228 Anniversary Address. 



possibly from the rocks of the central Atlantic axis — ac- 

 cording to Professor Hull a vast mountain range — we have 

 imbedded in our diluvium on the British Isles blocks of 

 stone or rock pertaining to none of the known formations of 

 these Islands. The Boulder Committees of the British 

 Association, and the Royal Society of Edinburgh, have in- 

 spected and registered most of the rare or important boulders 

 on the surface of Great Britain ; but in the course of deep 

 cuttings, and even agricultural work, erratic blocks are often 

 disentombed. It is the duty of every member of a scientific 

 society to inspect and report to the secretary of his club, or 

 a member of a boulder committee, the particulars of such a 

 discovery. Otherwise, the means by which large blocks of 

 stone may be broken down, or buried out of sight, are so 

 numerous, that we have good reason to fear the complete 

 obliteration of this valuable evidence of a glacial period. 



The day after our intended meeting at Wooler Mr Hardy 

 and I had the opportunity of driving to Tiptoe, and of in- 

 specting that part of the valley where volcanic upheaval 

 had effected a cleavage of- the sandstone rock, and had in- 

 vited the escape of the waters of the Glendale Lake. At 

 Tiptoe these sandstones are of the finest texture and much 

 laminated. When in that vicinity we also observed that a 

 series of interesting objects, natural and historical, at Etal, 

 would furnish the Club with subjects for a spring or 

 autumn meeting, which could be undertaken from the large 

 and comfortable hotel at Cornhill. 



At the south-east corner of the Glendale Lake, where its 

 waters seem to have shallowed to a point, there is to be 

 found a deposit of moss and marl, separated by a boulder 

 clay ridge from the Coldgate Water. From this deposit my 

 father, some 50 years ago, removed three well preserved 

 antlers of the Red Deer (Cervus elephus). One of these, set 

 up at Middleton Hall, has 23 points, and according to the 

 opinion of our best authorities, including the Earl of Malmes- 

 bury, it is the most perfect specimen, taking age, size, and 

 preservation into account, to be found of the species in 

 Great Britain. Indeed, if we remember that half its num- 



