352 Miscellanies. 



earth, and are very analogous to the chambered shells of the Cepha- 

 lopodae. Prof. Phillips pointed out the peculiar characters of the 

 belemnites, and stated that he had identified thirty four British spe- 

 cies. Prof. Agassiz of Neufchatel, showed that belemnites diJSered 

 from recent cuttle fish, chiefly in the superior development of par- 

 ticular organs. This very able naturalist, in consequence of research- 

 es conducted entirely by himself, has discovered that the coal forma- 

 tion, the oolites, and the chalk, have a set of fishes peculiar to them, 

 and distinguishable by certain fixed characters from the fishes of eve- 

 ry other formation. Fishes are, therefore, the most exact chrono- 

 meter in geology ; and their distribution may be accounted for, by 

 considering, that being of a high organization, they were unable to 

 survive changes in the inorganic world, which would not prove fatal 

 to mollusca and zoophytes. It would appear, from the position and 

 appearance of many of the remains in the seas, that great portions of 

 these formations were very suddenly deposited. 



Fossil forest near Glasgoiv. — This is seen at the aqueduct over 

 the Kelvine river, and consists of a number of trees, standing in an 

 upright position, and throwing out roots in all directions, just as if 

 they had grown on the spot. They rest on nearly horizontal strata 

 of sandstone, at the bottom of a quarry, and terminate upwards at 

 the height of a few feet, as if cut right across. The trees are all 

 dicotyledonous, and some of them are so near one another, that it is 

 difficult to conceive how they grew. The quarry is covered by di- 

 luvium, many rolled fragments of which must have come from the 

 northwest, thus confirming what was shown at a former meeting, by 

 Mr. Bryce, respecting the diluvial currents of the north of Ireland. 

 Prof. Sedgwick suggested, in explanation, that as the trees were 

 probably of the fir tribe, they may have been nearly bare of branches 

 and have grown close together : the celebrated Craigleith tree was 

 not vertical, like these, but lay obliquely across the strata. 



The two north magnetic poles, seem to revolve around the poles 

 of the earth, in periods which never exceed four thousand years : it 

 is worthy of remark, that the rock strata, all over Europe, range in 

 the same direction as the lines of equal magnetic intensity. 



The ancient stratified deposits of the border counties of England 

 and Wales, have been elaborately examined, during several years, 

 by Mr. Murchison and Prof. Sedgwick, in different parts. 



Mr. Murchison has discovered extensive deposits, covering a large 

 tract, before unexamined, in which fossils teem — many of them of 



