May 9, 1872] 



NATURE 



39 



SOCIETIES AND ACADEMIES 

 London 



Royal Society, May 2. — "On some Elementary Principles 

 in Animal Mechanics. — No. V. On the most perfect form of 

 a Plane Quadrilateral Muscle connecting two Bones. — No. VI. 

 Theory of Skew Muscles, and investigation of the conditions 

 necessary for Maximum Work." By Rev. Prof Haughton, F. R. S. 



" Oa the Rings produced by Crystals when submitted to Circu- 

 larly Polarised Light." By William Spottiswoode, Treas. R.S. 



Geological Society, April 24. — Prof Ramsay, F.R.S. V.P. 

 in the chair. i. "An Extract from a Despatch from H.M. 

 Minister in Teheran." This letter described the effects of some 

 severe earthquake shocks experienced at Khabooshan in North- 

 Western Ktiorassan, On December 23, 1S71, an earthquake 

 occurred which destroyed half the town of Kliabooshan, and 

 buried about 2,000 of its inhabitants in the ruins. On 

 January 5, 1872, another severe shock destroyed the remainder 

 of the town, and killed about 4,000 people. Four forts near 

 the town were so completely buried that not a trace of them can 

 be seen. It was estimated that 30,000 lives were lost in Kha- 

 booshan, Bojnoord, and the surrounding villages by the effects 

 of these earthquakes. 2. " Notes on the Geology ot the Colony 

 of Queensland," by R. Daintree. The autlior stated that 

 Alluvial deposits are very scanty in Queensland, except on 

 the northern shores of Carpentaria and near the mouths of the 

 lar:;er rivers. The fossil remains of extinct Mammalia (Dipro- 

 toilou, Maiivpiis, Thylacolco, A'oloiJicyium, &c.) are found in old 

 brccciated alluvia, repfesenting beds of old watercourses, through 

 which modern creeks have cut their channels. With these 

 mammalia are found shells of existing species. Oi Cainozoic 

 deposits the most important is called the " Desert Sandstone " 

 by the author ; it consists of horizontal beds of coarse grit and 

 conglomerate, nowhere exceeding 400 feet in thickness, forming 

 a sandy barren soil by their disintegration. The only fossils 

 found in it are rolled fragments of coniferous wood ; and its 

 stratigraphical position is determined solely by its resting uncon- 

 formably upon beds containing apparently Cretaceous fossils. 

 The author considered that this deposit formerly covered nearly 

 the whole of Australia. Beds containing Mesozoic forms of 

 fossiis, and referred by the author to the Cretaceous series, occur 

 upon the Upper Flinders. At Marathon these deposits consist 

 of a fine-grained yellow sandstone, and below this a series of 

 sandstones and argillaceous limestones, containing four species 

 of Iiwcemmus, with a species of IiJUliyosaiinis and two of 

 riciiosaunis. At Hughenden station, near Mount Walker, there 

 is a series of calcareo-argillaceous beds, probably inferior to 

 those of Marathon, and containing two species of Ammonites, 

 with Avicula gryp/iicoiJes, a Pcclcii, &c. At Hughenden Cattle 

 Station, twenty miles farther up the river, numerous Belemnites 

 are found loose upon the surface. The Mesozoic rocks also 

 extend down the Thompson River and its tributaries. The 

 author referred to the fossils described by Mr. Charles Moore as 

 probably Oolitic, and stated that it is more than probable that 

 Oolitic and Cretaceous rocks extend throughout the whole of 

 Central Queensland, and thence to Western Australia. On the 

 eastern side of the dividing range a small patch of ferruginous 

 grit containing Pancpica plicafa occurs near Pelican Creek ; and 

 from Gordon Downs species of Paiiopica, Pholadoinya, and 

 CicculLca have been obtained. These beds probably represent a 

 lower horizon than those on the Flinders River; and a large 

 portion of the colony east of the dividing range is covered by 

 freshwater deposits, cpntaining plant-remains (including 'I\cniop- 

 lerii), and in their upper part a fauna apparently intermediate 

 between the Gordon Downs and Flinders River series. In these 

 deposits, on the Cnodamine, Brisbane, and Mary rivers, numerous 

 Coal-seams exist. The author supposes that, contemporaneously 

 with the deposition of a series of marine beds to the west of the 

 dividing range, during the Oolitic and part of the Cretaceous 

 . period, a vast lacustrine deposit was accumulated over a large 

 area to the eastward of the range, to which the sea subsequently 

 obtained access. Among the Palccozoic deposits, the author 

 distinguished Carboniferous and Devonian rocks. The Caibon- 

 ijcious series was said to be represented in Norihern Queensland 

 by an extensive Coal-field. The upper portion of the series 

 (grits, sandstones, and shales) contains chiefly fossil plants, the 

 must abundant being a Glossopkris. The lower strata (generally 

 argillaceous limestone) contain Piodiicti, Spirifcnc, &c. of true 

 Carboniferous type, intermixed with scanty and imperfect remains 

 of the above-mentioned plants. A set of fossils from the head 



of the Don River were said to agree with those found in the 

 Hunter River series of New South Wales. Devonian rocks 

 extend from lS° S. lat. to the southern boundary of Queensland 

 and for 200 miles inland. They consist of slates, sandstones, 

 and Cor.rI-!imestones. The upper portion of this series contains 

 an abundance of fossil plants, the deposits containing which, at 

 Mount ^^")'att, are interstratified with beds containing Spiriferic, 

 and other fossils of Devonian type occur in beds reached by 

 shafts sunk through these strata. In the limestone of the lower 

 portion of the series corals are very numerous. On the Broke n 

 River this formation may be best studied. Gold is found in 

 many parts of the Devonian district, and the author entered in 

 considerable detail into its mode of occurrence there. Meta- 

 morphic rocks were described by the author as occurring in 

 various localities. At the Cloncurry, Cape River, Gilbert, Peak 

 Downs, Black Snake, Kilkwan, and Goaroomjain Diggings there 

 are mica- and hornblende-schists, whilst at the Ravenswood 

 Diggings the rock is a granite with triclinic felspar. The latter, 

 which contains more or less hornblende, the author regarded as 

 of metamorphic origin. The author noticed the connection 

 between the presence of certain trappean rocks in these meta- 

 morphic areas and in the Devonian area, and the production of 

 auriferous and cupriferous lodes. True Granites crop out along 

 the eastern coast of Queensland, and these vary much, passing 

 into porphyry and quartz-porphyry, but monoclinic felspar 

 always predominates in them. The intrusive Trappean rocks, 

 which are regarded as influencing the production of auriferous 

 vein-stones in the Devonian and Metamorphic rocks, are noticed 

 at considerable length by the author, and consist of pyritous 

 porphyrites and porphyries, pyritous diorites and diabases, 

 chrome-iron serpentines and pyritous felsites ; the author con- 

 siders that this order probably indicates the succession of these 

 rocks in time. The veinstones he thinks were probably deposits 

 of mineral matter from the hydrothermal action which preceded, 

 accompanied, and continued long after the cooling of the traps 

 themselves. The volcanic rocks, in the author's opinion, 

 have played a most important part in determining the elevation 

 and present physical outline of North-eastern Queensland ; they 

 follow the line of greatest elevation on the main watershed at 

 altitudes of from 1,500 to 2,000 feet above the sea-level. The 

 general arrangement of the other rocks referred to is epitomised 

 by the author as follows : — " With the exception of the McKinlay 

 ranges, a line drawn parallel with the eastern coast at a distance 

 of 250 miles would include all the Palaozoic, Metamorphic, 

 Granitic, Trappean, and Volcanic rocks represented in the colony, 

 both coal-groups lying within the same area. The Mesozoic and 

 Cainozoic systems occupy the surface area to the westward. The 

 descent going eastward is first locally a thin capping of ' Desert 

 Sandstone,' next Carboniferous, then Devonian, and possibly 

 Silurian, with patches of metamorphic and granitic rocks inter- 

 spersed. The chief granitic mass extends from Broad Sound to 

 Cape York, with an occasional capping of ' Desert Sandstone.' " 

 The paper contained numerous analyses of the various rocks, 

 and the fossils have been worked out by Messrs. Etheridge and 

 Carruthers, whose lists and descriptions of them are appended 

 to the paper. 



Linnean Society, May 2. — Mr. G. Bentham, president, in 

 the chair. — Dr. Joseph Leidy, of Philadelphia, and Prof. Notaris, 

 of Genoa, were elected to the two vacant places in the list of 

 foreign members. — On AlibertiaeJiilis, by Senor Correade Mello, 

 — Mr. Miers exhibited a substance which he had received from 

 the Brazilian Government, which it was thought might, to a cer- 

 tain extent, become a substitute for cotton. It is a product of 

 the liber of a climbing plant of unknown relationship, and can 

 be procured in any quantity, furnishing a fibre of very strong 

 and silky texture. 



Anthropological Institute, May 6. — Sir John Lubbock, 

 Bart., president, in the chair. The following papers were read : 

 — "Note on the Peculiarities of the Australian Cranium," by 

 Mr. S. M. Bradley, F.R.C.S. ; "Notes on a Scaphoid Skull," 

 by Dr. Barnard Davis, F.R.S. ; "On Certain Points concerning 

 the Origin and Relations of the Basque Race," by Rev. W. 

 Webster and Mr. Stuart Menteath ; "Mann: its names and 

 their origins," by Mr. J. M. Jeffcott ; "Vocabulary of Original 

 Dialects of Queensland," by Mrs. Barlow; "On the Mode of 

 Preparing the Dead among the Natives of the Upper Mary 

 River, Queensland," by Mr. A. McDonald. 

 Dublin 



Natural History Society, February 7. — Prof. E. Perceval 

 Wright, M.D., in the chair. — The following gentlemen were 



