THE HAMILTON ASSOCIATION. 1 25 



head 4 feet in circumference ; the diameter of the eyeball 8 inches ; 

 the flap of the tail measured 2 feet 9 inches across. Another giant 

 Squid was described by Professor Verrill in the American Naturalist 

 in 1875 from the same locality. Surely in the face of such well 

 authenticated facts it is rather amusing Jo read the following remarks 

 of the author of " The Sea and Its Living Wonders," Dr. Hartwig, 

 of Gottengen, whose work has been translated into many languages : 



" According to trustworthy testimonies, some species of Cep- 

 halopods attain an astonishing size. Peron saw a Sepia near Van 

 Dieman's Land, with arms like snakes, 7 feet long. But not satis- 

 fied with reality, some writers have magnified the cuttle-fishes to 

 fabulous dimensions. Pliny notices one monster with arms 30 feet 

 long." Well, considering all we have recently learned from the Rev. 

 M. Harvey and others, perhaps the elder Pliny was not so unreliable 

 a naturalist after all as some suppose. It does not appear incredible 

 that cuttle-fishes, when the family and its allies were " Lords of 

 Creation/' may have attained an extraordinary size. As far as we 

 know they had nothing to contend against when the "Hudson 

 River " beds were deposited. During the earlier ages of geological 

 history, they appear to have been the magnates of the sea. Geikie 

 remarks, "An Orthoceras, from 8 to 10 feet in length has been dis- 

 covered in the Bala beds" (our Hudson River rocks). Professor 

 Chapman, of Toronto, pointed out to me a fragment of one he dis- 

 covered — now in one of the cases of the " University Museum " — 

 comparable in thickness with any Beatrecea (one or two excepted) 

 I met with in Anticosti. 



Some years ago, I showed Dr. Spencer, in a quarry at the 

 '' Jolly Cut," an Orthoceras which covered the surface of four large 

 limestone flags. On one of them I counted 65 Septa. 



In conclusion, while I entertain precisely the same views as 

 Professor Hyatt regarding the fossil, it is only fair to remark that 

 very little is known yet of the Silurian Plant remains, and the 

 Fucoids themselves present no internal structure. The Palaeophy- 

 cus of Hall, and two or more undescribed ones in the Clinton 

 rocks of Hamilton, Ontario, undoubtedly possess a conical root, 

 not unlike the base of a Beatrecea. 



Through the kindness of my friend, Mr, Walker, I am enabled 

 to submit for your examination two polished specimens (longitu- 

 dinal and transverse sections) of the fossil. As far as I know, the 



