Miiieralogi/, Geology, &;c. 173 



Ft. In. I 



The other (broken) 3 8 



Circumference of these bones 3 8 



Six broken pieces of bone, from 1 to 4 feet in length. 



Thirteen ribs, one is in length 10 



in circumference 1 1 



Another in length 9 3 



Ditto in circumference 1 2 



A very entire, oval, and hollow bone, like a shell, was found, 

 also, 5 inches'^long, and 3 in diameter ; and along with the bones 

 a fragment of the lower part of a stag's horn was found, 14 

 inches long, and 8 in circumference. 



All these bones occurred at a depth of from 18 inches to 

 3 feet from the surface of the ground, in what is termed recent 

 alluvial earth, formed by the river Forth, and composed of a 

 blue coloured sludge or sleek, with a covering of peat earth, a 

 few inches thick. 



The situation where the bones were dug up naturally refers 

 to a very remote period of time, of which we have no record, 

 when the river Forth was here a great arm of the sea, extending 

 from the Ochill Mountains, on the north, to the rising ground in 

 the Falkirk district, on the south ; and when the very interesting 

 and picturesque greenstone rocks of Abbey Craig, Stirling Castle, 

 and Craigforth, formed islands in the midst of the water. Ac- 

 cording to the situation of the Roman stations and causeways at 

 a small distance from whence the skeleton has been found, it 

 may reasonably be concluded that the whale had been stranded 

 at a period prior to the Christian cera. 



Tilloch. Magaz. Aug. 157. 

 III. Natural History. 



§ 1. Botany, Zoology, Sfc. 



1. Lalitnde of Trees in Sweden. — From researches made in 

 Sweden on the different kinds of wood indigenous to the 

 country, it has been ascertained that the birch reaches the 



