^ Natural History i?i London, 



which, in some places, presents a section of, at least, seven feet in height. 

 There is another cave in the same neighbourhood, said to be still more 

 extensive, which he proposes to explore. No regular search for bones has 

 yet been made in the caves of the United States. The only fossil bones 

 hitherto found in any cave in that country, are those of the megalonyx ; 

 although the bones of the megatherium, elephant, mastodon, ox, and horse 

 have been discovered in other situations : but so little attention has been 

 paid to the circumstances under which they occurred, that it is impossible 

 to decide whether they were lodged in alluvial or diluvial deposits. In the 

 author's opinion no fossil remains of the hyaena, rhinoceros, hippopotamus, 

 bear, or tiger, have ever yet been found in the United States. 



A Letter respecting some remarkable Fossil Remains found near Cromer 

 in Norfolk; by Samuel Woodward, Esq. Mr. Woodward notices the 

 limited extent of the marine formation of eastern Norfolk, and is of opi- 

 nion that its rejectamenta may point out the boundary of a former sea in 

 that district. 



The marine remains denominated crag are found at Cromer, and west- 

 ward of that town, at Coltishall and around Norwich. To the eastward of 

 these situations, instead of marine shells, a layer of ligneous and mammalian 

 remains is found reposing on the chalk. The author considers that a line 

 drawn from Cromer, or a little east of it, and passing in a south-east direc- 

 tion towards Lake Lothing by Lowestoff, will very nearly describe the 

 course of the antediluvian shore; to the eastward of which, immense 

 numbers of the fossil remains of the elephant, horse,'deer, &c., mingled with 

 the trunks, branches, and leaves of trees, have been found even to the dis- 

 tance of twenty miles out at sea; and on the Knole-sand the tusk of a 

 mammoth (drawings of which are annexed to the letter) was found in the 

 year 1826, resembling those recently brought to England from Behring s 

 Straits. 



For more ample details of the Geological Society, see the Philosophical 

 Magazine and Annals of Philosophy ^ new series. No. 26. Feb. 



Zoological Society^ Jan. 1829. — The Museum in Brook Street now con- 

 tains 600 species of mammalia, 4,000 birds, 1,000 reptiles and fishes, 1,000 

 testacea and Crustacea, and 30,000 insects. The gardens were opened to 

 the public in June, and with the museum have been visited by upwards of 

 .50,000 persons. In the former are 430 living quadrupeds and birds. The 

 members of the Society exceed 1200; and on the whole it may be stated 

 to be in a flourishing condition. A bird*s-eye view of the gardens engraved 

 on wood, and giving a very perfect idea of them, will be found in the 

 Arcana of Science for 1829, a work which is one of the cheapest and best 

 of the day. 



Commemoration of Ray. — The second centenary of the birth of the 

 illustrious John Ray, which happened on the 29th of November last, was 

 celebrated by the lovers of evei*y branch of natural history, by a public 

 dinner, attended by about 130 of the most distinguished cultivators and 



Eatrons of science in and about London, including the officers of the Royal, 

 linnean. Geological, Horticultural, and Zoological Societies, the Rev. the 

 Provost of Eton, and several of the Professors of the Universities of Ox- 

 ford, Cambridge, and London. The chair was taken by Davies Gilbert, Esq. 

 M.P. the much-respected President of the Royal Society. 



After dinner the President proposed, " The memory of Ray," and accom- 

 panied the toast by an eloquent speech, setting forth his merits. " Men 

 who had done good service to their country, whether in the field of science 

 or elsewhere, were entitled to its grateful remembrance ; the display of that 

 remembrance was calculated to incite others to an honourable struggle for 

 similar distinction ; and he was sure that when these proceedings should 

 become known, they would tend greatly to promote the cultivation of the 

 science of natural history. 



