560 
WERNERDIAN NATURALIUSTORY 
Wor SOG LEE. 
T the meeting of the Wernerian 
Natural Elistory Society, of Edin- 
bargh, held on the 12th of November, 
the Rev. Andrew Jameson, minister of 
St. Mungo, Dumtriessbire, read Observa- 
tions on Meteorological Tables, with a 
Descriptiun of a New Anemometer. 
Atier some general remarks ou the im- 
portance of Meteorological Observations, 
and on the merits and defects of registers 
of the weather, be pointed out what he 
considered to be the best form of a Me- 
tcorological Journal, and then described 
the external form and internal structure 
of an extensive and complete Meteorolo- 
gieni Observatory, and enumerated about 
twenty different instruments which ought 
to finda place m every establishment of 
that kind. The Anemometer which he 
described, will, by avery simple and in- 
genious arrangement of parts, enable the 
most common observer to ascertain the 
velocity of the wind with perfect accu- 
racy. 
The Rev. Mr. Meming, of Bressay, 
jn Shetland, who has for some time 
past been engaged in examining the ini- 
neralovy of those remote islinds, commu. 
nicated an interesting account of the 
eognostic relations of the rocks. in the 
islands of Unst and PapaStour. After a 
general account of the position, extent 
and external appearance of the island of 
Unst, he described the different rocks of - 
which it is conyposed, in the order of their 
yelative antiquity, and remarked, that 
their eneral position is from south-west 
to north-east. The rocks are gneiss-mica, 
slate, clay-slate, limestone, hornblende- 
rock, potstowe, and serpentine. ‘The 
gneiss, in some places, appeared to alter- 
nate with the oldest mica-slate, and im 
others to contain beds ef hormblende- 
rock. The mica-slate, whichis the most 
abundant rock in the island, is traversed 
by numexous contemporaneous veins of 
quartz, and also of feldspar, and passes 
distinctly into clay-slate. It contains 
beds of bornblende-rock, and of lhime- 
stone. The clay-slate occurs but spar- 
ingly. The potstone usually accompa- 
nies the serpentine. The serpentine oc- 
curs in great abundance, in beds in the 
Oldest clay-slate, and newest mica-slate, 
and hence must be referred to the oldest, 
or first serpentine formation of Werner. 
The island of Papa Stour, situated on the 
west coast of the Mainland, as the largest 
of the islands ts called, contaiiis no pri- 
Proceedings of Learned Socictics. 
“ “ay 
[Jan 
8 F 
-mitive rocks, but appears to he entirely 
composed of floetz rocks. These are 
conglomerate, greenstone, — claystone, 
porphyritic stone, hornstone, (perhaps 
clinkstone) and sandstone. The sand- 
stone, as appears from observations made 
inthis island, and other parts of Shetland, 
probably belongs to the oldest coal for- 
mation: it is uniformly situated below 
the other rocks above-mentioned: As 
Mr. Fleming announced bis intention of 
again examining the whole of the Shet-. 
Jand islands, and of constructing mine-_ 
ralogical maps of them in which the rocks 
should be laid down according to their 
relative antiquity and extent, much value 
able information may be expected. 
Atasubsequent meeting of the same so- 
ciety on the 19th of November, Mr. Mac-~ 
kenzie, jun. of Applecross, read a short 
account of the coal formation in the 
vicinity of Durham. From the precise 
and accurate description communicated 
by this genileman, the rocks appear to 
belong to the oldest coal-formation ‘of 
Werner. In the course of his observa- 
tions, he explained what is called the 
ereep, by miners, and exhibited speci~ 
mens of the diferent rocks, with a sec 
tion of the coal-mine of Kipia, in which 
hoththe miners’ and the scientific names 
of the difierent strata were inserted. At 
the same meeting, Dr. Ogilby, of Dub- 
lin, read the continuation of his Minera- 
logical Description, of East Lothian, (of 
the former part of which, an account was 
given in our last Number) describing the 
different veins which he observed.in that 
tract of country. These he considered 
as of three different periods of formation, 
viz. 1, Such as are derived from partial 
formations subsequent to the floetz-trap, 
which are of rare occurrence. 2. Veins 
of the different rocks of the formation 
penetrating the older beds, andj 3. Those 
of contemporaneous origin. He then 
enumerated and deseribed, according to 
the manner of Werner, veins of green~ 
stone, jasper, quartz, heavy-spar, and 
cale-spar. 
Mr. P. Neill then read an ac- 
count of a great sea-snake, lately cast 
ashore in Orkney. This curious animal, 
it appears, was stranded in Rothesholni- 
bay, in the island of Stronsa. Malcolm 
Laing, esq. M.P. being in Orkney at 
the tme,communicated the circumstance 
to his brother at Edinburgh, upon whose 
property the animal kad been east. 
Through this authentie channel, Mr. Neill 
received his information. The body 
measured 
