bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Notes on the Cretaceous Strata of New Jersey, and other Parts of the United States bordering the Atlantic
Authors: Lyell Charles
Published: October 2009

The cretaceous and tertiary deposits of America, which intervene between the Alleghany mountains and the Atlantic, bear a great resemblance in mineral character to the sandy and argillaceous portion of the formations of the same age in the south-east of England. If all the white chalk, with its flints, together with the cherty beds of the green sand, were omitted, the remaining cretaceous strata in our island would consist of loose incoherent sand with green particles, red and highly ferruginous sandstones, white sands, and (in some places) beds of lignite ; the overlying tertiary deposits, consisting of marls, clays, and variously coloured sands occasionally exhibiting green particles, like those of the green sand below the chalk; and as in the bottom of the London basin near Reading. Such, for the most part, is the succession of the beds in New Jersey; and, further south, in Maryland and Virginia, the Eocene strata are often as full of green particles as the cretaceous, so that they are only distinguishable by their fossils and relative position. Even the Miocene strata are sometimes, as in Virginia, of a blueish-green colour, and contain green particles of a similar kind.
On the
Permian
System as developed in Russia and other Parts of Europe
Authors: Murchison Roderick Impey , de Verneuil M. E.
Published: October 2009

On the part of his associates, M. de Verneuil and Count Keyserling, and himself, Mr. Murchison has previously explained in the Proceedings of the Geol. Soc. the nature of the various deposits which constitute the subsoil of European Russia. As in all other parts of the world which have been adequately examined, the Silurian rocks are those which contain the earliest forms of animal life, and in Russia they are overlaid by Devonian and carboniferous deposits, each of which is there singularly well defined by its organic remains and regular superposition.

In common with many other geologists, Mr. Murchison was formerly of opinion that the above-mentioned three systems constituted the whole Palæozoic series, but the examination of Russia and Germany has led him to include also therein the next group in ascending order, or that to which he had assigned the name of Permian.

When two or more conterminous formations are shown to have a community of fossils, it has recently been deemed essential to group them under one name; and following the practice of assigning to any such newly classed group a geographical name derived from the region where the strata are best developed, the term “Permian” was employed. This system was first proposed to embrace the deposits known in Germany as the Rothe-todteliegende, Zechstein, Kupferschiefer, &c., and in England as Lower New Red Sandstone, Magnesian limestone, &c.
On the Origin of the Gypseous and Saliferous Marls of the New Red Sandstone
Authors: Williams D.
Published: October 2009

For years past I have had great difficulty in accounting for the marls of the new red sandstone, and as none of the explanations yet given appear to me sufficient, or satisfactorily account for the * absence of molluscous and zoophytous remains in these beds, and still less for that of the numerous plants entombed above and below them, I propose in the following observations to attempt to explain these phenomena, in the hope, to use the words of Sir H. Delabeche, of arriving at the “knowledge of the true causes which have produced” the remarkable aggregates in question. In examining the district of Bleadon with a view to account for the phenomena of trap rocks presented in the railway cutting, I observed in the superficial coating of soil on the northern flank of the hill above Weston-super-Mare, such abundant fragments of vesicular trap, some of them having the aspect of recent volcanic scoriæ, others containing spherical kernels of decomposing calcareous spar and hæmatitic iron, that I entertained no doubt whatever that I was standing on a dyke of ancient lava. The occurrence of these fragments for about seventy-five yards, in an east and west direction, indicated its strike, and rendered it probable that the same appearance would recur in the neighbouring coast cliffs. Those brown, strange-looking rocks, therefore, with whose aspect I had been long familiar, were volcanic aggregates, and were, in fact, two of the most interesting and instructive of the large number which had fallen under my notice.
On the Occurrence of Fossils in the Boulder Clay
Authors: Harkness Robert
Published: October 2009

There can be no doubt that the presence or absence of fossils in different formations is owing to other causes than the actual existence of animals and vegetables on the spot and at the time of deposition, and is, indeed, generally the result of local circumstances; but the “boulder clay,” the formation of which the author of the present paper endeavours to explain the cause, presents similar characters in districts widely distant, and is also remarkable for the paucity of its organic remains.

The deposit in question belongs to the geological period immediately antecedent to the existing epoch, and consists of clay containing boulders of various kinds of rock, scattered without order through its whole mass. It occurs on various parts of the coast both of Great Britain and Ireland, but appears to be most fully developed in the basin of the Clyde, where it overlies a series of beds of fine clay containing numerous remains of shells. Similar remains have been found in many elevated sea beaches; and it has been concluded from the examination of them by competent naturalists, that the climate must have been more arctic at the time of their deposition than it is now in the places where they are found.
Observations on the Geology of the Southern Part of the Gulf op Smyrna and the Promontory of Karabournou
Authors: Spratt T.
Published: October 2009

The observations contained in this paper continue the subject from the point at which it was left by Messrs. Strickland and Hamilton in their memoir on the geology of the neighbourhood of Smyrna, and relate to the western boundary of the lacustrine deposits which lie to the south of the town of Smyrna, forming and in part surrounding the plain of Sedi-kieui; so called from a village of that name situated on its western margin.
On the Remains of Fishes found by Mr. Kaye and Mr. Cunliffe, in the Pondicherry Beds
Authors: Egerton Philip de Malpas Grey
Published: October 2009

The fish remains collected by Mr. Kaye and Mr. Cunliffe in the neighbourhood of Pondicherry having been placed in my hands for examination, I have endeavoured to discharge the task committed to me to the best of my ability, by comparing the Indian fossils with analogous forms from other localities, and with the figures and descriptions given by Agassiz in the “Poissons Fossiles.” The collection consists wholly of teeth ; they are, generally speaking, in bad condition, few of the placoid teeth retaining their bases, a very essential element in the identification and description of species. Before proceeding to detail the characters of the several specimens, it may be advisable briefly to relate the results at which I have arrived from the study of these ichthyolites. With the exception of two specimens, the collection is entirely composed of teeth of squaloid fishes. Of these two exceptions one belongs to the Ganoid order and to the family of
Pycnodonts
, and it is probably a
Sphærodus
; the other is referred to the Cycloid genus
Enchodus
, the teeth very closely resembling those of
Enchodus halocyon
a species common to the chalk of England, continental Europe, and North America. Of the Placoid remains, two species only belong to the section of the Squaloid family with serrated teeth, and both of them are referable to the genus
Corax
, which Agassiz informs us is restricted to the chalk. One species is not distinguishable from
Corax pristodontus
of the Maestricht beds. The other is undescribed. The Squaloid teeth with cutting edges compose the bulk of the collection. They are referable to at least a dozen species, all corresponding in the absence of plaits or striæ on the surfaces of the enamel. Although there are close approximations amongst them to the species both of the Cretaceous and Miocene period, yet it is somewhat remarkable that I have not seen a feature nor a character which recals in the remotest degree the forms of the Eocene period.
Description of the Mouth of a
Hybodus
found by Mr. Boscawen Ibbetson in the Isle of Wight
Authors: Egerton Philip Malpas de Grey
Published: October 2009

The present memoir is the result of the examination of an Ichthyolite discovered by Mr. Boscawen Ibbetson in the Isle of Wight, near the junction of the Lower Green Sand with the Wealden, and sent to me in the hopes that it might tend to show to which of the two formations this bed should be assigned. The evidence it affords on this question is neither direct nor conclusive, inasmuch as it is an undescribed species, and consequently any deductions beyond those based upon general affinities would be unwarrantable. In another point of view, however, this specimen is of high scientific value, as it sets at rest the long-mooted questions of the relative characters of the upper and lower teeth, and their general contour in the individuals composing the genus
Hybodus
so extensively occurring in the secondary strata. Mr. Ibbetson has had the rare fortune to bring to light the entire mouth of a fish of this genus. The left side is slightly crushed, but the other retains its natural form, and the greater portion of the teeth in both the upper and the lower jaw. The former measures 10 inches, and appears to have carried twenty-four teeth in the front series; the latter measures 7½ inches, and has nineteen teeth in series, one on the symphysis and nine on either side. Two rows of succession teeth are traceable behind the front series.
On the Cliffs of Northern Drift on the Coast of Norfolk, between Weybourne and Happisburgh
Authors: Trimmer Joshua
Published: October 2009

In this paper the author proposes to describe certain changes that have taken place in these cliffs, comparing the appearances they present with those of raised beaches in North Wales.

With regard to the former subject, he notices first, the condition of a pinnacle of chalk at Old Hythe Point. The cavity at the summit of this pinnacle is now exposed to a greater depth than in Mr. Lyell's drawing, and the sand and gravel with which it was filled are removed. No vertical strata of sand to the N.E. of the pinnacle are now visible, and these must have been removed by denudation. Mr. Lyell's statement that this pinnacle is separated from the great mass of the chalk by the crag deposits, is, in the opinion of the author, confirmed by the position in which the chalk rests.

Of the protuberances of chalk near Trimmingham, the northern and middle seem now little changed, but the southernmost has undergone some alteration. Its length is still the same as when visited by Mr. Lyell, but it is reduced to nearly half its height, and the waves have washed away a portion of the overlying gravel at one extremity. The next fall of the cliff will probably bury this end of the protuberance entirely. The chalk inland seems tilted, and is covered with a breccia of the crag.
Description of a Fossil Ray from Mount Lebanon (
Cyclobatis oligodactylus
)
Authors: Egerton Philip Grey
Published: October 2009

I am indebted to the liberality of Professor Edw. Forbes for many valuable specimens of fossil fishes, procured by Capt. Graves from the Lebanon range; and amongst the number, for the subject of the present memoir, one of the most interesting and remarkable ichthyolites ever brought to light by palæontological research. The cases of the discovery of fishes belonging to the placoid order, in a condition at all approaching to completeness, are exceedingly rare. The destructible nature of the endoskeleton, and the loose attachment of its component members, attest the probability that decomposition would complete its work ere these records could be engrossed in imperishable characters. That this order was nevertheless extensively represented from the earliest fossiliferous period to the present time, is manifest from the frequent occurrence of the palatal tritores, teeth, and defensive fin bones of the Cestracionts, Hybodonts, and Squales; and of the dental apparatus, caudal weapons, and dermal tubercles of the Rays.
On some New Species of Fossil Fish, from the Oxford Clay at Christian Malford
Authors: Egerton Philip Grey
Published: October 2009

Through the kindness of Lord Northampton and Mr. Pratt I have had an opportunity of examining several specimens of fossil fish found with the beautiful Ammonites and Belemnites already described by Mr. Pratt and Professor Owen, in the Oxford clay, at Christian Malford, near Chippenham. Some of these ichthyolites are in an excellent state of preservation; others are mere fragments. Those genera I have been able to identify belong to the Lepidoid and Sauroid families of the Ganoid order of Agassiz, viz.
Lepidotus, Leptolepis
, and
Aspidorhynchus
. These three genera are found also associated with Ammonites and Belemnites in the lithographic stone quarries of Germany. The species appear all to be new.
Observations on the Geology of some parts of Tuscany
Authors: Hamilton W. J.
Published: October 2009

One of the principal physical features of the district under consideration in the present memoir, is the existence of three distinct mountain ridges, extending from N.W. by N. to S.E. fey S., and parallel to the direction of the main chain of the Apennines. All these ranges belong to the
Scaglia
, a representative of the cretaceous series which is known to prevail extensively throughout Greece, the Morea, the Ionian Islands, Asia Minor, and the South of France.

I cannot pretend to define the limits of these different ranges, or even to point out their exact number and geological contents, having only been able to visit a small portion of them; but the following are the principal lines occurring in the district which came under my consideration.
On the Pipes or Sand-galls in the Chalk and Chalk-rubble of Norfolk
Authors: Trimmer Joshua
Published: October 2009

In a paper read before the Society in the Session of 1842–3, and intitled “On Pipes or Sand-galls in Chalk” I have shown that, in the county of Kent, these cavities in the chalk have, in their upper part, a longitudinal extension, and are connected with furrows which traverse the upper surface of the chalk, and which widen and deepen as they approach the pipes. From the nature of the materials with which these cavities are filled, I inferred that, in that county, they were formed before the deposit of the oldest Eocene strata. From the fact, also noticed by me in the same county, that similar furrows and pipes, though of smaller dimensions, occur in the blocks of siliceous sandstone which are dispersed through the superficial deposits, and are derived from the sands of the plastic clay, I concluded that these cavities were caused, not so much by the chemical as by the mechanical action of water; and, from the further observations I made, that still smaller furrows and pipes are actually in the course of formation on the surface of similar siliceous blocks on the coast of Kent, I judged that the mode of this mechanical action was by the flux and reflux of waves breaking on the shore.
On the Newer Coal Formation of the Eastern Part of Nova Scotia
Authors: Dawson John
Published: October 2009

In some notes communicated last year to the Geological Society, I stated the results of observations on the gypsiferous formation of Nova Scotia, tending to confirm the views of Mr. Lyell respecting the age of that series of rocks. In introducing those notes, it was stated that the carboniferous strata of this province may be included in three groups; first, the gypsiferous or mountain limestone formation; secondly, the older coal formation; and thirdly, the newer coal formation: of these the two former have almost exclusively attracted the attention of geologists, the latter having been in a great measure neglected. In connection with the Pictou coal field, however, and probably also in other parts of this and the neighbouring colonies, the newer coal formation is an extensively distributed deposit, often attaining considerable thickness, and, though not containing valuable beds of coal, ironstone, or gypsum, yet so associated with the rocks including these minerals, that a knowledge of its structure and relations is essential to their satisfactory investigation. In a palæontological point of view also it possesses considerable interest; as its fossils show the continuance of the coal flora during the deposition of a series of red sandstones newer than the great coal measures; and also the co-existence of that flora with terrestrial vertebrated animals.
On certain Conditions and Appearances of the Strata on the Coast of Essex near Walton
Authors: Brown John
Published: October 2009

In this paper the author first alludes to the information that has been obtained, of late years, respecting changes of elevation that have taken place on many parts of the earth's surface, at comparatively recent geological periods, and refers to the memoir by Mr. Smith, of Jordan Hill, on this subject, as illustrating the nature of the evidence to be sought for. He then endeavours to show that such evidence exists with regard to certain beds containing shells, on the Essex coast, which beds he had been able to examine in consequence of their having been laid bare by an unusually high tide, and by the gradually wasting action of the sea on that coast. He mentions three places in particular, namely, Walton, Clacton, and the valley of the Colne, near Colchester, at each of which he has obtained marine shells from heights to which the sea does not now reach.
On Dykes of Marble and Quartz in connection with Plutonic Rock on the Upper Wollondilly in Argyle County, New South Wales
Authors: Clarke W. B.
Published: October 2009

The tract of country described by the author in this memoir is situated not far from Sydney and Port Jackson, the river Wollondilly, whose gorge lays bare the geological structure of the district, taking its rise in latitude 34° 26' S., longitude 149° 23' E., and after receiving the waters of several streams running into the Nepean river, and emptying itself into the Ocean considerably to the south of Sydney.

The stratified rocks traversed by the remarkable defiles through which these rivers flow, belong to the sterile upper portions of the carboniferous formation so widely spread in Australia; and these carboniferous rocks are traceable (with occasional interruptions from basaltic dykes) from the district in question to the borders of the Illawarra region, where they present a lofty mural escarpment.

The Wollondilly, however, from its source to its junction with the Uringalla (except near Towrang), is described by the author as running through igneous and metamorphic rocks, which are laid bare over a considerable area between the Cockburndoon, the Derra, and the Uringalla rivers, where recent volcanic outbursts have disturbed the older rocks. The sedimentary rocks wrap round the margin of this area, the beds dipping at a considerable angle.
On the Miocene Tertiary Strata of Maryland, Virginia, and of North and South Carolina
Authors: Lyell Charles
Published: October 2009

Between the hilly country of the United States and the Atlantic there intervenes a low and nearly level region, occupied principally by beds of marl, clay, and sand of the cretaceous and tertiary formations. Maclure, in 1817, in his “Geology of the United States,” laid down, with no small approach to accuracy, on a coloured map, the general limits of this great plain, and of the granitic district lying immediately to the westward. He also pointed out, that at the junction of these great geological regions almost all the great rivers descend suddenly by falls or rapids of moderate height, as the Delaware at Trenton, the Schuylkill near Philadelphia, the Potomac near Washington, the James River at Richmond, Virginia, the Savannah at Augusta in Georgia, and many others. At these points, therefore, the navigation is stopped, and a great many large cities have sprung up; so that the line which marks the western boundary of the tertiary, and the eastern of the granitic region, is at the same time one of peculiar geological, geographical, and political interest.

The general elevation of the great plain does not exceed a hundred feet, although it is sometimes considerably higher. Its width in the middle and southern States is very commonly from 100 to 150 miles.
On the comparative Classification of the Fossiliferous Strata of North Wales, with the corresponding deposits of Cumberland, Westmoreland, and Lancashire
Authors: Sedgwick Adam
Published: October 2009

The author referring to his memoir on the structure of North Wales, published in the first number of this Journal, for an account of the sequence of the rocks in that district, states that his object now is to bring the successive groups of the Cumbrian mountains into comparison with the three primary divisions of the whole Welsh series.
On a supposed Aerolite, said to have fallen near Lymington, Herts
Authors: Austen R. A. C.
Published: October 2009

In this communication the author described a fragment of stone supposed to have fallen from the air, and stated the evidence on which the supposed fact of its being an
Aerolite
was founded.
On the Junction of the Transition and Primary Rocks of Canada and Labrador
Authors: Bayfield
Published: October 2009

The country to the northward of Lakes Superior and Huron, and of the St. Lawrence River and Gulf, is for the most part a wilderness of primitive or granitic rocks. These rocks, from the northern shores of the two lakes just mentioned, pass close to the northward of Lake Simcoe, and are met with in ascending all the streams tributary to the Rice Lakes, and to Ontario from the north. Sending off a spur to the southward, they are seen at the N. E. extremity of the last-named lake on the immediate shore of the St. Lawrence, which they cross some miles below, forming many of the Thousand Islands, and uniting with the primary region in the northern part of the state of New York:

From Kingston and the Thousand Islands the primitive beds may be traced to the N.E., until they cross the Ottawa River near Lake Chât. Thence, continuing in the same direction, they form the northern side of the valley of the St. Lawrence, and the rapids and falls a few miles up its tributary streams, till they abut upon that river at Cape Tourment, nine or ten leagues below Quebec. From the point last designated, the granitic rocks continue without interruption to form the northern shore of the St. Lawrence river and gulf to the strait of Belle Isle.
Notice of a New Family of Crinoidal Animals, called Cystidea.
Authors: von Buch Leopold
Published: October 2009

The Crinoidea are provided with long arms, penetrating plates, which together form a kind of cup containing the viscera of the animal. These arms, according to the discoveries of Mr. Thompson, which have since been fully confirmed by M. Müller of Berlin, in his beautiful analysis of the
Platycrinus
, have the ovaries placed at the base of pinnules attached to the arms. An ovarian orifice in the cup would therefore have been useless, and is not present.

In the most ancient formations there exist, however, bodies
without arms
, and generally of a nearly spherical form. These bodies, of which the cup closely resembles in all respects that of the Crinoidea, are always provided with an ovarian orifice, and further, they also have an anus by the side of the mouth. This is an organization different from that of the Crinoidea, and it will be useful to collect the various species into a group under a distinct name.

The
Cystidea
are distinguished, —

1.

By having the mouth constantly at the apex and in the centre, whcih is rarely the case in the Crinoidea

2.

By being provided with an ovarian orifice, generally situated in the upper part of the body or cup. This orifice is almost formed by five valves, pierced at their summit with a small hole.

2.

By having an anus not far from the mouth, and always on the right of the ovarian orifice.

The description of
On a Method of forming the Dust of Graphite into a solid Mass
Authors: Brockedon W.
Published: October 2009

The
graphite
, or black-lead of commerce, of sufficiently good quality to be used for pencils, has become very scarce, only a small quantity being now raised in the Borrodale mines, and that of inferior quality, so that what has been sold lately is part of a large supply obtained forty years ago. This quantity having been picked over and over again, the former reputation of the Cumberland graphite is now no longer sustained, and its impurity is detected by artists in consequence of the grit which it often contains.

The author of this paper has contrived a method by which the fine dust of the best parts of the
graphite may be recomposed into a mass as dense and compact, and of as close a texture as the best
quality found in the mine. To effect this, the dust obtained from sawing graphite into thin plates
and veneers, to be enclosed in the cedar, is carefully washed and ground, and by repeated operations
is rendered pure and free from grit, being finally sifted through spaces less than
one-fifty-thousanth part of a square inch.

Thus prepared, the powder is placed under a powerful press on a strong die or bed of steel with air-tight fittings. The air is then pumped from the dust, and while thus free from air a plunger descends upon it, and it becomes solidified. The power employed to perform the operation is estimated at 1000 tons, several blows having been given,
Observations on a Slab of New Red Sandstone from the Quarries at Weston, near Runcorn, Cheshire, containing the Impressions of Footsteps and other markings.
Authors: Black J.
Published: October 2009

The notices of fossil impressions of footsteps in the New red sandstone are now sufficiently numerous, as well in Warwickshire and Shropshire as in Cheshire, to take away the interest of novelty from any discovery of this nature; yet I consider the slab about to be described sufficiently new to justify my laying the following account of it before the Geological Society.

The summit of the quarry of New red sandstone whence this specimen was extracted by Mr. Feraday Smith is about 100 feet above the level of the Mersey at Weston. The rock is here worked perpendicularly to about fifty feet from the top, and the seams which contain the impressions are two in number and are nearly three feet apart, the higher being twenty-four feet from the top. Both these seams consist of from half to three-quarters of an inch of reddish silty clay, upon which when soft the impressions have been made, and the lower series has larger and better-defined marks than the other. The beds dip to the south-west at an angle of about 10°, and are of a red colour and coarse grain.

The slab in question is seven feet long by three and half feet broad. It contains none of the footprints of the so-called
Chirotherium (Labyrithodon
, Owen), but is full of those of smaller reptiles, apparently both Emydian and Batrachian, besides others which may have been made by birds. It is remarkable for the singular complication of cracks it presents, these forming a
Geological Position of the Bitumen used in Asphalte Pavements
Authors: Pratt S. P.
Published: October 2009

The bitumen which has been so extensively used for pavements, &c. is found in considerable abundance, and of the best description, at Bastenne, a small village in the south of France, about fifteen miles north of Orthez. The geological circumstances connected with its appearance being somewhat interesting, a short account of them may be desirable.

The country about Bastenne is formed of numerous small conical hills two or three hundred feet high, separated from each other by deep narrow valleys or ravines; they are chiefly composed of a coarse sandy limestone, which M. de Fresnoy places in the cretaceous system; their upper part consists of variously coloured sands and clays from fifty to sixty feet in thickness, the whole being covered by gravel and sand, which extends for many miles in every direction. The sands and clays are usually horizontal, but are occasionally much disturbed and highly inclined; whenever this occurs it is evidently owing to the protrusion of igneous matter, which is then found in connexion with them. The bitumen is worked in three localities near to each other, and the following section was made at the principal mine:—

5 to 15 feet of bitumen which varies much in character, the upper part consisting of looser and coarser sand, with a less proportion of sand, and being chiefly composed of bitumen.

10 or 15 feet of sand without bitumen occurs in some places, although where the bituminous sand is found of the greatest thichness, it the rests upon the
On the Occurrence of Coal in Formosa
Authors: Cooper
Published: October 2009

Specimens of this coal were exhibited to the meeting, but it did not appear from the notice under what geological conditions the coal existed.
On some remarkable Fossil Ferns from Frostburg, Maryland, collected by Mr. Lyell
Authors: Bunbury C. J. F.
Published: October 2009

The first of the fossil Ferns (see Plate VI.) which I wish to bring under the notice of the Society has so great a resemblance to the
Diplazites emarginatus
of Göppert, that I doubt whether it can with propriety be considered as a distinct species. The specimens are however much more complete than the one he has figured, and in particular exhibit the fructification in a far more distinct and satisfactory manner; and this fructification clearly proves, as I think, that the plant has no close affinity with the recent genus
Diplazium
, to which Göppert referred it chiefly on account of its venation. The specimen figured by that distinguished author, and which was the only one he had seen, was procured from the neighbourhood of Ilmenau, and exhibited only two or three detached pinnæ, without any portion of the rachis; one of those pinnæ was partly covered with granulations, exhibiting no distinct structure or arrangement, which he believed to be the fructification in an over-ripe state, having lost (as often happens in ferns) all trace of its original arrangement.

In the specimens from Frostburg, the rachis or main stalk is flat, from one-eight to one-fifth of an inch in breadth, faintly striated, and marked with small depressed dots, which doubtless indicate the insertion of hairs. The frond appears to have been simply pinnated. The pinnæ are closely set, at right angles or very nearly so to the stalk, to which they are attached by nearly the whole breadth of their
Notes on the Wealden Strata of the Isle of Wight, with an account of the Bones of Iguanodons and other Reptiles discovered at Brook Point and Sandown Bay
Authors: Mantell G. A.
Published: October 2009

The author commenced with some remarks on the general geological structure and picturesque features of the Isle of Wight, and then proceeded to direct special attention to some extensive ledges of low rocks visible from a considerable distance, and occurring seaward of Brook Point, a low promontory near and to the east of Compton Bay. The face of the cliff is here formed by the bassetting edges of the Wealden clays and sands, which alternate with occasional layers of argillaceous shelly limestone, rolled blocks of which are strewed along the beach. This limestone is formed of the shells of
Paludina, Cyclas
and other Wealden species, and is in every respect identical with the Petworth marble and Ashburnham beds of Sussex.

The cliff at Brook Point is between thirty and forty feet high, and is capped by an alluvial bed of loam, sand and gravel. It is composed of beds of laminated clay and shale, with sands and sandstones of a bluish and reddish-gray colour, and these are interspersed with layers and isolated masses of lignite and lumps of iron pyrites.

East of the Point a chine or chasm occurs, from the summit of which a stream gushes out and dashes down the face of the cliff to the sea-shore. This stream rises from beneath the sand beds islands, and flows through the alluvial gravel to the summit of the cliff.

The auhtor then proceeded to qoute a graphic description of this spot, written nearly thirty-five years ago by Mr. Webster,
On the Fossil Remains of Birds in the Wealden Strata of the South-east of England
Authors: Mantell G. A.
Published: October 2009

As the recent communication of Professor Owen, “on the Supposed Fossil Bones of Birds in the Wealden,” relates to a specimen described by me in the Geological Transactions, vol. v. p. 175, and accurately figured in that volume (pl. 13. figs. 1 and 3), I am inclined to solicit the attention of the Society to the following remarks on this interesting subject.

These two portions of bone were discovered by me twelve years since in a quarry near Cuckfield in Sussex. Each specimen was imbedded in a mass of sandstone of the same colour and composition; and though formed separately, and the intermediate portions both of bone and sandstone wanting, the resemblance between the fossils was such that I did not hesitate to consider them as the upper and lower extremity of the same bone. I cleared away the stone with great care, and attached the two portions to a card, with a dotted outline to indicate the supposed line of union. The specimen was exhibited in this state in my museum at Brighton ; the humerus of a bird being placed beside it, to show the general resemblance between it and the fossil. When Professor Owen, in 1895, obligingly offered to institute a rigorous examination of all the bones in my collection that were supposed to be referable to Birds or Pterodactyles, his attention was particularly requested to the specimen in question. The result of that examination was given by me in the Memoir oil Fossil Birds, above referred to, and to that paper I beg to refer, to
Observations upon Sternbergiæ
Authors: Dawes John S.
Published: October 2009

This communication had reference to the remarks offered by Mr. Dawson in his memoir, read at the last Meeting of the Society, on Fossils from the Carboniferous Rocks of Nova Scotia. The author does not agree in the conclusion of Mr. Dawson, that herbaceous Endogens may sometimes have produced the columnar forms usually referred to the pith of coniferous and other large trees. He thinks that although the appearance in question may indicate that the fossil is not that of a true Dicotyledon, it must still have been the interior cellular portion of an arborescent plant like Lepidodendron, the supposed bark being the vascular system or sheath surrounding the pith, which has adhered during decay to the medullary column, and sometimes become changed into coal. Examples of this condition were exhibited.
Notice accompanying a Specimen of a Calcareous Band in the Plastic Clay from the Bed of the Thames
Authors: Rennie George
Published: October 2009

The accompanying concrete of shells, clay, &c. was taken from the bed of the river Thames, in Limehouse Reach, about three and a half miles below London Bridge, situate between the City Canal entrance on the east, and the Commercial Dock entrance on the west side. The shoal from which the specimens are taken has been hitherto a great detriment to steam-vessels navigating the above Reach at low water, and measures are in progress to remove the same by means of dredging-engines, which have been in operation for seven or eight months; great difficulty is found in breaking through the strata or crust with the iron buckets attached to the engines, which have been carried away on many occasions, although steel-pointed. Gunpowder is occasionally resorted to to break up the strata, after which it is easily removed. The specimen is about the thickness usually found, resting on a bed of clay, and covered by loose gravel, or Thames ballast, three or four feet deep, which forms the bed of the river.
Geological Report on a portion of the Beloochistan Hills
Authors: Vickary N.
Published: October 2009

The hill country visited extends from Shahpoor on the western side to Goojeroo on the east, a distance of about ninety miles, and from the sandstone range, bordering the Desert, to the Murray Hills, in a northerly direction about fifty miles. The strike, and the direction of the ranges and of the valleys is nearly east and west, and the mean dip of the beds southerly.

There are seven parallel ranges of mountains gradually increasing in height from the low sandstone range bordering the Desert to the Murray Hills, the most northern point visited. The low sandstone range bordering the Desert was scarcely touched upon, but from its appearance I conclude that it does not differ in structure from the second sandstone range; it dies away towards the west, but appeared to extend in an easterly direction as far as the eye could reach.

The second sandstone range in which the Jullock, Gundava, and other passes are situated, extends also to an unknown distance in an easterly direction, but towards the west, near Shahpoor, it approaches and eventually abut upon the first limestone range.

I annex a section running nearly north and south, that is, at right angles to the direction of the mountain ranges, and along the pitch of the strata. It is drawn up from memory, and though not exactly correct, is sufficiently near the truth.

Between the place called Ooch and Shahpoor low sandstone hills make their appearance, belonging to the outer range. The dip of the
On the Geology of the Falkland Islands
Authors: Darwin C.
Published: October 2009

The Falkland Islands being a British colony, and the most southern point at which palæozoic fossils have hitherto been discovered, I am induced to lay a short account of the geological structure of these islands before the Society. They stretch from 51° to 52° 30′ south, and extend about 130 miles in longitude. My examination was confined to the eastern island; but I have received, through the kindness of Captain Sulivan and Mr. Kent, numerous specimens from the western island, together with copious notes, sufficient to show the almost perfect uniformity of the whole group.

The low land consists of pale brown and bluish clay-slate, including subordinate layers of hard, yellowish, sometimes micaceous, sandstone: in the clay-slate organic remains are exceedingly rare, whilst in some of the layers of sandstone they are extremely numerous, the same species being generally grouped together. Messrs. Morris and Sharpe have kindly undertaken to describe these fossils in a separate notice : they consist (as I am informed by them) of three new species of Orthis, which have a Silurian character ; three of Spirifer, which rather resemble Devonian forms, and approach closely to someof the Australian species described by Messrs. G. B. Sowerby and J. Morris ; one species both of Atrgpa and Chonetes, the latter approaching very closely some of the varieties of C. sarcinulata of Europe ; an Orbicula and an Avicula, the species not determinable ; and lastly, a fragment of a Trilobite and numerous traces of Crinoidea, apparently related to
Description of Eight Species of Brachiopodous Shells from the Palæozoic Rocks of the Falkland Islands
Authors: Morris John , Sharpe Daniel
Published: October 2009

Transversely semi-oval.; upper valve convex, with a slight mesial depression; lower valve rather
concave ; surface covered with fine bifurcating
rays crossed by a few concentric lines of growth. Hinge area linear, of the breadth of the
shell ; hinge line furnished with fine spines. Width
⅞ of an inch, length ½an inch.

This shell so closely resembles some of the forms of the
Chonetes sarcinulata
(
LeTtcna lata
, Sil. Syst.)
of the Ludlow rocks, that, if found in England, it might probably have been mistaken for a variety
of that species; it is however somewhat flatter,
more square and rather larger. The spines on the hinge line are not well preserved in the specimens
examined, but traces of them may be distinctly
seen. The C. Falhlandica may be considered as belonging to the same group as C. sordida,
C. Hardrensis, C. Buchiana, all of which are closely-allied
species to the C. sarcinulata.

2. ORTHIS SULIVANI, 8p. n. P1. X. fig. 1.—Semi-ovate ; ventral valve nearly flat,
dorsal valve gibbose ; surface covered with fine sharp
bifurcating strife, increasing towards the margin to bout 150, crossed by 3 or 4. concentric
lines. Hinge line nearly as wide as the shell, hinge
area broad and triangular. Interior of both valves striated for about ¼ of an inch round
the edge, producing a fringed appearance
in the cast.

Width 1⅝ inch, length 1½
Notice on the Coal-Fields of Alabama; being an extract from a Letter to the President from Charles Lyell, Esq., F.R.S., dated Tuscaloosa, Alabama, 15th February 1846
Authors: Lyell C.
Published: October 2009

Since my arrival in Alabama I have devoted part of my time to the investigation of the carboniferous rocks, and have obtained information respecting some coal-fields, the very existence of which in this State was unknown to me in 1844, when I compiled the Map of the Geology of the United States, published in my ‘Travels.’ On my way southwards, I had learnt from several persons in Georgia that the city of Mobile was supplied with bituminous coal, brought down the Tombecbee River from Tuscaloosa, a navigation of about 400 miles. This coal is procured from the neighbourhood of Tuscaloosa, a place situated near the centre of Alabama, and more than a hundred miles further south in a direct line than the southern limit which I had assigned to the Appalachian coal-field, which I supposed to terminate near the great bend of the Tennessee River.

The fact of coal occurring near Tuscaloosa had been previously mentioned to me by Mr. Courad, but he was uncertain respecting its age; and the circumstance of its occurrence near the Falls of the river, not far from the northern outcrop of the cretaceous strata, together with the fact of its quality being preferred to all other coal for the manufacture of gas at Mobile, made me suspect that it might prove to be of the age of the Richmond coal, which is also bituminous, situated near the falls of the James River, and which as Professor W.B. Rogers has pointed out, is newer than
On the Geology of the Isle of Man
Authors: Cumming J. G.
Published: October 2009

The Geology of the Isle of Man, though possessing much interest, has hitherto scarcely met with the consideration which it really deserves.

The earliest geological notice of the island will be found in an account by Mr. Wood, published in 1811; and this was succeeded by a memoir in the First Series of the Transactions of the Geological Society, published in 1814, by Dr. Berger. Dr. Berger's memoir was accompanied by a geological map and some sections, and, together with additional remarks, forming a kind of appendi: afterwards published by Professor Henslow t , it forms an interesting and valuable record of what was then known of the district.

Dr. Macculloch, in his Account of the Western Isles of Scotland (vol. ii. p. 516), published in 1819, described (as far as the advance of geological science would then permit) the different characteristic formations.

We have also a paper by Dr. Hibbert, “on the Discovery of the Fossil Elk in the Isle of Man,” written for the fifth number of the ‘Edinburgh Journal of Science,’ in 1826.

The only later notice seems to have been the interesting paper on the Pleistocene deposits in the neighbourhood of Ramsey, by Hug Strickland, Esq., F.G.S, re~d before the Geological Society in November 1843.

A mere glance at the geological map of the island will show the reason of this neglect, for it will at once be seen that about three fourths of the whole surface exhibited at high water consists for the most
On the Subdivision of the genus Terebratula.
Authors: Morris John
Published: October 2009

The genus Terebratula is one of the most interesting of the family
Brachiopoda
, inasmuch as it ranges under every variety of form throughout the whole series of deposits from the palæozoic to the tertiary formations, and is found widely distributed, although not numerous in species, at the existing epoch.

The name
Terebratula
, first used by Llwyd, although not adopted by Linnæus, was appreciated by Bruguière, and finally established by Lamarck in the ‘Système des Animaux sans Vertèbres,’ where he classified and described a large number of species, which appear, with additions, in the same work as re-edited by M. Deshayes.

The great number of species which have been added of late years to this genus has long made it desirable to subdivide it, and various attempts have been made by different authors to establish subordinate groups; of these it is necessary to give some account before proceeding to that which it is now proposed to substitute for them, as being founded on the discovery of a different mode of classification.

Lamarck (1819)simply divided the Terebratulm into two groups, namely 1. smooth, without longitudinal grooves, and 2. longitudinally striated. Defrance (1827), in the ‘Dictionnaire des Sciences Naturelles,’ followed this order in his notice of the fossil species, and De Blainville did so also for the recent ones described in the same work; the latter author however suggested another arrangement founded on the greater or less development and form of the apophysary system.

Of the many special treatises on this genus, that
Description of an Upper Molar Tooth of
Dichobune cervinum
from the Eocene Marl at Binstead, Isle of Wight.
Authors: Owen
Published: October 2009

The species of Anoplotherian quadruped described in the ‘Geological Transactions,’ second series, vol. vi. p. 41, and in my ‘British Fossil Mammalia,’ p. 440, under the name of
Dichobune cervinum
, has hitherto been known only by the fragment of lower jaw with three molars, first described and figured by S. P. Pratt, Esq., F.R.S., in the third volume of the same series of ‘Geol. Trans.,” p. 451. As the lower molar teeth are less characteristic of the aberrant Anoplotheriidæ and less distinct from those of the Ruminantia than the upper one, the opportunity of examining an upper molar tooth of a
Dichobune
was much to be desired, more especially since Cuvier had not been able to obtain more than one small fragment of the upper jaw, with two premolars, of this subgenus, from the Eocene formations in France.

I am indebted to Hugh Strickland, Esq., F.G.S., for the desired opportunity of examining the upper true molar, either first or second of the left side, here figured (figs. 1, 2). It was obtained at Binstead, in the Isle of Wight, from the same quarry as the lower jaw of the
Dichobune cervinum
above referred to, and it presents exactly the proportions which might be expected in the upper molars of that species; having the same superior transverse diameter, as compared with the antero-posterior diameter, which the upper molars of all herbivorous and most other mammals present, compared with the lower ones. (Compare figs. 1 and 3 with 5 and 6.)

The