72 Geological Society : — 



GEOLOGICAL SOCIETY. 



[Continued from vol. xxvii. p. 545.] 



March 23, 1864.-— W. J. Hamilton, Esq., President, in the Chair. 



The following communications were read : — 



1. " On some new Fossils from the Lingula-flags of Wales." By 

 J. W. Salter, Esq., F.G.S., A.L.S. 



Since the author's paper last session, on the discovery of Para- 

 doxides in Britain, the researches of Mr. Hicks have brought to light 

 so many new members of the hitherto scanty fauna of the Primordial 

 zone, that Mr. Salter was now enabled to describe two new genera 

 of Trilobites and a new genus of Sponges, and to complete the de- 

 scription of Paradoxides Davidis. He also remarked that the fauna 

 of the Lingula-flags shows an approximation, in some of its genera, 

 to Lower Silurian forms, and some (the Shells and a Cystidean) are 

 of genera common to both formations ; but the Crustacea, which are 

 the surest indices of the age of Palaeozoic rocks, are of entirely dis- 

 tinct genera ; and their evidence quite outweighs that of the other 

 fossils. The Primordial zone is moreover in Britain, separated from 

 the Caradoc and Llandeilo beds by the whole of the Tremadoc group, 

 at least 2000 feet thick. 



2. "On the Millstone-grit of North Staffordshire, and the ad- 

 joining parts of Derbyshire, Cheshire, and Lancashire." By E. 

 Hull, Esq., B.A., F.G.S., and A. H. Green, Esq., M.A., F.G.S. 



In this paper the Millstone- grit series was described, from the 

 eastern edge of the Lancashire Coal-field southwards to the Coal- 

 -fields of North Staffordshire. 



After giving a general sketch of the Geology of the district, and 

 defining the upper and lower limits of the Millstone-grit, the authors 

 explained a series of sections, running from east to west, at intervals, 

 across the country. In the most northerly of these the group con- 

 sists of five thick gritstone-beds, separated by seams of shale, and 

 attains a thickness of more than 2000 feet ; while on the extreme 

 south all but two of these beds have thinned away, and the whole 

 thickness is there not more than 300 or 400 feet. 



Between the base of the Millstone-grit and the Carboniferous 

 Limestone lies a group of shales and sandstones, with thin earthy 

 limestones towards the bottom, which seem to hold the place of the 

 Yoredale Rocks of Yorkshire. The mineral character of these beds 

 was described, and their place noted on the sections. 



A short notice was also given of two small inliers of Carboniferous 

 Limestone, namely, at Moxon, east of Leek, and at Astbury, near 

 Congleton. 



April 13. — W. J. Hamilton, Esq., President, in the Chair. 

 The following communications were read : — 

 1. "On the Geology and Mines of the Nevada Territory." By 

 W. Phipps Blake, Esq. 



In describing the physical features of the country, the author 



