70 



THE GEOLOGIST. 



formation. Erom Turin some shelly sands, of pliocene age, were defined as 

 containing a group of Toraminifera similar to those now living on the western 

 shores of Italy ; and the Palermo deposits are, for the most part, not very dis- 

 similar. The Heterostegina-bed at Malta, formed probably iii rather shallow 

 water, is characterized by a species now absent from the Mediterranean. The 

 tertiary deposit from Baljik appears to have been a shallow water deposit, 

 characterized by some forms peculiax at the present day to the Red Sea ; a 

 condition that is also indicated by some of the Yiennese deposits. 



Liverpool Geological Society. — The first meeting of this society was 

 held on Tuesday, the 10th of January last. 



Prof. Phillips, President of the Geological Society of London ; Prof. Ram- 

 say, Director of the Geological Survey of Great Britain ; Prof. Jukes, 

 Director of the Geological Survey of Ireland ; Prof. Morris, P.G.S. ; and 

 S. J. Mackie, Esq., P.G.S., P.S.A., were elected honorary members. 



The President, Henry Duckworth, Esq., E.R.G.S., E.G.S., then read the 

 inauguration address. After congratulating the members on their assembling 

 together for the first time as a constituted body, he proceeded to point out the 

 objects of the society. 



The geology of Liverpool and its immediate neighbourhood was next 

 touched upon, and afterwards that of the surrounding country, especially of 

 North Wales, the President calling particular attention to the comparative 

 ease with which such deeply interesting localities as Church Stretton, Coal- 

 brookdale, and Ludlow — the portals of the Silurian system — might be reached. 



The President then gave a resume of the progress of geological science during 

 the past year. 



A paper was then read by the Secretary, G. H. Morton, Esq., E.G.S., "On 

 the Basement-bed of the Keuper Formation in Wirral,* and the South-west of 

 Lancashire." 



Interesting specimens of fossils and minerals were exhibited at the meeting 

 by various members. 



[The abstracts of Prof. H. R. Goeppert, Capt. T. Spratt, and Mr. Morton's 

 paper will be printed in the next number.] 



NOTES AND QUERIES. 



On the Lower Silurian Rocks in the South-East op Ireland, and 

 ON A Human Skeleton in an elevated Sea-Margin. — Dear Sir, — 

 III the year 1810, when persevering in what was considered at the time a hope- 

 less task— that of searching for fossils in the contorted old schistose and slaty 

 rooks so extensively developed in the counties of Waterford, Wexford, and 

 Kilkenny— 1 at length discovered at Duncannon, in the county of Wexford, a 

 patch of rocks which I considered mi^ht be referred to the Llandeilo forma- 

 tion. Althongh the correctness of this view has been questioned, and it has 

 been broadly asserted that all the Siliuian Rocks in the south-east of Ireland 



* Win-al is the western exti-emity of Cheshire. 



