1854.] LYELL GEOLOGY OF MADEIRA. 325 



Cole, in the Pyrenees, next in order, consists of hornblendic schists. 

 The Valley of the Loddon and Forest Creek are on the edges of the 

 great gold band of argillaceous schists, interlaminated with auriferous 

 quartz. These schists constitute the author's "great auriferous band," 

 extending north and south, from the south of Ballarat to the north 

 of Bendigo and Korong. The granite of Mount x\lexander succeeds ; 

 then the auriferous argillaceous band of the Campaspe Valley and 

 the M'lvor. This is the " M'lvor auriferous band." Granite, then 

 the "Goulburn auriferous band," the granite of Violet Town, and 

 the " Ovens River auriferous band," succeed in order to the east- 

 ward, and then the great granitic bands of the Australian Alps, oc- 

 casionally interlaminated with clay-slate, &c. The eastern flanks of 

 the Alps are covered by thick sedimentary beds of sandstone, with 

 thin seams of coal, being the carboniferous formation of New South 

 Wales. 



The auriferous deposits were shown to be derived by decomposition 

 from the edges of the auriferous slates and quartz-rock, and to exist 

 under various conditions of depth and material, according to the 

 conformation of the surface and the bearing and structure of the 

 gold-bearing rocks. The richest diggings occur along the north and 

 south extension of the gold-bands. The difference between gold- 

 diggings in the debris in situ, and in the debris that has been trans- 

 ported by streams, and so rendered alluvial, was also noticed. 



March 22, 1854. 



Frederick J. Bigg, Esq., Samuel Minton, Esq., Edward O'Riley, 

 Esq., and Samuel H. Beckles, Esq., were elected Fellows. 



The following communications were read : — 



1, On the G^oi^oGY of some parts of M.Kj)^iTiK. By Sir Charles 

 Lyell, F.R.S., F.G.S. 



[Extracted from Letters to L. Horner, Esq., F.G.S.] 



During a stay of two months in Madeira, Sir C. Lyell had an 

 opportunity of examining a considerable portion of the island, and 

 extracts from his letters to Mr. L. Horner, read at this evening's 

 meeting, contained observations on the geological structure of 

 Madeira and the neighbouring islands of Porto Santo and Baxo. In 

 nearly all his excursions, Sir Charles was favoured by the company 

 of Mr. Hartung, a German naturalist resident at Funchal, who 

 proved a most active fellow-labourer. 



Sir Charles agrees with Mr. Smith, of Jordan -hill, in attributing a 

 subaerial origin to the great mass of the volcanic rocks of Madeira. 

 Some of the earlier igneous formations were submarine, and are asso- 

 ciated at San Vincente, in the northern part of the island, with deposits 



