84 Reviews—Page's EartKs Crust, Sfc. General Literature. He here puts his best foot foremost, and gives us a specimen outline. On the whole his plan is well executed, but we are surprised to find some slips which show an unexpected carelessness. Thus Sigillaria and Stigmaria are always referred to as distinct organisms ; Diatomacece are characterized as animalcules; and Equisetum is spoken of as an ally of Hippuris. But such slips are unimportant compared with Mr. Page's strange confusion about the lowest stratified rocks; for while he accepts Murchison and Geikie's determination of the Hebridean rocks as Laurentian, he still retains the Metamorphic strata as an azoic series inferior to the Cambrian, and unites the Laurentian strata to the Cambrian, though separated by the whole of his ' Metamorphic system,' because the fossils are closely akin or identical ! We wonder where he found this information. PROCEEDINGS OF THE GEOLOGISTS' ASSOCIATION, vol. i. No 10. 1863-4. HHIHE communications made to this Association may be grouped -*- as—1st, those in which the authors go over old ground, point- ing out, more or less clearly, the various subjects of interest; and under this heading the visits made by the Associates to special locali- ties, and to geological museums, are not the least in importance; and, 2ndly, those, less numerous, which offer original information. Of the latter group, Mr. J. Eofe's paper • On some Recent Marine Shells found in the Excavations for Railway-works near Preston,' is the best in the present number of the Proceedings. Its object is to enquire with regard to Lancashire and the Penine Chain, ' whether the upheaval of the parts most distant from the sea has not been con- tinued even since the elevation of that nearer the sea : that is to say, thatMottram has been further elevated since Preston emerged ; and, indeed, whether that process may not be going on in our own times.' Mr. A. Bott's account of the strata exposed by the excavations for the ' Southern High-level Sewer Main Line,' and Mr. C. Evans's paper ' On the Geological Distribution of Pitharella Hickmani,' are useful additions to the history of the ' Woolwich Beds.' Mr. C. Evans leans to the opinion that the Pitharella is allied to the Ampullaridce, rather than to the Limnceidm, and that the known variations in its form are not of specific value. Mr. C. Evans's paper, also, on the sections now being exposed by railway-cuttings near London is well-timed, and likely to influence the Associates and others to visit the works and collect facts before the opportunities are altogether lost. IREIPOIRTS .A.KTD PBOCEEDINGS. THE GEOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF LONDON. THE following communications were read, June 22, 1864 :— 1. ' On the Fossiliferous Rocks of Forfarshire and their contents.' By James Powrie, Esq., F.G.S. Referring to his former paper for a detailed description of the Reports and Proceedings. 9,5 lower members of the Forfarshire Old Red Sandstone, the author now gave a general sketch of the relations of the several beds, and then descriptions of the species of Crustacea and Fish occurring in them. The latter belong to five genera, two of which (Ischnacanthus and Euthacanthus) are new. After discussing the nature of Parka decipiens, and shortly noticing the genera of Crustacea that occur ia the same rocks, Mr. Powrie concluded his paper with a short synopsis of the distribution of the members of the Old Red Sandstone in For- farshire, and a discussion respecting the subdivision of that formation, in which he stated that Pterygotus, Parka decipiens, and Cephalaspis, are always associated in the same beds, and extend through all the fossiliferous rocks of Forfarshire, instead of the latter characterizing a higher horizon than the others. 2. ' On the Reptiliferous Rocks and Foot-print Strata of the North- east of Scotland.' By Prof. R. Harkness, F.R.S.L. & E., F.G.S. The author showed that the foot-print sandstones of Ross-shire constitute the upper portion of the Old Bed Sandstone formation, and that the strata embraced in a line of section from the Nigg to Cambus Shandwick, from above the gneiss to the foot-print sand- stones of Tarbet-ness inclusive, are conformable throughout, and are referable to each of the three divisions of the Old Red Sandstone, namely, the conglomerates and yellow sandstones (of a thickness of 1,500 feet) belonging to the Lower Old Red Sandstone ; the grey flaggy sandstones and shales of Geanies—the equivalent of the Caithness flags—containing Osteolepis, Coccosteus, and Acanthodes, and thus referable to the Middle Old Red ; thirdly, conformable strata, consisting of conglomerates, and print-bearing and other sand- stones, appertaining to the higher members of the system. The print-bearing sandstones have a thickness of 400 feet, and represent the reptiliferous sandstones of the Elgin area, though not overlain by Cornstones as in that district. The author, in conclusion, remarked that though Stagonolepis is decidedly Teleosaurian in its affinities, it does not consequently mark a Mesozoic group of rocks ; for Mastodontosauria, which abound in the Trias, occur in the Coal-measures; and stratigraphical evidence now shows us that Teleosaurian crocodiles have a wider geo- logical range, since they are met with in the Old Red Sandstone. 3. ' On some Bone- and Cave-deposits of the Reindeer-period in the South of France.' By John Evans, Esq., F.R.S., F.G.S. The deposits to which the author particularly called attention in this paper are those which have been, and are still being, explored under the direction of MM. Lartet and Christy, and which were visited by him under the guidance of the latter gentleman, and accompanied by Mr. Hamilton, Prof. Rupert Jones, Captain Galton, Mr. Lubbock, and Mr. Franks. Mr. Evans first gave a detailed description of the physical features of the valley of the Vezere, and of the contents of the caverns of Badegoule, Le Moustier, La Madelaine, Laugerie-Haute, Laugerie- Basse, the Gorge d'Enfer, and Les Eyzies, giving a list of the animal remains discovered, which are for the most part of the same species from all the caverns. 86 Reports and Proceedings. The author then discussed the antiquity of the deposits according to four methods of inquiry, namely, from geological considerations with regard to the character and position of the caves; from the palseontological evidence of the remains found in them; from the archaeological character of the objects of human workmanship; and from a comparison with similar deposits in neighbouring districts in France; and he came to the conclusion that they belonged to a period subsequent to that of the Elephas primigenius and Rhinoceros ticho- rhinus, but characterized by the presence of the Reindeer and some other animals now extinct in that part of Europe. 4. ' On the Carboniferous Rocks of the Donetz and the Granite Gravel of St. Petersburg.' By Prof. J. Helmersen. (In a letter to Sir R. I. Murchison, K.C.B., F.R.S., F.G.S., &c.) This letter relates (1) to the discovery in the Donetz Mountains of additional beds of coal and of iron-ore; (2) to the proposed use of this coal for steam-purposes on the Volga; (3) to two geological expeditions to be sent out in 1864 for the purpose of surveying the Permian basin of Russia; and lastly, to the successful completion of an artesian boring at St. Petersburg. In this well the following beds were passed through:—Alluvium, 88 ft.; Silurian clay, 300 ft.; sand- stone, 137 ft.; bed of gravel, the result of the degradation of granite. 5. ' On a supposed Deposit of Boulder-clay in North Devon.' By George Maw, Esq., F.G.S., F.L.S. A deposit of brown clay which occurs near Fremington, in North Devon, and has been worked for several years, was described by the author in this paper, and referred by him to the Boulder-clay formation. The smallest amount of subsidence necessary for the deposition of this clay at its present highest level would place a large area of Devonshire under water. Mr. Maw considered the raised beach at Croyd as being a much more recent deposit than the gravel just described; and in connection with the question of the former submergence of Devonshire during the glacial period, he discussed the relation of the latter to a deposit of granite-drift gravel at Petrochstow, concluding that it could only have been transported thither during the submergence of the high ridges which intersect at right angles the country between the two deposits. 6. ' On the former existence of Glaciers in the High Grounds of the South of Scotland.' By J. Young, M.D., F.R.S.E. Communi- cated by Archibald Geikie, Esq., F.G.S. The heights bordering the counties of Peebles and Dumfries are stated by the author to contain well-preserved remains of a group of Glaciers belonging to a later period than the Boulder-clay, and some of which have been already alluded to by Mr. Geikie and Mr. Chambers. Dr. Young then describes the physical geography of the region, grouping the several hills into three ranges'—the Broad Law Range, the White Coomb Range, and Hartfell—from which certain glaciers formerly descended into the valleys ; and he further divides the glaciers into two classes, which he terms respectively the ' Social' and the ' Solitary.1 The author then describes the form and extension of the masses of detritus which he considers to be Reports and Proceedings. 87 glacial debris, contrasting their characters with those of the patches of Boulder-clay occurring in the neighbourhood.