The remains of the genus Spermophilus have been so rarely found in Britain that an account of another example could not but be of interest to geologists; but the specimen described below is especially noteworthy as it has been obtained from a deposit only recently discovered, and from which no vertebrate remains have as yet been recorded. The deposit referred to is the “Arctic Freshwater Bed,” discovered near Mundesley, by Mr. Alfred Nathorst (vide Journ. of Botany, vol. iii. 1873, p. 225), and investigated by my colleague, Mr. Clement Eeid, during the survey of the Norfolk coast (GEOL. MAG. for Dec. 1880).

I Regret that in consequence of the omission of a correction in my letter (GEOL. MAG. Dec. 1881), I represented Dr. Callaway as stating that the Nebo rock was granitoidite instead of a part of the granitoidite series. When the letter was written, I was not able to refer to Dr. Callaway's paper for his exact words, and on seeing the paper two or three days later, and finding that I had not given accurately the words, I wrote at once to the Editor of the GEOLOGICAL MAGAZINE, asking him to substitute for the word “granitoidite” the words “Pre-Cambrian rock.” By inadvertence this was not done, and as proofs of letters are not usually sent to authors for correction, I found that the alteration had not been made when the December Magazine appeared.

Last Autumn, on our way to St. Cassian and the Dolomites, we remained for two or three days in the Eifel. The little town of Gerolstein is well known to all geologists. Mr. Winter, one of the inhabitants, who pays considerable attention to the natural history of the place, was kind enough to present me with a nodule which, though apparently it is very insignificant, yet, on further examination, seems of great interest; it contains, in fact, part of the scale of a Pteraspidean. Any one who has worked amongst the Old Red Sandstone fishes of Monmouthshire and Herefordshire will at once recognize many of the characteristics of the Pteraspidean scales.

The first Pterosaurians discovered were recognized as flying animals, but were thought to be bats. As soon as their general structure became known, they were classed with the Reptiles, although it was considered possible that their power of flight was due to feathers. Later, their bones were mistaken for those of Birds by various experienced anatomists, and others regarded them as sharing important characters with that group. Some anatomists, however, believed that the fore limbs of Pterodactyles were used for swimming, rather than for flight, and this view has found supporters within the present decade. A single fortunate discovery, made a few years since, has done much to settle the question as to the wings of Pterodactyles, as well as their mode of flight, and it is the aim of the present article to place on record some of the more important facts thus brought to light.

In a paper published in the Quarterly Journal of the Geological Society for January, 1860, p. 178, I drew attention to the remarkable fact that in various parts of the world the presence of glaciers had been attended by a submergence of the land, and I suggested that the enormous weight of ice laid upon the surface of the country might have caused a depression, while the melting of the ice would also account for the rising again of the land which seems to have everywhere followed some time after the ice disappeared.

I Wish to make one or two observations on the Rev. A. Irving's paper on “The Permian and Trias,” which has appeared in the GEOLOGICAL MAGAZINE, and of which he has been so good as to send me a separate copy.

Mr. A. Champernowne having requested me to examine and briefly notice some fossils in his collection, obtained from the Red Homalonotus Beds of the Lower Devonian, Torquay, I have endeavoured to comply with his request so far as the condition of the specimens permits. Besides the Homalonotus remains, there are a number of Mollusca preserved as casts, but, for the most part, so distorted by slaty cleavage, as to render their determination most difficult.

The Terraces which are so conspicuous in many valleys of Western Europe, and have been largely studied in France and Britain, have given rise to a great deal of discussion. The polemics which they have suggested have been not merely about details, but about fundamental principles, and it is these fundamental principles which are still unsettled and awaiting a solution. In England at all events it may be said that every solution which is current, and there are many, fails to meet the facts, and the majority of them are singularly suggestive of the dangers of Deductive methods of reasoning.

whatever the result of this controversy, your readers will not be ungrateful to me for having been the means of drawing from such a distinguished explorer and geologist as Baron von Richthofen, the vigorous defence of his views which appears in the last Number of the Geological Magazine. The admirable work he has done in China it would be an impertinence in me to praise; but I may be allowed to say that a large part of it will outlive any ephemeral discussions about the Loess—discussions in which there must be a considerable element of doubt, whatever theory is adopted.

Through the kindness of Mr. J. J. Harris Teall, F.G.S., I have been enabled to examine a hand-specimen of the above rock, gathered by himself at a point about half-way between the village of Mosedale and the summit of Carrock Fell. In general appearance it coincides with the white or grey variety of the hypersthenite of Mr. J. C. Ward, and which is described by him generally as “a coarsely crystalline compound of plagioclase felspar and hypersthene, with scattered grains of titaniferous iron oxide, and more or less quartz,” remarking that “the hypersthene may be replaced by a hornblendic mineral or may occur in conjunction with it.”

The specimen which forms the subject of this note has been kindly placed in my hands by Professor G. Dewalque for examination, and is of extreme interest and importance to me in my researches upon the Fossil Crustacea. It is not, as was at first supposed, the metastome of Eurypterus or of Pterygotus; on the contrary, it represents an almost entire carapace of a new genus and species of Phyllopod Crustacean allied to Peltocaris

Earthquake-shocks have generally been divided into three classes:

a. Undulatory shocks, by far the most commonly felt, consisting of one or several waves, the movement at any place being to and fro along a line inclined to the horizon, but in general nearly horizontal.

b. “Sussultatore” shocks, consisting of one or more up-and-down movements, in a nearly vertical direction.

No luminous meteor appears to have been observed at the time these stones fell; the day was bright and sunny and the sky cloudless. A sound as of platoon-firing was heard, and a small shower of black stones descended, some within the area of the village of Zsadány in the courtyards of the inhabitants, others in the open fields. They did not fall together, but at slight intervals, which appear to have been at least one-third of a minute. Some were picked up immediately they reached the ground, and were found to be cold. It may be mentioned here that the stones which fell at Dhurmsala, in India (1860, July 4th), are stated to have been so cold that they could not be held in the hand.

In some papers which I have been allowed to print in the GeologicaiMagazine I have drawn the general conclusion that the Mammoth and his companions were finally overwhelmed by a great diluvial catastrophe. This conclusion I have based chiefly on other than stratigraphical evidence. If it be a reasonable conclusion, it ought to admit of being-supported by such evidence, and we are, in fact, bound to meet the purely geological side of the case. Believing that this may be done with the greatest confidence, and with the most complete advantage to the theory, I now propose to examine this evidence, with all deference, and I hope also with all frankness. There is virtually no dispute about the facts. These are familiar, and admitted, and the main contention is about the inferences to be drawn from them.

I do not hesitate to say that Dr. Eoberts could not have written the letter which appears in this Magazine for December, 1881, if he had read my papers on Anglesey with care. Not only does he confound together things which I have expressly made to differ, but he attributes to me opinions which never existedineither my thoughts or my writings. I must remove some of these misapprehensions, before discussing the real questions in dispute.

Length of a typical spine 1⅞ inches; greatest diameter, inch. The spine is thickest about half an inch from its proximal extremity, towards which it slightly contracts, while distally it tapers to a fine point; its contour is at first straight, then becoming gently curved backwards towards the apex. Transverse section at first round, but near the middle of the spine a flattened atea commences, running along the posterior margin, and as this is followed onwards, a delicate median ridge appears, and is continued to the apex. Along the boundary, on each side, of this posterior area, a right and left row of denticles is seen extending from the apex to three-quarters of an inch from the base: they thus occupy a greater extent of the length of the spine than the area in question. These denticles are about 38 on each side, opposite, closely set, minute, their bases compressed and proportionally elongated, their sharp, conical points directed obliquely downwards. Surface of spine striated proximally by delicate longitudinal grooves, which become gradually lost towards the perfectly smooth apex. As usual, a rounded central cavity commences at the base and extends towards the apex.

In the volume of the GEOLOGICAL MAGAZINE which appeared in 1875, I published a digest of the literature relating to the meteorites which fell between 1869 and that date, as well as an examination of the work done during that interval of time on meteorites which had fallen before 1869. I purpose now to direct the reader's attention to what has happened or been done during the intervening years, 1875 to 1881, and bring the supplement down to the present time.

A sound like that of a cannon ball passing through the air was heard by four observers near Warrenton. On looking up they saw an object falling, which struck a tree, breaking off the limbs, and then coming to the ground with a crash. The observers were fifty or sixty mètres distant from the spot where it fell. The snow was melted where it fell. From the fragments found, it appears to have had a conical form, and to have been about eighteen inches in length. The pieces, although warm, were easily handled. It is estimated that the stone weighed about one hundred pounds, but only about from ten to fifteen pounds weight have been preserved.

In this paper is given an engraving, actual size, and a short account of a small metallic mass, weighing rather more than two pounds, and found at the above date in Davison county. When found it was covered with a thick scaly crust of oxide. It weighs 1·24 kilogrammes or 23 3/4 ounces avoirdupois. It is one of the rare class that do not show the Widmanstättian figures. It contains iron, nickel, cobalt, and phosphorus. A complete analysis of the meteorite is being prepared. It is the property of Professor W. E. Hidden, of the New York Academy of Sciences.

Since the date of my communication to the Geological Society on the sections at and in the neighbourhood of Twt Hill, I have more than once visited the district, and have spent much time in working over the specimens which I have collected. The exact relation of these conglomerates to the granitoid rock on which they rest is a matter of great importance as bearing on theoretical questions relating to metamorphic changes in stratified rocks— questions at which for the last three or four years I have lost no opportunity of working. I should therefore, in all probability, have recurred to the subject, even if my attention had not been directed to it by my friend Dr. Roberts' communication and criticism of the above paper. In the latter, it may be remembered that we assigned the Twt Hill conglomerate to the granitoid series.