S36 



THE NATURALIST. 



members. The strata as seen at 

 this place are of great interest to the 

 geologist. Here rocks of the secon- 

 dary epoch are exposed, abounding 

 in remains of organisms which 

 flourished in a period long past, and 

 whose only record is to be read in 

 the stone. Beneath the capping of 

 basalt which crowns the hill are 

 the limestone and sandstone of the 

 Cretaceous system, and underlying 

 these the shales and banded lime- 

 stones of the Liassic period. The 

 section of the latter which was ex- 

 amined consisted of shales indurated 

 by the close proximity of a trap dyke. 

 The fossils were abundant, but much 

 injured by the heat of the intruded 

 igneous rock. Good specimens of 

 several species were, however, ob- 

 tained ; of these may be mentioned 

 Modiola Hillana, Axinus cloacmus, 

 Cardinia ovalis, aud Pecten Valonlen- 

 sis. The shales in which the above- 

 named fossils were found are por- 

 tions of that zone of lias determined 

 by B. Tate, Esq., F.G.S., late secre- 

 tary to the club, to be the white lias of 

 English geologists. Some work 

 was also done with the cretaceous 

 rocks. A bed of soft friable green 

 sandstone yielded a large number of 

 fossils, some of them in very good 

 condition. The following species 

 may be noted — Pecten orhicularis and 

 P. Quadricostatus, Exogyra Icevigata, 

 and a Trigonia species not known. 

 This bed included a layer of copro- 



lites, with numerous fish teeth, some 

 of which were obtained in a perfect 

 state. Ostrea carinata, and a fine 

 echinoderm, Micraster acutus, were 

 found in a higher stratum of sand- 

 stone. In addition, a few of the 

 chalk fossils were secured, as Anan- 

 chytus ovatus, and Pleuratomaria per- 

 spectiva. A perfect specimen of Am- 

 monites intermedius, in beautiful pre- 

 servation, was found in the lower 

 lias of Carr's Glen, contiguous to 

 the quarries. The summer session 

 having now terminated, it devolves 

 on the committee to make arrange- 

 ments for the vigorous prosecution 

 of the work for the winter session, 

 which consists of papers on scientific 

 subjects read fortnightly by the 

 members, which papers are followed 

 by discussion relating to the subject. 

 The council of the Natural History 

 and Philosophical Society have again 

 kindly granted to the club the use 

 of one of their lecture-rooms in the 

 Museum for the evening meetings. 

 . Hartley, The Castle, Belfast. 



Singular Capture of a Seal. — About 

 three months ago a man engaged in 

 the ling fishing caught a seal {Phoca 

 vituUna) upwards of three feet in 

 length, upon a common hook baited 

 with a piece of fish. The depth of 

 water was twenty-two fathoms, but 

 as the lines wer ebeing hauled in at 



