554 



THE GEOLOGIST. 



several drift beds of the Severn Valley, which, from the elevation of the marl 

 bank of llyall Hill, were explained in a most lucid manner, by Mr. Symonds, 

 and their distinguishing contents mentioned. He first described the for- 

 mation of the original drifts upon the bed of the primaeval sea, and then passed 

 in review the successive gravelly beds, with their contents, the hollowing out 

 of the valley, the estuarine and lake periods, down to the Severn of the present 

 day. He also pointed out how the drift beds at Ryall Hill were identified with 

 those on the western heights, though their continuity had long ago been cut 

 off. In furtherance of the examination, the walk was continued to the Barley 

 House on the side of the Severn, where the river was crossed, and an inter- 

 mediate drift deposit viewed. The route was then continued to the ancient 

 Manor House of Holdfast, where Mr, Henry Stone exhibited various remark- 

 able bones and teeth from the caverns of Somersetshire. The President said 

 he had received an invitation for the club to go to Warwick in February next, 

 and he thought he might properly give the usual annual address there, when 

 both clubs were together, but it was ultimately determined that Malvern 

 should be selected as a more accessible place than Warwick to most members. 

 Dr. Grindrod offered the use of Townsend House for the assemblage of the 

 club, where he had accommodation for a large audience. The subject of the 

 next year's meetings being introduced, the Rev. R. P. Hill proposed the May 

 meeting to be at Ledbury, examining the country thence to Bromsberrow. 

 This invitation was accepted amidst general applause. 



A grant was made to republish the erudite paper of the President on the 

 Geology of the Worcester and Hereford Raiiway, from the Edinburgh New 

 Philosophical Journal, that its contents might be more extensively circulated, 



Manchester Geological Society. — The twenty-third annual meeting was 

 held October 31st, 1801. E. W. Binney, Esq, E.R.S, E.G.S, Vice-President, 

 in the chair, when the usual reports were read : — 



Since the last meeting the keys to the cases in which the collection is kept, 

 have been del iveaed to the Curators jointly with the special Curators of the 

 Natural History Society. The collection is therefore again .a proper custody, 

 and to this extent the Society is reinstated in its rights. 



The whole collection has been cleaned and put in order, in which labour great 

 assistance has been received from Mr. James Parker. 



The Museum is not so rich in local specimens as it ought to be. As a ge- 

 neral collection it is undoubtedly a good one ; but with the assistance of the 

 members, it can be made one of 'the first collections of carboniferous fossils in 

 the country. Attention was particularly directed to the Peel Delph, and other 

 localities where the Peel building stone is quarried, for the purpose of collect- 

 ing )he fossil plants with which this rock abounds. They are not compressed 

 and flattened as is the case in most sandstone rocks, and as specimens, are not 

 excelled by those of any_ other coal-field. 



The collection is destitute of Lancashire Silurian fossils, and very poor in 

 Permian, Triassicand Pleistocene specimens. 



Tha report expressod the hope that the Council for the ensuing year, and 

 the members will obtain the desiderata mentioned, and thus make the collec- 

 l ion as complete and instructive as so important and populous a city of Man- 

 chester requires. 



Since the last annual meeting the society has coutinued, as for a few years 



past, to increase m numbers, no less than twenty-seven new members having 



beer] admitted in the course of twelve months, 

 paring the past Session the following papers were read before the Society :— 

 1. " Observations on Down Holland Moss." By E. W. Binney, Esq. 



»\ JeUy-peat/akindof Peat foiuid at Churchtown, near Southport." 



By E. W . Bmney, Esq. 



