been greatest along the Berkshire valley and the ridges east. A so- 

 lution was thus given of the difficult problem of the crystalline or pri- 

 mary character of the Berkshire marble, and the adjoining micaceous 

 and talcose schists, whose secondary origin was contended for. In 

 the opinion of Professor Rogers, the Berkshire marble was clearly 

 established to be merely the blue limestone of the Hudson valley, ex- 

 tensively metamorphosed by heat and the associated micaceous, tal- 

 cose, and other schists, referred to the slaty beds of the lowest forma- 

 tion of the Apalachian secondary system. He considered it highly 

 probable also, that the semi-vitrified quartz rock of the western part 

 of the Hoosac mountain is nothing else than the highly altered white 

 sandstone at the base of the same series. 



Mr. Kane read portions of a correspondence between Mr. 

 Justice and the Secretary of the Commonwealth of Pennsylva- 

 nia, in relation to the astronomical instruments recently im- 

 ported for the High School of this city, and to the propriety 

 of an appropriation by the State for the maintenance of a pub- 

 lic observatory. On motion of Mr. Kane, the correspondence 

 was referred to the Committee on the Observatory. 



Mr. Peale, chief coiner of the Mint, submitted to the inspec- 

 tion of the members, a complete series of the coins of the 

 United States for 1841. 



Dr. Dunglison, from the Secretaries, reported that they had 

 fixed the future annual subscription price of the extra copies of 

 the Society's Proceedings, at One Dollar. 



Stated Meeting, January 15. 



Present, twenty-four members. 



Mr. Du Ponceau, President, in the Chair. 



Letters were read, from Mr. Eyries, of Paris, acknowledging 

 the honour done him by his election to membership, and from 

 M. Flourens, Secretary of the Academy of Sciences, Institute 

 of France, acknowledging the receipt of the Proceedings of the 

 Society, for May, June and July, 1S40. 



The following donations were received: — 



FOR THE LIBRARY. 



The Boston Journal of Natural History, containing Papers and Com- 



