Proceedings of Societies. 363 



series in one sense is extensive, as there are silurian and oolitic shells, 

 and also other fossils of the tertiary epoch. Among these last there are 

 some things which I am sure will be of interest to you. Among the speci- 

 mens are some recent and living shells from Baring's Island, of which I 

 will send you a list when 1 determine the species. In the meantime I 

 may state with full confidence that the variety called My a udevallensis, 

 so common a fossil with us and in Sweden is still a living species at 

 Baring's Island. The truncated form of the shell, and the palliar impres- 

 sions, are those of the My a udevallensis, and not those of the modern M. 

 truncata. On the truth of this you may fully rely, and also that the shells 

 were taken with the animal in them. 



" In the collection there are also some fossil plants from Greenland. They 

 are not, however, carboniferous, but, to my surprise, tertiary, and of the 

 same character as those of the Mull formation. I could not find any dif- 

 ference between them and the fossil leaves from Mull, but I cannot at 

 present command the paper of the Duke of Argyle ; however, I have not 

 the smallest doubt of the identity of the formation and species." 



Royal Physical Society. 

 Wednesday, November 22, 1854. Hugh Miller, Esq., P., in the Chair. 



1. Mr Hugh Miller delivered an opening address " On the Fossilife- 

 rous Deposits of Scotland." (This has been published as a separate 

 pamphlet.) 



2. On a curious habit stated to have been observed in one of the Wood- 



peckers in California. By Andrew Murray, Esq. 



In this communication, Mr Murray stated, he had received information 

 on the habits of one of the Californian woodpeckers, which appeared to 

 him both sufficiently new and interesting to be worthy of being made 

 generally known to naturalists ; and although the information is imper- 

 fect, and may possibly turn out to be incorrect, he was bold enough to 

 communicate it to the Society. The statement is, that a particular Wood- 

 pecker in California lays up a store of acorns in autumn for its spring 

 consumption, and does so by hammering out small holes in the bark of 

 trees, into each of which it places an acorn. His informant was his bro- 

 ther, Mr William Murray, whose botanical tastes may be probably known 

 to some of the members of the Society. He resides at San Francisco; but 

 when home on a visit last year, he mentioned the habit of the woodpecker 

 which has just been related. Shortly after his return to California, he 

 received from him the piece of bored bark, which he exhibited to the 

 Society, and at the same time communicated the following information 

 which he had picked up. He says, — ' ' I was talking to Simson the other 

 day about the curious custom the woodpeckers here have of boring holes 

 in the bark and storing them with acorns, when I mentioned that I had 

 told you of it, and that you had refused to credit the fact, not of the acorns 

 being there, but of their being put there by woodpeckers, because I was 

 unable to say I had seen them put there. ' Well,' said he, ' you can tell 

 him that I've seen them. I have seen them bore the holes , put in the acorns, 

 and hammer them well in, and I've seen them take them out again in 

 spring;' and he went on to tell me, that on one occasion, in the time of 

 the great flood (some years ago), he had witnessed an amusing scene 

 among them. His party were camped on a kind of island that had been 

 left dry; and having nothing better to do, watched the operations of these 

 birds. There were six or eight of them at work on a tree, in which there 



