CXll PROCEEDINGS OF THE GEOLOGICAL SOCIETY. 



other of France. The divisions noticed are the has, the inferior oohte, 

 the middle oohte and the upper oohte ; and it is mentioned that the 

 beds are so similar both in the south and north of France, that speci- 

 mens collected between the Sables-d'Olonne and Rochefort, on the 

 borders of the Ocean, are exactly analogous with those of the same 

 series of deposits on the shores of the Channel between Caen and 

 Honfleur. The base of the Jurassic series is mentioned as marked by 

 sands and other accumulations showing an absence of repose, such as 

 the gravels and sands {diluvium) at the base of the Jurassic series in 

 the environs of Moutiers, near Bayeux, and the quartzose sandstones, 

 rich in altered felspar, to w4iich the name arkose has been assigned. 

 From their position they have been termed in the geological map of 

 France the infraliassic sandstones. They are, however, sometimes 

 associated with the inferior oolite, and perhaps even with the middle 

 oolite. In each case they contain fossils analogous to those of the 

 limestones which repose upon them, thus determining their age. 

 These sandstones are remarkable for containing crystalline minerals, 

 which are not commonly found in the calcareous beds. Sulphate of 

 baryta is abundant, and even sometimes, as in the environs of Alen- 

 9on, the shells of fossils are replaced by it in a crystalline form. The 

 sandstone of the lias in many places contains galena, blende, and oxide 

 of manganese. 



It is announced that the government geological survey of Belgium 

 is completed. And respecting maps we would wish to call your atten- 

 tion to the palseontological map of the British Islands by Professor 

 Edward Forbes (published during the year as part of the Physical 

 Atlas by Johnston and Berghaus) as embodying a large amount of 

 valuable information. With respect to the progress of palaeontology, 

 we should also call your attention to that important work, ' The Pa- 

 Iseontology of New York,' by Mr. James Hall, containing descriptions 

 of the organic remains of the lower division of the New York system, 

 considered equivalent to the Lower Silurian rocks of Europe. This 

 work contains descriptions, with numerous figures, of 95 genera and 

 381 species; 14 species being classed as Plantae, 4 as uncertain, 50 

 as Zoophyta, 15 as Crinoidea, 77 as Brachiopoda, 49 as Acephala, 

 71 as Gasteropoda, 68 as Cephalopoda, and 33 as Crustacea. 



Under the same branch of our science, Bronn's ' Index Palseonto- 

 logicus ' should be mentioned as extremely valuable, as also Geinitz 

 and Gutbier's work on the fossils of the Saxon Permian, Richter's 

 Palaeontology of Thuringia, Searles Wood on the Univalves of the 

 Crag (one of the publications of the Palaeontographical Society), an 

 important work. In the ' Annals of Natural History ' will be found 

 papers by Schomburgk on Barbadoes fossils (found in beds referred 

 to the miocene deposits) ; M<^'Coy on carboniferous and old red sand- 

 stone fishes, on mesozoic radiata, and on palaeozoic corals ; Lycett's 

 further observations on the conchology of the oolitic rocks, and 

 Toulmin Smith on the Ventriculidae ; observations on some Belem- 

 nites and other fossil remains of Cephalopoda from the Oxford clay 

 near Trowbridge, Wiltshire, in which Dr. Mantell concludes that the 

 true character of the animal of the Belemnite remains to be ascer- 



