1818.] Geological Society. 0? 



and presenting a striking resemblance to frozen cascades. The 

 beach where Capt. Scoresby landed was covered to a great depth 

 Avith a sand having the appearance of coarse gunpowder, and 

 which was a mixture of iron-sand, olivine, and augite. Here 

 and there he met with pieces of drift wood. As he advanced 

 towards the rocks he found rolled masses of lava, blocks of 

 burned clay, and masses of red-coloured backed clay. Nume- 

 rous pointed, angular rocks, probably belonging to the floetz 

 formation, were seen projecting through the sand. These were 

 basaltic-vesicular, and with numerous and beantiful imbedded 

 grains and crystals of olivine and augite. Along with these was 

 a rock which appeared to be veiy nearly allied to the celebrated 

 mill-stone of Andernach. After leaving the sea shore, Captain 

 Scoresby met with no other rocks but such as bore undoubted 

 marks of recent volcanic action, viz. cinders, earthy slag, burned 

 clay, scoriae, vesicular lava, &c. He ascended to the summit 

 of a volcanic mountain which was elevated 1500 feet above the 

 sea, where the beheld a beautiful crater, forming a basin of 500 

 or 600 feet in depth, and 600 or 700 yards in diameter. The 

 bottom of the crater was filled with alluvial matter, to such a 

 height that it presented a natural flat of an elliptical form, mea- 

 suring 400 feet by 240. From this eminence the country in all 

 directions appeared bleak and rugged in the extreme ; and the 

 rocks, and hills, and mountains, every where presented to the 

 eye such appearances as seemed to indicate the action of vol- 

 canic fire. The plants are very few in number: he determined 

 the rumex digynus, saxifraga tricuspidata, arenaria peploides ? 

 silene acaulis, and draba hirta : all the others were unfortunately 

 lost. Near the sea shore he observed burrows of blue foxes : 

 feet marks of bears, and of another animal, which he conjec- 

 tured to be the rein-deer. But few birds were seen, such as 

 fulmars, divers, puffins, and terns. 



GEOLOGICAL SOCIETY. 



The first meeting for business took place on Nov. 21. 



A letter from R. Anstice, Esq. accompanying a specimen of 

 arragonite from the Quantock Hills, was read. 



The Quantock Hills consist chiefly of greywacke, but are 

 penetrated by a bed of mountain lime-stone running through a 

 great part of their length. In a quarry near the village of Mer- 

 ridge, about six miles from Bridgewater, is a fissure in this lime- 

 stone rock, which has been for some lime famous for its calca- 

 reous stalactites. Recently this fissure has been cleared to a 

 greater extent than before ; and Mr. Anstice visited the spot in the 

 month of August last, when he found that, after proceeding 

 along it for about 40 yards, the passage suddenly became con- 

 tracted. 



The narrow part being enlarged at his desire, it was found to 

 lead into a cavern about 20 yards in length, from six to ten yards 



E 2 



