only one of aconnected series of phenomena, all tending to demonstrate the same conclusion, viz. the occasional changes of high-water level, both in the way of elevation and depres- sion, within a comparatively recent period. They point out the conditions under which raised beaches (admitting their hypothesis) may or may not be expected ; and they affirm that there is a con- nected series of phenomena both on the north and south coasts of Devonshire and Cornwall, in perfect accordance with what they have described. ‘The raised beach of Hope’s Nose is the most striking in- stance in South Devon ; and they bear witness to the correctness of Mr. Austen’s description of it, and to the justice of hisconclusions. On the coasts of Cornwall phenomena of like kind are very numerous. Not only is there incontrovertible proof of raised beaches at various levels, but in some places long smooth waterworn surfaces, exactly like those formed by the existing breakers of a rocky shore, may be traced midway in the cliff, at an elevation quite out of the reach of the cause which formed them. Lastly, the authors enter on some details as to the quantity of ele- vation, proved by the phenomena of recent marine deposits in differ- eut parts of England. ‘They state that the raised beaches of South Devon and Cornwall indicate various changes of level, from ten to forty feet, the phenomena of depression, of which there are examples, not being considered. That the greatest elevation in North Devon seems to have been about 70 feet, while in Lancashire, Cheshire, and Shropshire, thereare marine deposits, containing also shells of existing species, at various elevations of from 300 to 500 feet. The intensity of elevatory force seems therefore to have increased towards the north, and perhaps reached its maximum among the Cumbrian mountains, from which enormous masses of materials have drifted in various well- known directions. The country of Siluria and South Wales, the detritus of which was described by Mr. Murchison on a former occasion, is of course spe- cially exempted from the application of this inference; since that re- gion has been shown to have been elevated at an antecedent period*, On the same evening, after the ordinary business of the Society had terminated, a Special General Meeting was held for the purpose of electing two Secretaries in the place of William John Hamilton, Esq., and Woodbine Parish, jun. Esq., who had retired from the office ; the former in consequence of his continued absence from England, and the latter from being unable to attend the meetings of the Society. The President having read the By-Law (Sec. XI. art. 5.) respect- ing the resignation of any officer during the interval between two suc- cessive Annual General Meetings, and the election of another to sup- * Geol. Proceedings, Vol. II. p. 77. 444 ply the place, appointed John Willimot, Esq., and William Clift, Ksq., scrutineers of the ballot. It was then resolved unanimously, That the thanks of the Society be given to William John Hamilton, Ksq., and Woodbine Parish, jun. Esq., on retiring from the office of Secretary. A ballot was next held, and the scrutineers reported that Robert Hutton, Esq., and John Forbes Royle, M.D. F.L.S., were duly elected. January 4, 1837.—John Henry Philipps, Esq., of Williamston, Ha- verford-West : Colonelthe Honourable Dawson Damer, Tilney Street; Henry Morley, Esq., of the Grove, Camberwell; and William Benford Nelson, Esg., Essex Street, Strand ; were elected Fellows of this Society. A paper entitled, ““ Some Observations on the Elevation of the Strata on the Coast of Chili,” by Alexander Caldcleugh, Esq., F.G.S., &c., was first read. The author commences by stating, that previously to his return to South America several circumstances induced him to suspend his opinion as to the correctness of the details which had been published of the effects of the earthquake of 1822. He thought that the wreck in the Bay of Valparaiso, which had become accessible after the earthquake, might have been thrown higher up by the heavy rollers, and that rocks covered with testacea, which after the event were laid dry, might likewise have been drifted. He also thought that the ac- curacy of the observations might be doubted, because certain genera of shells were stated to have been found adhering to the rocks in Valparaiso Bay, which it was well known did not exist there ; and because there was a vagueness in some of the statements, as the raising of the whole country from the foot of the Andes to far out at sea. Since his return to South America, however, especially since the earthquake of 1835, Mr. Caldcleugh has investigated the evi- dences of change of level on the Chilian coast, and he states, in this communication, his full conviction, that there have been many distinct alterations in the relative level of land and sea. In detailing the results of his researches, he gives extracts from all the historical and documentary evidence which he has been able to consult, separating those proofs of accession of land which may be ascribed to the deposition of sedimentary matter, from those which demonstrate a vertical movement. 1. Accumulations of sedimentary matter. The Abate Molina states, that the sea had long been gradually retiring, and even hazards the observation, that in some places it had receded two, in others, espe- cially near the mouth of rivers, six inches annually. Near the village Talcahuano, Frezier says, that in 1712 the depth of water near the shore was from five to six fathoms ; while Ulloa in 1744 gives five fathoms, and Capt. Fitzroy has found the soundings near the same spot to be only three and four fathoms. Frezier also states, that in 445 Valparaiso Bay vessels anchored close to the shorein eight or ten fathoms ; and Ulloa, in fourteen fathoms at the distance of a cable and a half; though at present the soundings at the same distance are five to seven fathoms. In 1778, a Spanish seventy-four moored within a cable’s length of the arsenal in fifty fathoms water, where there are now but six. In the port of Coquimbo, according to Frezier, at half a cable’s length from the Tortoise Rock, the soundings were from six to ten fathoms: they are now from three to four: it is also said that a whale once passed between the rock and the main land. In the port of Huasco, the same author gives the depth very near the shore to be eighteen and twenty fathoms; but a vessel (the Byron) in 1831, touched upon the ballast she had thrown out. At Mr. Caldcleugh’s first visit to Valparaiso in 1821, the town consisted of one narrow causeway with houses on one side, and part of the read which wound round an old fort, was washed by the sea at every high tide. On a late visit to the port, he found that two lines of houses had been built to seaward of the original street, and that vessels of three or four hundred tons, were obliged to anchor much further out. With respect to the dependence which ought to be placed on the preceding observations, hesays, that the facilities for making them were great, as vessels, to avoid the gusts from the gulleys, almost always anchor on the same spot; and he remarks in explanation of this great accumulation of detritus, that the rivers of Chili partake, with few exceptions, of the nature of mountain torrents, swollen in winter by the rains, and in summer by the melting of the snow in the great Cordillera. 2. Evidences of veriical movements.—The author then proceeds to * point cut the evidences of change between land and sea, which can- not be accounted for, by the accumulation of loose materials. In Concepcion Bay there are two or three rocks which are not noticed by Frezier or Ulloa, but of which seamen are now warned; and the Belemrock has at present two fathoms upon it at low water, while in the chart of Ulloa it is not laid down. In the Bay of Valparaiso, outside of the inner point near the Que- brada de los Angeles, at a cable and a half or two cables from the shore, is a rock which Ulloa directs to be looked out for with care as it was not visible; at present it is not above 100 fathoms from the shore ; and there is a ripple upon it atall times ofthe tide. Other rocks near the Cruz de Reyes, which in 1821 were always covered by the sea, are now four feet above the level of hi: oh water mark. In the port of Coquimbo are three rocks called the Pelicans, which rise twelve feet above low tide; in 1710, according to Feuillée, they were a fleur d’eau. Another rock, about twelve feet long, called the Tortoise, in the time of Frezier and Feuillée, rose five or six feet out of the water; it is now nine feet above high water mark. Mr. Caldcleugh then alludes to the beds of recent shells which rest upon the edges of the sea cliffs from Concepcion to Copiapo, and in consequence of there being found at levels varying from 14 to 300 feet, he conceives that the coast has been raised per gradus. 446 Henext states, in addition to the evidences afforded by Mrs. Cal- cot of the change of level produced by the earthquake of 1822, that persons who escaped on board vessels, remarked that the sen- tries before an old fort on the summit of the hill over the ruins of the town, and previously visible from the feet upwards, had, subsequently to the event, half the body concealed by the fore part of the cliffs*. He also says that the street or causeway, which wound round an old fort, and in 1821 was washed by the sea at every high tide, is now seven feet above the wash of the sea at the high water line of ordi- nary tides. In conclusion, Mr. Caldcleugh gave an account of the effects pro- duced by the earthquake of 1835, chiefly from the observations of Capt. Fitzroy, full details of which have been published in the Trans- actions of the Royal Society t and the Royal Geographical Society {. The President then announced that he had received from the Fo- reizn Office the translation of an article published in the South Ame- rican Journal, El Arancano, by Don Mariano Rivero; but as none except original communications were read before the Society, he could only state that Don Mariano dissents entirely from the belief, that earthquakes have produced vertical changes of level on the coast of Chili. This communication was accompanied by a letter from Col. Wal- pole addressed to Lord Palmerston, an extract from which, read by the Secretary, strongly supported Den Mariano Rivero’s views. A paper entitled ‘Observations of proofs of recent elevation on the coast of Chili, made during the survey of His Majesty’s ship Beagle, commanded by Capt. Fitzroy, R.N.,” by Charles Darwin, Esq., F.G.S., was afterwards read. ‘The subject of recent elevations on the coast of Chili being, in the opinion of many, still open to discussion, Mr. Darwin gives, in this memoir, the results of his own observations. The portion of the coast, more particularly examined by the author, extends from the river Rapel, about sixty miles south of Valparaiso, to Conchali, about eighty miles north of it. Close to the mouth of the Rapel, dead barnacles occur adhering to rocks three or four feet above the highest tidal level; and in the neighbouring country recent marine shells are scattered abundantly to the height of about 100 feet. Ten miles to the north, and at an equal distance from the sea, is the village of Bucalemu, in the neigh- bourhood of which are very extensive beds of recent shells. At the bottom of the great valley of Maypo, and some miles from the coast, marine shells of existing species are also numerous ; and at St. An- * In the following page a part of the fort previously invisible is sta- ted to have become visible ; but this apparent discrepancy arises from the observations alluded to by Mr. Caldcleugh having been made from the ship- ing, and those by Mr. Darwin from a point on the land, + Mr. Caldcleugh on the Great Earthquake in Chili, 1835. Phil. Trans. 1836, p. 21. { Sketch of the surveying Voyage of His Majesty’s Ship Beagle. Journal Royal Geographical Society, vol. vi. p. 319. 447 tonio, near the northern point of that river, are large quarries of shells. Between this point and Valparaiso in the ravine, Quebrada Onda, the remains of a species of shell common on the coast, were noticed by the author. Along the bold granitic coast south of the pro- montory which forms the bay of Valparaiso, are numerous level and horizontal beds of shells, constituting an almost continuous band, elevated from 60 to 230 feet above the level of the sea. The shells are brittle, but of various kinds, and are all similar and in similar pro- portional numbers to those on the beach. They are mingled with some earth, though packed closely together, and overlie a partially consolidated breccia of granitic fragments which rests on the solid rock. After a careful examination of these deposits, first by himself, and afterwards with Mr. Alison, guarded by a recent inspection of the heaps of shells accumulated by the natives in Tierra del Fuego, Mr. Darwin was convinced that the shelly beds near Valparaiso, were formed when the sea occupied a different level. The following are the principal circumstances which lead to this conviction. The great number of the shells forming extensive, horizontal beds, whereas the heaps in Tierra del Fuego collected by the inhabitants, always retain a conical figure: their position, at the extremities of headlands inac- cessible from the sea, and unfit for strongholds, being without fresh water: the large proportional number of extremely small shells : and lastly, their brittle and decayed condition, the state of decomposition having an evident relation to the comparative heights at which the shelJs were lying. Comminuted shells were noticed by Mr. Darwin at the heights of 560 and 1300 feet, but the evidence of their having been part of a beach was not convincing. At San Lorenzo in the bay of Callao, Mr. Darwin traced a similar process of decay from perfect shells in the lowest beds to a mere layer of calcareous powder in the highest. This phenomenon, he adds, can be observed only in countries where rain never falls. On the north side of the bay of Valparaiso, near the Viiia del Mar, is an abundance of elevated shells. Mr. Alison, by climbing a point of rock about fourteen feet above high water, and removing the dung of sea fowls, discovered Balani adhering to the stone. With respect to the historical evidence of the earthquake of 1822, Mr. Darwin says that he met with no intelligent person who doubted the rise of the land, or with any of the lower order who doubted that the sea had falien. He mentions also the altered position of the wreck and of the rockin the bay; and from a part of the fort being invisiblefroma point ontheland before the earthquake, but visibleafter- wards, he infers that the movement of the land was unequal*. A further proof of change, obtained for the author by Mr. Alison, is shown by the remains of a sea-wall built in 1680, and over which, up to 1817, the sea broke during the northerly gales. Mr. John Martin, a ship carpenter of Valparaiso, remembers walking in 1819 on the beach at the foot of this wall, and he has been frequently obliged to climb up to the street to avoid the sea. This wall is now separated from the bay by two rows of houses, but a portion of what * See note * in the preceding page. 448 appeared to be its base, carefully levelled by a resident engineer, was found to be 11 feet 6 inches above high water mark. Mr. Darwin does not ascribe the whole of this change to the earthquake of 1822, and is of opinion that the alteration then produced was under three feet. The church of San Augustin is believed to have been built in 1634, and the base of its walls is 19 feet 6 inches above high tide level ; but there is a tradition that the sea formerly approached very close to its foundations. Allowing, therefore, 4 feet 6 inches for its protec- tion when built, the amount of change in 220 years is only 15 feet. The granite rocks which form the coast are also water-worn and hol- lowed at about the same height, namely, 14 feet above the present sea level. These data, Mr. Darwin is of opinion, prove, that though the changes in 220 years have been small, yet that they were pre- ceded by a period of comparative rest, during which there was time for any former marks on the rocks to become obliterated. The author then described the beds of recent shells between Con- con and Quintero, about 100 feet above the sea level ; the deposits near Plazilla and Catapilco ; and in the valley of Longotomo. On the hills to the north of the latter, about 200 feet above the sea, immense quantities of recent shells coat the surface or the sides of the ravines ; and hence Mr. Darwin infers that the action of the sea de- termined the minor inequalities of the land. Similar deposits, more or less abounding in shells, were noticed by him near Guachen, and in the valley of Quilimap. Close to Conchali, on the south side of the bay, are twovery distinct terrace-like plains, the lower being about sixty feet high. Mr. Darwin then gave a very brief notice respecting the marine origin of the terraces at Coquimbo, described by Capt. Basil Hall and discussed by Mr. Lyell. The proofs of the origin assigned to them rest on the occurrence of recent shells in a friable calcareous rock elevated 250 feet above the sea. This calcareous stratum passes downwards into a shelly mass chiefly compesed of fragments of Bala- nidez, and this again overlies a sandstone abounding with silicified bones of gigantic sharks mingled with extinct species of oysters and Perne of a great size The intermediate bed contains some shells in common with the upper, in which all are recent, and with the lowest in which the greater number are extinct. The phenomena of the parallel terraces and the elevated shells occur in a strongly marked manner in the villages of Guasco and Copiapo, the latter being 350 miles to the north of Valparaiso: recent shells also occur at different elevations at an equal distance to the south of it at Concepcion and Imperial. Mr. Darwin believes that the land on the coast of Chili has risen, though insensibly, since 1822. In the Island of Chiloe he is fully convinced, from oral testimony andthe state of the coast, that a change effected imperceptibly is now in progress. In support of this gradual rise, independent of earthquakes, he states, that the eastern coast of South America, bordering the Atlantic from the Rio Plata to the Strait of Magellan, presents terraces containing recent shells; yet in the pro- vincesnearthe mouth of the Plata, earthquakes are never experienced ; andit isimpossibleto suppose that the most viclent of the Chilian earth- 449 quakes could produce these effects, as the shocks are scarcely trans- mitted to the plains at the western foot of the Cordilleras. Hence, he concludes, that the earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, and sudden ele- vations on the coast line of the Pacific, ought to be considered as ir- regularities of action in some more widely extended phenomenon. — January 18.—Benjamin Tucker, Esq., of Mecklenburgh Square ; Cesar Coldough, Esq., of Tintern Abbey in the county of Wexford, Ireland; George Such, M.D., F.L.S., New Street, Dorset Square ; Travers Twiss, Esq., B.C.L., Fellow of University College, Oxford ; Joseph Henry Barchard, Esq., of Putney Heath, Surrey ; Gilpin Gorst, Ksq., of the Old Trinity House, and William Edmund Logan, Esq., of Swansea, were elected Fellows of this Society. A paper entitled, “An Account of a deposit containing land shells at Gore Cliff, Isle of Wight,” by J. 8. Bowerbank, Esq., F.G.S., was first read. During a recent examination of the greensand of Gore Cliff, Mr. Bowerbank discovered on the top of the cliff and overlying the chalk marl by whichit is capped, a bed consisting of detritus of chalk andchalk marl, and inclosing, in every part examined by him, numerous spe- cimens of existing species of land shells. The deposit extends from nearly the edge of the cliff te the foot of St. Catherine's Down, a distance of about 660 yards. The range of the deposit he could not ascertain, as at a short distance from the spot examined, the cliff assumed its usual perpendicular form ; but he is of opinion that it is consider- able, or elise that there are many such deposits, as he found fallen masses of a similar bed near St. Lawrence and between Ventnor and Bonchurch. A letter addressed to Dr. Buckland by J. Wyatt, Esq., respecting a trap dyke in the Penrhyn Slate Quarries near Bangor, Carmarthen- shire, was then read. These quarries were opened fifty years since, and the excavation is now about 700 yards in length, 300 in breadth, and 90 below the natural surface. In carrying on the highest opening of the quarry, the men, a few months since, came suddenly in contact with a trap dyke, which has since been cut through and proved to be 11 feet in width. Its direction appears to be between W.N.W.and N.W., and it intersects the bedding of the slate nearly at right angles. The dip at present is almost 90°, the slight inclination being to the N.E. The “cheeks” of the dyke on the N.W. side, are broken conformably with the natural joints of the schist. Theslate immediately in contact with the trap is, in some parts, quite flinty, having lost its fissile properties, and the colour is changed from purple to black ; but at the distance of two or three feet the slate recovers its natural colour and cleavage. A notice of a successful attempt at boring for water at Mortlake in Surrey, by William Richardson, Esq., F.G.S., was next read. 450 Tn the year 1834, Mr. John Randell of Mortlake, being desirous of procuring a large supply of spring water, sunk a well on his pre- mises, and within 100 feet of the ‘Thames. In the first instance, an augur seven inches in diameter was used in penetrating twenty feet of superficial gravel mixed with marl, and 200 feet of London clay. An iron tube, eight inches in diameter, was then driven into the opening to dam out the land springs and the percolation from the river. A four-inch augur was next introduced through the iron tube, and the boring was continued, until the Lon- donclay, having been perforated to the depth of 240 feet, the sands of the plastic clay were reached, and water of the softest and purest nature was obtained ; but the supply was not sufficient, and it did not reach the surface. The work was proceeded withaccordingly, and after 55 feet of alternating beds of sand and clay had been penetrated, the chalk was touched upon. A second tube, 43 inches in diameter, was then driven into the chalk to stop out the water of the plastic sands, and through this tube an augur 34 inches in diameter was intro- duced and worked 55 feet into hard chalk abounding with flints. To this succeeded a bed of soft chalk into which the instrument suddenly penetrated to the depth of 15 feet. On the augur being withdrawn, water gradually rose to the surface and overflowed in considerable quantities, the supply averaging, for a time, 5000 gallons daily. The general summary of the work is as follows : Feet Gravelheiick Medan ecneee « alebarsh «ds 20 Londonyclay.haan aac ie oct iekice 240 Plastic sands and clays ...........- 55 Hardxchalkcand fintss-7)42)4- ceils 35 Softichalke Since eee sane 15 305 The expense of the work did not exceed 3001. With respect to the chalk itself being the reservoir whence the water is obtained, Mr. Richardson mentioned an analogous case in the cliff on which stands Dover Castle, where water issues from a bed of soft chalk marl between the chalk with flints and that without flints*. A paper “On the Strata usually termed Plaistic Clay,” by Juhn Morris, Esq., and communicated by the President, was then read. The author commences by objecting to an arrangement of tertiary formations in different countries according to the classification of the Paris basin by MM. Cuvier and Brongniart. He then refers to the memoirs of Mr. Webster, Dr. Buckland, and Mr. Richardson, on the strata immediately above the chalk in England, and proceeds to show that they ought to be considered as belonging to the London clay. For the sake of convenience in arranging their organic remains, Mr. Morris makes three divisions of these beds: 1. those containing * Conybeare and Phillips, Outlines, p. 88. 451 the Reading oyster; 2. the Woolwich and Upnor strata; and 3. the Bognor or lower arenaceous beds ofthe London clay. The first division has been long well known in consequence of the sections given by Mr. Webster * and Dr. Buckland t+ of the Catsgrove pits near Reading; and has been subsequently described in a paper by Mr. Rofe on the same district}. Mr. Merris gives the following sections of this deposit at Northaw in Hertfordshire, and Headley in Surrey. ‘ Feet INorthaw, Lop yeaney sand se). eee ose oe 20 green sand with oysters .......... 1 grey sand..... BO Gone OORT OOe Ane 2 ROMA ie XO SACS as cos onus oonoKS 8 inches. ohne eins apss hays ssbietay siete veto nuicl cuore lelskois ‘ Feet Headley, Top, red and green variegated marls ...... 4 Claygandsandieretere ger tae rarer eco: 3 grey sand with oysters ...........0.. 1 ash-coloured sand ................- (iN ENO OS pO AC DOC E Dune BOcon acts 2. The Woolwich strata, also described by Mr. Webster§ and Dr. Buckland, extendalong the south side of the Thames, and patches of them are said to occur near Stifford** and Plaistow in Essex. They are chiefly composed of sand, clay, pebbles, and calcareous rock, the strata varying greatly in their thickness in different parts of even the same pit; and in their order of succession in different localities. At Woolwich, Sundridge park, Upnor, and some other places, there is also a marked distinction in the fossils of the upper beds from those of the lower; the former being characterized by the prevalence of freshwater or estuary shells of the genera Cyrena, Neritina, Melanopsis and Planorbis, associated with marine shells. How far this distinction may be owing tothe action of ariver, Mr. Morris saysit may be difficult to determine, as the recent species of the above genera have variable habits. The principal localities at which the Woolwich beds have been noticed are, Sundridge park near Bromley, Chiselhurst, Orping- ton, Beckenham, Sydenham, Counter Hill, Loam-pit hill near Lewis- ham, the Thames Tunnel, Vauxhall, the road leading from Oldfield to Plumstead ; the ninth milestone beyond Shooter’s Hill, Erith ballast- pit, Bexley Heath, Swanscombe Wood, Green Street near Stoke, and Upnor near Rochester. . The following sections presented at the last locality, illustrate the variations in different parts of the same pit. Feet. South End, Top, brown clay with fragments of chalk and (A veail CMMI, ob ctbombloeboucocag sscqoucass 10 fine calcareous Clay eerie credits ciel) oe 3 sand with bluish flint pebbles, and numerous re- * Geol. Trans., First Series, vol. ii. p. 198. + Ibid. vol. iv. p. 278. ¢ Geol. Proceedings, vol. ii. p. 72. § Geol. Trans., First Series, vol. ii. pp. 196—221. { Ibid. vol. iv. p.'284. *# Tbid. vol. ii. p. 196. VOL. If. 2K 452 South End (continued.) mains of Cyrena, Cerithium, Planorbis, Cy- Feet. therea, Pectunculus, Cardium, and Natica,. 1] white sand, with occasionally layers of shells.. 4 blue and brown clay with compressed Cyrena, Cerithium and Ostrea lignitemnyereyssandye yee date eee ee 1 white sand, lower part containing pebbles .... 20 North Ends lop brovwniclaya camer eeece cee errr ee 14 sand with pebbles/andishellsmeeenme. cere ibs sand chiefly white, in the upper part thin seams OlshellswssenMieenee ee ee cee er neater 15 brown and blue clay, with compressed shells intermingled with sand ..............5..- 6 purplish sandy clay with ochreous concretions .. 2 lignitein sulphur-coloured clay andsand........ 8 inches. WTS EATICL eA 4 SU aomdiebids dd cdQegmnoeBao eS ue With respect to the geological position of the Woolwich beds, Mr. Morris is of opinion that they ought to be assigned to the lower part of the London, as they occupy the same position, with reference to the chalk, as the Bognor strata. 3. The Bognor or lower arenaceous beds of the Taaniion clay are then described, and the following list given of the localities at which they have been noticed: Pegwell Bay (Isle of Thanet): Herne Bay*, Faversham, Hampstead well+, Watford, Egham, Bray, Binfield, Catsgrovequarry near Reading§, Alum Bay, Bognor] and Stubbing- ton. At all these localities the strata are considered by Mr. Morris to be contemporaneous and to belong to the lower part of the London clay, reposing in some instances immediately on the chalk. Their mine- ral character is remarkably persistent, consisting of greyish green sands with layers of pebbles, but sometimes passing into sandstone and limestone. ‘The fossils, which in some localities are numerous, agree ‘specifically with the well-known Bognor shells; those imbedded in the sands being in good preservation but those in the rock chalky and friable. From the position occupied by these beds Mr. Morris is in- duced to consider them as the equivalents of the lower beds of Wool- wich, Upnor, &c., and in support of this opinion alludes to the strata of calcaire grossier which rest immediately upon chalk at Meudon. A Memoir on the Geology of Suffolk, by the Rev. W. B. Clarke, F.G.S., was then commenced. February 1.—Jonathan Thompson, Esq., of St. Edmund’s Hall, Oxford, and of Temple Grove, East Sheen, Surrey, was elected a Fel- low of this Society. * See Abstract of Mr. Richardson’s Memoir,Geol. Proceedings,vol.1i.p. 78. t Abstract of Mr. Wetherell’s Memcir, Geol. Proceedings, vol. ii. p. 93. t ‘Mr. Warburton’s Memoir, Geol. Trans., Second Series, vol. 1. p. 52. & Abstract of Mr. Rofe’s paper, Geol. Proceedings, vol. il. p. 72. 4 Mr. Webster’s paper, Geol. Trans., First Series, vol. li, p. 190. 453 A paper, ‘‘ On the occurrence of Keuper-Sandstone in the upper region of the New Red Sandstone formation or Potkilitic system in En- gland and Wales,” by Professor Buckland, D.D., V.P.G.S., was first read. The term Keuper is applied in Germany to the entire series of red and variegated marls and sandstones, which lie between the lias and muschel-kalk. Several of these sandstone beds afford a valuable building stone, specimens of which from the quarries of Stuttgard and of Sinzheim, near Heidelberg, were presented by the author to the Society. Dr. Buckland has identified several varieties of this German Keuper-sandstone with sandstones which occupy an analo- gous position in England in the lower region of the red rock marl. The total absence of the Muschel-kalk in this country, has left us without that obvious division which it affords in Germany, between sandstones of the era of the red marl or Keuper, and those more ancient new red sandstones which are distinguished on the Continent by the name of Grés bigarré, or Grés de Vosges, and which in England, oc- cupy a large space between the red rock marl and magnesian lime- stone. In the vicinity of Warwick, which forms the principal example cited in the present memoir, an excellent section is seen in Guy’s Cliff, and a considerable extent of surface is occupied by Keuper- sandstone, which emerges from beneath the red rock marl, near that townand Leamington, and occupies a breadth of three or four miles be- tween Warwick and Kenilworth; at the latter place the Vosges sand- stone rises from beneath it, affording the materials for the construc- tion of the castle of Kenilworth, as the Keuper-sandstone has afforded those of the castle and other ancient buildings at Warwick. In the absence of the Muschel-kalk, there is here no obvious proof of any interval between the deposition of the new red sandstone of Kenilworth, and of the olive-coloured Keuper-sandstone which rests immediately upon it, and although the mineral condition of this latter sandstone agrees with that of the Keuper-sandstone of Germany, some doubt might have remained as to the identity of strata so distant from each other, without the aid afforded by organic remains. In 1823, part of the jaw and other bones of a Saurian, found in the sandstone of Guy’s Cliff near Warwick, were presented to the Ox- ford Museum, by the late Butic Greathead, Esq. ; Dr. Buckland has identified these with the remains of the Phytosaurus, which in 1835 he saw in the Museum at Wirtemberg; and, as this genus has hitherto been found in no other formation than the Keuper, it leaves little doubt as to the identity of the Warwick sandstone with the Keuper- sandstone of Germany. Fragments of vegetables also are dispersed through the Warwick sandstone, in the same state of imperfect pre- servation as the greater part of those in the Keuper of Stuttgard. In October 1836, further remains, apparently of Phytosaurus, were found at Warwick by Dr. Lloyd of Leamington, who is engaged in tracing the extent of the Keuper throughout this district. Dr. Buckland has also recognised the Keuper-sandstone in the uarries of Sutton Mallet near Bridgewater; and of Rumwell Heale 2K2 454 and Oake near Taunton ; the latter have supplied the freestone used in the towers and bridges at the town of Taunton. In the cliffs at Oreham, two miles E. of Exmouth, there are beds of sandstone, probably referrible to the Keuper formation, which have supplied the olive-coloured sandstone of which the cathedral of Exeter is built ; and at Pyle, in Glamorganshire, a few miles E. of Neath, a valuable building-stone lately employed in constructing the castle of Margum, is obtained from strata, which the author also refers to the Keuper-sandstone of Germany. Mr. Murchison has noticed Keuper-sandstone in several localities in Gloucestershire and Worcestershire, near Tewkesbury and Ne- went. A paper ‘On the Geological Structure and Phenomena of the north- ern part of the Cotentin, and particularly of the immediate vicinity of Cherbourg,” by the Rev. W. B. Clarke, F.G.S., was then read. In an account of the Cotentin published in the 35th volume of the Journal des Mines, M. Alexander Brongniart gives a full account of the limestone, slates, quartz rock and syenite or granite com- posing the country; but the chief object of that memoir is to prove the comparatively recent origin of the granitic rocks. Mr. Clarke, in detailing the characters of the formations follows closely the account of M. Brongniart, and adopts fully the views of that geologist respecting the age of the granite. He also quotes Prof. Sedgwick’s observations on the comparatively recent origin of the granite of Cornwall, and the adjacent portion of Devonshire; and points out the general agreement in structure of that district with the Cotentin. The country near Cherbourg consists of hills, and ridges of quartz rock alternating with valleys of slate, occasionally associated with syenite and greenstone, under circumstances which lead to the con- clusion that the igneous formations are of posterior origin. The quartz rock varies ia colour and hardness, seldom assumes an arenaceous character, and the fracture is sometimes vitreous. The beds are generally inclined at a considerable angle, the dip changing in different localities. The slates vary greatly in their characters, being sometimes argil- laceous, at others talcose, and occasionally assume a form called by M. Brongniart steaschiste noduleux which has a base of green golssy slate inclosing nodules of quartz. The slates and the quartz rock alternate frequently, and pass into each other by insensible gradations. The quartz rock splits naturally into irregular masses, which have nevertheless some of the angles of fixed dimensions viz. 103°, 64°, and 83°. These measurements Mr. Clarke has been enabled to obtain im some instances, by producing two sides, which in the specimens were cut off by the intersection of a third plane. On measuring frag- ments of ihe green variety of schist, he found the same angles under the same circumstances of position, proving that similar causes had acted on the two formations en masse; the same sets of joints, bedding lines, and cleavage, being found in each formation. 455 The rock of Le Roule, near Cherbourg, is stated by Mr. Clarke to present tothe eye twolines of fracture, ‘‘one parallel tu the horizon the other nearly perpendicular to it ; and from these with the lines of dip and direction the fragments assume their forms. ”’ The author then offers some remarks on the probable effects of crystalline action in the first place, and of subsequent forces in the second. Veins of a light ochre colour traverse the beds of Le Roule . from top to bottom; whilst other veins and threads of pure milk-white, opaque quartz, sometimes studded with crystals, range through them in a direction from S.E. to N.W. where the general dip of the beds is from N.E. to S.W. at an angle of 30°. This direction of the veins precisely agrees with that of the transverse fissure or ravine through the Montagne du Roule, the latter also ranging from S.E. to N.W. This transverse rectangular direction of the ravine, Mr. Clarke says, corresponds with the mechanical effect of elevation, and may be compared to the case of Corfe Castle in Purbeck, where the nearly vertical beds of hard chalk have been fractured at right angles. The memoir concludes with a general recapitulation of the struc- ture and phenomena of the Cotentin, and a comparison of them in other countries. Spal Pa fe) wie pay ae . i nit! ‘ mips ane Fi { f Sy ale A ; Maid hee ba my ee: ¥ ie daly lg a, y : TRANSACTIONS OF THE GEOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF LONDON, SECOND SERIES. Vo.ume I. out of print. Votume II. Part I. Price to Fellows 17. 4s.; to the Public 1/. 10s. Contents. 1. Dela Beche, on Southern Pembrokeshire. 2. Ditto, on the Lias of Lyme Regis. 3.Webster, on the Strataat Hastings. 4. Ditto, on the Purbeck and Portland beds. 5. Miller, on Belemnites. 6. Ditto, on Ac- tinocamax. 7. Caldcleugh, on Rio de Janeiro. 8. Lyell, on a recent Freshwater Limestone in Forfarshire, and recent Freshwater Marl; with @ comparison of recent with ancient Freshwater formations. 9. Murchison, Sketch of the North-west of Sussex, and adjoining parts of Hants and Surrey. 10. De la Beche, on the Chalk and Sands beneath it, near Lyme Regis and Beer. 11. Buckland, on the Valley of Kingsclere and other valleys of elevation; and on the original continuity of the Basins of Lon- don and Hampshire. 12. Extracts from Minute-book :—I. Mantell, on the Iron-sand of Sussex. II. Yeates, Section of Well at Streatham Com- mon, Surrey. III. Yates, on the Lickie Quartz Rock. IV. Bostock, Notice of Pebbles inClay covering New Red Sandstone in 8.W. of Lanca- shire. V. Gordon, on three successive Forests of Fir in a Peat Moss. VI. Marshall, on Carbonate of Copper, in Magnesian Limestone, Newton Kyme near Tadcaster. Vouume II. Parr II. Price to Fellows 1/. 8s.; to the Public 12. 16s. Contents. 13. Dela Beche, on Jamaica. 14. Poulett Scrope, on the Ponza Isles. 15. Yates, on the Border County of Salop and North Wales ; and detached groups of Transition Rocks in the Midland Counties. 16. Crichton on parts of the Taurus and other Mountains of Nassau. 17. Aikin, on Cader Idris. 18. Lyell, on the Plastic Clay between Christ- church Head and Studiand Bay. 19. On the Freshwater Strata of Hord- well, Beacon and Barton Cliffs. 20. Murchison, on the Coal-field of Brora and other Deposits inthe North of Scotland. 21, Extracts from Minute- book :—I. R.C. Taylor, Notice of Fossil Timber on the Norfolk Coast. II. Earl Compton, on a peculiar species of Granite. III. De Gimbernat, on Sulphate of Soda, &c., near Michligen. IV. De Basterot, on the vici- nity of Folkstone. Vouume II. ParrIII. Price to Fellows 13s.; to the Public 16s. Contents. 22. Poulett Scrope, on the Volcanic District of Naples. 23. Mur- chison, Supplementary Remarks on the Oolitic Series, and associated Rocks in Sutherland, Ross and the Hebrides. 24. Clift, on the Mastodons, &c., found on the left bank of the Irawadi. 25. Buckland, Geological account of Animal and Vegetable Remains, and of Rocks, from the banks of the Irawadi. 26. Pentland, on Fossil Animal Remains from the East of Bengal. 27. Buckland, on Cycadeoidez of Portland, and on the sup- \ posed petrifying power of the Irawadi. 28. Extracts from the Minute-book: ——I. Hennah, Additional Remarks on Limestone and Slate. II. Trevelyan, Notice of a Whin-dyke in the Cooper Colliery, near Blythe. III. Stoke s, Notes explanatory of three drawings of Echini. Voutume III. Part I. Price to Fellows 1/. 12s. 6d.; to the Public 27. Contents. 1. Phillips, on a group of Slate Rocks between Kirby Lonsdale and Malham. 2. Sedgwick and Murchison, on the Secondary Strata of Arran. 8. Sedgwick, on the Magnesian Limestone and lower portions of the New Red Sandstone Series. 4. Sedgwick and Murchison, on the deposits between the Primary Rocks and the Oolitic series in the North of Scotland. 5. Dela Beche, on Tor and Babbacombe Bays. 6. Ditto, on the environs of Nice, and the Coast thence to Vintimiglia. 8. Buckland, the Secondary Formations between Nice and the Col di Tendi. 9. Franklin, on Bundelcund, Boghelcund, Saugor and Jubulpore. 10. Mantell, Tabular Arrangement of the Organic Remains of Sussex. 11. Buckland, ona new species of Pterodactyle from the Lias at Lyme Regis. 12. Ditto, on Coprolites. 18. Prout, Analysis of Fossil Faeces. Vorume III. Part II. Price to Fellows 16s.; to the Public 11. 5s. Contents. 14. Lonsdale, on the Oolitic District of Bath. 15. Murchison, on a Fossil Fox. 16. Herschel, on Astronomical Causes, &c. 17. Sedg- wick and Murchison, on the Eastern . eee Votume III. Parr III. Price to Fellows 10s. 6d.; to the Public 14s. Contents. 18. Buckland, on Agates in Dolomitic Strata of the New Red Sandstone in the Mendip Hills. 19. Buckland, on the Iguanodon. 20. Clift, onthe Megatherium. 21. Pratt, on the Anoplotherium of the Isle of Wight. 22. Brewster, on the Diamond. 23. Sedgwick, on Slaty Cleavage, and on the Structure of Rocks, &e. 26. Extracts from Mi- nute-Book :—I. Gordon, on Blue Clay, south side of Murray Firth. II. J.R.Wright, on Basalt of Titterstone Clee Hill. II]. Maxwell, ona large ’ Boulder, shore of Appin. IV. Anker, on the Bones in coal near Gratz. V. Captain Hall, on Sir James Hall’s Machine for regulating high tem- peratures. VI. Colquhoun, on Meteoric Iron from Mexico and Potosi. VII. Burnes, on the banks of the Indus, &c. VIII. Necker, on Metal- liferous deposits. Votume IV. Part I. Price to Fellows 11s.; to the Public 1 4s. Contents. 1. Buckland and De Ja Beche, on Weymouth. 2. Sedgwick, on the Cumbrian Mountains. 3. Sedgwick, on the Carboniferous Chain from Penigent to Kirkby Stephn. Vouume IV. Part II. Price to Fellows 17; 18s.; to the Public 27. 5s. Contents. 4. Fitton, onthe Strata below the Chalk in the South-east of En- gland. 5. Bell, on a Fossil Species of Chelydra. 6. Sedgwick, on the New Red Sandstone in the Basin of the Eden. 7. Sykes, on a portion of the Deccan. 8. Horner, on the Environs of Bonn. Index. PROCEEDINGS OF THE GEOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF LONDON. Vot. Li. 1837. No. 49. AT THE ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING, 17th February, 1837, The following Report from the Council was read : The Council has again to congratulate the Society upon a consi- derable increase in the number of its Members, evincing the interest taken by the public in the advancement of Geological science. Fifty- three new Fellows have been elected during the past year. The Council, under the alteration in the by-law adopted by the Society at a Special General Meeting, held 27th of April last, have removed the names of two Fellows from the list of the Society ; the deaths and resignations amount to 15, so that the Society, which at the end of 1835 consisted of 774 Members, at the end of 1836 was increased to 810. The state of the finances (the details of which will be found fully set forth in the annexed accounts) may be considered even more en- couraging than the corresponding one at the last anniversary. The expenditure has been less than the estimates then submitted to the Society. Those now presented are arranged according to the probable demands of the Society for the ensuing year, which in some departments have required enlargement, owing to the increase in the numbers of the Society. The funded property of the Society has been increased, a sum (in- cluding a purchase in January,) having been invested more than equal to the compositions of the past year, and the Council is pro- ceeding gradually to accomplish the recommendation of the auditors | in 1833, viz., to invest in Stock a sum equal to the entire amount of compounded subscriptions. The property last year was valued at 21021. 18s.; it is now calculated to be worth 25631. 5s. 5d. Out of the proceeds of the Wollaston Fund at the Society’s dis- posal, the Council has this year awarded two Medals, one to Captain Proby Cautley of the Bengal Artillery, and the other to Dr. Hugh VOL, Il. cL 460 Faiconer, of the Bengal Medical Service, for their Geological re- searches, and their discoveries in Fossil Zoology in the Sub-Hima- layan Mountains. The following is the Report of the Committee appointed to ex- amine into the state of the Library and Museum. REPORT of the Committee appointed to examine and report on the state of the Museums and Library. Museums. In consequence of the uninterrupted pressure of other business during the Session of the Society, and the urgent recommendation of the Council that the Curator should be absent during the recess with a view to the reestablishment of his health, no further progress has been made this year in the arrangement of the collections. The plan of arrangement, so far as relates to the British collection, has been stated on various occasions, and is sufficiently known; bat your Committee have thought it desirable, in order to render the Fellows more conversant with the nature and extent of the Foreign collections, to subjoin a table exhibiting the geographical divisions which, for the present, have been adopted, and the number of drawers occupied by these divisions respectively. The duplicate specimens in the Society’s possession are numerous, and the number is constantly increasing. The Committee suggest the propriety of distributing these, as soon as can conveniently be done, among Foreign Institutions. Were the duplicates from the tertiary, cretaceous, oolitic, carboniferous, and older sytems, which are already arranged to a certain extent, transmitted to different Foreign Museums, situated in the vicinity of those formations re- spectively, they would be most valuable as objects of comparison. It is in this way only that the geographical boundaries of fossil species can be satisfactorily determined. The important department of organic remains, though large, is still very defective. It will be necessary, during the present year, to provide two tiers of additional cabinets, comprising 42 drawers, the cost of which is es- timated at 351. ; and the Committee would further suggest to the con- sideration of the Council, the propriety of putting up an additional glass case in the hall, which will occasion an expense of about 12/. The principal donations to the Museum, since the last Anniver- sary, are as follows: 1. Extensive collections of the remains of the Mastodon, Elephant, Rhinoceros, and other animals from the Sewalik Hills, collected and presented by Capt.Cautley. Of the importance of this dona- tion, the Committee are not called upon to offer any opinion, the Council having marked their sense of its value by awarding to Capt. Cautley one of the Wollaston Medals of the year. 2. From Col. Sykes a series of Cutch Fossils, collected for the So- ciety at his suggestion. In a paper read during a former Session on some specimens brought to England by Capt. Smee, the close 461 agreement of several of the shells with some of the oolitic fossils of England was distinctly shown; and the collection recently pre- sented by Col. Sykes has been made to assist in determining how far the comparison may be extended. 3. From Mr. Austen, an extensive series of fossils from the limestone of Southern Devonshire has been received. 4. The Royal Geographical Society has presented a collection of spe- cimens from Guiana, collected by M. Schombergk. Summary of the Foreign Collection. Drawers. Splbzbengeny srs aes 3 Teeland esas eH 6 Feroe/lsiandsiya ses eee 2 SWUM ooosedoooooebodd H) INonway arises clei o: 8 DD cramer kaa ele eres cele l Waygate Straits.......... ] PUUSSIA eo ere even telelere sie 3 aa Vollhyiniiayeet sets se: ] VE rinea eis aw eels 1 Poland ee sates chee a 2 Austria, including Styria and Ay roles ives twa te 1] Hungary eit 20 Bavaria,with Franconia, Bay- reuth, and Solenhofen.. 13 Hanover with the Hartz.... 7 NVitenIbenoee a ial- cre scr 16 Saxony bmeybengee sete 9 Nessa Ae tear i ees Ge 6 Patel rae ya NT VR NN 3 THESSepmirrsre i Se Me Aa a 2 Lower Rhine, including Bonn, the Hifel, and Maestricht 62 Bel soma eee 3 Holland rye Leek 1 France, rich in specimens from the Cantal and Au- WSRSINED of be 6 Pere eas ne 56 Portugalehiin yo tie 2 Spain, confined to Gibraltar and the provinces of Granada and Murcia... 12 Sandintabeyiay idk aes sai 1 Piedmont and Savoy ...... 9 Switzerlandasie sys Wouluese 19 Ttaly jee arpMen es esl) oi 9 Environs of Rome........ 4 Drawers, Environs of Naples........ WO) SCL N A Ga) eA a Ra a 6 TAVERN ICR OPN ES eo hi a 2 Greece and Grecian Archipe- IBEW. So aosooedbooos 3 Asia), Minor ne els ] Palestine sso see eee 3 Persia and Persian Gulf.... 7 East Indies: Bombay and Western coast ...... yy, Wiadrasitesriacn ae ] Bengal and Upper Provinces seco 42 IV ES ICE USL eae EOP ea 8 (CHANT eed ie acetal StS ANC a l Islands in the Indian Ocean 12 Australia— West Coast.... 3 — East Coast and in- terior adjacent to .... 9 — North Coast...... 3 Van Diemen’s Land ...... 3 | BEN OPS MR GCOS CL ANG Sal 14 Madagascan imc verano | Cape of Good Hope ...... 3 Se Helena)! a onen ane 2 Ascension syns fo 3 Cape deVerde Islands .... 1 Madeiral qi olin reid: 2 AZORES Hees Ay Schuhe 2 1 Greenlandieiisy ey: he 5 Davis’s Straits, Baffin’s Bay, Melville Bay, Prince Re- gent’s Inlet, Hudson’s ISBNS C405 on cba bob 16l6 9 24.2 462 Drawers. Drawers. IDLO ENGIO yen Hen coer iets, 6 A's, GPOtGSIGG RET ae Pee. eR 2, Nova SGOtiav el, A serarteene lit Reread FS eh ae 8 Newtoundland ese PU Bla U Gh dae anny sis Sis am 6 Upper Canada and Arctic Brazilsa age eee hoe Boss 8) Regions) he ies eee 6) #MBMenOsPAVTeS sae eee reer 2 United: States eee ae 29 Straits of Magellan ...... 2 Wiest Indiess aaa ee 29 — exclusive of Capt. Mexico ice re eee 7 King’s Collection .... 1 Panama oie Ania en hs. 2 Caraccasya ee ee neta IP yeOtaheiteng. sues ye gett: l Doliviawyeyere ne. ce 6 Liprary. Many additions have been received during the past year; but the Committee cannot help noticing that several publications of essential importance are wanting. The collection of Maps and Charts has been considerably aug- mented by presents from the Admiralty, the Board of Ordnance, the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, and the East India Company; but se- veral foreign geological Maps of established reputation are not yet in the Library. Since the last Anniversary, alphabetical catalogues of every geo- logical map, section, plan, diagram and view, scattered through the works in the Library, have been prepared, the value of which, as af- fording increased facilities of reference, is too obvious to be insisted upon. Comparative Statement of the Number of the Society at the close of the years 1835 and 1836. Silst Dec: 1885.) 3st Deel ise Fellows having Compounded .... 90.......... 97 ——— Contributing .......... PSR EB Bo 251 a INTERES ORIG Bb od 5 oo SASH pe inl cna 361 670 709 Honorary Members) 0) tes AAs EA NS Foreign Members (00 90.02). OY Salt a SOD Personages of Royal Blood ...... SMA oun ats 3 463 Return explanatory of the difference in the total number of Fellows at the close of 1835 and 1836. Number of Fellows, Compounded, Contributing and Non- resident, 31st Dec. 1835, as in the preceding Compara- PIMERSEALEIIE NI tce men ian iri .pere senna ogee anne Be on ne 670 Adda tellowsielected dure, l8s6he 450 Sy ee ae 53 723 Deduct, Deceased during 1836.0. 2 65.0 2 moray PRES OMOM Uji. what ery abac cae alan Anes ale salah 10 a LeMON ed EOMMtne: SOCIELYIer re a nnn? Aa ge Total Number of Fellows, Compounded, Contributing, and Nonresident 31st Dec. 1836, as in the Comparative Statemener sete eee iol sie nen re py uni ghey 709 Decrasep Fellows. Compounder: Karl of Kerry. Resident: none. Nonresident: Rev. George Rowley, D.D. Honorary Member: William Henry, M.D. Foreign Members: Professor Hoffmann, Baron Ferussac. Removed from the Society by virtue of the Bye-law passed at the Special General Meeting held 27th of April, 1837, (see p. 407): Lord Glenlyon, William Higgins, Esq. The following Donations to the Museum have been received since the last Anniversary :— British and Irish Specimens. Crag Fossils and a large fragment of bone from the base of the Diluvial Cliffs near Southwold, Suffolk ; presented by E. Charles- worth, Esq. F.G.S. Petrified wood with hazel nuts, from a submarine forest and bog on the Irish coast, described in the Geological Transactions, !st series, vol. iv. p. 443; presented by the Rev. James Yates, F.G.S. Fossils from Hordwell Cliff; presented by Charles Stokes, Esq. F.G.S. Head of Ichthyosaurus communis, and a specimen of Scaphites Hillsii from Maidstone; presented by the Right Hon. the Marquis of Northampton, F.G.S. Fossils from the Greensand, and the Transition limestone of Devon- shire; presented by Alfred Cloyne Austen, Esq. F.G.S. Specimens from the Coal-measures and the Silurian system of Coal- brook Dale; presented by Joseph Prestwich, jun. Esq. Specimens from the Lias at Lyme Regis; presented by Viscount Cole, M.P. F.G.S. : Speeimens from the Marlstone at Lyme Regis; presented by Viscount Colc, M P. F.G.S. and Sir Philip Grey Egerton, Bart. M.P. F.G.S. 464 Coal shale with Ammonites Listeri from the Bradford Coalfield; pre- sented by Viscount Oxmantown, F.G.S. Specimens from the London Clay, near Chalk Farm ; presented by Nathaniel Thomas Wetherell, Esq. F.G.S. Remains of the Elephant, &c., from Bollingdon Hill, Essex ; pre- sented by J. Brown, Esq. F.G.S. Specimens from the Chalk at Buxton, Norwich; presented by John Wright, Esq. Specimens from the Chalk of Gogmagog Hill near Cambridge; pre- sented by Rev. Belfield Dennys. Specimens from the Chalk of various parts of England ; presented by H.C. White, Esq. F.G.S. Fossils from the Limestone at Teignmouth; presented by George Harvey, Esq. F.G.S. Specimen of a Fossil Crustaceous Animal from the Coal Formation near Glasgow ; presented by John Scouler, M.D. F.L.S. Specimens of Fossil Wood, found in rounded Boulders of Cornbrash at the summit of Blisworth ridge, Northamptonshire ; presented by Richard Creed, Esq. Specimen of New Red Sandstone, found in the Fenland of Lanea- shire at the depth of 512 feet; presented by George Bellas Green- ough, Esq. V.P.GS8. Specimens from the New Red Sandstone and Conglomerate at Al- lesley, Warwickshire ; presented by the Rev. James Yates, F.G.S. Specimens of Granite from Penryn, Cornwall; and specimen of Am- monites in Flint from Box Hill, near Dorking; presented by George Rennie, Esq. Specimens from a Fossil Tree at Allesley, Warwickshire, and of New Red Sandstone in which it was found; presented by the Rev. William Buckland, D.D. F.G.S. and the Rev. James Yates,F.G.S. Specimens from the Freshwater Deposit at Grays, and from the Plastic Clay at Woulwich and Upnor; anda specimen of Fossil Wood from Bayswater ; presented by John Morris, Esq. Foreign Specimens. A Specimen of Bone Breccia and Fossils from Cerigo; presented by Lord Nugent. Mesotype from Mount Ecchio, near Verona; presented by the Rev. James Yates. Remains of the Mastodon, Mammoth, Hippopotamus, Pig, Ox and Deer, from the Sewalik Mountains, at the southern base of the Himalayas, between the Sutluj and the Kamgunga rivers ; pre- sented by Captain Cautley, F.G.S. Specimens from the Lipari Isles, Etna, &c.; presented by the Hon. John Stuart Wortley. Selenite from Prince Regent's Inlet, lat. 73° 27' 23", long. 90° 50! 34"; presented by Captain Sir Edward Parry, R.N. Specimen of Fossil Wood from Egypt; presented by Lord Prudhoe. 465 Specimens from Balmen, Badra and Linput, in Cutch, from Sinde, and the banks of the Indus; presented by Lieut. Burnes. Specimens of Coal Plants from Cape Breton ; presented by — Brown, Esq. A @olecion of Specimens from Guiana, collected by Robert Schom- burgk, Esq.; presented by the Royal Geographical Society, and Mr. Schomburgk. A Specimen of Fossil Wood from Van Diemen’s Land; presented by — Williamson, Esq. Fossils from Barbadoes ; and casts of shells in Selenite from Aus- tralia; presented by G. B. Greenough, Esq. V.P.G.S. Boulders from the sea-shore at Barcelona, and a specimen of shelly limestone from Tarragona; presented by W. P. Hunter, Esq. I.G.S. Specimen of fron Pyrites from the Peat associated with the warm springs of Egra, Bohemia; presented by A. Bozzi Granville, M.D. F.G.s. Fossils from Cutch; presented by Lieut.-Col. W. H. Sykes, F.G.S. Casts of Crioceras Emerict, of Hamites, Orthoceras, and Scaphites Yvanii; presented by M. Puzes. Fossils from Barbadoes ; presented by Joseph Cowhurst, Esq. The Lizrary has been increased by the Donation of about 120 Books and Pamphlets. Cuarts anp Maps. Numbers 51, 52, and 60 of the Ordnance Survey of England; _pre- sented by the Master General and Board of Ordnance. Ordnance Townland Survey of the counties of Armagh, Monaghan, Louth and Donegal ; presented by Lieut.-Col. Colby, by command of His Excellency the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland. Map of the county of Sutherland, constructed by direction of His Grace the Duke of Sutherland, on the basis of the trigonometrical survey of Scotland; presented by His Grace the Duke of Suther- land. Map, Sections and Book of reference of the intended Midland Coun- ties Railway ; presented by Thomas Dicey, Esq. Admiralty Charts, Sailing Directions and Tide Tables, published du- ring the years 1834 and 1835; presented by Capt. Beaufort, R.N., presented by direction of the Right Hon. the Lords Commissioners of the Admiralty. Sheets 72 and 109 of the Trigonometrical Survey of India; pre- sented by the Hon. the Directors of the East India Company. Sheet I. of a Geological Map of Saxony; presented by the Council ~ of Mines of Saxony. 466 The Seconp Part of the Fourth Volume of the Society’s Transac- tions has been published since the last Anniversary. The following Lisr contains the Names of all the Persons and Public Bodies from whom Donations to the Library and Museums have been received during the past year. Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia. Allen & Co., Messrs. W. H. American Philosophical Society, held at Philadelphia. Ashburton, Lord. Atheneum Club. Bahama Society for the Diffusion of Knowledge. Beaufort, Capt. R.N., Hon. Mem. G.S. Bohn Mr. J. Booth, Mr. Brewster, Sir David, F.G.S. British Association. Broderip, W. J., Esq. F.G.S. Bronn, Dr. H. J. Brown, —, Esq. Bryant, Mr. J. Buckland, Rev. Prof.,D.D. F.G.S. Burnes, Lieutenant. Cawdor, Earl of, F.G.S. Cautley, Captain, F.G.S. Charlesworth, Edw., Esq. F.G.S. Colby, Lieut.-Col. F.G.S. Cole, Robert, Esq. Cole, Viscount, F.G.S. Colin, M. Council of Mines of Saxony. Creed, Richard, Esq. Daubeny, Charles, G.B. M.D. F.G.S. De Bylandt Palstercamp, Le Comte A. De la Beche, H. T., Esq.For. Sec. | G.S. De la Rive, M. Auguste. Dennys, Rev. Belfield. Des Jardins, M. Des Moulins, M. Charles. Dicey, Thomas Edward, Esq. Dufrénoy, M., For. Mem. G.S. Dujardin, M. East India Company. Eaton, Amos, Esq. Edwards, M. Egerton, Sir P. Grey, Bart. F.G.S. Elie de Beaumont, M., For. Mem. GS. Elliston, Allen, Esq. English, Henry, Esq. F.G.S. Faraday, Michael, Esq. F.G.S. Fitton, W. H., M.D. F.G.S. Forbes, James David, Esq., F.G.S. Gemmelaro, Signor C. Geological Society of France. Geological Society of Pennsyl- vania. Granville, A. B., M.D. F.G.S. Greenough, G. B., Esq. F.G.S. Gregory, Henry, Esq. Griffith, Richard, Esq. F.G.S. Hay, Richard W., Esq. Hall, Capt. Basil, F.G.S. Harlan, Richard, Esq. Harvey, George, Esq. Heeninghaus, M. Fred. G. Horner, Leonard, Esq. F.G.S. Hunter, W. P., Esq. F.G.S. | Institute of British Architects. | Institution of Civil Engineers. 467 Ireland, His Excellency the Lord Lieutenant of. Jenyns, Rev. Leonard, F.G:S. Laird, James, M.D. F.G.S. Lhotsky, Dr. John. Linnean Society of Bordeaux. Linnean Society of Normandy. London Institution. Loudon, John Claudius, Esq. F.G.S. Mackintosh, T. S., Esq. MacLean, Mr. Thomas. Main, Mr. James. Manchester Mechanics’ I[nstitu- tion. Mantell, Gideon, Esq. F.G.S. Marcel de Serres, M. Master-General and Board of Ordnance. Medico-Botanical Society. Millard, John, Esq. Milne, David, Esq. F.G.S. Morris, Jobn, Esq. Mudge, Lieut.-Col. R.E. F.G.S. Muséum d’Histoire Naturelle de Paris. Nattali, Mr. Northampton, Marquis of, F.G.S. Nugent, Lord. Oxmantown, Viscount, F.G.S. Parbury and Co., Messrs. Parish, Sir Woodbine, K.C.H. F.G.S. Parry, Sir Edward, Capt. R.N. Paxton, Mr. J. Phillips, John, Esq. F.G.S. Phillips, Richard, Esq. F.G.S. Potts, Dr. Prestwich, Jos., Esq. F.G.S. Prudhoe, Lord. Prinsep, James, Esq. Reich, Professor. Rennie, George, Esq. F.G.S. Repertory of Patent Inventions, Editor of. Rhind, William, Esq. Roemer, M. Frederique A, von. Rogers, W. B., Esq. Rogers, Henry D., Esq. F.G.S. Royal Academy of Lisbon. Royal Academy of Science at Ber- lin. Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland. Royal Astronomical Society. Royal College of Surgeons. Royal Cornwall Polytechnic So- ciety. Royal Geographical Society. Royal Society of Edinburgh, Royal Society of London. Royle, J. Forbes, M.D., Sec.G.S. Riippell, Dr. Edward. Scarborough Philosophical So- ciety. Schombergk, Robert, Esq. Scouler, John, M.D. Scott, Rev. T. H. F.GS. Silliman, Benjamin, M.D. Hon. Mem. G.S. Silvertop, Brigadier C. F.G.S. Society for exploring Central Africa. Société Imperiale des Naturalistes de Moscou. Société de Physique et d’ Histoire Naturelle de Géneve. Société de Physique et d'Histoire Naturelle de Paris. Society of Arts. Sopwith, Thomas, Esq. F.G.S. Stokes, Charles, Esq. Sutherland, The Duke of. Taylor, Richard, Esq. F.G.S. Taylor, William, Esq. F.G.S. Tenore, Signor. Von Buch, Herr Leopold, For. Mem. G.S. Vander Maelen, M., For. Mem. G.S. 468 Warren, Mrs. Wortley, Hon. John Stuart, Walker, Frederick, Esq. F.G.S. F.G.S. Weale, Mr. J. Wright, John, Esq. Wetherell, N. T., Esq. F.G.S. Whewell, Rev. William, F.G.S. Yarrell, William, Esq. White, H. C., Esq. Yates, Rev. James, F.G.S. Williamson, —, Esq. Woodward, Mr. Samuel. Zoological Society. The following Persons were elected Fellows during the year 1836. January 6th.—-William Anstice, Esq., of Madely Wood, Shropshire. January 20th.—Arthur William Tooke, junr., Esq., M.A., of Russell- square; J.B. Jukes, Esq., B.A., of St. John’s College, Cambridge, and of Pattingham, near Wolverhampton, Staffordshire; Philip Worsley, Esq., of Great Ormond-street ; and Richard Zacchary Mudge, Esq., Lieut.-Col. in the Royal Engineers. February 3rd.—James Thomson, Esq., F.R.S., of Primrose-hill, near Clitheroe, Lancashire ; J. W. Scott, Esq., M.P., of Rotherfield Park, Hants, and Grafton-street ; and George Warde Norman, Ksq., of Bromley, Kent. February 24th.—Thomas Collett, Esq., of the Middle Temple ; and William John Prescott, Esq., of Threadneedle-street. March 29th.—John Brown, Esq., of Stanway, near Colchester ; and the Rev. George Brett, A.M., of Jesus College, Cambridge, and of Chelsea. March 23rd.—Henry Atkinson, of Grove End; Henry Harpur Spry, Esq. of the Bengal Medical Service, Member of the Physical Class of the Asiatic Society of Calcutta; and Frederick Edwards, Ksq., of Southampton-place, Euston-square. April 13th.—Frederick Christian Clarke, Esq., of Chapel-street, Bed- ford-row; John Alfred Burgon, Esq., of Bucklersbury ; and James White, Esq., of Newington-green, Middlesex. May | 1th.—Thomas Bland, Esq., of 43, Bedford-row; John Thomas Woodhouse, Esq., of Ashby-de-la-Zouch; William Holl, Esq., of Birmingham; George Owen Rees, Esq., of Clapham-road ; Mi- chael Jones, Esq., F.S.A., Barrister-at-Law; and George Corn- wall Legh, Esq., of High Legh, Cheshire. May 25th.—Golding Bird, F.L.S., of Seymour-street, Euston-square ; James Smith, Esq., of Jordan’s-hill, near Glasgow; and Octavian Blewitt, Esg., of Charlotte-street, Bloomsbury-square. June 8th.— Henry Hubert, Esq., F.R.A.S., of New Bridge-street, Blackfriars; the Hon. Bingham Baring, M.P., of Great Stan- hope-street; the Hon. William Lascelles, of 36, Wilton Crescent ; the Hon. John Stuart Wortley, of 15, Curzon-street, May-fair ; and the Right Hon. Baron James Parke, of Parke-street. November 2nd.—J. Talbot, Esq., of Evercreech House, Shepton Mallet, Somersetshire. 469 November 16th.—James Philips, Esq., of the Royal Navy; Lieu- tenant Henry Drummond, of the Bengal Army; Louis Hunton, Esq., of Loftus, Yorkshire ; and Henry Glassfore Potter, Esq., of Ridley-place, Newcastle-on-Tyne. November 30th.—Charles Darwin, Esq., A.B., of Christ’s College, Cambridge ; Thomas White Collard, Esq., of Prospect House, near Herne, in the county of Kent; Rev. John Pye Smith, D.D., of Homerton College, near London; William Cubitt, Esq., of Gray’s Inn-lane ; and William Railton, Esq., of Carlton Chambers, Regent-street. December 14th.—William Perceval Hunter, Esq., of the Albany ; EK. Parry, Esq., of the Court of Bankruptcy ; Major William Har- ding, of Ilfracombe, Devon; John Hey, Esq., M.R.C.S., Curator of the Leeds Philosophical Society ; William Stanger, Esq., of Wisbeach, Cambridgeshire; W.C. Henry, M.D., F.R.S., Vice President of the Literary and Philosophical Society of Manchester ; William Gray, junr., Esq., of York, Secretary to the Yorkshire Philosophical Society ; James Thomson, Esq., of Kirk House, near Brampton, Carlisle; the Hon. Henry Upton, of Whitehall-place ; William Darley Hull, Esq., of the Woodhouse, Ross-trevor, Ire- Jand; Thomas Cabbell, Esq., Barrister-at-Law, of Essex-coutt, Temple ; and William Mathews, Esq., of Greenhill, near Dudley. List of Pavers read since the last Annual Meeting, February 19, 1836. February 24th.—Observations on a patch of red and variegated Marls containing Fossil Shells, at Collyhurst, near Manchester; by J. Leigh, Esq., and E. W. Binney, Esq., and communicated by Ro- derick Impey Murchison, Esq., F.G.S. ———— A Notice, by Francis Offley Martin, Esq., inclosing communications from Col. Brown and Lieut. Laurence of the Rifle Brigade, and Mr. Stevens, on the streams of sea-water which flow into the land in the Island of Cephalonia. ———___—_—— A Notice, accompanying Rock Specimens from the Caves of Ballybunion, on the Coast of Kerry ; by Lieut.-Col. W. H. Sykes, F.G.S. An Account of some Fossil Vegetable Remains found in the Sandstone which underlies the lowest bed of the Carboniferous Limestone, near Ballisadiere,in the county of Sligo, Ireland ; by Sir Alexander Crichton, M.D., F.G.S., &c. March 9th.—On the Remains of Mammalia found in the Sewalik Mountains, at the southern foot of the Himalayas, between the Sutlej and the Ganges ; by Captain Cautley, F.G.S., and com- municated by J. F. Royle, Esq., F.G.S. March 23rd.—A Description of various Fossil Remains of Three di- stinct Saurian Animals, discovered in the Autumn of 1834, in the Magnesian Conglomerate on Durdham Down, near Bristol; by Henry Riley, M.D. and Mr. Samuel Stutchbury, and communicated by Charles Lyell, Esq., P.G.S. 470 March 23rd.—On the Ossiferous Cavern of Yealm Bridge, six miles south-east from Plymouth; by Capt. Mudge, Royal Engineers, F.G.S., F.R.S., &c. April 13th and 27th—On the Geology of Coalbrook Dale ; by Jo- seph Prestwich, junior, Esq., F.G.S. A Letter from R. W. Fox, addressed to Sir Charles Lemon, Bart., M.P., F.G.S., On the Formation of Mineral Veins. May 11th.—On the Silurian and other Rocks of the Dudley and Wolverhampton Coal-field, followed by a Sketch proving the Lickey Quartz Rock to be of the same age as the Caradoc Sand- stone ; by Roderick Impey Murchison, Esq., F.G.S., V.P.R.S. May 25th.—On the part of Devonshire between the Ex and Berry Head and between the Coast and Dartmoor; by Robert Alfred Cloyne Austen, Esq., F.G.S. On the supposed existence in Africa of the Lias For- mation ; by Roderick Impey Murchison, Esq., F.G.S. A Notice on Maria Island, on the east coast of Van Die- men’s Land (S. lat. 42° 44’, E. lon. 148° 8’) ; by Robert Frank- land, Esq., Surveyor-General of the Colony, and communicated to the Society by Robert W. Hay, Esq., Under Secretary of State for _ the Colonies. ——— A Letter on the Geology of the Country included in the south-west quarter, or 55th sheet of the Ordnance Survey; by J. Robison Wright, Esq., F.G.S., and addressed to Captain Mudge, Roy. Eng., F.G.S., On the occurrence of Marine Shells in a bed of Gravel, at Narley Bank, Cheshire; by Sir Philip Grey Egerton, Bart., M.P., F.GS. — Accompanving Remarks to a section of the Upper Lias and Marlstone of Yorkshire, showing the limited vertical range of the species of Ammonites and other Testacea, with their value as Geological Tests ; by Louis Hunton, Esq., and communicated by John Forbes Royle, Esq., F.G.S. — A Letter from Robert Fitch, Esq., of Norwich, to Ed- ward Charlesworth, Esq., F.G.S., on the Discovery of the Tooth of - a Mastodon in the Crag at Thorpe, near Norwich. June 8th.—Notice respecting a piece of Wood partly petrified by Carbonate of Lime, with some remarks on Fossil Woods which it has suggested ; by Charles Stokes, Esq., F.G.S. ——__——— Further Notice on certain peculiarities of structure in the Cervical Region of the Ichthyosaurus ; by Sir Philip Grey Eger- ton, Bart., M.P:, F.G:S., &c. A Communication on the Coal-fields on the north- western coast of Cumberland, &c. &c.; by the Rev. Professor Sedgwick, M.A., F.R.S., F.G.S., and Williamson Peile, Esq., of Whitehaven, F.G.S. November 2nd—A General Sketch of the Geology of the western part of Asia Minor ; by Hugh Edwin Strickland, Esq., F.G.S. November 16th.—On Indications of Changes in the relative Level of Sea and Land in the West of Scotland; by James Smith, Esq., ot Jordan Hill, F.G,S. 47 i November |6th.—On the distribution of Organic Remains in the Oolitic Formations on the coast of Yorkshire ; by W. C. William- son, Esq., Curator of the Natural History Society of Manchester and communicated by Charles Lyell, Esq., P.G.S. November 30th.—On certain elevated Hills of Gravel containing Marine Shells, in the vicinity of Dublin; by John Scouler, M.D., F.L.S., Professor of Mineralogy in the Royal Dublin Society, and communicated by Robert Hutton, Esq., F.G.S. osu ieee, —— On the Geology of the Thracian Bosphorus ; by Hugh Edwin Strickland, Esq., F.G.S., and William John Hamil- ton, Esq., Sec. G.S. December 14th.—On Impressions in Sandstone resembling those of horses’ hoofs ; by Charles Babbage, Esq., and communicated by the President. —_________— On the occurrence of Silicified Trunks of large trees in the lower region of the Poikilitic Group, or New Red Sandstone Series, at Allesley, near Coventry; by the Rev. William Buckland, D.D., F.G.S., Professor of Geology in the University of Oxford. Further Notice on a partially petrified piece of Wood from an ancient Roman Aqueduct at Hilsen, in the princi- pality of Lippe, Buckebiirg ; by Charles Stokes, Esq., F.G.S. Description of a raised Beach in Barnstaple Bay, on the north-west coast of Devonshire; by the Rev. Professor Sedgwick and Roderick Impey Murchison, Esq., F.G.S. January 4th, 1837.—Observations on the Elevation of the Strata on the coast of Chili; by Alexander Caldcleugh, Esq., F.R.S., F.G.S. On Proofs of recent elevation on the coast of Chili, during the Survey of His Majesty’s Ship Beagle, communicated by Capt. Fitzroy ; by Charles Darwin, Esq., M.A., F.G.S. &c. January 18th—An account of a Deposit containing Land-shells, at Gore cliff, Isle of Wight ; by J. S. Bowerbank, Esq., F.G.S. A Letter addressed to Dr. Buckland, by J. Wyatt, Esq., respecting a Trap Dyke in the Penrhyn Slate Quarries, near Bangor, Carmarthenshire. —_—— A Notice of a successful attempt at boring for Water at Mortlake, in Surrey ; by Wm. Richardson, Esq., F.G.S, A paper on the Strata usually termed Plastic Clay ; by Mr. John Morris, and communicated by the President. —_______—\— The commencement of a Memoir on the Geology of Suffolk; by the Rev. W. B. Clarke, F.G.S. February 1st.—A Notice on the occurrence of Keuper Sandstone in the upper region of the Poikilitic System or New Red Sandstone Formation of England and Wales ; by the Rev. William Buck- land, D.D., Professor of Geology and Mineralogy in the University of Oxford. ——_——_. — A Paper on the Geological Structure of the Arron- dissement of Cherbourg; by the Rev. W. B. Clarke, M.A., F.G.S. 472 Sums actually Received and Expended, REcEIPTS. Balances in hand January 1, 1836: Bee oS. huada Wie a BLY FO Banker (including 411, 8s. 4d. Wollaston Fund))ihek 2g Ye ete 399 10 10 Aiccountante ae ene ee itartaene 40 0 0 439 10 10 Atrears : ie SS ae Admission Rees! s .\ciicis is. oehecalevedcr hove 132 6 O Annual Contributions ............ a4 m0 Alteration iund en.) .) eee 9 con OO 311 13 0 Ordinary Income: Bo Seam idle Annual Contributions.............. 530 5 0 Overpaid by Collector ......... jeter oy Op iduen®) Admission Fees : Luss apd. 593009) 0 Residents ........ 170 2 0 Non: Residents 147 0 O —— BV) 847 11 O Compositions, 7 at 317. 10s. Od..........- 220 10 O Ditto 1 at 28/7. 7s. Od. being less, the Annual Contribution 3/. 3s. 0d......... 28) sO ——_—— 248 17 Subscriptions to Alteration Fund ..............04.. 25 0 0 £. s. d. Transactions sold during 1836 .......... 178 2 6 Ditto in former years, paid for in TSS Gc eee eee LENO Ete oe LAs 10 — 179 9 6 Proceed in Sue Te rey Renney Sony Mbe sR RERe SMC }1 17 EB So 0 Wollaston Donation Fund, Interest on LOSAT isola oapercenteduced tinea is ae er 32,10" 4 Dividends, 5001.3 percent.Consols,12months 15 0 0 Ditto 3001.3 per cent. Red. 12 months. 9 0 0 ee YN () ) £2120 8 8 al 473 during the Year ending December 31, 1836. PAYMENTS. Bills outstanding: se paserind HDi isre(ahcptees a oats DS UPN en ner Som pa i Pye Ney Amen 8 15 0 General Expenditure: g3, G Gh Repairs Of House .......cccesccccccccccerereocerscess 6 © © House Expenses ... ......0...0cesceseeseceecsencres 178 2 44 axesam ll anociital meeeeeccsceserechcistccicmclinseseciscmentactsts 18 15 O 9 KING'S .....0cccscscecescsessesevcevssesenrceseoe 2119. 8 PENG (Uni 2 Insurances (fo. eo se ae SATU ED. Go 8 Ame a 6 0 0 Salaries and Wages: £. s. d. Curator and Assistant ....ccoccssccccerecsccccesees 181 5 O Gerke Vis Fase de cairceecarce costo cinien ctecitie eiaintesteicie eaetelele 75 O O Porter, Housekeeper, and Servant .........00s00 125 0 O 381 5 O Sclentiicsexpenditurem s. -eesais ere ery slay tates SZ /mlal Stationery and Miscellaneous Printing .......... Leena) Nee ImvestmentiinsthesOundse iy aes sais a eae ene tees 220 10 O heation Meetings ase ere peelael tel see et dae 50 1 9F Cost of Publications : Has Gs Gb SNTANISACHIONS) ces ceccssaces wanes ces ote see deceasere sees 537 8 TS JERE ESSCTIIVTS Goccocgochoe0se0c0000 ‘oo000d00000000000000 7113 6% ———— 09) 2 ee Award of Wollaston Fund : £. s. d. Medal to M. Agassiz ..ccccsecsrecescoreeccceees 8 LO LOO Award to M. Deshayes ......seccescossssscececscsees 251) 07,0 —— 3) 10 0 Balance in hand Jan. 1, 1837: Le SoG: Banker (including 381. 8s. 8d. WollastonFund) 486 O 7 INGEOTINIENIEE, © GoaaqoohonoosonNo55000NH0Gdd0GG000R000000 40 0 O ———_ 476 0 7 £2120 8 8 We have compared the Books and Vouchers presented to us with these Statements, and found them correct. Signed, R. HUTTON, January, 31, 1837. J. WILLIMOTT, } AUDITORS. SoS moos I ~ WMO” *s CE8CF e9cz °°°* Ayaio0g AO TROLED) Uh JouRleq O8l ‘277 c'° ttt ++ paatazas aq 07 Ajayl[ yOu suvaliy ge 88888 puny UOPSET[O AA », O43 03 Sulsuojaq ysea 1g 00 (ai Se ainyipuadxg ayUaING 000 OL ttt eet® saxey, 9 91 €& °°°° °° 7* a8epuNog S,10}99]/09 vepieg “8. 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(sMoT[aq OZT) Suonq.yu0s jenuuy : payeuyss auloouy AivuIpIg (Jaoys uoljeny] ‘[¢°0aq ‘Aqa100¢g 94} 0} aNp Siva.iy 619 “BA 99S) “9E8I F ‘GULIAd XA ANOONI "LSS ‘vax oumsua ay? 4of SILVINILSY 2m VOL.II. 476 The Reports having been read, it was resolved : That these Reports be received and entered on the Minutes of the Meeting ; and that such parts of them as the Council may think fit, be printed and distributed among the Fellows. The President then addressed the Meeting in the following man- Mei: GENTLEMEN, You have just learnt from the Report of the Council that they have this year awarded two Wollaston medals; one to Captain Proby Cautley of the Bengal Artillery, and another to Dr. Hugh Falconer of the Bengal Medical Service, for their geological researches and their discoveries in fossil geology in the Sub-Himalayan mountains. I shall now request one of our Secretaries, Dr. Royle, to take charge of these medals. The President then addressed Dr. Royle: Dr. Royte, It will, [ am sure, be most gratifying to you to be intrusted with the care of these testimonials of our regard for two gentlemen with whom you are connected by the ties of private friendship. The Geological Society awards these medals to Capt. Cautley and Dr. Falconer as an expression of the sympathy which they feel for those who are so zealously labouring in a distant country to pro- mote a common cause. In the Address which I am now about to deliver to this Meeting, I shall have an opportunity of enlarging on the discoveries which these gentlemen have made in a region previously unexplored, at the southern base of the Himalaya between the Sutledge and the Ganges. I shall then speak of their perseverance and industry in examining the structure of the hills, and in collecting the remains of extinct quadrupeds and reptiles, and the talent displayed in their anatomical determination of new species and new types of or- ganization. I shall now merely request that in forwarding these medals, the first which the Geological Society has sent to India, you will express to Capt. Cautley and Dr. Falconer the lively in- terest which we continue to take in their researches, and our ardent hopes for their future welfare and success. Dr. Royle in reply expressed the high satisfaction he felt on being requested ts take charge of the medals, which it would give him great pleasure to forward immediately to India. When in that country, he had had personal opportunities of witnessing the zeal and enthusiasm with which his friends had laboured, and the great difficulties which they had overcome when far separated from the scientific world, and without museums, books, or skilful naturalists to consult. He was assured that these marks of attention so honourably 477 conferred by the Geological Society on Capt. Cautley and Dr. Fal- coner, would not only encourage and stimulate them to fresh exer- tions, but inspire others among our countrymen in India with a desire'to cultivate Geology and its kindred sciences. it was afterwards resolved :— 1, That the thanks of this Society be given to Sir Philip de Malpas Grey Egerton, Bart., M.P., retiring from the office of Vice-President. Mr. Whewell and Mr. Murchison, by whom this motion was proposed and seconded, felt that they expressed only the sentiment of every Fellow of the Society, in declaring their deep regret at being pre- vented from including in the motion the name of Dr. Turner, who had been one of the Vice-Presidents, but whose loss the Society had then to deplore. 2. That the thanks of this Society be given to Sir Alexander Crichton, M.D.,William John Hamilton, Esq., Viscount Oxmantown, and Lieut.-Col. W. H. Sykes, retiring from the Council. On the balloting glasses having been duly closed, the scrutineers reported that the following gentlemen had been duly elected the Off- cers and Council for the ensuing year:— OFFICERS. PRESIDENT. Rev. William Whewell, M.A. F.R.S. VICE-PRESIDENTS. Rev. W. Buckland, D.D. F.R.S. & L.S. Professor of Geology and Mineralogy in the University of Oxford. William Henry Fitton, M.D. F.R.S. & LS. George Bellas Greenough, Esq. F.R.S. & L.S. Roderick Impey Murchison, Esq. F.R.S. & LS. SECRETARIES. Robert Hutton, Esq. M.R.1.A. John Forbes Royle, M.D. F.L.S. Professor of Materia Medica and Therapeutics in King’s College, London. FOREIGN SECRETARY. H. T. De la Beche, Esq. F.R.S. & LS. TREASURER. John Taylor, Esq. F.R.S. 2m 2 478 COUNCIL. F. Baily, Esq. Treas. R.S. F.L.S. W.J.Broderip, Esq. F.R.S. L.S. W. Clift, Esq. F.R.S. Viscount Cole, F.R.S. Charles Darwin, Esq. Professor Daubeny,M.D. F.R.S. L.S. Sir P. Grey Egerton, Bart. M.P. F.R.S. M.P. D.C.L. H. Hallam, Esq. F.R.S. Leonard Horner, Esq. F.R.SS. L. & E. C. Lyell, jun. Esq. F.R.S.L.S. Marquis of Northampton,F.R.S. Sir Woodbine Parish, K.C.H. F.R.S. Rey. Prof. Sedgwick,F.R.S.L.S. Henry Warburton, Esq. M.P. F.R.S. 479 Address to the Geological Society, delivered at the Anniversary, on thé 17th of February, 1837, by Cuarues Lyeuu, Jun., Esq., President. GENTLEMEN, You will have learnt from the Treasurer’s Report that the finances of the Society are flourishing, and they would have appeared in a still more prosperous condition, had we not expended above 5001. within the year on our Transactions. Part of this sum has already been repaid by the sale of the volume just published, of which I may safely say that it yields to no preceding number in the value of its contents or the extent and beauty of its illustrations. The total number of Fellows of the Society, exclusive of Ho- norary and Foreign Members, at the close of the year 1835, was 670; at the close of 1836, 709; being an actual increase, after de- ducting 14 for deaths, removals, and resignations, of 39 Fellows*. We have to lament the loss of Dr. Henry, of Manchester, so highly distmguished as a chemist and philosopher, and who took a warm interest in the progress of our science. Our list of Foreign Members has been diminished by two deaths, those of Professor Hoffmann of Berlin, and Baron Férussac of Paris. Professor Frederick Hoffmann was suddenly cut off in his 39th year, at the moment when the scientific world were impatiently expecting his account of the Geology of Sicily. You are probably best acquainted with him as the author of the great Geological Map of Western Germany, in which he made known the results of many years of patient and accurate research. ‘This Map, published in 1829, was divided into twenty-four sheets, and was followed in 1830 by an Atlas containing sections, and a more general map on a smaller scale of the same country. In the same year the authors Geography and Geology of North-western Germany appeared}, which may be re- garded as a commentary on the great map, comprising a descrip- * The return of the number of Fellows, and the deaths alluded to in this Address, refers exclusively to the year 1836, and not to the period inter- * vening between the last and present Anniversary. ¢ Orograph. und Geognost. Verhiltnisse vom Nordwestlichen Deutsch- land, 2 vols. Leipzig, 1830. 480 tion of the physical outline of the country, its mountains, valleys, plains, and river-courses, and a sketch of a portion of its geo- logical structure, embracing the transition and secondary roeks of the Hartz, Thuringerwald, and Lower Rhine. In the larger map all the tertiary and alluvial deposits are represented by one colour, the author having never entered upon the subdivision and classifi- cation of these formations. He had studied, however, the newer secondary formations, which were depicted by several distinct colours, and their history would have been included in the work above alluded to, had he not been interrupted by his tour in Italy and Sicily mm 1830. Among his other writings, I may enumerate an Account of Mag- deburg, Halberstadt, and the adjoining territory, and various papers which will be found scattered through the journals of Poggendorff and Karsten, the Hertha, and other German periodicals. The only fruits which we as yet possess of the scientific expedition sent by the Prussian Government under Hoffmann’s direction to Italy and Sicily, are some letters written by him during the journey, and an excellent Memoir on the Lipari Islands; and a valuable work by one of his companions, Dr. Philippi of Berlin, who published in Latin a detailed account of the recent testacea of Sicily, and the tertiary fossil shells collected in the course of the expedition*. From Hoffmann’s letters it clearly appears that the novelty of the volcanic and tertiary phenomena of Southern Italy and Sicily had made a deep impression on his mind. He had been astonished, on recognising the identity of the modern trap rocks of the Val di Noto with those of ancient date in Germany, and the no less striking similarity of the Sicilian tertiary limestones, containing recent shells to many calcareous secondary formations of northern Europe. The Lipari Islands afforded him a field for the examination of modern igneous rocks, and the slow effects of volcanic heat in modifying aqueous deposits. The picture which he has given of the fumeroles of the western coast of Lipari, the principal island of the group, is graphic and highly instructive. At St. Calogero numerous fissures are seen permeated by heated vapours which are charged with sul- * Philippi, “ Enumeratio Molluscorum Siciliz tum viventium tum in telluretertiaria fossilium, quze in Itinere suo observavit Auctor.” 280 pages 4to, and 12 lithographic plates, Berlin, 1836. 481 phur, oxide of iron, and other minerals, in a gaseous state. Here the tufaceous and other rocks are variously discoloured wherever the steam has penetrated, and are sometimes crossed with ferrugi- nous red stripes, so as to assume a chequered and brecciated ap- pearance. In one place a felspathic lava has been turned by the vapours into stone as white as chalk marl, in another, a dark clay has become yellow or snow-white, and these effects are not limited to a small space, but are seen extending for four miles through ho- rizontal strata of tuff, which rise occasionally to the height of more than 200 feet. The greater part however of the alterations are re- ferred to what are properly called extinct fumeroles, or the action of volcanic emanations which have now ceased, but which must at one period have resembled those of St. Calogero. Some of these have produced veins of fibrous gypsum, calcedony, and opal, mi- nerals which must have been introduced into the rents in a state of sublimation. | In some places there are tufaceous marls, regularly alternating in thin beds, with still thinner and countless layers of granular gypsum, the whole mass being again run through everywhere by irregular branching veins of silky fibrous gypsum. These strata, thus inter- sected, present a perfect counterpart to some o! the secondary gypseous marls, both of the keuper and variegated sandstone for- mations in Germany*. When reading the Professor’s description of these phenomena, we share in the pleasure and surprise which he felt on comparing strata of high antiquity with others of so recent a date, and which, moreover, owe a portion of that resemblance to changes now daily in progress. The writings of Baron Daudebard de Férussac were not devoted principally to Geology, but we are indebted to him for several me- moirs, and among others for an Essay, published in 1814, on fresh- water formations, with a catalogue of the species of land and fresh- water shells which were then known to enter into their composition. Monsieur de Férussac contributed largely to the Geological section of the Bulletin Universel des Sciences Naturelles, a journal, of which * Liparischen Inseln, p. 41. Leipzig, 1832. 482 he was the chief editor and original projector. This Bulletin had, for its object, to give a monthly analysis or brief abstract, usually un- mixed with criticism, of the contents of all new publications in every department of science. The work was first carried on for a year on a smaller plan, and then assumed in 1824 its enlarged and permanent form, being divided into eight sections, one of which was devoted to Geology, Paleontology, and Natural History. A monthly number appeared regularly, on this and each of the other seven sections, the whole forming together a large octavo volume. In the organization and direction of this scheme, the Editor was indefatigable, and he succeeded in obtaining the co-operation of a great number of the most able and eminent writers. In an- nouncing the original aim and scope of the undertaking, he laid stress on the difficulties under which men of science labour in pro- curing intelligence of new works, written in a great variety of lan- guages in different parts of the world, and frequently buried in the voluminous and costly transactions of learned societies. He there- fore expressed a hope that his Bulletin would serve as “a kind of telegraph” for the rapid conveyance of the earliest intelligence of inventions and discoveries, so as to prevent philosophers from wast- ing their time and money in slowly feeling their way to results al- ready found out by others, and attaining with great labour the very points from which they might have started. ‘The Geologicai sec- tion of the Bulletin was ably supported by MM. Boué, Brongniart, and other writers, and survived the other sections for some time, maintaining itself for seven years, till at length it was given wy in 1831 for want of sufficient encouragement. The works of Baron Férussac on Natural History, and especially Conchology, would deserve from me a fuller notice, if they were not irrelevant to the subject of this address. HOME GEOLOGY. I shal] now commence my retrospect of the proceedings of the Society, during the last year, by considering those papers which have been devoted to the Geology of the British Isles. There is probably no space on the globe, of equal area, which has been so accurately surveyed as this kingdom; yet the most experienced 483 geologists are now exploring several parts of it with the feeling that they are entering upon terra incognita. Not only do they find it necessary to trace out more correctly the limits of formations previously known, but also to introduce new groups of fossiliferous strata and new divisions, in districts before supposed to have been well investigated. The carboniferous deposits which are alike interesting, i a scien- tific and economical view, have deservedly occupied of late the par- ticular attention of many able geologists, and we have received com- munications on the subject from Mr. Murchison, Mr. Prestwich, Professor Sedgwick, and Mr. Peile. The observations of Mr. Prestwich relate to the coal-measures of Coalbrook Dale, and the formations immediately above and below them, together with the accompanying trap-rocks. There is perhaps no coal-field in the whole country of equal size in which the strata have been so much dislocated and shattered. Mr. Prestwich gives a detailed description both of the principal and minor faults, their direction, extent, inclination, breadth, and fall, and the difference of level produced by them in their opposite sides, which is sometimes slight, but sometimes amounts to 600 or 700 feet. In some instances the change of level is by steps or hitches, which, it is truly said, may be owing either to unequal re- sistance, or to a series of small dislocations. ‘The walls of the fissures in the disjointed strata are sometimes several yards apart, the interval being filled with the debris of the strata. In other places they are in contact. In this last case it is particularly re- marked that the surface of the ends of the fractured beds of coal and shale is shining and striated. You are aware that this appear- ance has usually been attributed, and I believe rightly, to the rubbing of the walls of the rent one against the other, the lines of the polished and striated surfaces indicating the direction of the motion, but I have lately seen it objected to this theory, that the striae are not always parallel, but often curved and irregular, and that the earthy contents of veins and faults often present the same glit- tering and striated faces, or slickensides as they have been called. I am familiar with the fact, and have always inferred that the movements were irregular and complicated, occasionally changing their direction, and that even when uniform, they may have acted unequally on mate- 484 rials varying in hardness and pliability. It is much to be desired that scientific travellers who visit countries shaken by earthquakes would observe with minute care all the phenomena attending the fissuring of rocks and buildings. I have been informed by an eye-witness of one of the late minor earthquakes im Chili, that the walls of his house were rent vertically, and made to vibrate for several minutes during each shock, after which they remained uninjured and without any opening, although the line of the crack was still visible. On the floor, at the bottom of each rent, was a small heap of fine brickdust, evidently produced by trituration. In such instances it would be desirable to obtain fragments of the rent building, and to compare them with the walls of natural fissures. In his examination of the fossils of the coal-measures, Mr. Prest- wich has shown that beds containing marine remains alternate with others in which fresh-water shells and land plants occur, appearances which he attributes to the flowing of a river, subject to occasional freshes, into the sea, rather than to repeated changes in the relative level of land and sea. It is certainly the safer course to incline to this hypothesis when- ever there are no unequivocal signs, as in the Purbeck strata in Portland, of land plants having become fossil on the very spots where they grew. For although there may be many river deltas like that of the Indus, where the land is subject to be alternately upheaved above, and then let down below the waters of the sea, yet such oscillations of level must be considered as exceptions to the general condition of the earth’s surface near the mouths of rivers at any given period. Even in a case like the delta of the Indus, both the causes above alluded to may be expected to co- operate in producing alternate fluviatile and marine strata; for in the long intervals between great movements of the land, the river will annually advance upon the sea with its turbid waters, and then retreat again as the periodical flood subsides, and the salt waters, after being driven back for a time, will reoccupy the area from which they have suffered a temporary expulsion. In the conclusion of his valuable paper, Mr. Prestwich observes that the carboniferous strata of Coalbrook Dale must once have been entirely concealed under a covering of new red sandstone, and they owe their present exposure partly to those movements 485 which have shattered and elevated the coal measures, and partly to extensive denudation. It is natural therefore to inquire how many other coal-fields may still lie buried beneath the new red sandstone of the adjoining district. In relation to this point of great practical importance, Mr. Mur- chison formerly offered some conjectures, when speaking of the proba- ble passage of the 10-yard coal of the Dudley field beneath the new red sandstone, which there flanks it on the east and west. That geologist now informs us that his conjectures have been verified, and that at Christchurch, one mile beyond the superficial boundary of the coal-field, the 10-yard and other seams have been reached by borings carried down to the depth of nearly 300 yards. Adverting to this discovery, he directs attention to the possible extension of other carboniferous tracts beneath the surrounding new red sand~- stone of Shropshire, Worcestershire, Staffordshire, and other cen- tral counties. It is clear that these geological considerations must be duly weighed by those who speculate on the probable future duration of British coal, according to the actual or any assumed rate of con- sumption. Mr. Murchison, in describing the Dudley and Wolverhampton coal-fields, informs us that he has not yet found any fossil remains of decidedly marine origin, like those observed by Mr. Prestwich in Coalbrook Dale. The shells seem to be all of fresh-water ge- nera, and the Megalichthys Hibberti, and other fish occurring at Dudley, of species identical with those of the coal measures of Edin- burgh, may have inhabited fresh water. The same author has coloured on an Ordnance Map the super- ficial area of the Silurian rocks connected with the coal-fields above mentioned, and has shown that the Lickey quartz rock between Bromsgrove and Birmingham, of which the geological position has remained hitherto uncertain, is in fact nothing more than altered Caradoc sandstone, 2 member of the lower Silurian group. ‘The same appears as a fossiliferous sandstone in one district, while in another, it passes into a pure quartz rock, a modification attributed to the proximity of underlying trap, for analogous changes have been seen at neighbouring points where the absolute contact of the sandstone with the trap is visible. 486 We are also indebted to Mr. Murchison for some interesting remarks on the dislocations of the strata in the neighbourhood of Dudley, and particularly for a description of some dome-shaped masses, from the centre of which the beds have a quaquaversal dip. He speculates on the probable dependence of these phenomena upon the protrusion of volcanic matter from below, at points where it has been unable to find issue. It would, I think, have been more satisfactory, if, in confirmation of his theory, some natural section of one of these dome-shaped masses could be pointed out, where not only a nucleus of trap was apparent, but could be shown to have taken up its actual position in a soft or fluid state. Even if we should find in some instances a subjacent central mass of trap, por- pbyry or granite, not sending out veins or altering the strata, the folding of the beds round such a protuberance might admit of an explanation like that suggested by Dr. Fitton. He has supposed a set of yielding horizontal strata to be pressed upon by a sub- jacent hill or boss of hard rock, in which case the effect of upward pressure might resemble that seen, on a small scale, in the paper of a bound book, where a minute knob in one leaf has imparted its shape to a great number of other leaves without piercing through them*. Whatever hypothesis we favour, it is essential to observe that such hills as the Wren’s Nest near Dudley, and others of similar ellipsoidal forms and internal structure, do not correspond to the type of volcanic hills, such as Etna, Mount Dor, or the Cantal. In both cases there may be an approach to a cone, and the beds may dip everywhere outwards from a common centre; but, in the vol- canic mountain, the beds having an outward dip, thin off as they approach the base or circumference of the cone, which is not the case in inclined beds composing the hills alluded to in the neigh- bourhood of Dudley: nor in the last-mentioned instances do the lowest or subjacent rocks crop out round the circumference of the cone, as happens in the instance of the volcanic eminences before alluded to, where the granite of the country round Mount Dor, the fresh-water beds and mica schist in the Cantal, the marine deposits around Mount Etna in Sicily,—each appear at the surface as soon as we have left the slope of the cone, and advance upon the sur- rounding low country. * Dr. Fitton, Geol. Trans. 2nd Series, vol. iv, p. 244. 487 In attempting to explain the principal transverse faults of the Dudley coal-field, Mr. Murchison refers frequently to the theoretical principles expounded by Mr. Hopkins in his Researches in Physical Geology, a paper printed in the 6th volume of the Transactions of the Cambridge Philosophical Society. Mr. Hopkins has there en- deavoured to develop, by reasoning founded on mechanical prin- ciples, and by mathematical methods, the effects of an elevatory force acting simultaneously at every point, beneath extensive por- tions of the crust of the earth. He is aware that in nature such a force must usually act under complicated conditions, so as to pro- duce irregular phenomena ; but he observes that in order to have a clear conception of the manner in which it would operate in pro- ducing movements and dislocations, it is useful to assume certain simple conditions to which mathematical investigations may be applied. When we have deduced in this manner some results free from all uncertainty, these may serve as standard cases to which the geologist may refer more complex problems. Thus for example, a portion of the earth’s crust may be assumed to be of indefinite length, of uniform depth, and bounded laterally by two vertical par- allel planes, beyond which the disturbing force does not extend. It is then supposed that a quantity of subterranean vapour or melted rock, existing at acertain depth, is expanded by heat so as to elevate the superincumbent mass, the resulting fissures in this mass may then become matters of calculation. According to Mr. Hopkins, recti- linear lines of dislocation will give rise to a set of longitudinal pa- rallel fissures, and simultaneously to others precisely at right angles to them; whereas in conical elevations, the fissures will diverge from a centre. Ifthe general axis of elevation be curvilinear, the longitudinal fissures preserving their parallelism with it will be also curvilinear, while the transverse fissures being perpendicular to the former at their points of intersection will no longer be parallel. To return from this digression, I must now recall your attention to other papers relating to the carboniferous deposits of England. The coal-measures of the north-western coast of Cumberland have been examined by Prof. Sedgwick and Mr. Williamson Peile, who have described the Whitehaven and other fields in great detail, il- lustrating their account with a map and sections. ‘The recorded 488 observations in numerous sinkings and borings, both in relation to the succession of the strata and to the complicated faults which in- tersect them, would have been involved in hopeless confusion, if they had simply consisted of a statistical collection of facts attested by miners; but in this paper, Professor Sedgwick, aided by Mr. Peile’s practical and scientific knowledge, has compared the different sections and generalized the phznomena, giving unity and con- sistency to the whole, throwing the strata into distinct groups, and referring the several faults to different movements to which succes- sive periods of time may be assigned. In connection with these recent contributions to the history of our carboniferous strata, I am happy to mention the excellent volume lately published by Professor Phillips, forming the se- cond part of his Illustrations of the Geology of Yorkshire. It is almost entirely devoted to a description of the carboniferous or mountain limestone of Yorkshire and the North of England, a subject already admirably treated in some papers read before this Society by Professor Sedgwick, particularly in his account of the carboniferous chain from Penigent to Kirkby Stephen*. As these geologists had separately explored the same ground, it is satisfactory to perceive that the leading divisions which they have proposed for the classification of the mountain limestone and associated strata, agree in every essential point. Mr. Phillips has described the physical geography of the district occupied by these rocks, their lithological character, stratification, jointed struc- ture, and the most remarkable faults which affect them, especially those which have been called the creat Penine and Craven faults. He also treats of the trap dykes which cut through the limestone, and discusses the probable epochs of the displacement of the strata, judiciously pointirg out the difficulties unavoidably opposed to the rigorous determination of the date of such dislocations. A large and very valuable portion of the work is filled with descriptions and plates of organic remains, especially of the brachiopodous and cephalopodous mollusca. Most of the species of these classes were probably inhabitants of the deeper parts of the sea, but there are fossil shells in the mountain limestone, which the author supposes | * Trans. Geol. Soc. 2nd Series, vol. iv. part 1. p. 69.—1835. 489 to have lived near the shore, and belonging to genera formerly re- garded as foreign to the carboniferous limestone, such as Isocardia, Nucula, Pecten, Patella, Turritella, and Buccinum. Many species of Zoophytes and Crinoidea are also described and figured in this excellent monograph. We are indebted to Mr. Austen for a description of the South of Devonshire between the river Ex and Berry Head, and between the coast and Dartmoor, a district consisting of transition rocks, new red sandstone, greenstone, and trap. His speculations on the origin of the different formations and the causes which gave rise to the existing features in the physical geography of the country display much talent and are full of instruction. The structure of Devonshire has also furnished a fertile field of in- quiry to Messrs. Sedgwick and Murchison since our last Anniversary. They have attempted the difficult task of establishing a classifica- tion of the older rocks so largely developed in that county. In every geological map hitherto published of Devonshire, all the stratified deposits of higher antiquity than the new red sandstone had been represented by one commen colour, the limestones being all included as integral parts of one great formation called greywacke*. But these gentlemen, after examining this region, announced at Bristol to the geologists assembled at the Meeting of the British Association, that the great mass termed greywacke, and previously undivided, comprised in it several formations of great thickness, ranging in age from the Cambrian system of Professor Sedgwick up to the true carboniferous series inclusive. ‘The first groups mentioned by them in ascending order are the Cambrian and Lower Silurian, which great mass contains many distinct courses of limestone; and is separable into several formations, distinguishable from each other by stratigraphical position and by lithological and zoological cha- racters. | There appears, however, to be a great hiatus in the succession of rocks in Devonshire, as compared to South Wales, there being no * The Abstract of the Report of Messrs. Sedgwick and Murchison, puh- lished with a section in the Atheneum, August, 1836, and in other scientific journals, is the same as that written for insertion in the Proceedings of the Association. From that document, and from a written explanation of their ae which I obtained from the authors, the present observations are de- uced. 490 traces of the upper Silurian strata, nor of the old red sandstone, nor even of the mountzin limestone in its ordinary aspect. On the contrary, the next group met with in ascending order, is a culmi- ferous series, the base of which distinctly reposes upon the above- mentioned ancient rocks. This culmiferous deposit, far from ap- pearing as a mere band, or at detached points, occupies about one third of the large county of Devon, and a considerable adjacent part of Cornwall; its southern boundary ranging from Exeter on the east, by Launceston, to St. Gennis in Cornwall on the west ; its northern frontier running by Barnstaple and South Moulton to near Wellington in Somersetshire. These culmiferous beds are shown to contain thick beds of limestone, entirely dissimilar in structure and fossil contents from any limestones of the underlying “‘ grauwacke,” in which they had previously been merged. The culm measures consist of grit, sandstone, shale and limestone; and these rocks, it is said, are never affected by a slaty cleavage like the lower Silurian and Cambrian rocks on which they rest. From this character, as well as from their prevailing mineralogical structure and imbedded fossil plants, the authors regard the culmiferous formation of Devon as perfectly identical in age with other coal-fields, and as more par- ticularly analogous to the culm-bearing strata of Pembrokeshire ; a part of which also once passed for ‘‘grauwacke,” but Mr. Mur- chison has recently shown that it belongs to the South Welsh coal- field, which is known by all geologists to rest upon mountain lime- stone. Thus referred to the age of our ordinary coal, these strata of North Devon are further proved to lie in a great trough, their southern edges being turned up against the granite of Dartmoor, where they acquire, in contact with the granite, when traversed by elvan dykes, many characters of the metamorphic rocks, or those commonly termed primary. The phenomena of interference and alteration at the junction are such as to give a comparatively modern date for the eruption of the Dartmoor granite, and to explain why so much dif- ficulty and ambiguity has prevailed in determining the age of some of the altered culm beds. Among other points which this survey of Professor Sedgwick and Mr. Murchison has settled, so far as Devon is concerned, is one of the highest theoretical interest, and on which for more than two 491 years the Society has been anxiously desiring more accurate infor- mation; I allude to the true stratigraphical position of certain shales near Bideford in North Devon, containing fossil plants of the same species as those which are found abundantly in the coal. I may first remind you that a discussion had previously arisen respecting the alleged discovery by Mr. Weaver of anthracite, with the usual carboniferous plants, in the greywacke or transition rocks of Ire- land*. Notwithstanding the value justly attached to the opinion of so experienced and long-practised an observer, your Council hesi- tated to print his statement, and requested him to reexamine the ground. At the same time Mr. Griffiths, to whom we are looking for the publication of a Geological Map of Ireland, had come to a different conclusion, and Mr. Weaver having been induced to repeat his observations, became convinced that he was in error, and has since studiously availed himself of every opportunity of announcing this change in his views. You are aware that as yet in the British islands, scarcely any vege- table impressions have been met with in rocks more ancient than the carboniferous strata above the old red sandstone, so that we know not what species of plants belong to the greywacke or transition group. We can only presume from analogy that since the shells, corals,and other organic remains of that ancient group differ from those found above the old red sandstone, the plants also, if ever discovered, will differ as greatly. Considerable surprise was therefore excited when, during the Presidentship of my predecessor in this chair, a letter was read, addressed to him from Mr. De la Beche, stating that he had found, near Bideford in North Devon, many well known coal plants in the lower greywacke, or far down in the transition seriesf. Such of the plants as were determinable had been identified by Professor Lindley with species characteristic of the true coal measures, and which had never been found elsewhere below the coal. The anomaly, therefore, in the supposed position of these fossils was so great, that between the ordinary geological site of such remains, and that in which they were here inferred to present themselves, there would be interposed if the series were complete the whole of the old red sandstone, and at least the two upper forma- * Proceedings Geol. Soc., vol. i. p- 231. + Proceedings Geol. Soc., vol. ii. p. 106. VOL. II. 2N 492 tions of the Silurian system. When this point was considered, 1 expressed to the Society my opinion, in common with Mr. Mur- chison, as to the insufficiency of the proofs relied on by: our Foreign Secretary, and we felt that we had a right to call for more conclusive evidence. The simple fact of shales having been found charged with true coal plants, raised so strong a presumption in favour of their belonging to the regular carboniferous series, that the burthen of proof rested with him who wished to assign to them either a higher or lower position. Our scepticism was regarded by Mr. Greenough as implying too marked a bias for a preconceived theory, and this he afterwards hinted in his Anniversary Address*. I may affirm, however, that in the first place it implied on my part no distrust of Mr. De la Beche’s skill cr experience in geological sur- veying, and that had Professor Sedgwick and Mr. Murchison ad- vanced a similar opinion on analogous proofs, I should equally have withheld my assent. Suppose, for example, they had announced to us that they had found fossil fruits and leaves identical with those of Sheppey in strata of the age of the white chalk with flints. I should have demanded from them, in corroboration, the most clear, un- equivocal, and overwhelming evidence. If it were a region of dis- turbed and vertical strata, I should expect them first to have re- sorted in vain to every hypothesis of inverted stratification with a view of explaining away such an exception to the general rule. I might perhaps be told that we are unacquainted with the flora of the upper cretaceous period, and I admit that we are as ignorant of it as of that which belonged to the transition period, but when we consider the contrast of the shells and other fossils of the chalk and London clay, we naturally anticipate that if plants are ever found of the precise age of our chalk with flints, they will not prove to be of the same species as those of the Sheppey clay. There is a like presumption from analogy against the conclusion that the same vegetation continued to flourish on the earth from the period of the lower greywacke to that of the coal, because we know that in the course of the intervening epochs the testacea, zoophytes, fish, and other classes of organic beings were several times changed. In regard to the proofs relied on by Mr. De la Beche, I should observe that he never attempted to show that the plant-bearing * Proceedings Geol. Soc., vol. il. p. 164. 4938 shales at Bideford were interstratified with rocks charged with shells or other fossils known to belong to rocks older than the old red sandstone. Since writing the above sketch of the different views recently published of the structure of Devonshire, I have received a letter from Mr. De la Beche, from which I am happy to learn, that it is his intention before concluding his report on the Ordnance Map of Devon, to reexamine Devonshire. He is far, he says, from pretending that his first views were perfect, and if he finds rea- son to modify any of them, he shall not hesitate to announce the change of opinion. In the mean time he no longer contends that the culmiferous strata are referable to the lower greywacke, and considers the point of difference to lie within a narrower compass, namely, whether the culm beds are to be considered as upper grey- wacke or coal. This question, on which he is not yet satisfied, evi- dently appears to him of much less theoretical importance than, I confess, it does to me. It is fair, however, that I] should state the arguments which influence his mind. If the plants, he says, found at Bideford in the culmiferous series should belong to strata more ancient than the old red sandstone the fact would not stand alone, for he has lately received a letter from M. Elie de Beaumont, de- tailing analogous phenomena in Brittany. It is stated that the grey- wacke there closely corresponds in general character with that of Devon, the upper part like the Devonian series containing anthra- cite. With this anthracite or culm are found at Montrelais, Chatelai- son, and other places, fossil plants, the greater part of which are identical with those in the coal measures; but there are cthers which have not hitherto been detected im the latter rock. Patches of true coal measures rest in unconformable position upon these upper greywacke beds of Brittany. Now I regret that I have not seen any printed account of the geology of this part of France; for until we learn whether the plants in question are associated with true Si- lurian fossils, the testimony is quite incomplete. We know not, for instance, whether the plant-bearing series in question is old red sandstone or a Silurian formation, or whether it is a lower part of the true carboniferous system of which the strata had been disturbed before a higher portion was superimposed. - Similar remarks hold in regard to the observations made by 2N 2 494 M. Virlet in the Dictionnaire d’Hist. Naturelle, where in his late article “* De Origine des Combustibles Minéraux,” he speaks of certain carboniferous deposits of Ireland, (those alluded to by Mr. Weaver before mentioned,) as well as others examined by M. Voltz in the Black Forest, also the culm beds of Brittany, and those of the department of La Sarthe, as all belonging in age to the newest transition formations, “ terrains de transition les plus récens.” Mr. De la Beche alludes to another discovery of coal plants implying as great an anomaly as that which he had imagined to occur in Devonshire, and by which he was himself once led into error during an Alpine excursion, about eighteen years since, when he met with coal plants in the schists of the Col de Balme, in Switzerland. He then inferred that the beds belonged to the true coal measures, but M. Elie de Beaumont afterwards proved them to be lias; that is say, he identified them with other rocks not far distant in the Alps, which were shown to be lias by containing Belem- nites and other fossils. Mr. Dela Beche was at first sceptical on the point, but after revisiting the Alps, he came round to the same opi- nion. Having therefore been in one instance misled by relying on the fossil vegetables of the coal as affording a good chronological test, he naturally attached but small value to the same testimony as a criterion of the age of another set of rocks in Devonshire. Now you will easily understand that a geologist, who is once persuaded that the same plants flourished in European latitudes from the pe- riod of the true coal to that of the lias, will be ready to concede without difficulty the probable existence of the same plants at an era long antecedent to the coal. We know that between the depo- sition of the coal and the lias there were successive revolutions in the races of animals which inhabited the waters, the zoophytes, mollusca, fish, and, as far as we know them, the reptiles having been changed again and again; so that the fossils of the mountain lime- stone differ from those of the magnesian limestone or zechstein, these again from the organic remains of the muschelkalk, and these Jast from those of the lias. If we are to believe that the same plants survived on the land, while such fluctuations in animal life occurred in the waters, why should we not imagine the longevity of the same species to have been still greater, so that they began to exist even before the deposition of the old red sandstone? But let 495 me remind you that botanists have been led to very different con- clusions respecting*the laws governing the distribution of fossil ve- getables from the study of undisturbed districts. You are not ignorant that the strata of the Alps are involved in extreme confu- sion and complexity, mountain masses having been completely overturned and twisted, so that the same set of strata have been found at the top and bottom of the same section separated by seve- ral thousand feet of beds belonging to an older formation. So obscure is the order of position in Alpine geology, that the cretaceous and greensand series have been classed by experienced geologists as more ancient than the oolite, under which, in point of fact, they occasionally lie. Professor Studer, in his work on the Bernese Highlands, after years of personal investigation, has published a map in which he has given a coloured ground plan without venturing to commit him- self by sections, or a table of the regular order of superposition. After devoting a summer to the investigation of the same portion of Switzerland, with the advantage of Mr. Studer’s map and work, I was unable to satisfy myself that I had found a key to the classi- fication or superposition of the formations, so enormous is the scale on which they have been deranged. I collected fossil plants on the Col de Balme, but I have not examined the precise localities further to the west appealed to by M. de Beaumont. I am far, therefore, from denying his facts or inferences, hoping at some future period more carefully to inquire into the evidence on the spot. No one, I am aware, is more desirous that others should visit the southern Alps and verify or criticise his facts than M. de Beaumont. Mean- while I am reminded of an expression of our mutual friend M. von Buch. When I related to him some geological phenomena which surprised him; ‘I believe it,” he said, “ because you have seen it, but had I only seen it myself, I should not have believed it.” But to conclude, and to recall your attention to the structure of Devonshire, you will perceive that Mr. Murchison and Professor Sedgwick have endeavoured, and I think successfully, to work a great reform in the classification of the ancient rocks of that country, by applying to them the arrangement which they had pre- viously made for the deposits termed by them Cambrian and Lower. Silurian in Wales and the adjoining parts of England. According 496 to their survey and sections the coal plants of Bideford, so far from constituting any anomaly, so far from affording any objection to the doctrine that particular species of fossil plants are good tests of the relative age of rocks, do in reality from the place which they occupy, confirm that doctrine ; for the culmiferous rocks distinctly overlie the so-called grauwacké, and are not referable to any of the well defined and normal types, which compose the old Red Sand- stone and Silurian System. I shall now pass on to the consideration of other memoirs on En- glish Geology. The limestone which the Germans call muschelkalk, and the numerous fossils which are peculiar to it, have not yet been detected in England in any part of that great series of beds which intervene between the lias and the coal. In those parts of Germany where it occurs, it divides the beds of red marl and sandstone which occupy that great interval into two divisions, the upper of which is called keuper, and the lower bunter sandstein. In the absence of the muschelkalk in this country, it has been impossible for us to separate our new red. sandstone into two well defined masses ; but Dr. Buckland considers that certain portions of the upper beds im Warwickshire and elsewhere may be identified with the keuper by their mineral character, and near Warwick by the remains of a Saurian, which he believes to be of the genus Phytosaurus, a genus characteristic of the keuper of Wirtemberg. An examination in the South-east of England of the strata usually termed plastic clay, has led Mr. John Morris to offer several new, and as they appear to me, judicious suggestions in regard to the classification of these beds. It is well known that wherever the tertiary strata are seen in immediate contact with the chalk, they consist of alternations of sand, clay, and pebbles, and in some few places a calcareous rock,—all these varying greatly in their thickness, and in their order of succession in different places. Mr. Morris divides those of Woolwich into two parts, and states that the upper is characterized by a mixture of marine and fresh- water shells, the freshwater genera being Cyrena, Neritina, Me- lanopsis, and Planorbis. The lower division contains exclusively marine shells. The author refers this intermixture to the in- flux of a river into the sea, in which the London clay was formed. Mr. Morris considers the Bognor strata, which rest immediately 497 upon chalk, as the equivalents of the lower Woolwich deposit, ob- serving that the shells agree with those of the London clay. These remarks seem to confirm the conclusion to which he had been pre- viously led by the grand section at Alum Bay in the Isle of Wight, namely, that the beds usually styled plastic and London clays be- long to one zoological period. MINERAL VEINS. Your attention has been called to the origin of mineral veins by Mr. Fox, who has endeavoured to explain why so large a propor- tion of the metalliferous veins in England and other parts of the world should have an east and west direction, He supposes fis- sures filled with water, containing sulphurets and muriates of cop- per, tin, iron, and zinc in solution, through which currents of voltaic electricity are transmitted. The metals separated from their sol- vents by this action are deposited in the veins, and most abundantly im veins running at right angles to the direction of the earth’s mag- netism; for as the magnetic currents of the earth pass from north to south, they cause those of electricity to move east and west, al- though considerable deviations from this direction must be occa~- sioned in the course of geological epochs ky variations in the mag- netic meridian. Since Mr. Fox first ascertained the existence of electric currents in some of the metalliferous veins in Cornwall*, Mr. Henwood has made many experiments on the same subject, together with obser- vations on the distribution of metallic and earthy minerals in veins. He considers the results obtained by him to be in a great degree op- posed to the theory of Mr. Foxt. Mr. Fox conceives the fissures in which metalliferous substances occur, to have beenat firstsmall and narrow, and to have increased gra- dually in their dimensions. This doctrine has also been propounded in a work with which you are probably familiar, and from which I have derived much instruction, | mean M. Fournet’s Essay on Me- talliferous Deposits. This Essay was originally included in the 3rd * Phil. Trans. 1830, p.399. + See Mining Journal, Supplement 9. p.34, December 1836, and Annals of Electricity, No. 2. vol. i. on Electric Currents, &e. by W. 'T. Henwood Esq. 498 volume of M. Burat’s continuation of D’Aubuisson’s Treatise on Geology (1835), but it is now published separately, and gives the clearest general view which I have seen of the application of geo- logical theories to phenomena observed in mining. It is written by one who has acquired much practical knowledge as a miner, and who is well versed in chemistry and mineralogy *. Werner, when he published his justly celebrated Essay on Mine- ral Veins, had come to the conclusion that the same rent, after being wholly or partially filled, has sometimes been reopened; and M. Fournet has endeavoured more fully to explain the successive dila- tation of the same veins at distinct periods. He has given examples in mines worked under his direction in Auvergne, in which the sul- phurets of iron, copper, lead, and zinc, besides quartz, barytes, and other minerals, seem evidently to have been introduced at different periods by chemical action accompanied by new fractures and dis- locations of the rocks, and the widening of preexisting fissures +. You will find in M. Fournet’s treatise a copious analysis of a great variety of books on mining, besides a detail of facts which have fallen under his own observation. He has described first those veins which are decidedly connected with rents produced in rocks by mechanical movements, and which are supposed to have been chiefly filled from below by sublimation, more or less obviously con- nected with volcanic action. He afterwards passes on to the con- sideration of those masses which have been called stockwerks by the Germans, which are imagined by some to have their origin in the contraction of granite, porphyry, and other rocks as they cooled, numerous rents being then formed, in which metallic particles were concentrated. In treating the subject in this order the author ap- pears to me to have followed the most philosophical course, begin- ning with cases of undoubted rents of mechanical origin filled with minerals and metals introduced by sublimation, and then carry- ing with him as far as possible the light derived from these sources te dissipate a part of the obscurity in which all theories re- speeting the nature of Plutonic rocks and their minerals must, I fear, be for ever involved. Much will still remain unexplained; but * Etudes sur les Dépots Métalliféres, par M. I. Fournet. T See “ Etudes,” &e. Section 3. 499 those who proceed in an opposite direction often throw doubt and confusion upon the simplest phenomena, as has sometimes happened in an analogous case, when geologists have begun with the exami- nation of granite and granite veins, and have then endeavoured to apply the ideas derived from this study to the trap rocks and vol- canic dykes. Among the most interesting conclusions deduced by M. Fournet from his examination of the mining districts of Europe, I may men- tion the modern periods at which the precious metals appear to have entered into some veins: thus, to select a single example, some veins of silver of Joachimsthal in Bohemia are proved to have originated in the tertiary period*. i FOREIGN GEOLOGY. Among the researches into the geology of foreign countries in which our members have been recently engaged, I have great pleasure in alluding to the labours of Mr. H. E. Strickland and Mr. Hamilton in Asia Minor. These gentiemen first examined the neighbourhood of Constantinople, and found on both sides of the Thracian Bosphorus an ancient group of fossiliferous strata, con- sisting of schist, sandstone, and limestone. From the character of the fossils it is inferred that these rocks may probably be the equi- valents of the upper transition or Silurian strata of England. The shells belong to the brachiopodous genera Spirifer, Producta, and Terebratula, with which the remains of corals and Crinoidea were associated, and fragments of a Trilobite. The rarity of any fossiliferous deposits of higher antiquity than the old red sandstone in any of the countries bordering the Mediter- ranean, or indeed to the south of the Alps and Pyrenees, lends con- siderable interest to this observation. In their way through France, our travellers examined the well known region of extinct volcanos in Auvergne, and afterwards found a counterpart to it in the Cata- cecaumene, a district in Asia known by that name in the time of Strabo, from its burnt and arid appearance. Some of the volcanos in Asia are of very modern appearance, although no notice of their eruptions falls within the limits of history or tradition. The vol- * See “ Ktudes,”’ &c. Section 2. 500 eanic hills rise partly through lacustrine limestone in the Valley of the Hermus, and partly cover the slope of the schistose hills which bound it to the south. There are about thirty older cones, worn by time, and of which the craters are effaced or only marked by a slight depression; and three newer cones, which preserve their characters unaltered, the craters being perfectly defined and the streams of lava still black, rugged, and barren. Here, as in the country of corresponding structure in France, we find streams of lava following the course of existing valleys, and yet frequently cut through by rivers. We find also a tertiary freshwater formation, sometimes resembling chalk with flints, like that of Aurillac in France, and forming detached hills capped with basalt, while more modern lavas have flowed at the base of the same hills. The extent of this ana- logy will be best appreciated by those who compare Mr. Strick- land’s drawings with Mr. Poulett Scrope’s masterly illustrations of the French volcanic region. The countries watered by the rivers Meander and Cayster are de- scribed as having a simple geological structure. There are granitic rocks, with saccharine marble, there are also hippurite limestone and schist, and tertiary deposits unconformable to these, besides igneous rocks of various ages. The tertiary formations are chiefly lacustrine, and occur in nearly every large valley. They are composed of hori- zontal beds of calcareous marl and white limestone, in which are layers and nodules of flint; they also consist of sandstone, sand, and gravel. The only representative of the secondary rocks of Europe is termed by Mr. Strickland “ hippurite limestone”, which appears to be very sterile in fossils. In this respect and in its other characters it agrees with that great calcareous formation described by MM. Boblaye and Virlet in their splendid work on the Geology of the Morea*. According to these French geologists, three quarters of the Peloponnesus are occupied by a compact limestone several thousand feet thick, in which they could discover scarcely any or- ganic remains, except a few hippurites and nummulites, but which is supposed to be the equivalent of our chalk and oolites. Nothing, * Paris, 1833, in folio. It is to be regretted that this work cannot be procured separately from other folios containing the scientific information collected during the French expedition to the Morea. 501 they say, can be more monotonous in character than this calcareous mass in the South of Europe, which appears to represent the larger part of our upper secondary formations of the North, where the rocks are so varied in lithological aspect and so distinguishable from each other by their well preserved fossils. Ancient fossiliferous. strata resembling those of the neighbour- hood of Constantinople are said to be largely developed in the Balkan, a mountain chain of which we may soon expect to receive information from the pen of M. Ami Boué. That indefatigable geologist has already explored a large part of Servia, a country of whose physical and moral condition we are perhaps more ignorant than of any other in Europe, and he is rapidly extending his sur- vey over various parts of the Turkish empire, to the examination of which he proposes to devote several years. Meanwhile our late Secretary, Mr. Hamilton, is continuing, with great zeal, his investi- gation of the borders of the Black Sea and other parts of Asiatic Turkey. In a paper on the structure of part of the Cotentin near Cher- bourg, the Rev. W. B. Clarke describes that country as consisting of hills or ridges of quartz rock alternating with valleys of slate oc- casionally associated with syenite and greenstone, which appear to be of posterior origin. A curious fact is mentioned: the quartz rock splits naturally into irregular masses, which have, nevertheless, some angles of fixed dimensions, namely, 103°, 64°, and 83°. Frage ments of a green variety of schist exhibit the same angles under the same circumstances of position, proving that similar causes had acted on the two formations en masse, the same sets of joints, lines of stratification, and cleavage being found in both. Besides these facts, which are illustrated by diagrams, the author mentions others calculated to throw light on the cleavage and jointed structure ofrocks. PROOFS OF MODERN ELEVATION AND SUBSIDENCE. Under this head I shall first consider several notices of beds of gravel, sand, clay, and marl, containing recent marine shells, which have been observed in various parts of Great Britain, a subject very frequently brought before our notice of late years. Deposits of this kind have been found by Dr.Scouler in the vicinity of Dublin, where they rise to the height of 80, and in some places of even 200 502 feet above the level of the sea. Besides marine shells of existing species, he has ascertained that some of the lower beds of this for- mation contain bones of the extinct Irish elk, by which we learn that this quadruped, although belonging to a comparatively modern period, and found in peat-mosses, had nevertheless begun to inhabit this part of the world at a period anterior to some of the last changes in the position of land and sea, changes which are proved by the upraised shelly beds just alluded to. Now Professor Nilsson of Lund in Sweden, although ignorant of these facts, had remarked to me that some great alteration must have occurred in the shape and extent of dry land and sea in Great Britain and the surrounding parts sub- sequently to the time when the Irish elk existed, otherwise so many entire skeletons of so large an herbivorous quadruped as the Cervus megaceros, would not have been found in so small an island as the Isle of Man. That island may at no remote geological pe- riod have been united to the main land, and may have since been separated from it by subsidences, on a scale equal to the elevations of which there is such clear evidence in Ireland and elsewhere. Changes in the relative level of land and water, in the estuary of the Clyde, are indicated by facts described in another paper by Mr. Smith of Jordan Hill, near Glasgow. Superficial deposits, in which a great number of marine shells of recent species are imbedded, are found on the banks of the Clyde below Glasgow, at the height of 30 or 40 feet above the sea. I had myself an opportunity of verifying during the last summer several of these observations of Mr. Smith, and found equally clear proofs that the Island of Arran had participated in the upward movement, so that a circle of inland cliffs may be traced all round that island, between the base of which and the present high- water mark a raised beach occurs, and in some places beds of marine marls, formed of recent shells, as in the bay of Lamlash. Mr. Smith has also traced sea-worn terraces on each side of the Clyde below Dumbarton and between the Cloch Lighthouse and Largs. We are indebted to Sir Philip Egerton for some new details re- specting the shelly gravel of Cheshire, of which he had previously treated; and to Mr. Murchison and Professor Sedgwick for a joint- paper on “a raised beach in Barnstaple Bay on the north-west coast of Devonshire.” This beach puts on for several miles where it is best exposed, the form of a horizontal under terrace resting upon an 503 indented and irregular surface of the older formations. It presents a cliff towards the sea, in which beds of calcareous grit, sandstone, and shingle are seen perfectly stratified. The bottom of the de- posit is chiefly composed of indurated shingles resting on the ledges of the older rocks, and filling up their inequalities. Through the whole cliff, but especially in the indurated grits, shells are abun-. dantly dispersed, identical in species with those now living on the coast, and well preserved, though sometimes waterworn. The authors point out that these beds cannot have been formed by accumulations of blown sand. ‘They demonstrate an elevation of the coast during the medern period; and there are phenomena both on the north and south coasts of Devonshire and Cornwall, which afford proofs of modern changes in the level of the land, both of upheaval and depression. The raised beach of Hope’s Nose, correctly described by Mr. Austen, is the most striking instance in South Devon. The quantity of rise of land in the modern period is from ten to forty feet in South Devon and Cornwall, nearly seventy feet in North Devon, while in Lancashire, Cheshire, and Shropshire there are marine deposits with recent shells at the height of from 300 to 500 feet above the sea. It is natural to inquire what changes the surface of the dry Jand in England may have undergone during the occurrence of such upward and downward movements. Perhaps some observations lately made by Mr. Bowerbank in the south of the Isle of Wight may elucidate this point. He has given us an account of a bed of chalky detritus, containing recent land shells, at Gore Cliff. This bed is ten feet thick, and rests immediately upon chalk marl. Many of the shells, which are plentifully scattered through it, retain their colour. As the deposit ranges to the foot of St. Catherine’s Down, it is possible that the waste and denudation of that chalk hill may have supplied the materials. I have lately seen similar detritus resting on the chalk with flints, and arranged in numerous thin layers in the section exposed in cutting the railroad at Win- chester, where a black layer of peaty earth and carbonized wood intersects thin layers of white chalk rubble, from twenty to thirty feet thick. Such appearances are, in fact, very general in chalk districts; a bed of flints not waterworn occurring on the highest 504 downs, while fragmentary chalk, often inclosing land shells, occurs on their slopes and at lower levels. Violent rains have been known even of late years to tear off the turfy covering from certain points near Lewes, and to wash away flints and chalky mud, and leave them in the hollow combs or flanks of the hills. This action of the elements would be most powerful at periods when the chalk first emerged from the sea, or whenever it assumed in the course of sub- terranean disturbances a new position or physical outline. We must, I think, infer from the occurrence of certain recent marine shells and shingle in the bottom of what has been termed the elephant-bed at Brighton, that the chalk in the South-east of England has undergone some movements of a modern date, the land having subsided there to the depth of fifty or sixty feet, and having been subsequently raised up again to a level somewhat higher than its original position*. If it should appear upon careful research that the land shells found in terrestrial alluviums covering the chalk are almost universally of recent species, I should not conclude that the emergence of the -chalk hills from the sea had generally occurred at a very modern period, but merely that these hills had been modified in shape in recent times, and that during that modification alluviums of older date had been washed away, or the land shells which they may once have contained have decomposed and disappeared. In regard to the great numbers of these shells preserved throughout the bed at Gore Cliff, and in many other places even at greater depths, it will not seem surprising to those who have observed the number of dead land shells which are strewed over the surface of the chalk downs, or lie concealed in the green turf in numbers almost as countless as the blades of grass. If the slightest wash of water should pass over such a soil, it must float off myriads of these shells, and they would immediately be involved in that white cream-coloured mud which descends from wasting hills of chalk after heavy rains. Land shells so buried may retain their colour for indefinite periods, as is shown by the state of species in the loess of the Rhine, and even in tertiary strata of much higher antiquity. While a variety of geological monuments are annually discovered * See Principles of Geology, 4th edit., vol. iv. p. 274. 505 which attest modern alterations in the level of the land, it is im- portant to remark that new testimony is also daily obtained of the rising and sinking of land in our own times. I discussed at some length, in my last Anniversary Address, the evidence for and against the upheaval of the coast of Chili during the earthquake of 1822, a controverted point to which our attention has lately been again re- called. I may remark, however, that since we have ascertained the fact of a rise of three, five, and even ten feet in parts of the same country in 1835, so distinctly attested by Captain Fitzroy, all doubts entertained as to the permanent effects of a preceding con- vulsion are comparatively of small interest. Don Mariano Rivero dissents from the opinion that a change of level occurred at Valpa- raiso in 1822, and Colonel Walpole, after seeing the ground and conversing with persons who were on the spot in 1822, and who still reside there, also considers the statement of a rise to have been inaccurate. On the other hand Mr. Caldcleugh, who was formerly sceptical on the same point, has now come round to the opinion of Mrs. Callcott (Maria Graham), and believes that an elevation of land did take place. Mr. Darwin, whose opportunities of investigation both in Chili and other parts of South America have been so extensive, thinks it quite certain that the land was upheaved two or three feet during the earthquake of 1822, and he met with none of the inha- bitants who doubted the change of level. He states that the rise of land, even in the bay of Valparaiso, was far from being uniform, for a part of a fort not formerly visible from a certain spot has, subsequently to the earthquake, fallen within the line of vision. The most unequivocal proof of a recent rise is drawn from the acorn-shells, Balanide, found adhering to the rock above the reach of the highest tides. These were observed by Mr. Darwin sixty miles south of Valparaiso, and at Quintero, a few miles to the north of it; but his friend Mr. Alison detected them on a projecting point of rock at Valparaiso itself. The attached shells were there seen at the height of fourteen feet above high-water mark, and were only exposed upon the removal of the dung of birds, by which they would have been concealed from ordinary observation. In Mr. Darwin’s paper you will find many other facts elucidating the rise of land at Valparaiso, and he has also treated of the general question of the 506 elevation of the whole coast of the Pacific from Peru to Terra del Fuego. Beds of shells were traced by him at various heights above the sea, some a few yards, others 500 or even 1300 feet high, the shells being in a more advanced state of decomposition in propor- tion to their elevation. Mr. Darwin also shows that parallel ter- races such as those of Coquimbo, described by Captain Basil Hall and others, which rise to the height of 300 feet and more, are of marine origin, being sometimes covered with sea-shells, and they indicate successive elevations. There are also grounds for believing that the modern upheaval of land has proceeded not only by sud- den starts during convulsions of the earth, but also by insensible degrees in the intervals between earthquakes, as is now admitted to be the case in parts of Norway and Sweden. This gradual and insensible rising is supposed to affect, not only the region of the Andes, but also the opposite or eastern coast of South America, where earthquakes are never experienced: for the Pampas of Buenos Ayres bear marks of having risen to their present height during a comparatively modern period, while the coast line of the Pacific, or the region of earthquakes and volcanic eruptions, has been the theatre of more violent movements. It is curious to reflect that if in one portion of a large area of the earth’s surface a rise of land takes place at the rate of a few inches in a century, as around Stockholm, while in another portion of the same area land is uplifted about a yard during an equal period, there will be caused, if sufficient time be allowed, a group or chain of lofty mountains in one place, and in the other a low country like the Pampas of South America. Evidence of a sinking down of land, whether sudden or vaaeall is usually more difficult to obtain than the signs of upheaval. I shall therefore mention some facts which have been lately communicated to me by Professor Nilsson, from which it appears that Scania, or the southernmost part of Sweden, has been slowly subsiding for se- veral centuries, in the same manner as was lately shown to be the case with part of Greenland. In the first place there are no elevated beds of recent marine shells in Scania, like those near Stockholm and further to the north. Linnzeus, with a view of ascertaining whether the waters of the Baltic were retiring from the Scanian shore, measured in 1749 the distance between the sea and a large stone 507 near Trelleborg. Now Mr. Nilsson informs me that this same stone is a hundred feet nearer the water’s edge than it was in Lin- nzeus’s time, or eighty-seven years:‘before. He also states that there is a submerged peat moss, consisting of land and freshwater plants, beneath the sea at a point to which no peat could have been drifted down by any river. But what is still more conclusive, it is found that in sea-port towns, all along the coast of Scania, there are streets below the high-water level of the Baltic, and in some cases below the level of the lowest tide. Thus when the wind is high at Malmo the water overflows one of the present streets, and some years ago some excavations showed an ancient street in the same place eight feet below, and it was then seen that there had’ evidently been an artificial raising of the ground, doubtless in consequence of that sub- sidence. There is also a street at Trelleborg and another at Skanor a few inches below high-water mark ; and a street at Ystad is just on a level with the sea, at which it could not have been ori- ginally built. I trust that we shall soon receive more circumstantial details of these curious phenomena, which are the more interesting because it has been shown that the elevatory movement in Sweden diminishes in intensity as we proceed southward from the North Cape to Stockholm, from which it seems probable that after passing the line or axis of least movement, where the land is nearly stationary, a movement may be continued in an opposite direction, and thus cause the gradual sinking of Scania. I cannot take leave of this subject without remarking that the occurrence in various parts of Ireland, Scotland, and England, of recent shells in stratified gravel, sand, and loam, confirm the opi- nion which I derived from an examination of part of Sweden, namely, that the formations usually called diluvial have not been produced by any violent flood or débacle, or transient passage of the sea over the land, but by a prolonged submersion of the land, the level of which has been greatly altered at periods very modern in ovr geological chronology. I now believe that by far the greatest part of the dispersion of transported matter has been due to the ordinary moving power of water, often assisted by ice, and cooperating with the alternate upheaval and depression of land. I do not mean wholly to deny that some sudden rushes of water _and partial inundations of the sea have occurred, but we are enabled VOL. II. 20 508 to dispense with their agency more and more in proportion as our knowledge increases. ORGANIC REMAINS. Gentlemen, you have been already informed that the Council have this year awarded two Wollaston Medals, one to Captain Proby Cautley of the Bengal Artillery, and the other to Dr. Hugh Falconer, Superintendent of the Botanic Garden at Saharunpore, for their researches in the geology of India, and more particularly their discovery of many fessil remains of extinct quadrupeds at the southern foot of the Himalaya mountains. At our Jast Anniversary TI took occasion to acknowledge a magnificent present, consisting of duplicates of these fossils, which the Society had received from Captain Cautley, and since that time other donations of great value have been transmitted by him to our museum. These Indian fossil bones belong to extinct species of herbivorous and carnivorous mammalia, and to reptiles of the genera crocodile, gavial, emys, and trionyx, and to several species of fish, with which shells of fresh- water genera are associated, the whole being entombed in a for- mation of sandstone, conglomerate, marl, and clay, in inclined stra- tification, composing a range of hills called the Siwalik, between the rivers Sutledge and Ganges. These hills rise to the height of from 500 to 1000 feet above the adjacent plains, some of the loftiest peaks being 3000 feet above the level of the sea. When Captain Cautley and Dr. Falconer first discovered these remarkable remains their curiosity was awakened, and they felt convinced of their great scientific value ; but they were not versed in fossil osteology, and being stationed on the remote confines of our Indian possessions, they were far distant from any living authorities or books on comparative anatomy to which they could refer. The manner in which they overcame these disadvantages, and the en- thusiasm with which they continued for years to prosecute their researches when thus isolated from the scientific world is truly ad- mirable. Dr. Royle has permitted me to read a part of their cor- respondence with him when they were exploring the Siwalik moun- tains, and I can bear witness to their extraordinary energy and per- severance. From time to time they earnestly requested that Cuvier’s works on osteology might be sent out to them, and expressed their 509 disappointment when, from various accidents, these volumes failed to arrive. The delay perhaps was fortunate, for being thrown en- tirely upon their own resources, they soon found a museum of com- parative anatomy in the surrounding plains, hills, and jungles, where they slew the wild tigers, buffalos, antelopes, and other Indian qua- drupeds, of which they preserved the skeletons, besides obtaining specimens of all the genera of reptiles which inhabited that region. They were compelled to see and thmk for themselves while com- paring and discrimimating the different recent and fossil bones, and reasoning on the laws of comparative osteology, till at length they were fully prepared to appreciate the lessons which they were taught by the works of Cuvier. In the course ef their labours they have ascertained the existence of the elephant, mastodon, rhinoceros, hippopotamus, ox, buffalo, elk, antelope, deer, and other herbi- vorous genera, besides several canine and feline carnivora. On some of these Dr. Falconer and Captain Cautley have each written sepa- rate and independent memoirs. Captain Cautley, for example, is the author of an article in the Journal of the Asiatic Society, in which he shows that two of the species of mastodon described by Mr. Clift are, in fact, one, the supposed difference in character having been drawn from the teeth of the young and adult of the same species. I ought to remind you that this same gentleman was the discoverer, in 1838, of the Indian Herculaneum or buried town near Behat, north of Seharunpore, which he found seventeen feet below the sur- face of the country when directing the excavationof the Doab Canal*. But I ought more particularly to invite your,attention to the joint paper by Dr. Falconer and Captain Cautley on the Sivatherium, a new and extraordinary species of mammalia, which they have mi- nutely described and figured, offermg at the same time many pro- found speculations on its probable anatomical relations. The cha- racters of this genus are drawn from a head almost complete, found at first enveloped in a mass of hard stone, which had lain as a boulder in a water-course, but after much labour the covering of stone was successfully removed, and the huge head now stands out with its two horns in relief, the nasal bones being projected ina free arch, and the molars on both sides of the jaw being singularly * Journ. of Asiatic Society, Nos. xxv. and xxix. 1834, Principles of Geology, 4th and subsequent editions. See Index, Behat. 202 510 perfect. This individual must have approached the elephant in size. The genus Sivatherium, say the authors, is the more interesting, as helping to fill up the important blank which has always intervened between the ruminant and pachydermatous quadrupeds ; for it com- bines the teeth and horns of a ruminant, with the lip, face, and probably proboscis of a pachyderm. They also observe, that the extinct mammiferous genera of Cuvier were all confined to the Pa- chydermata, and no remarkable deviation from existing types had been noticed by him among fossil ruminants, whereas the sivathe- rium holds a perfectly isolated position, like the giraffe and the camels, being widely remote from any other type. I have not space to enter upon the warm discussion which has arisen in France between MM. Blainville and Geoffroy St. Hilaire respecting the amount of analogy which exists between the Siva- therium and the Giraffe; but I observe with pleasure that in the course of that controversy those distinguished naturalists do justice to the zeal and talents displayed by our countrymen Captain Caut- ley and Dr. Falconer, and to the services which they have rendered to science. While these discoveries were made on the banks of the tributaries of the Indus and the Ganges, Mr. Darwin was employed in col- lecting the bones of large extinct mammalia, near the banks of the Rio Plata, in the Pampas of Buenos Ayres and in Patagonia. Mr. Owen has enabled me to announce to you in a few words some of the most striking results which he has obtained from his exami-~ nation of the specimens liberally presented by Mr. Darwin to the College of Surgeons, and of which casts will soon be made for our own and other public museums. In the first place, besides a cra- nium with teeth of the Megatherium, Mr. Darwin has brought home portions of another animal as large as an ox, and allied to the Megatherium. Fragments of its armour are preserved, as well as its jaws, femur, and other bones. ‘There is also a third creature of the order Edentata, and belonging to this same family of Dasypo- didee, in the shape of a gigantic Armadillo, as large asa Tapir. Of the ruminant order there is also a no less remarkable representative in the remains of a gigantic Llama from the plains of Patagonia, which must have been as large as a camel and with a longer neck : and lastly, of the Rodentia there is the cranium of a huge animal of oll the size of a rhinoceros, with some modification in the form of the skull resembling that in the Wombat. These fossils, of which a description will shortly be given to the Society by Messrs. Clift and Owen , establish the fact that the pe- culiar type of organization which is now characteristic of the South American mammalia has been developed on that continent for a long period, sufficient at least to allow of the extinction of many large species of quadrupeds. ‘The family of the armadillos is now exclusively confined to South America and here we have from the same country the Megatherium, and two other gigantic represen- tatives of the same family. So in the Camelidze, South America is the sole province where the genus Auchenia or Llama occurs in a living state, and now a much larger extinct species of Llama is dis- covered. Lastly, among the rodents, the largest in stature now living is the Capybara, which frequents the rivers and swamps of South America and is of the size of a hog. Mr. Darwin now brings home from the same continent the bones of a fossil rodent not inferior in dimensions to the rhinoceros. These facts elucidate a general law previously deduced from the relations ascertained to exist between the recent and extinct qua- drupeds of Australia; for-you are aware that to the westward of Sydney on the Macquarie River, the bones of a large fossil kan- garoo and other lost marsupial species have been met with in the ossiferous breccias of caves and fissures. A cavern has lately been examined at Yealm Bridge, six miles south-east from Plymouth, by one of our members, Lieut. Col. Mudge, R.., from whose account it appears that the bones of hy- genas are very numerous there. They are associated with those of the elephant, rhinoceros, horse, and other animals usually found in caves. The number of fossil Carnivora, such as the hyeena, wolf, fox, and bear, which have now been met with in districts of cavernous limestone in Great Britain, is so great that we are the more struck with the rarity and general absence of such remains in surrounding and intervening districts, over which the same beasts of prey must have ranged. The Pachydermata, as the elephant, rhinoceros, and hippopotamus, are often discovered in ancient alluvial or fluviatile deposits ; but had there been no caves and fissures we should scarcely have obtained any information respecting the existence of 512 lions, tigers, hyaenas, and other beasts of prey which inhabited the country at the same period. The remains of at least two distinct Saurian animals have been discovered by Dr. Riley and Mr. Samuel Stutchbury, in the dolo- mitic conglomerate of Durdham Down near Bristol. They are allied to the Iguana and Monitor, but the teeth, vertebra, and other bones exhibit characters by which they are seen to be generically distinct from all existing reptiles. They are particularly deserving of your attention as occurring in the bottom of the magnesian lime- stone formation, the oldest strata in which the bones of reptiles have as yet been found in Great Britain. The most ancient examples of fossil reptiles known on the continent of Europe occur also in the zechstein of Germany, a formation of about the same age. I alluded last year to a memoir of Sir Philip Egerton’s, in which he pointed out some peculiarities in the structure of the cervical vertebree of the Ichthyosaurus. He has now proved that in all the species of this genus there are three accessory bones,which he pro- poses to call, from their shape and position, subvertebral wedge bones. They are supplementary to the atlas, axis, and third ver- tebra of the neck, and seem to have escaped the observation of Cuvier and other osteologists. Mr. Lewis Hunton has communicated to the Society an elaborate account of a section of the upper has and marlstone in Yorkshire, showing that different beds in those formations are characterized by particular species of Ammonites and other Testacea, each species having a limited vertical range. His observations are valuable not only as illustrating the distribution of fossils on the coast near Whitby, but also as furnishing a point of comparison between that district and many others in Great Brita. Mr. W.C. Williamson of Manchester has had the same object in view in studying the fos- sils of the oolitic formations of the coast of Yorkshire, and informs us, asthe result of his patient investigation, that although certain as- semblages of fossils abound in particular subdivisions of the oolite, many species range from the lowermost to nearly the highest beds. This inference is confirmed when we compare the lists drawn up by Mr. Williamson, and those published by Professor Phillips and other competent authorities. Thus some of the shells of the in- ferior oolite, mentioned in Mr. Williamson’s list (7rigonia gibbosa, 515 for example), occur also in the Portland-stone of Wiltshire; another, as Ostrea Marshii, is characteristic of the cornbrash in the same county; others pass downwards to the lias, as Orbicula reflexa and Ammonites striatulus. If you consult the tables of organic remains which Dr. Fitton has annexed to his excellent monograph on the strata below the chalk, just published in our Transactions, (2nd Se- ries, vol. iv. part 2.) you will see that a considerable number of shells pass from the upper oolitic groups into the green-sand. We are not to conclude from these facts that certain sets of fossils may not serve as good chronolegical tests of geological periods, but we must be cautious not to attach too much importance to particular species, some of which may have a wider, others a more limited vertical range. The phenomena alluded to are strictly analogous to those with which we are familiar in the more modern deposits, where different tertiary formations contain some peculiar Testacea, together with others common to older or newer groups, or where shells of species now living in the sea are associated with others that are extinct. An assemblage of fossil shells has been presented to our museum by Mr. J. Leigh and Mr. J. W. Binney, found at Collyhurst near Manchester, in red and variegated marls, which were referred by them at first to the upper division of the new red sandstone group; but Professors Sedgwick and Phillips consider them to be a-red and variegated deposit, belonging to the magnesian limestone series. As these fossils are new and characteristic of a particular subdivi- sion of the beds between the lias and coal, it is to be hoped that they will soon be described and figured. The petrifaction of wood, and more especially its silicification, still continues to present obscure problems to the botanist and chemist. The first step towards their solution will probably be made by carefully examining vegetables in different stages of petri- faction; and with this view Mr. Stokes has procured several speci- mens of wood, partly mineralized and partly not. Among these is a piece found in an ancient Roman aqueduct in Westphalia, in which some portions are converted .into spindle-shaped bodies consisting of carbonate of lime: while the rest of. the wood remains in a comparatively unchanged state. . The same author has pointed out cases both of siliceous and calcareous fossils, F 514 where the lapidifying process must have commenced at a num- ber of separate points, so as to produce spherical or fusiform pe- trifactions, independent of each other, in which the woody struc- ture 1s apparent, while in the intervening spaces the wood has de- cayed, having after removal been replaced by mineral matter. In some petrifactions the most perishable, in others the most durable portions of plants are preserved, variations which doubtless depend on the time when the mineral matter was supplied. If introduced immediately on the first commercement of decomposition, then the most destructible parts are lapidified, while the more durable do not waste away tiJl afterwards, when the supply has failed, and so never become petrified. ‘The converse of these circumstances gives rise to exactly opposite results. As to the manner in which the minutest pores and fibres discoverable by the microscope, even the spirai vessels themselves can be turned into stone, or have their forms faithfully represented by inorganic matter, no satisfactory explanation has ever yet been offered. In considering, however, this question, you will do well to consult the important suggestion which a celebrated chemist, our late lamented Secretary, Dr. Turner, has thrown out on the application of chemistry to geology. He reminds us that whenever the decomposition of an organic body has begun, the elements into which it is resolved are set free in a state peculiarly adapting them to enter into new chemical combinations. They are in what is technically termed a nascent state, the constituent mole- cules being probably of extreme smallness and ina fluid or gaseous form, ready to obey the slightest impulse of chemical affinity, so that if the water percolating a stratum be charged with mineral in- gredients, and come in contact with elements thus newly set free, a mutual action takes place, and new combinations result, in the course of which solid particles are precipitated so as to occupy the place left vacant by the decomposed organic matter. In a word, all the phenomena attendant on slow putrefaction must be studied when- ever we attempt to reason on the conversion of fossil bodies into stone; and in regard to silicification, Dr. Turner has shown how great a quantity of silex is set free as often as felspar decomposes, and how abundantly siliceous matter may be imparted from this source alone to running water throughout the globe. As I have mentioned the name of Dr. Turner, I cannot pass on 515 without an expression of sorrow for the untimely death of that amiable and distinguished philosopher. Mr. Whewell and Mr. Murchison alluded in most feeling terms this morning at the Ge- neral Meeting to this melancholy event, which is too recent and too painful to myself and others to allow me now to dwell longer upon it. Before quitting the subject of vegetable petrifactions, I ought to mention a memoir just published, by Mr. H. R. Géppert, Professor of Botany at Breslau, ‘‘ On the various Conditions in which Fossil Plants are found, and on the Process of Lapidifica- tion*.” He has instituted a series of most curious experiments, and his success in producing imitations of fossil petrifactions has been very remarkable. I have only space to allude to one or two examples. He placed recent ferns between soft layers of clay, dried these in the shade, and then slowly and gradually heated them, till they were red hot. The result was the production of so perfect a counterpart of fossil plants as might have deceived an ex- perienced geologist. According to the different degrees of heat applied, the plants were obtained in a brown or perfectly carbon- ized condition, and sometimes, but more rarely, they were ma black shining state, adhering closely to the layer of clay. Ifthe red heat was sustained until all the organic matter was burnt up, only an im- pression of the plant remained. The same chemist steeped plants in a moderately strong solution of sulphate of iron, and left them immersed in it for several days until they were thoroughly soaked in the liquid. They were then dried and kept heated until they would no longer shrink in volume, and until every trace of organic matter had disappeared. On cool- ing them he found that the oxyd formed by this process had taken the form of the plants. Professor Goppert then took fine vertical slices of the Scotch fir, Pinus sylvestris, and treated them in the same way; and so well were they preserved, that, after heating, the dotted vessels so peculiar to this family of plants were distinctly vi- sible. A variety of other experiments were made by steeping animal and vegetable substances in siliceous, calcareous, and me- tallic solutions, and all tended to prove that the mineralization of * Poggendorff, Annalen der Physik und Chemie, vol. xxxviil. part 4. Leipsic, 1836. 516 organic bodies can be carried much further in a short time than had been previously supposed. These experiments seem to open a new field of inquiry, and will, I trust, soon be repeated in this country. In endeavouring, how- ever, to verify them, the greatest caution will be required, or we may easily be deceived. We must ascertain, for example, with certainty that every particle of animal or vegetable matter is driven off before we attempt to determine the full extent to which minerali- zation may have proceeded. Professor Géppert is doubtless aware that coniferous wood may be burnt and reduced to charcoal, and after having been kept for some time at a red heat, will continue to exhibit, on being cooled, the discs or reticulated structure to which he alludes. If, therefore, some small particles of carbon remain in the midst of the oxide of iron, such portions may retain traces of the ves- sels peculiar to coniferous wood ; and an observer not on his guard, might infer that the same structure was preserved throughout the mass. In my last address, I alluded to Mr. Lonsdale’s detection of vast numbers of microscopic corallines and minute shells in the substance of the white chalk of various counties in England, where this rock had not been suspected of consisting of recognisable organic bodies. I cannot deny myself the pleasure of mentioning the still more sin- gular and unexpected facts brought to light during the last year, by Professor Ehrenberg of Berlin, respecting the origin of tripoli. I need scarcely remind you, that tripoli is a rock of homogeneous appearance, very fragile and usually fissile, almost entirely formed of flint, and which was called polir-schiefer, or polishing slate, by Werner, being used in the arts for polishing stones or metals. There have been many speculations in regard to its origin, but it was a favourite theory of some geologists that it was a siliceous shale hardened by heat. The celebrated tripoli of Bilin in Bohe- mia consists of siliceous grains united together without any visible cement, and is so abundant that one stratum is no less than fourteen feet thick. After a minute examination of this as well as of the tri- poli from Planitz in Saxony, and another variety from Santa Fiora in Tuscany, and one from the Isle of France, Ehrenberg found that the stone is whoily made up of millions of siliceous cases and skele- tons of microscopic animalcules. It is probably known to you, that this distinguished physiologist has devoted many years to the ana- 517 tomical investigation of the infusoria, and has discovered that their internal structure is often very complicated, that they have a distinct muscular and. nervous system, intestines, sexual. organs of reproduction, and that some of them are provided with sili- ceous shells, or cases of pure silex. ‘The forms of these dura- ble shells are very marked and various, but constant in particular genera and species. They are almost inconceivably minute, yet they can be clearly discerned by the aid of a powerful micrescope, and the fossil species preserved in tripoli are seen to exhibit in the family Bacillaria and some others the same divisions and transverse lines which characterize the shells of living infusoria. In the Bohemian schist of Bilin, and in that of Planitz in Saxony, both of them tertiary deposits, the species are freshwater, and are all extinct. The tripoli of Cassel appears to be more modern, and the infusoria in that place, which are also freshwater, are some of them distinctly identical with living species, and others not. In the tripoli brought from the Isle of France, the cases or shells all be- long to well-known recent marine species. The flinty shells of which we are speaking although hard are very fragile, breaking like glass, are therefore admirably adapted when rubbed for wearing down into a fine powder fit for polish- ing the surface of metals. It is difficult to convey an idea of their extreme minuteness, but I may state that Ehrenberg esti- mates that in the Bilin tripoli there are 41,000 millions of indivi- duals of the Gailloneila distans in every cubic inch of stone. At every stroke therefore of the polishing stone we crush to pieces se- veral thousands if not myriads of perfect fossils. Gentlemen,—Although I have already extended this Address be- yond the usual limits, I cannot conclude without congratulating you on the appearance of Dr. Buckland’s Bridgewater Treatise, a work in the execution of which the author has most skilfully combined several distmct objects. He has briefly explamed the manner in which the materials of the earth’s crust are arranged, and the evi- dence which that arrangement affords of contrivance, wisdom, and foresight, He has also given us a general view of the principal facts brought to light by the study of organic remains; thus contributing towards the filling up one of the greatest blanks which existed in the literature of our science, while at the same time he has pointed out the bearing of these phenomena on natural theology. 518 He has shown that geology affords one kind of testimony perfectly distinct from natural history of the adaptation of particular means and forces to the accomplishment of certain ends for which the habit- able globe has been framed. These proofs are illustrated in the author’s chapters on the origin and mechanism of springs, on the distribution of metallic and other minerals in the earth, and the position of coal in stratified rocks. In reference to these points it is demonstrated that some even of the most irregular forces have produced highly beneficial results, in modifying the subterranean economy of the globe. But I shall not dwell on this part of the Treatise, but pass on at once to that which constitutes the body of the work, and which relates to paleontology. In considering this department, the number and variety of objects which offer themselves to the naturalist are so great, that the choice was truly embarrassing. Dr. Buckland has judiciously selected a few of the most striking examples from each of the great classes of organic remains, and when speaking of extinct animals, has ex- plained the method by which the anatomist and physiologist have been able to restore the organization of the entire individual, by reasoning from the evidence afforded by a few bones or other relics preserved in a fossil state. He has described the parts of the living animal or plant most nearly analogous to those which are found buried in the earth, usually illustrating by figures the di- stinctness and at the same time the resemblance of the recent and extinct species, showing that all are parts of one great scheme, and that the lost species even supply links which are wanting in the existing chain of animal and vegetable creation. It is impossible to read the account given of the Mesatherinan and to contrast it with that drawn up by Cuvier of the same species, without being struck with the increased interest and instruction, and the vast accession of power derived from viewing the whole mecha- nism of the skeleton in’ constant relation to the final causes for which the different organs were contrived. The chapter on saurian and other reptiles has afforded the Pro- fessor another beautiful field for exemplifying the infinite variety of mechanical contrivances and combinations of form and structure which the fossil representatives of that class exhibit. The account also of the Cephalopodous Mollusca, so many thou- sands of which are scattered through the strata, and which until O19 very recently have presented so obscure a problem to the naturalist, is full of original observation. The history of the animals which formed the Belemnites, of which it appears that nearly one hun- dred species are now known, and the proofs adduced that they were provided with ink-bags lke the cuttle-fish, the description also of the fossil pen-and-ink fish, or Loligo, and other sections of this part of the Treatise, carry our information respecting the family of naked Cephalopods much further than was ever attempted in any previous work. Nor should I omit to mention the exposition of an ingenious theory for the use of the siphuncle and air-chambers of the Ammonite, which, whether confirmed by future examination or not, becomes in the author’s hands the means of conveying to the reader a clear and well-defined notion of the varied forms and complicated structure of these shells, and of awakening a lively de- sire to understand their singular organization. I may also recall to your notice the just and striking manner in which certain physical inferences are drawn from the conformation of the eyes of extinct Crustacea, such as the Trilobite. The most delicate parts of these organs are sometimes found petrified in rocks of high antiquity, and it is justly observed, that such opti- cal instruments give information regarding the condition of the ancient sea and ancient atmosphere, and the relations of both these media to light. ‘The fluid in which these marine animals lived at ‘remote periods must have been pure and transparent to allow the passage of light to organs of vision resembling those of living Cru- staceans ; and this train of reasoning naturally leads us still further, and to more important consequences, when we reflect on the general adoption of the undulatory theory of light, and the connexion be- tween light, heat, electricity, and magnetism. I have heard it objected, that the zoologist and botanist had already advanced such abundant proofs of*design in the construc- tion of living animals, and plants, that the auxiliary evidence of palzeontology was useless, and that to appeal to fossils in support of the same views was to add weaker to stronger arguments. In the living animal, it is said, we can study its entire organization, observe its habits, see the manner in which it applies each organ, and so verify with certainty the ends for which any particular mem- ber was formed and fashioned, But in the case of the fossil, we 520 have first to infer the greater part of the organization from such parts as alone remain, and then further to infer from analogy the habits and functions discharged, and lastly the former conditions of existence of the creatures so restored. If then we occasionally fall into error when speculating on the use of the organs of living spe- cies, how much more easily may we be deceived in regard to the fossil ! In answering this objection, it cannot be denied that the data supplied by paleontology are less complete; but they are never- theless abundantly sufficient to establish a very close analogy be- tween extinct and recent species, so as to leave no doubt on the mind that the same harmony of parts and beauty of contrivance which we admire in the living creature has equally characterized the organic world at remote periods. If this be granted, it is enough; the geologist can then bring new and original arguments from fossil remains to bear on that part of natural theology which seeks to extend and exalt our conceptions of the intelligence, power, wisdom, and unity of design manifested in the creation. It can now be shown that the configuration of the earth’s surface has been remodelled again and again; mountain chains have been raised or sunk, valleys have been formed, again filled up, and then re-excavated, sea and Jand have changed places, yet through- out all these revolutions, and the consequent alterations of local and general climate, animal and vegetable life has been sustained, This appears to have been accomplished without violation of those laws now governing the organic creation, by which limits are assigned to the variability of species. There are no grounds for assuming that species had greater powers of accommodating themselves to new circumstances in ancient periods than now. The succession of living beings was continued by the introduction into the earth from time to time of new plants and animals. That each assemblage of new species was admirably adapted for successive states of the globe, may be confidently inferred from the fact of the myriads of fossil remains preserved in strata of all ages. Had it been other- wise, had they been less fitted for each new condition of things as it arose, they would not have increased and multiplied and endured for indefinite periods of time. Astronomy had been unable to establish the plurality of Hanianle ob worlds throughout space, however favourite a subject of conjecture and speculation; but geology, although it cannot prove that other planets are peopled with appropriate races of living beings, has demonstrated the truth of conclusions scarcely less wonderful, the’ existence on our own planet of many habitable surfaces, or worlds as they have been called, each distinct in time, and peopled with its peculiar races of aquatic and terrestrial beings. Thus as we increase our knowledge of the inexhaustible variety displayed in living nature, and admire the infinite wisdom and power which it displays, our admiration is multiplied by the reflec- tion that it is only the last of a great series of pre-existing crea- tions of which we cannot estimate the number or limit in past time. All geologists will agree with Dr. Buckland, that the most per- fect unity of plan can be traced in the fossil world throughout all the modifications which it has undergone, and that we can carry back our researches distinctly to times antecedent to the existence of man. We can prove that man had a beginning, and that all the species now contemporary with man, and many others which pre- ceded, had also a beginning; consequently the present state of the organic world has not gone on from all eternity as some philoso- phers had maintained. But when conceding the truth of these propositions, I am pre- pared to contest another doctrine which the Professor advocates, namely, that by the aid of geological monuments we can trace back the history of our terraqueous system to times anterior to the first creation of organic beings. If it was reasonable that Hutton should in his time call in question the validity of such a doctrine, whether founded on the absence of organic remains in strata called primary or in granite, still more are we bound, after the numerous facts brought to light by modern geology, to regard the opinion as more than questionable. I observe with pleasure that Dr. Buckland broadly assumes what I have elsewhere termed the metamorphic theory, having stated in his 6th chapter that beds of mud, sand, and gravel, deposited at the bottom of ancient seas, have been converted by heat and other subterranean causes into gneiss, mica slate, horn- blende slate, clay slate, and other crystalline schists. But if this transmutation be assumed, it must also be admitted that the oblite- ration of the organic remains, if present, would naturally have ac- companied so entire a change in mineral structure. The absence, then, of organic fossils in crystalline stratified rocks, of whatever age, affords no presumption in favour of the non-existence of ani- mals and plants at remote periods. The author, however, in another part of his Treatise contends, that even if the strata called primary once contained organic re- mains, there is still evidence in the fundamental granite of an ante- cedent universal state of fusion, and consequently a period when the existence of the organic world, such as it is known to us, was im- possible. ‘There was, he says, one universal mass of incandescent elements, forming the entire substance of the primeval globe, wholly incompatible with any condition of life which can be shown to have ever existed on the earth*. Believing as I do in the igneous origin of granite, I would still ask, what proof have we in the earth’s crust of a state of total and simultaneous liquefaction either of the granitic or other rocks, commonly called plutonic? All our evi- dence, on the contrary, tends to show that the formation of granite, like the deposition of the stratified rocks, has been successive, and that different portions of granite have been in a melted state at di- stinct and oiten distant periods. One mass was solid, and had been fractured before another body of granitic matter was injected into it, or through it in the form of veins. In short, the universal fluidity of the crystalline foundations of the earth’s crust can only be understood in the same sense as the universality of the ancient ocean. All the land has been under water, but not all at one time ; so all the subterranean unstratified rocks to which man can obtain access have been melted, but not simultaneously. Nor can we affirm that the oldest of the unstratified rocks hitherto discovered is more ancient than the oldest. stratified formations known to us; we cannot even decide the relations in point of age of the most ancient granite to the oldest fossiliferous beds. But why,I may ask, should man, to whom the early history of his own species and the rise of nations presents so obscure a problem, feel disappointed if he fail to trace back the animate world to its first origin? Already has the beginning of things receded before * Buckland’s Bridgewater Treatise, vol. i. p. 55. 523 our researches to times immeasurably distant. Why then, after wandering back in imagination through a boundless lapse of years, should we expect to find any resting-place for our thoughts, or hope to assign a limit to the periods of past time throughout which it has pleased an omnipotent and eternal Being to manifest his’ creative power ? But it is not my intention to advert now to these and other points on which I happen to differ from Dr. Buckland. I would rather express the gratification I feel in finding myself in perfect accordance with him on so many subjects. His work is admirably adapted to convey instruction on organic remains, and other de- partments of geology, both to beginners and to those well versed in the science, and is characterized throughout by a truly philosophi- cal spirit, which betrays no desire to adhere tenaciously to dogmas impugned or refuted by the modern progress of science. On the contrary, the author has abandoned several opinions which he him- self had formerly advocated; and although still attached to the theory which teaches the turbulent condition of the planet when the lias and other fossiliferous rocks were formed, and the general in- sufficiency of existing causes to explain the changes which have occurred on the earth, he yet refers in almost all parts of his book to the ordinary operations of nature to explain a variety of phaeno- mena once supposed to be the result of causes. different in kind and degree from those now acting. I have now, Gentlemen, only to offer you my acknowledgements for the high honour conferred upon me by my election to fill the President’s chair for the last two years; and it is a source of great satisfaction to me to feel assured of the continued prosperity and usefulness of the association when I resign my trust into the hands of a successor so distinguished for his zeal, talents, and varied ac- quirements as Mr. Whewell. os Le) VOL, II. Taritesn ies) ae t a his ali he : bev } » 7hae) ne “oan ae 4 we a Sh Gi kh ath: sith sae “ Th" atthe ke ‘ded: sn BEALL! g ; patna; ma wind? tiled av B 4p ha ry Mb an hie ; eu pee. Sue 7 Tyee " Pyke 4 “athapesiaels etn } atap Hep i ghia iy ies eee, lakers tens ste mt ee ) ‘bit she a Gh? PROCEEDINGS OF THE GEOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF LONDON. Vou. II. 1837. No. 50. February 22.—John Backhouse, Esq., of Hans-place, Sloane-street, was elected a Fellow of this Society. A paper on the Geology of Cutch, by Captain Grant, of the Bom- bay Enginzers, and communicated by Charles Lyell, Esq., F.G.S., was read. This district, so highly interesting on account of the phenomena which accompanied the earthquake that devastated it in 1819, is situated near the eastern branch of the Indus, between 22 and 24 degrees of north latitude, and 68 and 72 degrees of east longitude. On the north, it is bounded by the Grand Runn, and the Thur or Little Desert, on the south by the Gulf of Cutch and the Indian Ocean, on the east by the province of Guzerat, and on the west by the eastern branch of the Indus and the territory of Sinde. Its superficial con- tents are about 6500 square miles. The surface is traversed by three ranges of hills, having in general an east and west direction. The hills constituting the northern chain, which borders the Runn, present a perpendicular capping of sandstone, surmounting towards the north a sloping talus, and towards the south an inclined plane, both com- posed of laminated clay and slaty limestone, with occasionally layers of sandstone. The second or central range, is constituted partly of the formation last mentioned, and partly of another consisting of sand- ‘stone and shale. The third or southern, is furmed wholly of volcanic rocks, but has nearly the same linear direction as the others. To the south of the last range is an extensive flat, composed of a deposit, considered by Capt. Grant to be tertiary, and of an alluvial band, bordering the sea coast. The first of these formations, which constitutes the northern range of hills, abounds with Ammonites, Nautili, Belemnites, Trigonie, and other fossils characteristic of the oolitic system of England. The for- mation of sandstone and shale, which occupies a much greater surface, contains, in various localities, thin beds of coal, sometimes very im- pure, but at others tolerably good; also layers of iron ore; and in the shale as wellas in the sandstone, casts of reeds and impressions of _ferns are stated to occur. With respect to the relative age of these two formations, Capt. Grant was unable to procure any decisive information ; but he thinks that the sandstone and shale system, passes beneath that of laminated clay and limestone. 2R 926 The iron ore is smelted by the natives to some extent, particularly near the town of Doodye. The variety generally selected, on account of the imperfect apparatus employed, has a spongiform texture, small specific gravity, and is easily frangible. The ore is broken into small pieces and disposed in layers, alternately with others of charcoal, in a rude open furnace, acted upon by two small bellows made of sheep skin. The metal on being fused, falls into a small hole at the bottom of the furnace, whence it is removed into an inclosed furnace, and subjected to the same blasts until it acquires a white heat, when it is taken out and beat into a bar. A considerable quantity of iron was formerly made from another variety of ore, found in the superficial soil at the north-western extremity of Cutch. In one part of the province, the author noticed a deposit of variegated sandstone and marl, but was unable to determine its position with respect to the other formations. It is covered, in part, by an aluminous earth, on which rests a bed of red clay. The former, when visited by Capt. Grant, had been burning spontaneously for a long time, sending forth a suffocating sulphureous smoke. Considerable quantities of alum are made from the earth and exported to Bombay. Another formation, described by the author, occurs south of Luck- put, near the eastern branch of the Indus. It consists of soft and hard, whitish limestone, containing innumerable Nummulites and Fasciolites, also Echini, Spatangi, Ostrea and Corals. The tertiary deposit consists of a hard, argillaceous grit covered by aconglomerate. The organic remains, which are very numerous, are often disposed in beds confined to one species ; the prevaling genera being Arca, Pecten, Ostrea, Cardium, Conus, Cyprea, Ovula, Fusus, Trochus, Solarium, Strombus, and Cassis. Patches of Corals, two or three acres in extent, sometimes also occur. Under the head of alluvial tracts, Capt. Grant gave an account of changes, produced along the southern coast by the deposition of sediment. At Mandavee is a ruin, at a spot called the old Bun- der or quay, now about three miles inland; and in the centre of the town is asmall temple, built upon a rocky foundation, but said to have stood in the sea, when the old Bunder was the landing place. At other localities in the Gulf of Cutch, similar processes are going on, rendering it necessary to remove the landing-places frequently further seaward. ‘The rapid progress of these accumulations is ascribed to the sea, during nine months washing back the sandy detritus, brought down by the periodical floods. The same ope- ration is also in progress at places, separated from the main waters of the gulf by small creeks or inlets, some of which penetrate six or seven miles from the coast, through a tract covered with shrubs. At low-water the whole of these plants, are exposed down to their roots, but at high-tide merely their tops are visible, so that boats sail through acompletely marine forest. ‘The growth of these shrubs is rapid, and the sailors have constantly to force the boats through the upper branches, particularly at the angles of the creeks, when they wish to save a tack, The stems and lower branches are covered with testacea, whilst the upper are occupied by numerous water-fowl. The land gains in this dictrict, by the deposition of the muddy contents of the small streams during the monsoon, when the water passing very slowly between the stems of the shrubs, a great portion of the matter held in suspension, is precipitated. This alluvial district occurs only on the southern coast of the Province. In August, 1834, the rains were very violent and continuous, and the river which flows past Nurra, on the borders of the Grand Runn, covered with a fine soil a surface of nearly 1000 acres. On the opposite or southern side of Cutch, not far from Mandavee, 300 acres were washed away ; and not far from the same spot, halfa smell village was removed bodily into the sea. Volcanic Rocks.— Besides the southern range of hills already stated, to be entirely composed of trap or volcanic rocks, other extensive di- stricts of the same nature, occut between the northern and central ranges, and to the south of Luckput; besides innumerable minor outbursts, some of which forming small conical hills, are arranged around a central area. The author noticed no recent crater, unless the hill, called Denudar, be considered as such, and down the flanks of which he traced a lava stream, ‘The volcanic rocks, consist of several varieties of basalt, often columnar, amygdaloid, green- stone, and trachyte. Capt. Grant described these rocks in great detail, as well as the effects evidently produced by them, enumerating a great variety of instances, in which the disturbance of the strata, can be traced, in the clearest manner, to the protrusion of trap. In some cases the volcanic mounds, are themselves cracked or fissured from top to bottom. : That the igneous eruptions occurred at many distinct periods, Capt. Grant showed by sections, in which beds of trap, alternate with others of crystalline limestone, calcareous tuff, and a calcareous grit, which sometimes contains angular fragments of basalt ; and by beds of very different characters reposing on each other. Among the phenomena connected apparently with volcanic action, the author described a number of mounds, varying in diameter from 3 to 20 yards, and covered with small tabular plates of sandstone, the lines of fracture radiating, though irregularly, from a centre. In some instances the summits of these little mounds having been removed, a regular circle of stones appeared, inclosing an area of sandstone, the fracture of the stones decidedly radiating as the stones of an arch. In other instances they resembled small hillocks, from the upper part of which the outer coating or tabular plates, had generally fallen away, and the whole consisted of a heap of broken masses of rock. The author then described what he considers to be a very recent volcanic outburst. It is situated in the nummulitic limestone, near the village of Wagé-ké-pudda, and forms a rather high flat bain. or table land of about two square miles, composed of calcareous marl, and flanked by low irregular hills of ironstone and gravel. iDhe sides are broken by fissures, ravines, and hollows, and the bed of the basin is covered with hillocks of loose volcanic scorie of various colours. Within the basin are also several small craters or circular Spaces; surrounded. imperfectly by walls of columnar, globular, or friable basalt. These basaltic walls, however, he conceives are of an- ZR 9 528 terior date to the mounds of scoriz, which he is of opinion cannot be of great antiquity, on account of the facility with which their loose mate- rials are removedby atmospheric agents. Other similar outbursts were also described. The paper concluded with an account of the Great Runn, a di- strict exclusive of the elevated tracts called ‘‘ the Bunnee and Islands” of 7000 square miles. This singular region, as already described by Capt. Burns, consists of a sandy flat, dry for the greater part of the year, but during the prevalence of the south-west winds, con- verted into an qalana sea, passable however on camels. Capt. Grant believes that its present oscillating position between land and water, is due to an elevation of the Runn, and not a change in the level of the sea; and in support of his opinion adduced the alterations both of elevation and depression of land, by the earthquake of 1819. He described also several extraordinary walls of rock, thrown up ap- parently by volcanic action, sometimes assuming a dome shape, at others segments of circles or straight lines. March 8.—Edward J. Chance, Esq., F.L.S., of Cook’s-court, Lin- coln’s-Inn-Fields ; and Mr. Francis Looney, of Manchester, were elected Fellows of this Society. The reading of a paper “ On the Geological structure and phenomena of Suffolk, and its physical relations with Norfolk and Essex ;” by the Rev. W. B. Clarke, F.G.S., began on the 18th of January, was con- cluded. The observations detailed in this memoir were made during 1827, 1825, and 1829, and are arranged under the heads of the physical features of the county, the geological structure, and the effects produced by causes now in action. Paysica, Frarures.—The general form of Suffolk is an oblong of about 47 miles by 27, bounded on the east by the German Ocean, the south by the river Stour, the west by the Ouse and Lark, and the north by the Little Ouseand Waveney. lt is impossible, says Mr. Clarke, not to be struck with the fact, that whilst some of these river-courses have an east and west direction, others flow from N.N.W. toS.S.E., and that the coast section from Harwich to Orford, is nearly parallel with the latter ; and he adds, if these observations be extended to Norfolk and Essex, counties similar in geological structure, an accordance will be found in the direction of their rivers and estuaries. How far these river channels may be due to dynamical action, operating from below, the author thinks it is difficult to determine ; but he is of opinion that when they are studied with reference to the proofs of violent derangement in ‘the north, east, and west corners of Norfolk ; and the ‘almost unequivocal evidence of disturbance on the coast ae Suffolk, there is sufficient reason for assuring, that the drainage of Norfolk, Suffolk, and Essex has been induced by a violent strain acting from below, and throwing the whole mass of the country into a position, by which 1200 square miles of Norfolk and 220 of Suf- folk are drained by the Yare, and about 2000 of the latter cou.ty at its south-east corner. 029 In addition to these facts, Mr. Clarke says, that the estuaries of the Alde, the Deben, the Orwell, and the Stour, having an average length of 11 or 12 miles, meet the fresh water at nearly the same distance from the sea, and at the boundary line of the great continuous bed of diluvium, which covers so extensive an area in that part of England ; only detached patches of greater or less extent, being found to the east of the line. Tue Georocicat Structure.—The formations of which Suffolk consists, are chalk, the plasticand London clays, crag, diluvium or an- cient superficial detritus, and recent lacustrine deposits ; the first occu- pying the N.W. portion of the county, the second, third, and fourth the south-eastern, and the fifth or diluvium, the intermediate part, restingon all the preceding deposits ; while the sixth or lacustrine accumulations are of very local occurrence. Chalk.—This formation in the 8.E. of Suffolk, is principally exposed in the banks of the estuaries and rivers, and contains the usual plates and nodules of flints, as well as the fossils characteristic of the upper chalk. In making a well at Harwich, at the depth of 93 feet, and between the white and grey chalk, a stratum 10 feet thick of sandy, gritty chalk was penetrated. ‘The beds are in general nearly horizon- tal, declining gently to the south-east, but they sometimes dip at considerable angles, and the surface appears to have been violently dislocated and worn into deep gulleys, locally called sand-galls. At Harwich in making two wells only 70 yards apart, the chalk was reached in the northern at the depth of 88 feet, but in the southern at 64 feet. Where the formation has been denuded by the rivers, the tertiary beds frequently rest upon it, but where it rises into an eleva- tion above the river levels, it is covered altogether by diluvium. Plasiic clay.—There is some difficulty in separating this deposit from the diluvium of Suffolk. At certain points, however, it displays the samebeds of mottled clay and sands with pebbles, which characterize it in other parts of the kingdom ; and it is occasionally exposed be- tween the London clay and chalk. From its local occurrence Mr. Clarke is of opinion, that it has been subjected to denudating agents, and that it has partaken, in part at least, of the dislocations which have affected the chalk. London clay.—This formation presents, in Suffolk, the usual cha- racters. At Walton on the Naze and Bawdsey, considerable quanti- lies of pyritous vegetable remains are washed up from a bed below the level cf the sea; and are said to rival in variety and abundance the Sheppy fossils. The furthest western point at which the formation is visible, is Layham near Hadleigh, the country beyond being covered by diluvial clay. It constitutes, however, the substratum of all the estuaries which intersect the S.E. of Suffolk, and the coast section from Orford Ness to Walton Naze, being everywhere capped by crag. This section is constantly varying in its features, but presented when theauthor examined it, in 1827, the appearance of beds once horizontal, having been upheaved in some places and depressed in others ; but to what extent these disturbances may have been produced by elevatory movements, the action of the sea, or the undermining of land springs, he could not satisfactorily determine. The supply of water obtained 930 from the formation appears to be governed by local phenomena. At East Bergholt, a well was dug to the depth of 40 feet in London clay, without success ; but in excavating a cellar a few feet from the well, a copious spring was tapped, and conveyed into it by achannel. In the river Ore is an island of London clay, in which two wells were sunk through 80 feet of clay, 3 inches of rock and 20 feet of sand. The water rose to the surface, had a strong smell of sulphur, but no saline taste, though it overflowed only during high tide in the river. ‘The fossils mentioned by the author, are confined to fishes’ teeth, and the occasional occurrence of shells. He mentions that land animals have undoubtedly been found in the London clay, as the tusk of an elephant at Harwich, but he is ofopinion that the greater part of such remains, said to have been obtained from the formation, have been washed out either of the crag or the diluvium. Crag.—Mr. Clarke says the term crag is applied in Suffolk only to the shelly beds, and the word gravel to the associated beds of peb- bles, as well as to the accumulation of superficial pebbles. The por- tion of the county occupied by the deposit, is bounded on the west by a line connecting the water-head of the estuaries; and the most southern point at which it is now visible is Blackbrooke Hill, near Ded- ham, the patch at Walton Naze having been entirely removed by the partial destruction of the cliffs. Ganeabemencn containing shells occurs at Ardleigh Wood near Colchester, and it has been said that Danberry Hill, near Chelmsford, is capped by crag; but Mr. Clarke doubts the accuracy of this observation. The general surface of the area assigned to the depositin Suffolk, is a platform of nearly regular elevation, which appears to have been worn into ridges and valleys by currents acting in parallel lines from N.E.toS.W., and the cliffs both in the interior and on the coast, are sections of these ridges. The dip of the London clay corresponds with that of the crag, and therefore Mr. Clarke in- fers, that both were acted upon by the same agents, and while they were beneath the level of the sea. According to the author's observation, the deposit nowhere extends more than twelve or thirteen miles from the coast, and at Pakefield, where the diluvial clay comes to the very edge of the sea, it disappears as a surface deposit, but is visible at intervals further north, between that pointand Cromer. Mr. Clarke also states, that though undoubt- edly crag is discernible here and there, in situ, as a regular formation north of the Waveny, yet he by no means allows that it is regularly stratified, as an undisturbed deposit, between Leiston and Pakefield. He is fully convinced from observation, that the diluvial clay and crag are distinct deposits 5 an dhe is almost equally convinced, that if the crag has any share in the formation of the cliffs between the Blithe And: Lake Lothing, it has been introduced by disturbances of a similar -nature to those, ical are presented in the cliffs of East Norfolk. That the localities in dispute may have been once occupied by crag, there is no reason todeny, but they now present no traces of an undis- turbed deposit. To previous descriptions of the structure of the crag, the author states that he has nothing to add, except that where the shells are not visible, the sands contain a slight mixture of calcareous matter. 531 He objects to the separation of the beds with shells from those with- out, and shows that the shifting of a sand-bank, would correctly account for the occasional occurrence of beds of sand 30 feet thick, resting upon strata inclosing testacea. Believing that the true rationale of the crag is to be found in the hypothesis of sandbanks, inhabited by testacea, and situated in a tidal way exposed to violent fluctuations of the sea, as well as subject to drifts of extraneous matter from land waters, the author sees nothing extraordinary in the idea that accumulatiens of sand and shingle, may have formed a part of that deposit in which the crag is regularly stratified ; but he cannot consent to such accumulations, though con- temporaneous with the crag, being classed under that name, much less can he consent to diluvial clay being also included in it. If then, says Mr. Clarke, we assume that in this tertiary sea, sand- banks were formed, around the shelves and under the lea of which testacea collected, lived and died, as at present, many of the phe- nomena of the crag may be readily solved, and we shall not need to wonder why the bivalve shells are found lying with the flat sides to the strata of sand ; why the young are congregated in one group, and the old in another ; why pebbles are found covered with balani; or why the remains of terrestrial mammalia, are associated with those of whales and fishes. With respect to Mr. Charlesworth’s subdivision of the crag into two ages, the author fully agrees with a qualification of the word age. If that gentleman had said different periods of the same age, Mr. Clarke would find no difficulty in admitting the justness of the classification ; as not only species but genera of shells are differ- ently grouped according to localities. The Norwich crag, he also admits, differs from the Suffolk, and on the authority of Mr. Weod- ward alludes to bouldered Suffolk shells occurring at Thorpe, in Norfolk. The corals of the lower bed of the Suffolk crag, the author is of opinion, betoken a warmer climate, and he says, if during the crag era the earth gradually cooled, the change from a coralline deposit to one more nearly related to the inhabitants of the present era, would be the natural and inevitable result. Mr. Clarke fully assents to the observation brought forward by Mr. Charlesworth in a paper, read before the British Association at Bristol, on the mixed nature of the deposits now forming on the coasts of England, in which the remains of the adjacent cliffs are intermingled with the shells of existing species ; and adduces examples with which he was acquainted, long before the reading of that paper. The author then offers some further remarks on the necessity of separating the diluvium from the crag. He ts of opinion, the gravel found in the latter, if carefully observed, will be acknowledged to dif- fer from regular diluvia] gravel, and that its occurrence only betokens a diluvial action during the period of the crag. That such actions have been often repeated, he says there can be no doubt, for the beds of superficial gravel ot Suffolk and Dorsetshire, are evidently not of the same period ; and no one who has studied gravel deposits accurately, 902 can refuse to admit, that there have been more than one diluvial action, since the deposition of the tertiary formations. In Norfolk, he adds, it is true, the crag is involved in the clay, but if this clay which in that county is 400 feet and in Suffolk 300 feet thick, be one witn the crag, it is most curious that a line of demarcation should actually exist, between the districts in Suffolk occupied by these de- posits ; and that the clay is never found below or intermixed with the crag. Moreover this diluvial clay has been traced not only into Nor- folk but into Cambridgeshire and Essex, close up to the metropolis. In Suffolk the same line which bounds the London clay bounds the diluvial. By an extension of Mr. Lyell’s argument all diluvial depo- sits, the author observes, might be included in the crag, and all other formations considered as diluvial. The only rational conclusion in Mr. Clarke’s opinion, is, that during the crag era an extraordinary convulsion took place which shook the whole country. He gives also one or two instances in which diluvial clay and gravel, have been in- troduced into cavities in the crag from overlying beds of superficial detritus. On the conchological history of the crag, Mr. Clarke offers no re- marks, partly because it did not fall within his object in writing the paper, and partly because the data which he formerly collected have been lost. Diluvium.—The diluvium of Suffolk may be divided into three classes: 1, clay; 2, gravel; and 3, erratic blocks. 1. Clay.—This division covers a considerable portion of the county, and extends into Norfolk, Cambridgeshire, and Essex, rising to a considerable elevation in High Suffolk, and attaining near Cromer, a thickness of 400 feet. A considerable portion of the clay, is of a yellowish hue, but the greater part is blue; and beth varieties contain chalk pebbles, sometimes disposed in layers but more commonly di- spersed, a character by which the diluvial may be distinguished from the London or plastic clay. It is difficult to determine the origin of this argillaceous deposit ; but the author is inclined to think, that the yellowish portion may have been derived from the plastic clays, and the blue from the clays below the chalk. Fragments of coal have been found in the diluvium at Lavenham, also fragments of micaslate containing garnets and tourmaline. Specimens ofa similar rock were obtained by Mr. R. C. Taylor, at Cromer, with masses of granite, por- phyry, trap, oolites, &c. At Ballingdon Hill near Sudbury, Mr. Brown has procured thirty varieties of primary, secondary, and tertiary rocks. Comparatively few flints occur in the clay. At Ickworth a beautiful specimen of the Dudley Trilobite was obtained in making a drain: and at various other localities, numerous species of tertiary and secondary fossils abound. It is inferred that the clay contains cavities, as streams of noxious air occasionally issue from fissures. 2. Gravel. The gravel is less generally diffused than the clay, and is considered by Mr. Clarke, to have been partly deposited at adistinct period. In some cases, it consists merely of unrolled flints, left in situ by the dissolution of the chalk; in others, large masses of flint 039 slightly mixed with chalk pebbles are imbedded in sand; and occa- sionally flints are intermingled with boulders of various dimensions, and sometimes unknown origin. Many of these extraneous fragments, he thinks, may have been washed out of the clay; and he shows that the river valleys have been excavated through both the clay and the gravel. With respect to the relative proportional quantity of each ingredient, chalk flints are said to be the :nost numerous, primary and transition rocks the next in abundance, and secondary and tertiary the fewest in number; the absence of the two latter being explained by their inferior hardness. 3. Erratic blocks.—These occur in great abundance, and occasion- ally of vast size. They are sometimes found in the river valleys, and sometimes on the level platforms and hills. They agree in lithological characters with the smaller fragments of the gravel, and are con- sidered to be of the same diluvial origin; but are so conspicuous as to deserve a distinct notice. Lacustrine deposits. —Under this head the author alludes to the bed containing freshwater shells, discovered by Mr. Charlesworth and Mr. Wood on the banks of the Stour at Sutton; and that described by Mr. Brown at Copford near Colchester, which contains similar shells, also bones of the ox and deer. Accumulations ‘containing the same testacea, occur at Grays near Purfleet, and at Southend in Essex, but associated with remains of the elephant, rhinoceros, deer, ox, bear, &c. In the bed at Grays rounded pebbles of chalk occur, agreeing with those found in the diluvium, and from which they were prebably derived. Causes 1n Actrion.—In this division of the memoir are described, Istly, the alluvial accumulations ; 2ndly, the changes in the river courses ; and 3rdly, the action of the sea on the coast. In illustration of the two first, Mr. Clarke enters into a discussion on the supposed position of the Roman station, Ad Ansam, and the alterations which must have taken place, if the site assigned to it be correct. He then proceeds to the action of the tides on the cliffs. His first acquaintance with the coast about Bawdsey was in 1814, and between that period and 1829, a battery which once stood 100 yards beyond the present low-water mark, has been dismantled ; and the life-boat house has been three times removed, to a distance at least a quarter of a mile, in rear of its original position. The destruction between the Alde and Bawdsey cliff during the last 20 years, is calculated to have been upwards of 100 acres ; and the coast between that cliff and Bawdsey Haven, is stated to have dimi- nished about two yards annually. Similar remarks apply to the cliff between the Deben and Harwich harbour, batteries and martello towers having been successively undermined. In 941 the church at Walton Naze was at a considerable distance inland; about 50 years since the church and burial-ground remained but not a vestige of either is left. In 885 a sea fight took place be- tween Alfred and the Danes at the mouth of the Stour, where the shingle bank now is. Harwich is also stated to have arisen in con- sequence of the destruction of Orwell, which stood on the spot 2s Jo4 called the West Rocks, and was overwhelmed by an inroad of the sea, since the Conquest. During the period, however, thatthese destructive changes having been proceeding on one side of Harwich harbour, sandbanks have accumulated at another, and compelled the Stour and the Orwell to open a new line of communication with the sea. The author then gives the following conclusions as deducible from the statements in the body of the memoir. 1. The substratum of the whole of Suffolk, Norfolk, and Essex is chalk, which appears to have been dislocated and worn into deep hol- lows by the action of water, previously to the commencement of the tertiary era. 2. On this abraded surface the plastic clays and sands were formed, but not over the whole area. 3. Partly on these beds and partly on the chalk, the London clay was then deposited, but to no very great thickness. 4. Upon the London and plastic clays as well as the chalk, the crag was next accumulated in sandbanks, produced by the tidal waters, and around projecting masses of chalk. 5. While the crag still lay beneath the sea, a violent catastrophe broke up many of the secondary strata, from the chalk to the lias in- clusive, and the debris thus produced, together with numerous masses of ancient rocks, was spread by a rush of water over the surface of the tertiary formations and the chalk, in some places to a depth of 400 feet, constituting the beds of drift clay, &c., which occupy so great an area in Suffolk. 6. Previously to this diluvial action, and after it, the rivers of the then dry land bore to the sea, animal and vegetable remains, vestiges of which occur on the Norfolk coast and elsewhere. 7. The climate of this part of the globe was at that era different from the present. 8. After this period, and probably in prolongation of the first great catastrophe, a series of shocks acting from below, shattered the surface and graduaily elevated the whole district, till the crag attained the height of nearly 100 feet above the level of the sea; and by this movement were produced the valleys or lines of fissure, through which the drainage of the county is effected. 9. No great convulsions have since taken place. 10. By the action of springs, and the constant battering of the sea, the superficial contents of the London clay and crag have been re- duced several miles, vestiges of their former extent being traceable in rocks and sandbanks nearly always submerged. 11. By the set of the tides vast accumulations of shingle and sand, have been formed at projecting points, protecting in some places the cliffs from further destruction; but at Harwich harbour they have blocked up the ancient estuary, and compelled the Stour and Orwell to form a new outlet. 12. The average amount of annual degradation of the coast 1s about two yards in breadth ; and in consequence of the confirmation of the ridges of crag and London clay, the clifis will gradually diminish into a low sandy shore. ‘The period estimated by Mr. Clarke for effecting this destruction is another century. 539 A paper ‘On the raised beaches of Saunton Downend and Baggy Point ;’ by the Rev. David Williams, F.G.S., was then read. The first of these breaches extends from Braunton Burrows to Down- end Point; the other on the N. coast of Croyd Bay, from near the limekilns to half way to Baggy Point. These beaches were described in the paper read by Professor Sedgwick and Mr. Murchison on the 15th December, 1836 ; and Mr. Williams in this paper fully agrees with the conclusions drawn by those authors, relative to the beaches having been raised. In addition, however, to the proofs afforded by the abundance of re- mains of existing British marine shellsin theseaccumulations, cemented together by calcareous infiltration into a tough sandstone, he stated that he had discovered in many places, from 6 to 10 feet, above the tidal level, and at the line of contact of the beaches with the old slate rocks of the district, countless Balani attached to the surface of the latter, but so firmly entangled in the substance of the former as to be sepa- rated with its fragments. A large granite boulder also rests on the slate, and is involved in the sandstone above any high-water mark. In support also of the land having been raised and not the sea de- pressed, he referred to the submarine forests of Somersetshire, in the prolongation of the same coast from Blue Anchor to the Parret ; and argued that their position could not be accounted for by a subsidence in the sea level, but by an unequal movement of the land. A communication by Mr. James de Carle Sowerby on his new genus of fossil shells, Tropzeum, was then read. This fossil is described by Mr. Sowerby as an involute chambered shell with sinuated septa; the whorls free, sometimes very distant; siphon in the external margin. The natural place of the genus is be- tween Hamites and Scaphites, and the shells which may be grouped with Tropeum, have been hitherto ranked as Hamites, but have no sudden bend which may be compared to ahook. The species hitherto found have been obtained from the gault and green sand. ‘The species (Tropeum Bowerbankii) described in the paper were obtained by Mr. Bowerbank in the Isle of Wight, and were found in the lower green sand on the south side of the Island. jim cee Feed tone atti aeOURN irl ‘ i c eaay Rea vader tin “RA eke ey RH BR ey Re a Pe a ied pe We th PROCEEDINGS OF THE GEOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF LONDON. Vox. II. 1837. No. 51. March 22.—Arthur Capel, Esq., of Charles-street, Berkeley- square ; John B. Boileau, Esq., of Upper Brook-street, Grosvenor- square ; Henry Still, Esq., employed on the Ordnance Survey ; John David Day, Esq., A.B., Brazen Nose College, Oxford ; John G. Malcolmson, Esq., Surgeon in the Hon. Hast India Company’s Ser- vice ; and the Right Hon. T. Frankland Lewis; were elected Fellows of this Society. A paper “‘ On the Ancient State of the North American Continent;” by Thomas Roy, Esq., Civil Engineer, Toronto, Upper Canada, and communicated by Charles Lyell, Esq., F.G.S., was read in part. April 5.—The reading of Mr. Roy’s paper was concluded. The author having in the course of his professional duties, disco- vered in the lake district of Upper Canada terraces or level ridges which agreed in elevation at considerable horizontal distances, he was induced to extend his inquiries and ascertain how far similar phenomena have been observed in other parts of North America,— what may have been the probable extent of the lake or sea by which the ridges were formed,—and by what operations the waters were drained off, leaving only the present detached Canadian lakes. With a view to ascertain the probable extent of the sea, Mr. Roy traced upwards from Lake Ontario the successive ridges or terraces*, and ascertained that their greatest height was 762 feet above the lake, or 996 feet above the ocean ; he therefore assumed, that the boundary of the ancient sea must have had an elevation of at least 1000 feet, and in consequence, that it must have been formed on the west by the rocks and mountains ranging from the table-land of Mexico to the parallel of 47° of latitude ; on the north by the barrier which separates the head-waters of the lakes from those of the Arctic rivers, and extending to Cape Tourmente below Quebec ; on the east by the hills stretching through the United States to the Gulf of Mexico ; and on the south by a mountain ridge which has been de- stroyed. The area thus circumscribed is calculated to be 960,000 square miles. * These parallel ridges were exhibited on a section extending obliquely from the mouth of the Niagara to thesouth of Lake Ontario, and over the ridge north of that lake, to Lake Simcoe. 27 538 The chief geological feature connected with Mr. Roy’s observations and described in the paper, is the high land which separates Lake Ontario from Lake Simcoe. The distance between these bodies of water is 42 miles, and the greatest elevation of the ridge is 762 feet _ Lake Ontario, or 282 above lake Simcoe. The lowest visible formation is a stratified blue clay which effervesces freely andis of un- known depth. Above this are immense masses of clay, sometimes re- sembling fuller’s earth, and sand most irregularly associated. The cen- tral and northern divisions of the ridge are thickly strewed, even to the highest peaks, with a great variety of boulders, many of them of immense size, and for the greater part derived from primary or trans- ition formations. Many of them are rounded, and others decayed by weathering, whilst the edges of some are perfectly entire. On the southern side of the ridge boulders are not so common. The manner in which the materials composing this ridge are ar- ranged, resembles, in Mr. Roy's opinion, that in which drifted matter is now disposed along the margin of the lakes at the breaking up of the ice ; and hence he conceives, that the ridges may, to a consider- able extent, have been accumulated in a similar manner. The author then enters into a calculation of the quantity of water hourly discharged by the Saint Lawrence, the Mississippi and the Hudson, amounting, according to his estimate, to 4000 millions of cubic feet ; and afterwards proceeds to show, that in order to reduce the ancient lake 30 feet, the distance between two of the highest pa- rallel ridges, fifteen years would be required, supposing the discharge to be double that at present, Mr. Roy next details with considerable minuteness, the processes by which he supposes this vast sea was drained ; but as his descrip- tions cannot be successfully followed without the aid of diagrams, they do not admit of being given in the Society's Proceedings. A paper “ On the Geology of the neighbourhood of Smyrna ;” by Hugh Edwin Strickland, Esq., F.G.S., was then read. The district described consists of two ranges of high land, running from east to west, separated hy the bay of Smyrna and the alluvial plain of Bournabat, at the eastern termination of which is a trans- verse ridge uniting the two ranges. The rocks belong to the formations described by the author in his former paper on Asia Minor (p. 424, &c.), and are: 1. Hippurite limestone and schist ; 2. Tertiary limestone and marl; 3. Tra- chytic rocks. The author supposes that mountains of hippurite limestone formed the boundaries of a lake in which tertiary beds were deposited, which were afterwards broken up by the eruption of trachytic rocks, and that the same event may have produced the drainage of the lake sub- sequently carried on by the denudation of its outlet, which is now traversed by the Meles. 1. The hippurite limestone on the south side of Smyrna bay is ac- companied by much black, greenish, or cream-coloured sandstone, analogous to the macigno of Italy; but it is difficult to decide whe- 939 ther the schist or limestone is highest in geological position. The latter extends from 15 to 20 miles to the east along the north side of the Tmolus range; but in Mount Corax the limestone is com- monly absent, and schistose rocks prevail, in some places yellowish and friable, in others dark-coloured and compact ; a fine-grained quartzose conglomerate also occurs. 2. The tertiary lacustrine limestone on the south side of the bay forms a table-land extending south from Smyrna about 15 miles. It consists of whitish limestone in herizontal beds containing nodules and layers of quartz resinite. Planorbes and paludine abound at cer- tain points, but are not generally diffused. Greenish marls alternate with the limestone, and prevail in the central parts of the area where they contain beds of rolled gravel of nummulitic limestone, schist, and red trachyte. Conglomerate beds also prevail around the margin. 3. A vast mass of trachyte appears near Smyrna, and from thence to spread over the lacustrine beds. It consists chiefly of reddish porphyritic trachyte, in some places stratified on a small scale. A breccia of fragments of blackish trachyte in a red paste is also fre- quent. The aqueous and igneous rocks do not alternate ; the lacus- trine beds do not contain igneous materials, and no dikes are observed. On the south side the trachyte overlies the lacustrine formation like a lava coulée, the uppermost bed of the latter in contact with the trachyte being a conglomerate of hippurite limestone and schist with no traces of igneous matter. Mount Pagus, south of Smyrna, is chiefly trachyte overlying the lacustrine beds, which crop out on the north side and dip towards the centre of the hill, consisting of sandy strata with vegetable re- mains and shells of helix and unic, and between them and the tra- chyte is the limestone conglomerate. At the north-east foot of the hill is a small isolated mass of yellowish schist and hippurite lime- stone about an acre in extent. The north side of Smyrna bay presents appearances analogous to those on the south. The grey hippurite limestone of Mount Sipylus is accompanied as at Mount Tartali by black and greenish schists. The lacustrine deposits are overlaid by a great mass of trachyte which forms the lofty mountain of Cordileon. The relation of the lacustrine beds to the grey hippurite limestone is well exposed in a ravine north of Bournabat ; and a few yards further north they con- tain beautiful impressions of leaves referred to the genera Laurus, Nerium, Olea, Salix, Quercus, and Tamarix ; also shells of Cyclas, Paludina, Planorbis, and Cyprus. In ascending hence to the west the lacustrine marls are surmounted by non-volcanic conglomerate, identical with that of Mount Pagus. Above this are beds of tufaceous conglomerate, and at the top the brown trachyte of Cordileon, resem- bling that near Smyrna, and like it sometimes laminated, but pre- senting little variety except ina long ridge opposite Smyrna which consists of whitish decomposed earthy trachyte. A letter was next read addressed to Sir Charles Lemon, Bart., F.G.S., by R. W. Fox, Esq., “ On the process by which Mineral Veins have been filled.” 272 540 Mr. Fox admits that the non-mechanical deposits in mineral veins may be due, in part, to infiltration from the enclosing rocks ; but it appears to him, that such deposits might have been derived in almost indefinite quantities, by the circulation or ascension of currents of heated water from the deeper parts of the original fissures. He says, that water in this state possesses very great powers as a solvent, and would therefore become highly charged with earthy and metallic salts ; but that in ascending it would lose its temperature, and consequently deposit the solutions against the sides of the veins. He is of opinion, that the arrangement of the ore in different rocks, cannot be due to simple chemical affinity only, because the accumula- tion of the metallic masses is not found, in Cornwall at least, to depend on the nature of the containing rock, the ore of a given metal being sometimes found in granite, sometimes in elvan, sometimes in killas. This preferment of one rock to another he conceives may have re- sulted from the relative position of the mineral masses, but to be chiefly due to electricity. Extracts from two letters ‘ On the Earthquake in Syria in January last ;” addressed by Mr. Moore, his Majesty’s Consul-General at Beyrout, to Viscount Palmerston, and communicated by J. Back- house, Esq.,and the Hon. W. T. H. Fox Strangways, F.G.S., Under Secretaries of State, were also read. The first letter, dated Beyrout, Jan. 2nd, 1837, announces that the earthquake was felt in that city at thirty-five minutes past four o clock in the afternoon of the preceding day. It was accompanied by a rumbling noise, which lasted about ten seconds, and appeared to pro- ceed from the north. Nobuildings were thrown down in the town, but seven or eight without the walls, and one or two lives were lost. In the neighbourhood of Beyrout the course of the river Ontilias was suspended, and mills built on its banks were deprived of water for some hours. When the stream returned it was turbid, and of a red- dish sandy colour. During the day of the earthquake the atmosphere was close and charged with electricity. Fahrenheit’s thermometer stood at 66°, but five minutes after the earthquake it rose to 70°. Four or five mi- nutes after the shock the compass was still agitated. The oldest inhabitants did not remember so severe an earthquake. The second letter was written also at Beyrout, partly on the 9th of January, and partly on the 23rd. It contains detailed accounts of the damage which had been done to numerous towns and villages. At Damascus, four minarets and several houses were thrown down ; and at Acre, part of the walls and some buildings. Saffet was en- tirely destroyed, and nearly all the population, amounting to between four and five thousand, perished. The ground near the city was rent into fearful chasms, and up tothe last accounts shocks were felt daily. ‘Tiberiad was also entirely destroyed, except the baths ; and the lake rose and drowned many of the inhabitants. The dispatch contains a list of thirty-nine villages which had been totally destroyed, and six partially; and Mr. Moore says, it had been ascer- tained that the earthquake was felt on a line of five hundred miles in a4] Length by ninety in breadth. It was also perceived in the island of Cyprus. April 19.—Kdward Herbert Bunbury, Esq., A.M., Fellow of Trinity College, Cambridge ; Elenry Boase, M.D., of Burton Crescent; and Thomas Jervis, Esq., Hon. East India Company’s Engineers; were elected Fellows of this Society. A paper was read, entitled “A description of the Cranium of the Toxodon Platensis, a gigantic extinct mammiferous species, referrible by its dentition to the Rodentia, but with affinities to the Pachyder- . mata and the Herbivorous Cetacea;” by Richard Owen, Esgq., F.R.S., Hunterian Prolessor of Anatomy to the Royal College of Surgeons. The author premises his anatomical description of the present fossil, by an abstract from Mr. Darwin’s account of the geological structure of the district in which the cranium was found, from which it appears that it was imbedded in a whitish argillaceous earth, forming part of the banks of the Sarandis, a small stream entering the Rio Negre, and about 120 miles distant to the north-west of Monte Video. The foundation of the whole surrounding country is granitic, but covered, often toa considerable thickness, by a reddish argillaceous soil, containing small calcareous concretions. The cranium in question equals in size that of the hippopotamus, measuring two feet four inches in length, and one foot four inches in extreme breadth. The form of the skull is elongate, depressed, and chiefly remark- able for the strength and wide expanse of the zygomatic arches, and the aspect of the occipital foramen and occipital region of the skuil, which slopes from below upwards and forwards. ‘The maxillary portion of the skull is compressed laterally, narrow, with large inter- maxillary bones, slightly dilated at their extremity. The teeth consist of molars and incisors. The latter are four in number in the upper jaw, the two middle ones very small, the two external ones very large, curved, and with their sockets extending back- wards in an arched direction, through the intermaxillary bones to the maxillary, and terminating, without diminishing in size, immediately anterior to the grinding teeth, where the large persistent pulps of these incisors were lodged. In form and relative size these teeth must have resembled the dentes scalprarzi of the Rodentia. The molar teeth no less present a close approximation in their form and structure to the molar teeth of the herbivorous rodents ; as is demonstrated in the detailed descriptions of one of these teeth found by Mr. Darwin in another locality, but belonging to the same species of Toxodon, and to an individual of the same size as that to which the cranium here described belonged ; and of a portion of another molar lodged in one of the sockets of the same cranium. . The molar teeth are seven in number on each side of the upper jaw, and from the form of the sockets appear to have corresponded with each other in structure. 542 After this description of the teeth, the form, proportions, disposition and connections of the different bones of the cranium are pointed out; and the structure of the osseous cavities subservient to the organ of sense is adverted to, and deductions as to the aquatic habits of the Toxodon are founded on these observations. So far as regards the form and position of the external aperture of the bony nostrils, and of the occipital condyles, and the slope of the plane of the occipital region of the skull, the same arguments might be advanced for referring the Toxodon to the mammiferous group containing the Dugong, as have been recently urged in reference to the Deinotherium, but the existence of air-cells or sinuses in the su- perior parietes of the cranium in the Toxodon, show that the cranial characters above alluded to, are not conclusive as to the cetaceous nature of an extinct mammal. The general conclusions respecting the affinities which the Toxodon bears to existing orders of mammalia, so far as opinions can be formed from the portion of the skeleton preserved, are summed up by the author as follows : So far as dental characters have weight, the Torodon must be re- ferred to the rodent order ; but from this order it deviates in the relative position of the supernumerary incisors, and in the number and direction of the curvature of the molars. It again deviates in the transverse direction of the joint of the lower jaw, and in the relative position of the glenoid cavities and zygomatic arches. In the aspect of the plane of the occipital fora- men, and occipital region of the skull, in the form and position of the occipital condyles,—the aspect of the plane of the bony aper- ture of the nostrils, and in the thickness and texture of the osseous parietes of the skull, the Toxodon deviates both from the Rodentia and existing Pachydermata, and manifests an affinity to the Dino- therium anc the Cetaceous order. The author observes, however, that the development of the nasal cavity and the presence of frontal sinuses, render it extremely im- probable that the habits of the Toxodon were so exclusively aquatic as would result from the total absence of hinder extremities, and concludes, therefore, that itis a quadruped, and not a Cetacean ; and that it manifests an additional step in the gradation of mammiferous forms leading from the Rodentia, through the Pachydermata to the Cetacea ; a gradation of which the water-hog of South America ( Hydrocherus Capybara) already indicates the commencement amongst - existing Rodentia, of which order it is interesting to observe this species is the largest, while at the same time it is peculiar to the continent in which the remains of the gigantic Toxodon were dis- covered. May 3.—The Rev. Baden Powell, A.M., F.R.S., Savilian Professor of Geometry in the University of Oxford, was elected a Fellow of this Society. A paper was first read, entitled “‘A Sketch of the Deposits contain- 543 ing extinct Mammalia in the neighbourhood of the Plata;” by Charles Darwin, Esq., F.G.S. Mr. Darwin premised his account of the geological features of the district in which the remains of the Toxodon, described at the meet- ing on the 19th of April by Mr. Owen, (p. 541) were found, by re- marking that as the other mammalia and the fossil shells had not yet been accurately examined, the notice was necessarily imperfect. To the westward and southward of the great estuary of La Plata, extend those level and almost boundless plains which are known by the name of the Pampas. Their geological constitution over many hundred square miles does not vary. It consists of a reddish argil- laceous earth, which generally contains irregular concretions of a white aluminous limestone, or indurated marl, often passing irregularly into a compact calcareous stone, traversed by small linear cavities, si- milar to those which occur in many of the freshwater limestones of Europe. In the province of Entre Rios, the formation which composes the surface of the Pampas overlies and passes into a series of beds of sand, clay, and crystalline cellular limestone ; containing sharks’ teeth, gigantic oysters, and other shells belong- ing to the genera arca, Venus and pecten. ‘These shells, with the exception of the oyster, have a general resemblance to existing species. To the northward and eastward of the Plata, the province of Banda Oriental, though very low and level, consists of gneiss, granite and primary slate. These rocks are generally concealed by a considerable thickness of a reddish earth, which, though at first sight like ordinary detritus, belongs to the same formation with that composing the Pampas. This deposit, extending over so wide an area on both sides of the Plata, abounds with very numerous remains of various extinct mammalia; among which the Torodon, Mega- therium, Mastodon, an animal covered with an armadillo-like case, and as Mr. Darwin believes, the horse, co-existed in the same district. Proofs of the elevation of the land within a recent period, occur in several parts. Mr. Darwin stated that he had seen in the possession of Sir W. Parish, marine shells which occur near Buenos Ayres in great beds, elevated several yards above the level of the river; and these same species the author had found living on the mud banks on another part of the coast. He, therefore, inferred, that at no very remote period a great bay occupied the area both of the Pampas and of the lower parts of Banda Oriental; and that into this bay the several rivers, which now unite to form the Plata, poured down red- dish sediment, resulting, as at the present day, from the decompo- sition of the granites of Brazil, and charged with carbonate and sul- phate of lime, perhaps derived from the Cordillera. On the cliff-formed shores of Entre Rios, the line can be distinguished where the estuary mud first encroached on the deposits of the ocean. The author also supposed that the ancient rivers, like those of the present day, car- ried down the carcases of land animals, which thus became entombed in the accumulating sediment. Since that period, by the gradual rising of the land, the bottom of the great bay has been converted into plains, almost as level as the surface of the former sea; and the 544 rivers now hollowing out courses for themselves, have exposed, in many places, the skeletons of those ancient inhabitants of the neighbouring land. Mr. Darwin then briefly alluded to a small formation of mud and shingle at Bahia Blanca, some hundred miles south of the Plata, in which the remains of several extinct quadrupeds have been dis- covered. Amongst these he enumerated the Megathertum Cuvieri, the remains perhaps of a smaller species of Megathertum; a quadruped closely allied to the armadilloes, but nearly as large as a horse; some small rodents, and other animals. These remains are embedded with one species of terrestrial, and several of marine shells, the latter being identical with some existing in the adjoining bay. It is, there- fore, certain that the greater number of the above mammalia found at Bahia Blanca lived within a very recent epoch; and from the po- sition of the bed in which they occur, it is equally certain tnat the form of the land has undergone, since that period, very little change, even of level, with respect to the ocean. Several hundred miles further southward, Mr. Darwin found the remains of an animal which Mr, Owen says has an affinity with the Llama or Guanaco, but was of a gigantic size: this animal likewise existed since the Atlantic has been peopled by the shells now living. The author observed in conclusion, that the comparative recent- ness of the epoch at which the fossil mammalia lived, is shown, first by the shells associated with them ; secondly, by the recent tertiary character of the strata underlying the deposit containing those re- mains ; and thirdly, from the little altitude of such beds above the level of the sea; for in this country, according to the author's obser- vations, the movements seem to have been so regular, that the amount of elevation becomes a measure of time. These facts relating to the former existence of the inhabitants of a part of the globe so remote from Europe, fully confirm the re- markable law, often insisted upon by Mr. Lyell, that “ the longevity of the species ” among mammalia has been of shorter duration than among molluscs. The author finally remarked, that although several gigantic land animals, which formerly swarmed in South America, have perished, yet that they are now represented by animals, confined to that country; and though of diminutive size, possess the peculiar anatomical structure of their great extinct prototypes. An extract of a letter, dated Saharumpore, 18th November, 1836, from Captain Cautley to Dr. Royle, was next read ; permitting the announcement of a fact which had long been communicated to the latter, of the finding of the remains of a quadrumanous animal in the Sewaliks, or Sub-Himalayan range of mountains, An astralagus was first found, but latterly a nearly perfect head, with one side of the molars and one orbit nearly complete. The animal must have been much larger than any existing monkey, and allied to Cuvier’s Cynocephaline group. Captain C. also announced the discovery by Major Colvin of a specimen of the head of the Sivatherium, in which, in conformity to the conjectures of Dr, Falconer and himself, in their 545 — paper, it is found that the animal had four horns, two in front and two large trifurcated ones behind. He considers the animal to be allied to the Dicranocerine group of Major Hamilton Smith. Capt. C. also mentions the discovery of a large bear, as well as of a camel, respecting which he had, in conjunction with Dr. Falconer, published a paper. Mastodon’s heads were also making their ap- pearance, perfectly different in form from the proboscidean Pachy- dermata of the present day. There appeared to be altogether two if not three species, besides the variety of M. angustidens. A paper was then read ‘‘ On some recent elevations of the Coast of Banffshire; and on a deposit of clay, formerly considered to be lias ;” by Joseph Prestwich, jun., F.G.S. That an uplifting of the shores of the Moray Firth, has taken place subsequent to its having assumed its present outline, is proved by the existence, in several places, of a raised beach. In Banffshire this beach varies from six to twelve feet above the present high water level ; and occasionally abounds in shells now inhabiting the adja- cent seas, as Patella vulgata, P. levis, Trochus ziziphinus, Littorina littorea, and Turbo retusus. To this upheaving of the land the author attributes the draining of the former lowlands, as he conceives is indicated by the remains of drained peat-mosses. A section of one of these presented a total thickness of about four feet, including two irregular layers of gravel, of quartz grit, with freshwater and land shells. In a paper on the Gamrie Ichthyolites, read before the Society in April 1835*, Mr. Prestwich stated, that having been informed of the occurrence of lias fossils in the dark clay and sand, which in many parts of Banffshire cap the old red sandstone and schistose rocks, he had inferred that these beds might be outliers of lias. Having however subsequently visited the country, and examined that de- posit at Blackpots and Gamrie, he found the lias fossils in separate masses and associated with rolled fragments of the older recks. He also met with at Gamrie, in a bed of light coloured sand, alternating with dark clay and beds of gravel, the following recent shells, s- arte Scotica, Tellina tenuis, Buccinumundatum, Natica glaucina, Fusus durricola, Dentalium dentalis, &c. ‘They were extremely friable, but perfect. This deposit or drift attains, in places, a thickness of 250 feet, and rises to a height of 350 feet. In conclusion, the author attributes the origin of this drift to a denudation of the lias and older formations; and he infers, from the perfect preservation of the fossils, and the superposition of the beds, that its accumulation was gradual. A paper was afterwards read, entitled “‘ An account of a Tertiar Deposit near Lixouri, in the island of Cephalonia ;” by William John Hamilton, Esq., F.G.S., and Hugh Edwin Strickland, Esq., F.G.S. The authors state that most of the island of Cephalonia which they had an opportunity of examining, consists of a hard white limestone h * Geological Proceedings, Vol. ii, No. 40. 546 or scaglia, occasionally more or less crystalline, which forms the principal rock of the Ionian islands. It is generally without fossils, but near Argosteli contains numerous organic remains, principally small spiral univalves; and near the middle of this vast formation are two beds of oyster shells, about a foot thick each, and parallel to the stratification which dips to the north-east at an angle of 25°. The tertiary formation extends for two or three miles to the north and south of Lixouri, forming several parallel lines of hills, sloping to the east according to the dip of the strata, and presenting a sue- cession of steep escarpments toward the west. The beds are all conformable, dipping a few degrees to the north of east by compass, at an angle varying from 45° to 55°. These beds are remarkable for their great thickness, the beauty and number of their fossils ; and for the variety of strata through which they extend. The beds, of which sixteen are enumerated, may be classed under three principal heads. First, the calcareo-arenaceous; second, the argillaceous ; third, the gypseous beds. Of these, the first is a loose sandy alluvium, rising very gradually from the sea side, and resting unconformably upon the other beds which are conformable. The fossils belong to numerous genera; and some of the species have been identified with those at present existing in the Mediterranean. May 17th.—Joseph Walker, Esq., of Caldeston House, Liverpool, and President of the Institution of Liverpool, was elected a Fellow of this Society. “ tea he ot Sa acs na ee ED ROL, ie fie cee sash Aiinermneale INDEX TO THE PAPERS READ DURING THE SESSION 1836—1837. AnnuaL Report, 17th February, 1837 ...sececssocossscoressevsvesssrere 460 Bassace, C. Esq. On Impressions in Sandstone resembling those of Horses’ Hoofs 439 Bowerzank, J. S. Esq. On a Deposit containing recent Land Shells at Gore Cliff ...... 449 Bucxzanp, Rev. W., D.D. On the Occurrence of Silicified Trunks of Trees in the New Red Sandstone at Allesley ........ epondaposanandousoodnbae nodoCbOReDoAscooNME DoS 439 On the Occurrence of Keuper- -sandstone in England and Wales 453 Caupcieveu, A. Esq. On Elevation of Strata on the Coast of Chili ....cssccsscoccsssoeeose 444 Cauttey, P. T. Captain. On the Discovery of Quadrumanous Remains in the Sewalik Hills 544 Cauttey, P. T. Captain, and Fatconer, H., M.D. On the see of Remains of a Fossil Monkey in the Sewalik ebilll Speeeneesise cies seciee sesesttsicias Sucacenocoocucboancrenanuccocepospocenenoodnon as) Crarxe, Rev. W. Be On the Geology of Suffolk ..........+6+ nrocnngondsondbonbdacoooasonNses 528 On the Northern part of the Cotentin ...cccccvcccseseeserecsseraves 454 Danrwty, C. Esq. Observations of proofs of Recent Elevation on the Coast of Chili 446 Sketch of the Deposits containing Extinct Mammalia in the Neighbourhood ofethie Pla tage esas dateaaaa ai aals inn satiacaicltastlaciacians 542 On certain Areas of Blewition and Sriberarna in the Baeige and Indian Oceans, as deduced from Coral Formations cscsossssesssssoee 502 Fatconer, H., M.D., and Cauttey, P. T., Captain. On the Discovery of Remains of a Fossil Monkey in the Sewalik Le QS Gonooadse Soneshecereeces ceceveereeeserecvaceresscesessvessescrsacersarssons 368 Forcunamme_r, G., P.D. On some Changes of Level during the historic period in Denmark 554 Fox, R. W. Esq. On the Process by which Mineral Veins have been filled ...... 539 Grant, Captain. On the Geology of Cutch ..sccsccsosccsserrcrcercersccscavcorsacsaces 520 Hamitton, W. J. Esq., and STRICKLAND, H. E. Esq. On the Geology of the Thracian Bosphorus ...........sessesseeeer 43 Account of a Tertiary Deposit near Lixouri ......... sniodsqaoHaNTHs 545 HerscueE tt, Sir J. F. W. On Phenomena sconuecied with the Internal Temperature of the Earth .. Paeistaisslstepisre(slerestetesietssietes goodoacanocoobnoDded Saonodoee 548 to 551 Lyext, C. eg Anniversary Address delivered 17th February ............... sends 479 McCreranp, M.D. On the Geology of part of Upper Assam, &C. ........seseeeseeene . 566 Mircue ct, J., LL.D. Account of a Well at Beaumont Green ........++. 5 enone Spanondosdee 551 Moors, R., Esq. On the Ear paiquakes in Syria in January 1857 .....ssesecerseeeeees 510 INDEX. Morris, J. Esq. On the Strata usually termed Plastic Clay ......csscscsecereecceceecs Mourcuison, R. I. Esq., and Sepewicx, Rev. Prof, On a raised Beach in Barnstaple Bay...........scsssscessessccsececcs On the Physical Structure of Devonshire ; “and on the Subdivisions and Geological Relations of its old Stratified Depositsyeeccecserscss: Mourcuison, R. I. Esq., and Strickianp, H. E., Esq. On the upper part of the new red Sandstone System in Glou- CE SIEHS OIE, (8X05 condoononogadGQDODOUEADOUADODOQOUOBHDAObAD00ND0G00. ConNG0000 Owen, R. Esq. On the Toxodon Platensis ..ccssccscssesccecsssersccsees annogdononvanoS Pratt, S. P. Esq. On the Coast of Normandy ...cccoscsccscrescersreceere sedeeeearbroecss Prestwicu, J. Esq. Additional Remarks on the Neighbourhood of Gamrie ......... Ricuarpson, W. Esq. Notice of successful Boring for Water at Mortlake ..........00-0 Rivero, Don Mariano. On assumed Elevation of Strata on the Coast of Chili ............ Roy, T. Esq. On the Ancient State of the North American Continent ......... Scouter, Joun, M.D. On Elevated Hills of Gravel containing Marine Shells in the Vicinity of Dublin eics..cccc.ccccconeseocarcnsesesccsvses SagogodonIEG00000100000 Sepewick, Rev. Prof., and Murcutson, R. I. Esq. On a Raised Beach i in Barnstaple Bay .....cosseee go0ddaq0000¢00000C On the Physical Structure of Devonshire; and on the Subdivisions and Geological Relations of its old Stratified Weposity ecocean- Suita, J. Esq. Changesin Relative Level of Sea and Land West Coast of Scotland Sowersy, Mr. J. de C On the Genus Trop2eum ............cerceeesrse ovcesersscevevoconserens SPECIAL GENERAL MEETING to elect two SecretarieS -.sececseoce seers Stoxgs, C. Esq. Further Notice on the ra! Petrified Wood from the Roman MqueductiatpPiUsOn sc. sneaasecucserecdsreecsnsrecenceatoesectmeei decir Srrickuanp, H. E. Esq. On the Western Coast of Asia Minor ...sc.scccscsscscecscsvcevevesss On the Neighbourhood of Smyrna .......scccessccccsevecsserecscseces STRICKLAND, H. E., Esq. and Hamixton, W. J. Esq. On the Geology of the Thracian Bosphorus ......cscscsocsres cores Account of a Tertiary Deposit near Lixouri ......cccsccecssccessere Stricxuanp, H. E. Esq., and Murcuison, R. I. Esq. On the Upper Part of the new red Sandstone System in Glouces- MOI OWE) GOMES. Qandcnadosndoosbdsade Baccneaitte anodadoodbodonbabuboodDoond00000000 Watpote, Colonel. On assumed Change of Level in Chili ....... sann0Qn0GGcqn0qN5000008 Wittiams, Rev. D. On the Raised Beaches of Taunton, Downend, and Baggy Point Wittiamson, W. C. Esq. On the Distribution of Organic Remains in the Oolitic Forma- tions; Coast .of Yorkshire scsccscscssariecescensccecuasecamencenee Rateeeaiese Wyatt, J. Esq. On a Trap Dyke in the Penrhyn Slate Quarries cscssceccoee scoee Page. 450 44] 556 563 541 546 545 449 446 537 435 441 556 427 535 4:3 440 423 538 | 437 545 563 446 435 429 449 PROCEEDINGS OF THE GEOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF LONDON. Vo. II. 1837—1838. EN? BORN ee Nov. 1, 1837.—The Society assembled the first time, this even- ing, for the Session. Alexander Crichton, Esq., of Charles-street, Grosvenor-square ; Major-General Sir Patrick Ross, K.C.M.G., K.C.H., of Richmond, Surrey; John Slade, M.D., of Brock-street, Bath ; Philip Hardwick, Esq., of Russell-square; Thomas Eyton, Esq., of Eyton, Shropshire ; and the Rev. Robert Wilson, of Ashwelthorpe Hall, near Wymond- ham, were elected Fellows of this Society. A Letter “On Fossil Fishes in the Lancashire Coal Field,” by W.C. Williamson, Esq., Curator of the Manchester Natural History Society, was read. The author first refers to his account of the Ardwick Limestone, pub- lished in the 9th vol. of the Philosophical Magazine for 1836, (p. 241.), where short descriptions are given of the ichthyolites which had been then met with, consisting of scales of Megalichthys, scales and teeth of Palzoniscus, and coprolites. Mr. Williamson, in conjunction with Professor Johnstone, has since come to the conclusion, that the bed in which these remains occur, is entirely a coprolitic mass, the por- tions preserved being such as would not be destroyed by the action of the stomach. With the above remains, was also described a tooth of Diplodus gibbosus, (Agassiz), numbers of which of various sizes have been found at Bradford, near Manchester, in the roof of the great mine, a bed of coal four feet thick, and one of the highest in the series that is worked. The roofstone abounds with Entomostracous remains. The fishes’ teeth resemble one figured by Dr. Hibbert in his Memoir on the Limestone at Burdie-house, and referred by him to Gyracanthus*. The author has met with no traces of the thorny ray of this fish. The coprolites contain 72°5 phosphate of lime, 12-5 carbonate of lime, 12°5 bitumen, 2°5 insoluble matter ; and therefore resemble in composition the analysis given by Dr. Hibbert}. The author, in examining, at Peel, near Worsley, the “ Black and White Mine,” a coal 6 feet 6 inches thick, and about 1000 yards below the Rodte Todte Liegende, found, in its black roofstone, remains of Paleoniscus Egertonii. ‘The fine blue colour of the scales forms a curious characteristic. Two other forms of scales have been met with, * Edinb. Phil. Trans., vol. xiii. p. 218, + Ibid., p. 222. ZY 572 evidently belonging to distinct species of fish; one is small, rhom- boidal, and coated with a bright enamel; the other is peculiar from the mucronate and grooved character of one extremity, and the cy- cloid outline of the other. At the same place were found scales resembling those of Megalichthys, several small teeth of Diplodus gibbosus, and several osseous portions of some large fish not yet determined. Near Ringley, about five miles from Peel, the same roofstone was found in another pit, which the author has not yet further examined; but in both pits one or two species. of Unio occur, as well as remains of Stigmaria ficoides, Calamites nodosus, and other plants. A paper “ On the geology of the island of Zante,” by Hugh Edwin Strickland, Esq., F.G.S., was next read. The author commences by stating, that his observations were the result of only a few days’ residence. The structure of Zante is more simple than that of the other Ionian islands; and seems to present an epitome of their component rocks in an almost unbroken succession. The geological phenomena of Zante may be arranged under the three heads of, 1. Apennine Limestone; 2. Tertiary deposits; and 3. Mineral Springs. 1, Apennine Limestone.—This name is adopted as being the most convenient appellation for the vast deposit of compact, light-coloured limestone in the south of Europe, especially on the shores of the Adriatic. It is uniform in character for many thousand feet of vertical thickness, and many hundred miles of horizontal extent. Its fossils, though rare, show it to be the equivalent of the cretaceous, and perhaps also of the oolitic series of Northern Europe. The formation con- stitutes an anticlinal ridge, extending along the west coast of the island, in a direction about N.N.W. and S.S.E., and it seems to be the continuation of a similar ridge which passes through Cephalo- nia. Along the E. side of the ridge, the strata dip from 30° to 45° E.N.E. but to the west of Point Skinari an opposite dip commences, and prevails, with local exceptions, to near Point Cheri, where it re- sumes the eastwardly inclination. The tertiary strata occur only on the eastern side of this mountain- ous ridge ;_ the western being formed of a series of almost perpen- dicular cliffs, upwards of 600 feet high. This white limestone often assumes the character of the hard chalk of England; and though no flints were noticed in it in Zante, yet they are not unfrequent in the same formation in Corfu. Organic remains are occasionally found, and consist of Nummulites, fragments of Hippurites, &c. The limestone abounds in faults and fractures, as well as caverns, subterranean rivers, and thermal and mineral springs. In these respects no less than in mineral structure, the Apennine limestone presents a close analogy to the carboniferous limestone of Northern Europe, for which it has often been mistaken. 2. Tertiary deposits.—These strata repose on the eastern flank of the limestone range, and extend thence to the east coast. They form 973 several detached hills rising through the alluvial matter, which con- stitutes the central plain of the island. They have partaken of the same elevation which raised the limestone range, from which they dip away regularly to the eastward. The uppermost strata resemble those which occur near Lixouri in Cephalonia. In Zante, near the Castle-hill, they consist of an aggregate of calcareous and arenaceous particles, form- ing a pale yellow, porous stone, which is easily worked. Few fossils are found except on the east coast, where numerous casts of Cerithia and other Mollusca occur. These strata are succeeded by a thick de- posit of blue clay and marl, containing Pectwnculus auritus, Broch., Buccinum semistriatum, Broch., and Natica glaucina, Lam. The gypseous beds which succeed the argillaceous at Lixouri, are not here visible, but in the south coast of Zante they form the com- mencement of a section which extends much further down in the series than the lowermost beds examined at Lixouri. The strata above the gypsum clearly belong to the Pliocene epoch; many of their fossils being identical with those of the subapennine hills. Whether the strata which underlie the gypsum, in the section on the north of the Bay of Cheri, belong to the same, or to an older epoch, is not so clear. They contain but few fossils, as crushed Echini and obscure bivalves; but in one situation a bed of indurated bluish marl contains great abundance of the shells of the two ge- nera of pteropodous mollusca, Hyalea and Creseis, but the species are larger than the Hyalea cornea, and Creseis spinifera, now living in the Mediterranean. The argillaceous beds are succeeded by yellowish calcareous sand- stone and loosely aggregated limestone, which dip 18° S.W., but no traceable sequence could be observed, in consequence of a great sub- sidence, which appears to have taken place between this point and the range of secondary limestone forming the marshy plain of Port Cheri, towards which the tertiary strata dip on both sides. Some of the calcareous strata are fine-grained, and approach the texture of Port- land-stone. Minute Foraminifera are abundant in it, and two small species of Pecten were observed. On the west side of Port Cheri is a low cliff of blue marl and clay, containing a few scales and vertebre of fishes, and a few species of _ Vermiculum, Mont., (Quinqueloculina, D’Orbigny). This argillaceous mass has probably been brought down from some higher part of the tertiary series, by the subsidence which seems to have formed the valley and bay of Port Cheri, and of which a striking proof may be seen in a fault in the Apennine limestone, where a smooth surface of rock descends to the sea, and which is scored with numerous parallel strie, not perpendicular, but at an angle of 65° to the horizon. The enor- mous friction and pressure of the descending mass, has imparted to this surface of rock a remarkable degree of hardness, and a darker colour. This change penetrates about two or three inches from the surface; but at a greater depth the rock is softer and white, much resembling the compact chalk of Yorkshire. 3. Mineral Springs.—The sources of bitumen for which Zante has been celebrated since the time of Herodotus, rise in the midst of the marshy plain at Port Cheri. The principal is a well 5 feet deep ; and Dy S07 974 the bitumen oozes up from the bottom, and above it the well is filled by a spring of clear, cool, and tasteless water. No bubbles of gas were observed to be given out by the bitumen. About forty barrels are produced here annually. From the different situations in which bitumen is produced, and from there being nothing in the composition of either the tertiary or secondary rocks to account for its production, as well as from its rising where there has been a great dislocation of the strata; the author is induced to infer, that it is derived from the region of volcanic action, which may be almost demonstrated to underlie the Ionian islands. On the northern coast, there is another mineral spring, which rises on the line of a considerable fault in the Apennine limestone, about half a mile to the north of the junction of the tertiary and se- condary rocks. It consists of turbid water, resembling diluted milk in appearance, and issuing at the foot of the cliffs, flows on the surface of the sea-water, in a stratum a few inches thick. Flakes of a slimy white substance abound in this water, and may be seen floating in the sea for a considerable distance. A strong smell of sulphuretted hydrogen is diffused around. The spring indicated a temperature of 65°, which is near the mean temperature of the latitude of Zante. This, therefore, cannot be reckoned among thermal springs, though from its close resemblance to the mineral waters of many volcanic regions, as the Aque Albula near Rome, its origin may be referred to some analogous cause. A paper was afterwards read “ On the Formation of Mould,” by Charles Darwin, Esq., F.G.S. The author commenced by remarking on two of the most striking characters by which the superficial layer of earth, or, as it is commonly called, vegetable mould, is distinguished. These are its nearly homo- genevus nature, although overlying different kinds of subsoil, and the uniform fineness of its particles. ‘The latter fact may be well ob- served in any gravelly country, where, although in a ploughed field, a large proportion of the soil consists of small stones, yet in old pasture- land not asingle pebble will be found within some inches of the sur- face. The author's attention was called to this subject by Mr. Wedg- wood, of Maer Hall, in Staffordshire, who showed him several fields, some of which, a few years before, had been covered with lime, and others with burnt marl and cinders. These substances, in every case, are now buried to the depth of some inches beneath the turf. Three fields were examined withcare. The first consisted of good pasture land, which had been limed, without having been ploughed, about twelve years and a half before: the turf was about half an inch thick ; and twoinches and a half beneath it was a layer or row of small aggre- gated lumpsof the lime forming, at an equal depth, a well-marked white line. The soil beneath this was of a gravelly nature, and differed very considerably from the mould nearer the surface. About three years since cinders were likewise spread on this field. These are now buried at the depth of one inch, forming a line of black spots parallel to and above the white layer of lime. Some other cinders, which had been scattered in another part of tne same field, were either still 575 lying on the surface, or entangled in the roots of the grass. The second field examined was remarkable only from the cinders being now buried in a layer, nearly an inch thick, three inches beneath the surface. This layer was in parts so continuous, that the superficial mould was only attached to the subsoil of red clay by the longer roots of the grass. The history of the third field is more complete. Previously to fif- teen years since, it was waste land ; but at that time it was drained, harrowed, ploughed, and well covered with burnt marl and cinders. It has not since been disturbed, and now supportsa tolerably good pasture. The section here was, turf half an inch, mould two inches and a half, a layer one and a halfinch thick, composed of fragments of burnt marl (conspicuous from their bright red colour, and some of considerable size, namely, one inch by half an inch broad, and a quarter thick), of cinders, and a few quartz pebbles mingled with earth; lastly, about four inches and a half beneath the surface was the original, black, peaty soil. Thus beneath a layer (nearly four inches thick) of fine particles of earth, mixed with some vegetable matter, those substances now oc- curred, which, fifteen years before, had been spread on the surface. Mr. Darwin stated that the appearance in all cases was as if the frag- ments had, as the farmers believe, worked themselves down. It does not, however, appear at all possible, that either the powdered lime or the fragments of burnt marl and the pebbles could sink through com- pact earth to some inches beneath the surface, and still remain in a continuous layer. Nor is it probable that the decay of the grass, al- though adding to the surface some of the constituent parts of the mould, should separate, in so short a time, the fine from the coarse earth, and accumulate the former on those objects, which so lately were strewed on the surface. Mr. Darwin also remarked, that near towns, in fields which did not appear to have been ploughed, he had often been surprised by finding pieces of pottery and bones some inches below the turf. On the mountains of Chile he had been perplexed by noticing elevated marine shells, covered by earth, in si- tuations where rain could not have washed it on them. The explanation of these circumstances, which occurred to Mr. Wedgwood, although it may at first appear trivial, the author does not doubt is the correct one, namely, that the whole is due to the di- gestive process, by which the common earth-worm is supported. On carefully examining between the blades of grass in the fields above described, the author found, that there was scarcely a space of two inches square without a little heap of the cylindrical castings of worms. It is well known that worms swallow earthy matter, and that having separated the serviceable portion, they eject at the mouth of their burrows, the remainder in little intestine-shaped heaps. The worm is unable to swallow coarse particles, and as it would naturally avoid pure lime, the fine earth lying beneath either the cinders and burnt marl, or the powdered lime, would, by a slow process, be removed, and thrown up tothe surface. This sup- position is not imaginary, for in the field in which cinders had been spread out only halfa year before, Mr. Darwin actually saw the cast- ings of the worms heaped on the smaller fragments. Nor is the 576 agency so trivial as it, at first, might be thought; the great number of earth-worms (as every one must be aware, who has ever dug ina grass-field) making up for the insignificant quantity of work which each performs. On the above hypothesis, the great advantage of old pasture land, which farmers are always particularly averse from breaking up, is ex- plained ; for the worms must require a considerable length of time to prepare a thick stratum of mould, by thoroughly mingling the ori- ginal constituent parts of the soil, as well as the manures added by man. In the peaty field, in fifteen years, about three inches and a half had been well digested. It is probable, however, that the process is continued, though at aslow rate, to a much greater depth ; for as often as a worm is compelled by dry weather or any other cause to descend deep, it must bring to the surface, when it empties the contents of its body, a few particles of earth. The author observed, that the diges- tive process of animals is a geological power which acts in another region on a greater scale. In recent coral! formations, the quantity of stone converted into the most impalpable mud, by the excavations of boring shells and of nereidous animals, is very great. Nume- rous large fishes (of the genus Sparus) likewise subsist by browsing on the living branches of coral. Mr. Darwin believes, that a large portion of the chalk of Europe was produced from coral, by the digestive action of marine animals, in the same manner as mould has been prepared by the earth-worm on disintegrated rock. The au- thor concluded by remarking, that it is probable that every particle of earth in old pasture land has passed through the intestines of worms, and hence, that in some senses, the term “ animal mould’ would be more appropriate than “ vegetable mould.” The agricul- turist in ploughing the ground follows a method strictly natural ; and he only imitates in a rude manner, without being able either to bury the pebbles or to sift the fine from the coarse soil, the work which nature is daily performing by the agency of the earth-worm*. * Since the paper was read Mr. Darwin has received from Staffordshire the two following statements :—1. In the spring of 1835 a boggy field was so thickly covered with sand that the surface appeared of ared colour; but the sand is now overlaid by three quarters of an inch of soil. 2. About 80 years ago a field was manured with marl; and it has been since ploughed, but it is not known at what exact period. An imperfect layer of the marl now exists at a depth, very carefully measured from the surface, of 12 inches in some places, and 14 in others, the difference corresponding to the top and hollows of the ridges or butts. It is certain that the marl was buried before the field was ploughed, because the fragments are not scattered through the soil, but constitute a layer, which is horizontal, and therefore not parallel to the undulations of the ploughed surface. No plough, more- over, could reach the marl in its present position, as the furrows in this neighbourhood are never more than eight inches in depth. In the above paper it is shown, that three inches and a half of mould had been accumu- lated in fifteen years; and in this case, within eighty years (that is, on the supposition, rendered probable from the agricultural state of this part of the country, that the field had never before been marled) the earthworms have covered the marl with a bed of earth averaging thirteen inches in thick- ness. 577 Nov. 15.—Henry Edmund Goodhall, Esq., of Guildford Street, Russell Square ; Frederick William Mullins, Esq. M.P., of Beaufort House, County of Kerry, and Great Ryder Street, London, were elected Fellows of this Society. A Letter from Walter Calverly Trevelyan, Esq., F.G.S., to Dr. Buckland, V.P.G.S., on ‘Indications of Recent Elevations in the Islands of Guernsey ana Jersey and on the coast of Jutland, and on some Tertiary Beds near Porto d’Anzio’’ was first read. ; On the shore near the point where the road descends towards the rock or islet of Lihou, on the east of Guernsey, may be seen a sec- tion, in which, above the present high-water mark, the granite rock bears evident marks of having been worn by the action of the waves, previously to the deposition on it of a bed of gravel, which now covers the granite and fills up the inequalities of its surface. The gravel, which is firmly bound together by a ferruginous sand, consists of pebbles of the neighbouring rocks, also of chalk flints, some not much rounded, and extends to about 8 feet above the present high- water mark, and apparently ranges a little inland. On the gravel is a bed, about 3 feet thick, of disintegrated granite, mixed with angu- lar fragments of that rock, and covered by the surface soil. On the N.W. of the island, near Fort Doyle, there occurs, near the shore, a similar bed of gravel, about 8 feet above high-water mark, resting on the surface of the syenitic rocks of a low cliff, which bears evident signs of disturbance from subterranean agency. Here the gravel, previously lying upon the rock, has fallen into and filled up the fissures which have been created, and has even been forced under some parts of the rock, which seem still to be in connexion with their original masses. In St. Catherine’s Bay, Jersey, the author also observed a section which affords evidence, though to a small extent, of an elevation of the old beach. The author then calls attention to a fact regarding the elevation of land bordering on the Baltic, which he conceives has not before been noticed. On the coast of Jutland, near Frederickshavn (not far from the Scaw), the author observed, that the country abounded with sepulchrai! tumuli, except on a lowand extensive tract bordering the sea, where none occurred. He therefore supposes, that the latter has been elevated since the period when the above mode of burial was disused in that country, which he believes was about the eighth or ninth century *. The author concludes his letter with some account of a visit paid to Porto d’Anzio (the ancient Antium), and of some extensive ter- tiary (pliocene) beds found there. These deposits form cliffs about 50 feet high, and contain numerous shells, but little altered, and apparently of the same species as those now inhabiting the neigh- bouring sea. Pecten Jacobeus and P. opercularis, not at all water- * A similar inference was drawn by Dr. Forchhammer with respect to Bornholm in a paper ‘‘ on some changes of level during the historical period in Denmark”, read May 31, 1837. See ante, p. 555. 578 worn, are the most numerous, often forming considerable beds in a loose or indurated calcareous sand. The dip of the strata is consi- derable and to the south-east. The deposit may be traced some way into the interior, and to elevations of 200 or 300 feet above the sea, where there are quarries worked in ancient times; and on the east to Nettuno, about a mile and a half from Antium, at which point the upper beds rise to the surface. Passing thence to the west, and beyond Antium, lower beds successively crop out for about a mile, when the lowest, a sandy clay, appears, and continues for some di- stance, nearly horizontal. It is overlaid in part by a bed of sand, containing a layer of gravel in the lower part, and the two strata form together a cliff 30 or 40 feet high. In the clay the fossils are not so abundant, but are apparently of the same species as in the upper beds. About two miles from Antium, a thin bed of tertiary sandstone, con- taining numerous abundance of the same fossils, begins to make its appearance resting on the clay, and it gradually increases in thick- ness to about 20 feet; but then gradually thins out again to the west, extending altogether between a quarter and half a mile. Below it, 20 feet of clay are exposed, and above it, a ferruginous sand, about 15 feet thick, through the lower 6 feet of which, some fine siliceous gravel is interspersed, like the flint gravel of the plastic clay of En- gland, and agreeing in character with that of the present beach. The masses which have fallen on the shore, from above, look, when washed by the waves, exactly like a rock abandoned by the sea for merely a few tides, in consequence of the fresh appearance of the shells and corals with which they are covered. In the tertiary rock of the neighbourhood, specimens were met with, in which the calcareous matter of the shells had been replaced by sulphur, and the author conceives the change to have been ef- fected through the percolation of water, of which a stream exists, con- taining a strong solution of sulphuret of iron with excess of acid. Near this spot, called Solfarata, are some pits, apparently in the upper sand, and from which sulphur is dug in winter. A letter from Sir Robert Smirke was then read, forwarding an- other from Mr. Edge to himself, in which the latter states, that when engaged in erecting some works in the neighbourhood of St. Peter's, Guernsey, he found it necessary to have a well dug. At the depth of 45 feet from the surface, the workmen came to a block of granite, which they were forced to blast, and ascertained to be 6 feet in thickness. A few feet beneath the granite, they were surprised at finding a small quantity of peat, with several pieces of fossil timber (specimens of which have been sent to the Society) in the state of bog-wood, and conceived to be oak. The reading of a paper was afterwards commenced ‘“ On the Fos- sils of the Eastern Portion of the Great Basaltic district of India,” by J. G. Malcolmson, Esq., F.G.S., of ‘the Madras Medical Establish- ment. PROCEEDINGS OF THE GEOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF LONDON. Vor. II. 1837-1838. No. 53. Dec. 16, 1837.—Levett Landen Boscawen Ibbetson, Esq., North Kyme, Lincolnshire; Charles Manby, Esq., John Street, Adelphi ; and Colonel John Briggs, York Gate, Regent’s Park, were elected Fellows of this Society. Mr. Malcolmson’s paper on the eastern portion of the Great Basaltic district of India, begun on the 15th of November, was con- cluded. f i The principal objects of this paper are to describe the eastern boundary of the great basaltic formation of India, with its associated stratified deposits, and to arrive at a proximate conclusion respecting the age of the basalt. Extent of Country.—The region noticed generally in the paper, is included between the 14th and 21st degrees of north latitude, and the 75th and 82nd degrees of east longitude; but the districts more particularly described, are those watered by the Pennar river (lat. 14°), the pass of the Sichel hills, near Neermul (lat. 19° 18', long. 79° 33’), and the plains extending from the northern base of that chain to Nagpoor. Physical Features of the Country.—The region forms part of the great, elevated plateau which includes all the countries to the south of the Nerbudda (lat. about 22° N.), and connects the provinces watered by the southern branches of the Ganges with the Deccan. It is traversed on the north by the Sichel or Shesha hills, locally called the Neermul range, which extends from the junction of the Wurdah and Godavery rivers (lat. about 18° 48’, long. 80°), till lost in the gradual rise of the country near Lonar (lat. 20°, long. 76° 30'). The principal rivers which traverse the region are the Wurdah, the Godavery, the Kistnah and the Pennar. The first flows north and west of the Sichells, the second south of that chain, till its waters unite with those of the Wurdah, when it takes a south-easterly di- rection to the Indian ocean. ‘The Kistnah flows nearly W. and E., between the parallels of 16° and 17°; and the Pennar traverses the southern portion of the region (lat. 14° 30’). In the part watered by the last river, a marked feature is presented in the horizontal sum- mits of many of the ranges of hills, which appear to have been once connected, though they are now separated by extensive plains. 22 580 Geological Structure.-—The formations consist of granite, gneiss, mica and hornblende slates, trap, argillaceous limestone, red sand- stone, with diamond breccia, and tertiary freshwater strata. The granite forms apparently the base of the country, and the trap pene- trates all the formations, including the granite and the freshwater beds. In addition to these regular deposits are considerable accu- mulations of travertine and kunkur, which are scattered over the whole surface of the country. Granite.—This rock is frequently displayed in all the rivers of southern India, and is occasionally visible as the substratum of the other formations. In the tabie-land of the Mysore it attains an ele- vation of 3000 feet above the sea. In the Deccan, between the Kistnah and the Godavery, it is traversed by greenstone dykes, sometimes porphyritic, and ranging, for the greater part, from 8S. by E. to N. by W., a direction not very different from that of several of the basaltic mountains in the northern part of the region; but on approaching the Godavery, from the south, the granite is penetrated by dykes, which strike N. and 8. Beyond Nagpoor the granite has burst through the red sandstone, which is converted into quartz rock; and, still further north, granite veins intersect the argillaceous limestone, which has lost its stratified structure. Granite veins also penetrate the neighbouring hills of gneiss and mica slate. Gneiss, Mica and Hornblende Slates—These formations appear to be of limited extent. Hornblende slate was noticed by the au- thor only in the neighbourhood of Deemdoortee, 20 miles E. of Neermul, where it contains the magnetic iron ore used in the manu- facture of Damask steel. Gneiss and mica slate are mentioned only at the locality alluded to above, a few miles N. of Nagpoor. Trap.—Mr. Malcolmson distinguishes the trap of the dykes from that which constitutes the great basaltic ranges, by the absence of olivine in the former, though it is common in the latter. The great masses of basalt are also distinguished by being amygdaloidal and more crystalline. When en masse the trap overlies the granite, as well as the stra- tified deposits. In the form of veins it traverses the granite, lime- stone, and sandstone, and the freshwater strata are often imbedded or entangled in it. In sinking a well near Hutnoor, (lat. 19° 38'N., long. 78° 30! E.) seams of pure white, pulverulent limestone were found beneath layers of basalt, and calcareous depositions appear to accompany the formation almost universally. With respect to the minerals con- tained in the amygdaloids, Mr. Malcolmson is of opinion, that they have not been produced either by infiltration or sublimation, but by molecular attraction, because calcareous spar is much more rare than siliceous minerals, though carbonate of lime abounds throughout the basalt. Argillaceous Limestone.—Organic remains have not been noticed in this rock. It consists, in the lower part, of thin strata of compact blue or white limestone, and generally, in the upper, of blue, red, green and white schists, or slaty clay. Siliceous matter occurs in 58] both the limestone and schist. Where the formation is in contact with the trap, the limestone is sometimes crystalline, and loses its stratified structure ; and at the Pindee Ghat, in the Sichel Hills, the argillaceous and siliceous ingredients appear to have separated, and the latter to have collected in bands, having partly the aspect of chalcedony, and in black chert. In some districts the limestone is cavernous, and it is often penetrated by circular cavities, which, the author conceives, were formed by the extrication of gaseous fluids, in the same manner as similar cavities are now produced in the mud by the escape of carbonic acid gas. A jointed structure, dividing the beds into rhombs, prevails in the limestone, the schist, and the overlying sandstone. ‘The strata are often inclined, apparently the result of dislocation. At Jumulmudagur (lat. 14° 50!, long. 78° 30!) the limestone con- tains layers of muriate of soda; and Mr. Malcolmson is of opinion, that the salt which is found im the alluvial matter, is obtained solely from this formation, as he did not discover a trace of it in the sand- stone. The limestone and shale are well displayed in the Pennar district, also between the northern foot of the Sichels and Nagpoor ; and the author has no doubt that they belong to the same system of strata as thelimestone of Bundelcund, described by Major Franklin*, though the red sandstone of that country is stated to underlie the limestone, while in the region examined by Mr. Malcolmson it overlies. Red Sandstone.—This formation is distinguished by containing the breccia in which are situated the diamond mines of Golconda, on the banks of the Kistnah, and those on the banks of the Pen- nar. Where the sandstone rests upon the limestone schist, a gra- dual passage occurs. ‘The rock is more or less compact, and its prevailing colours are red and white. The diamond breccia is con- sidered by the author, as only a variety of the sandstone in which fragments of older rocks have been imbedded. Ninety miles 8.W. of Nagpoor traces of coal were noticed, and in the hill of Won (lat. 20° 6’, long. nearly 79°) Mr. Malcolmson found the cast of ap- parently a hollow vegetable, the only trace of an organic body ob- served by him. The sandstone, as already noticed, partakes of the same jointed structure as the subjacent limestone. It is penetrated as well as overlaid by trap, and near Nagpoor veins of granite have converted it into quartz rock. In the district drained by the Pennar, the sandstone attains the height of 3000 feet, forming the horizontal or flat summit of the mountains ; but in the same district, and at no great distance, it occurs on a level with the plain. Tertiary Strata—Masses and fragments of differently coloured chert, a tough, white, argillaceous stone, and a greyish blue crystalline rock, all containing freshwater shells, either project from the trap in which they are entangled, or are scattered over its surface for consider- able areas in the Sichel hills. In a precipitous descent, on the northern * Geol. Trans., 2nd Series, vol. iii., part 2, p. 191 e¢ seg., also Asiatic Researches, vol. xviil. p. 24, ef seq. PD) TAP 582 flank, the author also noticed ahorizontalbed of white limestone, 12 ft. thick, containing freshwater shells and resting on granite, but covered by basaltic debris. The organic remains, brought to Europe by the author, have been examined by Mr. James De Carle Sowerby, and as- certained to belong to two species of Gyrogonites, two of Cypris, two of Unio, with numerous specimens of Paludinz, Physz, and Limnez. The greater part are siliceous casts, but some retain their original calcareous matter. Silicified portions of palm woods, and fragments of vegetables, in a charred or carbonized state, also occur. In ac- counting for the different state of preservation of the shells, Mr. Malcolmson suggests, that the lime being in some instances retained, may be explained on the supposition, that the shells were perfectly dry at the time they were acted upon by the basalt. With respect to the origin of this singular rock, the author is of opinion that the basalt, when it was irrupted, changed the features of the country, and, destroying pre-existing lakes, entangled im its substance the debris and shells which had accumulated at the bottom of the bodies of water, and converted the loose sand into chert or si- liceous rock. Of the age of the formation, he does not pretend to offer a precise opinion. None of the shells have been identified with those now inhabiting the rivers of India; and he is, therefore, in- clined to consider them as extinct, and to refer them to the tertiary era. This fossiliferous chert was noticed by the author over a surface extending 140 miles N. and S.; but shells considered to be identical with those collected by him, were found by Dr. Spilsbury, 18 miles E. from Jubalpore (lat. 28° 45' N., long. 78° 53! E.), in a block of in- durated clay, resting on basalt* ; by Dr. Voysey, in the Gawilghur range (near the table-land of Jillan)}; by Dr. Spry, in a bed of limestone, overlaid by trap, near Saugort (lat. 24° 15’ N., long. 79° E.); by Dr. Voysey, in a siliceous rock in the hills of Medcondah and Swalpigapah south of the Godavery§; also at Jirpah, N. of the sources of the Taptee (about lat. 22°.N., long. 78° E.)]||. Comparative Age of the Formations.— On this head few observations are necessary. North of Nagpoor the granite has been shown to be more recent than the sandstone. The trap in the form of veins pene- trates the granite, and affects, en masse, the limestone and sandstone, and entangles in its substance the fossiliferous chert. Iftherefore, the last belongs to the tertiary period, part at least of the basalt of the Sichel hills, forming the eastern boundary of the great basaltic re- gion of India, cannot be assigned to one more ancient. Of the age of the limestone and sandstone Mr. Malcolmson offers no positive opinion, but he objects to their being considered the equivalents of * Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal, vol. ii. pp. 205 and 583. + Asiatic Researches, vol. xviii. p. 192. ¢ Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal, vol. ii. pp. 376, 639. § Asiatic Researches, vol. xviii. p. 193, and Journal of the Asiatic So- ciety of Bengal, vol. 11. p. 304. || Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal, vol. i. p. 247. 583 the new red sandstone and lias of England*, because their order of superposition in the district examined by himself, is inverted, the limestone underlying the sandstone; and he only ventures to suggest, that they may belong to the older secondary, or younger transition systems. Travertine and Kunkur.—Springs charged with carbonate of lime prevail throughout the country, and in the bed of some of the rivers, calcareous matter is so abundantly deposited as to cement the peb- bles into a hard rock. ‘‘ It is impossible,” says the author, ‘‘ to ex- amine these accumulations without immediately perceiving the origin of the nodular limestone or kunkur, which is so extensively distri- buted im India.” Thermal Springs and Mineral Waters.—At Kair (lat. 19° 55’, long. 78° 56') and Urjunah, springs having a temperature of 87°, and charged with carbonic acid gas, issue through the limestone ; and one, at the former locality, contains also a little muriate of soda, a minute quantity of sulphate of lime, and much carbonate of lime. At Byorah (lat. 17° 57', long. 80° 20’) is a spring, the tem- perature of which is 110°; and at Badrachellum, (lat. 17° 43/, long. 80° 79') one possessing a temperature of 140°, and containing sulphuretted hydrogen, and sulphates and muriates of soda and lime. A minute description is given of the mineral waters of the Lonar Lake, (lat. 20°, long. 76° 30') and of the natron which is deposited ina layer beneath its muddy bottom. The water of the lake is clear, its specific gravity is 1027°65; and it-has no unpleasant smell; but the mud at its bottom is highly charged with sulphuretted hydrogen. The salt under the mud accumulates slowly, and is extracted only once in several years. It consists of carbonic acid 38°, soda 40:9, water 20°6, insoluble matter ‘5, and a trace of a sulphate; and thus corresponds in composition with the Trona, or striated soda from the Lakes of Fezzan, analyzed by Mr. R. Phillipst, and approaches somewhat nearer to the equivalent numbers of the sesquicarbonate established by that analysis. The water of the Lonar lake contains, besides a little potash, muriate of soda 29 grains, sesquicarbonate of soda 4:2 nearly, and sulphate of soda °1, in 1,000 grains of water. No lime was detected in it, nor any magnesia. The absence of the former Mr. Malcolmson says, is easily accounted for, as the sesquicarbonate of soda and the water itself precipitated the sulphate and muriate of lime, notwithstanding the mutual de- composition they undergo when in a semifluid state. In account- ing for the production of the natron, he adopts the theory of Ber- thollet for the formation of that salt in the lakes of Egypt, viz., a mutual decomposition of the muriate of soda and carbonate of lime, when in a pasty state; but as the natron of Fezzan and the Lonar lake contains half an equivalent more of carbonic acid than can be * See Major Franklin’s memoir on Bundelcund, &c., in the Geol. Trans., 2nd ser., vol. iii. p. 191, e¢ seq,, also Asiatic Researches, vol. xviii. p- 24, ef seq. + Journal of the Royal Institution, vol. vil. p. 294. 584 furnished by carbonate of lime, he proposes a modification of that theory, and suggests that the carbonic acid by which the lime is held in solution in the mud, furnishes the acid, and perhaps indicates the existence of an unstable sesquicarbonate of that substance. ‘‘ Where- ever,” adds the author, “‘1 have met with natron, or obtained de- tailed accounts of its occurrence, muriate of soda and carbonate of lime existed in the soil, and the natron was found on the surface of the moist earth or mud.” December 13.—Lieutenant Ouchterlony, of the Madras Engineers, and the Rev. Christopher Erle, M.A., of Hardwicke Rectory, near Aylesbury, were elected Fellows of this Society. A paper ‘‘On the Geology of the South-east of Devonshire ;”’ by Robert Alfred Cloyne Austen, Esq., F.G.S., was read. The district described in this memoir, is included within the rivers Exe and Dart, and extends from the coast to the granitic region of Dartmoor. The formations of whieh it consists, are first noticed, then the faults, and, lastly, the probable amount of effects produced at each period of disturbance. 1. Formations.—These are considered under two heads :—l1st. ac- cumulations produced by actual causes; 2ndly, those produced by causes in operation before the most recent disturbances, including tertiary, secondary, transition, and igneous deposits. The first of these subdivisions contains a description of the shingle, sand-hills, estuary deposits, and peat-bogs; but the south-east of Devonshire presents no phenomena connected with them, deserving of particular notice. Tertiary Drrosits.—To this class Mr. Austen assigns the (a.) raised marine deposits in estuaries, and (0.) raised beaches ; (c.) the accumulations of water-worn rocks in valleys; (d.) the Bovey de- posit ; (e.) ossiferous caves ; and (f.) the bed of angular chalk flints, and chert on Haldon and Blackdown. (a.) Raised Marine Estuary Deposits are considered to exist in the valleys of the Axe and the Otter, because those rivers, in their present state, could not have accumulated the sediment which forms the surface of the valleys, or have worn the vertical cliffs by which they are partly bounded. In the valley of the Exe, above Topsham, is a bed abounding with marine shells of existing species, but high above the reach of any tide. (6.) The raised beaches of Hope’s Nose and the Thatcher were described by the author on a former occasion*; but in this paper he shows, that similar deposits occur to the west of Bovey-head, and at intervals along the whole southern coast of Devonshire. The upper limit of these beaches seldom exceeds 60 or 70 feet above the present sea-level. The raised beach to the west of Bovey-head, consists of shingle and indurated sand, associated, in the upper part, with red hzmatite, and it is overlaid by a thick mass of the same ere. This hematite is connected with the Upton iron lode. * Proccedings, vol. li. p. 102. 585 (c.) Accumulations of water-worn rocks.—In every valley, with the exception of that of the estuary of the Teign, are thick heaps of debris, derived principally from the adjacent formations, and occa- sionally containmg bones of the elephant and rhinoceros. Simi- lar detritus caps all the ridges which lead up to the Haldons ; also the summit of those hills, Blackdown, &c.; but the fragments are less water-worn on the tops of the ridges than in the valleys. (d.) The Bovey deposit is not described in this paper, the author ' Intending to prepare a separate account of it. (e.) Ossiferous caves.—No information is given respecting the contents of the bone-caverns, Mr. Austen referring to the accounts already published respecting those at Chudleigh and Kent’s Hole. . (f.) The bed of angular flints, containing in its lower part large tubular and angular blocks of chert and sandstone, and resting on the green sand of Haldon and Blackdown, is referred by the author to the tertiary series; and the angular form of the fragments strongly distinguishes the bed from the overlying superficial debris. The blocks of breccia, composed of angular flints, cemented by a very hard sandstone, and scattered over the surface of the hills and along the valleys, particularly near Sidmouth, are likewise considered as the remains of a tertiary deposit, probably of the same age as the grey wethers of Wiltshire. In the blocks near Sidmouth, Mr. Austen has observed remains of shells, which he is of opinion belong to the freshwater genus Planorbis, and in the Haldon beds numerous individuals of the genus Cyprea. Seconpary Formarions.—These consist of, (a.) chalk; (6.) green sand ; (c.) new red sandstone; and (d.) coal measures. (a.) Chalk.—The prevailing divisions of this formation in the S.E. of England are stated to extend to Maynorst Cliff; but detached masses of lower chalk are found among the debris as far west as Peak Hill; and a white calcareous bed rests on the green sand of Style Hill. (6.) Green sand.—This formation the author has traced along the slopes of the hills flanking the valley of Bovey, where it had not been noticed by previous observers. ‘The beds dip towards and form the lining of the Bovey basin. They rest on new red sand- stone, coal measures, limestone, slate, and perhaps granite, and, to a certain extent, are composed of the debris of these formations. A list of the fossils is given, and Mr. Austen states, that mollusca are almost wanting on Little Haldon, and he therefore infers, that the Haldon beds are of a more littoral nature than those of Blackdown. The conchifera also occur in single valves, and broken, and appear to have been drifted as well as water-worn. (c.) New Red Sandstone.—The subdivisions of this formation are stated to present the following geographical distribution, proceeding from east to west: 1. marls, with gypsum, as far as Sidmouth ; 2. sandstone, from that town to a little beyond Dawlish; 3. shingle and conglomerate, to the western boundary of the formation, the pebbles being derived from the adjacent older rocks, and increasing in size towards the edge of the deposit. In some places, however, the shingle 586 is associated with finely-grained fissile sandstone. From this distri- bution, the author infers, that the conglomerate marks the original shore of the sea in which the new red system was deposited; the sandstone, the finer detritus carried to a certain distance from it; and the marl, the mud diffused through the water, and conveyed to a still greater distance. The jointed structure is not very distinct, but it may be traced even in the conglomerates; and from the best exhibited cases, the author concludes that the strata are divided into octohedral masses. Vegetable remains are found near Sidmouth. (d.) Culmiferous or Carboniferous Series.—After alluding to the rectification, in 1836, by Prof. Sedgwick and Mr. Murchison, of the error in the geological position of this series, Mr. Austen states that it occupies, in South Devon, the whole of the valley between Great Haldon and the extremity of Dartmoor. He subdivides the series as follows :— lst. Shales, which near the granite or trap, sometimes resemble the older slates. ' 2nd. Sandstones with beds of thick flagstone, as above Greyleigh and Biddlecomb, and below Lewell House. 3rd. Conglomerates, as at Ugbrook, the Orchard Well valley, and above Ryder Farm. The limestone of Chudleigh is stated to rise through the culmi- ferous strata N. of Ugbrook-park, and to the S.W. of the Bovey de- posit, to form a continuous band. The mineral contents of the series are various. Tin and copper occur beneath Ashburton Down and near Christow; lead has been found in the same parishes ; and iron ore is contained in large quan- tities in the shale. Where the rock approaches the granite, it is much altered, and encloses numerous small garnets. Remains of plants are scarce, but impressions of Calamites have been found ; and minute portions of vegetable matter occur in some of the beds of sandstone. Transition Systrem.—The culm measures rest unconformably on a series of deposits belonging to this system, and divided by the author into the following formations, in descending order :— 1. Rag Limestone.—A calcareous rock, coarsely laminated, of a dirty red colour, and abounding with stems of encrinites. Locality, Forest of Denbury. 2. Shale. 3. Great Limestone.—This is the limestone of Newton Bushel and Torquay. It is distinctly jointed, the prevailing strike of the joints being, for one set, N.N.W. to 8.S.E., for the other, W.5.W. to E,N.E.; but considerable variations are stated to occur in dif- ferent quarries. Organic remains are very numerous, both corals and shells. At its base the deposit presents several alternations of shale and black limestone, and contains some peculiar fossil shells. It passes gra- dually into the next formation. 4. Argillaceous Slates and Sandstones, generally Red.—This de- posit is of great thickness, forming the principal part of the slate- 587 hills, and is sometimes worked for roofing-slate. It contains bands of limestone of a peculiar character. Organic remains occur only in the upper part, and agree apparently with those of the “great limestone.” 5. Lowest Band of Limestone.—The limestone between Staper-hill and Bickington, and on the highway road by Goodstone to Ashburton and Buckfastleigh, is assigned to this portion ; also that of Chudleigh, and the limestone at the base of Great Haldon is perhaps of the same age. The organic remains consist of corals and shells. Thin seams of carbonaceous matter also occur. Igneous Rocks.—Vhese formations consist of granite, porphyry, and trap. The granite of Dartmoor was shown in 1836, by Prof. Sedgwick and Mr. Murchison, to be more recent than the carbonife- rous strata; and Mr. Austen adopts the same view, as veins of gra- nite penetrate the culm beds at Higher Alway and Lower Alway, near Bovey. ‘The principal mass of Devonshire granite has in some places a height of 1800 feet, but over the whole of its area there is not the slightest appearance of any stratified deposit. The granite of Dartmoor is considered by Mr. Austen to be of different ages, as veins of coarsely grained are intruded among the common variety. Blocks of hornblendic granite are said also to occur, imbedded in the true granite ; and in some places the granite is so felspathic as to resemble trachyte. Trap Rocks—The author describes, with some detail, the horn- blendic trap dyke of Wear, and shows that it must have been irrupted subsequently to the deposition of the chalk, because fissures in the limestone, traversed by the dyke, are filled with fragments of various formations, including chalk, and are charged with manganese, an effect produced by the intrusion of hornblendic trap througout this part of Devonshire. In the parish of Kington, veins of trap, on approaching the granite, are said to become more compact, and in the proximity of it, to be distinctly crystalline. Associated with the culm strata are bedded traps, apparently of contemporaneous origin ; but the close of the cul- miferous period is stated to have been marked by irruptions of the porphyry found at Pocombe-hill, and other places near Exeter. At Western, in the parish of Ide, it rests upon the culmiferous shale ; but Mr. Austen says, it might be considered to rest on the new red sandstone, as that formation flanks the base of the hill. In the quarry, however, where the porphyry is worked, it has been cut through, and found to rest upon shale. This rock has contributed largely to the formation of the conglomerates of tlie new red sandstone. Trap dykes are very common among the older slates, and have pro- duced decided effects on them, and the general features of the country. Their age the author does not attempt to define ; but from their being more abundant in the older than in the newer rocks, he conceives that they may have been, in part, irrupted before the latter were deposited. In the coast section, beds of hornblendic trap are included in the transition shale, to which they adhere by the lower surface, but not by the upper. Similar, imbedded, trappean rocks oA 588 occur at Black Head, west of Babbacomb; the sixth mile-stone between Teignmouth and Torquay; near the village of North Whilborough, and at East Ogwell. The author then describes the phenomena, which appear to have accompanied the disturbance of the strata at different periods, be- ginning with those considered to be most recent. The undulations and deep combs in the new red sandstone, he says, are not due solely to denudations, but to elevations and depres- sions of the beds while the formation was beneath the sea. On the surface there are no indications of disturbance, the angular irre- eularities having been rounded before the district became dry land. ‘The Watcomb Fault, however, he conceives, was produced by a subsequent operation, as it preserves its angular outline; and other instances are mentioned of unobliterated faults. Mr. Austen next describes, with reference to this part of the sub- ject, the raised, marine beds in the estuary of the Exe, the raised beaches at Hope’s Nose, the Thatcher, and to the west of Berry Head ; he mentions also those which occur at intervals along the southern coast of Devon. Another system of disturbances, the author assigns to the tertiary era, because it appears to have been in operation, during the time, when the Haldon and Blackdown tertiary beds were formed. The Haldon strata exhibit the following proofs of disturbance :— 1. A partial destruction of the chalk, followed by the formation of a breccia of angular flints and sand. 2. The breaking up of this breccia and the production of a stratum, consisting of chalk flints, the breccia, quartz, granite ane other rocks, all Pounded! Mr. Austen then offers some observations on the arable changes in the extent of dry land during the deposition of the secondary sy- stems, indications of which, he conceives, are traceable in the charac- ters, and the thinning out of the formations between the chalk and the new red series. In alluding to the faults which affect the new red sandstone, he says, that the greater part of them may belong to the tertiary epoch. In the older formations, the evidences of disturbance during periods anterior to the new red sandstone, are referred chiefly to the unconformable position of the culmiferous strata with relation to the transition; and consequently the disturbances, which gave the slates their present position, must have taken place anterior to the deposition of the culmiferous strata. With respect to the connexion between the age and the direction of the faults, the author says the district is too limited for any ob- servations to be of much value. The older disturbances, however, appear to have a north and south direction. The most remarkable east and west fault is that of the valley of the Teign; andif the Wey- mouth Fault be prolonged westward, it would strike the coast of De- vonshire at the mouth of that river. Examples of depression as well as of elevation are mentioned in 589 the paper, and it is said that the former are parallel to the latter, ranging 8.S.W. and N.N.E. Jan. 3, 1838.—David Thomas Ansted, Esq., B.A., Jesus College, Cambridge ; James Black, M.D., Bolton-le-Moors ; Alexander Wil- son, Esq., Bryanstone-square; and Major Henry Bullock, Harley- street, were elected Fellows of this Society. A paper was read on the “‘ Geologicai Relations of North Devon,” by Thomas Weaver, Esq., F.G.S., F.R.S., &c. The observations, which gave rise to this paper, were made during the autumn of 1837, in consequence of the discussions which had taken place relative to the position of the coal strata of the North of Devonshire. The author states that he derived great assistance, during his investigations, from the Rev. David Williams, who kindly offered to be his guide. The survey, however, convinced Mr. Weaver, that Prof. Sedgwick and Mr. Murchison were perfectly cor- rect in placing the coal with the associated strata at the top of the series, and in removing it from the transition systems to which other observers had assigned it. The district, more particularly examined by the author, lies between the parallel of Bideford and Chilhampton on the south, and that of the Foreland (E. of Linton) on the north, and is bounded on the east by the meridian of High Down (four miles west of South Mol- ton), and on the west by the Bristol Channel. Before he proceeds to detail his own observations, Mr. Weaver gives a comparative table of the subdivisions of the strata, exhibited by Prof. Sedgwick and Mr. Murchison at the meeting of the British Association at Bristol, in August 1836; and those employed by the Rev. David Williams, in a section shown at the meeting of the same body at Liverpool, in September 1837. These subdivisions, he states, are essentially the same, though Mr. Williams considers the coal strata as belonging to the transition systems. The subdivisions, first established at the Bristol meeting, are adopted by Mr. Weaver, but he employs a nomenclature derived, for the greater part, from the localities where the strata are well exhi- bited. The following list contains the subdivisions in ascending order. 1. Foreland sandstone. 2. Linton calcareous slates. 38. Tren- tishoe quartzy slates and sandstone, including the Combe Martine limestone. 4. Morte slates. 5. Wollacomb sandstones, flagstones, and slates. 6. Trilobite slates. 7. Wavellite schistus and lime- stone. 8. Culmiferous shales (coal strata). The mineral composition, lithological structure, local variations, and relative order of superposition of each formation are fully detailed ; and the following inferences are given, as deducible from the , ey) 01 Sulsuojeq yse9 Go Ol PI aap OSES = 7 ess suoljaBsuRLy, ORO lege ee-* SS ainjipuadxg oyuslg 9 & & Pest te eee eee gaxeT p= Sugerre PS = : Surpuvysyno sig “SLAG “BEST GV “uduasvadyl YOTAVL NHOfL [‘wapunoy ay7 fo sasodund ayy 03 paznrsdosddn surag foasay, spuaprarp ayy fsauinuupr *quaa sad @ paanpayy ay, U2 PT “ST “IFSOT 07 quasaid yo Surzunowup ‘uogsnpjo4, “gq azn) ayn hg pagng -24SU2 “puny UOLIDUOG ,, AY] St Low : papnpour away Jou se aunguing pun hiniqeT ‘suowoayog ayz fo anjoa ayy “gn | 0 ZI ZalsF 0 O- GOl— 0 0 SGI ° “pay ‘quedo tad ¢ ‘yg “pg ‘SGI “2TIEI 0) 0) OSE eee eae sjosuo’) *7U90 Jod ¢ *y903S ‘100¢ 9 OI FF : 0 0 0% ° SsuIpssz0i1g 9 Ol PGS 3 SUO]JIBSULI TL pyosun jo onyjea poyewys 9 Gl Por —— 0 vl 0 Sooo nana ood 6-o SSUIPII001g 9 1 O06€ °°°°°°*° SuONqiyu0D [enuuy OG Gl (esesoce ee Geng GEM DaaSee e : AjJQ190g 913 0} ONp Sivaly 0 Il OLT pung uojssejoAy 861 76h Sulpnjoul ‘puey ulssourjeg DSS 63 “ALUAdOU| "LESI saquaseg psig ‘hzsadorg s fiqa1909 ay7 fo NOLLVO'TV A. 618 Sums actually Received and Expended, Receipts. Balances in hand January 1, 1837: CONTE CHIME eather Sango Banker (including 38/.8s. Sd. Wollaston Hund )itaskickeonneyeeuenc ee ee 436 0 7 Accountants eens aici ieed en 40 0 0 — 4/6 0 7 Atrears : ME aSe Me Admissionwhees facie eee. oe 119 14 0O AnnualiContributions - 222 187 8 6 ; — 307 2 6 Ordinary Income: . e85 Ga hs Annual Contributions.............. 667 5 6 Admission Fees : ie) Be ak Residents) 9422025) 144 18 0O Non-Residents .... 157 10 O ——— 302 8 0 — 969 13 6 Compositions : ee Samus Sixati Sos. hue Valen mada /ee nents] eam () iar () Onerati 2817 sie ae ee mM? BN trae () —- PNW Ab) Subscription to Alteration Fund .................. 5 0 0 ea tS nels Mransactionsien i. toto Ree ee 403 1 0O ErOCeedINGS me men ue er mee) ea eear Avalon) —— 416 14 O Wollaston Donation Fund, Interest on LOSAT alc Midyoapercent-sheducedan . (errr ner 32 10 4 £. s. a. Dividends, 5001. 3 per cent. Consols ...... 15 0 0 Ditto, 11031.8s. 4d. 3 per cent. Red.6 months 16 Il 0 Ditto, 13112.19s.5d. ditto IQ 137 — 51 47 £2475 12 6 We have compared the Books and Vouchers presented to us with these Statements, and find them correct. W. J. HAMILTON, Signed, WOODBINE PARISH, February 2, 1838. \ AUDITORS during the year ending December 31, 1837. PAYMENTS. Bills outstanding: don See Oe RS Salaries and Wages, Collector’s Eeundane 500000 2815 O Scientific Expenditure ...............scesceeeseeeees 0 3 0 Slationenyg eesscsescsocscdoesetnceseeceestsen cee: 010 6 Parochial Ratesliewcccrcsecetucsescseoesesccereeesse se 2 & © Missessedi axes, sssaunccsrodse cncveecs aap aciscaeousesase 28 0 34 1 6 General Expenditure: En Go Ol Repairs of House tees ccscdssasecescccdeessetas Bil BO) FTouse YE xpensesiycen osceccesecs secseceactvesnencses 184 16 1 axes, Parochial’ }Weceeascascecaucsceccosenceteeee Y & (©) PL STOKETS Se scesccapaboogapoodoHOsHaHEqdonecoducdocM GR Wi fp Household Furniture ............sssccscessoeees os 4117 4 MEINEM yeas ces sjclesesnedesecctcismecaescses 7 4 0 PIGte) seimaacsencctepne cess lacceecase ccesvattarccweutssests 1 © 302 16 7 Tnsurancely ay et Peer ee Rota it a pa sleus estes 6 0 0 Salaries and Wages: 25 Ss Wh, Curator and Assistant ...........es0+0 gdoo0d000000 200 0 O Clerkes seine Saacmcnices odaeicvee dane ellscaneaewesenieeses (oe Oa© Porter, Housekeeper, al Servant, including Gratuity to Mrs. Carrier ............eceseceeees 134 15 O Collectors /Poundagetsc.s...cesccsdascesseescecescces 37 10 0 447 5 O Scientific Expenditure : 89 4 5 Stationery and Miscellaneous Printing... Beas Soe Oe) S) 9) investmentpingthe Hundss. ee) OSI Ont Meavor Meetings settee aie Wer Ry. San aries 52 13 0 Cost of Publications : Bay Se Ob Mliransactlonspeacedncanccsccccesececcccccscscrtessses Rit @ 8 PKOCEECIN GS ict eeceneseasaceuscise tecceeseessereacedeuse 98 18 3 610 7 11 Award of Wollaston Fund: Medals to Capt. Cautley and Dr. Falconer .............0+++- 21 0 0 Power of Attorney to receive Dividends......... 2 3 0 Balances in hand Jan. 1, 1838: £. S. d. Banker (including 49/. 19s. 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Rey. William Whewell, M.A. F.R.S. VICE-PRESIDENTS. William Henry Fitton, M.D. F.R.S. & L.S. Charles Lyell, Jun. Esq, F.R.S. & L.S. Roderick Impey Murchison, Esq. F.R.S. & L.S. Rev. Adam Sedgwick, F.R.S. & L.S., Woodwardian Professor in the University of Cambridge. SECRETARIES. Charles Darwin, Esq. William John Hamilton, Esq. FOREIGN SECRETARY. H. T. De la Beche, Esq. F.R.S. & L.S. Rata A TREASURER. John Taylor, Esq. F.R.S. & L.S. 623 COUNCIL. Henry Boase, M.D. F.R.S. Rev. William Buckland, D.D. F.R.S. L.S. Professor of Geo- logy and Mineralogy in the University of Oxford. Viscount Cole, M.P. D.C.L. F.R.S. Charles Giles Budle Daubeny, M.D. F.R.S. L.S. Regius Pro- fessor of Botany, and Aldrich’s Professor of Chemistry in the University of Oxford. Sir P. Grey Egerton, Bart. M.P. F.R.S. G. B. Greenough, Esq. F.R.S. & L.S. Leonard Horner, Esq. F.R.S. L. & E. Robert Hutton, Esq. M.P. M.R.LA. Sir Charles Lemon, Bart. M.P F.R.S. Marquis of Northampton, F.R.S. Richard Owen, Esq. F.R.S. Sir Woodbine Parish, K.C.H. F.R.S. John Forbes Royle, M.D. F.R.S. & L.S., Professor of Materia Medica and Therapeutics in King’s College, London. T.Weaver, Esq. F.R.S.M.R.LA. Address to the Geological Society, delivered at the Anniversary, on the 16th of February, 1838, by the Ruv. Witt1am WueEwEL1, M.A. F.R.S. President of the Society. GENTLEMEN, You have heard in the Reports just read, statements which show that the Society is in a state of healthy progress both in respect to its numbers and its funds. The total number of Fellows of the So- ciety, exclusive of Honorary and Foreign Members, at the close of the year 1836, was 709. At the close of the last year it was 738, the increase being 29, after deducting 18 Members deceased or re- signed. A Part of the Transactions has recently been published, which is worthy of its predecessors in the interest of its matter, and which is not inferior to them in its appearance and illustrations. I believe it will be found that improvements have been introduced, especially in the colouring of the maps. Our collections have also gone on increasing, and have, as in pre- vious years, derived great additional value from the labour and know- ledge bestowed upon them by our excellent Curator. But your Council has found itself compelled to attend to the great, and I may say intolerable amount of labour which has fallen upon Mr. Lonsdale, and certain alterations in the Society’s arrangements, directed to the object of remedying this evil, are now in progress or in contemplation. When they are completed I shall have the satisfaction of announcing them to the Society. The Council have awarded the Wollaston Medal, as you have al- ready been informed, to Mr. Richard Owen, for his general services to Fossil Zoology, and especially for his labours employed upon the fossil mammalia collected by Mr. Darwin in the voyage of Captain Fitz Roy. I need not remind you, Gentlemen, how close are the ties which connect the study of living and of fossil animals; how much light the progress of comparative anatomy throws upon the inter- pretation of geological characters; and what important steps in our knowledge of the past condition of the earth are restorations of the animal forms which peopled its surface in former times, but have long vanished away. Since the immortal Cuvier breathed into our 625 science a new principle of life, the value of such researches has ever been duly appreciated; and the award of the Wollaston Medal last year is an evidence how gladly your Council take that method of congra- tulating the successful cultivators of such studies. I am sure that all who are acquainted with Mr. Owen’s labours will rejoice that we have in this manner marked our sense of his success. His earlier researches, those for instance on the Nautilus, have been of exceeding use and interest to geologists. And the first part of his description of the fossil mammalia, collected by Mr. Darwin in South America, contains matters of the most striking novelty, interest, and import- ance. We have there the restoration, performed with a consummate skill, such as fitly marks the worthy successor of Hunterand the disciple of Cuvier, of two animals, not only of new genera, but occupying places in the series of animal forms, which are peculiarly instructive. For the one, the Toxodon, connects the Rodentia with the Pachyder- mata by manifest links, and with the Cetacea by more remote resem- blances ; and thus contributes to the completion of the zoological scale just in the parts where it is weakest and most imperfect: while the other animal, the Macrauchenia, the determination of which is con- sidered by anatomists as an admirable example of the solution of such a problem, appears to be exactly intermediate between the horse and the camel. But this creature is also interesting in another way, since it closely resembles, although ona gigantic scale, an animal still existing in that country and peculiar to it, the Llama. ‘Thus, in this as in some other instances, the types of animal forms which distinguish a certain region on the earth’s surface are clearly reflected to our eyes as we gaze into the past ages of the earth’s history, while yet they are mag- nified so as to assume what almost appear supernatural dimensions. The Llama, the Capybara, and the Armadillo of South America are seen in colossal forms in the Macrauchenia, the Toxodon, and the Me- gatherium. I will not omit this occasion of stating that the profound and enlarged speculations on the diffusion,preservation, and extinction of races of animals to which Mr. Darwin has been led by the remains which he has brought home, give great additional value to the trea- sures which he has collected, and make it proper to offer our con- gratulations to him, along with Mr. Owen, on the splendid results to which his expedition has led and is likely to lead. Mr. Owen and Mr. Darwin are engaged in the restoration of other animals from 626 the South American remains in their possession, and I am able to announce that two or three other new genera have already been de- tected. Iam sure I am conveying your feeling, Gentlemen, as well as my own, when I express a cordial hope that these two naturalists, so fitted by their endowments and character to advance the progress of science, may long go on achieving new triumphs; and may have the satisfaction—higher even than that which they derive from the honours we so willingly bestow—of finding the great principles which it is given to them to wield, becoming every year more powerful in- struments of discovery; and of seeing, as they pursue their researches, light thrown upon the darkest and widest of the vast problems which they have proposed to themselves. I will now say a few words concerning a few of the most con- spicuous of the names which have been obliterated by death from our list during the year. Among the members of our body, whom we have lost, there is one whom we cannot but mention with more than common emo- tion, endeared as he was to many of us by private friendship, and admired by all for his talents, his knowledge, and his services. Dr. Edward Turner, Professor of Chemistry in the London University, filled the office of our Secretary for five years, and subsequently was two years Vice-President, which situation he held at the time of his death in February 1837. Several of you may remember, Gentle- men, that our last anniversary meeting was in some measure clouded by the recollection of this then recent calamity; and that many of the Fellows of the Society, on that occasion, expressed their inten- tion of testifying their respect and regard for the departed by attending his funeral. Of Dr. Turner’s private virtues, and of the charm of his society, I must not here speak. I will not allow myself to dwell upon the admirable clearness and precision of his thoughts as expressed in conversation,—upon the delightful openness and candour of his character,—upon the kind and gentle cheerfulness of his demeanour, the genuine fruit of a deep habitual religious feeling. But I may take this occasion to say, that in him chemistry suffered a loss, not only great, —for that all would at once say,—but much greater and more difficult to repair than may at first sight appear. Dr. Turner entertained a conviction (I am stating the result of many snteresting conversations which I have held with him) that the time 627 was come when the chemist could not hope to follow out the fortunes of his science, and to read in her discoveries their full meaning, with- out being acquainted with the language, and master of the resources of mathematics. Acting upon this enlightened view, he did not hesitate to encounter the great labour and exertion of a course of study in the higher mathematics; and he succeeded entirely in making himself a good mathematician. And he was one of the very few who, in our country, labour at a branch of chemistry which is of the highest importance to us as geologists ; but which,—we may suppose from its laborious and intricate nature,—appears to repel our most active che- mists ; I mean that portion of chemistry which is connected with mineralogy. Yet this department is, in truth, more inviting than it may at first appear. No doubt in it clear mathematical conceptions are necessary, and perhaps some little training in mathematics; but there is good promise that the labour which this line of investigation demands will be rewarded. I am fully persuaded that there is no portion of the frontier line of our knowledge of which we can so certainly say, “* Here we are on the brink of great discoveries.’”’ Had Dr. Turner been spared to us some years ionger, I know no one who was more likely to have had a principal share in such discoveries. ‘Two papers of his, in the Philosophical Transactions,* show that he was able to deal with the atomic theory in a mode which combines the resources of the skilful analytical chemist with the rigour of the mathematical reasoner; a combination which the right prosecution of that theory yequires, but which has not always been found in its cultivators. Dr. Turner lectured on chemistry at the London University from its first foundation in 1828; he was there surrounded by students, whose affection he gained by his kindness, as well as their admi- ration by the clearness of his teaching. He also gave a course of lectures on geology, in conjunction with Dr. Grant and Mr. Lindley, such of those gentlemen taking a division of the subject with which he was most familiar. Dr. Turner was snatched from science at the early age of thirty-nine, having been born in the island of Jamaica in 1796. He studied anatomy at Edinburgh, and chemistry at Got- * On the Composition of Chloride of Barium, 1829; Researches on Atomic Weights, 1833. ; 628 tingen, under the able chemist Friedrich Von Stromeyer, to whom he dedicated his Elements of Chemistry; a work which has had, as it well deserves, a very wide circulation among students. In William Farish, B.D., Jacksonian Professor of Natural and Experimental Philosophy in the University of Cambridge, the Society has lost an honorary member, elected as such soon after its original foundation, namely in November 1808, and one of a number of our countrymen who were at that period placed upon the honorary list. Professor Farish never employed himself peculiarly in geological pur- suits as we now understand the term; but it is to be recollected, that within a few years of the date of his election, which I have men- tioned, the investigation of the earth’s structure made a rapid progress, and, in consequence, assumed a more fixed and technical form. Pro- fessor Farish’s ‘scientific studies were mainly directed to the arts, manufactures, and machinery of the empire; on these subjects he delivered courses of lectures full of interest and instruction; and he was thus led to describe our mines, and the mode of working them. But no reference to particular portions of Professor Farish’s labours can convey a just notion of the impulse which he gave to the progress of scientific knowledge within his own sphere of influence, by the habit of seizing, with anactive and vivid apprehension, upon prominent parts of modern science, and conveying them, ina manner singularly clear and simple, to his audience. For a long course of years his lectures were more efficacious than any other circumstance in stimulating the minds of men in his university to philosophical thought on physical subjects ; and to this day these lectures are never mentioned by those who attended them at that period, without admiration and pleasure. His merit was well recognised by the university in which he spent his life. He received the highest mathematical honours of that body on taking his degree of B.A. in 1778, was elected Professor of Che- mistry in 1794, and Jacksonian Professor in 1813; and at the insti- tution of the Cambridge Philosophical Society in Noy. 1819, he was its first president. I cannot refrain from adding, that although I have here to speak of him principally as a man of science, such pursuits were im his case little more than episodes, in a life the main action of which was di- rected to the ends of religion and benevolence. In his duties, as a minister of Christianity, he was most zealous and indefatigable; and 629 every attempt to relieve the misery, the ignorance, the unjust restraints of any portion of mankind, found in hima strenuous advocate and ready agent. Hischildlike simplicity, genuine kindness of heart,and untiring religious earnestness were such as well suited his kindred with Bernard Gilpin, ‘‘ the Apostle of the North,” from whom, through his mother, he derived his descent. He was born at Carlisle in 1759, and died at the age of 78. Henry Thomas Colebrooke, member of the Supreme Council of Cal- cutta, was one of those extraordinary men whom our Indian empire has produced ; and who show the animating effects of the great scene in which they are there placed, by the variety of subjects to which they extend their attention, and by the vigour with which they combine speculative and practical employment. Mr. Colebrooke went to India as a writer in 1782, and about 1792 began to attend pecu- liarly to Sanscrit literature. A little later we find him beginning to enrich the Asiatic Researches with a series of memoirs on the religion, the literature, and, above all, the science of the Hindoos. In this department his labours on the Zodiac of the Indians*, and on their notions of the Precession of the Equinoxes and the motions of the Planets}, are highly deserving of notice; as were at a later period the account of the Indian Algebra, given in his translations of the Lilawati and Vijaganita. But Mr. Colebrooke was also ready to con- tribute a share in sciences with which we are more nearly concerned, He took a lively interest in the correction of errors respecting the physical geography of India, and was one of the first to declare (in 1815) his opinion that the Himalaya mountains were higher than the Andes, an opinion soon afterwards fully confirmed. He also was one of the first to enter upon a subject, to which we may now look with the greatest hope. The first part of vol. i. of our New Series of Transactions (published in 1822) contains two papers by him, one upon the geology of the valley of the Sutledge, which had been ex- plored by Lieut. Gerard; the other upon the north-east of Bengal, where Mr. D. Scott had noticed various rocks, and, among the rest, a deposit which contained fossils, resembling, as he conceived, those of the London clay. I shall have occasion, in the course of this ad- dress, to refer to a recent repetition of this observation of an identity * Asiat. Res., vol. ix. + Ibid., vol. xii. 630 between the fossils of the east of India and those of the London and Paris basin. I may observe that these, and other contributions to In- dian geology by other writers, contained in the volume of which I spoke, and a preceding one, induced the Secretaries of that time to insert amap, on which the localities of these observations were in- dicated; and to express in the volume a hope, that these were merely an earnest of the information which might be expected from the activity of British subjects in that quarter. Among our foreign members deceased within the year, I regret much to have to mention one, to whom is due, in no small degree, a revolution in the mode of treating the subject of geology, which has taken place in our own times, and the formation of a new branch of geology. This revolution consists in the endeavour, now so fa- miliar to us, to identify geological with recent changes, instead of classifying the great past changes in the surface of the earth which its structure discloses to us, as separate from the newer and slighter modifications of which history and tradition gives us evidence; and the study of the discernible causes of change to which we are thus led, I shall have occasion to speak of under the name of Geological Dy- namics. You are well aware that. Mr. Lyell is the person who has, with a bold and vigorous hand, moulded the whole scheme of geo- logy upon this idea; but the power which he had of doing this was derived in no small degree from Von Hoff’s admirable survey of the evidence of those changes which can be proved by tradition. The extent and universality of the facts thus brought into notice, might well forcibly strike a philosopher already seeking to apply such a principle to geology; and Mr. Lyell has always been forward to acknowledge his obligations to M. Von Hoff. Indeed the idea of such an identification of geological with historical changes was by no means new; it had been both expressed and acted on by Deluc; and must have been present to the minds of those persons who framed the ques- tion which gave rise to Von Hoff’s book. This question was proposed in 1818 by the Royal Academy of Science of G6ttingen. ‘‘ Consider- ing,’ they said, “‘that we have, in the crust of the earth, evidence of great revolutions, which have happened at different times, in different — portions, and of which the period and duration are unknown, we are led to ask whether certain more partial alterations may not lie within the domain of tradition, and give us the means of knowing at what 63) period they took place, and what time the formation of certain por- tions of the earth’s crust required ; whereby some light may be thrown on those changes which lie beyond the limits of history.” M. Von Hoft’s work,—‘‘ The history of those natural changes m the earth’s surface which are proved by tradition’”’—appeared (the first part) in 1822, and had the Academy’s prize assigned it. This part of the work contained an account of the changes due to the agency of water; and by the wide range of reading and study which it included, and the philosophical manner in which its copious ma- terials were arranged, well justified the distinction which it received. The view presented in it of the great changes which have gone on from the beginning of historical times,—the yielding or advancing of coasts, the disappearing of islands, the union of seas,—appear to give a new face to the globe. But the portion of the judgement of the Academy which the author most valued was, that in which they said that he had used the sources of his information conscientiously, In 1824 appeared the second part, containing the history of volcanos and earthquakes ; and, although the previous labours of Humboldt and Von Buch had done much to connect and generalise facts of this kind, Von Hoff’s labours were an important step: ‘‘ At least,” he himself says, ‘“‘ he was not aware that any one before him had en- deavoured to combine so Jarge a mass of facts with the general ideas of the natural philosopher, so as to form a whole.” Among other large views, we may see much which, as to kind of change supposed, agrees with the opinions of Mr. Darwin, of which I shall have to speak ; for instance, Von Hoff conceives that the island of Otaheite is under- going a gradualelevationout of thesea.* Finally, the third volume of this work appeared after an interval of ten years, in 1834; in which he considers other causes of change; as rising and sinking of the land; alterations of rivers and seas; the operations of snow and ice; and also the geological results to which the whole survey had led him. In this volume he expresses his pleasure at the appearance of Mr. Lyell’s work, which had taken place in the intervening period, and by which he had found much new light thrown upon his own speculations. In the interval of time between the publication of the second and third volumes, M. Von Hoff published ‘‘ Geological Observations on Carlsbad,” (1825) and ‘“‘ Measures of Heights in and near Thuringia’ * Part IL. Pref. p. xiv. 632 (1883). In this last work he not only gave a great number of his own barometrical measurements, but discussed all extant measures of the heights of points in Thuringia, to the amount of above 1100. He also employed himself in meteorological observations. Karl Ernest Adolph Von Hoff, Knight of the order of the White Falcon, and invested with several offices of honour and dignity at the Ducal Court of Gotha, died at Gotha the 24th of May last. He was 66 years of age, having been born in the same city Nov. 1, We Besides the history I have mentioned, which must always continue to be a classical work on the subject of which it treats, he was at the time of his death employed in compiling a continuation of his Notices of Earthquakes and Volcanic Eruptions; and also a new work, which was considered to be an important one, and was to be entitled “‘ Germany according to its Natural Conditions and Political Relations.” In attempting a rapid survey of the contributions to geological knowledge which have come under our notice during the past year, I may perhaps be allowed to advert to a distinction of the subject into Descriptive Geology and Geological Dynamics; the former science having for its object the description of the strata and other features of the earth’s surface as they now exist; and the latter science being employed in examining and reducing to law the causes which may have produced such phenomena. We appear to be directed to such a separation of our subject by the present condition of our geological studies, in which we and our predecessors have accumu- lated a vast store of facts of observation, and have laboured with in- tense curiosity, but hitherto with very imperfect success, to extract from these facts a clear and connected knowledge of the history of the earth’s changes. Nearly the same was the condition of astronomy at the time of Kepler, when the accumulated observations of twenty cen- turies resisted all the attempts of that ingenious man and his contem- poraries to construct a science of physical astronomy. But though checked by such failures, they werenot far from success ; and when for the next succeeding century philosophers had employed themselves in creating a distinct science of Dynamics, the science of physical astronomy, full and complete, made its appearance, as if it were a 633 matter of course ; and thus showed the wisdom of separately cultiva- ting the study of causes, and the classification of facts. DESCRIPTIVE GEOLOGY. If we begin with geological facts, our attention is first drawn to that district on the earth’s surface within which the facts have been subjected to a satisfactory comparison and.classification, which may -be considered, in a general way, as including England, France, Italy, Germany, and Scandinavia. The language which the rocks of these various countries speak has been, in a great measure, reduced to the same geological alphabet. The questions of the determination of any member in one country, or the identification of similar members in two countries, are, for the most part, problems admitting of a defi- nite and exact solution. Im countries out of this district, on the other hand, we have not only to explore but to classify. We have to divine their geological alphabet ;—to decipher as well as to read. We have not only to discover of what British rocks the observed ones are the equivalents, but we have to ascertain whether there be an equivalence; and where this relation vanishes, we have to discover what new resemblances and differences of members are most worthy our notice. The great difference in the nature of the geologist’s task in these two cases seems to me to make it desirable to employ the familiar division of Home and Foreign Geology in a wider sense than has hitherto been common, including in the former all that re- gion of Europe which has had its order of strata well identified with our own; this distinction then I shall employ. 1. Home (North European) Geology.—lf we attempt, in this part of our subject, to follow an order of strata, we must begin with the oldest stratified rocks, though they are undoubtedly the most ob- scure ; for the same reason which compels the historian of states to begin with the dim twilight of their savage or heroic times; namely, because at the other extremity of the series there is no boundary ; since the events of past ages and their records form an unbroken series, leading us to the unfinished occurrences and works of to-day. Going then as far back as the historian of the earth can discern any light, and, for reasons which may hereafter be spoken of, shaping our course by the stratified rocks alone, we should first have to ask what addition has been made during the past year to our acquaintance 634 with those formations which have generally been called transition. And here, gentlemen, many of you well know, that if I had had to address you at a period a little later, I might have hoped to be able to point out, among the labours of our members, some which may be considered as events of primary importance in this part of our know- ledge ;—steps which may be described as a new foundation rather than a mere extension of this portion of European geology ;—a sepa- ration and arrangement of transition rocks, which is likely to become the type and classical model of that part of the geological series, as Smith’s arrangement of the oolites became the type of that portion of the strata. I speak of Professor Sedgwick’s views on the Cambrian rocks, which occupy the north-west of Wales, and Mr. Murchison’s on the Silurian formations which cover the remainder of the princi- pality and the adjacent parts of England. Mr. Murchison’s work, which cannot but be one of first-rate value and interest, will, I trust, be in our hands in a few weeks; and I should grieve to think that Professor Sedgwick will be not only so unjust to his own reputation, but so regardless of the convenience and expectations of geologists, as to withhold from the world much longer the views which his saga- cious and philosophical mind has extracted from the accumulated labour of so many toilsome years, on a subject abandoned to him mainly from its difficulty and complexity. Turning then to the researches which have been laid before us upon the earlier stratified rocks, I am first led to notice the important memoir of the two gentlemen I have just mentioned, upon the struc- ture of North Devonshire. According to the views of these gentlemen, founded upon an extended examination of the county, this portion of England forms a great trough, having an east and west position, in which a series of culmiferous beds rest at their northern and southern extremities upon older rocks. The plants found in the culmiferous beds are said to be all identical with species which are abundant in the coal-fields of the central counties of England, and of the South Welsh coal basin: and it was at first conceived that these plants differed essentially from the scanty and imperfect remains of vege- tables which are found in the older rocks. More recently, how- ever, the same fossil plants which occur in the culm measures are said to have been detected in the subjacent strata. Before this fact was known, the identity of the fossils and the resemblance of mine- aii 635 / ralogical character seemed irresistibly to prove the culm-bearing beds of Devon to be the same formation with the culm or coal-bearing measures of Pembrokeshire on the opposite side of the Bristol Chan- nel. How far this apparent anomaly admits of explanation, and in what manner it is to be allowed to modify the conclusion previously drawn, we. may perhaps most properly consider as questions hereafter to be decided. The rocks which support the culmiferous formation on the north are conceived by Messrs. Sedgwick and Murchison to be a series, of which the last ascending term is probably of the date of the lowest portion of the Silurian system. On the south the culmiferous strata rest partly upon the granite, and partly upon the oldest slate rocks of Devon and Cornwall. The same general view of the nature of the transverse section of Devon, and of the age of the culm, has been presented, perhaps I ought to say adopted, by the authors of two other papers upon the same region which have been brought before us,—Mr. Austen and Mr. Weaver ;—and also, at least so far as the section is concerned, by the Rev. D. Williams in a communication made to the British As- sociation in September last. Nor am I aware that it has been dissented from by any one who has examined the county in question since this view was made generally known. Resting on the concurrence of so many able observers, I should conceive, therefore, that we may look upon this view as established, so far as the time which has elapsed al- lows us to use the term. No truths should be termed incontestable till a considerable period has been left for the antagonists to show themselves and to try their force. Although this view has thus so good a claim to acceptance, you are aware, gentlemen, that it is entirely different, both as to the form of the section and the age of the members, from that which was entertained up to the time when these gentlemen turned their atten- tion to the subject. ‘Their opinion respecting Devonshire being adopted, along with the views of the same eminent geologists re- specting Cumberland and North and South Wales, one-third of our geological map of England will require to be touched with a fresh pencil. Nor is this wonderful. It is rather a matter of extraordinary surprise, that when’ the rest of the geological map of England is again drawn, there are scarcely any but microscopic alterations which 3F 636 require to he made. No higher evidence can be conceived of the vast knowledge and great sagacity of its author. Such modifications we must ever expect to have to make of afirst ap- proximation ; and I should think it a misfortune to our researches if we should attempt to elude this necessity by giving up the key of all our geological knowledge of ourcountry,—the doctrine that there is a fixed order of strata, characterized mainly by their organic fossils. If we have not advanced so far as to prove this, what have we proved ? If our terms do not imply this, what is their meaning? Is it not true, in our science as in all others, that a technical phraseology is real wealth, because it puts in our hands a vast treasure of foregone generalizations? And if we evade the difficulties which may occur in the application of this phraseology to new cases, by declaring that our terms are of little importance, is not this to deprive our language of all meaning and all worth? Do we not thus refuse to recognise as valuable the tokens which we ourselves circulate, and plainly de- clare ourselves bankrupts in knowledge? When certain strata of Devon have thus been identified with the coal measures of other re- gions, can we still term them grauwacke? Either this term implies members having a definite place in our series of strata, or it does not. If it do, it is certain that these strata have not that place. If it do not, it conveys no geological knowledge at all. Butif it be used to imply a rejection of such series, it involves a denial of all geological knowledge hitherto asserted concerning the older rocks of this county. : The transition downwards from the culmiferous beds of Devon to the older strata on which theyrest, is, according to almostall who have studied the subject, wrapt in great obscurity. In this obscurity, if it be true that the fossil plants of the culm measures are found also in the subjacent rocks, there is nothing which need make us mistrust the clear and positive part of our knowledge. And even if this be so, it will not be the less necessary to separate the culmiferous from the subjacent Silurian and Cambrian systems, by a different name in our lists, and by a different colour in our geological maps, if they are to represent the present state of our information. The interest of this question has induced me to dwell upon it longer than I had intended, and I must on that account be very brief in my notice of many other communications. I may observe that 637 the very nature of several of these indicates very remarkably the European character which our geology has assumed, since they have for their object the identification of some members of the recognised series of England, and of France, or Germany. Thus Mr. Mur- chison and Mr. Strickland have attempted to show, by the evidence of organic fossils, now for the first time adduced on this point, that the red saliferous marls of Gloucester, Worcester, and Warwick shires, with an included bed of sandstone, represent the keuper or marnes iri- sées of Germany; and that the underlying sandstone of Ombersly, Bromsgrove, and Warwick is part of the bunter sandstein or grés bigarré of foreign geologists. ‘They are thus led to conclude that though the muschelkalk, which intervenes between these formations in Germany, is absent in the new red system of England, and of a large part of France, its other members may be identified over the whole of the north of Europe. Proceeding from the new red to the oolite system, we have a me- moir from Mr. Pratt containing an examination of the geological cha- racter of the coast of Normandy, which necessarily implies a compari- son of this series of rocks with those of England. The identification is found to be complete, as had already been believed ; but Mr. Pratt has made some alteration in the received doctrines on this subject; for instance, the Caen stone, which is usually considered to represent the great oolite, he finds to resemble in its fossils the inferior oolite. Ascending still, we have to notice Mr. Clarke’s elaborate geological survey of Suffolk, which, of course, refers entirely to the chalk and overlying beds. With regard to the crag of this district, I may re- mark that M. Desnoyers, in a communication made to the Geological Society of France, has endeavoured to identify this formation with the Faluns of the 'Touraine. M. Deshayes had referred the latter to the Miocene, and the crag to the Pliocene formations of Mr. Lyell. The point is one of great interest, since it involves the question of the value and right mode of application of the test of the relative number of recent species, on which Mr. Lyell’s classificatizn, or at least his nomenclature, is founded. I conceive that in a matter of arrangement any arbitrary numerical character must lead to viola- tions of nature’s classifications; and can only be considered as an ar- tificial method, to be used provisionally till some more genuine prin- ciple of order is discovered. 3 F 2 638 Mr. Clarke, in his survey, has noted as one division of the diluvium of his district, a clay of a yellowish or bluish hue, containing rolled pieces of chalk. This deposit is of great extent and thickness in East Anglia and the neighbouring parts ; and is worth notice, since this de- posit is one main cause of the geological confusion and obscurity in which that region is involved. In the neighbourhood of Cambridge this diluvial deposit is called the brown clay; and I can state, from my own experience, that the recognition of it as a separate bed at once rendered the stratification clear, where it had long been unin- telligible. Before quitting our stratified rocks, I may notice the commu- nications respecting some of their fossils which we have received, particularly that of Mr. Williamson on the fossil fishes of the Lan- cashire coal field, and the establishment of the new genus Tropzum, separated from the Hamites of the green sand by Mr. Sowerby. In attempting to pursue a stratigraphical order, we are compelled to reserve for a separate head the notice of unstratified rocks, since their age and history are only known by the mode in which they in- terrupt and disturb the rest of the series. We have not had many communications respecting European rocks of this character ; but we cannot but be struck by the subversion of ancient ideas which result from the investigations of Messrs. Murchison and Sedgwick. They have shown that the granite of Dartmoor, and consequently that of Cornwall, formerly considered as one of the earliest monuments of the primeval ages of the earth’s history, is posterior to the deposit of the culm measures. Advancing to newer phenomena, we find the evidences of change still unexhausted. We cannot but reflect how familiar those views of the elevation and depression of portions of the earth’s surface are become, which were at first considered so strange and startling. This is remarkably shown by the number of communications concerning raised beaches which we have recently received. When we visit places where these occur, and look at the winding shore, where the sea line is faithfully followed or distantly imitated by terraces, sands and peb- bles a little above it, we wonder that we should so long have been blind to this kind of evidence. Such raised beaches have been de- scribed during the past year, by Mr. Prestwich, as occurring in the Murray Frith; by Mr. Austin, in the valley of the Axe, the Exe, 639 and the Otter. Dr. Forchammer has given us the evidence of recent elevation in the island of Bornholm; Mr. Trevelyan has given us similar evidence for the coast of Jutland, and the islands of Guernsey and Jersey. Mr. Morris’s paper, describing a series of dislocations in the chalk cliffs to the south of Ramsgate, marked by shifts in a bed of tabular flint, may perhaps be considered as also affording evidence of violent elevation. But since a small derangement of the conditions of sup- port of any stratum might occasion dislocations of the scale of those here described, it would probably be hazardous to consider them as otherwise than local accidents. Among descriptions of the most recent geological phenomena, I must notice Mr. Clarke’s paper on certain peat marshes and sub- marine forests, which occur near Poole in Devonshire; and in his investigation of the causes which have produced the results now visible, we may see by how easy a gradation descriptive geology passes into the other portion of the subject, the study of the processes by which change is produced. Finally, in concluding this survey of our descriptive home geology, I notice, with great pleasure, Mr. Burr’s communication of his notes on the geology of the line of the proposed Birmingham and Glou- cester Railway. In a country like this, in which the order and boundaries of the strata are, for the most part, well ascertained, an additional accuracy of measurement, of great value to us, may be supplied by the operations of civil engineers employed on canals, roads, and the like works. With this persuasion, and acting with the advice of the Council, I wrote letters to a great number of engi- neers, begging them to communicate to us the levels and sections which they might obtainin the course of theirprofessionalemployments; and I am happy to see so excellent an example as Mr. Burr’s paper supplies, of the advantage which may be derived from materials of this class. 2. Foreign (South European and Trans- European) Geology.—In pro- ceeding beyond the Alps, and still more as we advance beyond the shores of Europe, we can no longer, so far at least as geo- logists have hitherto discovered, trace that remarkable correspond- ence of the strata of different countries which we can study so successfully in our home circuit. With the mountain masses 640 of those more distant regions we are, it would seem, hardly author- ised as yet in making any more detailed distinctions than the general one of secondary and tertiary strata; the latter including the strata in which we trace an approach to the existing species of animals, and the former implying a general comparison with our chalk, oolites, andlowerstrata. Perhaps we may further distinguish in most countries which have been visited, a great mass of transition slates; but the establishment of such divisions must be the business of geological observers. We have had several valuable additions to this portion of our know- ledge, including, as we must do, Greece and its islands in this foreign district. That the Apennine limestone is the predominant mass of the Morea, had been made known by the researches of MM. Boblaye and Yirlet. Mr. Strickland and Mr. Hamilton have told us that the same rock forms a large mass of the island of Zante and other islands in that sea, and of the neighbourhood of Smyrna. They find also tertiary beds, as on the south side of the bay of Smyrna; on the east side of the island of Zante ; and at Lixouri in Cephalonia, where the tertiary beds are remarkable for the number and beauty of their fossils, some of which have been identified with species existing in the Mediterranean. Dr. Bell, who travelled from Teheran to the shores of the Caspian, has given us an account of the rocks which he observed in Mazanderan. From the statements made by him, we are led to believe, that a more continued and detailed observation of the country would give the true geological order of the deposits in this region; which might then, perhaps, serve as a connecting link between western Asia and India. ; It is among the favourable omens for the geology of India, of which we now see many, that a temperate spirit of generalization has recently been applied to the examination of her soil; a spirit which contents itself with such a general reference of the foreign to the home strata as we have described, till by its own labours it has earned the right of asserting some closer correspondence. If to deny the value of our geological terms within the home district, where they mark an order which has been repeatedly verified, would be a suicidal scepticism in geologists, there would be a rashness and levity no less fatal in applying them to distant regions where no order has yet been ascertained. 641 Captain Grant in his account of Cutch, and Mr. Malcolmson in his description of a large portion of the Indian peninsula, have not ventured to call the strata which they have examined by the names which describe European formations. We may trust that, hereafter, the admirable activity and resource which our countrymen display in that wonderful appendage of our empire, will enable them to com- municate to us a genuine Indian arrangement of secondary strata. In the mean time, Mr. Malcolmson has most laudably employed him- self in determining the age of the wide-spread igneous rocks of the peninsula of India, with reference to the contiguous strata. And Dr. McCleland, who was associated with Mr. Griffith in the scientific deputation sent under Dr. Wallich into Upper Asam, has, among other geological observations, noted a raised bed, at 1500 feet above the sea level, in which none of the species are identical with those of the Bay of Bengal on the one hand, or the secondary strata on the north of the Himalaya on the other; but in which a resemblance was at once recognised with the species of the Paris basin. This resemblance between the extinct animal population of regions so remote from each other, is initself remarkable enough. It is still more curious to observe, that the same coincidence of the ancient animals of France and India has recently been detected in another case; and what makes the circumstance still more remarkable is, that the animal was not only new in both countries as a fossil genus, but involved a transgression of the supposed boundaries of fossil forms. Not only had no human bones been found in genuine strata, but as it had been generally held, no traces of those creatures y hich most nearly imitate the human form. ‘This rule now no longer holds good; for during the past year the bones of monkeys have been dis- covered both at Sansan, in France, in the Sewalik Hills in the north of Hindostan, and more recently under the city of Calcutta. That this is a highly interesting and important discovery, no one who attends to the signification of geological speculations can doubt. I do not know if there are any persons who lament, or any who exult, that this discovery tends to obliterate the boundary between the present condition of the earth, tenanted by man, and the former stages through which it has passed. For my own part I can see no such tendency. I have no belief that geology will ever be able to point to the commencement of the present order of things, as a pro- 642 blem which she can solve, if she is allowed to make the attempt. The gradation in form between man and other animals, a gradation which we all recognise, and which, therefore, need not startle us because it is presented under a new aspect, is but a slight and, as appears to me, unimportant feature, in looking at the great subject of man’s ori- gin. Even if we had no Divine record to guide us, it would be most unphilosophical to attempt to trace back the history of man without taking into account the most remarkable facts in his nature: the facts of civilization, art, government, writing, speech—his tra- ditions—his internal wants—his intellectual, moral, and religious constitution. If we will look backwards, we must look at all these things as evidences of the origin and end of man’s being. When we do thus comprehend in our view the whole of the case, it is 1m- possible for us, as I have elsewhere said, to arrive at an origin homogeneous with the present state of things; and on such a sub- ject the geologist may be well content to close his own volume, and open one which has man’s moral and religious nature for its subject. In order to complete the notice of the contributions to foreign geo-. logy, I must mention Mr. Roy’s account of Upper Canada: in which country he conceives that he has detected terraces which exhibit the beaches of the lakes when the level of their surface was more elevated, than they are at present. I must refer also to Mr. Bollaert’s paper on alluvial accumulations containing large masses of silver ore in Peru. And, finally, I have to direct your attention to the very curious information respecting the geology of South America, _ which we have received from Mr. Darwin. In a communication made to us, he gave a very striking view of the structure of a large portion of that continent; and, as I have already had occasion to observe, he has brought to this country the remains of various fossil animals of entirely new kinds, of exceeding interest to the zoologist as well as the geologist. I need only remind you of the gigantic mammifer which has been reconstructed in idea by Mr. Owen, upon the evidence of a fossil skull, and has been named by him the Toxodon Platensis. ‘This animal, although a Rodent, accord- ing to its dental characters, in other respects manifests an affinity to the Pachyderms; and also to the Dinotherium, and to the cetaceous order. Many other fossil animals have been discovered in South 643 America; and all; from their magnitude, fitted to excite our wonder, when we compare the diminutive size of the present races of animals which inhabit that country. The animal remains found by Mr. Darwin comprise, besides the Toxodon, which extraordinary animal was as large as a hippopotamus,—(2, 3, 4,5, 6.) the Megatherium, and four or five other large Edentata ;—(7.) an immense Mastodon ; —(8.) the Horse ;—(9.) an animal larger than a horse, and of very singular character, of which a fragment of the head has been found ; —(10, 11, 12.) parts of Rodents, one of considerable size ;—(13.) a Llama, or Guanaco, fully as large as the Camel. But I should very ill convey my impression of the great value of the researches of Mr. Darwin, by any enumeration of special points of geology or paleontology on which they have thrown light. Look- ing at the general mass of his results, the account of which he has been kind enough to place in my hands, I cannot help considering his voyage round the world as one of the most important events for geology which has occurred for many years. We may think our- selves fortunate that Capt. Fitz Roy, who conducted the expedition, was led, by his enlightened zeal for science, to take out a naturalist with him. And we have further reason to rejoice that this lot fell to a. gentleman like Mr. Darwin, who possessed the genuine spirit and zeal, as welkas knowledge of a naturalist; who had pursued the studies which fitted him for this employment, under the friendly guidance of Dr. Grant at Edinburgh, and Professor Henslow and Professor Sedgwick at Cambridge; and whose powers of reason and application had been braced and disciplined by the other stu- dies of the University of which the latter two gentlemen are such distinguished ornaments. But some of the principal of these re- sults may be most conveniently mentioned, when we pass from mere descriptive geology, to that other division of the subject which I have termed Geological Dynamics. And this I now proceed to do. GEOLOGICAL DYNAMICS. This term is intended to express generally the science, so far as we can frame a science, of the causes of change by which geological phenomena have been produced. Without here speaking of any classification of such changes, I may observe that the gradual eleva- 644 tion and depression, through long ages, of large portions of the earth’s crust, is a proximate cause by which such phenomena have been explained: and this class of events, its evidence, extent, and consequence, is brought before our view by Mr. Darwin’s investi- gations, with a clearness and force which has, I think I may say, filled all of us with admiration. I may refer especially to his views respecting the history of coral isles. Those vast tracts of the Pacific which contain, along with small portions of scattered land, innumer- able long reefs and small circles of coral, had hitherto been full of problems, of which no satisfactory solution could be found. For how could we explain the strange forms of these reefs; their long and winding lines; their parallelism to the shores? and by what means did the animals, which can only work near the surface, build up a fabric which has its foundations in the deepest abysses of ocean ? To these questions Mr. Darwin replies, that all these circumstances, the linear or annular form, their reference to the boundary of the land, the clusters of little islands occupying so small a portion of the sea, and, above all, the existence of the solid coral at the bottom of deep seas, point out to us that the bottom of the sea has descended slowly and gradually, carrying with it both land and corals; while the ani- mals of the latter are constantly employed in building to the surface, and thus mark the shores of submerged lands, of whichethe summits may or may not remain extant above the waters. I need not here further state Mr. Darwin’s views, or explain how corals, which when the level is permanent fringe the shore to the depth of twenty fathoms, as the land gradually sinks, become successively encircling reefs at a distance from the shore ; or barrier reefs at a still greater distance and depth ; or when the circuit is small, lagoon islands:—how, again, the same corals, when the land rises, are carried into elevated situa- tions, where they remain as evidences of the elevation. We have had placed before us the map, in which Mr. Darwin has, upon evi- dence of this kind, divided the surface of the Southern Pacific and Indian oceans into vast bands of alternate elevation and depression; and we have seen the remarkable confirmation of his views in the observation that active volcanos occur only in the areas of ele- yation. Guided by the principles which he learned from my distin- guished predecessor in this chair, Mr. Darwin has presented this subject under an aspect which cannot but have the most powerful 645 influence on the speculations concerning the history of our globe, to which you, gentlemen, may hereafter be led. I might say the same of the large and philosophical views which you will find illustrated in his work, on the laws of change of climate, of diffusion, duration and extinction of species, and other great problems of our science which this voyage has suggested. I know that I only express your feeling when I say, that we look with impatience to the period when this portion of the results of Captain Fitz Roy’s voyage shall be pub- lished, as the scientific world in general looks eagerly for the whole record of that important expedition. And I cannot omit this occasion of mentioning with great gratifi- cation, the liberal assistance which the Government of this country have lent to the publication of the discoveries in natural history which Mr. Darwin’s voyage has produced. ‘The new animals which he has to make known to the world will thus come before the public de- scribed by the most eminent naturalists, and represented in a manner worthy of the subject and of the nation. I am sure that I may ex- press the gratitude of the scientific world, as well as my own, for this enlightened and judicious measure. I may here notice Mr. Darwin’s opinion, so ably exposed in a paper read before us, that the change by which a variety of materials thrown on the earth’s surface become vegetable mould, is produced by the digestive process of the common earth worm. I will here also advert to Mr. Fox’s paper on the process by which mineral veins have been filled up. This he conceives might be pro- duced by the circulation or ascension of currents of heated water from the deeper parts of the original fissures. ‘The discovery of the causes of the formation and filling of metallic veins, one of the earliest subjects of geological speculation, will remain probably as a problem for its later stages, when our insight into the laws of slow chemical changes is far clearer than it is at the present day. If, from these proximate causes of change of which I have spoken, we proceed to those ulterior causes by which such events as these are produced ;—to the subterraneous machinery by which islands and continents appear and vanish in the great drama of the world’s physical history ;—we have before us questions still more obscure, but questions which we must ask and answer in order to entitle our- selves to look with any hope towards geological theory. Of late 646 years an opinion has taken root among us, that the dynamics of geology must invoke the aid of mathematical reasoning and calcu- lation, as the dynamics of astronomy did, at the turning point of its splendid career. Nor can we hesitate to accept this opinion, and to look forwards to the mathematical cultivation of physical geology, as one of the destined stages of our progress towards truth. But we must remember, that in order to pursue this path with advantage, we have, in every instance, two steps to make, each of which demands great sagacity, and may. require much time and labour. These two steps are, to propose the proper problem, and to solve it. Last year an important example of this kind was brought under your notice by my predecessor. The supposition that there are, beneath the crust of the terrestrial globe, liquid or semiliquid masses which exert a pressure upwards, leads to the inquiry what phenomena of fissure, disruption, and dislocation, this subterraneous strain would produce. The answer to this inquiry must be given by mathematical reasoning from mechanical principles; and Mr. Hopkins, who pro- posed, and toa considerable extent solved this problem, has put forth a set of results, with which, so far as they are definite and decisive, it will be highly important to compare the existing phenomena of disturbed geological districts. The same assumption, of an incandes- cent mass existing deep below the earth’s surface, has led two other distinguished members of our body to another train of speculations ; which, however, though highly interesting, I should be disposed to consider as only the enunciation of a problem, requiring no small amount of mathematical skill for its solution. I speak of the specu- lations of Professor Babbage and Sir John Herschel, concerning the subterraneous oscillations of the isothermal surfaces of great tem- perature. They remark that such oscillations will arise, when thick and extensive deposits take place on any parts of the surface of the earth, (as for instance at the bottoms of seas,) because such deposits increase the thickness of the coating over a given subterraneous point; and thus removing the cooling effect of the surface, bring a high temperature to a place where it did not exist before. The de- posited strata might thus be invaded by violent heat advancing from below; and there might result both changes of position arising from extension and contraction, and a metamorphic structure in the rocks themselves. It is highly instructing to have this chain of concei- 647 vable effects pointed out to us; but we may venture to observe that in order to render the suggestion of permanent use, it will be necessary, to express, in some probable numbers, the laws of the result as affected by the conductivity of the earth’s mass, the rate and thickness of the de- posit, and other circumstances. Forinstance, we know that a deposit of one thousand feet thick would be quite insufficient to occasion a metamorphic operation in its lower strata. Would then a deposit of ten thousand or of twenty thousand feet call into play such a process? To answer questions like these, of which a vast number must at once occur to our minds, we have many experimental data to collect, many intricate calculations to follow out. And it would be easy to point out problems of a still more abstruse kind, in which we no less require aid from the mathematician, before we can proceed in our generalizations. May we not hope to see some fortunate man of genius unveil to us the mechanics of crystalline forces? And when that is done, can we doubt that we shall have a ray of new light thrown upon those extraordinary phenomena of slaty cleavage in mountain masses which have lately been brought under our notice ? Or, recollecting the experiments of Sir James Hall, (a striking step in geological dynamics,) may we not hope then to learn how those crystalline forces are stimulated by heat; and thus follow the meta- morphic process into its innermost recesses? These and a thousand such questions lie beforeus ;—tangled and arduous inquiries no doubt, but connected by their common bearing upon one great subject ;—‘a mighty maze, but not without a plan.’ And through this maze we must force our way in order to advance towards any sound geological theory. The task is one of labour and difficulty ; but I well know, gentlemen, that you will not shrink from it on that account. Those who aspire to the felicity of knowing the causes of things, must not only trample under foot the fears of a timid unphilosophical spirit, which the poet deems so necessary a preparation, but they must look with a steady eye upon difficulty as well as violence. ‘They must regard the terrors of. the volcano and the earthquake, the secret paths by which hot and cold and moist and dry ran into their places, the wildest rush of the fluid mass, the latent powers which give so- lidity to the rock,—as operations of which they have to trace the laws and measure the quantities with mathematical exactness. And though there can be no doubt that the greater part of us shall be more use-. 648 fully employed in endeavouring to add to the stores of descriptive geology, than in these abstruse and difficult investigations, yet we must always receive, with great pleasure, any communications con- taining real advances in the mathematical dynamics of geology, from those whose studies and whose powers enable them to lay an effectual grasp upon these complex and refractory problems. I have but a single word to add in conclusion. This Society has always been an object of my admiration and respect, not only from the importance and range of its scientific objects, the wide and exact knowledge which it accumulates, the philosophical spirit which it calls into play, the boundless prospect of advance which it offers ; but also for the manner in which its meetings and the intercourse of its members have ever been conducted ; the manly vigour of discus- sion, tempered always by mutual respect and by good manners; the deep interest of all in the prosperity of the Society, to which, whenever the hour of need comes, private differences of opinion and resent- ments have given way. ‘To be placed for a time at the head of a body which I look upon with such sentiments, I must ever consider as one of the greatest distinctions which can reward any one who gives his attention to science. I trust, by your assistance and kind sym- pathy, gentlemen, I shall be able to preserve the spirit and temper which I so much admire;—to hand that torch to my successor burning as brightly as it has hitherto done. And there is one con- sideration which will make me look with an especial satisfac- tion upon such a result. I have not myself the great honour of being one of the members of the Society who are connected with it by an early interest in its fortunes, and by long participation in its labours. I may consider myself as only belonging to its second generation. Now if there be a critical and a perilous time in the progress of a volun- tary association like ours, it is when its administration passes out of the hands of its founders into those of their successors. It is like that important and trying epoch when the youth quits the paternal roof. I will say however, gentlemen, for myself and for my fellow-officers, some of whom are in the same condition, that cur best cares shall not be wanting that the Society may suffer as little as possible by this change. Andamong our grounds for hope and trust, the main one is this: that though the offices of the Society may be in younger hands, the parental cares of its founders are not withdrawn. We 649 have to discharge our office with the aid and counsel of those ex- cellent persons to whom the prosperity of the Society up to the pre- sent time has been owing. Surrounded by such men, knowing their generous and ready sympathy for the attempts and exertions of their followers and disciples, I feel a cheerful confidence in the future des- tinies of the Geological Society ; and a persuasion that it will not only preserve but extend its influence as a bond of scientific and social union among its members. eC a nye PROCEEDINGS OF THE GEOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF LONDON. Vot. II. 1838. No. 56. Feb. 21.—William Blount, Esq., of Cumberland Place, and José Estavao Cliffe, Esq., of Cuijaba, Brazils, were elected Fellows of this Society. A paper “ On part of Asia Minor,” by William John Hamilton, Esq., Sec. G.S., was read. In this paper, the author gives an account of the geological struc- ture of the country from the foot of Hassin Dagh, a few miles 8.S.E. of Akserai (lat. 38° 20’ N., long. about 34° E.), to the great salt lake of 'Toozla or Kodj-hissar, and thence eastwards to Caesarea and Mount Argeus. The formations, noticed by Mr. Hamilton, are trachytic conglo- merates, considered by him one of the oldest formations of the country ; a system of highly inclined beds of red sandstone, conglo- merates and marls, which rest upon the trachytic conglomerate, and are apparently connected with the saliferous deposits of the country, though the author did not observe any beds of salt in the sandstone* ; a limestone belonging to the vast, calcareous, lacustrine formation of the central part of Asia Minor; a great system of vol- canic tufts, trachytes and basalts, apparently of comparative modern origin ; and a grey granite which is newer than the sandstone, as it penetrates and disturbs that formation near Kodj-hissar; but pebbles of a grey granite identical in composition also occur in the conglo- merate. Hassan Dagh, upwards of 8000 feet above the sea, consists en- tirely of trachyte, and trachytic and porphyritic conglomerates, and rises from the eastern termination of a great calcareous plain. Several volcanic cones, composed of trachytic conglomerates and scoriz, occur near the base on the S.S.W. and N.W. sides. All the latter, with the exception of one, are in the present valley, and below the tufaceous beds which cap the hills on its north side, and were, therefore, produced subsequently to the excavation of the valley. From one of them a considerable stream of black, vesicular lava proceeds, and encircles some of the smaller cones. * The extensive beds of rock salt on the borders of Pontus and Galatia, occur in troughs or small basins resting upon the perpendicular edges of a red and brown sandstone conglomerate. 3G ry) 652 From the foot of Hassan Dagh to the great salt lake of Kodj- Hissar, the road traverses a plain, bounded on the south by low hills of the lacustrine limestone; and on the north by hills having narrow peaks and steep escarpments, of red and yellow sandstone, sometimes associated with calcareous conglomerates, sand and marl, and capped towards the east and north-east by beds of tuff and a white pu- miceous rock, which passes into trachyte. Still further east, is a hill in which the sandstone rests upon a trachytic conglomerate. The phenomena presented in this district, the author conceives, indicate the following operations :— 1. The irruption of the trachyte, from which the trachytic con- glomerate was formed. 2. The deposition of the sandstones, conglomerates and marls. 3. The ejection of the igneous matter constituting the overlying beds of volcanic tuff and pumiceous rock. 4. The excavation of the valley. 5. The formation of the volcanic cones at the foot of Hassan Dagh. The water of the salt lake of Kodj-hissar is so highly charged with saline matter, that no fish can live in it; and if the wings of a bird touch it, they become instantly stiff and useless with incrus- tation. Mr. Hamilton could not ascertain the exact dimensions of the lake, but he was informed, that it is about thirty hours or leagues in circumference. The bottom is a soft mud, incapable of supporting the slightest weight; but at the part examined by the author, a thick, solid crust of salt, which bore the weight of a horse, rested upon the soft mud, and was covered by about six inches of water, which he was informed would be dried up in another month. The sandstone formation extends beyond the village of Kodj- hissar, towards the N.N.W., dipping in the same direction. It is penetrated near the town by a mass of finely-grained, grey granite, which also sends veins into the sandstone, and produces an anti- clinal inclination, the dip towards the south being 80°. In the sandstone conglomerate, of the neighbourhood, Mr. Hamilton, how- ever, noticed pebbles of a grey g eranite similar in composition to that of the protruded mass. About a mile N.W. of Kodj-hissar are detached portions of the horizontal white limestone, either resting unconformably against the sandstone, or filling up irregularities in its surface. In some places it caps the hills, which flank the valley a little to the north of the village. The only fossils noticed in the sandstone, were impressions re- sembling fucoids, and similar to those found i in the Alpine limestone near Trieste. The author then describes the structure of the country between Kodj-hissar and Ceesarea, a distance of about 108 miles. It consists of the same sandstone system containing gypsum, and occasionally overlaid by horizontal beds of the lacustrine limestone and volcanic . tuff; but the latter constitutes likewise large districts, the fundamental rock of which is not visible. Granite forms a range of hills thirty 653 miles in extent, about midway between Kodj-hissar and Sari-kara- man, and is traversed in one place by a N.N.E. and $.8.W. dyke of claystone porphyry: granite occurs also between the latter town and Tatlar. ‘Trap and trachyte were noticed at several places, like- ‘wise serpentine and greenstone near Sari-karaman; and basaltic rocks form table lands overlying the volcanic tuff near 'Tatlar and Baktash ; and close to Nembscheher beds of basalt alternate with the vol- canic tuff. ‘To the east and north-east of Tatlar the author re- marked several volcanic hills, from which streams of basalt or lava appear to have flowed. ‘To the south-east of the village he also saw a stream of a more recent date than that which caps the neigh- bouring hills; for it not only flows at a lower level, but below the _ steep escarpments of the older basalt. In the ravine near Tatlar, and in the vallies of Utch-hissar and Urjub, the tuff has been worn into cones from 150 to 300 feet high. They are principally detached from the sides of the vallies, but are connected at the base; and are in some places so numerous and close together, that they resemble at a distance a grove of lofty cypresses. Where the cones occur on the sides of the vallies, they exhibit every stage of development, from the first indication of a mound near the summit of the slope, to the full-formed cone at the bottom. In the valley of Urjub some of them are capped by a mass of hard rock, which projects like the head of a mushroom. ‘The production of these cones the author ascribes to the action of running or atmospheric waters. One of the principal objects of Mr. Hamilton’s visit to this part of Asia Minor, was to ascend to the summit of Mount Argeus, which had not previously been reached by any traveller. This mountain rises abruptly from the alluvial plain of Czesarea, sending out prolongations and spurs into the plain which stretches to the north, between Injesu and Czsarea; but it is connected at its eastern base with other ranges of mountains. It rises, like Has- san Dagh, to a single peak, and it resembles in outline, the summit of Ararat. ‘The highest part consists of a reddish brecciated and scoriaceous conglomerate, full of fragments of trap and porphyritic trachyte, and may be said to be the point of junction of two enor- mous, broken craters, one of which opens to the N.E., the other to the N.W., the steep sides of which are covered to the north with eternal snow for 2000 or 3000 feet below the summit. The height of the mountain was ascertained by Mr. Hamilton to be about 13,000 feet, the following being the results of his observations. By barometer) i2hy.2 be nue i SP Sha AUT SN a 13,293 By angle of elevation from the Greek Convent...... 13,242 By angle of elevation from Kara-hissar............ 12,809 A little below the summit, on theS.E. side, rugged, serrated ridges rise through the snow, some of them consisting of a compact tra- ehytic rock, with a highly conchoidal fracture, resembling that of hornstone ; but others are composed of porphyritic trachytes of va- rious colours and textures. Near the foot of the great cone, on the S.E., W., and N. sides, rise numerous smaller ones of pumice and 3G 2 654 lapilli, from some of which on the N.W. side, streams of basalt or lava may be traced. In conclusion the author expresses his regrets, that the want of organic remains, prevents him from determining the comparative an- tiquity of the formations, with respect to those in Europe. In only one instance, the fucoid impressions near Kodj-hissar, did he ob- serve a trace of an organic body in the sandstone; and the only occurrence of fossils in the limestone series which he noticed, was in the neighbourhood of Sevri-hissar W.S.W. of Angora, where he discovered, in the upper beds of the formation, Limnea and Planorbis. March 7th.—Charles William Hamiiton, Esq., M.R.I.A., Sec. G.S. Dublin, Dominick Street, Dublin, was elected a Fellow of the Society. A notice was first read, on some remarkable dikes of calcareous grit at Ethie, in Ross-shire, by Hugh Edwin Strickland, Esq., F.G.S. These dikes, which traverse the lias schist, are displayed only at low water. ‘Two of them are parallel to the strata of schist ; but another, which sends off branches in various directions, is in no part of its course parallel to those strata. Their thickness varies from one to three feet; but that of some of the lateral branches does not exceed three inches. They exhibit no variation in texture or com- position, and show no signs of lamination, but are frequently frac- tured transversely to their direction. The transition from the dike to the lias shale is immediate; no change being apparent in the lat- ter at the point of junction. The shale, from its greater softness, has been removed between the dikes, leaving them like walls from one to three feet in height. These dikes, and similar ones in other places, were noticed by Mr. Murchison, in his examination of the coast of Scotland, in 1826. By what means the dikes were produced, the author does not ven- ture to inquire; his only object being to draw the attention of geo- logists still further to them. A paper, on the connexion of certain volcanic phenomena, and on the formation of mountain-chains and volcanos, as the effects of continental elevations, by Charles Darwin, Esq., Sec. G.S., was then read. The author first gave a detailed account of the volcanic pheenomena, which accompanied the earthquake that destroyed Concepcion on the morning of the 20th of February, 1835; and then deduced from volcanic phenomena, certain inferences with respect to the formation * of mountain-chains, and continental elevations. In describing the phenomena of the earthquake of 1835, Mr. Darwin quotes the published accounts by Captain Fitzroy* and Mr. * Journal of the Royal Geographical Society, vol. vi., p. 319, 1836. 655 Caldcleugh*; likewise communications received by him from Mr. Douglas, a resident on the island of Chiloe. A few days after the earthquake, several volcanos within the Cor- dilleras, to the north of Concepcion, though previously quiescent, were in great activity. It is doubtful, however, if the volcano of Antujo, in nearly the latitude of Concepcion, was affected, while the island of Juan Fernandez, 360 miles to the north-east of the city, was apparently more violently shaken than the opposite shore of the main land. Near Bacalao Head, a submarine volcano burst forth in sixty-nine fathoms water, and continued in action during the day as well as part of the following night. That island was also affected in a remarkable manner, by the earthquake which overthrew Con- cepcion in 1751. In Concepcion, the undulations of the surface appeared, to the in- habitants, to proceed from the south-west; and this direction was likewise inferred, from the effects observed in the buildings; for those walls, which had their extremities towards the point of dis- turbance, remained erect, though much fractured, whilst those (and the streets cross each other at right angles) which extended parallel to the line of the vibration, were hurled to the ground. ‘This was strikingly exemplified in the cathedral, where the great buttresses of solid brick-work were cut off, as if by a chisel, and thrown down; while the wall, for the support of which they had been built, though much shattered, remained standing. In Chiloe, south of Concepcion, the shocks were very severe, but they entirely ceased in about eight minutes. The motion, as de- scribed by Mr. Douglas, was horizontal, and similar to that of a ship going before a high, regular swell; from three to five shocks being felt in a minute; and the direction being from N.E.toS.W. Forest- trees nearly touched the soil in these directions; and a pocket com- pass placed level on the ground vibrated, during the violent shocks, two points to westward, but only half a point to eastward ; and during the minor shocks the needle pointed north. At Calbuco, a village on the mainland opposite the northern extremity of Chiloe, as well as at Valdivia, between Chiloe and Concepcion, the earthquake was much less severely felt ; and near Mellipulli, in the Cordilleras (not far from Calbuco), not at all. The volcano of Villareca, near Valdivia, which is said to be more frequently in irruption than almost any other in the chain, was not the least affected ; though the volcanos of central Chili are stated by Mr. Caldcleugh to have been seen, some days af- terwards, in great activity. Several of the culminating points of the Cordillera in front of the island of Chiloe, exhibited increased energy during the earthquake, and immediately after it. During the shocks, Osorno, which had been in activity for at least forty-eight hours previously, threw up a thick column of dark blue smoke; and di- rectly it had passed away, a large crater was seen forming in the S.S.E. side of the mountain; Minchinmadiva also, which had been in its usual state of moderate activity, commenced a fresh period of * Phil. Trans., 1836; Part I. p. 21. 656 violence. At the time of the principal shock, the Corcovado was quiet ; but when the summit of the mountain was visible a week af- terwards, the snow had disappeared from the north-west crater. On Yntales, to the south of the Corcovado, three black patches, resem- bling craters, were observed above the snow-line after the earthquake, though they had not been noticed previously to it. During the re- mainder of the year, the whole of the volcanic chain, from Osorno to Yntales, a range of 150 miles, exhibited, at times, unusual activity. On the night of the 11th of November, Osorno and Corcovado threw up stones to a great height; and on the same day, Talcahuano, the port of Concepcion, 400 miles distant, was shaken by a very severe earthquake; and on the 5th of December the whole summit of Osorno fell in. After these details of more particular phenomena, Mr. Darwin alluded to the great areas over which earthquakes have been simul- taneously felt; but he added, it is impossible even to guess through how wide an extent, in the subterranean regions, actual changes may have taken place. In order to enable the reader, who may be more familiar with European than South American geography, to comprehend the vast surface which was affected by the earthquake of February 1835, he stated, that it had a north and south range, equal in extent to the distance between the North Sea and the Mediterra- nean: that we must imagine the eastern coast of England to be permanently raised; and a train of volcanos to become active in the southern extremity of Norway; also that a submarine volcano burst forth near the northern extremity of Ireland; and that the long dormant volcanos of the Cantal and Auvergne, each sent up a column of smoke. The contemplation of voleanic pheenomena in South America, has induced the author to infer, that the crust of the globe in Chili rests on a lake of molten stone, undergoing some slow but great change ; for if this inference be denied, he says, the only alternative is, that channels from the various points of eruption must unite in some very deeply-seated focus. ‘This conclusion, however, he doubts, on ac- count of the union of the different trains of volcanos on the one line of the Cordillera, and more especially as many hundred square miles of surface in Chili, have been elevated during the same earthquake. Moreover, these elevations have acted within a period geologically recent, throughout the whole, or at least the greater part, of Chili and Peru, and have upraised the land several hundred feet. He is further of opinion, that the shocks coming from a given point of the compass, and the overthrow of the walls, according to their position with respect to this point, prove that the vibrations do not travel from a profound depth, but are due to the rending of the strata not far below the surface of the earth. Ina geological point of view, the author conceives, the three classes of phenomena exhibited during this earthquake of February 1835, viz. asubmarine outburst—renewed volcanic activity, simultaneously at distant localities—and a permanent elevation of the land, to be of the greatest importance, as forming parts of one great action, and 657 being the effects of one great cause, modified only by local circum- stances. Mr. Darwin further observed, that, as the voleancs near Chiloe commenced, at the moment of the shock, a period of renewed activity, which lasted throughout the following year, the motive power of these volcanos (as well as of the submarine outburst near Juan Fernandez) must be of a similar nature with that, which, at the same instant, permanently raised another part of the coast; and he therefore concluded, that no theory of the cause of volcanos, which is not applicable to continental elevations, can be considered as well- grounded. Mr. Darwin then offered some remarks on the two tables pub- lished by Humboldt, of the great earthquakes which affected, in 1797 and 1811, so large portions of America; and he is of opinion, that a repetition of the comcidences can alone determine how far the im- creased activity of the subterranean powers, at such remote points, was the effect of some general law, or of accident. He likewise dis- believes that periodical eruptions, as those of Coseguina, in 1709 and 1809, or of earthquakes, as the shocks felt at Lima on the 17th of June 1578, and the 17th of June 1678, are more than accidental agreements. He also gave a table of the voleanic phenomena in South America in 1835; and concluded, that it is probable that the subterranean forces manifest, for a period, their action, beneath a large portion of the South American continent, in the same inter- mittent manner as they do beneath isolated volcanos. In the latter table, Mr. Darwin pointed out the case of Osorno, Aconcagua, and Coseguina, (the first and last being 2700 miles apart,) which burst into sudden activity early on the morning of June 20th, 1835; but he hesitated to assent to there being any necessary connexion between them. He further remarked, that if such simultaneous outbursts had been observed in Hecla and AXttna, points unconnected by any uniformity of physical structure, it would be doubtful how far they would have been worthy of consideration; but in South America, where the volcanic orifices fall on one line of uniform, physical struc- ture, and where the whole country presents proofs of the action of subterranean forces, he conceives it ceases to be improbable, to any excessive degree, that the action of the voleanos should sometimes be absolutely simultaneous. The author then briefly described the groups into which the vol- canic vents of the Cordilleras have been divided. The most south- ern extends from Yntales to the volcanos of central Chili, a dis- tance of nearly 800 geographical miles; the second, from Arequipa to Patas, rather more than 600 miles; the third, from Riobamba to Popayan, a distance of about 300 miles; and to the northward, there are in Guatimala, Mexico, and California, three groups of vol- canos separated from each other a few hundred miles. ‘That the vents in each of these groups are connected, the author has little doubt; but that the groups are united in one system, there are less satisfactory means of proving. Mr. Darwin next considered the nature of the earthquakes which occur at irregular intervals on the South American coast. He is 658 perfectly convinced, from the numerous points of analogy which ex- ist between these phenomena and simple eruptions, that they belong to the same class of events; but he makes this distinction, that earthquakes, unaccompanied by eruptions at the chief point of dis- turbance, are followed by a vast number of minor shocks. ‘These, he believes, indicate a repeated rending of the strata beneath the surface ; whereas, in an ordinary eruption, a channel is formed du- ring the first outburst. Among other phenomena belonging to earthquakes, Mr. Darwin alluded to their affecting elongated areas. ‘Thus the shock in Syria, in 1837, was felt on a line 500 miles in length by 90 in breadth ; and those in South America are felt along 800 and 1000 miles of coast, but are on no occasion transmitted across the Cordillera to a nearly equal distance; and, as a consequence, the inland towns are much less affected than those near the coast. He does not con- ceive, however, that the disturbances proceed from one point, but many ranged in a band, otherwise the linear extension of earth- quakes would be unintelligible. For instance, in 18385, the island of Chiloe, the neighbourhood of Concepcion and Juan Fernandez were all violently affected at the same time. The last consideration which Mr. Darwin entered upon indicating the cause of earthquakes, is, that in South America they have been generally accompanied by elevation of the land; though it is not a necessary concomitant, at least to a perceptible amount. But he especially observed, that, as at Concepcion, during the few days suc- ceeding the great shock, several hundred earthquakes, of no incon- siderable violence, were experienced, whilst the level of the ground in that part of the coast certaimly was not raised by them (but after the interval of a few weeks, it stood lower,), there is a clear indica- tion of some cause of disturbance, independent of the uplifting of - the land in mass. In summing up the evidence of phenomena accompanying earth- quakes, the author is of opinion that the following conclusions may be drawn :— i lst. That the primary shock of an earthquake is caused by a vio- lent rending of the strata, which, on the coast of Chili and Peru, seems generally to occur at the bottom of the neighbour- ing sea. 2ndly. That this is followed by many minor fractures, which, though extending upwards, do not, except in submarine vol- canos, actually reach the surface. 3dly. That the area thus fissured extends parallel, or approxi- mately so, to the neighbouring coast mountains. Lastly. That the earthquake relieves the subterranean force, pre- cisely in the same manner as an eruption through an ordinary volcano. The author afterwards discussed the nature and phenomena of mountain chains; and stated his belief, that the injection, when in a fluid state, of the great mass of crystalline matter, of which the axis 1s generally composed, would relieve the subterranean pressure 659 in the same manner as an ejection of lava or scoria; and that the dislocation of the strata would produce horizontal vibrations through the surrounding country. In drawing this parallel, he also stated his belief, that the earthquake of Concepcion marked one step in the elevation of a mountain chain; and he adduced, in support of this opinion, the fact observed by Capt. Fitzroy, that the island of Santa Maria, situated 35 miles to the south-west of that city, was elevated to three times the height of the upraised coast near Concepcion ; or at the southern extremity of the island, eight feet; in the middle, nine feet; and at the northern extremity, upwards of ten feet ; and that at Tubal, to the south-east of Santa Maria, the land was raised six feet*; this unequal change of level indicating, in his opinion, an axis a elevation in the bottom of the sea, off the northern end of Santa Maria. Mr. Darwin then alluded to Mr. Hopkins’s Researches in Physical Geology, where it is demonstrated, that if an elongated area were elevated uniformly, it would crack or yield parallel to its longer axis; and that if the force acted unequally, transverse cracks or fis- sures would be produced, and that the masses, thus unequally dis- turbed, would represent the irregular outline of a mountain-chain. He further added, that if the force should act unequally beneath the area simultaneously affected, various fissures would be formed in different parts, having different directions, and thus give rise, at the same moment, to as many local earthquakes. The author believes, that this view will more readily explain intermediate districts being little disturbed (as Valdivia in 1835, and in cases alluded to by Hum- boldt,) than the supposed inertness of intermediary rock in con- veying the vibrations from a deeply-seated focus. If the preceding theory of the cause of earthquakes be true, Mr. Darwin said, we might expect to find, that the many parallel ridges of which the Cordillera is composed, were of successive ages. ‘Tn Central Chili, the only portion examined by him, this is the case, even with regard to the two main ridges ; and some of the exterior lines of mountains appear, likewise, to be of subsequent dates to the cen- tral ones. The contemplation of these phenomena led him, while in South America, to infer, that mountain-chains are only subsidiary, and attendant operations on continental elevations. The conclusion, that mountain-chains are formed by a long suc- cession of small movements, the author conceived may be arrived at by theoretical reasoning. ‘The first effect of disturbing agents, Mr. Hopkins has shown, is to arch the crust of the earth, and to traverse it by a system of parallel but vertical fissures; and that subsequent elevations and subsidences of the disjointed masses would produce anticlinal and synclinal lines. In the Cordillera, the strata in the central parts, are inclined at an angle commonly exceeding 45°, and are very often absolutely vertical, the axis bemg composed of granitic masses, which, from the number of dikes branching from them, must have been fluid when propelled against the lower beds. How then, * Journal of the Royal Geographical Society, vol. vi. p. 327. 3H 660 he asked, could the strata have been placed in a highly inclined and often vertical position, by the action of the fluid rock beneath, with- out the very bowels of the earth gushing out? If, on the other hand, it be supposed that mountain-chains were formed by a succession of shocks similar to those which elevated Concepcion, and after long intervals, time would be allowed for the injected rock to become solid, as well as the upper part of the great central mass. Thus, by a succession of movements, the strata might be placed in any posi- tion; and the crystalline nucleus gradually thickening, would pre- vent the surface of the surrounding country, being inundated with molten matter. In crossing the Andes, Mr. Darwin was surprised a¢ finding, not one great anticlinal line, but eight, or more; and that the rocks com- posing the axes were seldom visible, except in denuded patches in the vallies. This circumstance, he conceives, must be due to the thickness of the up-heaved strata being equal, or nearly so, to the average distance of the anticlinal from the synclinal lines. For in that case, the masses of strata, when placed vertically, would occupy, or rest on, as great an horizontal extent, as they did before they were dis- turbed. In the central ridges of the Cordillera, there are masses of com- pact, unstratified rocks, half again as lofty as AXtna; and these, he believes, for the reasons before stated, were formed by the gradual cooling of the subjacent fluid mass; afterwards slowly elevated to the present position, by the injection of molten matter at nearly as slow a rate, as we must suppose the innumerable layers of vol- canic products, of which the Sicilian mountain is formed, have been ejected. In conclusion, Mr. Darwin repeated the argument, that moun- tain-chains and volcanos are due to the same cause, and may be considered as mere subsidiary phenomena, attendant on continental elevations ;—that continental elevations, and the action of volcanos, are phenomena now in progress, caused by some slow but great change in the interior of the earth; and, therefore, that it might be anticipated, that the formation of mountain-chains is likewise in pro- gress ; and at a rate which may be judged of, by either actions, but most clearly by the growth of volcanos. March 2lst.—Richard Henry King, M.D., of Reigate; John Warden Robberds, Esq., of Norwich; Edmund Lloyd, Esq., of Bloomsbury-square ; and Lieut. Tremenheere, of the Bengal En- gineers ; were elected Fellows of this Society. A paper was first read, on the Dislocation of the Tail, at a certain point, observable in the skeletons of many Ichthyosauri, by Richard Owen, Esq., F.G.S., Hunterian Professor to the Royal College of Surgeons, London. Mr. Owen commences his observations by referring to the skele- ton of the existing cetacea, and pointing out how slight is the indi- cation afforded by the caudal vertebree of the large terminal fin, which 661 forms, in that class, so important an organ of locomotion; and the improbability that its presence would have been suspected, had the cetacea been known only by their fossil remains, in consequence of the fin having consisted entirely of decomposable and unossified material. He states, that the flattened shape of the terminal vertebre, which gives the only indication of the horizontal fin—and which cha- racter is not present in all the cetacea—is not recognisable in the skeletons of the Ichthyosauri and Plesiosauri; but he proceeds to describe a condition of the tail in the skeletons of the Ichthyosauri, which, he conceives, affords an indication of a structure in the ex- tinct animal, analogous to the tegumentary fin of the cetacea, and which has not been suspected by the authors of the conjecturally- restored figures of the Ichthyosauri, already published. ‘The condi- tion alluded to, is described as an abrupt bend of the tail about one-third of its whole length distant from the end; and at the thir- tieth caudal vertebra in the Ichthyosaurus communis; the broken portion continuing, beyond the dislocation, as straight as in the part which precedes it. As there is no appearance of a modification of structure in the dislocated vertebre, indicative of the tail having possessed more mobility at that point than at any other; and as the dislocation has taken place at the same point in seven specimens ex- amined by the author, he conceives that it must be due to some cause operating in a peculiar manner on the dead carcase of the Ichthyosaurus, in consequence of some peculiarity of external form, while it floated on the surface of the sea. A broad tegumentary fin, composed of dense but decomposable material, might have been attached to the terminal portion of the tail; and such a fin, either by its weight, or by presenting an ex- tended surface to the beating of the waves, or by attracting preda- tory animals of strength sufficient to tug at, without tearing it off, would occasion, when decomposition of the connecting ligaments had sufficiently far advanced, a dislocation of the vertebree imme- diately proximate of its point of attachment. The two portions of the tail, with the rest of the skeleton, would continue to be held to- gether by the dense exterior integument, until the rupture of the parietes of the abdomen, at some yielding point, had set free the gases generated by putrefaction ; and the skeleton, having undergone cer- tain partial dislocations, from the decomposition of the more yield- ing ligaments, would subside to the bottom, and become imbedded in the sedimentary deposits, exhibiting the fracture of the tail al- luded to. With respect to the relative position of this conjectured, caudal, tegumentary fin of the Ichthyosaurus, Mr. Owen cannot perceive any indication of its horizontality in the forms of the vertebre, which he supposes to have supported it; and he regards the super- addition of posterior paddles in these air-breathing marine animals, as a compensation for the absence of that form of fin, which is so essential in the cetacea, for the purpose of bringing the head to the surface of the sea to inhale the air. On the other hand, a vertical 662 caudal fin seems especially required by the short-necked and stiff- necked Ichthyosauri, in order to produce, with sufficient rapidity, the lateral movements of the head, which were needed by those pre- datory inhabitants of the ancient deep; while, in the Plesiosaurus, such a fin would be unnecessary, in consequence of the length and mobility of the neck; and Mr. Owen concludes, by stating, that in those skeletons of Plestosaurz in which the tail is perfect, it is straight, and presents no indication of the partial fracture or bend, which is so common in the tails of [chthyosaurz. Figures of the tails of five specimens of [chthyosauri, now in Lon- don, accompanied the Note; the subject of which was also illus- trated by a sixth skeleton of an Ichthyosaurus on the Table, the property of Sir John Mordaunt, Bart. A paper was commenced, on the Primary Formations of England, by the Rev. Adam Sedgwick, V.P.G.S.; Woodwardian Professor in the University of Cambridge, &c. PROCEEDINGS OF THE GEOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF LONDON. Vot. II. 1838. No. 57. April 4.—Thomas William Maltby, Esq., M.A., of Turnham Green, Middlesex; William Taylor, Esq., B.A., late of Queen’s College, Cambridge, now of New Ormond Street; Mr. Isaiah Deck, of Cambridge; and Dr. Ainsworth, late Naturalist of Col. Chesney’s Expedition; were elected Fellows of this Society. A paper was read, entitled, ‘‘ A Description of Viscount Cole's specimen of Plesiosaurus macrocephalus (Conybeare),’ by Richard Owen, Esq., F.G.S., Hunterian Professor in the College of Surgeons, London. The author premises his description of the Plestosaurus macroce- phalus, by pointing out the characters of a species of Plesiosaurus, which he regards as distinct from the Plesiosaurus dolichodeirus of Mr. Conybeare; and which, from the completeness of its skeleton in the British Museum and other collections, he selects for a more im- mediate comparison with the Plesiosaurus macrocephalus. He proposes to call the species thus selected, as a term of com- parison, Plesiosaurus Hawkinsii, in honour of the gentleman to whose remarkable skill and indefatigable labour, the beautiful and perfect skeletons of it are exclusively due. The chief points in which the Plesiosaurus Hawkinsii differs from the Pl. dolichodeirus are,—that the neck is a little longer than the trunk, instead of being fully equal to the body and tail united ;—that it contains twenty-nine cervical vertebrze, bearing hatched-shaped ribs, instead of thirty-five; and that the length of the head is equal to one-tenth part of the total length of the skeleton, stead of one-thirteenth part as in the Dolichodetrus. The Pl. Hawkinsw differs also in the relative shortness and form of the ulna and fibula, and in some other minor points. Having defined the species selected to illustrate the specific pecu- liarities of the Pl. macrocephalus, Mr. Owen next offers some new views respecting the elementary composition of a vertebra in the abs- tract, suggested principally by a study of the vertebral column in the Plesiosauri; for having observed that the vertebral ribs, or the elements termed by Geoffroy St. Hilaire paraauz, or para-vertebral elements, are not bent down in the caudal region to form the protect- ing laminz of the vascular trunks beneath the tail, but are continued as shorter rib-like processes through a great part of the tail, co- 31 664 existing with the inferior laminze (also called paraaue by Geoffroy), he proposes to call these latter or inferior elements (which remain united in the Plesiosauri) ‘ hemapophyses’, in allusion to their physio- logical relations with the great blood vessels. ‘The superior lamine he denominates on the same principle ‘ neurapophyses’, from their being developed to protect the great nervous trunk. The author fur- ther observes that the parts or processes of a complicated vertebra are of two distinct kinds; some being developed independently in feparate cartilages, while others are mere projections from these in- dependent constituents. As examples of the first, or autogenous elements, Mr. Owen in- stances the centrum, or body of the vertebree ; the newrapophyses and superior spine; the hemapophyses and inferior spine; and the ribs, or costal processes. The transverse and oblique processes are instances of the second, or exogenous parts of a vertebra. The vertebree of the Plestosaurus are then described according to the preceding views, and the varying relations of the different vertebral elements in different regions of the spine are pointed out. of The dorsal vertebre having been determined in previous deserip- tions of the skeletons of this genus by their usual anatomical charac- ter of affording articular surfaces to ribs, much difficulty has been ex- perienced in defining the precise number of the cervical vertebree, in consequence of the gradual change of the cervical ribs (hitherto con- sidered as transverse processes), from the form of an expanded hatchet ‘to that of an elongated style. ‘The author, however, regarding the lateral appendages of the spinal column throughout its whole extent as modifications of one and the same vertebral element, proposes to distinguish the cervical and dorsal regions of the spine by the position of the articular surface supporting that lateral element, or rib: thus he would call cervical all those anterior vertebre in which the body af- fords the whole or any part of the costal articular surface ; and the dorsal series would commence at that vertebra where the costal sur- face had first passed upon the neurapophysis. The author finds in the Plesiosaurus Hawkinsii that the costal processes of the two ver- tebrz which are articulated to the ilium, and which are consequently to be regarded as sacral, begin again to slide down from the neurapo- physis upon the centrum; and that in the Pl. macrocephalus, where the costal appendages are lost, the bodies of the first two vertebrze which again begin to exhibit a portion of the costal pit, correspond, in their relative situation to the ilia, with the sacral vertebre in the more perfect skeletons of the Pl. Hawkinsii. In the vertebree which succeed the sacral ones, the ribs rapidly descend from the neurapo- physes upon the centrum ; but the bodies of the caudal vertebr so characterized may be distinguished from those of the cervical by the absence of a longitudinal groove which traverses the costal pits in the cervical region; andalso by the presence of the articular surfaces for the hemapophyses. The determination of characters in the body or central element of a vertebra which point out the region of the spine to which it belongs, is the more valuable in the skeletons of the Enaliosauri, because in these cold-blooded reptiles ossification is 665 tardy in its progress, and anchylosis of the autogenous elements of ‘a vertebra rarely takes place; and hence the bodies are often found separated and detached from their peripheral appendages. After concluding his observations on the structure of the vertebrae in the Plesiosauri generally, the author next proceeds to point out the specific peculiarities of the cervical, dorsal, sacral, and caudal vertebrze of the Plesiosaurus macrocephalus. The bodies of the cervical vertebre of this species may be distin- guished from those of the Pl. Hawkinsti and Pl. dolichodeirus by the close proximity of the costa! to the neurapophyseal depressions: in this respect, indeed, the anterior cervical vertebree of the P/. Macrocephalus differ from those of every Plesiosaurus which the author has examined. Other minor distinctive characters are also pointed out. The number of cervical vertebre in the P/. Macrocephalus is twenty-nine, that of Pl. Hawkinsii thirty-one; the length of the neck is twice that of the head ; in Pl. Hawkinsii it is three times the length of the head. The dorsal vertebrze of the Pl. macrocephalus differ from those of the Pl. Hawkinsii and Pl. dolichodeirus in being more flattened in the antero-posterior direction, and more concave at the sides; true trans- verse processes are developed from the neurapophyses to support the ribs, as in other Plesiosauri. In the sacral vertebre the medullary canal presents a slight en- largement as compared with that in the neck. The terminal caudal vertebrzin the specimen described, are wanting, but in those of a perfect skeleton of the P/. Hawkinsii in the British Museum, the author discovered an interesting modification of the sur- faces by which the bodies are joined to one another. ‘They are hol- lowed out like the vertebre of the [chthyosaurus, so as to join by double concave surfaces; he conceives this to be, as in the Batrachian reptiles, the original structure of all the vertebree, and that it is per- manent in those which are most remotely situated from the centre and source of vital energy: but Mr. Owen observes, that this arrest of development is obviously designed, to give to the tail of the Ple- siosaurus the same combination of elasticity with flexibility, which characterizes that of fishes. After describing the vertebral and sternal ribs of the abdominal region, the author next compares the bones of the pectoral and pelvic extremities with those of other species of Plesiosaurt. In the Macro- cephalus the ulna is relatively longer and broader, and. presents a more complete reniform figure than in the Hawkinsi or Dolichodet- rus. These characters are still more marked in the fibula; the femur is longer than the humerus. ‘There are eight ossicles in the carpus, ‘and six ossicles in the tarsus ; these latter are so arranged as toallow of greater freedom of inflection forwards, and to give a compound motion to the stroke of the hinder paddle. The author concludes with a detailed account of the structure of the cranium, which he compares, at each step, with that of the two principal modifications of the Saurian type, as exemplified in’ the Crocodilian and Lacertine species ; and he pomtsout many particulars in which the Plesiosaurus deviates fram the Loricate, and corresponds o12 666 with the Lacertine or Squamate group. Amongst these may be no- ticed, the predominance of the elongated form in the cranial bones, extending from point to point with wide interspaces, and giving to the osseous fabric of the head the appearance of a scaffolding; the posterior bifurcation, mesial crista, and foramen of the parietal bone ; the form and relative position of the posterior frontals, and especially the absence of the ridge which, in the Crocodile, extends like a second zygoma longitudinally across the zygomatic cavity. Mr. Owen fur- ther dwelt upon the form and position of the zygomatic portion of the temporal bone, the bony interspace of the external nostrils, the structure of the lower jaw, and particularly-on the existence of a wide space on each side of the posterior region of the skull, bounded above by the arch formed by the bifurcate processes of the parietal and the tympanic bones, and opening into the temporal fossz, as evidences of the affinity of the Plestosaurus to the Lacertine Sauria. The cor- respondence of the cranial organization of the Plesiosaurus to those of the Crocodile, was noticed in the strength of the maxillary apparatus, the general form and structure of the upper jaw, and in the nature and alveolar lodgement of the teeth. The peculiarities of structure referable to the special exigencies of the extinct form of Saurian under consideration, were also dwelt upon, and, lastly, those which charac- terized the species described, and which illustrate its more imme- diate affinities. April 25.—Egerton V. Vernon Harcourt, Esq., M.A., of Nuneham, Oxfordshire ; George Crane, Esq., Ynyscedwyn Iron Works, near Swansea; Mr. James Tennant, Strand; C. W. Grant, Esq., Capt. Bombay Engineers; and B. F. Outram, M.D., Hanover Square, were elected Fellows of the Society. A paper was first read, entitled, ‘‘ Notes on a small patch of Silurian Rocks to the west of Abergele, on the north coast of Denbighshire ;” by J. C. Bowman, Esq., and communicated by R. I. Murchison, Esq., V.P.G.S. The author’s attention was first directed to these strata by Mr. John Price, of New College, Bristol. They occur immediately south of the narrow belt of carboniferous limestone, which skirts the coast from the Great Ormes Head, eastward, to the Point of Air and the Estuary of the Dee. The belt of limestone is here not above a mile broad, and the strata dip N. or N.E. At the base of the limestone precipices at Craig y Forwyn, isa seam of impure coal about a foot thick, anda thinner layer of bituminous shale with carbonized impressions of Le- pidodendra? anda leaf-like Poacites. The beds constituting the following section are successively displayed between Llandulas and Garthewin, a distance of nearly six miles :— 1, Immediately under the limestone is a conglomerate, the basis consisting of “light loam,” and the rounded pebbles of greenish, slightly micaceous sandstone, containing a few bivalves and joints of encrinites. This stratum the author has also seen between Llandeilo Bay and Colwyn on the Holy- 667 head road, but the pebbles are there sometimes a foot in diameter. . Thin bed of the same sandstone. . A thick deposit of red marl, containing numerous angular and water-worn pebbles, interspersed thickly with shells appa- rently belonging to the Ludlow rocks. This marl forms a considerable part of Ffernant Dingle ; but it alternates with a compact marl, and is sometimes speckled green or yellow. The beds dip at a high angle to the north. Similar pebbles are found on the top of the limestone precipices, and beyond them on the beach. . Compact, hard, arenaceous conglomerate, composed of pebbles more or less rounded, of liver-coloured and green micaceous shelly sandstone, also of pebbles of quartz, and the reddish subjacent limestone. 5. Thin beds of compact reddish limestone containing few organic remains. It passes occasionally into a calcareous sandstone. . Near the lower end of the dingle, the limestone rests on a bed of very fine blue clay. 7. Blue clay-slate, finely grained, slightly micaceous, and containing occasionally a layer of small shells. It sometimes presents obscure indications of vertical cleavage. This rock constitutes the whole of the southern portion of the dingle, and in one place is traversed by a fauit. The rill in Ffernant dingle flows into Melin y Person brook. The red marly conglomerate is there succeeded, on the south, by alluvium containing slate pebbles. Above the village of Bettws Abergele the slate rocks occur, but are greatly contorted; and on the height alittle further south, and to the east of the road, is a hard finely grained rock inclosing joints of small encrinites. Still further south this rock alter- nates with beds of breccia, containing encrinital and other organic remains, the imbedded angular fragments consisting of glossy clay- slate. A little south of this quarry, towards Garthewin, the non- fissile blue slate again occurs, and the author found in it abundance of small fragments of encrinites, with univalves and bivalves. These fossils occurred apparently in layers, but were much decomposed. Similar remains were noticed, by Mr. Bowman, in the debris of the lead mines at the Bronhaylog, to the north-east of Garthewin. The paper was accompanied bya list of fossils prepared by Mr. James de Carle Sowerby, including the following species which have been found by Mr. Murchison in the Ludlow Rockselsewhere: Leptenalata, Terebratula nucula, T. pulchra, T. navicula, Conularia quadrisulcata, Atrypa affinis, Orthis orbicularis, Cypricardia cymbaeformis, var., Nu- cula ovalis, Euomphalus funatus, Orthoceras striatum, Avicula re- troflera, and Pleurotoma corallit. GS bo oS (sp) » Anotice ‘“‘On the Occurrence of Wealden strata at Linksfield, near Elgin; on the Remains of Fishes in the Old Red Sandstone of that neighbourhood ; and on raised beaches along the adjacent coast ;”’ by J. Malcolmson, Esq., F.G.S., was then read. 668 The country around Elgin is composed of sandstones, conglome- rates, and concretionary limestones, belonging to the old red sand- stone; but at Linksfield, one mile south of Elgin, that formation is overlaid, unconformably, by a series of beds, which Mr. Malcolmson has ascertained, by their organic remains, to represent the Wealden strata of Engiand, though they have been usually considered to be lias. The following section gives the principal beds in descending order, the average thickness of the whole series being from 20 to 30 feet: 1. Blue clay, containing thin bands of limestone, the lower being shelly. 2. Thin bands of limestone and clay. 3. Blackish shale, not bituminous, 1 to 2 feet. 4. Compact grey limestone, without shells, in layers separated Ly clay, 4 feet.. . Laminated green clay, with a network of fibrous carbonate of lime. 6. Red, sandy, calcareous marl, abounding with rolled pebbles of granite, gneiss, &c., also angular fragments of the fine- grained yellow and grey sandstone forming the hills to the west, but the geological position of which is not yet ascer- tained. Cornstone of the old red sandstone in unconformable position. The fossils are principally found in the lower bands of the top bed. They are rarely well preserved, and cannot be separated from the rock. The species are few in number, but abundant in individuals; and one species of Cyclas is undistinguishable from the C. media-of Sussex, found also by Prof. Sedgwick and Mr. Murchison in the Isle of Skye: there is likewise an Avicula, which agrees with one found in the Purbeck strata at Swanwich. Mr. Malcolmson procured also fragments of an Astarte and a Venus, and a microscopic univalve. The clay below this shelly limestone is full of the valves of a new, round species of Cypris. The author also obtained teeth and scales of fishes; and the Rev. G. Gordon has found a Saurian bone. Fossils of the same description have been recently discovered by that gentleman at Lhanbryde, three miles to the east of Linksfield; and in a micaceous white sandstone, he has procured a large Pinza, which Mr. James Sowerby has identified with a species found inthe Portland sand of England. In April, 1832, Mr. Gordon communi- cated to the Society a notice of the discovery ina dark clay*, pene- trated while draining the Lake of Spynie, of the Turritella muricata of the Coral Rag. Mr. Malcolmson, therefore, hopes that many members of the series above the old red sandstone, not yet known to exist south of the Murray Frith, will be discovered by the practical geologists resident in that district. Mr. Martin, of the Anderson Institution, has recently discovered in a bed of calciferous conglomerate, near Elgin, and supposed. by Mr. Gordon to represent the old red sandstone of Clasbennie in On * Proceedings, vol. i. p. 391. 669 Perthshire, scales, teeth, and bones of fishes; and, by comparing these remains with a magnificent specimen ofa fish from Clasbennie, in Mr. ‘Murchison’s possession, Mr. Malcolmson has ascertained this suppo- sition to be correct. A doubt, therefore, which formerly existed re- specting the age of the conglomerate, is now removed. The paper concluded with an account of eleven ancient beaches on’ the coast, rising above each other, and from one of which, 15 feet above high-water mark, and cut through in draining Loch Spynie, Mr. Malcolmson procured twelve species of existing marine tes- tacea. A paper, ‘‘ On the Origin of the Limestones of Devonshire,’’ by Robert Alfred Cloyne Austen, Esq., F.G.S., was afterwards read. The object of the paper is not to account for the origin of calca- reous matter, or the means by which marine animals derive it from the surrounding medium, but to show how far the limestones of South Devonshire may have been produced by polypi. These limestones are stated by the author to occur, in nearly every instance, in the immediate vicinity of volcanic disturbances, and to ‘be partly included in the slates and sandstones, and partly to rest upon them. ‘To the former belong the broad band extending from Staple Hill to Dean Prior, the minor bands in the neighbourhood of Hempstone and Totness, and all those which occur beyond the Dart ; also the limestones of Newton and Torbay. They are said to be less pure and more slaty than the overlying limestones, and to be frequently separated by seams of shale. ‘Transverse sections of these bands show, that the strata in some cases become thinner as they descend, and that the partings of shale increase, as near Staverton in the valley of the Dart, and at Staple Hill; but that in other in- stances, as between Newton and Totness, the strata instead of fining off end abruptly upon the slate, and are covered in the direction of the dip by similar slates. The strata are always inclined, but they invariably form a table-land at the surface. This inclined position the author conceives is not due to dislocation, but to the beds having been deposited at the angle which they now present; and he illu- strated his opinion, by a section between three andfour miles in length, through the parishes of Pegwell, Denbury, and Abbots Kerswell, a remarkably level country. The bands of limestone dip 40°, but are nowhere more than 150 feet thick, and they all contain the same de- scription of organic remains, If the bands were deposited horizon- tally, and the most recent nearly at a level with the surface of the ancient ocean, then the lower beds, the author says, would have been placed at a depth of nearly three miles, although the organic remains prove that all the beds were formed under precisely similar condi- tions. In the structure of the Devonshire limestones, however, Mr. Austen considers that he has discovered evidences of an origin similar to that of modern coral reefs, and which will explain their inclined position. At Ogwell Park the limestone forms a horizontal capping to the in- clined strata; and at Bradley rests conformably against a ridge of slate, 670 the basset edge of each bed rising to the level of the crest of the ridge. This structure, Mr. Austen states, agrees with that of the coral reefs in the Southern Ocean, where the polypi raise their habitations on the flat summits or sides of submarine hills, to a level with thesurface of the water. The stratified arrangement of the calcareous masses he consi- ders may beexplained by the occasional deposition of sedimentary mat- ter, which might interrupt, for a time, the labours of the polypus ; and thus a series of beds would be produced varying in thickness accord- ing to the recurrence, at shorter or longer intervals, of interfering agents, each bed rising successively to the surface level of the water. If the deposition of sedimentary matter were great, then the polypi would be destroyed, and the reef would become encased in a mecha- nical accumulation. In further proof of the limestone of Devonshire having been coral reefs, Mr. Austen adduced the great abundance of zoophytes found on the surface of the lower strata, imbedded in the layers of sand which separate the beds; and, he added, that their absence in other parts, especially in the interior of the bands, is no objection to his view of the origin of the limestone, because, in re- cent reefs, all traces of organic structure are frequently obliterated. May 9.—Joseph Skilbeck, Esq., of Highbury Place, London ; the Rev. John Hymers, Fellow and Tutor of St. John’s College, Cam- bridge; and the Rev.Walter Davenport Bromley, of Wootton Hall, Staffordshire, were elected Fellows of this Society. A communication by Dr. Black, F.G.S., was first read, ‘‘ On a fossil stem of a Tree recently discovered near Bolton-le- Moor.” The rock in which this fossil was found, occurs in the middle of the coal-measures, about 50 yards beneath a six-feet bed of coal, and it rests upon another bed four feet thick. It consists of three strata of argillaceous sandstone dipping from 15° to 18° to the south-west, and amounting inali toabout 40 feet in thickness. The upper portion of the fossil stem was discovered about thirty feet beneath the surface of the rock, and the lower end extended to within 5 or 10 feet of the subjacent bed of coal. It was inclined 18° to north-east, or in an opposite direction to the sandstone strata; and, when first laid open, it appears to have been about 30 feet in length, but at the time it was examined by Dr. Black only 12 feet remained in situ. The upper end of this portion was 15 inches in diameter, and the lower 9 inches. The whole of the exterior of the stem was singularly striated, and irregularly furrowed, as if by compression ; and it was coated witha layer of coal, which evidently occupied the place of the bark. The interior of the stem is stated to be composed of a dark, hard, argillo-ferruginous sandstone, having a specific gravity of 2°9. A Sternbergia, about an inch in diameter, extended along the whole length of the stem, and in some parts appeared to be half imbedded in a groove in it. This connexion of the two plants was Dr. Black’s principal object in making the communication to the Society, not having previously observed a similar occurrence, nor having heard that it had been noticed elsewhere by other collectors. He is of 671 opinion that the Sternbergia was not accidentally allocated with the larger stem, but that it was, while living, a parasite, and in this respect resembled the mighty creepers of the existing tropical regions. A paper was next read, ‘‘ On the Distribution of Organic Remains in part of the Oolitic Series on the coast of Yorkshire;” by Mr. Williamson, Curator of the Natural History Society of Manchester. In former communications* Mr. Williamson explained the vertical range of organic remains in the Lias of inferior and great oolites, and in this he showed their distribution in the upper sandstone and shale, the cornbrash, the Kelloway Rock, and the Oxford Clay. The upper sandstones and shales vary considerably in their characters, but they consist of three principal divisions, the highest and lowest being composed of sandstones sometimes ferruginous, and the middle one of clays and shales. The principal localities for the fossils are on the north side of Scalby Beck, near Scarborough, and Burniston Bay. The most characteristic plants are Pecopteris Murrayana, Cyclopteris digitata, and Otopteris obtusa ; but remains of Cycadez and Equiseta also occur. The list of plants is much smaller than that generally given, in consequence of Mr. Williamson having removed to the great oolite, a bed generally considered as belonging to the upper sand- stones. Cornbrash.—This formation seldom exceeds five feet in thickness, and in Cayton Bay consists of the following strata in descending order : Fissile oolite ................ 6 inches. Softer rock, sometimes ironshot.. 2 feet. Hardhironshotirocks ) 344 23.04 2 feet. Blue clay, from .............. 3 inches to 4 feet. The fossils contained in the fissile upper bed, are chiefly Terebra- tula ovoides, T. obsoleta, Ostrea edulina, and O. Marshit. ‘The greater portion of the organic remains are found towards the middle of the de- posit, the following being the most abundant: Ammonites Herveyi, Ostrea Marshii, Plagiostoma rigidulum, P. interstinctum, Trigonia clavata, T. costata, Cardium citrinotdeum, Unio peregrinus, Amphidesma decurtatum, A. securiforme, Mya literata, and Clypeus orbicularis. Twenty other species also occur, but less numerously. In the bed of clay, remains of a small Astacus (?) are obtained, also a shell resem- bling an Unio, and an undescribed Belemnite. Thirteen of the species found in the cornbrash are stated to exist also in the great oolite of Yorkshire, and nine in the coralline or Oxford oolite. Kelloway Rock.—This deposit consists of soft sandstones, some- times calcareous, but towards the top it is occasionally very ferrugi- nous; and it varies in thickness from 35 to 70 feet. The fossils are numerous and highly characteristic, particularly the Ammonites. The ferruginous bed is full of organic remains, consisting chiefly of * Proceedings, vol. ii., pp. 82, 429. Geol. Trans., vol. v. Part I., p. 223, et seg. 3K 672 Belemnites ubbreviatus, B. tornatilis, Ammonites Calloviencis, A. sub- levis, A. Kinigi, A. Sutherlandee, Ostrea Marshii, Gryphea dila- tata, (3. The most abundant species in the sandstones are, Ammo- nites flexicostatus, A. sublevis, A. gemmatus, A. Calloviencis, A. per- armatus, A. ichthyodorsus (W.), A. gamma (W.), A. rotifer (W.), A. oblisus (W.), Belemnites abbreviatus, B. tornatilis, Turbo sulcosto- mus, Terebratula ornithocephala, T. socialis, Gryphea dilatata, Ostrea Marshu, Avicula Braamburiensis, A. expansa, Lucina lirata, Amphi- desma recurvum : 18 other species of testacea occur, though less abun- dantly. Five species are stated to be common to the Kelloway rock and the cornbrash, and ten to the Kelloway rock and the coralline oolite. Remains of fishes and of Ichthyosauri and Plesiosauri also occur in the deposit. Oxford Clay.—This great argillaceous formation is about 130 feet thick, and consists chiefly of fissile shales, but towards the upper part it becomes sandy. Fossils are comparatively rare in it, and are con- fined to the lower part, the only shell discovered in the upper by Mr. Williamson being Pinna lanceolata. ‘The characteristic fossils are Ammonites Vernoni, A. cristatus, A. athleta, A. occulatus, Belemnites gracilis, Nucula nuda, N. elliptica, Pinna mitis, Astarte lurida, A. ca- rinata, Avicula expansa. ‘The bed resting on the Kelloway rock is characterised by Belemnites abbreviatus and Gryphea bullata. In future communications, the author purposes to illustrate the distribution of organic remains in the higher oolitic strata of the Yorkshire coast. A paper was afterwards read, ‘“‘On the State in which Animal Matter is usually found in Fossils;’’ by Mr. Alfred Smee, Student of King’s College, London, and communicated by Prof. Royle, M.D., F.G.S. The author first describes briefly, the composition of those parts of recent animals capable of being preserved in a fossil state ; and then proceeds to detail his investigations into the comporiiien of fossil organic remains. For the sake of arrangement, he divides fossils into two ereat classes, one in which animal matter is present in various states, the other in which it has been removed. ‘The first class he further sub- divides into three cases: 1. comprehending those fossils in which animal matter retains its original condition; 2. those in which it has been partially changed; 3. those in which only the carbon of the animal matter remains. 1. The following examples were given of the first case. Small portions of the tooth of a horse, of an ox, and a stag, from the chalk rubble at Brighton, were submitted to the action of diluted muriatic acid; and after the earthy portions had been removed the animal matter retained the shape of the bone, was white, and of the consistence of cartilage. Fragments of a tooth of a mammoth from Norfolk, and of a rib of a mastodon from Big-bone-lick in Ohio, when similarly treated, gave the same results. A thin slice of the rib ex- hibited under the microscope the structure of recent bone. Frag- 673 ments of a stag’s rib and horn, of an ox’s head, and the tusk of a boar found near the Bank of England, associated with Roman imple- ments, retained their animal matter unaltered. Small portions of a Terebratula and of two species of Productz, from the Silurian rocks of Malvern, were placed in very diluted muriatic acid, and when the earthy portions had been removed, small flocculi of animal matter, re- sembling the recent membrane of a shell, floated in the solution. A minute fragment of Asaphus caudatus yielded little shreds of animal matter. The experiments on the shells were repeated several times with the same results. Under the microscope these fossils exhibited also the structure of recent shells. 2. The second case in which animal matter has been partially changed, was illustrated by the following experiments. Portions of a stag’s jaw from the Brighton chalk rubble, of a fish-bone, and a shark’s tooth from the London clay, when dissolved in diluted mu- riatic acid, gave only a brown powder ; and the animal matter of a fragment of the humerus of a mastodon from Big-bone-lick exhibited but little flexibility, and was easily torn, particularly in the longitu- dinal direction. Jt was found impossible to make sections of the jaw-bone of the stag or the humerus of the mastodon for microscopic observation. Part of a human parietal bone found upon the site of the cathedral of Old Sarum, and human bones obtained from the church-yard of St. Christophe le Stocks, on part of which the Bank of England stands, were ascertained to have had their animal matter reduced to the same state as that of the stag’s jaw. A fossil oyster from the Isle of Wight, when placed under the microscope, showed black spots over its surface, and the structure of the shell was appa- rently destroyed. A fragment of a Pecten from the lias also exhi- bited opaque spots. Part of an ammonite when dissolved left a sub- stance resembling Sepia. 3. The third case, where only the carbon of the animal matter remains, was explained by two series of experiments, one of which proved it to be associated with bitumen, and the other that it existed by itself. The scales of Dapedium politum and other fishes from Lyme Regis, when acted upon by acid, left carbon undissolved; and when heated under a test-tube gave a considerable quantity of bitumen. Portions of the bones of the Ichthyosaurus and Plesiosaurus from the has, yielded a black residuum, which deflagrated with red hot nitre, and the resulting mass gave a precipitate with chloride of cal- cium. To prove that the carbon was a portion of the bone and not an adventitious ingredient, a section was made, and the greatest quantity of carbon was found in the thickest part; and an analysis showed that the proportion of carbon was about the same as in the animal matter of a similar mass of recent bone. A still further proof was adduced, in no gelatine having been detected after 36 hours boiling of a fragment of the fossil. A section of recent bone dis- played, when carbonized by heat and charged with crystals of alum or a composition of whitening, a similar appearance in the arrange- ment of the carbon as in the fossil bone. No bitumen was given off, 674 when fragments of these bones were acted upon by heat under a test-tube. With respect to the second great class in which the animal matter has been removed, the following cases were mentioned :—Portion of the external and internal parts of a mammoth tusk from Siberia, did not blacken by heat, and dissolved completely in muriatic acid. The internal part of a tusk from Ohio gave the same results, but the ex- ternal part was found to contain a considerable proportion of animal matter. Inbones from the crag, the animal matter had been abstracted. Human bones which had been long buried were found to be in the same state. The paper concluded with the following remarks. As the different states, in which animal matter is found in fossils, pass insensibly into each other, and as many of the changes occur in church-yardand other bones, it follows, that no extraordinary circumstances are requisite to produce these alterations ; but that they may be effected by the or- dinary processes of putrefaction. Even the carbonization of animal matter may be accomplished by similar processes without the aid of heat, as bones become black by being macerated too long. It is also to be observed, that the parts of animals preserved in the fossil state, are those which longest resist putrefaction. It having been likewise shown that the degree of change does not depend upon the age of the bed in which the fossil occurs, it is a curious subject of inquiry for the geologist to ascertain how far the conditions necessary to pu- trefactive air, a certain temperature and moisture, were present in those strata, in which the change has been great ; how far they were absent in those, in which the change has been small. PROCEEDINGS OF THE GEOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF LONDON. Vou. II. 1838. No. 58. May 23.—A memoir entitled, a Synopsis of the English series of stratified rocks inferior to the old red sandstone—with an attempt to determine the successive natural groups and formations. By the Rey. Adam Sedgwick, Woodwardian Professor in the University of Cambridge, commenced on the 21st March, was concluded. Introduction.—The author, after stating what was now offered to the Society to be only a first approximation, involving many questions of difficulty and doubt, pointed out the principles on which he had undertaken the task. There are two elements of classification ap- plicable to stratified rocks of all ages, viz., physical structure and order of superposition; one giving the mineralogical unity of a group of rocks, the other their relative age. In addition to the two former, are classifications founded on the organic remains in the several groups. In the commencement of geology the last method was only subsidiary to the two former. But after observations had been multiplied, laws respecting the distribution of organic types were discovered, which not merely superseded, in many large for- mations, all classifications founded on mineral structure; but often, through wide regions, gave indications of succession which were unsupported by the direct evidence of sections. As, however, the (so called) laws respecting the distribution of organic types, are mere general results grounded on actual observation, it is obvious that they can never upset conclusions drawn from the clear and un- ambiguous evidence of sections. The two methods may be used - independently, and conspire to the same end; but in their nature cannot come into permanent collision. The author then points out some examples in which these principles had been violated. (1) The attempt formerly made by some geolo- gists to arrange the Stonesfield slate in a tertiary group, merely from the presence of certain fossils of a class not commonly found in second- ary rocks. (2) Some of the doctrines put forth in the papers of M. Deshayes, which if, pushed to their utmost extent would make the evidence of sections of no value; whereas without sections fossils could never have led to any general laws of succession. (3) The recent discussions respecting the age of the culm plants of North Devon. The plants were assumed to be of the age of the greywacké, 3 L 676 from the mineral structure of the rocks in which they were imbedded ; or the rocks were assumed to be of the carboniferous period by the species of the imbedded plants: whereas true geological reasoning required that, anterior to either of the preceding conclusions, the true position of the culm measures should be determined by actual sections. The author then goes on to point out the difficulty of classify- ing the vast series of schistose rocks below the old red sandstone —from the great resemblance of their mineral type—from the absence of well-defined beds of organic remains in many large re- gions—and from their entire disappearance in the last members of the descending series. The Silurian system is almost the only exception to this remark; and even this system is developed in many parts of England without any distinct succession of natural groups. The mineral type is on the whole much more uniform in the great series under notice than in the secondary system of England ; but the frequent absence of organic remains, and of any succession of distinct groups, is compensated by the enormous scale of deve- lopment, as shown in the natural sections : and the author concludes, that it is not by hypothetical views and analogies, or by maintaining one part of geological evidence at the expense of another; but by applying every kind of evidence in its proper place, and above all by actual surveys and detailed sections, that we can ever hope to bring into coordination the complicated phenomena of which he is only attempting to give a brief synopsis. TWO CLASSES OF OLD STRATIFIED ROCKS, &e. The author first notices the older stratified series of Scotland, and divides it into two classes. (1.) The primary class (composed of gneiss, mica slate, quartz rock, &c. &c.,) is largely developed in the Highlands. (2.) The second class (greywacké, greywacké slate, &c. &c.,) is also largely developed in the Lammermuir hills, and in the whole chain extending in the south of Scotland from St. Abb’s Head to the Mull of Galloway. It is shown, partly on mineralogical cha- racters, and partly on the evidence of sections, that the rocks of the former class are inferior to those of the latter. For a zone of slate rocks (the roches chloriteuses et quartzeuses of Dr. Boué) is superior to the crystalline slates of the Grampians, and is (at least pro- visionally) placed on the same parallel with the earthy and me- chanical slates of Lammermuir chain. Both the preceding classes are shown to be inferior, and generally unconformable, to the old red sandstone; which in the northern part of Scotland was once grouped with the primary class; but in the geological map of Scotland is now put in its true place. After giving a series of sections to connect the structure of the Lammermuir chain with the adjacent parts of the north of England, he then proceeds to describe, in general terms, the expansion of the rocks of the second class through various mountainous tracts of South Britain. The frontier chain of Scotland—the slaty series of 677 the Cumbrian mountains—of North and South Wales—and of the whole region between the eastern side of Devon and the western end of Cornwall—as well as the slate rocks of some smaller unconnected tracts, are all referred to one great class, the highest group of which passes into the old red sandstone, while the lowest (where the de- velopment is complete) rests on the crystalline system of the first class. Independently of the direct evidence from detailed sections, the several regions are shown to be related; Ist, by a common phy- sical structure; 2ndly, by organic remains; 3dly, by common lines of strike; tending to show that several disconnected tracts of wide extent, having partaken of the same accidents, were once probably connected and continuous deposits in a deep sea. In illustration of these views he shows that the prevailing strike of the beds (as well as the prevailing direction of the anticlinal and synclinal lines) in the Lammermuir system, in the Cumbrian system, and in the system of all the highest chains of North Wales, is nearly N.E. and S.W. and he further shows that the actual impress was given to all these regions before the period of the old red sandstone. In Cornwall the average strike is about W.N.W., but gradually bends round to the E. and W., in which prevailing direction the rocks cross Devonshire. In the southern parts of the slate regions’ of South Wales the beds also have an east and west strike; and these parallel dislocations of Devonshire and South Wales are pos- terior to the carboniferous series and probably contemporaneous with one another. Where the two preceding systems of strike meet, the beds are thrown into inextricable confusion; and on the outskirts of Wales, and in the counties where the Silurian system has been most largely developed, the dislocations are too irregular and complicated to be reduced toanylaw. Lastly, he notices a system of dislocations that have brought up a portion of the older rocks (of the class here described) at Dudley, on both sides of the Warwickshire coal field, and in Charnwood forest. At all these localities the strike is the same, and the lines of greatest movement are nearly parallel—all being about N.N.W. and §.S.E.; and all these movements belong to one epoch, having been completed after the deposition of the lower red sandstone, and before the period of the upper and gypseous marls. Hence we have three great systems of elevation, each marked by parallel lines of strike, and the three systems of strike indicating three distinct periods of elevation. The author then points out the importance of such facts to the broad speculations of geology, as well as the limitations under which they are to be applied. ‘The dynamical powers of elevation appear to have been employed in three principal forms. Ist. In gradually raising up ridges through large spaces of the earth’s crust. These will explain the correspondence of strike through very extensive regions; and such elevations if continued beyond a certain limit must have produced longitudinal fissures and lines of volcanic vent. 2ndly. In the long-continued protrusion and eruption of igneous rocks along such lines of vent. 3dly. In local and partial eruptions and pro- trusions, producing valleys of elevation, local derangements, and other oi 2 678 phenomena that terminate in ordinary volcanic action. | Elevatory forces, when considered in this general way, explain the phenomena of strike—the parallelism of great contemporaneous elevations—as well as the exceptions to the rule of parallelism. GROUPS OF THE CUMBRIAN SECTION, &e. The author then commences the separation of the whole series of rocks of the second class into natural groups, founded on sections ex- hibited in the several districts above noticed; and after shortly dis- cussing two sections connecting the Cheviot bills with the formations in the basin of the Tweed, he describes in some detail a transverse section through the whole system of the Cumbrian mountains, which exhibits the following groups in ascending order. (1.) The group of Skiddaw Forest, &c., the lower part of which rests on the granite, and passes into a system of crystalline strata resembling the rocks of the first class ; the upper part abounds in a fine dark glossy clay slate, interrupted here and there by beds of more mechanical structure. The whole is of great thickness, al- most without calcareous matter, and without any trace of organic remains, and forms the mineral axis of the Cumbrian mountains. (2.) A group essentially composed of quartzose and chloritic roof- ing slates alternating with mechanical beds of coarser structure, and also withinnumerableigneousrocks (compact felspar, felspar porphyry, brecciated porphyries, &c. &c.,) which partake of all the accidents of the slates. It is of enormous thickness, and rises into the highest mountains of the country ; and though chiefly developed on the south side of the preceding group (No. 1), it also appears extensively on the north side of the lower group, which thus forms a mineral axis —a fact not yet noticed in any of the published geological maps. Though abounding in calcareous matter, it has no organic remains. (Lower Cambrian system). (8.) A great series, expanded through Westmoreland and parts of Lancashire and Yorkshire. Itis based on calcareous slates, passing into limestone, and full of organic remains, and in its lower division are fine roofing slates, but less crystalline than those of the preceding group. Its upper division (not however separable by any very distinct zoologi- cal or mineralogical characters from the lower) abounds in arenaceous flagstone, coarse quartzose greywacké, coarse slates with imperfect cleavage, and not fit for use, and the series is incomplete, being cut off by the unconformable deposits of old red sandstone and carboni- ferous limestone. Distinct beds of limestone are almost wanting in this upper division, and organic remains are very rare, but they ap- pear here and there in very thin bands among’ the coarse siliceous slates. Provisionally, the lower division is placed in the Upper Cambrian system, and the upper division in the Stlurian system ; but without being separable into any further clear subdivisions. This great group (No. 3.) does not appear on the north side of the mineral axis of Cumberland, as was represented in the early geolo- gical maps. 679 SECTIONS OF NORTH WALES, &c. The author next discusses a series of sections illustrating the structure of North Wales. One is drawn from the Menai Straits, in a direction about E.S.E., so as to cross the Berwyn chain and end in the carboniferous series near Oswestry. The others are drawn from the Berwyn chain to different parts of the carboniferous lime- stone range on the north side of Denbighshire. The greater por- tion of the first section crosses the older beds (the Cambrian System) which strike towards the N.E. The other sections intersect the upper series (Silurian System) which strike towards the N.W., passing (in some places unconformably) round the beds of the older system. From a consideration of the whole evidence the rocks are grouped in the ascending order as follows. (1.) Chlorite slate, quartz rock, and mica slate of Anglesea and Caernarvonshire. These are placed on the parallel of the first class ; and nothing is discovered in the section that is perfectly analogous with the Skiddaw slate, or first Cumbrian group, above described. (2.) The old slate series of Caernarvonshire and Merionethshire, alternating indefinitely with bands of porphyry and felspar rock ; many parts absolutely identical in structure with the second Cum- brian group above-described. It is of enormous but unknown thick- ness, and is bent into great undulations, the anticlinal and synclinal lines of which are parallel to the strike of the chain. Through wide tracts of country it is without fossils; but at Snowdon and Glider Fawr, encrinites, corals, and one or two species of bivalves have been discovered in it. It ends with the calcareous beds which range from Bala to the neighbourhood of Dinas Mowddy. ‘This is called the Lower Cambrian System. (3.) The next group (the Upper Cambrian System) commences with the fossiliferous beds of Bala, includes all the higher portion of the Berwyns, and all the slate rocks of South Wales which are below the Silurian System. Its slate beds are less crystalline, and its general structure is more mechanical, than the preceding group, and it contains incomparably more fossils, which (though there are many extensive portions of the group without fossils) are disseminated through the more calcareous beds in great abundance. Many of the fossils are identical in species with those of the lower division of the Silurian System, nor have the true distinctive zoological characters of the group been well ascertained. In many parts of South Wales it is separated from the Silurian System by great faults and derangements of the strata, marked by a broad band of rotten non-fossiliferous schist. At the north end of the Berwyn chain it appears to pass by insensible gradations into the lower division cf the Upper System (the Caradoc Sandstone). (4.) The last natural group (the Silurian System). For all details respecting this system the author refers to the abstracts of Mr. Mur- chison’s papers, and to his forthcoming work. He then describes the sections : (1.) East of the Berwyns, in which the Caradoc Sandstone is finely 680 developed; containing the Llandeilo flagstone and other character- istic calcareous and shelly bands. (2.) The sections north of the Berwyns, connecting Montgo- meryshire with Denbighshire. The ascending series is described as follows :— (1.) A series of beds several thousand feet in thickness, and ap- parently forming a passage between the Upper Cambrian and lowest portion of the Silurian System. (2.) Bands of calcareous slate with numerous organic remains of the “‘ Caradoc Sandstone.”’ (3.) Series of flagstones, more or less calcareous, with many or- thoceratites and two species of cardiola, overlaid by, and as- sociated with, irregular masses of roofing slate with a trans- verse cleavage. Flagstones and rotten slates, many parts in an imperfect state of induration, and the whole surmounted by the Car- boniferous Limestone.—Of the preceding section the lower part of No. 3. is identical with the series of Long Mountain in the Silurian sections of Mr. Murchison; but No. 4. is mineralogically unlike any thing he has described, although it has been found to contain some of the fossils of the Upper Ludlow Rock. Itappears from these details that the Silurian System, although its subdivisions are obscure from the abs- ence of the Wenlock and Ludlow limestones, is more fully developed than in the group (Ne 3.) of the great Cumbrian section above described. The author then briefly notices the is rocks of Charnwood Fo- rest, which he refers provisionally to the Upper Cambrian System ; but from the imperfection of the sections and the absence of organic remains, their exact place is not determined. (4. — SECTION FROM THE NORTH TO THE SOUTH COAST OF DEVONSHIRE. I. North Devon section.—For details the author refers to a paper by Mr. Murchison and himself, but enumerates the successive groups for the purpose of adding some remarks, and of connecting the system of Devon with that of Cornwall*. The ascending order is as follows: (1.) A series of coarse arenaceous slates, not noticed in the for- mer paper. (2.) The calcareous slates of the river Lyn. (3.) The coarse red flagstones, &c., of Exmoor Forest, and of the coast to the east of Combe Martin. 4.) The calcareous slates and limestone bands of Ilfracombe. e The contorted slate zone south of Ilfracombe. (6.) The calcareous slates and irregular masses of limestone be- tween the preceding group and the culm measures. The whole of the preceding series is placed in the Upper Cambrian System with the exception of the upper portion of No. 6., which i is * See Proceedings, p. 556 et seq. 681 considered, both from its structure and its fossils, as near the doubt- ful limit between the Upper Cambrian and Lower Silurian Systems. II. Culm measures.—This series is described (as in a former paper) to occupy a great trough, which ranges across the country in a di- rection bearing nearly east and west; on its north side overlying the preceding group (No. 6. of the North Devon section), and on its south side risig up to the granite of Dartmoor, or overlying the older slate system of Devonshire and Cornwall*. Its subdivi- sions are enumerated as in the former paper; and the author adds, that during the summer of 1837 he ascertained that the lower beds of the culm measures rest unconformably on a portion of the slate rocks in the north of Cornwall, near Launceston. On the contrary, in the cliffs near Barnstaple, the lower culm measures seem to gra- duate almost insensibly into the formation on which it rests. Hence (independently of all other evidence) it is clear that slate rocks in the north of Cornwall are of an older epoch than the upper group of the North Devon section. The author then considers the classification of the culm series, and states his opinion that the base of it is lower than the base of the ordinary English carboniferous series. The base line (in the former paper) was intentionally left in an ambiguous position; and the dif- ficulty of the subject Has been subsequently increased by the supposed discovery of some true carboniferous plants in the highest group (No. 6.) of the North Devon section. In the upper part of the culm measures all the fossil plants have been described as identical in spe- cies with plants of the carboniferous series; and hence (unless some conflicting evidence be discovered) the culm measures and common coal measures must continue to be placed on the same parallel. Lastly, he states that, dependently of any question of classifica- tion, the former paper by Mr. Murchison and himself first pointed out the following facts in the general structure of the county :— (1.) That the Wavellite rock and culm limestone (of Barnstaple, &c.) were in position, structure, and fossils distinct from all the other calcareous groups of Devon. (2.) That the same group was repeated over again with a reversed dip on the north side of Dartmoor, and entirely distinct from the calca- reous slates of Cornwall, with which it had no analogy in structure or fossils. (3.) That the Holcombe Rogus limestone was a part of the culm series. (4.) That the culmiferous system was superior to all the slate rocks of Devonshire and Cornwall, and was overlaid by no older rock than the new red sandstone. Whereas before, the portion of the culm series near the granite had, from its metamorphic structure, been confounded with the oldest rocks of Devonshire and Cornwall; and the position of whole series among the Devonian groups had been misapprehended. * See Proceedings, p. 561. 682 III. South Devon section.—This section, in conformity with the scheme given in the former paper, is as follows, in the ascending order* :— (1.) A series of slate rocks subdivided into two groups,—the lower containing a few calcareous bands, the upper group more calcareous and ending with the Plymouth limestone. The two are considered as one formation; and the name, Ashburton bands, which had been given to the calcareous beds of the lower division, is now withdrawn, as the position of the Ashburton lime rock is considered ambiguous. The name of Ugborough bands is not liable to the same objection. (2.) A great group of coarse red flagstone and slate, identical in its structure with No. 3. of the North Devon section, and containing some corals that do not appear in the mountain limestone, but are found both in the Cambrian and Silurian systems. This group is provisionally identified with No. 3. of the North Devon section. (3.) A great group of slate rocks without beds of limestone, and very rarely with any traces of organic remains. By the suppression of No.4., this group is considered as the equivalent of No. 5. of the North Devon section. (4.) Mica and chlorite slate, anomalous in structure and position, and forming no part of the ascending series. The preceding identifications are only provisional, and many desi- derata are enumerated ; but it is considered certain that the South Devon section belongs, on the whole, to a lower series than the North Devon. Neither of them are, however, supposed to descend lower than the Upper Cambrian, or the higher part of the Lower Cambrian, group. To place the South Devon section above the North Devon, would be to violate all the analogies of structure derived from other parts of England; and would not, the author believes, be sup- ported by any specific evidence derived from fossils. CLASSIFICATION OF THE ROCKS OF CORNWALL. The author states, that the Plymouth limestone, in its range west- wards, graduaily thins off, and comes to an edge about the middle of Whitesand bay. ‘The strike of the beds and the trending of the coast prevent this limestone and all the upper groups of the South Devon section from appearing again on the south-eastern side of Cornwall. . The inferior portion of the first group (No. 1.) of the South Devon section passes into Cornwall in a broad zone, gradually acquires the strike of the Cornish rocks, and so runs along the S.E. coast; and finally passes from Falmouth bay to Mounts bay ; rising on its north side towards the granite, and on its south side dipping under the serpentine of the Lizard district. As in Devonshire, the group contains beds more or less calcareous, and, rarely, thin beds of lime- stone. In the same way, though not with the same clear evidence, the calcareous slates rising from beneath the culm-measures near Laun- ceston, double round the granitic promontory of Rough-Tor, and * See Proceedings, p. 562. 683 are thence expanded (though with considerable irregularities of strike and modifications of structure) as far as St. Ives’ Bay. The granitic ridge of the county is supposed to represent an in- terrupted mineral axis, on the N.E. and S8.W. sides of which are slaty groups of the same geological period. In all cases near the granite the slaty groups change their structure; but this change of structure cannot be assumed as the ground of a classification depend- ent on the age of the deposit; as it is shown by a series of sections, that in several places the fossiliferous slates on the coast are of the same date with the indurated metalliferous slates that rise to the granite. Hence the crystalline and metalliferous slates of Cornwall are considered as metamorphic, and in that respect agree with the bottom culm series that touches on the Dartmoor granite. Of the rocks of Cornwall the newest are the granites; next come the serpentine and other trappean rocks; and the oldest are the slate rocks. These slate rocks (including all the killas of Cornwall of whatever structure) appear to be an actual prolongation of the lowest group of the South Devon section, and therefore, agreeably to what is stated above, are provisionally arranged near the upper portion of the Lower Cambrian System. Many of these rocks were formerly considered primitive; but none of them have any pretension to that class. Numerous fossils were found by the author in the cliffs on both sides Loe bay, and on both sides of the Fowey river, and still further west in Gerrans bay. Mr. J. Conybeare found fossils many years since in the Tintagel slates ; and the author in 1828 traced the fossiliferous system into the cliffs west of Padstow. During M. De la Beche’s survey he had (before the author’s last visit to the N.W. coast of Cornwall) found fossils innumerable in that part of the county. The Cornish fossils are generally ill preserved; but among them are some corals that are common both to the Silurian and Cambrian systems. The fossils of New Quay and South Petherwin are an exception to the remark ; as many of them are well preserved. They consist of corals; encri- nites ; numerous specimens of the genera Terebratula, Orthis,and Spi- rifer ; of four or five species of Orthoceratites ; Gontatites; and lastly, three or four new species of a genus described by Count Munster under the name Clymene, and by Mr. Ansted under the name En- dosiphonites. As they occupy a position so much lower, so, as a group, these fossils are distinct from those of the Silurian system. Conclusion.—The author here takes a retrospect of the preceding description, and states that the classifications are founded on the details of actual sections; and that as far as such detailed sections throw light on the several questions that may arise, there is not much that remains to be done in England. Some of the generali- zations are, however, founded on imperfect evidence ; and to render them more complete, it is now necessary te appeal to the organic remains in the several groups. In this department little has been yet effected, excepting in the higher part of the Silurian system, where the upper divisions (at least in one part of the island) assume 684 definite mineralogical and zoological types. Whether definite zoolo- gical groups can be made out in any lower system still remains to be seen. The rigid determination of the Devon and Cornish fossils, which are very numerous, and a rigid comparison of the Berwyn and Bala fossils with those near the base of the third group of the Cum- brian section, give the fairest promise of an answer to the question, and are pointed out as immediate desiderata. The difficulty of classification by organic remains increases as we descend, and is at length insurmountable ; for in the lowest strati- fied groups, independently of metamorphic structure, all traces of fossils gradually vanish; and the great range of certain species through numerous successive groups, and the very irregular distri- bution of fossils even in some of the more fossiliferous divisions, add greatly to the difficulties of establishing true definite groups even within the limits of our island. The difficulties are indefinitely increased in comparing the formations of remote continents. But these circumstances are compensated by the magnificent scale of de- velopment of the successive groups, and their wide geographical distribution. ‘Taken together they have a great unity of character ; and even in remote continents they seem to form a common base, from which we may hope to compute the whole series of secondary and tertiary deposits that surmount them. The author then briefly touches on questions of structure and cleavage; on the indefinite alternations of trappean beds; on meta- morphic structure ; on the long duration of the deposits ; and on their great disruptions and symmetrical dislocations, indicating a greater violence of disturbing forces than is indicated in the secondary for- mations of this country. Following the geological scale of deposits from top to bottom, we can trace a series of phenomena indicating the same kind of causation differing at different times in intensity and degree. The mean intensity can therefore only be collected by ascertaining the intensity during every geological period, and can never be obtained by assuming the intensity of any one epoch, past or present, as the arbitrary standard. Again, the successive organic types indicate great physical changes ; and following the descending scale they at length vanish ; conducting us, however, to the confines of other investigations in exact science which must prove the ulti- mate basis of physical geology. Finally, the author gives a tabular arrangement of the several classes and subdivisions agreeably to the system of the preceding communication. Class I1.—Primary stratified Groups. Gneiss, mica slate, &c., &c. Highlands of Scotland and the Hebrides. Crystalline slates of Anglesea and the S.W. coast of Carnarvonshire. The series generally without organic remains; but should organic remains appear unequivocally in any parts of this class, they may be described as the Protozoic system. 685 Class 1.(a). The crystalline slates of central Skiddaw forest, and the upper Skiddaw slate series. ‘The whole is inorganic and inter- mediate between Class I. and Class II. Class II., or Paleozoic series. This class includes all the groups of formations between Class I. and the old red sandstone; and is subdivided as follows :— 1. Lower Cambrian System.—All the Welsh series under the Bala limestone. The two great groups of green roofing slate and porphyry on the north and south side of the mineral axis of the Cumbrian mountains. A smail part of the slates of Cornwall and South Devon.? A part of the slate series of the Isle of Man, &c., &c. 2. Upper Cambrian System.—A large part of the Lammermuir chain on the south frontier of Scotland. A part of the third Cumbrian group, commencing with the calcareous slates of Coniston and Windermere. ‘The system of the Berwyns and South Wales. The slates of Charwood forest.? All the North Devon and a part of the South Devon series. The greater part of the Cornish series. 3. The Silurian System.—The upper part of the third Cumbrian group, chiefly expended in Westmoreland and Yorkshire. The flagstone series of Denbighshire. The hills on both sides of Llangollen. ‘The region east of the Berwyn chain. The regions described in the papers of Mr. Murchison, from which the types of the system are derived. The lowest part of the culmiferous series. ? Over all the preceding comes the Old Red Sandstone—divided into three great natural groups in the country bordering the Silurian types of Mr. Murchison; in the northern counties developed in a less distinct manner, chiefly in the form of great unconformable masses of conglomerate, appearing at irregular intervals between the preceding groups and the carboniferous series. Little notice is taken in the memoir of the crystalline unstratified rocks associated with the several series. Any questions of classifi- cation, bearing on their geological epoch, can only be determined by the effects, produced by them on the stratified series, which mark the period of their first protrusion ; but for the present this subject is not touched on by the author. June 6th.—William Stark, Esq., of Norwich, was elected a Fel- low of this Society. A paper was first read, ‘‘ On Spirolinites in Chalk and Chalk- flints ;”’ by the Marquis of Northampton, F.G.S. The fossils described in this memoir were chiefly found in the flints of Sussex; and though above two hundred specimens, more or less perfect, have been discovered by the author in that county, he has very rarely met with the genus elsewhere. They have been also found in the same county by the Rev. G. Smith and Mr. Wal- ter Mantell. They occur more frequently in the grey than the black 686 flints; and are sometimes accompanied by innumerable minute frag- ments of other organic bodies. ‘The size of the best-preserved spe- cimens, including the prolongation, is about one-third of an inch ; and the number of chambers or divisions varies in the same species. Of the six species described in the paper, one had been previously named, by Mr. Mantell, Spirolinites Comptoni, and the other five have beennamed by the Marquis of Northampton, S. Murchisoni, S. Stokesit, S. Lyellii, S. Mantellii, and S. Bucklandit; the author, however, stated that it is exceedingly difficult to determine satisfactorily specific differences, especially in such minute fossils, imbedded in flint, and exposed only by accidental fracture. A communication was next read, entitled, ‘‘ A Note to accompany Specimens of Quicksilver Ore from the mine San Onofre, near the town of El Doctor, Mexico.” By John Taylor, Esq., Treas. G.S. Though quicksilver had been known for some time to exist in Mexico, yet few attempts had been made to ascertain to what ex- tent, till the increased prices and demand induced the directors of the Real del Monte and Bolanos Mining Companies to have re- searches made. Ores of that metal have, in consequence, been dis- covered and traced in districts very remote from each other; but Mr. Taylor confined his remarks to the locality at which the speci- mens presented to the Society were obtained. The ores of San Onofre are chiefly cinnabar, partly hepatic, but native quicksilver occurs, and native calomel. They are stated to exist in a regular vein, two or three yards in width, the gangue consisting of carbonate of lime, with sulphate of barytes, and a small portion of silex. It traverses a limestone hill of considerable height, and appears to have been worked in former times. Extracts were also read from a letter addressed to John Taylor, Esq., Treas. G.S., by Mr. Frederick Edmonds, explanatory of some specimens of obsidian from the mountain of Real del Monte, Mex- ico, collected by Mr. Frederick Edmonds, and presented to the Society by Mr. Taylor. About half a mile from the ancient obsidian mines is the Cerro de las Navajas, in which several passages may be observed from an earthy felspathic rock to perfect obsidian. Although no good section is exposed, the obsidian is stated to occur in irregular beds, chiefly vertical, and Mr. Edmonds is of opinion, that it has been de- rived from the fusion of the felspathic rock under pressure. ‘The collection presented to the Society’s museum, contained a specimen. of calcareous tuff from the thermal springs of El Grande. A notice was next read of a specimen of the Oar’s Rock, nine miles south of Little Hampton, Sussex, by Roderick Impey Mur- chison, Esq., V.P.G.S. The specimen consists of a calcareous grit, bearing no resemblance to the Bognor rock, or other beds above the chalk, but agrees with some of the beds in the green sands below that formation, or to the 687 Portland beds. Mr. Murchison’s principal object in laying this no- tice before the Society was to point out that the Oar’s Rock is be- tween the parallels of disturbance which traverse the Wealden of Sussex on the north, and the Isle of Wight on the south, the inter- mediate space being also traversed by the protruded chalk-outliers of Portsdown Hill, north of Portsmouth, and High-down Hill near Worthing, described by Mr. Martin*. Mr. Murchison, therefore, inferred that the Oar’s Rock may indicate the protrusion of strata at that pot. He noticed likewise the earthquakes so frequently felt at Chichester, which is situated intermediate between Portsdown Mill and Highdown Hill. A paper was then read, “ On the discovery of Fossil Fishes in the Bagshot sands at Goldworth Hill, 4 miles north of Guildford ;” by the Rev. William Buckland, D.D., F.G.S. These remains were recently obtained in cutting through the summit of Goldworth Hill, on the line of the London and South- ampton Railway, and their preservation is due to Mr. Sibthorpe of Guildford. The only organic bodies previously discovered in the Bag- shot sand are the casts of shells found near Chobham Park, and no- ticed in Mr. Warburton’s account of the formation.t The fossils described by Dr. Buckland, were obtained from a bed of greenish sand, the sixth from the top of the section; and they consist of a few imperfect casts of marine shells, and the remains of marine fishes. The most numerous among the latter are the teeth of sharks, and the palates and teeth of rays, similar to those which abound in the London clay. One large tooth of a saw-fish, procured from the same bed, affords the first well-authenticated example of the discovery, in England, of the genus Pristis. In addition to these remains, three forms of cartilaginous fishes, and a few vertebree of bony fishes, resem- bling those procured in Sheppy, have been found, also three newgenera of fishes. For the latter Dr. Buckland proposes the names of Hda- phodon, Passalodon, and Ameibodon. In the first genus the struc- ture of the teeth is nearly allied to that of the broad and flat palates so common in the oolitic and carboniferous limestones. There were three of these teeth in the upper jaw, and three in the lower on each side, and they were disposed so as to form a pavement, arming the interior of the mouth with powerful instruments for crushing shells. Their surface is pitted with minute depressions, disposed in nearly the same manner as in the genus Psammodus. 'The body of each tooth also, as in Psammodus, is composed of hollow, long, cylindrical co- lumns, placed nearly at right angles to the working surface. The bones to which the teeth are attached, are not granulated as in car- tilaginous fishes; but are cancellated after the manner of bony fishes. The mode of insertion of the teeth in both jaws offers many pecu- liarities, as they are placed in nearly horizontal, long sockets, and * Geological Memoir on part of Western Sussex, p. 93, 1828. + Geological Transactions, 2nd Series, vol. i. p. 48. 688 maintained by continual growth from the posterior extremity of each tooth. Details were given of the genera Passalodon and Ameibodon ; and it was stated that Hdaphodon and Passalodon offer combinations of the characters of cartilaginous and bony fishes. In the stratum in which these remains were found, Mr. Sibthorpe has also dis- covered portions of the carapace of an Hmys, resembling that of the London clay; and Sir Philip Egerton possesses a fragment of a tooth found at Sheppy resembling the teeth of the Edaphodon of Gold- worth Hill. From the agreement, therefore, in the fossils of that lo- cality with those of the London clay, Mr. Lyell’s opinion, that the Bagshot sand was deposited during the eocene period, has received additional support. A notice, by Dr. Buckland, was afterwards read ‘‘ On the disco- very of a fossil wing of a Neuropterous Insect in the Stonesfield slate.” The elytra of several species of coleopterous insects have been, for some time, known to occur in the Stonesfield slate, but Dr. Buck- land believes that this is the first discovery of any remains of Neuro- ptera. The wings of Libellule are not unfrequent at Solenhofen ; and a neuropterous wing, resembling that of a Corydalis, has been discovered by Mr. Mantell in an ironstone nodule from Coalbrook Dale. To the notice was appended a description of the wing by Mr. Westwood, from which the following is an extract :—‘‘1 have compared the fossil insect wing with the various genera of neuro- pterous insects, both indigenous and exotic, but it agrees with none of them. I apprehend there can be no doubt that it belonged to a tetrapterous insect, and to the order Neuroptera.” Dr. Buckland proposes to call the fossil insect Hemerobioides gi- ganteus, from its being more nearly allied to the recent genus Heme- robius than to any other at present known. The last paper read was on some species of Orthocerata ; by Charles Stokes Esq., F.G.S. In Dr. Bigsby’s paper on the geography and geology of Lake Huron* some Orthocerata of peculiar forms are described; but since the publication of that memoir, Mr. Stokes has received many other specimens, collected during the expeditions of Sir Edward Parry, Sir John Franklin, the late Capt. Lyon, and Capt. Back, and by Capt. Bayfield during his survey of the lakes and the river St. Lawrence. ‘The object of the present communication is to describe some species indicating generic separations among the Orthocerata, and to call attention to certain considerations respecting the relations of the shells to the animals to which they belonged. The first generic distinction adopted by Mr. Stokes consists in a large siphuncule, much dilated in each chamber, and contracted at the parts where the septa are attached to it. Within the siphun- * Geological Transactions, 2nd Series, vol. i. p. 195 et seg. Pls. 25 and 26. 689 cule is a continuous tube which appears to have been capable of ex- pansion or contraction, and is furnished with radii in verticillations, which connect the tube with the walls of the siphon. For this genus he retains the name of Actinoceras, given by Bronn* to figures 1—3, Pl. 25, vol.i. N.S. of the Geological Transactions. Four species have been established by Mr. Stokes; namely, Acti- noceras Lyoni from Igloolik and Ooglit ; A. Bigsbi from Thessalon Island, in Lake Huron; A. Richardsonii from Lake Winipeg; and A. Simmsii from Castle Espie, in the County of Down, Ireland. The character of the second genus is a siphunculus, similar in external form to the preceding, but the imner part is divided into portions corresponding in number with the chambers, and deeply indented in the middle, where the-septa of the shell are attached to them ; so that one half of each division of the siphurcule is in one * chamber, and the other half in the next chamber. The opening or interior passage is comparatively small, and the inner and outer walls of these divided portions, which are separated by a consider- able space, are beautifully curved. From the resemblance of the siphuncule to a row of beads, Mr. Stokes proposes to call the genus Ormoceras. Three species were described, all of them ob- tained from Drummond Island in Lake Huron; Ormoceras Bayfieldii, O. Backit, and O. Whitei. Among the fossils noticed in Dr. Bigsby’s paper, were several which Mr. Stokes then considered to be corals from the internal plates, and to which he gave the generic name of Huroniat. He has, however, since discovered, that they do not possess the peculiar, central struc- ture, exhibited by the greater number of the lamelliferous corals; but that they have a continuous central opening; and, from the ex- amination of other specimens, he now considers that these bodies are the siphuncules of true Orthocerata. He proposes, nevertheless, to retain the generic name of Huronia; and has called the only species, yet found with traces of the septa, Huronia Portlockit. Mr. Stokes then offered some remarks “‘ respecting the relations of the shell to the animal to which it belonged.” From the si- phuncule being so often preserved without the external portion of the shell, and the latter, including the septa, being, when retained, extremely thin, he is of opinion that the shell must have been en- veloped in the animal to protect it from injury. :This view of the relation of the shell to the soft portions of the creature, he is of opinion, receives confirmation from his having observed only one instance of a parasitic body being attached to Orthocerata. In this instance, indeed, there are evidences that the parasite, a coral, must have been formed after the death of the animal of the shell (Actino- ceras Simms), for the specimen exhibits in some parts, layers of earthy matter, alternating with layers of the coral; and, therefore, the growth of the latter must have been more than once inter- rupted by the deposition of sediment. The memoir concluded with * Lethea geognostica, vol. i. p. 98. tab. i. fig. 8. 1835. + Geological Transactions, 2nd Series, vol. i. p. 202, Pl. 28. 690 some remarks on a peculiar subdivision in the septa towards the outer wall of one side of the chambers, noticed by the author in several specimens of Ormoceras, in an Orthoceras from Russia, and in Lituites; but he refrained from offermg any opinion, whether this character is common to the family of Orthoceratide, or is con- fined to certain genera only. This being the last evening of the Session, the Society adjourned to Wednesday, November the 7th. ON De Oe, ABBERLEY Hills, notice of, 15; reversed position of strata on the flanks of, 18; on the trap rocks of, 91. Actinoceras, character of,described,688. Acton Reynolds, on trap dykes in the new red sandstone at, 193. Africa, on specimens from the west coast of, 188; on the existence of lias fossils in, 415. Agassiz (M.), award of Wollaston Pro. ceeds to, 24; Wollaston Medal, 337, 354; on a new classification of fishes, and on the geological distribution of fossil fishes, 100 ; systematic enume- ration of the fossil fishes in English collections, 207. Alhama and Mula, tertiary formations of, described, 81. Alison (R. C. Esq.), notes on the earthquake in Chili, 20th of Febru- ary 1835, 209. Allesley near Coventry, silicified trunks of trees found near, in new red sand- stone, 439. Alluvial tracts, account of, in Cutch, 526. Alluvium, notice of, on the old red of Herefordshire, 77. Andes, on the structure of the, 660. Animal matter, on the state in which it is found in fossils, 672. Annual Reports of the Council, 21st Feb. 1834, 23; 20th Feb. 1835, 123; 19th Feb. 1836, 337; 17th Feb. 1837, 459; 16th Feb. 1838, 603. Anthracite, Mr. De la Beche on the, of North Devon, 106; position of, in the greywacke series, 106. See Culm. Argillaceous limestone, description of, in Southern India, 580. Argostoli, on the currents of sea water which flow inland near, 220, 393. Arley and Shatterford, trap dyke of, described, 92. Artesian well, notice of, at Mortlake, 449. Ascension, account of specimens from, 189. Asia Minor, Mr. Strickland’s sketch of the geology of western part of, 423 ; Mr. Hamilton on a portion of, 651. VOL, II. Auditors’ Report, 1834, 36; 1835, 138; 1836, 350; 1837, 472; 1838, 618. Austen (R. C. A. Esq.), account of raised beach at Hope’s Nose, 102; on the country between the Ex and Berry Head, 414; on the geology of the south-east of Devonshire, 584; on the origin of the limestones of Devonshire, 669. Australia, on the geology of, between Hunter’s River and Moreton Bay, 109 ; specimens collected by Captain Sturt in, 111. Babbage (C. Esq.), observations on the Temple of Serapis, 72; on the ope- rations by which the phenomena may have been produced, 74; on the pos- sible action of existing causes in ele- vating continents, 75; on the in- crease of internal temperature by deposition of sedimentary matter, and on the change cf level as a con- sequence, 753 on sandstone impres- sions resembling horses’ hoofs, 439. Babington (Dr.), notice of, in the obituary of the President’s Address, 1834, 42. Bagshot sands, on the discovery of fossil fishes in the, of Goldworth Hill, 687. Ballisadiere, on fossil plants in sand- stone near, 394. Ballybunion, account of the cliffs near, 394. Baltic, remarks on change of level in the, 59. Banffshire, on recent elevations on the coast of, and on a deposit of clay formerly considered to be lias, 545. Barnstaple Bay, Professor Sedgwick and Mr. Murchison ona raised beach in, 441 ; notice of, by Rev. D. Wil- liams, 535. Basaltic district of India, account of the eastern portion of, 579. Bayfield (Capt., R.N.), on the coasts of the St. Lawrence, 4; on the trans- portation of rocks by ice, 223. Bear, fossil, no perforation for the cu- bital artery, 95; no small anterior false molar, 95. $M 692 Beaumont Green, on a well at, 551. Beck (Dr.), notes on the geology of Denmark, 217. Belcher (Capt., R.N.), remarks to il- lustrate geological specimens from the west coast of Africa, 188. Bell (Dr.), geological notes on Ma- zunderan, 591. Berger (Dr. ), notice of, in the obituary of the President’s Address, 1834, 44. Bermudas, on the geology of the, 81. Berry Head, on the country between the Ex and, 414. Bideford, on the anthracite found near, 106, 561, 586, 589, 681. Binney (E. H. Esq.) and Leigh (J. Esq.), on red marl containing fossil shells at Collyhurst, 391. Birds, fossil bones of, from Tilgate Fo- rest, described, 203. Birmingham and Gloucester railway, notes on the geology of the, 593. Bishopstone, on the plastic clay at, 222. Bituminous coal, notice of, on the Mis- souri, 104; at Cohat, 9. Black (Dr.), on a fossil tree discovered near Bolton-le-Moor, 670. Bognor, notice of specimens from, 114, Bokhara, notices of the country be- tween, and the Oxus, 10. Bollaert (Mr.), on insulated masses of silver in the mines of Huantaxaya, 598. Bolton-le-Moor, on a fossil tree dis- covered near, 670. Bopeep, notice of coast to the west of, 2. Bostock (Dr. ), on a mineral water from St. Paul’s Island, 112. Boundary fault, Coalbrooke Dale, no- tice of, 19. Bournmouth, notice of submarine fo- rest at, 599. Bowerbank (J. S. Esq.), on a deposit containing recent land shells at Gore Cliff, 449. Bowers (Lieut., R.N.), on the earth- quake at Valparaiso in 1822, 212. Bowman (J. C. Esq.), notes on Silu- rian rocks on the north coast of Den- bighshire, 666. Brecknockshire, notice of the trap rocks of, 90, Bredon Hill, notice of a fault from near, to Inkberrow, 5. Breidden Hills, description of, 87 ; trap rocks of, 88. Brill, section of a quarry at, 6. Brisbane river, on the geology of the banks of the, 110. Bristol coal-field, notice of fractures in boundaries of the, 79. Broderip (W. J. Esq.), notice of his table of the depths at which different INDEX. shells have been found, 161; de- scriptionof some fossil Crustacea and Radiata, 201; reply of, on receiving the Wollaston Medal awarded M. Agassiz, 354. Brown Clee Hill, on the structure of the, 7; the trap of, 91. Brown (Col.), on the sea-water flowing into Cephalonia, 393. Biuckeburg, on partially petrified wood from a Roman aqueduct in the, 418, 440. Buckland (Rev. W., D.D.), notice of a newly discovered gigantic reptile, 190; on fossil beaks of Chimzra, 205; on silicified trunks of large trees in new red sandstone at Alles- ley near Coventry, 439; on the oc- currence of keuper sandstone in England, 453; on the discovery of fossil fishes in the Bagshot sands at Goldworth Hill, 687; on a fossil wing of a neuropterous insect in the Stonesfield slate, 688. Builth, trap rocks of, 89. Builth and Llandeilo flags, notice of, 14; fossils found in, table, 13. Burnes (Lieut. A.), on the banks of the Indus, 8. Burr (Mr. F.), notes on the geology of the proposed Birmingham and Glou- cester railway, 593. Cabool, structure of the neighbourhood of, 9. : Caer Caradoc, description of, 85; sand- stone of, converted into quartz rock, 86. Caermarthenshire, notice of the trap rock of, 90; of the lead mines of, 90. Calcareous grit, notice of dykes of, at Ethie, 654. Calciferous conglomerate near Elgin, equivalent of the old red of Clas- bennie, 668. a Caldcleugh (A. Esq.), on the elevation of strata on the coast of Chili, 444. Cambrian system, notice of, in Pem- brokeshire, 229. Carboniferous limestone, account of outlines and dislocations on the north flank of the South Welsh coal-field, 12; range of, flanking the primary Cambrian mountains, 198; notice of, in Pembrokeshire, 227. Carboniferous series, subdivisions of, in the south-east end of Devonshire, 586. Carrara marble, notice of M. Hoff- mann’s discovery respecting, 168. Carthagena, tertiary strata near, de- scribed, 81. Causes in action, account of, on the . Suffolk coast, 533, INDEX. Cautley (Capt.), on remains of mam- malia in the Sewalik Hills, $95; Wollaston Medai awarded to, 459; address of Mr. Lyell on presenting it to Dr. Royle, 476; on the dis- covery of quadrumanous remains in the Sewalik Hills, 544, 568. Caves, on the ossiferous, of Yealm Bridge, 399. Cephalonia, on streams of sea-water flowing into, 393. Cerdagne, freshwater formation in, de- scribed, 21. Céret, notice of a section from La Es- téla to, 22. Chalk, section of, in a well at Diss, 93; notice of, in Suffolk, 529, Chalk and flint of Yorkshire, compared with the chalk and flint of south of England, 113. Chalk and greensand, notice of fossil fishes in, 207. Chalmers (Dr.), extract from his cha- racter of Sir I. Newton’s mind, 62. Charlesworth (C. Esq.), on the crag of part of Essex and Suffolk, 195. Charlton Hill, trap rocks of, 85. Chemical changes, on the, in the ag- gregation of stratified rocks during different periods after their deposi- tion, 181. Chichester, notice of the earthquakes frequently felt near, 149, 687. Chili, remarks on the earthquake, 1822, 56; on elevation of strata on the coast of, by Mr. Caldcleugh, 444 ; Mr. Darwin, 446; account of the earthquake of 20th Feb. 1835, 209; account of earthquake-phenomena in, by Mr. Darwin, 654. Chimera, on fossil beaks of, 205. Christie (Dr. T.), notice of, in the obituary of the President’s Address, 1834, 45. Cidaris Bechei, description of, 202. Clarke (Rey. W. B.), on the north- east part of the Cotentin, 454; on the geology of Suffolk, 528; on the peat-bogs and submarine forests of Bournmouth, and near Poole, 599. Cleavage, observations on, in rocks, 182. Clee Hills, notice of the basalt of, 91. Cloverly, account of an outlier of lias near, 114. Coal bituminous, notice of, at Cohat, 9; on the Missouri, 104. Coal-fields, description of, Shropshire, 119; Forest of Wyre, 20,120; Ne- went, 121; Dudley and Wolver- hampton, 407; north-west coast of Cumberland, 198, 419. Coal-field, account of the ravines in the boundaries of the Bristol, 79, 693 Coal-field, North Staffordshire, notice of ichthyolites from, 202. Coalbrooke Dale coal-field, notice re- specting the fossils found in, 20; trap-rocks of, 92; on the geology of, 401; on some of the faults of the, 18. Coal-measures, description of the upper, of Shrewsbury, containing freshwater limestone, 119; account of the trap- rocks penetrating the, in Shropshire, 91; notice of fossil fishes in, 207; table of stratified deposits below the, in Hereford, Shropshire, &c., 13. Colebrook (H. T. Esq.), notice of, in the obituary of the President’s Ad- dress, 1838, 629, Coléia antiqua, description of, 201. Collyhurst, on red marl containing fossil shells at, 391. Columbia, account of volcanic products on the banks of the, 105. Continental elevations, possible action of existing causes in producing, 75. Coral formations, account of areas of elevation and subsidence in the Pa- cific and Indian Oceans deduced from, 562. Cordilleras of the Andes, notes re= specting a transverse section of, 210, G12. Cornbrash, notice of, on the coast of Yorkshire, 671. Corndon, trap rocks of, 86. Cornwall, veins and cross-courses of, produced by disruption, 185; no- tice of fossils from the schistose rocks of North, 225; classification of the rocks of, 682. Cotentin, on the north-east parts of the, 454. Council, list of Officers and, for 1834, 41; 1835, 144; 1836, 3563; 1837, 477+ 1838, 622. Reports of, to the Annual Ge- neral Meeting, 1834, 23; 1835, 123; 1836, 337; 1837, 459; 1838, 603. Crag, on the, of part of Essex and Suffolk, 195; Mr. Clarke’s account of, in Suffolk, 530; notice of fossil fishes in, 207 ; notice of a mammoth’s tooth from the, of Thorpe, 417. Creekmoor, notice of a peat bog at, 600. Cretaceous and tertiary strata, account of, in Moen and Seeland, 191. Crichton (Sir A.), on fossil plants in sandstone near Ballisadiere, 394. Cropthorne, notice on the gravel near, 6; notice of freshwater shells of existing species, and of quadrupeds beneath gravel, near, 95; additional obser. vations, 111. Crustacea, fossil, description of, from Lyme Regis, 201, 3m 2 694 Culm measures, description of, in De- vonshire, by Professor Sedgwick and Mr. Murchison, 561, 681; Mr. Austen, 586; Mr. Weaver, 589. Cumberland, account of the coal-fields of the north-west cvast of, 198, 419. Cumbrian mountains, range of carbo- niferous limestone flanking the pri- mary, 198. Cumbrian section, groups of the, 678. Cuming (IH. Esq.), on the earthquake at Valparaiso in 1822, 213. Cunningham (Allan, Esq. ), on the geo- logy of part of Australia, 109. Cutch, notices respecting, by Lieut. Bumes, §; by Col. Sykes on fossils from, 77; Capt. Grant on the geo- logy of, 525. Dartmoor, amount of the granite of, 562. Darwin (C. Esq.), geological notes made on the coasts of South Ame- rica, and in the Cordilleras of the Andes, 210; on recent elevations on the coast of Chili, 446; on the de- posits containing extinct mammalia in the neighbourhood of the Plata, 542; on certain areas of elevation and subsidence in the Pacific and Indian Oceans, as deduced from the study of coral formations, 552; on the formation of mould, 574; onthe connexion of volcanic phenomena, and on mountain chains and yol- canos as effects of continental ele- vations, 654. Daubeny ( Prof.), on the volcanic strata near Torre del Annunciata, and on the thermal springs connected with the volcanos of Campania, 177; ana- lysis of mineral spring, Oxford, 204. Daventry, on the country near, 415. De la Beche (H. T. Esq.), on the an- thracite of Bideford, 106; on the trappean rocks associated with the new red sandstone of Devonshire, 196; notice of fossils from the schis- tose rocks of North Cornwall, 225. Defaulters, resolutions passed by a special general meeting respecting, 407 ; names of, removed by a special meeting, 463. Denbighshire, notice of Silurian rocks on the north coast of, 666. Denmark, on the geology of, 217; on change of level in, within the histo- rical period, 554. Depression of land, may be produced by increased temperature in beds of clay, 75. Deshayes (M.), award of balance of Wollaston Proceeds te, 337, 354. Devonshire, Mr, De la Beche on the INDEX. anthracite of, 106; on the trappean rocks associated with the new red sandstone of, 196. Devonshire, Prof. Sedgwick and Mr. Murchison on its physical structure, and the subdivisions and geological relations of its old stratified deposits, 556; succession of deposits between north coast of, and the culm mea- sures, 557; deposits of the fourth region, including the slate rocks, 559; culmiferous series, 561; gra- nite of Dartmoor, 562; description of a section from the north to the south coast of, 680. , Mr. Austen on the south- east of, 584; tertiary strata, 584; secondary, 585; culm measures, 586; transition system, 586; igneous and trap rocks, 587. , on the geological relations of the North of, 589. , on the origin of the lime- stones of, 669. Diamond treccia, description of, in Southern India, £81. Diluvium, on the, of Finchley, 181; notice of, in Suffolk, 532. Direction, lines of, in Shropshire, &c., 16. Dislocations, direction of lines of, in Shropshire, 16. Diss, section of a well at, 93. Donations, list of, 1833, 28; 1834,129; 1835, 341; 1836, 463; 1837, 607. Donors, list of, during 1833, 21; 1834, 133; 1835, 344; 1836, 466; 1837, 610. Dorsetshire, on the junction of the Portland and the Purbeck strata on the coast of, 185. Dublin, on certain elevated hills of gravel containing marine shells in the vicinity of, 435. Dudley or Wenlock rocks, notice of, 14. Dudley and Wolverhampton coal-field, account of, 407. Durdham Downs, account of saurian remains in the magnesian conglome- rate on, 112, 397. Earthquake, notice of, in Chili, 20th February 1835, 209; in Syria, Ja- nuary 1837, 540. Earthquake waves, historical notices of, on the coast of the Pacific, 214. Edge (Mr.), on gravel under granite in Guernsey, 578. Edmonds (Mr. F.), notice on obsidian, 686. Egerton (Sir P.), on the ossiferous caves of the Hartz and Franconia, 94; on a bed of gravel containing recent marine shells at the Willing. INDEX. 695 ~ ton, 189; on ichthyolites in the south-west portion of the North Staffordshire coal-field,- 202; on re- cent marine shells at Narley Bank, Cheshire, 415; on a peculiarity of structure in the neck of ichthyosauri, 192, 418. Egerton (W. H. Esq.), on the delta of the Kander, 76. Eilsen, on partially petrified wood from a Roman aqueduct at, 418, 440. Elevation of land, Lieut. Freyer on ap- pearance of, on the west coast of South America, 179. Elevation of strata, notice of, on the coast of Chili, by Mr. Caldcleugh, 444; by Mr. Darwin, 446. Elevation, coast of Banfishire, 545. on certain areas of, in the Pacific and Indian Oceans, 552. on lines of, in the new red sandstone of Shropshire and Staf- fordshire, 193. Elie, description of a bed of recent marine shells near, 180. Endogenites erosa, description of, 2. England (Rev. Thomas), notes on the Forest of Wyre coal-field, 20. Essex, on the crag of part of, 195. Estavan, notice of fossil freshwater shells at, 21. Estimates for 1834, $9; 1835, 141; 1836, 353; 1837, 475; 1838, 629. Esquimaux Islands, St. Lawrence, formed of limestone, 4. Ethie, notice of dykes ef calcareous grit at, 654. Ix, on the country between the, and Berry Head, 414. iixpansion of rocks by heat, experi- ments on, 4. Falconer (Dr.), Wollaston Medal awarded to, 459; address of Mr. Lyell on presenting it to Dr. Royle, 476; on the remains of a fossil monkey found in the tertiary strata of the Sewalik Hills, 568. Farish (Rev. W.), notice of, in the obituary of the President’s Address, 1838, 628. Faults, notice of some of the, which affect the Coalbrooke Dale coal-field, 18; notice of, at Watcombe, 102; in the south-east of Devonshire, 588. Fellows, list of, elected during 1833, 26; 1834, 128; 1835, 339; 1836, 468; 1837, 612. Fellows, comparative numbers of, at the close of 1833, 26; 1834, 128; 1835, 339; 1836, 462; 1837, 607. Fellows deceased during 1833, 28; 1834, 129; 1835, 341; 1836, 463; 1837, 607. Fellows removed from Society, April 1837, 463. Felpham, notice of chalk near, 114. _Férussac (Baron D. de), notice of, in the obituary of the President’s Ad- dress for 1836, 481. Finchley, on the diluvium of the vici- nity of, 181. Fitch (R. Esq.), on a tooth of a Mas. todon from the crag at Thorp, 417. Fitton (W. H., M.D.),on the coast near St. Leonard’s and Hastings, 1; on the junction of the Portland and the Purbeck strata on the coast of Dor- setshire, 185. Fitzroy (Capt., R.N.), notice of the ele- vation of Santa Maria, and change in currents produced by the earth- quake of Feb. 1835, 209; remarks on his account of the earthquake in Chili, 1835, 374. Forchammer (G., Phil. Doct.), on changes or level within the historical period in Denmark, 554. Foreign Collection, summary of, Feb. 1837, 461. Forest of Wyre coal-field, notes on the, by the Rev. J. England, 20; notice of, by Mr. Murchison, 120. Fossil birds’ bones from Tilgate, 203. Fossil Crustacea from Lyme Regis, de- scribed, 201. Fossil fishes, on the geological distri- bution of, 100; range of, less than in animals of a lower order, 100; same species not found in two suc- cessive formations, 100; tertiary spe- cies approach, but are not identical with, existing specics, 100; fish found geodes in Greenland, only species, fossil and recent, 100; of the crag, superior subapennine and molasse al- lied to tropical genera, 100; lower tertiary, One third species extinct ge- nera, 100; chalk fishes resemble ter- tiary more nearly than Jurassic spe- cies, 100; two species of colitic ge- nera found in, 207; below chalk, ne genus which includes a recent species, 101; oolitic wealden and lias series, well-defined groups of fishes, 10) ; below the lias great difference in form of posterior extremity in Ga- noidians, 101; below greensand no characters to mark marine or fresh- water fishes, 102. , systematic enumeration of, in English collections, 207; from the Silurian system, 207; old red, 207; coal measures, 207 ; magnesian limestone, 207; oolitic series, 207; greensand and chalk, 207; London clay, 207; crag, 207. 696 INDEX. Fossil fishes, account of, in the new red sandstone, Tyrone, 206; in the Lancashire coal-field, 571; in old red, near Elgin, 668; on the dis- covery of, in the Bagshot sands at Goldworth Hill, 687. Fossil insect, account of a neuropterous, in the Stonesfield slate, 688. Fossil plants, notice of, in sandstone near Ballisadiere, 394; of North Devon anthracite, same as coal mea- sure plants, 106, note. Fossil Radiata from Lyme Regis, de- scribed, 201. Fossil trees, account of, in new red sandstone at Allesley near Coven- try, 439 ; in coal measures at Bolton- le-Moor, 670. Fossils, account of, in the loess of the Rhine valley, 83; in the eastern por- tion of the great basaltic district of In- dia, 579; distribution of, in the oolitic formations on the coast of Yorkshire, 429,671; in the upper lias and marl- stone of Yorkshire, 82, 416; list of, in the outlier of lias near Cloverly, 114; list of Silurian, north coast of Denbighshire, 666; notice of, at Coal- brooke Dale, 20; from the schistose rocks of North Cornwall, 225; in the tertiary strata of Murcia, 80; respecting some, from Cutch, ides state in which animal matter is found in, 672. Franconia and Hartz, notice of the ossi- ferous caves of, 94. Frankland (G. Esq.), a notice on Maria Island, east coast of Van Diemen’s Land, 415. Franklin (Major), notice of, in the obituary of the President’s Address for 1835, 146. Freshwater formation in Cerdagne, de- scribed, 21. Freshwater shells, notice of fossil, on Shotover Hill, 6; notice of recent, in gravel at Cropthorne, 95, Freyer (Lieut. ), on elevation of land, west coast of South America, 179. Fox (R. H, Esq.), on the formation of mineral veins, 406; on the process by which mineral veins have been filled, 539. Gailenruth caves, notice by Sir P. Egerton of the discovery in the, of the bones wanting to complete the osteology of the fossil bear, 95. Gamrie, on the ichthyolites, and the red conglomerates and sandstones of, 187. Geological cycles, observations on, 76. Giesecké (Sir C.), notice of, in the obituary of the President’s Address for 1834, 45. Glass, action of high-pressure steam on, 95. Gloucester and Birmingham railway, notes on the geology of the, 593. Gloucestershire, account of the upper formations of the new red system in, 563. Goldworth Hill, on the discovery of fossil fishes in the Bagshot sands at, 687. Goppert, account of his experiments on the process of lapidification of plants, 515. Gore Cliff, on a deposit containing re- cent land shells at, 449. Grant (Capt.), on the geology of Cutch, 525. Granite, account of the Dartmoor, 562. Granite veins, notice of, near Wastdale Head, and effects produced by, 1 Granite boulders, notice of, near Bridgenorth and Wenlock, 78. Granite rocks, notice of, on the north coast of the St. Lawrence, 4. Gravel, notice of, on the old red of Herefordshire, 77; on the occur- rence of, under granite in Guernsey, , BUS Gravel and alluvia, description of, in South Wales and Siluria, as distin- guished from a northern drift co- vering Lancashire, &c., 230. Great Runn, notice of, by Capt. Grant, 528. Greenland, notice respecting the sink- ing of part of the west coast of, 208. Greenough (G. B. Esq.), address on announcing the award of the Wol- laston Proceeds to M. Agassiz, 48; of the Wollaston Proceeds and Me- dal to Mr. Mantell, 142. Greenough (G. B. Esq.), Anniversary Address, 1834, 42; notice of Fel- lows deceased during 1833, Dr. Babington, 42; Dr. Berger, 44; Dr. Turnbull Christie, 45; Mr. Lansdown Guilding, 45; Sir Charles Giesecké, 45; Mr. Alex- ander Nimmo, 46; Mr. David Scott, 47; remark on the Society’s property, 47; announcement of Wollaston award to M. Agassiz, 48 ; remarks on papers treating on Home Geology read before the So- ciety during the past year, 49—51] ; on organic remains, 51; on Foreign Geology, 51—54; observations on the theory of elevation, 54—61; on the earthquake in Java, 1771, 56; in Chili, 1822, 56; on the change of level in the Baltic, 59; on central heat, 61—68; on refrigeration, 62— INDEX. 64; on the former temperature of the earth; 65; on * internal cavi- ties,” 66; on the theory of the in- jection of igneous rocks as an agent of elevation, 67; on the theory of Elie de Beaumont, 69; no proofs of one universal, temporary deluge, 69; on the importance of causes in actual operation, 70. Greenough (G. B. Esq.), Anniver- sary Address, 1835, 145; notice of the grant of rooms, 145; notice of Fellows deceased during 1834, 145; Mr. M. Culley, 145; Major Frank- lin, 146; Mr. Hardie, 146; re- marks on papers read during the past year, 147 ef seq.; notice of the earthquakes frequently felt near Chi- chester, 149; remarks on the Nun- eaton coal-field, 152; notice of Mr. EK. Hall’s map of Lancashire, 152; notice of Mr. Lea and Dr. Morton’s works on American Geology, 156; remarks on fossils common to the cretaceous and tertiary systems in the Pyrenees and America, 157 ; remarks on the greensand of the United States, 158; on the coal deposits of, 159; on the geological phenomena of the Bermudas, 160; observations on M. Agassiz’s ar- rangement of fossil fishes, 160; on the award of the Wollaston Proceeds to M. Agassiz, 161; remarks on Mr, Broderip’s table of the depths at which different shells are found, 162; on particular beds being distinguish- ed by particular fossils, 162; on the position assigned to the Bideford culm by My. W. Smith, 164; by Mr. De la Beche, 164; on the culm of the coast of Kerry, 164; on the theories proposed to account for the phenomena exhibited by the Temple of Serapis, 165; on Mr. Babbage’s, 165; notice of M. Hoffmann’s discovery, that Carrara marble is altered oolite, 168; re- marks on metamorphoses of rocks, 168; announcement of the award of the Royal Society's Royal Medal to Mr. Lyell, 169; notice of the 3rd edition of the Principles of Geology, 170; observations on Dr. Boase’s work on Primary Geology, 179; re- marks on slaty cleavage, 171; obser- vations on Mr. De la Beche’s Re- searches in Theoretical Geology, 172. Greensand, notice of, on the flanks of the Bovey basin, 585. Greensand and chalk, notice of fossil fishes in, 207. Grés bigarré, account of, in Glou- 697 cestershire, Worcestershire,and War- wickshire, 563. Griffith (R. Esq.), on syenite veins in mica-slate and chalk at Torr HEs- kert, 223. Guernsey, on recent elevations in, 577; on gravel under granite in, 578. Guilding (Mr. L.), notice of, in the obituary of the President’s Address for 1834, 45. Gwinfe, notice of polished masses of limestone near, 11. Hall (Capt. B.), on the want of per- pendicularity in the standing pillars of the Temple of Serapis, 114. Hamilton (W. J. Esq.), description of a bed of recent marine shells near Elie, 180; on part of Asia Minor, 651. Hamilton (W. J. Esq.) and Strick- land (H. C. Hsq.), account of a tertiary deposit near Lixouri, 545. Hampstead, observations ona wellat,93. Hardie (Mr.), notice of, in the obituary of the President’s Address for 1835, 146. Harrington coal-field, account of, 420. Hartz and Franconia, notice of the ossiferous caves of, 94. Hassan Dagh, account of, 651. Hastings, account of coast section near, 1. Hastings sand, notice of, near St. Leonard’s, &c., 2. Hatch pond, notice ofa peat bog at, 600. Haughmond Hill, trap rocks of, 86. Hennah (Rev. W. P.), account of specimen from Ascension, 189. Henry (W., M.D.), notice of, in the obituary of the President’s Address for 1837, 479. Herne Bay, account of the strata near, 79, Herschel (Sir J. F. W.) on pheno- mena connected with the internal temperature of the earth, 548, 596. Hindoo Koosh, structure of part of, 9. Hoffmann (Prof.), notice of, in the obituary of the President’s Address for 1837, 479; discoveries of, re- specting Carrara marble, 168. Hope’s Nose, account of raised beach at, 102, 584. Horderly and May Hill rocks, notice of, 14; fossils found in, table, 13. Horner (Ll. Esq.), on the quantity of solid matter suspended in the waters of the Rhine, 71. Horse, coffin-bone of, from shingle bed, Brighton, described, 203. Horses’ hoofs, impressions resembling, in sandstone, 439. Hot springs, on the banks of the Indus, 9. 698 Huantaxaya, account of the mines at, 598. Hunter’s River, notes on the geology of the country between, and More- ton Bay, 109. Hunton (L. Esq.), on the upper lias and marlstone of Yorkshire, 416. Huronia, characters of, described, 689. Ice, observations on transporting pow- ers of, as applicable to the boulders in Lancashire, 335; on the transpor- tation of rocks by, 223. Ichthyolites, notice of, from the North Statfordshire coal-field, 202. Tchthyosauri, on a peculiarity of struc- ture in the neck of, 192; on the dis- location of the tail of, 660. India, on the eastern portion of the ereat basaltic district of, 579. Indus, notices of the geology of the banks of the, 8. Tsles de Los, notice of, 188. Jelly (Rev. H.), notice of fossil fresh- water shells found by, on Shotover Hill, 6. Jephson (C. D. O. Esq.), on a thermal spring at Mallow, 76. Jersey, on recent elevations in, 577. Jutland, on recent elevations in, 577. Kander, notice on the delta of the, 76. Katsgrove pits, notice of the, 72. Kelloway rock, notice of, on the coast of Yorkshire, 671. Ketley fault, Coalbrooke Dale, notice of, 19. Keuper, account of, in Gloucestershire, Worcestershire, and Warwickshire, 563. Keuper sandstone, on the occurrence of, in England, 453. Kinlet, notice of the trap of, 92. Kodj-hissar, account of the salt lake of, 652. Lacustrine deposits, notice of, in Suf- folk, 533. La Estéla to Céret, notice of a section from, 22. Lahore, notice of earthquake at, 9. Lake, account of a supposed ancient one in North America, 537. Lakes, account of obliterated lakes in the Pyrenees, 22. Lancashire coal-field, notice of fossil fishes in, 571. Land-shells, recent, on a deposit con- taining, at Gore Cliff, 449, Laurence (Lieut.), on the sea-water flowing into Cephalonia, 393. Leigh (J. Esq.), and Binney (E. W. Esq.), on red marl containing fossil shells at Collyhurst, 391. Level, notice of change of, between sea and Jand, in the St. Lawrence, 5; INDEX. on west coast of Scotland, 427; in Denmark within the historical period, 554; alternate elevation and depres- sion, accounted for, by increased tem- perature in strata differently com- posed, 75. Lias, on an outlier of, on the border of Cheshire, 114; on a deposit on the coast of Banffshire, formerly con- sidered to be, 545. Lias fossils, on the existence of, in Western Africa, 415; distribution of, in Yorkshire, 82. Lias, lower, on the, between Glouces- ter and Worcester, 115. Lias, upper, and marlstone of York- shire, accouut of, 416. Library, reports on, 1834, 25; 1835, 125; 1836, 339; 1837, 462; 1838, 605. Lickey quartz rock, account of, altered Caradoc sandstone, 411. Lignite, account of, in the freshwater formation in Cerdagne, 21. Lilleshall Hill, notice of trap rocksof, 85. Limestone fault, Coalbrooke Dale, no- tice of, 19. Limestone,transition, account of a band of, in the greywacke near Wastdale Head, Westmoreland, 1. Lindley (Prof.), on the plants found in the anthracite shale near Biddeford, 106, note. Linksfield, account of wealden strata at, 667. Linley Gill, trap rocks of, 86. © Lixouri, account of a tertiary deposit near, 545. Llandegley, Llandrindod, and Builth, trap rocks of, noticed, 89. Llandrindod, trap rocks of, 89. Loess, description of the, in the Rhine valley, 83; conclusions respecting the, 84; on fossil vertebre of the shark family in the, 221. London clay, section of a well in, at Hampstead, 94; account of mineral waters of, 583; notice of, in Suf- folk, 529. Longmynd and Gwastaden _ notice of, 14. Longmynd, Linley, Pontesford, and Haughmond Hills, notice of the trap rocks of, 86. Lorca, account of the tertiary forma- tions near, 80. Lovers’ Seat, notice of coast near, 2. Ludlow rocks, description of, 13; in the Dudley coal-field, 409; fossils found in, table, 13. Lyell (C. Esq.), on a freshwater for- mation in Cerdagne, 21; signs of obliterated lakes in Pyrenees, 22 ; on rocks, INDEX. the loess of the Rhine, 83; conclu- sions respecting that deposit, 84; on fossil vertebrze of the shark family in the loess, 221; on the cretaceous and tertiary strata of the Danish islands of Seeland and Moen, 191. Lyell (C.lsq.), address on announcing the award of the Wollaston Me- dal to M. Agassiz, 354; of £25 to M. Deshayes, 355; of Wollaston Medals to Capt. Cautley and Dr. Falconer, 476. Lyell (C. Esq.), Anniversary Address, 1836, 357; notice of Fellows de- ceased during 1835, Mr. Goodhall, Mr. Mammett, 357; notice of Mr. De la Beche’s appointment of Ord- nance Geological Surveyor, 358; observations on Dr. Macculloch’s Geological Map of Scotland and System of Geology, 358; remarks on Prof. Sedgwick’s paper on changes of structure produced in stratified rocks after deposition, 359; on Mr. Murchison’s Silurian System, 361; on Mr. De la Beche’s trap rocks, contemporaneous with the new red of Devonshire, 363; on the Faxoe beds, and comparison of them with the Bermuda strata, 565; account of the clifts of Moén, 366; remarks on M. Agassiz’s discoveries in fossil ichthyology, 371; observations on the crag, and Mr. Charlesworth’s subdivisions, 372 ; on the earthquake in Chili, 1835, 373; in 1822, 376; on the subsidence of part of the coast of Greenland, 379; on the rise of part of the coast of Sweden, 379; on the probable cause of, 380 ; remarks on Mr. Babbage’s theory, 380; no- tice of Dr. Beck’s paper on Den- mark, and of the beds of recent shells near Uddevalla, &c., 380; on the transport of boulders by ice, on the coast of the Baltic, 381, 383; on the lakes of Canada and the St. Lawrence, 382; off Newfoundland, 382; remarks on the boulders of the Alps, 382; on M. Charpentier’s and M. Venetz’s theory, 382; notice of the occurrence of icebergs in low latitudes, 383; observations on the process by which the Baltic blocks were detached from the parent rocks, 383; on the supposed power of earthquake waves and hurricanes in moving large boulders, 384; on the effects of insensible elevatory movements in raising above the level of the ocean, boulders deposited from icebergs, 384 ; remarks on Mr, Mur- chison’s distinction between local 699 drift and northern drift, 385; on changes in relative level of land and sea in modern times, 386; on the loess of the Rhine, 387; on the dirt bed of Portland, 388 ; on the level of the Caspian, 389; on the rapid growth of geological researches, 390. Lyell! (C. Esq.), Anniversary Address, 1837, 479; notice of Fellows de- ceased, Dr. Henry, 479; Prof. Hoff- mann, 479; Baron D. de Férussac, 481; remarks on papers read during the past year, Home geology, 482; carboniferous series, 483, 490; on the irregular direction of grooves in slickensides, 483; the effects pro- duced by vibrations in fissured walls during earthquakes, 484; the causes which may produce alternately fresh- water and marine strata, 484 ; obser- vations on Dr. Fitton’s explanation of the effects of dome-shape masses, 486; Mr. Hopkins’ theory of trans- verse faults, 487; notice of Prof. Phillips’ second part of the Illus- trations of Yorkshire, 488 ; remarks on the structure of Devonshire, 489; on the coal-measure plants found in the Biddeford culm, 491; on Mr. De la Beche’s views respecting the age of the culm, 493; on the occur- rence of coal-measure plants in rocks older than the coal measures on the continent, 493; observations on Prof. Studer’s map of the Bernese High- lands, 495; on the occurrence of keuper in England, 496; on the classification of the plastic clay, 496; on mineral veins, 497; respecting M. Fournet’s treatise on, 498: Fo- reign geolozy, 499; remarks on Mr. Strickland’s and Mr. Hamilton’s dis- coveries in Asia Minor, 499; on Mr. Clarke’s paper on the Cotentin, 501: Proofs of modern elevation and sub- sidence, notices respecting memoirs treating on, 501, in England, 501, South America, 505, Sweden, 506 ; argument that beds of gravel called diluvium were not accumulated by any violent flood, 507: Organic re- mains, Observations on papers con- nected with, 508; on the discoveries of Captain Cautleyand Dr. Falconer, 508; Mr. Darwin, 510; on the range of fossil shells, 513; on the . state of fossil plants, 514; account of the experiments of Prof. Goppert, 515; of Prof. Ehrenberg’s disco- veries in fossil Infusoria, 5)6; re- marks on Dr. Buckland’s Bridge- water Treatise, 517; objections to the doctrine that, by the aid of geolo- 700 gical monuments, the history of the earth can be traced back anterior to the creation of organic beings, 521. Lytchett, notice of peat bogs in the parish of, 601. M‘Cleland (Dr.), on the geology of part of Upper Assam, 566. Magnesian limestone, notice of fossil fishes in, 207. Main or Leightmore fault, Coalbrooke Dale, notice of, 19. Malcolmson (G. J. Esq.), on the east- ern portion of the great basaltic district of India, 579; pbysical fea- tures, 579; geological structure, 580; thermal springs and mineral waters, 583; on the occurrence of wealden strata at Linksfield, on re- mains of fishes in the old red sand- stone near Hlgin, and on raised beaches along the adjacent coast, 667. Mallow, notice of athermal spring at, 76. Malvern and Abberley Hills, notice of, 15; description of the trap rocks of, ON: Mammalia, notice of, found in the oyster bed opposite Swale Cliff, 79; in the Sewalik Hills, 395; account of the deposits in the neighbourhood of the Plata containing extinct, 542; bones of fossil, associated with fresh- water shells of existing species near Cropthorne, 111. Mantell (G. Esq.), on the bones of birds from the strata of Tilgate Forest, 203; account of a coffin-bone of a horse, from the shingle bed, Brighton, 203; Wollaston Medal and balance of Proceeds awarded to, 124, 142. Maria Island, Van Diemen’s Land, notice of, 415. Mariano Rivero, notice of his views respecting changes of level on coast of Chili, 446. Marine shells, on gravel containing recent, at the Willington, 189; at Narley Bank, 415; near Shrews- bury, 200; near Elie, 180; in cer- tain elevated hills of gravel in the vicinity of Dublin, 435. Marlstone, and upper lias of York- shire, account of, 4]6. Masanet, volcanic rocks of Olot do not extend to, 22. Mastodon, tooth of a, from the crag at Thorp, 417. May Hill, notice of, 15. Mazunderan, geological notes on, 591. Mendip Hills, notice of several ravines and fractures in the, 79; supposed relative age of bone caves of, 80. Mineral masses, on the structure of large, 181. INDEX. Mineral veins, on the formation of, 406; on the process by which they have been filled, 539. Mineral waters, nature of, in the island of St. Paul, 112; in Zante, 573; in Southern India, 583; in Worcester- shire, 594; analysis of, near Oxford, 204. Mines, account of the, at Huantaxaya, 598. Mingan Islands, geological structure of, 4; succession of shingle beaches on the, 5. Missouri, sketch of formations on the banks of the, 104. Mitchell (Dr.), sections of quarries at Quainton and Brill, 6; on the cliff at Reculver, 7; on a well at Beau- mont Green, 551; on the chalk and flints of Yorkshire compared with the chalk and flints of the south of En- gland, 113. Moén, on the cretaceous and tertiary strata of, 191. Monkey, on remains of, discovered in the Sewalik Hills, 544, 568. Montgomeryshire, notice of trap rocks of, 85. Moore (Mr.), on the earthquake in Syria, Jan. 1837, 540. Moreton Bay, notes on the geology of the country between Hunter’s River and, 109; remarks on the geology of the Bay, 110. Morris (Mr. J.), on the strata usually termed plastic clay, 450; coast sec- tion from White Cliff Lodge to the Cliff’s end, 595. Mortlake, on an artesian well at, 449. Mould, on the formation of, 574. Mount Argeus, account of, 653. Mountain chains, on the elevation of, by the action of existing causes, 75 ; observations on, as effects of conti- nental elevations, 654. Mudge (Capt.), on the ossiferous caves of Yealm Bridge, 399. Mula, Spain, account of tertiary strata near, 81. Munster coal, not transition, 118. Murchison (R. I. Esq.), on the old red of Herefordshire, Brecknock- shire, and Carmarthenshire, and on the dislocations of the north-west margin of the South Welsh coal basin, 11; on the structure and classification of the rocks beneath the old red sandstone in Shropshire, &c., 13; on the gravel and alluvium on the old red of Herefordshire, &c., 77; referred to three epochs, 78; on the Southstone rock, 78; on certain trap rocks in Shropshire, &c., 85; INDEX. on an outlier of lias on the border of Cheshire, and the lower lias between Gloucester and Worcester, 114; on the new red sandstone series in Shropshire, &c., 115; on certain coal tracts in Shropshire, Worcester, and Gloucestershire, 119; on cer- tain lines of elevation and dislocation of the new red sandstone of North Salop and Staffordshire, with an ac- count of trap dykes in that formation at Acton Reynolds near Shrews- bury, 193; on fossil fishes in the new red sandstone at Tyrone, 206; on the Silurian rocks, &c. of Pem- brokeshire, 226; on the gravel and alluvia of South Wales and Siluria as distinguished from a northern drift covering Lancashire, Cheshire, North Salop, and parts of Worcester and Gloucestershire, 230; on the Dudley and Wolverhampton coal- field, and the Lickey quartz rock, 407; on the existence of lias fossils in Africa, 415; on the Oar’s rock, 686. Murchison (Rt. I. Esq.) and Sedgwick (Rev. A.), on the physical structure of Devonshire, and on the subdi- visions and geological relaticus of its old stratified deposits, 556. Murchison (R. I. Esq.) and Strickland (H. E. Esq.), on the upper forma- tions of the new red system in Glou- cestershire, Worcestershire, and War- wickshire, 563. Murcia, account of the tertiary forma- tions of, 80. Museum, donations to, during 1833, 28; 1834, 129; 1835, 341; 1836, 463; 1837, 607. Museum Committee, reports of, 1834, QAP NSS 5 OA MSG sous w leony 460; 1838, 604. Narley Bank, on a bed of recent marine shells, at 415. Nelson (Lieut. ), on the Bermudas, 81. Newent, notice of the coal-field of, 121. New red marl, notice of a fault in the lias and, 5. New red sandstone series, account of in Shropshire, &c., 115; divisions of into red and green maris, 116; red sandstone and conglomerates, 116 ; calcareous conglomerates, 116; and lower new red sandstone, 117; on lines of elevation and dislocation of the,in North Salop and Staffordshire, 193; on the trappean rocks associated with, in Devonshire, 196; account of fossil fishes in, near Tyrone, 206; geographicai arrangement of, in the south-east of Devonshire, 585; de- 701 scription of, in Worcestershire, &c., 563. Nimmo (Mr. A.), notice of, in the obituary of the President’s Address for 1834, 46. Nitrogen, observation on, in thermal and mineral springs, 178. Normandy, on the geology of the coast of, 546. North America, some facts in the geo- logy of the central and western por- tions of, 103. North American continent, on the an- cient state of, 537. North Devon : see Devonshire. Northern drift, account of, in Lanca- shire, Cheshire, &c., 335. Northampton (Marquis of), on Spiroli- nites, 685. North Foreland, notice of coast section from Whitstable to the, 78. North Staffordshire coal-field, notice of Ichthyolites from the, 202. North Wales, sections in, 679; groups of rocks composing, 679. Oar’s Rock, notice respecting, 686. Obituary of Fellows deceased, during 1833, 42; 1834, 145; 1835, 357% 1836, 479; 1837, 626. Obsidian, notice of, from Real del Monte, 686. Officers and Council, list of, for 1834, 40; 1835, 144; 1836, 356; 1837, 477+ 1838, 622, Old Radnor, trap rocks of, 88 ; line of elevation produced by, 16. Old red sandstone, structure of, in Herefordshire, Brecknockshire, and Carmarthenshire, 11; table, 13; dis- locations of, 12; account of, in Pembrokeshire, 227; notice of trap rocks traversing, 91; of fossil fishes in, 207; synopsis of the English se- ries of stratified rocks inferior to the, 675. Olot, no traces of modern volcanos near, 22. Oolitic formations, distribution of fos- sils in the, of Yorkshire, 429. Oolitic series, notice of fossil fishes in, 207. Ophiura Egertoni, description of, 202. Organic remains : see Fossils. Ormoceras, characters of, described, 689, Orthocerata, on some species of, 688. Owen (R. Esq.), Wollaston Medal and balance of Proceeds awarded to, 604, 624; reply of, on receiy- ing the Medal, 621; on the Toxodon Platensis, 541 : on the dislocation of the tail of Ichthyosauri, 660; on the Plesiosaurus macrocephalus, 663. 702 Oxford, analysis of mineral spring near, 204. Oxford clay, notice of, on the coast of Yorkshire, 671. Oxus, notices respecting, 10; of the country between the, and Bokhara, 10. Pacific, historical notices of earthquake- waves on the coast of the, 214. Paleoniscus catoplerus, notice of, in new red sandstone, Tyrone, 206. Paleosaurus, notice of, 398. Palzozoic series, enumeration of, 685. Pamiers to Puycerda, notice of a sec- tion from, 22. Papers, list of, read between Feb, 27, 1833, and Feb. 5, 1834, 33; Feb. 6, 1854, and Feb. 4, 1835, 135; Feb. 25, 1835, and Feb. 3, 1836, 346; Feb. 24, 1836, and Feb. 1, 1837, 469; Feb. 22, 1837, and Jan. 31, 1838, 613. Parish (Sir W.), notice of fossils found at St. Leonard’s, 3; of specimens from Bognor, 114; on earthquake- waves on the coast of the Pacific, 914. Peat bogs, account of, at Bournmouth, and near Poole, 592. Pegwell Bay, account of coast section in, 595. Peile (W. Esq.) and Sedgwick (Rev. A.), on the coal-fields on the north- west coast of Cumberland, 419. Pembrokeshire, on the Silurian rocks, &c. of, 226. Penrhyn slate quarries, notice of a trap dyke in the, 449. Pingel (Dr.), notice respecting the gradual sinking of part of west coast of Greenland, 208. Plata, on the deposits containing ex~- tinct mammalia in the neighbour- hood of the, 542. Plastic clay, notice of, at Reading, 72; near Herne Bay, 79; in Suf- folk, 529; section of, at Bishop- stone, 222; on the strata usually termed, 450. Plesiosaurus Hawkinsii, points of dif- ference between and P. dolichodeirus, 6638. Plesiosaurus macrocephalus, description of Lord Cole’s specimen, 663. Pontesford Hill, trap rocks of, 86. Poole, notice of peat bogs near, 599. Porphyry, notice of, in the south-east of Devonshire, 587. Portland strata, account of the junction of the, with the Purbeck strata, on the coast of Dorsetshire, 185. Porto d’ Anzio, on tertiary beds near, Dilile ‘ INDEX. Pratt (S. P. Esq.), on the geology of the coast of Normandy, 546. Prestwich (J. Esq.), on some of the faults of the coal-field of Coalbrooke Dale, 18; on the geology of that coal-field, 401; on the Ichthyolites of Gamrie, and on the accompanying red conglomerates and sandstones, 187; on elevations of the coast of Banffshire, and on a deposit formerly considered to be lias, 545. Puffstone cf Spouthouse and South- stone rock, account of, 78. Purbeck strata, account of the junction of the, with the Portland, on the coast of Dorsetshire, 185. Puycerda to Pamiers, notice of a sec= tion from, 22. Pyrenees, account of two sections through the, 22; from Pamiers to Puycerda, and from La Estéla to Céret, 22 ; notice of obliterated lakes in the, 22. Quainton, section of quarries at, 6. Quicksilver, nature of ores of, from San Onofre, 656. Radiata, fossil, description of, from Lyme Regis, 201. Radnorshire, trap of, described, 88. Raised beaches, notice of, cut through in draining Loch Spynie, 669; ob- servations on, by Prof. Sedgwick and Mr. Murchison, 443; account of, in Barnstaple Bay, 441, 553; account of, at Hope’s Nose, 102; in the south-east of Devonshire, 584. Ranley fault, Coalbrooke Dale, notice of, 19. Reading, on the geology of the neigh- bourhood of, 72. Reculver Cliff, on the structure of, 7 ; chronological account of changes near, 7. Red mar], notice of fault in, between Breden Hill and Inkberrow, 6; ac- count of, containing shells, at Colly- hurst, 391. Red sandstone, saliferous, account of, in North America, 104 Red sandstones and conglomerates of Gamrie, account of, 187. Red sandstone and diamond breccia, description of, in Southern India, 581. Reptile, notice of remains of a gigantic one near Buckingham, 190. Rhine, on the quantity of solid matter suspended in the waters of the, 71; description of the loess of the, 83; conclusions respecting the deposit, 84, : Richardson (W. Esq.), notice of the INDEX. coast section from Whitstable to the North Foreland, 78; on the plastic clay at Bishopstone, 222; on an ar- tesian well at Mortlake, 449, Riley (H., M.D.) and Stuchbury (Mr. S.), on saurian remains in magnesian conglomerate of Durdham Downs, 397. Rio Nunez, on geology of the banks of the, 188. Rocky Mountains, notice of their struc- ture, 103. Rofe (J. Esq.), on the neighbourhood of Reading, 72. Rogers (D. Esq.), some facts in the geology of the central and western portions of North America, 103. Roy (T. Esq.), on the ancient state of the North American continent, 537. Royle (J. F., M.D.), reply of, on re- ceiving the Wollaston Medals award- ed to Capt. Cautley and Dr. Fal- coner, 477. San Onofre, notice of quicksilver ores from, 686. St. Lawrence, on the geology of the north coast, 4; the sonth coast, 5; proofs of change of level on the coast and islands of the, 5. St. Leonard’s, account of coast section near, t ; notice of fossils found near, 3; of a submarine forest near, 3. St. Paul’s, on a mineral water from the Island of, 112. St. Vincent’s Rocks, Bristol, notice of fractures in, 80. Santa Maria, notice of the elevation of, 209. Saliferous red sandstone, account of, in North America, 104. Salt Lake, North America, notice of the position of, 105; account of the, of Kodj-hissar, 652. Salt range on the Indus, notice of, 9. Saurian remains, account of, in the magnesian conglemerate, on Durd- ham Downs, 112, 397. Scotland, indications of relative change of level of land and sea on the west coast of, 427. Scott (Mr. D.), notice of, in the obi- tuary of the President’s Address for 1834, 47. Scouler (J., M.D.), on certain elevated hills of gravel, containing marine shells, in the vicinity of Dublin, Aone Sedgwick (Prof.), on a band of trans- ition limestone, and en granite veins in greywacke slate, near Shap Wells and Wastdale Head, 1; on the structure of large mineral masses, and on the chemical changes pro- 703 duced in the ageregation of stratified rocks during different periods after their deposition, 181; on the carbo- niferous limestone flanking the pri- mary Cumbrian mountains, and on the coal-felds of the north-west coast ot Cumberland, 198; synopsis of the English series of stratified rocks in- ferior to the old red sandstone, with an attempt to determine the succes~ sive natural groups and formations, 675; conclusions, 683. Sedgwick (Rev. A.) and Murchison (R. I. Esq.), on a raised beach in Barnstaple Bay, 441; on the physical structure of Devonshire, and on the subdivisions and geological relations of its old stratified deposits, 556. Sedgwick (Rev. A.) and Peile (W. Esq.), on the coal-fields on the north- west coast of Cumberland, 419. Sedimentary matter, deposition of, a possible agent in elevating conti- nents, &c., 75. Seeland, on the cretaceous and tertiary strata of, 191. Serapis: see Temple of Serapis. Sewalik Hills, on remains of mammalia in the, 395; on the discovery of bones of quadrumana in the, 544, 568. Shap granite, notice of its intersecting a band of limestone, 1. Shap Wells, notice of a band of trans- ition limestone near, 1. Shark family, on fossil vertebre of the, in the loess of the Rhine, 221. Shatterford, notice of the trap dyke of, 92. Shelve, Corndon, &c., account of the trap rocks of, 86. Shingle beaches, notice of a succession in the Mingan Islands, 5. Shingle bed, Brighton, described, 203. Shotovyer Hill, fossil freshwater shells found on, 6. Shrewsbury, on the upper coal mea- sures with freshwater limestone near, 118; account of recent marine shells in gravel near, 200. Shropshire, notice of Silurian rocks in, 13; account of the new red sand- stone system of, 115; description of the western coal-field of, 119; the central and southern, 120; on lines of elevation and dislocation of the new red sandstone in the north of, 193. Shropshire and Montgomeryshire, ac- count of the trap rocks of, 85. Silurian System, table of, 13; notices of rocks composing the, 13; strike of beds, 16; fossil fishes of, 207. Silurian rocks, account of, in Pem- 704 brokeshire, 226, 228; the Dudley coal-field, 408; the north coast of Denbighshire, 666. Silverdale, section of beds in the coal- pit of, 202. Silvertop (Brigadier), on the tertiary formation of Murcia, 80. Slate, notice of change produced on, by granite veins, near Wastdale Head, 1. Smee (Mr. A.), on the state in which animal matter is found in fossils, 672. Smee (Capt.), notice of fossils collected in Cutch by, 77. Smith (J. Esq.), on indications of re- lative change of level of land and sea on the west coast of Scotland, 427. Smith (Mr. W.), notice of the position assigned to the Biddeford culm by, 164. Smyrna, on the geology of the neigh- bourhood of, 538. South America (Lieut. Freyer), on ele- vation of land, west coast of, 179; geological notes on, by Mr. Darwin, 210; Mr. Darwin’s account of earth- quake-phenomena in, 654, South-east of Devonshire: see Devon- shire. Southstone Rock, account of the tra- vertine of, 78. Sowerby (Mr. J.), on the genus. Tro- peum, 535. Spencer (i. Esq.), on the diluvium of the vicinity of Finchley, 181. Special General Meeting, Resolutions passed by, respecting defaulters, 407 ; to elect two Secretaries, 443. Spirolinites, account of, in chalk and chalk flints, 685. Spouthouse Farm, notice of travertine near, 78. Staffordshire, on lines of elevation and dislocation of the new red sandstone in the north of, 193. ; Steam, action of high-pressure, on glass, 95. Stevens (Mr.), on the sea-water flow- ing into Cephalonia, 393. Stiper stones, quartz rock of, altered Caradoc sandstone, 87. Stokes (C. Hsq.), on partially petrified wood from a Roman aqueduct, 418, 440; onsome species of Orthocerata, 688. Stonesfield slate, on a fossil wing of a neuropterous insect in the, 688. Stratified rocks, on chemical changes in the aggregation of, during different periods after their deposition, 181; two classes of, inferior to the old red sandstone, 676. Strickland (H, E, Esq.), on the new INDEX. red of Worcestershire, 5; on fresh- water shells of existing species be- neath gravel near Cropthorne, 95; additional observations, 117; on the currents of sea-water which flow into the island of Cephalonia, 220; sketch of the geology of western part of Asia Minor, 423; on the geology of the Thracian Bosphorus, 437; the neighbourhood of Smyrna, 538 ; on the island of Zante, 572 ; on dykes of calcareous grit at Ethie, 654. Strickland (H. E. Esq.) and Hamilton W. J. Esq.), account of a tertiary deposit near Lixouri, 545. Strickland (H. KE. Esq.) and Murchi- son (R. I. Esq.), on the upper part of the new red system in Gloucester- shire, &c., 563. Strike, prevailing direction of,in Shrep- shire, &c., 16. s Structure, globular concretionary, in rocks, account of, 182; slaty, 183; jointed, 184. Stuchbury (Mr. S.) and Riley (H., M.D.), on saurian remains in mag- nesian conglomerate of Durdham Down, 397. Sturt (Capt.), notice of specimens col- lected by, in Australia, 111. Suffolk, on the crag of part of, 195; on the geology of, 528; conclusions de- duced from its structure, 534. Submarine forest, notice of one near St. Leonard’s, 3; at Bournmouth, 599. Subsidence, on certain areas of, in the Pacific and Indian Oceans, 552. Swale Cliff, notice of mammalia found in the oyster-bed opposite, 79. Syenite veins, account of, in mica slate and chalk, at Torr Eskert, 223, Sykes (Col.), account of Cutch fossils, 77; of the cliffs near Ballybunion, 394, Syria, on the earthquake in, Jan. 1837, 540. Table of deposits beneath the coal measures in Herefordshire, &c., 18. Taylor (J. Esq.), on a well at Diss, 933; on quicksilver ores from San Onofre, 686. Temperature, observations on incre- ment of, by deposition of sedimentary matter, 75 ; on phenomena connected with the earth’s internal, 548, 596. Temple of Serapis, account of pheno- mena presented by, 73; proofs of changes of level in vicinity of, 74; change of level explainable by de- crease ana increase of temperature in the subjacent strata, 75; notice of want of perpendicularity in the standing pillars of, 114; observations INDEX. by Mr. Greenough on the pheno- mena presented by, 165. Tertiary deposits, notice of, in Cutch, 526; near Lixouri, 545; in Murcia, 80; near Porto d’ Anzio, 577; in Southern India, 581; south-east of Devonshire, 584; Zante, 572; ac- count of, in Southern India, 581. Tertiary freshwater formation at Cer- dagne, described, 21. Tertiary and cretaceous strata, account of, in Moen and Seeland, 191. Thanks, votes of, to the retiring Officers and Members of Council, 1834, 40; 1835, 143; 1836, 355; 1837, 477; 1838, 622. Thecodontosaurus, notice of, 398. Thermal spring, notice of, at Mallow, 763; at the base of the Rocky Moun- tains, 105; at Torre del Annunciata, 177, 178; in Campania, 178; in Southern India, 583. Thorp, notice of a tooth of a Mastodon from the crag of, 417. Thracian Bosphorus, on the geology of the, 437. Thun, lake, notice of the delta formed in, by the Kander, 76. Tilgate Forest, fossil birds’ bones from, described, 203. Titterstone Clee Hills, account of the trap rocks of, 91. Torr Eskert, on syenite veins in mica slate and chalk at, 223. Torre del Annunciata, on the volca- nie strata and thermal spring near, Nii Totana, notice of the tertiary deposit of, 81. Toxodon Platensis, description of, 541. Transactions and Memoirs, list of, in the Library, Feb. 1835, 126. Transition rocks, structure and classi- fication of, in Shropshire, &c., 13. Transition systems, subdivisions of, in the south-east of Devonshire, 586, Trap dykes, notice of, in the new red sandstone at Acton Reynolds, 194; in the Penrhyn slate quarries, 449. Trap rocks, notice of, in Shropshire, 85, 91; Montgomeryshire, 85 ; Rad- norshire, 88; Brecknockshire, 90; Caermarthenshire, 90; conclusions respecting, 92; notice of, in Deyon- shire, 102; in the south-east of De- vonshire, 587; in Pembrokeshire, 229; the Dudley coal-field, 412. Trap rocks, on the, associated with the new red sandstone of Devonshire, 196. Travertine, description of large masses near Tenbury, 78. Trevelyan (W. C, Esq.), on recent 105 elevations in Guernsey, Jersey, and Jutland, and on tertiary beds near Porto d’ Anzio, 577. Trimmer (J. Esq.), on the occurrence of recent marine shells in grayel near Shrewsbury, 200. Tropzum, on the new genus so called by Mr. Sowerby, 535. Turner (Dr.), on the action of high- pressure steam on glass, 95; allu- sion to the death of, 477, 514; notice of the event in the obituary of the President’s Address, 1838, 626. Tyrone, fossil fishes in new red sand- stone of, described, 206. Upper Assam, on the geology of part of, 566. Upper sandstone and shale, notice of, on the coast of Yorkshire, 671. Valparaiso, observations on the earth- quake of 1822, 213. Valuation Society, Property, Dec. 31, 1833, 38; 1834, 140; 1835, 352; 1836, 474; 1837, 617. Veins of segregation, St. Moor, 185. Vertebra, Mr. Owen on the elementary composition of, 663; on the, of Ple- siosauri, 664. Volcanos, observations on, as effects of continental elevations, 654, Volcanic mounds, account of, on the Columbia, 105, Volcanic phenomena, on the connexion of, and on mountain chains and vol- canos as effects of continental eleva- tions, 654. Volcanic rocks, account of, in Cutch, 527s Von Hoff (K. E. A.), notice of, in the obituary of the President’s Address, 1838, 630. Walpole (Col.), on assumed change of level in Chili, 446. Warwickshire, account of the upper formations of the new red system in, 563. Washfield, near Tiverton, account of connexion of the trap rocks with the new red sandstone at, 198. Wastdale Head, notice of granite veins in greywacke slate near, 1; andofa band of limestone, 1. Watcombe fault, notice of, 102. Weaver (S. Esq.), on the age of the Munster coal, 118 ; on the geological relations of North Devon, 589. Wenlock limestone of the Dudley coal- field described, 409. Wenlock rocks, notice of, 14; fossils found in, table, 13. Wenlock and Coalbrooke Dale, notice of the trap rocks of, 92, Austell’s 706 r - 2 Wetherell (N. Esq.), observations on. a well at Hampstead, 93. Whewell (Rev. W.), address on pre- senting the Wollaston Medal to Prof. Owen, 621; Anniversary Address, Feb. 16, 1838, 624; observations on the state of the Society, 624; on the award of the Wollaston Medal to Mr. Owen, 624; notice of Fellows deceased during the year, Dr. Tur- ner, 626; Rev. W. Farish, 628; Mr. Colebrook, 629; Von Hoff, 630; _ geology divided into descriptive geo- logy and geological dynamics, 632: Descriptive Geology, observations on papers on Home or North European geology, 633; Devonshire, with re- marks on the value of organic re- mains, 634, 636; arbitrary numerical characters in fossils lead to violations of nature’s-classifications, 6373 re- marks on change of relative level, 538: Foreign Geology, notices of Mr. Hamilton and Mr. Strickland’s re- searches in Asia Minor, 640; of Capt. Grant's in Cutch, 641; Mr. Malcolmson’sin India, 641 ; remarks on the discovery of fossil quadrumana in India and France, and on the hi- story of man, 641; on Mr. Darwin’s discoveries in South America, 642: Geological Dynamics, 643; on ele- vations and depressions of large areas in connexion with Mr. Dar- win’s views, 643; on mineral veins, 645; on the application of mathe- matics to geology, 645 ; observations on Sir J. Herschel’s and Mr. Bab- bage’s theories respecting isothermal surfaces, 646; on the present con- dition and future prospects of the ° Society, 648. Whitehaven coal-field, account of, 420. White rock near Hastings,account of,2. Whitstable to the North Foreland, no- tice of the coast section, 78. Williams (Rev. D.), notice of several ravines and fractures in the Mendip Hills, 79; on saurian remains found INDEX. . near Bristol in dolomitic conglome- rate, 112; on the raised beaches in Barnstaple Bay, 535. Williamson (W. C. Esq.), on the fos- sils of the lias of Yorkshire, 82; dis- tribution of organic remains in the oolitic formations on the coast of Yorkshire, 429, 671; on fossil fishes in the Lancashire coal-field, 571. Willington, on a bed of gravel con- taining recent marine shells at the, 189. Wollaston Donation Fund, award of, 1834, 24, 48; 1835, 124; 1836, 337, 354; 1837, 459, 476; 1858, 604. Wollaston Medal, presentation of, to Mr. Mantell, 1835, 124, 142; M. Agassiz, 1836, 337, 354; Capt. Cautley and Dr. Falconer, 1827, 459, 476; Mr. Owen, 1838, 621. Wolverhampton and Dudley coal-field, account of the, 4475 principal lines of dislocation, 413. Wood, account of, partially petrified, from a Roman aqueduct, 418, 440. Woolhope Valley of Elevation, de- scription of, 15. Worcestershire, account of the upper formations of the new red system in, 563. Workington coal-field, account of, 421. Wrekin, notice of, 85. Wright (R. Esq.), on the Brown Clee Hill, 7. Wright (J. R. Esq.), on the country near Daventry, 415. Wyatt (J. Esq.), notice of a trap dyke in the Penrhyn slate quarries, 449. Yealm Bridge, on the ossiferous caves of, 399. Yorkshire, chalk and flints of, com- pared with the chalk and flints of south of England, 113 ; account of upper lias and marlstone of, 416. Yorkshire coast, on the distribution of fossils in the lias of, 82; oolitic se- ries of, 429, 671. Zante, on the geology of the island of, 572. END OF THE SECOND VOLUME. LONDON: PRINTED BY RICHARD AND JOHN E. TAYLOR, RED LION COURT, FLEET STREET, ‘ Aut ATAU Miglin) | Benaracien te a wy po ie A: OF - i sie Y yt ne rath —_—— “x NS ne pp Sp xy 4 rome | 4 . o, Wf % | ee “7 " @)