378 Chemical Society. 



they lead to conclusions of much greater interest than the previous 

 opinions respecting the Chelonites of the London basin could have 

 originated. Whilst these were supposed to have belonged to a fresh- 

 water genus, the difference between the present fauna and that of 

 the Eocene period, in reference to the Chelonian order, was not very 

 great ; since the Emys or Cistudo Europaa still abounds on the Con- 

 tinent, and lives long in our own island in suitable localities : but 

 the case assumes a very different aspect when we come to the con- 

 viction, that the majority of the Sheppey Chelonites belong to the 

 true marine genus Chelone ; and that the number of species of the 

 Eocene extinct turtles already obtained from so limited a space as 

 the isle of Sheppey exceeds that of the species of existing Chelone. 



Notwithstanding the assiduous search of naturalists, and the attrac- 

 tions to the commercial voyager which the shell and the flesh of the 

 turtles offer, all the tropical seas of the world have hitherto yielded 

 no more than five well-defined species of Chelone, and of these only 

 two, as the C. Mydas and C. caretta, are known to frequent the same 

 locality. 



It is obvious, therefore, that the ancient ocean of the Eocene epoch 

 was less sparingly inhabited by turtles ; and that these presented a 

 greater variety of specific modifications than are known in the seas 

 of the warmer latitudes of the present day. 



The indications which the Sheppey turtles afford of the warmer 

 climate of the latitude in which they lived, as compared with that 

 which prevails there in the present day, accord with those which all 

 the organic remains of the same depositary have hitherto yielded in 

 reference to this interesting point. 



That abundance of food must have been produced under such in- 

 fluences cannot, Mr. Owen states, be doubted ; and he infers, that to 

 some of the extinct species — which, like the C. coniceps and C.platy- 

 gnathus, exhibit either a form of head well adapted for penetrating 

 the soil, or with modifications that indicate an affinity to the Trio- 

 nyxes — was assigned the task of checking the undue increase of the 

 extinct crocodiles of the same epoch and locality, by devouring their 

 eggs or their young, becoming probably, in return, themselves an oc- 

 casional prey to the older individuals of the same carnivorous saurian. 



CHEMICAL SOCIETY. 

 [Continued from p. 320.] 

 March 15, 1842. — The following communications were read : — 

 Second Part of Mr. Hutchinson's Paper. (See p. 3 1 8.) 

 "On the Preparation of artificial Yeast," by George Fownes, Ph.D. 

 This paper appears in the present Number, p. 352. 



March 30. — Anniversary Meeting, Thomas Graham, Esq., F.R.S., 

 Professor of Chemistry in University College, London, President, in 

 the Chair. 



The Report of the Council on the state and prospects of the So- 

 ciety was read, and the following gentlemen were elected as Officers 

 and Council for the ensuing year : — 



