450 Proceedings of Philosophieal Societies. [June;, 



LINNiEAN SOCIETY. 



April 4. — A paper, by Mr. J. Lindley, was begun, entitled, 

 " Observations on the natural Group of Plants called Pomaceae." 



April 18. — Mr. Lindley's paper was concluded. 



At this meeting there was also read a paper, entitled, " A 

 Systematic Arrangement and Description of the Birds of Java," 

 by Dr. T. Horsfield. 



Mai/ 2. — A paper, by Major-Gen. Hardwicke was read, 

 entitled, " A Description of Canis Sumatrensis, viverra Lind- 

 sang, and Phasianus Cruentus." 



GEOLOGICAL SOCIETY. 



March 17. — A paper, by Charles Worthington, Esq. " On the 

 Specimens from Devonshire," was read. 



On Haldon Hill, in the road between Chudleigh and Exeter, 

 and about five miles from the latter place, where the descent 

 commences, the left of the road affords a good section of the 

 materials of which this part of the hill is composed. The frag- 

 ments of rock which in several places form projecting lines m 

 the purple sand-bank, are found to possess the characters of 

 serpentine. About a mile further, and near the lodge of Sir 

 Laurence Palk's seat, the hill, through which the road has 

 been cut to a considerable depth, presented the same appear- 

 ances ; and here an isolated rhass of porphyry was found. 

 Without attempting to determine the manner in which these 

 broken portions of rocks are connected with the formation of 

 the surrounding country, it may be observed, that they approxi- 

 mate the granite ridge extending between Moreton Hampstead, 

 and Bovey Tracey, and are found nearly on a parallel line to the 

 north-west, with the greywacke formation resting on that ridge. 



Among the debris of Dunscombe cliffs, about a mile eastward 

 from the river Liu, a green hornstone, inclosed as a veinstone, 

 may be seen passing into heliotrope and jasper. 



The reading of the paper " On the Coal Fields adjacent to the 

 Severn," by Prof. Buckland and the Rev. W. Conybeare, was 

 concluded. 



The regular coal measures succeed to th? millstone grit ; more 

 than 50 seams of coal appear to be distinguishable in this series ; 

 these are generally thin, rarely exceeding three feet in thickness, 

 and since, from the nature of the ground, the pits often exceed 

 100 fathoms, and in this one instance 200 fathoms in depth, they 

 could not be profitably worked but for the highly improved state 

 of the machinery employed.. The coal measures may be subdi- 

 vided into an upper and lower series, the former being characte- 

 rized by the presence of a fissile gritstone, denominated pennent, 

 the latter by the predominance of argillaceous beds ; in this, 

 however, some grit rocks also occur. Vegetable impressions -are 



