Geological Societij. 457 



3. A letter was read from Dr. Owen Rees on the question of the 

 existence of Fluoric Acid in recent Bones, which the experiments of 

 Dr. Rees would go to disprove. The bones examined by him were 

 tested both before and after calcination, but in no case could he de- 

 tect the least trace of fluoric acid in recent human bone. In fossil 

 bones it exists in large propoi'tions. 



April 17. — The following papers were read : — 



1. "Observations on the Geology of the Southern Part of the 

 Gulf of Smyrna and the Promontory of Karabournoo." By Lieut. T. 

 Spratt, ll.N. 



The author takes up the geology of the neighbourhood of Smyrna 

 at the point where the observations of Messrs. Strickland and Ha- 

 milton terminate, and gives a detailed account of the schists and 

 limestones of Mount Corax and Cape Karabournoo, and of the ex- 

 tensive freshwater tertiary formation which borders them on the 

 sea-coast, and is continued into several of the neighbouring islands. 

 He notices the presence of igneous rocks of two distinct ages, viz. 

 serpentine, older than the tertiary, and trap, which had been 

 erupted after tlie deposition of the tertiary, greatly disturbing, and 

 in places overflowing it. His observations prove the existence at a 

 former period of a great freshwater lake in the eastern part of the 

 Archipelago, where now there is a deep sea. 



2. "Note on the Fossils found in the Tertiary Formations de- 

 scribed in the preceding pa])er." By the Curator. 



An examination of the fossils found in the freshwater beds, de- 

 scribed by Lieut. Spratt, shows that formation to have been deposited 

 during the Eocene period. 



3. " On the Remains of Fishes found by Mr. Kaye and Mr. Cunlifte 

 in the Pondicherry Beds." By Sir Philip Grey Egerton, Bart., M.P. 



In this paper the author descrilx's fourteen species, mostly new, 

 twelve of which belong to the placoid order, one is a ganoid, and one 

 a cycloid fish. Among them is Corax pristodontus, identical with 

 the Maestricht species. From the evidence afforded by the exami- 

 nation of these fishes. Sir Philip Egerton takes the same view of the 

 age of the beds which was inferred by Prof. E. Forbes from the in- 

 vertebrate remains, considering them as belonging to the cretaceous 

 sera, though he is^^ inclined to place them higher in the series. 



4. " On the occurrence of a Bed of Septaria containing Fresh- 

 water Shells, in the series of the Plastic Clay at New Cross, Kent." 

 By H. Warburton, Esq., M.P., F.R.S., Pres. G.S. 



The bed described does not form a continuous stratum, but occurs 

 with interruptions and intervals in the condition of Septaria, which 

 contain remains of shells of the genera Palud'tna and Unio. A sec- 

 tion of the locality, showing the position of the bed, was made by 

 Mr. Simms. In France similar associations of freshwater remains 

 have been noticed in the plastic clay series by M. D'Archiac. 



May 1. — The following papers were read: — 



1. " Report on the Fossils from S. Fc de Bogota, in South Ame- 

 rica, presented to the Society by Mr. E. Hopkins." By the Curator. 



These fossils belong to seventeen species of Mollusca, of which 



