216 



work in the good cause has been followed by those members of that 

 Club, whose interest you have so much at heart. 



As usual, then, I will proceed to epitomise our proceedings in 

 the order of their occurrence. 



First, then, as to the evening meetings ; though from a variety 

 of causes the attendance is not so large as might be expected from 

 a Club numbering 75 members ; yet it is sufficiently good to 

 encourage the authors of papers and short communications to 

 respond readily to the Secretary's application, so much so that to 

 the four evenings usually allotted for this purpose during the 

 winter and spring months another has been added, and even with 

 this addition we scarcely know how to compress the subjects into 

 the apportioned time of two hours. 



The last evening meeting, of which an account was given in the 

 Proceedings for 1869-70, was allotted to Natural History, the next 

 which took place on 9th March, 1870, was set apart for Geology, 

 and Mr. Charles Moore and Mr. W. S. Mitchell were to have 

 divided it between them ; owing, however, to the much-regretted 

 illness of the former, whom the President characterized as one of 

 the oldest and most hard-working members of the Club, his paper 

 on the " Additions to the Fauna of the Great Oolite " was 

 postponed, it is hoped only for a short time, and Mr. Mitchell 

 proceeded to give rather a novel view on the " Denudation of the 

 Bath District," which was thus treated : — 



The amount of work done in any district by denuding forces cannot be 

 rigbtly estimated till the physical character of the district is fully known. It 

 is commonly stated that the various hills of Oolite now separated by valleya 

 were once continuous, and that in the formation of the valleys the Oolitic 

 limestone, as well as the clays, had been swept away. The following con- 

 siderations have led the author to doubt the original continuity of the lime- 

 stones : 1. They were deposited in shallow water disturbed by rapid and 



oft changing currents. It is probable there would be channels in which 

 matter would not accumulate, while on shoals it might rapidly accumulate. 2. 

 Our Great Oolite appears to be mainly the result of disintegrated coral reefs. 

 What proof is there that the reefs were continuous ? 3. The layers or beds 

 of Great Oolite all thin out towards the vaUeys, wherever, in this district, the 

 author has been able to see them, giving the idea of their being on the edges 

 of reefs. The author supposes that the influx of water bearing sediment 

 which put a stop to the coral growth filled in the valleys, and when long after- 

 wards denudation commenced, the ready yielding of the clays and the 



