150 
which was volatile. At Drybrook the Shales will not exceed 
20 feet thick; the Carboniferous rocks, however, in that 
district thin out, but there is little doubt that similar Shales of 
greater thickness will be found in other districts, probably at 
Clifton and in South Wales. 
Professor Harker said, Mr Weruerep had kindly asked 
him to examine his slides, and they had together made a study 
of the remains of plants in the carboniferous beds generally. 
The minute spore-like body shown with the triradiate mark- 
ings, was, in his opinion, a microspore of some plant closely 
allied to Isoétes, An examination of the spore forms of the 
higher Cryptograms shows that those of Isoétes are the only 
ones at all resembling Mr Werueren’s specimen. With regard 
to the larger bodies, with processes and markings indicating a 
spinous habit, if we asked ourselves what modern plants do 
they resemble ? We were reminded of Coleochaete, which grow 
in our aquaria, many of which are spined. Mr Harxer said 
that Mr Weruerep had been devoting much labour to the study 
of carboniferous sections, and his researches, especially on the 
vegetable organisms in certain coal seams, were shortly to be 
made public, and would further bear out his views as expressed 
to-day. 
Mr Wrrcnett then read some remarks on the occurrence 
in the neighbourhood of Stroud, of the palmate Newt (Ltsso- 
triton palmipes.) Mr Wircneti began by referring to a paper 
by the late Jonn Jonus, which will be found in the 3rd Volume 
of Transactions of the Cotteswold Club, p. 157,in which is 
given a list of the reptiles of the county, where the Palmate 
Newt is mentioned as occurring, on the authority of Mr Baxzr, 
in the adjoining county of Somerset, but as totally unknown to 
the writer. Mr Wrrcuett stated that one of his sons found 
the Palmate Newt in ponds near Stroud, and on looking up its 
natural history learnt that it was comparatively rare. Further 
observation, however, has led to the discovery that, so far from 
its being rare, it is in the Stroud neighbourhood the most 
common of its genus, in the proportion of 10 to 1. By some 
naturalists the Palmate Newt is regarded asa variety of the 
