216 Notices of Memoirs — Various Short Notices. 



and the public. Our collections of Palasozoic fossils have been con- 

 siderably enriched by the purchase of the valuable series formed 

 by the Eev. A. W. Cresswell, M.A., and Mr. F. Spry respectively, 

 and the donation by Mr. G. Sweet, F.G.S., of the entire series of 

 Cambrian fossils now on exhibition. The large fossils and casts 

 have been repaired and repainted, and the whole labelled ia 

 accordance with the latest nomenclature. These exhibits are arranged 

 in the Upper Gallery of the Museum on the north-east side, which 

 was thrown open to visitors last November. 



I have prepared and hung in the Gallery two long, coloured 

 geological sections, one illustrating the geology of Victoria, running 

 through the State in a west to east direction, and the other taken 

 through Melbourne from Brunswick to Ormond Point, near St. Kilda. 

 Every care has been taken to render these correct according to the 

 latest information, and in working out these details I have been 

 greatly assisted by the friendly help of Professor Gregory, F.R.S., 

 and Mr. T. S. Hall, M.A. One thousand and thirty-seven fossils 

 have been determined, most of which are now exhibited. 



Since a large number of the Palaeozoic fossils of Victoria are still 

 awaiting description, this work has been taken in hand, and I have 

 figured and described (Proc. Roy. Soc. Vict., vol. xv, pt. 2) fourteen 

 fossils in the National Museum, ten of which are new to science ; two 

 new genera have also been established to receive two of these fossils. 



The very comprehensive and valuable collection of fossils in the 

 Museum, brought together under the direction of the late Sir 

 Frederick McCoy, was a distinct and agreeable surprise to one 

 who, although familiar with the English national collection, did 

 not anticipate meeting with anything at all comj)arable in the 

 southern hemisphere ; and these, chiefly the foreign specimens, 

 will be most valuable for purposes of comparison with those of 

 Victoria. 



II. — Various Short Notices. 



1. The subject of "Clastic Dikes" is dealt with by Mr. J. F. 

 Newsom (Bull. Geol. Soc. America, xiv, 227, 1903). He describes 

 a number of sandstone dikes in San Luis Obispo and Santa Cruz 

 counties, California. The rocks of San Luis Obispo are Cretaceous 

 sandstones, overlain by Miocene shales, which are cut by sandstone 

 dikes. These dikes occur near the axis of a low synclinal fold, 

 where former conditions were probably favourable to great hydro- 

 static pressure. The author is of opinion that soft sands were forced 

 up from below along joint planes, and that the sands were afterwards 

 firmly cemented by calcium carbonate. Near Santa Cruz there are 

 dikes of sandstone, varying from mere films along joint planes to 

 intruded masses several feet thick. These cut the Miocene shales 

 at various angles on the western side of a faulted monoclinal fold. 

 The smaller films are usually bituminous. In the author's opinion 

 there is evidence that the underlying sandstones were formerly oil- 

 bearing, and that the oil-bearing sands were forced into joints in 

 the shales. The larger dikes formed the avenues of escape for the 



