186 Geological Society, 



and the Coniston flags form an important group as much as 1200 or 

 1400 feet thick, and correspond with the Denbigh flags of North 

 "Wales and the Wenlock shale and limestone of the Silurian system. 

 The Ireleth slate and grits succeed and occupy a considerable space, 

 and must be of very great thickness. These higher beds in Cumber- 

 land abound with Terehratula Navicula, but above them are remark- 

 able bands with Asterias, while the upper portion is full of fossils, 

 the prevailing type of which is Upper Ludlow. 



April 2. — A paper was read by Mr. Austen, ** On an Aerolite 

 said to have fallen near Lymington, Hants." 



A paper was also read by Capt. Bayfield, R.N., "On the Junction 

 of the Transition and Primary Rocks of Canada and Labrador." 



April 16. — A paper was read by Mr. Macintosh, " On the Sup- 

 posed Evidence of the former existence of Glaciers in North Wales." 



Mr. Macintosh combated the opinion of Dr. Buckland as to the 

 origin of scratches and grooves on various rocks, referring these ap- 

 pearances, in many cases, to structural phsenomena. 



April 30. — A paper was read by Mr. Murchison, " On the Palae- 

 ozoic Deposits of Scandinavia and the Baltic provinces of Russia, 

 and their relations to Azoic or more ancient crystalline rocks, with 

 an account of some great features of dislocation and metamorphism 

 along their northern frontiers." 



In this paper Mr. Murchison gave a general outline of the result 

 of his recent examination of Northern Europe, and the conclusions 

 to which he has arrived, chiefly with reference to the classification 

 of a large tract of country before undescribed on a large and compre- 

 hensive scale. 



May 14. — An extract was first read from a letter by Dr. A. Ges- 

 ner, ** On the Gypsiferous Red Sandstone of Nova Scotia." 



A paper was read by Mr. Austen, ** On the Coal Beds of Lower 

 Normandy." 



The chief object of the author was to describe the actual geolo- 

 gical position of these small basins, and suggest that they might 

 rather be of the Permian than the true Carboniferous period. 



Dr. Mantell read a paper, entitled *' Notes of a Microscopical Ex- 

 amination of the Chalk and Flint of the South-east of England, with 

 remarks on the Animalcules of certain Tertiary and Modern Deposits." 



This paper is given entire in our present Number, p. 73. 



A paper was read by Mr. Bowerbank, *' On some specimens of 

 Pterodactyl recently found in the Lower Chalk of Kent." 



May 28. — A communication was read, "On the Geology of Lycia." 

 By Prof. E. Forbes and Lieut. Spratt, R.N. 



The authors stated, that the rock forming the greater part of Lycia 

 consists of the scaglia, or Apennine limestone, a series not very di- 

 stinctly defined, and that near the river Xanthus another rock of 

 greenish sandstone, whose age was not determined, rested conform- 

 ably on the scaglia. In other places true tertiary beds, both marine 

 and freshwater, overlie the scaglia ; and of these the marine are the 

 most ancient, and, from the fossils which occur in the diflferent beds, 

 they are found to be all of the same age. The authors then described 



