Natural History and Antiquarian Society. 5 



January Sd, 1865. 



The Society held the Third Meeting of the Session in 

 the Assembly Street Club Rooms, 



Dr GILCHRIST in the Chair. 



The following New Members were enrolled : — Ordinary 

 Members. — Mr John Morrin, Castle Street ; Colonel Clark 

 Kennedy, Knockgray, Galloway ; Col. Maxwell, Portrack, 

 Holywood ; Mr. Smith, Netherholm, Kirkmahoe ; Miss 

 Jardine, Jardine Hall ; Mrs. Dudgeon, Cargen ; Rev. Mr. 

 Dudgeon, Free Church Manse, Dalbeattie ; Major Bowden, 

 Lochfield. 



Corresponding Members. — Mr. Clark, Curator of Royal 

 Botanic Gardens, Glasgow ; Rev. G. J. Duncan, Portman 

 Square, London ; Mrs. Duncan, Do. ; J. A. Knipe, Moor- 

 ville, Carlisle. 



Mr. Dudgeon, Cargen, read a paper upon the minerals 

 found in the granites of the district. He remarked that 

 crystals of the mineral sphene, which was not a common 

 mineral in Great Britain, and but sparingly distributed in 

 granites or rather syenites of this district, had been found 

 by him in patches in such quantities as almost to form a 

 constituent of the rock. The mineral zircon had been men- 

 tioned in some books on mineralogy as being found in the 

 syenite of the district, but this he thought a mistake, which 

 had probably arisen from the peculiar form of some of the 

 crystals of sphene, which, when superficially examined, had 

 much the appearance of crystals of zircon. In company 

 with Professor Heddle, he had also found crystals of allanite, 

 a mineral containing the rare metal cerium, and in the same 

 locality, viz., about a mile up the Newabbey Burn, some 

 small granular masses of a vitreous mineral supposed to be 

 gadolonite. 



A paper was read by Dr. Gilchrist, from a corresponding 

 member, Mr. Grindley of Laxey, on some remarkable Geologi- 



