^{page 672 note *} See “Geolog. Society's Trans.”

^{page 673 note *} Quarterly Journal of the Geological Society for August 1874, page 259.

^{page 683 note *} These quarries are about a mile distant from the site of the boulders.

^{page 684 note *} The Committee have to thank Mr Hugh Campbell, who is professionally engaged in the formation of these new docks, for bringing to them the two remarkable balls here referred to, as well as for affording to the Convener opportunities for seeing the excavations.

^{page 686 note *} Since the foregoing was written, the Convener has received from Mr Charles W. Peach, of 30 Haddington Place, Edinburgh, a letter regarding marcasite nodules, from which letter, with Mr Peach's permission, the following extracts are made :—

“In the Falkirk and Slamannan district a band of these nodules, known as ‘Speckled Ball Ironstones,’ occurs. It occupies a horizon a few fathoms above that of the ‘Slaty Band Ironstone,’ the base of the Coal measures.

“The direction of the striæ on the rocks and the carry of the boulders and boulder clay is towards the east, and varies from E. 10° N. to E. 15° N.

“Near Kilsyth, and about 2 miles to the west of that place, the tributaries of the Corrie burn cross an area of blue shales, with several courses of ironstone nodules. Some of these are of iron pyrites (marcasite), and are known among the mining population as ‘brassy balls.’ They occupy a horizon between the Hosie and Hurlet limestones, near the base of the carboniferous limestone series.

“The direction of the striæ and carry of the boulders in this district is E. or E. 5° N.

“Either of these sources could supply balls at Leith, as they are right in the direction of the ice-flow.

“As to concretionary balls in sandstone,—there is on the coast of East Lothian near Cockburnspath, to the north of Cove, a cliff of calciferous sandstone full of spheroidal concretions, which weather out on the wasting of the cliff by the sea, and being harder than the matrix, they lie piled up in great numbers at the base of the cliff. Many of them are of very large size.

“Similar concretionary balls occur in sandstone rocks at Grange Quarry near Burntisland, from whence, no doubt, the ball found lately at Leith was carried.

(Signed) “C. W. Peach.”

This information in regard to marcasite brassy balls, the Committee deems highly interesting. If the marcasite ball found in the boulder clay at Leith, was transported from any part of the district situated to the north of Glasgow, as suggested by Mr Peach, what was the transporting agent to suit those localities ? A glacier moving from west to east by the action of gravity would be hardly conceivable. The levels preclude that agent. A sea current, loaded with floating ice, seems a more probable conjecture.

^{page 690 note *} Nicol's Geology of Scotland, p. 69.