XCVl PROCEEDINGS OF THE GEOLOGICAL SOCIETY. 



In a few of tliese valleys only a slight lowering or excavation of 

 tlie bottom of tliem has taken place. The relative age of many of 

 these lava-streams, and of the outbursts by w^hich they were pro- 

 duced, can be fixed. On the Nette the lava-streain from Salz- 

 busch is unquestionably the oldest ; in the Brohl valley that of 

 the Kunkskoppe. 



The lava-streams lie partly immediately on the upturned edges 

 of the Devonian beds, partly on the clays of the Oligocene or 

 Brown-coal formation, partly on river-gravels, which again overlie 

 both the above-mentioned formations, or on beds of tufa. Many 

 of the lava-streams of this district are covered by the loess, or by 

 beds of pumice-stone and tufa ; and they are all older than the 

 loess. These lavas are of very variable mineral character, many 

 resemble basalt, others contain much nepheline. The nepheline 

 lavas are alone used for millstones and other masonry works. The 

 other conclusions are purely mineralogical. 



It is satisfactory to observe that the publication of that great 

 work the ' Palajontographica,' under the superintendence of Her- 

 mann von Meyer and Dr. Diinker, has progressed rapidly during 

 the past year. Several parts of vols, xi., xii. & xiii. have 

 recently been received. Amongst the more important notices in 

 the 12th volume may be mentioned Professor G-oppert's work on 

 the Eossil Mora of the Permian formation. This first portion of 

 the work contains descriptions of species from the following 

 families — Fimgi, Algcs, Calamarm, and Ferns. Professor Lud- 

 wig also gives an account of the Pteropods from the Devonian 

 formation in Hessen and ISTassau, as well as from the Tertiary clay 

 of the Mayence Basin. 



I must also notice the publication of several j)arts of the 

 ' Paleontologie Eran9aise,' containing an account of the Gaste- 

 ropods and Brachiopods of the Jurassic formation, and the Echi- 

 nidse of the Chalk. 



There is another similar publication on British Palaeontology, 

 in the progress and prosperity of which we must take the greatest 

 interest. The PalaeontogTaphical Society is our own offspring, 

 and I am happy to state that its publications continue to appear 

 with unabated regularity ; indeed I may say that, thanks to the 

 exertions of its past and present Secretaries, the publication of 

 the volumes has of late years been all that could be expected. 

 The Monographs included in the volume published diu-ing the last 

 year (the volume for 1862) yield in no degree in interest to 

 those which had preceded it. 



The first is by Dr. Wright, on the British fossil Echinodermata 

 from the Cretaceous formations. In this first pa,rt of his work, 

 Dr. Wright describes the Gidaridce. He begins with a brief ac- 

 count of the different groups into which the formation has been 

 subdivided, chiefly taken from the Isle of Wight, commencing 

 with the Lower Grreensand, followed by the Gault, the Upper 

 Grreensand, Chloritic Marl, Lower Chalk and Chalk Marl, and 

 the White Chalk. This is followed by a classification of the 



