40 i Geological Society : — 



with in both of these subtropical valleys ; and Dr. Falconer remarked 

 that at the present time the consideration of the general inferences 

 to which these cases lead may probably be of some use. 



After discussing at some length the cases in which human and 

 other Mammalian bones had been stated to occur in the Valley of 

 the Nile, Dr. Falconer described the general features of the Alluvial 

 deposits of the valleys of the Ganges and Jumna, stating what 

 organic remains had been found in them. In a comparison of the 

 two regions, Dr. Falconer observed that there are striking analogies 

 between the x\lluvial deposits occurring along the banks of the Nile 

 on the one hand, and the Ganges and Jumna on the other, the most 

 obvious being the great abundance, in both cases, of argillaceu- 

 calcareous concretions, forming an impure kind of travertine, and in 

 the lowermost beds horizontal deposits of the same material; but 

 that in its poverty of vertebrate remains the former, so far as it has 

 been explored, is a remarkable contrast to the latter. 



Dr. Falconer then reverted to an opinion expressed by Sir Proby 

 Cautley and himself many years ago, namely, that the Colossochelys 

 Atlas may have lived down to an early epoch of the human period, 

 and become extinct since ; and he concluded with some general 

 observations on the question of the antiquity of the human race, 

 suggested by more recent discoveries. 



April 5, 1865. — Sir R. I. Murchison, Vice-President, in the Chair. 

 The following communications were read : — 



1. " On some Tertiary Deposits in the Colony of Victoria, Aus- 

 tralia." By the Rev. J. E. T. Woods, F.L.S., F.G.S. 



The author first referred to a former paper on the Australian 

 Tertiary strata, and then described the beds of Muddy Creek, near 

 Hamilton, mentioning the principal fossils . occurring therein, espe- 

 cially a species of Trigonia ; he also stated that the same formation 

 occurs at Harrow, on the River Glenelg, about sixty miles to the 

 north-east, as well as in Tasmania. In discussing the age of these 

 beds he adopted Professor M'Coy's views, that they are of Lower 

 Miocene date ; but he considered the Mount Gambier limestone to 

 be more recent, probably older Pliocene, and the Murray River de- 

 posits as possibly holding an intermediate position ; the latter he 

 therefore considered to represent the Upper and Middle Miocene of 

 Europe. Older than all these are certain strata occurring at Port 

 Phillip and elsewhere, which the author referred to the Upper Eocene 

 period. In conclusion Mr. Woods gave a sketch of the salient 

 features of the Bryozoon-faunse of the deposits occurring at 

 Hamilton and Mount Gambier, chiefly for the purpose of showing 

 that the latter is much the more modern of the two. 



In a note, Dr. Duncan enumerated the species of Corals which had 

 been sent him by Mr. Woods ; but he stated that, although they had 

 a very recent aspect, no exact geological date could safely be as- 

 signed to them. 



2. " On the Chalk of the Isle of Thanet." By W. Whitaker, 

 Esq., B.A., F.G.S., of the Geological Survey of Great Britain. 



In this district a bed of comparatively flintless chalk overlies one 



