1865.] Geology. 741 



such a large amount of fossil bones have been discovered that it will 

 be possible to supply most instructive series of specimens to the lead- 

 ing museums of the country, and the contemporaneous existence of 

 man and various species of large extinct mammalia appears to be 

 very well established. So far no human bones have been found, but 

 a considerable number of flint implements of such forms that their 

 artificial origin, through the agency of man, admits of no reasonable 

 doubt. In connection with cavern explorations, we may allude to 

 those undertaken in the caverns in Malta, under the superintendence 

 of Mr. Adams. These have yielded, so far, the remains of two species 

 of elephants, remarkable for their diminutive size — Mr. Busk having 

 lately determined another species in addition to that described by the 

 late Dr. Falconer. 



Another report, not only of local, but also of great general 

 interest, was that by Mr. David Forbes, on the igneous rocks of 

 Staffordshire. One of the striking conclusions which we may draw 

 from it, is that geologists ought not to rely so exclusively on mere 

 appearances, but should pay more attention to the chemical analysis of 

 rock masses. Studying them in this manner, the author concludes 

 that all the different varieties of these rocks may have been, and 

 probably were, derived from one simple source ; and that the differ- 

 ence in their aspect was caused by the manner in which they were 

 erupted, or by the extent of subsequent alteration or decomposition. 



Another paper by the same author, " On the Existence of Gold- 

 bearing Eruptive Eocks in South America," which have made their 

 appearance at two very distinct geological epochs, corrected certain 

 generalizations derived from the study of gold-bearing rocks in other 

 countries, and was moreover valuable as showing that the gold was 

 derived from the granitic rock itself. The author argued that the 

 gold-bearing quartz veins were the direct continuation of the quartz 

 of the granite, which had penetrated into fissures in the surrounding 

 rocks, leaving the other constituents behind. In proof of the 

 existence of gold in the igneous rock itself, he mentioned a case in 

 which the decomposed granite is worked and washed to obtain the 

 included gold. 



In a paper " On Glacial Striation," Professor Phillips, the 

 President of the Association, brought before the Section the question 

 of the glacial origin of lakes. He argued that in studying this 

 subject it would be well to apply more rigorous methods of research 

 than those too often adapted ; for it is a mechanical problem, capable 

 of solution on accurate mechanical principles. Applying these to 

 the special case of Wast Water in Cumberland, he contended that the 

 amount of mechanical force due to the pressure of the ice existing in 

 the upper steep part of the ancient glacier, would not be sufficient to 

 effect the excavation of the lake in the lower and comparatively level 

 part of its course. 



A remarkable example of the light which ancient history and 

 archaeology may throw on certain comparatively modern geological 

 phenomena, was furnished by a paper by Mr. B. A. Peacock. On 



