1S3 



HARDWICKE'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 



belonging to the same individual, of a species of 

 elk; bones of the common fox, the Arctic fox, the 

 wolf, the glutton (which is rarely found in British 

 cave-deposits), of the hyaena, the bear, the horse, 

 the Bos primiffenius, and the rhinoceros. Several of 

 the bones bore traces of having been gnawed by 

 hyaenas. There were also remains of birds and fish, 

 some Boman pottery, and several somewhat rude 

 specimens of flint implements. The latter have 

 evidently been carried in at a later period than the 

 deposition of the bones, &c, of extinct animals. 



Fossil Forest in the Coal-measures at 

 Wadsley, near Sheffield. — At a recent meeting 

 of the Geological Society of London, H. C. Sorby, 

 Esq., E.R.S., F.G.S., read a paper on this subject. 

 The author described the occurrence of a number 

 of stumps of Si [/ill a rite in position and with stig- 

 marian roots attached to them, in the Coal-measure 

 Sandstone in the grounds of the South Yorkshire 

 Lunatic Asylum, and mentioned that the authorities 

 of the asylum, in order to preserve these remains, 

 had erected two wooden buildings over them. The 

 trees seem to have grown in what is now a bed of 

 earthy clay-like slmle ; there to have dried and 

 rotted down to the level of the surrounding mud, 

 leaving hollow stumps, to be afterwards filled up 

 with the sand now forming the superjacent bed of 

 sandstsue. The stumps exposed were about ten in 

 number, spread over forty or fifty yards of ground. 

 The smaller trunks have four, and the larger ones 

 eight roots ; and the author specially called atten- 

 tion to the fact that, from the position of these 

 roots, by analogy with existing trees, we may infer 

 the direction of the prevalent wind at the time the 

 trees were growing, and tint it appears to have 

 been from the west. 



Basalt.— Mr. II. P. Malet has been good enough 

 to refer in the last number of Science-Gossip to a 

 note, published several months ago, in which I 

 argued that the occurrence of apatite and olivine in 

 basalt can hardly be accepted as evidence against 

 the igneous origin of this rock. In that note I 

 sought to show that the phosphates occurring in 

 animal and vegetable tissues may be traced, directly 

 or indirectly, to mineral sources; and that such 

 salts are, in fact, widely distributed through rocks 

 of eruptive origin. But Mr. Malet objects that 

 this explanation is not sufficiently far-reaching. 

 "I want to know," he says, "how phosphate of 

 lime finds a source in igneous rocks. If the 

 animal derives its phosphates from the vegetable, 

 and the vegetable from the mineral, how does the 

 mineral get them ? " Such questions are more readily 

 asked than answered. The ultimate origin of the 

 phosphates which occur in igneous rocks is just 

 as obscure as that of the silicates or any other 

 constituents of such rocks— just as obscure, but not 



more so. It is, of course, no sufficient answer to 

 say that they are formed by the fusion of sedimen- 

 tary rocks ; for the sedimentary rocks themselves 

 are made up of derived materials. The ultimate 

 fons et origo is not easily reached. If we seek a 

 cosmical origin for the materials of our earth, we 

 shall find that phosphorus is among those elements 

 which are known to be universally distributed. It 

 is found, for example, in the meteoric mineral 

 Schreibersite, and also in Nordenskjold's recertly 

 discovered Cnjoconite. In fact, Pi ofessor Nordensk- 

 jold, having shown that his " cosmical dust " 

 contains a small proportion of phosphorus, has 

 suggested that this dust " may play an important 

 part in the economy of Nature; for instance, in 

 replenishing, by means of its phosphorus, the 

 fertility of the earth after exhaustion by repeated 

 crops."* Be this as it may, however, it is clear 

 that compounds containing phosphorus are very 

 widely distributed, and may fairly be regarded as 

 original components of our rocks. Erom the rocks 

 they pass to the plant, and thence to the animal, 

 and, on the decomposition of the animal, back 

 again to the soil. This is, of course, what I meant 

 by the "cycle of changes," though Mr. Malet 

 objects that "the cycle has no beginning." If 

 phosphates are regarded as exclusively of animal 

 origin, it is indeed difficult to trace a beginning - 

 for every chemist and physiologist will admit that 

 an organism can simply modify pre-existing matter, 

 and can create nothing. The first organisms that 

 appeared on the earth must, therefore, have derived 

 their inorganic constituents, including phosphates, 

 from the rocks which were then in existence. Mr. 

 Malet insists on asking the question, " What is 

 basalt ?" but a satisfactory answer could hardly be 

 given within the limits of a note, and there seems 

 to be the less necessity for entering on the question 

 here, since it has been so often discussed by out- 

 ablest geologists. Indeed I should not have 

 ventured to say a word on the subject had it not 

 been pointed out to me that I was responsible for 

 the abstract in the Geological Magazine which called 

 forth Mr. Malet's original letter.— F. W. Rudler. 



NOTES AND QUERIES. 



Meaning of Botanical Names.— In reply to 

 " VV. G. P.," I annex the following information, 

 for which I am indebted to an old book, called 

 "Loudon's Encyclopaedia of Plants": — Frankenia 

 was so called in honour of John Frankenius, Pro- 

 fessor of Botany at Upsal, who first enumerated 

 the plants of Sweden in "Speculum Botanicum," 

 A.D. 1638. Dianthus (Flower of God)— This name 

 was given on account of the pre-eminent beauty of 



* " Ueber kosmischen Staub, cler mit atmospharischen 

 Niederschliigen auf die Erdoberfliiche herabtallt." — Poggeu- 

 dorff s Annalen, Hd. cli., 1874, p. 151. 



