Reports and Proceedings — Geological Society of London. 283 



There appears to be in reality but few of the species described, 

 common to the Cretaceous series of Bohemia and this country ; the 

 author has in some instances, however, been led astray by the 

 similarity of the old names, and has erroneously identified some 

 English forms with Bohemian species. Thus, for example, Sctjtalia 

 (Spongia) terehrata, Phill. sp., is referred to Seliscothon 3IanteUi, 

 Goldf. sp., Maaon marginatum, Sharpe, a calcareous sponge from 

 Farringdon, is placed as synonymous with Verrucidina PhiUipsi, 

 Eeuss. sp., and Scytalia (Spongia) radiciformis, Phill. sp., is referred 

 to Phymatella elongata, Reuss. sp. 



In the same strata with the above-mentioned Hexactinellid and 

 Lithistid sponges there also occur detached spicules of Monactinellid 

 and Tetractinellid forms which are referred to the genera Beniera, 

 Geodia, Stelletta, Pachastrella, and Tisiphonia. 



Accompanying the descriptions of the new species, the author has 

 given figures of the sponges themselves in the text, and representa- 

 tions of the magnified spicular structure in the five lithographed 

 plates at the end of the work. The woodcuts are not altogether 

 satisfactory, but probably their indefinite outlines result from the 

 unfavourable state of the specimens themselves. G. J. H. 



I^EIE'OIE^TS JL-J^riD lE'iROGIBIBXDIlNra-S. 



Geological Society of London. 



I.— April 23, 1884.— Prof T. G. Bonney, D.Sc, F.E.S., President, 

 in the Chair. — The following communications were read : — 



1. "On the Geology of the Country traversed by the Canada 

 Pacific Railway from Lake Superior to the Rocky Mountains." By 

 Principal J. W. Dawson, C.M.G., F.R.S., F.G.S. 



This paper recorded observations made by the author witb refer- 

 ence to the geology of the north-west territories of Canada, in an 

 excursion in the summer of 1883, along the line of the Canada Pacific 

 Railway as far as Calgary, at the eastern base of the Rocky Mountains. 



After referring to the labours of the Canadian Geological Survey, 

 and more especially of Dr. G. M. Dawson, F.G.S. , in this region, 

 the author proceeded to notice the Lurentian, Huronian, and other 

 Pre-Silurian rocks of the west of Lake Superior and the country 

 between that Lake and the Red River. Good exposures of many of 

 these rocks have been made in the railway-cuttings, and important 

 gold-veins have been opened up. The Laurentian rocks present a 

 remarkable uniformity of structure over all the vast territory extend- 

 ing from Labrador to the Winnipeg river, and where they reappear 

 in the mountains of British Columbia. They are also similar to those 

 of South America and of Europe ; and there was on the table a col- 

 lection of Laurentian rocks from Assouan, in Upper Egypt, made by 

 the author in the past winter, which showed the reappearance of the 

 same mineral characters there. In Egypt thei'e is also an overlying 

 crystalline series, corresponding in some respects with the Huronian. 

 The Huronian rocks west of Lake Superior are, however, more 

 crystalline than those of Lake Huron, and may be of greater age. 



