Correspondence — Mr. R. Brongh Smyth. 381 



tilaginous sternum. The scapula furnished an important character in its ■widening, 

 which formed a distinct acromion process. Mr. Seeley remarked that double-headed 

 ribs occm" only in animals with a four-chambered heart ; and that, considering this 

 and other characters, there was no reason for placing Ichthyosaurus lower than among 

 the highest Saurians. He considered that the Teleosauriau snout differed from all 

 known types. 



Dr. Macdonald believed that what is called the coracoid has nothing to do with the 

 shoulder-girdle, and thought it might be a part of the palate. 



Mr. Mansel stated, in answer to the President, that the fossils were obtained from 

 about the middle of the Kimraeridge Clay. 



Mr. Etheridge suggested that it would be desirable to ascertain whether the 

 horizon of the Ichthyosaurus described was the same as that of the specimens 

 from Ely. 



Mr. Gwyn Jeffreys inquired as to the food and habits of the Ichthyosaurus. 



Mr. Hulke, in reply, stated that, from the presence of a stain and of numerous 

 smaU. scales under the ribs, the food of the Ichthyosaurus probably consisted of Squids 

 and small fishes. He showed that the so-called coracoid was clearly a part of the 

 shoulder-girdle. 



COE-K/ZESIPOIsriDIBIsrCIE. 



THE GEOLOGICAL SUEVEY OF VICTOEIA. 



Sir, — You have been good enough to draw attention to my paper 

 on the present condition of the Geological Survey of Victoria, and 

 although I might well let pass, without comment, the just and fair 

 account which you have given of it, I think it right to offer one or 

 two observations on the subject, which you may publish if you think 

 fit. Whilst Mr. Selwyn was Director-General of the Geological 

 Survey of Victoria, I stated, when giving my evidence before a Royal 

 Commission, in what manner I differed from him as to the mode in 

 which a Geological Survey should be conducted in a new and 

 partially explored country, but I always recognized his abilities as a 

 Geological Surveyor, and I never hesitated to express publicly my 

 opinion of his services. My scheme for the continuation of the 

 Survey was offered in the hope that it would be accepted if nothing 

 better presented itself. That there should be one geologist in the 

 field who would continue the survey after what I conceive to be a 

 better method than that of Mr. Selwyn, appeared to me preferable 

 to its being abandoned as a national work. 



In naming the sum of £1,500 per annum as the probable cost of 

 the Survey, I should have stated, for the information of those not 

 acquainted with the economy of the government departments of this 

 Colony, that it was not intended to include in it the cost of drawiuo- 

 maps and sections, the preparation of coloured lithographed maps, or 

 the printing of reports. These costs 1 intended should be borne by 

 the Mining Department and the Department of the Government 

 Printer, where skilful lithographers and engravers and jjrinters are 

 employed. Some small costs for preparing tracings and plans for 

 the officer in the field would necessarily be chargeable to the sum 

 I set down. It was not proposed to pay the officer in the field a 

 smaller salary than was paid to the chief officers who acted as field 

 geologists under Mr. Selwyn, and there is an analyst attached to the 



