bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Remarks on the Geology of the Island of Samos
Authors: Spratt
Published: October 2009

The island is divided into two equal parts by a high mountain running transversely across from the north to the south shore, and attaining a height of 4000 feet. The ancient as well as modern name of this range is Ampeloni.

Besides Mount Ampeloni, there are two other conspicuous mountains rising at the two extremes of the island. The western one, Mount Kerki, is the highest point in the island and is 4000 feet above the sea. The eastern mountain is the least in elevation of the three, and does not exceed 1200 feet. Mounts Kerki and Ampeloni are composed of a mass of crystalline limestone overlying mica schists, but whether conformably I had no opportunity of observing; neither can I speak of the amount and direction of the dip of these older rocks; in Mount Kerki however the dip was considerable, whilst in Ampeloni and the eastern mountain it is not great; in the latter indeed the strata are nearly horizontal, so that the schistose rocks do not appear at all.

These mountains are connected together by a series of flat-topped hills and ridges from 400 to 800 feet in height. The deposits forming these are all of freshwater origin, and appear by their fossils to be identical with the lacustrine formations on the shores of the Gulf of Smyrna and the island of Scio, which have been described on a former occasion, and are supposed to be of eocene date.

The portion of the island of Samos described
On Slaty Cleavage
Authors: Sharpe Daniel
Published: October 2009

Introduction.

During the last few years the subject of slaty cleavage has gradually attracted the attention of geologists, and much valuable information regarding it has been accumulated. Professor Sedgwick's clear description of the leading phænomena connected with cleavage*, leg geologists into the right path, and since the publication of his views in 1835 we rarely meet with those unintelligible descriptions, so common in the earlier writers, in which the cleavage and the stratification are confounded together in hopeless confusion. Subsequent observers have added materially to our knowledge, and various remarks illustrating the subject will be found scattered through the writings of Professor Sedgwick, Sir R. I. Murehison, Professor Phillips, Sir H. T. De la Beche and Mr. Austen, in addition to which Mr. Darwin has just given us a large collection of observations upon cleavage made in various parts of South America, with some important generalizations to which the extended field of his researches gives treat weight. The most valuable of his remarks appear to be those which connect together the cleavage of slates and the foliation of gneiss, mica slate,.&c.

Still we had no knowledge of the general laws which governed the formation of the cleavage and regulated its direction, and without previously discovering these it was idle to speculate upon the causes which had produced it. I have now endeavoured to supply part of this deficiency and to establish some general laws relating to the subject, which have been deduced from new observations and from combining insulatted facts
On the Wealden Beds of Brora, Sutherlandshire, with Remarks on the Relations of the Wealden Strata and Stonesfield Slate to the rest of the Jurassic System, and on the marine contemporary of the Wealden Series above the Portland Stone
Authors: Robertson Alexander
Published: October 2009

In the spring of 1843 I had the honour of transmitting to the Society a short account of two beds containing freshwater fossils, which were found by me, during the preceding summer, intercalated with the carboniferous portion of the Jurassic series of Brora. Having been prevented at the time of the discovery from making so detailed an examination of their relation to the rocks with which they were associated as was desirable, I again visited the locality, and now present the result of my observations on that occasion.

My first object was to determine the exact age of the marine bed immediately above the main seam of coal, and with this view I collected as many of its fossils as circumstances permitted. These amount to twenty-five species of shells and some fragments of carbonized wood; but, with the exception of two Ammonites (
A. Kœnigi
and
A. sublœvis
), they are either enumerated in the lists published by Sir R.I. Murchison, are undescribed species, or are too imperfect for satisfactory determination.

Eighteen of the shells are also found in different members of the Jurassic (oolitic) series of England, and of these the following occur in the unusually developed Kelloway Rock of Yorkshire:—

Ammonites Gowerianus,
Sow.

Ammonites Kœnigi,
Sow.

Ammonites sublævis,
Sow.

Ostrea archetypa,
Phil.

Pecten lens,
Sow.

Modiola cuneata,
Sow.

Trigonia clavellata,
Sow.

Goniomya literata,
Sow.

The
Ammonites Kœnigi
and
A. sublœvis
are also associated in the equivalent strata at Kelloways Bridge, Wilts., and, as well as the
A. Gowerianus
, in the contiguous Oxford clay of Chippenham.
Observations on the Temple of Serapis, at Pozzuoli, near Naples, with remarks on certain causes which may produce Geological Cycles of great extent
Authors: Babbage C.
Published: October 2009

The Facts and observations which I have thrown together in the following paper were collected during the month of June 1828, in company with Mr. Head*. They relate to a monument of ancient art, which is perhaps more interesting than any other to the geologist.

I shall first state the facts which came under my own observation, without assuming that they have not been previously noticed, though not aware of their having yet been collected into one point. I shall then suggest an explanation of the singular phænomena which the temple presents, and afterwards briefly sketch those more general views to which I have been led by reflecting on the causes that appear to have produced the alternate subsidence and elevation of the temple of Serapis.

In the year 1749, the upper portions of three marble columns that had been nearly concealed by underwood, were discovered, in the neighbourhood of the town of Pozzuoli. In the following year excavations were made, and ultimately it was found that they formed part of a large temple which was supposed to have been dedicated to the god Serapis.

The temple is situated about a hundred feet from the sea, and its form will be better understood by the accompanying view (see Plate I.), taken with a camera lucida, and by the ground plan (fig. 1 ) which is copied from that in the work of the Canonico Jorio.

The most remarkable circumstance which first attracts the attention of the observer is the state
On a Section exposed by the excavation at the New Steam Basin, in Portsmouth Dock-Yard
Authors: James
Published: October 2009

The principal fact which this section exhibits is one with which every geologist is familiar. Almost every writer who has examined any extent of our sea-coasts has alluded to submarine forests, and pointed to them as a proof of the subsidence of the land within a comparatively recent period, and I should hardlyhave thought it worth while to present this section to the Geological Society, if it did not exhibit the facts in a much clearer manner than usually occurs. I may however observe, that I have myself seen the remains of forests, not only along the coasts of England in localities which havebeen described, but also in many places along the coast of Ireland which I believe have not been previously noticed, as in the counties of Wicklow, Wexford and Waterford, and at BalaCOtten, Kinsale and stletown-bearhaven, in the county of Cork.These observations indicate that the subsidence in these islands was general as regards the southern portion of their areas*. The substratum of the section described is the upper portion of the London clay (1) ; which is here very fossiliferous and dips to the north, or towards the chalk ridge at Hilsea. This however is merely an undulation of the strata, as all the lower beds are brought up in succession before we arrive at the chalk, and the red plastic clay from Stamshaw, about a mile to the north, is used for making the dams water-tight, a purpose for which, from its weight and tenacity, it is
Descriptions of Fossil Plants from the Coal-Field near Richmond, Virginia
Authors: Bunbury C. J. F.
Published: October 2009

The numerous specimens of this fine plant, collected by Mr. Lyell, although none of them complete, are fully sufficient to confirm the propriety of Prof. Rogers's determination of it as a genuine species of
Tæniopteris
, very nearly allied to
T. vittata
and
T. major
, but doubtless distinct, though the differences are not very easily reducible to a strict definition. I observe among these specimens two varieties, in one of which the frond is somewhat obovate and suddenly rounded off at the end, while in the other (though still obtuse at the point) it tapers much more gradually, so that the whole outline is more lanceolate. The manner in which the frond is in many cases creased or crumpled, shows it to have been of a thin and membranous texture, like the recent
Oleandra pilosa
, not rigid and coriaceous like most of the simple-fronded Ferns. I can perceive no trace of fructification. The midrib is very broad, fiat, striated (without any distinct channel along the middle), tapering gradually, and reaching quite to the extremity of the frond. Veins extremely numerous and close, parallel, quite straight and perpendicular to the midrib, except close to their base, where they are bent at an obtuse angle; they are either perfectly simple or (not unfrequently) forked at their base, close to the midrib; almost always simple throughout the rest of their length. This character clearly distinguishes our plant from
T. major
(Fossil Flora, t. 92), in which nearly all the veins are repeatedly forked. The
Notes on the Geological Structure of parts of Sinde
Authors: Vicary N.
Published: October 2009

Sir,—The following geological notes were written during an excursion from Kurrachee to Sukkur in November and part of December 1845, and as so little is known with respect to the geology of Sinde, I trust that even these rude notes may not prove unacceptable.

The station of Kurrachee, lat. 24° 53′ long. 67° 17′, is situated upon a coarse-grained, dirty yellowish, arenaceous rock, held together by a calcareous cement. In some places this rock is loose-grained and easily worked, in others hard and containing sufficient calcareous matter to afford an impure lime. In all places it contains fossils in abundance. This rock, although conformable, lies higher in the series and is more recent than that which composes the elevated parts of the Ilala range of mountains. It is in many places directly overlaid by a calcareously cemented conglomerate, in other places a sandstone of some thickness intervenes. This sandstone is usually destitute of fossils, but near Kurrachee some of its thin beds, varying from 1 inch to 2 or 3 feet in thickness, are composed almost exclusively of fossil shells.

The pebbles forming the conglomerate are all rounded, and for the most part derived from the nummulitic limestone of the Hala range, and I found some broken remains of oysters and Cerithia in the rock. A conglomerate retaining the same character is found flanking the eastern face of the Hala Range, from Cape Monze to the west Mittun-Kot. In some places it attains sufficient elevation to constitute a distinct and
Notice of the Discovery of Coal on one of the Islands on the Coasts of the Malay Peninsula
Authors: Logan J. R.
Published: October 2009

Mr. Logan states, in a letter to Prof. Ansted, dated 6th March, 1847, that in July 1845 a government steamer was despatched to a place called Gurbie, on the Malay coast near Junk-Ceylon, where, the Governor had been informed, traces of coal existed. Captain Congalton, the Commander of the steamer, proceeded to Temah, which lies on the coast about three miles west of the mouth of the Gurbie. He there found in a low cliff a horizontal layer of black rock only visible at low water, having some resemblance to coal, but found to be incombustible. Mr. Logan then states that on his return from Malacca a piece of rock was shown him by Colonel Butterworth, which he had received a few days previously from the Honourable Mr. Garling, Resident Councillor at Penang. It is a fine clear jet-like mineral, having a conchoidal fracture, hard, and not soiling the fingers. Its colour is black, velvet-black or brownish black. One portion has a beautiful lustre and high polish. It is described by Mr. Logan as burning with a clear flame, occasionally greenish, and with a slight decrepitation. It was found by a Penang Siamese, on the southern coast of the island of Junk-Ceylon (well-known for its tin). He said he had found a layer of it three feet thick close under the surface, and offered to import it into Penang at the rate of 12
s
. 6
d
. per ton.
Notice of the occurence of Fossil Remains of the
Megaceros hibernicus
and of
Castor europæus
in the Pleistocene deposits forming the Brick-fields at Ilford and Grays-Thurrock, Essex
Authors: Owen
Published: October 2009

Since the publication of my ‘British Fossil Mammalia,’ two of the conclusions touching the so-called ‘Irish Elk,’—viz. first, that its remains had been found in different parts of England, in caves and stratified deposits, showing its equal antiquity with the extinct Mammals of the newer pliocene period; and, secondly, that there was no good evidence of its having ever existed in England or in Ireland contemporaneously with Man,—have been called in question in a pamphlet 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 “
sent
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.” (
ib
. p. 38.)
Description of Teeth and portions of Jaws of two extinct Anthracotheroid Quadrupeds (
Hyopotamus vectianus
and
Hyopbovinus
) discovered by the Marchioness of Hastings in the Eocene Deposits on the N. W. coast of the Isle of Wight: with an attempt to develope Cuvier's idea of the Classification of Pachyderms by the Number of their Toes
Authors: Owen
Published: October 2009

Whilst in Paris in the month of September last, I was favoured by the Marchioness of Hastings with information of the discovery of the fossils that form the chief subject of the present communication. Her ladyship wrote,—“My search in a particular part of the Eocene beds of the Isle of Wight, where formerly I found that
Lophiodon
or
Palæotherium
bone figured in your ‘British Fossil Mammalia,’ has been eminently successful. I have got two portions of jaw and many other bones. I have sketched them for you. Are they
Coryphodon
or
Anoplotherium
?” The pen-and-ink sketches, executed with the skill and accuracy of an accomplished artist, showed the fossils to belong to the Anthracotherioid family of
Ungulata
, with an evident resemblance to that species in the upper molars of which Cuvier had detected a closer resemblance to the
Anoplotherium
than the same teeth of the typical genus
Anthracotherium
present
Report on the Fossil Remains of Mollusca from the Palæzoic Formations of the United States contained in the Collection of Charles Lyell, Esq.; with Remarks on the Comparison of the North American Formulations with those of Europe
Authors: Sharpe Daniel
Published: October 2009

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 object 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.
On the Land-Slip at the Lizard
Authors: Johns C. A.
Published: October 2009

The face of the cliff between Mullion Cove and the Blackhead (a line of coast which includes the Lizard Point and other places of interest) is remarkable for being pierced in numerous places by deep caverns, most of which appear to have been formed at a remote period by the washing away of lodes of steatite in serpentine, mica-slate, or hornblende-slate, softer than the adjacent rock. Some of these are accessible only by a boat, others may be entered by a pedestrian at low-water, some few are beyond the reach of the tide except during a storm; but I am not aware of any which are elevated much above high-water mark. They are usually called by the people living in the neighbourhood “Hugoes,” with the adjunct of the name of the birds observed to frequent them, as “The Daws′ Hugo,” “Ravens′ Hugo,” “Pigeons′ Hugo.” Near the fishing village of Cadgwith, about three miles east of the Lizard, there is a natural archway which may be entered by a boat, and which terminates in a pebbly beach, bounded on the land side by a circular shelving cliff thickly covered with vegetation. From the top it presents an appearance not unlike that of the upper part of an enormous funnel. It is known by the name of “The Frying Pan,” and is deservedly visited by strangers as an object of curiosity.
On the position in the Cretaceous Series of Beds containing Phospate of Lime
Authors: Austen R. A. C.
Published: October 2009

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, expresses a hope that it may lead to a successful search for like underground 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 mineral 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.
Observations on the Cystidea of M. Von Buch, and the Crinoidea generally
Authors: Austin Thomas
Published: October 2009

The following observations are offered with the view to explain, and it is hoped make clear, some hitherto doubtful points 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 Cystidea, 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 distinguished “by having the mouth constantly at the apex, and in the centre, which is rarely the case in the Crinoidea.”
Sketch of the Structure of parts of North and South Wales
Authors: Ramsay  , Aveline W. T.
Published: October 2009

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.
On the Transportal of Erratic Boulders from a lower to a higher level
Authors: Darwin C.
Published: October 2009

It will, I think, be generally admitted that the most valid objection which has been advanced against the theory of the transportal of erratic boulders by floating ice, lies in the fact of their having not unfrequently been carried from a lower to a higher level. Mr. Hopkins, indeed, referring to certain boulders of a peculiar conglomerate described by Prof. Phillips, considers this fact as affording an absolute proof of the diluvial theory, since, he adds, “it is evident that no floating ice could possibly transport a boulder from the depths of the vale of Eden over the heights of Stainmoor.” Prof. Hitchcock has several times alluded to similar cases in North America as offering a very great difficulty.
On the Geology of Egypt
Authors: Newbold>
Published: October 2009

I have deemed it advisable to preface this paper with a brief notice of the geographical position, extent, and more prominent physical features of Egypt, remarking at the same time that although much still remains to be done in this most interesting, and comparatively unexplored field for the geologist, yet it may not be wholly useless to lay before the Society a summary of what has already been effected.
On the Geological Position of the Silicified Wood of the Egyptian and Libyan Deserts, with a Description of the “Petrified Forest” near Cairo
Authors: Newbold
Published: October 2009

The occurrence of silicified wood 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 have 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 petrifactions have also been lately discovered in 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. Holroyd. Some of the silicified trunks of Haagbarlak were fifty-one feet in length and twenty inches in diameter, and are referred by Mr. Holroyd to the Doom-palm (
Crucifera Thebaica
).
On the Distribution of the Superficial Detritus of the Alps, as compared with that of Northern Europe
Authors: Murchison Roderick Impey
Published: October 2009

R
eferring
to his previous memoir upon the structure of the Alps and the changes which those mountains underwent, the author calls attention to the fact, that as during the formation of the molasse and nagelflue a warmer climate prevailed, so after the upheaval of those rocks an entire change took place, as proved by the uplifted edges of such tertiary accumulations being surmounted by vast masses of horizontally-stratified alluvia, the forms of whose materials testify that they were deposited under water. The warm period, in short, had passed away and the pine had replaced the palm upon the adjacent lands, before a glacier was formed in the Alps or a single erratic block was translated.

Though awarding great praise to the labours of Venetz, Charpentier and Agassiz, which have shed much light on glaciers, and particularly to the work of Forbes for clearly expounding the laws which regulate their movement, Sir Roderick conceives, that the physical phænomena of the Alps and Jura compel the geologist to restrict the former extension of the Alpine glaciers within infinitely less bounds than have been assigned to them by those authors.

True old glacier moraines may, he thinks, be always distinguished, on the one hand, from the ancient alluvia, and on the other from tumultuous accumulations of gravel, boulders and far-transported erratic blocks, as well as from all other subsequent detritus resulting from various causes which have affected the surface. He first shows, from the remnants of the old water-worn alluvia which rise to
Section of the Lower Coal-Measures of the Sydney Coal-Field, in the Island of Cape Breton
Authors: Brown Richard
Published: October 2009

T
he
coal-measures of Nova Scotia Proper have been carefully examined and described by Sir Charles Lyell. Mr. Logan has also published a “Section of the Nova Scotia Coal-Measures, as developed at the Joggins in the Bay of Fundy,” which appears to have attracted much attention; but the Cape Breton coal-fields, in every point of view the most important in British America, appear to have been almost wholly neglected by geologists. I have been for some years engaged in collecting materials for a description of the Sydney coal-field, but seeing no immediate prospect, amidst the engrossing duties of an arduous profession, of completing such an extensive work, I have concluded to submit to the Society a detailed section of the lower part of the productive coal-measures, as developed on the shores of Sydney Harbour, under the impression that it will furnish many valuable facts and data calculated in an eminent degree to elucidate the origin of the coal beds, and at the same time to assist geologists in instituting a comparison with the Bay of Fundy section, from which it will be found to differ in at least one very important feature, to which I shall refer more particularly in the sequel.

This coal formation, as has been already stated in vol. i. p. 23 of this Journal, consists of the following group of strata :—

4. The productive coal-measures.

3. A thick deposit of sandstone.

2. Limestones and shales, occasionally containing beds of gypsum.

1. A coarse conglomerate.

The lowest
On the Occurrence of Mammalian Remains at Brentford
Authors: Morris John
Published: October 2009

T
he
discovery of mammalian remains in the vicinity of Brentford has long been well known to geologists. It is more than thirty years since Mr. Trimmer obtained a valuable collection from this district. An account of these remains and of the conditions under which they were found, was published with illustrations in the ‘Philosophical Transactions’ for 1813. In 1838 I collected from an excavation, for the reservoir of the water-works near Kew Bridge, numerous horns and bones of the ox and deer, and bones of the elephant; traces of lignite also, but no remains of shells, were observed. I should not, therefore, have laid before the Society the following remarks, had not the progress of the railway-works in that neighbourhood exposed some sections, which not only fully corroborated previous observations, but afforded some new facts connected with the history of the deposit, as well as a considerable number of mammalian bones, for the preservation of which we are indebted to the active zeal of Mr. Thomas Layton, jun.

The sections alluded to occur about 100 yards north of Kew Bridge, where a branch or rather loop line of the South-Western and Windsor Railway passes under the high road at the entrance to Brentford. The section here given occurs north of the bridge, where the entrance to the station is completed.

This section gives the principal features of the deposit, as exposed in the deepest part of the railway cutting, which extended about one-third of a mile, and presented great variations
On the Volcanic Rocks of Northern Mexico
Authors: Ruxton G. F.
Published: October 2009

I
need
scarcely apologize for drawing your attention to the fact, which I am enabled to state from personal observation, that along the whole ridge of the Sierra Madre and the continuous system of table-lands lying along that ridge which may be said to connect the two great chains of the Andes and Rocky Mountains, there are very many tracts which have been subjected to volcanic agency; and from Durango to the point where the Sierra Madre joins the main chain of the Rocky Mountains, on the ridge itself and the plains contiguous to its eastern base, the tabular formation of the bluffs and hills, called
Mesas
(tables) by the Mexicans, is a characteristic feature of the country; such Mesas being formed of basaltic lava and scoriæ.

At a point nearly 800 miles north of Durango, the Rio Bravo del Norte forces its way for upwards of fifty miles through a volcanic plain, and in the most north-western portion of New Mexico (Proper), but still on the eastern side of the Sierra Nevada, volcanic districts are frequently met with.

The regions north of Durango having been rarely, if ever, visited by Europeans, the information concerning them must necessarily be exceedingly meagre.
Notice of the Remains of the Dinornis and other Birds, and of Fossils and Rock-specimens, recently collected by Mr. Walter Mantell in the Middle Island of New Zealand; with Additional Notes on the Northern Island
Authors: Mantell Gideon Algernon
Published: October 2009

T
he
remoteness of New Zealand, and the long period required for the transmission of specimens to England, together with the very limited information we at present possess of the geology and palæontology of that interesting antipodean colony, impart a certain degree of importance to any accession of knowledge, however slight, relating to the physical structure, and the ancient fauna and flora of those distant islands.

These considerations induce me to submit to the Society the following remarks on a large collection of the bones of several species of Dinornis and other birds, of rock-specimens, and of fossil shells, corals, and infusoria, received a short time since from my eldest son, Mr. Walter Mantell, of Wellington; and although the information afforded by this collection respecting the geological structure of the country is but scanty, I would fain hope that this brief communication will not be deemed an uninteresting supplement to the memoir on the Fossil Birds of New Zealand, which I had the honour to lay before the Geological Society in 1848.

The specimens were accompanied by numerous sketches of the country, and a copy of the official report on the colonial capabilities of the eastern coast of the Middle Island, from Kaiapoi to Akaroa in Banks' Peninsula, and thence to the Scotch settlement at Otago, a distance of about 260 miles, made during my son's exploration of that tract in 1848, as Government Commissioner for the final settlement of native claims.

Such parts of this report as throw light on
Notice of the Occurrence of Coal near Erzeroom
Authors: Nicol James
Published: October 2009

A
n
extensive seam of coal has been discovered in the district of Oltoo, about thirteen hours distant from Erzeroom. The coal is stated not to be of prime quality, containing a good deal of sulphur; and it is slaty, leaving a residue, probably of 12 to 15 per cent. The seam is represented as very broad, and situated on the side of a hill, so that at present it can be worked for the mere labour, and a man in a day can work out 600 okes, or about three-quarters of a ton.
Observations on the Discovery, by Prof. Lepsius, of Sculptured Marks on Rocks in the Nile Valley in Nubia, indicating that within the Historical Period the River flowed at a Higher Level than in Modern Times
Authors: Horner L.
Published: October 2009

T
he
author having given Prof. Lepsius's account of the position and character of certain hieroglyphics registering the heights of the river floods, sculptured in the time of Amenemha the Third (Mœris), about 2200 years B.C., on the face of the foundation rock and the masonry of two fortresses which were built by Sesuatesen, predecessor of Mœris, on the banks of the Nile at Semne in Nubia; and having referred to the hypothesis proposed by Prof. Lepsius, in explanation of the great difference (26 feet 8 inches, English) apparent between the highest ancient level of the water of the Nile, as indicated by the uppermost of the markings, and the highest level of the water during the inundations of the present day, viz. that the bed of the Nile in Nubia has been excavated to a depth of 27 feet during the last 4000 years; proceeded to inquire into the physical and geological features of the Nile Valley in Nubia, noticing the power of the stream and the hardness of its bed—including the volume and velocity of the river, its depth and degree of inclination, and the lithological character of the rocks over which it passes. After a lengthened consideration of these important conditions, Mr. Horner arrived at the conclusion that any wearing away of the bed of the channel north of Semne, the site of these ancient nilometric markings, could not have taken place within the historical period. The only hypotheses that in the author's opinion could meet the requirements
On the New Red Sandstone of the Southern Portion of the Vale of the Nith
Authors: Harkness Robert
Published: October 2009

T
he
sandstone occurring in the southern portion of the Vale of the Nith forms the north-west extremity of the great triassic formation which, commencing south of Appleby in Westmoreland, passes northward, having the mountain limestone for its eastern boundary, until it reaches Dumfriesshire. Its western boundary is also mountain limestone until it comes in contact with the eastern extremity of the West Cumberland coal-field, from whence it turns westward, skirting the edge of this formation, until it reaches the sea near to the entrance of the Solway Firth, under which it passes and again reappears in the southern portion of Dumfriesshire.

The eastern/imit of the new red sandstone in Dumfriesshire is the parish of Canobie, where it is seen in the bed of the river Esk at Canobie Bridge. Its northern extremity in this parish is met with a little higher up the river at a place called Knottyholm, near to which the Canobie coal-field commences. The new red sandstone forms the southern portion of this parish ; from whence it ranges westward, and passing through the greater portion of the parish of Half Morton, is again seen and worked extensively in the adjoining parish of Kirkpatrick Fleming. The upper portion of this parish consists of mountain limestone, which forms the northern boundary of the sandstone, and this limestone extends for a considerable distance in a southwesterly direction, forming the northern extremity of the sandstone in the parishes of Annan and Cummertrees. The sandstone occupies the whole of the former parish except a small portion of its northern part, and in the latter it is confined to the southern end. Besides the parishes already mentioned, of which it constitutes a part, it occupies exclusively the parishes of Gretna and Dornock which lie upon the margin of the Solway Firth. The parish of Ruthwell, west of Cummertrees, and bordering the Firth, is composed principally of mountain limestone, and it is probable that near here the sandstone again passes raider the waters of the Solway before it reappears in Caerlaverock, west of Ruthwell ; and here commences that portion of the new red sandstone to which this account more immediately refers.
Observations on Dudley Trilobites. Part 2
Authors: Fletcher Thomas William
Published: October 2009

T
wo
species of Trilobites belonging to the interesting genus
Cybele
of Loven§ are occasionally found at Dudley, the
C. punctata
and
C. variolaris
, perfect specimens of either species being very rare. These species were figured from Dudley specimens, probably then unique, by M. Brongniart, in his ‘Histoire naturelle des Crustacés fossiles,’ both being included under the name
Calymene variolaris
, although parts of his description appear to be applicable to either species.*
On the Geology of Spain
Authors: Ezquerra del Bayo Joaquin
Published: October 2009

I
n
order to give a general idea of the geological constitution of our country, it may be considered as divided into three principal divisions, viz. the Crystalline or Gneissoid formations; the Transition formations; and the Secondary. The first predominate almost exclusively in the western portions (not including Portugal), in the whole of the ancient kingdom of Galicia, and extend through Astorga, Zamora, Salamanca, Placencia, Cáceres, Mérida, Lleréna, Aracéna, and Rio Tinto, to the north of Seville and to the neighbourhood of Italica, the birth-place of the Emperor Trajan, now called Sancti Ponce. It must however be observed, that as yet, for want of detailed observations, we have no definite lines to mark the limits of the three formations above mentioned. We can only say that the gneiss rocks occupy about a fifth of the surface of the soil, extending longitudinally from north to south, but throwing out, as it were, ramifications towards the east.

These gneiss rocks are probably secondary or primary formations, altered by the plutonic rocks which have penetrated them. These are generally ordinary granite, more or less coarse-grained, and sometimes traversed by veins or dykes of porphyritic granite. Only at the northern extremity, viz. between Aracéna and Lleréna, in the villages of Zufre and Santa Olalla, is a great syenitic outburst visible.

The most important of these granitic ramifications to the east is that which passes by the Sierra de Gridos, Sierra d’ Avila, and the Guadarrama, to Somo Sierra, in a direction from south-west to north-east
On the Tertiary Strata and their Dislocations in the Neighbourhood of Blackheath
Authors: De la Condamine H. M.
Published: October 2009

T
he
cuttings of the North Kent Railway yielded some good sections of the Plastic Clay series, and disclosed an important line of dislocation at Deptford;—important because a close approximation to its date can be obtained, and because it has affected the present configuration of the adjoining country. The abrupt escarpment of the chalk and plastic clay along the south side of the Thames is manifestly due in some measure to this dislocation, which also accounts for the presence of the London clay under the Greenwich marshes at an unexpectedly low level.

Before proceeding to consider the effects of this dislocation, it will be well to describe the strata which it has affected. And this description derives interest from the fact that these strata are perfectly regular over a large extent of country; their order of superposition and organic contents being constant, and their mineral composition exhibiting no great variation. Table I. shows the localities where the succession of strata may be most advantageously studied; and Table II. the correspondence between the subdivisions existing in this district and those observed elsewhere, and recorded by Mr. Prestwich.*
On the Age and Position of the Fossiliferous Sands and Gravels of Farringdon
Authors: Austen Robert A. C.
Published: October 2009

T
he
object of the following communication is to give an account of a short geological excursion through parts of the counties of Berkshire and Wiltshire, by several members of this Society. The party consisted of Prof. E. Forbes, Mr. Sharpe, Mr. Prestwich, Mr. Tylor, and the author of this memoir; they were joined for the first day by Mr. Cunnington of Devizes, and they again had the advantage of that gentleman's knowledge of detail in their visit to his neighbourhood and Calne.

I propose to confine the account to the localities and sections actually visited: the line of country was selected by Mr. Prestwich, and it may be as well to state briefly in the outset, the points of geological interest which mainly influenced the choice.

Those who are acquainted with the memoir of Dr. Fitton on that portion of the cretaceous series which occurs
in this country
below the chalk, are aware that the author clearly establishes that the several deposits of upper greensand, gault, and lower greensand are clearly distinguished, and developed in great thickness along the S.W, coast of the Isle of Wight. Subs.equent observers, by greatly extending the knowledge we had of the lowest cretaceous fauna of this region, and determining the range of the various forms, have rendered it necessary that the base of this series should be everywhere re-surveyed. From the Isle of Wight westwards, the next section of the beds below the chalk is that presented at Swanage Bay, being thirty miles due
On the Lower Palæozoic Rocks at the Base of the Carboniferous Chain between Ravenstonedale and Ribblesdale
Authors: Sedgwick A.
Published: October 2009

A glance of the eye over the geological map of England shows us, in the upper part of the valley of the Eden, a very remarkable re-entering angle in the base-line of the Carboniferous Limestone. Taking our point of departure from the foot of Stainmoor, we trace the Pennine Chain (which at Cross Fell reaches the height of nearly 3000 feet) in a direction about N.E. by N.; and the Yorkshire prolongation of the same carboniferous chain in a direction about S.S.W.; while another carboniferous chain, branching off from the former hear Kirkby Stephen, may be traced in a semicircular sweep round the northern flanks of the great Cumbrian cluster of mountains. The re-entering angle in the base-line of the Pennine chain is partly accounted for by the intersection of two enormous breaks or faults— the
Pennine fault
and the
Craven fault
; and the whole country, from B rough and Kirkby Stephen to the foot of Stainmoor, is filled with broken masses of the Pennine chain, which have been rent off by the two lines of fracture, and thrown down, in great confusion, into the lower parts of the valley.
Notice of the Discovery of Reptilian Foot-tracks and Remains in the Old Red or Devonian Strata of Moray
Authors: Brickenden Lambart
Published: October 2009

I beg to submit to the Geological Society a brief notice of a discovery of considerable interest, which I made during the last year, but was prevented from communicating before the close of the last Session; a delay which I do not now regret, since a recent fact has come to light which invests with additional importance that which it was my object to lay before the Society.

In 1850 I discovered in the quarry of Old Red at Cummingston near Elgin, a slab of sandstone bearing a beautiful and distinct series of quadrupedal foot-prints, of which a representation, one-sixth the size of the original, is given in the annexed sketch (Pl. III.).

The slab exhibits on the surface, in a very striking manner, thirty-four foot-prints of a quadruped, traced in an uninterrupted succession across the stone. The impressions of the right feet alternate with those of the left, from which they are separated laterally by an interval of three inches, the length of each stride or pace being about four inches. The imprints of the fore and those of the hind feet are nearly in contact, and bear a precisely similar relation throughout: the size of the foot-marks of the former in proportion to the latter is as three to four; the hinder being about one inch in diameter.
Description of the
Telerpeton Elginense
, a Fossil Reptile recently discovered in the Old Red Sandstone of Moray; with Observations on supposed Fossil Ova of Batrachians in the Lower Devonian Strata of Forfarshire.
Authors: Mantell Gideon Algernon
Published: October 2009

THE highly interesting fossils from the Devonian rocks of Morayshire, which Mr. Patrick Duff of Elgin has with great courtesy allowed my friend Captain Brickenden to transmit to me, with a request that I would examine and describe them, and lay the results before the Geological Society of London, consist of the remains and impressions of nearly the entire skeleton of a
lacertian reptile, 4½ inches in length, in a block of crystalline sandstone broken into three pieces.

On the largest fragment, P1. IV. 9, the spinal column with the ribs, from near the occiput to the sacrum, is distinctly shown; the pelvis is but obscurely indicated; the caudal vertebræ with their apophyses, comprising apparently two-thirds of the entire tail, are manifest. There are no traces of the bones of the pectoral arch, nor of those of the feet. Of the left anterior extremity, impressions of the distal half of the humerus, and of the proximal portions of the radius and ulna are the only vestiges ; the right arm is indicated solely by a hollow left by the humerus. The forms of the bones of the hinder limbs are demonstrated by the deep imprints of the femora and tibiæ, and less distinct traces of the fibulæ

The piece of sandstone, P1. IV. 8, that has been broken from the upper part of the block, Pl. IV. 9, nearly parallel with the plane of the spine, displays the corresponding impressions of the vertebral column and ribs, pelvis, bones of the
On the “Quartz Rock” of MacCulloch's Map of Scotland
Authors: Sharpe Daniel
Published: October 2009

Among the many Formations of Scotland which are still involved in obscurity.
Quartz Rock
causes the greatest trouble to geologists exploring that country; and yet the obscurity does not arise from neglect. Dr. MacCulloch published a paper on the subject in the second volume of our Transactions, devoted a chapter to it in his masterly work on the Western Isles, described and arranged all its varieties in his “Classification of Rocks,” and laid it down as a separate formation on the geological map of Scotland; but he left the subject in a state of confusion which it will require much labour to clear up. The difficulty has arisen from relying exclusively on mineralogical definitions, and classing all rocks composed of certain mineral constituents as members of one formation, without regard to their origin or geological age. Thus a rock resulting from plutonic action upon stratified sandstone has been confounded with another which is geologically undistinguishable from gneiss, because they both consist of quartz and mica, quartz and felspar, or some other arbitrarily defined compound.
On the Discovery of Gold in Australia
Authors: Clarke W. B.
Published: October 2009

In April 1841, Mr. Clarke undertook his first journey of exploration from the east coast of Australia to the westward, in the parallel of Port Jackson. On that occasion he became first acquainted with the geological position of the Carboniferous series of New South Wales with respect to the older rocks composing the axis and western flank of the great chain called the Blue Mountains, which also, in consequence of their extension N. and S. through many degrees of latitude, have been appropriately denominated “the Australian Cordillera.”

Although, on the occasion alluded to, says the author, my observations were made without much precision, I nevertheless became aware that the axis consisted of elevated schists of various kinds parallel with the meridian, together with some limestones, and that granitic rocks of a younger epoch had intruded into them, and were accompanied by dykes of quartz. The presence also of greenstones, diorites, syenites, porphyries, basalt, and other igneous products was also detected. There was evidence also of the schists having undergone various transmuting influences, and of the granites having suffered from causes which had in places produced disintegration. The Carboniferous formation was exhibited as resting upon the older rocks, either reposing unconformably upon the tilted schists or granites, or passing into the ancient conglomerates derived from the latter.