MISCELLANEOUS NOTICES. 



357 



which what are called the floating whins of Scotland are found interspersed 

 with the coal-measures lying in a semi-stratified slate, and which are sup- 

 posed to have emanated from a chimney and overspread the coal-measures, 

 has caused them to be quoted as of igneous origin. For himself he had 

 never met with a chimney, nor with any person who had seen one. He 

 had sunk shafts through these trap or basalt rocks, and had seen no differ- 

 ence as he proceeded downwards. There has been uniform structure 

 throughout. He had also made many experiments with them ; and he 

 found generally there is a difference in what is obtained after melting, 

 there being on the whole a more glassy structure obtained. The variation 

 of the crystalline structure which Mr. Plant had pointed out was certainly 

 very interesting, but it may possibly be accounted for otherwise than by 

 the manner of cooling. He knew that the structure of certain metals 

 became varied by different processes of cooling, and that certain metals 

 when mixed together become crystallized sooner than others, and have a 

 tendency when cooling to form aggregations ; and upon this beautiful law 

 is founded Pattinson's method of extracting silver from lead. By analysis 

 he had found out that when there is a granular structure of the scoriae 

 from the blast furnaces of iron works, they generally contain more iron 

 than those which have a glassy structure, and by this structure he could 

 tell to within one or two per cent, how much of iron the cinder contained. 

 He thought under all the circumstances we should do wisely to regard 

 facts and observations simply as such, without being too hasty in jumping 

 to conclusions. The scoriae and remains of volcanos are different from trap 

 rock. 



Another paper, " On the Liberation and Drainage of Gases from Coal- 

 Mines," by Mr. Joseph Groodwin, was read. 



MISCELLANEOUS NOTICES. 



The Fifteenth Annual Report of the Regents of the University of New 

 York on the Condition of the State Cabinet of Natural History and the 

 Historical and Antiquarian Collection annexed thereto (Albany, 1862), by 

 Professor Hall, has the merits of conciseness, one page sufficing to state 

 all that is wanted to be given on the general state of affairs. In the other 

 portion of this report, which more immediately concerns us, it is stated, 

 some of the results of Professor Hall's investigations in palaeontology are 

 communicated in anticipation of the publication of the volumes on the 

 Natural History of the State. The species described by Professor Hall 

 are : — 



. Gasteropoda — Platyceras subrectum, P. attenuatum, P. eoncavum, P. conicum, P. 

 thetis,P. erection, P. carinatum, P. Bucculentum, P. symmetricum, P. ricfum, P. cym- 

 bium, P. fornicatum, P. crassum, P. ammon, P. dumosum, P. echinatum, P. argo, P/a- 

 tyostoma lineata, Pi. strophus, Strophostylus unica, Pleurotomaria arata, P. lucina, P. 

 doris, P. Unisulcata, P. lineata, P. capillaria, P. trilix, P. sulcomarginata, P. rotalia, 

 P. euomphaloides, Cyclonema Hamiltonce, C. lirata, C. multira, Macrocheilus Hebe, 

 M. HamiltonitZ, M. macrostomus, Murchisonia desiderata, M. turricula, Loxonema 

 solida, L. ? subattenuata, L. robusta, L. Delphicola, L. Hamiltoum, Euomphalvs cly- 

 menioides, E. laxus, E. Eboracensis, Bellerophon cur oil 'meatus, B. pelops, B. acutilira, 

 E>. patulus, B. rudis, B. leda, B. lyra, B. otsego, E. tha/ia, Phragmostonia natator, 

 Cyrtolites pileolus, C. ? mitella, Theca ligea, Conularia undulata. Cephalopoda— 



