464 
NATURE 
[ Oct. 6, 1870 
were deposited in greatest thickness towards the north-west ; 
while over that south of the barrier they were deposited in greatest 
force in a westerly direction. 
At the close of the coal period, disturbances of the strata, re- 
sulting from lateral pressure acting in north or south directions, 
took place over the whole carboniferous area of the north of Eng- 
land, whereby the strata were thrown into aseries of folds, the 
axis of which ranged along approximately east and west lines. 
These disturbances were accompanied and followed by enormous 
denudation, by which the coal measures were swept away over 
large tracts of the north of England, and the northern limits of 
the Lancashire and Yorkshire coal-fields were determined. As 
regards the tract south of the central barrier, it was inferred, on 
theground of parallelism ofdirection with the east and west flexures 
of the north of England, that the northern and southern limits of 
the South Wales coal-field, the axis of the Mendip Hills, and 
the easterly bend of the culm-measures of Devonshire, were all 
referable to the same geological period, z.¢., that which inter- 
vened between the deposition of the carboniferous and the Per- 
mian rocks. 
After the deposition of the Permian beds over the inclined and 
denuded surfaces of the carboniferous rocks, disturbances (accom- 
panied by denundations) occurred along lines nearly at right 
angles to those of the preceding period, z¢., along north and 
south lines (approximately). ‘To this epoch the axis of the 
Permian chain, and all north and south trendings of the strata, 
were probably to be referred. Some of the results brought about 
by these movements were the disseverance of the Lancashire and 
Cheshire from the Yorkshire and Derbyshire coal-fields, the 
determination of the western limits of the Flintshire and Denbigh- 
shire coal-field, the disseverance of the Forest of Dean coal-field 
from that of South Wales, and the uptilting of the lower car- 
boniferous rocks along the eastern margin of the Somersetshire 
coal-field beneath the Jurassic formations. 
From these considerations it seemed clear to the author that to 
the intersection of these two systems of disturbances (i.¢., the E. 
& W. with the N. & S.) and the concomitant denudation, the 
basin-shaped form of nearly all the British coal-fields (sometimes 
partially concealed by newer formations) might be attributed. 
The author then proceeded to show that over these carbon- 
iferous basins, the Permian and Triassic rocks were distributed 
according to a well-defined plan, the Triassic strata thinning 
away towards the south-east of England ; and concluded by dis- 
cussing the views of Sir Rk. I. Murchison, Professor Ramsay, and 
Mr. Godwin-Austen regarding the absence or presence of coal 
under the cretaceous and tertiary strata of the south of England. 
On the History and Affinities of the British Conifere.—Mr. W. 
Carruthers. Having pointed out the great divisions of th's 
natural order, the author traced their appearance and develop- 
ment in the stratified rocks. The Avaucariez, now represented 
by fifteen species, all confined to the southern hemisphere, made 
their appearance in the carboniferous period, where at least eight 
species determined from the wood structure had been found. In 
the secondary rocks six species had been found based on the 
cones, and these showed an affinity to the group of modern 
Araucarias found in the Pacific Islands. The /Pinee, a large 
group chiefly confined to the northern hemisphere, appeared in 
the Old Red sandstone, as determined by H. Miller ; a single 
species had been determined from wood in the coal ; the species 
greatly increased in the secondary rocks, where several species 
of cedars had beendetected. The 7axodiee, represented among 
living plants by fifteen species, chiefly from the northem shores 
of the Pacific, made their appearance in the secondary rocks, 
one species being abundant in the Stonesfield slate, and were 
continued by species of Sequoia in cretaceous and Tertiary rocks. 
The two species from the Gault are associated with pines having 
the characters peculiar to the species associated with the existing 
mammoth trees of California. The Cufressez, represented by 
the cypresses, and in our native flora by the juniper alone, are 
known only in Tertiary strata by a few species of fruits and 
fohage. The Zaxinee, containing nearly 100 species, found 
allover the world and represented in Britain by the yew, made 
their appearance in the carboniferous rocks, as determined by a 
fruit described by Dr. Hooker, and shown by him to be neatly 
related to the living Sa/isburia. The supposed Taxineaus wood 
from the North American Devonians, to which Principal Dawson 
gave the name of Prototaxites, was a remarkable Alga of enor- 
mous size. Several Taxineous fruits had been found in the 
Eocene strata at Sheppey. 
Notes on Fossil Crustacea. —Myr, H. Woodward. A considerable 
number of new species was described which had been met with 
during the past years belonging to strata from the Silurian to the 
Tertiary. The author expounded the changes in the larva of the 
living King Crab, and showed the remarkable resemblances 
between its early condition and the paleozoic Tyilobites. The 
earliest known King Crab occurs in the Upper Silurian, so that 
the pedigree of these two ancient forms doye-tailed into each other 
in Silurian times, and these contemporaneous forms approached 
much nearer to each other than would be expected from a com- 
parison of the living King Crab with the Trilobite. 
Report on Earthquakes in Scotland.—Dr. Bryce. 
On the Tertiary Coal Fields of Southern Chilii—Mr. G. A. 
Lebour, This was a detailed description of the beds of coal, and 
those intercalated with them. The list of fossils appeared to 
Prof. Harkness and Mr. Carruthers to indicate a Secondary rather 
than a Tertiary age. 
SECTION D.—BroLocy 
Mr. Edward Atkinson, of Leeds, read a paper on the 
Osteology of Chlamydophorus truncatus—a fme male speci- 
men of which had been presented to the Philosophical and 
Literary Society of Leeds. First glancing at the bibliography 
of this little quadruped, the author proceeded to draw attention 
to some points in the structure of its skeleton. The general 
conformation of the head is very remarkable, differing from all 
other Edentates in its relative dimensions, excelling its congeners 
both in altitude and in breadth as compared with length. He 
also alluded in detail to the structure of the lower jaw, the ear, 
the scapula, sternum, and pelvis, With regard to the dentition, 
his observations were not quite in accord with those of Harlan 
or Hyrtl. C. ¢runcatus is a true monodont with eight grinders 
on either side of both maxilla and mandible. Those of the lower 
jaw perforate the whole depth of the bone, dimpling the inferior 
margin. ‘The first tooth of the lower jaw has no opponent, and 
therefore no masticatory surface. The eighth upper tooth is also 
without an antagonist, but its analogue in front has a double 
facet. 
Mr. R. McAndrew, F.R.S., presented a report on the M/arine 
Mollusca of the Gulf of Suez. This report gives the general 
result of a dredging excursion to the Gulf of Suez in February 
and March 1869. Mr. E. Fielding accompanied the author. 
Leaving Suez on the roth February in a boat of about twelve tons 
burthen, with one of about five tons for dredging, and a small 
boat for landing, the party reached Tur in about three weeks’ 
time. Their crew consisted of Maltese and Neapolitans, an Arab, 
who proved an excellent diver, and a native of Tur, who acted 
as pilot. From Tur they crossed over to the Point of Zeite and 
the desolate islands situated towards the western side of the 
Straits of Jubal. After working about a week among these, and 
finding it a very rich collecting ground, they bore away to Ras 
Mahommed, where they ended their labours, proceeding from 
this to Tur, from whence they went by land to Suez. The 
number of species obtained (not including the Nudibranchiates) 
was 818. Of these 619 have been identified, the remaining 
being still undetermined. About 355 have not previously been 
recorded as from the Red Sea. Of these 53 species, including 
three genera, are new to Science, and have been described by 
Messrs. H. and A. Adams. Professor Isse], of Genoa, records 
640 species as from the Red Sea, and his list includes 100 new 
species. Some of these were figured but not described in 
Savigny’s ‘‘ Description de l’Egypt.” Mr. McAndrew dwelt on 
the extraordinary dissimilarity between the Fauna of the Red 
Sea and that of the Mediterranean; the number o! species com- 
mon to Japan, the Philippines, Australia, and to the Red Sea, 
is worthy of further observation In addition to the Mollusca, 
a collection of Echinoderms, Crustacea, and Corals, was made 
and divided among the British, Edinburgh, and Liverpool 
Museums. The sponges collected were sent to Dr. Bowerbank, 
except ane, which had been described by Mr, Carter as a new 
genus under the name of Graye//a. 
Professor Wyville Thomson, F.R.S., read a report on 
Some of the Echinoderms of the Expedition of H.M.S. Porcupine. 
The impression was very general that through the exertions 
of Forbes, McAndrew, Jeffreys, and others, the marine fauna of 
the British Islands was now pretty well known, It was also 
thought that below a depth of some 300 or 400 fathoms animal 
life became extinct. Through the investigations of Dr. Car- 
