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LIBRARY OF
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For the Promotion of Research in
PALEOBOTANY and PALEOZOOLOGY
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SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION
WASHINGTON, D. C.
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PROCEEDINGS - .
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THE GEOLOGICAL SOCIETY
OF LONDON.
NOVEMBER 1838 to JUNE 1842.
VOL. THa:, nels e
dacs cay nage
LONDON: PRINTED BY R. AND J. E. TAYLOR, RED LION COURT, FLEET STRERT 3
ee SOLD AT THE APARTMENTS OF THE SOCIETY, = SOMERSET HOUSE. 1842.
CONTENTS.
VOL. III.
SESSION 1838-1839.
Ow some Fossil Remains of Paleotherium, Anoplotherium, and Che- ropotamus, from the Freshwater Beds of the Isie of Wight. By Ea ARCMOINVENS LISU Lal Sethe waceeaal horas oon ine since caiic-ataiicnde eckeene page 1
On the Drift from the Chalkand Saal below the Chalk in the coun- ties of Norfolk, Suffolk, Essex, Cambridge, &c. By James Mince UNUM Sy ec cieecr. pi rnuie a watisustensece nine Se svesanes ce Seater enna eee 3
On the Jaws of the Thylacotherium Prevostii. By Richard Owen, [BGs ABs (SOR BEES eae ME RISE LR SAE RAH BN) RA RCC RMN Clem A Ete titats |
A Notice on the Formation of Metallic Veins by Voltaic Agency. By NN ICD USO Sectsien race cae Nan paar hyenas ctceaiasnaes cok teth eco eee g
On Mastodon Teeth from the Crag, and the occurrence of a parti- cular Bed containing Echini in the Coralline Crag at Sudbourne.
Dy apt Mex ander (picccecn.ac+-- ere rle rete. Aero Seeears seam posse 16 A few brief Remarks on the Trap Rocks a Fife. ‘By Cheney John Titlkeycquvavense D)aID Fa Slam reer Senien here Aedneatdaces esaacseseeseehseeenabose scence | LE
An Account of Footsteps of the :Cheirotherium, and other unknown Auimals, lately discovered in the Quarries of Storeton Hill. re the Liverpool Natural History Society...........c..cscceccesceeeees coe 12 On Casts in Sandstone of the Impressions. -of the. Hind, Foot of a gigantic Cheirotherium, from the New Red’ Sandstone of Cheshire.
By sir Philip Egerton, Barts, MPs... 2. ..csnccce once GleicisMoelsiois iol Re Ie 14 A Notice of Four differently characterized octane: traced from
Casts procured at Storeton. By James Yates, Esq. ........0..000000s 14 On the Phascolotherium. By Richard Owen, Esq. s...2....s.ss0.0cee, 17 On the structure and relations of the presumed Marsupial Remains
from the Stonesfield Slate. By William Ogilby, Esq. ............... 21 ‘On the Discovery of the Basilosaurus and ‘the Batrachiosaurus. By
Emehendetianan MDs ie St ee ee ee 23 On the Teeth of the Zeuglodon Pea Madileas of Dr. Harlan). By
Pie ARGG OVC lS Qe ee coca cceenil ores wae ote seten can cakencee eae 24 On the Occurrence of Graptolites in the Slate of Galloway. By
Se Lays TBS a yeaa nae eh MA Sc 28
On the Geology of the Pelgihountood of Lisbon. By Daniel Sharpe, TDI louecina dete bee COMB se haem Balanites None NAM dee cratered ad 29
1v
On a probable Cause of certain Earthquakes. By M. Louis Albert
TINGS Sere Ae ae a cM aR RES CCR RIELiPS a page 37
Annual Report, 15th February, 1839 ......... aaceegteagese sence wnecee OEE
Address on presenting to Chevalier Bunsen the Wollaston Medal awarded to Professor Ehrenberg. By the Rev. Prof. Whewell, HERES HY Guise ve cise silen cate ecttticerdstde phe io berate Scie se Rar eps cele eee opis ceeteet sens
Reply to the President's Address on receiving the Wollaston Medal awarded to Prof. Ehrenberg. By Chevalier Bunsen .............0++++
Anniversary Address, delivered 15th February, 1839. By the Rev. Prof. Whewell
An Account of Impressions and Casts of Drops of Rain, discovered in the Quarries at Storeton Hill, Cheshire. By J. Cunningham,
Pee eee meas ee SOP eee ee ress nse aseFCOEEE sesso ssseesesesseseeedDOSsasssseeseeessrese
Observations respecting a Slab of Sandstone impressed with Cheiro- therium Footsteps, at Mr. Potts’s, in Chester. By Sir Philip Bee ombw artec Mb Pars s spistiec «asco casislale aepotieen aeee ORE ceo noe ROC Ene oe EEE
On a Slab of Sandstone, exhibiting Footmarks. By John Taylor, HUE EISG ES teh. Pn otis, came emtencise neler etnaine sere eens sloieelce dete oteetieietsl eeaseieiee
POPS S Ore e eS Oe ser eerrasese ses raeese sere OBES CsesesrenseOSoreanssee
On Swallow Holes near Farnham; and the Drainage of the Country at the Western Extremity of the Hog’s Back. By Henry Lawes PROM GE MISE nave aisceeencd wecusicnomocntabaeet« caccenes acaar mes seeee ore ae eae
On a deposit of Greenstone overlying Sandstone, in Southern Africa. Biya @ ante, CHALLOTS, », sastsapisieat see deteiiamemse oteo-( inctectacistc easter eee eee
On the N.W. part of Asia Minor, from the Peninsula of Cyzicus to Koola, with a Description of the Catacecaumene. By J. W. Ha- milton, Esq.
PCF eee eset eo ere sees see OSSEEesescesscererseseseS POOOCers TOPO ORsssree
Description of a Tooth and part of the Skeleton of the Glyptodon. By Richard Owen, Esq On as much of the Transition or Grauwacke System as is exposed in the Counties of Somerset, Devon, and Cornwall. By the Rev. Dawid Walliams? ?. 7.8... 0290 2G MS eae AE OS Cn ca ee
On the Climate of the Newer Pliocene Tertiary Period. By James SHAME, MUS O). od cet aise sien alsisitng sic ojalealsiee nels eatinnesae se -te st echo eee eee eee On some Fossil and Recent Shells, collected by Capt. Bayfield, R.N., in-Canada. By Charles Lyell, Wsqes-qcar-scncey coor. cca eee eee meee An Extract from a Letter addressed to Dr. Fitton on the Wealden of the North of Germany. By F. A. Roemer, Hannoy.Amts-Assessor.
On the Older Rocks of Devonshire and Cornwall. By R. I. Murchi- son, Esq. and the Rev. Prof. Sedgwick ...............ceseeesenceesceess
On the Structure of South Devon. By R. A. C. Austen, Esq. .......
On the Fish-beds of the Old Red Sandstone near Cromarty. By IME Gr es. cc ccc teccccecceeee eee ee cate eae eels ee eRe Ree
On the London and Plastic Clay Formations of the Isle of Wight. Bigs OW EL DAT Ky (ESC ccc nese ses aleiciaehl se) aetelsnecem ts eee sogsbo505
On Tortuous Casts of Vermiform Bodies in Sandstone. By — At- KiMSOMs SQ esc cssesiecueowscsieacisssecelssleieololavan aiseiecsseneiielstasiieeeeteene
SOOO i i i ee i rd
On the relative Ages of the Tertiary Deposits, commonly called Crag, in Norfolk and Suffolk. By Charles Lyell, Esq. ..........:.esseeeeee
41
58 59
61
99
100
100
101]
102
102
108
115 118 119
120
Wi
On the Wells in the Gravel and London Clay in Essex; and on the Geological Phenomena disclosed by them. By James Mitchell, MONT UPR IO eee et re shot cia nl icianee isis es cieidasnhi ie sic ns aafelc chip ac «cues ca te page
Notice of Outbursts of Water from the Chalk. By James Mitchell, HE eR) eure ets aera AeciAcistaisaine Saisie eficlajninnia’ aslajeietae ios o.cs'e jei,cielosoae serge caeecis
On the Remains of Insects, and of a New Genus of Isopodous Crus- tacea, from the Wealden Formation i in the Vale of Wardour. By the IRews PRS a BSe Bigeye ieee pe a meee cr Eta N Meena ee Dame co ah RMN CY sae
On the Geological Relations of the several Rocks of the South of Ire- loutlespiyetichard Grittith,, HSq. ccc.sccn,s.secscsressicutsnsven eee: sacs
On Bones of Mammoths found in the deep Sea of the English Chan- nel and German Ocean. By Capt. J. B. Martin ..................65
On a Molar of the Elephant found near Watchet; and on Roman Pottery dredged up in the Thames. By Sir J. Trevelyan............
On five Fossil Trees found in excavations at the Manchester and Bolton Railway. By John Hawkshaw, Esq.........s.escceceessseesees
Notice of some Undescribed Remains from the London Clay. By Nathomel i. VWetherell pMsqs cc sbi « «i053 dedsinatctadne ae vaalis ccielahsinimcbiseee
1839-1840.
On the Relations of the different Parts of the Old Red Sandstone, in which Organic Remains have recently been discovered, in Scotland. vane ialcolmsoms” MW). ccemics «csicasic tee nlesidec cases scqucs cemcessuananes
On Showers of Ashes which fell at Sea, off the Cape de Verde Islands. BAEC VEO VN cul. ClAT Ke: scpiagdaias ode ances soe siewenee fenecdue aerate reese
Notice of the Declaration of the Master and Crew of a Chilian Schooner, respecting a supposed Submarine Volcanic Eruption. Bye Aer Old elewela MNS. aattstescece a. sae sassacuisisec ee vaeene can cmaadeueettces
On Depressions produced on the Surface by excavating Beds of Coal. PEN TLO CLC OMS Cat. claasice's op aisiocie asicoemsecsacsenscecesesecan sean et a aeeee
On the relative Ages of the Tertiary and Post-Tertiary Deposits of the Basmpot the Clyde. By Richard Owen; Hsq. i... ..scsccccsesesoceuet
On the Fou! Air in the Chalk and Strata above the Chalk near Lon- Hone yates Mitchell, Vi Dic. s. vascasesese estas edo adasdescaaeeeee
On the Head of an Ox found in the Alluvial Banks of the Modder, SouLmnnntcancsby AY. G.. Bain, Msgs sic. ougscesssee sscsoancsleefeen cae On the Origin of the Vegetation of our Coal-fields and Wealdens. By deplach Abeaumont,Hisq.% sate... sass se ih- coemeiagaots ost oo temenh (osm
On the Fossil Fishes of the Yorkshire and Lancashire Coal-fields. By W. C. Williamson, Esq. ...... FE ap ete rials sijes kad seach abgehoh qaer daipa-r eee
Notice of the Geology around the Shores of Waterford Haven. By NSH SHOT bolViajOns 1s Via.eehae tine detds Wh eedds -ebicbicnaGkieeiaok's aoe Iinee «hee
Description of the Soft Parts, and the Shape of the Hind Fin, of the Ichthyosaurus. > By Richard Owen, Esq. 0.0... 2.iesci cssevesten cea
On the Grauwacke of West Somerset, Devon, and Cornwall. By the Reve Davide Williaants: 7540s ae ee A RETA BGs, I AD eaetaie Ole
141
145
146
vi
Description of the Fossil Remains of a Mammal, a Bird, and a Ser-
pent, from the London Clay. By Richard Owen, Esq. ......... page 162
On the Locality of the Hyracotherium. By W. Richardson, Esq. ...
On the Carboniferous and Transition Rocks of Bohemia. By D. T. PANIES COCMMIES GAY NseR aS aa roetcemacie Mecenes cle wet rene ctcees cae ce niece fee sleeves
On Paramoudras, and the Drift of Norfolk and Suffolk. By the Rev. J. Gunn
On the Boulder Formation and associated Freshwater Deposits com- posing the Mud Cliffs of Eastern Norfolk. By Charles Lyell, Esq.
Notice of Earthquakes at San Salvador in 1839. By — Chatfield, Consul
Cee meee ees O es ee OOO esesrcrseeeeessee sesso essenesseoe Shere Seesesesseenene
On Orthoceras, Ammonites, and other cognate genera; and on their position in the Animal Kingdom. By R. A. C. Austen, Esq. ......
Extracts from a Memoir to accompany the Second Edition of Mr. Greenough’s Geological Map of England and Wales. By G. B. Ercenoug hh), HSg)::nnrinn chee ceee EAN HUN tea Whoa 0 ee Sn
On the Detrital Deposits of part of Norfolk. By J. Trimmer, Esq..
Feb. 5, 1840.—Proceedings of a Special General Meeting to consider a Bye-law to enable British Subjects, residing in British Colonies, and not known personally to the Fellows proposing them, to be nominated as Candidates for Election. Also to consider the Ar- ticles of Agreement by which Mr. Greenough proposed to transfer the Copper Plates of his Geclogical Map to the Society
Annual Report, 21st February, 1840
sec eteccesenses
Pace ewer ee BoP Bderneseesrsanvesccsser eos
Address on presenting to Mr. James de Carle Sowerby one year’s Proceeds of the Wollaston Fund. By Dr. Buckland, Pres. G.S....
Address on presenting the Wollaston Medal awarded to M. Dumont. By the Wev.. Prof: Buckland, ‘Pres: (GIS hrs. teeaherccelecseeeees :
Reply to the President’s Address on receiving the award of the Wol- lastun Proceeds for one year; by Mr. J. de Carle Sowerby .........
Reply to the President’s Address on receiving the Wollaston Medal awaraed to ME Duntomt > iby We iittom, ID). ys... crtaeerae
Anniversary Address, February 21, 1840. By the Rev. Prof. Buckland, Presidents tol BY OS STS Melfeu S OES UT Eh a ke ee
Further Observations on the Fossil Trees found on the Manchester
and Bolton Railway. By John Hawkshaw, Esq. .............02.00005 ;
‘On the Characters of the Fossil Trees found on the Manchester and Bolton Railway ; and on the Formation of Coal by gradual subsi- dence.) By J.-H: Bowman; ssq.ise icniat cen. ddveens te oeeteeee meeclclaas dete
On the Beds of Clay immediately below the Coal-seams of South Wales, and on Coal-boulders in the Pennant Grit of that district. Big WV. Co, Log ams Msi. 1 yai5 5 cgsaia mpitbt's ath p skis eppycasoriah bsotee sash eRe
‘On the Rocks which form the West Shore of the Bay of Loch Ryan. Byde ©. Mooi, Fis ins opus secs cgsy «piobipsiice net ssc cen ouieaticels Bas niectaneeael Ree
On the Siliceous Bodies of the Chalk, Greensand, and Oolites. By Je SBowerhank, FS. .c seme spblacie case iad eictise -BeNOy neler ac Cee
166
167
180 185
278
‘On the Age of the South Devon Limestones, By W. Lonsdale, Esq. 281
Vil
On the Bone-caves of Devonshire. By R. A. C. Austen, Esq.. page 286
On the Great Fault called the Horse, in the Forest of Dean Coal- DEAE Ne BUG des Baas aise ti seid rainebe ab ole dutaeegeineaae aaeetaniese vee
Remarks on the Structure of the Royal George, and on the Condition of the Timber, &c. recovered in 1839. By Mr. Creuze ............
On Part of Borneo Proper. By G. T. Lay, Esq. ..........::eceseeeeeeee
On the Subsidence of the Coast near Puzzuoli. By C. Hullmandel, 128Glo ceocdonogenda op ponoGNdocoNoSUENToADGONNIUDOABOCUAGNONN \As07dDIGOGNSeSCOOND ANS
On some Geological Specimens from Syria. By W. C. Williamson, RISC caecace cs cccese « die ea duicie Sais ceprs se oa eloiisies shat Nempidoialgetreeianea esa REC Ie
On a few detached Places along the Coast of Ionia and Caria, and on the Island of Rhodes. By W. J. Hamilton, Esq. ..............-ces00
Notice of Specimens from the New Red Sandstone, considered by the Author to be Casts of Alcyonia. By — Ottley, Esq. ...............
Description of the Remains of a Bird, a Tortoise, and Lacertian Sau- rian, from the Chalk. By Richard Owen, Esq......0...scssceeesseeere
On the Classification and Distribution of the Older Rocks of the North of Germany and of Belgium. By the Rey. Prof. Sedgwick
287
289 290
290 291 293 298
298
ca et uemlleeVELIBCISON, BSC. 66. cceecs wactee cae «cu aextts auaieecissent ace Yeiae 300 On a Mass of Intrusive Trap near Bleadon. By the Rey. D. Wil- TAMAYO ects cee aso! SGollas wlohe SU. A iaaitene 68 se eaatteakdaaens toe ALG Fae 313 On the Geology of the Line of the Birmingham and Gloucester Rail- wasn) vsyidih Strickland; Msgs ects. lcs seetedee. chia of oak 313 On Beds and Masses of Coral Rock at a distance from the sea in the Mauritius. By Capt. Lloyd........ peered Ao gopsdao=~ ssoctbougnee) t4oceds: 317 Notice of the Mineral Veins of the Sierra Almagrera. By J. Lam- VSI, TESG | ncondedouunenes Juco rnUnspamcnnucreaecose nse. cmesleepseceti -ctlieieaeerta 318 On the Sierra de Gador and its Lead Mines. By J. Lambert, Esq... 319 On the Polished and Striated Rocks which form the Beds of Glaciers in to} Asis. j daVokwolAGASsIZiis asad. .thhisa wciaee isd Lied eishass ob ak 321 Notice of Birds’ and other Bones in the Limestone Cliff at Eel Point, Caldyelstand.. By KGreavess Hsq.t....s.-.iboccek ee seo teene uee cota 322 On a Bed of Lignite near Messina. By R. Calvert, M.D. ............ 322 On Fragments of Rock-crystal in the Hastings Sand. By W. J. Ha- ISIN ISU aie crets ets ciieta sclera ste vei eaislo ci sis seis ropaate oareicheilale aebieise stceeiclste sie eletier 322 On the Chalk and Subjacent Formations to the Purbeck Stone in- clusive, in the North of Germany. By Herr Ruemer ............... 323 Notice of Saurian Remains found near Hythe. By H. B. Mackeson, BSG es jaa el dn ere SBodsoccicnPcobeucrnae ns bonbec @stnadobscRos spectre scbese Sonate Aaiacls 325 1840-1841. On Glaciers, and the evidence of their having once existed in Scot- land, Ireland and England. By Prof. Agassiz .................s.0e00 327 On the Evidence of Glaciers in Scotland and the North of England, Hirst Part. Bypthe ReviProfs Buckland... 22002 VAs. ARG 8 332
On the Geological Evidence of the former Existence of Glaciers in - Forfarshire.’ By C. Lyell, Esq.
PRR e meee eee ee Saat ss eesaasersoeeseeesse
337
vill
On the Evidence of Glaciers in Scotland and the North of England,
Second Part. By the Rev. Prof. Buckland ........0.scse0s..e00ee page 345 On the relative Connexion of the Eastern and Western Chalk Denu- damonsiyn Bye Je, Manting Weg) lerekty.crth as te thera es ebsites 349
On the Geology of the Island of Madeira. By James Smith, Esq.... 351
‘On the Illustration of Geological Phenomena by means of Models. By T. Sopwith, Esq. ..-...0iscesdseectsiecseeseeescsaseresereesersearsenenes 351
On the Geology of Aden. By Frederick Burr, Esq..........0.---..0.00- 355
On the Teeth of Species of the Genus Labyrinthodon, from the Ger- man Keuper and the Sandstone of Warwick and Leamington. By Profs Owens ets aN SOE TRE A, POG, ae a tec ete tate 357
Observations relative to the Elevation of Land on the Shores of Waterford Haven during the Human Period, and on the Geological
Structure of the District. By Thomas Austin, Esq..........6.--.6... 360 On the Freshwater Fossil Fishes of Mundesley, as determined by
Prof. Agassiz. By C.\Liyell) Hsq. 010... nei shs,ecceceweecsteceese rosie 362 On the Geological Structure of the Wealden District, and of the Bas
Boulonnars?= “By. Wr Hopkins; Esqs. i). tecwie css ence p aacie eee 363 Awnual, Report, Feb. 19th, W841 vi)... neal as ae ore ae sep eae 367 Address on presenting the Wollaston Medal awarded to M. Adolphe
Brongniart. By the Rev. Prof. Buckland, Pres. G.S.............000.- 384 Address of Dr. Buckland on presenting to the Foreign Secretary the
Wollaston Medal, to be forwarded to M. Adolphe Brongniart ...... 384 Reply.ot Ma. We la Beche,. Wor, Sec. <Gi Sas ccinn.naed..2 aos eee 386 Notice of a Resolution passed at a Special General Meeting to extend
the Session beyond one evening of Meeting in June ..........+2....4. 388
Description of Parts of the Skeleton and Teeth of five Species of the Genus Labyrinthodon, from the New Red Sandstone of Coton End and Cubbington Quarries, with Remarks on the probable Identity of the Cheirotherium with that Genus of extinct Batrachians. By ROTO Welle fee Sees cites ole Risiete Baldo c ocls olathe ed iiisie Do a 389
On the Geological Structure of the Northern and Central Regions of Russia in Europe. By R. I. Murchison, Esq. and M. E. de Ver-
19S Les PAR pa aren pine PAREN St eh ececadauce: 398 A Notice on the Occurrence of Triassic Fishes in British Strata. By
in PE. Eeerton, Bart. 2M Pog .2 av. oi. us oi ceria d «es ese heen ee faa 409 On Furrowed Rocks in Finland. By Prof. Nordenskidld........,...... 410 On the Gravel Deposits in the Neighbourhood of Basford. By Thomas
[Beillieyy BEC sanncaehsasuonos0n sapdeadoce sapuooatesooNee | AS PROBSD ERE INeS O0800 411 An Account of a Boring for Water at the Union Workhouse, Long-
fleet, near. Poole!’ By Mr. Thompson +... ntoroascasnesseneee Bpenbac6 413 On the Boulder Deposits near Glasgow. By J. Craig, Esq............. 415 A Note on a Section and a List of Fossils from the State of New
York, by James Hall, Esq. By R. 1. Murchison, Esq................ 416
On the Geological Phenomena in the Vicinity of Cape Town, South- ern Africa. By the Rey. W. B. Clarke ......... Fase de alee cade MURR SOALS
1X
On the Distribution of the Erratic Boulders, and on the contempora- neous unstratified Deposits of South ene TCe By C. Darwin,
TS ee ag. © iia pigs sa ees tags seats dial eeeieMe. DalIde. ck page Notices #epeetibe Defaulters and their Removal from the Lists of the Society......... CUBRICROOSREEE EEG SC DP BERS SAngBoO Soe oBeacbbon ..425, 430,
On the Agency of Land Snails, in corroding and eee deep Exca- »
vations in compact Limestone Rocks. By the Rey. Prof. Buck- land, D.D.
On Moss Agates and other Siliceous Bodies. By James 8. Bower- aM SEISU 5 tess sdaeslee selec ebeniatethe seSteaeea Eaves ab. inae
Lists of Fossils presented to the Museum .........c..c0seeeeee 436, 444, On the Faluns of the Loire, &c. By C. Lyell, Esq.........-+. SdenbRODOS
see e ee P OT OBeoeeToFFOaressoesorosssoOFSeereseTseuesesesoereoeHereste®
Description of a Newer Pliocene Deposit at, Stevenston, and of Post
Tertiary Deposits at Stevenston and Largs. By, the Rey. D. Lands- DOTORE YF. 200, OD, eee eee ee
On the Annual Destruction of Land at Easton Bayent Cliff. By Capt. “Alexander ..........0. AT c cae cue ences Ogr ray testensseecsaaresteesees
Description of Cuttings across the Ridge of the Buomisenore Lickey. By H. E. Strickland, Bg. 1. SOR oe oO. eC RO ocean
Notes to accompany some Fossils collected by himself and Mr. Still, during their Employment on the Ordnance Survey i in Pembroke- shire. _By H. Maclauchlan, Esq....-............... Beets ce siecle aeey=
Notice of a Description of a Model iE Arthur’ s Seat, and King’ S.
Park. By J. R, . Wright, GSO. Wile» acne ee amie, bn Stk rae eels Set ae
Description of some Remains of a Gigantic Crocodilian cy pro- bably marine, from the Lower Greensand at Hythe, and of Teeth from the same Formation, referable to the Genus Polyptichodon. By Prof. Owen
A brief Note to accompany a Series of Specimens from nn eg near Niagara. By W. J. Henwood, Esq. ...........c.ceeee Vo eetNeeshiaie atcha
eee ees OOBEFeaessseescesrrOVsssessFSSereFFBacednsosesseoesereesses
Notes to accompany a Series of Specimens from, Chaleur Bay and,the River Ristigouche, in New Brunswick. By W. J. Henwood, Esq.
On the Locality and Geological Position of Cucullea decussata. By oF oshua Trimmer, Esq. Bee alas aTel OTe as a eMCTSNe ica ealonelercloelcilaiente ite Scene
Description of a portion of, the Skeleton of the Gees, a. gigantic - extinct Saurian Reptile, occurring in the Oolitic Formation of dif- ferent portions of England) By Prof. Owen ......00..0 1... eeeeeeeeee
On the Age of the Tertiary Beds of the Tagus, with a Catalogue of |
the Fossils. ~ By James Smith, EESqe..s... sesereseqeeseeeesersegyenseeee:
Some Remarks on the Silurian Strata, between Aymesty Ae Wen- lock. By C. Lyell, Esq, ..-.rccsesssceeeuspeneres eee
woe rmaeeasctocsoseesoe
425
437
430
446 448
448
449
453
“454
456
457 462
463
Notes on’ the Silurian>Strata in the N cighbourhood of Christiana; in”
poNorway....By..C. Lyell, Esq. :ccccccccsccessscezessstss odIAS we RORe Oe
: Anniversary Address, February’ 19th, 1841. By the Rev. Prof. Buck- land, TOE 3 J hci Gr S hoeeabdb bes uot sgor gabe BHpNaE uaAME BENS E se dbadeneactnecnc
465
469
ERRATA.
Page 15, bottom line, for Herculis read Hercules. -, 101, line 1, for George Long, Esq. read Henry Lawes Lone, Esq; Th onhsg Lodge, Surrey. 102, — | 2 from bottom, for Katakekaumene read Catacecaumene. 103, — 12, for:Aiom read Afiom. 103, — 31, for Marmara read Marmora. 104, — 1, for Mulverkieui read Meulverkieui. 105, — 8 from bottom, for Dimirji read Demirji._ 126, —| 23, for miles 7ead inches: 309, — 20, Sor per gal. read per quint. 314, — 31, for Hadnor read Hadsor. 315; — 27, after Bredon dele Hill. 315, —''3 from’ bottom, for sessional read sectional, 316,.— 13, for 387 read 587. 316, — 34, for trichorhinus read tichorhinus. 730, — 21, for p.12 read p. 712. 341, — 3 ‘from bottom, for John read James. 436,. — 12, for Hereforshire read Hertfordshire.
CONTENTS
OF THE FIRST PART OF THE THIRD VOLUME.
SESSIONS 1838—1839, and 1839—1840.
/ Page Agassiz, Prof. + On the Polished acl Striated Rocks which form the Beds of UReH ARICLSEUUREN SANDS) vice aicins <ionjeinesmsioidos scesiva oceis Saelganesabh soi ewar eel tes 321 ALEXANDER, Capt. On Mastodon Teeth from the Crag, and the occurrence of a par- ticular bed containing Echini in the Coralline Crag at Sudbourne.. 10
AwnvuaL Report, 15th February, 1839 ....... eee che slates ohiee ic Besslowin 4] Pion Hesany, (LSA Onscgatertss-4-tsayca-sones © asain wen sheer’ ox tel 4oe crus 189 Awstep, D. T., Esq. On the Carboniferous and Transition Rocks of Bohemia.......... 167 ArkKINnson, —, Esq. On Tortuous Casts of Vermiform Bodies in Sandstone ......... 126 Austen, R. A. C., Esq. On the Structure of South Devon ..:......s0...seccssccsensesssecceee 123 On Orthoceras, Ammonites, and other cognate genera; and on their position in the Animal Kingdom ............... npc senehaarnaseen 179 On the Bone-caves of Devonshire .........-ssecccscecescccsnsessenece 286
Austin, Fort-Major. Notice of the Geology around the Shores of Waterford Haven 154 Bain, A. G., Esq. On the Head of an Ox found in a the Alluvial Banks of the Mod- GET SOU EM eAEEI CAI. sisit ae oiaccieisicie Lie alos sie sas sislaeisie sine biens ayelarciste cinarapets omteege ae 152 Beaumont, J. T. B., Esq. On the Origin of ie Vegetation of our Coal-fields and Wealdens 152 BoweERBANK;, J. S., On the London ond Plastic Clay Formations of the Isle of ens 125 On the Siliceous Bodies of the Chalk, Greensand, and Oolites... 278 Bowman, J. E., Esq. On the Characters of the Fossil Trees found on the Manchester and Bolton Railway ; and on the Formation of Coal by gradual SUDSICENCE...cseses eee ale asic. maids ofl shucicm sean bas edhe Gincvasituene Sones peury age) Bropiz, Rey. P. B. On the Remains of Insects and a New Genus of Isopodous Crus- _tacea from the Wealden Formation in the Vale of Wardour ...... 134 _ Buck ianp, Rev. Prof., D.D., Pres. G.S. Address on presenting to Dr. Fitton the Wollaston Medal
epjemdedato: Mb. JOumont ss Avast ven stascn: a2 -cijaccagnonébens shabge oon duro 206 Address on presenting to Mr. James de Carle Sowerby one
year’s Proceeds of the Wollaston Fund.......... SNOUT BREE IBBC Ser 208 Anniversary Address, Feb. 21, 1840 ......ssssscceseeererseecseneoecs 210
Bupptz, J., Esq. On depressions produced on the Surface by excavating Beds of (Geni) che dcodosobucneccatsendsnnocode onsocenasoapubdubbaddsoaccdodorgonadeoodc 147 On the Great Fault called the fonee in the Forest of Dean Coal- field seceoneccescecce @vecenecceces elsiuivlele'slojele in glelelelvielpiciesicisislelcisere: weceeetcsesavece wo0 287
#
il CONTENTS.
Bunsen, Chevalier. Reply to the President’s Address on receiving the Wollaston Medal awarded to Prof. Ehrenberg’ *::...1.....0-+-duscennvesteen asnb ie Caupcieven, A., Esq. Notice of the Declaration of the Master and Crew of a Chilian
Schooner, respecting a supposed Submarine Volcanic Eruption ... Cartvert, R., M.D.
On a Bed'of Lignite near Messina ........0ccrccsrccsscnseencscredeauwe
CHARTERS, Capt. On a deposit of Greenstone overlying Sandstone, in Southern JLMIRVES) 55> bea oeegandoonobaebocesee PegborbdrenSobonobacsbobudoagcodooter abeour CHATFIELD, Consul.
Notice of Earthquakes at San Salvador in 1839 ......sssceeseees CiLaRKE, Rev. W. B.
On Showers of Ashes which fell at Sea, off the Cape de Verde
ISIE EVGIS! sar condoadbandanedrigumenedunet GonURBpobodRins aeons PB inc osoduaGaes ate Creuze, Mr.
Remarks on the Structure of the Royal George, and on the Con- ~ dition of the Timber, &c., recovered in 183Q.....ccccsssoscerceceereee CunnineuHaM, J., Esq.
An Account of Impressions and Casts of Drops of Rain, disco-
vered in the Quarries at Storeton Hill, Cheshire ...... tive ede ecevae tes EGERTON, Sir Philip, Bart., M.P.
On Casts in Sandstone of the Impressions of the hind Foot of a
gigantic Cheirotherium, from the New Red Sandstone of Cheshire
Observations respecting a Slab of Sandstone impressed with
Cheirotherium Footsteps, at Mr. Potts’s, in Chester ...cccsesceesee Firron, W. H., M.D. Reply to the President’s Address on receiving the Wollaston Medal awarded to M. Dumont .........ccceseseeneceecoees Wek hielo data aoa Fiemine, Rev. John, D.D.
A few brief Remarks on the Trap Rocks of Fife ...... uae veveeed ci: Fox, BR. W., Esq.
A Notice on the Formation of Metallic Veins by Voltaic Agency Greaves, R., Esq.
Notice of Birds’ and other Bones in the Limestone Cliff at Eel
Moin sCldyotsland sc ccerscncssacracsscuessen+-sinenusecensaens ects ees relekld Greenovues, G. B., Esq. Extracts from a Memoir to accompany the Second Edition of Mr. Greenough’s Geological Map of England and Wales ......... Grirrity, Richard, Esq. On the Geological Relations of the several Rocks of the South
OMe] an aes catiatapinndslotwariewtepeceet ase vatluen pac deneniseeee nae Gunn, Rev. J. On Paramoudras, and the Drift of Norfolk and Suffolk .........
Hamitton, J. W., Esq. On the N.W. part of Asia Minor, from the Peninsula of Cyzicus to Koola, with a Description of the Catacecaumene ...........5+6. On a few detached places along the Coast of Ionia and Caria, and on the Island of Rhodes .............--.cececceccceessevtearecceesece On Fragments of Rock-crystal in the Hastings Sand ........ ... Haran, Richard, M.D. On the Discovery of the Basilosaurus and the Batrachiosaurus Hawxsuaw, John, Esq. On Five Fossil Trees found in excavations at the Manchester Fuad ei So) hao ol aveel Dh Wie Wee edeipedde sdunnebebe i uddbasbtdloabonncocedcictaae Reese
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CONTENTS. iil Page Hawksuaw, Jolin, Esq. Further Observations on the Fossil Trees found on the Man- chester and Bolton RAMI WAY aaice oineesenlag con reece segede ty aeestet ane: 269 HuLumanpEL, C., Esq. On the Subsidence of the! Coast near Puzzuolt, J. oi acccwcetees 290 Lampert, J., Esq. Notice of the Mineral Veins of the Sierra Almagrera ............ 318 On the Sierra de Gador and its Lead Mines ........ Lest Big. Saree 319 Lay, G. T., Esq. On Part OM BOMEOPPROPEH A. We si. eusopesbececeteduccstacrens centers 290 Liverproot Natura. History Socizty. : An Account of Footsteps of the Cheirotherium, and other un- known Animals, lately discovered in the Quarries of Storeton Hill 12 Luoyp, Capt. On Beds and Masses of Coral Rock at a distance from the sea in the Mauritius ......sccccsesseveees sheereeate del Uaceteomnoaeawese tiatets 317 Logan, W. C., Esq. On the Beds of Clay immediately below the Coal-seams of South ‘Wales, and on Coal-boulders in the Pennant Grit of that district 275 Lone, Henry Lawes, Esq. On Swallow Holes near Farnham; and the Drainage of the Country at the Western Extremity of the Hog’s Back.........0+0... 101 LoNSDALE, W. On the Age of the South Devon Limestones ¢.....0c....ceccsseeeeee 281 Lys, C., Esq. On the Occurrence of Graptolites in the Slate of Galloway ...... 28 On some Fossil and Recent Shells, collected by Capt. Bayfield, R.N., in Canada ........ssccccesscceeees aabne TGs oad at kta es sone oNaNs - 119 On the Relative Ages of the Tertiary Deposits commonly called Crag, in Norfolk and Suffolk ............ SPIRE TEN Si CPI OL BL? SERN | 126 On the Boulder Formation and associated Freshwater Deposits composing the Mud Cliffs of Eastern Norfolk ....... Uoeceedtcle BOL Macxeson, H. B., Esq. Notice of Saurian Remains found near Hythe ............eseeeeee 325 Matcotmson; G. J., M.D. On the relations of the Different Parts of the Old Red Sandstone, in which Organic Remains have recently been discovered in Scot- Metin cle ep aise seetens ccieleicleteitets selelasieiste siioceisioaisie'scleleinelonisseseisteactfaiciee eyaeteetesteteed 141 Martin, Capt. J. B. On Bones of Mammoths found in the deep Sea of the English Channel and German Ocean ......scecscecnceceencseeeneececscecsseaecens 138 Mixer, Mr. On the Fish-beds of the Old Red Sandstone near Cromarty ... 124 Mitcuey, James, LL.D. On the Drift from the Chalk and Strata below the Chalk in the counties of Norfolk, Suffolk, Essex, Cambridge, &c. .......-....4+. 3 On the Wells in the Gravel and London Clay in Essex; and on the Geological Phenomena disclosed by them ......e.1...ssse-+00- 131 Notice of Outbursts of Water from the Chalk ........-sssscseseee 134 On the Foul Air in the Chalk and Strata above the Chalk n near LONGON ....cesccccccseeeccecceccssccesceccececcsreeceenecenscececssensesesenace 151 Moors, J. C., Esq. On the Rocks which Kae the West Shore of the Bay of Loch Ryan ...ccceceeeseececeeeeeseescssneeeesceaeecescseuaacecsertesseesccceuueeeees 277 Murcuison, R. I., Esq., and Sspewicx, Rev. Prof. On the Older Rocks of Devonshire and Cornwall....:-.ess.s0065, 121
iv - CONTENTS.
Murcuison, R. I., isq., and Sepewick, Rev. Prof. — On the Classification and Distribution of the Older Rocks of the North of Germany and of Belgium .........e0sseeeees Cinaieita= cleus = site Necxer, M. Louis Albert. On a Probable Cause of Certain Earthquakes .....+...+ Leataenes Ocixtsy, William, Esq. On structure and relations of the presumed Marsupial Remains from the Stonesfield Slate ......... pie pinel= Peis gi seta Egon eiag keto bteErar=t eeeee Ortiey, —, Esq. ; Notice of Specimens from the New Red Sandstone, considered by the Author to be casts of Alcyonia ...e0c.....ssseaseere eeeseenaete Owen, Richard, Esq. ‘ On some Fossil Remains of Paleotherium, Anoplotherium, and Cheropotamus, from the Freshwater Beds of the Isle of Wight ... On the Jaws of the Thylacotherium Prevostit ...1.+s.sesees Baas Onithe Phascolotheniviia oe. ocss,eeessscceessiascecees¥ettneteeaterene
On the Teeth of the Zeuglodon (Basilosaurus of Dr, Harlan) ....
Description of a Tooth and Part of the Skeleton of the Glyptedon Description of the Soft Parts and the Shape of the Hind Fin of
the lchthiyosavrUS...-..--cecs.- cee ec cose cesses ene sa deeeeieGelaceioh saad eee Description of the Fossil Remains of a Mammal, a Bird, and a Serpent, from the London Clay ........cscsssesceseeneecsoree Ses 98s spears
Description of the Remains of a Bird, a Tortoise, and Lacertian Saurian, trom. the Chal kiticpase coe: ) cecil b «ceetesiesls «wilde soioitom ses auttece Ricuarpson, W., Esq. On the Locality of the Hyracotherium ...... woah oniev ete eiepah vot teees Roemer, Herr. ‘ met: An Extract from a Letter addressed to Dr. Fitton on the Weal- denjof the Northyof, Germany . vncptoad: vores -tine wave ds - sp ong he db ometh tects On the Chalk and Subjacent Formations to the Purbeck Stone inclusive, in the North of Germany ............ Beet sepa ease sient oe Szpewick, Rev. Prof., and Murcuison, R. I., Esq. On the Older Rocks of Devonshire and Cornwall .............: On the Classification and Distribution of the Older Rocks of the North of Germany and of Belgium ..............cesseeseecee as sao pe sia SuHarpe, Daniel, Esq. On the Geology of the Neighbourhood of Lisbon..........s....0 Smitu, James, Esq. On the Climate of the Newer Pliocene Tertiary Period ......... On the Relative Ages of the Tertiary and Post-tertiary Deposits
Olthe basin ofthe Clyde). 2..c.5... cs. + dumieat kvnenorencct raven eae :
Sowersy, Mr. J. de Carle.
Reply to the President’s address on receiving the award of the
pViollaston: Proceeds, for one “year, “\2ss.<2.-<08--<4b 3d cashier bese tee SpeciaL GENERAL MEETING,
To consider the Articles of Agreement by which Mr. Greenough proposed to transfer the Copper Plates of his Geological Map to HEP SOCIOL: oes vasies scitdeity “ied - eapispeocdts am cea vepeactth cbeacesheaeh cee
To pass a Bye-law to enable British subjects, residing in British Colonies, and not known personally to the Fellows proposing them, to be nominated as Candidates for election...........cescescsss
STRICKLAND, H. C., Esq. On the Geology of the Line of the Birmingham and Gloucester
Mra yranye amas ese er acuine «scsi sca eenec cae cee cme neae see onoce dees wee :
Taytor, John, Jun., Esq. On a Slab of Sandstone, exhibiting Footmarks......s.essesesoonees
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CONTENTS.
TREVELYAN, Sir J. On a Molar of the Elephant found near Watchet ; and on Roman Pottery dredged up in the Thames.........-..-.+ widuie oy cae ts 533000
TRIMMER, J., Esq.
On the Detrital Deposits of part of Norfolk ........... Su stogdo nnn. ;
WETHERELL, Nathaniel J., Esq.
Notice of some Undescribed ‘Remains from the London Clay... WHEWELL, Rev. Prof.
Address on presenting to Chevalier Bunsen the Wollaston
Medal awarded to Professor Ehrenberg............s-sssecseenececeeeees
Anniversary Address, delivered 15th February, 1839 .........00« Wituiams, Rev. David.
On as much of the Transition or Grauwacke System as is ex-
posed in the Counties of Somerset, Devon, and Cornwall ......... On the Grauwacke of West Somerset, Devon, and Cornwall ... On a Mass of Intrusive Trap near Bleadon ........ seocboascaesoobe
Wituiamson, W. C., Esq. On the Fossil Fishes of the Yorkshire and Lancashire Coal-fields On some Geological Specimens from Syria .........s-.ccseeseeeees Yates, James, Esq. A Notice of Four differently characterized Footsteps, traced from WaAstspPLOCUed at SLOVELOMnecaccs-'cteacis sees «cee ace- etme ds erie eneims
140
58 61
115 158 313
153 291
i
PROCEEDINGS
OF
THE GEOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF LONDON.
Vot. III. 1838. No. 59.
Nov. 7, 18838.—The Society assembled this evening for the Ses- sion: John Davies Gilbert, Esq., F.R.S., of Eastbourne, Sussex, was elected a Fellow of this Society.
A paper was first read, ‘‘ On some Fossil Remains of Palzeotherium, Anoplotherium, and Chzropotamus, from the freshwater beds of the Isle of Wight,” by Richard Owen, Esq., F.G.S., Hunterian Professor in the Royal College of Surgeons.
Some years previous to 1825, Mr. Thomas Allan, of Edinburgh, _ found in the freshwater beds at Binstead in the Isle of Wight, a tooth
which was subsequently determined by Mr. Pentland to be a molar of the Anoplotherium commune*; and in 1830, Mr. Pratt found in the same quarries teeth of one species of Anoplotherium and of two species of Palzotherium+; and thus the freshwater strata of the Hampshire basin were proved to contain remains of some of the Pa- chydermata which had been discovered in the gypsum quarries of Montmartre.
The specimens described by Mr. Owen in this paper were col- lected by the Rev. W. Darwin Fox, at Binstead and Seafield; and being numerous and well preserved they have enabled the author to establish a still greater agreement in the remains of the two locali- ties. Of the genus Paleotherium, the collection contained teeth and bones of P. medium, P. crassum, P. curtum? and P. minus ; and of the genus Anoplotherium, teeth of A. commune and A. secun- darium.
The most important specimen, however, in the collection is a right ramus of the lower jaw of the Cheropotamus, wanting only one false molar, a small portion of the symphysis, and the top of the coronoid process.
This genus was established by Cuvier from an imperfect fragment of the base of the skull, with six molar teeth on each side, and a small portion of a ramus of the lower jaw with the canine ? and two spurious molars. He nevertheless proved from the form of the teeth, the glenoid cavity, and the zygomatic arches, that the animal be-
_* See a paper by Dr. Buckland, Annals Phil., New Series, vol. x. p. 360. + Geological Transactions, Sec. Ser., vol. iii. p. 451. VOL. III. B
2
longed to the Pachydermata and was most nearly allied to the Pec- cari. In some points, however, in which these remains deviate from the Peccari, they were shown by Mr. Owen to indicate an approach to the carnivorous type, and this affinity he showed is further exhi- bited in the specimen found by Mr. Fox, in the prolongation back- ward of the angle of the jaw, a character which in the class Mam- malia has hitherto been found almost exclusively in the carnivorous order, and certainly in no pachydermatous or other ungulate species of Mammal. In the jaw from the Isle of Wight the angle is more compressed and deeper than in the bear, dog, or cat tribe; and it is not bent inwards in the way which peculiarly distinguishes the mar- supial jaws, and which so neatly characterizes the Stonesfield mam- miferous remains. The condyloid process in the Cheropotamus is raised higher above the angle of the jaw than in the true Carnivora; and it is less convex than in the hog or peccari; and the coronoid process is more developed than in the peccari. In the wavy out- line of the inferior border of the lower jaw, and in the teeth, which are well developed in the jaw described by Mr. Owen, a close re- semblance is displayed in the Cheropotamus to the peccari. The jaw contains three true tuberculated molars and three conical false molars with double fangs, which molars are relatively larger than in existing Suid, and an anterior tooth, which Cuvier in the Paris basin specimens considered to be a canine, but which is situated closer to the symphysis of the jaw than in any of the Suide.
Mr. Owen then observed, that the occasional canine propensities of the common hog are well known; and that they correspond with the organization of the genus which offers the nearest resemblance among the existing Pachydermata to the carnivorous type of struc- ture. In the extinct Cheropotamus we have evidently another of those beautiful examples in paleontology of links tending to com- plete a chain of affinities which the revolutions of the earth’s sur. face has interrupted, and for a time concealed from our view. It is interesting also to perceive that the living subgenus of the hog tribe which most resembles the Chxeropotamus should be confined to the South American continent, where the Tapir, the nearest living ana- logue of the Anoplotherian and Paleeotherian associates of the Che- ropotamus, how exists.
The author then offered some remarks on a jaw discovered by Mr. Pratt in the Binstead quarries in 1830, and considered by him to be allied to the genus Moschus*. On comparing the jaw with ‘the corresponding part of the Moschus moschiferus, which it resem- bles in size, Mr. Owen has found that in the fossil the grinders are relatively broader, that the last molar has the third or posterior tu- bercle divided by a longitudinal fissure, that the grinding surface is less oblique, and that the coronoid process differs from that of the Moschus and other ruminants, but strongly bespeaks an affinity with the Pachydermata.
Among the genera of the Paris basin established by Cuvier, the
* Geological Transactions, Sec. Ser., vol. iii. p. 451.
3
Dichobune exhibits characters which connect the Pachydermata with the Ruminantia, and thus exhibits another of those extraurdinary unions of characters which in existing Mammalia belong to distinct orders. In the Dichebune the posterior molars begin to exhibit a double series of cusps, of which the external present the erescentic form, so that the teeth of the Dichobune murina might be mistaken for those of true Ruminantia. In the lower jaw of the Dichobune the antepenultimate and the penultimate grinders have two pairs of cusps, and the last grinder three pairs, of which the posterior are small and almost blended together, so that when worn down they appear single.
In this respect, as well as in the form of the ascending ramus of the lower jaw, Cuvier states, in the Ossemens Fossiles, that the Dicho- bune “ prodigiously resembles” the young Musk Deer.
Now with respect to Mr. Pratt’s specimen, Professor Owen ob- served, there is undoubtedly a close resemblance to the Musk Deer, but the differences are sufficiently great to forbid its bemg placed among the Ruminantia, while there is a still nearer resemblance be- tween it and the genus Dichobune. The Isle of Wight specimen being somewhat larger than the D. deporinum, and the ascending ramus differing in form and approaching that of the true Anoplotheria, Mr. Owen considers that it indicates a new species, which until the form of the anterior molars and incisors is known, may be referred to the genus Dichobune, under the name of Dichobune cervinum.
A memoir “On the Drift from the Chalk and strata below the Chalk in the Counties of Norfolk, Suffolk, Essex, Cambridge, Hun- tingdon, Bedford, Hertford, and Middlesex,” by James Mitchell, Esq., LL.D., F.G.S., was then read.
The drift which is so extensively distributed over the above coun- ties, consists chiefly of stiff blue and yellow clay, varying from 4 to above 70 feet in thickness; and it contains masses and small fragments of chalk, chalk flints, primary, secondary and other rocks, and fossils from nearly every secondary formation in England. In some local- ities the clay forms the mass of the drift, but in others it contains or rests on beds of sand and gravel; and it is often overlaid by a deposit, occasionally exceeding 50 feet thick, of sand, gravel, and chalk flints.
The principal locality in Norfolk, mentioned by the author, is Cromer, the cliffs near which vary in height from 100 to 150 feet ; the lower half consisting of blue clay charged with masses and frag- ments of chalk, unaltered chalk flints, and secondary and primary rocks ; and the upper half of sand and gravel, capped by 2 feet of ferruginous sand, in some places black. ‘The same general descrip- tion, it is stated, will apply to the cliffs for 12 miles east and west of Cromer; but they occasionally present most extraordinary con- tortions of the beds. The other localities in Norfolk, alluded to by the author, are in the parishes of Pulham St. Mary Magdalen, Pulham St. Mary the Virgin; and a pit one mile from Harleston towards Diss, where 4 feet of blue clay, abounding with chalk peb-.
B 2
4.
bles, are overlaid by 2 feet and underlaid by 10 feet of gravel and flints: the author also states, that the clay with chalk pebbles ex- tends between Harleston and Diss, the latter town and North Lop- ham, and thence to Norwich, Dereham, and Swaffham. In Suffolk it was examined by him at Lowestoff, particularly in the cliff on the north side of the town, where he obtained the following section:
Wovered'slope te cco cehe cot tants nae Mowecet Black Sand. ewe. ss cps cn eee eer ee ios Red and yellow sand............ Pile Ae Neha 15-— Blue clay, with fragments of chalk, chalk flints, \ poate. Oolite amd Was’... ote pee cleat ee gee Redvand yellow sand: © ce 4) yee eee ee 2 — @Woversdeslope? oF. cies «net - csree a eee 20 — 65
In the sea cliff a quarter of a mile north of Southwold, in Suffolk, the clay contains a bed of sand two feet thick ; in the same county he like- wise noticed it near Woodbridge, between Wrentham and Wangford, and near the road from Wangford to Southwold. ‘The localities in ‘Essex mentioned by the author are Maldon, Kelvedon, Braintree, Castle Hedingham near Halstead, Navestock, and Upminster; in Cambridgeshire, Ely and between Caxton and Arrington; in Hunting- donshire, the districts between Huntingdon and Peterborcugh and Huntingdon and Caxton; in Bedfordshire, Castle Hill, 6 miles east of Bedford; in Buckinghamshire, the line of the London and Bir- mingham railway, near Fenny Stratford and Leighton Buzzard, where it rests on the lower greensand, and is overlaid by gravel containing rounded fragments of ferruginous sandstone ; in Middle- sex the only localities mentioned are Finchley and Muswell Hill; in Hertfordshire the clay was not noticed by the author, though the gravel abounds with fragments of secondary and other formations.
A description is then given of the transported rocks either inclosed — in the clay or accumulated in beds of gravel. They consist of hard and soft chalk, flints, oolite, cornbrash, lias, sandstones, mountain limestone, mica slate, trap, granite, syenite, porphyry, &c. The principal localities mentioned are the Stags Inn near Diss, the Holy- well and Witlingham near Norwich, Ballingdon Hill near Sudbury; between Peterborough and Huntingdon and thence to Caxton, also between that place and Arrington; in Hertfordshire these accumu- lations are said to abound around Buntingford, Hare Street, Puck- eridge, Much Haddam, and Newnham near Baldock : a few specimens occur around Hertford and at Ware Mill, and Wade’s Mill, 15 mile from Ware. ‘The pits at Muswell are particularly noticed, and the collections from them formed by Mr. Wetherell and Mr. Frederick Pusey ; but the specimens of rocks are said to be not nearly so nu- merous, nor the size of the masses so great as in Hertfordshire, Hun- tingdonshire, Suffolk, and Norfolk.
Besides the smaller fragments two large boulders are described. One, consisting of granite and computed to weigh a ton and a half,
5
lies by the road-side on the north of the village of Hare Street ; and it is so thoroughly rounded that the author had great difficulty in detaching a fragment. The other boulder occurs at Baldock, and consists of hard chalk containing common black flints. It is about 3 feet 9 inches high above-ground, 24 feet long, and nearly 2 feet broad.
The current by which the drift was accumulated, the author con- ceives came from a point to the east of north, and he is of opinion that the materials have been derived in part from Scandinavia and in part from the destruction of strata, which once occupied the site of the German Ocean. After the deposition of the clay, Dr. Mitchell believes, that there was a violent action which accumulated the beds of gravel in some places to the depth of above 100 feet (Beaumont Green, 110 feet; the Isle of Dogs, 124 feet); and that this action will account for the clay not being found in more places, and being occasionally associated with beds of gravel.
The paper concludes with a slight allusion to a similar north-east drift, north of the counties enumerated in the title; and it is stated that grey quartz boulders continue to be thrown in at Spurn Head, Yorkshire, similar to those which are found in some of the vales of the counties of Lincoln, Nottingham, and Leicester. Fragments of | mountain limestone, lias, oolite, grey quartz, white quartz, and hard chalk are said to occur about Mount Sorrell.
Nov. 21, 1838.—A paper was first read ‘“‘ On the Jaws of the Thylacotherium Prevostii* (Valenciennes) from Stonesfield,” by Richard Owen, Esq., F.G.S., Hunterian Professor, Royal College of Surgeons. .
Doubts having been recently expressed by M. de Blainvillet, from inspection of casts, respecting the mammiferous nature of the fossil jaws found at Stonesfield, and assigned to the Marsupialia by Baron Cuvier, Mr. Owen brought the paper before the Society, to meet the objections and give a detailed account of the fossils from a careful inspection of the originals. In this communication, however, he confined his description chiefly to the jaws of one of the two genera which have been discovered at Stonesfield, and characterized by having eleven molars in each ramus of the lower jaw, reserving to a future occasion an account of the remains of the other genust.
Mr. Owen commences by observing that the scientific world pos- sesses ample experience of the truth and tact with which the illus- trious Cuvier formed his judgements of the affinities of an extinct animal from the inspection of a fossil fragment; and that it is only when so distinguished a comparative anatomist as M. de Blainville questions the determinations, that it becomes the duty of those who
* Comptes Rendus, 1838 ; Second Semestre, No. 11, Sept. 10, p. 580.
T Ibid., No. 8, Aout 20, p. 402 ef seq.; No. 9, Planche; No. 17, Oct. 22, p. 727; No. 18, Oct.:29, p. 750. -
t See postea, p. 17.
6
possess the means to investigate the nature of the doubts, and re- assure the confidence of geologists in their great guide.
When Cuvier first hastily examined at Oxford, in 1818, one of the jaws described in this paper, and in the possession of Dr. Buck- land, he decided that it was allied to the Didelphys (me semblérent de quelque Didelphe*) ; and when doubts were raised by M. Con- stant Prevost, in 1824+, relative to the age of the Stonesfield slate, Cuvier, from an examination of a drawing made for the express pur- pose, was confirmed in his former determination ; but he added, that the jaw differs from that of all known carnivorous Mammalia, in hay- ing ten molars in a series in the lower jaw: (‘il [the drawing] me con- firme dans ]’idée que la premiére inspection m’en avoit donnée. C’est celle d’un petit carnassier dont les macheliéres ressemblent beaucoup a celles des sarigues; mais il y a dix de ces dents en série, nombre que ne montre aucun carnassier connu.” Oss. Foss. 111. 349. note.) It is to be regretted that the particular data, with the exception of the number of the teeth, on which Cuvier based his opinion, were not detailed ; but he must have been well aware that the grounds of his belief would be obvious, on an inspection of the fossil, to every com- petent anatomist: it is also to be regretted that he did not assign to the fossil a generic name, and thereby have prevented much of the reasoning founded on the supposition that he considered it to have belonged to a true Didelphys.
Mr. Owen then proceeded to describe the structure of the jaw; and he stated that having had in his possession two specimens of the Thylacotherium Prevostii belonging to Dr. Buckland, he has no hesi- tation in declaring that their condition is such as to enable any ana- tomist conversant with the established generalizations in compara- tive osteology, to pronounce therefrom not only the class but the more restricted group of animals to which they have belonged. The specimens plainly reveal, first, a convex articular condyle; secondly, a well-defined impression of what was once a broad, thin, high, and slightly recurved, triangular, coronoid process, rising immediately anterior to the condyle, having its basis extended over the whole of the interspace between the condyle and the commencement of the molar series, and having a vertical diameter equal to that of the ho- rizontal ramus of the jaw itself: this impression also exhibits traces of the ridge leading forwards from the condyle and the depression above it, which characterizes the coronoid process of the zoophagous marsupials; thirdly, the angle of the jaw is continued to the same extent below the condyle as the coronoid process reaches above it, and its apex is continued backwards in the form of a process ; fourthly, the parts above described form one continuous portion with the horizontal ramus of the jaw, neither the articular condyle nor the coronoid being distinct pieces as in reptiles. These are the characters, Mr. Owen believes, on which Cuvier formed his opinion of the nature of the fossil; and they have arrested the attention of
* Ossemens Foss., tome ili. p. 349. + Annales des Sciences Nat., Avril, 1825; also the papers of Mr. Bro- derip and Dr. Fitton in the Zoological Journal, 1828, vol. ili., p. 409.
G)
M. Valenciennes in his endeavours to dissipate the doubts of M. de Blainville*.
From the examination of a cast, the latter, however, has been in- duced to infer that there is no trace of a convex condyle, but in place thereof an articular fissure, somewhat as in the jaws of fishes; that the teeth, instead of being imbedded in sockets, have their fangs confluent with or anchylosed to the substance of the jaws, and that the jaw itself presents evident traces of the composite structure.
In answer to the first of these positions, Mr. Owen states that the portion of the true condyle which remains in both the specimens of Thylacotherium examined” by Cuvier and M. Valenciennes, clearly shows that the condyle was convex, and not concave. It is situated a little above the level of the grinding surface of the teeth, and pro- jects beyond the vertical line, dropped from the extremity of the coro- noid process, but not to the same extent as in the true Didelphys. In the specimen examined by M. Valenciennes, the condyle corre- sponds in position with that of the jaw of the Dasyurus rather than the Didelphys; it is convex, as in mammiferous animals, and not concave as in oviparous. The entire convex condyle exists in the specimen belonging to the other genus, Phascolotherium, now in the British Museum, but formerly in the cabinet of Mr. Broderip. Mr. Owen is of opinion that the entering angle or notch, either above or below the true articular condyle, has been mistaken for “‘ une sorte d’échancrure articulaire, un peu comme dans les poissons.”’
The specimen of the half-jaw of the Thylacothere examined by M. Valenciennes, like that which was transmitted to Cuvier, presents the inner surface to the observer, and exhibits both the orifice of the dental canal and the symphysis in a perfect state. The foramen in the fossil is situated relatively more forward than in the recent Opossum and Dasyure, or in the Placental Insectivora, but has the same place as in the marsupial genus Hypsiprymnus. The symphysis is long and narrow, and is continued forward in the same line with the gently convex inferior margin of the jaw, which thus tapers gradually to a pointed anterior extremity, precisely as in the jaws of the Marsupial Insectivora. In the relative length of the symphysis, its form and position, the jaw of the Thylacotherium precisely corresponds with that of the Didelphys.
In addition, however, to these proofs of the mammiferous nature of the Stonesfield remains, and in part of their having belonged to Marsupialia, Mr. Owen stated that the jaws exhibit a character hitherto unnoticed by the able anatomists who have written respect- ing them, but which, if co-existent with a convex condyle, would serve to prove the marsupial nature of a fossil, though all the teeth were wanting.
In recent marsupials the angle of the jaw is elongated and bent inwards in the form of a process, varying in shape and development in different genera. In looking, therefore, directly upon the infe- rior margin of the marsupial jaw, we see in place of the edge of a
* Comptes Rendus, 1838; Second Semestre, No. 11, Sept. 10, p. 527 et seq.
8
vertical plate of bone, a more or less flattened triangular surface or plate of bone extended between the external ridge and the internal process or inflected angle. In the Opossum this process is triangu- lar and trihedral, and directed inwards with the point slightly curved upwards and extended backwards, in which direction it is more pro- duced in the small than im the large species of Didelphys.
Now, if the process from the angle of the jaw in the Stonesfield fossil had been simply continued backwards, it would have resembled the jaw of an ordinary placental carnivorous or insectivorous mam- mal; but in both specimens of Thylacotherium the half-jaws of which exhibit their inner or mesial surfaces, this process presents a fractured outline, evidently proving that when entire it must have been produced inwards or mesially, as in the Opossum.
Mr. Owen then described in great detail the structure of the teeth, and showed, in reply to M. de Blainville’s second objection, that they are not confluent with the jaw, but are separated from it at their base by a layer of matter of a distinct colour from the teeth or the jaw, but evidently of the same nature as the matrix ; and secondly, that the teeth cannot be considered as presenting an uniform com- pressed tricuspid structure, and being all of one kind, as M. de Blainville states, but must be divided into two series as regards their composition. Five if not six of the posterior teeth are quinque-cus- pidate and are molares veri; some of the molares spurii are tricuspid and some bicuspid, asin the Opossums. An interesting result of this examination is the observation that the five cusps of the tuberculate molares are not arranged, as had been supposed, in the same line, but in two pairs placed transversely to the axis of the jaw, with the fifth cusp anterior, exactly as in the Didelphys, and totally different from the structure of the molares in any of the Phocz, to which these very small Mammalia have been compared: and in reference to this comparison, Mr. Owen again calls attention to the value of the cha- racter of the process continued from the angle of the jaw, in the fossils, as strongly contradistinguishing them from the Phocidz, in none of the species of which is the angle of the jaw so produced. The Thylacotherium differs from the genus Didelphys in the greater num- ber of its molars, and from every ferine quadruped known at the time when Cuvier formed his opinion respecting the nature of the fossil. This difference in the number of the molar teeth, which Cuvierurgedas evidence of the generic distinction of the Stonesfield mammifercus fossils, has since been regarded as one of the proofs of their Saurian nature; but the exceptions by excess to the number seven, assigned by M. de Biainville to the molar teeth in each ramus of the lower jaw of the insectivorous Mammalia, are well established, and have been long known. ‘The insectivorous Chrysochlore, in the order Fere, has eight molars in each ramus of the lower jaw; the insec- tivorous Armadillos have not fewer ; and in one subgenus (Priodon) there are more than twenty molar teeth on each side of the lower jaw. The dental formule of the carnivorous Cetacea, again, de- monstrate the fallacy of the argument against the mammiferous cha- racter of the Thylacotherium founded upon the number of its molar
$
teeth. From the occurrence of the above exceptions in recent pla- cental Mammalia, the example of a like excess in the number of molar teeth in the marsupial fossil ought rather to have led to the expectation of the discovery of a similar case among existing mar- supials, and such an addition to our zoological catalogues has, in fact, been recently made. In the Australian quadruped described by Mr. Waterhouse under the name of Myrmecobius an approxima- tion towards the dentition of the ‘Thylacotherium is exemplified, not only in the number of the molar teeth, which is nine on each side of the lower jaw in the Myrmecobius, but also in their relative size, structure, and disposition. “Lastly, with respect to the dentition, Mr. Owen says it must be obvious to all who inspect the fossil and compare it with the jaw of a small Didelphys, that contrary to the assertion of M. de Blainville, the teeth and their fangs are arranged with as much regularity in the one as in the other, and that no ar- gument of the Saurian nature of the fossil can be founded on this part of its structure.
With respect to M. de Blainville’s assertion that the jaw is com- pound, Mr. Owen stated, that the indication of this structure near the lower margin of the jaw of the Thylacotherium is not a true suture, but a vascular groove similar to that which characterizes the lower jaw of Didelphys, Opossum, and some of the large species of Sorex.
In a memoir to be brought forward on another occasion, Mr. | Owen intends to describe the other genus found at Stonesfield, and for which, on account of its marsupial affinities, he proposes the name of Phascolotherium.
A notice by R. W. Fox, Esq., was afterwards read, ‘‘ On the Formation of Metallic Veins by Voltaic Agency.”
In this communication Mr. Fox says, that he has succeeded not only in forming well-defined metalliferous veins in a crack in the middle of masses of clay by means of voltaic agency, but also in im- parting to the clay a laminated or schistose structure ; the veins and laminee being perpendicular to the voltaic forces. In some instances only a pair of plates, or in preference copper pyrites and zinc, were employed to produce-the voltaic action ; but a constant battery con- sisting of several pairs of plates was much more effective. Among the veins thus produced in clay, Mr. Fox mentions oxide and carbo- nate of copper, carbonate of zinc, oxides of iron and tin. Veins of carbonate of zinc were formed, sufficiently firm to admit of being taken out in plates of the size of a shillmg. Mr. Fox then describes a vein formed in pipeclay, by Mr. Jordan, by five pairs of cylinders, in three weeks. ‘The clay divided an earthenware vessel into two cells, into one of which, containing the copper plate, a solution of sulphate of copper was put; and into the other, or zinc cell, a solu- tion of common salt. Well-defined veins were thus produced of carbonate and oxide of copper, and carbonate of zinc parallel to the laminz, into which the clay divided; as well as another of carbonate and oxide of copper at right angles to them. On dividing the mass
10
of clay in the direction of the principal horizontal vein, the carbonate of zinc was found on the negative side, or towards the copper plate; and the carbonate of copper nearest the zinc plate: and as the for- mer must have been derived from the zinc plate, it is curious to ob- serve such a complete transposition of the respective metals.
Mr. Fox is of opinion that these results have a strong bearing on the numerous mineral veins and beds which are found conformable to the direction of the lamine of the containing rocks, as well as on those veins which traverse the lamine of the conformable veins.
An extract was afterwards read from a letter addressed by Captain Alexander to the Secretary, explanatory of casts of portions of Mastodon teeth from the crag, and on the occurrence of a particu- lar bed containing Echini in the coralline crag at Sudbourne.
The larger cast was taken from a Mastodon tooth found on the shore at Sizewell Gap, about seven miles from Southwold. When the original came into Captain Alexander’s possession, crag adhered to it in considerable quantity; and he has no doubt that it had been washed from Easton, about 14 mile north of Southwold. The weight of the tooth is 2lbs. 54 0z., its length is about 6 inches, and its breadth 34 inches; and although it had been washed eight miles, only three of the crowns had been injured. ‘The other cast is from a fragment of a young tooth found by the author in the crag at Bra- merton.
Capt. Alexander found also the canine tooth of a large carnivo- rous animal in the crag at Easton. At Bramerton he obtained also five crabs, three of which were almost perfect. At Sudbourne, near Orford, in a bed of very fine coralline crag, he found several beau- tiful Echini; and in a thin, argillaceous layer in the centre of the same bed, the greater part of the vertebral column of a fish, the re- mains of crabs, and the ear bone of a whale, which had apparently been water-worn before it was enclosed in the crag. To this stratum Captain Alexander calls particular attention, as he believes it would be found to be rich in organic remains, if it were properly examined.
December 5th.—William Long, Esq., of Hart’s Hall, Saxmund- ham; George Lloyd, Esq., M.D., Newbold Terrace, Leamington; Edward Wilson, Esq., of Abbot Hall, Kendal; Edward Strutt, Esq., M.P., of St. Helen’s, Derby, and South-street, Grosvenor-square ; Mr. Thomas Evans Blackwell, Hungerford, Wiltshire; John M. Herbert, Esq., Fellow of St. John’s College, Cambridge ; and Charles Collier, Esq., F.R.S., Deputy Inspector-General of Hospitals, Earl’s Terrace, Kensington; were elected Fellows of this Society.
A paper was first read, entitled ‘“‘ A few brief Remarks on the Trap Rocks of Fife,” by the Rev. John Fleming, D.D., and commu- nicated by Charles Lyell, Esq., V.P.G.S.
The trap rocks of Fifeshire are referred by Dr. Fleming to three distinct epochs of volcanic action; and he says that the products of
11
each epoch are not more decidedly characterized by dissimilarity in their relationship to the associated sedimentary rocks than by dif- ferences in their composition.
The traps of the first epoch occupy the northern portion of the county from Stratheden to the estuary of the Tay, constituting the eastern extremity of the Ochils. They appear to be coeval with the grey sandstone (Arbroath pavement), and to rest upon, as well as to be variously associated with the old red sandstone, and to be covered by the yellow sandstone which supports the mountain limestone. Viewed on a great scale, they consist of amygdaloids containing ir- regular masses of porphyry, clay-stone, clink-stone, compact felspar, green-stone, and trap tuff: they also contain thin layers of slate- clay and grey sandstone. ‘The whole of the igneous rocks are de- cidedly stratified ; and though the beds are thick and variously bent, they have, in general, the same dip as the superior and inferior sedi- mentary formations. The materials of which they are composed, Dr. Fleming conceives were spread out under water, partly as lava and partly as ashes; and that several of the peculiarities of rocky structure have been produced by corpuscular action.
Two vertical greenstone veins traverse this group in an easterly direction. One of them may be traced along the north side of the Ochils from the neighbourhood of Newburgh by Norman’s Law to Luthrie, a distance of nearly six miles: the other, observable at Alva and Dollard, on the south side of the Ochils, may be traced nearly forty miles by Monymeal to Hilton Bridge, north of Cupar. Several cross veins of greenstone and felspar likewise occur.
The trap rocks of the second epoch form the southern margin of Stratheden, and may be considered as constituting a ridge parallel with the Ochils, from near St. Andrews to Stirling; but several branches or patches of the same age have been observed in the counties on the south of the Forth. ‘These traps consist almost ex- clusively of greenstone, which in a few instances is earthy and amygdaloidal. ‘They cover, in many places, the lower beds of the coal-measures; on the East Lomond they are intermixed with the mountain limestone; and at Wemyss Hall Hill, south of Cupar, they overlap the limestone, and are in contact with the yellow sand- stone.
These two groups of trap rocks, the author is of opinion, were produced while the associated strata of old red sandstone and coal- mheasures were horizontal; and that they have undergone, equally with the sedimentary formations, the movements which gave the strata of the Ochils and the ridge south of Stratheden the southerly dip. He is also of opinion, that the greenstone of the second group may have furnished materials for the great veins, which traverse the older one.
The traps of the third epoch occur chiefly along the shores of the Forth, and in the higher coal-measures. They consist of basalt with olivine, amygdaloid, greenstone, wacke, and trap tuff; and they fre- quently contain fragments of limestone, flinty slate, slate-clay, bitu- minous shale, sandstone, and coal. They appear to have been pro-
12 duced while the associated sedimentary strata were horizontal, and to have undergone with them the same disturbing movements*.
An account of Footsteps of the Chirotheriumf, and other unknown animals lately discovered in the quarries of Storeton Hill, in the pen- insula of Wirrall, between the Mersey and the Dee, communicated by the Natural History Society of Liverpool, and illustrated with drawings by John Cunningham, Esq., was then read.
In the early part of last June, there were discovered in the Store- ton quarries, on the under surface of several large slabs of sandstone, highly relieved casts of what the workmen believed to have been human hands; and the circumstance having been made known to the Na- tural History Society of Liverpool, a committee was appointed, who drew up the report communicated to this Society.
The peninsula of Wirrall consists of new red sandstone; and to- wards the northern extremity, the formation may be separated into three principal divisions. The lowest is composed of beds, slightly inclined towards the east, of red or variegated sandstone, occasionally abounding with pebbles partly derived from the coal-measures ; and in the bottom strata either angular or little water-worn. Seams of marl are very rare in this division, the argillaceous matter being con- fined to nodules or concretions of clay of the same colour as the sandstone.
The middle division consists of white or yellow sandstone, in some places argillaceous, and frequently containing round concretions of clay, and pebbles. ‘The strata are separated by seams of white or mottled clay, occasionally almost imperceptible, but sometimes se- veral inches thick.
The uppermost division is formed of red or variegated sandstone, inclosing also nodules of clay and pebbles of quartz ; and it abounds with strata of red marl.
The Storeton quarries are situated in the middle division; and the casts which have hitherto been noticed, occurred on the under sur- face of three beds of sandstone, about two feet thick each. The strata incline 8° to the north-east, but they are traversed by several faults, which range in the strike of the beds. The authors of the re- port are of opinion, that each of the thin seams of clay in which the sandstone casts were moulded, formed successively a dry surface, over which the Chirotherium and other animals walked, leaving im- pressions of their footsteps; and that each layer was submerged by
* For further particulars, see Mackenzie on the Ochils, Mem. Wern. Soc., vol. il. p. 1; Fleming on Scales in the Old Red Sandstone of Fife- shire, Edinb. Journ. Nat. and Geograph. Science, Feb. 1831; and on the Mineralogy of the Neighbourhood of St. Andrews, Mem. Wern. Soc., vol. ii. p. 145; also Neill’s Daubuisson, p. 215.
+ This name was first applied provisionally by Professor Kaup, to si- milar casts discovered, towards the end of 1834, in the sandstone quarries at Hesseberg, near Hildburghausen. See Dr. F.R.L. Siekler’s Letter to Blumenbach, 1834; also, Die Plastik der Urwelt im Werrathale bei Hildburghausen, with plates by C. Kepler, and an introduction by Dr. Siekler, 1st part, 1836; and Dr. Buckland’s Bridgewater Treatise, 1836...
13
-a depression of the surface. The lowest seam of clay was so thin, that the marks penetrated into the subjacent sandstone. The fol- lowing account.is then given ofa hind foot and a fore foot, selected from slabs in the Museum of the Royal Institution, Liverpool.
Hind Foot, consisting of five digits;.one of which, from its resem- blance to a human thumb, has been generally distinguished by that designation.
Inches.
Total length from the root of the thumb to the point of the se-
LOUD! BOG cody deed me ean In IR PUR ant= et Mae eae Toke wer rs 9 Extreme breadth from the point of the thumb to the point of
HED WOME LOSES GEE Cine enC ene ecto oon mmne re Eras ae
Ler MUMmACKOSS (CMe Alay, oi. eyuusie me, losdi icy chees inictnaleya choumeneects Length of the curved line extending from the root of the thumb POMIES MOU GE Pe ee PR ecd sha certian Fae hol H's op igo, cpi eps aR UE Breadth of the ball of the thumb . Relief of the ball of the thumb from the surface of the slab. Length of the first toe from the root to the point ........ oe HRemetnmotmtme SCCOMM GIEtO o.5.) sce a 4 950, :5 Semin ono, © or si aualin ole, eke Me WecEmolmt net nindvarbtOpeit: Weak) cece setae 6 Bees: abo Sasi Sie, foes See Were theolathe fourth GUttO. 26.5 sey 14 tas) syaregsr so eytce sls apt ene averse breadtn, or the first three toes... . 1. 4 asics a Average breadth of the fourth toe rather less than. . cP Relief of the second toe, which presents the greatest promi- MONEE sovocecu es cb6domengouoddo FO po ba oobogU HO GOUe OS oo
= o> bole Slotol—tolto|e
tole
He bho
One hind foot has been observed which measured 12 inches in its greatest length.
Judging from the appearance of the casts, the sole of the foot must have been amply supplied with muscles, the casts of the ball of the thumb and the phalanges of the fingers being prominent. The digit, which has been called a thumb, is of a tapering shape, and is bent backwards near the extremity, where it ends in a point. It is extremely smooth, and there is no satisfactory evidence of either a nail oraclaw. ‘The toes are thick and strong, and had probably three phalanges each, and at the terminations are traces of stout, conical nails or claws. The sole of the foot is supposed to have been covered bya slightly rugose skin, the folds of which are stated to be distinctly visible in the casts of the toes.
Fore Foot. Perfect impressions of the fore feet are extremely rare, owing either to the animal having used those feet lightly, or to the impressions having been obliterated by the tread of the hind feet. ‘The best preserved cast exhibits a thumb and three toes, being deficient of the fourth. The dimensions, which are generally half those of the hind foot, are as follows:
Inches. Length from the root of the thumb to the point of the second
toe . Le tahoe Total breadth not ascertained it in - consequence of the absence of
the fourth toe.
14
Inches Breadth: Of the talons 3514...c eke, let. CCG ete Gee. Oo: «ic, Sh ceee 13 Wveneth ofttive thumibeis Joc) flys. sets he oa ede ee ee Se ee 24 Breadth of the ball)of theithumab....05. 5. oh esioe . oe oak oe ee Length of the first toe ...... feb ge Ry cene Mises SAE ere SE 2 deena thiotthe second (OG) sche csicd Bik eee cee cibe a oe 2i enethvor whe third toe rch. ssn ese erase eae ace 2: icventestibreadthyof, the t0es.).. 2a.) 4), a ae ioe ees SORBET 3 2
The thumb is slightly bent back, and pointed, and the toes were armed with nails.
Traces of one animal have been observed in a continuous line on a slab ten yards long. The length of the step varies a little, but in general, the distance between the point of the second toe of one hind foot and the point of the same toe in the hind foot immediately in advance, is between 21 and 22 inches. Each fore foot is placed directly in front of the hind, and the thumbs of both extremities are always towards the medial line of the walk of the animal. Some further observations are given by the authors with respect to the progression of the animal, on the supposition that the digit conjectured to be a thumb, was really the first. Conceiving such to be the case, they state, that the animal must have crossed its feet three inches in walking, for the right fore and hind feet are placed 14 inch on the /e/t side of the medial line, and the left fore and hind feet 14 inch on the right side of the same line.
‘The casts of the Chirotherium, although the most remark- able, are by no means the most numerous, which exist on the Storeton sandstones. Many large slabs are crowded with casts in rilievo, some of which are supposed to have been derived from the feet of saurian reptiles, and others from those of tortoises. Occa- sionally the webs between the toes can be distinctly traced. “It is impossible,’ say the authors of the report, ‘‘ to look at these slabs and not conclude, that the clay beds on which they rested, must have been traversed by multitudes of animals, and in every variety of di-
rection.”
A note by Mr. James Yates was then read, giving a brief account of sketches of four differently characterized footsteps, traced from casts procured at Storeton, each of which is distinct both from the casts of the Chirotherium and the web-footed animal mentioned in
the preceding report.
A paper was afterwards read ‘‘ On two Casts in Sandstone of the impressions of the Hind Foot of a gigantic Chirotherium, from the New Red Sandstone of Cheshire,’ by Sir Philip Grey Egerton, Bart., M.P., F.G.S.
These specimens first came under the notice of Colonel Egerton about 1824, and they were placed in the author’s cabinet in 1836; but it was not until the recent discovery of the Chirotherium at Storeton, that their true nature was suspected. The exact locality,
15
at which the specimens were discovered, is not known; but it is pro- bable, that they were obtained from the neighbourhood of Colonel Egerton’s residence, near Tarporley, and from one of the beds of sandstone, which alternate with the red and green marls in the upper part of the new red system in that part of Cheshire.
The casts, which consist of a rather soft and coarse sandstone, were evidently formed in the impressions of two hind feet; and though they have suffered from exposure to the weather for twelve years, yet they are sufficiently perfect to have enabled Sir Philip Egerton to take the measurements of the different parts, and draw up the accompanying comparative table. It is necessary to state, that though he preserves the use of the term thumb for the conve- nience of comparison with previous descriptions, yet he is of opinion that the marginal digit which has been so designated, is not the re- presentative of the fifth, but of the first toe.
Large Chi- Hessberg Storeton rotherium Direction of the Measurements. Chirothe- Chirothe- from near eee Hiecee tne acelicalthe peintee che ai: OS Tae ength from the heel to the point of the MARLO GRORRS seeds este Sisk woabe:s: s/aucvere a versus on aS tea Length from the heel to the point of the Beet reuse ees ees occ tere seciclan c apaie scores ep o8 43 eu Length from the heel to the angle between the list ginal Pinas: Goesbeecoododede } Satiela cu heuae 10 0 ———— 2nd and 8rd toes 4 4 5 8 10 se dsrd and 4th toes 4 0 i Bl oo. il '@ Greatest breadth across the insertions of GINS TOES > coded: Hp age Dep Ee tee Pay ee 8 5 Breadth from the point of the thumb to e AGE LOC MMMEMIN (545 cic rejeshele sinilot le es sie 6 ste oss fY ae Dan0 Breadth from the thumb to point of 4thtoe 6. 3 OS 0R-s- NOG Breadth across the sole below the thumb... 3 6 Bi Deo BG <0) Breadth from Ist toe-point to 4thtoe-point 4 6 4 6 9 0
From these measurements it appears, that considerable differences exist in the three specimens of Chirotherium. Upon comparing the footstep from Hessberg with that from Storeton, it will be found, that the former is thicker and more clumsy than the latter; that the sole is shorter and broader, and the toes wider and longer. The most important discrepancy, however, is in the position of the thumb, which is placed much nearer the heel in the Hessberg specimens than in those from Storeton. The cast from near Tarporley re- sembles the latter more than the former; it nevertheless differs con- siderably in the proportion of the breadth to the length of the sole, which is greater; and in the proportions of the length of the toes to the length of the sole, which is less than in the Storeton specimens. It is also distinguished by the greater divergence of the toes from each other. From these differences and the gigantic size of the Tarporley specimen, the author conceives that the animal which made the im- pression was a distinct species; and he proposes for it, in compli- ance with the adage ex pede Herculem, the name of Chirotherium Herculis.
hy
The eae, tt
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PROCEEDINGS OF
THE GEOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF LONDON.
¢
Vou. III. 1838—1839. No. 60.
Dec. 9, 1838.— A paper on the “ Phascolotherium,” being the second part of the ‘‘ Description of the Remains of Marsupial Mammalia from the Stonesfield Slate,’ by Richard Owen, Esq., F.G.S., was read.
Mr. Owen first gave a brief summary of the characters of the “« Thylacotherium,”’ described in the first part of the memoir, and which he conceives fully prove the mammiferous nature of that fossil He stated, that the remains of the split condyles in the spe- cimen demonstrate their original convex form, which is diametrically Opposite to that which characterizes the same part in all reptiles and all ovipara ;—that the size, figure and position of the coronoid process are such as were never yet witnessed in any except a zoophagous mammal endowed with a temporal muscle sufficiently developed to demand so extensive an attachment for working a powerful carnivorous jaw;—that the teeth, composed of dense ivory with crowns covered with a thick coat of enamel, are every where distinct from, the substance of the jaw, but have two fangs deeply im- bedded in it ;—that these teeth, which belong to the molar series, are of two kinds; the hinder being bristled with five cusps, four of which are placed in pairs transversely across the crown of the teeth, and the anterior or false molars, having a different form, and only two or three cusps—characters never yet found united in the teeth of any other than a zoophagous mammiferous quadruped ;—that the general form of the jaw corresponds with the preceding more essen- tial indications of its mammiferous nature. Fully impressed with the value of these characters, as determining the class to which the fossils belonged, Mr. Owen stated, that he had sought in the next place for secondary characters which might reveal the group of mammalia to which the remains could be assigned, and that he had found in the modification of the angle of the jaw, combined with the form, structure and proportions of the teeth, sufficient evidence to induce him to believe, that the Thylacotherium was a marsupial quadruped.
Mr. Owen then recapitulated the objections against the mammi- ferous nature of the Thylacotherian jaws from their supposed imperfect state ; and repeated his former assertion, that they are in a condition to enable these characters to be fully ascertained : he next reviewed, first the differences of opinion with respect to the actual structure
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of the jaw; and, secondly, to the interpretation of admitted appear- ances.
1. As respects the structure.—It has been asserted that the jaws must belong to cold-blooded vertebrata, because the articular sur- face is in the form of an entering angle; to which Mr. Owen replies, that the articular surface is supported on a convex condyle, which is met with in no other class of vertebrata except in the mammalia. Again, it is asserted, that the teeth are all of an uni- form structure, as in certain reptiles; but, on reference to the fos- sils, Mr. Owen states, it will be found that such is not the case, and that the actual difference in the structure of the teeth strongly sup- ports the mammiferous theory of the fossils.
2. With respect to the argument founded on an interpretation of structure, which really exists, the author showed, that the Thylaco- therium, having eleven molars on each side of the lower jaw is no objection to its mammiferous nature, because among the placental carnivora, the Canis Megalotis has constantly one more grinder on each side of the lower jaw than the usual number; because the Chrysochlore among the Jnsectivora has also eight instead of seven molars in each ramus of the lower jaw; and the Myrmecobius, among the Marsupialia, has nine molars on each side of the lower jaw ; and because some of the insectivorous Armadillos and zoophas gous Cetacea offer still more numerous and reptile-like teeth, with all the true and essential characters of the mammiferous class. The ob- jection to the false molars having two fangs, Mr. Owen showed was futile, as the greater number of the spurious molars in every genus of the placental fere have two fangs, and the whole of them in the Marsupialia. If the ascending ramus in the Stonesfield jaws had been absent, and with it the evidence of their mammiferous nature afforded by the condyloid, coronoid and angular processes, Mr. Owen stated, that he conceived the teeth alone would have given sufficient proof, especially in their double fangs, that the fossils do belong to the highest class of animals.
In reply to the objections founded on the double fangs of the Basilosaurus, Mr. Owen said, that the characters of that fossil, not having been fully given, it is doubtful to what class the animal be- longed; and, in answer to the opinion, that certain sharks have double fangs, he explained, that the widely bifurcate basis support- ing the tooth of the shark, is no part of the actual tooth, but true bone, and ossified parts of the jaw itself, to which the tooth is an- chylosed at one part, and the ligaments of connexion attached at the other. The form, depth and position of the sockets of the teeth in the Thylacothere are precisely similar to those in the small opos- sums. The colour of the fossils, Mr. Owen said, could be no ob- jection to those acquainted with the diversity in this respect, which obtains in the fossil remains of Mammalia. Lastly, with respect to the Thylacothere, the author stated, that the only trace of compound structure is a mere vascular groove running along its lower margin, and that a similar structure is present in the corresponding part of the lower jaw of some species of opossum, of the Wombat, of the
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Balena antarctica, and of the Myrmecobius, though the groove does not reach so far forwards in this animal; and that a similar groove is present near the lower margin, but on the outer side of the jaw, in the Sorex Indicus.
Description of the Half Jaw of the Phascolothertum—This fossil is a right ramus of the lower jaw, having its internal or mesial sur- face exposed. It once formed the chief ornament of the private collection of Mr. Broderip, by whom it has since been liberally pre- sented to the British Museum. It was described by Mr. Broderip in the Zoological Journal, and its distinction from the Thylacothe- rium clearly pointed out. The condyle of the jaw is entire, stand- ing in bold relief, and presents the same form and degree of con- vexity as in the genera Didelphys and Dasyurus. In its being on a level with the molar teeth, it corresponds with the marsupial genera Dasyurus and Thylacynus as well as with the placental zoo- phaga. The general form and proportions of the coronoid process closely resemble those in zoophagous marsupials ; but in the depth and form of the entering notch, between the process and the condyle, it corresponds most closely with the Thylacynus. Judging from the fractured surface of the inwardly reflected angle, that part had an extended oblique base, similar to the inflected angle of the Thy- lacynus. In the Phascolotherium the flattened inferior surface of the jaw, external to the fractured inflected angle, inclines out- wards at an obtuse angle with the plane of the ascending ramus, and not at an acute angle, as in the Thylacyne and Dasyurus ; but this difference is not one which approximates the fossil in question to any of the placental zoophaga; on the contrary, it is m the marsupial genus Phascolomys, where a precisely similar relation of the inferior flattened base to the elevated plate of the ascending ramus of the jaw is manifested. In the position of the dental foramen, the Phascolothere, like the Thylacothere, differs from all zoophagous marsupials, and the placental fere ; but in the Hypsiprymnus and Phascolomys, marsupial herbivora, the orifice of the dental canal is situated, as in the Stonesfield fossils, very near the vertical line dropped from the last molar teeth. ‘The form of the symphysis, in the Phascolothere, cannot be truly determined; but Mr. Owen is of opinion that it resembles the symphysis of the Dzdelphys more than that of the Dasyurus or Thylacynus.
Mr. Owen agrees with Mr. Broderip in assigning four incisors to each ramus of the lower jaw of the Phascolothere, as in the Didelphys; but in their scattered arrangement they resemble the incisors of the Myrmecobius. In the relative extent of the alveolar ridge occupied by the grinders, and in the proportions of the grinders to each other, espe- cially the small size of the hindermost molar; the Phascolothere resem- bles the Myrmecobius more than it does the Opossum, Dasyurus or Thylacynus ; but in the form of the crown, the molars of the fossil re- semble the Thylacynus more closely than any other genus of marsupials. In the number of the grinders the Phascolothere resembles the Opossum and Thylacine, having four true and three false in each maxillary
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ramus; but the molares veri of the fossil differ from those of the Opos~ sum and Thylacothere in wanting a pointed tubercle on the inner side of the middle large tubercle, and in the same transverse line with it the place being occupied by a ridge which extends along the inner side of the base of the crown of the true molars,and projects a little beyond the anterior and posterior smaller cusps, giving the quin- quecuspid appearance to the crown of the tooth. This ridge, which, in Phascolotherium, represents the inner cusps of the true molars in Didelphys and Thylacotherium, is wanting in Thylacynus, in which the true molars are more simple than in the Phascolo- there, though hardly less distinguishable from the false molars. In the second true molar of the Phascolothere, the internal ridge is also obsolete at the base of the middle cusp, and this tooth presents a close resemblance to the corresponding tooth in the Thylacine ; but in the Thylacine the two posterior molars increase in size, while in the Phascolothere they progressively diminish, as in the Myrmecobius. As the outer sides of the grinders in the jaw of the Phascolothere are imbedded in the matrix, we cannot be sure that there is not a smaller cuspidated ridge sloping down towards that side, as in the crowns of the teeth of the Myrmecobius. But, assuming that all the cusps of the teeth of the Phascolothere are exhibited in the fossil, still the crowns of these teeth resemble those of the Thylacine more than they do those of any placental Insectivora or Phoca, if even the form of the jaw permitted a com- parison of it with that of any of the seal tribe. Connecting then the close resemblance which the molar teeth of the Phascolotherium bear to those of the Thylacynus with the similiarities of the ascending ramus of the jaw, Mr. Owen is of opinion that the Stonesfield fossil was nearly allied to Thylacynus, and that its position in the marsupial series Is between Thylacynus and Didelphys. With respect to the supposed compound structure of the jaw of the Phascolotherium, Mr. Owen is of opinion that, of the two linear impressions which have been mistaken for harmonié or toothless sutures, one, a faint shallow linear impression continued from between the antepenultimate and penultimate molars obliquely downwards and backwards to the foramen of the dental artery, is due to the pressure of a small artery, and that the author possesses the jaw of a Didelphys Virgi- niana which exhibits a similar groove in the same place. Moreover, this groove in the Phascolothere does not occupy the same relative position as any of the contiguous margins of the opercular and den- tary pieces of a reptile’s jaw. The other impression in the jaw of the Phascolotherium is a deep groove continued from the anterior extremity of the fractured base of the inflected angle obliquely downwards to the broken surface of the anterior part of the jaw. Whether this line be due to a vascular impression, or an accidental fracture, is doubtful; but as the lower jaw of the Wombat presents an impression in the precisely corresponding situation, and which is undoubtedly due to the presence of an artery, Mr. Owen conceives that this impression is also natural in the Phascolothere, but equally
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unconnected with a compound structure of the jaw; for there is not any suture in the compound jaw of a reptile which occupies a corresponding situation.
The most numerous, the most characteristic, and the best marked sutures in the compound jaws of areptile, are those which define the limits of the coronoid, articular, angular, and surangular pieces, and which arechiefly conspicuous on the inner side of the posterior part of the jaw. Now the corresponding surface of the jaw of the Phascolo- there is entire; yet the smallest trace of sutures, or of any indication that the coronoid or articular processes were distinct pieces, cannot be detected; these processes are clearly and indisputably continuous, and confluent with the rest of the ramus of the jaw. So that where sutures ought to be visible, if the jaw of the Phascolothere were composite, there are none; and the hypothetical sutures that are apparent do not agree in position with any of the real sutures of an oviparous compound jaw.
Lastly, with reference to the philosophy of pronouncing judg- ment on the saurian nature of the Stonesfield fossils from the appearance of sutures, Mr. Owen offered one remark, the justness of which, he said would be obvious alike to those who were, and to those who were not, conversant with comparative anatomy. ‘The accumulative evidence of the true nature of the Stonesfield fossils, afforded by the shape of the condyle, coronoid process, angle of the jaw, different kinds of teeth, shape of their crowns, double fangs, implantation in sockets,—the appearance, he repeated, presented by these important particulars cannot be due to accident; while those which favour the evidence of the compound structure of the jaw may arise from accidental circumstances.
A paper was afterwards read, entitled “‘ Observations on the Structure and Relations of the presumed Marsupial Remains from the Stonesfield Oolite,” by William Ogilby, Esq., F.G.S.
These observations are intended by the author to embody only the most prominent characters of the fossils, and those essential points of structure in which they are necessarily related to the class of mammifers or of reptiles respectively. For the sake of putting the several points clearly and impartially, he arranged his observa- tions under the two following heads :—
1. The relations of agreement which subsist between the fossils in question and the corresponding bones of recent marsupials and insectivora.
2. The characters in which the fossils differ from those families. Mr. Ogilby confined his remarks to marsupialia and insectivora, because it is to those families only of mammifers that the fossils have been considered by anatomists to belong; and to the interior surface of the jaw, as the exterior is not exhibited in any of the fossil specimens.
1. In the general outline of the jaws, more especially in that of the Didelphys (Phascolotherium) Bucklandii, the author states, there is a very close resemblance to the jaw in recent imsectivora and insectivorous marsupials ; but he observes, that with respect to the
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uniform curvature along the inferior margin, Cuvier has adduced the same structure as distinctive of the Monitors, Iguanas, and other true saurian reptiles, so that whatever support these modifications of structure may give to the question respecting the marsupial nature of the Stonesfield fossils, as compared with other groups of mammals, they do not affect the previous question of their mammiferous na- ture, as compared with reptiles and fishes. ‘The fossil jaws, Mr. Ogilby says, agree with those of mammals, and differ from those of all recent reptiles, in not being prolonged backward behind the articulating condyle ; a character in conjunction with the former relation, which would be, in this author’s opinion, well nigh incon- trovertible, if it were absolutely exclusive ; but the extinct saurians, the Pterodactyles, Ichthyosaurt, and Plesiosauri, cotemporaries of the Stonesfield fossils, differ from their recent congeners in this respect and agree with mammals. Mr. Ogilby is of opinion that the con- dyle is round both in D. Prevostii and D. Bucklandii, and is there- fore a very strong point in favour of the mammiferous nature of the jaws. ‘The angular process, he says, is distinct in one speci- men of D. Prevostii, and, though broken eff in the other, has left a well-defined impression ; but that it agrees in position with the insec- tivora, and not the marsupialia, being situated in the plane passing through the coronoid process and the ramus of the jaw. In the D. Bucklandii, he conceives, the process is entirely wanting; but that there is a slight longitudinal ridge partially broken, which might be mistaken for it, though placed at a considerable distance up the jaw, or nearly on a level with the condyle, and not at the inferior angular rim of the jaw. He is therefore of opinion that the D. Bucklandii cannot be properly associated either with the marsu- pial or insectivorous mammals. ‘The composition of the teeth, he conceives, cannot be advanced successfully against the mammiferous nature of the fossils, because animal matter preponderates over mineral in the teeth of the great majority of the Insectivorous Cheir- optera, as well as in those of the Myrmecobius, and other small marsu- pials. In the jaw of the D. Prevostii, Mr. Ogilby cannot perceive any appearance of a dentary canal, the fangs of the teeth, in his opinion, almost reaching the inferior margin of the jaw, and being implanted completely in the bone; but in the D. Bucklandit, he has observed, towards the anterior extremity of the jaw, a hollow space filled with foreign matter, and very like a dentary canal. The double fangs of the teeth of D. Prevostii, and probably of D. Buck- landi, he says, are strong points of agreement between the fossils and mammifers in general; but that double roots necessarily indi- cate, not the mammiferous nature of the animal, but the compound form of the crowns of the teeth.
2. With respect to the most prominent characters by which the Stonesfield fossils are distinguished from recent mammals of the insectivorous and marsupial families, Mr. Ogilby mentioned, first, the position of the condyle, which is placed in the fossil jaws ina line rather below the level of the crowns of the teeth; and he stated that the condyle not being elevated above the line in the Dasyurus
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Ursinus and Thylacinus Harrisii, is not a valid argument, because. those marsupials are carnivorous. The 2nd point urged by the author against the opinion, that the fossils belonged to insectivorous or marsupial mammifers, is in the nature and arrangement of the teeth. The number of the molars, he conceives, is a second- ary consideration ; but he is convinced that they cannot be separated in the fossil jaws into true and false, as in mammalia; the great length of the fangs, equal to at least three times the depth of the crowns, he conceives, is a strong objection to the fossils being placed in that class, as it is a character altogether peculiar and unexampled among mammals; the form of the teeth also, he stated, cannot be justly compared to that of any known species of marsupial or insec- tivorous mammifer, being, in the author’s opinion, simply tricuspid, and without any appearance of interior lobes. As to the canines and incisors, Mr. Ogilby said, that the tooth in D. Bucklandit, which has been called a canine, is not larger than some of the pre- sumed incisors, and that all of them are so widely separated as to occupy full five-twelfths of the entire dental line, whilst im the Dasyurus viverrinus, and other species of insectivorous marsupials, | they occupy one-fifth part of the same space. Their being arranged longitudinally in the same line with the molars, he conceives, is another objection, because, among all mammals, the incisors occupy the front of the jaw, and stand at right angles to the line of the molars. With respect to the supposed compound structure of the jaw, Mr. Ogilby offered no formal opinion, but contented himself with simply stating the appearances; he, nevertheless, objected to the grooves being considered the impression of blood vessels, though he admitted that the form of the jaws is altogether different from that of any known reptile or fish.
From a due consideration of the whole of the evidence, Mr. Ogilby stated, in conclusion, that the fossils present so many import- ant and distinctive characters in common with mammals on the one hand, and cold-blooded animals on the other, that he does not think naturalists are justified at present in pronouncing definitively to which class the fossils really belong.
Jan. 9, 1839.—Alexander Jack, Esq., Captain in the 30th Regi- ment of Bengal Native Infantry ; George Cunningham, Esq.,Harley- street; Rev. Samuel Wilberforce, M.A., Brighston, near Newport, Isle of Wight; Rev. William Bilton, of Port Hill, near Bideford; and Richard Clewin Griffith, M.D., Gower-street, Bedford-square ; were elected Fellows of this Society.
A notice was first read on the discovery of the Basilosaurus and the Batrachiosaurus, by Dr. Harlan.
The first remains of the Basilosaurus, which came under Dr. Harlan’s notice, were a vertebra and some other bones found in the marly banks of Washeta river, Arkansas territory. In the autumn of 1834, he examined another collection discovered in a hard lime- stone in Alabama, and consisting of several enormous vertebre, a humerus, portions of jaws with teeth, and some other fragments sup-
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posed to belong to the same animal. In the matrix of the vertebra from the Washeta river was a fossil corbula, common in the Alabama tertiary deposits, and specimens of nautilus, scutella, and modiolus of extinct and new species; sharks’ teeth have also been found in a similar rock in the vicinity of the locality from which the other collection was procured. Dr. Harlan was originally inclined, from the struc- ture of the teeth, to consider these fossil remains as having belonged to a marine carnivorous animal; but from an examination of the bones he was induced to conclude, that they were portions of a new genus of Saurians, for which he proposed the name of Basilosaurus. Dr. Harlan then briefly described a portion of an upper jaw of a Saurian discovered by a beaver trapper, on or near the banks of the Yellowstone river in the territory of the Missouri, imbedded in a hard blue limestone rock. On first inspection Dr. Harlan believed, from the structure of the teeth, the mode of dentition, and the po- sition of the anterior nares, the fragment belonged to an Ichthyo- saurus ; but as it differs entirely from that genus in having separate alveoli, and in the form and position of the intermaxillary bones, while it approaches in the latter characters the batrachian reptiles,
he has formed for the fossil a new genus designated by the name of Batrachiosaurus.
A paper was afterwards read, entitled, ‘‘ Observations on the Teeth of the Zeuglodon, Basilosaurus of Dr. Harlan,’ by Richard Owen, Esq., F.G.S. Hunterian Professor in the Royal College of Surgeons, London.
During the recent discussions respecting the Stonesfield fossil jaws, one of the strongest arguments adduced and reiterated by M. de Blainville and others in support of their saurian nature, was founded on the presumed existence in America of a fossil reptile possessing teeth with double fangs, and called by Dr. Harlan, the Basilosaurus. To the validity of this argument, Mr. Owen refused to assent, until the teeth of the American fossil had been subjected to a re-examination with an especial view to their alleged mode of implantation in the jaw; and until they had been submitted to the test of the microscopic investigation of their intimate structure with reference to the true affinities of the animal to which they be- longed. The recent arrival of Dr. Harlan in England with the fossils, and the permission which he has liberally granted Mr. Owen of having the necessary sections made, have enabled him to determine the mammiferous nature of the fossil.
Among the parts of the Basilosaurus brought to England by Dr. Harlan, are two portions of bone belonging to the upper jaw ; the larger ofthem contains three teeth; the other, the sockets of twoteeth. In the larger specimen, the crownsof the teeth aremore or less perfect, and they are compressed and conical, but with an obtuse apex. The longitudinal diameter of the middle, and most perfect one, is three inches, the transverse diameter one inch two lines, and the height above the alveolar process two inches and a half. The crown is trans- versely contracted in the middle, giving its horizontal section an hour-glass form; and the opposite wide longitudinal grooves which
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produce this shape, becoming deeper as the crown approaches the socket, at length meet and divide the root of the tooth into two se- parate fangs. ‘The two teeth in the fore part of the jaw are smaller than the hinder tooth, and the anterior one appears to be of a sim- pler structure.
A worn-down tooth contained in another portion of jaw, Mr. Owen had sliced, and it presented the same hour-glass form, the crown being divided into two irreguiar, rounded lobes jomed by a narrow isthmus or neck. The anterior lobe is placed obliquely, but the posterior parallel with the axis of the jaw. ‘The isthmus increases in length as the tooth descends in the socket until the isthmus finally disappears, and the two portions of the tooth take on the character of separate fangs. It is evident that the pulp was originally simple, but that it soon divided into two parts, from which the growth of the ivory of the teeth proceeded as from two distinct centres, now separately surrounded by concentric striz of growth, the exterior sending an acute-angled process into the isthmus. The cavitas pulpi, which is very small im the crown of the tooth, contracts as the crown descends, and is almost obliterated near the extremity, proving that the teeth were developed from a temporary pulp.
The sockets in the anterior fragment of the upper jaw are indistinct and filled with hard calcareous matter, but a transverse horizontal section of the alveolar margin proves, that these sockets are single, and that the teeth lodged therein had single fangs. In the anterior socket, there is an indication of the transverse median contraction, showing that this tooth resembled in form, to a certain degree, the posterior tooth. A plaster cast of a portion of the lower jaw af- forded the only means of studying this part of the fossil. It con- tains four teeth, of which the two posterior are nearly contiguous, the next is at an interval of an inch and a half, and the most an- terior of two inches from the preceding. The last tooth is more sim- ple in form than those behind, and it has been described as a canine. This fragment of the lower jaw thus confirms the evidence afforded by the fragments of the upper jaw, that the teeth in the Basilosaurus were of two kinds, the anterior being smaller and simpler in form, and further from each other than those behind.
Mr. Owen then proceeds to compare the Basilosaurus with those animals which have their teeth lodged in distinct sockets, as the Sphyrzena, and its congeners among fishes, the Plesiosauroid and Cro- codilean Sauria, and the class Mammalia; but as there is no instance of either fish or reptile having teeth implanted by two fangs in a double socket, he commences his comparison of the Basilosaurus with those Mammalia which most nearly resemble the fossil in other respects. Among the zoophagous Cetacea the teeth are always si- milar as to form and structure, and are invariably implanted in the socket by a broad and simple basis, and they never have two fangs. Among the herbivorous Cetacea however, the structure, form, num- ber and mode of implantation of the teeth differ considerably. In the Manatee, the molars have two long and separate fangs lodged in deep sockets, and the anterior teeth, when worn down, present
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a form of the crown similar to that of the Basilosaurus, but the opposite indentations are not so deep; and the entire grinding sur- face of the molars of the Manatee differs considerably from those of the Basilosaurus, the anterior supporting two transverse conical ridges, and the posterior three. The Dugong resembles more nearly the fossil in its molar teeth; the anterior ones being smaller and simpler than the posterior, and the complication of the latter being due to exactly the same kind of modification as in the Basilosaurus, viz. a transverse constriction of the crown. ‘The posterior molar has its longitudinal diameter increased, and its transverse section approaches to the hour-glass figure, produced by opposite grooves. There is in this tooth also a tendency to the formation of a double fang, and the establishment of two centres of radiation for the calci- gerous tubes of the ivory, but the double fang is probably never com- pleted. The teeth in the Dugong moreover are not scattered as in the Basilosaurus.
Mr. Owen then briefly compared the teeth of the fossil with those of the Saurians, and stated that he had not found a single instance of agreement in the Basilosaurus with the known dental peculiarities of that class. From the Mosasaurus the teeth of the American fossil differ in being implanted freely in sockets and not anchylosed to the substance of the jaw ; from the Ichthyosaurus and all the lacertine Sauria in being implanted in distinct sockets, and not in a continuous groove; from the Plesiosaurus and crocodilian reptiles from the fangs not being simple and expanding as they de- scend, but double, diminishing in size as they sink in the socket, and becoming consolidated by the progressive deposition of dental substance from temporary pulp in progress of absorption. In the Enaliosauria and the Crocodilia, moreover, there are invariably two or more germs of new teeth in different stages of formation close to or contained within the cavity of the base of the protruded teeth ; but the Basilosaurus presents no trace of this characteristic Saurian structure. From the external characters only of the teeth, Mr. Owen therefore infers, that the fossil was a Mammifer of the cetaceous order, and intermediate to the herbivorous and piscivorous sections of that order, as it now stands in the Cuvierian system.
In consequence however of the Basilosaurus having been re- garded as affording an exceptional example among reptilia of teeth having two fangs, though contrary to all analogy, and as the other characters stated above, may be considered by the same anatomists to be only exceptions, Mr. Owen procured sections of the teeth for microscopic examination of their intimate structure and for com- paring it with that of the teeth of other animals.
In the Sphyreena and allied fossil fishes which are implanted in sockets, the teeth are characterised by a continuation of medullary canals, arranged in a beautifully reticulated manner, extending through the entire substance of the tooth, and affordimg innumerable centres of radiation to extremely fine calcigerous tubes.
In the Ichthyosaurus and Crocodile the pulp cavity is simple and central, as in Mammalia, and the calcigerous tubuli radiate from
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this centre to every part of the circumference of the tooth, to which they are generally at right angles. The crown of the tooth in these Saurians is covered with enamel, while that part of the tooth which is in the alveolus is surrounded with a thick layer of cortical substance. In the Dolphins which have simple conical teeth like the higher reptiles, the crown is also covered with enamel and the base with cementum. But in the Cachalot and Dugong the whole of the teethis covered with cementum. In the Dugong this external layer presents the same characteristic radiated purkingian corpuscles or cells as in the cementum of the human teeth, and those of other animals ; but the cementum of the Dugong differs from that of the Pachyderms and Ruminants in being traversed by numerous calcige- rous tubes, the corpuscles or cells being scattered in the interstices of these tubes. Now the crowns of the teeth of the Basilosau- rus evidently exhibit in many parts a thin investing layer of a substance distinct from the body or ivory of the tooth, and the mi- croscopic examination of a thin layer of this substance proves it to possess the same characters as the cementum of the crown of the tooth of the Dugong. The purkingian cells are, in some places, scattered irregularly, but in others are arranged in parallel rows. The tubes radiating from the cells are wider than usual at the com- mencement; but soon divide and subdivide, forming rich reticula- tions in the interspaces, and communicating with the branches of the parallel larger tubes. These are placed, as in the Dugong, perpen- dicular to the surface of the tooth, but they are less regularly arranged than the calcigerous tubes of the ivory, with which, however, they form numerous continuations. There is a greater proportion of ce- mentum in the isthmus of the tooth than elsewhere; and the worn- down crown of the tooth must therefore have exhibited a complicated structure. ‘The entire substance of the ivory of the teeth consists of fine calcigerous tubes radiating from the centres of the two lobes, without any intermixture of coarser medullary tubes which charac- terize the teeth of the Iguanodon; or the slightest trace of the re- ticulated canals, which distinguish the texture of the teeth of the Sphyrena and its congeners. The calcigerous tubes undulate regu- larly, and like those of the Dugong, exhibit more plainly the pri- mary dichotomous bifurcations, and the subordinate lateral branches given off at acute angles: they also communicate with numerous minute cells arranged in concentric lines.
Thus, the microscopic characters of the texture of the teeth of the great Basilosaurus are strictly of a mammiferous nature; and Mr. Owen further showed that they differ from those of the fossil Eden- tata, which are also surrounded by cementum, in the absence of the coarse central ivory ; and confirm the inference respecting the position of the fossil in the natural system drawn from the external aspect of the teeth.
Mr. Owen then adduced further proofs of the mammiferous and cetaceous character of the Basilosaurus, from the structure of the vertebrze which proves that the epiphyseal lamine were originally separated from the body of the vertebrz, but were afterwards united
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to it. In the bodies of the smaller vertebre the epiphyses are wanting, and Mr. Owen agrees with Dr. Harlan in infering from the common occurrence of this condition, that there were originally three separate points of ossification in the body of the vertebree; a character never noticed in the vertebrz of Saurians, but a most pro- minent one in those of the Cetacea. Another argument in favour of the mammiferous and cetaceous nature of the Basilosaurus is de- duced from the great capacity of the canal for the spmal chord, which in the Cetacea is surrounded by an unusually thick plexiform stratum of both arteries and veins. ‘The cetaceous character is further manifested in the short antero-posterior extent of the neura- pophyses as compared with that of the body of the vertebre; in their regular concave posterior margin, and the development of the articular apophyses only from their anterior part: also in the form and position of the transverse processes, which however present a greater vertical thickness than in the true Cetacea, and approach in this respect to the vertebrze of the Dugong.
With respect to the other bones of the Basilosaurus, Mr. Owen stated, that the ribs in their excentric laminated structure are pecu- liar, and unlike those of any mammal or Saurian. The hollow structure of the lower jaw of the Basilosaurus, which has been ad- vanced as a proof of its saurian nature, Mr. Owen showed occurs also in the lower jaw of the Cachalot, and is therefore equally good for the cetaceous character of the fossil.
In the compressed shaft of the humerus, and its proportion to the vertebre, the Basilosaurus again approximates to the true Cetacea, as much as it recedes from the Enaliosaurians; but in the expansion of the distal extremity and the form of the articular surface, this hu- merus stands alone; and no one can contemplate the comparative feebleness of this, the principal bone of the anterior extremity, with- out agreeing with Dr. Harlan, that the tail must have been the main organ of locomotion.
Mr. Owen, in compliance with the suggestion of Dr. Harlan, who, having compared with Mr. Owen the microscopic structure of the teeth of the Basilosaurus with those of the Dugong and other ani- mals, admits the correctness of the inferences of its mammiferous nature, proposes to substitute for the name of Basilosaurus that of Zeuglodon, suggested by the form of the posterior molars which re- semble two teeth tied or yoked together.
A paper, ‘‘ On the Geology of the Neighbourhood of Lisbon,” by Daniel Sharpe,” Esq., F.G.S., was commenced.
Jan. 23, 1839.—H. Sockett, Esq., Barrister at Law, Swansea; John Thomas Barber Beaumont, Esq., County Fire Office, Regent- street; and Rev. Thomas Rees, LL.D., F.S.A., Woburn-place, were elected Fellows of this Society, ,
A notice on ‘‘ the Occurrence of Graptolites in the Slate of Gal- loway in Scotland,” by C. Lyell, Esq., V.P.G.S., was first read.
On examining some specimens of slaty sandstone and shale, col- lected by Mr. John Carrick Moore, on the shore of Loch Ryan in
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Galloway, Mr. Lyell discovered distinct remains of Graptolites, re- sembling those found in the Silurian strataof England and Sweden. As Mr. Lyell is not aware of these zoophytes having been before observed in Scotland, and as organic remains are exceedingly rare in the great range of slaty sandstone and shale, which extends from St. Abb’s Head to Galloway, he considers the discovery of a fossil, affording a test of the relative age of those beds, not unimportant. The strata contaiing the Graptolites are nearly vertical, and their strike is west-south-west and east-north-east.
Mr. Sharpe’s paper ‘‘ On the Geology of the Neighbourhood of Lisbon,” commenced at the meeting held on the 9th of January, was then concluded.
In 1832, Mr. Sharpe laid before the Society, a short account of the geological structure of the neighbourhood of Lisbon* ; but having since that period resided for a considerable time in the same district, he gave in the paper read on the 23rd instant, the result of his more extended and matured acquaintance with the country.
The tract described by Mr. Sharpe, is bounded towards the north by a line extending from Torres Vedras by Sobral to Villa Franca, and in the south by the coast from Cape Espichel to St. Ubes; and the whole of its area is about 650 square miles.
The formations are arranged by the author in the following order, the local names having been taken from the points where the strata are best exhibited :
Tertiary. (a.) Upper tertiary sand.—(6.) Almada beds.—(c.) Lower tertiary conglomerate.
Secondary. (d.) Hippurite limestone.—(e.) Red sandstone.—(/.) Espichel limestone.—(y.) Slate clay and shale.-—(h.) San Pedro limestone.—(z.) Older red conglomerate.
Igneous Rocks.—Basalt.— Granite.
TERTIARY FORMATIONS.
The tertiary deposits occupy a tract, only a portion of which is included within Mr. Sharpe’s district, as they extend in a north-east direction to Abrantes, a distance of eighty miles, and in a south-east to Alcacer do Sal, a distance of fifty miles. ‘The Tagus flows through the tract from Abrantes to the sea, but the greater part of the ter- tiary strata are situated to the south of the river.-
(a.) Upper Tertiary Sand.—This formation consists of about 100 feet of fine gray quartzose sand, and 150 feet of coarse quartzose ferruginous sand and gravel. It constitutes nearly the whole of the tertiary district, south of the Tagus, included within the author’s sur- vey. The strata are usually quite horizontal, except at the edges of the basin, where they rest upon the inclined beds of the subjacent deposits; and the author did not observe any instance of their having been disturbed. They generally repose upon the Almada limestone, but near Aldea do Meco, to the north of Cape Espichel, they are in contact with the red sandstone formation. No traces of
* Proceedings, vol. i. p, 394.
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organic remains have been noticed in any part of these sands. In the lower beds a mine of quicksilver was worked profitably during the last century near Coina, south of the Tagus; and the gold dust for which the sands of that river have been so long celebrated, Mr. Sharpe believes, is derived also from the lower or ferruginous sands. (.) Almada Beds.—A complete section of this deposit is not ex- hibited in the neighbourhood of Lisbon, and the strata are so very irregular both in thickness and composition, that it is difficult to connect the sections displayed at different localities. ‘The strata are best exposed in the cliff south of the Tagus, between Trafaria and Almada. The whole of the series is arranged by Mr. Sharpe in three groups, the uppermost consisting of limestone and sands, the middle of blue clay, and the lowest of another series of limestones and sands: but Mr. Sharpe does not attach much value to the sub- division ; as the same fossils are found in the beds above and below the blue clay. The deposit constitutes a triangular tract on the Lisbon side of the Tagus, extending from that city to Verdelha, a distance of about fourteen miles ; it also caps some hills between Belem and Fort St. Julian. South of the Tagus, it forms the cliffs already mentioned; and a band which ranges from St. Ubes northwards to Palmella, and thence south-west to within a mile of Aldea do Meco, skirting the flanks of a ridge of secondary formations. A detached mass of the Almada beds occurs at the western end of the Serra de San Luiz, between St. Ubes and Azeitao, abutting unconformably against the elevated edges of the beds of red sandstone, and another is on the shore at the foot of San Felippa near St. Ubes. North of the Tagus, the beds incline from 5° to 10° to the south-east; but to the south of the river between St. Ubes and Aldea do Meco, the dip varies from 25° to 30°, and conforms to the position of the band with respect to the ridge of secondary rocks, being to the south-east between St. Ubes and Palmella, andto the north-west between the latter town and Azeitao. Thebeds of the detached mass near the western end of the Serra de San Luiz, dip about 30° north, and those of the mass on the shore at the foot of San Felippa, 80° towards the older red conglomerate, having been thrown over beyond the perpendicular. On the coast at Casilhas near Almada, the level of the strata is affected very con- siderably by faults. North of the Tagus a fault cuts off the tertiary strata at Oeiras, the Almada beds forming one bank of the stream, and the Hippurite limestone the opposite; but the strata of each deposit are horizontal. In Lisbon the Almada beds rest uncon- formably on the Hippurite limestone ; but between the city and Ver- delha, conformably on the lower tertiary conglomerate. In the band ranging from St. Ubes by Palmella towards Aldea do Meco, they repose in general also conformably on the red sandstone. The greatest height attained by the formation is the Castle Hill near Pal- mella, the summit of which is 930 feet above the level of the sea, and at this point two lines of disturbance meet. Fossils are very abundant in some of the beds, but sufficient attention has not yet been paid to them to permit their being compared with the organic remains of other tertiary districts. A long-hinged oyster, Ostrea
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longirostris, Mr. Sharpe considers identical with a species common in the tertiary deposits of the south of Spain. Small quantities of quicksilver have been found in several places in a bed of sand im- mediately above the blue clay or central division of the formation.
(c.) Lower Tertiary Conglomerate-—This deposit consists in the upper part of distinctly stratified conglomerates, composed of lime- stone pebbles imbedded in a calcareous matrix; and in the lower of sands, grits, gravel, and marl. Within the district examined by Mr. Sharpe, it occurs only on the Lisbon side of the Tagus, forming a band from that city by Odivellas, Camarate, Loures, and Tojal, to the neighbourhood of Alhandra, on the banks of the Tagus, and skirting the western and north-western boundary of the Almada beds. ‘The conglomerate occurs also on some of the detached hills between Belem and the Bay of Cascaes. ‘The deposit dips to the south-east under the Almada beds at an angle of 10° or 15°, but in the lowest strata the dip is 30°. For a short distance south of Alhandra, the conglomerate rests upon the red sandstone, but throughout the remainder of its range upon basalt. No organic remains were noticed in the deposit.
SECONDARY FORMATIONS.
In few countries can the separation between the tertiary and secondary formations be more strongly marked than in the neigh- bourhood of Lisbon. ‘The deposits of the older class of rocks, Mr. Sharpe states, were disturbed and denuded previously to the com- mencement of the tertiary epoch, and an immense mass of basalt is interposed between the newest of the secondary rocks and the most ancient of the tertiary series.
(d.) Hippurite Limestone.—The upper part of this formation con- sists of alternations of marl and limestone, succeeded by beds of limestone containing thin horizontal beds of flint; and the lowest part of various strata of compact limestone ; amounting in the whole to a thickness of above 500 feet. ‘The formation is confined to the north of the Tagus, where it presents several distinct bands, which rest upon the red sandstone, and are overlaid by basalt. ‘The most southern tract extends from Cascaes Bay nearly to Loures; another irregular strip ranges from Montelavar to a little to the eastward of Bucellas; and a third district, commencing near Villa Franca, stretches to the north beyond the range of Mr. Sharpe’s district. A portion of Lisbon also stands upon Hippurite limestone. In some parts, especially on the coast, the dip is slightly towards the south-east, but from Loures to beyond Bellas it varies from 30° to 50° in the same direction. The strata do not always rest con- formably on those of the subsequent red sandstone, for near Cas- caes, the limestone beds are horizontal, and the sandstone on which they lie is inclined at a considerable angle. ‘The narrow valley of Alcantara, close to Lisbon, is the line of a considerable fault, the strata dipping in opposite directions from the valley, or 15° towards the west, and 10° towards the east. Another anteclinal line inter-
32
sects the upper part of this valley ; and at the point where the two disturbances cross, considerable derangement of the strata is produced. In one quarry Mr. Sharpe noticed eight small faults, and the walls of the rocks on each side of the fissures had a beautiful polish. Though the author has adopted the term Hippurite limestone for this deposit, yet he did not discover any remains of that genus, but great abundance of spherulites, some of them probably of known species, and other fossils of the family of Rudista. He obtained also a considerable number of shells including Ezogyra flabellata, Pecien quadricostatus and Pecten striato-costatus.
(e.) Red Sandstone.—This formation consists of various sands, sandstones, marls, and limestone, which are grouped by Mr. Sharpe in the following manner :
Upper Division.—Ferruginous sands, sandstones, and coloured marls.
Middle Division.—Calcareous sandstones and coarse limestones.
Lowest Division.—Coarse sands, sandstones, and grits.
The extent of country, composed of this formation, is very con- siderable. North of the Tagus, the red sandstone covers the greater portion of the area to the westward of the tertiary strata and Hip- purite limestone, the only tract belonging to other deposits being the hills at Cintra, and the lower ridges immediately surrounding them. A denuded strip of sandstone is also exposed between Loures and Cape Sinchette. South of the Tagus, the red sandstone forms a tract of variable breadth, extending from Palmella to the coast, a little north of Cape Espichel. The beds of this formation are greatly affected by faults and vary much in the angle of inclination, but the prevailing dip is towards the south-east throughout the districts on the Lisbon side of the Tagus. In the tract between Palmella and the coast, the strata have also been disturbed by considerable faults, but their usual dip is north, or north-west, at a high angle. Near Lisbon, the connexion of the red sandstone with the subjacent for- mations is not often exposed. North of Cintra the sandstone rests almost horizontally upon inclined strata of Espichel limestone, shale, San Pedro limestone and granite. South of the Cintra hills, it reposes very irregularly upon the Espichel limestone: and south of the Tagus, with every degree of want of conformity, upon the limestone of the Serra d’Arrabida (Espichel limestone); and in a great variety of positions upon the lofty peaks of the older red con- glomerate of the Cavoens and the Serra de San Luiz near St. Ubes. Lignite occurs im several places, and in sufficient quantities to have led to unsuccessful researches for coal. Sulphur also thickly en- crusts some of the sandstone strata; and gypsum has been worked near Santa Anna, south of the Tagus. Mr. Sharpe is of opinion, that the tepid springs of Estoril, near Cascaes, may derive their virtues from the sulphureous strata; and that the hot springs of Caldas da Rainha may owe their sulphureous qualities to similar strata. The only organic remains found in the sandstones, are vegetable impressions and seed-vessels ; but in the calcareous beds, corals and
od
shells occur, and Mr. Sharpe has been able to identify some of the latter with the Perna rugosa, Trigonia literata and Terebratula in- termedia, of the English secondary oolitic series.
(f.) Espichel Limestone.—This formation constitutes the flat, outer band which encircles the Cintra hills, also the range of hills be- tween Cape Espichel and Cezimbra, and most probably the Serra d’ Arrabida near St. Ubes. At the first of these localities, it consists of thick beds of gray coarse limestone, alternating with thinner ones of shale or marl; at the second, of a similar limestone with fewer layers of shale; and at the Serra d’Arrabida, of compact gray lime- stone with no partings of shale, except towards the bottom of the formation. Around the hills of Cintra, the strata dip as from a centre, at angles varyimg from 20° to 75°; between Cape Espichel and Cezimbra their inclination is from 45° to 70° to the north; and in the Serra d’ Arrabida the prevailing dip is also to the north at a high angle, but at the west end of the Serra it varies from north to north- west and north-east; whilst in the northern side of the Serra de Vizo, or the eastern prolongation of the Serra d’Arrabida, the dip is toward the south. In the Cintra district the limestone rests con- formably on the subjacent formation of shale ; between Cape Espi- chel and Cezimbra, and in the Serra d’Arrabida the bottom beds are not exposed, and consequently the connexion withthe inferior de- posits is not visible ; but in the Serra de Vizo the limestone reposes quite unconformably upon highly inclined strata of the older red con: glomerate. The organic remains of this formation are principally casts of shells, which are not easily separable from the matrix. One of the specimens obtained by Mr. Sharpe closely resembles a Trigonia from the green sand of Blackdown.
(g.) Shale.—The upper portion of this deposit consists princi- pally of shale, varying a good deal in character; the middle of indurated shale alternating regularly and conformably with beds of trap from five to twenty feet thick, and the lowest of dark shale. Near Ramalhao, where the formation is best displayed, there are from twenty to thirty distinct alternations of igneous rocks and shale, the latter being altered and indurated ; but in the cliff at the Praia de Adraga, where the deposit is diminished to about 200 feet, there is only one bed of igneous origin. The formation rests with perfect conformity on the San Pedro limestone, dipping on all sides from the central granite axis of Cintra, at angles from 30° to 60°.
(h.) The San Pedro Limestone forms an inner zone around the Cintra hills, resting upon the granite. The upper beds are dark gray and earthy; but as the limestone approaches the granite, it gradually passes into a crystalline marble. At the village of San Pedro the following series is exposed :—
Dark gray compact limestone several hundred feet
chicky) Gray limestone with very slight traces of crystalline texture, and towards the bottom granular...... 200 feet Coarse crystalline marble, white or gray and white 100 f
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Coarser crystalline marble, usually gray, but towards the bottom bluish white, and still coarser ...... 100 feet
Granite.
The same gradual change may be traced all around the Cintra hills, wherever the limestone can be seen resting upon or approach- ing the granite. The lines of stratification are scarcely affected by the change in the structure of the stone, and the dip is from the granite at angles between 40° and 70°. Imperfect casts of a bivalve and an univalve were found in this limestone by the author.
(i.) Older Red Conglomerate.—This formation occurs only west of St. Ubes; and though Mr. Sharpe describes it the last of the sedimentary series, yet he is not certain respecting its relative geo- logical antiquity. Near St. Ubesit rises from beneath the red sand- stone and the Espichel limestone, and it is therefore older than either of those rocks. The conglomerate consists of rounded peb- bles of white or ferruginous quartz, with a few of jasper, mica slate, and limestone. They vary from half an inch to more than a foot in diameter, and are firmly imbedded in a coarse ferruginous sandstone. The highest ridge of the Serra de Covoens consists of this forma- tion, also the eastern end of the Serra de San Luiz, the higher parts of the Serra de Vigo, and the coast from St. Ubes to the foot of the Serra d’ Arrabida. At the eastern end of the Serra de Co- voens and in the Serra de San Luiz, the dip of the beds is to the north, at angles varying from 30° to 50°; at the eastern end of the Serra de Vigo they incline about 30° to the south ; more to the west- ward, in the same serra, they are in some places vertical, in others they dip about 50° to the north; and at the Torre de Outao, at the foot of the Serra d’ Arrabida, they are inclined about 70° north-east.
The description of the sedimentary rocks is followed by an attempt to compare each formation with its probable equivalent in other parts of Europe; but as the Lisbon fossils have not yet been examined with sufficient care, Mr. Sharpe does not venture to draw any positive conclusions.
Of the tertiary series, the Almada beds alone offer any terms of comparison, and these are not very satisfactory. The fossils col- lected by the author are said to differ from those of the London clay, with the exception of one species, which is considered iden- tical with Natica similis ; but a long-hinged oyster, Ostrea longi- rostris, abundant in the Almada beds, agrees with a fossil common in the tertiary strata of Baza, Lorca and Alhama, in the south of Spain, described by Brigadier Silvertop; and Mr. Sharpe from an examination of these deposits, as well as from the agreement in the oyster, is induced to consider the Murcia and the Lisbon series as of the same age.
The Hippurite limestone, Mr. Sharpe has no doubt, is the equiva- lent of the extensive formation in the south of Europe characterized by the abundance of remains belonging tv the family of Rudista, and considered the representative of the chalk and greensand series of England and the north of France.
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The red sandstone Mr. Sharpe considers to belong also to the secondary system, in consequence of his having obtained from it specimens of Terebratula intermedia, Perna rugosa, and Trigonia hiterata.
Of the formations below the red sandstone, the author offers no data for establishing a comparison with deposits in other parts of Europe further than that the Espichel and Arrabida limestones may be of the same age as the limestone of the rock of Gibraltar, and that the shale near Cintra may be the equivalent of the shale which underlies the Gibraltar limestone, and constitutes a considerable portion of Andalusia. He is also of opinion, that the Cintra shale is of the same age with the immense deposit of similar composition, which covers the centre of the province of Alentejo, extending from Alcacer do Sol to the confines of Algarve.
The older red conglomerate of the neighbourhood of St. Ubes, Mr. Sharpe considers as probably identical with the conglomerate largely developed on the banks of the Vonga, and which rests upon mica slate a little to the south of Oporto.
IGNEOUS ROCKS.
Basalt.—The principal deposit of this rock forms one of the most important features in the geology of the district to the north and west of Lisbon, occupying an irregular area, estimated to be not less that eighty square miles. It is difficult to define its limits without reference to an accurate map; but it may be stated to form a tract of very varying breadth, from the shore west of Belem by Queluz, and Odivellas to Loures. In the neighbourhood of the last village, in turns S.W. and N.E., ranging in the former direction to the neighbourhood of Montelavar, and in the latter nearly to Verdelha on the banks of the Tagus. Besides this immense continuous mass, many of the hills north of Oeiras, near the mouth of the Tagus, are capped by basalt, evidently outlying patches, once connected with the great deposit. Basalt also forms the summit of the hills near Sobral and St. Sebastiano, resting upon the red sandstone. It has been already stated, that beds of trap alternate regularly and with- out any appearance of disturbance with the central division of the shale formation near Cintra.
The rock varies considerably in character, and is occasionally columnar. Itisstated to have frequently the appearance of a black indurated clay with an irregular schistose cleavage, and breaking into very irregular rhombs.
The only beds which rest upon the basalt belong to the tertiary series, but it overlies both the Hippurite limestone and the red sandstone. To the westward of Loures, it cuts through these formations; and the red sandstone, to the south of the line of intersection, has been brought to a level with the Hippurite lime- stone to the north of the line. The strata of Hippurite limestone to the north are nearly horizontal, while those of the red sandstone, and limestone to the south, are highly inclined. Hence Mr. Sharpe
D2
36
infers that the great mass of basalt was poured forth from fissures in the neighbourhood of Loures.
The cliffs in the bay of Cascaes exhibit fine sections of basaltic dykes and disturbances; and on the beach west of Cezimbra masses of basalt are intruded into strata of red sandstone, which exhibit great marks of disturbance. ‘The Espichel limestone and the red sandstone have been also greatly elevated at the Castle Hill at Ce- zimbra, by a trap rock of which the date is uncertain.
Although the author had innumerable opportunities of observing the junction of the basalt with the beds below it, yet in no instance did he observe any change in the characters of the subjacent rocks. The alteration produced in the beds of shale, which alternate with trap rocks near Cintra, has been already noticed. Mr. Sharpe con- siders these igneous strata to have been ejected contemporaneously with the deposition of the shale, and to be consequently older than the great coating of basalt. The Espichel limestone, in contact with the trap near Cezimbra, is also altered, being of a crystalline texture to a distance of fifty feet from the igneous rock.
Granite is found only in the neighbourhood of Cintra, forming a range of hillsabout seven miles in length and fivein breadth. ‘Their greatest altitude is less than 2000 feet. The prevailing rock is a true granite consisting cf nearly equal proportions of quartz and felspar with a little mica; but towards the western end of the chain, syenite and porphyry occur. In the central portions of the hills, the granite is coarsely grained, and splits into large irregular blocks; but on the flanks it is schistose, finely grained, cleaves into rhombs, and might be mistaken for a sandstone. Veins of large-grained granite, however, occur in the schistose variety, and veins of finely-grained in the coarse central masses.
Mr. Sharpe then describes, in detail, the dislocations in the sedi- mentary strata on the flanks of the granitic hilis; and he shows that all the formations, from the San Pedro limestone to the Espichel, have been dislocated, and thrown into highly inclined positions, but the details cannot be clearly understood without the aid of sections. It may however be stated, that in consequence of the red sandstone resting in nearly horizontai strata against the inclined beds of the lower formation, the latter was disturbed previously to the de- position of the sandstone, and that consequently the irruption of the granite of Cintra took place at a period anterior to the origin of the sandstone.
Mr. Sharpe describes also with considerable minuteness the dis- turbance near Palmella, south of the Tagus; and he infers, from the relative position of the strata, that there have been, in that district, considerable elevations at four distinct periods.
The paper concludes with some observations on the earthquake of 1755; and the author shows, that its effects were entirely confined to the tertiary strata, and were most violently felt on the blue clay belonging to the Almada beds, on which the lower part of the city is constructed. Not a building on the Hippurite lime- stone, or the basalt, was injured.
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Feb. 6.—Matthew Dawes, Esq. of Southwield, Bolton ; Capt. Alexander, H. P. Royal Staff Corps, Acre’s Fold, Suffolk; John Cunningham, Esq., Hope Street, Liverpool; and S. R. Pattison, Launceston, were elected Fellows of this Society.
A paper ‘“‘ On a probable Cause of certain Earthquakes,” by M. Louis Albert Necker, For. Mem. G. S., was read.
The object of this memoir is to show, that some earthquakes may be due to the falling in of the roof of cavities, produced by the sol- vent or erosive powers of subterranean bodies of water on beds and masses of gypsum, rock salt, limestone, marl, clay or sand.
M. Necker was induced to enter upon the inquiry in conse- quence of the earthquake which desolated, in 1829, a considerable part of the country on the banks of the Segura, in Murcia, having occurred in a district, which is stated to contain no volcanic or trap- pean rocks; and because the event was unaccompanied by any of those phenomena which, he conceives, precede, attend, or follow true volcanic earthquakes.
Of the places where earthquakes have been felt without there being any traces of volcanic or trap rocks, but where gypsum is known to occur, and in which, from that mineral being, in his opi- nion, of comparatively easy renewal, he supposes, caverns exist, M. Necker more particularly mentions Bale, Nice, Navarroux, Oleron, Maulen, Bagnorre de Bigorre, and the Gave Maulen, in the Py- renees ; he also alludes to the shocks which were felt at Clanssaye, near St. Paul-trois-Chateaux; in the department of the Drome, from the Ist of June, 1772, to the end of December, 1773, and he states, that though Clanssaye stands upon a tertiary deposit, yet it is probable that the gypseous formation of the hills to the east- wards having a westerly dip may pass beneath it: likewise to the earthquakes which affected Kronstadt in Transylvania, Odessa, Bucharest, Lembourg in Gallicia, and Kieff, with other towns in that part of Russia, early in 1838, and in the vicinity of which gypsum is believed to exist. Among the limestone tracts, in which caverns abound, and earthquakes are not unfrequently felt, M. Necker enu- merates Fiume, Buchari, Trieste, Lissa in the Adriatic, and Foligno.
In the above instances M. Necker supposes, that cavities having been formed by the action of bodies of water, the roof gave way, and, falling upon a solid floor, produced in the strata a motion which extended laterally and vertically, and gave rise to the pheno- menon of an earthquake. He is further of opinion, that air con- fined in the caverns being also set in motion by the subsidence of the roof, would cause undulations in the overlying strata. To illustrate his views, M. Necker described the vibrations produced in the walls of a house which he occasionally inhabits at Geneva, by the blows of a blacksmith’s hammer upon an anvil placed in a vault, and these vibrations always appeared to him completely analogous to the motion which he experienced in the same room during the earth- quake on the 19th of February, 1812. He likewise stated, that M. Virlet perceived, in a coal-mine, a shock resembling that of an
38
earthquake, by the falling in of some works at the distance of a quarter of a league.
With respect to the shocks felt at Nice, the author says, that he had carefully compared the list published by M. Risso, with the ac- counts of eruptions of Vesuvius and Etna; and that though some of the earthquakes had preceded, by very short intervals, certain powerful eruptions of those volcanoes; yet, in very many instances, the shocks appear to have been quite independent; and that a considerable number of eruptions, both of Vesuvius and Etna, had not been felt at Nice. Hence, he infers, that, in this case, there may have been earthquakes due to volcanic, as well as non- volcanic, agents ; and that Nice, standing upon a gypsum forma- tion, may have felt the effects of volcanic eruptions im consequence of a predisposition in the undermined ground, without which they would not have been perceptible at the surface.
M. Necker objects to the earthquake in Calabria, in 1783, being considered of true volcanic origin, because it was unaccompanied by any disengagement of heat, lava, smoke, acid, or sulphureous pro- ducts; because the surface of the ground was depressed, not ele- vated; because only sand and water were ejected through the fis- sures and circular or star-like cavities formed in the ground, and be- cause there was no eruption of Vesuvius or Etna. The earthquakes in the valley of the Mississippi, during 1812, he conceives were non-volcanic, in consequence of no lava having been poured forth, nor any acid or other vapours emitted. He alluded to a letter by Mr. Stanley Griswold, dated Kaskahia, Illinois, the 22nd of Dec. 1812, which describes some of the phenomena of the earthquakes,— particularly the subterranean noises resembling thunder, the cracks formed in the ground, the issuing of ‘“‘ a something”’ like smoke, or warm aqueous vapour, accompanied by a great quantity of sand, the ejection of carbonised wood, coal, and pumice, a quantity of which is said to have been collected on the Mississippi, the drymg up of lakes, and the raising of the bed of the river. To some of these statements M. Necker objects. He conceives that the smoke, or warm aqueous vapour, which is mentioned only from the reports of others, and not decidedly, may have been mistaken for vapour produced by water striking against an immoveable obstacle. The occurrence of pumice, he conceives, is very doubtful; and, as it is mentioned by no other author, he withholds his assent till the sub- stance has been examined by a competent mineralogist.
M. Necker dissents from the Cutch earthquake in June, 1819, being considered volcanic. ‘The elevation of the Ullah Bund, he conceives, was effected by the subsidence of the ground towards Sindree, or to a movement on a fixed axis. ‘The materials thrown out by the shocks were only black mud, sand, wrought iron, and nails, and could not therefore, he says, have been produced from any great depth.
The earthquakes on the coast of Cumana, and the Caraccas, M. Necker considers to be non-voleanic ; and that when the number and
; 39 violence of the shocks felt in that part of America are considered, he is of opinion, that the agreement of the earthquakes, in April, 1812, with the simultaneous eruption of the volcano of St. Vincent, was fortuitous.
In 1772, the little group, situated some leagues to the north of the chain of the Caucasus, and composed of the trachytic moun- tains called Pechstein, and the calcareous hill Metschuka, was shaken by an earthquake. The warm springs, known by the name of the baths of the Caucasus, issue from the foot of the limestone hill, and deposit, as well as all the cold brooks, considerable quanti- ties of calcareous tuff. It might be supposed, observes M. Necker, that the thermal springs indicate the existence of some portion of the original heat of the trachyte ; and that the earthquake of 1772, by which a portion of the hill, Metschuka, was engulphed, was only the effect of volcanic activity. This, he says, is possible; but it ap- pears to him much more probable, that the cold and warm springs had formed large cavities in the limestone hill, the falling in of the roof of which produced the shock and attending phenomena.
The earthquakes in Jamaica in 1692, M. Necker is of opinion were non-volcanic, because there were only subsidences of the ground, and because only water, sand, and gravel were ejected.
The earthquake in the plain of Bogota, 16th November, 1827, he is tempted to consider non-volcanic, the country being gypsiferous and saliferous; but he admits that it may have been of a mixed nature, in consequence of the great adjacent volcano of Popa- yan being, at the same time, in activity. The earthquakes on the coast of Chili, he is of opinion, may have a similar origin.
M. Necker gives a list of earthquakes extracted from Mr. Lyell’s “« Principles of Geology,” and arranges them under the heads—vol- canic, non-voleanic, and of doubtful origin.
In the first list he includes the earthquakes felt at Ischia, February 2nd, 1828; Java, 1699, 1772, and 1786; Sumbana, April, 1815; Quito, Feb. 4, 1797; Sicily, March, 1693, 1790; Guati- mala, 1773; Kamtschatka, 1737; Peru, Oct. 28, 1746; Iceland, 1725; Teneriffe, May 5, 1706; Sorea, (Moluccas) 1693; Lisbon, Noy. 1, 1755.
Non-Volcanic.—Murcia, 1829; Lahore, Sept. 1827 ; Lissa, in the Adriatic, 1833; Foligno, Jan. 15, 1832; Cutch, June 16, 1819; Cumana, Dec. 14, 1797; the Caraccas, March 26, 1790; Calabria, . 1783 to 1786; Bechstan, 1772 ; and Jamaica, 1692.
Doubtful Origin. —Bogota, Nov. 16, 1827; Chili; Quebec, Dec. 1791; Nipon, Japan, August 1, 1783; and Martinique, 1772.
Thus, though M. Necker reduces considerably the power of vol- canic agents, yet he is far from denying that a weak volcanic move- ment may be propagated over considerable surfaces; and he men- tions, in conclusion, the following instances, as not generally known, of probable connexions between earthquakes and volcanic eruptions. The great eruption of Vesuvius, which commenced the 21st of Fe- bruary, 1822, was preceded by an earthquake at Geneva, and in the province of Bugey, in France, on the 19th of February ; and, before
40
the eruption of October of the same year, the environs of Aleppo, in Syria, had been convulsed during the whole of August; the most violent shocks having taken place the 13th of the same month ; and on the 14th of August an earthquake was experienced at Laybach in Carniola; On the 19th of February, 1825, the town of St. Maure, in the Ionian Islands, was almost destroyed by an earth- quake, felt also at Corfu and Prevesa. During the night of the 20th and 21st of February, 1825, there were several shocks at San Veit in Carinthia; and on the 21st of February, and for five days after, dreadful earthquakes were felt at Alger and its environs. The 25th of February, 1828, Vesuvius, which had been very quiet from 1822, commenced a new eruption. There were earthquakes at Trieste during the night of the 13th and 14th January, 1828, at the Island of Ischia on the 2nd of February, and all over Belgium the 23rd of the same month. Lastly, M. Necker deems it not impro- bable, that the earthquakes felt in Hungary, Transylvania, Gallicia, Wallachia, and the south of Russia, at the commencement of 1838, were the precursors of the eruptions of Vesuvius and Htna during the summer of the same year.
PROCEEDINGS
OF
THE GEOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF LONDON.
Vor. III. : 1839. No. 61.
AT THE ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING, 15th February, 1839,
The following Report from the Council was read :—
The Council have again the satisfaction of congratulating the Society on the increased number of its Fellows, and of stating that the number of its members now amounts to 831, thereby not only proving the prosperity of the Society, but showing that the interest taken by the public in Geological Researches continues undiminished and unabated. The number of Fellows at the close of 1837 was, according to the annual report, 738; but in consequence of errors which had crept into the returns of former years, the real number of Fellows at the close of 1837 (exclusive of Honorary and Foreign Members, and Personages of Royal Blood,) was only 731. During the year 1838, 31 Fellows were elected and admitted, besides 5 more who had not paid their admission fees at the close of the year During the same period there were 16 deaths and 4 resignations, the number of Fellows therefore increased from 731 to 742, but that of Honorary Members was reduced from 41 to 37, and that of Foreign Members from 53 to 49. In consequence of these alterations the total number of Members, as compared with the returns of last year, appears to be reduced from 837 to 831 ; whereas, owing to the cir- cumstances mentioned above, there is really an increase from 828 to 831.
It was stated in the Report of last year, that the Council consi- dered it desirable, that the laborious and difficult duty of cataloguing and arranging the collections should devolve upon an officer whose time should be given to that single object ; but that there was great difficulty in finding any one with the necessary qualifications willing to undertake the office. Since that period, a Curator was ap- pointed, a gentleman in every way competent to the office; and the Council hoped, that under Mr. Wood’s care the arrangement and ca- taloguing of the collections would have been rapidly carried on, in a manner no less satisfactory to the wishes of the Members than advan-
VOL, III. KE
42
tageous to the interests of the Society, and the advancement of Géo- logy. ‘They have to state, however, with regret, that Mr. Wood has been compelled, in consequence of ill health, to give in his re- signation, which they have felt it their duty to accept. For the great value of his services the Council refer to the Report of the Museum Committee.
The Council have also great satisfaction in calling the attention of the Society to the state of the finances. The receipts of the last year have exceeded the expenditure by the sum of 440/. 2s. 2d.; but it should be observed that the largeness of this surplus is mainly owing to the fact, that no expenses have been incurred by the pub- lication of Transactions.
In furtherance of the recommendation contained in the Auditors’ Report for 1833, that the Council should, from the surplus income of the Society, make such investments in the Government Funds as would create a capital equal to the amount of sums paid in lieu of annual contributions, they have to state that they have invested all the compositions received during the past year, amounting to the sum of 155/. 18s. 6d., and a further sum of 138/. lls. 6d. from the balance in the banker’s hands, making altogether the sum of 2941. 10s. The value of the funded property of the Society is now about 1790/., or within 15497. of the sums (83839/.) received from 106 compounders, and exceeds by 836/. the sums received for composi- tions since the recommendation of the Auditors in 1833.
The Council have resolved ‘‘ that the Wollaston Gold Medal and 20/. be assigned to Professor Ehrenberg of Berlin for his researches and discoveries respecting Fossil Infusoria.”
Report of the Committee appointed to examine and report on the state of the Museums and Library.
Your Committee have to report that Mr. Wood, having been ap- pointed in May last Curator of the Museum, entered immediately upon the duties of his office. The result of his labours during the last eight months may be mentioned under the two following heads : first, the British; and secondly, the Fereign Collection.
British Collection.—The Curator has been employed in completing the arrangement of the rocks and organiv remains belonging to for- mations ranging from the newest tertiary to the lias inclusive. To begin with the crag; it was stated in the Repcrt of the Museum Committee of last year, that Mr. Lonsdale had then for the first time set in order and named the suite of fossils of that formation which were in the possession of the Society, and that they then filled ten drawers. Mr. Wood finding this series very incomplete, has added to it most liberally from his private cabinet, and has by this means augmented the species of mollusca and corals from about 100, of which they before consisted, to no less than 400, besides inserting many specimens in a more perfect state, of species of which the So- ciety already possessed some individuals. Duplicates, moreover, of many species common to the upper and lower crag have been intro- duced for the sake of comparison ; and the localities of all Mr. Wood's
43
specimens, verified from his own observations, have been carefully noted on the tablets. By these important donations the number of drawers containing organic remains of the crag has been increased from 10 to 27. Mr. Wood has at the same time prepared a new catalogue of the whole of this part of the collection.
Three drawers of shells from the freshwater and upper marine strata from Headon Hill and Hordwell Cliff have now been introdu- ced for the first time, the specimens having been almost all present- ed by Mr. Wood from his private cabinet.
Of the Wealden beds (including the Purbeck) 6 drawers of or- ganic remains and several of rocks have been arranged, which con- tain specimens presented by Dr. Fitton.
Of the Kimmeridge clay, 3 drawers of organic remains, besides several of rocks also, principally given by Dr. Fitton; of the Coral Rag, 8 drawers, containing organic remains from various con- tributors; of the lower calcareous grit, 3 drawers, the specimens of which were previously unnamed; of the Oxford clay, 2 draw- ers of organic remains; of cue rock, 2; of cornbrash, 3; cf forest marble, 4; of Bradford clay, 3; of great oolite, 12; of pation rior oolite, 9 ; ae marlstone, 4, consisting principally of specimens presented by Mr. Murchison.
Of lias, 12 drawers, into which fossils presented by Lord Cole have been mtroduced.
Of all the above 73 drawers of organic remains from the Britisia Secondary Rocks Mr. Wood has provided new catalogues. '
The labours of the Curator have not extended to the arrangement of the fossils of the formations below the Oolitic series, including the Lias: we beg however to state shortly the condition of the et seum as respects these deposits.
The New Red Sandstone has hitherto presented few organic: re- mains, but most of those which have been found, including the shells and ichthyolites of the Keuper, and some of the plants of the “ Bun- ter Sandstein ” are in our collection.
Of the Magnesian Limestone we possess some good and charac- teristic specimens (a few of which still require to be named), but the donation of some of the characteristic fishes and rarer saurians of this formation are still important desiderata.
The Museum is pretty abundantly stored with Organic remains of the Carboniferous System, particularly with plants of the Coal beds and shells of the Mountain Limestone, but still we beg to invite col- lectors tg enrich it by donations, particularly of fishes from the dif- ferent strata of this vast group.
The arrangement of the Fossils of the Old Red Sandstone and Silurian Systems has been undertaken by Mr. Murchison.
Foreign Collection.—This collection consists of 700 drawers of specimens of rocks and organic remains from all parts of the world, exclusive of the British Isles, arranged topographically. The Cura- tor has drawn up an index catalogue, and affixed letters and nnm-. bers to the drawers referred toin the catalogue. ‘This work, recom-
mended by the Museum Committee of last year, has, from the ex- E2
44
tent of the collection, occupied a considerable portion of the Cura- tor’s time and labour.
Your Committee have to report that there are now no more va- cant drawers in the Museum, and recommend that no time be lost in procuring 4 new sets of drawers, to be placed in the Lower Mu- seum.
In conclusion, your Committee cannot sufficiently express their regret that the state of Mr. Wood’s health has compelled him to tender his resignation, as both his industry, scientific acquirements, and liberality as a donor, have so materially promoted, during the short period which he has devoted to our service, the value and ge- neral usefulness of our Museum.
In regard to the Library, the Committee have only to express their satisfaction at the mode in which the several objects are ar- ranged and catalogued, so as to fulfil, as far as is attainable, the de- sire which has ever been felt to render all the collections of the So- ciety easy of access, and available to the use of the several members, and the furtherance of Geological Science.
CHARLES LYELL. RODERICK IMPEY MURCHISON. GEORGE BELLAS GREENOUGH.
Comparative Statement of the Number of the Society at the close of the years 1837 and 1838.
3lst Dec. 1837. 31st Dec. 1838.
Fellows having compounded ...... BOSE ote. 3 Meda 106 =a Contributing (Test Hi ae) io nate ate ate) ieee cts —~ Non-resident ............ SOO ahi lela ceuae 393 731 742 Elionorary:, Members 2: oye See ris ael ccekokoet el eae 37 Foreign: Members)” <:,.5... 2 ae ee DelRerschslckut erat sts 49 Personages of Royal Blood........ SO Tebie aie Haid OS Sy 3 828 831 Number of Fellows, Compounders, Contributors, and 73] Non-residents, 31st Dec. 1837 .............- Add Fellows elected and paid during 1838 ...... 31 762 Deduct wWeccased’!C) eh Ne atisevr a1 pe 16 restored) LG ut pile a oe |asne cao 4 20 Total number of Compounders, Contributors and 789 49
Non-residents, 3lst Dec. 1839
* The numbers in this column differ from those given in nike return for 1838, in consequence of the corrections mentioned in 1 the preceding report.
45
Number of Fellows liable to Annual Contribution at the close of 1838, with the alterations during the year.
Number at the close of 1837 ................ 252 Deduch Weceaseds 4.2 aes: wae ee 3 esipemedh) Wi PM anit aie 4 Compounded yy Tea kak 1 Residents who became can : 12 FEsi@entsy Nis Garanyeaiiy.. Se SU 232 Add, Non-residents who became Resi- 9 Gemts! SATS ign OnE aN) Residents, elected, paid, and not \ 9 compounded. M4.) ita —= ll 243
The following Donations to the Museum have been received since the last Anniversary :—
British and Irish Specimens.
Fossils from Bognor ; presented by James Laird, M.D. F.G.S.
A Mass of Ostrea Gregarea from near Oxford ; presented by the Rev. William Buckland, D.D. F.G.S.
Specimens from the North Lancashire Coal Field; presented by Charles Dawes, Esq. F.G.S.
A Tetragonolepis (Agassiz), from Barrow-upon-Soar, Leicestershire ; presented by the Rev. John Pye Smith, D.D. F.G.S.
Remains of Fossil Fishes from Goldworth Hill, near Guildford ; pre- sented by Allan Sibthorpe, Esq.
Fossils from the Chalk of Berkshire; presented by Richard Gran- tham, Esq. F.G.S.
Shells from the Crag of Felixstow; presented by the Rev. Belfield Dennys.
Minerals from Cornwall; presented by Captain Beaufort, R.N., Hon. Mem. G.S.
The Collection of Minerals, Fossils, and Geological Specimens be- longing to the late Nathaniel John Winch, Esq., Hon. Mem. G.S.; bequeathed to the Society by Mr. Winch.
Fossils from the Mountain Limestone of Kirkby Lonsdale and Cli- theroe; presented by the Rev. J. Fisher, F.G.S.
Specimens of Fish Scales in Flint ; presented by the Rev. J. B. Reade.
Fossils from Under Barrow, near Kendal; presented by Gilpin. Gorst, Esq. F.G.S.
46
Casts of Bones of Reptiles discovered by Dr. Mantell in Tilgate Forest, formerly in the Mantellian Museum at Brighton, and now in the British Museum ; and Fossils from the Lower Green Sand ; presented by Gideon Mantell, LL.D. F.G.S.
Fossil Pinnas from Honey Pen Hill, near Bristol; presented by George Cumberland, Jun. Esq.
Mass of New Red Sandstone, with impressions of Chirotherium footsteps from Birksbeck, Warwickshire; presented by Roderick Impey Murchison, Esq. V.P.G.S.
Cast of the Jaw of the Cheropotamus ; presented by the Rev. W. Dar- win Fox.
Fossil Turtle from Harwich; presented by 8. R. Heseltine, Esq.
Gryphea sinuata from the Lower Green Sand; presented by Mr. Binsted.
Casts of Calymene Blumenbachu, Asaphus caudatus, and Encrinites moniliformis; presented by Mr. Isaiah Deck, F.G.S.
Specimens of Chalcedonic Flints from Wiltshire; presented by the Rey. Charles Watkins.
A Series of Fossils from the Crag; presented by Searles Wood, Esq.
F sone from the Crag near Southwold; presented by Captain Alex- ander, Royal Staff Corps, F.G.S.
Foreign Specimens.
‘Specimens of Copper and Malleable Iron Ore from Southern Africa ; presented by Captain Sir James Alexander.
Rock Specimens from the Seychelles Islands; presented by J. Har- rison, Esq.
Fossils from the Himalayas ; presented by Sir Thomas Dyke Acland, Bart. M.P. F.G.S8.
Specimens from Upper Assam; presented by Dr. McClelland.
Cast of a rare specimen of Hamites articulatus from the Oolitic formation, Normandy; presented by the Marquis of Northamp- ton, F.G.S.
Cast of the Head of the Mastodon longirostris from Eppelsheim ; presented by Sir Philip Grey Egerton, Bart. M.P. F.G.S.
Specimens from Boulogne and Guernsey; presented by Robert Cole, Esq.
Specimen of Plagiostoma from the Gulf of California; presented by — Hodges, Esq.
Specimens from Central France; presented by George Poulett Scrope, Esq. M.P. F.G.S.
Specimens of Obsidian, Manganese containing Silver and Native Quicksilver, from Mexico; presented by John Taylor, Hsq., Treas. G.S.
Trilobites and Corals from Hudson's Bay ; presented by the Earl of Selkirk, F.G.S.
Specimens from Saint Helena; presented by, Ease Searle, Esq. F.G.S.
47
Geological Specimens from Columbia River and other parts of North America; presented by the Earl of Selkirk, F.G.8.
Belemnites from Mount Joli; presented by John Vincent, Esq.
Specimens from Christiania ; presented by Rev. W. Bilton, F.G.S.
Specimens from Western Africa, between Sierra Leone and Fer- nando Po; collected by Captain Vidal, K.N.
Specimens from the Island of Ascension, collected by Lieutenant Bedford, R.N., and specimens from Gibralter; presented by Cap- tain Beaufort, R.N., Hon. Mem. G.S.
Specimens from Lisbon; presented by William Edmond Logan, Esq. FIGIS:
Specimens from Southern Africa and the Cape Verde Islands; pre- sented by Lieut. Nelson, Royal Engineers.
Specimen from the Limestone of Bermuda, containing a Cyprea vi- tellus; presented by Lieut. Symonds, Royal Engineers.
Specimens from the neighbourhood of Lisbon; presented by Daniel Sharpe, Esq. F.G.S.
MIscELLANEOUS.
Statigraphical Model of the Under Cliff, Isle of Wight; presented by Levett L. Boscawen Ibbetson, Esq. F.G.S.
Fossil Infusoria, and Artificial and Natural Silica from recent Infu- soria, and Glass manufactured from living Infusoria; presented by Professor Ehrenberg.
Recent Corals; presented by William Richardson, Esq. F.G.S.
The Lisrary has been increased by the Donation of about 180 Books and Pamphlets.
Cuarts anp Maps.
Admiralty Charts, Sailing Directions and Tide Tables, published du- ring the year 1837; presented by Captain Beaufort, R.N., by di- rection of the Right Hon. the Lords Commissioners of the Admi- ralty.
Map of the Maritime County of Mayo, in Ireland, in twenty-five sheets; by William Bald, Esq. F.G.S. F.R.S.E. M.R.LA. &e. ; presented by Mr. Bald.
Sheets 49, 50, 66, 67, 68, 72 of the Ordnance Map, in continuation of the Trigonometrical Survey of Great Britain; presented by the Master General and Board of Ordnance.
Sheets 4, 6, and 10 of the Geological Map of Saxony ; presented by the Council ef Mines of Saxony.
Map of the settled part of New South Wales, showing the situation of the principal rocks; by Major T. L. Mitchell, F.G.S; pre- sented by. Major Mitchell.
Ordnance Townland Survey of the County of Westmeath in forty-’
two sheets, including title page and index; presented by Colonel Colby, by direction of His Excellency the Lord Lieutenant of Ire-
land.
The following Lisr contains the Names of all the Persons and Public Bodies from whom Donations to the Library and Museums
were received during the past year.
Academy of Sciences of Paris. Acland, Sir Thomas Dyke, Bart. M.P. F.G.S.
Admiralty, ‘The Right. Hon. the Lords Commissioners of the. Ainsworth, William, M.D.F.G.S.
Alexander, Captain Sir James. Alexander, Captain, F.G.S. Allen and Co., Messrs. American Philosophical Society held at Philadelphia. Asiatic Society of Calcutta. Atkins, Henry Martin, Esq. Atheneum, Editor of.
Bald, William, Esq. F.G.S.
Beaufort, Captain, R.N. Hon. Mem. G:S.
Bedford, Lieutenant, R.N.
Berwickshire Naturalist’s Club.
Bilton, Rev. William, F.G.S.
Binsted, Mr.
Bohmen, Gesselchaft des Vater- landischen, Museums in.
British Association.
Brongniart, M. Adolphe.
Bronn, Herr, H. G.
Bucke, Charles, Esq.
Buckland, Rev. Professor, D.D. F.G.S.
Cambridge Philosophical Socie- ty.
Charlesworth, Edward, Esq. F.G.S.
Colby, Colonel, R.E. F.G.S.
Cole, Robert, Esq.
Conrad, — Esq.
Cooper, Daniel, Esq.
Cotta, M. Bernhard.
Cumberland, George, jun. Esq.
Darwin, Charles, Esq. Sec. G.S.
Dawes, Charles, Esq. F.G.S.
De Blainville, M. H. D., For. Mem. G.S.
Deck, Mr. Isaiah, F.G-.S.
| De Luc, M. J. A.
Dennys, Rev. Belfield.
Depot Général de la Marine Francaise.
Desjardins, M. Julien.
Dufrénoy, M., For. Mem. G.S.
Ecole des Mines.
Egerton, Sir Philip Grey, Bart. M.P. F.G.S.
Ehrenberg, Professor, Christian Gottfried.
Elie de Beaumont, M. Léonce, For. Mem. G.S.
Faraday, Michael, Esq. F.G.S. Fisher, Rev. J. C., F.G.S. Fox, Rev. W. Darwin.
Geneva, Natural History Society of.
Geological Society of Dublin.
Geological Society of France.
Gorst, Gilpin, Esq. F.G.S.
Grantham, Richard, Esq. F.G.S.
Grateloup, Dr.
Griffith, Richard, Esq. F.G.S.
Hamilton, William R.., Esq. Pres. R.G.S.
Harrison, J. Esq.
Hausmann, Professor, For. Mem. G.S.
Heath, J. B., Esq.
Helvetic Natural History So- ciety.
49
Heseitine, S. R., Esq. Hisinger, M. W.
Hodges, —, Esq. Heeninghaus, M. Fred. Wm.
Ibbetsor, Levett L. Boscawen, Esq. F.G.S. Institution of Civil Engineers.
Jackson, Charles T., M.D. Johnston, James F. W., Esq. F.G.S.
Kenyon, John, Esq. F.G.S.
Laird, James, M.D. F.G.S.
Lea, Isaac, Esq.
Leeds Literary and Philosophi- cal Society.
Liebig, Justin, Ph. D.
Linnean Society of London.
Logan, William Edmond, Esq. F.G.S.
Loudon, John Claudius, Esq.
Lyell, Charles, Esq. V.P.G.S.
Maclaren, Charles, Esq.
Madras Literary Society.
Mammatt, Edward, Esq. F.G.S.
Mantell, Gideon, LL.D. F.G.S.
McClelland, John, M.D.
Michellotti, Sig. Giovanni.
Mining Journal, Editor of.
Mitchell, Major T. L., F.G.S.
Modena, the Scientific Society of.
Murchison, Roderick Impey, Esq. V.P.G:.S.
Murray, John, Esq.
Nelson, Lieut., R.E. Northampton, Marquis of, F.G. 5 Numismatic Society of London.
Ordnance, Master General and Board of.
Paoh, Sig D.
Reade, Rev. J. B.
Redfield, W. C., Esq.
Repertory of Patent Inventions, the Proprietor of.
Richardson, William,Esq.F.G.S.
Royal Academy of Berlin.
Royal Academy of Brussels.
Royal Asiatic Society.
Royal Astronomical Society.
Royal College of Surgeons.
Royal Geographical Society of London.
Royal Geological Society of Cornwall.
Royal Irish Academy.
Royal Lisbon Academy.
Royal Polytechnic Society of Cornwall.
Royal Society of London.
Scarborough Philosophical So- ciety.
Scrope, George Poulett, Esq. MEP SE GeS!
Seale, R. Francis, Esq. F.G.S.
Selkirk, Earl of, F.G.S.
Sharpe, Daniel, Esq. F.G.S.
Shepard, Charles Upham, Esq.
Sibthorp, Allan, Esq.
Silliman, Prof., M.D. For. Mem. G.S.
Sismonda, Prof. Angelo.
Smith, Rev. John Pye, F.G.S.
Society of Arts.
Symonds, Lieut., R.E.
D.D.
Taylor, John, Esq. Treas. G.S.
Taylor, Richard, Esq. F.G.S.
Tenore, Sig.
Thurmann, M. J.
Travers, Benjamin, Esq.
Treasury, Lords Commissioners. of.
Turmer, Wilton John, Esq.
Van der Maelen, M. Vanuxem, Professor. Vidal, Captain, R.N. Vincent, John, Esq.
| Von Meyer, Herr Hermann.
50
Walker, Francis, Esq. F.G.S. Whitby Literary and Philosophi- ‘Warner, J. E., Esq. cal Society.
Watkins, Rev. Charles. Wood, Searles Valentine, Esq. Wernerian Society of Edinburgh.
Winch, Nathaniel John, Esq. Hon. Mem. G.S. Zoological Society of London.
Yorkshire Philosophical Society.
The following Persons were elected Fellews during the year 1888.
January 3rd.—David Thomas Ansted, Esq. of Jesus College, Cam- bridge; James Black, M.D. of Bolton-le-Moor, Lancashire ; Alex- ander Wilson, Esq. of 34 Bryanstone Square ; and Major Henry Bullock, of 31 Harley Street, Cavendish Square.
January 3lst.—Edward Mammatt, Esq. of Ashby de la Zouch, Lei- cestershire ; John Hawkshaw, Esq. of Salford, Lancashire; and John Carrick Moore, Esq. of Queen’s College, Cambridge.
February 21st.—Jose Estavao Cliffe, Esq. of Cuijaba, Brazils; and William Blount, Esq. of 12 Cumberland Place.
March 7.—Charles William Hamilton, Esq. M.R.I.A. of Dominick Street, Dublin.
March 21st.—Richard Henry King, M.D. of Reigate, Surrey ; John Warden Robberds, Esq. of Norwich; Edward Lloyd, Esq. of 6 Bloomsbury Square ; and Lieutenant George Tremenheere, Ben- gal Engineers, 33 Somerset Street, Portman Square.
April 4th.—Thomas William Maltby, Esq. M.A. of Turnham Green, Middlesex ; William Taylor, Esq. B.A. of 14 New Ormond Street; Mr. Isaiah Deck, of Cambridge ; and William Ainsworth, M.D.
April 25th.—Egerton V. Vernon Harcourt, Esq. M.A. Nuneham, Oxfordshire; George Crane, Esq. of Yniscedwyn Iron Works, Swansea ; Mr. James Tennant, of 149 Strand; C. W. Grant, Esq. Captain Bombay Engineers, of Bury, near Gosport ; and Benja- min Fonseca Outram, M.D. of Hanover Square.
May 9th.—Joseph Skilbeck, Esq. of Highbury Place, London ; Rey. John Hymers, Fellow and Tutor of St. John’s Ccllege, Cam- bridge ; .and Rev. Walter Davenport Bromley, of Wootton Hall, Staffordshire.
June 6th.— William Stark, Esq. of Norwich.
November 7th.—John Davies Gilbert, Esq. F.R.S. of Eastbourn,. Sussex.
December 5th.— William Long, Esq. of Harts Hall, Saxmundham ; George Lloyd, M.D. of Newbold Terrace, Leamington ; Edward Wilson, Esq. of Abbot Hall, Kendal; Edward Strutt, Esq. M.P. of St. Helen’s, Derby, and of South Street, Grosvenor Square ; .Mr. Thomas Evans Blackwell, Civil Engineer, of Hungerford, Wilt- shire; John M. Herbert, Esq. Fellow of St. John’s College, Cam- bridge ; and Charles Collier, Esq, F.R.S. Deputy Inspector-Gene- ral of Hospitals, of 1 Earl’s Terrace, Kensington.
December 19th.—James John Adams, Esq. M.R.C.S., 39 Finsbury Square.
51
Deceased Fellows :—
Compounders (2): William Henry Booth, Esq.; Michael Shepley, Esq.
Residents (3): Sir Abraham Hume, Bart.; Andrew Martin, Esq. ; Sir John Nichol.
Non-residents (11) : Lord Ribblesdale ; George Harvey, Esq. ; Rev. William Carey, D.D.; Lieut.-Col. Montgomery; Rev. Robert Halifax ; Edward Ord Warren, Esq.; Major Benjamin Blake ; Sir James Edward Colebrooke, Bart. ; Sir John Hall, Bart.; Sir Michael B. Clare, M.D.; William Salmond, Esq.
Foreign Members (4): Professor A. Desmarest ; Count de Montlo- sier; Baron E. F. de Schlotheim; Count Sternberg.
Honorary Members (4): Benjamin Bevan, Esq.; Right Hon. Chief Baron Joy; Rev. George V. Sampson; Nathaniel John Winch, Esq.
List of Pavers read since the last Annual Meeting, February 16, 1838.
February 21st.—On part of Asia Minor, between Hassan Dagh and the Salt Lake of Kodj-hissar, and thence to Cesarea of Cappa- docia and Mount Argeus; by W. J. Hamilton, Esq. Sec. G.S.
March 7th.—On some remarkable dikes of Calcareous Grit at Ethie, in Ross-shire; by Hugh Edwin Strickland, Esq. F.G.S.
On the connexion of certain Volcanic Phenomena, and on the Formation of Mountain chains and Volcanos, as the effects of Continental Elevations; by Charles Darwin, Esq. Sec. G.S.
March 21st.—Note on the Dislocation of the Tail at a certain point, observable in the Skeletons of many Ichthyosauri; by Richard Owen, Esq. F.G.S., Hunterian Professor in the Royal College of Surgeons.
A Synopsis of the English Series of Stratified Rocks, inferior to the Old Red Sandstone, with an attempt to determine the successive natural Groups and Formations; by the Rev. Adam Sedgwick, V.P.G.S., Woodwardian Professor in the University of Cambridge; (commenced, and concluded May 23).
April 4th.—A description of Lord Cole’s Plesiosaurus Macrocepha- lus; by Richard Owen, Esq. F.G.S., Hunterian Professor in the Royal College of Surgeons.
April 25th.—Notes on a small patch of Silurian Rocks to the West of Abergele, on the North Coast of Denbighshire ; by J. E. Bow- man, Esq., and communicated by R. I. Murchison, Esq. V.P.G.S.
— A Notice on the occurrence of Wealden Strata at Links- field near Elgin, on the remains of Fishes in the Old Red Sand- stone of that neighbourhood, and on Raised Beaches along the adjacent Coast; by J. G. Malcolmson, Esq. F.G.S.
———-— On the Origin of the Limestones of Devonshire; by Robert Alfred Cloyne Austen, Esq. F.G.S.
May 9th.—An Account of a Fossil Stem of a Tree lately discovered in the Coal Measures near Bolton-le-Moor ; by James Black, M.D. EGS.
52
May 9th.—On the distribution of Organic Remains in the Strata of the Yorkshire Coast ; by W. C. Williamson, Esq., Curator of the Manchester Natural History Society.
—On the State in which Animal Matter is usually found in Fossils; by Mr. Alfred Smee, Student of King’s College, Lon- don, and communicated by Professor Royle, M.D. F.G.S.
May 28rd.—A Synopsis of the English Series of Stratified Rocks, inferior to the Old Red Sandstone, with an attempt to determine the successive natural Groups and Formations ; by the Rev. Adam Sedgewick, V.P.G.S., Woodwardian Professor in the University of Cambridge. (commenced March 21st.)
June 6th.—On Spiriolinites in Chalk and Chalk Flints; by the Marquis of Northampton, F.G.S.
—_— A Note to accompany Specimens of Quicksilver Ore, from the Mine San Onofre, near the town of El Doctor, Mexico; by John Taylor, Esq. Treas. G.S.
Extract from a letter to John Taylor, Esq., Treas.
G.S.; by Mr. Frederick Edmonds, explanatory of some Speci-
mens of Obsidian, from the town of Real del Monte, Mexico.
— Notice of a Specimen of the Ower’s Rock, nine miles south of Little Hampton, Sussex ; by Roderick Impey Murchison, Esq. V.P.G.S.
——_—— On the discovery of Fossil Fishes in the Bagshot Sand at Goldsworth Hill, four miles south of Guildford; by the Rey. Professor Buckland, D.D. F.G.S.
——-—On the Discovery of a Fossil Wing of a Neuropterous Insect in the Stonesfield Slate ; by the Rev. Professor Buckland, D.D. F.G.S.
—_———— On some Species of Orthocerata; by Charles Stokes, Esq. F.G.S.
November 7th.—A Description of some Fossil Remains of Palzo- therium, Anoplotherium, and Cheropotamus, found in the Isle of Wight; by Richard Owen, Esq. F.G.S., Hunterian Professor in the Royal College of Surgeons.
—_—_——_ On the Drift from the Chalk and the Strata be-
low the Chalk, in the counties of Norfolk, Suffolk, Essex, Cam- bridge, Huntingdon, Bedford, Hereford and Middlesex ; by James Mitchell, Esq. LL.D. F.G.S.
November 2lst.—On Two Jaws of the Thylacotherium Prevostit (Valenciennes) ; by Richard Owen, Esq. F.G.S., Hunterian Pro- fessor in the Royal College of Surgeons.
A Notice on the Formation of Mineral Veins by
Voltaic Agency; by R. W. Fox, Esq.
An Extract from a Letter addressed by Captain Alexander, of the Royal Staff Corps, to the Secretary, on the dis- covery of two Mastodon Teeth, near Southwold.
December 5th.—A Notice on the Trap Rocks of Fifeshire ; by the Rev. John Fleming, D.D.
An Account of the footsteps of the Chirotherium,
and five or six other unknown animals, lately discovered in the
53
Quarries of Storeton Hill, between the Mersey and the Dee; communicated by the Natural History Society of Liverpool, and illustrated with Drawings; by John Cunningham, Esq.
December 5th.—A Note on four distinct varieties of Impressions, not including those of the Chirotherium; by James Yates, Esq. F.G.S.
On the Footsteps of a Chirotherium, from near Tarporly, Cheshire; by Sir Philip Egerton, Bart., M.P. F.G.S. December 21st.—On the Phascolotherium ; by Richard Owen, Esq. F.G.S., Hunterian Professor in the Royal College of Surgeons. On the Structure and Relations of the presumed Marsupial Remains from the Oolite of Stonesfield; by William
Ogilby, Esq. F.G.S.
January 9th, 1839.—A Letter addressed to the President by Dr. Harlan, on the Basilosaurus and Batrachiosaurus.
On the Zeuglodon (Basilosaurus); by Richard Owen, Esq. F.G.S., Hunterian Professor in the Royal College of Sur- geons.
January 23rd.—On the Geology of the vicinity of Lisbon; by Da- niel Sharpe, Esq. F.G.S.
February 6th.—On a probable cause of certain Earthquakes ; by Professor Louis Albert Necker, For. Mem. G.S.
Sums actually Received and Expended
ReceEIPts. Balances in hand January 1, 1838: oe! ise dL eRe Se Banker (including 49/.19s. Wollaston Pond yee os ce MAAN RAE ih SE: 130 11 O ACCOUMIb AMIE he icc ectee elec telecine 40 0 0 — 170 11 0 Arrears : ee, doge hed, PNGIMTISSIONALECCS 75 fhe eh sok eek cle ere 56 14 O Annual ‘Contributions... 2.7. 2.72: 98 3 6 =a nO Ordinary Income: Lav Saumas Annual Contributions.............. 659 8 O Admission Fees: Loe Sat ls Residents(11)...... 69 6 0 Non-Residents(18).. 189 0 0 — 258 6 0 ————— 917 14 90 Compositions : Les gla, ROuTpaAtrolesOs: Le) eae eeees eeeenety le) Olam) ese) Onevat 2910 Ss. 6d.) ee ee 2 ON SaaS —— 155 18 6 ese ae PIGANSACEIONS Wigs: so rAd Ae ee ee 273 14 O BROCCCONMG'S:” - (2. Aha eae | eee S70 os 282) Sl Wollaston Donation Fund, Interest on OSAle liseilideis Per Centamueduced sa se ie sone 32 10 4 Luss eee Dividends, 5001. 3 per cent. Consols ...... 1 0 O Ditto, 13111. 19s. 6d.3 per cent. Red.6months 19 13 7 Ditto, 14121.12s.9d. ditto 21 3 10 ae HH OG £1769 9 9
We have compared the Books and Vouchers presented to us with these Statements, and find them correct.
Signed, WOODBINE PARISH,] 4. ons BRAN CIS BAILY, o5( see ee
during the Year ending December 81, 1838.
PayMENTS.
Bills outstanding: Sh Se G0 ee sete Collector’s poundage..........sscecsencesseseeers 210 6 Scientific Expenditure .......scscesescesseseeees 3 4 6 Bb ANISAGELOMS ameter ceiie ce wsisaisienisicaeslorteiealee’s'ale 310 0 ParochialiMatesmecececckecsestecnonsssaestasccesns 015 O ZO OUTS MLUALe Se eictatcerie sisiis otislacie sieteielelesistetelesteeieieie 3 0 0 House Expenditure ..........:scseesesseresensecs 219 6 13 Ne) General Expenditure: £36 Gols Rep aAS OL LBI@USS cosaosssonoasbeocoanaodooannonde See House Expenses .......00e Cacgecsscsccscseaseess 201 ORES paxesm le aLOCiMialumass iseceveasecimmiccencsircleutincs AVE RUASSESSEM I seeioene cine cineneasseercemesteceecics GEN Sh TRO OrS IRETES: gagaoccodeconoorecosoddodoann doodan00 298 5 4 Tlouscholdghurnitunes secsecseasseeekees seeenen 33 5 © a PINEM ov fececccasetemece sheacasces see 40 8 268 14 5 Mea saagan CO ye ee. Be ee ee Cia ae Din 0) 20) Salaries and Wages: el Sh 3 Assistant Secretary........sssessescesserseseaees 125 0 O (CRITRAIOLP) sbagecenonca deb sooddncndacacacnesdoccacdaece 62 10 O WIGS ae aicemie ca omecewstnond sate esies soctetslclee'ss sie as 110 12 6 Porter and Housekeeper ..........esseeeeeseeees 70 0 O SGT aIa Game reece stn teu me tcc teense sminccir 30 12 O Collector’s Poundage..........eecsceeessereeseeeens 386 14 0 435 8 Scientific Expenditure Be: eras in RRR es eee 59 es. Stationery and Miscellaneous Printing.............. 34 14 0 Investment in the Funds Be No a ee AO eg) MeaMOre VCC HIN GS cee: lias tee es aha sae eae Oe 46 4 4 Cost of Publications : ESHA Os ale pBranSAaCtlOmsi osha aicsieceaatatenissisciicccaneacecsesice 42 13 9 JERORSEGWAGS scosarsvoodsndesqonsassac0nosec0eqn800 (ATO oO — 117 12 9 Contribution repaid ...... iy ke es a) So Award of Wollaston Fund: MrwOwen,, Medal ....-ccseccescersoscetacsrssee 10 10 O ditto. Balance of Proceeds.............. Oi OmnO) 31 10 O Balances in hand Jan. 1, 1839: eae EME Banker (including 502. 19s.4d. Wollaston Fund) 433 2 0 PA CCOUNtaliteemereeeetee rieniecrtciecismnces smeitesitce sta 40 0 0 Ary Gh)
£1769 9 9
@xaeate isi
Vauation of the Society's Property ; 31st December 1838.
PROPERTY. Depts. £. s. d.| Bills outstanding : Pogo = Whe Ee hin ln Balances in hand, including 501.19s.4d.Wollaston Fund 473 2 0) Household Furniture .......... 20 0 O Arrears due to the Society : ieee HORS: « sgomecacnsotnene seuss i UE) Admission Fees.............. 81 18 0 Scientific Expenditure ........ sae ld 0-0 ; Annual Contributions ........ 421 1 0 Ay Oe Teas = aso Bee ee oe Ser 0) Cash belonging to the “Wollaston Fund” ........ 5019 4 506 14 | Arrears not likely to be received................ 160 0 O Estimated value of unsold Transactions. 808 16 0 P Proceedings . 30 0 0 250 19 4 838 16 0 2 7151. 1s. 1d. Stock, 3 per cent. Consols 657 0 0 Balance in favour of the Society ................3037 12 8 1412/. 12s, 9d. Stock, 3 percent. Red...1313 0 0 ——— 1970 0 0 £3788 12 0 £3788 12 0
[N.B. The value of the Collections, Library and Furniture is not here included: nor is the ‘Donation Fund,’ insti- tuted by the late Dr. Wollaston, amounting at present to 10847. 1s. 1d. in the Reduced 3 per cent. Annuilies; the
dividends thereof being appropriated to the purposes of the Founder. |
JOHN TAYLOR, Treasurer. Jan. 29, 1839.
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58
The Reports having been read, it was resolved :—
- That they be received and entered on the Minutes of the Meet- ing, and that such parts of them as the Council may think fit, be printed and distributed among the Fellows.
The President then announced that the Wollaston Medal and £20 had been awarded by the Council to Professor Ehrenberg of Berlin, for his discoveries respecting Fossil Infusoria; and in delivering the Medal with the accompanying sum of money into the hands of the Chevalier Bunsen, who was present, Mr. Whewell addressed him as follows :
Mr. Bunsen,
I have great pleasure in delivering into your hands the Wollas- ton Medal, which the Council of this Society have awarded to your countryman Professor Ehrenberg, for his discoveries respecting Fos- sil Infusoria. ‘These discoveries, eminently striking and curious to all intelligent persons, are full of the most lively interest for Geolo- gists. Such discoveries area just reward of M. Ehrenberg’s merits, since he had prepared himself for this success by a profound study of natural history, by persevering and scrutinizing researches, and by extensive and enterprising travels. We gladly give this medal asa proof that we sympathize in the admiration which these discoveries have excited throughout scientific Europe.
To many others, and to myself in particular, there is an additional source of pleasure at having such a communication to make to M. Ehrenberg, in the circumstance of our having recently become ac- quainted with him, and having seen personally in our own country the evidences of his talents and genius, his simple and strenuous love of knowledge. We beg you to communicate to him with this medal the expression of our admiration in his labours, our deep inter- est in their results, and our warm wishes that he may long have granted him the health and energy and opportunity which their suc- cessful prosecution demands.
Allow me to say also, that we trust that this token of our respect will be kindly received by M. Ehrenberg’s countrymen as well as by himself, and that they will accept it as a testimony how gladly we do honour to the profound knowledge and patient research which distinguish that great branch of the European family. I rejoice to be able to deliver this medal into the hands of a distinguished coun- tryman of Professor Ehrenberg; and I cannot but add, as an addi- tional ground of satisfaction, into the hands of one, who, by his wide acquaintance with men of science and learning, and with their works, is so well prepared to sympathise with their honours and successes, as he is by his nature prompted to rejoice in excellence of every kind.
The Chevalier Bunsen acknowledged the distinction conferred upon Professor Ehrenberg in the following terms :—
59
Sir,—I feel highly gratified by the honour conferred upon me, of receiving at your hands the valued acknowledgement of the merits of my distinguished countryman, Professor Ehrenberg, and I beg to return thanks, not only in my name, but also in that of Baron Bu- low, as the representative of Prussia in this country, who is prevented by official business from being present on this occasion.
Nobody can be more able or inclined to appreciate duly the value of this distinction than Professor Ehrenberg. I know from himself that it was by England in particular that he wished his researches to be examined and approved ; andit was especially by this illustrious Society, so worthily presided over by one whose name is also in Ger- many equally dear to the friends of religion and moral philosophy, and to the followers of the exact sciences: it was to this Society, I say, to whose tribunal he was desirous to submit the judgement of the merits and importance of his discovery. Indeed, the honour you have decreed him to-day is only the public confirmation and so- lemn badge of that kind and encouraging interest which he met with from the members of this Society, and for which he felt the most sincere gratitude.
But this feeling, Sir, will not be confined to himself: the honour of the prize awarded to him this day amongst so many illustrious competitors of all nations, will be deeply felt by the whole literary public of Germany : it will, I trust, form a new link in that intel- lectual union between the two great and enlightened nations, which have so many ties of common interest, and so many objects of warm and deep sympathy ; an union which must become every day more and more intimate, and prove productive of the most beneficial con- sequences, not only for the progress of science in the whole range of human intellect, but for the welfare of humanity at large.
The flattering manner in which you have been pleased to allude to myself obliges me to say a few words on my own behalf. I feel only too much how entirely I must attribute those expressions to the kindness that inspired them, knowing how inadequate my own merits are to deserve them. But I rejoice sincerely at having this opportunity offered to me, publicly to express my feelings of grati- tude for the kind and generous reception I have constantly met with in this country, which for so many years and for so many and good reasons, has been the object of my love and of my admiration—feel- ings which will ever remain engraven on my heart, and with a par- ticularly gratifying reference to this day.
It was afterwards resolved :-—
1. That the thanks of this Society be given to Professor Whe- well, retiring from the office of President.
2. That the thanks of this Society be given to William Henry Fitton, M.D. and Roderick Impey Murchison, Esq., retiring from the office of Vice-Presidents.
3. That the thanks of the Society be given to Henry Boase, M.D., Viscount Cole, M.P., Marquis of Northampton, Professor Rovle, M.D., and Thomas Weaver, Esg., retiring from the Council.
F 2
60 After the balloting glasses had been duly closed, and the list ex-
amined by the scrutineers, the following gentlemen were declared to have been duly elected the Officers and Council for the ensuing year :
OFFICERS.
PRESIDENT.
Rev. W. Buckland, D.D., Professor of Geology and Mineralogy in the University of Oxford.
VICE-PRESIDENTS.
G. B. Greenough, Esq. F.R.S. & L.S.
Leonard Horner, Esq. F.R.S. L. & E.
Charles Lyell, jun. Esq. F.R.S. & L.S.
Rev. Adam Sedgwick, F.R.S. & L.S., Woodwardian Professor in the University of Cambridge.
SECRETARIES.
Charles Darwin, Esq. F.R.S. William John Hamilton, Esq.
FOREIGN SECRETARY. H. T. De la Beche, Esq. F.R.S. & LS.
TREASURER. John Taylor, Esq. F.R.S.
COUNCIL.
Professor Daubeny, M.D.F.R.S. | Sir Charles Lemon, Bart. M.P. & L.S. F.R.S. Sir P. Grey Egerton, Bart. M.P. | Prof. Miller, M.A. F.R.S. R. I. Murchison, Esq. F.R.S. & W.H.Fitton, M.D. F.R.S.&L.S. L.S Prof. Grant, M.D. F.R.S. Richard Owen, Esq. F.R.S. Rev. Prof. Henslow, F.L.S. Sir Woodbine Parish, K.C.H. W. Hopkins, Esq. M.A. F.R.S. BRS: Robert Hutton, Esq. M.P.| George Rennie, Esq. F.R.S. M.R.I.A. Rev. Prof. Whewell, F.R.S.
61
Address to the Geological Society, delivered at the Anniversary, on the 15th of February, 1839, by the Rey. Wittiam Wuewe 1, B.D. F.R.S. President of the Society.
GENTLEMEN,
TueE Reports which have been read show that the Society is still in a state of progression as to numbers, although in consequence of some oversights in preceding periods, the comparison of this year’s statement with that of last year does not at first sight give an accu- rate view of our progress.
I venture also to speak of our pecuniary condition as prosperous, although, in the Estimates for the present year the expenses exceed the income. ‘This excess admits of explanation: the estimated ex- penses include the cost of publishing a Part of our Transactions, and as this occurs only about once in two years, the whole expense ought not to be considered as belonging to one year. Stoves and other articles of furniture, expenses not likely to recur, have also inflamed the debtor side of our account.
There is one considerable article in our estimated expenses, of which payment may not be required, but from which I confess I should be sorry to see the Society liberated. I speak of the salary of our Curator. In my address last year I stated that the Council had it in contemplation to make some arrangement by which Mr. Lonsdale’s labours, then far too heavy, should be lightened. This was done, I believe to the satisfaction of every one, by separating the office of Curator from that of Assistant Secretary, and to the former office Mr. Wood was appointed, with asalary of 125. The Council found in Mr. Wood’s zeal and knowledge every reason to congratulate themselves on the possession of such an officer; and have heard with regret that the state of his health compels him to resign his office. I trust, however, that the Council will be able to provide some means of rendering the Society’s Collection useful, without allowing Mr. Lonsdale to be again burthened with a complication of duties inju- rious to him and inconvenient to the Society.
Although, as I have said, I look without any inquietude upon the state of our funds, it is impossible not to allow that such an aspect of them makes it necessary to attend to economy wherever it is
62
possible. There is one part of our establishment to which I am com- pelled, most reluctantly, to apply this remark; I mean, our Library and Museum. I fear that we must consider ourselves as under the necessity of confining within very narrow limits any assistance which can be rendered to those departments from our general funds. And yet we cannot look at these parts of our establishment, and especially at the Library, without seeing that they do in fact re- quire very material additions. Our Library, which ought to possess all the best books and maps which bear upon our science, is desti- tute of many of them, especially of the more modern works, to an extent which we should hardly any of us find tolerable in our private libraries. This deficiency interferes materially with the utility of the Society, and is indeed inconsistent with its character. We shall, I trust, all agree that it is a state of things we ought to remedy. At no period of the history of this body has there been found wanting, when the occasion demanded it, a liberal and gene- rous spirit among its members; and I am fully persuaded that at the present day the love of the Society has not waxed cold among the Fellows, nor have their purse-strings become rigid. It has ap- peared to me, that when a definite list of our deficiencies is laid before you, it will not be found difficult for each person to find in such a list some article, book or map, which it will gratify him that the Society should possess as his gift. In this or in some other way I do not doubt that we shall be able to bring up the condition of our Library to that which the time and our position require. The Council have adjudged the Wollaston medal for the present year to Professor Ehrenberg, for his discoveries respecting fossil In- fusoria and other microscopic objects contained in the materials of the earth’s strata. We all recollect the astonishment with which, nearly three years ago, we received the assertion, that large masses of rock, and even whole strata, are composed of the remains of mi- croscopic animals. ‘This assertion, made at that time by Professor Ehrenberg, has now not only been fully confirmed and very greatly extended by him, but it has assumed the character of one of the most important and striking geological truths which have been brought to light in our time: for the connection of the present state of the earth with its condition at former periods of its history, a problem now always present to the mind of the philosophical
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geologist, receives new and unexpected illustration from these re- searches. Of about eighty species of fossil Infusoria which have been discovered in various strata, almost the half are species which still exist in the waters: and thus these forms of life, so long over- looked as invisible specks of brute matter, have a constancy and durability through the revolutions of the earth’s surface which is denied to animals of a more conspicuous size and organization. Again, we are so accustomed to receive new confirmations of our well-established geological doctrines, that the occurrence of such an event produces in us little surprise; but if this were not so, we could not avoid being struck with one feature of Prof. Ehrenberg’s dis- coveries ;—that while the microscopic contents of the more recent strata are all freshwater Infusoria, those of the chalk are bodies (Peridinium, Xanihidium, Fucoides,) which must, or at least can, live in the waters of the ocean. Nor has Prof. Ehrenberg been con- tent with examining the rocks in which these objects occur. During the last two years he has been pursuing a highly interesting series of researches with the view of ascertaining in what manner these vast masses of minute animals can have been accumulated. And the result of his inquiries is*, that these creatures exist at present in such abundance, under favourable circumstances, that the difficulty disappears. Inthe Public Garden at Berlin he found that workmen were employed for several days in removing in wheelbarrows masses which consisted entirely of fossil Infusoria. He produced from the living animals, in masses so large as to be expressed in pounds, tri- poli and polishing slate similar to the rocks from which he had ori- ginally obtained the remains of such animals; and he declares that a small rise in the price of tripoli would make it worth while to manufacture it from the living animals as an article of commerce. These results are only curious; but his speculations, founded upon these and similar facts, with respect to the formation of such rocks for example, polishing slate, the siliceous paste called hetselguhr, and the layers of flint in chalk, are replete with geological instruction. As the discoveries of Prof. Ehrenberg are thus full of interest for the geological speculator, so have they been the result, net of any fortunate chance, but of great attainments, knowledge, and labour. The author of them had made that most obscure and difficult portion * Abhandl. Kon. Ak. Wissensch. Berlin. 1838.
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of natural history, the infusorial animals, his study for many years ; had travelled to the shores of the Mediterranean and the Red Sea in order to observe them; and had published (in conjunction with Prof. Muller) a work far eclipsing anything which had previously appeared upon the subject. It was in consequence of his being thus prepared, that when his attention was called to the subject of fossil Infusoria, (which was done in June, 1836, by M. Fischer) he was able to produce, not loose analogies and insecure conjectures, but a clear determination of many species, many of them already familiar to him, although hardly ever seen perhaps by any other eye. The animals (for he has proved them to be animals, and not, as others had deemed them, plants) consist, in the greater number of examples, of a staff-like siliceous case, with a number of transverse markings ; and these cases appear in many instances to make up vast masses by mere accumulation without any change. Whole rocks are composed of these minute cuirasses of crystal heaped together. Prof. Ehren- berg himself has examined the microscopic products of fifteen locali- ties, and is still employed in extending his researches; and we already see researches of the same kind undertaken by others, to such an extent, as to show us that this new path of investigation will exercise a powerful influence upon the pursuits of geologists. We are sure therefore that we have acted in a manner suitable to the wishes of the honoured Donor of the medal, and to the interests of the science which we all in common seek to promote, in assigning the Wollaston medal to Prof. Ehrenberg for these discoveries. Although it is not necessary as a ground for this adjudication, it is only justice to Prof. Ehrenberg to remark, that his services to geology are not confined to the researches which I have mentioned. His observations, made in the Red Sea, upon the growth of corals, are of great value and interest; and he was one of the distinguished band of scientific explorers who accompanied Baron von Humboldt ‘in his expedition to the Ural Mountains. And I may further add, that even since the Council adjudged this medal, Prof. Ehrenberg has announced to the Royal Academy of Sciences of Berlin new discoveries ; particularly his observations on the organic structure of chalk; on the freshwater Infusoria found near Newcastle and Edinburgh, and on the marine animalcules observed near Dublin and Gravesend; and, what cannot but give rise to curious reflections,
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an account of meteorite paper which fell from the sky in Courland in 1686, and was found to be composed of Confervz and Infusoria.
I now proceed to notice some of the most conspicuous names, both among our own countrymen and foreigners, which have been removed by death from our lists since last year.
In Sir Abraham Hume the Society has lost a member who was at all times one of its most strenuous friends and most liberal supporters,
-and especially in its earliest periods, when such aid was of most value. Indeed he may in a peculiar manner be considered as one of the Founders of the Society. English geology, as is well known, evolved itself out of the cultivation of mineralogy,—a study which was in no small degree promoted, at one time, by the fame of the mineralogical collections of Sir Abraham Hume and others. The Count de Bournon, exiled by the French revolution in 1790, brought to England new and striking views of crystallography, resembling those which Hat was unfolding in France ; and was employed to arrange and describe the mineralogical collections of Sir John St. Aubyn and Mr. Greville, and especially the collection of diamonds of Sir Abraham Hume, of which a description, illustrated with plates, was published in 1816. Some years before this period a few lovers of mineralogy met at stated times at the house of Dr. Babing- ton, whose influence in preparing the way for the formation of this Society was mentioned with just acknowledgement in the Pre- sident’s Address, in 1834, by Mr. Greenough; and certainly he, more fitly perhaps than any other person, could speak of the merits and services of his fellow-labourers. Of the number of these Sir Abraham Hume was one; although not, I believe, one of those who showed their zeal for the pursuits which associated them by holding their meetings at the hour of seven in the morning, the only time of the day which Dr. Babington’s professional engagements allowed him to devote to social enjoyments of this nature.
Out of the meetings to which I refer this Society more imme- diately sprung. The connection of mineralogy with geology is somewhat of the nature of that of the nurse with the healthy child born to rank and fortune. The foster-mother, without being even connected by any close natural relationship with her charge, sup- plies it nutriment in its earliest years, and supports it in its first infantine steps; but is destined, it may be, to be afterwards left in
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comparative obscurity by the growth and progress of her vigorous nursling. Yet though geology now seeks more various and savoury food from other quarters, she can never cease to look back with regard and gratitude to the lap in which she first sat, and the hands that supplied her early wants. And our warm acknowledgments must on all due occasions be paid to those who zealously cultivated mineralogy, when geology, as we now understand the term, hardly existed; and who, when the nobler and more expansive science came before them, freely and gladly transferred to that their zeal and their munificence.
The spirit which prevailed in the infancy of this Society, and to which the Society owed its permanent existence, was one which did not shrink from difficulties and sacrifices; and among the persons who were animated by this spirit Sir Abraham Hume was eminent ; his purse and his exertions being always at the service of the body. He gave his labours also to the Society by taking the office of Vice- President, which he discharged with diligence from 1809 to 1813. He died in March last at the great age of ninety, being then the oldest person both in this and in the Royal Society.
Mr. Benjamin Bevan was a civil engineer, and throughout his life showed a great love of science, and considerable power of promo- ting its purposes. He instituted various researches, theoretical and practical, on the strength of materials; and it was he who first proved by experiment the curious proposition, that the Modulus of Elasticity of water and of ice is the same. In 182] he wrote a letter to the secretary of this Society, recommending that the form of the surface of this country should be determined by barometri- cal measurements of the heights of a great number of points in it,— the barometer which was to be used as a standard being kept in London. Mr. Bevan and Mr. Webster were commissioned to pro- cure a barometer, and Dr. Wollaston recommended one of Carey’s barometers, but it does not appear that any further steps were taken. I may remark that recent researches have further con- firmed the wisdom of Mr. Bevan’s suggestion, that heights should be measured, as all other measurements are made, from some fixed conventional standard, instead of incurring the vagueness and in- consistency which result from assuming the existence of a natural standard, such as the level of the sea.
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Nathaniel John Winch was born at Hampton Court in the year 1769, and after a voyage into the Mediterranean, and travels in various countries in Europe, settled at Newcastle-upon-Tyne as a merchant. He had early paid great attention to botany, which he continued to cultivate during a long life, and kept up a correspond- ence with all the leading botanists in Europe. He was one of the earliest, and always one of the most active members of the Literary and Philosophical Society of Newcastle; and, in conjunction with a few of his friends, gave to that town a scientific and cultured cha- racter, which still distinguishes it. He was one of the honorary members of this Scciety ; and contributed to its meetings, in 1814, “ Observations on the Geology of Northumberland and Durham,” and in 1816, “ Observations on the Eastern Part of Yorkshire,” * which were printed in the fourth and fifth volumes of our Trans- actions. In these he stated his object to be to combine with his own observations much interesting information on the subjects of the quarries, and coal and lead mines, of those districts, which had long been accumulating, and was widely diffused among the professional conductors of the mines. And these memoirs, though not contain- ing much of originality in their views and researches, were, at the time, of considerable utility. He died May 5th, 1838, and, by his will, left to this Society a very considerable and valuable mineralo- gical collection, now in our Museum.
Mr. William Salmond, of York, was one of the persons who was most zealously and actively engaged in the examination of the cele- brated Kirkdale Cavern. He measured and explored new branches of the cave in addition to those first opened, and made large collec- tions of the teeth and bones, from which he sent specimens to the Royal Institution of London, and to Cuvier at Paris. The bulk of
* Besides these papers, Mr. Winch published: ‘’ The Botanist’s Guide through the Counties of Northumberland and Durham. By N. J. Winch, J. Thornhill, and R. Waugh.” 2 vols. 1805.—‘*‘ Flora of Northumberland and Durham.” In the Transactions of the Newcastle Natural History Society, vol. 2.—‘‘ An Essay on the Geographical Distribution of Plants through the Counties of Northumberland, Durham, and Cumberland.” First edition, 1820; second edition, 1825.—‘‘ Contributions to the Flora of Cumberland.’’ 1833.—‘‘ Addenda to the Flora of Northumberland and Durham.” 1836. 2
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his collection was deposited in the Philosophical Society at York, then newly established.
I now proceed to notice our deceased Foreign Members.
Fran¢ois-Dominique de Reynaud, Comte de Montlosier, was born at Clermont in Auvergne, April the 16th, 1755, the year of the ce- lebrated earthquake of Lisbon. He was the youngest of twelve children of a family of the smaller nobility of that province, and was remarkable at an early age for the zeal with which he pursued va- rious branches of science and literature.
Count Montlosier must ever be considered as one of the most striking writers in that great controversy respecting the origin of ba- saltic rocks, which occupied the attention of mineralogists during the latter half of the last century ; and to which, in so large a degree, the progress and present state of geology are to be ascribed. The theory of the extinct voleanos of Auvergne, the subject of his researches, was the speculation which gave the main impulse to scientific curi- osity on this point. It is true that he was not the originator of the opinions which he so ably expounded. Guettard, in 1751, had seen, vaguely and imperfectly, that which it now appears so impossible