572 
exhibited a measured transverse section through 300 feet of the 
Palzolithic floor of the Hackney Brook, near Stoke Newington 
Common. He also showed a collection of ovato-acuminate im- 
lements, scrapers, flakes and nuclei from the same spot, all the 
objects being lustrous and as sharp as on the day they were made. 
General Pitt-Rivers exhibited and described a large collection of 
padlocks, showing that the same type had been used in civilised 
countries from the earliest ages. —Mr. A. L. Lewis read a paper 
on the relation of stone circles to outlying stones or tumuli or 
neighbouring hills. The author, from an examination of eighteen 
stone circles in southern Britain, showed that their builders had 
jn various ways made special references to different points of the 
compass, but most particularly to the north-east. He then 
showed from a number of independent sources, ranging from 
the Prophet Ezekiel down to a foreign correspondent of 
the Daily News, that other ancient structures had similar 
references, known to have arisen in connection with times 
and seasons, and various forms of nature worship ; that practices 
connected with such worships, and especially with sun and fire 
worship, have come down, even in this country, to the present 
time ; and that circular buildings and open circles have been, and 
are used for worship of this kind ; and inferred from these facts 
that the British stone circles were used for sun worship, pro- 
bably in the Druidic period. He then dwelt on the references 
to the North and East in the orientation of English churches, 
which he thought to be derived from the references to those 
quarters iu the circles, as the Papal churches, whether in Rome 
or London, are not so placed ; and he gave some curions details 
on this point, and concluded by drawing attention to the firm 
root taken by Christianity in the Druidic countries of Gaul and 
Britain, and the great influence exercised by those countries in 
the later Roman empire, and especially in the establishment of 
Christianity as the State religion.—A paper was read by Mr. J. 
E. Price, on excavations of tumuli on the Brading Downs, Isle 
of Wight, by himself and Mr. F. Hilton, Price. 
Royal Horticultural Society, March 14.—Dr. M. T. Mas- 
ters in the chair.——Azstralian Fungi: Mr. W. G. Smith 
exhibited dried specimens and drawings of grasses attacked by 
a fungus, from Sussex, and especially Kent, probably new to 
Britain. I+ was only known a little more than two years ago, 
It appears to attack species of Festuca chiefly, and is most 
abundant on sandy soils, not uncommon on chalk, bnt not on 
clay. The Rey. M. J. Berkeley described and figured it amongst 
Australian fungi in the Yournal of the Linnean Society, 1873, 
xill. p. 175, and named it /saria fuciformis: Dr. Cooke now 
regards it as British. It is said to cause the death of animals 
browsing upon the grass infected with it.—Dzsease of Thujas : 
Mr. Smith also exhibited specimens of 7. compacta, attacked by 
the Australian fungus, Capnodium australe, of Dr. Montague. 
—R)hododendrons: Mr. Mangles exhibited several true species 
from Sikkim.—Fyitillaria obliqua, &c, : Several plants were exhi- 
bited by Mr. Elwes.—Leucojgum estivum, var., from South France, 
which flowers two months earlier than the commonform ; Chion- 
odoxa, var., from self-sown seeds which blossom in two years ; 
Mr. Elwes remarked that its habit has changed, inasmuch as it 
comes up rapidly and blossoms as soon as the snow is off in Asia 
Minor, whereas here its progress is delayed to a much longer 
period, and it is getting longer in this respect every year ; Korol- 
kowia Sewerzovii, sport., a remarkable green flowered branch 
from what is normally a purple flowering plant. Tzzpa Greggit, 
Mr. Elwes remarked how the colour appears to be fading under 
cultivation.—Dr. Masters exhibited specimens of cones, &c., 
from trees grown by Mr. Veitch :—Adres (Picea) grandis, Pinus 
tuberculata, the scales being unequally developed on opposite 
sides of the cone; the seeds of which are believed only to 
escape after forest fires have taken place. They hang on the 
trees in many generations even for thirty years.— Welwitschia 
seedling. He also exhibited a dried specimen of a germinating 
W. mirabilis, showing the two cotyledons (deciduous), and the 
two next pair of (persistent) leaves.—A botanical certificate was 
awarded to Mr. Veitch for Pleurothallis g/ossopogon, remarkable 
among its genus for its large flowers, the segments of which are 
3 inches in length, broad at the base, and prolonged into a very 
long slender tail, as in some of the Masdevallias. The lip is 
small, oblong, chocolate-coloured, with a fringe of hairs at the 
tip. A similar award was made to him for the beautiful orchid, 
Spathoglottis lobbi, a plant with a very slender wiry flower-stalk, 
with a single flower, 14 inch in diameter, clear canary yellow, 
with broad ovate segments, and a lip with a narrow stalk, and a 
: poon-shane blade. 
NATURE 
[April 13, 
EDINBURGH 
Royal Socety, March 20.—Prof. Douglas Maclagan, vice- 
president, in the chair,—Prof, Geikie read a paper on the re- 
markable series of Carboniferous rocks which are developed in 
Eskdale and Liddesdale, in the south of Scotland. They forma 
continuous succession from the volcanic band of porphyrite 
which overlies the Upper Old Red Sandstone to the Scar lime- 
stone of Northumberland. Eleven distinct zones were particu- 
larised, of which the fourth and sixth were volcanic (tuff, 
porphyrite, &c.) These two zones were separated by a bed of 
fine grey shale, rich in specimens of such marine organisms as 
Orthoceras, Lingula, Discina, &c., mingled with the remains of 
fishes, crustaceans, scorpions, and, especially in the upper part, — 
alge, ferns, lycopods, and other carboniferous plants, Above 
the latest volcanic platform comes the Gilnockie marine lime- 
stone group, which is very similar in appearance and in its fossil 
contents to the ordinary Carboni‘erous limestone. This zone 
dies out to the north-east in Liddesdale, where the cement stone 
group of Tarras (zone No. 2 of the series) passes into the upper 
cement stone group (No. 9). The Canobie coal group forms 
the eighth zone, and, notwithstanding its low position in the 
Carboniferous series, contains plants of true coal-measure type. 
Above the upper cement stone group come the Plashetts and 
Lawsburn coals, which are succeeded on the southern margin of 
Liddesdale by a conspicuous group of sandstones—the ‘‘ Fell 
sandstones.” The central part of the thick cement stone groups 
of Upper Liddesdale must be referred to the same horizon as 
the Gilnockie. limestone ; so that the Scottish cement stone 
group differs from the lower Carboniferous limestones of Eng- 
land in being less marine.-—This paper was succeeded by more 
special papers descriptive of the fossils which have recently been 
discovered in these Eskdale and Liddesdale rocks: Dr. Traquair 
treating of the fossil fishes, Mr. B. N. Peach of the Crustacea 
and Arachnida, and Mr. R. Kidston of the fossil Plants. Seve- 
ral beautiful specimens of scorpions were exhibited.—Dr. J. J. 
Dobbie and Mr. G. G. Henderson, B.Sc., communicated a 
paper on the formation of serpentine from dolomite. That such 
a transformation is probable, had been recognised by many geo- 
logists and chemists ; but no attempt had been made to point 
out the precise reactions involved. The explanation given by the 
authors was as follows: Carbonate of magnesia decomposes at 
a much lower temperature than carbonate of lime ; and hence, 
in a rock containing these together with silica, and heated to a 
sufficiently high temperature, the carbonate of magnesia decom- 
poses, silicate of magnesia is formed, the carbonic acid is 
taken up by water, and so acts as a solvent on the carbonate 
of lime. Where no water is present, of course the last is not 
removed. 
VIENNA 
Imperial Institute of Geology, March 21.—The following 
papers were read :—C. I. Griesbach, geological sketches from 
India.—E. Doell, on a fall of meteorites in Europe, and on 
the shape of the meteorites that felt near Mocs on February 7. 
—H. y. Foullon, on the eruptive rocks of Montenegro.—R. 
Zuber, geological notes on the Carpathian mountains of Eastern 
Gallicia. 
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