Reports and Proceedings. 223 
beds which had hitherto been considered as destitute of organic 
remains, and the position of which he described somewhat minutely, 
in Scotland, in Central Europe, where they attained a thickness of 
90,000 feet, and in Canada, where they were considered as forming 
three divisions, Lower and Upper Laurentian, and Huronian, the 
united thickness of which probably far surpasses that of all succeeding 
rocks. The presence of organic remains in this series of rocks, both 
in Europe and America, had long been suspected on mineralogical 
grounds; but it was not until the winter of 1863-64 that remains 
were found in the Lower Laurentian limestone, which proved to be 
undoubtedly organic, from careful microscopical examination. These 
fossils resembled some of the oldest known Corals in external 
appearance, occurring in large irregularly shaped masses; but Dr. 
Dawson, of Montreal, discovered that their structure was most nearly 
allied to that of the Foraminifera, a group of animals of the lowest form 
of organization, of which, however, the living recent examples were 
very minute, while these fossils were comparatively gigantic. Spe- 
cimens had also been very carefully examined by Dr. W. B. Car- 
peuter, whose knowledge of this group is profound, and who, while 
corroborating Dr. Dawson on the general reference, had been enabled 
to work out the affinities of Hozoon more accurately, and was dis- 
posed to regard it as of a rather higher type of Foraminiferal orga- 
nization, considering that it had points in its structure found in 
three existing orders of the Foraminifera. The identification of the 
fossil turned upon minute structural differences, which could not 
be explained in a short report, but which were made evident by a 
series of drawings and preparations lent to Mr. Carpenter by his 
father. A vertical section of the fossil showed the calcareous shell, 
the parts occupied by the animal when alive being filled with a kind 
of serpentine. Since its discovery in Canada it had been found in 
Treland, the recognition depending upon structure only to be seen 
with the aid of the microscope. 
II. March 2; Mr. W. Sanders, F.R.S., in the chair.—It was 
announced that a Zoological Section had been formed, open to all 
Members of the Society, on payment of the usual Sectional Sub- 
scription, to meet at half-past seven in the evening on the first 
Wednesday of every month, except the four summer-months. Mr. 
B. N. Logs spoke on Aquariums. Mr. T. G. Ponton read a paper 
On the Functions of the Foot of the Conchifera, or Bivalve Molluscs, 
— Bristol Daily Post. 
NeEwcastLe Natura History Sociery.—At the Fourth Winter 
Evening Meeting of the season, Feb. 17th, Mr. H. B. Brapy, F.L.S., 
delivered an address ‘ On the Lowest Forms of Animal Life. The 
chair was taken by Professor J. H. M‘Chesney. Mr. Brady com- 
menced by giving, with much interesting detail, an account of the 
numerous objects revealed by the microscope amongst the lower 
forms of animal life. His descriptive remarks were much assisted 
by a number of large drawings of the objects referred to. He 
then passed on to a notice of Sponges, showing the extent of our 
