86 NEW HARBOUR ON THE N.E. COAST OF AUSTRALIA. [March 26, 1860 



that the sea was breaking them, and rubbing them down by attrition ; that 

 they slipped down gradually till they reached a certain depth, and formed a 

 coral facing much in the manner that glaciers are formed ; and that it was upon 

 this new coating that these small animals formed, and upon which the others 

 kept growing. He also disagreed from Mr. Jukes on another point, for he had 

 brought up living corallines (massive coral) from the depth of 33 fathoms, 

 and he once brought up a living coralline, a tree on a strombus, from a shoal 

 At 156 fathoms ; both strombus and coral were living. At Bow Island he 

 had occasion to construct a pier. The coralline circles resting upon the fine 

 sand, about 6 to 9 feet in diameter, were taken up, not having any attachment, 

 and were wheeled, to the amusement of the crew, into the places assigned for 

 them. I do not think any measured more than a foot in depth. 



Mb. Jukes said that you might bring up from 100 fathoms living coral- 

 lines, but he expressly guarded himself from saying that all coral-making 

 polyps lived only in shallow water. He said it was only the polyps that made 

 these huge corals that lived within a comparatively short distance of the sur- 

 face. Of course there were corallines that lived at a greater depth — ^at any 

 depth in which life could at all exist. With respect to the theory of the for- 

 mation of coral reefs which the gallant officer seemed to attribute to him, he 

 had learnt it entirely from Mr. Darwin's book. 



The Chairman, in closing the discussion, said that he had derived much in- 

 formation from Colonel Gawler, and he was certain they would thank him for 

 having called upon his geological friend Mr. Jukes, The remarks he had 

 made showed how intimately geology was connected with those great problems 

 of physical geography which Mr. Jukes had so admirably depicted. In short, 

 he (the Chairman) was quite proud of his geological associate, who had clearly 

 shown why a large mass of the interior of Australia must be a waterless 

 desert. 



Ninth Meeting, March 2Qth, 1860. 



Sir RODEEICK I. MUECHISON, Vice-President, in tlie Chair. 



Presentations. — Consul D. B. Rohertson ; Captain A. E. Wilkin- 

 son ; and J, A. Dickinson ; W. H. T. Huskisson ; Samuel Kinns, ph. dr. ; 

 Daniel Meinetzhagen ; and J, P. Stocker, Esqrs., were presented upon their 

 Election. 



Elections. — Colonel the Hon. Arthur Egerton ; Major George Wilcock; 

 and Roger Cunliffe ; Bernard Dietz ; T. M. Mackay ; Alexander Mitchell ; 

 R. M. Montgomery ; H. W. Peek; and David Walker, Esqrs., were elected 

 Fellows. 



Exhibitions. — Captain Berger's patent Sphereometer, invented 

 for the purpose of obviating abstruse calculations in Navigation, 

 and for facilitating passages, was exhibited at the meeting. 



Among the donations to the Library and Map-Eooms since the 

 former meeting were " Cycle of Celestial Objects," continued at the 

 Hartwell Observatory to 1859, by Admiral W. H. Smyth, presented 

 by the author and Dr. Lee ; Swedish Government charts, presented 



