In 1908 the Productus humerosus beds in the Carboniferous Limestone of Caldon Low, N. Staffs, were tentatively assigned to the Lower Dibunophyllum zone, D1, of Vaughan's classification. The slender evidence for this correlation was set out in my paper on the Midland Area.

In September last the Committee appointed by the British Association to “examine the conditions under which remains of the Irish Elk were found in the Isle of Man” commenced excavating at Close-y-garey, near Poortown ; but owing to the unusual amount of water, considerable labour and expense were incurred in the preliminary work of draining, and by the 25th September the grant was exhausted.

It may be taken that the general tendency of the evolution of surface ornament (and therefore of the radioles) in the Holectypoida was a dual one. The largo tubercles become gradually restricted to the adoral surface, and often reduced in number, while the actual density of the tuberculation increases. This increase is attained, either by a simple multiplication of the normal vertical series, as in Discoïdea (this being sometimes associated with the transformation of granules to tubercles at the ambitus), or by a more uniform distribution of those series over the area of the plates, and the frequent substitution of two tubercles in the place of one, as in Conulus. Both these types of change lead away from the primitive, ‘Regular’ condition of tuberculation, and trend towards the Clypeastroid and Cassidulid arrangement.

A quarry face in County Antrim appears to show that the toe of a Tertiary lava flow has ploughed into the weathered top of the underlying lava and carried some of the weathered material forward.

The District included under the term “South Bedfordshire” is that which lies between the escarpment of the Lower Greensand and the extreme southern limit of the county. Within this area the portion that has been most closely examined is that through which the Midland Railway passes, every excavation of which has been visited, in many cases frequently, both during the construction of the line, and also subsequently.

The voyage of the “Beagle ” in 1831–6 was not only the starting-point of Charles Darwin's scientific career, but also, and more particularly, it laid the foundation for the whole of his geological work, as embodied in the well-known series of volumes. The collections which, he gathered during that prolonged voyage of exploration have therefore no small interest of a historical and sentimental kind. It is believed that they possess also a certain intrinsic value; inasmuch as an examination of these original specimens, with the advantages conferred by modern petrographical methods, may sometimes help towards a better understanding of the recorded observations. Owing to his choice of plain language in preference to the now antiquated terminology of his time, Darwin is seldom obscure to a modern reader; but his characterization of the ‘igneous rocks which he observed is necessarily crude and vague. Not a few passages may be considerably elucidated by merely indicating the nature of the rocks which are designated by such old-fashioned comprehensive names as ‘porphyry,’ ‘greenstone,’ and ‘basalt.’

In many places in Western Norway we find a lake separated from a fjord by a mile or so of sand and gravel. Looking from the fjord, we see in such a case a series of step terraces, with possibly a high mound at the back, forming a dam at the end of the lake.

In 1850, Mr. H. W. Bristow recorded, on sheet 17 of the Geological Survey Map, the existence of “conglomerate” and “recent stone” at Portland Bill.—(See Plate XIV. herewith.)

In the Irish Caledonides, volcanism has been significant in terrane identification and in reconstructions of the Appalachian/Caledonian orogen. Crucial to these reconstructions is the recognition of ocean margins using obducted ocean floor relics (ophiolites) and supra-subduction zone volcanic assemblages. The volcanic rocks provide much evidence for the affinity of a terrane, however, by analogy with present day examples, the ocean floor sediments may provide the best way of tracing both ocean-floor magmatic activity, and continental source areas. This investigation shows that the Irish Lower Palaeozoic volcanogenic terranes can be discriminated in terms of their shale geochemistry, which also gives information on their provenance and environment of deposition. South Mayo shales are dominated by volcaniclastic material derived both from both an arc and from an ophiolitic source. The Northern and Central belts of the Central Terrane show very similar lithogeochemistries, apparently derived in part from intermediate to silicic volcanic complexes. The Ordovician-Silurian inliers that straddle the Suture Zone, here termed the Southern Domain, show a chemistry close to that of the Leinster Terrane, which, coupled with a greater degree of sea-floor weathering, suggests a terrane with sediment of both volcanic and continental provenance being deposited in deeper water further from land. Across the suture the Leinster Terrane shows a mature chemistry which clearly suggests a continental provenance, together with a volcanogenic input from supra-subduction volcanism. This maturity is probably due to slower rates of sedimentation with longer residence times for volcanic detritus, plus the existence of a deeply weathered continental basement.

The North Purulia Shear Zone that dissects the granulite basement of the Chotanagpur Granite Gneissic Complex of the East Indian Shield exposes a deformed and metamorphosed nepheline syenite. The studied ‘foid-monzosyenite’ shows high abundances of large ion lithophile elements and high field strength elements with low abundances of compatible elements. Trace-element signatures show negative U, Th, Zr, Ti and Pb and positive Sr, Ba and Eu anomalies with respect to the primitive mantle. The chondrite-normalized diagram shows strongly fractionated rare earth element patterns ((La/Lu)N ∼23–87). Geochemical fingerprints suggest that the basanitic protolith was formed by low-degree partial melting of garnet peridotite in the sub-continental lithospheric mantle. The enriched large ion lithophile, high field strength element and light rare earth element concentrations (relative to primitive mantle) can be explained by a mixed mantle source with components from a previously deformed alkaline rock/carbonatite. Geochemical data do not support any significant crustal contamination and suggest variable fractionation of clinopyroxene, ilmenite, titanite and apatite from the parental melt. Petrological data are consistent with the view that the nepheline syenite magma was emplaced in a rift setting with a minimum temperature of 800–900°C, low fO2 conditions (below the fayalite–magnetite–quartz buffer) at a mid-crustal depth between 950 and 900 Ma. The continental rift zone, however, did not lead to the formation of an open ocean basin. Subsequently, the studied rock and its basement was deformed and metamorphosed in a continent–continent collisional setting at ∼900 Ma. Combining information from the other Indian occurrences with this study, it is demonstrated that the deformed alkaline rocks and carbonatite are potentially valuable for tracing the birth and demise of the palaeo-supercontinents.

A xenolith composed essentially of green pyroxene, microperthitic potash felspar, sphene, apatite, and iron ore, has been discovered in the diorite of the Glenelg-Ratagain igneous complex. it is believed to be an impregnated skarn rock associated with igneous activity earlier than the intrusion of the diorite. Introduction of P, Ti, and Na is considered to be important in the formation of the skarn.

In the Palæontology of the Vertebrata, so much progress is made in various directions in Britain, that it seems advisable to attempt to bring up to date the record of the subject prepared and published by the writers a year ago. The following list may thus be regarded as the first supplement to the work in question; and it is hoped, by the courtesy of the Editor, to issue such a list of additions annually in the GEOLOGICAL MAGAZINE.