68 Geological Society : — 



seems to have followed, during which this " old coast-line " formed 

 the Coast of Scotland ; and during that period the upper Mussel-bed 

 seems to have been deposited. (6) A final elevation of the land has 

 determined the pre ent coast-line, and left the old one as it now 

 appears — subsequently modified by atmospheric action, and cut 

 through by streams. All these changes have occurred during what, 

 geologically, must be called the existing period, as the vegetable 

 remains in the peat, and in the clay, seem to be all referable to 

 existing species. 



March 20.— Warington W. Smyth, Esq., M.A., F.R.S., 



President, in the Chair. 

 The following communications were read : — 



1. "Report on recent discoveries of Gold in New Brunswick." 

 By W. S. Shea, Esq. 



Mr. Shea gave in his report a detailed account of his explorations 

 into the gold-bearing gravels of certain river- valleys in the counties 

 Victoria, Northumberland, Carleton, and York, in Central New 

 Brunswick. He had been enabled therefrom to draw the following 

 inferences : — (1) that the gold in these alluvial deposits is derived 

 from the quartz-veins penetrating the rock of the district ; (2) that 

 the gravel, which contains pebbles of all sizes, was derived from the 

 disintegration of the rocks of the district ; and (3) that, judging 

 from the richness in gold of paying drift in California, it is probable 

 that these auriferous gravels will pay also. 



2. " On the discover}'' of Coal on the Eastern slope of the 

 Andes." By W. Wheelwright, Esq. 



In this paper the author reported the occurrence of beds of Coal 

 on the eastern slope of the Andes, between the cities of Cordova 

 and San Juan, about 25 leagues east of the latter city. 



3. " On the presence of Purbeck Beds at Brill, Buckingham- 

 shire." By the Rev. P. B. Brodie, M.A., F.G.S. 



The existence of the Purbeck-beds at Brill not having yet been 

 accurately determined, the author recorded their occurrence in that 

 locality, which he had been able to ascertain by finding blocks con- 

 taining several species of Purbeck freshwater shells, especially Palu- 

 dina subangulata and Cyrena media. 



4. " On the Lower Lias, or Lias-conglomerate of Glamorgan- 

 shire." By H. W. Bristow, Esq., F.R.S.,F.G.S., of the Geological 

 Survey of Great Britain. 



The object of this communication was to show that the more or 

 less conglomeratic strata immediately underlying the ordinary Lias 

 limestone on the coast of Glamorganshire, between the River Og- 

 more and Dunraven Point, do not belong to the Rhsetic series, as has 

 been supposed, but to the Lias. 



The Sutton-stone of Sutton and the so-called Southerndown 

 series (seen in the cliffs under the hamlet of that name) constitute, 

 in reality, but one series, the stratigraphical position of which is 



