50 The Scottish Naturalist. 



situ — aswell as of auriferous drifts and alluvial Gold."* I repeated 

 this opinion to the Edinburgh Geological Society;! adding of the 

 Leadhills district, " there is no present local evidence of the 

 existence of auriferous Quartzites" (p. 1 08). . . . "Hitherto 

 there have been few well authenticated discoveries of Gold- 

 quartzites of any extent in situ in Scotland. But this is simply, 

 I believe, because they have not been systematically looked for. 

 That they occur is rendered at least probable by the fact of 

 the frequent discovery of Nuggets with the Matrix adherent : 

 while in all old historical references to the working of Gold in 

 Scotland, " Gold mines" are spoken of — a phrase which, though 

 an ambiguous and comprehensive one, leaves open the question 

 whether Quartz-reefs and Reef-crushing were not known about 

 Bulmer's time" (p. 113). 



In 1868, I repeated many or most of these statements to the 

 Royal Geological Society of Ireland. { 



In I869, I made a number of statements that had special 

 reference to what might be expected at the Sutherland diggings. 

 A newspaper report of a paper on " The Sutherland gold- 

 diggings of 1869," presented to the Edinburgh Geological 

 Society in November 1869, stated that "operations were confined 

 simply to surface washing, Quartz mining not having been per- 

 mitted .... although he was certain that there was 

 gold in situ." || In the earlier parts of the year, and prior to 

 my visit to Kildonan (in August 1869), I had expressed "no 

 doubt as to the existence of gold-quartz in Sutherland, as well 

 as in many other parts of Scotland ; for all my experience of 

 gold fields goes to show that gold-drift is usually superjacent to, 

 or in the proximity of, gold -rocks in situ."*& .... 

 " There are the indications usual in gold-fields of the presence 



*In a paper on "The Gold fields of Scotland," published in its "Report" 

 for 1868: Transactions of the sections, p. 65. This paragraph also appears 

 in a reprint of the same paper in the "Mining Journal" of March 13, 

 1869, with the addendum: "Gold in its Matrix has been apparently found 

 at least in Leadhills, Tweeddale, and Breadalbane." 



+ In a paper on "The Gold and Gold-fields of Scotland," read in Nov- 

 ember 1867, and published in its Transactions in 1868 (Vol. 1, p. 107). 



%\\\ a paper on "the Goldfields of Scotland," written in 1867, pre- 

 sented in 1868, and published in the "Journal" of the Society in 1869, 

 (vol. 2, new series: pp. 178, 180, 186). 



II " Scotsman " of November 19, 1869. 



IT Article on " More Gold-fields in Scotland," in the "Northern Ensign" 

 of June 17, 1869. 



