June 22, i888.] 



SCIENTIFIC NEV/S. 



593 



Many quartz outcrops, large at the surface but diminish- 

 ing in thickness downwards, were met with at the east 

 end of the section ; these veins have a stritie about N. 

 15 degs. E. to N. 20 degs. E., coincident with that of the 

 schists. 



Extensive gold-washings have been carried on in the 

 ravines and hill sides, and the mode of occurrence and 

 character of the gold were described. 



The author considered the schists, as well as the 

 quartz veins, to belong to very old series of rocks, 

 probably Archtean. 



2. Seiingapalani Section. The second section was 

 taken in a £outh-easterly direction from the 72nd mile- 

 stone on the Seringapalam and Bangalore road to the 

 N.W. side of the village of Arakere. Gneiss, horn- 

 blende, and mica-schists, etc., were here met with, 

 striking about N. 20- E. with varying dips. These were 

 traversed by auriferous quartz-veins which had been 

 largely worked, and the author gave a description of the 

 former methods of extracting the gold. 



At the S.E. end of the section the schists were found to 

 be much broken by porphyrite dykes of much more recent 

 origin, most likely of Tertiary age. A small granite 

 dyke intersected the Elliot lode diagonalij', and was con-' 

 Eidered to be of Upper Tertiary age. 



3. General Observations. The author described the 

 results of traverses of other districts ; he pointed out the 

 evidences of great pressure which had broken up the 

 gneissic rocks and compressed the schists, and con- 

 jectured that this might have been produced by the 

 gradual rise of the Eastern and Western Ghats, and 

 finally called attention to the great denudation which the 

 Mysore plateau had undergone. 



An Appendix hyYioL T. G. Bonney, D.Sc, LL.D., 

 F.K.S., F.G.S , gave an account of the microscopic cha- 

 racters of the schists, the flattened garnets, the porphy- 

 riles, etc., and in this it was pointed out that one set of 

 rocks belonged to an ancient series, which, even if 

 wholly or in part of igneous orign, assumed their present 

 mineral structure and condition at an epoch remote from 

 the present, whilst another set was certainly igneous and 

 of more recent date. 



4. "On the Durham Salt-district." By Mr. E. Wilson, 

 F.G.S. 



In this paper the author described the new salt-fields 

 in the North of England, occupying the low-lying country 

 bordering the estuary of the Tees, and situated partly in 

 Yoikshire and partly in Durham. 



The history of the rise and progress of the salt-industy 

 in South Durham was given, since the first discovery 

 cf salt by Messrs. Bolckow Vaughan and Co. at Middles- 

 brough, in the year 1859. 



The stratigraphical position of the saliferous rocks of 

 the Durham salt-district was considered in some detail. 

 The diverse views which have been previously expressed 

 on this head were referred to, and reasons given for con- 

 cluding that all the beds of rock-salt which have been 

 hitherto proved in this field, and the red rocks with 

 which they are associated, belong to the upper portion 

 of the Trias, viz., to the Upper Keuper series (Water- 

 stones subdivision). 



The probable area of this salt-field, the limits of the 

 distribution and varying depths of the chief bed of rock- 

 salt were indicated, and the extent of its supplies pointed 

 out. 



In conclusion, the author called attention to the waste 

 as well as to certain other disadvantages resulting from 

 the process of winning the salt now in opera- 

 tion. 



5. " On the Occurrence oiCalcispharce, Williamson, in 

 the Carboniferous Limestone of Gloucestershire." By 

 Mr. E. Wethered, F.G.S. 



The small hollow spheres, with varying forms of peri- 

 pheral appendages, described by Prof. Williamson as 

 Calcisphara, were found in the Carboniferous Limestone 

 of Flintshire, and were suggested by him to be possibly 

 Foraminifera or the reproductive capsules of some marine 

 form of vegetation, although he admitted that no forms 

 hitherto discovered afforded any definite support to this 

 hypothesis. Prof. Judd expressed a belief that the ob- 

 jects were Radiolari ; whilst Mr. Shrubsole discovered 

 similar bodies in the Mountain Limestone near Llan- 

 gollen, and conjectured that the described forms included 

 both Foraminifera and Radiolaria. 



The Author has discovered the Cakisp/iarai in great 

 numbers in the Carboniferous Limestone of Gloucester- 

 shire. He discussed the identity of certain calcareous 

 rings '005 in. in diameter, seen in sections of the lime- 

 stone of Clifton, etc., with siliceous bodies which he 

 had described in a recent paper read before the Society, 

 and gave an account of the calcareous and siliceous forms 

 which were both referable to Calcisphcera. He com- 

 mented upon the character of the carbonate of lime 

 of the calcareous bodies, which presented a granular 

 structure characteristic of the truly organic portion of the 

 limestone, and not a clear crystalline aspect like that 

 of the infilling or replacing calci'.e ; he concluded there- 

 fore that the tests had been originally -calcareous, and 

 not siliceous replaced subsequently by carbonate of lime. 

 This was urged as a strong argument against regarding 

 the organisms as Radiolaria, and the author, whilst con- 

 sidering it unwise to come to a decided conclusion, 

 believed it safe to say that they were Protozoa. 



6. " Second Note on the Movement of Scree-material." 

 By Mr. C. Davison, M.A. Communicated by Prof T. 

 G. Bonney, D.Sc, F.R.S. 



After briefly recapitulating the substance of his pre- 

 vious paper, the author now communicated the results of 

 experiments continued for a j'eai. He gave a figure in 

 which a continuous line represented, in millimetres, the 

 movements of the upper stone from week to week, 

 whilst a contiguous dotted line indicated the mean ranges 

 of temperature. The rate of descent does not depend 

 solely on the mean range. He gave the following com- 

 parison of rates of descent : — 



Average daily Total mean Rate of des- 



range of descent in cent in inches 



temperature. millim. per day. 



Summer, 1 84 days .. I4''-4F. 8 -ooiyi 



Winter, 1S2 days .. 8°-o 5^ -00121 



Thus the changes are not altogether proportional to 

 the ranges of temperature, being relatively higher in the 

 winter months. In considering the influence of rain, he 

 observed that its effects are to slightly increase the rate 

 of descent by diminishing the coefficient of friction, and 

 by lowering the temperature, both as being itself 

 generally colder than the air on the ground surface, and 

 also owing to evaporation. He likewise observed that 

 the rate of descent was nearly doubled during the latter 

 part of the winter, chiefly owing to the eftects of 

 snow. 



