S54 MR. embleton's minutes of the 



Minutes of our Meeting at Beat, July 25, 1849. 

 By Robert Embieton, Esq. 



In fulfillment of the promise made at our meeting at Beal, 

 I beg to bring under the notice of the Club some of the 

 plants that were observed in our walk on that day. Being 

 too late to enjoy the breakfast prepared by Mr. Gregson, Mr. 

 Tate and I wended our way across the salt grass at Beal to 

 the shore, where we observed Triglochin maritimum, Scirpus 

 maritimus, Atriplex rosea, Chenopodium maritimum, Zostera 

 marina, Arenaria maritima, and many pure white flowering 

 specimens of Statice armeria. 



The following geological observations were made by Mr. 

 Tate :— " On the Ross Sands, opposite to Beal House, we ob- 

 served beds of limestone, 10 feet in thickness. The under 

 bed is hard and chert, and weathers to a reddish colour. 

 The upper beds are grey when fresh fractured, and generally 

 weather to a buff colour ; they are fine grained, and well 

 adapted for the preservation of organisms, which we find nu- 

 merously distributed in these beds ; indeed they seemed al- 

 most entirely composed of organic remains. The folloAving 

 fossils were observed in them : — 



1. Euomphalus catillus. A species not common in North- 



umberland, but which occurs at Bolland, and in Bel- 

 gium. 



2. Spirifer glaber. One of the most generally distributed of 



the mountain limestone fossils. 



3. Terebratula reneformis. A small variety with three me- 



sial ridges, identical with forms which I have ob- 

 tained from Hetton, and Belgium. The species is but 

 rarely found in Northumberland. 



4. Lithodendron sociale. Very abundant ; found also in the 



Hetton and Lowick beds. 



5. Fenestrella ; probably the intertexta of Portlock. 



6. Chaetetes radicans : A coral characteristic of the lower 



limestones of the carboniferous series, found abun- 

 dantly in Russia ; and which I have found also at 

 Beadnell, Dunstanbro', and Holy Island. 



