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284 Chronicles of Science. [ April, 
larly-placed beds in every other locality, both in Scotland and in 
Scandinavia.” Mr. Watson defends his position with great ability, 
and attacks his opponents with a considerable amount of force ; 
and although we cannot ourselves accept his conclusions, we regret 
that his paper has not been published in full, as all the facts and 
arguments on both sides of the question should be made equally 
ublic. 
i Dr. Duncan’s paper “ On Impressions of Selenite in the Woolwich 
Beds and London Clay,” treats of a very curious and little-under- 
stood subject, and will, we hope, prepare the way for more complete 
researches. The impressions have been formed by the decompo- 
sition of globular stellate groups of crystals of selenite, and Dr. 
Duncan discusses the different ways in which the selenite may have 
been formed and subsequently removed. To geologists, the most 
interesting point is the probability of the conclusion that “the 
formation of gypsum, and of its more durable replacing crystalline 
form, selenite, suggests the decomposition and destruction of 
organic remains, and the disappearance of these minerals is equiva- 
lent to the destruction of the evidence of the former existence of 
organisms ;” consequently, “there is no reason why the purest 
clay-slate may not have been formed from a fossiliferous clay.” 
The next paper, by the Rev. O. Fisher, is remarkably mgenious, 
but very heterodox ; it is entitled, “On the Relation of the Norwich 
or Fluvio-marine Crag to the Chillesford Clay or Loam.” The 
Chillesford Clay has hitherto been considered to be either the equi- 
valent of the Norwich Crag or a little more recent ; but Mr. Fisher 
endeavours to prove that it underlies that deposit and overlies the 
“‘ Mya-bed,” which last stratum he considers to be the one to which 
should be referred the bed at Southwold, containing Mastodon and 
other Mammalia ; therefore he considers that we ought not to hesi- 
tate to include the Chillesford Clay in the Norwich Crag series. 
The paper is well worth a careful reading, on account of the author 
having taken so much advantage of even the most minute circum- 
stances to prove, either directly or inferentially, the truth of his 
conclusion ; but that conclusion must appear to an “ old-fashion ” 
geologist at least a little improbable. 
Captain Godwin-Austen’s “ Notes on the Carboniferous Rocks of 
the Valley of Kashmere ” are valuable, on account of the sections 
which illustrate them, and of Mr. Davidson’s descriptions and 
figures appended thereto. The Carboniferous formation may be 
traced all along the range of mountains on the north side of the 
Kashmere Valley ; and where Mesozoic rocks occur, both in Kash- 
mere and Thibet, they are underlain by strata of Carboniferous age. 
The Brachiopoda from Thibet determined by Mr. Davidson belong 
to six Carboniferous, two Jurassic, and two Cretaceous (?) species. 
Those from Kashmere are all Carboniferous, and number as many 
