﻿ANNIVERSARY 
  ADDRESS 
  OF 
  THE 
  PRESIDENT. 
  75 
  

  

  the 
  volcanic 
  phenomena 
  of 
  the 
  Highlands 
  associated 
  with 
  the 
  

   Tertiary 
  and 
  newer 
  Palaeozoic 
  periods. 
  

  

  In 
  the 
  Hebrides 
  and 
  adjoining 
  portions 
  of 
  the 
  Western 
  Highlands 
  

   there 
  occur 
  more 
  or 
  less 
  isolated 
  patches 
  of 
  limestone, 
  sandstone, 
  and 
  

   shale, 
  which 
  are 
  in 
  places 
  fossiliferous. 
  These 
  isolated 
  patches 
  of 
  

   Secondary 
  strata 
  are 
  widely 
  scattered 
  over 
  an 
  area 
  measuring 
  120 
  

   miles 
  in 
  length 
  from 
  north 
  to 
  south, 
  and 
  50 
  miles 
  in 
  breadth 
  from 
  

   east 
  to 
  west. 
  Again, 
  as 
  Mr. 
  Judd 
  points 
  out, 
  " 
  there 
  are 
  various 
  

   deposits 
  of 
  Mesozoic 
  age 
  in 
  the 
  counties 
  of 
  Sutherland, 
  Ross, 
  and 
  

   Elgin, 
  the 
  nearest 
  of 
  which 
  lies 
  100 
  miles 
  to 
  the 
  north-east 
  of 
  the 
  

   most 
  northern 
  patch 
  of 
  Secondary 
  strata 
  in 
  the 
  Western 
  Isles 
  ; 
  and 
  

   these 
  fragments 
  of 
  Secondary 
  strata 
  in 
  the 
  Eastern 
  Highlands 
  have 
  

   .... 
  escaped 
  destruction 
  by 
  denudation 
  only 
  in 
  consequence 
  of 
  being 
  

   let 
  down 
  many 
  hundreds, 
  or 
  even 
  thousands, 
  of 
  feet 
  below 
  their 
  ori- 
  

   ginal 
  positions, 
  and 
  thus 
  coming 
  to 
  be 
  preserved 
  in 
  the 
  very 
  heart 
  

   of 
  the 
  harder 
  Palaeozoic 
  masses.'*' 
  

  

  Mr. 
  Judd 
  believes, 
  and 
  with 
  every 
  reason, 
  that 
  " 
  the 
  whole 
  of 
  

   the 
  north 
  and 
  north-west 
  portions 
  of 
  the 
  British 
  archipelago, 
  

   now 
  sculptured 
  by 
  denudation 
  into 
  a 
  rugged 
  mountain- 
  land, 
  were, 
  

   like 
  the 
  south 
  and 
  south-eastern 
  parts 
  of 
  England, 
  to 
  a 
  great 
  ex- 
  

   tent, 
  if 
  not 
  completely, 
  covered 
  by 
  sedimentary 
  deposits, 
  ranging 
  

   in 
  age 
  from 
  the 
  Carboniferous 
  to 
  the 
  Cretaceous 
  inclusive 
  ; 
  and 
  

   that, 
  as 
  a 
  consequence, 
  we 
  must 
  refer 
  the 
  production 
  of 
  the 
  striking 
  

   and 
  very 
  characteristic 
  features 
  of 
  those 
  Highland 
  districts 
  to 
  the 
  

   last 
  great 
  epoch 
  of 
  the 
  earth's 
  history 
  — 
  the 
  Tertiary 
  — 
  and 
  very 
  

   largely, 
  indeed, 
  to 
  the 
  latest 
  portion 
  of 
  that 
  epoch, 
  namely 
  the 
  

   Pliocene" 
  (loc. 
  cit. 
  p. 
  669). 
  Mr. 
  Judd 
  also 
  believes, 
  from 
  good 
  

   evidence 
  and 
  inductive 
  reasoning, 
  that 
  during 
  all 
  the 
  geological 
  

   periods, 
  from 
  the 
  Carboniferous 
  to 
  the 
  Cretaceous 
  inclusive, 
  a 
  very 
  

   large 
  part 
  of 
  the 
  Highland 
  districts 
  was 
  submerged 
  and 
  formed 
  

   areas 
  of 
  deposition, 
  and 
  also 
  that 
  some 
  portions 
  of 
  that 
  Highland 
  

   region 
  did, 
  during 
  those 
  long 
  periods, 
  exist 
  more 
  or 
  less 
  continuously 
  

   as 
  islands. 
  Again, 
  so 
  uniformly 
  similar 
  was 
  the 
  succession 
  of 
  life- 
  

   forms 
  during 
  the 
  Mesozoic 
  deposits, 
  as 
  exposed 
  in 
  Central 
  Germany, 
  

   Northern 
  France, 
  England, 
  Scotland, 
  and 
  Ireland 
  respectively, 
  that 
  

   it 
  seems 
  impossible 
  to 
  doubt 
  that 
  the 
  Jurassic 
  and 
  Cretaceous 
  de- 
  

   posits 
  of 
  all 
  those 
  areas 
  were 
  accumulated 
  in 
  the 
  same 
  sea 
  — 
  one 
  in 
  

   which 
  the 
  diffusion 
  of 
  forms 
  of 
  life 
  was 
  not 
  impeded 
  by 
  the 
  existence 
  

   of 
  any 
  great 
  continuous 
  barrier 
  of 
  land 
  (Judd, 
  loc. 
  cit. 
  p. 
  670). 
  

  

  Infra 
  Lias. 
  — 
  The 
  zone 
  of 
  Avicula 
  contorta 
  does 
  not 
  exist 
  on 
  the 
  

   west 
  coast 
  of 
  Scotland. 
  The 
  series 
  that 
  occurs 
  next 
  in 
  succession, 
  

   the 
  Infra 
  Lias 
  proper, 
  as 
  exposed 
  at 
  Applecross, 
  Mr. 
  Judd 
  believes 
  

   has 
  no 
  equal 
  in 
  the 
  British 
  Islands. 
  It 
  is 
  120 
  feet 
  thick 
  : 
  its 
  fossils 
  

   include 
  Ostrea 
  irregularis, 
  O. 
  arietis, 
  Lima. 
  Hermann 
  /, 
  Phasianella, 
  

   Thecosmilia 
  Martini, 
  &c. 
  

  

  Lower 
  Lias. 
  — 
  The 
  Lower 
  Lias 
  is 
  largely 
  developed 
  in 
  the 
  Hebrides 
  

   and 
  adjacent 
  mainland 
  of 
  Scotland 
  ; 
  it 
  is 
  in 
  places 
  richly 
  fossili- 
  

   ferous, 
  and 
  in 
  some 
  sections 
  400 
  feet 
  in 
  thickness. 
  These 
  beds 
  

   strikingly 
  resemble, 
  both 
  in 
  their 
  lithological 
  and 
  palaeontological 
  

   characters, 
  their 
  equivalents 
  in 
  England. 
  The 
  great 
  floors 
  of 
  lime- 
  

  

  