INTRODUCTION. XXXI* 



differ completely from him. It is to be regretted that his 

 account of the presence of examples of the " canal system M in 

 the gneiss of Mont Blanc, the Schwarzwald, and the syenite of 

 Planenscher Grande (Saxony) is both vague and unsatisfactory. 

 Remarks on ' The Dawn of Life ' by Dr. Dawson ; to which is 1876. 



added a Supplementary Note. Drs. W. King and T. H. 



Rowney. Ann. & Mag. Nat. Hist. ser. 4, vol. xvii. 



pp. 360-377. 



Dr. Dawson, in the work cited, replying to our statement 

 that the laminated character of " Eozoon " is a mineralogical 

 phenomenon (of which we had adduced instances) , asserts that 

 " the lamination is not like that of any rock, but a strictly 

 limited and definite form, comparable with that otStromatopora:" 

 we draw his attention to a specimen of granite from Harris 

 (Hebrides) which consists of alternating laminae of feldspar 

 and quartz, the lamination being strictly limited and of de- 

 finite form, and even far more " Eozoon" -like in this respect 

 than Stromatopora concentrica. The specimen was presented to 

 us by our respected friend the late Prof. R. Harkness. 



Organic Remains in the Metamorphic Rocks of Harris. 1876. 



A letter in the ' Annals and Magazine of Natural History/ ser. 

 4, vol. xvii. p. 414, signed " H. Alleyne Nicholson " and " James " 

 Thomson/' announcing that they " have recently discovered 

 evidence of life " in the Laurentians of Harris, the specimens 

 being " as clearly organic in their nature, and as well preserved in 

 their minute structure, as is the case with Silurian or Devonian 

 fossils of an analogous structure (such, for example, as Stroma- 

 topora) /' The specimens, " unequivocal organic bodies/' are 

 "little altered, the skeleton of the fossils being calcareous, 

 apparently dolomite, and exhibiting all the minute details 

 of its structure ; whilst the chambers are filled, as so common 

 in organic remains from younger deposits, with transparent 

 silica. Finally, though apparently differing from it in important 

 respects, we believe that our specimens will contribute power- 

 fully to the solution of the controversy which has been of late 

 years carried on as to the true nature of Eozoon" 



