of those peculiar sounds locally known as " The Guns of Burrisaul," the 

 cause of which has not yet been detennined. A short account of these 

 sounds, from "All the Year Round," for July, 1875, was then read. 



An instance of the extremely high temperature exijerieuced in some silver 

 mines in the Nevada territory having been communicated to the Society by 

 Captain A. Coote as its last meeting, the following explanation by Professor 

 Rogers was read frum an American paper. " Among the chemists an 

 interesting account was given by Professor Rogers of the chemical pro- 

 cesses going on in the dei:)ths of the" silver mines, in the Nevada Comstock 

 lode. In the deeper drifts of the mines the heat is almost intolerable, the 

 temperatTire being frequently as high as 1.50 degrees. Life is supported only 

 by jjouring ice- water on the head. The water that trickles from the rocky 

 roof of these drifts is so hot as to be almost scalding, and the workmen are 

 protected from it by sheet-iron screens. The temperature is far beyond 

 what would be due from the depth of the mine, and is largely owing to the 

 presence and decomposition of sulphides. There is a trace of saline matter, 

 and the contact of the sulphide of silver with chloride of sodium produces, 

 by chemical action, the high temperature. Professor Rogers' explanation 

 of the cause of the great Californiau Steam Geysers will be a great blow to 

 all wonder-loving tourists. 'The geysers,' he says, 'exhibit no great geological 

 phenomenon, but result solely frona the action of superficial chemistry. 

 The heat is caused by the action of air and water upon iron pyrites, generat- 

 ing oxide of iron and sulphuric acid, which readily form sulphate of iron.' 

 This will be a disappointment to those who imagined fiery furnaces and 

 boiling cauldrons sending up the startling steam jets, and scalding waters." 



Some extracts were read by the Chairman from a paper by Mr. E. T. 

 Newton, F.G.S., on tlie result of a microscopical examination of " Tas- 

 manite," the so-called " Dysodile " of the Mersey. Mr. Newton says, " The 

 two substances known as ' Tasmanite ' and ' Australian White Coal,' which 

 are the subject of the present communication, have a special interest for 

 the geologist on account of the light which they throw upon the micros- 

 copic structure and composition of many coals. My attention was first 

 directed to them when collecting materials for Professor Huxley's examina- 

 tion into the microscoj^ic structure of coal. My esteemed colleague, Mr. 

 Etheridge, at that time gave me a specimen of brown laminated substance, 

 labelled ' Lignite, the so-called White Coal,* Australia,' and drew my atten- 

 tion to the fact that it was very largely composed of small seed- like bodies, 

 very similar to, although smaller than, the macrospores of Flciniivjites, 

 which are seen in many kinds of British Coal. A sjiecimeu of this same 

 kind of White Coal is in the Museum of Practical Geology, and is labelled 

 ' Bituminous Shale (locally called White Coal), New South Wales, Aus- 

 tralia.' I have likewise been able to examine the specimen of Tasmanite 

 also in this Museum, which is labelled ' Tasmanite ; combustible n a'ter 

 from the River Mersey, on the north side of Tasmania ; stratum of 

 unknown thickness, but known to extend for some miles. Presented by 

 Sir William Denison.' " The author's conclusion is, that " There can be 

 no question as to the Tasmanite sacs being vegetable organs, although at 

 jiresent we do not know the plant to which they belong. Their size 

 and form seem to indicate that they are more nearly allied to 

 Lycopodiaceous macrosjiores than to anything else. The inconvenience 

 of having an object without a distinctive name induces me to jjropose one 

 for the spores (?) f(nuid in Tasmanite and Australian White Coal (the two 

 being, as I believe, identical in structure) ; and in order to retain existing 

 titles as far as p(jssible I would suggest that Professor Church's name 

 Tasmanite, which is so generally used in reference to the schist as a 

 whole, be retained for this substance, and that the spores (or rather the 

 jalant to which they belong) should he called Tasnuuiites, with the specific 

 title oi pun ctat us in allusion to the surface markings." 



