﻿510 
  MESSES. 
  E. 
  T. 
  NEWTON 
  AND 
  J. 
  J. 
  H. 
  TEALL 
  ON 
  [DeC 
  1897, 
  

  

  of 
  vegetable 
  matter 
  other 
  than 
  wood 
  have 
  been 
  collected, 
  but 
  these 
  

   may 
  not 
  be 
  of 
  the 
  same 
  geological 
  age. 
  One 
  such 
  block, 
  from 
  

   the 
  talus 
  at 
  Cape 
  Stephen, 
  on 
  which 
  there 
  is 
  a 
  leaf 
  of 
  Ginlcgo 
  

   and 
  a 
  piece 
  of 
  a 
  pine-branch, 
  has 
  already 
  been 
  noticed 
  (p. 
  506). 
  

  

  The 
  preservation 
  of 
  this 
  wood 
  in 
  close 
  relation 
  to 
  the 
  basalt 
  is 
  

   of 
  much 
  interest, 
  for 
  it 
  is 
  not 
  only 
  in 
  Franz 
  Josef 
  Land 
  that 
  there 
  

   is 
  this 
  association, 
  but 
  it 
  has 
  been 
  noticed 
  in 
  many 
  other 
  places. 
  

   Under 
  very 
  similar 
  conditions 
  wood 
  has 
  been 
  found 
  interstratified 
  

   with 
  the 
  basalts 
  of 
  Greenland 
  ; 
  the 
  same 
  conditions 
  are 
  present 
  

   in 
  the 
  Western 
  Islands 
  of 
  Scotland, 
  where 
  Pinus 
  eiggensis, 
  some- 
  

   times 
  silicified 
  and 
  sometimes 
  preserved 
  in 
  carbonate 
  of 
  iron, 
  occurs 
  

   under 
  the 
  Scuir 
  of 
  Eigg, 
  as 
  described 
  by 
  Hugh 
  Miller 
  in 
  the 
  

   ' 
  Cruise 
  of 
  the 
  Betsy 
  ' 
  ; 
  and 
  coniferous 
  wood 
  was 
  found 
  by 
  Sir 
  A. 
  

   Geikie 
  under 
  the 
  basalt 
  in 
  the 
  Island 
  of 
  Canna. 
  1 
  

  

  The 
  common 
  occurrence 
  of 
  silicified 
  wood 
  on 
  the 
  shores 
  of 
  Lough 
  

   Neagh, 
  Ireland, 
  is 
  well 
  known, 
  and 
  is 
  stated 
  to 
  be 
  derived 
  from 
  

   clays 
  which 
  are 
  there 
  found 
  under 
  the 
  basalt. 
  2 
  Silicified 
  wood 
  has 
  

   also 
  been 
  met 
  with 
  in 
  the 
  basalt 
  of 
  the 
  Giants' 
  Causeway. 
  

  

  It 
  would 
  be 
  interesting 
  to 
  know 
  whether 
  similar 
  conditions 
  have 
  

   existed 
  in 
  other 
  places 
  where 
  silicified 
  wood 
  has 
  been 
  so 
  abundantly 
  

   found, 
  such 
  as 
  near 
  Cairo, 
  in 
  Antigua, 
  in 
  Arizona, 
  in 
  Tasmania, 
  

   etc. 
  In 
  some 
  of 
  these 
  localities 
  volcanic 
  conditions 
  do 
  obtain, 
  

   but 
  further 
  information 
  as 
  to 
  the 
  precise 
  relation 
  of 
  the 
  silicified 
  

   wood 
  to 
  the 
  volcanic 
  rocks 
  is 
  desirable. 
  

  

  In 
  addition 
  to 
  the 
  specimens 
  above 
  described 
  the 
  collection 
  con- 
  

   tains 
  material 
  from 
  the 
  surface 
  of 
  a 
  floe, 
  48 
  miles 
  south 
  of 
  Bell 
  

   Island, 
  and 
  from 
  the 
  under-surface 
  of 
  an 
  iceberg 
  found, 
  tilted 
  up, 
  

   off 
  Eira 
  Cottage. 
  

  

  That 
  from 
  the 
  floe 
  is 
  a 
  brown 
  mud 
  composed 
  of 
  extremely 
  fine, 
  

   brownish, 
  amorphous 
  particles, 
  with 
  which 
  a 
  few 
  diatoms 
  are 
  

   associated. 
  A 
  partial 
  analysis 
  gave 
  the 
  following 
  result 
  : 
  — 
  

  

  Si0 
  2 
  49-88 
  

  

  TiO, 
  -28 
  

  

  A1 
  2 
  3 
  18-06 
  

  

  Fe 
  2 
  3 
  9-14 
  

  

  CaO 
  3-00 
  

  

  MgO 
  2-20 
  

  

  Loss 
  on 
  ignition 
  13-88 
  

  

  96-44 
  

  

  The 
  material 
  from 
  the 
  iceberg 
  is 
  a 
  greenish 
  sand, 
  containing 
  shells 
  

   and 
  fragments 
  of 
  My 
  a 
  truncata, 
  Balanus 
  concavus, 
  Bdlanus 
  porcatus, 
  

   and 
  Saocicava 
  arctica 
  ; 
  also 
  some 
  small 
  subangular 
  pebbles. 
  The 
  

   sand 
  is 
  principally 
  composed 
  of 
  quartz 
  and 
  felspar, 
  but 
  contains 
  

   also 
  hypersthene, 
  zircon, 
  iron-ores, 
  rutile, 
  tourmaline, 
  and 
  garnet. 
  

  

  1 
  Quart. 
  Journ. 
  Geol. 
  Soc. 
  vol. 
  Hi. 
  (1896) 
  p. 
  362. 
  

  

  2 
  See 
  W. 
  W. 
  Watts, 
  ' 
  Guide 
  to 
  the 
  Collections 
  of 
  Kocks 
  and 
  Fossils 
  in 
  the 
  

   Museum 
  of 
  Science 
  and 
  Art, 
  Dublin,' 
  1895, 
  p. 
  69. 
  

  

  