Geology — Zoology — Botany, 383 



an eiglit-sitled prism. The face perpendicular to the axis possesses its 

 usual bright pearly lustre. The sides of the prisms are often half an 

 inch broad. The specimen itself occupied a drusy cavity in the limestone. 

 I hatriately the pleasure of examining the same quarry in company with 

 Mr Allan and Mr Robert Allan ; but all our exertions were unsuccessful 

 to find any more of the same species, except a small specimen, which I 

 picked up from the rubbish heap near the west end of the quarry. On 

 examination it proved to be apophyllite, filling up, along with a reddish- 

 white translucent variety of opal, the cavity of a shell, probably of Schlot- 

 heim's species Gryphites aculeatus, which, although this petrifaction is not 

 sufficiently distinct in the specimen, yet occurs in other parts of the quarry, 

 and also in several other quarries situated in the continuation of the same 

 limestone, as at Innerteil near Kirkaldy. Evidently the variety in the 

 cavity of the shell is the product of a slow process of the same kind as that by 

 which the cavities of amygdaloidal rocks are filled with the various species of 

 the genus kouphone spar, and with apophyllite as one of them ; a process 

 similar to that which produced the number and variety of crystals of 

 calcareous spar and brown spar in the same quarry, traversing the lime- 

 stone in veins, which often contain masses of bitumen, probably the residue 

 of the organic matter of the enormous quantities of corals, encrinites, and 

 shells, which are now found there petrified. The veins lined with crystals 

 are more abundant near the top of the quarry, where the water from the 

 surface had more easy access ; and being charged with carbonic acid, could 

 dissolve carbonate of lime from the massive rock ; and on the superfluous 

 acid being expelled, deposit it again in the shape of crystals. A short 

 notice of the new locality of apophyllite was given in the Caledonian Mer-- 

 cu,ry of Saturday, 8th September 1827. W. Haidinger. 



GEOLOGY. 



23. New Cavern with Fossil bones. — On the 20th August M. Marcel de 

 Serres announced to the Academy of Sciences that he had discovered in 

 the department of the Eastern Pyrenees new caverns with bones, which 

 appear to him to give a solution of several of the questions which have 

 arisen from the study of those singular localities. 



ZOOLOGY. 



24. A new Species of Buceros — Besides the common toucan, the Buce' 

 ros albirosiris, we have got n noble specimen and drawing of the finest of 

 the genus, with an undulated four-furrowed casque, and a beautiful cinna- 

 mon-coloured bare crest, black body, and white tail, coming near B. un^ 

 dulaiits, but dififering in several poirits, especially in having a yellow ample 

 gula. Its length from tip to tip is 2 feet 11 inches, and between the ends 

 of the spread wings 4 feet 4 inches. — Letter from India. 



BOTANY. J' J 



25. Circulation of the Sap in the Chara vulgaris.-^M, Blainville notified 

 to the Philomathic Society at their meeting on the 26th May, that he had 



