Edinburgh Geological Society, 33 



And notwithstanding tlie extent of the literature devoted to the geo- 

 logy of Edinburgh, much remains still to do ; and much may be 

 entered upon by the members of such a Society as the Edinburgh 

 Geological Society, In the first place, there is the paleeontological 

 domain. The Silurian Eocks of the Lammermoors and the Moorfoot 

 Hills have no doubt still some fossil treasures to show. The Upper 

 Silurian Eocks of the Pentland Hills have been carefully searched 

 by several members of the Society, who ha-ve amassed a large collec- 

 tion of the organic remains of that locality ; and it woudl be well if 

 the other geological formations of the district were as thoroughly 

 explored. The Old Eed Sandstone of the Pentland Hills has not 

 as yet yielded any fossils, but hopes may be entertained that, especi- 

 ally in the neighbourhood of West Linton, some Gephalaspidce and 

 Crustaceans of the lower beds of that formation may yet be found. 

 Mr. Geikie is of opinion that in all likelihood there is in reality no 

 true Upper Old Eed Sandstone in this district, but that what has 

 hitherto been so esteemed will prove to belong in reality to the lower 

 division of the system. The Carboniferous system of the district 

 furnishes in itself a wide field of research. Each of its broader divi- 

 sions can be distinguished by fossils, and what the members of the 

 Society might be strongly advised to illustrate is, how far each 

 separate bed contains distinct fossils, also how far the same bed 

 shows a change in its fossil contents as it passes from one district to 

 another — for example, how far the organisms in the Burdiehouse 

 limestone resemble or differ from those on the same horizon in 

 West Lothian and East Lothian. There is also an interesting field 

 of inquiry in connection with former volcanic conditions during 

 various portions of the Carboniferous Period, and Mr. Geikie sug- 

 gested as a profitable subject of investigation, whether, in the neigh- 

 bourhood of interbedded volcanic rocks, any change in the contem- 

 poraneous flora or fauna could be made out. 



In the neighbourhood of Edinburgh no stratified rocks have yet 

 been found between the Carboniferous system and the Boulder-clay. 

 Underneath the Boulder-clay, in certain localities, gravels and sands 

 occur, in which it might be of great advantage to institute a careful 

 and continued search for organic remains, such as might serve to 

 indicate the nature of the plants and animals living in this neigh- 

 bourhood at the commencement of the Boulder-clay period. The 

 Boulder-clay itself, notwithstanding all that has been done in recent 

 years, still offers many opportunities of useful inquiry. It is in 

 reality a complex formation, and members of the Society might do 

 much good in trying to trace out its subdivisions. They ought 

 especially to watch every new cutting and exposure of the clay, or 

 of the sand-beds contained in it, with the view of detecting, if 

 possible, any organic remains, more particularly shells of an Arctic 

 character. They should also wash samples of the clay from each 

 district, with the view of discovering foraminifera, as has been done 

 so successfully in other districts. Nor need they even despair of 

 discovering Mammalian remains, for he need not remind them that 

 within eight miles from where they were assembled the tusk of a 



VOL. VI. — .NO. LV. 3 



