118 
NATURE 
: i Op oe ee eee 
* re Sah a Om 
[ Dec. 8, 1870 

2. ‘*Note on some Reptilian Fossils from Gozo.” By Mr. J. 
W. Hulke, F.R.S., F.G.S. The author described the remains 
of two reptiles said to have been brought from Gozo by the late 
Captain Strickland. One of them was a fragment of the 
symphysial part of the slender mandible of an /chthyosaurus, 
having teeth of precisely the same character as those of the form 
from the Kimmeridge Clay described by the author under the 
name of Luthekiodon. For this species the name of /chthyo- 
saurus gaudensis was proposed. The other was the skull of a 
species of crocodile, for which the author proposed the name 
C. gaudensis, Dr. Duncan suggested that the Ichthyosaurian 
fossil might be derivative from some secondary rock. He 
mentioned that Dr, Leith Adams had once sent him an Asfidiscus 
cristatus from the Hippurite Limestone, which was stated to have 
come from Malta. To account for this, he suggested that the 
Miocene of Malta might have been supported on beds of 
Cretaceous age, so fossils from that source might have become 
indebted in the coral reefs of the later date. Capt. Spratt ex- 
pressed a doubt of the fossils having really come from Gozo, 
He did not recognise the cretaceous-looking matrix among any 
of the rocks of that island, with all of which he was acquainted. 
The nearest approach to that kind of rock was to be found in | 
the lowest of the deposits near Cairo, which were probably 
Eocene. Prof. T. Rupert Jones suggested an examination of 
the Foraminifera in the matrix, with the view of determining its 
Secondary or Tertiary age. He mentioned the occurrence of 
rolled nodules of older rocks in beds of later age at Gozo. 
Mr. Busk stated that a stone of similar character to the matrix 
occurred in Malta, if not in Gozo, but probably in both. 
Mr. Hulke, in reply, observed that he had in this paper inten- 
tionally left the stratigraphical part of the question untouched, 
and confined himself to the paleontological aspect of the 
remains.—3. ‘On the discovery of a ‘ Bone-bed’ in the lowest 
of the ‘Lynton Grey Beds,’ North Devon.” By F. Royston 
Fairbank, M.D. In this paper the author called attention to 
the occurrence of a thin bed of rock to the west of the harbour 
of Lynmouth, containing an immense number of fragments of 
bone, some of them of large size, and associated with massive 
bodies which he regards as coprolites. The author proposed to 
call this the ‘‘ Lynton Bone-bed ;* and he thought that its dis- 
covery might throw some light on the relative age of the whole 
series of rocks of North Devon. Mr. Whitaker had examined 
the beds in company with Mr. Wetherell. He did not agree 
with the author as to the amount of iron in the beds. The 
bone-remains appeared to him to be those of Steganodictyum, 
which had already been found in the lowest of Devonian beds. 
He was not prepared to accept the nodules described as being un- 
doubtedly coprolites. Mr. Valpy stated that there were at 
least a dozen beds on different horizons of much the same 
character as that described along the coast of North Devon, an 
account of which had already been published at Ilfracombe. 
London Institution, November 24.—Mr. H. W. Field, 
F.C.S.,in the chair. Prof. Morris, F.G.S., delivered a lecture 
“On 'the Precious Metals and their Distribution.” Having indi- 
cated the principal sources of the gold and silver worked by the 
ancient nations, he explained the distinguishing characters of these 
two metals, and dwelt at length on their mode of occurrence, geo- 
graphical distribution, and geological position. Gold usually 
occurred in nature in the metallic condition, nearly pure or 
alloyed with certain metals, while silver was found in combination 
with various elements, and but rarely in the native state. The 
distribution of gold throughout the world was illustrated by a 
large map, on which the known gold-yielding localities were 
plainly marked. Gold was found in rocks, quartz veins, and 
alluvial deposits. The silurian rocks and the granites associated 
with them furnished the chief supplies, but the cretaceo-oolitic 
rocks of Peru. Bolivia, and California, when traversed by dioritic 
igneous rocks, were also auriferous ; showing, according to Mr. 
David Forbes, that there had been two well-marked epochs of 
goldintrusion. From both formations, but specially from the 
silurian, the gold occurring in alluvial deposits had been derived 
by the enormous erosion which the rocks had undergone at a 
comparatively late geological period, namely, the Newer Pliocene. 
The remains of extinct mammalia discovered in the deposits of 
the Urals, and also in those of Australia, had satisfactorily fixed 
their geological position. In Australia and California subsequent 
volcanic flows had covered thick accumulations of auriferous 
gravels, and had diverted the courses of many streams, so that 
they no longer conformed to the old valleys. “The minerals mis- 
token for gold were enumerated and their distinguishing chemical 

i 
| 
| These were discovered in the Posc-pliocene clay formation, about 

and physical characters were indicated. In conclusion, the 
lecturer alluded to certain points relating to the use of gold in 
coinage, and called special attention to the brittleness produced 
by the presence of minute quantities of palladium in the standard 
alloy. The lecture was illustrated by numerous diagrams and 
maps, models of famous nuggets, gold-washing ar paratus, and 
many beautiful specimens of native gold.—Dr. Odling’s edu- 
cational lectures ‘On Chemical Action,” delivered on Mondays 
at four o'clock, continue to attract crowded audiences, com- 
prising a large number of boys and girls from the schools of 
London and its suburbs. 
Linnean Socisty, December 1.—Mr. Bentham, president, 
in the chair.—‘*On the Source of Radix Galangz minoris of 
Pharmacologists.” The source of the Greater Galangal has long 
been known to be A/finia galanga, Linn.; that of the Lesser 
Galangal has been more obscure. Galangal is not used in 
English medical practice, and on the Continent has hecome 
almost obsolete ; its export from China is, however, considerable, 
and is rapidly increasing. During an expedition to the Island of 
Hainan, a quantity of the root which provides the Lesser 
Galangal was observed exposed to the sun in baskets. On asub- 
sequent occasion the plant itself was discovered at a spot six 
miles inland, at an elevation of roo feet above the sea, growing 
ina dry red soil, the result of volcanic action. Here it was 
evidently planted, but was subsequently detected growing wild in 
jungles in the same island. Twenty or thirty stalks spring from 
each root, but rarely more than one or two bear flowers. 
fruit appears to be the bitter kind of Cardamom figured by 
Mr. Hanbury. The plant is closely allied to A/pinia calcarata, 
which flowers readily in the Calcutta Botanic Gardens ; but was” 
determined by Dr. Hance to be a perfectly distinct and well- 
defined species, to which he gave the name A/finia officinarum. 
A diagnosis of the plant was also given by Dr. Hance,—Sup- 
plementary note on the Chinese Silkworm Oaks, by Dr. Hance, 
MoNTREAL 
The. q 
Natural History Society, October 31.—The President, ' 
Principal Dawson, in the chair, Mr. A, S. Ritchie read a 
paper entitled ‘‘ Aquaria Studies,” Part 2. In a previous paper 
the author had described the habits of some of the larger inha- 
bitants of his aquarium. In the present sketch an attempt was 
made to illustrate the peculiarities of the microscopic denizens 
of the same. The structure of some of the lowest forms of 
vegetable life was first illusira'ed, and some points in their 
physiology described. The first example of the animal kingdem 
selected was the Amceba or Proteus. In this animal we see a 
creature devoid of muscular or nervous system, with no head, no 
stomach, or alimentary canal. Its body consists of a jelly-like 
substance, of irregular shape, from any part of which finger-like 
processes are at times protruded. It lives by absorption, and 
can improvise a stomach from any part of the exterior of its body. 
The Ameeba is one of the very lowest forms of animal life. The 
lecturer then proceeded to explain the structure and habits of 
other microscopic animals, a little more complex than the pre- 
ceding. Among these were the blue Stentor, the bell animal- 
cule ( Vorticella), the glutton (Zz7co) Rotifers, or ‘‘wheel bearers,” 
Parameecium, the four-horned Cyclops, and other microscopic 
animals. He stated that he had frozen water, containing Rotifers, 
solid, and upon melting the ice the Rotifers were as lively as 
ever, also that they could endure a considerable degree of heat. 
A large diagram, with figures of the several plants and animals — 
spoken of, materially helped to illustrate the paper, which will 
shortly appear 7 exfenso in the next number of the Canadian 
Naturalist.—Mr. Billings then made a communication on the 
bones of a whale lately discovered at Cornwall, Ont., of which 
the following is an abstract :—‘‘ Several months ago Mr. Charles 
Poole, of Cornwall, wrote to the secretary of the Society that a 
large skeleton, resembling that of an Ichthyosaurus, had been 
found in that neighbourhood by the men engaged in excavating — 
clay for brick. In another letter he stated that Mr. T. S. Scott, 
architect, of this city, had procured the lower jaws. On receipt 
of this information, Mr. Billings called upon Mr. Scott, who 
very liberally presented the jaws to the Geological Mu- 
seum. Mr, Billings then went up to Cornwall and obtained 
from Mr. Poole the bones which were in his possession. 
sixteen feet below the surface. They are those of a small whale 
closely allied to the white whale, Be/aga leucas, which lives in the 
Northern seas, and at certain seasons abounds in the Gulf and 
lower part of the St. Lawrence. The lower jaws are nearly per- 
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