Proceedings of the Wernerian Society. iOS 



about 200 miles, from the confines of Syria to the mountains of 

 Kurdistan. The distinguishing geological peculiarity of this region is 

 the extraordinary development of the supercretaccous deposits, more 

 espceially the gypseous, divided into two portions, separated by a great 

 deposit of marine limestone ; the whole country, in fact, consisting of 

 these deposits, it has been calculated, to an extent of about 800 square 

 miles, here and there interrupted by plutonic rocks. The celebrated 

 sulphur mines near Mosul were noticed — the thermal springs — the 

 milk-white rivulet, from precipitated sulphur — the Mosul marble — 

 (calcareous gypsum) — also the *' Hill of Flames," east of Kirkook, 

 whence a fierce ardent flame from time immemorial has issued — and 

 the celebrated naphtha springs on the Euphrates and Tigris — the geo- 

 gnostical peculiarities of these localities being explained. The third or 

 alluvial district was next described, from the hills above the plain of 

 Babylonia, and the plains traversed by the Median Wall, to the shores 

 of the Persian Gulf. At its northern limit, the plain has a slight but 

 well defined southern inclination ', it undulates in the central districts, 

 and then lowers into mere marshes and lakes. The soil of the first 

 portion is pebbly, consisting of flints and fragments of gypsum, that of 

 the second clayey, covered with mould or sands. Here were noticed 

 the efflorescences of common salt and saltpetre — the sand-hills, which 

 are constantly shifting then* place and number, and yet are always sta- 

 tionary in the same general locality — the marches of Lemlum, and the 

 extensive plains of Chaldea on the east — the aquatic vegetation at the 

 point of union of the Euphrates and Tigris — from this point to the 

 Junub, a .d finally the water-country of Niebuhr, — the Choabedeh of 

 Sir William Jones. Even here the banks of the river are lined with 

 woods of the date-tree, and at times afford pasturage for buffaloes ; the 

 villages are numerous but small, and the population, as will be readily- 

 supposed, unhealthy. 



The President exhibited a series of specimens of ores, and their 

 accompanying rocks and minerals, collected in Persia, by Mr Robert- 

 son, late in the service of the Shah. Among them were various rich 

 ores of copper and iron, very pure rock salt, brown coal, &c. Spe- 

 cimens of the following quadrupeds and birds were placed on the 

 table for the inspection of members ; — A very young hyena, lately 

 cubbed at Edinburgh ; a small Chili dog, nearly destitute of hair ; a re- 

 markable variety of the common hare from the Pentland range ; a male 

 wild cat from Perthshire, three feet eight inches in length ; specimens 

 of the rough-legged falcon and the osprcy from the Pentlands ; and a 

 specimen of the Picus nuijor from the neighbourhood of Inverness. 



