rs ’ ~ . oo tote? min" nS ae te Il ig Ar Doe x : ~ aver Met? 2's oe, OG inlet Oly PE POEL AI I EHD se Ppa eh AON Ope A pene ee 2. Re ee . . i nm ON . -" } nae rer tM ’ wnt? an os ’ Atha te BO gr t Ce-wt, . Saieemcal es ell i ; ae i fo h tee - nae yr ae ee ee AP na Ge Poh te aaa ~ 2 ee ee ’ ‘ : a , 7 _=" Oe eo - . . ann in a 3 i i ei ——— * - Io F (Jie, : na Pap, tah wed tay aoe ‘ ' it LF * \s : " { 7 ‘ ee » ae : . . iy en MADD) we #s ; 4 = ‘ , ' alt GP yuity Sh ‘ Mas uM THE QUARTERLY JOURNAL OF THE GEOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF LONDON. EDITED BY THE ASSISTANT-SECRETARY OF THE GEOLOGICAL SOCIETY. VOLUME THE FOURTH. 1848. PART THE FIRST. PROCEEDINGS OF THE GEOLOGICAL SOCIETY. LONDON: LONGMAN, BROWN, GREEN, AND LONGMANS. PARIS :—FRIED. KLINCKSIECK, 11 RUE DE LILLE; BAUDRY, 9 RUE DU COQ, PRES LE LOUVRE; LEIPZIG, T. 0. WEIGEL. NEW YORK :—WILEY AND PUTNAM, 161 BROADWAY. SOLD ALSO AT THE APARTMENTS OF THE SOCIETY. MDCCCXLVIII. List OF THE OFFICERS OF THE GEOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF LONDON. Evectep Fesruary 1848. PrestVent. Sir Henry T. De la Beche, F.R.S. & L.S. Gice-PrestVents. G. B. Greenough, Esq. F.R.S. & L.S. Leonard Horner, Esq. F.R.S. L. & E. Sir Charles Lyell, F.R.S. & L.S. G. A. Mantell, LL.D. F.R.S. & L.S. Secretaries. . William John Hamilton, Esq. Pres. Geog. Soc. John Carrick Moore, Esq. M.A. Foreiqn Secretary. C. J. F. Bunbury, Esq. F.L.S. Treasurer. John Lewis Prevost, Esq. COUNGIL. R. A. C. Austen, Esq. B.A. Robert Hutton, Esq. M.R.I.A. J. S. Bowerbank, Esq. F.R.S. John Morris, Esq. E. H. Bunbury, Esq. M.A. M.P. Sir R. I. Murchison, G.C.St.S. F.R.S.& L.§ Charles Darwin, Esq. M.A. F.R.S. Samuel Peace Pratt, Esq. F.R.S. & L.S. Prof. Daubeny, M.D. F.R.S. & L.S. Prof. A. C. Ramsay. Sir P. Grey Egerton, Bart. M.P. F.R.S. D. Sharpe, Esq. F.L.S. Prof. E. Forbes, F.R.S. & L.S. S. V. Wood, Esq. Assistant-Hecretarp. . ‘James Nicol, Esq. F.R.S.E. TABLE OF CONTENTS. Austen, R. A. C., Esq. On the Position in the Cretaceous Series of Beds containing Phosphate Of Lier cca. cacts oes op sees rity sens eassyy erin, Thomas, Esq. Observations on the Cystidea of M. Von Buch, and the Crinoidea generally .........ccscecsesecensceeeceetsceesees _Ave.ine, W.T., Esq. See Ramsay, Prof. Be.tort, T., Esq. On the Discovery of Coal in the Island of EEE). Ps cichis tba tn oun ng ldageiwddiens Geandd oy ofmcenenedpoiwn see ees | Bovs, Ami, M.D. On the Geology of some parts of the Alpine and Mediterranean regions of South-Eastern Europe ..........seceeeeeee ~Bowersank, J.S., Esq. Microscopical Observations on the Strue- ture of the Bones of Pterodactylus giganteus and other Fossil oh stn ca Loach dis Ti denature sete gs niee srnap sacred anes ies Brown, Richard, Esq. Description of an upright Lepidodendron with Stigmaria Roots, i in the roof of the Sydney Main Coal, in the ME TATETON osspcdccoatiiormcateetacsniaracressecciversersoveuces . CLARKE, Rev. W. B. Onthe Genera and Distribution of Plants in the Carboniferous System of New South Wales j _——. On the occurrence of Trilobites m New South Wales, with _ remarks on the probable age of the formation in which they occur. Datton, Grant, Esq., On a Mammoth Tusk fished up off the Texel @eceeesesesseeeresese SEPERATE HEH OEE HEHEHE HHH EEHHHEH EEE TED HEHEHE HEH HHH THET EEO HEHEHE ET HEHEHE EES Darwin, Charles, Esq. On the Transportal of Erratic Boulders Meer LO at MICHEL 1CVEL wo... cecessn+-0ocgscveseerntnacnescestscuaniss Dawes, J. S., Esq. Remarks apen the Internal Structure of Ha- lonia SOOTHES EHESHTEHHHEDESESHEH ETE HEEH- FEST EHTHHEHHHHHT ESHEETS HOLEEHS ETOH HTHFOHEOEEED Dawson, J. W., Esq. On the New Red Sandstone of Nova Scotia. EcerrTon, Sir P. G., Bart. Palichthyologic Notes supplemental to the Works of Prof. Agassiz ;—On Pterichthys ............seseeseecees Grecory, Messrs. J. W. and Francis T. Remarks to accompany a Geological Map of Western Australia Hami.ton, William J., Esq. On the Agate Quarries of Oberstein. Hopkins, William, Esq. On the Elevation and Denudation of the District of the Lakes of Cumberland and Westmoreland............ Horner, Leonard, Esq. Letter to the President on the Discovery of Saurian Remains in the Saarbriick Coal-field ...............ceeee _ Jouns, Rev. C. A. On the Land-slip at the Lizard .............0004. Juxss, J. Beete, Esq. Notes on the Geology of the Coasts of Au- agg ovvigavsseo crue cinnnrs a@miercemas du vasntiMibpeteda Wastes ——, and A. R. Setwyn, Esq. Sketch of the Structure of the country extending from Cader Idris to Moel Siabod in North URS LPM Ret iat Ds gill afk Oh nial slab RIahL « bbls lens adebcbnpebddWadvdeneowses Locan, J. R., Esq. Notice of the Discovery of Coal on one of the Islands on the Coast of the ita PEMA D on cchine onarsaced ognebe Lycerr, John, Esq. On the Mineral character and Fossil Concho- logy of the Great Oolite, as it occurs in the Neighbourhood of Minchinhampton eee eee s sees sees seeesesessanseeeees ee ee Page 257 291 10 iV TABLE OF CONTENTS. LYELL, Charles, Esq. On the relative Age and Position of the so- called Nummulite Limestone of Alabama ..........:.sesseccaceeenenees Macintosu, Colonel. Extract of a Letter from, to J. Carrick Moore, Esq., on Subsidence of Land in the Bay of Naples.......... MAnNnTELL, Dr. G. A. On the Fossil Remains of Birds collected in various parts of New Zealand by Mr. W. Mantell of Wellington... ——. Additional Remarks on the Geological Position of the Depo- sits in New Zealand which contain Bones of Birds ...............0++ Morris, John, Esq. A description of a new species of Nautilus (N. Saxbii) from the Lower Greensand of the Isle of Wight ...... Nessit, J. C., Esq. On the presence of Phosphoric Acid in the subordinate members of the Chalk Formation ................sesseee NEWBOLD, Lieut. On the Geology of Egypt...........scssesecsceeees On the Geological Position of the Silicified Wood of the Egyp- tian and Libyan Deserts, with a description of the Petrified Forest. Nico, James, Esq. On the Geology of the Silurian Rocks in the Valley of the Tweed ......<..s...0 Eawspcses aqabeoeee ain ac Wieatns, John, Esq. On Fossil Bones found in the Crag of Suf- BON ccsic'swoncne cic amtare oleptesierote arian Ob ene ook SRK Gee a eee ineceeaeee Page 193 17 42 103 294 216 66 IN THIS VOLUME. c [In this list those fossils, the names of which are printed in Roman type, have _ been previously described. ] ¥ LIST OF THE FOSSILS FIGURED AND DESCRIBED Name of Species. Formation. Locality. Page. ; cok aa PLANTS. _Lepidodendron with Stigmaria roots.| Coal formation...| Cape Breton ...| 47 = Woodcut, f. 1, 2. _——, stem and bark, f. 3, 4, 5, 6, 7....| Coal formation...) Cape Breton .../48, 49 _ Halonia, internal structure of. Woodcut| Coal formation...} Birmingham ...| 289 ZooPHyYTA. _ Graptolites latus. Woodcut............ [ SAARI saciacomers | Skiddaw......... | 223 | MoLuuvusCa. _ Trematis terminalis. Woodcuts, f. 1,| Paleozoic......... Trenton, N.A....| 68 2,3 : FISHES. Pterichthys, disposition of the scales.| Old Red Sand-|..................08. 305 — Woodcut, f. 1, 2. stone. =—— guadratus. PI. x.........0....0050: Old Red Sand-| Gamrie ......... old | stone. : REPTILIA. - Bone-cells of Pterodactylus giganteus.| Chalk ...........6|...:eccsseseen serene 3 me Fi. i. f. 1,2. EEN GL Et. PIFANtCUS. PI.) .....:.....ceseecsees [evesssesseaneveseocee 5 tad Ry 25. Os MamMMALIA. Mammalian vertebra. PI. ii. f. 6.| Oolite ............ Stonesfield slate’ 7 Bone-cells of do. PI. i. f. 4. . Thylacotherium Prevostii, bone-cells} Oolite ............ Stonesfield slate) 6 mn Pl. 1. f. 5, 6. | Paleotherium medium ? teeth. Wood-| Eocene............ Hordie....:vcee 18, 20 cuts, f.-1, 2, 3, 4. Paloplotherium, \ower molar. Wood-| Eocene ............ Hordes... dis: 20 cut, f. 5, 6. — annectens, skull and teeth. Pl. iii.) Eocene ............ Hiordle’ o.3.aci sae 36 Reid, 2; 3,4. Anoplotherium commune, molar tooth.| Hocene ............Jecescceeeneeceeeene es 36 Pi. i. f. 5. Paloplotherium Aurelianense, molar| Eocene............ Orleans ..500045 36 tooth. PI. iii. f. 6. Paloplotherium, jaw. PI. iv. f.i.......| Eocene............ Hordle? 2.) i... 42 Dichodon cuspidatus. Pl. iv. f. 2, 3,) Eocene............ Hordle™ 2.08.5 42 4, 5, 6. Merycopotamus, Ramen ettmn e UVis sf cost ia dood oe agin ude ea lacy oe aba watnlaale vials Go 37 Bos primigenius, teeth. Woodcuts,| Pleistocene ...... SSOX eran. a8 44,45 wh, 3. -Megaceros, teeth. Woodcuts, f. 2, 4.| Pleistocene ...... SHER: 3. i accen?s 44, 45 Hyopotamus, teeth. Pl. vii. & viii. ...| Eocene............ Isle of Wight...! 141 -—— Jovinus, teeth. PI. vii. f. 1-5;) Eocene............ Isle of Wight ...! 141 Pl. viii. f. 1-5. — vectianus, teeth. Pl. vii. f. 6, 7, 8.| Eocene .........+6. Isle of Wight ...| 141 Authracotherium magnum. PI. vii.| Eocene ............|.scecceceseeneenecees 14] fo; Pi. viii. f. 6. EXPLANATION OF THE PLATES. Pate 1, 2.—To illustrate Mr. Bowerbank’s Microscopical Observations on the Structure of Bones —..3.005.3... 2... .00..00 atte to face p. 10 3.—To illustrate Professor Owen’s paper on English Eocene Mam- malia from Hordle, Hampshire ............-...-.+++8=eseaneeeeeeee 36 4,—To illustrate Professor Owen’s paper on English Eocene Mam- WALLS | oc ncsceessescccnesssccercsccadnactvcwees ses 0ee elena 42 5.—Map and Sections of Nova Scotia, to illustrate Mr. Dawson’s paper on the New Red Sandstone of Nova Scotia ............... 50 6.—Geological Map of Cumberland and Westmoreland, to illustrate Mr. Hopkins’s paper on the Elevation and Denudation of the District ‘of the Lakes <......0....1005010.000 dene aeeeeeee Pes ecicisc 70 7,8.—Teeth and Jaws of Hyopotamus and Anthracotherium, to illustrate Prof. Owen’s paper on Extinct Anthracotherioid Quadrupeds from the Isle of Wight .......:...5.-...-ssasecsveueeuan 142 9.—Geological map of Cheshire, to illustrate Mr. Ormerod’s paper on the Salt-field of Cheshire «.... <.sssices occas. as uxesencweien soeeeeeeeenene 288 10.—Pterichthys quadratus, to illustrate Sir Philip Egerton’s Palich- thyologic Notes ......cced.siaescesdésdevseesvensins sesh ae 302 ~ GEOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF LONDON. ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING, FEB. 18, 1848. REPORT OF THE COUNCIL. Tue Council of the Geological Society of London have once more the satisfaction of commencing their Annual Report with the state- ment that there has been an increase in the number of its Members during the past year. The number of new Fellows elected during the year 1847, who have paid their admission-fees, has been 17, besides 3 elected in former years, whose admission-fees had not been previously paid, making, with the addition of two Foreign Members, an increase of 22 new Members; one non-resident Member, whose name was erro- neously erased as deceased in 1838, being restored, will raise the increase to 23. On the other hand, there have been during the same period 9 deaths, including 2 foreigners, 8 resignations and 3 re- movals, making a decrease of 20 to be deducted from 23, leaving a total increase of 3 in the number of the Society during the past year, and raising it from 894 to 897. The excess of expenditure over income during the past year has been £41 19s. 2d. This deficiency has been occasioned by the ne- cessity of throwing off the remaining lithographic illustrations of the Transactions, an expense amounting to £55 17s., not calculated on in preparing the estimates, and which will not recur. The number of living compounders at the close of 1846 was 128 ; it has been increased during the past year to 130, one compounder having died and three Fellows having compounded during that period. Two of these compositions, with one received in 1846 too late to be invested during that year, have been funded during the past year. The total amount received from these 1380 com- pounders is £4095. The estimated value of the funded property at VOL. Iv. a il ANNIVERSARY MEETING. the close of 1846 was £3150 5s. 6d. At the close of 1847, in con- sequence of the fall of Consols from 94 to 86, it was, notwithstand- ing the investment of compositions, reduced to £2970 4s.; the amount of Consols held by the Society being £3453 14s. 7d. The Council have the satisfaction of announcing to the Society that the appointment of Mr. James Nicol as Assistant Secretary and Librarian has been confirmed by a General Meeting of the Society ; and they cannot but congratulate the Society on having secured the services of a gentleman under whose auspices the editing of the Journal has been so prosperous and satisfactory. They have also to announce that they have resolved that, in the present state of the Finances of the Society, the expense incurred in the care of the Museum shall not exceed the sum of £50 for the pre- sent year. They regret that in consequence of the adoption of this arrangement, it is no longer possible to retain the services of Mr. J. deCarle Sowerby; and they are unwilling to take leave of that gentle- man without availing themselves of this opportunity of expressing their high sense of his merits, and of the attention and assiduity with which he has performed the duties assigned to him by the Council. The Council have to announce the completion of the third volume of the Quarterly Journal of the Geological Society, and the publica- tion of the first part of Vol. IV., the Council having resolved that the publication of the Journal shall be continued on the same plan and conditions as heretofore; and they consider it their duty to point out the advantages which will accrue to the funds of the Society, and to the diffusion of geological information, by an in- creased number of subscribers. In conclusion, they have to announce that they have awarded the Wollaston Palladium Medal for the present yearto William Buckland, D.D., the Very Reverend the Dean of Westminster, for the valu- able services rendered by him to Geology by his researches in the field, communicated to the world in many important papers and treatises, and in his public lectures in the University of Oxford, and also for the energy and zeal he displayed as one of the earliest Members of this Society, thereby contributing largely to increase its usefulness in the cause we are united to promote; and that they have resolved that the balance of the proceeds of the Donation Fund for the present year be appropriated to making available to science the fossils which were received from the Cape of Good Hope in 1844 from Mr. Geddes Bain, and which are now in the vaults of the Society’s house, amongst which the interesting remains of the Dicy- nodon were discovered, and have been since described by Prof. Owen; and that a Committee, consisting of Prof. Owen, Dr. Mantell and Mr. Bowerbank, be appointed to carry out the above-mentioned objects. The Report of the Museum and Library Committee will be given in No. 15 of the Journal of the Society. ANNUAL REPORT. lil Comparative Statement of the Number of the Society at the close of the years 1846 and 1847. Dec. 31, 1846. Dec. 31, 1847. BeMMMOUNOETS, 61) 3 oles). Wa LS freee 130 SMMEETIUS EN em hs sas gas NEO Tats Wale ane 248 PePMI-LASIUCIIES Y/N S25. Saabs telsiere MOON We te ae oe 445 820 823 Beorety NeMDERS +... a5) 20 20 rem Wenmbers........ OO 8). a 50 Personages of Royal Blood 4—74 ...... 4—74 894 897 General Statement explanatory of the Alteration in the Number of Fellows, Honorary Members, &c. at the close of the years 1846 and 1847. Number of Compounders, Residents and Non-residents, AMR Tre LHe ions ik (Nie Bs Sc Sharcan 9) 0’ o, shine. ha p=. em sos 0s) 820 Add, Fellows elected during ‘aaah, esdests 3 years, and paid in 1847 .. Tea Fellows elected, and paid, during | Residents .... 9 o> ee a | Non-residents... 8 —17 Fellow erased in error as deceased in1838, Non-resident 1 — 21 841 ier? Compounder ‘deceased 1.9. ed Resident SABLE ete ere RR CE. SY ee 1 Momeresidents) or i002) OF hae, OU PL eT 5 PSS) 0 OS I a ea aa ee a ah a 8 1S UTAONUE 0 ia ae Il ag Rr i de Ae Ae a a — 18 Total number of Fellows, 3lst Dec. 1847, as above.. 823 Number of Honorary Members, Foreign Members, and Personages of Royal Blood, December 31, 1846. . mde, “oreien Members elected ‘in 1847 .........505 2. Deduct, Foreign Members deceased.... As above 74 a2 iv ANNIVERSARY MEETING. Number of Fellows liable io Annual Contribution at the close of 1847, with the Alterations during the year. Number at the close of 1846 ............ St oe 253 Add, Elected in former years, and paid in 1847........ 3 _ Elected and paid 1847 ........ 2. 2 9 Non-residents who became Resident............ 4 ; 269 Deduct, Weeeased .. oe ee o eikte + - pe st oe 1 Resigned 9)... 2 vee) Oe oe oe Removed ..-.:...) 5.0.0.2 324 ee 3 Compounded . 2.2... 222. ease tk oe 2 Became Non-resident ....:..<... seo 6 anc As above 248 DerEcEASED FELLows. Compounder (1). Samuel Duckworth, Esq. Resident (1). Duke of Northumberland. Non-residents (5). James John Adams, Esq. J. Chaning Pearce, Esq. Major Henry Bullock. J. Butler Williams, Esq. Benjamin W. Johnson, Esq. Foreign Members (2). Prof. Alexander Brongniart. | Herr Geo. Gottlieb Pusch The following Persons were elected Fellows during the year 1847. January 6th.—Charles Fraser, Esq., Conduit Street. : 20th.—William Thomas Collings, Esq., Trinity College, Cambridge. February 24th.—John Craig, Esq., Glasgow. April 14th.—Henry F. Hallam, Esq., Wilton Crescent ; and Thomas Ottrey Rayner, M.D., Cambridge Heath, Hackney. May 12th.—R. E. A. Townsend, Esq., Doctors’ Commons; James Nicol, Esq., Grafton Street; and William Alexander Provis, Esq., Ellesmere, Salop. May 26th.—Neill Arnott, M.D., Bedford Square. ANNUAL REPORT, Vv June 9th.—John William Kirshaw, Esq., Bennett’s Hill, Birmingham. 16th.—Charles Walker, Esq., Cramfordton, near Dumfries ; -§ir James Ramsay, Bart., Banff, Forfar; J. Howard Norton, M.D., Shirley, near Southampton ; and William Benjamin Car- penter, M.D., Clarence Terrace, Stoke Newington. November 17th.—Amos Beardsley, Esq., Langley, Heanor, Derby- shire. 7 December lst.—George H. Saunders, Esq., Cowley Street, West- minster; J. R. Lingard, Esq., Stockport; Samuel Hughes, Esq., Duke Street, Westminster; Albert Robinson, Esq., Blackheath Park ; John F. Bateman, Esq., Manchester ; and Richard Meeson, Esq., Grays, Essex. December 15th.—Thomas Field Gibson, Esq., Walthamstow ; and John North, Esq., Gloucester Place. The following Persons were elected Foreign Members. May 12th.—M. C. H. Pander, St. Petersburg; and M. le Vicomte D’Archiac, Paris. The following Donations to the Muszum have been received since the last Anniversary. British Specimens. Several large Ammonites and other Fossils from Trowbridge; pre- sented by R. M. Mantell, Esq. Impressions in Sandstone of the Coal formation, from Hemsworth near Sheffield; presented by James Yates, Esq., F.G.S. Vertebrze of Otodus appendiculatus in Chalk, from Dorking; pre- sented by James Hastie, Esq., F.G.S. Specimens of ‘l’eeth from Kent’s Cavern ; presented by William Long, Esq., F.G.S. Shells, Bones and Teeth, from alluvial beds and raised beach near Hythe; presented by H. B. Mackeson, Esq., F.G.S. Specimens of Spirifer gigantea and other Shells in Slate, from Tre- gatta Quarries near Tintagell; presented by H. Mac Lauchlan, Esq., F.G.S. Series of Fossils from the Oxford Clay in the Ridgway Cutting ; presented by C.W. Weston, Esq. Foreign Specimens. Collection of Fossil Teeth and Bones from Moreton Bay, Australia ; presented by D. Taylor, Esq. Specimens of Wood from a Submerged Forest, coast of Jersey ; presented by James Smith, Esq., F.G.S. Iron and Copper Ores from the Island of Maseera; presented by the Honourable the East India Company. Specimens of Recent Ostrea Virginica, and of Fossil Ostrea longiros- tris, from the Tagus; presented by W. C. Trevelyan, Esq., F.G.S. v1 ANNIVERSARY MEETING. Collection of Rock Specimens from America; presented by Charles Lyell, Esq., F.G.S. | Ferruginous Concretions in Sandstone from Centrai India; pre- sented by A. H. Cheek, Esq. Collection of Coal Fossils from Newcastle, New South Wales; pre- sented by the Right Hon. Earl Grey. Collection of Rock Specimens from Western Australia; presented by Messrs. Gregory. Coal from Vancouver’s Island; presented by Rear-Admiral Beaufort, Hon. Mem. G.S. CHARTS AND Maps. The Charts, &c. published by the Admiralty during the years 1846 and 1847; presented by Rear-Admiral Beaufort, by direction of the Lords Commissioners of the Admiralty. Section XIV. of the Geological Map of Saxony; General Map and Index of Colours. Geognostische Specialkarte Konigreichs Sachsen und der angren- zenden Lander, with Sections and Index, mounted; presented by- the Council of Mines of Freyberg. Topographical Map of Massachusetts, with Geological Map of Massachusetts, by Edward Hitchcock, made by order of the Legislature, mounted on roller; presented by the Government of the State of Massachusetts. Geological Map of Russia in Europe and the Ural Mountains, by Sir R. I. Murchison, M. E. de Verneuil and Count A. von Key- serling; presented by Sir R. I. Murchison, F.G.S. Index to the Ordnance Survey of England and Wales, in frame; presented by Mr. James Gardner. Map of Western India, exhibiting Lines surveyed by the Great Indian Peninsula Railway Company ; presented by W. J. Hamil- ton, Esq., F.G.S. Carte du Golfe Arabique des petits Géographes Grecs, et Carte Générale de la Mer Egée, par M. A. Rabusson; presented by the Author. Map and Seven Sections of the Leinster Coal District, by R. Griffith, Jun., 1814; presented by L. Horner, Esq., F.G.S. Geognostisch-Geographische Karte der Umgebung des Laacher Sees entworfen von C. von Oeynhausen, Berlin, 1847, in 8 sheets; presented by the Author. Lithographic Print of: Dr. Ami Boué, in frame; presented by L. Horner, Esa., F.G.S... Stratigraphical SEE ay from Atherfield Point to Black-Gang Chine, and Table of the Distribution of the Fossils of the Lower Green- sand, by W. H. Fitton, M.D., F.G.S. (2 copies) ; presented by the Author. Proof Engraving of Sir H. T. De la Beche, Pres. G.S., by W. Walker, framed and glazed ;. presented by Mr. Walker. _ ANNUAL REPORT. Vil The following List contains the Names of all the Persons and Public Bodies from whom Donations to the Library and Museum were received during the past year. Academy of Sciences of Paris. Admiralty, The Right Hon. the Lords Commissioners of the. Agricultural Magazine, The Edi- tor of the. American Academy of Arts and Sciences. American Journal, Editors of the. American Philosophical Society. Mnetea. Prof. D. T., F.G:S. Athenzeum, Editor of the. Auerbach, M. J. Austin, Messrs. Thomas. Babbage, Charles, Esq. Bain, Geddes, Esq. Beaufort, Rear-Admiral, Mem. G.S. Bellardi, Sig. L. Berwickshire Naturalists’ Club. Bianconi, Sig. J. Jos. Binney, E. W., Esq. Bohn, Mr. H. G. Boston Society of Natural His- tory. Botfield, B., Esq. Boué, A., M.D., For. Mem. G.S. British Association for the Ad- vancement of Science. British Government. British Museum, Trustees of. Brongniart, Prof. A., For. Mem. G.S. Hon. Catullo, Prof. T. A. Charlesworth, E., Esq., F.G.S. Cheek, A. H., Esq. Chemical Society of London. Colquhoun, E. Pye, Esq. Corbaux, Miss F. Coxworthy, F., Esq. Da Hemso, Sig. J. G. Dana, J. D., Esq. D’Archiac, M. le Vicomte. Darwin, Charles, Esq., F.G.S. Daubeny, Prof., M.D., F.G.S. De Koninck, M. L., M.D. De la Beche, Sir H. T., Pres. G.S. Delesse, M. A. Des Moulins, M. C. D’Hombres-Firmas, Baron. Dumont, Prof. A. H., For. M.G.S. East India Company, Hon. Elie de Beaumont, M. L., For. Mem. G.S. Emmons, E., M.D. Everest, Lieut.-Col., F.G.S. Ez-querra, Don J. Falconer, Hugh, M.D., F.G.S. Fischer de Waldheim, G., M.D., For. Mem. G.S. Fitton, H., M.D. Frears, M. H. Freyberg, School of Mines of. Gardner, Mr. James. Geological Society of Dublin. Geological Society of France. Gesner, A} Din: Gibbes, R. W., M.D. Goppert, Prof. Grateloup, Dr. Gregory, Messrs. Grey, Right Hon. Earl. Haidinger, Herr W. Hamilton, W. J., Esq., Sec. G.S. Hartmann, Herr C. Hastie, James, Esq., F.G.S. Hausmann, Prof. J. F. L., For. Mem. G.S. Hawkins, T., fae E.G:S. Hopkins, Brats , F.G.S. Horner, L., Esq., F.G.S. Hume, Bey A., LL.D. Imperial Society of Moscow. vill Indian Archipelago Journal, Edi- tor of. Johnston, Prof. J. F. W., F.G.S. Jukes, J. B., Esq., F.G.S. Kerigan, T., Esq., R.N. Leymerie, M. A. L’ Ecole des Mines. Linnzan Society. Logan, W. E., Esq., F.G.S. London Library, Committee of. Long, Wm., Esq., F.G.S. Lyell, Charles, Esq., F.G.S. Mackeson, H. B., Esq., F.G.S. Mac Lauchlan, H., Esq., F.G.S. Mantell, G. A., LL.D., F.G.S. Mantell, R. M., Esq. Massachusetts, Government of the State of. Maury, Lieut. M‘Coy, F., Esq. Metternich, Prince. Miller, Prof. John. Murchison, Sir R. I., F.G.S. Nattali, M. A. New York, Government of the State of. New York Lyceum of Natural History. Northumberland, His Grace the late Duke of. Ordnance, Hon. Board of. Philadelphia Academy of Natural Sciences. Pictet, M. F. G. Pilla, M. L. Pomel, M. A. Quetelet, M. A. Rabusson, M. A. Ray Society. Redfield, W. C., Esq. Royal Academy of Belgium. ANNIVERSARY MEETING. Royal Academy of Berlin. Royal Academy of Munich. Royal Academy of Turin. Royal Agricultural Society of England. Royal Asiatic Society. Royal Astronomical Society. Royal Geographical Society. Royal Geological Society of Corn- wall. | Royal Irish Academy. Royal Polytechnic Society of Cornwall. Royal Society of Copenhagen. Royal Society of Edinburgh. Royal Society of London. Sabine, Lieut.-Col., F.G.S. Savi, Prof. Paolo. Saunders, Mr. Scarborough Philosophical So- ciety. Schimper, M. W. P. Sheepshanks, Rev. R., F.G.S. Silliman, Prof., M.D., For. Mem. G.S. Smith, James, Esq., F.G.S. Taylor, D., Esq. Taylor, R., Esq., F.G.S. Tennant, Mr. James, F.G.S. Trevelyan, W. C., Esq., F.G.S. Vandermaelen, M. Ph., F.G.S. Vaudoise Society. Vienna, Society of the Friends of Natural History of. Von Buch, Herr L. Von Hagenow, F., M.D. Von Keyserling, Count A. Von Oeynhausen, Herr. Voorst, Mr. J. Van. Walker, Mr. W. Weston, C. W., Esq. Wilson, Rev. J., D.D. Wymann, J., M.D. Yates, James, Esq., F.G.S. _ ANNUAL REPORT. ix List of Parrrs read since the last Anniversary Meeting, February 19th, 1847. 1847. Feb. 24th.—On recent Depressions of Land, by James Smith, Esq., of Jordan Hill, F.G.S. a On the East of New South Wales and Van Diemen’s Land, by J. B. Jukes, Esq., F.G.S. March 10th.—On the Gypsiferous Strata of Nova Scotia, by Richard Brown, Esq.; communicated by Charles Lyell, Esq., F.G.S. we On the Soft Parts of Orthoceras, by — Anthony, Esq. ; communicated by Charles Lyell, Esq., F.G.S. On the Structure of Trinucleus, by J. W. Salter, Esq., F.G.S. April 14th.—On the Oolitic Coal-field of Richmond, Virginia, by Charles Lyell, Esq., F.G.S. ——E On the Fossil Plants from the Oolite of Richmond, Virginia, by C. J. F. Bunbury, Esq., For. Sec. G.S. April 28th.—On the Geology of Scinde, by Capt. N. Vicary; with an Introduction by Sir R. I. Murchison, F.G.S. May 12th.—On Fossil Chimeroid Fishes, by Sir P. G. Egerton, Dart., M.P.,.F.G.S. ——- On Kent’s Cavern, Torquay, by E. Vivian, Esq. ; communicated by R. A. C. Austen, Esq., F.G.S. May 26th.—--On the Discovery of Coal in one of the Islands on the Coast of the Malay Peninsula,by J. R. Logan, Esq.; communi- cated by Prof. Ansted, F.G.S. —_ On the Structure and probable Age of the Bagshot Sands, by Joseph Prestwich, Jun., Esq., F.G.S. June 9th.—Letter from Grant Dalton, Esq. to the President, On a Fossil Tooth of a Mammoth fished up off the Island of Texel. — On the Microscopic Structure of Bone, by J. S. Bowerbank, Esq., F.G.S. On the Geology of South-western Europe, by Ami Boué, M.D., For. Mem. G.S. — On the Eocene Formation of Alabama, by Charles Lyell, Esq., F.G.S. ° June 16th.—Descriptions of new genera and species of Pachyderms, from Eocene Cliffs of Hordwell, Hants, by Richard Owen, Esq., F.G.S., Hunterian Professor of Anatomy in the Royal College of _ Surgeons. _ Letter from Leonard Horner, Esq., F.G.S., to the President, On the Discovery of Saurians in the Coal Formation of Saarbuck. x ANNIVERSARY MEETING. 1847. June 16th.—On an Upright Lepidedendeon with Stigmaria Roots, in the Coal of Cape Breton, by Richard Brown, Esq. ; communi- cated by C. J. F. Bunbury, Esq., For. Sec. G.S. On the New Red Sandstone of Nova Scotia, by J. W. Dawson, Esq.; communicated by Charles Lyell, Esq., F.G.S. ——— Letter addressed to the Secretary, On the Discovery of Coal on the Coast of Borneo, by Thomas Bellott, Esq. by the Rev. W. B. Clarke, F.G.S. ———— On Trilobites from New South Wales, by the Rev. W. B. Clarke, F.G.S. On Trematis, a new genus of Brachiopodous Mol- lusea, by Daniel Sharpe, Esq., F.G.S. Noy. 3rd.—Deseription of Teeth and Portions of Jaws of Anthra- cotherioid Quadrupeds, discovered by the Marchioness of Hastings in the Eocene Deposits of the North-west Coast of the Isle of Wight, by Richard Owen, Esq., F.G.S., Hunterian Professor of Anatomy in the Royal College of Surgeons. Nov. 17th.—On the Geology of the Coasts of Australia, by J. B. Jukes, Esq., F.G.S. ——_—_—__——— Remarks to accompany a Geological Map of Western Australia, by Messrs. J. W. and F. T. Gregory ; communicated by the President. —————= December 1st.—Report on the Fossil Remains of Mollusca from the — Paleeozoic Formations of the United States, contained in the Col- lection of Charles Lyell, Esq., by Daniel Sharpe, Esq., F.G.S. December 15th.—On the Oolite of Minchinhampton, by John Lycett, Esq. ; communicated by John Morris, Esq., F.G.S. On the Nautilus Saxbu, by John Morris, Esq., F.G-.S. —— Letter from Col. A. F. Macintosh, F.G.S., to J. C. Moore, Esq., Sec. G.S., On the Temple of Serapis. December 15th.—On the Land-slip at the Lizard, by C. A. Johns, Esq.; communicated by the President. 1848. Jan. 5th.—On the Silurian Rocks in the Valley of the Tweed, by James Nicol, Esq., F.G.S. Jan. 19th.—On the Agates of Oberstem, by W. J. Hamilton, Esq., Sec. G.S. Feb. 2nd.—On the Fossil Remains of Birds from New Zealand, by G. A. Mantell, LL.D., F.G.S. On Organic Remains in the Skiddaw Slate, by the Rev. Adam Sedgwick, F.G.S., Woodwardian Professor in i University of Cambridge. On the Carboniferous Plants of New South Wales, ANNUAL REPORT. +i. After the Reports had been read, it was resolved,— That they be received and entered on the Minutes of the Meeting ; and that such parts of them as the Council shall think fit, be printed and distributed among the Fellows. It was afterwards resolved :— 1. That the thanks of the Society be given to Sir P. G. Egerton, Bart., Professor Owen, and the Rev. Professor Sedgwick, retiring from the office of Vice-President. 2. That the thanks of the Society be given to Hugh Falconer, M.D., William Hopkins, Esq., Professor Owen, Rev. Professor Sedgwick, and H. E. Strickland, Esq., retirmg from the Council. After the Balloting Glasses had been duly closed, and the lists examined by the Scrutineers, the following gentlemen were declared to have been duly elected the Officers and Council for the ensuing year :—- Xl ANNIVERSARY MEETING. OFFICERS. ——— PRESIDENT. Sir H. T. De la Beche, F.R.S. and L.S. VICE-PRESIDENTS. G. B. Greenough, Esq., F.R.S. and L.S. Leonard Horner, Esq., F.R.S. L. and E. Charles Lyell, Jun., Esq., F.R.S. and L.S. G. A. Mantell, LL.D., F.R.S. and L.S. SECRETARIES. William John Hamilton, Esq., P. R. Geog. 8. John Carrick Moore, Esq., M.A. FOREIGN SECRETARY. C. J. F. Bunbury, Esq., F.L.S. TREASURER. John Lewis Prevost, Esq. COUNCIL. R. A. C. Austen, Esq., B.A. Robert Hutton, Esq., M.R.I.A. J.S. Bowerbank, Esq., F.R.S. || Charles Lyell, Jun., Ksq., F.R.S. C. J. F. Bunbury, Esgq., F.L.S. and L.S. KE. H. Bunbury, Esq., M.A., M.P./G. A. Mantell, LL.Ds- #2 Charles Darwin, Esq., F.R.S. and L.L. Prof. Daubeny, M.D., F.R.S.|| John C. Moore, Esq. and L.S. Sir H. T. De la Beche, F.R.S. and L.S. Sir P. Grey Egerton, Bart.,M.P. F.R.S. Prof.-E. Forbes, F.R.S. and L.S. G. B. Greenough, Esq., F.R.S. and L.S. William John Hamilton, Esq. Leonard Horner, Esq., F.R.S. L. and E John Morris, Esq. - Sir R. I. Murchison, G.C.St.S., F.R.S. and L.S. Samuel Peace Pratt, Esq., F.R.S. and L.S. John Lewis Prevost, Esq. Prof. A. C. Ramsay. D. Sharpe, Esq., F.L.S. S. V. Wood, Esq. 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Outstanding : 16 eeeNa. Quarterly Journal, Vol. II. (Messrs. Longman & Co.) 65 7 7 gS we ESE Balance at Banker’s, January 1, 1847.... 286 4 1 Balance in hands of Clerk.............. 8 19 11 ‘295 4 0 Compositiens recewed. |... 52 e- 2 e aie 63 0 0 Ditto at Banker’s, Dec. 31, 1846........ 3110 O ———- 94 10 0 Ditto received in Dec. 1847, after Consols closed .... 3110 O Arrears of Admission Fees ............ iS 13 =a Arrears of Annual Contributions ........ 34-13 0 . Sse be G Admission Fees of 18479 Yo... 22 wn - ol ee 140 14 0 Annual Contributions of 1847 ..2: ..2........ See 748 2-6 Dividends on 3 per cent. Consols.............:-.-. 99>? Sale of Transactions 2.9.2". 22.. + Se whe ee 93. 0 0 Sale of Transactions in separate Memoirs .......... 10 16 3 Sale of Proceedings |. .2 2 20238 2-2 sen oo he 3) 2-6 Journal, Vol. I., Publishers’ allowance on sale ...... 2.4 26 Sale of Journal, Vel: IS 2.2.5.2. 2. eee a2 15 -G Sale of Journal, Vol. UM. ~ 2. =5 :. cj ee eee Eee 914-14 .9 Sale of Library Catalogue ....:..:............- =>seEee > We have compared the Books and Vouchers presented to us with these Statements, and find them correct. _ ~ R. HUTTON, | _ A. TYLOR. \ Auditors. £1895 13. 5 Jan. 27th, 1848. Year ending December 31st, 1847. xv EXPENDITURE. Outstanding : Eo te Ved Quarterly Journal, Vol. II. (Messrs. R. and J.E. Taylor)... 57 3 6 emmoritons invested ............ 50 Gr Wai waes Se Le AO General Expenditure : I a. PEN OIE TRAUCRs cgactacvewenscevsuuadaviaghwaecearsaises 35 ll 4 MMRENNUEQNOE: Gach coe doccomsetsseacuvinedassecdrs cons a eae House Repairs ..........00 Riateie he ioicpaas dtd aeiaibisial Lo © MEEMICUNG HEPAITS soca ews vecweceuses cuowsevan evades 24 1 5 RUAPUNTEAINMEG: Sinisa cassaesinwsaasnsinsauinsgensecs seas at 3.12 4 a 5c duiaigin ta pracnth sis Mn iaccine %s sia gacle vilgasa sds cielatek 22 9.0 RR eek eas dau chsinpaa wp sasise Tesnislansctaerengse « 30 6 8 Se aaa lm Sree sgn tae Post- 43.17 6 BUR RUEER UN 2 oreo a 69's:sv aie solennacscadecndiuebaice sauce) QO GEO Meascellaneous Printing ...0....0scccccserccavessessn s al la: 0 PRETO NCCES 0. oc lascot svsncdandsecvancessoneas 23 (4 O 200... 9 ho Salaries and Wages: Assistant Secretary (3 qrs. of a year) £97 ‘of 307 107 10 0 (travelling expenses) 10 0 Curator eee eee Ts 0 0 ee O ing cleisenacacnedgcaeacoes. (G@mtuity) « isscesss. co econ 20 oT a ee Ma eeirale daniel vile so cntainistenias'ccasitciaa@less siee eats ccideis SC. (O50 SE TG SR ae a eer eo 33 4 0 SIASIONAATENAANES s.csecvereevecsccaccnsvossscves | DLS CU Te eee gta ntais scidan ty Gece getumees 26 2 6 —— 505 16 6 Library . MM So cages: a =< ein oR eee al” & 4 Museum, including eee ee eee eens Fa 24-17; 10 Diagrams at Meetings ........ SS IT RR RARES Pa ares GHG" the £0) Miscellaneous Scientific Expenses:...........-.... 2 10 «fl wumears of Contributions repaid '...:.........654.- 6 6 O Mmicmnomeions Of 1847 repaid .,.;.5.-)..6..e 2d ee es Gey 6720 Publications : PANNACTIOUS Se occ ianaceete stucesvadersdecceossecnktedes FTG". 9 4 Transactions, separate Memoirs .........+eeseee0s 6.12 6 Journal, Vol. I., Presentation Copy ...........+... 013 6 MRT VOTS Em. Slovo s cn ctinacdstsinsinecstnusdsedvoaes Ie 6 6 Hanenal, Nos. 9; 10, Lb and 12... cccsacssccccsoces 468 9 3 Froceedings, Index to Vol. 1V. &6. 26.2. .0ce00-0- 18 15 0 621% =6"s:] 8602-1407 Balance at Banker’s : Composition received in December, after Consols shut, BT Ee! 20 POET VESUEU ness asceescveseesaomedslersy aceshecSanscsisevesas 1634" 1-*7 Balance at Banker’s, Dec. 31, 1847.... 238 12 7 Balance im Clerk's hands :s))se0)..¢. 4». ° 22.19 3 ————._ 261 11 10 ———_ -——_- —____—. £1895 13 5 XVI ——— “SE8I “9G ‘ur b £ SQely boL S88lF “MMMASVENT “ESOAmYG A (Pi Bi Ob OGpis es Mamog-oug 16 INOAVJ UI SOUTER —S £4 0 §961 0 0 09F ee a Se Ta cet) 0 0 OT “*"**** ammztpucdxg oyruatog snoour][oostypyy Oo 0% COORG UO ROMCIC Ce nmot Amre Ali tik 3 SSUTJOOyY ye suvsSeIq ia ee URS ee a AE A a 0 0 OG “To ***"*“suonIppy pue Surpurg ‘Arerqry OPT RT P<00 0 gg giticcrtsssscmnseateageiareacgadgss 10yDaTIO9 0 0 Bl crite squepuoyry peuotseang OF GG feritrieteeetnameettonnee prope OmMOET NEO (0g. re ihertenpuicorsds, eee eseenran tog G0 OOT Mir eerescteresntreassrsssstvonnense grtora OF OT 2e Mpsercagetennaarecoom eeeeeesevenees ron 0 0 oft veer aeeeeeeresnce Areqo.1009 queysissy pan > sade uv SorIele Tate ecpkgee WS aity’ agate ses Sees japan 5 on Cae... ee. ae Ae Se 10> OF SORE ee ee a Teummor Aqr9}.1eny jo ajeg O20 ge edo Bonctrr gnosuaqaceyy 0 0 OS : |" “OQ ‘stlotovsuery, Jo apeg Gio Og ate atu tes Cae nadsheaa ee Arouoryeyg OO GT SOT > “See ae “SJOSUOD “ua sod ¢ uo spuoprarqy 0 0 Gp “Tt sosuadxg osnozy Snosury[o0sI fy O FI OFT eT Mc Aaa a hl 0.20 FB titres (9) gmnopreasuoN Pe a nits see eee 0. FT 9G, rteeesserwessscsarten (6) SanOpIEON fie me ieee ene p's 3 * S8Qy] UorssiMpy 0 0 GG tttttereeeeeess Coes cceeercees saredoyy asnoyy 0 *F Qifay er eaten Ree 6 *(SMOTIA,T 82) suoTyNqiyu0g enuay Galore a. cmpaaas bashes a eee “+ gouemsuy arty p Il ce Se ne i seers seen ony pue SOXC T, Peyeuiigse SPST wy euoouy Areurpag D'S ‘ oIngipuadxg [erauety/Q G QQ corr erereeeeee (j00Ys-uoryenTe A 99Q) SIva.ty pee, "7+ enreday osnogy zoy ‘Surery “9 03 onp qtr | 0 S$ OT So) Si gs ee eee 0 S19 nouttttsssss Kuedutog jong juayeg 04 onp TItq ‘[eUIMOF UT SUOT}DaLI0D 40] ‘toyjny Aq onp yunooow Geet GO hess Fer ee ies Brgmmop knrag bP L £9 reer t sess sess remmop épraqrent 0 Pp 8 gF ~TVNY uo sopAey, “| “ff pure yy “SISSOTT OF OUP TTT |p +s ge ‘oune Ul ‘OD pue uvusuOT "sissoy] Aq onp qunoooy “CULVWNILSA TUALIGNGAXT “CULOWdXH AINOONT "SPSL vax ay) AOf SHLY WILST PROCEEDINGS AT THE ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING, 18tu FEBRUARY, 1848. AWARD OF THE WOLLASTON MEDAL AND DONATION FuND. Arter the Reports of the Council and Committees had been read, the President delivered the Wollaston Palladium Medal to Dr. Buck- land, Dean of Westminster, addressing him as follows :— Dr. Bucktanp,—The Geological Society has awarded you its Wollaston Palladium Medal for the important services you have ren- dered to Geology during a long series of years, by your labours in the field, and by your numerous and valuable writings; for your exertions to promote the study of geology in the University of Ox- ford ; and especially for the zeal and energy with which, in its earlier day, you laboured to advance the objects of this Society, a zeal and energy which has remained unabated to the present time. To attempt an enumeration of your many geological works before the geologists I now see assembled in this room, would be a poor compliment to those to whom they are so familiar, and who have employed them so frequently to aid them in their labours. Your works will remain lasting memorials of your power to observe, and your ability to describe and render clear to others those discoveries and researches, which have so materially advanced that science for which we are here associated. It may not be generally known, especially to the younger members of our Society, that, while yet a child, at your native town, Axminster in Devonshire, ammonites, obtained by your father from the lias- quarries in the neighbourhood, were presented to your attention. As a scholar at Winchester, the chalk, with its flmts, were brought under your observation, and there it was that your collections in natural history first began. Removed to Oxford as a scholar of Corpus Christi College, the future teacher of geology in that university was fortunate in meeting with congenial tastes in our colleague, Mr. W. J. Broderip, then a student at Oriel College. It was during your walks together to Shotover Hill, when his knowledge of conchology was so valuable to you, enabling you to distinguish the shells of the Oxford oolite, that you laid the foundation for those field-lectures, forming part of your course of geology at Oxford, which no one is VOL. IV.— PART I. b xvii PROCEEDINGS OF THE GEOLOGICAL SOCIETY. ; likely to forget who has been so fortunate as at any time to have at- tended them. The fruits of your walks with Mr. Broderip formed the nucleus of that great collection, more especially remarkable for the organic remains it contains, which, after the labours of forty years, you have presented to the Geological Museum at Oxford, in grateful recollection of the aid which the endowments of that univer- sity, and the leisure of its vacations, had afforded you for extensive travelling during a residence at Oxford of nearly forty-five years. When you contemplate our present knowledge of the geological structure of the British Islands, it cannot be without gratification that you can look back to your early labours in promoting it. It was so long since as 1808 that alone you crossed the chalk-downs of Berkshire, Wiltshire and Dorsetshire to Corfe Castle, there recog- nising chalk in the vertical position of the hard white limestones on which the latter stands. Alone also in 1809 you explored a large part of South Devon ; in 1810 you examined the centre and north of England, colouring the results of your researches upon Cary’s great map of England ; and in 1811 you extended your investigations to part of Scotland, crossed over to Ireland, and returned home by North Wales. About this time we find you associated with Mr. Greenough, collecting materials for his geological map of England, and it must be no small gratification for you to see, as witnesses of this presenta- tion of the Wollaston Medal, your early fellow-labourer in the geology of England, and our first president, Mr. Greenough, and my imme- diate predecessor in this chair, Mr. Horner, as active and zealous now, when forty years have elapsed smce the foundation of this Society, as when, still in its infancy, it required all the fostermg care which they and you then afforded it. Let me express my personal gratification that I should be the official channel through which you receive this mark of the high value which the Geological Society attaches to your services. We have been fellow-labourers together in the same field, and let me gratefully remind you of the kind encouragement you afforded me in the pursuit of our common science, when a youth then residing at Lyme Regis, I endeavoured to avail myself of your advanced and superior knowledge of the remarkable fossils discovered in that neigh- bourhood, and of the geological structure of the surrounding country. Receive this medal, Dr. Buckland, as the highest distinction our So- ciety can award, and may its presentation to you prove a stimulus to the exertions of our younger geologists, some of whom, now active, date their birth after you had entered upon your geological career, and may their labours in the great cause of truth be found worthy of honours similar to that which in the name of this Society I now place in your hands. On receiving the Medal, Dr. Buckianp replied as follows :— Str Henry De 1a Becure,—I am indeed highly gratified to re- ceive at the hands of a fellow-labourer with whom I have been asso- ciated in promoting the science of Geology for so many years, this testimony of the approbation of the Council of the Geological Society, ANNIVERSARY MEETING.—WOLLASTON MEDAL. XIX which the discretion of that acute and minute philosopher, Dr. Wol- laston, has committed to their disposal ; unfettered by the restrictions which founders too often impose on their benefactions, and free to be awarded to whatever works, by individuals of any nation upon earth, they may judge to have been most efficient in promoting the progress of Geology. In the impress on this Medal I behold the image of that great man with whose friendship I was honoured, the memoirs of whose useful life we are impatiently expecting from the pen of one of your predecessors in that Chair, Mr. Warburton. By this medal of palladium, the metal discovered by Wollaston, I am reminded also of the cognate honour that five-and-twenty years ago was conferred on me by the Royal Society of London, in the presen- tation of the Copley Gold Medal, at the hands of Sir Humphry Davy, for my geological discoveries in the Cave of Kirkdale. Sir H. Davy and Dr. Wollaston, both supremely pre-eminent as discoverers in chemistry, concurred in duly appreciating the import- ance of geology; nor is this our science at the present time less highly appreciated, nor uncultivated in some of its transcendental | branches by a Herschel, a Whewell, and a Babbage. Iam further gra- tified to receive this honour simultaneously with the announcement in foreign scientific journals, of another honour proposed to be conferred on me in Bohemia, conjointly with Mr. Robert Brown and Professor Faraday, and with nineteen of the most distinguished cultivators of science and literature on the Continent, viz. the degree of a Doctor of Philosophy in the University of Prague, at the approaching celebration of the five-hundredth year of the foundation of that university. This foreign recognition of my labours concurring with the reward conferred on me this day by the Council of a Society most competent to appreciate the value of researches in geology is indeed most grati- fying ; laudari a laudatis viris, is the highest praise attainable in human pursuits. The science which forms the subject of our espe- cial investigation is, indeed, as a master science, most expansive, most comprehensive: its requirements embrace the sciences of mineralogy and chemistry, the history also of the entirety of the animal and vegetable kingdoms, both incomplete without the addition of that large amount of extinct genera and species of animals and plants that occur only in a fossil state ; it comprehends also concho- logy, comparative anatomy, physical geography, agriculture, and natural theology. How vast are the requirements of this our master science, Geology, with such manifold subordinates! what a mighty miracle is the earth, which it is our province and privilege to be permitted to investigate ! how highly calculated, in the study of its structure and contents, to awaken many of the most exalted feelings of our spiritual nature —feel- Ings kindred to those of which original first discoverers of the laws and principles that govern the material world must eccasionally be conscious —feelings of grateful and humble admiration of the great Author of all created things,—which exalt us in the scale of beings, and which I once experienced, when, standing on the highest summit of the Mendip Hills, at the close of an elaborate investigation of the structure of the b2 xx PROCEEDINGS OF THE GEOLOGICAL SOCIETY. surrounding country, I recollected that I was the first individual of the human race to whom it had been permitted to unravel the structure and record the history of that subterraneous portion of the works of God that lay within the horizon then around me. Sir, it has been the high privilege of our time, which our successors cannot enjoy, to be the pioneers of a great and comprehensive master science; and wherever we have pushed forward our original discoveries, these discoveries will have indelibly inscribed our names on the annals of the physical history of the globe. We have established landmarks and fixed physical and chronological horizons which must endure so long as men regard the structure and contents and physical history of the earth which God has given the children of men. Many individuals of that Council who have concurred in awarding to me this Medal, have acquired to themselves, not only an European, but a Mundane reputation, not only as citizens, but as mstructors and benefactors of the world. Many of their names are as familiar on the banks of the Ganges and of the Ohio as on those of our own Thames. The scientific discoverers of the world are now closely united as one brotherhood in one great family of the human race, and the literature of science which records the physical discoveries of our time will con- tinue indestructible by the burning of another Alexandre library, and so long as science shall be regarded by any nation upon earth. Were all Europe and Africa again submerged beneath the oceans from which they have been elevated by the force of subterranean fires, our literature would survive in the libraries of Asia and America. It is highly gratifying to feel that whatever real additions we may have made to man’s positive knowledge of the works of God, will be indelibly preserved and imparted to all our successors of the human family in all countries and in all generations yet to come, and we trust, for their moral as well as intellectual and social and physical advantage. Geological knowledge, 7. e. the knowledge of the rich ingredients with which God has stored the earth beforehand, when He created it for the then future uses and comfort of man, must fill the mind of every one who acquires this knowledge with feelings of the highest admiration, the deepest gratitude, and the most profound humility The more our knowledge increases of the infinity of the wisdom and goodness of the Creator, greater and greater becomes the conscious- ness of our own comparative ignorance and insignificance. The sciolist alone is proud ; the philosopher is humble, and duly conscious of the comparative littleness of his most extended knowledge. We may be gratified by our discoveries and by the recognition of the value of our labours by our fellow-men. We may and ought to be gratified, but we are not made proud ; we feel that pride was not made for man : we learn the lesson of humility, icreasmg more and more continually as our knowledge of the works of God becomes more and more ex- panded ; and to those who have laboured diligently and successfully in their calling, as investigators of the wonders of creation, it is per- mitted to hope that they may have done good in their generation, and that their labour has not been in vain. ANNIVERSARY ADDRESS OF THE PRESIDENT. XXI After the other proceedings had been completed, and the Officers and Council had been elected, the President proceeded to address the Meeting. ANNIVERSARY ADDRESS OF THE PRESIDENT, SIR HENRY T. DE LA BECHE, V.P.R.S. & L.S. GENTLEMEN,—In accordance with the practice established for twenty years by my predecessors in this Chair, I have now to ad- dress you on the progress of our Society and of our science. This is our fortieth anniversary, and the Report of your Council will have shown you that our numbers were never greater than at the present time. It has been stated to you that there has been a small excess of expenditure over income, but this has been shown to have arisen from an unforeseen circumstance, and the cause cannot again occur. Without it we should have been within our income, and even with it we still had a considerable balance in our bankers’ hands, inde- pendently of our funded property. The communications to our Society have not deteriorated, and the discussions which have followed the reading of them have continued to preserve that character for good feeling, and desire to arrive at truth, for which they have long been known. Finally, the publication of your Quarterly Journal has been regular, and few months can now elapse between the reading of a memoir in this room and its appearance before the public, an advantage of no slight kind, and which cannot but be fully appre- ciated by the Fellows of this Society. Among the seven deaths which have deprived the Society of its ordinary fellows smce the last Anniversary, we have to lament that of Mr. CuaninG Pearce. Hewas born at Bradford, Wiltshire, on the 18th of July, 1811. His desire to collect organic remains commenced with his infancy, and it was with difficulty that his nurse could with- draw him from the heaps of stone or clay near Bradford, whence he obtained and brought to his father various fossils. He probably ac- quired this desire from his parent, who, before him, was accustomed to search for specimens of the Apiocrinites, commonly known as the Bradford encrinite. This disposition to obtain organic remains grew with his growth, and by the time his apprenticeship to his father, as a surgeon, expired, he had formed a large collection of them. He subsequently went to London, and was entered at Guy’s Hospital, where he distinguished himself, and obtaimed a prize for anatomy. After passing his examinations, which he did with great credit, he proceeded to Paris and Switzerland for a short time, and upon his return joined his father in his medical practice in and around Bradford. Still continuing a zealous and active collector of organic remains, he availed himself of every opportunity which his residence in a district rich in those remains afforded. From the members of the oolitic series, particularly the great oolite, Bradford clay and Forest marble, in the immediate vicinity of Bradford, he obtained an XU PROCEEDINGS OF THE GEOLOGICAL SOCIETY. abundant harvest of ancient organic forms, and his opportunities for procuring specimens of that beautiful fossil, the Apzocrinites Parkin- sonit, were so good and frequent, detecting them upon the very layers of rock on which they lived, that he was enabled to effect important exchanges with collectors in other parts of the British Islands and in foreign countries, thereby greatly enriching his museum, so that at length i it might be considered one of the finest private collections of organic remains in this country Besides a communication to the London Geological Journal on the Belemnoteuthis, Mr. Chaning Pearce contributed three short papers to this Society, one in 1842, on the Mouths of the Ammonites, &c., from the Oxfrd clay, Wilts, and two in 1843, the first on the Loco- motive powers of the Family Crinoidea, and the second on a new Encrinite from the Dudley limestone. Finding it necessary to abandon the medical profession, Mr. Pearce, in 1845, took Montague House, Lambridge, near Bath, built a convenient museum for his extensive collections, and in this placed saurian remains only a fortnight before his death. He suffered severely from calculi, composed of the phosphate and carbonate of lime, which he occasionally expectorated. He expired, with perfect calmness, on the 11th of May 1847. We have here to deplore the loss, from among our Foreign Mem- bers, of one who, during a life extended beyond the ordinary number of years, occupied himself with our science and its applications, and who for a long period has been ranked among the most distmguished geologists. ALEXANDRE BRONGNIART, the son of the well-known architect of the Invalides, Alexandre-Théodore Brongniart, was born in Parisin 1770. In his early years he was fortunately ‘associated with men who could appreciate his talents, and at that important period of his life was so situated as to benefit by the conversations of Franklm, and obtain his first ideas of chemistry from those of La- voisier, and so well did he learn from the latter, and so clear was his mode of expressing himself, that it is recorded that when only fifteen years of age, Lavoisier himself was the gratified attendant at a chemi- cal lecture by the young Brongniart. To chemistry and mimeralogy he was always attached, giving courses upon them from the age of seventeen years until three years before his death. Few have ex- ceeded him in the length of time devoted to instruction. He taught for sixty years, and during fifty years was a public professor. Alexandre Brongniart early completed his studies at the Ecole des Mines at Paris, and in 1788, then only eighteen years of age, was one of the founders of the Socicté Philomathique esta- blished in that city. In 1790 he visited England, where the mines and picturesque beauties of Derbyshire made a strong impression upon his mind. It was during this visit that he acquired data for a memoir on enamelling, his first appearance in a career connected with the manufacture of porcelain, and other fictile substances: for which he was afterwards so much distinguished. He became the assistant of his uncle, who was demonstrator of chemistry at the Jardin des Plantes, and also studied at the Ecole de Médecine, where ANNIVERSARY ADDRESS OF THE PRESIDENT. XX1il he took honours. He subsequently was attached to the army of the Pyrenees as pharmacien. The opportunity afforded by fifteen months’ residence among the Pyrenees was not neglected by the young Bron- gniart, and he there not only studied the botany and zoology of those mountains, but their geological structure also. So ardent was his pur- suit of science, that he fell into dangers which his youth prevented him from seeing, and he was thrown into prison, suspected of having favoured the escape of the naturalist Broussonnet, who fled through the Bréche de Rolland from a death with which he was threatened. Liberated on the 9th Thermidor, he returned to Paris, and, at the recommendation of Fourcroy and Coquebert de Montbret, was at- tached to the mining department, as an Ingénieur des Mines. Soon afterwards he became Professor of Natural History at the Ecole Centrale des Quatre-Nations, and a contributor to the best scientific journals of the time. In 1800 M. Brongniart was named director of the porcelain manufacture at Sévres, at the recommendation of Bertholet, and continued in this appointment until his death, thus devoting his energies to, and promoting the welfare of that establishment for forty- seven years. His well-known ‘ Traité élémentaire de Minéralogie,’ appeared in 1807, he being charged with composing this treatise at the time that the Imperial University was organised. This work became the text-book for the lectures which M. Brongniart, as coad- jutor with Hauy, delivered at the Faculté des Sciences, and which he continued at the Muséum d’ Histoire Naturelle, when he was called upon to succeed his distinguished predecessor, Hauy. M. Brongniart did not confine himself to the study of mineral substances. He long continued to occupy himself with zoology, and to him is due the division of Reptiles into four orders, the Saurians, the Batrachians, the Chelonians and the Ophidians. All paleeonto- logists* are acquainted with his treatise on the Trilobites, a work which was received with so much favour at the time (1822), and which paved the way for so many other labours upon these remark- able crustaceans, which in the earlier geological periods swarmed by myriads, ceasing, however, to form part of the marine fauna of our globe even at a very remote epoch. When Cuvier was called to Paris, M. Brongniart was among the first to appreciate his talents, and to his union with that great man geologists owe that important work,— important under so many aspects,—the ‘ Hssai sur la Géographie Minéralogique des Environs de Paris,’ presented to the Institute i April, 1810. The advance in geology made by the appearance of these labours is too well known to those whom I now address to render any account of them needful. They form one of those great resting-places in the progress of knowledge, whence the cultivators of science start with renewed vigour. In 1815 M. Brongniart was admitted into the Academy of Sciences, succeeding Desmarest. In 1817 he travelled in Switzerland, the Alps and Italy, accompanied by his son, Adolphe Brongniart, at the time of his father’s death, the President of the Academy of Sciences, and so well known to us all for the aid he has afforded to our science by XXIV PROCEEDINGS OF THE GEOLOGICAL SOCIETY. his works on fossil botany. One of his distinguished pupils, M. Ber- trand Geslin, was also of this party. The result of these travels was, among other things, the then startlmg announcement that the dark limestones of the Montagne des Fis, in Savoy, could only be regarded as an equivalent of the cretaceous rocks of Northern France and England. We are accustomed to such comparisons now, but thirty-one years since geologists were not prepared so readily to receive announcements of this kind. It was in 1824 that M. Brongniart visited Norway and Sweden, where his attention was alike directed to the more ancient and more modern rocks and accumulations. The works of M. Brongniart corresponded with the range of his mind, and we find him alike advancing our knowledge of mineralogy, geology, zoology, paleontology, and of the employment of mineral substances for the use of man and the ornament of his works. The last work of M. Brongniart, commenced in 1830 and com- pleted in 1844, entitled ‘ Traité des Arts-Céramiques,’ presents us with the most valuable information on this head ever accumulated, treated in the manner which might be expected from one so perfectly conversant with his subject, studied durig so many years, and so well illustrated by the splendid museum of fictile and vitreous manufactures which he founded at Sévres. The kindness of M. Brongniart to all m any manner connected with him, is proved by the affectionate regard entertained so gene- rally for him. While so well-informed, and occupying deservedly so high a place among men of science, he was always modest. Those who knew him well describe him as most frank, and so desirous of bemg scrupulously just, that the fear of partiality was often too strong upon him. His mind was at all times ready to receive truth, and he was anxious to regard subjects from different pomts of view. He considered minerals both as regards their chemical composition and. crystalline structure, and in geology, though as one of the authors of the mineral geography of the environs of Paris, it might be expected that he would hold the value of organic remains as not slight, he carefully avoided giving them exclusive importance. I cannot close this notice of our losses by death without advert- ing to that of one, who though not placed among even the easier classes of society, but who had to earn her daily bread by her labour, yet contributed by her talents and untiring researches in no small degree to our knowledge of the great Enalio-saurians, and other forms of organic life entombed in the vicinity of Lyme Regis. .Mary ANNING was the daughter of Richard Aunig, a cabinet-maker of that town, and was born in May, 1799. While yet a child in arms (19th August, 1800), she narrowly escaped death, when with her nurse taking shelter beneath a tree durimg a thunderstorm, which had scattered a crowd collected in a field to witness some feats of horse- manship to be performed by a party travellmg through the country. Two women, with the nurse, were killed by the lightning, which struck the tree beneath which they considered themselves safe; but the child, Mary Anning, was by careful treatment revived, and found not ANNIVERSARY ADDRESS OF THE PRESIDENT. XXV to have sustained bodily injury. From her father, who appears to have been the first to collect and sell fossils in that neighbourhood, she learnt to search for and obtain them. Her future life was dedicated to this pursuit, by which she gained her livelihood; and there are those among us in this room who know well how to appre- ciate the skill she employed, (from her knowledge of the various works as they appeared on the subject,) in developing the remains of the many fine skeletons of Ichthyosauri and Plesiosauri, which with- out her care would never have been presented to comparative anato- mists in the uninjured form so desirable for their examination. The talents and good conduct of Mary Anning made her many friends ; she received a small sum of money for her services, at the intercession of a member of this Society with Lord Melbourne, when that noble- man was premier. This, with some additional aid, was expended upon an annuity, and with it, the kind assistance of friends at Lyme Regis, and some little aid derived from the sale of fossils, when her health permitted her to obtain them, she bore with fortitude the progress of a cancer on her breast, until she finally sunk beneath its ravages on the 9th of March, 1847. GEOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF LONDON. With respect to the progress of Geology during the past year, and more especially in this country, it may be desirable in the first in- stance to take a survey of the manner in which our Society may have contributed towards it. For this purpose we may conveniently divide the general subject into— 1. Investigations respecting the accumulation of mimeral matter now taking place on the surface of the earth, mechanically and che- mically, by aqueous and igneous means. 2. Researches connected with the mode in which mineral matter has been accumulated in previous geological times. 3. The manner in which the remains of animal life at present ex- isting may be entombed amid the accumulations of mmeral sub- stances now in progress. 4. Ancient life, or Paleontology. 5. Observations respecting the mode in which the remains of an- cient life may have been mingled with the mineral deposits of former geological periods. 6. Descriptions of the superposition of rocks, their supposed equi- valents in different regions, and general classifications of them. 7. The movements which the mineral masses may have sustained subsequently to their accumulation. 8. The various mineral changes and modifications these mimeral masses may have suffered since their accumulation, either before or after any movements they may have sustained. Under the first head there has been nothing communicated to the Society during the past year, except an incidental notice by Captain Vicary in his paper on the geology of parts of Sinde, wherein, de- scribing the deposits at the harbour of Kurrachee, he mentions the cXVl PROCEEDINGS OF THE GEOLOGICAL SOCIETY. gain of the sea on the land. The prevalent in-shore wind, while blowing at times with considerable force, constantly drives dry sand into the harbour, tending to fill it up, the outflow of the tide only carrying back to the sea a part of the sand thus blown in; on the land side also every fall of ram, forming a temporary flood, leaves detritus. As no river now flows out of the harbour, tidal action alone (except during the temporary effects of rains) has to contend with the causes filling up the space imside the sands, and thus the conti- nuation of the mud-flats occurring within the present harbour becomes exposed outside to the action of the sea; the sands which for- merly protected the mud-flats, while river-action afforded a sufficient supply of detritus to be piled up im banks, being driven over the fiats inwards. Respecting the manner in which mineral matter may have been accumulated in former geological times, Mr. Lycett, describmg the great oolite as it occurs in the neighbourhood of Minchinhampton, observes that even a cursory glance at the sections.of that vicinity show the beds to have been accumulated in a shallow sea, where strong currents prevailed, the surface and mineral character of the deposit continually changing. ‘“ Heaps of broken shells,” he adds, ‘ piled i uncertain laminated beds, are intermixed with occasional rounded fragments of rock, (foreign to the neighbourhood,) of abraded ma- drepores, dicotyledonous wood, crabs’-claws, &c.’’ He further re- marks upon the apparent denudation of some shelly beds, the cavities left by the removed portion being filled with clay, on the common false bedding, on the non-conformity of certain beds in juxtaposition, and upon the barren or less fossiliferous character of other beds. He gives avery detailed account-of the beds he describes under the head of the compound great oolite, included in a thickness of about 130 feet, not neglecting their very changeful character. This deserip- tion constitutes a valuable addition to our information respecting the local mineral structure of a part of the oolitic series, which, taken as a whole, in its range from the coast of Yorkshire to that of Dor- setshire, affords a most excellent opportunity for the study, over a limited area, of modifications and changes im physical conditions during the lapse of a certain portion of geological time. No doubt parts of these deposits have been so removed by denudation that we lose their contact with the older accumulations which bounded them in one direction; and, on the other hand, they are so covered up by more modern deposits, that a stripe only remains of the old oolitic area. Enough, however, is still exposed to reward examina- tion; and a careful comparison of its mimeral character, with the mode in which mineral matter is accumulated at the present day, will be found highly instructive, more particularly if we extend our view to those other parts of Europe where deposits of equal date may be exposed. We have elsewhere endeavoured to point out the modifica- tions observable in the lower part of the oolitic series, when the Men- dip Hills in Somersetshire, and other places extendmg imto South Wales, im all probability, after formimg islands and shores, were so depressed beneath the sea-level as to be covered up by the oolitic ac- Snail ANNIVERSARY ADDRESS OF THE PRESIDENT. XXVH cumulations ; and we may now add, that the Geological Survey has not lost sight of the physical history of these deposits during its ex- amination of them, while at the same time every attention is given to their zoological modifications and changes. We may here call atten- tion to a more careful study of the oolitic grains than is sometimes given. Whole masses of them are no doubt concentric concretions round a minute nucleus, sometimes even appearing to surround a small crystal of carbonate of lime ; but others, though of the same general shape externally, are merely rolled pieces of corals and of shells, much resembling the coarser coral sands familiar to those who have examined coral reefs, or shores adjacent to coral accumulations. Often both kinds are mingled together m a common drift, diago- nally laminated, with larger portions of corals and broken shells, the flat parts of the corals and shells commonly parallel to the false bedding, thus pomting to the pushing action of moving water along a sea-bottom, the careful study of which readily shows the direction whence and to which the water moved. Indeed the mechanical ag- gregation of a large proportion of the calcareous beds is very striking, while the chemical production of others is equally apparent. By the careful consideration of these differences in the limestones, of the sandstones and of the clays, not forgetting the friction marks from moving water, and the trails and other traces of the various molluscs and other animals which have moved on surfaces, for the time, exposed, the geologist will find his labours well rewarded by an insight into the manner in which mineral matter has been deposited over a few thousand square miles at this geological period. Mr. Nicol, in his communication to the Society on the Silurian rocks in the south of Scotland, where they occupy an area estimated at 4000 square miles, examined into the manner in which the various beds composing it may have been accumulated. Though igneous rocks, such as felspar porphyries and the ordinary hornblendie varieties, commonly termed trappean rocks, are present in the con- glomerates, sandstones and slates, noticed under the head of grey- wacke or Silurian Rocks, they would, by the descriptions of Mr. Nicol, rather appear to have been intruded among the beds formed in water, after the deposit of such beds, than thrown among them while accumulating. It is shown, that in tracing the general mass from its northern border in Peeblesshire and the Lothians, south through Selkirkshire and Roxburghshire to the confines of England, and across the strike of the beds, that the coarser varieties of rock prevail on the north in large irregular masses, while on the south the finer varieties predominate in thinner, more regular, and more di- stinctly stratified beds, whence Mr. Nicol concludes that the deposits generally have been derived from the north. Hxamining the beds themselves he finds a mixture of clay-slates, and sandstones and con- glomerates, the former rarely exhibiting any of the cleavage so com- mon in parts of Wales and the older Cumbrian districts. The grains of quartz in the sandstones are rarely larger than a pea, while the flat fragments of a clay-slate attain several inches in length. He discovered no traces of granitic rocks, gneiss, or mica-slate rocks in these beds. XXVII PROCEEDINGS OF THE GEOLOGICAL SOCIETY. Mr. Nicol then proceeds to show that this accumulation of beds was consolidated, squeezed and upraised anterior to the formation of the old red sandstone, and infers that the older deposits were formed into hill and valley, and probably, in part at least, rose above the sea into the atmosphere, when the conglomerates of the old red sand- stone were collecting round them, tongues of old red sandstone now entering valleys of the older series. He also points out that the old red sandstone once covered the latter more extensively than we now find it, denudation having removed the greater part which once existed. These researches of Mr. Nicol are highly valuable in enabling us to trace into Scotland evidences of the general disturbance of so much of the older paleeozoic rocks prior to the date of the upper parts, at least, of the old red sandstone. Those familiar with the geo- logy of Southern Ireland are aware, that there the conglomerates of the old red sandstone repose upon the upturned and frequently con- torted beds of the older paleeozoic rocks, and it is not difficult to see that the overlap of the higher over the lower parts of the old red sand- stone, which commences in Herefordshire and runs through South Wales, is prolonged into Southern Ireland, the movements in the latter having been more decided and greater than in South Wales. If the higher portions of the old red sandstone overlapped the lower in Herefordshire and Shropshire, such extensions by overlap have been removed by denudation ; but again, in North Wales, we find the old red sandstone, as a conglomerate, here and there appearing from be- neath its covering of carboniferous limestone, the latter m its turn extending over and beyond the former, and both together covermg the upturned and frequently-contorted beds of the older palzeozoic rocks. Anglesea shows us the old red sandstone covered by moun- tain limestone, and even by coal-measures, thus overlapping older rocks further in that direction. In Cumberland and Westmoreland we have the well-known examples detailed to us by Dr. Buckland, and published many years since (1816) in our Transactions, and now we have the addition to our knowledge made by Mr. Nicol. Local cir- cumstances, therefore, in Herefordshire and Shropshire would appear to have interfered with, or so modified the great contortion and up- raising of the older paleeozoic rocks, observable over an area comprising probably the greater part of Ireland, Northern Wales, Westmoreland, Cumberland and Scotland, that the old red sandstone, or its upper portions, did not there accumulate, as a conglomerate, over portions of them. In the direction of Devonshire there was apparently a com- parative absence of crumpling and bending of beds at this time, and there deeper waters may have occurred, while littoral and river action were forming conglomerates in other parts of the area now occupied by the British Islands. When we see conglomerates, in which the water-worn pieces of subjacent and adjacent rocks are often large, we necessarily look to an adequate cause for their production, and find little else than the grinding together of such pieces of rock on sea-beaches, or the throwing or thrusting forward of shingle and gravel by rivers, capable | ANNIVERSARY ADDRESS OF THE PRESIDENT. XX1X of producing them, as we now find them. These conditions suppose dry land and seas of various depths, as at present, and therefore the view of Mr. Nicol, that in the district he describes the older paleeozoie rocks may have formed such a portion of dry land, clothed with an appropriate vegetation and inhabited by fittmg animals, while the old red sandstone was accumulating around it, may be considered as a fair inference from facts. Indeed it seems needful to extend this view to other parts of the British Islands at the same period, and even to suppose the sea to increase in depth in the direction of Devonshire and Cornwall, so that while shingles were accumulating round the dry lands, sands and mud were there drifted. The re- searches, begun by Mr. Griffiths, which have shown that the probable equivalents of certain North Devonian beds are found in Southern Ireland above the old red conglomerate, bear out this view. Mr. Nicol, while pointing out the absence of fragments of the so-called primary rocks in the older paleeozoic rocks of the valley of the Tweed, infers that the igneous agencies which metamorphosed the rocks of the Scottish Highlands mto gneiss and mica-slate also crushed and folded the older palzeozoic rocks of the Tweed; and as fragments of the gneiss and mica-slates are included in the old red sandstone series of Central Scotland, that this happened at the time before-mentioned, namely anterior to the formation of the old red sandstone.’ When we regard the evidence respecting the intrusion of the granite of South-Eastern Ireland, connect it with the altera- tion of the rocks m contact with the granite, and look to the probable date of such intrusion, as far at least as known researches would seem to give it, other portions of the area now occupied by the British Islands would appear to have been exposed to similar geological action at the same period. We must not hence infer that all the British granitic intrusions were of the same date, for there is good evidence to show that the protrusion of the Devonian and Cornish granites was effected at a subsequent period, one posterior to the formation of at least a part of the paleeozoic coal-measures, and probably to all those in our islands. We cannot avoid calling attention to the striking general resem- blance between the conglomerate accumulations of the old red sandstone around and over the upheaved and contorted beds of the older paleeozoic rocks, and that of the new red sandstone series of England around and over the upturned and often bent and contorted beds of the newer palzeozoic rocks, and indeed upon the upturned edges of the old red sandstones themselves. In like manner we have to infer dry land, with its coasts broken into bays and headlands, seas of different depths, the deposits in which were charged with per- oxide of iron, and conditions unfavourable for the entombment and probably the existence of animal life in such seas. For both we have to suppose submergence of the land, and an accumulation of shingles over shingles upon coasts, as also occasionally conditions per- mitting the protrusion of shingle-banks far outwards. ‘The extent to which all parts of the land may have descended is not clear ; portions may here and there have remained from that time to the XXX PROCEEDINGS OF THE GEOLOGICAL SOCIETY. present in the atmosphere, but we do know that the deposits of the time covered ground now high elevated above the sea. Patches of these now alone remain scattered at various distances from each other, and attest the denudation which the whole deposit has suffered in such situations from the combined action of atmospheric influences and of breakers wasting away the lands as they gradually rose above the sea, and indeed, in some cases, during many a rise and depression producing changes in the relative level of sea and land. Regarding paleontology we have received several communications. The first paper read was from Mr. Salter on the structure of Trinucleus, with remarks on the species, in which the author, after adverting to the name as that of Llwyd, given so far back as 1698, and revived by Sir Roderick Murchison, describes this genus, the individuals composing the species of which are so abundant in the Silurian rocks, especially in the lower division of them. Mr. Salter more particularly points out the peculiar perforate border as a highly interesting part of these animals. It would be difficult to explain the author’s description without the aid of his figures, but he endea- vours to show that the punctate or plicated fringes are only modifi- cations of each other, adding that these perforate or spinous fringes are not essential, but only supplementary parts of the head; the width of the head, without the fringe, being exactly that of the body ; so that when the animal is doubled up, the frmge projects freely on all sides. Mr. Salter then proceeds to consider a subject of much importance, especially when the Trilobites of different and distant localities are under consideration, namely the identity or distmetness of Trinuclei referred, or to be referred to the species 7. Caractaci (Murchison). From the examination of specimens, he considers that Trinucleus ornatus of Sternberg, T. tessellatus and T. Bigsbii of Green, 7. Caractact of Murchison, 7. elongatus and T. latus of Portlock, and T. Goldfussi of Barrande, are all the same species, for which he would preserve the name of Trinucleus ornatus, that having been first given by Sternberg. Of this species four distinct varieties are admitted :—1. Sternbergii (Salter) ; 2. Caractaci (Murchison) ; 3. elongatus (Portlock) ; 4. favus (Salter). Five species of the genus Trinucleus are known to Mr. Salter, namely 7. ornatus, Sternberg, T. seticornis, Hisinger, T. granulatus, Wahlenberg, T. fimbriatus, Murchison, and 7. radiatus, Murchison. Mr. Lyell in his paper on the coal-field of Eastern Virginia has figured certain bivalves found in the carbonaceous shales associated with the main coal seam. They are discovered in multitudes, dividing the shale into thin laminz like plates of mica, and resemble Posidonomya, and more than any other P. minuta. THealso figures and describes, chiefly from notes supplied by Prof. Agassiz and Sir Philip Egerton, ichthyolites obtained from the same coal-field. These consist of Dictyopyge macrura (Catopterus macrurus of Redfield), the most abundant species ; a second species of Dictyopyge, and a Tetragonolepis. Our Foreign Secretary, Mr. C. Bunbury, has given us detailed descriptions of fossil plants from the same coal-field, and brought to ANNIVERSARY ADDRESS OF THE PRESIDENT. XXX1 this country by Mr. Lyell. He enumerates—1. Teniopteris magni- folia (a fern first noticed by Prof. Rogers) ; 2. Neuropteris linnee- folia (n. sp.) ; 3. Pecopteris Whitbiensis ; 4. Pecopteris (Aspidites) bullata (nu. sp.); 5. a questionable Pecopteris; 6. Filicitus fim- briatus ; 7. Equisetum columnare ; 8. Calamites arenaceus (Rogers) ; 9. another Calamite, probably the young plant of the above; 10. Zamites obtusifolius (Rogers); 11. Zamites gramineus (n. sp.?); 12. a questionable Sigillaria or Lepidodendron ; 13. casts of small portions of a decorticated stem a little like those of some Lepidodendra; 14. a doubtful Knorria ; and 15. indeterminable fragments of a plant ap- parently with verticillated grass-like leaves. Figures accompany the descriptions Nos. 2, 4 and 6 of the above-mentioned fossil plants. To Sir Philip Egerton, who has so successfully studied fossil fish, the Society is indebted for a communication on the Nomenclature of the Fossil Chimeeroid fishes, in which he rectifies errors previously committed, and proposes to divide these fossil fishes into four genera, namely Ganodus (Egerton), Ischyodus (Egerton), Edaphodon (Buckland), and Hlasmodus (Egerton). The first genus contains ten species, all from the Stonesfield oolite ; the second nine species, from the chalk marl and greensand, the gault, the Portland beds, the Kimmeridge clay, the Caen oolite, and the las; the third genus contains seven species, from the Bagshot sands and Bracklesham beds, the molasse of Switzerland, the chalk, and greensand ; the fourth, two determinable and one unnamed species, from the Sheppey and Bracklesham beds, and from one unknown locality. Thus, these remarkable fishes have existed from the time of the lias to the present day, and the researches of Sir Philip Egerton have shown their range through geological time, established three new genera, and added no less than thirteen new species to the same number of species previously figured or described by Dr. Buckland, Prof. Agassiz, and Prof. Owen. In his microscopical observations on the structure of the bones of Pterodactylus aiganteus and other fossil animals, Mr. Bowerbank gives a detailed account of his researches into the forms of the bone-cells of man, and of recent or fossil birds, reptiles and fishes, and considers that these forms furnish characters sufficiently distinct to permit their classification ; thus while the proportion of the length to breadth in the bone-cells of man are represented to be as 1 to 4, that of the albatros is as 1 to 64, of a fossil bone of a bird from the Wealden 1 to 51, of the Thylacotherium Prevostii 1 to 44, of the common frog 1 to 113, of the Boa constrictor | to 11, and of a Pterodactyle jaw 1 to 11: other examples are given, as also considerable detail, requiring the plates for their proper appreciation. Mr. Bowerbank considers that the aid of the microscope may thus be most advan- tageously employed to determine the class of animals to which doubt- ful fossil bones may belong. From his researches he refers certain bones from the chalk, considered to be those of birds, to the Ptero- dactyle, and states that they confirm the views taken by Professor Owen respecting the mammalian character of the disputed remains discovered in the Stonesfield slate. ! XXXI1 PROCEEDINGS OF THE GEOLOGICAL SOCIETY. In his paper on the so-called nummulite limestone of Alabama, Mr. Lyell cites the opinion of Professor K. Forbes and Mr. Lonsdale that the supposed nummulites were in reality zoophytes, referable to the genus Orbitolites. Professor Forbes observes that the Orbitolites complanata of the Paris tertiary series is very nearly allied to the American fossil (Nummulites Mantelli), and that the Orbitolites elliptica of Michelin (from Nice) and that author’s Orbitolites Pratti are nearly-allied species. He refers also to disciform bodies discovered by Mr. Beete Jukes in Australia, in great numbers upon marine plants resembling Zostera, and when dead in great abundance in mud from various depths under seventeen fathoms, considering them as belonging to the same generic group with the tertiary Orbitolites. Mr. Lyell also quotes the opinion of M. d’Or- bigny that the American specimens sent to him are referable to his genus Orbitoides, one nearly allied to Orbztolina. In consequence of these determinations Mr. Lyell concludes that the fossil in ques- tion will henceforth be known as Orbitoides Mantelli, retaining the specific name first given to it by Dr. Morton. As Orbitolites have been frequently taken for nummulites, the strict determmation of them is important geologically. Our colleague Professor Owen has presented us with an account of . the fossil remains of mammalia referable to the genus Paleotherium, and to two genera, Paloplotherium and Dichodon, hitherto unde- fined, from the Eocene sand of Hordle, Hampshire. He is led to suspect that the species of Palezeothere represented by a lower jaw and teeth may be distinct from the Paleeotherium medium of Cuvier, while the distinctive position of another lower jaw is more doubtful, — and he consequently registers the Hordle fossils provisionally under the name of Paleotherium medium. After describing in great detail the specimens which have afforded him the data for the genus Palo- plotherium, carefully comparing them with all that is known respect- ing allied forms, Professor Owen notices a subject of much interest with respect to the entombment of some of these mammalian remains. He states, after mentioning the effects of force on a head of Paleo- theritum due to pressure before the rock in which it was inclosed had hardened, that there are other marks of violence, as if a crocodile had. seized the animal, a young one, for his prey, the skull exhibiting marks as if produced by two distinct bites, the head having been turned half round between them. ‘“ At all events,” he observes, *it is plain that the violence inflicted upon the head of this young pachyderm has been received before the skull became imbedded in the eocene mud, and that the matiix hardening around it has pre- served the evidence of the nature of the mjuries received to this day. The points of the great canine teeth of old crocodiles,” he adds, *“not unfrequently become so blunted as would produce such crushed and depressed fractures without penetrating more deeply.” To the extinct crocodile the remains of which are common in the same beds in which the Paleeotherium was found, Professor Owen assigns the name of Crocodilus Hastingsie. He afterwards presents us with a detailed account of the teeth and lower jaw of an extinct ANNIVERSARY ADDRESS OF THE PRESIDENT. XXXlil species of mammal belonging to the section of hoofed quadrupeds, and forming the type of a new genus to which he gives the name of Dichodon. In another communication Professor Owen notices the occurrence of the fossil remains of the Megaceros hibernicus (commonly known as the ‘Irish elk’) and of the Castor europeus in the pleistocene deposits forming the brick-fields at Ilford and Grays-Thurrock, Essex, thus confirming his statements as to the occurrence of the remains of the so-called Irish elk in England. He also remarks that the re- mains of the Megaceros, found in England, have been mistaken for those of Bos, and points out the difference between the teeth of the great Bovines and Megaceros. The teeth of the Bos longifrons being smaller than those of Megaceros are readily distinguished by their size. Professor Owen observes that the Bos longifrons coexisted with Megaceros in Ireland, and with Megaceros, Rhinoceros, Elephas, Hyena, &c. im England, and that the remains of Bos longifrons have been found in ancient places of sepulture, and are so associated with British and Roman works “as to leave little doubt of its having survived, as a species, many of the mammals with which it was asso- ciated during the pleistocene period.” The Professor conceives that as yet no good evidence has been adduced to show the coexistence of man and the Megaceros. We have also to record the reading of another communication to the Society by our colleague, Professor Owen, one entitled “ A de- scription of teeth and por tions of jaws of two extinct Anthracotherioid quadrupeds, Hyopotamus vectianus and H. bovinus, discovered by the Marchioness of Hastings in the eocene deposits of the N.W. coast of the Isle of Wight, with an attempt to develope an idea of Cuvier’s on the classification of pachyderms by the number of their toes.” After a careful detail and comparison of teeth, the Professor points to a general type of configuration (‘‘a quadrate crown with four principal pyramidal and more or less triedral lobes divided by deep valleys, not filled up by cement, but in some genera interrupted with minor tubercles and ridges,’’) which ‘characterises a great natural group of Ungulata, most of the members of which are ex- tinct, but which tend to fill up, i the zoological series, the wide in- terval that now divides the Peccari or the Hippopotamus from the Ruminants.” “The generic or subgeneric modifications of struc- ture,’ adds Professor Owen, “at present recognised in this great natural group, are signified By names given to the partially restored genera :— *< Anthracotherium. “ Hyopotamus. “« Merycopotamus. * Hippohyus. “ Cheropotamus. “« Adapes. ** Dichodon. “« Hyracotherium. VOL. IV.—PART I. ¢ XXX1V PROCEEDINGS OF THE GEOLOGICAL SOCIETY. Calicotherium. *«< Dichobunes. “< Anoplotherium. “« Hippohyus and Cheropotamus seem to have stood nearest to the existing Peccari and the Hog tribe: or 2. On the Geology of some parts of the Alpine and Mediterranean regions of SouTH-EASTERN Kurore. By Ami Bovsz, M.D., F.G.S. &e. Dr. Bove in this communication states his views in reference to the classification of the nummulitic rocks and the connected strata in various places round the shores of the Mediterranean. He points out especially the great extent of these deposits in European Turkey, as shown in a corrected copy of his Geological Map of that country which he has forwarded to the Society. In this map he also indicates the occurrence of Silurian formations in Carimthia, Styria, and some of the neighbouring regions. ee ee 3. On the relative Age and Position of the so-called Nummultte Lime- stone of ALABAMA. By C. Lye tu, F.R.S. and V.P.G.S. In a former paper published in the Quarterly Journal of the Geolo- gical Society of London (vol. 1. p. 405, May 1846), I stated that the limestone containmg abundantly the Nummulites Mantelli, Mor- ton, which occurs near Suggesville, Clarksville, and other places be- tween the rivers Alabama and Tombecbee, in the State of Alabama, was a member of the Eocene tertiary group, and that so far from con- stituting any part of the cretaceous formation, as had formerly been imagined, it holds in reality a place high up in the Eocene series of the South. Inthe same memoir I gave a section extending from Claiborne through Suggesville and Macon to the west of Clarksville, Alabama, in which the position of the so-called nummulitie limestone was explamed. It was stated to be newer than all the beds of the well-known Claiborne Bluff, and I mentioned that “the bones of the gigantic cetacean called Zeuglodon by Owen were everywhere found in Clarke County, in a limestone below the level of the nummulitic rock and above the beds which contain the greater number of per- fectly preserved eocene shells, such as Cardita planicosta and others.” NM "to the Paeen DaykSon lh Quart Cvol, Journ VolIV PI. Chines Bs ee’ 4 ; © = a | oh eae whe, © al ¥ M = or ; Se, da £ Son Lhe the Queen _ Gaare: Feol. Joarn. Vol. Ve PLL Day GHEE Ser. 2 Be. ON BONE VERBANK Boy Mt wha. “4 . is Ce pel ‘4 =) ca 08 - eee ee. : 2. 7 nt 4 x a3 * = ato? i eg et! wa - 2 , (1847.| LYELL ON THE NUMMULITE LIMESTONE OF ALABAMA. II (Quart. Journ. Geol. Soc. vol. ii. p. 409, May 1846.) At the time that my first communication was written, I had not finished my explorings in Alabama, nor visited St. Stephen’s Bluff on the Tom- becbee river, where I afterwards obtained additional proofs of the order of superposition above indicated; nor had I then compared the Eocene strata at Vicksburg with those of Jackson in the State of Mississippi, which throw light on the same question of relative posi- tion. Before adverting to these last-mentioned localities, I will first offer a few observations on the country between Claiborne and Clarks- ville, for I understand that doubts have been lately thrown on the correctness of the views which I have expressed relatively to the true age and place in the series to be assigned to the “ rotten limestone of Alabama,” and the associated rock in which the fossil first named Nummulites Mantelli by Morton abounds*. Before restating the grounds of my former opinion and corroborating them with fresh proofs, it may be well to say something of the nature and zoological relations of the discoid bodies from Alabama which have passed under the name of Nummulites, and which constitute the chief part in bulk of considerable masses of limestone im certain districts. Having obtained many specimens both from Alabama and from Vicksburg in Mississippi, in which the structure of this fossil was beautifully preserved, I first showed them to Prof. K. Forbes, who at once pronounced them not to be Nummulites, but related to some living plants or zoophytes which Mr. Jukes had brought from Au- stralia. Mr. Lonsdale, who examined them immediately afterwards, said, ‘“‘ They are certainly not Nummulites, but allied to some of the bodies usually termed Orbitolites, and are, I believe, corals, in the usual acceptation of that word.’ Afterwards Mr. Forbes having compared the American fossil with the living species from Australia, and satisfied himself of its near affinity, sent me the following note, dated June 14th, 1847 :— << On the so-called NUMMULITES MANTELLI. “The American ‘ Nummulites Mantelli, jadging from Mr. Lyell’s specimen, is not a Nummulite, nor is it a foraminiferous shell. It is a species of Orbitolites, and consequently a Zoophyte (probably Asci- dian). The genus Orditolites was established by Lamarck for the reception of a fossil of the Paris basin, the Orditolites complanata, which may be regarded as the type. Other tertiary species and a Maestricht fossil were associated by Lamarck in the same genus, in which he also placed the ‘ Orbitolites marginalis’ of the European seas. Respecting the true position of the last-named. body, however, there is considerable doubt. “The Orbitolites complanata is very nearly allied to the American * Sir R. Murchison announced to the Geological Society of London at their meeting May 26th, 1847, that he had just received a letter from M. Agassiz, in which he stated ‘ that M. Desor had clearly shown that the rotten limestone of Alabama was not cretaceous, as Morton and Conrad had supposed, nor Eocene, as Lyell had considered it, but was of the age of the Terrain Nummulitique of Bia- wiz.” 12 PROCEEDINGS OF THE GEOLOGICAL Society. [June 9,- fossil. The Orbitolites elliptica of Michelin, from near Nice, and that author’s Orbitolites Pratti, are also closely allied species. “In British strata, species of Oréitolites are recorded from the greensand of Milber Down, from the chalk of Lewes and from the coralline crag of Sutton. It is possible however that bodies belong- ing to distinct genera have been placed together in our lists. “Mr. Jukes has collected at Swan River in Australia numerous disciform bodies, apparently Ascidian Zoophytes, which occur therein great numbers upon marine plants resembling Zostera, and when dead are found in great abundance in mud, procured by the dredge from various depths under seventeen fathoms. These discs are usually about half an inch in diameter and are composed of minute cells. They appear to me to belong to the same generic group with the ter- tiary Orbitolites, and such appears also to have been the opinion of Defrance, for we can scarcely doubt that these are the bodies alluded to by him (in the following passage) as living m the seas of New Holland: ‘Cette espéce (i. e. Orbitolites complanata of the Paris basin) a les plus grands rapports avec celle que Pon trouve...... vivant dans les mers de la Nouvelle Hollande.’ (Dict. des Se. Nat. t. 36, Art. Orbitolite.) Margmopora of Quoy and Gaimard seems to be a similar if not identical body. “ As the subject stands at present, then, we have no right to infer from the presence of an Orbitolite, however abundant, that the stra- tum in which it occurs belongs to one period more than another, between the commencement of the cretaceous epoch and our own canes =. A few days after I had received this communication from Mr. Forbes, a letter reached me from M. D’Orbigny, of which I subjoin a translation :— “© DEAR SIR, “ Paris, 18th June, 1847. “‘T have been long acquaimted with the fossil body which you for-. warded to me, and at this moment I am printing, in an elementary work, all the mistakes concerning it; it is, in fact, of all genera that perhaps which has been most often misunderstood, and I should eall it the greatest culprit in geology. It is a genus nearly allied to Or- bitolina, and which I have named, in consequence of this analogy, Orbitoides. It has always been taken for a nummulite, though it | differs from it by the most marked characters. 1 have known many species, such as the O. media, papyracea, and that which you have for- warded to me, and which I had designated by the name of Americana. The Orbitoides are found in the cretaceous and tertiary formations, the Nummulina in the tertiary only. Such at least is the result of my numerous investigations on this subject. The species that you have forwarded to me had been sent me from North America, with a great number of tertiary and cretaceous shells ; it came to me with- out any information respecting it, and I am anxious to know where you found it. “Yours, &c., “To C. Lyell, Esq.” « Arcrpe D’OrsiGny.” * The Plagiostoma dumosum of Morton is decidedly a Spondylus. 1847.] LYELL ON THE NUMMULITE LIMESTONE OF ALABAMA. 13 The American fossil therefore now under consideration will hence- forth be called Orbitocdes Mantelli, retaiming the specific name first given to it by Dr. Morton. In my former paper I endeavoured to point out the cause of the obscurity in which the true age of the nummulitic or orbitoidal lime- stone of Alabama had been involved, it having been considered some- times as an upper cretaceous group, and at others as intermediate between the cretaceous and the Eocene formations. The accompa- nying section from Claiborne Bluff to Bettis’ Hill near Macon in Alabama may serve to explain the relations which I found to exist between the white limestone group of the south, comprising the suc- cessive formations 1. 2. 3, and the overlying group 4, which is per- haps of equal thickness, but which, from the absence of calcareous matter, rarely yields organic remains, and those consisting only of sili- cified casts of shells and corals. This upper formation (4) is com- posed of variously coloured red, pink and white sands, and yellow ochreous coloured sands, white quartzose gravel and sand with beds of chert and flint, blood-red and pink clays, and clays of white kaolin or porcelain earth, all horizontally stratified. I could find no fossils in those in Alabama, and only conjectured that they are of Eocene date from the analogy of Georgia, where a deposit of the like aspect and nature and occupying a similar position contains Eocene shells and corals. I formerly explained in 1841—42 the relative position of the upper clays and sands with flint (the Burr-stone formation of Georgia) to the underlying white limestone and marl of the State of South Carolina, in a diagram published in the Journal of the Geol. Soe. vol. i. p. 438, where the newer group is represented as resting on the eocene limestone of Jacksonborough near the Savannah river. It appeared in that case as in Alabama, that the older calcareous strata of limestone and marl had undergone great denudation, and had ac- quired a very uneven surface, having been shaped into hills and val- leys before the incumbent clays and sands were thrown down. At the bluff on the Alabama river at Claiborne, where so rich a harvest of fossils has been obtained, especially in the beds of No. 2, we see at one spot called «The Old Landing,” that nearly the whole precipice in its lower 160 feet, exposes to view the calcareous beds 1. 2. covered with about 20 feet of red clay and sand, whereas at the distance of less than a mile from this spot, the upper formation No. 4 occupies more than 100 feet of the face of the same cliff from its summit, while at the base the lower members of the calcareous series crop out from beneath the horizontal and mcumbent beds of sand and clay. This twofold composition of the mass of strata in the bluff at Claiborne is expressed at A in the annexed woodcut, and I verified a similar mode of juxtaposition of the two series of beds in several places in the interior of Clarke County, where the lime- stone often ends abruptly, and is succeeded sometimes in the same ridge or hill by the newer beds (No. 4), the latter having evidently filled up the imequalities of a previously denuded deposit, after which the whole was again denuded. I have suppressed several details and repetitions of the same phzeno- 14 PROCEEDINGS OF THE GEOLOGICAL SOCIETY. [June 9, mena in the country represented in the annexed diagram, and have Fig i. Bettis’ Hill. Claiborne. Z SS eee es = ge — — 1. Sand, marl, &c. with numerous fossils. 2. White or rotten limestone with Zeuglodon. \ ocene 3. Orbitoidal or so-called nummulitic limestone. 4, Overlying formation of sand and clay (Eocene ?). been obliged to give a considerable inclination to the strata, because in the distance of twelve or more miles between Claiborne and Bettis’. Hill, although the dip is not perceptible to the eye, the same beds are at the latter place more than twice as high above the Alabama river as at Claiborne. The lowest mass, above 100 feet thick, No. 1, which constitutes the lowest visible member of the Eocene series, comprises — marly beds with Ostrea selleformis, seen at the base of the cliff at Claiborne, and an argillaceous stratum with impressions of leaves, and sandy beds with marine shells, among which are found Cardita alta, C. planicosta, C. parva, Crassatella pretexta, Cytherea equorea, Oliva Alabamensis, Pleurotoma (several species), Solarium canalicu- latum, Crepidula lyrata, Endopachys alatum, Lonsdale, and 200 other species. No. 2, about 50 feet thick, is the white or rotten limestone, which is sometimes soft and argillaceous, but m parts very compact and calcareous, and contains Flabellum cuneiforme, Lonsdale, Scutella Lyelli, Conrad, Lunulites, and. several shells, some peculiar, others common, to the formation below. Mr. Conrad has already described this section at Claiborne, and I hope soon to give a fuller notice of it with the observations which I made there in 1846. Of the limestone No. 2, only the lower portion is seen here, for it is cut off at the top of the bluff by the newer series of beds No. 4; but in many parts of Clarke County, as near Bettis’ Hill and near Clarks- ville, the same No. 2 is found more largely developed. It is charac- terized among other organic remains by a large Nautilus allied to WV. ziczac, and by the gigantic Zeuglodon of Owen. Near the junction of the mass with the incumbent orbitoidal limestone we find Spondylus dumosus (Plagiostoma dumosum, Morton), Pecten Poulsoni, Pecten perplanus, and Ostrea cretacea in abundance. No. 3 is a pure limestone, sometimes hard and full of Orbitoides Mantelli. At Bettis’ Hill the formation is about 70 feet thick, and the upper beds are composed of a cream-coloured soft stone which hardens on exposure, is not divided by lines of stratification, and is for the most. part made up of orbitoides of various sizes with oecasion- ally a lunulite and other small corals, and specimens of Pecten Pout- sont. 'The origin of this limestone, like that of our white chalk, the 1847.] LYELL ON THE NUMMULITE LIMESTONE OF ALABAMA. 15 softer varieties of which it much resembles, is I believe due to the _ decomposition of corals, and like our chalk downs, the surface of the country where it prevails is sometimes marked by the absence of wood, by which all the other deposits in this part of Alabama are con- tinuously covered. The spots where few or no trees appear are called “bald Prairies,” but in some places, and at Bettis’ Hill among others, the orbitolite rock produces what is termed a “ cedar knowl,”’ the red cedar, Juniperus virginiana, having exclusive possession of the ground. I was much struck with the resemblance of such calcareous tracts, covered with the tree above-mentioned, to certain chalk regions in the south of England, where the only wood which grows on the white rock consists of yew-trees accompanied here and there by shrubs of juniper. At St. Stephen’s, on the left bank of the Tombecbee river in Ala- bama, a similar limestone with orbitoides forms a perpendicular bluff. The water of the river at the time of my visit was too high to enable me to collect fossils from the beds at the base of the cliff, but I was afterwards furnished with them through the kindness of Prof. Brumby of Tuscaloosa. They are imbedded im a ferruginous ochreous-coloured sand, and consist in part of shells common to Claiborne Bluff, such as Terebra costata, Conrad, Cardita parva, Dentalium thalloides, Fla- bellum cuneiforme, Lonsd., Scutella Lyelli, Con., and several more. I shall now conclude by adverting briefly to the result of a compari- son which I made of the fossils contamed im the eocene strata of Vicksburg on the left bank of the Mississippi river, the position of which is indicated at 4 a in the annexed woodcut, with those of other eocene beds forty-five miles farther inland or eastward, at Jackson in the same State (36). {nthe former of these at 4 a, the Orbitoides Man- telli abounds, together with Pecten Poulson, Dentalium thalloides, Sigaretus arctatus, Con., Terebra costata, Con., and a few others com- mon to Claiborne, but the great bulk of the associated fossils do not agree specifically with those of Claiborne Bluff. I found these di- stinet species of Vicksburg obtained by me to be referable to the ge- nera Voluta, Conus, Terebra, Fusus, Murex, Cassis, Pleurotoma, Oliva, Solarium, Natica, Turritella, Corbula, Panopea, Crassatella, Iucina, Venus, Cardium, Arca, Pinna, Pecten and Ostrea, with several corals, the whole having a decidedly tertiary and eocene aspect. The genus Pleurotoma for example, which is represented by several species, is one of the forms most characteristic of tertiary as distin- guished from secondary formations. At Jackson, which as before stated is more than forty miles to the eastward, older eocene beds crop out near to the area occupied by cretaceous deposits, as at 6, woodcut No. 2. Here, on the Pearl river, | found no specimens of Orbitoides Mantelli, although some are said to have been met with in the vicinity; but I observed that a larger proportion among the fossils were of species common to Clai- borne Bluff than at Vicksburg. Among these may be mentioned Cardita planicosta, Cardita rotunda, Cytherea equorea, Natica like one which I collected at Claiborne, Flabellum cuneiforme, Lonsd., and Endopachys alatum, Lonsd. (Turbinolia Maclurii of Lea); these I 16 PROCEEDINGS OF THE GEOLOGICAL society. [June 9, found in strata of yellow loam, sand and marl on the Pearl river and in the banks and beds of one of its tributaries. The other shells xs : a Fig. 2 ae : _— 22 5 ~ Be Bis 83 Ze rS) & _ = a o a> S =~ DZ Length of section 50 miles. - Mud of alluvial plain of Mississippi. . Superficial drift. . Freshwater loam with land shells, &c. . Eocene strata. . Cretaceous strata. om ODD collected by me at the same place, several of them I believe identical with Claiborne species, belong to the genera Voluta, Oliva, Terebra, Rostellaria, Murex, Umbrella, Natica, Turritella, Crepidula, Den- talium, Corbula, Mactra, Lucina, Cytherea, Cardium, Cardita, Pee- tunculus, Nucula, Pinna, Pecten and Ostrea. With these are many corals, teeth of fish, &c. I was shown the remains of Zeuglodon pro- cured from the neighbourhood at a place five miles south of Jackson on the right bank of the Pearl river, but as I did not visit the loca- lity, I cannot point out the precise place in the Eocene series in which it occurs. Some of the accompanying corals however were the same specifically as those occurring with the shells above-mentioned at Jackson, and one of my informants stated that this Zeuglodon bed was immediately under “‘ the rotten limestone.” Nov. 5, 1847.—Since the above was read to the Geological Society, I have seen two papers on the Vicksburg deposits by Mr. Conrad, the first in Silliman’s Amer. Journ. 2nd Ser. July 1846, No. 4, p. 124, the second in the same Journ. Sept. 1846, No. 5, p. 210, which I had previously overlooked. Mr. Conrad had not visited Jackson, Mississippi, but his results in regard to the fossils of Vicksburg, of which he evidently obtained a larger collection than mine, agree in the main with my own. I cannot however reconcile some of his state- ments in regard to the want of identity of species at Claiborne and Vicksburg, and suspect some errors of the press and of the dates of his two memoirs, no reference being made from the one to the other. Tn the first paper, p. 124, he affirms that not one species is common to Vicksburg and Alabama, yet he mentions Pecten Poulsoni, a Clai- borne shell, as abundant at Vicksburg with a Nummulite. In the second paper, p. 211, he says that ten species will be found on com- parison common to Vicksburg and Claiborne, Alabama. 4. A letter from Grant Dalton, Esq., to the President, was then read, in which he mentioned that he had obtamed possession of a considerable part of the fossil tusk of a Mammoth brought up in the 1847. ] OWEN ON ENGLISH EOCENE MAMMALIA. 17 trawl of an Ostend fishing-smack, about ten or fifteen miles off the island of Texel. The tusk, when fished up, was entire, and measured about 11 feet long, but was broken to pieces by the fishermen. The part obtained by Mr. Dalton is 44 feet in length, and measures about 8 inches in diameter. When found the enamel was hard and sound, but the whole of the interior in a soft state. JuNE 16, 1847. Sir James Ramsey, Bart., of Banff, Forfarshire, William B. Car- penter, M.D., Charles Walker, Esq., and J. H. Norton, M.D., were elected Fellows of the Society. The following communications were then read :— 1. A Letter to the Presipent from Leonarp Horner, Esq., F.R.S. L. & E., dated Bonn, June 1847. In this letter Mr. Horner mentions that he had been informed by M. von Dechen, that some well-preserved remains of Saurian reptiles had recently been discovered in the Saarbruck coal-field, celebrated for containing several species of fossil fish. Mr. Horner gives some details of the structure of these Saurians so far as they were then known, and states that the specimens had been entrusted to Prof. Goldfuss for description. 2. On the Fossil remains of Mammauia referable to the genus PALZOTHERIUM, and to two genera, PALOPLOTHERIUM and Dicuopon, hitherto undefined: from the Kocrenre Sanp at Horp.e, Hamesuire. By Professor Owen, F.R.S., F.G.S. Part I.—Description of Teeth of a Paleothere, from Eocene sand, Hlordle, resembling those of the species called Paleeotherium me- dium, figured in Cuvier’s ‘ Ossemens Fossiles, t. mi. pl. 42. di To ALEXANDER Pytrts Fatconer, Esq. of Beacon, Christchurch, Hants, and to his brother Taomas FaLconer, Esq. of Wootton in the same county, British Paleontology is much indebted for some new and highly interesting fossil remains, which they have obtained at considerable trouble and expense from the Eocene freshwater for- mation in the cliffs at Hordle, Hants. I beg to express my sincere acknowledgments to those gentlemen for their liberal transmission to me, from time to time, of their valuable acquisitions from this in- teresting stratum, of which I purpose on the present occasion to describe the specimens of jaws and teeth of the herbivorous or hoofed Mammalia. * The quarto edition of 1822 is cited throughout this paper. VOL. IV.—PART I. Cc 18 PROCEEDINGS OF THE GEOLOGICAL sociETy. [June 16, Amongst the earliest examples received of this order were molar teeth of a true Paleotherium. Lower molar. a Upper true molar. Palzotherium medium ? Paleotherium medium ? A single fragment of an upper molar tooth (fig. 1), with the outer side of the crown broken away at the enamel-line, like the letter W, but including the imner half with the oblique peninsular fold (e) and island (e') of enamel, and the two parallel oblique tracts of dente, 7’, 2, presents the typical characters of the upper molars of the genus Paleo- therium: it was the first evidence of that genus which I had seen from a formation of what, in relation to the Isle of Wight, may be termed con- tinental England. The tooth, when entire, has agreed with the first of the three true molars in fig. 14. pl. 47. and fig. 1. pl. 56. of the ‘Ossemens Fossiles,’ tom. ii. The ridge 7 at the fore part of the base of the tooth, and the short ridge e closing the entry to the oblique fold or valley, are present, as in the true Paleotheres. The tooth is smaller than the upper molar represented in fig. 3. pl. 4. tom. cit., and can only be referred to the Paleotherium medium as represented in the other plates above-cited, from the immortal work of Cuvier. Some lower molar teeth (figs. 2 & 3) also exhibited all the typical characters of that part of the genus Paleotherium: viz. the two semicylindrical lobes, 0, 0, the single pomt at the reunion of their contiguous angles to form the middle lobe on the imner side of the crown (2), and the basal ridge (7) : this is divided into an external and an internal portion, both of which send their anterior and poste- rior extremities obliquely upwards to corresponding angles of the two lobes. The crown is supported by two strong and long fangs grooved longitudinally on the sides turned towards each other, and with a thick coat of cement at their base, ec. The tooth figured was much worn; it is but a millimeter less im antero-posterior extent than the penultimate molar of the Paleotherium medium, in the portion of lower jaw, fig. 2. pl. 42. of the ‘Ossemens Fossiles,’ t. 1. It is three millimeters shorter in the same dimension than the corresponding tooth in the lower jaw figured in pl. 40. fig. 1, t. cit., which is also referred by Cuvier to the Pal. medium. Soon after receiving these, the first evidences of a proper English Paleotherium, Mr. Pytts Falconer transmitted to me from the same 1847. | OWEN ON ENGLISH EOCENE MAMMALIA. 19 locality and deposit three portions of the lower jaw of the same species of Paleotherium ; two of which formed part of the same ramus, the left, and contained three grinders together with the last characteristic three-lobed one (fig. 4, m 3), by which the Paleeothere differs from the Rhinoceros, Hyrax, Macrauchenia, and other Pachyderms with the lower grinders in two semicylindrical lobes. The other teeth in this fragment were the second (m 2) and first (m 1) true molars and the last premolar (p 4). The antero-posterior extent of the. series and of each individual tooth very nearly equalled those in the fig. 2. pl. 42. tom. cit., attributed by Cuvier to the Paleotherium medium ; _ In which figure, however, the teeth are somewhat smaller than those in the entire jaw, fig. 1. pl. 40. tom. cit., also attributed by Cuvier to the Pal. medium. Thus the antero-posterior extent of the series of three true molars in the Hordle Paleeothere (fig. 4) is 3 inches 1 line (7 centimeters 11 millimeters), and in fig. 2. pl. 42. tom. cit. it is 3inches 3 lines (8 centimeters 3 millimeters) ; whilst in fig. 1. pl. 40. tom. cit. the antero-posterior extent of the corresponding teeth is 3 mches 5 lines (8 centimeters 6 millimeters). The lobes of the molars of the Hordle specimen are also triangular, rather than semicylindrical : the outer convexity, instead of bemg smoothly rounded presenting a well- marked angle, notwithstanding they are worn nearer to the base than are the teeth attributed to Pal. medium in the Cuvierian figures above cited. The direct view of the grinding surface by which the difference of the Hordle molar teeth in the shape of their lobes could be best tested is not given by Cuvier in regard to the Paleotherium medium ; those of the Pal. crassum figured m pl. 39. fig. 2. most accurately coimeide with the semicylindrical form ascribed to the lobes of the lower molars of the Paleeothere in the text of the ‘ Ossemens Fossiles,’ and differ in a marked manner from the angular form of the same lobes in the Hordle Palzeothere, as well as by their smaller size. Of the accuracy of the Cuvierian figure we have the opportunity of jud- ging by the beautiful casts of the skull of the Palzotherium crassum in the British Museum and other collections in London. I am led, therefore, to suspect that the species of Palzeothere re- presented by the fragments of lower jaw and teeth from Hordle may be distinct from the Paleotherium medium represented by the lower jaw from Montmartre, figured in pl. 40, and referred to at p. 67 of the ‘Ossemens Fossiles,’ tom. ii. as a typical example of that species. The distinction of the Hordle specimen from the species represented by the portion of lower jaw (pl. 42. fig. 2) is more doubtful: this figure shows, as far as a side-view can, a more angular figure of the molars than in fig. 1. pl. 40. It shows also a smaller size of the molars, though these still slightly surpass those of the Hordle Pa- leothere. Fig. 2. pl. 42. shows a slight difference in the shape of the angle of the jaw as compared with fig. 1. pl. 40; it is how- ever referred to the Pal. medium in the description of the plates in the posthumous 8vo edition of the ‘ Ossemens Fossiles ;’ and it may have belonged to a female of that species. I purpose, therefore, to c2 20 PROCEEDINGS OF THE GEOLOGICAL SOCIETY. [June 16, register provisionally the Hordle fossils here described under the name of Paleotherium medium. Grinding surface of lower molars. Paleotherium medium ? Part I.—Description of Lower Molar Teeth from Hordle, indica- tive of a distinct generic form in the Paleotherioid family. Some fragments of inferior molar teeth of a smaller Palzeotherioid, among which was an entire crown (figs. 5 & 6), proved most decidedly the former existence of a species of this family of Pachyderms in the Hordle deposits, distinct from any of those previously recorded by Cuvier or other authors. Lower molar. Paloplotherium. The two semicylindrical lobes 0, o', were less angular than im the preceding species of true Paleothere from Hordle; but the basal ridge was absent from the inner side of the crown (fig. 6), and was reduced at the outer side (fig. 5, 7) to a rismg at the bottom of the median fissure, and to two terminal and very oblique ridges, the posterior of which ended by forming a distinct tubercle (¢) behind the hinder semicylindrical lobe (0’). These characters indicated something more than a distinct species of Paleotherium. But as other and more decisive characters of its generic distinction were afforded by more complete specimens of jaws and teeth of the same species from the same formation and locality, subsequently transmitted to me by the Marchioness of Hastings and Mr. Falconer, I shall proceed to the description of these specimens without further dwelling upon the earlier and more fragmentary evidences. Part Il1.—Description of the Lower Jaw with the deciduous and permanent Teeth of a new genus of Paleotherioid, for which the name of Paloplotherium zs proposed. (Pl. IIT. figs. 3 and 4.) Aw almost entire lower jaw (PI. III. figs. 3 & 4) obtained from Hordle Cliff, and kindly transmitted to me by Alex. Pytts Falconer, Esq., has an uninterrupted series of six entire grinding teeth on each side, se- 1847. ] OWEN ON ENGLISH EOCENE MAMMALIA. Z1 parated by a vacant tract from the series of alveoli of the two canines and six incisor teeth ; which series describes two-thirds of a circle at the slightly expanded anterior extremity of the jaw: an interspace of scarcely two lines extent separates the canine on each side from the incisors. The molar teeth progressively increase in size from the first to the sixth : the last four have the crown composed of two cres- centic or semicylindrical lobes corresponding with the type of those of the genera Rhinoceros, Hyrax, Macrauchenia and Paleotherium : the last (M 2), like the penultimate one, having only a small tubercle (¢) at its back part, in the place of the third lobe characteristic of the last molar of the true Palzeotheres. The first molar (Pl. III. figs. 3 & 4, D1) has a conical crown, convex externally, flat and slightly indented internally, with a basal ridge or cingulum, which, instead of completing the circle behind, bends up- wards to near the summit of the cone: this tooth is implanted by two diverging fangs. The crown of the second molar (2d. D 2) also consists chiefly of one conical lobe with two mdentations on its inner side ; the cingulum is interrupted at both the outer and inner sides of the base of the cone ; but its posterior part rises, or sends a strong ridge upwards to the mner part of the apex of the cone, and there is a depression both before and behind this ridge. This tooth is implanted by two fangs, as is each of the other grinders. The crown of the third tooth (4. D 3) assumes the general character of those of the Paleotherium, consisting of two semi-conical lobes, which from the attrition of their summits and the deep indentation of their inner sides assume the form of half-cylinders ; their contiguous angles are confluent and form the middle lobe (7) of the imner surface of the tooth; there is no ridge at the base of this surface. On the outer side of the crown a ridge extends from the base of the anterior lobe to its anterior upper angle ; anda second ridge curves from the outer part of the base of the hinder lobe upwards to its hinder summit ; a short ridge closes the base of the outer vertical cleft between the two lobes. The fourth molar (2d. D 4) shows, in addition to its supe- rior size, a minute worn tubercle (¢) behind the hinder angle or sum- mit of the hinder lobe o'; and the anterior and posterior oblique ridges are more decidedly distinct from the short middle external basal ridge. The fifth molar (M 1) differs from the fourth in the greater depth of the inner excavations or cavities of the lobes, which partly depends on its having been less worn : the hinder angle of the hinder lobe (0') has not been worn down to the level of the small tubercle (¢) which forms the summit of the posterior ridge ; which ridge, like the anterior one, is now nearly vertical. The sixth grinder (m 2) has only come into use at the fore part of the anterior lobe; the enamelled summit of the hind lobe is intact, and forms a semicircular ridge slightly mam- millated ; its anterior angle is below the level of the posterior one of the anterior lobe, from which it is separated by a tubercle (7) formed by the obtuse summit of the middle lobe of the inner surface of the crown. The hinder ridge expands at its summit into an obtuse tubercle (4), terminating about two lines below the summit of the hinder lobe. 22 PROCEEDINGS OF THE GEOLOGICAL SOCIETY. [June 16, Had all the molars above described belonged to the permanent series, they would have differed from those of the Paleeothere not only in their minor number—six instead of seven—but also in the simpler form of the last molar, as well as by the tubercle at the sum- mit of the posterior ridge in the three last molars. A small orifice, however, in the alveolar border (fig. 3, 3), behind the last molar in place, led me to suspect the existence of another molar in a con- cealed alveolus, and on removing a portion of the outer wall of the jaw, the germ of such a molar was exposed, consisting of the shell of the crown (fig. 4, 3). This seemed to make the number of grinders the same as in the Paleotherium, but the hidden grinder resembled the crown of the last one im place, and had not the third lobe which characterizes the last true molar of the Paleotherium ; whilst the second grinder (D 2) still opposed its small size and uni- lobate structure to an accordance with the generic dental character of the Paleotherium. Observing, next, that the fourth grinder (D 4), in the jaw from Hordle, had been much more worn by mastica- tion than the succeeding tooth (M 1)—now proved to be the first of the three true molars—I was led to suspect that D 4 might be a de- ciduous tooth, knowing that the permanent one when in this position has its crown less worn im all known Herbdivora than the first true molar behind it ; and that it comes into place either at the same time as the last true molar or a little later. The degree of attrition of the third tooth in place (D 3) indicated that it also might be one of the deciduous series; and the extent to which the fangs of all the four anterior grinders were exposed, together with some minute foramina on the inner border of their sockets, determimed me to search for traces of successors beneath them. ‘The search was successful, and the germs of the permanent premolars, not indeed equal in num- ber, but almost co-extensive, with the four anterior grmders which they would have displaced and succeeded, were discovered (fig. 4, P 2, 3,4). These germs consist of the entire crown widely excavated at the base. The first (2b. P 2) is chiefly composed of one semi- conical lobe with a basal ridge interrupted at the outside of the base of the cone, but developed behind into a wing-like appendage, o!: the apex of the crown points below the interspace of the first and second deciduous molars, both of which it would have displaced. The second premolar (74. P 3) lies beneath the third milk-molar; it resembles the first premolar in shape, but is of larger size, and has the hinder wing-like process (0’) more developed : this process presents a flat and nearly vertical surface outwards, and is convex at the inner and back part of its base. The third premolar (6. P 4) consists of two semicylindrical lobes like the true molars and like the last milk- molar which it would have succeeded: like them, also, it has no basal ridge on the inner side of the crown, and that on the outer side is interrupted and represented by the oblique anterior and posterior ridges, the latter of which terminates in the characteristic tubercle ¢. In all existing hoofed quadrupeds (Proboscidians excepted), the last milk-molar presents and foreshadows, so to speak, the peculiarity in the form of the last true molar, when this tooth differs from the others; 1847. | OWEN ON ENGLISH EOCENE MAMMALIA. 23 and it might have been inferred, therefore, from the bilobed figure of the tooth now determined to be the last milk-molar, that the last true molar must also have had a bilobed crown, if even the state of the specimen had not permitted the actual demonstration of this generic distinction from the Paleotherium, as in fig. 4, M 3. Thus the specimen in question having belonged to an individual at almost the greatest age compatible with the retention of the deciduous molars, gives the dental formulee of the lower jaw of both the imma- ture and adult states of the species: e. g.— Deciduous or milk-teeth: 7. 3—3; c.1—1; m. 4—4. —_- Permanent teeth: 7. 3—3; ¢. 1—1; p. 3—33 m. 3-3. The animal has perished, in fact, at that age when the jaws contain the greatest number of molar teeth, not less than twenty, for example, being lodged in the lower jaw in question. The teeth in use are the four milk-molars, and the first and second true molars on each side: those still concealed in the jaw are the three premolars and the last true molar. The premolar which is wanting to complete the nor- mal number is that which should have succeeded the first deciduous molar, and which would have answered to the first small premolar in the true Paleotheria* : I have therefore indicated the three pre- molars that are developed in Paloplotherium by the same signs as those which designate their homologues in the Paleotherium+. The non-succession of D 1 bya P 1, and its displacement together with D 2 by P 2, is a modification in which Paloplotherium resembles Equust : and this instance of affinity is extremely interesting in connexion with the approach made by certain Paleeotheres (Pal. Aurelianense, e. g.) to the monodactyle character of the Horse, by the disproportionate size of the middle of the three toes on each foot. In the comparison of a detached true molar of the present Palzo- therioid with the typical species, since the character of the bifid middle internal lobe would be lost by a moderate amount of wear of the crown, and since the tubercle terminating the hinder ridge would be obliterated by a further extent of abrasion, it may be remarked that lower grinders of the Paloplotherium may be distinguished by the absence of the basal ridge along the inner side of the crown, as well as of that which, in the true Paleeotheres, unites the anterior and posterior oblique ridges along the outer side of the base of the crown. A portion of lower jaw from the Hordle Cliff (PI. IV. fig. 1), of a younger animal than the above-described, having the four milk-molars (D 1-4) and the first true molar (M 1) m place, showed by the cha- racter of the crowns of these teeth, and especially by that of the per- manent true molar, its distinction from the typical Paleeotheres, and its specific identity with the Paloplotherium above-described from the same stratum and locality. The crown of the second true molar was found almost completely * See my ‘ Odontography,’ pl. 135. fig. 6. p 1. + Jb. t Jb. pp. 572, 580, pl. 136. figs. 4 & 5. 24 ‘PROCEEDINGS OF THE GEOLOGICAL society. [June 16, formed in its closed alveolus. The crowns of the last two premolars, and of the last true molar, were represented by the detached, first- formed, enamelled summits of their lobes: of that of the first pre- molar (p 2) I could find no trace, but a smooth round cell indicated that a matrix had been developed, and, by its situation beneath the interspace of the first and second milk-molars in place, that the tooth it was destined to form would -have displaced and succeeded both those milk-molars. The comparatively little-worn summits of the milk-molars showed the characters of their crowns better than in the more advanced jaw. The posterior oblique ridge in the third and fourth terminates in a minute tubercle. The slightly abraded sum- mit of the first true molar also showed a similar but better-developed tubercular termination of the posterior ridge. The detached molar teeth of the above-described species are inter- mediate in size between those of the Paleotherium crassum and Pa- leotherium curtum. The species to which they most nearly approxi- mate in this respect is that represented by Cuvier in pl. 4. fig. 1. of the ‘Ossem. Foss.,’ tom. ili, and referred to at p. 67, tom. iii, as one of the types of the Paleotherium medium*. I so strongly suspect an error in the reference to this species, and perceive so much in the figure that requires further elucidation, that I am disposed here to offer a few remarks respecting it. This remarkable fossil was first described and figured by M. Lamanon, in the ‘ Journal de Physique’ for March 1782: he comparesits dentition with that of many known living mammals, and arrives at the conclusion that it belongs to a species which no longer existed on the earth+. * One of the objects of a recent visit to Paris was to examine the original ; but M. Laurillard informed me that the specimen was not in the public collections at the Garden of Plants, and that it had been only temporarily entrusted to Baron Cuvier for description. t+ “‘ On ne peut enfin rapporter ces ossemens a aucun des animaux terrestres que nous connaissons.”’ (p. 184).—*‘ On est fondé a dire que c’est un animal dont Vespéce est perdue.”—‘ La forme des dents prouve qu’il se nourissait d’herbes et de poissons ; et je juge qu’il était Amphibie.” (2b. p. 185.) M. Cuvier, in citing this memoir of Lamanon’s, in the third volume of the first edition of the ‘ Ossemens Fossiles,’ p. 2, says: “ I] décrivit des dents, des vertébres et une moitié de téte dont nous parlerons dans la suite, qu’il jugea venir d’une espéce perdue d’Amphibie.” M. de Blainville blames the brevity of this citation, ‘sans méme expliquer ce qu’en France alors on entendait sous ce nom:” and, after quoting Cuvier as having affirmed that Lamanon meant “ un amphibie que se nourissait de chair et de poissons,’” endeavours to fasten a charge of bad faith upon the author of the ‘ Ossemens Fossiles,’ by asserting that Lamanon had de- termined the fossil in question to be ‘‘un herbivore amphibie, comme on appelé alors le Tapir et l’ Hippopotame.” (Ostéographie, fasc. xxi. p.13.) What Lamanen understood, or what naturalists generally signified, by the term ‘Amphibie’ in 1782, it would not be easy to define. In another place, M. de Blainville himself says: ‘‘ Il faut se rappeler que sous cette dénomination, en France, on comprenait alors les Phoques, les Hippopotames, les Loutres, les Castors.”? Now, M. Lamanon compares his fossil with the beaver, and concludes by supposing that in addition to herbs, the animal fed, like the seals and otters, on fish. Had Cuvier cited M. Lamanon as affirming his fossil animal to have fed on flesh and fish, he might have been open to the comments in which M. de Blainville indulges. But Cuvier’s words are: ‘ Lamanon....conclut que c’était un amphibie que vivait a la fois d@’herbe et de poisson.” (Ossemens Fossiles, 4to, iii. 1822, p. 27.) 1847.] OWEN ON ENGLISH EOCENE MAMMALIA. — 25 But Lamanon imagined it to be an aquatic animal, and calls it an ‘amphibiolite sans analogues’ (p. 185). The engraving of the fossil in pl. 2. of the ‘ Journal de Physique,’ Mars 1782, is, as Cuvier rightly observes, reduced one-third ; (the original drawing was probably, as Lamanon states, p. 183, of the natural size). The engraving in the ‘Ossemens Fossiles’ has the superior advantage of both being of* the natural size, and of having been drawn by Cuvier’s own hand :—‘“ dessinée par moi-méme au compas*.” 'The lower jaw shows four entire bilobed molars, d, e, J, g, m place, the roots of another anterior to them (/), and the germ of a sixth beneath the base of the coronoid process at m3; which Cuvier describes as the “ germe de molaire postérieure inférieure.”’ He does not appear to have determined its tripartite structure. But assuming that so characteristic a form of the last true molar had not escaped, as it was little likely to do, the notice of Cuvier, and that it had afforded him the true ground for his determination of the tooth, then the molars marked d and e must be the second and ‘first true molars: and as the next tooth in advance, f, has but two semicylin- drical lobes, it cannot be the last deciduous molar ; since this would show the three divisions in a true Paleotherium, like the species figured by Lamanon. ‘The teeth, then, that are present in the speci- men must be, according to the description given by Cuvier, the follow- ing: gis p 3, fis p 4, e ism 1, and dis m 2; or the series in place consists of the third premolar and the penultimate molar inclusive. Now the antero-posterior extent of these four teeth is 2 mches 5 lines (6 centimeters) ; that of the same teeth in the Paleotherium medium (pl. 40. fig. 1) bemg 3 inches 6 lines (9 centimeters). Lamanon says the jaw is 6 inches (French) in length (the admeasurement does not include the condyle); that of Paleotherium medium in pl. 40. is 9 inches (French) between the same parts. The difference in the size of the jaws figured in pl. 4. and pl. 40. tom. i. of the ‘Ossemens Fossiles’ might be explained by a difference of age in the original specimens ; but as the size of the crowns of the teeth do not alter with age, the great discrepancy in this respect between the two specimens seems to be quite incompatible with their specific agreement. Both specimens are however called Paleotherium medium by Cuvier, in his reference to the typical examples of that species at p. 67, tom. cit. and the editors of the posthumous 8vo edition ascribe the figure 1. pl. 4. (their pl. 83) to the ‘young Paleotherium medium.’ The great discrepancy, however, in the size of the permanent molar teeth, is neither accounted for, nor indeed adverted to. The indica- tions of the canine and incisors may be those of the milk-teeth, since these are not shed in Rumimants until the permanent molars and pre- molars are in place: the much-worn and broken tooth / may be the second milk-molar, also not shed; but the four entire and evidently permanent molars indicate a species of Paleotherium intermediate in size between the Pal. crassum and the Pal. curtum ; or one of nearly the dimensions of the Paloplotherium of Hordle ; but differing from * Annales du Muséum, iii. p. 292. 26 PROCEEDINGS OF THE GEOLOGICAL society. [June 16, that species in having the molar teeth of the typical paleeotherian form; and in having the third premolar (P 3) bilobed. I may add that the coronoid process in fig. 1. pl. 4. tom. im. ‘ Ossem. Foss.’ is 3 inches 1 line in height, whilst that of fig. 2. pl. 42, 26., with much larger molar teeth, is only 2 inches | line in height*. The height of the coronoid process in the Hordle Palzeotherioid jaw is 2 imches 10 lines; its proportion to the teeth is therefore much nearer that of the Paleeotherium in pl. 4, than that of the older and larger Paleeotherium in pl. 42. tom. cit. The Paleotherium Aurelianense, the differential characters of whose upper molars from those of the typical Paleeotheres will be noticed in connexion with the fossil upper jaw of the Paloplotherium from Hordle, presents corresponding differences, as compared with the Montmartre Paleotheria, in the molar teeth of the lower jaw ; these differences are regarded as of generic value by M. V. Meyer, but by Cuvier as specific distinctions only ; and he thus describes them :— “The meeting (rencontre) of the two arches or crescents forms a double poimt at the middle of the internal surface (of the crown, fig. 5, ¢); whilst that pomt is always simple in the Paleeotheres of the environs of Paris.’”’—‘ The last lower molar has its third lobe shaped like a cone rather than a crescent.” The complete lower jaw of the immature Paleeotherioid from Hordle presents, as we have seen, the four false molars and the first and second true molars in place. 'The middle inner lobe (PI. IIT. fig. 3, m 1) is slightly bifid; but this is due to a cleft in the summit of that lobe, and not to an imperfect or interrupted meeting of the two crescents : the posterior crescent o! does not rise so high as the anterior one 0, but terminates by abutting against the middle bifid internal lobe, without forming a distinct pomt. The bifid character, therefore, is apparently differently produced, and is certainly much less marked in the lower molars of the Paloplotherium than it is described to be and is figured in the lower molars of the Paleotherium Aurelianense (An- * I regard this difference as decisive of the specific distinction of the two Pale- otheres above compared: both, however, are cited as examples of the Paleoth. medium in the ‘ Paleologica’ of V. Meyer, p. 84; the ‘ Fauna der Vorwelt’ (1847) of Siebel, p. 188; and other similar compilations. M. de Blainville, in the Critique on the Cuvierian species of Paleotherium, does not notice any of the differences between the skull and teeth figured in pl. 4, and the specimens figured in pls. 40 and 42, tom. iii. of the ‘Ossem. Fossiles’ : he states, however, that the original of Lamanon’s figure had recently been ac- quired for the Museum of the Jardin des Plantes (Ostéographie, fase. xxi. p. 26) : so that the comparisons which I had hoped to have made in August 1847 may still be carried out. M. de Blainville throws some doubt upon the specific di- stinction between Pal. medium and Pal. crassum, and ventures to affirm that all the species ‘“‘n’ont réellement été définies par M. G. Cuvier que d’aprés la gran- deur rélative,” 7. c. p. 66. But if even the differences of proportion by which Cuvier characterized his Paleotherium crassum (t. ili. p. 127) and Pal. latum (t. iii. p. 131) were not indicated in the above-cited and other passages of the ‘ Ossemens Fossiles’ with a precision and frequency which makes one astonished at M. de Blainville’s assertion to the contrary, the naturalist might cite the Horse, the Zebra, the Ziggetai, and the common Ass, as accepted species, whose teeth and bones would yield less decisive evidence of specific distinction than those which Cuvier has so ably pointed out in the fossil remains of the Paleotheria. 1847. | OWEN ON ENGLISH EOCENE MAMMALIA. 27 chitherium, V. Meyer). The true molars of the lower jaw of the Paloplotherium also differ in the absence of the cingulum or basal ridge, and in the presence of the cusp terminating the posterior ob- lique ridge ; at least neither Cuvier nor M. V. Meyer allude to this character in the molars of the Orleans or Madrid Palzeotherioid ; although something like it is indicated in the lower molars of fig. 17. pl. 67. ‘Ossemens Fossiles,’ tom. m.* But the most decisive distinction in the dentition of the lower jaw of the Hordle Paloplo- therium is the unilobate structure of the second premolar (p 3), and its smaller size as compared with the first (p 2); a difference which will be at once appreciated by comparing the figure im Pl. IIT. fig. 4, P 2, with that given by Cuvier in figs. 3 and 13 6. of the plate 67, above-cited. This difference would have decided the distinction of the species, if even subsequent discoveries had not proved the generic difference of Paloplotherium, by showing that the Paleotherium Aurelianense resembled the typical Palzeotheres in the number of its inferior grinding teeth. Another known Paleotherioid pachyderm with which the Hordle Species might be confounded, is that to which the left ramus of the fossil lower jaw from the tertiary deposits at Buenos Ayres, now in the British Museum, belongs, and which I have provisionally referred to the genus Macrauchenia. ‘This portion of jaw contains six molar teeth, three true and three false; and the last molar differs, like that in the Paloplotherium, from the typical Paleeotheres by the absence of the third lobe: but it likewise differs from the species under con- sideration in the absence of the posterior tubercle, which is equally wanting in the other true molars of the Macrauchenia: the pre- molar answering to P 2, in figs. 2 and 4. Pl. III., is more compressed and more extended from before backwards, as is also P 3+, which shows a fold of enamel along its inner side which would not be present in the corresponding tooth of the Paloplotherium. Nevertheless this genus resembles the Macrauchenia in the more simple form of P 2 and P 3; in which we may discern an approximation to the Ano- plotherian type, as in the number of the premolars we discern a cha- racter of the Equine and Ruminant dental formule. In the figure of the lower jaw of the Macrauchenia in my ‘ Odontography’ (pl. 135. fig. 7), the outline of. p 1 ‘is hypothetically added to the series” (7b. p. 603): but this tooth may have been normally absent, as it is in the Paloplotherium, the Horse, and in existing Ruminantst. The only known species of Macrauchenia much surpasses the Paloplo- therium annectens in size. * M. de Blainville is equally silent in respect to this character in his recent work on the Paleotheria: but I observed it in the specimens of the Pal. Aure- lianense from Sansans. + See Odontography, pl. 135. fig. 7. { In an extinct antelope (Dorcatherium, Kaup) the first milk-molar was suc- ceeded by p 1, and the number of premolars was four. 28 PROCEEDINGS OF THE GEOLOGICAL SOCIETY. [June 16, Part IV.—Description of a portion of the Skull and Upper Teeth of the same species of Paloplotherium (P. annectens). (Pl. IIT. figs. 1 & 2.) THe Paleotherium which Cuvier found to deviate most from the generic characters of those of Montmartre (Pal. magnum, P. crassum, P. medium, P. curtum), which may be viewed as the types of the genus, is the species from Orleans already referred to (’ espéce d Or- léans of the ‘Ossemens Fossiles,’ 11. p. 254; Paleotherium Aure- lianense, Auct. De Bl. Ostéog. fase. xxi. (1847) p. 43). The differences specified by Cuvier are those presented by the molar teeth. In the upper (true) molars ‘ the distinctive character’ of the ‘ Pal. d’Orléans’ consists in this, that the lobes or ridges (PI. III. fig. 6 , 2) (collines) which extend from the external border, at their arrival at the mternal border do not come back; and in this, that there is at the posterior border a little insulated ‘colline’ in the form of a chevron*. It is assumed in the ‘Ossemens Fossiles’ that the number of the permanent molars m the Pal. Aurelianense is the same as in the other species ; in short, that it presents the numerical formula of the genus Paleotherium: and Cuvier, therefore, interprets the modifi- cations of the grinding surface of the upper molar as a specific dif- ference. ; M. Hermann V. Meyer, on the other hand, has founded a genus} on a few fossil teeth, from the tertiary deposits near Madrid, which present the same modifications of the grinding surface, and belong apparently to the same species as the Paleotherium Aurelianense. Not any of the fossils, however, described and figured by Cuvier, Guettard, or M. V. Meyer, and which are referred in the systematic Paleontological Treatisest to the Paleotherium Aurelianense, exhibit the whole series of molars in either upper or lower jaw. The question of the generic distinction of this Paleeotherioid must therefore remain in abeyance until further evidence, and especially the important cha- racter of the dental formula is determined ; for few anatomists or naturalists, I apprehend, will be found to regard as generic the di- stinctive characters of the Orleans Palzeothere, specified by Cuvier. Ample grounds, however, for so interpreting the fossil cranium under consideration (Pl. III. figs. 1 & 2) are furnished by the entire series of molar teeth in the upper jaw, which consist on each side of three molars (M 1, 2 & 3) and of but three premolars (P 2, 3 & 4), instead of four premolars as in the typical Palgotheria: the sockets * Tom. cit. p. 255, pl. 67. figs. 11 and 12. Cuvier also cites a figure by Guettard of one of these molars, in the ‘ Mémoires sur les Arts et les Sciences,’ tom. v. pl. 7. fig. 1;—a work which I have not had the opportunity of con- sulting. T Haphitheriun Equerre ; Jahrbuch fiir Mineralogie, 1844, p. 298. { Picrer, ‘ Traité Elémentaire de Paléontologie,’ t. i. (1844) p. 274. GrEBEL, ‘Die Saugethiere der Vorwelt,’ 8vo. (1847) p. 189. 1847.] OWEN ON ENGLISH EOCENE MAMMALIA. 29 of the canines and incisors are also preserved, showing the dental formula of the upper jaw of the present genus to be— > ae a ae AE eae ad o) — ee a 5) The grinding surface of the true molars differs from that of the same teeth in the Paleotherium Aurelianense : the penultimate molar M 2 in the specimen (fig. 2) has the enamelled summits of the ridges abraded to the same extent as in the (apparently) penultimate molar of the Paleotherium Aurelianense figured by Cuvier * (fig. 6) ; and shows the following distinctions :—there is no small insulated che- vron-shaped lobe like that marked c, fig. 6, in the depression at the posterior borders between the ridges o! and ¢’: the anterior ridge (fig. 2, M 2, 2) is divided by a notch, and its inner lobate termination (p) pre- sents on its summit a distinct island of dentine surrounded by enamel : the anterior and external angle is not produced forwards, as repre- sented in Cuvier’s figure, which gives a peculiar character to that tooth not alluded to by Cuvier, but which I have not observed in any specimens or figures of the corresponding molar in any known species of Paleotherium. 'The Paleotherioid from Hordle is also smaller than the Orleans species. Nothing, therefore, can be inferred as to the true dental formula of the Paleotherium Aurelianense, or of its claims to the generic ap- pellation of Anchitherium, from the ascertained dental formula of the upper jaw of the Paloplotherium from Hordle +. That this formula accurately gives the number and kind of the teeth of the upper jaw is proved by the following facts. The edentu- lous border of the jaw between the first premolar and the canine is entire on both sides, is sharp until its expansion to form the socket of the canine, and shows no trace of the socket of a shed or abortive false molar. The alveolar tract or ‘ process’ is also entire and termi- nates behind the last molar ; it does not bulge out backwards, as it would do if the germ of another molar had there been present. The fourth grinder (M 1, figs. 1 & 2) counting backwards is more worn than the three which precede it, showing that they had come later into place ; and, to determine whether the worn fourth grinder was the last of four milk-molars, or the first of the three true molars, I i. peels du Muséum, iii. (1804) pl. 35. fig. 10. Ossemens Fossiles, pl. 67. ae t Since this paper was read at the Meeting of the Geological Society, I have had the opportunity of inspecting at Paris, through the kindness of M. Laurillard, the series of fossils of the Paleotherium Aurelianense, which has been enriched, since the time of Cuvier, by the discoveries of the zealous and learned M. Lartet of remains of the same or a very closely allied species in the Eocene deposits at Sansans. These remains, some of which M. de Blainville has recently described and figured in the last published (21st) fasciculus of his ‘ Ostéographie’ (pp. 51, 75, pl. 3.), prove the number of premolars to be the same in both jaws as in the typical Paleotheres, viz. =. The indefatigable author of that beautiful work, though recognising the specific identity of the Paleotherium equinum of Lartet with the Paleotherium Aurelianense, Cuvier, proposes nevertheless another syno- nym—Paleotherium hippoitdes—for the species.— Deceméer 1847. 30 PROCEEDINGS OF THE GEOLOGICAL society. [June 16, excavated the upper jaw, above it, but found no trace of a successional tooth ; the air-cavities of the maxillary sinus were exposed. The animal to which this cranium belonged was not quite of mature age when it perished. The last true molar M3, though through the gum, has had the summits of the outer crescents very slightly abraded ; and the first (P 2) and second (P 3) premolars in place are but little worn. The characters of the grinding surfaces are, there- fore, beautifully manifested, and in degrees of attrition that almost correspond with those of the upper molars of the Paleotherium crassum figured by Cuvier in the ‘Ossemens Fossiles,’ t. ii. pl. 48. fig. 2; with which, therefore, I shall proceed to compare the molars of the Paloplotherium. The antero-posterior extent of the six molars of Paleotherium crassum (the first bemg wanting) is 4 inches 55 lines (11 centimeters 3 millimeters, Fr.), that of the six molars (the entire series) in Paloplotherium (PI. III. figs. 1 & 2, M 3 to P-2) is 3 inches | line (7 centimeters 7 millimeters, Fr.). The first grinder in Paloplotherium answers to the second premolar in Paleotherium : its antero-posterior extent is 9 millimeters, that of the second pre- molar in Pal. crassum is 16 millimeters. This tooth P 2, in Paloplotherium (ib. figs. 1 & 2), presents, like P 1 in Paleotherium, one conical lobe externally: there is a second smaller compressed lobe p at the fore-part of the inner side of the tooth, and the crown is surrounded by a strong basal ridge, inter- rupted only at the anterior angle of the inner lobe and at the back part of the tooth in contact with the next. The form of the grmding surface is triangular, broad, and excavated behind ; it is implanted by three fangs: but in its general character P 2 in Paloplotherium cor- responds with P 1 in Paleotherium magnum* ; with this difference, that there is an inner lobe near the back part of the grinding surface in Pal. magnum. The second premolar in the upper jaw of Paloplotherium differs from both P 2m Paleotherium+ and its proper homologue P 3 in Paleotherium, in having, like the tooth before it, but one external conical lobe ; it presents, however, a third lobule at the fore-part of the crown, wedged between the outer lobe o and inner tubercle p: this tubercle is relatively thicker than in p 2, but is still at the fore- part of the inner half of the grinding surface: the back part being widely excavated ; but showing a rudimental oblique tubercle (@). The basal ridge is mterrupted at the inner side of the base of the inner lobe. This tooth is implanted by three fangs. The last upper premolar (P 4) in Paloplotherium resembles each of the three posterior premolars of Paleotherium in having, like the true molars, two exterior conical crescentic lobes 0, 0’, divided by a vertical ridge extending from the external basal ridge, but not quite reaching the summit of the grinding surface ; a second parallel ridge bounds the fore-part of the outer surface of this premolar, as in Paleo- * Cuyv. J. ec. pl. 43. fig. 1, 3b. + See my ‘ Odontography,’ pl. 135. figs. 5 & 6, where the homologies of the individual molars are determined, and expressed by the letters and numbers used throughout the present memoir. 1847. | OWEN ON ENGLISH EOCENE MAMMALIA. dl therium. The oblique tubercle, 7, is now developed into a compressed — lobe or ridge; in other respects P 4 resembles P 3, but is larger. It is implanted by four fangs. The first true molar (M 1) deviates least from the Paleeotherian type; the worn summits of the two conical and subcrescentic outer lobes present the two zigzag lines of enamel which Cuvier compares to a double W, and the vertical ridge dividing them on the outer sur- face of the tooth reaches the margin of the grinding surface: the concavities in the outer surface bounded by the above-described ridge, and the anterior vertical ridge, show a slight median rising. The oblique ridge of the lobe 7 on the grinding surface, bemg worn, pre- sents a narrow tract of dentine, extending from the posterior and in- ternal angle of the crown to near the interspace of the two outer lobes 0, o': it answers to “autre ligne pareille qui part du milieu de la ligne en W,” &c. in the Paleeotheres*. The summits of the tubercle p and of the antero-internal lobe (¢) are blended together by attrition, and show a tract of dentine parallel with %, but thicker and of a bilobed form; extending from the ante- rior and external angle to the middle of the mternal border of the crown. The oblique peninsular fold of enamel (e), penetrating from the inner side of the crown and dividmg the before-named tracts, doubles the extremity of the posterior tract (¢) and communicates with the posterior depression or fold of enamel: in equally worn molars of Paleotherium that fold (a) is cut off, and forms an island. There is a ridge at the fore-part of the base of the inner lobe p; and also a slight remnant of the cingulum at the entry of the fold e. The molar fig. 2. M 2 has had merely the summits of the highest lobes and ridges of the griding surface abraded; the tubercle p and the antero-internal lobe 7 continue distinct. The posterior boundary of the posterior depression is unworn. The last grinder, M 3, has just cut the gum, and almost corresponds in growth with the last upper molar of the Paleotherium medium, figured in the ‘Ossemens Fossiles,’ pl. 47. fig. 14; and with that of the Paleotherium crassum, figured in my ‘Brit. Foss. Mamm.,’ fig. 112. p. 319. The generic distinctions are accordingly well-dis- played in the comparison of the germ of the last molar of the Paloplo- there with those in the true Paleeotheres above-cited. The antero- internal lobe (2) rises quite independently between the crescentic lobe o and the large inner tubercle p. The posterior inner lobe 7 ex- tends forwards and outwards as an oblique ridge to the entering angle of the anterior and external crescent. The remnant of the cmgulum at the base of the fissure e does not rise above that part, and its com- munication with the basal ridge at the fore-part of the lobe p is interrupted. The two outer vertical channels are less deep than in the Palzeotheres, and the bottom of each is gently convex in both directions. Each of the true molars is implanted by four fangs, the two inner ones appearing to be connate, and the two posterior ones in the last * Ossem. Foss. iii. p. 9. 32 PROCEEDINGS OF THE GEOLOGICAL Society. [June 16, molar being closely approximated, in conformity with the contracted breadth of that part of the crown. The enamel which invests the crown is almost a millimeter in thick- ness: the fine striz indicative of its successive formation are obvious ; but otherwise its surface is smooth and polished. The cement cover- ing the fangs is thinner ; the coronal cement does not fill up any of the cavities of the crown. The molar teeth in relation to each other hold the same slightly oblique position and zigzag outer contour as in Paleotherium ; the anterior and external angle of the hinder molar projecting outwards beyond the crown of the next molar in ad- vance, and so with the rest. The six grinders progressively increase in antero-posterior extent as they recede in position, from P 2 to M 3. The chief distinctive character of the true molars, as compared with those of the genus Paleotherium, is the detachment of the inner portion of the antero-internal oblique ridge (‘ colline transversale an- térieure,’ Cuv.) as a distinct lobe or tubercle p, and its superior thick- ness to the other part of the ridge z. It is not so thick and round as the homologous lobe in the Anoplotherium (fig. 5, p), and it forms an oval instead of a rounded dis¢ of dentine when moderately worn, as in m 2, fig. 2; but it then gives the crown of the tooth a character which brings it very close to that in the Anoplotherium: for which indeed it might, if insulated, be mistaken, according to the differen- tial character laid down by Cuvier*. The entire molar series in the upper jaw resembles that of the dnoplotherium in the progressive in- crease of the size of the crown from the foremost to the hindmost tooth: the molars are more equal in Paleotherium. 'The premolars differ in their smaller number from both Paleotherium and Anoplotherium ; but those answering to p 2 and p 3 (Odontography, pl. 135. fig. 2) resemble in their smaller size and comparatively simple structure the corresponding teeth of the dnoplotherium more than they do those of the Paleotherium. . The true molars not only differ from those of the Anoplotherium (Pl. III. fig. 5) m the comparatively smaller size and more compressed form of the conical tubercle p, but in the more open angles of the outer lobes 0, o', and im the less curved form of the ridge 7, which is separated from the posterior outer crescent by the deep fissure (a). In these latter differences the Paloplotherium resembles the Paleo- therium, to which genus it approximates in the development of the canine teeth, and their separation, in the upper jaw, by a diastema from the premolars. But in the characters above specified, by which the Paloplothere differs from the Palzeothere, it approaches the Ano- plothere ; it differs, however, from both genera in the absence of the first premolar (P 1): of which not a rudiment or trace is present, although the last molar has not come into use. One may associate with the absence of this premolar the relatively longer interspace which divides the first of these teeth (P 2) from the canine in the upper jaw of Paloplotherium: im the specimen under description this space measures 9 lines (2 centimeters), which ¥ ‘Tom. cit. p. 21. 1847. ] OWEN ON ENGLISH EOCENE MAMMALIA. 33 is equal to the antero-posterior extent of the last two premolars. In Paleotherium crassum (Cuv. 1. c. pl. 53. fig. 1) the same space measures 44 lines (1 centimeter), or little more than half the antero- posterior extent of the last premolar: and the proportions of the. diastema are nearly the same in the other known species of typical Palzeotheres. | The antero-posterior extent of the oval outlet of the socket of the canine (fig. 1, c) is 45 lines (9 millimeters). This socket is sepa- rated from the outer incisor (¢ 3) by a diastema of 21 lines (5 mil- limeters). The three subequal incisors are juxtaposed, and the inner one (2) is close to the premaxillary symphysis. The canines seem to have been rather smaller proportionally than in the typical Palezotheres, but there is no specimen either of these or of the incisive teeth by which the characters of their crowns can be given; their relative size and position are indicated only by the sockets. If we compare now the characters of the dentition of the upper jaw with those of the under jaw of the Hordle Palzeotherioid previ- ously described, we shall find that they agree with each other both in the antero-posterior extent of the molar series and in that of each indi- vidual tooth. They further exhibit the more important concordance in the number and kinds of those teeth, viz. p wae S m = the two first teeth (P 2 & 3, fig. 1) show the same comparative simplicity of structure, and consequently the same deviation from the character of those teeth in the Paleotherium; and if the other grinders of the lower jaw differ less from their homologues in Paleotherium and less resemble those in Anoplotherium than do those of the upper jaw, we shall not find that this opposes any real difficulty to their association with such upper jaw, when we observe that the differential characters between Paleotherium and Anoplotherium are much less marked in the lower than in the upper grinders ; just as the difference between Cheropotamus and Dicotyles is less marked in the dentition of the lower than in that of the upper jaw. The extent of deviation there- fore, though small, in the true molars of the lower jaw of the Hordle Paleeotherioid from those of the true Paleotherium, accords with or is proportional to those greater differences which we observe m the true molars of the upper jaw*. When however we find superadded to the degree of concordance between the true molars of the upper and lower jaws of the Hordle Paleotherioid, and to their differences from those teeth in the Paleeotheres and Anoplotheres, a common manifestation of the more striking and important differences in the minor number and simpler structure of the premolars, no reasonable doubt can be enter- * The bony arch supporting the upper molars being more remote from the centre of life than that supporting the lower molars, being in fact the anterior terminal arch of the hzemal series, is the seat of a greater amount of adaptive variation than the succeeding arch, and the teeth which it supports are in like manner ‘more varied. This principle is well-illustrated by comparing the upper molars of the odd-toed Ungulates generally with the lower molars of the same natural group. VOL. 1V.——-PART. f£. D 34 PROCEEDINGS OF THE GEOLOGICAL society. [June 16, tamed that both the upper and the lower jaws above described belong to the same genus and the same species. For the penne I prapeee the name of Paloplotherium ; its dental formula is i eo s—s 3-3 s pitegaineyo7 40; with the specific name annectens for the present known representative, as indicative of the transitional cha- racters which to a certain degree connect the Paleotherium with its eocene contemporary the Anoplotherium. The Paloplotherium has however several characters by which it differs from both ; amongst which may be mentioned, besides the absence of p 1 in both j jaws, the reduction of the third lobe in the last molar of the lower jaw to the tubercle ¢, in which simplification of m 3, the Ee re- sembles the Macrauchenia and Rhinoceros. The bones which contain the perfect series of the upper molar teeth form the middle and anterior thirds of the skull. Only the rhinencephalic compartment of the cranial cavity is preserved with the facial division: but the bones, though crushed and fractured, permit of many instructive comparisons being made with the Ano- plothere and Palzeothere, in regard to this part of their osteology. The orbits are relatively larger than in the Paleoth. crassum; and owing to the flattening of the frontals at the interorbital region, they have not so low a position as that which peculiarly characterises the Paleothere. In this respect, as well as in the minor convexity of the interfrontal region, the Paloplothere resembles the Anoplothere. The postorbital process of the frontal descends lower than in the Paleeothere, and in this character the skull resembles that of the Anoplothere. The curvature of the moderately strong malar bone forming the lower boundary of the orbit is convex downwards ; it is relatively less deep anteriorly than in the Anoplothere. The orbit is on the same vertical parallel as the last two molar teeth. The ridges continued backwards from the postorbital processes, curving and converging upon the frontal bone, are strongly marked by the sudden sinking of the temporal fossa which they define, but they do not rise above the level of the frontals: they converge at a less acute angle than in the Paleotherium crassum. The lachrymal bone is perforated by two foramina, defended ex- ternally by a small projecting tubercle. The rhinencephalic depres- sions* of the cranial cavity are vertically oblong, divided from the prosencephalic chamber by descending superior ridges, and from each other by a sharp vertical ridge (er ista galli) formed by the hinder margin of the coalesced prefrontals (lamina media ethmoider). 'The posterior parts of the ossified olfactory capsules close the anterior outlets of the rhinencephalic depressions, and were perforated, as usual, by the numerous filaments of the olfactory nerves, forming * T restrict the term ‘ olfactory’ to the chambers of the face containing the turbinal and other parts of the olfactory capsules. 1847. | OWEN ON ENGLISH EOCENE MAMMALIA. 35 the lamina cribriformis ethmoidet. The frontal sinuses do not extend further backwards in this cranium than above the rhinencephalic chamber. The frontonasal suture runs, with a very slight bend backwards, across the cranium, parallel with the fore-part of the orbits. “The nasal bones are as broad at their origin as the frontals, and are bent down externally to join the lachrymals: their apices are broken off. The anterior border of the maxillaries is entire, and so much of the premaxillaries is preserved as demonstrates that they were separated from the nasals by about an inch of the maxillaries, and that these concurred with the premaxillaries and nasals to form the contour of the anterior bony nostrils, which were thus surrounded by six bones, as in the Palzeotheres, mstead of by four, as im the Anoplo- theres. The maxillaries ascend more rapidly, or with a nearer ap- proach to verticality, in joining the nasals than in the Paleeotheres : so that with regard to the osseous walls of the face anterior to the orbits and to the shape of the anterior nostril, the Paloplothere manifests again a character intermediate between the Paleeothere and Anoplo- there. The facial plate of the maxillary is perforated by a single antorbital foramen 5 millimeters in diameter, situated 1 ich (23 cen- timeters) anterior to the orbit, and 14 lines (3 centimeters) behind the nasal border, and 7 lines (14 centimeter) above the alveolar border of the maxillary. The bony palate is much crushed, but seems to have terminated by a concave border opposite the interspace between the penultimate and last molar. The premaxillaries are long, slender, destined almost exclusively to the support of the six incisors, and to give passage to the incisive or prepalatine nerves and vessels, which impressed their mesial sides with an oblique channel. The symphysis of the premaxillaries had not been obliterated, as it becomes in the Tapir; and the premaxillaries had been divaricated by external pressure or violence before the sur- rounding matrix had hardened and fixed them m that position. There are other marks of violence which have evidently been left upon this skull before it became enveloped by the matrix, which fills the cracks and crevices of the crushed parts. Over the left fronto- nasal suture there is a depression and comminuted fracture of the skull, inflicted as it seems by the blow or pressure of a conical in- strument of the size of a large tooth of a crocodile: a similarly com- minuted fracture exists on the bony palate a little behind the vertical parallel of the upper one. The opposite sides of the facial bones have been partially crushed and similarly driven in, just in front of the orbits ; and this latter compression seems to have started asunder and opened the symphysis. of the premaxillary bones. I strongly suspect that these injuries were inflicted on the recent head by the jaws and teeth of a crocodile. The great inferior canine tusk, penetrating the interspace of the rami of the lower jaw, would crush the palate in the attempt to meet the upper canine, which would drive in the opposing upper part of the skull by the same bite. Before or after this the head has been turned half round, and the same teeth have left the traces of another bite at the opposite sides of the face. At all events D2 36 PROCEEDINGS OF THE GEOLOGICAL SociETY. [June 16, it is plain that the violence inflicted upon the head of this young Pachyderm has been received before the skull became imbedded in the eocene mud, and that the matrix hardening around it has pre- served the evidence of the nature of the i injuries received to this day. The points of the great canine teeth of old crocodiles not unfrequently become so blunted as would produce such crushed and depressed fractures without penetrating more deeply. The remains of an extinct species of Crocodile are common in the same formation as that in which the debris of their prey have been buried. I have received many detached teeth and bones through the kindness of the Messrs. Falconer, and Lady Hastings has generously confided to me for de- scription the unique and almost perfect skull of a crocodile from the Hordle sands, which demonstrates, by the exterior position of the lower canines in the grooves on the outer border of the upper jaw, its true crocodilian character. The Sheppey crocodile also belongs to the subgenus Crocodilus, but approximates closely to the Bornean species, whilst the Hordle crocodile much more closely resembles the crocodile of the Nile. As Dr. Buckland has given the name of Cro- codilus Spenceri to the Sheppey species, I propose to call the coeval species from the Hordle eocene Crocodilus Hastingsie, in honour of its accomplished possessor, whose zeal in the collection of the fossils in her Ladyship’s vicimity has contributed so much to advance our scientific knowledge of them. DESCRIPTION OF PLATE III. Fig. 1. Side view of mutilated cranium with permanent series of grinders; and those of the lower jaw, of Paloplotherium annectens, nat. size. Fig. 2. Grinding surface of upper premolars and molars and alveoli of canine and incisors, left side, of ditto. _ Fig. 3. Horizontal rami of lower jaw, showing symphysis and sockets of incisors aud canines, and grinding surface, deciduous and persistent molars, of ditto. Fig. 4. Side view of left ramus of lower jaw with deciduous molars and two per- manent molars in place, and with the premolars and Jast molar exposed in the formative cells, of ditto. Fig. 5. Grinding surface of an upper true molar of 4noplotherium commune : after CuvIER. Fig. 6. Grinding surface of an upper true molar of Paleotherium Aurelianense : after CUVIER. In the figures of the Paloplotherium 1 1, 2,3 indicates the first, second and third incisive sockets ; C, the socket of the canine; P 2, 3, 4, the premolars; M 1, 2, 3, the molars; D 1, 2, 3, 4, the deciduous molars. The letters of the lobes and ridges are explained in the text. Part V.—Description of the Teeth and the Lower Jaw of an extinct species of Mammal belonging to the section of Hoofed Quadrupeds (Ungulata) having molar teeth with the principal lobes in sym- metrical pairs, and forming the type of a new genus (Dichodon) in that section. THE existing Ungulata, which have the principal lobes of the true molar teeth arranged in symmetrical or subsymmetrical pairs, are the Ruminantia and the genera Sus, Dicotyles and Hippopotamus, with i g From Nature on tine by J. Ereleber. Day § Sore Litho tothe Gucere. figs.1—4. Faloplotherium. Hig. &. Anoplotherium. lig. 6 Tadeotherinm. 1847.] OWEN ON ENGLISH EOCENE MAMMALIA. 37 which I have associated, as members of the same great natural group of mammals*, the extinct genera Hippohyus, Hyracotherium, Chero- potamus, Anthracotherium, Merycopotamus, Dichobunes and Anoplo- therium, although the symmetrical or parial character of the crown of the tooth, as shown by the normal lobes o 7, and o! 7 (PI. ITT. fig. 5), in Anoplotherium is disturbed by the excessive development of the acces- sory tubercle p. The fossils about to be described give evidence of the former exist- ence of another of these interesting annectent links that once filled up the interval that now almost insulates the Ruminants from the few remaining members of the Ungulates with the lobes of the grinders and the toes of the feet in symmetrical pairs. These fossils, dis- covered by Alexander Pytts Falconer, Esq., in the eocene sand-bed at Hordle, consist of a portion of the upper jaw, with the three true molars, the third and fourth premolars, the canine and three incisors ; and a nearly entire under jaw, with the whole dental series of one side and a large proportion of it on the opposite side (PI. IV. figs. 2, 3, 4, 5). The genus established by the peculiarities of this dentition, and which I propose to call Dichodon+, makes the nearest approach by its upper true molars to the Merycopotamus of Messrs. Cautley and Falconer (Pl. IV. fig. 7), and to that smaller allied extinct Indian quadruped called ‘ Anthracotherium silistrense’ in the second volume of the Second Series of the Geological Transactions (p. 392, pl. 45. figs. 2 & 3). In the true molars of the lower jaw the genus Dichodon closely re- sembles the genus Dichobune ; and it manifests a striking affinity to the Anoplotherioids in the low development of the canine teeth and in the number and uninterrupted contiguity of the entire dental series. But Dichodon presents peculiar modifications of the molar and espe- cially of the premolar teeth, which distinguish it from all known genera of fossil and recent Mammalia. The crowns of the upper true molars of Dichodon (PI. IV. fig. 3. M 1, 2 & 3) are subquadrate and four-lobed, and the antero-posterior cleft describes two strong curves, concave outwards, as in fig. 3. pl. 45. of the ‘Geol. Trans.’ above-cited, and as in Merycopotamust (PI. IV. fig. 7) and Dichobunes§ ; but there is no depression or fold of enamel that would mark off in the abraded crown a lobe of dentine answering to that marked p in fig. 1. p.420 of the ‘ Geol. Proceedings’ above-cited ; and by this difference, as well as other characters, the molars of Dichodon more resemble those of Merycopotamus and of the little so-called Anthracotherium silistrense. The outer sides of the outer lobes (fig. 2. 0', 0) of Dichodon are * Odontography, pp. 523, 571. . + The numerous sharp and well-defined divisions of the crowns of hoth upper and lower molar teeth suggested the term ‘ Dichodon’ (d:ydw, divido; ddods, dens), expressive of this character, and of the sharp incisive nature of most of the teeth; the human cutting-teeth were called dvyaoripes d0d6yTes, incisivi dentes, by the Greek anatomists. ~ Odontography, p. 566, pl. 140. fig. 8. § Proceedings of Geol. Society, May 1846, p. 420, fig. 1. 38 PROCEEDINGS OF THE GEOLOGICAL SocIETy. [June 16, less deeply indented than in Merycopotamus, but show a trace of a longitudinal rismg at their middle part. The imner sides of both outer and inner lobes (fig. 5. 7, 7) are strongly convex, and more angular‘than in Merycopotamus. Attrition of the summits of these semiconical lobes would, however, produce the same double crescentic islands of enamel which characterize the upper molars of Merycopo- tamus and Dichobunes, and were once supposed to be a peculiar cha- racteristic of the Ruminantia*. In the young animal under consideration the lobes of all the molars terminate in sharp enamelled pomts; those of the first true molar (m 1) being slightly abraded at their summits and anterior angles. The upper true molars differ from those of Merycopotamus in the absence of the “ strong rugged ridge”’ (fig. 7. 7) “‘along the mner side of the base of the crownt,’’ and in the presence of the series of five small but sharp accessory cusps (a, 4, ¢, d, e, M 2, fig. 3, PI.IV.) along the outer side of the base: one of these cusps (a) terminates exter- nally the sharp ridge continued from the anterior angle of the base of the inner and interior Icbe (¢) along the anterior side of the base of the crown: the other four cusps are placed at the angles of the bases of the outer sides of the two external lobes, and answer to the corresponding angles of the outer lobes in Merycopotamus, which angles are, as it were, pinched up and pulled outwards in that genus. A sharp ridge is continued from the posterior angle of the base of the posterior and inner lobe, along the posterior part of the base of the crown, to the corresponding angle of the posterior and external lobe ; but there is no ridge beneath this, as in Merycopotamus. The contiguous angles of the bases of the two imner lobes (2, 7, M 2, fig. 3) are prolonged outwards far into the interspace between the two outer lobes. A small tubercle (p) is situated at the ner entry to the fissure between the two inner lobes: a ridge penetrates this fissure in Merycopotamus. The three upper true molars progressively increase in size from the first (M 1) to the last (M 3) in Dichodon; they are equal-sized in Merycopotamus. All the lobes and ridges are remarkably sharp, and the fissures are deep and neatly defined in the molars of Dichodon ; and the enamel is smooth, not rugous as in Merycopotamus. Each true molar is implanted by four fangs. The first true molar (M 1) has its outer side relatively longer than the others, by reason of the larger size of the anterior basal cusp. The characteristic modification of the last premolar (P 4, fig. 3) may be understood by supposing the ho- mologue of the anterior and external basal cusp (@) to have been * “ Order RUMINANTIA :— ; _ The molars, almost always six in number on each side of both jaws, have their crowns marked by two double crescents, the convexity of which is turned inwards in the upper jaw and outwards in the lower jaw.”’ (Régne Animal, ed. 1829, vol. i. p. 254.) And again, defining the supposed peculiarities of the Ruminantia, ‘“ Les trois arriére-molaires supérieures des ruminans semblent étre des inférieures re- tournées ; elles sont de méme formées de deux demi-cylindres, présentant chacun un double croissant, mais dont la convexité regarde en dedans.” (Cuvier, Ossemens Fossiles, t.iv. p. 7.) + Odontography, 4to, p. 566. 1847.] OWEN ON ENGLISH EOCENE MAMMALIA. 39 developed at the expense of the anterior and internal lobe (7, M 1) which has disappeared: the crown of the tooth is thereby extended from behind forwards and diminished in breadth: it presents also a trilobed character externally, but has a fourth lobe, %, at the inner side of the posterior and external one, answering to the hinder and inner lobe 7 of the true molars. The base of the outer side of the hinder and outer lobe (0') has its two tubercles-like those of the true molars, and its inner convex base is similarly girt by the outwardly prolonged angles of the base of the mner-lobe 7% From the mner side of the base of this lobe a ridge is continued forwards along the inner sides of the middle (0) and anterior (a) lobes. This tooth is implanted by one anterior and two posterior long fangs: there was no cavity of re- serve, or germ of a successor, in the substance of the jaw above it. The upper penultimate premolar (P 3) has also a long and narrow crown, three-lobed externally, but with the fourth posterior and inner lobe (2) reduced to a simple cusp: a ridge is continued from the hind part of its base to the hinder angle of that of the lobe (0') external to it, and a second ridge extends from the fore-part of its base forwards to the anterior lobe (a). The middle of the three outer lobes (0) is the largest ; they are all conical and pomted: there is a rudiment of the cusp answering to e in the true molars; the others are suppressed. This tooth is implanted by two long and divergent fangs. The premolars corresponding to the first and second below have not been obtained ; but a single-fanged tooth (fig. 2, C) with a simple trenchant crown appears to be the canine of this species, and it will be shown to belong to the upper jaw. The antero-posterior diameter of the crown of this tooth, C, is more than double its vertical extent ; its chief summit is followed by a lower rising of a trenchant edge: the fang is grooved longitudinally on the outer side, indicating it to consist of two connate fangs, one for each division or rising of the crown. The left premaxillary bone supports three incisors; their crowns, like the canine, are low but long, with a slight obtuse point near their fore-part, trenchant behind ; convex outwardly, concave and with a basal ridge on the inside; the three teeth are set close together, the second slightly overlapping the third. Thus of the dentition of the upper jaw of Dichodon we have the three true molars and last premolar zm situ with a portion of the upper jaw, the penultimate premolar and the canine detached, and the three incisors with the premaxillary bone. The true molars mani- fest the type of crown most allied to that of the Merycopotamus, Anthracotherium, and other genera closely approximating to the Ru- minant type ; while the premolars have peculiarities of form and struc- ture quite different from those in any known recent or extinct Her- bivorous Mammal. In Merycopotamus the canines and incisors closely accord with the hippopotamic type of those teeth: in Dichodon they offer a nearer resemblance to the anoplotherian type. The dentition of the lower jaw corresponds as closely with that of the upper jaw as it does in Merycopotamus or Dichobunes, and. the true molar teeth present a strong resemblance to those of the latter Anoplotherioid subgenus. The inferior teeth are beautifully displayed AQ - PROCEEDINGS OF THE GEOLOGICAL SOCIETY. [June 16, in an entire right ramus and in a nearly entire left ramus of the same lower jaw (Pl. IV. figs. 2 & 3). The first and second true molars (fig. 4, M 1 & 2) consist each of four semiconical high and sharp-poited lobes, in two transverse pairs, with the convex sides turned outwards. The imner sides of the outer lobes 0, o', are smooth and nearly flat ; the basal angles extend wards, embracing the base of the imner lobes 2, 7; and the ridge from the hind angle of the base of the hinder and outer lobe terminates by expanding into a small cusp behind the base of the hinder and inner lobe; from this cusp a sharp ridge extends not quite across the hind part of the base of the crown. The inner surface of the inner lobes is smuous, convex in the middle, concave before and behind this part: each angle of the base is produced into a small ear-like lobule or cusp: thus there are five basal cusps along the inner side of the base of the crown, besides the two lofty pointed conical lobes (M 1, 7 and 2). As the number of the restored annectent links increases in the Un- gulate series of Mammalia, the marks of distinction become less salient, and the necessity for more minute attention to them is entailed upon the describer. The anterior margin of the outer and anterior lobe is slightly raised and swollen at its termination upon the fore-part of the base of the mner lobe: below this margin the fore-part of the base of the crown is traversed by a thin but sharp ridge (PI. IV. fig.6). There is a mere rudiment of a tubercle at the outer entry of the great median transverse cleft dividing the two pairs of lobes. ‘The outer convexities (0, o') of the principal lobes are subangular. Each lower true molar is implanted by two long fangs. The distinction between the four-lobed lower molars of Dichodon and those of Dichobunes is shown by the fifth inner basal cusp (fig. 5, M 1) posterior to the one at the back part of the base of the second inner lobe, and in the anterior and pos- terior basal ridges. The premolars of Dichodon deviate still further from those of Dieho- bunes. I at first thought that the tooth (P 4) must be the last of the deciduous series, and that it indicated, as m the Anoplotherium and Ruminants, a third posterior division of the last molar tooth ; but on excavating the jaw beneath it (as shown at P 4, fig. 2), not the slightest trace of either the germ of a successor or of the cavity for its matrix appeared, and it was evident from the length of the fangs and the small depth of the jaw,—only half that of the same part in the young Paloplothere,—that the tooth im place was destmed to have no successor. This tooth agrees moreover in the antero-posterior extent of the crown and its three chief divisions with the last premolar above; the slightly-worn summits of which concurred, with the absence of any trace of a successor, in showing that it likewise could not have been in use during the period of the milk-dentition. The last premolar (fig. 4. P 4) in the lower jaw has six semiconical lobes in three transverse pairs, slightly decreasing im size as they ad- vance forwards, but repeatmg the characters of those of the true molars; the imner side of the base of each of the three inner lobes having the ear-like cusp on each side, and the posterior basal ridge terminating on the inner side in a smaller seventh cusp. There is a + 1847. | OWEN ON ENGLISH EOCENE MAMMALIA. 41 mere rudiment of the anterior basal ridge. The summits and ‘sharp borders of each of the six lobes have been slightly abraded, and the dentine exposed, but along a mere lmear tract in each lobe. The penultimate premolar (P 3) retains only the hinder transverse pair of lobes; the middle and anterior lobes are single, subcom- pressed, convex on both inner and outer sides, which meet at trenchant and slightly-worn edges, trending away from before and behind the summit. The posterior cusp is present at the back part of the base of the inner and posterior lobe, but not at the fore part; the cusp behind the preceding is also wanting ; there is a trace of the posterior basal ridge, and an obtuse belt at the inner side of the base of the anterior lobe which terminates in a feeble promimence anteriorly. This tooth has two long slightly diverging fangs. The antepenultimate or second premolar (P 2) is three-lobed, the mid-lobe being the longest, the hind-lobe the thickest: this has a well-defined vertical ridge, with a notch behind it on its imner side ; it is simply convex externally: the mid-lobe is less deeply indented on the back part of its mner side, is convex on the rest of that side, and on the outer side ; the fore and hind sloping borders are trenchant : the front lobe is concave on the inner side, which has an obtuse border at its base: the antero-posterior extent of the crown of this tooth is thrice the vertical extent. It is implanted by two fangs. _ The anterior premolar (P 1) is situated directly above the back part of the symphysis of the jaw: its crown is more compressed and trenchant than the second, and the anterior and posterior lobes are re- duced to accessory basal cusps of the middle lobe: they are all so com- pressed as to produce an undulating trenchant summit, rising to a higher poit at the middle: there is no indent dividing the anterior from the posterior lobe on the outer side; but their distinction is in- dicated by a depression on the mner side. This tooth is implanted by two fangs. The left ramus of the lower jaw of the Dichodon includes a great portion of the symphysis, with the sockets of the canine and of two incisors, with a part of that of the anterior incisor, 11. A detached single-fanged tooth which fits the socket of the cane (C), and one of the incisors equally fitting the vacant socket of the third of this series (I 3), accompanied this specimen. In both rami the canine precedes the premolar without any interval, and is as directly preceded by the third incisor, so that the whole series of teeth is uninterrupted, as in the extinct genera Dichobunes, Anoplotherium, and Nesodon. The canine has a low but long trenchant crown, not rising into a point, resembling in its harmless character that of the Anoplotheriide : its outer side is gently convex ; its inner side has two indentations. The incisor has a smaller but more quadrate and truncate trenchant crown ; it is also gently convex externally, and with two concavities internally. A gubernacular orifice behind the rising crown of the second true molar indicated the concealed alveolus of the third molar, which I ex- posed in the ramus of the jaw (fig. 2, M3). The matrix had either not begun to be calcified, or in such detached portions of the summits 42 PROCEEDINGS OF THE GEOLOGICAL SOociIETy. [June16 of the lobes that they had been lost: the chamber was filled with the fine eocene sand, and by its size indicated a rather larger development of the tubercle e than the first and second molars. : Thus the dental. formula of the lower jaw of the present Mammal is proved to consist of three incisors, one canine, four premolars, and three true molars, in a continuous series in each ramus ; and we must conclude that they were opposed by the same number of teeth in the upper jaw. The detached premaxillary demonstrates in fact the number and shape of the incisors of that jaw; the crowns of these incisors being, as in the Anoplothere, somewhat larger than those below. The single-fanged tooth which I have described as the upper canine shows the same proportional superiority of size over that of the lower jaw, with a correspondence of form which leaves no doubt in my mind of its bemg the opposing tooth of such lower canine. There are wanting, therefore, to establish ex visu the entire dental series, only the first and second premolars of the upper jaw and the last true molar of the lower jaw, the germ of which had not been sufficiently calcified at the time of the animal’s death to yield satisfactory evidence of its true form. The dental formula therefore of the genus Dichodon is :— foo) Stil) ei toe en Pome ho remy ater are Tames From the trenchant character of the ridges and the sharp points of the lobes of all the teeth, which in the molar series are bristled with cusps like those of some Insectivores, the food of the Dichodon would seem to have been of a peculiar character, perhaps not exclusively of a vegetable nature, but different from that of any of the small Rumi- nants or Pachyderms of the existing creation. From the number and sharpness of the poimted cusps of the teeth in the present species, I propose to call it Dichodon cuspidatus. DESCRIPTION OF PLATE IV. Fig. 1. Portion of lower jaw of Paloplotherium, with the four deciduous molars and first permanent molar, one canine and one incisor. Fig. 2. Outside view of the lower jaw and teeth and parts of the upper jaw and teeth of Dichodon cuspidatus, nat. size. Fig. 3. Grinding surface of most of the teeth of the upper jaw of ditto. Fig. 4. Grinding surface of the teeth (M 3 excepted) of the under jaw of ditto. Fig. 5. Inside view of the lower jaw and teeth and parts of the upper jaw and teeth of ditto. Fig. 6. Hind view of the crown of the second upper molar of ditto. Fig. 7. Grinding surface of second upper molar of Merycopotamus. In each figure, I 1, 2, 3, indicates the first, second and third incisors; C the canine; P 1, 2,3, 4, the premolars; M 1, 2 & 3, the molars. The letters of the lobes and cusps are explained in the text. = 44. 3. Notice of the occurrence of Fossil Remains of the MEGACEROS HIBERNICUS and of CasTOR EUROPEUS in the Pleistocene deposits forming the Brick-fields at IL¥Forp and Grays-THURROCK, Essex. By Pror. Owen, F.R.S., F.G.S. Since the publication of my ‘ British Fossil Mammalia,’ two of the conclusions touching the so-called ‘ Irish Elk,’—-viz. first, that its re- From Nature pats by J Braleben > a Piero Day Son Title. to the Queene Fig. | Laloplotherium Figs.2. 6 Dichodon. Fig 7 Mergcopotamies. na , ty, a > 3 Pa i ¥, + 1847.] OWEN ON ENGLISH FOSSIL REMAINS OF MEGACEROS. 43 mains had been found in different parts of England, in caves and stratified deposits, showing its equal antiquity with the extinct Mam- mals of the newer pliocene period; and, secondly, that there was no good evidence of its having ever existed in England or in Ireland con- temporaneously with Man,—have been called in question in a pam- phlet by H. D. Richardson, Esq., entitled ‘Facts concerning the Natural History, &c. of the Gigantic Irish Deer,’ 8vo, 1846 ; and in letters by Messrs. Nolan and Glennon published in the ‘Dublin Evening Post,’ Nov. 14, 1846, and by the editor of the ‘ Dublin Farmers’ Gazette’ of November 28th, 1846. Mr. Richardson affirms that the specimens described (Phil. Trans. 1746, vol. xliv. pt.i.) and in my ‘British Fossil Mammalia,’ pp.466, 467, as having been found in England, had been previously ‘“‘sen¢ over from Ireland” (p.41). He makes the same statement with regard to those described by Cuvier as having been found in diluvian deposits on the continent of Europe, and he affirms “that the ‘skeleton found in the Isle of Man,’ and now in the Edinburgh University, was not originally found in the Isle of Man,”’ but “was brought from Ireland.” (2b. p.38.) Leaving to those who have more immediate interest in the conti- nental and Manx specimens to verify the current and accepted history of the place of their discovery, if they deem the counter-assertions in the pamphlet quoted to call for further mvestigation, I may be ex- cused for repeating, with regard to the specimens cited in my work as having been discovered at Walton in Essex, at Hilgay in Norfolk, and in Kent’s Hole, Devon, that they presented the same degree of fossili- zation, the same specific gravity, colour and other physical characters, as those of the bones and teeth of the Mammoths, Rhinoceroses, and other extinct Mammals found in the same formations and localities, although the concurrent affirmations of our esteemed fellow-members John Brown, Esq. and Whickham Flower, Esq., with that of the late Rev. Mr. M‘Enery, stand in no need of such corroborative testimony from the fossils themselves. I have since received additional evidence of the coexistence of the fossil remains of the Megaceros with the extinct Mammals in the pleistocene brick-earth of Essex. Mr. Ball, a diligent and successful collector from those deposits, has from time to time submitted to my inspection series of fossils obtained. from the brick-fields at Grays-Thurrock and Ilford, including remains of Elephas, Rhinoceros, Ursus, Hyena, Equus, Bos, Sus, &c. In one of these collections was the os frontis and the bases of the great antlers of the Megaceros, showing the beginning of their characteristic ex- pansion or ‘palm,’ the origin of the brow-antler, and every mark of agreement with the corresponding parts in specimens of Megaceros hibernicus from the subturbary marls of Ireland, with which it also agreed in size. The fragment of skull showed the characteristic transverse bar or rising between the origins of the antlers. The phy- sical characters of the specimens, resulting from change of original texture through long interment, were precisely those of the associated fossils of other pleistocene Mammals. The specimen is now in the Museum of the Royal College of Surgeons, London. Since I examined these remains, Dr. Cotton, of Bolton-street, id PROCEEDINGS OF THE GEOLOGICAL SocIETY. [June 16, Piccadilly, has kindly submitted to my inspection the entire ramus of the under jaw of the Megaceros hibernicus from the brick-earth at Ilford, Essex, obtamed by himself upon the spot. This specimen, like Mr. Ball’s, has undergone the same amount of change as the other mammalian -fossils from that pleistocene deposit. With the Megaceros Dr. Cotton also obtained a considerable portion of the lower jaw of the Castor europeus; a circumstance which is inter- esting in so far as remains of the Megaceros have been found simi- larly associated with the Beaver, now extinct in England, though still existing on the continent, by Mr. Whickham Flower, in a subturbary deposit at Hilgay, Norfolk. I have not seen any authentic Irish specimen of the Megaceros so niuch fossilized, or of the colour of those from the Essex pleistocene strata and from the Devonshire cavern. The specimens submitted to me by Mr. Brown of Stanway from the till at Walton, by Dr. Cotton and Mr. Ball from the brick-earth at Ilford and Grays, and by Mr. M*Enery from Kent’s Hole, were severally obtained by those gentlemen in person at the localities mentioned. Instances have also occurred of English collectors having discovered fossil remains of the Megaceros in England without bemg aware of their nature and rarity. In making a list of the fossils m the collection of the late Mr. Gibson of Stratford, Essex, chiefly obtaimed from the pleistocene deposits in that county, and which since his decease have been libe- rally presented by his son, the Rev. R. Gibson, M.A., to the Royal College of Surgeons, I found that a considerable portion of the ramus of the lower jaw, with the molar teeth of the Megaceros hibernicus, had been labelled Bos. It was in the same fossilized condition as the true Bovine remains from the brick-earth, and as the ramus of the jaw of the Megaceros from Ilford, in Dr. Cotton’s collection. I have pointed out the distinctions between the upper molars of Megaceros and those of Bos in my ‘ British Fossil Mammalia,’ p. 450: those of the lower molars are as easily recognizable. In the great Bovines, where the size of the teeth is nearly the same as in Mega- Fig. 2. Hl. | a | |), a ul | | ie l | Last lower molar. Bos primigenius. Last lower molar. Megaceros. ceros, the anterior outer interspace of the last molar (fig. 1), and the outer interspace between the two lobes of the first and second molars, 1847.] OWEN ON ENGLISH FOSSIL REMAINS OF MEGACEROS. 45 are occupied by a slender but long accessory column of enamelled dentine (p); in Megaceros this column is represented in those teeth by a pyramidal tubercle at the bottom of the interspace (fig. 2. p). In molars, therefore, which have been worn down to the same ex- tent as in those of the fossil Bovine and the Megaceros represented in Fig. 3. Bos primigenius. Fig. 4. Megaceros. figs. 3 & 4, the column, p, increases the complexity of the grmdmg surface in the one, but not in the other. The third lobe, o!, in the last molar, M 3, of Bovines is terminated by a similar enamelled column or ‘columella,’ g, fig. 1, which is not present in the Megaceros. The minor differences of the grinding surface are sufficiently illustrated by the figures, which may aid future collectors in determining similar evidences of additional examples of Megaceros in British pleistocene strata. The teeth of the Bos longifrons are readily distmguished by their smaller size. This species of Bos co-existed with Megaceros in Treland, and in England with Megaceros, Rhinoceros, Elephas, Hyena, &c. Remains of Bos longifrons have, however, also been found in the bog itself, as well as in the subjacent marl, in Ireland ; but I have not, as yet, had any trustworthy and authentic evidence of the discovery of undisturbed remains of Megaceros in the peat-bog above the shell- marl in any part of Ireland. Remains of Bos longifrons have been found in ancient places of sepulture, and so associated with British and Roman remains, as to leave little doubt of its having survived, as a species, many of the mammals with which it was associated during the pleistocene period in geology. Whether the Megaceros, likewise, continued to- exist until the ‘Human period,’ is a question on which I have never enter- tained or expressed a decided opinion, knowing the uncertainty of negative evidence. But, as yet, I am bound to state that no good evidence to the contrary, z.e. no evidence demonstrating the co-ex- 46 PROCEEDINGS OF THE GEOLOGICAL SOCIETY. [June 16, istence of remains of Megaceros with those of Man, or in any shape proving it to have come down to the traditional or historical period, has been adduced. I have personally and carefully examined the skulls of the Mega- ceros affirmed by the correspondents of the ‘ Dublin Evening Post’ and the ‘ Farmers’ Journal’ to have been slaughtered for human food, at Lough Gar near Limerick ; and have explaimed the nature of the mutilations of the fossil skull, which have been interpreted as proof that the animals ‘‘ had been knocked on the head when alive.” The breaking-away of the antlers from the skull during or after ex- humation both led to that fallacy and to the mistake of the skulls of the male for those of the female Megaceros*. The unequivocal and well-established facts made known since the publication of my ‘ British Fossil Mammalia,’ have served to confirm the fact of the former existence in England of the gigantic extinct broad-antlered deer, ‘ Megaceros hibernicus’; and this evidence, though it be still less abundant than that of the former existence of the same species in Ireland, is equally conclusive and of greater value, inasmuch as it establishes the contemporaneity of the Megaceros with the Mammoth, Rhinoceros, and other extmct Mammalia of the period of the formation of the newest tertiary freshwater fossiliferous strata. 4. Description of an upright LEPIDODENDRON with STIGMARIA Roots, tn the roof of the SypNEY Main Coat, in the Istanp oF Care Breton. By Ricuarp Brown, Esq. [Communicated by Charles J. F. Bunbury, Esq., F.G.S.] Many eminent geologists have long entertained the opinion, that Stigmarie are nothing more than the roots of Sigillariz, and this opinion has been supported by so many recorded cases during the last two or three years, amongst which I may include one from the Sydney coal-measures, an account of which appeared in the 8th Number of the Journal of the Geological Society, that I think no further doubts can remain concerning the real nature of those fossils. Since I forwarded to the Society a description of the Sydney Si- gillaria about twelve months ago, I have discovered several upright trees in the coal-measures, evidently not Sigillarize, with roots of Stigmarie united to them. These trees exhibited so many of the peculiar characteristics of Lepidodendron, that I at once concluded they belonged to that genus ; but having never even seen it hinted that Lepidodendron possessed Stigmaria roots, and distrusting my own skill in fossil botany, I determined to wait until I could collect more decisive evidence in confirmation of my opinion. This evidence I have now obtained in another example, fortunately most complete in all its parts, a description of which I hasten to lay before the Society, accompanied with ‘sketches, which I hope will clearly prove * See my Letter to the Editor of the ‘Dublin Evening Post,’ Dec. 19th, 1846. 1847.| BROWN ON LEPIDODENDRON WITH STIGMARIA ROOTS. 47 that the stem in question is a genuine Lepidodendron united to roots of Stigmaria, The main coal, six feet in thickness, is overlaid by a shale roof abounding in plants. Occasionally when the coal is worked out, large masses of shale fall down, leaving hollow spaces known to the miners by the name of “Pot Holes’’ ; the fallen masses being in fact the roots and truncated stems of Sigillariz and other trees, which separate at the parting formed by the coaly bark covering the roots, when the supporting coal is taken away. The pit overman having brought me several pieces of the root of a tree from one of these pot-holes, showing the areole of Stigmaria scattered amongst rhomboidal markings peculiar to Lepidodendron, I caused the timber props to be taken out, which allowed the shale roof to fall and bring down with it the remaining roots and a piece of the stem of the tree. Fig. 1. ee : =S SS Se MAIN COAL SEAM. Six Feet thick. Underclay containing Stigmaria. Fig. 1. Section showing the position of the tree above the coal seam, with the inclination and lengths of two of the principal roots so far as they could be di- -stinetly traced. Fig. 2. Sketch of the trunk with its branching roots, constructed from careful measurements of the dimensions and position of each root, taken on the spot. The stem being composed of friable shale arranged in horizontal layers, separated and fell away from the bark when the props were removed, leaying a hollow cylinder of coaly matter one-third of an 48 PROCEEDINGS OF THE GEOLOGICAL SOCIETY. [June 16, inch thick adhering to the surrounding shale. Part of the imner surface of this coaly bark fell down with the stem, but its scaly structure was di- stinctly visible. The impression of the outer surface of the bark (4) upon the enve- loping shale is undoubtedly that of Lepi- dodendron, as will be seen by referring to fig. 3, which is a sketch of a piece taken from the part marked A in fig. 2, (a) being the inner surface. The stem is not quite cylindrical, its longest diameter, which lies in the direction of the strike of the coal seam, {i bemg 15 inches, and that at right angles | thereto only 12 inches. Half nat. size. Four main roots spread out nearly at equal distances from one another, which fork at about 30 inches from the centre of the stem, where their width is 12 inches, and depth from 2 to 3 inches. Two of these branches fork again, as shown in fig. 2; their width at the second forking being 7, and depth 13 mches. Beyond this they gradually taper off to about 2 inches in width by 3 in depth. I followed one of these small roots two feet further, where it appeared to terminate in contact with the coal seam, in a flat obtuse point ; but I have only represented in fig. 2 such parts as were plainly visible and could be correctly measured. All the roots are enveloped in a coaly bark one-tenth of an inch thick near the first forkmg, which thins off to a mere film at their extremities. At 12 inches from the stem, the rhomboidal structure of the external surface of this bark is quite distinct ; it grows fainter, but is still visible, as far down as the first forking at C, fig. 2. This bark is closely marked with fine parallel transverse striz. Decorticated pieces of root taken from the spots marked B, C & Fig. 4. A i Hy 7) Mh) : . | y\ li Half nat. size. Half nat. size. D, fig. 2, are represented at (4) in figs. 4, 5 & 6 respectively, (a) being the bark. At B, the areolz (in which the black ring and central dot >i roots ; insome places no traces 1847.] BROWN ON LEPIDODENDRON WITH STIGMARIA ROOTS. 49 commonly observed in Stigmaria are absent) consist of small oval- shaped knobs or eminences arranged in spiral lines; the surface is also marked with waving longitudinal strie. At C, the decorticated root is distinctly imbricated like the stem, but the areolee, although very perfect, do not appear to be arranged in any regular order. Near the extremity of the root at D, the surface is marked “in quincuncial order with depressed areolee, with a rising in the middle, im the centre of which rising a minute speck is observable*.”” The surface of this part of the root is also marked by longitudinal sinuous lines alternately approaching and receding, which cause a strong resemblance to the waving rhomboidal spaces exhibited by Lepidodendron obovatum. I observed rootlets spreading upwards from the areolze into the shale between the first forkings and the extremities, but none near the stem. There are no visible traces of rootlets in the coal, although there can be no doubt that they penetrated deeply imto the underlying mass of vegetable matter from which the tree derived its chief nutriment, the areolee being much larger and more distinct upon the under than the upper sides of the roots. The roots are filled with a hard dark bluish shale arranged in nearly horizontal layers, inclining a little towards the core or pith, which is impregnated with iron pyrites and lies on the under side of the roots, sometimes in contact with the coaly bark, as shown in fig. 7, which is a transverse section of a piece at 6 feet from the stem; (@) being the bark, (4) the core or pith, and (c, c) the lines of bedding in the shale. Nearer to the stem, the ; core, which is much flattened, Pig. 7. has almost maintained its origi- nal position in the centre of the c , aso LO De WE: Ll TMM D Wi TM LY ue IL. Dp, whatever of the core could be Ul found. These roots must have b been perfectly hollow before the deposition of mud within began, fern-leaves bemg interposed between the layers of shale, which “could only have obtained access thereto by settling down through the trunk from above. It must be observed, the preceding description of the roots refers only to the most perfect branch I could select; many of the others have been so much crushed and distorted, that it is impossible to make out either any rhomboidal structure or regular order in the arrangement of the areolee. : Since it has been shown that Lepidodendra possessed roots and rootlets of Stigmarize, bearing a strong resemblance to those which have so often been found united to Sigillarize, we certainly have good reason to conclude that all the large trees, which flourished during the carboniferous period, were furnished with roots of a similar character, especially adapted to the soft muddy soil which universally prevailed over those areas upon which coal strata were accumulating, none of a different description having yet been found in the roofs or under- clays of the coal seams. * T quote from Steinhauer’s description of Stigmaria, which applies precisely to this part of our fossil. VOL. 1V.—PART I. E 50 PROCEEDINGS OF THE GEOLOGICAL SOCIETY. [June 16, In conclusion, I may observe that this instance affords strong ad- ditional proof, if any were required, that coal seams were formed from plants which grew upon the spot; smce we here find not only the roots of the ancient forest which flourished upon the under-clay of the main coal, but also, so soon as the materials for that coal had accu- mulated, whether in the shape of a peat-bog or otherwise, and, in consequence of a slight submergence under water, had been covered with a few feet of mud, that another forest of Sigillarie*, Lepido- dendra, &c. immediately sprang up, which im its turn, owing to a further subsidence of larger amount, was submerged, and buried by a deposit of coarse sand 24 feet in depth, forming the succeeding bed to the shale in the ascending series. ee 5. On the Discovery of Coau on the IsLAND oF LaBuUAN, BORNEO. By Tuomas Bextort, Esq., Surgeon R.N. Coat has been discovered near the river Gooty, on the east coast of — Borneo. It resembles the best cannel coal, and burns readily, leaving a little ferruginous ash. The bed is about three feet thick, and is covered by grey shale and red sandstone. The island of Labuan con- sists of reefs of coral and beds of soft white sandstone with layers of blue clay. Near the north-east pot of the island a bed of coal, six feet or more in thickness, has been discovered in several places. Some of this coal has been used on board the ship, and it is found to burn well and leave very little ash. 6. On the New Rep SanpsToneE of Nova Scotia. By J. W. Dawson, Esq. In several late papers on the carboniferous rocks of Nova Scotia, reference has been made to a deposit of red sandstone skirting the shores of Cobequid Bay, and resting unconformably on strata of the carboniferous system. I propose in the present paper, to describe this formation as it occurs in the above-named locality, and in other parts of the country bordering the southern arm of the Bay of Fundy, retaining provisionally the name of New Red Sandstone, which is at least locally appropriate. The new red sandstone of Nova Scotia has already been described by Messrs. Jackson and Alger, and by Dr. Gesner. The attention of these geologists was however directed rather to the structure of the trap, and to the numerous crystallized minerals which it contains, than to the geological relations of the deposit ; and they did not di- stinguish it from a group of sandstones, with beds of limestone and ypsum, occurring in its vicmity, which has sce been shown by Mr. Lyell to belong to the carboniferous system. * Sigillariee with roots of Stigmariz attached to them are very abundant in the roof of the main coal, often occurring at intervals of a few yards. _ Quart, Geol. Journ. VolLJlV. PLY. oy ty “ay S\N Re xX » NX RN Ud @NY 7 ” , . Na aoe Ka S N Ss Se Ss yw WR . , y Ui, ; p ~ S . ; Ny aN ~ m yj Ly he BY ps 1S NM Vy i} i Lis A /f dS ff VA SCOTIA. : New Red Sandstone ees Lrap Ce an Carboniferous System é = —=Dark Shales and exox lower Carboniferous Limestoite & bypsum. S\| Slate £& quartz Kock. a. Amygdutloidal Trap. (Ff) Grystatline Trap. Ww. A Syst em v fi. Uy SSL mr. Ps \ ~ Ne PMH can ZA / Yj Yi Vy oS , STF; iff, Vy j Wy ] Yi) Lk i Wi § $ \ | Ola «> ie a A ’ A x aN Re NG Lys YY j YY iii = PROMEN CSO Gg N av CNA mi dy (ape Shap CRlomidon asin Sy ons Core a) S LC 3\ FR rs ETE NDS Blick Rock Wy, ‘Maitlon Wis PBReng / VL New Rat Sandstone Drop Ce Carboniferous System wk Shales and grits “r Carboniferous “© typsum late © yuart= Rock. ‘on store by Reeve, Benham & Reeve MAP AND SECTIONS OF NEW RED SANDSTONE OF NOVA SCOTIA. BY J.W. DAWSON, ESQ?. (2) Sectoon opposite the Two Lslands F- Te a z i 7 F é. Z z (@) Black shetes and hard grey & brown Sandstones of Carboniferous System (hb) Safe red Sanistones with greenish bands (¢) Do with fragments of Trap (d) Trap Conglomerate & Brecaa. (¢) Amygdalecdal Trap (f) Crystailine Trap. iv A) Section. bs ; NY) x | Old WW States 5 VR. Sandstone { Rca is cert { WR Sandstone — Cark, System mt TNT ) Be : SS ZAENRSES re EE AN WSS SAGAN I TIT SSATP A 2 abe Se a Pe , ee ner E> 1847.] DAWSON ON THE NEW RED SANDSTONE OF NOVA SCOTIA. 51 1. Truro and south side of Cobequid Bay. In the valley of the Salmon River, four and a half miles eastward of the village of Truro, the eastern extremity of the new red sand- stone is seen to rest unconformably on hard reddish brown sandstones and shales, belonging to the lower part of the carboniferous system, and dipping N. 80° E. at an angle of 40°. At this place the over- lying formation is nearly horizontal, and consists of soft and rather coarse bright red siliceous sandstones. Southward of Truro, at the distance of less than a mile, the horizontal soft red sandstone is seen, in the banks of a brook, to run against hard brownish grits and shales, dipping to the eastward at angles varying from 45° to 50°. Westward of this place, the red sandstones extend in a narrow band, about a mile in width, to the mouth of the Shubenacadie, ten miles distant. This band is bounded on the north by Cobequid Bay, and on the south by highly inclined sandstone, shale, and limestone of the lower carboniferous series. In the coast section, between Truro and the Shubenacadie, the red sandstone presents the same characters as at the former place, except that, near the Shubenacadie, some of the beds, which like most of the red sandstones of Truro have a calca- reous cement, show a tendency to arrangement in large concretionary balls. West of the mouth of the Shubenacadie, the country as far as the estuary of the Avon is occupied by lower carboniferous rocks, similar to those seen in the banks of the former river; perhaps with the exception of Salter’s Head, and a few other projecting poimts which appear to consist of nearly horizontal red sandstone resembling that of Truro. 2. North side of Cobequid Bay and Mines Basin from Truro to the Five Islands. Northward of Truro the red sandstone meets and overlies uncon~ formably the carboniferous grits, shales, limestone and gypsum, of the North River and Onslow Mountain, its boundary in this direction bemg about three miles distant from the bay. From the North River it extends in a belt about three miles wide to the De Bert River, where an apparently insulated patch of rocks with characteristic lower carboniferous fossils projects through it. This island of car- boniferous strata shows general high north-east dips, while the sur- rounding red sandstones dip at small angles at the south-west. I have represented this arrangement in sect. 1. Pl. V., which extends from the metamorphic slates and quartzite of the Cobequid range to the shore, and shows the strata as observed along the Folly River and part of the De Bert River. It may be proper here to remark, in reference to the position of the new red sandstone and carboniferous system as seen in this section, that the latter forms a long belt, extending along the foot of the Co- bequid hills, parallel to the red sandstone; and that in this belt the carboniferous rocks, though often much fractured and disturbed, have a prevailing trough-shaped arrangement. On the north side of this trough, near the base of the hills, the carboniferous rocks consist of E 2 52 PROCEEDINGS OF THE GEOLOGICAL SOCIETY. [June 16, hard grey conglomerates, grey and reddish grits and dark shales, with fossil plants; but marine limestones and gypsum appear only on the southern side of the synclinal axis, or where the beds again dip toward the hills. It results from this arrangement, that in the district now under consideration, the new red sandstone, with general southerly dips, meets and overlies lower carboniferous rocks, usually dipping to the northward ; and that those portions of the carboniferous system which contain limestones with marine shells, gypsum and the largest proportion of reddish sandstones, usually occur very near the junction of that system with the new red sandstone. In the section of the Folly River, the new red sandstone meets the main body of the carboniferous rocks about five miles from the shore. At this place it is coarse and sometimes pebbly ; and near its junction with the older formation its dip increases till it amounts to 50°. Westward of the Folly River, the belt of red sandstone gradually de- creases in width, and begins to contam im its lower part thick beds of red conglomerate, made up of fragments of the neighbouring older rocks united by red sandstone. In the banks of Economy River, seventeen miles westward of Folly River, the red sandstone and conglomerate, which near the shore dip to the southward at a low angle, assume an undulating arrangement as they approach vertical, hard, brown and grey grits, and shales of the carboniferous system. After passing these vertical rocks, red conglomerate and soft red sandstone, with a south-west dip, again | appear in the section for a short distance, and are again succeeded b vertical carboniferous grits and shales, which continue to the base of the hills. Ata short distance eastward of the Economy river, the car- boniferous rocks contain a bed of limestone, with Producta Martini and other fossil shells. In Gerrish’s Mountain, six miles west of Economy River, the red sandstone and conglomerate are overlaid by amygdaloidal trap, and having been protected by it from denudation, rise into an emmence nearly 400 feet high. At Indian Pomt, the southern extremity of Gerrish’s Mountaim, the trap and red sandstone form a bold precipi- tous cliff, and are continued along the picturesque rocky chain of the Five Islands, in two of which the red sandstone is seen to underlie the trap. 3. North shore of Mines Basin, from Five Islands to Cape Sharp. Between Five Islands and Swan Creek, ten miles distant, an ex- cellent coast section, often rising into lofty cliffs, shows the new red sandstone and trap as well as the underlying carboniferous strata. At the mouth of Harrington River, opposite the Five Islands, the carboniferous rocks approach the shore very closely ; and as seen in the west side of the river, consist of black shales and dark-coloured sandstones with Flabellaria and other fossil plants. They dip at high angles to the south, and are met by the new red sandstone dip- ping gently to the southward. The sandstones of the newer forma- tion here contain little conglomerate, and are variegated by numerous greenish bands and blotches. They occupy the shore for some di- 1847.| DAWSON ON THE NEW RED SANDSTONE OF NOVA SCOTIA. 93 stance, and then contain a thick bed of trap conglomerate, consisting of large partially rounded fragments of amygdaloidal and compact trap, united by a hard brownish argillaceous cement. At a short distance westward, another bed of trap conglomerate of the same kind appears in the cliff. It is overlaid by a bed of dark clay, filled with angular fragments of black shale constituting a kind of breccia. The sandstone underlying this bed of trap contaims small nodules of se- lenite and narrow veins of reddish fibrous gypsum. No other vol- canic rocks occur in the coast section near these trap conglomerates. Westward of this place, the section is occupied for about three miles by soft red sandstones with greenish bands, dipping generally to the south-west: some of them are divisible into very thin layers, whilst others are compact and form beds several feet in thickness. Near Moose River the red sandstones meet black shales and hard grey sandstones of the carboniferous system, contaming F/abellaria, Ferns and Lepidodendra. At this place the junction of the two groups of rocks was not, at the time of my visit, well-exposed in the cliff, and had the appearance of a fault ; but as seen in the horizontal section on the beach, the red sandstone with a south-west dip seems to overlie unconformably the carboniferous strata, dipping at a high angle to the E.N.E. On the west side of Moose River the carboni- ferous strata include three large masses of trap which have altered the grits and shales in contact with them, causing them to assume reddish colours. Beyond the last of these masses of trap, the shales and grits, there dipping to the north and north-east, have some red sand- stone resting on their edges, and are succeeded by another great mass of trap forming a lofty cliff, and in part at least resting on soft red sandstone which it must have overflowed when in a fluid state. At the western side of this mass, or rather bed of trap, its upper surface is seen to dip to the W.S.W., and is conformably overlaid by red sandstones similar to those already described. These continue with various dips to a cove where there is a break in the section, westward of which the coast exhibits the interesting and complicated appear- ances which I have endeavoured to represent in section 2. Pl. V. The lower part of the cliff, on the western side of the cove above- mentioned, consists of hard, black and reddish shales and grits, like some of those seen near Moose River, with a steep dip to the E.N.E. Resting on the edges of these are a few beds of red conglomerate and sandstone with greenish bands, dipping to the south-west and appa- rently a remnant of more extensive beds. An enormous mass of trap conglomerate forms a high cliff towering above this little patch of sandstone, and is seen alittle further on to contain a wedge-shaped bed of red sandstone, and at its western extremity rests on red sandstone mixed with fragments of trap. Here the trap conglomerate seems to be cut off by a fault, and abuts agamst a great trappean mass, composed in ascending order of amygdaloidal trap, a wedge of red sandstone ex- tending over part of the surface of the amygdaloid, a great bed of crystalline trap, and a bed of trap conglomerate. The western side of this mass rests on an apparently denuded surface of soft red sand- stones, with $.S.W. dip. These are overlaid by another trappean 54 PROCEEDINGS OF THE GEOLOGICAL SOCIETY. [June 16, mass, consisting of beds which appear to dip conformably with the underlying sandstones. At its western side it abuts against greatly disturbed red sandstones succeeded by other red sandstones dippmg to the southward, and extending as far as Swan Creek. On the west side of Swan Creek, the soft red and variegated sand- stones are seen to dip to the north at an angle of 30°, and are under- laid by a bed of trap conglomerate, which rests against disturbed strata of a composition different from any previously occurrmg in this section. They consist of lammated, compact and brecciated grey limestone, a bed of white gypsum, hard reddish purple and grey marls and sandstones, some of them with disseminated crystals of specular iron ore. I saw no fossils m these beds, but as they are identical i mineral character with some parts of the gypsiferous member of the carboniferous group, and have evidently been disturbed and altered before the deposition of the overlymg trap conglomerate and red sandstone, I have no doubt that they belong to the carboni- ferous system, the sandstones and shales of which, with some trappean rocks, occupy the cliff between this place and Partridge Island five and a half miles distant. ‘The new red sandstone in the vicinity of Swan Creek appears to form a small synclinal trough, occupymg an indentation in the carboniferous rocks, and probably extending only a short distance westward of the mouth of the creek. The two islands near Swan Creek are detached masses of trap, resting on or rising through red sandstones, which at low tide are seen to extend between them and the shore. The red sandstone and trap, oecurrmg in the section between Five Islands and Swan Creek, appears to be a very narrow band, extending parallel to the coast ; and as the section is nearly in the general direction of the strike of the formation, it is probable that some of the trappean masses above-described are por- tions of beds disconnected by faults and denudation. Partridge Island consists above of black crystalline trap, with a vertical columnar structure. On the western side, this is seen to rest on a thick mass of amygdaloid and earthy and arenaceous tufa. Underlying these, at the north-western extremity of the island, are a few beds of soft red sandstone with greenish bands, dipping to the southward. The mainland opposite consists of vertical and hardened - dark-coloured sandstones and shales of the carboniferous system, containing Flabellaria, Ferns, and shells of a species of Modiola and of Unio. Vertical and contorted carboniferous strata occupy the coast section as far as Cape Sharp, three miles distant. This promontory consists of trap and underlying red sandstone, as at Partridge Island, except that trap conglomerate and breccia take the place of the finer tufaceous matter seen at the latter place. Westward of Cape Sharp, the coast consists chiefly of carboniferous rocks, with some isolated masses of trap, associated with red sandstone, in small patches. These I have not been able to examine. The compact trap occurrmg in the sections above-described, is a fine-grained crystalline augitic rock of a dark grey or blackish colour, and often with a rude columnar structure. The amygdaloid is of a grey colour, and its vesicles are usually filled with zeolitic matter. 1847.| DAWSON ON THE NEW RED SANDSTONE OF NOVA SCOTIA. 55 Many beautiful crystallized minerals occur in the trap rocks of the sections described. The masses near Moose River contain cavities coated with opake white varieties of quartz, in stalactitic and other imperfectly crystalline forms. Opposite the Two Islands, the fissures of the trap are lined with fine crystals of analcime and natrolite ; and ‘the fissures and vacant spaces of the trap conglomerate in the same neighbourhood contain a reddish variety of chabasie in rhombohe- drons, often of large size. At Partridge Island, stilbite, calcareous spar and quartz, in various states, are the prevailing minerals; they occur chiefly in the amygdaloid and tufa, im fissures which also contain chabasie, heulandite and other zeolites, though in smaller quantity than the mimerals above-named. 4. Blomidon and the Valley of Cornwallis, on the south side of the Bay of Fundy. Blomidon is the eastern termination of a long band of trappean rocks, forming an elevated ridge, named in the greater part of its length the North Mountains. This ridge is about 123 miles in length, including two insular portions at its western extremity, and does not exceed five miles in breadth, except near Cape Blomidon, where a narrow promontory, terminating in Cape Split, extends to the northward. The trap of the North Mountains presents to the Bay of Fundy a range of high cliffs, and is bounded on the inland side by soft red sandstones, which form a long valley separating the trappean rocks from another and more extensive hilly district occupied principally by metamorphic slates and granite. The trap has pro- tected the softer sandstones from the waves and tides of the Bay, and probably also from older denuding agents; and where it ter- minates, the shore at once recedes to the southward, forming the western side of Mines Basin, and affording a cross section of the North Mountains and the valley of Cornwallis. At Cape Blomidon, the cliff, which in some parts is 400 feet in height, is composed of red sandstone surmounted by trap. The sandstone is soft, arranged in beds of various degrees of coarseness, and is variegated by greenish bands and blotches. It contains veins of selenite and fibrous gypsum, the latter usually parallel to the containing beds, but sometimes crossing them obliquely. I found no fossils in it: it dips to the north-west at an angle of 16°. Resting on the sandstone, and appearing to dip with it to the north-west, is a thick bed of amygdaloidal trap, varying in colour from grey to dull red, but in general of greyish tints. It is full of cavities and fissures ; and these, as well as its vesicles, are filled or coated with quartz, in different states, and with various zeolites, especially heulandite, anal- cime, natrolite, stilbite and apophyllite, often in large and beautiful masses of crystals. In its lower part there are some portions which are scarcely vesicular, and often appear to contain quartz sand like that of the subjacent sandstone. Above the bed of amygdaloid is a still thicker stratum of crystalline trap, precisely similar to that of Partridge Island, and like it having a rude columnar structure. The columnar trap of Blomidon, in consequence of its hardness and vertical joints, presents a perpendicular wall extending along the 56 PROCEEDINGS OF THE GEOLOGICAL society. [June 16, top of the precipice. The amygdaloid beneath, bemg friable and much fissured, falls away in a slope from the base of this wall, and the sandstone in some places forms a continuation of this slope, or is altogether concealed by the fallen fragments of trap. In other places the sandstone has been cut into a nearly vertical cliff, above which is a terrace of fragments of amygdaloid. ' Northward of Cape Blomidon, the north-westerly dips of the sandstone and trap cause the base of the former to descend to the sea level, the columnar trap, which here appears to be of increased thickness, still presenting a lofty cliff. Southward of the Cape, on the other hand, the amygdaloid and basalt thi out, until the red sandstones occupy the whole of the cliff. It thus appears that the trap at Blomidon is a conformable bed, resting on the sandstone, exactly as in some places already described on the opposite shore. The coast section between Blomidon and Horton, as seen near Perean River and Bass Creek, and at Star’s Pomt, Long Island and Bout Island, exhibits red sandstones, with north-west dips at angles of about 15°, and precisely similar in mineral character to those of Blornidon, except that near Bass Creek some of them contain layers of small pebbles of quartz, slate, granite, and trap. The whole of these sandstones underlie those of Blomidon, and resemble those which occupy the long valley of Cornwallis and the Annapolis River, westward of this section. In this valley, the red sandstone, in con- sequence of its soft and friable nature, is rarely well-exposed ; but in a few places in Cornwallis where I observed it, it has the same dip as on the coast. The comparatively high level of the sandstone, where it underlies the trap, shows that the present form of this valley is in great part due to denudation ; and the trap itself must have suffered from this cause, smce fragments of it and of the quartzose minerals which it contains, are frequent in the valley of Cornwallis, and along the base of the slate hills to the southward. We may now consider the relations of the red sandstone of Corn- wallis to the other formations boundmg it on the south. Near Kentville, seven miles westward of the direct line of section from Blomidon to Horton, the red sandstone with its usual north-west dip, rests against clay-slate having a high dip to the N.N.E., and be- longing to a series of similar rocks apparently equivalents of the Silurian system. In tracing the boundary of the slate eastward of this place, along the south side of Cornwallis River, its junction with the red sandstone is not again observed ; and at Wolfville the slates support hard grey sandstones, composed. of the materials of granite, with some beds of brownish sandstone. These rocks were observed in one place to dip to the north-east, and m another to the N.N.W. They are separated from the red sandstones of Bout and Long Island, and Star’s Point, by a wide expanse of marsh, and by the estuary of the Cornwallis River. In Lower Horton, and between that place and Halfway River, grey sandstones, similar to those of Wolfville, are seen to support black shales and dark sandstones, with Lepidodendra and other fossil plants of carboniferous forms, and dipping to the N.E. N. & N.W. At Horton Bluff, at the mouth of the estuary of the Avon River, 1847.| DAWSON ON THE NEW RED SANDSTONE OF NOVA SCOTIA. 57 these dark shales and sandstones, with grey and reddish sandstones like those of Wolfville, and containing Lepidodendron, Flabellaria, and scales of fish, are well-exposed, and have been described by Mr. Lyell. Some additional facts respecting them will be found in the Appendix to this paper. At the north end of the section at Horton Bluff the dark shales dip to the southward. They are then concealed by boulder clay, which with a marsh occupies the shore for nearly a mile. Beyond this, in a small poimt named Oak Island, are seen a few beds of coarse red sandstone, with some finer red beds and grayish bands. These beds dip to the N.N.W., and form a continuation, and the eastern termination of the red sandstones of the Horton Islands and of Cornwallis. It appears from the facts above-stated, that the red sandstones of Cornwallis and Horton, though not seen in contact with the carbo- niferous rocks, extend parallel to their disturbed strata with uniform north-west dips, and passing beyond them with the same dip, rest un- conformably on the older slaty series. This arrangement I thmk, satisfactorily proves that these red sandstones and the overlying trap are really newer than the carboniferous shales of Horton, and un- conformable to them. Eastward of the estuary of the Avon, the country as far as the Shubenacadie River is occupied by a deposit of reddish, grey and purple sandstones and marls, with large beds of gypsum and. lime- stones abounding in marine shells. This gypsiferous series is much fractured and disturbed, and is in many places associated with dark shales containing fossil plants, like those of Horton Bluff, and thin seams of coal. This association of the gypsiferous series with dark fossiliferous shales, occurs at Halfway River, where coarse brown and grey sandstones, with imperfect casts of fossil trunks of trees, and a thick bed of anhydrite and common gypsum, rest conformably on the continuation of the dark beds of Horton Bluff. The carbo- niferous date of this gypsiferous series has been fully established by Mr. Lyell; and though it contams red sandstones with veins of gypsum lke those of Blomidon, these never extend to so great a thickness as that of the Cornwallis sandstones, without alternating with fossiliferous shales, or limestones, or with beds of gypsum. For this reason, in connection with the undisturbed condition of the Cornwallis sandstones, their apparent unconformability to the car- boniferous shales of Horton, and their identity in mineral character and association with trappean rocks, with the red sandstones of Swan Creek and Five Islands, I have no hesitation in separating them from the gypsiferous series and including them in the new red sandstone formation. I am not aware that any rocks equivalent in age to the new red sandstones which have been described, occur in any other part of Nova Scotia. Red sandstones not unlike those of Cornwallis and Truro, occur in some parts of the newer coal formation, as seen on the shores of the Gulf of St. Lawrence ; but they alternate with beds of shale and grey sandstone, containing fossil plants of carboniferous species. Prince Edward Island, in the Gulf of St. Lawrence, is 58 PROCEEDINGS OF THE GEOLOGICAL society. [June 16, chiefly composed of soft red sandstones, little disturbed, and similar im mineral character to the new red sandstone of Nova Scotia; but they contain in their lower part silicified wood and other vegetable fossils, which I have not been able to distinguish from some found in the newer coal formation. It is however possible that these red sandstones of Prince Edward Island may be post-carboniferous. It is not improbable that the new red sandstone of Connecticut, and some other parts of the United States, which is believed to be a Triassic deposit, may be of the same age with the formation above described. At present however, from the want of fossils in the new red sandstone of Nova Scotia, it must be regarded as a post-carbo- niferous deposit of uncertain age. The new red sandstones now described appear to have been depo- sited in an arm of the sea, somewhat resembling in its general form the southern part of the present Bay of Fundy, but rather longer and wider. This ancient bay was bounded by disturbed carboniferous and Silurian strata; and the detritus which it received was probably chiefly derived from the softer strata of the carboniferous system. The arenaceous nature of the new red sandstone, as compared with the character of these older deposits, indicates that the ancient bay must have been traversed by currents, probably tidal like those of the modern bay, which washed away the argillaceous matter so as to prevent the accumulation of muddy sediment. When we consider the large amount of land in the vicinity of the waters m which the new red sandstone was deposited, the deficiency of organic remams in its beds is somewhat surprising, though this is perhaps to be attri- buted rather to the materials of the deposit and the mode of its accumulation, than to any deficiency of vegetable or animal life at the period in question. The volcanic action which manifested itself im the bed and on the margin of the bay of the new red sandstone, is one of the most re- markable features of the period. It has brought to the surface great quantities of melted rock, without disturbing or altermg the soft arenaceous beds through which it has been poured, and whose surface it has overflowed. ‘The masses thus accumulated on the surface have greatly modified the features of the districts in which they occur ; especially the great ridge extending westward from Cape Blomidon. It is worthy of note, that this ridge, probably marking the site of a line of vents of the new red sandstone period, and oc- curring in a depression between two ancient hilly districts, so nearly coincides in direction with these older lines of disturbance. The trap rocks associated with the new red sandstone do not precisely coincide in mineral character with any that I have observed in other parts of Nova Scotia, though it is possible that some of the igneous rocks which have penetrated and disturbed the carboniferous rocks of various parts of this province, may belong to the new red sandstone period, or are of a date not long anterior to it. The new red sandstone of Nova Scotia contains no valuable mineral deposits, unless the agates and jaspers of the associated trap deserve that designation. It generally supports fertile soils. 1847.] DAWSON ON THE NEW RED SANDSTONE OF NOVA SCOTIA. 99 APPENDIX. On the Lower Carboniferous Rocks of Windsor and Horton. The true age of these rocks was first determined by Mr. Lyell, and the facts now stated may be considered as supplementary to those contained in his paper on the coal formation of Nova Scotia. The lower carboniferous rocks of Horton and Windsor consist of two groups of beds, very distinct from each other in mineral charac- ter and fossils ; these are in descending order. 1. A marine formation, composed of red and grey sandstones with red and purple marls, and large beds of gypsum and limestone, the latter with numerous fossil shells. 2. A lacustrine or estuary deposit, consisting of dark shales and sandstones with some white and reddish sandstone, containing fossil plants and scales of fish. The first group is seen at the mouth of the Halfway River, and south of this place along both sides of the Avon. It occupies the greater part of the country between the estuaries of the Avon and the Shubenacadie, and eastward of the latter river. The lowest bed of gypsum in the group, as seen in the Aven estuary, is of great thick- ness and contains a large quantity of anhydrous gypsum. This bed is well-exposed near the mouth of Halfway River, and it is probably the same bed which forms the high cliff of gypsum extending for a considerable distance along the east side of the St. Croix River. Under this bed, at Halfway River, are coarse brownish and grey sand- stones which appear to rest on the upper beds of the second group. The second group is seen at Wolfville, and at several places on the road between that place and Windsor, at Horton Bluff, at Sneid’s Mills south of Windsor, on the St. Croix River near the road from Windsor to Halifax; and similar rocks, with some of the same fossils, are associated with the gypsiferous series on the upper part of Kennetcook River, at Five Mile River, on the Shubenacadie, and at Salmon Creek and Noel Bay. Near Horton Bluff is a bed containing numerous stumps of small trees, apparently in the place where they grew. The stumps are casts in clay and only a few inches high, and are marked only by transverse wrinkles, apparently caused by compression. The bed underlying them is filled with small branching roots, and that above contains numerous prostrate trunks of Lepidodendron, probably the upper portions of the stumps below. These fossil trees must have formed a thick grove as the stumps are very close together, and they had probably not attained their full growth when broken down and buried ; the largest which I saw being only eleven inches in diameter. This fossil forest is lower m the carboniferous system than any hitherto discovered in Nova Scotia. The dark shales of Horton and Windsor, though in some places containing small seams of coal, are not equivalents of the productive coal measures of Pictou and Cumberland, but rather correspond to some similar beds seen to underlie the gypsiferous series on the shores of the Gulf of St. Lawrence, noticed m the Geological Journal, vol. i. pp. 31 and 34. 60 PROCEEDINGS OF THE GEOLOGICAL SOCIETY. [June 16, 7. On the Genera and Distribution of Plants in the Carboniferous System of New Sout Wates. By the Rev. W. B. Cuarke, M.A., F.G.S. In Count Strzelecki’s work on New South Wales, it is stated that the Australian coal-fields are entirely deficient in the genera Szgilla- ria, Lepidodendron, Calamites, and Conifere. This view Mr. Clarke considers as erroneous, and endeavours in this paper to remove. After some general remarks on the supposed similarity of the plants found in the Australian coal beds to those m India, he gives the fol- lowing list :— Genera of Coal Plants found by Mr. Clarke in the carboniferous deposits of New South Wales. 1. Pecopteris. | 12. Phyllotheca. 2. Neuropteris. | 13. Zeugophyllites. 3. Odontopteris. | 14. Equisetum. 4. Cyclopteris. | 15. Lycopodites. 5. Sphenopteris. | 16. New genus of plants with wedge- 6. Glossopteris. / formed stems. 7. Genus intermediate between Teni- | 17. Lepidodendron, sometimes Lepi- opteris and Glossopteris. / dostrobi. 8. Halonia. / 18. Ulodendron. 9. Canneform plants. | 19. Sigillaria and Stigmaria. 10. Reed-like stems. | 20. Coniferze. 11. Calamites. | In all about sixty species. On the above list it may be useful to make a few observations. The existence of coniferous wood in the Australian coal beds has long been known. The Rey. C. P. N. Wilton of Newcastle (N.S. W.) sent specimens to Professor Jameson in the year 1832, and on these Mr. Nicol reported mm the Edinburgh Philosophical Journal. I have also forwarded two specimens of trees, now in the museum of the Society, from Awaaba Lake, accompanied by an account of a fossil forest of coniferous trees, of which the two in question were exam- ples, which was published in the Proceedings*. Dr. Leichhardt, in his recent expedition to Port Essington, found masses of fossil coniferous wood in a soil, and under circumstances, similar to those which distinguish the occurrence of much of the fossil Coniferze of the colony, in 23° 8. lat. on the Mackenzie River, more than 600 miles northward from Newcastle, and in the vicinity of beds of coal undistinguishable from those of the Hunter at New- castle, affording evidence of the existence of coal deposits along the flanks of the Cordillera of Australia and Tasmania, through a di- stance, in latitude, of not less than 1200 miles. In the part of the country now under review, coniferous plants are not only found za situ imbedded horizontally or standing vertically in the various deposits, but are also found lymg upon the surface in the shape of local drift; whole trees, some of them 50 or 100, or even 150 feet in length, completely changed into silex or hydrated iron, existing in this state uninjured, or broken up into clean sections, * Vol. iv. p. 161. 1847.] CLARKE ON CARBONIFEROUS PLANTS OF N.S. WALES. 61 which may be joined together; or forming a conglomerate of silky fragments and chips*. In December 1845, my friend Mr. J. B. Jukes, F.G.S. (late of H.M.S. Fly), examined with me a portion of the Illawarra coast, north of Wallongong; and he there saw coniferous trees and a true Stigmaria imbedded in the beach rock of Ballambai. He will also, doubtless, remember my pointing out to him sections of fossilized co- niferous trees, amidst the basaltic blocks and disturbed coal strata of Towrudgi Point. Further to the south, as at Munniwarree, fragments of these coniferous trees are imbedded in the low cliffs, amidst a mul- titude of Sprrifers, Producti, Goniatites, and Pleurotomarie ; a fact incidentally mentioned to justify the opinion I have formed as to the comparative age of our Australian Coal-fields ; which will be further illustrated hereafter by a still more striking reference. There is, indeed, scarcely a tract of the region in question in which coniferous wood has not been found. I have observed branches and stems of trees, washed out of the strata, lying, as mere surface-drift, upon the mountains at the height of at least 3000 feet above the sea; and if we calculate from such a point downwards through the probable thickness of all the carboniferous strata, the Coniferee will be found to lie at all elevations throughout a vertical range of not less than 6000 feet. I have already mentioned the occurrence of Stigmaria at Ballam- bai. At Awaaba, Sigillarie of various species are crowded together in the white fire-clays of the coal seams; and at Muswellbrook on the Upper Hunter the remains of Sigillarie of gigantic size distin- guish the sandstones. They have been also found at Mulubimba near Newcastle, and in some other localities, especially in the soft grits and sandstones along the Paterson and Allyn rivers, which there overlie fossiliferous beds that in mineralogical and conchological con- ditions have a great resemblance to rocks of the Silurian epoch. Lepidodendra occur mm the shales of the Manila River, about 30° S., and on the Namoi and Gwydir rivers, on the western flanks of the Cordillera. On Pini Ridge, also to the westward near Wellington Valley, a fine specimen of Ulodendron, named by me after its finder, A. Tem- pler, Esq., U. Templeri, was discovered in 1842. Lepidodendra also occur in the grits and mudstones of the Paterson, and in the hard siliceous metamorphic rocks of Colocalo on the Allyn, with a multitude of Orthide, Atrype, Trilobites, Strophomene, &c., proving that the coal plants are found imbedded in. true marine de- posits, and far lower m the geological scale than even the Productus beds of Munniwarree or Wollongong. Passing upwards again, in geological order, far above the great sandstone (the variegated sandstone of Strzelecki, assumed by him to be the highest beds in the geological series in the two colonies)‘, and which, by way of distinguishing it, I will call the Hawkesbury * Similar fossilized wood occurs in Tasmania (see Tasm. Journ. vol. i. p. 24), + Phys. Des. p. 129. 62 PROCEEDINGS OF THE GEOLOGICAL SOCIETY. [June 16, Rocks, we come to a mass of shales and calcareous grits and sand- stones, which pass into coal beds at Camden, Cabramatta, George’s River, &c., and occupy the whole of the interesting basin along the South Creek of Wianamatta, in the county of Cumberland, inci- dentally alluded to by Strzelecki*. This basin, which I have long distinguished by the name of the Wianamatta Basin, is bounded on all sides by the Hawkesbury Rocks of the coast ranges and the Blue Mountains, and consists of a series of sloping, rounded, water-worn shale-beds, capped by summits of nearly horizontal beds of calcareous sandstone, which attain, in the Bulbunmatta ranges, and on Moca- ragil (or Menangle Sugar Loaf), an elevation of from 600 to 1000 feet above the sea, and are at least 800 feet thick. At Clarke’s Hill, near Cobbitee, and elsewhere, various species of Pecopteris occur in a fine sandstone ; on Badjalla Hill, Stigmarie and Sigillarie. At Wiriouil, near Campbelltown, in the blue shale, immediately over the variegated sandstone, I have found casts of heterocercal ganoidal fishes, coniferous wood, and a new coral of singular aspect ; whilst at Paramatta, at the north-eastern edge of the basin, in the same shale, I have found three species of fish, coniferous wood, and fragments of ferns, together with casts of the imtestines of sau- roidal or other fishes. A ganoidal heterocercal fish, apparently similar to one I detected at Campbelltown in ironstone, was also found at Newcastle +, 70 feet below the sea-level, in a greyish-blue grit; and Mr. Wilton also discovered at Newcastle a coralite, named after him by Leichhardt, C. Wilton. A specimen of Halonia was found by me at Bolborook near Paramatta, in a soft micaceous shaly sandstone of the Wianamatta Basin, together with numerous casts of species belonging to the genera 9 and 10, in the list above, which are characteristic, to a great degree, of the Wianamatta ironstones and shales. Lycopodites 1 found in soft blue fire-clay at Mulubimba, near Newcastle ; and at Wollon Hills; also in the Page River at the back of Mount Wingen ; at Foy Brook, on the Hunter; and at Burwood Range, near Newcastle, I have found a peculiar species of Cyclo- pteris, which has no resemblance, in the thickness of its leaves, to any yet figured. Equisetacee and Calamites abound not only at Newcastle, but all over the Hunter district, and in the Illawarra region. Some of the latter, with an elegant Neuropteris, occur in an altered sand- stone, at Arowa near Arrawang on William’s River, where the carboniferous series rests upon porphyry, and has been mtruded into by greenstone and trachytic basalt, which must have partially flowed subaérially. Casts of Producti and Spirifers occur there also, at a lower level than the metamorphosed coal beds, a contmuation of which may be traced as far as the left bank of the Paterson River. As my object in this communication has been merely to announce * Phys. Des. p. 58. t+ See Phys. Des. p. 125. 1847.] CLARKE ON TRILOBITES IN NEW SOUTH WALES. 63 the above facts, and not to discuss them, with reference to various topics suggested, I shall conclude with a few general remarks. It is certain the same genera of plants that were characteristic of the carboniferous epoch of Europe, prevail in the Australian forma- tions ; and though the species are different, they are not more so than might be expected at the antipodes of Europe. It is also certain that the greater part of the matrix of these Australian plants is derived from granite, and that one of the most prominent genera still delights m the lofty summits of granite rocks. We also find, in the undoubted traces of gigantic forests, and the profuse vegetation of fern-bearing soils, mterpolated beds full of marine mollusca, conchifera, and zoophytes ; the latter imbedded in mud and shingly grits, which bear undoubted evidence of their igneous character. We find also, that there is a gradual passage from a fauna, usually supposed to belong to the lowest carboniferous beds of Europe, to one still lower in the geological scale, m which, in Europe, no true coal beds have been discovered. And if we adopt the view long ago presented to my mind, that the Australian system is the equivalent of the Devonian, or embraces that and the European carboniferous formation together*, we shall still be met with the fact only meidentally mentioned in this paper, that Silurian forms are mingled in abundance with a flora supposed to be younger; and therefore it is impossible to class the Australian series exactly m a parallel with any of the European formations, but only to consider it with Mr. Jukes}, as the representative “of the Silurian and Devonian rocks, including the carboniferous system of England, in one uninterrupted and conformable series of deposits.”’ Whatever conclusion we adopt, this is undoubted, that the Au- stralian carboniferous deposits have nothing in common, save one or two rare species of plants, with the jurassic system, but have an antiquity in part greater than that of the European coal-fields. 8. On the occurrence of TRiLOBITES in New SouTH WALES, with remarks on the probable age of the formation in which they occur. By the Rev. W. B. Cuarxe, M.A., F.G.S. Tue only notices hitherto published respecting the occurrence of Trilobites in New South Wales are those given in Strzelecki’s < Phy- sical Description’ of that colony and Van Diemen’s Land, and a brief mention made by myself in the ‘Sydney Herald’ long previous to the publication of that work. The announcement made in the ‘ Physical Description’ has refer- ence to “ small oblong impressions resembling Trilobites, not exceed- ing half an inch, and which are to be met with in Yass plains and the Boree country, New South Wales, associated with Favosites * Physical Description, &c., p. 296. t+ Tasmanian Journal, vol. i. p. 11. 64 PROCEEDINGS OF THE GEOLOGICAL SOCIETY. [June 16, Gothlandica, Orthoceras, and stems of Encrinites*.’’ In another place+, another species of “‘ Favosites and Amplexus arundinaceus, and remains of Trilobites,”’ are mentioned as having been only at present noticed. In the year 1842 I discovered numerous casts of Trilobites on the right bank of the River Paterson, in a sandy micaceous mudstone at a spot called Burragood ; and in a concretionary limestone associated with brownish sandy shale, also concretionary, on the left bank of Binjaberri Creek, a feeder of the River Allyn. Since then I have found Trilobites in a rock of the same age, partly a pure limestone, partly a slaty clay, on the bank of the Allyn, at Colocolo near Ca- myrallyn, as well as near Trevallyn on the Paterson. . In 1846 I received from T. A. Murray, Esq., M.L.C., some frag- ments of a fossiliferous rock found at Yarralumla near Queanbeyan, and at Mount Murray, in the county of Murray; on breaking up which I detected several species of Trilobites, which can be referred to well-known Silurian genera. The Yarralumla rock resembles, in all respects, the Burragood mudstone, and, like it, contains concretionary lumps of a ferrugimous limestone surrounding fossils which are generally Trilobites. The fossils there, as well as at Burragood, are thickly coated with a powder of yellow oxide of iron. The direct distance between these localities is 230 miles. The site of the former is to the east, of the latter to the west of the great dividing range or Cordillera ; the former to the north-east of the latter. As the associated fossils in both places correspond, these discoveries serve to point out the fact that the same formations occur in similar geological order on both flanks of the older rocks comprising the Cordillera, at great distances. Yass Plas, where Strzelecki found traces of Trilobites, lie thirty-two miles N. by W. of Yarralumla ; and the ridge near Booral, north of Port Stephens, where he also found minute fragments of crustaceans belonging either to Cythere or Bairdia, in a caleareo-argillaceous flag-stone, is situated about thirty-two miles E.S.E. from Burragood. In these flagstones I found true Orthide in March 1842. M. Leichhardt has also re- marked that he found the same sequence of geological formations in descending to the shores of the Gulf of Carpentaria that he kad ob- served in ascending the ranges of the Cordillera along the Rivers Burdekin and Clarke. Little doubt, therefore, remains as to the persistency of the geological phenomena throughout the course of the Cordillera. From Yarralumla to the junction of the Burdekin and Clarke cannot be less than 960 miles of direct distance. A lime- stone was observed on the Burdekin containing small Spirifers resem-, bling those of Yass Plains, and Cyathophyllide. At Burragood the genera of Trilobites are chiefly Trinucleus and Asaphus. Mr. MacLeay has done me the honour of calling one of the former after its finder, 7. Clarke. Mr. Clarke then enumerates forty genera, with 240 species of fossils associated with Trilobites at Burragood. * P. 268. + P. 296. 1847.] CLARKE ON TRILOBITES IN NEW SOUTH WALES. 65 The characteristic fossils of the mudstone are encrinital stems of every variety of form and ornament ; whole masses of the rock are made up of these, as if they had been crushed in situ, the longest portions seldom exceeding an mch. Next to these are minute Atrype and fragments of Polypiaria, the Spirifers being the largest fossils. At Binjaberri, and for several miles along the ranges dividing the Allyn and William’s River, are well-developed expansions of lime- stone; and at the head of these rivers, and of the others, such as Carrow Creek, Fall Brook, Goorangoola, and the Rouchel, which radiate from between the southern spires of the Mount Royal ranges, fossiliferous bands and occasional masses of limestone are found in- clined around the porphyritic and other igneous rocks that there at- tain an elevation of from 2000 to 3000 feet above the sea. These masses, at the head of the Williams, are associated with a great de- velopment of basaltic rocks which have produced a perfectly prismatic arrangement of some of the fossiliferous beds. At Lewin’s Brook, at a spot called the Wells, not far from Bin- jaberri, a dark schistose and flaggy mudstone is found, at a lower level than the beds at Burragood, much-jointed and iron-stained, and charged with a variety of very long-winged Spirifers, Productz, and other fossils. At Colocolo, near Camyrallyn, one of the Spirifers found at Lewin’s Brook is alsocommon. The limestone there, as well as at Binjaberri, is frequently made up of an infinite number of small globular bodies, which do not appear to be distinctly oolitic, but rather resemble some new form of encrinital remains. Amidst these well-developed encri- nital stems occur, with a vast quantity of Turbinolopsis bina, large Fenestellee, Cyathophyllide, Turbinoliz, Atrypze, Orthides (one of which is identical with O. semicircularis), Strophomens, Pectens and Trilobites, chiefly Asaphi. These fossils are partly coloured by yellow and brown oxide of iron, and partly by red. With them I found a Fucoid, nearly resembling one figured by Brongniart, and some fragments of charred and otherwise metamorphosed vegetable matter. . Passing now to the southern district of Murray, we find at Yarra- lumla rocks of a description similar to those of the Paterson and Allyn. The principal fossils in the blocks I have examined are the Trilobites mentioned at the beginning of this memoir. Of these I have six species. Their remains are as frequent as those of encrinites at Burragood. Associated with them is an Orthis, which can hardly, if at all, be distinguished from O. orbicularis, and another greatly resembling O. semicircularis, the former bemg Devonian as well as Silurian. Besides these are species of Fenestellee and Reteporee, and extremely minute Atrypz. Leptena sericea also occurs. Now at Yass Plains, the limestones of which are connected with the limestones and mudstones of Yarralumla, not only are Favosites Gothlandica, Amplexus arundinaceus, and an Orthoceratite mentioned by Strzelecki, but I have seen Strombodes plicatum amongst the Yass fossils. VOL. IV.—PART I. F 66 PROCEEDINGS OF THE GEOLOGICAL SOCIETY. [June 16, No doubt, I think, can exist that if the rocks of Yass Plains are not Silurian, they are at the very base of the Devonian system; and the occurrence of the Yarralumla Trilobites leads to the same conclu- sion. The existence of Trinuclei at Yarralumla, and especially of one species, which I cannot separate from T'.. Caractaci, is an important fact which must not be lost sight of. Although but few of the fossils at Burragood, Colocolo and Yar- ralumla are identified, yet I cannot but express my opinion that if facilities of comparison (possessed by geologists in Europe) were afforded to inquirers here, by the existence of cabinets, to the con- tents of which reference could be made, numerous other identifica- tions would probably be made out, and the existence of new species and genera be determined out of 1500 or 1600 species which I have collected from various deposits in New South Wales, many of which (owing to the brittle character of the matrix, in which they occur as mere casts) are perishable. On comparing together the preceding observations, it will be found that the preponderating evidence is in favour of the conclusion that the beds furnishing the Trilobites of the Paterson and the Murrum- bidgee are related more nearly to the Silurian than to the Devonian rocks of Europe. Notwithstanding my admiration of the intelligence and perseverance exhibited in the geological portion of the ‘ Physical Description,’ it appears to me that a great modification of the “‘ epochs” there as- sumed must take place before we shall thoroughly understand the true history of the Australian system. Should any actual division into “ Epochs’’ be determined, it appears to me that such division would more accurately be fixed by a separation of the Burragood, Colocolo and Yarralumla beds from those of Wollongong, Raymond Terrace, Harpur’s Hill and Mulberrmg Creek. Yet, as before mentioned, all these betray an imsensible gradation into the beds charged with Orthides, Atrypze and Trilobites ; the Wollongong beds, in the cliffs of Munniwarree, passmg in the southern part of Illa- warra, as on the coast near Wallamboola and Wagamee, into others charged with fossils more nearly allied to those of Yarralumla and - Burragood. | 9. On TREMATIS, a new genus belonging to the family of Bracuto- popous Motiusca. By Danie SHarpe, Esq., F.G In looking over the valuable collection of Paleeozoic fossils brought from the United States by Mr. Lyell, I was struck by a small Bra- chiopod possessing a combination of structure hitherto unobserved, which entitles it to be placed in a separate genus. The general appearance of the shell is similar to Orbccu/a, in which genus it has hitherto been placed. It is nearly circular, but slightly broader than long and with an irregular outline. The shell is attached by a ligament which passes through an oblong slit in the lower valve, 1847. ] SHARPE ON THE GENUS TREMATIS. 67 as inthe Orbicule ; this slit reaches from about the centre of the shell to near the posterior margin. Both the valves are slightly and irre- gularly convex, giving a depressed form to the shell. The valves are united by a hinge, of which the details cannot be seen in the specimens; but it is probably formed of two diverging lamellar processes in the dorsal valve, for where the shell of that valve has been worn away, we can trace three calcareous plates di- verging from the hinge of the dorsal valve, as in the Leptznoid spe- cies of Orthis and in many of the Spirifers. Wherever these plates are found in the Brachiopoda, the outer pair appear to be continua- tions of the teeth or lamellar processes of the hinge; so that the presence of such plates is sufficient to show that the valves played upon a hinge. The third or mesial plate separates the two great ad- ductor muscles. The beak of the dorsal valve is slightly produced, but the speci- mens are too imperfect to show whether there was any opening in it for the passage of a ligament. As the shell was attached by a ligament passing through the ventral valve, it is not probable that it should have had a second mode of attachment at the hinge, for we know no Brachiopod which has two modes of fixing itself. The shell consists of layers of two distinct structures: the outer layer is punctated ; the punctations are so large as to be clearly visible to the naked eye, and are arranged quincuncially with great regula- rity. The inner layers of shell are not punctated, and have a fibrous and slightly striated appearance and pearly lustre; these impunctate layers are thickest towards the middle of the shell and do not quite reach the margin*. ey: It thus appears that the genus Trematis differs from Orbicula in the punctated structure of its shell and in having the valves united by a hinge, while it is distinguished from Terebratula and the other hinged forms of Brachiopods by the ligament passing through the ventral valve. It thus forms a connecting link of great interest be- * An inner layer of unpunctated shell lining an outer punctated layer is of common occurrence among the Brachiopoda; it may be especially observed in the flat species of Orthis and in many Leptene, covering all the central parts of the shell and leaving the punctations open only round the margin. Among the° Producte and some species of Chonetes, the punctations are closed up everywhere, except at the edge, by a gradual deposit of shelly matter in the interior. In Crania, Thecidea, and some recent Terebratule, the punctations can only be seen in the interior round the edge of the shell; but in the majority of the recent species of Terebratula, they are equally visible over the whole shell. Taking a general view of these punctated shells, it appears that in a very large majority of cases the punctations only remain open round the margins of the valves, so that it is probable that whatever function was served by these minute perforations, its operation was confined to the margin of the shell. As the respira- tory process is carried on in this family by organs placed round the edges of the mantle, it seems probable that the punctations must be connected with that rocess. . The present communication shows the necessity of attending to the distinction between the punctated and nonpunctated forms of Brachiopoda, of which Mr. Morris has pointed out the importance in the Terebratule. It was the study of his paper on that subject that led me to observe the characters of the genus Trematis, and I am also indebted to Mr. Morris for further assistance in working them out, F2 68 PROCEEDINGS OF THE GEOLOGICAL SOCIETY. [June 16, tween several genera. Several species of Trematis have been already published under the name of Orbicule, all of which are found in Lower Silurian beds. The genus may be defined as follows :— TREMATIS ; a suborbicular, inequivalve Brachiopod attached by a ligament passing through a longitudinal fissure in the posterior part of the ventral valve. Valves united by a hinge which is supposed to resemble that of Terebratula, and is accompanied in the dorsal valve by three diverging internal plates. Shell regularly punctated ex- ternally ; pearly, fibrous, and slightly striated internally. 1. TREMATIS TERMINALIS. Orbicula terminalis, Emmons, Report on the Geology of New York, pt. 2. p. 395. f.4; Hall, Paleeontology of New York, pl. 30. f. 11. Shell subquadrate, rounded, broader than long, depressed ; both the valves are slightly convex, but the convexity of the lower valve is interrupted by a large depression sloping towards the fissure, which reaches from the centre of the shell to near the hinge ; surface smooth, marked with regular punctations distinctly visible to the naked eye. Breadth half an inch, length ;4ths of an inch. Found in the “‘ Trenton limestone”’ of New York and in the * Blue limestone” of Ohio: the specimen figured was sent to Mr. Lyell by Mr. Clark, who found it in the “ Blue limestone” at Cincinnati. Upper valve. Trematis terminalis. Lower valve magnified. 2. TREMATIS CANCELLATA. Orbicula cancellata, G. B. Sowerby, Zoological Journal, vol. ii. ph bd. £6. Shell orbicular, very flat, beg more gibbous near the posterior extremity: surface covered with close-set elevated lines radiating from the apex, which are crossed by the elevated lines of growth, so 1847. | SHARPE ON THE GENUS TREMATIS. 69 that the entire surface has a finely reticulated appearance : the fissure in the ventral valve is small and close to the hinge: shell very thin. Length and breadth $ths of an inch. Found by Dr. Bigsby in limestone one mile north of Montreal in Lower Canada. The above description is compiled from Mr. Sowerby’s description and figure. The next species, called by Mr. Hall Ordbicula ? filosa, is probably the same as this, but not having seen either shell, I have not ventured to throw them together. 3. TREMATIS FILOSA. Orbicula ? filosa, Hall, Paleeontology of New York, p. 99. **Orbicular ; one valve more or less convex ; apex marginal; sur- face radiated with numerous fine elevated thread-like striz, which are more or less prominent, depending on exfoliation of the shell ; intermediate strize coming in between the others as they recede from the beak, but the strize are not bifurcate.’’—Hall. Found in the “ Trenton limestone”’ at Middleville, New York. This species is given on Mr. Hall’s authority ; I have not seen it, nor the figure which will accompany the description in his forth- coming work. From the description I suspect it to be the same as the T. cancellata last described. Mr. Hall refers it to Orbicula with great hesitation, and appears to consider it intermediate between that genus and Crania. 4, TREMATIS PUNCTATA. Orbicula ? punctata, Sowerby, Silurian System, pl. 20. f. 5. Ovate, depressed, surface smooth, punctations very large. Length $ths, breadth 3 an inch. Found in the Caradoc sandstone at Chatwell, on the east flank of the Caradoc. The specimens described by Mr. Sowerby are now in the Society’s collection ; they are very imperfect, and do not show the principal characters of the genus. Mr. Sowerby placed it in Orbicula with a mark of doubt. Note, 26th November 1847.—M. Barrande has described two shells, which pro- bably belong to the genus Trematis, under the names of Terebratula hamifera and Terebratula scrobiculosa : they are found at Beraun, in Bohemia, in a quartzite supposed to belong to the Silurian formation: vide Haidinger’s ‘ Naturwissenschaft- liche Abhandlungen,’ vol. i. plate 20. figs. 9 and 10. They may perhaps be the old and the young shells of one species. 70 PROCEEDINGS, ETC e POSTPONED PAPERS. On the Elevation and Denudation of the District of the Lakes of CUMBERLAND and WESTMORELAND. By W. Hopkins, Esq., M.A. and F.R.S. 1 [Read June 6th, 1842.] [An abstract of this paper was given in the Proceedings of the Geological Society, vol. iii. p. 757.] Part I. § Structure of the District. THE general structure of the district of the lakes of Cumberland and Westmoreland is well known to geologists, more particularly by the labours of Professor Sedgwick. My own task, in the general exami- nation which I have recently made of the district, has been one of inspection and not of discovery; and the object of the present com- munication is not the description of phenomena, but the theoretical discussion of the causes to which they are to be referred. I shall enter into descriptive details only so far as may be necessary for this pur- pose. In the first part of the memoir I shall consider the structure and elevation of the district, and in the second part the phzenomena of its denudation. 1. Boundary of the District.—In descriptive geology we may apply the term district to a portion of country comprised within any arbitrary boundary to which our researches may have extended ; but in considering the theory of its elevation, a district must include the whole of that space throughout which we recognize a character of con- tinuity in the external configuration and the observed phenomena. Thus in the case before us, we must not limit ourselves to the group of mountains immediately associated with the lakes, but must extend the district eastward to the great Penine fault, which will thus form its eastern boundary. On the north, from Kirkby Stephen by Hesket round to Egremont and thence to Morcambe Bay, its boundary will be sufficiently marked by that of the New Red Sandstone, except for some distance north of Whitehaven, where it is marked by the coal- field. From Morecambe Bay it turns eastward, and is sufficiently marked by the discontinuous portions of mountain limestone, by which it is carried on to meet the Craven fault south of Kirkby Lonsdale. es Quart Geol. Journs PL.VI.- — —<«_ ~~ — t= 2 oe Ke Ww. za CUMBERLAI¥ BY 7 ee 2 se uart. Si. (ee ONS PNG ae “4 ak SS Se ee eee _— “ as , Irpagoratet !° Magnesiay Limes Cone [Da few Red Sandstone (FS Carbonifercus Formation . (7) Chider Formations ee me Mien cartral line of Llevatzon. Bard of Limestone owes Fisclts observed or assumed, oe Fighting mbes DGS VOLS. TU NS ed ed to illustrate a paper on the Lake DISTRICT OF CUMBERLAND and WESTMORELAND. BY W* HOPKINS, ESQ. Quart. Geol. Journ. VoLIV.P.10. Swrtmaen / ae: Cuart Geol. Journ PL VI. . i >! é bd - . ‘s \ U ‘ ‘ : ‘ " * ‘ ~" ‘ : ' - ‘ f 1 fen 7 . F \ ie j +) ames, ; a , , - < ‘ . i : S- E i 3 7 " af 5 ae v . ‘ 5 é ay a ‘ ’ * i ‘ * ‘che P 4 t sal : < 4 : x " 4 * . ' ‘ . ’ i ; ‘ ; i . 7 i > Fy . i 2 at , 4 Lod "HOPKINS ON THE LAKE DISTRICT. 71 2. Structure.—The general strike of the beds of red sandstone as well as of the limestone coincides with the direction of the above boundary at each point of it, and the general dip is consequently per- pendicular to that boundary. On the southern side, however, this observation must be taken with reference to the mean strike and dip, which are both locally affected by north and south faults. Above Kirkby Stephen the limestone dips rapidly N.E. by N. under the red sandstone of the vale of Eden; and the same dip is strongly marked along the limestone fells to Orton. As the boundary ap- proaches Penrith it recedes further from the axis of movement, and the dip is proportionally less, as it continues to be generally along the northern boundary. On the west the dip is agam more rapid, being frequently 20° or upwards, both in the limestone and new red sandstone, a circumstance which would scarcely have been anticipated on account of the unconformability of the two formations and general greater horizontality of the latter im the vale of Eden. On the south- ern side, the general dip, as dependent on the general elevation of the district, and independent of the local effects of faults, must be smaller than in most other parts of the boundary, as indicated by the greater width of the irregular limestone band. 3. The space within the band of mountain limestone is occupied by the older formations, which (as I have here no concern with their di- stinctive mineralogical or zoological characters) it will be convenient to designate by one appellation—the grauwacké group*. Their stra- tification, though in some places perfectly distinct, is frequently very obscure. Professor Sedgwick states the dip to be in general nearly S.E. In some places it is more nearly E., as in the valley between Kendal Fell and Whitbarrow, and from thence to the lake of Winder- mere, in which places the stratification is extremely well marked. The dip is there not less in general than 50° or 60°. On the north of Kendal, as we approach Shap Fell, the stratification in some places is well-marked; but the best proof of continuous stratification is afforded by a band of limestone interstratified with the grauwacké beds, and extending from the mouth of the Duddon to Shap Fell, a distance of nearly forty miles. Its general strike Gndependent of dislocations) is very nearly N.E. and S.W., dipping rapidly towards the 8.E. It is described in detail in a memoir of Professor Sedg- wick’s, where the author has also described the curious cases of dis- continuity which it presents to us. I shall shortly recur to them as indications of the prodigious faults by which this country has been dislocated. 4. Junction of the Mountain Limestone and the Older Forma- tions.—This junction may be distinctly seen in many places, and always indicates that the limestone must have been deposited on a plain and even surface, formed by the perfect wearing down of the upturned edges of the older strata, and thus free, not only from the greater inequalities of hill and valley, but also from the minor inequa- lities which now characterize, in many places, the exposed grauwacké * The detached masses of red conglomerate, found in several parts of the di- strict, may be here considered as included in this group. 72 PROCEEDINGS OF THE GEOLOGICAL SOCIETY. surface, arising from the protrusion of the harder beds. In fact, the junction may be made out along nearly the whole boundary of the district with sufficient accuracy to justify, I think, this conclusion. This perfect evenness of the grauwacké surface is also beautifully ex- hibited along the north side of Ingleborough and round the western flank of Whernside. There can be little doubt, I conceive, of the bottom of the sea on which the mountain limestone was deposited having been very approximately a plain surface. Moreover, if the surface on which the general mass of this limestone was deposited was very nearly plain, it must also have been very nearly horizontal. The truth ofthis proposition depends on the conclusion that, whatever be the depth at which organic beings of any proposed class may exist in the ocean, it cannot be a matter of indifference whether the individuals of that class exist at the depth of a few feet, or at that of several thou- sands. For, assuming this, if a stratum be characterized throughout by similar organic remains, it follows that the different parts of the stratum could not have been deposited at very unequal depths, and consequently, if the surface was nearly plain and even and of sufficient extent, it must have been also very nearly horizontal. Such, there- fore, I conclude to have been the case with the surface on which the lower beds of the mountain limestone were deposited. 5. This reasoning applies directly only to those portions of the district in which the surface of junction has been preserved by the superincumbent limestone. There still remains the question—whether the limestone originally extended over the central part of the district. That it extended over a considerable portion of it is proved (as shown by the most cursory inspection) by the height which it now occupies at several points of its present boundary, as for mstance on Kendal Fell on the south-east, between Penrith and Keswick on the north- east, and on the west near Egremont. To form an opinion on this point, let us conceive an imaginary surface as a continuation of the general surface of junction (independently I mean of merely local ir- regularities) to be carried over the central area from the present basset of the mountain limestone, and so as just to touch the summits of the highest mountains. The inclination of this imaginary surface in many places would not exceed 2°, would rarely amount to 3° (about one in twenty), and would never, I think, exceed 5°*. This greatest inclination would take place only on the north of the Skiddaw group. Now the incli- nation of the limestone beds near the boundary of our district is generally considerably greater than 2° or 3°, sometimes amounting (on the west) to 20° or 30°. Hence it seems highly probable that * There are few points on which an observer is more likely to receive erroneous impressions than the angular elevation of the sides of mountains. A good model, on a true scale of heights and distances, is the surest safeguard against such im- pressions. At Keswick there is an excellent model of this kind, which I cannot too strongly recommend to every one who wishes to gain an accurate conception of the geography and physical structure of the district of the Lakes. It is the work of Mr. Flintoft, by whom it is now exhibited to visitors at Keswick. It originated, I believe, with himself, and has been completed by his unaided exer- tions. HOPKINS ON THE LAKE DISTRICT. 73 when these beds, and therefore the surface of junction and our ima- ginary continuation of it, were all in their original horizontal position, below the surface of the sea, those portions of the grauwacké group which now constitute the highest summits of the mountains were at a lower level than the surface of junction, in which case we should necessarily conclude that the deposition of limestone originally ex- tended over the whole central area of the district. It appears to me extremely difficult to avoid this conclusion, unless we adopt some arbitrary and improbable hypothesis respecting that elevation of the central portion of the district which must necessarily have accompanied that of the mountain limestone now surrounding it, or deny the general truth of the conclusion respecting the original horizontality of sedimentary beds. Assuming this horizontality, let A B represent a stratum before its elevation. The portions A C, B D have been elevated into the positions A c, B d respectively, as shown e Fig. 1. A Cc E D B by the present position of the limestone beds, and the question is, whether the central portion C E D was raised into the position ¢ e d ore fd. Of this we can obtain no direct evidence from observation, because the beds occupying the central portion of the district have not derived their actual positions from the movement of which we are now speaking. We are obliged, therefore, to have recourse to the analogy of similar cases of elevation in which the evidence is complete. Arguments deduced from such analogy must, I conceive, be almost entirely in favour of the view which would represent A ced B, and not A cf dB, as the disturbed position of the line of which A B was the undisturbed position. In such case, though the inclination from e to e and from d to e be allowed to be considerably less than that of the limestone from A to ¢ and from B to d respectively, still the whole district must necessarily have been beneath the surface of the ocean at the time of the commencement of the deposition of the mountain limestone. 6. It might be contended perhaps that these limestone beds were not, in the proper sense of the term, sedimentary, but originally formed like coral reefs. Supposing such to be the case, the argument above adduced in favour of the original horizontality of sedimentary beds is equally applicable. I regard that argument as one of the highest importance in the fundamental reasonings of Physical Geology. The exact point to which it may be urged cannot yet be asserted, from our want of more accurate knowledge of the power of animals inhabiting the ocean to accommodate themselves to different degrees of fluid pressure. It should be recollected, however, that the truth of the ar- gument does not depend on any impossibility of the more profound depths of the ocean being inhabited, but on the improbability that 74 PROCEEDINGS OF THE GEOLOGICAL SOCIETY. animals of the same species should be able to exist at the greatest or the smallest depths indifferently,—so far at least indifferently, that the full and free performance of the animal functions should not in either case be impeded. It appears to me extremely improbable that any species of animals should possess that power of adaptation to external circumstances differmg so widely as light and darkness, and the fluid pressure of a few feet and that of several thousands. If this impro- bability be admitted, then is it easily seen that the validity of our ar- gument is unquestionable*. 7. Faults.—I have already spoken (Art. 3) of the band of lime- stone interstratified with the grauwacké rocks. The dislocations of this band furnish the principal direct evidence respecting the faults of the district. Beginning with its south-western extremity, there is evidence of two faults, one in the valley of the Duddon about Duddon Bridge, and the other a little to the west, passing along the valley of Hallthwaite. It is probably to the combined effects of these faults that the valley of the Duddon (a striking feature in this part of the district) is to be referred. Taking the mean direction of the river Duddon as indicating that of the fault (independently of minor irre- gularities), we observe that it ranges about N. byE., tending toa point a little east of Scaw Fell. Another enormous dislocation is seen just above Coniston Water, producing a horizontal displacement of about a mile. The direction of the fault, as determined by a line joming the extremities of the dislocated portions of the limestone band, passes exactly down the lake. It is very nearly parallel to the Duddon fault, a little to the east of N. by E. Several other dislocations in this neighbourhood, described by Professor Sedgwick, are also indicative of so many faults similar and parallel to the above, but not attended by any marked external features. Another fault ranges down the valley of Troutbeck, as indicated by a dislocation of the limestone band and a great horizontal displace- ment. It ranges accurately with that part of the lake of Winander- mere which lies south of the embouchure of the valley. An enormous dislocation is also described by Professor Sedgwick between Coniston and Winandermere, by which the limestone band on its eastern side has been apparently moved towards the north to the distance of a mile anda half. It is not m this instance again indicated by the external configuration of the district, but there is doubtless here also a great fault parallel to those already described. On the east of Troutbeck also there are dislocations which cannot be doubted to have been connected with the formation of the two striking valleys of -Troutbeck and Kentmere. The line of dislocation would seem to pass exactly along that part of the latter valley in which the mere is situated. We have further evidence of a line of dislocation along the valley * The reader is here requested to bear in mind that a period of more than five years has elapsed since the reading of this paper to the present time, December 1847. The late researches of Prof. E. Forbes in the #gean Sea and on our own coasts have completely established the argument in the text. HOPKINS ON THE LAKE DISTRICT. 75 between Whitbarrow Scar (a mountain limestone hill) and the great limestone fell immediately on the west of Kendal. This dislocation must have been posterior to the mountain limestone, since it affects the beds of that formation. 8. Formation of the Lakes.—From the preceding descriptions it would appear impossible not to ascribe the origin of the lakes of Coniston and Winandermere to the dislocations with which they are so immediately associated ; nor does it indeed seem possible to ac- count for the existence of any of the larger lakes independently of similar dislocations. Taking Wastwater, for instance, its depth is found to be forty-five fathoms, so that its bottom is probably almost a hundred feet lower than the surface of the sea. It is evident that such a basin could not be scooped out by the action of water ; nor is its depth increased by an accumulation of detritus at the mouth of the valley, for the river by which its surplus water is discharged cuts into the solid rock. The lake could only be formed therefore by a relative subsidence of its bottom, such, for example, as that shown in the annexed diagram, which represents a transverse section of a valley Fig. 2. See with its lake: a6 is a section of the fault which runs along the valley, and on opposite sides of which the strata are relatively displaced through the space c’c. If this relative subsidence do not extend to the mouth of the valley, or be less there than in the upper part of it, a lake will necessarily be formed. It is probable that in some of the English lakes, the extension of the subsidence towards the mouth of the valley has been arrested suddenly by a fault transverse to the valley, as appears from the great depth in the case of Wastwater, for instance, at an inconsiderable distance from its lower extremity. This general explanation will apply to all the lakes of the district, and appears to me to be the only intelligible one which can be given of their origin*. The evidence thus obtained of great faults ranging along the lake valleys is scarcely less conclusive than that afforded by the discontinuities of the limestone band above described. It would be absurd to suppose that the ranges of the faults in these valleys are confined to those spaces only where we now find demon- strative evidence of their existence. There can be no doubt of their extension frequently along the whole course of such valleys, or, in * The probable origin of these lakes in diverging dislocations is too obvious to have escaped the notice of such an observer as Professor Sedgwick, who has spoken of it in his memoir on this district. I am not aware, however, that the argument in favour of this view of their origin has been hitherto placed in that more determinate and demonstrative form which I have given it in the text. 76 PROCEEDINGS OF THE GEOLOGICAL SOCIETY. many cases, beyond their limits. Again, we must not conclude that the relative subsidence to which the formation of a lake is imme- diately referrible, was contemporaneous with the first formation of the fault with which that subsidence is associated. Such a question must be decided, not by any such restricted hypothesis, but by the evidence afforded by the circumstances of each particular case. 9. Origin of Valleys.—Though the lakes afford direct evidence of the existence of faults, we must not in fact consider them as more than the secondary and accidental consequences of the faults with which they are associated, the primary effects bemg the valleys in which those lakes are situated; for, whatever may have been the ~ agency by which the masses once occupying those valleys have been removed, it is easy to see that it would act more efficiently along lines of great dislocation than elsewhere ; and since the existence of dislo- cations along the lake valleys may be considered as established, it would seem impossible to avoid the conclusion, that those valleys must themselves have originated in such dislocations. We are thus led to conclude that a dislocation was produced before the valley began to be formed ; that this led to the formation of the valley by denuding causes; and that the subsidence which caused the lake was one of the last of that series of repeated disturbances which might occur during the long interval of time which was probably necessary for the completion of the valley. 10. And here again we are led a step further by the closest ana- logy. If the valley of Wastwater originated in a great dislocation, it is hardly conceivable that the adjoining valley of Eskdale should not have had a similar origin. And again, if the valleys of Troutbeck and Kentmere, on the south-eastern side of the district, have been caused by dislocations, as shown above, it is difficult to suppose that the valley of Long Sleddale should have been formed independently of a similar cause. I would observe, however, that this view of the origin of valleys of this kind must be considered as applicable princi- pally in places nearest the centres or axes of elevation. In other cases they may have arisen altogether from aqueous action, or, when they origimated im dislocations, they may have had their directions so altered, and their character so modified, by denuding causes, as to retain no distinct traces of their origin. This obliteration would of course be most likely to occur in the parts of a district situated at the lower levels, and which must have been longest subjected to the action of denuding causes. In such cases valleys may afford very dubious indications of the existence or directions of dislocations, and such as ought not to be received without evidence of a more positive charac- ter. At higher elevations, however, a well-marked and continuous valley may frequently afford the strongest presumptive evidence of a corresponding disruption. Of such cases in this district, I may in- stance, in addition to those already noticed, Borrowdale and Lang- dale (both of which extend nearly up to Scaw Fell), and the valley of St. John’s, and its continuation through Thirlmere across the centre of the district. HOPKINS ON THE LAKE DISTRICT. 77 § Series of Geological Events in the District. 11. It may be useful, both as regards a clear conception of what has been already advanced and of what I am about to offer in the next section, on the denudation of this district, to state the order of geo- logical events according to the view now presented of them. (1.) The first great system of movements of which this district preserves the record, is that by which the beds of the older forma- tions were brought into their present highly-inclined position. To this period I should refer the imjection of all the masses of igneous origin existing among these old sedimentary beds ; because I can trace no relation which they bear to the actual elevation of the district. These movements were probably contemporaneous with those which determined the actual strike of the similar masses in Wales, and might extend also far northward, constituting a system of movements of far greater superficial extent than those which have probably given to the district we are considering its peculiar configuration. They would doubtless be attended with enormous dislocations, among which we may reckon a part, but not the whole, of those above described. (2.) Abstracting all effects of denuding causes, the necessary effects of such disturbances would be immense superficial inequalities, form- ing hills and valleys, with all that ruggedness of surface which must result from the protrusion of the broken edges of highly-inclined strata. All these inequalities, however, must have been worn down by the long-continued operation of denuding agencies, till the surface became a smooth and very nearly horizontal plane beneath the sur- face of the sea, as represented in fig. 3. (Art. 4.) It is not to be inferred from this extensive denudation, that the surface of the disturbed mass was always beneath that of the ocean ; it was probably partly above and partly below that level. The mass above the surface of the ocean might be removed by the process of littoral denudation, similar to that now going on along the coasts of existing continents and islands, while minor inequalities beneath the sea, and not too remote from its surface, might be worn down by sw- perficial denudation,—that produced by the action of the ocean on the surface of a mass submerged beneath it. At the same time there would always be a tendency to fill up the deeper hollows in the bed of the ocean by detritus derived from the degradation of the higher portions of the disturbed beds. The old red conglomerate found in several places about the lakes, and in a great mass near the foot of Ulswater, is thus easily accounted for. (3.) This denudation was succeeded by the deposition of the moun- tain limestone and Carboniferous system. When this deposition was completed, and before its subsequent ele- vation and consequent partial removal by aqueous agency, the gene- ral average thickness of the whole group (taking the surrounding district as well as that with which we are immediately concerned) cannot be estimated at much less than 3000 feet, which is probably much greater than the depth at which any considerable number of organic beings would be found existing. If this be true, it is mani- 78 PROCEEDINGS OF THE GEOLOGICAL SOCIETY. fest that the bottom of the ocean in which the lower beds of the mountain limestone were deposited, must (since they contam many — organic remains) have gradually subsided during the deposition of the whole Carboniferous system. A gradual subsidence of this kind to a greater or less extent may be regarded as a necessary consequence of the state of dislocation in which the disturbed mass of the older rocks beneath the sea had been left by the previous subterranean movements. During the subsequent repose the subsidence would probably continue for a great length of time, as a consequence merely of gravity ; in the present case the subsidence would be increased by the superincumbent weight of the newly-deposited matter. Fig. 4 is intended to represent a section of the district immediately after the deposition of the Carboniferous system, and before its ele- vation. The system is represented as divided into two portions, the lower consisting principally of limestone, and the upper of the mill- stone grit and coal. Both portions are supposed to extend over the whole tract, though with less thickness about L, the present locality of the Lake district. If it be conceived to have existed there in still smaller thickness, or even to have been entirely wanting, it will make no material alteration in my view of the subject, so long as we sup- pose there to have been no considerable relative elevation of that por- tion of the surface of the grauwacké group. (4.) This process of deposition was succeeded by those great move- - ments by which the Carboniferous system was broken up and ele- vated. Fig. 5 shows the position which it is supposed the beds would have assumed after their complete elevation, supposing no part of them to have been removed by denuding causes durmg that moye- ment. The figure represents, therefore, the effect of the elevation only, and not the combined effect of elevation and denudation, which probably went on simultaneously for a very long period of time. At S the great Penine fault is indicated, and at L are three faults, intended to represent generally those formed in the Lake district by this ele- vation. Fig. 6 represents, by the dotted lines, the mass supposed to have been carried away by denudation durmg the time which inter- vened between the commencement of this elevation and that of the deposition of the magnesian limestone, or magnesian conglomerate and new red sandstone. There is nothing hypothetical in this extensive denudation, for in numerous instances we have distinct evidence of the existence of enormous faults in all parts of our coal and mountain limestone districts, without any elevation (such as represented at L and 8) of the existing surface on one side of the fault as compared with that on the other; proving, in such cases, denudation like that represented by the dotted line in the diagram. This might be effected in the case before us in either of the two ways above-mentioned in (2.), according as the movement by which the mass was dislocated, elevated its surface above the sea or not. It may be doubted whether the surface of the tract about the pre- sent lakes was entirely submerged beneath the sea, as represented in fig. 6, at the epoch then referred to. It is not essential to any ob- ject I have in view, to assert that it was so. The same reasoning, HOPKINS ON THE LAKE DISTRICT. 79 . E, Fig. 5. —— we Tine 1) Ll Py ee joe eo pau Fig. 6 9 Balt si Bi. \ asa eat MEARE ni ulen a yale Albi © i arsb a es: ma VA a Fig. 7. agiedd insaleies ———————————// z OSS } Fig. 8. ——— CV D ‘an Fig. ee 80 PROCEEDINGS OF THE GEOLOGICAL SOCIETY. however, by which I have shown the former probable extension of the mountain limestone over the district, may be applied to the new red sandstone on the west and south-west of the district. Its rise towards the centre of the district is so rapid, as to show that no part of the surface of the district could, at the time of the deposition of the sandstone, have attained to any considerable elevation. Analogy with the surrounding districts also goes far to establish this conclu- sion. Ingleborough has manifestly been beneath the sea since the great dislocating movements of the Carboniferous series ; and, in fact, the reasoning of the preceding paragraph would establish the same conclusion with respect, probably, to the very highest portions of the mountain limestone range. All this is in perfect harmony with my conclusion respecting the district with which we are immediately occupied. I have supposed the whole of the Carboniferous series above the limestone along the line of section to have been removed between the Lake district and the Penine fault, there being no evidence of its actual existence there. (5.) The succeeding period was again one of repose, in which the deposition of the Saliferous system took place. It is represented in fig. 7 previous to its dislocation and subsequent denudation. I have seen no accurate estimate of the thickness of the existing new red sandstone in the vale of Eden, but it must be several hundred feet in the sandstone hills near Penrith; nor is it likely to have been originally less in the deeper part of the vale, near the Penine fault. We cannot, I think, suppose its thickness there to have been less than 500 or 600 feet. The height of the lowest part of the limestone ridge across Stain- moor is stated to be about 900 feet above the valley below, where we find the conglomerate already mentioned as the lowest bed of the new red sandstone group. Consequently, supposing the relative ele- vation on opposite sides of the Penine fault to have remained the same as at the epoch referred to in fig. 7, the depth of the ocean at the foot of the limestone ridge, and opposite to that part of it which now constitutes Stammoor, may not then have exceeded 300 or 400 feet. But I consider it highly probable that the relative elevation of the ridge produced by the Penine fault has been increased since the epoch we are speaking of. In some parts of the Tynedale fault this eleva- tion has undoubtedly been increased since the deposition of the mag- nesian limestone, which was probably contemporaneous with that of the conglomerate of Kirkby Stephen. This latter formation has also been considerably disturbed near Brough*, and in such a manner as to indicate an increase in the height of the limestone ridge. Further, the new red sandstone has been very much disturbed, as already stated, on the western side of the Lake district. I consider, there- fore, an increase in the relative height of the Penine range since the entire deposition of the new red sandstone to be at least so far pro- * These facts are stated by Mr. Phillips in his Geology of Yorkshire, vol. ii. HOPKINS ON THE LAKE DISTRICT. 81 vable, that we are as much at liberty to make that hypothesis as any other, should independent facts appear to render it necessary. If we suppose this additional elevation at Stammoor to have been such that, when added to'the thickness of the new red sandstone, the whole amount would be about 900 feet (the present elevation of Stainmoor above the valley below), the depth of the ocean along the line of our sections must have been no greater over the sandstone than across the limestone ridge of Stainmoor. The subaqueous valley must then have been entirely filled up. This would require the posterior ele- vation now spoken of to be 300 or 400 feet, assuming the thickness of the whole new red sandstone group to have been 500 or 600 feet, as above supposed. This however is the extreme hypothesis ; a less increase of elevation would leave a submarine valley of comparatively small depth (fig. 7). This point is not altogether unimportant in considermg the transport of boulders over Stammoor from the Cum- brian mountains. (6.) The next period was one of elevation, more especially of what is properly termed the Lake district, which I conceive to have been now first raised permanently to any considerable height above the level of the sea. The great inclination of the new red sandstone beds on the west of the district, and the considerable disturbance which we ob- serve in them as far to the south-west as Furness Abbey (as already noticed), afford the best proofs we can possess of the amount of ele- vation in the central portion of the district during the period we are now considering. In fact, the dip of the sandstone beds in these lo- calities did not appear to me to differ sensibly from that of the beds of mountain limestone, showing incontestably that the principal part of the elevation of these latter beds, and therefore of the whole west- ‘ern and more mountainous portion of the district, took place as just stated, and not at any previous period. We must not here confound dislocation and elevation. The former might be great and the latter comparatively small, or the converse. Great dislocations may have been the result of more violent, and great elevations that of more continued or more frequently repeated action of elevatory forces. Fig. 8 represents the increased elevation of the Cumbrian portion of the district, immediately before the emergence of Stammoor from beneath the surface of the ocean, when that tract must have formed a channel connecting the oceans on the east and west of the great Pe- nine range. The denudation of the new red sandstone is represented as already partly effected by ocean currents; I consider it to have been completed during subsequent elevation, when the valley formed an arm of the sea, or after its entire emergence. Stainmoor-may not have finally emerged from the water till after the Tertiary period. According to any subaqueous theory, the transport of erratic blocks across that tract must have taken place before its emergence ; the diluvial theory, which I shall speak of in the sequel, connects this transport with successive movements, to which the increased eleva- tion of the Cumbrian district represented in the figure is considered to be due. Fig. 9 represents an actual section of the district. VOL. IV,— PART I. G 82 PROCEEDINGS OF THE GEOLOGICAL SOCIETY. (7.) The formation of the existing lakes must have been one of the last of the series of these geological events, for it is manifest that they could not be formed till the valleys themselves had been scooped out. Their formation must also have been accompanied with con- siderable movements, as already shown (Art. 8), producing displace- ments along the former lines of fracture ; a circumstance which justi- fies the supposition that such movements may have frequently oc- curred during the progressive formation of the valleys, should ob- served phenomena seem to render such an hypothesis necessary. § Theory of the Elevation of the District. 12. If we conceive the surface of junction of the mountain lime- stone and older formations to be continued, precisely as in Article 5, over the central portion of our district, the elevation of this imagimary surface will represent that geological elevation* which has given to the district its general external configuration, independently of local irregularities. This surface, if seen from a point sufficiently distant on the west, would present the appearance of a flat dome; and if seen from the south, its outline would resemble that of the annexed diagram, which represents a section along the axis of the district from Fig. 10. Kirkstone Fell. Lune valley. Howegil Fell. W.N.W. to E.S.E. Also the form of the area of the district bears a general resemblance to that of the following diagram ; and the dip o¢ our imaginary stratum will be as ree nn presented at each point by the ar- we s Re rows. The tendency of this dip Peter ape: uf ae between Kirkstone Fell and the val- / welt ere * ley of the Lune, towards the N.E. ! gre on the north of the axis, and to the i east of south on the south of the axis, 1s owing to a declination in the — | axis itself from Kirkstone Fell to the valley of the Lune, as represented in the former of these diagrams. This, ' combined with the dip perpendicular : _= vee as : : \ \ \ { : See to the axis, produces that represented in the figure. It must be recollected that the dip of the imaginary stratum here de- scribed is altogether independent of the unconformable stratification of the grauwacké group, but would co- aneng incide with the mean dip of the Bere = mountain limestone, independently Great limestone fault. * T speak of geological elevation (as I have elsewhere defined it) as the elevation above its undisturbed horizontal position, of any stratum, of which the continuity =< -- = ~ ~ =e. == “= HOPKINS ON THE LAKE DISTRICT. 4 83 of irregularities due to dislocation, if it now existed over the whole of the district. 13. A very general conclusion in the Theory of Elevation which I have elsewhere developed, is this :—that the directions of dislocation will approximately coincide with those of the mean dip, or with those of the mean strike of the beds. Accidental deviations from this law may of course arise from local and irregular causes which can in no way be reduced to calculation ; but all such deviations are not to be deemed anomalous. They may not unfrequently proceed from causes which, though in a certain degree local, may be brought within the sphere of our mechanical theory, and may even in some instances afford one of the best tests of its accuracy. The above rule, however, will in most cases be approximately true, and may be applied with great facility. The dislocations of the older rocks in the district with which we are occupied must be considered with reference to both the great movements, or series of movements, of which we here recognize the effects, viz. the movements prior to the deposition of the Carbonife- rous series, and those by which it was subsequently dislocated, since the older rocks must necessarily have been acted on by both these movements. The great longitudinal dislocations which accompanied the first of these movements would, according to our theory, approxi- mately coincide with the mean strike of the older beds, so far at least as that strike coincides with that originally given to those beds by the first general action of the elevatory force to which the com- mencement, and therefore the directions of the dislocations, are to be referred. A subsequent movement, following a different law, might destroy this coincidence of direction. Thus, supposing the original movement of the older beds to have given thema strike to the N.N.E. and §.8.W.; and conceive the dome-like configuration of the district to have been given by a subsequent and local movement ; then would the coincidence of direction in the longitudinal Fig. 12. dislocations and the strike be destroyed. Thus, O23 let A B represent a line of fracture, and a 6, pa- rallel to it, a line of strike, the direction of the dip bemg denoted by the arrow at a; then will a 6 be a horizontal line on the stratum passing through a 6. Conceive now a subsequent and local movement to produce a dome-like elevation, of which O should be the highest point ; the line a6 will no longer remain horizontal, 7. e. it will no longer be the line of strike, which will evidently assume some such position as a 0’, running round the last-formed elevation. The degree of devia- tion of a 0’ from a 4 will depend on the pre-exist- “ ing inclination of the older beds, and on the strike and inclination which the local movement alone over the whole district is real or imaginary; this is the elevation with which we are properly concerned in any theory on the subject. The mere superficial elevation (or that of the actual surface independently of local irregularities) is only here important so far as it gives us an approximation to the ere elevation. G Ui i} a 84 PROCEEDINGS OF THE GEOLOGICAL SOCIETY. might tend to give to them. The greater the former of these, the less, ceteris paribus, would be the deviation, which would be zero, if the beds were vertical ; for it is manifest that no vertical movement (such as I am here supposing the local elevation to arise from) could affect the strike of a vertical bed. For this reason the direction or strike of the fault will not be changed by such a movement, the plane of the fault being (as it may be assumed to be) very nearly vertical. Consequently, the origimal parallelism of strike and dislo- cation would be destroyed by any subsequent movement which should affect the strike of the beds. 14. The great faults of the Duddon, Coniston, Windermere, and Troutbeck, coincide in direction with what appears to be the general strike of the older beds; and in their more southern portions they coincide nearly with the actual strike in these localities ; while in ap- proaching the central group of mountains, there is a deviation from this comcidence precisely similar to that represented in the last dia- gram*. These theoretical considerations would therefore lead me to conclude that the great faults are referable to the original elevation of the older rocks, but that a subsequent elevation gave to the district of the Lakes its actual configuration. I conceive the greater part of the other dislocations, more especially those most distinguished by their divergency from the centre of the district, to have originated in this subsequent local elevation; for a system of dislocations thus characterized would necessarily result from such an elevation. Making this hypothesis, let us compare the actual with the theoretical directions of these fractures as given in the second diagram of Article 12, supposing the directions of dip and fracture to coincide. Those along the valleys of Borrowdale and Der- wentwater, Buttermere, Ennerdale, Wastwater, and the upper part of Eskdale, appear to coimceide accurately with the mean dip which would be given by the local elevation we are considering, and indicated in the diagram. Along Crummock lake the direction is somewhat more northerly than the theoretical direction, which is again resumed however along Loweswater. The deviation must be considered ac- cidental. The lower part of Eskdale would present some anomaly if considered as having originated in a dislocation ranging along it; but for reasons already assigned (Art. 5), the portions of such val- leys most remote from the centres and lines of elevation can never be taken safely as indicating directions of dislocation, unless, as in the case of the valley of the Duddon, independent evidence of fracture can be detected. The valley of Long Sleddale does not deviate from its theoretical direction in an appreciable degree; that of the Lune Gmmediately south of Tebay) slightly perhaps from the N.K. On the north-eastern side, the Haweswater dislocation must coincide with our mean dip as nearly as we can estimate it. If we take the mean direction of Uls- water from Glencom to Pooley Bridge, the deviation from the mean * The strike is distinctly indicated by the calcareous bed, the dislocations of which, as already explained, indicate the great faults above mentioned. HOPKINS ON THE LAKE DISTRICT. 85 dip might at first sight be estimated at nearly two points of the compass. Considering however the great height of Helvellin, the deviation does not probably exceed one point. The direction of St. John’s Valley and Thirlmere appears to ac- cord accurately with theory. The longitudinal valley of Langdale deviates perhaps about a point from the mean strike, or that which theory would assign to it. The upper part of Ulswater, from Glencoin to Patterdale, (of which the direction is anomalous,) may probably be referable to one of those irregular fractures of comparatively small extent, of which there must doubtless have been many, accompanying those greater dislocations from which we gather the laws of the phenomena, and which have impressed on the district its great and distinctive features. The same observation may be applied to the upper part of Winandermere, above the point where it is jomed by the valley of Troutbeck. It should be remarked, however, that in neither case is the portion of the lake now spoken of to be considered as necessarily referable, like the other portions, to a line of fault. 15. Hence then I conclude that these diverging lines of fracture in this district are due to a local elevation, posterior to that which produced the great longitudinal faults of the grauwacké system. Beyond this there is nothing in the previous reasoning to determine the epoch of this local elevation. It may have been that of the ele- vation of the Carboniferous system, or prior to the deposition of that system, at the conclusion, for mstance, of the movements which ele- vated the older beds, the directions of dislocation of those beds having been determined in the commencement of those movements. This pomt must be determined by other evidence. In a former part of this memoir (Arts. 4, 5) I have stated my rea- sons for believing the bottom of the ocean on which the lower beds of the carboniferous series were deposited, to have been very nearly plane and horizontal ; and also that the actual geological elevation of the district was given to it by the movements which elevated the mountain limestone and new red sandstone. Those reasons appear to me of great weight, and, admitting their validity, we are led to refer the diverging dislocations to the same epoch. If we refer them to a prior epoch, it would appear necessary to suppose the district to have been then raised into a form like the present, to have been again levelled by denuding causes previous to the deposition of the Carboniferous system, and then to have been again elevated, on the breaking up of that system, ito its present form, with the reproduc- tion of the former dislocations. These conclusions are equally in ac- cordance with our theory of elevation, but it appears to me that the greater simplicity of the first recommends it strongly to our pre- ference. 16. The peculiarity of the case before us with reference to our theory, consists in its presenting, at the western extremity of the elevated district, a complete apse, up to which the elevatory force to which the local movement above spoken of is referred, has acted with sufficient intensity to develope the peculiar characters which 86 PROCEEDINGS OF THE GEOLOGICAL SOCIETY. theory in such case assigns to the resulting phenomena. These characters are theoretically described in my memoir on Physical Geology in the Transactions of the Cambridge Philosophical Society (Art. 57), from which I make the followmg extract :—“If we sup- pose the superficies of our elevated mass to be of finite length, and to be bounded for instance by a line approximating to the form of an elongated ellipse, the directions of the fissures in the transverse system, as we approach towards either extremity of the elevated range, will gradually change from perpendicularity with the major axis (the axis of elevation) till they become parallel to it, at the ex- tremities of the ellipse, always preserving their approximate coinci- dence with the directions of the Imes of greatest inclination of the general surface of the mass.’ It will be observed how exactly this description accords with the Wartwates Ennerdale, and Buttermere lines of dislocation. Professor Sedgwick, in the memoir already alluded to, not only recognized the law of arrangement in these lake valleys, but had evi- dently also the idea of the kind of mechanical action to which it must be due, regarding the centre of radiation as a centre of eleva- tion. When the subject is regarded, however, with reference to more precise theoretical views than Professor Sedgwick had then probably any object in discussing, it is manifest that the western extremity and highest peint of the elevation is to be considered as the termination of a central line of elevation, and the part of that Ime where the eleva- tory force has been more intense than in other parts, especially those immediately west of the Lune. And this is the reason why the ra- diating arrangement of the lines of dislocation, so beautifully exhi- bited on the west, is more imperfectly preserved on the eastern side of what is properly termed the Lake district. Parr II. § Phenomena of Denudation. 17. It will not be necessary to enter into any details respecting the well-known phzenomena of the distribution of detritus and erratic blocks which have proceeded from the Cumbrian mountains as a centre. The most curious of these pheenomena, and apparently the most difficult to account for, are those connected with the dispersion of boulders of Shap granite. Their transport across the deep vale of the Eden and the lofty pass of Stammoor, with their distribution from thence along the vale of York, and upon the high Eastern Wolds of that county, constitute one of the most curious problems of this kind which Geology presents to us. The immense mass of smaller detri- tus spread out over the more level plains of Lancashire will also have to be considered in this branch of our subject ; and finally, the forma- tion of the great valleys from which I conceive this detritus to have been in great measure derived. There is probably in the present day no wide discrepancy in the opinions of geologists respecting the origin and formation of great valleys like those in the district we are con- sidering. It will be generally allowed, I conceive, that they have originated in dislocations, and that their formation has been effected HOPKINS ON THE LAKE DISTRICT. 87 by aqueous agencies. In fact, the inspection of a model in which heights and distances are on the same scale (like that already alluded to of Mr. Flintoft’s), must make it apparent that the actual widths of the valleys in question could not possibly be derived from the frac- tures in which we may conceive them to have originated. Part of the masses which once occupied them may have disappeared by sub- sidence, as in the formation of the existing lakes; but that such has been the case in any considerable proportion is extremely improbable in all cases, and in some demonstrably absurd. Any satisfactory theory, therefore, of the distribution of detritus around the Cumbrian mountains must also account for the formation of the great valleys of that district. I now proceed to make some observations on the theories which have been propounded on this subject—the glacial, the diluvial, and the iceberg theories—as regards their applicability to the case before us. I shall avail myself of the opportunity of giving further de- velopments and a more determinate character to the diluvial theory than it has hitherto received. With respect to the glacial theory, it must be expressly understood that I shall speak of glaciers only as a means for the wide and distant dispersion of blocks and detritus, without entermg at all into the question of their possible former existence in the recesses of the more elevated regions of the Cumbrian mountains. § Glacial Theory. 18. A few observations only will be necessary on this branch of our subject. I shall at once assume the former existence of a great glacier filling the valley of the Kden after descending in different branches from the more elevated parts of the Lake district and the contiguous portion of the Penine chain, and proceed to consider its probable course. Part of its sources must have existed on the hills surrounding Kirkby Stephen, 7. e. on Stainmoor Fell, Bow Fell, How- gil Fell, and the mtermediate eminences. Small lateral feeders must have descended from the Cross Fell range on the east, and large tributaries must be supposed to have descended along the valleys from the central group of the Cumberland mountains on the west. According to the existing configuration of the surface, we may conceive a glacier proceeding from the granitic region of Shap Fell along the valley between Orton and Howgil Fells, and debouching to the south of Kirkby Stephen. There it would be met by another large glacier descending between Millerstang and the lofty Fells on the east of it. From the poimt of junction the whole glacier must necessarily have descended along the valley of the Eden, as the di- rection of greatest descent, and that of least resistance from opposing obstacles. Under these circumstances, any one who has watched the course of a glacier composed of several tributary ones, and observed the manner in which each component glacier preserves its own iden- tity in the compound one, will at once recognize the extreme difficulty of conceiving how the moraines of the Shap Fell glacier could pass over to Staimmoor, from which it would necessarily be separated by 88 PROCEEDINGS OF THE GEOLOGICAL SOCIETY. the glacier from Millerstang. The granite blocks would thus have formed a middle moraine in the great glacier of the Eden, and instead of being transported to the eastern coast of Yorkshire would have been transported to the shores of Solway Firth. Without insisting, therefore, on @ priori objections to the glacial theory, I consider it to be entirely insufficient to account for the most important phenomena of distant transport from the Cumbrian moun- tains, to whatever extent we should admit the former existence of glaciers in that region. It would be useless, therefore, to discuss its application to other transported masses of this district. § Diluvial Theory. Before I enter upon the application of this theory to the case before us, I shall make a few general remarks on the limits of the period during which the subaqueous transport of existing blocks may have taken place, and the nature of the surface over which they must have been conveyed. 19. Period of Transport of Erratic Blocks.—It appears usual to regard the transport of erratic blocks as having taken place only at one particular period, and that period one of the latest recognized by geologists in the history of our planet. It seems to have been de- termined, partly at least, on the principle on which we determine the period of deposition of a formation unconformable to those beneath it, in which case we conclude the whole formation to be more recent than the most recent of those on which it reposes. .The accuracy of this conclusion manifestly depends on the assumed faet of the depo- sition of the formation having proceeded contemporaneously through- out its whole extent. In like manner the period of erratic blocks has been assumed to be more recent than that of the tertiaries, because such blocks are found to repose upon those formations. There is however a great difference between the grounds on which these con- clusions rest. We can have no reasonable doubt of the contempora- neous deposition of a continuous formation, characterized throughout by the same fossils and similar mineralogical structure; but the stratum (if we may be allowed such application of the term) of erratic blocks has no such character of continuity, and therefore no such necessary con- temporaneity in the formation of its several parts, which may on the contrary have occupied an indefinite period of time reckoned from the transport of the earliest existing blocks from their original sites. Blecks which now repose on a recent formation may previously have remained for ages on an older one. The only demonstrable conclu- sion which can be drawn from the actual position of an erratic block is this—that the last stage of its movement was posterior to the for- mation of the stratum on which the block reposes. A similar conclusion will hold also with respect to gravel contain- ing recent organic remains. Its immediate transport to the locality which it now occupies must necessarily have been posterior to the existence of the animals whose remains are imbedded in it; but we cannot possibly apply the same reasoning to prove that-the removal et es HOPKINS ON THE LAKE DISTRICT. 89 of the gravel from the original sites of its component materials was posterior to the same epoch. There is another consideration, however, which must be admitted as imposing a further limitation on the age of erratic blocks, espe- cially when of considerable magnitude. When such a block is found reposing on a surface which we believe to have once been rough and uneven, but of which all the asperities have been worn down till the surface has become comparatively smooth and even, by the operation of denuding agencies, we may conclude that the transport of the block to such locality was posterior, not only to the deposition of the beds on which it rests, but also to any dislocation by which their surface might have been rendered rugged, and to the subsequent process of denudation, by which such ruggedness must have been again destroyed. For it must be admitted that the same action which should wear down the asperities of the surface on which the block reposes, would also reduce the block itself to comminuted pebbles, unless the block were much harder than the beds it rests upon, in which case the above conclusion would manifestly not be necessarily true. ‘Thus, for imstance, a block of hard crystalline granite might originally repose on a non-crystalline mass of sand or clay, the surface of which might be modified m almost any degree by a gradual and gentle operation of denuding agencies, insufficient to produce any appreciable effect on the block itself. The most recent formation on which the erratic blocks repose in the immediate neighbourhood of the Lakes is the new red sandstone. Consequently their transport could not commence till after the depo- sition of that formation, which defines the earliest possible limit to the time of transport. Again, since numerous blocks have been con- veyed over Shap Fell, their transport, supposing it to have been subaqueous, must have taken place before the emergence of the fell from the ocean, which emergence, on the above supposition, defines the latest limit to the period of transport. During what part of the interval thus defined, the operation was commenced or principally carried on in the neighbourhood of the Lakes, it is impossible, I con- ceive, to demonstrate. The transport of the blocks now resting on the Wolds of Yorkshire must have been concluded subsequently to the deposition of the oolites ; and other blocks, for a similar reason, may not have completed their course till after the tertiary period ; but to conclude, therefore, that every block from the central mountains of Cumberland, which now reposes, for instance, on the mountain lime- stone of Kendal Fell, was not transported there till the post-tertiary period, is to form an opinion which, I believe, has not the slightest foundation to rest upon. We are unquestionably at liberty to sup- pose them removed at a much earlier period, should any well-founded theory require such supposition. 20. Surface over which the Blocks have been transported.—This is also a pomt of great importance in our discussions of theories of erratic blocks. It seems to have been generally assumed in the dis- cussions on the efficacy of currents, that the subaqueous surface over which blocks have been transported by that agency had the same 90 PROCEEDINGS OF THE GEOLOGICAL SOCIETY. configuration as at present, when it is elevated above the surface of the sea; and thus an apparent difficulty has been created, which im my opinion has been much too strongly insisted upon by the op- ponents, and too easily admitted by the friends, of this theory. The assumption is, as I conceive, entirely untenable in the majority of those cases in which it has been made, and is inconsistent with the primary hypothesis of the theory,—the existence of currents sufficient in force and in frequency to produce the effects in the transport of blocks which the theory attributes to them. The difficulty alluded to arise from the supposed existence of irregularities of surface, such as deep valleys, or high escarpments in directions transverse to the trans- portmg currents. And such a valley might undoubtedly be formed as the immediate effect of a great dislocation, and such an escarpment might be formed by a great fault; but the formation of the one or the other, as the effect of great ocean-currents, is altogether imcon- ceivable, even supposing these currents to have the most favourable directions ; and especially does it become so when we acknowledge _ the existence of great transverse currents, under whatever conditions they may have existed. Observations likewise on the forms of sub- aqueous surfaces, where the water is sufficiently shallow to subject them to the action of ocean-currents, prove the great leveling ten- dency of such currents. I contend, therefore, that the surfaces over which boulders, according to the theory of currents, must have been conveyed, presented in general none of those abrupt inequalities, great or small, which usually distinguish subaérial surfaces (and which would render the transport of blocks across them difficult or impos- sible), with the exception of those cases in which the mequalities are attributable to elevation and fracture. The case before us of the transport of blocks from Shap Fell to the Kastern Wolds of Yorkshire, which I shall discuss in the sequel, will serve to elucidate these remarks. 21. Theory of Currents*.—If a considerable area at the bottom of the sea were suddenly elevated, nearly the whole supermcumbent mass of water would be elevated in nearly the same degree, and a great wave, which has been called a wave of translation, would di- verge in all directions from the central disturbance, and would be accompanied by a current diverging in like manner, the velocity of which would depend principally on the depth of the sea, the height of the original elevation of the water, and the distance to which the wave had been propagated. These currents may be termed currents of elevation, and are those alone with which we shall here be concerned. I can conceive no others of sufficient power to have * In this memoir, as originally presented to the Society, 1 had entered into considerable details respecting the nature of a wave of translation, and the effec- tiveness of its attendant current in transporting erratic blocks ; but I have not thought it necessary to preserve these details, having subsequently given the ma- thematical exposition of the subject in the ‘ Transactions of the Cambridge Philo- sophical Society,’ vol. viii. part 2,to0 which I would refer the reader. I shall only preserve here a few words of general explanation, and some results of calculation with their application to the case before us. HOPKINS ON THE LAKE DISTRICT. 91 had any material effect in the transport of blocks from the Lake district. The velocity of the current at any particular poimt of the sur- rounding sea would rapidly increase after the wave had reached that point and then decrease till the whole wave had passed by, after which the current would cease. If it acted on a block very much smaller than the greatest one it was capable of moving, it would communicate a considerable velocity to the block, which would then be made to accompany the wave to a considerable distance. If, on the contrary, the block should be nearly as large as the greatest one which the current with its maximum velocity could move, it would be only for a very short time that the current would be effective in moving the block, which would thus be transported only to a com- paratively small distance. Consequently the transport of large blocks to considerable distances would require many repetitions of the action of these currents, and therefore many distinct movements of eleva- tion, since each such movement would only produce its single wave of translation. Thus this theory becomes related to our theories of elevation, since it requires a succession of elevatory movements of a paroxysmal character ; and I may here add, that I believe such move- ments to be those by which we can best account for the general phe- nomena of elevation and denudation. 22. To convey a distinct idea of the effectiveness of currents which may be produced in the manner here supposed, I will give a state- ment of certain calculated results, which may be taken as correct to a degree of approximation sufficient for our purpose. Depth of the Sea. | Height of the Wave. |Velocity of the Current. Feet. Feet Miles per Hour. Pm 20 63 200 50 12 1100 22 25 53 300 50 -103 100 193 25 5 400 50 9 100 17 600 150 204 800 200 28 The depth of the sea here given is its depth independent of the wave; the height of the wave is the height of its crest, or highest point; and the velocity of the current is the maximum velocity, or that which exists under the crest of the wave. It will be observed that for the same depth the velocity of the curr nt is nearly proportional to the height of the wave; and also that for a given height of the wave the velocity of the current de- 92 PROCEEDINGS OF THE GEOLOGICAL SOCIETY. creases regularly as the depth increases. Thus, from the velocity of the current corresponding to a wave 150 feet high in a sea of the depth of 600 feet, we may conclude that the velocity of the current for a wave of 100 feet high in the same sea would be about 14 miles an hour; and in the same way we may conclude, from the results given in the table for the velocities of the currents attending waves of 200, 300, and 400 feet respectively, that the velocity for a wave of the same height in a sea of 500 feet deep would be about 73 miles an hour. I have before remarked that these results must be considered only as approximative, but they prove beyond all doubt that paroxysmal elevations, beneath the sea, varying from 50 to 100 feet in height, may produce currents of which the velocities shall vary from at least 5 or 6 to 15 or 20 miles an hour, provided the depth of the sea do not exceed 800 or 1000 feet. We have next to consider the magnitude of the blocks which might thus be moved. 23. The magnitude of the force which a given current can exert on bodies of certain forms entirely immersed in the fluid, has been determined by numerous and satisfactory experiments, as well as the law according to which the force varies with the velocity of the current. The force exerted on a surface given in magnitude and po- sition, is found to increase as the square of the velocity, up to the greatest velocities which have been experimented on, about 9 or 10 miles an hour ; and the same may doubtless be extended by mduc- tion to much greater velocities. A curious consequence results from this law, when we estimate the force of the current (as we are natu- rally led to do in the case before us) by the weight of the largest block of a given form which it is capable of transporting. Thus estimated, the force varies as the szxth power of the velocity of the current. 'Thus, a certain current being able to move a cube of given weight, another current of double the Velocity would move a cube of 64 times the weight of the former ; if the velocity were treble that of the first case, the weight of the cube which could be moved by it would be 729 times as great, and so on. This is the result of the simplest calculation, and shows how mistaken an estimate we might form of the motive power of currents of great velocity, from the con- sideration of that of ordinary streams. The magnitude of the block which may be moved by a given current depends much upon its form, those forms which approach nearest to the spherical being most favourable. It also may depend, in certain cases, on the depth of the water, the most favourable bemg that which should not be greater than the height of the block. The depth however will have little effect on the effectiveness of the cur- rent, if the block be of such a form and be so situated that the water can have access to nearly the whole of the lower surface. If therefore we take those blocks which are under the most favourable conditions for being moved (as we have a right to do), it is probable that it will be approximately correct to omit the effect of the depth of the water. In that case, supposing the form of the block as nearly HOPKINS ON THE LAKE DISTRICT. 93 spherical, as many erratic blocks are observed to be, there is no doubt that blocks of 5 tons and upwards might be moved by a current of 10 miles an hour; and, assuming the force of the current to increase at the square of the velocity for greater velocities than that, it follows that a current of 15 miles an hour would move blocks of similar forms of the weight of 56 tons and upwards; while a current of 20 miles an hour would move similar blocks of 320 tons and upwards. For other forms the weights might be much less ; but these calcula- tions demonstrate beyond doubt, that while an ordinary stream of between 2 and 3 miles an hour may be insufficient to move a pebble, a current of from 10 to 20 miles an hour may have motive power sufficient to transport blocks of enormous magnitude. 24. Application of the preceding theory.—In the practical appli- cation of these views, the great wave of translation and its attendant current are to be attributed to the elevation of the district whence the blocks have been conveyed previously to its emergence above the surface of the sea. We must further suppose such elevation to have been sudden, of a paroxysmal character, in which case the height of the wave would be approximately that of the elevation, as already stated. Its breadth would depend on the extent and form of the elevated area. If we suppose that area approximately circular, and the wave to diverge freely, its breadth would be at least equal to the radius of the area, and might be considerably greater. We thus see how diverging currents, of enormous transporting power, may be simply accounted for. Nor does this view of the subject require the hypothesis of paroxysmal elevations of great magnitude ; for it ap- pears, from what has been stated, that an elevation of 100 or 150 feet would produce a current capable of transporting, for at least a short distance and under favourable conditions, a block of immense weight. The hypothesis respecting these elevations which may be deemed most favourable to this theory of transport, is, that they were par- oxysmal and frequent, but not necessarily large. The effectiveness of this cause will also be increased if we suppose these successive ele- vations to have been attended (as they probably must have been) with alternations of subsidence ; for in such case it may have re- quired a much greater number of these paroxysmal elevations to pro- duce as their result an existing elevation of given magnitude, than if they had been unattended by frequent subsidence. I have already explained my reasons for believing the inadmissi- bility of the glacial theory to account for the phenomena of the blocks of Shap granite. In adopting either of the other theories we must necessarily suppose the pass of Stammoor to have been beneath the surface of the ocean at the period of transport of these blocks. I have also stated my reasons (Art. 11 (6.)) for believing that the district of the Lakes had scarcely begun to emerge from the ocean at the epoch at which the transport of boulders may have commenced, i.e. not long after the deposition of the new red sandstone. Accord- ing to this view, therefore, there must have been, since that period, an elevation of the centre of the district of 1500 or 2000 feet over and 94 PROCEEDINGS OF THE GEOLOGICAL SOCIETY. above that of Stainmoor, which is now about 1500 feet above the sea. It is to the succession of movements to which this relative elevation is considered to be due, that we must attribute the great waves of transport. This height of 1500 or 2000 feet is probably much more than necessary to allow of paroxysmal movements, attended by alter- nations of gradual or sudden subsidence, sufficient both in number and magnitude for the transport of blocks from this district. 25. Let us now consider the surface over which the Shap Fell blocks must have passed in their course to the Eastern Wolds of York- shire. I have shown that the vale of Eden must have been, at least to a considerable degree, filled up by the deposition of the new red sandstone. At what period did the denudation which gave to the valley its present configuration take place ? Mr. Phillips has stated, as one of the curious facts of the case be- fore us, that in the eastern parts of Yorkshire there are boulders of a peculiar conglomerate subjacent to the new red sandstone, contain- ing small angular masses of limestone, of which the only known lo- cality is the neighbourhood of Kirkby Stephen. It appears to have been collected in the lower part of the valley of the Eden previous to the deposition of the sandstone, and therefore probably never ex- isted at a much greater relative elevation than at present. Admit- ting the fact, then, above stated, it would follow that the denudation of the valley must have taken place in a very great degree before the emergence of Stainmoor (over which the boulders must have passed) from beneath the surface of the sea. The currents I have described would be the most efficient agents we can conceive in this denuding process, which, in such case, must have proceeded contemporaneously with that of transport of the blocks. But whatever may have been the immediate agency by which the denudation was effected, we can have no grounds for supposing that it was completed previous to the conveyance of the blocks across the valley ; and much more would it be inadmissible to suppose that the surface between Shap Fell and Stammoor had, as the bottom of the then existing ocean, all the mimor irregularities which now cha- racterize it. On the contrary, it must necessarily, as I conceive, have been a comparatively even surface (Art. 20), and the depth of the submarine valley must, at the period of the transport, have been less, possibly much less, than that of the existing valley, of which the denu- dation was doubtless completed in the course of the elevation which has ultimately raised it above the level of the sea. I have here reasoned as admitting the fact above stated respecting the Kirkby Stephen conglomerate; but I should state that some geologists doubt the possibility of identifymg the conglomerate boul- ders with this formation. If we reject the facts as supported by insufficient evidence, I should merely modify the above conclusions by supposing that less denudation of the valley probably took place, by the action of the transporting currents, before the emergence of Stainmoor, and a greater portion during the subsequent elevation of that region. I shall have again to notice the fact above spoken of in reference to the theory of transport by floating ice. HOPKINS ON THE LAKE DISTRICT. 95 Passing to the east of Stainmoor, it must be observed, that the pre- sent height of the Eastern moors is about 800 or 900 feet above the sea, which is less than that of Stainmoor by 600 or 700 feet. Hence we must conclude that when the latter tract was under water the former must have been so likewise, and probably at a considerably greater depth. Consequently I conclude that the oolitic escarpment of the Wolds (due as it is to denudation) could not have existed at that period (Art. 20). Such an escarpment would be the necessary consequence, under the most simple and probable conditions, of the denuding power of water during a gradual elevation of the land ; but, as I have before remarked, is inconceivable as the effect of ocean- currents acting on a surface entirely submerged. Hence then I conclude that the transport of blocks towards the east was not impeded by those numerous irregularities of surface which now exist, and may be attributed to the partial and local operation of denuding causes. Nor was there any great oolitic escarp- ment to surmount; the only apparent impediment was the great limestone ridge, of which Stainmoor is the lowest part, due, not to denudation, but to elevation, and of which the general outline was the same as at present. Similar observations are applicable to the surface of other portions of the district. While in its general out- lines it would resemble the existing surface, the subordinate inequa- lities would be wanting. 26. We may now examine the progress of one of our great waves, produced, I will suppose, by a general elevation of the district of the Lakes. The wave and the current attending it would diverge from the central point of elevation, so that the current from Shap Fell would set very nearly in the direction of Stammoor. The portion of the wave opposite that pass would, in approaching it, be compressed into a narrower space, both by the diminution. of depth, and by the hills rismg above the sea on the north and south of the pass, and leaving there a contracted channel for the current, the velocity and power of which would thus become greatly increased. When the current was directed to the north of Stammoor, it would be turned northwards by the projecting Cross Fell range; and in like manner another powerful current would ‘be directed southwards by the con- tinuation of the same range in that direction. On the other sides of the district the wave would radiate from the centre with little in- terruption. The absence ef a satisfactory cause for powerful diverging currents, and the passage over Stainmoor, have been two of the great difficulties which have hitherto beset the problem before us: they are entirely removed by the explanations now given. Diverging currents, in fact, of greater or less magnitude would be the necessary consequence of movements beneath the sea such as we are sure must have taken place ; and the increased power which the current would acquire in approaching Stainmoor, as above shown, explains the transport of the blocks in their passage over that elevated tract. This current would be sufficient to carry the blocks considerably further to the east, but it is probable that their transport to their extreme limit 96 PROCEEDINGS OF THE GEOLOGICAL SOCIETY. in that direction would be completed by currents originating in the elevatory movements by which the great central chain, after the transport of the blocks across it, was elevated above the surface of the ocean. The denudation of the vale of York and the formation of the oolitic escarpment of the Wolds would take place subsequently during the gradual elevation of that region, in the manner in which the German Ocean, or English Channel, is now performing a similar work of denudation, and forming similar escarpments along our ex- isting coasts. The existence of boulders from the Cumbrian moun- tains on the highest parts of the Eastern moors is thus I think simply explained, and the third great difficulty of the problem entirely re- moved. 27. It should be observed, that though I have contended against the extreme limitation which many geologists have appeared inclined to impose on the period of transport of erratic blocks, it is not neces- sary to insist on any material extension of that period as essential to the explanations of the theory above-given, which admits of as recent an epoch of erratic boulders as any theory which assumes their sub- aqueous transport. The transport of boulders in the other directions in which they are found, and the spreading of an extensive layer of smaller detritus over the surrounding plains, would be the necessary consequences of the great waves above described. It is unnecessary to enter into any details respecting these phenomena: it only remains, in order to complete the view now given of the denudation of this district, to ex- plain the manner in which I conceive its great diverging valleys to have been formed. 28. Formation of the Valleys.—Let the followmg diagram repre- sent an elevated range with the valley A BC D deeply cut into it, by the agency of water during the gradual emergence of the range from beneath the surface of the ocean. The dotted line C 6d...D re- presents a section of the bottom of the valley by a vertical plane and Cac...¥F a section by the same plane of what would have been the surface of the elevation if there had been no denudation. a, 6, ¢, d, &e. c Fig. 13. a eft MUMUn GEEZ Yiiflon Z Y= ry gai nh ad Rox § \ % pes es re ka oe 4 a * ris 4 MATA WEES ie bes ee ee) ee ce | oh Aa 7a ai Ed beri Bee ait Udse gee Uligaci ails fo Oui ras rt ceetapas 4 ee aps inys a chai estrei utr ate GaRIOI ae (gi yrs a ie Se bona sora be ae Bo ABBE: a JAIDOIOND SE sioathart! See baer oo. sagh eee we s Fog Lig. 6. Fron Natureon tine buy J Eraeben eel = “ ~~ i DaykSon hitht! tothe Queen. ligs. 1—5. Hyopotamus. Legs. 6.—/. Anthracotherium . » P ’ . . , Pe ee re wy Pen, \- re yn ial 143 DONATIONS TO THE LIBRARY OF THE GEOLOGICAL SOCIETY, November \st to- December 3st, 1847. I. TRANSACTIONS AND JOURNALS. Presented by the respective Societies and Editors. AGRICULTURAL Magazine, June to November [847. Society (Royal), Journal. Vol. vii. part 2. American Journal of Science. Second Series, Vol. iv. No. 12. Asiatic and Colonial Quarterly Journal, December 1847. From T. Hawkins, Esq., F.G.S. Astronomical Society (Royal), Memoirs, Vol. xvi.; Proceedings, Vol. yu. Nos. I-17. Athenzeum Journal, November and December 1847. Berg- und hiittenamiéunische Zeitung mit besonderer Beriicksichti- gung der Mineralogie und Geologie (Rédacteur C. Hartmann), Nos. 1 to 43, for 1847. Berlin Academy, Abhandlungen for 1845. ———— Bericht, July to December 1846, and January to June 1847. Chemical Society,, Memoirs and Proceedings, Part 22. Indian Archipelago, Journal of the, Nos. 4 and 5. New York, Annals of the Lyceum. of Natural History of.. Vol. iv. Nos. 8 and 9. Philosophical Magazine. From R. Taylor, Esq., F.G.S. Vienna, Berichte uber die Mittheilungen von Freunden der Natur-. wissenschaften in Wien. 1 band. Nos. 1-6. _ VOL. IV.—PART I. M. 144 DONATIONS. II. GEOLOGICAL AND MISCELLANEOUS BOOKS. Names in italics presented by Authors. Bellardi, L. Monografia delle Pleurotome Fossili del Piemonte. Bohn, H. G. Catalogue of Books for 1847. Vol. i. Da Hemsé, J. G. Cenni sull’ Agricoltura e I’ Industria dell’ Africa Francese, &c. : Cenni Storici iponomici e statistici sulla Miniera di Rame, &e. Dana, J. D. On certain Laws of Cohesive Attraction. General View of the Geological Effects of the Earth’s Cooling. Conspectus Crustaceorum. Delesse, Achille. Etude de quelques Phénoménes présentés par les Roches lorsquelles sont amenées a |’ état de Fusion. Falconer, Hugh, M.D. and Capt. P. T. Cautley. Illustrations to Parts 2 to 6 of the Fauna Antiqua Sivalensis. Gippert, Prof. Uebersicht der Arbeiten der Schlesischen Gesell- schaft fiir vaterlandische Kultur im Jahre 1846. Hopkins, W. On the Internal Pressure to which Rock Masses may be subjected. M‘Coy, F. On the Fossil Botany and Zoology of the Rocks asso- ciated with the Coal of Australia. St. Helena. Observations made at the Magnetical and Meteorological. Qbservatory at. Vol.i. 1840-43. From Lt.-Col. Sabine, by direction of the British Government. Von Hauer, F. R. Die Cephalopoden des Salzkammergutes, aus der Sammlung seer Durchlaucht des Fursten von Metternich, em Beitrag zur Palaontologie der Alpen. From Herr 7”. Haidinger, by direction of Prince Metternich. THE QUARTERLY JOURNAL OF THE GHOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF LONDON. PROCEEDINGS OF THE GEOLOGICAL SOCIETY. DECEMBER 1, 1847. Samuel Hughes, Esq., George H. Sanders, Esq., Richard Meeson, Esq., John F. Bateman, Esq., Alfred Robertson, Esq., and John R. Lingard, Esq., were elected Fellows of the Society. The following communication was then read :— Report on the Fossil Remains of Mollusca from the Paleozoic For- mations of the UniTED STATES contained in the Collection of Cuarues Lye, Esa.; with Remarks on the Comparison of the North American Formations with those of Europe. By DANIEL SHARPE, Esq., F.G.S. THE following remarks have grown out of the examination of the fossil Mollusca from the older rocks of the United States, which Mr. Lyell has had the kindness to entrust to me. My principal ob- ject has been to ascertain what species are common to the American and European formations ; how far such species have had the same duration in the two continents ; and how far similar forms of animals have existed in both at what may be supposed to have been the same periods: thus collecting data illustrative of the history of the earlier marine animals. The next object has been to apply this knowledge to the classification of the American formations, and to try to learn how closely we are justified in comparing them with those of Europe, VOL. IV.— PART I. N 146 PROCEEDINGS OF THE GEOLOGICAL SociEeTy. ([Dec. I, These objects have already been zealously followed by the geolo- gists of the United States; but it appears, that from a want of European specimens, they have usually been obliged to limit their comparison of species to the figures given in our geological works, which I need hardly state are seldom sufficient to afford paleeonto- logists in a distant country much certainty of the identity of their species with ours. It is only by the comparison of specimens that we can hope to arrive at any certain conclusions ; and we have never yet had so good an opportunity of making this desirable comparison as has now been offered by Mr. Lyell, who has brought together an extensive collection of specimens from nearly all the paleeozoic for- mations of the United States and Canada. My examination has been confined to the fossil Mollusca; Mr. Charles Bunbury has already favoured the Society with reports on the fossil plants collected by Mr. Lyell; and the corals and crinoidea have been placed by Mr. Lyell im the hands of other naturalists, from whom we may expect full information concerning them. The only part of this valuable collection still unexamined, is that contain- ing the Trilobites and other crustacea. Throughout my examination I have never hesitated in correcting what appeared an erroneous name or reference given by any of our American colleagues; but I trust that they will not impute this course to any want of respect for their labours, from which I have derived constant assistance: having specimens from the two coun- tries before me, and knowing from their works that most of their comparisons were only of specimens against figures and descriptions, I adopted the conclusions which appeared drawn from the better evidence. I have been constantly assisted by our colleague Mr. Morris, and all points of difficulty, or of any peculiar interest, have been submitted to him. I cannot sufficiently thank him for the help he has given me, without which I should not have thought my- self equal to so extensive a task. Mr. Lyell’s collection is very extensive and in excellent working order; the part examined contains nearly 200 species of Mollusca from formations ranging from the lowest fossiliferous beds to the top of the Devonian series. In general the specimens are in better con- dition than those we find in similar formations here; the Lower Silurian series in particular affords specimens in a condition far supe- rior to what we are used to. The shells are rarely distorted, and most of the rocks appear both free from slaty cleavage and unaltered by igneous eruptions. The bulk of the collection is from the state of New York; but there are also many specimens from Canada and Pennsylvania ; all these may be considered as one series, since the New York geologists have traced their beds into both those countries. There is also a most excellent collection from the blue limestone of Ohio, and a few from some other beds of the Western States: these have been identified with the New York formations, so that the classification adopted by the state-geologists of New York forms the basis of all the following remarks. 1847,| SHARPE ON THE PALZOZOIC ROCKS OF N. AMERICA. 147 The works principally consulted were the following :— Annual Reports of the Geologists of the State of New York for 1838, 1839 and 1840. Mr. Conrad on the Silurian and Devonian systems of the United States, with descriptions of new Organic Remains; in the Journal of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia, vol. vill. p. 228, read 18th Jan. 1842. | Reports on the Geology of New York, viz. :— Mr. Mather on the Ist Geological District, 1842. Dr. Emmons ,, 2nd AS ay 1842. Dr. Vanuxem ,, 3rd a i 1842. Mr. J. Hall ,, 4th e a 1843. Dr. Dale Owen on the Geology of the Western States of North America ; Journ. of the Geol. Soc. of London, vol. ii. p. 433. Besides these, I have been favoured by Mr. Lyell with the use of a portion of an unpublished work by Mr. James Hall, on the Paleeon- tology of the State of New York, which that gentleman has for- warded to Mr. Lyell as the sheets passed through the press. This work is to contain figures and descriptions of all the species of fossils of New York, with many of those of the surrounding states; and it promises to form, when completed, a standard work on Paleontology of so high a character, that it will be equally essential to European and to American students. In the face of this forthcoming publi- cation of Mr. Hall’s, I have felt it would be both unnecessary and unbecoming in me to undertake the description of any new American species, and I have limited myself to the examination and classifica- tion of the species already described, merely adding the number of unnamed species in Mr. Lyell’s collection, to show the proportion of European species which it contains. Hitherto English writers have not been in the habit of consulting American works for the descriptions of fossil species, but it has now become necessary for them to do so. In the following lists several English species are given, which though unnamed here, have been described and named in America; and when Mr. Hall’s work is completed, the number of species in this position will undoubtedly be much increased *. There is little difference between the various tables of the Palzeo- zoic formations of New York published by the geologists just referred to; but they are far from being agreed as to the manner in which their formations are to be classed in comparison with ours. The * M. de Verneuil’s able paper on the parallelism of the palzozoic rocks of North America with those of Europe, which was read to the Geological Society of France on the 19th of April 1847, and printed in the Bulletin of that Society, t. iv. p-. 646, has not been referred to above, because my paper was finished and in the hands of the Secretary of our Society before that part of the Bulletin reached England; and the regulations of our Society do not permit me to make any alterations in the paper after sending it to the Society.—December 1, 1847, D. SHARPE. : N 2 148 PROCEEDINGS OF THE GEOLOGICAL SOCIETY. [ Dec. i; latest views on this subject which I have met with are those given by Mr. James Hall in the Report on the Geology of the 4th district of New York, p. 15 and p. 517; and they approach very nearly the conclusions to which I have been brought by the examination of the fossils. Mr. Hall’s tables are as follows ; beginning with the lowest beds. New York System. Equivalent in Great Geographical Britain. Tp is Geological subdivisions. { Potsdam sandstone. Calciferous sandrock. Chazy limestone. Bird’s-eye and Black-river limestone. Champlain division. { Trenton limestone. Utica slate. Hudson River group. Grey sandstone. | Oneida conglomerate. Medina sandstone. Ontario division. jon group. Niagara group. { Onondaga salt group. Water-lime group. Pentamerus limestone. Delthyris shaly limestone. Encrina] limestone. Helderberg series. 4 Upper Pentamerus limestone. Oriskany sandstone. Cauda-galli grit. Schoharie grit. Onondaga limestone. | Corniferous limestone. [ Marcellus shale. Not yet recognized in Great Britain. Llandeilo fiags. Caradoc sandstone: Wenlock rocks. {ee Sees pectin a) eed Ce Hamilton group. 3 Tully limestone. Genesee slate. ; Portage group. | Chemung group. Old red sandstone. Old red sandstone. Mr. Hall says at p. 24 of his Report, ‘“‘ The geographical divisions in this table, though convenient for reference, do not indicate any great natural divisions of the system as founded upon fossil characters. Such a mode of subdivision will follow only a perfect knowledge of the fossils both m this State and elsewhere.’ It thus appears that the four great divisions into Champlain, Ontario, Helderberg and Erie series have been arbitrarily adopted upon geographical grounds, those beds being classed together which are well-exposed in the same district. We are therefore at liberty to group the beds together as the examination of their organic remains may point out. For as all the beds comprised in the New York system are conformably super- imposed on one another, there are no natural breaks im the series to assist us in subdividing them. An English geologist lookmg over the preceding table is imme- diately struck by the great number of distinct groups of fossiliferous Upper and Lower Ludlow and Deyo- nian system. Erie division. . | 1847.| SHARPE ON THE PALZOZOIC ROCKS OF N. AMERICA. 149 beds recognized as existing below the old red sandstone ; but he will be much mistaken if he supposes these to have any analogy to the great groups of beds to which we have attached distinguishing names in this country. The difference lies in the greater degree of subdi- vision adopted by the New York geologists, who have given a separate name to every bed which offers any difference, either of mineral character or of fossil contents, from the beds adjoining it, whether its thickness be 10 or 1000 feet ; so that if we were to name on the same principle all distinguishable beds between the old red sandstone and the bottom of the fossiliferous rocks of Wales, we should probably have to give them above a hundred different names. Such subdivisions may be convenient for local purposes, but they ought also to be thrown together into a second series of larger groups representing the more important divisions. The want of such en- larged classification has led to very erroneous conclusions in the comparison of American and European formations: thus all the Ame- rican geologists have adopted the opinion set out in Mr. Hall’s table, that fossiliferous beds are found ia New York of a much earlier period than any beds known in Europe: for having ascertamed that the division between the Niagara and the Clinton groups corresponds to that between the Lower Silurian and the Wenlock formations in England ; and finding eleven groups of beds below this line in the United States, while we in England have only distinguished two or three, they have come to the conclusion that they have many groups containing organic remains older than any of ours. A slight resem- blance in mineral character between the Utica slate and the Llandeilo flags, has been caught at to strengthen this opinion. Instead of admitting this view of the greater age of the lowest fos- siliferous beds of the United States, I can see no grounds for be- hieving that any such beds have been there discovered of an earlier age than the lowest fossiliferous beds of North Wales, by which I mean the beds in the neighbourhood of Tremadoc contaming Lingule, discovered by Mr. J. E. Davis (Journal of Geol. Soc. vol. i. p. 70), the position of which has since been better determined by Professor Sedgwick (Journal of Geol. Soc. vol. i. p. 140, &c.). It is true that I have not been able to recognize as Kuropean any species found in beds below the Trenton limestone ; but in that bed and its equiva- lent in the west, the blue limestone of Ohio, we find many of the Species which are common here in the upper and middle parts of the Lower Silurian formation, but none of those peculiar to the base of that system. Mr. Hall mentions with some doubt the Il/enus cras- sicauda as occurring in the Chazy limestone ; this trilobite is found here in the limestone of Rhiwlas near Bala: even if the synchronism of these two beds were admitted upon this slight evidence, it could only follow that the lowest fossiliferous bed in the United States, the Potsdam sandstone containing Lingulee and fucoids, was about of the same age as the Tremadoc bed containing Lingulze and some bivalves; but this would not show a greater age in the American bed. As I must return to this subject again, I will not follow it farther at present. 150 PROCEEDINGS OF THE GEOLOGICAL society. [ Dec. 1, It is'a more serious objection to the divisions established in New York that they are far from being of equal geological importance ; as some represent beds distinct both in mineral character and organic contents, while others contain nearly the same species of shells and have little to distinguish them mineralogically. Thus the Trenton and the Hudson River limestones form, according to Mr. Hall, one natural zoological group, and in the Western States unite to form the blue limestone of Ohio (Hall, Paleontology of New York, p. 61); and many of the beds of limestone in the Helderberg series contain so nearly the same species throughout, that there would be more reason for dividing our mountain limestone into a number of groups than there is for separating these. This minute subdivision of beds has been indirectly another source of error. Many of the American geologists have been strongly imbued by the idea, which unfortunately has been promulgated by naturalists of eminence in Europe, that different species of animals are to be expected m each geological group or formation: and thus in multiplymg their stratigraphical divisions they have increased the multiplication of supposed species. The result is seen in the great number of synonyms im the table of species given farther on, which would have been still more numerous if I had had a larger collection of specimens to work upon. As a first step towards understanding the relative value of the American divisions of formations and comparing them with those of Europe, I have attempted to classify the New York beds according to the distribution of the organic remaims found in them, following the ascending order after the example of all the American geologists. This may seem a bold attempt from one who has not seen the country and can have but limited means at his disposal: but the object to be gained is so important as to be worth the risk. With each group of beds is given a list of the species of shells which I have found in Mr. Lyell’s collection to be identical with those of Europe, or the identity of which rests on undoubted authority. I might have increased these lists very largely by adding all the supposed identifications of species given by the American writers’; but I have rarely availed myself of these for the reason already stated, that they appear to be built on the comparison of their specimens with our figures and descriptions, and not of specimens against specimens. The references to the names here used, the synonyms, &e. ., will be found in the general list of species given hereafter. 1. Potsdam Sandstone. This is the earliest fossiliferous rock discovered in the United States, where it is of considerable importance; it contains Lingule and some supposed fucoids. It thus appears that both in America and England the Lingule are-among the earliest animal forms yet met with, but the species in the two countries are not the same. 2. Calciferous Sandrock. The organic remains in this bed are more varied than in the pre- 1847.] SHARPE ON THE PALZOZOIC ROCKS OF N. AMERICA, 151 ceding ; but they are seldom found in a condition which admits of their being identified. 3. Chazy Limestone, Bird’s-eye Limestone and Black-river Limestone. Mr. Hall enumerates 77 species of organic remains from these beds, of which the most remarkable are the Orthocerata in the Black-river limestone, which are sometimes above ten feet long. I have seen no specimens of European species, but Mr. Hall gives three :— Illeenus crassicauda ? Lituites convolvens, Hisinger. Columnaria alveolata, Goldf. 4. Trenton Limestone. Utica Slate. Blue Limestone of Ohio. Hudson River group. These beds furnish an abundant and interesting supply of fossils, and usually in a condition in which they can be studied with great advantage. We here begin to find many species which are common in Europe, where they characterize the middle part of our Lower Silurian formation, thus giving us the first good term of comparison with the American beds. In Mr. Lyell’s collection I have found the following European species, and it is probable that a larger collection would supply more, as the American authors give long lists of British species from those beds :— Leptena alternata. Spirifer biforatus. depressa. Terebratula bidentata. —— imbrex. reticularis ? sericea, Strophomena grandis. Orthis parva. Bellerophon bilobatus. testudinaria. Porcellia ornata. 5. Grey Sandstone. Oneida Conglomerate. Medina Sandstone. Clinton Group. Also part of the Cliff Limestone of Ohio. The organic remains in the sandstones are few, and I have not recognized any European species among them. The Clinton group is rich in fossils, but unfortunately Mr. Lyell’s cabinet is poorly supplied with them. I have only been able to identify Pentamerus oblongus in the Clinton group, and Pentamerus levis in the Cliff limestone: these are regarded in America as one species, but they are clearly distinct. In Mr. Hall’s Report the following are added from the Clinton group :— Atrypa hemispheerica. Leptzna depressa. —— aflinis. Spirifer radiatus. Both in fossils and mineral character the Clinton group forms a passage between the Lower Silurian sandstones below it and the lime- stone series above it: the latter is clearly referable to the epoch of our i Or 2 PROCEEDINGS OF THE GEOLOGICAL society. [Dec. 1, Wenlock beds. Nevertheless, although it may contain a few Upper Silurian species, I think that Mr. Hall has classed it correctly in the Lower Silurian series, which must be taken as ending with the Clinton group. It is not so easy to state the correct place of the Cliff limestone of Ohio, as it appears from Mr. Hall’s Report, p. 519, and from M. de Verneuil’s remarks in the Bulletin of the Geological Society of France, vol. iv. p. 12, that the western geologists have thrown together under this name calcareous beds containing both Silurian and Devo- nian strata. I hope that M. de Verneuil may give us some further remarks on this subject, which is at present in great obscurity*, 6. Niagara Shale and Limestone. These two beds so closely resemble the limestone and shale of Dudley, both in mineral character and in organic remains, that they have been regarded as their exact equivalents: this however is carry- ing the comparison too far, as it will soon be shown that many of the limestones of the Helderberg series must also be included in the Wenlock formation. The shells im these beds belong mostly to the Brachiopoda, and the number of species identical with those found in the Wenlock rocks in this country is very remarkable; while none are species found in England exclusively in the Lower Silurian formation. The following are seen in Mr. Lyell’s cabinet :-— Atrypa didyma ? Spirifer plicatus. Leptzna depressa. radiatus. transversalis. Strophomena grandis. Orthis elegantula. Terebratula cuneata. Spirifer crispus. reticularis. To which may be added, on Mr. Hall’s authority,— Orthis hybrida. Strophomena pecten. Spirifer biloba. 7. Onondaga Salt Group. Water-lime Group. The first of these is a deposit of great extent and thickness, and of great economical importance from its supply of salt and gypsum: the next forms a passage from the Salt group to the calcareous system above. Both beds contain few organic remains; the only European species I have seen is the Spirifer plicatus. 8. Pentamerus Limestone. Delthyris shaly Inmestone. Encrinal Limestone. Upper Pentamerus Limestone. These four beds form a calcareous series so closely connected in * These anticipations have been fully realized by the publication of M. de Ver- neuil’s views on the subject in the ‘ Bulletin de la Société Géologique de France,’ t. iv. p. 646. Soo Oe eee er eT eS ee 1847.] SHARPE ON THE PALHOZOIC ROCKS OF N. AMERICA. 153 mineral character, and containing so many fossil species in common, that they must be regarded as one group, however convenient these divisions may be for local examination. A large proportion of their shells correspond with those of our Wenlock formation, and there can be no doubt that they must be classed with that deposit. But it is not a little remarkable that we find mixed with these species of the Middle Silurian age some forms which we are accustomed to con- sider of the Devonian, or even of the carboniferous epoch: the most marked of these are Orthis resupinata, a small Productus and a large unnamed Spirifer, which if found apart from other known species would have been enough to have caused the beds to be classed in the carboniferous system. The species identified with ours are the following :— Avicula naviformis. Pentamerus galeatus. Atrypa tumida. Spirifer plicatus. didyma. Strophomena pecten, Leptena depressa. Terebratula borealis. Orthis hybrida. reticularis. orbicularis. Stricklandi. —— resupinata. ——— n. 8, found in Wenlock shale. 9. Oriskany Sandstone. Cauda-galli Grit. Schoharie Grit. These beds are locally distributed ; the first, of no great thickness m New York, becomes of more importance in Pennsylvania and Vir- ginia: it is however everywhere of great moment geologically, as in entermg it we lose all those species which are considered here as peculiar to the Wenlock formation: the species which are common to the Oriskany sandstone and the beds below it are either carboni- ferous forms, or such species as have as great a range vertically. Mr. Hall places these beds and the limestone series next to be mentioned as No. 10, in the Wenlock formation, adding, however, that there are many reasons for classing them in the Ludlow forma- tion. The evidence which I have had before me does not justify either of these views, but leads me to class both these and the fol- lowing beds in the same great formation as the Hamilton and Che- mung groups, the whole giving us what appears to be an enormous development of the Devonian system ; for I cannot find im any of the New York beds any equivalent of the Ludlow formation of England, The species from the beds No. 9, identified as European, are,— Spirifer arenosus. Terebratula reticularis. — Urii. 10. Onondaga Limestone. Corniferous Limestone. The fossils of the lower bed are mostly corals; in the apnea are found the following :— Leptzna depressa. Terebratula reticularis. Orthis resupinata. 154 PROCEEDINGS OF THE GEOLOGICAL society. ([Dec. 1, 11. Marcellus Shale. Moscow Shales. Hamilton Group. 1 Bra Limestone. Ludlowvilie Shales. Tully Limestone. Genesee Slate. In a paleontological classification these beds must be arranged together, so many species do they possess in common. There is also a mineralogical accordance in their prevailing argillaceous and shaly character. We have here some species which were found in the beds below; but with these we find a great variety of new species, belonging mostly to different genera from those common below. In this group of beds the Brachiopoda are less numerous, and the species of Lamellibran- chiata far more abundant than we have yet seen them. Among the latter are many species either belonging or allied to the genera Cy- pricardia, Cuculleea?, Avicula, Inoceramus? &c., which have a general resemblance to shells found in our Ludlow beds; but so few of the species are identical, that we cannot group these beds with the Lud- low formation. The shells which can be specifically identified are, with few exceptions, known here in the Devonian or carboniferous formations, so that we must undoubtedly refer the beds of this group to the Devonian period. The Hamilton group is perhaps the richest in species of all the New York beds, and its specimens are usually well preserved ; still I am not able to identify a large proportion of its species with those of Europe. The following occur in Mr. Lyell’s collection :— Avicula Boydii. Spirifer Urii. guadrula. macronotus. Athyris concentrica. Productus fragaria ? lamellosa. scabriculus ? Orthis Michelini. Terebratula reticularis. eximia ? aspera. opercularis. borealis. nucula ? Orthoceras articulatum? Strophomena Sharpei. 12. Portage Group. This is described by Mr. Hall as an extensive development of shales, flagstones and sandstones, at least 1000 feet thick, with very few organic remains; of these Mr. Lyell’s collection contaims no spe- cimens: the few species described by Mr. Hall connect the Portage group with the beds both above and below it: the principal cha- racter being the negative one, that it is almost bare of fossils, though lymg between two beds richly supplied with them: in all these re- spects it resembles part of our Devonian series. 13. Chemung Group. This group consists, according to Mr. Hall, of ‘a highly fossili- ferous series of shales and thin-bedded sandstones,”’ scarcely less, in the eastern part of his district, than 1500 feet thick. Many of the ee ee oe a ’ , * : ¥ 1847.] SHARPE ON THE PALHOZOIC ROCKS OF N. AMERICA. 155 species are common to the Chemung and Hamilton groups; such as I have been able to identify lead me to class this group in the De- vonian system. In fact, but for their separation by the non-fossili- ferous beds of the Portage group, the Chemung and Hamilton groups would hardly be divided: thus all the beds of the ‘‘ Erie division” form a closely connected series well-characterized by common species of organic remains. The following species are European :— Avicula Boydii. Productus plicatilis ? Damnoniensis ? fragaria ? Athyris concentrica. Terebratula reticularis. Strophomena umbraculum ? aspera. Spirifer Urii. borealis. —— aperturatus. nucula ? Qld Red Sandstone. The “New York System” of our American colleagues closes with the Chemung group, which is surmounted by a formation of sand- stone, considered identical with our old red sandstone. The argu- ments in favour of this classification are its position above the great fossiliferous Erie division, which is identified with our Devonian sy- stem, and below a series of beds identified by their organic contents with our carboniferous system, and the occurrence in this sandstone series of the remains of fishes stated to resemble those of the old red sandstone of Great Britain. Upon this latter pomt I can pro- nounce no opinion, not having examined the evidence ; but I see no reason to doubt the soundness of the American classification of the formation. It is however worthy of particular notice, that in New York there is clear stratigraphical evidence for placing this red sand- stone formation above the whole of the fossiliferous Devonian series. Having thus passed in review the separate members of the “‘ New York System,” let us now look at its larger features. The whole system divides itself naturally mto three great divisions, marked by differences both of mineral character and of organic remains. Owing to the general conformity of the beds and the gradual change of characters throughout, it is difficult to fix on the exact lines where these great divisions should be made, and the geologists who have described the country are not exactly agreed on them; yet the main features are well-marked, and have struck every one nearly in the same light. Looking at the mineralogical characters of the rocks, we see, Ist, a vast accumulation of sandstones, with occasional beds of limestone reaching from the earliest fossiliferous beds upwards to the Medina sandstone ; the Clinton group of beds which he upon that sandstone being intermediate in character between the lower group and the next above. 2ndly. A great calcareous series, varied with some shales and sand- stones, commencing with the Niagara shale, and ending, according to Mr. Conrad, with the Upper Pentamerus limestone inclusive, or, according to Mr. Hall’s views, reaching upwards to the top of the corniferous limestone. 156 PROCEEDINGS OF THE GEOLOGICAL society. [Dec. I, 3rdly. A series of still greater thickness m which argillaeeous matter is the main ingredient, and limestone very rare; the rocks consisting chiefly of shales and argillaceous sandstones. This series reaches upwards to the top of the Chemung group, and is covered by a red sandstone. The organic remains of these three great divisions are also well- marked, and will help us to a more close classification of the beds. Ist. The shells found in the lowest or Sandstone division present a great accordance with those found in the Lower Silurian formation of Europe: and in this we must include the Clinton group, notwith- - standing its containing a few Wenlock species, for the great majority of its fossils are of Lower Silurian types. In Mr. Lyell’s collection there are about 45 species from this lower series of beds, of which 14 are known European species of Lower Silurian age, bemg near 30 per cent. of the whole. Tf our Welsh specimens were in better condition and had been thoroughly examined, it is probable that the agreement would be found still greater ; but even at present it justifies the classification of this American series of beds with our Lower Silurian formation. 2ndly. In the calcareous series reaching from the Niagara shales to the Upper Pentamerus limestone inclusive, the agreement of the species with ours is still more remarkable. Out of near 50 species in Mr. Lyell’s cabinet, 20 are European, or 40 per cent. of the whole. Of these European species so large a proportion belong to the Wen- lock period, that we must class this calcareous series with our Wen- lock formation. In this division we first meet some species which in this country belong to the carboniferous and Devonian formations, but they are too few to affect our conclusions. . 3rdly. The uppermost of the three great divisions, including the beds from the Oriskany sandstone to the Chemung group, contains a great number of species, of which Mr. Lyell’s collection contains above 100 species; among these I can only identify 22 European species, being about 20 per cent. of the whole: these belong for the most part either to the Devonian and carboniferous systems of Europe, or are such species as have a wide range through the older formations ; with these are a very few Ludlow species: the conclusion, therefore, from a general examination of the fossil shells, is, that the beds of this division must be considered as an enormous development of what we have called in Europe the Devonian system. In the preceding arrangement of the New York series of rocks, no part has been classed with the Ludlow formation of this country. The American writers are not agreed upon this part of their series : Mr. Hall places the beds from the Oriskany sandstone to the corni- ferous limestone inclusive in the Wenlock series, with the remark that there are many reasons for including them in the equivalents of the Ludlow formation*. But as there are no species found in those beds which are known here as peculiar to the Ludlow formation, and they contain some common carboniferous species, it seems fitter to class them in the Devonian system with the beds above them. * Report on the Fourth district of New York, p. 517. 1847.] SHARPE ON THE PALEGZOIC ROCKS OF N. AMERICA. 157 Mr. Conrad * considers all the beds from the Cauda-zalli grit to the Tully limestone inclusive to correspond with our Ludlow forma- tion, leaving for the Devonian system the Portage and Chemung groups and some rocks in Pennsylvania called there Old red sand- stone. In favour of this view may be quoted one or two Ludlow species found in the Hamilton beds, and a large number of bivalves found in the same beds of the genera Avicula, Pterimzea, Cypricardia, Sanguinolaria, &c., which have a strong general resemblance to shells found in the Ludlow rocks of Westmoreland: but as very few of these species are identical with ours, and they are associated with many Devonian species, the balance of evidence is strongly in favour of classing the whole as Devonian. Moreover, so great a number of species are common to the Hamilton and Chemung groups, that they must both be classed in the same formation. It will be found safer to give up the attempt to identify any of the New York beds with our Ludlow formation, and to divide the “New York System” of rocks into three great divisions, equivalent to the Lower Silurian, Wenlock and Devonian systems of Europe ; the lines between which can only be drawn somewhat arbitrarily, owing to the gradual passage of all the groups into one another, and their general conformity throughout. ; It has just been stated that Mr. Lyell’s collection contains the following proportion of known European species of shells, viz.— The Lower Silurian series........ 30 per cent. siitie Wenlock Series: 0). <..+ 4~ « AO per cent. The Devonian series............ 20 per cent. ; but I wish it to be understood that I attach little importance to these or any similar numerical calculations of species. The sources of error in such calculations are numerous and varied, and so little known beforehand, that we can never be enough on our guard against them. Fossils must be collected to a far greater extent, and their comparison must be carried on with more care than has yet been given, before we can rely with safety on any calculations of the pro- portions of species. There are many circumstances which should make us mistrust the relative proportion of European species found in the three great divi- sions of the New York system. In this country the fossils of the Wenlock beds are easily found in good condition; they have in con- sequence found favour with collectors, and have been more thoroughly described than those of the other paleeozoic formations: they offer therefore more extended means of comparison than the Lower Silu- rian or Devonian species. The Lower Silurian fossils still undescribed are known to be very numerous ; but a large proportion of the Welsh specimens are in bad condition, and their determination is very diffi- cult. Large numbers of the Devonian species also have been found im a condition which does not admit of satisfactory comparison with foreign specimens. So that although my tables show in the Wenlock beds of New York a great excess of European species over either the Lower Silurian or the Devonian beds, it is by no * Journ. of Acad. of Nat. Sciences of Philadelphia, vol. viii. p. 232. 158 PROCEEDINGS OF THE GEOLOGICAL SOcIETY. [Dec. l, means certain that such a difference really exists, since the means of comparison in the three cases are very different. Among the European species found in the palzeozoic rocks of the United States, the following species are found in Russia or the east of Europe, but are not known in this country :— Leptzna alternata, Spirifer biforatus, of the Lower Silurian series. var. lynx, chama, &c., Spirifer arenosus, aperturatus, Orthis eximia?, of the Devonian series. opercularis, Strophomena umbraculum, Fusulina cylindrica *, of the Carboniferous series. Should further examination discover a larger number of species under these circumstances, we might infer that at these remote periods the ocean was connected ead the whole of the northern part of the globe. The opposite table shows the proportion of species of different genera which are common to the United States and Europe in each of the three great divisions of the New York system, as shown in Mr. Lyell’s collections. Although the results of this table are liable to suspicion for the reasons mentioned at p. 157, they are worthy of some attention: it appears that while hardly a Gasteropode, and but few species of the Lamellibranchiate bivalves, are common to the older formations of Europe and the United States, above two-fifths of the Brachiopoda collected by Mr. Lyell are of European species. Most of the recent Brachiopoda are inhabitants of deep water; and the genera Lingula and Orbicula, which are fond of the coasts, give us no species common to the two continents: therefore the explanation of these facts may be that the inhabitants of deep seas have a wider geographical range than shells which are found near shore. Littoral species may re- quire for spreading themselves a continuous line of coast under a nearly equal climate, which are circumstances rarely likely to occur. But the inhabitants of the deeper waters being less subject to change of climate may be able to travel to greater distances. The comparison of the paleeozoic fossils of Europe and the United States does not bear out the opinion that those species which range through the greatest thickness of formations have also the widest geographical range; for we find im New York European species which are confined here to nearly a single bed as well as those which are common to several formations, and usually the species appear to have nearly the same vertical range in both countries. Thus :— Terebratula reticularis, Leptzna depressa, borealis, * De Vernenuil, Bull. de la Soc. Géol. de France, vol. iv. p. 12. 1847.] SHARPE ON THE PALHOZOIC ROCKS OF N. AMERICA. 159 Species of Mollusca common to the United States and Europe. Lower Silurian, Wenlock. | Devonian. Species Species Species Total |common || Total | common Total | common number of'to Europe|{number of|to Europe|jnumber of|to Europe species. |& United || species. |& United || species. | & United States. States. States. BRACHIOPODA. BNF wi acesdtideddesegas: OCT PADDR FONG canine sie scones sen DIE acinadedasesscvcnas: RIMIEMIIE. a oacasccescnveaness Oe PPHTAWICIUS Li wsceecesasacc MPEIOLUS Ke cecciseinath ees xc AEM a oh a Soexca niet a on bac DETGMMOMICIA: «5.000.500 PERCUEAGIID joc ccccectsocens REOEPMAUIS © Cel. cutccccoceceas on 2 2 2 ll wo mo: rome: SuMOM DE: ono: Sf — “1ST DO & “a OO G2 Go o> Oo ht > Oo oo m= PDD? KH Ot) POON = — es eee 1 2 1 OPICAEGIA © on... sens scons 1 “ fae ses Sundry genera ............ 6 ma Ge ee | 25 eaneee nADERE +. -+- at eee Ee Ee Te Kia — cs tm O92 GASTEROPODA. Sundry genera ............ HETEROPODA. Bellerophon .......-s...++> BI ciarasisies apmiediannes CEPHALOPODA. Orthoceras.................. Cyrtoceras ..........00.060. sia on ae | jo} ot p=S] — a or have in both continents nearly the same wide vertical range. Pentamerus galeatus, Strophomena grandis, Spirifer plicatus, . pecten, radiatus, Orthis orbicularis, — Urii, are found both here and in the United States, either in two or three formations. And a longer list may be formed of shells which are confined in 160 PROCEEDINGS OF THE GEOLOGICAL SOCIETY. [ Dec. 1, each country to one formation : im this will be found many common species, as Leptzena sericea. Terebratula cuneata. Orthis testudinaria. Stricklandi. --—— parva. Spirifer crispus. elegantula. Pentamerus levis. Terebratula bidentata. oblongus. Such instances might be multiplied to a greater extent; but the above are sufficient to show that the vertical range of each species is nearly the same in both these distant countries. It would be interesting to trace out the first appearance of each species in many countries, and to see whether it is found in one at an earlier period than in another country ; and thus learn of what region it was originally native. At present we have slight materials for such an inquiry ; but some facts have been met with while following the present investigations, which bear upon the subject. Spirifer Urii, which in Britain is found sparingly m South Devon, more abundantly in the S. Petherwin and Pilton beds which unite the Devonian and carboniferous formations, and is most common in the shales of the carboniferous period, is in the United States rather a Devonian than a carboniferous species; appearing first in the Oriskany sandstone, a bed which lies next above the Wenlock formation. Terebratula reticularis is not known here below the Wenlock shale: in New York it is common in the Lower Silurian Clinton group ; and if a single doubtful specimen may be trusted, occurs low down in that series in the blue limestone of Cincinnati. Orthis resupinata is rare with us in the Devonian beds, and com- mon in the mountain limestone: in the United States it is found as low as the Upper Pentamerus limestone, where all its companions belong to the Wenlock epoch. It is impossible to be mistaken about so well-marked a shell; but had this been found alone, or m com- pany only with unknown species, no European geologist would have hesitated to class the bed in the carboniferous series. All the species just named are found in North America in beds of an older date than those in which we find them here, and must there- fore be set down as native Americans which have migrated at a later period to Europe. . When we know the American shells better, we may be able to point out European species which had established themselves here before they passed to the United States; perhaps Leptena depressa may be one of them. Leptena depressa is abundant in the schists connected with the Bala limestones, and continues throughout all the beds from that to the mountain limestone. The Bala limestone is certainly low down in the Lower Silurian formation ; and in Professor Sedgwick’s opinion it lies below all the Silurian beds described by Sir R. Murchison. In the United States the Leptena depressa is found but sparingly in the Trenton limestone and blue limestone of Ohio which he im the middle of the Lower Silurian series, and is first found in any abun- dance at the top of that series in the Clinton group. If, without regarding species, we look only to general form, we 1847.| SHARPE ON THE PALHOZOIC ROCKS OF N. AMERICA. 161 shall find some groups of shells common in the United States long before we meet them here. In the genus Spirifer some of the sections may be pretty evenly matched in the two continents, while others appear at different epochs. The following are in the former case :— In the section of Biforés of De Verneuil, we find in the Lower Silurian beds S. biforatus, var. Lynx, Chama, &c., in the United States. S. dentatus, Pander, S. terebratuliformis, M‘Coy (erucialis >in England. of Sedgwick’s list), Among the species with fine striee, either alone or im addition to strong rays, the following are found in the Middle and Upper Silurian beds of the two countries :— S. radiatus, : ; S. radiatus, saad S. Niagarensis, hs saosin S. interlineatus, in England. S. macropleura, ; And many large-winged, expanded species are found in both countries in the Devonian formation. But there are several large species of Spz7zfer found in the United States in the equivalents of the Wenlock formation, or in the beds next above them, of forms which we are only accustomed to see here in the carboniferous series. Such are the following :— S. arenosus, a shell so like the usual carboniferous species, that M. de Verneuil doubted the correctness of the localities marked on specimens sent him from Bogoslofsk with Silurian and Devonian species (‘ Russie,’ vol. 1. p. 164), where the species is named S. superbus. S. undulatus, of Hall, not of Sowerby. S. (unnamed), a large strongly-marked species nearly allied to S. erassus, but with a smooth mesial fold. In the Upper Pentamerus limestone, a bed belonging to the Wen- lock series, there occurs a small spinose species of Productus allied to P. laxispina, P. Cancrini, &c. ; such as we only find in Europe in the Devonian and carboniferous formations. These instances ought to teach us that all classifications of the formations of distant countries are very liable to error when they are only based upon the generic resemblances of the organic remains. Had a bed been found containing only the species just mentioned, it would, in the absence of other evidence, have been referred by com- mon consent to the carboniferous system: whereas a preponderance of evidence derived from the identification of species forces us to class these in the Wenlock series. Even when we have one or two iden- tical species to rely upon, we may be easily mistaken in our estimate - of the age of a foreign formation: but a classification is of very little value which only rests on finding, in two distant places, shells of the same genus or section of a genus ; or upon what have been called re- presentative species. VOL. IV.—PART I. oO 162 PROCEEDINGS OF THE GEOLOGICAL sociETy. [Dec. 1, List of Published Species of Mouuusca recognised in the Collec- tion of CHARLES LYELL, Esa., from the Paleozoic Rocks of the UNITED STATES. { (1) &c. These numbers refer to the notes which follow this Table of species, p. 171, &c.] CONCHIFERA. Species. References and Synonyms. Strata. Localities. Found in Europe. AvicuLa (1). Boydii (2) ...... Conrad, Journ. Acad. Phil. Hamilton group, |Coseunia Ludlew form., v. 8, t. 12, f. 4. Chemung group. Corning. Westmoreland. Damnoniensis ? |Sow. Geol. Tr. 2, ser. v. 5, Chemung group. Corning. Devonian syst., t. 53, f. 22; Phillips, Pal. N. Devon. Foss. Nos. 90-92; Hall, Report, p. 263, f. 1. decussata ...... Hall, Report, p. 203, f. 1 & 2. Hamilton group. '18-mile Creek. Hapella sc acc9.0. Conrad, Journ. Acad. Phil, ‘Hamilton group. |Schoharie. V. 9, £532,158: Vanuxem, Report, p- 152, i 3. IOBWIREO Osco ees Hall, Report, p. 180, f. 6. Hamilton group. naviformis (3) |Conrad, Journ. Acad. Phil. Pentamerus Schoharie. {Wenlock and v. 8; t3234071; limestone. Ludlow form. pectiniformis ...|\Conrad, Journ. Acad. Phil. Hamilton group. : ¥. 3, Go12) 7. oo net ot Hall, Report, p. 262. 2. orbiculata, Hall, Report, ¢ p- 202, f. 1. : quadrula (4) ...|Conrad, Journ. Acad. Phil. Hamilton group. |.............2000 Ludlow form., ; v. 8, t. 13, f. 5; perhaps Westmoreland. variety of 4. Boydii? CyPRICARDIA. Chemungensis .|\Vanuxem, Report, p. 179, Ludlowville Genesee. f. 2. shale. Micropon. bellastriata...... Conrad, Journ. : Acad. Phil.| Ludlowville Ovid. v. 8, t. 13, f. 12; Hall,| shale. a Report, p. 196, f. 2. PosIDONIA. i |e: eee Conrad, Ann. Report, 1838, idl ganas Schoharie. Dp: 116; 1839, p. 62. shale. * PTERINZA. ; ? carimata <5... Conrad, Ann Report, 1838, Blue limestone, Cincinnati, s p- 114; 1839, p. 63; Va-| Trenton lime-| St. Croix, . nuxem, Report, p. 65, f. 1;| stone, Hudson’s| Toronto, ; Emmons, Report, p. 402,| River group. Turin. , f. 1; not of Goldfuss ? : ATHYRIS, M‘Coy. concentrica ...|Terebratula sp. Von Buch, Hamilton group,|18-mile Creek, Devonian and Tereb. p. 103. Atrypa; Chemung group.) Corning. Carboniferous sp. Conrad, Ann. Report, formations. 1838, p. 111; 1839, p. 62; Hall, Report, p. 198, f. 5. lamellosa ...... |Spirifer sp. Leveillé, Mém. Hamilton group. |Ovid. Devonian and Soc. Géol. Fr. v. 2, t. 2,1 _ Carboniferous f. 21-23. ike formations. 1847.] SHARPE ON THE PALEOZOIC ROCKS OF N. AMERICA. 163 BRACHIOPODA. Species. References and Synonyms. Strata. Localities. Found in Europe. ATRYPA congesta......... Conrad, Journ. Acad. Phil.|Medina sand- |Medina, Scho- v. 8, t. 16, f. 18; Hall,| stone, Tentacu-| harie. Report, p. 71, f. 2. lite limestone. didyma?......... Hisinger, Leth. Suec. t. 22,|Coralline lime- |Schoharie. {Ludlow form., f. 7; Sowerby, Sil. Syst.| stone. Ludlow, Goth- t. 6, f. 4. land. elongata......... Conrad, Ann. Report, 1839,\Oriskany sand- |Schoharie, p- 65; Vanuxem, Report,| stone. Frostburg, P*. p- 123, f. 2; Mather, Re- port, p. 342, f. 2; Hall, Report, p. 148, f. 2. Pen- tamerus elongatus ?, Con- rad, Ann. Report, 1838, p- 113; Vanuxem, Report, p- 132, f. 1; Mather, Re- port, p. 339, f. 1; Hall, Report, App. t. 34, f. 2. I san ewelsc Vanuxem, Report, p. 120,'Pentameruslime- Schoharie. f. 2; Mather, Report, p. stone, Delthyris 343, f. 2. shaly limestone, Upper Pentame- rus limestone. limitaris......... Hall, Report, p. 180, f. 11./Marcellus shale. |Le Roy. Orthis sp. Vanuxem, Re- port, p. 146, f. 3 MGIC. 20 nseuee Hall, Report, App. t. 13, f.5.|Niagara shale. (Lockport. peculiaris ...... Vanuxem, Report, p. 123,/Oriskany sand- |Schoharie. f.3; Mather, Report, p.| stone. 342,f.3; Hall, Report, p. 148, f. 3. A. singularis, Vanuxem, Report, p. 120, f. 3; Mather, Report, p. 343, f. 3. REHM feswenevns Dalman; Hisinger, Leth./Pentameruslime-'!.................. Wenlock shale, Suec. t. 22, f.5. 4. tenui-| stone. Walsall, &c. striata,Sowerby, Sil. Syst.| fh Land, 3. CHONETES carinata ......... Strophomena sp. Conrad,|Ludlowville Genesee. Journ. Acad. Phil. v. 8,| shale. t. 14, f. 13; not of Conrad, Ann. Report, 1839, p. 64. _elegantula ...|Strophomena sp. Hall, Re-|Hudson’s River |Toronto, Jack- port, p. 72, f. 1. group, Trenton | sonburg. limestone. LEPTZENA. alternata ...... Conrad, Ann. Report, 1838,|Blue limestone. |Cincinnati. [Lower Silurian, p. 115; De Verneuil, Rus- Reval. sie, t. 14, f. 6. Stropho- mena sp. Emmons, Re- port, p. 393, f. 3; Hall, Paleont. N. Y. t. 31, f. 1; t. 31 A, f. 1. LZ. deltoidea, De Verneuil, Russie, t. 14, ee o-2 164 PROCEEDINGS OF THE GEOLOGICAL society. [Dec. I, Species. References and Synonyms. Strata. Localities. Found in Europe. LepTrana (con- tinued). deltoidea.........,Strophomena sp. Conrad,|Hudson’s River |Quebec. Ann. Report, 1839, p. 64;| group. Emmons, Rep. p. 389, f. 2; Hall, Pal. JN: Yorics ons f. 3; not of De Verneuil, Russie, t. 14, f. 5. ? demissa (5)...|Strophomena sp. Conrad,|Hamilton group. |18-mile Creek. Journ. Acac. Phil. v. 8, t. 14, f. 14. depressa (6) ... Dalman; Hisinger, t. 20, Blue limestone,|Cincinnati, |Lower and Up- f. 4; Sowerby, Sil. Syst.) Niagara lime-| Lockport, per Silurian, t. 12, f. 2. Strophomena\ stone,Rochester| GeneseeFalls,| Devonian and sp. Vanuxem, Report,| shale, Pentame-| Cedarville, Carboniferous p- 79, f. 5; Hall, Report, rus limestone, formations. p- 77, f.5; p. 104, f. 2.) Delthyris shaly| Schoharie, Strophomena rugosa,Con-| limestone, Cor- rad, Ann. Report, 1839, niferous lime-| Vienna. p- 62. Strophomena un-| stone. dulata, Hail, Report, p. 175,f.3. L. tenuistriata, Hall, Pal. Nerwe"t:-si AY £4. BMDTEX ? cc .00.e: Pander sp., De Verneuil,Hudson’s River |Toronto. Wenlock shale, Russie, t. 15, f. 3; Da-| group. Walsall ; vidson, Charlesworth’s) LowerSilurian, Geol. Journ. y. 1, t. 12,) St. Petersburg. f. 25-28. sericea ......... Sowerby, Sil. Syst. t. 19,,Hudson’s River |Toronto, Cin- Lower Silurian, f. 1; Conrad, Ann. Re-| group, Blue | cinnati. passim. port, 1840, p. 201; Em-| limestone. mons, Report, p. 115; Hall, Pal. N. Y. t. 31 B, f. 2. Strophomena sp. Emmons, Report, p. 394, f. 1 ; Hall, Report, p. 30. L. semi-ovalis, Courad, Ann. Report, 1838, p. 115; Vanuxem, Report, : p- 47. transversalis ...\Dalman ; Hisinger, Leth.|Rochester shale. |Genesee Falls. Lower Silurian Suec. t. 20, f. 5; Sowerby, and Wenlock Sil. Syst. t. 13, f. 3. Stro- shale. phomena sp. Conrad, Ann. Report, 1840, p. 202 5} Hall, Report, p. 104, f. 4. LINGULA. BUIGAS. Coenen Conrad; Hall, Paleont. N.Y. Potsdam sand- |Kelsville. PAC dee stene. culcata os. Conrad, Ann. Report, 1839,,Medina sand- /|Medina. p- 64; Hall, Report, p. 45,) stone. f.53 p. 52, f. 10. ORBICULA. jgrandis ......... Vanuxem, Report, t.152,f.4.| Hamilton group. MANNA ...ee0005 Hall, Report, p. 180, f. 9. |Marcellus shale,|Le Roy, Hamilton group.|Avon. 1847.] SHARPE ON THE PALHOZOIC ROCKS OF N. AMERICA. 165 Species. References and Synonyms. OrTHIS. carinata (7) ...|Strophomena sp. Conrad, Ann. Rep. 1839, p. 64; not of Conrad, Journ. Acad. Phil. v. 8, t. 14, f. 13 ; not of Hall, Rep. p. 267, f. 1. Hall, Report, p. 267, f.1; not Strophomena carinata carinata eeeeeosee of Conrad. Peunis ? 2S. ..00. Eichwald ; De Verneuil, Russie, t. 11, f. 2. Hisinger, Leth. Suec. t. 20, f. 15; De Verneuil, Russie, v. 2, p. 188. O. canalis, Sowerby, Sil. Syst. t. 13, f. 12 A; Conrad, Ann. Report, 1840, p. 202; Emmons, Report, p. 115 ; Hall, Report, p. 105, f. 6. Hall, Paleont. N.Y.t.32, f.7. Sowerby, Sil. Syst. t. 13, f. 11; Conrad, Ann. Re- port, 1840, p. 202; Va- nuxem, Report, p. 94; Hall, Report, p. 105, f. 7. O. lenticularis, Vanuxem, Report, p. 139, f. 4. O. lentiformis, Hall, Report, p.. 175, f. 4. Leveillé, Mém. Soc. Géol Fr _v. 2, t. 2, f. 14-17. O. filiaria, Phil. York. v. 2, ee fos Vanuxem, Report, p. 90. Sowerby, sil. Syst. t. 5, f. 16. elegantula fissicosta hybrida eeeees eres eoeceseeseeesn eoeeee De Verneuil, Russie, v. 2, fold, £22. Pander sp., De Verneuil, Russie, t. 13, f. 3. - 0. striatula, Emmons, Re- port, p. 394, f. 3. Martin sp. Terebratula sp. Sow. Min. Con. t. 325; Vanuxem, Report, p. 122; Hall, Report, p. 215, f. 2. RMERER! -Sesiass0 00 Hall, Palzont. N.Y. t. 32 B, £52. eeeeee eeesee Strata. Localities. Found in Europe. Marcellus shale,/Le Roy; Mos- Hamilton group,| cow, North- Chemung group.| ville; Orwigs- burg, P*. Chemung group. |Chemung, Painted Post. Ludlowville Genesee. Carboniferous, shale. Russia. Rochester shale,/Genesee Falls,| Wenlock form., Niagara shale. | Lockport. Dudley, &c. Blue limestone. |Cincinnati. Delthyris shaly|Schoharie. Wenlock form., limestone. Dudley, &c. Hamilton group. |Ovid. Carboniferous form. [merate. Oneida conglo-|Wayne C°. Delthyris shaly|Schoharie. Wenlock and limestone. Ludlow forms. Hamilton group.|18-mile Creek.| Devonian form., Russia. Trenton _ lime-|Jacksonburg, |Lower Silurian, stone, Blue Cincinnati. common. limestone. Upper Pentame-/Schoharie, Devonian and rus_ limestone, Carboniferous Corniferous formations. limestone. Onondaga. Blue limestone. |Cincinnati, Richmond, &c. ...|Dalman; Hisinger; Sow- erby, Sil. Syst. t. 20, f. 9 ; Conrad, Ann. Report, 1839, p. 63; Emmons, Report, p. 115 and p. 404, f. 4; Vanuxem, Report, p- 47 and p. 56; Hall, Report, p. 30; Hall, Pa- lzont. N.°Y¥.'t.'32, f. ¥. testudinaria Hudson’s River|Quebec, Mon-|Lower Silurian. group, Blue treal, Cincin- limestone. nati. 166 PROCEEDINGS OF THE GEOLOGICAL sociEeTy. [Dec. 1, Species. References and Synonyms. Strata. Localities. Found in Europe. PENTAMERUS. galeatus (9) ...|4érypa sp. Dalman; Hi-|Pentameruslime-|Cedarville, [Wenlock and singer, Leth. Suec. t. 22,) stone, Delthyris| Schoharie. Ludlow forma- f. 1; Sowerby, Sil. Syst.| shaly limestone. tions. +73, aeaO = t. W2 oa Vanuxem, Report, p. 117, f.1; Mather, Report, p. 346, f.1; Hall, Report, App. t. 27, f. 1. laevis ....es0.0e2.;90Werby, Sil. Syst. t. 19,/Cliff limestone. |Ohio. Lower Silurian f. 9. P. oblongus, Hall, form. Report, p. 71. oblongus ...... Sowerby, Sil. Syst. t. 19,'\Clinton group. j|Genesee Falls. |Lower Silurian f. 10; Conrad, Ann. Re- form. port, 1840, p. 201; Va- nuxem, Report, p. 88; Hall, Report, p. 70, f. 1-5. PRODUCTUS. fragaria? ...... Leptena sp. Sowerby, Geol..\Chemung group.|Near Bath. |Devonianform., Tr. 2 ser. v. 5, t. 56, f. 5, 6; Devonshire. Phillips, Pal. Foss. t. 25, f. 100. Sowerby, Min. Con. t. 459, Chemung group./Near Tioga. |Carboniferous {2; form., passim. Sowerby, Min. Con. t. 69, Hamilton group.|.............c000 Devonian and f. 1. Strophomena lachry- Carboniferous mosa, Conrad, Journ. formations, Acad. Phil. v. 8, t. 14, ~ £. 9: plicatilis? ...... scabriculus? ... SPIRIFER. acanthota ...... Delthyris sp. Hall, Report, Chemung group. eta p. 270, f. 2. Delthyris inermis, Hall, Report, p. 270, f. 4. Delthyris cus- pidata, Hall, Report, p. 270, f. 1 ..(Bronn sp. Leth. Geog. t. 2, Chemung group. Alleghany C°. Devonian form., f..13. Eifel. iA Delthyris sp. Conrad, Ann.Oriskany sand- |Schoharie. (The Oural. , Report, 1839, p. 65; Hall,| stone. 1 Report, p. 148, f. 1; p. 149, f.5. Delthyris are- naria, Vanuxem, Report, p- 123, f. 1 p.2a 53 Mather, Report, p. 342, f.1& 5. Spirifer superbus, Eichwald; De Verneuil, Russie, v. 2, t. 5, f. 4. Linneus sp. Delthyris car-|Niagara group. |Wolcot, &c. |Wenlock form. diospermiformis, Dalman; Hisinger, Leth. Suec.t. 21, f. 9. Spirifer sinuatus, Sowerby, Sil. Syst. t. 13, f. 10; Hall, Report, p. 105, f. 8. Delthyris varica, Conrad, Journ. Acad. Phil. Vv, 8,4, 14/620. aperturatus AFENOSUS ...e0e PISO: caer nicest 1847.] SHARPE ON THE PALHOZOIC ROCKS OF N. AMERICA. 167 Species. References and Synonyms. Strata. Localities, |Found in Europe SPIRIFER (con- tinued). biforatus (10)...|Schlotheim sp. De Verneuil,/Blue limestone. Cincinnati, Russie, v. 2, p. 135. Del- Richmond, thyris sp. Hall, Palzeont. it, &c. N.. Y.. p.. 132; var. Lynz, Eichwald; De Verneuil, Russie, v. 2, t. 3, f.3 & 4; Hall, Pal. N.-Y. +. 32 D, f. 1; var. Chama, Ejich- wald; De Verneuil, Russie, We 2,0. oO, £1): Ball, Pas leont. N. Y.t.32 D,f.1 R. Delthyrisacutilirata,Con- rad, Journ.Acad. Phil. v. 8, : t. 14, £. 15. congestus ...... Delthyris sp. Hall, Report,|Hamilton group,}Ovid, Ludlow- p- 207, f. 2. Chemung group.| ville,Oneonta. SeRPWS i cssec.. Delthyris sp. Dalman; Hi-|Niagara shale. |Lockport. singer, Leth. Suec. t. 21, f.5 ; Sow. Sil. Syst. t. 12, f. 8. Delthyris staminea, Hall, Report, p. 105, f. 3. decemplicatus..| Delthyris sp. Hall, Report,|Niagara shale. (Lockport. | p- 105, f. 4. jgranuliferus ...| Delthyris sp. Hall, Report,|Hamilton group.|18-mile Creek. p. 207, 1.1. ENES sexecapssesi Delthyris sp. Hall, Report,|Portage group. |Ithaca. p. 245, f. 1. macronotus(11)| Delthyris sp. Hall, Report,|Hamilton group.|Ovid, 18-mile |Devonian and p- 207, f.3. S. cuspidatus, Creek. Carboniferous Koninck, Foss. Belg. t. 14, formations. f.1; Phillips, Pal. Foss. t. 29, f. 124 db. macropleura ...|Delthyris sp. Conrad, Ann.|Delthyris shaly |Schoharie. Report, 1840, p. 206;) limestone. Vanuxem, Report, p. 120, f. 1; Mather, Report, p. Lower Silurian formation, St. Petersburg, &e. Wenlock form., passim. 343, f. 1. medialis ...... Delthyris sp. Hall, Report,|Ludlowville Ovid. p- 288, f. 8. shale. mesastrialis ...|Delthyris sp. Hall, Report,,;Chemung group.,Orwigsburg, ; p. 269, f. 1. p>. mucronatus ...|Delthyris sp. Conrad, Ann.|Hamilton group,'18-mile Creek, Rep. 1841,p.54; Van. Rep. Chemung group.) Phillipsburg, p: 150, £..3; Hall, Rep: Corning, p- 198, f. 2.& 3; p. 205, Tioga. f..3,; p-270, f. 3. Niagarensis ...|Delihyris sp. Conrad,Journ.|Niagara shale. (Lockport. Acad. Phil. v. 8, p. 261; Hall, Report, p. 105, f. 1. plicatus (12) ...|Orthis sp. Vanuxem, Rep.|Tentaculite lime- Schoharie. p-112,f.1. Delthyris sp.| stone, Pentame- Hall, Report, p. 142, f. 1.) rus limestone. S. octoplicatus, Sowerby, Sil. Syst. t. 12, f. 7; not of Min. Con. Wenlock and Ludlow forma- tions. 168 PROCEEDINGS OF THE GEOLOGICAL sociEeTy. [Deec. 1, Species. Referencss and Synonyms. Strata. Localities. Found in Europe. SPIRIFER (con- tinued). lradiatus ..225 206. Sowerby, Sil. Syst. t. 12, f.6.|Rochester shale. |Genesee Falls. |\Wenlock form., Delthyris sp. Vanuxem, Dudley, &c. Rep. p. 89; Hall, Rep. p- 75; p. 105, f. 2. undulatus ...... Delthyris sp. Conrad, Ann.|Delthyris shaly |Schoharie. Report, 1838, p. 110; Va-| limestone. nuxem, Report, p. 132, i f.3; Mather, Report, p. | 339, f. 3; Hall, Report, App. t. 34, f. 3; not of | Sowerby, Min. Con. eee -eo-e-|Fleming, Brit. Anim. p. 376.\Oriskany sand-Schoharie, |Devonian and S.unguiculus, Phillips, Pal.| stone,Marcellus| Le Roy, Carboniferous Foss. t. 28, f.119. Orthis| shale, Hamilton) Seneca Lake,| formations. unguiculus, Hall, Report,| group, Ludlow-| Genes-e, ; p- 267, f. 5. Orthis nu-| ville shale, Che-| Painted Post, cleus, Hall, Report, p.180,| mung group. Corning. f. 8. Orthis umbonata, Conrad, Journ. Acad. Phil. v. 8, t. 14, f.4; Vanuxem, Report, p. 154. PACT ce cminrietal d Delthyris sp. Hall, Report, Hamilton group,/Moscow, p- 200, f. 5. , Chemung group.| Phillipsburg, Corning. STROPHOMENA (18). arcto-striata ...| Hall, Report, p. 266, f.3. |Hamilton group,|18-mile Creek, Chemung group.| near Tioga. bifurcata ....... Hall, Report, p. 266, f.2. |Chemung group.|Corning. Chemungensis .|Conrad, Journ. Acad. Phil..\Chemung group.|Phillipsburg, Vo 0) & 44, to. Mansfield. QTANGIS ....00-e- Orthis sp. Sowerby, Sil./Trenton lime- |Jacksonburg, |Lower Silurian Syst. t. 19, f. 6; t. 20,) stone, Bluelime-| Cincinnati, | form.,Wenlock f. 12, 13. Orthis lepte-| stone, Rochester| GeneseeFalls.) shale. noides?, Emmons, Report,) shale. p. 396, f. 1. 'pecten ee Linneus sp. Orthis sp. Hi-|Pentamerus Schoharie. {Lower Silurian singer, Leth. Suec. t. 20,) limestone, Del- and Wenlock | f.6; Davidson, Charles-| thyris shaly formations. | worth’s Geol. Journ. v. 1,| limestone. t: 13; £ 1S-23.. Seabee plana, Conrad, Journ. Acad. Phil. t. 8, p. 258; : Hall, Report, p. 104, f. 1. planumbona ...|Leptena sp. Hall, Palzont.|Blue limestone. {Cincinnati, N. ¥. 4,31 6, £ 4. : Richmond. faliata ......... Conrad; Vanuxem, Report,|Pentamerus Schoharie. p- 122, f. 6; Mather, Re-| limestone, Up. port, p. 343, f. 6; Hall,| per Pentamerus Report, App. t. 28, f. 2.| limestone. S. punctilifera, Conrad; Vanuxem, Report, p. 122, f. 5; Mather, Report, p. 343, f. 5; Hall, Report, App. t. 28,4. 1. Pee ee Soe eee ee ered 1847.] SHARPE ON THE PALZOZOIC ROCKS OF N. AMERICA. 169 Species. References and Synonyms. Strata. Localities. | Found in Europe. STROPHOMENA (continued). Sharpei .........| De Verneuil, Russie, v. 2,,Hamilton group. |Moscow. Carboniferous p. 181. limestone, Kendal, &c. ere Hall, Report, p. 104. f. 3. |Tentaculite Schoharie. limestone, Pentamerus limestone, Up- per Pentamerus limestone. syrtalis ......... Conrad, Journ. Acad. Phil. Hamilton group. We oO, te U4, f, 2 umbraculum ?...|Orthis sp. Von Buch, Delth.'Chemung group. |Tioga. &e. t. 1, f. 5 & 6. varistriata ...... Conrad, Journ. Acad. Phil./Tentaculite v. 8, t. 14, f. 6. limestone, Pentamerus limestone. TEREBRATULA,| subgenus Hypothyris. ....schlotheim, Pet. t. 18, f. 3. Airypa sp. Dalman; Hi- singer; Phillips, Pal. Foss. i. oo, 1.144; Conrad, Ann. Report, 1839, p. 62. Atrypa squamosa, Sower- by, Geol. Trans. 2 ser.v. 5, t.57,f.1. Atrypa dumosa, Hall, Report, p. 271, f. 1. Atrypa spinosa, Hall, Re-| port, p. 200, f. 1, 2. Hisinger, Leth. Suec. t. 23, f. 7; Sowerby, Sil. Syst. t. 12, f. 13 a. Atrypa dentata, Hall, Paleeont. N. Y. t. 33, f. 14. Schlotheim. 7. lacunosa, Sow. Sil. Syst. t. 5, f. 19. Atrypa lacunosa, Vanux- em, Report, p. 117, f.3; Mather, Report, p. 346, f. 3; Hall, Rep. App. t. 27, f. 3. Atrypa laticosta, Hall, Rep. App. t. 66, f. 1 & 2. Atrypa eximia, Hall, Rep. App. t. 66, f. 4. Atrypa sp. Conrad, Journ. Acad. Phil. v.8,t.14, f.20. Atrypa increbescens, Hall, Palzont.-N.Y. t. 33,f. 13. aspera (14) bidentata eeeeee borealis eee eeeene Suec. t. 23, f. 5 ; Sowerby, NU Syste Me Lat rs Atrypa sp. Hall, Report, App. t. 13, £. 2. Blue limestone. |Cincinnati, Upper Pentame-|Schoharie, limestone,| Tioga. rus Chemung group. Blue limestone. Dalman ; Hisinger, Leth./Niagara shale. Devonian form., Eifel. Schoharie. Hamilton group, |18-mile Creek,|Devonianform., Chemunggroup.| Moscow, Devonshire, Chemung Eifel, &c. Creek. Lower Silurian Richmond, I?.| formation. Wenlock, Lud- low and De- vonian forma- tions. Cincinnati ; Madison, I*; Richmond, Ind. Lockport. Wenlock form. 170 PROCEEDINGS OF THE GEOLOGICAL SociETY. [Dec. 1 Species. References and Synonyms. Strata. Localities. Found in Europe. TEREBRATULA, subgenus Hypothyris | (continued). hysta® fo2.25.0 a Hall, Report, p.|;Chemung group. Corning,Tioga. yar pis eee modesta......... Hall, Baoan N. Y. t. 33,/Blue limestone. |Cincinnati. fee HUGHIA ....08.u: Sowerby, Sil. Syst. t. 5,|Hamilton group,Oneonta. Ludlow form., f. 20. Chemung group. passim. reticularis ...... Linneus sp. Hisinger sp. T.Blue limestone ?\Cincinnati? {Wenlock, Lud- afinis, Sowerby, Min.! Niagara shale,) Lockport, low and De- Con. t. 324, f. 2. Atrypa Rochestershale, GeneseeFalls,| yonian forma- affinis, Sow. Sil. Syst. t. 6, Pentamerus Cedarville, | tions. f. 5; Vanuxem, Report,| limestone, Scu-| Schoharie, p- 88, f. 12; Hall, Report,| tella limestone, p- 77,f. 8; p. 108, f. 37;| Oriskany sand-| Schoharie, p. 215,f. 4. Atrypa pris-| stone, Cornife- ca, Mather, Report,p.337,| rous limestone,| Williamsville, f. 5; Vanuxem, Report,| Hamilton group,! Moscow, &c., p. 88, & 12; ‘p. 13958. 5% Chemung group.| near Bath. Hall, Report, p.175, f. 5; p- 198, f. 4. Gaia 1848.] NICOL ON THE SILURIAN ROCKS OF THE TWEED. 197 are less crystalline than the former and more so than the latter, which they also far surpass in durability when exposed to the weather. From the trap rocks they differ mineralogically in consisting chiefly of felspar and not of augite or hornblende, and also in position, being generally disposed in beds parallel to the strata, whereas the augitic trap rocks run in veins crossing the strata in all directions. * In the central part of this district true trap rocks, as greenstone and basalt, are rare, compared to their abundance in the secondary formations, both on the south and north, where every square yard almost, as Dr. Macculloch has remarked, must be searched for them. Where they do occur it is m veins seldom above a few feet wide, though often extending for a great distance longitudinally, in one case to twenty-five miles or more*. In this region also they never seem to have overflowed at the surface, forming those large conical or tabular hills which are so numerous in all the secondary formations in Scotland. On the whole, they are in the transition districts far inferior in extent and importance to the felspar porphyries ; whilst immediately on entering the secondary formations they begin to form hills and large overlying masses, whilst porphyries, like those imbedded among the greywackes, disappear. This intimate associa- tion of certain igneous rocks with certain stratified formations is fre- quently observable in Scotland, and is one of those facts in geology the cause of which seems but imperfectly understood. Both these classes of igneous rocks, where in contact with the strata, have considerably modified the character of the latter. Near the trap veins the greywacke is often hardened and the slates converted into a very hard flinty slate; but in other cases they have produced. little or no change on the strata, or have only modified their colour. At other times they seem to have partly destroyed the consistence of the slates and rendered them softer, more friable, and more devoid of Fig. 1. ou NWN CLL lh UL. 1 \\ \ Uy l Y/ QUEL LLL, \e Son Elia T/ \ eS as HY /) ~ ii %* This remarkable vein occurs in Roxburghshire, and consists of a dark, highly magnetic greenstone. I have traced it almost continuously from Hindhope at the top of the Kale, by Rink, Kirkton church and Hawick, to Whitslaid in Selkirk- shire; and on the south-east it is said to extend to the sea-shore near the mouth of the Coquet. It thus traverses the carboniferous formation of Northumberland, the porphyries of the Cheviots, the red sandstone of Roxburgh and the greywacke. a a. Felspar porphyry. bb. Greywacke. 198 PROCEEDINGS OF THE GEOLOGICAL SOCIETY. [Jan. 3, slaty structure. The action of the porphyries is similar, often merely changing the grey colour of the rocks to red or brown ; occasionally converting the greywackes into masses of hard flity slate or clink- stone, with distinct imbedded erystals of felspar ; or rarely producing no apparent action. As these porphyries are sometimes considered contemporaneous with the associated strata, the following horizontal section (Fig. 1) may have some interest. It shows the rocks, as ex- posed on the sides of the mountain-stream above noticed, at Priest- hope near Innerleithen, which runs along a fissure or fault, by which both the greywacke and the felspar bed have been shifted horizontally for eight or ten feet. On one side of the section the porphyry im- closes a fragment of greywacke, and on the other forms two short veins penetrating the adjoming strata. Similar sections are not un- common, and from these appearances and the changes produced on the greywacke, I believe that the porphyry im this district has in general been injected among the strata in a state of igneous fluidity. Some of these bedded veins run for considerable distances almost in a straight line parallel to the strata. Thus, one which passes through the hill immediately above the mineral well at Innerleithen, which may be regarded as an additional proof of its igneous origin, may be traced almost continuously for five or six miles in one direction. The position of these rocks, or the dip and direction of the strata, presents some points of interest. The direction of the beds, with local exceptions, is almost invariably parallel to the direction of the mountain-chain, or nearly east and west by compass (the variation being about 26° west of north). The dip again is almost constantly at a high angle on the northern side of the formation, from 60° to 90°, but as we proceed south becomes lower, till i Roxburghshire it is more often about 30° or 40°. The poimt to which the strata dip is not thus constant, bemg in Peeblesshire as often north as south, but in many cases towards the centre of the mountain ridges, or north on their south declivity and south on the north. In Selkirkshire and Roxburghshire again a southerly dip begins to prevail, and becomes more constant near the border of England. From this statement it appears that the direction of the beds corresponds with the great longitudinal valleys formerly mentioned. On the other hand, the direction of the transverse valleys is parallel to a series of trans- verse lines of division, crossmg the strata nearly at right angles to the strike of the beds. In consequence of these divisions the strata are cut into large quadrangular masses, corresponding on the small scale to the mountains on the large. | Such are a few of the more general features of this formation con- sidered as a whole. It however presents some interesting local pecu- hiarities from which several results of considerable importance seem to follow. Before mentionig these, however, we must describe the relations of this formation to the strata with which it is in contact. And first, there are no older formations on which it is seen to rest. It forms the oldest and lowest rock visible in this district, or of whose existence in it any indication appears. Of newer formations it is immediately followed by the old red sandstone, which m this part of Scotland seems to form merely the lower portion of the car- 1848.] NICOL ON THE SILURIAN ROCKS OF THE TWEED. 199 boniferous group. Its relation to this deposit is very distinctly seen both on the north and south. On the former it is well-exhibited in a section in the western part of the Pentland Hills, exposed along the channel of the Lyne*, one of the tributaries of the Tweed. Highly-inclined strata of greywacke and clay-slate form the bed of the stream for a considerable distance. On the broken ends of these slate rocks a formation of grey or very light red sandstone rests in a gentle curve, corresponding to the ridge of the mountains, which in this place appear to have been formed by the upheaval of the grey- wacke and superincumbent sandstones. Similar sections are common in the eastern part of the Pentland chain, but more complex from the intrusion of the clay-stone porphyries and other igneous rocks. Fig. 2. Red = Sandstone. = oa = — ES = ——— : Section Fig. 2 of Southdean hill on the Jed is on the south side of the formation, and forty-five miles distant in a direct line from that just described. In it the greywacke appears in the channel of the river in highly inclined beds covered round the base of the hill by nearly horizontal strata of red sandstone, which is again overlaid by amass of dark greenstone forming the summit. Lower down the Jed there are several similar sections, one of which near Jedburgh, first described by Hutton, is now well known, having been copied into many popular works on geology. I shall only notice another section in this vicinity, which is interesting as showing the relation of the igneous rocks of the Cheviot mountains to the red sandstone Greywacke. * This river rises near the ridge of the Pentlands in the old red sandstone, it then passes into the greywacke exposed by the denudation of the sandstone, and lower down again enters the sandstone, which is succeeded by a band of porphyry rocks forming the exterior portion of the Pentlands. Beyond this it runs through a low plane of the old red sandstone, and near Newlands Bridge enters a gorge in the greywacke hills by which it is conducted tothe Tweed. Viewing this river as its continuation, it crosses the whole chain chiefly in the transverse valleys, till at Melrose it enters the Roxburghshire red sandstones, and near Kelso the carbo- niferous formations of Northumberland and Berwick: thus exposing in its course a complete section of all the formations in the south of Scotland. 260 PROCEEDINGS OF THE GEOLOGICAL sociETY. (Jan. 5, and greywacke in Teviotdale. In this section (Fig. 3), on the Oxmam Water, about six miles south-east from Jedburgh, the lowest beds are again slate and greywacke, as usual highly inclined. These are overlaid by beds of sandstone of a yellow colour with patches of reddish brown. Above these is porphyry of a light reddish yellow colour, connected with the great mass of this rock im the Cheviot mountains. fp» 3 Y) : : 7 | pp, YUU. Vd Ws Greywacke. The facts just stated are of considerable importance in determining the age of the greywacke rocks in the south of Scotland. They are thus shown to be of far higher antiquity than the old red sandstone. Not only have they been previously deposited, but they have also been consolidated and raised up into a great mountain-chain, before this more recent deposit began to form around their margin. This is evident from the highly inclined position of the greywacke, con- trasted with the horizontal, almost undisturbed position of the red sandstone, which shows that from the time of the deposition of the latter rock, this region has not undergone any very important general convulsive action. Indeed many facts would induce us to believe that this district had assumed nearly its present physical outline, its characteristic ridges of hills and longitudinal valleys, and even that the existing rivers were flowing in their present directions, at the time when the red sandstone began to be formed. Of these facts I shall only mention two. The first is the prolongation of the red sandstone in bays, or tongues as it were, up the valleys of the present rivers, where they leave the greywacke hills. Had the red sandstone been deposited uniformly over a level surface of the slaty rocks, and both formations at a more recent period eroded by aqueous agents so as to form the present valleys, the features exhibited would have been directly the reverse. Promontories of the older rocks would then have projected along the valleys into the outline of the newer rocks, the higher formations having necessarily undergone the greatest de- nudation. The second fact is, the prevalence of coarse conglomerates im the red sandstone at the places where the present rivers enter that formation ; that is, at the pomts where they formerly fell into the red sandstone sea. I have remarked these conglomerates especially on the Tweed near Melrose and on the Ale and Teviot. They consist of rounded water-worn boulders of the greywacke and felspar rocks in a basis of red clays, and closely resemble the debris brought down by these streams at the present time. It is, however, right to state, that with these boulders of local origin there are others resembling the primary strata, and which, differmg from any rocks observed in 1848.] NICOL ON THE SILURIAN ROCKS OF THE TWEED. 201 the vicinity, must therefore have been derived from a distance. The facts still seem sufficient to prove that at the time of the deposition of the red sandstone, the greywacke mountains were already dry land formed into a system of hills and valleys like those now existing, and traversed by rivers flowing nearly in the channels of our present streams. Hence these facts lend confirmation to the theory, often proposed on other grounds, that these mountains formed the land on which grew part at least of the vegetation entombed in the coal for- mations of England and Scotland. If we further admit, as many ap- pearances in this district seem to require, that the chief agent in forming the valleys has been running water, the period during which it has continued as dry land, previous to the deposition of the red sandstone, must have been very considerable, and we shall thus be compelled to carry back the formation of the greywacke to a very remote date. This view is confirmed by the great denudation which the red sandstone has evidently undergone, showing that it at one time covered up these mountains to a considerably greater extent. From the mineralogical character of these rocks, especially as locally developed, some interesting conclusions may be deduced. From the great uniformity of the formation along a space of about 150 miles in length m Scotland, not to mention its continuation in other countries, we may conclude that the greywacke was deposited in the open sea rather than in a limited bay or gulf. But this uni- formity is notunbroken. In tracing this formation from its northern border in Peeblesshire and the Lothians, south through Selkirk- and Roxburghshires to the confines of England, or more than forty miles across the strike of the beds, I have observed that the coarser varie- ties of rock predominate in the north in large irregular masses and with a less distinct stratification ; whereas on the south the finer varieties of rock preponderate, in thinner, more regular, and more distinctly stratified beds. The fragments of quartz too are on the north larger and more angular. Hence the conclusion does not seem very remote, that the materials forming this deposit have been derived from the north, and deposited in a sea becoming deeper to the south. The fragments of quartz and the scales of mica would also seem to have travelled farther and to have been longer subjected to attrition, than the clay-slate and imbedded masses of greywacke which have had their origm more close at hand. Admitting therefore that the formation is composed of materials conveyed from the north, it may be mquired what were the previous rocks from whose destruction these beds were formed and of whose disintegrated materials they consist. The quartz, felspar and mica are evidently the components of granite, and the associated gneiss and mica-slate found in the north of Scotland, so that here it might be supposed was the true source of the materials of the transition rocks. It is, however, a remarkable fact, that whilst, as already stated, frag- ments of clay-slate and greywacke are not uncommon amongst the conglomerate or coarser varieties, not one of granite or of any of these crystalline schists has ever been observed. There is also a far larger proportion of clay-slate, or fragments of argillaceous rocks, than would be furnished by the decomposition of the primary formations of the 202 PROCEEDINGS OF THE GEOLOGICAL SOCIETY. [Jan. 5, Highlands. This appears not only from the comparison of the two formations, but also from the character of the sandstones in the central district of Scotland, which have undoubtedly been produced by the wearing-down of the primary rocks in the north. It seems thus more probable that these beds have resulted from the waste of formations of clay-slate and greywacke, not much unlike in their general characters to the formation now under review. ‘This is an interesting fact on several accounts. It shows that our present sedi- mentary deposits were not the earliest rocks of that character on the globe, or rather in this portion of it, but were preceded by other masses, like them produced from the destruction of a still earlier for- mation. In this district it is therefore possible to intercalate between the oldest existing strata, and the oldest rocks of which any trace remains, another stratified formation, composed of sedimentary ma- terials. The transition rocks in the south of Scotland are thus the third in order of formations, whose existence is established by facts. And it must be observed that these formations do not resemble the separate deposits of the secondary system in England, one of which is regularly superposed on the other, so that both may have derived their materials from the same source, but are formations each of which implies not only the previous existence, but also the consolida- tion and destruction of that which preceded it. Mineral geology is thus able te carry us a step farther back into the history of the globe, than we can proceed on the evidence of organic remains, and shows that the revolutions which these remains attest were not the first, but the last in a series to which no definite limits can be assigned. The existence of an earlier series of sedimentary rocks leads to some other conclusions to which, though of a theoretical character, we must shortly allude. So far as we can ascertain, the depths of the ocean are the spots where rocks are deposiced and formed, whilst the dry land and the sea-shore are the places where they are destroyed and wasted away. ‘There is not any known process now acting on the globe by which the rocks existing in the depths of the ocean could be disintegrated and their detritus formed again into newrocks. Any ancient sedimentary deposit therefore implies not only the existence of a sea in which its materials were deposited, but of a land from which they were derived, and rivers and currents by which they were carried down to that sea and spread out over its channel. This con- clusion is so self-evident that we should not have alluded to it, had not the opposite doctrine been sometimes maintained, and the as- sumption boldly made, that at the time of deposition of the Silurian formations dry land and consequently land animals and plants did not exist. These beds themselves we now see teach a different doctrine, and show that even then there must have been dry land watered by showers of rain and traversed by rivers; may we not also infer from the analogy of existing nature, clothed with its appropriate vegetation and inhabited by its peculiar tribes of animated and sen- tient beings ? The cause of the present highly-inclined position of these strata is an inquiry of much interest, but on which little certainty can be obtained. In the beautiful section of this chain of mountains at its 1848.| NICOL ON THE SILURIAN ROCKS OF THE TWEED. 203 extremity on the German Ocean, described by Dr. Hutton and Sir James Hall, the beds are seen to be as it were crushed and folded together. I have observed similar appearances, though on a far less magnificent scale, in many places in the interior. We may therefore conclude that this structure is common to the whole chain, which will thus represent an immense fold or wrinkle in the rocky crust of the globe. This fold cannot be ascribed to any of the igneous rocks now in contact with the strata. The interstratified felspar porphyries are quite inadequate to this effect, even where most abundant ; and in many parts of the formation are very rare. The porphyries of the Cheviots and Pentlands are still less capable of having effected this immense change, as they are more recent than the sandstones which rest on the elevated greywacke, and thus cannot be the cause of this elevation. The same facts in like manner exclude the augitic trap rocks, whether on the north or south. These conclusions are chiefly negative, but the followimg may perhaps lead to some positive con- clusion on the question. In the greywacke, we have seen, no frag- ments of the primary strata i the north of Scotland occur. In the red sandstone in the central district of Scotland such fragments are common, and hence, in the interval between the formation of the greywacke and that of the red sandstone, these northern rocks must have been raised up and subjected to abrading influences. I have thus been inclined to believe, that that invasion of igneous agencies, which hardened and metamorphosed the gneiss and mica-slate in the Scottish Highlands, at the same time crushed up and folded together the transition beds of the southern or border counties. The pre- valence of high angles and an irregular dip on the northern margin of the formation gives some confirmation to this theory. We may then believe, that whilst the gneiss and mica-slate of the Grampians were crystallizing in the interior of the globe, the more sedimentary- lookmg formations of the Lammermuirs were rising up into lofty mountains, which have since been worn down under the action of various external agents. I have hitherto avoided any allusion to the organic remains occur- ring in this formation, bemg desirous that the conclusions deducible from the physical structure and conditions of the mass should stand on their own foundation. It is only very recently too that any organic remains have been found in this district, or indeed in the whole transition formation in the south of Scotland. The first notice of them is by Dr. Hutton in his ‘ Theory of the Earth,’ who states that he found shells m a limestone quarry at Wrae, near Broughton, on the road from Edmburgh to Dumfries, but, as was to be expected at that time, gives no further account of them. The quarry is in a remote and little-frequented part of the country, and seems to have been rarely resorted to by scientific collectors. Some years ago I visited it, but found it wholly forsaken, and the limestone rock so concealed by debris that its very existence seemed problematical. Last autumn I again visited the place, and succeeded im finding some fragments of limestone among the slate debris from which I obtained a few im- perfect fossils. The rocks in this place are the usual slates and greywacke, with numerous veins of quartz. The slate has been 204 PROCEEDINGS OF THE GEOLOGICAL SOCIETY. ([Jan. 5, quarried in one place, about fifty yards distant from the limestone, and there appeared to dip at a high angle to the north. In the lime- stone quarry the dip is rather to the south, but the beds are much- broken and confused. The quarry lies on the side of a steep hill into which the strata run, and the limestone bed being nearly vertical, has been wrought out like a large vem. Of its extent I can give no account from personal observation, it bemg entirely hid by the rub- bish ; but an old man who had seen it formerly, stated that the bed was thirty feet thick. It is covered by slate of the common blue colour. In this slate I found irregular masses, or angular nodules of limestone, from an inch, or less, to several feet in diameter: these lie in the slate im no perceptible relation to its cleavage planes, and are accompanied by fragments of slate, the laminz of which are oblique to those of the inclosing rock. In the slate I saw no traces of organic remains, but the masses of limestone involved in it were quite full of them. They appear indeed little more than a crystalline mass of encrinite stems. From the crystalline structure of the rock the fossils are very imperfectly preserved, and few of them can be certainly determined. Above this bed of slate are beds of light blue greywacke containing much chlorite and quartz; and still higher a fine amygdaloidal rock, unlike any rock that I have seen in any other part of this formation. Where weathered it is of a porous, vesicular texture, but in the interior of the mass these cavities are filled with ~ carbonate of lime. From its general aspect, 1 have no doubt that this rock is of igneous origin. This quarry is almost the only place in this district where lime- stone is found in the greywacke. An impure limestone rock was formerly quarried near Peebles, about twelve miles distant, and nearly in the direction of the former bed, and was also accompanied by an amygdaloidal trap rock, but I have never seen any mdications of fossils in it. The only other place in the basin of the Tweed where I have procured distinct organic remains, is at Greiston Slate Quarry near Traquair, about twelve miles, in a direct lme, from the Wrae. The fossils at this place are graptolites, and occur imbedded mm a single layer of slate or fine greywacke about half an inch thick. The ~ surface of this stratum is almost covered by these remains, but they are not seen in any other bed either above or below. It seems as if they had lived here in great profusion for a single short interval and then been all destroyed, by some sudden catastrophe. In the same bed small fragments of anthracite occur, and elliptical car- bonaceous impressions not unlike the leaf of a plant*. In a hill about a mile distant, a bed, or vein, of anthracite was at one time discovered among the greywacke, which may be regarded as furnish- ing additional evidence of the existence of vegetable life at this epoch. I may also mention that in another slate-quarry in Selkirkshire, I found the surface of some beds marked by impressions apparently of * Tn the same quarry there is a hard bluish white rock consisting of argil- laceous and calcareous matter mixed up together. It has somewhat of an igneous aspect, but forms thin, very irregular beds interposed among the sjates. The oc- currence of calcareous matter and of traces of apparent igneous action in the two places where alone fossils have been found, is curious. 1848.| NICOL ON THE SILURIAN ROCKS OF THE TWEED. 205 annelids, but have mislaid my specimens and have not had an oppor- tunity of procuring others. This paucity of fossil remains does not, however, imply a corresponding paucity of animal existence. The character of the rocks mineralogically is by no means well-adapted to preserve organic remains, and as the formation appears to have been chiefly deposited in a deep sea, where calcareous matter was by no means abundant, this may explain the rarity of testaceous mol- lusca. There are, indeed, in many parts of the formation, indications of organic bodies, or at least forms in the rocks which may be re- garded as such. Thus, in the Pirn Crag, in Peeblesshire, there are numerous ellipsoidal concretions which appear on the exterior sur- face, where it is beginning to decay, like the letter O distinctly carved in the stone. These concretions do not differ mineralogically from the rest of the rock, except that they are occasionally staimed brown by iron, and show no trace of structure ; yet it is probable that they occupy the place of some organic body, perhaps of a rolled-up trilo- bite. In the same place, and indeed throughout almost the whole greywacke formation, numerous concretions of more irregular forms occur. These principally appear when the rock begins to decompose, when they, wasting more readily than the mass in which they are imbedded, leave holes and cavities of various fantastic shapes. To these also I am disposed to ascribe an organic origm, and would regard them as representing the sponges or other soft coriaceous animals of the Silurian seas. : Though there is thus sufficient evidence that animal life was not wholly banished from these ancient waters, and was in some places, probably near calcareous springs, in considerable. abundance, yet from the character of the rocks but few species can be specifically determined with certainty, and can scarcely be regarded as positively fixing the true age of the formation. The specimens exhibited are indeed such mere fragments that I despaired of more than one or two species being capable of determination, and valued them chiefly as indications of the existence of animal life at that time, and as . holding out hopes of better success in further researches. Mr. Salter, whose great knowledge of Silurian fossils is well known, has kindly undertaken to compare them with the rich collection im the posses- sion of the Geological Survey, and has furnished me with the follow- ing list and remarks. Notice on the Fossils collected by Mr. Nicou in PEEBLESSHIRE. In the following list all the forms are noticed, and an attempt made to name them all, however imperfect—as the errors made will be easily corrected from more extended collection in the same locali- ties, and an indefinite reference of them to genera merely would help nothing in provisionally fixing the date of the rocks. TRILOBITES. Asaphus. Tails—very like young A. megistos, of the American Lower Silurian rocks. 206 PROCEEDINGS OF THE GEOLOGICAL SOCIETY. [Jan. 5, Asaphus tyrannus. A little differmg in the ribs of the tail. Phacops Odini, Kichwald. Lower Silurian ; or a Bala limestone species not yet published. Illenus Davisii® Lower Silurian. Cheirurus. Probably portions of the head. SHELLS. Iituites Cornu-arietis, Sow. The straight portion. Leptena tenuistriata, Sow., variety. Spirifer biforatus, Schlotheim, var. Orthis calligramma, Dalm. Abundant. , var. with numerous ribs. Orthis, broad species, very imperfect. Orbicula sp. oe ZOOPHYTES. Graptolithus Sedgwickii, Portlock. The aspect of this list is entirely Lower Silurian, and very much what might be found in the Llandeilo flags of Wales. The smooth Asaphi are only yet known in Lower Silurian rocks: and it is rather remarkable, as tending to connect this range of hills with the Lower Silurian rocks of Tyrone and Fermanagh, that they have only yet been described in Britain from those counties, and I do not know them elsewhere. The Graptolithus Sedgwick is also abundant in the same schists. Orthis calligramma swarms in the slates of Gal- way ; and species of I//enus and Cheirurus are abundant in Tyrone. Since these fossils were collected, a very interesting addition to the geology of the Lammermuir range has been made by Lord Selkirk in a collection of fossils from St. Mary’s Isle; they are m my opinion Upper Silurian :— Terebratula semisulcata, Leptena sarcinulata, Atrypa reticularis, Bellerophon trilobatus, Natica, Turritelle, Murchisonia, Avicula lineata, Orthonota cingulata, &c., Phacops caudatus, Beyrichia _ tuberculata, Graptolites Ludensis. These characteristic Upper Silu- rian fossils are accompanied by a Leptena sericea, and Orthoceras tenuicinctum of Portlock. On the whole they appear to be of the date of Wenlock shale.—J. W. Sater. In addition to these remarks of Mr. Salter only a few observations are necessary. Ist. The date of Lower Silurian, indicated by the fossils, would agree well with the high antiquity which, on wholly in- dependent grounds, I have assigned to this formation. At the same time, the number of species is so small, and the specimens so im- perfectly preserved, that we must still consider this identification as in some degree uncertain. On the whole, it is probably safer still to retain for these rocks the old name of Transition, or merely class them as Silurian, without attempting any more precise definition. This is the more necessary from the wide interval unoccupied by any deposits, which divides them from the next higher step in the geo-— logical series of formations. The red sandstone by which they are 1848.| NICOL ON THE SILURIAN ROCKS OF THE TWEED. 207 immediately succeeded cannot in this part of Scotland be separated, on physical grounds, from the carboniferous sandstones, which rest conformably upon it in unbroken succession. The greywacke, though a much older formation, may thus, from its mere position, belong to any of the great divisions of strata below the carboniferous,—to the Lower Devonian, or Upper Silurian, as well as to the Lower Silurian ; and though the probability is in favour of the latter, further evidence from fossils is still required. 2nd. The fossils collected by Lord Selkirk, from the vicinity of his residence at Kirkcudbright, occur on the other side of the ridge or chain of hills, from those found in Peeblesshire. For other reasons I have thought it probable that this is the more recent portion of the formation. Although the want of accurate physical maps, and the frequent interruptions and concealment of the strata, render it very difficult to trace their connection, yet many facts which I have observed indicate that strata, at least mimeralogically similar, have a very extended persistence in the line of their direction, or from E.N.E. to W.S.W. It is thus possible that the strata ranging along the opposite sides of the chain may represent different parts of the formation. In that case it is not improbable that the beds from which Lord Selkirk’s fossils were derived may be connected with, or underlie, certain greywacke beds in Liddesdale, also on the extreme south side of the formation, in which I have found numerous frag- ments of plants, not unlike the broken reeds and other imperfect vegetable remains seen on some carboniferous sandstones. The Wrae limestone would then range with certain limestones in Colmonel parish, which Mr. Moore informs me are also fossiliferous. 3rd. It should also be noticed, that the Peeblesshire graptolites (G. Sedgwicki) are found in a quarry at aconsiderable distance from the other fossils, or about twelve miles in a direct line, and on a parallel eight miles distant measured perpendicular to the strike of the beds. They lie more in the centre of the formation, and thus not improbably in a different part of the series. The graptolites, of different species however, found by Mr. Moore on Loch Ryan would also fall im an intermediate and corresponding position, so that we may again infer their connection. It is thus possible that we have already three leading divisions of these formations sketched out, or three geological horizons indicated, by which some order may at length be introduced into this hitherto confused mass of strata. As the rocks, however, form several large folds or convolutions, so that the same bed which in one place sinks down into the interior, may in the continuation of the .same transverse section rise again and again to the surface, all reasoning from the mere position of the beds must, in the present state of our knowledge, be very uncertain. It may evidently be mere portions of the same bed, formed at one time, but under diverse local conditions, in distant parts of the Silurian ocean, in which the various fossils have been found. The chief value, therefore, that I would in the meantime attach to these fossils, is as proofs that or- ganic remains do occur in these mountains, and thus as forming an encouragement to further researches, which may at length enable us 208 PROCEEDINGS OF THE GEOLOGICAL society. ([Jan. 5, to classify aright these Scottish rocks and assign them their true position in the great series of Paleozoic formations now so ably and fully wrought out in the sister kmgdom. In conclusion, I would thus sum up the series of geological events in this region, which are attested by existmg phenomena. At the earliest period of which any indication remains, this district was a portion of a deep sea, into which detritus of quartzose and argil- laceous rocks was conveyed, and spread out by currents probably from the north. In some parts of this ocean animals existed in con- siderable abundance,—graptolites and soft fleshy animals where mud prevailed ; encrinites, orthide and trilobites where more calcareous matter was to be found, and probably near the foci of igneous action. After a thick mass of strata had been deposited some power has pressed these beds together to huge longitudinal folds, and raising them above the sea put a stop to the succession of deposits. At the same time it would appear that the ves of felspar porphyry were in- jected among these beds, hardening the whole mass and more highly modifying particular portions. By means of aqueous agents the formation was then cut into a system of hills and valleys, the eroding action of course being directed chiefly along the lines of fracture caused by the elevation of the mass. A depression of the land must next have taken place when the sea flowed up the valleys and de- posited the red sandstone strata in them and around the shores of the greywacke islands. Durmg the whole of the old red sandstone and carboniferous periods, but slight physical changes seem to have occurred in this portion of Scotland. At the close of the latter, however, there has been a great eruption of igneous rocks, forming the chains of the Pentlands on the north, and the Chevicts on the south. Itis evident from the relation of the porphyries forming these mountains to the red sandstone, that they are more recent than this deposit. The augitic trap rocks scattered throughout the secondary formations in the Lothians on the north, and Roxburgh and Berwickshire on the south, seem of still more recent date than the porphyries, and probably were conjomed with an elevation of the land, which brought the whole of the secondary deposits in the south of Scotland to a close. No trace of any of the recent secondary formations or of any of the earlier tertiary deposits has certainly been observed in this tract of country. Its geological history is almost an entire blank till the diluvial epoch, when there is evidence that the whole district, even to the summits of the highest mountains, 2000 feet above the sea, has again been under water. But neither this im- mersion of the land in the ocean, nor its subsequent elevation, appear to have been connected with any important change in its general character or physical outline. The boulders of primary rocks from the Highlands, and of trap rocks from the west coast, especially the very characteristic zeolitic traps of Dumbartonshire, which are by no means rare in the valley of the Tweed, together with the general distribution of the superficial deposits, prove that no great change in these respects can have taken place. Except the gradual erosion and denudation of the superior beds, which has in many places left 1848.] HAMILTON ON THE AGATE QUARRIES OF OBERSTEIN. 209 patches of the red sandstone, lying far from the general mass of this rock, proving that it has at one time covered up the mass of the greywacke to a considerably greater extent, no intermediate geologi- cal event can be shown to have occurred. This circumstance leaves the period of the last depression of the land, and the deposition of the diluvium upon it, in a great measure undecided. JANUARY 19, 1848. The following communication was read :— On the Agate Quarries of OBERSTEIN. By W. J. Hamiuton, Ksq., Sec. G.S. In the autumn of 1844 I visited the agate quarries of Oberstein, and as I believe that no notice of them has been yet offered to the Geo- logical Society, I trust that the followmg observations, however slight, will not be altogether uninteresting. Indeed it is rather surprising, considering the interest attached to the origin and formation of agates and of other siliceous nodular deposits, and the different views which have been advanced on the subject, and knowing as we do that these quarries have been visited from time to time by some of our most eminent geologists, that no account whatever has yet been given of this locality in any of the publications of the Society. I allude more particularly to some remarks and opinions contained in a paper by Mr. Bowerbank, read before the Society on the 19th of May, 1841*, in which he states that he has discovered the exist- ence of remains of sponges in moss-agates from Oberstein, and from which he seems to infer that all agates, as well as chalk-flints and greensand cherts, have originated from sponges and other similar organic bodies. Without stopping however to inquire whether the substances which Mr. Bowerbank calls moss-agates are in any degree essentially different from the agates and other siliceous substances which I found at Oberstem and in the neighbourhood, I shall endea- vour to show in the following remarks that the rocks in which the real agates of Oberstein are found are igneous rocks, and that the im- bedded masses owe their origin to causes which, to all appearance, preclude the possibility of their contaming any remains of organic bodies. The little village of Oberstein is situated about thirty miles from Kreuznach, up the valléy of the Nahe, in a nearly west-by-north direction from the latter place, on the road from Bingen to Saar- bruck. Here is the junction of the coarse red conglomerate beds, which form the basis of the sedimentary formations of this district, with the underlying green amygdaloidal trap rocks. This conglome- rate may be traced several miles down the valley, overlying and lap- ping round the various protruding masses of trap and porphyry ; the imbedded pebbles appeared to consist exclusively of quartz rock, grits, greywacke and porphyries of various kinds. * Proceedings of the Geological Society, vol. iii. p. 431. VOL. IV.— PART I. R 210 PROCEEDINGS OF THE GEOLOGICAL society. [Jan. 19, Near the small town of Kirn, between Obersteim and Kreuznach, coal is found, but of a very inferior and clayey quality. I had no opportunity of visiting the works, or of ascertaiming its position with regard to the conglomerate of Oberstem and the New Red or Bunter Sandstein lower down the valley; I am therefore unable to say whether this conglomerate is to be considered as forming the base of the Carboniferous, or of the New Red system; it is however suc- ceeded lower down the valley by overlying sandstones and blue shales, which, being broken through and overturned in various places, parti- cularly between Kirn and Martinstem, by numerous outbursts of porphyry, greenstone and other igneous rocks, extend into the great basm of Mayence, where between Kreuznach and Weinheim they form the base, still penetrated m numerous places by trap rocks and porphyries, of the overlying tertiary formation so abundant in organic remains, attributed to the miocene period. In the immediate vicinity of Oberstein, this conglomerate, which is cemented together by a hard red matrix, and dips at an angle of 30° to the S.E. or E.S.E., contains several veins of a kind of imper- fect agate or chalcedony, which were at first pomted out to me as the agate quarries (Achat Gruben) of Oberstein. These quarries occur low down in the series, near the junction of the conglomerate with the underlying amygdaloid, and are almost on a level with the bed of the river. This agate vem varies in thickness considerably, and runs in a nearly straight direction from N. toS. or N.N.E. to S.8.W.,; and with a dip of nearly 70° or 80° to the E. or E.S.E., and nearly at right angles with the dip of the strata. This siliceous substance, improperly called agate, bemg in fact a simple chalcedony, is of a honey-yellow colour, sometimes approaching slightly to red; the vem occasionally separates so as completely to envelope the pebbles of the conglomerate; im other places it spreads out into large irregular masses, and sometimes passes through the pebbles and the red matrix together, thus proving that it must have been deposited subsequently to the consolidation of the conglomerate rock, or Flotz-Gebirge as it is here called; this however can hardly be seen in the hand-speci- mens which I obtained. In one portion the vem becomes nearly black or bluish grey, and is then apparently more compact. Some specimens occur showing how the original fissure in the conglomerate rock was filled up by the deposition of a thin coating of siliceous matter on each side or wall, leaving a space in the centre where the mamuillated surface of the chalcedony is well-exposed. This stone, when submitted to the artificial processes which I shall presently allude to, and which the agate-workers have learned to apply to these substances from the Italian purchasers and artists who had long possessed the secret, assumes the deep red colour of corne- lian. The quantity of it which is obtained is not very abundant, nor are the pits very extensively worked. But:these are not the real euarries where the celebrated Oberueat agates are obtained. These beautiful stones come from the hills in the neighbourhood of Idal, about two miles distant from Oberstein, along the road to Saarbruck. The polishing-mills also are at Idal, 1848.] HAMILTON ON THE AGATE QUARRIES OF OBERSTEIN. 211 and this place must be considered as the real centre of the agate trade. Before however describing the quarries themselves, I must briefly describe the geological character of the intervening country. All traces of stratified or sedimentary deposits cease with the conglome- rate which overlies the amygdaloidal rocks of Oberstem. ‘This rock here forms lofty cliffs, and has, at first sight, a generally greenish hue: it contains numerous small vesicular cavities filled with zeo- lites, carbonate of lime and other crystalline substances, as well as siliceous deposits. The matrix of the rock, however, is very com- pact, rather porphyritic, and of a dark brown or chocolate colour, and when exposed to the weathering and atmospheric influences by which the contents of the numerous small cavities have been decom- posed, assumes the appearance of a brown vesicular trap rock. The green hue is derived from the exposed surfaces of the imbedded substances. The real agates are not usually found in this amyg- daloid ; looking at it from a distance there is a faint appearance of general stratification parallel to that of the overlymg conglomerate, though on a nearer approach nothing of the kind is visible in the rock itself. Leaving the town of Oberstein, and proceeding westwards up the valley, the same greenish-brown amygdaloidal trap continues for some distance, but in places becomes more porphyritic or hornstone- like, and is studded with small agates and chalcedonic pebbles or nodules, which appear sometimes to run in lines not unlike flints in the chalk formation, though the nodules are generally at a greater distance from each other. Proceeding further up the valley, these porphyritie and amygda- loidal rocks are underlaid by others of a more compact and more decidedly igneous character; they are, first, a pale reddish por- phyry, very close-grained and compact, with small grains of a white opake substance, or of a transparent. siliceous appearance, im- bedded im a pale red paste; secondly, a brown, chocolate-coloured, compact, homogeneous rock, resembling hornstone in its fracture ; while, thirdly, still further to the N.W. or W., these rocks are suc- Quarries. Agate Oberstein — Nahe Valley. — OOO Oe _- — ees | y) eS VY d e W.N.W. E.S.E. N.N.W. S.S.E. W.N.W. E.S.E. a. Red conglomerate. d. Greenstone. 6. Green amygdaloid. e. Trap rock with agate nodules. e. Porphyry. ceeded by a highly crystalline greenstone. The precise points of junction between these different rocks are much obscured by the fallen detritus of the hills, and could not be clearly made out during my hasty examination, but the greenstone occurring near the middle of the valley, and the furthest removed from the point from which R 2 212 PROCEEDINGS OF THE GEOLOGICAL SOCIETY. (Jan. 19, the red conglomerate beds dipped, was the lowest of these igneous rocks, and therefore probably constituted the nucleus of the vol- canic action of this portion of the district. About a mile further to the N.W., after crossing the valley in a diagonal direction, is the little village of Idal, immediately beyond which the hill rises gradually to the W. and N.W. It is in the upper portion of these hills that the principal agate quarries are found. Near the summit is an escarpment fifty feet in height, facmg the W.N.W. The formation of which the hill consists is a greenish-brown trap rock, with a slight appearance of irregular stratification in that portion of it which contains the agates, dipping, if it can be so called, at a very slight angle to the E.S.EK., viz. towards Idal. It here consists of two varieties alternating with each other in beds varymg from two to four or five feet in thickness, and it is, in fact, this alter- nation which gives the appearance of real stratification. One of these varieties is much softer than the other, and of a more amyg- daloidal character. It contains numerous irregularly-compressed, almond-shaped nodules, varying in size from an inch to a foot in length, most if not all of which, on being broken, prove to be chal- cedony or agates. It is worthy of observation, that the length of the nodules corresponds with the inclination of the bed, and that their direction is always parallel, thus suggesting the idea that the lengthening-out of the cavities has been owing to pressure while the mass was still in a viscous state. The other stratum is of a much harder nature, more compact, and with a more decided cleavage ; this however is very irregular, and resembles what may be called wedge-shaped cleavage. The colour, too, is generally browner than that of the former, showing a certain degree of yellow ochreous oxydation on the exposed surfaces, but its most remarkable feature is the total absence of all amygdaloidal cha- racter ; it contains no nodules whatever, neither agates nor con- eretions of siliceous or other matter. | The quarries themselves are opened in the escarpment above- mentioned, and penetrate some distance into the rock, keeping as much as possible in the softer beds containmg the nodules, and therefore descending slightly with the imclination of the mass. In some of these quarries, where however no work was then going on, I observed several alternations of the two varieties of trap formation which I have just described, but could not distinguish any marked — line or separation between them, and they seemed to pass gradually into each other. 1 was unable to arrive at any satisfactory explana- tion of this difference of appearance. The igneous character of the rock is too apparent to allow us to conclude that this is real strati- fication, and the complete union of the beds precludes the idea of their being different coulées successively poured forth over each other. Even supposing them to be altered metamorphic rocks, the fusion which they have undergone has been so complete as to have entirely destroyed all trace of stratification, and to have reduced the whole mass to one homogeneous paste. Yet how came this remark- able alternation? It may be owing to some chemical or perhaps 1848.] HAMILTON ON THE AGATE QUARRIES OF OBERSTEIN. 213 electrical causes, by which the siliceous particles have in the softer beds been segregated from the mass and collected together in the vesicular hollows, thus forming the agate nodules, while in the other and harder beds these siliceous particles remained disseminated throughout the whole mass, thus giving them a greater degree of hardness and uniformity. The agate nodules themselves vary much in character, colour and substance; the smaller ones are generally completely solid, the whole cavity being filled up with the compact chalcedonic mass, ge- nerally of an uniform pale ash-grey colour ; those of a larger size are more frequently veined with layers or bands of different colours, and are invariably hollow, the outer circumference consisting generally of the same pale grey chalcedony as in the smaller nodules, varying more or less in the coloured bands, which however are not always at once perceptible ; this outer portion varies in thickness from a quarter of an inch to about an inch and a haif; the interior is gene- rally lined either with botryoidal mammillations, or with imperfect quartz crystals, which sometimes assume a bright amethystine colour. It is only the outer or compact portion of the nodule which forms the real agate, the rest being of too brittle a nature to bear polishing, unless when occasionally perfect crystals are found. Some portions of these chalcedonic agates, which have undergone a slight degree of decomposition from the effects of exposure to the weather, show the original mammillated structure of the successively-formed. bands or layers, superimposed on one another in an inverted or contrary order to that in which they were formed. The great proportion of these agate nodules are however unfit for any purposes of trade, in consequence of the thinness of the outer portion. One remarkable feature of these agate nodules, and which marks an important difference between this rock and the usual class of amyg- daloidal traps, including even the neighbouring rocks of Oberstein, is, that in most cases, and particularly when the nodules are of any con- siderable size, they are found to be compressed, flattened out, and as it were elongated. This peculiarity is important when we come to consider the origin and formation of the agates, inasmuch as, in connexion with the large size which some of. them attam, it would seem to preclude the idea of the siliceous particles having been de- posited in pre-existing vesicular cavities caused by the expansive power of gases during the consolidation of the igneous rock, in the same manner as the cavities found in some kinds of vesicular basalts and trap rocks are filled up: are we not rather led to the conclusion, that the hollows in which the agates are now found were caused by the molecular aggregation of the siliceous particles compelling the surrounding matter to yield in proportion to the mtensity of the attraction of these homogeneous particles ? On the other hand, the still existing hollows in some nodules, and the concentric nature of the bands of siliceous matter which lines the surface of these cavities, bearing such evidence of the deposition of the outer prior to that of the inner layers, prove that at the very period when the deposits were first commenced, the cavities had generally assumed the form and shape which they now retain. Perhaps how- 214 PROCEEDINGS OF THE GEOLOGICAL SOCIETY. [Jan. 19, ever the wavy and broken lies which these concentric bands often display, assuming almost the contortions seen in the old altered rocks, may be the evidence that these vesicular hollows did undergo very considerable alterations of form, bemg sometimes contracted in one direction, or expanded in another, after the deposition of the first laminze, and during the gradual formation of the nodule itself and the deposition of the inner layers. | The alternation to which I have already alluded, of the soft beds containing the agates with the harder compact beds in which no such cellular cavities exist, would seem to point to some important change having taken place subsequently to the consolidation of the beds, and may perhaps tend to the confirmation of the idea that these cavities, if formed during the cooling of the beds, must have been altered in their shape by pressure either previously to the deposit of the chalcedonic matter, or during its gradual formation. The solution of this difficulty, and of the apparent contradiction which it involves, is well-deserving the attention of geologists, and I am happy in being able to state that Professor Neeggerath of Bonn is now particularly directing his attention to the full examination of all the pheenomena connected with the agates of Oberstein. I have already alluded to the fact of the agate-workers of Ober- stem having learnt from Italian artists the means of artificially changing the colour of the agates. In some cases the ash-grey layers of the agates of Idal become, under this treatment, of a dark brown or chocolate colour, and in a few fortunate imstances where the arrange- ment of the strata is appropriate, and the different bands are suffi- ciently strongly contrasted, the effect of the treatment is to produce alternate black and white, or brown and white layers, resembling the onyx, and even sardonyx. In fact, it appears probable that all the onyxes of the present day are the result of this treatment, and there is good reason to believe that not a few of those which have come down to us from ancient times were produced in the same way. In confirmation of this view I must refer to an interesting paper by Professor Neeggerath, published in the ‘ Neues Jahrbuch,’ No. 4, for 1847, entitled, “The art of colourmg Onyxes, Cornelians, Chalcedonies and other similar stones, in explanation of a passage in Pliny.” It is here stated that the present mode of colourmg agates, and thereby producing very beautiful onyxes, is an art which has been long known to the lapidaries of Italy, but the knowledge of which has only been introduced into Oberstei within a few years. This agrees with the information which I myself received at Idal. The process is de- scribed as follows :—The stones being first well-washed, are placed in honey and water in a clean earthen vessel ; this is set in the ashes, or on a warm stone, but must not be allowed to boil, and the agates must be kept always covered by the fluid for a fortnight or three weeks. When taken out they are cleaned and placed in another vessel in sul- phuric acid, by which they must also be completely covered. This vessel should be covered over with a slate and also placed amongst hot ashes. Some of the softer and more porous stones or layers are coloured in a few hours, others require several days, while some are not at all affected by the sulphuric acid. 1848.] HAMILTON ON THE AGATE QUARRIES OF OBERSTEIN. 215 _ This account nearly corresponds with that which I had already received from Signor Pistrucci, the engraver to the Mint, and one of the most celebrated engravers of cameos and precious stones of the present day ; the only difference in the process consisting in the sub- stitution, according to Signor Pistrucci, of olive oil for honey, and that the immersion did not last so long. ‘This remarkable property of the agate appears to be owing to the different degrees of porosity of the different layers of the stone, whereby they are liable to be penetrated by colouring fluids in different degrees, the sulphuric acid carbonizing the vegetable matter already absorbed by the stone. There is only one further pomt respecting these Oberstein agates to which I wish to call the attention of the Society. The change of colour being owing to the porosity of the different layers, it is stated by Prof. Noeggerath that some species of chalcedony are found to be so porous that the minute hollows by which the stone is penetrated can be seen by means of a magnifying-glass ; they appear like bubbles either round or long, occasionally indeed being drawn out to a con- siderable length as compared with their breadth, and sometimes run- ning into one another, or as it were anastomosing. In general, how- _ ever, these hollows are so extremely minute that they are only visible with microscopes of very high power. The real fact is, that under a very powerful microscope, those agates which are generally supposed to be of an amorphous uncrystalline structure, do exhibit a series of concentric rings parallel with the outer circumference, each of which is composed of a congeries of minute radiating fibres at right angles to the rings or bands of colour, the incipient germs of crystallization invisible to the naked eye, and resembling what the Germans appro- priately call faserig, such as we see in fibrous gypsum and in stalac- tites. It is no doubt through this fibrous structure that the fluids penetrate by which the colour of these stones is artificially altered. The running together of the hollow cavities, described by Prof. Neeggerath, is evidently another phenomenon, and closely resembles the anastomosing process of the vascular structure, as described by Mr. Bowerbank in the paper above quoted, where he also describes other specimens from Oberstein without any anastomosing appear- ances, but exhibiting numerous long and thread-like fibres representing the radiating appearance to which I have just alluded. Many too of the agates so examined under the microscope had no doubt been artifi- cially coloured, and thence may possibly have been derived the colour- ing matter described by Mr. Bowerbank, if indeed any colour can be fairly distinguished in an object examined with a power of 800 linear. In concluding these remarks, I do not wish to be understood as denying the possibility of flint stones and chert, or even the red cor- nelian veins from the conglomerate beds of Oberstein, containing re- mains of organic structure; but as I cannot agree with Mr. Bower- bank’s theory of attributing all flint stones and chert to a spongeous origin, | am bound to protest against its applicability im any degree to the agates of Oberstein. January 16, 1848. Since reading the above paper I have had an opportunity of ex- 216 PROCEEDINGS OF THE GEOLOGICAL SOCIETY. [Feb. 2, amining what are called the moss-agates of Oberstein through Mr. Bowerbank’s powerful microscopes, and am quite willing to admit that they unquestionably contain remains of spongeous structure. How far they are really found at Oberstein, or merely brought there to be polished, is another question. On the other hand, Mr. Bower- bank does not, I find, contend for the spongeous origin of those agates which are found in trap recks and amygdaloidal formations, but only of those which with chalk-flints and chert may be said to be of aque- ous origin. Thus the apparent discrepancy in our views is in a great measure mitigated and removed. February 1, 1848. Fesruary 2, 1848. James Hall, Esq., State Geologist for New York, was elected a Foreign Member of the Society. . The following communications were then read :— 1. On the Organic Remains found in the Skippaw Suate, with some Remarks on the Classification of the Older Rocks of Cum- BERLAND and WESTMORELAND, ec. By the Rev. Professor Sepewick, M.A., F.R.S. & G.S., &e. ALTHOUGH the successive groups into which the rocks of the Lake- mountains of the north of England may be conveniently divided has been the subject of repeated discussions during former meetings of the Society, I think it expedient in the first place (as far as pos- sible suppressing all details) to enumerate these groups im their natural ascending order :— § 1. Successive groups. 1. Granite of Skiddaw Forest. 3 2. Immediately over the granite, which is found in the centre of Skiddaw Forest, we have the group of Skiddaw slate, of very great but unknown thickness, and forming hills reaching the height of 3000 feet. , 3. The Skiddaw slate is overlaid conformably by the vast group composed of feldstone, feldstone porphyry, trappean breccias, trappean grits, trappean shales, &c., alternating indefinitely with quartzose, and more or less chloritic, roofing-slate, generally of a green colour. This group is more or less regularly bedded ; the trappean rocks, . whether erupted or recomposed, being all contemporaneous with the period of the slates, and not protruded at any after-epoch. The igneous rocks end (with a very limited exception) abruptly, and do not reappear, in a similar form, among the upper groups*. * The whole period is one of nearly continuous plutonic or volcanic action, and the most regularly bedded slates are interlaced indefinitely with recomposed plu- tonic and erupted matter. The same period of ancient volcanic action is marked 1848. | SEDGWICK ON THE SKIDDAW SLATE. 217 4. Over the preceding rocks, and in a conformable position, comes a group about 1500 feet thick, chiefly composed of slate and flagstone of a dark colour. All parts of this group are more or less calcareous, but the lowest beds contain so much calcareous matter as to pass into a limestone (Coniston limestone). 5. Next comes a group of coarse, hard, light-coloured grit and sandstone. It is of variable thickness, sometimes however much thicker than the preceding group ; and it is the commencement of a great physical changé im the nature and colour of the deposits. 6. The preceding group is followed by a complex deposit contain- ing many thin beds like those last described, but also containing large masses of roofing-slate and flagstone (Ireleth slate). It is of very great thickness, and in its lower division contains in some places a very thin band of impure concretionary limestone. 7. Over the preceding group (and separated from it by beds with a somewhat intermediate type) comes the complicated deposit, com- posed of sandstone, flagstone, &c., which is developed between the hills immediately north of Kendal and the valley of the Lune near Kirkby Lonsdale. In the upper part of this series are some greenish and reddish flagstones, which mineralogically resemble the tilestone of the Silurian system, and appear to occupy the same place in the series. 8. Old red conglomerate, containing here and there concretions of limestone, and occasionally rolled fragments of limestone derived from the older rocks (Coniston limestone, &c.). As a general rule, this deposit is perfectly unconformable to all the older rocks, fillmg up the inequalities and hollows on their outskirts in discontinuous masses, and generally at a comparatively low level, reminding us of the shingles of an ancient shore or shallow sea. 9. Carboniferous limestone, sometimes resting conformably on the upper beds of the red conglomerates ; and, where they are wanting, resting unconformably upon the older groups. In its long uncon- formable range it forms a belt about the Cumbrian cluster of moun- tains, so as to rest near Whitehaven on the Skiddaw slate, and near Kirkby Lonsdale upon the red beds of tilestone. Ideal section from Skiddaw Forest to the calcareous hills of Westmoreland. 1. Granite-centre of Skiddaw Forest. 2. Skiddaw slate; 2 a, metamorphic; 2 3, unchanged. = 3. Green roofing slate and porphyry, &c. 4, Coniston limestone ; 4 a, limestone ; 44, calcareous flagstone. . Coarse-grained siliceous grits. . Ireleth slates, &c. . Slaty flagstone ending in tilestone. Old red conglomerate. . Carboniferous limestone. OOnIan The accompanying section is so far ideal that it leaves out all con- tortions and dislocations ; but it gives the right sequence, and may by the vast deposits forming the oldest and highest ridges of North Wales. In Cumberland this group (No. 3) is, 1 think, not less than 20,000 or 30,000 feet in thickness. ; 218 PROCEEDINGS OF THE GEOLOGICAL SOCIETY. [Feb. 2, therefore assist the memory and help the reader in comprehending the facts here stated, and the inferences which seem to follow from them. § 2. Classification of the preceding groups, &c. I would first remark that all the preceding groups are true physical groups; and I may venture to affirm, that any one examining the region in detail would imevitably be led into some arrangement, at least, nearly resembling that given above, and without any reference to the consideration of organic remains. Good physical groups are the foundations of all geology; and are out of all comparison the most remarkable monuments of the past physical history of our globe, so far as it is made out in any separate physical region. Organic remains are, in the first instance, but accessories to the information conveyed by good sections. But when the successive groups of organic remains are once established, in coordination with actual sections, they then tell us of successive conditions of organic life, which were (as we know by experience, and might perhaps have conjecturally anticipated) of far wider geographical extent than the local physical movements which produced the successive groups of deposits. Hence it follows, that in comparimg remote deposits, organic remains become no longer the secondary but the primary terms of comparison. It was plain, at first sight, that the organic remains of the Coniston limestone were entirely different from those of © the highest group of the slate series (No. 7). This I saw in 1822. But what was their general place in the old British series? The rocks of Devonshire were considered by all geologists of that day of extreme antiquity, and were of much older aspect than the arenaceous slates and flagstones of Westmoreland ; but they contained a series of fossils with several species identical with those of the mountain lime- stone; whereas the fossils of Coniston and Kirkby Moor had not, so far as was known, one species common to the mountain limestone. Here was the first great difficulty which I encountered so far back as 1822, and which was not solved before 1838. After examining a por- tion of North Wales in 1831-1832, I felt all but certain that the great mass of slates and porphyries of Snowdonia were coeval with the green slates and porphyries of Cumberland (group No. 3) ; and this opinion I still retam. At that time my Cumberland and Westmoreland fossils were inaccessible: but on the best evidence I then possessed I ventured to conclude, that the green slate and porphyries were the equivalents of the Snowdonian series—that the Coniston limestone re- presented the Bala limestone-—that the contorted slates of South Wales were the equivalents of the Ireleth slates (group No. 6)—-lastly, that the highest group (No. 7) represented the Silurian system im an imper-, fect and degenerate form. So soon as I had unpacked my fossils in a subsequent year, I revoked this opinion. The Coniston limestone appeared not to represent the Bala limestone, but a higher group (Liansaintffraid limestone) ; and no traces of Lower Silurian species were found in the higher groups (Nos. 5, 6 and 7). Mr. D. Sharpe soon afterwards published (with many excellent and new details) a nearly similar classification. We now know the true coordination of > 1848. ] SEDGWICK ON THE SKIDDAW SLATE. 219 the groups above described, first taking the rocks of the Silurian system as our type. The lower part only of the group (No. 4), Coniston limestone and flagstone, contains true Lower Silurian species. All the higher parts of the section are, therefore, Upper Silurian till we touch on the red conglomerates. A re-arrangement on fossil evidence only disturbs one great physical group (No. 4) ; the others fall into strict zoological coordination. In lke manner the results derived from the Westmoreland section only disturb one of Sir R. I. Murchison’s groups ; by teaching us (what indeed would follow from fossil evidence) that the tilestone is to be regarded, not as a part of the old red sandstone, but as the top of the Upper Ludlow series. Surely if a conclusion like this proves the great value of fossil evidence, it also shows the great importance of defi- nite physical groups of deposits; one set of phenomena running in very near coordination with the other*. In further illustration of what is here stated, I may appeal to the recent labours of Mr. Prest- wich in determining the true comparison between the London and Hampshire tertiary basins. It is not by accumulating descriptions of organic remains, or by elaborate sections, that he has worked out his evidence ; but it is by taking and weighing together both species of evidence that he has produced a beautiful coordination between the distant parts of our contemporaneous tertiary deposits. Taking for granted what has been above stated, viz. that the Coniston limestone and a part of the overlying flagstone represent the Lower Silurian rocks, and that a portion of (No. 4) and all the other overlying groups do in order represent on a noble scale the whole Upper Silurian system,—what are we to say of the green slates and porphyries ? and what of the Skiddaw slate ? I have before stated my conviction that the great group (No. 3) was the true equivalent of the great Cambrian group (or groups) of North Wales, forming the higher mountains of Carnarvonshire and Merionethshire. But the great Welsh group contains fossils almost to its base, though in the lower part of it they become very rare. The great Cumberland group has not yet been proved to contain a single fossil. This I have endeavoured to explain by referring the negative fact to the enormous masses of contemporaneous igneous products (either direct or recomposed) which have either destroyed the traces of organic life, or prevented the development of organized bodies during the long period of the older Cumbrian slates. Here, then, was an imperfection in the generalization. It was formed partly on hypothesis, and partly on physical development and geo- logical position ; but not on positive identity of fossils. But the Skiddaw slate is not metamorphic, (except in its lower part, which is highly metamorphic, and which I do not profess to describe in this paper,) and contains many arenaceous and earthy beds, in which we might expect to find traces of fossils, had such existed during the period of deposit. I have stated in former papers, that I found no * Tf our classification had been based on the Westmoreland sections, I think No. 5 would have been regarded as the commencement of the Upper Silurian series. 220 PROCEEDINGS OF THE GEOLOGICAL SOCIETY. [Feb. 2, 4 traces of organic remains in this group which I could quote with any confidence ; but I did (during 1822, when I was first employed on this eroup) find several traces of carbon, which have often suggested the idea that they must have been derived from some obscure forms of vegetable life, such as fucoids. In some letters on the Lake district, written about six year’s since, I mentioned the plumbago found among the slags of our iron-fur- naces, and also on the sides of trap dykes traversing the coal strata. Of such appearances, I added, that we could give an intelligible ac- count; and though I did not venture to account for the sublimation of the carbon found im the plumbago mines of Borrowdale, I suggested the possibility of its bemg derived from the Skiddaw slate, which I believed to contain, here and there, a small proportion of carbon. I mention this to show that the idea of vegetable matter existing durmg the period of the Skiddaw slate was not a new thought. Durimg the last summer my own engagements prevented me from undertaking the re-examination of the Skiddaw slate ; but I examined my old note-book of 1822, and gave a line of march to Mr. John Ruthven of Kendal, requesting him to examine all the most promising localities ; devoting his best efforts to the detection of any traces of organic life, vegetable or animal, however obscure. The result of his labours, continued with untired zeal for several weeks, was the discovery of two species of graptolites and two genera of fucoids in the Skiddaw slate. The accompanying catalogue by Mr. M‘Coy contains a description of the species, which are now on the table of the Society, with a reference to the localities, and is intended to form an appendix to this paper*. No fossil shells and no other undoubted organic structures were found in the Skiddaw slate; and it deserves remark, that in the greater part of this slate the beds do not effervesce with acids. By this test we can generally separate the Skiddaw slate from the dark- coloured slates of the groups above the Coniston limestone ; a fact first noticed nearly thirty years since by Mr. J. Otley of Keswick, but in no connexion with any speculation on the absence or presence of fossil shells. Here then we have taken away a part of the difficulty, already alluded to, in the comparative arrangement of the older rocks of Wales and Cumberland. The great slate and porphyry group (No. 3), so far as we know, does not contain fossils; but it does contain much calcareous matter, and it does overlie a group with fossils. It is therefore not only possible, but highly probable, that under conditions more favourable to the development of organic life, other contemporaneous deposits (such as the older Cambrian slates) may exist with abundance of fossils. Hence, though the comparison between the older groups of Wales and Cumberland is not yet per- * The fossils are rather obscure, but of their organic nature there can be no doubt. Some of them were first considered as Annelides: but the grapto- lites, are well defined. So far as regards my immediate object, the specific character of the fossils is a matter of indifference—my main object being at present only to show that the Skiddaw slate is not below the limits of organic life; and, hence, that the great group, No. 3, must belong to an organic period. eo 1848.] _ SEDGWICK ON THE SKIDDAW SLATE. 221 fect, it is more nearly perfect than it was before the discovery of organic remains in the Skiddaw slate. I will not detain the Society with any account of a second excursion also made by Mr. J. Ruthven, under my direction, during which he found graptolites and other traces of fossils in localities where I should hardly have expected them. During this excursion he examined the lower arenaceous and slaty beds as they descended into the metamor- phic group. In these he found no fossils of any species, though among the arenaceous beds impressions of encrinites and shells might have been preserved, had such ever existed. § 3. Concluding Remarks.—Nomenclature, §c. 1. I believe that the fossils above described belong to the oldest fossil group of the British Isles; nor does it appear that any older fossil group has been found in America, Norway, or any other country yet examined. 2. Does this group mark the descending limit of organic life? My belief is that it does nearly mark the limit. This is no new opinion, as I have often stated my conviction that the traces of organic life disappear in the descending sections, independently of their oblitera- tion from metamorphic action or mineral change. ‘This may be called an hypothesis, and I am willing that it should pass as such, and that it should be withdrawn when it is disproved. But what is the Huttonian view (viz that there is no descending limit of organic life) but another form of hypothesis? Moreover it is an hypothesis not suggested by fact, but by some supposed analogy between geo- logical and astronomical cycles. And again, this hypothesis appears to me opposed to physical evidence derived from considerations of temperature and of the figure of the earth. 3. The base of the Cumberland series is more perfect and symme- trical than that of Wales, which has no zoological or physical true base-line. On a review of the whole case, I conclude that the Lingula beds (and those beds below them near the Merioneth anticlinal) are all above the greater part of the Skiddaw slate. 4. By what names shall we define the great groups above noticed ? The Skiddaw group cannot be correctly coloured as one with the overlying slate and porphyry group, and lose its name. Physical development opposes this view, and organic remains do not confirm it. But it is a matter perhaps of indifference by what name (such as Skiddaw group, Taconic group, protozoic group) we may hereafter please to designate it. 5. If we are to pay any regard to physical development, we can- not regard the vast group of slate and porphyry (No. 3) as only a portion of the group of Coniston (No. 4). It is the equivalent of the great Cambrian slate group, and is out of comparison the most remark- able physical group in the British Isles; and I will venture to assert that no man can describe the older rocks of South Britain without giving this group a prominent place. Its true name may be either the great Cumbrian or Cambrian slate group. 6. Allthe higher rocks (up to the old red conglomerates) are parts 222. PROCEEDINGS OF THE GEOLOGICAL sociEeTy. [Feb. 2, of the Silurian system, in the true original sense of that term. I have already shown their beautiful coordination to the true Silurian sequence, viz. Caradoc, Wenlock, Lower and Upper Ludlow, ending in Tilestone. 7. But there may arise this question,—May not all the rocks, from the Skiddaw slate to the tilestone, be called the Silurian system? No doubt they may. But then arises another question,—Do all, or the greater part of the rocks below the Coniston limestone belong to the Silurian system, as the words were first used and as they now have currency? Are they the equivalents of any part of the Caradoc or Llandeilo series of that system? To such a question I can only give, as I have done before, a decided negative; and I believe that the assumed identification of beds in North Wales with the Caradoc and Llandeilo groups, because they contained certain fossils described in the Lower Silurian system, has led often to an entire misinterpreta- tion of the sections and the natural sequence presented by the physical groups. My objection to the extension of the term Silurian system to all the lower groups resolves itself into this proposition,—that no geographical name ought to be permanently accepted which does not refer us to a region contaiming a good typical series of the rocks so designated. Siluria does not contain a good series of the lowest fossil groups ; Cambria does. 8. To this remark a reply has been made consisting of two state- ments: first, that the lower Cambrian or Cumbrian groups are with- out peculiar fossils. This is not quite correct ; and supposing it true that every species below the Caradoc group was also found m that group, the fact would only prove that the Caradoc group ought not to have been cut off from the Cambrian series, and that so far the Silurian system was without any zoological base-lme. In no sense can it be truly stated that the great Cambrian group is sterile of fossils, and must therefore pass without a name. If it have very remarkable physical characters and a great series of fossils, it must have some designation as a group. We cannot, while describing, in the order of nature, an ascending series of groups, wait for their desig- nation till we reach some higher and much more inconsiderable group, and then give back by reflection a name to the groups of anterior date, and already described. The second statement, in opposition to the previous views, is to the following effect: that the older fossil- bearmg groups in the Cambrian slates are only the development downwards of the lower parts of the Silurian system. I can compre- hend a progressive development from an older formation to a newer, and I believe that the Caradoc sandstone group might correctly be considered as the last development of a vast series of slate rocks, of which the true base is probably to be sought in Cumberland, among the central slates of Skiddaw. But a development downwards is something out of nature, when we speak of geological deposits, and involves a positive solecism both of language and meaning. The application of these remarks to the classification and nomenclature of the older rocks of Wales and Cumberland is too obvious to require any further comment. Te. )- = s S To ae Se 1848. | SEDGWICK ON THE SKIDDAW SLATE. 223 Note on the Skiddaw Slate Fossils. The specimens, both of Fucoids and Graptolites, are as follows, together with the localities in which each is found :— Graptolites sagittarius (His. sp.), Scawgill; Knockmurton. Graptolites latus (M‘Coy), n. s., Scawgill; Knockmurton, near Lamplugh Cross. Chondrites informis (M‘Coy), n. s., Whiteless. Chondrites acutangulus (M‘Coy), n. s., Low Fell. Paleochorda minor (M‘Coy), n. s., Scawgill; Blakefell ; Under Crag; Whiteside; Whiteless. Paleochorda major (M‘Coy), n. s., Kirk Fell; Under Crag ; Whiteless. The new species marked above may be described as follows :— GRAPTOLITES LATUS (M‘Coy), n.s. Spec. Char.—Straight, one edge entire ; the other with small, close, conical, very slightly-arched crenulations, touching each other at their bases, and scarcely equalling in length half the width of the undivided portion of the stem, which is | line wide. Compared with the Graptolites sagittarius, G. Ludensis, G. Sedg- wickn, G. distans, and the other species with the serrations on one side, this is distinguished by the very great width of the smooth, undivided portion of the stem, and the comparatively small, close, little-curved, saw-like character of the serrations themselves. I had previously distinguished the species in the shale of Builth Bridge. CHONDRITES INFORMIS (M‘Coy), n. s. ad Spec. Char.—Frond thick, frequently and irregularly branching at short distances; branches short, irregularly elongate fusiform, lateral, unequal, about one-third less than the continuous straight ~ 224 PROCEEDINGS OF THE GEOLOGICAL SOCIETY. [Feb. 2, portion, and scarcely half the diameter of the frond before division : average diameter of fronds below a division 5 lines, but varying from 7 to 2. The above description, when taken in connexion with the geolo- gical position, will probably render this species easy of recognition. CHONDRITES ACUTANGULUS (M‘Coy), n.s. Spec. Char.—Frond irregularly undulato-rugose, cylindrical, rigid, several times dichotomous at a very acute angle (about 20°) ; diameter throughout, both before and after branching, 24 lines. In general habit and appearance this is more simple, rigid and rugose than the ordinary species of Chondrites, and, as well as the preceding species, is not unlike Miinsteria, but the surface is without lineation. The present species differs strongly from the Fucoides (Chondrites) rigida and F. (Ch.) flecuosa of the American Taconic slates, and the F’. (Chondrites) antiquus of the old Norwegian schists, by the length, rigidity and straightness of its branches, and the acuteness of the angle at which it dichotomises. Specimens 5 inches long show only two branchings, and are nearly uniform in diameter throughout. PaLzocHorpA (M‘Coy), new genus (raaatds, antiquus, and yxopdn, chorda). Gen. Char.—Frond very long, cylindrical, cord-like, very slowly tapering at each end ; surface smooth (? rarely dichotomous). That the many long, worm-like fossils to which I give this name really belong to the vegetable kingdom, I think cannot be reasonably doubted if we compare them with such sea-weeds as the common Chorda filum of our coasts. The naturalist who described the Nemertites for Sir Roderick Murchison’s work, does not seem to have thought of the cord-like sea-weeds just mentioned, or it is pos- sible he might have referred that genus also to the vegetable kingdom, a view which seems to be supported by a specimen identical with Nemertites in the Cambridge Museum, one end of which seems rooted to a small pebble in the slate. There is no reason for considering either the present fossils, or the closely-allied Gordia marina figured by Mr. Emmons from the Taconic rocks of North America, as belonging to the animal kingdom. In neither of them is there any trace of feet, cirri, or any other organs; nor even of annulations (although this latter character of worms might even be in some measure represented in a deceptive manner by the diaphragms of the recent plant to which I have alluded). The specimens were no doubt at one time cylindrical, but are now more or less compressed. There seem to be two species, distinguished by their difference of diameter and rigidity, as shown in the com- plexity of their folds. 1848.] MANTELL ON FOSSIL REMAINS FROM NEW ZEALAND. 225 PALZOCHORDA MINOR (M‘Coy), n.s. Spec. Char.—Diameter of subcompressed fronds 1 line; length un- known (no perceptible change of diameter in 13 inches), generally coiled in numerous, complex folds. It is in a fragment apparently of this species that I think I have observed dichotomy, but neither the fact nor the identity of the species can in this instance be clearly ascertained. This is a much more abundant species than the following, from which it is constantly distinguished by its much smaller diameter, the greater complexity of its folds, indicating a less rigid frond; there is also a slight sub- nodulous irregularity of the frond, which we do not see in the other species. PaLZOcHORDA MAJOR (M‘Coy), n.s. Spec. Char.—Diameter of subcompressed fronds 2 lines ; length un- known (no perceptible change of diameter in a length of 9 inches), generally coiled in a few large simple folds. 2. On the Fossil Remains of Birds coliected in various parts of New Zeatann dy Mr. Water MANTELL, 0f WELLINGTON. By Gipron ALGERNON MAnTELL, Esq., LL.D., F.R.S., Vice- President of the Geological Society. Ir is not a little remarkable that one of the most interesting palzeon- tological discoveries of our times, namely the former existence of a race of colossal Ostrich-like birds in the islands of New Zealand, though made ma British colony, and announced to the scientific world by an eminent British physiologist, has not hitherto been brought under the immediate notice of the Geological Society of London. I therefore consider myself particularly fortunate in having the opportunity, through the researches of my eldest son, Mr. Walter Mantell, of submitting for the examination of the Fellows of this Society, perhaps the most extraordinary collection of the fossil remains of struthious birds that has ever been transmitted to Europe, and which contains the crania and mandibles, egg-shells, and bones, of several genera and species, most, if not all of which have probably long been extinct. The first relic of this kind was made known to European natural- ists by Professor Owen, in 1839. It consisted of the shaft of a femur or thigh-bone, but a few inches long, and with both its extremities wanting ; and this fragment so much resembled in its general appear- ance the marrow-bone of an ox, as actually to have been regarded as such by more than one eminent naturalist of this metropolis. And if I were required to select from the numerous and important inductions of palzeontology, the one which of all others presents the most striking and triumphant instance of the sagacious application of the principles of the correlation of organic structure enunciated by the illustrious Cuvier,—the one that may be regarded as the VOL. IV.—PART I. s 226 PROCEEDINGS OF THE GEOLOGICAL SOCIETY. [Feb. 2, experimentum crucis of the Cuvierian philosophy,—I would unhesi- tatingly adduce the interpretation of this fragment of bone. I know not among all the marvels which paleontology has revealed to us, a more brilliant example of successful philosophical induction—the felicitous prediction of genius enlightened by profound scientific knowledge. The specimen was put into Professor Owen’s hands for examina- tion, with the statement “that it was found in New Zealand, where the natives have a tradition that it belonged to a bird of the Eagle kind which had become extinct, and to which they gave the name of Movie; and from this mere fragment, and with this meagre history, the Hunterian professor arrived at the conclusion, “that there existed, and perhaps still exists in those distant islands, a race of struthious birds of larger and more colossal stature than the Ostrich or any other known species.”” This inference was based on the peculiar character of the cancellated structure of the bone, which differs from that of mammalia, and most closely resembles that of the Ostrich. And so confident was Professor Owen of the sound- ness of his inductions, that he boldly added, “so far as my skill in interpreting an osseous fragment may be credited, I am willing to risk the reputation for it on this statement; and he further re- marks, ‘‘'The discovery of a relic of a large struthious bird in New Zealand is one of peculiar interest, on account of the remarkable character of the existing fauna of those islands, which still includes one of the most extraordinary and anomalous genera of the struthious order, the Apteryx; and because of the close analogy which the event indicated by the present relic offers to the extinction of the Dodo of the island of the Mauritius. So far as a judgement can be formed of a single fragment, it seems probable that the colossal bird of New Zealand, if it prove to be extinct, presented proportions more nearly resembling those of the Dodo, than of any of the existing Strutiionide.” In 1843 the correctness of these views was con- firmed in every essential particular by a large collection of bones obtained by the Rev. W. Williams and transmitted to the Dean of Westminster; and still further corroborated by another interesting series brought to England in 1846 by Percy Earl, Esq.; and by the collection which forms the immediate subject of this communication. My eldest son, who went to New Zealand in 1839, and settled at Wellington, in one of his earliest letters to me after his arrival, men- tioned that a tradition was prevalent among the Maories or natives, that gigantic birds, taller than a man, were formerly abundant throughout the islands; and that some of the oldest of the natives averred that they had seen such birds; and that although much re- duced in numbers, some of the race still existed in the unfrequented and inaccessible parts of the country. They called these birds Moa, and affirmed in proof of their statement, that enormous bones were occasionally met with in the mud and silt of the streams and rivers ; but my son was unable te obtain any of the bones in question. Upon learning from me of the discovery of the bone described by Professor Owen, he endeavoured to obtain further information on —— ae ee ee ee ee ee 1848.] MANTELL ON FOSSIL REMAINS FROM NEW ZEALAND. 227 this interesting subject ; but until 1846, when he resigned an official situation, he was unable to follow up his mquiries with success. In the meanwhile the collections of the Rev. W. Williams, Mr. Percy Earl, and of other gentlemen, had furnished the materials from which Professor Owen drew up his two celebrated memoirs on the Dinornis, an extinct genus of tridactyle Struthious Birds, which were pub- lished in the third volume of the Transactions of the Zoological So- ciety. in 1846, and the commencement of 1847, my son explored every known locality of these relics in the North Island within his reach, and went into the interior of the country and located with the natives, for the purpose of collecting specimens of the then unknown parts of the skeletons, and of ascertaining whether any of these gigantic birds were still in existence; resolving, if there appeared to be even a re- mote chance of this being the case, to penetrate farther into the interior and obtain one alive. The information he gathered’ from the natives offered no encouragement to follow up the pursuit, at least in that part of the country, but tended to confirm the idea that the gigantic struthious birds had become extinct, the last of the race having, like the Dodo, been destroyed by man within a comparatively recent period ; and that if any of the species whose bones are found in a fossil state are still living, it is probable they will be those of small size, and related to the Apteryz, the living diminutive repre- sentative of the colossal bipeds that once trod the soil of New Zea- land. With these introductory remarks, which appeared to me necessary to place the history of the discovery in a clear point of view, I pro- pose, first, to notice the geological conditions under which these fossil bones appear to have been accumulated ; secondly, to describe in general terms the most remarkable features of the collection before us ; and lastly, to offer some observations on the bearing of these facts on that difficult problem, that ‘‘ mystery of mysteries,’ as it has been emphatically termed by Sir John Herschel, the appearance and extinction of certam types of organic beings on the surface of the lobe.. i I. Geological position of the deposits in which the bones occur.—In attempting to arrive at a correct knowledge of the relative geological age of the deposit in which the bones sent to this country were found imbedded, I have experienced considerable difficulty, in consequence of the unsettled state of the orthography of the various localities, and also from the indefinite manner in which the collectors describe the places whence they obtamed the specimens. Unfortunately the letter from my son containing details of this nature, and to which in his subsequent correspondence he refers me for the necessary information, has not reached me. I endeavoured to mark on a map of New Zealand all the localities whence bones had been obtained, but several places mentioned by the collectors are not inserted. I will therefore briefly state the circumstances under which the bones are described as occurring by the gentlemen who have transmitted them to this country. s 2 228 PROCEEDINGS OF THE GEOLOGICAL SOCIETY. [Feb. 2, The Rev. W. Williams, in his letter of Feb. 1842, states, “that none of the bones have been found on dry land, but are all of them from the beds and banks of freshwater rivers, buried only a little distance in the mud. The largest number are from a small stream in Poverty Bay, the river Wairoa, and from many inconsiderable streams, all of which are in immediate connection with hills of some altitude.” A mutilated cranium, described by Professor Owen*, was obtamed by Mr. Williams from the bed of a mountain-stream descending to the coast at Poverty Bay in the North Island. Another, sent over by W. Swainson, Esq.+, is from the vicinity of the Bay of Islands. “Both of these have a ferruginous tint and great weight, arising from an infiltration of peroxide of iron; but the cancelli of the bone contain only a little of the dry powdery alluvium of the stream ito which the specimens have been washed {.”’ The Rev. W. Colenso, who in 1841-1842 accompanied Mr. Williams in search of the Moa, has given a very interesting account of the circumstances under which the bones were procured im the bed of the Waiapu river by the natives, by whom they were sought for to make fish-hooks§. He states, that travelling southward from Poverty Bay, he came within sight of Wakapunake, the mountain celebrated among the natives as the residence of the surviving Moas ; but no bones were obtained from thence. ‘‘The Maories affirmed that Moas lived there, but admitted that no one had seen any of these gigantic bipeds. The Moa’s bones were only to be found after the floods occasioned by heavy rains, when they were to be seen after the waters subsided, washed up on the banks of gravel and mud on the river-side ; but none were then to be procured. I offered large rewards for any that should be met with, and directed them to be taken to Mr. Williams in Poverty Bay. At the base of the moun- tain is the river Wangarao, which is a branch of the Wairoa, which runs into Hawke’s Bay; and down this we paddled for some distance, but perceived no bones. Finding that we were willing to pay largely for specimens, a hundred persons set about hunting for them, and brought those they collected to Mr. Williams.” Mr. Colenso states, that hitherto (in 1842) bones have only been found within the waters and channels of those rivers which discharge themselves into the southern ocean between the East Cape and the south head of Hawke’s Bay, on the east coast of the North Island. They only occur on the banks of gravel, &c. in the shallowest parts of the rivers after floods occasioned by heavy rains, and when the waters have subsided to their usual level.. “These rivers are in several-places at a considerable depth below the present surface of the soil, often possessing a great inclination, as is at once perceived by the rapidity of their currents. They have all a delta of greater or less extent at their mouths, from an mspec- tion of which it is obvious that their channels have considerably * Zool. Traus. vol. iil. p. 308, pl. 38. . + Ibid. + Prof. Owen in Zool. Trans. vol. iii:4). 308. § See Annals of Nat. Hist. vol. xiv. New Series, p. 81. in ; a ’ | 1848.] MANTELL ON FOSSIL REMAINS FROM NEW ZEALAND. 229 changed. The rocks and strata in these localities indicate generally both secondary and tertiary formations; the former consisting of argillaceous schist, sandstone, conglomerates, greensands, &c.; the latter of clay, marly calcareous tufa, sand, gravel, and alluvial de- posits.” ‘The true situation of the Moa bones is not known with certainty, but Mr. Colenso infers that they are found in the lower- most tertiary deposit. The localities mentioned by Mr. Colenso lie to the east of the volcanic chain of ‘Tongariro, and the rivers pro- bably have their origin on the flanks of that volcanic region. The collection formed by Dr. Mackellar was from the Middle Island, from a superficial turbary formation on the coast, which was submerged at high tide, and is near the settlement at Waikawaite. Mr. Perey Earl, who obtained his specimens from the same locality, mentions that this deposit, which is overflowed by the sea at high tides, had been covered by a layer of sand and shingle; but this covering had been swept away by storm-waves a short time before his arrival, and a bed of black peat was exposed, from the surface of which bones projected; these and other specimens were procured by digging close to the surface, or at a moderate depth in the peat ; they were all Dinornis’ bones *. The account given by the Rev. Mr. Taylor of Wanganui, a settle- ment on the western coast of the North Island, near the embouchure of the river of that name, lying to the south of Cape Egmont, as New Plymouth does to the north, is, in substance, as follows :— In 1843 he procured a collection of bones during a journey to Turakina (?), from having observed a fragment of' large bone, which induced him to mquire of the natives if such relics were to be met with. The Maories poimted out to him several little hillocks of bones, scattered here and there over the valley at the mouth of the river Whaingaihu (?) where the sand had drifted. Mr. Taylor de- scribes these heaps as being composed of bones of several kinds of Moa, as though the flesh of the birds had been eaten, and the bones thrown indiscriminately together. The bones were in so friable a state that only the large ones would bear removal; the smaller ones pulverized in the hand, and below the surface the whole was a mass of decomposed bone. ‘The subsoil was a loamy marl, beneath which was a stratum of clay that chiefly forms the cliffs of this part of the western coast ; it contains numerous marine shells, and closely resembles in appearance the galt of the south-east of England. I have no doubt it was when that loamy marl formed the surface-soil that the Moa lived; for although it is laid bare by the river-side, yet in other parts 2¢ 2s wholly covered by several strata of marine and freshwater deposits. Ihave found the bones of the Moa in this bed, not only in other parts of the western, but also in the eastern coast, at the Hast Cape, and at Poverty Bay. I have not heard of this deposit having been noticed north of Turakina (?) +.” All the specimens sent from the localities above-mentioned, with the exception of those from the South or Middle Island, are in the * Zool. Trans. vol. iii. tT See Prof. Owen’s Memoir on the Dinornis, Zool. Trans. vol. iii. p. 327, 230 PROCEEDINGS OF THE GEOLOGICAL SOCIETY. ([Feb. 2, state of the mammalian benes that occur im the ancient alluvial de- posits of England. They are permeated and coloured more or less deeply by a solution of iron, and the cancelli are filled by the mud or silt im which they were found imbedded. They are but little water-worn, and have not suffered much abrasion ; having, probably, been protected by the muscles and soft parts during their transport to the places where they were deposited. In short, their state of fossilization corroborates the accounts given of the nature of the alluvial bed from which they were procured; they strikingly re- semble in this respect the bones of the Irish Elk, Mammoth, &c. of our diluvium. But the bones collected by my son present a very different appear- ance from any previously received from New Zealand; instead of being of a dark colour, heavy, and permeated by silt and iron, they are, on the contrary, light and porous, and of a delicate fawn-colour ; the most fragile processes being entire, and the articulating surfaces as smooth and uninjured as if prepared by the anatomist: egg-shells, mandibles, even the bony rings of the air-tubes are preserved. In their general aspect these bones most resemble those from Gaylen- reuth and other ossiferous caverns. The state of preservation of these specimens is evidently due to the material in which they were imbedded, ‘which is a loose volcanic sand, containing magnetic iron, crystals of hornblende and augite, &c., the detritus of augitie rocks and earthy tuff. This sand has filled all the cavities and cancelli that have external openings, but is in no mstance consolidated or ageregated together; it is easily removed from the bones by shaking, or by a soft brush. A very few water-worn pebbles of volcanic rocks were the only extraneous bodies found in the sand: there are no vestiges of shells of mollusca of any kind; but there is in the collec- tion a small drca imbedded in a sandy clay, and an ammonite coated with pyrites, so like a specimen of 4. diplex from the Kimmeridge clay of England, as not to be distinguishable from a genuine British fossil. The name of Waingangoro, the locality which my son mentions as that where he dug up the greater part of his collection, does not appear in the maps of New Zealand I have mspected ; but from some incidental remarks in his letters, I have reason to infer that it is situated in the higher part of the valley of the Wanganui, a river which has its source in the volcanic regions of Mount Egmont. It was at the embouchure of the Wanganui that Mr. Taylor obtained the bones in his possession. It will be remembered that the streams which yielded the relics procured by Mr. Colenso and Mr. Williams, lie to the east of Tongariro, and probably originate in that elevated voleanic chain, many parts of which are above the line of perpetual snow. The specimens collected by my son were found imbedded in and filled with loose sand, at a considerable distanee from the bed of the river ; in no iustance do they exhibit any traces of silt or fluviatile mud. My son mentions having on one occasion obtained bones from a potato-pit sunk by a native remote from any stream*. * Wonders of Geology, 6th edition, p. 129. ~ . i a Ma ee ey me ee ee ee ee ey ee ee a ee 1848.]_MANTELL ON FOSSIL REMAINS FROM NEW ZEALAND. 231 With the view of elucidating these remarks, and the inferences I shall presently venture to suggest, I will here concisely describe the geological structure of New Zealand, on the authority of Dr. Dieffen- bach. This country, which is situated between 30 and 50 degrees of south latitude, forms a group of mountainous islands nearly as large as England and Wales. Its geological structure is with difficulty de- termined, owing to the primeeval forests which frmge the coast ; and where these have been destroyed, by impenetrable thickets of escu- lent fern. The fundamental rock is everywhere clay-slate, which is frequently traversed by greenstone dykes, as at Port Nicholson, Queen Charlotte’s Sound, and Cloudy Bay. On the banks of the rivers Eritonga, Waibo, and along some parts of the sea-coast, there. are horizontal terraces of boulders of trap-rocks 50 feet high. An- thracite coal crops out in the harbour of Wangarua; and there is a seam of the same mineral intercalated in the hard grey sandstone on the east coast of the Northern Island. On the west coast of the same, the limestone contains a few shells, as pecten, ostrea, terebratula, and an Hehinus spatangus. The coasts are in many places fringed with recent horizontal sediments, consisting of loam with fragments of wood and fern, &c. The small rocky islands of trachyte off the coast of the Northern Island also bear marks of wave-action to the height of 100 feet above the present sea-level. In the interior of the Northern Island there is a lofty central group of volcanic mountains, some of the volcanos being still in activity : the ancient lava-streams appear to have been principally erupted from the base of the craters. The highest mountains are Tongariro, which is 6000 feet, and Mount Egmont, 9000 feet high. The loftiest summits are covered with per- petual snow. There are many lakes, which appear to occupy ancient craters*. The occurrence of terraces of loam and gravel of comparatively re- cent date, at an elevation of from 50 to 100 feet above the sea, along the coasts of New Zealand, prove that a considerable change in the relative level of the land and water has taken place since those ter- races were deposited, and at no very remote period. The present rivers of the country are described as now cutting deeply the beds of volcanic detritus and silt im which the birds’ bones are contained ; and the latter are in some places covered by marine and freshwater deposits. The facts adduced appear to me confirmative of the opinion advanced by Mr. Colenso (in 1842), that the true situation of the ossiferous deposit is beneath the surface-soil of the fluviatile beds formed by the present rivers. In the more elevated regions the bone- deposit consists of pure volcanic sand and detritus; while in the low districts and along the coasts it is composed of fluviatile mud or silt, which in many places is covered by modern beds of shingle and ravel. : II. Description of Mr. Walter Mantell’s Collection.—I will now describe in general terms the most interesting specimens in the collection formed by my son; the anatomical details, and the im- portant physiological inferences resulting therefrom, will be laid * British Association Reports for 1845. 232 PROCEEDINGS OF THE GEOLOGICAL Society. [Feb. 2,- before the Zoological Society by Professor Owen; to whom, as.a tribute of respect due for his masterly interpretation of the bones previously transmitted from New Zealand, I have offered the exami- nation and description of every object im the series that he may con- sider worthy his attention. The specimens amount to between seven and eight hundred, and belong to birds of various sizes and periods of growth ; some evidently of aged individuals, and others of very young animals, in which the epiphyses of the long bones are still distinct from the shaft. They were catalogued by my son as follows :— Birps’ BonES.—Crania and mandibles, 19; vertebree, 250 ; sterni, portions of, 7 ; pelves, more or less complete, 30 ; femora, 37 ; tibiee, 42; fibule, 35; tarso-metatarsal, 40; phalangeal, 200; ungueal or claw-bones, 30; ribs, 30; egg-shells, fragments, 36 specimens. SEALS.—Jaws with teeth, portions of crania, vertebree, ribs, sca- pule, bones of the extremities. TERRESTRIAL MAMMALIA.—One femur. The specimens received exceeded the number above specified, and with the exception of a few of the most fragile (and unfortunately the most precious, as, for example, the mandibles, pelves, sterni), arrived in an excellent state of preservation. The birds’ bones, so far as they have been hitherto examined by Professor Owen, are referable to five genera; the crania and mandi- bles of three of which were previously unknown. 1. Dinornis.—This name is now restricted by Professor Owen to the birds which possessed a skull and beaks essentially different from any form either recent or fossil. Of this genus there is a nearly perfect cranium, with the upper mandible, and portions of two other skulls. The form of the cranium, especially of the temporal and occipital regions, is wholly unlike any hitherto observed in the class of birds, and approaches that of reptiles. It is characterized by the nearly vertical occipital plane, the elevated position and form of the foramen magnum, and the great development below the occipital con- dyle, and the strong ridges which border the basi-occipital, and indi- cate a most extraordinary power in the muscles that moved the cranium. The temporal fosse are very deep, and are strengthened by a prolongation of the mastoid process, which is united to the frontal, and forms what may be termed a lateral zygomatic arch. The tympanic bone has two distinct cusps for articulation with the double condyle of the os quadratum. The configuration of the upper mandible or beak (the lower one is unknown) is very peculiar, and has been aptly compared by Professor Owen to a cooper’s adze; and is considered by him to have been especially adapted for erubbing up roots and tubers; and we have evidence, in the powerful muscles attached to the occipital region, of its having been an instrument capable of being used with great force. There is a portion of the articular part of a large lower jaw, that probably belongs to D. gi- ganteus. To this genus belong many vertebree of enormous size ; ribs, bones of the pelvis, and hinder extremities, and some portions of sterni ; a ee Lp : ; 1848.] MANTELL ON FOSSIL REMAINS FROM NEW ZEALAND. 233 they are referable to six or seven species, respectively named from their size and osteological character, D. giganteus, D. robustus, D.-ingens, D. casuarinus, D.*geranoides, D. curtus, D. didiformis. Among the bones of the extremities of the large species, I would especially direct attention to the femur, tibia and fibula of a young bird. The femur is 14 inches long, 9 inches in circumference round the shaft, and 16 inches round the condyles. The tibia, in which the union of the epiphysis of the proximal extremity is still incomplete, is 30 inches long, 6 inches in circumference at the shaft, and 14 at the condyles. The tibia of a much younger bird gives still more colossal proportions ; for it measures 12 inches in circumference at the condyles, and yet the distal epiphysis, which is always rapidly anchylosed to the shaft in birds, is still distmct. The proximal extremities of other tibize are 17 inches in circumference ; and there are fragments of shafts 8 inches round. 2. Palapteryx.—In this genus the skull differs essentially from that of the Dimornis; the occipital region is narrower ; the foramen magnum is situated in the centre, which in the Dinornis is occupied by the condyle; the basi-occipital is not so much developed ; and there are other osteological peculiarities which I need not detail. The rostral part of both mandibles is preserved, and shows an ap- proach to the Dromaius or Emeu. The ethmoid cavities, or upper nostrils of the skull, are very large, as in the Apteryx, a peculiarity denoting a remarkable development of the organs of smell. Of this genus there are imperfect crania, mandibles, vertebre, bones of the extremities, &c. 3. Aptornis.—Among the bones of small size, those for example that are comparable in magnitude to the skeletons of the Bustard and Apteryx, there are several tarso-metatarsals, femora, tibiee, pelves, &c., which indicate a new tetradactyle. genus, very closely allied to the livmg struthious bird of New Zealand, the Apteryx. Some of these bones are referable to the D. otidiformis, or Bustard-like Moa, of Professor Owen’s second memoir : I believe the name of Aptornis will be assigned to this genus. The other birds’ bones belong to genera and species of which -there are still livmg forms in New Zealand and Australia. 4. Notornis.—This genus is established by Professor Owen from the skulls, and upper and lower mandibles, vertebree and bones of the extremities, of birds belonging to the Rallide or Rails; and closely allied to the living Brachypteryz, a species of Coot or Water- hen peculiar to New Zealand. The mandibles are sharp like those of the Raven, but are more compressed laterally ; the cranium presents some interesting anatomical characters. The original was of the size of a bustard. 5. Nestor.—The collection contains two upper mandibles of a species of Nestor, a genus of nocturnal owl-like parrots, of which only two living species are known. One of these (Nestor hypopolius of Mr. Gould) is restricted to New Zealand ; and the other (NV. pro- ductus) to Philip Island, which is not more than five miles in extent ; and Mr. Gould remarks that “ so exclusively is the Nestor productus 234 PROCEEDINGS OF THE GEOLOGICAL SOCIETY. [Feb. 2, confined to this isolated spot, that many persons who have resided m Norfolk Island for years have assured me that its occurrence there is unknown, although the distance from one island to the other is not more than three or four miles*.”’ Such is a brief account of the birds’ bones that have been accu- rately examined by Professor Owen ; but it is probable, when the vertebree and other specimens that have as yet been only cursorily inspected are carefully compared with recent skeletons, other species and genera will be detected. Some of the vertebrze appear to belong to the existing species of Apterya, A. Australis. E9g-shells.—The fragments of egg-shells imbedded in the ossi- ferous deposits had escaped the notice of all previous observers, which is not surprising, for they are of small size and of very rare oc- currence. My son, in all his wanderings, only procured between thirty and forty pieces. As these precious relics will shortly be described by Professor Owen, I will only mention that the edges of most of them are rounded, as if water-worn. They belong to different species, or perhaps genera: some of them are smooth, but others have the external surface marked with short interrupted lmear grooves, re- sembling the eggs of some of the Struthionide, but still presenting very characteristic peculiarities. No vestiges of the bones of the wings have been detected. Sea_ts.—The remaining part of the collection consists of jaws with teeth, scapulee, vertebree, ribs, femora, and other bones, of a species of large seal; whether distinct from the two kinds (Phoca leptonyx and P. leonina) that inhabit the southern seas, and occasionally visit the shores of New Zealand, I have not yet been able to determie. The bones were found mixed indiscriminately with those of the birds, and are filled with voleanic sand. Femur of a Carnivore.—One other relic must be specified, the femur of a dog; the sole fossil bone of a terrestrial quadruped that has hitherto been discovered in the ossiferous deposits of New Zea- land. Burnt Moa, and Human bones.—I must not omit to mention a very remarkable incident. In one spot the natives pointed out to my son some little mounds covered with herbage, as containing bones, the refuse of feasts made by their ancestors ; and upon digging into these hillocks they were found to be made up of burnt bones. These consisted of Moas’, dogs’ and human bones promiscuously inter- mingled. 'These bones, which have evidently been subjected to the action of fire, contain no traces whatever either of the earthy powder or ferruginous impregnation so constant in the fossil bones from the fluviatile silt, nor of the voleanic sand with which all the bones col- lected by my son are more or less permeated. Mr. Taylor (ante p- 229) mentions having found similar heaps of bones in the valley of the Whaingaihu, “as though the flesh of the birds had been eaten, and the bones thrown indiscriminately together.’ If such was the origin of these heaps of bones, and they are to be regarded as the rejecta- menta of the feasts of the aborigimes, the practice of cannibalism by * Mr. Gould’s Birds of Australia. ill ie te ee ee ee t a A x 4 1848.] MANTELL ON FOSSIL REMAINS FROM NEW ZEALAND. 239 the New Zealanders will appear to have been of very ancient date, and not to have origimated from the want of animal food on account of the extinction of the Moas, as Professor Owen so ingeniously and indulgently suggested in extenuation of this horrid practice by so intelligent a race as the Maoris. ILI. General Conelusions.—From the scattered facts which I have thus brought together in order to throw some light on a question of such deep palzontological interest—upon the principle that the feeblest rays, when concentrated into a focus, will produce some degree of illumination—I think we may safely infer that the islands of New Zealand were densely peopled at a period geologically recent, by tribes of gigantic ostrich-like birds, of species and genera which have long since been obliterated from the face of the earth; and that subsequently to this “ dge of Struthionide,”’ the land has under- gone those physical changes, by which the areas occupied by the ornithic ossiferous deposits, and the beds of shingle and loam, which now form terraces from 50 to 100 feet above the sea-level, were elevated to their present positions. This inference seems to be cor- roborated by the fact that the existing mountain-torrents and rivers flow in deep channels which they have eroded in these pleistocene deposits ; in like manner as the rivers of Auvergne have excavated their course through the mammiferous tertiary strata of that country. The accounts given by Mr. Colenso, the Rev. H. Taylor and others, of the exposure of the bone-bed in the channels of the mountain- streams, and of the bones being left on the river-shoals after heavy floods, remind us of. the conditions under which the mammalian fossils of the Sub-Himalayas were first brought under the notice of our eminent countrymen, Major Cautley and Dr. Falconer. And in New Zealand, as in India, the fossil remains of extinct animals are associated with those of existing genera; and the land is still in- habited by diminutive representative forms of the colossal bemgs which flourished in the pleistocene, or early human epoch ; for the Apteryx and the Porphurio may be regarded as the living types of the Moa and the Notornis. I do not deem it necessary to enlarge on the question whether the Dinornis and Palapteryx still exist in New Zealand; on this point I would only remark, that Mr. Colenso, who was the jirst observer that investigated the nature of the fossil remains with due care and the requisite scientific knowledge, (having determined the struthious affinities of the birds to which the bones belonged, and pointed out their remarkable characters, ere any intelligence could have reached him of the result of Professor Owen’s examination of the specimens transmitted to this country,) has given, in his masterly paper before quoted, very cogent reasons for the belief that none of the true Moas exist, though it is probable the last of the race were exterminated by the early inhabitants of these islands. But whatever may be the result of future researches as to the rela- tive age of the ossiferous deposits, or the existence or extinction of the colossal bipeds whose relics are before us, this fact cannot be questioned—the vast preponderance of the class of birds which pre- 236 PROCEEDINGS OF THE GEOLOGICAL Society. |[Feb. 2, vailed (and still prevails) in the fauna of New Zealand, to the almost entire exclusion of mammalia and reptiles. Any paleeontologist who saw the entire collection formed by my son alone could not but feel surprise at its extent and variety. I may venture to affirm that such an assemblage of the fossil bones of birds was never before seen in Europe—nearly one thousand specimens collected from various parts of the country, with scarcely any intermixture of those of any other class: it is a phenomenon as marvellous as the exclusively reptilian character of the fauna of the Wealden epoch. Im fact, New Zealand at the present time, as Dr. Dieffenbach observes, offers the most striking instance of an acknowledged fact in every branch of natural history, namely, that different areas of dry land are en- dowed with peculiar forms of animal and vegetable life; centres or foci of creation, so to speak, of certaim organic types. And this organic law, with the effects of which, m the palzeozoic and secondary ages, our geological researches have made us familiar, appears to have continued in unabated energy to the present moment. In fact, the most remarkable apparent anomalies in the terrestrial faunas and floras of the secondary epochs are not without modern parallels. Thus New Zealand, with its peculiar flora, characterized by the predominance of ferns, club-mosses, &c., to the almost entire exclu- sion of the graminaceze,—and its fauna, comprising but two or three mammals and reptiles,—and the enormous development of the class of birds,—presents a general correspondence with the lands of the car- boniferous and triassic epochs. Australia and Van Diemen’s Land possess a flora equally peculiar and extraordinary, and a fauna unlike that of any other part of the world, including some of the most anomalous of existing forms, as for example that marvellous creature the Ornithorhynchus. These - countries, in the abundance and variety of the Cycadeacez, Arau- carie, &c.—in the marsupial character of the great proportion of the mammalia—and in the Terebratule and Trigonize, and the Cestra- ciont fishes which swarm in the seas that wash their shores, approxi- mate in their organic relations more nearly to those ancient lands of which the Stonesfield oolites are the debris, than to any of the pre- sent regions of the earth. Lastly, we have a reflected image, as it were, of the “‘ dge of Reptiles’’ of the secondary formations, in the exclusively reptilian character of the quadrupeds of the Galapagos Islands, one species of mouse being the only indigenous mammalian. This Archipelago is a group of volcanic islands situated under the equator, between five and six hundred miles westward of the American coast. “It is,” observes Mr. Darwin in his delightful Journal, “a little world withm itself ; most of the organic productions are aboriginal creations found ~ nowhere else. Seeing every height crowned with its crater, and the boundaries of most of the lava-streams still distinct, we are led to believe that within a period geologically recent, the unbroken ocean was here spread out.’’ These islands swarm with herbivorous marine and terrestrial reptiles allied to the Iguanide, which are known in no other part of the world ; and they are as completely distinct from 1848.] MANTELL ON FOSSIL REMAINS FROM NEW ZEALAND. 237 all other existing reptiles, as are the extinct Iguanodon and Hyleo- saurus. The flora too contains more than a hundred plants unknown elsewhere. There is not a fauna or flora in any of the ancient geolo- gical periods that presents greater anomalies. Mr. Darwin emphati- cally remarks, that “‘when we consider the well-beaten paths made by the thousands of huge tortoises with which these islands are traversed,—the many turtles,—the great warrens of the terrestrial Amblyrhynchi, and the groups of marine species basking on the coast-rocks of every island of this Archipelago,—we must admit that there is no other quarter of the world where the Order of Reptiles replaces the herbivorous mammalia in so extraordinary a manner. The geologist on hearing this will probably refer back his mind to those Secondary Epochs, when saurians, some herbivorous, some carnivorous, and of colossal dimensions, swarmed on the lands and in the seas. It is therefore worthy his especial observation that this Archipelago, instead of possessing a humid climate and a rank vege- tation, must be considered as extremely arid, and for an equatorial climate remarkably temperate *.”’ I have endeavoured to express in the annexed table the organic relations between the countries above-mentioned and their geological analogues. Mopern Epocu. SECONDARY Epocus. New Zealand. Predominance of Ferns, Lycopodiacez and other Cryptogamia. Gigantic Countries of the Carboniferous and Tri- assic periods as indicated by fossil re- Birds. Mammalia absent. Saree Australia. The lands whence the Stonesfield and Cycadeaceous Plants. Marsupial Mam- Carboniferous oolitic strata were de- malia. rived. The Galapagos Islands. The country of the Iguanodon, and the Predominance of Reptiles. Herbivo- regions that supplied the detritus that rous, terrestrial and marine Saurians formed the fluvio-marine secondary and Chelonians. strata. In this point of view the “‘ Age of Reptiles’’ may be considered as merely disclosing an exaggerated effect of the’ organic law of creation, which imparted to the fauna of the Galapagos Islands its reptilian character. In Australia, and in the Oolitic lands, the mammalian fauna assumed the marsupial type. In New Zealand, and in the Triassic countries, the ornithic vertebrata predominated. If the ancient philosophers, ere the discoveries of Columbus had opened the New World to the European mind, had found in a fossil state such collocations of the remains of animals and plants as are presented by New Zealand, Australia, and the Galapagos Islands, how impossible would it have been for them, by any comparison with existing nature within their circumscribed geographical boundary, to have conceived the possibility of such assemblages of animated beings existing contemporaneously with themselves! In fact, the present. geographical distribution of peculiar types of terrestrial animals and plants, affords as many anomalies in the relative predominance of different classes and orders, as are to be found in the vestiges of the earlier ages of our planet. * ¢ Journal of a Voyage round the World,’ chap. xvii. 238 PROCEEDINGS OF THE GEOLOGICAL SOCIETY. [Feb. 23, From these considerations I think we must conclude, that through- out all geological time the changes on the earth’s surface, and the appearance and extinction of peculiar types of animals and plants, have been governed by the same physical and organic laws; and that the paroxysmal terrestrial disturbances, though apparently in the earlier ages involving larger areas, and operating with greater energy than the volcanic and subterranean action of modern times, did not affect the established order of organic life upon the surface of the globe ; and that throughout the innumerable ages indicated by the sedimentary formations, there was at no period a greater anomaly in the assemblages of certain types of the animal and vegetable king- doms than exists at the present time. —_—_—_—— —______ Fesruary 23, 1848. W. Talbot Aveline, Esq., was elected a Fellow of the Society. The following communications were then read :— 1. Additional Remarks on the Geological Position of the Deposits in New ZEALAND which contain Bones of Birds. By GipEON ALGERNON Manre:t, Esq., LL.D., F.R.S. &c. Since I had the honour of communicating to the Geological Society a notice of the collection of fossil bones of birds from New Zealand, I have received a letter from Mr. Walter Mantell, dated Welling- ton, June 18, 1847, containing some details respecting the bone- deposits and the strata with which they are associated, which are of considerable interest, and confirm im every essential particular the conclusions suggested in my former communication. The fol- lowing are extracts from my son’s letter :—‘‘ The principal part of the best specimens I have transmitted to you I obtained from near the embouchure of a stream called Waingongoro, which lies about a mile and a half south of Waimate in the Ngatirtianti district. The country hereabout is an elevated table-land, with deep tortuous gul- lies, through which the torrents and streams take their course to the sea. That of Waingongoro, which is as tortuous as any of them, Ground plan of the embouchure of the River Waingongoro. _ River Waingongoro. Z \ Fig. 1. s Bo U = L Sea. Cliffs. Cliffs. a, a, a. Indicate excavations made in the tract of drifted sand containing the birds’ bones. 5. The Pa Ohawetokteko. *,* The Pa or village of Tukikaii. x ea _ ee ee ee ee eee ee : : : 1848.] MANTELL ON FOSSIL REMAINS FROM NEW ZEALAND. 239 appears to rise in Mount Egmont (the volcanic ridge which is 9000 feet high); indeed it must have its source there, or in the short chain of hills which lies between that mountain and the coast in a westerly direction ; for in returning to New Plymouth by the moun- tain road—a forest-track at the back of the volcanic ridge—I must have crossed it, did it rise elsewhere. The Waingongoro evidently discharged itself at some distant period into the sea, far from its pre- sent embouchure, as is proved by the existence of a line of cliffs which extends inland, and has clearly been produced by the eroding action of the river. Driven from its course, probably by a change in Fig..2. Vertical Section of the Cliff. === 1. Vegetable mould. e9oF ® © ©| 2. Volcanic conglomerate. GO %, 3. Finely laminated sand. 4. Blue clay with recent marine shells. the relative level of the land and sea, it has formed its present chan- nel, which cuts through a hundred feet of loose conglomerate, over- lying a bed of finely laminated sand, and containing wood in a very recent state,—so recent as to bear cutting with a knife. «The conglomerate is composed of an infinite variety of volcanic rocks, with numerous immense rounded masses of the same kind. The following sketch will give you a general idea of the structure of the coast from Wanganui to Taranaki; but the distances are of course merely approximative and very incorrect, and so also is probably the Fig. 3. Section of the Coast from Waimati to Wanganui. Mount Egmont, in the remote distance. Wanganui. AK pene Fast 1 2. SSS ee —————— ee TSSOs. Sa eS ae ~ 3. 2. Volcanic conglomerate. 4. Blue clay with recent marine shells. 3. Sand with birds’ bones and egg-shells. Sor => iS highest point of the clay, but I know you will understand my meaning better by this rough diagram than by mere description. The clay abounds in marine shells, all of existing species (?) ; the upper layers contain but few shells, but the lowermost abound in them, and they are in a perfect state—not drifted shells. In a stratum of sand at _ Wanganui the shells of a sandy-bottomed sea are found, with some fragments of large Nautili. « Between Takikau and Ohawetokotoko there is a wide flat of un- dulating sand, about two hundred yards across (Fig. 1, a, a, a). On my first visit the surface was covered with bones of men, moas and seals, &c., which had been overhauled by the Rev. R. Taylor. I had 240 PROCEEDINGS OF THE GEOLOGICAL society. [Feb. 23, some deep openings made near the base of the ancient cliffs, under the Pa Ohawe (at a, a, a, &c.; see also No. 3) ; and at the same level as Fig. 4. Sea-shore. 2. Volcanic conglomerate. 3. Finely laminated sand. 4. Blue clay, with recent marine shells. a. Bone-bed exposed at the foot of the cliffs, on which is the Pa Ohawe. h. Part dug away. that on which were the strewn fragments of bones I have mentioned, I came to the regular bone-deposit. The bones were mostly perfect in shape, but so soft, that if grasped strongly they would change, as if by magic, into clay. Unfortunately the natives soon caught sight of my operations, and came down in shoals, trampling on the bones I had carefully extracted and lain out to dry. My patience was tried to the utmost, and to avoid blows I was obliged to retreat and leave them in full possession of the field ; and to digging they went in right earnest, and quickly made sad havoc. No sooner was a bone per- ceived than a dozen pounced upon it, and began scratching away the sand as if for their lives; and the bone was of course smashed to pieces. Iam only surprised that I ultimately succeeded in getting any entire. . “The natives affirm that this sand-flat to Rangatapu was one of the places first dwelt upon by their ancestors; and this seems not unlikely, for in digging in various places I found small circular beds of ashes and charcoal and bones, very ancient, and such as are gene- rally left by the native fires that have been long lighted in the same spot. Fragments of obsidian, native flint, two fishing-line stones and a whalebone meri (a sort of weapon) were also dug up. The natives told me, and their assertion was borne out by the appearance of the place, that within their memory the entire area had been covered by drift-sand ; in fact, the bones seemed always to be imbedded on or beneath an old surface-level. Columns of vertebrze when uncovered were lying zn situ and perfect, with, in rare instances, skull and pelvis ; but to preserve these precious relics was impossible while beset with the hordes of Maoris ; and [ could not drive or bribe them away. “The largest femur, tibia and fibula were lying in their natural connection—the leg slightly bent at the knee ; a chain of vertebrze of the largest size was discovered near them, and I doubt not the whole belonged to the same colossal bird. You will readily imagine how exasperating it was to me to see specimen after specimen destroyed before my eyes, with no possibility of preventing it. From your ignorance of the excessive obstinacy and mulishness of the natives, I fear your indignation will be directed against me; but if so, let me assure you, you are indeed in error. All that man could do I did to dissuade them from turning oryctologists or paleeornithists; but to | | a 4 1848.] MANTELL ON FOSSIL REMAINS FROM NEW ZEALAND. 241 no purpose. Men, women and children resolutely dashed at every bone that appeared when the sand was removed; and if they listened for a moment to my entreaties and remonstrances, it was but to return with renewed vigour to the work of destruction. Although I am of a forgiving disposition, yet I cannot but hope Mr. Hawkins will place these Maoris in the same category with the Vandals who destroyed the Alexandrian library, and the Somersetshire ‘varmint’ who mis- took a Cheiroligostinus for a ‘ viery zarp’nt.’ “Mixed with the bones, but exceedingly rare, were the fragments of egg-shells, of which I sent you my then best specimens by post last April. I have also found six oval rings and one broad circular ring of the trachea. In coming down from Ngamotu I discovered a few more remains of eggs; one fragment is four inches long, and gives a good chord by which to estimate the size of the original: as a rough guess, I may say that a common hat would have served as an egg-cup for it: what a loss for the breakfast-table! And if native traditions are worthy of credit, the ladies have cause to mourn the extinction (?) of the Dinornis: the long feathers of its crest were by their remote ancestors prized above all other ornaments; those of the White Crane, which now bear the highest value, were mere pigeons’ feathers im comparison.” I have given these extracts without correction or comment, as they were written by my son for my private information, that I might not weaken the graphic description of the exhumation of the bones ex- hibited and described at the last meeting of the Society. There are still some details required to render it certain that the bone-bed is always intercalated, when not laid bare by modern denuding causes, between the blue clay with recent marine shells and the conglomerate of volcanic pebbles and boulders which forms a bed of from fifty to a hundred feet thick ; but so far as I can interpret my son’s meaning, and upon comparison of his statements with those of Mr. Colenso and others, I conclude that such is its true geological position. There is also some doubt whether in the heaps of ancient native fires which contain bones of man, dog, and moa, those of the colossal birds may not have been introduced by accident, and their charred appear- ance have been occasioned by drying, from exposure to the air and sun ; but it must be remarked that these specimens never contain any of the sand in which they were imbedded, as the other examples do. These and other points will, I doubt not, be satisfactorily elucidated ere long, now that the collecting of the bones of the extinct birds of New Zealand is so earnestly and systematically pursued. In the meanwhile, the imperfect and hasty sketches of my son which I have placed before the Society, will not, I trust, be deemed altogether unworthy attention. MOL. EVY.——-PART I. T 242 DONATIONS TO THE LIBRARY OF THE GEOLOGICAL SOCIETY, January lst to March 31st, 1848. I. TRANSACTIONS AND JOURNALS. Presented by the respective Societies and Editors. AcapéMiE Royale des Sciences de Paris, Comptes Rendus de I, tome xxv. Deux. Sem. Agricultural Magazine, December 1847. American Journal of Science. Second Series, vol. v. no. 13. Athenzeum Journal. Berwickshire Naturalists’ Club, Proceedings. Vol. 11. no. 5. Cornwall, Royal Geological Society of, Annual Report, 1847. Indian Archipelago, Journal of the, Supplement to nos. 5 and 6. Leeds Philosophical Society, Annual Report, 1847. _ Linnean Society, Transactions. Vol. xx. part 2. Proceedings, nos. 30 to 33; and List of Members, 1847. London Library, Catalogue of the. Second Edition, 1847. Museum of Practical Geology, First Report on the Coals suited to the Steam Navy, by Sir H. De la Beche and Dr. Lyon Playfair. Neuchatel, Société des Sciences Naturelles de ; Mémoires, tomes i. li. et in. ; Bulletin, tome i. 1844—46. New York, State of, the Natural History of New York. Vols. i. and i. ; part 2, Botany, by J. Torrey; part 5, Agriculture, by E. Emmons. | Paleontographical Society, Monograph of the Crag Mollusca, by S. V. Wood. Part I. Univalves. (Two Copies.) DONATIONS. 243 Philosophical Magazine. From R. Taylor, Esq., F'.G.S. West Riding of Yorkshire, Geological and Polytechnic Society of the, Reports, 1845-46. Il. GEOLOGICAL AND MISCELLANEOUS BOOKS. Names in italics presented by Authors. Anonymous, a new Universal Etymological, Technological and Pro- nouncing Dictionary of the English Language. Vol. i. From the Author, Proprietors and Publisher. Brongniart, Alex. Discours de M. Elie de Beaumont (and others), prononcé aux Funérailles de. From M. Adolphe Brongniart, for. M.G.S. Corbaux, Fanny. On the Comparative Physical Geography of the Arabian Frontier of Egypt. Daubeny, Charles, M.D. Description of Active and Extinct Volcanos. Second Edition. D Archiac, Vicomte. Histoire des Progrés de la Géologie de 1834 a 1845. Tome i. Notice sur les Travaux Géologiques, de. De Koninck, L. Notice sur Quelques Fossiles du Spitzberg. Notice sur deux Espéces de Brachiopodes de Ter- rain Paléozoique de la Chine. —-——_—_——. Notice sur la Valeur du Caractére Paléontologique en Géologie. Réplique aux Observations de M. Dumont sur la Valeur du Caractére Paléontologique en Géologie. De Waldheim, G. F. Notice sur Quelques Sauriens de I’Oolithe du Gouvernement de Simbirsk. Fitton, W. H., M.D. Stratigraphical Account of the Section from Atherfield to Rocken-end, Isle of Wight. . Inquiries respecting the Geological Relations of the beds between the Chalk and Purbeck Limestone in the South-east of England, 1824. ——. Notes on the Progress of Geology in England. —_——_— pee ee ee 1833. Frapolli, L. Reéflexions sur la Nature et sur l’application du Carac- tére Géologique. Quelques Mots apropos d’une Carte Géologique deg Collines subhaercyniénnes. Faits qui peuvent servir 4 |’ Histoire des Dépéts de Gypse, de Dolomie et de Sel Gemme. 244 ; DONATIONS. Frapolli, L. Mémoire sur la Disposition du Terrain Silurien dans le Finistére. Gibbes, R. W., M.D. Memoir on the Fossil Genus Basilosaurus. Guyot, A. Note sur la Distribution des Espéces de Roches dans le Bassin Erratique du Rhone. Note sur le Bassin Erratique du Rhin. Note sur la Topographie des Alpes Pennines. Hausmann, J. F. I. UWandbuch der Mineralogie, Zweiter Theil. Jukes, J. B. Narrative of the Surveying Voyage of H.M.S. Fly, together with an Excursion into the Interior of the Eastern part of Java. 2 vols. Keyserling, A. v., and P. v. Krusenstern. Wissenschaftliche Beo- bachtungen auf emer Reise in das Petschora-Land. With Maps ~ and Plates. ———_—= Logan, W. E. Geological Survey of Canada. Report of Progress for the year 1845-46. Mantell, G. A., LL.D. The Worle. of Geology. Sixth Edition. 2 vols. Mitchell, Lieut.-Col. Sir T. L. Journal of an Expedition ito the Interior of Tropical Australia. Pictet, F. J. Description des Mollusques Fossiles qui se trouvent dans les grés verts des environs de Genéve. Ramsay, A. C. Passages in the History of Geology. Rouquairol (Saint-Romain). Le Globe Terrestre reconnu vivant ou Physiologie de la Terre. —y Smith, Rev. J. Pye, D.D. The Relation between the Holy Serip- tures and some parts of Geological Science. Fourth Edition. Von Buch, L. Uber Ceratiten, besonders von denen die in Kriede- bildungen sich finden. Yolland, Capt. W. Account of the Measurement of the Lough Foyle Base in Ireland. From the Hon. Board of Ordnance. THE QUARTERLY JOURNAL OF THE GEOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF LONDON. PROCEEDINGS OF THE GEOLOGICAL SOCIETY. Fresruary 23, 1848 (continued). The following communication was then read :— 2. On the Geology of Ripeway, near WevmMoutTH. By Cuar es Henry Wesron, Esq., Barrister-at-Law, B.A. Cant., and F.G.S. Durine the last summer I directed my attention to the geological features of the country in the neighbourhoed of Weymouth, not with the idea of adding any fresh information to that which we already possessed of this district, but rather from the desire of working out for myself in the field what had so often interested me in the closet. While examining however this district generally, and those localities where the strata were so considerably exposed by the operations of the Wilts, Somerset and Weymouth Railway, I particularly studied the supposed point of junction of the Portland stone and the chalk of Ridgway Hill. At this spot I saw much to excite my surprise, and what, with my preconceived notions of the theoretic structure of the district, I found difficult to understand. Having, from a close and rigid examination, come to a conclusion im my own mind respecting the character of the formations disclosed in this locality, I was anxious to communicate my thoughts to Pro- fessor Sedgwick ; and in a letter addressed to him in September last, I drew his attention to the peculiarly interesting nature and extent of the geological stratification which I had found existing between the VOL. IV.—PART I. U 246 PROCEEDINGS OF THE GEOLOGICAL society. [Feb. 23, base and apex of Ridgway Hill. I simply stated the new features in its geology, reserving a fuller statement until I had received my fossils from Dorsetshire. These new features were— Ist. The existence of another member of the Wealden formation. 2ndly. The apparently anomalous position of what I deemed to be the Oxford clay ; and 3rdly. The existence of the Tertiary system. The section, which I was not then prepared to send to Cambridge, but which is now appended to this paper, shows also what may be considered as another new feature,—I mean the fact that the Purbeck beds really dip in their natural order between the Portland stone and the Hastings sands. It will now devolve upon me to detail more fully those facts from which I have considered myself authorized to draw the conclusions I have thus briefly stated. But im doing this it will be expedient previously to pomt out the geological character of the district gene- rally, and then to state in particular those views which have hitherto been held with respect to the locality. Ridgway Hill is situate about midway between Dorchester and Weymouth. The high road passes over it, and the railway now in progress is to go right through it by tunneling the upper and deeply cutting the lower parts. The hill must attain the average height of - about 500 feet above the level of the sea, and is a portion of the escarpment of chalk, which ranging from the fine bluff and wave-worn cliff of White Nore on the east to its inland termmation at Chilcombe on the west, forms a very important feature in the geology of the Weymouth district. From Messrs. Conybeare and Phillips (pp. 182 and 192), and the elaborate paper of the present Dean of Westminster and Sir H. de la Beche in the Geological Transactions (vol. iv. 2nd series, part 1.), we learn the general structure of the country between Ridgway Hill and the Isle of Portland, and the great faults which in times long ante- rior to the present have taken place in this part of the coast. Both these characters must be borne in mind whenever we are considermg the geological phenomena of this locality. Respecting the general structure, it will be remembered that this arises from the protrusion of the forest marble on the north-west of Weymouth. Its anticlinal lime ranges about east and west, and the several superior strata, up to the Purbeck formation inclusive, lie on its inclined sides and conformable to them in regular succession. The importance of the great Ridgway fault will appear when we state, in the words of the authors of the paper referred to, that it ex- tends ‘“‘without interruption nearly fifteen miles, passmg along the great escarpment of chalk at various elevations from the top to the bottom of it*.” . . The geological views hitherto entertained respecting this district * This paper must be the manual of every student of the geology of the neigh- bourhood of Weymouth. It takes enlarged views of the whole subject. For my- self, 1 am bound to acknowledge deep obligation to its authors. a” | ‘i 4 J 1848. | WESTON ON THE GEOLOGY OF RIDGWAY. 247 will be better understood by a few extracts from the same paper. It is stated that “the great Ridgway fault is an wpcast fault, elevating on its south side into contact with the escarpment of the chalk those strata that would otherwise have dipped beneath it—particularly the Portland stone, nearly along the whole line which this fault traverses.”’ And again, referring to the part of Ridgway Hill now under consi- deration, it is stated that ‘“‘ at Upway, on the northern extremity of the general section and near the summit of the hill, the Portland stone covered with Purbeck beds occupies the south side of the fault and nearly horizontal chalk on its north side, the Purbeck and Port- land beds rising at a high angle northwards towards the fault. From Upway for four miles westward to the final termination of the Port- land stone at Portisham, the Portland stone is continued to the south side, and the chalk to the north side of the fault. It is exposed by no section, but the junction can be traced on the surface of the fields.” From these extracts we learn— Ist. That the Portland stone was considered to abut directly against the chalk ; and 2ndly. That although the existence of the Purbeck beds was di- stinctly marked, yet their deposition was understood to be upon the shoulders of the chalk, and not in any way intervening between the Portland stone and the chalk. In the same paper it is stated that “the Wealden or Hastings sands, after becoming gradually thinner in their progress westward through the Isle of Purbeck, terminate a little west of Lulworth.” This place must be about twelve or fourteen miles east of Ridgway, and there- fore the existence of the Wealden or Hastings sands so far west as Ridgway must be considered a new feature in the geology of this part of Dorset. If we refer to our authors’ surface-map we shall find the tertiary marked as existing near Came Down, and then not to be met with west of that locality until after a long-denuded interval it reappears on the high land of Blackdown. On ascending however the chalk hill of Ridgway, a little to the east of the intended railway, I found evident proofs of the presence of the supercretaceous deposit. I there- fore endeavoured to trace its continuity westward, and was led to con- clude that it actually reposed upon the chalk immediately above the tunnel now in progress. The inquiries subsequently made at the engineer’s office, respecting the nature of the strata passed through in sinking the great vertical shaft, quite confirmed my views: I found that about sixty feet of tertiary had been pierced defore reaching the chalk. The remaining subject (I mean the existence of the Oxford clay in this locality) will be better understood after an examination of the section (p. 249) and a perusal of the subjoined explanatory facts. _ The cutting represented in the section les in a direction nearly due north and south, and is bounded on the north by the chalk of Ridg- way, and on the south by the public road, under which a short tunnel has been made. u 2 248 PROCEEDINGS OF THE GEOLOGICAL society. [Feb. 23, Now commencing from the south (7. e. from the short tunnel) we find the following strata :— a. Thin layers of calcareous stone, sometimes ferruginous, with A intermediate layers of clay, bluish from vegetable matter. ") 6. Fibrous carbonate of lime. e. Hard marl. (d. Clay and lignite. e. Little sand with vegetable soot. jf. Hard and soft marl. g. Lead-coloured loam. h. Sands, ferruginous and yellow. ?. Loam, red, bluish and purplish, with large bands of vege- table matter and lignite. k. Sands, ferrugimous and coloured, with intermediate bands of red and purplish loam. White sand. C. Stiff blue clay. The section will not only show the order of the strata, but the cir- cumstance of the gradual increase of their dip (as we proceed north- ward) until they become nearly vertical. On the south side of the tunnel (m), and before reaching the cutting, the dip was to the north at about the angle of 30°. At the south end of the cutting the dip was about 45°; towards the middle of the cutting about 60°, and at the northern extremity between about 70° and 80°. Group A. is clearly the upper part of the Purbeck formation. We have on the south side of the tunnel (m) unquestionable Pur- beck beds, and we can distinctly trace their continuity from the south to the north of (m). We find also the repetition of the same litho- logical details and the same fibrous carbonate of lime so prevalent throughout the Purbeck range, and which appears so much to mark its character in Purbeck Isle*. In B. group, and not very far from the tunnel (m), were found re- mains of bones, stated by those who saw them to have belonged to the SN Iguanodon. Its characteristic nasal horn was also secured. The po- — sition of this fossil reptile was about the upper limits of the Purbeck and the lower parts of the Hastings sands. The coloured marls con- tamed carbonized grasses and large bands of carbonaceous matter, with pieces of trees converted, in some cases, into pulverulent car- bonized wood, and in others to complete lignite. I found also what appeared to be a broad compressed Calamite, but did not meet with any other fossils. This B. group I believe to be the Hastings sand; and this inference will I think appear correct when we consider the features of the strata in connection with what I shall now subjoin. Dr. Buckland, in his Bridgewater Treatise, states that “‘ the Igua- nodon has hitherto been found only, with one exception, in the Wealden formation of the south of England, intermediate between the * Geol. Trans. vol. iv. p. 11. 1848.] marine oolitic deposits of Portland and those of the greensand formation in the eretaceous series.” And in this excepted case it was found higher up and not below the Purbeck beds. The authors of the paper already referred to consider the existence of the Iguano- don as one satisfactory proof of the identity of the Weald- en formation (p. 11). Dr. Fitton (in Annals of Philosophy for 1824) de- scribes the Hastings sand formation ‘‘as consisting of an alternating series of beds of sand, more or less abun- dant in ferruginous matter ...... with beds of clay much mixed with sand of a greenish or reddish hue or of a mottled or variegated appearance. Subordinate beds containing ..... wood, more or less changed, wood, coal, &e.” In the same paper we find that Dr. Fitton traced the Wealden formation to a little west of Lulworth, which, though somewhat distant, is yet geologically closely con- nected with the district now under examination. At that spot also Dr. Fitton found the strata placed under pre- cisely the same circumstances as at Ridgway—nearly ver- tical. I am aware, from the ap- parent thinning-out of the Wealden formation as it pro- ceeds westward, that infer- ences have been drawn as to its termination east of Ridg- way, but I do not think the facts stated necessarily lead to such a conclusion. The General Section of Ridgway Hill and the adjoining Strata. Pic, a, The Ridgway Cutting runs nearly due N. and S. North. The range of the strata is W. by N. and E. by S. Ridgway-road continued. The Cutting. Foot of Ridgway-hill. Upway. South. WESTON ON THE GEOLOGY OF RIDGWAY. See 4. Hastings sands. 9. Tertiary. 8. Chalk. 7. Chalk-marl. ,» from which only Oxford clay was obtained. Depth 6. Greensand. 5. Oxford clay, 2. Portland oolite. 3. Purbeck. 1. Portland sand. aa Raised embankment over the U 4 4 Continuation of railroad throu 249 about 50 feet. f Shaft vertical, from which only chalk and chalk-marl were obtained. Depth 56 feet. g Vertical shaft on top of Ridgway Hill, sunk through tertiary to chalk. e Shaft vertical and horizontal dged Portland and Purbeck beds. way up the hill. dd The cutting referred to in pages 247 and 248. pway Valley. gh acknowle mm Short tunnel under the road half- Se sas. 250 PROCEEDINGS OF THE GEOLOGICAL SOCIETY. |Feb. 23, substance of Dr. Fitton’s Note on Vertical Strata, when connected with an examination of the sections referred to im the text, leaves the mind quite open for the discovery of a further extension to the west of the same strata. On the whole therefore I must conclude that the formation in group B. is that of the Hastings sand. The Weald clay does not appear to be represented in this locality, but its absence may have resulted either from the pressure and con- fusion naturally connected with such verticality of strata, or from other causes easily to be conjectured. The Mewp Bay section has no Weald clay, and presents in its ferruginous sands details singularly analogous to those of Ridgway Hill*. The next stratum (C.) consists of stiff blue clay. In this I found that a shaft was sunk to some depth from the surface-lme of the country, and then carried many feet at right angles northward to reach another vertical shaft previously sunk in the chalk. I waited with some anxiety to hear the results which the horizontal shaft might disclose on reaching the chalk, and I have since learned from the engineer of the works that ‘the clay met the chalk (or rather chalk-marl) in absolute contact without the interposition of any sand and in a direction nearly perpendicular.” The relative position of the vertical and horizontal shaft, from which blue clay only was extracted, and the vertical shaft sunk m the chalk, from which chalk and chalk-marl only were obtained, will be clearly seen on reference to the section, in which the former is marked (e), the latter (/). From this argillaceous deposit I collected several fossils, some of which were much broken by the workmen’s tools. These I forwarded to Mr. J. Sowerby, who has bestowed much attention on them, and very kindly sent me the following communication :— “‘ Most of the fossils are in too imperfect a state to be named with | certainty, but I have done what I could with them. : “The following is a list :— j 1-6. Gryphea dilatata. ! 7. Very near to Ammonites catena. 8. dm. Arduensis, D’Orbigny, Ter. Jurass. t. 185. 9. Am. Marie, D’ i Ter. Jur. t..179. 0. Am. Lamberti? 1. Pholadomya; well-known, but I believe unnamed, with a small | compr essed Astarte, also unnamed, attached to the clay. j 12. Thracia depressa. . 13. Part of Ammonites, with an Anomia adhering. 14. Nucula and Turritella? 15. Trigonia clavellata. 16. Modiola bipartita. 17. Modiola, I thmk unnamed. 18. Myacites musculoides (Goldfuss, v. 153. f. 10). 19. Thracia depressa. 20. Nucula, same as No. 14; both too a to be made out. * Mewp Bay is about two miles east of Lulworth. The section in my posses- sion was copied some years ago from one kindly lent me. by Prof. Sedgwick. 1848. | WESTON ON THE GEOLOGY OF RIDGWAY. 251 21-23. Plaited oysters; two species, but I cannot pretend to name from such morsels without good geological and local evidence.”’ Am. Arduensis and Am. Marie are quite new in the fossil concho- logy of England, but they have been found in the Jurassic formations of France: No. 8 in the equivalent of the Oxford Oolite, and No. 9 in that of the Oxford clay. On carefully reviewing the above list of fossils we shall, I think, feel satisfied that the deposit which contained such remains must be the Oxford clay. I will merely add, that accompanying these Ridgway fossils are two Modiolas,—one procured from the Oxford clay of Wiltshire (be- tween Laycock and Melksham), and the other I myself found im the upper part of the cornbrash and just below the Oxford clay at Wey- mouth. Mr. Sowerby has compared these with Nos. 16 and 17 of the preceding list, and considers the Wiltshire fossil as undoubtedly the same species as No. 16, and the other (from Weymouth) as probably the same with No. 17*. Proceeding upwards in the geological series, I shall now refer to the greensand. This formation, although not exposed in the cutting, ought I think to be considered as existing and as making another addition to the already comprehensive stratification. It is visible at Bincombe within a mile on the east of Ridgway, and the chalk-marl met with by the two shafts shows us how near the level of the cutting is to the base of the chalk of the Ridgway range. At Bincombe the greensand is seen to dip at about 20° to the north, with the supermcumbent chalk reposing conformably upon it. I think therefore we may infer that the chalk of Ridgway is also ele- vated in a similar manner ; indeed, reasoning @ priori, we might be led to conclude that this chalk would be influenced by the general upheaving of the district. Connecting the section, from the base of Ridgway Hill to its summit, with the strata to be found between Upway and Weymouth, we shall have within the distance of four miles the followmg remark- able extent of geological sequence—a sequence perhaps not to be paralleled in any other locality of equal limits. 1. Forest marble. 7. Portland stone. 2. Cornbrash. 8. Purbeck beds. 3. Oxford clay. 9. Hastings sands. 4. Oxford oolite. 10. Chalk. 5. Kimmeridge clay. 11. Tertiary. 6. Portland sand. Having spoken of the beds which the railway cutting has just brought to light, I shall now add some remarks on the Portland and * Since the transmission of the last two specimens of Modiolas, I have examined some parts of the Oxford clay of Wilts, in the vicinity of the cornbrash, and I have found that the Oxford clay towards its junction with that formation rather abounds in the Modiola. The idea therefore which I originally entertainéd, when in Dorsetshire, that there was at least an intermixture of the lower part of the Oxford clay in the Ridgway cutting, seems to be confirmed, and I cannot but add that the peculiar position of this argillaceous deposit, and the hypothetical causes which have been assumed as producing its protrusion, appear to me to derive in- creased probability from this fact. 252 PROCEEDINGS OF THE GEOLOGICAL society. [Feb. 23, Purbeck beds, which, though long known, have by the excavations of the railway carried on south of (sm) in the section Fig. 1 been for the first time so completely laid bare for geological examination. The Portland sand I traced on the other side of the Upway valley, and I learned that it had been previously denuded on the north side of the high road at a 6 Fig. 1. by the excavations made for building the north foundation of the viaduct. Considerig the inclination of the Portland stone strata and the breadth of the valley, the Portland sand may be considered as well-developed in this spot. The superjacent Portland stone is clearly defined in its limits by the arenaceous deposit below and the lowest of the Purbeck dirt-beds above. I found an ammonite in the lower part of this marine for- mation, and one of the superintendents of the works poimted out to me the place where a fossil fish, and what he described as “like a dog’s jaw,’ were found. This place was in the upper part of the Portland stone, and not very far from its junction with the Purbeck beds. The Portland stone is much less developed in this locality than m the Isle of Portland. The Purbeck beds at Ridgway possess, how- ever, much greater thickness than the same formation m Portland, where even on the northern part of the island they do not attam a thickness of more than twenty feet. I do not say “developed,” be- cause we have in Portland no Hastings sand formation to mark the upper limits of the Purbeck beds, and therefore the absent superior strata may have formerly existed in the island and been subsequently removed by diluvial action. The Purbeck beds now laid bare exhibit many dirt-beds ; these how- - ever, do not possess the thickness of the dirt-bed m Portland which contains the silieified coniferous trees, but more resemble the thinner dirt-bed interposed between the “ Skull-cap”’ and ‘“ Top-cap,” and which contains only the compressed Cycadeoidee. The upper parts of this formation (which are wanting in Portland) contain the remarkable layer of fibrous carbonate of lime as well as what is denominated ‘‘ Purbeck marble.’ Almost all the quarries on the south side of Ridgway Hill are im the Purbeck formation. The Purbeck beds are characterized generally by their schistose structure and by the alternate occurrence of argillaceous and cal- careous deposits. This alternation, carried on still further im detail, affects the composition of the Purbeck stone and imparts to it its peculiar streaky or ribbon appearance. I might add also that there is a remarkable persistency in these characters throughout the for- mation, at least from Upton, near Osmington, to Portisham*. * Connected with Osmington I would call attention to the sections Figs. 9 and 3 cf Plate 2 in the paper on the geology of Weymouth. Fig. 9 very correctly shows the arched strata of Osmington Mills running east and west, and Fig. 3 one-half of the arch running north and south. I found, however, on examining the shore at low-water, that the Oxford oolite washed by the waves decidedly dipped to the south, completing consequently the south side of the arch. Osmington Mills thus stand on the intersection of two arcs, cutting each other at nearly right angles, and seem therefore to be on the very focus of the upheaving powers formerly operating on this part of the coast. I ought to add, that both on the east and west of this spot the strata seen on the sea-shore resume their dip to the north. . ” 1848. | WESTON ON THE GEOLOGY OF RIDGWAY. 253 The dip of the Purbeck and its underlying Portland oolite is clearly exhibited by the railway cuttings, and we can see distinctly that the Purbeck beds do not lie in a basin or trough of Portland stone, as was supposed, but that they rest conformably upon it, and that both formations dip regularly to the north in their natural order under the Hastings sand. The dip increases from the base of the Portland stone to the top of the Purbeck; south of (m) in section Fig. 1, ranging about 30°, and on the north side about 45°. The Purbeck and Portland beds have been subjected to great ele- vations and depressions in the locality under consideration, and as these disturbances are evidently connected with the singular position of the strata overlying them, it may be desirable now to consider these phenomena more particularly. Near the cutting in which we find the Hastings sands and Oxford clay a gradual depression of the surface-line is perceptible, sinking more rapidly on the east near the farm-house. This depression I do not consider as merely external, but as essentially connected with the stratification below. We therefore find the different quarries on the hill presenting different inclinations, some dipping to the north and others to the south. This variation is even seen in contiguous quarries. There is one quarry on the west of the cutting, and not very far from it, which dips to the east,—that is, towards the vertical strata, leading us to infer that the cause affecting both was a common one. On the same range, further west, there is another quarry (A.), South. Fig = 2 Ridgway Range. y: North. e. Chalk. d, Portland. e. Purbeck, Fig. 2, in which the Purbeck formation presents the following strata, all dipping to the south :— Gravel and large rubble. Fibrous carbonate of lime. Ribbon-like deposit of Purbeck stone. Fibrous carbonate of lime. Blue clay, containing what appeared to be small Ostree. Blue, hard Purbeck marble. Blue fibrous carbonate of lime. Blue clay. Stone. Schistose stone. Blue band. Stone. Schistose stone with ripple water-mark. , we Behe lk 254 PROCEEDINGS OF THE GEOLOGICAL SOCIETY. [| Feb. 23, Sandy schistose stone. Yellow sands, Yellow clayey sand. To the north-west of this quarry and at a little distance we find the strata dipping south and east, while on the south of this and of A. quarry, and rather near them, with a little depression of the surface-— line intervening, we find a small quarry (B.), Fig. 2, im the same Purbeck formation, dipping in an opposite direction,—to the north, with some of its strata nearly vertical. I cannot therefore but suspect that the gradual dip to the north of B. quarry increasing towards verticality pomts to the complete doule- versement of the Purbeck formation in A. quarry, and that the yellow sands and yellow clay are really a part of the Hastigs sands*. If this be a correct view of the subject, we may have found the same cause acting here also which produced the conditions of the strata in the Ridgway cutting. The local geological features of this district having been considered, it will now be desirable to take a more comprehensive view of the great chalk range in its comparatively undisturbed state ; and it gives me pleasure to acknowledge that the importance of directing attention to the range generally was suggested to me by Mr. Lonsdale, our late and much-valued Curator. If we consult Conybeare and Phillips, we find from about south of Wincanton, the high escarpment which continues its course to the south part of Dorset is generally composed of—1. chalk ; 2. green- sand; and 3. Oxford clay. It is stated} that “from Melksham (Wilts) the Oxford clay contimues its course through Somerset and Dorset, passing by Wincanton and Sturminster, on the south of which it is overlaid by the great western extension of the chalk and greensand ;” and although the coral rag is visible south of Melksham, yet “near Wincanton the greensand (overlying the basset edges of the coral rag) advances upon the Oxford clay.” Mr. Greenough in his Geological Map seems to be of the same opinion to a still greater extent, as the whole range (with one excep- tion) from Frome to Ridgway is made to consist of these three several formations. If we consult the surface-map of the authors of the paper above referred to, we find several localities exhibiting the same order within a short distance of the spot under consideration. We may therefore on the whole consider the geological superposi- tion of this great range as consisting generally of chalk, greensand and Oxford clay ; and thus the Oxford clay will m effect be brought high up in the geological series. The Oxford clay at Weymouth and the Oxford clay at Ridgway * This idea, in connection with the positive existence of this formation in the Ridgway Hill cutting, leads me to conjecture that the Hastings sands really range much further west. They may be co-extensive with the Portland oolite, and thus reach nearly to Portisham. Perhaps too the Purbeck deposit may ultimately be found equally extensive. t+ Conybeare and Phillips, 198. 8 1848. | WESTON ON THE GEOLOGY OF RIDGWAY. 259 clearly belong to the same stratum, although the latter is placed from circumstances in a very peculiar position. Before speaking, however, of this position, we must deal with the formations inter- vening between it and the greensand, taking them in their descending order. We may infer a greater extension of the Hastings sands and clays in former times than what has hitherto been observed in the Wey- mouth district; and the Purbeck beds at Ridgway and Portland doubtless existed continuously anterior to the protrusion of the great boss of forest marble. But from our present knowledge of all the freshwater beds deposited between the oolitic and cretaceous systems, there is no necessity for supposing that the Hastings sands and Pur- beck beds ever dipped northward under the Ridgway chalk. The Wealden formation in the aggregate is essentially a local deposit. In considering, too, the whole upper system of the oolitic group, we cannot but be struck with ‘‘the sudden and total disappearance of the Portland formation at Portisham,” which, according to the views of the authors of the paper referred to, ‘ seems not to result from its accidental intersection at that place by the great Ridgway fault, but rather from a tendency, which is common to this with most other great formations, to terminate abruptly where they are accu- mulated to their fullest thickness.” The reappearance and equally abrupt termination ‘‘of the Portland formation” are also to be seen ‘in the Vale of Tisbury and near Brill and Thame im Oxfordshire, and near Aylesbury and Whitchurch, Bucks, and near Swindon, Wilts.” These valuable observations, and many others on the same point, lead us to feel that the Portland formation, and indeed the whole upper oolitic system, may terminate abruptly on the north as well as on the west of our locality, and therefore that this system, conjointly with the Wealden, need not dip under the chalk of Ridgway. If this reasoning be deemed satisfactory, we shall have relieved our subject from great difficulty. The existence or non-existence of the Oxford oolite between the greensand and the Oxford clay beneath the chalk escarpment is of no great consequence. I think, however, as it is developed north and south of the geological saddle of forest marble, that most pro- bably it does pass northward under Ridgway Hill, immediately be- neath the greensand. Having considered all the strata mterposed between the Oxford clay and the Ridgway chalk, we are now prepared to examine the actual circumstances of the Oxford clay im the Ridgway cutting. This clay is clearly not the Oxford clay stratum in its natural posi- tion, but a part of it forced out and raised above its own level by local pressure*. It thus stands hke a trap-dyke intruded between the almost perpendicular walls of chalk and Hastings sand. * The finished line of the railway in this cutting is about 247 feet above the level of high flood-tides at Weymouth, and the shaft sunk from the surface-line to the level is about 50 feet. The Oxford clay at Ridgway must therefore be about 300 feet higher than that near Weymouth. bd 56 PROCEEDINGS OF THE GEOLOGICAL SOCIETY. [Feb. 23, We have here indeed an “‘upcast fault,’ as stated in the above paper, but the present cutting shows us that the strata have not only been elevated towards the chalk escarpment, but have been subjected also to a considerable subsidence and a partial bouleversement. These perhaps are just theseffects which might be supposed to result from the geological conformation of the Weymouth district. On examining the surface-map of Sir H. De la Beche and the Dean of Westminster, we find that the axis of the forest marble is very considerably nearer Ridgway than Portland, and therefore that the elevating power acted more directly on the northern part of the arc than on the southern. But the chalk escarpment would at first offer considerable resistance to an upward movement, until the hard bed of the Oxford oolite was at length fractured and snapped off. Then it was progressively elevated, with all its supermeumbent strata grinding and producing the vertical wall of chalk. The same elevating power having less resistance further south, protruded the forest marble between Chickerel and Langton Herrimg, and this effect led to a corresponding removal of a large mass of matter on both sides of the anticlinal axis, but particularly on the shorter side of the arc, 2. e. on the Ridgway side. This removal of matter from the sides to the centre of the are would be necessarily connected with a proportionate depression of its extreme points, and their maximum depression would be simultaneous with the maximum elevation of the central boss. This joint action of elevation and depression would, I apprehend, involve the upper Purbeck and Hastings sands in all the cireum- stances in which we find them placed,—I mean, both tilted up and overthrown. The subterranean results of this supposed state of things would be the fracture of the Oxford oolitic stratum and great pressure on the subjacent Oxford clay,—a pressure however exceedingly concentrated at the base of the chalk range, as is evidenced by the verticality of the strata. Now this local pressure would, it seems to me, foree up the Oxford clay from beneath through the opening thus made, that is, through the very place in which we find it—between the chalk wall and the overturned upper surface of the Hastings sands. I cannot but feel that the geology of this part of the Weymouth district is connected with some difficulties, and my attempt has merely been to suggest a mode of reconciling with the acknowledged truths of geological science what, primd facie, appeared somewhat anomalous. ‘The impressions therefore which I received from per- sonal examination, modified or confirmed by much subsequent con- sideration, I beg to offer with entire deference to those better que to form a correct judgement on the subject*. * Since my examination of the locality and my announcement of its results to Professor Sedgwick, I find that Captain Ibbetson has been on the spot; I hope therefore that more light will be thrown on the question. ye 1848.] AUSTEN ON BEDS CONTAINING PHOSPHATE OF LIME. 297 Marcu 8, 1848. The following communications were read :— 1. On the position in the Cretaceous series of Beds containing Phos- phate of Lime. By R. A. C. Austen, Esq., B.A., F.G.S. In a letter published in the ‘Gardener’s Chronicle’ of the 19th of February last, Mr. Paine of Farnham gives an account of some strata in which phosphate of lime is in sufficient abundance to render them of considerable importance to agriculture: and the editor of that journal, in noticing the value of Mr. Paine’s communication, ex- presses a hope that it may lead to a successful search for like under- ground wealth in other parts of the country. It is in fulfilment of this hope that I propose to describe the true geological age and position of the beds in which this mimeral exists. Much interest undoubtedly attaches to other parts of the subject—such as the chemical inquiry as to the source of so large a quantity of phosphoric acid, and the substances with which it is combined and associated ; but these inquiries, as well as the circumstances which will eventually determine the economical value of these beds, are understood to be in the hands of Prof. Way and Mr. Paine, to whom they rightly belong. The communication to the ‘Gardener’s Chronicle’ is headed, ‘Discovery of Strata contaiming Phosphate of Lime in the Chalk formation :”’ the term “discovery”? however can hardly be employed in this instance with strict propriety. The fact of the existence of phosphate of lime is stated in almost all the works or memoirs which have treated on the mineral character of the middle cretaceous beds ; such as those of M. Brongniart, Dr. Buckland, Sir H. De la Beche, Dr. Mantell*, and Dr. Fittont+. The latter most fully describes the appear- ance and mode of occurrence of the phosphate nodules, when speaking of the gault of Folkstone: the chemical composition of these nodules is given in a note appended to this part of Dr. Fitton’s memoir, on the authorities of Dr. Prout and Dr. Turner, page 111; and at page 145 he says, “In approaching Farnham, the gault near its contact with the sands abounds in nodules containing a large proportion of phosphate of lime, resembling those of the vicimity of Folkstone.”’ It will be found that I have noticed them as constituting a marked character in the same part of the cretaceous series as developed in the neighbourhood of Guildford. Mr. Paine’s communication is not geological, but rather agricultural and practical ;—its great merit is that it calls attention to the fact, that this earth, which geologists had merely indicated, has actually been employed by him advantageously as a substitute for bone-dust, and that it exists in sufficient abun- dance to have an economical value. * In a paper read before the Geological Society in February 1843, Dr. Mantell pointed out the preservation of the soft parts of mollusca in these beds, forming dark carbonaceous substances resembling coprolites, which he named molluskite. Proc. Geol. Soc. vol. iv. p. 35. See also Silliman’s Amer. Journ. vol. xlv. p. 243 ; or Mantell’s Medals of Creation, vol. i. p. 431. + On the Strata below the Chalk, Geol. Trans., 2nd Series, vol. iv. p. 103. 258 PROCEEDINGS OF THE GEOLOGICAL society. [ Mar. 8, After reading Mr. Pame’s paper, I visited the various spots in my own neighbourhood where the middle cretaceous beds are exposed, and found the order and relative thickness in all the same. The phosphate nodules are abundant in the upper greensand, but they are generally small m the top beds; below come the fire-stone or malm-rock bands, twenty to twenty-five feet thick, and beneath these again other beds of bright green earth, of which one portion is argil- laceous: this lower green band is the gault. The concretions of phosphate of lime are not so uniformly spread through the thickness of this mass as in the upper greensand, but occur in two seams, one in the argillaceous portion, the other lower, and only a little within the limits of this division of the series. These two beds of phosphate nodules, as well as a seam of pyrites, which in open sections pro- duces a brown band in the gault deposit, are remarkably persistent. — Although this order of the beds is constant for twenty miles along the course of the North Downs, it by no means follows that the discovery of phosphate beds will invariably reward those who may explore for them along the foot of that escarpment. In this re- spect all published geological maps will mislead, as they give a most incorrect representation of the course of the subordinate members of the middle cretaceous group. Research is already very strongly recommended in various quarters, but this will often be attended with a fruitless expenditure, unless it is accompanied with a clear under- standing of the accidents which affect the relative positions of the various strata along this range. All published sections too are equally delusive. When seen from some distance within the Wealden area, the upper Iie of the North Down range seems to rise to a nearly uniform level ; but when the beds which compose these hills are more closely im- spected, it will be found that whilst the dip of the whole mass is to the north, the amount of dip varies continually from the horizontal nearly to the vertical—that beds of very different parts of the series are brought up to the crest of the escarpment—and that the range in reality presents a series of long undulations. With such a structure, the extent of the series exhibited in any one section will depend on the amount of inclination, bemg most where the dip is most rapid. But in addition to this, a fault, and one which in some places is of very considerable amount, runs along the base of the chalk escarpment ; the lower greensand beds which occupy the south side of the gault also undulate, but the two sets of undulations do not correspond ; that is to say, they have not their greatest curves opposite one another. The reverse indeed is very frequently the case, the greatest amount of disturbance on one side facing a small amount on the other, and thus it happens that in some places the beds of upper greensand. and gault are exposed, and in others carried down below the surface ; so that if laid down on a map they would be represented only at intervals along the base of the escarpment, as north of Gomshall, beneath Newlands Corner, near Guildford, at Puttenham and Seale: but it would require a map on a very much larger scale than that of the Ordnance to enable one to lay down these minute and complicated details. 1848.| AUSTEN ON BEDS CONTAINING PHOSPHATE OF LIME. 259 All these several places present old pits from which the marly green earth has been taken in former times, doubtless for the purpose of amending the land; yet the period in some instances must be re- mote, as these pits are often occupied by large timber trees. After having ascertained the positions of the several seams of phos- phate nodules at the above-named localities, I visited those from which Mr. Paine is now raising this material in the neighbourhood of Farnham. The sections here are not so instructive, owing to the horizontality of the strata and the great accumulation of clayey gravel which covers the surface; the cretaceous beds have not in this part of the Wealden denudation that regular northern inclination which is given them in Dr. Fitton’s section, and over the whole expansion of the middle group of beds from Farnham to Petersfield there is a series of undulations of which the axes shift round from N. and S. to E. and W., producing ridges having gentle opposite dips. The component beds of the cretaceous series in the vicimity of Farnham differ only in one instance from the series exhibited near Guildford, and which I described in ‘Geol. Proc.’ vol. iv.; the ex- ception is presented in the strata exposed in the great quarry on the road from Farnham to Crondall. Dr. Fitton notices it as a “‘cream-coloured subcalcareous sandstone,’ which well describes its appearance, but the calcareous portion hardly amounts to two per cent.; the great mass of it is friable, passing occasionally into cherty sandstones ; these sandstones rest on the gault, which along the lower part of the valley forms the subsoil of the rich hop-ground west of Farnham ; and they are clearly seen m the road section to be suc- ceeded by a band of bright green sand. This mass of sandstone is the equivalent of the fire-stone to the eastward and the malm-rock to the west, but differs from them in the absence of lime, and represents merely the course of a current, which at that particular period, be- tween the gault and upper greensand, drifted arenaceous and rather coarse materials along this particular line in the cretaceous ocean ; the course of this current seems to have been somewhat north and south. From this point on the Crondall road, I had the advantage of being conducted by Mr. Paine to every one of the pits from which he has procured the phosphate of lime. In the road-side quarry the uppermost bed is denuded, but it is seen in a quarry in a cultivated field close by, and is remarkable from contaming large nodules of pure white carbonate of lime. This bed is surmounted by a stratum of green earth from two to three feet thick, which has one subordi- nate line of nodules of phosphate. Crossing the valley, the same stratum of upper greensand is seen capping the whole of the ridge, over which Mr. Paine has opened numerous small pits, in the spoil from which the small, hard, dark-coloured nodules of phosphate are very abundant. Mixed with these are numerous fossils,—amor- phozoa, bivalve shells; the Monomyarize are perfect; the Dimyariz occur only as internal casts; these all consist of phosphate of lime. These beds are the uppermost of the upper greensand series, and may be followed till they pass beneath the lower white chalk. Across a small valley Mr. Paine is removing the capping of greensand and 260 PROCEEDINGS OF THE GEOLOGICAL SocIETy. [Mar. 8, marl, to get at the building-stone beneath, and which capping eon- tains the large irregular concretions of phosphate described in his letter; here also fossil remains are abundant, but the whole mass is sufficiently rich to be worth removal. The gault is seen coming out from beneath the beds of sandstone on the south side of this ridge, resting on a mass of the upper ferruginous beds of the lower green- sand, the latter forming a slight prominence along the road to Win- chester. No beds are worked for phosphate along this line of gault : the various spots at which Mr. Paine has obtamed this material belong to the upper greensand, to which part of the series he cor- rectly refers it. He says, ‘‘'The exact geological position of this stratum is the lower part of the lower chalk,” and although he has not worked any of the beds of the gault, he states that the analysis of the fossils which were thrown out in draining this retentive stratum, according to the report of Prof. Way, afforded from eighty to ninety per cent. of phosphate of lime. The portion of Mr. Paine’s communication to the ‘Gardener’s’ Chronicle’ which most surprised me, was that wherein he states that he had discovered a bed rich in phosphate of lime in the lower green- sand; and we accordingly next proceeded to view the spots at which it was obtained ; the first of these is in the crown of a hill or ridge above the village of Bracklesham, the second at rather a lower level across the valley of the Bourne stream. The first of these is worked in the mass of gault which Dr. Fitton represents in his section, pl. 10, on the south of the valley of the Wey : the phosphate nodules occur in two bands, one, and by far the richest, near the bottom of the mass, the other higher up, but both within the dark green sands which constitute the lower portion of the gault: the gault clays occur at the summit of the ridge. The valley of the Bourne stream cuts deep into the beds of lower green- sand; other inequalities of surface follow this in the line of section ; but the gault, decreasing in thickness, is found on the intervening summits beneath the thick capping of tertiary clays and gravels. The cherty sandstone which occurs so abundantly on parts of Farnham Common, is the remains, in stfu, of destroyed strata of firestone which once rested on this gault. Fossils are abundant in the beds _ worked above Bracklesham, and these refer them to the gault. The ¢rue position of the gault on the south of the river Wey is not given in Dr. Fitton’s section, owing to the scale of the sections, which horizontally are one inch, and vertically upwards of four inches. to the mile. The thickness of the several groups is in consequence greatly exaggerated ; and in this manner there is not space for these. undulations of the beds from beneath the tertiary strata of Beacon-hill _ to the river Wey. The river Wey along this part of its course runs . along an anticlinal valley, a disturbance which has been overlooked. by those who have described the accidents of the Wealden district. . The beds of lower greensand, which on the north side of the stream _ dip northwards, are found on the other side to dip south; pro- ceeding in this direction they gradually become more horizontal, so __ that where the gault beds set on above Bracklesham, the southerly 1848.] AUSTEN ON BEDS CONTAINING PHOSPHATE OF LIME. 261 inclination is only slight, and it is from this cause that they are carried on much further than is represented in Dr. Fitton’s section. The beds productive of phosphate of lime in the neighbourhood of Farnham are, as everywhere else, confined to the upper greensand. and gault ; two seams in each of these divisions are richer than the rest, and present nodules almost exclusively composed of it ; but the whole of these two masses afford phosphoric acid, and only in less degree than the nodules. It everywhere co-exists with green earth, though this mineral, when worked out from the rest of the mass, as is easily done, does not appear to afford a trace of it. Phosphoric acid occurs in the waters of many mineral springs, but only in the minutest quantities ; in combination it is equally scarce, the metalliferous and earthy phosphates belonging certainly to the rarer minerals, so that we cannot suppose the beds in question to have resulted from the destruction of strata containing them. Ani- mal structures alone seem to contain it in any abundance, and this circumstance has obviously prompted the suggestion which has al- ready appeared in several quarters, that these nodules are coprolitic. Dr. Buckland has shown that these fossil bodies consist largely of this earthy phosphate. It has been urged against this, that these nodules have not the convoluted forms so marked in the coprolites of the lias and in the Juli of the chalk ; this however is of no importance. When these upper greensand and gault nodules are rubbed down so as to show a section, they constantly present a concentric arrangement, as do agates and like bodies where cavities have been filled by infiltra- tion. In the instances of the bivalve shells and ammonites which are now solid casts consisting of phosphate of lime, we know that these forms must have first been enclosed in the sand, that next the proper shelly matter was removed, and in process of time its place occupied by the earthy phosphate. *Though the nodules now under consideration have an internal structure which forbids our supposing them to be coprolites, yet they have the oblong forms of such bodies, and I am disposed to think that the phosphoric acid which these beds contain was originally of animal origin (coprolitic matter), at times with the external form preserved, as in the nodules, but for the most part broken up and mingled with the sand and ooze. The beds which contain this calcareous phosphate have since their deposition been placed under conditions which must have promoted great internal chemical changes. The vast deposits of the chalk and whole tertiary series have been accumulated above them ; they must have gone down to great depths, and have been subjected for a long lapse of time to an elevated temperature. Under one set of conditions the substance of the coprolitic bodies, or that of the shells, sponges, and wood, may have been removed, and the phosphoric acid may have become generally diffused throughout the mass; whilst under other conditions the vacant moulds left by these extraneous bodies may have been filled by the infiltration of the phosphate of lime. The coprolitic bodies are now casts, as are all the other remains ; and when VOL. IV.—PART I. x 262 PROCEEDINGS OF THE GEOLOGICAL Society. [ Mar. 8, we consider the very peculiar character of the substance in question, the presence of these mere external forms seems almost sufficient to warrant the conclusion that the phosphoric acid in these beds was originally of animal origin. 2. On the presence of Phosphoric Acid in the subordinate members of the Chalk Formation. By J. C. Nrspit, Esq., F.G.S. Ir is well known, that upon certain strata of the upper and lower greensand, the use of bones and other substances containing phos- phoric acid has not proved of the slightest benefit for agricultural purposes. I have for some time been engaged in collecting soils and rocks from these formations, for the purpose of chemical mvesti- gation into the origin of their fertility. Among others, I obtained from Farnham specimens of a fertile marl which is found on the estate of J. M. Pame, Esq. A cursory examination gave evidence of the existence of an unusual amount of phosphoric acid in the marl, and in November 1847 I communicated to Mr. Paine the discovery I had made. From the marl was subsequently obtained by washing, substances, evidently coprolitic, containing twenty-eight per cent. of phosphoric acid ; the general mass of the marl contained from two to three per cent. of phosphoric acid. An examination of some nodules from the gault near Maidstone, sent to me by G. Whiting, Esq., showed the presence likewise of twenty-eight per cent. of phosphoric acid. Every one who has visited the Isle of Wight must be aware of the existence in the Shanklin sand, at Shanklin and near Black Gang Chine, of nodular masses of shells of a dark iron colour. An ex- amination of these substances showed that they contained phosphoric acid to at least the extent of fifteen per cent., and probably more. The whole of the substances examined contained likewise organic matter and fluorine, some of them in very large quantities. I have qualitatively analysed at least a dozen other soils and rocks of these formations, and have found none destitute of phosphoric acid. The dark iron red sandstone rock, which occurs in masses in the upper portion of the lower greensand, as at Hind Head and other places, contains, for instance, 0°69 per cent. of phosphoric acid. 3. Outline of the principal Geological features of the Salt-Field of Cuesuire and the adjoining districts. By G. WAREING ORME- rop, M.A., F.G.S. In the following pages it is proposed to give only a general geological description of the district connected. with the Cheshire salt-field. In so doing, such dislocations only as affect the general geological features will be noticed, and it is purposed to avoid as much as pos- sible touching upon any theoretical points, confining this paper to mere description. a 1848.] ORMEROD ON THE SALT-FIELD OF CHESHIRE. 265 The word “ fault”? will be used as meaning a dislocation causing a general change in the direction of dip: the word “‘throw’’ when the direction is not altered. Of the extent once occupied by the deposit of which the Cheshire salt-field forms a portion, it is perhaps impossible to form now an esti- mate. ‘The salt-beds of Staffordshire only will here be considered as connected with Cheshire, forming the most south-easterly portion of the same deposit. These beds are found near Ingestrie, about five miles from Stafford. The brine is only worked; the spring is co- pious, yielding 2 lbs. 20z. of salt to the gallon. The following is a section of the measures: red marl and gypsum 324 feet, the same with particles of salt 15 feet, red marl and gypsum 69 feet ; in all 408 feet. Of this depth 378 feet were sunk, and 30 bored. This salt deposit is now separated from the Cheshire salt beds by the North Staffordshire coal-field and the red sandstone hills (the Bunter sandstein), extending from the termination thereof near Whitmore to near Shrewsbury. ‘The coal-measures crop out at the northern side of a ridge capped by the new red sandstone, extending from the south- west of Cheadle in Staffordshire (to the east of which place the obser- vations contained in this paper do not extend) near Littley to Dilhorn. This is well shown at Delph-house and other places, and by the road leading from Draycott by Draycott Cross. Near this last place the coal was sunk to through the red sandstone. The dip of both mea- sures is S.W. At Delph-house colliery I found the Holoptychius and Palzeoniscus, a species of Unio, and specimens of Neuropteris, Sphenopteris and Pecopteris. At Caverswall the dip of the red sandstone is S.E. To the north of Lane-end the red sandstone over- - lies the coal, as at Abberley. It is found near Stoke, and appears to basset out along the rising ground as far as Woolstanton. It thence extends in an irregular line or curve to Madley, having a dip varying from W.N.W. to W.S.W. To this point we shall again return. It is not here purposed to enter into an examination of the North Staffordshire coal-field, but merely to trace its connexion with the coal-field of Lancashire and Cheshire, and to notice the points of contact with the new red sandstone. The south-eastern side of this district has been just noticed. The western runs along the boundary of Cheshire and Staffordshire in a north-easterly direction till it meets the hill ground of Macclesfield Forest. This district is noticed slightly in Farey’s ‘ Derbyshire,’ and his observations, where correct, I have incorporated and extended. For much assistance in the examination of the Macclesfield Forest district I am indebted to Samuel Grimshaw, Esq., of Errwood near Buxton, Mr. Mercer of Newton, and Mr. Boothman of Whaley. From Macclesfield Forest the carboniferous measures extend by Lyme, Disley and Mellor to Hyde and Mottram. The eastern boun- dary of the district to be examined is formed by a synclinal line, called by Farey (vol. i. p. 172) the Goyt Trough. ‘This can be traced from Ludworth Moor, near New Mills, along the valley of the Goyt, be- tween Goyts Moss and Thatch Moss collieries, between Flash and Quarnford, along Goldsitch Moor, east of Hencloud Roaches, and to x 2 264 PROCEEDINGS OF THE GEOLOGICAL sociETy. _ [ Mar. 8, the west of Thorneliff. Towards this lme the rocks to the east thereof dip, as is shown north of Hayfield by the coal of Abbot’s Chair dip- ping westerly ; the flags at Car Meadow dipping W.S.W., a black goniatite shale on the south side of a throw at the same place dippmg 15° N.W., carboniferous rocks (probably millstone) at Little Hayfield dipping about 15° W., and at the bridge in Hayfield about 30° W. ; the measures from Spmner Bottom to near Highwalls dippmg appa- rently west ; the first quarry on the road from Hayfield to New Mills (apparently upper millstone) dipping 23° W.S.W.; the yard-coal at Ollerset dipping westerly, the carboniferous measures from thence to Whaley dippmg in a westerly direction; the millstone flags at Fer- nilee and thence by the High Peak Railway and Goyts-bridge having a general westerly dip; the flags (probably millstone) east of Goyts Moss dipping 46° W. (the coal at Goyts Moss, on the west side of the anticlinal line, dips gently to the east), the rocks at Grim quarries dipping westerly, the coal at Thatch Moss (the lowest bed of the coal series) dippmg 11° W. by N., the coals of Goldsitch Moor dipping gently S.W. by W., the coal (the thick 6-foot) at Hazlebarrow dip- ping 37° westerly, the coal-measure rocks at Thorneliff (probably the lower coal) dippmg 17° W. by N. This synelinal lme I have not traced further to the south, but the westerly dip is seen in Stafford- shire near Oncote, Grindon and Ford, on the metalliferous limestone shales and the quarry at Waterhouses, where the dip is south-west- erly. At Cauldon lime quarry, to the west of this point, the dip is 10° N.N.W. The same coal is worked at Ollerset, Whaley an Goyts Moss. ; This fault does not proceed forward in a direct northerly direction from the point south of Ludworth Moor, where the description of it commences. It there appears to cease at or merge in a fault which ranges from W. by N. to E. by 8., passing between Ludworth Moor and Mellor. The extent of this fault I have not had an opportunity of proving. To the north of the same the beds from the Water- meetings near Compstall to Chunal have a westerly dip, as seen by the black shale at Water-meetings dipping W. by N.., the coal-rock at Cote Green dipping gently N.W., the coal and gannister near Boar Fold dippmg W.N.W., the flags and shales to the east thereof dip- ping in the same direction up to the summit of Coombs Edge, where the dip is 8° N.W. by W. The yard-coal has been worked from Boar Clough to Ludworth Intakes having the westerly dip. This varies a little near the fault last mentioned. The yard-mine is worked near the brook north of Chadderton dippmg gently W.S.W., and the coal-rock, to the east of a throw ranging north and south at that point, dips from 20° to 40° from S. by E. to S.W. . The western side of the synclinal line, or Goyts Trough, is proved at its northern extremity, on the south of the last-mentioned fault, by the yard-coal, which is worked along Thornsett Brows and by Cheetham Hill to near Mellor, dipping E.S.E. and E. by S. about 10°, and the flag cropping out from under the same, which is seen in the brook by Mill Clough near to the last-mentioned fault dipping gently N.E. An anticlinal line passes between Mellor and Marple, 1848.] ORMEROD ON THE SALT-FIELD OF CHESHIRE. © = 205 the coal-rock beds at the latter place dipping westerly. This anti- clinal line can be traced to Forest Chapel, at which place it apparently divides. ‘To this line the measures rise from the great Goyt fault or trough above-mentioned on the east, and from the eastern plain of Cheshire on the west. At Spout-house, a mile and a half north of Disley, the coal dips westerly. The anticlinal line is cut by a tunnel about three-quarters of a mile to the N. by E. of Disley; it passes near Disley Church ; it is seen in the valley east of the Lantern plan- tation at Lyme Park, the millstone dipping W. by N. and the 13- inch coal E. It is traceable thence by the bottom of the valley below Jenkin Chapel, and passes under the chapel-yard at. Forest Chapel. The strata along the latter portion of this line are limestone shale. These beds to the south of Forest Chapel on the easterly side of the fault are thrown up perpendicularly, and in one place are thrown slightly over. Along this district to Whaley the general range of the eross-throws is from N.E. to 8.W., the same being mostly throws- down to the north; such also appears to be the general direction of the cross-throws to the north of Whaley. In the throw crossing at Whaley, and that also at Thatch Moss, lead is found in the coal- workings. At Forest Chapel several lines of dislocation apparently intersect. Though not proved, there is good reason to suppose that a line of throw passes from the north of Goyts Moss at this place, being a throw-up to the north. The anticlinal line which has been above traced is here broken and appears to divide, one branch passing along the brook to the east of Shutlingslow to near the Dane. This is shown by the beds continu- ing to rise towards the west along the eastern side of the brook and the westerly dip of the insulated hill of Shutlingslow. This hill, one of the highest in this district, is capped with millstone dipping about 12° S.W.; the limestone shale bassets out from under the same at the north-eastern flank. The same direction of dip is seen at the south-west flank of the hill at Sparrow Greave. On the eastern side of the anticlinal line at Green Hills colliery near Quarnford Bridge the coal dips in an easterly direction. The continuity of the fault is broken at the Dane by a dislocation ranging about east and west, which has thrown in the range of the Back Forest dipping in a north-west direction, and ranging across the fault. To the south of this range the anticlinal line again commences and passes to the west of Gun End, and Gunstone quarries, in the limestone shale (these are on the crown of the saddle), by Upper Holker, having the limestone shale dipping 25° E.N.E. on the east, and the Bunter sandstein dipping 25°.S.W. on the west, to near Leek. The Bunter sandstein of Leek there will be occasion again to notice. Returning to the fork of the anticlinal lines near Forest Chapel or Shutlingslow, a western branch traverses the lower carboniferous rocks, passing to the north-west of Coombs quarry on the north-east flank of Shutlingslow where the flags dip S.S.W., Green Barn where the shales dip gently to the S.E., and Haddon where stone-beds dip 14° S.S.E. to the south-east and south of the quarries at Teggs Nose dipping westerly, at Pyegreave dipping 11° N.E. by N., at Croker and Raecliff dipping about H0° 266 PROCEEDINGS OF THE GEOLOGICAL SOCIETY. | [ Mar. 8, N.N.W., and Stonyfold dipping 8° 8.W., and to the north-west and north of the ranges having a south-easterly dip extending from Had- don to Bosley. These ranges extend to Winkle, and thence to the north by the valley west of Shutlingslow, as shown by a dip of 17° E. by S. near Bosley Min, E. by S. at Long Gutter, 10° E.S.E. near Longdale, 19° E.S.E. at Winkle. Between Bosley and Congleton Edge a line of dislocation occurs, which extends from Leek along the vallgy and here emerges into Cheshire. This will be more particularly noticed hereafter. After passing this fault at Congleton Edge, on the south-west side of Cloud End, the anticlinal line is again apparent. At Cloud End the mill- stone dips in a general south-west direction. In the Dane to the west of the aqueduct, Farey states, and I am informed correctly, that a line of fault is visible, the black shales and waterstone beds being in contact; this I was not able to verify im consequence of a heavy flood at the time of my visit. These last beds a little lower down the river are much broken, and the dip varies from 16° S.W. to 34° W.S.W. and 45° W. At Big Fenton the (apparently) limestone shales dip about 8° E.; at High Overton the Little roe-coal dips gently to the south-east. A synclinal line runs along coal-measures occupying the centre of the valley lying to the south-east of Mow, from near this point to New Chapel. The millstone crops out from under these coals, forming the summit of the Congleton Edge and Mow Cop Range; the dip at Congleton Edge is from 40° S.E. by E. to 50° E.S.E. This range is crossed near the lime-kilns on Mow Cop by a throw-down to the south-west of about ninety feet ; this throw is about ten yards wide. (Information of Mr. Mellor of Ardwick.) The dip on Mow is from 40° to 50° E.S.E. On the northern or Cheshire side of Mow Cop at Newbold Astbury the limestone shale and carboniferous limestone crop out. This last is exposed at the saddle of the continuation of the anticlinal line above-mentioned. It is worked by a shaft to the depth of about ninety feet. This is erroneously considered by Farey (vol. i. p. 160) as the yellow magnesian limestone. It contains, inter alia, Producta, Spirifer, Terebratula, Corallines and Trilobites. On a continuous line with this saddle, to the south-west thereof, the second roe-coal is worked ; this dips both north-west and south- east, or towards Cheshire and Staffordshire. The millstone continues to cap the hill to the south-east of these beds. A throw-down to the west therefore passes between these coals and Mow on the dip, and between them and the limestone saddle on the strike, causing the beds to take a position as if cropping out from under the millstone rit. = The anticlinal line thence proceeds between the Bunter sandstem at Meerlake, dipping about 30° N., and the coal at Green-fields bee ping about 11° S. Thence the line is continued across Audley to Madley, where the Bunter sandstein wraps round the extremity of the Pottery coal-field, passing by Whitmore to Newcastle and the south-western side of that district as before mentioned. Between the line above-mentioned extending from Overton to New ee a 1848.] | ORMEROD ON THE SALT-FIELD OF CHESHIRE. 267 Chapel, and a line extending in a south-easterly direction from Cloud End by the western side of Rudyard Reservoir, the low coal and millstone beds dip in a westerly direction. This is shown at the collieries at Biddulph dipping 14° westerly, the millstone on Biddulph Moor dipping about 40° W., the strata at Broadmeadow dipping W.N.W., and the beds at Horrocks Bank and Grindlestone Edge by Rudyard dipping about 16° S.W. by W. From what has gone be- fore it will be seen that Cloud End forms the northerly extremity of this triangular district, having a general south-west dip. To the east of this line, from Rudyard to Cloud, the narrow patch of new red sandstone occurs which has been before adverted to. The limestone shales or carboniferous beds on the western side of the anticlinal line passing by Gunstone quarries before mentioned are on the western side also brought into contact with this patch of Bunter sandstem. To the south of Leek I have not extended a regular examination, but it does not appear from the information that I have received, nor am I aware, that the Bunter sandstein extends in that direction. The new red sandstone forms the bottom of the valley, and the rising ground on the eastern side thereof from Leek to near Bosley. At Ballhey near Leek it is shaken, dipping N.E.; at Abbey Green it dips about 25° 8.W. as before mentioned ; near the Fould it dips 25° S.W.; it there consists of a sandy red rock with large pebbles, some upwards of six mches m length. At Leek it lies very level, having a slight dip to the N.K. Near a brook running from Rudyard by the east of Will Gate it dips 37° N.E. and is In contact with the (probably millstone) beds of the carboniferous measures. These are seen, as before mentioned, at a quarry at Har- per’s Gate, on the west side of the valley, dipping 16° S.W. by W., and at quarries at Grindlestone Edge having the same dip. Axestone Springs on the easterly side of the valley rise out of the line of fault between the lower carboniferous measures on the east and the Bunter sandstein, which is here seen in an old quarry dipping gently N.N.W. Hence this sandstone can be traced by Fair Edge Hill, along the old road from Leek to Macclesfield, and by the side of the canal-feeder to the river Dane at Hug Bridge. On the western side of this bridge clayey beds, probably the magnesian marls, are seen in the crook of the river, dipping about 15° N.E. by EK. The average width of this patch of new red sandstone is about a mile. Near Leek it is a mile and a half across ; this appears to be the greatest width. The two faults bounding this patch appear to approach gradually together at Hug Bridge; near this place they probably coalesce and pass by Cloud End through the break im the hills through which the Dane runs, and then enter Cheshire. In a paper by Mr. Binney, contamed in the fifth number of the Quarterly Journal of the Geological Society, the particulars of the points of contact of the new red sandstone and the coal-measures at various points between Manchester and Macclesfield are stated, show- ing a general south-westerly dip. At Fool’s Nook by the canal, about two miles south of Macclesfield, the waterstone beds occur in close 268 PROCEEDINGS OF THE GEOLOGICAL society: [ Mar. 8, proximity to the low coal-measures. The Bunter sandstein appears on the western side of Macclesfield at Alderley Edge. The dip varies from north-west to south-west, and from 10° to 16°. The beds vary much im character; copper, lead and cobalt have here been worked. The Bunter sandstem is exposed in the Bollin above the works at Quarry Bank, and extends thence in a northerly direction to the Lancashire coal-field. From Quarry Bank to near Bowdon the waterstone beds occur; these are much broken and contorted. Gypsum is found by the Bollin near Castle Hill; the general dip is south-westerly. At Tim- perley the upper beds of the Bunter sandstem occur for a short space dipping south from 8° to 10°. The general dip of the whole of this triangular district, bounded on the north by the South Lancashire coal-field, on the east by the Peak and Macclesfield Forest ranges, and on the south-west by the fault next mentioned which separates it from Cheshire and connects it with Lancashire, is south-westerly. This dislocation ranging from Leek to Bosley, where it enters Cheshire, thence apparently passes north of the great gypseous or saliferous district of Cheshire, ranging between it and Alderley Edge. Rosthern Mere is probably on the line. This piece of water is about 100 feet im depth, or the bottom is about 20 feet below sea-level. The Bunter sandstem beds dipping 4° S. are broken off abruptly at Lymm, and at Warburton the waterstone beds are found dippmg from 20° to 46° 8.S.W. and much broken ; these beds are then thrown down upwards of 1500 feet to the N.E. They are again broken off on the rise to the east of Miilbank, where the highest beds of the Bunter sandstein crop out. At Woolden, on the south-west edge of Chat Moss, the same Bunter sandstem is seen and a brine-spring has been found. On Chat Moss, near this place, iron rods were driven to a depth of 180 feet (or about 90 feet below sea-level) without reaching the bottom. At Woolstone, near War- rington, brine was met with at a depth of 104 feet, or about 50 feet below sea-level. It therefore appears highly probable that the line of fault ranges by Rosthern Mere, and to the east of Millbank and of Woolden, breaking the beds abruptly and causing the depressions which are now occupied by Carrington and Chat Mosses. At Ros- thern this dislocation is crossed by a throw reaching from Holt, west of the Peckforton hills and Northwich, and passing a little to the east of the Bunter sandstein at Timperley. To the north of the first- mentioned and the west of the latter faults, with the exception of the lower portion of the Weever, the salt-beds do not appear to extend. Returning to Bosley, near Great Fenton the waterstones dip west- erly, crop out from under the gypseous beds, and are in contact with the limestone or millstone shales. The upper red marls extend along the western base of Congleton Edge and Mow Cop, coming into contact with the carboniferous lime- stone and coal-measures which are broken off on that side on the dip, causing at Astbury a down-throw to the north-west. The amount en —— EE — 1848.) | ORMEROD ON THE SALT-FIELD OF CHESHIRE. 269 of this equals a portion of the thickness of the carboniferous limestone, the whole of the thickness of the millstone and coal-measures, and the greater part of the thickness of the new red sandstone. The red sandstone at Meer Lake has been already noticed. From this point to Madley and Whitmore the district is so covered with drift that the eastern basset of the new red sandstone is not exposed. The broad valley extending from near Malpas to Congleton, sweep- ing in a crescent between the red sandstone hills of Shropshire and the Staffordshire coal-field on the one side, and the high ground of the Peckforton hills and Delamere range on the other, appears to be occupied by the saliferous and gypseous beds, lying as it were in a trough, to which the adjoining portions of both the above ranges dip. At but few places in this valley, or trough of the salt-measures, do natural or artificial sections extending down to the rock occur. The country is mostly level and covered with deep drift. In the absence of sections we are compelled to have recourse to other clues. In the northern part of the county, as at Winsford and Northwich, the melting of the beds of rock-salt by the overlying brine causes subsi- dences of the ground. Similar subsidences have taken place in the southern districts, few indeed in number, but sufficient to connect the points where the presence of brine is proved. The most southerly point at which brine has been worked is at Dirtwich, or Foulwich, situate on the boundary of Cheshire, about two miles to the south of Malpas. The last pit was sunk through clay to the depth of 450 feet (or by estimation 300 feet below sea-level). The brine comes into the shaft at the depth of 60 feet in a small stream about the thickness of a finger. Proceeding in a north-easterly direction, at Bickley, situate about three miles to the east of Malpas, a subsidence of the ground took place on the 8th of July 1659. (Ormerod’s ‘ Cheshire,’ vol. ii. p. 361.) The place is called the Barrel-fall, and is now dry and overgrown with brush-wood. At Combermere Abbey, about four miles to the south-east of Bick- ley and the same distance to the north-east of Whitchurch, a subsi- dence took place and the pool was filled with brine, which was worked about 1533. At Audlem, further to the east, the brine-springs rise to the surface. At Moss-hall Farm near Audlem, and other places im that vicinity, the red marls crop out from under the lias shale and dip S.W. and S. 5° to 7°. To the south-east of the country just noticed, which occu- pies the valley lying to the south-east of the Peckforton range, lias and lias shale occur. They form a slightly elevated pear-shaped district, the northern side reaching from Wem by Whixall, Tilstock, Burley Dam and Brooks Mill to near Audlem, and overlying the sa- liferous or gypseous marls. This district is described in Murthison’s ‘Silurian System,’ vol. i. p. 25. This continuous bed of lias is an additional proof of the continuance of the subjacent beds of salt- measures. Through the eastern edge of the lias shales (as described 270 PROCEEDINGS OF THE GEOLOGICAL society. [ Mar. 8, in Murchison’s ‘ Silurian System’) a boring was made at Kents Rough, near Adderly in Shropshire, about two miles to the south of Audlem, for coals, but brine was found at a depth of 300 feet. This is, I be- lieve, the most south-eastern point at which salt has been proved in this district. 'To the south of this patch of lias, as has been before stated, the red sandstone again crops out, dipping in a north-westerly direction and forming the elevated ranges of the Clive and Hawkstone hills, and thence extending near Market Drayton and Ashley Heath to Whitmore. This outher of lias occupies the centre of the trough of the red sandstone, having the basset edges of the red marls lower on the north or Cheshire than on the south or Shropshire side. In this south- eastern salt district no rock-salt has yet been actually proved, but the brine at and between Audlem and Nantwich is found close under the soil and running into the river Weever. This peculiarity is possibly explained by the circumstance just mentioned, the southern side of the trough being more elevated than the northern. Thus the water sinking down along the above-mentioned ridges would be thrown out along the line of country lying to the south-east of the Peckforton range; it would then spread along the surface of the measures and, as at Audlem, impregnate the sand. From Audlem to Nantwich, a distance of seven miles, brine is found on both sides of the river. To the north of Nantwich the brine for a short distance has not been proved. The brine (as I am informed by Mr. Peter Hodgkinson) is tapped at 91 feet 6 inches below the surface (or about 86 feet above the level of the sea). The measures passed through are marl 20 feet, quicksand 1 foot 6 inches, clayey marl with gravel at the bottom 28 feet 6 mches, flag overlying the brine 1 foot 6 inches. At Acton, a mile from Nantwich on the Chester road, a weak brine rises to the surface. The analysis of the Nantwich brine as made by Dr. Daubeny (Phil. Trans. for 1830) differs very slightly from that at Middlewich. At Broad Lane in sinking a well brine was found ; this is the most northerly place at which brine has, I believe, been found im the vicinity of Nantwich. The most easterly, I believe, is at Hatherton: this place is situated three miles to the north-east of Audlem. On the western side the brine has been found at Austerton and Baddington, at which places it has been worked. The most northerly place to the west of Nantwich contaiming brine- springs is Baddeley, five miles to the north-west of Audlem, and about three miles to the west of Nantwich. At Spurstow, a village situate on the south-east side of the Peckforton hills, a mmeral spring is found in a field forming part of the rising ground at their foot: it rises out of a stratum of red and white clay which has been penetrated into nine feet. This water, when it rises, has a slight opake or opa- line appearance ; on standing some time it deposits this cloudiness and appears remarkably clear: it exhales sulphuretted hydrogen, 1848.| ORMEROD ON THE SALT-FIELD OF CHESHIRE. 271 A partial analysis by Mr. Whittel gave as the ingredients of a gallon of water 109 grains of solid dried matter, besides carbonic acid and perhaps other gases. Of this solid matter about 50 grains appeared to be purgative salts, containing a few grains of muriate of lime; the remaining 140 grains are composed of about 120 grains of sulphur, and 20 of carbonate of lime. (Ormerod’s ‘ Cheshire,’ vol. 1. p. 159). From Audlem to Nantwich the superficial coverimg is deep sand : this is cut by the brooks into small dingles, and forms a gently un- dulating surface. For a short space to the north of a line drawn by Spurstow, Bad- deley, Nantwich and Broad Lane, the salt has not been proved. Between these places and the Wheelock and Lower Dane the country is flat, and continues to be covered with drift in the varieties of gravel, sand and marl. At Church Copenhall, in a gravel-pit, several teeth and bones were found about seventy feet below the surface. One tooth was three inches long (Thomas Hodgkinson). To the north of this district the salt is again met with. The most easterly place at which salt is found is Lawton. The gypseous beds, as before men- tioned, here abut against the coal, millstone and limestone of Mow Cop and the Cloud. Rock-salt was worked here in the year 1779. This rock-salt is described as being equal in quality to that at North- wich. The mine has not now been worked for many years. The sinkings were through— Soil and gypseous marls . . 126 feet. malin Say SF he al Be es are Tnduraved Clay 7 5 ove nant OU SUL See Aare Biome a 9 Tnidurated clay’. 5. 9 95). 45 alt sume UitO) Um He et ee Total . . 289 feet; the highest bed being about 290 feet above the level of the sea. Brine is worked in the neighbourhood of Church Lawton, on the north-east and south-west sides of the Wheelock. The depth to the brine-spring is 225 feet; the level at which the brine stands is 210 feet from the surface, or about 200 feet above sea-level. It rises from one spring, which is copious and strongly saturated, and has been worked for a considerable period. Near Hassall Green a shaft was sunk to the depth of about 190 feet, or about 84 feet above sea-level, without finding brine. The measures passed through were gypseous, with little specks of salt. The works were abandoned, being unproductive. At Malkins Bank, to the north-east of the Wheelock river, three pits within a short distance of each other are in constant work, at the same depths, with copious supplies of strong brme. The engines when at work can only lower the level of the brine in the pits 9 feet. The depth to the spring is 185 feet, and the depth to the level at which the brine stands 84 feet below the surface, or about 70 and 171 feet respectively above sea-level. ; 272 PROCEEDINGS OF THE GEOLOGICAL Society. [Mar. 8, The following are the beds passed through in deseending order :— ft. in, Mast 102i olsen. sored 2th iolee EF Sito ae Gypseous beds with slight portions of rock-salt. . 37 0 Mar! . Hap ithetocos Pie Fe . gn See Hard gypseous beds . Tiss Marites 2 eS Se eee att 3.0 Hard gypseous béds:t alibi. 4 ehhh SET Pee Marl 26 By toy clade! ott.yoe) 29 viene Hard gypseous beds . se Mark 2s celh 4 3 0 Hard gypseous beds 1 6 Mar! . ESE LASERS Sine Tt vee te 3.0 Gypseous beds very hard at the bottom . 22 0 Rock and gypseous beds saturated with brine 2 0 Brine CRT 2D Patent. 10. tee ie Hard matter not penetrated, believed rock-salt. 183 6 At this pit a shaft 6 feet in diameter was sunk to the depth of 173 feet; a boring of 5 inches in diameter was then made. When the boring-instrument had penetrated the saturated plaster or gypseous beds to the brine-spring, it suddenly dropped 18 inches, and seemed to rest upon a solid substance. Immediately on the spring being tapped, it rushed in with such rapidity as to carry one of the men to the height of 90 feet before he could be rescued. Brine-pits continue to Wheelock, where a considerable salt trade is carried on. At the Limekiln pit, or Wheelock Salt-works, is a copious and strong brine in constant work. The depth to the spring is 180 feet, or 3 feet below sea-level; the depth to the level at which the spring stands 84 feet, or 93 feet above sea-level. The most westerly pit at Wheelock belongs to the Trent and Mer- sey Canal Company. It is situated on the south-west side of the river Wheelock ; it is a brine-pit, and is not now worked. These pits have been mentioned separately, as they form a line of works, situated at short intervals, carrying on the line of section. Following the course of the Wheelock, to the west of the shaft or pit of the Trent and Mersey Canal, in smking the foundations of the viaduct of the Manchester and Birmingham Railway over the Whee- lock, brine was reached. About a quarter of a mile lower down the Wheelock, and nearer to Warmingham, a boring was made through marl 102 feet and then mto gypseous marls 57 feet, in all 159 feet, or about 22 feet below sea-level, without findig brine, when the work was abandoned. At Pettywood Farm, half-way between Warming- ham and Middlewich, on the course of the Wheelock, in boring for the foundations of a bridge, gypseous beds were met with at a depth of 30 feet, when the boring was discontinued. Salt-springs have not, I believe, been actually detected between the Wheelock and Weever. South of this point the intervening country 1848.| ORMEROD ON THE SALT-FIELD OF CHESHIRE. 273 is covered with deep sand. In some localities, as at Minshul Vernon, brackish water is met with. The next point at which salt is known or worked is Middlewich. Between the line of salt-works reaching from Lawton to Middlewich and the river Dane, the drift covers the greater part of the country ; but from various borings and sinkings, and the sections exhibited in the banks of the Dane, the extension of the gypseous beds to that river is proved.» Their further extension to the north is, as before stated, certainly not extensive ; they are probably cut off by the pro- longed Rudyard fault. The red marl (as I am informed by Mr. J. H. Williamson, to whom I am indebted for much information both as to the coal and red sand- stone of the district near Mow,) can be traced from Lawton to Con- gleton, lying at the western foot of Mow Cop. As above mentioned, the waterstone crops out in the Dane a little distance to the west of Bosley aqueduct. It is here much broken, but the general dip is west by south. Near the fault the dip is 45°, which gradually diminishes to 16°, and then continues to near Holmes Chapel at a variable dip, probably not exceeding, and generally less than, that last mentioned. The waterstone beds are of similar cha- racter and have the same peculiar crystal as those at Lymm, Preston- on-the-hill, and elsewhere*. At Colley Mill the gypseous beds crop out, overlying the waterstones, and extending thence downwards along the Dane. These are irregular and contorted, but have a general westerly dip. I have not been able to procure any evidence of salt being found near Congleton ; the evidence rather tends to show that the contrary is the case. At Bug Lawton, about half a mile from Congleton, two borings were made by the side of the Dane, one of them to the depth of 360 feet, or about to sea-level, and brine was not met with. Gypseous beds are seen at intervals along the banks of the Dane and the brooks falling into it down to Cranage, near Holmes Chapel, and having the same general westerly dip. Between the Dane and Wheelock the existence of salt may be presumed at Arclid, two miles west of Sand- bach, from the smking ground. At Sandbach, near Mr. Percival’s factory, at 90 feet or 143 feet above sea-level, the gypseous beds were reached, but no brine was found. At Elton, gypseous beds were reached at 90 feet, which were bored into 99 feet, in all about 140 feet below sea-level, and salt was not found. At Red Lane, at Elton, half-way between Booth Lane Head and the river Wheelock, a brine- spring rises to the surface, abovt 130 feet above sea-level. At Spros- ton Green, half-way between Middlewich and Holmes Chapel, and a quarter of a mile to the south of the Dane, gypseous beds were reached at 90 feet, or a little above sea-level. For many particulars as to this district I am indebted to the Rey. * At this place the crystals are of silicate of protoxide of iron. This seeming crystal is probably caused by the component matter taking the places of scattered crystals of chloride of sodium, the form of which both in Cheshire and at Slime Road in Gloucestershire they have taken; exhibiting, if so, the lowest traces of the sait. 274 PROCEEDINGS OF THE GEOLOGICAL SOCIETY. [ Mar. 8, Vernon Tipping of Lawton, Mr. John Latham of Congleton, Mr. Thomas Williamson of Stonetrough Colhery, and Mr. Hodgkinson of Booth Lane Head. For particulars of the brine at Middlewich I am indebted to Mr. R. Llewellyn Vawdrey, Mr. Brereton, and Mr. Peter Hoole of that place. Rock-salt has not been found at Middlewich. The strata through which all the pits are sunk are composed of alternate beds of red and blue indurated clay with gypsum. In the pits at Northwich and Winsford, and also it is presumed at Malkins Bank, the brine lies on the rock-salt or “ rock-head ;”? such also is doubtless the case at Lawton. At Middlewich it is found in two different positions, which are worthy of attention as probably explaining the reasons of the appearance of brine-springs in other parts of the country apparently remote from salt-rock. In seven brine-pits at Middlewich, the brine, to use the local term, is a ‘‘seek ;” that is, it wells out from a layer of black gravel, about nine inches in thickness, between two horizontal beds of indurated clay or rock. In most of these pits there is but one seek, at about 78 feet from the surface. To this depth the majority of the pits were originally sunk. Two other seeks, however, are met with at the depths of 126 and 144 feet. It does not appear that any advantage has been gained by deepening the pits to these depths. These pits, including the borings, vary in depth from 78 to 309 feet. The level of the brine is 18 feet from the surface. The amount of salt yielded is from 2 lbs. 6 oz. to 2 Ibs. 10 oz. to the gallon. The remaining, pit differs from those just described. It is situated to the east of the town and of the pits just mentioned: it is 177 feet deep. This pit was originally only 135 feet deep, but was extended below this depth by “‘auger-holes”’ kept open by iron rods. About eight years since, there being a deficiency of brine, a by-shaft or level of about 10 feet was cut, and then a perpendicular one of 42 feet. Since this time the supply has been constant and never failed. It is avery old pit; the date of sinking is not known. The brine here rises so near the surface as to be within reach of the hand. The brine never fails: it yields 2 lbs. 12 oz. to the gallon. This last pit may probably afford a key to the peculiar position in which the Middlewich brine is found. This pit, very probably, jud- ging from the quantity of water and the level to which it rises, is sunk on or near to a fault, up which, as a conduit, the brine, though ap- parently here coming also from a seek, rises from the strata where it has become impregnated, forming originally a natural, but now an enlarged Artesian sprmg. From this fault the brine would percolate through the “black gravel’? between the horizontal gypseous beds, forming the seeks found in the other pits. The level of the rivers Dane and Wheelock at Middlewich is about 85 feet above the sea. The level of the Weever at Winsford Lock is 59 feet 6 inches. The level to which the last-mentioned brine-spring rises is higher than the brook, which runs about 300 feet to the north of the same and falls into the Dane, and is about 120 or 130 feet above the sea. 1848.1] ORMEROD ON THE SALT-FIELD OF CHESHIRE. 275 That a dislocation must exist between this place and Winsford is shown by the fact that here pits are sunk to the depths of 177 feet and 309 feet, or about 57 and 214 feet respectively below sea-level, without meeting with rock-salt, which at Winsford is found at a depth of from 150 to 180 feet, or about from 90 to 120 feet below sea-level. That there is no connexion between this brine-fountain and the Winsford brine is also evident ; had such existed, the brine-springs there would also have risen to the same level. Such however is not the case ; the level to which the brine at Winsford rises is on the average about that of sea-level; those at Middlewich, as was before remarked, being about 120 and 100 feet above the sea-level. About one mile to the north-west of Middlewich, at the Flint Mill, brine was found, but has not been worked. Between this point and Leftwich, brine has not, I believe, been searched for, and no such springs rise to the surface. An old brine-pit was formerly worked about a mile to the south of this town, near Manor Hall; this pit was situate on the Wheelock, near the aqueduct, and was copious and shallow. The pit is now closed up. Between the old pit by Manor Hall and Weever Hall, lymg about a mile and three-quarters to the south-west of the former place, salt has not been sunk for, but its existence is shown by various sinkings of the soil which have taken place at Clive and Weever Hall. At the former place, about fifteen years since, a portion of a field sunk down during the course of a night from two to three feet. At Weever Hall a similar sinking has taken place. In this vicinity the land still con- tinues sinking, and the water now covers land which a few years since formed a field. The land continues to smk along the course of the river to near Winsford, forming large pools. Near Stock’s Stairs, about half a mile above Winsford, the sinking parts branch to the west and to the east of the river, leaving the banks firm. The bridge has not sunk. At Winsford the salt-works commence and continue by the side of the river to Newbridge, about a mile and three-quarters north- west of the town. The works along this part of the river appear firm, though the cracks are apparent on the hill-side on the west side of the river a little to the west of the town. The works at Winsford are mostly brine; the level to the brine- head is from 150 to 180 feet below the meadow-level, or about from 90 to 120 feet below sea-level. The level at which the brine stands when the pits are not at work is about sea-level. When the pits are at work the level of the brine is lowered 45 feet. The rock-salt has been proved from Winsford to below Newbridge. In most cases the brine has penetrated the shafts, and the same are worked as brine-pits. The measures overlying the salt consist of red and blue marl with gypsum. The brine-head lies on the surface of the upper rock-salt. | The upper stratum is 120 feet in thickness; it is impure and not worked. Two flags of one yard in thickness respectively occur at the distances of four and a half and sixteen yards from the surface of this bed. In this point it differs from the upper bed at Northwich, which 276 PROCEEDINGS OF THE GEOLOGICAL SOCIETY. [ Mar. 8, otherwise it resembles. In both places this salt-bed is impure ; here it is 120 feet, and at Northwich from 84 to 90 feet thick. The upper surface of the top bed is not level; this is caused probably by the action of the water or brine-head which overlies it. At Wins- ford this surface consists of parallel undulating lines which range from east to west: at Northwich the surface is irregular. Below this stratum lies a bed of mdurated clay called ‘ stone,” from 33 to 36 feet in thickness. Like the similar bed at Northwich (which is there 30 feet in thickness) this bed is traversed by veins of salt called “‘leaders’’ reaching from the upper to the second stratum of salt. Below this bed lies the second bed of salt. Like the second bed at Northwich the upper portion is impure. There the impure portion is from 60 to 75 feet in thickness, below which the next 15 feet is the portion which is worked ; below this the salt is again impure. At Winsford, in a like manner, the upper portion for a thickness of about 75 feet is impure, below which 15 feet of marketable salt occur; the salt below this is impure. This second bed has been penetrated to a depth of 120 feet, but has not been sunk through. Below Newbridge or Moulton the rock-salt has not been found till at Northwich. For many particulars as to Winsford I am indebted to Mr. Jump, a mining-engineer of that place. A throw probably passes near Moulton, as a difference of almost 20 yards in depth to the rock-salt was found between two sinkings made in the same level 100 yards from each other. Between this point and Leftwich no rock-salt has been found. On the west side of Hartford Bridge, below the same, and also opposite Vale Royal, near Eaton, small salt-springs rise to the surface. Sink- ings were made near the spring at Hartford to the depth of 240 feet, or about 138 feet below sea-level, and brine was not found. These: sinkings are valuable as showing the line of fault between the Wins- ford and Northwich salt, the depth to the salt at Winsford on the south bemg from 90 to 120 feet, and at Northwich on the north about 39 feet below sea-level. At Hartford Clough, about one mile above Northwich, and in Left- wich, borings were attempted; in both places they were abandoned on account of the sand. In King’s ‘ Vale Royal’ it is stated that at Northwich there was a salt-spring or brine-pit on the bank of the river Dane from which the brine runneth on the ground in troughs of wood covered over with boards until it came to the Wich-houses where they make salt. It will be observed that the spring is spoken of as on the Dane, and therefore in Leftwich or Witton. This spring is not now in existence. The brine at Northwich does not rise to the surface. The rock- salt at Mr. Marshall’s pit in the centre of the town is 55 feet below sea-level. The depth at which the brine stands varies according to the number of pits at work. When in full work the level will be lowered from 34 to 46 feet below sea-level. 1848.] ORMEROD ON THE SALT-FIELD OF CHESHIRE. 277 The rock-salt was accidentally discovered in 1670 at Marbury, near Northwich. | The district generally known by the name of Northwich is locally divided into Hartford, Castle Northwich, and Winnington on the western side of the Weever; Leftwich, between the Weever and Dane, which there join; Witton and Northwich, having the Dane on the south, the Weever on the west, and Witton Brook on the north ; and Marbury and Anderton on the north side of the Weever. In Leftwich, on account of the great depth of quicksand or drift, few attempts have been made to find brine. A few years since a pipe was forced down more than 96 feet through the sand. In the re- maining townships the brine and salt are generally found in the same conditions and preserve the same levels ; they will therefore be treated of together. In the following particulars of Northwich, as well as occasionally elsewhere, I have incorporated portions of the information given to this Society by Dr. Holland in his paper on the ‘Cheshire Salt,’ vol. i. Trans. of Geol. Soc. (Old series), in which a particular de- scription of the Northwich salt is given. For much information and assistance in the local examination of this and the adjoming district I am indebted to the Rev. George Eaton, of the Pole near Northwich. My thanks are also due to Mr. Cheshire, one of the most extensive salt-proprietors here and at Winsford, for his ready help and the examination of the parts of this paper relating to Northwich. The depth to the upper bed of rock-salt at Northwich varies of course with the undulations of the surface of the land, and in a small degree on account of the irregularity of the upper surface of the bed. This depth varies from 96 to 159 feet. The depth to the upper stratum is stated by Holland as being 87 feet below the level of Witton or Wincham Brook, being at least 36 or 39 feet below sea- level at Liverpool. (Vol. i. p. 47 of First series of Geological Trans- actions.) The exact depth of, I believe, the nearest pit to the Weever as furnished to me by Mr. Thompson of Northwich is given before. The thickness of the upper bed is stated to vary from 84 to 90 feet in the pits sunk to the north-west, decreasing near the east bor- der to 81 feet. It thins off towards the south-west, losmg 15 feet in thickness in the course of a mile. The upper surface of this bed is irregular, forming cones and irregular figures. Below lies a bed of indurated clay 30 feet in thickness, with veins of salt traversing it. This overlies the great bed of salt. The highest portion of the second or great salt-bed for a depth of from 60 to 75 feet consists of salt with a considerable portion of earth, and is not worked ; for 12 to 15 feet below this the salt is more pure, and from this part of the deposit the rock-salt is got; below the proportion of earth is as large as in the upper part, and this is not worked. These beds, it will be remembered, were compared with those just described in the Winsford district. Till within a few years the second bed had not been penetrated. At a pit at Marston, to the north of Northwich, belonging to Mr. VOL. IV.—PART I. ¥ 278 PROCEEDINGS OF THE GEOLOGICAL SOCIETY. [ Mar. 8, Nieuman, a shaft has now been sunk through the second salt, proving it 96 feet thick at that locality. At other places it has been pene- trated to a depth of 117 feet without being sunk through. The following is a section of this sinking :— in. a. Compact light blue and brown laminated stone .... 5 8 6. Red salt with veinsvof clay 2.22.2. J25s: Pee 6 7 e| Pale red Salt); 2.1728 Sig BS fe SEs See ao ha d. Compact laminated brown stone with thin lamine of Sale 20 ede ee STL. Ge rr e.\ Pale, red. salt, 3. 3.00 Liss. See eb ee 6 0 jf. Compact laminated brown and blue stone traversed with thin veins of salt . 6 g. Lowest. bed of salt variable in soe from white to red, with a slight admixture of blue clay ...... ll 6 h. Compact laminated brown and blue stone ........ 17 z. Hard light blue stone with splintery fracture, with small detached crystals of salt................ 9 0 k. Compact heavy laminated stone, brown and blue, with small portions of salt between the lamine (bored INGO) wig oF YS A od a eh Se 1] 151».4 The depth from the surface to the lowest pomt of these borings is therefore, taking the average, — ft. in From the surface to ere bed! "CEI. 127 0 Highest bed .. eR: S11) LR LE 4 ga MR AOS SEY UT 30 0 Second ted! =) i 8 s 10 eet Sees 106 0 Borings' at’ Marston 2.'.2.2 2", 2) 2 et ae Inall.... 499 4 The constant working of the brine and salt at Northwich has caused alterations, and occasionally extensive subsidences of the surface. To the melting of the upper surface of the rock-salt is to be attributed the irregularity of its surface and the contortions of the beds overly- ing it, evidently origimally deposited on a level surface. Along the river Dane no sinking has taken place, and the bridge over the Dane at Northwich is firm. The highest pomt up the Weever at Castle Northwich at which the land sinks is at the Navigation-yard on the western side of the river, a little to the south of the bridge. The sinking here is upRenis of eighteen inches towards the river. Near this place the road to Chester has sunk six feet at least; to the west of this point by the road towards Winnington Bridge ‘the subsidence of the ground is shown by the cracks in various houses. On the west side of the river the bank has also sunk. Above the Dane-bridge no signs of sinking are apparent, but between the bridge ee a _ 1848. ] ORMEROD ON THE SALT-FIELD OF CHESHIRE. 279 and the point where the Dane and Weever meet a rapid subsidence is taking place. Between the bridge and a new lock situate about 100 yards lower down the Weever, a subsidence has taken place. This is shown very clearly in the course of a stone-breast wall supporting the towing-path built along the west side of the river. On the spot where the new lock is now placed there was formerly a rock-salt mine; this gave way about seventy years ago, and the place silted up. The new lock was erected about 1838; in 1843 it had sunk very little, and the weir not at all; in 1846 it had sunk so much that the Weever trustees were constructing a new lock and weir to the south of the last-mentioned bridge, where no subsidence has taken place. The buildings at the east extremity of the weir, firm in 1843, have given way. Ina yard at the eastern end of the weir at Northwich a factory formerly stood; a pit-shaft however gave way, and since then the ground has continued to fall rapidly towards the centre, more par- ticularly towards the corner of Leicester-street and Witton-street. Here there was formerly a rock-salt pit. This ground is now covered by the water, and is connected with the Weever, forming a wharf or basin. Below the new lock the sinking continues by the Weever, to the west of the junction of the Weever at Witton Brook. It has been necessary to raise the salt-pans of all the salt-works along the banks of this part of the river. In some cases they have been raised six feet. Five of the works in June 1846 had been abandoned within a very short period. The towing-path below the old lock, situated near the junction of the Weever and Witton Brook, was a few years since raised five feet. For some weeks the subsidence was at the rate of three inches per week. This towing-path has the Weever to the south, and the lake formed by the sinking of the land along the Witton Brook to the north. This lake or pool has rapidly imereased within the last few years. The depth is upwards of 20 feet. Along the margin of this pool the land continues to sink, as may be seen at the tram-road quay at the eastern side. The sinking keeps extending, apparently taking a north-easterly direction. The sinking of the Jand ceases a little to the east of Winnington Hall. Winnington Lock and Bridge are firm. The following account of the sinking along Witton Brook is in- serted from information furnished to me in the year 1843 by the late Mr. Fowls, for many years the able engineer to the Trustees of the Weever Navigation :— “‘In the year 1802 he was at the building of some salt-works near the eastern end of Witton Brook, which is a part of the Weever na- vigation reaching from Witton Mill to a lock called Witton Brook Lock, extending nearly a mile in length; at the time there were two lies of water, one for the passage of vessels, and the other for the current of the brook, the land being considerably above the water on both sides; the land had then begun to sink considerably about the ¥Z 280 PROCEEDINGS OF THE GEOLOGICAL socizTy. [Mar. 8 middle of the length of what is called Witton Brook. In the year 1811 (he being resident engineer to the Trustees of the Weever Na- vigation) great complaints were made to the Trustees that the raising of the water at Witton Brook Lock was injurious to the land, and also to Witton Mill, which were then considerably sunk. He was ordered to lower the surface of the water four feet, and to connect that part of the navigation to the pond below Witton Brook Lock ; for which purpose he had occasion to deepen or take out the bottom, so that there might be six feet deep of water for vessels to sail in or navigate: this was done in the year 1811. “This lowering of the surface of water (four feet) by the removal of the lock and weir again brought the water off the meadows into its proper channels, which before had overflowed the lands. The land has continued to sink since that time. “He in 1842 or 1843 had a survey and admeasurement taken of the land that was covered with water, and found the area, exclusive of the course of the navigation and of the course of the stream, to be about twenty statute acres. He had the depths of the water taken along the line of the navigation where he had in 1811 to take out the bottom to make the depth of water six feet, and found the depths in 1843 to vary in the different places from ten feet at the parts near to where the lock stood, to all the numbers up to thirty feet and more ; so that some of the land has between 1811 and 1843 sunk twenty- four feet. A timber-lock was made new in the year 1827 for the purposes of the trade higher up the river at Winsford, &c., but not to raise the water in Witton Brook or near to Witton Mill, and m nine years (or in 1836) he had to raise the lock to its former level, in some places five feet. It was in 1843 become useless, likewise the weir to which it was connected. “There are some wharfs and loading quays at the top of Witton Brook, near to Witton Mill, which were formerly used, but in 1843 sunk so much as to become useless. He had their heights taken in May 1839, since which time they had in 1843 sunk more than three icc Another subsidence is hereinafter mentioned as taking place in a field by the side of the brook connecting Pickmere and Budworth Meer, pieces of water themselves, probably owing their origin to former subsidences. The subsidences caused by pits falling in it is not needful to regi- ster ; they have been mostly caused by the miners not leaving sufficient pillars, or by the irruption of the brine. The following example will suffice to show the distant effect arising from a pit falling in. In 1842 the brine got into three of the rock-pits at Dunkirk. The brine ran from the surrounding land into these pits, and the rapid drainage had a visible effect on the surface. Thus at the fork of the roads to Warrington and Marbury a row of cottages leant towards the west. During the time that the brine was running into the pits these cottages gradually settled towards the east, and the cracks closed. In March 1843 the cracks were almost closed, and the 1848.] ORMEROD ON THE SALT-FIELD OF CHESHIRE. 281 houses were not so distorted as to attract attention. Since that time they have been pulled down. The distance from these cottages to the pits that filled is about one-third of a mile. With respect to the boundaries of the salt at Northwich, the fol- lowing particulars may be mentioned. At the brook between Pick- mere and Budworth Meer are the most northerly traces of the pre- sence of salt. That this exists there may be inferred from the gra- dual sinking of the ground which is taking place. Near Budworth Meer the water from the brook is gradually increasing on a field, and a farm-house situated near the same place is shaken by the same cause. The exact northern extent has not been discovered. It is probably the line of fault before-mentioned which passes from the South Lancashire coal-field by Warburton and Rosthern, in a south- easterly direction to the Rudyard fault. The north-west and south-east sides thereof are by Dr. Holland stated to be apparently parallel, and to be distant from each other about 1300 yards. These sides are found to be abrupt. At a mine approaching very nearly to the eastern limit of the area contained between the above boundaries the upper bed of rock-salt was actually worked through im a horizontal direction on that side, and was dis- covered to fall off with a very rapid declivity. A similar case is said to have been observed in another pit on the same side. (Holland’s Cheshire Salt, Geol. Trans. vol. i. p. 46.) That these salt-beds do not now extend to the east continuously is shown by the Middlewich beds above-mentioned, and by the borings for salt made by Mr. Smith at Wincham. ‘These borings to the depth of 300 feet, or about 200 feet below sea-level, were as follows :— 27 feet soil and marl. 150 feet plaster and marl. 2 or 3 inches of rock-salt. 123 feet marl and plaster ending in common red marl. (Information of Mr. Dodgson, Holford Mill.) These borings were made by the side of the canal, and therefore on the same level with some of the pits at Marston in which the depth to the first salt is about 135 feet, or about 35 feet below sea- level. These workings therefore show the existence of a line of fault. This is supposed to run almost along the course of the Weever in a north-easterly direction from the crook in the river near Vale Royal. On the south the sinking of the land has been shown as ceasing a little to the south of the Weever Bridge, and that south of and near this point borings have been taken deeper than to the level of the salt at Northwich without reaching the same. To this point the salt may be considered as extending, and to be there cut off by the north- westerly extension of the dislocation before-mentioned as passing be- tween Winsford and Middlewich. This dislocation will thence pass to the north of Barnton. At Barnton, Dr. Holland states, by the side of the Weever, a weak brine was discovered at the depth of 115 feet. In 1842 a search for salt was made at the same place. A bastard brine was met with at a depth of between 165 and 190 feet. At 18 feet lower a second 282 PROCEEDINGS OF THE GEOLOGICAL society. [ Mar. 8 brine was found; to this poimt a shaft was sunk, and then tunnels were driven north and south. In the north tunnel a bastard brine was met with, in the south tunnel a strong brine, but both were in small quantities. Borings were taken below this point to a depth of about 180 feet, or 130 feet below sea-level, when the rods were lost. The borings have been since continued, and without success. A brine-spring breaks out in the garden near the top of this boring. On making the Barnton cutting for the Weever navigation about the year 1837, brine was discovered running into the river as far as Sal- tersford Lock, about 50 feet above sea-level, and a large mass of gypsum was found from which several tons were blasted in forming the canal. Pursuing for the present the course of the Weever ; at Weaverham, below Northwich, on the west side of the Weever, brie has been worked. Salt was made in this township in the seventeenth century, as appears by some leases extant in the Harleian MSS., Nos. 2090 and 2091. (Ormerod’s History of Cheshire, vol. u. p. 57.) The depth to the brine I have not been able to discover. At Acton and Kingsley borings were taken to the depth of 300 feet, or about 250 feet below sea-level, about thirty years smce. At both places they were unsuccessful. Salt-pits are noticed in the township of Kingsley in “‘ Inguisitions of Edward the Third.” Some weak brine-springs are now existing in the townships, but no salt is made there. (Ormerod’s History of Cheshire, vol. u. p. 45.) Iam not acquainted with the exact spots at which these springs are found, but I believe that they are situated near Crewood Green. At the western end of Kingsley village, on the road to Newton, a thin shaly red rock is seen in a small stream at the side of the road. Sufficient of the rock is not exposed to show to which division of the new red sandstone it belongs. At the bend of the Weever, about a quarter of a mile below Sal- terstord Lock, are contorted beds of red and white marls. The white marl is very friable, and contains small portions of gypsum. At Whitley in the year 1803 or 1804, in boring for coal, it is stated that a bed of rock-salt was discovered about forty yards from the surface. This is the most westerly point at which salt has been found on the north bank. At Dutton Bottom shaly beds, consisting mostly of soft Be stone, are seen; these are accompanied by hard thin white layers. At Dutton viaduct the gypseous marls were exposed in digging the foundations for the piers. About one mile below Pickering’s Lock, broken red and white soft marly stone is seen forming a saddle, having a north and south strike and dipping 15° on either side. About half a mile lower down, on the north side of the river oppo- site Crewood Wood, is a cliff of red marl contaiming two bands of gypsum, about five feet in thickness ; these bands are subdivided into laminee two or three inches thick. The red marl is much broken, and is penetrated in every direction by thin strings of gypsum connecting the two beds, and chiefly near them. 1848. ] ORMEROD ON THE SALT-FIELD OF CHESHIRE. 283 The most westerly salt-works along the Weever are below Frods- ham Bridge. The salt made here is not from rock or brine found on the spot, but from the salt water of the Mersey strengthened by rock- salt from Northwich. At these works borings were made to the depth of 475 feet, or about 450 feet below sea-level. The measures bored through were chiefly of a hard gritty nature, forming eighty- eight beds, of which the thickest was 30 feet, and the thinnest two inches in depth; forty-seven of these beds were under three feet in thickness. Rock-salt was not detected. A weak brine was found at the depth of 288 feet 10 inches. It is impossible to say whether this brine derives its impregnation from rock-salt on the spot, or finds its way from some distant point by means of the many dislocations which traverse this district. As however the brine was found to be stronger when the boring had been stopped for a few days, it is possible that a thin vein of rock-salt exists here which has not been detected, but been classed as a sandy grit. A second boring was taken near the one just mentioned to the south-west thereof, the particulars of which coincided with it. A shaft was sunk at the above works near the Mersey to the depth of 90 feet, and then abandoned. The upper beds contained a little spar, but were generally gritty with hard ferruginous bands. These it was necessary, on account of their hardness, to blast. The beds here met with are similar in character to the upper por- tion of the waterstone beds seen on the northern side of this valley at Preston Hill; they probably exhibit the change from the gyp- seous or saliferous to the last-mentioned strata. The district just described (being that in which the salt is mostly worked), it will have been doubtless perceived, extends nearly in a right lme from east to west across Cheshire. From the following approximate estimate of the heights compared with sea-level at which the brine is tapped and stands, and the salt found, it will be seen that it is traversed by great dislocations. The extent and direction of these are as yet unknown, the adjoining districts both to the north and south being unproved. At the east of Lawton, as before-mentioned, an anticlinal line runs from north to south, passing through the coal- measures, which are there broken off on the westerly dip, bringing them into contact with the saliferous beds. feet. et Lawton the rock-salt found) ...gicceeis) ee o A en ew (.W_Ormerod Esq! ) Bu Bhi i Buntir Sandstone = h N 4 Vi (OD Gal Masur - - fi, Ctontirous tinestone : ele G Nw (J State net proved <= Wnticlinal, ~ Synelinal, V Dip. a= Fault; Section; me Railways. * vee 7 . » . * 4 be ’ 4 t » 1 7 y = , r - -§: % « m 6 » n : ~ Fe eel nee aan 2 ee — vs et ee > ’ - Ke Cd f nyo Seoul ) mee iediens Aaiinatien ht: > ta a gy mS tt ly hath tm wo a ct aon > “ », Mi > - be. \ = ig oe 5 ? ? . ey wives ‘ - . . ee ee ee Sige t eee er a aes tittle ‘ iJ ¢ . "e » oe - . cms = . "s : 77 : > r P f 4 F 3 2 , * oo ' 3 n = rm “1 2 ‘ , ‘ te id ou , r? 7 4 af . ul - * - a a 5 » . * * ‘ . - en is . , ie ms <. . < _ 4 a . a s ) f ' . s, ¥ 1 , “y = \ ’ >" ye ¢ he . i * . ‘ee . . »! 6 | - ‘ 4 ? y . \ . ‘ f 4 la if hy ‘ 7 . ‘ ay . = ¥ a > oy , : ‘ 4 7 4 u P Gow ; : 3 ° _ A 7 ‘ai X < + « « © y _ : : , ‘ ¥ . ° , as 4 A ' = ’ I= . vara Oh i ‘ rs % — . i f 4 g, y * . a rs i z i 3 \ ‘ . ‘ : oe - * y A be tire i ’ . = ue ai 5 i , * : ? “ J ' , f . 4 ur . : 5 = 1 F ‘ t " t é | | ‘ : < ‘ 4 jh ae 2 i Sed $ : { * “ ° ‘ i i \ - “ i a ; j y : i 1848.] DAWES ON THE INTERNAL STRUCTURE OF HALONIA. 289 1. Remarks upon the Internal Structure of Wauronta. By Joun S. Dawes, Esq., F.G.S. Ir was proposed by the authors of the ‘ Fossil Flora’ that the genus Halonia should comprehend all those plants combining the surface of the Lepidodendra with the mode of branching of the Coniferze, to which latter order they considered these fossils to be analogous. The dis- covery, however, of better-preserved specimens has clearly shown that the supposed remains of alternate branches, noticed more particularly upon one species, the H. gracilis, must have been merely impressions of the protuberances which characterize these fossils, and that they are in fact, like the Lepidodendra, dichotomous. A still further proof of cryptogamic affinity is now afforded by sections of a specimen from the neighbourhood of Birmingham, in which traces of the vegetable structure have been preserved. By reference to the drawing fig. 1, it Fig. 1. aa : sates ree §=(sea5 PoC cautsiatengs 2 1 Seedneements 223) /iese a b c d e will be seen that this stem is composed of a central medullary column (a), surrounded by a series of scalariform vessels (4), these being succeeded by a compact cellular tissue (c), which becomes more lax between this central part and the cortical zone, the latter (d) being composed of a thick-membraned, very regular tissue, and bearing a large proportion to the rest of the stem, equal in some specimens to one-third of the diameter. There are no concentric rings, or, strictly speaking, medullary rays, neither any ligneous fibre, or indeed any indication whatever of affinity with the Conifere, or even with that division of Dicotyledons, except that some similarity exists in the character of the striated tubes which surround the medullary column, and the pseudo-vascular bundles of certain Zamize. Neither are these plants to be referred to that class which includes the Sigillaria, Ana- bathra, &c.; for although the structure in some important respects may correspond, the arrangement of the tubes of the vascular system is altogether reversed ; consequently the curved scalariform bundles which traverse the stem from its axis to the periphery do not emerge from the tissues immediately in connection with the medullary column, but are thrown off from the outer portion of the sheath. These leaf-cords, which appear somewhat to resemble the stem in miniature, take a direction for some distance nearly horizontal, so 290 PROCEEDINGS OF THE GEOLOGICAL SOCIETY. [Mar. 22, that different portions of the tissues of several neighbourmg bundles are usually cut through, giving to the transverse section some appear- ance of a radiated structure. I should observe that these fasciculi differ in size, the smaller ones having a direction towards the spirally- arranged scars which cover the surface of the stem, the larger ones being connected with the processes that occur upon it at certain intervals, each of these projections exhibiting a roundish cicatrix at its apex, as though some leaf-lke appendage had been supported upon it, and having some resemblance to the well-known tubercles of Stigmaria. These few observations will be sufficient to show that the fossil in question belonged to the vascular Cryptogamie, and that when compared with the other plants of the coal-measures, the nearest affinity is with the Lepidedendron. We might in fact, considering their tortuous root-like appearance and on other accounts, be tempted to speculate as to the relationship they bear to this fossil; but pos- sibly some other specimens in my possession, not yet sufficiently examined, may throw further light upon the subject. Since the above remarks were forwarded to the Society I have been fortunate enough to obtain some very good sections of another specimen of this fossil, and am now enabled to mention a peculiarity in the structure which had previously escaped notice, viz. that a narrow ring of very regular, compact, elongated tissue exists on the outer portion of the cortical zone (e), similar to the prosenchymatous arrangement mentioned as occurring in the corresponding part of the Lepidodendron. Having however had an opportunity to look through many specimens of this latter fossil, I may venture to say that the descriptions hitherto given of it do not in this and in some other respects correctly represent its structure. Such discrepancies have probably arisen from the inferior state of the specimen first met with by the Rev. C. G. Vernon Harcourt, and also in consequence of Mr. Witham having originally figured from portions of two distinct fossils, apparently mistaking in one instance an imperfect fragment of Halonia for a piece of Lepidodendron (see Transactions of the Natural History Society of Newcastle, 1832, and ‘ Internal Structure of Fossil Vegetables,’ Edimburgh, 1833, pl. 12. fig. 3, pl. 13. fig. 1). Brongniart indeed admits bemg unable to detect this exterior tissue, but nevertheless describes it, both in his ‘ Histoire des Végétaux Fossiles’ and in the ‘Archives du Muséum @ Histoire Naturelle,’ upon English authority: he has however discovered a very similar tissue, although differently placed, in the cortical zone of the Sigillaria elegans. There are some other poits connected with, and im the constitu- tion of these fossils, that I hope to refer to on a future occasion, and may perhaps now observe that the medullary column does not, either in the Lepidodendron or Halonia, consist of the usual parenchymatous tissue, but seems to be composed of large quadrangular cells arranged in perpendicular series, and presenting an appearance as though each minute column was confined within a slight membrane or tube. I believe that no such structure has been found to exist in recent vege- tation, the nearest approach to it being probably in the Pszlotum, 1848. | AUSTIN ON THE CYSTIDEA. 291 one of the Lycopod family, and is of course incompatible with the idea of this central portion being a true medulla; these plants must therefore be still further removed from any supposed phanero- gamic alliances. 2. Observations on the Cyst1pEA of M. von Bucu, and the Cri- NOIDEA generally. By Tuomas Austin, Esq., F.G.S. Tue following observations are offered with the view to explain, and it is hoped make clear, some hitherto doubtful pomts as regards the Crinoidea and Cystidea, particularly the geological distribution of the last-mentioned family. In Baron von Buch’s Notice of a new family of Crinoidal Animals, which he has termed Cystcdea, published in No. 5 of the Journal of the Geological Society, and also in the more lengthened paper on this subject, a translation of which is given in the same number, some observations are made, which I humbly conceive-will not bear the test of close examination. At page 11 it is said, the Cystidea are di- stinguished ‘‘ by having the mouth constantly at the apex, and in the centre, which is rarely the case in the Crinoidea.”’ This observation appears to be correct, as far as our knowledge of the Cystidea extends. But the assertion respecting the situation of the mouth in the Crinoidea is unsupported by the evidence of the most perfect specimens hitherto obtained, for a great majority of species have the mouth placed centrically ; and the three or four species of Platycrinus alluded to as having excentrical mouths, are rather exceptions to the rule than the rule itself. An enumeration of the following species, all of which have centrical mouths, will sufficiently prove this fact :—Platycrinus levis, P. granulatus, P. elongatus, P. spinosus, P. trigintidactylus, P. antheliontes ; Actinocrinus levis, A. triacontadactylus, A. polydactylus, A. elephantinus, A. cata- phractus, A. Colei, A. aculeatus, A. levissimus, A. longispinosus ; Po- teriocrinus crassus, P. tenuis, P. granulosus, P. radiatus, P. rostra- tus, P. quinquangularis, P. plicatus, P. longidactylus, P. pentago- nus, &c. &e. This list could be greatly augmented, but the species enumerated seem fully sufficient. With respect to almost all the Crinoidea having a bilateral arrange- ment, a right and left side, nothing can be more certain than that this is the case, and that without reference to any inequality of the basal plates. In different genera we have all the gradations of dorso- central plates composed of one, and up to five pieces, but this latter number is never exceeded. The genus Platycrinus, in which the basal or dorso-central plate is undivided, contains some species with excentrical mouths, but in the majority it is centrical. Whether it is proper to retain species, which differ in this respect so materially from each other, in the same genus, is a question for consideration. In the second Part of the Journal, No. 5, page 22, M. von Buch observes, that the influence of the mouth upon the form and distri- bution of the plates is universal in all the Crinoidea; and that where the basal plates are not exactly similar in form or arrangement, the 292 PROCEEDINGS OF THE GEOLOGICAL SOCIETY. | Mar. 22, mouth is invariably upon the side. ‘To illustrate this, the genus Actinocrinus is cited, and the figure of 4. amphora (Portlock’s Geol. of Londonderry, pl. 15. fig. 4 a) is selected as an example. From this view I must venture to dissent, and to assert, on the contrary, that in all known species of Actinocrinus the mouth is m- variably centrical,—and. further, that the specimens referred to are not true Actinocrini, from which they differ materially in the num- ber of lateral plates and other particulars ;—and that although the basal plates are similar in the two genera, the position and form of the mouth being widely different negatives the idea that the number and arrangement of the basal plates, as a necessary consequence, re- gulate the position of the mouth. So striking is the difference between the so-called Actinocrinus amphora and the true Actinocrini, both as regards the position of the mouth and the number of plates composing the calcareous skele- ton, that I have been induced to place the 4. amphora and three other species with excentrical mouths in a new genus, for which the Or has not been named. Extended observations do not support the opinion that the mouth is only centrical in those cases in which the cup is based upon per- fectly regular five-sided plates. On a close examination and com- parison it will be found that the form of the dorso-central plate has little or no relation to the position of the mouth. In support of this statement, it can be demonstrated that all the Platycrines before enumerated have the mouths placed centrically, as may be seen on reference to our Monograph on the Crinoidea, or to numerous speci- mens in the author’s cabinet, while the Platycrinus rugosus, P. mucronatus, and P. tuberculatus, with precisely the same formed dorso-central plates, have the mouths placed excentrically.—Again, in the genus Cyathocrinus, where the dorso-central plate is composed of five equal pieces, forming a pentagon, the mouth in some species is excentrical. The C. planus is a case in point, so that no reliance can be placed on the form of the basal plate as indicating the posi- tion of the mouth. ; Respecting the geological distribution of the fossils which M. von Buch has placed in the family Cystidea (but which had been pre- viously arranged in the family Sphzeronidee of Gray, vide ‘ Annals of Natural History,’ vol. x. p. 111), M. von Buch at page 40, 2nd Part of the ‘Geological Journal,’ No. 5, states that the Cystidea be- long unquestionably to the most ancient formation of the earth’s sur- face, to the Silurian strata of the Paleozoic period,—that nothing analogous to them has hitherto been met with in more recent forma- tions,—and that they form the extreme verge of an entire group of Radiaria, the Cariocrimus indicating the way im which the passage from Cystidea to Crinoidea may have taken place. M. E. de Verneuil appears to entertain similar views respecting the Cystidea. In the General View of the Palzeozoic Fauna of Russia, which forms the Introduction to the second volume of the work on 1848. | AUSTIN ON THE CYSTIDEA. 293 Russia by Sir R. Murchison, M. E. de Verneuil and M. von Key- serling, it is observed, that ‘‘this family is the more interesting to the paleontologist, since it seems to have preceded the other Crinoidea in order of time, and presents, as it were, the primitive form of animals of this class, smce most of the genera of which it is com-— posed are peculiar to the Lower Silurian system, and disappear entirely where that terminates.” The opinion that this family preceded the Crinoidea is not sup- ported by conclusive evidence, as the remains of true Crinoids, furnished with rays, are found in the Lower Silurian system, and they were thus co-existent with the Cystidea of M. von Buch. The fact that several species of this family are found in the carboniferous limestone of Yorkshire is also opposed to M. E. de Verneuil’s asser- tion, that animals of this family disappear entirely where the Lower Silurian rocks terminate. In order to show that no doubt can exist as to the generic identity of the fossils alluded to, it may be stated that M. von Buch, in No. 5, page 39, of the Geol. Journal, claims two species of our proposed genus Sycocrinus as Cryptocrinites (Cystidea), and laments that the locality of these specimens was not given, or that the Crinoids with which they were found associated were not enumerated. This omission I now rectify by stating that they occur in the carboniferous limestone of Yorkshire, and are associated with the following species of Crinoidea:—Amphoracrinus Gilbertsoni (Austin), Actinocrinus Gilbertsoni (Miller), Platycrinus mucronatus (Austin), P. rugosus —with a new species of Pentremite, which M. von Buch alludes to at page 29, No. 5, Journal, and which in 1842 we named Pentremites astraformis (vide Annals of Nat. Hist. vol. x. page 111). The singular fossil for which we have proposed the name of Astro- erinus tetragonus also occurs in the same locality. Two out of our three species of Sycocrinus are considered by M. von Buch as Cryptocrinites, and therefore come within his family of Cystidea, while the Sycocrinus clausus he admits to belong to a new genus, but which must also be ranged with the same group, either as Cystidea, or in the family Spheeronide of Gray, in which we had previously placed them. I perfectly agree with many of the observations advanced by Dr. Alex. von Volborth in the introductory chapter of his Memoir on the Russian Spheronites, but want of space obliges me to confine my remarks to one or two points relating to the Cystidea. That many species of this group, as defined by M. von Buch, had arms, no one can doubt ; and although the rays in some are not similarly placed as in true Crinoids, yet their presence renders it necessary to separate the rayless species from those which are furnished with arms and tentacula. The foregoing observations are made with great deference to the distinguished paleeontologists from whose opinions I have ventured to dissent, but with perfect confidence as regards the correctness of the facts adduced in support of my own. It is worthy of observation that a large species of Echinocrinus VOL. IV.—PART I, Z 294 PROCEEDINGS OF THE GEOLOGICAL SOCIETY. ([Apr. 5, occurs in the Wenlock limestone of Gliddon Hill. This species in some respects resembles the L. pomum of Agassiz, a carboniferous limestone fossil. The difference consists m the Silurian specimens being larger, having wider ambulacra, and a greater number of plates in the interambulacral spaces. The small spines had the same form, and the manner of attachment and shape of the plates agree in every particular with the carboniferous limestone species. 3. On Fossil Bones found in the Crac of SurroLK. By Joun Wieeins, Esq., F.G.S. Tue author states, that near Ramsholt Creek, Sutton, and in other parts of Suffolk belonging to the Crag formation, large quantities of fossil teeth, bones, and coprolitic substances are found. These re- mains are rich in phosphate of lime, and are now collected for agri- cultural purposes. They are found mixed with sand and gravel from two to four feet below the surface, and about 300 tons had been procured from about a rood of ground which had been turned up. Apri 5, 1848. James McAdam, Esq. and Robert W. Mylne, Esq. were elected Fellows of the Society. The followmg communications were read :— 1. Sketch of the Structure of parts of NortH and SoutH WALEs. By Professor Ramsay, F.G.S., and W. T. Ave ting, F.G.S. [Abstract by the Authors. ] THE country to the south and south-east of the Dolgelly and Bala district may be briefly described as follows. Towards the higher part of the rocks that rest on the Bala lime- stone are certain bands of sandstone, of comparatively trifling thick- ness, but important as regards the part they play m explaining the structure of Wales. They are not continuous, but local and inter- mittent, skirting in parts the base of the overlying formations through Montgomeryshire and Radnorshire, far down into South Wales in Caermarthenshire. Above these sandstones, wherever they occur, from the neighbourhood of Dinas Mowddy to Llanddewi- ystrad-enny in Radnorshire, are certain slaty shales from 1000 to 1500 feet thick, and above these thick masses of sandstone (mingled with occasional shales), sometimes attaining an aggregate thickness of about 2000 feet. These sandstones we believe to be the true Caradoc sandstone of Sir Roderick Murchison, bearmg the same general relation to the underlymg slates and the overlying Wenlock shale that the typical Caradoc sandstone exhibits in Shropshire. The contortions in these beds towards the east in Montgomeryshire occasionally brmg up the underlying slates. In one instance also the Wenlock shale overlies them in a long trough, which is crossed by the Mallwyd and Welshpool road at Llangadfan and Llanerfyl. Oe SS 1848.] RAMSAY AND AVELINE ON THE STRUCTURE OF WALES. 295 Above these shales the Ludlow rocks of Montgomeryshire appear in their usual position, capped by certain outliers of old red sandstone long since mapped by Sir Roderick Murchison. From beneath the Wenlock shales of Montgomeryshire rise the slates and associated contemporaneous igneous rocks of the country north of Bishop’s Castle. On a smaller scale these rocks present the same charac- teristics as the igneous rocks and slates of Merionethshire, and from beneath rise the old purple, green and grey sandstones of the Long- mynds, bearing great resemblance in lithological character to the sandstone series of Barmouth, and occupying the same position with regard to the Bishop’s Castle traps that the Barmouth sandstones do to the igneous series of Merioneth and Caernarvonshire. A mere trace of Caradoc sandstone is occasionally to be seen be- tween the Wenlock shales and the older members of the Bishop’s Castle district. The Wenlock shale on the south runs across the strike of this boss, resting alike unconformably on both. On the east of the Longmynds is a great fault, throwing down the country to the west, and running from the new red sandstone of Shropshire in a south-west direction into Radnorshire, on the east of Builth. On the north-east of Welshpool from beneath the Wenlock shale, the black slates and their associated contemporaneous traps again rise to the surface. On the north of Builth the same black slates, with beds of greenstone and volcanic ashes, again appear. The Wenlock shale, without the intervention of the Caradoc sandstone, laps nearly completely round this district, resting in the east on the lowest beds, and in the west on the highest beds of the igneous series. At Llanwrtyd and Baxter’s Bank in Radnorshire ashy traps again appear in small bosses from beneath black slates, and at St. David’s in Pembroke- shire the same kind of contemporaneous traps, also associated with black slates, come to the surface. At the last locality purple slates and sandstones rise from beneath, having exactly the same relation to the igneous rocks there that the Barmouth sandstones bear to the igneous series of Merionethshire, and the Longmynds to the parallel rocks north of Bishop’s Castle. The fossils of the slates associated with this i igneous series are so well known, that it is unnecessary to particularize them. We would however invite attention to the fact, that wherever the disturbances of the country bring up the deeper parts of the series, beneath the fossiliferous slates associated with contemporaneous traps and volcanic ashes, there are certain sandstones and slates, generally of a purple and greenish hue, and these, in spite of all the search that has been made in them, seem to be perfectly unfossiliferous. The igneous rocks that occasionally appear in the line of the preat Shropshire and Raduorshire fault are of different date and structure from those heretofore alluded to. They are always massive (green- stones, syenites, &c.); they invariably appear in the line of great dislocation, and alter by baking or semi-fusion, whatever strata they chance to come in contact with, of whatever age these strata may be. We shall now endeavour to show what have been the successive disturbances that affected the country, as this throws much light on Z 2 296 PROCEEDINGS OF THE GEOLOGICAL socieTy. [Apr. 95, its absolute structure. The strike of the Longmynds (part of the» Cambrian rocks of Professor Sedgwick) and of the Bishop’s Castle slates and traps (Llandeilo flags of Sir Roderick Murchison) is N.N.E. and $.8.W. To the south-west of Church Stretton the Wenlock shale and part of the Caradoc sandstone is thrown down on the west by the great fault already noticed. The Caradoc sandstone, in 4 thin band, rises from beneath this strip of Wenlock shale, and rests un- conformably on the Longmynd Cambrians in such a manner that it is plain the latter formed an original boundary to the sea of the period. The Caradoc, which is here a conglomerate, is composed of water- worn pebbles derived from the Longmynds. It folds round the southern extremity of the Longmynds across the strike, and is immediately afterwards overlapped by a band of limestone, which lies beneath the Wenlock shale. This limestone skirts along the Longmynds and Llandeilo flags to Church Stoke, across the strike of the older beds. Round other parts of the igneous series to the north the Caradoc sandstone appears at intervals, and always quite uncon- formably, on the Llandeilo flags. Twelve miles south, near Brampton Bryan, Caradoc sandstone is again seen in a small boss, resting un- conformably, on slaty shales. The well-known boss of the same sand- stone at Presteign with its overlying limestone is highly mdurated, occurring in the line of fault through which traps occasionally pro- trude. At Old Radnor another boss appears in the same line of dis- turbance, with similar overlying limestones. Here the rock has suffered a still greater amount of alteration, bemg in some instances almost fused. The occasional patches of Caradee that dip beneath the over- lapping Wenlocks around the Bishop’s Castle traps and. slates rise from beneath the Wenlock shales on their western outcrop, near the banks of the Vyrnwy, two miles west of Llanfair. The slates be- neath this Caradoe rise in an anticlinal, and in the roll to the west a trough of Wenlocks is again thrown in: on the west of this near Garthbibio, the Caradocs spread out for six or eight miles to within two miles of Mallwyd. . i If we now trace the western boundary of the Caradoc sandstone to the north, we find it turning round with the great Merioneth anticlinal of Professor Sedgwick. On the north-east of Dinas Mowddy it is several thousand feet above the Bala limestone, but in its progress north and west it gradually creeps over these higher beds, till at last at Yspytty Evan it fairly reaches the level of that limestone. This evinces unconformity. If we trace it south from Dinas Mowddy we find an irregular outline proceeding into Radnorshire, and everywhere at certain distances beneath are the intermittent beds of sandstone, which in some localities characterize the higher part of the slaty series on which the Caradoc rests. As the Caradoc rocks approach the region of the Builth beds they turn off to the east, as if the Builth series had formed a barrier to their further original deposition in that diree- tion. They never again appear-in the south, the Wenlock shales overlapping them and resting directly and unconformably on the Builth beds, and also on the rocks further to the south-west. ne a 1848.] RAMSAY AND AVELINE ON THE STRUCTURE OF WALES. 297 » The rocks which may be called the igneous series, with the under- lying rocks of Barmouth and the Longmynd, were evidently disturbed before the deposition of the Caradoc sandstone. In some places we have direct evidence of the margin of the Caradoc sea, as at the Long- mynds. Throughout most of the range described, if its lithological character be examined, it will be found to be composed in great part of trappy felspathic debris, and it seems not unlikely that (as we certainly know part of the Bishop’s Castle country was above water before the deposition of the Caradoc) the igneous countries of Merio- neth, Bishop’s Castle and Builth also rose above the water, and by the waste of these old lands the Caradoc sandstone was in part formed. That the Wenlock shale rests more or less unconformably on the Caradoc can be proved by the fact that it overlaps the Caradoc near Bishop’s Castle, gradually creeps over it towards Builth, and in that country rests directly on the lower part of the igneous series on the one side and on the higher part on the other (see list of fossils). The sandstones to which we have so often alluded as underlying the Caradoc can be followed in their strike towards the small boss of ashy traps at Baxter’s Bank, where they are about 1800 feet above the traps. From thence they can be traced to Garth, six miles west of Builth, where in their turn they are overlapped by the Wenlock shale, again to appear at Castell-craig-gwyddon near Llandovery. South of Rhayader they roll over to the west, rise again on the left bank of the Teifi greatly increased in thickness, and roll over again on the right bank, from whence in a series of contortions they reach the sea at Aberystwyth. When we consider this unconformity in connection with the old coast line of the Longmynds and Bishop’s Castle igneous series, there seems little doubt that both at Builth and Bishop’s Castle these lands were above water before the deposition of the higher rocks, and gra- dually became depressed during the accumulation of the Wenlock and Ludlow rocks, and thus we can show that rocks once at the surface as land, during a period of lengthened depression had many thousands of feet of marine strata deposited above them, and now are again by denudation exposed at the surface. Memorandum respecting some Fossiliferous Localities alluded to in Professor Ramsay and Mr. AvELINE’s Paper, as noted on the spot, by Professor Epwarp Forses. 1. Between Church Stretton and Bishop’s Castle the Caradoc sandstone rests directly and unconformably on the Longmynd rock, which was consolidated at the time of the deposition of the Caradoc, since pebbles of it occur in the latter: hollows in it are filled with Caradoc. The fossils in the Caradoc here are Terebratula furcata and decemplicata, Pentamerus levis, and a Cybele. On the sand- stone rests a limestone full of the Pentamerus, associated with shales full of Orthis elegantula. The characters of these beds, mineralogi- cally and palzeontologically, indicate their identity with the band of ““Woolhope”’ limestone, seen in sequence with the Caradoc and Wen- 298 PROCEEDINGS OF THE GEOLOGICAL SOCIETY. [Apr. 5, lock shales near Caer Caradoc. I infer, consequently, that the Cara- docs skirting this part of the Longmynds are the uppermost — and that the lower beds are deficient. 2. Conglomerate near the Longmynds at Little Stretton, resting at a low angle on highly inclined flags. The fossils in this conglo- merate are Pentamerus levis, abundant, Spirifer radiatus, and some badly-preserved brachiopods and corals (Favosites, Turbinolopsis bina). 'These are probably upper beds of the Caradoc resting on Liandeilo flags. 3. Caradoc limestone quarries, at Esquire Hall, near Bishop’s Castle. Brown sandstones and sandy bluish limestone bands. The fossils most abundant im this locality are the Pentamerus levis in the limestone bands, and Atrypa reticularis, var. orbieularis, in the sandstone. Other species are— Atrypa hemispherica. Orthis calligramma. Lepteena sericea: Actoniz. Orthis expansa. Spirifer radiatus. elegantula. Terebratula imbricata. Of univalves three species, including Littorina striatella : of Trilo- bites, Cybele punctata: of Corals, &c., Favosites alveolaris?, Tenta- culites annulatus. This locality shows the connection between the sandstone beds and limestone, and therefore indicates the sequence in time of the former with the Wenlock beds above the latter. 4. The compact quartzy sandstone of the Bogmines: a small out- lier resting unconformably on the Llandeilo flags, and resembling in mineral aspect the Stiper rock, which is a member of the latter. Very fossiliferous and nearly horizontal. [Brachiopoda.| The most abundant species are Leptena depressa and Atrypa reticularis var. aspera; Terebratula imbricata, furcata, decemplicata, and 5 other species; Orthis elegantula and 3 other species ; Chonetes sarcinulata’, Pentamerus levis’? [Lamellibranchiata], 2 species. [Univalves], 12 species, including Turritella cancellata and Bel- lerophon Wenlockiensis. [Annelida], 3 species; Tentaculites annulatus and scalaris, and Cornulites serpularius. | . [Trilobites], Z7:nucleus Caractaci, Calymene Blumenbachii, plen- tiful ; 2 species of Cybele and 2 other Trilobites; 2 Corals. This rich list of 45 species was noted in a single small quarry in less than an hour. It indicates a relation to both Caradoc and Wenlock, with local peculiarities besides. The beds are doubtless the upper beds of the Caradoc, accumulated near to land or to a great elevated reef, of which the Stiper stones are the remaims, and furnished the materials of the surrounding beds. 5. This view is borne out by an examination of the Hapa Quarry, where a peak of Llandeilo flags is seen rising in the middle of the Caradoc, and around the peak is accumulated a similar nee = of peculiar species, especially univalves. In the Hope Quarry, Orthzs vespertilio, O. Actonie, O. calli- » 4 Ee 1848.] RAMSAY AND AVELINE ON THE STRUCTURE OF WALES. 299 gramma and QO. expansa also occur, and Turbinolopsis bina and Favosites multipora. The presence of abundance of Pentamert in the upper parts here reminds us of the Lsquire Hall Quarry. 4 Summary. The fossil evidences here cited indicate— 1. That the sandstones skirting the Longmynds are the upper beds of the Caradoc. 2. That they were deposited under peculiar local conditions. 3. That they were deposited around the margin of land. 4. That in all probability they were deep-sea deposits around high and steep land. 5. That the land was of Llandeilo flags_or older rocks. 6. That they are in sequence with the limestone bands at the base of the Wenlocks. 7. That part of the Meifod fossiliferous beds are in a lower parallel, and probably Middle Caradoc. Note by J. W. Satter, Esq., on the Fossils of the lowest Wenlock Shales east of LLANDEGLE, BUILTH. In the following list there is a mixture of Upper and Lower Silurian species, 7. e. of Caradoc and Wenlock shells; it consists of Trilobites and Brachiopod shells, and a single coral. The Brachiopods are partly the same as those of the Llandeilo flags, but only because such are widely distributed species, partly the same as those of the Caradoc districts, such as Church Stretton, May Hill, &c., and partly Wenlock species. The absence of ordinary bivalve and univalve shells, and of Cepha- lopoda and Bellerophons is very curious, and but one coral is present —the universal Turbinolopsis. Although apparently a mixture of Upper and Lower Silurian, the group is not at all like the Woolhope limestone, being deficient in Terebratulee, large flat Orthides, corals, and characteristic Trilobites. Nearly all the species are found in Upper Caradoc. _ The most abundant Trilobite, Cybele punctata, ranges to the tile- stones near Builth. Cybele punctata (abundant); Cheirurus speciosus’?; Illenus, fragments ; Calymene Blumenbachi ; Tentaculites annulatus ; Lin- gula, sp.; Orthis calligramma, O. testudinaria and O. elegantula, small; Strophomena applanata; S. expansa, a Lower Silurian species ; Leptena sericea, variety with faint strie* ; L. transversa- lis*, common; L. depressa, small; NEWBOLD ON THE GEOLOGY OF EGYPT. 333 presented to the Society by that gentleman from the vicinity of the petroleum deposits of Gebel Ezzeit, and also iron ore. It is not however clearly ascertained whether the specimens from Ezzeit be- long to the limestone under consideration, or to the more recent formation. Captain Moresby found a hill abounding in sulphur within the limestone limits near Myos Hormus. Organic Remains in the Limestone.—After a series of laborious researches, Ehrenberg* has concluded that the compact limestone rocks which bound the Nile in the whole of Upper Egypt (7. e. the lower beds of the limestone formation), and extend far into the Sa- hara, or desert, as well as the compact limestone rocks in the north of Arabia, are, in the mass, composed of the animalcules of the Eu- ropean chalk. The result of an examination of the chalk of Brighton and the limestone of Egypt showed that the principal microscopic forms in these rocks consist of 25 species of caleareous-shelled Poly- thalamia, 39 species of siliceous-shelled Infusoria, 7 species of soft- shelled Infusoria of the flints, and 5 species of siliceous plants. None of the forms of Polythalamia now living in the Red Sea are found among the animalcules of the chalk or limestone of Egypt and Ara- bia. It need hardly be observed, since the discoveries of Mr. Lons- dale, D’Orbigny and Tennant, that the existence of similar Poly- thalamia in the Egyptian rocks does not go to identify these beds in point of geological age with the European chalk. Ammonites are stated by Clot Bey to be found in the limestone near the Pyramid+. Lefevre{ states that Echinites identical with those of Matta have been found at Esneh ; and Hippurites, Placuna, Vulsella and fossil fish, near Cairo, to which may be added Nautili of large dimensions, corallines, crabs, fishes’ teeth and nummulites. There isa large bed of Ostrea carinata? between Kossier and Thebes. Mr. Nash§ found Cardia and a Turritella in the same locality, and states the flints in the limestone there to be all fossil sponges, Alcyoniz, &c. The so- called Egyptian jaspers and agates, which occasionally replace the chert, have been pronounced by Mr. J. Bowerbank|| to be destitute of spongeous remains. He ascertained that they consisted of small, irregular, light-coloured grains imbedded in a banded semi-transparent matrix of silica, in a state very much like that in which it exists in chalk flints and greensand cherts, and that they contained vast num- bers of Foraminifera, unequally distributed through the layers com- pesing the agate, closely resembling those found in chalk flints, and often difficult to distmguish from the species found in the Grignon sand of the Calcaire grossier. In many of the variegated Egyptian jaspers the organic siliceous elements are no longer to be distinctly found, a fact ascribed by Ehrenberg 4 to the circumstance of their * Lond., Edin. & Dub. Phil. Mag. vol. xviii. pp. 384, 389, 444. + Apercu Générale de |’Egypte, vol. i. p. 144. ¥ Bullet. Soc. Géol, de Paris, vol. x. pp. 144, 234. § Edin. Phil. Journ. vol. xxii. pp. 45-47. || Proc. Geot. Soc. of London, vol. iii. pp. 435, 436. { Lond., Edin. & Dub. Phil. Mag. vol. xviii. pp. 395, 396. 334 PROCEEDINGS OF THE GEOLOGICAL SOCIETY. intermixture with other substances, and their consequent opacity, giving rise to dendritic and other delineations. It seems, he goes on to say, as if the solution and conversion of the organic into the inor- ganic in the Egyptian pebbles, is throughout more perfect than it is in many flints, although the constituent elements of both kinds of stone are very probably quite the same. Previous to passing to a notice of the organic contents of the lime- stone, I may briefly notice some singular siliceous bodies that occa- sionally occur imbedded in it, and are particularly numerous in the limestone rocks of Thebes on the Libyan bank of the Nile. They cover the debris at the foot of the cliffs in such profusion as to be termed by the Arabs nuktah, or drops, which they suppose to have been rained from heaven. They are also seen there in situ, disposed conformably in a horizontal layer of whitish marl in the earthy white limestone, which abounds with thin seams of crystallized gypsum, muriate of soda, and cale spar. These bodies usually assume the shape of spheroids encircled by a belt, resembling the delmeations of a planet with its belt; two are sometimes connected together, while others assume various modifications of form. They have a thin whitish coating, and in the interior present a greyish or brownish chert, like the ordinary nodular chert already described. Ehrenberg*, who has lately examined these siliceous spheroids, terms them ocel- . lated stones, or morpholites ; he found no traces of organic structure, and is of opinion that they are the result of a crystalloidal or morpho- litic force. Their structure does not present radiation from the centre; nor any appreciable crystalline development in their parallel planes of formation founded on uniform laws, which frequently, perhaps always, parted from many axes of formation. In the curious structure of these bodies Ehrenberg discovered foreign bodies, small stones, frag- ments of granite, &c. Economical Uses of the Limestone.—It is remarkable that most of the earliest monuments of Egypt reared by human hands should be composed of this limestone, a formation, geologically speaking, but of yesterday. Most of the older temples, grottos, and tombs in Central and Lower Egypt—the great Sphimx and the Pyramids themselves— were formed of it. Soft and sectile, like the Portland stone, in the quarry, it hardens rapidly on exposure to the air and the sun’s rays. Upper or Overlying Sandstone (fig. 1,6; fig. 2, a).—A sandstone formation, associated with calcareous, gypseous, and saline marls, in horizontal layers, overlies the limestone just described in detached hummocks and patches stretching from the Mediterranean far into the Nubian and Libyan deserts, and has been traced into Abyssinia f. The discontinuance of its beds has evidently been caused by denu- dation, the softer portions having been swept away, and the debris seattered over the desert; while the more consolidated beds are left standing, as at Gebel Ahmar, near the petrified forest near Cairo, and are washed into abrupt, irregular, and fantastic shapes. Lithological Character.—The sandstone varies from a compact ery- stalline rock of a blood-red, white or yellow colour, to a loose quartzose * Edin. Phil. Journal for April 1841, pp. 356, 357. + Lefevre: i NEWBOLD ON THE GEOLOGY OF EGYPT. 335 erit and conglomerate, imbedding rounded and angular pebbles usu- ally of a siliceous nature, viz. quartz, chert and jasper, and derived principally from the subjacent limestone. The cement agglutinating the grit is usually siliceous and ferruginous, mixed with decayed felspar, and sometimes lime. In many localities it imbeds silicified trunks and fragments of trees, particularly near Gebel Ahmar near Cairo, and Wadi Ansari, about eight hours’ journey to the eastward. In this vicinity I observed in it casts of pelagic shells. Lefevre has traced it into the Baytida desert, where it also contains silicified wood, and is composed of grains of quartz and rounded fragments of the sandstone, and felspathic rocks on which it rests. The specimens of wood which I brought from the locality near Cairo were kindly examined, at my request, by Mr. Robert Brown, and all those which could be determined were pronounced to be di- cotyledonous, and not coniferous; but a specimen of the latter was brought from Abusambel, by the Rev. Vere Monro* ; and I observed another, of a reed, in the collection of Mr. R. Brown. A more de- tailed account of the fossil wood will be given in a subsequent part of this paper. | The beds of this sandstone are usually very thin, varying from a few inches to 180 or 200 feet in thickness. The associated marl- beds rarely exceed ten feet, and are often much thinner. They are of various shades of white, brown, and green ; and, as before stated, are of an argillaceous, calcareous, and. gypseous character. Those covering the great platform of the Libyan desert, from the Mediter- ranean to the Oasis of Ammon, are said by Ehrenberg+ to contain known tertiary forms. They enclose layers of crystallized carbonate and sulphate of lime ; the latter, as in European rock-salt formations, is associated with muriate of soda. These substances, acted upon by water and the atmosphere, afford the necessary chemical conditions for the natural production of muriate of lime, carbonate and sulphate of soda, which are found in the natron lakes that occur in this forma- tion. The most celebrated are the six lagunes on the northern and eastern flank of the Waterless river, about fifty miles ina direct line south from Alexandria, and twenty-six from the western branch of the Nile. They present a chain of shallow pools, formed by water which percolates through the marl and sands on their banks, and is usually tinged of a red colour by a substance of which an accurate analysis is desirable. It is supposed to be of a vegeto-animal nature. The red water, in the hot season, has a highly fetid, ammoniacal odour, and a caustic alkaline taste. As the water evaporates, during the hot season, the newly-formed salts (except the portions that re- main held im solution) are deposited in incrustations on the sides and banks of the lagunes, and collected. From the circumstance of the supply of water in the natron lagunes varying with that in the Nile, it has been supposed that their beds are at a lower level than the river, and even below the surface-level of the Mediterranean, a fact however still to be ascertained. * Edin. Phil. Journal, vol. xviii. p. 337. + London Phil. Mag. June 1841, p. 445. 336 PROCEEDINGS OF THE GEOLOGICAL SOCIETY. Economical Uses of the Sandstone.—The rock in the vicinity of Cairo has been quarried for ages past for grindstones. The more compact varieties have been lately employed by the Pacha for mac- adamizing the open squares of his palaces. Caleareous Conglomerate.—Previous to passing to the tertiary beds on the shores of Egypt, I shall briefly mention a calcareous con- glomerate which I found reposing horizontally on the inclmed lime- stone of the Gebel Ataka range, skirting the shore of the Red Sea below Suez, at about 300 feet above the level of the sea. From the similarity of its imbedded pebbles, and position on the limestone, it may be probably referred to the overlying sandstone formation just described, though no silicified wood, nor pelagic remains, except such as had been derived from the subjacent limestone, were seen in it. Post-Pleiocene: Extent and Position.—Around the head of the Gulf of Suez, and between the Red Sea and the cliffs that skirt its western shore, runs a fringe of elevated coast-land, rismg im some localities to the height of sixty feet from the level of the ocean, and from four to five miles in extreme breadth. At a few poimts, however, the fringe is interrupted by the cliffs sweeping down to the water’s edge. This coast has for its basis calcareous and gypseous marls, a loose calcareous sandstone and a coralline limestone, abounding with fossil shells, Echinidee, Asterias, spines of Cidaris—all of recent species ~ according to Mr. Lyell*, and agreeing in every instance with those now living in the Red Sea. Several towns, among others Kossier, stand on this coral reef, which, it is evident, must have been elevated sub- sequent to the Pleiocene period. It is more than suspected, from the obliteration and shallowing of harbours, known to have been deep in ancient times, that this elevating process is still in slow though gradual operation. It is worthy of remark, that though traces of volcanic agency are visible in the sulphuriferous rocks of Ezzeit, its petroleum wells, the hot springs of Hummam Feraon, and Tor on the opposite coast, the still active volcano of Gebel Teer, and the lavas of Aden, earthquakes are almost unknown in the history of Egypt ;—I say almost, because it has been asserted that the vocal statue of Memnon was thrown down and broken by the shock of an earthquake. The question however naturally occurs to the traveller, on 1 casting his eyes on the unbroken form of its brother colossus only a few paces distant, why did not this statue share a similar fate? From the erect position of the pyramids, obelisks, and temples of ancient Egypt, and the little disturbance visible in the uplifted beds, it may be inferred that the forces which effected the upheaval of the shores of the Red Sea were exerted in a gentle and gradual manner. Many have supposed that the Isthmus of Suez, now dividing the Medi- terranean and Red Seas, has been recently formed either by a process of submarine elevation, or by drift; but the great difference existin in the group of fishes, testacea and zoophytes inhabiting the two seas, though only fioeant seventy miles, militates strongly against such a theory. Ehrenbergt states that it appears Bus that * Principles, vol. iv. pp. 39, 40, 4th edition. + Lond., Edin. and Dub. Phil. Journ., vol. xviii. pp. 380, 444. NEWBOLD ON THE GEOLOGY OF EGYPT. Sar the Red Sea, and the part of the Mediterranean so nearly adjoin- ing on the Libyan coast, possess only two forms in common out of the 120 species of Anthozoa, viz. Actinia Tapetum and 4. Mesem- bryanthemum ; and he remarks, that among living genera of corals of the Red Sea, that of Strombodes excites peculiar interest, having previously been found only in the fossil state. It affords a key to the structure of the remarkable Cyathophylla, differing from the view hitherto entertained, and rendering it quite clear that the internal central star of the encased forms is not a young one, but the oldest, or mother-star, which is often surrounded by broad radiated mantle- folds, productive of buds. Out of fifty-four new species of Polytha- lamia derived from the two seas, twenty-seven are peculiar to the Red Sea, and seventeen only are common to both. On the other hand, the Rotalia Beccarti, which composes the Italian hills, only occurs singly, and very rarely in the Red Sea, and was nowhere found on the Libyan and Syrian coasts. Recent Rocks in process of formation.—On the shores of the Red Sea and Mediterranean a rock-formation is still in progress, composed of sand, gravel, corallines, fragments of older rocks, weed, bits of wood and pottery washed up by the sea, and cemented toge- ther by carbonate of lime slightly coloured by oxide of iron. The stone thus formed varies from a loosely-agglutmated conglomerate to a light brown, compact travertin. It occurs from an inch to 3 or 4 feet in thickness, and sometimes alternates with thin, loose layers of shingle. On the west shore of the Red Sea I have observed it at five or six feet above the high-water level, overlying the raised coral beach. It sometimes encloses bones of camels, fish, &c., still containing animal matter. A considerable deposition of carbonate of lime appears to be at present going on in certain parts of the Mediterranean and Red Sea. At Alexandria, in the Saracenic fort of the Pharos, in 1840, I observed an old iron cannon, coated with rust, which, I was informed, had not many years back been dragged up from the bottom of the sea in the harbour. The bore, which was of considerable calibre, had been filled up with a compact, travertin-like limestone, coloured and hardened with the oxidized iron of the interior of the gun, which had become so corroded and intimately blended with the carbonate of lime as to assume the appearance of perfect fossilization. On the shores of Sicily, Greece, Asia Minor, and of Aden, near the Straits of Babelmandel, I have remarked similar marine calcareous formations in progress ; and at Rhodes, six feet above the present high-water mark, I observed a calcareous conglomerate imbedding fragments of ancient pottery, shells, and littoral pebbles of scaglia limestone, gneiss, basalt, serpentine, and porphyry. In the valley of the Nile, on the plain of Benihassan, myriads of nummulites, washed from the overhanging limestone cliffs, are par- tially re-cemented together by calcareous matter deposited by drainage- and spring-water, and alternate in horizontal layers with clay, sand, and gravel, having an aggregate thickness in some places of upwards of 30 feet. In the valley of Kossier, near the sea-coast, beds of gravel and detritus are in process of being cemented together by iron and lime deposited by infiltration from drainage-water, which derives 338 PROCEEDINGS OF THE GEOLOGICAL SOCIETY. the calcareous matter with which it is charged from the limestone rocks it passes over: portions of the gravel so agglutinated resemble a hard pudding-stone. In several places, resting immediately on the calcareous cliffs lane ing the Mediterranean between Alexandria and Aboukir, near Ceesar’s Camp, I observed a bed a foot thick of bleached human fanaa derived from the ancient Roman and Greek cemeteries, intermingled with the bones of those slain in the various modern sangumary conflicts that have taken place among the neighbouring sand ‘hills. " The bones are covered by a layer of sand and gravel, varying from a few inches to 3 or 4 feet in thickness. They appear to have been washed into their present position by the drainage-water running from the higher grounds to the sea, and, though in an excellent state of preservation, are not fossilized. The supermcumbent sand and gravel has im some places been agglutinated, together with fragments of ancient buildings, by carbonate of lime and ferruginous matter deposited by the drainage- water. Drift and Erratic Detritus.—The saline sands and gravel that constitute the deserts of Egypt, overspreading all the stratified forma- tions, appear to have been deposited on a sea-bottom, as they cover marine formations. Pelagic remains have been found imbedded ; and according to M. Linant, fossil bones: but it has not been clearly | ascertained whether the former have not been derived from the subjacent fossiliferous rocks. This drift and detritus not only fill up chinks and hollows in the rocks below, but cover the tops and sides of mountains. In many places the pebbles composing them have been transported from considerable distances ; for mstance, the gravel beds from 1 to 10 feet thick covering the raised coral beach of Kossier, and the limestone cliffs of Abu Mungara skirting the Red Sea near the Jaffatine group, and the drift resting on the elevated platform of the Libyan desert near Dendera. In all these localities the gravel consists of rolled pebbles of the distant plutonic and meta- morphic rocks, mingled with those from the rocks in the vicinity, such as quartz, chert, jasper, agate, silicified wood, &c. At Abu Mungara I observed a pebble of reddish marble, resembling that of Verona, with imbedded crystals of sahlite. From the great quantity of rolled, and partially rounded, fragments of silicified wood found scattered in the desert sands, I am inclined to believe that much of the detritus composing them was derived from the subjacent sand- stone, whose continuity has been greatly impaired by denudation, as already stated, and in which the silicified wood is invariably found imbedded. It is further worthy of remark, that though beds of gravel and sand transported from great distances are not unfrequent (pebbles from the rocks of Upper Egypt and Nubia are found near the Mediterranean in the valley of the Bahr bila Maieh), still the nature of the composition, and sometimes the colour of each particu- lar portion of the desert, is generally much influenced by the charac- ter of the rocks in the immediate vicinity. The sands of the Nubian desert, where granite and sandstone abound, are granitic and siliceous ; and, according to the observations of Ehrenberg*, destitute of the * Lond., Ed. and Dub. Phil. Journ. vol. xviii. pp. 385, 386. NEWBOLD ON THE GEOLOGY OF EGYPT. 339 Bryozoa, or coral animalcules ; which, though very small,—resem- bling grains of sand,—are yet, for the most part, larger than the chalk animalcules. Those singular beings constitute a large portion of the sand of the Libyan desert, and may perhaps be regarded,—should they be distinct, which M. Ehrenberg seems to suppose, from the animalcules of the calcareous rocks on which the sands repose,—as additional proofs of the submarine origin of the sands and gravel of the desert. Volcanic Rocks.—Though the existence of thermal springs,—some of them containing sulphuretted hydrogen,—the petroleum wells and sulphur deposits of Ezzeit, E-gimseh, and Gebel Kebrit, denote the continuance of igneous action below the surface, in a line following the volcanic belt of the Red Sea, indicated by the outbursting of Gebel Teer and Aden, the absence of earthquakes proves that, within the historic period at least, this energy has not been exerted with violence. M. Rochet d’Hericourt* informs us that he has noticed two old extinct volcanos in the desert between Cairo and Suez, and some small upheaved mounds of volcanic productions near Gebel Ahmar, on the Suez route: and Mr. St. John*+ states, that in the vicinity of Dakkeh, about 69 miles from Syene, in the Nubian desert on the left bank of the Nile, are numberless black cones, some higher than Vesuvius, supposed to be extinct volcanos, and covered with cinders and lava. But as yet our information of the nature and relations of these sup- posed volcanic tracts is of a meagre and undecided character. Trap Dykes.—Dykes of augitic trap of the variety termed dolerite, sometimes imbedding iron pyrites, are seen within and on the borders of the plutonic and metamorphic area of Upper Egypt, penetrating all the rocks from the lower sandstone to the granite. The overlying sandstone is undisturbed, and sometimes contains imbedded pebbles of the trap, the relative age of which is hence determined. Its in- trusion among the lower sandstone beds and clay-slate is marked near the junction-line by their conversion into jasper and jaspideous rock; and among the limestone rocks, by the formation of chert and agate, and a general tendency to silicification. Serpentines passing into verde antique are met with in the area just mentioned ; but may rather be classed here with the hypogene series, to which they are confined, than with the trappean. Porphyritic dykes traverse the granite, consisting of felspar crystals in a reddish felspathic base. A black variety also occurs resembling melaphyre, its base being black augite with crystals of felspar. Between the plain and pass of Abu Zeyran between Kossier and Thebes, I observed dykes of a rock almost entirely composed of red felspar, imbedding dark brown shining cry- stals, penetrating and overlying a boss of granite, as shown in the annexed diagram, fig. 4. Fig. 4. A. Granite boss. _ B. Felspathic rock. * Proc. Geol. Soc. of London, June 14th, 1841. t+ Travels in Egypt. 340 PROCEEDINGS OF THE GEOLOGICAL SOCIETY. Porphyry is said to occur at Gebel ed Dokhan in the eastern desert opposite Memphalit. Economical Uses of Porphyry, Trappean and Serpentine Rocks. —Many of the vases and sarcophagi of the ancient Egyptians are composed of porphyry. Of the serpentine, verde antique and basaltic trap, scarabeei and other smaller articles of Egyptian sculpture are cut. Large statues of basalt are comparatively rare: a few of the largest may be still seen amid the rums of Carnac. A dark-coloured granite has been mistaken for basalt. Plutonic Rocks.—Granitic rocks occupy but a anil portion of the superficies of Egypt, appearing at the cataracts of Syene and in the desert, where they constitute the anticlinal axis between the Nile and Red Sea, in the latitude of Kossier (about 26° N.). According to Mr. Trivin,* granite is seen farther north in the same desert, associated with porphyry about the latitude of Benisuef (29° 10' N.), a locality which he thinks may have supplied the ancient Egyptians with ma- terials for many of the monuments of Lower Egypt. Savary+ men- tions quarries of granite and marble between Benisuef and the con- vents of St. Antony and Paul, toward the north of the plain of El Araba; which probably are identical with the locality noticed by Mr. Trivin. Mr. Wilkinson has traced it to lat. 28° 26’ N., where it occurs in the peak of Gebel Tenaset, rismg among the limestone rock not far west of the range that skirts the Red Sea. He states the extreme height attained by the granite in Gebel Gharib, lat. 28° 20! N., at 5000 feet above the sea. The islands of Phile and Ele- phantine near the first cataracts are almost entirely composed of granite, which thence extends into Nubia associated with greenstones, porphyries and metamorphic schists. It is penetrated by dykes of por- phyry, trap, felspar, and eurite, passmg into a small-gramed granite. Relative Age.—With respect to its age, the granite must have - been elevated to the surface at a period subsequent to the deposition of the inferior sandstone and limestone rocks, which rest on its flanks in inclined strata, and prior to that of the superior horizontal sand- stone. From the occurrence of breccias along the junction-lme with the former rocks, and the entire absence of veims of granite penetra- ting them, and of effects of heat, it may be suspected that this plu- tonic rock was upheaved in a solid form through once-contmuous strata of sandstone and limestone, and subsequently laid bare by de- nudation. I carefully examined the latter rocks for imbedded granite pebbles, but without success. It penetrates the gneiss in vems. Lithological Character.—Lithologically speaking, the granite of Egypt passes into pegmatite and all the varieties termed syenitic, porphyritic, close-grained, grey and red. That from the cele- brated quarries of Syene is usually a large-graimed crystalline variety, —composed of crystals of pale red felspar, white transparent quartz in grains, dark scales of mica, and a few scattered crystals of horn- blende. The granite of Egypt is freer from the decay, the maladie du granite, than that of India, arising probably from the peculiarly dry. atmosphere of Egypt, which has been mainly instrumental in preser- * Travels, vol. ii. p. 41. _-F Egypt, vol. i. pp. 530-1. NEWBOLD ON THE GEOLOGY OF EGYPT. 34] ving almost in their original freshness, its magnificent sculptures and vivid frescos. Schorl, black and green, and actinolite are minerals occasionally found in the granite of Upper Egypt, as well as the chry- soberyl. Native gold* and iron ore are found near its junction with hypogene schists, in the Beshariyeh hills about ten days’ journey in the eastern desert from Edfou. Economical Uses+.—Most of the colossal statues, sarcophagi, columns and obelisks of the ancient Egyptians were quarried from this rock at Syene; and it was likewise applied to lining both the exterior and interior of the pyramids. Alluvial Soils: Classification and Extent.—The alluvial soils of Egypt may be divided into four classes: Ist, the mud of the Nile and delta ; 2nd, the soil of the Oases, resulting principally from the successive decay and reproduction of vegetation mixed with sand and marl; 3rd, detrital soil of circumscribed extent washed down from the rocks ; and 4th, a greyish soil, which is found generally around the ruins of old cities; the result of decayed animal and vegetable matter, mixed with fragments of limestone, mortar, and other debris of the crumbling buildings. The nitric acid, disengaged from the animal matter combining with the vegetable or mineral alkalis, forms impure nitrates of potash, soda and lime. Both ammoniacal and nitrous salts are formed in certain places in the desert where camel-caravans usually halt ; their presence is denoted by dark moist-looking patches on the surface, caused by the deliquescence of these salts, which have from the earliest times been collected and purified by the Egyptians. Nature of the Mud of the Nile.-—The mud of the Nile, as has been observed already of the sands of the desert, is slightly modified in character at various localities, according to the nature of the for- mation over which the Nile flows during its course to the sea. Above Thebes, below the granite and sandstone formations of Nubia, and ‘on the southern limit of Egypt, it contains more silex and less cal- careous and argillaceous matter than at Cairo and the delta, which are situated on the great limestone formation. The mud of the Nile is not the result of the spoils of Abyssinia alone, and hence, perhaps, the discrepancy of the analyses we possess of it. That of Regnaultt, which appears to have been the most minute, is as follows :— hi LAE abe laud ee A a ae sate i TSE ae a eae ei ap ie 9 Micador Won ye 8 Bes ee Oe oY ee Carbonate of magnesia...... 4 Carbonate of lime ........ 18 PAMIOMEIBISECE 3 oe ee Ree ee Sees 48=100. * Gold-mines, according to Agatharcides, quoted by D’Anville, exist in the Ataka range on the coast of the Red Sea, about lat. 22° N., but the nature of the forma- tion is not stated. t For details regarding the method of quarrying this rock and its sculpture, vide my paper on this subject read before the Royal Asiatic Society. ~ Regnault, Mémoires sur |’Egypte, tom. i. pp. 348, 382. VOL. IV.—PART I. 26 — 7 Ba sah 3 a 342 PROCEEDINGS OF THE GEOLOGICAL SOCIETY. Girard’s analysis gives one-fourth of carbonate of lime ; but the loca- lities from which the specimens examined were obtamed are not specified,—a poimt that should always be attended to. At Thebes, the spangles of mica derived from the granites of Nubia and the first . cataract were perfectly distinct to the naked eye; but at Adfeh m the delta they were less numerous, and so comminuted as to be barely discernible with the aid of a lens. . The composition and texture of the mud is also subject to varia- tion from its proximity to, or distance from, the main channel of the j stream, where the coarser, heavier and more siliceous particles are usually found; while the finer and more argillaceous portions are | held in suspension, and carried out laterally towards the edges of the deposit by the gently overspreading waters. At particular pomts on / the river’s course, where the inclination of its bed is great, and the current consequently rapid, as at the cataracts, the alluvium consists only of the very heaviest portions of transported detritus, mingled with the debris of the subjacent rocks ; and vice versd, where the m- | clination of the river’s bed is least, there we find the finest and most fertile deposit. It is a simple though remarkable truth im physical geography, that, had the surface of Egypt attained, m its upheaval from the waters of a former ocean, a greater inclmation towards the Mediterranean, that fertile mud, which exerted so wonderful an in- ) 5 fluence upon the habits of the ancient population it attracted to the banks of the Nile, and which formed the foundation, the bed in fact of this ancient cradle of civilization to the modern world, would have been swept away, and buried beneath the waters of the sea,— useless at least to the races of mankind dwelling on the éarth’s sur- | face under existing conditions. | Few pebbles or “detritus of any size are found in the mud of Lower Egypt and the delta; and, as may be supposed, nothing but its fest _ and lightest ingredients escape into the Mediterranean, where I have observed the sea discoloured by them to the distance of forty miles from the shore. The northerly or Etesian winds that blow from the sea, varying a little to the E. and W. of N., nearly nine months during the year, (commencing by a curious coincidence with the inundation—about May,) by retarding the downward freshes, contribute materially to pre- vent the mud’s escaping to the Mediterranean, and to throw it upon the land. Added to this, these winds check the current at the estu- aries of the Nile by raising up the waters of the Mediterranean: hence, as the result of the opposing waters, are formed the banks of sand and mud by which some of the ancient embouchures have been silted up, causing the chain of back-waters and marine lagoons that frmge the present coast, in some of which we see alternate deposits of land and fluviatile testacea with marine remains, caused by successive imroads of the sea after it had been silted out at intermediate periods of less or greater duration. Striking evidence of the power of these winds in raising the waters of the Mediterranean on the coast of Egypt is afforded by General ie * : F r, a if bs Vi le Re Bs 4 a er yay NEWBOLD ON THE GEOLOGY OF EGYPT. 348 Andreossy, who states* that, after they cease to blow, the sea falls back, leaving a shore of about 200 metres wholly uncovered. The mud of the delta has been found to imbed human bones at considerable depths, remains of persons drowned in the extraordinarily high inundations to which the Nile has always been occasionally sub- ject. These remains would have been of less rare occurrence had it not been a law+ among the ancient Egyptians to take up, embalm, and inter the bodies of individuals drowned, and cast up by the Nile. Near the mouths of the Nile the alluvium is mingled with marine sand, and imbeds existing shells of the Mediterranean with terrestrial and fluviatile testacea. Rolled pebbles, but of small size, derived chiefly from the plutonic and igneous rocks,-—jaspers, agates, &c.,— are found in it in Upper Evypt. The finer kind of the mud of the Nile, for instance that of Ghen- nah, is, generally speaking, of a dark brown colour passing to lighter shades, highly tenacious and retentive of moisture, for which it has a great affinity ; it effervesces with acids, and fuses per se with gaseous extrication into a greenish glass. It is deposited in regularly stratified, annual layers, varying from an inch to a few lines in thickness in the same situation. ‘The upper part of each layer is of a lighter colour in general than the lower, and each layer is separable from that im- mediately above or below it. Exposed to the calorific action of the sun’s rays, the surface-layers separate horizontally and peal off in curling lamine, and the contracted mass is intersected by deep ver- tical fissures, which divide the superficies into shapes usually re- sembling the hexagon or pentagon. A similar phenomenon is pre- sented by the Indian Regur, or black cotton soil. According to Ehrenberg, the mud of the Nile contains an immense number of animalcules. Thickness of Nile Mud.—I am not aware that the thickness of the deposit in the centre of the river’s bed has actually been ascer- tained ; but I have measured cliffs of it overhanging the Nile at low water, in Upper Egypt, at 40 feet above the water’s level; m Middle Egypt they average 30, and at the apex of the delta 18 feet. Sir G. Wilkinson{ found that in Upper Egypt, at Elephantine, the de- posit had increased, during the last 1700 years, 9 feet ; at Thebes} 7 feet; at Heliopolis, in Central Egypt, 5 feet 10 mches, diminish- ing in a more rapid ratio towards the delta and Mediterranean: it appears evident therefore that, as a general rule, the deposit is thickest i Upper Egypt. It must however be remarked that, at particular places where the stream is retarded by the flatness of the country, or from other causes, the deposition is greater than at other localities. The deposition of one year is frequently stripped off by the flood of the next ; the amount of one year’s deposition varies from that of another, while the shifting of the river’s bed from time to time renders this fluctuation of amount of deposit still greater, and * Memoirs relative to Egypt, p. 200. t+ Herod. Euterpe, 90. ¢ Journal of Royal Geograph. Soc. of London, vol. ix. p. 332. 2cG2 Arabian chain. Cliffs of 344 PROCEEDINGS OF THE GEOLOGICAL SOCIETY. farther removed from the reach of calculation. Near the edges of the alluvium, the sands of the desert, on the west bank of the Nile more particularly, are blown upon, and intermingle with, the deposit thrown down bythe river. Hence the uncertainty of all calculations on the pro- gressive rate of the increase of soil generally throughout Kgypt within given periods of time, and grounded on the rate of its actual accumu- lation around the bases of certain buildings, statues, nilometers, &c., in particular localities. It may be added too, that the alluvium around the bases of most of these monuments has not remained un- disturbed during its progressive increase for the last 3000 years by the annual plough or spade of succeeding generations of cultivators ; nor has it, in most cases, been proved at what period the Nile actually reached these bases, whence the progressive amount of deposition must be dated, and not before. Upon such uncertain data the French savans under Napoleon cal- culated the progressive vertical rise of the soil throughout Egypt at about four inches per century. From the circumstance of the deposit being greater near the stream’s channel than at a distance on each side, it presents a raised bed, the most elevated portions of which are not under water at high Nile, and of which the following diagram (fig. 5) may serve to convey an idea. Fig. 5. Alluvial rocky soil. Channel of Nile at low water. Alluvial Me soil. 3 Es oa ras 5 aad HS Surface covered by inundation. ‘ Gr rane Extension of Nile Mud.—Judging from the thickness of the annual layers exposed in cliffs of Nile mud, of which I have counted upwards of 900, the amount of alluvium annually deposited has not varied in the aggregate for the last 1000 years, and it is highly probable that both the periods and amount of the inundations haye not suffered any material change smce the present physical con- ditions of the country were established. It is clear therefore that the surface, which the waters overspread, must be gradually elevated by such periodical depositions ; and, as the surface rises, the level of the inundations must rise also, and continue to overspread, where not. confined by vertical banks, a superficies gradually increasing with the amount of matter deposited by the floods. . Similar difficulties exist in attempting to calculate the progressive rate of the increasing superficial extent of alluvium throughout Egypt, as in determining that of its vertical rise; added to which, the effects of the drifted sands from the Libyan Ag in curtailing its apparent limits, to be alluded to in the concluding portion of this paper, are to be satisfactorily ascertained and taken into consideration. That such a progressive vertical and horizontal mcrease does ac- tually occur, has been clearly proved by Sir G. Wilkinson* from the, fact of the inundations now covering to some depth the bases of. statues, &c., known at certain periods of history to have been be- * Journal of Geograph. Soc. of London, vol. ix. - NEWBOLD ON THE GEOLOGY OF EGYPT. 345 yond their reach, and from the inhabitants of the valley of Egypt having been obliged from time to time to raise their towns. They omitted however to raise their ancient nilometers correspondingly with the rising level of the alluvium at their base; hence the greater apparent height marked upon them by the inundation at present than formerly. During the lapse of ages, the natural consequence of this slow heightening of level, in the lower parts of Egypt, will be to throw a greater depth of water into the upper parts of the river, which may in turn become so much elevated above the low parts of the Libyan desert as to force the stream to seek a new channel, probably by the low levels of the Fuioom and Bahr bila Maieh valleys, to the Mediterranean, in the vicinity of the Mareotis lake, imparting a new physical aspect to the sterile wastes of Lower Egypt. A tendency of the river at certaim points to shift its bed easterly, towards the basis of the Arabian cliffs, will retard the probable effects of the raising of its bed just contemplated. On the east bank many of the interesting monuments of Koum Ombos have been swept away, and the rest appear to await a similar fate*. Farther down, on the same bank, the ancient stone and brick quay at Luxor, and the temple itself, are in great danger. The in- teresting ruins of Gou-el-Kebir have disappeared, partly from the encroachments of the river, and partly from the depredations of the natives. An old inhabitant of the present village pointed out to me, from the summit of the high mud-cliff now overlooking this part of the river, its former traditional channel, nearly a mile to the west- ward. This tendency in the bed of the river to shift easterly arises principally from the lower comparative level of the surface at the base of the Arabian cliffs, which are of a more precipitous and continuous character than those on the Libyan bank. The strong prevalent west and north-westerly winds not only exert a direct influence in throwing the mass of water m an east and south-east direction, but also continually force upon its western bank the drifted sands of the desert. Some change of the bed is effected every inundation, by the al- teration the latter causes in the mud-banks of the preceding year ; high projecting cliffs of which, hardened and cracked by the sun, are often loosened and toppled down into the eddying waters of the rising stream with great noise, their component parts again to be held in watery suspension, and distributed over the surface of the soil. When passing down the Nile in July, our boat narrowly escaped being swamped by the swell succeeding the fall of one of these mud- slips. Delta of the Nile.— From the physical conformation of the country between Cairo and the Mediterranean, including the delta and its marine basis, it is evident that it once formed an inland bay, which Herodotus} supposed to have been filled by the Nile with mud, and _thus raised above the sea. It is clear, however, from the absence of ‘any marine remains (except such as have been derived from the sub- * Vyse, vol. i. p. 65. + Euterpe, 10 & 11. 346 PROCEEDINGS OF THE GEOLOGICAL SOCIETY. jacent limestone) in the mud covering the middle and upper portions of the delta, which are found in it in abundance, mingled with fluvia- tile and land testacea, on its arrival at the Mediterranean, that the present alluvium must have been deposited, for the most part, on a surface previously raised above the ocean’s level, probably by subter- ranean forces. The bulging-out aspect of the present coast-lme indicates, how- ever, the operation of other causes in the raising and extending its lower portions. When we come to examine the coast-line of the delta, we find that the deposit brought down by the Nile forms but an insignificant component im its structure; and that this elevated fringe consists almost entirely of banks of marme sand thrown up generally by the conflicting currents of the river freshes and tidal ’ wave, and of a recent marie limestone, in whose formation the Nile could have had no share. , Ancient Alexandria stood on the calcareous rock of the Libyan desert immediately land of modern Alexandria, which stands on sand-banks and a recent marine limestone, on a site over which the water of the great harbour formerly flowed*. The city of Foah, which, at the commencement of the fifteenth century, was on the Canopic mouth, and now more than a mile inland, Rosetta, Nicopolis, and Taposiris, all owe their present inland position in great measure to the intervention of marme sand-bankst. Over these newly thrown- up sands, in some low situations, the waters of the imundations either flow naturally or are conducted by art, and by deposition contribute to the fertility and to the permanent increase of land. The increase of soil, by the Nile, in the delta is much slower than in the valley of Egypt, being spread over a much greater extent; and it must be borne in mind that a very considerable proportion of what remains In suspension in the water, after passmg through the valley of Egypt in slow and serpentine windings, is carried off into the Me- diterranean. Rise of the Delta under the Mediterranean.—tThe rise of the delta from fluviatile deposition under the Mediterranean cannot be rapid, as will be readily conceded from what has been said already ; and, besides this, we must take mto consideration the effects of the ocean current, which flows from the Straits of Gibraltar, m carrying away toward the east the light mud of the Nile. We are assured of the little tendency of the deposit to spread westerly by the fact of the soundings to the westward of Rosetta being on sand, while those be- tween Rosetta and Damietta are on mud. The depth of the Medi- terranean off the delta at a short distance is about twelve fathoms ; it increases gradually to fifty, and then suddenly descends to 380, which Mr. Lyellf thinks is perhaps the original depth of the sea * Appendix to Denon’s Travels, English edition, vol. ii. + Sir H.de la Beche has shown that the present inland position of Damietta, two leagues from the sea, gave rise to very exaggerated ideas of the rapid advance of the land, until it was found that the sites of the ancient and modern towns are not identical, the inhabitants of the former having removed inland, partly from fear a maritime invasion (Manual, Third edition, p. “70). t Lyell’s Elements of Geology, vol. i. pp. 441, 442. NEWBOLD ON THE GEOLOGY OF EGYPT. 347 where not increased by fluviatile deposition. With regard to the assertion that the islet of Pharos, which is now close to Alexandria, was a day’s sail distant from the coast of Egypt im the time of the Trojan war, I perfectly agree with Sir G. Wilkinson in thinking that Homer in the term Atyuzros alludes to the Nile. That Pharos was formerly at a greater distance from the main than at present, is a fact noticed by Lucan*, Strabo+, Ovid ft, and Pliny §. Sand Drifts.—The shores of Egypt, both on the Red Sea and the Mediterranean, a short distance inland, are in several localities studded with hills of drifted sand derived chiefly from the sand-banks thrown up by the sea. Similar hills are observed in many parts of the desert, particularly near the Mecca route from Cairo, and in the Libyan wastes west of the Nile, whence, at certain exposed points, blown by the north-west and westerly winds, they move easterly on the fertile valley of the Nile. The inference of M. de Luc of the recent origin of our continents from the fact of these sand-drifts having arrived only in modern times at the plains of the Nile has been justly questioned by Mr. Lyell ||, principally because M. de Luc has not demonstrated. that the whole continent of Africa was raised above the level of the sea at one period ; for unless this poimt was established, the region whence the sands began to move might have been the last addition made to Africa, and the commencement of the said flood might have been long posterior to the laying dry of the greater portion of that continent. M. de Luc supposed the desert on the western bank of the Nile to have been once a land remarkable for its fruitfulness, and overwhelmed in more modern times by sands transported thither by the western winds, so that now the oases alone remain as vestiges. This theory has been ably combated by Sir G. Wilkinson], from whom (while I concur with him so far that the sands only encroach where the accidental posi- tions of the hills and neighbouring ravines admit, and chiefly on deserted towns, where formerly the constant attentions of the inhabit- ants prevented their being encumbered by them,) I must differ, when he asserts that there is no increase of this encroachment, and that it has not curtailed on the whole the limits of the land formerly under cultivation. 7 We must first consider the effects of the strong north-west and westerly winds that blow during nearly nme months of the year, con- stantly drifting sand towards Egypt from the great western deserts of Libya, and second, that since the time of the Pharaohs until the ac- cession of the present ruler, the artificial checks** opposed to these mroads have been gradually diminished, owmg to the wane of human industry, agriculture, and population. Both in Upper and Middle * Pharsal. x. 509. + Lib. i. pp. 63 al. 37, et lib. xvii. p. 1140 al. 791. + Met. lib. xv. pp. 287, 288. § Lib. ii. 85; xiii. 11. || Principles of Geology, 4th edition, vol. iii. pp. 210, 211. {| Manners and Customs of the Ancient Egyptians, Ist series, vol. i. pp. 222, 223. ** Such as the planting of thickly-branching trees, the bushy tamarisk, the Rak, or Cissus arborea, which by their roots and branches arrest the sand and collect it into a barrier. . 348 PROCEEDINGS OF THE GEOLOGICAL SOCIETY. Egypt I have seen trees apparently growing in the sandy desert, but which have been found to have their roots imbedded in the alluvium / / of the Nile below the drifted sand (fig. 6). Fig. 6. Ailuvium. Kk Desert sand. ; ase aes eee = See Se See ZZ AZZ ng Many of the ruins of ancient Egypt, more especially those on the west bank of the Nile, have been covered with mounds of blown sand: the great temple of Abusambel was discovered by Burckhardt almost buried under a sand- drift, 31 feet of which were removed by Belzoni* before he could arrive at the entrance. The sites of Abydus, Memphis, Oxyrinchus, Bahnasat, and the tract from Saecara to Abu Rehe, are now covered with sand ; and its advance near Koum Ombos, Benisuef and Tapta is very evident. It has drifted so mucht on the steep ridge on the western side of the Faioom, as to cover exten- sive ranges of desert mountains to such a depth that their rocky summits are the only objects perceptible in the undulating waste ; and the plains and mountains near the ancient town of Dimay have been overwhelmed with this vast body of sand. At El Kerib, the supposed site of Hieracon, the mouths of the mummy-pits are com- pletely closed with sand. It has invaded the oases, and we are told by Henniker§ that the temple in that of Khargeh is nearly overwhelmed. The great Sphinx, which not thirty years s back was disinterred from the drifted sand in which it lay buried up to the neck, is again covered to the shoulders. It appears clear that so long as the prevailing winds continue to blow from the same quarter, or until the supply of sand from the great western desert becomes exhausted, the valley of Egypt must continue to suffer in an increasing ratio from the sand-floods, since the escarpments on its eastern limit present almost insurmountable natural obstacles to the further easterly progress of sand once lodged in it; and it would seem, from the rare mention of these sandy in- — vasions in the old records of Egypt, that it anciently experienced — less inconvenience from them than at present. i Many causes tend to retard this encroachment.. Among these may be mentioned—the surface of the western desert, often rugged with ravines and cliffs, in and around which the sand collects and lingers for indefinite periods, forming a barrier against its further progress ; the stream of the Nile, which carries off the lighter par-~ ticles that are blown into it or within its reach ;—and the slowly in- creasing extension of the alluvium, as already noticed. The numerous little whirlwinds that prevail, chiefly during the hot season, in the heated tracts bordering the Red Sea and the Nile have ~ a considerable share in the transport of the finer superficial sands of the desert and the dusty alluvium of the river; they even carry up small. marine, land and fluviatile shells, and ddeda of plants, distri- tt} . * Belzoni, p. 213. + Denon, English sgt vol. i. p. 155, t Vyse, vol. i. pp. 110, 168. § Travels, p. 187. . NEWBOLD ON THE SILICIFIED WOOD OF EGYPT. 349 buting them over the surface of the land, and scattering them in the Nile, Red Sea and Mediterranean. While navigating the centre of the Red Sea I have twice witnessed the deck and shrouds of the vessel covered with fine sand blown from the Egyptian desert; and I have little doubt, from the assertions of the Arabs and a personal examination of the fine sand covering the western slope of the mountain of the Bell, on the Sinaitic peninsula, from which such singular musical sounds are elicited, that in many instances the sand is transported completely across the Gulf of Snez. On a hot calm day in the desert on the borders of the Nile I have seen twenty of these whirlwinds traversing the plain, and raising up columns of sand, pebbles, sticks and straws as high as the pyramids. Accounts of whole caravans having been overwhelmed by clouds of drifting desert-sand have been greatly exaggerated ; but sick pilgrims on the road to Mecca, travellers, and animals, unable from fatigue or other causes to keep up with the caravan, have no doubt been occa- sionally buried by them. In the great Mecca caravan-track from Cairo across the Suez desert, and in that of the Thebaid, I have re- marked many skeletons and carcases of camels and horses, with a few human remains interspersed, partially entombed in the sand. Many of the bodies had been dried up, with very great loss of weight, like mummies, the process of putrefaction having been anticipated by the scorching dryness of the hot wind. Many of the skeletons bore marks of having been stripped of their flesh by birds and beasts of prey. The drifting sand rapidly collects round and entombs carcases where left undisturbed. ‘ On the Geological Position of the Silicified Wood of the Egyptian and Libyan Deserts, with a Description of the “‘ Petrified Forest” near Carro. By Lieut. Newsoup, Madras Army, F.R.S. &c. Tue occurrence of silicified wod in many parts of the Egyptian and Libyan deserts has from an early period attracted the attention of travellers. In 1778 Sonnini met with fragments between Honeze and the Natron lakes ; and previous to his time petrifactions had been discovered in the bed of the Waterless river (the Bahr bila Maieh), a little to the north of the Natron lakes*. Horneman and others, who haye subsequently visited this locality, have however referred these fossils to silicified trunks of trees and plants; and Burckhardt, who saw some specimens brought thence in 1812 by M. Boutin, a French officer, states that they resembled precisely those which he saw on the Suez road, and supposed to be petrified date-trees. Similar petri- factions have also been lately discovered im the sands of the great Nubian desert, a little south from Abusambel, by Mr. St. John; and at Haagbarlak, about eight miles west from Ambukol, by Mr. Hol- royd. Some of the silicified trunks of Haagbarlak were fifty-one feet in length and twenty imches in diameter, and are referred by Mr. Holroyd to the Doom-palm (Crucifera Thebaica). The stratum was * Savary’s Letters on Egypt, Engl. Trans., yol. i. p. 14. en — SS aS oo ees 350 PROCEEDINGS OF THE GEOLOGICAL SOCIETY. a coarse sandstone, and the trunks partially buried in the sand. Similar petrifactions were also remarked in the Bayudeh desert be- tween Ambukol and El Hajir near Abu Samud. In several parts of the Thebaid, the Libyan and Egyptian desert ; in the saline sandy wastes lymg between the head of the Red Sea and the Mediterranean, in the vicinity of the ancient canal of Bubastis, I have observed small scattered fragments, with edges more or less worn, of silicified wood. Similar fragments have been found in the sandy deserts of Abyssinia and Africa even to the vicinity of the Cape of Good Hope, and they are said to exist in those of Barbary and Morocco. The most extensive accumulation known is that in the Suez desert near Cairo, which from the number, magnitude and perfect state of the fossil trunks has been called the “‘ Petrified forest.” Burekhardt has slightly noticed a portion of this tract near Wadi Anseri, where he found a great quantity of petrified wood upon one of the hills, amongst which was the entire trunk of a tree, supposed by him to be that of a date-palm. The latest, and imdeed almost only scientific account of this interesting site has been given by M. Limant in the ‘Bulletin de la Société de Géographie de Paris,’ 2nd series, tom. xiii. p- 27. These descriptions would have rendered, perhaps, the present ‘notice superfluous, had not the result of my observations differed so materially as to induce me to commit this trespass on the patience of my hearers. M. Linant supposes a forest which stood on the spot where the trunks now lie, to have been inflamed by a volcanic eruption, and shortly afterwards submerged beneath boiling waters, by whose agency the trunks while still erect were silicified. The eruption continued interiorly and ejected sandstone, both in a fluid state and in vitrified blocks, upwards through the argillaceous and limestone strata on which they were deposited. This erupted matter reduced the petrified trees to a similar state of vitrification. In support of this theory M. Linant adduces chiefly the vitrified appearance of the sandstone and pudding-stone in the vicinity; the loose fragments of these rocks scattered on the surface; the blackish aspect of some, as well as of certaim portions of the fossil wood ; and the crater-like aspect of the adjacent sandstone hills of Gebel Ahmar. I will not take up the time of the Society in attempting to refute here by a tram of argument, and in detail, these and similar views, which perhaps few practical geologists would at this cera of the science admit ; but after remarking, en passant, that throughout the memoir the occurrence of any acknowledged voleanic product is not mentioned (nor was I able to discover such either im situ or im the private mu- seums of Cairo), and that the general dark appearance of the sand- stone and fossil wood is caused by ferruginous matter common to such formations, I will proceed to describe the result of my own observa- tions made on the spot during the month of July 1840; apologising at the same time for their imperfect nature, and regretting that the task has not fallen into abler hands. Pressure of time and the want NEWBOLD ON THE SILICIFIED WOOD OF EGYPT. 351 of proper instruments prevented my giving a more regular survey of the locality and its vici- nity. With regard to Burckhardt’s theory of the modern origin of the petrifactions (since the time of Nechos, about 600 B.c.) and the process of silicification having been caused by the winter rains and torrents, I will content myself with ob- Serving that, in general, the largest and most perfect trunks are found on the sides and sum- mits of hills, or in other positions, elevated above the level of existing streams and inundations, where the presence of springs is rarely known, and often imbedded in solid rock, containing in some situations pelagic remains. The site of the petrifactions lies in the Suez desert about seven miles east by south from Cairo, between the usual caravan-track to Mecca, and the more southerly but less-frequented camel route that leads from the village immediately south of Old Cairo through the Valley of the Wanderings (Wadi et-Tih). The area over which they are scattered presents an irregular super- ficies, extending about three miles and a half southerly towards Wadi et-Tih, and about four | miles in an easterly direction. The whole of this plateau is considerably elevated above the level of the Nile even during the highest imun- dations, lying on the slope of the Mokattem range as it recedes easterly from the river, where it presents the bold and precipitous escarpments that form the eastern limits of the valley of the Nile. The belt of desert that is passed between the petrifactions and Cairo rises gradually, but irregularly, from the city walls, and presents an undulating surface, here and there broken by low and irregular elevations, and covered with a light- coloured, quartzy sand, mingled with rolled peb- bles of quartz, jasper, Egyptian pebble, silicified wood, chert, and fragments of crystallized sul- phate, and carbonate of lime and muriate of soda. Near the top of a broad shallow defile that leads up to the table-land skirting the site of the petrifactions, the fragments of silicified wood be- ‘come more numerous, and their edges less worn. Another shorter but steeper ascent to the right being gained, the traveller stands upon the edge of the fossil forest—one dreary, arid expanse of sand, treeless and almost shrubless, rugged with West. Libyan range. Nile. c, @. Marine limestone of the Mokattem and Libyan ranges. d, Alluvium covering valley of the Nile. d, Mokattem. Fig. 7 Section E. and W. showiny the site of the Fossil Forest. b. Sandstone and pudding-stone imbedding silicified trees. a, a. Sand and gravel covering surface of desert. Fossil Forest. b, f dark-coloured knolls, and intersected by a few dry raim-channels. East. 352 PROCEEDINGS OF THE GEOLOGICAL SOCIETY. The whole presents a blacker aspect than the surrounding desert, caused, as we found subsequently, by the ferruginous character of the - grit and conglomerate forming these knolls, im which much of the silicified wood lay partially imbedded, the ends protruding from the superjacent sand. The sandstone, in one specimen presented to the Society, exhibits marks of marine shells, which from the cireumstance of their being casts, and those in the subjacent limestone being casts also, cannot have been derived from the limestone, an observation for which I am indebted to Mr. Lonsdale. Many of the trunks he scattered loosely over the surface, amid rolled and angular fragments of the dark grit, pebbles of jasper, chert, quartz, and sharp-edged bits of silicified wood; but they were not in so perfect a state of preservation as the imbedded trunks. The site which they occupy slopes gradually in a southerly direction towards Wadi et-Tih, and is drained by the shallow channels previously men- tioned, which run into a ravine following the general slope of the land: at the time of our visit they were perfectly dry. The prospect is bounded to the south by the low calcareous ridge that skirts the valley of Et-Tih, separating it from the wastes of Baccara, and runs westerly to the Nile. To the east lies the monotonous expanse of the Suez desert ; to the west the mural limestone ridge of the Mokattem ; and to the north the valley separating the petrifaction-bed from the once continuous stratum forming the sandstone heights of the Red Mountain (Gebel Ahmar). The largest trunks are seen in the greatest abundance on or in the vicinity of the scattered knolls, particularly towards the south-east portion of the area, where they lie, like the broken stems of a fallen forest, crossing each other at various angles. The majority of the larger trunks had a north-west direction. Two of the largest ob- served measured, severally, 48 and 61 feet in length, and 23 and 3 feet in diameter. They resemble in external aspect the present palm of Egypt, but internally the wood has the annular concentric struc- ture of exogenous stems, A few exhibited, externally, longitudinal fibres intersected, at intervals from two to three feet asunder, by transverse divisions, giving the trunk the appearance of a gigantic Calamite, although the internal structure is that of dicotyledonous wood, and is pronounced by Mr. Robert Brown, who kmdly examined the specimens, not coniferous. One of these trunks had a cireum- ference of thirty inches. The jointed appearance it is possible may have been caused by contraction during the process of silicification, but may it not be the original structure of a tree now no longer known? The greater portion of the trunks visible lie scattered loosely in and on the sand and gravel, in broken fragments from 1 to 3 feet long, and from 4 to 12 inches in diameter. A few are yet seen im- bedded horizontally in the sand and pudding-stone, and. still fewer preserve a vertical position, not rising higher than from 12 to 20 inches above the present surface of the sand. From one of these stumps I cleared away the sand and gravel, as far as was practicable with no~ better instruments than a hammer and my hands, and clearly traced it to the subjacent pudding-stone in which it stood imbedded. No Pi NEWBOLD ON THE SILICIFIED WOOD OF EGYPT. 353 traces of roots were found at this depth, but several loose masses imbedded in the sand bore strong resemblance to the bulbous base of palms; while others, again, assimilated to the tortuous structure of the roots of exogenous trees. No branches remained attached to any of the trunks that fell under my observation ; the places of their insertion were to be traced, and also knots; but in general the stems were straight, knotless, and with a longitudinally striated superficies. Some appear to have been in a state of decay at the time of their being imbedded, having a hollow interior partially filled up with grit and pudding-stone. A specimen from this locality, shown me by M. Linant at Cairo, had the hollow lined with a white caleedony-like siliceous substance full of small cells resembling those of a honey- comb. Many of the silicified trunks, both with regard to external and in- ternal structure, closely assimilate to the petrifactions found on the Coromandel coast near Pondicherry, and the imbedding rocks are similar m character and in their geognostic position. The respect- ive ages of the two subjacent marine limestones have not, however, been determined. Of the Egyptian limestone specimens have been already furnished. The hardness of the silicified wood varies from a whitish mealy opake crust, that crumbles between the finger and thumb, to that of translucent agate and flint; and in colour from white cornelian to red jasper, variegated with every shade of brown and grey. In some specimens all appearance of ligneous structure has been destroyed, the woody matter having been replaced by grains of sand agglutinated together, but preserving in a great degree the external form of the tree; like the fossil trees found at Dixon Fold, near Manchester, which are composed of the sandstone and shale of the coal-measures, and many other fossils of the coal-field sandstone of Europe. I was unable to detect decisively either the fruit-seeds or leaves of the fossil trees, but picked up one or two spherical ferruginous-lookmg nodules, from the size of a hazel-nut to that of an orange, which have been considered by many travellers, probably from shape merely, to be the petrified fruits of the date, doom-palm, and other trees. They resemble strongly similar substances which I found in the petrifac- tion-bed near Pondicherry just alluded to, and are usually composed of grains of quartz cemented by a mixture of ferruginous, siliceous, and argillaceous matter, sometimes hollow in the centre, like a geode, sometimes lined with minute drusy.crystals of quartz, but more frequently containing a yellowish or rust-coloured ochreous powder. The sandstone and fossil wood contain cells similarly lined. It must not be omitted to mention that in many of the fractured trunks, which he on the sand-hills broken transversely, the edges of the fractured portions are still sharp and in nice adaptation. Some lie several feet apart, like the fragments of a fallen column of marble separated by the heaviness of its fall, in such a manner as not to be explained by any theory of contraction or superincumbent pressure having occasioned their division. They appear to have fallen subse- quently to fossilization. After the consolidation of the lower beds of Sa ew, oe ~ 354 ‘PROCEEDINGS OF THE GEOLOGICAL SOCIETY. this deposit and the silicification of the trees, its upper and looser layers were removed by denuding aqueous action, evidence of which will be adduced hereafter: the trunks, thus left unsupported, either fell by their own weight increased. by silicification, or were laid pro- strate by the action of the current, and their smaller fragments, min- gled with sand and gravel-detritus of the subjacent rock, scattered to considerable distances, contributing to the formation of the present surface of the desert. The imbedded fossil stems are rarely flattened, and do not bear any vestiges of ever having been covered with the thin coating of coal we see envelopmg some of the trunks of Dixon Fold,—a circumstance easily explained when we consider the more perfect process of silicifi- cation to which the former have been subjected, exhibitig often the finest anatomical structure of the interior with a perfection equalling that of the tree in a state of nature, converted into silex, and rivalling ' oriental agate and cornelian mm transparency and colour. Mr. Robert Brown has kindly examined the specimens I brought with me from Egypt, and reports that the three whose characters he could deter- mine are dicotyledonous and not coniferous*. Geognostic position.—The basis on which repose the strata of sand and pudding-stone imbedding the fossil trunks, and indeed that of the whole of this portion of the Egyptian desert, is the ordinary marine — limestone of the Mokattem in nearly horizontal beds having a seareely perceptible westerly dip. The inferior beds (6, fig. 8) of the lime- stone in this vicinity have a chalk-like colour and texture, imbedding nodules of brown, grey and blackish chert, covered by a thin white coating in regular layers. The Fig. 8. upper beds (5) are more compact, interstratified with thin layers (from | °- - 2 to 12 inches in thickness) of a }|——~——— dull greenish gypseous and salife- reus' marl (a, A,’5), and contain, | ——=——_— ae among other pelagic remains, num- ae 4 veddlica mee ae peers corallines, H sul Hl fishes’ teeth, [these beds have been ; : referred by some French geologists |... 2.2.2. Be i to the chalk period.| (4) is a thin argillaceous bed varying in colour - from red to a dull green. (3) is the eee sand and pudding-stone stratum im- bedding the petrifactions. On if, |= " 5 in some positions, rests’ a bed of | | ==) 35) Sassi argillaceous and gypseous marl with rock-salt (2), underlying the sand - — <_ _— — ae and gravelof the desert (1). This | = = lf 5-2] = bed however is generally wanting, | —_- ——__ —__ —— |6 having been carried away by aque- ‘2s ee ous action. * A specimen of coniferous wood has been brought from the Nubian desert by the Rev. Vere Monro, found in a deposit analogous to that near Cairo, which is NEWBOLD ON THE SILICIFIED WOOD OF EGYPT. 355 Gebel Ahmar.—I shall now proceed to give the result of the examination of Gebel Ahmar (A, fig. 9), which lies on the northern limit of the fossil forest, and of the shallow valley that separatesthem. The former is an irregular dark-coloured ridge that rises to the apparent height of about 150 feet from the general level of the surrounding desert, about a mile in length and half a mile in breadth. The rugged and conical shapes of portions of this ridge have been caused chiefly by a number of excavations and mounds of rubbish consisting of frag- ments of quarried rock. The lower portions of these quarries are often basin-shaped and partially filled with the finer sand of the Fossil forest. thus described by Mr. Jameson Torrie, whose notice I did not see till this paper had been written :— “ The breccia containing fragments of a conifera is from the neighbourhood of Aboosambal or Ipsam- bul in Nubia. The rocks of that district are sand- stones and conglomerates which form hills present- ing very remarkable conical and pyramidal shapes. Many of the specimens of sandstone are highly ferruginous and much indurated. The colour of these fragments is brown internally but brownish- black externally, and the external shapes rendered apparent by the decomposition of the softer sand- stone, are singular, being stalactitic, botryoidal perforated, vesicular,&c. The wood breccia is from a bed at the edge of a large chasm, which tra- verses for a considerable distance sandstone strata, to the south-east of the ruined town and castle of Kalat Addé, and about a league and a half from Ipsambul.” Mr. Nicol affords the following note on the structure of the conifera:—‘‘The mass containing the conifera is an aggregate, consisting of fragments of the fossil wood and grains of quartz, united by a cement, consisting chiefly of carbonate of lime with a little iron and clay. The fragments of wood are of an elongated form and of various dimensions, the largest being little more than an inch in length. Externally, the woody portions are of a greyish-black, but internally the colour, at least of one of the specimens, was hair-brown. By reflected light, the hair-brown fragment shows no appearance of organization even when polished ; but when a transverse section of it was reduced to the proper thickness, it showed distinctly the reti- culated texture of the recent conifere. From the faintness of the partitions it is not likely that the longitudinal sections would exhibit discs so as to enable us to determine whether the fossil belongs to the Pine or Araucarian division of Coniferz, and I have accordingly not attempted to make a longi- Site: section.” —Hdin. New Phil. Journ. vol. xviii. Pp. 2 Fig. 9. Section showing valley of erosion. f the Mokattem. Valley B. d. Hard masses of a, a, left on surface of the valley. a, a. Sandstone and pudding-stone imbedding silicified trunks, partially covered with sand and gravel of the desert. c, c. Marine limestone o b, Gebel Ahmar. i ie el es — ——EEE eee eee Bo re ep 356 PROCEEDINGS OF THE GEOLOGICAL SOCIETY. desert, drifted chiefly by the khamsin and the whirlwinds that fre- quently raise it up in vast moving columns from the surface of the surrounding wastes. These excavations and mounds are so numerous as to have obliterated the original outline of the ridge, a circumstance which, coupled with the dark colour of the rock and crystalline aspect of some varieties, has probably induced M. Linant to consider it of volcanic origin. The rock is composed of beds of pudding-stone and grit (a, a, fig. 9) passing to a compact crystalline sandstone, varying from a deep blood-red to yellow and white. From its generally dark red aspect this ridge has obtamed the Arab name of ‘‘Gebel Ahmar,” i.e. the Red Mountain. The pudding-stone imbeds pebbles of the same size and nature as those found in the bed contaming the fossil wood, fragments of which are here found among the quarries. It once formed, doubtless, a continuous portion now separated by the valley (B, fig. 9) just alluded to. Near the southern extremity of the ridge stand two cliffs of sand- stone higher than the rest; the one of a deep red and yellow colour and compact; the other white, more granular, and crystalime. In the former, one of those vertical clefts often seen in sandstones, pro- duced probably by contraction durmg the process of consolidation, has caused the displacement of a large mass of rock, but there is no- thing resembling the effect of voleanic agency. The rock reposes in ~ horizontal beds on the surface of the limestone already mentioned (c, c, fig. 9). The sandstone near the junction-line passes into an ochreous reddish and yellow clay containing veins of fibrous gypsum, incrustations of muriate of soda, and selenite. Barytes are said to be found in this layer. Both the limestone and sandstone abound in caverns, the resort of the hyzenas that nightly prowl among the burial-grounds without the walls of Cairo. One of these dens into which I descended contained the recent dung of this animal, mtermingled with human and other bones. The shallow valley (8, fig. 9), already mentioned, appears to have been hollowed out by the erosive action of water, which has not how- ever been so great as to destroy the entire bed of sandstone, portions of which, firmer than the rest (6, 6), have successfully resisted the current. The softer intermediate parts of the bed have been carried away, leaving the subjacent limestone denuded in some places. Around these and some waterworn blocks of the same rock the drifted sand has collected, forming dome-shaped and conical knolls, which impart a somewhat volcanic aspect to the surface. Around others was found a deposit of a stiff gypseous marl. Many of these knolls have not escaped the hands of the Egyptian quarriers. The harder and more compact varieties were used for statuary and architectural purposes, while the looser gritty beds were hewn into millstones. The more argillaceous beds in the limestone are broken up for whet- stones, while a fine greyish variety of clay is used by the women of Cairo for washing. I shall now conclude with a few remarks drawn from a considera- tion of the geological position of the petrifaction-bed. NEWBOLD ON THE SILICIFIED WOOD OF EGYPT. 357 lst. That this part of Egypt has twice formed a portion of the ocean’s bed, elevated at distinct periods above its surface. 2nd. That the fossil trees existed in a vegetating state between these two epochs, or after the first appearance above the ocean of the marine limestone,—were submerged or carried into the sea—covered with a bed of rolled pebbles and sand, and raised with this bed to their present position above the general drainage-level of the country and the reach of existing springs. The consolidation of the ocean’s bed and silicification of the trees probably went on together prior to, or perhaps contemporaneous with, the soulévement. 3rd. That the elevation of these beds was attended with no violent disturbing cause, but effected gently and gradually, as appears from their nearly horizontal position. 4th. That it is probable that the retiring waters of the last ocean swept away the looser portions of this and other once continuous beds of sandstone,—denuding in places the subjacent limestone, scatter- ing the debris of pebbles, sand and fragments of silicified wood over a vast extent, and forming the present gravel and saline sands that cover the surfaces of the Egyptian and Libyan deserts. 5th. From what has been already stated respecting the manner in which some of the fossil stems near Cairo have been broken,—their little-worn aspect,—the angularity and nice adaptation of many of the fractured portions, it is reasonable to infer, in that locality at least, that they rest at no great distance from the spot on which they were silicified. From the fact of the vertical position of a few of the trunks, it might be still further presumed they are now seen where they ori- ginally vegetated; but until these vertical stems be traced down to roots fixed in a given stratum or on certain levels, marking, like the Portland dirt-bed, the ancient surface of dry land (facts which it is extremely desirable to ascertam or disprove), we must hesitate to admit the hypothesis of the Cairo petrifaction-bed being the site of a submerged forest. VOL. IV.—PART I. | | 2p DONATIONS TO THE LIBRARY OF THE GEOLOGICAL SOCIETY, April \st to June 30th, 1848. I. TRANSACTIONS AND JOURNALS. Presented by the respective Societies and Editors. AMERICAN Academy of Arts and Sciences, Proceedings for 1847. Journal of Science. Second Series, vol. v. nos. 14 and 15. Philosophical Society, Transactions. New Series, vol. x. part 1. Proceedings, vol. iv. nos. 36-39. Atheneum Journal. April to June. Boston Journal of Natural History. Vol. v. no. 2. British Association, Report of the Seventeenth Meeting held at Ox- ford in June 1847. Chemical Society, Memoirs and Proceedings, Part 23, Quarterly Journal of, no. 1. Cornwall Polytechnic Society (Royal), Annual Report, 1847. France, Société Géologique de, Bulletin. Deux. Série, tome v. feuilles 1-3. Genéve, Socicté de Physique de, Mémoires. Tome xi. partie 2. Horticultural Society, Journal. Vols. i. 1., and parts 1 and 2 of vol. iii. Indian Archipelago, Journal. Vol. i. nos. 1 and 2. Littell’s Living Age. No. 201. Munich Academy (Royal), Abhandlungen. Vol. v. part 1. , Bulletin. Nos. 1-35, 1847. Philadelphia Academy of Natural Sciences, Journal. New Series, vol. i. part 1. Proceedings, vol. iii. no. 12, and vol. iv. no. 1. Philosophical Magazine, April to June. From R. Taylor, Esq.,F.G.S. —=— -——— ee DONATIONS. 359 Zoological Society, Transactions. Vol. iil. part 5. Proceedings, nos. 177-180. II. GEOLOGICAL AND MISCELLANEOUS BOOKS. Names in italics presented by Authors. Austin, Thomas, and Thomas Austin, Jun. Monograph on Recent and Fossil Crinoidea. No. 7. Binney, EH. W. Glance at the Geology of Low Furness. Carpenter, W., M.D. Report on the Microscopic Structure of Shells. Part 2. Corbaux, Fanny. On the Comparative Physical Geography of the Arabian Frontier of Egypt. 2nd part. Cumming, Rev. J.G. The Isle of Man; its History, Physical, Ecclesiastical, Civil and Legendary. Favre, Alphonse. Recherches Géologiques faites dans les Environs de Chamounix en Savoie. Fligel, Dr. J. G. Laiterarische Sympathien oder industrielle Buch- macherei. A Call of Redress, &c. Extra-Impression of the Preface to Dr. Fligel’s Practical Dictionary. Hall, James. Palzeontology of New York. Vol.i. (Part 6 of the Natural History of New York.) Howard, Luke. Barometrographia: Twenty years’ variation of the Barometer in the Climate of Britain, exhibited in Autographic Curves. From LE. W. Brayley, Lsq., F.GS. Leidy, Joseph, M.D. Ona New Fossil Genus and Species of Ru- minantoid Pachydermata. On a New Genus and Species of Fossil Rumi- = a eee nantia. Martins, Ch. Mémoire sur les Températures de la Mer glaciale, a la Surface, 4 de grandes Profondeurs, et dans le Voisinage des Glaciers du Spitzberg. Nattali, M. A. » Catalogue of Books for 1848. Penny Cyclopzedia, Supplement. Vols. 1. andi. From James Ten- nant, Esq., F.G.S. Reeve, Lovell. Conchologia Iconica: Monographs of the Genera Turbo, Chitonellus, Turbinella, Pyrula, Paludomus, Fusus, Fi- cula, Fasciolaria and Chiton. Elements of Conchology. Part 8. Ritter, Carl. Vergleichende Erdkunde von Arabien. 2 vols. From Dr. W. Twining, F.G.S. 360 DONATIONS. Smith, J. Toulmin. The Ventriculidee of the Chalk. Sowerby, G. B. A Catalogue of the Shells in the Collection of the late Earl of Tankerville. Swedenborg, Emanuel. The Economy of the Animal Kingdom. 2 vols. —____-_____.._ The Principia. 2 vols. —_—_—__--_———._ On the Principles of Chemistry. ae Sa ae ——. Qutlines of a Philosophical Argument on the Infinite ——. (£conomia Regni Animalis. He in IP OSE EOS EreES. —__-—____—_~——. Miscellaneous Observations connected with the Physical Sciences. From the Swedenborg Association, by the hands of L. S. Coxe, Esq., F.G.S. Von Meyer, Herman. Zur Fauna der Vorwelt. Zweite Abth. Die Saurier des Muschelkalkes mit Ricksicht auf die Saurier aus Buntem Sandstem und Keuper. THE QUARTERLY JOURNAL GEOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF LONDON. EDITED BY THE ASSISTANT-SECRETARY OF THE GEOLOGICAL SOCIETY. VOLUME THE FOURTH. 1848. PART II. MISCELLANEOUS. CONTENTS OF PART II. Alphabetically arranged—the names of the Authors in capital letters. Barbadoes, Prof. EHRENBERG on Organic Substances found in Me- mere WENGE PON WM. cin y Sieh expe he vos bla wea mes ns Biscuor, Prof. G. On the Formation of Mineral Phosphates. . ——_—- . On the occurrence of Phosphorie Acid in Lava. Branpt, Prof. On the Position in which the Mammoth and Rhi- feeeros HAVE DEEN LOUNE IM, SIDER A, 6 pen eiene we oo Kite op ee mgs Cephalopods of the Salzkammerguts, F. Von HAvER on the...... Coal Formation, H. Von Meyer on Remains of Reptiles found in the DrEcHEN, Herr Von. On the occurrence of Ores of Mercury in the MemmemritabION. Of SAALDTUCK 60. eis sav cee eee 5 Fb oe we oyepen EHRENBERG, Prof.. On Organic Substances found in the Meteoric Ashes which fell on the Ist of May 1812 in Barbadoes ........ FROMHERZ, M. On the Structure of the Schwarzwald.......... : Gneiss and Gneiss-granite, Prof. C. F. NAUMANN on the probable Meemave Orin of several kinds Of. 2.0. cc eee ee nee Hauer, F. Von. The Cephalopods of the Salzkammerguts: a con- tribution to the Palzontology of the Alps..................65 Heer, Prof. O. On the Fossil Plants discovered on the Upper RR iio. oy aap! 525 wim, n)2 lays ens cia a’y vig. 8a e sly pits phy A wrens Heligoland, M. Wr1EBEL on the present and former extent of the SIRE nce ohne oak, Syeganelin.» ae, dpm ateRa nie ag Say Doua Gianeg deo HetmerseEn, G. Von. On Herr Von Middendorff’s Geological Ob- MND MUIES UIE (CEE oc 0 oid Sie cs 6 a yt TR oes) oy and sinh sed aa ne Karsten, M. On the Rock-Salt Deposit at Stassfurth, and on the occurrence of Boracite as a Mountaim Rock in that Formation .. LEsQuEREUxX, M. Léo. On the Formation of Peat in the North of A SM 2 cha hate, oh bs -a cel aera ey aiethas, hel Davey ooo ak as Wa tet Leucite Crystals, A. Scaccut on the Ejection of, from Vesuvius .. Loven, M. On the Migrations of the Molluscous Fauna of Scan- TTY cyettpnesieperht fet Pat ein ARATE I a CR Mammoth, Prof. BRANpr on the Position in which it is found in Rete ROR, Aeros hee aie, PSR tS, DOPE Se Se a wae ee iv Page Mercury, Herr Von DECHEN on the occurrence in the Coal Forma- tion of Saarbriick of Ores of . 2.0... ...5..-4. 2. 33 Meyer, Hermann Von. The Saurians of the Muschelkalk ...... 40 The Reptiles of the Coal Formation .............t5.ees ol Middendorff, Herr Von. G. Von HELMERSEN on the Geological Observations;in Siberiajof} . 13-0.) . L102 A ee 49 MiLne-Epwarps, M. Report on the Paleontological Researches of M. Marie Rouault m Brittany and Anjou .................. 35 Molluscous Fauna of Scandinavia, M. Loven on the Migrations of. 48 Mortort, A. Von. The Trebich Grotto near Trieste ............ 60 Muschelkalk, H. Von Meyer on the Saurians of .............. 40 NauMANN, Prof.C. F. On the probable Eruptive Origin of several kinds of Gneiss and Gneiss-pramite..........:....)-= =e 1 Peat, M. Léo LEsQuEREUX on the Formation of, in the North of Burope 3.2 = Wass = cas ade cre sii ebel ate os ete ee er 29 Persia, M. WoSKOBOINIKOW’S Travels in Northern ............ 32 PeTTKo, Prof. V. On the vicinity of Schemnitz and Kremnitz .._ 61 Phosphates, Prof. BiscHor¥ on the Formation of Mmeral ........ 24 Phosphoric Acid, Prof. BiscHor on the occurrence of, in Lava.... 47 Rhone, Prof. HEER on the Fossil Plants discovered on the Upper.. 64 Rouault, M. Marie, M. Mitne-Epwarps’s Report on the Palzon- tological Researches of. ....... .. 2... ++ ++,. - =» - «er 35 - Scaccuti, A. On the Ejection of Leucite Crystals from Vesuvius. 31 Schemnitz and Kremnitz, Prof. Von PeTtTKo on the viemity of.... 61 Schwarzwald, M. FRoMHERz on the Structure of the ............ 27 Siberia, Herr Von MippENDoRFrF’s Geological Observationsin .. 49 Stassfurth, M. KarsTENn on the Rock-Salt Deposit at .......... 12 Trebich Grotto near Trieste, A. Von Moruor on the ..'i eee 60 Trilobites, M. Marie RouAULT’s Researches on .............-.. ; 35 Ural and Siberia, Produce of Gold in 1846 inthe................ 25 Veins, Von WEISSENBACH, Contributions to the Knowledge of .. 56 WEISSENBACH, Herr Von. Contributions tothe KnowledgeofVems 56 WIEBEL, M. Present and former extent of the Island of Heligoland 32 WosKOBOINIKOw, M. Travels in Northern Persia ............ a2 , | TRANSLATIONS AND NOTICES GEOLOGICAL MEMOIRS. On the probable Eruptive Origin of several Kinds of GNeEtss and of Gneiss-GraniTE. By Prof. C. F. Naumann. [From Leonhard and Bronn’s Neues Jahrbuch fiir Mineralogie &c., Jahrgang 1847, 3tes Heft. | Ir is particularly satisfactory to find, that at length opmions have been expressed by English geologists respecting a mode of formation of gneiss and foliated granite, which may have the effect of restrict- ing within just limits the hypothesis of the metamorphic origin of these rocks; an hypothesis which certainly met with a remarkably ready adoption, and which has been very extensively applied. It is at least to be hoped that the geologists of Germany will now give . some attention to these views, coming to us, as they do, from the other side of the Channel, sanctioned by so high an authority as that of Mr. Charles Darwin. The hypothesis that gneiss and similar rocks are in all cases only altered sedimentary deposits, is founded essentially on the parallelism in their texture and structure, and on their being frequently found interstratified with clay-slate, grauwacke, and other sedimentary rocks. It has been assumed as an undoubted axiom, that all such parallelism of structure must have resulted from sedimentary depo- sition, and this axiom has been applied far too generally,— Multa jiunt eadem, sed aliter. There were not wanting, in truth, examples enough of rocks with a remarkable parallelism of structure, as to which no one could assert that they were of sedimentary origin. I will not advert to the numerous and well-known examples of vesicu- lar lavas and amygdaloids, in which the flattened and elongated vesi- cles are arranged in parallel lines, although these afford the most striking proofs of the origin of such parallel structure; but I will take leave to call to the recollection of the reader some other cases of this nature. In the classical description of Piperno, which Leopold von Buch VOL. IV.—PART II. B 2 GEOLOGICAL MEMOIRS. published nearly forty years ago*, we have a very remarkable instance of a trachytic rock having a parallelism of structure; and in his in- structive memoir on Trap-porphyry or Trachyte+, he pointed out that which has since been so frequently observed, viz. that beds of trachyte not unfrequently occur in which the crystals of felspar assume a parallel arrangement. He mentions still more remarkable exam- ples of this structure in his work on the Canary Islands. Thus, at p- 215, he describes a dyke of trachyte near Angostura in Teneriffe, the rock of which is composed of thin parallel layers of erystalline plates of felspar, so that it has quite a slaty texture, and has been taken for white silvery mica-slate; and at p. 244 he refers to a simi- lar slaty trachyte in the vicinity of Perexil on the Cumbre; and at p- 274 he speaks of a trachyte from the Caldera of Tiraxana, which is so slaty that at every step one fancies it a mica-slate. This peculiar structure, which Von Buch was the first to describe, in the case of trachyte, was afterwards pointed out by Beudant, in his excellent work on Hungary, as occurring in Perlitet. He describes this parallelism of structure as a very remarkable appearance, shown by an alternation of stony and glassy layers; and it is perceptible in hand. specimens as well as in the mass of the rock. The stratification of the latter, which is parallel to the slaty structure, is often horizon- tal, often contorted in various ways, and often combined with a dis-— position to separate into slabs, or at least to split into such forms. Afterwards Poulett Scrope, when examining M. Beudant’s specimens of Hungarian perlite at Paris, came to the very just conclusion, that their parallelism of structure must be ascribed “to the substance of the rock haying been drawn out in the direction of the zones,” as also “to the flowing of the matter in obedience to the impulse of its own gravity§,” just as happens with the obsidian-lava of Lipari, Teneriffe, and Iceland, which respectively exhibit a similar bedded structure. Scrope, in the above-mentioned memoir, also describes a rock in the island of Ponza, which he calls a prismatic trachyte, and speaks of its parallel structure. This trachyte, when viewed in mass, ex- hibits a striped appearance, derived from a kind of stratiform alter- nation of texture and colour, combined with a corresponding extension of all the pores of the stone; the brighter layers bemg porous and softer, the duller bemg compact and harder, more siliceous, and some- times almost like hornstone. This parallelism of structure passes right across the prisms of the rock; and as the axes of these prisms are always at right angles to the plane of the bed or of the dyke, so it may be seen that the direction of the structure-planes depends upon that of the resisting surfaces. } In the island of Palmarola the stratiform structure of the trachyte is still more remarkable; the layers in it are more continuous, and * Geognost. Beobacht. auf Reisen durch Deutschland und Italien, 1809, ii. s. 209. t+ Abhandlungen d. Berlin. Akademie d. Wissenschaften, 1816, 127. ~ Voyages en Hongrie, tome iii. p. 403, 1822. § Transactions of the Geol. Soc., 2nd Series, vol. ii. p. 225. NAUMANN ON GNEISS AND GNEISS-GRANITE. 3 their contortions resemble those of gneiss or mica-slate. Scrope more- over remarks, that the layers are more frequently vertical than hori- zontal, and may have been caused by the protrusion of the masses, exactly like those of the perlites of Oyamel in Mexico, the stripes of which are also vertical. The author makes the following striking remark :—that many similar appearances, as, for example, the parallel structure of phonolites, and the very frequent elongations and contor- tions in gneiss and mica-slate, may owe their origin to similar causes. These observations and views of Scrope were afterwards fully con- firmed by Abich*. He distinctly calls the rock of which the great dykes in Palmarola consist, a schistose rock, the layers of which are often as thin as paper. What Scrope and Abich found in the island of Palmarola, was seen by Hoffmann in the small island of Basiluzzo, one of the Lipari group, where he found a trachyte composed of a reddish base, in- cluding many small crystals of glassy felspar, scales of mica, and quartz-like grains; these grains are however arranged in parallel stripes, which not only impart to the stone a perfect foliaceous tex- ture, but also give the rock a distinct laminar structure, and clea- vaget. The crater of elevation in the island of Pantellaria, between Sicily and Tunis, is composed, according to Hoffmannf, of a trachytic lava, which throughout has a foliated texture resembling gneiss, and occurs in beds that dip regularly outwards from the centre of the island. While so many instances were known of the existence of parallelism of structure, often in a most remarkable degree, in volcanic, and therefore unquestionably eruptive rocks, it was hardly to have been expected that there should have been so unconditional and so general an admission of the hypothesis that all parallelism of structure is a proof that the rock must originally have been formed by sedimentary deposit. It is moreover perfectly well known, that many erupted rocks, not of volcanic but of plutonic origin, have this same parallel texture and bedded structure. I need only refer to the cases of phonolite, the structure of which, especially when weathered, sometimes approaches very near to that of clay-slate ;—of the foliated porphyry described by Heim§, consisting of alternate layers of reddish clay-stone and quartz, so thin that the rock might appropriately be called paper- porphyry ;—of the similar kind of porphyry found in several parts of Saxony, especially in the neighbourhood of the Triebisch valley ;—of the porphyry of Frejus, described oy Elie de Beaumont as having a riband and even schistose structure||;—of the slaty porphyry of Deville in the Ardennes, which, from its structure, has been held to be an altered slate ;—of the porphyry of the Wagenberg on the Berg- _ * Natur u. Zusammenhang der Vulcanischen Bildungen, 1841, s. 19, t This is also confirmed by Abich in the same work, p. 85. ~ Poggendorf’s Ann. Bd. 24. s.68; and Geognost. Beobacht. auf einer Reise durch Italien, 1839, s. 108. § Geol. Beschreib. des Thiiringer Waldes, Th. ii. s. 159. || Explication de la Carte géologique de la France, vol. i. p. 479. B 2 4 GEOLOGICAL MEMOIRS. strasse, described hy Gustav Leonhard*, in parts of which the layers of the stone are not thicker than card+;—and of the slaty and foliated porphyry im the neighbourhood of the Lenne valley, of which we have an account in an imteresting memoir by Von Dechen{, but respecting which it may certainly be said that its nature is as yet very obscure. In general, porphyries more especially supply exam- ples of the kind of structure now under consideration ; and although in many instances they may be satisfactorily shown to be metamor- phic slates, it is no less true that in many others it is unnecessary to have recourse to that theory to account for their structure. It may therefore be considered as proved, that many rocks, which are undoubtedly of plutonic origin, have a most distmet parallelism of structure; and consequently, that the existence of such a structure is in all cases by no means a proof that the rock had origmally been sedimentary. This truth has a very important bearing upon those rocks, which, from their mineral composition and their frequently passing by insensible degrees into other rocks of acknowledged plutonic nature, give rise to doubts whether they have had a sedimentary origin or not. Gneiss, gneiss-granite, and granulite belong especially to this class. It is unquestionably true, that clay-slate and mica-slate, when in the vicinity of large granitic beds, very frequently exhibit a more or less remarkable gneiss-like structure; and also, that genuine meta- morphic gneiss is met with; but in all such cases the gneiss is very subordinate in importance ; and generally the metamorphic ehange is to be recognized in a very distinct, indubitable manner by a gradual passage from the original rock into the altered structure: moreover, the existence of large masses of plutonic rocks in the immediate vici- nity indicates the cause of the metamorphism. On the other hand, under what totally different cireumstances do those colossal beds of gneiss-hke rocks present themselves which are spread over vast regions; such, for example, as those in Saxony, Scandinavia, Finland, North America and Brazil! how different, too, the gneiss-granite of the Alps and the Riesengebirge! and how little are we justified in setting all these down as metamorphic sedimen- tary deposits! = . When we reflect on the numerous instances recorded by the most trustworthy observers of the above-mentioned transition of some granites into gneiss, on those oscillations in texture which are not unfrequently seen many times repeated in the same bed, one can scarcely come to any other conclusion than this, that gneiss and * Beitrage zur Geologie der Umgegend von Heidelberg, 1844, s. 29. + This appearance of the porphyry of the Wagenberg was first observed by me, and was described in 1827 in Moné’s Badischem Archive, ii., was the subject of a communication to the Meeting of Naturalists in Heidelberg in 1829, and was after- wards noticed in 1830 in my ‘Gea Heidelbergensis,’ s.75. The rock being in globular concretions and the layers concentric, it could not be ascribed to a sedi- mentary mode of formation.—WNofe by Professor Bronn, one of the editors of the Jahrbuch. + Karsten und v. Dechen’s Archiv, Bd. 19. s. 367. NAUMANN ON GNEISS AND GNEISS-GRANITE. a granite have very often had one common origin, and are in fact twin brothers. It has been well remarked by De la Beche, while treating of the gneiss-granites, in which the very close affinity between gneiss-like and granite-like rocks is manifested by the transitions and alternations of beds, that in such cases one common origin must be assigned to both extremes—the gneiss and the granite; for to derive them from two sources would be in opposition to the phenomena exhibited*. The difference between the two rocks is no other than this, that the one has a foliated, the other a granular texture, with probably a variable pro- portionof mica. Instead however of endeavouring to trace the possible causes of this difference of texture, some have been rather disposed to maintain that the gneiss-like parts, merely on account of their texture, are metamorphic sedimentary deposits, and, to be consistent in their hypothesis, even assign the same origin to the associated granite-like parts, while they hold that the greater proportion of other granites are undoubtedly of plutonic origin. For this metamorphic action, the existence of vast internal seas of red-hot molten matter is assumed, and penetrations of the heat, impregnations, cementations and other processes are called into action, in order to solve in some degree the physico-chemical riddle, how a presupposed region of grauwacke had been changed into one of granite and gneiss. And all this is maintained without consideration either of the magnitude of the scale on which these formations occur, or of the entire absence of any distinct assignable cause of the metamorphic action. But if we are to suppose plutonic powers and agencies so energetic as to have ela- borated the whole rocky pavement of Finmnland or Scandinavia in such a manner that the presumed sedimentary beds have been converted into the crystalline siliceous rocks that now exist there, we must equally suppose that they were exerting the same activity immedi- ately under the whole of the sedimentary crust; and their contem- poraneous action over so very considerable a space must have been attended with the most stupendous effects ; effects of such a nature, that it is altogether inconceivable how the different strata should still so perfectly retain their several differences, and the individual beds their parallelism of structure. But there are still several other important circumstances to be taken into account. In the first place, there is the highly inclined position of the parallel masses or strata in many extensive gneiss districts, in which we find them in an almost vertical position, and preserving their parallelism throughout so extensive a range of coun- try, that a system of such vertical beds, with a united thickness of many geographical miles, will stretch to a distance of ten times that extent. In the next place, we frequently meet with such beds having a fan-shaped arrangement, the central parts being vertical, and the exterior parts fallmg towards the centre with a gradually increasing slope. Then again we meet with beds of gneiss in some countries with wavings and twistiugs so fantastic, that they can only be com- * Handbuch der Geognosie, bearbeitet von v. Dechen, p. 548, 6 GEOLOGICAL MEMOIRS. pared to the forms we see on marbled paper or speckled woods*.: Lastly, the very remarkable condition of texture, that stretching’ of the gneiss and gneiss-granite, demands our closest attention, a phenomenon, which, however often it has been observed, has not hitherto met with due consideration. In my ‘Hints towards the establishment of a doctrine of the na- ture of rocks+,’ I long ago pomted out the fact, to which I have repeatedly since called attention, that the parallel texture of rocks must be understood in a twofold sense, and that they are very dif- ferent, the one the plane parallel texture or flattenmg (lamimation or foliation), and the other a linear parallel texture or stretching (ten- sion). I also endeavoured to show m a subsequent memoir{, that in the crystalline siliceous rocks the lamination is the result of pressure ; whereas the strike is to be explained by a drawing-out or protrusion of the mass; an explanation adopted. by all geologists with respect to the flattened and elongated vesicular cavities in lavas and amygdaloids, and which appears no less applicable to many kinds of long foliated gneiss and granular foliaceous gneiss-granite. In the well-known memoir of Sedgwick on the structure of large mineral masses $, reference is made to this appearance, which he calls the grain; and under that term it has in later times been frequently brought into notice. Fournet, in particular, in his beautiful memoir on the Alps between the Vallais and Oisans||, enters very fully mto — the question of the mode of formation of the planes of lamimation and of lmear parallel structure in gneiss and granite. ‘ When a viscid molten mass,”’ he says, *‘ free from all external influence, ery- stallizes, a granitic structure is produced; but if it be acted upon by certain forces, as, for example, by the lateral pressure of the wall of a fissure, in that part of the mass which is in contact with the wall, there will be a regular separation of the constituent parts ; and this process may be so often repeated, that at last the whole mass may consist of a succession of alternating beds.”” Farther on he proceeds to say, “An eruptive mass, by being forced through a more or less narrow fissure, may undergo an extension or flattenig, by which its different constituent parts will be squeezed flat and drawn out length- ways, producing a rock having a striped or riband structure, even a true gneiss. It is therefore quite conceivable that gneiss and granite may have one common origin, and it will often be very difficult to recognise in them two distinctly different kinds of rock.” But the most important observations and consequences dedueed from them, with which I am acquainted, are indeed those communicated * As, for example, frequently seen in the granite-gueiss of Norway.—See my ‘ Beitrage zur Kenntniss Norwegens,’ Bd. ii. s. 166, and Scheerer im Neuen Jahrb. 1843, s. 632, 638, u. a.o. + Andeutungen zu einer Gesteins-Lehre, Leipzig, 1824, s. 57. + Karsten und v. Dechen’s Archiv, Bd. xii., 1838, s. 23. § Trans. of Geol. Soc. 2nd Ser. iti. 461. || Ann. des Sciences Physiques et Naturelles publi¢es par la Soc. Roy. d’Agri- culture de Lyon, t. iv. p. 105. ee ee ee Papa eee ee ee ee NAUMANN ON GNEISS AND GNEISS-GRANITE. 7 to us by Darwin in his two works, ‘ Geological Observations on Vol- canic Islands,’ and ‘ Geological Observations on South America.’ He saw in the island of Ascension a volcanic rock, composed of felspar, diopside and quartz, having a perfect gneiss-like texture and struc- ture, the alternating layers of the component parts being extremely fine, and extending parallel to the direction of the lava-stream. The explanation he gives of this is a very correct one; viz. that flowing slowly downwards in a viscid state, the mass was subjected to an in- ternal stretching of all its constituent parts, while at the same time it was subject to pressure from the mere force of gravity; and he refers to Forbes’s description and explanation of the parallel structure of glacier ice*. Darwin informs us, that in the Cordillera of Chili, great beds of a.red granite occur, which must be viewed as an eruptive rock ; but that it nevertheless exhibits, in parts, a decidedly parallel structure. In the gneiss of Bahia he observed included angular masses of a hornblende rock, which are indubitably fragments. The gneiss in the neighbourhood of Rio Janeiro has a porphyritic structure with imbedded crystals of felspar three or four inches long; and although there be no parallel alternation of the constituent parts, still it has a parallel structure or grain in the mass, and in some places it does alternate with true gneiss beds. Darwin on this occasion says expressly that the parallel structure, and even the foliations, afford in his opinion no valid objection to this gneiss-granite bemg con- sidered rather as an eruptive rock than as a metamorphic formation. In Botofogo Bay, not far from Rio, a colossal fragment with sharp edges of another variety of gneiss, containing much mica, is found imbedded in the same gneiss-granite. In a subsequent passage he mentions the great dyke of gneiss in the mica-slate of Venezuela, formerly described by Humboldt, and in reference to the theory of its formation comes to the conclusion, that the parallel structure of crystalline siliceous rocks must very frequently have been modified by the tension to which they had been subjected throughout the whole area of eruption, before their final consolidation +. When a geologist of so high authority as Darwin announces such an opinion on the formation of gneiss-granite, it may seem almost superfluous for me to refer to the instances of fragments of grauwacke-slate pointed out by myself as occurring in the gneiss of the Striegis valley, close by the place where it abuts against the grauwacke formation ;—to the great masses of clay-slate in the gneiss of the Castle Hill of Frankenberg, as also to the grauwacke fragments observed by Cotta in the gneiss of the Goldberg near Goldkronach ;— or to mention that Hoffmann had already called our attention to the remarkable conditions of the beds of gneiss in the Munchberg, obser- vations afterwards fully confirmed by what I myself saw in that loca-~ lity, which can in no way permit us to consider that formation as meta- * The interesting comparison by Forbes between the structure of glaciers and lava-streams will be found in the Edin. New Phil. Journal, vol. xxxvii. 1844, p. 231. + Compare, in this view, my memoir in Karsten’s Archiv, Bd. xii. 1838, s. 23. 8 GEOLOGICAL MEMOIRS. morphic. The inferences to which these observations naturally lead are the same as those which Darwm drew from the phznomena he observed in the gneiss formation of America above alluded to. The gneiss-granite of the Alps and the granulite formation of Saxony may also be adduced as very striking instances in support of the view that many kinds of gneiss must be considered rather as eruptive than as metamorphic formations. It is well known that the central cham of the Alps contains very massive and widely-extended beds of a peculiar gneiss-granite, ex- hibiting in many places not only a very distinctly recognizable parallel texture or foliation, but also separating into tabular masses or strata, parallel to that foliated texture. Lardy therefore calls this rock in this place, as well as where it occurs in St. Gothard, unhesitatingly gneiss ; and Studer describes it as a peculiar variety of granitic rocks, under the name of Alpine granite*. On the road over the Grimsel, from Guttannen to Obergestelen, and from Airolo by Hospenthal to Amsteg, I had an opportunity of ex- amining this remarkable formation of gneiss-granite. The rock, it is true, is very like granite, but it usually shows a tendency to a short foliated texture, and is separated into very regular beds, the surfaces of which often exhibit an appearance quite like that of gneiss, and even occasionally that of mica-slate, and between these there fre- quently occur regular beds of true gneiss, and even of mica-slate. In- some localities, as for example near Gestinen, the foliated texture and stratification disappear, and the rock becomes a perfect granular granite, without any trace of bemg separable into beds. From Airolo to Hospenthal we pass over, as is well known, a fan- shaped or synclinal system of beds, the most northerly wing of which, having a dip to the south, may be followed much farther, and the gneiss-granite from Guttannen to Obergestelen forms a similar system of beds. The axis of each system is marked by vertical beds, from which those on both sides have a gradual fall to an angle of 70°. The beds thus always exhibit a tendency to assume a vertical position. If the rock be more closely examined, we find that where it is foh- ated, it shows a more or less distinct strike ; this may be perceived even in the granite-like gneiss, but it may be most clearly seen on the long foliated surfaces where the rock is split into flags. The direction of this stretching coincides everywhere very nearly ‘with the dip, or, what is the same thing, with the rise of the beds. The rock exhibits there- fore, not only in its general structure but also im its texture and _ in all the minute details of its constituent parts, a decided tendency to a vertical position. Every theory of the formation of this gneiss-granite in the Alps, may assuredly be required to explam in some measure a condition of texture at once so general and so regular. The doctrme of metamorphism may perhaps find a poor support im the stratification and foliation of the rock, but certainly is not able to assign any sufficient cause for the stretching or tension. This appearance, * Lehrbuch der physikalischen Geographie, s. 331. ON THE MAMMOTH AND RHINOCEROS FOUND IN SIBERIA. 9 as well as the fan-shaped disposition of the stratification of these masses cf gneiss-granite, and also their position in the axis of the whole chain of the Alps, between totally distinct, slaty, gneissose, or granitic rocks, on which, farther from the centre, the Alpine limestone is superimposed unconformably, but without disturbance*, whilst large masses of these underlying siliceous rocks have again been pushed upwards and outwards above this limestone—all these facts, as well as many others, indicate that these gneiss-granites in the Alps have had an eruptive rather than a metamorphic mode of origin. Among the older felspathic rocks, I know none which have a finer and more regular parallel texture, or a more decided bedded structure, than the granulite of Saxony. When examined with the magnifying glass, we may frequently see the very delicate plates of quartz inter- calated among the fine-grained felspar with wonderful regularity, and in several localities the most beautiful slabs are obtained. We are taught therefore by the whole architecture, the position and the limitation of the Saxon granulite formation, that it is absolutely impos- sible that its beds were originally sedimentary deposits, subsequently changed into masses of felspar rock +. On the contrary, we are almost forced to adhere to the view long since announced by Weiss, that it is of eruptive origin. If this be so, then does the granulite formation of Saxony afford one of the most remarkable examples of an eruptive rock exhibitmg throughout parallelism of texture and a bedded struc- ture. It points further to the probability, that certain gneiss forma- tions have had a similar origin, for the varieties of granulite which contain much mica are so like gneiss, that it is impossible, in fact, to distinguish the one from the other. The opinion that, besides metamorphic and hypogene gneiss, there also exists eruptive gneiss, cannot therefore be longer considered as a wholly unfounded hypothesis. (as Ee] On the Position in which the Mammotu and Ruinoceros have been found im Siperia, from a Letter to Baron A. VON Humso.upt from Proressor Branor of St. Petersburg. [From the Monatsbericht der Akademie der Wissenschaften zu Berlin, 1846, B. 222:]| Except the individual procured by Adams, no complete specimen of the mammoth has ever reached St. Petersburg ; for the skeleton in the museum of the Mining Corps, chiefly made up of wood, can * That is, without being disturbed by the inferior gneiss, for at a later period both rocks have undoubtedly been raised up together. Let any one, for example, examine the section of the limestone above Lauterbrun, from Stachelberg to the Upper Rotthal, where the lowest beds of the intermediate formation consist of a sandstone formed from the collected quartzy detritus of the same gneiss on which they rest. ; The vouchers for these assertions will be found fully set forth in the Geogno- stical Description of the Kingdom of Saxony, Parts 1st and 2nd, , 10 GEOLOGICAL MEMOIRS. hardly be taken into consideration. It was indeed reported in: 1845 that the merchant Traphinow in Beresow had sent a mammoth skeleton, found at the mouth of the Jenesei, to the Moscow mu- seum; but I understand that on this there are only a few ill-pre- served remnants of the soft parts; and unfortunately nothing is known of the geognostic conditions in which it occurred, no com- petent person having seen it in the place where it was discovered. The following observations on Adams’s mammoth and the Wilui rhinoceros (RA. tichorhinus) may, however, not be without interest, as I have paid particular attention to the state of preservation of these relics. I regard it as especially important that the head and foot of the Wilui rhinoceros, as well as the soft parts of the mam- moth, are still covered with an uninjured skin on which hair grows, as this part is very soon destroyed and separated from the body by putrefaction. This seems a proof that the bodies of the mammoth and rhinoceros have not been brought by floods from the far-distant south to this northern region. The thick covering of hair on both animals also shows that a tropical climate was not absolutely essential for their existence. Its dense coat of wool especially adapted the mammoth for a cold cli- mate; and though the rhinoceros, which wants this defence, may appear less qualified for living in the north, yet other circumstances — prove that this was also its true abode. I have been so fortunate as to extract from the cavities m the molar teeth of the Wilui rhinoceros a small quantity of its half-chewed food, among which fragments of pine leaves, one half of the seed of a polygonaceous plant, and very minute portions of wood with porous cells (that is, small fragments of coniferous wood), were still recognizable. My colleague M. Meyer has undertaken the further investigation of these singular remains. It was also remarkable, ou a close investigation of this head, that the blood-vessels discovered in the interior of the mass appeared filled, even to the capillary vessels, with a brown mass (coagulated blood), which in many places still showed the red colour of blood. On observing these vessels in the head, so completely filled with the remains of blood-globules, I could not repress the idea that the animal to which they belonged had met its fate from asphyxia, pro- bably during drowning. In order to complete the earlier, very imperfect, observations of Arganow and Pallas on the geognostic position of the Wilui rhino- ceros, it seemed to me of importance to examine the portions of earth still adhering to it in some places. I therefore not only had them examined by my friend Helmersen, but also made microscopical ob- servations on them myself. We found on the rhinoceros remains two kinds of earth. By far the most abundant consisted of micro- scopic grains of quartz, enveloped in a fine clayey mud with small fragments of mica. Its colour, probably from iron, is brownish grey, sometimes with a bluish tinge. It feels somewhat greasy, and contains fragments of hair and other animal matter. It does not effervesce with acids. The animal matter easily takes fire, and ON THE MAMMOTH AND RHINOCEROS FOUND IN SIBERIA. IlI1 burns with a bright flame, emitting a fatty odour. In the micro- scopic investigation of the earth, detached vegetable fragments with yellowish dotted cells, similar to those of coniferze, were found. Occasionally I succeeded in discovering greenish fragments of plants, which I considered as indications of freshwater alge. I have not as yet observed any remains of infusoria. The other kind of earth, of a bluish grey colour and very friable, occurs in spots on particular arts of the head, and from Helmersen’s observations is blue iron- earth (phosphate of iron or vivianite). The earth attached to the remains of the rhinoceros may therefore be considered as a deposit from fresh water which has enveloped the body of the animal sunk in the mud. This is more probable, from the fact that the Siberian rivers are well-known to carry down large quantities of mud. The earth adhering to the soft parts of the mammoth is in every respect similar, except that I have found no blue iron-earth. Adams’s mammoth, therefore, was assuredly buried im the frozen earth, and not merely enclosed in a block of ice. The belief so prevalent among various nations in Northern Siberia, that the mammoth lives under the earth, also confirms this view of the occurrence of its remains in the frozen soil. This opinion, that the bodies of these Siberian pachyderms were covered with mud by streams of fresh water, seems, at first sight, to be contradicted by the fact, that M. von Middendorf found in Siberia, 300 versts from the Polar Sea, along with the fragments of a mammoth skeleton, remains of sea-shells of species still living in the Arctic ocean. But this mammoth skeleton might have been washed out of its original place by the sea, and again imbedded along with the remains of these mollusca. The circumstance that we know of three distinct mammoth car- cases or skeletons, found at different times and in different places in an upright position, may well induce us to believe that these great pachyderms had first sunk in the mud and were afterwards gradually more and more covered up by subsequent deposits. If this is a true view of the case, it follows that they were destroyed, not by a flood from the south, but rather by one from the north ; if indeed, which perhaps is not fully proved, an inundation of the ocean is at all necessary. | I am acquainted with the following notices, mostly unpublished, of mammoths found in an upright position, which I now mention, as the mode of their occurrence may appear of interest to you. Saritschew * relates that the carcase of the mammoth, at least par- tially covered with skin and hair, which was discovered by him washed out of the sandy bank of the river Alasseja, was originally in an upright position. According to a verbal communication of M. von Pander, the fragments of the mammoth skeleton found some twenty years ago on the bank of a river near St. Petersburg had also an upright position. The worthy Conservator of the Herbarium of the Academy, Dr. Ruprecht, heard, during his journey to the * Reise, Bd. i. s. 106. 12 GEOLOGICAL MEMOIRS. peninsula of Lomin, from M. Okladnikow, a citizen of Mesen, that in the year 1839 he found near Lake Lohaloto, 50 versts from the mouth of the Yarumbe, on the Obi penimsula, a mammoth skeleton in an upright position. The thick coat of mud that evidently enclosed the bodies of the Wilui rhinoceros and Adams’s mammoth was probably sufficient to protect them completely from the mfiuence of the atmosphere, and consequently from putrefaction, until they were subsequently frozen and thus preserved for thousands of years as a puzzle to naturalists. It is thus not necessary to imagine a sudden, inexplicable, irruption of a glacial epoch, and a no less inexplicable instantaneous cooling down of the northern hemisphere, in order to explain the occurrence of the carcases of these pachyderms, which were probably killed by asphyxia (drowned). In consequence of the former higher tempera- ture of the globe, Siberia, when it was the abode of these pachy- derms, may indeed have been warmer than at present ; but the frag- ments of food from the teeth of the rhinoceros above-mentioned do not indicate the vegetation of a warm region. [J. N.] On the Rockx-Satt Deposit at StTassFuRTH, and on the occur- rence of BoRACITE as a Mountain Rock in that Formation. By M. Karsten. [From the Berlin Monatsbericht for 1847, p. 14.] Tue richness of the salt springs at Stassfurth, which contain 17:16 per cent. of saline matter, and the character of the rocks m the vici- nity, left no doubt that the salt deposit by which they are fed existed at no great distance. ‘The principal well is 1714 feet deep, of which 344 feet are in the alluvial soil and the detritus accumulated by the Bode, the spring lying close to the right bank of this river. The remaining 137 feet pass through soft, clayey, red-coloured beds of sandstone, belonging to the variegated sandstone formation (Bunter Sandstem). About 170 feet from this well a bore was commenced in 1839, in search of the salt deposit. The opening of the bore is 221 feet above the sea, and the following beds were passed through in descending order: 26 feet alluvium, 556 feet 2 inches variegated sandstone, 67 feet 54 inches gypsum, 147 feet 95 inches anhydrite, in which the first traces of rock-salt appeared at the depth of 790 and 794 feet. A deposit 28 feet 103 inches thick followed, apparently consisting of bluish grey marl, white and red coloured gypsum and grey limestone, alternating in rapid succession, but without any de- finite order. This bed apparently belongs to the rock-salt forma- tion, though this mineral did not appear in the fragments bronzht up by the borer, having probably been dissolved in the water. The bed of rock-salt was reached at a depth of 826 feet 34 inches, or 6052 feet below the sea-level, and the boring has been continued i in it ie 154 feet 54 inches; so that in December 1846 the bore had a total depth of 980 feet 9 inches. KARSTEN ON THE ROCK-SALT DEPOSIT AT STASSFURTH. 13 Even in the first 60 feet of depth, salt water with 7:9 per cent. saline matter (Rohsalz) was found, which rose to within 18 feet of the surface. At 550 feet depth in the sandstone, the salts had in- creased to 12°7 per cent., and rose rapidly to 18°3 per cent. in the soft white gypsum, and in the anhydrite beds to 21°8 per cent. Un- fortunately these salts were not compared chemically with those of the neighbouring salt spring, which contain only 5°507 per cent. of impure salts, and consequently 94°493 of pure chloride of sodium. This is especially to be regretted, because in the firm compact an- hydrite at 776 feet 9 inches the saline matter suddenly rose to 27401 per cent., or nearly to saturation. The joy at the discovery of this rich salt spring, whose specific gravity and consequently saline contents further imcreased in the rock- salt, was however disturbed by the discovery that in the 31°1 per cent. of sale matter it then contained, there was only 15°815 per cent. of common salt, and consequently more than a half was foreign salts, of which 12°99 per cent. was chloride of magnesium. This well therefore contained less common salt than even the neighbour- ing spring with only 1°13 of specific gravity. This unexpected event caused the investigation of the rock-salt first bored through, when it appeared that it consisted of common salt and epsomite (Bittersalz) in very variable proportions, they bemg probably altered and partially dissolved by the water of the spring before reaching the surface. Only once some fragments of the rock-salt were obtained apparently in an unaltered condition. Analysis showed the very eculiar composition of this salt, in which 10 atoms of common salt (chloride of sodium) were combined with 1 atom anhydrous epsomite (sulphate of magnesia), so that the Martinsite consists of 90-73 of the former and 9°27 of the latter ; three analyses having given 90°98 and 9°02 respectively, not taking into account 0°3 per cent. of matter insoluble in water, which was at first supposed to be gypsum, but on further investigation found to be chiefly boracite. The Mar- tinsite yields a bitumimous odour when rubbed, and crackles when dissolved in water, like the decrepitating salt of Wieliczka. As the boring proceeded in the rock-salt, the saline matter, con- trary to expectation, became more impure, the water not only con- taining a larger proportion of epsomite, but also of earthy matter in- soluble in water. The water from the depth of 963 feet yielded 33°28 per cent. of saline matter; but in this there was only 7°15 per cent. of common salt, the essential constituents being epsomite and chloride of magnesium. The water was also very impure with gypsum and other substances. In the salts obtained by evaporation hydrous peroxide of iron occurs, which seems to exist in the water, not as the protoxide combined with carbonic acid, but as a muriate of the protoxide of iron, as the clear water, after remaining long ex- posed to the air, deposits a basal muriate of the peroxide of iron. The great diversity in the nature of the salts in this well and in the original spring only 170 feet distant, is however very difficult of ex- planation. Great quantities of debris falling iato the bore from the bed 14 GEOLOGICAL MEMOIRS. 28 feet 104 inches thick, immediately below the anhydrite, it became necessary to clean it out thoroughly. In this process fragments of a compact mineral, remarkable for its pure, almost snow-white colour, were brought to the surface. Here it soon assumed a dirty white, or rather pale yellowish white colour. Its specific gravity is 2°9134 (at 12° C.), and its hardness between 4 and 5. In external ap- pearance it agrees with white limestone. On analysis it was found to consist of the following substances :— 29°48 magnesia. 69°49 boracic acid. 1:03 carbonate of protoxide of iron with traces of carbonate of —_— protoxide of manganese and of hydrous peroxide of 100°00 iron. The mineral has consequently the exact composition of the bora- cite, hitherto only found crystallized in the gypsum at Luneburg and at Segeberg in Holstem. The large quantity of compact boracite brought up from the small bore, only 4 inches in diameter, renders it probable that it forms an essential portion of the rock-salt forma- tion at Stassfurth. This fact is not only interestmg im itself, but also as furnishing an explanation of the vapours of boracic acid that escape from the earth m some parts of Italy and of the borax lakes of Thibet. It is probable that compact boracite may be found in other rock-salt deposits, smce, from its great similarity in external characters to limestone, it may easily have been mistaken for this, or overlooked. (J. N.] The CePpHaLopvops of the SALZKAMMERGUTS, from the collec- tion of His ExcELLENCY THE PRINCE VON METTERNICH; @ contribution to the Paleontology of the Alps. By FRANZ von Haver (Die Cephalopoden des Salzkammergutes, etc.), with a Preface by Witt1amM HaipinGer. Vienna, 1846, 4to. pp. 48, eleven plates. In this work, published at the expense of Prince Metternich, the son of the Privy Counsellor, Von Hauer, whose collection of fossil fora- miniferze is now so well known from the description of D’Orbigny, gives an account of some of the remarkable Ammonites and other fossils found in the neighbourhood of Hallstatt. These remains were often seen in collections, but had rarely been described or figured. In this work the following species are fully noticed and represented in the accompanying plates :—Ammonites Metternichu ; A. neqju- rensis, Quenstedt; A. debilis; A.galeatus; A. subumbilicatus, Bromn ; A. amenus; A. Ramsaueri, Quenstedt ; A. angustilobatus; A. tor- natus; A. bicrenatus; A. salinarius; A. Johannis Austria, v. Klipstein; 4. discoides, Ziethen; A. respondens, Quenstedt; A. bicarinatus, Minster; A. angustatus, Bronn; with some doubtful species. Of Goniatites, only one species, the G. decoratus, from the HAUER ON THE CEPHALOPODS OF THE SALZKAMMERGUTS. 15 red marble of Hallstatt, is noticed. A fragment, too imperfect to permit of the genus being certainly determined, is referred to Clymenia, of which it would evidently form a new species. Nau- tilus is represented by three species, NV. mesodicus, Quenstedt, N. re- ticulatus and N. acutus, with some doubtful fragments, one of which much resembles in form the N. elegans, Sow., and like this, has the surface covered with fine transverse wrinkles, but the siphon per- fectly central. Of Orthoceras three species are certainly found, O. alveolare, Quenstedt, O. latiseptatum and O. salinarium, besides some doubtful species, the specimens being imperfect, but probably O. regulare, O. striatulum, v. Minster, and O. ellipticum, v. Min- ster. There are probably two species of Belemnites, which cannot be definitely determined. One has an arrow-shaped sheath, exactly like the B. hastatus, Blainville, and is above two inches long and four lines thick ; the other, about as long, has a very sharp- pointed conical sheath, and may be compared with the B. unisulcatus, Blaim- ville. Ona polished specimen of marble from the Steinbergkogel, some oblique sections of Belemnites are visible, but the species can- not be determined. As, notwithstanding the observations of Dr. A. Boué, the occurrence of Orthoceratites and Belemnites in the same formation with Ammonites has been frequently doubted, and is of considerable geological interest, we give the following notices on this _ subject. In the royal Montanistic Museum is a slab of marble, on one side of which is a specimen of the Ammonites Metternichii 24 inches in diameter, figured in pl. 2 of the work before us. In con- sequence of decomposition the markings of the lobes are well seen. The chambers are filled with red marble, whilst the remaining por- tions of the shell are converted into white calespar. In this speci- men the whole shell is full of dividing septa, so that the last cham- ber in which the animal lived must be wanting. Were this added in proper proportion, the whole shell would be nearly three feet in diameter. On the same slab there are an extraordinary number of other fossil organisms, exposed by the weathering of the stone. This specimen alone is sufficient to remove the doubts so often expressed regarding the union of Ammonites and Orthoceratites m the limestone of the Austrian Alps. On it three distinctly recognizable Orthoceratites appear. The first, near the umbilicus of the large Ammonite; is but imperfectly represented in the figure. Its point is broken off, but there may still be perceived three of the usual chambers, then one considerably smaller, and then the last large chamber in which the animal lived. According to M. von Barante, who has recently examined the numerous Orthoceratites of the Bohemian transition formation in a very careful manner, the frequent occurrence of a chamber considerably smaller than the others immediately before the last may be thus explained, as he stated personally when inspecting the specimen now under consideration. The last partition continues to move forward by a constant deposition of calcareous matter on its outer surface towards the opening of the shell, and a removal of it from the inner surface till the cavity has attained its normal size, 16 GEOLOGICAL MEMOIRS. when it remains fixed, and a new septum is formed close on the former, which is moved forward in a similar manner. . This mode of imcrease reminds us of some inorganic formations in which deposition on the one side is conjoined with solution on the other. Even in the large Ammonite the last chamber visible is considerably smaller than the previous ones. A second Orthoceratite, not seen in the plate, is found on the corner of the slab, and belongs to another species. A third, of which a cross section is visible, appears near the side, the rather excentric siphon being distinctly recognizable. Further we find, and all on the same side with the large Ammo- nite, forty to fifty smaller Ammonites, from a line to three inches in diameter, which belong to various species, the most common being the 4. galeatus, then the A. tornatus, Broun, whilst many others, from their imperfect preservation, are no longer to be determined. A third genus of Cephalopod, the Belemnites, is found on this remarkable slab in considerable abundance, one of them being repre- | sented in the figure. This confirms a statement of Von Lill which has often been doubted. The species of these Belemnites cannot however be determined till other specimens render a more accurate examination possible. On the same specimen are many Gasteropods which cannot be determined, then bivalves, among which is a tolerably distinct Nucula, and lastly a multitude of crinoidal stems and many other organic remains whose true nature has not yet been made out. This specimen was found on the summit of the Stembergkogel near Hallstatt by M. Ramsauer. On the age of the formation in which it occurs geologists and palzeontologists have expressed various opinions, of which only the more recent, by a few distmguished naturalists, require to be noticed. Lill v. Lihenbach, whose two sections in the northern Alps must still be classed among the best geological works on this region, depending chiefly on petrographical grounds, considers this formation as jurassic. Professor H. Bronn, who examined accurately the petrifactions collected by Von Lill, is of opinion it must be classed in the lias, which here however con- tains transition fossils (Uebergangs-Petrefacten). Professor Quen- stedt finally, who has himself visited the district of Hallstatt, examined the rich collections of MM. Ramsauer and F. Simony, and himself collected a great number of its fossils, and at a later period obtained others from M. P. Mohr, believes himself justified in de- claring these beds to be the lower chalk or Néocomien. On pure paleontological grounds either of these analogies may justly be preferred to the others; and if, for instance, Prof. Quen- stedt assumes that the species of the transition period had here anew revived in the chalk, we may with equal probability assert that forms peculiar to the chalk had in the Alps already existed in the Jurassic or Lias epoch. Perhaps it would be expedient, before attempting to assign to the particular deposits of the Alps a special place in the series of strati- fied formations as they exist in other parts of Europe, to study with more exactness each of the deposits in this chain and the petrifac- HAUER ON THE CEPHALOPODS OF THE SALZKAMMERGUTS. 17 tions which they contain. When the succession of the formations in the eastern Alps is once established with complete certainty, and the fossils peculiar to each are known, then their greater or less simi- larity to the formations of northern and western Europe will appear of itself, whereas the attempt to find a parallelism between individual beds has always led to very unsatisfactory results. The limestone of the eastern Alps contains a far greater number of fossils than is usually supposed, and every day brings new discoveries. Assuredly here more than in almost any other place, accurate paleeontological study is the indispensable assistance to unravel the very various and highly-developed formations that are comprised under the collective name of the Alpine limestone. The relations of the Hallstatt marble beds to the neighbouring for- mations are as yet but imperfectly investigated. They occur, in almost vertical strata, on the summit of the Sommerau and Steinberg- kogels in the Hallstatt Salzberg, immediately on the border of the salt-formation. Their relation to this deposit, whose mode of origin is still very doubtful, is not. certainly determined. V. Lill considers them as lying below the salt-formation, but this opinion still requires more thorough examination. The lower portion of the Salzberg, towards the Echernthal, as well as all the other mountains surrounding the Hallstatt lake, consist of a grey, very distinctly stratified, limestone, forming the lower beds of the so-called older group of Alpine limestone, and especially charac- terized by the frequent occurrence of a large bivalved shell. The same shell, which will assuredly in future form one of the most im- portant means of recognizing a peculiar horizon (étage) in the Alpine limestone, occurs in many places in the Alps, as, among others, at the waterfall near Golling, well-known under the name of the Salza- dfen, and on the summit of the Dachstein, where M. Simony says it is found in innumerable specimens. This grey limestone is de- veloped to a vast extent near Hallstatt, but lies under the marble. Below the grey limestone, but whether immediately or separated by strata of a different character is still undecided, follow the beds which V. Lill has named the red slate of Werfen, and still deeper greywacke, in which the mining director Erlach has recently found, at, Dienten in Salzburg, true transition petrifactions. Among them are Orthoce- ratites, Cardium priscum, Goldf., as near Beraun in Bohemia, and other fossils, all changed into iron pyrites. An exactly analogous succession of strata to that in the vicinity of Hallstatt exists in the southern Alps in the district of Bleiberg. 'The geognostic relations of this region, partly exhibited in the lead-mines which have been wrought there for many centuries, were first thoroughly explored by L. von Buch. The opalescent shell marble, well-known in all mineral collections, which forms a thin bed in a black-coloured clay-slate, known in the Bleiberg under the name of Lagerschiefer, contains beautiful specimens of the Ammonites Johan- nis Austria, V. Klipsteim, and consequently corresponds to the marble beds of Hallstatt ; but not, as V. Lill supposes, to what he calls the slaty sandstone group of the Alpine limestone. Below it, and di- VOL. IV.—PART I. c 18 GEOLOGICAL MEMOIRS. stinctly stratified, lies the Bleiberg limestone, in which lead ores are found. This again contains the same bivalve shell with the grey limestone near Hallstatt. It was distinguished by Boué as an Iso- cardia, and occurs here in smaller but better-preserved specimens than at Hallstatt. Below the limestone with lead ore follows red sandstone, which is found both north of Bleiberg in the Drauthal and also on the south- west in the so-called Windische Graben. Still lower is greywacke and greywacke-slate with numerous petrifactions, among which M. Lipold very recently detected Trilobites. Count Keyserling and M. Barrande, who lately examined these fossils when in Vienna, discovered among them several forms peculiar to the coal formation. The series of strata therefore from below upwards appears in both localities to be this :— 1. Greywacke and greywacke-slate. 2. Red sandstone. 3. Grey stratified limestone with Isocardia. 4, Cephalopod strata. Since the above work appeared F. von Hauer has published* a description of some additional species of Cephalopods from the red marble of Aussee. To the three Orthoceratites formerly described he now adds three new species also associated with Ammonites. This younger generation of that ancient family presents no general charac- teristic distinction from the older species, except perhaps in the greater width of the chambers. In three species the siphon is central, m other three close onthe margin. The species described are, O. reticulatum, O. alveolare, Quenstedt, O. convergens, with marginal siphon, and O. dubium, with perfectly central siphon. The Nautilus mesodicus, Quenstedt, he now considers as probably a mere variety of the N. giganteus of D’Orbigny (Terrains Jurassiques, pl. 36). To this he now adds N. Sauperi, N. Breunneri, N. Barrandi. The latter belongs to the division (V. Imperfecti of Quenstedt) with perforated umbilicus, of which only one, NV. excavatus, Sowerby, has hitherto been found in the lias; the others, according to De Koninck, bemg all paleeozoic. The only new Goniatite is the G. Haidingeri. Of Ammonites ten species are noticed, 4. Gaytani, v. Klipstein, 4. Aus- seeanus, A. Johannis Austria, v. Klipstein, 4. Layeri, A. Simonyi, A. Jarbas, A. noduloso-costatus, v. Klipstem, A. striato-falcatus, A. Credneri, v. Klipstein, and 4. tornatus. This addition to the fauna of the formation does not tend more to decide its age than the species already known from the viemity of St. Cassian, Hallstatt, Bleiberg, &c. For whilst a series of Am- monites with uneven margin (ringsgezacten) and two of the Nautili (NV. Sauperi and N. Breunneri) have in general partly the aspect of jurassic, partly of cretaceous species, on the other hand the new Orthoceratites, the WN. Barrandi and G. Haidingeri, merease the * In Haidinger’s Naturwissenschaftliche Abhandlungen, Bd. i. (Wien, 1847), p. 257-277. Compare also Ib. p. 21-30, On the Cephalopods of the Shell-marble of Bleiberg. a EHRENBERG ON METEORIC ASHES IN BARBADOES. 19 similarity to the fauna of the transition period, and strengthen the view that this is a formation peculiar to the chain of the Alps and Carpathians. The connection of the beds on the north and south sides of the Alps is much strengthened by these researches, as many species have recently been found at Aussee identical with those of St. Cassian and. Bleiberg. There is indeed a closer resemblance between these places and Aussee than between them and Hallstatt, nay even than between Aussee and Hallstatt, which lie so near each other. Thus the most common species in Aussee, 4. Johannis Austrie and A. Gaytani, have never been found in Hallstatt, whilst the species common to both localities, as O. alveolare, A. tornatus, show many variations. (J. N.] On Organic Substances, recognizable by the microscope, found in the Meteoric Ashes which fell on the 1st of May 1812 in the Island of Barsavors, and changed the day into night. By Professor EHRENBERG. [Monatsbericht der K. P. Akademie der Wissenschaften zu Berlin, 1847, p. 152.] Tuer mixture of organic matter and of very minute but still entire and distinctly recognizable organic beings in deposits of meteoric and volcanic dust has already, by various communications made by me to the Academy, been shown to be of extensive occurrence, and is evi- dently a matter of great and varied scientific interest. The well- known shower of dust in Barbadoes, which in 1812 occurred simul- taneously with the violent eruption of the volcano on the island of St. Vincent, and shortly after the terrible earthquake of Caraccas, is one of the most remarkable of volcanic phenomena, and every new fact connected with an event so extraordinary and so opposed to the common order of nature seems well-deserving of attention. In order to appreciate the new observations, it will be necessary to give a short summary of the circumstances in which this shower of dust took place*. On the evening of the 30th of April 1812, a noise so like a violent discharge of artillery was heard for some time in the island of Bar- badoes, that the garrison of Fort St. Anne remained all night under arms. On the morning of the Ist of May the eastern horizon of the ocean was clear and with a distinct outline, but immediately above it there appeared a black cloud, which soon covered the remaining part of the sky, and spread over that part of the sky where the day was beginning to break. The darkness was soon so great, that in a room it was impossible to distinguish where the windows were, and several persons in the open air could not discern either the trees close at * The occurrences in Barbadoes were first noticed in the ‘ Edinburgh Monthly Magazine,’ from which the notice in the ‘ Annales de Chimie et de Physique,’ 1818, t. ix. p. 216, was taken. The first account of the events in Barbadoes is found in the ‘ New England Journal of Medicine,’ vol. ii. No. 1, Jan. 1813, whence it is copied into the ‘ Trans. of New York Philos. Soc.’ 1815, vol. i. p. 318. C2 20 GEOLOGICAL MEMOIRS. hand or the outline of the houses. At five inches from the eye even a white handkerchief was no longer perceptible. This appearance arose from a thick shower of volcanic ashes from an eruption on the neighbouring island of St. Vincent. This peculiar rain and the dark- ness it produced ceased between twelve and one o’clock in the middle of the day, but by the aid of a lantern, the dust had been observed to fall several times in the forencon in particular abundance. Some trees bent under the weight, others broke, the crash of the branches forming a remarkable contrast with the perfect stillness of the air. The sugar-canes were completely crushed down, and the whole island was covered an inch thick with a layer of greenish ashes. The relative position of the islands of Barbadoes and St. Vineent gives peculiar interest to this occurrence. The latter island, as is well-known, les twenty leagues west of the former. In that region the trade-wind, especially m April and May, blows uniformly and without interruption from the east, with a slight deviation to the north. We must therefore admit that the voleano of St. Vincent threw up the immense mass of dust that fell on Barbadoes and the surrounding sea, not only to such a height as to be beyond the influ- ence of the predominating trade-wind, but also into a region where one im an opposite direction prevailed. This is an exceedingly wel- come fact to natural philosophers, according to whose theory of the trades there must be a constant return-current above from west to east, since it is exactly this current which, on the lst of May 1812, brought the volcanic dust from St. Vincent to Barbadoes, thus esta- blishing the existence of the aérial current which is required to ex- plain the phenomena. The chemical analysis of a specimen of these ashes brought to England, of which Dr. Thomson published a short notice in the fourth volume of his Journal in the year 1814, gave m 100 parts: 1 of iron peroxide, 8 of lime, and 90 of silica and alumia. The phenomena on the island of St. Vincent were shortly the fol- lowing :— ) The Souffrier Mountain, or Morne Garou, the most northern and highest summit of the lofty chain which traverses the island from north to south, though constantly emitting smoke, had yet never been in a state of eruption from 1718 to 1812. About 2000 feet above the sea, and scarcely more than two-thirds of its whole height, there was a circular ravine about half a mile in diameter and 400 to 500 feet deep. In the centre of this wide cavity a conical hill, about 200 feet in diameter, rose to the height of 260 to 300 feet, its lower half being thickly covered with brushwood and vines, whilst the upper half to the summit was bare and strewed with natural sulphur. From fissures in the cone and the intervals of the stones a thin white smoke incessantly escaped, sometimes coloured by a bluish flame. At the southern and northern base of the cone were two cavities full, the one of perfectly pure water, the other of water strongly impregnated with sulphur and alum. On Monday the 27th of April 1812, exactly at twelve o’clock, a tremendous crashing of the mountain, with violent earthquakes, EHRENBERG ON METEORIC ASHES IN BARBADOES. 21 threw the whole neighbourhood into consternation. An immense pillar of thick, black, clammy-like smoke was seen rising up into the sky, and throwing down small fragments of burnt earth and ashes mixed with sand on the country around. This shower of sand and ashes, driven by the wind towards Wallibon and Morne Ronde, dark- ened the heavens like a thunder-cloud, and covered everything with pale grey ashes like dirty snow. This shower of ashes quickly de- stroyed every trace of vegetation. On the 28th the fall of ashes in- creased ; the pitch-black pillar rose perpendicularly from the crater, with a continuous noise as of violent thunder. On the 29th the sun was darkened so that at midday it seemed only twilight. On the 30th of April these phenomena were still more increased ; birds and cattle were killed by the ashes and the want of food. Soon after seven in the evening, electric flames and lightning were seen quiver- ing through the dark cloud above the crater in an indescribable man- ner, and the glowing lava overflowed. In about four hours it had reached the sea. About half-past one a huge lava-stream burst out on the east towards Rabocca. About two o’clock a shower of small cinders fell, and about three o’clock larger stones mixed with fire. Some of the stones were as large as a man’s head, but were not heavy. This continued about an hour, when the cinders again began to fall. The oscillation of the ground was incessant. On the Ist of May the darkness continued to eight o’clock. An impenetrable, dark, black cloud enveloped the mountain and hung over the sea. ‘The thundering of the mountain first ceased after midday. Of the so-called May-dust or ashes which was deposited on Bar- badoes in these circumstances, Sir Robert Schomburgk has sent me several packets, at the same time expressing a wish that I would sub- mit them to microscopic investigation. I have received four separate packets of this dust, but with no further account of its origin than that it was collected in Barbadoes on the Ist of May 1812. On an accompanying memorandum it is said: ‘“‘May Dust. Different kids of ashes which fell in Barbadoes on the Ist of May 1812, after the eruption of the Souffrier in the island of St. Vincent.” All the varieties of dust are mealy, but of high specific gravity. Nos. 1, 2, 3, greyish-brown, No. 3 bemg somewhat darker and with an olive-green play of colour. No. 4 is paler than the others, ap- proaching to yellow, and sensibly coarser in the grain. All the four varieties are, however, homogeneous and fine, but not so fine as the yellow Atlantic dust of the Cape Verd islands. They grate between the teeth, but without beimg hard, as if a slight pressure sufficed to crush still more the fine particles. According to outward appearance, these specimens of ashes have been preserved from intermixture with foreign matter since 1812, and are still in their original purity, on which point perhaps Sir Robert Schomburgk can give some special information. Microscopic analysis showed that the dust consisted chiefly of glassy, translucent, but often rounded (fused) particles, which by 22 GEOLOGICAL MEMOIRS. transmitted light had often a brownish and yellow, sometimes a red- dish-brown or black colour. Among these are cellular particles per- fectly similar to pumice-stone rubbed down ; and often small erystals, which appear like pyroxene erystals, and show a greenish colour, but many are colourless. In form they are constantly prismatic, with an obtuse acumination. Consequently molten, baked, and merely me- chanically divided siliceous portions with crystals form the chief part of the mass, which is predominantly vitreous. Besides these inorganic substances, there is found in each portion as large as a pin- -head (4-4 of a line) a trace of distinctly organized matter in the form of small siliceous shells of animals or fragments of plants (Phytolitharia), and also carbonized soft parts of plants. In fifty accurate analyses of such small portions, nineteen distinct organic bodies, some in several specimens, have been recognized, as in the following table :— A. PoLYGASTRICA. . Achnanthes exilis ?..........000- — . Arcella hyaiina ..iesssecsesc.see = wulpraris 2 gcc5 teced owas. canes = . Difflugia areolata .........200... — A cr

ee — _ 14, wnidentatuit” .3...,....,5.5 =_ 15. Trabétdia’” WiS..F: = C. Doubtful Organic Siliceous particles. =} 5 Li+t+++i +++ Gala ee a OU 3 1 1 1 2 2 0 1: 1 1 El bel 3 &: a a) D. Soft parts of Plants carbonized. Se. Hares Of IWR opera een 19. Cellular tissue of plants ......... lo ++ “te | bo Of the fifty analyses, 2 referred to No. I.; 13 to No. I.; 23 to No. III.; and 12 to No. IV. All the packets exhibited similar or- ganic mixtures, but they were fewest in No. IV., which is the coarsest. On washing a portion of No. II. I found the finer parts richer in organisms. On the whole, no portion of No. II. as large as a pin-head was found without organic matter. In No. IIL., of 20 such portions, 7 were barren. The number of times that each of the above forms recurred is given in the fifth column of the table. EHRENBERG ON METEORIC ASHES IN BARBADOES. 23 From these facts the following conclusions may be drawn :— 1, The May-dust of Barbadoes in 1812, which formerly was only conjecturally derived from the island of St. Vincent, and which even Thomson’s analysis did not characterize as volcanic, has now, by my method of precise microscopic analysis, been scientifically determined to consist of pumice-dust and of crystals (very probably of pyroxene), so that its connection with the eruption on St. Vincent is now proved from the substance itself, 2. One of the greatest and most interesting showers of volcanic dust which can be traced back to its origin, has now been shown to contain organic matter. 3. The organic bodies im volcanic ashes are not only always found in the commencement of an eruption, but appear in this majestic outburst even at its conclusion, and consequently are probably not derived from the mere external surface. They are also, though the molten and baked condition of the ejected matter is very unfavour- able to the observation of its original condition, probably intimately and abundantly mixed with it. 4. The organic portions of the Barbadoes’ May-dust present no such peculiarity of form as to withdraw them from the middle or more recent periods in the formation of the earth, and to consign them to a more ancient period in which other laws prevailed. The are chiefly forms well-known since the tertiary period, and still ex- isting. 5. The distinct organic bodies are entirely and solely species known as freshwater and continental forms. There does not occur among them a single marine form. 6. As the island of St. Vincent has no snow mountains, also no large rivers or marshes, which could furnish an abundant superficial supply of this muddy matter, it appears in this case that the matter which could by any possibility be drawn in from the surface bears no proportion to that thrown out, so that this method of explaining it is not applicable. 7. The access of sea-water in order to excite the activity of the volcano on St. Vincent’s is decided in the negative, by the absence of all marine organisms in the ejected matter, which contains so many of freshwater origin. But, in like manner, there is no probability of the infiltration of meteoric water from the arid vicinity of the vol- cano. But how wide do its roots extend? Must we not actually imagine a direct subterranean communication with the remote Quito, or at least with Venezuela? The great geologist of those lands, Alexander von Humboldt, has long expressed this opinion on general grounds :—Relation Histor. vol. i. p.15. Compare L. von Buch, Canar. Inseln, pp. 313, 399, 400. 8. Is there a deposit of moist coal, or turf, or bituminous tripoli under Morne Garou, which the lava, forcing its way from the inte- rior, continued to eject from the beginning to the end of the erup- tion ? [J. N.] 24 - GEOLOGICAL MEMOIRS. On the Formation of Minrrau Puospuates (Ueber die Bildung _ phosphorsaurer Mineralien). By Prof. G. Biscuor of Bonn. [Verhandlung. der Niederrhein. Geselsch. zu Bonn vom 15 Dez. 1846. From an abstract in L. and B.’s Neues Jahrbuch, 1847, p. 367.] APATITE, the most widely distributed of the minerals containing phos- phoric acid, is very probably the source whence not only the greater number of other similar minerals, as for instance the phosphate of copper, the green phosphate of lead, &c., have been produced as secondary formations, but also from which the phosphoric acid so very generally diffused in the vegetable and animal kingdoms has been and still continues to be obtained. Prof. Bischof found that the apatite is soluble in water containmg carbonic acid, although requiring a larger quantity of it than the phosphate of lime prepared as an artificial salt, or even than the bones. The apatite is extracted from mountain rocks by water of this nature, and such very weak solutions either produce new mineral phosphates, or are imbibed by plants and the acid thus conveyed to the animal kmgdom. M. Bischof mentions the oe- currence of vivianite in the bones of the human skeleton. When this substance is once received into the realm of organic nature, an unin- terrupted circulation takes place; the decaymg animal restores its phosphate of lime to the vegetable world, and the animals again receive it in their food. Its solubility in water, even when this contains only a small proportion of carbonic acid, explains why animal bones, when exposed to moisture, in the course of time altogether disappear, whilst those in dry situations may endure for thousands of years, as the Egyptian mummies and the bones of extinct animals buried mm beds im- pervious to water clearly show. He then refers to the experiments recently made by many chemists, which establish that phosphoric acid is far more widely diffused in the mineral kingdom than was formerly suspected. Traces of it have been found in various crystalline rocks, for instance in granite, gneiss, mica-slate, and basalt ; and also in the lava from Niedermendig. The occurrence of this acid in sedimentary formations will appear less remarkable, when it is remembered, that most of them contain more or less abundant remains of organic bodies, from which water may have conyeyed phosphate of lime into the rock. The importance of phosphoric acid to the vegetable kingdom has been long known, and also that manures owe no small part, burnt bones the whole, of their value to the presence of this acid. The more gene- rally therefore it is found in the mmeral kingdom, the more easily explicable does its wide diffusion in the organic world become, and the more means are presented for improving cultivation and increasing the fertility of the soil. The contmual decomposition of mountain rocks constantly renews the supply of phosphoric acid to the vegetable kingdom. This fact must also throw still more into the background the opinion, long ago regarded at the tribunal of chemistry as without foundation, that organic nature could produce phosphoric acid or phos- phorus, or any other elementary body. In conclusion Prof. Bischof — calls attention to the frequent conjunction of the phosphoric and fluoric acids, which may be followed from the mineral even ito the animal BISCHOF ON MINERAL PHOSPHATES. 25 kingdom, and which led to the discovery of phosphoric acid in springs. The tendency of these two acids to enter into common combinations is observable in apatite and most of the other minerals, and is also the reason why bones take up a larger proportion of fluoric acid the longer they remain buried in the ground. This is not to be wondered at, for fluoric acid is as universally distributed as water: it is found even in the sea. (J. NJ —_————— —__ Produce of Gouv in the Urat and Siperta in the year 1846.— Erman’s Russ. Archiv. 1847, Bd. vi. p. 318. AccorpDING to a notice in the ‘ Kommertscheskaja Gaseta,’ or Russian Commercial Journal, published by the Ministry of Finance, in February 1847, there had been remitted to the Mint at St. Peters- burg 1397.378 pud of gold, the produce of the Imperial and private mines in the Ural and Siberia during the year 1846. There was still expected 325.368 pud of gold, the produce of these mines in that year. The total produce therefore of Russian gold in 1846 was 1722.746 pud, or about 62,792 lbs. avoirdupois, whilst in the previous year (1845) it was only 1371.800 pud, or 49,522 lbs. avoirdupois. The annual increase, which had fallen in the last two years to 47 and 30 pud, has consequently risen to 351 pud, or 12,670 lbs. avoirdupois, which much surpasses any previous increase ; the largest formerly, or that between 1842 and 1843, being only 323.80 pud. NY a eee NEW BOOKS. Humboldt, A. von. Kosmos, Entwurf einer physischen Weltbeschrei- bung, vol. ii. 8vo. Erman, A. Archiv fiir wissenschaftliche Kunde von Russland, vol. iv. 8vo. Bischof, G. Lehrbuch der chemischen und physikalischen Geologie, vol. 1. parts 1 & 2, 8vo. Carus, Dr. C. G., Dr. H. B. Geinitz, &e. Untersuchungen iiber das Hydrarchos, folio, 8 plates. Naumann, C. F. Geognostiche General-charte des Konigreichs Sachsen. Giebel, C. G. Fauna der Vorwelt, vol. 1. Wirbelthiere, 8vo. Hawle, I., und A. J.C. Corda. Prodrom einer Monographie der boh- mischen Trilobiten (7 plates). Heer, O. Die Insektenfauna der Tertiargebilde von Oeningen und von Radoboj in Croatien, vol. i. 4to (8 plates). Meyer, H. von. Zur Fauna der Vorwelt. Die Saurier des Muschel- kalks, part 1, folio (12 plates). Paleontographica, Beitrige zur Naturgeschichte der Vor- welt. 26 GEOLOGICAL MEMOIRS. Michelotti, G. Description des Fossiles des Terrains miocénes de PItalie Septentrionale, 4to (17 plates). Murchison, Verneuil und Keyserling. Geologie des europaischen Russlands. Bearb. von G. Leonhard, part 1, 8vo. Be Noeggerath, J. Die Entstehung und Bildung der Erde, durch Bei- spiele aus Rheinland-Westphalen erlautert, 8vo. Oeyenhausen. Geognostische Geographische Karte der Umgebung des Laacher See’s, map in 8 sheets folio. Rammelsberg, C. F. Handworterbuch des chemischen Theils der Mineralogie, 3rd Supplement, 1845-47. Berzelius’s Neues chemisches Mineralsystem, herausgegeben yon C. F. Rammelsberg. Scheerer, Th. pee ter8 der Metailurgie, Svo. Schytte, I.C. Hekla og dens sidste Udbrand Sept. 1845, 8vo (ten plates and maps). Klee, Fr. Le Déluge: Considérations géologiques et historiques sur les derniers eataclysmes du Globe, 8vo. Lyell, C. Principles of Geology, 7th edition, 1 vol. 8vo. Ansted, Prof. The Ancient World, 1 vol. 12mo. Miller, Hugh. First Impressions of England and its People, 1 vol. small 8yo. Mantell, Dr. G. Wonders of Geology, new edition, 2 vols. 12mo. Austin, Thomas. Monography of Recent and Fossil Crinoids, part 6th. Gaates M. Traité de ? Exploitation des Mines, 3 vols. 8vo, with folio atlas. Lom, Bertrand de. Considérations sur l origine et la composition des Roches et Minéraux divers, 8vo. Laurent, M. Précis de Cris tallographie, 12mo. Sainte-Claire Deville. Voyage géologique aux Antilles, 4to, re livraison. TRANSLATIONS AND NOTICES GEOLOGICAL MEMOIRS. On the Structure of the Schwarzwald. Extracted from a Letter to Proressor Leonuarp. By M. Fromuerz. [From Leonhard and Bronn’s Jahrbuch, 1847, p. 813.] THE transition formations have a considerable extent in the southern Schwarzwald. They donot form, as was at one time supposed, three separate, altogether isolated deposits, but a connected, though highly dislocated range, passing across the mountains from Badenweiler to Lenzkirch, only interrupted by granite between the valleys of the Menzenschwand and the Aha. In this tract the transition rocks consist of clay-slate, mostly metamorphic ; of greywacke-slate, formed by the fine attrition of the materials of which the transition conglo- merates were formed; and lastly of these conglomerates or the so- called greywackes. Beds of anthracite have been observed in several places in the transition formation of the southern Schwarzwald, but have never been found worth working. Limestone is entirely want- ing. mahether these beds are Silurian or Devonian cannot, from the total absence of a fauna, be determined ; but that they are transition, the remains of plants in the anthracite beds, together with the mine- ralogical character of the rocks and the occurrence of anthracite, leave no doubt. The following facts, from which some important deductions relative to the mode of formation of the Schwarzwald may be drawn, seem deserving of notice. 1. The rolled fragments in the Schwarzwald greywacke prove that before the deposition of the transition strata plutonic masses existed there, and that consequently a portion of the Schwarzwald belongs to the most ancient geological periods. Among the pebbles of the greywacke of the southern Schwarzwald there occur granites of very many varieties; coarse or fine granular, porphyritic, with white or red felspar, with mica of various colours, &c. The greater number of these granites are still found in the present Schwarzwald moun- VOL, IV.—PART II. D 28 GEOLOGICAL MEMOIRS. tains or in the vicinity of the transition rocks. Further, rolled masses of felspar (eurite) porphyry, near Badenweiler and Schonau with grey, near Lenzkirch with red felspar. These rocks are also found im situ in the vicinity of the transition formations. Gmeiss is not common among the fragments in the Schwarzwald transition rocks, probably because the conglomerates lie wholly in the region of the granites. We perceive from these facts that a portion of the granite, of the felspar porphyries, and of the gneiss, not to mention less remarkable rocks, already existed before the deposition of the transition forma- tions, and consequently belong to the oldest plutonic productions. 2. Clay-slate and greywacke-slate occur very frequently among the rolled masses of the greywacke. This fact, together with the rela- tive position of the beds, proves that these rocks were among the most ancient neptunian formations of the Schwarzwald, and deposited before the great currents which formed the transition conglomerates. 3. The geological relations of these transition strata furnish the clearest proofs, that after their deposition very important geolo- gical catastrophes have occurred in the Schwarzwald, remarkable outbursts of plutonic rocks forming whole hills and mountain chains. We find, for example, veins of granite and quartzose porphyry in the transition rocks. Very distinct granite veins occur on the Windgfall- Hoff near Lenzkirch and on the summit of the Spiesshorn at Bernau near St. Blasien; and the most beautiful vein of quartz porphyry is found in the clay-slate at Hof Bernau on the declivity of the Herzo- genhorn. In various places also large masses of granite or quartzose porphyry project amidst the transition strata; of the former, for in- stance, in the Spiesshorn and the Bildstem in the Aha valley; of the latter on the Schnelling, the Kohlgarten and other places. The entire absence among the rolled masses of the greywacke of certain kinds of granite, although they compose whole mountaims im the immediate vicinity of these formations, and also of fragments of the quartzose porphyry, is a proof that these rocks burst forth after the deposition of the transition beds, and consequently belong to the more recent plutonic formations. The very remarkable dislocations which the transition rocks of the southern Schwarzwald have experienced furnish further proofs that after their deposition elevations and eruptions of plutonic rocks have taken place on a very large scale in the Schwarzwald. Whilst a con- siderable portion of these deposits still occur in the bottom of the valleys, other portions have been torn from their original connection and are now found raised up and isolated on the top of the moun- tains, so that the deposits in the valleys and those on the heights are divided by whole mountains of plutonic rocks. Thus the transition strata are found in the bottom of the valley near Oberweiler and Schweighof, and then after being interrupted by granite and porphyry on the neighbourmg summits of the Sirnitz-Kopf and even of the Kohlgarten. In the Albthal near Bernau they form the valley, and then appear near the summit of the Blosslings and on the very top of the Spiesshorn. Other instances might be given. These immense FORMATION OF PEAT. 29 dislocations closely resemble the not less remarkable ones to which the Bunter sandstone has been subjected in the lower Schwarzwald. 4. The geological phzenomena of the transition formations finally yield a proof that the great outburst of the more recent granite and quartzose porphyry in the Schwarzwald took place during the period after the deposition of the transition strata and before that of the lower New Red Sandstone (Todtliegende). The veins of granite and porphyry which traverse the former are not found in the latter nor in the Bunter sandstone. In the boulders of the greywacke frag- ments of these recent granites and porphyries are entirely wanting, whilst among the rolled pebbles of the new red conglomerates they are very abundant. [J. N.] On the Formation of Peat in the North of Europe. By M. Lio LESQUEREUX. [Bulletin de la Société des Sciences Naturelles de Neuchatel, 1847, vol. i. p. 471.] Tue Vosges, the Rhon and Harz mountains have a great similarity in their phanerogamous vegetation. The Vosges, in consequence of the diversity of geological character, and the numerous habitats (stations) it presents, is much the richest, especially compared to the Rhon mountains, which, almost entirely basaltic, only support plants peculiar to a calcareous soil of a mean elevation. In the Vosges and Harz the tops of the mountains are covered with most of the alpine plants that characterise the summits of the Jura. The anemones are even found on the Kreutzberg, the culminating point of the Rhon mountains. A great number of plants must be enume- rated before distinctive characters can be established for these local floras; and these characters bear but little relation to the nature of the soil. It is very different with cryptogamous plants. The gra- nites, basalts, limestones, support mosses and. lichens of a perfectly distinct physiognomy ; and according to the author, botanical geo- graphy can here attain to such severe and precise laws, that it is sufficient to know a few of the cryptogames attached to a rock to determine its real nature. In studying river basins, the author has arrived at the same distinction. Singularly enough, the mode of dissemmation of the phanerogames is more difficult to establish than that of the crypto- games, especially the mosses. From a single specimen found on the bank of a stream, the author has indicated the existence of the plant in more elevated regions, even where the species did not grow in the immediate vicinity of running water. These considerations explain the occurrence of peat-deposits in the vicinity of certain streams, and their absence near others im similar hygrometric circumstances. The formations of peat are divided into two very distinct classes : immersed formations, produced by the accumulation of aquatic plants, like the reeds and carices ; and the emerged formations, caused prin- cipally by the sphagnum. In the Vosges and Harz, as in granitic D2 30 GEOLOGICAL MEMOIRS. formations in general, which are less permeable to humidity than limestones, emerged peat-mosses are not uncommon on highly in- clined slopes. ‘They rise even to the culminating point of the Brocken. This important fact proves that they do not originate in any particular acid, or in any other agent prepared beforehand. It is the most positive proof possible of the hygroscopic action of the sphagnum, both in absorbing water and favouring the preservation of the woody fibre in the moistened tufts. Many of the vast peat-mosses in the plains of Northern Germany, that of Neumiinster, for instance, near Kiel, show the two forma- tions superimposed. The peat has first grown in a basin several feet deep, and on reaching the surface of the water the emerged forma- tion has commenced. This fact is easily proved, both by the nature of the fuel and by the plants found in these different portions. A third mode of growth has been observed in some parts of the Vosges, but more especially in Scania and Denmark, where in deep basins of small extent the peat-forming plants have begun to grow at the surface of the water, and the basin been gradually filled by the immersion of the floatmg turf, continually thickened by the growth of new plants. Such abysses, concealed by verdure, have often proved dangerous ; and these kinds of peat-mosses in the north are filled with numerous bones and instruments of various kinds, both ancient and modern, which may aid in establishmg different epochs in their formation. The relation between the mimeral combustibles, coal, lignite and peat, is shown, according to the author, by the dépdéts of lignite of the Rhon mountains and of Thuringia, and by the coal of Ilmenau. The lignites of Bischoffsheim, iclosed in basalt, are a mass of semi- carbonized wood, dug out with hatchets. The beds of clay on which they rest, or by which they are covered, frequently exhibit impressions of the leaves of the elm, the birch, the willow, or other trees. The lignites of Machsterstadt are mixed with an immense number of pine cones. Those of Liitzen, which should rather be described as peat, are covered by a bed of sand and gravel thirty feet thick. The com- bustible matter is black and brittle, some fragments of aquatic mosses may still be recognised in it, and it lies above trunks of trees, of which the wood, completely blackened, is reduced to a soft paste like clay. It is in a state of decomposition intermediate between peat, properly so called, and the lignites or coals. This softening of the largest vegetables explains perfectly the flattening of all the re- mains of plants that can be recognised in mineral fuel. Some curious observations have been made relative to the great antiquity of certain peat-mosses in the environs of Helsingor, where excavations have exposed three forests placed one above the other, — and separated by beds of peat of considerable thickness. The author explains this singular pheenomenon by successive sinkings of the over- loaded surface, and its renewal by the growth of the peat. But these formations must have required a considerable space of time, smce of these three forests, each composed of different species of trees, one, of oaks, shows trunks not less than two or three feet in diameter. LEUCITE CRYSTALS FROM VESUVIUS. 31 The author, in conclusion, affirms that he has never observed deposits of peat truly marme. On the shores of the Baltic and the Ocean, lagunes are filled with peat, but produced by the same aquatic plants as grow on the margin of lakes. He has nowhere met with peat-mosses composed of fuci. The marie Zostera, sometimes thrown up on the shore in great masses, remains for an indefinite length of time exposed to all the changes of the atmosphere without undergoing any change in its nature orform. But these are not true formations ; and it is impossible to compare such mere accidents to the slow but constant operations which nature employs for the production of de- posits of peat. (J. N.] On the Ejection of Leucite Crystals from Vesuvius. By A. Scaccut. [From Annali civili, fase. Ixxxvii. L. and B.’s Jahrbuch, 1848, p. 97.] In the year 1839 Vesuvius ejected many crystals of pyroxene, which fell at a great distance from the crater. On the 22nd of April 1845, on the 10th of February and 22nd of June of the last year [1847 ?], the last time during the presence of the author, ejections of leucite crystals took place. After 1839 only small cones of smoke rose from a deep fissure im the crater, but the lava gradually rose up and at length, in 1845, flowed over the fissure, and hardening, rose in the form of a cone so high that the top could be seen at Naples over the edge of the crater. Only occasionally, when the force was most in- tense, lava was thrown up into the air, and along with it many leucite crystals sometimes quite free from lava. They were as large as peas, single, or rarely united in pairs, but according to no regular law, were translucent or transparent, striated in certain directions, somewhat rounded on the edges, but otherwise very pure forms of crystals. On those of the 22nd of June, however, the edges and angles are often less acute, and then the form is more spherical, and the whole crystal sometimes compressed on the sides which form the trigonal angles, these sides also bemmg more extended. On the 22nd of April 1845 the guide conducted the author to the place where the leucite crystals had been thrown out in February ; and he succeeded in reaching on a hard bed of lava, which had flowed out on the day mentioned, the summit of the burning cone, which was frequently ejecting red-hot stones and lapilli. He then saw that the slagey lapilli were mixed with small groups of minute leucite crystals more or less free from the substance of the lava. These crystals were translucent, 0°5—2 millimeters large, whilst the groups had a dia- meter of 5—13 millimeters. If we now consider that the ejected lapilli and lava fragments were so soft when they fell that an impression could be made on the latter with a stick; further, that the leucite is more fusible than the mass of the lava itself, that the angles and edges of the ejected leucite crystals were rounded, and that the lava sometimes formed a varnish- like coating over them—it is evident that the power which projected 52 GEOLOGICAL MEMOIRS. both of them upwards must have found in the interior of the mountain an ancient mass of leucite lava in a soft condition, have torn it to pieces, and separated the more infusible leucite crystals from the softer lava paste, and ejected both separately. And in reality there occur on the Punta dei Minatori on Monte Somma, as well as under the town of Pompeii, old easily comminuted leucite porphyries, containing crystals exactly similar in form and size; whilst the author does not remember to have seen such im the newer beds. Hence the opinion is easily refuted that the leucite mass was ejected in a fluid state, and first formed into crystals in passing through the atmosphere. Equall erroneous is the assertion that Vesuvius, on the 22nd of April 1845, threw out pyroxene crystals affected by acids : pyroxene in this state could only come from the crater itself. [J. N.] Present and Former Extent of the Island of Heligoland. By M. WIEBEL. [From the Proceedings of the Association of German Naturalists at Kiel in 1846. L. and B.’s Jahrbuch, 1848, p. 82.] Ir appears (1.) that the well-known map of Heligoland by Meyer, ~ according to which the island once contained nine parishes, is en- tirely a work of the imagination; (2.) that on comparing the map made in the year 1793 by the Danish engimeer Wessel, of which however only a three-inch reduction remains, with the author’s own measurements, “the coefficient of destruction in a century for the whole circumference of the rock washed by the sea does not on the average amount to more than three feet ;’ (3.) that m the time of Adam of Bremen (an extended description by whom is still in existence), and of Charlemagne, the island was only a little larger than at present. [J. NJ Travels in Northern Persia. By M. Woskosotnixow. [Erman’s Archiv. fiir Russland, vol. v. p. 671. Jahrbuch, 1848, p. 96.] Tue following are the chief geological results regarding the northern half of Persia examined by the author. 1. The system of limestone beds with marls, and of subordinate green sandy marls, appears to be the oldest of the formations occur- ring here, and indeed to be older than the mountain limestone. From the want of petrefactions, however, their character cannot be more precisely determined. 2. The beds of the coal formation and the metamorphic strata dip mostly to the W.S.W. In the mountains on the coast,-however, all the beds of the other formations are inclined towards the sea. 3. The cretaceous and nummulite strata only appear on the ON ORES OF MERCURY IN THE COAL FORMATION. 33 northern declivity of the mountain chain, and even there only at a small elevation. On the southern declivity they are entirely absent. These facts seem to show that the first elevation of the Alburs mountains immediately succeeded the Jura formation, and that a second elevation took place after the cretaceous beds and the num- mulite limestone were deposited on its northern declivity. This second event gave their dip to the last-named beds. Their inclina- tion may however be ascribed to the falling in of the basin in which the Caspian sea now exists, since the whole extensive plain which lies opposite the mountain chain has a very unusual elevation above the level of the Caspian. 4. As the mountain limestone in general occupies the highest points of that portion of these mountains in which the coal formation occurs, we may expect to find the latter also m Russian Trans-Caucasia, for in the province of Karabach the mountain limestone with the litho- graphic stones overlying it forms immense mountains. The fortress Schuscha is placed on one of these mountains ; and the rock is seen in the district of Jelisawetopol, near the village Saglik, in the neigh- bourhood of the alum quarries. [J. N.] On the Occurrence of Ores of Mercury in the Coal Formation of Saarbriick. By Herr von DEecHEN. [Kolnische Zeitung, Feb. 1847. Extracted in Leonhard and Bronn’s Jahrbuch, 1847, p. 866.] In a lecture before the Society of the Lower Rhine, Herr von Dechen notices this smgular fact. These ores are in general very rare ; and in this place occur in the upper division of the carboniferous group, in beds belonging to the productive coal formation, or even to a higher pait of the series, in which previously they were not known to be found in any part of the earth. In this district they are confined to its eastern portion ; Baumholder in the district of St. Wendel being the most western pomt where they have been found, the Kellerber near Weinsheim the most northern, Nack near Erbesbiidesheim the most eastern. They occur in veins in the normal beds of the coal formation, in the melaphyres, the amygdaloids and the felspar por- phyries ; these massive rocks lying within the range of the carboni- ferous strata. They are also found disseminated and in fissures in beds of sandstone of this formation, as at Miinster-Appel and Wald- grehweiler, wholly unconnected with true vems. The association with the ores of mercury of certain claystones and hornstones, which are not in general found so much developed in this formation, is very remarkable. Within the limits mentioned ores of mercury have been observed in thirteen different localities, some of which range in straight lines. The longest of these lines reaches from Katzenbach, over the Stahlberg, Landsberg near Obermoschel to the Kellerberg, and is about fourteen (three German) miles in extent. [J. No] 34 GEOLOGICAL MEMOIRS. NEW BOOKS. Breithaupt, A. Handbuch der Mineralogie, vol. ii. 2nd part, with 6 plates. Dresden. Holger, Ph. von. Elemente der Geognosie, nach streng wissenschaft- licher Konsequenz, zusammengestellt, 2nd part. “Vienna. Sandberger, Fred. Ubersicht der geologischen Verhialtnisse des Herzogthums Nassau, 8vo, pp. 144, with geological map. Wiesbaden. Senft, Ferd. Lehrbuch der Geologie und Petrefaktenkunde, parts 2 & 3, 8vo, with many cuts. Schmid, Fr. A. Deutsche Bergwerks-Zustande, 8vo, pp. 307. Dresden. Collegno, M. Elementi di Geologia, 8vo. Turin. Sismonda, Eug. Synopsis methodica animalium invertebratorum Pedemontii fossilium, editio altera, 8vo, pp. 62. Augustze Taurmorum. Freisleben, J. C. Vom Vorkommen der Silbererze in Sachsen, 8vo. Freiburg. Hausmann, J. F. W. Handbuch der Mineralogie, 2 Theil, 4 Liefg. Svo. Gottingen. Gruner, M. Notice sur la Constitution géologique du Département - de la Loire, 8vo. Pictet, F. J. Description des Mollusques fossiles qui se trouvent dans les grés verts des environs de Geneve, 1'¢ liv. Céphalopodes, 4to, plates. De la Beche, Sir H. T., and Dr. Lyon Playfair. First Report on the Coals suited to the Steam Navy, folio. Smith, Dr. J. P. On the relation between the Scriptures and some parts of Geological Science, 4th edition, 8vo. Wood, 8. V. Monograph of the Crag Mollusca, part 1, Univalves, 4to, with 21 plates. For the Paleeontographical Society. TRANSLATIONS AND NOTICES OF GEOLOGICAL MEMOIRS. Report on the Paleontological Researches of M. Martz Rovavurr in Brittany and Ansovu. By M. Mitnre-Epwarps. [From the Comptes Rendus for 1847, tom. xxiv. p. 593.] Tue author of these researches, a man of humble birth, animated by a taste for study, has mstructed himself without aid from teachers, and has become a man of science by devoting to the observation of nature the few moments of leisure left him by the manual labour necessary to procure his living. It is only by submitting to the most severe privations, that he has been able to satisfy his intellectual wants ; and the spectacle of his studious and disinterested life might have sufficed to secure him the sympathy of every generous heart, even although his labours had remained barren of results to the science which he has pursued with such persevermg ardour. But it is not on this ground alone that M. Rouault merits the indulgence of the Academy ; his claims to consideration rest on real services ren- dered to geology and to the history of fossil animals. In reality his observations furnish useful data for determining the age of certain formations which have hitherto been incompletely studied, and throw new light on a great family of Crustaceans, of which there is no re- presentative in our actual fauna, and whose characters are only im- perfectly known. The researches of M. Rouault, begun in 1845, have been carried on at Gahard, Poligné, Bain, Vitré and Hunaudiere ; and he has collected at these localities, whose paleeontological wealth was not even suspected, more than six thousand specimens of trilobites and fossil shells, and has discovered many species which formerly had not been found in France, and some even wholly new to science. The collections previously made could give no idea of the abundance of these animals in the seas of the Silurian period. Thus, when M. Brongniart, by the publication of his beautiful work on fossil Crusta- ceans, drew the attention of geologists to the family of the Trilobites, only a very small number of individuals were known, and it might have been supposed that they had always been rare. Since that epoch VOL. IV.— PART II. E 36 GEOLOGICAL MEMOIRS. many new species have been discovered, some in Sweden and England, others in North America, and others even in the vicmity of the Cape of Good Hope, but the mdividuals in each locality were always far from being abundant. The researches of M. Rouault, however, show that in certain poimts at least Trilobites were formerly as common as the crabs on our coasts are at present; forin examining, durmg a few weeks only, the environs of Polign¢, that skilful collector has suc- ceeded in obtaining more than two thousand specimens of one species, Trinucleus Pongerardit. The fossils found so abundantly in these localities are not all in the same state of preservation. In some the shell is wholly transformed into sulphuret of iron ; m others a portion only of the tegumentary _ skeleton has undergone a change of this nature ; whilst in others again sulphuret of iron forms no part whatever of the solid envelope. M. Rouault has sought for the reason of these differences, and on comparing the structure of recent shells with that of the remaims of molluses thus modified, he finds that the species, in which the process of fossilization has been accompanied with a molecular deposition of sulphuret of iron in the substance of the tissues, are those into whose composition a large amount of carbonate of lime entered; whilst those whose original texture was horny have not undergone a similar change. Then, applying these data to the study of Trilobites, he has endeavoured to determine the original structure of the external ske- leton of these animals from the nature of the transformations it has undergone in the interior of the earth. Calymene and Phacops always appear with a shell formed of sul- phuret of iron; Nileus, Illenus, Ogygia, Cheirurus and Prionocheilus never offer any trace of a similar transformation. Lastly, m Trinu- cleus M. Rouault has constantly found certain parts converted ito sulphuret of iron, whilst other parts have suffered no analogous modification. Hence he concludes that in Calymene and Phacops the shell was calcareous, like the carapace of our crabs and lobsters ; whilst in Nileus, Hlzenus, Ogygia, &c., the tegumentary skeleton was membranous or horny ; and im the Trinucleus the greater portion of the body had a structure analogous to that of the existing Apus or Branchipus, whilst the spimiform prolongations of the cephalic buckler were calcareous. The author also considers these differences as cor- responding to the natural divisions in the great family of the Trilobites; and he adds to his memoir a table, in which he classes these fossils from the characters we have now mentioned. We do not wholly par- ticipate in the opmion of M. Rouault on this pomt; but we agree with him that the indications furnished by the presence or the absence of sulphuret of iron in the shells of fossil animals deserve the close attention of zoologists, and may aid us in determining the kind of structure peculiar to different species. M. Rouault’s observations also throw some new light on the ana- tomical constitution of the eyes of Trilobites. It is well known that in Calymene [ Phacops?] and several other genera of the same family, there exists, on each side in front, a large reticulated or compound eye. The specimens collected by M. Rouault show that these com- ROUAULT ON TRILOBITES. 37 pound eyes were provided with a transparent reticulated cornea, -with a layer of lenses ; and deeper still, with a layer of reversed cones with concave bases serving as supports for these kinds of crystalline lenses. M. Rouault directs the attention of zoologists to the differ- ences that exist in the forms of the cornea, of the lenses, or of the cones, according to the species, and insists with much reason on that character being employed in the specific determination of Trilobites. The author has also made known the manner in which the Trinu- cleus rolled itself up, which was altogether different from what is ob- served in the Calymene or the Nileus. Lastly, he adds several curi- ous details relative to the anatomical history of these animals. The fossils collected by M. Rouault also enable the geologist to de- termine precisely the age of the formation from which he has pro- cured them; and on this point confirm the results already obtained by MM. de Verneuil and d’Archiac. We may thence infer that the slates of Angers, Hunaudiére, Bain, Poligné and Vitré, are contempo- raneous, and belong to the lower Silurian system, whilst the lime- stones and the slates of Gahard, near Rennes, appear to be of the same age with the Devonian formations of the Eifel. This short exposition shows that the researches of M. Rouault should interest us in more than one point of view; and we are per- suaded, from the results he has already obtained, that if this young naturalist is enabled to pursue those geological studies to which he has devoted himself with so much zeal, he cannot fail to render new services to paleeontology. [J. N.] To the above report of Professor Milne-Edwards we add a few extracts from the original memoir now published in the Bulletin of the Geological Society of France, tom. iv. p. 309. Trinucleus Pongerardi, 1. c. pl. ui. fig. 1.—Buckler truly semi- circular, nearly straight behind; glabella and cheeks smooth, the former largest ; fringe [bourrelet] hollow, formed of a double mem- brane, more separated in the centre than the edges, like a double convex lens, and pierced by six rows of pores, of which two rows are absent in front, the sides of the pores forming hollow pillars to keep the surfaces apart (probably a floatmg organ). Head spines longer than the entire body, slightly bent towards the end, quadrangular, the outer angle contmued from the outer edge of the fringe, the mner from the corresponding edge, and two others from a ridge between the first and second rows of pores; the spines apparently hollow all along, bifurcate in two out of five specimens of all ages, and either on the right or left spine, or both ; on any part of the spine, but gene- rally at two-thirds its length; the bifurcation of the spine varies, sometimes the two ends are equally divaricate, sometimes there is an outer, sometimes an inner branch. Abdomen and post-abdomen so much smaller than the head, that although a five-franc piece would scarcely cover the head, a five-cen- times would more than cover body and tail. Axal lobe of the abdo- men equal to the side lobes; six furrowed segments ; post-abdomen four times as broad as long, axis not very strongly marked, tolerably uo 38 "GEOLOGICAL MEMOIRS. convex, with a few indistinet ribs: sides flat, their margins subsig- moid. Post-abdomen in rolling applied to the underside of the di domen, and then both to the underside of the head. = Yo me As to the mineral condition of the specimens, the buckler always presented (and more than 2000 specimens have been examined) a quantity of sulphuret of iron covered by a layer of sulphate of lime ; of these minerals the spines showed always a larger quantity than the fringe, and this again than the remainder of the head ; on the abdo- men and post-abdomen, when extended, no trace of these could be found, but im one case, when the body was rolled up and so applied to the head, a small quantity appeared. The state of preservation in which the parts of the body were found indicated also the greater or less proportion of lime im them. The spines were constant in shape and direction, or when altered, a decided fracture was visible. The fringe appeared to have been capable of considerable flexure, but when the two sides of the body had been compressed together a fracture with a clean edge took place towards. the outer border, but irregularly torn near the central parts of the head, which were apparently capable of bending im all directions. The abdomen and post-abdomen were generally deformed, the former most so, probably on account of a thinner texture. Therefore, the indications presented by the presence of the mine- rals which are substituted for calcareous matter, and by the degree of flexibility, tend the same way, and confirm each other ; the strong probability being, that the head was more calcareous than the rest of the body, the largest quantity of lime being accumulated in the ap- pendages, especially the strong spies; nor is the exception noted above, of arolled-up specimen showing traces of the pyrites, a real ob- jection, since the attraction must have been continued a short distance from the caleiferous portions. ) Then follows a table comparing the mineral condition of the crust in the following genera (at Rennes) :— Calymene, 64. «27-4 much pyrites, in slate. Proetas, noise detikve calcareous, in muddy limestones. PRAcopsy: a - sec little pyrites, in slate. Crypheeus ys --c, calcareous, in muddy limestones. Polyeres, n. g..... little pyrites, in slate. Prionocheilus, n. Lg. no pyrites, even while it is present near it. Cheraras® 322 "-. no pyrites. Illeenugy 4... ..2: no pyrites. Nileus-.........: no pyrites: Opveia, . rue. no pyrites. Trunuclenss =) 22 a pyrites in buckler only. In the table these genera are-also compared, with respect to the ROUAULT ON TRILOBITES. 39 relative dimensions, the form and armature, and firmness of substance of the buckler, the character of the eyes, size and number of seg- ments of the abdomen (thorax, Burm.) ; also the size, form and sub- stance of the post-abdomen (caudal shield, Burm.) ; and the author deduces from the whole review the conclusion that— The five first-named genera have had their organization very perfect, and had probably an active life, their protection consisting in nume- rous moveable hard segments, with a considerable quantity therefore of calcareous matter in them, represented in the fossil state by the sulphate of lime and sulphuret of iron. The next four he considers of inferior organization, and their pro- tection to have consisted in the size of the terminal shields, the crust not containing much calcareous matter. In the two last the organs of vision were imperfect or absent, the protection being afforded by the buckler only, which alone contained calcareous matter. M. De Verneuil had examined the fossils collected by M. Rouault, and the lists from Devonian and Silurian rocks appended to the paper derive much additional value from his revision; they are too ex- tended for insertion here. The characters of a few new species of Trilobites and one or two genera are also given (with figures) : Calymene Tournemini, very like Calymene Fischeri, Kichw., and belonging to the genus Amphion, Pander. Phacops Dwardin, allied to P. Murchison, Portlock. Polyeres,n.g. From the description this would seem to belong to Odontopleura? Prionocheilus, n. g. According to De Verneuil this is probably identical with Calym. pulchra, Barrande, C. brevicapitata, Portlock. Chetrurus Durochert. Nileus Beaumontii, allied to N. Armadillo. Ogygia Edwardsii, more elliptical than O. Buchit. The author in conclusion offers a few observations on the structure of the eye; but the structure he describes has been already indicated by Prof. Burmeister (Organiz. der Trilobiten) ; the employment of the variations, however, as specific characters is new and probably will be useful. The cornea shows some curious variations in the genus Phacops ; in P. macrophthalmus the thickness is such between the lenses, that the latter lie in hollows between the meshes which rise above them and protect them from abrasion ; in P. Downingie, on the contrary, it is a thin film, the lenses themselves projecting a little; m P. lon- gicaudatus, again, it is very thick. The size of the lenses, again, is greatest in the first of these three, and least in the last,—another good specific character. (J. W. 8] AQ GEOLOGICAL MEMOIRS. The Saurtans of the MuscHELKALK (Die Saurier des Muschel- kalkes mit Rucksicht auf die Saurier aus buntem Sandstem und Keuper: Zur Fauna der Vorwelt, Zweite Abtheilung), by HERMANN von Meyer. Ilste Lief. Frankfurt, 1847. Folio. Tuts portion of the work contains the first five sheets of the text and twelve folio plates. The imtroduction gives an account of the trias formation ; followed by a general description of the skull of the Nothosaurus figured in plate 1; and specially of the Nothosaurus mirabilis, and of the N. Miunsteri, of which figures are also given. These remains are from the Muschelkalk of Bayreuth, where they were discovered by the well-known Count Minster, who also first distinguished them from Plesiosaurus, with which genus they had been confounded. This account of the Saurians of the Muschelkalk will be continued in other numbers of the work, and will be sue- ceeded by similar monographs of the saurians of the keuper and bunter sandstone, thus forming a connected view of the whole sau- rian world of the trias. The remains are described according to the localities where they occur, it not bemg possible as yet to describe them systematically according to species, there being many remains which could not be assigned to particular species, but yet too im- portant to be passed over. The following are some general remarks on the trias formation (die Triasgebilde) and the remains of verte- - brated animals found im it, from the introductory part of the work. As in the living creation we must not only define the species with accuracy but also determine their geographical distribution and their vertical distance from the surface of the sea, so also in reference to fossil begs it 1s necessary to know in what locality they were found and to which section in the history of the earth they belong. Geo- logy can alone give an account of the latter—of the date of these bemgs in the chronology of the world. Hence it is indispensable, in a work treating of the saurians of the muschelkalk, to take a review of the formation im which their remains are found. It appears that the muschelkalk is no independent, isolated formation, but the cen- tral member of three formations intimately connected together, the representatives of only one period in the history of the earth, and hence designated by the name of the Trias. The Councillor of Mines, V. Alberti, has proved this most convincingly, though at that time the saurian remains of the formation had not been accurately examined. I have since been much employed in researches on these animals, and the results are highly favourable to this view. The three formations are the Bunter sandstein, the Muschelkalk, and the Keuper. The remains contained m them belong to saurians, of types not previously represented on the earth, and of which only one family, the Macrotracheli (in consequence of the occurrence of the Plesiosaurus in the lias of England), extends into the followmg geo- logical period. It must however be observed in reference to this point, that the genus Plesiosaurus has not yet been certainly proved to occur in the trias formation, so that the peculiarity of the trias- saurians is scarcely affected by the appearance of a related genus in the period that mmediately follows. The geological age of the trias MEYER ON THE SAURIANS OF THE MUSCHELKALK. 4]. is sufficiently fixed, by stating that its oldest member, the bunter sandstone, rests on the zechstein, and that its newest, the keuper, is covered by the Jura or oolite group. In reference to the geographical distribution of the trias forma- tions, they are found to form, with slight interruptions, a mass of very considerable extent in central Europe. They prevail in Alsace and Lorraine, in eastern France, and extend over a great part of south-western and north-western Germany ; where cropping out from below the jurassic beds in the Swiss Jura, they traverse the whole region of Bale, Wiirtemberg and Baden, to the slate mountains on the Rhine, and in great part fill the space between these mountains and the Harz, the Thuringerwald, and the Voigtland. The trias of eastern France is no doubt divided from that of south-western Germany by the broad valley of the Rhine, stretching from Bale to Mainz or Bingen. A more accurate comparison, however, of these two districts shows that they properly form only one whole, on whose external border the bunter sandstone appears from below the mus- chelkalk, which in its turn dips below the keuper; whilst the mass of the latter formation occupying the centre, is traversed nearly in a direction from south to north by the broad Rhine valley, whereas the Main, almost from its sources in the Fichtelgebirge, intersects in deep curves the whole trias formations which it meets in its course from the east towards the Rhine. The keuper, the most recent of the trias formations, was named by Humboldt, ‘grés de Konigstein,’ the Konigstem sandstone, and under the name of the quadersandstein, was often confounded, partly with the bunter sandstone, partly with tertiary sandstones. This formation is also designated the ‘ variegated marls,’ marnes irisées. Raumer found that the keuper was separated from the bunter sand- stone by the muschelkalk. Where this is not the case, the two formations are so mtimately united that they can scarcely be distin- guished from each other. In Schwabia and Franconia the keuper covers the two older formations, which it also accompanies in other laces. : The keuper of Wiirtemberg, which is about 1000 feet thick, is arranged by Alberti* in three divisions, which are in ascending order, carbonaceous slate-clay (Lettenkéhle), keuper gypsum, and keuper sandstone. The first division consists of slaty clays passing into marls, marl-slates, sandstone, dolomite, limestone and gypsum. Init at Gaildorf, where the slate-clays approach to alum-slate, there were found considerable remains of the Mastodonsaurus, with plants, fishes and shells. The marl-slates also contain reptihan remains with plants, fishes and shells; in the sandstone at Sulz remains of rep- tiles and fishes were met with, for instance, a beautiful tooth of the so- called Liineville reptile ; whilst at Rietheim and Bieberfeld, near Hall, a bed was discovered entirely composed of bones and teeth of reptiles, remains of fishes and coprolites; and reptiles are also mentioned among the petrifactions of the limestone, so that their remains seem to pervade the whole division. * Monog. des Bunten Sandsteins, etc., p. 111. 42 GEOLOGICAL MEMOIRS. Alberti separates the variegated marls with gypsum, under’ the name of keuper gypsum, from the keuper sandstone, only for con- venience. The carbonaceous slates are generally covered by dolo- mite, the higher part of which is rich in petrifactions; otherwise this group consists of gypsum with marls also contaming dolomitic rocks. Alberti conjoms with the dolomite between the slates and the gypsum, which only differs from the dolomite of the muschelkalk by its position and greater richness in fossils, the ‘ Reptilian-breccia,’ the lower ‘Gang-breccia’ of Pheninger, which accompanies it, and consists of marl six feet thick and full of remains of fish and copro- lites (Golsdorf, Rottenmunster). As representing the saurians the Limeville reptile is named, under which title the Nothosaurus must rather be understood than the Simosaurus, which more rarely occurs in Wirtemberg. In the gypsum also, above the dolomite, remams of reptiles, fishes and coprolites occur. The division of the keuper sandstone consists of marls, of fine- grained or argillaceous sandstone (the Schilfsandstem of Jager), of siliceous sandstone, of coarse-grained sandstone (Stubensandstem), and of a sandstone very rich in petrifactions. The fine-graimed sand- stone, well known for its vegetable remaims, furnished near Heil- bronn the impression of the jaw deprived of the teeth, and the osseous plates (Knochenplatten) of a large reptile. I have not — myself seen these remains ‘and only-follow the statement of Alberti. In the coarse-grained sandstone at Waldenbuch and Dirrheim bones were found, said to be those of a reptile; and from the same sand- stone the bones found near Ribgarten, and described by Jager as Phytosaurus, were also derived. The sandstone rich m organic remains, often named the sandstone of Tibingen, is frequently so full of osseous remains of saurians and fishes, along with coprolites, as to form a. bone-breccia, and Alberti quotes from it large teeth of the Liimevule reptile. . This sandstone forms the highest bed of the keuper. It must not be confounded with the bone-breccia resting upon it, in which at Stuttgart, Bebenhausen and other places, re- mains of fish, teeth, scales and coprolites are found, for this breccia forms the transition to the lias, and must be considered the lower lias sandstone. Reptiles are not mentioned from it. This is the highest of the beds of bone-breccia, already discovered by Alberti on the two limits of the keuper formation. Plieninger* names it the ‘Upper Gang-breccia,’- and considers it as identical with the ‘bone- beds’ of Aust Cliff, Axmouth, and other places in England. Ac- cording to him the species of fossil fishes that occur in it in Wur- temberg are partly identical, partly distinct, from those in the ‘ Gang-breccia’ which is situated at the lower limit of the keuper and belongs to the slate-clay (Lettenkohle). The saurian remams from the keuper of Schwabia have been partly published by Jager}, partly by Plieninger and myself{, and m this work I shall have further communications to make. ~ * Amt. Bericht. der Naturf. in Bremen im Jahr. 1844. tT Fossile Reptilien Wurtemberg’s. + Beitrage zur Palaontologie Wiirtemberg’s. MEYER ON THE SAURIANS OF THE MUSCHELKALK, 43 Next to Wiirtemberg, Franconia deserves consideration on account of the saurian remains in its keuper. These remains, which are in- closed in sandstone, have engaged the attention both of Count Munster and of myself*. To the fossils more particularly described in the present work belong the remains of the gigantic Plateosaurus Engel- Aarti, from the upper keuper at Heroldsberg near Niirnberg. Here must also be mentioned the keuper near Gotha, from the dolomite in which, Mining-master Credner notices some saurian teeth. A tooth given to me by his brother, Prof. Credner, in Giessen, from this for- mation, has belonged to the Labyrinthodon. The muschelkalk, the centre member of the trias, consists espe- cially of limestone, but sometimes also appears as dolomite, anhydrite, gypsum and rock-salt, whilst it only approaches to sandstone near its passage into the bunter sandstone. The muschelkalk is consequently a more calcareous member, uniting the keuper to the bunter sand- stone, without which it rarely appears. Bronn+ conjoins it with the other trias deposits under the name of the ‘Salt-formation’ (Salzgebirg), because they are distinguished by deposits of salt ; but this is also true of other formations. The muschelkalk had originally the name of the newer, upper, or newest Flétzmuschelkalk, calcaire secondaire coquillier. In Germany the name Trochitenkalk, Trochite- limestone, from the numerous stems of crinoids that occur in it, was also current. The designation of Gryphite-limestone, used especially in Wirtemberg, showed that the distinction between the lias and muschelkalk was not properly understood. But not only was the lias confounded with it ; even much newer formations, belonging to the forest marble, the cornbrash and the Portland stone, were mistaken for the muschelkalk or mixed up with it. In consequence great un- certainty existed regarding the occurrence of the muschelkalk and its fossils, until Alex. von Humboldt introduced a more precise division of this formation under the terms muschelkalk, calcaire coquillier, calcaire de Géttingue. He did not, however, succeed in separating from it the beds belonging to the Jura formation; and although he did not consider the lias as exactly identical with the muschelkalk, yet he adhered to the parallelism of the two formations. Elie de Beaumont § pointed out the true diagnosis of the muschelkalk when he said that it is distinguished from the zechstein by containing no producti, and from the lias by wanting belemnites, ammonites with foliated sutures (Ammonites persillées), and also gryphites. We owe the most thorough investigation of the muschelkalk to the Councillor of Mines, Alberti, who, in his work on the geology of Wiirtemberg (1826), and subsequently (1834) in his ‘ Monograph of the Bunter Sandstone, the Muschelkalk and Keuper as one formation,’—the trias, —treated of it at full length. Lying above the bunter sandstone, and usually accompanying it, the muschelkalk appears first in the vicinity of Bale, then in the western and, in more extent, in the eastern * Beitrage zur Petrefactenk.; and various letters in the Jahrbiich fir Mine- ralogie. t+ Lethza, vol. i. p. 130. t{ Geognostischer Versuch, p. 273. § Amn. Scien. Nat. vol. xiv. p. 277. 44 GEOLOGICAL MEMOIRS. Schwarzwald, fillmg im great part the interval between it and the Odenwald, whence it passes, mtersected by the Main, towards Fran- conia, Thuringia and the rest of north-western Germany, where it is more often interrupted by the overlying keuper than in south-western Germany, in Alsace and in Lorraine. It appears in a more isolated manner in the vicinity of Berlm, and in Upper Silesia and south- western Poland is distinguished for its metallic wealth as in other places for containing salt. The muschelkalk was long considered as poor in fossil bones, and in the older works little is to be found on the subject. Bittner (1710), Lerche (1730) and Schreber notice teeth, ribs and vertebree of sau- rians, together with bones of land animals, from the muschelkalk of Thuringia, and particularly from the districts of Hornburg, Schraplau, Obhausen, Weidenbach, Farrenstedt, Querfurth and Gatterstedt. Freiesleben’s statements are derived from these authors. Blumen- bach* was probably induced by some bones of reptiles to affirm that Ornitholites or petrified birds were found im the muschelkalk of the Heimberg near Gottingen. Even in the year 1823 Humboldt+- believed, not indeed that the muschelkalk itself, but that the brecciated rock and marl resting upon it, contamed remains of quadrupeds, birds and fishes. The foundation for these statements was probably the very inconsiderable remains which were then known from Querfurth, ~ Hsperstadt and Gottingen. It was only when the publication of Cuvier’s work on fossil osteology was nearly concluded, that the . muschelkalk near Limeville began to exhibit its wealth in osseous remains, and these were likewise discovered about the same time in this deposit near Bayreuth. Attention was then also directed to bones found im the muschelkalk of Schwabia, im the vicinity of Jena, mm Upper Silesia and in Poland. But an accurate examimation of these remains was still wanting. Schlotheim saw im them seals and dol- phins; Cuvier thought he recognised the Plesiosaurus, an unknown Saurus and some gigantic tortoises; Jager ascribed these bones to the Plesiosaurus and Ichthyosaurus; Gaillardot the younger eom- pared them with the crocodile, monitor, Ichthyosaurus, Plesiosaurus, Testudo Trionyx and a new genus of tortoise. I also, so long as Cuvier’s view regarding the Limeville remains was the only basis to be depended on, considered the animals as related to the Plesiosaurus and the Tortoises ; and even Miinster was of the same opinion till he succeeded in finding a more perfect specimen of the skeleton of the animal, when the error which led to these views was evident. A more accurate investigation of these remains has shown that the mus- chelkalk contains neither birds nor mammals; the bones are not even those of Chelonia, but belong to saurians which are peculiar to the trias formation. ; The lowest member of the trias is the bunter sandstone, which owes its name to Werner. The ‘ grés bigarré,’ ‘ grés a oolithes de Nebra,’ ‘sandstone of Nebra,’ of Humboldt; the ‘ Vosges sandstone’ of De Beaumont comprise the same formation. Beaumont, and especially * Naturgesch. 3°© Aufl. S. 653. + Geognostischer Versuch, $7275. MEYER ON THE SAURIANS OF THE MUSCHELKALK. 45 Murchison and Verneuil, consider that the Vosges sandstone is not triassic, but believe it to be older, and to belong to the zechstein,—a view against which Alberti in his ‘Monographie’ (p. 329) enters a protest, and does not admit of its division from the bunter sandstone. It was formerly impossible to decide on the age of this formation from petrifactions ; but lately Dr. E. Rehman showed me, from the Fiirs- tenberg collection at Donaueschingen, a petrifaction from the true Vosges sandstone of the Schwarzwald, the first, so far as I am aware, that has been discovered, in which I have recognised a Labyrinthodon, an animal of a family hitherto only found in the trias, so that Alberti’s view of the age of the Vosges sandstone may be considered as proved. I shall afterwards more particularly describe this labyrinthodon. There are cases where the bunter. sandstone can scarcely be distin- guished from sandstones which really belong to the zechstein; and when not covered by the muschelkalk, it is still more difficult to sepa- rate it from the keuper. The members of the bunter sandstone, sometimes above a thousand feet thick, which have been observed in the south-west and north-west of Germany, are sandstones remarkable for their fine grain, slate-clays, roestone (in the Harz), gypsum and dolomite,—the latter more as subordinate members. In the Vosges and the Haardt, the bunter sandstone, covered by the muschelkalk, rests on the new red (Rothliegende). The bunter sandstone of that locality, and that on the right bank of the Rhine in the Schwarzwald and the Odenwaid, are very similar. In the quarries near Sulzbad in the department of the lower Rhine, Alberti found the lowest member to be a red sandstone with impressions of plants, passing above into green and red slate-clays, and then slate-clays alternating with sand- stone, sandy marls with dolomitic beds and red slate-clays, sandy marls with masses of argillaceous sandstone and shells of the muschel- kalk, dolomite with sandy marls, and above the dolomitic marls of the lower muschelkalk (the Wellenkalk). In the north-west of Germany the lower sandstone seems to be wanting, and the zechstein is immediately covered by the bunter sandstone, forming slaty clays with subordinate beds of roestone, the latter with gypsum, sometimes excluding the slaty clays altogether. It is covered by a fine-grained sandstone, which passes above into a thick bed of slaty clay. Petrifications were at first asserted to be either altogether wanting, or very rare in the bunter sandstone. Fossil plants have only re- cently been known in Wurtemberg. The remains of Cetacez, quoted by Voltz, from this formation at Wasselonne, and which are pre- served in the museum at Strasburg, appear not to be fossil, which Hermann, from whom the statement comes, has not observed*. At Pyrmont, and near Bale, fossil bones have actually occurred in the bunter sandstone. The first bones which I examined from this for- mation were given to me by Prof. Alex. Braun, from the Baben- hausen quarries near Zweibriicken, and seemed to belong to an animal related to the Plesiosaurus. Still more important are the remains sent to me by Voltz and W. P. Schimper from the Strasburg Museum, which were found in this deposit at Sulzbad, and prove the presence * Cuvier, Oss. Foss. (4 ed.) vol. iii. p. 374, note. 46 GEOLOGICAL MEMOIRS. in it of Labyrinthodon, Nothosaurus, and other saurians. Soon after it was discovered that the bunter sandstone contained remains of saurians near Jena, and also at Bernburg. Even in Bohemia, where the existence of this formation is now proved, it includes re- mains of saurians, since it is almost certain that the animal de- scribed by Fitzinger as the Paleosaurus Sternbergeri, belongs to the bunter sandstone of this land. D’ Aubuisson’s view, that in England the place of the muschelkalk was occupied by the Portland stone, cornbrash and forest marble, could not be maintained after the position and petrifactions of these deposits were more accurately examined. But some English geolo- gists* still consider the trias formation with the lias as the older, the oolite and Wealden as the middle, and the chalk as the upper group of the secondary formations. The representative of the trias in England is the New Red Sandstone, the higher part of which is named the ‘ Upper New Red Sandstone.’ This sandstone lies on the magnesian limestone (zechstem) belonging to the so-called pale- ozoic rocks, and consists of a series of yellowish or red beds of an arenaceous nature, alternating with red, green or blue marls, which are poor in petrifactions, but often contain rock-salt m abundance and crystalline gypsum, in which respect they resemble the trias formations of the continent of Europe. The muschelkalk is not found - in England; and this absence of the intermediate group, with the close resemblance of the existing rocks to each other, and the almost entire want of petrifactions, makes it difficult to distmguish the upper from the lower sandstone. The sandstones and conglomerates of central England are usually considered as the bunter sandstone ; to this must be added a portion of the formations designated as the ‘Red Marl,’ ‘New Red Sandstone,’ and ‘ Variegated Sandstone ; but the saliferous marls of Cheshire, as well as the greater part of the rocks comprised under the ‘Red Marl’ and ‘ Variegated Marls,’ are considered as equivalents of the Keuper. The absence of any calea- reous beds between the sandstone deposits of the trias and those of the zechstein, renders these also scarcely distinguishable; and the term ‘New Red Sandstone’ often comprehends the Keuper, the Bunter sandstone, and the sandstones of the Zechstein, the latter be- longing to an older period of the earth, and containing no remains of Labyrinthodon, which occur in the other sandstones. But as long as it is not ascertained whether any and what species of Labyrinthodon are peculiar to each of these deposits, so long will even these fossil vertebrata furnish no sufficient means of separating the keuper of England from the bunter sandstone. In the trias formations of England, Labyrinthodon chiefly occurs}; the other trias saurians of Germany and France are as little known there, as on the European continent the Cladyodont from the new red sandstone of Warwick and Leamington, and the Bhynchosaurus §, whose remains have been * Ansted, Geology, vol. i. p. 288. t+ Owen, Geol. Trans. 2nd ser. vol. vi. pp. 503. 515. t Owen, Second Rep. on Brit. Foss. Rept. p. 155. § Owen, Trans. Cambridge Philos. Soc. vol. vii. p. 355. BISCHOF ON PHOSPHORIC ACID IN LAVA. 47 found at Grinsill near Shrewsbury in the upper new red. sandstone, which is probably the keuper. Among the trias formations of other parts of the earth, a deposit near the south-eastern extremity of Africa, described as ‘ New Red Sandstone,’ deserves notice. In it a genus of saurians, the Dicyno- don of Owen*, was found, which exhibits the closest alliance to the Rhynchosaurus of England. The connection of these two remarkable genera gives greater probability to the opinion that the sandstone in Africa containing Dicynodon is really triassic. | In North America, the sandstone exhibiting impressions of the feet of birds is also described as ‘New Red Sandstone ;’ and this extensive formation is thus to be conjoined with the trias. Real bones seem rarely to oceur in it. Hitchcock+ notices some bones from this sandstone near Ketch’s Mills, in the eastern part of East Windsor (Connecticut), and also casts of bones, which to judge by the description and the figures he has given, are of no value, and little adapted to impart any information regarding the animals to which they belonged, or the age of the rocks inclosing them. [J. N.] On the occurrence of PHospuoric Acip in Lava. By Gustav BiscHor. [Bulletin der Konig]. Akad. der Wissen. zur Munchen. Jahrgang, 1847, p. 158.] BERGEMANN has found in the lava of Niedermendig 1°8 per cent. of phosphoric acid, thus confirming the researches of Fownes, which had been called in question by Kersten and Elsner. He also states that the acid occurs in union with lime, or as apatite, although the quantitative analysis showed only traces of chlorine, but no fluorine. The apatite, irrespective of the chlorine, would amount to 3:95 per cent. The mineral is not, however, uniformly dispersed through the whole mass of the lava, but is entirely wanting in some parts, whilst in others, where it cannot be distinguished by the eye, it exists in great abundance. Its presence is the less remarkable, since in a volcanic bomb found on the side of lake Laach, and hence not far from the lava-stream of Niedermendig, very distinct apatite crystals were observed ; and since apatite is also known to occur im one of the lava-currents of Vesuvius, in the drusy cavities of a mixture of augite and mica. An indirect proof of the existence of phosphoric acid, not only im the Niedermendig lava, but generally in the basaltic and lava-like rocks forming the numerous summits in the environs of lake Laach, is furnished by the luxuriant growth of the trees on them. A rock, on which has grown since time immemorial an immense quantity of wood, chiefly beech, in whose ashes we find phosphates of lime, mag- nesia, peroxide of iron, protoxide of manganese, and alumina (10-1 * Geol. Trans. 2nd ser. vol. vii. p. 59, tab. tT Final Rep. on Geol. of Mass. vol. ii. p. 503, tab. 49, figs. 66, 67, 68 ; tab. 46, figs. 69-71. 48 GEOLOGICAL MEMOIRS. per cent., according to Hertvig), must contain phosphoric acid. For no mauure has ever been put on these mountains which could have brought these salts of phosphoric acid; and these elevations, many of them very steep, have assuredly never been cultivated. This is also true of the neighbouring Siebengebirge. Without repeating the analysis of the trachyte of Drachenfels, we may confidently assert that it must contain phosphoric acid. Even where chemical analysis is no longer able to demonstrate the existence of a certain element m a rock, in consequence of the minuteness of its amount, the exami- nation of the plants growing on it, if the ground has not been manured, furnishes as valid a proof of the actual presence of an element as the analysis of the soil could do. [J. N.] LovEN on the Migrations of the Motxiuscous Fauna of SCANDINAVIA. [Zeitschrift fiir Malakozool. 1847, pp. 24-26. In L. and B.’s Jahrbuch, ~ 1848, p. 256.] Tue molluscous fauna of Scandinavia consists of two elements, the German and the Arctic. The first attams its maximum in Bohus- Lehn and Southern Norway, the second in Finmark; im central Norway the two are mixed. During the ‘ Post-Tertiary period,’ only the high northern fauna existed in Scandinavia, a result which the author has deduced from the examination of the raised shell- beds on the west coast ever smce 1839. At a later period the fauna of the North Sea has gradually assumed a more southern character, the German as well as the Arctic forms have moved further north- wards, and some high northern species even died out in Scandinavia, whilst the German Ocean at present is inhabited by a pure Germanic fauna. Lovén thus distinguishes—(1) such species as are less nume- rous in high latitudes than m the North Sea, and in the Mediter- ranean are entirely wanting; (2) Hospites, including all the species, common to the Mediterranean; (3) Aborigines, or those chiefly de- veloped in high northern latitudes. An accurate comparison gives the followmg numbers of Conchylia (Gasteropoda Cochleata, Bra- chiopoda, Acephala). Proportion of the Number of species of Acephala to the Conchylia. Gasteropoda coch- leata, assumed = 100. ——~ STE GRR. Spam pe, Pl 502 60 pty ig 72 jy plea gaping rae ancien 413 91 Sreland)! 2 /ReQU.. 22 339 83 German Scandinavia............ 252 89 Arctic Scandinavia ............ | 131 84 Massachussetts ............2..... | 182 82 Grepnibtid: > 2c) = gris | 11 49 MIDDENDORF ON SIBERIA. 49 In general the proportion of the Acephala to the conchiferous Gas- teropoda may be taken as = 50, as is the case in Greenland, which is entirely surrounded by northern currents, and also very nearly in Sicily ; whilst in the intermediate region, where the two faunas com- mingle, the proportion of the hardy, more enduring Acephala is much larger, since they have not only preceded the other southern molluses in their migrations, but have also remained longer behind the other species wandering towards the north. (J. Nu] Herr von Mippenporrr’s Geological Observations in StpERTA (Geognostische Beobachtungen auf seiner Reise durch Sibirien) by G. V. HetmMersen. [From the Bulletin de l’Acad. Imp. de St. Pétersbourg, pour 1847, tom. vi. n. 13.] Last year M. von Middendorff entrusted to me the geological obser- vations which he had collected during his Siberian journey, with the request that I should prepare. them for publication in his travels. A collection of rocks and petrifactions, now deposited in the Museum of the Academy, accompanied the notices, and were used by me in preparing my account. The petrifactions will form the subject of a separate memoir by Count Keyserling, who has already published a very instructive notice of a portion of them in the fifth volume of the Bulletin, in which four new species of Ceratites are described. These and many Jurassic petrifactions, which were brought with them from the river Olenek and some other Jura shells, which M. von Middendorff found in rolled masses in the valley of the Taimyr, are the most interesting objects in the collection. The Ceratites in- dicate a formation, the muschelkalk, which is im general, and more particularly in Russia, rare and very slightly developed. Hitherto it was only known in the Great Bogdo Mountain in the steppe of the Volga, though supposed to occur on Kotelnoi, one of the islands of New Siberia, from which the collection of the Mining Institute pos- sessed the fragment of a Ceratite. The discovery of these fossils on the Olenek entitles us, however, to believe that the muschelkalk is not unknown in continental Siberia, and a more precise determimation of their mode of occurrence ought to form a leading object of future observers in these far northern regions. But the appearance of the Jura formation in the extreme north of the Old World deserves par- ticular attention. In a short memoir read to the Academy last year, I pointed out how much this formation had recently extended its limits in European Russia, whereas formerly it was considered a rare and sporadic phenomenon. Count Keyserling proved its extent in the Petschora land, where it reaches the shores of the Icy Sea; and M. von Middendorff’s observations leave no doubt that in Arctic Siberia also it stretches perhaps with slight interruptions from the Ural to the valley of the Olenek, and there is reason to believe* con- * See Keyserling’s Petschora Land. 50 GEOLOGICAL MEMOIRS. tinues even into the basin of the Lena. M. von Middendorff found no trace of the chalk formation, and I have expressed the opinion that the Jura beds of Siberia, like those of the Petschora land, are covered immediately by the tertiary deposits, which have such an enormous extent along the Icy Sea, and have been very attentively observed by our traveller. That these tertiary beds, containing the remarkable Adam’s-wood or Noah’s-wood, with perfect skeletons of Mammoths, have only recently for the first, or perhaps the second time, emerged from the sea, is most distinctly shown, by their in- cluding, up to a certain height, and for a considerable distance from the shore, well-preserved shells of mollusca still livmg in the Arctic Sea. Regarding the age of the beds forming the Taimyr or Bynanga Mountains no decided opinion can be formed, no organic remains having been found in them. Still their mineralogical character, the mode of their occurrence, and some other marks, place them without doubt in one of the most ancient periods in the formation of the earth. Further inquiry must also decide the age of the clayslate, greywacke, limestone, dolomite and sandstone, observed by M. von Middendorff on his journey from Jakutsk to Udskoi and the Schantar islands, and in the basm of the Amur. Still more interesting are a whole series of crystalline, eruptive rocks seen in various parts of _ Eastern Siberia, and among which we find trachyte for the first time in this region of the globe. , [J. N.] TRANSLATIONS AND NOTICES OF GEOLOGICAL MEMOIRS. The Repties of the Coat ForRMATION. By Herman von Meyer. [From a Review of ‘ Beitrage zur vorweltlichen Fauna des Steinkohlengebirges, von Dr. Goldfuss.’ Bonn, 1847, 4to, 5 plates, in Neue Jenaische Algem. Lit. Zeitung, Juli 1848, Nos. 164, 165, pp. 654-658. ] THE contributions to the ancient fauna of the coal formation con- tained in this memoir are of very high importance. The abundance of vegetables preserved in this deposit are well-known, but hitherto animal remains have been of much rarer occurrence. Thus the Arachnidze are represented by a scorpion-like creature; the Crusta- ceans consist of variously formed Entomostraca; the earliest Ortho- ptera and Lepidoptera appear in this epoch; the Mollusca are composed of littoral and deep-sea shells; among the vertebrated animals only fishes were lately known, namely, about a hundred species of the shark and ray, and scarcely half that number of Ganoids. The assumption therefore that reptiles did not exist before the Zechstein period seemed to have a foundation in facts. This view must now however be modified. Although it is still uncertain whether the bones found by Phillips in the limestone of Ardwick near Manchester, forming the upper part of the coal formation, actually belonged to reptiles or not, still the reviewer* has made known the complete skeleton of a small animal from the slate-clay of Miinster-Appel in Rhenish Bavaria, whose general aspect (Habitus) scarcely admits of any doubt that it was a reptile, and which the reviewer described, in the beginning of 1844, under the name of Apateon pedestris. Three years later the Director of Mines, Von Dechen, discovered in the spheerosiderite nodules of Lebach in the Saarbriick district, in which fishes had alone been previously found, the remains of a peculiar genus of Saurians. The author of this work (Dr. Goldfuss) exhibited the skull to the Natural History Society of the Lower Rhine, on the 18th of February 1847, under the name of the Archegosaurus De- cheni, and at the same time described it as a crocodilian animal form- ing a transition to the lizards in consequence of the presence of a parietal foramen. * In the following memoir, by the Reviewer is to be understood H. von Meyer, by the Author, Prof. Goldfuss—TRANSLATOR. VOL. IV.—PART II. F 14 GEOLOGICAL MEMOIRS. This skull, with other remains of the Archegosaurus discovered in the interval, was laid before the meeting of the German naturalists at Aix la Chapelle, where the reviewer had an opportunity of inspect- ing them. This examination, though only cursory, convinced him that im this case we had less to do with an animal resembling the crocodile than with one most nearly allied to the Labyrinthodonts of the Trias. His remarks on that occasion induced the author likewise to compare these animals with Labyrimthodon. Since the discovery of the Pterodactyle, probably no event in the domain of paleontology has been more important than the discovery of the Archegosaurus. The author describes this genus in the thorough manner that characterizes all his works. Three species, Archegosaurus Decheni, A. medius and A. minor, are distinguished. The skull of the first species and the portions of its trunk which have been found, seem to have belonged to an animal three feet six inches long, so that even this, the largest species, was much smaller than the Labyrinthodonts of the Trias. The determination of the limits of the various bones of the skull is associated with many difficulties, as the reviewer has repeatedly convinced himself by the examination of a skull presented to him by M. Schnur of Treves. The surface of the bones is only preserved in the region of the forehead, and there has been covered with lancet- — shaped, scale-like elevations and depressions, contrasting very remark- ably with the Labyrinthodonts of the Trias, in which the surface of the bones of the skull appears, as it were, covered with carved-out, small pits and furrows. In the Archegosaurus the anterior angle of the orbit of the eye lies nearly in the middle of the length of the skull. Comparmg it with the Labyrimthodon, we find that this angle in Mastodonsaurus is placed rather more forwards ; in Metopias the orbit falls entirely in the anterior, in Capitosaurus in the posterior half. The nostrils show nothing of much consequence. In 4. De- cheni the long, small, nasal bone, enclosed im the upper maxillary ; the upper maxillary indented behind for the reception of the malar bone (Jochbein) ; the small size and the position of the lachrymal bone and the anterior frontal bone, as well as the form of the parietal bone, have little agreement with those of the Labyrinthodonts of the Trias, in which the reviewer could never find ‘‘ that the parietal bone contributed to form the margin of the orbit,” which, according to the author’s view, was the case with the Archegosaurus; m the Labyrinthodon the parietal bone is rather prevented from taking part in forming this margin by the posterior frontal bone. In Arche- gosaurus a bone lyimg more outwards and bordering on the malar bone is considered the posterior frontal bone, which the reviewer marks on the skull of the Labyrinthodon as ‘ posterior orbital bone’ (hinteres Augenhihlenbein), but which the author denies to the Arche- gosaurus. If, however, we conceive the posterior frontal bone sepa- rated from the parietal bone, as the author assumes, then the form and position of the latter bone is not only more correct, but we also obtain a posterior orbital bone, and m the same place too where it is found in the Labyrinthodon. The reviewer, however, cannot con- MEYER, REPTILES IN THE COAL FORMATION. 53 ceal that he likewise is convinced that it is very difficult to find a limit between the parietal and the posterior frontal bone. Behind this series of cranial bones follows a second, which the author, pro- ceeding from the former, describes as mastoid, tympanal and squamous bones (Zitzenbein, Paukenbein u. Schuppenbein); in the Laby- rinthodon the reviewer found the malar bone also prolonged into this posterior region, and the position of the tympanal and mastoid bones, the latter more correctly designated temporal bone (Schlafen- bein), is the same. The superior occipital bone extends farther out, on the upper side, than in the triassic Labyrinthodonts. When the author says that m Capitosaurus the frontal bone (Hauptstirnbein) does not touch the inner margin of the orbits, he seems to have confused this genus with Metopias, in which the frontal bone does not contribute to form the orbit, whereas in Capitosaurus and Mas- todonsaurus this margin is formed in the same manner as in Arche- gosaurus. ‘The circular parietal foramen in 4. Decheni lay nearly in the middle of the parietal bone, and was relatively larger than in the known Labyrinthodonts ; and in the two other species of Archego- saurus it was smaller, and, in consequence of its appearance in the anterior half-length of the parietal bone, came nearer to the orbit. The temporal fossa also exhibited some diversities ; in Archegosaurus it begins anteriorly with a narrow fissure which suddenly widens pos- teriorly ; whilst im Mastodonsaurus, in which it appears most di- stinetly, it is much shorter and expands in front in a circular manner. The occipital foramen, as well as the articular process of the occiput, are not yet made out, but from the other parts of the structure of the Archegosaurus, the reviewer has no doubt that this process was bicondylous, as in the Labyrinthodonts. The jaws, to beyond the orbit of the eye, were furnished with small, fine, conical teeth, beyond which some thicker ones have projected, but even the latter were not so strong as in the Labyrinthodonts. It is still uncertain whether the jaws, as in the latter animals, were furnished with several rows of teeth. Instead of the teeth only their impression in the stone remains, from which it is seen that they were striated longi- tudinally. The reviewer believes that these teeth were fixed in deep alveoli, which was not the case with those of the Labyrinthodon. The distinction between A. medius and A. minor—the skulls of which more resemble each other than they do that of 4. Decheni,— consists rather in the constant difference in size, than in other cha- racters. In these species the thickness of the nasal bones more approximates to that of Capitosaurus, and the frontal bone is, as in Labyrinthodon, double [7. e. divided by a frontal suture]. In the orbits of the eyes the author found long, quadrangular plates, still partially arranged in a semicircle ; whence it follows that the eye of these animals was furnished with an osseous ring, which the reviewer has not found in the Labyrinthodonts of the Trias. The under jaw has small teeth like the upper jaw, and these can also be followed to beyond the orbit. On the anterior end of the intermaxillary bone, small, fine teeth appear, and behind three stronger teeth, which the author considers canine teeth. This view the reviewer can confirm F2 54 GEOLOGICAL MEMOIRS. from, the skull of the 4. minor, which he has more carefully exa- mined ; the anterior teeth are more pomted and wider separated. than in Labyrinthodon, and the three interior ones are small when compared with the large-teeth which appear further back in the latter. The anterior frontal bone seems to the reviewer to lie in the same place, in which, according to the author, the lachrymal bone occurs in Archegosaurus Decheni; it appears as a flat-bone contracting to a point in front and with the anterior angle of the orbit forming a notch in its posterior extremity, thus perfectly agreemg with the Labyrinthodon. This bone always borders immediately on the frontal. bone, and outwardly on a longer bone, which, as im the Labyrinthodon, is prolonged forwards as far as the region of the half-length of the nasal bones, and goes so far back posteriorly, as to take part in the formation of the margin of the orbit. In position and size this bone corresponds to the lachrymal bone in the Laby- rinthodonts, in which, however, the union of the anterior frontal bone with the malar bone excludes it from the margin of the orbit. The ribs of the Archegosaurus are only known from the impres- sions they have left in the stone. These, however, are sharp enough to justify the conjecture that the ribs were of an osseous consistence. Their form cannot be distinctly recognised ; the processes were broad and strong. Of Archegosaurus Decheni seventeen dorsal vertebree - (Ruckenwirbel) are preserved ; of A. minor seven short vertebrze, referred by the author to the neck, which consequently was half as long as the head ; of 4. medius there is a series of nineteen vertebrze extending to the pelvis. The ribs are not very long, only slightly curved, obtuse at both ends, and rounded in the middle. The broad exterior ends of these dorsal ribs were connected with a kind of ribs, which were twice as long and only half as thick as the dorsal ribs, and at the same time terminated in a point. Immediately connected with the skull was an osseous apparatus of singular structure, which the author considers to have been the hyoid bone (Zungenbein), which would thus be larger than in any other animal. This apparatus consists of a flat-arched, central plate of an acute rhombic form, to the anterior part of which, on both sides, there was attached a wing-shaped process, furnished behind with a styliform process. From the reticulated centre of the upper surface of the rhombic plate delicate lines radiated, which in the lateral wings proceeded rather from the posterior external angle. The author believes that this apparatus was prolonged anteriorly into a thick point, on which behind, at both sides, two cylindrical pro- cesses were attached at right angles, which are regarded as the horns of the hyoid bone. The reviewer did not find this part preserved in the skull he examined ; he found the other bones, however, the sharp, natural outlme of which showed that no part was broken off, and hence this anterior part must have formed a separate bone, which is perhaps more correctly regarded as the sphenoid bone. The rhombic plate would then be the proper body of the hyoid bone, the lateral parts on its anterior half the posterior horn, and the styliform pro- cess (which the reviewer believes was not anchylosed to the horn), ot MEYER, REPTILES IN THE COAL FORMATION. 55 maintaiming the same direction backwards and outwards, would re- present the process, which in the crocodile, of a cartilaginous con- sistence, is attached to the posterior horn. The rhombic shape of the body also reminds us of the hyoid bone of the tortoises, the horns of which, however, are attached to the body more in a rib-like manner. The interpretation of this apparatus as the hyoid bone seems more probably correct, since in its vicinity traces of external gills exist, which appear in the form of a double oval arch formed of small, oblong laminze, pectinated on the inner side. This hyoid bone also recalls, in the form of the body, the bones which were found with the skull of the Mastodonsaurus, so that even from this point of view the Archegosaurus would offer a close relation to the Labyrinthodon. In confirmation of this statement the reviewer would refer to the ‘Contributions to the Paleontology of Wurtemberg*,’ published by Plieninger and him, in which in tab. 3, fig. 1, 2, a rhombic bone resembling the body, and im tab. 4, fig. 1, 2, a wing-shaped bone resembling the right posterior horn of Archegosaurus are figured. The large size of the hyoid bone must have given to the neck of the Archegosaurus a breadth equal to that of the head. The animal has been much shorter in the body than the crocodile ; of the tail nothing remains. Some small thin bones are compared to the coracoid bones anchylosed to the clavicle and to the scapula of the Proteus, The remains of the extremities leave no doubt that the Archegosau- rus was provided with actual hands and feet, terminating in distinct toes. But these limbs were weak, serving only to swim or creep. The peculiarities of the skeleton correspond to those of the skin, which consisted of long, narrow, wedge-shaped, tile-like, horny scales, arranged in rows, which met on the ventral side in Archegosaurus Decheni at right angles, in 4. medius in a curve. The Archegosaurus was consequently most nearly allied to the Labyrinthodonts. The latter, as is well known, were at first considered by Owen as Batrachians, whose structure approached to that of the frog, whilst the reviewer, who had a much richer store of materials for mvestigation at command, inclined to the opinion that they were rather Saurianst. Owen is now also disposed to the same view, considermg the Labyrinthodonts as Saurians arrested in their deve- lopment (Genesis), on the level of the Batrachians, and which have the same import (Bedeutung) for the Saurians, and occupy the same systematic place among them, that the Batrachians do in the whole class of Reptilest. With this idea, the type handed down to us in * Beitrage zur Paleontologie Wurtembergs. + Ibid. t The following passages contain a more accurate statement of Professor Owen’s original views of the affinities of the Labyrinthodon than is given above. ‘‘ The modifications of the jaws, and more especially those of the bony palate of the Labyrinthodon leptognathus, prove the fossil to have been essentially Batrachian, but with affinities to the higher Sauria, leading in the form of the skull and the sculpturing of the cranial bones to the Crocodilian group, in the collocation of the larger fangs at the anterior extremities of the jaws to the Plesiosaurus, and in one part of the dental structure, in the form of the episternum, and the biconcave vertebrze, to the Ichthyosaurus.”—Report on British Fossil Reptiles in the Report of Brit. Assoc. for 1841, p. 185. And subsequently, p. 188: “ Thus all these 36 GEOLOGICAL MEMOIRS. the Archegosaurus fully agrees ; which, as the author correctly points out, furnishes a proof that representatives of a permanent Larva- condition existed among the loricated reptiles of the ancient world, im like manner as the sirens (Fischmolge) do among the recent Ba- trachians. [J. N.] Contributions to the knowledge of VeEiIns (Gangstudien, oder Beitriige zur Kenntniss der Erzgiinge, herausgegeben von B. Cotra, Heft 1.-—V. WeissENBaAcH, iiber Gangformationen, vor- zugsweise Sachsens. Hin Fragment. Freiberg, 1847). [From a notice by Dr. von Dechen in the Archiv fiir Mineralogie, vol. xxii. p. 287.] Every contribution to our knowledge of mineral veins is welcome, both im a scientific and practical point of view ; it is therefore a very fortunate circumstance that the Royal Saxon Council of Mines at Freiberg have instituted a careful examination of the mineral veins in that district, and especially of the causes of their becoming poor or rich. These researches are conducted under the direction of a committee consisting of MM. Reich, Haupt, V. Warnsdorff, Leseh- ner, and Cotta. Its results will, it is to be hoped, be communicated in successive numbers of the above work. The above memoir, in- complete in consequence of the too early death, in July 1846, of its author, Privy Councillor von Weissenbach, has caused the immediate issue of this part. Herr von Weissenbach is known by the publication in 1836 of drawings of remarkable veins in the Saxon Erzgebirge noticed in the twelfth volume of the ‘Archiv.’ Since that time, from considerations of health, the author had changed his mode of life, and had been com- pelled to give up his connexion with practical miming; but this work shows that he had not ceased to occupy himself with geognosy, and more especially with the origin of veins. The term vein-formation has a much less precise meaning than that of rock-formation. What constitutes vem-formations in ge- neral, how they are to be characterized, and how far they are essen- tially to be distinguished from others, is neither so clear a matter, nor one on which there is so general an agreement as in regard to rock- formations. A certam degree of caprice and diversity still prevails in the use of the term ‘ veim-formation.’ Even if we limit our views to mineral veins, as Werner, Von Herder and Freiesleben did, still they can only be characterized and distinguished by comprehending in one definition the sum of the peculiarities of whole groups of these veins. osseous remains from the Warwick and Leamington sandstones agree with each other and with the fossil remains of the great Mastodonsaurus Salamandroides of the German Keuper in their essentially Batrachian nature.” The Batrachian and Sauroid affinities of these animals are further elucidated in the chapter on the teeth of the Labyrinthodonts in the same author's ‘ Odontography,’ pp. 195-217. “In the extinct family of the Labyrinthodonts, the Batrachian type of organiza- tion was modified so as to lead directly from that order to the highest forms of reptiles, viz. the loricate Sauria,” p. 217. To these views we believe Professor Owen still adheres.—Epir. Geox. Journ, ie ie ee WEISSENBACH ON VEINS. 57 In consequence of the continual transitions and combinations which the phenomena of mineral ves exhibit, it is not possible to distin- guish them into groups as is done mm rock-formations. In the groups of mineral veins the author can only recognise various products, mo- dified by locality or degree of development, of one great formative process of nature, or the individual aspects of one vast geognostic formation. The families of mineral veins which can be accurately distinguished will always retain a totally diverse import from the formations of mineral veins which are here established ; they can only be considered as members of one and the same formation. The author distinguishes various classes of veins, of which the mineral veins form only one class, viz. Sedimentary veins :—formations in open fissures caused by mechanical filling-up from above. Friction-veins :—consisting of the products of friction or other me- chanical destruction of the neighbouring rock. Stalactitic or infiltration-veims :—fissures filled by incrustation. Plutonic or rock-veins [Dykes] :—fissures filled with mineral masses, which also occur as plutonic mountain rocks. Secretion-veins :—laminee, geodes, and vein-like formations in the in- terior of rocks, formed by the secretion or accretion of matter from the surrounding rock. Mineral veins. The first five classes are distinguished according to the way and manner in which a fissure has been filled, and thus can scarcely be put im opposition to or classed with mineral veins, separated on wholly diverse grounds, or from the nature of the mass which fills them. Yet we will not differ with the author for this want of clas- sification, which would have given him occasion to impart to the public his careful, multiplied and extensive observations on mineral veins, had not this portion of the work, as well as that on plutonic or rock-veins, been left incomplete. It will be understood that in this classification various groups of veins may be distinguished in each class, and especially among the mineral veins, and that when these are designated veim-formations the author understands only groups of veins especially resembling each other, which may be chosen from the variety of veins, partly as various grades of development, partly as local modifications of the general formation of mineral veins. Did any perfect certainty exist regarding the manner and various processes connected with the production of veins ; did their phzeno- mena exhibit beyond doubt, at once their causes and origin, then the knowledge of the epoch and manner in which they had been produced. would furnish much more precise characters for their division ito formations. But at present, these processes, and the origin of mineral veins, are far too little known, and the most diverse views prevail regarding them, which based only on one portion of the phenomena cannot be brought into harmony with the others, and even often con- tradict them. Much is still wanting before a satisfactory general theory of veins can be established, but this only the more requires that 58 GEOLOGICAL MEMOIRS. the pheenomena should be accurately studied, described and considered from various points of view. The sedimentary ves are on the whole rare, and seem of sub- ordinate interest, though they may frequently give some information regarding the more recent formations, and in this pomt of view deserve more general and accurate observation than has hitherto been be- stowed on them. The friction-veins are filled with matter produced by the crushing and rubbing of the neighbouring rock itself. They have very often given occasion to the formation of vems filled with foreign matter, and consequently belonging to an entirely different class, and by the union of the two produce veins possessing a very mixed nature. The larger part of mineral veins are at least partially connected with the formation of friction-veins. The author distinguishes here,— . Veins with products of decomposition. . Veis with products of friction. . Veins with products of compression. . Veins with angular fragments (Brockengesteinen). . Veins with rounded stones (Kugelgestein). Veins in the coal formation. Doe Gd The first three of these divisions are altogether identical, and pass — completely the one into the other. The products of decomposition, rubbing and compression are usually conjoined; it is only in rare cases that they can be separately distmguished. The occurrence with mineral veins, and also with slips or dislocations, partly in the coal formation, partly in other sedimentary rocks, is highly important, and. still presents a wide field for observation. Vems enclosing angular fragments, also spheroidal stones and ramifications uf the lamelle of the wall-stone (auch Spharengestem und Umzweigungen von Neben- gesteinschaalen), are most common among mineral vems. They are not wanting however among the sedimentary and stalactitic vems. Included in these fragmentary rocks are the friction-conglomerates, formed on the limits between eruptive masses and the rocks pre- viously existing. The veins, enclosmg rounded stones, the author considers were most probably formed in this manner; that the walls of the fissure had a repeated rubbing motion on each other, and in this manner have ground the angular fragments that came between them into a spherical form. The fragments and distmet produce of the grinding process fill up the intervals between the balls, and ac- quire, from the access of moisture and processes of decomposition, a new consistence similar to that of the origmal rock. As mstances of this formation are mentioned the Schurfer-vein, near the large air- hole (Lichtloch) at Altenburg, where the balls consist of a brownish- red felspar porphyry ; the globe-vein (Kugelgang) in the deep mine at Zwitterstock, in which larger or smaller balls of gneiss occur. Among veins in the coal formation some very interesting examples from the mining district of Plauen are described, which however are more local, and furnish no general type of the dislocations common in other coal districts. | —_—a ae he WEISSENBACH ON VEINS. 59 ~ The secretion-veins have furnished the author with the richest material for varied remarks. He understands by this veins and vein-masses (Gangtriimmer) which have had a chemical or crystalline origin, and are so enclosed in the firm wall-rock that the introduc- tion of their substance could not have taken place immediately or in open canals from without, but must have been effected by a secretion, or separation and collection of matter from the enclosmg rock in the immediate vicinity. It appears that in the formation of these secreted products, essential differences in mode of origin may exist, and con- sequently more numerous specific distinctions may be made among them than in the individual formations of the other classes of veins. In this class are distinguished : Plutonic secretion-veins, formed by collection of matter. Such secreted masses, formed predominantly of crystalline felspar or also of quartz, are especially common in the granites both of the Erzgebirge and the Penig-Mitweidaer Weiss- stein mountains, and also in the upper Lausitz. Indeed, generally speaking, a very felspathous, plutonic mountain-rock will not readily be found in which this phenomenon does not occur,—a result of the same forces which have caused the formation of the various species of minerals. Plutonic secretion-veins formed by the oozing out of matter into fissures (Ausschwitzung) : the distinction is pomted out between veins in plutonic rocks formed by the oozing out of matter into fis- sures, and the plutonic eruptive veins in the same rocks ;—the latter exhibit a more uniform structure through their whole mass, they are finer-grained than the rock in which they occur ; the former, on the contrary, show exclusively a perpendicular position of the individual crystalline parts composing them towards the walls of the veins, and a laminar disposition im the direction of the vein (Ganglagerstructur) ; they are coarser-grained than the rock im which they occur. To the most remarkable secretion-veins in plutonic rocks belong the Stock- scheider vein in the mines at Geyer, and in the Weisserdenzeche near Aue; the latter of which especially presents many very problematic phenomena. The closely-connected coarse crystalline deposits of tin at Zinnwald are referred to the class of mineral veins, and conse- quently not minutely described. Veins in serpentine appear as secretion-veins, without any previous open fissure ;—minute cracks caused by contraction may have first occasioned the present vein-like separations. On the margin they consist of noble serpentine (picrolite), in the middle of schillerspar. Grains and small roundish masses, in which the two mimerals are united in a similar manner, occur in the rock between and near to these veins. The veins in the serpentine of Waldheim, which are filled with chlorite, chlorite-earth, picrolite, asbestiform steatite, and a little mica or tale, traverse, with very even and easily separable sides (Saalbiénder), the beds, or lie in the numerous division-planes like very thin intermediate strata. As these have occasioned dislocations, their true character as fissures cannot be doubted. Masses and nests of quartz in slates, as in clay-slate, mica-slate and gneiss, are very numerous and common, but not the less remarkable, 60 GEOLOGICAL MEMOIRS. especially where, on the one hand, they are still mixed with felspar, or on the other, where they occur in undoubted sedimentary strata full of petrifactions, and often assuredly secreted through the imstru- mentality of water. It is certainly of very great importance to collect more observations on this subject. Many interesting notices are given regarding amygdaloids and agate masses, especially regarding the relation between proper amyg- daloids, geodes, and the masses filled with similar mimerals, and regarding the quartz and agate masses in the felspar porphyries of Saxony. Tip iting of reticulated laminze in the balls of sphzerosiderite (septarize) are highly interesting, but might easily be imereased, as these nodules are so very common and are collected for use on so large a scale. Veins in marble present in miniature all the phenomena of veins, though they may owe their substance solely to the neighbouring rock. They are im every respect similar to the quartz ves in the flmty slate (Lydian stone), with which the masses of quartz in the porphyry mined at Altenberg has so much similarity. The fibrous laminz, as those of fibrous limestone in the caleareous clay-slate of Moutiers, of fibrous gypsum in the gypseous clays and schistose marls of all formations, are explained in a simple manner - from the similar layers of ice formed in a mass of frozen earth. The incrustations and laminze of calc-spar, gypsum, iron pyrites, &c., im fissures of coal, illustrated by examples from Plauen and the vicinity of Zwickau, are not less important than the nests of veins and laminze in the old secondary limestones. [J. N.] The TreBicu Grotto, near Trieste. By A. von Mortor. [From ‘ Berichte iiber die Mittheil. v. Freunden d. Naturwis. in Wien von W. Haidinger,’ vol. iii. p. 380.] THE maritime districts of Illyria show only two geological forma- tions ; the one sandstone and slate, which is properly nothing more than the Vienna sandstone ; the other, the so-called Karst, resting on this in extensive but isolated beds. The Karst formation, consisting especially of white and rather pure limestone, is not only washed-out, furrowed, and pierced with holes in many places, but the whole rock is so traversed, and, as it were, sown over with deep funnel-shaped and crateriform abysses, that the mass of strata, 1000 feet thick, is truly described as being fuller of pores than a sponge. Hence the rain speedily smks into the intericr of the mountain, and the only water seen on the surface is at most a few small pools, nowhere the most trifling streamlet. In the region of the sandstone and slate, on the contrary, running water, both in brooks and rivers, is not wanting ; but whenever they reach the limestone formation they run into it, often through highly romantic, portico-like openings, and continue their course below ground, only returning to the light where the sandstone again appears. In heavy storms of rain the water accu- MORLOT ON THE TREBICH GROTTO. 61 mulates in the interior of the mountains, and swelling up to a great height drives out the air, often with much violence, through the nar- row fissures and the caverns connected with them above. This cir- cumstance often shows that holes which on the surface are very small, are yet continued deep into the interior. Many of these holes were lately examined, and extensive wanderings undertaken below ground, with the view of discovering in the vicinity of Trieste some subter- ranean stream which might supply the town with water. At length an opening of no great width, but sinking perpendicularly into the ground, was discovered at Trebich, about a league north-east from Trieste, which was followed out with great perseverance. The fissure sometimes expanded into a wide cavern, sometimes contracted to a rent of scarce a finger’s breadth, and requiring great labour in blow- ing up the rocks, to enable the workmen to proceed; but it never closed up entirely, and some opening, however small, always remained, keeping up the connexion. Sometimes it separated into branches, but by always adhering to the one from which the current of air issued, a very considerable depth was soon attained without any great deviation from the direct course. Once, in a wide part of the opening, all trace of its continuation was lost, and many attempts to recover it, by blowing up the rock, had been made in vain, when the workman, Antony Arich, an intelligent miner from Carinthia, heard during the night a loud roarmg and howling, and concluded that the water in the interior, rising suddenly in consequence of heavy rain, was forcing the air through some narrow opening, and thus discovered near the roof of the cave a small fissure, which again led in the right direction. At length, after eleven months’ hard labour, Arich reached a very large and extensive grotto, 270 feet high, at the bottom of which, 1022 feet below the surface of the earth, and 62 feet above the sea-level, a considerable stream of running water was found. This lowest opening is still in the bituminous limestone of the Karst, but contains on a stair-like elevation a considerable deposit of sand, pro- duced by the destruction of the sandstone and slate, over which the river has run in its course aboveground. The water enters the grotto through a low vault, and flowing among the numerous large blocks which have fallen from the roof, expands into a long narrow lake, on which a small raft was formed, to explore its further course, and is at length lost under a vault which, descending below the surface of the water, put a stop to the investigation. During heavy rain the water has been alréady seen to rise 240 feet; but to judge from an old float of a mill-wheel found in a higher part of the hole, it must sometimes attain a height of 300 feet above its usual level. (J. N.] On the Vicinity of ScHEMNITZ and KREMNITZ. By Prof. v. Perrko. [From ‘ Haidinger’s Berichte,’ vol. iii. pp. 208, 269.] ProFressor PetrKo endeavours to prove that the whole trachytic 62 GEOLOGICAL MEMOIRS. formation of Schemnitz and Kremnitz may be regarded as a single magnificent elevation-crater. In preparing a sketch for a geognostic map of the district of Krem- nitz, he was struck by the circumstance that several rocks had the same local distribution, to the total exclusion of others, which again were united in other local groups (rock-districts), of which he distin- guished four, namely the districts of the granite, of trachyte, of sphze- rulite-porphyry (less correctly also named the tufa district), and of the tertiary sandstone. The first lies without the elevation-crater, and requires no further notice in this place. The two districts of the spheerulite-porphyry and the tertiary sandstones must, on the other hand, be combined in one, as it is impossible to carry out their super- ficial division, volcanic tufas having been observed to alternate in some places with sandstones containing brown coal. ‘The two districts that thus remain, though originally established only for the immediate vicinity of Kremnitz, are found, by more ex- tended. research, to maintain their complete independence throughout the whole trachytic group. The domain of the spherulite-porphyry forms a single uninterrupted ellipse, occupying the centre, whilst the trachyte district presents a ring-shaped ridge, returning into itself, and in general overlooking the central portion. The great extent of its diameter, from five to six miles (twenty-three to twenty-eight miles - English), and the mountainous character of the interior, has prevented this arrangement from being immediately apparent. The Szitna near ~ Schemnitz, the Skalka, and the Klak near Kremnitz, the Sattelberg near Koénigsberg, are members of this group, rising to elevations which the porphyry never attaims. Who does not recognize in this arrange- ment an elevation-crater ? The mountain-towns Schemnitz, Kremnitz, and Konigsberg, lie on its inner declivity; Hlmnik, now so justly celebrated, is situated nearly in the centre; the two large masses of diorite, traversed by mineral veins at Schemnitz and Kremnitz, are placed nearly diametrically opposite each other. The ridge of gneiss and syenite which stretches across from Glashitten, through the valley of Eisenbach to Unterhammer, and is accompanied by quartz rock, greywacke-like sandstones, and compact limestones, assumes its place between the central part and the circumference, and belongs, from its considerable elevation, to the latter. For the exterior domain of the trachyte, the distinguishing rocks are trachyte and diorite, with trachyte-conglomerate ; for the district of the spheerulite-porphyry again, this rock itself including the mill- stone porphyry, then pearlstone and freshwater quartz are fully cha- racteristic. The last three are distinctly limited to the interior of the crater, and in the whole circuit of the ring-shaped trachyte district not one locality is known where they occur; as, on the other hand, the trachyte and diorite are entirely excluded from the interior. The analogy with the elevation-crater of Rocca Monfina in Italy, so well described by Abich, cannot be mistaken; only in the latter the por- phyry of the centre attains the greater elevation, in the case before us the surrounding trachyte is the higher. The extensive beds of freshwater quartz must be considered as a more recent formation, ge a eee PETTKO ON SCHEMNITZ. 63 from copious warm springs in the interior of the crater, of which the thermal waters of Glashiitten and Eisenbach are the feeble remains. The Gran was compelled to force a way through the elevation- crater itself. The river broke through the ring above the village of Jalna, and formed in the interior, probably for a long period, a lake in which the sandstone containing brown coal was deposited, until it again found a way out at Konigsberg. It divides the crater into two halves, and has thus contributed to render its true character so very difficult to be recognised. It is remarkable that the laws established by Beudant for the dis- position of the trachytic rocks are in perfect harmony with this new. view. He says that the trachyte everywhere rises to the greatest elevations, and forms as it were the kernel on which, with gradually decreasing height, the porphyry, pearlstone and millstone are depo- sited. It is evident that he considered the individual projecting members of the trachyte ring as so many central points, from which he descended towards the Gran in the interior of the crater. A further symmetry of disposition arose from the occurrence of the volcanic tufa on both sides of the trachyte, this rock in reality occupying extensive tracts, not only in the interior of the crater, but also on its exterior declivities. In reference to the geological age of the Schemnitz veins, there are especially three circumstances from which this may be pretty distinctly known ; these are the epoch of the elevation which caused the fissures, then the formations which the veins do, and lastly those which they do not traverse. 1. The veins at Schemnitz are nearly parallel to each other, and also to the high ridge of gneiss which runs across from the Glashiitten valley to that of Hodritsch, and follows almost the inner border of the rmg of trachyte mountains. It is not improbable that the eleva- tion of this ridge has also caused the formation of the fissures. On the gneiss, along with subordinate beds of quartz-rock, clay-slate and sandstone, rests a compact limestone of great extent and thickness, which is again covered by a limestone conglomerate. In the latter, at Eisenbach, blocks occur, consisting almost entirely of nummulites, and also nummulites dispersed singly im an arenaceo-calcareous basis. _ These bodies are no longer regarded as exclusively tertiary fossils, but they occur here in a deposit which is not their original place, and which may therefore be tertiary, even although the nummulites may have lived in the more recent secondary epochs. Now these strata are themselves elevated, and consequently the elevation, and hence also the formation of the fissures must have taken place after the depo- sition of the tertiary conglomerate, and thus at all events not earlier than the tertiary period, probably in its middle division. This cir- cumstance may even fix the age of the great elevation-crater itself. 2. The rocks traversed by the Schemnitz mineral veins are green- stone and greenstone tufa. There is nothing to show that the green- stone of this district is older than the connected trachyte, whilst the frequent. transitions of the two rocks into each other, and their com- mon local disposition, forming together the great ring-shaped moun- 64 GEOLOGICAL MEMOIRS. tain ridge, decidedly pot to their synchronous formation. If we now assume, with the greater number of geologists, that the trachyte belongs to the tertiary period, then the Schemnitz greenstone must also be tertiary, and the veins which traverse it are naturally still more recent, and, if the greenstone belongs to the older, will probably take their place in the middle tertiary period. The eastern basis of the greenstone mountains is covered with a breccia-like tufa of undetermined thickness, which passes gradually into the true greenstone, and is most appropriately named a green- stone-tufa. It contains, where arenaceous, numerous impressions of leaves of dicotyledons and also brown coal, which near the veins is changed into siliceous anthracite. This tufa is undoubtedly pene- trated by the more eastern veins, and since it cannot be more ancient than the greenstone, the veins that traverse it must also have been formed not earlier than the middle of the tertiary epoch. 3. The basalt at Schemnitz is decidedly more recent than the tra- chyte, as at Kieshubel it is seen very distinctly penetrating this rock and enclosing numerous fragments of it ; but it appears to have been already in existence when the fissures of the Schemnitz vems were formed, since it imposes a limit to their further extension towards the east. In proceeding eastwards from the high gneiss ridge, the veins running parallel to it are successively crossed ; the last but one is found immediately in front of the basalt ; the last and most eastern, the so-called green vein, should, from its direction, either traverse the basalt or be traversed by it. But neither happens; the vein dis- appears at a considerable distance from the basalt and without reach- ing it, thus proving that there was a tendency to form more fissures further to the east, but that the compact basalt proved an msur- mountable obstacle, and hence must have already been in existence. This also shows that the formation of these fissures took place at least in the middle tertiary period. Though no one of these reasons by itself might have been sufficient to prove the comparatively recent origin of the Schemnitz veims, as they all depend on somewhat hypothetical suppositions ; still taking them altogether, and considering that they all agree in pointing to one and the same age, and that there is nothing which contradicts this view or leads to the supposition of a greater antiquity, the for- mation of these veins during the middle tertiary period may be con- sidered as well-established, however great the anomaly when compared with the date assigned to most other veins. [J. N.] On the Fossil Plants discovered on the UpPER Ruone. By O. HEER. [From Leonhard and Bronn’s Jahrbuch fiir 1848, p. 369.] THe author has collected many fossil plants im a very fine-grained bluish- grey marl which overlies the tertiary coal of the Upper Rhone. A similar but coarser-gramed marl is found under the beds, in which leaves of plants also occur, but far fewer in number and not so well preserved. It lies upon a coarse-grained sandstone, and a similar HEER, FOSSIL PLANTS OF THE UPPER RHONE. 65 sandstone covers the upper-marl beds and crops-out on the surface. All these strata have a rather considerable inclination and dip towards the south-west. Heer has collected fifty-eight species of plants, mostly leaves, but also fruit, and even a few flowers. The leaves and fruits are remark- able for their very beautiful state of preservation, since not only the form of the margin of the leaf, but even the finest veins are preserved. These plants belong to twenty-one families and thirty-three genera. As deserving particular notice may be mentioned some remarkably fine ferns (Aspidium, Polypodium, Pteris), of which one seems to be nearly allied to the Pteris stenophylla, a native of the warmer parts of America, whilst the others approach to those now living in Europe ; further, three species of cypress, one of which, a Callitris (C. antiqua, Heer), was one of the most common trees in the woods, and two Taxodiz, which seem to be identical with the Giningen species (7. Cningense, A. Braun, and 7. distichum fossile) ; three species of oak, of which two resembled the evergreen oaks of southern Europe ; eleven willows, one of them (Salix macrophylla, Heer) distinguished for its uncommonly large leaves; six species of maple, and among them Acer productum, A. cuspidatum, and A. trilobatum, Al. Braun; a nut-tree, both leaf and fruit ; the Liquidambar, Diospyros, Vacci- nium, Betula, Rhus, Crateegus, and others. Twenty-four of the genera are still found in our present flora, whereas the remainder belong to more southern zones, as the cypresses, the storax-tree, the ebony, rhus, and others. On examining the mode of occurrence of these fossil plants in the marls, a certain regularity in their distribution may be observed, showing that the plants grew in this place, and were not drifted to it from other quarters. Thus in one place the long leaves of a Typha abound, and here undoubtedly was a marsh or a mossy forest-stream ; this is confirmed by the circumstance that whole stones are found full of leaves of the Carex, between which occur freshwater shells (Pla- norbis and Cyclas), occasionally also the leaves and fruit of the maple, which without doubt had fallen into this brook or marshy lake ; in other localities the cypresses, and in others the deciduous-leaved trees preponderate. The Taxodiz, however, and the many willows show that the forest stood in a marshy, moory tract. This fossil flora has most resemblance to that of Giningen. In both localities a great number of willows and maples flourished, partly it would appear even the same species; i both among the conifer (Nadelhilzer) the cypress-like species predominated. On the other hand, poplars so common in Cningen are wanting in the Upper Rhone, and in their place is frequently found a tree like a lime-tree, which however has not yet been rightly determmed. Ciningen be- longs to the upper freshwater molasse-formation, and consequently no great change in the character of the flora has taken place during the molasse-period, if the coal of the Upper Rhone actually belongs to the lower freshwater molasse, as A. Escher von der Linth concludes from the dip of the beds. Unfortunately no comparison can be instituted with the coal of 66 GEOLOGICAL MEMOIRS. Kapfnach or that near Rufi on the Schannisberg, since no determi- nable plants occur in either of these localities. In Kapfnach the mode of entombment seems to have been altogether different from that on the Upper Rhone. In the latter the plants must have been almost immediately enveloped in the marls, otherwise the leaves could not have been thus preserved with even their most delicate veins. From the circumstance that along with the ripe fruit of the Callitris, as it is found on the trees in the spring from the previous year, also young new fruit still hangs on the branches, and further from the young, still unformed, fruit of the maple, it may be concluded that the great catastrophe which destroyed the forest and buried it in the mass of marl, took place in the end of spring or the beginning of summer. In Kapfnach, on the contrary, the plants seem only to have been covered and enveloped in the marls after they had begun partially to decay. In the latter a black marl (named Strassberg) rests imme- diately on the coarse-grained sandstone; above this follows the coal (Flétz), covered in some places by a fcetid marl with Limnee, Pla- norbes, and Melanie ; to this succeeds a bluish-grey marl altogether similar to that on the Upper Rhone, and above this sandstone with Melania Escheri, Anodonta, &ce. Since the marls that enclose the coal beds contain freshwater shells in great numbers, it is probable that the plants which formed them were covered for a long time by | the fresh water in which these mollusks lived, and that in consequence of this all the more delicate tissues of the plants perished ; and hence in the blue marls above the coal, which are as fine-grained and as well-adapted to preserve the leaves of plants as those in the Upper Rhone, no leaves occur. Remains of reed-like plants alone are found in them. This also explains why, in the stems of the palms met with in the coal of Kapfnach, only the fascicule of vessels are ob- served, whilst all the finer tissues have vanished. Sometimes whole bundles of these vascular fasciculee may be seen lying close together, which have been named Fasciculites by the geologists, and fir-needles (leaves) by the workmen in the coal-mines. [J. N.] ALPHABETICAL INDEX TO PROCEEDINGS OF THE GEOLOGICAL SOCIETY. The fossils referred to are described, and those of which the names are printed in italics are also figured. Agassiz, Prof., Sir P. Egerton’s Palich- thyologic Notes supplemental to the Works of, 302. Agate quarries of Oberstein, Mr. Ha- milton on, 209. Agates, Mr. Hamilton on their forma- tion, 213; on a means of changing their colours, 214. Alabama, Mr. Lyell on the age of the nummulite limestone of, 10. Alabaster of Egypt, 332. Allman, Prof., on erratic blocks of greenstone, lxxiii. America, North, Mr. Sharpe on the pa- lzozoic formations of, 145; M. de Verneuil on, cii; classification of the palzozoic rocks, 148. Anning, Mary, notice of, xxiv. Anniversary Address of the President, Sir H. T. De la Beche, xvii-cxx. See also De la Beche, Sir H. Annual General Meeting of the Society, proceedings at, i. Ansted’s, Prof., Ancient World noticed, 1xxxii. Anthracotherioid quadrupeds, Prof. Owen’s description of, from the Isle of Wight, 103. Anthracotherium, characters of the ge- nus, 109. Apjohn, Dr., on hyalite, lxxii. Aptornis, Dr. Mantell on, 233. Austen, Mr. R. A. C., on the position in the cretaceous series of beds con- taining phosphate of lime, 257. Austin, Mr. T., observations on the Cystidea, 291. Australia, Mr. B. Jukes on the geology of, 142. —-, Western, Messrs. Gregory’s map of, 142. Aveline, Mr., and Prof. Ramsay on the structure of Wales, 294. Avicula Boydii, 171. nayiformis, 172. quadrula, 172. VOL. IV. Barbadoes, Prof. Ehrenberg on fossil infusoria from, cxiii. Belcher, SirE., Voyage of the Samarang noticed, xcvi. ; Bellot, Mr., on the discovery of coal in Labuan, 50. Blomidon, Cape, in Nova Scotia, notice of, 55. Bohemia, Sir R. Murchison on, cix. Bone-cells, average dimensions of, 9. Bones, Mr. Bowerbank on the micro- scopical structure of, 2. Borneo, coal found in, xcvii. Bos primigenius, teeth of, 44. Boué, Dr. A., on the geology of S.-E. Europe, 10. Boulders, erratic, Mr. Hopkins on, 88; Mr. Darwin on, 315. , scratched, Mr. Smith on, 323. Bowerbank, Mr. J. S., on the micro- scopical structure of fossil bones, 2. Breton, Cape, on upright Lepidoden- dron with stigmaria roots in the coal of, 46. Brongniart, M. Alex., notice of, xxii. Brown, Mr. R., on Lepidodendron with stigmaria roots, 46. Buckland, Dr., award of the Wollaston medal to, xvi; reply on receiving it, XViii. Cader Idris, geology of country near,300. Carboniferous system of New South Wales, 60. Castor Europzus in the pleistocene of Essex, 44. Cheshire, Mr.Ormerod on the salt-field of, 262, Chondrites informis, 223. acutangulus, 224. Clarke, Rev. W. B., on the carbonife- rous system of New South Wales, 60; on Trilobites in, 63. Coal, Mr. Logan on its discovery in the Malay peninsula, 1. , analysis of, from Labuan and Bor- neo, xcvii. INDEX TO THE PROCEEDINGS. Coal plants in New South Wales, 60. Coral reefs, formation of, Ixxxviii, xe. Couch, Mr. R., on the present state of geology in Cornwall, Ixxviii. Crag of Suffolk, Mr. Wiggins on fossil bones found in, 294. Crinoidea, Mr. Austin’s observations on, 2o1: = Cumberland, Mr. Hopkins on the Lake district of, 70; Prof. Sedgwick on the classification of the older rocks of, 216. Cystidea of M. v. Buch, Mr. Austin’s observations on, 291. Dalton, Mr. G., on a mammoth tusk fished up off the Texel, 16. Damour, M., on the siliciferous waters of Ireland, ci. Darwin, Mr. C., on the transportal of erratic boulders from a lower to a higher level, 315. Daubeny’s, Dr., Description of Volcanos noticed, Ixxxii. Dawes, Mr., on the structure of Halo- nia, 289. Dawson, Mr., on the new red sandstone of Nova Scotia, 50. De la Beche, Sir Henry T. (President), Address on awarding the Wollaston medal to Dr. Buckland, xvi. Anni- versary address, February 1848, xxi. Notices of deceased Fellows: Mr.Cha- ning Pearce, xxi; M. Alexandre Brongniart, xxii. Notice of Mary An- ning, xxiv. Geological Society of Lon- don, its contributions to geology in 1847, xxv—lxxii; Mr. Lycett on the oolite of Minchinhampton, xxvi, xli ; Mr. Nicol on the Silurian rocks of the South of Scotland, xxvii, liii; forma- tion of conglomerate rocks round old coast lands, xxviii; Mr. Salter on Tri- nucleus, xxx; Mr. Lyell on the coal of Eastern Virginia, xxx, xlvi, lxv; Mr. Bunbury on fossil plants from Eastern Virginia, xxx, xlvii; Sir P. Egerton on fossil chimeroid fishes, xxxi; Mr. Bowerbank on structure of fossil bones, xxxi; Prof. Forbes on Orbitolites, xxxii; Prof. Owen on fossil mammalia, xxxii; Mr. Sharpe on the paleozoic mollusca of the United States, xxxvi, liv; Mr. M‘Coy on fossils from Skiddaw, xxxvi; Dr. Mantell on the Dinornis, xxxvi, xliii ; Mr. B. Jukes on New South Wales, XXXvili, xlv, lxiv; Mr. Anthony on the soft parts of an Orthoceras, xxxix; Mr. Lyell on plants from Eastern Vir- ginia, xxxix; Mr. Prestwich on the London clay, xl, xlviii, Ixvii; Mr. Brown on Lepidodendron, xli; Mr. G. Dalton on elephant’s tusk, xliv; Mr. Brown on gypsum of Nova Sco- tia, xlvi; Sir R. Murchison and Capt. Vicary on the geology of Scinde, xlviii; Mr. Lyell on the nummulitic limestone of Alabama, li; Mr. Daw- son on the red sandstone of Nova Scotia, li; Mr. Clarke on New South Wales, lii; Prof. Sedgwick on the Skiddaw slate, lviii; Mr. Logan on coal in Junk Ceylon, lxi; Mr. Bellot on coal in Borneo, lxi; Mr. Smith on recent depressions of land, lxi; Co!. Macintosh on the temple of Se- rapis, lxii; Capt. James on a subma- rine forest at Portsmouth, Ixiii; Mr. Hamilton on the formation of agates, Ixviii. Geological Society of Ireland: Sir R. Kane on carbonate of manga- nese, lxxii; Prof. Oldham on anda- lusite, Ixxii; Prof. Allman and Mr. Mallet on erratic blocks, Ixxiiti; Mr. Mallet on the rocks of Wicklow, lxxv; Prof. Forbes on the Chair of Kildare, lxxv. Geological Societies of Cornwall, Manchester and the West Riding of Yorkshire, \xxvi; Mr. Peach on Cornwall, lxxvii; Mr. Johnson on the formation of mineral veins, Ixxviii; Palezeontographical Society, Ixxix; Geological Survey of the United Kingdom, lxxx ; Museum of Practical Geology, lxxxi. British Works on Geology: Mr. Lyell’s Principles, lxxxi; Dr. Manitell’s Wonders of Geology, Ixxxi; Prof. Ansted’s Ancient World, Ixxxii; Dr. Daubeny on Volcanos, Ixxxii. Voyages of Discovery: Sir James Ross, Ixxxiii; action of ice, Ixxxiv; temperature of the sea, Ixxxvii ; formation of coral reefs, Ixxxvili, xc; Mr. Jukes’ Voyage of the Fly, xc; Sir E. Belcher’s Voyage of the Samarang, xcvi; coal of Labuan and Borneo, xcvii. Geological Society of. France: Durocher on igneous rocks, xcvii; Frapolli on erratic locks, xeviii; Marcou on the Jura, xcix; Scheerer on granite, xcix; on isomorphism, c; Virlet d’Aoust on metamorphism, ci; Damour and Des- cloizeaux on the Geysers, ci; De Ver- neuil on the palzozoic rocks of North America, cii; Delesse on the rocks of the Vosges, civ. Geological Notices: Von Meyer on new tertiary fossils, evi; Mr. Tuomey on the Zeuglodon, - cvii; M. Pomel on fossil mammalia, cvii; Mr. M‘Coy on Australian fos- sils, cvlii; Prof. Heer on the insects INDEX TO THE PROCEEDINGS. of Cningen, cix; Sir R. Murchison on Bohemia, cix; Mr. Lyell on Au- vergne, cx; M. von Dechen on rep- tiles in the coal formation of Saar- briick, cxii; M. Ehrenberg on infu- soria from Barbadoes, cxiii; Mr. Milne on parallel roads of Glenroy, exiii; Mr. Charlesworth on silicified Trigo- niz, cxiv ; Dr. Percy on furnace slags, cxiv; M.Ebelmen on artificial forma- tion of crystals, cxv; Mr. Hopkins on the internal pressure of rock masses, CXViii. Delesse, M. A., on the chemical com- position of the rocks of the Vosges, civ. Denudation, Mr. Hopkins on pheno- mena of, 86. Descloizeaux, M., experiments on the Geysers, ci. Desiderata in the library of the Geolo- gical Society, cxxxiv. Dichodon, new genus, 37. Dinornis, Dr. Mantell’s account of, 232. Diluvial theory, Mr. Hopkins on, 88. Donations to the Society, July to Octo- ber 1847, 99; November to Decem- ber 1847, 143; January to March 1848, 242; April to June 1848, 358. D’Orbigny, M. A., on the so-called Nummulites Mantelli, 12. Dumont, M., on the value of the pa- Jzeontological character in geology, cii. Durocher, M., on igneous rocks, xcvii. Ebelmen, M., on the formation of arti- ficial crystals, cxv. Edmonds, Mr., on sand-banks in Mount’s Bay, lxxviii. Egerton, Sir P. G., Palichthyologic Notes supplemental to the Works of Prof. Agassiz, 302. Egypt, Lieut. Newbold on the geology of, 324; on the silicified wood of, 349. Ehrenberg, Prof., on the discovery of Polycystina in Barbadoes, cxiii. Elevation of the Lake district, Mr. Hop- kins on the, 82. Erratic blocks, Mr. Hopkins on the transport of, 88; Mr. Darwin on the transport of, from a lower to a higher level, 315; Mr. Mallet on, Ixxiii; M. Frapolli on, xeviii. Forbes, Prof. E., on the Orbitolites Mantelli, 11 ; memorandum on some fossiliferous localities in Wales, 297. , on the geological age of the Chair of Kildare, lxxv. Frapolli, M., on erratic blocks and scratched rocks, xcviii. Geological Society of Cornwall, notice of its proceedings, lxxvi. of France noticed, xcvii. —— of Ireland, its proceedings noticed, lxxii. — of Manchester noticed, lxxix. —— of West Riding of Yorkshire, Ixxix, Geological Survey of Great Britain, progress of, Ixxx. Glacial theory, Mr. Hopkins on, 87. Glenroy, Mr. Milne on the parallel roads of, noticed, cxiii. Graptolites latus, n. sp., 223. Halonia, Mr. Dawes on its internal structure, 289. Hamilton, Mr. W. J., on the agate quarries of Oberstein, 209; notice of, Ixviii. Hastings, Marchioness of, discovery of extinct anthracotherioid animals by, 103. Homothorax, the under surface of Pte- richthys, 312. Hopkins, Mr. W., on the Lake district of Cumberland and Westmoreland, 70. , on the internal pressure of rock masses, CXViil. Hordle, Hampshire, Prof. Owen on the fossil remains of mammalia from the eocene sand at, 17. Horner, Mr. L., letter on the discovery of saurian remains in the Saarbriick coal-field, 17. Hyopotamus vectianus, description of its teeth and jaws, 103. bovinus, teeth and jaws described, 104. Icebergs, formation of, in antarctic re- gions, Ixxxiv; on the transporting power of, Ixxxv. Johns, Rev. C. A., on the landslip at the Lizard, 193. Johnson, Mr. P. N., on electric action as affecting metalliferous deposits, Ixxviii. Jukes, Mr. Beete, on the geology of Australia, 142. , and Mr. Selwyn, sketch of the structure of the country from Cader Idris to Moel Siabod, North Wales, 300. , voyage of the Fly noticed, xc. Kane, Sir R., discovery of earthy car- bonate of manganese by, Ixxii. Labuan, Mr. Bellot on coal in, 50. Lemon, Sir Charles, on recent changes in Heligan, Ixxviii. Lepidodendron, upright, with stigmaria roots, Mr. Brown on, 46. ee INDEX TO THE PROCEEDINGS. Leptzna demissa, 172. depressa, 172. Lizard, Rev. C. A. Johns on the land- slip at the, 193. Logan, Mr., on coal in the islands near the Maiay peninsula, 1. Lycett, Mr., on the great oolite in the neighbourhood of Minchinhampton, 181; notice of, xxvi. Lyell, Mr., on the age and position of the so-called nummulite lmestone of Alabama, 10. ——, Principles of Geology noticed, xi. ——, Lecture on Auvergne noticed, cx. , on footprints of animals in the older rocks, cxii. M‘Coy, Mr., note on fossils from Skid- daw, 223. , on Australian fossils, cviii. Macintosh, Col., letter on the temple of Serapis, 191. Malay peninsula, Mr. Logan on coal near, 1. Mallet, Mr., on transport of erratic boulders, lxxiii. , on the rocks of Wicklow, lxxiv. Mammalia, fossil, from Hordle, Hamp- shire, Prof. Owen on, 17. Mammoth tusk off the Texel, 16. Mantell, Dr., on the fossil remains of birds collected in New Zealand, 225. , additional remarks on the geo- logical position of the deposits in New Zealand containing bones of birds,238. , Wonders of Geology noticed, Ixxxi. Marcon, M., on the Jura, xcix. Megaceros hibernicus from the pleisto- cene of Essex, 42. Meyer, H. v., paleontological disco- veries of, cvi. Middlewich, salt-springs at, 274. Miller, Mr. Hugh, and Sir P. Egerton on Pterichthys, 303. Milne, Mr. David, on the parallel roads of Glenroy, cxiii. Minchinhampton, Mr. Lycett on the great oolite of the neighbourhood of, 181. Mollusca, fossil, of the United States, report on, by Mr. Sharpe, 145, xxxvi, liv; notice of M. de Verneuil on, cii; table of those common to the United States and Europe, 159; list of pub- lished species, 162—171. Morris, Mr. J., description of a new species of Nautilus from the Isle of Wight, 193. Murchison, Sir R. I., on the paleozoic rocks of Bohemia, cix. Nautilus Saxbii, Mr. Morris’s descrip- tion of, 193. Nesbit, Mr., on the presence of phos- Beek acid in the chalk formation, 2. Newbold, Lieut., on the geology of Egypt, 324; on the silicified wood of the Egyptian desert, 349. New South Wales, Mr. Clarke on the carboniferous system of, 60; on Tri- lobites in, 63. New Zealand, Dr. Mantell on fossil re- mains of birds from, 225. Nicol, Mr. J., on the Silurian rocks in the valley of the Tweed, 195; notice of, XXvi. Nile, nature of its mud, 341; thickness of its deposit, 343; Delta of Nile,345. Northwich, salt-springs at, 277. Nova Scotia, Mr. Dawson on the new red sandstone of, 50. Nummulite limestone of Alabama, Mr. Lyell on, 10. Nummulites Mantelli, note on, by Prof. Forbes, 11; by M. D’Orbigny, 12. Oberstein, Mr. Hamilton on the agate quarries of, 209. Ocean, Sir James Ross on its tempera- ture, Ixxxvii. , experiments on its depth, xcvi. Old red sandstone of North America, 155. of the South of Scotland, 199. Oldham, Prof., on a variety of andalu- site, Ixxii; on recent changes in the British islands, xxiv. Oolite of Minchinhampton, Mr. Lycett on the mineral characters and con- chology of, 181; list of its fossils, 188. of Ridgway, Mr. Weston on, 245. Orbitolites, characters of the genus, 11. Ormerod, Mr., on the geological fea- tures of the salt-field of mg 262. Orthis carinata, 173. - parva, 174. Owen, Prof., on fossil mammalia from the eocene of Hordle, Hants, 17; notice of, xxxiii; description of teeth and jaws of two extinct anthraco- therioid quadrupeds, 103, xxxiii; on the classification of the Pachyderms, 131. Pachyderms, Prof. Qwen on extinct, 17, 103; on the classification of, 131. Paleochorda, new genus described, 224. major, 225. minor, 225. Palzontographical Ixxix. Paleotherium, teeth of, 18, 20. Society noticed, INDEX TO THE PROCEEDINGS. Palapteryx, fossil bird from New Zea- land, 233. Palichthyologic notes by Sir P. G. Eger- ton, 302. Paloplotherium, teeth of, 20; skull and teeth, 28. Pamphractus, same with Pterichthys, 308. Pattison, Mr., on the geology of Tinta- gel, 1xxvii. Peach, Mr., on the geology of Corn- wall, noticed, Ixxvii. Pearce, Mr. Chaning, notice of, xxi. Peeblesshire, Mr. Nicol on the geology of, 195. Pentamerus galeatus, 174. Percy, Dr., on furnace slags, cxiv. Phosphate of lime, Mr. Austen on its occurrence in the cretaceous series, 257. Phosphoric acid, Mr. Nesbit on the pre- sence of, in the chalk formation, 262. Pomel, M., on the Elotherium, noticed, cvii. ——,, on the fossils of the Sezanne de- posit, cviii. Porcellia ornata, 181. Pterichthys, Sir P. G. Egerton and Mr. Hugh Miller on, 303. , list of species, 312. quadratus, un. sp., 313. Pterodactylus, structure of the bones of, 3. Ramsay, Prof., and Mr. Aveline, sketch of the structure of parts of North and South Wales, 294. Red sandstone of NovaScotia, Mr. Daw- son on, 50. Report, Annual, for 1848, i-xvi. Report of Museum Committee, cxxi- xl, Ridgway, near Weymouth, Mr. Weston on the geology of, 245. Ross, Sir James, notice of Voyage to the Antarctic Regions, lxxxiii. Saarbriick coal-field, saurian remains in, #7, €Xii. Salt-field of Cheshire, Mr. Ormerod on, 262. Salter, Mr., on Trinucleus, notice of, XXX. , on fossils from Peeblesshire, 205. , on Wenlock shale fossils, 299. Sand-drifts of Egypt, 347. Saurian remains in Saarbriick coal-field, Mr. Horner on, 17. Scheerer, M., on the nature of granite, xcix; on a new species of isomor- - phism, c. Sedgwick, Prof., on the organic remains found in the Skiddaw slate, with re- marks on the classification of the older rocks of Cumberland, etc., 216. Selwyn, Mr., and Mr. Jukes on the structure of the country from Cader Idris to Moel Siabod, 300. Serapis, Col. Macintosh on the temple of, 191. Sharpe, Mr. D., on Trematis, a new ge- nus of brachiopodous mollusca, 66 ; on the fossil remains of mollusca from the palzozoic formations of the United States, 145. Silurian rocks of the south of Scotland, Mr. Nicol on, 195; Mr. Salter on fossils from, 205. Skiddaw, Prof. Sedgwick on the orga- nic remains found in, 216. Smith, Mr. J. (of Jordan Hill), on scratched boulders, 323. Spirifer biforatus, 175. lynx, 175. macronotus, 176. —— plicatus, 177. Stigmaria roots attached to upright Lepidodendron, 46. Stonesfield slate, structure of bones from, 7. Strophomena, genus described, 178. Suffolk, Mr. Wiggins on bones found in the crag of, 294. Terebratula aspera, 180. unguiformis, 180. Thylacotherium Prevostii, structure of the bones of, 6. Trematis, a new genus of mollusca, Mr. D. Sharpe on, 66. Trematis terminalis, 68. cancellata, 68. filosa, 69. punctata, 69. Trilobites in New South Wales, Mr. Clarke on, 63. Tuomey, Mr., on the Zeuglodon, cvii. Tweed, Mr. Nicol on the Silurian rocks in the valley of the, 195. Ungulated animals, Prof. Owen’s clas- sification of, 131. Verneuil, M. de, parallelism of the pa- leozoic rocks in Europe and North America, Cii. Virlet d’Aoust, M., on normal meta- morphism, Ci. Voyages of discovery and survey no- ticed, Ixxxiii. Wales, Prof. Ramsay and Mr. Aveline on the structure of, 294. , Prof. Forbes on some fossiliferous localities in, 297. ——, North, Mr. Beete Jukes and Mr. Selwyn, sketch of the structure of parts of, 300. INDEX TO THE PROCEEDINGS. Westmoreland, Mr. Hopkins on the Wiggins, Mr., on fossil bones found in © Lake district of, 70; Prof. Sedgwick the crag of Suffolk, 294. on the classification of the older Wyman, Dr., on Casteroides ohiensis, — rocks of, 216. noticed, cvi. b Weston, Mr., on the geology of Ridg- Zeugledon, observations on, cvii. way, near Weymouth, 245. END OF VOL. IY. eal ae al * PRINTED BY RICHARD AND JOHN E. TAYLOR, - RED LION COURT, FLEET STREET. 14422 a . > < i ie ; q soonest ' ss ‘ oe et i ie ag WE te oe y bt es nll wie Ope Js Pel a tact tanta = + - = we a a et SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION LIBRARIES UCIATIOMIP LA 3 9088 01350 1481