Scientific Intelligence. — Geology. 441 



consistent with the laws of development, or with any of the conditions 

 of animal existence. 



March 0. — Dr Hamilton, V. P. in the Chair. A communication was 

 read by Dr Neill from Professor Fleming of King's College, Aberdeen, 

 on a species of Raia new to the British Fauna, and illustrative drawings 

 were exhibited. 



SCIENTIFIC INTELLIGENCE. 



GEOLOGY AND MINERALOGY. 



1. Dr Buckland on the Agency of Animalcules in the For- 

 mation of Limestone. — At a recent meeting of the Ashmolean 

 Society of Oxford, Dr Buckland read a paper on this subject. 

 He began with exhibiting some polished thin slices of Stoned- 

 field slate, lately presented to him by Mr Tenant, which Mr 

 Darker has discovered to be crowded with microscopic shells ; 

 he also announced that Mr Darker and Mr Tenant have dis- 

 covered microscopic shells to abound in thin slices of certain 

 strata of Derbyshire limestone, and proceeded to discuss the 

 question, how far the abundant occurrences of such remains 

 in the carboniferous and oolitic limestones, and in the chalk 

 and tertiary formations, justifies the revival, which has been 

 attempted since the microscopic discoveries of Ehrenberg, of 

 the old and false dogma — omnis calx e vermibus, omnis silex e 

 vermibus, ornne ferrum e vermibus. Dr B. exhibited the plates 

 of Ehrenberg's work on the animalcular constitution of chalk, 

 (1S39) in which he has described and figured specimens from 

 twelve localities in Europe, Asia, and Africa, all of which are 

 crowded with foraminiferousand other minute chambered shells, 

 varying in size from l-24th to l-200th of a line, so that a 

 million may occur in a cubic inch of chalk. In specimens 

 from the north of Europe the quantity of inorganic earthy 

 chalk exceeds that of the organic bodies ; but in specimens 

 from the south of Europe the animal remains largely predo- 

 minate. Ehrenberg has made out seventy-one species of these 

 shells, some calcareous, some siliceous, including twenty-two 

 species of microscopic nautilites, nummulites, and cyprides, 



