194 Proceedings of the Royal Society of Edinburgh, 



During the course of the last meetings held of the Wernerian and 

 Royal Societies of Edinburgh, you have informed me that a tooth 

 like that which I have described, along with other osseous relics, had 

 been noticed by Mr Ure in his History of Rutherglen, who it seems 

 published his work in the year 1793 ; and on each occasion of your 

 remark I added, that, from a perusal of the Statistical Accounts of 

 Scotland, I had no doubt whatever that in the coal-fields of many 

 other places besides Rutherglen, Saurian remains had from time to 

 time been disclosed. I have compared Mr Ure's delineation of the 

 tooth, which is like the one found at Burdiehouse, but apparently 

 much smaller. It is said to have been discovered in the till above 

 coal. 



Along with the fossil tooth, I procured at the same time some 

 slight vertebral remains, most probably referable to the same Saurian 

 reptile ; and I have now the pleasure to add, that Mr Arthur Con- 

 nel has, two or three days ago, obtained from the workmen some 

 fragments of limestone, in which large scales of a most beautiful lus- 

 tre are imbedded. This gentleman has undertaken a chemical exa- 

 mination of the coprolites which are found so abundantly in the 

 quarry. The analysis could not be in more able hands. But it is 

 to be hoped that many other remains, which this most interesting 

 ossiferous deposit promises to yield, may make us better acquainted 

 with the distinctive character of the animal which first haunted the 

 site on which Edinburgh now stands. Mr Robison of Atholl Cres- 

 cent, General Secretary of the Royal Society of Edinburgh, has, from 

 his zeal for science, most actively and laudably exerted himself, with 

 the view that any other osseous remains which may come to light may 

 be carefully preserved. 



This discovery I consider to be a most important one. It refers 

 the existence of reptiles more or less allied to the Crocodile, to a pe- 

 riod much earlier than has been usually supposed by geologists, and 

 shews that these immense animals must have existed coeval perhaps 

 with the very earliest vegetable state of our globe. Believe me, 

 dear Sir, yours, &c. &c. 



S. HiBBERT. 



MANcm Place, Edinburgh, 

 18^ December 1833, 



