179 Reports and Proceedings. 



by the labours of the astronomer rather than of the geologist. An 

 attempt had recently been made by Mr. James Croll, of Glasgow, to 

 connect in this way the two sciences, and his papers deserved careful 

 study. 



Taking the Grlacial period as his starting point, Mr. Croll proposes 

 to explain the recurrence of cold periods in the earth's history, by 

 the combination of the precession of the equinoxes, with the slow 

 secular variations in the eccentricity of the earth's orbit. Eeasoning 

 upon this, he demonstrated that the nearest period to which the 

 glacial period could be assigned was about 800,000 years ago. Com- 

 paratively speaking, the change produced on the earth's crust in that 

 time had been very small indeed, and as most of the shells living 

 then were living still, how enormous must have been the time re- 

 quired to extinguish the numerous extinct races. 



As geologists, we are apt to err, rather by underrating than 

 by overrating the value of time in the past history of the globe. 

 In all such questions as the history of life upon the globe, 

 and the antiquity of living species, including, of course, man, 

 the element of time plays so important a part that it must be made 

 itself a subject of study if these questions are to be intelligently 

 discussed. 



In conclusion, Mr. Geikie remarked that, as to the charge or 

 insinuation that we use our scientific researches as a cloak for under- 

 mining the religious faith of the country, he took too much notice 

 of it when he repelled it with indignant scorn. 



Geological Society of Glasgow. — The monthly meeting of this 

 Society, was held on Thursday evening, the 7th February, in Ander- 

 son's University, — the Kev. Henry W. Crosskey, Vice-President, in 

 the chair. 



The Chairman delivered an address on the scientific labours of the 

 late President of the Society, James Smith, Esq., of Jordanhill. — 

 (See Obituary Notice, Geol. Mag., March). 



Professor Young, F.G.S., felt certain of the concurrence of the 

 meeting in the suggestion that Mr. Crosskey's eloquent address 

 should form part of the records of the Society. Critical biographies 

 of men who had opened up, or led the way in, new fields of inquiry 

 are always valuable as contributions to the history of science. 



Mr. James Dairon exhibited some specimens of Graptolites, obtained 

 from the Lower Silurian Shales at Dobb's Linn, near Moffat. The 

 series embraced upwards of fifteen species belonging to the genera 

 Graptoltthus, Diplograpsus, Didymograpsus, and Bastrites. 



Mr. John Young exhibited a number of specimens of fossil leaves 

 from the Tertiary beds of Ardtun-head, in the Island of Mull, obtained 

 last autumn by Mr. Loudon F. M'Lean, a student in Glasgow Uni- 

 versity. The leaves exhibited belonged chiefly to the Plane, Buck- 

 thorn, and Laurel, some of the species of which are either extinct or 

 do not now exist in these latitudes. 



Professor Young exhibited a fragment of a jaw (from the Airdrie 

 black -band}, containing several teeth with doubly trenchant margins, 



