Geological Society of London. 87 



arising from the mere infiltration of one chemical substance into another. Moreover 

 this foreign matter could not penetrate the cleavage-planes. When cut, some speci- 

 mens had given out a strong odour of musk, which they to some extent still retained. 

 This, again, seemed to be evidence of organic origin. He regretted that Prof. King 

 had not examined the large collection of specimens in his (Dr. Carpenter's) collection. 

 Recent Foraminifera, when decalcified, exhibited precisely the same asbestiform 

 layer round the chamber-cast as the fossil Eozoon. Diff'erent genera of Foraminifera 

 in recent seas were infiltrated by diff'erent minerals, which presented some analogy 

 with the condition of the fossil under consideration. In the great seas of the present 

 day, at various depths and temperatures, was a large extension of sarcodic substance, 

 and in this there were Rhizopods with and without shells, but of similar low structure ; 

 and such forms might have continued in existence through any length of time, so 

 that the occurrence of Eozoon so far down as Jurassic times could afford no matter 

 for surprise. He would not be astonished even if such a structure as Eozoon were 

 found in deep-sea dredgiugs of the present day. 



The President mentioned the Bathybius, which he has found with coccoliths and 

 other forms in deep-sea soundings. In some newer specimens of Atlantic mud given 

 him by Dr. Carpenter he had found Bathybius forming a sort of network somewhat 

 similar to the plasmodia of botanists. He could not call it either plant or animal. It was, 

 however, a living substance, susceptible of apparently indefinite growth. This re- 

 moved one of the difficulties in believing in the wide extension of the Eozoon. The 

 Hydrographer had since sent him the soundings taken by Captain Shortland in 

 ' The Hydra.' In soundings from 2,800 fathoms in the Arabian Gulf Baihyhius was 

 plentiful ; and over an area 7000 miles long the same organism occurred in abundance. 

 He agreed in thinking it possible that such organisms might have gone on living from 

 the earliest geological times. 



In answer to Prof. Ramsay, the President stated that the soundings in which the 

 Bathybius occurs alone, as analyzed by Dr. Frankland, contained 1^ per cent, of 

 nitrogenous organic matter. 



2. "Notes on the Greology of China, with more especial reference 

 to the provinces of the Lower Yungtsi." By Thomas W. Kingsmill, 

 Esq. Communicated by the President. 



The sedimentary deposits of the south of China were described as 

 commencing at the base with a series of coarse grits and sandstones, 

 having a thickness of about 12,000 feet, and overlain conformably 

 by limestones and shales (with coal in the lower part), attaining a 

 thickness of between 6000 and 8000 feet. The whole of these rocks 

 were described by the author as the "Tung-ting Series." In the 

 Nanking district this formation is succeeded by sandstones, grits, and 

 conglomerates, which the author has grouped together under the 

 name of the " Chung-shan Series." Its uppermost member contains 

 beds of coal, and possesses an unknown thickness ; but the remaining 

 beds are together about 2400 feet thick. Mr. Kingsmill described in 

 detail the geological relations and geographical extension of these 

 rock- masses ; he then gave a sketch of the superficial deposits, which 

 occupy an important position in the geology of China, and from the 

 older of which Mammalian bones and teeth have been obtained ; and 

 he concluded by stating that he had been uniformly unsuccessful in 

 his frequent searches for traces of Glacial action. 



Discussion. — The President remarked that if the South of China had been dry 

 land since so early a period, the fauna might have been expected to resemble that of 

 the Siwalik Hills. Among the teeth was the molar of a very small horse, presenting 

 some of the characters of Hippotherium or Hipparion, which might possibly be of 

 Miocene date. 



Prof. T. Rupert Jones alluded to the general parallelism of the axial folds of the 

 strata with the coast-line, and to the similar strike of the gold-bearing rocks in the 

 Gulf of Petchele, and mentioned that Cycadaceous remains occurred in the Coal of 

 some parts of Germany as in China. 



