572 PEOCEEDINGS OF THE GEOLOGICAL SOCIETY. 



north, and employed a nomenclature derived from those localities 

 where the strata were best developed or exhibited, in ascending 

 order, from the Foreland to the culmiferous beds south of Barnstaple ; 

 he believed the whole series to be connected and to pass from one to 

 the other, showing one general sequence with a southern dip. The 

 term "transition" was adopted by him for the rocks subsequently 

 called '• Devonian." This paper was a valuable contribution to the 

 then state of our knowledge upon this area. 



1838. Austen. — Mr. Godwin- Austen, in another paper, " On the 

 origin of the Limestones of Devonshire"*, clearly showed their origin 

 to be due to the laws of organic life, and drew comparisons between 

 them and the modern coral-reefs. The localities and facts mentioned 

 are important as bearing upon the question of the Middle Devonian 

 limestone. 



1839. Williams. — The Eev. D. Williams communicated to the 

 Geological Society his paper upon the " Transition or Grauwacke 

 System as exposed in the Counties of Somerset, Devon, and Corn- 

 wall " t. This was also a valuable paper, and a correction of former 

 views held by him. The upper members of the North Devon Eocks 

 are the only series commented upon, the lower rocks being reserved 

 for a subsequent notice. 



1839. Sedgwick and Murchison. — "Classification of the Older 

 Rocks of Devon and Cornwall " X- The rocks of North Devon and 

 Cornwall are described in this paper in descending order in four 

 groups ; and a nomenclature is proposed differing from that for- 

 merly propounded at the meeting of the British Association held at 

 Bristol in 1836. They held that the succession of the rocks in North 

 Devon was complete and conformable, from the carbonaceous series 

 to those of Baggy and Marwood, which succeed them, and thence to 

 the ILfracombe and Lynton beds below ; and they associated the 

 Quantock series with the oldest or Lynton slates and sandstones. The 

 authors showed the same succession for South Devon and North 

 Cornwall ; they also proposed to substitute the term " Devonian " 

 for " Old Eed Sandstone," as suggested by Mr. Lonsdale, after his 

 examination of the fossil contents of the slates and limestones of 

 South Devon. 



1839. Austen. — " On the structure of South Devon." This paper 

 was supplementary to the memoir read in 1837 (Proc. Geol. Soc. 

 vol. ii. p. 584), and in it the author showed the general relations of 

 the various bands of slates, limestones, and sandstones in South 

 Devon. Six important considerations and conclusions are here 

 given ; and Mr. Austin then considered that the carbonaceous 

 rocks of Central Devon formed no part of the older deposits named 

 therein. 



1839. Williams, Rev. D. — " On the Great Graywacke System, as 

 is comprised in the Group of West Somerset, Devon and Cornwall." 

 The author wrote this paper as a supplement to his former com- 

 munication in 1839 (Proc. Geol. Soc. vol. iii. 1839, p. 115). In it 



* Proc. Geol. Soc. 1838, vol. ii. p. 669. f Ibid. vol. iii. 1839, p. 115. 



+ Ibid. vol. iii. 1839, p. 121. 



