03 1 - 



SCIENCE- GOSSIP. 



GEOLOGY 





Win. 



CONDUCTED BY EDWARD A. MARTIN, F.G.S. 



Geological Society of London. — On the 

 retirement of Mr. W. Whitaker, B.A., F.R.S., from 

 the Presidency of the Geological Society of London 

 after his two years' term of office, Mr. J. J. H. 

 Teall, M.A., F.R.S., was, at the annual meeting on 

 February 16th, elected to fill the office. 



Women as Fellows. —The question of admitting 

 to Fellowship of the Geological Society of London 

 those geologists who are at present disqualified by 

 reason of their sex was discussed at the anniversary 

 meeting on February 16th last. Thesubject was brought 

 up on account of the resignation from the Council of 

 Dr. G. J. Hinde, F. R.S., as a protest against the 

 refusal of the Council to invite a lady to attend in 

 person to receive a medal which had been awarded to 

 her by the Society. So far as the Fellows present 

 were concerned, there seemed to be a large majority 

 in favour of women Fellows. The subject was by 

 mutual consent withdrawn, after being discussed by 

 Dr. Woodward and Prof. Hughes ; it being under- 

 stood that the Council would further consider the 

 matter. Dr. Woodward incidentally mentioned that 

 forty years ago Mrs. Horner and Lady Lyell were 

 constant visitors to the Society's meetings. 



Water-line in Chalk. — In discussing the 

 water-supply of Yorkshire, in a recent lecture before 

 the Hull Naturalists' Club, Mr. J. R. Mortimer 

 states that the water-line in the chalk in no place 

 exceeds a maximum depth of 300 feet, and makes the 

 interesting observation that the water-line is not a 

 horizontal plane, but rises northwards and westwards, 

 somewhat resembling the contour of the chalk itself. 

 Mr. H. P. Slade also found in Berkshire that the 

 water-line has a strong tendency to follow the contour 

 of the chalk. No explanation of this appears to have 

 been suggested. It would be interesting to know if 

 at other places a similarity has been noticed. 



Point of Origin of Earthquake Shocks. — 

 In a recent discussion at a meeting of the Geological 

 Society of London the correctness of Mallet's theory, 

 that the point of origin of an earthquake shock may 

 be determined by the angles at which consequent 

 cracks in buildings appear and at which chimneys 

 are tilted out of the perpendicular, was questioned by 

 Professor Milne, who aptly asked what ground there 

 was for thinking that such cracks would always appear 

 at right angles to the direction taken by the shock. So 

 far as he could see, it was a theory unsupported by facts. 

 Professor Sollas pointed out that, owing to refraction 

 caused by a shock passing from hard rocks into 

 superficial rocks of a less dense character, a consider- 

 able degree of refraction of the line taken by the 

 shock might ensue. Consequently, the point of origin 

 of the earthquake might really be at a far less depth 

 than would be supposed. 



Colouring of Geological Maps.— Many geo- 

 logists have felt the necessity of adopting a uniform 

 colouring for the maps which they prepare, and will 

 gladly welcome the latest suggestion, which indeed 



has been carried into execution, of adopting the 

 prismatic colours in successive order. In such a 

 hypsometric map the violet end of the spectrum is 

 used for the older rocks, the newer formations being 

 coloured in succession with tints approaching the red 

 end of the spectrum. The effect' of such a map is 

 very striking, and we recommend a trial of the 

 system in making geological maps. 



, Malvern and Abberley TIills.. — Professor 

 Groom has been continuing his studies " On the 

 Geological Structure of Portions of the Malvern and 

 Abberley Hills," and has communicated his observa- 

 tions to the Geological Society. In his paper he 

 gave descriptions of the exposed rocks of the Malvern 

 Range from Swinyard Hill to North Hill, the dis- 

 trict of Cowleigh Park, Martley, Woodbury, Walls- 

 grove, and the neighbouring tract of Coal Measures. 

 The Silurian rocks west of the hills are almost in- 

 variably inverted, and the Malvernian rock frequently 

 can be found to be overthrust on to them. In several 

 cases there is reason to suspect that slips of Silurian 

 rocks are caught in infolds amongst the Malvernian 

 rocks. The author concludes that the whole of this 

 district, May Hill, the Old Red Sandstone tract to 

 the west, the coalfields of the Forest of Dean, S. 

 Wales, and Bristol, and the Tortworth district, are 

 traversed by a series of related folds, whose axes run 

 in two chief directions intersecting at a considerable 

 angle : the axial planes of one set tend to dip east, 

 and of the other in a southerly direction. Overfold- 

 ing has taken place frequently from the east, less 

 frequently from the south ; and this inversion affects 

 the southern as well as the middle and north of the 

 Malvern range. The Archaean rocks are thrust into 

 various members of the Carverian System in the south 

 and of the Silurian System in the north. The intensity 

 of the folding diminished west of the old ranges. The 

 chief movement appears to have progressed in sections 

 from north to south, and the western fronts of different 

 sections show some tendency towards convexity in the 

 direction of movement. 



Colouring Matter of Fluorspar and Cal- 

 CITE. — The question as to whether the beautiful 

 coloration which these minerals sometimes exhibit 

 is of organic or inorganic origin has been much dis- 

 cussed. In a paper in the annual report for 1897 of 

 the Naturalists' Society of Brunswick, Herr Frome 

 publishes the results of some chemical experiments 

 undertaken with the view of settling the matter. 

 Analysing a specimen of chestnut-brown translucent 

 calcite, he found that it contained no iron or man- 

 ganese or other inorganic substance calculated to 

 impart the dark colour. The mineral completely 

 dissolved in HC1 with a wine-yellow colour and sepa- 

 ration of brown flocks. The latter was found to be 

 identical with Berzelius's apocrenic acid. The amount 

 of this was about o - 2 per cent., and o - oi per cent, of 

 another blackish acid was also obtained from the yellow 

 filtrate. Herr Frome concludes that these acids exist 

 in combination in the calcite, and from an ammoniacal 

 solution of apocrenic acid containing some bicarbonate 

 of calcium he obtained artificial crystals of brownish 

 calcite exactly similar to those of the natural mineral. 

 I may add that the apocrenic acid aforesaid is com- 

 monly found as a constituent of vegetable mould and 

 humus matters, and is doubtless of organic origin. It 

 results from the decomposition of the benzene deriva- 

 tives contained in decaying leaves and rootlets, and 

 perhaps some of the cellulosic-proteid combinations 

 of the plant may also contribute to its production. — 

 Dr. P. Q. Keegait, Paiferdale, Westmoreland. 



