Proceedi?igs of the British Association. 185 



* 



far greater than was at first supposed. At the meeting of the Swedish 

 Academy just referred to, a communication was made from an officer 

 who had been employed on the southwest coast of Sweden, giving ev- 

 idence of the recent elevation of that part of the coast, and stating, 

 that during the present summer, fishermen had pointed out to him near 

 the Maelstrom, at Offroust, shoals which had never before been visible. 

 The elevation of the Swedish coast forms a striking contrast with the 

 unchanged position of the contiguous coast of Norway, which, as far 

 as observation has been hitherto extended, has suffered no change with- 

 in the period of history, although marine deposits, found upon the Nor- 

 wegian hills, at very considerable elevations above the level of the sea, 

 prove that those parts were formerly submerged. Dr. Langberg, of 

 Christiana, confirmed the statement made by Major Beamish, as to the 

 unchanged position of the Norwegian coast, within the period of his- 

 tory, as far as observation has hitherto extended. Mr. Lyell observed, 

 foat if the rate of upward and downward movement of the land in 

 Scandinavia could be proved to take place irregularly, and sometimes 

 with considerable rapidity in a short time, it would remove many diffi- 

 culties in the explanation of these phenomena, by the hypothesis of a 

 surface movement. He then alluded to the buried hut at Sodertelge, 

 near Stockholm, above which regular deposits, twenty four feet in thick- 

 ness, were found, containing marine and fresh water shells, such as 

 aw inhabit the brackish waters of the Baltic. The position of this 

 ut can °n'y be reconciled with the belief that Scandinavia was peopled 

 Wlthm th e last 5000 or 6000 years, by supposing a greater rate of 

 Movement in the land than that experienced within the last few centu- 

 n <* near Stockholm. 



Section D. Zoology and Botany. 



Rev. W. Hincks called attention to two living specimens of the 



Neottia gemmipara of Smith. This very rare plant had been discov- 



ered b y Mr. J. Drummond in a salt marsh near Castleton, Bearhaven, 



* n ^e county of Cork, in 1810. From an imperfect specimen, Sir J. 



S - Smith had described and figured it, and it had not been seen again 



1,11 1841, when it was re-found by Dr. Sharkey. Only one specimen 



Was again obtained, and it was with difficulty identified with the original 



s l*cimen in the Linnaean herbarium in London. Dr. Wood and Dr. 



arve y had, during the past week, both gathered living specimens, 



w «ich were now on the table. The original plant was not a Neottia, 



** tad heen supposed by Dr. Smith, but was now referred to Spiran- 



thes - Mr. Babington stated, that he had carefully examined the plant 



0n the table, and believed that it was a genuine Spiranthes. It was a 



Xnatter of great interest, as probably this plant was one of the rarest in 



Vo1 - *Mr„, No. l.-Apirl-Junc, 1844. 24 



