430 
Progress in Science. 
[July. 
that was, the rootlets — or whether the means by which the coal had been 
converted into anthracite had destroyed them. As the question might be 
interesting to other members, he exhibited some of the fire-clay which under- 
lay these coal seams, showing that the rootlets of the Stigmaria jicoides were 
as plainly to be seen in the floor of some of the seams as in our English seams. 
Professor Dawkins had observed in the under clay of Pembrokeshire — which 
was, he supposed, of the same relative antiquity as that of Leinster— rootlets 
of stigmaria ; but anything like one of the specimens shown by Mr. Dickinson 
(a granite-like rock) he had never seen. In that specimen felspar, mica, and 
quartz were perfectly shown. A specimen of crushed clay, which was ex- 
hibited, was very interesting, as showing the enormous pressure to which it 
had been subjected. Mr. Dickinson explained that the granite-like specimen 
was taken from underneath the fire-clay that lies below the deep coal seam at 
Clogn Colliery, Castlecomer. 
At the same meeting of this Society, Professor Boyd Dawkins said 
that, when in New South Wales, he had an opportunity of critically examin- 
ing the coal-fields of that colony, and there could be no doubt as to its 
geological age : for, in its lower portion, there were marine fossils, very much 
after the same fashion as we have in our own coal-field of Lancashire. Above 
this, in the coal measures proper, there are lepidodendvon, catamites , and 
sigillaria, associated with some peculiar ferns known as Glossopteris. Up to 
the present time the age of that coal-field had been in dispute between the 
Rev. W. G. Clarke on the one hand, and Prof. McCoy on the other; and it 
appeared that Prof. McCoy had only argued from the fern alluded to, which 
occurs in the lower mesozoic strata of India. But, certainly, when we take 
into consideration the marine fauna — the shells living in the sea of the lower 
carboniferous strata — and the terrestrial vegetation, which was to a large 
extent identical with that in our own coal-field, there was not much doubt as 
the New South Wales coal being Palaeozoic. 
MINERALOGY. 
M. D. Loiseau has discovered a new crystalline organic compound, to which 
he gives the name of raffinose. Its elementary composition is — Carbon, *36*30 ; 
hydrogen, 7-07 ; oxygen, 56-63 ; corresponding to the formula C6H 7 0 7 , or to 
one of its multiples. It is almost devoid of sweetness; its rotatory power 
when dissolved in water is greater than that of sugar. 
M. Domeyko publishes analyses of two new meteorites from the Desert of 
Atacama: (1) Meteoric iron from Cachiyuyal. This meteorite weighed 2*55 
kilos. On analysis it yielded — Iron, 93*72 ; nickel, 4*81 ; cobalt, o*3g ; schrei- 
bersite, 0*40; earthy matter, 0*50. (2) Meteoric iron from Mejillones. Its 
composition is — Iron, 95*4; nickel, 3*8; cobalt, o*i ; schreibersite, o*g. To 
the same gentleman we are indebted for an analysis of a new mineral named 
daubreite. This mineral is an earthy mass of a yellowish or greyish white, 
containing a great number of crystalline lamellae, opaque, and of a nacreous 
lustre. Its hardness does not exceed 2 to 2*5, and its specific gravity is 6*4 to 
6*5. Its composition is — Sesquioxide of bismuth, 72*60 ; sesquichloride of 
bismuth, 22*52 ; water, 3*84 ; sesquichloride of iron, 0*72. 
There is a rock intervening between the Gneiss Rocks of Mantiqueiro 
which approximates to epidote, and appears to consist of a single mineral, 
with the exception of some small granules of infusible quartz. Its specific 
gravity, according to M. H. Gorceix, is 3*4 ; it fuses easily, leaving a black 
siag, the specific gravity of which is only 2*86 ; its hardness is between 6 and 
7. The composition of this rock is — Silica, 38*5 ; alumina, 25*1 ; lime, 23*2 ; 
protoxide of iron, 10*4 ; magnesia, traces ; loss on ignition, 2*6. 
M. A. Damour has examined a calcareous alabaster from Mexico. This 
material, known in commerce as the onyx of Tecali, varies in colour from 
milk-white, yellowish white, to pale green, certain samples displaying brown 
veins shading into red. It takes a fine polish. Its specific gravity is 2*77. 
It is readily and entirely soluble in nitric acid. Its composition is — Carbonic 
acid, 43*52; lime, 50*10; magnesia, 1*40; ferrous oxide, 4*10; manganoqs 
oxjde, 0*22 ; water, o*6o; silica, traces. 
