82 Notices of Memoirs — Martin Simpson. 



had a lower refractive index than any of the above; the double 

 refraction was hardly noticeable and it consisted of very fine flakes 

 and minute vermicular aggregates. The Glagerite had a higlier 

 refractive index than any of the other specimens. 



The examination of these specimens was undertaken in the hope 

 of arriving at some definite conclusion about the origin of the kaolin 

 veins in this country, but it cannot be said that one has been 

 attained. 



I. — Martin Simpson, a Yoekshiee Geologist (1800-92). 



AT the annual meeting of the Yorkshire Geological Society, held 

 at Leeds on December 12, Mr. T. Sheppard, M.Sc, F.G.S., read 

 a paper on " Martin Simpson and his Work ". 



Martin Simpson was born at Whitby in 1800, and died in 1892. 

 He spent most of his life in the Whitby district, and for over half 

 a century had charge of the valuable Geological Collection in the 

 Museum there, though for a short period he was Curator of the 

 Yorkshire Geological Society's Collection, now in the Museum at 

 Leeds. He was one of the pioneer workers among the Yorkshire 

 Liassic rocks, and considering the early date of his researches the 

 enormous amount of information he accumulated was remarkable, 

 and his methods of research had a surprisingly modern air. He was 

 the author of a number of geological memoirs, most of which are now 

 exceedingly scarce. 



Mr. Sheppard showed a complete series of these works, which he 

 had collected, the most important being a memoir on the Avimotiifes 

 of the Yorkshire Lias, which was long since said to be so rare that 

 only one copy was known. Another work, published when the 

 author was 84 years of age, was The Fossils of the Yorkshire Lias, 

 in which no fewer than 743 species were enumerated and more or 

 less described. Simpson measured with a foot-rule the thickness of 

 the Lias beds north and south of Whitby, taking special note of the 

 fossils in each bed, a very early example of zonal collecting. 



II. — The Mineral RESotrRCES of the British Empire. 



f"^OE. the second year in succession the Swiney lectures were 

 given by Dr. J. S. Flett, F.E.S. As already announced in 

 the Geological Magazine, the subject chosen was " The Mineral 

 Resources of the British Empire". By means of a judicious 

 mixture of statistics, engineering, and geology Dr. Elett succeeded 

 in giving a remarkably interesting, though necessarily condensed, 

 account of a very large subject. It was shown that in the case 

 of some minerals, such as tin, nickel, and diamonds, the British 

 Empire is still the greatest producer, while in other instances its 

 former pre-eminence has passed into foreign hands, especially into 

 those of the United States and Germany. It is evident that in the 

 immediate future Canada will be an important producer of many 

 minerals, besides oil and gas on a large scale. The mines of Sudbury, 

 Cobalt, and Porcupine were dealt with by the lecturer in some 



