14i Proceedings of Learned Societies. 



GEOLOGICAL SOCIETY.— Feb. 3 and Feb. 19. 



The Permian Rocks of the North-West of England.— Sir R. I. 

 Murchison and Professor R. Harkness communicated a paper on the 

 Permian group, in which they propounded a new view of their com- 

 position ; and, by the consequent re-arrangement of the rocks in- 

 volved in this change in classification, they were enabled to place 

 the Permian strata of Great Britain in direct correlation with those 

 of the continent of Europe. This new feature in British classifica- 

 tion is the assignment of a large amount of red sandstone in the 

 north-western counties to the Permian period, and its removal from 

 the New Red Sandstone, or Trias-formation, to which they have 

 hitherto been assigned in all geological maps. The authors showed 

 that these red sandstones are closely and conformably united with the 

 Magnesian Limestone, or its ecmivalent, and form the natural upper 

 limit of the Palaeozoic deposits. They thus affnrued that a tripartite 

 arrangement of the Permian rocks holds good in Westmoreland, 

 Cumberland, and Lancashire, and that the three subdivisions arc cor- 

 relative with those formerly shown by Sir R. I. Murchison to exist 

 in the Permian deposits of Germany and Russia. 



The difference in litbological details of the Permian rocks of the 

 North- West of England from those on the opposite flank of the Pen- 

 nine chain was next adverted to ; and it was observed that, with so 

 vast a dissimilarity in their lithological development in England, we 

 need not be surprised at finding still greater diversities in these pro- 

 tean deposits, when followed into Germany and Russia. 



The discovery, by Professor Harkness, in the central member of 

 ibis siliceous group in Westmoreland, of numerous fossil plants 

 identical with the species of the Kupfer Scbiefcr in Germany, and in 

 the Marl-skit e of the Magnesian Limestone of Durham, was given as 

 a .strong proof of the correctness of the authors' conclusions. 



On the 10th Feb. Professor Ramsay delivered an annual address 



ausual interest and importance. The subject was a continuation 



of that of last year, and the learned Professor went into an elabo- 



bion of the evidence that great breaks existed in the 



biological and stratigraphies! record presented by tbe secondary for- 

 mations in tliis and oilier countries. When (headdress is published 



it will, no doubt, receive further notice in the [ntellbctual Ob- 

 iter; and all that our present space ami opportunity permits is to 



say I hat an kion of all the known facts concerning I he 



Megozoic, strata, confirms the views expressed by Pro- 

 , and coupled by (he leading geologists, with reference 



to the Paleozoic rocks, namely, the inoompleteness of I be record, 



and the strong probability that the whole series of changes in tho 



life of I he globe have been brought about by the very slow and gra- 

 dual action of can ting through enormous periods of time. 

 Profe. or Ramsay laid before the Society carefully prepared tables, 

 iow the proportion of species that can be traced upwards and 

 dow i from particular secondary formations. These tables 

 the changes, of which known rocks furnish the records, to bo 

 more gradual than has generally been supposed ; and, if we make 



