TRANSACTIONS OF THE SECTIONS, 71 



by Mr. W. M. M'Gillivray, of Inverness, who had had much experience in gold- 

 washing ; and on handing over to him for examination certain specimens of gi-anite 

 very similar to that of the Suisgill burn, Mr. M'Gillivray found in them several 

 grains of gold. Fm-ther inquiry was needed, in order to ascertain whether the gold 

 existed here in remunerative quantity. 



On the History and Affinities of the British Coniferce. 

 By William Cakeuthers, F.L.S., F.G.S. 



Having pointed out the great divisions of this natural order, the author traced 

 the appearance and development of its munbers in the stratified rocks. The Arau- 

 careice, of which there were fifteen living species, natives of the southern hemi- 

 sphere, made their appearance in the coal-measiu-es, eight species having been 

 determined from the structiu-e of the wood. In the secoudar}^ rocks cones be- 

 longing to six species had been detected, all of them having close affinities with 

 the section Entacta of Araucaria. The Pinece, a large group living in the northern 

 hemisphere, first appeared in Devonian strata, were contained in the coal, and 

 greatly increased in number in the secondary rocks. The Tiwodiece, having fifteen 

 species, living chiefly near the shores of the North Pacific, appeared in the Stones- 

 field slate, and were continued by species of Sequoia through the Cretaceous and 

 Eocene periods. The Cupressece are known only from tertiary strata by fruits and 

 foliage. The Taxinece, containing nearly 100 living species, have been determined 

 in the Carboniferous rocks from a fruit ; several fruits occm* also in the Sheppy 

 beds of Eocene age. 



On the Sporangia of Ferns from the Coal-measures. 

 By William Caeruthers, F.L.S., F.G.S. 



The author had detected in calcareous nodules from the beds of coal at Bradford 

 several sporangia of Ferns belonging to the same species, and all characterized by 

 the presence of the elastic ring which is found in the Foli/podiacece. The ring is 

 oblique and continuous round the sporangium, and these peculiarities, together 

 with the shortness of the pedicel, induced the author to refer them to a Ilymeno- 

 phyUaceous genus. Some of the sporangia were filled with the roundish spores. 



RemarTcs on the Fossils from the Eailway Section at Huyton. 

 By William Caeruthees, F.L.S., F.G.S. 



The great value of this collection, made by the Rev. H. Higgins, depended as 

 much upon the comparatively limited number of species met with as on the fine 

 state of preservation in which they occm-red. It was possible to arrive at consi- 

 derable (in some cases absolute) certainty as to the different parts of the same 

 species. Of the four species of Calamites, the materials existed in the specimens 

 from Huyton for reconstructing the entire plant of at least one. The roots, long 

 considered to be a distinct plant under the name Plnmdaria, were present in great 

 abundance. The species had a delicate fistular stem of the type described by Pro- 

 fessor Williamson at a previous meeting of the Section, but of great size. The 

 scars of the fallen branches were shown in several specimens as well as the 

 foliage, which was preserved in the early bud condition, as well as in its fully 

 developed state. Several fruits were found showing the structure of the cone, 

 described by the author under the name of Volkma/mta Bimieyi, but with differ- 

 ences that were at least of specific value. A cone having the structure of that 

 described by Professor Williamson probably belonged to Calamites lonyifolitis, with 

 the foliage of which it was associated in these beds. Specimens of Sjjhenophyllum 

 were exhibited and referred to Calamites. The light thrown on the structure of 

 Lepidodendron by the specimens was then dwelt on, and especially two undescribed 

 cones — one long and slender, with a single sporangium on each scale, the other 

 short, and having two sporangia on each scale. The stem and foliage of Flabel- 

 laria (a palm-like Lycopodiaceous genus) occurred among the fossils, as well aa 

 several species of beautifully preserved ferns. Two specimens of insect remains 



