588 Zoological Proceedings of Societies, 



GEOLOGICAL SOCIETY. 



Dec. 3. — A notice was read, " On some Fossils found in the 

 Island of Madeira ;" by the late T. E. Bowdich, Esq. 



In this notice, the author describes a formation of branched 

 cylindrical tubes incased with agglutinated sand, which occur 

 in great abundance near Fanical, 15 miles from Funchal, in the 

 Island of Madeira. Mr. Bowdich is inclined to refer these to a 

 vegetable origin. They are accompanied by shells, some decid- 

 edly terrestrial, and others which appear to belong to a marine 

 genus. In conclusion, some account is given of the general fea- 

 tures and structure of the neighbouring district. 



ROYAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES OF PARIS, 



September 6, 1824. — M. Thenard announced, in a verbal re- 

 port, the results of the analysis of several fragments' of the fossil 

 found at Moret, which he had made in conjunction vi\t\i M. Vau- 

 quelin. M. Cuvier, on this occasion, made some remarks on the 

 characters proper to fossil animals. After having proved that the 

 mass of Gres found at Moret, if it really were a fossil man and 

 horse, would not overturn the views adopted in Geology ; he 

 shewed that the true method of arriving at a certain conclusion 

 in this case, would be to saw the piece in which the horse's 

 head appeared through the middle; the presence or absence of 

 teeth would then decide the question. M. G. Saint-Hilaire read 

 a memoir, entitled, On the Cojnposiiion of the Skulls of Verte- 

 hrated Animals y priiidpally those of Crocodiles and Birds: (art. 

 1.) of the cranium, as forming part of the rachis^ and as consisting 

 of seven vertebra. 



September 20. — M. Latreille gave a verbal report on the Ana- 

 lecta Entomologica of M. Dalman. 



September 27.- — M. G. Saint-Hilaire commenced the reading of a 

 memoir, entitled, On the Sections of the Cranium in the Crocodile^ 

 compared zciih the analogous bones in all animals ; restoring them, 

 on the one haiid, <o philosophical identity, and considering them. 



