HISTORY OF THE SOCIETY. 501 



David Falconar. Esq., Vice-President, in the chair— The j^^J^J^J^ 

 Assistant- Secretary read Mr Hamilton Stirling's observations 

 on the Punnah diamond-mines. — A notice regarding the granite 

 at Kingston Harbour, Dublin, and the trap-rocks of the islet of 

 Pladda, off Can tyre, with specimens transmitted by Mr Steven- 

 son, civii-engineer, was read. — The Assistant-Secretary then 

 read a notice regarding recent marine shells found in a bed of 

 clay thirty feet above the present level of the Firth of Forth, 

 by Mr James Nicol, Polmont. Mr Smith of Jordanhill commu- 

 nicated a letter from the Rev. David Landsborough of Steven- 

 ston, describing a deposit of similar recent shells mixed with 

 sea-weed at a similar elevation above the present level of the 

 Firth of Clyde. — After a lengthened conversation on the subject 

 of the removal of the Government Trigonometrical Survey 

 from Scotland to Ireland, the meeting agreed to remit to the 

 Council of the Society to prepare a Memorial to Government, 

 requesting that the triangulation of Scotland should speedily 

 be resumed, completed and published. And for this special busi- 

 ness, the meeting directed that Mr Smith of Jordanhill and Mr 

 James Stuart Menteath jun. of Closeburn, be summoned to the 

 meeting of Council — There was then laid on the table Lord 

 Gray's Kinfauns Meteorological Table for 1 836, and also that of 

 the Rev. Mr Macritchie of Cluny ; and a skeleton of a common 

 cock, shewing a curious abnormal formation in that bird, was 

 exhibited and explained, 



David Falconar, Esq., Vice-President, in the chair. — The March 25. 

 Assistant- Secretary read a communication from the Rev. Sa- 

 muel Traill, on the mode of ascertaining the rate of the increase 

 of the internal temperature of the earth ; likewise an account of 

 experiments made by Mr Peter Grant on the new substance 

 named Donium, found in the Davidsonite of the Aberdeen 

 quarries, communicated by Professor Fleming of King's College, 

 Abei'deen — Dr Martin Barry then read further observations on 



