134 Bibliographical Notices. 
Reports of the Meetings, pp. 61 &c., and has printed in this volume 
some very interesting notes:—on a remarkable colony of Alien 
Plants on an old heap of colliery (?) rubbish at Kingswood (J. W. 
White) ; on the Fungi of the Bristol district, part 6 (C. Bucknall) ; 
on Ridgway’s Catalogue of North-American Birds (H. J. Charbon- 
nier), treating forcibly of the necessity of restraining and limiting 
the making of genera and species out of closely allied forms, and 
advocating the trinomial system; on the porosity and density of 
rocks with regard to Water-supply (E. Wethered); on the Iron- 
turnings Cells and the supposed influence of Points in the libera- 
tion of Bubbles (A. M. Worthington) ; on an apparatus for observing 
Splashes (A. M. Worthington); the first Telephone (S. P. Thomp- 
son); the Rainfall at Clifton (G. F. Burder); and Meteorological 
Observations, as regards Temperature, at Clifton (H. B. Jupp). 
Part iii. of the Flora [living] of the Bristol Coal-field, edited by J. 
W. White, and enumerating the Corallifloree, forms part of this 
volume. 
Journal of the Royal Geological Society of Ireland. Vol. xvi. part i. ; 
n. 8. vol. vi. part ii. for 1881-82. 8vo. 1882. 
Transactions of the Geological Society of Glasgow. Vol. vil. part 1. 
for 1880-82. 8vo. 1883. 
In his Presidential Address, February 20, 1882, the Rev. Dr. 
Haughton, F.R.S. &c., sketching the progress of the Royal Geo- 
logical Society of Ireland, pointed out (1) that the popularity of the 
“original Dublin Geological Society” was due to an unfounded 
hope that geologists would find coals and minerals sufficient to en- 
able Ireland to compete with the rest of the British Isles in indus- 
trial pursuits and in consequent wealth ; (2) that the preponderance 
of physical and stratigraphical over paleontological papers in the 
‘ Transactions’ is due to the comparative absence of Secondary and 
Tertiary strata in Ireland. Dr. Haughton next proceeded to the 
discussion of the ‘ two speculative problems which await their solu- 
tion and must occupy a foremost place in the geological discussions 
of the next fifty years:—I. The absolute duration of Geological 
Time. II. The physical causes of the Changes of Climate which 
have, beyond question, taken place in the higher latitudes of the 
Earth’s Surface.” 
The first of these problems was treated by the Rev. Maxwell H. 
Close in his Presidential Address in 1878 ; and arguments in favour 
of the great duration of geological time have been based on :—1. 
The time requisite for the cooling down of the Sun. 2. The present 
figure of the Earth as compared with its present rate of rotation. 
3. The estimate of Geological Time derived from the rate of increase 
of terrestrial temperature with depth. Dr. Haughton intimates 
that he has some further evidence in support of the last view. He 
further draws attention to the important department of research 
which he terms “ Empirical Cosmogony,” as elucidated by Mr, 
cal 
