



Geology and Natural History. 235 



The present configuration of the archipelago of Franz Josef 

 Land conclusively proves that it is formed of the fragments of an 

 old plateau. The land frequently ends off in high cliffs, capped 

 with sheets of basalt which must have extended lar beyond their 

 present limits. When one compares the topography of this dis- 

 trict with that of the Fgeoes and the West of Scotland, one is 

 inclined, notwithstanding the immense tracts of water which now 

 separate these localities, to ask whether they may not at one time 

 have been continuous, and whether the northern portion of the 

 North Atlantic, as suggested by Suess, may not be of compara- 

 tively recent origin. 



But whatever answer may be given to this question, it is clear 

 that at the close of the volcanic period the various islands of Franz 

 Josef Land were united and formed part of an extensive tract of 

 land. This land was subsequently broken up, partly, in all prob- 

 ability, by the sinking of certain areas along lines of fault, and 

 partly by denudation. 



The final stages in the history of the district are represented by 

 the raised beaches, which prove that this region, like so many 

 other portions of the extreme north, has quite recently been under 

 the influence of a geocratic movement." 



7. On a remarkable occurrence of xenotime ; by G. Christian 

 Hoffmann. (Commuuicated.) — A mineral not previously identi- 

 fied as occurring in Canada, has somewhat recently been observed 

 in the township of Calvin, province of Ontario. Here, in one 

 part of a coarse granite vein — composed of quartz, microcline, 

 albite or oligoclase, muscovite and biotite, Mr. C. W. Willimott 

 found, embedded in the microcline, a mass weighing not less than 

 312 grams which on examination by Mr. R. A. A. Johnston 

 proved to be xenotime. The mass is made up of a closely com- 

 pacted aggregation of more or less divergent long slender prisms, 

 among which, however, a few stout individuals are observable, 

 one of which measures 1 mm in diameter. It has a prismatic cleav- 

 age ; an uneven fracture ; a dark reddish-brown color.; a resinous 

 luster, and a light flesh-red streak. The hardness is about 5, and 

 the specific gravity, at 15-5° C, 4-395. Small quantities of an 

 altered magnetite and very small crystals of a reddish-brown 

 garnet, most probably spessartite, are found accompanying the 

 mineral ; and a fine specimen of a yellow beryl has been received 

 which was also said to have come from this vein. 



8. On the Crystalline Structure of Gold and Platinum Nug- 

 gets and Gold Ingots. — A paper by Professor A. Liversidge, 

 in the Proceedings of the Royal Society of New South Wales, 

 gives the results of an investigation of a series of nuggets of 

 gold and platinum and also of gold ingots. Sections of these 

 were prepared and etched by means of chlorine water as well as 

 investigated in other ways. A series of sixteen excellent plates 

 show the effects of the action, and the main conclusions are stated 

 as follows : 



" As far as it [the investigation] goes, it proves that gold nug- 



