30 



elaborate a paper on merely hearing it read through, for its full value 

 could not be appreciated until it was printed and carefully perused. 

 The specimens of sihcihed wood so frequently met with as worn pebbles 

 in many parts of the country must have been subjected to far rougher 

 usage than those leaves, beautiful impressions of which are found in the 

 ferruginous deposits of the Tamar Valley, and these pebbles, derived 

 from earlier rocks, probably belonged to very different geological ages. 

 In the valley of the Derwent, large silicified stems of trees were found in 

 situ, in the carboniferous sandstones, and he had always believed that 

 the one so long known as " Barkers fossil tree " at Macquarie Plains, 

 and which was embedded in a masa of basalt, had been first released 

 from the carboniferous rocks, and then picked up by the molten, or 

 semi-molten basalt. The temperature of the adjacent basalt might thus 

 account for the partial vitrification of that beautiful fossil, no trace of 

 which ia now left— it having been ruthlessly chipped away by barbarous 

 collectors, but not before it was ascertained to have been a pine. The 

 travertine referred to at Geilston Bay, near Pusdon, was {of very recent 

 origin, perhaps, as suggested by His Lordship the Bishop, even post- 

 tertiary, because a large percentage of the fossil flora in it undoubtedly 

 belonged, to existing species ; and those yet undetermined may upon 

 further research prove to be in the same category. The bones in 

 the same deposit all belong to existing mammals, and of the molluscs 

 three at least are now living. Before attempting to fix the exact 

 position of any of our tertiary strata, much more must be done, in the 

 way of collecting the fossils and comparing them with existing species, 

 than has yet been attempted ; and great credit is due to the author of 

 the paper for the light he is endeavouring to throw on the [subject. 

 Mr. Airport therefore had much pleasure in moving that the special 

 thanks of the meeting be given to Mr. Johnston for his interesting 

 paper, and the beautiful drawings which accompanied and illustrated it. 



Mr. C. H. Grant, in seconding the motion, referred in eulogistic 

 terms to the great zeal, ability, and industry of the writer of the paper 

 under discussion. When it was published, he hoped to have an oppor- 

 tunity of considering the various points touched upon. Whether he 

 could agree with them all or not he could not say, as he was well aware 

 it was a very difficult matter, in geological research, to arrive at sound 

 conclusions. This, in most instances, and especially in new countries, 

 could only be done by great research, and long and elaborate observa- 

 tions. Nothing was more seductive to the young and enthusiastic 

 observer than to draw conclusions, which subsequent discoveries might 

 show had been prematurely arrived at. He hoped Mr. Johnston would 

 continue his researches, and favour the Society from time to time with 

 the results. 



After some complimentary remarks on the paper, by His Lordship, 

 the motion was passed, as well as the usual vote to the donors of presen- 

 tations. The proceedings then terminated. 



[The attention of the meeting was called to the very valuable donation 

 of books from the Trustees of the British Museum, and also to the large 

 number of scientific publications received, in exchange for the Society's 

 Transactions, from the United States Government, the Smithsonian and 

 other Institutions in America. ] 



