216 PROCEEDINGS OF THE 



male and female, of the Marsh Tit, Pariis palustris, from Dunipace, 

 in Sth'lingshh^e, and which had been forwarded by Mr J. A. Harvie 

 Brown, corresponding member. Mr Gray said that this bird would 

 appear to be restricted to only a few localities north of the Tweed, 

 but not confined to marshy places, as its name would indicate. 

 At the same time he admitted that, from its close resemblance to 

 the Cole Tit, it had been possibly overlooked, and he therefore 

 invited closer attention to the subject of its distribution. 



The Librarian announced the following donation to the 

 Library : — The Transactions and Proceedings of the New Zealand 

 Institute, Vols, i., ii., 1868-70 ; from Mr Gavin Miller. 



April 29th, 1873. 

 Mr James Ramsay, Vice-President, in the chair. 



SPECIMENS EXHIBITED. 



Mr John Young, F.G.S., exhibited, from the collection of Mrs 

 Robert Gray, a number of crinoid remains from the Silurian strata 

 of the Girvan district. Mr Young stated that the crinoids 

 exhibited were the oldest organisms of their class yet found in the 

 Silurian strata of Scotland. They consisted of the heads and 

 portions of the stems of several species, in a very fair state of 

 preservation, and were from two different localities, viz., Craig- 

 head and Balcletchie. One of the crinoids, which appears to be 

 not uncommon, seems to be very closely related to the Carbonifer- 

 ous genus Ehodocrinns, a specimen of which, from the Ayrshire 

 coalfield, was exhibited for comparison with the older Silurian form. 



Mr Young also exhibited a quantity of black magnetic iron sand, 

 found as a small deposit, extending for a considerable distance 

 along the south-east shore of the island of Bute. He stated that, 

 although this black sand may have been formerly noticed by 

 persons traversing that portion of the shore, no one seems to have 

 examined or made any record, so far as he was aware, of this 

 interesting deposit. Its discovery, in this instance, was due to 

 his young friend, Mr Archibald Gray, who was struck by its 

 peculiar appearance, and brought to Glasgow, lately, a quantity for 

 examination. This sand, when gathered, was mixed up to a con- 

 siderable extent with light brown quartz sand ; but on drying the 



