134 RELICS OF PRIMEVAL LIFE 



serpentine marbles of all the varieties furnished 

 by our collections. These were examined with 

 ordinary and polarized light, and with every variety 

 of illumination. Dr. Hunt, on his part, undertook 

 the chemical investigation of the various associated 

 minerals. An extensive series of notes and camera 

 tracings were made of all the appearances observed ; 

 and of some of the more important structures 

 beautiful drawings were executed by the late Mr. 

 H. S. Smith, the then palaeontological draughtsman 

 of the Survey. The result of the whole investigation 

 was a firm conviction that the structure was organic 

 and probably foraminiferal, and that it could be 

 distinguished from any merely mineral or crystalline 

 forms occurring in these or other limestones. 



At this stage of the matter, and after exhibiting 

 to Sir William all the characteristic appearances 

 in comparison with such concretionary, dendritic, 

 and crystalline structures as most resembled them, 

 and also with the structure of recent and fossil 

 Foraminifera, I suggested that the further prosecu- 

 tion of the matter should be handed over to Mr. 

 Billings, as palaeontologist of the Survey, and as 

 our highest authority on the fossils of the older 

 rocks. I was engaged in other researches, and 



