274 Reviews — Geological Surmy of Scotland. 



explored by tlie Geological Survey for Scotland ; and when its 

 author, Sir Archibald Geikie (the late Director of the Survey), was 

 quite a young man (engaged in planting the laurels which he now 

 so gracefully wears) he wrote an admirable article on Old Volcanic 

 Action at Burntisland (Fife) on the north shore of the Firth of 

 Forth, and described a volcanic bomb he had observed in Carboni- 

 ferous beds at King's Craig in 1862 (see Geol. Mag., Vol. I, 1864, 

 pp. 22-26). 



The district described in this volume comprises that portion of 

 the county of Fife which lies to the east of a north and south line 

 drawn from the mouth of the Eiver Leven on the Firth of Forth to 

 Wormit Bay on the Firth of Tay. It completes the description 

 of the geology of Fife, of which the first part, comprising the 

 central and western divisions of the county, was published at the 

 close of the year 1900. The account here given of the general 

 geological structure of the ground and the distribution of the rocks 

 has been based partly on the original field-maps just referred to and 

 partly on copious detailed notes made by the author during repeated 

 traverses of the ground. Having in earlier years had frequent 

 opportunities of visiting the east of Fife, he had become familiar 

 with its geology. But for the preparation of this memoir 

 Sir A. Geikie spent a portion of the Spring of 1900 in examining 

 many of the more important sections, and he also devoted the 

 Summer and a portion of the Autumn of 1901 to the same purpose. 



The unique feature in the geological history of this part of Central 

 Scotland is presented by the series of some 80 volcanic vents 

 distributed in a band, which crosses the peninsula from Largo to 

 St. Andrew's Bay. Many years ago the author called attention 

 to the nature and interest of these vents, and pointed out how 

 important is the evidence which they furnish as to the internal 

 structure of volcanoes. But up to the present time no complete and 

 detailed account of the whole series of them has ever been published. 

 He has accordingly made a renewed study of the subject, and 

 has devoted four chapters to a full presentation of the facts and 

 a discussion of their bearing on the history of volcanic action in this 

 country. 



The author acknowledges his great indebtedness to the late 

 Mr. J. W. Kirkby for valuable assistance given him in preparing his 

 account of the Carboniferous formation of the East of Fife. He 

 generously supplied detailed tables of the coast-sections and careful 

 manuscript notes (both palseontological and stratigraphical) , which 

 will be found embodied and indicated in this volume. No such 

 careful and detailed work has been made of any part of the Carboni- 

 ferous system of the British Islands as that carried out by Mr. Kirkby 

 on the shores of Fife. 



Mr. C. D. Geddes, mining engineer of Edinburgh, has furnished 

 the author with records of all recent borings in East Fife in search 

 of coal ; but of late years little has been done to develop the 

 mineral fields of the district, so that the maps I'emain much the same 

 as when surveyed 40 years ago by Mr. H. H. Howell. 



