other parts of the country, where no distinct traces could be seen of the formation from which they had weathered out, and which had a different origin (possibly freshwater) from that of the marine coastlaterite; while a few have been obtained from unquestionably fluviatile deposits. None have been collected from formations known to be either younger or older than the coast-laterite. The author inferred that during the latter part of the lateriteperiod the land was raised to the extent of 500 or 600 feet, that this elevation was followed by a period of quiescence during which the laterite was extensively denuded, that this epoch was succeeded by a period of depression during which the recent coast-alluvium was formed, and that a subsequent elevation brought the land into its present position. The PRESIDENT referred to the evidence of physical geography to prove that the Deccan was once an island, and to ethnological data to prove that the people who made the quartzite implements were probably not the original Aryans, but were the ancestors of the Hill tribes, whose nearest affinities are with the aboriginal Australians of the present day. He was of opinion that the two populations were once nearly or quite continuous, having been subsequently cut into segments by geological changes, and that the makers of the quartzite implements came from the same stock as both these recent tribes, which present the most rudimentary civilization known. Prof. RUPERT JONES called attention to the similarity in the type of these quartzite implements to that of the flint implements of Europe. Sir RODERICK MURCHISON doubted whether the laterite was a marine formation, as neither in it nor in the lacustrine deposits alluded to had any organic remains been found. M. DE NORMAND stated that Obsidian knives, like Mexican types, were found by him, with domestic implements cut out of volcanic stone, under 70 feet of tuff of the primitive volcano of Santorin ; and he considered that before the formation of the first volcano ceramic pottery was brought to Santorin from foreign shores, and, of course, by sea. Dr. MERYON remarked that the occurrence of the same type of implement in Europe and Asia proved a dispersion of the human race in very ancient times, and that man originated from one centre; while in later times a divergence of type in the worked objects was a result of the dispersion. Mr. PRESTWICH was inclined to believe that greater physical changes had occurred in India since the Pliocene period than in Europe. The implements were so like those of Europe, that their fabricators seemed to have been taught in the same school. Mr. FooTE, in reply, stated that he regarded the laterite as a marine formation, because it occurred all round the coast. All the implements were quartzite, with perhaps one doubtful exception, which was formed of basalt. Stone circles and kistvaens had been found on the surface of the laterite in some localities. 2. "On worked Flint flakes from Carrickfergus and Larne." By G. V. Du Noyer, Esq. These flakes have been found by the author in two very distinct positions, namely:-the older in the marine drift (sand and gravel) skirting the shores of the county Antrim and county Down, the maximum elevation being about 20 feet above the sea; and the more recent in the subsoil clay at all elevations up to 600 feet, near Belfast, Carrickfergus, Larne Lough, and Island Magee. The former are of the rudest forms, highly oxidized or white on their entire surface, but, though imbedded in marine drift, having the chippings around the sides and angles generally sharp. The latter have a comparatively fresh look, though still possessing the characteristic porcellanous glaze; they are regarded by Mr. Du Noyer as possibly the rough materials out of which the historic races in Ireland manufactured the spear- and arrow-heads which are found with their sepulchral and other remains. 3. "On the Diminution in the volume of the sea during past geological Epochs." By Andrew Murray, Esq., F.L.S. In opposition to Sir Charles Lyell, the author submitted that, instead of the proportion of dry land to sea having always been the same, and its volume above the level of the sea a constant quantity, they are constantly increasing, while both the mean and extreme depths of the sea are constantly diminishing, the cause being the extreme affinity which water has for the constituent elements of minerals. In illustration of his view, he quoted the so-called upheaval of coralislands as being really caused by a diminution in the volume of the sea. 4. "Has the Asiatic Elephant been found in a fossil state?" By A. Leith Adams, M.B., F.G.S. With a Note by G. Busk, Esq., F.R.S., F.G.S. An elephant's tooth in the possession of Dr. Fischer, of St. John, New Brunswick, which had been found in Japan at a distance of 40 miles from the sea-shore, between Kanagawa and Jeddo, and at the base of a surface coal-bed, appeared to the author referable to the Asiatic elephant; and he accompanied his description of it by a drawing and plaster cast. In his note appended to the paper, Mr. Busk gave some further details of the characters exhibited by the cast, and agreed with Dr. Leith Adams in regarding it as probably referable to Elephas Indicus rather than E. Armeniacus, a fossil molar of which had been found in China; but he concluded that it was the antepenultimate upper left molar, and not the penultimate, as inferred by Dr. Leith Adams. 5. "On the Characters of some new fossil Fish from the Lias of Lyme Regis." By Sir Philip de M. Grey Egerton, Bart., M.P., F.R.S., F.G.S. The species described in this paper were the following: 1. Osteorachis macrocephalus, gen. et spec. nov.-A Sauroid fish, chiefly remarkable for the massive dimensions and complete ossification of the bodies of the vertebræ, and characterized by the large size of the head and the multiplicity of the teeth. 2. Isocolum granulatum, gen. et spec. nov.-For elegance of form this fish can vie with the salmon of modern times, its contour being very similar. It bears the greatest resemblance to the Sauroid genus Caturus, but in the absence of the teeth it cannot be assigned with certainty to any particular family. 3. Holophagus gulo, spec. nov.-A coelacanth fish, remarkable for its resemblance, especially in the contour of the head, to the Cretaceous genus Macropoma, and for substantiating Prof. Huxley's demonstration of the persistence of type presented by this family, which ranged from the Coal-measures to the Chalk. 4. Eulepidotus sauroides, gen. et spec. nov.-This first represents a genus uniting the Lepidoid and Sauroid families of Agassiz's Ganoid order-the teeth and the tail being Sauroid in character, while the fins are Lepidoid, and the scales partake of the characters of those structures in both families. 6. "Note on the Geology of Port Santa Cruz, Patagonia." By Capt. T. Baker, Lieut. Royal Naval Reserve. This note accompanied some specimens of fossil shells obtained by the author from the cliffs of the western arm of the river Santa Cruz, the stratification of which he described. The shells are for the most part referable to the Tertiary species from Patagonia previously obtained by Mr. Darwin. 7. "On the Jurassic deposits in the N.W. Himalaya." By Dr. F. Stoliczka, F.G.S., of the Geological Survey of India. The author described the following strata as composing the Jurassic rocks in the north-west Himalayas : 1. Lias.... 2. Dogger 3. Malm? : The object of the paper was to show, in opposition to Mr. Tate's assertion to the contrary, that the Indian Jurassic formation could clearly be subdivided, and that in some measure the subdivisions correspond with those of the European Jura. 8. "On a true Coal-plant (Lepidodendron) from Sinai." By J. W. Salter, Esq., A.L.S., F.G.S. The fossil described was received by Sir R. I. Murchison some years ago. The author regarded it as an infallible indication of the pesence of the true northern Coal-formation, with species like those from the Erekli coal. The proposed name of the species is Lepidodendron mosaicum. 9. "On some Fossils from the Menevian Group." By J. W. Salter, Esq., A.L.S., F.G.S., and H. Hicks, Esq. The authors, after describing the localities and stratigraphical relations of the Menevian group, proceeded to describe the following species: Paradoxides aurora, Salter, represented by a few imperfect heads, unattached pleuræ, &c. Localities, Porth-y-rhaw and St. Davids. P. Hicksii, Salter. This species presents a singularly inter mediate character, reminding us equally of Paradoxides and Anopolenus. Conocoryphe bufo, Hicks, represented by a few separate heads and one with six body-rings attached. Localities, Porth-y-rhaw and St. Davids. C. applanata, Salter. Young specimens show all the metamorphoses observed by Barrande. The characters of such genera as Agnostus and Microdiscus are as clearly seen in the embryo of Conocoryphe as in the adult state of those genera. Localities, Porth-yrhaw, St. Davids, Maentwrog, and Dolgelly. C. (?) numerosa, Salter. Of this species, a part of the head and six thoracic rings have been found. These, however, show characters sufficient to indicate that it is specifically, if not generically, distinct from the others. Localities, Porth-y-rhaw and St. Davids. 10. "On Earthquakes in Northern Formosa." By H. F. Holt, Esq., H.M. Consul at Tamsuy. island took place Many buildings About fourteen The first shock felt in the northern end of the on the morning of the 18th of December, 1867. were destroyed and many lives lost in Tamsuy. minor shocks were felt during the same day, and on the 20th another violent shock occurred. At Kelung the whole harbour was left dry, and the water returning in one vast wave rushed into the town itself. Large landslips have taken place, and several villages between Kelung and Tamsuy have been destroyed. 11. "Memorandum on the Coal-mines of Iwanai, Island of Yesso, Japan." By A. B. Mitford, Esq. The mines lie about two miles inland from the village Kaianoma. Four seams of coal have been discovered, which are from one to six feet thick. The coal is soft, yields from ten to twelve per cent. of ash, and from thirty to thirty-five per cent. of gas. It sends out thick black smoke when first lighted, but afterwards burns with a clear strong flame, and leaves no clinker. 12. "On a new species of Fossil Deer from Clacton." By W. Boyd Dawkins, Esq., M.A., F.R.S., F.G.S., &c. This species (named Cervus Brownii by the author) is unlike any other species excepting C. dama, to which it is closely allied. The antlers, however, have the third tyne present on the anterior portion, while in the Fallow deer it is entirely absent. From the presence of Rhinoceros Merkii and Elephas antiquus in the Clacton deposit, and from the absence of Arctic species, the author regarded it as forming a term in the series of strata to which the Lower Brickearths of the Thames valley belong, and as deposited before the immigration of Arctic animals into Great Britain. 13. "On a new species of Fossil Deer from the Norwich Crag." By W. Boyd Dawkins, M.A., F.R.S., F.G.S., &c. Cervus Falconeri, Dawkins, spec. nov. The brow tyne differs from that of C. dama and of C. Brownii in being removed from the base, and situated in a different plane from the second and third tynes; in this it is allied to C. tetraceros. The straightness of the beam separates it from the species to which he had compared it; and it is further separated from C. tetraceros by the absence of deep wrinkles. The small amount of palmation in C. Falconeri is greatly increased in C. Brownii, and reaches its maximum in C. dama. 14. "Notes to accompany a section of the Strata from the Chalk to the Bembridge Limestone at Whitecliff Bay, Isle of Wight." By T. Codrington, Esq., F.G.S. In these notes the author described in detail the beds which are comprised in the section exhibited in Whitecliff Bay, and which he had carefully measured at low water. Comparing it with the AlumBay section measured by the officers of the Geological Survey, he found the total thickness of the beds from the chalk to the base of the fluviomarine series to be the same in both, although the thicknesses of the component formations differ considerably. 15. "On the Graptolites of the Coniston Flags, with notes on the British species of the genus Graptolites." By H. A. Nicholson, D.Sc., M.B., F.G.S., &c. The author, after remarking upon the prevalent differences of opinion regarding the stratigraphical position of the Coniston Flags, proceeded to describe the following species : : Graptolites Sedgwickii, Portl. G. Nilssoni, Barr. G. turriculatus. G. Sedgwickii, Portl. -, var. spinigenis, Nich. 16. "On the Waterstone Beds' of the Keuper, and on Pseudomorphous Crystals of Chloride of Sodium." By G. W. Ormerod, Esq., M.A., F.G.S. Between Salcombe Mouth and the River Sid, and between Budleigh-Salterton and Littleham Bay, several beds of ripple-marked "Waterstone" occur, and also pseudomorphous crystals of chloride of sodium. A small fragment of Waterstone exhibited apparently traces of reptilian remains. In conclusion, the author drew attention to the fact that pseudomorphs occur over the greater part of the Triassic area in England. 17. "On the discovery of the remains of Pteraspidian Fishes in Devonshire and Cornwall, and on the identity of Steganodictyum Cornubicum, M Coy, with Scaphaspis (Archaoteuthis) Dunensis, Romer." By E. Ray Lankester, Esq. A specimen labelled Pteraspis," from the Lower Devonian slates of Mudstone Bay, in the collection of the late Mr. Wyatt-Edgell, |