290 



THE DESERT SANDSTONE. 



Mean Places of the Comparison Stars for 1888-0. 



§ 



a 



8 



od 









h. m. s. 



o , „ 



1 



8 42 30-10 



+ 12 57 35-0 



2 



8 42 35-87 



+ 13 33-5 



3 



9 7 20-67 



+ 10 46 5-8 



4 



9 11 41-40 



+ 9 50 8-0 



5 



9 32 37-01 



+ 59 18-9 



6 



9 36 9-24 



+ 5 29 71 



7 



9 48 57-12 



+ 4 33 71 



8 



9 50 37-20 



+ 4 18 55-0 



9 



9 57 7 4+ 



+ 2 1 348 



10 



10 4 21-47 



+ 1 59 531 



11 



10 52 50-70 



— 6 27 310 



12 



10 57 22-43 



— 7 47 133 



13 



11 42 59-82 



—13 43 126 



U 



11 50 37-00 | 



—14 53 



15 



11 51 31-00 J 



—14 50 0-0 j 



Authorities. 



Lalande, 17336 ; Glasgow Cat. 1870, 2247. 

 Lalande, 17339. 



Lalande, 18179 ; Glaseow Cat, 1870, 2377. 

 Star = 9 maif. Approximate Position. 

 Lalande, 18940; Greenw. Ca.t 1850, 680; Glasgow Cat. 1870 

 2501 ; Bruxelles Obs. 1873, 1517; Cape Obs. 1881, 285. 

 Lalande, 19045. 

 Lalande, 19398. 



Star = 9 mag. Approximate Position. 

 Lalande, 19622 ; Lamont (I), 2779. 

 Lament (1), 2834. 



Star = 9 mag. Approximate Position. 

 Lalande, 21196 ; Lamont (3), 1017 ; Schjellerup, 4022. 

 Radcliffe Obs. 1881, 266. 

 Star = S| mag. Approximate Position. 

 Star = 8| mag. Approximate Position. 



THE DESERT SANDSTONE. 

 By the Rev. J. E. Tenison-Woods, F.G.S., F.L.S., &c. 



[With Plates.] 



iBead before the Royal Society of N.S.W., November 7, 1888.^ 



All round the Australian coast, proceeding northwards, say from 

 the latitude of Brisbane there occurs at intervals, and in patches of 

 different sizes, a peculiar formation which goes by the name of Desert 

 Sandstone. It varies much in colour and in character, though mostly 

 a bright or a livid red, yet it is often white, yellow, and of various 

 intermediate shades, or mottled. Usually it is composed of sand 

 consisting of small grains more or less firmly cemented together. 

 There is generally a somewhat rounded appearance in the grains, 

 though they are not abraded in the characteristic manner of 

 eolian sands. Yet it is not entirely composed of sand ; in North 

 Australia 50 feet and more of the upper surface is magnesite or 

 carbonate of magnesia, and there are other admixtures in places, 

 though usually the rock is composed of spherical grains of sand 

 cemented together or hardened into quartzite. There are certain 

 constant features in the formation which entitle it to the name 

 of Desert Sandstone, namely : — (1) It usually gives rise to a 

 desert country of a very profitless character, with a scanty 

 vegetation, yet not wholly destitute of fair sized trees and poor 

 grasses. (2) It is utterly destitute of fossils, unless in certain 

 cases impressions of leaves, seed-vessels, and fragments of 



