66 
Proceedings of Royal Society of Edinburgh . [sess. 
Notes on some Specimens of Rocks from the Antarctic 
Regions, by Sir Archibald Geikie, F.R.S. With Petro- 
graphical Notes, by J. J. H. Teall, F.R.S. 
(Read February 7, 1898.) 
Towards the end of the year 1893, I received from Captain 
Thomas Robertson of Dundee, master of the steamship “Active,” a 
number of specimens of rocks which he had collected in the 
Antarctic regions during a sealing expedition. In letters to me he 
gave the following particulars regarding these specimens : — “ They 
were all taken from one place in Dundee Island. We had not 
time to land and take specimens from other parts. Dundee Island, 
so named by me, is a separate piece of land, close to Joinville 
Island, and all the stones I sent you were picked up on a beach at 
its south-west end. I had a boat sealing on Joinville Island, but 
they brought no specimens of rock on board. The round flat piece 
of light-coloured granite I broke off a piece the size of a man’s 
head, the day I sent off the box to you. The small piece of blue 
basaltic rock I broke off at the same time, not to make the box too 
heavy. You have all the others as they were found. The south- 
west end of Dundee Island is a long low point which I named 
‘Welchness.’ There are high cliffs up from the ness, from which 
the pieces of granite could have come, or they might have been 
carried by the ice. 
“ When going through ‘ Active Sound ’ I saw on the opposite 
shore, on the top of a high glacier, a number of large pieces of the 
red granite, and about five miles farther along the same shore there 
are steep basaltic cliffs. Close to the east end of Dundee Island 
there is a small island, named by Captain Ross Paulet Island, the 
peak of which is an extinct volcano.” 
The specimens sent by Captain Robertson had not the usual 
rounded and smoothed character of beach stones, but it was impos- 
sible to tell whether they had been derived from some neighbour- 
ing rock in situ , or had been borne from some distance. The 
