Edinburgh Geological Society. 283 



waters nmst have flowed. The author states that no such appearances 

 presented themselves ; on the contrary, he adduced certain characters 

 exhibited by these gorges, which, he considered, were strongly in 

 evidence of long-continued sea-action, and seemed to indicate that 

 the gorges in question had been occupied, at the time of the formation 

 of the terraces, by arms of the sea. 



Discussion. — Mr. J. Gwyn Jeffreys regretted that no organic remains had been 

 found in these beaches. 



Mr. Evans agreed with the author as to the difficulties presented by the Lake 

 theory in accounting for the terraces, especially those not in Glen Roy itself, but in 

 the valley of the Spean. He called attention to the part which sheep and other 

 animals had played in the preservation of the Parallel Roads, the vegetation on which, 

 in consequence of their being more frequented by the animals, was of a different 

 character from that on the other parts of the slope. 



Mr. H. M. Jenkins objected to the supposition of the sudden alteration in the level 

 of the water adopted by the author. He thought the gradual sinking of the water 

 was quite compatible with the formation of the roads. He instanced the formation of 

 terraces in gravel-pits filled with water. 



Sir H. James announced that the Ordnance Survey of the district in question was 

 now complete. 



4. "On Beds of supposed * Eothliegende' age, near Knares- 

 borough." By J. Clifton Ward, Esq., F.G.S. 



The author called attention to certain beds occuring in the neigh- 

 bourhood of Knaresborough, especially at Plumpton, either of a coarse 

 and conglomeratic structure, or consisting of sandstones or sandy 

 shales. These beds have been regarded by some as belonging to the 

 " Eothliegende " series; by others as belonging to the Millstone Grit. 

 The chief arguments in favour of their belonging to the Millstone-Grit 

 are, as stated by the author: — 1. Their similarity to true Millstone 

 Grit beds ; 2. Their occurrence in a Millstone-Grit area ; 3. Their con- 

 formity to the underlying Millstone-Grit rocks, and the unconformity 

 of the overlying Magnesian Limestone ; 4. Their containing plant- 

 remains similar to those of the Millstone-Grit; 5. Their colour. Their 

 purplish tint, and resemblance to certain German "Eothliegende" con- 

 glomerates, are the only characters which seem to unite them with 

 beds of that age. 



Edinbitrgh Geological Society. — The ninth ordinary meeting of 

 the society was held on Thursday, the 1st April. James Powrie, Esq., 

 F.G.S., Vice-president of the Society, in the chair. An elaborate paper 

 on " The Earliest Yestiges of Yertebrate Life " was read by Mr. 

 Powrie, of which the following is an abstract : — The author stated that 

 the earliest vestiges of vertebrate life had been found in the Upper 

 Silurians of England, consisting of imperfect fragments of fishes. In 

 the Upper Ludlow and Downton beds, and Lower Old Eed Sandstone 

 of Hereford, etc. Ptemspisj Cephalaspis, and remains of Acanthodean 

 fishes were by no means uncommon, but these always in such an im- 

 perfect state that the nature and relations of the fishes to which they 

 belonged could scarcely be ascertained. Much light, however, had 

 been thrown on these, the most ancient of known fishes, from the dis- 

 covery, in the Lower Old Red Sandstone of Porfarshire, of a bed of 

 very great extent, consisting of various coloured semi-calcareous shales, 

 with imbedded nodules, which contain remains of Crustacea and Pishes 



