Geological Society. /[;S5 



known in the neighbourhood of Cambridge by the name of brown 

 clay. Dr. Mitchell has shown that this deposit is of greater extent 

 than we were before aware. But still to determine with precision 

 its principal masses, total extent, and local modifications, would be a 

 valuable service to the geology of the eastern part of our island. 



As my order requires me to take the igneous after the sedimentary 

 rocks, I must here notice Dr. Fleming's " Remarks on the Trap 

 Rocks of Fife," which he distinguishes into three epochs ; — those of 

 the ea^Jtern extremity of the oolites, which are variously associated 

 with the old red sandstone ; — those which run from St. Andrew's to 

 Stirling, which were produced after the coal-measures ; — and those 

 which occur along the shores of the Forth, which occur in the higher 

 coal-measures. 



2. Foreign {South European and Trans-European) Geology. — 



In the survey of the progress of our labours which I offered to your 

 notice last year, I stated, that in proceeding beyond the Alps, and I 

 might have added the Pyrenees, we no longer find that multiplied se- 

 ries of strata, so remarkably continuous and similar, when their iden- 

 tity is properly traced, with which we have been familiar in our home 

 circuit. Yet the investigations of Mr. Hamilton and Mr. Strickland 

 appear to show, that we may recognise, even in Asia Minor, the 

 great formations, occupying the lowest and highest positions of the 

 series, which are well marked by fossils, namely the Silurian and 

 Tertiary formations ; and also an intermediate formation correspond- 

 ing in general with the Secondary rocks of the north, but not as yet 

 reduced to any parallelism with them in the order' of its members. 

 Besides these sedimentary rocks, in this as in most other countries, 

 there are found vast collections of igneous rocks of various kinds, 

 which interrupt and modify, and may mask and overwhelm, the 

 fossiliferous strata. A paper has been communicated to us by Mr. 

 Hamilton, " On a part of Asia Minor," namely, the country extend- 

 ing from the foot of Hassan Dagh to the great salt lake of Toozla, 

 and thence eastwards to Csesarea and Mount Argaeus, and thus 

 occupying a part of the ancient Cappadocia. 



It appears that in this district the igneous rocks occupy a large 

 portion of the surface, and the sedimentary strata which are asso- 

 ciatcfl with these are not easily identified with those which occur 

 in countries already examined. The district examined by Mr. Ha- 

 milton contains a limestone belonging to the vast calcareous lacus- 

 trine formation of the central part of Asia Minor, and beneath this, 

 a system of highly inclined beds of red sandstone, conglomerates and 

 nuirls, wliicii are ])erliaps connected with the saliferous deposits of 

 I'ontns and (ialatia; Ijut wliic^h could not be satisfactorily com- 

 pared with th(! beds of the south of Europe, for want of the occur- 

 rence' of organic remains. In only one instance did Mr. Hamilton 

 ol)scrv(' the trace of organic bodies in the sandstone : these were 

 impressions resembling fucoids, and similar to those found in the 

 Alpine limestone near Trieste?. Mr. Hamilton ascended to the 

 summit of Mount Argueus, which had not previously been reached 



