192 MisceUaneoHs. 



a quarryinaster and burner of lime he had exceptional opportunities 

 for the pursuit of the science. During the past forty years he 

 contributed many papers to the Transactions of the Glasgow- 

 Geological Society, more especially on the Drift deposits and 

 Carboniferous rocks. In his own neighbourhood, from his literarj-- 

 and scientific tastes, he was known as " The Sage of Beith." 



1\^TS GIBXiXj-iLIsriEO TJ S . 



Geological Survey of the United Kingdom.— We have 

 already notified the appointment of Mr. J. J. H. Teall as Director 

 in place of Sir Archibald Geikie, Director-General. The further 

 appointments are two Assistant-Directors : Mr. H. B. Woodward 

 (for England and Wales) and Mr. John Home (for Scotland). 

 District Geologists : Mr. C. Fox Strangways, Mr. Clement Eeid, and 

 Mr. Aubrey Strahan (for England and Wales) ; Mr. B. N. Peach 

 and Mr. W. Gunn (for Scotland) ; and Mr. G. W. Lamplugh (foi-^ 

 Ireland). 



'Blood Eain' in Sicily. — A telegram despatched from Palermo 

 yesterday stated that since the previous night a dense lurid cloud 

 had hung over the town. The sky was of a sinister blood-red hue 

 and a strong south wind was blowing, and the drops of rain which 

 fell were like blood. The phenomenon, which is known locally by 

 the name of * blood rain,' is attributed to dust from the Sahara 

 Desert having been carried there by the wind. Similar atmospheric 

 conditions are reported from Eome. The sky had a yellow tint 

 yesterday, and a violent sirocco swept over the citj^ At Naples 

 showers of sand fell, and the phenomenon of the ' fata Morgana ' 

 was observed. — Morning Post, March 11, 1901. 



Vienna, March 12. — Ked and yellow snow has fallen in many 

 parts of Austria, including districts so far north as Prague. The 

 coloured snow lies several inches deep, and makes a weird and 

 unearthly efi'ect. Scientists state that southern winds of extra- 

 ordinary force have carried the red and yellow sand of the Sahara 

 across the Mediterranean to Southern Europe in such an enormous 

 quantity that even here in Austria the colour of the snow has 

 thereby been changed. — Morning Leader, March 13, 1901. 



Eeptilian Eemains from Patagonia. — At the meeting of the 

 Zoological Society on March 5th, Dr. A. Smith Woodward, F.L.S., 

 F.Z.S., F.G.S., read a detailed description of the remains of Miolania 

 from Patagonia, which were briefly noticed by Dr. Moreno in the 

 Geological Magazine for September, 1899. He regarded them 

 as indicating a Chelonian only specifically distinct from the typical 

 Miolania of the Australian region. In the same formation in 

 Patagonia were found the skeleton of a new extinct snake and the 

 jaws of a large carnivorous Dinosaur, which were also described. 

 The discovery of Miolania in South America seemed to favour the 

 theorj'^ of a former Antarctic continent ; but it should be remembered 

 that in late Secondary'- and early Tertiary times the Pleurodiran 

 Chelonia were almost cosmopolitan. 



