13G 
THE GEOLOGIST. 
may be obtuiiicd for the period since man's creation from some of tlicse manu- 
scripts ; and 1 believe also tiiat Mr. P. Clinton stated that there was no pre- 
ponderant rate of authority for the manuscripts which had been followed l)y the 
authors of our Bible translation. The Scptuagint trauslal ion, crj., was foii'nded 
on a different set of manuscripts ; and I think also that Josepiuis is said to 
have had some quite diiferent from ours. I write only from recollection, not 
having the books at hand to refer to ; but I am sure of this point, that on the 
authority of some of the manuscripts of the Bible, a much longer period may 
have elapsed than the six thousand years which are generally received. I con- 
ceive that the possibility of such an extension of time might extend also the 
probability of man's having been coeval with even the mammoth. — I am. Sir, 
Yours obediently, (The llev.) S. C. 
PuoviNciAL Geological Museums. — Sir, — I was M-ell pleased to see the 
remarks of E. Charlesworth, F.G.S., in reference to Professor Forbes sugges- 
tions for establishing " Educational Museums." I presume there is scarcely a 
Geological Society in the kingdom but has a nucleus, at least, of a museum in 
the shaj)e of one or more cabinets of " specimens," collected from the various 
strata of their surroimding districts. What we st.udeuts of Geology now re- 
quire is to have published in your excellent magazine a list of all the Geological 
Societies of the kingdom, and a list of the specnneus collected in their separate 
districts. There would be no difficulty in obtaining this information, if you, 
sir, suggested to the secretary of each geological society to forward to you a 
short account of their loc;d strata, &c., and the fossils foimd therein. By the 
publication of such information, the readers of your magazine would become 
acquainted with a circle of fossil districts, would know to what society they 
shoidd write for exchanges, or what spot to visit to enrich their cabinets or 
local museums ; a friendly feeUng would be generated amongst the various 
geological associations, and considerable practical information obtained. We 
cannot expect that societies will give uj) independent movements since they 
must be guided in some measure by local circumstances ; but if the teachers of 
geological science would lay down a practical plan for the formation of pro- 
vincial geological museums and mutual co-operation, I have no doubt but that 
the various associations would at once act upon the suggestions. — Yours 
faithfully, G. Horner, Glasgow. We concur in the desirableness of the publi- 
cation of the lists suggested by our correspondent, and shall be obliged to the 
various secretaries and members of institutions and societies for the necessary 
information. 
Quaternary Geology. — An interesting discussion occurred at the ordinai-y 
meeting of the French Geological Society, on November 7th, which is reported 
in the Bulletin for January last. M. Gaudry produced specimens which he 
had recently dug from the diluvium in the neighbourhood of Amiens. He 
stated that he had found axes nearly in contact with fossil mammalian bones, 
together vidth small pierced balls, which M. Bigollet considered to be necklace 
beads, but which did not with certainty show traces of human art. In reply 
to a queslion from M. d'Archiac, M. Gaudry said the axes were not all found 
lying horizontally but at various inclinations and mostly together. M. 
Desnoyers confirmed these statements having aided in the explorations, and 
explained that many of the implements were formed from roUcd pebbles. He 
considered tlie deposit to be a fluviatUe one ; it contained, in beds of sand 
intcrstratiiicd with the gravel, Cycladcs, Ancylus, Paludina, and Limua;a, and 
could not be due to tutnultuous causes. M. d'Orbigny cited an instance at 
Bicctre of a diluvial gravel bed capped by a lluviatile sand under the Loess. 
M. Desnoyers explained the fluviatile character of the deposit by its occurrence 
at the confluence of a side valley with the Sommc, and maintained that the 
mannnalian bones had been rolled, which M. Jourdain also stated was the case. 
